Photo by Scott Bourne – Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs Creative Commons

Do you see how to make something complicated look simple? Do you see the hidden potential in each of your subjects? Do you see the promise of something important in everyday things, places and people? Do you relish in making the difficult look easy? Do you want to protect moments in time for future generations? Do you want the deepest, darkest secrets of the human soul to be revealed to anyone who cares to look? Do you want to find beauty where others have not? Do you want to share the special things that happen around you with others?

Are you willing to risk ridicule in return for keeping memories alive? Are you willing to face rejection when others don’t see things the way you do? Are you willing to deal with the frustration of spending months or even years making an image that everyone else seems to dismiss?

And most importantly -

Do you want to make sure that when you are gone, you did something that mattered?

Then you just might be a photographer.

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Masting Natural Light (Click to Learn More)

More news in the photography eBook realm this week. This new book was released recently and has proven to be very popular with readers and reviewers. Natural Light – Mastering a Photographer’s Most Powerful Tool by Mitchell Kanashkevich is an in-depth guide on how to harness natural light to enhance the mood, atmosphere, and quality of images.

Launch sale ends May 22 (25% off),
it can be found here: Natural Light

Developing an understanding of how natural light works and how to work with it can help you hone your photographic skill and broaden your creative horizons without spending more money on sophisticated and expensive photographic equipment.

This 96 page eBook is written and illustrated to provide a complete, comprehensive guide to using natural light in photography.

Some of the Many Topics Covered:

• Understand the essential qualities of natural light
• Master the technical components including exposure, metering, and the histogram
• Learn expert methods to control natural light to suit your creative needs
• Grasp the potential of harsh light, diffused light, fog, twilight, and other settings
• Learn to sculpt light, create light interplay, reveal silhouettes, and more
• Practice professional post-processing techniques to enhance natural light
• Harness the countless creative possibilities that natural light affords

Pages from Natural Light (Click to Learn More)

Case studies to break down dynamic light situations:

• Silhouettes over water at sunset
• Light beams and multiple light sources
• Elusive light and the magic dust cloud
• Communicating hardship with harsh light
• Accentuating the beauty of everyday life through the color-and-light show of twlight
• Everyday scenes with diffused, sculpting light
• Dramatic interplay of shadows in a landscape
• Atmospheric natural light as the driving force behind the photo
• Creating a sense of drama with a reflector and an iPhone

Case Study from Natural Light (Click to Learn More)

“There is no such thing as good or bad light. It is my hope that at this eBook will help you see different types of natural light as different tools, each appropriate in some way for various situations, depending on what you aim to communicate with each photograph. -Mitchell Kanashkevich”

Launch Discount Ending Soon:

Natural Light is currently 25% off until this Tuesday, May 22. It also carries a 60 day no-questions-asked guarantee, so if you are not satisfied with any part of the book just let them know and they will give you a full refund. Also…as an added bonus if you pick up a copy before midnight on May 22nd you will be automatically entered into a drawing to win $1k in lenses of your choice.

It can be found here: Natural Light - Mastering a Photographer’s Most Powerful Tool

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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

Thanks to Scott Bourne for giving me the chance to share my latest macro set up images with you. I hope this post inspires you to get out and try some macro photography. I am a professional nature photographer based in Los Angeles. Over the last month I put together a simple lightweight low cost macro flash system for the very highest image quality and performance with my new D800E.

Honey bee hovering over a Calandrinia flower. The 180mm macro’s small angle of view
makes it my favorite lens for clean smooth backgrounds.

Nikon D800E, Sigma 180mm f/3.5 EX APO Macro HSM lens, single Nikon SB-R200 flash with diffuser 1:8 power, handheld, Manual mode 1/250th sec, f8, ISO 500.

Geranium flower close up. Tech details same as above.

Daisy full frame close up. Focus was critical since depth of field at this magnification ratio is paper thin.

Tech details same as above except for f5.6 and ISO 100.

Daisy close up image crop at 100% view or actual pixel view in Photoshop. Hard to believe this image was made handheld with a single flash.

Calandrinia flower close up. The 180′s long working distance makes lighting much easier than shorter focal lengths. Tech details same as above except for ISO 250.

Calandrinia close upimage crop at 100% view or actual pixel view in Photoshop. This level of image detail in this image is amazing but when you consider that is was made handheld it is almost unbelievable.

Macro photography tips

1. Shoot handheld or with a monopod for the best flexibility and speed.

2. Photograph early, late or on cloudy days, use a diffuser if you have to shoot in bright sun.

3. Use flash for the best sharpness and most detail possible and always diffuse the flash.

4. Balance daylight and flash power for natural looking images and to avoid dark backgrounds.

5. Use the longest lens possible for clean backgrounds and the most working distance.

6. Improve your skills, vision and use the best techniques, do not get caught up buying expensive complicated equipment, keep it simple.

My equipment list:
Nikon D800E, MB-D12 with EN-EL18 battery and BL-5 Battery Chamber Cover
Sigma 180mm f/3.5 EX APO Macro HSM lens
Nikon SB-R200 Wireless Remote Speedlight diffused
Nikon SX-1 Attachment Ring for SB-R200
Nikon SY-1-72 72mm Adapter Ring
Nikon DK-17M Magnifying Eyepiece

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"Morning Cat" captured by Alex Lewis (Click Image to See More From Alex Lewis)

Cat Napping-

A cat taking a nap is one of the most relaxing poses that you can take of your cat. Cats sleep more than most animals therefore it makes for a good photo to get a shot of your cat sleeping because you’ll have so many opportunities to do so. Taking a shot of your cat while it sleeps allows you to grab a close up shot.

Sunlight-

If you make the observation, most cats like to sleep in the sun. If you happen to have a full size window with curtains, if at all possible, open them up that way you can lure the cat to the window to sleep in front of the window while the sun is shinning through. Once the cat heads for the window try to get a few shots.

The sun will be shinning bright so you don’t have to use a flash. In doing it this way your photo will have a nice natural look to it. Also, using a flash will cause the eyes on your cat to look red.

"Lila" captured by MarAndra (Click Image to See More From MarAndra)

Candid Shots-

A cat, unlike a dog will not respond to you telling it to stay in one place or sit. The key to getting good candid shots of your cat is to have your camera ready at any given time. Your cat has favorite places in which it likes to sleep, take notice and try to get a few shots of you cat in their favorite places. If you adapt to your cats schedule, you’ll have fun taking shots of your cat in various different locations.

Being patient is the key when trying to get photos of your cat. You’ll probably take a dozen or so shots of your cat but it is well worth it when you do get the shots that you’re looking for.

I have 3 cats and I’ve attempted to get them to pose together and it does not work because one of them has to start something with the other. If you have people at home to help you it might make things easier for you but trying to get a pose from a cat will not work. As stated earlier, try to get them by taking candid shots.

Above are just 3 tips for taking good shots of your cat. There are many more tips but I have found the above 3 are the best in terms of getting the best shots and the most natural looking shots.

Photo captured by Ivan Bokii (Click Image to See More From Ivan Bokii)

If you need more ideas you can use your favorite search engine and search for more tips about taking cat photography.

About the Author:
Keith S. Black has many different photography methods. He is a successful photographer and makes a full time living as a photographer. To find out about one of the best cameras to use for your photography you can visit: http://reviewdslrcameras.com/nikon-reviews/ to read one of Keith’s Nikon Reviews and get more information.

Go to full article: Cat Photography




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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

“They think of photography as pictures, and it is, but I think of photography as ideas. The pictures sustain your ideas…”

When working on his World Trade Center project, Meyerowitz, shot on 4 x 5 and 6 x 7 medium format Leica’s. Having the prints made at over 10-foot tall, he says he hoped that the size would help transport the imagination of the viewers into the reality of the photographs and add to the images authenticity. For the images that didn’t require a larger camera, Meyerowitz called on his Leica M series–a staple in many serious street photographers camera bag.

Meyerowitz would eventually capture over 8,000 photographs from Ground Zero, which covers both the destruction and eventual recovery of the site.

Go to full article: Perspectives of a Street Photographer




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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

Warning – tongue in cheek – rant coming your way – but not THAT tongue in cheek.

I don’t know if it’s just that I’m getting old, but it sure seems like there are a bunch of whiners out there lately. Here are five things that I constantly hear from photographers that drive me crazy.

1. My new camera is broken. It back focuses.

No it most likely doesn’t – YOU back focused. 99% of all cameras are better than 100% of all photographers. Don’t blame the camera. Learn how to focus. (For those of you who are about to e-mail me swearing on your mother’s grave that YOUR camera really did back focus – no need. I know that it does actually happen – only it actually happens 1% of the time.)

2. I’ll never buy (BRAND X) backup drive again. Mine crashed!

ALL drives fail eventually. All of them. Each and every one. Period. Everything man made has an MTBF *Mean Time Between Failure.* EVERYTHING! Even man fails eventually. Get over it. Every brand will fail at some time or another. As long as it’s a name-brand drive it was probably a safe bet when you bought it and would be again. Then again – YOU could do some drive maintenance once in a while – or would that be too much to ask?

3. I can’t believe that (BRAND X) just updated their camera bodies. I just bought a brand new one yesterday. I’ve been ripped off!

Ripped off? Should the manufacturers never update their camera bodies just to make sure YOURS is the most recent? Is there a chance that you could use some common sense and not buy a body that’s been out three years in a Photokina year? Or should they call you to make sure that it’s okay first?

4. Did you see the picture that won that contest? I could have taken that.

Yeah maybe – but you didn’t. And if you did, you didn’t enter. So stop whining. And start shooting. PROVE you could have taken that picture.

5. I won’t be buying the new (BRAND X) camera because my sister knows a guy, who’s cousin is a mailman, and he walked by a bookstore that looked like it had a bad review in one of the photo magazines that he delivered.

PLEASE – if you want to waste time formulating opinions about cameras you’ve never seen, touched, used, or even been in the same room with – go for it. But spare us from hearing those opinions. If you’ve never used the camera, touched the camera, seen the camera or even looked at images it made *with your own eyes* then your opinion doesn’t count. Sorry – your mom lied when she told you that you were special. You need to have actual experience (of some sort) to be able to accurately formulate an opinion about a camera.

Folks it’s simple. As photographers we spend too much time grousing and complaining and not enough time shooting. So in honor of making that point I stopped this list at five when it was originally going to be 10 things. So I can go shoot now.

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When photographing smoke, a few tips to remember are:

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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

In case you couldn’t quite follow Calverts moves through the darkness of the film, here’s a breakdown of how he did it:

Items you will need to accomplish this effect:

• DSLR
• Speedlight
• Tripod
• Electric Glow Stick

Once you have those thing gathered up, you’ll need to find a dark location to take your photograph. For reference, Calvert took his picture at night out in the country, where light pollution is very minimal. Once you are on location, set up your tripod and set your camera to ISO 400 a about f/8. You’ll be using a long shutter speed, but it will vary depending on your specific location. Luckily, you won’t have to worry about the electric glowstick burning out so you can do a few brackets to find a good exposure time.  Mark the spot you will be standing in and use a flashlight to focus your camera to that spot.

Next, sync your speedlight to your camera so that it fires at max intensity and set it behind you (Calvert strapped his to his back) so that it overexposes the background that is directly behind you but leaves a dark vignette around the frame. It helps to have a wall behind you to catch all the light.  Fire your shutter, as soon as the flash goes off, turn on the glow stick and shake it around, outlining the shape of your silhouette. Turn off the glow stick and check to see how your light painting came out. If it’s a little dark, try lengthening your shutter speed, if it’s too bright, try working a little quicker.

How to Create Fire with Light Painting

It’s worth mentioning that the final version of Calvert’s photo was in no way edited. The image above is straight out of his camera. Very impressive.

Quick Reminder: Today is the last day in the sale of Trick Photography & Special Effects

Go to full article: How to Create the Illusion of Fire with Light Painting




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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

A simple flash bouncer is the next best thing to shooting off camera flash. It either makes the flash bigger by diffusing some of its light, or have it bounce to the wall / ceiling creating a big spot of light that bounces back to the subject.

I guess this is why there are so many products that provide this function, along with a ton of DIY solutions to the same problem.

This is why it is refreshing to see a new take on that problem. Designer Benny Johansson (who made the genius cap holder and was  finalist on our sofbox contest) came up with a slightly different flash bouncer thingy built from two pieces of recycled plastic – the PilleVippo. The amazing thing about the PilleVippo is that it is super versatile and 100% DIY. It fits both point and shots and DSLRs. All you need is an old plastic container and a template you can get on Ben’s site.

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If you wanna shoot first person footage, one of the easiest ways to do so is using a helmet cam. Well, you can always go with a GoPro, but if you want the quality that is coming from a Canon 7D, you may wanna build your own rig.

The good folks at DakaKin came up with a sweet tutorial on how to mount a DSLR on a helmet. The simple rig is made with a pink helmet, a metal bar, a cheap tripod head and some weights. The nice thing is that once the camera is mounted, it is roughly at eye level so it will see whatever the shooter is seeing.

If you’re not sure what this is good for, wait for the awesome Max Payne samples at the end of the clip. (not sure Ol’ Max will wear pink though)

[How To Make The Best Helmetcam Ever via planet5D]

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