While accidental blurs are a common mistake and the reason for most of us scrapping half our photographs into bins, intentional or creative blur can create wonders for an image. We tell you of the blurs that are associated in photography to the achieving the effect in Photoshop and how you can creatively use them.
Overview
Accidental blurs are often unwanted and, more than anything, spoil the shots. Surprisingly, intentional blurs make viewers think the photo was taken by a professional or a high end camera was involved. These blurs make the image look appealing and void of distractions. There are many ways of achieving perfect blurs in photography but they can be divided into two main categories—camera or lens generated and software aided. The first priority should be given to the camera or the lens and if for some reason you missed achieving a perfect blur, then you can invoke Photoshop or other photography software to do the job for you. It’s not easy to exhaust all the methods here so we will look into the most common and which one can easily use.
Statistics show that not many photographers actually went to photography schools. In India for example, only a few colleges offer a degree in photography and many of those who do offer photography as part of another major degree. With all that as our background we conclude that many photographers became what they are out of learning from others, being passionate about their work and of course experience.
Photography is a lifelong process and learning can never be saturated. Once you learn the first step, you need to keep on moving until you became a pro and beyond. Internet and books present us with loads of theoretical knowledge on various aspects of photography. But theory won’t make you a pro unless you have hands on experience of the skills you intend to sharpen. One of the best ways to do so is to give yourself assignments or projects that will challenge you to be better than you have been. Here are ten photographic assignments to hone your photographic skills.
HDR (High Dynamic Range) photographs are always amazing and at times surreal. Some feel that these photos are too good to be true while others feel they represent the real picture that is often not seen by the naked eyes. Due to its effectiveness, HDR technique has been employed in many areas of photography and design making it a must learn technique for all levels of photographers. But as debate ranges about how HDR photography is done or how effective it is, many facts have metamorphosed to myths. Read on as we bust the 21 most common myths associated with HDR photography.
How do you fill a void left by the sudden demise of a legend? When the famed and the acclaimed leave behind an incomplete repertoire of their work, it is heart breaking. Prabuddha Dasgupta was the spark that lit up Indian fashion photography on the world stage. The master lensman and one of the most recognised Indian fashion photographers passed away last Sunday aged 58. He was in the middle of a photo shoot near Mumbai.
He took refuge in photography as a shy man’s escapade. It was a medium in which he chose to communicate with the fairer kind. A few years ago, he had said to us, “For a shy person like me, photography became an easy way to meet and get to know women; something I was otherwise too reticent to do.”
While interacting with one of Asia’s finest glamour photographers Daboo Ratnani recently in Mumbai, I was impressed by the photographs he had posted on his studio walls. As I sat at the reception of his studio waiting for him to arrive, I lazily scanned the photos on the wall from a distance. At first I thought they were just normal photos of the many celebrities he had worked with but on a closer examination, I discovered that those were not ‘just’ photos but masterpieces that made him who he is today. I could not hide my admiration when I finally got to speak to him. I asked him how he managed to be such an influential photographer. His answer was simple—“I let my camera think and take it to place where many cameras don’t.”
It took me a while to decode what Daboo had told me. What he meant to say was that he creatively thinks and focuses on a different perspective to make his pictures stand out from the rest. The world around is blessed with ethereal beauty. It only takes a slight change in perception to make even the most routine things spring into life and light your image. From changing the angles you shoot at to reigniting the child-like imagination in you, we tell you how to develop your own different point of view (POV).
