Review Digital Camera World 12-21-2013

Digital Camera World

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How to shift and bracket white balance: an easy method for fine-tuning colour Dec 21st 2013, 00:01, by jmeyer Looking for a simple way to manually fine-tune the colours of your pictures. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to shift and bracket the white balance to get images that look the way you want them to look. As with most camera settings, you can let the camera handle white balance for you. Your camera's Automatic White Balance (AWB) option can be relied upon to deliver accurate colours in most situations. However, there are times when it can come unstuck; low indoor lighting can be a challenge, as can situations where the light is 'filtered', such as through the green canopy of a forest. You might also take shots that would benefit from a little extra warmth or coolness, to enhance the mood, and your camera provides a couple of overrides. For instance, you can choose to 'shift' the white balance, adding or removing amber, blue, green or magenta according to taste. White balance can also be bracketed, just like exposure, to ensure you get one accurate shot. Step-by-step how to shift and bracket white balance 1. Shift and bracket Highlight the WB SHIFT/BKT option in your camera's shooting menu (it's on the second page of a Canon 7D, which we used, as shown here) and press the SET button. This reveals a grid…   2. WB correction On this grid, B is blue, A is amber, M is magenta and G is green. By moving the marker around (using the thumb stick on our 7D example), you can 'shift' the current white balance.   3. Auto bracketing Use the Quick Control wheel to dial in +/-3 levels of white balance bracketing; turn it right for a blue/amber bias or left for a magenta/green bias. Press INFO to clear all settings.   4. Warnings The white balance setting will flash on a camera's top LCD when WB auto bracketing has been activated. Note that the total number of shots remaining is reduced by a third. READ MORE Flash photography tips: external flash techniques anyone can understand Best camera focus techniques: 10 surefire ways to get sharp images Water photography: make stunning pictures of water in any environment 11 common lens errors and how you can avoid them     Abstract self-portrait photography: get creative with your camera's focus ring Dec 20th 2013, 11:00, by samanthacliffe Taking an intentionally blurry photo? It may sound sacrilege, but sometimes it can be fun to break the rules of photography. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to take an abstract self-portrait that will make you look like a genius. Which you are. The final image Generally it's fair to say that one of the key characteristics of a good photograph is that the focal point of the image is pin-sharp. It's one of the main reasons that our DSLRs come fully equipped with an armory of autofocus modes, a bunch of focus points and other cool focus-related features. SEE MORE: Master your camera’s autofocus – which AF points to use (and when to use them) Like many of the great things in life though, if you dare to challenge conventional attitudes you can sometimes come up with cool, creative and interesting results. For this project, we've decided to abandon all points of focus and delve intrepidly into a completely blurry, out-of-focus world to shoot an abstract self-portrait. It's actually not as easy as you might think. Without a focal point you're forced to think about colour, tone and form in a new way. Even if you don't like the end results, it's a great exercise in the art of seeing. Blur technique Taking inspiration from the Deep Purple Machine Head album cover and other cool contemporary pieces from the art world, we're using the out-of-focus blur technique to create a striking and haunting self-portrait. So let's see how it's done… Final tip Use the widest possible aperture to make the depth of field shallow. SEE MORE: 10 family portrait photography mistakes every photographer makes at the holidays How to shoot an intentionally blurry abstract self-portrait 1. Manual focus Switch your camera to manual focus. The degree of blur is pretty important: you need to give the impression it's a deliberate artistic choice, rather than a focus error. The intensity of abstraction will vary dramatically, so experiment with the focus ring. 2. Settings Choose a wide aperture such as f/2.8 to create a shallow depth of field: this will cut down on parts of the image appearing sharp again. Switch to manual mode (or Aperture Priority) and use the histogram to establish a decent shutter speed. SEE MORE: Histogram – photography cheat sheets for achieving perfect exposure 3. Compose Without a focus point, composition is vital, so look at how shapes, tones and colours are working in the frame. Use your camera's LCD. As we're creating a contemporary blurred take on self-portrait photography, the framing requires a bit of trial and error. READ MORE 10 common portrait photography mistakes (and how to avoid them) 14 portrait photography tips you’ll never want to forget 18 of the best-ever posing tips for group photos Annoying problems at common aperture settings (and how to avoid them) How to focus your camera for any subject or scene: free photography cheat sheet

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