Steve 21 has an interesting trick for finding good available light: he places a marble in his hand to simulate what the light would look like on a human face:
Just hold a fist in front of you (like holding a telescope), tuck the marble just under your forefinger, and there you have it – the same lighting an eye would get.
And since you know you want the catchlights to be up at 1 to 2 o’clock, or up high at 12 o’clock, simply turn about until you see the catchlights you want.
The neat thing is that the curves and wrinkles of your hand show you the amount of contrast and backlight.
Black marbles: the latest must-have item in any beginning photographer’s camera bag.
Reading a camera’s user manual is a great way to become familiar with all of its features and functions, but what if you don’t have the patience to sit down and chew through it? Here’s a strange but useful trick for making sure you read the manual thoroughly: put it in the bathroom. By placing it in a place where you’re desperate for things to read, you’ll slowly work your way through it and understand your camera more without having to take a chunk out of your busy day!
Here’s a helpful 22-page guide by National Geographic that explains many of the basic concepts of photography, from lens types to composition. It’s a free excerpt taken from the 400-page book “National Geographic Ultimate Field Guide to Photography“, and is a great read for anyone just starting out.
Here’s a beautifully designed cheat sheet by Miguel Yatco that you can use to introduce people to the fundamental concepts in photography. You can also order it as a poster for your wall over on Zazzle.
Online SLR Camera Simulator is a neat flash app that helps teach the fundamentals of using an SLR camera by letting you tweak different variables and settings, then showing you what the resulting photograph would look like. It’s a great way for any beginner to become more familiar with a camera’s controls, though nothing beats going out and practicing by taking real photos — though this app would have been a lifesaver before the digital era.
This past Monday, Japanese lens corp Tamron launched a new 12 week video series on their YouTube channel geared towards helping beginners understand their equipment. Each video is 1 minute long, and will cover topics such as white balance, RAW vs. JPEG, and more. Once this introductory series is complete, they plan on posting intermediate and advanced videos as well.
If you just got a DSLR and would like to be brought up-to-speed for a minute a week, then this might be a YouTube channel to subscribe to.
