Watch Where You Place Your Subject
Your subject (here, a young woman), does not exist in a vacuum. What you select as her posing environment and how you pose her is critical to the quality of your shot. Everything that will appear in the final photograph determines its success or failure. This model and I were wandering around a local college when we happened onto this lecture hall. Its appeal to me was its starkness and that it afforded many posing possibilities. For this image, I did two things. I placed the model in an unusual position, and I selected her location so that tables and chairs would be visible in front of and behind her. If I had included less of the lecture hall in the shot, it would not have been as interesting. It is the combination of her and her environment that make this shot, I hope, rather interesting.
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Wandering AroundI spend lots of time wandering the streets of downtown Hartford, Connecticut (I live and work nearby), searching for images to market through my stock photography business. I always am amazed at the number of photo possibilities in that city. Each image I shoot needs to show a concept or tell a little bit of a story, which I think is a good idea for any photo. When I saw these lights and sign, it seemed to make sense that they should be photographed together. I also was excited by the dynamic looking sky, realizing that it would really spice up the image. I took several images, when the lights were red, yellow, and green. The red lights seemed to work the best.
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How Clean is Your Lens?
Crud (that is not the technical term for it) eventually will accumulate on the front element of your lens and will need to be removed. My method of choice involves a blower (such as an ear syringe), lens paper, and liquid lens cleaner. I begin by blowing off the dust that is on the lens. Sometimes nothing more is required. However, if dirt is adhering to the lens, a bit more work will be needed. Remove about four sheets of lens paper. Put a drop or two of the lens cleaner onto two sheets. Using a circular motion, clean the lens. Then use the other two sheets to wipe dry the lens. Use the blower again to remove any particles from the lens paper. That should do it. Please remember that you should only use lens paper and lens cleaner made specifically for camera lenses.
Crud (that is not the technical term for it) eventually will accumulate on the front element of your lens and will need to be removed. My method of choice involves a blower (such as an ear syringe), lens paper, and liquid lens cleaner. I begin by blowing off the dust that is on the lens. Sometimes nothing more is required. However, if dirt is adhering to the lens, a bit more work will be needed. Remove about four sheets of lens paper. Put a drop or two of the lens cleaner onto two sheets. Using a circular motion, clean the lens. Then use the other two sheets to wipe dry the lens. Use the blower again to remove any particles from the lens paper. That should do it. Please remember that you should only use lens paper and lens cleaner made specifically for camera lenses.
Lights! Camera!! Action!!!
Try putting some action into your photographs! Anytime you can get away from a static pose, you have a much better chance of pulling off a more dynamic picture. This photo was made using two strobes bounced off the ceiling and back wall. The strobes, as opposed to just available light, were necessary in order to stop the action so no blurring would occur. I asked the mother to try moving her son around a bit, while staying in a predefined area of the bed. I took probably 25 shots; many of them were out-of-focus or just not very good. This one, I believe, worked rather well.