The Digital Photography Companion

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PREVIEW YOUR SHOTS IN B&W

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Simply mount your camera to a tripod, compose your shot, and start recording. (You

can use a tabletop or any other stable surface if you don’t have a tripod with you.)

e more common scenario is to connect your camera to your laptop and use the re-

mote capture application that’s (hopefully) included in the software bundled with your

camera. Most DSLRs have this capability, as do a good percentage of compacts.

e only difference in the procedure is that you need to attach your USB cable so that

the camera can talk to the computer. en launch the software. Make sure you have

enough power for both pieces of hardware. You don’t want to run out of juice in the

middle of the shoot.

Once you have everything in place, configure a test movie. Capture at the best resolu-

tion possible (640×480 or higher) and set the timer for intervals that make sense for

your subject. If you’re shooting people activity, two seconds or so in between exposures

is a good starting point. For landscapes and other nature subjects, you might want to

back off to once a minute or so. Review your test movie, and if everything looks OK,

record the real thing.

If you don’t have any time-lapse software at all, you can go the manual route. Set up

your camera and trip the shutter yourself. I recommend that you use the self-timer so

that you don’t accidentally jar ...