Feb 192013
- CRITERIA FOR WINNING COMPETITIONS (Part 4 – Final): Professional association judges look at 12 different criteria when judging a print. In my humble opinion that is twice too many, but if you want to do well, pay attention to these items.
- Color Balance supplies harmony to an image. An image in which the tones work together, effectively supporting the image, can enhance its emotional appeal. Color balance is not always harmonious and can be used to evoke diverse feelings for effect.
- Technique is the approach used to create the image. Printing, lighting, posing, capture, presentation media, and more are part of the technique applied to an image.
- Story Telling refers to the image’s ability to evoke imagination. One beautiful thing about art is that each viewer might collect his own message or read her own story in an image.
- DEPTH OF FIELD (DoF): DoF is the range of perceived sharpness (area in focus) before and after your subject. It is perceived by the eyes and the brain working together, as there is actually only a narrow plane that is actually sharp. One-third of your DoF will be before your subject and 2/3 behind. Use that ratio to properly select your focal point when photographing many rows of people. Here is an easy tip to remember how DoF relates to aperture settings: Small aperture number (f/2.0 for example) means small DoF; large aperture number ( f/11.0 for example) means large DoF.
- NIKON LENSES ON CANON CAMERAS: If you are converting from Nikon to Canon, or just have access to Nikon lenses, you can use them with your Canon digital cameras. Just buy an adapter, snap it onto your lens and lock the combination onto your Canon body. This works because Canon lenses have a wider circumference than Nikon lenses. The adapters typically cost less than $20. You will have to manually, and the camera will not receive any info from the lens.
- FOCAL LENGTH: Focal length is the distance in millimeters (mm) between the optical center of the lens and the image sensor in a camera. The location of your sensor is identified on most cameras by a symbol that looks like a flattened zero with a line through it.
- USE THE FOREGROUND: One way to take a photo with IMPACT is to use a strong foreground as your subject, or to use it as a frame to focus the view on your subject. If you use a large DoF, the foreground and subject will both be in focus, great for related items. If you shoot with a shallow DoF, one or the other (depending on where you focus), will be sharp and the other blurry. This is great for separating the two elements.