After my last post about lighting, I was searching the internet for a great video to compliment my post. Erin Manning of ErinManning.com has made several great video posts on YouTube on the subject of lighting. Here is a quick video that will get you started and point you in the right direction.
For more great photography tips by video, visit Erin Manning’s YouTube Page at :http://www.youtube.com/user/ErinManning
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To impress anyone with a photograph, make sure you have good lighting. There is nothing worse than taking a family photo only to have shadows on everyone’s faces, or dark spots under their eyes from improper lighting. If you have a basic consumer camera, the flash isn’t that powerful and usually only works for closer images. Your flash may work better in darker settings, but during the day most basic built-in flashes are not capable of removing shadows from over 7 feet away.
The best way to avoid heavy shadows is to be aware of the time of day if you are shooting outside. Time of day and lighting can vary per state and country, but generally at high noon the sun is the highest in the sky, so that means your subjects will be lit from directly above. This causes harsh shadows in the eye sockets and under the nose. It’s generally not an attractive look. Late at night with a basic flash is not the most pleasant thing either because it is straight on. Your subjects will have the “Deer in the Headlights” look, not so good either. The best way to avoid these situations is put yourself in the place of the subject. How would you want to look? Like a superstar, right?
The best times to shoot photos of people are late in the afternoon when the sun is warm, glowing and almost down. In California where I am at, this is usually around 4 or 5pm. If you are an early bird, you can get up early in the morning as the sun begins to rise, you can get the same soft glowing effect.
If you don’t have a choice, and you have to shoot in the middle of the day try to find a good shady spot for your subjects. If it is a tree you find, ensure there are not any random bits of light sneaking through the leaves onto your subjects face. Having blotchy shadows on your face is not attractive either.
If you are taking photos of people, try to get close enough that your flash does work. Most people like upper body to close-up shots anyway. A good way to get better with your lighting is to buy a foam head. You can get these online and sometimes at wig shops if they have extras. This way you have a foam person to practice with and won’t insult anyone. You don’t have to get a fancy kit for this. Grab a couple lamps from around the house and position them a bit differently around the subject to find the most attractive light.
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Photography Tip 1: Did you know that you can sell your images on istockphoto.com and get paid? It’s really easy and free to setup an account. Just go to http://www.istockphoto.com and click on “sell stock photos” in the lower right hand corner. You’ll get paid $105.00 for every photo you sell. If you are serious about starting a career in Photography, this is a great way to get started. You will know right away if your images are worthy of selling or publishing. Don’t be disappointed though if your images don’t sell right away. There are millions of images to choose from at iStock, so it’s easy to get lost in the croud. The best way to get started is to look at what is already on the website for purchase, and start making your list of ways to improve it. I don’t recommend basic landscapes, skies or flowers. These categories have been covered billions of times and don’t really need additions. Your best bet when selling photos on a service like iStock would be to choose industry specific imagery, discover what is needed or missing, and then set a goal to shoot 50 or more images for that industry. Following this tactic will put you several steps ahead of everyone else.
Photography Tip 2: Use ShutterFly.com to upload your images. Shutterfly.com offers unlimited uploads, which basically means you can save a ton of hard drive space. Using Shutterfly.com you will also have access to any type of photography printing service you need. The best part, is when you travel, you can still access your images from anywhere on the planet, as long as you have an internet connection and a computer. While traveling, you can upload your images to save that precious drive space on your laptop if you don’t have an external drive. When I travel out of the country, I tend to shoot between 2,000 - 4,000 digital images. Since I shoot in RAW format, it’s really important to put those large files somewhere else other than my laptop hard drive.
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