PC_Advisor_Issue_264_July_2017

Feature: Best photography techniques
you’ve plenty of reflective surfaces such as
the seaside, the amount of light bouncing
around can send shutter speeds very high
even at 100 ISO settings.
Professional photographers are always
pursuing ‘good light’, and that’s mostly
about being prepared to get up early or
wait for the right conditions to prevail.
15. When to use a polariser
Some photographers always have a
polarising filter installed, but there are
only limited situations where they’re a
necessity. Its job is to cut down light that’s
scattered by atmospherics or is coming in
at sharp angles causing glare.
They work best when the sun is either
directly behind you or up to 90 degrees
left or right, while in the direction of the
sun they have no impact at all. Shooting
water, misty landscapes and delicate cloud
formations benefit most.
The downside of using them is that along
with diffused light reduction they also tend
to notch the colour saturation down too.
Because of this avoid using one to capture
a sunset or fireworks.
The best results from using a polariser
come from water photography, where you
can rotate the filter to provide the perfect
amount of refracted light removal. Just watch
out for zoom lenses that rotate the end of
the lens as they extend/retract, because that
will alter the amount of polarisation you see.
On the left is a photo taken with no polariser.
Using a polarising filter makes the sky extra
blue and gives cloud details more punch.
16. How to shoot HDR on a DSLR
HDR or High-dynamic-range is a technique
that’s become very popular since the
inception of the digital photography. The idea
is to capture multiple exposures and then
combine them in post-production to provide
Flash is used on the left,
and not on the right
a much wider dynamic range than the
sensor could achieve in a single shot.
Most cameras have an built-in
HDR mode, but the best results come
from using exposure bracketing and
assembling the image away from the camera.
Typically, exposure bracketing allows
three, five or seven images to be fired off in
rapid succession, with a different exposure
on each. The exact increment and centre
point of exposure are usually definable in
86 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/features July 2017