Mobile Photography

Blogging tips on editing photography features and why less is more.

You need to get your readers down there because that’s where the vendor credits are usually located, that’s where they can leave comments, and that’s where they’ll click to other articles on your blog.

If you’ve got three different shots of the bride, then five of her and the groom, then four different shots of the cake, and then six of the reception table, followed by multiple photographs of while different, what essentially amounts to the same place setting your readers are less likely to make it to the bottom of your post.

If you choose the best photo to represent each part of the story, your post will be a series of perfect photographs showing all those amazing wedding details and photography instead of a fantastic photo every fifth, seventh, or tenth image.

01 Shoot in Raw
For maximum control when it comes to processing your images, always shoot in Raw. You’ll often be shooting high-contrast scenes, with dark bridges backlit by bright skies, and Raw files enable you to extract the maximum amount of shadow and highlight detail at the editing stage. You can fine-tune the white balance post-shoot too.

03 Camera accessories
A remote release is essential for hands-off shooting to avoid blurry shots. Use this in conjunction with the Mirror Lock-up Custom function to ensure that there’s no risk of camera shake. For more about remote controls, see this issue’s Help Me Buy feature on page 102.

04 Camera filters
To stop bright skies overexposing, use an ND grad filter to retain the detail and colour – but avoid positioning the filter over the bridge, otherwise it’ll look unnaturally dark. A polariser will decrease reflections and increase colour saturation, especially after rain, and is great for deepening blue skies.

Or for that sought-after wispy effect in water use a straight ND filter. A variable ND filter with a range of densities from one to eight stops will give versatility. Or use a 10-stop ND filter for really long exposures of 30 seconds and more – in daylight!

05 Focus and metering
If you’re using filters, such as a 10-stop ND filter, make sure you compose, focus and meter the shot before you fit the filter. This is because the camera will struggle to focus if it’s too dark.

If you do decide to meter with the filter fitted, it’s best to cover the eyepiece completely so it doesn’t affect the light reading. And remember to focus on the bridge – it may sound obvious, but that’s what you want the viewer’s eye to be drawn to.

Don’t fret, you are not alone – one of the most common basic pitfalls when learning photography is taking blurry photos.

This photography tips & tutorial is for you – to explain a bit about how  aperture and a camera’s shutter speed work and how you can take control of your camera’s settings and make sure you are getting sharp, not blurry photos.  If you are only using the lens that came with your camera, that too can be a problem for you, we got some tips and lens recommendations for you!

Zoos … love ‘em or hate ‘em? I think it depends on the zoo. I much prefer open range zoos where the animals have tons of space to roam around and live almost as they would in the wild.

Choose the right zoo:

The type of zoo you choose makes all the difference to your photography (and to the animals). Zoos with large open areas for the animals to roam tend to make better photographs because the images look more natural when you cannot see any fences.

Wait for a special moment:

When the animals are right there in front of you don't just snap away because you can. When you have this opportunity to be so close to them try to be patient and wait for a special moment to make a unique image.

Dealing with fences and rails:

If you are at the kind of zoo with fences, you can use a wide aperture to reduce the depth of field which should make any fences out-of-focus. This is easier to achieve if there is greater distance between the animal and the fence.

It is also easier to make the fence disappear if it does not have direct light on it. Find a portion of the fence that is in the shade if it is in front of or behind your subject.

Black and white photography is a rewarding and challenging field of artistic photography. Even people who don’t care about photography can find themselves drawn to a great black and white image. As a photographer, black and white can allow you to discover a whole new character in a familiar subject. For many digital photographers, black and white photography is nothing more than colour photography converted by software. It is a matter for your own judgement whether this is effective for your photographs.

Black And White Photography Tip #1. Choosing A Subject. Some subjects lend themselves to colour but are not nearly so effective in black and white. For example, sunset photographs rely on the colour of a great sky for their impact, and rarely produce a good black and white image. Colourful birds, flowers, fashion…there are many times when the only logical approach is to shoot your subject in colour. On the other hand, some subjects are ideally suited to black and white photography.

Because this is an ‘old-fashioned’ medium, it often works well with old-fashioned subjects. Rustic items like old farm equipment, a tumble-down shack, an old wooden fence can all be great subjects for black and white photos.

When photographing people, age can also be a factor. A close-up portrait of an aged face showing all the lines and creases of their years on earth can have much greater impact in black and white.

Pro photographer Tom Van Schelven shares his skateboarding photography tips.  Flips, grabs, grinds and airtime require superfast shutter speeds and Tom’s graphic style of photography is epitomised by the harsh lighting and fluid movement he looks for when isolating subjects and reducing anything from the shot that disturbs the focus.

For me, the Nikon D5200’s 24.1 megapixel resolution has a high enough pixel count to take a wide shot from a precarious vantage point and crop it down afterwards without losing any quality. I love shooting skateboarding like this, and you’ll see it often in my work. My lens of choice is the NIKKOR 24mm-70mm f/2.8 as it provides the flexibility required to adapt with the skater’s rapid movements.

Tom van Schelven’s tips for shooting skateboarding:

• Know your subject – To capture really stunning shots, study the body language of the skater to anticipate their movements
• Think about lighting – Shadows and surface reflection can actually enhance your images if you pay them enough attention
• Aspire to simplicity – Look for crisp, clean contrasts and minimal subject matter

Glancing at this surreal landscape, you might think that it required hours of editing. But you would be wrong. Conjuring the magic of infrared imaging can be done with minimal assistance from a computer. Created in the camera during exposure, these special effects depend on capturing light waves that are outside of the visible color spectrum, and you can produce them with almost any digital camera.

Many conventional digital caemras, can be converted for infrared filter. Conversion is a tricky business. While converstion can cost several hundread dollars, conventional lens-mounted infrared (IR) filters can also work for cameras that are sensitive to IR light. To test yours, aim a TV remote control at the camera, photographing its emitter as you press any button on the remote. If the emitter glows in your pictures, the camera will capture IR light.

The problem with IR filters? They block all visible light, turning your viewfinder completely black, which makes composing and focusing a challenge, though live view offers a work-around.

How to Photograph Coastlines - Coastlines present the photographer with a wonderful array of photographic possibilities. Here's how to photograph them.

When you're around large bodies of water you introduce the element of reflections into you shots. These can make or break your shot. If you want to eliminate reflections consider moving the position that you're shooting from or using a polarising filter however be aware that the reflections of a colorful sky or interesting rock formation can add depth and interest to your shots.

Some coastline shots are very well suited to a horizontal or landscape format. However rotating your camera 90 degrees to a vertical position can produce powerful results. This is particularly true when you have an interesting foreground, an interesting cloud formation or when you're shooting with a high cliff along one edge of your shot.

Our pets are part of our family, so naturally we want to take great photographs of them. Pet photography can be a bit tricky at times, but here are a few tips that will ensure you get great shots of your four legged friends:

Have An Assistant:

If possible, enlist a family member or friend to help you. While you may have your camera pointed at your pet, he or she may want to look anywhere but your camera, especially if you are outdoors. Having someone stand behind you to get your pet's attention while you operate the camera will get your pet to look in your general direction, giving the illusion that they're looking at the camera.

Props:

Just as you might use when photographing people, try incorporating props into your pet photography. Why? Because it's just plain cute!

Get Low:

Lowering your camera angle, and making yourself eye level with your pet, can make for great close-ups, as well as help you get creative with your focus, like blurring the foreground or background or your image.

Before heading out to get some great images of the city after sunset, it is important to make sure you have the proper equipment. This means that you should definitely have a flexible tripod that can adjust to varying heights; a wide-angle lens; some sort of lens hood or a system for directing the flash outside of the frame; and a game plan.

Urban areas can be dangerous locations in which to setup a camera and take a prolonged series of images. This is not due to the potential for a crime alone, but also because of busy streets, and the fact that people do not see well in the dark. This translates to the need for a photographer to select their target shots and consider the settings that their camera might need to make the images they want.

If the camera has a capacity for custom "presets" a photographer who makes a regular habit of nighttime photography might want to dial in these settings in order to make their work as easy as the tap of a button.

One of the lessons in the Photography Lab series I teach is a lesson on night photography, specifically shooting the stars. There are two essentials to know before going out to shoot stars your first time.

One: The Earth is rotating. This means you can photograph star constellations, but after about 15 seconds, you will start to get blurring in your stars because of the movement of the Earth.

Two: You should know a couple of constellations before you go out: the Big Dipper and Orion are the two I use to orient myself.

Why the Orion and The Big Dipper? First, they are extremely bright and easily found in the night sky. Second, besides being my favorite constellation, Orion is usually high enough in the sky to photograph with other stars around, but it can also sit low so you can get nice foreground elements in your compositions. Finally, use the two stars which make up the pouring end of the Big Dipper to find the North Star. Look at the bottom star in the dipper part of The Big Dipper, the non-handle end. Draw a from the bottom star in the dipper to the top star in the dipper, then continue this line until you see the Little Dipper. This line (and these two stars) point to the last star in the handle of the Little Dipper. Why is this important? The last star in the handle of the Little Dipper is Polaris – the North Star.

If you know where Polaris (The North Star) is located, you can point your camera in this direction and, using long exposure times, you will get circular star trails instead of blurry constellations.

When I shoot stars, I use 2 lenses: a Canon 10-22mm and a Tamaron 28-300 which I use in the 28mm – 80mm range. I set my camera to M (manual) and use the following settings:

• Aperture: widest setting F2.8 / F3.5 / F5.0 depending on focal length
• ISO: 100 or 200
• Shutter Speed: BULB setting
• White Balance: Auto or Tungstun
• Focusing: Set focus to Manual / Infinity

In the final part of our series looking at common problems that plague new photographers we turn our attention to composition and framing.

Unlike the more technical aspects of photography such as exposure or focusing, choosing how to compose and frame your shots is as much about personal choice as being right or wrong. Despite this, there are ways to improve the composition of your images. The classic habits to break are putting the main subject in the centre of the frame, and not getting close enough to the subject.

Below we’ll show you a couple images that don’t quite work for a number of reasons, and then slightly different versions of each that do.

Including subjects at the edge of the image:

You need to watch out for areas of the subject, especially at the edge of the frame, which draw attention away from the main subject. Before you press the shutter, try looking all around the frame for anything that doesn’t help the composition.

Uninteresting foreground:

Shooting with a wide-angle lens means that you will often include a large area of the foreground. So you should look out for interesting subjects or textures to make the most of this area of the image.

Use long exposures to create an ethereal atmosphere. Weather conditions are often thought of as static, but in reality they shift and change slowly.  In many instances these changes occur too slowly to be held in our visual memory, but our camera can record these changes. Misty, foggy or smokey scenes can be created with moving clouds, surf, etc.

We are often so rushed that we seldom pause to take note of slow moving subjects. Once you start to look for slow moving subjects you quickly open a door to a new world of photo opportunities. Clouds, shadows, stars, plants and even people or animals make great long exposure subjects.

While your camera shutter is open your sensor or film is in essence a canvas. Normally that canvas is open very briefly but with longer exposures the light running over your sensor acts a brush. If you let a scene unfold before you with your shutter open it is “painted” onto the sensor yielding blurs of light. If you work in an environment where there is little light you can manually paint light into a photo with strobes, flashlights, cell phones, etc. to create a unique image.

How it was done - zooming the exposure. Tips on how to create a fun and abstract image by zooming your lens during a long exposure.

Zooming during a long exposure tips

• Works well on night scenes and ones with many light sources
• Set up your camera on a tripod with a remote trigger or release
• Set your camera to Manual mode
• Set your focus by zooming in all the way, then lock the focus (using either back button focus or focus using Auto-focus and then switch it off to Manual focus)
• Zoom out so you can see the whole image as you want it framed
• Then start your exposure and zoom your lens out while the shutter is opened (you may need to practice a few times to make it go smoothly)
• Experiment with different zooming speeds and timing, as example: if you exposure is 5 seconds do one with 3-4 seconds at the beginning, then zoom at the end; then do another when you zoom immediately and do most of the exposure at the end
• Exposure must be 2 seconds or longer to make this work, otherwise it becomes really tricky to zoom
• If it is too bright to get a 2 second exposure, make sure your ISO is as low as your camera goes and your aperture is set to your smallest setting (f/22 or f/32). If it is still too bright you may need to use a Neutral density filter to cut down the amount of light coming through the lens

Holiday photos aren’t the easiest to take, especially when lighting situations are poor and you might have to rely on a small camera phone flash to capture your subject. Flash tends to wash away some of the nice warm colors associated with the holiday season such as candles and string lights. But if you've got a steady hand, and just enough light, you can capture some great portraits and interior shots on your camera phone without flash. The conditions almost have to be perfect though. Meaning, there needs to be just enough light for the camera's sensor to render a good exposure without all the graininess typical of low-lighting situtations. And, it takes a keen eye to determine whether lighting is adequate enough.

It can be a struggle getting everyone to look towards the camera at the same time. Take a look at the image above and you'll find a few poeple looking away from the camera. Before taking your final shots, make sure you have their attention by calling ot something like "Cheese." And, try to hold their attention while you snap a few photos. There's a reason why photographers always use the word "cheese." It's because the pronunciation puts a slight smile on your face. If you want to try a different word or phrase, make sure it has an extended "e" sound.

Take Multiple Exposures:

If you've taken the time to get a nice shot organized, why not snap a few shots at different exposures? With some camera apps you can move the exposure to different locations on your image, therefore increasing or decreasing exposure time. Take several shots with different exposures and try some with different compositions and focal points. In the end, you'll be able to choose the image that works out best for your intentions.

One of my favourite things to do when I travel is to go on a quest to find a body of water that has a reflection of a landmark. 

Photographing a reflection creates a unique image of an often photographed subject by adding interest and depth to your photograph.

The next time you travel add these to your shot list and come home with a set of dynamic images to show off your trip.

City Lights at Twilight

When the sky is that cobalt blue colour before night arrives, and lights from nearby buildings reflect off the water, magic happens.

Take this example of a waterfront hotel on a summer evening when the marina in the foreground was full of boats. Just after sunset the coloured lights on the exterior of the hotel reflected off the cobalt blue water making a very energetic image.

Mistake 1: Asking Kids to Sit Still: "Hey kids, please sit..."

The Kids are all dressed up for the photo shoot and excited, but don't quite know what will happen, so they do what comes naturally- they run off and play.

The photography and parents then try to round up the kids, find a place to photograph them and then ask the kids to sit down and be still and look at the photographer. Ever tried this? It goes against all the natural instincts of the kids - they are super excited and told to sit still. Very difficult to achieve!

Soultion - Let the Kids run & play

All kids love to run and play. It's a natural part of being a kid, so why not let them do what comes naturally? Some of the best images I capture are when kids are allowed to run on the beach of at the park. I take this ine step further and create games for the kids to play, like racing each other, or getting the parents to chase the kids.