Ideas to Boost Your Photography in April

A Year Ago on Boost Your Photography is a twice-monthly post rounding up all the great content available on BYP that has been published during this same time of year, across the years. It's a quick way to catch up on content you may have missed, including seasonal and time-sensitive photography tips and ideas.

• 5 Must-Read Articles on Food Photography. This great compilation post features five incredible articles about food photography that will help you with all stages of the process, from ideas, to set-up and styling, to shooting, to processing!

• GorillaPod Tripod Review. A GorillaPod is a specific type of travel tripod with flexible legs that allow you to pose and place it in many different locations. This post fully reviews my thoughts about my own GorillaPod and highlights common situations when a GorillaPod is an invaluable accessory!

• Theme and Photography. Find out why setting a particular theme is a great photography challenge to push yourself as a photographer.

• Best Flower & Macro Photography Advice. Great round-up post with five different articles chock-full of advice to improve your macro and flower photography.

• New Book Alert: Photos Framed. Read on for a review of this history-of-photography told through photographs book by Ruth Thomson.

• Make the Shot: droplet refraction. This super-easy technique creates amazing and mystifying photographs. All you need is a piece of glass or plastic, some water, and some colored paper ...

• Travel Photography without the Travel: going local. This post over at Digital Photography School points out how you can practice your travel photography without ever having to leave your home or neighborhood!

• Capture the Seasons: Rephotography. With Spring finally arriving, now is a great time to think about starting a seasonal series. This post offers useful suggestions for choosing an ideal location and making the commitment to return during the course of the year.

• Photography Inspiration: Found Book Poetry. Found book poetry is a truly fun way to create and photograph poems, using only the words on book spines. 

• Inexpensive Close-Up Photography: Extension Tubes. This third article in my guest post series on Photokonnexion covering inexpensive options for macro photography. Extension tubes move your camera lens farther away from your camera body, effectively enlarging the subject as recorded by your camera's sensor.

• Macro and Close-Up Photography: Tips and Tricks. This is the fourth and final article in my guest post series on Photokonnexion. It includes an overview of suggestions for depth of field, shooting macro with and without a tripod, and how to combine various methods to achieve super close-in photographic results.

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Mid-March Ideas to Boost Your Photography

A Year Ago on Boost Your Photography is a twice-monthly post rounding up all the great content available on BYP that has been published during this same time of year, across the years. It's a quick way to catch up on content you may have missed, including seasonal and time-sensitive photography tips and ideas.

• Time for a New Camera? Find out when an upgrade might be worth the investment.

• Finding the Perfect Camera for You. Ready to make the jump and upgrade your camera? Find out what questions you should be asking and check out our handy infographic comparing different types of cameras.

• Memory Card Disaster: what to do about broken, corrupt, or damaged memory cards. When disaster strikes, know your options!

• Product Review: Square Perfect Light Tent. This light tent kit is an easy way to take fantastic photographs of smaller objects, especially for product photography. A light tent is a must-have if you are trying to photograph objects for sale, such as on Etsy or eBay. This is a review of the light tent kit that I personally own and use.

• Series of Posts on Light Tent. This post is a quick overview to multiple posts about light tents both here, on Boost Your Photography, and guest posts of mine for Digital Photography School. Find out how to use a light tent properly, how to create a DIY version, and a direct head-to-head comparison between DIY and professional light tent kits.

• The Decisive Moment in Photography. The phrase "the decisive moment" has become well-worn in street photography, but read on to find out why it is an important idea to consider for all kinds of photography situations!

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Ideas to Boost Your Photography in March

A Year Ago on Boost Your Photography is a twice-monthly post rounding up all the great content available on BYP that has been published during this same time of year, across the years. It's a quick way to catch up on content you may have missed, including seasonal and time-sensitive photography tips and ideas.

• 5 Tips to Keep Your Gear & Photos Safe. Learn how to keep your sensor clean, know your battery life, and more! 

• Avoid Memory Card Disaster: proper handling and care of memory cards. This post is a must-read to make sure that you never loose your precious photographs due to memory card error!

• Photography Inspiration: explore the mundane. March can be a month sorely lacking in photography inspiration, at least here in Wisconsin - winter is dragging on into a muddy mess. Find out why the "mundane" can make a great inspiration!

• Shutter Speed: an overview and visual reference: this popular post about shutter speed provides an overview of the various shutter speeds, as well as recommended situations for each. This advice is then collected in one easy-to-understand visual reference chart. A great place to start for understanding shutter speed!

• Tips to Improve Your Macro Photography: Last year we focused on "Macro March," and this post full of tips kicked off the month. Learn quick, practical advice for improving your macro and close-up photography shots.

• Product Review: close-up lenses: Close-Up Lenses are an inexpensive way to use the lens you already have for macro and close-up photography. This post provides a review of the Digital Concepts 58mm 4-Piece Multi-Coated Camera Lens Filter Set, which are the close-up lenses that personally use.

• Focus Stacking for Macro Photography: Focus stacking is an innovative post-processing technique for combining a series of macro or close-up photographs into one image with a much greater depth of field. This post will walk you through the basics to create incredible focus-stacked images.

• Macro Fakery: Background Creation: Find out a few simple tricks for backgrounds in your macro and close-up photography - includes behind-the-scenes wide shots.

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Ideas to Boost Your Photography in February

A Year Ago on Boost Your Photography is a twice-monthly post rounding up all the great content available on BYP that has been published during this same time of year, across the years. It's a quick way to catch up on content you may have missed, including seasonal and time-sensitive photography tips and ideas.

• Stir Crazy? 4 Fun Indoor Photography Ideas. Great quick stop for ideas about what to photography when you can't get outside.

• Photographing Interiors. Easy-to-implement tips for how to rock shooting in interior locations.

• Another Black and White Book Club: The Magic of Black and White, Vol 1 by Andrew Gibson. Week 1 focused on seeing in black and white, week 2 on details in black and white, and week 3 on developing a single subject in black and white.

• Plus, the last round-ups of top posts revealed ... Top Posts on Lenses and Camera Accessories, Top 10 Photography Ideas, and Top 5 Macro Photography Posts.

• The Black and White Book Club: Michael Freeman. Last year for the month of February a large group of photographers participated in a black and white only photography month plus book club. We read and discussed Michael Freeman's The Complete Guide to Black & White Digital Photography or Michael Freeman Black and White Photography Field Guide. (The Field Guide is a slightly slimmed down version of The Complete Guide,) This first post is an introduction to the book and an invitation to join the challenge. 

• Black and White Book Club Week 1: Black and White Photography as Fine Art – fine art or abstract photography

• Black and White Book Club Week 2: Black and White Photography as Normality – still life, landscape, street, portrait, architecture, or journalism / documentary photography

• Black and White Book Club Week 3: Elements of Visual Design – thinking about shape, structure, tone, volume, form, and texture

• Black and White Book Club Week 4: Creative Choices in Exposure – exploring over- and underexposure, high key, low key, high contrast, and low contrast

• Black and White Book Club Week 5: Putting it All Together – a final week to go back to your favorite or most challenging ideas or styles of black and white photography. You can also explore topics not covered in the weeks above, such as Grain or High ISO photographs, HDR, Tone Mapping, and Adding Tints.

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Mid-January Ideas to Boost Your Photography

A Year Ago on Boost Your Photography is a twice-monthly post rounding up all the great content available on BYP that has been published during this same time of year, across the years. It's a quick way to catch up on content you may have missed, including seasonal and time-sensitive photography tips and ideas.

• Valentines Photography Fun This round-up post contains details and links to a variety of our favorite Valentines-themed photography ideas including hearts, fire, bokeh, and ... of course ... roses!

• Tips for Mastering On-Camera Flash and Round Up of Off-Camera Flash Advice. These two posts are great resources for figuring out how to do more with flash photography - both using your camera's on-camera flash as well as an off-camera flash unit.

• Foldable DIY Photography Light Tent. A light tent is an incredible useful tool for a photographer. This post will explain exactly how to create an easy, foldable light tent (shown above). You can also read How to Use a Light Tent for Small Product Photography and Light Tent Comparison: DIY vs. tent kits over at Digital Photography School.

• Fun with Fizzy Fruit Photography. A great photography subject for an indoor day. With only basic supplies, you can easily create amazing fizzy fruit photographs using the tips in this article.

• Don't miss out on these great round-ups of the best posts from 2014: Top Posts on Phone Photography, Top 5 DIY Photography Hacks, and Top 5 Posts on Photography Composition.

• 5-Minute Heart-Shaped Bokeh. You too can create fun heart-shaped bokeh. All you need is 5 minutes, a 50 mm lens, and some paper ... Read the full post for the how to details.

• 3 Great Winter Photography. snow, bubbles, and how to make the most of the seasons.

• How to Master the Heart-Shaped Shadow. Make the most of any snow with these great snow photography tips and tricks. 

• How to Take Better Snow Photographs. Make the most of any snow with these great snow photography tips and tricks. 

• Aspect Ratio: think of your crop before you shoot. Photography is not just about taking and enjoying pictures digitally, it is also about printing and displaying your favorite images. You need to know and understand aspect ratio even when shooting to make sure that you can print your images exactly the way you want them.

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Ideas to Boost Your Photography in January

A Year Ago on Boost Your Photography is a twice-monthly post rounding up all the great content available on BYP that has been published during this same time of year, across the years. It's a quick way to catch up on content you may have missed, including seasonal and time-sensitive photography tips and ideas.

Missed any of our 12 Days of DSLR posts? You can catch them all here.

• Boost Your Photography in the New Year. Great ideas for photography projects and resolutions to keep you shooting all year long. Find out about 365 projects, 52 weeks projects, the 100 strangers project, and more!

• How to Freeze and Photograph Frozen Bubbles. This how to post walks you through the basics (and the difficulties!) of freezing and photographing bubbles. This is a great way to put a positive spin on your winter weather.

• Behind the Shot: Thor's Well, Oregon. Part of a new series looking at what goes into getting a specific shot at a certain location. First up, Thor's Well on the Oregon coast.

• Ideas for Natural Light Photography. Find out how to make the most of the light around you - and which lighting situations work best for which subjects!

• Then, take your knowledge of light a step further by Using Directional Light. Paying attention to the angle, direction, and quality of the light can make a huge impact in your images!

• Check out these round ups of the highest viewed posts on Boost Your Photography: Top 5 Posts on Camera Settings, Top 5 Posts on Aperture, and Top 5 Posts on Exposure.

• Series of Top 5 Posts. Check out these great collections of the "Top 5 Posts" across a range of photography styles and topics. Click on the images below to go to the full articles. 

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Celebrating the 12 Days of DSLR

Welcome to The 12 Days of DSLR. This year you don't have to wait - you can read all 12 posts immediately!

We revisited and updated 12 of our most popular posts to give you the jumpstart on making the most of your DSLR camera. This series is aimed at first-time DSLR owners as well as those who want a little more guidance for how the make the most out of shooting with a DSLR.

Day 1: Know your settings and camera zero

Day 2: Shutter speed overview

Day 3: Depth of field and aperture

Day 4: All about your camera lens(es)

Day 5: Best accessories for your DSLR, part 1: bargains

Day 6: Best accessories for your DSLR, part 2: splurges

Day 7: What the … white balance

Day 8: Composition basics

Day 9: Zooming vs. cropping: watch your background and move your feet

Day 10: Black and white photography

Day 11: Snow photography tips

Day 12: At-Home Photography

Find endless photography inspiration at home! Day 12: At-home photography contains ideas sorted by whether any planning (or supplies) are required, from no-prep, minimal prep, and some advanced planning required. Everyone can find something new to try. 

12 Days of DSLR, all in one place: 

Day 1: Know your settings and camera zero

Day 2: Shutter speed overview

Day 3: Depth of field and aperture

Day 4: All about your camera lens(es)

Day 5: Best accessories for your DSLR, part 1: bargains

Day 6: Best accessories for your DSLR, part 2: splurges

Day 7: What the … white balance

Day 8: Composition basics

Day 9: Zooming vs. cropping: watch your background and move your feet

Day 10: Black and white photography

Day 11: Snow photography tips

Day 12: At-home photography

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Want to learn more? Boost Your Photography: Learn Your DSLR is 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.