It has been said that the most difficult thing to do is to judge your creative work objectively. Be honest. Can you tell when your work seems to be missing something? More importantly, do you know what it is that’s missing? You can only improve your photos if you set a high photo standard to […]
It is human nature when taking a photo of someone’s face to look them in the eye. Most built-in flashes are only about one inch or so above the viewfinder. So if you are looking your subject in the eye and they are looking you in the eye, it stands to reason that the flash is […]
Have you ever seen one of those pictures of a small child starving in Africa and have something tug at your heart? Have you ever seen a cover on a magazine and picked it up just because of that photo? Have you ever bought a product because of a picture of someone else using the […]
We’ve all heard about foreground and background. Generally the foreground is where you find the main subject. The background is, well . . . in the back. It’s just back behind everything else, right? Wrong! The background is just as important and in some cases even more important than the subject itself. How is that […]
Hair lights, back lights, and barn doors, oh my! Studio lighting can be overwhelming when you first start getting into it. Some photographers out there have thousands of dollars of accessories associated with their studio setup. The good news is that you don’t have to be rich to enter into the world of studio portraits. […]
Like most photographers I know, I, too, have had a love affair with taking photographs of nature. For some of us, it’s here that we first start to feel self confident about our photography. After all, most trees don’t wiggle and complain and scream out “I’ve got to go potty!” Rocks and streams rarely worry […]
Depth of field (DOF for short) is usually associated with the aperture, which is often used interchangeably with the word f-stop. The aperture controls the amount of light that passes through the lens and onto the film–or in the digital world, onto the sensor inside the camera. This amount of light is determined by the […]
At one point or another all of us have probably heard something to the effect that using a tripod is the best way of getting clear, sharp photos. While this may be true, many of us get intimidated by the idea of dragging around a 10 pound accessory. This is especially true if you are […]
Horizontal lines represent rest or relaxation. Vertical lines often give a mental image of strength. Diagonal lines tend to give a feeling of movement. Curved lines are loose and flexible (usually considered sexier.) Jagged lines suggest energy or conflict.
What is balance? Does it mean all things have to be equal? Well, yes and no. There are basically two types of balance. Formal balance is the balancing on opposite sides of a given point, either by one or more elements that are identical or very similar.
