PictureCorrect.com: Going the Extra Mile For a Great Photo

Nature photography classes have taught me a lot as a teacher. They have helped me to evaluate how much emphasis in nature photography should be on technology—and how much on creativity.

photo by Chase Lindberg

Half my time spent teaching is concentrated on the essential mechanics of good photography: aperture, shutter speed, ISO, lenses, and so on. The rest of the time is focused on understanding natural light and the techniques of good composition.

I truly believe that a good photographer, no matter how good their camera may be, must have a good grasp of the basics. If you don’t understand the relationship between shutter speeds and movement effects, you won’t get the best results from your waterfall photos. If you don’t understand depth of field you won’t know how to capture real character in a wildlife photo.

However, the simple truth is that most of the time, especially in clear daylight situations, you can leave your camera on automatic and rely on it to do the job for you. I don’t encourage this, as the more experience you have with your manual settings, the better prepared you are to use them when the situation calls for it. But auto is a reliable option most of the time.

So, if your camera can take care of the technical aspects of your photography for you, what sets a good photographer apart from the rest? The answer is simple: their creativity and their willingness to put in the extra effort for a great photo.

photo by Andrés Nieto Porras

If you’re prepared to go to the trouble to take your photos in the best possible light, you can improve your photography one hundred percent overnight—without doing one thing to the settings on your camera.

If you ask 100 people what is the best time of day for landscape photography, 95 of them will probably know the answer: early morning and late afternoon. This is when the sun is low in the sky and the light is soft and colorful. The fact is, people don’t need to be told when to take their photos; they just need to be prepared to put it into action. It is just too much trouble to wait until sunset or stay overnight to be on location at sunset.

The great photographers are the ones who are prepared to make that extra effort. They may even stay several days or return to the same location time after time just to get their perfect shot.

photo by Esmar Abdul Hamid

So what sets a great photographer apart is not what they know. In relation to capturing the best light, they really don’t know anything that the rest of us don’t. The difference is that they have the level of commitment required to turn knowledge into results.

Good nature photography is about much more than just perfect lighting. There is also attention to detail and creativity in composition. Once again, this is not rocket science. It often boils down to patience and how much effort you’re prepared to make to get a result.

photo by john mcsporran

Let’s examine the approach of two hypothetical photographers:

1. The first photographer finds a nice location at the right time of day, snaps a couple of shots and then heads home for dinner. Later they look at the photos and notice some dead grass in the foreground and a plane in the sky that spoils the natural look of the photo. This photographer is not happy with his photos and does exactly what most people do: he blames the camera.
2. The second photographer arrives at the same scene, at the same time of day. She looks carefully through the viewfinder and notices the dead grass in the foreground. Knowing this will spoil the shot, she finds a better location just a few meters away, where an old fence leads into the distance adding depth and interest to the image. She notices a plane in the sky and waits a few minutes until it is out of view. In the meantime, she sees some clouds drifting into the frame and waits just a few minutes more until they’re in a perfect place to fit the composition. Later she looks over the photos and is deservedly happy with the result.

Which photographer do you want to be?

About the Author
Andrew Goodall writes for http://ift.tt/SHTHe0 and is a nature photographer based in Australia. He manages a gallery in Montville full of landscape photography from throughout Australia.

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PictureCorrect.com: 8 Tips to Improve Your Photography with the Camera You Already Have

For all conceivable reasons the iPhone is often the only camera that millions of people around the globe ever use. It’s convenient, sharp, and is arguably the best camera—because it’s always with you! Whether you use a smartphone or a DSLR as your go-to camera, these eight tips from Marc Silber will no doubt help you make better photos:

1.  You don’t take photographs, you make them

This is the golden adage from the greatest landscape photographer ever, Ansel Adams. Making encompasses much more personal effort than taking, which is more like shooting without thinking.

2. The most important point of photography is YOU and not the camera

The camera only captures what you envision. It’s just a tool and is not even that good when it comes to seeing things. You tell it what to look at and how to look at it.

3. Tell a story

A good picture is like a good story. It should be devoid of anything that doesn’t add to the plot. A good photographer is like a good story teller—precise and to the point.

Tell a story.

4. Focus on the key element of the image

Focus on the main element of the image. An image that is cluttered with too much going on in it isn’t a great way of telling your viewers what to focus on. Focus only on what you want your viewers to look at and leave out the rest.

Focus on the main element of the image.

5. Frame your photos

Framing denotes using anything in your image that frames and draws emphasis to the main subject.

“Look for something that establishes a border of your photograph. That does a bunch of different things. One, it establishes the context of the photograph.”

6. Use your feet to zoom

Never ever use digital zoom. Always zoom with your feet. You will be glad you did so when you see your images on a bigger screen.

Zoom with your feet

7. Take care of your camera

You are your camera’s best friend (and vice versa) and your iPhone is just like any other camera. It is a delicate thing—especially the lens. Clean your camera lens as often as you can to ensure there are no smudges, stains, or dirt.

8. Adjust your focus and exposure

Most smartphones allow you to adjust both the focus and the exposure of your images. This gives an incredible advantage to photographers who wish to be more creative with their photography. To focus, simply tap on the element that you want to be the sharpest and the camera reacquires focus on that spot.

You can change the focus point by tapping on the screen.

To change exposure on an iPhone, swipe your finger up or down. Swiping up increases exposure and swiping down does the opposite.

Bonus Tip

Did you know that your iPhone has a remote shutter release? It’s the plus and minus volume control button on the headphones. Using it helps keep your images steady, because you don’t have to touch your camera in order to make an image.

For further training: The Photography Tutorial eBook

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PictureCorrect.com: Interesting Photo of the Day: A Totally Empty Boeing 787

What does a modern Boeing 787 look like when it’s completely empty, you might ask? The answer is this glowing tube that resembles a hyper-futuristic spacecraft, apparently!

Empty Boeing 787 (Via Imgur. Click for larger image.)

We don’t know who the original photographer is—or whether this is a 3D render mock-up (note the lack of call buttons or overhead lights, but the odd inclusion of carpeting), but it almost doesn’t matter. This image belongs to the Internet now.

If you thought it looked like something out of Star Trek, you weren’t alone:

(Via Imgur. Click image to see full size.)

The winner of the comment contest, though, goes to j3rrycol, for this gem of an observation:

“This is Ryanair, you have to bring your own seat and toilet, because its [sic] not included in the ticket price.”

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PictureCorrect.com: How to Use the Different Types of Lasso Tools in Photoshop

Making selections can be one of the most time-consuming aspects of using Photoshop, and though Photoshop provides many ways to go about it, the lasso tool is certainly one of the most accessible–especially for beginners. In the video below, Photoshop master Aaron Nace takes us through each element of the lasso tool, providing details that might surprise even the advanced user:

The lasso tool group allows you to make free form selections, whether they be “chaotic and random,” angular, or non-linear but traceable. And like most of Photoshop’s tools, the lasso group has a number of options, adjustments, and quick-key shortcuts you can make to help you get things just right.

The Standard Lasso Tool

The standard lasso is totally dependent on movements made by your drawing tool (mouse, trackpad, or pen). As a result, you’ll never get a perfect selection while tracing things. That’s why Nace recommends that it be used exclusively for “chaotic and random selections” (clouds, stains, spills, etc.).

The Polygonal Lasso Tool

The polygonal lasso tool is great for capturing geometric forms with straight lines and corners–in short, polygons. It’s probably the quickest lasso tool for making free form selections (provided your selection consists of straight lines).

The Magnetic Lasso Tool

The magnetic lasso tool is awesome for tracing around objects with clear boundaries. The cool thing with this lasso tool is that you can change the frequency, width and contrast. These allow you to control how often the magnetic points occur, how far away you can stray with your tool and still conform to the boundary, and how well Photoshop sees your border.

Lasso Tool Tips and Tricks

• Holding down the alt/option key while drawing with the standard lasso tool will turn it into the polygonal lasso tool and vice versa.
• Hold down the shift key while drawing to add to your selection.
• Hold down the option key to subtract from your selection.
• When using the polygonal or magnetic lasso tool, you don’t have to delete your entire selection if you make a mistake. Just press the Backspace (Win) / Delete (Mac) key on your keyboard to undo the last point you added.
• Keep the anti-alias box checked if you want to smooth out the jagged edges of your selection. It’s sort of like taking a piece of sandpaper to a rough cut.

If you spend a lot of time making selections, you’re also going to want to learn how to use the “feather” and “refine edge” options of the lasso tool. Another thing that’s important to know is that your selections are only as good as how accurately you can trace around your desired element. If you find yourself challenged by this, you may want to consider getting a digital drawing tablet. Also, if you find yourself needing to make a lot of professional quality, form-based selections, it will be well worth your while to learn to use Photoshop’s pen tool. Still, the lasso tool group will take care of most of the average user’s free form selection needs.

For further training: Photoshop Basics for Photographers

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PictureCorrect.com: Photo Prank: Just How Many Photos Will a Stranger Take for You?

We’ve all been the victims of seemingly endless photo shoots for strangers. We’ve been out walking when we’re asked to take a photo for someone. Before we know it, we’ve been handed several phones or cameras and perhaps even asked to do re-takes for a group of people on their special night out. And we’ve probably been the culprits, too!

As photographers, we readily help out others asking for a “quick” snapshot. But how far will some individuals go to achieve the group photo dreams of others? This is exactly what the hosts of The Chaser wanted to find out:

Passersby are put to the test in this hilarious social experiment to find out just how many photos we are willing to take for a random group of people. (Via PetaPixel)

The first individual stops to snap a single photo while on a run. The second person takes a generous (yet hesitant) 16 photos before hurrying off to work.

But apparently there are utter group-photo-taking champions that walk among us. One kind man captures a total of 39 photos with everything from a simple digital camera, a DSLR with a telephoto lens, a professional film camera (on a dolly!), and even a painted portrait! The best part is that he doesn’t even protest until after the thirty-ninth photo, complaining the group was “asking for too much.”

Kudos to you my friend—we certainly know who to call to supply our ceaseless group portrait needs!

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PictureCorrect.com: Beginner Photography Training Tips for Newbies

What does it take to get good at photography? Photography training the proper way can make learning how to take great shots a breeze, whereas other methods will make you never reach that artistic and “clean” quality in your photos.

“For a flower” captured by Nikhil G

There are two essential parts to photography that you should learn as a beginner.

Camera Controls

Although photography is often looked at as an art where magic happens, if you don’t know how to use a camera then you won’t get anywhere. Fortunately, camera control basics are pretty easy to get a grasp on.

There are automatic controls and manual controls on virtually every camera. Even phone cameras have some manual settings. In general, for photography training you’re going to want to learn what all the manual controls are and how to use them.

To start, there are two very important controls to know: shutter speed and aperture. These both control the amount of light let into the camera. By controlling both of these settings you affect the light exposure as well as the depth of field of the shot. In addition, you can do cool action shots at high speeds or shoot a photo at extremely slow speeds and make water look like clouds.

Your goal as a beginner should be to learn how to use an SLR (or DSLR) camera on full manual mode. This means setting the aperture, shutter speed, ISO, focus, and a number of other settings. Don’t worry, it’s not hard. Once you get the hang of it, it’s actually something you wish every camera had.

Photo captured by Kameron Barney

While automatic controls are very convenient, they prevent us from taking the photo that we imagine when seeing a scene to photograph. Photography training enables us to see a scene, imagine how we want it in your minds, and then take the shot and match our vision to the end result.

Creative Composition

The next important part to photography training is learning composition, or how to properly arrange the contents within the screen of your camera. This is an ancient art with techniques and traditions dating back to the beginning of art history. The same techniques that apply to painting, drawing, etc. apply to this. A good idea is to get some books on composition for any art (except music) and learn the techniques there.

Some basic examples are the “rule of thirds” and “leading lines.”

The Rule of Thirds. This rule states that instead of placing a subject at the center of the image, offsetting them to the left, right, top or bottom.

Leading Lines. Use the lines around you to point towards the subject of interest so that the lines lead the viewer into the photo.

Although these examples are basic, they do make a big difference in your photos if you’ve never consciously taken pictures with them in mind.

“Sunset” captured by Robert S Molchan

When you have both of these two parts of photography training down (composition and technical camera usage) you should have no problem getting better at photography. The next step from there is refining your style and developing your artistic eye.

About the Author:
Simon Takk, creator of phototechniques.info, shows others how to open their eyes to the breathtaking photo opportunities all around them.

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PictureCorrect.com: Interesting Photo of the Day: A Frozen Tree

In meteorology, the phenomenon of “hard rime” occurs when sub-zero temperatures, heavy fog and gentle winds combine in the winter. It’s rare that such heavy fog would drift down to street level—it’s usually a mountain-ridge phenomenon—but the proof is right here, in this snapshot, which may look like a miniature model but is in fact one of the finest examples of the frozen phenomenon that even meteorologists have seen:

(Via Imgur. Click image to see full size.)

BlackMetalBanjo explains how he caught the image: he rolled down the window of his pickup truck and snapped it with his Galaxy Note 4 smartphone in Weld County, Colorado. The lighting is exclusively from a streetlamp off to the side of the frame. Really, it was that simple.

He also posted a follow-up of the tree one week later, to show what a difference time can make:

(Via Imgur. Click image to see full size.)

Still, people have been so confounded by the shot that they’re insisting it’s fake, or a miniature model. Banjo, however, is defending against these claims on Reddit:

“I’ve had a lot of people tell me it’s fake, shopped, etc. It wasn’t. It’s been super foggy in Colorado the last few days and it’s made some awesome frosty coverings on everything. I thought it was a nice scene so I rolled my window down and took a picture.”

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PictureCorrect.com: Photographers Challenged to Create Something from Nothing

Where do inspiration and creativity come from? Do you need a beautiful scene or subject to capture a breathtaking photograph? Canon Australia wants to remind all photographers that creativity needs nothing but you. “Blank” is one of six experiments from the Canon series “The Lab”, which challenges photographers to shift creative thinking. For this particular experiment, six photographers were invited to a studio shoot, but what they weren’t told beforehand was that the studio was completely empty, there were no props, and they weren’t allowed to take selfies. It was literally a blank canvas:

This is the fourth video of “The Lab” so far. The first three videos include one where six photographers had to shoot the exact same subject without repeating any shots, another where the photographers were told a different backstory of a man and were asked to shoot a portrait based on that story, and one where the photographers had to capture “eternal life” in a single image…without a camera.

In “Blank,” six Australian photographers, including Matt McLarty, Jacqueline Hamilton, Libby Morris and Emma Wertheim, were given only one rule—to create something from nothing.

The studio was nothing but an empty white backdrop with some red tape marking the boundaries. The photographers had to use their imaginations to find creative ways—using angles, shadows, light, whatever they had on them—to shoot the space. Here are a few of the images they came up with:

“Blank” was an interesting experiment in creativity and minimalism. It just goes to show that you can start with nothing and turn it into something—you just need a little imagination and the confidence to try something different… and maybe get naked.

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PictureCorrect.com: High-Flying Military Photojournalist Talks Life as a U.S. Air Force Photographer

Imagine hurtling through the clouds at 500 mph in an F-16 fighter jet, a mere three feet away from a formation of six or eight other fighters that you’re “chasing.” Now imagine that you’re a member of the U.S. Air Force and that your commander has tasked you with photographing a particular aerial display. You’ll only have once “pass” to get the perfect shot. Oh, and did we mention that your camera equipment will feel like it weighs five to seven times its actual weight because of g-force?

That’s all in a day’s work for Sergeant Larry Reid Jr., the official photographer for the U.S. Air Force’s Thunderbirds unit. In the following video, Reid discusses his well-oiled process for photographing F-16 fighter jets in action and the joys of capturing inspiring “moments that a lot of folks don’t really get the opportunity to see”:

While Reid’s line of work obviously has its perks, he has to work hard to keep himself fit so that the physical tolls of holding up his camera gear while “pulling G’s” doesn’t hamper his ability to take photos during 2-3 hour flight missions. He also has to deal with the pressure that comes with the job; his commanding officers monitor his progress closely and he often has to be ready to take photos in any situation on the spot when summoned. In the air, events progress quickly, and Reid often has only one “pass” to get the images that his commanding officers are expecting.

“I tell people it’s a roller coaster on steroids because you’re literally pulling G’s. You’re going 500 plus miles per hour and everything happens so fast.”

To simplify things so that he really only needs to worry about making great photos in the air, Reid is always careful to bring an extra camera body, which he stores with the rest of his gear in a flight bag. Because he has to shoot through the reflective canopy of the plane, Reid wears black gloves and a dark grey helmet instead of the Thunderbirds’ standard green flight gloves and red, white, and blue helmet. Additionally, Reid drapes black cloths over his control panel and his chest to minimize reflections from shiny metals.

Reid often uses jet streams to create interesting compositions.

And you thought panning was hard on the ground.

Reid often uses a wide-angle angle lens to capture as many planes in the frame as possible.

Reid makes these images using two camera bodies—a Nikon D3S as his primary and a Nikon D3 as his backup. He also heavily relies on three different lenses, which he presses right up against his aircraft’s canopy for stabilization, that provide him with maximum versatility: a 24-70mm f/2.8, a 16-35mm f/4, and a 24-120mm f/4.

“It’s rewarding to know that your top leadership entrusts you with visually making sure that the team and them are looking spot on and that the end product goes out flawlessly… when my commander comes to me and says, ‘Larry, let me see the images,’ and I can deliver each and every time, that opens doors for more opportunities to go up there.” — Sergeant Larry Reid, Jr.

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