8 Effects Every Photographer Should Know About
Rachel ArandillaPhotography seems easy at first glance. You simply make your frame and press the shutter button. The reality is, everyone can take a photo but not all can master it. There’s more to photography than just simply “point and shoot.” Photography is a skill only a handful have the patience and the passion to stick with.
Photography students and enthusiasts must educate themselves with many technical terms such as aperture, shutter speed, focus and exposure. You’ve probably read enough about that elsewhere, so how about a few photography effects? In this post I will share some photography tips and effects. They can enhance the beauty of your photos and they can be very fun to do, too.
1. Bokeh
Bokeh refers to the aesthetic quality of blur, the out of focus area of the image. It’s how the light renders lighted areas that are out of focus. The difference in lens aberrations and aperture shape causes the area to blur, creating the look that’s aesthetically pleasing. Many photographers deliberately use the shallow-focus technique to create images with prominent bokeh areas. The term comes from Japanese ‘boke’, which literally means haze or blur.
There’s good bokeh, but there’s also bad bokeh when the blur is so distracting or harsh that it takes the focus away from the subject. Thus, good bokeh can enhance an image while bad bokeh can ruin it.
Example of bad bokeh.
Use of Creative Bokeh
by Jean Fan
You can also create other shapes of bokeh, such as the heart and star bokeh photos shown below. This can be done by using a filter with the desired shape. You can even create your own. Tutorial can be found here.
by CT Pham
Photo by Astig
2. Panning
Panning refers to the horizontal, vertical or rotational movement of an image still or video. It’s an age-old technique. To achieve panning, you must have a moving subject that you must ‘stay with’ whilst framing the shot before and after you press the shutter. This will create an interesting effect, with your subject being sharp amid a blurred background. Great for shooting moving subjects or racing and sports events.
by Sofia Duarte
Panning will take a lot of practice, but you’ll get used to it and the effort is all worth it. Of course, it is easier to ‘follow’ a human subject than faster subjects like a dog, a motorcycle or a car.
by Statesman
3. Rule of Thirds
The rule of thirds is one of the most basic principles of composition. It has been used for many centuries by artists, painters and now, photographers.
With the Rule of Thirds, the photographer breaks down the photo into thirds, horizontally & vertically so that you have nine equal parts. The main subject is not placed in the middle of the frame, thus it looks dynamic, moving and interesting.
When you are taking a picture you must mentally divide your viewfinder or LCD display into three to frame your shot. With the grid in mind, identify the important points of interest and frame. For some photographers, this comes naturally but for others, it will require practice.
by Rachel Arandilla
Effective use of the rule of thirds create movement and interest in any photograph.
Photo by Majoy Chua
Keep in mind the rule of thirds for post production. If you find an image’s composition boring, you can always post process it by using the cropping and reframing tools of Photoshop. Experiment with the tools at hand to improve your photos.
4. The Golden Hour
The Golden Hour, also referred to as the Magic Hour, refers to the first hour the sun rises and the last hour the sun sets. It creates a different quality of light; it adds interest and drama to the scene. It’s the perfect time of the day for creating magnificent photos–but be quick, because lighting quickly changes and fades away.
by Torontoist
What really happens during the golden hour? During sunrise and sunset, the sun is near the horizon so the daylight is of the indirect light from the sky, reducing intensity of the sun’s bright light. There is softer lighting, warmer hues and longer shadows. In other times of the day, the sun’s light can be too bright and harsh. The sun’s harsh light is particularly a problem in portrait photography, for the light can create unwanted strong shadows around the face and body.
by David Giral
With landscape photography, photographing landscape during the golden hours enhances the colors of the scene.
by Karen Bangcot
5. Golden Rectangle
The Golden Rectangle, (also the Golden Mean or the Golden Ratio) is another guideline for composition and a variation of the Rule of Thirds, but more intricate. The Golden Rectangle is the mean of the ratio of numbers on the Fibonacci Sequence: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 and so on). The ratio creates a golden rectangle, which is comprised of a square and half of the square in the same dimension.
Again, the concept goes back to several centuries. The Golden Rectangle is even used to frame Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Paintings, artworks and photos following the Golden Rectangle tend to be stunning and pleasing to the eye. It’s because it’s an aesthetic proportion that can be found naturally: flowers, shells, butterflies and even the human body.
Photo by Rachel Arandilla
It is very hard to frame the image to the Golden Rectangle means directly from the LCD or viewfinder. Thankfully, there are now several programs that you can use to crop your photos to the Golden Rectangle dimensions during post-production.
by Chris Ganes
6. Fill Flash
Fill Flash is a technique in photography where the photographer uses flash to ‘fill in’ dark areas of the image. It’s perfect for backlit environments. The background is usually a lot brighter than the subject. To create fill flash, adjust the aperture and shutter speed correctly to expose the background, use flash to lighten the foreground but still retain the qualities of the background.
You can use flash when: the subject is in a shadow, when there is more light on the background than on the foreground, and when you are close enough to the subject for flash. Remember that your built-in flash is only powerful enough to reach up to 9 feet only. Fill Flash can brighten deeply shadowed areas, improving the image without overexposing the other areas of the image.
by Mike Baird
Fill Flash is great for illuminating the eyes, especially on bright days and the subject is wearing a cap.
by Don Giannatti
by Adrian Biondi
by Eduardo Muriedas
7. Long Exposure
Long exposure is another interesting photography effect which entails a narrow aperture and long duration shutter speed. This is done in order to create dreamy landscapes, capturing the stationary elements while blurring the moving elements of the image.
Long exposure can be tricky. It should be taken in low light situations, most often photos will be overexposed because having long exposure on sunny days can be a problem, as too much light will enter the lens.
It is often referred to as ‘night photography’. Interesting subjects to shoot are stars, moving cars and lights.
by Cretique
by Matthew Fang
by Tyler Westcott
However, there are many beautiful long exposure photographs taken during low light daytime. Shooting fog and water on long exposure is popular in photography.
by Dene Miles
by Stan Mason
8. Contre-jour
Contre-jour is a popular photography effect. It is French for ‘against daylight’, the camera is directly pointing towards the light source. Countre-jour is, basically, is the fancy speak of ‘silhouette photography’. The light source is located directly behind the subject.
The contre-jour effect produces high contrast photos between light and dark. It hides details yet emphasizes contour of the subject and shapes. Contre-jour is more popular in nature & landscape photography. The effect is often used to add a more dramatic mood and intense ambiance to the scene.
by ArtBible.net
by Karlos Portillo
Ironically though, contre-jour can enhance or reduce the quality of detail in the photo. Some recommend using a lens hood to enhance the effect of contre-jour in photographs, significantly reducing the glare coming into the lens. If too much light enters the lens, it will cause overexposure, causing the photo to lose definition.
Conclusion
You don’t need to follow these terms to the dot in order to create a beautiful and interesting image. In fact, rules are made to be broken! Art is about exploring yourself and your medium, after all. But to be an artist of your own you have to learn the basics first before you break them. That’s what Pablo Picasso and Van Gogh did.
Of course, these are not the only effects in photography. There are dozens more, and you can even create a photography effect through your own experimentation. Photography’s only limits is the photographer’s creativity.
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Wedding photographer kent
Posted 180 days ago 26Thanks for posting this. It is very well written and thought out.
I love the shaped bokeh, I will be trying this one out this xmas. I have a few shoots in mind for it.
iconiclook
Posted 184 days ago 25THank you for sharing. It was a great help! I just started learning photography.
Sheila
Posted 203 days ago 24only a handful of people stick with it? really?
Andres
Posted 213 days ago 23Excelent post, thank you very much…..!!
Here is an excelent site, i’m using to learn abuot hot to create amazing photo effects. I recomend it so much.
http://3c5203hxw5pfkn67tkqhqpdu1o.hop.clickbank.net/
Lars Dahlin
Posted 219 days ago 22I love the article, however I think the headline is somewhat of the scale.
I’d rather use the headline “8 Effects You Must Know About If You Want To Be An Photographer!”.
Claudio
Posted 257 days ago 21Loved the article Rachel, thanks a lot.
David
Posted 258 days ago 20These are awesome! Thanks for sharing! I agree that there should be some manuals or tutorials on the effects! Maybe you could put one together or make a video! Dave
PhotoTipMan
Posted 266 days ago 19Great tips that all photographers should know. I like them as they are simply yet create powerful photographs. The exposure control works wonderfully for waterfalls, so you can get that silky water look that so many photos have.
The following photography tricks book has a great assortment of additional tips and tricks that are complimentary to these. Worthwhile to check out.
Great Photography Tips
-jc
Posted 271 days ago 18the golden rectangle supercedes the rule of 1/3s (rule of thirds is a bastardized golden rectangle), so it’s really only 7 effects. but, otherwise a good article.
Altec
Posted 285 days ago 17great tutorial, it is really helpfull thank you
http://www.centecequipment.com
Aparna Reddy
Posted 291 days ago 16Awesm ,awesm pics
Bodynsoil
Posted 291 days ago 15I am really enjoying this post, I am not a photographer but do try to improve what skill I do have. These tips are very helpful and I thank you for posting.
austin
Posted 346 days ago 14I think I tried at least 2 of these effects without even knowing they existed
john cowie
Posted 355 days ago 13Good article. Some basic ideas that not everyone knows.
masyhury
Posted 426 days ago 12Wonderful picture, it is very cool.
Thank you for sharing this collection. I really liked it.
Ajith Nanayakkara
Posted 436 days ago 11ITS SO GOOD.Simply explained and creative photos included.
Good lesson for beginner to seek the path of success.
AJITH NANAYAKKARA
faraz
Posted 438 days ago 10That is really an interesting article about photography,I didnt knew about the term THE GOLDEN HOUR and here i got to find also explanation of that so thanks for sharing these tips.
Gabe Diaz
Posted 439 days ago 8I agree with xDee…you’ve showed me these great effects and now I need to figure out how to learn/practice them! Great post, loved the examples.
Dainis Graveris
Posted 439 days ago 9huh..maybe follow up article explaining these techniques would work? :)
Michelle
Posted 440 days ago 7Great information on photographic effects! I’m just getting into to photography and these tips will certainly come in handy – I’m going to keep these ideas in the back of my mind the next time I head outdoors with my camera. Thanks! ;)
David Fenwick
Posted 440 days ago 6A very well written and informative article – many thanks for sharing. Other advantages of shooting contre-jour include rim lighting your subject and the creative use of flare.
Kavya Hari
Posted 440 days ago 5Actually, panning shot would be very clear and it could be very nice. And, that panned shot could be came out very well with the great support.
Tom Crowle
Posted 441 days ago 4Nice collection of photos and tips for that matter. I’m more of a web designer than a photographer but I like the rule of thirds. Will definitely use the tips in the future.
chefaktion
Posted 441 days ago 3http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/backlighting-nature-contre-jour-photography.jpg
flash ? where?
xDee
Posted 441 days ago 2Really interesting article but it would be really nice to have some tutorials on how to create those effects!
Ahmed Abbouh
Posted 441 days ago 1Amazing post thank you so much for sharing!