Photography Tips, Art, and Music
Posts tagged photography tips
Digital Photography Tips For Capturing Your Kids
Jun 26th
If you like photographing your kids, it can be both rewarding and profitable. Taking pictures of your kids is no easy task and if it’s something you don’t love doing, the child (or your kids) you are photographing will know, making it that much more difficult to get the shot you want.
Some of the most common techniques used in photography will not necessarily work when taking pictures of your kids. Telling a child to “freeze or “hold it will not make much sense to them. Children will often do as they please so it is the job of the photographer to anticipate what a child is about to do and be ready to capture it.
YOU can turn this into your advantage: Since your kids don’t always do what you want them to do, or what you expect them to do (actually they rarely do!). A solution often is: don’t expect them to become a cooperative little adult merely because you want to take their picture. Trick them – expect them to act like your kids. Don’t expect anything in particular. DO this and you can enter the fun and profitable field of child photography.
Know your stuff – Before you start booking sessions with your kids you must know exactly what you are capable of doing – what your camera is capable of doing – what all your equipment is capable of doing. Operating your camera and equipment must be second nature. Have your style of photography down pat, so when you start a session your mind is on the your kids). This takes your complete focus. This is not the time to be fiddling with you camera, or trying to figure out your light setup. Children take 100% of your concentration. For some your kids the entire shoot may only last 10 minutes – though you feel you have just run a marathon – so you have to be able to get in position , get the most cooperation from the child, get great shots. At times, this has to be done very quickly, BUT you cannot make the child feel they are being rushed.
When photographing your kids, expect anything and everything to happen. If you have a better understanding of the various behaviours of your kids at certain ages, it will go a long way to being able to capture the images you want thus increasing your financial gain. In addition, knowing what you can expect from a child at age two versus one at age five, will help in keeping your clients satisfied.
During a session photographing your kids you can get a variety of poses, expressions and antics. In no other field of photography are you liable to get such variety. The more you learn about little ones the better child photographer you will be. Children are not just your kids until they become adults -they come in all sizes. Between four months and four years you can place them into quite a few categories: 4-6 mos, 6-12 mos, 12-18 mos, 18-24 mos, and then you can lengthen out the age span. Awareness of these ages are needed to help you – the photographer – be aware of the limitations your kids (especially little ones) have.
Keep in mind that parents can play a key role when photographing your kids. They will be able to tell you certain things about their child that can go a long way to helping you through the picture session ultimately ensuring you obtain the best possible shots. Given most your kids have difficulty sitting through a photography session, you will not have time to win them over; knowing their likes and dislikes, their fears, their favorite things, to name a few, can be extremely helpful.
Above all else, get your camera ready to go – second chances to capture an impromptu moment don’t come around very often (if at all) when photographing your kids.
In most areas of photography a tripod is great for sharp photos. However with child photography you do not always have such a luxury. Once they reach the moving around stage, a tripod limits your ability to capture expressions and poses. Be mindful of your camera settings – keep that shutter speed fast enough to prevent blurring – and be ready to move quickly!
There is no limit to what you can capture in a shot when photographing your kids; it can be anything from climbing on or out of something, to taking their shoes and socks off. The more experience you gain photographing your kids, the more you will know what works for different age groups.
There is no question that photographing your kids is a challenge. And just when you might start to feel comfortable doing it, along comes a new challenge – multiple subjects. Dealing with twins, triplets, etc. will really test your skills as child photographer! But don’t worry, this is part of the job and over time you will learn tricks to keeping all your subjects engaged.
When capturing a child or your kids on film, get creative when trying to get their attention; use different techniques and use them quickly as you won’t have the time to try again. Using a digital camera can help in this regard as there are no limits to the amount of exposures you can take and luckily, you can look at the pictures very quickly as you go.
Brothers and sisters can also play a vital role in your photography session with your kids. Siblings may actually be more successful than parents in getting their brother or sister to laugh, cry, smile, or make a funny face. Use the comfort level a child feels with their sibling to your best advantage and get the pictures you want. Another bonus to having sibling present, is that the parents may decide that they too should be photographed- all this means a bigger photo package for the client and more money for you!
Take your act on the road – You can do child photography at the park – on the beach – in the backyard, just as easily as in a studio or home – maybe more so – and nature will take care of the lighting for you, as long as you select open shade.
Items to have on hand: Depending on the ages and whether you are shooting indoors or outdoors you need a supply of items to catch and keep their interest and that look great in a photo: rattles feather dusters soft toys dolls hats mirrors a telephone (the bigger the better) a big whistle duplicate toys (for twins & overly competitive little ones) treats & snacks.
Tips to Enhance Architectural Photography
Jun 15th
There are many ways and techniques to click interior and exterior home photography. So let us see few basic tips which would help us to improve and enhance architectural photography.
Light
Light can increase the shadow, texture, contrast and reflections. The more level of contrast can also lead to the exposure of photo in an incorrect scene, but photographers can easily surmount it by just applying the compensation of exposure. Another method that we can do is that bracket the shots at different exposure and then merges them in a program.
Lens
A wide angle lens or the fish eye is perfect for this kind of photography as it allows the photographers to get the complete building into the frame. Yet sometimes the glass might not be able to include the complete scene, than you require the panoramic format.
Exterior and interior
Architecture photography is not restricted with the front of the building. It could be difficult to correct the white balance. Interior shots are difficult to take in the older buildings as there are small doors and windows, which actually lack natural light. So, try to use a tripod and you can also use the Nd filter to prevent the highlights while shooting in the day. You can also use supplementary lighting like diffused flashing.
Silhouette
If you want to shoot as the silhouette at sunset, than place the architecture between sun and yourself. Also ensure that the flash is deactivated. Night shots could be atmospheric and dramatic, but just remember to click them when there is just some color and light left in the sky as this would help to add tone in the backdrop and illuminate the detail. Make the use of long exposure and wide aperture.
Click in all weathers
Like the other kinds of photography, good images can be clicked in all kinds of weathers. Revisiting and shooting the building in the various weather conditions, can actually help a photographer to create a good portfolio of shots.
Reflection
It helps to add the extra dimensions to the architectural images. Use it in your photos as this would allow a photographer to create the canvas, where the building can be easily indistinct. Lots of reflexive surfaces are there, you do not actually need to practice. For example, water features windows, wet streets, modern art, rivers and puddles. Also they should not be graphic and aesthetic so one should play with the lines, shadows and lights.
How to be a Great Photographer
Aug 14th
Take one camera (digital or analog) and film as needed. Put film into camera (if necessary). Snap shutter. Before snapping shutter, point camera at a subject that will give the viewer a meaningful aesthetic experience.
For someone who has no idea of what a camera is, learning how to carry out the first part of the prescription should take anywhere from a week to a month. However, the second part will take from a few years to forever. It’s this part that I want to discuss.
There are several approaches to developing as a photographer.
1. Do nothing
A lot of people use their camera to record family celebrations and vacations and are content with the outcome.
2. Study web pages that have tips for better photographs
These will often help to tighten up your pictures. If you want to get a few ideas in a few minutes, this is the place to look.
3. Get your photographs critiqued at an appropriate website
This is a good way to learn how others respond to your pictures. But be careful. Not all criticism is equal. Some of your evaluators may be experienced professionals and others beginners. If you are going to rely on this method, it is important that you learn enough to evaluate the evaluators (see point 4).
4. Study the work of acknowledged great artists
By taking this route you can learn what elements contribute to a fine photograph. This takes time and study. Don’t simply look at a few photos but read art criticism to find out what professional educators think and why.
One drawback here is that you won’t be able to see how your work measures up. If you plan to take this route and also join a critique website (see point 3), you will be in a position to know which criticism to ignore and which to pay attention to.
5. Join a photography club
Clubs often have lectures, workshops, and juried shows. This can be a good hands-on learning experience.
6. Take a class (online or in person)
There are all sorts of classes. If you choose one that has assignments and feedback, you can be guided through the fundamentals by an experienced photographer.
7. Get a coach
At this point I have to say a few words about the difference between a competent photographer and a person who uses photography as an art form. The competent photographer will be able to produce pleasing postcard- or calendar-quality pictures that look like postcard and calendar pictures. The artist will be able to take photographs that represent his or her vision of the world. If you are after the former and not the latter, you should choose among methods 1 through 6. A good coach should help you develop your unique way of seeing.
8. Go to an art school
This, for people who have the time and the money, is by far the best. I studied at the San Francisco Art Institute. Here’s how it worked. I went to a photography class two or three times a week. At every class meeting each student pinned 20-30 photographs to the wall and, under the supervision of an accomplished professional, we criticized our own and one another’s work. We also took photography history classes as well as courses in other fields of art. Mine were film, drawing, sculpture, and printmaking. There were frequent guest lecturers. We never learned any rules. In fact, rules were never mentioned. But through a combination of years of exposure to all types of art, classical through contemporary, and having to produce 50-60 new photographs every week, we eventually learned what art was about.
There are many ways to improve your photography. Before you make your choice you should decide on your goal. If you have little time and just want to tidy up your pictures a bit, read the tips pages. On the other extreme, if your goal is to be an artist, there is nothing close to attending art school. Most people fall between these extremes.