Do you believe that rules are made to be broken?  Well, whether you do or don’t, you have to know the RULE first before you can choose to either follow it or break it!

The basic idea of the rule of thirds is imagine breaking your photo up into three equal sections [both horizontally and vertically].  The horizontal and vertical lines form a grid…the “sweet spots” are where these lines intersect.  It’s at these spots where you may want to consider placing your subject.

Notice how the lab is in the exact center of the image.  It’s a nice portrait, and there are definitely times where you want the subject in the middle of the shot.

Notice here how my dog’s head is almost directly in one of these “sweet spots”.  You add some visual interest by placing the subject in any of the four points where the lines intersect.

That being said, there is no “rule” that you have to use the “rule of thirds”! Ü  It’s a matter of preference and style.  Just something to think about the next time you’re getting ready to snap that photograph!

Waiting for some new dives, I’m keeping working on the photography pages. Today I have added another page to the “Fish” area adding some news images of tropical little fish.

Ecsenius sp.

A little taste of what to expect!!

We have just launched a brand new page over at www.josephrossbach.com! The Weekly and sometimes daily Photo Tips page. These photo tips are written tutorials with illustrations and video podcasts of software training and lectures on photo techniques. Make sure to visit the page and add the website to your RSS feed so you can stay informed when new tips and videos are added!   http://www.josephrossbach.com/page9463.html

One of my favorite  photography websites is  The Mindful Eye.  A terrific feature on the site is “The Daily Critique,” where Craig Tanner, a nationally known photographer and photography instructor, takes an image and critiques it in a short video. Craig gets thousands of submissions each week, so I was thrilled that he chose one of my pictures today.  Over the past couple of years, Craig has critiqued several of my images, and you can see these critiques here.

I don’t always agree with Craig’s suggestions, but they are always thought-provoking. I learn and grow as a photographer each time I watch one of his critiques - of my work or others.  If you want to learn more about photography, sign up as a member of The Mindful Eye. It’s free and one of the best photography sites on the web in my view.

This image was from the same shoot I discussed in my blog post of yesterday. Here’s the critique:

Family, friends, and cleaning have kept me from some quality LEGOing during the break, but I will at least take the time to write up a few tips about LEGO photography.  I need to preface by heartily emphasizing that I am not an expert, or even an experienced amateur, in this area.

For more skilled endeavors into taking brick pictures, check out the following links.  Or, just search for “Star Wars LEGO” on Google Image.  I can guarantee thousands of hits.  Thousands.  [Note:  I checked, it's 2,500,000.]

The Brick Testament – LEGO versions of classic Bible stories

LEGO365 – Day-by-day photoblog of miscellaneous LEGO scenes

via Wired – “Lego Tableaus Re-Create Classic Photos“

via Wired – “Historic Moments Recreated in Lego“

Based on what I’ve done so far, I can offer a few helpful tips:

Setting the scene

• Orientation.  Even if you’re taking photos from multiple angles, consider the scene as you would a stage – remove any of the “fourth wall” obstructions, unless you want them to be out of focus in the foreground.  A temptation might be to set up your photo as though it was candid and not contrived, especially something like a street scene or battle, but it won’t appear the same way as you intend from the photo’s single vantage point.  Also, it’s LEGO.  It’s going to look a bit contrived, not to say, plastic.  If you want to show interiors of buildings, consider building a cutaway, as I did in this condo build:

Cutaway of Condo Interior

• Background.  If you’ve already browsed some of the above LEGO photo sites, you’ll noticed that often the background is very blurry.  This is usually a function of the camera’s macro setting (see below) but can be avoided by using relatively two-dimensional scenes.  Depending on the scene, a background may or may not be appropriate; occasionally the set’s original box will make a decent stand-in for a more complicated scene.  Posters, magazine images, and (for underwater scenes) that plastic “wallpaper” you can buy for the back of fishtanks also work great.  But in a pinch, any colorful surface can be put into the background for a generic non-white or -black background.
  Depending on the scene or scale of your build, using an outdoor scene might be useful.  A blue sky might be a nice “looking up” shot at your work.  Beware, however:  for minifig scale shots, things like grass, concrete sidewalks, or flowers will generally clash with your intended scale.  Unless you’re going for that Alice-in-Wonderland-caterpillar-scene look.

Sometimes just a wood floor is a decent background

For complete scenes, however, a blank background diminishes the effect

• Poses.  I haven’t put much effort into LEGO tableaus which require a great deal of challenging poses.  The best I can offer here is, even if you’re only taking architectural photos, put a bit of thought into what your minifigs are doing in the scene, besides existing for scale.  Are they sitting or standing?  Talking or alone?  On the phone?  Reading?  Walking or running?  What are their hands doing?  Little details like this can make them more realistic, as it were.

These minifigs, a doctor and a woman of means, are waiting expressively for the bus

Taking photos

• Use the macro setting.  I can’t emphasize this enough.  Every (digital) camera has a macro setting – the little tulip/flower on the menu options.  (Note:  if your point-and-shoot is in “Auto” setting, it may not display this option – switch to “Manual” for more options.)  Not only does it focus on and maximize the sharpness of close objects – and because LEGO builds are small scale, you are inevitably right in front of them with your lens.  It also adjusts the flash so the light does not wash out the nearest objects.  Even if you don’t use the flash, macro mode can improve the clarity of your images.
  The two (potential) disadvantages of macro mode are:  1) extremely close focus tends to make the background very blurry, even when not far from the camera either; and 2) having a close flash will substantially darken the space behind the closest object, making a faraway black or very shadowy.  These can be adjusted for to some degree, but it is somewhat in the nature of LEGO photography to lose some of the depth of life-size photography.  The photos below illustrate the difference in quality between regular and macro mode – I’m still sold!

Bus stop photo, normal focus mode, with flash

Same shot of bus stop, macro (flower) focus mode, with flash

• Flash or no flash?  As the above photos illustrate, macro mode makes a big difference.  Depending on the scene you want, light levels also make a big difference.  Because the flash tends to be very reflective, even in macro mode, sometimes it’s best to try to use directional light sources to achieve the effect you want.  If you have the option of shooting outdoors, this can also be a great way to light the scene (especially if you can get natural shadows from morning or afternoon sunlight).  Controlled lighting also gives you some crazier options, as shown below.
  While I’m not a fan of flash photography in most cases, I make an exception for LEGO.  Because I have a lot of white building pieces and, from my most recent purchase, even more of those, I tend to build white buildings with a red roof.  Using the flash indoors brings out those bright colors, whereas incandescent or fluorescent lighting can make the white too warm or cool.  This can be somewhat corrected in post-processing software (see below).  Generally speaking, however, a daytime LEGO scene is best lit with directional light with minimum shadows.

Even in macro mode, the flash can add excess glare and odd shadows in low light

I'm still not sure how the camera did this, but dramatic lighting can create interesting effects!

• Vantage point.  When documenting your creation or setting up a tableau, consider your vantage point.  Shooting from straight above, or at an angle looking down, will produce a photo of a LEGO build; shooting at ground level will make the photo appear to scale for a minifig; shooting too low will be pretty much unrealistic.  While this seems obvious, even subtle changes in angle may make a difference – play around until you figure out what you want your camera height to be.  I am still perfecting this one myself.

Not quite right - the background is too blurry, and the camera is perhaps a bit too low

Getting closer - the height might be a bit off, but feels more realistic

Final edits

• Adjustments.  Tweaking photos would be a series of posts in itself, so I’ll be brief.  Grab your favorite photo-editing software (both Adobe Photoshop and Corel PaintShop Pro have their merits, if you can afford either; GIMP is a generally-functional open-source freebie)  Unless the light you used completely washed out the photos, you generally don’t need to mess with saturation or contrast to make them realistic-looking – LEGOs are shiny plastic blocks that come in mainly primary colors, so they don’t need much help in the color department.  In fact, if you’re printing the photos on a regular printer, I’d recommend stepping back the saturation about 15% to adjust for ink levels.
  The main things I would recommend would be increasing some of the lights and shadows to compensate for the flash.  If you took photos outdoors on a sunny day, definitely balance out highlights and shadows.  And finally, you can enhance the difference between a clear focal point and surrounding objects by playing with the sharpen and blur functions in the program.  If the background was already blurry you can’t do much about it, but if you want to enhance the effect it’s easy to do with layers and lens blur.
  Also, don’t forget to crop out the stuff around the edges, especially if you only built the scene to extend to a certain point.  Easier to do in software than with the camera.

Binky's house, pre-retouch in Photoshop

Not a very precise job, but toning down Brightness and using Burn/Dodge adds some color back to the shot

Happy LEGO-ing and photo-ing!

Thank you to all my wonderful clients — it is you who inspires me.  This year I started a Photo Tips series on the blog.  Here’s a compilation of a year in tips on a new video demo format that I’m trying out and would like to share. See you in 2010!!

http://animoto.com/play/Jl0ub8sQkpTwov7Xz69UhA?utm_source=project_complete_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=project_complete_email&utm_content=challenger

Sometimes, having that colossal zoom lens can make you lazy as a photographer.  Do not fall into the trap of staying in one place.  You have to move it!  Be inventive.  Be creative.  And most important of all, be limber.

Walk around your subject.  Just standing there and clicking will not cut it!  Explore your surroundings and use those legs God intended you to use.  Relying on a zoom lens is convenient and easy but slims your chances of getting that perfect shot.

Staying in one place lets your environment control your shot.  But when you limber up and get around, you will find that you have much more control over your environment.  So avoid depending on that zoom and move it!  You may end up with a shot that will move others.

Viveza just got better! Nik Software just released Viveza 2 last week. It has improved features for an already terrific program. With Viveza 2, you now have global adjustments along with selective u-point adjustments, and they’ve added a Structure slider to bring out fine details. They also added shadow recovery – all of this either globally or selectively controlled. Check out the video on their site here. I used Viveza (1) to turn ‘on’ the lighthouse in the picture below, when the ambient light became a bit brighter than the beacon. It helped bring some life to the lighthouse – although admittedly it’s hard to tell with a picture this size! But I’ve used Viveza regularly in other situations when I wanted to do fine adjustments to small areas without having to make a complicated mask.

Pricing for Viveza 2 is $199.95 (note: price lowered from the original $249.95) and just $99.95 for upgrades.

At the same time as this launch, Nik has created a final end-of-year special on both of the Complete Collection Editions, as follows:

(a) Complete Collection for Lightroom/Aperture, only $199.95 (save $100)

(b) Complete Collection Ultimate Edition for Photoshop/ Lightroom/Aperture, only $429.95 (save $170!)

These promotional offers end promptly at 11:59pm on 12/31/09

To buy either of these collections – or Viveza 2 – click on the Nik ad above – and be sure use the BTHARP in the promo code to get the special price.

Portland Head Light, Maine

(Music plays….) I’m gonna wash that dirt right outta that shirt keyboard!!

OK, the commercial reference above might be too old for some of you younguns out there, but I still remember that TV commercial for laundry detergent so you can guess my age!! But I thought it appropriate for the following stories and tips on cleaning and potentially salvaging gear…

My partner Jed Manwaring just sent me this after loaning me a keyboard. The following Q&A is by Christopher Breen, Macworld.com.

“Q: I have an old keyboard that I love, but its keys are sticking due to built up dust and gunk. Is there a way to clean it?

A: This is a common question and with it come solutions both tried-and-true and controversial. Starting with the tried-and-true:

The first step in cleaning a keyboard is to unplug it, grab a can of compressed air (found at any electronic supply store), and blast air around the base of the keys in the hope of dislodging whatever’s gumming up the works. Do this holding the can of compressed air upright. Flip the can upside down and there’s some danger that you’ll squirt propellant into the keyboard.

Turn the keyboard over and give it a good shake in the hope of removing the gunk you’ve loosened. While in this position, blast it a few more times with the compressed air. If a key remains unresponsive after this treatment, gently pry it up with a small flathead screwdriver and clean its post with a slightly damp cloth.

Now, the controversial:

If the keyboard is so filthy that it appears to be a lost cause—as it might after a major coffee, soda, or Mai Tai spill—put it in the dishwasher. Place it in the top rack, dial the dishwasher to a rinse only setting, don’t put soap in the thing, and run it through. Remove the keyboard and let it drain, with keys down, until it’s completely dry—this could take a couple of days.

This is controversial because some keyboard manufacturers suggest that you not do this as they won’t guarantee that the keyboard will survive the ordeal—particularly if you hit the keyboard with really hot water, detergent, and flying cutlery.

Speaking from personal experience, I’ve done this with a beloved Matias TactilePro keyboard that I’d given up for dead (this is the perfect condition under which to conduct this experiment). I’m happy to report that not only did it survive, it works perfectly (and is a whole lot nicer to look at than it once was)”

OK, this may still seem crazy to you, but I can recount that a friend of mind took a dunking in the Merced River in Yosemite one spring, along with his Canon 10D, and he took it back to the cabin, took off the lens, set the camera and lens by the wall heater and cranked that puppy up to high. Several hours later, the camera worked fine and continued to do so, even as he retired it for a newer larger MP camera.

The reason this all works is because fresh water doesn’t corrode like salt water, at least not as quickly, and not by the time your keyboard or camera dries out. But continued washing in the dishwasher could build up calcification, making your keyboard sticky all over again for a different reason than the Milk Shake spilled on it…

On our Inside Passage photography tour in Alaska a few years back, a gal suddenly had her expensive Nikon F5 go on the fritz – and she was not able to use the camera. We had been outside in a steady drizzle photographing whales. Even though we all had rain protection for our cameras as well as ourselves, the cumulative moisture build-up was just too much for the poor thing – and it went berzerk! So we popped it in a large zip lock bag (on the list of what to bring for that trip) and two aluminum containers of desiccant, and let it sit for a few hours. We then tried it and it worked beautifully – and continued working the rest of the trip. Thankfully, she had a backup camera body but she was a happy camper to get her new toy back in her hands!

Rechargeable desiccant containers are the best for traveling in humid climates, rainy weather, and they are rechargeable in the oven – bake at 300◦ for 3 hours! Yes, you need an oven to recharge them, not a microwave, but we created a solar oven while in Costa Rica kayaking and were able to recharge them that way, albeit it a slower method. We also travel with them in double or triple zip lock bags once recharged to keep them dry until we need them.

So what happens if your camera takes a dunking in salt water? Before you bury it in the place where it died,with a memorial marker and service, here’s a thought: Remove the batteries, and immerse the whole camera in a zip lock bag of fresh water – and swoosh it all around, to flush out the salt water; do this twice, and then drain the bag, zip it shut while still all wet in there, wrap it all up and ship it asap to the nearest repair service. That fresh-water flush just might keep the camera contacts and lubricated parts from getting gunked up with dried salt, making the camera salvageable. Like the guy from Macworld.com said, if it’s already ‘dead’, it surely can’t hurt to try this idea and it may just salvage the camera.

(We used to do this with film accidentally dropped into salt water – we put fresh water inside the little plastic can until we could get it to the lab. It worked! – although we didn’t make a habit of dropping our film just because of this…)

Disclaimer: This is not an official how-to on dealing with cameras that have been exposed to salt water and it may make no difference. So try this at your own risk should the need arise – and don’t email me a complaint if it doesn’t work.

Well, we lost our internet connection for about three days, and that threw a curve into our plans to post holiday greetings and pictures on time!! But the wishes were still there – in the ethernet somewhere, for you all. I’ll be back on line again soon, but in the meanwhile just wanted to post a wish for a good holiday season!

If I understand the literal translation correctly it means “the blink of an eye” but culturally it refers to “the moment”.

That’s what photography has always been really about. Capturing a finite moment that tells a story. The reason you work so hard at developing the technical skill with your camera is so that it can disappear into the back of your mind and you can focus on what’s important.

So the tip for this Christmas is don’t worry about the optimal exposure. Try to get it right but if you don’t nail the exact aperture you wanted, or the shutter speed is a little slow and get motion blur don’t sweat. Look for the smiles on your kids faces or your parents laughing. You won’t be disappointed.

OK, so it’s traditional at Christmas/New Year to summarise how the year has been.  Why should I be any different?  

This year has been fun!!!   Let me tell you why…   

Being a social photographer and photographic trainer is as much about working with people as it is about photography, and it’s people that make life interesting.  Every portrait shoot, every wedding, and every photographic training session is different.  It’s because the people involved are different, the circumstances are different, and if you are shooting outside the light is always different.  Take this recent portrait shoot at my studio. 

I’ve used this background many times before, but during the portrait shoot the sun came out low to the right and turned her hair golden.  A quick balance of the sunlight with off-camera flash, and it’s a very stylish image.  The light changed everything.  On another day the images would have a completely different feel to them.

At weddings the brides and grooms have reacted to their day in different ways.  Some were calm & collected taking the day as it comes, some were excited & wanted everything to be “just so”.  However they were it was a real privilege to have been their wedding photographer, and to have helped them remember their day. 

"Bride arriving" by Gale Photography

Here I was able to shoot with available light, which gave a nice pale background, and record the emotion in the bride’s face as she arrived in her wedding car at the church. 

On our photographic training courses we’ve had a great mix of people, from serious amateurs, to people with simple compact cameras who just want to take better photographs.  Every course has had its own atmosphere and direction, I’ve had a lot of fun, and I always learn something too! 

"Window abstract" by Gale Photography

So I’d like to say a big “Thank You” to all of our portrait photography and wedding photography clients, to our photographic training course delegates, and also to our blog subscribers.  I’m looking forward to another year of photographic fun in 2010!

Have a great New Year.

Derek.

New image “The Rapture” added to the website – http://www.josephrossbach.com/photo4190639.html

And also check out our brand new Photo Tips page – http://www.josephrossbach.com/page9463.html. We will be posting a new tip each week! At the bottom of the page, you can submit ideas to me on photo tips that you would like to read about.

I know it’s only a few days away but if you’re still looking to buy something for the DSLR owner in your life (or for yourself on Boxing Day) here are a few ideas in no particular order.

A FAST LENS- $120-$160

This is absolutely where I would start. If you don’t have a cheap “nifty fifty” you don’t know what you’re missing. If you own a Canon camera you need to have the 50mm f1.8 lens in your bag. Actually if you have it, it will probably spend very little time in your bag and a lot of time on your camera. The lens currently lists for $140 at London Drugs but usually goes for around $130 and often as low as $120.

If you have a Nikon they offer an equivalent 50mm f1.8 that lists for $160. An important reminder though is that this lens will NOT autofocus on either the d40 or the d60. If you want a fast lens for either of these cameras you need to spend a little more $$ and get the 35mm f2 for about $400. You can’t go wrong with either of these.

A FLASH- $170-$580

You’ve probably noticed that your built-in flash resides 10 minutes north of useless. It’s okay in a pinch but you are going to get way better results using an external flash (or speedlite as all the cool kids are calling it these days).

Aside from being far more powerful the real bonus with an external flash comes with the ability to bounce the light off of walls and ceilings. No more harsh, flat lighting and red eye.

If you are a Canon owner have a look at the 430 EXII. It’s not cheap at $370 but it is a tremendous flash. If you are looking to spend a little more then by all means spring for the 580 EXII at $570. I picked up mine in the US a couple years ago for a song and it is simply amazing.

The Nikon folks have a similar selection starting with the SB-400. This a really basic flash but still offers fantastic results. It’s lightweight, easy to use and cheap at $170 but can only bounce upwards. If you are looking for a lot more power and flexibility the SB-600 is a more full featured option (it can be swiveled side to side in addition to upwards) and runs about $290. Nikon also has their flagship model, the SB-900 at about $580.

You aren’t going to be disappointed with any of these flashes.

A CAMERA BAG- under $100

There are a lot of great companies making bags nowadays but all of my bags happen to be made by the old tried and true LowePro. For one camera with one lens I recommend something in the Top Load Zoom series (TLZ). If you have a couple of lenses and other gear have a look at the LowePro Slingshot 200. It’s a backpack style that easily pivots around your body for easy access to your camera.

MEMORY CARDS- under $50

The prices on memory cards have fallen substantially while capacity has increased dramatically. There is no right answer to the question “How big of a card do I need?” so you need to find the sweet spot between size and price. For SD cards this seems to be around 8GB. They can be found for a decent price if you don’t want the absolute fastest cards (and unless you are shooting HD video or 6+ RAW fps you don’t need them) and can hold in the neighbourhood of 1000 photos. Probably way more depending on your camera. Make sure to stick with the reputable brands. Lexar or Sandisk won’t let you down.

A LENS HOOD- under $50

I cannot recommend this one enough. Your pictures will look better with a lens hood. Some lenses come with them but others don’t. I’m looking at you Canon. They are generally overpriced for a piece of plastic too. But I use them in place of a UV filter to protect the lens and most importantly to keep stray light from hitting the lens.

A LENSPEN- under $15

This is a pretty cool little gadget for under $10. One end features a small brush to get the dust off your lens and the other end has a little soft cloth like deal to clean stubborn debris. Very handy.

PICTURE FRAMES- $10+

This is probably your best best. Go and buy a few empty frames. This should hopefully inspire them to not only go and make some good shots but to actually get them printed and show them off.

A while back I made a few images of my daughter all over the place, then I made a few of my self and then when I showed them to a friend the kids liked the idea and they want to be part of the fun.

There are a numbers of different things that can be done and I guess creativity is the limit. The basic concept to make this kind of images is to set the camera on a tripod, and go manual, all manual, exposure and focusing. The other key is to make sure nothing moves between shots aside from the main person changing locations.

For the sake of making the process easier it’s best if the main subject does not overlap itself on any frames (if  the person is going to be on the image twice do not set it where the one in the foreground is blocking the one in the background) once the set up is done shoot all the images and sack them in Photoshop it’s easier to start with 2 images to have a feeling of it and keep it growing from there.

Let’s say you have 3 images in Photoshop already, you should have 3 layers now select the bottom layer first, uncheck the two top ones to reveal the  bottom one and make a selection of the person outline; it does not have to be the most precise, as a matter of fact my selection is well (within reason) outside the person (it blends better in most cases with the other layers on top) once you have the selection done and active reveal the two layers above it select the top one and click delete, then select  the middle layer and click delete again, now you should see the image on the bottom layer and that should do it for that layer. Now move to the middle layer and do the same process. The more layers the more fun.

If you are confused by now, I would not blame you since I usually have a hard time explaining the process but in reality it’s a lot simpler than it looks like.

This is the second of a continuing series of blog posts on Beauty Lighting.  If you missed the first one, from October 13th, click here.

In general, a beauty shot is designed to create the most flattering image possible.  This image is of my friend Ainsley, a PhD student, a dancer and a model – a busy young woman! I used a new lighting setup, following a lighting design by Scott Kelby.  (Scott has some wonderful online courses at Kelby Training. ) Scott calls this “Oil of Olay” lighting. We know just what he means, right?

In this lighting setup, there are two lights and one reflector. Behind Ainsley is a large (48 inches in diameter) softbox, a big light in an umbrella-like unit, aimed toward the camera, with a silk covering to soften the light.  The softbox does two things: it provides a pure white background and it also gives a nice wraparound effect to the light.

The second light is a “beauty dish”,  also softened by silk in the front. The beauty dish, about 18 inches in diameter, is positioned above the camera and aimed down at Ainsley at about a 45 degree angle.

Finally, the reflector. Ainsley is holding a large white card just below her chin. This bounces some light back into her face, further softening the overall effect.

In the October post, I wrote about the catchlights as clues to the lighting setup. In the image above, you will see the small, bright catchlights in the upper part of her eyes (the beauty dish light) and also a larger, subtler catchlight lower in the eyes (the reflector).

Here’s another image from the shoot:

Here you can see the nice wrap around effect of the light on her shoulders, neck and face. Part of Ainsley’s right shoulder is “blown out” (not visible, details lost) by the softbox light. This won’t appeal to everyone, but for me it works fine, particularly as the area that is blown out is quite small.  I love how the glass ball is lit – shooting glass might be a subject for a future post!

Both of these images are slightly overexposed, which is fairly common for beauty lighting shots. The bright exposure tends to further soften and smooth the skin. It’s all about beauty!

Here’s one more shot of Ainsley. This one is not beauty lighting. In this image, I used just one light coming in from the left side. Her right side is purposely dark, to create a high contrast, dramatic look.

Now, given that there are no pictures on the radio, it may seem odd to you that I am “Wiltshire’s Favourite Radio Photographer” but please bear with me.  After all, in the days when “the wireless” meant the radio instead of 802.11n or Bluetooth, there was a BBC radio programme called “Educating Archie” that had a ventriloquist.   ”I swear that I heard his lips move…”  

"Christmas Present labels" by Gale Photography

You will recall that the last two blog posts have been all about creative Christmas photography.  Well, you can now listen to those tips on the radio as well as reading them.   They’re called “Cold Snaps” (I didn’t think of the title!), and are being broadcast on BBC Radio Wiltshire.  You can listen to my dulcet tones on Annie Weston’s splendid Sunday afternoon programme on 20th December between 1pm and 4pm.   

"Christmas presents" by Gale Photography

The first set of creative Christmas photography tips was broadcast on Sunday 13th December, so you’ve missed them!   Well actually you haven’t, because you can listen again on the BBC website.  The first Tip starts at 43m 13 secs into the programme.  You’ll have to be quick though as the listen again programme changes every week! 

"Creative camera movement" by Gale Photography

So, you can read the creative photography tips on the blog, listen to them on the radio, and come along to one of our training courses.  So there’s no excuse for your Christmas photographs not being as good as they can be! 

 Have a great Christmas!!!

I love to pan my camera on non-moving objects – like trees, flower gardens, meadows, even boats in a harbor. But one thing I’ve noticed is that in many of my favorite abstract/panned images, there is some depth expressed. I think it’s very helpful to have that depth -just a whoosh, where everything is in the same plane, just doesn’t have that depth and the resulting picture is a two dimensional abstract.

Abstract of Aspen Trees, New Mexico

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but as in real landscapes and scenes, I’m often trying to suggest the three dimensional attributes of the scene. To do that  in this picture, I got up close to one aspen tree, placing it to the left to allow the other trees to balance that dominant one. With the other trees ‘behind’ the main tree, the near/far relationship establishes a suggestion of depth to the scene. The other, equally important element that is suggesting depth here is the light. The side light brought dimension to individual trees, showing their ’roundness’. The light and the near/far relationship combined to make this a picture I was very happy with. And, as the light falls off to darker areas in the background, you get even more depth. My goal was to have the viewer (you) feel like they were standing in this grove of trees, right next to me.

I love to pan my camera on non-moving objects – like trees, flower gardens, meadows, even boats in a harbor. But one thing I’ve noticed is that in many of my favorite abstract/panned images, there is some depth expressed. I think it’s very helpful to have that depth -just a whoosh, where everything is in the same plane, just doesn’t have that depth and the resulting picture is a two dimensional abstract.

Abstract of Aspen Trees, New Mexico

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but as in real landscapes and scenes, I’m often trying to suggest the three dimensional attributes of the scene. To do that  in this picture, I got up close to one aspen tree, placing it to the left to allow the other trees to balance that dominant one. With the other trees ‘behind’ the main tree, the near/far relationship establishes a suggestion of depth to the scene. The other, equally important element that is suggesting depth here is the light. The side light brought dimension to individual trees, showing their ’roundness’. The light and the near/far relationship combined to make this a picture I was very happy with. And, as the light falls off to darker areas in the background, you get even more depth. My goal was to have the viewer (you) feel like they were standing in this grove of trees, right next to me.

OK, I’m going to keep this short and sweet. Mostly because I’m exhausted from not getting enough sleep this week and then not being able to catch up on sleep this weekend.

I was down at a Christmas party in Richmond this weekend and one of my friends made a side comment about not being able to make her photos brighter. I figure if she was curious how to do it, then there are probably plenty of other people wondering as well.

I know it took me a while to get it figured out at first.

There are three main ways to get more light into your photos (i.e. make them brighter) without using a flash or some other outside light.

All of them have their pros and cons, so it helps to know what they are and practice until you’re comfortable in different situations. They’re all pretty simple in concept

1 Lengthen the shutter speed

The longer the shutter is open the more light it allows to reach the camera’s sensor.

Think of it like a window in the winter. The longer you leave a window cracked open, the colder the house will get.

However, the downside to having a slower shutter speed is that you have to hold the camera still as long as the shutter is open. So the longer the shutter is open, the longer the camera has to stay in one spot.

Thankfully, some smart person decided to invent the tripod.

2 Widen the Aperture

The wider the shutter opens the more the light can come in .

Again, back to the window explanation. The wider you open your window the faster the cold air will come in.

The downside to having a larger aperture is that less of the image will be in focus at one time. So small f-stop numbers won’t be good for taking group photos. Or landscape shots.

However, it is great for drawing the viewer’s attention to the subject that is in focus. It also allows for you to have a faster shutter speed so you don’t have to hold the camera still quite as long.

You can also combine longer shutter speeds and a larger aperture to get even brighter photos. The house is going to get colder if you leave that window wide open for a couple of minutes instead of a couple of seconds.

3 Raise the ISO level

Raising the ISO level is essentially making your camera sensor more sensitive to light. Therefore, the higher the ISO levels, the brighter the photo will be.

The main trade-off with raising the ISO level is a little more obvious on this one. The higher the ISO level is the more noise will be in the photo. It will be brighter, but it won’t be as sharp. This begins to get really evident the higher you go.

One use of a higher ISO level would be if you wanted to make a really grungy looking black and white photo. Especially if you want that tough look. Either that or you’re just going for something different and interesting.

Like I said, it can be tricky to get these all figured out. So go out and experiment. Try using your camera in Shutter Priority mode (S). Try it in Aperture Priority mode (A). Try it in Manual Mode Sometimes refered to as Program Mode (M) or (B).

Try mixing and matching to see what you like. Different situations are going to need different settings. And the only way to get used to using those different settings will be to practice.

Leaf 'floating' on Salt Flats in Death Valley, California.

Once in a while, image ideas come to you in the most unexpected ways. But if you like to do creating composites, it’s a great idea to keep files of images that can work for this. I keep a folder on my hard drive titled Textures and Patterns. I also keep one that has solitary images against simple backgrounds, things that can easily be ‘clipped’ from their backgrounds. That’s how this image was born. I had a single leaf floating on a pond in Maine, and it was an easy one to clip and paste into some other photograph. But which one? While going through my image files for my revised book, Creative Nature and Outdoor Photography, I had selected this image of salt formations for an example of wide angle lenses and/or perspective. But others were chosen instead, and this one was ‘rejected’ temporarily. Until I revisited them. I love the blue of open shade that colored the whitish salt formations; and I thought about how at times, those salt plans are flooded with a thin layer of water after a desert storm. So why not have the leaf ‘float’ on the salt flat as if flooded now? And that’s how this image was born, and ultimately got into the book under the creative chapters.  It’s not meant to be real, but rather surreal. (If I wanted it to look totally real, I’d have had to make a reflection effect on the whole salt pan picture, and well, I’m not that good in Photoshop!)  Freeman Patterson often talked about sandwiching slides oh-so-many years ago when we were all doing film. And I saw and also made some pretty effective ones. But digital just seemed harder because you had to know how to use photo editing software effectively to combine things. Ah, the days of simply mounting two transparencies in one mount are gone, but I’m getting the ‘hang’ of it with the digital method.

How do you get your adorable baby to smile and say cheese, when she cant say anything at all yet? Professional photographer Nigel Barker of America,s Next Top Model has a few simple tips to help you capture every toothless grin.

For the family portrait part of this session all 3 children had taken turns crying and wiggling away, which had to do with it being almost lunchtime and nap-time was approaching.  It was very rewarding to see the final image knowing that after several tries we finally got the shot.  If you find yourself in a similar situation, remain patient while trying different things until you find what works. Oftentimes, I will give the children a break from being in front of the camera by walking away — five minutes of family time without a photographer in their space can do wonders for a child’s mood.