Photography tip for March-light

The word photography comes form the Latin words meaning to paint with light.
Light is the single most influential thing when taking photographs, whether it be too much light or not enough. The best photographs are the ones taken in even diffused light. Try to avoid bright sunlight if possible, it can create harsh shadows, and dappled light as through tree branches can leave 'hot spots' or area which are over exposed. The best light for great color saturation is outdoors on an overcast day, especially just after rain, in the shade of a large building or trees that have even shade or indoors near a large north facing window(you can hang a sheer white curtain over a window to soften the light coming through it) If it is unavoidable to take photos in bright sun try using the fill flash feature that most cameras have these days, it will give a soft burst of light that can even out any harsh shadows, and is particularly good for anyone wearing a hat. Just remember to check your manual for your flashes range, many people get caught out both indoors and out by trying to take a photo farther away than their flash will allow. When photographing indoors again check your flash range, it is no use sitting at the back of a concert hall photographing the stage if your flash only reaches a distance of a few metres, all you will get is dark photos. It is a better idea to turn your flash off and use a tripod if the area is brightly lit enough. Those of you with an SLR can use a faster lens and set your fstop and shutter speed to allow for the low light. Also remember that almost all digital cameras now allow you to set the ISO (the equivalent of film speed) the low numbers eg ISO 100 to 200 are for brightly lit situations whereas your higher numbers eg ISO 800-1600 are for low light situations but you will also get more noise (the same as film grain) at these high speeds but sometimes these are the trade offs for capturing those special memories, this can be made less noticeable using some of the features that come with your photo editing program (generally packaged with your camera). Also adjusting your WB (white balance) will make a huge difference to how the end result will look, check your manual for more information on what settings to use in what situations.