Photo Articles
Photo Article 21 Photography Article 30
How to Take Big Sun Photos
By Jan Linden
Sure, these pictures may border on clichés, but they are clichés that never fail to grab us. We're all suckers for that frame-filling drama of Ol' Sol looming large on the horizon.
And we all know how to get those shots of big suns - just shoot the horizon with that fabulously expensive, super-speed, extra low-dispersion glass, panchromatic telephoto, right?
Wrong. You need a long lens, sure, but it needn't be a budget buster. Some very good 500mm mirror lenses come in under $200, store price. There are all-glass 400mm, 500mm, and 600mm designs from major independents that sell for $300-500. And you can make an existing telephoto longer by using a tele-converter. That fine 300mm f/4 you bought for nature work, for example, can be converted to a 600mm f/8 with a 2X converter. That's a pretty good focal length for big suns. Using a 3X converter will make a 900mm f/12, and so on.
Besides a telephoto, you need a sturdy tripod - flimsy travel models need not apply. For one thing, focusing and framing through a long telephoto is far easier if the rig is well supported. For another thing, even a little shake can blur a long-telephoto shot.
A spot or limited-area meter helps, although it is not essential. An overall meter reading with an SLR will generally be far too high, resulting in a shot that's too dark - even if the desired effect is a silhouette. Most big-sun shooters use the strategy of spot metering an area of the sky near but not immediately adjacent to the sun - an area in which some sky tone appears. This will give you a silhouette reading that will still maintain a little shadow detail.
And how do you focus and compose with that big burning disk staring you right in the eye? First, if everything in your frame is a long distance from the camera, setting the lens to infinity is the easiest way to focus without being dazzled. Otherwise, you may pre focus the camera with the sun just out of the frame. You can often recompose the scene by holding your eye a little away from the finder to avoid being temporarily blinded by the sun.
The best big-sun shots are the ones that don't rely solely on the sun; the big sun, in fact, is best used as a background. The landscape, the harbor scene, the city skyline - each picture should stand on its own for it to work with a big sun behind it.
There is a pitfall here, though. Even with objects at a far distance, they can still be out of the plane of focus of the sun, due to the effective shallow depth of long lenses. Generally, the sun can stand to be a little soft, so try focusing on the nearest large object in the composition. Also, use small apertures and check the depth-of-field preview.
Big-sun shots can, on occasion, be surprisingly colorless; the sky around the sun can range from blank white to dull gray. A filter is called for here, from the standard warming (81A and similar) for a warm sky tone, to amber for richer color, to full orange for an exaggerated effect.
Jan Linden is a professional photographer and designer runs Fine Art Photo Web store and Hosting Directory.
Article Source: http://www.articlejoe.comFilm Vs. Digital Photo Photo Article 22 Dominant Photo Space Photo Article 23 Photo on Internet Guide Photo Article 24 Comparing Flash Photos Photo Article 25 Night Photography Photo Article 26 More Things to do Photo Photo Article 27 Pet Photography Photo Article 28 Still Life Photography Photo Article 29 Macro Photography Photo Article 30 Big Sun Photos Photo Article 31 Photo Basics Knowledge Photo Article 32 Photo Dominance Within Photo Article 33 Photography - DPI Photo Article 34 Photography - PPI Photo Article 35 Depth in Photography Photo Article 36 Flower Photo Obsession 1 Photo Article 37 Flower Photo Obsession 2 Photo Article 38 Flower Photo Obsession 3 Photo Article 39 Group Photo DOF Photo Article 40 Photo - Spiders Do Live
Copyright © 2005-2025 "Better Photo Tips" | Photography Article 30
