Oh, dear! You just remembered you have a Zoom call in 5 minutes! Thankfully, you remembered in time, but unfortunately, your house is a mess. With everyone home so much lately, the cleanliness of your house has slowly backslid until somehow a certain amount of clutter has become the norm. But, piles of laundry and toys scattered across the floor Continue Reading
The post Which Green Screen for Video Conferencing? appeared first on Photodoto.
If you take pictures outside your home, it is bound to happen at one point or another. The moment when you feel everything is lost and doom is near — you drop your lens in water. Thankfully, the sky is not falling, and you can protect and save your precious equipment if you take the right and necessary steps quickly. Continue Reading
The post Can Camera Lens Get Wet: How to Dry a Camera Lens appeared first on Photodoto.
The post 14 Guidelines for Photographers to Live By appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by John McIntire.
It doesn’t matter if you’re brand new to photography or a seasoned pro with decades of experience; at some point or another, you’re going to develop some habits and behaviors that are counterproductive.
Without getting these habits in check, they can have a negative effect on your photography, whether on your portfolio in general, your love for the medium, or your workflow. Sometimes these behaviors can even be destructive to other people in ways you didn’t realize.
In this article, I’ll share 14 guidelines for photographers – designed to deal with some of these counterproductive behaviors and habits that I’ve come across.
Now, none of these are rules, and I am not presenting them as such. If you feel that a guideline doesn’t apply to you, I am not saying or implying that you are wrong for feeling that way. These are merely my thoughts based on my experiences.
So without further ado, here are 14 guidelines for photographers to live by.
One of the best things any photographer can do for their portfolio is reduce the number of images from any given session that they share with the public. By showing only the very best of your work, the quality of your portfolio and its impression on your viewers will increase.
Let’s say that you have a portrait session, and you normally share 10-15 photos from a set. All of the images might be good, but chances are that one or two of those images are much better than the rest. By sharing every photo, you are only diluting the quality of the best ones. Instead, only share the very best shots – this is what will make them shine.
Of course, it also means that you will have fewer images to share. How do you counteract this deficit in content?
Shoot more!
Now, this doesn’t mean you should shoot more images of the same subject. It means you should shoot more in general. For instance, if you’re a portrait shooter, then you should conduct more portrait sessions with more people.
This will give your portfolio more variety, as well as ensuring that you have plenty of images to share.
Canon 5D Mark III | Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM | 35mm | 326s | f/11 | ISO 100
Even if you don’t specialize in a single particular niche with your photography, you will probably wind up shooting the same genre (or a couple of genres) over and over again.
While you may be perfectly happy photographing the same subjects repeatedly, you also might start developing habits that guide how you photograph things. When you get set in your ways like this, it can become increasingly difficult to shake those systems and try things in new ways.
One way to counteract this is to shoot in a genre outside of what you normally photograph. Photographing subjects that require a completely different skill set than what you are used to will force you to actively think about what you are doing instead of going through the motions. This has helped me to come up with a solution to an unrelated problem more than once, as it helps you think about things from a completely different angle.
Shooting outside of your genre can also act as something of a palette cleanser. As a portrait photographer, when I do a long stretch of shooting nothing but portraits, it can feel a bit monotonous and stale. Getting out and shooting a landscape feels like a breath of fresh air and helps get me excited about portrait photography again.
There’s an old negative cliché about photographers shutting down when asked how something was done (and mentioning the words “trade secret”). Fortunately, I haven’t noticed any of this in recent years, and things have opened up quite a bit. That’s a great thing for everybody.
Don’t be afraid to share what you’ve learned. Not only will you be able to help someone else, but the act of trying to communicate something to somebody else only reinforces your understanding of it.
Everybody wins here. And I genuinely believe that when one of us grows, we all grow.
The barriers to entry for getting started in photography are lower than ever. The only thing that could be considered a real barrier is money, but only if you want to go all-in from the start and buy the fanciest camera and lenses.
Ultimately, this means that there’s pretty much nothing stopping anyone interested in photography from getting into it.
So owning a camera does not make you special. Calling yourself a photographer does not make you special. Having a great portfolio opens doors that other photographers can’t access, but it still does not make you special.
All too often, there are stories about photographers treating other people like dirt, acting entitled in public, and trashing landscapes. Photography forums can be some of the most toxic places on the internet. Yes, I know the vast majority of photographers aren’t like that, but it doesn’t excuse the poor behavior of the minority.
There is no reason to act that way. Be respectful to people. Be polite. Contrary to another old cliché, your photos do not speak for themselves, and acting decent will only help to strengthen people’s impression of your photography.
If you don’t want to be decent and you choose the other route, you may find that it closes a lot of doors – and there are a hundred other photographers right behind you, ready to take your place.
This is one of those things that is preached often in all walks of life and is critical for photographers to remember.
The world of photography is constantly changing. New technologies make it easier than ever to create images and get them out in the world. Therefore, new techniques and methods are popping up all the time.
By ensuring that you put regular effort into learning new skills (or into reinforcing old ones), you will stay ahead of the curve as things continue to change. Not only will this help improve your photography, but it will also help to enhance the skills that you already have. Things will take less time, and you will get more efficient.
By the way, this doesn’t just apply to image-making. It also applies to other important aspects of photography, such as marketing.
As you learn new things, you are going to have a lot of ideas.
Many of those ideas are going to be ridiculous. There’s no way they could ever work out.
So do them anyway.
Taking on difficult, unlikely, or even impossible challenges is one of the fastest ways to learn. To get what you want, you must put your problem-solving skills through their paces. Even if the result isn’t up to scratch, you will almost certainly have learned something from the process that you can use in the future.
This is something I wish I had learned much sooner than I did. Take those crazy ideas and run with them. If nothing works out, don’t show anyone!
Canon 5D Mark III | Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM | 28mm | 1/30s | f/6.3 | ISO 400
Okay, I can already hear you groaning, but hear me out.
Every genre in photography has concepts that have been shot over and over again by just about anybody that’s ever picked up a camera.
It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about portraits, landscapes, wildlife, or any other genre. If you need a visual example, search any photosharing site for “Derwent Water.” This is a lake in England’s Lake District National Park. What you should find is the exact same shot of a certain jetty a couple of thousand times over. Want another example? Search for “Skógafoss.”
So what?
Have they been done to death? Yes, definitely. Should you go there and take the same photo if you want to? Yes. Absolutely.
Should you take photos of birds perched on sticks? Should you take pictures of interesting doors? Should you take photos of swaddled newborns? Should you take photos of a ring on a book so the shadow looks like a heart?
Do you want to? Then the answer is “Yes.”
When it comes to clichés in photography, photographers get bored with them because we see them all the time. What you have to ask yourself is why they have become clichés in the first place. What has drawn people to photograph these things again and again? The answer is usually because they resonate with an audience.
In other words:
These things are clichés because people love them.
The audience for your photography should not be photographers (more on this later), so don’t be afraid to shoot something you like, or that might resonate with your viewers, even if another photographer might brand it as clichéd.
Once you’ve been doing photography for a while, it is likely that, at some point, it’s going to stop being fun for one reason or another. This happens all the time and it usually happens more than once.
This can result in a lack of motivation that can lead to feelings of contempt for a hobby you used to love.
To help stop this process before it starts, regularly shoot something just because it would be fun to do so. You don’t have to use the images for anything, but doing fun photoshoots will help make sure you are still connecting with the reasons you got into photography in the first place.
If you’re already experiencing a lack of motivation, do whatever you can to make sure that, the next time you pick up a camera, it is to do something solely for the sheer pleasure of photography.
A consistent output might just be one of the most underrated things a photographer can focus on.
To be clear, in this instance, I am talking about consistency in quality. I’m talking about ensuring that every time you pick up a camera for a purpose beyond self-gratification, you are producing the best photos you can with a variety of techniques.
(There is a lot of value in consistency of style and presentation across a portfolio, but that is another point for another time.)
It will not serve you well as a photographer to have a well-curated portfolio that you show to potential clients if you are unable to reproduce the same quality of photos over and over again.
Having a good portfolio is only the first step. If you get something good that you feel is portfolio-worthy, hammer down the techniques and make sure you can get similar results whenever you need to.
Is there a part of the image-making process that you don’t like? Perhaps retouching? Early sunrises? Do you just slog through it to get to the end result? Have you gone through steps you don’t like to get an image that you love, only to upload it somewhere or add it to your portfolio and find that it gets no response, or that people hate it?
I suspect something similar has happened to every photographer at one point or another. But what do you do when an image or a body of work doesn’t get the response you like or the one you expect?
Nothing. There is nothing you can do. You cannot control how other people react to things. If you can learn to accept that the only thing you can control is the process of creating the image, and then learn to love and focus on that process, you will be able to detach from the things you can’t control.
When the inevitable does happen and you don’t get the response you expected or wanted, you can shrug it off and move on to creating the next image.
One of the fastest ways to learn as a photographer is to solicit feedback from other photographers. Often, the best sort of feedback can also be the harshest, and it can be utterly deflating. Have you ever asked for a critique only to receive a huge list of errors? It can feel soul-crushing, especially to a new photographer. Unfortunately, embracing that sort of feedback remains one of the best ways to improve fast.
The trick is to learn how to detach from the emotional attachment you have with the image you created.
How do you do this? I wish I could say. The answer is different for everyone. Once you have managed to do it, you’ll find it much easier to take on even the harshest feedback.
Now, harsh feedback does not always mean good feedback. A critique should never include prescriptive mandates, personal attacks on character or motivation, unsolicited criticism, or abusive comments toward people in the images.
Also, take statements such as “I would have done such and such” with a grain of salt and judge their relevance on a case-by-case basis. If you come across any feedback like that, feel free to ignore it. The sort of person who behaves in that way does not have you or your photography in their best interests. They are only stroking their ego at your expense.
As photographers, we learn in different ways from different sources at different speeds. And we take the bits that work for us and apply them in a way that gets the results we want.
Everybody is different. It doesn’t matter if we are talking about lens choice, lighting choices, or retouching techniques. There is no right way, or proper way, to do anything in photography.
The only right way is the way that gets the job done.
I like to do my dodging and burning on separate gray layers. Other photographers like to do dodging and burning with curves layers. There are about a dozen other options that I can think of that all result in the same thing. It doesn’t matter what your preference is. If someone prefers a different method to you, great.
Yes, you can and should advise others on how you go about things; that’s all a part of sharing your knowledge, after all. Just try to leave the prescriptive mandates such as right and proper out of it.
If you are trying to get attention for your photography and you want to build an audience, then there is one demographic you should stop targeting:
Photographers.
Photographers rarely buy photography. A lot don’t even consume it for any reason other than comparison. Sure, peer recognition and validation feel nice, but when it comes to getting your work out there or starting a photography business, it has very little tangible value.
It’s as simple as that. Instead of posting your images where only photographers see them, look for the places where people are interested in the sort of subjects you cover.
Is this easy? No. If marketing were easy, then we’d all be rich and famous!
Canon 5D Mark III | Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Macro | 50mm | 1/125s | f/6.3 | ISO 100
Most of us don’t have a good grasp on how other people see our work.
Some photographers think everything they produce is fantastic. Some think everything they produce is utter rubbish. (Before anyone asks, I’m in the “utter rubbish” category.)
The problem is that we, as humans, are rarely objective judges when it comes to ourselves, and both extremes have serious downsides to them.
For the more confident personalities, it can be disheartening or downright depressing to think a photo is great only to have it be rejected by a wider audience. If this happens enough times, it can spell the end of your passion for photography.
For the self-critical camp, that’s only the beginning of the battle. I mean, what’s the point in even trying when you know that whatever you do is going to wind up terrible, anyway?
If you fall into one of these extremes, one answer is to try your best to remove any self-judgment from the process, good or bad. Try to come at your images with an analytical approach, and as mentioned above, focus on the process – because you have no control over how anyone else might react.
I hope this article has provided you with some food for thought on how some of the habits and tendencies we can develop as photographers negatively affect our output.
Even if you feel none of this applies to you, I hope you can see how evaluating your habits can lead you to a deeper understanding of how what you do and think affects your photography.
So remember these 14 guidelines for photographers; that way, you can learn and grow as much as possible.
Now over to you:
Are there any guidelines that I missed? And are there any additional negative behaviors that you often witness from photographers? Share your thoughts in the comments!
The post 14 Guidelines for Photographers to Live By appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by John McIntire.
The post How to Merge Photos in Affinity Photo: A Step-by-Step Guide appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.
If you want to merge photos in Affinity Photo, the process is surprisingly simple. But there are a few tips and tricks that will help you merge two or more photos – and help you make adjustments so your final image looks just the way you want it.
Digital imaging allows for endless manipulation and combining of photographs. Having a clear idea of what you want to achieve will make for a more efficient workflow. If you’re more interested in messing around and experimenting with how you can merge photos in Affinity, give yourself some time to play around. The possibilities are endless.
Getting started with merging photos may seem daunting. But the tools in Affinity Photo are designed to help you merge photos easily. The process can be completed quickly or it can take ages, depending on the photos you choose and the degree of detail you want.
A photo merge in Affinity Photo is the combination of two or more images to create a new one. You can merge similar or very different images.
For instance, I love creating photomontages. This involves merging many photos to create a single, cubist-like picture.
Merging several near-identical photos with different exposure values is known as high dynamic range (HDR) blending. You can also take a series of photos to make a panoramic image and merge them in Affinity Photo. These are very specific merging techniques that will not be covered in this article – but you will notice there are options under the top File menu for these functions.
In this article, I’ll take you through a step-by-step workflow for how to merge two photos in Affinity Photo. This will be helpful if you have two similar images you want to combine into one final, great-looking result.
For example:
If you’ve taken some portraits and your subject has blinked in many of the photos, you can use this technique to select their eyes from a photo where they are open and merge them with photos where their eyes are closed. That way, you can combine the best pose and facial expression with the best shot of your subject’s eyes.
Now let’s take a look at how to merge two images in Affinity Photo, starting with:
One of the most critical aspects of merging photos in Affinity is selecting suitable images. This depends on what your aim is. You may want to create a very realistic-looking merge, or you might want to make an image that is a complete fantasy.
Knowing what you want to achieve with your merge project will guide you in selecting photos. Picking photos taken with the same or a similar focal length lens is important when you want to achieve a realistic look. Trying to combine one photo taken with a 20mm lens and another with a 200mm lens will not look natural.
Photos taken from a similar perspective are also easier to merge for a more natural look. If you have one image taken from a low angle and the other taken looking down from above, then it will be very difficult to merge them so the final image looks realistic.
Lighting is also an important consideration. Having one of your photos taken in the shade and the other in full sunshine will make it more challenging to combine them for a natural-looking result.
To keep things simple, I am using two photos taken with the same lens and at the same location from a similar perspective:
Select the photo you want as the foreground. Copy and paste it onto your background image.
If one of the photos is bigger than the other, you’ll need to resize it. Select the Move Tool from the Tools panel (or tap the “V” key to select it).
Then click on the layer you want to resize in the Layers panel. Click and drag a corner of the bounding box that surrounds the photo. If you are resizing the background layer, you’ll first need to check the padlock icon in the Layers Panel to unlock it.
You can reduce the opacity of your top layer as you resize and position your photos. Drag the slider in the Layers panel down to about 50%. This makes it easier to see when your photo is the right size and in the best location. Then turn the opacity level back up to 100% again.
Using the Selection Brush Tool (“W” on the keyboard), carefully select the areas of the foreground photo that you want to keep. This tool will auto-select based on contrast. So where there are elements with little contrast between what you’re selecting and the background, you may have to manually refine your selection.
Zoom in on problem areas and reduce the brush size, then select with precision. In places where the selection accidentally covers an area you don’t want to select, press and hold the Alt key (Option on a Mac) and paint over the area to deselect it.
Finally, look over the entire edge of your selection to ensure you’ve only selected areas that you want to be selected.
Once you’re satisfied with your selection, click the Refine button in the Tool menu above the image. A dialogue box will appear with various options, all designed to help you refine your selection. Use the various sliders to make adjustments. How much you need to move the sliders is somewhat based on the size and resolution of the photos you’re working on.
When you’re finished, click Apply.
At the bottom of the Layers panel, click on the Mask Layer icon. This is a light rectangle with a dark circle in it. The unwanted parts of your image will become masked out. You can make further alterations to this layer mask using the Brush tool. To remove more of the image, paint with a black brush. You can switch to a white brush to restore the areas you painted out.
Now your two images should be merged and looking more how you want them to.
However, depending on the photos you’re working with, you may still want to make some changes. If the lighting in both photos is different, you can use a Linear or Radial Gradient filter to add light.
In my example, I used a Blur filter on the background image to help create a sense of depth. To do this, select Filters>Blur>Gaussian Blur from the top menu. Move the slider until you have a satisfactory amount of blur.
I also used a Levels adjustment on my background layer so that it better matched the tones of my foreground photo.
This step can be endless. There are many adjustments you can make to get your two photos looking as similar or as different as you like.
You can merge photos in Affinity Photo with great ease and effectiveness.
Note that having a clear idea of what you want to create helps speed up the process of merging images. When you are not sure of the final outcome, you can spend endless hours experimenting until you get a result you are happy with.
Practice with the various tools and learn how to use them well. Duplicating your layers and preserving the originals is a good safety step. If you’ve duplicated your layers and hidden them, you can always revert back to the original if you make a mistake or overwork a layer.
Have fun while you learn to merge photos in Affinity. Take your time, experiment, and be as creative as you like!
The post How to Merge Photos in Affinity Photo: A Step-by-Step Guide appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.
The post Learning about Exposure – The Exposure Triangle appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darren Rowse.
Bryan Peterson has written a book entitled Understanding Exposure. I highly recommend you read it if you want to venture off of your digital camera’s Auto mode and start experimenting with its manual settings.
In Understanding Exposure, Bryan illustrates the three main elements that need to be considered when setting your exposure. He calls them the “exposure triangle.”
Each of the three aspects of the triangle relates to light and how it enters and interacts with your camera.
So if you’re ready to become an expert in exposure…
…read on!
The exposure triangle has three corners:
It is at the intersection of these three elements that an image’s exposure is determined.
Now, exposure refers to the overall brightness of an image.
So depending on your camera settings, you might end up with an exposure like this, which is too bright:
Or an exposure like this, which is too dark:
Or an exposure like this, which is just right:
Here’s the most important thing to remember:
A change in one of the elements will impact the others.
This means you can never really isolate just one part of the exposure triangle. You need to always have each corner of the exposure triangle in the back of your mind.
Many people describe the relationship between ISO, aperture, and shutter speed using different, easy-to-follow metaphors. And in the next section, I’ll share with you three of those metaphors.
A quick word of warning first, though:
Like most metaphors, these are far from perfect and are just for illustrative purposes. So learn from them, but make sure you don’t take them too seriously.
Imagine your camera is like a window with shutters that open and close.
The aperture is the size of the window. If the window is bigger, then more light gets through and the room is brighter.
Shutter speed is the amount of time that the shutters of the window are open. The longer you leave the shutters open, the more light that comes in.
Now imagine you’re inside the room and are wearing sunglasses (hopefully this isn’t too much of a stretch!). The sunglasses desensitize your eyes to the light that comes in, and this represents a low ISO.
There are a number of ways to increase the amount of apparent light in the room. You could increase the time that the shutters are open (i.e., decrease the shutter speed), you could increase the size of the window (i.e., increase aperture), or you could take off your sunglasses (i.e., increase the ISO).
It’s not a perfect illustration, but you get the idea.
Another way to think about exposure in photography is to think about taking a photo as getting a suntan.
Now, a suntan is something I always wanted when I was growing up. But unfortunately, because I was very fair-skinned, it was something that I never really achieved. All I did was get burned when I went out into the sun. In a sense, skin sensitivity is like an ISO rating, because some people are more sensitive to the sun than others.
Shutter speed, in this metaphor, is the length of time you spend outside. The longer you stay in the sun, the higher your chances of getting a tan (of course, spending too long in the sun can mean being overexposed!).
Aperture is like sunscreen that you apply to your skin. Sunscreen blocks the sun at different rates, depending on its strength.
Apply a high-strength sunscreen, and you decrease the amount of sunlight that gets through. As a result, even a person with highly sensitive skin can spend more time in the sun. (In photography terms: Decrease the aperture, and you can slow down the shutter speed and/or increase the ISO).
A third metaphor I’ve heard used is the garden hose.
Here, the circumference of the hose nozzle is the aperture, the time that the hose is left on is the shutter speed, and the pressure of the water is ISO.
If you increase the circumference of the nozzle, increase the length of time the hose is left on, and increase the water pressure, then your garden is going to get really wet (i.e., it’ll get overexposed). But if you decrease the circumference of the nozzle, shorten the time the hose is left on, or decrease the water pressure, your garden will stay relatively dry (i.e., it’ll get underexposed).
The key is to find a nice balance of nozzle size, length of time, and water pressure; that way, you can have a perfectly-watered (i.e., well-exposed!) garden.
As I’ve said, none of the metaphors are perfect. But they all illustrate the interconnectedness of shutter speed, aperture, and ISO on your digital camera.
Mastering the art of exposure is something that takes a lot of practice. In many ways, it’s a juggling act, and even the most experienced photographers experiment and tweak their settings as they go.
Keep in mind that changing each element doesn’t just impact the exposure of the image. Each exposure element influences other aspects of your photo, as well.
Changing the aperture changes the depth of field; changing the ISO changes the graininess of the shot; changing the shutter speed impacts how motion is captured.
The great thing about digital cameras is that they’re ideal for learning about exposure. You can take as many shots as you like at no cost. Plus, digital cameras generally have semi-automatic modes like Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority, which allow you to make decisions about one or two elements of the exposure triangle while the camera handles the rest.
A lot more can be said about each of the three elements in the exposure triangle. So check out these articles, which cover each point of the triangle in greater depth:
The post Learning about Exposure – The Exposure Triangle appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darren Rowse.
The post Capture One 21 Has Been Released, a Powerful Alternative to Lightroom appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
Just last week, Phase One launched the latest version of their Capture One software:
Capture One 21, which offers several powerful new features, plus all the tools that made the post-processing program so compelling in the first place.
While Capture One is often pitched as a Lightroom alternative, it’s known among photographers as the “advanced” all-in-one photo editor, geared toward serious hobbyists and professionals looking for extensive editing capabilities in a single package.
In other words:
Compared to Lightroom, Capture One is more difficult to learn – but also the better program, once you get the hang of it. In nearly every area, Capture One (including Capture One 21) matches Lightroom edit for edit. But the program also outperforms Lightroom in a few key ways, which is why more and more serious photographers have been making the conversion to Capture One.
So what does Capture One 21 offer?
First, the new features:
Capture One 21 now boasts a Dehaze slider, which removes haze from your photos for a crisp, contrasty look.
You also get improved color profiles for certain cameras, including Sony’s high-end mirrorless models, plus a handful of Nikon and Canon DSLRs and MILCs.
Phase One has also promised performance upgrades, claiming that with Capture One 21 it’ll be “faster than ever to search and browse photos.” There’s also a brand-new “Speed Edit” feature, which lets you quickly edit images without using sliders; instead, you can make changes with a few hotkeys and the scroll wheel.
Additional new features include Capture One’s support of 8-bit HEIC files, so you can edit your HEIC smartphone photos directly in Capture One, and a set of integrated tips and tutorials for mastering Capture One 21 as quickly as possible.
Of course, Capture One 21 also packs its usual standout features. First, there’s the class-leading color tools, which allow you to take your photos to the next level with selective color adjustments and precise color grading.
Then there’s the powerful digital asset management capabilities, which allow for both session-based and catalog-based organization, plus keywording, comprehensive export options, and seamless Photoshop integration.
Finally, there’s a suite of powerful adjustment tools, including layers, luminosity masking, levels, curves, and more.
For advanced photographers looking for a comprehensive alternative to Lightroom, Capture One 21 is the way to go. You can grab it here starting at $ 129 USD for a one-time license, or you can purchase a subscription starting at $ 9.99 USD per month. Alternatively, you can download a 30-day free trial right here.
Now over to you:
Have you tried Capture One software? Are you a fan? And which do you prefer, Capture One or Adobe Lightroom? Share your thoughts in the comments!
The post Capture One 21 Has Been Released, a Powerful Alternative to Lightroom appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
The post 7 Tips for Taking Better Photographs of Cars appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Desmond Louw.
Taking photos of cars is such an interesting activity; it’s like doing science. Every time you shoot a car, you’ll learn something from it!
That’s why I would like to share some basic guidelines to get you started with car photography.
And by the time you’ve finished this article, you should be one step closer to getting gorgeous photos of cars!
This is by far the most common mistake people make when shooting cars.
You see, the best time to do car photography is a few minutes after sunset (or a few minutes before sunrise). Use a tripod and get that perfect soft light on the paint.
This photo was taken for Top Gear a few minutes before sunrise:
You must carefully control what reflects in the car. Have a look around you, then look closely at the car and see what reflects off its surface.
A car (especially a new, shiny one) is like a mirror. So try to have an open space behind you, like a field. Also, try to avoid shooting with buildings or trees in front of the car. One of the most important things you want to show in your car pictures is the design lines of the car. But reflections can spoil these lines very quickly.
Also, be very careful not to include your own reflection in the photo. If you can’t avoid your own reflection, it’s best to put the camera on a tripod, set the timer, and move out of the shot. Just look at this photo I took of a dark shiny BMW 428i (below); behind me was nothing except the horizon. In fact, you can clearly see the horizon reflecting in the car:
One very easy way to get a cool image is to shoot the car out of another moving car. (Please be super careful when doing this!)
For instance, try shooting the car out of a window while driving at 37 mph (60 km/h) with a shutter speed of 1/100s or so.
By doing this, you’ll get some nice movement on the road and on the wheels. You can even decrease the shutter speed further, though this will increase your chances of ending up with blurry photos.
This Audi S3 was shot before sunset; it was driving at 70 km/h (43 mph), and I used a shutter speed of 1/125s:
All types of paint react differently at different times of the day with different light. Most colors hate direct sunlight, but some colors actually handle direct sunlight really well.
Just look at this baby blue Beetle shot in the middle of the day:
Make sure your background suits the car and the theme. Avoid including objects in the background that will distract the eye.
Things like dustbins, power lines, and other cars can kill a picture. For this Aston Martin shot (below), I used a simple background. The yellow paint matches the car’s color:
A cool way to get some motion in your car photography is to stand next to the road and let the car drive past you.
Follow the car with your lens in one smooth action and set the shutter speed to 1/125s. You will be amazed by how easy this is!
This Ferrari was shot at 1/125s at 200mm. The car was driving roughly 37 mph (60 km/h):
Here’s another way to capture a photo that speaks to you:
Make the car interact with its surroundings.
Examples of this could be a car creating dust or a 4×4 driving over an obstacle. Look at this Chevrolet Trailblazer climbing over a rock:
And this G-Class AMG drifting on loose sand:
Photographing cars at night might sound daunting, but you will be amazed by how easy and awesome it is! The biggest secret here is to find a spot where it’s completely dark; any streetlights or even a full moon could make life tricky.
Once you’ve found the right spot, set up your camera on a tripod. Set your ISO to 100, the shutter speed to 30 seconds, and the aperture to f/9.
When the shutter opens, take a strong constant light source and walk around the car, “painting” it with your light. A normal household flashlight works for this.
There are no rules here. Paint the car in different ways to get different effects, and you will be blown away by the results! Here are some examples of this technique:
Car photography may seem difficult, but with these handy tips, you’re well-equipped to take some stunning car photos of your own.
So pick your favorite technique from the article, get outside, and start shooting!
Do you have any other car photography tips or favorite images you’ve taken of cars? Please share them in the comments below.
The post 7 Tips for Taking Better Photographs of Cars appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Desmond Louw.
The post Posing Guide: 21 Sample Poses to Get You Started with Photographing Couples appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Guest Contributor.
This is a guest post by Kaspars Grinvalds from Posing App.
In this posing guide series, we’ve looked at posing female subjects, posing male subjects, and posing children. In those individual portraits, the main subject is a single person with a single personality. But couple photography is more about connection, interaction, and above all, feelings between two people. Generally, you’re working with very deep and passionate feelings, which is what makes couple photography so delightful and positive.
Couples are pretty easy to engage in a photoshoot. If they are initially a bit shy or feeling uncomfortable, just ask them to show you how they felt and looked when they met for the first time. You will touch them on an emotional level, providing you with natural and loving expressions in their portraits.
However, creating strong couple poses presents its own difficulties. That’s why we’re offering 21 simple, easy poses for photographing couples – so you can get started taking stunning couple photos, today.
Make sure you take both close-up and vertical shots.
Ask the couple to stand very close to one another to create intimate close-up portraits. Don’t be afraid to zoom in and crop real tight!
This is a very easy and cordial pose, with one partner holding the other from behind. The couple may look straight into the camera or at each other. They can even kiss for a more emotive shot.
This is a fun and loving pose, with one partner holding onto the other partner’s back and shoulders.
Pay attention to hand positioning; it should be simple and natural.
This is just a variation on the previous pose, with one partner holding the other from behind.
Remember that the couple doesn’t necessarily have to look into the camera. For better results, make them interact with each other by talking, offering flirtatious looks, laughing, etc.
This pose creates a very romantic mood, and it works best when outdoors with some open space in the background.
Shoot only slightly from behind the couple.
And remember that you have to be far enough to the couple’s side to capture each person’s closest eye. Otherwise, you will create an impersonal, empty shot.
Find some elevation and shoot your subjects from above.
A common pose shot from an unusual angle is always creative and will often reward you with surprisingly good results.
This is another romantic pose. It works best outdoors with some open space in the background.
It also works very well as a silhouette against a bright background (in front of a sunset, for example).
This is an easy-to-create pose for a full-height shot. It’ll give your photos a calm and affectionate mood.
This one’s a fun pose, but don’t assume that it only works with younger people. If an older couple feels fine with it, this pose will work superbly with them, as well.
Try different framings, take full-height shots, half-height shots, and close-ups.
This is a very nice way to show the affection a couple felt when they first met each other.
It works very well in crowded places, such as a famous meeting point in a city, at a train or metro station, etc.
This pose offers a little bit of fun!
The crucial part is the leg positioning of your jumping subject; each leg should be bent at different angles.
Oh, and take a close-up portrait shot, as well.
Take shots of the partners walking hand in hand as they approach from a distance.
Shoot in Burst mode only, because the majority of your shots will look awkward thanks to the leg movement. Therefore, the second part of your job is to select the photos with the best leg movement and positioning afterward.
This is another pose with a walking couple. This time, the couple should walk close together and hold onto each other.
As with the previous pose, take several shots and choose the ones with the most elegant leg positioning.
Never forget that there are often good opportunities when shooting from behind! This is a simple pose, but one that looks amazing when done right.
For this one, the couple should lie close together on the ground.
Ask them to lift their upper bodies a bit and use their arms for support. One partner might embrace the other partner gently. Shoot from a very low angle.
Here’s another variant with the couple lying on the ground, but this time with a little space between the partners.
This is a nice example of an asymmetrical pose, with one person positioned slightly above the other.
This is an informal and fun way to pose – with the couple lying on their backs.
Here’s a very cordial pose; ask the couple to sit comfortably on their favorite sofa.
Shooting a couple may mean maternity photography.
Some poses from this couples series work pretty well for such an occasion. Simply adjust the pose accordingly to show the couple’s feelings about the baby!
This one here is a classic, and looks nice for pretty much any couple:
Here’s 16 of our favorite couple poses for you to print and take with you on your next couple shoot:
Also, make sure you look at these couple poses as a starting point only.
That’s the reason why they are rough sketches instead of real photos. You cannot, and should not, repeat the poses exactly; instead, adjust the poses creatively according to your shooting environment and scenario.
The post Posing Guide: 21 Sample Poses to Get You Started with Photographing Couples appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Guest Contributor.
The post Weekly Photo Challenge – Landscape 2020 appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Sime.
We’ve done ‘Landscape’ before now, but after Darren posted this over on our Facebook page, and with the number of awesome replies, I thought it might be a nice time to see what landscape photographs you’re taking, around where you live, in 2020.
Make sure you tag your photograph #dPSLandscape2020 if you post on social media
If you haven’t had a look at the images that jumped out at us from our November Challenges, take a look over here, and see all of the previous challenges HERE.
We want to see your ‘landscape’ and for some, that might be the confines of your house or your local area, you can interpret the theme to suit your environment, or you can wander out into a forest – take a moment, get outside and make your landscape photograph.
Make sure you tag your photograph #dPSLandscape2020 if you post on social media
Simply upload your shot into the comments field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see. Or, if you’d prefer, upload them to your favourite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them.
You can also share your images in the dPS Facebook group as the challenge is posted there each week as well.
The post Weekly Photo Challenge – Landscape 2020 appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Sime.
The post Focus, Compose, and Expose with Intent in Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.
Why do you take photographs? What’s your intention each time you press the shutter button? Do you visualize how you want your photo to look before you take it? When you photograph with intent, the pictures you make resonate more with the people who view them.
All of us have a unique worldview. No two people perceive what they see precisely the same way. Learning to express what you see through the lens of your camera requires paying attention to more than what you are looking at. You must also have intent as to how you want your photos to turn out.
Just as a musician’s instrument or a painter’s brush creates nothing on its own, your camera does not take photographs.
Instead, the interaction you have with your camera is what creates photos. The quality and creativity of your photographs depends on the level of synergy between photographer and camera. The connection between you and your chosen subject is also significant.
Modern digital cameras are all designed to be as simple as possible to use – especially consumer-level cameras. Scene modes, auto-exposure, autofocus, auto-everything allows unskilled photographers to take snapshots that turn out pretty well.
When I was a kid, our neighbors had a pianola. This was a piano that had a handy mechanism: we could push pedals with our feet and the pianola would play tunes. There were special rolls of paper with holes punched in them that could be loaded into the front of the pianola. As we pedaled, the paper roll would turn. The configuration of the holes determined what tune was played. We were playing music without being musicians.
This is similar to using a camera with its auto-functions turned on. It can be fun, and there will be a certain, but limited, satisfaction as pictures are created. Just as we loved “playing” the pianola, you can take photos with minimal creative input or skill.
To take truly wonderful photos, however, you must interact with your camera and your subject with intent. Relying on camera technology to make it easy to take photos will not make you a great photographer.
Being familiar with your camera and its controls means you can concentrate more on the art of photography. You’ll no longer be distracted by the technical aspects of the camera.
Learn to control your exposure, focus, white balance, and all the other settings. As you do this, you will grow in confidence and begin to “see” what you are photographing in different ways.
Cameras used in auto-exposure mode tend to make very generically-exposed images. Your camera is programmed to do things in certain ways to produce photos with an even exposure. But the more you take charge of what your camera is doing, the more creative your photography becomes.
Understand the exposure meter. Use your spot meter to measure the light from different zones in your composition. Experiment with manual exposure settings. Don’t always adhere to what the meter tells you is “correct.” Control where you are focusing and the amount of the image that is sharp.
This may all seem a bit overwhelming if you’re new to photography, or if you’ve been using your camera for years without adjusting the controls. But remember: We could not add any creative expression to the tunes we played with the pianola. Unless you intentionally set your camera’s controls, your photos will lack creativity.
Think about how you want your photos to look before you take them. Do you want to record a scene exactly as you see it? Or will your frame it in such a way as to exclude some ugly elements?
Make constant choices about what focal length lens you’ll use. How much of what you see will you include in the final shot? The same scene photographed with a 24mm lens will look very different than if you back up and photograph it with a 200mm lens.
How do you want your exposure to look? Will exposing for the highlights or shadows create a more interesting atmosphere? Are there things in the shadow areas you want to hide or reveal? When you have control over your exposure, you have the capability to express yourself in more creative ways.
Your choice of when you press the shutter release to take the photo can have an important creative influence on the outcome. This is sometimes a matter of a split second, or it can be a matter of waiting for the season to change. Picking the decisive moment when photographing a child playing versus photographing a landscape is very different. But timing is equally relevant to making good pictures.
Are you seeing in color or in black and white? Will your subject look more interesting as a monotone image? Will this alter the feeling of the photo? If you are intentional about color as you’re taking photos, you’ll create more compelling images.
As you’re taking photos, think about why you want to photograph your chosen subject. What has drawn you to want to make a picture of this person, thing, or scene?
When you think about the why, you can start to see your subject in new ways. Being aware of what motivates you can have an influence on how you photograph something.
Does your subject mean something personal to you? How can you show this in the photos you take? There are many ways you can choose to control your camera, or where you take your photos from, that will influence the final shot. Being aware of how you compose and expose your subjects will help build a story into your images.
Your photos will move from being snapshots to works of art that have depth and convey meaning.
The more you are aware of what you want your photographs to look like, the more interesting they will be to you and to others.
Photographing with intent takes practice. It may seem somewhat abstract when you first try.
But, like anything creative, the more you apply yourself and practice, the better you will become – and this will show in your photos.
The post Focus, Compose, and Expose with Intent in Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.