Saturday, May 30, 2015

A Year Ago on Boost Your Photography


Here are this month's topics for BYP 52 Weeks Challenge. New members are always welcome. Join here.

2014


  • Shutter Speed Guidelines. Do you know which shutter speeds to use in which situations? Need to know how best to freeze motion or to capture silky water? This quick overview of shutter speed guidelines (plus cheat sheet) has your answers.

  • ISO Basics. Get the details you need about ISO and understand the impact of shooting with lower vs. higher ISO values.



2013:
  • Light Painting: How to Spin an Orb. This article walks you step-by-step through the process of spinning and creating orbs with light painting. All you need is a bright LED light, a tripod for your camera, and a little bit of practice. You'll be surprised at how easy these are to do!
  • Travel Photography Must Haves. Don't leave for your next summer trip without making sure you have all the travel photography supplies you need! This quick article will get you started with all the basics for bringing back home amazing travel photographs.
  • Be a Local Tourist: Photograph a Farmers' Market. Photography opportunities are all around you. Take a trip to your local Farmers' Market to discover a wealth of photographic options. Practice your street or travel photography, zoom in on some curious details, or just wait for inspiration to strike!
  • Remember the Background and Move Your Feet. This article focuses on an oft-forgot point of composition: the background. Rather than getting sucked into your subject, take the time to pay attention to the background and see how moving your motion or perspective can make an immediate impact.

Don't Miss a Single Post from Boost Your Photography

Follow along on Facebook

Follow along on Google+

Follow along on Twitter

Follow along on Pinterest

Follow along on Bloglovin'

Or, better yet, receive updates daily or weekly via email. Sign up below!

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required


How would you like to receive updates? *




Monday, May 25, 2015

New Posts on Golden Hour and Newborn Photography

Don't miss out on these two great guest posts I have up over at Craftsy!


This ultimate guide is a roundup of all newborn, toddler, and maternity photography posts over at Craftsy. A great one-stop resource for anyone interested in newborn and baby photography!




How to Make the Most of the Golden Hour


The Golden Hour is a magic time for photography. This post shares tips and tricks for calculating, using, and maximizing Golden Hour light in your photography.








Boost Your Photography: Learn Your DSLR is now available from Amazon. Get the most out of your camera with practical advice about the technical and creative aspects of DSLR photography that will have you taking beautiful pictures right away.

Saturday, May 16, 2015

A Year Ago on Boost Your Photography

2014:


  • Focus on Focus. An introduction to how to focus, including why to use a manual focus point, the difference in autofocus modes, and how and why to focus and recompose. 
  • Deciding Where to Focus. This follow-up post elaborates on the importance of knowing where to focus when shooting.




2013:
Rephotography: Dear Photograph | Boost Your Photography
  • Rephotography: Dear Photograph. This rephotography project idea comes courtesy of the web site Dear Photograph. All you need is a set of older photographs and the time to return to the original location and match your your shot. Presto! (Read the full article for more details.)
Why Won't My Lens Focus? | Boost Your Photography
  • Why Won't My Lens Focus?. This first article in our occasional series for beginners zeros in on some common focus problems and offers straightforward advice and suggestions for immediate correction.
  • Missed the Shot? Remember Camera Zero. This article covers the default settings (Camera Zero) that you should be using with your DSLR. Never miss a shot again by having your settings mixed up from your previous shooting.  Use Camera Zero, and you will always know your camera's settings!
Start a Series: from where I stand | Boost Your Photography
  • Start a Series: from where I stand. This creative approach to selfies involves creating a collection of photographs where you include your feet for both context and scale. Read on for more ideas and inspiration!


Don't Miss a Single Post from Boost Your Photography

Follow along on Facebook

Follow along on Google+

Follow along on Twitter

Follow along on Pinterest

Follow along on Bloglovin'

Or, better yet, receive updates daily or weekly via email. Sign up below!

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required


How would you like to receive updates? *




Saturday, May 9, 2015

5 Tips for Better Flower Photographs


Right now is an incredible time for flowers! Where I live, the crab apple trees are bursting into bloom, the red buds are turning purple, and the lilacs are just hinting at the colors and scents to come. Read on for some simple tips to help your flower photographs stand out from the rest.

Experiment with Orientation

Try both vertical and horizontal orientations for your flower photographs. Individual blooms or a thin vase can be accentuated by a vertical orientation. Groups of flowers might work better as a horizontal shot.


Pay Attention to the Background

Do not let your interest in your subject overwhelm your attention. Think just as much about the background of your photograph as you do about the flower itself. Moving yourself slightly or choosing one flower over another nearby can make a dramatic difference in your photograph.


Shoot in Aperture Priority Mode

Aperture priority mode allows you to set the aperture on your camera, while the camera chooses the shutter speed (and ISO if you use auto ISO). Read more about aperture priority mode here, or read up on aperture itself here.


Use a wide aperture if you want to blur the background and isolate your subject. The crab apple blossoms above were shot with an aperture of f/1.8. While the front flower is in focus, the focus fades very rapidly, resulting in the pleasing background blur.


Background blur can also be achieved at narrower apertures, if you pay attention to the placement of your subject relative to the background. Here, the flower in the front is significantly closer to the camera than the rest of the tree. An aperture of f/11 was used to keep the entire flower in focus, front-to-back, while the greater distance of the flowers in the background allows them to remain out of focus.


You can also use a narrow aperture (generally with a tripod) to get a crisp photograph of the entire flower close-up. This rose was shot using a 30-second exposure at f/22, with the camera mounted on a tripod. This was done inside, to avoid any possible movement of the flower due to wind.


No tripod? No problem. You can also use a technique called focus stacking to create a super-focused photograph out of a series of photographs shot at varying focus points. Read the full details behind focus stacking here.

Get in Close ... Then Closer

Many times, we feel tempted to include the entire flower in the photograph. That's fine, take that shot. But then move closer. Or zoom in further. Fill the entire frame of your shot with just one part of a flower. Find and isolate an interesting detail.


Try a Different Perspective

We love to sniff flowers, and our default tendency is to view and photograph flowers from that point-of-view: just above and looking down. If you want to do something a little more original with your flower photography, you need to try a different perspective.


Get down low - way down. Try laying down or holding your camera low to the ground. Looking up at flowers can significantly change your photographs.

What's your favorite tip for incredible flower photographs? Share a tip or image in the comments!





Boost Your Photography: Learn Your DSLR is now available from Amazon. Get the most out of your camera with practical advice about the technical and creative aspects of DSLR photography that will have you taking beautiful pictures right away.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

A Year Ago on Boost Your Photography


The original Boost Your Photography 52 Weeks Challenge is a wrap! Congratulations to all participants and finishers! Missed out? Never fear. The 2015 version is still underway, and new members are always welcome. Join here.

2014:


  • What the ... White Balance? This break-through post explaining white balance, what it is, and how to make the most of it, is one of our top five popular posts of all time.
  • Teaching Kids Photography: shooting modes, focus, and exposure. This is the first in our series of posts about teaching kids photography, based on my experiences running a photography club with elementary and middle school students. Learn about where to start, regardless of whether you are using phone, point-and-shoot, or DSLR cameras.

  • Photographing Architecture - watch your lines! The focal length of your camera and the distance between yourself and your subject can cause various kinds of distortion in your images. Learn how to watch your horizontal and vertical lines for better architecture photographs.

  • Capture a Day in a Single Image. Learn how to shoot a series of photographs over the course of a day and how to layer then together in Photoshop for a unique image depicting the entire day. Tips, advice, and Photoshop how to all included.


2013:

This iteration of A Year Ago on Boost Your Photography includes two of the top five articles of 2013. Enjoy!

Spinning Fire with Steel Wool Photography | Boost Your Photography

  • Spinning Fire with Steel Wool Photography. It's easy to capture amazing photographs with steel wool spinning. This article will walk you through all that you need to do to creative these types of photographs safely and easily (even with a point-and-shoot camera)!
Shoot the Moon with the Photographer's Ephemeris | Boost Your Photography

  • Cheap and Easy Macro: Comparisons and Recommendations. This summary article provides a quick overview of the most common, inexpensive ways to capture macro photographs, along with links to all the detailed articles about each method. The final head-to-head comparison will help you decide which method(s) may work best for you.

Don't Miss a Single Post from Boost Your Photography

Follow along on Facebook

Follow along on Google+

Follow along on Twitter

Follow along on Pinterest

Follow along on Bloglovin'

Or, better yet, receive updates daily or weekly via email. Sign up below!

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required


How would you like to receive updates? *




Friday, May 1, 2015

Interested in a Daily Photography Challenge for May?

Daily photography can be a great way to hone your photography skills. I am partnering with Craftsy for the month of May to organize a daily photography challenge.

Clicking the pin below will take you to the full article and list of daily themes. Participants who share photos via Craftsy and use the #MayPhotoChallenge hashtag are eligible for inclusion in a drawing for a Craftsy Mystery Box at the conclusion of the challenge!




Consider joining the 31-Day Photography Challenge today!





Boost Your Photography: Learn Your DSLR is now available from Amazon. Get the most out of your camera with practical advice about the technical and creative aspects of DSLR photography that will have you taking beautiful pictures right away.