(Editor's Note: This is a guest post from our partner mpb.com a great place to use your old gear to acquire newer gear.) For many, the thought of revisiting an old location may seem like a step back rather than the potential for a step forward in terms of honing your skills. However, as you grow as a photographer and as your personal perceptions change, a location can develop a new meaning or open new opportunities. Locations don’t wait for you to photograph them, nor do they give you a heads up when conditions are ideal for you to realize … [Read more...] about Do You Revisit Old Locations?
perspective
Portrait Tips: Always Do This When Photographing Kids
The Holidays are one of the best times to make pictures. (Check out Bryan's and Lauri's articles for some terrific ideas.) And it's a great time to photograph kids--if you haven't discovered it, yet, a simple truth is that the Holidays are better with kids. Here are two simple tips to help you make better pictures with kids, and you should do these everytime you make pictures with children. Get Down Your pictures will be much more engaging if you get the camera on the same level with kids, at the same height as their perspective. In fact, you … [Read more...] about Portrait Tips: Always Do This When Photographing Kids
Mirrorless Camera Maniac: New Camera–Google Clips
Sized like a GoPro, the new Google Clips camera seems to be aimed at the family rather than the adrenaline junkie. This new camera's biggest unique selling point is the continual use of artificial intelligence to automatically record motion photos of the people you point it at. The advertising page shows it being used to record family events. It says it recognizes not only people's faces, and not only specific people's faces, and not only when they are facing the camera, but it even recognizes when they have a "good" expression. I'm not sure … [Read more...] about Mirrorless Camera Maniac: New Camera–Google Clips
The View Camera Aesthetic in the Digital Realm part 4
(Editor’s note: Guest contributor Steve Inglima concludes his series of posts about the view camera and how its aesthetic informs digital photography. This article offers ways to add view camera functions to DSLRs. Read part 1, part 2 & part 3.) With an understanding of the benefits of having independent controls over front and rear standard movement, What can we do to bring that utility, capability, set of sensibilities to the digital realm and the size of the silicon sensor used for most digital capture? Miniaturizing the view camera … [Read more...] about The View Camera Aesthetic in the Digital Realm part 4
The View Camera Aesthetic in the Digital Realm part 3
(Editor's note: Guest contributor Steve Inglima continues his discussion of the view camera and how its aesthetic informs digital photography. This installment explains the circle of coverage in relations to the shift movement in the view camera and the DSLR equivalent, the tilt / shift lens. Here are links to part 1 and part 2.) Shift & rise movements Shift and rise are the other movement opportunities. Shift is varying the relative position left/right of the lens from the sensitize material, while rise is the up/down movement. Both are … [Read more...] about The View Camera Aesthetic in the Digital Realm part 3
The Importance of Looking Up
Being a part of a local photowalk group, I often experiment with different techniques during our outings. One of our group leaders, Dianne Carroll Burdick, has long taught the importance of looking up and taking advantage of different perspectives. For me, looking up has turned into one of the most important aspects of photography I've learned over the past few years. Doing so has helped me create unique photographs that show new details and interesting viewpoints that looking straight ahead wouldn't present. On Saturday, I was once again … [Read more...] about The Importance of Looking Up
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
Perspective Cropping in Photoshop [UP17]
![Perspective Cropping in Photoshop [UP17]](https://i0.wp.com/photofocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/uap_series-17.jpg?resize=384%2C216&ssl=1)
Understanding Photoshop is a biweekly column that takes an in-depth look at how digital photographs are built and manipulated. It is a college-level course in plain English for free at Photofocus. To learn more see this article. Don't Skip Column 16Some images will have visible distortion, which is often caused by the camera not being square with the subject. If the photographer was higher (or lower) than the image or if the photo was taken at an angle, you will see distortion. In some cases, this distortion is part of the shot composition … [Read more...] about Perspective Cropping in Photoshop [UP17]
Camera Bags: A Rant of Frustration from a Woman’s Perspective
I'm a woman, and I like purses and bags. I am also a photographer, and so with that I tend to collect lots of cool bags. Yay, bags! I have more than I will use, some come and go with my photography style or locations I travel to, and some have stuck around and have been used for a very long time. Yet I am always on the hunt for a bag that fits my needs in many different ways. The are so many different types of camera bags: backpacks, purses, messenger bags, sling bags, and more. For the purposes of this article, I am lumping all bags into one … [Read more...] about Camera Bags: A Rant of Frustration from a Woman’s Perspective
Using Perspective Warp in Photoshop CC 14.2
Adobe has done it again! Perspective Warp in Photoshop CC 14.2 allows you to change the perspective of objects in your images without much stretching or distortion. For more tutorials go to . ______ … [Read more...] about Using Perspective Warp in Photoshop CC 14.2
Perspective Cropping In Photoshop
Guest Post by Rich Harrington shows you how to use perspective cropping in Photoshop. DISCLAIMER: This post isn't intended to be definitive - we're not claiming this is the ONLY way or even the BEST way to accomplish this task in Photoshop, Aperture, iPhoto or any other post-prodcessing program. We're merely offering it as A way you might accomplish this task. These tips are free, offered only because they might be helpful to someone. __________________________________ … [Read more...] about Perspective Cropping In Photoshop
You Think You Got It Bad?
Let me say right off the bat that this is a simple rant.You've been warned. I hope you'll stick around, read this and pass this message on the next time you hear a photographer complaining about their gear - or their lack of it. I am constantly amazed by some of the stuff I read online. People complain about everything. They're mad because they have to shoot with last year's camera. They feel offended because they didn't win the last photo contest. They're irate that they had to wait in line 10 minutes at the camera store to buy a lens. These … [Read more...] about You Think You Got It Bad?
Do Your Knees Bend?
I've started looking at the entries for the fourth and final Aperture Nature Photography Workshop contest. I am surprised to see so many images photographed from 5'6". Okay, really I am not that surprised. It's easy to get lazy or to develop bad habits in photography. Always shooting from eye level standing up (or from tripod height) is one of those habits. Most of us (even old farts like me) can still bend our knees. Heck, I've got one artificial knee and I can still bend that! So try this...bend your knees. Change the camera angle. You'll … [Read more...] about Do Your Knees Bend?
