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Photography Tips

Vejer Bursting With History Vejer de la Frontera is a hilltop town in Andalucía in the south of Spain. It is located around 10 km inland from the coast and 200m above sea level. As the town is perched on a rocky hill, it is easy to see the Atlantic Ocean and even on a […]

  It’s been a while since I last blogged, so I thought it was time to post another post! In the past I have given tips about photography and explained about camera settings etc. Now I am going to start to tell you about the photos I have taken and how I took them. If […]

Do you ever get the feeling that some people always take incredible photos? How is that possible and why can’t my photos be like that too. There are many reasons why some people always take good photos. Below I have a list of some of the many characteristics good photographers have in common.

Photography is an art form that allows you to create images with the camera that your eye can’t recreate naturally. Light, distance and time can be manipulated to create images that look dreamlike. There are many different techniques that can help you achieve your creative goals. One of these techniques that is most satisfying and […]

In photography the terms to be ‘open’ or to be ‘closed’, don’t refer to a photographer’s personality! What these terms refer to are the settings the photographer uses on a camera when taking the photo. But to be more specific, these terms refer to the setting of the lens, its aperture. Understanding this is the […]

Image Stabilisation or Vibration Reduction, is a mechanism used in many modern high end compact cameras, DSLR cameras and DSLR lenses to help in the reduction of camera shake. The natural pulse in the photographer’s hands when taking hand held photos in low light situations is usually what causes camera shake. The result is a […]

Photography is a static medium and differs from other modes of art such as video in that our image doesn’t move. However if we use our imagination, it is possible to give the illusion of movement in a photo. There are several techniques that can give this feeling, all of which require a longer exposure […]

Over the past 20 years technology has advanced at lightning speed. During this time there have been many huge advances in cameras and camera equipment. These days all cameras have auto focus, LCD screens so you can see your photo the instant it was taken and some cameras can even add data to the photo […]

While there are many forms of photography, some styles that are forever changing are urban and street photography. The street is full of exciting photography prospects, day, night, sun or rain. If you are lucky (or unlucky) enough to live in the city, there is always something going on that can create an interesting subject. […]

To improve with photography, it’s very important to practice taking photos as often as we can. Realistically though, in our busy lives we often aren’t able to reach for our cameras and practice as regularly as we would like to. There are ways however to improve our photography that don’t need our camera in hand […]

Cameras, off camera flash, mobile phones, laptops, tablets, music devices all rely on batteries to make them portable and convenient for us to take with along in our daily lives. However without adequate battery power, the fun can be short lived. Some batteries can take hours to recharge, so that’s why it’s always a good […]

Regardless of whether you are using a camera phone, compact camera, mirrorless camera or DSLR, having a clean lens will give you the clearest image possible with your camera. A grubby lens with fingerprints, dust and smudges will result in poor images and a lot of frustration. Correct maintenance of your camera and lens is […]

Longer exposures allow the photographer to express movement in the final image. If the exposure is long enough, it can make for a creative shot.

The word bokeh comes from the Japanese word for blur. In photography though it is more than just this, it’s the quality of the blur. There are certain elements however that determine if it is bokeh, or just plain old blur.

Have you ever looked at a portrait photo in a magazine, book or online and been amazed by the soft out of focus and blurry background. This is usually the result of focusing on your subject and using a wide open aperture. Or in other words, an aperture with a low f/ number. A wide aperture helps to isolate the subject and throw the back ground out of focus. As a rule anything from f/4 and lower will create this effect. Having said that, the lower the f/ number at say f/2, the more the background will be thrown out of focus and look blurry.

I love to get out of the house to go shoot photos. And I love to just pick the camera up and start shooting with out having to think too much about what setting my camera is on. This is because I know how I left it from the last time I used it. But […]

There are three crucial components to creating every exposure… ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed When taking a photo either in automatic or in full manual mode, there are three crucial components to creating every exposure. ISO, Shutter Speed and Aperture. Each component influences the other and reducing one component means increasing another. When using automatic, […]

There are three crucial components to creating every exposure… ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed When taking a photo either in automatic or in full manual mode, there are three crucial components to creating every exposure. ISO,  Aperture and Shutter Speed. Each component influences the other and reducing one component means increasing another. When using automatic, […]

ISOPart 1: ISO

ISO (International Standards Organisation) refers to the amount of light that reaches the sensor of the camera. ISO on a digital camera is the same idea as ISO on film cameras. It is the film speed. ISO100 for bright situations, ISO400 for darker situations. The lower the ISO number the less sensitive the sensor is to light. Therefore the higher the number, the more sensitive the sensor.

In photography as in art, sport or with any other discipline, there are certain instincts we have built in to us and perhaps that is why we are drawn towards our chosen area. Sometimes these instincts are helpful and other times a hindrance. Below is a list of 3 instincts to master that don’t always […]

  The human eye is truly amazing. We are able to see millions colours irrespective of whether we are inside or outside, candle light or daylight. As we are used to this we really take it for granted. Cameras on the other hand are a lot more limited than we think. Time and again when […]

For people interested in nature, autumn is a great time to get out and get amongst it. It’s a perfect time of the year for the landscape photographer as the days are getting shorter, the light is not as intense and the sunsets can last a lot longer, giving more opportunity to catch that perfect […]

There is one thing that we often overlook in photography and it is especially common for people who live near the coast… Moisture And Mould We like to think we take good care of our camera equipment by keeping it in our camera bags and making sure we protect it and that everything is safe […]

  For most of us photography is an enjoyable pastime. We shoot photos of family and friends, the odd selfie, landscapes and even that beautiful sunset overlooking the neighbours tiled rooftop with TV antenna included! Yes it’s lots of fun taking happy snaps, but it’s not until later when we look at them on the […]

Hello and welcome to my photography blog My name is Simon Pratley, I am really passionate about photography and I would like you to be passionate about it too. I want to help you to understand more about photography, so I have set up this blog to share some of my tips and views on […]

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