1. Describe your photography in 100 words or less.
I’m passionate about light in my photography, be it ambient or fully controlled in the studio. I love mood and drama and creating it where it wouldn’t otherwise exist. For fashion, it’s all about the clothes: shape, form & texture. The whole works. And it’s about the team, your stylist, makeup artist and hair stylist. It really is a collaboration, making more than the sum of your parts.

2. What gear/software do you use?
Camera wise I’m a Canon system user, but I also shoot film on a Mamiya 645j. For lighting, I’m using Elinchrom generally, with the Quadra system making up my location lighting. I do shot Strobist style with speedlights too. It’s all about the tool that fits the job. Software wise, I use Lightroom for most of my work and Photoshop where more extensive retouching is required. Recently I’ve been doing a lot more compositing as well.

3. What’s one quick tip that you’d give people interested in fashion photography?
Find a team, especially a stylist. Ultimately they’re the ones that choose and make the clothes look great. Hair and Makeup finish the look and then you use that to complete your vision.

4. What 3 Photography Sites or Photo blogs do you recommend?
Design Scene and Fashion Gone Rogue are great sites for seeing current fashion magazine work. As for fashion photographers, Melissa Rodwell’s Fashion Photography Blog is pure gold. She’s not prolific writing wise, but when she does post, it’s worth taking a break for.

To view more of Sean’s photography visit his web site at http://seanmcfoto.com

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

3 Minutes with Photographer Sean McCormack

11. Photo Editing
As you photo edit, selecting the best photos of an image set, learn to separate your photo from your photo taking experience. Invariably every photographer remembers the moment they took a photo or the journey it took to get that photo and become emotionally invested. One’s personal adventures and journeys add a lot to the meaning of an image to you the photographer, but more times than not that is not what a viewer sees or experiences. A photo viewer sees a visual representation of a very brief moment in time,  usually without context to know more about the effort taken to get the photo or the emotional significance of those in the photo. Learning to see through the cloud of your emotional investment will allow you to more clearly evaluate and edit your work.

12. Follow A Photo Hero
Since my original article was published on DPS back in 2008 several amateur and professional photographers have been able to make full use of Social Media to the make themselves easy to follow and approach on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. Follow your photo hero(s) via social media sites. If one photographer more than another is someone whom you’re inspired by then take note of their photo philosophy, influences, recommended reading and build on their influence to help you grow and define yourself as an individual photographer rather than a clone.

13. Professional Critiques and Workshops
While the Internet provides us all with great free or nearly free online resources nothing matches the one-on-one instruction of a professional photographer. As you grow as a photographer it will pay to get the personal guidance and advice of a professional to help you achieve your goals. Whether your goals are to successfully photograph specific subjects, find new ways to think creatively, learn specific software or become more technically proficient with your camera private workshops or critique sessions can put you on a fast track to grow and improve.

14. Find a Photography Mentor
Find someone at a higher level of skill than you to mentor you and go out and take photographs with. A mentor could be a close friend, an acquaintance or a professional photographer. In working with a mentor you’ll get direct in-person feedback to questions, pick up ideas and solutions that you might have never thought to ask about in online forums and enjoy a closer camaraderie with someone you know and respect.

15. Inspiration + Education = eBooks
In the past few years there has been a renaissance in the world of self-publishing and several photographers have taken advantage by releasing eBooks in the form of PDFs, ePub files and mobile applications. eBooks are far more comprehensive than blogs and are a great alternative to traditional books as they can contain a level of interactivity you might be more accustomed to seeing on a web page. eBooks are often written focusing on specific topics and techniques and can be a great resource to learn and help you improve as a photographer. More prominent eBook resources include DPS eBooks, Inspired Exposure, Craft and Vision, Flatbooks, DIYPhotography and individual authors such as Guy Tal, Dan Bailey, & William Neill to name a few.

16. Go to Step 1
Re-read 10 Ways to Top Your Best 2008 Photographs often.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Year In Review: 6 More Ways to Top Your Best Photos

At the conclusion of every year I’ve adopted the tradition of reviewing my year in photos, picking my 10 best photos and evaluating those that were near misses. This exercise is something I’ve written about on DPS in  How to Top Your Best 2008 Photos and Year In Review: 6 More Ways to Top Your Best Photos and is something I consider to be critical to my success and growth as a photographer. On my blog I encourage my readers to adopt this exercise and to share their results in my annual Best of Photos blog project. In addition to benefiting from the underlying effort of evaluating your work and identifying areas of growth, accessing a list of best work by other photographers provides a spring of inspiration to launch participants into the new year.

Participants in this years “Best Photos of 2011″ blog project spanned a spectrum of skill levels from hobbyists to professionals and covered a wide variety of genres. There are likely many names you’ll recognize below and many others you won’t. I highly recommend visiting each entry as I have. Even after 5 years of running this blog project I’m blown away by the talent and creativity of those that take part. It is truly inspirational to see so much creativity and beauty. If your curious to see photos I personally enjoyed look out for the entries with *** next to them.

If you have not yet taken stock of your 2011 photographs, it’s not too late. Share your best of 2011 photo sets from your blog, Flickr, 500px, Google+ or Facebook by adding a link in the comments below.

Best Photos of 2011
content courtesy of JMG-Galleries

1. JMG-Galleries Best Photos of 2011 – Jim M. Goldstein
2. Dalal al-Dhubaib’s flickr – Dalal al-dhobaib
3. www.mawpix.com – Matthias Wassermann
4. 2011 Retrospective – Alex Wise
5. Jon McCormack Photography – Jon McCormack ***
6. Top 10 of 2011 a Exploring Light Photography – Chris Moore
7. The year in review: My favorite 2011 Photos – Ed Rosack
8. Dave Wilson Photography – Dave Wilson
9. Top 10 from Behind The Clicks – Mohammad Noman
10. Art in Nature Photography: Best of 2011 – Floris van Breugel ***
11. Alaska Photography – Mike Criss
12. My best photos from 2011 – Lasse Sørnes
13. http://www.500px.com/photo/3230405 – Keivan Zavari
14. My Five Best Images of 2011 – Peter Cox ***
15. My Top 10 images of 2011 – Charlie Widdis Photography
16. MY TOP PHOTOS FROM 2011 – Chaz Curry ***
17. Best of 2011 – Juan Guevara
18. Stories From Home – David Patterson
19. My Best Of 2011 – The Photographs – Sven Seebeck
20. The Uprooted Photographer – Zach Frailey
21. Top ten wildlife photos of 2011 – Burrard-Lucas Wildlife Photography ***
22. Eleven From Twenty Eleven – Jacob F. Lucas ***
23. My ten favorite photos of 2011 – Stefan Bäurle
24. Changing Perspectives – Jenni Brehm
25. 2011 Top 10 Photos – Andrei Olariu
26. Best Photos of 2011 – Ahmed Almuhairi
27. Favorite Photos of 2011 – Pat Ulrich ***
28. Top 11 of 2011 – Younes Bounhar
29. Natural California – John Wall ***
30. 2011 – A Review – Jim Denham
31. yeeehah.com – William R. Bullock
32. 2011Top11 – Kate Church
33. Top Ten Photos of 2011 – Steve Cole
34. Top 10 of 2011 – Brian Rueb ***
35. http://www.davidjohnstonart.com/index.html – David Johnston
36. 7 Images of Denver in 2011 – Neil Corman
37. My Top 10 for 2011 – Lon Overacker
38. Craig Ferguson Images | The Year That Was – Craig Ferguson
39. My Best Images of 2011 – Clark Crenshaw
40. “Sort of the best of 2011: ants – Jeroen Mentens
41. Best Photos Of 2011 – Dawnstar Australis – Daniel McNamara
42. Skolai Images – Carl Donohue ***
43. Favorite 10 of 2011 – Alan Dahl ***
44. Tony’s Blog – Tony Unwin
45. Best of 2011_Laurie Rubin – Laurie Rubin ***
46. FlixelPix Best Photos of 2011 – David Cleland
47. Ilja Melnikov – Ilja Melnikov
48. Best of 2011 – Rob Tilley ***
49. Free Roaming Photography 12 Best Photos from 2011 – Mike Cavaroc ***
50. Adventures Through the Lens: 2011 in Review – Rebecca R Jackrel ***
51. Top Photos of 2011 by Gary Crabbe / Enlightened Images – Gary Crabbe ***
52. My 10 Best Photos of 2011 – Michael Russell
53. Digitized Chaos’ 2011 faves – Rian Castillo
54. Top 10 Photos of 2011 – Mike Chowla
55. John Fujimagari’s Best of 2011 – John Fujimagari
56. 10 Best Landscape Photos of 2011 – Cody Duncan ***
57. Best photos from 2011 – Janis Janums
58. Best Photos Of 2011 – David Leland Hyde ***
59. PhotogAbby’s Photoviews – Abigail Gossage
60. Do Not Get On or Off While in Motion – G. Kaltenbrun
61. Tony Wu’s Underwater Photography Blog – Tony Wu ***
62. 12 Months – 12 Favourite Images – Petr Hlavacek | NZICESCAPES IMAGES ***
63. Alpenglow Images | Greg Russell Best of 2011 – Greg Russell ***
64. An End of Year Retrospective for 2011 – The Top 11 Images of ’11 – Derrald Farnsworth-Livingston
65. 11 from ’11 – Dru Stefan Stone
66. William Neill’s Top Forty Images for 2011 – William Neill ***
67. Dave’s Best Of 2011 – Dave Reichert
68. 10 Best Photos of 2011 by Scott Thompson – Scott Thompson – Scott Shots Photography
69. My best 10 images of 2011? – Duffy Knox
70. My 5 Top Photos from 2011 and Photography Year in Review – Tommy Holt
71. Russ Bishop Photography – Russ Bishop ***
72. My Top 10 Favourite Images of 2011 – John Dunne Photography
73. Asif Patel Photography – TopPhotos2011 – Asif Patel
74. The Best of 2011 – Neil McShane (aka Mononeil) ***
75. Top Nature Photographs of 2011 by Mark Graf – Mark Graf ***
76. Year 2011 in 10 photos. – Filip Lucin
77. Views Infinitum: Best of 2011 – Scott Thomas
78. Dobson Central Photography – Top 10 Photos of 2011 – Ken Dobson
79. “The Best of Myrmecos – Alex Wild ***
80. Your Favorite Shots from 2011 – Fred S. Brundick
81. Patrick Gensel – The Best Of 2011 – Patrick Gensel
82. 100 Favorite pictures from 2011 – Patrick J Endres
83. My Ten Favorite Photos of 2011 – Randy Langstraat
84. KennethVerburg.nl – Kenneth Verburg ***
85. Naturography: My Top 5 for 2011 – Mike Spinak ***
86. Edith Levy Photography – 2011 A Year in Review – Edith Levy
87. G Dan Mitchell Photography – G Dan Mitchell ***
88. Jonesblog – Bryan William Jones
89. Timages’ 2011 Top Ten – Tim Mulcahy
90. naturalvision-photo.com – Derek Griggs
91. Favorites of the Year: 2011 – Ken Trout
92. Beetles in the Bush – Ted C. MacRae
93. Chuqui 3.0 – Chuq Von Rospach
94. Peter Carroll Photography – Peter Carroll
95. My photos of 2011 – Frederico Quintao
96. http://raptorgallery.wordpress.com – Glenn Nevill
97. Best of 2011 – Brad Barton Photography – Brad Barton Photography ***
98. Rocky Mountain National Park 2011 / Non-Rocky Best of 2011 – Erik Stensland
99. My Favorite/Best Photographs of 2011 – Inge Fernau
100. Best Photos of 2011 – Ryan Golias
101. Best of 2011 – Larry Rosenstein
102. Best of 2011 – Mellimage
103. The Quiet Picture – Year 2011 In Pictures – Minna Kinnunen
104. My personal Top 10 images from 2011 – Alexander S. Kunz / Daylight Colors
105. 11 Best of 2011 – Olivier Du Tré ***
106. Best Photos of 2011 – Jim Coda ***
107. Living Wilderness: Best Images of 2011 – Kevin Ebi ***
108. Oxherder Arts – Best of 2011 – Don Schulte
109. my best images of 2011 – Rhoda Maurer ***
110. http://www.stamates.com – Jim Stamates
111. Organic Light Pan – Youssef Ismail ***
112. Rick Diffley Photography – Rick Diffley Photography
113. Best Images of 2011 – Robin Black ***
114. PhotoWalkPro – Jeff Revell
115. Highlights from 2011 – Roman W. Schatz
116. Uncommon Depth – Roberta Murray ***
117. TKM Journal – Highlights of 2011 – Kent Mearig
118. Amanda Herbert’s best of 2011 – Amanda Herbert Photography
119. Google+ – Umes Shrestha
120. Anne McKinnell’s Top 10 Images of 2011 – Anne McKinnell
121. Best Photos of 2011 – Jim Maher
122. www.fredmertzphotography.com – Fred Mertz
123. Top 10 Photos of 2011 – Ireena Worthy
124. 11 in 2011 – My Favorite Photos – Debra Feinman
125. 2011 Top Ten Plant Photos By John Manuwal Photography – John Manuwal
126. www.azaelmeza.com – Azael Meza
127. David Sharp – The Best of 2012 – David Sharp ***
128. Looking back at 2011 – Ivan Makarov ***
129. Best Photos of 2011 – Pete Miller – USKestrel Adventography
130. My favorite 10 of 2011 – John Christopher
131. Neil Creek – Photographer – Neil Creek ***
132. JohnLPhoto Best of 2011 – John Lemen
133. Momentary Awe – Catalin ***
134. 2011 Top Ten – Andrew S Gibson
135. “Crest, Cliff and Canyon – A. Jackson Frishman
136. 2011 – A Good Year – Margaret Summers
137. Favorite Photos from 2011 – Richard Wong *** – Richard Wong
138. latoga photography – Favorite Photos of 2011 – Greg A. Lato
139. Looking Back – 2011 – Derek Fogg
140. My Photo Blog – Ron Niebrugge’s favorite photos from 2011 – Ron Niebrugge ***
141. My 10 Favorite Photos of 2011 – Dan Bailey ***
142. My 11 favorites from 2011 – Kurt M. Lawson Photography ***
143. Happy New Year – Lori Ann Cole
144. My Top 10 Mixture – Ashley Cottle
145. Google+ Beach Photography – Jennifer Brinkman
146. Top 10 images of 2011 – Denise Goldberg
147. www.azaelmeza.com – Azael Meza
148. Erwin Kessing Photography – Erwin Kessing
149. The Closing of the Year – Eustace James
150. Mark Feenstra Photography: 10 Favourites from 2011 – Mark Feenstra
151. Best Photos of 2011 – Ingo Meckmann ***
152. Dynamics of Light and Shade – Richard Murphy
153. My 20 Best from 2011 – David Maurer
154. Top11 2011 – Patrick Ottoy
155. Best of 2011 – David Edenfield
156. Little Time Machine – This was 2011 – Pete Carr
157. The Owl and the Wildcat – Jen Joynt
158. Best of 2011 – Alison Wells
159. My 2011 Best Nature and Landscape Photographs – Steve Sieren ***
160. Best photos of 2011 on Flickr – Jono Hey
161. Best Photos of 2011 – Ken Snyder
162. Best Photos of 2011 by Ilya Genkin – Ilya Genkin ***
163. My best of 2011 – Terri Jacobson
164. Piya Trepetch Photography – Top Ten Images from 2011 – Piya Trepetch
165. My Best 10 Pictures for 2011 – Barbara Newson
166. Woo’s 2011 in Pictures – Gary Woo
167. My (Possibly) Ten Best Photos from 2011 – Jim McCoy
168. Favorites – 2011 – Daniel Leu ***
169. Closescapes Favourites From 2011. – Marshall Black
170. Nature and Landscape – Small Choice 2011 – Ben Schreck
171. http://wernerpriller.wordpress.com/ – Werner Priller ***
172. Peter de Rooij’s Top 10 for 2011 – Peter de Rooij
173. Best photos of 2011 by ISIK MATER – ISIK MATER
174. Best Photos of 2011 – ysvry
175. Focused Planet Photography – Justin Scicluna
176. Best of 2011 by Carl-Johan Rådström – Carl-Johan Rådström
177. Western Skies Top 11 From 2011 – Björn Göhringer
178. My Best People Shots – Matt Goode
179. Darin Rogers Photography: Best Of… – Darin Rogers
180. http://www.juzno.com/ – Rob Castro
181. Remembering 2011 in Photos – Aaron Hockley ***
182. Favorites From 2011 – Brad Mangas ***
183. Robb Hirsch Best of 2011 – Robb Hirsch ***
184. Best Photos of 2011 – Sathish Jothikumar ***
185. My best underwater photos 2011 – Suzy Walker ***
186. Year 2011 in review and favorite images – QT Luong ***
187. “10 From Michael Toye – Michael Toye
188. Photoimagery.net – Peter McCabe
189. 2011 – Our Favorite Images of the Year – Isabel & Steffen Synnatschke ***
190. ylitalot.net – Juha Ylitalo
191. Top Ten Photos of 2011 – by Brian Grzelewski – Brian Grzelewski
192. Jim Nickelson Favorites of 2011 – Jim Nickelson
193. 2011: My Top Ten Images – Michael Frye ***
194. My Top Images of 2011 – Andrew Kee
195. Favorites of 2011 – Simon Ponder
196. 2011′s Top 10 Picks – Vidya Narasimhan
197. My Top Ten Favourites from 2011 – Adriana Glackin
198. Top Ten of 2011 – Fedor G Pikus
199. Best Photos of 2011 – Hady Moslehi
200. Mara @ Fantasia – Photo Round up of 2011 – Mara Acoma
201. My Journey through 2011 – Kevin Thornhill
202. My 10 personal favorites of 2011 – Marleen Hallaert
203. Favorite Photographs From 2011 – Seung Kye Lee ***
204. Best Photos of 2011 – Michael Gerken
205. Simple Photography – Jay Shah
206. My Top Ten Photos of 2011 – Mike Isaak ***
207. http://lensmankc.com/?p=811 – Amit Jung K.C
208. baliultimatephoto.blogspot.com – Hendra Wiguna
209. My Favourite photos from 2011 – Alan Owens
210. John Dusseault’s top 10 of 2011 – John Dusseault
211. Favorites of 2011 – Plastic[Picture]
212. Farsighted – Ron Artigues
213. Google Plus – Darren Harmon
214. Bill Hornbostel Photography – Bill Hornbostel
215. Korwel Photograpy blog – Iza Korwel
216. Favorite Photos of 2011 – Elizabeth Brown Photography PhotoBlog – Elizabeth Brown
217. 2011 Highlights – Alan Grinberg
218. TJTPhotography.com – Ted Truex
219. Thamer Al-Hassan Photographer – Thamer Al-Hassan
220. Top 11 of ’11 – Brian Arnold
221. Looking Back – 2011 Top Ten – Jessica Sweeney
222. Light Coming Back – Favorite Images of 2011 – Jennifer Durham
223. My Favorite Landscape Photos of 2011 – Joshua Cripps
224. Favorites Photographs from 2011 – Sudheendra Kadri
225. João Almeida Photography – João Almeida
226. Le meilleur de 2011 – The Best of 2011 – Francis Gagnon
227. Five Pictures for 2011 – David Lloyd ***
228. Ian Ference – Google+ Top Photos 2011 – Ian Ference ***
229. Marcin P?kalski – Google+ – Marcin P?kalski
230. www.thephotographerblog.com – Mandy Jones
231. My Top 10 of 2011 – Clement Biger
232. russell.tomlin at Flickr – Russell S Tomlin
233. Yosemite – Sheldon Neill
234. My Top 10 shots for 2011 – Greg Berdan
235. Best of 2011 – Dan Baumbach ***
236. Top Photos 2011 by Mark Dodge Medlin – Mark Dodge Medlin
237. The Carey Adventures – Peter West Carey ***
238. http://www.wildernessadventureimages.com/ – Michael Burkhardt
239. “Looking at the West – Andrew McAllister ***
240. Photos and Ramblings by Steve Mattheis – Steve Mattheis
241. My Favorite Photos of 2011 – Brandon Doran ***
242. Shanti Gilbert – Best Of 2011 – Shanti Gilbert
243. “10 of 2011 – David S. Ottavio
244. Best photos from 2011 – Mark J P
245. Heather’s Flickr – 2011 Top 10 – Heather Wallace
246. Ben Chase Photography – Benjamin Chase
247. Hypo-theses – Ian Stimpson
248. “Best photos of 2011 – Robert Kusztos
249. “Best of 2011 – Anton Huo
250. Best of 2011: JMG Gallery – Stephen Zacharias
251. Flickr Best of 2011 – Esther Reyes
252. My Top 10 of 2011 – The Siggins Photography – Richard Siggins
253. Andrew Benson | Best of 2011 – Andrew Benson
254. http://www.johnpaulcaponigro.com/blog/ – John Paul Caponigro ***
255. Google+ – Jim Davis
256. Beckmann Images – Best of 2011 Images – 500px – Matt Beckmann
257. Google + – Paul Conrad
258. Avelino’s Best of 2011 – Avelino Maestas
259. JMK Photography’s Best of 2011 – J. Krasner
260. Rob Dweck’s Top 10 From 2011 – Rob Dweck ***
261. www.myFedoraPhoto.com – Neal Fedora
262. Best of 2011 on Google+ – Robert Mann ***
263. My Top 10 Best Photos from 2011 by Matt Suess – Matt Suess ***
264. My Favorites from 2011 – Michele Wassell
265. My Top 10 Images of 2011 – Tom Bushey
266. A Selection of Favorites from 2011 by Christine Hauber – Christine Hauber ***
267. Favorite Images from 2011 – James B Martin
268. Kauai 2011 – Sharon Willson
269. “Best of 2011: Top 10 – Mark Hespenheide ***
270. shirley lo photos – shirley lo
271. Google+ – Christina Lawrie – Christina Lawrie ***
272. My Ten 2011 Faves – Rich Greene
273. Sunset at Vizhinjam – Agnisoonu K
274. Gary Randall Photography – 2011 – Year in Review – Gary Randall ***
275. 2011 faves – Anthony Chiong
276. NewmanImages: 2011 in Retrospect – Jay and Sue Newman
277. My 11 favorite pictures of 2011 – Marc Perkins
278. My Best Images of 2011 – Vaibhav Tripathi
279. My Best Shots 2011 – Annika Ruohonen
280. Top 11 Photos of 2011 – Shane Srogi ***
281. Wolfcats Top 10 images – Wolfcat
282. Alexander Filatov Photography – Alexander Filatov ***
283. Wendy Baker Photography Best of 2011 – Wendy Baker
284. My 6 best of 2011 – Patrick Smith
285. randomfire: The best of 2011 – Ramin Miraftabi
286. Closing California Parks – Eliya Selhub ***
287. MY BEST OF 2011 – Stan Rapada
288. 2011 Top 10 – Kyle Jones
289. 2011 Studies | Best of 2011 – Oskar Bruening ***

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

289 “Best Photos of 2011″ Blog Posts

1. Create Atmosphere

Use long exposures to create an ethereal atmosphere. Weather conditions are often thought of as static, but in reality they shift and change slowly.  In many instances these changes occur too slowly to be held in our visual memory, but our camera can record these changes. Misty, foggy or smokey scenes can be created with moving clouds, surf, etc.

2.  Discover Hidden Movement

We are often so rushed that we seldom pause to take note of slow moving subjects. Once you start to look for slow moving subjects you quickly open a door to a new world of photo opportunities. Clouds, shadows, stars, plants and even people or animals make great long exposure subjects.

3. Create Using A Canvas of Light

While your camera shutter is open your sensor or film is in essence a canvas. Normally that canvas is open very briefly but with longer exposures the light running over your sensor acts a brush. If you let a scene unfold before you with your shutter open it is “painted” onto the sensor yielding blurs of light. If you work in an environment where there is little light you can manually paint light into a photo with strobes, flashlights, cell phones, etc. to create a unique image.

4.  Alternate Reality of Color

Back in the days of film there was a phenomenon where the color in your image could shift in long exposures from reciprocity failure. Different film types would experience reciprocity failure at different exposure times and produce varying types of color shifts. For many photographers these color shifts were seen as something to avoid, but many artist have employed this phenomenon to create very neat photographs. If you’re still shooting film this may be something you want to experiment with. If you’re shooting digital you can get color shifts by creating or using pre-made presets in Photoshop or Lightroom.

Note: This was taken with Fuji Velvia film whose reciprocity characteristic is to shift colors toward green hues.

5. Photograph the Ordinary to Make the Extraordinary

When you show someone something new that is under their nose all the time it reawakens their interest in it. Highlighting one or a combination of the visual effects previously discussed with long exposures of ordinary scenes will catch eyes. To find that eye catching photo you’ll need to experiment though as the net effect(s) of a long exposure may not be apparent until you view it.

To learn more about long exposure and slow shutter techniques check out my new eBook Photographing the 4th Dimension – Time .

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

5 Tips To Transform Your Photography With Long Exposures

1.  Visual Distractions

One question that you can ask yourself that will allow you to capture a substantially larger number of “keeper” photos is, “What is around my subject that people will see?”.  Asking this question as you compose your image will allow you to take note of distracting elements that might otherwise go ignored. As you keep this question in mind look for and avoid unwanted contrasty shapes, color and objects that intersect with your subject.  Looking for cleaner and more interesting backgrounds to add polish to your photos.

2. Depth of Field

Employing a shallow depth of field by using a larger aperture will blur your background. Employing deeper depth of focus may introduce distracting details that are not critical to your photo.  A background that is blurred and lacking detail will allow your viewers to focus on your well focused subject. It’s amazing how well this works, but you’ll still need to be conscious of Tip #1 as it is not a magic bullet.

3. Define A Physical Location & Setting

Use background objects to give your viewers a sense of location and/or meaning. Carefully composing your subject so that you can see relevant background objects will help communicate a broader story. A graduate with an iconic university building in the background, a family with the Golden Gate Bridge behind them, or a unique desert plant with sand dunes are all more meaningful with their respective backgrounds as they tell you more about the significance of the primary subject.

4. Define Your Subject with Lighting Contrasts

There is certainly a time and a place to use a studio background, but when outdoors lighting contrasts can really help place emphasis on your subject. Shooting a well lit person against a dark background can add pop to your image. Use lighting contrasts to your advantage and keep an eye out for differentials in lighting to exploit this effect.

5. Compose & Zoom With Your Feet

It’s very easy to mentally lock in on your photo subject and lose sight of everything else. As you compose your photo(s) move around to determine where you can place yourself to get the best background. Don’t just rely on a zoom lens to do this, your feet are both your best friend and #1 photo gear accessory

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

5 Ways Backgrounds Make or Break Photos

1. Describe your photography in 100 words or less.
I approach nature photography with a love and passion for the subject and an artful eye. When out in
the field, I strive for compelling compositions as I feel composition is the foundation for a great image.
Color and light don’t mean much if the composition does not engage the viewer. That being said, I do love strong color and contrast and try to incorporate that into my imagery.

2. What gear/software do you use?
Over the years, my underwater kit has included Nikon camera bodies and lenses, Aquatica housings and ports, and Sea & Sea and Ikelite strobes. My go-to lenses are the Tokina 10-17mm fisheye for wide angle and the Nikkor 105mm f2.8G for macro. My current digital workflow includes organization with Lightroom 3 and Photoshop as my main editing software. The cloning tools in Photoshop are drastically better for fine control over backscatter, the arch nemesis of underwater photographers worldwide.

3. What’s one quick tip that you’d give people interested in underwater photography?
If you want to get into underwater photography, I highly recommend becoming a competent and safe
diver first. And be prepared to spend a LOT of money.

4. What 3 Photography Sites or Photo blogs do you recommend?

For all thing underwater photography, I go to wetpixel.com.

For thoughts on photography with
an artistic approach, I highly recommend Guy Tal’s blog at guytal.com.

And finally, for image editing tutorials I personally use in my digital workflow, I recommend Tony Kuyper’s site http://goodlight.us/.

To view more of Jim’s photography visit his web site at jimpattersonphotography.com

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

3 Minutes with Photographer Jim Patterson

One thing that photographers can always benefit from is inspiration, and what better way to find inspiration than to see what other photographers are doing. In the not so distant past I used to find inspiration looking in the photography section of local bookstores or magazine racks, but now the work of tens of thousands of photographers are with in reach to see with a simple mouse click.

Google+ has proven to be an incredible fountain of inspiration as photographers from around the world have been making good use of the service. Google+ not only makes finding photographers easy through recommendations of others,  it makes for a great photography viewing experience. Compiled in this list are professional and amateurs photographers alike, many of which were brought to my attention by the thriving community of photographers on Google+.

Here are 50 photographers to inspire you and if you’d like connect with me on Google+ here (editors note: connect with dPS founder, Darren Rowse here). Enjoy!

1. Seung Kye Lee (fine art nature)
2. Léon Leijdekkers (fine art B&W)
3. Guy Tal (fine art landscape)
4. John Paul Caponigro (fine art)
5. Tony Rath (underwater)
6. Ryan Doco Connors (portraiture)
7. William Burrard-Lucas (wildlife)
8. Olivier Du Tré (fine art nature)
9. Aaron Feinberg (fine art)
10. Ed Leveckis (fine art & portraiture)
11. Philippe Sainte-Laudy (fine art & nature)
12. David Sanger (travel)
13. Ron Niebrugge (wildlife & travel)
14. Michael McAreavy (landscape)
15. Craig Ferguson (travel & environment)
16. Gary Crabbe (travel)
17. QT Luong (nature & travel)
18. Jim Patterson (underwater & nature)
19. Jessy Eykendorp (nature)
20. G Dan Mitchell (landscape & nature)
21. Mike Cavaroc (nature & wildlife)
22. Dan Heller (travel)
23. Patrick Di Fruscia (fine art landscape)
24. Trey Ratcliff (travel & hdr)
25. Patrick Smith
26. Brian Matiash (urban & street)
27. Manuel Guerzoni (street)
28. Neil McShane (Fine Art B&W)
29. Jay Patel (landscape)
30. Varina Patel (landscape)
31. Peter West Carey (travel)
32. Matt Suess (fine art & hdr)
33. Marsel van Oosten (wildlife)
34. Ben Locke (fine art)
35. Rebecca Jackrel (wildlife)
36. Michael Kern (wildlife)
37. Inge Fernau (nature)
38. Dixon Hamby (iphoneography)
39. Richard Wong (travel & landscape)
40. Matt Weber (street)
41. Agustin Rafael Reyes (travel)
42. Helen Sotiriadis (various)
43. Pierre Beteille (photo art)
44. Ryan Brenizer (wedding)
45. Sarah R. Bloom (fine art)
46. Daniel Sroka (fine art)
47. Greg Schmigel (street)
48. Star Rush (iphoneography)
49. Chun Tong Chung (street)
50. Mike Moats (macro)
51. Ben Fullerton (adventure)
52. David La Spina (travel)
53. Vincent Favre (nature)
54. Mihailo Radi?evi? (street)
55. J A Mortram (environment & social documentary)
56. David English (street)
57. Laura C. Williams (wildlife)
58. Victor Lacken (HDR)
59. Patricia Gil Mayoral (landscape B&W)
60. Kalle Björklid (music)

Bonus: For more great photography insights to other great talent follow…

1. Miki Johnson
2. Andy Adams

Lastly you can fine me Jim Goldstein on Google+ as well as Darren Rowse of course.

This is but the tip of the iceberg there were numerous other photographers worthy of note, but they’ve not yet added many photos to their albums. Stay tuned there will no doubt be more photographers to recommend as Google+ opens to more people in the coming weeks.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

60 Google+ Photographers to Inspire You

1. Describe your photography in 100 words or less.
Black & White – emphasis on the black. Simple. Sharp. Textural. Maximum detail within minimal composition. I’m always trying to pull more out of my portraits in post-processing — more tone, more contrast, more detail. As a result, they often end up looking like a cross between a relief map and an X-ray when you see them close, but I like that. I’m also aware that they aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.

2. What gear/software do you use?
My main cameras for the last couple of years have been the Canon 5D Mark II and the Ricoh GR Digital 3. I use lenses from Canon, Tamron and Lensbaby. For studio lighting I use Profoto and Alien Bees, though I’ve been working with small flash more recently.

For software, it’s Adobe Lightroom & Photoshop. I love playing around with apps and plug-ins that simulate film looks, so along those lines I really like the NIK Silver Efex Pro plug-in for Lightroom. For color film effects on snapshots, I’m digging the little JPEG preset app “Lo-Fi” from Alien Skin. Hardware is a Mac Pro and I output to an Epson Stylus Pro 3800 – which makes beautiful prints.

3. What’s one quick tip that you’d give people interested in portrait photography.
Shoot as many frames as your subject has the patience for. The smallest change in gesture can be the difference between an average or extraordinary portrait.

4. What photography sites do you recommend?

American Suburb X
A dream site for those obsessed with the history of photography.

The Online Photographer
Some great content and writing.

Petapixel
A good mix of current photography news and information.

500px
My new favorite site for photo-sharing – the overall quality of new photography posted there is inspiring.

To view more of Kelly’s photography visit his portfolio kelco at 500px

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

3 Minutes with Photographer Kelly Castro

Describe your photography in 100 words or less.
I am a landscape photographer concerned with conveying the deep, spiritual beauty I see and feel in Nature. I have been a resident of the Yosemite National Park area since 1977, have been widely published in books, magazines, calendars, posters. I worked as a staff photographer at The Ansel Adams Gallery for five years. My limited-edition prints have been collected and exhibited in museums and galleries nationally, including the Museum of Fine Art Boston, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, The Vernon Collection, and The Polaroid Collection. I received a BA degree in Environmental Conservation at the University of Colorado. In 1995, the Sierra Club honored me with their Ansel Adams Award for conservation photography.

Aspen and approaching storm, Conway Summit, California 2010
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, EF70-200mm f/2.8L USM, 1/45 sec at f / 16, ISO 400

What gear/software do you use?
For twenty years, I used a 4×5 view camera and transparency sheet film. Currently, I use a Canon 1DS Mark III with an assortment of lenses. My favorites are the 70-200mm zoom and 90mm Tilt Shift lenses. I also used Canon’s 24mm TS, the 16-35mm and 24-105mm zooms and the 50mm Macro. I carry LowePro camera bags and use a Gitzo Carbon 6X tripod. Using filters has never been a big part of my approach to nature photography, but I do use Singh Ray’s Vari-ND filter often for long exposures and the creative blurs in my Impressions of Light series. In terms of software, I primarily use Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. I occasionally use HDR processing and Nik software. I edit and mange my files in Lightroom, make global adjustments there before making any local adjustments and masking in PS.

Almond Trees in Bloom, Kern County, California, 2011
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, EF70-200mm f/2.8L USM, 1/4 sec at f / 4.5, ISO 100, FILTER: Singh Ray Vari-ND

What’s one quick tip that you’d give people interested in Nature photography.
Photograph those subjects or locations about which you feel most passionate. Trust your instincts to find a creative vision. The world is full of repetitive imagery, and it takes hard work and experimentation to rise above the ordinary.

Sunrise surf, Carmel, California 2010
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, EF70-200mm f/2.8L USM, 10.0 sec at f / 32, ISO 100, FILTER: Singh Ray Vari-ND

What Photography Sites or Photoblogs do you Recommend?

• Luminous Landscape
• Outdoor Photographer
• The Online Photographer

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

3 Minutes with Photographer William Neill

One of the most exciting aspects of photography is working with Telephoto and Super Telephoto lenses. While out of the price range for most to buy, this lens family is easily accessible through lens rental services online or through local camera stores. Telephoto and super telephoto lenses enable photographers to explore a variety of subjects in new ways. Such lenses are often used in wildlife photography, but they can be used for a variety of subjects. Here are 10 tips and ideas for great telephoto photography:

1. Use A Tripod For Sharp Photos
By and large the vast majority of subjects photographed with telephoto and super telephoto lenses need to be tack sharp. Due to the narrow field of view and magnification of telephoto lenses ever so slight movements have an amplified impact diminishing image sharpness. The first thing you can do to ensure that you’ll capture sharp images is to use a tripod and a tripod head that can support the weight of your lens & camera. While this isn’t the only step to take to ensure sharp photos it is the essential first step. Using a tripod or even a monopod will also save your back and arms from unnecessary pain and fatigue.

2. Use A Shutter Release
Any movement is amplified when looking through the view finder of a camera using a telephoto lens. The simple act of pressing the shutter on your camera will cause even a tripod mounted camera and lens to shake when photographing a distant subject. To minimize camera shake use a shutter release. Quite simply a shutter release is a shutter release button on an extension cord. Minimizing movement of your camera and lens while mounted on a tripod will reduce unintended bluring of your photo.

Bonus Tip:
If your camera has a Mirror Lock-up function this in addition to the use of a shutter release will remove much of the mechanical vibration your camera itself can create. The mirror in the camera box of your dSLR allows you to see from the viewfinder out your lens. When you trigger the shutter the mirror will flip up out of the way so that light coming through your lens hits the sensor or film in your camera body. Mirror Lock-up will prompt you to trigger the shutter twice, first to move the mirror into a ready position and second to open the shutter. After the first trigger of the shutter you should wait 2-5 seconds for the internal mechanics of your camera and resulting vibration of your camera to settle to the point of being still before you trigger the shutter a second and final time.

3. Turn Off Lens Image Stabilization / Vibration Reduction for Tripod Mounted Cameras
When you have Image Stabilization or Vibration Reduction active on your lens the internal mechanics detects movement and counter acts it producing a sharp image. When your camera and lens are mounted on a tripod movement is removed, but your lens can errantly activating its IS/VR mechanism creating an image that is less than sharp. For this reason its a best practice to turn off your lenses IS or VR functionality when it is mounted to a tripod.

4. Telephoto Effect – Bringing Far and Near Together
Telephoto lenses have a unique optical effect in that they flatten scenes with great depth. Fittingly this is referred to as a Telephoto Effect. Making use of this effect can be very useful in composing graphically striking subjects and scenes. Unlike shorter focal length lenses that can provide a great deal of depth to a scene the flattening of a scene with the use of a telephoto lens can give the illusion that multiple subjects separated by great distances are actually very close. This effect can generate a great deal of impact with viewers.

Canon 1Ds Mark III and 600mm + 1.4x teleconverter for a total focal length of 840mm

5. Tightly Frame Your Subject
The most obvious use of a telephoto lens is to magnify a subject so as to close the distance between you and what you’re photographing. This can be of extremely valueable if you’re photographing wildlife and would like to get closer with out putting your life at risk. Beyond wildlife using a telephoto lens give you creative license to get extremely close to your subject in some instances. This is particularly useful in highlighting details that would otherwise be lost with shorter focal length lenses.

Canon 1Ds Mark III and 600mm + 2x teleconverter for a total focal length of 1200mm
Taken on my last Sea Otter Photo Tour

6. Isolate Your Subject
Telephoto lenses are great to more distinctly isolate your subject. While this can be done with shorter focal length lenses telephotos enable you to have greater reach to subjects that might be too far off otherwise. This is a middle ground use of telephoto lenses where you’re not looking to crop in too tightly or close the gap between subjects that are far apart.

Canon 1Ds Mark II + 70-200mm IS f/2.8 lens at 200mm

7. Make Use of Ultra Shallow Depth of Field
Telephoto and Super-Telephoto lenses share an optical characteristic that can produce very shallow planes of focus. As a result an often discussed secondary characteristic of long lenses, Bokeh, is the optical signature of out of focus portions of a photograph. Use of shallow depth of field can provide a non-distracting background to your subject enhancing perceived focus and its isolation from competing background elements. Understanding how Bokeh will look from one lens to another will enhance your ability to produce the highest quality image.

Canon 1Ds Mark III + 300mm f/2.8 IS + 1.4x teleconverter for a total focal length of 420mm
Lens provided by BorrowLenses.com 

8. Think Macro Photography
 If you’re not into photo yoga an alternate way to shoot macro photography is to use a telephoto lens. Extension tubes in combination with super telephoto lenses shorten the closest focusing distance of a lens. Working with a larger lens will not give you every vantage point that a smaller lens can provide, but it will enable you to obtain other unique perspectives all while saving you from getting your pants dirty.

Canon 1Ds Mark III + 300mm f/2.8 IS + 1.4x teleconverter for a total focal length of 420mm
Note these clusters of flowers are smaller than a US Quarter

9. Panning for Action
 Panning with a telephoto lens can provide high impact photos of almost any moving subject. Maintaining a sharp subject can be tricky requiring some practice. The added dimension of motion blur bring telephoto and super telephoto lens photos to life. This is a perfect technique for wildlife and action subjects alike.

Canon 1D Mark II + 70-200mm IS f/2.8 lens at 190mm + 2x teleconverter for a total focal length of 380mm

10. Experiment with Astrophotography
With a big enough lens your camera can become a low power telescope. Photographs likely won’t be in the exact same class as a true astrophotography taken with a telescope, but you’ll certainly get eye catching photos none-the-less. The key to successfully using telephoto lenses for astrophotography is:

1. Setting up in an area where there is little light pollution
2. Use of a tripod 
3. use of a cable release.

The slightest vibration will be enough to blur a photo with a long lens so special care should be applied to avoid this. For greater drama in post-production with a high enough resolution sensor you can crop down your image while maintaining mouth dropping detail.

Canon 1Ds Mark III and 600mm + 1.4x teleconverter for a total focal length of 840mm
Cropped in Photoshop for an equivalent focal length of 1800mm 

–

Jim Goldstein‘s landscape, nature, travel and photojournalism photography is featured on his web site JMG-Galleries.com, and blog. In addition Jim’s podcast “EXIF and Beyond” features photographer interviews and chronicles the creation of some of his images. In addition Jim can be followed on Twitter and FriendFeed. Also be sure to check out his workshops.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

10 Tips For Great Telephoto Photography