When it comes to famous images the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci is one of the most recognized in the world.
When I visited the Lourve in Paris a couple of years ago I was stunned by the crowds of people gathering around this small image, pushing and shoving to get close and to take a picture of it (I got some great shots of the crowd).
The Mona Lisa has been at the center of much debate and speculation over the years but why is it an image that intrigues people so much and what can we learn from it as photographers today?
While we live in a different time (the Mona Lisa was painted in the 1500’s) and use different technology - is there something in this famous image that we can be inspired by as image makers today?
Lessons from the Mona Lisa for Photographers
Today I want to explore some of the different aspect of the Mona Lisa and point out some things that Leonardo did in painting this image that I think we could take away as portrait photographers today.
Read the rest of this entry
This post is written by a portrait photographer from Portland Oregon. Christina Nichole is an instructor with The Institute in Photographic Studies. Her work can be found at ChristinaNicholePhotography.com.
On location portrait photographers find summer the perfect season to book their portrait schedule. It’s beautiful outside and many people want to take advantage of the weather for their pictures.
Regardless of season however one thing remains the same. Your job as a portrait photographer is simple: Make your subject look fantastic.
Critical components of dynamic portrait photography include indoor or outdoor lighting, creative locations, stellar composition, capturing your subjects personality and, last but certainly not the least: Posing.
Posing is nothing more than “body language”. Pointed fingers. Sagged shoulders. Head down. Each of these “say something’ about the person to you. Essentially, posing is simply learning how to demonstrate and guide your subject’s personality through their body language.
Think about it: A confident person will not sit with hunched over shoulders and head down. Most likely, they will stand tall and excited about life. Someone who is quiet probably will not be the quickest to dance in the middle of the street, but someone who is extremely expressive? Bring on the music!
Read the rest of this entry
Today Yanik Chauvin from Image-Y shares how he uses EV Compensation.
I’ve been using the EV (Exposure Value) button on my camera more than any of the other buttons so I thought I would share with you why and when I use it. Remember that I shoot with a Nikon so shutter speed and aperture are controlled with the front and back wheels not buttons ;). But before I get into that, let me briefly explain to you WHAT the EV button is and what it does.
To put it simply, the EV button allows your to quickly underexpose (darken) or overexpose (brighten) your image. How it works is pretty simple. When you’re taking a photo, the camera’s job is to adjust itself by changing the shutter speed and/or apperture to properly expose your shot so that it’s not too bright or too dark. Some cameras do this better than others but that’s another story. ;) When you play with the EV button, what you’re doing is telling the camera to either brighten or darken the photo from the optimal exposure it perceives.
Read the rest of this entry
Today I want to get some discussion going around ‘best shots’ - and give you a chance to show yours off.
- What is the best photo you’ve ever taken? If it’s hosted somewhere online (like Flickr) please share a link to it.
- Why do you consider it to be your best shot?
- Tell us about how the shot came about. What was the situation, did you plan it or did it just ‘happen’?
- What kind of camera did you use? What settings did you select or what ‘mode’ were you in?
Can’t wait to see your best shots and stories in comments below.
I’ll highlight some of my favorite shots submitted on a blog post later in the week to highlight some of the DPS community’s work.
Weekly Assignment
Well, this week, we finished the Sunny Days assignment, which may have been difficult if you’re one of those people in the middle of winter. But if you’re stuck in winter, these sunny pictures should be just the ticket to warm things up a bit. Our winner this week was MatthewBotos for his wakeboarder shot, which just epitomizes the warm, sunny days of summer and the activities that go with it. Our runners up were ating76 for the beach shot that looked almost out of a travel brochure with the blue sky and clear water, and kiriryche for her picture with the sun behind her face and the lens glow that just screams sunny days!
We also started a new assignment this week. Put off your diets for another week because this week is Food Photography and it’s your chance to make our mouths water. In order to be eligible for the mini contest, you need to have taken your photo between 9 - 23 July 2008, the exif must still be intact, and you need to include the words “Assignment: Food” either in your post title or your post in order to show that you want it to be included in the contest. Next week’s assignment is “10 Minutes from Home,” so get 10 minutes from home using your chosen mode of transportation and start shooting!
Weekly Poll
In this week’s poll we wanted to know if you take more pictures in the summer or winter.
dakwegmo said “I take more pictures in the spring than any other time. My two favorite subjects are waterfalls and flowers, which both seem to be in peak form in the spring. Summer and fall are about even in the photo opportunities they present. Winter is the only season where I have a noticeable decline in my photography.”
and jdepould voted winter for practical reasons and said “I take more in the Fall and Winter simply because of the way the academic schedule works. Colleges all have stuff going August-May, and the summers are pretty slow. That will probably change for me in the next year or two, but for now that’s how it is.” Read the rest of this entry
“What ISO is best for my pictures?”
Changing the ISO setting on your camera changes the sensitivity to light of the image sensor inside of it.
The lower number that you select the less sensitive the sensor is to light (and conversely the higher the number the more sensitive it becomes).
This is useful when you’re shooting in different lighting situations - particularly when there’s low light and you might not be able to use a flash (you’d bump up your ISO setting in this case).
The only cost of increasing ISO is that as you do it you’ll notice that the ‘noise’ or ‘grain’ in your shots also begins to increase.
You probably won’t notice this graininess on your images when lookin at them on the LCD on your camera - however when you get them back to your computer they’ll become noticeable with higher ISO settings.
Here’s an example that I’ve used previously with two images taken with exactly the same settings except for the ISO (100 on the left, 3200 on the right).
As a general rule you should choose the lowest ISO possible for smooth and grain-free shots.
6 Questions to Ask to Help Choose the Right ISO
Of course when photographing low light scenes there may be no other alternative so I’d suggest asking yourself some of the following questions when choosing what to set ISO at:
Read the rest of this entry
