Photography seems to have gotten a fresh shot in the arm, with the result of this year’s funniest photo of the year announced. Please look at this video; you will see other images that did not make it, and they are equally amusing. So, what differentiated the winner from the rest? Read on; this article tries to provide a brief on how to enjoy photographing and, occasionally, win some contests, too! It does not matter whether you use a smartphone or a professional mirrorless SLR, capturing moments that can be cherished for life. Photography can be a hobby or a profession; you get to choose.
Table of Contents
How can ‘Funny’ photography be fun?
Start by taking photographs; learn to be alert to your camera and the situations around you. It does not matter if you look like a detective, snapping away at everything! Good photographers are skillfully unintrusive, meaning they get the photo moment they want without disturbing the surroundings. While wildlife photography needs this skill, snapping human subjects may need prior permission.
To capture funny photos, it will be good if the photographer has a natural sense of humour combined with patience, creativity, and technical skills. Never mind, these are skills that can be acquired. In this article, we will focus on wildlife photography.
Limitations of analogue photography are nonexistent, and experimenting with digital cameras is cost-effective. Creativity has a field day.
Photographing in the wild needs planning, preparation, creativity, and sharp observation. This, combined with some techniques like:
- Composition and framing
- Playing with light
- Post-processing
- Knowledge of the camera and its usage.
The rule of third, where the subject is at a third of the frame, helps in composing that makes the picture aesthetic. A picture framed using this rule:
In this picture, the largest mount is the subject, so it is aligned to the top third region of the frame. Observing the picture provides us with a range of light intensity; the foreground is darker, with less light than the top portion of the frame. This is a good picture using light and shade. Controlling these aspects is a skill that can be gained by choosing a camera and knowing it technically.
There are other fun things that you can do:
- Using mirrors, puddles, or shiny surfaces. This is called Reflection photography.
- Create optical illusions by manipulating perspectives, called Forced perspective photography.
- The Bokeh Effect is one of the most attractive techniques. It creates a blurry, out-of-focus background with the subject in shape focus.
- Capturing animals and birds in motion can be challenging, but that is fun.
Fun with Creativity and a Technical tour
The fun can be more so if there is also an understanding of the technical aspects of photography and the camera. For example, how to control light to avoid over/underexposing images, capture a deer in midair as it jumps across a bush, or in the middle of the night snap a owl sitting on a branch.
All these can be done by knowing what the fab three of camera settings are for good exposure:
- ISO (control noise in low-light images)
- Aperture (Depth of field)
- Shutter Speed (Motion photography)
A good photo emerges when all three are optimally set in your camera. This is called the Exposure Triangle, and the picture below depicts its importance.
About Exposure Triangle
How your picture looks is totally controlled by setting these three parameters, and knowing them is paramount.
Imagine you want to collect rainwater in a bucket. The rate of rain is not in our control (just like light); three other factors can be controlled:
- Width of the bucket
- Duration: you leave a bucket in the rain
- Quantity of water that needs to be collected.
A fixed amount of water can be collected by increasing the width and decreasing the time. Or by decreasing the time and increasing the width.
Similarly, adjusting the Aperture, shutter speed, or ISO setting can control the amount of light.
The concept of exposure will be explained with pictures for better understanding:
Effects of ISO settings on the picture
A high ISO is normally used when lighting is low but needs optimization; otherwise, noise can spoil the image. A range between 50-800 is acceptable in normal lighting conditions.
Effects of shutter speed settings on the picture
Shutter settings are a powerful tool for freezing or blurring to give effects. Most of the time, motion blur, like the unwanted camera shake, is avoided. A shutter speed between 1/250 and 1/500 can capture the movement of birds and animals in proper daylight.
Effects of Aperture settings on the picture
The aperture is the diameter of the opening that lets light into the sensor. The setting provides control of the depth of field and the area of focus around the subject. The larger the aperture, the lesser the depth of field, and the subject is more in focus. If the aperture is smaller, then the whole frame is in focus. Aperture is set in f-stops, larger the number, smaller the aperture opening, lesser the light entering. In normal lighting and wildlife photography, a setting in the range of f/5.6-f/11. Note also that each f-stop step will reduce or increase light by twice or half it.
Conclusion
Photography is a fun and creative way of spending quality time. It allows you to explore different places, wildlife, and birds. A simple walk in your locality will provide insights that can be gems to cherish or publish. It does not matter whether you capture a landscape, an animal, or a funny family gathering; you only need a camera and a sharp mind to enjoy.
So do not wait; get your DSLR mirrorless and start a journey you will never regret. Learn while you take pictures.
