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I hope you don’t think that this is some boring topic. I know that some of you don’t set goals, but, in your photography world, isn’t there this one goal you want to achieve:
Even professional photographers are always trying to improve their photography. And if you like photography in any way, then this is something to read.
Let’s take a look at some things that you can do, and even we can do to help you become a better photographer. Let’s look at these questions:
1- I want to learn more about macro photography
2- I want to be a pro at composition.
3- I want to start taking professional looking portraits
4- I want to learn how to run my settings on my camera better.
5- I would like to have personal training from a real professional photographer.
6- I just need someone to keep my motivated to take photos.
7- I need some help just finding things to photograph at any time of day or any day.
8- I want to start making money with my photography.
9- Can I find someone who can critique my photos and let me know if they are good enough to sell.
10- I would like to find some way to teach photography as well, on a blog format or video format.
With all these ideas I know are going through some people’s heads, I want to see how I can help as a blog (or vlog) producer. And here are some things I want to do different in 2021:
1- Have an open line for questions on how to do certain photographs.
2- If you are set up to maybe learn on a certain day, I can set aside a certain day just for certain subjects (such as: how to take macro photos, how to learn composition better, how to learn my camera settings, etc.)
3- Get some help from outside sources to help us all learn about photography. There are hundreds of photographers who are out there, who are willing to help people with photography.
4- Find special ways to stay motivated in your photography. Want to go take pictures with me? Perhaps we can connect our phones and I will go walking with you.
5- I will try to improve the “Photos of the Week” to show how these photos were taken.
6- I think there are many other ways, we can all learn together, and please submit questions to this link: question.123photogo@gmail.com
If you are a regular scenic photographer, you obviously have tried your skills at all the different seasons. Many people find that summer and fall are probably the easiest, because everything is green, and flowers are blooming, there is just so much color in those two seasons.
I have recently discovered how beautiful winter is. I probably have learned to love the winter photography, because of it’s challenge. Here are just a few examples of what is so hard about winter photography:
1- It’s cold and miserable (had to be first on the list). 2- It’s hard to shoot everything that is white, and get it perfect. The light meter just does not understand you are shooting white things. 3- I have to worry about my batteries going “dead” before I finish taking the photos. 4- I have a hard time finding things to take pictures of in the winter.
It’s time to look into snow boots, gloves, hats, and coats that keep you warm. If you are going to actually go out in to the snow to take pictures, you must dress warm.
Two people in a conversation about the weather: one person says they hate winter because it’s always so cold. The other person says: “Winter is the best because you can just put on more clothes and fix the problem”. The first person says they love summer the best because it’s warm, everything is green. The second person says: “I hate summer. It’s too hot! You can take off all your clothes and you are still hot. You just can’t get away from it”.
Look, there are ways to solve all the above problems. Just learn how to fix it.
How come you get blue or grey snow? Here is the real reason: The light meter in your camera is balanced to a spec called 18%grey. If you take all the colors in the world, and mix them up, you will get grey. And your light meter in your camera doesn’t know you are taking pictures of white. It thinks the white is supposed to be grey. So, what do you have to do? You have to “overexpose” just slightly so that it gives you a brighter picture. Overexpose? That’s not in my book. If you want white snow with your photo, then overexpose. If you are shooting in an automatic mode, then find the dial that goes: +.5, +1, +1.5, +2.0 and so forth. You have to experiment a little so you know how much that dial should be set at. It will vary depending on your light. A good rule of thumb is to set your camera dial at: +1.5. That should be the best choice, and then check out your results.
Another way to do it, and it depends on your camera, is the little pictures or icons on your camera. If you set the dial to “snow” or “sand”, it should work pretty good with that setting. Again, try it, and see how it looks.
Every good winter photographer is aware of this problem. And every good winter photographer keeps a spare set of batteries in his pocket. It is just something you do if you want to be successful at winter photos.
That’s because everything is dormant right now. But, there is beauty in this if you look for it. Look at the trees? Are they covered in snow? What angle would work?
When you look at the photo above, yes, you can see a bunch of dead plants to the side of this road. But, notice how they are all frosted. Or they could have snow on them to make it even more interesting. Use your composition skills as well and look for leading lines.
If you want to take good winter photos, it will take practice. And you will have to get into the habit of “looking for a photo”, to get something you want. It seems that every time I go out and take photos in the winter, I can come up with some real good photos every time, because I “look for a photo”. Apply these tips listed here and you too can enjoy winter.
Here are some more winter photos I love:
Most people, when they think of winter, just want to stay in the house and be warm. Winter is definitely a harsh, brutal time of the year. But, the photographers of the world are noticing all the beautiful photos they can take. And as they go out to take pictures they are challenged by the harshness of the light, the exposure, the ability to think through the white balance and so on.
Let’s get in to the best tips of taking photos in the winter:
Let’s be up front with you right now. The camera will do it’s job, but, it really doesn’t know that you are taking pictures of snow. It thinks you are going to take pictures of dirt, and it’s about 18% grey. So, if you just leave your camera on auto, your snow won’t be white, it will be grey or a blue. When you look at your pictures, you will wonder what happened. It is often helpful to overexpose by +0.3 to +1.0 EV for a better exposure value, achieving a truer whiteness but taking care not to overexpose too much and lose any detail. How much of an increase you will need depends on a number of factors, as all cameras have slightly different settings and the light around you is not always the same. So play around.
I have also found that if you learn your camera well, you can use the “white balance” feature of your camera. That is basically telling the camera that what you are pointing at is white.
If you can get your subject to fill the frame in your camera’s viewfinder, that will work wonders for you. Allow the camera to take a better and more accurate reading and avoid the subject being too backlit, which will cause a silhouette effect. It’s best to take a meter reading from just in front of your subject, then light and set meters accordingly, but for amateur purposes the former is better, especially if you are relying on the camera to do the lion’s share of the metering.
When you get out in the cold, and your taking lots of photos, the one thing you want to be aware of is the fact that batteries in your camera do not like the cold. Have a spare set or two in your pocket so you don’t miss those amazing photos.
It can actually be tricky to keep things dry while photographing in the snow. You take your lens cap off, and stick it in your pocket, then you touch some snow…. then you put your wet lens cap on your lens, and you have a problem now. Water spots on the lens. Make sure you check your lens regularly while shooting in the snow.
Problems may occur when moving in and out of freezing conditions, so allow your camera to warm up slowly. Even better, if you need to start shooting again indoors then make sure you have a camera inside. Otherwise you may be stuck with a foggy lens while your camera warms up!
And the most important… Wear thick socks and gloves. If you can get some gloves that are fingerless, that will help during your photography.
ARTICLE WRITTEN BY LANNY COTTRELL /CREATOR OF 123PHOTOGO.
A lot of photography techniques can be complex and require a steep learning curve.
But in today’s article, you’ll learn 11 easy creative photography techniques you can start using today! The techniques described below all require minimal extra equipment and don’t require additional post-processing.
Read on to get the most creativity from your camera with these easy-to-use techniques.
This is an easy creative photography technique to learn and is popular among many photographers. The main requirement is finding a reflective surface, though this is not all there is to it. Consider the following, and you’ll be capturing amazing reflection photos in no time:
The next option on this list of easy creative photography techniques is silhouettes.
Silhouettes occur when you photograph against the light. The key is to find an interesting shape, and then make sure the background is brighter than the object itself.
You’ll often need to get down to a low angle and then photograph up toward the sky; that way, you can ensure the silhouetted object stands out against the bright background.
Also, when photographing silhouettes, make sure you expose for the bright background. This will turn the subject into a dark silhouette.
A great design element to add to your frame is repetition.
This is something you’ll usually need to look for, but it’s sometimes possible to create your own repetition. There are possibilities for this both in nature and in the man-made world. Repetition may take the form of a line of trees, or of many bricks in a wall. The question, then, is how you’ll use this repetition.
Here are a few ways you can work with repetition to improve your photos:
This is a form of photography that can be practiced with a camera as simple as a smartphone. You’re probably thinking of lensballs, but refraction photography can take many forms, including:
Contrast is a great concept to use in your photography.
The most obvious way to use contrast is by emphasizing dark and light areas of your photo through things such as silhouettes and shadows. But this is not the only way contrast can be used in your photography; anything that has an opposite can be used. You might choose to contrast something old with something new, for example.
The world is full of frames, from pictures on the wall to window frames. These frames can be used in photography, which is another easy creative photography technique.
You can achieve a great framed photo with any kind of camera. Good options for this include doorways and windows. You can even become more creative and make your own frame using objects that contextualize the scene behind it.
Panning is a form of intentional camera movement. The technique involves following the motion of a moving object and using a slower shutter speed to blur the background behind it.
As long as your camera allows you to use a slow shutter speed, this is a technique you can try. Those using a smartphone should download an app that allows you to use a slower shutter speed to take a photo.
Changing your angle can give you dramatically different results, and it doesn’t matter which type of camera you use for this technique.
It’s easy to photograph from a standing position, but try some of these alternative angles:
Using powerful lines in your photos will almost always give you a strong composition. The trick, of course, is to utilize those lines correctly using the focal length available to you.
Here are some of the lines that can be used in your photography:
Photographing shadows requires a strong light source. This can be the sun, but an external flash is another option.
The best time of the day to photograph shadows is therefore when the sun is at a low angle: an hour after sunrise or an hour before sunset.
Shadows can be formed and used in different ways. You might photograph a person’s shadow, shadows formed from trees, or the way shadows emphasize the shapes of hills.
Keeping your composition nice and clean is the key to a good photo. This means that one of the best easy creative photography techniques is minimalism.
You can create minimalism even in the most cluttered environment as long as you frame your photo correctly. This style of photography requires that you give your subject some room to breathe. Focus on the main subject and position it in front of an uncluttered background.
There are so many ways to be creative with photography. Which techniques do you like to use? Are there any simple-to-apply techniques you’ve tried that didn’t make this list? Share your thoughts in the comments!
And if you have any photos that illustrate these techniques, share them in the comments, too!
Then get photographing with these easy creative photography techniques!
The post 11 Easy Creative Photography Techniques You Can Try on Any Camera appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Bond.
Here are a few more photos, using those steps above: