Category: Weddings Photographer: Raul Perez Amezquita Photo: “Beach Wedding” Upon first glance, this might seem like a typical beach wedding photo, captured at golden hour. But there's one element of this that really sets the tone of the photograph — the bride resting her head on the groom's shoulder. It's this emotion, coupled with the amazing light, that really sets this photograph apart. Originally shared to the Photofocus website. Submit yours via the Photofocus website. … [Read more...] about Photographer of the Day: Raul Perez Amezquita
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The evolution of an image begins at the camera
My husband (Photofocus contributor Steve Eilenberg) frequently chides me for not editing tightly enough, of hanging on to image files that I “will never use and never show”. There is some truth to this. I have no problem doing the first pass, throwing out clear mistakes and duplicates. After that, it gets a LOT tougher. Part of the problem is some files are building blocks for a future image and I can’t know what their full potential is until I play around with them and process them. Earlier this summer, we went to a nearby beach in the … [Read more...] about The evolution of an image begins at the camera
Capturing Wildlife Photos At Tampa Bay Beach
Guest post by Larry Tiefenbrunn, Inventor and CEO of Platypod. See more at the Platypod Blog. December 6, 2017 is a day I will never forget. I had just flown down to Tampa on my way to appear on Scott Kelby’s “The Grid” together with portrait photographer and Photofocus editor, Levi Sim. Before I even landed, Levi messaged me that he and his buddy Jason Hahn, professional wildlife and nature photographer, would pick me up from the airport and take me out to an alligator park. As it turns out, our schedule did not allow us to go that far … [Read more...] about Capturing Wildlife Photos At Tampa Bay Beach
Shooting on a Beach!
Happy Summer! It’s time to get away from the computer or out of the darkroom and enjoy the beautiful weather and shoot! Here are 3 tips on making great beach photographs. I shot these photographs at the end of the day, catching the very last bit of light, at the same location, yet achieving very different visual impacts. All of these photographs are shot without a tripod even though they are fairly long exposures. Exposing for the last light of the day. Start by using the in camera meter to read the light on the horizon. Make sure you are … [Read more...] about Shooting on a Beach!
6 Tips for Protecting your Camera at the Beach
I'm lucky enough to be spending a few days relaxing with my family on a beach. On our way there, I was charging my camera batteries and starting thinking of a few tips for keeping my camera safe while still snapping on the sandy shore. Isn't my Camera Body Weather-Sealed? Luckily yes, most camera bodies are weather-sealed, which helps keep out most of the sand and rain. But unless you're at hiking at a rocky beach, white sand grains are so fine that they really are unnoticeable until it's too late. I'm sure you've heard horror stories about … [Read more...] about 6 Tips for Protecting your Camera at the Beach
Creating Better Sun-Flared Images with Photomatix Pro
Have you struggled to make a great image when shooting into the sun? Our cameras can't see the dynamic range in a scene as well as our own eyes can, so we have to shoot a series of bracketed images and merge them into an HDR. In this tutorial, I walk you through exporting to HDR from Lightroom to create two sun-flared images with Photomatix Pro. https://youtu.be/WQXuPuE1-5c … [Read more...] about Creating Better Sun-Flared Images with Photomatix Pro
Photographer of the Day: Jacob Jackson
Category: Nature Photographer: Jacob Jackson Title: Dark Skies Evocative. At first glance, the frame does not give a clear sense of scale. It make the viewer wonder how big are the waterfalls in the foreground. For this image, that works. The dark palette and low-hanging mist help transform a simple, low, tidal block waterfall into something from Kong's Skull Island. Photo originally shared in Photofocus' Flickr group. To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photographer of the Day: Jacob Jackson
Change Perspective to Make Better Photos
If something is worth photographing, it's probably worth photographing from multiple angles. It's easy to start high, at eye-level, because that's how you see the world. Most photographers arrive on location and immediately extend their tripod legs to bring the camera to eye-level. This is the most comfortable place to shoot and you should definitely make a picture at eye-level. But you should also get down and see how low you can go. Get Down Low Lowering your tripod will give you a whole new photograph. If you told me I had to shoot … [Read more...] about Change Perspective to Make Better Photos
Five Tips to Improve Your Beach Sunset Shots
It is summertime and you are off to the beach. Here are some tips to improve your sunset shots. 1. Bracket. Sunset exposures can be tricky. With bracketing you have a better chance of getting a properly exposed image. Or you may decide to merge images by blending layers or using HDR software such as Photomatix. Spot meter on the sky, not the sun. If you don't want to bracket, slightly underexpose your images to bring in richer colors. 2. Move around, get your feet wet. Don’t just stay on the dry part of the beach. Wear water … [Read more...] about Five Tips to Improve Your Beach Sunset Shots
7 Tips for Dad-tographers
We’ve all heard about ‘mom-tographers’ or ‘momtogs’ who are taking over the photo industry and putting professional photographers out of work. They are credited with making pictures of their own families, and then making pictures for their friends and extended families, and often starting a business and flooding the market with adorable, highly desirable photographs with creativity and fresh perspectives bursting out of each frame. And good for them. The industry needed a kick in the pants, anyway. But this article isn’t for momtogs. No, this … [Read more...] about 7 Tips for Dad-tographers
Sony a6000 with Neewer Underwater Case
I use Sony a6000 as my primary underwater camera. It is 24.3MP so I can easily compose in editing. The kit lens is sharp and shoots wide. The Sony shoots in RAW, necessary for white balance and editing after the fact. It has very fast autofocus which can keep up with my subjects as well as three continuous shooting speeds. But, the primary reason I went with the a6000 over any other model was because I was able to purchase an underwater hard case for the camera for around $200. I selected the Neewer 40m/130ft Underwater Housing. Amazon also … [Read more...] about Sony a6000 with Neewer Underwater Case
Finessing a Post-Crop Vignette in Lightroom
Vignettes are a two edged sword, and many of us fall to their siren song. Vignettes can really make your photographs look masterfully finished, but they can easily be applied too heavily and overshadow the real subject of the image. Right now Ill show you my favorite way to control Post-Crop Vignettes in the Effects tab. This article is adapted from our book, Develop Great Images Adobe Photoshop Lightroom available on iTunes and PDF for all devices. Post-Crop Vignette for the Finished Crop The name Post-Crop Vignettes used to confuse me, but … [Read more...] about Finessing a Post-Crop Vignette in Lightroom
Using Backgrounds Wisely
It can happen to the best of us; that moment when you panic and look at a location and your brain freezes and you can't think of anything even remotely unique and fun to do. At that moment, try to remember to use your backgrounds wisely. What I mean by that is a background is not always just a background. You can play off shapes, reflections, contrasts (or lack thereof) and expand your possible shots exponentially. Recently, I was in Portland for Mystic Seminars (an awesome, small group wedding photography conference) and met up with fellow … [Read more...] about Using Backgrounds Wisely
