Last year my son Christopher took a photography class taught by Randy Allen at Sacramento City College. Allen’s not only a great teacher and photographer but also a good friend that goes way back to the days when we both were SCC photo students ourselves. Christopher told me something that Allen said during class that […]
One of my favorite things to shoot or just to look at is a well done silhouette. A Nicely done one can be a strong compositional element and can make your subject really stand out. Some may think that shooting a silhouette is a tricky thing but it’s actually a relatively easy thing to do. […]
In photography there’s very few things that fall under “always do this” or “never do that.” One of the things that seems to have become an absolute over time is “never put your subject at the center of the picture.” The goal of every composition should be to lead the viewer’s eye its subject in […]
Jim Richardson is a renowned photographer of incredible talent. His credits include the Topeka (Kansas) Capital-Journal and freelancing for publications such as Time, Sports Illustrated and the New York Times. In the last last half of his career he’s been a photographer with National Geographic for which he’s produced 30 stories. He’s certainly accomplished and established in the […]
Using a good, sturdy tripod is the best way to ensure that your pictures are shake-free. However, not everyone likes to carry one around all the time. Depending on the model, they tend to be bulky, heavy and awkward to use. I’m one of those people. If I have a subject that I definitely know […]
I’m always encouraging budding photographers to learn how to use their cameras in manual exposure mode. With the exception of when I use my cellphone or a point-and-shoot camera, I always shoot manually. with my digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera. I know it can be daunting for someone starting out to figure how to […]
The ability to capture peak action is a necessity for a sports photographer. Sure, one should know how to get things like action away from the ball, sports portraits, victory/defeat shots, among other techniques, but peak action is a sports shooter’s bread and butter. The best sports photographers not only know where to position themselves […]
Some readers may have noticed a slight change in the rules to the monthly Readers Photo Challenge. A limit on the number of entries has been added. Most photo contests have some sort of limit to the submissions they receive. Some cap the entries at a certain number. Other contests will have an entry fee […]
Apple recently released it new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus smartphones. One of the features of the 7 Plus that the company touts is its ability to create bokeh, an effect that was previously only done by digital single lens reflex cameras (DSLR). The bokeh effect is known by most experienced photographers, but probably not […]
“Take chances, make mistakes, get messy.” – Miss Frizzle from the Magic School Bus. So you’ve become proficient at a certain technique and you can make consistently good pictures using it, what do you do next? Experiment. We can all become inured to doing the same thing in the same way (even if that method […]