National Geography Photography Tips

Excerpts from national Geographic's "Photography Tips From Our Experts":

How to Shoot a Portrait:

"Getting close to people is the best way to get close to a culture. The camera is a great tool for meeting people. I've found that in every country there are folks who love to be photographed. But there are secrets," says Catherine Karnow, who has been shooting for 20 years. Those secrets include:

• Take the time to develop relationships with people and the land.

• Focus on common experiences -- love, family, friends, death, celebration -- and appreciate the cultural differences.

• Keep your camera discreet, always ask permission, and photograph people unposed, ideally involved in a typical setting.

• Learn a dozen words of the local language. 'Please' and 'thank you' are good places to start. And be sure to smile.

• Learn as much as you can about a place before visiting and always respect local customs. If you're not wanted, quietly leave and move along to the next photo opportunity.

How to Shoot a Landscape:

"To take a good landscape you have to go about it as if you were taking a portrait," says Macduff Everton, who views sweeping vistas as individual faces, and composes his images with a focus on detail. Everton's steps to building balanced, graphically strong images include:

• Mastering light: Light is the most important and tricky element. It can make a photo mysterious -- or just plain boring.

• Choosing a good vantage point: With portraits you can often tell how tall the photographer is. It's the same with landscapes. So move around a bit; switch elevations, kneel on the ground, or walk around.

• Paying attention to everything in the frame: What's in the corner is as important as what's in the center; it's often the difference between an interesting photo and an interesting subject. Be careful not to slip power lines or half a person into the images because you're not paying attention.

How to Get the Best Light:

"Creativity is unpredictable, but craftsmanship is the essence of the art," says David Alan Harvey, who drapes his celebrated photographs of Cuba and Brazil in seductive, defining light. "The secret is to work the edges of the day. You have to push the envelope on light, particularly if you're working in color. Shoot at dawn and continue in late afternoon, into sunset's warm tones, and even half an hour beyond, to capture subtle flickering firelight. Experiment with exposure and film speed to make the most of available light." A few illuminating secrets:

• The best light is in the early morning and before sunset. But good light also depends on location and time of year, so plan your day well.

• Don't be afraid of bad weather: You can get a great light in fog and when the sky is dark and stormy.

• Resist the temptation to use higher ASA film when the light fades. Instead, work with higher contrast, slower-speed (50-100 ASA) film. You might get fewer good shots, but the ones that turn out will be spectacular.

Benefits of Going Digital:

"Digital cameras and instant online transmission have revolutionized photojournalism as well as amateur photography," says Traveler senior photo editor Dan Westergren. "But what's ideal for capturing news presents challenges for travel photographers, who demand high-resolution images -- and take loads of them on a trip, leading to a digital storage dilemma. Still, the benefits outweigh the costs." Here are reasons to go digital:

• Money savings: Although digital cameras are more expensive, you'll save over time by not paying film and processing fees.

• Instant results: View your pictures and shoot again to improve your shots.

• Less gear: A 64 MB memory card can store about 35 high-resolution images; a digital wallet (essentially a durable hard drive that clips to your belt) enables you to download and store these images while you're on the move.

• Photo sharing: Instant ability to e-mail favorite images to family and friends.

• Ink-jet prints: Print high-quality images at your home without the nuisance of scanning.

Professional Photographers Offer Tips for Shooting Digital:

"Digital is great for new photographers," says Raymond Gehman. "When I was starting out, film was so precious you might shoot one roll in a week. Now you can shoot a subject from every possible angle without hesitation. And the more you shoot, the better you get."

"Don't buy a camera with lots of megapixels for the bragging rights," says Jim Richardson. "What's out in front of you is more important than what's in your hand. There's no button to push that will make up for a dull, boring subject. Go someplace interesting and find something compelling to say with your pictures."

"Just as with transparencies, I expose digital for the highlights, letting some of the image be underexposed," says David Alan Harvey. "If you blow out the highlights in digital, same as with slides, they're gone."

"Digital allows you to forget -- or never learn -- the fundamental techniques of photography," says Farah Nosh. "Don't let that happen. Switch your camera into manual mode and, for example, play with the depth of field by adjusting the aperture and shutter speed to get different effects, such as blurring out the background of a portrait."

"The basic issues are still focus, exposure, and composition," says Will van Overbeek. "Step up close to your subject and shoot at the widest setting possible. As famous war photographer Robert Capa said, 'If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough.'"

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