Copyright Scott Bourne 2004 - All Rights Reserved

Here’s the third installment of my fast photo tips. These are simple posts filled with several short ideas to help improve your photography. Don’t over-think it. Just try it.

Scott Bourne’s Fast Photo Tip #7

Tilt-Shift basics: Tilt the lens to match the plane of focus to the plane of the object being photographed. This allows you to use a larger than normal aperture than you would typically for that kind of depth of field.

Scott Bourne’s Fast Photo Tip #8

Live View mode is available on most modern DSLRs. While it’s essential for video, it’s also quite useful for macro work. It’s easier to check your depth of field and your focus using Live View. You will also defeat the problems that come with today’s smaller than 100% view finders.

Scott Bourne’s Fast Photo Tip #9

If you’re having trouble getting your polarizer to work properly remember that polarizers are designed to work best when pointed toward the band in the sky that is at a right angle to the sun’s beam, i.e., your shadow will point in the same direction. Remember that wide angle lenses will intensify the polarizing effect making things unnaturally dark.

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Sponsored by PMA – It’s not too early to mark your calendar because this is big. For the first time in the USA, the PMA tradeshow and conference will be open to the general public – September 6-11, 2011 in Las Vegas. See you there – http://bit.ly/9yaL2I

Copyright Scott Bourne 2007 - All Rights Reserved

Here’s the second installment of my fast photo tips. These are simple posts filled with several short ideas to help improve your photography. Don’t over-think it. Just try it.

Scott Bourne’s Fast Photo Tip #4

Shooting silhouettes? Find a strong foreground object. Don’t use flash and expose for the background. Be sure to keep the image simple and the background uncluttered.

Scott Bourne’s Fast Photo Tip #5

If you’re working in Photoshop and find yourself lacking screen real estate, simply hit the TAB key. This will temporarily hide the tool palettes and give you more room to work.

Scott Bourne’s Fast Photo Tip #6

When you’re shooting sports, or any fast-moving action, consider using Shutter Priority mode. If you want to freeze the action, consider 1/1000th Sec as your minimum shutter speed. Of course, this means you’re going to need a lot of light or a high ISO.

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This post sponsored by the Digital SLR Store

Copyright Scott Bourne 2009 - All Rights Reserved

Today I’m start a weekly series I’ll call fast photo tips. These are simple posts filled with several short ideas to help improve your photography. Don’t over-think it. Just try it.

Scott Bourne’s Fast Photo Tip #1

The quickest way to make a flower photo more interesting is to shoot the flower in the rain. If it’s not raining, buy a spray bottle and spray a light mist of water on the flower to make it look like it’s raining.

Scott Bourne’s Fast Photo Tip #2

Practice panning with fast moving objects. Start by shooting around 1/8, and progress to 1/60th of a second. Watch your background. Try to pan with the subject so that you shoot when it’s against a pleasing background.

Scott Bourne’s Fast Photo Tip #3

The best time of day for underwater photography is high Noon. While just about every other style of photography shuns this time of day, it’s great for underwater shots, especially in snorkel-friendly waters.
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This post sponsored by the Digital SLR Store