What is White Balance?

Have you ever taken photos indoors only to look at the photos and find that they all came out orange or sickly-yellow? Or how about a bluish-green? If so, then you've been stricken by the dreaded effect of an incorrect white balance setting.

Just what is white balance? Well, in simplest terms, its how your camera interprets what white is under whatever light condition you have. Many of us do not notice the effects of white balance with our eyes, because our brains are able to decipher what color white is in subtle lighting conditions. Our cameras on the other hand, don't always do this so well. So how do we fix this? Well, fortunately, we have sophisticated cameras with the ability to interpret white if you give it a clue. To do this, you need to find the white balance setting in your camera. sometimes it may be a button and sometimes it may be in your menu of your camera. Usually it is found with initials like "WB" or something similar.

Once you find this setting, you can be given many options. Here are a few of them for you to understand how they affect your photo:

Auto White Balance:
This is what most cameras are set to. For the most part, the camera does a good job. But usually it will struggle under incandescent or fluorescent lighting. This is usually when you need to change it to something more specific.

Incandescent:
This usually has a light-bulb symbol to represent it. It generally will add a blue tint to your photos to help balance the yellowish tint given off by most incandescent lighting, thus getting rid of the yellow color in photos.

Fluorescent:
This will off-set the bluish color of these lights to balance the whites.

Shade or Cloudy:
Symbol that looks like a small house with a triangle next to it or clouds. This will warm up a scene by adding a bit of orange or yellow to it to balance the white. This setting has an extra bonus if you want to add warmth to a photo on an overcast day.

Flash
Attempts to balance out the harsh blue color of your on-camera flash.

My best advice if this seems confusing is to find this setting on your camera (every digital camera has this option somewhere) and switch it to the different choices and observe the differences. Sometimes a little experimenting goes a long way. Even better, once you better understand how white balance works, you can use it to help you make more creative photos as well.

How to take Better Pictures of Children

If I could guess on what the most popular subject in most people's photos is, it is probably children. Aside from the fact that they are cute 100 percent of the time (especially your own), they are constantly growing and we want to capture every second of the process before they grow up to be snooty teenagers.

To get the best photos we can of our children, there are a few guidelines and tips that we can follow to make the results more enjoyable and also to help us keep our sanity:

1. Patience- Probably one of the biggest things to have when doing just about anything with children. Kids don't photograph too well when you force them into it. They don't want to hold still. They are kids. Your job is to keep them in their element and then get the shots that capture that mood. If you lose patience, then you are going to be miserable every time.

2. Build Trust- This is probably easy with your own kids, but other people's kids are not going to be natural around someone they don't know or are wary of. You can build trust with a child by speaking to them in a friendly, not asserting tone. Unless you're going for the "I don't think I trust you" look, then you might want to take the time to get to know the kids before chasing them around with your camera.

3. Get down on their level- Let's face it. As adults we seldom see children from any angle but from above them. Shooting down on children emphasizes their smallness, but in some cases can make a boring or uninteresting photo. Try getting down on your knees and capturing them in the world as they see it, or even better, get down on the floor and shoot up at the kids. This exaggerates their size and makes them look tall and "in charge", which is a perspective many people never see.

4. Try not to invade their space unless you are invited- If you are shooting a child that doesn't know you well, it might be best to keep a good distance from them and take your shots. Most kids will give you more personality to photograph if you let them play and do their thing. Jumping into their world uninvited may not only make them feel awkward, but also change the way they present themselves in front of a camera (see #2).

5. Know how to use your shutter- Unless you are photographing newborns, chances are that kid is gonna move. And boy do they ever! In these cases, you will want to use the fastest shutter that your camera will allow in the light that you have to freeze their actions (if that is your goal). Outdoors, I recommend at least 1/250th of a second or more. Indoors, I would try to keep it near 1/125th of a second or faster if you can. Sometimes the light situation won't allow this without flash, so be prepared to deal with that as well.

6. Have fun!- I admittedly forget about this tip most of the time. I get so caught up in trying to get good shots that I tend to remove myself from their activity. The next thing you know, they are bored and you are frustrated. Kids love to play. Sometimes they require you to be a part of that play. Who knows, you might have so much fun that you might forget about pictures, which isn't always a bad thing.

How to Get Blurry Backgrounds in Photos?

Probably one of the most popular requests of anyone who picks up a camera is that they would like to take a photo of someone or something, and blur the background behind it. Why do we like these kinds of photos? Probably because the blur helps to isolate the subject in the photo and make it stand out, or pop.

Unfortunately, due to lots of technical factors involved in doing this technique, a lot of people find it difficult to do. Here are a few tips that can help you get this effect in your photos. Keep in mind that some of these things may not be possible with your camera, so your mileage may vary:

1. Open up your aperture as wide as it can go

The wider your f-stop, the shallower your depth of field is and the easier it is to blur backgrounds. Photographers call this "shooting wide open". The key is to make your f-stop as small as a number as your camera or lens will allow. I suggest changing your camera to Aperture Priority mode and dialing down the aperture number and giving it a try. If you don't know what Aperture is, see this post.

2. Zoom-Zoom!

Another way to get blurry backgrounds is to zoom out as far as you can with your lens. There is a relationship between aperture and zooming that makes this possible. So if you have your aperture as wide as it can go and you are not getting the blur behind your subject, then make sure you are zoomed out as far as you can go, then step back and refocus.

3. Get Close and Focus Close

This one is simple. If you have a flower, or something nearby, get as close to it as you can and focus on it. As long as there is something not too close behind it, the background should at least fall out of focus.

4. Create Distance between your subject and the background.

If you are shooting a portrait shot near a wall, try to get the person away from the wall. I find that about 8 to 10 feet in front of a wall is a good distance to help me blur the wall behind the subject.

Keep in mind that the above tips can be used in conjunction with one another, so play around with the tips and experiment to see if you can get what you want out of them.

Last tip: About Point-and-Shoot Cameras

If you don't own an SLR camera and you might find that some of the above tips are not working. If this is the case, then you may have run up against some of the limitations of a point-and-shoot camera. The biggest limitation has to do with the internals of the camera: the sensor. Point-and-shoot camera sensors are very tiny in comparison to digital SLR sensors and therefore, due to some physics, do not achieve a shallow Depth of Field as easily as a larger SLR sensor. Sometimes this isn't the case, so again, your mileage may vary. In any case, I have personally been able to achieve nice blurred backgrounds using a point-and-shoot, so it is possible.

To all of you, let me know if any of these tips help you, or if you have any questions or comments feel free to leave some.

Photography Tip # 12: Get some direction

Thus far we have looked at 2 main facets of light that are of major concerns to getting good photos. We first looked at quantity, and how we should always consider how much available light we have and how to work around not having enough. Our second consideration was light quality and how we should consider the kind of light we are shooting in, whether it be the light of midday, indoor light, etc. Our last item on the list is Direction.

By being aware of the direction of your light source, you can always use the light to your best advantage. Keep in mind that the sun does move around in the sky. A shot on the beach at 8am is going to look different than a shot on the beach at 12pm, etc. And then there's the question of a beach in Florida or a beach in California. The point here is the direction. If I shoot a picture of a person with the sun behind them, they will most likely be a silhouette. If I shoot a picture of a person with the sun behind me, they might be squinting and grimacing in the shot. In these situations, try to put your subject in a position where the light is still illuminating them (perhaps from the side) but not interfering with ability to see and be comfortable.

Indoors, its always good to utilize natural light, if possible. The most common and favorable indoor light source would be a north-facing window however, I've found that as long as the window is big enough and enough light gets in, then it doesn't matter. The key here is to consider the direction of the light and how it falls on your subject.

This concludes the series on light. The next several posts will concentrate on common "how to" questions that most people have when using their camera.

Photography Tip # 11: Quality is your first priority

Okay, so maybe it isn't. But when it comes to light and photography, perhaps it should be. When a photographer talks about the quality of light, what they are usually talking about is the temperature or color of the light. Good quality light is generally a focus of landscape photographers, but it can certainly be used to the advantage of any photographer in making an image.

Good quality light can usually be found naturally from sunsets and sunrises. However, sometimes after a passing storm at the end of the day, you'll find the sky lit up with beautiful orange or pink clouds, which turns everything into a giant glow of warm and comforting colors. The next time this happens, "Get thee thy camera and runneth thyself onward!" Or in other words, go take some pictures. Quality light is worth waiting for, so if you want it, be willing to get out there during the "golden hours", which is the hour or so before dark or after the sunrise.

So what is low-quality light? Well, truthfully, beggars can't be choosers, so if you just want to be able to take photos, all light is your friend. But the worse times of the day to get soft and colorful light would be at night (duh), or during the harsh lighting of midday. This is when the light is the most direct and (blindingly) brightest and colorless.

So the next time you are planning on shooting, keep in mind the quality of the light that you are working with. You might just find that good planning will really pay off.

Photography Tip # 10: Quantity is important

I think that because the concept is easy to understand, many people seem to gloss over at the mention of quantity when it comes to light. I mean, it is pretty obvious that you need to be able to see to get the shot you want. However, what people fail to remember is that the camera does see differently than your eyes do.

Our eyes have the amazing ability to adjust itself because of the minuscule adjustment of muscles around our eye which enable it to adapt to available light. Our eyes also can see a broader dynamic range of light than our cameras. Dynamic range is the range of exposure from light to dark. We see more shades of light and dark in one view than the camera does, and sometimes when we take a photo in what we think is enough light, the camera gives us a image or makes an adjustment that surprises us. As you grow more experienced as a photographer, you will start to be more sensitive to the amount of light around you, and know the limits of what your camera can do in certain kinds of light.

I personally enjoy the challenges of different lighting, and use it as a reason to look for creative ways to exploit it in my images. To do this, I recommend learning more about shutter speed and its effects on your photos. Also, experiment with your ISO in different lighting conditions. I recently discovered that the human eye has a maximum ISO rating of about 800. Today's cameras are able to go well beyond 800 ISO, which means that cameras are now able to see more detail in the dark than you can!

Overall, keep in mind that the amount of light is always important and will always affect your photos. If you are stuck indoors, try turning on a few more lamps other lights (if you can) to get more light into a scene (you might want to ask before you do this at someone else' s house). You might also want to move your subjects near a window to get a little bit more ambient light from outside. If you are going somewhere where you know the light will be dim and you are photographing relatively stationary subjects, consider a tripod or something similar to help stabilize your camera so that you can use longer shutter speeds.

In our nex post, we are going to talk a little more about the quality of light, and how it can be used to enhance your shots.

Photography Tip # 9: Pay attention to the light

Almost every experienced photographer can tell you that if you don't pay attention to the light, your photographic experience is likely to be miserable. This is because without light, photography is impossible. In fact, the word photography literally means "light writing" or "light painting".

One of the biggest obstacles to people is to understand that light has both a quality and quantity aspect to it. It also has a direction. In order to progress in your quest to improve as a photographer, you need to understand these things. Let's break them down a little more:

Quantity: This is probably the easiest for people to understand. The more light you have, the easier it is for you and your camera to get a proper exposure. However, sometimes too much light can work against you, depending on the kind of shot you are looking at getting. For instance, a nice creamy blur in a waterfall is very difficult to achieve if you are working with lots of light, because of the risks of the exposure being too bright. It is easy to realize that pictures taken in a dark setting can be complicated and sometimes require light from other ambient sources such as lamps, flashes, etc. We will deal more specifically with tips on handling these situations in future posts.

Quality: This attribute of light is sometimes referred to as temperature or color. Light takes on a different color depending on its source and the time of day. For instance, the sunlight during a sunrise has a more pink or golden color to it, while light during a sunset will typically be more orange or red. Incandescent lights in a home normally give off a yellowish hue, while fluorescent lights can have a green or blueish tint. Back to the time of day, the sunlight during high noon tends to be more harsh and direct, resulting in lots of shadows and contrast. Many photographers try to avoid light in these hours because of the less than flattering effects the light makes.

Direction: Its always important to know where the source of light is coming from when you take your shot. Ignoring such things will end up leaving you with unexpected silhouettes of people or harsh and distracting shadows which would draw attention away from your subject. The best way to actively practice with this concept is when taking photos outside, pay attention to where the sun is in the sky. By taking note of the giant light source in the sky and also your subject's location, you will be best prepared for how to set up your shot to look the best based on this knowledge.

This post is really meant to be an introductory tip on light. There have actually been whole books published on this subject alone. The next several posts in this blog will focus on the tips in using light to your advantage in taking various kinds of photos.

Reader Feedback, and why I need your input.

One of the things that I appreciate most from blogging is the opportunity to get reader feedback on either my ideas, how I'm doing, how much I stink at it (okay, maybe I don't appreciate all the feedback), etc. The last post is a good case in point. One of my readers pointed out something I forgot to add concerning Aperture Priority mode. Here's the comment:

"I've really been enjoying your photography posts, great material! One sub-tip on Aperture Priority mode: this is a good option but, like you discussed in the "Shutter Speed" post, remember to keep an eye on the shutter speed. If the light's low, the camera will set the shutter speed too slow and your shots can end up blurry due to camera shake. You can combat this by adjusting your ISO to keep things in an acceptable range. "

This is a good tip. I'll actually add to it and say that for most cameras, you don't want your shutter speed to get too slow ever without your choice in the matter. There's a general rule that says that whatever your zoom length is, your shutter speed should be similar. Here's an example:

If you are zoomed out to 55 mm on your camera, your shutter speed should be no lower than around 1/50th or 1/60th a second. Anything slower than this might introduce blur because of camera shake. There are other factors to keep in mind, such as cropped sensor cameras, etc. But I won't get into that here. However, I'd like to thank Brock Martin of Infinet Design for the great tip and reminder.

So, as you can see, I value your input. Whether it be a photography tip, a question, or just general feedback. Keep it coming, and thanks for reading!