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Artist

The Nine to Five Artist in Every Profession

The 9 to 5 job schedule inherently creates a monotony in life. People are so much engrossed in their busy lives that they have forgotten the real artist in them, the real creative soul. This article is for those, who are in their regular 9 to 5 jobs, but somewhere deep down inside, they are unsatisfied. Since technology is one big change in today’s world, it is the job of many of us to sit in front of a computer screen all day and living virtual lives.

They say art doesn’t go along well with the science. It is not like they don’t get along. It is just like, they are so different from each other. One is emotions driven and the other one is logic driven. If you put all your time in one thing, obviously the other one will get suppressed.

Art doesn’t go along well with the science. It is not like they don’t get along. It is just like, they are so different from each other. If you put all your time in one thing, obviously the other one will get suppressed.

Hidden Artist? Why should I care

There is so much struggle for the livelihood that people don’t get time to do anything apart from the work. The creator didn’t create us to do monotonous work, society did. We all are creative by nature.

The creator didn’t create us to do monotonous work, society did.

Art is something which triggers feelings and emotions, enhances them. It connects you with the real beauty of the world. It is out of any logic and reasoning. Being artistic is the way of living life creatively, experimenting with something new, expressing your emotions via various ways like music, doing something which gives you inner satisfaction. If you are settled in your life and have become financially stable, I guess you have figured out by now that money does not provide the real happiness. Get creative and you will find out how many possible ways are there to diverge and move your life forward. The artist in you finds out that the world is actually not that bad. You’ll find life beautiful, and moreover, you will have something interesting to indulge in other than the basic life schedule.

What should I do about it and how

First of all, don’t leave your job 🙂 It is not about pursuing an art career and becoming an artist by profession. Just find one thing where you can create something, implement an idea, express your emotions and your perspective without saying anything. Many choose painting, drawings, photography, music, dance etc as ways of expressing their emotions. Whereas a whole lot of them find themselves getting artistic even in small things like cooking and writing. The real sense here is not a profession, it is more about trying something different and expanding boundaries of your thoughts. People even become artistic with their regular work.

The Artist

The Artist

All you have to do is, to do something which gives you happiness. Well, everybody says that, but we don’t know where to start, right? Here are few things you should try to find out what you are passionate about:

  • Spend some time alone, take a walk, try a solo travel. That will give you some time to think and analyse on what do you want to do.
  • Visit some art galleries, music concerts, dance classes and get inspired about doing something extracurricular.
  • Start doing something, moreover finish something you started. Many people try something and leave it in between. Don’t do that, try to finish it. Sometimes, the result inspires you the most.
  • Be brave to try new ideas. If you want to learn something new. Make a schedule of doing it regularly and stick to it.
  • Share your work with the world. Post it on the internet and write about it. Don’t underestimate the worth of your creation. Just share it regardless of someone likes it or not.

My Story

I am a software engineer by profession, specifically a programmer. My life was stuck in the black and white screen of code. Though I was able to produce incredible results, there was something which started to degrade within me, the creativity. That was when I started to learn photography. It was not like I didn’t love programming. It was my passion, it still is. But I started something for my peace of mind, as a hobby, photography & travelling.
I found fun in clicking pictures since my childhood, so I just started learning how to take good photographs. It has been around 5 years since I started photography. Used to learn it during free time especially on weekends. Though on weekdays, I still do regular work like everybody does.

Photographer cum Traveller

Photographer cum Traveller

Photography and travel are something which has made my life a lot more interesting. I found a lot of change in myself because of this. Life seemed more balanced than ever before. Started seeing a lot more aspects to it. The best thing happened was, it even increased my interest in my regular job. I became little creative with my work too.
Music is something which also stimulates my emotions. I don’t have a singing soul, but I love to listen to instrumentals. So recently, I started learning piano. An extra skill doesn’t hurt, right?

Conclusion

It is about ecstasy, doing something not for earning, but for flourishing your inner wellbeing. It is a great way to spice up your dull life. You learn to value your life and start being grateful for everything you have. Practising any form of art makes you a better person each day. There is something for everybody which stimulates the inner mind, be it paintings, books, music, theatre, acting. Whatever it is, take the first step into it and you’ll find out the way. One doesn’t need to see the whole staircase to take the first step. Sometimes, it is just fine to be ignorant of the rest of the path. Many of us usually start something new after analyzing in detail. That is just over thinking. Which never lets you take the first step. So think, but do not over think.

One doesn’t need to see the whole staircase to take the first step. Sometimes, it is just fine to be ignorant of the rest of the path.

Cover photo by Anurag Gupta

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16 Hour Photography Project – How it helps

We all love to photograph. Most of the amateur photographers start with grabbing the camera and clicking random subjects. Which is fine, but then there is the next level to it. Photographing randomly without any direction doesn’t help you become a better photographer because you remain in your comfort zone and click what comes to you. To take photography to the next level, one must start with photography projects. That gives a proper direction to photography.

A project can be anything, shooting one subject from different angles, shooting a specific color, only portraits etc. Basically, a theme to stick to. That helps in brainstorming and eventually, your photography will improve.
So I assigned myself a project: 16 Hour Photography Project. The aim was simple, to go out and click continuously for 16 hours, a whole day, early morning till late night.

The 16 Hour Photography Project

The plan was simple, to get up and leave home at 6 AM and come back at night, decided my itinerary for photography in Delhi. I was already ready with my plan for the next day which included:

  1. Chandni Chowk for street photography in early morning
  2. Red Fort
  3. Back to Chandni chowk for street photography & breakfast
  4. Humayun Tomb
  5. Hauz Khas Village
  6. Delhi hat in evening

Gear I carried was a Nikon D750 with lens Nikon 24-120mm f4 and Honor 8 Mobile Phone.
It is better if you make a list of few ideas you want to photograph and constantly keep looking for them. That will give you better results from the project. For instance, I was constantly looking for Patterns, Contrasts, Shadows, Colors etc.

The Execution

I woke up early and left home by 6 AM and reached Chandni Chowk in an hour. It is the best place for street photography in Delhi (Have a look at my street photographs). The best time to photograph the streets of Chandni Chowk is early morning as it gets crowded during the day.

16 hour photography project

Street food of Chandni Chowk, Delhi

Portrait, Red Fort, Delhi

Portrait, Red Fort, Delhi

Red Fort, Delhi

Red Fort, Delhi

 

After spending a couple of hours at Chandni Chowk, I had some delicious street food. Then I headed towards the Red Fort, which is just next to Chandni Chowk. You can either walk to it or take a rickshaw. I spent qualitative time at the Red Fort photographing its architecture, gardens, squirrels and took some rest in the shade of trees.
After that, I took a cab to Humayun Tomb, which is one of the most beautiful places of its kind in India. If you are in Delhi, You would certainly not want to miss this place even if you are not a photographer. I stayed there for 4 hours.

Namaz, Humayun Tomb

Namaz, Humayun Tomb

Chandni Chowk

Chandni Chowk

Humayun Tomb

Humayun Tomb

Colors at delhi haat

Colors at delhi haat

 

In the evening around 4, I left for Hauz Khas Village. Humayun tomb and Hauz Khas, both are located in south Delhi. So it didn’t take much time to reach there. Hauz Khas is famous for its lake, the fort and the delicious food & drinks which the nearby restaurants offer.
From Hauz Khas, I visited the Delhi Hat. I just used my mobile phone for shooting Delhi Hat as I wanted to test the low light capabilities of Honor 8. After having dinner in Delhi hat, I took a cab and came back home.

How it Helps

In 16 Hour Photography Project, You dedicate one whole day to photography, nothing else to do other than this. Just take some good sleep a night before and you’ll be fine. The way it helps is you are concentrating only on photography. You are not in a hurry to go back or do anything else. If you are a hobbyist, it helps you to continue the photography at a good pace. So if you haven’t picked up the camera in the recent times, this project will help you get started again with a good headstart. One important aspect you’ll notice is, getting up before sunrise and ending after sunset will let you see all different shades of light in one single day. You will get to observe all kind of possibilities for photography, Softlight, Hardlight, Shadows, Sunrise & Sunset all in one shot. Exciting, isn’t it?

If you feel tired, take some rest, grab some snack and get started again. Some things you won’t notice during the session. But, when you’ll start reviewing the images, you’ll realize how good you were with the frames, light, composition etc. You can also try the same itinerary again after few days. Then compare the photographs between both sessions, you’ll see an improved photographer in You!

Tips for this project

  1. Try to do this project over a weekend, preferably Saturday. In that case, you’ll have a whole next day to relax and to review your photographs.
  2. Don’t carry heavy gear, that will be a burden more than fun. Travel light, wear comfortable shoes, keep a water bottle and a pair of shades.
  3. It will be also good if you have someone to accompany you during the session. My wife accompanied me and we spent some good time together and I got my personal subject to photograph at different places 😉

Please share your experiences of such projects in the comment box.

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Varanasi

My first experience as solo traveler, when I found a companion in myself

I have been traveling in groups until now. Primary purpose of traveling was usually photography. But this was the first time I planned to go out on my own. I recently completed my first solo trip to Varanasi, India. So I am going to share my first experience as a solo traveler. At first, it was a little scary to plan alone. A lot of things came to mind; what if I get into any trouble, what if I feel bored, what if it fails? But I was fed up of making plans with groups, last minute cancellation of plans, changes in itinerary. Decisions are more collaborative, you share the responsibilities. You’ll do this, I’ll do that. If anything goes wrong, somebody always got your back. This time, there was a lot more to it than just photography or even the place.

Evening aarti in Varanasi dashashwamedh ghat

Evening aarti in Varanasi dashashwamedh ghat

The Freedom

There are times in everybody’s life where the person struggles with finding significance to his life. A lot of questions starts confusing the mind. Such thing happens when you don’t want to be bound by limits of human life. You don’t want to live life in the way most of the people around are living, that is the time you start searching for answers from different sources especially books. But nothing really gives you the answers, because you want to figure out answers to your own relevance. A similar thing was happening with me from the last couple of months, where I was feeling restless all the time. The monotony of the life has begun to bug me slowly.

It is about discovering who you are when nobody is looking.

I understand, more you travel, more clarity you get with your life with the experiences of traveling. So to break the monotony of the life, I planned to travel. I was not in a mood to convince anybody else to go out with me. Moreover, I was interested in trying something new, not the usual traveling, so I thought, let’s travel solo. As a solo traveler, being totally responsible for yourself, it’s inevitable that you will discover how capable you are.

Without the presence of family and friends who expect you to act in a certain way, you can be yourself more than what you are at any other time. In other words, it is about discovering who you are when nobody is looking at you.

The Experience

The experience was just awesome. More than anything else, I won’t be wrong if I call this a self-realization kind of experience. Traveling alone was not about the loneliness, it was more about finding out how good you are with your own company. I didn’t choose to stay in a hotel. There was one hostel I found in Varanasi, a place called Zostel. I stayed there for three days. It was my first experience in a hostel. Never knew how it would be, but honestly, if you are not looking for a luxurious trip, a hostel is the best way to experience things. You get to meet a lot of new people there.

Zostel Cafe

Zostel Cafe

It was a welcoming experience when I stepped in the hostel. Quite different. In just a few hours, I started getting to know people. And then, we had long conversations on different topics all night long. Conversations full of laughter and mindfulness. In those conversations, eventually, there are answers hidden to your questions. Sometimes, we call those as experiences as well. The second thing, you start realizing things you are good at or the things you lack at. You’ll start realising how you stand out in the world. After all, that is the beauty of meeting new people from different cultures and countries.

Then comes exploring the place/city alone. When you travel with a group of friends, the agenda of the group gets more priority than your own. But when you are a solo traveler, even if you make new friends, your personal agenda is still a priority. Even with those friends, you are still independent. So here, choose to explore the place alone, but it also feels nice if you explore some part of the place along with the new friends as well. Exploring the place alone will result in you talking to local guys more deeply when you connect with them, you’ll realize how many misconceptions you had about other cultures. So there is a lot of scope to understand how things work in different places.

Boating in Varanasi

Boating in Varanasi

Varanasi Boating

Boating in Varanasi

 

In a nutshell…

For me, it was a lovely experience. I can’t wait to travel solo again soon.

I’d say, to those who never traveled alone, They should give it a chance. You never know what you will find out about yourself and reveal the hidden self-confidence unintentionally. You never know what beautiful experiences you’ll take back. However, you start getting answers to the questions you struggle with. So there are hundreds of opportunities. This is something which can get you what you are looking for.

Moreover, you’ll have at least one more life story to share with your children 😉

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12 Places, 12 Months – My 2014 Travelogue in a glimpse

Year 2014 was one of the most interesting years of my life till date. From January to December, I visited a lot of different places around India. From some metro cities to some rare and lifeless lands, some malls of big cities to ruined forts and some cities like Kargil, history to which have become an unforgotten part for every Indian. I used best of my senses to capture these places which can represent the best sense of that place. While writing this blog and choosing best of the pictures, I was wondering whether I was really lucky to visit these beautiful places and witness these from dawn to dusk, or it was just a dream. That is the best part I like in photography.

So here I present my “2014 Travelogue”, the 12 most beautiful places I visited in last 12 months:

1. Auli, Uttarakhand

Nature at its best

Auli, Uttarakhand

On the banks of River Ganges

2. Jaipur, Rajasthan

Jaipur, one of my favorite cities in India, which I never get bored of. This place has always something new to offer in every season.

Night view of Jal Mahal, Jaipur

Night view of Jal Mahal, Jaipur

Hawa Mahal, Jaipur

Hawa Mahal, Jaipur

3. Srinagar and Kargil, Jammu & Kashmir

Dal Lake, Srinagar

Dal Lake, Srinagar

Kargil

Kargil

4. Leh-Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir

Ladakh

Ladakh

Pangong Tso, Ladakh

Pangong Tso, Ladakh

5. Mandawa and Fatehpuri, Rajasthan

Portrait of a Indian Lady

Portrait of an Indian Lady

An abandoned stepwell

6. Mumbai, Maharashtra

Gateway of India, Mumbai

Gateway of India, Mumbai

Street view, Mumbai

Street view, Mumbai

7. Bhangarh, Rajasthan

A fort, or rather we should say “The Fort” is located around 70km from Jaipur, but no direct route. This place has certain superstitions attached to it. It is still a mystery what lies on this place for which this is  also known as one of the world’s most haunted places.

Ruins of Bhangarh Fort

Ruins of Bhangarh Fort

Ruins of Bhangarh Fort

Ruins of Bhangarh Fort

8. Delhi

Delhi, the capital city of India.It has a long history attached to it. We have almost endless opportunities for capturing photographs and knowing it better. You’ll always find something new. I’ve spent most of my time in Delhi, and I found it to be more interesting with Old Delhi area like Chandni Chowk. That place has a feeling left of a typical India, so much, as you can smell it while entering it 🙂
So if you are interested in street photography, It will be worthy to checkout Delhi at least once a lifetime.

Humayun tomb, Delhi

Humayun tomb, Delhi

Jama Masjid on Eid, Delhi

Jama Masjid on Eid, Delhi

9. Udaipur, Rajasthan

A simple and small, yet a wonderful place. I was very much impressed by its beauty. Udaipur is known for its lakes, and its cultural offerings.

Lake view at morning, Udaipur

Lake view at morning, Udaipur

Night view, Udaipur

Night view, Udaipur

10. Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow, the city of nawabs. It was quite Interesting to explore this city, especially because of its food taste. Apart from photography, I loved the city for the food it offered, and of course, the hospitality.

Ambedkar Memorial, Lucknow

Ambedkar Memorial, Lucknow

Bada Imambara, Lucknow

Bada Imambara, Lucknow

11. Kila Raipur, Punjab

A lesser known place to many of us. Rural Olympics are organized in Kila Raipur in February every year. Just hold your breath while visiting this place because this place has something to offer which you might have not seen in your lifetime.

Rural olympics, Kila Raipur

Rural olympics, Kila Raipur

12. Nainital, Uttarakhand

Night view of Nainital

Night view of Nainital

A city in clouds, Nainital

A city in clouds, Nainital

 

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Dedicated to photographers – The best Canon commercial

Dedicated to photographers – The best canon commercial

Dedicated to all photographers – The best canon commercial. Those who took risks of injury or even life just for getting better pictures

5 Things you probably didn’t know about your DSLR

IMG_1338-2When you start photography, you learn a lot of features in the initial phase of learning. About shutter speed, aperture, ISO, White balance etc. Then all of a sudden, the learning stops or slows down. Why so? The reason is, after a certain level of understanding, most of the amateurs tend more towards just framing. But there are some features which remain unlearned by many amateurs. This post discusses the powerful but less used features of a DSLR.

5 Things you probably didn’t know about your DSLR

I will be discussing the importance and usability of the features in this post, not how to enable and use these in your camera. Because there are different ways of using them in different camera brands. Please refer to your camera manual for detailed steps of using them.

1. Back Button Focusing

Back button focusing is one of the most wonderful features. As we all know, the camera focuses on the subject when the shutter is pressed half way down. And when the shutter is pressed in full, it takes the shot. Enabling back button focusing makes it so that shutter button doesn’t control the focusing at all. Instead it assigns a dedicated button for focusing. And then, the shutter button is just for clicking. This is really useful when you have to take a lot of shots, but you know the focus is not going to change for every shot. With Back Button Focusing, you can set the focus once and take many shots as you want without refocusing again and again. An another useful example is when you focused anything and you are about to take the shot. Something suddenly comes between the camera and the subject. At that moment, the camera changes the focus. But if you are using the Back button focusing, no matter what happens, the focus remains fixed until or unless you want it to change.

2. Exposure Lock

Exposure lock, if used properly, it can save a lot of time and give good results. It does exactly what it says. It reads the exposure from one frame and locks the exposure. And you use that locked exposure reading to click the picture of any other frame. This feature is useful when the area you are trying to capture has a dynamic range, and the light meter is easily confused. Consider the following example.

exposurelock

The image on the left is without exposure lock. It overexposed the highlights and showed some shadow details. But I didn’t want the shadow details. I wanted the details in highlights. So I took the camera outside, locked the exposure and then moved back inside. Then I took the shot. In that process, the camera used the exposure reading of the highlight area. ( the similar result is quite possible by using spot metering in this example. But this is just an example. Exposure lock and spot metering are different things. You can achieve many different results which you can’t by spot metering)

3. Custom White Balance

Setting up White balance is one of the important decisions we have to make while taking a photograph. The entire look and feel of the photo depend upon that. Many of us still use the AWB (Auto white balance). Before moving to custom white balance, let me tell you, stop using AWB. It is just crap. You should try other white balance options like Shade or tungsten with some test shots and see how that affects the picture. You’ll get far better results than AWB .
Custom white balance is one of the custom options in your camera. With a little practice, if used correctly, custom white balance can give you brilliant results. Simple words of defining Custom White Balance is, It lets you capture the colors the way they look to you in reality. You know the camera is not intelligent enough, it neutralises the colors. The colors you look in reality, AWB gets you something different in the picture. For setting up a custom white balance, you will be needing a calibrator for this, a gray card (or a white paper will do, but a gray card will get you more precise results). Now, most of you will say that we can adjust white balance and color correct the picture while post processing. But the question is, how will you remember the colors of the subject later.
Following example shows the difference between an auto white balance and custom white balance

custom_white_balance

4. DOF (Depth of field) Preview

Depth of field is a common term to a photographer. It is the amount of distance between the nearest and farthest objects that appear in acceptably sharp focus in a photograph. Unfortunately, we cannot directly see the depth of field before taking the shot. That is where the DOF Preview comes into action. In almost every modern DSLR, we have a DOF Preview button. For many amateur photographers, this button does nothing but making viewfinder dark. But there is more on that. When you press the button, you will see a preview of areas in focus and areas out of focus. It saves time, because when you care about DOF in a picture. You can see the preview instantly in just one button press, rather than taking a lot of shots and deciding which is the one you need.

5. Flash Compensation

A lot of amateurs think that on board flash is just a piece of crap. Well, this is not true. Something is always better than nothing. You just have to know how to use it properly. Flash compensation is similar to exposure compensation. Like exposure compensation compensate the exposure. Flash compensation is a way to compensate the power of flash. It is fairly easy to use. You can increase or decrease the power of flash so that you will get the exact amount of flash light you need. Once you understand this. You’ll know how to use flash effectively.

These were few important features which are less used by most of the amateurs. But once understood, you’ll be one step closer to being a pro. I will be coming up with detailed articles on individual features soon.

100 Things I have learned about Photography

Since I started photography few years ago. I have learned different things about it. Which I am going to share with you. I hope you will find these interesting and inspiring. Here are the 100 things I have learned about Photography.

100 Things I have learned about Photography

  1. A pen to a poet, a camera to a photographer.
  2. Always shoot in RAW, Always.
  3. Megapixels don’t matter.
  4. Do not put big watermarks on your pictures. It distracts the viewer. Try a smaller one.HDR_IMG_9607_HDR
  5. Photography helps you see the world differently.
  6. Travel and Photography are a perfect pair.
  7. Do not go out for a shoot empty stomach.
  8. There is no magic camera or lens.
  9. Turning any uninteresting picture into B&W doesn’t make it interesting.
  10. It takes time to become a good photographer, there is no shortcut to it.
  11. Don’t be afraid of getting dirty.
  12. Rule of third works most of the times.
  13. Being a photographer is cool.
  14. Your first 10,000 pictures are your worst – Henry Cartier.
  15. Photography is never a waste of time.
  16. Find your own style of photography.
  17. Do not pick all of your gear with you while shooting.
  18. Grain is beautiful.
  19. More photos you take,  the better you get.
  20. Learn from your mistakes
  21. Slider_IMG_2269_HDR-2Candid is better than posed.
  22. Print your pictures big, it makes you feel happy.
  23. Shoot for you, not anyone else.
  24. Great photographers don’t care what you shoot with. They care about your vision, not the camera.
  25. Zoom with your feet, not with your phone [Phone camera].
  26. Turn on Flight mode for distraction free shooting [Phone camera].
  27. Join a Photography club.
  28. Never compare your skills with anyone else in better or worse context.
  29. Prime lens helps you become a better photographer.
  30. Everything just looks better with 50mm prime Lens.
  31. Do not photograph the beggars in street photography.
  32. Start a Photoblog
  33. Don’t treat your camera like your kid, treat it like somebody else’s kid :).
  34. Clean your camera after every photo shoot.
  35. UV filters work just as well as lens caps.
  36. Think about a good caption for a photograph. It makes it more interesting.
  37. Portrait with Bokeh makes it more beautiful.
  38. Mobile phone camera is still a camera.
  39. You don’t need to photograph everything.
  40. HDR is an art, not just post processing.
  41. These days everyone is a photographer.
  42. Travel light.
  43. Do not shoot everything you see, some things are just meant to feel.
  44. Best lens is the one which you left at home. 🙂
  45. If you like someone’s photo, describe what you like. “Nice Shot” is not a useful comment.
  46. A noisy picture is better than blurry one.
  47. Enjoy the scene, not just capture it.
  48. Learn to setup custom white balance because you can’t remember the colors.
  49. Don’t take your DSLR to parties.
  50. Alcohol and photography don’t mix well.
  51. Soft light is the best light.
  52. Don’t pamper your camera, use and abuse it.
  53. If a photograph isn’t shared or printed, it is technically never taken.
  54. Compose more, hit the shutter less.
  55. Share your pictures on social sites, it helps you become a better photographer and become more social.
  56. Sometimes you just have to capture a moment, you don’t have to worry about the details, sometimes!
  57. Like and spend time on looking at other’s work also. Do not always expect others to look at your pictures.
  58. Show only the best of your work.Varanasi_IMG_2924
  59. Post processing is a part of photography.
  60. Start photography projects. Setting up goals help you become a better photographer.
  61. Often Learn about technical details.
  62. Learn to read Histogram.
  63. Always remember what brought you to photography.
  64. You will discover a lot about yourself through your Photography.
  65. Always have at least two backups of your pictures. Investing in storage device is much  better than losing your work.
  66. Do not tell anyone that you Photoshop your images. Just tell them you do some optimizations.
  67. Taking photographs of strangers is thrilling.
  68. It is always better to underexpose than overexpose.
  69. Photoshop cannot turn bad photos into good ones.
  70. Be original in your style of photography. Do not copy the style of others.
  71. Any cameras but black ones draw too much attention.
  72. Good self portraits are harder to take than they seem.
  73. Don’t be afraid to take photos in the rain.
  74. Always keep a camera rain cover with you.
  75. Write tips about photography. More you write, more you will learn.
  76. Visit a place again and again. light is not same every time.
  77. Criticize honestly but respectfully.
  78. Participate in photocontests.
  79. Read books about photography.
  80. Do not pack your camera before you leave the place.
  81. Search for a mentorRandomness_IMG_0037
  82. Do not fear the manual mode.
  83. Programmed auto mode isn’t just for beginners.
  84. Read the camera manual. Normally, it has more than enough you need to know about your camera.
  85. There will be people who will not like your work
  86. There will be people who will not like what you are doing.
  87. Do not go out for photography with someone who doesn’t like photography.
  88. Pay attention to the whole picture, not just the subject.
  89. Be a part of scene while taking a photo.
  90. Put your photos on your blog, not just a social network. They could disappear any day.
  91. Never trust your LCD.
  92. Expect the unexpected.
  93. Shoot as often as possible.
  94. Get feedback from your partner.
  95. Keep your camera clean.
  96. Share your photography secrets. No one can steal your personal vision.
  97. The best camera is one you know how to use.
  98. An honest comment is worth a 100 likes.
  99. While shooting, pay attention to the corners of the viewfinder.
  100. Write your own list.

Histogram and LCD – The matter of Trust

The article is about Histograms and how to read them. The histogram is one of the most useful tools in the world of photography and often the most misunderstood. A histogram is a tool which guides us to evaluate the exposure of a picture. Understanding Histogram makes a big difference between an amateur photographer and an advanced one. So once you understand and start using this, you’ll be one step closer to being an advanced photographer.

Histogram_WP_20131011_004

 

Can’t just we use the LCD like always?

Yes, you can. After all , Histograms don’t replace your eyes and experience. But in some situations, you cannot rely upon LCD. The issue with LCDs is, they can’t be trusted. There are two reasons. First, you can misread the exposure of an image in certain situations like in bright sunlight. Secondly, changing the brightness of your LCD screen can cause you to misread the exposure.

One important thing is, you cannot be sure if there are details missing in a picture due to overexposure or underexposure just by looking at the LCD. So the question is which one to trust, LCD or Histogram? I’ll say the combination of both. Use Histogram as a guide, and eyes for the experience of picture.

Histogram and How to Read it

There are many complex definitions for it. But I’ll make it simple for you. It is a graph showing the brightness distribution. In other words, a graph which counts the number of pixels at each level of brightness. Didn’t understand this, don’t worry, who cares about the definition :). All we care about is the usage. A typical histogram is shown below.

diagram

The far left is the dark or pure black, called Shadows, and far right is bright, or pure white called Highlights. And area in middle is called Midtones.
If an image is underexposed, the pixels in the graph will be concentrated towards the left.
If an image is overexposed, the pixels in the graph will be concentrated towards the right.
And a correctly exposed image is the one in which the graph is spread all over, not concentrated towards any end.
Here are few examples.
Histogram for an underexposed image will look like the following image

underexposed

You’ll see the graph moved towards the left end, that means there are more dark pixels and fewer bright pixels. In other words, it is underexposed.
An example of overexposed image
overexposed
Opposite to the previous image, the graph is leaning towards the right end, that means there are more bright pixels, or it is overexposed.
So how does the balanced or nicely exposed image looks like

Balanced

 

I annotated the picture just to make clear which area represents which part of the histogram.

Keypoints while reading histograms

Well, if you are still not confident much about reading the histogram, I’ll make it little more simpler. Here are some keypoints to keep in mind while reviewing a histogram.

  1. If a histogram is leaning towards the left or if there is a big gap between the end of the histogram and far right, the picture is underexposed.
  2. If a histogram is leaning towards right or there is a big gap between the far left end and the start of the histogram, that means the picture is overexposed.
  3. If you find the graph being clipped off from either end, that means there are some details missing. Either due to overexposure or underexposure, depending upon the area being clipped off.

And if you find incorrect exposure, there are ways to correct it. One of them is exposure compensation. I’ll be shortly coming up with an article on that.
If you keep these three keypoints in mind, these will work, most of the times. Remember, the histogram is just a guide, not a master. There is no hard & fast rule for beautiful pictures. This is just a tool which can help us to evaluate the exposure in conditions where we cannot rely upon LCD screens.

Should we stick to it?

No, not at all. Photography is about breaking the rules (after knowing them). So consider this as a helper. But you don’t have to stick with it. Because sometimes, you want to get some pictures whose histogram can’t be perfect. I’ll show you an example

tajmahal

This picture doesn’t have a perfect histogram, but still, it is beautiful. You know why.

Conclusion

Understanding histogram will add one more skill to get good pictures. There is no perfect graph in histograms which can get you the best picture in the world. Histograms are just a guide which can help you better evaluate the picture. And you become one step closer to being a Pro. I’ll be shortly coming up with a new article on more advanced details, Color Histograms.

Please leave a feedback and share it if you found this helpful.

20 Reasons not to date a Photographer

In conjunction to my previous post 20 Reasons to date a Photographer, here is the next post on “20 Reasons not to date a photographer”.
Dating a photographer is not easy. Here are the 20 reasons you should know before proposing or accepting proposal from a photographer.

Here are the 20 Reasons not to date a Photographer

1. They do not care about Rules

Photographers are known for their habit of breaking rules. Trespassing to any abandoned building or any restricted area is not rare. They often put themselves in a situation, realizing later that they are not supposed to do that.

2. They don’t travel light

So if you ask them to bring their camera along, you are asking them to bring his Tripod, Flash, Cleaners and few additional lenses with them.

3. They are control freaks

Getting a portrait from them is not easy. They will try to control you, your gestures, face expressions and pretty much everything. Because every minor detail matters, and asking for one portrait means 10 different portraits.

4. They are too honest about your looks

Well, do not expect any photographer boyfriend or girlfriend for an insincere compliment, not even to make you feel happy. They are way too honest about what they think of your looks. So if they says that you look fat or your hairs look dull, they really mean it!

5. Romantic sunsets will not be romantic anymore

The non-photographer sighs and says, “Ah, this is so beautiful”
The photographer sighs and says, “F/8 at 1/8th of a second”

6. You’ll never enjoy fresh cooked meals

That is because they will spend initial 10 minutes for getting the right shot of it. After all, every photographer begins its career as a food photographer.

7. They will be annoyed , if your friend compliments the camera they own, not their photography skills

So you’ll often hear the words “Camera doesn’t matter” from them

8. If you use Auto mode, they will laugh at you.

Try programmed auto mode instead 🙂

9. They won’t be in most of your family and vacation pictures

You’ll have a hard time to prove you both were on a vacations together because they’ll be clicking most of pictures without being themselves in front of the camera.

10. Your have to be extra careful about handling their gear

Or you owe them thousands of dollars if you accidentally break their stuff.

11. If they are looking deep into your eyes, don’t be fooled.

They are probably thinking about the best angle.

12. They are weird and dirty.

They won’t think twice about lying down on ground when it comes to taking a shot, and they won’t care how they behave when they have a camera in hand.

20Reasons_IMG_6614

13. They will often put you in awkward situations.

If they find an interesting light passing by a street, they’ll beg you to pose for them in public, just to get a beautiful shot. So be ready to be a subject, and yes, like always, do not expect them to send you the picture.

14. You’ll spend about a third of your life waiting around for them to get just the right angle!

🙂 🙂 🙂

15. If you are on long walk together, be prepared to stop after every 10 steps.

16. They’ll stare others in public.

If they are staring too much on any girl or boy in public, don’t worry, there is nothing dirty going on in their mind. They are just imagining the photo they would take. Either way, this doesn’t make it less embarrassing though.

17. They’ll always point out mistakes in your family photos

And if they don’t, that means they are not just saying it to you

18. Photographers are always lusting after somebody else’s equipment.

No comments on this 🙂

19. You’ll feel jealous sometimes.

Because they will spend their most of time with more cool people like models, designers and artists

20. They prefer walking

And they will drag you into this 🙂

20 Reasons to Date a Photographer

Photographers are the most creative and out of the box breed you will ever find. They love cameras, light! Unlike others, they can see world differently. They are not the boring kind, they are the creative kind. These are not actually their inborn qualities, it is the camera which teaches them how to see, and yes, people around them are influenced by them. In fact intentionally or unintentionally, they have an effect on others, kind of impression. And if you are dating a photographer, you can be the luckiest one in your friend circle.
Not sure why?? Here are the 20 reasons why you should date a Photographer

Here are the 20 reasons why you should date a Photographer

1. You’ll never miss a moment

Even if there is nothing interesting going on, it is a photographer’s habit of pressing shutter at least once a while. So you’ll never miss a moment. At some time, you’ll find a full photo record of that part of your life.

2. You’ll get to travel a lot

Photographers are meant to travel, It is their job. So if you are dating a photographer, you’ll get to travel and explore new places occasionally.

3. You’ll feel much beautiful than ever

Well, you are the closest one to him, and you’ll be on the top of his model list. You’ll see yourself differently every day, he can make you feel special and much beautiful than you ever felt

4. They know about latest fashion and trends

Photographers know what is the latest trend going on, whether it is gadgets, cameras or clothes. So if you are going shopping with a photographer, you don’t have to worry about getting a wrong thing.

5. They are very social.

Most of photographers are very social, not self centered. They will talk a lot, they have their own lovely senses. So if you are dating a photographer, don’t be nervous when he is talking to your sister or parents, they’ll love talking to him.

6. You’ll never get bored.

They always have something interesting to talk about

7. In case of any family event, you always have a backup photographer

Even if you have hired a photographer for your cousin’s wedding, your partner will be there, for free , snapping around for the fun of it. Or because he can’t help himself. Either way, the photos are covered.

8. They can give great technical advice.

Especially when your friend is going to get a new camera.

9. You’ll not feel fear facing the camera anymore.

He won’t skip a day without clicking, so if you are with him, get used to face the camera. And yes, do not pose, he’ll hate that, just be natural when he is clicking.

10. You’ll always get an excuse for shopping.

Photography is an expensive hobby or profession. His photography gear is much more expensive than your clothes, phones or even your car. So there are less chances of negotiation on shopping if you two get married.

11. You’ll spend more time together.

You just have to say, “I got a new dress, will you do a portrait shoot for me”. And he’ll spend hours with you.

12. He’ll talk less about sports and action movies.

They have much better and nice things to talk about, and obviously ladies, talking about nature and sunsets is always better than action movies 🙂

13. Selecting birthday gifts will be easier than ever.

Just pickup any accessory or even a photobook, there is no chance he won’t love it.

14. They will help you see world differently.

That’s because it is in their blood to look for different perspective. and obviously, he is going to share it with you.

15. You Facebook profile will always look fresh and interesting.

Well, Comments are useless on this 🙂

16. You’ll always remember dishes you tried on your date.

20Reasons_IMG_1311
That’s because he’ll always click the picture of dishes first before you start. And yes, do not make him angry by touching the dish until he get his picture.

17. They’ll never get late on a date

It is their natural inclination to be on time. If he can get on time for a sunrise, reaching on time for a date is not a big deal.

18. It is easy to make him smile in hard times.

If he is angry or sad, just say something nice about his latest work.

19. Great sense of security

You will always have a sense of security with him as he often keeps a Tripod with him, and that can be easily used as a weapon.

20. Lucky sometimes

They are often mistaken as media person, so sometimes you can be lucky to be treated as VIP with him

 

Related Article: 20 Reasons not to Date a Photographer

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