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Photo Tips & Techniques

Point and Shoot Month - Use A Polarizer by Russ Burden Our resident photo tip guru Russ Burden checks in with some tips for the point and shoot crowd. Article rating: 9.13

For those of you who are regular readers of my weekly photo tips, you know the vast majority are written for users of 35mm SLR’s.  With this in mind, it’s time I give some props to all the point and shooters of the world. Now before all you regular readers grab the mouse and click on another link, read on. Isn’t it about time you had some fun with a point and shoot? Wouldn’t it be nice to get some great shots and not have to lug around your 35mm equipment? Haven’t you thought about getting one or using the one you already bought that is reserved for the others in the family? I’m dedicating the entire month of July’s tips to those who sport and take pride in their digital point and shoots. So spread the word to your point and shoot friends, spouses, and significant others to read the tips each week in July. I also encourage you to look into classes sponsored by the Panasonic Digital Photo Academy. They offer an array for all levels, including one solely dedicated to teaching students how to use their digital point and shoots. Check out digitalphotoacademy.com for more information.

The Polarizer - When I used to shoot with a film camera, my accessory pouch housed many filters. Some were used to alter the color of the image, some would enhance the saturation, and others would impart tonality or color modifications to just portions of the photo. Now that I’m shooting digitally, I’ve abandoned many of them but there’s one I’ll never leave home without - my polarizer. While some pieces of software try to mimic the blue saturation effect of the polarizer, it performs other other tasks that software can’t create such as eliminating  glare which robs subjects of their potential color. So why am I sharing this information with you if you’re using a point and shoot? Simply because if you don’t own a polarizing filter, you need to buy one to take your photography to the next level. By simply holding the filter in front of the lens, you can achieve the same effects the pros do when they use the filter. Take a look at the first two photos taken with my point and shoot that accompany this article. In the first, no polarizer was used. In the second, notice how much richer and saturated the sky and monuments look. The sky is a deeper blue and because the glare was removed from the formations, they also have a much more pleasing look.

The polarizer doesn’t need to be attached to a lens to see its effects. By simply holding it up to your eye and rotating it, you’ll see portions of blue sky get more saturated and also  see reflections and glare eliminated from shiny subjects. By placing the filter in front of your point and shoot, the same effect you witnessed when you held it up to your eye will be imparted to the sensor improving the look of the photo. There are two ways to know the polarizer is rotated properly. The easiest is to simply look at the LCD and spin the filter while it’s held directly to the lens. As you spin it, you’ll notice a change in the overall appearance. The point at which it looks the best, press the shutter. But sometimes it’s difficult to see the LCD when it’s bright. The solution to this problem is to spin the filter while holding it up to your eye and when the scene looks good, using the same orientation, place it in front of the lens and press the shutter.

Polarizers come in many different diameters to accommodate the many different size lenses on the market. Just make sure you buy one that covers the glass part of the lens. In that  most point and shoot lenses have small diameters, this is a bonus as the cost of the filter is commensurate with its size - small means much less of an investment. Bring your camera to your local camera store and have the person behind the counter set you up. Now that you’re the proud owner, make sure you use the filter correctly. When holding it in front of the lens, be sure it’s pressed right up to it. If not, you run the risk of not getting the full benefit. Be careful your fingers don’t appear in the photo. Be gentle when placing the filter to the lens as you don’t want to scratch its surface. Finally, as you may find it a bit awkward trying to finesse the filter to the lens while pressing the shutter, have a friend press the shutter or hold the filter. For the times when you’ll be on your own, I suggest the use of a mini tripod as it will make everything easier and more accurate. The vertical image taken in Monument Valley in addition to the autumn photo of Capital Reef National Park were both taken with my point and shoot using the polarizer. If you really want to learn the ins and outs of your digital point and shoot, look into the class offered by the Panasonic Digital Photo Academy called the Ins and Outs of Your Digital Point and Shoot. It’s a three hour class teaching you about all the features of a digital point and shoot camera.

To learn more about this topic, join me on one of my Photographic Nature Tours. Visit www.russburdenphotography.com and click on the NATURE TOURS button for more information. Also, pick up a copy of my new book, Amphoto’s Complete Book of Photography. You can purchase a signed copy directly from me or visit your local book store or Amazon. Contact me at rburden@ecentral.com to order your signed copy.

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