This menu option, which is available only on SLR cameras, may variously be called Anti-Shock, Mirror-Lockup or some other such thing. The terminology depends on the manufacturer but the functionality is universal.

When turned on, Anti-Shock delays the shutter opening for some preset time (usually 2-5 seconds) after the shutter button is pressed.

Why would you want to introduce a lag time between when you press the button and when the picture is actually taken?

With SLR cameras, there is a mirror which sits between the lens and the “film plane”. You can see it when you remove the lens and look into the camera body through the flange. This mirror is hinged on most cameras (a few models have been tried over the years which use translucent mirrors that remain in place.) The mirror swings up out of the way while the exposure is being made.

The Anti-Shock delay is to allow vibrations from the mirror movement to dampen before the exposure is made. While this function is not useful for any kind of action shots, it can be very useful for landscape photos, macros and other cases where the subject is not moving and you want maximum sharpness.

Anti-shock is not available on point-and-shoot, rangefinder or other types of cameras without a mirror. And although it can be used at any time, anti-shock is only effective when the camera is on a tripod or other support.

One final thing to watch out for is that Anti-Shock is usually not self-resetting. Once you turn it on it remains on until you turn it off again. If you forget, you may find yourself trying to grab an action shot only to miss it because of a delay you weren’t counting on.

Want to learn more about your camera’s advanced features?

There are three main types of image stabilization:

• In-camera stabilization actually moves the sensor inside your camera in response to small movements and vibrations in an effort to counter those and capture a sharper image.
• In-lens stabilization performs a similar function within the lens. In-lens stabilization is available only on select (usually expensive) lenses for SLR camera systems with interchangeable lenses.
• Software stabilization attempts to interpret and clean up blurriness using software in the camera.

In all cases, image stabilization works only when shooting handheld and can actually make your pictures worse when using a tripod or other solid support. The reason is that when image stabilization is turned on, the camera assumes there is some shake. If you are using a solid support which prevents camera shake, image stabilization may actually introduce some shake that otherwise wouldn’t exist!

There are other situations where image stabilization is counter-productive, such as when you are deliberately moving the camera during exposure. You might do this, for example when panning to follow a moving subject or zooming to add an explosion effect. There is even a whole genre in artistic photography which aims to reproduce the effect seen in impressionist paintings. (Achieving this effect is a topic all in itself and will not be covered here.) Or an even more extreme genre in which the camera is set on a timer and tossed into the air to make the exposure. (Note: This poses a serious risk of damaging your camera and we do not recommend trying it.)

Some more advanced cameras have multiple image stabilization settings which may take deliberate camera movement into account. For instance, vertical stabilization will help control up/down movement but will not attempt to correct for side-to-side movement. This will allow you to pan, for example on a racecar whizzing past, while still getting some benefit from increased sharpness. Horizontal stabilization helps correct for side-to-side movement while allowing up/down panning, such as when following a rocket launch.

It’s important to know that even the best image stabilization will not correct for extreme camera movement. The purpose of these settings is to counteract the tiny vibrations that are a natural part of muscle shake. Your body’s muscles are actually designed to tremble a little with use. This trembling can cause vibration in your camera, leading to slightly blurry photos. Zooming in or using a long telephoto lens magnifies this camera shake and is when image stabilization shows its greatest benefits.

Want to learn more about lenses, stabilized or not? Check this out!

The technical name for the noise reduction process is called “Dark Field Subtraction”. (Clearly, its clever marketing name is an improvement.)

Here’s how it works:

• With noise reduction on, your camera follows each exposure with another exposure of equal length. (With some cameras this only happens on exposures over a certain length, as long exposures are the ones that benefit most from noise reduction.)
• The second exposure is made by the camera with the shutter closed. It is a pure black exposure and is not saved.
• The camera analyzes this pure black exposure looking for any non-black specks (pixels).
• It then compares the location of any non-black pixels it finds to the same location on the previous exposure.
• If the pixel there is the same color, the camera analyzes the surrounding pixels and automatically cleans up the offending pixel based on the colors, brightness and tones of the surrounding area.

Noise reduction is not magic so it may not be able to clean up 100% of all noise, but it can make a notable difference.

As noted, noise reduction usually has little beneficial effect on exposures of less than one minute. That’s because you generally only get noise on longer exposures. It’s caused by your digital sensor heating up from prolonged use and some of the pixels registering “false positives”.

That is, some pixels report seeing light that they don’t really see. Once the sensor has cooled, the pixels will correct themselves.

Noise reduction also applies only to digital cameras. Film had its own equivalent but only certain types of film were affected and the exposure time thresshold was much longer. (Typically over an hour.)

If you want to really understand the mechanics of how your camera works, check out our ebook on the topic:

Imagine there’s a tic-tac-toe board superimposed over your viewfinder or LCD screen (some cameras actually have this as a feature). When a scene is divided into thirds in both directions, as in a tic-tac-toe board, all significant elements in your picture should fall on one or more of the dividing lines.

Generally speaking, boundaries (such as the horizon) are less static when they fall on one of the 1/3 lines. “Power Points” mark the intersections of the 1/3 lines and are compositionally the strongest places in the image.

So, in the example shot shown here, moving the camera so that the flower was placed in the lower-right corner made for a much stronger, more interesting image than if it had been placed right smack in the center of the frame.

Note too that a small portion of the flower was allowed to run off the edges of the frame; another very powerful compositional tool.

Ready to learn more than two dozen rules of good composition? Look no further…

A tighter cropping that leaves elements out can say just as much while also yielding a more powerful image. Also, letting some of your subject run off the edges of the visible frame can be a very powerful compositional tool.

Of course this assumes you are doing it the right way.

Yes there is a right and a wrong way to crop, whether you are doing it in camera or during post processing.

You especially want to to beware when cropping people’s limbs; crops which occur at the joints (knees, elbows, wrists, etc.) often have a slightly creepy look. In the photography industry these are referred to as “painful crops”.

Since the joint is a natural termination point, when you crop at the joint a viewer’s eye (and mind) doesn’t automatically continue on to mentally fill in the rest of the missing limb.

Crops that fall between the joints (mid-thigh, mid-calf, etc.) tend to look more natural.

Each of the photos in the pair above was cropped from the exact same original. Both have exactly the same dimensions and exactly the same degree of magnification. The sole difference between them was placement of the crop frame.

Note that, in the picture on the left the crop is right at both knees and at the left elbow. In the one on the right, the crop was moved so that it wasn’t directly on any of the joints.

 For more than two dozen more quick tips for better composition, check out our ebook on the subject:

I am an amateur photographer based in the US. I need to make a decision between the Nikon D7000 vs Nikon D90. Please help. Also please suggest what lens should I buy.

What follows is a response from one of the other active members of the same forum.

If video isn’t important in your SLR, buy the absolute nicest lens you can buy, leaving just enough to buy a body. If you have enough, then get the best body you can on your budget. Within one company’s lineup, you are pretty safe to assume if it’s more expensive it’s either better, has more features, or usually both. Not always the case, but generally true.

Which lens, is a big question. Assuming anything but the top of the line full frame SLR cameras, I think a good lens focal length for the average person is in the range of 15-85mm zoom, or a 35mm prime. The faster the better, and IS [image stabilization] is a big plus.

If more cheap is the name of the game, everything changes…

I agree with a large part the answer given, but only up to a point. Definitely choose glass over body. It matters a lot more.

The first point I disagree on is making a blind recommendation on lens. What do you want to do with your camera? What do you most like to take pictures of? If that’s birds in the wild, then a wide angle zoom will do you no good. You’ll need a long telephoto. If it’s just about anything in low light, fast maximum aperture is important. If it’s scenic landscapes in wild places like the American west then even 15mm may not be wide enough for you. It depends a great deal on what sort of pictures you take and what you need the lens to do.

The second point I disagree on is format. Everyone talks about “full frame” as though it were the holy grail of photography. It isn’t. ALL cameras are full frame. Every single one of them. They simply have different frame sizes. One side effect of that is magnification. Smaller sensors (APS-C, 4:3, etc) effectively magnify the image over what you’d get from the same focal length on a so-called full frame camera. This can actually be a benefit for certain applications, sports and wildlife being chief among them.

In nearly 30 years of taking pictures, I have never met a photographer whose skill was so exceptional that he was being held back by the equipment he was using. Never. Not even once. No matter what you pick, the gear you hold in your hands will always be capable of delivering more than you will ever be capable of getting out of it. This is even more true now when cameras are so capable. At the DSLR level, there is no such thing as a bad camera. In fact, unless there’s a reason to — for instance, if you already have an investment in good glass or other accessories — don’t just limit yourself to Canon and Nikon. (That’s my third point of contention.) There are plenty of other manufacturers who make wonderful cameras that take beautiful pictures. One of those may serve your needs better or give you more bang for your buck.

Food for thought.

If you’re in the market for a camera, we offer a free buying guide that will help you in deciding what to get. We also have an extensive ebook on the subject of choosing and using lenses.

What an interesting question.

The not-so-straightforward answer is YES. Sort of.

A lot depends on the subject, the setting and how much post-processing you do. There are not really any quick or simple tricks.

With that caveat in hand, let’s look at a handful of tricks you could try.

1. Soft Focus – Soft focus lenses have long been a favorite of moviemakers and are still widely used to this day. Among photographers, they enjoyed a brief heyday in the late 1980s and throughout most of the 90s but have since fallen from favor.

Nowadays the vogue is for the most tack-sharp images possible. While there is something to be said for perfectly sharp images, some subjects may be better rendered with a bit of softness. This is especially true with feminine glamour shots.

Don’t mistake soft focus for out of focus! A true soft focus picture taken with a soft focus lens or filter is in perfect focus. It just has a bit of softness which lends a flattering effect to certain subjects.

2. Soft Light – If you have control over the light, the softer the better. Imagine holding just a single flashlight near your face as in old horror movies. The shadows would bring out every contour but they would also highlight every line and wrinkle.

If instead you had a huge bank of soft lights that created little or no shadow at all, lines and wrinkles would blend right in. After all, they are the same color as the surrounding skin so it’s only light and shadow which makes them visible.

3. Good Make-up – Celebrity news magazines make a big deal out of catching glamorous starlets looking less than flattering. The plain and simple fact is that they look like that all the time! (So do you and I, for that matter.) They only look glamorous thanks to hours spent with professional make-up artists.

Brides glow on their wedding day for the very same reason. In fact, just about anyone fresh out of the salon or who has just walked away from the makeover station at the make-up counter will look equally fabulous. Why do you think cosmetics companies offer free makeovers? Because you’ll look so good that the cosmetics sell themselves!

4. Judicious Post-processing -Trying to make someone look younger in post-processing takes a great deal of both skill and subtlety. It’s also a double-edged sword. You don’t want to make the person look vastly different from how they look in everyday life and yet you want to make them somehow look better than they do in everyday life.

Here are two shots shown side-by-side. The shot on the left is straight out of the camera. For the shot on the right, I literally set a timer and allowed myself only 5 minutes to make her look as young as possible while still maintaining a realistic look to the portrait.

So what did I do?

• Create a duplicate copy of the photo on its own layer. (Learning to work with layers is perhaps the single most effective thing you can do in post-processing.)
• Set the layer type to “screen”. This vastly lightens the image.
• Reduce the opacity to 22%. (I did this by eye; there is no scientific formula to it.)
• Add a layer mask filled black for full opacity.
• Set an extremely soft-edged brush.
• Brushed white back onto the layer mask where shadows brought out wrinkles and other signs of aging.

That’s it! Simply by lightening some of the shadows, I took a couple of years off my subject in under five minutes. Sure, I could have spent a great deal more time and gotten a more dramatic result but MoreSatisfyingPhotos is all about keeping things quick, simple and accessible.

I hope this helps, ML!

If you’d like to learn the secrets of portraiture, check out our ebook on the subject.

Want to get down the fundamentals of post-processing? Watch for our forthcoming ebook that will give you a quick list of edits you can make to get any decent photo 75% perfect in 15 minutes or less!

Since the Nikonos had interchangeable lenses (of course you couldn’t actually change the lenses underwater!), many hobbyists and inventors tinkered with adapting the old Nikonos cameras to the digital age. Some have tried adding a digital back to the original body. Others went a different route and adapted a standard digital body in a waterproof housing to use the Nikonos lenses.

Enter the new generation of small bodied interchangeable lens cameras such as the Olympus EPL1 and Olympus EPL2. These innovative little cameras sport two features absolutely crucial to the search for a digital body that can take Nikonos lenses:

1. They are designed to shoot using live view. Live view is the LCD screen on the back of the camera. While many interchangeable lens cameras let you compose and use the LCD, it’s really a supplement to the optical viewfinder. Long term use of the LCD screens on those cameras often drastically shortens battery life. Not so with the Olympus cameras, which don’t even have an optical viewfinder.
2. Because of sensor size, cameras like the Olympus EP-1 require legacy film system lenses to mount farther away from the camera body in order to maintain the ability to focus to infinity. Perfect. That allows enough room to insert an adapter which is also part of a waterproof housing, such as an Ikelite housing.

Some such housings are even rumored to natively support using the original Nikonos lenses. These are world-class optics for underwater photography. Of course you can also find an underwater housing for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax and just about any other brand of camera out there.

Having a new generation of digital underwater cameras is good news for underwater photography, divers  and other water sports enthusiasts.

1. Why is it so hard to find a DVD explaining what F-Stops, shutter speeds, and ISO to use when taking photos with DSLR cameras?

The short answer is because it’s essentially an impossible task. What I mean by that is that all of these things are variable and changing any one of them has two effects:

a) it requires an offsetting change in one or both of the others in order to maintain proper exposure,

b) each change of setting will change the appearance of the photo you take. For example, closing down the f-stop (higher number) will increase your depth of field while opening it will decrease depth of field. A faster shutter speed will freeze motion better while a slower one will allow for motion blur (deliberate or otherwise). Lower ISO will yield less grain and more saturated colors while higher ISO will give more grain and generally more muted colors.

So while it’s theoretically possible for me (or anyone else) to tell you exactly what settings to use, that may not give you the picture you want. For example, suppose I say to use ISO100, 1/60th second and f8. If shallow depth of field is important to you, f8 won’t accomplish that but the only way you’ll know that is if you more deeply understand the exposure triangle.

With those same settings (ISO100, 1/60th, f8), if your subject is moving and you want to freeze blur, then 1/60th second is likely too slow. Again, you’ll have to understand the exposure triangle to realize that and to know what to do about it.

Now that I’ve given all the caveats, let me say that I have created a simple one-page cheat sheet that does exactly what is being asked. It tells you precisely what settings to use in more than 30 different shooting scenarios and even lets you choose from 7 different ISO settings in each of the scenarios outlined.

This easy-to-carry, simple-to-use reference tool can be downloaded right now for only $3.97. Like all our products, it comes with a 100% money-back guarantee.

2. I’m looking at purchasing a DSLR, either a Nikon or Canon. No one ever wants to say and list why either is better. What do you think? Also, I’ve heard lately that you should invest in lenses rather than a camera body. What type of lenses do you think are the best quality?

Another trick question. First of all, this question has built into it the common belief that there are only two camera brands worth considering. Hogwash! I’ve written many times before about how terrific many of the “off” brands are. In fact, most of them tend to offer more for the money than either Nikon or Canon.

There is one — and only one — reason not to consider alternative brands. If you already have an investment of lenses or have access to lenses (i.e. a close friend or relative has some you could freely borrow) then the choice of brand is already made for you and you should read no further.

Lenses, if well cared for, will last a lifetime and can even be passed down from one generation to the next.

Assuming you’re not “locked in” because of a significant investment in glass, try this experiment. Go to http://www.flickr.com/cameras/ and spend some time browsing around there. You can look at samples of photos taken with essentially every brand and model of digital camera that’s been on the market in at least the last 10 years.

Let me spare you a lot of confusion. You are certain to find absolutely gorgeous pictures taken with every single one of them. Every one. Without exception.

I know photographers who take stunning photos with cheap cell phone cameras.

It isn’t the tool, it’s the 12″ of grey matter behind it that counts most.

You want to buy a Nikon? Good choice. You want to buy a Canon? Good choice. You want to buy a Sony, Pentax, Olympus or Fuji? Excellent choice!

Some might say “Oh but brand x has 8,000 lenses whereas brand y only has 400.” Are you planning on buying all 8,000 lenses? Are you even planning on buying 400 lenses? Chances are, you’ll never own more than 3 lenses so it really doesn’t matter how many lenses are available for a certain brand.

Again, every single camera brand — bar none — has a full range of lenses from the widest wide angle to the longest telephoto. Every zoom you could ever ask for and every price range you could ever wish for.

Now let me get to the second part of the question. What type of lenses are the best quality?

Every single camera manufacturer makes more than one grade of lens. Price is absolutely a reflection of quality. You can pay more without getting more (if you’re dealing with a disreputable dealer) but to get more you will absolutely have to pay more.

A $2,000 lens will definitely take better quality photos than a $300 lens. The real question is whether you actually need and can afford that difference in quality. Will you ever even see it?

What do you do with your pictures? 99.9% of mine are used in electronic form only (on this and other web sites, on my computer, in email, etc.) No matter how great my lenses are, your computer monitor will not really show much of a difference.

Consequently, I do not own any lenses that cost more than $300. I salivate over several high dollar lenses but nothing I do with my photos warrants the cost for me right now. There is also the option of renting.

Boy, did this turn into a rant I hadn’t anticipated. Still, I hope it was helpful.

Before buying any lens, you should understand how to choose and use the right lens for your style of shooting. Fortunately, we have an ebook dedicated to that very subject.

First, let me back up a bit.

I had heard and read about funeral photographers before, so the concept wasn’t new to me. Still, I had never actually seen one in action. (Technically, I still haven’t.)

I am blessed to have not been to very many funerals so far in my life. I did go to the funeral of a family friend who succumbed to cancer a couple of years ago. I had just recently learned about funeral photography at that time so it was kind of fresh in my mind.

While I was at the service, I couldn’t help but have a photographer’s eye. I remember looking around and mentally composing pictures from the scenes before me.

Not just idle thoughts. I actually figured out what lenses I would use, angles of view, camera settings. I actively looked for photo opportunities.

This may seem a little callous but no one knew I was doing this. It was a mental exercise meant just for myself.

What I learned was that funeral photography seems very similar to some aspects of wedding photography or corporate event photography. There is a bit more of a somber atmosphere and it would be highly insensitive to ask people to pose for pictures. That means you must be very good at anticipating and taking candids.

Fast forward a couple of years. My own mother died recently and her funeral was held earlier this month. Without any input from me, my brother and two sisters — none of whom is a photographer or has any special interest in photography —  got together and decided to have a photographer at the memorial service.

The person they got was a young kid who is a friend of my youngest sister. I could tell that he didn’t have a lot of experience. Not only was this very likely his first time doing funeral photos, but it may have been one of his first few times doing photos of any kind professionally.

He did things very differently from how I would have.

That, in and of itself, is not necessarily a bad thing. Lots of people have a different style from mine and I have seen many of them produce work to be envied and admired.

The big thing in this case was that he did ask us to pose. He took a lot of what I would call “Senior Graduation” pictures. When the actual service started, as far as I know (he moved to the back and I was in front) he put away his camera and did not take any other pictures.

I wasn’t the one who hired him and he didn’t actually ask for any money but I did pay him a nominal fee and gave him my address. I asked if he’d send me digital copies of the pictures he took. I’m still waiting.