BetterPhoto Instructor Insights

Street Photography: Work on Your Creative Vision

By Ibarionex R. Perello

One of the thrills of being a street photographer is discovering the beauty in objects and scenes that the world is walking by - completely oblivious. Oftentimes, it's the play of light and color that makes me stop and make a photograph.

Such was the case with this image, which is nothing more than a fence. But it's when I move beyond the literal and try to express something about light, color and shape that provides me the opportunity to actually say something with the camera.

Not every image is successful, but what appeals to me is the fact that I recognize those elements in the first place. I don't expect to knock every image out of the park. That's not the point. It's really about practicing "seeing", refining that skill so that when an opportunity presents itself, I can recognize it and take advantage of it.

A photographer's eye is developed by really looking - even when the photographer is not positioned behind the camera.

Note from the blog editor: Ibarionex Perello teaches many courses for BetterPhoto's online digital photography school, including Portrait Photography Using Available Light and The Pursuit of Light.

Multiple Exposures for Flower Photography

By Tony Sweet

This is a 10 multiple exposure image. I used autofocus on the yellow center and moved my DSLR camera minimally between exposures.

Rather than hand holding the digital camera and moving fluidly from exposure to exposure, I placed the camera on a tripod. I loosened the tripod collar on the 200mm Nikkor micro lens and twisted the camera/lens in very small increments (as long as the autofocus point remained inside the yellow).

Of equal importance - actually more important - is the background. Backgrounds can make or break an image. The flowers are in the shade and the background is in bright sun. When out of focus, bright grasses become bright, complementary backgrounds, as in this case. I also shot at a more open aperture in order to focus attention on the bright yellow center.

In post processing of this photo of multiple exposures, I increased the saturation and contrast in the yellow by using Nik's Photoshop plugin, Viveza 2.

Notes from the editor: Tony Sweet teaches at BetterPhoto's digital photography school, including these online photo tutorials: Fine Art Flower Photography and Image Design: Revealing Your Personal Vision

Wide Angle Lens Tips for Photographing Wildflowers!

By Rob Sheppard

photo copyright by Rob Sheppard

Spring wildflowers can be captured in many ways. Consider this flower photography technique:

Get down low and close with a wide-angle lens for a different look at flowers. This gives a look at the wildflower in a big landscape, so obviously you need to have a good-looking landscape around the flower.

Following are a few more wide angle lens tips for photographing wildflowers:

- It is important to get in really close to the flower, probably as close as your lens will focus.

- To get closer, you can also use an achromatic close-up lens - such as the Canon 500D, which will work with any brand of DSLR lens with the right filter rings.

Notes: Rob Sheppard is Outdoor Photographer magazine's at-large editor. He also teaches the Impact in Your Photographs: The Wow Factor course at BetterPhoto's online digital photography school.

Use a Telephoto Lens for Flower Close-ups!

By Tony Sweet

For flower close-ups, I use a macro lens, extension tubes, diopters, tele-converters, etc, whatever gives me what I need - including a telephoto lens.

This image is an example of using a 300mm lens at its minimum focusing distance: wide open (lowest f/number) at about 4 1/2 feet. The relatively close focusing distance is what accounts for the very shallow depth of field and selective focus. A long lens compresses scenes like this, where the red is literally in a different garden across the grounds, creating a soft color palette around the sharp part of the flower.

Also worthy of note is that you really don't need to make sure the out-of-focus area is only behind the subject. The large out-of-focus flower to the lower right is in front of the main subject, but appears as soft as the background flowers. What is important is that there be some distance between the sharp flower and the others (in back of and in front of the subject).

Even though I used only an unaltered 300mm f/4 lens for this shot, I often add attachments - such as extension tubes, close-up diopter, or teleconverter. It all depends on the image and how far the foregrounds and backgrounds are to the subject.

Note: When shooting wide open, I use autofocus to find an edge. This ensures minimal sharpness.

More info from the blog editor: Master the art of creative photography from nature photographer Tony Sweet. Check out his photo workshops online - including ones on fine art flower photography and creative vision - that he teaches at the BetterPhoto digital photography school.

Macro Photography Lighting - Window Light!

By Tony Sweet

Here's an image made with only window light. No software, no adjustments, filters, nor reflector disk. It's just soft, warm natural light with good subject placement to get modeling light without any dark areas.

This image appeared on the 2007 Nikon calendar.

Editor's Thoughts: Learn creative photography techniques from Tony Sweet in one of his online photo workshops - Fine Art Flower Photography and Image Design: Revealing Your Personal Vision - at the BetterPhoto.com digital photography school online.

Infrared Digital Photography: It's Creative and Fun!

By Deborah Sandidge

photo copyright by Deborah Sandidge

I like to carry an infrared converted compact camera with me. It fits in my pocket and is great for candid type shots on the go. This Rolls Royce was waiting for the bride and groom, and for me to grab a couple of quick shots before they departed! This classic car was photographed in Colorado near the Rocky Mountains, which you can see reflected in the chrome.

My compact digital camera was converted with a standard infrared filter (R72 type) for infrared digital photography. I made a custom white balance setting which created the silvery blue tones in the image. This camera records in JPEG only. It doesn't have the flexibility or quite the image quality of Raw, but it's a fun camera.

My infrared converted SLR camera records in Raw format, also capturing similar tones. Adobe users may notice those tones are altered (introducing a slight magenta cast) when viewing an image in Bridge, Camera Raw or Lightroom. This won't matter for the most part, or if you're converting your images to black and white. Some of my students use a DNG profile for their infrared photos. I use Capture NX2 for Raw conversion for many images in color or infrared.

To complete the "fun factor" with my digital infrared photography image, I used some of my favorite filters in Photoshop! Alien Skin Bokeh softened the distracting background, creating a soft blur around the image. The cool contemporary edge treatment was created by using OnOne Photoframe.

We cover everything infrared in my online photo workshop on infrared digital photography at the BetterPhoto.com digital photography school online.

I hope to see you there!

Deb

Use a Slow Shutter Speed to Your Artistic Advantage!

By Simon Stafford

photo copyright by Simon Stafford

The shutter speed has great potential for creative effects!

On this bleak winter day in Northumberland, England, I wanted to add something extra to a shot of Alnwick Castle, so I decided to slow things down by using a 3-stop (0.9) neutral density filter to drop the shutter speed to a full 1-second. This not only allowed the DSLR camera to record the reeds with plenty of blur as the wind blew them, but also gave a soft, flowing appearance to the fast-running river water.

The trick of this technique is to balance the shutter speed so the moving element(s) in the scene show blurring but are still discernible.

For this image, I used a 24mm lens and a Nikon D3x digital SLR camera.

Notes from the Instructor Insights editor: Learn more from Simon Stafford, who teaches an excellent online photo workshop on photographic design. Also check out BetterPhotoBetter's digital photography school classes on working with digital camera exposure and natural light.

Moonlight Photography for Capturing Memorable Pictures

By Kerry Drager

Looking for a different look for your outdoor photography? BetterPhoto instructor Simon Stafford has the answer: moonlight photography.

In a new BP article, Simon talks about a 13th-century church near his home in England. "I have pictures of it in all four seasons, at all times of day," says Simon. "Looking for a fresh approach, I decided to try shooting using nothing but the light of the moon - which is, after all, reflected sunlight!"

For some great night digital photography techniques and tips, read his article:

Moonlight Photography for Capturing Memorable Pictures

Have fun getting out at night and capturing some memorable moonlight images!

Kerry

Creating Macro Photography Art

By Deborah Sandidge

photo copyright by Deborah Sandidge

The colors of this orchid remind me of a tropical sunset, beautiful and inviting!

I wanted to portray the flower in an abstract way, focusing on just the edges of the petals, and let the rest fall away in waves of color.

To create an image that suggests a flower, rather than show the entire bloom, you have several options with your DSLR camera. Try using a macro lens or close up lens, extension tubes, or a Lensbaby. For this image, I used a 70-200mm lens and a Canon 500D close-up lens (which is compact, handy and easy to travel with).

Info from the Editor: Learn more about Deborah Sandidge and her online photo workshops in Deb's pro photographer bio. The BetterPhoto digital photography school also offers many digital photography online courses.

Street Photography - How to Capture Expressive Portraits

By Kerry Drager

Ibarionex R. Perello is a pro photographer who specializes in street photography and shooting inspiring outdoor portraits. In his newest BetterPhoto article, he shares many tips and techniques, such as:

"I'm not trying to make my subjects smile for the camera. I'm simply taking them as they are at that given moment. Trying to make someone smile, particularly a stranger, invites a look to the images that I don't believe would work. If I think the expression is forced, I may ask the subject to close their eyes, take in a few deep breaths and then open their eyes."

Check out his article at:

Street Photography - How to Capture Expressive Portraits

Enjoy reading the thoughts and techniques of a top street photographer!

Kerry