BetterPhoto Instructor Insights

Digital Issue: Long Exposures and Overheated Pixels

Here's a really interesting blog by pro photographer Tony Sweet:

Long exposures and overheated pixels

Tony, by the way, is a longtime instructor at BetterPhoto's online photography school. Check out his bio and list of courses here...

Creative Photo Perspective: Elevated Points of View

Whenever pro photographer Jim Zuckerman travels and wants to capture beautiful views of a city, he always look for an elevated perspective. Check out his BetterPhoto article on the subject:

• Creative Photo Perspective: Elevated Points of View

Note: Also see Jim Z's instructor bio and listing of online classes...

Reports from the Wild: A Great New e-Book!

BetterPhoto instructor and Outdoor Photographer contributing editor Rob Sheppard has just published a fully interactive and multimedia photo e-book, Reports from the Wild, for the iPad.

• Check Rob's e-book blog: Reports from the Wild

Note: Also see Rob's instructor's bio and list courses here...

Natural HDR: Defeat the Limits of Your Camera

William Neill writes a regular column ("On Landscape") for Outdoor Photographer magazine. He also teaches at BetterPhoto.com's online photography school. See his excellent new OP column:

Natural HDR: Defeat the limits of your DSLR sensor’s latitude

Note: Also check out William's BetterPhoto courses: Creative Landscape Photography and Portfolio Development.

Get the Most from Your Photos with Lightroom's Local Controls

By Rob Sheppard

Raw files are not meant to be final images like JPEG files are. In fact, manufacturers build in compromises for blacks and dark tones in Raw files that are designed to be adjusted in a program like Adobe Lightroom.

Lightroom makes adjusting Raw files fast and easy, but one of the big benefits of Lightroom is using the local controls that allow you to get the most from your photos just like Ansel Adams did with his images.

(c) Rob Sheppard

In this photo, prickly phlox flowers become a part of the of the chaparral-covered landscape in the Santa Monica Mountains outside of Los Angeles, California.


Notes from the Editor:

• Rob Sheppard, Outdoor Photographer contributing editor, teaches many excellent online photo workshops at BetterPhoto.com, including Flower Photography from Snapshot to Great Shot, Creating Storytelling Photos, and Composition Boot Camp.

• Rob is also a contributor to The BetterPhoto Guide to Photographing Light (co-authored by Jim Miotke and Kerry Drager).

Better Sharpness Up Close

In his classes, BetterPhoto instructor Rob Sheppard finds that "many photographers struggle with focus and sharpness up close."

In his recent article, Rob shares many great tips and techniques:

Better Sharpness Up Close

Incidentally, Rob also teaches an excellent new course - Flower Photography from Snapshot to Great Shot - at BetterPhoto's online photography school.

Window Light: Free, Simple, and Very Beautiful!

By Jim Zuckerman

One of the most beautiful types of light is free, simple to use, and always available. It's window light. I'm not referring to sunlight streaming through a window; rather, it is the diffused light from a north facing window or from an overcast sky that is so complementary to virtually all subjects.

(c) Jim Zuckerman

The columbine flower you see here is an example. I shot this today on my desk in front of my computer screen which was draped in black velvet. The sky was blue and the sunlight outdoors was harsh, but the north-facing window that illuminated the flower eliminated contrast problems because only softened light came through.

Shooting indoors meant that there was no wind, not even the slightest of breezes. That allowed me to use a lens aperture of f/32 and a 3.2 second exposure time.


Notes from the Editor:

• Jim Zuckerman is a top stock photographer who teaches many terrific online photo courses at BetterPhoto.com, including Techniques of Natural Light Photography and Eight Steps to More Dramatic Photography. See Jim's instructor's bio and complete list of classes here...

• In addition, Jim Z is a contributor to these books co-authored by Jim Miotke and Kerry Drager: The BetterPhoto Guide to Creative Digital Photography and The BetterPhoto Guide to Photographing Light.

Light and Background: A Lesson in Making Better Portraits

"If you have any level of desire to photograph people," says BetterPhoto instructor Ibarionex Perello, "you know about that fear and doubt that comes up when thinking about photographing a human subject. Where do I put my subject? How do I light them? All of these things can come up in a rush and easily become overwhelming.

"But despite those 'feelings', you can immediately begin to make better portraits of people by becoming aware of two things: the light and the background."

Read Ibarionex's excellent BetterPhoto article:

Finding the Light and the Background: A Lesson in Making Better Portraits

Enjoy!

Window Light: Ideal for Portraits!

By Charlotte K. Lowrie

It's hard to beat the beauty and quality of window-lit portraits. Just position the subject so that half the face is lit, and use a silver reflector on the opposite side of the subject to bounce in a bit of light into the shadows. You then have the best light money can't buy!

Note: Charlotte Lowrie teaches photography online at BetterPhoto.com. See her instructor's bio and list of courses here...

Expectations Upon Entering a Photo Contest

"There are many great photographers out there who consistently take awesome pictures, and there are many people who are at an intermediate level who produce great images once in a while," points out BetterPhoto instructor Jim Zuckerman. "The sheer number of images that are entered in most contests is enormous."

Jim Z shares his thoughts in the following article, which he wrote a few years ago exclusively for BetterPhoto's MasterPiece Membership:

Expectations Upon Entering a Photo Contest

His thoughts, by the way, also apply to submitting photos in other situations, including to photo agencies.