BetterPhoto Instructor Insights

It's Octoberfest Time at BetterPhoto: Fall Photo School!

Bike Seat Graphics © Jim Miotke

Hi Everyone,

OK, maybe this isn't the Octoberfest (or Oktoberfest) of Bavarian fame, but October is certainly a time to celebrate at BetterPhoto.com™! That's because our fall online photography school gets under way - with classes officially beginning this Wednesday (the 5th). And our autumn lineup of courses - more than 50 of them on a wide variety of topics - is our very best session ever.

We have many new classes, as well as so our "usual" tried-and-true ones. Check out the entire schedule: An Octoberfest of Online Photo Courses

One of our newest courses is being taught by Jim Miotke - Digital SLR Photography - and focuses on D-SLR camera usage and technique. In this class, you will learn what all the terms and concepts mean from an experienced digital photographer. In fact, Jim is not only the BetterPhoto founder, but he's also the author of a terrific new book: The BetterPhoto Guide to Digital Photography.

Digital Wedding Album © Kathy Woodford

Another awesome new course - Digital Wedding Album Design - is by Kathy Woodford, the newest member of the BetterPhoto instructor team. Kathy is the author of The Professional Photographer's Digital Wedding Album Design Guide and the founder of a successful wedding photography studio in the Pacific Northwest. As Kathy points out, "Offering digital albums to clients can be the unique selling proposition that sets you apart from other wedding photographers."

That's it for now ... have a great week!
Kerry Drager

Action Photography

Maintaining Your Focus
Jim Zuckerman

In the photography tours I’ve led and the workshops I’ve conducted over many years I’ve seen students do something that inhibits their ability to capture action in both wildlife and people. If they miss getting a shot, they lower their camera and express their frustration to themselves or a friend instead of continually watching the subject through the viewfinder. Then, if a second opportunity arises where a great shot could be taken, they aren’t ready.

The obvious solution is that you need to continually be at the ready, with all the controls on the camera set correctly and your finger on the shutter. If you miss getting a shot, don’t talk about it, don’t avert your attention, and don’t let the disappointment linger in your mind. Simply wait for the next one, which may occur at any second. Only when there are no more chances of getting the shot can you relax.

I was able to take this photo of wild rainbow lorikeets in Australia simply because my eye was glued to the viewfinder as I watched the antics of these stunning birds. The dazzling colors were so captivating that I didn’t let anything take my concentration away from the action because I knew this was a classic shot. The ultra fast autofocus (I used the ‘servo’ mode, which means that the camera continually focuses as the subject moves) kept the birds in focus, although the 1/800th shutter speed wasn’t fast enough to render the moving wings tack sharp.

The lighting was ideal. It was low in the sky enough to provide good front lighting, but not too low so I’d be forced to use a slower shutter speed. This perfect situation compensated for the shot of a bird of paradise I missed a week later in Papua New Guinea because the bird was just too far away.

Technical data: Canon 1Ds Mark II, 200mm plus 2X teleconverter, f/5.6, 400
ISO.