Archive for shooting tips – Page 2

Go Behind-the-Scenes of a Roadside Grocery Pinup Girl Photo Shoot: by Boudoir Louisville

By Guest
Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

For years, I have driven past this old time country grocery store. There are not too many of these around these days. Everyone wants to go to the larger chain grocery stores. This little building is packed to the rafters with stuff. They also serve one hell of a lunch!

I knew I wanted to shoot some sort of vintage pinup girl session here, just needed to put together the pieces. Lucky for me, I have some great friends that hook me up with awesome cars for my shoots. The main car in this shoot is a 1958 Brookwood Station Wagon. There is also a Chevy C10 in the background as well. As we were shooting, a totally restored Thunderbird convertible pulled up. What the hell, I told him were to park and fired a few shots off. By the time he arrived, the sun was way past its prime.

Libby was our pinup girl. She is a true Bombshell! This is our third time shooting Libby, and definitely not our last! Be sure to grab the next issue of Retro Lovely Magazine, these will be in issue #8.

FYI, the last pic, other than my logo, is 100% unedited. Straight out of the camera!

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Categories : Boudoir Photography, Guest Bloggers, Inspiration, Make Better Photographs
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Photography Inspiration: by Andrea Boley

By Guest
Thursday, December 1st, 2011

A picture is worth a thousand words. This is a saying that many photographers live by. Photographs capture memories and help time stand still if only for a short while. As a professional photographer, you know that each shot has the potential to be “the one”, so everything must be perfect. From the lighting to the location, the best pictures are those that are well thought out and planned. This means that you are constantly on the hunt for inspiration. Location, without a doubt, can make or break the picture and can also determine whether or not your clients will trust you with their precious memories. If you are looking for great locations to capture memories for clients’ photo shoots, get inspired by the following tips.

Go on a drive through a historic town. Historic towns offer many options for photographers who are looking to add the “antique” edge to their photographs. I have received some of the greatest inspirations from going for a drive through a historic town. From old coffee shops to historic mom and pop businesses, there will be countless places for you to make each and every photo truly unique. Historic towns that have been preserved and are still in business are often clean and family friendly which makes them perfect for photo shoots.

Make use of the farm. You are probably thinking that making the farm a great photo location is impossible. Think again! Old red barns, wagons, tractors, etc. all make the farm a perfect photo location. This location can offer a fun experience for children and families who enjoy all things farming. It is particularly good for little boys who are on their first adventure to the farm.

A mountainous walking trail. One of the most beautiful inspirations that I have come across was on a hike up a mountain trail. If nature is your client’s choice for location, a small hike may just be the answer. From pristine waterfalls to exotic plants, this location is second to none for nature lovers. Be sure to hike up the mountain before hand to find the perfect time for lighting for your photos. Wooded areas may only receive minimal light throughout the day. Read More→

Categories : Guest Bloggers, Inspiration, Make Better Photographs
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5 Tips for Photographing Dogs

By Guest
Thursday, November 17th, 2011

Dogs, they’re unpredictable and full of fun. I love dogs and love having the opportunity to photograph them, so I am always up for that challenge. For those of you who are new to pet photography, here are some tips to help you adjust to working with man’s best friend.

1. Location
Location plays a huge role in the overall demeanor of a dog. My first choice would be to photograph a dog at their home. They are already familiar with the home or yard and will quickly adapt to someone new being in their territory. Many pet parents would prefer the dog to be photographed on-location rather than at their home. Be prepared to take some extra time before the shoot for the dog to sniff and scope out the area. Not only are they in a new location, but they also need to warm up to a new person as well. I request clients arrive 15-minutes prior to the session so the dog can start adjusting to the location.

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Categories : Make Better Photographs, Pet Photography
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Droidography – Shooting Tips with Droid Phones – Numero Tres

By Craig Johnson
Thursday, June 30th, 2011

If you have read my previous two columns on this subject “Droidography – Shooting Tips with Droid Phones” and “Droidography – Shooting Tips with Droid Phones, Part Deux“, hopefully you thought the information was useful enough to read this third and final one on Shooting Tips with Droid Phones (or any cell phone camera!). Cell Phone cameras have come a long way and they are only going to get better!

9. Im Ready for my Closeup, Mr. Director – Most of the new Droids have a Macro Setting which is very useful for closeup shots. You will have to manually select it in order to be sure it turns on for those closeups photos you seek. Also as mentioned in an earlier column, don’t forget to turn it back off or set your lens to auto. Otherwise your longer distance shots are going to be noisy, blurry, and just all around look crappy. Usually if you leave you camera setting on “auto” it will automatically adjust for the shot but not always. Sometimes you may have to manually select it for the shot you want.

Macro On

Macro off

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Categories : Make Better Photographs, Phoneography
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Droidography – Shooting tips with Droid Phones, Part Deux

By Craig Johnson
Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

If you read last week’s post you saw some tips (hopefully helpful ones!) I plan on continuing that this week and at least next week also. I have a Droid and I use to it take a lot of my photos, but these tips can help you with improving your photos with any cell phone based camera. We got to be Zombie extras in a feature film shooting locally in Pittsburg TX called Humans vs. Zombies and will be using some shots from today as our examples.

5. Keep it Clean – If you are like me and have a cell phone with an abnormally large case, it gets stuffed in a pants pocket, backpack, or purse on a regular basis. In doing so you can gather a lot of FUNK, for lack of a better word, on your camera lens. Therefore it is very important to clean it with a regular camera lens cleaner, cleaning cloth, or some other approved method. Be careful as many cell phone lenses are plastic and can scratch easily. Blow lightly first to remove any surface FUNK. Just removing the buildup of dirt, hairballs, and other assorted FUNK can go a long way toward improving your photos. Also if you have any cases on your phone that will remove easily, do so often to remove any FUNK buildup between the case and the phone. WARNING: Do not use water or any harsh cleaners to remove the FUNK from your phone. This can kill it! Trust me on that.

Keeping it clean!

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Categories : Make Better Photographs, Phoneography
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Droidography – Shooting Tips with Droid phones

By Craig Johnson
Thursday, June 16th, 2011

So far if you have been reading my columns, I have reviewed several apps that are out there. Trust me there are tons more and most of them are free or cheap unlike the iphone. This week I thought I would take a break from that and give a few pointers on getting good cell phone pictures, particularly focusing (no pun intended) on Droid phones. I think the best way to approach this subject is to offer a few suggestions in each of my next few columns. Hopefully these tips can improve you photos and help realize what the limitations (currently) they have.

1. Don’t Zoom! – If you have been spending anytime at all looking at the settings on your Droid’s phone, you have probably noticed it has a Zoom feature. I am asking something very difficult of you, don’t use it. Here is why…its a digital zoom. Most cameras these days even the point and shoot variety have digital zoom of course, but they also have optical zoom as well. Let me explain the difference and show you example images of a zoomed in shot and an unzoomed shot. Optical zoom uses actual lenses to magnify an image whereas digital zoom gives the appearance of zooming by cropping a photo, adding pixels, and so forth to compensate for lack of a motor-driven lens. Lets look at a couple of examples.

Silktree Zoomed in 4X

Silktree unzoomed

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Categories : Make Better Photographs, Phoneography
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