The organizers behind The Photography Show and The Video Show, have announced the event is being postponed due to ongoing concerns regarding COVID-19 (the coronavirus). Originally set to take place from March 14 through March 17 at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England, the event will now take place at a later time in 2020, if all goes according to plan.
In the statement shared on The Photography Show website, organizers say they have ‘taken the extremely difficult decision to postpone The Photography Show & The Video Show until later in the year, when we will be able to deliver the show you deserve.’
The organizers note any current ticket-holders will be able to use their tickets for the future event, whenever the dates are established. In the event attendees aren’t able to attend at the future date, they will have the option to receive a refund, including any ‘Extras’ purchased alongside the main ticket.
According to The Photography Show website, over 300 brands and 32,000 visitors show up annually to see the latest products and attend over 270 talks, demos and galleries over the course of the four-day show. Canon, Epson, Fujifilm, Nikon, Panasonic, Rode, Sony, and Westcott are just a few of the featured exhibitors who are planning to attend the event. The organizers say they will ‘aim to keep the programme the same where possible, subject to speakers being available for the new dates [and] hope that the exhibitor list will remain much the same.’
You can visit The Photography Show’s website to view more details.
The post 6 Reasons Why Dedicated Cameras are Better than Smartphones for Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.
Modern smartphone cameras are amazing! They have facilitated an explosion in photography that shows no signs of stopping. Mobile phone cameras, apps, editing, and sharing have given people access to creative outlets that were unthinkable a mere 15 years ago. If the best camera is the one you have with you, then 9 times out of 10, the best camera is right in your pocket! Despite the advances in smartphone cameras, there are still few things smartphone cameras lack. So, in this article, we’ll explore why dedicated cameras are better than smartphones for photography. In other words, there are some photos you just can’t get with a smartphone.
Reasons why dedicated cameras are better than smartphones for photography
Nikon D7100, 85mm, f/2.8, 1/1000 second, ISO 100
1. Software vs. Physics
The first of the 5 reasons why dedicated cameras are better than smartphones for photography, is software vs physics.
I don’t want to sound like an old man yelling at clouds, decrying all modern technologies that might make my life better. Smartphone cameras and computational photography are incredible! They can use software and artificial intelligence to capture incredible images of night skies and portrait-style images with blurry backgrounds.
But digital trickery and software manipulations are no match for a mastery of light and physics, and this is where dedicated cameras still have an edge.
Most smartphones have lenses that approximate roughly a 28mm field of view on a full-frame camera. Some have second lenses that go a bit wider, usually about 15mm. It’s also not uncommon for higher-end phones to have a telephoto lens as well, which is roughly equivalent to a 50mm lens.
Nearly all smartphone cameras are stuck at a single aperture value as well, which gives you limited control over a key element of exposure. While there is much that can be done in software to overcome the inherent limitations of these lenses and focal lengths, sometimes you just need a separate camera to get the shot.
2. Foreground Blur
Nikon D7100, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/2000 second, ISO 100
Any smartphone can take pictures of flowers. This particular image shows a backlit flower whose petals are glowing with sunlight streaking in from above and behind, and a mobile phone could capture that just fine. However, there is one key element of this image that’s impossible on a smartphone – the foreground blur.
Smartphones have come a long way with so-called portrait-style photography. Portrait mode involves software combined with depth data that allows a smartphone to blur the background.
But not the foreground.
This is one of the things smartphone cameras lack. Try it for yourself!
Take a portrait-style photo with your smartphone but include objects in the foreground that you would like to blur. The background will get blurry, but the foreground will remain in focus.
Blurring both the foreground and background is a time-honored technique to add a sense of depth and perspective to your photos. Perhaps one day the software and AI techniques used on mobile phones will be able to replicate this. But, for now, if you’re using a smartphone, you’re stuck with just background blur.
3. Telephoto Zoom
Nikon D500, 200mm, f/8, 1/400 second, ISO 900
While smartphone cameras have had pinch-to-zoom capabilities for over a decade, it amounts to little more than just cropping your pictures. Modern smartphones do a better job of interpolating data between pixels and adjusting exposure values on the fly, but at the end of the day, you’re still just cropping.
In the process, you lose a lot of detail. And even then, you just can’t zoom in very far. It’s definitely one of the things smartphone cameras lack, despite some recent advances.
One classic example of this is a picture of the moon.
Smartphone lenses, and the laws of physics, make pictures like this impossible. You have probably noticed if you have ever tried to do a pinch-and-zoom photo of our nearest celestial neighbor.
You’ll need a dedicated camera if you want to get crisp, detailed photos of faraway objects. And this is just another reason dedicated cameras are better than smartphones.
Nikon D500, 200mm, f/2.8, 1/3000 second, ISO 100
Smartphones aren’t great for most long-distance shooting scenarios, such as this picture of a horse in the pasture.
While pinch-and-zoom can make it seem like you’re getting closer, you won’t get a tack-sharp, high-resolution image suitable for printing and framing.
Like everything tech-related, this is getting better and will improve with time. Some phones now are using stacked periscope-style lenses combined with software and AI processing to mimic 10x or even 100x zoom lenses. Right now, these make interesting tech demos, but the results don’t have the same level of clarity, color, and fidelity as you would get from a DSLR or mirrorless camera with a zoom lens attached.
4. Background compression
Nikon D7100, 200mm, f/2.8, 1/1500 second, ISO 100
Another reason dedicated cameras are better than smartphones is background compression.
Something interesting happens when you shoot photos with a telephoto zoom: the background appears to move closer to your subject.
It’s called background compression and is a time-honored compositional technique to make your subjects stand out and take your images up to another level. It’s also impossible to do on a smartphone.
In the picture above, the building is very far away from the woman walking in the foreground. Shooting with a telephoto lens compresses the background and makes it seem much closer.
Nikon D750, 200mm, f/4, 1/400 second, ISO 3200
In this family photo, you can see the trees and leaves in the background, which are very far away. However, they appear closer as a result of background compression.
While some smartphone cameras do have some limited zoom capability, their smaller lenses and image sensors simply do not allow for these types of pictures.
5. Fast action
Before I get too far in this section, I want to point out that smartphones are good at capturing some types of fast action. These conditions are fairly limited, though.
You have to be close to your subject, which isn’t possible in a lot of action situations. It also helps if you can lock focus on a specific area where you know the subject will be, or else have a smartphone with amazing autofocus capabilities. And if you can meet those challenges, then your phone could produce some good results.
For a lot of fast action, though, you need a DSLR or mirrorless camera. It helps to have a good lens attached too.
This will let you stand on the sidelines while getting up close and personal with your subjects. It helps to shoot with a wide aperture too, which will let you get a fast shutter speed and freeze the action.
Nikon D750, 185mm, f/4, 1/500 second, ISO 100
These types of action shots are impossible on smartphones because pinch-to-zoom just can’t get the job done. You’ll get pictures that are pixellated, blurry, or out of focus because smartphones are not able to match the speed and capability of a dedicated camera.
In the picture below, I was sitting in the stern of a boat zoomed in to 200mm. I had to use tracking autofocus to keep the picture sharp. My brother was also in the boat with his smartphone, and he didn’t like any of the shots he got.
Nikon D7100, 200mm, f/2.8, 1/2000 second, ISO 100
6. Portraits
The last of my reasons that dedicated cameras are better than smartphones relates to portrait photography.
This one might ruffle some feathers because phones have gotten so much better at portraits in recent years. In fact, some people can’t even tell the difference between portrait-style images shot on mobile phones and actual portraits taken with a dedicated camera. I have trouble sometimes too. In the coming years, mobile phones are going to keep getting better and better.
For now, and into the foreseeable future, dedicated cameras still have a significant advantage.
Software and AI, and computational horsepower can do a lot, but they can’t keep up with a good lens and physics.
In the picture below, the girl’s eyes are tack sharp but there is a subtle falloff as you look towards the edge of her face. Her hair goes from sharp to blurry in a smooth, even fashion.
The background isn’t just blurry – it’s obliterated. Mobile phones can’t do that.
Nikon D750, 170mm, f/2.8, 1/180 second, ISO 100
You don’t need expensive gear to take great portraits either.
In fact, you can spend far less on a used DSLR or Mirrorless camera than you would on a mobile phone with portrait mode.
The shot below was taken on a Nikon D200, which came out in 2006, and can be found today for about $ 150.
The lens is a cheap 50mm f/1.8. And the results blow away anything you can get from a mobile phone.
All the subtle details, like the way her eye is in focus but her ears are slightly blurry, to her hair slowly fading away, to the bokeh in the background, make this image a cut above what you could get from a smartphone. Just another reason that dedicated cameras are better than smartphones for photography.
Nikon D200, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/250 second, ISO 400
Conclusion
Before anyone gets out a bucket of tar and some feathers, please understand that I think smartphone cameras are amazing!
Despite the things smartphone cameras lack, they can take incredible pictures and technology will only make them better with time. I just think it’s important to understand their limitations and have a sense of some of the pictures they can’t yet achieve.
What about you?
I’m curious what your experience has been with smartphone pictures. Does your smartphone take the kinds of shots you want, or have you found that it can’t yet replace your DSLR or mirrorless camera?
I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to share your thoughts and example images in the comments below.
The post 6 Reasons Why Dedicated Cameras are Better than Smartphones for Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.
The post Images and Text: The Untapped Power of Photography Blogs appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.
There is a lot of advice online about blogging for photographers. It’s often extremely good advice, and applicable to most photographers. But the advice is often more about the technical aspect of setting up a blog, or how to grow a blog to support a photographic business. Very rarely are they about the power of photography blogs for creative development.
There’s nothing wrong with creating a photography blog if you’re in business, of course. But what about if you want to use a blog to help you develop creatively? Or to explore different aspects of an ongoing photography project?
Blogs can be a great tool for inspiring creativity in photographers. For this reason, I think you should consider the idea of writing alongside your documentary or fine art photography practice.
Writing to develop your creativity
The most basic way to think about blogging for your photography is as an archival tool. By posting images and commentary regularly and then looking back through your archives, you will be able to see the journey that you have been on.
If you make your blog public, it also allows others to see the work that you’ve done – something a documentary photographer might find particularly useful.
I’ve been writing a “Behind the Image” series on my blog. I record my thoughts about the image-making process and sometimes ideas on what I might do in the future.
By understanding your journey, you can plan a path for the future of your photography. You’ll be able to more easily see what worked and what didn’t.
Being able to look at your entire body of work in a timeline format can be very beneficial.
Sometimes, because you see your own work all the time, it can feel like you aren’t making progress. There can be a real feeling that you aren’t creating anything new and exciting photographically.
But a blog can help with that by reminding you of pictures that you took months, or even years ago. The power of photography blogs comes from being able to compare your current pictures with this older work you will surely see an inspirational improvement.
A picture can paint a thousand words – but should it have to?
I always remember being told when I was learning photography, that if you had to explain a photograph beyond a title, it failed as an image. I suppose in a way that was good for me – it certainly made me work harder with my storytelling.
But I never understood why it should be the case that photographs should not be accompanied by words.
Is a title enough to explain a photo?
I wonder if this comes from a desire to imitate grand historical paintings that were full of signs and symbols.
Back then, the educated audience would have largely understood the visual language used. But it would also have been common for the owner of the painting to show off his knowledge by explaining it to his friends.
You’ll find that these paintings did often have long accompanying explanations – they just weren’t written down.
Of course, there will always be images that stand without words and tell a great story. But these images and series are comparatively rare – most images are at least helped out by the inclusion of a title.
A Japanese tradition
It’s often observed that the favored publishing medium for the greats of Japanese photography has been the photobook.
The book format allows photographers to write texts to accompany their images, and these texts are often quite lengthy. Certainly, they amount to more than a mere caption or title.
Publishing texts alongside their photographs in books and magazines means that their words can be every bit as influential as their images. This kind of approach is rarely seen in Western photographic traditions. I can’t help but wonder if blogs had been invented many years earlier if Japanese photographers would have harnessed the power of photography blogs alongside photobooks and magazine publishing.
Japanese photographers have traditionally explored photobooks as a way to put their images alongside the text they write.
The result of this writing that accompanies their photographs is often the feeling of a more intimate relationship with the photographer and their work. The viewed can gain more of a sense of why the photographer took the images and a deeper connection with the photographs.
It also gives the photographer a chance to link their work more closely to current affairs or politics. These themes are often reflected in the images and writing of the early pioneers of Japanese photography who lived through the Second World War.
How to write about photography
There are lots of different ways that you could write about your work on a blog and being able to mix and match styles is a power of photography blogs.
In the past, I have favored blog posts reflecting on how and why I took and photo. I like to also speculate about what I might do differently if I was to approach the same subject again.
Other photographers have taken a more reflective approach, considering their thoughts and feelings at the time they shot the image. This incredibly personal approach to writing about photographs is understandably too intimate for some. But when it works, it can help a photographer develop creatively, while bringing the audience on their journey with them.
One way to retain flexibility when blogging about your work might be to approach it like a diary. That way you can vary your approach on any given day. Let your mood and the photograph dictate how personal you want your words to be.
Alternatively, you could take an altogether more academic approach. Looking at aesthetics or even the technical aspects of photography and how it applies to your work could be another route.
This would be a different way to create a body of work made up of both images and text. Throughout history, artists have tried to formulate their own ideas of what constitutes good art. There is no reason that you shouldn’t do the same!
Beyond the blog
While a blog is a great format for text and images, there is always the possibility of transferring your work into a different medium. One option could be to publish your own book – collecting your photos alongside the words that you wrote about them.
You could choose to put everything you write and shoot into a series of books or pick pieces based on theme or location. If you think you might want to do thematic books in the future, this would be a good use of the tagging feature in your blog software!
I like to paste still life polaroids into notebooks and write about my thoughts for the day. It’s a way to slow down photography and take it away from the digital.
Alternatively, you could experiment with exhibiting your work. I worked on a project some time ago about the idea of showing work in a gallery space and using QR codes on the labels to link to digital content, such as long texts. This kind of thinking outside the box could really make a gallery show stand out!
Of course, if you don’t feel like telling the world about your photos you could simply keep a traditional paper journal with your thoughts and feelings alongside your photographs.
Printing the images and then pasting them into notebooks is a relaxing and creative process that can inspire all kinds of thoughts to write down. You can harness the power of photography blogs both in digital and analog formats.
Do you have anything else you’d like to add about the power of photography blogs? If so, please share them with us in the comments.
The post Images and Text: The Untapped Power of Photography Blogs appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.
The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Blue appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
This week’s photography challenge topic is the color BLUE!
Light trails at Blue Hour by Joey J
This is a fun challenge. You can capture the color blue in so many ways. You can use abstracts, blue hour, water monster photography, landscapes (so much blue there!), cityscapes, portraits and still life. The blue can be a major part of the composition or be more subtle. There are so many options!
So, check out these pics to give you some ideas, have fun, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with!
Check out some of the articles below that give you tips on this week’s challenge.
Tips for Shooting the color BLUE
Mastering Color Series – The Psychology and Evolution of the Color BLUE and its use in Photography
5 Tips for Shooting Waterfront Cityscapes at Blue Hour
How to Create Colorful Artistic Images Using Oil and Water
Creative Water Photography – A Step-by-Step Guide to Making Water Monsters
5 Quick Tips for Better Blue Hour Photography
How to Make Interesting Abstract Smoke Photos
Simply upload your shot into the comment 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 favorite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them. Show me your best images in this week’s challenge.
Share in the dPS Facebook Group
You can also share your images in the dPS Facebook group as the challenge is posted there each week as well.
If you tag your photos on Flickr, Instagram, Twitter or other sites – tag them as #DPSblue to help others find them. Linking back to this page might also help others know what you’re doing so that they can share in the fun.
The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Blue appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
The post Focusing Tips for Beginners – Ways to Achieve Spot-on Focus in Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.
Focus is vital. Capturing your subject in crisp, sharp focus requires skill and practice. You need to understand the various auto-focus controls on your camera. Here are some focusing tips for beginners to help you get sharp photos more consistently.
Many digital photographers like to use the various sharpening options available in software. Don’t be tempted. I have never known an out-of-focus photo to be well improved with post-production manipulations.
Sharpening in post can, however, help images that are a little soft. This is often due to lens quality rather than poor focusing. Either your photos are in focus or they are not. Focusing tips for beginners are important to understand. There is no fixing an out of focus photo with your computer.
Pick your point and focus on it. Having the wrong part of your composition in focus will not result in a good photograph. You must decide what’s in your frame that’s most important and focus on it.
Focusing tips for beginners often contain information about operating your camera better. I will include these tips here also. But first, it’s important to know what you want to focus on. This is something I prefer not to let my camera choose for me.
As you are composing your photo, be mindful of your main subject. Consider it’s depth. Is most of your subject the same distance from your camera? Or is some of it closer to you than other parts?
Photographing a bicycle that’s side on to you, most of it is about the same distance from your camera. Taking a photo of the bike as it faces the camera will mean you need to choose whereabouts on it to focus. If you focus on the back wheel, the front wheel may be out of focus.
One rule of thumb I use most of the time is, if your subject has eyes, focus on them. If one eye is closer to your camera than the other, focus on the closest one. Subjects with eyes that are out of focus rarely look good in photos.
Digital cameras usually have various setting options for choosing your focus point. You can set your camera to only focus on a single point. Or you can set it to choose from multiple points. More advanced cameras allow you to set the area and number of focus points.
I prefer to have my camera set to single point auto-focus. This allows me to be precise and in control of what I focus on. Having your camera set to multi-point auto-focus means your camera chooses what part of your composition to focus on.
Some camera models allow you to move the single focus point to position it where you want in the frame. In other cameras, the single point for auto-focusing is central in the frame and you cannot move it. To use the single point on these cameras, you must shift your camera to focus where you want and then re-compose. I would find this frustrating. It will not always provide correct focus when you are using a very wide aperture setting.
Using a camera where you can precisely control the single point the camera will auto-focus on, gives you control. You can move the point to the portion of the frame where you want to focus easily. This may take some practice to become quick at it, but it’s worthwhile when you want to be in control.
About the only time I use multi-point auto-focusing, is when I am tracking a moving subject that is constant. The camera will often be able to lock on and keep with a subject unless the subject is moving erratically. Accuracy when using this mode can also depend on how fast your subject is moving. Your subject will be easier to track when it’s slow-moving.
Choosing continuous or single-servo auto-focus is another important decision. When you choose continuous focus, your camera will always be refocusing while you have the focus button activated. With single-servo auto-focus, pressing the focus control, it will focus once and remain set on that point – even when your subject or camera moves.
Continuous-servo focusing is most useful when you have a moving subject, or you are moving with your camera. If I am using continuous-servo focus, I am often also using a multi-point setting. However, most of the time, I use single-servo focusing.
By default, cameras are configured to use the shutter release button to focus. You will half depress the shutter button to focus. Some cameras allow you to turn off focusing on the shutter button and assign the focus function to another button.
Many photographers like to change the focus function to be controlled by one of the buttons on the back of the camera. Hence the name, back button focus.
Doing this allows you to focus independently from taking a photo. Assigning a button other than the shutter release to control focus, gives you more flexibility. You can focus and take photos independently when different buttons control these functions.
Back button focus can take a little getting used to, but I have found it well worthwhile because it gives me more control of my focus.
There are many situations where you might want to take a photo without refocusing, and back-button focusing allows you to do this.
Another of the focusing tips for beginners is manual focusing. Some may think that manual focusing is too slow or difficult, but it’s not if you practice it.
You can become proficient in a short space of time if you commit to learning. Once you know how you will be surprised at how often manual focus skills come in handy.
Auto-focus is a wonderful technology, but it’s not always perfect. When you find your lens searching for a focus point and struggling to find one, it pays to switch over to manual if you know what you are doing.
Manually controlling your focus in low light can often be faster and more precise than your camera’s auto-focus. Learning to focus manually is also a lot cheaper than upgrading to a higher quality camera that has better auto-focus.
I hope you have found these focusing tips for beginners useful. Remember, don’t leave it all to your camera. Getting well-focused images is not all about managing your camera’s auto-focus system. You need to work on your focus techniques and know what to do when you are photographing different subjects. This is particularly important when your subject is moving.
Sometimes you’ll want to track focus. At other times you’ll want to pre-focus and wait for your subject to enter your frame. When doing macro photography, it can be useful to set your focus and then move your camera or subject forwards or back a little to fine-tune.
Practice, as always, will make you sharper, and your images too.
Do you have any other focusing tips for beginners that you’d like to share? If so, please do so in the comments.
The post Focusing Tips for Beginners – Ways to Achieve Spot-on Focus in Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.
The post How to Use Pattern and Repetition in Photography Effectively appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Lily Sawyer.
One of the many ways we can make images more creative is to utilize pattern and repetition in photography. To beginners in photography, this may sound a little daunting, but trust me, it’s not.
All it takes is to train your eye to look for them in everyday objects and situations. They are everywhere around us if we only take the time to slow down, stop, and look a little closer.
Nikkor 105mm f/8 SS 1/250 ISO 400
But first, let’s talk about what pattern and repetition contribute to our images other than an injection of creativity. Even the slightest hint of pattern and repetition in photography adds a sense of dynamics to the image. You can see many images of detailed pattern and repetition in photography that I have written within the context of developing an eye for detail, here.
What do pattern and repetition contribute to an image?
f/8 SS 1/250 ISO 200
1. Heightened interest
f/8 SS 1/200 ISO 800
Pattern and repetition no doubt raise the level of interest in photographs with the space they occupy in the frame and the dynamic and rhythm they bring into that space. With pattern and repetition, what would have been a flat image with little going on, becomes a space of visual activity.
In the photo above, the cloud pattern is rather abstract, dense, and fills the frame. But pair this with the repetitive pattern of the sun’s rays, and your eye immediately stops and is invited to linger and look closely.
2. Hold attention
Left: f/8 SS 1/200 ISO 400 Right: f/5.6 SS 1/160 ISO 200
Pattern and repetition in photography hold the viewer’s attention by using strong repetitive elements. The patterns can keep the eye anchored or move it around an image using line.
The centered composition of the image above-left anchors the eye straight away whilst also making it look further towards the horizon.
The checkered black and white pattern brings the eye back to this foreground space to explore more.
3. Direct gaze
Left: f/11 SS 1/250 ISO 100 Right: f/8 SS 1/125 ISO 100
Once the image holds that attention, you want the attention to stay, linger for a while and live the space. This is precisely what pattern and repetition do. Effective use of both, invite the eye to move around the frame and scrutinize the parts that made the image great. Or in the very least, takes the viewer on a visual journey.
In the photo above, the angle I shot this photo from provides a leading line. It makes the eye stop at the strong vertical block on the right and look towards the left.
Where to find pattern and repetition
We live in a world saturated with them! From natural objects and phenomena to man-made structures, we are surrounded by pattern and repetition.
1. Nature
f/4 SS 1/80 ISO 2000
Pattern and repetition are around in great abundance. Take nature, for instance, it is brimming with activity at all times. When we care to stop and look, we see innumerable patterns and countless repetitions.
This could be obvious pattern and repetition, for example, the wake patterns created by waves from a sailboat, various types of cloud formations, raindrops on a washing line, mussels on the beach, birds flying in formation, sand dunes, surfing waves, or trees in a forest. It could be symmetrical and asymmetrical designs in nature like shells and fossils, florals, veins on leaves, snowflakes… the list is endless.
Left: Nikkor 105mm f/8 SS 1/250 ISO 400 Right: f/11 SS 1/800 ISO 100
To add to that list, there are subtle forms of pattern and repetition in nature too – like grass growing in a field, the night sky, close-up corals, converging gentle ripples, the effect of the wind, smoke, and haze just to name a few.
f/4 SS 1/500 ISO 100
2. Human-Made
Similar to a wake of waves from a boat, you can see contrails or vapour trails from aeroplanes. They may look like clouds but they are actually condensation trails resulting from the changes in air pressure in the sky and, therefore, can be arguably nature and human-made.
More easily recognizable patterns and repetition made by people include architectural forms and structures, sculptures and installations, floors and wall tiles, mosaics, shadows, light beams and lasers, and many other objects.
f/5.6 SS 1/60 ISO 1000
3. Create it yourself
The search for pattern and repetition in photography doesn’t have to stop there! As a matter of fact, we can create it ourselves. This shot below has been created using a very slow shutter speed while popping the flash several times as the subjects moved.
Read this article on how I achieved this double exposure in camera.
Experiment between f/8 – f/16, ISO 100 – 400, Shutter 2 seconds to bulb
I created the photo below using an iPhone lit up in the dark and shot it with a very slow shutter speed. This is also called dragging the shutter but without the use of flash and is a way of painting with light too.
Shutter set on bulb for about 10 seconds or so, f/11, ISO 400
Now that we have some ideas on where to look for pattern and repetition, let’s look at how to use them effectively to strengthen our images.
How to use pattern and repetition in photography to add strength
1. Composition
The key to any image is its composition. Perhaps it’s using the rule of thirds or a centered composition. It may be symmetrical or asymmetrical. There are many factors in composition and you can read more about mastering it here.
Left: f/2.8 SS 1/160 ISO 400 Right: f/5.6 SS 1/200 ISO 100
2. Use color and contrast
By placing the colors in specific areas of the frame, you can strengthen your image immensely. On the image below-left, by positioning the strongest color red and it’s shadowed contrast and light contrast off-center to the left (and again off center diagonally downwards), the image takes on a dynamic look.
Compare this to the image below-right, which although has 3 strong colors of the same tonal values, lacks the light and shadow contrast. The red image has a much stronger impact.
Left: f/5.6 SS 1/160 ISO 400 Right: f/5.6 SS 1/160 ISO 800
3. Use forms and shapes
To create pattern and repetition in photography, use dynamic forms and shapes like spirals, curves, triangles, cubes, and other angular shapes, are key to emphasizing the dynamics in a space and heightening its interest level.
In the image below-left, although there are many things going on in terms of repetitive lines, there are not as many acute angles of these lines and shapes compared to the image on the right. The image on the left is a three-dimensional space and the image on the right is a flat floor, yet it is much more dynamic.
Left: f/4 SS 1/200 ISO 400 Right: f/4 SS 1/125 ISO 2000
4. Use leading lines
Concentric lines, spirals, zigzags, waves, and diagonals are easy to use lines that lead the eye to various places in the frame. In the image below, which has no other subject but the lines themselves, there is still a sense of movement and interest despite the lack of additional colors and strong contrast. You can read more on leading lines here.
f/4 SS 1/125 ISO 2000
5. Use perspective
Photographing from an angle as opposed to a straight-ahead, same-level shot also accentuates pattern and repetition. The images below are high up and full of lines. The addition of the love angle adds more depth to the image. Changing your perspective makes you see things from a new angle and in a new light.
Left: f/5.6 SS 1/125 ISO 1200 Right: f/4 SS 1/100 ISO 3200
Conclusion
In this article, we have seen how using pattern and repetition in photography is an easy way to improve our images. All it takes is to look more carefully at the world around us and incorporate these elements into our images using some basic photography principles.
Nikkor 105mm f/8 SS250 ISO 400
What’s more exciting, is that you can also create your own images using pattern and repetition!
Now it’s time to get those creative juices flowing, and go and make your own!
Experiment between f/8 – f/16, ISO 100 – 400, Shutter 2 seconds to bulb
Do you have any other tips for using pattern and repetition in photography?
Also, we’d love to see your images of pattern and repetition, so please share them with us in the comments section.
The post How to Use Pattern and Repetition in Photography Effectively appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Lily Sawyer.
When it comes to photography software, the most common names that come up are Adobe Lightroom, which is often used to work with RAW images, and Adobe Photoshop, which is often used to perform retouching tasks like smoothing out skin, removing blemishes, and fixing exposure. While these programs are fantastic for the editing process, photographers tend to be left to Continue Reading
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Storytelling photography for newborn babies is all about capturing the real life memories of the newborn days for families in a beautiful way, and it’s quickly becoming the most popular style of photography for capturing the newborn stage of life. Not only does it bring out the personalities of everyone and provide specific memories of what life was like during Continue Reading
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Film photography is not what it used to be. It’s changed – or more, it’s evolved. For the better, too. But I bet there are a lot of people who haven’t even noticed!
Photography just seems to be one of those pastimes that has the potential to get under people’s skin. There are so many ways to take part that it’s no wonder we find ourselves in camps, adopting one or a couple of methodologies, approaches, processes or even brands, and taking ownership of them as if they belong to us.
In doing so though, it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of forgetting that our approaches and whims are just a product of our own choices, and therefore simply right for us. Instead, it appears to me that a large majority of photographers get into the habit of thinking they have made the ‘best’ choices and that everyone else who doesn’t follow suit is somehow wrong, deficient or missing out.
Film photography in 2020 is what it is – not because of a battle with digital, but because of how it has integrated with and into it
Unfortunately, in our world of social media and websites and forums and blogs and YouTube and ‘influencers’, it feels a little bit like the views and opinions held by the majority can leave little room for the views and opinions held by everyone else.
So what’s all this got to do with my opening gambit?
Well, it’s my view that because of all this, many photographers who have committed wholly to digital photography might not have noticed a real change in the film photography landscape.
The pixl-latr is a product I launched on Kickstarter as a low cost and effective solution for digitizing negatives. Photo: Joe Handley
Now, please don’t think I’m about to start waffling on about growth in film sales and increased interest in more traditional photography mediums as a whole. It is true that there has been quite significant growth, but to my mind, the growth is at least in part a byproduct of a change in attitudes toward film photography. Attitudes that I have seen perpetuated through some of the hundreds of thousands of words I’ve published by the many photographers who have written for my website, 35mmc.
It’s true that I still see the occasional ‘film vs. digital – which is better?’ YouTube video pop up, but it has long been my view that these conversations are behind the curve. It actually strikes me that this argument is dead, and this seems to be an opinion shared by an increasing amount of people. Not because one side won or lost, but because the sides have joined forces.
Film photography in 2020 is what it is – not because of a battle with digital, but because of how it has integrated with and into it. Digital has changed film photography for the better, and I feel quite strongly that the opposite is true too.
The FIlmomat is an updated automatic film processor, launching soon! Photo: Lukas Fritz
To begin with, the simple way people are using digital cameras and the advancements in both software and hardware for the digitization of film are examples of how the technology has advanced in favor or supporting film photography. But digital has also helped democratize film photography. The barriers to entry are less, and not just when it comes to amateur-level kit.
Film photography has influenced digital technology too. As most readers here will be aware, some of the bigger brands have taken inspiration from film cameras. Fujifilm is probably the most notable with their retro-aesthetic digital cameras and built-in film simulations. The way film looks, or at least the way people think film looks has – for better or worse – influenced digital photographic styles.
The ways photographers approach image creation seems to have been cross-fertilized between the worlds of film and digital
And that’s all even before we consider people’s workflows and attitudes toward creating images. The creative ways photographers approach image creation as a whole seems to have been cross-fertilized between the worlds of film and digital. So for example, in the last few years, we’ve seen a huge increase in the use of ‘vintage’ lenses – something that I’m pretty certain is attributable to an increase in photographers seeking something of a more film-era-like ‘feel’ to their work. And then there’s how digital workflows such as the use of Lightroom has for some people sped up or aided in the process of using film and other traditional mediums as a starting point to a final image.
The Cameradactyl OG is an affordable 3D-printed 4×5 camera. by John Whitmore
In short, film and digital workflows, technologies and creative approaches have merged. The narratives around which is ‘better’ have – for many at least – fallen by the wayside. The questions of how they can be combined for the benefit of an increased range of possibility and potential have come to the surface instead.
But, while all this is true, there’s no drama in a draw – neither side won the battle, so the story has had few attention-grabbing headlines. There’s less of an angle to hang opinion off in the gray area. Nuanced opinions, fence-sitting and happy mediums don’t get clicks, views, upvotes, likes or shares so readily.
Film and digital workflows, technologies and creative approaches have merged
I had to pose a combative opening gambit just to get a lot of you to read this article, I’m sure. But really, I didn’t want to… well, if I’m honest, I sort of did, because I quite enjoy the argument. But my argument is not one of trying to convince people to think one way or another about how to create or take part in photography. I prefer instead to try and highlight the fact that the arguments themselves are often quite pointless.
In short, there is no one true path! In fact, one of the most beautiful things about photography is in the wealth of choices it provides us with.
Which is ultimately why film photography has found its feet again. Not as I say because it’s won any battles, but instead, that for all the objective differences and subjective reasons why people might choose to shoot it; despite what the majority might think and say about it, it’s still an option that’s available to people. And moreover, in 2020 it’s an option that quite readily fits into our modern digital world if and when required or desired.
Hamish Gill is the publisher of 35mmc.com and a moderator in our Film Photography forum.
The post How to Use Radial Composition in Photography to Create Awesome Images! appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.
Radial composition (also known as radial balance) is a tool used to influence balance and impact within a photograph. In this article, we’ll look at some of the in’s and out’s of radial composition in photography.
f/2.8 1/1000 ISO 500
What is radial composition?
The term radius refers to the distance between the center of a circle and its outer edge. Therefore, radial composition means imagery that radiates outward from a particular point.
One common example of this is the wheel, with spokes radiating away from the central hub.
Another example would be flowers, with petals fanning out from the flower head.
By using radially orientated lines, shapes and forms, the eye is attracted to a central point within an image, creating emphasis. In this way, radial composition can appeal to our sense of momentum, generating visual movement. Some radial compositions even trick the eye into perceiving actual movement within in a fixed image.
In addition, lines that diverge into a central point also cultivate a greater sense of depth within a photograph. However, keep in mind that not all radial compositions need to be constructed of circles!
In the right context, you can use rectangles, triangles, waves, lines, spirals, or other forms to cultivate radial composition.
The history of radial composition
Because of its visual energy, radial compositions have been an enduring presence in visual art and culture. For example, ancient petroglyphs carved into rocks depict spirals and labyrinths as well as lines radiating out from a central focal point.
Rich with symbolism and sacred meaning, the mandala features in numerous religions and beliefs. In Greek mythology, the Sun god Helios was often depicted with a crown of radiating lines. These lines were understood to indicate radiant light, signifying the rays of the sun.
During the Renaissance, radial composition was used to emphasize important figures within a scene. In Assumption of the Virgin by Titian, subjects are seen to radiate away from the main figure (Mary) and a circle of radiant light frames her upper body. In Raphael’s School of Athens, famous philosophers are emphasized by the radial properties of the surrounding architecture.
f/4.0 1/640 ISO 320
Modern art
Inevitably, radial composition has been a strong compositional feature in modern visual art. A famous example is Kandinsky’s circle paintings that radiate pulses of color. Dada artist Marcel Duchamp’s Bicycle Wheel also takes advantage of the radial structure of the wheel to evoke both a sense of motion and stasis.
In photography, there are countless variations on the use of radial composition. Taken in 1920, Edward Steichen’s Isadora Duncan at the Portal of the Parthenon makes use of radial composition to emphasize the subject within the ancient Parthenon. In Henri Cartier-Bresson’s Children Playing in Ruins, the child subjects are framed by a hole in a wall within the ruins of a city.
How to cultivate radial compositions
Radial composition relates to visual elements that expand from or center around a central point in an image. Eyes, flowers, snail shells, doorways, fireworks, tree rings…there is an abundance of opportunities to capture radial subject matter.
Fluid radial elements create a harmonious flow throughout the image, whereas sharp, erratic lines generate a scene of energetic movement.
Archways, staircases, reflections, plants…you can find radial features in all genres of photography. You can even create radial imagery through camera movement or abstraction.
2 seconds f/4.0 ISO 100
You can also use radial composition as a tool to emphasize a given subject. Framing an aircraft aligned with the halo of the sun’s rays, or photographing a portrait with the sitter positioned within a window or door frame can seem easy enough. However, incorporating simple radial elements into your composition can add much more depth and impact to your image.
f/6.3 1/400 ISO 100
Conclusion
From landscapes to architecture and everything in between, radial composition can add impact and depth to your photography.
Keeping an eye out for radial compositional opportunities can lead to engaging material that guides the viewer’s eye around the image more effectively.
Do you make use of radial composition? Share your images in the comments below!
The post How to Use Radial Composition in Photography to Create Awesome Images! appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.
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