Posts Tagged ‘Photography’

Things to Photograph During Christmas

December 12th, 2011, posted in In the News

Just a few days until Christmas. Here is a quick guide to take stunning pictures during the festival of lights.

Preparations for Christmas
The actual Christmas meal or party is obviously the best part of the day, but there are other photographic opportunities, particularly in the preparations stages of the day.
· Food preparation
· Putting up decorations
· Wrapping gifts
· Kids throwing a tantrum while getting dressed in their Christmas outfits
· Setting the table
Group Photos:
One of the most common types of shots at Christmas is the ‘group photo’. It’s usually taken at the end of the evening or day when everyone is looking at their worst. For a ‘fresher’ shot take it once everyone has arrived. Also think beforehand about how you might pose everyone and where you might take the shot. I’ve posted 12 tips for taking a great group photo previously.
Christmas Lights:
Photographing Christmas lights is something that can be tricky to do. David Hobby from Strobist has put together a great tutorial on how to do it. Check it out at How to Photograph Christmas Lights.
Neighbourhood:
There  is an almost unlimited number of photographic opportunities presenting themselves all around you. Christmas carols services, houses covered in Christmas decorations, shopping malls filled with busyness etc. Get out there with your camera and capture it. What a wonderful time of year to practice using your camera.
Opening Gifts:
There are certain moments during a Christmas gathering that are filled with all manner of photographic opportunities and the opening of gifts is like no other in that it is filled with an array of emotions, facial expressions and excitement – especially if you’ve got kids around. Switch your camera to burst mode (sometimes called continuous shooting mode) and take lots of shots at this time of the festivities. You’ll find you end up with some excellent series of shots when you do this that capture everything from the anticipation of getting the wrapped gift, through to the excitement of unwrapping to the joy (or occasionally disappointment) of seeing what’s inside. Don’t forget to shoot the reactions of those who GIVE the gift as well.Just a few days until Christmas. Here is a quick guide to take stunning pictures during the festival of lights.


Preparations for Christmas
The actual Christmas meal or party is obviously the best part of the day, but there are other photographic opportunities, particularly in the preparations stages of the day.

· Food preparation

· Putting up decorations

· Wrapping gifts

· Kids throwing a tantrum while getting dressed in their Christmas outfits

· Setting the table

Group Photos:
One of the most common types of shots at Christmas is the ‘group photo’. It’s usually taken at the end of the evening or day when everyone is looking at their worst. For a ‘fresher’ shot take it once everyone has arrived. Also think beforehand about how you might pose everyone and where you might take the shot. I’ve posted 12 tips for taking a great group photo previously.


Christmas Lights:

Photographing Christmas lights is something that can be tricky to do. David Hobby from Strobist has put together a great tutorial on how to do it. Check it out at How to Photograph Christmas Lights.

Neighbourhood:

There  is an almost unlimited number of photographic opportunities presenting themselves all around you. Christmas carols services, houses covered in Christmas decorations, shopping malls filled with busyness etc. Get out there with your camera and capture it. What a wonderful time of year to practice using your camera.

Opening Gifts:
There are certain moments during a Christmas gathering that are filled with all manner of photographic opportunities and the opening of gifts is like no other in that it is filled with an array of emotions, facial expressions and excitement – especially if you’ve got kids around. Switch your camera to burst mode (sometimes called continuous shooting mode) and take lots of shots at this time of the festivities. You’ll find you end up with some excellent series of shots when you do this that capture everything from the anticipation of getting the wrapped gift, through to the excitement of unwrapping to the joy (or occasionally disappointment) of seeing what’s inside. Don’t forget to shoot the reactions of those who GIVE the gift as well.

Tips and subjects to keep in mind for landscape and nature photography

March 14th, 2008, posted in Landscape Photography, Nature Photography

Nature photography as beautiful as it can be and can be equally pains taking. In nature photography the most important thing is to get the light right and also to be at the right place at the right time. If the photograph needs to look picture perfect then the lighting should be perfect and for this a little bit of attention should be paid to the weather updates. It is not a very good idea to start on a day with overcast. As the situation cannot be constructed one should always play according to nature and work with it. Most photographers would vouch for a time around the sunrise or sunset to get perfect pictures. This time is called the golden hours for photographers, but this can also be tricky as the horizon will be well illuminated with not too much light in the foreground but this problem can be solved in certain cases with adding a water body in the picture which more often than not provides the amount of light needed as it reflects the light from the sky. Other most convenient way is to just wait for the right time to get enough light on the foreground. Or have a silhouette for a foreground which can bring more character and texture to the composition.

Landscape Nature Road

It is always advisable to carry a tripod for nature photography. This will not only give good results but also more space to experiment. If a tripod isn’t available then you can always rest the camera on the nearest rock or anything sturdy enough. While having to take waterfalls and a slow shutter blur is required then a tripod is a must. If the light is too much and wouldn’t allow a slower shutter for a blur that’s when a ND filter comes handy. A Neutral Density filter reduces the amount of light overall and of all wavelengths. This allows a slow shutter helping acquire get the desired effect. The same tip can be used if you want a blur in the fields.

The composition becomes inevitably the thing of concern after light. It is always advisable to imagine a frame and then shoot, with a digital camera one can always experiment and derive the best composition. It is good to have an object to one side of the frame which will provide more definition to the picture as well as make it aesthetically sound. A tree, a rock or if in the countryside even a house, if in water then a boat. A well contemplated effort can work wonders, one can have the viewer to visualize according to what the photographer wants by emphasizing on the object and letting the viewers eye to travel along the picture.

Black and white is also a very good option; most people fail to realize the power of Black and white photography as against color. For nature photography especially the tonal variations of BW can bring about the most wonderful effect to a picture, one because our normal eyes see in color and a BW will be different and refreshing. Another thing in BWs is that it can reduce distractions and focus on the subject. A subject that has been used to the max along with a landscape in BW is abandoned cars, trees and ruins. One can always move out of clichés and experiment. Clouds make great subjects as well with BW.

The key word is to experiment and trial and error method to get great pictures, worthwhile and different. It’s a good idea to also mock already existing works and learn what works best for you.

Welcome to the GKVale Blog

October 24th, 2007, posted in GK Vale

ACT I, SCENE I- Narrator’s voice over

This, here, feels so good! To state the obvious, the G. K VALE blog is up and running! The team has always looked forward to interacting with it’s customers on an informal but informative basis. Think of this as a
forum where you can have your say as well. The comment box is activated for every post, feel free to flood it, we’d love that.

For those of you who remain uninitiated into the world of G.K Vale, here’s what you’ve missed and might’ve always been looking for GKVale.com has a host of new features. Apart from being able to upload
and print
your picture files, we also have a Photogifts section which allows you to customize Calendars, Mugs, DigitalAlbums, Invitation cards, Greetings cards, Baby’s gifts, Corporate gifts, and collages. It even allows you to upload and print your Mobile images.

And that smile turns into a grin when you see that we charge only Rs 25/- to ship anywhere across India – That’s Right! Even if it’s up in that hermitage on the mountains, no matter how small or large the order.
Continuing with the treats, the seasonal offers are always irresistible and will have you coming back for more!

For all those living outside India, this is close to divine. We shall have your pictures trotting across the globe, in front of the Eiffel tower, Statue of Liberty, First Snow, First Autumn, Home away from
home, Family moments and such delivered to your loved ones here in India, all with great expediency. There you have it, now click away!

And this is the close of the initiation rite, the team welcomes you with great pleasure into the GK Vale fold.

Having said that, we’d like to give you a quick once-over for how our blog is going to make you a much happier person :)

This blog will play many roles,

• Savvy Informant
• The Insider (who loves to talk)
• Friendly Jargon Decoder
• Your muse for gift ideas

Plus, all things related to a visual journey- Cameras, Techniques, Pictures & Printing.

Stick around and know what it means to have fun with photography!

Until then, the curtains shall remain drawn…

Snazzing it up,
Team – G. K. Vale.