Closer to Home (Macro)

Closer to Home (Macro)

Everyday objects around the home offer plenty of potential for interesting close ups, the key is to keep your eyes open for the possibilities of colors, textures and shapes. Even if you run out of ideas for photographing objects in your home, it is possible to bring interesting objects from outdoors for still life shooting

Consider investing on a mini tripod that will allow you to get closer to your objects, a larger tripod my interfere with the table

Creating a table top studio

• A sturdy table
• A white sheet or selection of large colored cards
• A minimum of two, but ideally three or four separate lamps
• Small pieces of card
• Tin foil
• Two objects large enough to prop up the card or sheets
• A tripod

Setting up your studio

• Lay a well ironed sheet or large piece of card over a table and prop the rear end up so it falls in a curve. Position the object you want photograph in the center of the table and change your lamps in such a position to eliminate any unruly shadows.
• If you have more than 2 lamps this should be easier In a professional studio darker shadows are field with the use of reflectors.
• You can use your cards wrapped with tin foils to create reflectors.

Try using a water spray bottle to add fine droplets to the petals and leaves. By photographing at such a close proximity to the subject you may capture some nice reflections.

The most everyday or mundane subjects can turn into  inspirational photos if you capture their details in abstract.

By learning to view the world around you in terms of its various patterns, colours and textures rather than the nature of the subject matter itself, you will undoubtedly discover a whole new world of photographic opportunities lurking in even the most unexpected places

Visit my pictures at http://www.flickr.com/a207001392

 

 

del.icio.us Tags: macro,photo,studio,home

Visit my pictures at http://www.flickr.com/a207001392

Tips on...<Travel>

Travel Photography tips

Is good to go to a location and have a them around the photoshoot. Get an assignment

• Working hands
• Colorful
• Street names
• Vivid Colors
• Close up Local architecture
• Children

• Keep it friendly when approaching people
• Know when to back down. dont be upset by a refusal, just try somebody else
• Learn the lingo:: learn a few basic words from the language of the country you are visiting, at least please and thanks
• Understand the culture: research into local customs
• Fill the frame: get in as close as possible to the subject
• Research your destination thoroughly, if you get some research done it will tell you what kit to bring
• Make the light work for you. Bring a reflector/diffuser kit and a flash with a diffuser. Controlling the light is key for a good portrait
• Know the best time to shoot: Avoid harsh sunlight if possible move the subject to the shade
• When shooting wildlife, preparation is key: Bring the longest lens you have
• Consider composition carefully. Dead Center is deadly. Position the subject off-centerfor a more interesting composition
• Experiment with filters: Use a polarizing filter, to reduce glare on water and foliage
• Ask permission to take pictures of people:
• Change your perspective, tell more of the story by using wider lenses.
• For more marketable pictures, try writing, it helps selling a set for a certain location
• Create a diary of your travels, this will help tell a story of your set

Checklist before you go...

• Do your research: read upon the area for things to shoot where to go and where not to
• Check your documents
• Equipment list
• Clean Equipment
• Check equipment (take a few test shots)
• Charge batteries
• Power (dont forget a travel adapter)
• Check airline restrictions for carry-on on passport and electronics
• Storage; enough memory cards and back up units in case those cards fill up

Think Kit

Make sure you pack the right equipment. Think about these filters, lenses and cameras to suit all the photographic situations you might encounter. A circular polarizer is a most

Outside the box

Capture not only buildings and locations but the locals while on your travels and you will have some outstanding shots

Add context

Although some shots look like they could have been taken anywhere in the world, make sure your shots dont. Add subtle touches like a local language sign pr native animal to your shot to give a little context

Zoom In

Great travel shots arent just sweeping vistas and huge buildings. Get up close and shoot individual hieroglyphs, single crucifixes or sained glass windows

Colour composition

Take advantage of local dress, landmarks and culture to take striking photos.. The rules of composition still apply, but you could try to vary your viewpoint to get more exciting frames

After dark

Wait until the lights go down brefore you get your camera outm Dusk and sunset hours are beautiful by the water. Look out for reflections, slow your shutter speed.

Local people

Landscapes may be the most common travel shots, but the ones if local people are often the shots that speak the loudest. Make sure you ask permission to take their photo

In the wild

Invest in a good telephoto lens as well as abean bag. Its essential for a safari

Do your research

Find out everything you can before travel. What events are going while yuou are there. Are there any high vantage points to shoot from?.

Research what your destination has to offer and what makes it unique. Research travel brochures it can give you a good indication of whats been shot, so you dont repeat it, but it also is a good start

Find out of any festivals as well as where the local markets are, this creates a huge opportunity. If you want to add some portraits to the mix, learning some of the local language helps

Ideally you should carry 2 DSLR bodies and with them a collection of overlapping lenses a telephoto, tele-zoom and two wide-angle. Keeping lenses to a minimum will mean less switching and less risk to your sensor getting dirty or damaged.

For shooting on the move a good back up unit is essential, there are several at different prices, I personally own this one. Some extras to pack on your bag are a tripod (carbon fiber would be ideal), cable release, USB cables and spare memory cards. Graduated filers could be consider a luxury if you want to travel light as some of this effect can be recreated in Photoshop

del.icio.us Tags: travel,photography,sunsets,checklist,equipment,tips,suggestions

Tips on...<Birds>

Practice your stand

• Legs parallel to shoulders
• Elbows tucked on the side
• Rotate Upper Body
• Use sequence shooting
• Predictive autofocus
• Study the behavior of the bird if possible
• Give it space to fly into the frame
• Select one AF Dot change it depending on where to frame subject
• Afternoon shots are better
• If against a bright sky increase the exposure level
• Dont be afraid to increasr the ISO
• Dont forget to rotate the polarizer filter to see perspective

Become and observer then a photographer

• Get field guide for your area, learn about bird migrations and season in your area
• Learn their behavior, birds are creatures of habit, you will be able to anticipate their moves after a while

Start with larger, slower moving birds

• Start with sea gulls and herons, master this and then you will capture smaller faster birds

Use the right gear

• Start witth a small lense 400mm 5.6, Get a fast focusing SLR and as you get more into it, spend the money on better lenses
• Dont use a tripod, or get a tripod with a special head specifically design for bird photography (runs around $400.00)
• Shoulder stock can help steady the camera
• Image Stabilization either on camera or lense will go a long way

Get in position

• Spread your feet at least at sholder width to give freedom of movement to follow trough the viewfinder
• Hold the camera firm but relaxed grip
• While panning avoid sudden, erratic movement. Keep it smooth and dont stop even when the shutter releases

Follow the birds flight patter with your eye not the viewfinder.

• Oftem aim slightly ahead of the subject, depending on speed
• Always have the camera turned on and in position, a fly-by can happen any time

Set your exposure

• FOr birds in motion the best is manual expisure
• Meter for the subject and it will be exposed properly. For begginers start with Program mode and bracket until you get the hang of it
• In Manual mode use partial or evaluative metering to get a light reading from the subject.
• Shutter speed is vital, go for 1/1250 or faster with ISO of 320 or 400

Use autofocus wisely

• Most high-end DSLR have a continuos autofocus. With this function you press the shutter half way and the camera continually calculates where the sub ject wull be adjusting the focus as long as the subject sytays in the autofocus area of the viewfinder. This is by far the best way to focus when you are shooting birds in flight
• Use the center AF only this is the fastest and best way to obtain focus on the bird's eye, specially for larger birds. For smaller, faster mioving bird you can use multiple focus pointsm this will allow the camera to choose an AF point from an array covering a wide area of the frame. Multipoint focus works well on solid backgrounds such as blue skies but doesnt work effectively on varied backgrounds like grasses and trees

Consider the sun and wind

• Sunlight is crucial. Later afternoon an early morning are good times to shoot.
• Have the sun behind you at all times with the subject in front of you.

del.icio.us Tags: birds,wildlife,photography

Tips On..<Animals at Zoo>

• Bring a long telephoto lense, and a tripod. If you have Stabilization on the camera or lense could let u get away from the tripod
• Remember that if you bring a tripod turn off Stabilization
• There are 3 types of shots
  • Wide angle shots that show the animal with the environment
  • An animal portrait that fills the frame with the animal's head
  • And a single animal aspect, like a paw
• Try to get animals showing movement, are more interesting than the animal doing nothing
• Also, try and find a position where it doesnt give away that you are on a zoo, such as fences, people, posts, etc
• Getting ready of cage wires
  • Select Aperture priority in combination with a wide aperture
  • Move as close to the fence as u can
  • If any parts of the wire show up in a way of "fogging" increase the contrast in post production and this should fix the problem
• Shooting trough glass
  • Eliminate reflection if you are using flash angle tis at 45 degrees to minimize the amount of light that will bounce back at you
  • Take the lens hood off if u are not using flash and shoot with the front of the lense pressed against the glass, reflections should disappear, make sure to have your UV filter on to protect the lense
• Focus on the eyes of the animal, if the animal is interested on something and following with its eyes you can get a great show of its eyes when is targeting something
• Talk to zookepers, they will give you great information o when an animal is most likely to be moving or in action.
• Understand animal behavior it will give you a heads start on movements that the animal will make. (i.e walking around a cage, drinking water, etc)

Get close to the animals.. even the scary ones:

Try to make your shot as close to wildlife as possible, avoiding posts, fences, and wire

Tips on...Capturing DJ's at work (Dance club)

• Include lost of subjects (A bouncer, bar staff, dancers, crowds and DJ's) fast food vendors outside.
• Use an off-camera flash this will give you better directional control over the shadows.
• Shooting people dancing
  • Each nightclub will have different lighting setups so there are no hard rules around this, here are some tips
  • Set your flash to manual sync at around 1/60 with an f 6.3. This works well when shooting a meter away from the crowd
  • From a longer distance, set aperture to f5.
  • For wide angle crowd shots raise ISO to 800 set to f5 and change the flash to sync to 1/30
• Your pictures on a dance club should reflect movement and be dynamic, play with the flash setting to show light trails
• Also your settings will be different on the dance floor from the DJ Booth. Remember if using flash the light will bounce now from the ceiling.
• Shoot light trails, if you are shooting a dance club include movement on the shots by using longer exposures to add light trails. Use first curtain sync to freeze the image, after the flash try either rotating or moving the camera or zooming out to add some great colored motion