What are some basic rules or math for photography?

Question: What are some basic rules or math for photography!?

I just got a new digi cam I'm so excited but I want to take good picturesl!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

=D Nice! I remember my first camera!

It was a Kodak z740
http://images!.amazon!.com/images/P/B0007M!.!.!.

Now I have a Nikon d300!
http://www!.microglobe!.co!.uk/catalog/imag!.!.!.

Ok, photography tips!. First off, keep in mind that you'll take two hundred photos and only keep fifteen of them!. This is normal, and the beauty of digital!. Don't get discouraged, just keep taking pictures!.
If you have an idea of something that you want to shoot, then do it, and when you're done, take a shot from a different angle, or with different props, etc!. Even if it wasn't your original idea, you can come up with some surprisingly good results, just by forcing yourself to do something you hadn't thought of!.

Two:
Get a tripod!. Even a crappy one!. It will help tremendously in taking clear, crisp photos that aren't blurry!. For my $3,000 camera I could have spent $600 on a tripod at a professional store but I went to walmart and got one for $50 that's just as good!. (I hate WalMart, lol But the price is right!.)

Three:
There are two general compositional rules in photography, and they're quite simple!. Go for symmetry, or go for asymmetry!. Most times you'll want asymmetry!.
A photo that is perfectly mirrored on each side can be an absolute delight just because of how well it synchronizes with itself, but it is very difficult to pull off and keep interesting!.
Most of the time, the Rule of Thirds is a good rule to keep in mind!. This rule states that if you divide the photo up with two lines each way, make sure the subject of your photo is on one of the intersecting points!. I know it sounds strange, but take a look:
http://images!.google!.ca/images!?q=rule%20!.!.!.
http://digital-photography-school!.com/bl!.!.!.
http://en!.wikipedia!.org/wiki/Rule_of_thi!.!.!.

Four: Just because it's an amazing image, doesn't mean it will make a good photograph!. A good photographer is not one who can make a great image out of anything, but one who knows which images are great to begin with!.
This is to say that you can't make chocolate pie out of ****, so keep a close eye at what is happening in the image!.
Here's an example!. On these next two images, one is cluttered and difficult to follow, while the other one has a defined focal point where your eye sees right away!. I've included two from the same photographer (who I know) just to be fair to them!.

Click images to enlarge:

http://theworldsawhore!.deviantart!.com/ar!.!.!.

You see that this image is way too busy!. No real place for your eye to gravitate to, because of how much is going on in the picture!. Very chaotic, not a great composition!.
However, this picture:
http://theworldsawhore!.deviantart!.com/ar!.!.!.
is very well done!. The colours are pleasing and there is a definite focal point that your eye looks at right a way!. It also, for the most part, follows the rule of thirds!. If it were me I would have taken a bit of the empty snow off the bottom and had the shack a little more to the left in the image, to get if farther *into* the image, but it's still a lovely shot!.

Four and a half:
We just talked about focal point, where your eye goes right away, but let's look at focal movement!. A good photo will want to grab the viewer's eye, first off, then guide it through the rest of the photo!.
Take a look at this image I created:
http://blackscarletlove!.deviantart!.com/a!.!.!.
You'll see that the first focal point, Brittany's face, is almost directly in the center of the picture!. This is not a bad thing, because of the focal movement that occurs after that!. Your eye travels on an outward diagonal along her body, which creates movement, but also an off-balanced feel, which is good in this case!. If I had her body laying horizontal or vertical the image would not be nearly as interesting, but as it is, she is lying directly across one of the Thirds intersecting points!.
So after your eye travels down her body and along the lines on her corset, it stops at her hand, and wonders what she's holding!. Then, it travels back up her arm, over her shoulder, and across her other arm!. This is more focal movement!. At this point your eye looks at the rest of the image, which is this textured brick pattern that actually leads your eye back to the center, which is the first focal point!. =)

Five:
Contrast!. There are two types, colour contrast, and light/darkness contrast!.
For colour contrast, I'll save my fingertips and direct you to this amazing tutorial: http://photoshoptutorials!.ws/photography!.!.!.
Light/darkness contrast is the relationship between different shades in the photo, how striking they are, and how well they balance!. In the photo I just spoke about, there is intense contrast happening between the bricks and Brittany's clothing, and her skin!. This makes her skin really noticable, and therefore a natural focal point!.
Here's another example of high contrast:
http://blackscarletlove!.deviantart!.com/a!.!.!.
There are points in the image that are bright, right next to those that are dark!. The way it's balanced, in my opinion, makes for a very striking photo!.
I use light/dark contrast mostly when converting to black and white!.

I'll wrap up here, by saying that another very important part about digital photography is your monitor!. Make sure it's calibrated properly so the images you see on it will be as they should be!. Research Monitor Calibration!.

I hope this essay helped!! lol!. =D

Good luck! I'd love to see what you come up with!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Congratulations on your new camera!. Now READ & STUDY the Owner's Manual for your camera until you know every setting and every feature and how, why and when to use them!. These books should also help:

"Hands-On Digital Photography" by George Schaub

"How Digital Photography Works, 2nd!. Edition" by Ron White

For now, don't gett all hung up on math for photography!.

NOTE: I must respectfully disagree with Black Scarlet Love and his suggestion to "!.!.!. shoot 300 pictures and be happy that 15 or 20 are worth keeping!.!.!."!. This is what I call the "machine gunner" approach!. I prefer the "sniper" approach - one exposure, one good image!. Of course, I learned photography 37 years ago when it was only film and you learned to take your time and make every exposure count!. IMO, one could give a camera to a chimpanzee and expect 10 or 15 good pictures out of 300 exposures!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

If you want to know about "math" and photography, there are several formulas that apply; for lighting, I suggest knowing the "Inverse-square Law," for calculation of "Depth-of Field," know the "Scheimflug Law," and since photography relies heavily on ratios and proportions, be very familiar with those basic calculations!.
For composition, follow the "Basic Guidelines of Composition!."Www@QuestionHome@Com

read the manual!. it will help a lot!.Www@QuestionHome@Com