Subject : Sun through the mist

This was one of those chance shots I spotted as we where driving along.

The sun was sitting low as we drove into this bank of mist and the scene just looked really moody, and a bit spooky almost.

As I pointed the iphone at the sun the screen just went white as it was just too bright looking into the sun. When this happens if you just touch the bright point in the scene the iphone camera will auto adjust for the brightness. this can leave the rest of the scene dark, or create silhouette. just play around with touching different parts of the screen to get the best result you want.

Misty Sun from the car window

Please leave your comments below and share, recommend if you like

I take a lot of photos of my kids, landscapes and, well, just anything I find interesting, but most of them just end up staying on my phone, the reflection is from the car roof.

I find the colours produced from the iphone 4 are good and rich, almost on a HDR scale.

A good tip to get the colours rich and prevent any washout in bright areas is to touch the bright parts of the screen, this sets the focus and exposure of that area, leaving the rest to fall in place based on this focal point.

Git any photo tips for mobiles? leave them below.

Weddings can be emotionally charged moments for everyone and can be a logistical nightmare,  the photographer (professional) needs to eliminate as many potential problems and mistakes as possible, so the first order of business is to communicate with the wedding party.

This enables you to get an idea of their “game plan”.  Otherwise, if your plan is to just go with the flow (which is highly unadvisable for a professional), you’ll miss out on the best opportunities to get single and group photos, and you can also be rushed – all of which can contribute to poor photographs. Create a “Shot List” with someone intimately involved with the Day ideally the Bride and Groom. This way you’ll know when there is down time for you to go grab candids… the “true” bread’n butter of wedding photography

It’s  important for you to ESTABLISH A RAPPORT WITH THE BRIDE AND GROOM, because they need to feel comfortable with you. It’s best to take a series of photos of them prior to the wedding, just a few casual portrait shots in the park, or chilled out at home will do it,  just so you can  communicate with them, and get to know them a little… Unless your already a friend, then you’ll be 1/2 way there

An engagement photo session is a good time to do this, if you skip this crucial part of the process, when it comes down to the actual day of the wedding, the Bride & Groom won’t be at ease with you around or with you issuing commands, and telling then where to go and what to do get what you want so they’re happy with the end result.

It is important that you strive to be as unobtrusive as possible; many people forget this fact, and think that as “the photographer” they have the right to barge in a take the shots of this once-in-a-lifetime moment. No one wants the photographer interrupting the joyous occasion by asking to get a shot! or bombarding unsuspecting subjects with a harsh, blinding camera flash. It’s important to move quietly, slowly and smoothly – be like a ninja as much as possible (but you don’t need soft soled shoes).

NOT COMING PREPARED

This goes without saying, but without the proper equipment you can really hamper your effort to get the best photos possible. Preparation is anything and everything you can do that will inform you on what lenses to bring and what the location looks like when photographed, so you can pre-visualize shots. Part of being prepared is scouting the location ahead of time at the time of the wedding, so you are aware of the lighting conditions and can plan accordingly. You’ll also want to bring a tripod (or monopod), as it’ll be a lifesaver. If one of your goals is to completely blend in (and it should be), then taking photos without the flash is one of the best ways to do that. But that means lowering the shutter speed and/or opening up the aperture as wide as possible to accommodate for the low-light conditions.… that’s were a tripod or monopod becomes worth its weight in gold to eliminate camera-shake and blur (too big no-no’s).

BRINGING ONE CAMERA is another major mistake that most people make.. If you bring two cameras, you have two options to mine the most out of the event – 1) is to bring an assistant; this way you can divide up the duties, subject and events and capture as much as possible. There’s so much material to cover at a wedding that two eyes are always better than one. And 2) is to have a wide-angle lens on one camera and a telephoto on the other. This saves time in switching lenses, so you can grab the group shot then immediately segue to an intimate close-up of the bride kibitzing with her bride’s maids or the father of the bride brushing aside a tear.

LACKLUSTER Group Photos

We’ve all seen these, and they are a major bummer for wedding photography. The main challenged of group photos is to get everyone smiling and not blinking at the time that you press the shutter. You can avoid this by having everyone close their eyes, and then open them “on the count of three.” Once you’ve trained your group, do the count again and snap the picture. You can also avoid these recycle bin shots by properly positioning yourself to get the most dynamic shots. Staged group shots are always awkward, severely clichéd and don’t offer anything exciting or memorable. Your individual creativity in staging can elevate a de rigeur group photo into something that everyone will want copies of (consider a changing your perspective and/or staggering the group).

Rushing usually results in UNPOLISHED COMPOSITIONS and with all the surrounding drama and chaos it is very easy for you to skip the added seconds (or minutes) it takes to find a more aesthetically appealing composition. Bad composition and sloppy framing will ruin amazing opportunities and result in mediocre (at best) or unusable (at worst) photos of action that can’t be replicated or re-staged. Take the time to make sure all the elements are properly in place – lighting, subject, background all must work in concert. As “the photographer” you do have some authority in getting the wedding party to reposition itself for your purposes. Sure, they might grumble, but the Bride & Groom will thank you later.  And if you’ve scouted the location ahead of time and broken bread with the Bride & Groom ahead of time, then by all means push the envelope and be bold with your decisions.

Another common mistake is a “nice” background; now, why is this considered a mistake? Because the background should in no way, shape or form compete with the Bride & Groom. The background should be as neutral and/or bland as possible (although avoid a white background). The true skill in photographic composition is knowing how all the elements of the picture will draw the viewer’s eye director where you want it.

In the digital age there’s no excuse for NOT SHOOTING ENOUGH. You should bring two or three memory cards and don’t hold back (please shoot in RAW+JPEG for the most flexibility). Professional photographers take 100s and 100s of photos to find those 10 to 20 that not only capture the key, critical moments, but will serve as emotional hallmarks of the event.

Take these points to heart and incorporate them into your thinking, and you should be able to avoid the common mistakes and therefore elevate your work, and win raves from the couple weeks later when they review the photo album you put together for them.

Specializing in wedding photography that is both visually expressive and contemporary, requires dedicated efforts and a clear blueprint. Digital Wedding Secrets by Nick Smith is one of the rare resources that prepares you on how to capture a creative portrait that defines the essence of every wedding day and every couple. It also provides you with a step by step action plan, website, business agreements to help you get the most out of your wedding photography.

To get mor info from Nick Smith,  take a look at his Digital Wedding Secrets 

One of my favourite is Carr Mill Dam and Sankey Valley, especially with the recent regeneration that’s been going on.

Throughout St Helens there are 17 parks and open spaces ( according to the Council http://www.sthelens.gov.uk/page.htm?id=690#Parks )

• Bankes Park
• Clinkham Wood Local Nature Reserve
• Clock Face Country Park
• Downall Croft Doorstep Green
• Fosters Park (Formerly Hardshaw Park)
• Gaskell Park
• Haresfinch Park
• King George V Haydock
• Mesnes Park
• Nanny Goat Park
• Sankey Valley Country Park
• Sherdley Park
• Siding Lane Local Nature Reserve
• Sutton Park
• Taylor Park
• The Duckeries
• Victoria Park

If I’ve missed on out, please let me, and our readers know in the comments below. would be great to get some photos in here too, ideally photos of your children in the parks around St Helens – email them in to me at photo (@) creativephotoshop.co.uk or if you have some on flickr or facebook then send me the link.

Portrait tips for parks and open spaces

When your taking portraits in the park and in open spaces you need to not get too wrapped up in the place that you are in, remember, your prime objective is to take the portrait of the person, not the location. Having said that, the location is important as it :

• Provides an interesting environment and location to take photos
• Helps the kid’s relax and be “natural”
• When it’s a fun place, it will help to get the kids laughing and smiling. not always important, but happy, smiling photos of kids are great, and make you feel good!
• Provides a visual enhancement in the final image by way of colour, patterns and shapes in the background
• Fantastic natural light – you really can get better light than good, bright natural daylight.

Read more tips on light here

What’s in the background

When your taking photos (especially portraits) in the open, you need to put more thought into the background. I don’t mean just looking out for the odd tree that may appear to be poking out of someone’s head, but also look out for:

• Distracting patterns
• Random people
• Dogs
• Traffic
• Ugly stuff that doesn’t compliment the photo.
• Colours that don’t compliment the subject
• patterns that work against or distract from the person.

For this shot of Ajay, I was high above him at the top of a hill, this placed the grass on the ground behind him, I just shouted and asked him to “smile”

Have fun and happy snapping

Following on from the excerpt from the “Click! How to take gorgeous photos of your kids” I published, I want to give a good example of how the light can add mood to a photo, especialy with a photo of a child.

Natural low sunlight will add a lovely warm glow

This is a photo I took of my son toasting a marshmallow on the chimnea in the garden.

I wanted to capture the whole mood of the moment naturally, this meant  taking the shot without getting his attention away from his  marshmallow he’s toasting, and using  the warm light from the low sun just starting to set. His position in relation to the sun was just perfect as the light just brushed over him and warmly lit his face up, it’s almost as if the warmth from the chimnea is lighting him up as he’s tosting his marshmallow.

Use the low sun to warm up the shot

When the sun is low in the sky like this it gives a wonderful warm glow to just about everything and can be used to enhance or create a mood in an otherwise ordinary photo.

This was shot on my FujiFinepix S9500 @ f/3.5 1/160 with an ISO-80.

These setting work well because:

The low ISO setting of 80 will help colour saturation and produce no grain, keeping the mood warm and soft.

The aperture setting of f/3.5 is quite wide and lets in lots of light to enable a fast shutter speed of 1/160 sec. This shutter speed keeps the shot sharp, even with the light being low.

You can read the full article I published from the book “Click! How to take gorgeous photos of your kids” here

Please leave your thoughts, comments – and click the like or recommend if you found this helpful.

Photoshopped reflection from Carr Mill Dam, St Helens

Autumn is an amazing time of year for photographers. The changing colours, the crisp air, misty mornings, rain fall and long sunsets and sun rises all give some amazing and beautiful photo opportunity’s to capture.

But don’t wait around too long to get your camera out though. Once those lush green summer leaves start to change into the warm autumn yellows, oranges and reds, they will soon be all brown and falling off the trees to leave them bare for winter.

• Depending where you live, the best autumn colours will only be around for a month or so and peak through October. This all depends on the weather at the time but generally October and into November is best.
• To really bring out the colours of autumn go for early morning or late afternoon when the sun is low.
• When the sun is low in the sky it has a warmer light that will help bring out the warmth in the colours of the leaves. You don’t need to wait for sunset, just nice and low will do it.
• The low position of the sun also gives great long shadows to add mood, depth and texture to landscapes, macro, abstract, wildlife and even portrait shots.

I kept this sharp by resting my phone on the balcony

I’m going to skip the obvious one of “use a tripod”, although tripods are ideal to help get a pin sharp photo, they are not essential, and,  we don’t all have tripods. Even if we do though, we don’t always have them with us, all the time. Well, at least I don’t as Helen won’t let me

 Blurred photos are caused by either movment of the subject or movment of the camera

 

My first tip is to shoot with the fastest shutter speed possible.

If you have a “S” or “SP” mode on your camera this is the “Shutter”, or “Shutter Priority” and enables you to control the shutter speed while the camera sets the other settings automatic according to your chosen shutter speed. So by setting this to the highest number posible will help to keep your shots sharp.

My next tip is use the “Sport Mode” in-camera setting

This is probably one of the more underused settings that can help prevent blurred photos. The “sport mode” option works with all the cameras settings and optimises it ready to capture fast moving objects. this is a good mode to use for children and pets especially when they are running around.

The third tip I wan’t to give you is to “lean” on something.

to keep the sunset shot sharp in the low light of the sunset I rested my phone on the balcony. You can also use a wall, tree, rock, bench, chair… anything will do. If  you can hold your camera and rest your hands on something solid and fixed this will keep your camera much steadier than just by your hands alone.

If you have any other tips to share please leave them in the comments below 

Geoff.

Week after week we photographed kids of all ages, shapes and sizes, and loved it. The life and energy kids have is incredible, and being able to capture that is a buzz.

This is a shot I got of my 3  kids on holiday this summer in St. Ives, Cornwall, England. they are  4,7 & 10.

All 3 are so different in looks, appearance, mood, attitude, temper and willingness to let Dad take take their photo. So when I do get a chance to get a photo of them, either all together or individually, it’s great.

I was quick to get this one of them with my iphone, no fancy settings and no posing. I just asked them to lean in together and “smile”…. they did. Result!

On the technical side I could pull it to pieces – mid day sun, eyes squinting, distracting people in the background, not pin sharp, a bit yellow… but it’s a great photo of my kids, on holiday, having fun. It’s also one of those photos that will always bring back great memories of the summer camping holiday 2011 and that’s what it’s all about.  :-)

So if you have any connection with kids, either yours, your grand kids, nieces or nephews, or you may work with, them then you’ll know the joy they can bring ( most of the time… ) and also HOW QUICK THEY GROW UP and change.

It wasn’t until I had my first son that I realised this, and now even though he’s just 10, looking back at the photos of him in the early years, I’ve come to realise how precious the photos I took of him back then are, as they are the only thing that remains as a reminder of the little baby passing through the early stages of life.

This  is my eldest son aged just 2, ( he’s the one in the hole on the beach in the shot above)  it was taken on one of my first digital cameras way back in 2003 on- where has that time gone?

I just love this shot, it was taken inside the tent on a camping holiday with just enough light coming in to light up his face.  Ajay was just tucking into a snack when I caught his attention and click! got him .

With that in mind, I want to share with you something that will help you capture some beautiful photos of your precious little people that will stay with you for the rest of your life…..
These tips and ideas are taken from a new book all about photographing kids. The excerpts I have for you are for the novice, the amateur and professional alike. The book is called : Click! How to take gorgeous photos of your kids. By Rachel Devine.

Click here to view more details

“Children change daily. As a mother, I know those mornings when the children have grown and changed overnight. To honor this extraordinary time of life, I feel we need to photograph more than just the pretty portraits. By way of example, I’d like to share with you this portrait of my daughter, Clover. The light is nice, the colors are warm, and she has a sweet smile with direct eye contact. The only thing is, that image tells you nothing about my daughter—in fact, it’s almost misleading. Clover is a wild and crazy little thing who’s rarely still. Her overwhelmingly larger-than-life personality is hidden in this pretty portrait.”

5 Top Tips direct from the new DPS Book. Click! how to take gorgeous photos of your kids.

1. First of all, get that camera out of the bag and have it with you always.

Learn to use it until it feels natural in your hands. Life simply happens, especially with little kids, and you need to be prepared to document it. When the camera is out and within reach, it will lose its novelty to children and be as normal to them as any other everyday appliance. When taking photos happens seamlessly, rather than being a production, children won’t react to it in a negative way. The camera shouldn’t interrupt the flow of your day; it should fit right in. Work towards picking it up and putting it down as you would your phone.

2.  A family treasure hangs in my mother’s bedroom:

A beautiful family photograph taken in the fall of 1997. That image is priceless to us because my father looks well and happy as he sits next to my mother, the love of his life. The photograph reveals no signs of the cancer that would take him from us two years later. The autumn leaves are beautiful, and we all match nicely in our coordinated outfits. But it isn’t an entirely truthful portrait of our family, and it certainly doesn’t represent the full story of that day. You see, my father was never a relaxed man. He was a very important doctor, and he expected everything in his life to run in a certain order. All five of his children liked to challenge that order a little for fun. That day, I remember that we were all told to wear tan pants and navy tops. We gathered outside, and the photographer got ready to shoot, but we were waiting for my brother, Paul, who’d flown from Denver for the reunion and was still inside getting ready. My father was growing increasingly irritated. Paul eventually came running out of the house apologizing for the delay—and wearing a bright red sweater. We all exploded into laughter—all of us except my father, that is, who was steaming. It was a perfectly planned little prank—Paul had the blue top hidden underneath. And in the end, it did make my father laugh too. But there are no photos of that moment that so characterized my family and its dynamic. The photographer didn’t think to take shots, but that moment, that was my family. A photograph of Paul in the red sweater, laughing with the rest of us in our matching outfits, would have been the perfect portrait. And it’s these unexpected, revealing moments I strive to capture when I photograph my own family or any client’s.

You’re not only
documenting the
universal moments
of childhood, but
the uniqueness of
a particular child.

3. Styling. Keep it simple. Let me say that again.

Keep. It. Simple.

Think of photography as telling the story of someone in the least number of elements. The fewer the elements you include, the stronger your statement. When your subject is clad in bright colors, surrounded by a giant bunch of balloons, and placed in a busy environment, the impact is lost.
In what may seem like a u-turn, I am also going to suggest that sometimes you let your little models do their own styling, choosing their own wardrobe so you can portray the sheer mess of colors and patterns they find beautiful. The difference is context and intent— your model has chosen her wardrobe because it means something to her, and it’s her story you’re telling. In cases like this, just make sure to keep your background simple to avoid overwhelming the image and to highlight the importance of the outfit, how ever colorful and crazy.

4. light. Photography is all about light.

But with children as your models, merely knowing when the light is best is not enough. You must also coordinate your shoots with nap times, meal times, and ever fluctuating moods and levels of cooperation. For the most part, I find that if children are fed dinner early enough, they’ll be happy for an excuse to postpone bedtime by frolicking in the gorgeous magic hour as the sun is setting—well worth it for the most even and warm natural light possible. Of course, that golden hour will change according to seasons and location in the world— Icelandic summers actually see this wonderful light in the hours around midnight—so bedtimes will mean this mightn’t be an option all year round.

Color

5. Color. While a pop of color is great, don’t underestimate the power of black-and-white shots.

Start with natural colors, get the exposure right in-camera, and then you’ll have the freedom to play from there. With that said, if you want to experiment with different looks, keep the original files in case you want to go back to them as technology, trends, and your skills evolve. The over-saturated colors of digital photography and the new vintage looks may appear as dated in a few years as the school pictures of the 1980s.

Thanks to the guy’s at DPS for letting me republish these pages and tips for all my readers to enjoy

This book is just so jam-packed with good stuff I’m going to put some of the tip’s into practice.

So you don’t miss out, be sure to get on my free newsletter reader list and I’ll email you when it’s up.

Or, If you just can’t wait and would like the full info-packed 101 pages on your desktop within the next 5 min for less than the price of a couple bottles of good wine then
Click here to view more details

Happy Snapping

Geoff

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This is called a physiogram. How do you create them? Simply tie a string to the end of a flashlight or LED, then attach the other end of the string to the ceiling. A string that is about .5-2 meters is fine.

Once your light is dangling from the ceiling, put your camera on the floor facing upward, right underneath the light. Put your camera on manual focus. Turn the room lights off and the Maglight on, give the Maglight a little push, then take your long exposure. I usually stick to 30 seconds.

Sometimes if you are using a wide aperture, the light can spill onto the background. If this happens, you can fix it in Photoshop software by selecting Image > Adjustments > Selective Color and then turning down the blacks so the background is totally black. I would recommend using the lowest ISO possible and then try F8 to F16. More physiogram examples can be found here.

You can also make “compound” physiograms (shown left). This is where you have the string attached to the ceiling in a Y shape, with the light source at the bottom end of the Y.

The Y string will create different patterns that are not just “spirals” like you see above. Try experimenting with different lengths of string on each end (i.e. make the lower half longer, the upper half shorter, etc.) You can also have three or more strings all attaching to the middle string where the light hangs from. Each variation will make a different pattern.

 -**If you liked this tip then please click the facebook like or recommend below – Thank you

Click Here To find out more from Evan Plus lots of other cool photo effects ! or why not grab our free course taken from Evans amazing book below.

Photos by Greg Scales and Matt Small