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Five Simple Exercises to Improve your Photography

16 Apr

In this article, you will get five simple exercises to help you improve your photography.

How to grow as a photographer

Everyone, from beginners to professionals, seeks to improve their photography. Yet we often struggle to do just that, repeatedly asking the question, “How do I actively move my photography forward?”

macro photography flower - Five Simple Exercises to Improve your Photography

Learning to take top-notch photographs isn’t like learning a musical instrument, where you can practice fingerings and scales while slowly gaining skills. When it comes to improving photography, the path often seems nebulous, difficult to grasp.

It doesn’t have to be this way. There are more focused ways of improving your photography. Below, I discuss five of these exercises, which, if done consistently, will help you improve your photography by leaps and bounds.

Exercise #1: Photograph every day for a month

The first exercise is simple; photograph every day. This may sound easy, but it often isn’t. With a job and family and life, it’s surprisingly difficult to get out and do photography.

But I’d like to emphasize this, if you’re serious about improving your photography, start here. Make sure that you use your camera each day, even if you only take one image. Carve out a particular time of the day that works. Or, if it’s easier for you, carry a camera around in your purse/backpack/briefcase, and bring it out during your lunch break.

macro photography flower abstract - Five Simple Exercises to Improve your Photography

I’ve found that there’s a sort of magic that comes from photographing—not just consistently—but daily. Your camera becomes a familiar tool in your hands. You start to see compositions everywhere. The photographic medium starts to make sense.

Trust me, if you do this your work will improve fast.

Exercise #2: Make 10 unique images of one subject

One of the main barriers to photographic improvement is not the technique so much as it is the ability to see.

A great photographer often views a subject and starts to visualize the many possibilities, quickly rejecting those which won’t work, and selecting that which does.

macro photography flower abstract aster - Five Simple Exercises to Improve your Photography

Hence, choose a subject and start by taking the obvious photographs.

Then, rather than moving on, force yourself to look for more. Get in close and take some more abstract or detail shots. Move back and look for more environmental images. Alter the background, the angle, and/or the lighting. If you normally use a tripod, try working handheld, or vice versa.

macro photography flower aster abstract - Five Simple Exercises to Improve your Photography

This exercise is meant to improve your ability to see. It is meant to take you out of your comfort zone so that you go beyond the obvious, and start looking deeper at your subject. Once that is ingrained, the photographic possibilities begin to open up, and your images will become unique and more satisfying.

macro photography flower abstract aster - Five Simple Exercises to Improve your Photography

Exercise #3: Share only one image per week

Let me explain this one. Part of improving one’s photography involves becoming a better self-critic. If you cannot recognize where you need to improve, then it’s very difficult to improve at all. But if you can pinpoint your strengths and your weaknesses, then you can improve upon the weaknesses—and harness your strengths.

To this end, I recommend joining a photo sharing site, one that is geared towards photography. Flickr, 500PX, and Tumblr would work well (or the dPS Facebook group). Then post one, and only one, image per week. Make sure that you’ve looked through your recent work, and that the image that you’re sharing is your best.

Before posting, think to yourself, “What is it that makes this a strong image? What would make it better? And what was it that made me reject the other images in favor of this one?” Take note of your responses, and remember them the next time you’re out in the field.

macro photography flower coneflower - Five Simple Exercises to Improve your Photography

So why can’t you just do this privately, rather than posting to a photo sharing site?

I find that there’s a bit of pressure that comes from posting your pictures publicly. This forces you to work slightly harder in identifying your best images. However, if you would strongly prefer not to post your images publicly, you could adjust the settings on your chosen sharing site so that only you can view the images—but imagine that you’re assembling them for a gallery showing.

Exercise #4: Critique at least 10 images per week

Similar to Exercise #3, but with a slightly different focus. Learning to critique your own work is great, but it’s also important to look at a broad array of photography with a critical eye. Hence, join a photo critique forum, and critique at least 10 images per week.

There are a number of forums out there that I recommend for nature photographers like myself: Naturescapes, Nature Photographers Network, and Birdphotographers.net are all good ones. They should allow you to make a free account in order to comment on other images.

macro photography flower abstract pink - Five Simple Exercises to Improve your Photography

This will help you in a few ways. First, constantly looking at images will help you to internalize compositions and get a sense of what works and what doesn’t. It’s difficult to improve your own photography if you don’t have a sense of what good photography looks like.

Second, it may give you ideas for your own photography. By this, I don’t mean that you copy other people’s photographs directly. But you can take note of interesting techniques, camera settings, and compositions, and incorporate them into your own work.

Third, being forced to articulate, in writing, what you find pleasing about an image will go a long way toward being able to understand how to make your own images more pleasing.

Notice that I’m not telling you to post your images on the critique forum—but if you feel confident enough to do so, then that is an excellent way to improve as well.

Exercise #5: Work in another genre of photography

This exercise is for those who would self-identify as intermediate or advanced photographers. Early on in your photographic journey, I would recommend focusing on a single genre and improving within that genre.

street photography ann arbor nickels arcade - Five Simple Exercises to Improve your Photography

I took a break from macro photography to work on my street photography skills.

However, once you have a decent amount of experience, I find that it is really beneficial to get out of your comfort zone by working on another photographic genre (the more different, the better!). Stick with this genre for an entire month.

street photography ann arbor - Five Simple Exercises to Improve your Photography

This forces you to expand your photographic eye and think in new ways. It can often generate unique ideas that you can apply to your primary area of photography. And when the month is up and you switch back to your favored type of photography, you’ll likely find that you’ll be seeing the world in a whole new light.

ann arbor street photography - Five Simple Exercises to Improve your Photography

In conclusion…

If you’re seeking to improve your photography, follow the exercises discussed above.

If you photograph every day, focus on expanding your photographic eye, look at numerous images and learn to critique your own, and expand your photographic horizons—you will soon be on your way to a higher level of photography. I wish you the best of luck!

macro photography flower abstract tulip - Five Simple Exercises to Improve your Photography

Have any exercises that you’ve found useful for photographic improvement? Share them in the comments!

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Simple Portrait Setups You Can Create on a Tight Budget

28 Mar

In this article, I’ll show you several easy and simple portrait setups you can create even on a tight budget.

Find a model to trade with

Getting started in the photography business is difficult, especially if you have a tight budget and not a lot of extra cash floating around. The same can be said for starting a modeling career. The trick is to get noticed and get your name out there. You need to show people what you can do. That means you need to create a portfolio of work. People need to see what you are capable of creating.

Simple Portrait Setups You Can Create on a Tight Budget

One of the images from the shoot. I used just the one light and the flash.

Ironically, models need the same types of experiences. They need a portfolio they can show off. If you are just starting out in either industry, one of the best things you can do is find someone who is willing to trade services with you. Find a model looking to build their portfolio and then work with him or her to help you create a body of work that shows off your abilities.

It’s a win, win situation for both of you. The trick when starting out is to find ways to network and connect with people so that you are creating mutually beneficial relationships. My main focus has always been natural light and fine art photography. I do shoot family portraits and sporting events as well, but the majority of my focus is on natural portraiture and creating art.

Recently, I met a young woman who was interested in modeling. We got to talking and agreed to help each other out. I would supply her with finished images for an Instagram feed she wished to start. In exchange, she would help me with several upcoming projects and also help me create some images for my stock portfolio.

In this shot, we added props found at a thrift shop. You can see the wainscoting we used as flooring.

Doing it on a budget

The trick then became how to complete the project on a tight budget. I don’t own a strobe light or any beauty dishes. I use sunlight to create my portraits, and I own one flash which I rarely use. The reality is I prefer natural light. Given a choice between studio lighting or natural light, I will always choose the later.

Open shade is one of my favorite ways of creating beautiful soft even light that flatters every type of skin. The model in question wanted to create several different looks, and after discussing the images with her, I realized I would need some lighting. There was no way we could create those different looks she wanted using just natural light.

The project became more about following through with our plans on a very limited budget. Meghan, the model, agreed to be in charge of planning the wardrobe and finding the props. I needed to provide the photography expertise. Between the two of us, we created 10 different looks for less than $ 200.

Let’s take a look at the set up for three of those shots.

Cheap lights don’t have a lot of power. In this shot, you can see how close I had to position the lights.

Any artificial lighting used in the following images was created using a very cheap continuous lighting kit (under $ 100), my Canon Speedlite and a large piece of white styrofoam we used as a reflector. The backdrops are all old table clothes, the flooring we used is two pieces of wainscoting purchased from a local home reno store, and

Meghan’s wardrobe was a combination of her clothing, some borrowed from friends and items found at thrift shops.

Setup #1

This image was shot using natural light. I am very lucky to have a 9-foot wide window in my studio that never receives direct sunlight. It makes for lovely soft directional lighting. The backdrop was set up at a 90-degree angle to the window.

Then one of the small continuous lights was used to illuminate the backdrop. Meghan’s blue pants needed some separation from the blue background. Without the light, it would have been easy to lose her clothing in the backdrop.

The whole shoot took place in my house in my studio which I have converted from a living room.

One advantage to shooting indoors in a protected space is the luxury of tethering the camera to the computer so you can assess the images before shooting a bunch of different poses. In this case, the first few shots were created and assessed through a tethered camera but then once we had the settings correct we shot the remainder of the images untethered.

Here are the results of this first setup.

In this image, I edited the background and took the wrinkles out of the tablecloth. Please note this is my favorite type of light, natural.

Here’s the untouched image. Despite our best efforts to iron the backdrops before use, the wrinkles were quite evident. It’s a lot of work to remove the wrinkles.

Here is the file with the wrinkles. I do think that sometimes a less than perfect backdrop can add depth to an image.

Setup #2

The goal when creating a portfolio is to show some diversity, especially for the model. A model needs to adapt to different situations and be able to morph into different types of looks.

So with this in mind, this second set up is much different from the first set of shots. Natural light plays far less heavily into the look. In this case, the flash was used. The flash was aimed upwards and back at a piece of white styrofoam which bounced and diffused the light.

In this setup, the flash cast a large shadow on the backdrop. So to lessen the shadow on the backdrop, the large continuous light was once again placed behind and to the side of the model – this time to light the backdrop. This second look is far darker and different from the first set we created.

There are some slight changes to the lighting in this setup.

This is a much more dramatic look.

Here’s a headshot of the same clothing set up. The lighting was only changed slightly.

Setup #3

This final image was shot without the use of natural light at all. By this time it was 9 pm, and the light was completely gone.

The setup utilizes two continuous lights as well as the flash. One light was placed behind the backdrop. It shone through the red backdrop to create a vignette of sorts. The second light was placed on the left side of the model and illuminated her face.

The goal of this shot was to create something fairly dramatic. Once again a few simple adjustments allowed for a totally different look. The end of the softbox around the continuous light was also included in the frame again trying to create a diverse look.

The light placed behind the backdrop created a pretty glow and a natural vignette.

In Conclusion

The changes to the setup took very little time. We shot lots of different outfits and poses using just a few simple principles.

Be diverse in the looks created.
Highlight the beauty of the model.
Be picky and get the best photo possible using the equipment available to you.

Setting up a photo shoot doesn’t have to be complicated. Be smart! Plan ahead! Find ways to make something that could potentially be an expensive endeavor work to your advantage.

Below is a collection of some of the other images we shot that day. It was hard work, but it was also a lot of fun.

Same clothing and backdrop as setup #3 but we moved both lights around the front and used the flash. Again a different look.

Converting images to black and white and using dramatic lighting is a lot of fun to try.

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How to Make Simple Stickers From Your Photos

20 Feb

When I was a kid a family friend used to pick me up from school and drop me off at home. The friend’s daughter and I always had a roaring time in the back seat, screaming and messing around like kids do. Then one day we were offered stickers for good behavior. And no stickers for bad behavior.

We silently collected a sticker each day and reverently stuck them on the inside of our wardrobes. We’d compare our collection when we visited each other’s houses and swap if we could agree on a fair trade. My friend moved away a long time ago, and I moved out of the family home. But my precious sticker collection remains in what is now my sister’s bedroom. And I’m not shy to admit that I do check in on them from time to time.

What is a sticker?

A sticker is a type of label made up of various materials that have a pressure sensitive adhesive on one side and an image on the other. They’re used for anything from decoration to functional purposes to bribing children. They can adhere to almost anything – walls, cars, clothing, and paper, to name a few.

While stickers are often associated with fun, they have quite a political presence, most commonly in the form of bumper stickers that demonstrate support for ideological or political causes.

How to Make Simple Stickers From Your Photos

A sticky bit of history

The history of stickers is more interesting than you might think. Some historians trace the origin of stickers back to ancient Egyptians where salespeople used a type of adhesive to advertise their wares. There is, however, conjecture about where the modern sticker originated. Some believe it was Sir Rowland Hill who invented the sticker in 1839 when he introduced the self-adhesive postage stamp. Others believe the stickers were created by European food merchants as an advertising technique – much like the Egyptians.

By the 1800s, lithography became the primary method for label making, though it was an expensive and complex process. But technology was moving quickly and toward the end of the century, and the labels became much more intricate and colorful. Labels around this time were affixed with a sticky gum or paste that required the user to lick or wet them before use. In the 1930s, R. Stanton Avery invented pre-cut stickers that didn’t require licking or wetting. As a result, stickers were used in mass as bumper stickers to distribute ideas to as many people as possible.

Because technology continued to streamline the making of labels, stickers exploded in popularity in the 1960s. This was especially the case for kids, who were fascinated by the colors and images. And they’ve “stuck” with us ever since.

Making your own photos into stickers

Making stickers is incredibly simple. You can send images to an online printing company and have a couple hundred stickers delivered to your door in a few days. Homemade stickers are a little different, but they’re more fun to make. They are also more personal, so they make lovely gifts too.

What you will need:

A printer
Some images on a computer
Plain sheets of label paper, not pre-cut
Scissors

How to Make Simple Stickers From Your Photos

Plain, un-cut label sheets are available at office supply stores.

Notice that the label paper here isn’t pre-cut into rectangles. This means you can print your images as large or as small as you like.

Method

First of all, open up your label paper. Some label packs come with sheets pre-cut into rectangles. Make sure you purchase sheets that aren’t already divided up. You will need a plain solid sheet of label paper or your images could be cut in half.

I really liked this sign I spotted on a trip overseas, I thought it would make a great sticker too.

Select a few images you are fond of. You could select images you find visually appealing, or perhaps some that hold some significance personally. Insert the label paper as you would a regular sheet of plain paper and print your images out.

Insert the label paper as you would regular paper and print your images out.

How to Make Simple Stickers From Your Photos

Finally, cut out your images and you are ready to go! Your own personal stickers ready to use anywhere you like! Simple, right?

The stickers you make are totally up to you. Find something sentimental or funny, or just gather a few photos you find inspiring.

Get creative

Of course, you don’t have to select your own images to print. Here I’ve sourced some designs for smaller stickers. Simply place your images into a Photoshop document as you would your selection of photographs. After printing simply cut them out and they are ready to go.

How to Make Simple Stickers From Your Photos

After printing this character onto label paper, I found that it made a great sticker for my boring phone case.

For this print of a cute little character named Pipo-Kun, I decided to add a layer of holographic contact paper to make the sticker a little more eye-catching. Peel and stick your original sticker to the front layer of contact paper. Then, when you want to stick your image somewhere, peel off the protective layer on the contact paper and stick it down instead.

Give it a try folks! I’d love to see the results!

The post How to Make Simple Stickers From Your Photos by Megan Kennedy appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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3 Simple Ways to Use Framing and Layering in Portraits

06 Feb

I love using framing in my images with a layering technique. Layering is simply incorporating not just your subject and background, but adding a foreground and other levels if possible as part of the elements you use to frame your overall image. It’s not always the most straightforward setup to do but it excites me because I love an image that invites the viewer in to explore the image through many levels. Your eyes travel around the image because there is so much to see.

3 Simple Ways to Use Framing and Layering in Portraits

This does not mean there are many objects to see but rather there are layers of varying depths of field making the image more compelling. I’ve been shooting for nine years now and I still strive to improve the composition of my images.

As I’ve said, it’s not always the most obvious and quickest thing to do. Sometimes, I choose a location that I know will give me a variety of choices for layering. Or we will do a “walk” during the photoshoot as part of the experience, exploring spots that would give us layering opportunities. I’d like to share with you three simple ways you can use framing in your images with this layering technique.

#1 – Shoot through glass

3 Simple Ways to Use Framing and Layering in Portraits

I love shooting through glass. In fact, when I do engagement sessions, I always suggest we either start or end the session with a planning meeting or a chat in a cafe. Look for a window table and shoot from the outside. This is a good way to get some funky compositions, colors, and patterns on the images as well as a reflection and layering.

Shooting through glass allows you to capture different layers of details and you can play around with these details and where you place your focus to achieve a fresh or unusual image. Pictures through glass also provide that extraordinary look and feel, sometimes ethereal, that we often don’t notice in our day-to-day lives unless we purposely stop to see them.

You may need to move around a bit to get the composition right. Or have to wait until a passerby in a white shirt walks past behind you, for example, and provides that needed white blur in the foreground to get your composition right.

3 Simple Ways to Use Framing and Layering in Portraits

#2 – Shoot through foliage

When shooting at a park, position yourself behind trees, leaves, bushes, etc., to achieve that “observer” feeling. Make sure you provide clear instructions to your couple so they know what is expected of them before you go hide.

For example, as I am shooting from a distance and obscured by foliage, I instruct my subjects to look a little towards my direction so I can see at least a part of their faces. I ask them not to talk to each other but to communicate via looking into each other’s eyes and smiling a lot. If they feel awkward, that’s all the better because then they can laugh it off and that sort of natural expression is what I’m after.

3 Simple Ways to Use Framing and Layering in Portraits

Gently direction them

Tell them not to leave big gaps in between each other. For example, lean their heads towards each other with a very small gap between their faces, or to slightly touch each other’s faces but not squish their cheeks together. Get them to always be in a V position towards you or facing each other directly but never fully turned away with their backs facing you.

The only exception I make for this is when they are on a bench and I shoot from the back for a romantic shot with their heads leaning against each other. Being physically a lot closer than what is normally comfortable can feel unnatural because you are right in each other’s spaces and in reality, you don’t talk to a person with your faces too close to theirs.

But the connection between them is important and sometimes you have to exaggerate things to communicate that connection in photographs well.

3 Simple Ways to Use Framing and Layering in Portraits

You don’t have to be at a park or somewhere green to achieve the look of layering by using foliage to frame your images either. I often just pick some leaves, put them in front of the camera, and shoot through them.

I have also shot with a piece of cellophane wrapped around the side of my lens but not obscuring my lens altogether. That makes the look of shooting through something, thereby creating a foreground, middle ground and background. This makes for a more interesting perspective and composition having more than two layers to look through in your images.

3 Simple Ways to Use Framing and Layering in Portraits

#3 – Shoot through structure

I love hiding behind buildings and walls and using these large solid structures as part of my composition and adding framing. This not only makes me a little more invisible but I feel the distance makes the couple feel more at ease with the camera not being in their face and me, not in their immediate space.

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When I want to incorporate a geometric element in my image, I often hide behind some large building, columns or any solid structure and use that to frame my couple. This is a really fun way of trying out more abstract compositions, perspectives and lines, patterns and some foreground blurring to accentuate the focus on your couple.

3 Simple Ways to Use Framing and Layering in Portraits

However, sometimes there are no buildings or structures you can easily hide behind. My advice is to make one yourself! For this photo below, I asked the maid of honor to stand just to the left so I could use her silhouette to frame my bride in an interesting composition. This is one of my all-time favorite wedding images.

3 Simple Ways to Use Framing and Layering in Portraits

In the photo below, I used the long veil to create a foreground element giving the impression that I was hiding behind a big boulder and that there was continuity between the foreground and the bride’s veil.

So be creative and find ways to achieve your intended outcome. As the saying goes, “When there’s a will, there’s a way!”

3 Simple Ways to Use Framing and Layering in Portraits

Your turn

Do you have any other tips for framing your images using layering or any other techniques? Do share them here in the comments below!

The post 3 Simple Ways to Use Framing and Layering in Portraits by Lily Sawyer appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Super Simple Introduction to Manual Mode and How it Will Transform Your Photos

30 Jan

“There is only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself, for what we see is what we are.” Ernst Haas

Do you ever ask yourself why the images you capture are not like the ones you see in your mind’s eye?

Do you ever wonder why your photos don’t look as good as a professional’s? What makes theirs look so great?

The answer is – probably because you are shooting in Auto!

Super Simple Introduction to Manual Mode and How it Will Transform Your Photos 5 seconds, f/8.0, ISO 100

Get more creative with Manual Mode

A professional takes full creative control over every aspect of the photo and makes creative choices in the image creation process. Aperture, shutter speed and ISO are the base. If you don’t control these then you will be unable to create the best possible image.

Digital cameras nowadays make exposure so easy. There doesn’t seem to be a good reason to shoot on manual. But there is – it’s creativity. Specifically, creative exposures.

Super Simple Introduction to Manual Mode and How it Will Transform Your Photos 1/200th, f/2.2, ISO 500

Take control of the process

If you want awesome photos, then shooting with control is the most important part of the creative journey with photography. With Manual Mode, you get full control. Total creativity.

I know a lot of people feel intimidated trying Manual, but I have taught hundreds of people to feel comfortable and confident with it so I know it’s totally possible for anyone to learn.

Even if you aren’t tech-minded, you can do this! All you need is the basic understanding of the process – and practice.

Super Simple Introduction to Manual Mode and How it Will Transform Your Photos 30 seconds, f/10, ISO 200

The camera cannot (at least at the moment) make creative choices in the way that you can. You’ll often end up with un-dynamic exposures when the camera chooses for you.

How many well-exposed photos do you see on Facebook? The majority are shot using some Automatic Mode or another. They are all the same base density. Sure, they are properly exposed, but that base exposure is just the beginning when shooting with intent.

All those exposures start from the same base, zero. Many photographers just leave it there because it looks good, it looks “correct”. That is Auto.

Super Simple Introduction to Manual Mode and How it Will Transform Your Photos 1.6 seconds, f/10, ISO 50

Exposure is part of photographic artistry. Don’t pass on it just because your photos look good….they can be so much better!

Here is the simple method I use to explain the process of shooting in Manual Mode.

The Exposure Triangle

Shooting in Manual Mode means controlling three fundamental settings in photography:

ISO
Aperture
Shutter Speed

Together they are collectively known as “The Exposure Triangle”.

Super Simple Introduction to Manual Mode and How it Will Transform Your Photos 13 seconds, f/9, ISO 250

What do these three controls do?

ISO is the camera’s sensitivity to light. Think of it this way – do you want the sensor to absorb light quickly, sacrificing detail and contrast (high ISO), or do you want to let the light in slowly absorbing every color, capturing every juicy detail (low ISO)?
Aperture controls the INTENSITY of the light flowing onto the sensor. Think of coming out of a Saturday afternoon matinee and how intense the light is after being in the dark for a few hours. You’re practically blinded for a moment (until your pupils adjust to the light and become smaller – the aperture opens and closes much the same way). That’s intensity!
Shutter Speed (SS) is a time value – in other words, how long is the exposure. The time is combined with the intensity of the light from your Aperture setting. Shutter speed is represented as 1/250th of a second, for example.

These three settings are all you need to know about making a manual exposure. That’s it. Now let talk about how to approach it.

Super Simple Introduction to Manual Mode and How it Will Transform Your Photos 1/30th, f/2.2, ISO 3200

Think ISO first

When making a manual exposure ISO should always be your first consideration!

There are two questions you have to ask yourself before you start making exposures.

How much light is on the subject?
This is essentially a technical decision. (ISO)
How can I make my subject look its best?
This is essentially a creative decision. (Shutter speed and Aperture combination)

The answers to these questions are the key to the whole process. Once you have the answers, you can set your exposure.

Super Simple Introduction to Manual Mode and How it Will Transform Your Photos 1/125, f/13, ISO 400

This is how I shoot in Manual Mode, explained in three easy steps.

Step #1 – How much light is on the subject?

Do I have:

Full daylight
A gloomy interior
A heavily shaded area between buildings
And so on…

Super Simple Introduction to Manual Mode and How it Will Transform Your Photos 2 seconds, f/10, ISO 320

First off, I’ll set my ISO accordingly. I usually go for the lowest ISO I can get away with shooting handheld. If I have a tripod I’ll go even lower. You can go almost a whole day without needing to change your ISO much.

It’s the easiest thing to set and forget. But if you need to move it you can. This is not a big deal on modern cameras where image quality is amazing at almost any ISO.

ISO scale - Super Simple Introduction to Manual Mode and How it Will Transform Your Photos

TIP #1

Set your ISO and don’t think about it unless the light level changes a lot – like you go indoors, the sun sets, or you walk into a heavily shaded area, etc. You get the point.

TIP #2

Look at the light! Photography is a study of light, after all, so your first step is to learn to really see it, to observe what it is doing, its strength and quality. When you have a deep familiarity with light from willfully observing it, you grow to know it.

Being aware of light levels makes shooting in manual much easier. When you are out, be tuned in to the light.

Step #2 – I ask myself “What is my priority?”

How do I decide what is the priority for my shot?

Super Simple Introduction to Manual Mode and How it Will Transform Your Photos 10 seconds, f/11, ISO 50

It all comes down to what I’m shooting – prioritizing shutter speed or aperture to whatever I think will make my subject look its best.

Am I shooting landscapes and want a wide depth of field? (select a small aperture like f/16).
Am I shooting portraits and so want a shallow depth of field? (aperture again, this time a wide setting like f/2.8).
Perhaps I am shooting sports or action, and want pin-sharp images of fast-moving subjects? (shutter speed this time – choose a fast one to freeze the subject like 1/2000th).

I’ll make my choice of shutter speed or aperture as my top priority. Now I have two points of the exposure triangle set. For the last setting, I adjust the exposure on the light meter scale.

Super Simple Introduction to Manual Mode and How it Will Transform Your Photos 1/15th, f/4.5, ISO 12,800

Step #3 – Adjusting the exposure

Now is the time to look at the camera meter.

Use the light meter scale – get the marker near the center or thereabouts with the one remaining dial (in other words if you chose the aperture in step #2, the last one being set here is the shutter speed). On this -2 to +2 scale, where you place the exposure matters a lot! This is the essence of creative exposures. It dictates the mood of the photograph.

Being in the centre or “0” position is rarely the right exposure for me.

Light meter scale - Super Simple Introduction to Manual Mode and How it Will Transform Your Photos Light Meter Scale

Remember, each point of the exposure triangle is NOT fixed. Each click or interval (usually in 1/3 increments) are equal, so 2 (+) clicks of ISO is equal to 2 (-) clicks of aperture or shutter speed. These are called reciprocating exposures and they are the key to shooting creatively.

So, if you find yourself in a situation where you would like a little faster shutter speed, then do it. But compensate with an equal but opposite amount of another setting. What choice you make at this point is completely creative, not technical.

Super Simple Introduction to Manual Mode and How it Will Transform Your Photos 3.2 seconds, f/4.5, ISO 100

TIP # 3

Let’s say you are shooting a landscape with a good foreground, a large tree perhaps, You set your aperture to f/16 for good depth of field (priority), ISO is at 100 and you have a shutter speed of 1/60th. This is a classic landscape exposure – with a lot of Depth of Field.

For an alternative image of the same scene, you could think of the tree as a portrait photo and open up the aperture to f/4 (+4 stops) and adjust the shutter speed to 1/1000th (-4 stops) keeping the ISO at 100 and the exposure the same.

You would lose most of the Depth of Field, but gain a nice bokeh making the tree isolated, like a good portrait. Now you’ve created a different feel to a classic landscape using a reciprocating exposure. But wait, there is still more you can do!

Super Simple Introduction to Manual Mode and How it Will Transform Your Photos 2.5 seconds @ f/4.0 ISO 100

Now, how about underexposing this scene by 1-1.5 stops to create a more low-key moody image. If the tree was in bright sun and the background shaded, I would instinctively underexpose to emphasize that contrast.

Putting it all into practice

You will miss a few exposures now and then. Everyone does, but don’t let it discourage you. I think a big part of the fear of shooting in Manual Mode is the, “I will miss the shot”echoing in people’s heads. Like I say, it happens to everyone.

Losing a few shots is still worth the wealth of knowledge and creativity you get from sticking with it and totally controlling your photography. Those missed shots will appear less and less as you improve, and your new found skill shooting in manual will reflect in your photos.

Super Simple Introduction to Manual Mode and How it Will Transform Your Photos 2 seconds @ f/5.0 ISO 50

I recommend you shoot at least 1,000 images in your practice. If you really focus, you could nail Manual Mode over a weekend. There is no substitute for practice.

Slow down and have fun! It will be worth every bad shot you take.

Study your images in post-production

Once you have taken your images, it is a really good idea to study your images in post-processing. All of the information about exposure is stored in the metadata which you access in a program like Lightroom (you can filter and sort your images by ISO, Aperture, etc.).

Super Simple Introduction to Manual Mode and How it Will Transform Your Photos 1/30th, f/8, ISO 50

A few more final words – and action steps!

Did you know that two of the best ways to fully learn something is to:

Practice it
Explain it or teach it to someone else

By practicing it over and over you are teaching it into your body, almost like muscle memory. You do it so many times you’ll end up with it being automatic like it is for me (and those with years of experience who make it look effortless).

Super Simple Introduction to Manual Mode and How it Will Transform Your Photos 1/400th @ f/4.0 ISO 200

By explaining it, preferably a few times, to someone else, your brain starts to build new neural networks (which happens anytime you learn anything). So if you want to remember anything, you need to keep the neural networks alive, and by repeating it, explaining it, and practicing it over and over you’ll make that a solid memory in your brain.

So the short term work of repetition leads to remembering it long term. How cool is that?

I really, really hope this has helped you “get” Manual Mode. I love the creative possibilities of photography, and it makes all the difference when you feel comfortable with your tools. I would love to know if this has helped you – and if you’ll take the leap to practice shooting in manual.

The post Super Simple Introduction to Manual Mode and How it Will Transform Your Photos by Anthony Epes appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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10 simple DIY gifts for the photography lovers in your life

21 Dec

Christmas is nearly upon us, stores are overcrowded, and inventory is running low. The solution? A DIY gift that is both unique and easy to make! And thanks to the team at Cooperative of Photography (COOPH), you’ve got a ready-made tutorial that will show you how to do just that.

The video highlights 10 simple DIY gifts anyone can make for the photographers and photo lovers in their life. Projects include transforming a Rubik’s cube into a photo cube, a DIY candle holder, unique photo hanger, and lots more. Check out the full video above.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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3 Simple Photography Tips for Parents – How to Take Better Pictures of Your Kids

15 Nov

One of the most frequently asked questions I receive as a writer here at Digital Photography School is, “How do I take better pictures of my kids?”. There’s just something about becoming a parent that helps you understand exactly how fleeting childhood is, as well as how important it is to capture it. Whether you’re using a pro-level DSLR camera, a point-and-shoot, or your phone’s camera, here are a few quick and easy tips that will help you take your momtography or dadtography to the next level and take better pictures of your kids.

3 Simple Photography Tips for Parents - How to Take Better Pictures of Your Kids

1. Emotion Trumps Perfection

It’s never a bad idea to learn about the technical aspects of photography. But when it comes to photographing your own kids, the truth is that the photos you’ll treasure the most are the ones that capture genuine emotion. When you pull your camera out, don’t just look for the perfect smiles. Look for genuine expression and emotion, which tends to happen most often when your kids don’t realize you’re watching them.

Similarly, when you’re culling images, don’t automatically trash every image with soft focus or strange cropping. Sometimes, those technically imperfect photos may capture genuine emotion so perfectly that it would be a shame to delete them just because they’re not perfect. You may not want to blow those imperfect images up onto a giant canvas, but definitely keep them for your own records!

3 Simple Photography Tips for Parents - How to Take Better Pictures of Your Kids

Let go of perfection

Technically speaking, there are a few things about the above image that I don’t like. I wish I hadn’t cropped off some of one daughter’s fingers, and I wish the other daughter was in focus. I was super tempted to delete this photo right away because it’s not quite up to my standards. However, every time I look at this image it makes me smile to see the absolute joy on their faces. I remember their excitement at seeing the cherry blossoms covering the ground like snow, scooping them up by the handful, and throwing them up into the air while laughing and squealing with delight.

As family and friends flip through photo albums, they don’t comment on the other image I took that day of the girls standing perfectly still while looking at the camera and smiling, they comment on this photo. They mention how happy the girls look, and how much they love this photo. This image is beloved not because it’s technically sound, but because emotion always trumps perfection when it comes to photography.

3 Simple Photography Tips for Parents - How to Take Better Pictures of Your Kids

2. Find Beauty in the Ordinary

When it comes to photographing your kids, don’t wait for the moments when everyone is perfectly dressed in coordinating outfits at golden hour. Those moments are beautiful, but they’re few and far between. Instead, look for ways to capture the beauty in the ordinary everyday moments.

Snap a photo of your kids reading a bedtime story every once in awhile. Take a quick snapshot of their messy faces after spaghetti night. Capture the mismatched crazy outfits that they put together when they dress themselves. Quietly sneak out your camera as they’re practicing writing their name at the kitchen table.

3 Simple Photography Tips for Parents - How to Take Better Pictures of Your Kids

Life isn’t always perfectly styled, it’s messy and full of mundane, repetitive moments. It’s really tempting to wait to pick up your camera until your house is cleaner, or the kids are dressed in something that isn’t stained, or until the flowers in the backyard have bloomed. Don’t wait.

Take the opportunity to photograph your kids just as they are right at this moment, and see if you can’t find some beauty in the ordinary.

3 Simple Photography Tips for Parents - How to Take Better Pictures of Your Kids

3. Capture What Your Kids Love

At any given point in time, your kids are likely to have at least one thing that they’re absolutely obsessed with. It may be a stuffed dinosaur, their favorite book, a hat that they want to wear every single day or a best friend.

Regardless of what their current favorite thing is, taking photos of your childen with the things that they absolutely love is a really sweet way to remember them at the different stages of their lives.

3 Simple Photography Tips for Parents - How to Take Better Pictures of Your Kids

Chances are that in a year or two, your child will move on to a new favorite thing. You’ll forget all about that stuffed dinosaur or favorite blanket much more quickly than you’d probably think. It’s fun for both you and them to be able to look back and say “Remember when you used to….”

3 Simple Photography Tips for Parents - How to Take Better Pictures of Your Kids

Bonus Tip: Get the Photos Off Your Computer!

How many of us are guilty of taking hundreds of photos of our kids, maybe uploading a few to social media, and then letting them hang out on our hard drives in perpetuity? In all honesty, one of the most important parts of photographing your kids is to actually print the photos you take of your kids.

There are so many great resources out there now, whether you want to send prints off to a professional lab or print a photo book right from your Instagram feed, there truly is something for everyone. You don’t have to do it all, but just pick something, and get those images off your computer and into your lives!

3 Simple Photography Tips for Parents - How to Take Better Pictures of Your Kids

Do you have any non-technical tips that you’d share with moms and dads just trying to take great photos of their kids? If so, please chime in below in the comments.

The post 3 Simple Photography Tips for Parents – How to Take Better Pictures of Your Kids by Meredith Clark appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Simple Tips for Positioning Your Portrait Subject to Leverage Natural Light

06 Nov

When I’m on a photo shoot, I always carry two flash guns with me. However, when it’s a family outing or holiday, the flash guns are left behind in favor of kiddie stuff I need to lug around and I shoot using purely natural light, without even a reflector to help. It does help that I carry a prime lens that opens up to f/1.4 should I need or want to shoot indoors.

Here are my tips for making portraits using purely natural light.

On a sunny day, there is so much light that it makes it quite hard to take portraits, contrary to what many would think. I generally don’t like taking portraits with the sun directly hitting the face of my subject, so that makes the job even harder on such a bright day.

Simple Tips for Positioning Your Portrait Subject to Leverage Natural Light

The first thing to be mindful of is the direction of light – is it coming from overhead, at an angle of 45 degrees or higher or lower? As you cannot physically move the sun, you are going to have to move your subject instead. Think of positioning your subject as leveraging natural light to make a pleasing portrait.

Outdoors

Here are some outdoor scenarios where you can position your subject and avoid direct bright sunlight.

In the shade

My go-to (and easiest) spot is a shaded or sheltered area. Ideally, find a large enough shaded area so that your entire subject is covered in shade. You don’t want dappled light or parts of the body overexposed by being in the sun while the rest of the person is in the shade.

Areas of shade could be under a tree or in the shadow of a tall structure such as the wall of a building as in the photo on the left below. This gives you even lighting over a large area and even exposure too with no hard shadows.

Compare the left photo to the right one where the subject is wearing a hat. I metered on her face and because she was furthered shadowed by the hat, the exposure increased a tad and the rest of the image then got brighter. This can be evened out quite easily in post-production by adding a soft vignette.

Simple Tips for Positioning Your Portrait Subject to Leverage Natural Light

With a very bright backlight

Sometimes you find yourself at a location that doesn’t offer enough shade or there is a lack of large structures to provide shelter. You would end up shooting in a bright wide-open space and your only option is to shoot backlit or at least provide shade to your subject’s face.

The difficulty with shooting backlit is that you would need to have ample fill light to compensate for the very strong backlight. You can either use your camera’s built-in flash or use some kind of reflector. That could be a light-colored piece of cardboard or a natural reflector in the vicinity, such as a bright path or wall that reflects strong sunlight back onto your subject’s face.

Shooting in an open or semi-open space, like the black and white photo above, where the backlight is a lot stronger than the light illuminating the subject it gets complicated. Unless you are using a flash to counteract the backlight, the background will be blown out. Even if you shoot with a small aperture, the difference in the amount of light between the subject and the background will be too great to get an even exposure without using a fill flash.

Natural reflectors

In the photo below, this was not taken in a fully open space but the shade there was weaker. The hat provided more shade to her face and you can see the left side is a little darker than the right. That makes for a nice gradation of light and shadow as opposed to a flatly-lit portrait.

I leveraged a natural reflector here which was just to camera right – a light colored parasol which reflected the sun onto the girl’s face. You can also see that the background was a lot brighter and more washed out compared to the first photo above left. But it is showing some foliage compared to the photo above right, hence there is more detail rather than just a white blown out sky.

When I find myself in situations like these, I make sure my main focus is the subject’s face and I don’t mind the background being blown or washed out. After all, I am after a portrait of the subject.

Simple Tips for Positioning Your Portrait Subject to Leverage Natural Light

Light from above

Compare the two photos below. The left photo is shot with fairly flat lighting on the face. I made sure the subject was in full shade and the light coming from both the right and left sides was even.

The photo on the right is different in that I asked her to look up a little, thus using the light coming from above and creating a slight gradation of shadow on the right side of her face. Simple positioning of the face in relation to the light source makes a big difference in how your photos look.

Simple Tips for Positioning Your Portrait Subject to Leverage Natural Light

Indoor lighting

In comparison to outdoors, there is usually only a fraction of the amount of light indoors, even with a window present. However, this works to your advantage. The light source is usually one-directional unless you have many windows, and therefore you can use this it to sculpt your subject’s face as it were, choosing where the shadows will fall and creating a moody portrait.

The light in the photo below left was coming from a big window, high up at about 30 – 45 degrees to the subject. You can see the shadow falling on the opposite side of her nose and cheeks creating a darker, moodier feel to the image compared to the photo on the right shot outdoors. Even with just a single light source indoors, you have enough light to play with and create the ambiance you want to portray.

Simple Tips for Positioning Your Portrait Subject to Leverage Natural Light

Over to you

Whether indoors or outdoors, it is always important to be mindful of where the light is coming from, how much light there is, and if there is any contrast of light and shade in the space. Knowing how to leverage the natural light allows you to create the type of mood you are after in your portrait.

Understanding this and practicing how to use available light will make you a better photographer.

The post Simple Tips for Positioning Your Portrait Subject to Leverage Natural Light by Lily Sawyer appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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6 Simple Tips to Capture More Expressive Images of Your Children

22 Oct

Images of your children are probably THE most important images you will ever make, even if it doesn’t feel like it. But for the longest time what I did was make very superficial images of my kids, until I started applying a few of the tips below. Follow along to get more intimate and expressive images of your children too.