Photography podcast – photography blog – Photography.ca

Shooting good portraits

The perfect portrait doesn’t exist because there is always someone that won’t like it
That said, there are a few basic tips that can help you get more interesting and more flattering portraits.

~ Watch which way your lighting is coming in and check the quality of the light. Softer diffused light is a much better light for flattering portraits than harsh direct light. Although backlight is amazing for dramatic interesting portraits, it’s harder to work with especially for someone newer to photography. Using front light, sidelight, and 3/4 light along with fill light from a secondary flash  or reflector will bring your portrait skills up a notch.
~ Adjust your aperture so that the background blurs out a bit and more focus is placed on your subject.
~ Alter your perspective by taking the shot from a different angle rather than eye level. This can really change the ‘wow’ factor of your photo.
~  Play with eye contact – it does wonders to a photograph when your subject’s focus is on something else.

Shooting the perfect portrait may seem daunting, but keeping useful tips in mind when doing so will make portrait photography a ’snap’.

More tips can be found at: http://www.photography.ca/Forums/showthread.php?t=2393

Tags: photography, photography portraits, portraits

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65 – Color casts – correcting color casts – Interview with Dominic Fuizzotto

Photography podcast #65 features an interview with Montreal Wedding photographer Dominic Fuizzotto. In the interview we talk about why colour casts happen and how to correct colour casts.  When images have a colour cast they usually just don’t look right and it is our job as photographers to get rid of bad colour casts.

The image at left has a strong yellow/orange cast. We see the cast in the bride's dress which is NOT white. The cast is removed in the photo on the right and the bride's dress is now white. Thanks to Dominic Fuizzotto for these examples.

One IMPORTANT thing that I forgot to mention in the podcast is that on the rare occasion you may actually WANT to introduce a colour cast into an image as in the photo below. This can be done easily in Photoshop but it can also be done by using gels on lights or by setting your camera’s white balance to the wrong setting on purpose.

This image has a deliberate green/yellow cast. Most times you don't want this but sometimes like in this shot, it works and adds to the shot.

The colour wheel in photography

This is the colour wheel that most photographers use whether they know it or not.  White light is made of red, green and blue light. The complimentary or opposite colours of red, green and blue are cyan, magenta and yellow respectively. In order to reduce a colour cast, we need to introduce its opposite into the image.  Therefore, if an image has a blue cast we reduce that cast by adding yellow into the image.

Links mentioned in this podcast:
Dominic Fuizzotto Photography
April’s portrait assignment on the Photography.ca forum

If you are still lurking on our forum,
feel free to join our friendly Photography forum

Thanks as always to everyone that sent comments by email about our last podcast. Although ALL comments are appreciated, commenting directly in this blog is preferred. Thanks as well to all the new members of the bulletin board.

If you are looking at this material on any other site except Photography.ca – Please hop on over to the Photography.ca blog and podcast and get this and other photography info directly from the source. I Subscribe with iTunes I Subscribe via RSS feed I Subscribe with Google Reader I Subscribe for free to the Photography podcast – Photography.ca and get all the posts/podcasts by Email
You can download this photography podcast directly by clicking the preceding link or listen to it almost immediately with the embedded player below.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Tags: color casts, colour casts, photography

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Thoughts on Borders

When we print out photographs or purchase pieces of art on canvas, we generally get these art pieces framed to ‘finish’ the look. Well how about photographs posted online? Many people are now posting their photographs online with a border to complement the piece. But does it really complement?

Some might feel that borders are distracting to the visual elements in the photo. A border can further destroy a photo if it’s too overwhelming to the subject at hand.

Others can’t do without the borders; they serve to help make the photo ‘pop’, make the photo a tad more elegant, or depending on the color and context of the photo, can also complement the elements in the photograph.

Just as every photographer has their own tastes in their photo subjects, they also have their own opinions on borders as a creative element. Essentially, it’s all up to the artist and how they feel their creativity should be displayed.

PHOTO FORUM LINK: http://www.photography.ca/Forums/showthread.php?t=3049

Tags: borders photography

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Photography.ca winning member images from March 09

For the past few months we have added a new feature on our photography bulletin board where the Admin on Photography.ca (Me, Marko),  chooses 1 photo that he thinks is great and talks about the photo. The Bicycle photo below titled Eqinox by thierrylaurent was my choice for this month. (check the previous link for the explanation).

We have lots of photographs being submitted each month on our forum for critiques, assignments or just to show the photo. Choosing thierrylaurent’s photo as the ‘winner’ took  many hours of careful sifting. Given that it took so long to choose, I came across many many many close contenders. Seems like a waste of time just to include 1 photo so I’d like to include 2 honourable mentions right here.

If you haven’t joined our forum I would encourage you to do so. We are an extremely friendly bunch that share and learn daily.

Here’s the winning photo:

Equinox by thierrylaurent

Here are the 2 honourable mentions

Dead flowers selenium toned by raiven

Recovery by Michaelaw

Tags: winning member images

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A Mad Moment – Life in Your Hands – Mad Aussie

As photographers we often find ourselves in all manner of situations, and sometimes, our morality can be tested. Do we take the picture of the little girl because we think she is a little cutie? Should we take a photo of that auto accident? Take the photo, or let the little creature die? These are just a few examples.

Just what boundaries lie out there for us? Where and how do we find those boundaries and limits within ourselves? What subjects and elements are off limits to you personally when you have your camera in your hot, little hands?

Recently in our forums I posed a couple of questions to explore this line of thought. You can see those threads by clicking the links below. I think you might find the discussions interesting AND, I hope, you’ll even consider joining the forum yourself and telling us your thoughts as well.

Forum Threads

Life in Your Hands

Off Limits

By Mad Aussie – Photography.ca blog contributor & forum member
www.astrovisual.com.au
www.astrovisualphotography.com.au
www.istockimages.com.au

Tags: photography morality limits choices

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DPI & PPI

A lesson in Photography often overlooks the famous acronyms of DPI and PPI. Two things that often confuse the heck out of people. Why is it that some images show on your computer at 72 DPI when you set your camera to the highest resolution? And How does DPI differ from PPI, I mean, can one letter in the acronym really make all that different? YES. Let’s gander at the answer to these questions, shall we?

Let’s start with PPI. Pixels per Inch. This will affect the print size of your photo and will in turn affect the quality of the output. If there are too few pixels per inch, then the pixels will be very large and you will get a very pixilated image, thus affecting the quality of the output. There are 2 ways that you can change the print size, by resampling or by not resampling. Not resampling is what you generally want to do; this will only change the size of the print out. Using resampling will actually change the number of pixels (and thus the file size) in order to match the print size.

DPI on the other hand refers only to the printer – Dots per Inch. Every pixel output is made up of different colors of ink (generally 4 or 6 colors – depending on your printer). Due to the small amount of colors available, the printer needs to be able to mix these inks to make up all the colors of the image. So each pixel of the image is created by a series of tiny dots. A high DPI printer has more dots making up each pixel, and thus a higher and better quality image output. Vice versa for a lower quality DPI printer.

People often use the terms of DPI and PPI as one common one, which is really not the case. They are both different, and thus should be used as so.

PHOTOGRAPHY FORUM LINK: http://www.photography.ca/Forums/showthread.php?p=11200

Tags: DPI, PPI, resolution

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Is it still art?

This photo, and others of similar nature are considered ‘art’ by some, but far from it by others. So is it Art? Or can you argue that this, along with an ad for toothpaste, is just a form of publicity and not artistic?

Well,  Art has different meanings for different people and there is no one answer for this issue. Think about it… have you ever been to a museum and seen a canvas completely painted in indigo blue? This is top of the line art according to avid artists. To others, this is simply a waste of paint and canvas. Or how about those early black & white nudes, otherwise known as “early porn”. Time managed to somehow evolve these photos into art. Or let us reflect on thousands of years back, when the cavemen wrote on the cave walls to communicate and tell a story. Today, these drawings are etched in all art historians’ minds as the works of masters.

So truly, art and beauty is in the eye of the beholder and according to Edward Degas: “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see”.

Obviously the ‘artist’ of this photo wanted us to see something… A LOT of something.

FORUM LINK: http://www.photography.ca/Forums/showthread.php?t=570

Tags: art, fine art photography, photography

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How to Vignette

How to make a perfect Vignette… add 1 cup oil to ½ cup vinegar, dash with… now wait a minute. Not Vinaigrette. VIGNETTE. It’s the amazing effect of having the central portion of the image showing while the rest of the image is darkened. Photographers can apply this effect to their photos to add more emphasis to their subject.

Photoshop provides numerous methods to master the vignette. Want some insight? You can use an elliptical marquee tool, inverse the selection, and blur the four corners. You can also brighten or darken the four corners by working with the level balance on the inversed selection. Lens correction (Filter – Distort) also works well for adding a vignette. These are only two methods, but there are certainly more.

But what about those who prefer working in a darkroom to achieve their artistic photo effects? In the darkroom, this is done by holding an opaque material with a circle or oval cut-out during the exposure.

Either way, a vignette can add drama or even soften a photograph all at once. The possibilities are endless.

FORUM LINK: http://www.photography.ca/Forums/showthread.php?p=17647

Tags: borders, emphasis, photoshop, vignette

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64 – Finding good photography subjects

Photography podcast #64 talks about how to find good photography subjects and was a suggestion by our photography forum member F8&Bthere. Sometimes we go through periods where it’s difficult to get out there and take photos. Often this happens in winter time when it’s too cold. Sometimes though it happens just because we are blocked. This podcast offers up quite a few tips and ideas on finding interesting photographic subjects for indoor and outdoor shooting.  Use it as a laxative to help unblock you.

Links mentioned in this podcast:
F8&Bthere’s original suggestion thread
Additional ideas from 365 photos in 2009 (thanks raiven)

If you are still lurking on our forum,
feel free to join our friendly Photography forum

Thanks as always to Benny, justaleecher and realestatecurve who posted a blog comment about our last podcast and to all the new members of the bulletin board.

If you are looking at this material on any other site except Photography.ca – Please hop on over to the Photography.ca blog and podcast and get this and other photography info directly from the source. I Subscribe with iTunes I Subscribe via RSS feed I Subscribe with Google Reader I Subscribe for free to the Photography podcast – Photography.ca and get all the posts/podcasts by Email
You can download this photography podcast directly by clicking the preceding link or listen to it almost immediately with the embedded player below.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Tags: inspiration, photography, photography subjects

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