Search results for: photography tips solutions how to choose a tripod
About 45 filtered resultsby Mathew Malwitz · Posted
As photographers, we are faced with a wide array of lighting conditions, ranging from bright sunlight to dimly lit interiors. Using ambient light as your main source is often preferable; however, in a situation such as an event or portrait where time is of the essence, you will need to know how to properly expose all these varying scenes using both natural and artificial light sources.
Being resourceful with your lighting setups lends greater efficiency, and having a lighting system you can easily move from one situation to the next quickly is
by Mathew Malwitz · Posted
Despite what you might have seen on the internet, you don’t need all the money and time in the world to photograph wildlife. Sure, an African safari would be nice, but it is by no means the only way to capture stunning images of wild animals. In fact, regardless of where you live, odds are there’s a vast ecosystem that likely goes unnoticed. If you have trees in your neighborhood, you’re off to a great start.
What You Need to Photograph Wildlife
While gear plays a crucial role in our ability to photograph wildlife, it isn’t everything. In this
by Mathew Malwitz · Posted
One of the most effective ways to improve your portraiture is by controlling the light, and one of the most effective ways to control your light is to move it. Seems like a simple enough concept, but it can be daunting at first, especially if you're using a speedlight or an on-camera flash. Despite its misleading name, an on-camera flash can, very easily, be used off the camera. The "on-camera" part simply refers to its form factor
by Mathew Malwitz · Posted
Are you interested in the wide and wonderful world of photography? Well, you’ve certainly come to the right place! Check out this short checklist of a dozen items, designed to get you started in digital or film photography and headed in the right direction.
1. Interest
The first thing you need is an interest in photography. If you are reading these words, you likely already checked that box. If you are debating whether to take the dive into photography, you might want to give it some careful thought, or cater your purchases toward your level
by Todd Vorenkamp · Posted
Before you venture out to photograph your first lunar eclipse, you should get some practice taking photos of the moon. If lunar photography is varsity-level stuff, lunar eclipse photography is all-pro. There are some unique challenges to the art, and great ways to get creative results, but the basics of lunar photography apply. Unlike
by Allan Weitz · Posted
When it comes to travel, landscape, and seascape photography, I always try to keep at least one long focal length lens in my bag for photographing subjects to which I either cannot get closer or—in the case of a Siberian tiger guarding her cubs—to which I have no business getting closer.
Photographs Ó Allan Weitz 2020
The definition of a long telephoto lens depends on whom you ask, not to mention what format camera they are using. For some, a 105mm lens is long. For others, it’s anything beyond 200mm or 300mm. For me, 300mm has always been the
by Todd Vorenkamp · Posted
When the moon passes directly between Earth and the sun, those on Earth are treated to one of nature’s greatest spectacles—a total solar eclipse. It is a phenomenon that almost every observer would like to capture in a photograph.
Due to the rarity of the event, the short duration in which to capture it, and the dynamic nature of the subject, it is one of those photographic opportunities that requires the proper gear, setup, planning, and practice.
Eclipse and solar
by Brian Zwiebel · Posted
When winter rolls around, many bird photographers choose to hibernate like a bear or fly south like a bunting. However, with a few precautions and considerations, winter can be an excellent time of year to photograph birds, even in the northern climates. Over the years, I have made dozens of trips to photograph birds in some pretty extreme locations, such as the high arctic, northern Michigan, and northern Minnesota. In this first part of my two-part series, I will share my strategies to prepare yourself and your gear in the best ways for
by John Harris · Posted
What can you do with a high-end telephoto lens? Be a boss, is what you can do. I mean, c’mon! Strutting around the sidelines or cuttin’ through the bush with one of these beasts resting on your shoulder―not only do you look tough, but you’re also carrying a lens that you need to get the best photos in sports and wildlife photography. When I say best, let’s not underestimate the greatness of photographers who can create wonderful images with a wide-angle lens or even a telephoto of lesser quality, but to really excel in the disciplines of
by Jess Santos · Posted
Thinking back to my first time photographing the stars, let’s be real: I had no idea what I was doing. I spent the afternoon watching video after video, and after several hours felt confident enough to attempt it. Now keep in mind I had done the research on settings, but completely skipped over the planning phase. I didn’t run into one video that talked about things like the moon phase or dark skies, some pretty important information to know when getting into astrophotography. Nonetheless, a couple friends and I headed out at eleven o’
by Todd Vorenkamp · Posted
Setting up your camera properly for night or low-light photography is a fundamental key to successful images. There are no hard and fast rules for settings for night photography because many of the settings you choose depend on the scene before you and how you want it to look in the final image. However, this guide will give you a foundation for setting up your camera to capture the wonders of the night.
Photographs ©Todd Vorenkamp
Exposure Mode
by Lindsay Finnegan · Posted
Are you new to food photography or looking to advance your lighting techniques? This article takes you through how to use existing light to your benefit as well as how to create it yourself. Both approaches will yield similar results, but each has its own unique advantages. It’s up to you which path to take.
Natural: Work with Window Light
The simplest way to photograph food is to shape light that already exists
by Todd Vorenkamp · Posted
Like the world’s tidal waters, photographic creativity ebbs and flows for many of us. Sometimes creativity can use a jump-start, an artificial method to get the photographer to start looking at the world in a new way in order to facilitate, restart, refine, or improve your photography.
There are many ideas on how to get yourself to push through an artistic block or inspire you to further expand your boundaries. Not all of them involve the camera. Several websites and books publish a mix of assignments or exercises for the intrepid photographer
by Todd Vorenkamp · Posted
When most of us think of “sports photography,” we immediately think of iconic images from the world of land-based sports—American football, track and field, boxing, baseball, and others. One could argue, however, that yacht racing and sailing regattas provide the canvas for some of the most spectacular images in all of sports. And, if you have spent time around the water, seen the framed print on the wall of my physical therapist’s office, or flipped through the pages of any sailing magazine, you might have noticed that professional sailboat
by Todd Vorenkamp · Posted
We have probably all seen images in which the photographer has panned with the action—photos where the subject is in fairly sharp focus and the background is blurred due to the motion of the camera. The subjects you might have seen in action panning photos include cars, trucks, airplanes, runners, motorcycles, bicycles, etc. Done well, action panning photographs are a pleasure to look at and, believe it or not, action panning is not the most difficult technique to learn with your camera. However, getting great results can be a bit of a