[NIKON Z 6, 35.0 mm f/1.4, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 100, 1/160, ƒ/1.4, (35mm = 35)]

Creating a portfolio should be about showing what you can do so that others can decide to hire you. The decisions on what should go into your portfolio should be to persuade people that your work style will help them promote their business.

With my portfolio, I like to show my skills to educated buyers. Most of the time, I am hired by people who are used to hiring photographers and therefore are looking for competency and warmth.

I like to show my ability to create using light and not just capturing the natural light.

My good friend Tony Messano, an art director, coached me to show a different skill with each photo. Once you have established you can do something, don’t just show the same talent over and over.

One of the skills I like to show is my ability to get the moment. Sports photos show this, but everyday life that seems to be moving slowly is just as fast as a sports game. This is true when looking for that “slice of life” to grab people’s attention and move their hearts, as you need to do with nonprofits.

Some clients want to know that I can “Create a Moment” as much as capture it.

While the ability to get the norm is required, bringing the unexpected is what can separate you from others.

My tips for a portfolio

• Your Best Technically Executed Photos
• Photos that evoke emotions and engage the viewer
• Show your technical versatility
• Each image shows something different
• Show you can work with a subject
• Show who has already used you
• Show what you love to shoot – Your Passion [that people will pay you to shoot]

I like to show clients I know how to capture lasers which are invisible to the eye most of the time.

Photography is about transporting people to a moment in time that they would also like to be a part of.

You are busy but not Happy

Sometimes you have done an excellent job promoting yourself, but you forget to pursue your passion. This is why you should do personal projects that help define what you are most passionate about. While you may still need to do some of the work you are good at to pay the bills, you must also have projects on your calendar that you look forward to.

I love shooting the work missionaries are doing around the world. I love meeting people from all walks of life.

Check out how I have presented my work on my website under “Portfolio” http://stanleyleary.com/.

I have been reflecting on the work I am doing, what I used to do and what I think I will be doing in the years ahead.

If I had the same skills ten years ago today, I wouldn’t be a photographer now. In 2002 I bought my first digital camera, the Nikon D100. I was able to make the digital switch relatively easily.

In 2002 most of my work was shooting still images. I was shooting a great deal for colleges and publications covering sports. I was covering the games, shooting portraits, and helping shoot the team photos used for promotions. Many of these photos were used in the media guides for promoting ticket sales, and some of the pictures even made it to the sides of buses.

Today, there is mainly hobbyist who trade out giving the photos for free to those organizations for the opportunity to be on the sidelines. Some of their work is quite good. However, I could no longer get the clients to pay me when they got the photos for free.

In the fall of 2005, I did coverage in West Africa. When I returned, I worked on my first Slide Show using the software SoundSlides. They now have a newer version that no longer uses flash. I haven’t tried it, but this may be a good solution for those just wanting to combine still images with a sound file.

While I just put the images to African Music I had recorded, it was a turning point for me. Now I am shooting video and combining it with still images and audio to create multimedia packages. Now I am using Final Cut Pro X or Adobe Premiere Pro CC.

Most of my work today is as an executive producer who shoots, edits, and then gives this to clients to post on the web. Many of these packages are 2 to 3 minutes in length. I did one on my daughter’s mission trip to Chattanooga this summer.

Many of the packages I have done are for “Best Practices” of people in a company to share internally. The stories have helped spread good ideas.

Looking into the future has been very difficult to speculate. If cameras continue to change as they have these past ten years, I can expect to upgrade a camera every two years.

My computer will need to be replaced every three years to keep up with the software and the camera files. My first computer’s hard drive was 20 MB. That would not even hold one of the photos I shoot on my Nikon D5 or Nikon Z6 today.

I will most likely still be telling stories in ten years, but how I tell them will change in some way. I will still use visuals and audio to communicate, but who knows. Maybe we will be able to capture the smell and play it for audiences in the future.

If the past indicates the future, I know I must stay informed of changes. I need to read all I can to keep current. I need to be involved in professional organizations. Most of all, I will need to remain curious and ask myself “What if” questions.

Don’t be like many of my friends who didn’t like to change and are out of work today.

Duke’s running back (21) and Mataeo Durant fumble the ball due to the defensive pressure of Alabama’s defensive back (22) and Jalyn Armour-Davis during the Chick-fil-A Kickoff on Saturday, August 31st at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. [NIKON D5, 120.0-300.0 mm f/2.8, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 25600, 1/4000, ƒ/5.6, (35mm = 600)]

The ultimate sports photo for me is when there is a conflict between players fighting for the ball, and I have captured the emotions of the moment shown in their facial expressions and body language.

Getting to the game early helps me to scout the best spots to shoot from. I prefer shooting from the endzone for football because that is where the offense is trying to go.

When you are not shooting the offense from the endzone, you can see the faces of the defense.

I grew up watching ABC Wide World Classic “The Agony of Defeat” by the skier Vinko Bogataj. When plans don’t go well, and there is an “Agony of Defeat” moment, it reminds us of how difficult it is to play the sport.

You can see in this series the competition and the emotions in the body language of both players.

Getting these moments takes high-end professional gear. It would help if you had a camera that could focus quickly and shoot enough frames, so you don’t miss the action.

While following the quarterback, you quickly transition downfield to the receiver. My Nikon D5 screams speed. From the focus to the frame rate to the way you can scrub through images on the rear LCD. With your eye to the viewfinder, a light press of the shutter release see’s the camera unleash its almost endless volley of image-capturing prowess. A minimal viewfinder blackout time makes it easier to see the action and follow your subject.

By arriving early, I could get onto the field before the kickoff and capture a light moment between the two head coaches for Duke and Alabama. For this moment, I went with my Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera. Other than for fast action sports, I love this camera. Seeing the image before you click the shutter is just incredible.

You can see if the exposure is correct. You can see the white balance. You can see the Depth-of-Field. You can see if you are in focus.

The mirrorless Nikon Z6 lets you see the photo before you shoot, except for the split-second you capture. The Nikon D5 doesn’t give you this ability through the viewfinder. You could do this in live view, but not as easy to see.

There is so much more than the plays on the field, making this a community event. The bands, the celebrities, and much more, but you must look for them.

Bands, Cheerleaders, and Color Guards help bring fans to their feet.

Just coming onto the field today with a football team is a spectacle.

To keep objectivity in sports media, a photographer cannot cheer for teams while doing their jobs. This is different if you are the team photographer because you are not reporting as the media.

I taught These photo tips to staff camp photographers for WinShape Camps located in Rome, Georgia.

Here are some camera settings that we all made on the cameras.

·  Quality of Image. We set the camera to the most extensive JPEG file at the highest quality. (The camp did not provide the software for all the computers to use RAW)

·  Auto ISO on a NikonAuto ISO. We all set our cameras to Auto ISO and our lowest ISO on the camera default preferences of 50 to 200 ISO. We then set the highest ISO on the camera that is realistically capable of shooting. For most of the cameras, this was between ISO 1600 and 6400. Both Canon and Nikon allow you to set your highest shutter speed. We set this according to the situation.

·  Shutter speeds (Using auto ISO): The camera will raise the ISO to get the optimum shutter speed and drop it once it hits the maximum ISO.

• If shooting under fluorescent or sodium vapor lights, we recommended shooting at 1/100 shutter speed unless they had to shoot sports.
• For shooting sports, we recommended setting a 1/2000 shutter speed
• For general shooting, we recommended a 1/250 shutter speed

·  White Balance

• We recommended getting a custom White Balance as the primary choice
• Our second choice was to use a preset like Fluorescent, Daylight, or tungsten, for example
• When we were changing lighting that affects white balance, we often recommended using Auto White Balance

·  Aperture

• For general shooting, we recommended not shooting wide open but using f/4 or f/5.6 so that your subject is in focus.
• When your subject can cooperate more with you, we recommend shooting wide apertures if you choose for artistic reasons. This is when f/1.4 is more appropriate. We have found the trend of too many shooters buying 50mm f/1.4 lenses, shooting wide open all the time, and having very few in-focus photos due to the shallow depth of field.

·  Inside Flash or when dark. Use a higher ISO to help open up the background. Anon, how does using the higher ISO help open the background up? 

·  Flash outside in daylight. When it is the middle of the day, and the sun is straight up, you will most likely get dark circles around your eyes. I call this the raccoon eye look. If you are less than 10 feet from the subject, you can use your built-in flash or hot shoe flash to fill those shadows. In addition to filling in the shadows, you will get a nice catch light in the eyes. You can also use the flash when you backlight a subject. (I wrote about this in an earlier blog post here)  This helps them from looking directly into the sun and squinting. Since the shadow side of the face is now towards the camera, a flash can help balance the light.

Some camp photographers are photography students or recent graduates of photography programs, but not all are photography majors. Due to the range of talent, we showed them a place to help them get more photos in focus that are correctly exposed and have good skin tones.

After practicing with these settings, we covered the three composition stages. I will refer you to my earlier blog about what we covered.   

The last thing we did during our time was go out and practice shooting, looking for photos that tell a story. Then, we reviewed everyone’s best five pictures for our last hour together.

Call me if you would like me to come to your organization and do this workshop. I am doing this same workshop for the Boy Scout troop that meets at my church in a few weeks. We will do the class time and meet four weeks after they shoot a photo story.

Portrait Tip

Do you like taking photos of your family and friends? Here is an easy way to get perfect portraits of them. This is keeping it simple.

The key to any good photo is the old KISS rule: Keep It Simple Stupid.

For this portrait of my dad, I chose to shoot this outside and use some of the sunny weather we had down at the beach.  We hit this outside on the balcony of our cottage. The reason for the location was it was the fewest steps I needed to make to get a good photo.

Start with the sun backlighting the subject.

One of the reasons I always start with the sun on the back of the subject and not where it is lighting their face has to do with expression. I find it almost impossible to get a good word when people are squinting and straining because the sun is directly in their eyes.

The benefit of the backlighting of the subject is you get an excellent rim light around the subject, which will help you separate the subject from the background.

Look for a darker background

I like to find a simple background that does not have blown-out highlights in the background. I usually look for a much darker background than I chose here. My point is to be careful, or your blinking highlights will be in the background and distracting rather than complementary to the subject.

Choose a shallow depth-of-field

I am using my favorite portrait lens for this photo, my Nikkor 85mm ƒ/1.4.  It would help if you were sure that the eyes are what you are focusing on and the sharpest point in the photo when shooting with this lens. I still recommend having the eyes the place you concentrate, even if you choose to shoot this at ƒ/22.

In general, the background and surroundings are not that important if you are doing a portrait of a person and not an environmental portrait.  Since this is the case for this photo, I threw that background out of focus by shooting at an aperture of ƒ/1.4.

Fill Flash

I love to use an off-camera flash as my fill/main light outside for portraits. Here is a diagram showing you where the sun was and this photograph’s off-camera Nikon SB-900 Speedlight placement.

You can trigger the off-camera flash in many different ways. I often use the Nikon SU-800, which uses infrared to activate the off-camera flash. I chose to use the PocketWizard Mini TT1 on the camera with the AC3, which lets me alter the flash’s power from the camera, not the flash.  It saves you a lot of steps back and forth for tweaking those fine adjustments.

The Nikon SB-900 has the PocketWizard FlexTT5 to receive the signal and talk to the camera’s TTL system to give you consistent exposures.

I placed the light 45º to the camera’s right and not quite 45º above the eyes.  I am a little lower since my subject has deep-set eyes. 

What is the benefit of the flash say over a reflector? If I used the reflector, I would be bouncing the sun into their face and often getting the squint I was trying to avoid.

Second, by using the flash, I get good skin tones because the color temperature will give it that “pop” I like to see.

Third, I like seeing a catch light in the eyes; the flash helps me be sure one is there. I think this helps bring the eyes to life.

Go and try this setup yourself. Adjust it to your conditions and the subject and see what you come up with.

What do you want to read about?

I would love for you to write to me ([email protected]) and let me know what you would like me to cover in a blog or e-newsletter. Maybe if I don’t know, I can find a guest blogger to help me on that subject.

I love to hear from you, so please drop me a note.

When someone asks you for $40, you don’t tell them OK if you only have $20. You tell them you have $20 if you want to share. So why can’t you tell them when your boss/client asks for something you can’t do?

A little secret – You can learn to say yes, and the boss/client then can say no.

Learn To Say YES.

Improvisation rules are also great for client support. Just look at Tina Fey’s Four Rules of Improv:

• Rule 1: Say Yes. The first rule of improvisation is to AGREE. …
• Rule 2: Say Yes AND. The second rule of improv is not only to say yes, but YES, AND. …
• Rule 3: Make Statements. The following government is MAKE STATEMENTS. …
• Rule 4: There Are No Mistakes.

When your client says this is their priority – AGREE. Then you should respond with YES, AND to meet your priority, I need …

Just like improvisation, you don’t want to come back with many questions but statements that help clarify the scene.

I love Rule 4 that there are no mistakes. That is because you are trying to meet your client’s needs.

I also learned about another way to say yes from my friend Tony Messano, a creative director and voice-over talent. This tip had a significant impact on my life in many ways.

Tony was not advocating becoming a “Yes Man” where you agree to “anything” regardless of how crazy or stupid – and sometimes illegal – it is. You still will say no to things that you ethically disagree with doing.

Tony advocated that we turn ourselves into problem solvers for our clients and bosses rather than becoming a problem.

The way this whole topic came up in the first place with Tony was over me trying to deal with clients that kept on saying since you are here, can you do _______. Tony helped me see how to take this request and not only meet the demand but also make more money.

I learned how to price for the project, and then when this type of request came up, I could say “Yes.” Yes, I can make that happen; however, since this wasn’t part of the proposal and is outside the scope of it, I need to charge XYZ for the additional work.

I had been handling these requests or similar variations for my whole life up to then responded with a “NO.”

What Tony helped me understand was that when I was saying no, I wasn’t helping the client at all. If they still needed it done, they would find someone who could make it happen, and often then, I would usually no longer be used for future projects.

When I was in a staff job, I often said no because I didn’t have time with all the other things on my plate. As a freelancer, I was saying no because they were asking for more without offering more pay.

Had I learned this tip earlier in my career, I would have become a more valuable team member when someone would ask me to do something; I would now be saying how I want to help them. I would be saying YES–IF.

Yes, I can make that happen for you if you tell me which of these other projects I can delay or not do to be able to take on this extra work.

As a freelancer, I am saying YES–IF you decide what on the list we were shooting comes off because I don’t have time to do all you have, or I might be saying yes if you agree to the extra XYZ cost.

Ask your boss/client what their priority is. By the way, I recently learned that modern society corrupted the word stress. One hundred years ago, there was no plural form: importance was singular only — it meant the most critical item.

When everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. In a recent innovation workshop with HR executives, one team won an award for developing a simple tool to prioritize incoming requests by filtering them by business need, the source of the request, and the anticipated effort involved. We must ensure that the top priorities take precedence.

What separates a priority from just another task on the to-do list?

Focus on client projects before internal work; setting up the new CEO’s computer before re-configuring the database; answering support tickets before writing training materials; and so on. Another way to assess value is to look at how many people are impacted by your work. The more people involved or moved, the higher the stakes.

You probably can’t get to everything on your list. After you prioritize your tasks and look at your estimates, cut the remaining jobs from your list, and focus on the priorities you know you must and can complete for the day.

[NIKON D4, 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8, Mode = Manual, ISO 200, 1/160, ƒ/2.8, (35mm = 14)]

The difference between two parties who compromise or collaborate is enormous. 

They are compromising leads to disappointment for all parties.  When the parties come together, they have a creative idea or solution for a problem.  Each party wants their concept out there more than the other one.  In this scenario, a watered-down version of both ideas emerges. In the end, no one is satisfied with the solution.

Collaboration isn’t about negotiating solutions.  It starts when the parties come together and listen to each other.  They are open to new ideas.  This is where everyone realizes that alone no one gets their ideas implemented, but they can accomplish their goals by partnering with others.

Rowing is a good illustration of how to collaborate.  It is the oldest intercollegiate sport in the United States.  

The Harvard-Yale Boat Race or Harvard-Yale Regatta is an annual rowing race between Yale and Harvard universities. It is America’s oldest collegiate athletic competition. Each year on the Thames River, New London, Connecticut.

In this sport, the team must work together.  Each person has to stay in sync with their teammates.  For me, it is the perfect picture of collaboration. 

If just one person is out of sync, the team suffers.

When a client hires me, they expect collaboration and not compromise.  Trust is the foundation of this process. It would help if you first trusted your clients, lowered your barriers, and were exposed.

Listen.  Take notes while listening to the client.  Note-taking prevents you from responding quickly to your ideas.  Active listening means you ask questions to clarify and be sure you have their perspective.  You may want to paraphrase their idea and ask if you have it right.

The key is understanding what they want to accomplish.  You must also listen and learn where they have little room for flexibility.  When the client feels you know what they want and the parameters they are under, you have the necessary information to collaborate. 

Meeting and exceeding the client’s expectations is easy if you listen and check with the client to be sure you understand their project. 

Many clients will have done an excellent job articulating their project from the very beginning.  It would help if you still explored with them to understand how much flexibility they have.  It would help if you still told them their assignment in your own words. Skip this step, and you will experience friction with the client.

All things being equal, people want to do business with their friends.  True friends collaborate rather than compromise.

My friend Tony Messano talks about what he looks for when he hires a photographer in this video clip.  Here is his website http://www.tonymessano.com/ad/

Available Light, no flashes at night. We’re headed to the corn maze! Jumpee pillow, hayride, smores, corn cannon too. [NIKON D3S, 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 12800, 1/80, ƒ/2.8, (35mm = 14)]

In writing, we use italics, bold, quote marks, and other techniques to emphasize parts of the composition. In photography, we use light to do the same thing.

Theater and movie directors often use light to draw our attention to the main subject in a scene. This may be as dramatic as turning a spotlight on a character while everything else goes completely black. More often, it is much more subtle. Without the light to guide us, we might lose the lead actor on stage amidst all the other actors and scenery.

During a concert, a spotlight is constantly on the leading performer. So rarely are they not in that spotlight that the famous clown Emit Kelly did a comedy act where he tried to stay in the spotlight only to give up and sweep the light off the floor.

Another way to lead the viewer’s attention to a person or part of a scene in video photography is zooming in on that subject. In TV and film, they use multiple cameras to help direct the audience. The director will cut from a camera with a broad view to one showing a close-up of the subject.

Still, photographers don’t have the luxury of simultaneous shots zoomed in or out, cutting from a wide to a close shot. The still photographer can do all this, of course, but they must tell the whole story in a single image. Print advertising does this all the time.

The still shooter should do all that is reasonable and feasible to capture the image in as high a quality as the situation will allow. (More about that in a minute.)

There are two ways that you can help direct the attention to the main subject using light in photography. One is done in the camera and the other in post-processing.

Getting it in the camera

Available Light

With today’s digital cameras, it is relatively easy to work with the available light in almost any location.

If people sit at a table with poor light, move them to a table in a better light. After a few moments, they’ll pick up on the conversation where they left off, and you now have them in a light that will work for the photos. This is inappropriate in photojournalistic coverage, but it is beautiful for advertising or a corporate shoot.

Use a reflector to help improve the light. It is much less intrusive than flash and can work just as well. Have an assistant hold a glass just out of the camera’s view and bounce the light back into the subject’s face. This helps to draw attention to the main issue.

Adding Light

You can use a constant light source or flash to light the subject. Use spotlight effect as much as possible rather than floodlight where everything is lit equally.

Another trick of the trade is to place a colored gel over a light used on the background. This will simplify a junky background by making it all one color. The orange extension cords and red tools hanging on the wall in the background no longer vie for attention with your subject. At least two lights are needed, one on the subject and one on the background. The light on the subject should be brighter than the background light.

Postproduction lighting

This is done so much today that a photo being “PhotoShopped” is now a verb, not just a noun. Before PhotoShop, photographers would “burn” and “dodge” in the darkroom. A face could be lightened and the background darkened.

With digital today you can do even more than we did in the darkroom, and more precisely. You can select only the subject, just a single color, or anything one part of a photo and alter it in many ways. You can remove, change or add color. You can make objects lighter or darker. Details of the image can soften or be blurred.

If all this can be done in post processing… why use lights?

The need for post-processing disappears if you capture it on camera saving time and money.

An adequately exposed subject contains information at its most total value.

When should auxiliary lights be used and not used?

(Here’s the “more on” reasonable and feasible.)

In Hollywood, everyone is being paid to produce a professional product people will be willing to pay to see. (Pardon the alteration; I got carried away as always.)

In news coverage, the only ones being paid are the news crew or maybe just a single photographer, and they are being paid to get the story regardless of the quality. Sure, it should be as high a quality as is practical, but the story is the thing.

When a photographer comes to do a job, particularly an event, what determines the approach? Can it be with all the lighting using multiple flashes (Hollywood), or will it need to be photographed using the available light (News coverage)?

What is the deciding factor? It would help if you considered the friction you may cause while capturing the moment.

Perhaps the subject or event can be moved to a more photogenic area that would not require much if any, additional lighting. Maybe reflectors can be used instead of flash, thus reducing the interference with an event.

You need to explain to the client the choices (and the resulting photos) and together find a solution. (HINT: Whoever is paying for the project needs to decide, or this may be your last job with them.)

Final thought

Use light to direct attention; it can improve the communication of the composition.

Pine Knoll Shores, North Carolina. [NIKON D2X, Sigma APO 120-300mm F2.8 EX DG HSM, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 200, 1/160, ƒ/10, (35mm = 183)]

We often talk about being either an amateur photographer or a professional photographer. What is the difference between these two? The professional earns a living with their camera.

The workshops or seminars for most professionals frequently talk about how we as professionals must always remain amateur. Two of the three definitions in the dictionary refer to somebody who does or takes part in something for pleasure or is intensely interested in the subject. Only one of the definitions differentiates the amateur from the professional as more than pay, but somebody who has only limited skill.

As you can see, our choice of words in describing a photographer can mean many different things. I was recently reminded about how diverse photography has become at my family reunion. I was trying to explain what I had done to my relatives.

While there are many amateur and professional photographers, I believe the one thing distinguishing most seasoned professional photographers from those who fall by the wayside is creativity. The Creative Photographer is by nature always trying to see the world in new ways.

The Creative Photographer is rarely a generalist—yet can often handle most assignments. The Creative Photographer usually specializes and is often considered an expert in a subject outside their photography knowledge.

I have an uncle who also was a photographer. What was one of his specialties was wildlife. He was called on to write a column for a magazine where he often helped the reader to learn more about wild animals.

I have specialized through the years in different areas that typically involve people in a unique location. My primary specialties have developed into some areas of interest: Corporate Storytelling, Science/Technology; Religion; Sports, and Humanitarian.

While still in my crib, my parents told me how I would take the screws out of the crib. I wanted to take things apart and know how they work. This grew through the years to me enjoying sound systems, cars, computers, and anything your typical geek may be interested in.

Growing up in a preacher’s family, I was surrounded by faith. This interest is still there today. After being active in my church, I went to seminary and earned my master’s. Today I work with a team-leading Missions Storytelling Workshops around the world.

I also spend much time working with Chick-fil-A as a consultant.

My earliest memories involved sports. I remember being taken to sporting events and later playing most sports in some league. Today I play basketball two or three times a week for exercise.

When I show up on a photo shoot for any of these areas, I am not just thinking about setting the camera or lights. I am thinking about what is going on and how a geek, theologian, or athlete would be interested in the subject. At the same time, my studies as a social worker helped me watch body language and capture a peak moment in my interest in science, faith, or sports, allowing me to know what to include and how much to inform the reader.

There have been times throughout my career when I struggled with how to capture the moment to communicate an idea. It was then I would gain new skills with photography to inform the reader better. However, I have been just curious most of my life to want to know more about these subjects. You will find books and magazines, and if I had kept all my pages from surfing the web, you could see that I wanted more about: science/technology, faith, or sports.

The Creative Photographer is often curious and a problem solver when it comes to knowing how to communicate to hook the reader and inform them about the world in which they live.

Give me a call so I can learn something new about your area and help you communicate with your audience. Everyone wants those who work on their projects to add creativity and improve their project.

Using flash at sunset in Jamaica

Not using the flash outside is one of many people’s biggest mistakes with their vacation photos.

Probably the one place for vacations that could use the flash more than we ever think is at the beach. Typically the sun is so bright at the beach the only way for people not to be squinting is to be sure the sun is behind them. The problem with this is now their face is in the shade.

Turning your flash on will fill in the shadow and make it easier to see their face. There are limits to this working effectively. Most on-camera flashes work best from three to ten feet from the camera. If you get further away, your moment will have little impact on the photo.

Having a person face the camera where the sun is on the side of their face will also benefit from the flash. This is where it softens the contrast from the shadow side to the sunlit side of their face.

A good basic guideline for most people is always to use their flash when photographing people outside when they are closer than ten feet to the camera.

Another time of the day where this can also improve your photos at the beach is at dusk. This is where a picture of your loved ones with the sunset sky behind them can capture the beauty of the location you have chosen for your vacation.

While using flash is a great way to improve your exterior photos, another helpful hint is to compose your background before putting your subject (family, friends, and loved ones) in the image.

When you go for a vacation, capturing your group in these locations is better so you can see you were there. For example, if you plan to go to Washington DC, compose the photo so you can see the monument fully in the picture.

Once you have done this, leave a little space to one side or the other to have your friends walk into the photo facing the camera. Have them walk close to the camera and have the monuments over their shoulders in the background. Your friends will typically be seven to fifteen feet away, with the memorial almost a football field away from you.

Remember to use a flash outside when the subject is closer than ten feet and to compose for your background to show where you were on your vacation to improve your photos from your summer vacation.

Getting started

“You need to take more photographs.” This is almost always my number one observation when viewing portfolios of students and emerging professional photographers.

Kodak has told us this for years. However, with film cameras, every time you pushed the button, money left your wallet on its way to Kodak, but no longer!

With digital cameras, it costs nothing to shoot all the pictures you could ever need of a subject. So why do so many people, even photography students, shoot so few photos once they have found a topic that interests them?

Back in the day of film cameras and contact sheets (an 8 x 10 sheet of all the photos on a roll gang printed), it was possible to see how a photographer thought or approached a subject. With good professional photographers, you could even chart the progression of creativity as the exploration of the subject plays out on the page.

First, there was a reasonably decent shot followed by similar shots improving on the first view. Next, the contact sheet showed a change in angle or lens and more exploration. Usually, about the third or fourth approach, the photos became more focused (pardon the pun) or fine-tuned. A few frames before the end of the roll would be the best one or two shots with an immediate and noticeable drop in creativity. The goal was met. The best photo had been made, and the moment was over.

The point is the photographer dedicated enough energy, time, and film to allow their creativity to kick in. Even with the best photographers, it takes a few moments and some thought for this to happen. It NEVER occurs if the subject that attracted the photographer’s attention, to begin with, is not given the energy, time, and number of photos to allow the necessary infusion of his creativity.

When you have a chance to see a documentary about a photographer working, watch his face. If you allow your creativity to join you on your photo shoots, you will see familiar expressions of thought, frustration and positive head nodding on the photographer in the film.

You’ve just seen in action what you would see on their contact sheet given the opportunity.

So many people see something that catches their eye and takes a picture. This is where most people start and stop – with one or two images (correctly called snapshots). The first view of whatever piqued their interest is rarely the best possible view.

Something piqued our interest in the play when we went to a show. Maybe it was the ads or reviews or friends’ comments. If our interest is high enough, we may buy box or orchestra seating so we can have a perfect seat, a seat where we can see the stage from the best angle, a center where we can see all the stage and be close enough to see the expressions of the actors’ faces.

In theater, the director uses lighting and staging to help drive the story’s message. The director “blocks” where he wants the action to take place on the stage. He directs your attention to where he feels it needs to be for the play’s impact.

Buying a seat for a play is like picking a good angle for making a photograph. Find a position where you have good light and can direct the attention of those who see the photos to what you feel has an impact. Now, make a few photographs and let the action build.

One of the digital camera’s most significant advantages is the ability to see what you just shot and the freedom to delete those you don’t want anyone to see.

To create your finest pictures, shoot until you feel (know) you’ve got it. That usually requires a lot of shots. This is not relying on the law of averages or luck. It is not like shooting a burst of photos with a motor drive hoping at least one will capture the moment. That is relying on luck.

By shooting ‘till you feel good about it, you have allowed your creativity to take over and guide your ability to see as only you can see.

Remember, if most people watched plays like they take pictures, they would leave the theater just as the curtain rises.

So shoot and shoot and shoot …