High Five Photo Tips for July-August

High Five Photo Tips for July-August:

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Summer Photography 

1. Photograph the Weather! Often best right before or just after the storm.

   Nor'easter Storm

2. Keep it simple but not too simple.  You do need a point of interest. Slow down, look and think. A tripod often helps - more then just providing a stable platform.   
3. Be creative with Pet photography.  It is always raining cats and dogs, so take advantage. Get Down to their eye level. Create action shots by hold treats such as peanut butter or store bought treats. Horses will perk up there ears if you crinkle paper. Experiment! 
4. Think! Plan and Create.  Forget drive by shooting.  

   Beacon Marine Gold

5. Explore the water and night sky. Summer is the perfect time to get out and expand your horizons. Get out of the box. Think and Dream. Thus, create. 

High Five Photo Tips for June

High Five Photo Tips for June 2012:

Wildlife Photography Use a long lens (telephoto) to fill the frame and use a wide aperture to blur the background. Seal lion Know your subject and their habits to be prepared. Anticipate their movements. Plan for optimum time and season to observe. Capture action for more interest. Patience is needed of course. Baby Zebra at Watering Hole Get Close. Let sleeping Sea Lions rest Look for interesting pose or movement; experiment with angles and focus Allow space for Text More Wildlife Photography at: www.judithmphotography.com/animalia

JMP Blog has MOVED

My Judith M Photography BLOG has moved to my new website! Please visit.  www.judithmphotography.com/blog

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:

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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