The first step in any journey of video production is camera equipment! You can’t expect to get very far without being able to capture raw images and video to later edit and refine. Over recent decades, the quality and availability of photography technology have skyrocketed, taking us from basic film cameras to the hi-tech digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras we know and love today.
Hazy or Blurry Photos
Blurry photos from a camera that won’t focus properly and a white or coloured haze across part of your photos are both symptoms of dust or oil on the exterior of your lens. Usually, small specs or light dust won’t affect your photos very much, as these are too tiny on the scale of the photo you’re taking. It’s similar to how you struggle to see tiny scratches in your glasses even though there are right next to your eyes. However, any amount of grime or damage has the potential to show up on your photos, so it’s best to take a proactive approach to keep your lens clean and damage-free!
In some, very specific, circumstances, a hazy appearance on your photos could be caused by interference by other nearby electronics! This is usually only the case at low light levels where an extremely high ISO is needed to capture adequate light. So, if you are still experiencing the haze after a thorough lens cleaning – this may be worth a check!
Spots and Stripes
Spots and/or stripes coming out on your photos can be down to a number of different things! White spots tend to be dust in some form or another. If the spots cannot be seen on your photos but can be seen through your viewfinder, it’s most likely on the mirror itself! White spots can also be the result of light reflecting off of dust on the lens or even specs of dust or moisture in the air – especially if your flash sits right above your lens!
Stripes across your photos can indicate lens flare and can be eased by adjusting your angle or swapping to an alternative light source. Stripes can also be caused by moving objects in your frame and even from the light source itself. Fans rotating behind a grill and fluorescent lighting flickering at a similar frequency to your shutter speed can both produce this effect on your photos.
Colours Seem Off
If the colours of your photos seem off when printing, the likely culprit is your white balance! White balance sets the colours on your photo so that white objects appear white. Perhaps you haven’t set it properly for your environment or perhaps you forgot to wipe the settings from last time, but most modern DSLRs have a fantastic auto-white balance which should help get those crisp clean colours back into your photos!
These are just a few examples of potential DSLR issues but encompass the most common faults and issues you may experience. The vast majority of camera issues can be fixed by ensuring all parts of the camera are completely clean and resetting your manual settings. For more top tips in photography and video production, check out Title Productions! Our Blog covers all things film production so for all the latest industry info, look no further!
