What Photography Gear Do You Intend to Buy In 2012?
Image by Gliuoo
Earlier today I was in conversation with a couple of photography enthusiasts and the topic turned – as it often does with these guys – to gear. Particularly new gear that has been released in the past few months and gear that is rumoured to being announced in the coming months.
One of my friends asked me – ‘what gear will you invest in in 2012?‘
It is a question I like to ponder and ‘research’ (read this is trawling the web for reviews of lenses and cameras when I should be working) from time to time.
I’m not sure what gear I’m intending to buy this year – I feel pretty comfortable with my current set up and probably spent a little too much on it in 2011 – but I thought I’d open the question up to the wider dPS community.
What gear do you intend to invest in for 2012?
Is it a new camera body, a lens, some lighting gear, an accessory? Tell us about what you’re eyeing off and why you’re considering it.
It’ll be interesting to see if any themes or trends emerge!
Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.
Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.
What Photography Gear Do You Intend to Buy In 2012?
Download and Test Lightroom 4 for Free
Over the last week, with the launch of our brand new Guide to Post Processing eBook, there’s been a lot of discussion around dPS around post processing – particularly about software and tools.
One of the common threads of conversation that I’ve been hearing is around the expense of some of the better post processing software tools and a hesitancy to spend so much on a tool when one doesn’t know if it suits you.
I can relate to that feeling. I still remember the first time I looked at Photoshop and considered purchasing it but balked at the price. It seemed a big risk to invest in something that I wasn’t completely sure would suit my needs.
Things have progressed a lot since those days – now many software tools give you trials before you buy. One of the exciting trials currently on offer is the ability to test the brand new beta of Lightroom 4.
Lightroom has been a product that many photographers of all levels have adopted as their preferred option and it has evolved in its first 3 versions into a very useful tool. It’s how I manage and edit my own images and I’m pumped to see them releasing Lightroom 4 soon.
In the lead up to the full launch Adobe are allowing everyone to download and trial Lightroom 4 for free. Download it today and you get to use it until the trial ends on March 31 2012. That’s over 2 months of free use of one of the most popular post processing tools on the planet! More than enough time to see if it’s right for you and the perfect time to take your post processing stills up a notch with our new Post Processing Guide.
So what are you waiting for? Download the free beta of Lightroom 4 today and tell us what you think!
Update: Worth noting are the system requirements for using Lightroom 4 beta:
The minimum system requirements for Lightroom 4 beta are as follows:
Windows
Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD Athlon® 64 processor
Microsoft® Windows Vista® with Service Pack 2 or Windows 7 with Service Pack 1
2GB of RAM
1GB of available hard-disk space
1024×768 display
DVD-ROM drive
Internet connection required for Internet-based services*
Mac OS
Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support
Mac OS X v10.6.8 or v10.7
2GB of RAM
1GB of available hard-disk space
1024×768 display
DVD-ROM drive
Internet connection required for Internet-based services*
Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.
Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.
Download and Test Lightroom 4 for Free
5 Ways for Photographers to use an iPad to Jumpstart their Business
1. Editing On-the-Go
The iPad is never going to replace a desktop computer for photo editing. However, it does come in handy when you are looking to quickly edit a few pictures. I recently traveled home for the holidays. My parents wanted a picture for their Christmas card. I was able to quickly take a picture on my Canon 5d MarkII. Then I connected my camera directly into the iPad using the Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit. The kit allowed me to download any of the pictures from my camera to my iPad. Apple makes this whole process very easy and seamless.
Once the pictures are on your iPad, there are lots of great apps you can use to edit your photos. I encourage you to download a number of apps and figure out which ones work best for you and your style.
Here are a few of my favorite iPad apps for photo editing:
- PS Express – Allows you to do basic editing like crop, contrast, sharpen, and add borders.
- Filterstorm – This is probably my favorite photo editing app. It allows for more advanced editing like adding text, canvas size, editing the curves, redeye, and it even allows for layers.
- PhotoFX – If you are looking to just add a quick effect (glamour, faded, film, etc.) to your picture, this is the app for you.
2. Client Viewing
The iPad has great screen resolution and a wide viewing angle (meaning you can have multiple people looking at it from different angles and they can all see the same thing). This makes the iPad perfect for client viewings!
Here are a few ways to display your images on the iPad for your clients:
- Built-In Photo Slideshow – Create an album with your client’s pictures on the iPad. Then, click the slideshow button – yes, it is that simple!
- Smugmug – Smugmug is an online image hosting service for photographers that allows photographers to sell their images. Since I use this service and my photos are already uploaded to Sumgmug this is my preferred way to display images. Smugmug also has a slideshow feature.
3. Accepting Payments
Say goodbye to the, “I don’t have any cash” excuse! The iPad allows you to take payments using tools like Square. It is free to get an account and a credit card reader from Square. They do charge a small fee to use the service, but in my mind, the convenience is with the price!
4. Handy Tools
Since the iPad connects to the internet, there are a lot of tools and apps you can use that relate to your business.
Here are a few tools that I use:
- White noise app – I love using the WhiteNoise Light app during my newborn sessions.
- Music – I use Pandora for all non-newborn sessions.
- Weather – You can check the weather and sunrise/sunset easily using The Weather Channel for iPad app.
- Appointments – Use the integrated calendar to say on top of all your bookings.
- Learning – You can subscribe to photography magazines, purchase photography books digitally, or just follow your favorite blogs.
5. Marketing
Where would your business be if you didn’t market it?!
The iPad has lots of tools to help photographers with marketing. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Twitter – The Twitter iPad app takes Twitter to the next level!
- Facebook – The Facebook iPad app allows you to quickly and easily add pictures and messages to your Facebook Fan page.
- Flickr – The Flickr iPad app lets you easily upload pictures to your Flickr account.
- WordPress – Update your blog in real time using the WordPress iPad app.
The iPad is so versatile I’m sure that there are more uses for the iPad in photography that I didn’t cover. Leave a comment below with your favorite use!
This blog post is brought to you by KristeenMarie Photography. Be sure to check her out on Facebook. Kristeen is an Indianapolis, IN Photographer who loves ice tea, the color purple, technology, and small children. She loves many things in life – though there are not many that she loves more than photography. She loves life and wants to capture every bit of it using her camera.
Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.
Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.
5 Ways for Photographers to use an iPad to Jumpstart their Business
Composition: When to Landscape a Portrait and Vice Versa
This is a guest post by Phil Hill, a travel photographer from the UK based in Australia. You can see more of Phil’s great work at his travel photography blog or follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
At first glance many will probably have tongue firmly in cheek and I might well be stating the obvious, however, it’s the little things make big differences in this photography lark, changing the whole dynamic of a photograph just by using the simplest of techniques is hands down the best way to take better images.
Generally, when shooting a scene, you hold a camera in front of your face just as the manufacturer intended, unless it’s a person, then you rotate it 90 degrees. I am going to let you into a little secret; the opposite works for either, both formats are a really effective way of capturing your subject.
When to Landscape a Portrait
“If your pictures aren’t good enough, your not close enough” –Robert Cappa.
This is a good time to screw on your wide-angle lens, a wide-angle gives you the option to move in close to your subject and maintain a wide field of view in the viewfinder. I recommend a 24-28mm on full frame or 18-20mm on a cropped sensor, much wider and it will lead to an unnatural distortion, unless that’s what you were after in the first place.
Shooting a portrait in landscape is at it’s best when up close and personal, head and shoulders – then try off centering your main subject in the frame, and my favorite; include a few graphic elements, lead in lines or interesting parts of the background. If you are telling a story it is a good way to include the surroundings and environment. The aim here is to imagine the image entirely made of arrows all pointing towards the subject. Visual interest is the key.
… And When to Portrait a Landscape
This is probably a bit less common photographically and I would say 9 times out of 10 you will still want to ‘landscape a landscape’, however, you can still use it along with a strong sweeping lead line to create a solid composition and successful image.
For example hiking along a mountain trail, use the path moving your eye from bottom to what should be the main subject, the mountains (not forgetting you can also chuck in a person for a bit of scale).
It’s quite an effective method to un-clutter a scene, going for a nice tall dynamic sky instead of that annoying parked car that pulled up into the right hand side of the frame. You might want to watch out for perspective though, try to keep the camera parallel to the subject otherwise you get the converging effect (like when photographing buildings and they appear to lean backwards).
Sunset and sunrise are good for this too; portrait format produces an image of just ground and sky (or sea and sky if you’re at the beach) – the image comes alive with colour and dynamics.
Its always worth experimenting to see what works best, when next out photographing either a portrait or a landscape, do a few of the opposite, and you may surprise yourself with the result.
Photography Tutorials, Case Studies and Discounts - LightStalking Photography Newsletter.
Poser: Achieve Perfect Portrait Expression
We’ve all heard it from clients before. “I don’t like formally posed pictures of myself. I always look so stiff. Can we get pictures without being formally set up?”
Fortunately for our clients – and for us – the world of formal portrait and people photography is now coming to a new era: Portrait Photojournalism.
Stiff, unrealistic, unnatural portraiture is no longer a Photographer’s only option.
A technique used by internationally acclaimed wedding photographers of Poser Image, Jim Garnier and Jerry Ghionis, Portrait Photojournalism combines the techniques of formal portraiture and photojournalism.
The Photographer will “set up the shot” by formally posing the subject[s], to include location, poses, etc. Then, in a seeming irrational move, the Photographer will either coach the subject through expressions by pulling out emotions through dialogue, or leave them to interact with one another.
Sound too simple? Don’t take my word for it. Organize your shoot with the following steps and you’ll find a technique that will revolutionize the way you take portraits – and your results.
1. Location. Location. Location.
Just as you would in a formal shoot, find a few locations that will facilitate the look and feel you want to achieve. This location should match the subjects personality, and be creatively stimulating [Read more about finding locations here].
2. Consider your Lighting
Watch your location for the kind and quality of available light. Is it harsh and contrasty, lending to a dramatic feel? Is it soft and subdued, more conducive to a nostalgic mood? If the available light isn’t sufficient to create the portrait you want, be sure to add light with a reflector, or an off/on camera flash [Read more about using flash in on-location photography here].
3. Set up your Scene
Place your subject within the context of your entire setting. Remember, you aren’t taking only mid and detail shots of your subject; with the photojournalism aspect, you are shooting to tell a story. The story of your subject will include their place and involvement in the scene, and the mood you are creating.
4. Pose your Subject
You don’t have to pose your subject in a complicated manner. At the least, pay attention to the placement of your subjects feet, knees, and shoulders. So long as you pose to achieve variance and levels of these joints, you will be set [More on posing here].
5. “Break” the Shot
Think everything is perfect? Now is the time to make it all natural. Tell your subject to “relax”. Allow them to settle into the pose by drawing them into conversation, or allow them to interact with one another. Achieve authentic expressions, natural posing, and artistic portraits by letting go the expectation of “perfection”. After all, nothing in life is perfect. The key to perfect portrait photojournalism is controlling which elements are broken.
6. Take the Shot
Watch for that “After moment” and “Spontaneous moment”. Oftentimes the most beautiful moments happen just after you take the camera away from your eye. Allow your subject to believe you are done with that set up, and take the shot that they are most natural and relaxed – pulling a hat down, tucking hair back, the cute shoulder shrug. You truly never know what you will be able to achieve.
Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.
Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.
Poser: Achieve Perfect Portrait Expression
How I Stumbled Across an Amazing Way to Slow Down My Shooting Process
A guest post by John Davenport
I, like many new photographers, would walk around shooting everything I saw without consciously thinking about the way it was framed or the settings on my camera. If you browse through the archives of my blog you’ll see a clear pattern of growth and learning in the images, but admittedly, I still have a long way to go!
For me it’s always been hard to slow down. I’ve always been the type of person that wanted results now, not later, and slowing down to think through a shot seemed like I’d be wasting time. Even after reading posts here on dPS like, these three stupidly simple reasons, it still took me a while to learn to slow down. For the first few months of my photography experience I handheld everything – it just took too long to set up the tripod.
Of course, I finally did get sick of those blurry images and I decided that the tripod was worth more than just a good walking stick after all. While, at first setting up the tripod did help me slow down and it certainly improved my image quality, it didn’t help me slow down to the point where I was thinking critically about the shot. I was still going too fast!
So What’s This Magical New Method?
While out on a typical photo walk I stumbled upon this awesome new technique when this crazy idea to pull out my iPhone and film my camera setup popped in my head. I decided to explain my thought process on the shot, and finally I ended up sharing that video with my small group of readers over on my blog. The result was the photo you see above and the video embedded below.
Okay, so it’s rough around the edges, but be kind, it’s my first video ever, and I am frozen!
The point here isn’t the quality of the video or even the fact that I’m recording it with the mindset to show my readers how I took the shot. The point I have is that recording a video like this is a good idea even if you’re not going to show it to anyone! It took me until when I got home that night to realize exactly why, but here are the reasons I came up with.
Three Benefits of Recording Your Shot
- You’re Forced to Talk About It – When you’re out setting up the shot how often do you actually talk it through? I know we always say, “Think it through, frame it right, and double check your settings”, but a video forces you to talk through the shot and that’s a completely different experience.
- You’ve got Evidence – After a typical shoot all you’re going to have is the memories and your photographs. A video will give you a clear view of how you set the camera up and even an insight into your thought process when you were shooting which is something that’d be hard to convey otherwise.
- And of course Slow Methodical Set Up – Due to the added time it takes to record a video you’re without a doubt going to slow down and think about the shot from every possible angle, which should result in a better composed image.
Now I know recording a video is impossible for every single shot and I don’t expect anyone to do that, but personally I’m going to try to do this process at least once every week or two.
Can you think of any other benefits to recording your shot? Have you ever done something like this? I’d love to hear what you think.
John Davenport is an avid amateur photographer who posts daily photos on his blog Phogropathy. You can find him on Facebook, Twitter and his brand new Youtube Channel.
Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.
Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.
How I Stumbled Across an Amazing Way to Slow Down My Shooting Process
Should You Really Use a DSLR for Video?
In the last few years, there has been a plethora of DSLR’s being sold with video capabilities. As well as being photographers, my wife and I also produce short travel films so in 2010 after shooting for several years on a Sony FX1 camcorder, we decided to try out shooting video on DSLR. Our choice of camera was the Canon 7D and a 17-40mm lens. We also bought a Nikon to Canon adapter that allowed us to mount an 80-200 2.8 Nikon lens.
So what are the reasons for shooting video on a DSLR? Well the primary reason, and the reason so many professional filmmakers are using them now, is getting the shallow depth of field most often associated with 35mm cinematography. This is achievable because of the large sensor size of DLSR’s compared with most camcorders in the sub $15000 range.
So what are the pros and cons?
Lets Start With the Pros of Using a DSLR for Video
Firstly as mentioned above, the large sensors give a film, cinematic quality to the video. This has been the Holy Grail of independent filmmakers for many years and allows many low budget films to be produced with out the expense of hiring film cameras and the costs of the film itself.
Secondly, until the advent of the DSLR, the possibility of a large format sensor with interchangeable lenses was beyond the dreams of the average indie filmmaker. Now, if shooting APS sized sensors, you can get a cinematic look using a sub $1000 camera and lens combination. For less than $10000 you can set up an entire full frame system with multiple lenses, steadycams and auxiliary mics.
Most prosumer level camcorders come with a fairly limited range, fixed focus lens usually in the region of 28-300mm equivalent. With a full frame DSLR you can mount a super-wide 14mm or a ultra telephoto 600mm, achieving results that a few years ago would be out of the reach of all but the biggest studios.
Another advantage of the DSLR is their size and portability. This is a distinct advantage in shooting documentaries or other video shot on the streets on in crowded locations.
What About the Cons of Using DSLR for Video?
The first and for me killer con is ergonomics. Whilst this has got better with the latest cameras, there are still some major issues. The primary one is that using video modes requires the mirror to lock up. This means your only viewfinder is the LCD screen, which can be very tricky not only in having to position yourself behind it but in bright sunshine it can be difficult to see the screen.
Secondly, a lot of the auto functions are limited or removed entirely when shooting video. Depending on your camera you may find you have to manually focus or set the exposure. This can be very limiting if you are trying to cover many shots very quickly.
Another, often unexpected issue is moire patterns. This is an unsightly jagged edge that can show in straight lines and ironically in the case of the DSLR is caused by the higher resolution sensors. The issue is that in producing HD video the sensor only needs a maximum of 1080 pixels of vertical resolution and so has to discard excess pixels that a 16-18mp camera will have.
Another issue is rolling shutter. This is an issue where the footage appears to have a wobble in it. It is often caused by handholding the camera whilst shooting video or poor panning and tilting techniques on tripod.. It is actually common to all CMOS type sensors but because of the larger size of DSLR sensors it is exaggerated.
So in summary, DSLR video shooting can give a superb cinematic result but you have to be aware of the ergonomics and limitations of the camera.
Photography Tutorials, Case Studies and Discounts - LightStalking Photography Newsletter.
Panasonic DMC-GF3 Review
If this is the way it’s going, I’m all for it: smaller, interchangeable lens cameras, with decently-sized sensors and sophisticated image processing internals.
Panasonic and Sony seem to be waging the war with their Micro Four Thirds models and this is another missile hurled at (IMHO) the oversize DSLRS, with or without flipping mirrors!
The GF3 leads the bunch in size — or lack of it! No question!
Claimed to be the world’s smallest and lightest system camera, it’s approximately 16.7% smaller and 16.2% lighter compared with the GF2 at just 325 grams (including 14mm lens, card and battery), built into a polycarbonate/aluminium body. The review lens supplied was the superb f2.5/14mm.
The GF3 is indeed a joy to handle, hold and stow. External controls are minimal. I particularly liked the on/off control, set in the form of a switch … and very positive.
If you need to select Program AE, shutter or aperture priority and manual, scene modes etc simply hit the menu button and choose from the screen display; you can also touch the screen to make your selection.
Panasonic DMC-GF3 Features
Maximum image size is 4000×3000 pixels; this means you could make a 30x25cm print at 300 dpi. Movies at Full HD 1920×1080 resolution can be shot in AVCHD format or 1280×720 in MPEG. While the AF worked effortlessly when shooting video, I did find the auto exposure a little tardy when correcting for brightness extremes. And, of course, you can’t take stills while recording video but you can of course select stills from a video sequence.
If you like the simple life you can rely on Intelligent Auto for both stills and video recording; additional iA features include AF Tracking, Face Recognition, Intelligent D-range Control, Intelligent Resolution, MEGA O.h3built into the lens), Intelligh3O Control and Intelligent Scene Selector.
The built-in flash pops up at a button touch and presents a decent 55mm of lens-to-flash separation, helping to lessen red-eye in portrait shooting.
I liked the AF function: when the screen is touched the system creates a green rectangle around that section and targets focus exactly there; you could aim it at a person’s eyes or, say, a bee on a flower!
There h3otal of 23 AF areas, with the camera dividing these into nine groups; touch one of these groups and the camera auto selects an optimal area within that group.
The popular defocus control function in iA mode is now easily operated with a slider on the touch screen, allowing users to adjust the defocus area for a sharp subject and softly focused background.
In My Colour mode you can enjoy fuss-free experimentation with colour modes like Expressive, Retro, High Key, Sepia and High Dynamic and (not my favourite!) Miniature Effect.
Panasonic DMC-GF3 ISO Tests
Fairly clean and useable right up untilI SO 1600. By ISO 3200 noise is fairly noticeable. IMHO ISO 6400 is unuseable.
Panasonic DMC-GF3 Verdict
Quality: I enjoyed the quality of the GF3′s shots, sharp and accurately coloured.
Why you’d buy the GF3: it’s real, real small; easy to fall in love with the AF function; you want to use Leica lenses.
Why you wouldn’t: you want to shoot stills while recording video; you want to attach an eye-level viewfinder.
This camera quite took my fancy, not only because of its tiny size, but because it has reduced the operational maze considerably: you can shoot in all the usual modes, enjoy the image options of RAW or JPEG or use it as a well-endowed point-and-shoot camera.
Panasonic DMC-GF3 Specifications
Image Sensor: 12.10 million effective pixels.
Metering: 144 zone multi pattern, centre-weighted, spot.
Lens Mount: Micro Four Thirds.
Exposure Modes: Program AE, shutter and aperture priority, manual.
Sensor: 4/3 type Live MOS 17.3x13mm. 35 SLR Lens Factor: 2x.
Shutter Speed (stills): 4 mins to 1/4000 second and Bulb. Flash sync: 1/160 sec.
Continuous Shooting: up to 3.8 fps. Memory: SD/SDHC/SDXC cards.
Image Sizes (pixels): Stills: 4000×3000 to 1440×1440.
Movies: 1920×1080, 1280×720 (AVCHD); 1280×720, 640×480, 320×240 (MPEG4).
Viewfinder: 7.6cm LCD screen (460,000 pixels).
File Formats: JPEG, RAW, JPEG+RAW, MPO (3D), MPEG4, AVCHD.
Colour Space: sRGB, Adobe RGB.
ISO Sensitivity: Auto, 160 to 6400.
Interface: USB 2.0, HDMI mini, AV, ext micxxxx.
Power: Rechargeable lithium ion battery, DC input.
Dimensions: 107.7×67.1×32.5 WHDmm.
Weight: 264 g (card and battery).
Price: Get a price on the GF3 in the following configurations:
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3- Body Only
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3with a 14-42mm Zoom Lens
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 with a 14mm F2.5 ASPH Lens
Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.
Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.
Take More Photos – Keep Less
A guest post by Sam Levy, founder of citifari, New York Photo Tours.
In today’s environment, with the development and increased mobility of digital cameras, it has become easy and inexpensive to take a large volume of photos. Compared to the early days of photography when it took a couple of days, required gear weighting tens of pounds and cost a couple of dollars for each capture (or rather, at today’s prices, a few hundred dollars), photography today allows instantaneous results, requires less than a pound of equipment and cost little to no money per take… in addition, the photos taken today are often much better in quality. The future of photography is bright: we today have more than enough tools to surpass the works of the early masters of photography. The bad news is with advanced tools so readily accessible to the average user, much has already been achieved. So what is left in it for you? A lot! More specifically, for many of us in photography, there is still a lot of room for improvement. I would guess that since you are reading this post, you are looking for that self-improvement. Here are two pieces of advice.
Take more pictures
When I first heard this advice, I did not fully understand it. I was backpacking in Mexico and had met with that professional photographer who gave me the advice. We met a few days in a row, which made me feel after that I could do much more with that fancy DSLR than with my small point and shoot. I felt the urge to spend what was left of my savings into that ‘toy’ at the time. From toy it became tool but that’s another story. Before we parted ways, I received a final word of advice: “take more pictures”. It did not resonate with me until much later after owning my own DSLR. Even though my now-wife felt that I was already taking too many pictures, my current view is that it is not so much the quantity of pictures taken as it is learning from the trials and errors of many takes in order to perfect your touch. Multiply the opportunities. And, when you have found a subject or setting that you like, keep on shooting until you lose interest.
Keep fewer pictures
Unless you are naturally gifted, following the first advice will result in a monster inventory of pictures. You will come back from a long weekend with 1,000 or 2,000 pictures easily. But it wasn’t even your wedding – it was merely a visit to Grandma and you shot everything possible in her garden. What to do then? The easy way is to download the pictures onto your computer and leave them there or share them all. While most of us “sort” through them and send 50 of them to your parents, siblings, friends, facebook etc… that number is still too large. Keeping 50 would often mean eliminating the ones that were identical or poorly composed or exposed. But you still have 50! You need to be much more selective. Try to keep 5. Yes 5 out of 2,000! 0.25%! When exercising this best practice becomes a habit, you will develop your critical eye and you will keep only the pictures that YOU really like.
The feedback loop
As you learn to take more pictures and keep fewer, you will begin developing a sense of style – your style. You will start to shoot only those shots that you think you have a chance of keeping. You will begin to understand your tastes and aim for each different shot you take. However, you will still shoot a lot and still keep very few. The feedback loop will feed itself of increasingly better pictures and operate through a tougher selection. As a result, you will have trained a more critical eye and a better shutter finger. In no time, you might keep 1 of 50 photos taken during that weekend with Grandma, but you will love that picture and Grandma will be happy she appeared more interesting than the tomato in the garden.??So, again, what is left for the aspiring photography after the fact that the average camera user can follow these advices too? Well first, this is a disciplined practice that not anyone can put himself/herself through. But, with diligent practice of this exercise, you will certainly improve your photo skills. More importantly, you will develop a better sense for your passion in the way that pleases you.
Sam Levy is the founder of citifari. citifari offers photo tours in New York City. Structured as a 2-1/2 hour practical workshop, citifari tour helps you get comfortable with your camera settings and take great shots in New York City. citifari is launching its newest New York tour: Central Park photo tour.
Images in this post are copyrighted to citifari
Visit citifari at:
www.citifari.com
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email Sam Levy at sam@citifari.com
Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.
Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.
The Rule of Thirds: Weekly Photography Challenge
This week your photography challenge is to utilise the most common photographic composition rule – the Rule of Thirds.
While I’m not big on ‘rules’ – there’s definitely some good reasons to know this one and to be able to pull it off (and of course there are times to break it too). So lets practice implementing it this week!
You can use it in any type of photography you like – portraits, landscapes, sporting, macro, animals, food…. whatever you like. Just make sure you adhere to the principles of the Rule of Thirds when composing your shot.
Once you’ve selected your ‘Rule of Thirds’ image/s upload them to your favourite photo sharing site and either share a link to it or – embed them in the comments using the our new tool to do so.
If you tag your photos on Flickr, Instagram, Twitter or other sites with Tagging tag them as #DPSRULEOFTHIRDS to help others find them. Linking back to this page might also help others know what you’re doing so that they can share in the fun.
Also – don’t forget to check out some of the great shots posted in the last challenge – Patterns challenge where there were some beautiful shots submitted.
Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.
Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.
The Rule of Thirds: Weekly Photography Challenge