Photography podcast – photography blog – Photography.ca

Underdog photo exhibition – Montreal

Yesterday I went to see the Underdog photography exhibition in Montreal. It’s a gallery specifically opened to sell beautiful prints of shelter dogs AND have dogs there at the gallery (from shelters across Montreal) that are available for adoption. The photographs are by photographer Jaime LeBlanc and they are well done indeed. All the money from the sale of the images goes to shelters. This image was taken at the exhibition yesterday with my cameraphone.

Today was supposed to be the last day until 7pm at 4922 Sherbrooke W. (514) 969 3376
BUT the response has been so amazing that they are continuing the exhibition for a short while.

Tags: dog photography, underdog

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Point and Shoot cameras are good

So you are into your DSLR or SLR, and cannot imagine using another camera… especially a point and shoot camera, right? Well they are often a good thing to have on hand in addition to your DSLR .

Point and shoots (P&S) aren’t ideal for learning photography. In fact they are a bad choice. Why? Because you can’t do many important things on most point and shoots (like change lenses, learn to manually focus a lens, manually meter easily, change shutter speeds easily etc.) that are essential when learning photography.

But – for someone that already knows photography, a point and shoot is very convenient due to its way smaller size. Many photographers want to have a camera with them at all times because there are always photographic possibilities around us.

Would I ever bring a point and shoot to a paying gig?  Maybe as a 3rd emergency backup. The cliche about not bringing a knife to a gunfight holds true for paying gigs and cheap cameras. But when I’m not shooting, I want to relax without all the gear. I still need to carry protection (the P&S ) though, just in case.

Which point and shoot should you get?  There’s way too many out there to list. One that I have my eye on that seems like it may be tasty treat is the Canon PowerShot G11. It’s supposed to be out in October. Buying/ordering through the B&H link above helps support the site. Thx.

Tags: point and shoot cameras

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72 – Exposure compensation

Photography podcast #72 discusses how to use exposure compensation. It’s a fairly simple concept that just means deviating away from (or compensating against)  the camera meter’s recommended exposure to make the image brighter or darker. We also talk about which camera modes you’ll want to use exposure compensation with, and I discuss why program mode sucks and should be avoided. Even though exposure compensation in photography is an easy concept, I discuss the reasoning behind it, why I frequently use it and why you should too.

The exposure compensation dial on the Canon G10

Links /resources mentioned in this podcast:

Original suggestion thread from our forum – Thanks Iggy!
September’s “New Beginnings” assignment on the Photography.ca forum
Please join the Photography.ca fan page on Facebook
My Facebook profile – Feel free to “friend” me
My Twitter page – I will follow you if you follow me (Hey that’s a Gabriel lyric) – Let’s connect

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

Thanks to Nijip, jacklabel, jabber and Tom Restis who posted a blog comment about our last podcast. 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: exposure compensation, photography

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Photographing Tattoos – Tatoo photography

We easily acquire tips to photograph flowers, people, and still life. Yet one subject that often doesn’t have clear cut tips and directions is photographing tattoos. This subject is art in itself, and to effectively shoot this piece requires not only patience and an eye for composition, but also tips from people that have already done it.

Tip one: Do not use a tripod unless you have a specific effect (e.g blur) in mind. It is likely going to limit your moving around and will take extra time to set up for each shot.

Tip two: If possible, shoot outside if you’re new to the game, or use great window light, it’s so much easier. Pay attention to clutter and distractions though. Be aware of what’s in the frame, what’s out of the frame, and make decisions on what to include or chop.

Tip Three:  Easier light to handle might be around sunset time or on a cloudy day with diffused light. A reflector like white cardboard can help if needed.

Tip Four: If you already know how to work with flash and/or are comfortable with your technique, feel free to shoot in a tattoo shop if you get the permission. You’ll likely get cool effects if you try slower shutter speeds on their own and/or mixed with flash.

You can find loads of fine tattoo photography in the gallery at vanishingtatoo.com

Tags: photography, tatoo, tatoo photography

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Portrait without a head

Do all portraits need a head or is it okay to frame or crop a photo so that it is headless? Most times I’d say, “for the love of God include the head”. Normally we connect with the subject of a portrait primarily by looking at the subject’s eyes, which reveal much about the person being photographed.

But….once you know the rules, you can try to break them to achieve a particular result. This image is a good example of a headless portrait that works IMO. If we try to analyze WHY it works, it works because the coupled elements tell a story. The Jake tattoo on the hand coupled with the suit, coupled with the Royal Monaco car actually tell a SPECIFIC story. These are all elements of the movie The Blues Brothers and both the photographer and I likely show our age by knowing this fact.

However, even if I did not catch the Blues Brothers connection, for me this shot still works. The elements are still there. The tattoo, older freckled skin, suit and older car all suggest a story. The fact that the shot is in black and white reinforce this fact. It’s up to the viewer to extract the story for themselves, but all the elements are there.

Okay then – do you agree? What do YOU think about this shot and the concept of a headless portrait?

Many thanks to 1putts of our photography forum for allowing me to use this image. Here’s the original photo.

Tags: photography portraits, portraits

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The truth about polarizing filters

The truth about polarizing filters is that every photographer should have one in his/her bag at all times. It is possibly THE single most important and  useful photo accessory you’ll own. When there is light outdoors, this filter is on my camera the vast majority of the time.

A CPOL (circular polarizing filter) can be used any time you’re in the outdoors, especially in the bright sun. It reduces reflections, and deepens/saturates colors like a blue sky. In bright sun,  you’ll often get skies that are blown out if you don’t use this filter. It makes the sky much bluer and richer looking in many cases without really affecting the other tones in the image. You will note the greatest results when the sun is low in the sky (so early morning and later afternoon/evening). The CPOL will not help your color and saturation much on overcast days, or when the sun is high in the sky.

For more information on this amazing little gadget, including a little insight into the ‘rule of thumb’ when using a CPOL, visit this link on polarizers in our photography forum

Here’s a link from B&H where you can look at or purchase different polarizers.
Buying from this link helps support our site.

Tags: circular polarizer, polarizing filters

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