Posts Tagged ‘Great’

Great Nature Photography on a Cloudy Day

Thursday, September 29th, 2011

Nature photography relies on your sensitivity to the natural light above all else. You have surely heard that for good landscape photography, you generally want sunny conditions, early or late in the day when the light is low and soft. However, this does not apply to every situation, and busy lifestyles do not always allow us to choose the conditions in which we take our photos.

Have you ever planned and set aside a day to get out and practice your nature photography, only to wake up to grey, cloudy skies? You are not alone, this happens to us all; professional and beginner alike. And of course when you are traveling, you often only have one chance to take your photos before moving on, so you have to make the best of the situation as you find it.

Photographers, don’t despair. There are many situations that suit cloudy skies just fine; in fact, there are some situations when cloudy skies are the best option for a good nature photo. Here are just a few situations that you could explore when cloudy weather threatens to derail your photography outing.

#1. Rainforest Photography. When the sun shines through the trees in the forest, it creates a patchwork of light and shade that makes correct exposure almost impossible. You simply can’t manage the contrast in these conditions. Cloudy weather is actually the best way to take good rainforest photos. Some would say the cloudier the better, because if your rainforest is high enough to be in the clouds, you can capture some very atmospheric misty effects in the forest.

I live in South East Queensland, so I am close to both the beach and some fabulous rainforest. My rule is: If it’s sunny, go to the beach. If the weather is grey and cloudy, grab your camera and head for the rainforest.

#2. Wildlife Photography (Pets and People Too). Bright sunlight can be a problem when shooting wildlife. In the middle part of the day, the sun can create heavy shadows which make exposure difficult, and rob your photo of essential colour and detail that gives the subject its character. Worst of all, sunlight can create shadows on the face of your subject. As you know, the critical part of any good wildlife photo is the eyes. If the eyes in your photo are lost in shadow, the personal connection with the subject is lost.

Animals do not like looking into the sun any more than you do, so even early in the morning and late in the afternoon, when the light is softer, photography can be difficult. More often than not, you will probably find your subject turning away from the light.

If you take your photo on a cloudy day, you can capture your wildlife subject in soft, even light that allows perfect exposure without ugly shadows. There will also be less glare reflecting off shiny surfaces (a snake’s skin, a bird’s feathers etc.) so your picture can actually appear more colourful.

#3. Sunset Photography. Clouds create a much more interesting sunset photo than clear skies. All you need is for the sun to break through the clouds as they cross the horizon. A good nature photographer learns to read the sky and try to predict what is coming. Often on a grey, cloudy day you will notice that the only patch of clear sky is far away near the horizon. If that is the case, you can go looking for a good location and set up for your sunset photo.

With a bit of luck, there will be several breaks in the clouds before the sun goes down. If so, you could be on the spot to photograph spectacular sunbeams, a truly wonderful effect that every nature photography hopes to capture.

Like all things in nature photography, all the planning in the world means nothing without a bit of luck. You may get your photo all set up, only to see the gap in the clouds close and your chance of a good photo disappear. Persistence wins in the end, so keep trying and from time to time you will end up with some breathtaking sunset photos.

I hope these tips encourage you to get out and enjoy your photography, no matter what the weather is like. As your experience grows, you will find it easier to read the light and know what sort of photography suits the conditions. Until then, practice, practice, practice!

Atlanta Commercial Photography: Capture the Image in a great way

Monday, September 5th, 2011

Photography is a process or an art of creating moving or still pictures with the help of record radiations on some sensitive or resposive medium. This sensitive medium is called film or photographic film.the device used for photography is known as camera. Photography is an amzing art that has numerous uses for pleasure, business and science.

The word photography is actually derived from greek words, ‘phos’ which means light and ‘graphic’ means style or paint. so, when we combine two, we will get the definition of photography as a drawing created with the help of light. The output we get from photography is called photographs and negatives. Commonly this is shortened as photos.

History: The Art Institute of Atlanta has many branches throughout North America. This institution is managed and administered by Education management. It is situated in all important cities. Every year this institute give graduation degree to hundred thousand students. These students are great professionals in their creative fields including fashion, media, design, photography and other arts.

This institute was founded in 1949. firstly diplomas degeree were offered here in basic skills. Later on other arts including fashion and interior were offered.  In 1975, this college was given the staus of Art Institute of Atlanta. The college curriculum was especially designed for applied arts. Then, many other courses were offered time to time with rising demands and modern technologies in Atlanta Commercial photography. Photography is also an art that is offered with innovations day by day. Nowadays, students are mastering the most recent trends available in this field.

Atlanta Commercial photography: The career requirements are not confined to individual creativity but it also requires educational and professional knowledge in Atlanta Commercial photography. This knowledge can be mastered at various institutions.

Atlanta is a land of various photography colleges. They offer different programs and degrees related to photography. Some well knew institutions include Gwinnett Technical College and North Georgia Technical College. Students can complete several diplomas and certificates regarding photography from these colleges.

Atlanta Commercial photography needs some professional and technical skills. For example every subject requires some specific presentation and approach. Right camera is needed to capture true image. In current day world, digital tools are very common that gives a great benefit to enhance images and shoots. Digital cameras and tools help to change and enhance the composition and state of a photograph by methods involving saturation, contrasting and airbrushing. Lightning is also very important in photography. As, photography is the art of capturing lightening and it works with the proper use or capture of light. A professional photographer is the person that makes best use of artificial and natural light to focus the subject. Commercial photography also requires appropriate angles.

In Atlanta Commercial photography, beside natural photographers there are also food photographers that obviously treat food as natural artists treat nature. Commercial food photographers have aim of producing more artistic look and shoot in a way that the object looks more delicious. Their target is to attract the maximum audience.

Types of photography: There are several types of Atlanta Commercial photography.

Advertising: location and studio, product illustrations, people, websites, fashion, catalog etc.

Corporate: executive portraits, award events, meetings, annual reports and public relations etc.

Industrial: urban, general marketing, new construction, building and brochures etc.

Events: charity, parties, ceremonies, awards, weddings, corporate events, receptions, reunions etc.

Architectural: residential, panoramas, commercial, real-estate, tours etc.

Portraits: senior, family, children, group, individual, corporate, head shoots, engagement etc.

Stock: landscapes, industrial, lifestyles, corporate, architectural etc.

Editorial: illustrations, business, magazine, fashion, web, trade publications, news print etc.

Nature Photography: Five Tips for Great Wildlife Photos

Friday, September 2nd, 2011

Wildlife photography can be one of the most challenging and rewarding fields of nature photography. With digital cameras creating such widespread interest in all types of photography, new photographers all over the world are taking an interest in wildlife photography.

Most of the photography guides these days focus on the technical aspects of the camera: but really good photography relies more on composition, lighting, and sensitivity to your subject. This means you can improve your photography by thinking creatively, not technically.

Here are five of my top tips for taking better wildlife photographs.

Wildlife Photography Tip #1. Get to the subject’s eye level. Wildlife photos are most effective if they create an intimate connection between the subject and the viewer. The best way to do this is to take your photo at the subject’s eye level. This way, your wildlife photo can create the illusion of sharing a moment inside the world of the subject, rather than from the outside looking in.

If, for example, your subject is low to the ground (like a lizard, frog, or even a pet), crouch or lie flat, getting as low as possible so you can take your photo at the subject’s eye level.

Wildlife Photography Tip #2.It’s All In The Eyes. The personal connection mentioned in tip #1 is really about eye contact, so it is important to get the eyes right. If the eyes in your wildlife photo are sharp and clear, the photo will probably work. If they are out of focus, lost in shadow, or if the subject blinks or turns its eyes away, the connection will be lost, and the photo will almost certainly fail.

You don’t even need your whole subject to be in focus. Your animal could be mostly hidden by leaves, in shadow and out of focus. The picture could still work…as long as the eyes are open and captured sharply in the picture.

Wildlife Photography Tip #3. If The Background Doesn’t Help, Get Rid Of It. Many wildlife photos are spoiled because the background is cluttered, distracting, ugly, or just plain inappropriate. For example, seagulls on a beach can be quite beautiful, but seagulls at the local rubbish tip is a different matter. Also, wildlife photos look far less natural if you can tell they were taken in a zoo. Apply this principle: “Anything that does not make my photo better, makes it worse.”

This does not mean you can’t take a good wildlife photo at the zoo, at the tip, or anywhere else for that matter. You just need to manage it. If your background is spoiling your shot, zoom right in on the subject to eliminate as much of the background as possible. By zooming in, you will also reduce the depth of field to a minimum, so any background that does appear in your photo will be out of focus and less distracting.

Wildlife Photography Tip #4. If Your Background Is Working For You, Use It Well. A wildlife photograph that captures the subject in a beautiful natural setting can be even more effective than a simple close-up. My photos of a kangaroo on the beach, for example, show the subject in an unexpected context, making a more interesting image than a close-up portrait style photo.

If you take your wildlife subject as part of a wider landscape, you need to consider all the techniques of composition that apply to landscape photography. Remember the rule of thirds (which may or may not help) and be careful to position your animal so that the subject and the background work together to make a more effective composition. In particular, try to position your wildlife subject so that it looks toward the centre of the picture, not towards the edge of the frame.

wildlife Photography Tip #5. Capture your subject in the best possible light. Even the most perfectly composed wildlife photo can fail because of bad lighting. Losing your subject in the shadows, glare reflecting off shiny feathers, and shadows across the face of the subject are all simple mistakes that can ruin a photo.

There is no single rule for lighting in a wildlife photograph, but here are some suggestions. I often find the best results when the sky is lightly overcast with thin cloud. This produces light that is bright, but soft and even compared to full sunlight. Your subject will be well illuminated, but you avoid harsh contrast and heavy shadows that rob the image of important detail.

If the weather is sunny, try to take your photos early and late in the day when the sun is low. At these times the light is soft and warmly coloured. It is also easier to catch the full face of your subject in sunlight, rather than half-obscured by shadow.

So there you have my five tips for wildlife photography. I could cheat and add tip #6: take lots of photos. Animals move, blink, flap their wings, and generally find ways to frustrate the wildlife photographer. Don’t forget, with digital photography it costs you nothing to keep snapping. So practice, persevere, and try out these tips…you could be taking better photos in no time.

Great Professional Photographers Are Worth The Expense

Thursday, September 1st, 2011

As human beings, we all like to keep memories of when certain landmark events happened in our lives. Children who change with each passing year, or those events which need notating, like weddings and engagements etc, will all need a great snap if the memory is to be kept alive. However, finding a great photographer is important if the finished product is to be perfect. Even senior pictures can turn out to be very important too so finding just the right artist is very important.

In this digital age most of us own a camera or two where we can just snap away at whatever is going on. This is good for every day happenings but not many people can take that formal snap which everyone will certainly admire. Indeed, even if the person is good, he cannot normally get the model to sit or look in a certain way since they rarely listen to family members when it comes to doing this.

What the professional does is to tease them into posing correctly while lighting them in the most flattering way so that the end result is good. Indeed, many studios have different settings so that the end result looks wonderful but how many people could do this at home?

For couple who are celebrating their wedding anniversaries etc, having a lovely old leather armchair in the shot gives it that formal yet casual look which will probably end up hanging over the fireplace at some time, indeed, how many people have a wonderful leather armchair anyway.

For the kids, they normally have some rather old-fashioned toys at hand, like an antique rocking horse or such, so that the whole effect looks wonderful. Considering that toys of today are of the electronic variety or even plastic, this gives the kids a chance to see what their forebears had to play with too.

There have been times when an Aunt or Uncle has been asked to take some shots at a very important function. This could have been a special event like a wedding, but dismay sets in when something goes wrong with the camera. Since these events are very important affairs, it would be wise to get in a professional who can rescue the situation should anything go amiss.

Most professionals these days are insured up to the hilt just in case anything goes wrong. If the camera fails, or some other such hazard occurs, the whole event can be restaged with all the attending people paid for again by the insurance company. Of course, this would not be like having the same day but it would be a good second choice for those who want to have appropriate shots of the day.

But not only this, these professionals can often manipulate shots so that the overall effect is perfect. Minor flaws can be wiped out and even shadows lifted so that the person can be seen. Not many amateurs have this facility to this is yet another reason to pay a professional for his services.

Animal Photography – How To Take Great Photos Of Animals

Friday, August 12th, 2011

If you love taking pictures of wildlife then this article will be sure to give you some helpful tips that you can start using today. Animal photography, also called wildlife photography, encompasses the entire world of animals from your pets to polar bears. This article focuses on photographing wildlife, but you can apply many of these tips to photographing Muffin or Fido. To learn how nature photographers get those fantastic images of wildlife, read on.

The photography basics for taking great pictures of wildlife begin with these tips. As always there are exceptions, but the following go a long ways towards ensuring successful animal photography:

Use natural lighting to your advantage
Fill the frame with the subject
Focus on the eyes
Shoot from various angles
Capture personality

Perhaps you are wondering how you can, without a huge lens and SLR safely get close enough to a wild animal to “capture their personality” or “fill the frame”?

Even professional wildlife photographers don’t always take their animal photos in the wild. Many of the photographs of polar bears, tigers and other wild creatures were taken at wildlife sanctuaries and zoos. Cheating? Maybe, but it’s safer for the photographer and doesn’t disturb their free roaming cousins’ mating and feeding cycles.

If you love taking pictures of wildlife then this article will be sure to give you some helpful tips that you can start using today.

animal Photography Tips for Wildlife Sanctuaries and Zoos

1) Simplify the Composition: If the background is distracting, use a wide aperture or Portrait mode to blur it. Or use a photo editor like Photoshop to clean up or blur the background.

2) Go Natural: Avoid showing cage bars, fences, humans, signs, etc. If it is safe and not against the rules, point the lens through the gap in the fence so you can take a picture without showing the fence. Often there will be a look out area or vantage point that lets you take pictures over the top of the fence. Look for areas like these that are perfect for a photo. Again, use a good photo editing software to blur what you couldn’t get rid of while taking your picture.

3) Fill the Frame: Use zoom (optical for best quality) or a telephoto lens to get close ups.

4) Use Sports Mode: Use Sports mode or set shutter speed priority to around 1/250 to freeze movements.

5) Use Light and Weather to Best Effect: Overcast days are often best for animal photography. If the overcast isn’t too bright, it will prevent glare from light colored or watery backgrounds. If the overcast is too dark and you have an SLR, raise the ISO. With the right amount of overcast, you can get well exposed, sharp pictures with your compact, and the animals won’t be squinting.

Since the eyes are usually very expressive and the best place to focus, you really want to avoid squinting. Another way to eliminate this is to photograph when the animal’s back is to sun. In this case, you will need to use fill flash (turn off automatic flash and set to “On”) to prevent underexposure or a silhouette, and you will need to use a lens hood or wear a broad brimmed hat to prevent lens flare.

6) Try this When Shooting through Glass: When you want a picture of a terrarium or aquarium critter, turn on the flash and shoot from an angle. Be sure to check your manual for the safe distance when using flash to photograph living beings without damaging eyes. Or, turn off the flash and carefully press your lens to the glass.

7)    Plan your Visits for the Best Photo Ops: Many people will especially love seeing your animal photography when it includes baby animals. Often zoos and sanctuaries let visitors know when new babies are arriving by posting it on their websites. Another good photo op is feeding time. animals that hide out during much of the day will come out to eat. Finally, if you’re visiting a sanctuary or zoo when the weather’s hot, go early in the day when the animals will be most active, not napping.

8)    Use Context: While usually it’s best to fill the frame with the animal, sometimes the context is too interesting to bypass. Examples of using context: a child and baby animal looking at each other, a giraffe, long neck bent as it peers down at a car in front of yours at the drive-through safari park.

9)    Capture Expressions: Animals, whether our pets or wildlife, make the cutest expressions. Be ready with your camera! Even just normal expressions like a wolf pup yawning or a tiger licking its lips are cute or interesting. The more you understand the habits and behaviors of the animal you’re trying to take pictures of, the better chance you’ll have of capturing a great photo of them.

So, the next time you’re ready to take some wildlife pictures, use these animal photo tips and you’ll be amazed at the difference applying this tips can have on your photos.

Photographing Groups – a Professional Photographer’s Guidelines for Taking Great Group Portraits

Tuesday, August 9th, 2011

Photographing groups of any size can be challenging, but using the correct posing and lighting approaches can produce a winning image. The more people you have in the photo, the smaller they appear, and the harder it is to see the individual faces. Ideally, you want to fill the camera frame with people both vertically and horizontally, and this is achieved with thoughtful positioning of the subjects. By doing this you can get closer to them and they appear larger and easier to see in the photos.

The first thing in any group is to have people stand at a 45-degree angle to the lens, rather than shoulder-to-shoulder facing the camera. This does several things. It allows you to get your subjects closer together, they appear slimmer, and it’s more professional-looking. And don’t have them all facing the same way unless they’re a ’60s Motown group. Better to have them turned toward center on both sides.

Small groups of three to eight can be taken standing together to produce a pleasing picture. They will fill the camera frame from top to bottom and side to side nicely.

Left to pose for a picture without direction from the photographer, a large group of subjects will usually stand shoulder to shoulder in a long line. This produces a photo with small people and excess space at the top and bottom of the frame.

Any group larger than eight or so should be positioned in levels, either by having some people in front sitting on chairs, or in back standing on steps. I like to have somewhere around 35-40% of the group in chairs and the rest standing behind, as this fills the frame better than an equal number of seated and standing subjects. Alternatively, you can have the first row standing in front and the second row on a step behind. Try to keep your rows close together, and try to position them so the people in the back row are standing between the two people in front of them, not directly behind them and hidden from camera view. A good way to check this is to ask each subject in back to make sure that they can see the camera with both eyes, thus ensuring that you’re not photographing just part of their head.

For a group of around 25, a good posing scheme would be some people on chairs, some standing behind, and some seated on the ground in front. Alternatively, you can have a second row standing on a step a level above those standing behind the chairs. The point is to fill the picture both side to side AND top to bottom.

The larger the group becomes, the more imperative it is that you find stairs to put your subjects on. Estimate how many rows you have to make in order to fill the frame top to bottom and side to side. The best approach is to have the subjects line up according to height. Start the bottom row with the shorter people, and end the top row with the tallest. This keeps a taller person from blocking a shorter one behind them. Subjects seated in bleachers or stadium-style seating is also very popular in schools and sporting venues, and can produce good results. You can follow the same principle as positioning on stairs.

If stairs or bleachers are not available, you have another option: setting the camera at an elevation above the crowd and shooting from above. This can be accomplished by using a ladder to get slightly above a small group, or a rooftop or balcony for a large group. Everyone can just look up, but you may still have to position people so taller subjects are to the rear of the shot.

Having someone to assist the photographer in positioning larger groups is extremely valuable. Only from dead-on camera position, that is, looking through the viewfinder, can you judge whether a face in the crowd will be fully visible or partly or totally blocked. Having an assistant position subjects while the photographer looks through the camera saves a lot of time and footwork.

The easy way to light is to just have everyone looking toward the sun, but the results can be disappointing. Your subjects will be squinting, they will have shadows under their eyes, and if it is hot they will be uncomfortable. The preferred method is to have the subjects’ backs to the sun, and to use flash to illuminate them. For a small single-row group, you can use your camera mounted flash. Multiple row groups will need a flash mounted on a camera bracket or light stand. This is to prevent shadows being thrown onto the people standing in the back rows. Large groups will need multiple flash units on tall stands. You can trigger them with remote receivers from your camera-mounted transmitter. Three flash units work well, one on the left, one on the right, and one next to the camera. And make sure they are high enough so they don’t produce shadows on the faces in the back rows.

You’ll also need a good lens hood to block the sunlight from hitting the lens and producing a flare. If the sun is low or you’re shooting directly into the sun, you may also need to position something above the camera to block the sunlight, and throw a shadow on the camera lens. This can be done with something as simple as a piece of cardboard or a magazine, or even an umbrella. There are also professional devices you can buy.

A good example of all the above guidelines being applied to a group portrait can be seen here: www.ambiencephoto.com

Finally, make sure you have everyone’s attention when you’re about to take the photos. Remind them to make sure they can see you with both eyes, and to Smile!

The Power of Adobe Photoshop: Great Photo Editing Methods

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

Adobe Photoshop can be a lot of fun to use. This photo editing software has heaps of tools that will be able to let you transform any picture in to an artwork. And, you will be able to have a great deal of fun in the process. As an example, if someone needs their picture taken but they have this dreadful looking pimple, you will be in a position to remove the pimple with Adobe Photoshop. This is only one of the many tricks that this photo editing software can give you.

Utilizing the smudge tool, you can easily remove skin imperfections, such as pimples, marks, and even furrows. So, if someone wants to look more youthful, you can readily erase their furrows and make them appear 10 younger. Oily skin is another problem that a lot of people have when they have their picture taken. With Adobe Photoshop, the ugly shine on the face will instantly disappear with just a few clicks of of the mouse. Skin tone can also be changed with Adobe Photoshop. You can readily make someone look like they just got a tan from the beach or you can remove the sunburn and make them appear a little lighter.

We all know that group or individual photos are ruined with that photographic event that we call as the red eye reduction. This is fundamentally caused by light reflecting back from the pupil of the subjects. Usually, this is a consequence of the flash in the camera. Although some digital cameras today now has flash settings that claims to conquer the red eye reducing occurrence, there is actually no 100 percent guarantee to remove it. Adobe Photoshop can help you with this problem as it will be able to give you the red eye reduction tool. This tool will help you eliminate the appearance of the red eye reduction in a digital photo. As a matter of fact, you can also remove the red eyes even those of your pet car or dog.

Adobe Photoshop likewise has tools that will be able to help tidy up an image or even improve its appearance. This tool is the brightness and contrast tool, color enhancing tools, and likewise sharpening and blurring tool. If you have a dark photo where you actually can’t find out the faces of your subjects, Adobe Photoshop will help you brighten up the photographs with the adjust brightness level and contrast tool. Also, it can release the vibrant colors of a specific photo. For blurred images as a consequence of hand shaking, it may be sharpened for that cleanest appearance possible.

You need to admit that there are times where a seemingly great photo is ruined by objects or people in the backdrop. In fact, there are even some strangers that will attempt posing in the setting and you will not even notice them until you transfer the image to your PC from your camera or you get it printed. With Adobe Photoshop, you can crop elements out of the picture. Whether it’s a stray dog, a garbage can, or an entire stranger ruining the great moment, you can easily cut them out of the picture and fix the portion where you edited out the element as if nothing was there before.

Adobe Photoshop can also give you the power to be artistic. You can alter color pictures to monochrome pictures and you can also make pictures look as if it is taken from quite a while ago by making use of the sepia effect. Also, a picture may be converted to look as if it was painted with water color, sketched with charcoal and etc.

You can also be a little creative with your photos. For example, if you want to have a photo with the Eiffel Tower as your background, you can merely take a picture of yourself standing inside your bedroom. Simply get a picture of the Eiffel Tower in the web and you can paste the picture you took of yourself standing inside the bedroom and paste it in the Eiffel Tower background.

There are a lot more amazing things that you can do with Adobe Photoshop. These are just some of the many great items that you may be able to do with Adobe Photoshop. If you are an amateur photographer or an expert one, you will see that Adobe Photoshop will have all the tools you should edit a picture.

Photography Tips for a Great Pet Painting

Tuesday, July 5th, 2011

So you have decided to get your favourite pet immortalised in pet portrait or oil painting and now you want to prepare your photographs to be submitted to the chosen artist and you are wondering how best to photograph your fine feathered or furry friend.

Paramount to the success of any painting is the foundation work of understanding your subject, so having good reference photos from different angles is keyto achieving a great likeness of your faithful companion.

If you decide to commission an artist remotely located, then you are goingto need a good quality photo of your pet, as artists who work remotely don’thave your pet in real life to sketch from.

So in order to prepare a great shot then there a few tips you should follow, that will set you on the right path. Remember the better the photos you supply the better image the artist is going to have in their mind. Naturally any kind of special personality traits or favourite habits or tricks are also going to prove to be helpful as the painter needs as much information as you can supply to truly capture the spirit of your pet.

Make sure you do not use flash photography unless your pet has dark fur. Camera flash tends to flatten details, so it is best to photograph your pet outside in natural sunlight.

Also make sure your pet is close up for a few shots or head shots so that the facial detail is as clear as possible as well. Just like humans, animals havea different left side of their face when compared to the right side. Differences may be minimal, but this is the sort of important information the artist needs to be aware of, if a good likeness is to be portrayed.

Still Life Photography – How To Take Great Still Life Pictures

Sunday, May 22nd, 2011

Still life photography has lots of practical and valuable uses. Perhaps you want to take a photograph of a beautiful bowl of fruit or perhaps you have learned that an important key to eBay success is uploading quality photos of your products. Learning still life photography can also give you opportunities for selling your photograph downloads on microstock sites or to food magazines. No matter what your reason, still life photography is a great skill to learn.

Unless you are photographing specific products or pictures for a magazine assignment, the subjects for your still life photography are endless. Fine art still lifes aren’t limited to just apples and grapes. Even super simple items like a few artfully arranged spools of thread can be interesting and attract attention. Microstock sites like Shutterstock and iStock that cater to commercial users have a high demand for all sorts of still life, often of very simple objects, like a cup of coffee or a key.

In one way, still life photography is a lot easier than other forms of photography like landscape, sports or pet photography. With still life pictures, you can arrange the objects exactly how you want them and have full control over the photo’s composition.

And sometimes, good quality still life pictures can be even more challenging to photograph. Because still lifes are taken up close, it’s easy to see imperfections on your subject that you would normally never see.

Despite its challenge, by using some basic photography skills and applying these tips, you can create stunning still life pictures with just a little practice.

Lighting for Still Life Photography

With most professional photographers, they use a light box or soft box to take their still life photos. Although soft boxes can help out a lot, they still aren’t absolutely necessary to get good results as you’ll see shortly. However, if you do want one, you can find a soft box online or you can easily make one using instructions you find online. The purpose of these tools is to provide good, even light.

You can also get a good quality of light by setting up your photo shoot outside. In fact, a high overcast (bright overcast) sky creates a soft box effect where you get good lighting without the harsh shadows.

Composing Still Life Pictures

When composing your photograph, you need to arrange the objects in a pleasing composition. You should consider using classical composition techniques like the “Rule of Thirds,” “Leading Lines” or “Frame within a Frame” for ideas of how to best compose your pictures. Artfully arrange the objects, and use your imagination. For example, if it’s a picture of a piece of cake, instead of including the entire table setting, place a gleaming, silver dessert fork upside down on the plate and remove a tiny bite from the cake.

Fill the Frame with Your Subject

Remember, the only thing that should be in your viewfinder or on your preview LCD screen is your composition. Remove any clutter and get up close with your camera. If you have a backdrop or background you don’t like don’t worry about it because it can be easily solved. The soft box or light box solves this issue, but if you are shooting outside, here’s something you can do: place a piece of white foam board or piece of material behind your subject, and voila no more distracting background. Be sure to use Macro mode so that you get a sharp image.

Look for a Good Angle and Shoot!

Rather than taking a picture from your head level, try holding the camera so that it’s at the same height as your subject. You should also try shooting from a variety of different angles.

Hopefully these tips have provided you some helpful information on taking still life photos that you can start putting to use immediately.

Photo Editing: Great Way to Provide New Look to Your Faded Photo

Tuesday, May 17th, 2011

Photo editing is known as a process of changing the quality of the image needed. There are a lot of processes involved. It depends on the output desired. Instead for digital photo, it can also be implemented for analog pictures. Yet, analog pictures take a longer process to improving the quality of the output.

Everyone must have a memorable photo they treasure. It commonly has special story behind so that it is very valuable to keep. It is able to bring them back to the time when hey took the picture. Preserving it is necessary. However, as the quality of the paper is getting worse, that treasured photo will be worse as well. It will lose its original color. In this case, photo editing will be the right answer to fix that problem. Digital photo editing is one of the technology that is able to provide your deteriorated photo with a new look. All you need to do is simply to bring your photo to the photo editing service and get everything done.

If you bring your photo to photo editing service, you have to make sure that you have correctly chosen the professional one. The amateur service will not satisfy what you need. You can possibly find the color is not correct and the contrast is low.

The process of photo editing involves some steps. To support the process, there are some tools used so that the appearance of the image can be improved. The processes include the color correction, masking the color, soft masking, cutting, as well as removing items. Color correction is aimed to improve the contrast and the color so that it can be improved. In addition, soft masking is to provide transparent background. It also uses clipping path to cut a part of the photo to be replaced with the new one. This masking process needs a fine finish level. It needs a specific tool such as pencils. While cutting, you should use cutting tools so that you can reach the best output.

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