AOP Part 3 PDF

Art Of Photography - Part 3 nekhlass@gmail.
com
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Art Of Photography - Part 3 nekhlass@gmail.com
Contents
Create Sketches to Capture with a Vision .................................................................................................... 9
Sketches establish a vision .................................................................................................................................. 9

We are visual thinkers ........................................................................................................................................ 10
Putting together a vision ................................................................................................................................... 10

Capturing Personality in Portraiture .......................................................................................................... 11
First, Investigate.................................................................................................................................................... 11
Second, Observe ................................................................................................................................................... 11
Third, Engage ........................................................................................................................................................ 12
Three Lenses Every Photographer Should Own ................................................................................................. 13
The general purpose zoom ................................................................................................................................... 13
The macro lens...................................................................................................................................................... 13
The telephoto zoom.............................................................................................................................................. 13
Wait… what about? .............................................................................................................................................. 14
10 Fashion Photography Tips ............................................................................................................................ 15
10 Tips to Take Great Family Portraits .............................................................................................................. 17
5 Mind-Traps of Beginner Photographers.......................................................................................................... 20
1. My Photos Are Bad: .......................................................................................................................................... 20
2. My Gear Isn’t Good Enough: ............................................................................................................................. 20
3. I’m Doing This All Wrong: ................................................................................................................................. 20
4. I’ll Never Be Able to Take Photos Like the Pros ................................................................................................ 21
5. I Can’t Afford Any Editing Programs: ................................................................................................................ 21
Beach Photography .......................................................................................................................................... 22
Macro and Creative Abstracts .............................................................................................................................. 22
Portraits ................................................................................................................................................................ 22
Seascapes .............................................................................................................................................................. 23
Documentary ........................................................................................................................................................ 24
Wildlife .................................................................................................................................................................. 24
Night scenes .......................................................................................................................................................... 24
Sports .................................................................................................................................................................... 24
8 Tips for Photographing Butterflies ................................................................................................................. 25
1. Use a tripod, but keep the head loose.............................................................................................................. 25
2. Wait for colder weather.................................................................................................................................... 25
3. Position your camera’s sensor so it’s parallel to the butterfly’s wings ............................................................ 25
4. Wait until the butterfly is frontlet by the sun................................................................................................... 25
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5. Use a fast shutter .............................................................................................................................................. 25

6. Shoot in JPEG mode (sometimes) ..................................................................................................................... 25
7. Wait for butterflies (patiently), don’t chase them ........................................................................................... 26
8. Be careful not to cast a shadow on the butterfly ............................................................................................. 26
An Introduction to Smoke Photography ............................................................................................................ 27
Smoke Photography: Setup .................................................................................................................................. 28
Smoke Photography: Procedure ........................................................................................................................... 28
Smoke Photography: Post Processing .................................................................................................................. 29
How to Photograph Mushrooms, Toadstools and Fungi..................................................................................... 30
How to Photograph Mushrooms, Toadstools and Fungi: ..................................................................................... 30
Where to Find them.............................................................................................................................................. 30
Groom Your Fungi before Shooting ...................................................................................................................... 30
Get down Low ....................................................................................................................................................... 31
Get in Close ........................................................................................................................................................... 31
Lighting ................................................................................................................................................................. 31
Stabilize Your Camera ........................................................................................................................................... 32
Slow Shutter Speeds ............................................................................................................................................. 32
Use a Shallow Depth of Field to Isolate Your Fungi .............................................................................................. 32
Cloud Photography .......................................................................................................................................... 33
How to take advantage of what is right above you. ............................................................................................. 33
Shoot the sky when it is interesting...................................................................................................................... 33
Tricks to shooting great clouds ............................................................................................................................. 34
How to make certain skies more interesting ........................................................................................................ 34
Cheery ................................................................................................................................................................... 34
Energetic ............................................................................................................................................................... 34
Muted ................................................................................................................................................................... 34
Ominous ................................................................................................................................................................ 35
From Above........................................................................................................................................................... 35
Getting Creative .................................................................................................................................................... 35
Things you can do to clouds to make them more abstract .................................................................................. 35
You have shot your clouds… Now what? .............................................................................................................. 35
Things to watch out for when adding a new sky .................................................................................................. 36
Other cool tricks.................................................................................................................................................... 36
Defining Your Visual Style ................................................................................................................................ 37
Start with the What .............................................................................................................................................. 37
Ask Yourself Why .................................................................................................................................................. 37
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Find Inspiration and Seek Advice .......................................................................................................................... 38

Photographing Children – Know When to Leave your Camera at Home ............................................................. 39
Using Auto to Learn Manual – A Great First Step for Beginners.......................................................................... 40
How to Achieve Better Bokeh – 4 Simple Tips ................................................................................................... 41
1. Adjusting Depth-of-Field ................................................................................................................................... 41
2. Choosing the Proper Lens ................................................................................................................................. 42
3. Creating Custom Bokeh .................................................................................................................................... 42
4. Relating the Foreground with the Background ................................................................................................ 42
Food Photography Techniques and Tips ............................................................................................................ 43
Styling Your Food for Photography ....................................................................................................................... 43
Food Photography Composition ........................................................................................................................... 44
Remember Established Photography Techniques ................................................................................................ 45
Actuations & Shutter Count – Someday our Cameras Will Die ........................................................................... 46
DIY Seamless White Background for Product Shots ........................................................................................... 47
How to Make an Inexpensive Light Tent – DIY ................................................................................................... 48
Materials Needed: ................................................................................................................................................ 48
Step By Step Process: ............................................................................................................................................ 49
1. Party Bouncer Card ........................................................................................................................................... 51
2. Poor Man’s Ring Flash....................................................................................................................................... 51
8 Lessons Learned from My First Attempt at Portrait Photography .................................................................... 52
The Things I learned on my first portrait photo shoot: ........................................................................................ 52
Getting Started in Toy Photography .................................................................................................................. 54
The Art of Toy Photography.................................................................................................................................. 54
Toy Photography Gear and Details ....................................................................................................................... 55
10 Common Mistakes Aspiring Travel Photographers Make (+ How to Avoid Them) .......................................... 56
1. Having misconceptions about equipment ........................................................................................................ 56
2. Not Researching ................................................................................................................................................ 56
3. Not looking beyond the main attraction .......................................................................................................... 57
4. Not being aware of light ................................................................................................................................... 58
5. Avoiding artificial light ...................................................................................................................................... 58
6. Forgetting about communicating from within the frame – composition......................................................... 59
7. Thinking that photos which capture dramatic or interesting moments are lucky shots.................................. 60
8. Not taking enough photographs ....................................................................................................................... 60
9. Not interacting or connecting with people when making portraits ................................................................. 61
10. Not leaving the group ..................................................................................................................................... 62
Slow Shutter Shoot-Out – 3 Slow Shutter Speed Techniques ............................................................................. 63
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1. Light Painting: ................................................................................................................................................... 63

2. Capturing Movement:....................................................................................................................................... 64
3. Turning Darkness into Day: ............................................................................................................................... 64
6 Keys to Shooting Great Group Photos ............................................................................................................ 65
1. Small is better ................................................................................................................................................... 65
2. Planning a shot is essential ............................................................................................................................... 65
3. Good location is vital ........................................................................................................................................ 65
4. Get in close ....................................................................................................................................................... 66
5. Use the multiple shot feature on your camera ................................................................................................ 66
6. Be happy ........................................................................................................................................................... 66
Spot Metering… Expose Yourself ...................................................................................................................... 67
It’s about Light ................................................................................................................................................. 68
3 Tips for Shooting Portraits in Bright Sunshine................................................................................................. 73
1. Fill Flash............................................................................................................................................................. 73
2. Shoot in the Shade ............................................................................................................................................ 74
3. Find a Reflector ................................................................................................................................................. 74
Photographing Flowers – A How-to .................................................................................................................. 76
Relationships ................................................................................................................................................... 76
17 Beautiful Images with Shallow Depth of Field ............................................................................................... 77
7 Situations When Manual focus is better than Auto by Natalie Johnson ........................................................... 85
1. Fine details in close proximity .......................................................................................................................... 85
2. Obstacles are in the way ................................................................................................................................... 85
3. Geometric confusion ........................................................................................................................................ 85
4. High contrast..................................................................................................................................................... 86
5. No contrast ....................................................................................................................................................... 86
6. Dominating features ......................................................................................................................................... 86
7. Night.................................................................................................................................................................. 86
5 Tips for Photographing Houses ...................................................................................................................... 87
Tidy Up .................................................................................................................................................................. 87
Pick an Angle ......................................................................................................................................................... 87
Watch the Weather .............................................................................................................................................. 87
Balance the Light .................................................................................................................................................. 87
Shoot in Raw ......................................................................................................................................................... 88
Macro Photography: Mosquitoes Emerging ...................................................................................................... 89
10 Quick tips for Photographing Antelope Canyons ........................................................................................... 92
1. Plan ahead ........................................................................................................................................................ 92
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2. Gear................................................................................................................................................................... 92
3. Try not to change lens ...................................................................................................................................... 93
4. Make use of your live view ............................................................................................................................... 93
5. Go Manual mode and shoot RAW .................................................................................................................... 94
6. Look up.............................................................................................................................................................. 94
7. Look for hidden slots ........................................................................................................................................ 95
8. Try to put people in the picture. ....................................................................................................................... 95
9. High contrast..................................................................................................................................................... 95
10. Carry a water bottle ........................................................................................................................................ 95
10 Landscape Composition Tips: Illustrated with Pictures from Eastern Washington .......................................... 96
1. Remember rule of thirds................................................................................................................................... 96
2. Negative space is your friend............................................................................................................................ 96
3. Embrace Geometry ....................................................................................................................................... 97
4. Frame within frame .......................................................................................................................................... 97
5. Avoid horizon in the middle.............................................................................................................................. 98
6. Inject life to your picture .................................................................................................................................. 98
7. Merges breaks a picture ................................................................................................................................... 99
8. Lonely subjects are striking............................................................................................................................... 99
9. Size Matters ...................................................................................................................................................... 99
10. Think before you click ................................................................................................................................... 100
How to Shoot Light Trails ............................................................................................................................... 101
Equipment: ......................................................................................................................................................... 102
The Basic Principle: ............................................................................................................................................. 102
Experiment:......................................................................................................................................................... 103
Setting Up Your Shot:.......................................................................................................................................... 103
Settings: .............................................................................................................................................................. 104
Timing Your Shot:................................................................................................................................................ 105
Using Bulb Mode:................................................................................................................................................ 105
8 On-Camera Flash Tips: How To Get Better Lighting From Your On-Camera Flash ........................................... 106
1. Bounce It. ........................................................................................................................................................ 107
2) Flag It. ............................................................................................................................................................. 107
3) Make It Bigger................................................................................................................................................. 108
4) Use TTL............................................................................................................................................................ 109
5) Use High-Speed Sync. ..................................................................................................................................... 109
6) Gel It. .............................................................................................................................................................. 110
7) Use The Ambient Light. .................................................................................................................................. 110
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8) Turn It Off. ...................................................................................................................................................... 111

Baby Photography: Photographing Babies without Losing your Mind .............................................................. 112
1. Plan ahead of time!......................................................................................................................................... 112
2. Come PREPARED!............................................................................................................................................ 113
3. Get the Details! ............................................................................................................................................... 114
4. Bring a Hat! ..................................................................................................................................................... 114
5. Establishing Shots! .......................................................................................................................................... 114
6. For Heaven’s Sake: BE FLEXIBLE!!!! ................................................................................................................ 115
How [Not] to Take a Self Timer Portrait .......................................................................................................... 116
An Introduction to Bird photography .............................................................................................................. 117
Equipment .............................................................................................................................................................. 117
Camera settings ...................................................................................................................................................... 118
Ways to photograph birds ...................................................................................................................................... 119
The Image ............................................................................................................................................................... 121
Ethics of bird photography ..................................................................................................................................... 122
Conclusion............................................................................................................................................................... 122
Engagement Portrait Shoots: 7 Professional Tips to take your Engagement Shoots to the Next Level ............... 123
1. Be involved! .................................................................................................................................................... 123
2. Encourage affection!....................................................................................................................................... 123
3. Be observant! .................................................................................................................................................. 123
4. Remember that space determines relationship! ............................................................................................ 123
5. Tell a story. ...................................................................................................................................................... 123
6. Be open to suggestions!.................................................................................................................................. 124
7. Be personable! ................................................................................................................................................ 124
10 MORE Quick Composition Tips ................................................................................................................... 125
Balance and Symmetry ....................................................................................................................................... 125
Repeat, Repeat, Repeat ...................................................................................................................................... 126
Keep it Sweet and Simple ................................................................................................................................... 126
Magnify and Focus .............................................................................................................................................. 127
Add Depth ........................................................................................................................................................... 127
Add Nature.......................................................................................................................................................... 127
Portrait or Landscape? ........................................................................................................................................ 128
What’s My Story? ............................................................................................................................................... 128
You’re Not Done Till You Do it Again .................................................................................................................. 128
Cropping is a Good Thing .................................................................................................................................... 129
Five Photo Ideas for Shooting Close to Home .................................................................................................. 130
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1. In the Kitchen .................................................................................................................................................. 130

2. The Garden ..................................................................................................................................................... 130
3. The Driveway or Garage ................................................................................................................................. 131
4. The Park or Public Gardens ............................................................................................................................. 131
5. The Local flea or Street Market ...................................................................................................................... 131
Share Your Ideas and Shots ................................................................................................................................ 131
Prevent DSLR Camera Shake with These 3 Techniques .................................................................................... 132
A. Correcting the stance ..................................................................................................................................... 132
B. A pocket-sized tripod ...................................................................................................................................... 133
C. The Joe McNally Grip ...................................................................................................................................... 134
Four Rules of Photographic Composition ........................................................................................................ 135
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Create Sketches to Capture with a Vision

Whether you classify yourself as a landscape,
architectural, wildlife, portrait, wedding, commercial or other
category of photographer, drawing out a few sketches can
go a long way towards capturing photographs with a
purpose. It’s all about honing a creative vision that can take
your images from average to inspiring.
If you’ve ever found yourself stuck in a rut, wandering

around a local park or street asking yourself, “What am I
going to shoot now?” then you need to start planning and
sketching out some ideas. It’s part of my philosophy to stop
taking pictures and start creating images.
I know what you may be thinking, “I’m a photographer, not a

sketch artist. I can’t draw.” Guess what, neither can I. As you
can clearly see below, my sketches look more like the casual drawings of your 4-year-old son or
daughter. They’re horrendous pieces of work shaming to the whole art community. But they work,
and here’s why.
Sketches establish a vision

The first thing sketches will add to your photography is to help answer the questions, “What am I trying to
convey?” and “Why take this photo?” When you sit down to plan out
what it is you are looking for, you’re creating a vision. You’re forcing
yourself to think about what might interest viewers, instead of just
mindlessly snapping away and hoping to get a good photo in the
process. I like to put together an editorial progression in my images,
to tell a story. I always work to create a beginning, middle and end to
the shoot. I find it helpful because it keeps me on a time table and
let’s me
convey
something
more than a
casual
snapshot
could.
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We are visual thinkers

There’s a good chance that most of you are visual thinkers. Most photographers are. We put together
images in our brain when people describe something to us; we remember exactly what roads to take to
get home, but couldn’t tell anyone their names; we never forget a face. Recognize and cultivate if you are
this type of thinker. Sketching helps activate your spatial thinking. Instead of just saying, “I’d like to show
my model running around a snowman,” actually draw it out. It might just help you recall the mental image
you had when first considering the shot.
Putting together a vision
So where do you start putting together ideas for a concept? I have a collection of photos or URL
bookmarks to photos I keep on my computer in my “Vision Folder.” Whenever I’m browsing the
work of other great photographers, if I see something I really love, I add it to my folder. The key
here is to let the image inspire you, and create your own concept from it. While copying another’s
work may be the highest form of flattery, it’s also cheap and doesn’t help fuel your own creative
vision. Simply, don’t copy. Instead, create from inspiration.
What I particularly like to do is take the single image and ask myself what the story is behind it.
What is the person doing or thinking? What did they do before the photo, and after it? What is it
that I really like about it? It’s how I create my own editorial story, or often become inspired to
create a totally different concept by discovering it’s actually the angle of the light or some other
factor that captured my interest in a particular photo. Once I know that, I’ll begin furiously
sketching and writing the wording to go along with it.
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Capturing Personality in Portraiture

Question: What’s the difference between the generic “take your pictures in 20 minutes” portrait studio’s in
every mall, and the portrait artists who make hundreds of dollars on a single portrait session?
Personality
The end goal of many generic portrait studios is to make a sale.
For successful portrait artists, capturing personality is the end goal.
Great portraitists know how to capture personality, and that is how they
make their money.
Capturing personality is an exciting challenge, but it is not impossible. All

it takes is attention to detail, and genuine care about your subject as an
individual.
First, Investigate
Spend some time getting to know your subject
Before every shoot, ask questions with sincere interest. Is your client dramatic,
or laid back? Do they like quiet moments, or bold statements? Are they more
likely to be found surfing a wave, or sitting in a library? Imagine how
unprofitable it would be for you to take portraits of a book-worm in the middle
of a skate park! You won’t find out about these details unless you inquire.
When I met up with Nicole (pictured left), we spent some time scoping out the
location of our shoot at the Dallas Arboretum. As we walked, we talked about
her interests, and her pursuits. I found out that while she was a very chic and
adventuresome girl, she also had a really soft feminine side that could be
captured perfectly in a garden setting. I also noticed that she had a tendency to
brush back her side-swept bangs when she was feeling shy. Though this motion
seems to be spontaneous in the portrait, it is actually very signature to her
personality.
Second, Observe
Watch your subject as you interact with them
Find out their little tendencies. Do they favor one side of their face more than another? Do they blink a lot?
Do they like a serious expression more than a smile? If you can find these hidden “signatures”, you will be
empowered to capture your client’s personality like no one else.
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Third, Engage
If you truly want to highlight your clients’ personality, you will draw them out of their skin.
While you are shooting, guide them through the emotions you want to
capture with your conversation. Talk to them. Laugh with them. Entertain
them. People are most readily themselves with someone they can be
comfortable with. Endeavor to be that person.
Unbeknownst to me, Caleb (pictured right) was an aspiring filmmaker who

liked very few portraits of himself. As I shot, I chatted with him as friend-to-
friend, catching smiles and glances that really defined who he was as an
every day person. When Caleb received the prints, he told me that this was
his favorite portrait ever taken, because it reminded him of a portrait of his
icon, and role model, film maker Mel Gibson.
If you want to be a successful, high income, portrait photographer, remember

that your job is to show people the way they see themselves … their
personality – and in the most flattering way possible. If you capture the
personality of your subjects well, they will tell their friends about you and
will continue coming back to you again and again.
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Three Lenses Every Photographer Should Own

It’s a question I hear a lot from new photographers: “what lenses should I buy?”
And while there are a lot of different types of lenses

appropriate for many different situations and needs, time
and time again I find myself primarily relying on three
lenses in my bag: a fast general purpose zoom (18-
50mm), a macro lens and a telephoto zoom (70-200mm).
These three lenses will give you enough versatility to
shoot in almost any conditions. Also, these three lenses
are available for just about every camera system and lens
mount on the market.
The general purpose zoom
This is the lens that sits on my camera the most. For APS-C cameras, something in the 18-50mm range is
best… for 35mm format cameras, a 24-70mm will work. This will give you the ability to go fairly wide
while also being able to zoom into objects off in the distance. This lens might be your kit lens, but it should
preferably be fairly fast (a fixed f/2.8 if possible) to give you greater control over depth of field. It makes a
great “walkabout” lens when you aren’t sure what you will be shooting.
The macro lens
The length of this lens isn’t as important as its ability to

create a 1:1 magnification of subjects. I currently keep a
50mm f/2.8 macro in my bag because it is small and
light… easy to carry around for when I might need it. It
makes a decent portrait lens (very sharp and the f/2.8
provides a fairly shallow area of focus) and the level of
detail you can get when shooting objects up close is
fantastic. Having a macro lens opens up a whole new
world of tiny objects to photograph. Also, if you do any
type of product photography (jewelry, food, etc.) this
lens will allow you to capture a much greater level of
detail than is possible with non-macro lenses.
The telephoto zoom
The telephoto zoom should be in the general range of 70-200mm with a maximum aperture of at least f/4
(faster is nice though). This will give you a lot of distance to work with and a very shallow depth of field to
bring focus to your subjects. For faster moving objects, the bigger aperture will allow you to shoot at faster
shutter speeds which will help capture moving objects (birds, sports) too. This is also an excellent portrait
lens as the focal length minimizes distortion and narrows the angle of view to fill the frame with your
subject.
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Wait… what about?
I am sure many of you reading this have other lenses you would consider essential. A fast 50, or a wide
angle or a longer zoom… and all of those are great lenses to own also. However, for someone who is new
to photography or who has just bought their first DSLR, these three lenses will give them the versatility to
shoot in almost any situation. Family gatherings, sports events, birds, insects, flowers, landscapes, portraits,
etc. Once you narrow in on a particular type of photography that most interests you, other lenses may be
more useful for that specific subject, but until then these are the lenses all photographers should be carrying
with them.
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10 Fashion Photography Tips

1 Fashion photography should convey an essence of authority, so
your direction of the model(s) needs to be confident and self-
assured. Showing signs of anxiety, stress or lack of direction will
invariably be reflected in the performance of your model so make
the subject feel comfortable and involved. Organize a shot list
before the shoot and rehearse technique and composition for each
shot in your mind. Prepare the location, props and clothes ahead
of time and for a truly effective shoot be sure to communicate
your agenda, objective and posing directions coherently and
calmly.
2 Fashion photography is all about clothes and beauty, so pull all

the elements of the scene and the model together to reflect this.
For example if the shoot focuses on the clothes– use make-up and
hair styling to compliment the garment – and vice versa. If you
desire a provocative or seductive look opt for dark, heavy make-
up and over styled hair; alternatively for an innocent or natural
feel choose subdued pastel tones, gentle make up and soft flowing hair styles. Unusual looking folk
bring interest and personality to the piece, whereas female models with large almond eyes, big lips,
small chins and symmetrical faces are deemed “more commercial”.
3 Posing can be a tricky point to master but browse through the latest men’s and women’s magazines
to target a few inspired suggestions as well as getting a grip on what is currently fashionable. Using
‘broken down’ poses or poses that require angular body shapes can add interest and edginess to the
piece – as well as help to elongate body length.
4 A studio is an ideal place to perform a fashion shoot because photographers can easily control
lighting and stabilize conditions. If you are shooting in a studio environment remember to meter all
areas of the scene to avoid unwanted shadows and the use of a separate light meter rather than the
one in your camera, will offer a more accurate reading.
5 If you can’t afford to hire a professional studio and all the pricey
equipment there is a way you can cheat at home. Clear a space in a
room that benefits from large windows and peg a white sheet, net or
fabric across the window. On a bright sunny day you’ll have
yourself a homemade soft box – ideal for flattering even light. .
6 When shooting in low light or into the sun, you may require an extra
light source. If all you have is flash then rather than shoot straight
on, set it to bounce of a nearby reflector, wall or ceiling. Experiment
with angles to create an array of effects and discover what works
best for you and the scene you are shooting. Be careful to pay
attention to unwanted shadows that may fall across the face and
body.
7 Props are fantastic for telling a narrative within a fashion shot, but one of the best props to use is a
mirror. A mirror can be a used to tell a story and act as an effective tool that allows the
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photographer to display the front and back of your model. Take a spate reading for the mirror and
you may need to bracket your exposures here. Be careful to position yourself, lighting equipment
and anything not to do with the shoot out of the reflection.
8 Location, location, location! Getting the right location is important if you want to convey a
narrative within your shot. For example if the clothing and beauty styling are edgy, hard or
provocative you may want to consider an urban setting , alternatively for spring/summer and natural
fashions find a rural environment like; a field, meadow, beach, woodland or river bank.
9 Influence the image by moving around the scene and exploring which angles work best to full
expose the garment. This could mean climbing a ladder, crouching low, working a slanted angle or
moving closer to the subject. Think about what the message is here and create a composition to
reinforce it.
01 Fashion photography is achievable alone, but to step it up a gear rope in a friend, family member or
photography student as an assistant. Often photographers need an extra pair of hands to position
reflectors, angle and reset lighting equipment, tweak the positioning of garments and clear the
scene.
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10 Tips to Take Great Family Portraits

We are told family comes first, so grab your camera and let’s get snapping… some great family portraits…
1 If you want that ‘traditional’ family photograph you are going to

need to work the role of director to ensure all eyes and faces are
on you. Working with a large group of people can be a bit trying
so prepare to be patient and assertive will help in getting a handle
of things. When you’ve got everyone ready don’t be afraid to reel
of a dozen or so shots or use the burst mode to ensure you have at
least one frame with everyone is paying attention. Eye contact
isn’t always essential though and some shots which intentionally
lack it can be more intriguing and relaxed. So rather than force
the subjects to look continuously at the camera get them to look
in a variety of directions to spice things up.
2 The ‘traditional’ shot isn’t for everyone so flex that creative

muscle and engineer some fun, personality fused frames. Putting
your subjects at ease is the first step so fire a few pictures in a
comfortable or familiar environment. This will help to lend character and narrative to the piece.
3 As with all photography lighting is key. If you are shooting inside and can’t afford expensive
lighting use the most flattering and cheapest form of light there is – sun light! Position your group
facing or parallel to a large clean window, if it is a particularly bright day cover it with a thin veil of
material, such as a net curtain or peg a white cotton sheet across to act as a diffuser for softer, more
flattering light. If you decide to use flash indoors, perhaps employ a diffuser to soften the effect and
avoid bleaching skin or flattening textures.
4 You can really let your imagination run wild when it

comes to photographing family portraits outside.
Remember your light – as the sun can cause
unflattering shadows to fall across the face. With the
sun behind the subjects you’ll get a creative
silhouette or you could add a spot of fill in flash to
bring back the details and generates a halo of light
around the subjects, separating them from the
background.
5 Avoid having the sun behind you as the models will

be pictured with odd squinting expressions, instead take a look around the vicinity – is there
somewhere that offers some shade? A porch, a beach umbrella or even a white sheet tied above
their heads. For this last suggestion you may need to peg the corners of the sheet to four chairs and
ask the group to sit underneath but this could convey a summery relaxed portrait.
6 It may sound cheesy, but as well as bearing a similar resemblance; you may want to include other
elements to tie the members of the portrait together – to say ‘yes we are a family!’. Suggestions
include: matching splashes of color, props or even aspects of the environment around them. If you
want to style the shot in a more traditional or relaxed fashion then ask the family to wear natural or
pastel shades. Opt for bright, bold or clashing hues for a more energetic, frivolous shoot.
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7 As well as shooting the family sitting and then standing, experiment by having half the group stand
and half sit. By splitting the group onto different levels: the viewer is offered a more dynamic
image forcing the eye to jump around the scene. Incorporate props, especially if you have children
in the frame. Not only will this again diversify the arrangement but it can help to reveal children’s
personalities. For example a chair is not just for sitting, one could stand on it, crawl underneath it ,
lean on it, you could pose several children on it at one time etc.
8 Ideally for traditional group shots a wide angle lens is great for framing the entire family. If it’s
more relaxed candid’s you want then use a zoom to switch between wide angle shots with back
drop and close up spilt-second emotive portraits. Dial is a wide aperture of f5.6 or less and throw
out the back drop. This offers the chance to play with whom and what is in focus.
9 Forget boring head on shots, be original and look for more inspirational angles. Climb a ladder or
chair and shoot shooting downwards. This is great if you have a large group or want to get more
creative with positioning. Alternatively hit the deck and lie with you back on the ground and shoot
straight up into the middle of huddle. Even slanting the camera at a jaunty angle can produce
exciting options. Profile portraits can be quite creative too.
10 Have some fun! Unleash the enthusiasm and ask your

family to run, jump, spin, give each other piggybacks,
dance, play fight and in general – laugh! Get them
doing things that will dispense with any rigidity or
formality. Incorporating motion into group shots
develops interest and instantly relaxes your subjects
and therefore viewers. To freeze action shoot between
1/125 to 1/500, you may need to crank up ISO in low
light or use flash if necessary. Alternatively to
incorporate a creative blur and reflect the connotation
of movement use a speed of around 1/8 to 1/15. Employ Continuous AF if your camera has it and
pan with the movement to keep the subjects sharp.
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5 Mind-Traps of Beginner Photographers

Everyone starts their photography journey as a beginner.
Everyone, at some point in time, looks to those who have more

experience and expertise than them and feels inadequate. It can
be overwhelming to pick up this amazing machine [Point &
Shoot OR DSLR camera] that is capable of so much, and not
really know what to do with it. It is easy to fall into the trap of
feeling incapable.
If you have felt like this, you are not alone.
Here are 5 mind-traps common to beginning photographers,

and why you shouldn’t let yourself buy into them.
1. My Photos Are Bad:
It’s easy to feel like your photos are junk. Everyone starts at the beginning; not knowing a thing. Learning
about your camera can be a bumpy road, and there will be lots of bad photos for every good one you take.
That’s the nature of learning. Each time you take a photo though, you’ll get a little bit better. Don’t fall into
the trap of feeling like you should be taking perfect pictures right away.
2. My Gear Isn’t Good Enough:
Expensive gear doesn’t necessarily equal good photos. If you don’t know how to use a camera to its full
potential, the most expensive gear in the world won’t give you great photos. That said, fantastic photos can
come from all ranges of equipment.
I started my photography journey when I was in grade school, with several small film Point & Shoot
cameras. I upgraded to the digital world with another round of Point & Shoots. I took some photos that I’m
really proud of with those Point & Shoot cameras, set on Auto mode. Sure, I have taken better ones with
my DSLR, mostly because my knowledge of photography grew and I learned what my camera is truly
capable of. But that doesn’t change the fact that I love some of the photos that came from my Point &
Shoot camera.
3. I’m Doing This All Wrong:
There is no “wrong” way to take a photo. Many beginners feel like they are inadequate because they don’t
understand manual settings, and can’t effectively use them. Don’t fall into that mind-trap! Auto isn’t a bad
setting. It is a great place to begin your photography journey. The Priority modes on DSLRs are designed
to offer a transition from Auto to full Manual settings, when YOU are ready. Advance at your own speed.
Remember, great photos are what count. The settings you used to capture the great photos aren’t important.
*Don’t let the fear of progressing past Auto hold you back, though. It’s a scary world at first, but there is
no reason not to take the leap. In the digital world, there’s no consequence for taking hundreds of photos,
even if most turn out horrible. Who cares? That’s what the DELETE button is for! Once you’ve mastered
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Auto mode, practice using the other settings. Research how they work and what they do. Play around with
them. They are conquerable and you WILL succeed. It’s all about learning and practice.
4. I’ll Never Be Able to Take Photos Like the Pros
Remember – the pros were beginners once too!
Everyone has to start somewhere. Learn from the pros. Study their work. Use them as inspiration to
practice and grow.
5. I Can’t Afford Any Editing Programs:
Photoshop might not be in your arsenal right now, and maybe it never will be. Have no fear! There are
plenty of other choices out there, many of which are free. Creative control over your photos is at your
fingertips!
Check out these free options:
 Windows Photo Gallery

 iPhoto
 Picasa
 Picnik
If you’d like more editing capabilities but still don’t want to invest in the full Photoshop suite, Photoshop
Elements is a great alternative. PSE has most of the best features of Photoshop, for a fraction of the cost,
and in a slightly less intimidating form. Adobe also has the Light room software; an organizational and
complete editing package, for less than the Photoshop bundle.
It’s easy to let these mind-traps seep into your consciousness and get you down. They might even make
you second guess your photographic talent. Don’t let them! Don’t give up. Keep shooting and watch
yourself and your photography grow.
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Beach Photography
Whether a tranquil haven of serenity or a jam-packed platform for sun worshippers, the beach is a perfect location
for all genres of photography; macro, documentary, seascape, portrait and even wildlife. Here are some pointers to
get your creative juices flowing when it comes to beach photography.
Macro and Creative Abstracts
Beaches are rife with opportunity for macro shots and

creative abstracts. Some typical examples are: footprints in
the sand, chipped paint on beach huts or boats, shells on the
shore or intersecting blades of dune grass. With the
intention of creating a shallow depth of field use a
telephoto lens and employ a wide aperture. Zoom in close
to your subject and focus accordingly. For best results get
down in the sand and stabilize the camera on a jumper or
bag to ensure details remain crisp.
Portraits
What better place to photograph your children in the

throws of freedom and fun than at the beach? Set a
fast shutter (1/400th) to catch the action if the little
tot refuses to sit still or give them a challenge to
focus their attention such as building a sandcastle or
exploring a rock pool. Frame and focus on your
youngster, but zoom out to show enough background
for the image to offer a context.
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For beautiful evenly lit portraits diffuse the harsh sunlight that
falls on the subject’s face using a white sheet if you have one to
hand or a beach towel or t shirt to provide shade if you don’t.
For the best results employ a 35mm or 50mm prime lens with a
wide aperture to delicately blur the bright background but keep
the portrait in focus.
When the sun is at its highest it can be tricky to expose

correctly for portraits so try bracketing the scene to expose for
the highlights, shadows and midtones separately. Later employ
a HDR program such Photomatix to give portraits an
interesting texture and dramatic feel. Alternatively wait until
the sun sets for an enigmatic silhouette. To incorporate an interesting reflection place your subject at the
shoreline, in between yourself and the sunset. Pre focus your subject manually here, expose for the
brightest part of the scene and de-active the on body flash.
Seascapes
The ebb and flow of the sea is such an enchanting motion and
to capture the gentle ghostly movement photographers should
employ the same techniques as those used for classic
waterfall cascades. Set your camera on a tripod and dial in a
slow shutter speed, how slow will depend on the brightness of
the day, but you could use a polarizer or ND Grad filter to
reduce the amount of light entering the lens. Check the
histogram on your LCD to monitor the results.
If you want to photograph the scene at sunset or

sunrise remember to set up an hour before dawn/dusk.
Expose for the sky and support your camera with a
tripod. To add foreground interest consider including
an angular groyne, collection of stones, pier or
lighthouse.
Piers are a classic focal point for seaside shots. A

wonderful way of conveying the sheer size of the
platform is to use a wide-angle lens and small aperture
to keep everything sharp. Also try varying your
vantage point to exaggerate that sense of scale.
Alternatively climb the pier to get some height from the sand and capture a cross section of the populated
beach. If this isn’t possible secure the camera to a fully extended tripod/monopod and lift it above head
height. Use a remote shutter release or self timer to take the shot.
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Documentary
Legal restrictions of photography in public places differs

from country to country, so brush up on the rules of the
country you are in before you start to point and shoot
strangers at the beach. In some countries there is no
presumption of privacy for individuals in a public place
whereas others restrict photography, to protect children for
example. Avoid potential hassle by first asking permission
of the person or the parents’ of a child you wish to
photograph.
Wildlife
The beach is home to many interesting creatures primed

for photography; starfish in rock pools, coastal birds
such as gulls and lapwing, or strap on a snorkel and
explore the magical array of fish under the sea. To
photograph birds wait until the end of the day when
gulls descend on to desolate beaches to scavenge
discarded food. Add movement to a picture of a bird in
flight by focusing on the subject and slowly follow it
with a gentle pan and slow shutter speed. To freeze
birds in flight ensure you use a faster shutter speed. To
do this in the evening light you’ll need to ramp up that ISO if shooting handheld.
Night scenes
Head to the bright lights of the funfair and embrace the

chance to get creative with shutter speed. Neatly frame one
of the more colorful or interesting fairground machines and
consider lowering your vantage point to add impact or use a
creative lens like a fisheye for impact. Mount your camera
on something sturdy and dial in a small aperture (for
example f14) to keep the background in focus, with a slow
shutter speed of around 1/15th sec to create neon light trails
Sports
Surfing, windsurfing, kite surfing, banana boats, jet skis, kayaks or

pedals are all fantastic water sports for capturing people having fun at
the beach. A fast shutter speed is essential to freeze movement but wait
until the sun is at a low angle in the sky for gentler light. Alternatively
you can use a polarizing filter to soften harsh midday light, reduce
glare and increase color saturation.
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8 Tips for Photographing Butterflies

Butterflies are pretty sensitive little creatures. Get too
close, and they’ll fly away in a hurry. And, even when
you do get close, they’re constantly moving from flower
to flower, gathering their most precious prize: sweet
nectar. All this makes it difficult to photograph
butterflies, but here are 8 tips for dealing with some of
these problems:
1. Use a tripod, but keep the head loose
Butterflies move quickly from flower to flower, so you won’t have time to lock in your tripod. But, you can
still use it for some stability by keeping the head loose (so you can quickly move the camera).
2. Wait for colder weather
Butterflies need heat from the sun to use their wings, so they like to take it easy when it’s colder out (early
morning or late afternoon). With colder weather, you’ll be able to approach them more easily.
3. Position your camera’s sensor so it’s parallel to the

butterfly’s wings
You only get one geometrical plane of complete sharpness,

so you want to put as much of your subject in this plane as
possible. With butterflies, you’ll want their body and wings
tack sharp, so make sure your camera’s sensor is parallel to
them.
4. Wait until the butterfly is frontlet by the sun
Side lighting will usually result in a harsh shadow across the

butterfly’s wings, and backlighting is always difficult
because of flares. So, wait until the butterfly moves to a position where it’s frontlet by the sun.
5. Use a fast shutter
When you’re photographing butterflies, three things are almost always moving: the camera, the butterfly,
and the flower it’s perched on. To help freeze the action and increase your chances of getting a sharp photo,
use a fast shutter by increasing your ISO to 400.
6. Shoot in JPEG mode (sometimes)
If you’re having a hard time with the wind and a constantly moving butterfly, you may want to consider
shooting in JPEG instead of RAW. This will allow you to snap a lot more shots in a burst, increasing your
chances of getting a sharp photo (when everything stood still for a microsecond).
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7. Wait for butterflies (patiently), don’t chase them
If the butterflies seem extra sensitive when you’re trying to approach them, then try to just wait patiently at
one flower instead. Although butterflies will usually get scared if you approach them, they’ll usually land
on flowers right next to you if you’re already sitting there. Be patient though: it might be 15-20 minutes
before a butterfly shows up.
8. Be careful not to cast a shadow on the butterfly
Butterflies love the sun, so if you cast a shadow on them, they’ll usually fly away. Remember this as you’re
approaching them.
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An Introduction to Smoke Photography

After I got hooked to smoke photography, the one question that has been constantly running through my mind
these past few months has been ‘What else can I do with smoke?’.
Smoke, otherwise an unwanted by-product of combustion, is
actually a great subject for photography.
The fact that the subject is not totally under your control is what
makes smoke photography such a challenging job but at the same
time, the challenges posed have only fueled my creativity. Finding
subjects that fit the smoke pattern or trying to come up with a
smoke pattern that matches the subject that you already have is a
fascinating challenge.
This limitation to create a combination improves

the creativity to a larger extent. You can almost
call it ‘the art of seeing hidden images’.
On a very high level the idea behind these
pictures is very simple. It is made of two pictures.
First, a picture of the smoke. Depending on the
shape and form of the smoke, find an object that
would fit the shape and form of the smoke.
Now merge these two pictures in Photoshop. I’ll
not go in detail on how to shoot the objects here
as there are hundreds of tutorials out there online. From a small box setup to a studio
setup there are so many ways to do that. You can select what fits your style.
Below I’m going to concentrate on the taking of smoke pictures.
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Smoke Photography: Setup
The setup for smoke photography is relatively simple. Here’s what you
need:
 a power controllable flash (in my case, it was an 580 EX II)

 a DSLR with any good lens, though a macro lens would make things a lot
easier.
 Although you can get smoke from various sources, I feel incense sticks fit
our needs best because they not only give out smoke with a good form
and texture, they are also harmless.
 A tripod is required if you are not comfortable at setting the focus and
changing the composition. I always focus on the edge of the incense
stick and recompose my frame for the smoke.
 A table lamp pointed on the smoke helps in focusing.
 A black cloth for the backdrop. Two small black sheets that can form a
rectangular snoot and last but not least, a wireless trigger.
Smoke Photography: Procedure
Start by fixing the black back drop to the wall. Place the incense stick a foot away from the back drop. Do
not light it yet.
Now position the table lamp such that it points at the tip of the incense stick. It can be placed either to the
left or right side (at either the 3′o clock or the 9′o clock angle) of the incense stick.
Now place the strobe on the opposite side (of the table lamp) at half a foot distance from the incense stick.
Adjust the flash to 1/16th of the power and depending on the output image, you can reduce or increase it.
Now you can place the black cards on either side of the strobe so that
light from the strobe does not spill out to the back drop.
Now light the incense stick and start the smoke. If possible place the
entire setup in a place where you have good ventilation so that your
room is not smoked out.
Switch on the table lamp.
Set your camera to manual focus and start the aperture at f8.0 and
shutter speed at 1/200th of a second (below your sync speed).
Shoot in RAW format. Start clicking and get some great smoke
pictures.
Gently blow the smoke to get different forms and shapes. Once you are
done with this, you can let your imagination run wild by placing 2 or 3
incense sticks that in turn should produce smoke of completely different
shapes.
Once you are done with shooting the smoke pictures, it is time to
proceed to the post-processing part of this fun exercise.
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Smoke Photography: Post Processing
Open the picture in adobe RAW. You increase the black a little bit if you feel there is some spill light in the
picture. Adjust contrast and exposure until you are satisfied.
Open the image in Photoshop and make a duplicate layer. Select paintbrush and set your foreground to
black and paint out the unwanted smoke in the picture.
That’s it. You have a smoke picture. If you want to color it try Hue & Saturation adjustment layer.
Also try to play with colorize option under the same adjustment layer.
If you want to make the background white, Go to Image > Adjustments > Inverse. This will make the
background white.
Again like any other photography, you can always break the rules and still come up with extraordinary
pictures. Play around until you are satisfied.
I hope this post has been helpful and good luck with your smoke photography.
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How to Photograph Mushrooms, Toadstools and Fungi

One of my favorite things to photograph is Mushrooms –
in this post I’ll give you some tips on how to do it.
As a child I had a love hate relationship with

Mushrooms.
It all started down on my Nana’s farm where on cool

Autumn days one of the things we’d love to do was go
Mushrooming. We’d hunt in dark damp places for
them and would marvel at the different colors, sizes
and shapes that they came in – these bizarre little
things that looked like something from out of space.
Nana taught us which ones were edible and which ones

to leave alone and we’d return to her kitchen with a bucketful which we’d clean, chop up and put in a pot.
That’s where the ‘hate’ part of my relationships started. I can still remember the smell of that stewing pot
and Nana’s attempts at getting me to eat the fruit of our mushroom hunt. No thanks – not for me.
These days I don’t mind eating them as much as I used to – however my love of the ‘hunt’ for good
mushrooms, toadstools and fungi is still with me – however I don’t hunt them to eat, I hunt them to
photograph.
The little alien like creatures that we used to pick and chop up are now sought after photographic subjects.
The variety of shapes, colors and sizes present photographers with all kinds of striking possibilities.
How to Photograph Mushrooms, Toadstools and Fungi:
It’s all about the Season – Fungi photography is not a

year round hobby as they only tend to grow at certain
times of years. I suspect that this will vary from place to
place and between varieties but I find I have the best luck
in winter and autumn where it’s cooler, darker and
damper.
Where to Find them
At Nana’s farm we learned where Mushrooms hide and

discovered that it’s pretty much the opposite sorts of
places that you’ll find flowers (who like warmth, light and are generally out in the open). Mushrooms like
the dark, they like the wet and they tend to appear in places that you’d least like to be (on the farm it was
often next to a cow pat). Keep your eyes open below trees, under leaves and amongst undergrowth of
forests.
Groom Your Fungi before Shooting
Mushrooms grow up from under the ground and as a result can often be half covered in dirt, bits of
vegetation and other ‘gunk’. While you might like this natural look it can also be well worth your while
clean them up a little before photographing them. Brush off dirt and vegetation and remove any movable
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distracting objects in the foreground or background of your shots. Remember to be an environmentally

friendly photographer and to leave things as naturally as you found them but don’t be afraid to do a little
grooming pre-shooting.
Get down Low
Perhaps the most effective way of entering the world of

Mushrooms and Toadstools and drawing the viewer of your
image into your shot is to get down low and shoot from
ground level. This will enable you to see the textures, shapes
and colors of not only the top dome of the mushroom but it’s
underbelly. It will also give your mushroom height which
makes for a more dramatic and three dimensional shot. Of
course means you’ll probably spend a lot of your Fungi
photography flat on your stomach on the ground getting dirty.
No one said this would be easy!
Get in Close
For a real impact in your mushroom shots get in as close to them as possible and try some tight framing.
This will mean you might want to think about switching your camera into macro mode or, if you have a
DSLR, hook yourself up with a macro lens or macro screw in lens and learn how to use it. I use a Canon
EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens and it works well with this type of photography.
Lighting
One of the challenges you’ll be faced with when shooting from

low down in lower lighting situations is that the underbelly of
your mushroom (which is often it’s most interesting part due to
the patterns and textures there) will often be in darkness when
compared with it’s top. Lighting a mushroom’s belly can be a
tricky thing. Here are a few techniques to try:
 Fill Flash - the first thing to try that almost any digital camera
can do these days is to use a flash to achieve a ‘fill flash‘effect.
If you can control the level of output from the flash you’ll want
to experiment with this as there is a danger of getting quite
harshly lit parts of the mushroom.
 Directional/off Camera Flash - the problem with built in flash
units is that you can’t really direct what direction it fires in and
when photographing a small object like a mushroom this
means that you might not just light up the underbelly but also
the top of the mushroom as well as it’s surrounds. If you’re
lucky enough to have an external flash unit experiment with
bouncing it off other objects (trees, the ground or purpose
built reflectors). If you can take your flash off your camera and move it around the mushroom you can also
get some interesting sidelight or backlighting results also. Off camera flash is probably the best bet if you
have the kit to do it.
 Reflectors – last time I went mushroom hunting I took a reflector with me and used it to reflect available
light from the sun back up into the underbelly of the mushrooms. I found this worked quite well (although
as I was alone at times I found it a bit of a juggling act).
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Stabilize Your Camera
Due to the low light in most places that you’ll find

Mushrooms, you’ll often need to shoot with longer shutter
speeds which mean the need to find a way to keep your
camera perfectly still. Some tripods will allow you to set up
your camera as low as inches from the ground by spreading
their legs widely but another option is one of the numerous
beanbag stabilizers that are available. Also consider using a
remote shutter release for extra stillness (or use the self
timer).
Slow Shutter Speeds
If you’re struggling with the low light levels don’t be afraid to lengthen the shutter speeds that you’re
using. The beauty of Fungi is that they are very still and if you’ve got your camera stabilization working
for you with a solid tripod and shutter release cable you can lengthen the shutter speeds almost as long as
you’d like (within reason).
Use a Shallow Depth of Field to Isolate Your Fungi
Mushrooms and Fungi usually grow in environments

where there can be a lot of clutter around them in the
vegetation that they grow in. One great way to isolate them
from this background and foreground distraction is to use a
shallow depth of field by selecting a large Aperture which
will throw the background out of focus (see this tutorial on
other tips for getting great backgrounds). Of course it can
also be effective to show the context of the mushroom if
you’re lucky enough for it to be growing in a photographic
location – in these cases you’ll want to select a smaller
aperture.
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Cloud Photography
How to take advantage of what is right above you.
The sky is the single most abstract and dynamic canvas that a photographer has at his disposal. It is an
endless source of inspiration that can change a boring photo into one of tremendous interest.
The sky is a key element in almost all landscape photos and if you can’t get it just right the entire photo
will suffer. The problem is that it is often very difficult to properly expose the sky and the ground at the
same time.
By turning to tools such as graduated neutral density filters or bracketing photographers have been able to
perfectly expose photos right on the camera, however, this isn’t always possible given circumstance.
Furthermore, the sky itself doesn’t always behave. Sometimes you show up for that shoot and the sky is
boring and uninteresting. Other times the sky simply does not convey the right mood. Sometimes an image
needs a new sky.
Shoot the sky when it is interesting
Carry your camera everywhere with you and always make

a point to look up to the sky as you go about your daily
routine. If the clouds are doing something interesting. Take
a picture of them.
Begin to create a collection of cloud photos that you save

for later use. The clouds don’t have to always be wickedly
cool or on a vibrant sky but it is important to build a
diverse collection.
These photos, while often are interesting enough to become stand alone images they truly shine when used
to augment something else.
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Tricks to shooting great clouds
 Make sure that you shoot more of the sky than you need. It is easy to crop in later if necessary.
 Slightly underexpose the image. The sky is notoriously bright during the day. Overexposed clouds tend to
look goofy. You can always fix up the exposure later in post processing.
 Get creative; clouds are very abstract try interesting things with them. Long exposure times. Wild Filters.
Go Nuts!
 Watch out for things in the sky. While they can always be removed later it is annoying when a bird or plane
is in the middle of your frame.
How to make certain skies more interesting
Even though the sky is almost always interesting to a degree, sometimes you want to make it that much
more compelling. This can easily be done in Photoshop.
Cheery
Everyone likes bouncy soft clouds. They can make a scene feel more fun
and energetic. Cheery clouds are characterized by smooth white tones in
the clouds set upon a vivid blue backdrop.
Energetic
Clouds can also look very interesting when given tension.
This can easily be achieved by framing the clouds at a unique and

compelling angle.
Antique
They have nearly become a cliche but they are also very effective.
Antique clouds can perfectly help frame all sorts of interesting

photos. Antique clouds tend to be moody and work best in a more
overcast sky.
Muted
You could also consider them boring clouds. However they are
also very useful when you simply want to add texture.
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Muted clouds are characterized by less bold lines and lower contrast.
Ominous
You can also add powerful emotion to a piece with more rugged and
defined clouds.
These clouds tend to feel foreboding and can really add tension to a
composition. Ominous clouds looks best when the clouds themselves
have high contrast and often are very dark. Such as before a storm
From Above
Did I mention that you should take your camera everywhere?
This includes on an airplane. Clouds look really cool from above.
Getting Creative
Once in Photoshop you can either let your clouds remain realistic or
you can easily change them dramatically to add another dimension to
their abstraction.
This will usually depend on the style of image you are aiming for in
the final piece but given how abstract clouds are it is very easy to
vastly change them without ruining their effect.
Don’t be afraid to really experiment, the worst possible outcome would be starting over but the rewards can
be infinite.
Things you can do to clouds to make them more abstract
 Add extreme color of any type. We are used to seeing clouds with sky blue as a back drop. They also look
good with most other colors of the spectrum.
 Give them movement. Add motion or radial blurs to simulate movement.
 Warp them. Given that clouds have no predefined shape you can use tools such as liquefy to mold them to
your desired shape.
 Add things to them. Birds, rainbows, and lightning can all add an interesting twist.
You have shot your clouds… Now what?
Take advantage of them. As mentioned above you can’t always count on the sky to deliver it’s best
performance when you are taking your pictures.
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Next time you have a photo that you think could have been amazing but just isn’t quite right consider how
it would look with a new sky.
Look through your collection of clouds and find the perfect sky to
match your photo. Just make sure the sky you have chosen fits
with the image you are giving it to.
Things to watch out for when adding a new sky
Make sure to cut out the original photo well. A halo of the old sky
can look really weird.
Instead of completely replacing the old sky, consider blending it

with the new sky to make things look more natural.
Make sure the lighting matches. It would look really weird if you
add a sky behind a mountain with the sun in it but the shadows on
the mountain imply the sun is behind the photographer.
Match the tones so that the entire image has similar saturation,
brightness, and contrast. It needs to look natural.
Other cool tricks
 You can vastly increase the size of the sky. For example, in the image above the original sky looked fairly
good but it was cut off by the end of the frame. By adding a new sky I was able to use one that was much
taller and thus make the picture more interesting with a taller aspect ratio.
 You don’t always have to replace a sky. Perhaps you photo doesn’t have any sky in it. But it does have some
water or other reflective surfaces. Create an interesting reflection.
 Layer skies. If done well, and carefully, you can layer several skies together by blending them and create a
compelling effect.
 Transform them. Flip and rotate them. A sky doesn’t always look it’s best right off the camera. Find the
angle that best benefits the final image.
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Defining Your Visual Style

Perhaps the most important thing we will all do on our photographic
journeys is finding and defining our own unique visual style. If you want
to be a better photographer, it’s a journey you too must take. Visual style
is what separates each of us from other photographers. It’s how we
choose to look at the world and present it in our photos.
With enough time and practice, nearly anyone can learn to take a well
exposed and composed photo. But no amount of teaching will help you
find your unique style. It’s a journey that can and will take years. It’ll
change and refine itself over and over. Don’t feel you have to wantonly
wait around for your style to develop though. There’s ways to start
honing your vision today.
Start with the What
It’s true – style is not what you shoot, but how you shoot it. Learning
what you’d like to shoot though will go a long way towards discovering
how you want to shoot it. So sit down right now, grab a pen and paper.
Go ahead, take a second and go grab them.
Ask yourself the question, “What do I want to shoot?” Take a few

minutes to think about it and right down an honest answer. Is it
weddings, landscapes, advertising, journalism? Understand that what
you may want to shoot could easily change over time. For quite awhile I
thought I wanted to shoot landscapes, but that has eventually completely
changed into commercial lifestyle.
Whatever it is, don’t ever let yourself think, “I’ll never be able to do
that.” If you believe in yourself enough and you work day in and day out
to make it happen, you can become the photographer you want to be.
Never doubt it.
Ask Yourself Why
Still got your pen and paper? Ask yourself next, “Why do I want to shoot
this?” If your goal is to get into wedding photography, what do you love about
it? Is it capturing the heartwarming moments on someone’s very special day?
The laughter and celebration amongst family and friends? Be sure you know
what
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Wedding photography entails. If spending 6 to 10 hours on your feet and dealing with a variety of
constantly changing lighting scenarios doesn’t sound appealing to you, chances are weddings aren’t what
you want to shoot.
What if landscapes are what you want to shoot? Is it the majestic peaks and swells of a range that entice
you? The cresting sunset along the horizon? Are you prepared to hike and travel under often rigorous
conditions to get those shots?
When you can answer what you want to shoot and why you’d like to, you’ll be on your way toward
refining a style.
Find Inspiration and Seek Advice
I’m sure everyone has a few favorite photographers whose work they truly admire. But are they shooting
what you want to shoot? If not, find a few who are. Study their work. Try to analyze their images and what
exactly it is that you like about them; either the lighting, the emotion, the color processing or one of
thousands of other variables.
Find local photographers you admire and don’t be afraid to reach

out to them and ask questions or just to grab coffee and talk. Hey
they might not always have the time, but sometimes you get lucky
and can find a great local mentor. I wouldn’t be where I am today if
I didn’t ask so many questions and reach out to photographers I
admire. You can do the same.
If you can answer the what and the why of your photographic goals,
you’ll be closer to developing your own visual style. Know that it
will take a long time and a lot of hard work, but if you’re persistent
and determined you’ll soon find yourself looking at and shooting
the world with your very own personal style.
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Photographing Children – Know When to Leave

your Camera at Home
by Elizabeth Halford
Funny concept for a website on

photography, but sometimes, you have to
stop taking pictures. My kids have been
in front of the camera since the moment
they sprung from my tummy. I think my
daughter might actually think it’s a part
of my face. But for those who are just
starting to explore a lifestyle of
photographing their children and even
for those in my position, sometimes you
just need to give them a break. This will
give you better photos because they
won’t just run away from that black box
which mom is pointing at me again.
You may have heard it said before (usually by folks who don’t ‘get’ what it is we do) that taking too many
pictures prevents us from savoring the beautiful moments in life because we’re always looking at them
through the viewfinder. I absolutely disagree. If there is a beautiful moment and I miss documenting it, it
actually ruins the experience for me. But you have to get to the point where you can take photos and still be
engrossed in the moment. This comes with time and practice. My camera is now just an extension of my
eye and I can even shoot in manual without much thinking. And I often break the sacred law and just shoot
in auto when I don’t want to spend time thinking about aperture and actually miss experiencing the
precious and rare moment where my kids are reading a book together.
For those whose children are used to our photographing antics and the
lengths we go to capture ‘the moment’, the camera can actually be fun
for them. My eldest loves thinking of things to do for me to photograph.
And I find that for every few shots he makes up, he’ll let me tell him
what to do for one so it’s a total win-win.
When do I know that it’s ok to leave my camera at home? When we’re

going somewhere I’ve already photographed a million times, when I
know I’m not in a particularly good or patient mood, when I know that
the kids need the whole me engrossed in their games and not the me
with a camera. In our obsession to photograph their every breath, we can
often become selfish and ignore their needs or desires.
Photographing in schools, I’ve come across many a child who is

petrified of my camera. Once, I had a mom even tell me that the boy’s
father was a photographer. Figures. Poor kid probably had it uptohere
with picture taking and he really was truly frightened. Don’t you ever
see it on the playground? Or sometimes I experience it with parents during a session with their children.
Screaming, manipulating, bribery, threats to force them to take a picture.
Sometimes, you just have to know when to give them a break and leave your camera at home.
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Using Auto to Learn Manual – A Great First Step for

Beginners
If you’re just learning photography and you feel that

learning to use your DSLR camera on manual is too
daunting, here’s a little tip I used when learning to think
for my camera: let the auto settings guide you. By auto
settings, I mean the ones where the settings are set for
certain situations and you don’t have to do anything else.
These include portrait, macro, sports, landscape, etc.
Take sports mode for instance. On a Canon 500d, the sport

mode while I was indoors at the time was set at: f/3.5,
1/320th sec, auto ISO.
What can you learn from this? A fast shutter speed

captures and freezes motion quickly. When I first was
learning about why my camera used a smaller f/stop in
sports mode, I was confused. Landscape mode used high f/stops (exe: f/11). And when doing sports
photography, aren’t you taking photos from far away just like you are with a landscape? I was even more
confused when the f/stop on the sports mode was the same as on the macro mode for taking super close-
ups. Why the low aperture? Remember, the lower the number, the more open which means more light
getting to your sensor. A super-fast shutter is essential to freeze motion but the faster the shutter, the less
light is getting in. So you compensate by opening up your aperture.
If you’re using sports mode and the shutter still isn’t quick enough to freeze the action, you now have a
starting point to go into manual and apply the same settings you saw in sport mode, but this time, speed up
the shutter a bit. You might have to then adjust the aperture or ISO to make up for less light being let in by
the sensor, but this will help you learn without feeling the pressure of not knowing where to begin.
You could even give yourself a challenge to take one setting per week or month and really delve into
learning everything you can about why they are set in that way. Before you know it, you’ll be shooting in
manual and thinking for your camera like a pro!
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How to Achieve Better Bokeh – 4 Simple Tips

by Guest Contributor
Guest post by Jim Harmer from ImprovePhotography.com.
When photographers use shallow depth-of-field, the purpose is usually to

make the subject of the photo stand out from the background.
Unfortunately, this usually means that the photographer forgets about
the aesthetic quality of the area not in focus and pays attention only to
the subject. Big mistake. This article seeks to teach photographers how
to achieve beautiful bokeh.
Bokeh is the quality of the portion of a photograph that is not in sharp

focus. The pronunciation of “bokeh” is debated, but the photo world
seems to have settled on the pronunciation “bouquet.” Many
photographers do not realize that they can control the aesthetic quality of
the bokeh. There are four basic techniques to improve your bokeh:
adjusting depth-of-field, choosing the proper lens, creating custom
bokeh, and using bokeh to relate with the foreground.
1. Adjusting Depth-of-Field
Because bokeh is the blurry portion of an

image, it is directly related to depth of field,
which controls how much of the image is
out of focus. A low aperture value
produces short depth-of-field, and
consequently a larger blurry portion of the
image. Also, the shorter the focal length,
the greater the depth of field. The last
consideration in controlling depth of field is
the lens-to-focal point distance. A longer
distance between the lens and the focal
point creates a greater depth-of-field.
Many beginning photographers always

push for the lowest aperture available. This
is a mistake. Often, the blurry portion of
the photo is more aesthetically pleasing if
enough detail is left in the background to
make out some shapes or objects. The first
rule to better bokeh is to determine proper
depth-of-field rather than always choosing the blurriest background available.
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2. Choosing the Proper Lens
The aperture is a group of several blades which form

a circle or octagon through which the light passes to
the sensor. Apertures which utilize more blades or
have curved blades will produce more circular-
shaped light bursts in the bokeh, while apertures with
more octagonal openings produce a similarly-shaped
light burst. Many photographers prefer the circular
bokeh to the more octagonal shapes. Generally,
more expensive lenses use more blades and/or utilize
curved aperture blades in an effort to produce a more
circular bokeh.
3. Creating Custom Bokeh
A few years ago, it became very popular for

photographers to create special cut-outs in various
shapes to go on a lens. The shape of the cut-out
will control the shape of the light bursts in the
bokeh. This is a very creative and eye-catching
effect as long as it is not overdone. To create this
effect, simply punch out a small (approximately the
size of a dime) shape in a black piece of paper.
Then tape this paper over the front of the lens as if
it were a lens cap, with the cut-out precisely in the
middle of the lens. When you take a picture, the
bokeh will reflect the shape of the cut-out.
4. Relating the Foreground with the Background
Often, the most captivating photographs are those which do

something that the viewer did not anticipate. Relating the sharp
foreground subject of an image with something in the blurry portion
of the image can create a truly creative image. You’ve probably seen
this effect in wedding photography when a bride is close to the
camera and in sharp focus, with the groom blurry in the background.
This technique is even stronger when the foreground not only relates
to the background, but when it interacts with it.
Bokeh is one of the most-used photographic techniques, but one of

the least focused-on. Applying these four methods to achieving better
bokeh will dramatically improve your photography.
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Food Photography Techniques and Tips

by Jonathan Pollack
The food photography techniques in this post are ones that I use in photos I
take for both a local food magazine and my wife’s cupcake blog. I’ve broken
these techniques down into a few areas that give some ideas and
suggestions to help you photograph and showcase your food.
Styling Your Food for Photography
I’ve never had the luxury of working with a food stylist; if you aren’t
well-known, you will most likely take on this role yourself. While I
lack the massive collection of props that a professional stylist would
own, I do have at my disposal some place settings, backgrounds, and
typically some degree of control over how food is presented. I don’t
tend to use stand-ins or other tricks to get the results that I want, but
remember that those are available if you need them. Whether I am at
home or out shooting at restaurants, I am always challenged to use my on-hand supplies and creativity to
create the right mood and draw the viewer in without distracting them. Getting started in styling food is not
as difficult as you might think:
 Place solid or simple patterned papers (available at a scrapbooking store) as a background. Figure out what
works and does not work in terms of contrast and similarity. Also, make sure that you have enough paper
to completely cover the entire field of view.
 Experiment with incorporating serving pieces, whole place settings, napkins, placemats, and tablecloths.
Set the table with silverware, drinks, and even candles to convey the right mood. If you’re budget-
conscious, you can always find these items at thrift and resale stores, flea markets, and garage sales.
 If you have multiple food subjects available to you (like two dozen cupcakes from which to choose), use
only the best examples. A blemish can easily ruin an entire photo shoot.
 Mist fruit, vegetables, and glassware with water to create condensation and make them look more
appetizing. Shiny food appeals more than dull food and anything you can do to make your food shine will
make a more interesting photo.
 Incorporate elements from the food you’re shooting or place appropriate condiments in the frame. Slice
cucumbers thinly and place them on top of yogurt soup to lend it some freshness. Accompany Thai food
with small bowls of sugar, chili, fish sauce, and fresh limes. Some ideas will work, and some won’t.
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Food Photography Composition
My natural inclination when I started photographing food was to anchor myself somewhere, pick one zoom
length for the entire shoot, center the food in the frame, and look down on it at a 45-degree angle – after all,
this is how food appeared when I sat down to eat dinner. What I realized is that it didn’t make for
interesting photos. Better shots play with angles and perspective:
 Zoom – with both your lens and your feet – to put the food
in its place. Whether you are using a prime lens or a zoom
lens, you can always get in close to magnify a detail of the
food or loosen the shot up to show the food as a component
of a larger meal.
 Rotate along all three axes. Some food looks best when
looking directly down on it, while other food has an
interesting side profile that can only be seen when shooting
across the food at its level. Slightly tilting the camera
clockwise or counterclockwise can add some interest to an
otherwise dull photo. Take advantage of the low cost of
experimentation since you’re shooting digitally.
 Use the rule of thirds. In general, the rule of thirds helps to
easily give you compositionally strong photos, and this holds
true not only for landscapes and action shots but for food as
well. Practice following it to learn when you should treat it as
a suggestion rather than a rule.
 Take advantage of the fact that your subjects won’t walk
away. While a lot of food stylists say that you only have a
short time to work with food after it’s served, that hasn’t
been my experience (ice cream being the exception). I
always feel that I can walk around, zoom, hover, and poke
and prod to get the shots I need.
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Remember Established Photography Techniques
You should apply to food photography all of the other general photographic principles that you read about
or already know. Aim for soft shadows, good exposure, and good color rendering. Experiment with your
focal point and available apertures. Pay close attention to white balance and color casts or consider
shooting RAW. Use a tripod if you aren’t going to be stable enough to keep your food from shaking.
Finally, don’t be afraid to add some artistic flair to your images through creative post-processing.
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Actuations & Shutter Count – Someday our

Cameras Will Die
If you’ve ever sold a camera on EBay before, you’ll be
familiar with the term “actuations”. Prospective buyers
will often write and ask you how many actuations your
camera has on it’s meter and you may think “what on
earth?!” Actuations (or shutter count) is the amount of
photos your camera has taken. And this is an important
number because your camera has a life expectancy,
just like your car.
Yes, I did say that: Your camera has a life expectancy.

This is a troubling thing for an avid photo taker to
learn for the first time because it’s not something we
know until we are told. Although it makes perfect
sense that your camera, like anything, will only last so long.
The inner workings of a camera are delicate and fragile and made to withstand around 100,000 shutter
releases. Canon says that their 5D mkII is good for about 150k and the 1D, 200k. But life expectancy isn’t
something you’ll find on the specs of a camera you’re looking at buying, much like mileage expectancy
isn’t on the price sticker of a new Ford Focus. No manufacturer of items can assure how long an item will
last and to do so would be a bad idea on their behalf in case your particular unit didn’t match those
expectations.
Just like with cars, the best way to know what kind of mileage people are getting out of their cameras is to
get on forums and see what people are reporting. You’ll find a host of certain cameras died around the 30k
mark, others 100k. Just get out there and read the chatter because the manufacturers don’t say much.
When I first heard that magic 100,000 number, I was disheartened and frightened for the life of my camera.
Isn’t it especially true that we have a false sense of security with digital cameras? We think there is no end
to the photos we can take simply because we aren’t tied to rolls of film. But sadly, this isn’t so. We do have
to think before we go hog wild with a heavy trigger finger. Although 100k is a LOT more than it sounds, a
professional can easily hit this mark within a few years.
The best comment I read while scanning forums for actuations information was this: “If your car could
only do 100,000 miles, would you be driving it 1000 miles a day?”
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DIY Seamless White Background for Product Shots

Here’s a quick idea that might help those of you looking to take some product shots (think selling stuff on E-Bay)
who might not have the budget to buy a light tent or lighting setup (or who don’t have the time to make their own
light tent).
It was put together by Daniel Greene.
I think the shots explain themselves but here’s what Daniel wrote in describing the setup:
“I simply used an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of white copy paper and

asked my husband to hold up the paper behind the product
(coming from beneath the product) to create a seamless
white background. I sat at my desk chair and held my
camera without a tripod. I pointed my flash up to the flat
white ceiling to bounce and diffuse the light. This shot was
“take one” (I was happy with what I saw on the LCD after
the first shot). I imported the shot into Apple Aperture on
my computer, cropped, adjusted exposure and levels, and
that was it.”
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How to Make an Inexpensive Light Tent – DIY

by Darren Rowse
If you’re like me, you don’t want to spend money if

you can do it yourself and yield the same results. One
day I was at my local photography store I saw one of
these “Pop-Up” light tents. It consisted of a
collapsible white fabric box with a hole in the front
and 3 lights – used for photographing small objects
in photographic studios (like the shot of the chocolate
reindeer to the left).
I was going to purchase it until I saw the $100 price

tag. No way I am going to spend $100 on some fabric
and 3 lights when the material costs far less. So I set
off and built one of these light tents and it did not come out bad at all.
Materials Needed:
1.) A Box – It could be any size you want as long as you can light it! I prefer it to be as square as can be.
You can find boxes anywhere for free. I got mine from work in which they throw out anyway. You can
also find boxes in the back of strip malls, grocery stores, appliance stores or basically any place that makes
or sells products. Thicker the better! (Free)
2.) Fabric ‘This again could be any type. In my box I used white muslin fabric that is found at your local
arts and craft store. Buy enough to cover the entire box. (4.00$ US or 1.99$ a yard) People suggested other
fabrics like White Nylon and white fleece. If your extremely cheap and have some white under shirts
laying around. Cut up the sides to where you have two halves of the shirt. If you use multiple shirts, be sure
that the color matches or your end result may not turn out as you like it
3.) Tape ‘I use tape to secure the fabric to the sides of the box. Reason being is that In-case you want to try
out different fabrics. I use regular masking tape. (1.00$ US A Roll)
4.) Glue ‘you can use a “Glue Stick” (1.00$ US a Stick) or spray adhesive (5.00$ US per Can) to stick the
lining in the box.
5.) White Bristol board ‘This will line the inside of the box and will also serve as your back round (.50 a
sheet X2). I would suggest to buy 2 or 3 sheets as you will be cutting up two to line your box (Could be
more depending on the size of your box) and one for the back ground. Bristol board is a heavyweight paper
(.006″ Thick) that is used in drawing/art. The name came from where it was originated, Bristol England. If
you wanted a different back round you can also pick up different colors.
6.) Lights ‘ You will need to light this box and this could be the most expensive part of the box unless you
already have the lights. In my opinion lighting is the most important part of this box. Without it you will
not get the picture you desire. I went to my local hardware store and picked up some “Daylight” Bulbs.
Using regular light bulbs will cast a yellow light and should be avoided. I purchased “n:vision” 90 watt
equivalent compact florescent bulbs ($7.00 US). Basically any “Full Spectrum” light bulbs will do.
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Also suggest a lighting fixture. If you have a one of those desk work lamps, It will work fine. If you don’t I
suggest getting a “Clamp on Work Light”. At my local home depot they only had two kinds, A smaller
reflector dish (5″) for 5.99$ (US) or the 10.5″ reflector for 11.99$ (US).
7.) Miscellaneous Tools ‘Tape ruler, Ruler or any straight edge, scissors and knife
Now that you have the Materials I will show you out to make a light tent
step by step. When your done you can take nice clean and crisp product
shots.
Step By Step Process:
A) Take your box with a tape ruler and marker and measure in 2″ from the side of the box marking
multiple points with your marker. When you’re done you will see your border, connect the points using
your straight edge to where you should have a nice looking square/rectangle in the middle of the box with a
2″ border around it. Leave the top and bottom of the box alone as you will not need to mark it
B) Cut out the boxes you’ve drawn. Repeat that to the sides of the box where you have drawn the boxes.
When you’re done, cut off the top of the box or remove the flaps on the top of the box. LEAVE THE
BOTTOM INTACT!
C) Now take your Bristol board and make lines with your marker for every two inches 16 times. Then
proceed to cut out 16 strips with your scissors.
D) Glue the paper strips into the box. Make sure the side with marker goes against the cardboard so it
cannot be seen.
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E) Take another piece of Bristol board and cut is so the width is the same as the inside of the box and the
length is much longer then the box.
F) Place the long piece of Bristol board into the box to where the piece curves to the bottom. Avoid
creasing as it will show up in your photo. Cut off excess paper that is sticking out the top.
G) Cut your fabric to where it will cover the holes. Then cut
a big piece to where it will cover the top of the box.
H) Tape the fabric to cover the holes in the box except the
one that is facing your background. Then tape the top piece on.
YOU’RE DONE!
Now all you got to do is light the top of the box and start snapping away!
There are many variations you can do to get the photo you want. If you’re having a shadow problem I suggest
lighting the other sides of the box. If you’re getting vignetting I suggest
a lens hood or moving the lens more into the box. Photoshop could be
a handy tool also! Since my lens and camera are not the cleanest I tend
photoshop the dust that is sitting on or in my camera. I also adjust the
levels so it’s brighter.
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Camera sticking into the box
More…
1. Party Bouncer Card
Another cool DIY Hack is this Party Bouncer Card (pictured left)
which is so simple yet promises to be so useful and effective.
This one is for those of you with a camera which doesn’t have the
capability for an off camera flash.
It allows you to bounce some light off the ceiling while also
diffusing the light going forward – this will enable you to get a less
harsh flash effect that many flashes leave images with. I like this
one as it pushes the light out from your flash in two directions which
can lead to a more even light rather than just diffusing it – a little
more sophisticated.
Another quick DIY on diffusing a flash is to put a little translucent

magic tape over a flash (or a piece of white tissue paper can do it
too).
Any of these methods will decrease the amount of light getting out
from the flash onto your subject – hopefully resulting in a more
subtle light and a less blown out image.
2. Poor Man’s Ring Flash
All you need for this one (pictured left) is a used milk bottle/jug and some scissors.
The result is that you’ll have a Poor Mans Ring Flash.
A ring flash is one that fits around the lens – it creates a wonderfully unique lighting effect. They will
usually lighten your wallet by a couple of hundred dollars. It’s so simple that I whipped one up for myself
today in 5 minutes. It worked out pretty good too – not bad for the cost of a couple of liters of milk!
If you want to experiment with other methods of making DIY ring flashes you also might want to check
out this post for another method. This one is a little more involved, but I think will probably get better
results.
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8 Lessons Learned from My First Attempt at Portrait Photography

The Things I learned on my first portrait photo shoot:
1. Background is key! Keep it simple: in fact, keep it even more simple than you
think. I thought I was using easy backgrounds but often there’s tiny things (like
trash bins) that can be really detracting (see below).
Also, don’t forget that bright spots show up in between tree/shrub leaves and those
can be really distracting. Try to find something with a solid background. Also, try
to find a background that leads into the model, by using columns, a hallway, stairs,
something which can spruce up the photo a bit.
2. Use Objects to Help Relax the Model: When you’re using inexperienced
models they’ll become a lot more comfortable if they have a prop to work with or
something to lean against. It was kind of awkward when they had to just stand
there.
3. Pay Close Attention to the Hands/Hair: Often

I’d spend so much time worrying about how the
model should stand or what was in the background
or what my lighting was like that I forgot to look
at their hand position. When I got back home and
began editing the photos I found a lot of them had
awkward hand positions that essentially ruined the
photo. Additionally, stray hair (either due to wind
or other factors) can also really detract/cover the
models face.
4. Use an assistant: Bring a friend or family member if you don’t have a real assistant. They can help
straighten out wind blown hair, hold a reflector, or just help make the shot look more natural. I brought a
reflector with me but my friend ended up taking one of the models and shooting at the same time and I
didn’t have anyone to hold the reflector. Next time we’ll take turns being each others assistant.
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5. Use a sharp, fast, large focal length lens: I started the shoot using my Sigma 105mm f/2.8 macro lens.
I figured 105mm would be perfect (longer focal lengths tend to “squish” things a bit and make your model
look better) at f/2.8 but it turns out the lens was really soft and I didn’t like the results. I ended up switching
to my 50mm f/1.8 and that worked much better. I’m a fan of sharpness in the features of my photos and the
soft 105mm lens just made my models look too blurry.
6. Eye Position is really tough; learn to control your models: I spent a lot of time looking at other
portraits/model photos on Flicker and a lot of photographers have the models eyes positioned so that they
are not looking directly into the lens. I tried this out by telling my model to “look left” or “look right” but I
quickly found out that if they looked too far to one way then their eyes would barely be in the photo. It
took some work to figure out just how far to tell them to look in either direction.
7. Have the Models Wear Interesting Clothing: The models that I used were some of my friends and
they weren’t too happy to be told to be at my apartment no later than 7am (I wanted the good light!) They
showed up in normal jeans and a sweater. Although they brought a couple changes of clothes I felt bad
making them change. When I got back to my computer after the shoot I wished they had been wearing
something less every-day-clothing. Since it was spring time when we did the shoot, the best photos I had
were when they were wearing spring dresses.
8. Have fun and learn what works! Don’t go into every shoot (or your first shoot) with high
expectations: It’s going to be a learning experience for all so just relax and have fun with it. If you can
have someone more experienced teach you the ropes, you’re lucky, but if you don’t, then find some friends
like I did and just go out and have fun!
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Getting Started in Toy Photography

I collect toys and I love

photography. Combine the two
together and you’ll embark on a
journey filled with fun, adventure
and new discoveries every time
you go out and shoot. I’m no pro,
but I’d like to share with you
some of the things I’ve learned
through experience, research and
experimentation as I went
through my own journey in this
fascinating (and did I say fun?)
photographic field.
The Art of Toy Photography
Toys represent our imagination, our aspirations and our innocent, childhood fantasies. Everyone is still a
child at heart. The camera, along with our creativity, will allow us to capture these moments and share it
with everyone. The challenge of Toy Photography is to make the toy “lifelike”; to remove that “plastic-
feel” to it and to make it more human. Most Toy Photographers put their subjects into everyday, mundane
scenes. You are limited only by your imagination.
Here are a few tips and notes to help you get started;
 Tell A Story – Each toy has its own background story. Be they be action figures, dolls, superheroes or giant
mecha (robots). Each product line has a rich “origin” to it. Use these elements to either create thematic or
wacky themes. An example would be Star Wars toys interacting with everyday objects in your kitchen… or
how about small, green army men having a life of their own and invading your work-station when you leave
the office. There are endless possibilities.
 Make them more human – Pose and compose your shots as if you were shooting a real human being. You
may apply the elements you learned in portraiture to this. You can also combine and experiment with
landscape photography and then apply your toys to all of nature’s splendor. You can start in your own
backyard using natural sunlight. You can’t get a cheaper or better light source than that.
 Don’t be afraid to experiment – The good
thing about toy photography is that; there no set
rules on how to do it right. As a photographer, you
create your own style. You may want to apply the
things you learned about product-photography and
use that light box as a studio for your “models”. I
love borrowing dolls from my niece and getting a
“professional magazine like model” shoot. You can
have our pets interact with your toys too. Just fire
away, you’re bound to get a few great “keepers”.
 Learn from others – The Internet allows
you to check out the works of other hobbyist toy
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photographers. I follow the Star Wars Toys Flickr group and this Flickr group so that I can see their own
works. More often than not, some photos will spark off my own ideas on what I’ll integrate in my next
photo-shoot or project. It’s also best to interact with the community and ask questions. They’ll be more
than glad to offer help.
 Share – I have lots of fun when I do my own shoots and I’m sure to have more fun reading the reactions of
my friends when I share my toy photos. I use Facebook and my own blog to share my photos. Even if I don’t
make money from this, the input and constructive comments that I get are more than enough
compensation for me. When someone smiles because of the photo of my toy, that’s reward enough for me.
Toy Photography Gear and Details
Aside from your DSLR, your toys (heck,

you can borrow if you don’t have that
much) and probably a light box or some
home-made light sources, you don’t need
much to get into Toy Photography.
Here are some tips when you do both indoor and outdoor photo shoots:
 Indoor – If you can take your flash off camera, you’re in the right track. The best areas inside our home are
the kitchen, the living room, your home office or even your garage. Just imagine wild and fun scenes that
your toys can make and you’ll have hours of fun. You can also use a simple light box to add drama to an
otherwise bland and boring toy.
 Outdoor – The outdoors (and natural sunlight) are great for toy photography. You can use your flash to “fill
in” when your subject’s back lit. You can also bring a home-made reflector (such as the sun screen of your
car) and use that to add more light to your subject. I normally use my “nifty fifty” (Canon 50mm f1.8 II) lens
for this. It’s sharp and affordable. Great for this hobby!
There you go! I hope these tips will get your started in
this fun and rewarding field of photography. I’ll be more
than happy to answer some of your questions on the
comments below.
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10 Common Mistakes Aspiring Travel

Photographers Make (+ How to Avoid Them)
As you can gather from the title, this post relates to travel photography. However, I want to note that
travel photography is a broad topic and so for most part, the mistakes that I’ll discuss here are actually
made by the majority of those of us who are in the beginning of our journey into the world of photography,
regardless of the genre we’re involved in.
Because I wanted to go into some detail and to provide some visual examples, we’ve decided to split this
post up into two parts. Without further ado, here’s part I and check back for part II tomorrow.
1. Having misconceptions about equipment
The two main misconceptions that we most often have about equipment when we’re starting out in
photography are:
 The latest, greatest gear results in better photos.

 The gear you have is not good enough because your images are not. In other words you blame the
equipment.
A camera doesn’t take the photo, nor does any piece of photographic equipment. Photos are made by you –
the photographer. Sure in some very rare cases you might have a technical issue with a camera body or a
lens, but for most part that’s not the concern. Most of the essential photographic gear is better than good
enough these days, it has been for the last five years or so (with the development of affordable digital
SLRs), one just has to know how to use it to its full potential.
My advice here in short is – forget about chasing the latest, greatest stuff. Get out there with what you
have, figure out how to get the most out of your equipment, learn when to use one lens over another, when
to use a tripod and of course, learn about the basics of photography – setting the aperture, shutter speed and
ISO. This might seem like the most obvious advice imaginable, but somehow so many aspiring
photographers still think that it’s all about the equipment you have, there’s just nothing further from the
truth.
2. Not Researching
When I refer to research, I simply mean gathering as much information as possible about the place you’re
traveling to. The best time/season to travel, the DOs and DON’Ts, the modes of transportation – these are
the necessities, that we must find out about before every trip in order to have a smooth experience not only
as far as photographing, but traveling in general.
Beyond the necessities, when photography is the main focus of your trip, it’s worth finding out as much as
possible about what’s visually special in the place you’re going to. Sometimes this isn’t going to be
obvious, you might have to dig a little, but when you do, a great number of photographic opportunities
arise.
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I’ve chosen to include the image above because the story behind it is a good example of what even simple
research can lead to. The photo depicts a Namboodiri boy (priest caste) chanting the Vedhas (which can be
described in short ancient Indian bits of wisdom) in a traditional Vedhic school in the town of Thrissur.
This place (the school) is not a major attraction, it’s not something that the regular visitor travels to
Thrissur for, but to me it provided an incredibly interesting photographic opportunity. Despite the fact that
I would have never just wandered in there by random chance, as the school is isolated from the main town,
it wasn’t at all hard to find it or gain access to shoot there, it was simply a matter of knowing that it existed.
The reason I knew about it is very simple – I researched and by this I don’t mean that I did something
complicated and difficult. I went into the tourist office and chatted to the staff there, telling them that I’m a
photographer and that I’m keen to see anything that’s visually interesting and unique in their town. After
“picking their brains” for about an hour I got a few bits of useful information and the traditional Vedhic
school was one of the places I realised I just had to check out.
3. Not looking beyond the main attraction
A lot of travel destinations have “must see”, “must photograph” main attractions. Sometimes we get so
obsessed with getting an image of these attractions that we fail to see the subjects around them which could
be equally or even more photographically interesting.
I’ve been guilty of this numerous times in the past and so these days I consciously force myself to look at
what else there is to photograph besides the obvious. Sometimes this might even mean that I stay at a place
for an extra day or two. I photograph the main attraction and then discover the lesser known yet still photo-
worthy subjects. This is how the following image came to be. It was taken in Bromo National park.
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During my first couple of days I shot what everyone

shoots there – the Bromo volcano and the
neighbouring mountains, from different viewpoints.
On the third day, rather than make my way to
another viewpoint from which to photograph the
volcano and mountains at sunrise, I decided to
purposely focus my attention elsewhere. I rode
around the area on a rented motorcycle and noticed
the spectacular scene of these horsemen walking in
the fog through the surrounding volcanic desert.
4. Not being aware of light
Not being aware of light means that you simply shoot whatever you see in any given lighting conditions
without giving much thought to the whole matter. Your results might have impact on the viewer every now
and then and they might sometimes reflect what you want to say and how you feel about what you see, but
more often than not that won’t be the case.
Being aware of light means that you know there are different kinds of light and that the way your image
looks will greatly depend on the light you shoot it in. This of course also means that you can make a
conscious effort to photograph in the kind of light which will reflect what you want to say and how you
feel about the subject you’re photographing.
Let’s look at a simple example.
The landscape in the image above looks

beautiful, vibrant and dramatic because it
is lit by the golden light during sunrise. I
made a conscious decision to photograph
in this kind of light because I knew that it
would bring the colors present in this
scene to life and it would basically
“beautify” everything.
The light enabled me to create an image

that reflected what I wanted to say – how
beautiful Transylvanian countryside is, as
well as to communicate the excitement
which I felt. Had I photographed the same
scene without considering light, I could have very well ended up with something much less dramatic. I would have
likely just photographed the landscape the first time I saw it and that was on an overcast day, when the light made
everything look rather grey and drab.
5. Avoiding artificial light
As we get a little more familiar with light and begin to develop an understanding of how it effects our
photographs, a lot of us tend to move away from using artificial light, especially flashes.
The reason most of us do this is because we don’t have enough knowledge about artificial light. It’s true
that the on-camera flash should indeed be avoided at all costs, but it’s not the only available artificial
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lighting option and avoiding artificial light altogether means you’ll never see what you can achieve with it,
which in my opinion is a big mistake.
The artificial lighting tools that I consider a great addition to any serious travel photography enthusiast’s kit are an
off camera flash in a soft box and/or a reflector. The reason these tools are great is that they allow you to control
the light or to manipulate it. This opens one up to a whole range of creative opportunities or even opportunities to
make photographs in situations where it would be impossible to do so otherwise. The following image is a good
example of this.
The only reason I could make this

shot was because I had the artificial
light from an off-camera flash in a
soft box “assisting” the light from
the fire, which on its’ own was
nowhere near strong enough to
allow me to make the kind of photo
I wanted.
6. Forgetting about communicating from within the frame – composition
When we travel, the new, exotic sights,

sounds and smells can be overwhelming or
they can get us so excited that we easily
forget that with an image we’re not only
capturing memories, but can also
communicate what we want to say or how we
feel about the subject in front of the camera.
In other words we forget about the way we
frame the shot, about composition.
It’s happened to me plenty of times during the

early stages of my own photographic journey,
particularly on my first trip to India. When I
arrived in that amazing country there was just
such a myriad of incredible characters and
places, that excitement took over and I got a
little “trigger happy”. I pointed the camera in
the direction of anything and everything I
found interesting, snapping away without ever considering what my photos would say and how they would
be perceived by others.
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When I returned and saw those images more objectively, I realized that only a small percentage of them
was any good. A few times I managed to get strong shots on instinct and luck alone, but in most cases
you’d see people’s vital body parts “cut off” because of how I’d frame the shot or there would be too much
irrelevant visual clutter in the frame, making it unclear just what in the world the photo was actually about.
Eventually I learned that sometimes before pressing that shutter button it’s important to pause, regroup, get
your thoughts together and consider what you actually want to say and communicate from within the frame
of a photograph and how to do it in the best possible way.
7. Thinking that photos which capture dramatic or interesting moments are lucky shots
The image at the top of this article might seem like the result of pure luck, it’s easy to believe that I was
simply in the right place at the right time, but that isn’t entirely true. I’m not denying that luck can play a
big part when it comes to making these sorts of images, but it is certainly not the only factor. The more
experienced photographers will usually tell you that great “images of moments” are created when luck
meets preparation. Image #1 is the result of such a “meeting”.
I was prepared because I had a rough idea of what I wanted to photograph – I researched and I became
familiar with the location. I knew that I’d find interesting characters like this Saddhu (Indian holy
man/ascetic) in the area where I took the photo and I understood which scenes had the most photographic
potential. The scene of those pigeons taking to the air is something I had observed several times before;
they were always in the same spot every morning, because one man would always feed them at this time –
I wanted to somehow work them into my image.
All that I needed to make the shot that I had envisioned was for all the necessary elements to align. You
could say that I got lucky because of the way they did align. I must admit that there’s no way I would have
imagined that the dog, (which I think adds a lot to the image) would appear in the scene like that. But
ultimately it is because I was prepared that I was able and ready to take advantage of the situation when
luck came my way.
8. Not taking enough photographs
What’s “enough” is of course

subjective. My meaning of “not
enough” is not doing any of the
following; exploring different angles
and viewpoints, photographing a
person in action at different stages of
that action, experimenting with the
settings (exposure, ISO, shutter speed)
and possibly even with different lenses.
One thing that I and most of the

experienced travel photographers have
learned through at times painful lessons
is that it’s always better to take more
photographs than what you need, for
the simple fact that if you’ve got a
photo-worthy situation, you’re not necessarily going to be able to recreate it or come back to it ever again,
so make the most of your chances.
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The examples above should give you a better understanding of what “enough” looks like.
I actually took much more photos than what you see

here, but you can get the idea of what I was trying to do
through the images that I’ve provided. I explored the
scene photographically from different angles and
captured the woman’s movement through different
stages.
By doing this I gave myself the chance to create one or

even a couple of images that I was particularly happy
with.
The image to the right is the one that works best for me.
9. Not interacting or connecting with people when making portraits
Photographing people can be a daunting task and the interaction is often what a lot of us shy away from.
It’s certainly possible to make powerful, candid portraits with a long lens without having any interaction
with the subject whatsoever, but limiting ourselves to this technique means that we’re not giving ourselves
the slightest chance to create something really special.
Sometimes the interaction and the connection the photographer makes with the subject are obvious in the
photograph. There’s a certain trust and openness that often come out in the way the subject gazes through
the lens. But the benefits of interacting and connecting also go beyond the obvious.
When the photographer establishes rapport with the subject, it means that he/she is no longer just a random
passer-by, but someone who the subject sympathizes with and this very fact can lead to the creation of
photographs that would otherwise be impossible.
The story behind the above image demonstrates the point rather well. The man in the photo is a sulphur
miner who works at Indonesia’s famous Ijen crater. Over the few days I spent at this place I actually
became friends with him.
Because of our friendship we

were both comfortable with
the idea of me following him
around and taking photos as
he made his journey to the
crater. In a sense the
photographic process became
a collaboration; I’d
sometimes ask him to slow
down or to look in one
direction or another as I was
making photos and he gladly
went along with my requests.
When I recognised the
perfect setting for a portrait
(that dramatic mountain
backdrop) I suggested that
my friend take his usual
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cigarette break there rather than a few hundred meters ahead. Our “collaboration” allowed me an extra
level of creative control over the scene and led to a more powerful image, but it’s not necessarily
something I could have expected from a person with whom I didn’t interact or connect with before and I
certainly could not have expected the same if I simply made the photo using a long lens from afar.
10. Not leaving the group
This applies more to people who go on group tours on group photo workshops. While such ways of
traveling certainly have their benefits, there are also undoubtedly some disadvantages. Here are those
which I find to be most significant:
 It is extremely hard if not impossible to get intimate with the subject. The fact that there’s a whole group of
people looking at or photographing the same person can feel rather confrontational and overwhelming to
any “normal” person.
 Usually you don’t have the freedom to be spontaneous because you’re not the only one making the
decisions. While I’m all for planning and being organised, sometimes spontaneity can provide a great
creative spark and leads to some unexpectedly special images.
 Your experiences are less personal, not necessarily only because you’re following the group, but because
being around other people inevitably influences the way one sees and experiences things.
Despite these disadvantages I’m not saying that one should never travel in a group altogether. What I am
saying is that it would be really beneficial to set aside some time for yourself, to have your own, personal
experiences in order, to make photos that resonate closely with you. How much time you set aside for
yourself is up to you, but even a quick wander around the town in which you’re staying/stopping can lead
to fascinating experiences and worthwhile photographic results.
I’ve chosen to include the

above image because in
some ways it embodies the
beauty of just wandering
around and searching for
interesting photographic
moments by yourself. It’s a
photograph of a simple,
subtle you could even say
quiet, everyday-life moment
and it’s interesting precisely
because of that. It’s not
something that I could have
ever captured while
traveling in a group – the
child would have either run
off or would have run
towards the group out of immense curiosity. The very essence of what made the scene work – the quietness and
subtlety would have been very quickly destroyed.
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Slow Shutter Shoot-Out – 3 Slow Shutter Speed

Techniques
by Chas Elliott
There have been some great articles and interest lately on long exposures so I thought I would put together
a hodgepodge of techniques and then turn it over to DPS readers to see what they can come up with. I’ve
broken this slow shutter shoot-out into 3 categories. When you submit your photograph, do it under one of
these styles. I’ve thrown in a few of my own as examples into the article just to give you an idea. Get a
tripod, set your cameras to shutter priority and fire away.
1. Light Painting:
Digital Photography
School Forum member
Sodaman420 couldn’t
have done a better job
introducing the technique
of Light Painting. His video
is posted here. Light is
what makes up your
photos. Perhaps too often
we limit ourselves to the
normal diffused lighting
we are used to seeing.
Locking your camera down
on a tripod and setting it
for a slow shutter speed
allows you to manually get
some movement on the
lights in your scene. Experiment with flashlights, rope lights, candles or anything handy. In the picture here I had a
friend sit perfectly still in a completely dark room. I set the shutter to be roughly the time it would take me to walk
around his chair holding a candle (8 seconds). His face was entirely lit by candlelight. Since I was moving too quickly
to get in the shot, all you see is the floating flame. I know, it turned out a little demonic, but unintentionally. This is
just to get your ideas flowing.
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2. Capturing Movement:
Blur isn’t always a bad thing, especially

when it captures the movement occurring
in a photo. Photoshop even includes a filter
called “motion blur” to recreate this effect
if you missed it while taking the
photograph. Find a scene that could
appropriately benefit from motion blur and
experiment. In this photo, I used a shutter
speed just slow enough to get the
movement of the carousel, but fast enough
to not record my handheld camera jitters or
the movement of the kids in the foreground
(1/20 second). It would have been nice to
have a tripod, but since one wasn’t available I had to fire off a few shots until I got one without camera shake.
3. Turning Darkness into Day:

I recently talked about this on my
blog, but on a good moon lit night,
it’s fun to create the illusion of
photographs being taken in
daylight but with the added effects
that come with slow shutter
speeds. This is a photography I took
in Hawaii around 10pm on a dark
night. The moon was out in full, so
by letting my camera soak in the
light for about 30 seconds, the
colors start to appear in full
vibrancy. When I took this shot,
because it was so dark, I had no
idea someone was sitting out on
the rocks star gazing. If you live near the ocean, I love the dreamy look it gives to the moving water, rendering the
waves almost like low-lying clouds.
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6 Keys to Shooting Great Group Photos

Photographing people in groups is a challenge especially when shooting young children. Understanding the
dynamics and a few fundamental steps will assist in shooting group shots of quality. Every one is unique so there is
always a challenge. These keys will show you just how easy it is to take a great image.
I am always hesitating to
shoot large groups of people for the basic reason that it’s difficult to get everyone doing the same thing at
the same time. So, I prefer to shoot a large group divided into smaller, more intimate groups. This has great
advantages and enables you to see more of the people in the image instead of tiny faces scattered across the
photo.
Here are some keys to shooting quality images.
1. Small is better
As I have just said it’s important to have less people with more of the people in the image. Groups are shot
for memories. You want to remember the event and people. Rather have two groups of three of four than a
large group of eight. Smaller groups are easier to direct and placing the subjects is far more simple.
2. Planning a shot is essential

Planning is key to any good photo shoot. Become a director like in the movies. Don’t just let people stand where
they want to. Move the people around and create a more interesting scene. Be creative and go beyond tall people
at the back and short to the front. Group others around the most important person in the image. Know where you
want each person to stand in relation to the whole group.
3. Good location is vital
Where you take the shot is very important. Of course there are times where you are limited as to where you
can shoot. But always be aware of your backgrounds and the edges of your image. You don’t want
elements in the photo that distract from the main subjects but you do want something that will help the
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group stand out from their background without any distractions. Sometimes it’s great to place the group in
their context, for example, a surfing team needs something at the beach and not a wooden fence.
4. Get in close
This principle ties in with our first point. You want to get in close to the group which is why you don’t
want it too large. The closer you are the more detail you’ll see in their faces. If the group is large try to get
them to get their heads closer together. Excluding body parts is fine but nobody wants to see half a head.
Again, you are creating memories not just a record of an event. As the old adage goes, less is more. Fewer
people but more detail.
5. Use the multiple shot feature on your camera
This is especially useful when taking shots of small groups but absolutely essential when shooting large
groups. Taking multiple shots makes it easier to get the shot as there might only be fractions of a second
when everyone is looking at the camera and not blinking. By shooting on continuous mode you’ll pick up
dynamics in the group which you may not usually find in a single calculated photo.
6. Be happy
There is nothing worse in a group photo situation than a tired and grumpy old photographer. Be happy even
if you don’t feel like it. People feed off the energy of others and a smile or a laugh can be contagious. A
smile will most times relax your subjects and make them feel happier. Engage them, tell jokes and above
all find ways to relax them. If you are not in a great mood don’t do the photo shoot.
No group is the same as the next even when you’re shooting class after class at the local school. Every
group has its own dynamic. What drives it. So find this out and milk it for all its worth. Shooting groups
can be a lot of fun if you take the time to get into their world and engage them. Remember that practice
makes perfect and the more you do it the better you will become. Happy shooting!
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Spot Metering… Expose Yourself

Have you ever been frustrated that the subject in your

photo is either hidden in the shadows or overexposed
like snow on a bright sunny day?
You check your camera’s metering and it reads a

perfect 0 EV. You reshoot the scene but again, your
subject matter is still incorrectly exposed. One
solution to this common problem is Spot Metering.
It is a technique under-utilised by many

photographers. This feature gives the photographer
control over exactly which portion of the frame the
meter should use to determine proper exposure.
If left to the factory default, most DSLR cameras use

what’s known as matrix metering, a sophisticated
process which reads light intensity from several
points within the scene. Then, the metering system
determines what “should” give your photograph
proper exposure. The challenge with matrix meeting
arises if your frame contains a wide range of light
intensity or if you are seeking a specific effect in a
photograph.
For example, if you want to shoot a silhouette against a

sunset, matrix metering will result in an over exposed back ground as it attempts to compensate for the
foreground subject.
Instead, try spot metering.
This may require you to dust off your camera’s owner’s manual but rest assured, setting your camera to
spot metering only requires a few steps.
Once set to spot metering, the viewfinder will indicate the specific zone which takes the exposure reading,
usually a small point in the middle of your view finder. Next, point the zone toward the subject you want to
properly expose. In this case, the sky about 15 degrees to the left or right of the setting sun. Next, dial in
the correct combination of shutter speed and aperture to balance exposure to 0 EV (the dead center of the
meter in your view finder).
The result is a beautiful silhouette in the foreground with a properly exposed sky.
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It’s about Light

by Darren Rowse
When I first started out in photography many years ago,

I didn’t quite appreciate how important light is to
photography.
In fact the young and ambitious me often fought against

light.
I refused to be restricted by something as fickle as the

weather and light. After all, a good photographer should
be able to make anything look good—whether it’s
noon, sunrise or dusk, right?
The result of my foolhardiness was that I often end up

with photos with highlights that are too bright and
shadows that are too dark for my camera to handle
because I shot them at 12 noon. Or worse—I end up
making my human subjects look like raccoons because of the high overhead noon light.
Due to the poor lighting I shot the photos under, I wasn’t comfortable showing others the photos that I’ve
just taken on my camera because they didn’t look good without extensive post-processing.
Truth as I learnt is that even the most mundane things on a simple handphone camera can look good in
great light, and they can look really good right away without needing any or much post-processing at all.
As a photographer who understands how light can make or break a

photo, I now only choose to photograph my day shots at two
timings of the day known as the magic hours (or golden hours). In
practical terms, they’re basically an hour or two after sunrise, and
an hour or two before sunset. The exact timing will depend on
where you are and which part of the year you are in.
Here in Singapore where we’re situated close to the equator, and

the magic hours are almost always from 7-8.30am and 5-6.30pm.
At these hours, light is most interesting because of three reasons:
1. light is directional and that provides interesting side lighting that

can emphasize shape and texture, in addition to casting long, interesting
shadows of your subjects,
2. light has a more warmer and more attractive color than midday
sun (thus the name ‘golden hour’), and
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Light quality is softer and produces highlights and

shadows that your camera can deal with more easily than
the extremely contrast light produced by the high midday
sun.
To illustrate, I was photographing the temple ruins at

Ayutthaya in Thailand sometime late last year.
Although I had chosen to shoot in the evening magic
hours, the strong cloud cover that day would
constantly block and diffuse the warm evening sun.
However I knew I would get a dramatically

different—and better—shot once the sun breaks
through the clouds and lit the scene in front of me.
Sure enough, patience paid off and I got myself the

shot I was looking for. The shots were taken less than
2 minutes apart but made a world of a difference.
While I am not usually inspired to photograph my

neighborhood in the same way as I would photograph
the world heritage site of the temple ruins in
Ayutthaya, mundane everyday sights in my
neighborhood can look gorgeous in the right light.
On one occasion on my way back home, I saw how the

evening light was casting beautiful shadows of the
trees on the apartment blocks nearby. I quickly
returned home, grabbed my camera and took two a
few shots of the scenes around me.
Within a span of 18 seconds, I had two completely

different photos of the same scene.
So while choosing to shoot at the magic hours

dramatically increases your chances of getting a good
photo, you’re still very much subjected to the weather
and cloud cover. But if you choose to fight against
light and photograph at the less ideal timings, chances
of you getting a good photo are probably terribly slim.
In the world of photography today where people

obsess themselves over expensive gear and equipment,
light is probably the most understated part of
photography.
I often tell my students that learning to appreciate and

exploit great light is probably the single, biggest improvement you can do to your photography, even more
so than splurging their paycheque on the expensive lens they’re eyeing after.
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Blurring the lines between comrade and competition

As far as I can tell, there are two types of photographers.

The business people (A) and the arty people (B). It’s rare
to meet a photographer where the two worlds intersect.
As a member of Group B, it can be quite hard to

establish your business in the first place. When you have
a passion as big as mine, you have to be strict on
yourself to not basically work for free every chance you
get. The moment where you have to ask for the cash can
be a tense one which takes time to get used to. More on
that in another post.
Photographers with a hobby-turned-business are often

guilty of doing things which aren’t, well, ‘good for
business’ simply because we think with our passion, not
always with our brain. Although I recognize those faults,
I wouldn’t change them because the day my business
becomes nothing more than a j-o-b is the day I lay down
my camera.
Having begun to interact with other photographers, I

have sometimes noticed a shocking amount of
competition, slandering and suspicion coming from
others in the field. The ever present “oooh you shoot
Canon. I’ll just go over there and stand in my own
corner with my Nikon” attitude or the sharp breath in
when a photographer finds out that you share all of your photos online. “Aren’t you worried about theft?”
I know that you probably came to this website for

a grand tutorial or camera review and I don’t
usually blog essays, but I really feel that you can
have all the technique, talent or business brains in
the world, but if you aren’t a nice person – if a
photographer is stuck too far up his
own…well…butt to enjoy the rich fulfillment
that sharing with other artists has to offer,
technique will only get him so far.
Here are some ways I think we can blur the lines

between comrades and competition and make the
world a better place:
I am a new Flicker convert. I have only just in the

past year discovered the joy and artistic fulfillment of Flicker but I am completely infatuated. Having never
taken a single class about photography, I can honestly say that there are only two places I have received
any sort of photographic training, help, enlightenment or support. They are here at DPS (honestly!) and
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Flicker. Flicker is sooo much more than a dumping ground for ‘pics’. It is a community of photographers –
hobby and professional – who share their art with each other, give away their textures, presets and actions
and even give detailed ‘post production recipes’ for exactly how they achieved the look of a photo. They
are not in competition, catty or mean. They don’t worry about losing money or clients. I can actually attest
that one month of Flicker made me a better photographer than any other years I put into it. Why? Because
the number one way any artist can learn more is simply to look at other art.
Give where you see a need. I’ve gotten so much better about charging for my services. But I still
sometimes recognize the times when I should
use my talent for the greater good. I’ve (sadly)
fallen into the habit of knowing people who are
facing the end of their lives and I give them the
gift of lasting family photos. This isn’t the first
time I’ve mentioned it, but I think it’s so
important that we use our gift to help people or
our gift won’t help us back.
Share your mistakes and don’t be afraid to

make them. I do. And then I tell you all about
it! :) I’m not going to let my shortcomings be in
vain. We should be able to learn from each
other.
Help a beginner. I sometimes have beginners in

the studio to watch me do a session or take on a
work experience kid for a week. And, yes, I’ve said no to people who want to observe my studio who live
in very close proximity to myself. It wouldn’t be wise to train up a competing studio. But this doesn’t
always apply just because someone lives near me.
Most of all, stop viewing every other photographer as your competition. Every photographer has a style
unique unto himself. None of us is like the other. You can only get an Elizabeth Halford portrait from
Elizabeth Halford. Simple as that. If a bride wants my style, they can only get it from me. If they want your
style, they should hire you. There is plenty of work to go around.
I fully understand the need to be savvy in business and protective if photography is your bread and butter.
But sometimes, this can become a bit overkill and do more harm than good, most of all to yourself. After
all, just look at this website. What a shining example of Group A and Group B working together to help
enlighten the masses in the ways of photography. Let’s see what we can do about blurring the lines
between comrade and competition.
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3 Tips for Shooting Portraits in Bright Sunshine

by Darren Rowse
It’s a bright sunny day and you’re out with friends

making the most of the good weather. You decide to
take your camera – after all what better day to shoot
some portraits of your friends than a sunny day –
bright light = great shots doesn’t it?
Unfortunately lots of light doesn’t always equal great

shots – in fact sometimes when you’re shooting
portraits in bright sunshine you can run into real
problems.
For starters shooting in bright midday sun where light

is coming from directly above is going to mean that
your subject can have some pretty heavy shadows cast
on parts of their face.
Not only that, if you’ve ever posed for someone

taking a picture in bright sunlight you’ll know just
how difficult it can sometimes be to look natural and
not end up looking like you’re grimacing in pain
while you squint to keep the sun out of your eyes.
So what’s one to do? Fill Flash with the Sun Behind the Subject Creates
Nice Backlighting but a Well Lit Face (the hat
Here’s three simple tips for shooting portraits in helped shade the face too) - Image by Cayusa
bright sun light. I’ve kept them pretty basic for those
of you who are out and about and don’t want to haul
an outdoor studio along with you! Read more: http://digital-photography-
school.com/3-tips-for-shooting-portraits-in-
1. Fill Flash
bright-sunshine#ixzz0smvRO0vI
It seems a little odd switching the flash on in bright sunlight but it’s one of the best times to do it. Those
heavy shadows cast on your subjects face (particularly under the eyes) by the midday sun can be a thing of
the past with a little extra light from your camera’s popup flash.
Many cameras will allow you to control the intensity of the flash output with their flash compensation
function so don’t be satisfied with your first shot – dial it up or back a little once you’ve taken a first test
shot until you get a nice natural light.
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The bonus of using a little fill flash is that

it will often darken your background a
little which can give your shot a little more
punch and make your subject stand out a
little from their background. Fill flash will
also create a little catch light in the eyes of
your subject, giving their eyes that little
extra sparkle!
Sometimes using fill flash will also allow

you to shoot with the sun behind your
subject – this means their face has no
direct sunlight on them but that they have
a little back light falling upon their hair
and shoulders which can create a nice
impact.
2. Shoot in the Shade
Another easy way to stop the shadows on

the face of your subject is to simple move
them (and yourself) into a much bigger
shadow and to shoot in the shade.
The key is to find a spot where they’re not

in the dark but have a nice even light
falling on them. So avoid dappled light
under some trees a tree or you’ll get spots
on their face but go for something with a
nice even coverage.
If you’re going for a tight head shot you

might even be able to get away with Shot in open shade and using a reflector - Image by
having someone hold up an umbrella or
christianyves
some other object to create some shade
over their face (as long as the other person
is out of shot).
Read more: http://digital-photography-school.com/3-tips-for-
3. Find a Reflector shooting-portraits-in-bright-sunshine#ixzz0smvpin9R
It’s unlikely that you’ll be hauling a proper reflector

around with you (although I know some dPS readers
always travel with a small foldable reflector in their
camera bag) but that doesn’t mean you can’t use the same
principle to bounce a little light into the face of your
subject to help light up some of those shadowy areas.
Pretty much any white (or light) surface can act as a

reflector of light and held at the right angle you can use it A combination of shooting in shade and using
give your subject a little extra light.
a reflector gives this portrait an even lighting -
Image by JesseBarker
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school.com/3-tips-for-shooting-portraits-in-
One photographer we talked to a while back swore by always wearing a white t-shirt for this but you could
get a similar result by positioning your subject by a white wall or positioning many white objects just out
of frame to reflect light. I’ve even seen one photographer friend take aluminum foil from a picnic and using
it to help make a reflector (although it did create a little ‘dappled’ light on his subject.
Bonus Tip: Get Creative
Once you’ve taken a few nice portraits with the above tips, why not try a few experiments and use the
bright light to see if you can inject a little creativity into your shots. You might just take one with the
WOW factor. For try creating some lens flare by shooting into the sun (just be careful not to burn your eyes
looking directly into it). Alternatively you might try some silhouette shots for portraits with a little mystery
and drama.
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Photographing Flowers – A How-to

When many beginners pick up a camera for the first time, it sort of
seems like an automatic first step to begin photographing flowers.
They stand still and do as they’re told while you practice. For some
photographers, they begin feeling more comfortable with the camera
and move from flora and fauna to people or other. Although for
others, they really sharpen their talent and just get better and better at
photographing flowers.
For those finding yourselves photographing flowers often, I offer a

few of my tips:
Macro
for the ultra ultra beginner, this will be news to you: the macro
setting on your camera (usually with a flower icon) is excellent for
photographing things up close. Use this for flowers.
Think like a flower
If a flower is way down low on the ground then you should get down low on the ground, too.
Photographing flowers isn’t just about documenting the fact that they once existed, if for only a day. It is
about telling the flower’s story to immortalize it
long after it has wilted. Take this photo for
instance. This is a typical “oh that’s a nice patch
of itsy bitsy daisies” photo:
But when I got down on my hands and knees and

inspected each flower to find a little gem, I saw
this single little lady with her petals sadly
pointing downward while all the others were
pointing up:
Relationships
The above photo also reminds me to tell you to

photograph flowers within the context of their relationship
to the other flowers. I purposefully took this photo with
foreground blur and a wide open aperture to point out the
fact that this sad little daisy was surrounded by other,
happier, daisies. And I think this tells a story about a flower
which is, undoubtedly by now, crushed entirely.
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17 Beautiful Images with Shallow Depth of Field
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7 Situations When Manual focus is better than Auto

by Natalie Johnson
Auto focus is of unquestionable benefit in a large variety of shooting scenarios, but there are often times
when it could actually be wiser to plump for manual focus. In these scenarios, which are outlined below, it
is fair to say that autofocus doesn’t perform as well on some cameras, so simply rotate the focus mode
selector to M and use the focus ring to sharpen the subject in view. It is also worth remembering that it can
be easier in some situations to use the focus lock, in this instance simply focus on another subject at the
same distance and then recompose the frame accordingly.
1. Fine details in close proximity
When shooting a scene that compromises hundreds of elements – each presenting a multitude of details –
manual focus may be necessary for complete control. This is especially necessary when the subject(s)
exhibits small or no variation in size, shape, color or brightness. For example a field of flowers, a nature
abstract close up, a busy high street packed with pedestrians etc.
2. Obstacles are in the way
If your subject is partially blocked behind an obstacle that you are unable to move out of the way or intend
to keep (adding context), manual focus can help you to pinpoint the main subject. Furthermore if you team
this approach with a wide aperture, you can creatively blur the obstruction from view. For example a caged
or penned animal, a person looking from a window or stood behind a gate etc.
3. Geometric confusion
Many architectural photographers, especially those favouring contemporary design will often favour
manual focus over auto. This is because modern architecture often exhibits geometric patterns that can
confuse the camera’s auto focus. For example those shown on skyscrapers.
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4. High contrast
When presented with a scene that contains large areas of sharply contrasting brightness it is likely your
autofocus will struggle. For example if you are shooting an outdoor portrait with the subject stood in the
shade, but have decided to incorporate a large area of adjoining light.
5. No contrast
As with areas of high contrast, photographers may find that scenes with no contrast present the same
focusing issues, i.e. the main subject of your image exhibits the same tones and colors as its background. A
common example of this is a freshly built snowman in a field of crisp white snow.
6. Dominating features
Compositions that contain objects that are bigger or bolder than the intended subject may also throw off
your autofocus. For instance a person dwarfed in front of an intimidating cityscape may be lost using
autofocus, switch to manual for a quick and effective solution.
7. Night
In situations where you want to shoot in complete darkness you may find manual focus is your only option.
Examples of when this may be true include: shooting star trials, the northern lights or creating light graffiti.
Often focusing at night is a case of trial and error, so scrutinize results by zooming in to the images
presented on your LCD and adjust accordingly.
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5 Tips for Photographing Houses

Most of us don’t drive through neighborhoods looking

for houses to photograph because, let’s face it, houses can
be pretty boring. But from time to time we have a good
reason to capture a particular house. It might be a
childhood home we want to remember or a current home
we are trying to sell. Regardless, when the time comes,
you may find out that making a house look good can be a
challenge. Here are five tips to get you headed in the
right direction.
Tidy Up
This may seem obvious, but mowing the grass and cleaning the weeds out of the gutters will make a house
look a lot better. A few minutes with a broom can save you from an hour with Photoshop’s stamp tool.
Pick an Angle
Shooting from an angle rather than straight on gives the house dimension and character. It also gives you at
least two choices of what to include in the background, so pick the angle that is flattering to the house and
provides the best backdrop.
Watch the Weather
Shooting on a cloudy day will give you the best lighting for a house. The light will be even and diffused so
you won’t have harsh shadows to deal with.
Balance the Light
To make a house look cozy and inviting, there is nothing more important than balancing the light from the
windows with the light outside. The key to achieving this balance is picking the right time of day. Even
with all the lights blazing inside, nobody will notice them in the middle of the day. But as the sun sets,
there will be a window of time when the exterior of the house can be properly exposed while the interior
appears to glow with warmth (thanks to man-made lighting.) This may only last for ten minutes, so make
sure everything is in place in advance.
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Shoot in Raw
Because of the challenge of balancing natural light outside with electric light from the windows, this is a
great time to use your camera’s RAW setting. With your RAW converter you can tweak the balance
between the lighting and adjust the white
balance to emphasize the warmth.
Compare the picture above to this one to

see the difference twenty minutes and a
different perspective can make.
Don’t wait to long. This next picture was

taken eight minutes after the first and it’s
already too dark outside.
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Macro Photography: Mosquitoes Emerging

As is the case with most of our macro photos, the inspiration

behind this series came from getting outside and actively
searching for subjects – you can’t always expect to come up
with good ideas whilst sitting around!
We were looking for subjects in our garden in the UK when we

noticed some mosquito larvae developing in a pot of stagnant water.
We did a bit of research into their development and discovered that
it takes about 1-2 weeks (depending on the temperature) for them to
develop into the adult form that we all know and love! This was
perfect, since it gave us a good amount of time to devise a set up to photograph them as they emerged.
Over the course of about 14 days, we maintained a keen eye on their development. We kept the larvae in a glass of
distilled water indoors and covered it with perforated cling film – we didn’t want to suffer their bites during the
night! Once the larvae had turned into pupae, we knew they were close to hatching. We soon discovered that
when we saw one straighten out, we had about 5 minutes until go-time.
We transferred the mosquito into a special pot of

water and made final adjustments to our setup.
We were using a Canon EOS 5D with a Canon MP-
E 65mm macro lens. For the lighting, we had three
flash units – a macro ring light and two
supplementary speedlite flashes. Additionally, we
had two halogen desktop lamps to illuminate the
green printed background. Working at such large
magnifications meant that we needed plenty of
light to keep the ISO low, the aperture small and
shutter speed high.
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In order to obtain a strong reflection, we had to get an

extremely shallow angle with the surface of the water.
An aperture of around f/16 provided a sufficient depth of
field, however, this meant that we did encounter some
softness in our images due to small aperture diffraction.
The mosquitoes were only a couple of millimeters long so
in order to get the required magnification, we zoomed
the lens in to 4x (this means a 1 mm object was projected
to a size of 4 mm on the camera sensor).
After a mosquito had fully emerged from its pupa case, it

would rest on the surface of the water for a few minutes
whilst it pumped fluid into its wings. We took as many
photos as we could, but we were limited by the time it
took the flashes to recharge to full power. In total the
whole process took no more than 5 minutes from start to
finish.
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It really was an amazing transformation to observe and the project gave us genuine respect for these much-
maligned little insects!
Note that no mosquitoes were

harmed during the taking of these
photographs!
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10 Quick tips for Photographing Antelope Canyons

by Darren Rowse
A Guest post by Amar Ramesh.
Antelope Canyons in page Arizona is one of the most exquisite gifts of nature that is generally overlooked by people
traveling to Arizona.
The sandstone canyons lit from the streak of

light passing right through the slots makes it
one the most serene places in the world.
Located at the Navajo Tribal Park near Lake
Powell, these canyons have narrow
paths, created by water flowing through them
for millions of years. It’s a photographer’s
paradise. Listed below are some the quick and
easy tips that would help you take better
pictures in these canyons.
1. Plan ahead
Like for any travel, do your homework and get

to know the place. There are two canyons – Upper and Lower – both located in Page, AZ. Mid-day(11am-
1pm) between the months of March and October is the best time to photograph these slots, with the shafts
of light shining down from the openings above. There are photography tours available in both upper and
lower canyons. Even though it’s a little expensive than the ordinary tour, it’s totally worth it. The guides
who take you along the photography tour generally do a wonderful job helping you ‘chase’ the light. I
highly recommend it.
2. Gear
Use the widest angle lens from your arsenal. You

have to capture a wider area with light streaks and
you absolutely need a wide angle lens to do this. If
you don’t own one, try renting it. Tripod is a must
and make sure you turn off image stabilization. A
remote trigger would help remove the vibration
caused by pressing the shutter button.
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3. Try not to change lens
An important note to remember if you are shooting

with a DSLR is that you should not change your
lenses inside these canyons because of the amount
of dust in the air. Trust me you wouldn’t want to
change your lenses inside the canyons. If you have
a second camera, by all means, take it along with a
different lens on it. You will get a
different perspective. And yes, carry a cloth to
clean the lenses frequently.
4. Make use of your live view

The canyons are generally crowded. People keep streaming in
and out, in large groups. So expect people both in front and
behind you. With so much going around its easy to be
engrossed into the view finder. So advice would be try using
the live view, as well as an articulating screen (some of the
newest cameras have them). When you are ready to take the
shot, you can quickly check the view finder and make
sure everything is good and press the shutter. This will help
you be aware of things happening around you.
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5. Go Manual mode and shoot RAW
Set the camera in manual mode, shoot RAW.

f11 to f18 is the sweet spot for aperture and
open the shutter anywhere between 2 and 6
seconds depending on the variation in light to
get the best shots. Frequently check
your histogram to see how you are doing.
6. Look up
There will be times when you have to wait for a group of people to move before you can take a picture. So try to
use that time to come up with different compositions. Look up and try to compose shots. Also remember including
people in the picture is not always a bad thing to do.
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7. Look for hidden slots
These canyons are spiritual to the Navajo tribes.

They talk about the forms and shapes carved into
the rock by water that flows through the canyons.
One of the greatest pleasure in shooting these
canyons is to see the unseen, find what is hidden,
and put them in the center stage and show it in
pictures. The stone in the picture below has taken a
form of an eagle with open wings. To see more
pictures of hidden forms visit my blogpost “Finding
the hidden creatures”
8. Try to put people in the picture.
Bring some life to the pictures by placing a human

subject. Here in this picture I requested a traveler from
South America dressed in contrasting colors to be
photographed which made the picture interesting.
9. High contrast
Look for frames with the most contrast to make it all

that more interesting. You can find so many frames
with high contrast between the darkest and brightest
regions because of the shafts of light that penetrate
from above make the center areas of the canyons
brighter and the sides darker.
10. Carry a water bottle
Last but not least food is not allowed inside, so if you are planning to spend a good time in these canyons,
have your food before entering the canyons and make sure to carry a water bottle with you.
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10 Landscape Composition Tips: Illustrated with

Pictures from Eastern Washington
Composition for a photograph is like a screenplay for a movie. If the picture isn’t composed well, it won’t
strike a cord with the viewer regardless of the technical expertise or the story being told. Composition skills
improve over time with constant practice. Here are some of the basic composition tips with a picture to
illustrate each of those tips. The example pictures were all taken in one day while driving through Eastern
Washington. These tips will help train your eyes to see the frames, an important point if you want to take
great pictures.
1. Remember rule of thirds
A basic tip to remember if you want to improve your composition skills. The human eye is generally drawn
to a point one third of the way from the top, bottom, right or left of any image. Keep this in mind as you
work on your composition. Read more about the Rule of Thirds.
2. Negative space is your friend
Don’t always try to fill the frame. Negative space can be used to your advantage. Remember, it is just as
important as the main subject.
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3. Embrace Geometry
Train your eyes to look for lines, patterns and shapes. They give structure to your picture and help highlight the
three dimensional quality of your subjects. Lines lead the viewers’ eyes into or out of the picture. Find a subject
for the center of attraction and then find lines that lead to it.
4. Frame within frame

Used effectively, foreground framing directs the viewer’s
eye right to the subject. Look for frames of different
shapes and sizes. They don’t always have to be windows
and fences. They could be big trees as in this example.
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5. Avoid horizon in the middle
Keep your horizon level and keep it out of the center of the
picture. If the sky is more interesting pull the horizon down
and if the land is more interesting push the horizon up.
6. Inject life to your picture

Try to place a living being in the picture. It shows dimension and emphasizes the scale of the frame to the viewer.
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7. Merges breaks a picture
When lines of the horizon intersect with your subject it distracts the viewer and moves the attention away from
your subject. It can spoil a great composition. Take some time move your frame up or down, left or right to avoid
the horizon merge. In the example picture below, I took extra care not to make the horizon meet the edge of the
barn.
8. Lonely subjects are striking
Single subjects like trees, barns, buildings,

motorcycles almost always make for great
compositions. I love pulling them into the frame.
Here’s a small collection of such pictures from my
archives that have a single tree in the frame.
9. Size Matters
Try to include a subject that would

give the viewers a scale of the scene
in the frame. Use people or objects
that let viewers relate size in your
composition.
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10. Think before you click
As is the case for any type of photography, think before you click the shutter button. Make sure there are
no unnecessary objects that would affect your composition. If possible move those objects or try to move
yourselves to see if you can avoid them from your composition by moving yourselves.
Following these simple techniques will improve your photography leaps and bounds and keep you ahead of
the rest. These illustrations do not fit only for landscape photography but for all other types of
photography. The entire collection of my eastern Washington pictures can be seen here.
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How to Shoot Light Trails

by Darren Rowse
One of the first subjects that I remember trying to capture as a teenager with my first SLR camera (film)
was light trails created by cars on a busy road near my home.
I’d seen this type of shot in a photography magazine and was impressed by the eye catching results.
Light Trails continue to be popular subject matter for many photographers and they can actually be a great
training ground for those wanting to get their cameras out of manual mode and to experiment with shooting
in low light at longer exposures.
Following area few examples of light trail shots as well as some practical starting point tips for those
wanting to give it a go.
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Equipment:
There is not just one particular type of camera and kit that you’ll need to capture light trails – however it is
important to have a camera that allows you to have some control over exposure settings – particularly those
that allow you to choose longer shutter speeds. This means you need a camera that has the ability to shoot
in either full manual mode and/or shutter priority mode (something that all DSLRs and manypoint and
shoot cameras have).
You’ll also need a tripod (or some other way to making your camera completely still) as you’ll be shooting
with long shutter speeds which will make shooting handheld pretty much impossible.
Not essential but helpful to have with you are lens hoods (to help block lens flare from ambient lights), remote
shutter release cables or wireless remote controls, patience and some warm clothes if you’re going out on a chilly
night.
The Basic Principle:
At the most general level photographing light trails involves finding a spot where you’ll see the light trails
created by cars, securing your digital camera, setting a long exposure setting on your camera and shooting
at a time when cars will be going by to create the trail of light. Of course it’s a little more complicated than
this – but the general factor behind it is longer exposures that will enable the car/s that create the trails to
move through your image.
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Experiment:
While there are a lot of tips that could be shared on the topic
of photographing light trails – the main thing I learned in my
early days of attempting to create these types of images was to
experiment extensively. The beauty of digital photography is
that you can do this with no extra cost to yourself and can get
instant results (unlike when I did it on film and had to fork out
for film and processing – not to mention wait days to see my
results).
Setting Up Your Shot:
Photographing light trails is not difficult – it’s as simple as finding virtually any road with cars going down
it once the sun goes down. But getting a shot that grabs attention means putting a little more thought into
choosing your location, thinking about timing and framing your image. Here are a few tips on how to set
your shot up:
 Timing/Light – one might think that the middle of the night is the best time for light trail photography (and
it can be) – however one very effective time to do it is just as the sun is going down (just before and after).
If you shoot at this time you’ll not only capture light from cars, but ambient light in the sky which can add
atmosphere to your shots. You also might find that earlier in the evening you get a little more ‘action’ in
your shot with more cars and even the movement of people through your shot.
 Creative Perspectives – some of the most effective light trail shots that I’ve taken and seen from others
were taken from perspectives other than at the height of a normal person standing up. Get down low or
find a place looking down on your scene that will create an unusual angle.
 Location – the most obvious thing with location is that you’ll need it to be somewhere near a road –
however there’s more to think about than that. Choose a location that adds interest to the shot in some
way. This might be one where there are well lit buildings along the road, one where multiple roads merge
together to create light trails in different directions, on the bend of a road so that the trails sweep through
the image, near a roundabout so the trails create
circular shapes, in the middle of dual carriageways
(on a traffic island) so that you get traffic coming in
two directions etc.
 Framing – the normal ‘rules’ of composition apply
in this type of photography. Images need some
sort of point/s of interest, the rule of thirds can be
applied effectively, draw the eyes into your image
using lines smartly, foregrounds and backgrounds
should add to and not distract from the image.
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Settings:
 Aperture and Shutter Speed – I wish I could give you shutter speeds and apertures that will work in every
situation – but as the ambient light and speed of cars will differ in every situation there’s no one exposure
combination that will work in every setting.
Having said this I’ve found that I usually shoot at shutter speeds between 10 and 20 seconds (which
gives cars time to move through the frame) and with apertures in the mid range (start with
something around f/8).
The key is to start with something in the range above and to take a few test shots to see how the
exposure works. You’ll quickly realize whether your shots are under or overexposed and whether
the length of the exposure is long enough to let cars travel through the frame in the way that you
want.
If your shots are overexposed – close your aperture down (increase the f stop number) or if your
shots are underexposed open it up (decrease the f stop numbers). If you want the car’s lights to go
further through the frame go for a longer shutter speed and if you want it to travel less through the
frame shorten it.
Keep in mind that aperture impacts depth of field. If you need to go with a larger aperture you
decrease the depth of field and more of your shot will be out of focus.
 Histogram – One thing to watch

out for is letting any light source in your
image (whether it be headlights, street
lights etc) washing out your image. Lights
that burn too bright can cause
distractions and draw the eye of your
viewer away from focal points – ruining
your shot. One way to quickly check out if
there’s any area in your shot that is
overexposed to this degree is to view the
histogram on your shot. If there are areas
that are blown out you’ll have a graph
with a right hand side that is too high on
the graph. Learn more about histograms
here.
 Choose a low ISO setting - this will give you images with as little noise as possible.
 Shoot in RAW if you have it - this will enable you to have more control in your post production work –
particularly in getting white balance right (something that can be important as you’re shooting in a
situation with lots of artificial light that can cause all kinds of color casts in your shot).
 Manual Focus - In low light situations cameras can struggle to get focusing locked correctly. The last thing
you want is for your camera to be in and out of focus just as you need to hit the shutter release. Switch to
manual focus and make sure your focus is upon a part of your image that is visually strong.
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Timing Your Shot:

There is no right or wrong way to time your shot. Hitting the shutter just before a car enters the frame and
releasing it just after it leaves the frame can create a lovely unbroken line – but sometimes shooting with shorter
exposure times while the camera is in the frame can be effective also. Once again it’s about experimenting with
different timings and seeing what effects it has.
Using Bulb Mode:

Many digital cameras have a mode on them called ‘bulb’
mode that allows you as the photographer to keep the
shutter open as long as you wish. This can be very handy
in this type of photography to time your shots with
precision. If you use this you’ll want to be using a remote
shutter release to stop any camera movement while the
shutter is open.
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8 On-Camera Flash Tips: How To Get Better Lighting

From Your On-Camera Flash
You can get great lighting for your portraits with on-camera flash. And there’s no need to purchase
expensive attachments to modify your light, because everything you need is already there. The thing to
understand is that your flash unit is just another light source at your disposal. Fortunately, you can learn to
control the light it produces and shape it to your needs. Plus, it has the added benefit of doing some of the
thinking for you when you need it to.
Since the light your flash unit produces directly can appear rather harsh, you’ll have to do one or both of
the following in order to get more pleasing lighting from it:
 Create a larger, wider area of light relative to your subject.

 Illuminate your subject from an angle other than directly off the top of the camera.
The following tips will help you accomplish these goals:
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1. Bounce It.
This is the number one secret weapon when it comes to

on-camera flash techniques. Indoors, a typical room with
light-colored walls and ceilings will provide you with all
the bounce surfaces you need to make beautiful pictures.
Using this technique, you can achieve softbox-style
lighting, or even very broad lighting, with your flash unit
alone.
Wall/ceiling bounce
Although the flash unit itself is a relatively small light source, it will cover a wide area of a wall and ceiling. This
newly illuminated area will provide a wider, more diffuse “light source” for the subject.
To create a portrait with the bounce technique, I generally

tilt the flash unit to hit the ceiling and wall as I visualize a
large softbox there, at the traditional portrait lighting angle,
to my subject. This technique is very versatile as it can give
you everything from very dramatic split-lighting to soft, even
illumination. The subject’s orientation, and the resultant
secondary bounce around the room (providing fill light) are
the keys to creating the effect you want.
You can even angle your flash up and behind you to fill
a small to normal-size room up with beautiful light. Spin
it around and up at about 45 degrees to hit the wall and
ceiling behind you.
2) Flag It.
Something most people don’t realize is that light comes

out of your flash unit in a wide pattern, not in a straight
beam. While most of the light is focused forward, there
is a good amount actually spilling out perpendicular to
On-camera flash bounced off wall and ceiling,
the flash head lens.
camera left.
Read more: http://digital-photography-

school.com/8-on-camera-flash-tips-how-to-get-
better-lighting-from-your-on-camera-
flash#ixzz0vuG04HM6
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Even when your flash is set to a narrow zoom, plenty of light still spills off the sides. A small flag can be used to
block this effect from your subject.
When
Read bouncing your flash, at certain angles close to that perpendicular plane, direct light will hit your
more: http://digital-photography-school.com/8-on-camera-flash-tips-how-to-get-better-lighting-from-
subject. This isn’t necessarily something you have to avoid, but it can result in “point-and-shoot” type
your-on-camera-flash#ixzz0vuGCCHvD
shadows, especially if there is a wall or other flat surface just behind your subject.
To eliminate this effect, you can place a small piece of opaque material or black foam just long enough to
block the direct part of the light from hitting your subject. That one little change can make a big difference
in the overall look of your shot.
3) Make It Bigger.
The size of your light source, relative to your subject, affects the overall
look of the picture. This is generally because a larger light source will
create a smoother transition between light and shadow, or what you
might call softer light.
Craft foam bounce card with

rubber band.
We’ve already discussed how bouncing your light off a wall and ceiling will make the relative size of the
light illuminating your subject larger. But what if you don’t have a wall or other surface to bounce your
flash off of? You can still make your light source bigger by using a simple bounce card. Because the light
being directed toward your subject is at least twice as large as the face of the flash, you’ll get that much
more surface area coverage. This usually results in more pleasing illumination if you’re not too far away
from your subject.
Indoors, a bounce card like this has the added benefit of throwing light onto your subject from two
directions, forward and bounced off the ceiling.
Simply use a piece of white cardboard or crafting foam attached to your flash head. Of course, you can
orient the flash in various ways to direct the light as you like.
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4) Use TTL.
Most modern flash units offer a variety of modes to shoot with. For example, I will often use my flash units
off-camera, in manual mode. This allows me to maintain consistent manual control of the flash’s output
power in relatively static shooting situations, like traditional portraiture.
Through-The-Lens (TTL) mode, on the other hand, puts the flash unit’s output under the control of the
camera and flash. The camera and flash essentially work together to decide how much light the flash emits
in order to properly expose the subject. Most modern TTL systems like Canon’s E-TTL and Nikon’s i-TTL
are really great at what they do.
TTL can be used in just about every shooting situation including shooting in your camera’s manual mode,
outdoors, and even when using bounce techniques. Since TTL can make life a whole lot easier for you,
especially in fast-moving shooting situations, there’s no reason not to use it extensively for on-camera flash
work.
When you’re ready, you might want to learn more advanced techniques using Flash Exposure
Compensation and general Exposure Compensation controls in conjunction with TTL flash. These controls
allow you to make easy adjustments to flash and overall exposure while still letting the TTL system do
most of the thinking for you. Very handy indeed.
5) Use High-Speed Sync.
If your flash unit has a high-speed sync setting, turn it on.

Most normal sync speeds for your flash will be limited to
about 1/250 – 1/350 sec. That’s fine for situations where
you’re in an environment with dim light. When shooting
indoors, for example, you are free to shoot at any
appropriate shutter speed UP TO your normal flash sync
speed limit. That means you can just as easily shoot at 1/40
second to record ambient light, or faster if you choose to
isolate the subject or really freeze the action.
1/2500 sec. exposure required high-speed

sync for this promotional shot using f/2.8
outdoors.
Read more: http://digital-photography- Page | 109

school.com/8-on-camera-flash-tips-how-to- AOP
get-better-lighting-from-your-on-camera-
However, whether indoors or out, if your exposures require a higher shutter speed, high-speed sync will
allow you to shoot at virtually any shutter speed, generally up to 1/8000 sec.
You’ll usually need to work with higher shutter speeds if normal sync at your chosen aperture and ISO will
result in overexposure of the ambient lighted portions of the image. This can happen easily in outdoor
portrait situations, where the ambient background is rather bright, and you’d like a little fill flash on your
subject. High-speed sync to the rescue!
Leaving your high-speed sync mode on all the time doesn’t mean it’s always in use. Your camera and flash
will only use it if you are shooting beyond the normal sync speed. Otherwise, the flash will simply revert to
its normal behavior.
6) Gel It.
DSLRs have the advantage of overall color control via the white balance (WB) setting you use. And if
you’re shooting in RAW format, you easily have enough information in the image file to adjust for proper
WB after the fact in something like Adobe’s Light room.
But there are times when you want to make sure the light coming off your flash unit is close to the same
color as the ambient light. This will ensure that most of the light in your images are in the same ballpark,
color temperature-wise.
Again, you’ll likely get the best results if you adjust WB during post processing, but this way the images
will have a more consistent color throughout.
To bring your flash into the tungsten range of color for most ambient situations, you can use a Color
Temperature Orange (CTO) filter over the flash lens. Set your camera’s WB to tungsten, if you like, and
fine tune the WB in post as necessary.
7) Use The Ambient Light.
Another tell-tale sign of misused on-camera flash is the dark tunnel effect. This happens when the camera
is exposing well enough for the flash illuminated subject, but not enough environment light is being
recorded. Allowing the ambient light and surroundings to appear in the image will place your subject in
context and give the image a sense of atmosphere.
Bounce card combined with 1/40 sec.

exposure.
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Even if your camera has a preset flash mode for achieving this
effect, I strongly recommend switching over to the camera’s
manual mode. This will allow you to manually determine
slower shutter speeds to achieve exactly the amount of
ambient light you want for the image.
I find that shutter speeds of 1/15 – 1/40 second work for most
environments, including outdoors at night. Regular TTL should
still be employed in order for the camera and flash to make a
good determination about the exposure of the subject (what
the flash is concerned with). But, you are in control of the
ambient with the shutter speeds you select.
Creative use of direct flash and long shutter

speed.

school.com/8-on-camera-flash-tips-how-to-
get-better-lighting-from-your-on-camera-
flash#ixzz0vuHJASUM
8) Turn It Off.
Sometimes, the best thing you can do with your on-camera flash is nothing at all. As you become more
proficient with it, you might be tempted to use it all the
time. However, you don’t want to become dependent on
it. After all, there’s plenty of good light available in
most situations. But when you need a little extra here
and there, it’s nice to know you can always slap on that
flash and get great shots on demand.
Sometimes flash fill light just isn't right for the

picture.
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Baby Photography: Photographing Babies without

Losing your Mind
by Natalie Norton
Babies, babies everywhere! It seems like everyone around me is either pregnant or has a new born! I’m a
total sucker for tiny people. I love the way they look, all pink and wrinkled. I love the way they smell, like
baby powder, and well, let’s just face it, slightly like sour milk. I even love the way they sound, fire engine
siren screams and all.
However sweet they may be, they are NOT the easiest of photographic subjects! Here are 6 tips to nailing
your next newborn session with flying colors.
1. Plan ahead of time!
Here are some things you’ll want to discuss with Mom and Dad
about a day or 2 prior to your scheduled shoot.
 Talk to Mom and Dad about the baby’s schedule. They may or
may not have one, but one way or another, 9 times out of 10
Baby’s parents will be able to tell you which time of day their
baby tends to be at their best, most calm state.
 If you’re shooting the baby at home, be sure to get specifics as far
as where Mom and Dad would like to shoot. If you don’t have
studio lighting (which I don’t) you’ll want to make sure you know
which way the windows in the chosen room are facing at the time
of day you’re shooting to be sure you’ll have adequate light.
 You’ll also want to know how Mom and Dad feel about wardrobe
(or lack there of) for the baby. I love a naked, pink, wrinkly baby
booty, however, not all parents share my affinity. Be sure to
discuss this with Mommy and Daddy before you get to a shoot,
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ask Mom to strip the baby down, and then have to deal with awkward tension when she says “no way!”
 If the parents are comfortable with shooting baby in the buff, be sure to request that they remove all
baby’s clothing at least an hour in advance of the scheduled shoot so that the baby won’t have any funky
clothing lines on their skin. I even tell my clients to fasten the baby’s diaper loosely during this time as well.
Those lines can be fixed in Photoshop, but I for one would MUCH rather be out shooting than spending
hours using the healing tool in front of my computer.
2. Come PREPARED!
Make sure that you have EVERYTHING you need VERY well organized and easily accessible. Babies are
fidgety, fussy and very impatient, and you’ve got to take the initiative to plan accordingly.
 If you’re using studio lighting, you should be set up at least 10 min before you’re scheduled to start
shooting. That will give you time to run a few test shots before the baby is brought into the room.
 This next one is a given, but remember that sensors and lenses should be checked before the shoot and
cleaned if necessary. You can’t afford to stop in the middle of a newborn shoot because you notice a spot
on your sensor. Babies are not as forgiving as their adult counterparts. They’re like ticking time bombs, and
I guarantee all you moms and dads out there are nodding in agreement!
 Get a good night’s sleep! You have got to arrive a vision of patience and with energy to spare. Remember,
you’re likely walking into a home where NO ONE has gotten more than an hour of consecutive sleep for
days on end. The last thing everyone needs is another exhausted, grumpy adult, whose patience has run
dry to add to the mix. YOU set the tone! Come with a full tummy and a good night’s rest. (The full tummy
thing is PARTICULARLY important for me as I tend to have low blood sugar. My patience, not to mention my
creativity, is out the window if I don’t have something in my belly).
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3. Get the Details!
Don’t be afraid to get in close and focus on the details. Most images I shoot of babies are shot with very
low apertures (wide open) to encourage very shallow depth of field. I’m not by ANY means saying that
this is right for everyone, but this is my particular style, and I do this for many reasons.
 They are only tiny tiny for a VERY short time. I like to focus in and capture little feet and toes for example,
before they slip away into roller skates and ballet slippers. . . it happens sooner that you know!
 Shallow depth of field creates a mood of tenderness and intimacy which are so very appropriate for a shoot
of this nature.
 The main reason that I shoot the majority of my infant sessions with such shallow depth of field is that
shots like this, in my humble opinion, help depict how suddenly your whole world is about that little
person. Though everything else around you may be out of focus, the one thing that matters is perfectly
clear.
4. Bring a Hat!
My friend and fellow photographer/mentor, Nicole Hill, of Nicole

Photo (nicolephoto.com) and A Little Sussy (nicolehill.blogspot.com),
recently informed me that a little stocking cap (beanie) can be a solve
all for the . . . (cough cough) alien looking infant! Well, she didn’t say
the alien part. That’s all me, but we have to just be honest and admit
that often tiny babies look a little like E.T. My 3 boys included. Yup, I
said it. If you saw their baby pictures, you couldn’t deny it either!
Nicole is right; a beanie can cover a misshapen head or just soften a
face that hasn’t quite grown into its features. Enough said.
5. Establishing Shots!
Establishing shots are images that establish the feeling, location, etc of the time during which an event took
place. In this case you’re trying to tell a story about the feelings surrounding the birth of a new child. The
welcome of another little person into an already established family unit. Each family unit will be different
than the next, but each is special and should be documented as such. For example:
 If you’re shooting in a home, most likely you’ll be in a nursery. Grab a shot of that! Establish the
environment. It will be a treasure for the family to remember what their home was like at the time that
they welcomed their little sweet heart into their heart and home.
 Whether in studio or on location, try to grab a shot that establishes the whole family as they were at the
time of the birth.
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6. For Heaven’s Sake: BE FLEXIBLE!!!!
You’ve got to be flexible. There are so many

variables when shooting a tiny baby. They can be
SO unpredictable. Remember to:
 Handle each hiccup in a loving way. I am

convinced that babies can sense our tension
and frustration and that they will respond in
kind. Likewise, if we can remain calm and
collected, they will find it easier to relax as
well.
 If you have to stop, STOP! If the baby is on the
brink of a full blown freak out, TAKE A BREAK!
Let Mom and Dad pop in and calm baby down,
feed, burp, change a messy diaper, whatever.
NEVER push a baby to the point of no return. If you let a baby get to the point of total freak out. . . well,
sorry sweetheart, you may just be plum out of luck. . . and with no one to blame but yourself. Be in tune to
baby and let him/her run the show.
 If baby is fussing just a bit, you may not be bothered by it. Mom on the other hand may be totally on edge.
Part of your job is to be aware of that. Ask her if she’d feel more comfortable continuing after she’s had a
chance for a little snuggle. The last thing you need is a Momma bear worried about her cub. I’d elaborate,
but something tells me, ‘enough said.
 Give yourself plenty of time. I have never had an infant shoot that has lasted longer than 30min-1hour.
Maybe I’ve just gotten lucky! Probably so!! But I ALWAYS schedule a 2 hour block so there is time to feed,
change, soothe etc between shots if necessary.
There are SO MANY more things to remember when you’re running an infant shoot. Hopefully the few
I’ve shared will be helpful. Feel free to add others in the comment section below! I also encourage you to
make a checklist out of the information above to be sure you’re prepared in the future!!
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How [Not] to Take a Self Timer Portrait

How to Photograph yourself with a self timer:
Step1: Choose a good background
Step 2: Set Self timer on your camera
Step 3: Smile
Step 4: Be Careful
Step 5: Call 911
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An Introduction to Bird photography

Birds are very interesting creatures, but it’s not so easy to photograph them. Wild birds usually don’t pose
where you want and, moreover, it’s often difficult to get close enough to take quality pictures. But if you
know some basics of bird photography, it becomes much easier to capture amazing moments of the birds’
life.
Equipment
It’s not necessary to have an expensive camera of lens, however the proper equipment lets to take bird
photos easier.
Lens
Most birds are quite shy, so you need at least 200mm (300mm is better) to take pictures of them. Longer
focal length not only lets to photograph birds from larger distance, it also gives more blurred background.
However more millimeters (or larger aperture) means more expensive, larger and heavier lens. Knowing all
that, I think that 400mm f/5.6 lens is the best, if you want to have as much millimeters as possible, not too
small aperture and still want to be mobile. Of course, you can make magnificent bird images with 100mm
or less, just you should find more courageous birds or compose them to landscape.
Grey Heron is landing far enough where it feels safe, but with 400mm it's
possible to capture it with all the details.
Read more: http://digital-photography-school.com/an-introduction-to-

Camera
bird-photography#ixzz0vudewPuW
In bird photography, almost all DSLR’s will make a good job. However, if you’re planning to photograph
birds in flight, pay attention to fps (frames per second), high ISO results and AF (autofocus) system’s
accuracy. If you don’t have a DSLR camera, then bird photography becomes a bit more difficult (especially
due to slow AF), but don’t give up – a good photographer, I believe, will make better bird photos with
mobile phone than a poor one with the most expensive equipment.
Tripod, monopod, flash, even remote control sometimes help much, but usually aren’t necessary.
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Camera settings
It’s very important to know what settings to choose in certain situation to get most from your camera.
Exposure
In bird photography lens with long focal length are usually used, so it’s very important to set not too long
exposure, if you don’t want that camera shake would cause blurry pictures. The rule is to set expose not
longer than focal length of your lens. For example, if your lens focal length is 400mm, you need to set at
least 1/400 exposure to get sharp images. However, it is valid only if you have a full-frame camera. If your
have a DSLR with smaller sensor (e.g. APS-C DSLR – with 1.6 crop factor), you need to multiply
millimeters of your lens from the crop factor. This time that would be (400 x 1.6 = 640) 1/640 exposure. If
you don’t have a DSLR, you usually won’t need to multiply anything – the focal length, written on your
camera lens, usually already is multiplied (actually it’s 35mm equivalent). Today, most lens or cameras
have image stabilization (IS, VR…), and that helps much in low light conditions. Using it, you can set as
many steps longer exposure, as you find in your lens/camera specifications, and get sharp images. For
instance, if there is a 2 steps 400mm lens stabilizer, you can set 2 steps longer exposure (1/400-1/200-
1/100, with APS-C camera: 1/640-1/320-1/160). When using tripod, of course, these rules to minimize
camera shake are not so important.
If you want so freeze action, set 1/1000 or shorter exposure, if you would like to show movement, use 1/60
or longer.
Aperture
As you may already knew, aperture controls DOF (depth of field). That means, if you want a more blurred
background, set the largest aperture (the smallest number). However, when using telephoto lens, some parts of
bird’s body may appear out of focus, so pay attention where exactly you are focusing (that usually is the bird’s eye).
If necessary, close aperture a bit.
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ISO
In bird photography, as in anywhere else, the lower ISO speed, the better. However, it’s much better to set ISO 800
or 1600 and get a sharp picture, than ISO 200, and get the blurry one.
This photo of Black Redstart was made with ISO 2000, because there wasn't much
light, and I believe it was worth it.
Read more:
Some other http://digital-photography-school.com/an-introduction-to-bird-
notes
When photographing birds, three modes work the best. If you want to control aperture (depth of field),
photography#ixzz0vuhRE4JJ
choose Av (aperture priority) mode. For shutter speed controlling (especially useful when photographing
birds in flight) use Tv (shutter priority) mode. If you exactly know what settings you need, choose M
(manual) mode.
If you photograph dark bird in light background or want to get more details from dark areas, set the
positive exposure compensation value, if you want to avoid overexposed areas, set the negative one.
I recommend you to always shoot in RAW, if possible, because later you can easily fix such things as WB
(white balance) with computer.
Ways to photograph birds
The next step is to learn, how to get to the birds closer, so then you will be able to take quality pictures of
them.
So you can:
Don’t do anything exceptional

Some birds are courageous and let you to come close enough. The best example is Mute Swans.
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Move carefully
Many birds let you to come close
enough if you simply don’t make any
sudden movements.
Stalk
Sometimes this really works, just make
sure that bird doesn’t see you when you
are getting close and then, very
carefully, take picture.
Lie without any movements

Birds sometimes come surprisingly
close, when you lie. Just find a good
place or put some food and be patient!
Hide
when photographing a shy bird or wanting a small bird to come very close for a quality photo this is the
best technique. You can hide using hunting blind, camouflage net or the blind you made yourself from
surrounding materials. The lower is blind, the more courageous birds feel. If you use surrounding materials
to camouflage the blind or to hide yourself, that is another advantage. You can hide near various objects,
which attracts birds. Also, you can put some food where you want for birds to come. Sunflower’s seeds are
the best food in most cases. If you want that bird would sit on the twig or something similar before taking
food, put that twig above the food.
Here you can see the photo of Great Tit and how it was made.
Read more: http://digital-photography-school.com/an-introduction-to-bird-

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Sometimes it's enough to put some sunflower's seeds on the

grass! And this is the result.
It doesn’t matter which way you choose, be patient. Don’t wander from one bird (birds) to other (others), if
you didn’t succeeded from the first time. Sometimes it’s a good idea to go back next day and try again.
The Image
Now, lets talk about the image itself. We know what equipment we need, what camera settings to choose,
how to get to the bird closer, now it’s time to find out how to make the image of the bird look attractive.
The light
everything starts with a good light. The best time
for photography is morning or evening because
the light is soft and has a pleasant hue, shadows
are not so distinct, it’s easier to get details from
very bright and dark areas.
In this example you can see that this White-winged Tern

has both black and white feathers, but because it was
photographed in the evening, there are no pure white or
black areas.
Read more: http://digital-photography-school.com/an-

introduction-to-bird-photography#ixzz0vumo6cX7
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Composition
It is usual to leave some space in the direction the bird is looking or flying. Rule of thirds sometimes helps
too. Simply try some different framing to see when you get the best result. In addition, try to avoid any
distracting elements, when you are taking the picture. And one more thing to mention: when you are taking
the photo of the bird, try to be in its eye level.
The bird’s sitting place and the background

It’s the best, when the place, where the bird sits, shows bird’s natural habitat. It can be almost anything because
birds live in very different habitats. The background shouldn’t be distracting and usually it looks better when it isn’t
the sky (but not always!).
Capture something more

Ethics of bird photography
Birds are wonderful creatures. When you

are taking photos, don’t harm them. I
strongly advice you not to photograph birds
near nests (except when the distance is large
and bird isn’t sensitive to disturbance –
there are only very few such species). Even
if you don’t harm birds, you can show the
place of the nest for predators. The life of
bird is more important than a photo.
Conclusion
Bird photography is exciting and full of

adventures. I hope after this article it will be
easier for you to take beautiful bird photos.

school.com/an-introduction-to-bird-
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Engagement Portrait Shoots: 7 Professional Tips to

take your Engagement Shoots to the Next Level
by Christina N Dickson
Today portrait photographer Christina N Dickson shares tips on

how to shoot engagement portraits. Christina’s work can be found
at www.ChristinaNicholePhotography.com.
Shooting engagement portraits are perhaps some of the most

enjoyable for photographers. Most often, they are taken before the
whirlwind of wedding planning is fully underway, and the couple is
still quite enamored with one another. How do you take advantage
of this time and produce incredible images? Follow these few steps
to achieve real and vibrant engagement portraits.
1. Be involved!
As a photographer, you must keep your people skills sharp. With

engagement photos, you have to do your research on the couple
you are photographing. What are they like as a couple? What are
they like as individuals? What is their wedding going to be like?
How did they meet? This is going to affect the way you want to
build your images and portray them.
2. Encourage affection!
Rather than posing each shot, ie, “okay, now you kiss her cheek!” encourage your couple to show as much
affection as possible. Every couple does certain things to show one another love. If you want to capture
them accurately, you will urge this type of interaction.
3. Be observant!
A couple is most natural when they are focusing on one another. Try to direct the shoot by suggesting they
talk to one another, telling one another most embarrassing moments, or 5 things they love about each
other– topics that will pull out expression, interaction, and affection.
4. Remember that space determines relationship!
If a couple is leaning in for a kiss, or walking arm in arm, you will be able to communicate a message of
intimacy. Sometimes you can get sweet shots with contrast and tension in the picture by placing the couple
far apart in the frame, but be sure that this is your purpose if your going to do it.
5. Tell a story.
No love story is the same. Find unique traits about the couple, and then pull this out in the creation of your
images. If the couple is perfectly at ease with one another because they have been best friends for 10 years,
you can create images with a laid back and contented feel. If the couple has had a whirlwind romance after
meeting on e-harmony.com, it will be natural to pull out the affection and passion of their relationship
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6. Be open to suggestions!
Often times the bride to be will have an idea for a shot she will suggest to you beforehand? Other times her
fiancé may think of an idea on the spot during the shoot. If you can integrate these ideas into your shooting,
you will delight the couple, and possibly find yourself inspired by new ideas.
7. Be personable!
If you get to know your couple, and allow them to fall in love with your personality and style, you have a
good chance of booking them for a wedding also. Your job is not only to take good pictures, but also to
give them a fabulous time they will remember for the rest of their lives.
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10 MORE Quick Composition Tips

A Guest post by Amar Ramesh.
Here’s 10 more composition tips

following last week’s article 10 quick tips
for composition illustrated with Eastern
Washington pictures. Practice these
quick and simple tips constantly. They
will quickly become a natural part of
your routine leading to consistently
better and better photography.
Balance and Symmetry

Symmetry makes for a simple, straightforward, balanced composition. Strive for balance by adjusting your
composition to establish symmetry with lines, shapes, objects, and color. Balanced and symmetrical pictures are
pleasing to the eye.
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Repeat, Repeat, Repeat
Repetitive objects make great subjects. Whenever you see a series of similar objects repeated over and over, you
have found a winning composition. Repetition never fails to impress and create a unique frame.
Keep it Sweet and Simple
There is a reason why simple is king. Cut the frills, cut the distractions, cut the clutter. The more objects you
remove from the picture, the clearer and sharper your story and subject will be to the viewer.
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Magnify and Focus
This is something you should remember in all types of photography. Emphasize your main subject. Frame your
subject making it larger, taller, or in sharper focus than other objects.
Add Depth
Foreground objects add depth to the picture and brings out

the subject in the background more effectively. Include
objects at 1/3rd the focus to enhance your subject.
Add Nature
When you are in the field, city or country, look for
new ways to add nature to your composition.
Scout around and look for natural elements like
water, earth, or vegetation to include in the frame.
This technique will enhance your picture and make
it more effective. I included stagnant water in this
picture to bring out reflection of the tulips and add
interest.
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Portrait or Landscape?
Use your judgment when shooting horizontal or vertical for every shot. Shoot vertically when you want to enhance
tall objects to emphasize height. Shoot horizontally to emphasize width. When in doubt, shoot both. You can
decide later which one to keep during post processing. In this picture below an horizontal framing made more
sense while a vertical shot would have completely ruined the feel.
What’s My Story?
One of the most important tips for any shot is to know your
story. Ask yourself what you are telling your viewers with your
pictures. Are you sharing a feeling, sensation, moment, or
theme? If you don’t know the story when you frame the shot,
neither will your viewer. Rethink about clicking that shutter
until you see it.
You’re Not Done Till You Do it Again
When you think you are done

taking pictures, think again. See
what happens when you change
your angle, lens, or distance.
Surprisingly, in no time you will
have whole new perspective.
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Cropping is a Good Thing
Cropping is photographer’s best friend. Today’s

prevalence for digital photography and wide
range of editing tools lets you crop pictures to
correct mistakes or reframe your composition
sitting at home. Be sure to keep cropping in your
tool bag when taking and editing pictures.
Give these quick tips a try and watch your skills

improve. Don’t over think or over analyze, just go
try it. Check back for the third installment of
composition tips coming soon. Check out my
portfolio to see how I have applied these tips to a
variety of photography styles and subjects.
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Five Photo Ideas for Shooting Close to Home

It’s Saturday morning, a beautiful day and your photography juices are flowing. Your trigger finger is itchy
and you just want to get out and shoot photos. You pick up your gear bag, take a step towards the door and
then stop. What are you going to shoot? The inspiration bank is suddenly empty.
I have been in this position often and my solution has always been to go to the ideas book I keep. Like a
photo journal of thoughts and ideas. Always keep one with you and as soon as you get an idea, write it
down. Out of this ideas book comes five photo ideas close to home. Why close to home? The more difficult
it is to get to a location the less likely you are to go there so you need to make it easy.
1. In the Kitchen
Don’t laugh or discard this idea before trying it. I was

standing in front of the sink the other day and realized a
great photo opportunity was staring me in the face. There in
two large jars was a variety of kitchen utensils just waiting to
have their photo taken. Full of holes, texture, pattern and all
shiny and bright with great reflective surfaces. The draws are
full knives, forks and spoons. How much more could you ask
for. If you have a macro lens, macro feature on your lens or
compact camera then this is for you. Try it and see just how
rewarding it can be. The kitchen is a great place to learn
digital photography and the weather will never affect it. Just Image by limonada
watch out for the water sprayer. But don’t just limit yourself
to the kitchen; try the bathroom (not toilet) and other parts of the house.
2. The Garden
One step away from the front door is the garden. And, I’m
not just talking flowers and insects here. Look around and
see what there is. Get down low and explore the ground
and you’ll be surprised what you see. The cracked pathway,
a coiled hosepipe or a rusty hand trowel standing in a
flower bed. Metal buckets, watering cans or wheelbarrows
all have photo potential. Just be prepared to look and start
seeing with a photographer’s eye. You will surprise
yourself. Again, a macro lens will be great but you won’t
necessarily need a macro feature.
Image by Ashley Rose
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3. The Driveway or Garage
Yes, still close to home and many opportunities. The family car if you have one, or, perhaps the neighbor’s
motorcycle if you don’t makes a great subject. Getting in close on the most boring car can give you images
that you never thought were possible. Key here is to experiment with angles and get in as close as your lens
will allow. Focus on color, reflection and lines. Lie down on your back and shoot up. If the car is old then
focus on damaged parts like rust. There are just so many little things you can shoot and when viewed up
really close can give an amazingly abstract image.
4. The Park or Public Gardens
Around the corner for many of us is a park, public

garden or kids play park just waiting to be
photographed? Here you’ll find all sorts of objects from
sculptures to water fountains, play equipment to stone
walls.
When you get there just sit and observe and try to see
the potential photo opportunities. Allow yourself to start
seeing rather than just looking around.
Image by Chaval Brasil
5. The Local flea or Street Market
Street photography is a real hot photo topic at the moment. Going into a flea market and shooting just
anything, from people to color to antiques and art are just some of the ideas. Be sensitive to people and
when shooting close up ask their permission. You’ll find so much atmosphere and activity that will
stimulate you to shoot many interesting subjects. This is a great place to learn digital photography because
the opportunities and ideas are so diverse.
These five photo ideas close to home will hopefully inspire you as you learn digital photography and add
skills to your photography journey. Shoot regularly and don’t allow a few obstacles to stop you taking great
images.
Share Your Ideas and Shots
Over the next few days – try some of the above photographic subjects
and come back to share your best shots in comments below.
What other ‘close to home’ photo subjects have you enjoyed

photographing?
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Prevent DSLR Camera Shake with These 3

Techniques
Let’s face the facts; lugging a tripod isn’t always a fun way to take pictures. Ignoring the obvious
complaints, which include their size and weight; tripods are actually becoming banned in a number great
shooting locations. Unfortunately, hand holding a camera in low light can be extremely difficult and many
honest attempts result in soft images.
Thankfully, any of these three techniques will greatly improve the likelihood of sharp hand-held images.
A. Correcting the stance
Most photographers are familiar with how to hold a

digital camera in their hands, but most ignore the
important aspect of body position. Many people
lean forward, leaving their arms to hold the camera
steady. Much like lifting a heavy object, the weight
is best handled by your legs so adapt your step to
fit these guidelines:
1. Hold the camera with both hands. The left

hand will be on the lens, while the right holds the
camera body and controls the shutter.
2. Take a half step forward and keep your knees
bent. This will distribute your weight equally over both
legs.
3. Bring the camera up to your common shooting
position. For dSLR cameras, this means with the
viewfinder held firmly in front of your right eye, while
compact cameras should be held at eye level, about 15
cm in front of the face.
4. Squeeze your elbows tightly against your sides.
The left forearm should be completely vertical and
behind your toes. Avoid the temptation to lean forward and take the weight off your legs; leaning forward
will result in camera shake.
5. Take a deep breath and let the air out. Before taking the next breath, press the shutter as gently as
possible.
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B. A pocket-sized tripod
While tripods are awkward to carry, this technique will add a pocket-sized solution to low-light shooting
situations.
1. Before going out shooting, cut a string that equals your height and keep it in your pocket or camera bag.
2. At the low-light shooting location, take the string out and loop it around the camera lens. Let the extra
string fall to the ground.
3. Step on the loose end of the string and slowly raise the camera to your eye. Carefully pull the string taunt,
while making sure not to pull hard enough to effect the camera-to-lens connection.
4. With the string pulled tight, stand in the same position described in the first technique, and gently push the
shutter.
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C. The Joe McNally Grip
Photographer Joe McNally, best known for his speed-lighting techniques, regularly shoots for publications
like Sports Illustrated, National Geographic, and the now defunct Life Magazine. Despite shooting in
various lighting situations, he rarely uses a tripod. Instead, he uses his own grip style that requires shooting
with the left eye. With a little practice, this grip allows photographers to handhold with really slow shutter-
speeds.
1. Follow the same foot position as technique one, with the left foot in front of the right, shoulder width
apart.
2. Turn your upper body so that your left shoulder is pointing towards your subject.
3. Holding the camera with your right hand, bring the camera up and set it on your shoulder. The corner of
the camera body should sit in the small hole behind your collarbone.
4. Use your left hand to brace the camera against your body. Anchor your weight equally on both feet, and
lower your left eye to the viewfinder. Take the shot after letting out a deep breath.
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Four Rules of Photographic Composition

Before I dove head first into the world of photography (there was no toe-in-the water transition period for
me), I hadn’t ever considered or learned about composition. I thought it only had something to do with
painting. If I was going to take pictures of real life, I didn’t imagine that I would be saying to the man
running for the bus, “excuse me, could you please step into this third here?” I disregarded composition
entirely. Then there came a point where I began intuitively setting my manual settings without much
thought. I was suddenly left with loads of time on my hands while shooting to, not necessarily bother my
subjects with moving around in a scene, but to move myself appropriately and be quick enough to catch
something in the split second when it was naturally well composed.
So if you are like me and you haven’t yet considered composition, here are a few rules to get you going.
Naturally, rules are made to be broken. But you can’t break the rules until you have mastered them. More
on that another time. Here are four hard and fast rules of composition I can’t live without:
Thirds
This may be the most widely known rule of composition

among photographers. There’s even an option in most DSLRs
to switch on a visual grid in your viewfinder. This rule states
that for an image to be visually interesting, the main focus of
the image needs to lie along one of the lines marked in thirds.
For example, according to this rule, a horizon shouldn’t be
smack bang in the middle of a photo, but on the bottom third.
A single tree in a field should be aligned with one of the two
vertical lines.
Rule of odds – The rule of odds states that images are more
visually appealing when there is an odd number of subjects.
For example, if you are going to place more than one person in
a photograph, don’t use two, use 3 or 5 or 7, etc. Of course this
is a pretty silly notion for an engagement shoot, right? Or a
wedding shoot. Or a family with only two kids. But when
possible, when you are not just shooting real life but
composing images (still life, family groups, flowers) remember
the rule of odds. Studies have shown that people are actually
more at ease and comfort when viewing imagery with an odd
number of subjects. I’d be very interested to know the different opinions readers have for why that is. I’ll share
mine in the comments below.
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Rule of space – I used to get this rule mixed up with the rule of
thirds. The rule of space probably comes naturally to you and
you don’t even know it’s a rule of composition. The rule of
space says that in order to portray movement, context and the
idea that the photo is bigger than just the part that you’re
seeing, you need to leave clutter free ‘white’ spaces. For
example if you’re photographing a runner, give him a space to
run into. Don’t photograph him with all the space in the world
behind him because this doesn’t help the viewer picture the
forward motion & the space he has yet to run. If you’re making
a portrait of a woman laughing at something not in the photo, leave space in the direction where she is laughing.
This leads the viewer to wonder what’s just beyond the boundaries of the photo. What is she laughing at? The
reason I got this mixed up with the rule of thirds is that naturally, when giving your subjects space, they will be
placed in a third of the photo.
Viewpoint – Often referred to as POV, point of view is the

most basic of composition rules. And it’s as simple as clicking
the shutter. You are your viewer. Your camera is their eye. If
you photograph a dog at eye level, your viewer will be viewing
the dog at eye level (which gives the idea/feeling of equality). If
you photograph a dog from below, your viewer will be seeing
the dog from below (a low shot gives the notion of
dominance). If you photograph a dog from above, you are
projecting a feeling of your viewer’s superiority in relation to
the dog.
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Art Of Photography - Part 3 nekhlass@gmail.

Sketches establish a vision .................................................................................................................................. 9

Putting together a vision ................................................................................................................................... 10

5. Use a fast shutter .............................................................................................................................................. 25

Find Inspiration and Seek Advice .......................................................................................................................... 38

1. Light Painting: ................................................................................................................................................... 63

8) Turn It Off. ...................................................................................................................................................... 111

1. In the Kitchen .................................................................................................................................................. 130

Create Sketches to Capture with a Vision

If you’ve ever found yourself stuck in a rut, wandering

I know what you may be thinking, “I’m a photographer, not a

Sketches establish a vision

We are visual thinkers

Putting together a vision

Capturing Personality in Portraiture

The end goal of many generic portrait studios is to make a sale.

For successful portrait artists, capturing personality is the end goal.

Capturing personality is an exciting challenge, but it is not impossible. All

Watch your subject as you interact with them

Unbeknownst to me, Caleb (pictured right) was an aspiring filmmaker who

If you want to be a successful, high income, portrait photographer, remember

Three Lenses Every Photographer Should Own

And while there are a lot of different types of lenses

The general purpose zoom

The macro lens

The length of this lens isn’t as important as its ability to

The telephoto zoom

Wait… what about?

10 Fashion Photography Tips

2 Fashion photography is all about clothes and beauty, so pull all

10 Tips to Take Great Family Portraits

1 If you want that ‘traditional’ family photograph you are going to

2 The ‘traditional’ shot isn’t for everyone so flex that creative

4 You can really let your imagination run wild when it

5 Avoid having the sun behind you as the models will

10 Have some fun! Unleash the enthusiasm and ask your

5 Mind-Traps of Beginner Photographers

Everyone, at some point in time, looks to those who have more

Here are 5 mind-traps common to beginning photographers,

1. My Photos Are Bad:

2. My Gear Isn’t Good Enough:

3. I’m Doing This All Wrong:

4. I’ll Never Be Able to Take Photos Like the Pros

Remember – the pros were beginners once too!

5. I Can’t Afford Any Editing Programs:

Check out these free options:

 Windows Photo Gallery

Macro and Creative Abstracts

Beaches are rife with opportunity for macro shots and

What better place to photograph your children in the

When the sun is at its highest it can be tricky to expose

If you want to photograph the scene at sunset or

Piers are a classic focal point for seaside shots. A

Legal restrictions of photography in public places differs

The beach is home to many interesting creatures primed

Head to the bright lights of the funfair and embrace the

Surfing, windsurfing, kite surfing, banana boats, jet skis, kayaks or

8 Tips for Photographing Butterflies

1. Use a tripod, but keep the head loose

2. Wait for colder weather

3. Position your camera’s sensor so it’s parallel to the

You only get one geometrical plane of complete sharpness,

4. Wait until the butterfly is frontlet by the sun