Photography Masterclass

In order to avoid blury photos when shooting sport or fast moving action, pay attention to the shutter speed you are using. It is the length of time the shutter remains open. If it is slow, your subject will be blury. You need to have a plan. Being familiar with the sport will help you choose the best place. You need to know in advance what and how you are going to shoot. When choosing your location, keep the sun behind you. To get closer to the action a telephoto zoom lens is very helpful.

Set your camera to a [...] Continue Reading…

Studio photography can get quite complicated. Using just one light source for your portraits will make it simplier. You can place a large soft box close to the wall so that some light is reflected from the wall to the model. The aperture setting is set to f9 or f11 because the photographer is using a 200 mm lens. This aperture will allow the model to be in focus.

With one light what you see is what you get. If you place the soft box at 45 degrees and install a reflector on the other side of the model, there [...] Continue Reading…

First of all there is no such thing as a perfect lens. If it were, it would have been too heavy to carry around and too expensive. So you must understand what your needs are and choose your lenses accordingly.

The main characterictic of any lens is its focal length, which ranges from really wide angle to telephoto. Also lenses can be zoom or prime ones. A zoom allows to change the focal length from wide to narrow angle. Prime lenses are usually less expensive and have a fixed focal length which means that if you want your subject be [...] Continue Reading…

White balance (WB) is the process of removing unrealistic color casts, so that objects which appear white in person are rendered white in your photo. Proper camera white balance has to take into account the “color temperature” of a light source, which refers to the relative warmth or coolness of white light.  Our eyes are very good at judging what is white under different light sources, however digital cameras often have great difficulty with auto white balance (AWB).

An incorrect WB can create unsightly blue, orange, or even green color casts, which are unrealistic and [...] Continue Reading…

Use at least a 6 megapixel camera
Always shoot in FINE mode and save images in Jpeg or RAW if you have a DSLR
Ask your subject to wear solid colors. Partens can be distractive
Shoot against a white background
Lighting is very important, shoot in the room with lots of natural light coming from large windows (use them as softboxes)
Edit later, spend all your time shooting and trying to get the best result with as little post processing as you can
Do not move
Experiment with different poses and emotions, be creative
Shoot as much as possible. The more images you produce, the better chances [...] Continue Reading…

Rule of thirds is very important for creating your composition.

The rule of thirds is a compositional rule of thumb in photography. The rule states that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their

intersections.

Simply try not to put your subject right in the center of your image because it will have less tension, energy and interest in the composition than when it is placed off-center.

Every rule can be broken but only [...] Continue Reading…

This demo shows how to use two off camera flashes when shooting a wedding in a park. The first rule is that shadows should be facing the camera because it creates a more dramatic effect. These are set up photos, not candid by all means. Flashes are set to Manual mode and full power. The photographer is able to get drama to the sky even in such a sunny day, thanks to the use of flashes. The camera is also in Manual mode: f11, 1/60 and 50 ISO.

This video explains how to use an off camera wireless flash. You will see a difference that taking your flash off the camera makes. When it is attached to the hot shoe of your camera, images you get look quite flat.

It is better to take the flash unit off the camera and position it on a side and slightly above your subject.

In the past we needed a cord to connect the camera and the flash. Today modern cameras (and we use Nikob D300) allow triggering an off camera flash from a built in flash. You need to configure the [...] Continue Reading…

Family photos are great for memories.

To make a good family photo try creating a relaxed atmosphere that allows all those wonderful personalities to shine. Aim at your portraits to look natural.
Position your family members artistically, not like furniture. DO not use lines, place the people at different height levels instead. If you have a large group of people, try splitting them into smaller groups to fill your comosition trying it to look natural.
Showing the relationships between the people on your photo is very important.
Catch candid moments.
Fill the frame, concentrate on your subject and elliminate elements that are not important [...] Continue Reading…

Award winning commercial photographer Chase Jarvis shows us how he packs his photo gear for shoots on locations.

He shoots with a Nikon D2X camera and 15-55 mm 2.8 lens. He has another Nikon D2X camera as a backup. He takes at least 2 bodies. Another important lens is 70-200mm 2.8. Plus he uses 12-24mm, 85mm tilt/shift, 50mm 1.8, 12mm fisheye. He  always keeps two flashes, 5-6 extra batteries. All this goes to his DSLR bag.

He also takes some lighting equipment in hard cases.

Chase gives tips on various travel arrangements, what you should plan and what you should be [...] Continue Reading…