Tips to landscape photography

Landscape photography is a genre which depicts the aesthetic value of nature, sometimes vast and unending, but other times microscopic. This style of photography is practiced by professionals and amateurs alike. Photographs typically capture the presence of nature and are often free of man-made obstructions. The prime subject will be the composition of nature.

The magic hour - Landscape photos are often defined by the quality of light they were taken in. Early in the morning or during late afternoons the light will be soft and the contrast will be less and the tones display a subtle colour palette of moody hues. The hours after dawn and before dusk are known as the ‘magic hours’.

Composition - Composition is the axis of an excellent landscape image. The rule of thirds play an important role in composing captivating imagery. Also it is important to choose the subject , object , background and foreground carefully. The entirety of the image must be given importance as well as the details in it. Look out for colour representation to bring in the impact of contrast and richness of the image.

Research and eye for detail - Research for best locations and angles to click. Also look for locations which are capable of narrating a story by itself. A map, a compass and a bit of trekking will always go along with landscape photography.

Polarising filters - Landscape photographers will have a circular polarising filter in their kit bag. There are many uses for filters like this, but for the landscape photographer the two key characteristics are their ability to cut out relections and glare from a scene and the increased colour intensity, saturation and contrast they create. A grey filter is a cheap alternative for polarizing filter. 

Depth of field - Landscape photographers desire an image that appears sharp throughout the scene, so that elements of foreground interest, such as a rock in a lake, look just as sharp as the distant horizon. This can be achieved relatively easily using the principles of depth of field, whereby the smaller an aperture you use, such as f/22, the greater the area both before and beyond the point of focus also appear to be sharp. This principle can be taken one step further with hyperfocal focusing. Generally, when you’re using small apertures you’ll need to compensate with slow shutter speeds, so a tripod is essential. 

Neutral Density graduated filterss - One of the great problems for landscape photographers is the difference in brightness between the sky and the land. While the human eye is capable of perceiving detail across this tonal range, a digital sensor isn’t capable of recording it. So ND Grads (neutral density graduated filters) were created and have been avidly used by landscape shooters ever since. Their gradual transition from clear to dark neutral density allows the photographer to balance the exposure between the sky and the land to make a more even exposure in which detail remains in both the highlight and shadow areas. 

Man and the landscape - Great landscape photography is not necessarily about hunting out the most picturesque scene, in the most wonderful light and at the most perfect time of day. Indeed, there are many aspects of the world’s landscape that are less glamorous, such as the effects of heavy farming, rapidly expanding suburbs and sprawling industrial wastelands, that can make a poignant subject for the concerned photographer. Take a look at the effects of man on the landscape near your home and use them as photographic subjects. 

RAW - To maximise on quality and also to allow you to edit your original images non-destructively, always shoot your landscapes in the RAW format. RAW images give the photographer more freedom over the creative output of the image.

Slow exposures - Slow exposures are used by landscape photographers, whether it’s to optimise depth of field with a small aperture or to create smooth and milky seas, a sturdy tripod is a must. To further minimise camera movement during the exposure consider using a cable release or your camera’s self-timer, as well as locking the mirror up. 

~ Hari Bhagirath Photography

Tips for Photojournalists

Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism (the collecting, editing, and presenting of news material for publication or broadcast) that creates images in order to tell a news story. It is now usually understood to refer only to still images, but in some cases the term also refers to video used in broadcast journalism. Here are a few tips for beginners in photojournalism.

• Convey a story- Use the photograph to tell a story. Identify a subject, establish the background and build a story around the subject. Since photograph plays a vital role in narration imagine the role of the photograph in the story while clicking the image. The photograph must be self explanatory and must be able to convey with least description.
• Research- A basic research will help to identify what the photograph must represent and to understand the subject and photograph better. A photo essay, for example, could help you to reveal more about your subject. Research helps to get familiarized to similar situations and styles adopted during those situations.
• Choose the right style- Confirm about the way the shot must be intended and what aspects need to be highlighted. Plan the lighting, angle and theme in advance. Planning will make photographs more coherent. This helps to get placed in the right angle and area and vantage point for the shoot.
• Be prepared- Once an approach and style is confirmed the right gear and accessories must be prepared to capture the shot. Just select the tools you need. Be sure you’ve got the right focal lengths covered, and ask yourself if you might need a tripod. Get the batteries charged and carry spare batteries for your flashgun and plenty of memory cards. Don’t let a lack of preparation ruin a shoot. Arrive before the shoot so that the environment can be studied and potential stories can be covered.
• Get permission- It’s a good idea to seek permission, especially if you’re photographing people going about their business. Explain the subjects about the shoot and have a friendly rapport with them, while invading private space always try to reduce the conflicts and solve anything arising amicably. A healthy rapport to with the subjects ensure results in the long run. Interacting with the subjects reduce their level of resistance. 
• Get back-up- One of the most important tasks for a digital photographer is to ensure all your images are safe. As soon as you get back from your day’s shooting, download your images and make back-up copies on an external hard-drive or DVD. It’s a good idea to keep your back-ups in a different location to your main computer.

~ Hari Bhagirath Photography

Tips to improve portrait photography

Portrait Photography

Portrait photography or portraiture is the capture by means of photography of the likeness of a person or a small group of people (a group portrait), in which the face and expression is predominant. The objective is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the subject. Like other types of portraiture, the focus of the photograph is the person's face, although the entire body and the background may be included. A portrait is generally not a snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position. A portrait often shows a person looking directly at the camera.

Portrait photography has been around since the invention and popularization of the camera. It is a cheaper and often more accessible method than portrait painting, which has been used by distinguished figures before the popularity of the camera.

• Natural light - Natural light is capable of producing beautiful portraits. Window light have been used as an efficient source of light even today. But it will be hard to control the angle, density and direction of natural light unlike artificial light. Reflectors can be used while working in open areas to reflect light on to the subject. Natural light is effective, easy and inexpensive.
• Flash - Flash too can be great for portraits. Technique of fill flash where in while close enough to the subject, camera's pop-up flash is used to 'fill in' the hard shadows caused by the strong light overhead can also be effective to deliver portraits of aesthetic value.
• Use off-camera flash - Off camera flash is a moderately costly yet a highly creative option to add creativity and aesthetic value to portrait photography. By using a special cable or remote trigger one will be able to light the subject from different angles with stunning visual effects.
• Ring flash - A ring flash is a circular flash that attaches to the end of lens. It was actually developed so that medical, forensic and macro photographers could get super close to their subject and still get a good even spread of light. However, in recent years it’s been adopted by portrait and fashion photographers for the unique halo-like shadow it creates. It is also used to superimpose the iris and bring liveliness to the eye of the model.
• Studio lights - Studio lights gives maximum control to the photographer. It delivers maximum artistic freedom and greater room for creativity and productivity. Using strobe lights with accessories such as umbrellas, soft-boxes, snoots and barn doors variety of moods and styles can be created to enhance portraits. 
• Environmental portraits - Taking portraits of people in their environment can add another dimension to your images. It adds various dimensions and personality to the portrait.
• Pose or candid - There are opportunities for fantastic portraits whether you give your subject direction or not. A well-taken candid portrait can capture the essence of your subject’s personality in a split second, but you’ll need quick reactions to get the best results. A more deliberate and considered approach that might involve some direction and interaction between photographer and sitter can also produce magical results, but you’ll need make your subject feel at ease.

~ Hari Bhagirath Photography

Use of filters in photography

Hari Bhagirath Photography

Colour filters are efficient tools to add depth, detail and effects to black and white photography. Careful choice and use of coloured filters can have immense impact over the appearance of the final black-and-white image. Colour filters can reproduce certain colours which are less represented in the spectrum and give detail to the image.Certain colours in the spectrum are superimposed and certain colours are nullified while filters are used. 

Filters let light of their own colour through to the film but block other colours in the spectrum. A strong red filter blocks blue and green lights in a scene in front of the camera but allows red light to pass through. Blue and green coloured objects will therefore reproduce darker. 

Similarly to darken a sky, yellow, orange or red filter is used.In practice, these filters have a progressive darkening effect on skies, with yellow showing the least effect and a strong red filter showing a more dramatic darkening effect. Photographers of an earlier generation would refer to yellow filters as ‘cloud filters’ as they gave some modelling to the clouds against a slightly darkened sky. Red filters were called ‘sky filters’ as they had a stronger effect on clear blue skies.Blue filters can be used to subtly darken skin tones for portraits or nude images – filters from the Wratten 82 series of light-balancing filters are sometimes used to achieve this effect on black-and-white film. 

A yellow-green filter will also get the black-and-white ‘look’ right when taking portraits under tungsten light. Colour filters have a special use in portraiture to subtly alter skin tones and hair colouring. The effects can either be a technical adjustment or can be applied for exaggeration or aesthetic purposes.Red filters will remove all appearance of skin blemishes, both smoothing and lightening skin tones – they seem also to increase the modelling effect of the lighting, so as to better bring out the shape of the face. With darker skins, blue filters will darken and smooth skin tone and will further darken naturally dark hair.The right use of filter can amplify the effect and theme of the resultant photograph and add to the aesthetic and visual value of the art.

~ Hari Bhagirath Photography 

Converting Colour to black and white in Photography

The colour wheel

The basis of understanding about photography begins with an understanding about the properties of light. So practically colour theory becomes the basis for understanding black-and-white photography. In Black & White photography colours can be explained as white light which comprises all other colours of the visible spectrum and black as the absence of all colours. Black-and-white film captures all portions of the visible spectrum. However sensitivity of representation of colours captured by the black & white film differs. 

Additive primaries & subtractive primaries

The primary colours of white light are red, green and blue. These are the colours that cannot be made up by adding light of other colours and which, when added together, make white light. They are therefore known as the additive primaries. 

Cyan, magenta or yellow are colours can be thought of as white light without red, white light without green and white light without blue. Based on the notion of taking away one primary colour from white light, the colours cyan, magenta and yellow are known as the subtractive primaries.

Black

Colours that lie exactly opposite across the spectrum wheel are called complementary colours. A colour filter will darken its complementary opposite, while lightening colours similar to its own. For example, skies in the blue to cyan range will be darkened by a filter from the yellow, orange or red range, and yellow-green leaves will be lightened by a similar yellow-green filter. The rule for filters with black and white is: opposite colours darken; similar colours lighten. 

It is important to understand the presence of tones as representations of colours in Black & white photography. Each tone has a salient impact on the colour representation.

History of Photography

The history of photography is often debated, however the most widely accepted is the assumption that the German chemist, Johann Heinrich Schultz observed that a solution of certain salts of silver darken when exposed to light is widely considered as the beginning of photography. This aspects of certain salts of silver was widely used to create copies of opaque objects. 

It was Thomas Wedgwood, who used paper soaked in silver nitrate in the early 1800s to make images of fern leaves. The area around the leaf struck by light would darken while the leaf’s shadow would remain paper white. This was considered to be the beginning of modern day photography. However unless it was kept in the dark it was impossible to create these photographs.

In 1839, Sir John Herschel, discovered that sodium thiosulphate (hypo) was an effective fixative for the fugitive silver images. It was Sir John Herschel who gave the word photography from the Greek words for light and the act of drawing or writing.

Joseph Nicéphore Niépce is the first person to expose light-sensitive material in a camera in 1826. Niépce used a bitumen-coated pewter plate that hardened under many hours of exposure to light to give an image. He called his images heliographs – from the Greek words for sun and the act of drawing or writing.

Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre worked with Niépce, until the latter’s death, on a process using silver iodide on a polished silver plate. This plate was sensitive than Niépce’s heliographs and required an exposure of about 15 minutes. Development was encouraged by fuming the plate with mercury vapour. The image was then fixed and washed. Daguerre named the process after himself – the daguerreotype. Daguerreotypes are mirror image negatives that only appear as positives when viewed at a certain angle where light reflects from the underlying silver plate.

William Henry Fox Talbot, working in England between 1835 and 1845, was the first to produce prints by what we would know today as a negative/positive process. These are sometimes referred to as talbotypes or, more commonly, as calotypes. Fox Talbot used paper that had been photosensitised with silver chloride, exposed in a camera obscura.

The latent image was developed with gallic acid and fixed with common salt. These resulting paper negatives had reversed tones. Fox Talbot overcame this problem by placing an unexposed sheet of sensitised paper in contact with the first negative and exposing it to light. After developing and fixing, this positive copy gave an accurate tonal reproduction of the original scene. What is more, Fox Talbot could use the original negative to make more than one positive copy. He produced the first commercially printed, photographically illustrated book, "The pencil of Nature", in 1844.

The limitations of Fox Talbot’s paper negatives were swept away by Frederick Scott Archer’s wet plate collodion process in 1851, which itself led to the silver gelatin and dry plates by about 1880. The flexible film we know today came in around 1889, opening up photography to the mass market. All were based on the negative/positive process until the arrival of the digital camera in 1975, itself a black and white-only device that recorded pictures on to cassette tape.

Fox Talbot’s real contribution to photography was establishing the principle of the negative/positive process and demonstrating that one negative could make many copies.

~ Hari Bhagirath Photography

4 point technique for Black & White Photography

Contrast

One of the most striking elements in a black and white photograph is contrast. The absence of colors is balanced in texture, contrast and subject. To distinguish one element of your image from another the tonal variances become all the more important. 

The Right Light

Lighting in a black and white shot is very important. Side lighting will reveal any texture that a subject might have (and in portraits will accentuate features) and light from any one direction will create shadows. All of these techniques can add interest to a black and white image – however they can also be distracting – so play with light with care.

Shapes and Patterns

Patterns or shapes that can sometimes almost go unseen in color (due to the color itself drawing attention) can come alive in a black and white shot. Black and White shots that rely upon pattern can often take on an abstract quality.

Capture Texture

Revealing the texture of a subject can add a new dimension to an image. The sidelight does this by creating shadows.

A Tip for Black and White Landscapes

When shooting black and white landscapes look for ‘active skies’. Having skies with clouds, textures and light variations add mood and a create a dynamic look and feel to  the photographs. If a large part of your image is the same tone the image can look quite lifeless (unless of course you’re going for a more minimalist look.

~ Hari Bhagirath Photography

Tips for taking low angle shots

Low angle shots or worm’s eye view offers a different perspective of the world and can deliver a mesmerizing image of the reality. Since we are adjusted to looking at things from the eye level, a ground level perspective brings in a new flavor to photographs.

Wider lens ranging from 10-40mm can deliver amazing perspectives from the ground level. Fisheye lenses can be used for wider view and to capture amazing totality of the perception.

It is vital to position the subjects and the objects so that they fit the picture. To show the perspective by including foreground objects the right Aperture and depth of field must be chosen. A proper understanding of the camera and lens will assist to find the right image.

It is a priority to ensure that the camera is level with the subject so that the aesthetic balance is preserved. By ensuring the right level, the framing can be made perfect and the right perspective can be portrayed in the photograph.

During sunny days it is a salient feature that the skies are bright and the texture and patterns of clouds are not visible. Adjusting the right exposure, white balance and using a filter can ensure that the entirety of beauty is captured in the image. A filter can be used to underexpose just the sky and to capture the effects.

 

Since the camera must be positioned at a lower angle it may no be always use the viewfinder of the camera. In such cases the frame can be ascertained through the LCD monitor. It is an added advantage for DSLR cameras because the image is viewable as soon as it is taken. Also the flaws can be found out immediately. DSLR cameras also facilitate multiple shots of the same frame so that the best could be selected from the choices.

~ Hari Bhagirath Photography

Framing the right background for your subject

Understanding the background and observing the background along with the texture ensures that the framing and composition are apt for the photograph. Pay attention to detail not only on the subject but also to the four corners of the background as well as colors that don’t fit with the rest of the image, bright patches that might distract the eye, lines that clash, people that don’t belong etc.

Be sure to move the subject to the right spot until the composition of the image is perfect. By this any distraction can be removed and framing can be perfected. One other option is to change the angle of the frame. This might mean rotating around your subject but could also include getting down low to make the sky the background or even getting up high and shooting down onto your subject to make the background the ground.

Aperture can be used to blur backgrounds. At wider apertures the subject will be given prominence blurring out the background, giving prominence to the subject. One of the most useful things to learn as a way to combat distractions in backgrounds (and foregrounds) is to use the power of your lens to throw the background out of focus using depth of field. The easiest way to do this is to use a wide aperture (the smaller the number the wider the aperture). The wider your aperture the more blurry your background should become. Longer tele-photo do help a little to get narrower depth of field. In actual fact the impact is smaller than it seems and the main reason for the change is that with a longer focal length the subject actually takes up more space in the frame.

One of the most effective ways of removing distractions from backgrounds is to remove the background altogether by totally filling the frame with your subject. Get up close and/or use your zoom lens to tightly frame the shot and you’ll not only remove distractions but could end up with a high impact shot as well.

~ Hari Bhagirath Photography

Using objects and foregrounds

Photography is the art of perception, what you perceive can be created and presented in photographs. Though photoshop made image manipulation easy, many complicated image manipulation tactics can be done without photoshop. One of the most important among these are the use of foreground and objects to manipulate the image. 

Let us take the example of the image I have shot in an abandoned graveyard. I have used a filter, however I have not used photoshop to create the image and the image is 100% real. Now I would be amused to know some explanation for the "divine light" that radiates from the heart of the statue. However I have to answer what I started. It is nothing but a thin piece of cotton which is placed at a range where it is out of focus while the subject (statue) remains in focus. So the thin cotton layer remaining out of focus creates an effect that it seems to appear like a sours of light. The real object disperses the light to create a photoshop effect within seconds. Similarly, window glass, plastic wrap, aluminium foils can be used to create various visual effects effectively.

~ Hari Bhagirath Photography

Colour Filters in Black & White Photography

It is a general notion that Black & White Photography doesn't include use of colours at all. However I have different thoughts about this point. Well visibly Black & White are the only shades present in the resultant image, however it is possible to use colours in Black & white photography by using filters. For instance the dark skies and puffy white clouds never looks natural so as the dark flower facing the sun. Such effects requires the use of color filtering to produce the desired effect.

Using colour filters give the required tone and definition to the image by accepting certain colours meanwhile blocking certain colours. However filters cost a lot and it may not be always feasible to use a filter for each effect you would require. A coloured piece of cloth, transparent sheet of coloured paper, sunglasses, tinted glass can all be used as filters. In fact filter is any medium that filters the external light. Use of filters also save much of unwanted time with photo-manipulation and showcases the creativity of the photographer.

~Hari Bhagirath Photography

Black & White with a point and shoot camera

Photography is more about the person behind the camera than the camera itself. With the right techniques anyone can excel in photography even without high end DSLR cameras available today. Imagination is the only key to success. However a high-end camera can make the difference from a professional point of view. But the ground rules remain the same for photography at all levels. 

1. Shoot in RAW- Shooting in RAW format allows post production work to be easy and stores a various combinations from which the image can be processed. This will allow a multiplicity of options for the image. However most point and shoot cameras do not have the option to take the image in RAW format. 
2. Shoot in Colour- Shoot in color and do your conversion to black and white later on your computer. While most digital cameras offer you the option to shoot in Black and White, shooting the image in colour will offer you more control over the end results if you have the color data to work with in your conversion. on your computer.
3. Low ISO- Shoot with the lowest possible ISO possible. It is important in black and white where detail is of high prominence because Black and white photographs pay attention to details and it is reduce the noise by lowering the ISO. 
4. Contrast- Shooting for Black and White in low contrast situations has its advantage. So an dark or overcast day can be a great time to shoot out door shots. Ironically this is a ‘poor light’ situation for colour photographers, but it can work miracles for Black & White photograhy. 
5. Composition- Framing is penultimate for black and white photography. Framing and attention to detail differentiates a good photograph from a great photograph. Most of the general tips on how to compose or frame a good shot apply just as well to black and white photography as they do when shooting in color. Training yourself to look at shapes, tones and textures in your frame as points of interest in Black & white will be a great advantage.

Black & White Photography

Monochrome, or black-and-white photography dominated for decades, due to its lower cost and its "classic" photographic look. Black and white photography is a branch which can be traced back to the very origins of photography.  It is important to note that some monochromatic pictures are not always pure blacks and whites, but also contain other hues depending on the process. The cyanotype process produces an image of blue and white for example. 

The albumen process, first used more than 150 years ago, produces brown tones. Certain labs process true black and white film and use actual black and white process paper. Black and white photography focuses more on light intensity and contrast than color photography. When color is stripped away details of objects become more prominent to the eye and different parts of a scene can become more important than in a color image. Although colour photography and digital photography pushed black and white photography to the background, it still have its own patron audience and enthusiasts.  However, there are a few items that can really help the impact of a black and white photograph.

• Wide Range of Tones- Having a wide range of shades of black/grey and white can help add a strong sense of depth to your black and white images. Images that are literally only black and white (or close to it) create an almost illustration effect, like an ink pen drawing without shading.
• Contrast- Because black and white depends on shading to help show boundaries between items, good contrast between objects (via color or lighting) is a great help in creating a strong black and white image. While we usually try to find colors that do not clash with one another in color photography, clashing colors can help create contrast when captured as black and white.
• Good Lighting- Good lighting is an almost universal need in photography. With black and white photography it can be even more important as a slight shadow becomes a charcoal grey over whatever is in it. With black and white photography it can be much more difficult to recover details in shadow after capture than with color film.

(Compiled from the web)

Basics of Photojournalism

Photojournalism is a branch of photography however it differs from regular photography on a number of levels. Photojournalism is story/event centric while photography is image centric. Photojournalism always intent to tell a story or convey a concept may it be a sports event, a fire or an award ceremony. The most important element of photojournalism could be condensed into one word, “faces.” Photo editors love to see people’s faces for the news. Facial expressions help to tell a photo’s story and convey emotion. Photojournalism is a merger of photography and written language into a coherent communication medium.

Ethics

Ethics is the most important element that separates photojournalists with photographers, while photographers can manipulate the event or image, a photojournalist is supposed to stick by the rules and give a representation of what he see with his eyes. The audience must be able to trust that the image they see is a true representation of reality. A photojournalist must never interfere with a situation. He/She can never direct or pose their subjects, unless the situation calls for a portrait.

Post-Production Ethics

During post production manipulation of photos is forbidden. Post-production work should focus on correcting color problems, exposure and latitude problems, and slight sharpness problems. Though cropping is allowed any other form of manipulation is indeed forbidden.

Communication skills

Without compassion and trust, one cannot relate to their subjects. To excel as a photojournalist one must convince people to allow you to document their lives, to give you access to their story. Stories are never born in editing rooms or press conferences, they come from people. To be  with them a photojournalist must convince them and be one among them.

Elements/Layers

Every image has many layers to it a politician addressing the crowd shows the politician, however the layers are the crowd, security guards and visual elements in the image. The elements don’t necessarily have to be on a large scale even elements and details that are minimal can influence the content and the theme of the photograph.

Emotion

The most important element of telling stories is emotion. The photojournalist has to be an expert at reading and more importantly anticipating facial expressions. Emotions are the driving factor that induces narrativity in photojournalism. The right emotion in the photograph can drive the story successfully. A deep understanding of semiotics can be of great help for photojournalists. 

Essential tips for Amateur Photographers

Photography is not just an art or science, beyond certain guidelines it is the way how one perceives the world around. So I believe, some tips which I can provide will be of help to photography enthusiasts. Beyond the basic science and epistemology, photography is an art of perception. So as any arts it is a personalized application of knowledge. Here are some basic tips that can ensure each click is not worthy to be deleted.

1. Use the camera to visualize- By the time you hold a camera, ensure that whatever you see to be clicked is seen through your view finder than the LCD monitor. You will find a great difference and improvement (unless under certain circumstances where focusing through view finder is difficult) when you try to use the viewfinder instead of the LCD
2. Be brave to explore- Photography is a choice to explore beyond the ways one is used to perceive reality. Always try to find a different angle and to explore all possibilites of understanding and recreating the subject. A low level or high level angle or something different from the way one is used to view the subject can make a lot of difference. After all it is all about a different perspective. Camera is not an instrument, it is just a device like spectacles.
3. Innovate and learn- Digital photography reduced cost of photography to a huge magnitude. One need not print each click that has been made. Now none has to limit the number of clicks to 12-36. This gives ample room for experimentation in digital photography. Try clicking from different angles and frames and experiment to understand. Evaluate each image and learn from the basics.
4. Visualize and imagine- Always visualize the final output and understand the subject to get into the subject. Pay attention to light, subject, movements, details and composition.
5. Its not about the subject- Always pay attention to the output photograph as a whole than just the subject. Look into the subject, composition, objects, background, 4 corners of the image and the story the image can convey before pressing the shutter release button. Paying attention before clicking is an integral aspect of photography.

Zoom effect in photographs

Zoom effect in photographs are one of the most fascinating and easiest effects to create. The advantage about this effect is that it can be created easily and faster than creating the same effect with a photo-editing software. The resultant photograph will have a distinct image that it make you feel the photograph comes to life when you keep looking at it rocking your head.

Zoom effects can also be used to super-highlight a subject as well as to separate an individual mood from the theme of a group.

To produce the zoom effect

• Keep the Camera steady- as you will be using a slow shutter speed any movement of the camera will significantly impact your shot. A tripod can be used to eliminate any shake to the camera thereby making the photograph more detailed. A still surface can also be used to stabilize the camera. 
• Use a longer shutter speed- A longer shutter speed allows time to create the zoom effect however problems with using longer shutter speeds is that more light is captured making the photograph over exposed. Using a larger aperture (the larger the number the smaller the hole that lets light in) in bright situations will make it possible to use long shutter speeds without over exposing your image. 
• Zoom out of the subject slowly without de-stabilizing the camera. Always work on smooth zooming to get smooth motion lines in your photograph.
• Pause mid-zoom - another technique to experiment is to pause your zooming either at the start, end or during the procedure (while the shutter is still open). This will mean that what your camera sees at the point when you pause your zoom will be stronger and hopefully clearer in your shot.
• Fire your Flash – This produces a strange effect where in the object is focused at one point, leaving motion lines throughout the image. You can do this with virtually any light. Fire it during your long exposure and you’ll freeze part of the image while still getting movement behind and around it.
• Reverse the Zoom – zooming in on a subject can give a different result than zooming out, especially if your subject is moving and depending upon whether you pause at the beginning and or end of the zoom. Experiment with both.
• Partial Zoom – for zoom lenses with very wide focal lengths zoom effect can be too devastating. So then it is advisable to zoom on smaller ranges. If you have a 18-200mm try zooming from 18-100mm or from 80-200mm or even smaller ranges.