LowePro S&F Lens Exchange Case 200 AW ($38.95) |
Shoot From below for Dynamic Images that Capture the Whole Scene
-A tall public Christmas tree
-The Eiffel Tower
-A lighthouse
-The Disney castle
-A snowman
-Your house
-Skyscrapers
-An amusement park ride
-Mountains
Get down low, shoot up and use a wide angle setting on your zoom lens. Be sure to meter on the subject, not the sky or the background or else your subject’s face will be under-exposed. To do this, 1) set your camera to spot meter mode (see your instruction manual, but it’s easy); 2) put the small circle in your frame on your subject so that the camera can read the exposure of your subject and not the background; 3) press your shutter release button down halfway to lock-in that exposure; 4) re-compose your shot as you like; and 5) press the shutter button the rest of the way to take your shot.
Making Your Photos Into Works of Art
I recently had the opportunity to make my first gallery-wrapped canvas print of one of my images using EasyCanvasPrints.com. And easy it was! Canvas is a material studio portrait photographers have used for years. And many works of art are printed on canvas, which makes a beautiful print and a real statement when hanging on the wall of your home or office. The canvas texture and printing of the image I selected gave the shot a painterly quality that I just love.
Ordering the canvas was quick and easy. I love the Easy Canvas Prints website. They have this neat simulation to help you decide what size canvas print you should order (see detail from screen shot). This was a big help. I ordered a smaller 11×14 canvas to go over my book shelf that holds my scrapbooks in our family room.
After selecting the height and width of the print, you can then choose how thick you want the print to be. I chose .75″, but they have a real nice 1.5″ thick for larger prints. Then you can preview and select your choice of how the canvas will wrap around the print. Having the ability to preview the end result is great because every picture is different. I chose the standard wrap since I felt it worked best for my shot of the American flag blowing in the wind that I took during the Worldwide Photo Walk this year.
I received my print within a week and was very pleased. I would recommend, however, that you opt for the retouching by EasyCanvasPrints since printing on canvas is slightly different than printing on regular photo paper. I provided a slightly dark file and had I opted for them to retouch, they would have tweaked the image for printing on canvas. They also have an option for converting the shot to black & white and more.
Hanging the print was really easy too. Canvas gallery-wrapped prints are extremely lightweight and don’t require a frame. The print comes ready to hang. I hammered a tiny nail in the wall last nite at 10pm after everyone went to bed and it was up! And even better, on the back of the canvas was a little pack of $10 discount cards for you to share with your friends so that they can order a print. I think I will use one to order a print for my mom of the grandchildren for Christmas this year! (sponsored post)
Use Structures In Your Surroundings As a Reflector for Better Outdoor Portraits
On a beautiful fall day, I posed my subject next to a tree facing the back of the house, which acted as a reflector. The sun bounced off the house and lit the girl’s face and gave her a really nice highlight in each eye. Reflectors can be any white or near white surface, such as a painted brick wall, a sign on a door, or more. Position your subject in the path of the light as it bounces naturally off the “reflector.” If you are in a place where there is no structure that can act as a reflector, then break out a white piece of foam core or oat tag to bounce light back into your subject’s face and eyes. If you love this technique for posed portraits, then you might consider buying a reflector from your local camera store. So look around to see not only where the light is coming from, but what it is bouncing off.
The lit leaves in the background add some drama. |
My Favorite Fix When Your Photo Is Too Dark
Add a Little Light to Combat Harsh Sun for Better Beach Photos
Taking pictures at the beach is always fun (as long as you take a few precautions to protect your camera — see 7/6/11 post). But often we get harsh shadows that make the photos less desirable. Get rid of the harshness and raccoon eyes just by popping up your flash! Put your camera on the program mode (P) and pop-up your flash. As you can see in the example comparisons below, you can soften all of the harsh shadows. Examine the two photos. Look under the chair’s head rest, under the left arm, under the chin and below the rim of the sunglasses. Additionally, look at the sliver of rocky sand in the background on the right side. On the left, it’s sort of greyish, but on the right, it is a more pleasing color. Then look at the example further below (please ignore that toothless grinny expression!). In this case, the brightness behind the subject made the camera’s meter stop down a little (like putting on sunglasses because it was too bright) resulting in her face being too dark. But by popping up the flash, you see how you can brighten up a dark face. Tip: If you find the flash to be too bright or too artificial looking for your taste, then you can tone down the flash very simply. Look at the same button you use to pop up your flash. It should have a +/- symbol. Hold this button in and dial the wheel at your index finger to the right so that the numbers on your display go to the negative side. You are essentially subtracting power from the flash so that it puts out less light. Try several different settings (-0.7, -1.0, etc) until you achieve a desirable shot. You may need to consult your owner’s manual (yes, sorry) and look for “flash exposure compensation” in the index.
Grab Your Camera and a Towel and Head to the Beach for Fun Photos
It’s finally summer! And if your family’s like mine, beach figures heavily into the weekend. If you have young children that love to explore the beach, then get down on the sand with them. Make sure to bring a towel so that you can easily sit or even lay down close by in order to capture their explorations (and to keep sand on your hands to a minimum). Getting close and using a wide angle setting on your lens lets you show some more background to give a point of reference (see photos below). On bright sunny days, trying popping up your flash for some fill to eliminate harsh shadows from midday sun, and to add some light to your child’s face often hidden by cute sun hats. But don’t let cloudy days like we had here stop you form heading to the beach with your camera. The over cast sky is actually perfect for picture-taking. One note of caution: Salt water is an enemy of you camera. If the conditions are very “moist” on a hot hazy beach day, salt residue and water can collect on your camera and lens pretty quickly. Try putting your camera in a zip lock bag with a hole cut out for the front of the lens to stick out and be sure to use a UV filter. Clean the lens as soon as you can with lens cleaning fluid and a micro fiber cloth taking extra care to inspect for and remove any sand that may be on your lens before rubbing the lens. Then wash the cloth before using again after the beach. Store the camera back in your camera bag right after use to keep it out of the sun and elements. There are also special bags made for your camera to prevent any damage. Google rain coats for cameras.
Understanding the Histogram on Your Camera to Make Better Photos
Shoot From a Different Angle for a Meaningful Perspective
While visiting Boston over the Memorial Day weekend, we experienced a moving memorial to the fallen soldiers of Boston: 20,000 flags in the middle of The Boston Commons. Each flag represented a Massachusetts citizen who died in wars and military conflicts during the last 100 years. By shooting low (with the camera nearly on the ground as I knelt in front of the first line of flags) I was able to eliminate the distracting background of visitors and keep the focus on this sea of flags that really puts into perspective the staggering number of lives lost. The 50mm focal length setting combined with a wider open aperture of f/5.3 helped to compress the flags to give the image a painterly feeling as the seemingly never-ending rows of flags dissolves into the background.
Take in the Scene with a Slower Shutter Speed
It’s very hard to catch him smiling naturally. So, as I did in this restaurant during lunch, I often snap a few photos in a row hoping for that “in-between” moment when he’s more relaxed. I think I got it here! This photo has a nice natural background since I used only the light from the window my subject was facing for lighting, rather than using my flash. And since my ISO was set to 400, my shutter speed was a slower 1/50th of a second (I turned on the anti-shake on the lens to eliminate any blur that might have occurred from hand-shake). That slower shutter speed allows the shutter to remain open long enough to capture the ambient light in the background, also lit by the large bright windows. The result is a nice shot that shows the whole scene. So when indoors, ask for a seat near a window and capture the ambiance of the whole scene.