Today I am going to show you a couple of simple tips. This past weekend we went out to the Houston Arboretum with the kids and some friends. As I was photographing, I could hear my own lessons and see some of them at play. We were at the arboretum right at midday, which is generally not the best time to photograph outdoors because the sun is high and bright. In the arboretum this meant a lot of dappled shade everywhere. Dappled shade can be a real nuisance because it creates a bunch of distracting blotches. In this scenario, you have to be crafty about the way you get your shot and try and guide your subject into a larger patch of shade, like this. It can be as simple as turning someone's head or just scooting them over a little bit.

One of the lessons I have put a lot of focus on is getting close. You can go back and see posts about getting closer here and here and here. In this next series of images I started wide and got closer and closer as I kept shooting. The first image shows the whole scene. The kids get lost in the image. I always talk about how your image should tell a story and this image is telling a story about how the ropes are tied up and what the bridge thing is and does. It's not so much about the kids.

I got a little closer for this next one but there are still a lot of distracting background elements, shadows, etc. I'm also far enough away where we can't really capture a great expression.

Now, as we get even closer it starts to get a lot better! You can see the faces and the background softens up and goes out of focus a little better. By the way, on that note, I did step BACK and zoom IN, which helps the background be less in focus. I was also using a wide open (or low number f-stop).

and even closer...

The last thing I was going to share with you today was a little trick that you can use when trying to include sun flare in your images. Purposely shooting towards the sun can look very cool. You can shoot it in such a way that you get a soft edged sun flare or a defined edge with "rays" and even nice round sun spots. It's just a simple matter of which f-stop you use. Here's an  example:

For the above shots, I just the aperture priority mode on my camera and selected a low number f-stop for the first one and a high number for the second one.

That'a ll for this Monday! As always, I would LOVE to see what you come up with as your work on your own shots. You can include links to your Flickr stream, blog posts or images in the comments section below. It would also make me very happy if you submitted some of your images into the Monday Lesson Flickr Pool.

Last week I talked about how to create a silhouette in an image. I hope some of you were able to start experimenting. Today I am going to share some very cool silhouettes with you as inspiration for your efforts.

The first one comes from Erika Ray. I saw this image in her Flickr stream and just loved it. I think it perfectly captures that feeling of being stuck inside on a rainy day (or sick day or any other day that you are stuck inside). Erika said that she shot this quickly and, therefore, the way in which it was metered and shot didn't allow for a complete silhouette. This image is not a complete silhouette because you see some detail in the little boy's shirt, etc. You also see a little bit of detail of the outside, which I really like for this particular shot. 

This amazing shot also caught my eye on Flickr. I found this on Caroline's Flickr stream and she also agreed to let me share it with you.

I love the drama of this image. The figure looks so much like a mermaid, doesn't she (or he)? The colors of the sunset are just so striking and the clouds have a beautiful shape.

Both of these scenarios make for fairly simple silhouettes. In both cases, you have a very bright background behind the subject and a darker foreground. To test this out, you don't need to have a lovely mermaid model or a sweet babe at the window. Just to get a feel for it, you can use a tree in front of a sunset or something as simple as a chair in front of the window. As you experiment, practice with the various metering modes on your DSLR and see how they affect the final image.

Your feedback, questions and comments keep me excited about these lessons so please share your thoughts, links, images and questions. You can include links to your images, flickr streams, blogs, etc. in the comments section below. You can also join us online and submit images to The Monday Lesson Flickr Pool. Thanks for sharing!

For those of you interested in taking a more in depth class at my studio, check out the upcoming beginner DSLR evening series, the intermediate class and our upcoming Downtown photo safari! Hope to see you guys there!

Silhouettes are striking and dramatic.  They are also fairly easy to create if you have the right conditions.  A good first try would be around dusk like the image below or by a window.  To make it simple for your first try, look for a situation where the sky behind the subject is brighter than the foreground. The background and foreground need to have dramatically different light values for you to easily create a silhouette. If you have this kind of difference in the foreground and the background, you will not need to do much more than point to the camera at the scene and click.



In a scene is like the one below, you may need to use your camera's built in spot meter. If you have never used the spot meter, the first step would be to pull out the scary manual and look up metering or metering modes in the index or table of contents. What the spot meter does is choose an exposure for you based on a single spot in the frame (the center) and not multiple points like your default meter will do. If you can point the spot at the background (which should be brighter than your subject) it will keep your subject dark thus creating a silhouette.


 

This image is not a full silhouette but it could have been depending on how my camera controls were set. If I had wanted him to be darker and the background to be even darker, I would have had to let less light into the camera by speeding up my shutter or opening up my aperture.

If the cameras auto settings are getting you close but not exactly where you want to be, you can always take the exposure that your meter gives you in the auto mode and switch to the manual mode and then adjust from there. Just move your f-stop or shutter speed up or down and experiment until you get it just right. The joy of digital is that you can shoot to your heart's content and just delete the ones that you don't like.

Some other tips for getting a good silhouette:
1. Choose something dramatic with a recognizable outline and shape for your silhouetted subject.
2. If your camera keeps trying to pop up the flash because of the low light in the scene, just turn it off. You may need to check with your manual to find how to turn off the flash.
3. Learn about the metering modes on your camera.
4. Bracket your exposure. This means shooting exposures on either side of the one that your camera gives you. In other words, if it gives you an exposure of (just an example) f8 at a shutter speed of 1/125, try adjusting the f-stop or shutter speed (choose one- not both) by one stop higher and one stop lower than the original exposure. You will end up with three images this way.

So, go play with your controls and see what you can come up with!  Remember to post  links to your examples in the comments below or on the Monday lesson Flickr Group.

I'd love to hear some ideas, suggestions, questions...what do you guys want to learn next?

Silhouettes are striking and dramatic.  They are also fairly easy to create if you have the right conditions.  A good first try would be around dusk like the image below or by a window.  To make it simple for your first try, look for a situation where the sky behind the subject is brighter than the foreground. The background and foreground need to have dramatically different light values for you to easily create a silhouette. If you have this kind of difference in the foreground and the background, you will not need to do much more than point to the camera at the scene and click.



In a scene is like the one below, you may need to use your camera's built in spot meter. If you have never used the spot meter, the first step would be to pull out the scary manual and look up metering or metering modes in the index or table of contents. What the spot meter does is choose an exposure for you based on a single spot in the frame (the center) and not multiple points like your default meter will do. If you can point the spot at the background (which should be brighter than your subject) it will keep your subject dark thus creating a silhouette.


 

This image is not a full silhouette but it could have been depending on how my camera controls were set. If I had wanted him to be darker and the background to be even darker, I would have had to let less light into the camera by speeding up my shutter or opening up my aperture.

If the cameras auto settings are getting you close but not exactly where you want to be, you can always take the exposure that your meter gives you in the auto mode and switch to the manual mode and then adjust from there. Just move your f-stop or shutter speed up or down and experiment until you get it just right. The joy of digital is that you can shoot to your heart's content and just delete the ones that you don't like.

Some other tips for getting a good silhouette:
1. Choose something dramatic with a recognizable outline and shape for your silhouetted subject.
2. If your camera keeps trying to pop up the flash because of the low light in the scene, just turn it off. You may need to check with your manual to find how to turn off the flash.
3. Learn about the metering modes on your camera.
4. Bracket your exposure. This means shooting exposures on either side of the one that your camera gives you. In other words, if it gives you an exposure of (just an example) f8 at a shutter speed of 1/125, try adjusting the f-stop or shutter speed (choose one- not both) by one stop higher and one stop lower than the original exposure. You will end up with three images this way.

So, go play with your controls and see what you can come up with!  Remember to post  links to your examples in the comments below or on the Monday lesson Flickr Group.

I'd love to hear some ideas, suggestions, questions...what do you guys want to learn next?

For the past couple of posts, we've been talking about getting closer. For our lesson today, we are going to talk about getting close and being bold and creative in our cropping (specifically with portraits). Today's lesson comes with an assignment too but we'll get to that a little bit later.

Getting closer can be a challenge, especially when you are photographing people. I think it makes both parties a little nervous if the photographer is right up in the subject's face clicking away. I want you to fight through that anxiety, though, because getting close can make such a radical difference in your photography. This is why I have been focusing on it so intently for the last few weeks. If you feel nervous getting really close to your subject, a zoom lens can be a life saver. Feel free to back up but make sure you zoom back in, way in. Zooming in is also flattering for the face. When I say I want you to be close, I mean I want you to be this close...

As you can see in the copyright stamp, this amazing image was taken by Abby Braman. I saw this on Abby's Flickr stream and asked her if she would mind sharing it with all of you. What this image perfectly illustrates is how wonderful it can look when you get close and crop creatively. What makes this image work is how irreverently it was cropped. It allows you to really see that amazing eye! I also think the crop shows off her expression too (kind of a sweet smirk). You can even see the photographer in the reflection of her eye. I want you to see this example and feel confident that it's absolutely okay to crop off the side of someone's face or the top of their head or whatever. Just be experimental and try it out. You may surprise yourself and end up with a jewel like this!

This next image was taken by Betty Schueter. I found this amazing image example on Betty's Flickr stream. The best part? This image was taken with an iPhone! People always ask me about cameras and which one is best or which one should they buy. The real trick is knowing how to use the camera that you have to its fullest potential. Always remember, the camera isn't taking the picture, you are.

Not to digress too much but, speaking of iphones, you might check this site out. I love how he says that "the best camera is the one that's with you". 

So, back to the images and on to your assignment! I want you to try and emulate these crops. Here's my opinion, copying is not always bad. In fact, when you are learning something new, copying (for lack of a better word) can be incredibly helpful. It's the first step. When I used to teach photography at The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and Episcopal High School (both in Houston, Texas), one of the assignments that I gave my intro class was to pick a photographer whose work you love and emulate it. Once you have experimented with replicating what someone else has done (tried it on for size so to speak) you can then personalize it and make it your own. It's a liberating way to try some new techniques. Enjoy!

Please post links to your images in the comments section below or in the Monday Lesson Flickr pool. I'd love to see what you come up with!