Photography : Infrared Photography

In infrared photography, the film or image sensor used is sensitive to infrared light. The part of the spectrum used is referred to as near-infrared to distinguish it from far-infrared, which is the domain of thermal imaging. Wavelengths used for photography range from about 700 nm to about 900 nm. Usually an "infrared filter" is used; this lets infrared (IR) light pass through to the camera, but blocks all or most of the visible light spectrum (the filter thus looks black or deep red).
When these filters are used together with infrared-sensitive film or sensors, very interesting "in-camera effects" can be obtained; false-color or black-and-white images with a dreamlike or sometimes lurid appearance known as the "Wood Effect," an effect mainly caused by foliage (such as tree leaves and grass) strongly reflecting in the same way visible light is reflected from snow[1]. There is a small contribution from chlorophyll fluorescence, but this is marginal and is not the real cause of the brightness seen in infrared photographs. The effect is named after the infrared photography pioneer Robert W. Wood, and not after the material wood, which does not strongly reflect infrared.
The other attributes of infrared photographs include very dark skies and penetration of atmospheric haze, caused by reduced Rayleigh scattering and Mie scattering, respectively, compared to visible light. The dark skies, in turn, result in less infrared light in shadows and dark reflections of those skies from water, and clouds will stand out strongly. These wavelengths also penetrate a few millimeters into skin and give a milky look to portraits, although eyes often look black.

Photography: Monochrome Photography

Monochrome photography is photography where the image produced has a single hue, rather than recording the colours of the object that was photographed. It includes all forms of black and white photography, which produce images containing tones of grey ranging from black to white. Most modern black and white films, called panchromatic films, record the entire visible spectrum. Some films are orthochromatic, recording visible light wavelengths shorter than 590 nanometres.

Black and white photography is considered more subtle and interpretive, and less realistic than colour photography. Monochrome images are not direct renditions of their subjects, but are abstractions from reality, representing colours in shades of grey. In computer terms, this is often called greyscale.

Monochrome images may be produced using black and white film or paper, or by manipulating colour images using computer software

Photography : Night Photography

Night photography refers to photographs taken outdoors between dusk and dawn. Night photographers generally have a choice between using artificial light or using a long exposure, exposing the scene for seconds or even minutes, in order to give the film enough time to capture a usable image, and to compensate for reciprocity failure. With the progress of high-speed films, higher-sensitivity digital image sensors, wide-aperture lenses, and the ever-greater power of urban lights, night photography is increasingly possible using available light.

The following techniques and equipment are generally used in night photography.

* A tripod is usually necessary due to the long exposure times. Alternatively, the camera may be placed on a steady, flat object e.g. a table or chair, low wall, window sill, etc.
* A shutter release cable or self timer is almost always used to prevent camera shake when the shutter is released.
* Manual focus, since autofocus systems usually operate poorly in low light conditions. Newer digital cameras incorporate a Live View mode which often allows very accurate manual focusing.
* A stopwatch or remote timer, to time very long exposures where the camera's bulb setting is used.

Long exposure multiple flash photographic technique

The long exposure multiple flash technique is a method of night or low light photography which use a mobile flash unit to expose various parts of a building or interior using a long exposure time.

Long exposure means that the shutter of the camera is kept open for longer, allowing more light to be exposed to the images sensor or film of the camera. This causes the photograph to be lighter, and is good for night and dark photos.

This technique is often combined with using coloured gels in front of the flash unit to provide different colours in order to illuminate the subject in different ways. It is also common to flash the unit several times during the exposure while swapping the colours of the gels around to mix colours on the final photo. This requires some skill and a lot of imagination since it is not possible to see how the effects will turn out until the exposure is complete. By using this technique, the photographer can illuminate specific parts of the subject in different colours creating shadows in ways which would not normally be possible.

Light painting

The camera shutter is opened. A person carries a torch around the scene using it to illuminate all the desired objects in the scene, then the shutter is closed. The result is a lit scene featuring lots of visible light trails. The person working the light is not visible in the photograph.

Photography : Orton Photography

Orton imagery, also called an Orton slide sandwich, is a photography technique which blends two completely different photos of the same scene, resulting in a distinctive mix of high and low detail areas within the same photo. It was originated by photographer Michael Orton.

The original technique invented by Michael Orton was to overlay two or more images of an identical scene with very different exposures on slide film. One image is sharply focused and the others are very out of focus. Orton has also experimented with similar techniques, substituting one of the images in the composition for one of a different subject, such as a texture layer, or combining a multi-colored image and a monotone one.

Photography : 4 Practice Techniques to Develop Photographic Observation by Christina N. Dickson

Note:
This is a re-post, I came across this article and I think its good to share it by re-posting it.


The greatest skill of a talented photographer is not how accurate he or she can be with exposure; it’s not being spot on with all of the tech details, or putting out thousands of images a week.

The greatest skill any photographer can hope to possess is that of observation.

Observation will define your work. It will give life and breath to the stories you capture and the beauty you create. Observation will be the difference between an average photo and a captivating photo; between an image that is a visual picture, and one that speaks to it’s audience in the most audible ways.

Developing observation – specifically in your photography – takes deliberate and practical efforts. It takes time and effort, and an unwillingness to take what is at face value.

Practice with some of the following techniques, adapted specifically for photographers:
1. Analyze

Take one inanimate object and place in on a table in front of you. Look at it for five minutes and take note of everything You notice about it. If it is an apple, notice the shape; is it round, is it bumpy, does it have many grooves? Notice the size; is it large, small, medium – and in comparison to what? Notice texture, color, shine and polish. Does it look old? Why? Does it look freshly picked? Why? Is it mouthwatering? Then what makes it so? Ask every question you can about your object until you can think of absolutely nothing else. What kind of stories were you making up in your head about this object? Why?
2. Exhaust Perspective

Take another inanimate object and set it in a window. Take your camera, and with one lens, take as many pictures with as many different perspectives and focal distances as you can over 15 minutes. What are you trying to communicate? What makes different angles express different moods or feelings? Use the light in as many ways possible. Does the overall look and feeling of your communication change based on the way you use your techniques and combine your options? This stretching exercise will challenge your capacity and cause you to begin looking outside your box for perspectives you have never seen before.

3. Evaluate your Locations

When you go on a shoot, take a few minutes prior to evaluate the location. Ask yourself which location communicates different feelings and emotions. Then, ask yourself why. Is the lighting streaming through the trees above, creating soft and diffused sun rays that give warmth and drama. Is the placement of the flowers asymmetrical, creating a feeling of artistic dynamic? Don’t take anything you see at face value.
4. Take pictures in Your Mind

The first few months of dedicating photography often cause individuals to “see” frames everywhere – even when there is no camera in hand. This joy and wonder in photography causes a heightened sense of observation. Force yourself to create images in your mind before they happen; notice the pieces of images all around you and develop your mental sharpness for visual elements.

The skills of observation will enable you to combine all elements that are at your disposal, and arrange them to reinforce the storytelling strength of your image. And that is a powerful thing.

About the Photo Above: I noticed this young married Indian girl walking in the middle of the others. She looked up at me with a shy wonder, and her eyes were filled with expectation. As she walked, I noticed that she didn’t assert herself as many of the others did. She rather hung back. The rough texture of her skin, the cut on her lip, the dirtiness of her hair all spoke to me – that her life had not been easy. And yet her eyes spoke something else entirely. Her eyes spoke with a soft and quiet confidence, almost as though she didn’t have to have the easiest life to know that she was beautiful. When I asked if I could take her picture, I discovered my intuitions were correct. For a brief moment she didn’t meet my eyes, but when she looked up, she nodded a permission and met the gaze of the camera unflinchingly.

Photography : HDR Photography

High dynamic range imaging. In image processing, computer graphics, and photography, high dynamic range imaging (HDRI or just HDR) is a set of techniques that allow a greater dynamic range of luminances between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than standard digital imaging techniques or photographic methods. This wider dynamic range allows HDR images to represent more accurately the wide range of intensity levels found in real scenes ranging from direct sunlight to faint starlight.

The two main sources of HDR imagery are computer renderings and merging of multiple photographs, which in turn are known as low dynamic range (LDR) or standard dynamic range (SDR) images. Tone mapping techniques, which reduce overall contrast to facilitate display of HDR images on devices with lower dynamic range, can be applied to produce images with preserved or exaggerated local contrast for artistic effect.

In photography, dynamic range is measured in EV differences or stops, between the brightest and darkest parts of the image that show detail. An increase of one EV or one stop is a doubling of the amount of light.

High-dynamic-range photographs are generally achieved by capturing multiple standard photographs, often using exposure bracketing, and then merging them into an HDR image. Digital photographs are often saved in a camera's raw image format, as 8 bit JPEG output clips the dynamic range.

Any camera that allows manual over- or under-exposure of a photo can be used to create HDR images.

Photography : Tilt-shift photography

"Tilt-shift photography" refers to the use of camera movements on small- and medium-format cameras, and sometimes specifically refers to the use of tilt for selective focus, often for simulating a miniature scene. Sometimes the term is used when the shallow depth of field is simulated with digital postprocessing; the name may derive from the tilt-shift lens normally required when the effect is produced optically.

"Tilt-shift" actually encompasses two different types of movements: rotation of the lens plane relative to the image plane, called tilt, and movement of the lens parallel to the image plane, called shift. Tilt is used to control the orientation of the plane of focus (PoF), and hence the part of an image that appears sharp; it makes use of the Scheimpflug principle. Shift is used to change the line of sight while avoiding the convergence of parallel lines, as when photographing tall buildings.

To better understand this see examples on this page:

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/11/16/beautiful-examples-of-tilt-shift-photography/

I've tried it but I think I need a proper lens for it check out my work at:

http://johndrayton.multiply.com/photos/album/7/Tilt-Shift_Photography_Set_1