RAW vs Jpeg

Enough of the general stuff, lets talk about something controversial today. RAW vs JPEG. Even if someone has just started out photography, he simply can't miss this. In fact, if there is something more polarizing in the photography world then Canon vs Nikon, it has got to be RAW vs Jpeg. Both have their own set of advantages and disadvantages and users of both camps swear by the advantages of their choice. But that doesn't mean that a starter should blindly follow a particular format without know about both first. After you come to know about them and know about all the features, advantages and disadvantages, you may decide which one you want to use. So, without further foreplay, lets jump directly into the topic in hand.

Image Credit-  Kurosawa Michiyo

Understanding Composition in Photography (Part-2)

After my last post, I had to think a lot on how to advance on this particular topic. Composition is such an important aspect of photography and there is so much to discuss that its very easy to get digressed from the main topic. In fact, without the ability to compose the shots well, one can never take take good images no matter how good or advanced the equipment may be. A crappy image will look crappy no matter what is the gear used to shot that. 

There are some set rules or guidelines when it comes to composition, but as I have already mentioned in my previous post that photography is a form of art and there can't be any definitive rules. So, it is a very common scenario that the frame you composed very carefully keeping in mind a particular "rule" is violating two other "rules". So my advice would be not to get too bogged down by all the rules. Keep them at the back of your mind and compose your shots as per your heart. I can only speak what works for me and this is how I compose.

Understanding Composition in Photography (Part-1)

When I started out photography around four years back, I didn't really think much about it. I bought a DSLR (Nikon D3100) and started out quite enthusiastically. Fortunately I was in Kolkata at that time and I found many friends just like me. I joined some Photography groups and began to go out in groups to take photos. I remember vividly those fun days. We would go out in hoards in and around Kolkata and click photos. In the end, we would come back, process them and post them in our common group for comments and critique. The first few outings were real fun as I didn't know a thing about photography and randomly shot and posted snapshots. The others, being the good friends they are, never said anything to me. I was blissfully ignorant that my images are literally crap.

One day, one of such friends asked me to show him my work and I gleefully showed him my flickr collection. I expected the usual "Good work, nice work" type of comments but what he said really surprised me. His exact words were- "These are nothing but ordinary snapshots. There are no thought or design to them. You need to improve a lot". He forced me to think and take a re-look at my own images. The same images which looked nice and interesting appeared downright horrible. That was the day, I came to know about something called Composition in photography and its importance.

Photography is a form of art, and there are no rules in art. But at the same time, there are some unwritten guidelines that good images allover the world across time follow. Of course there are exceptions and there are great pieces of art that do not conform to the so called guideline, but before breaking the guideline, we should learn about them first. Also, each and every of these "rules" do not apply universally to all the images. It is up to the photographer how he wants his photos to look like. What I personally do , is I keep the rules in my mind and when I see a scenario where a particular rule may apply, I try to compose accordingly. The rules and tips that I am going to discuss here is by no way exhaustive. These are some of the most basic rules that we photographers should know and apply to our images. As discussing all of them in a single post will be too cumbersome and lengthy, I am dividing this post in multiple parts. In this part, I am just laying down the very basic ideas about composition, and in later parts, I shall post some commonly used tools and techniques which even beginners can apply while shooting and improve their photographs. So lets go ahead and jump in it-

Inside a camera bag

Hello friends. In my previous posts, I blabbered a lot about camera settings,and even a camera buying guide (sort of). So today, I am going to discuss in detail about various gears you need for shooting. Now, one important thing. Whenever you hear the word gears, the question of cost comes first, and quite rightfully. Camera equipment cost a lot of money, and being an amateur, its really tough for some to shell out loads of money for something which doesn't give back anything in strict monetary terms (although, if you are only shooting for money, then you are a pro). So in this post, I am going to discuss camera equipment for amateurs that doesn't burn a hole in your pocket.

Camera-

I don't think, I need to discuss regarding this. If you are truly serious about your photography, get a DSLR or a mirrorless ILCE. There is nothing like it. It may seem intimidating, but once you get the kick out of it, you won't want to go back to a Point & Shoot camera. My advice is get a crop sensor basic DSLR. This will be enough for learning things and also to take good photos. And later, you can always upgrade if you want to. Some good basic DSLRs include the D3200, D5300 , D3300 from Nikon and EOS 1200D, EOS 700D, EOS 750D from Canon. (You can read my earlier post regarding which camera to buy here.).