High Five Photo Tips for March-April 2012

1.Small pupils can create fascinating portraits. To create this effect, move your subject from a very bright area to a dimmer one immediately before making a photo     2. Most of the time we only think of portraits as being of the face, but other parts of the body, especially the hands, can tell more of a story. Experiment with just shooting a part of a person to tell the whole story, such as part of a wranglers outfit: just chaps or the boots with spurs. Western Boots with Spurs   Western Chaps

3. Keep your subject busy while you are composing and shooting, by giving them something to do like using props, which can include another person, such as a child, or you could have them work on a hobby project, such as their garden. These types of props can also offer other things you will need to make a good shot, like a good background, and plenty of room to work in.     4. During the golden hours, the sun is at an angle where it will illuminate mist, fog or dust, giving you a great golden glow when the weather conditions permit it. Morning Stampede 5. In travel photography, try to capture or slow down action to make your images less static. With dances, shoot at a slower shutter speed to blur the movement. At night, with your camera on a tripod, these slow shutter speeds will allow car headlights and taillights to blur, creating wonderful compositions. Pow wow Indian Dancers

RNAC Residency Opportunity

Goetemann Residency in Gloucester, MA:   a unique opportunity for artists

Be part of the next generation of  21st century artists to build on the foundations set by Edward Hopper, Milton Avery, Nel Blaine, Winslow Homer, and many others. 

Rocky Neck Art Colony is currently accepting applications for the 2012 Goetemann Artist in Residency Program at the Rocky Neck Art Colony (www.Rockyneckartcolony.org). Three visual artists will be selected to be in residence for three one month residencies during the summer season from May to October of 2012.

Rocky Neck sits like a jewel in the large fishing harbor of Gloucester, MA. With rafted fishing vessels sitting below the stacked houses of surrounding hills, it has provided the visual drama and complex beauty to draw America's greatest artists over the last 150 years to the oldest working art colony in the United States. Residents accepted will receive a prime live-work studio both private and on a wharf right in the midst of it all.

Choices for subject matter are endless.  Interpretive possibilities abound.  We encourage applications from artists interested in the naturalistic phenomena of this place s well as from those on the cutting edge of contemporary thought and exploration.

Kathy Liao of Seattle, Washington,  Goetemann Artist in Residence, Gloucester,MA

High Five Photo Tips for Jan-Feb 2012

High Five Photo Tips for JANUARY - FEBRUARY:

---

1. Light Painting is done in the dark with the camera on a tripod set with manual focus - preset using a flashlight to aide focus) and shutter speeds in the seconds up to minutes. Use a continuous light source such as flashlight, light pen or instantaneous flash with or without gels. Dress in black, move quickly through a scene and even cover flashlight grip, etc. with black.      2.  Get inspiration for your still life and food photography from your local museum. Look at classical paintings from the old masters. Carefully observe the use of color, contrast and composition. Simple lighting with the use of a single light source will create lovely shapes due to cast shadows.  Dark shadows will produce the illusion of depth. Prime lens with a 50 mm equivalent crop factor will mimic the physical limitations of paintings. Experiment and create harmony with complementary colors such as orange with blue. Don't wait for the perfect object, the perfect lighting or the perfect equipment. Blue Plate with Onions

Pepper Duo 3. Create a mood or inspire an emotion with your photography.   Heading Home, Gloucester Harbor    4. Choose your subject and find the simplest elements. Then compose and shoot with your concept in mind. Think and compose. Remember these key elements to create not take an image. Peony Sunrise 5. More on Patterns. Explore B&W and Color. Look for duplicity of patterns and how the light enhances the effect. Side lighting will bring out the texture. Sand Patterns Square Sand Patterns

All prior photo tips archived in the JMP Blog.

High Five Photo Tips for December

1. When shooting Portraits, alter you viewpoint and either get up higher and shoot down or lower and shoot up. Try direct eye contact and then have the subject look outside the field of the camera or inside the camera field. Try props or candid poses often during action such as with jumping or in an activity. Add light Painting.



2. Lighting is the key to compositing. This will make the selections easier and the composite look real. The lighting on the subject and on the composite needs to match. Another trick - don't include the feet if possible. Plan ahead.

3. Simple compositions are often best. Clean and pure. Follows my photo motto: Simplify. Fish 4. Foreground elements help to balance a composition. Choose them wisely. Use leading lines to draw the eye into the photo. Or just look for patterns and colors. Times Square 5. Location, location, location. True in photography as it is in real estate. Choose a great location and a landmark of that location to be the key focus. This is an infra red pannoramic shot vertically at Pepsico in New York. Infra Red Panno

Accent Line Block Closing Block

High Five Photo Tips for November

Plan a photo safari to Africa!
1. Do your own trip investigation and analysis: a safari requires extensive planning as much as twelve months ahead for bookings. Do not trust a travel agent who may be, in fact, booking his first African trip. Read about the different countries and decide what might appeal to you. For instance, trips to Namibia and Kenya required long car journeys over poor roads, not an adventure for everyone. Our destinations, however, were well worth the drive.

Elephants in Mist, South Africa

2. The countries of Africa are very different in geography, abundance and variety of animals, and rules for engaging them. For instance, some only allow game viewing from park roads, which is understandable from a conservation viewpoint. The alternative offered by private lodges such as those next to Kruger National Park in South Africa, is off road viewing. The difference is profound. In the former, the action might only be viewed from a great distance with a long telephoto lens, unless you are lucky. The latter, far preferable, gives the true feeling of Africa. The driver and tracker not only take you to the animals, but it is possible to follow them. Since they have never been hunted, they have no fear of the vehicle and its occupants. Amazingly, the animals often proceed with their eating, hunting, or other activities as if unobserved. Following a pride of lions on a hunt and kill is an unforgettable experience.

Lion Cubs, Kenya

Namibian Dunes from the Air

3. Investigate the airline services: an older person with orthopedic problems cannot fly coach class for sixteen hours plus with ease. Explore upgrades with miles or stagger the trip by flying coach to Europe (6 hours), enjoying several days in Amsterdam or another major European city, and then continuing on.




4. Look at the type of tour. For the serious photographer, a tour led by a professional photographer who has done it before is a safe bet for success. Riding in an open vehicle packed like sardines with eight other tourists does not lead to good work. Ideally, three shooters per vehicle is perfect allowing one row per photographer.

Off Road

5. Know your equipment and make sure you have what is needed for this once in a lifetime trip.

I gave a talk on this subject Saturday, November 5, 9:15 to 11 am at HUNTS Photo and Video in Melrose, MA .  781 662-8822   Will be also doing at talk at the Newburyport Art Association at 7:30 pm on Monday, November 14th.  Hope to see you there.

High Five Photo Tips for OCTOBER

High Five Photo Tips for OCTOBER:

1.One of the most popular angles to shoot is from the photographer's standing point of view. While this is fine with landscape and other general purpose photography, it does not create high impact visually arresting images.

Most of the professional photographers produce stunning and engaging photographs that have been taken from a low angle. In landscape photography, the foreground can be captured in detail when the photographer is really low and almost lying on the ground. Try to experiment with this style of photography by going low on the floor and take more engaging photographs.

The bottom angle allows the viewer a fresh and different perspective of the same scene or situation. A useful accessory is a small sturdy tabletop tripod. 

2. Try using a Light Reflectors for your outdoor photography. A 5 in 1 set is very handy to have.  A Translucent Diffuser allows you to diffuse direct sunlight to create softer light without harsh shadows. this is important for flower and people portraits in direct closer to mid day sunlight. The white, gold or silver reflector allows you to redirect light to the desired areas and the option of providing a cool or warmer tone (with gold or silver respectively). Reflectors can also become a quick white or black backdrop.

3. The Rule of Thirds is an essential guide for composition that helps balance your images.  Basically you divide your viewfinder into thirds, vertically and horizontally, which will give you 9 equal boxes.  Compose your image so that the center of interest is at one of the crossing points, rather than dead center. 

4. Another rule is to have your subject position so that it is entering and not leaving the frame, with space to give it breathing room. This varies in Eastern vs Western Cultures depending on the direction of writing!  You should master these rules to learn when they can be broken.

5. Next time you are shooting a portrait, particularly if a man, consider lighting a profile with split lighting.  This will often bring out the subject's true personality and "create" not just take a portrait.  A large soft box or window can be used, bringing the subject nearer to the front edge of the light source (closer to the camera) with the body at a 45 degree angle to the camera (try in both directions - towards or away from the light) while the face is facing the light source.

 

High Five Photo Tips for September

High Five Photo Tips for September: 1.Depth of Field is a great creative tool.  Remember,     The most important item to control is the aperture setting. The larger the aperture used, the smaller the depth of field range. A good review at: How to use Depth of Field  Tony at F 2.8 with 70-200 zoom racked out to 200 for bokeh

Tony at 70 mm_same settings Even though set at same wide aperture of f/2.8, better Bokeh racked out ( ie the outer limits of the Zoom; so 200 mm on a 70-200mm zoom lens). Try it out.     2. Remember to MOVE:  Every time you you go out shooting, try different camera setting on the same subject. Move around!  Low high, close up to zoomed out.Change lenses and perspective. Try a tilt.  Or think of the horizon line.  Centered or at 1/3rd. Vary it and see what works.  Be Creative!! Coneflowers from a low perspective

3. Use your Tripod.  It will help you take clear photos all the time whether it is action or close-ups.   A great advantage of having a tripod is you can shoot images hands free. The reason is that you can use a remote release to start the shutter.  People often using telephoto lenses will also find the tripod useful. As having longer lenses normally create more weight to your digital camera, a tripod will keep your device steady. A tripod also slows you down and helps you think and create better images. 4. Black is needed to make an attractive B&W photograph, it says it right in the name, black and white.  If you've grown into the habit of using the histogram in Photoshop or Lightroom to show you the black and white highlighted areas don't adjust the exposure or increase the fill light to the eliminate all the flashing area.  Solid black in some portion of the image is not only acceptable, it's needed.     Searching, Nude Matured Project 5.  A good landscape usually includes an interesting foreground as the focal point that leads you into the rest of the picture.    Pigeon Cove