High Five Photo Tips for JUNE

High Five Photo Tips for JUNE: 1. Try Different Perspectives. A Simple photo taken at eye level can be turned into something truly unique by lowering your perspective. Tulips from Above  Tulips from Ground level with wide open aperture

2, Use a Wide Angle Lens - Especially in an environment where it is difficult to capture all the elements in your field of view, such as an entire beach.Some think this is the top secret of the Landscape Professional Photographer-Artist! Windmills of the Netherlands

3. Scout your locations and Follow the Light. Look all around you. The sunset may not make the best picture. It may be the glow on the trees behind you that excites the eye. When photographing into the sun, a wide aperture (less than F11) will soften while a small aperture (above F11 - often best at F22) will allow star-shaped rays to appear. 4. Try Long Exposures. Water is a great subject. Start with one to 3 second exposures, best as the tide goes in, With ND, polarizing or Variable Neutral Density filters you can try even longer exposures - up to 400 seconds and beyond! 5. Shoot the Waves, especially during or after a Storm. Start shooting before the wave crashes and shoot continuously throughout.

High Five Photo Tips for April:

High Five Photo Tips for April:

1. Play with Motion.  By varying the shutter speed, you can create more creative imagery.  Slow shutter speeds can add interesting effects but may require polarizing or neutral density filters to enable slow enough shutter speeds.  I prefer the Singh-Ray variable Neutral Density Filter.  More about using motion creatively on my Rick Sammon Guest Blog Post.
2. Try Split Tones and Duotones to create more interesting B&W's. Images with pattern and texture create wonderful toned images.

Sugar Cane Factory Road

3. Embrace Change.  Look for new projects to excite you and entice you to go beyond your comfort zone.
4. Shooting wildlife - flora or fauna - get low for a unique look - get on the ground!  Use a frisbee for support and protection - to keep the dirt out of your equipment. If on a beach or dune using a tripod or monopod, always extend the lowest tripod leg to its maximum to prevent sand and water getting into the joints.
5. When shooting people, keep the eyes in the top third. Look for catch-lights and sharp focus.  Eyes are the key and the window to the soul.

Dog and Child Portrait

High Five Photo Tips for MAY

High Five Photo Tips for MAY

1.  Go take a walk with a prime lens and force yourself to see with that lens.  It will help you understand that focal length.  Do this until you feel comfortable and then creative.  If you do not own a prime lens use your zoom, but restrict your range to short, mid or long zoom.  

2,  Start a Project or Theme.  Anything that gets you thinking and out shooting.  Reflections, colors, shapes, location or meaning.  Let your imagination flow.

3. Try a polarizing filter. This filter increases contrast, takes haze out of the atmosphere, and takes reflections off water surfaces. It is most effective when used at 90 degrees from the sun The filter needs to be turned while you look through the camera to see the effects. Yes, it takes away almost two stops of light, but you can always turn up the ISO to compensate.

4. Light Illuminates, Shadows Define.  A favorite saying of Rick Sammon.  Lots of good photography ideas on the Rick Sammon BLOG  

5. Get Close to your subject.  The most common mistake made by photographers is that they are not physically close enough to their subjects. In some cases this means that the center of interest-the subject-is just a speck, too small to have any impact.   

42nd Street Welcome

Mayor of Arthur Avenue, Bronx, NY

Don't be shy. If you approach people in the right way, they'll usually be happy to have their picture made. It's up to you to break the ice and get them to cooperate. Joke around with them and share the fun. "If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough" as per Robert Capa.   

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,267730,00.html#ixzz1KaBz4y9f