There are times when you find yourself in a middle of a beautiful landscape scene and you want to capture that image to preserve it. So you take your camera and start shooting. When you have the picture printed, you find that what you shot didn't depict the beauty that you experienced. Why is this so? It's because you and your camera see things differently; your perspective is selective while your camera just takes in all that it sees. Fortunately, there are ways to make your landscape photos convey what you want, if you follow some photography tips for beginners.
First of all, you have to determine what captures your eye the most. Look around your surroundings and find the aspects you want to emphasize. It could be the color of the sky, cloud formations, lush greenery, waves on the shore, rock structures or any other element in the scene. If you focus on what is most attractive, you are better able to simplify your composition and take out the distractions.
The time of the day matters when shooting landscapes. Sceneries look best early in the day or when the sun is about to set. This is because the low sun casts shadows that provide depth and texture to scenes. If possible, examine postcards of landscapes and see how other photographers shoot their images. This does not mean that you imitate their shots, but there are lessons to be learned just by looking at the work of the professionals.
Skies provide great backgrounds but if they are overcast, they can appear dull in the captured image. If this is the case, eliminate the skies from your picture and focus on the smaller elements and do close-ups. Persons can be components for a landscape shot, especially if you want to add movement or scale to your image; and want to emphasize how large a structure is or how vast a scene can be. Avoid poses that appear contrived, such as a person standing in front with a grin. Candid shots are more endearing and memorable.
If your camera is equipped with a zoom lens, use the wide-angle setting so that your picture can capture as much of the landscape as possible. Being able to include more elements means that there are more issues to consider. To avoid photos that look flat, include interesting lines like a curving road or river that will guide the viewer's eyes. Take note of the horizon. The rule of thirds dictates that it can only occupy the upper third of the image unless it is required that more space should be allotted to it.
The most important photography tip for beginners in shooting landscapes is to be patient. You cannot have great pictures of sceneries just by clicking away indiscriminately. You have to take time in observing your surroundings and in most cases, you have to wait for the right time of day, when light and shadow are in perfect harmony. By following these simple steps, you are not just merely recording a scene but creating a work of art.
Landscape Photography Tips for BeginnersSo you finally bought the first digital camera? Congratulations! You are probably excited and ask yourself, where you can find some digital photography tips will help you with great picture results. Good advice, but digital photography is a beginner, you need to put into practice. You have to go out and take photos! The sooner you make mistakes, before you learn to take great pictures really had.
What are the mistakes that beginners photographymake?
Mistakes on digital photography are natural. Beginners would make mistakes that would waste a lot of shots. So, it is wise to read some digital photography tips that would help you avoid the mistakes that beginners typically make. But what are these mistakes?
The first mistake that beginners usually make is putting too much images in one picture. The whole picture becomes one messy unfocused picture. You'd find different subjects in one photograph. This is not fun to look at. It's confusing so people would not really want to look at it.
Another mistake that beginners usually make is not bothering to create more artistic and focused photos. The picture need not be center-oriented. The goal is to create photos that are good regardless of what angle you look at it and regardless of what side of the picture you stared at.
The last mistake of a digital photography beginner is taking pictures without really knowing how to handle the camera properly. They end up with pictures that are overexposed, underexposes or blurry.
Digital Photography Tips
If you are new to digital photography, here are some digital photography tips that would serve you well as you are learning the craft and developing the skills of creating great pictures:
1. Familiarize yourself with your camera. This may seem dreary to you but this is important. If you want to know what your camera is capable of doing, what its limitations are and how you can maximize its use will help you create great pictures.
2. Practice taking pictures. The art of photography is also a skill. You'll get better at it as you practice more.
3. Take as many pictures as you can and want. Most digital cameras have memory cards that would allow you to take as many pictures as you want. You can also get an extra memory card so you can take more pictures.
4. Use your camera's features and maximize its capabilities.
5. Learn how to frame your shots. This is often the mistakes of beginners. They do not know how frame their photos properly. So, they could place the photo's subject dead center. They could end up cutting the face or placing the subject too far right. Good framing would mean a lot of difference on the outcome of the picture.
6. Learn various compositional techniques. Again, you could avoid the second biggest mistake of most beginners by shifting the subject of center to either the left or right. Avoid placing your subject on the middle of the photograph. This has been overused before and has become quite boring.
7. Take more close-ups. They are more striking and interesting.
8. Be conscious of picture's lightning. Bad lightning can ruin what should have been a good shot.
9. Don't be afraid to explore and to try out new shots.
10. Never forget to take photos as memories. These types of photos have more heart.
Digital Photography Tips For Beginners 101When you pose for a picture are you always looking directly at the lens? Do you find yourself looking stiff in the picture? There are many ways to pose for a picture in order to make it look natural instead of drawn up. If everyone posed for a picture and they all looked really fake then who would want pictures? There are easy tips when posing for a picture that you should follow.
The first tip you need to follow is don't always look at the camera, sometimes it is better to look past the camera or to a side. This will make the picture look like you have no idea the camera is even there. And this tip is easily done and doesn't take any effort.
The second tip when posing for a picture is to change your facial expressions. If you always had the same smile or you always held your head the same way then the picture would look as if you were a mannequin. Mannequins don't take very attractive pictures so do everyone a favor and change your facial expressions.
The third tip when posing for a picture is when sitting sit upright. Nobody wants to see someone who is slouched over in every picture. When people slouch over it makes them look lazy and mad. Would you buy a picture of someone who looked mad but had a smile? I wouldn't.
So remember the next time you are getting ready to pose for a picture that not every picture needs to see your entire face from the same side all the time.
Tips When Posing For a PhotoTake it from the basics of what super macro photography. Super-macro photography is of people with a ratio greater than 1:1 means. Macro Normal, if we are to 1:1 magnification ratio, which is the subject of 1 mm 1 mm on the sensor as it did to shoot. Now super macro photography is when we ask about the issue more than 1 mm 1 mm on the sensor.
What does super-macro photography?
The photos are so detailed that you can comparelooking at an object through a microscope. These photographs have vivid detail of the miniature world. Commercially they are required for text books journals etc. They are also used in advertisements and such promotional materials. Most importantly it allows the photographer to capture a world that is not seen with the naked eye.The image below shows a super macro of a leaf.
How is it done ?
There are mainly four ways that photographers achieve this type of photography.
Super Macro Lens
The easiest and best results are go with using a Macro lens that provides more than 1:1 ratios, a good example would be Canon MP-E 65 mm f/2.8. This lens lets you take up to 5:1 macros. The above said lens is a manual focus lens and costs nearly 900$. More advance lens costs even more.
Diopters on normal macro lens
Another easier method is to use diopters or closeup filters on 1:1 macro lens. This will let u go closer and thus obtain higher magnification. The results will not be as impressive but this is definitely cheaper than buying a lens. This option also reduces number of equipment needed to be carried. The magnification achieved is limited.
Reversing
This is done by reversing ,preferably, a wide angle lens in front of a longer lens. This yields better results than diopters and comparable to dedicated lens but some times results in reduced functionalities like lack of auto focus and so on. This method can yield very high magnification. There will be problems of vignetting in some combinations.
Bellows
This involves loading the lens on a below or using extension tube. Bellows allow variable adjustment but limits mobility. Bellows reduce the amount of light available as the length increases. This is a less preferred methods but some photographers working in studios prefer this method, as they can control the lighting and they don't need mobility.
Now to the 5 tips:-
1. DOF:- Super macro means super importance to DOF, this means u will need to either make really tough decision on where to focus. The fact that most of these setups reduce total light will make it more difficult to working at higher f-stops. One method would be to take multiple images with varying areas in focus and combine them to get the desired image.
2. Lighting:- Most of the above setups will reduce total light available thus, artificial lighting is very important in super macro photography. Use external flashes, it will be convenient to use a ring flash. If there is more light to work with the image can be captured much better. This means that investing in a good lighting device will be worth every penny.
3. Stability:- The high amounts of magnification means that you will need very high stability, this means you will need a very steady tripod for one. The setup is very sensitive due to the high magnification so you will benefit from using a remote release. Another feature you will benefit from would be live view to increase stability.
4. Subject:- Live insects will not make good subject for super macro simply because they keep moving. Good subjects would be dead insects and other such subjects that will not move. Flowers and their interiors make very interesting subjects too. Small stone , twigs etc also have a lot of story to tell. Remember that the possibilities in the miniature world is limitless there are so many things that we can capture, but as mention before lighting is very important.
5. Perspective:- As in any type of photography perspective is important in super macros also. The angle the framing everything counts. When working at high magnification it can be a very precise maneuver that sets it right or makes it all wrong.
The possibilities are limitless so keep in mind these tips and start experimenting.
Some samples of what can be done : -
Photography makes a great hobby or a wonderful full time job. If you are looking to make some extra money or get your business off the ground it is always nice to hear a new perspective on things to get new ideas.
Taking the opportunity
One thing I find a lot of people don't do is take advantage of free publicity. You may be thinking who wouldn't want free publicity? Well I ask myself the same question when I hear people complain their not getting enough business.
Make yourself available
There are tons of groups that meet up in your area every night. Go to your local town office or city hall or even the internet and find out about these groups. People are always looking for something to break up a meeting. Contact some of these groups and ask them if they would be interested in you coming and talking to them. Let's say you contacted a horse back riding group, bring pictures of horses that you've taken and explain how and why these pictures were taken. It's that simple, you don't have to blab on and on just make it short and sweet and to the point. Be friendly, share some stories and if you've worked your magic you may end up leaving with some scheduled photo sessions from the group. Learning to take opportunities when they arise is so important, even better is making opportunity for youself.
Make opportunities for yourself
Keeping up to date on local events will also provide you with great opportunities. Always check with event coordinators to make sure that it's okay that you come and offer your services. Most often than not you'll be a welcomed addition to the planned event.
Photography Techniques - Learn to Take OpportunitiesAlways Keep the Bride and Groom to the Front
Remember, the Bride and Groom should be most prominently portrayed in every shot. When posing groups you should try to avoid placing anyone directly in front of or behind the Bride and Groom. The only exception to this is when using steps to compose very large groups.
Height Difference
Another potential problem with groups is height difference. Use the potential problem of height difference to your advantage. If there are steps available you can use them to elevate the smaller people, if not then you must arrange the group in a composition which pleases the eye.
You can however often use height difference to your advantage, use it by carefully positioning subjects so that their faces, when viewed together run in a smooth flowing composition. Do not be afraid to use the ground as a starting point for posing Bridal party group shots.
Bridesmaids are often asked to pose on the ground in front of the rest of the group. You can then build up the composition by placing any smaller children next to the Bridesmaids and eventually working upwards using smooth flowing lines toward adults in a standing position.
Some photographers will always position taller people near the center and taper off to smaller people at the ends. I prefer to work on a flexible basis and treat each situation independently sometimes using smaller people near the Bride and Groom and working towards the edges with taller people. This approach can give more emphasis and prominence to the Bride and Groom.
Positioning the smaller of the two nearest the camera can compensate for height difference between the Bride and Groom. This technique, in the Brides case, will not be required too often; society readily accepts that on average females are smaller than males. However you may encounter, as I once did, a couple where the Bride was taller and had specifically asked to be made to look smaller, even if it meant posing her husband on a step!
The Bride
Pay particular attention throughout the day to the Brides appearance. She is the most important person in your photographs. Before firing the shutter always check that she is looking her best.
Pay specific attention to the stance of the Bride. She should be posed by asking her to stand at a slight angle to the camera. The foot nearest to the camera should be extended forward three or four inches towards the camera with the knee slightly bent. Now ask her to transfer her weight to the foot farthest away from the camera.
Her head should be turned towards the camera and tilted slightly. Avoid straight limbs, for example arms and wrists should always suggest a gentle curving, almost flowing movement.
Wedding Photography Techniques - Bride, Groom and GroupsIf you're wishing to take your photography skills to the next level by trying your hand at boudoir or glamour photography, you're going to have to learn how to shoot photos in low light. Perfect your low light photography skills and you would be well on your way to a career in professional glamour photography.
Shooting in low light is challenging. The good news is that huge improvements have been made in photographic technology that has improved a camera's ability to capture images in dark settings. These new tools maximize your chances of success as an artistic photographer.
Your job is hard enough as it is shooting in low light; don't aggravate the difficulty by simply holding the camera in your hand. Instead, use a tripod or, at the very least, brace yourself or the camera against a solid surface such as a door jamb or low wall. This will help steady the camera as you take your shots.
Professional glamour photography requires a soft, gauzy (but not blurry) look to the finished product. Slow shutter speed can contribute to blurry photos, so increase your camera's ISO setting to help increase the shutter speed. You'll also want to carefully add light to avoid the "snapshot" look to your work. Take your camera's hot shoe flash and angle its head to bounce the light off a nearby bright surface, such as a wall or ceiling. This is better than directing the flash right on your subject; bouncing it off a nearby surface softens the light and gives your subject the soft glow that is a hallmark of professional glamour photography.
If you're an artistic photographer who uses a simple point and shoot camera with a built in flash, set your camera to its "night scene" setting. Your flash will go off while allowing the background light to "burn in" so that your photo won't look as if it was shot in a cave. You'll definitely need to hold the camera steady for these shots and you can help yourself do so by placing your feet in the 5 o'clock and 10 o'clock positions, with your left foot forward and your right foot back. This extra-wide stance will help keep you from wobbling as you take your shots.
Professional glamour photography requires pressing the shutter button softly but firmly. You also need to hold your camera steady until the firing sequence is done. Don't put your camera down until the shot is secured because most cameras have a bit of a delay in their shooting. An artistic photographer knows that if they put the camera down before it's completely done taking a shot; they could get a "smeared" look to the photo instead of the desired "soft" appearance.
Tips For Professional Glamour Photography Shots in Low LightThe dream of turning your hobby into a photography business can come true. It just takes a lot of hard work and a little know how. Business planning and marketing strategies are important for the start up business and must be top priority but there are other things to consider when starting up your photography business.
No longer can you rely on the structure of working for somebody else. No longer are you just someone who takes photos. You are now a small business owner trying to make a living from taking photographs. No longer can you rely on the thought of losing your job to get you out of bed in the morning. Now the threat of losing your job has turned into a threat of your photography business failing if you do not stay motivated and focused on your success.
How many Stupid Questions are There?
The only stupid questions there are, are the ones you fail to ask. Do not be afraid to ask questions, to ask for help or get advice. There is a lot of support in the community for small businesses that can guide you in the right direction to find the solutions you need.
If you need to upgrade your skills to help you operate your photography business, then get the training you need. Many local councils run small business programs to help you learn the skills you need to be successful. You want to work smarter not harder. That is the point of going out on your own.
Budget your Time and Money
It is all well and good to have plans but if you cannot finance them and bring them into fruition then they are worthless and will do nothing to help your photography business be successful.
You need the time and the money to market your business successfully so make sure you factors these into your budget. Once you have a budget start implementing the marketing strategies. It is imperative to get these off the ground immediately. You need to get the message out into the public arena that you are now taking clients and the services you offer.
Use the time in your budget to continually analyse the success of your marketing strategies and be prepared to modify them if any are failing to deliver results.
Make sure you keep up with changing markets and be flexible in your approach to running your business.
Tips on Starting a Photography BusinessFor as long as you had your first camera, there is no doubt that you have stored mountainous boxes of photographs in your closet. This pile may have been from your baby pictures to your wedding photography in Phoenix. And as you have your own family, it just keeps on multiplying by the day.
Getting your photos organized seems like a gigantic task but fortunately there are several ways to approach this project without turning it as a dilemma. These days, these shoe boxes are replaced by a computer which is a big help in classifying pictures. This tool does not only help you sort out your photos but also protect your memories for a long time.
Patience and determination are essential factors in starting and finishing this task. It is important that you will not waver in your goal in order to accomplish your objective. It may be hard at first but never give up because eventually you will be satisfied and proud of yourself for finishing such a large feat.
Organizing hundreds of photographs can be time consuming so it is important you set aside a time and a place where you can sit down and rummage through this pile without being interrupted. It will usually take more than one sitting so decide on a place where you can scatter and divide the photos. After setting the time and an ideal place, the next thing to do is to gather all of your pictures.
Get started by going through each picture and labeling the back. Special pens are made for this purpose to avoid damaging the photos. Using regular pens will cause indentations on the front of the picture. In labeling the photos include the names of the people in it, the date and the location. These days, with the advent of the digital camera, picture labeling is easier. You can get your photos printed with dates and labels from your digital camera. Just make sure you set the date right.
Sorting them out will be your biggest hurdle. You can either systemize them chronologically by year or categorize these pictures for each family member. You must first group the photos by year then by months. If you encounter a picture with no label try your best estimation. Another alternative way is to categorize them for each family member or celebrations. This method can be confusing sometimes because some categories may overlap making it harder to divide the photos.
It is also important that you throw away bad pictures. There is no reason to keep pictures that are blurry. It will certainly make it easier to arrange the good pictures when you throw out the bad ones.
Once you have all your photos systemized, you are now ready to store these pictures to your computer. You can choose to create a personal file in your computer, save them to a cd or just upload them on an online album. But if you prefer prints then you might want to store them in albums. Using keywords for each file or album is a good feature. For instance, name your wedding photographs folder with wedding photography Phoenix so it will be easier to find them later.
Organizing photos take time, effort and careful thought. It involves hard work, and making difficult decisions on what pictures to keep or throw away. These tips are not all the ways for organizing your images but definitely it is a great start. Whatever preference you have in terms of photo storage and organization, just make sure that they are stored safely. In this way, you will be able to revisit old memories anytime of the day.
Organizing Your Photographs - Simple Tips on Sorting Out Old PicturesSo you have a great digital camera and you're tired of shooting landscapes and sunsets. Now you want to move onto faces and personalities. Good for you! It's probably the most rewarding subject matter to photograph. And it's my favorite.
To capture a portrait of someone - to truly capture their personality, isn't easy. You need to learn some basic posing techniques and you really need to know your camera. Know your camera so you don't need to be so focused on the technical, but more on the connection between you and your portrait subject.
Now that you've decided to explore portraiture, you need to understand the responsibility of a portrait. Being photographed is a very vulnerable experience. We've all seen horrible pictures of ourselves, and over time it can make some people feel less of themselves and think they are not 'photogenic'. When really they have just likely been poorly photographed.
First things first! Make your subject feel comfortable. Find out something about them, ask them questions. Asking about kids or family almost always puts a subject at ease. When you get them thinking about themselves and your questions, they stop thinking about being nervous. And when someone isn't nervous, you can capture more of their true personality.
I know what you're thinking. Talking and asking questions is easy, but how do I pose them? My advise is to start simple. Just concentrate of their face. Less to shoot is less to worry about, for both of you. Experiment with head tilt or angle of their face. But always keep their movements small and subtle. And try and get your camera at their eye level. Also find a comfortable distance to them. Close enough to connect, but not too close to intimidate them with your equipment.
Once you feel like you have some nice face shots, then try moving a little further away. See more of their body. Try having them fold their arms, or have them lean against a tree or a wall. People need to feel like they have some safety or an anchor.
The important thing to remember, is to have fun and keep the experience simple and unintimidating for your subject. For more simple tips on posing people for portraits visit this informative site!
Photographing Portraits of People - Photography TipsThese days Orwellian 1984-esque spy technologies are everywhere. Red Light Cameras, Photo Radar, X-Ray vision at airports that sees through our clothing - you name it. And for the few of us who understand the suffocating effect this invasion of privacy has on our freedom - it's a nightmare. Just ask any driver who's paid 0 for unlucky timing at a traffic light. If this is you, here's 3 great tips to beat the cameras in court.
1. Photo Camera Errors
The first tip on our list is probably the most plausible in court. With current technology, it is estimated that 40% of all would be camera tickets are never issued do to random problems. Things like birds flying by and blocking the view of your license plate, inclement weather, and others. The remaining 60% are all subject to discretion. Machine errors can cause blurry or dark images. The driver is not easily visible through the windshield. The license plates do not accurately represent who was driving the car at the time of photo. Just like police radar, technical error is the most common method of challenging a photo ticket. Simply by reviewing the evidence and knowing the weakpoints, there is a good chance you could have your ticket thrown out.
2. Unconstitutional Violation of Rights
Believe it or not, there are still many people in the U.S who support the constitution and individual rights. For this reason, many state courts have actually declared photo tickets unconstitutional. In these states, local municipalities depend on citizens to simply dutifully pay their tickets without questioning. You'll quickly find that if they're challenged in court, however, they can be thrown out.
3. Prevent Photo Tickets from Ever Happening
This is certainly the best and most desirable option out of the three presented here. Ideally, we would all like to avoid getting these tickets rather than fighting them. But up until now, this has been rather difficult. The creativity fueled by recent frustration on the parts of millions of drivers however has spawned some interesting methods to prevent photo tickets altogether. One of these methods is to simply know ahead of time where red light cameras, photo radar, and speed traps are located. Using GPS technology, it is possible receive an alert automatically as you approach a traffic device. You can then take corrective action before the ticket is ever issued.
Certainly with the massive revenue generated by 'traffic enforcement technology' and its sharing between local governments and corporations this problem will not go away any time soon. You can fight back to protect your privacy and freedom, however - and we all have that responsibility before the day comes that we find out it's too late.
Red Light Photo Camera Tickets - 3 Great Tips to Beat ThemA large part of the photo collection includes photos of all people. There is no argument that high-quality photos stunning projection, human portrait, emotions and feelings and the acquisition of the object forever. This article will provide tips for reaching such a high quality portrait photos.
Even if the realization of true portrait-quality photos is an art and requires experience, there are some simple guidelines you can follow quicklyTo improve their skills. Here are a few:
Background: A portrait of high-quality photos or photo for that matter, that a person at the center of attention was a person not the end, the attention away from the object. In particular, a portrait photo, everything revolves around the subject's face. Take your photos with a neutral background. A soft solid color background that is included, is an example of a good background to use. Move a busy road and people are examples forevil wallpaper to use.
Blur: Another way to ensure that the viewer's attention is not divided between the object and the background to blur the background. Background blur literally lift the object from the image and make it standout. The technique is quite simple blue background, set the camera to a shallow depth. You can do it manually with a zoom lens and shooting conditions from a short distance or with large openingsSetting.
The Eye: A face has many details, nose, eyes and so on. What area of the face is important to focus? The answer is simple, the eyes. The eyes tell a story that convey emotions, feelings, moods and concentration on the photo to make it a better project all these feelings. Depending on the emotions and history that you are trying to communicate with the photo guide the object look just look at the camera or maybe sideways, with a focus on another object.
Lighting:This is quite simple, with natural light whenever possible. Natural lighting is much better to record the full spectrum of colors and warmth of the skin. Take your photos in the countryside during the day. Place the object so that the sunlight hits the page. Do not take pictures with the sun behind the object, how it will end up as a silhouette. Do not take pictures with the sun directly in front of the object as it will result in overexposure and color distortions. You can use a fill-inFlash for some shade, which could offset occur on the face (eg in the nose area).
Experiment: It takes time to perfect your portraits can be. With digital cameras, the cost of taking pictures is almost zero. Experiencing what is necessary, monitor the results and make the necessary adjustments until you get a good sense of how to achieve this high quality for portraits.
Finally, if you have a good car and are willing to experimentPortrait photo shoot so that the skills needed to take high quality portrait photos and to impress your friends with achieving professional-looking portraits.
Portrait Photography Photo Tips