Photo tip: Go high – go low.
Go low or go high: That was the best piece of advice I received when I was a wet-behind-the-ears reporter-photographer.
Street Photography with the Phottix Hero
There’s an allure to street photography, capturing fleeting moments of unknown passers-by, telling a story of infinite words with a single image. Sitting in you studio shooting flowers is one thing, taking that award-winning image in the seedy underbelly of a modern metropolis is something else entirely.
Not everyone has the moxie for street photography. Aggressiveness aside, learning how to shoot street scenes is a technical challenge. Shooting candid images of people is difficult. People move, turn their heads, bend to tie a shoe lace. Just as you compose the shot you think will speak to a generation your subject sneezes and you are left with a blurry RAW file. Taking a great street photograph is about speed, technique, and luck. For every 100 photos you take you’ll find a keeper, for every 1000 – one that’s stellar.
You want to be the next Garry Winogrand or Manuel Rivera-Ortiz, but don’t want to take a beating from angry subjects: What are you to do? Take photos on the sly…like a DSLR wielding 007.
Better colors with Polarizing Filters
Photographer (and Photog Friday Alumni) Craig Ferguson has done some great work using a Phottix Cicular Polarizing Filter (C-PL). Photographer Peter Carey used a Phottix C-PL in stunning panoramic shot of Mount Rainier.
A C-PL filter, which screws onto the end of a lens, is great for removing reflections in your photos from non-metallic surfaces (glass and water), and improving color saturation, clarity and contrast.
See the images above with and without a C-PL filter – a huge difference. If you’re doing a lot of outdoor shooting a C-PL filter is a great addition to your kit bag.
Wet-work: Shooting drops of water
As the winter arrives and the outdoor temperatures start to plummet (for those in the northern hemisphere) it’s time to consider some indoor photography projects. Shooting water droplets gives both your photography skills a workout and creates unique images. Water droplets are like snowflakes – no two are the same. With changes in background and/or…
A brief introduction to White Balance
Stephen Hawking should probably write about White Balance. It’s more his field, and sometimes seems as complicated. Regardless, let’s soldier on. You’ve seen it in your camera settings: White Balance (WB). Do you know what it is and how it works? Not many casual photographers do. It’s like voodoo: complicated and fraught with peril. Let’s…