Photography Zoom Effect: Racking the Lens Technique

By Affendy

A zoom effect in photography terms is where you capture an image which looks like the subject is moving either towards you or away from you with a motion kind of lines. It’s also known as racking the lens. What I’m writing today is where the effect is created or done while shooting the image through camera and not the post production techniques (in photoshop terms its call “radial blur”). During my assignments I would look for opportunities where I could apply this technique where possible just to provide more variety for my client.

3 basic steps to achieve the effect

1. Set your shutter speed to a longer exposure
2. Composed, focus and take a shot.
3. While taking the shot between when the shutter opens and actually closes, you need to zoom in or zoom out your lens.

As usual you need a lot of practice in order to be able to capture a nice zoom effect and that’s what fun about photography.

Tips to help you get better results

Choosing the shutter speed – Choose a shutter speed long enough to zoom your lens from one end to another. There is no one standard setting on your shutter speed in order to achieve the effects. There are few factors to consider. Always look on the situation at the point of your shooting.

1. Level of available lights.
2. Type of lens you are using.
3. Amount of movement of your camera or the subject

Again, always experiment with different shutter speeds and see the result. Different setting may result in different level of effect.

"Zoom Burst of Colemen Bridge" captured by Joey (Click Image to See More From Joey)

Aperture – While aperture setting is not the most critical to obtain a nice zoom effect but when using a slower shutter speeds you might have a problem in over exposed situation (depending on the overall lighting situation) as it lets more light into your camera. You can cope with the potential over exposed situation by selecting a larger aperture (large f numbers).

Zooming – To get a nice smooth motion lines in your image, you need to be able to zoom smoothly and constantly (nice smooth flow while zooming). Do not speed up at one point and later slow down at another point while zooming.

It does not matter if you either zoom in or zoom out to get the effect as zooming in on a subject will give you a different result than zooming out. Try both way and you will see the different effects.

Make use of lights – Lights can produce really spectacular effects.

On one occasion I captured a photo during a stage performance where the stage was well lighted with colourful lightings where else the foreground where the audiences are seated where dark. In this situation I fire my flash gun just enough to freeze the subjects on the foreground.

During the long exposure, I managed to freeze part of the image in this case the video crew and the audiences while getting movement behind it (in this case the stage performers) and around it.

Photo captured by Bob O'Lary (Click Image to See More From Bob O'Lary)

Hope this is a useful tip. Keep a look out for more photography tips and tutorial. Enjoy and have some fun with your camera. Remember to practice and keep practicing.

Source: PictureCorrect

Tips To Emphasize Your Subject In Photography

By Wayne Turner

When you watch a movie there is one element that never changes, a leading character. The whole movie centers around this leading player and the story is created around this subject. It is no different with a still image like a photograph. Each photo should have its lead character, called the subject, around which the image is created.

"Fort Perch Lighthouse Mono" captured by Mark Broughton (Click Image to See More From Mark Broughton)

By creating this center of interest you form a visual focal point that anchors the eye of the viewer and holds it there. Everything else is discovered by the eye in relation to this one focal point. How the eye moves into the rest of the image is determined by this point. So in order for you to create a successful image you need to emphasize the subject. This is done in one of several ways, so let’s take a look.

1. Get in closer

When you get in really close to the subject it starts to fill the whole frame and the eye can no longer miss the subject and the subject is emphasized. It powerfully directs your attention to the subject as there is nothing else in the image to compete with it. It is a simple but dramatic emphasis of a subject. Use your feet more often when shooting and you will see just how dynamic the resulting images are.

2. Get further away

This may not seem a great idea in order to emphasize your subject. Picture this. The subject is a light house and there is an azure blue sky reflected in an ocean topped by white foam. The bold red and white lighthouse on the horizon is in stark contrast to the blue of the sky and ocean. It may not fill the image but it still dominates the scene in relation to the rest of it. Placed in the correct position it becomes even more striking.

3. Selective focus

Using a small aperture to control the depth of field, or depth of focus, lifts the subject out of a background that is now blurred by the very shallow depth of field. With the background details now blurred the subject stands out against it in clear focus. This simplifies the images and cause all attention to be focused on the subject.

"Ladybug on a car roof" captured by jacques gautreau (Click Image to See More From jacques gautreau)

4. Subject placement

By placing your subject off center it creates a very pleasing image to the eye. Called the rule of thirds, discovered by the Greeks and used by artists for thousands of years it adds a dynamic element to your photo. Imagine a noughts and crosses or tic-tac-toe grid over the scene. Where the two horizontal lines intersect with the two vertical lines is where you place your subject thereby emphasizing it to great effect.

5. Simplify your backgrounds

By placing the subject on simple, plain single colour background there is no doubt as to which is the subject. Making sure that the colour of your subject and the background contrast with each causes the subject to be clearly emphasized. You may need to change your viewpoint or angle of view in order to exclude clutter and keep the background simple. Remember that less is more and the KISS principle applies here.

The key to a great a photographs is a clear subject. Knowing where to place it in a photograph as you learn digital photography, allows you to emphasize the subject to great effect with stunning photo results. Happy shooting!

"lone tree" captured by paul Robertson (Click Image to See More From paul Robertson)

Source: Picture Correct

10 Tips For Taking Great Cityscape Photos

By Rueben Hird

"Cat Street" captured by AlwynL (Click Image to See More From AlwynL)

Cities are not only home to many people’s homes, businesses and offices but they also full of energy, power and vitality. There are many things that make a city great and capturing the true essence of a city in one single photograph is a very hard thing to do.

The main thing that encapsulates and defines a city can actually differ depending on the time of the day and even the season. During the morning cities can look peaceful and calm, whilst during the evening or nighttime they can come alive with activity and purpose.

Most of the people that call the a particular city home don’t take the time to stop and marvel at the magnificent landmarks and sights that make their own home city such a wonderful place to be a part of. A really good city photograph not only shows off the majestic buildings in the heart of the city centre, but should also showcase some of the more enthralling aspects and delights that day to day city life has to offer.

1. Choose an Interesting Subject – Make sure you have an interesting subject for the photo, either in the middle section of the photo or in the foreground.

2. Have a Mix of Foreground & Background – Ensure that you have a good mix of interesting foreground and background areas in the entire photo.

3. Leave Room to Crop – When you are framing up the photo in the viewfinder make sure that there is some room around the edge of the photo to crop the final image.

4. Use a Level Tripod – Before taking the photo make sure that you use a level tripod so that the horizon is straight. Even though you can fix this up later in photoshop it is easier to do it right in the first place to save yourself the hassle.

5. Keep the Sun Behind You – Try and keep the sun behind you so that you get the most amount of light on your the city and the sky has a brilliant blue look to it.

6. Choose the Right Time of Day – Try to take photos as early or as late as possible in the day, as these times generally give the best light and produce more shadows and detail on your photos.

7. Use the Correct Exposure – When setting the exposure for a photo make your reading based on the brightest part of the photo so that there is no overexposure.

"paris" captured by abeer (Click Image to See More From abeer)

8. Use a Timer or Remote – Always use a timer or remote control to take the photo so that there is not any camera shake caused by you when you depress the photo button.

9. Use a Polarizing Filter – On your SLR camera use a polarizing filter to remove the light reflections that bounce of building windows and metal objects.

10. Buy in a Good Lens – In order to get the best from your SLR camera invest in a good quality lens. They may be expensive but it will be well worth the money.

By using all of the above tips you are sure to see a noticeable improvement in any photos that you take of city building or skylines. Not only will your city photos will clearer and more well defined, but they will also has a wide spectrum of color, which is the sign of a great photo.

"shtil" captured by Raluca Mateescu (Click Image to See More From Raluca Mateescu)

Source: Picture Connect