Beginner's technique / 07 Taking Photographs from a Different Viewpoint / Old Photo Techniques / Photo Techniques / PHOTO STYLE / Digital Cameras

04 Taking pictures of dishes so that they look delicious, Part 2

02 Taking pictures of dishes so that they look delicious, Part 1

01 World Heritage sites photographed in a fantastic atmosphere

Photo-technique [Individual Subject section] 07 Simply changing the camera angle can spice things up. Try taking photographs from your own viewpoint instead of leaving it up to the camera

In this golden age of digital cameras, you can take beautiful photographs by simply setting your camera to Auto. The film camera for which everything had to be set manually, evolved into cameras in which automatic exposure photography and autofocus were possible. Then, further evolution to the digital camera made automatic settings for white balance even possible; something that could not be done with film cameras. And now, anyone can take beautiful photographs with ease. It’s great to be able to take beautiful photographs, but isn’t it a bit boring if anyone can do it? I am sure that there are many of you out there who would like to take beautiful photographs with an added twist that makes it uniquely yours. Here, I will introduce a variety of photographs taken in various scenes that will help unlock the multitude of potential ways of taking photographs.

Taken with: CX3 ●ISO200 ●1sec. ●F3.7 ●EV-0.3 ●WB:A ●P Auto

I half-pressed the shutter to set the camera-to-subject distance and then took a panning shot matching the movement of the camera to the speed of the car. The secret to taking great panning shots is a slow shutter speed. I was able to capture the feeling of the car’s movement with the flowing background.

●Waiting for the right moment is also a technique for taking snapshots.

Taken with: CX3 ●ISO100 ●1/52sec. ●F4.5 ●EV-0.3 ●WB:Outdoors ●P Auto

I took this shot on a sunny day with lots of clouds. Attracted to the design of the staircase and the people walking up and down the street, I decided to take the shot framing the scene vertically.

Taken with: CX3 ●ISO100 ●1/440sec. ●F4.5 ●EV-0.3 ●WB:Outdoors ●P Auto

Since the clouds were moving quickly, every now and then sunlight would seep in, castings shadows of the leaves of the trees nearby. So, I waited for the right moment to release the shutter while watching the movement of the clouds.

Taken with: GXR+RICOH LENS P10 28-300mm ●ISO100 ●1/125sec. ●F7.0 ●EV-0.3 ●WB:Outdoors ●A Auto

A poster was decorated in a shop window that had a reflection in the glass. I took a photo, framing the woman’s heels shown in the poster, but I felt that there was something missing.

Taken with: GXR+RICOH LENS P10 28-300mm ●ISO100 ●1/125sec. ●F7.0 ●EV-0.3 ●WB:Outdoors ●A Auto

I could see cars passing through the reflected area, so I waited for a car with the right coloring, a yellow taxi, to pass by and released the shutter. Someone happened to pass by right when I took the shot, making the snapshot seem even more real.

●Adding flare and blur intentionally.

Taken with: CX3 ●ISO100 ●1/440sec. ●F8.4 ●EV-0.3 ●WB:Outdoors ●P Auto

A large tower came into view through the bus window against bright glaring sunlight. This type of shift in viewpoint makes the subject seem even more alluring, so I waited until the sun was hidden behind the tower and then released the shutter.

Taken with: CX3 ●ISO100 ●1/410sec. ●F8.4 ●EV-0.3 ●WB:Outdoors ●P Auto

A moment after that, seduced by the blurred flare of sunlight seen through the bus window, I continued to shoot. The unclear and hazy scene adds excitement to the photograph, giving it a dreamy look.

Taken with: CX3 ●ISO100 ●1/53sec. ●F5.6 ●EV-0.3 ●WB:Outdoors ●P Auto

Walking down a back alley, I saw a large red star through a window on the second floor of a building. I zoomed in on the star and took a photograph, but it came out too clear and lacked impact.

Taken with: CX3 ●ISO100 ●1/39sec. ●F5.6 ●EV-0.3 ●WB:Outdoors ●P Auto

Under the same conditions, I took another shot creating a blurred effect by slightly shaking the camera. Some may say it’s just a bad, blurred photo, but I think the subtle blur and the grains of light that fall through the leaves of the trees bring life to the photograph.

●Controlling the shutter speed.

Taken with: GR DIGITAL III ●ISO100 ●1/52sec. ●F1.9 ●EV-0.3 ●WB:Outdoors ●A Auto

I firmly released the shutter with the aperture completely opened in order to capture the ambiance of the high ceiling fan and the outside light. However, I was not able to recreate the movement of the fan since the shutter speed had been a bit too fast.

Taken with: GR DIGITAL III ●ISO100 ●1/3sec. ●F9.0 ●EV-0.3 ●WB:Outdoors ●A Auto

Therefore, I changed the aperture to F9 and used a slow shutter speed and then took another photo while firmly holding the camera. As a result, I was able to capture the beautiful motion of the fan that could not even be seen with the naked eye.

Taken with: CX3 ●ISO100 ●1/3sec. ●F3.5 ●EV-0.3 ●WB:Outdoors ●P Auto

I offhandedly took a photo of cars coming and going around nightfall and found that the car’s headlights were captured as light trails due to the slow shutter speed. This was quite interesting, but camera shake also occurred and the photo came out a bit messy.

Taken with: CX3 ●ISO100 ●1/3sec. ●F3.5 ●EV-0.3 ●WB:Outdoors ●P Auto

I looked around to find something that would enable me to take a photo without camera shake and found a guardrail. So, I placed the camera on top of the guardrail, reinforced the unstable bottom of the camera with my finger, and released the shutter. As a result, I was able to capture both a motionless background and a beautiful trail of light.

●Adding some alterations can also be fun.

Taken with: GR DIGITAL III ●ISO100 ●1/6sec. ●F1.9 ●EV-0.3 ●WB:Outdoors ●P Auto

At the end of the year last year, I took a shot of the night view through a fogged-up hotel window. The condensation worked like a fog filter and caused the light to blur, creating a dreamy photograph.

Taken with: GR DIGITAL III ●ISO64 ●1/10sec. ●F1.9 ●EV-0.3 ●WB:Outdoors ●P Auto

In principle, snapshots should be taken with the scenery as is seen. However, my son who was standing next to me suddenly said that he wanted to draw on the window and so, I let him. This instantly changed the dreamy photograph into a photograph of a fun memory. Sometimes, adding some alterations to the subject can also be a lot of fun.