Photography Tips
I used to get to make architecture photos a lot, actually, when teaching DSLR photography lessons in Florida. I would meet my students in downtown St. Petersburg or Tampa where there are both tall office buildings and fancy skyscraper condos too. So i found myself in downtown ABQ last Friday evening and realized, I have not seen a view like this before so pointed my Nikon with 50mm lens on up toward this interesting building.
Read MoreThe Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce did it yet again with another amazingly fun, energetic and informative networking event right here in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The first Thursday of every month is the Get Crafty With Your Biz event where three local business owners briefly tell their own personal business story and the conclude with a piece of business advice for the attendees. It is a great format that let's one network and mingle, but also here a real local business success story.
Read MoreKaren has taken three 1-on-1 DSLR photography lessons with me at the JCP Home Studio in Albuquerque, New Mexico as she had a big family reunion coming up in Taos she wanted to be able to make great candid photos of, as well as group photos. She has a Nikon D750, the same camera I have! So it was very easy to show her all the custom settings I use myself on my own Nikon. The first 2-hour lesson was focused on teaching her my 5-step process for shooing in manual mode and getting a sharp and well exposed photo in any shooting conditions.
Read MoreI have been flying my DJI Mavic Pro drone all over New Mexico making dozens of 4K videos. But what to do about places the drone cannot fly? Or if I wanted to actually record the sound of the place I am recording video of? The iPhone 8 records good 4K video, but if you just handhold it the video is all choppy. In my search for a smooth solution, I discovered the DJI Osmo Mobile 2 smart phone gimbal. However, it was sold out everywhere. Finally it was back in stock and mine arrived just last week!
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Karin framing a shot with her Nikon D3200 during our 1-on-1 DSLR photography lesson at Honeymoon Island State ParkI had not been to Honeymoon Island State Park for awhile, but on a Saturday back in November I had first a 1-on-1 DSLR Photo Lesson with Karin and her Nikon D3200, then a maternity shoot with a former photo student. I met Karin at the park's visitor center which provided a comfortable place to first discuss my 5-step process for getting a well expososed and sharp photo in any given shooting situation.
After that the grounds around the visitor's center itself provided enough variety to put into practice how I had instructed Karin, step-by-step, to shoot in manual exposure mode. The variety of shady mangroves and bright sky provided a good contrast for learning how to quickly change between shooting conditions. About 7 to 10 seconds (or faster) is the time range I set for students to get to for changing all 5 settings as need be between shooting conditions, and then even less than that for adjusting in the same conditions. Of course I do not expect such quickness during the first lesson! In time with experience and becoming more familiar with the Nikon camera body, Karin will be able to minimize the time getting settings right allowing her to maximize the time to get a shot in the first place and then compose it as desired.
Many of my hundreds of photography students start out always centering the subject in the frame during our first lessons. That is understandable as they are busy learning my 5-step process for making a well exposed and sharp photograph in any given shooting situation. Once the technical apsects of photography take up less of the process of making a photo, then one can begin to focus on being creative, and the first step in that is composition.
The rule of thirds is a good way to start getting more appealing composition, but I like to think in two dimensions with the rule of thirds as well. By that I mean putting a major feature of my subject in a vertical thid and a horizontal third. In the above example of a model at the Dali Museum, the upper third and left third interset right by the model's face. Then the lower third and left third intersect by her hand and the melting clock. There is still a good amount of negative space in the frame, but that is put to the far upper and left parts of the photo. I would not want a lot of negative space on both sides of the subject (as in if I had centered her with no focal points other than along the midpoint of the photograph).
So the next time you go out shooting, especially a portrait, try putting a major subject focal point at a third and a third in the frame.
The final version of the photo putting a major focal point at a third and a third
Dan sets up a shot at Lettuce Lake Park during our 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson in Tampa FloridaDan recently moved to Florida and wanted to make sure he can have great photographs of the sunshine state right away with his newly acquired Canon T3i. So I met him at Lettuce Lake Park in Tampa, Florida for a 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson. Dan was an enthusiastic learner with some previous knowledge of photography. By the end of the 2-hour lesson he had a lot more photography knowledge!
We went out onto the boardwalk in the park where the sun was darting in and out of clouds. This would be annoying most times for photography, but it allowed us to practice getting the best exposure while standing in one spot as after almost every shot, the light would be different, and something would need to be adjusted to get the best exposure again.
I am looking forward to seeing what Dan photographed being a newcomer to Florida during our next photography lesson and helping him continue to grow with photography knowledge and skills.
