Flash, Strobe, or Constant Light?
When casting light upon your photographic subject, which is better, flashes and strobes, or constant light sources such as bulbs and lamps? The answer, as in many things in life, is “it depends”. Five Reasons To Use A Flash or Strobe: 1. You really need to be able to direct, modify and shape the light....
Super Moon!
In honor of tomorrow’s anticipated “Super Moon” event (Saturday May 5th), here is a rerun of Steve’s article on photographing the moon from last year. ———- Whether you’ve photographed the moon numerous times or have just thought about doing it, Saturday evening, March 19, 2011 May 5th, 2012, is a must do evening. On that...
Yes, you can shoot at midday!
We’ve all had the “golden hour” concept drilled into our heads – those times around sunrise and sunset when the light is long and lovely, creating beautiful conditions in which to capture our photographs. So does that mean your camera has to languish in its bag during the midday hours? No, it does not! All...
This is your chance!
Happy Friday, friends! I’m in the throes of the last week of this semester in college, and Steve is wrapping up his moving extravaganza. So, today’s post is going to be all about YOU. As we wind down our other responsibilities and gear up for a summer full of great content on Beyond Megapixels, we’d...
Three Bad Photography Habits I’m Going to Break
1. Relying on one shot. Believe it or not, often times when I photograph something I’ll just take one or two shots of it, then move on to the next thing. It’s like my attention span won’t allow me to consider that it may take a half-dozen or more shots to really get it right....
Discuss: Is true SOOC possible?
Here’s a question for you, my friends. Do you think it is possible to “get it right” straight out of the camera, with no post-production necessary? Or do you think it’s impossible to obtain the correct exposure, white balance, and color balance without post-production? I recently watched this video, in which Mark Wallace explains why...
The Importance of Perspective
How large do you suppose these rocks are? Could you pick them up in your hand? Step over them? Are they the size of your bed? Your car? Your house? Well, now take a look at this photo: That’s me up there! Here’s another angle. Here’s another one. Pretty mountain stream? Or enormous Upper Falls...
Four Things We All Need To Remind Ourselves
1. It doesn’t have to be a difficult picture to take, in order to be a worthy picture. I was talking to a photographer friend of mine the other day, and asked how he composed a particular shot we were looking at. He gave me chapter and verse on lighting, light modifiers, angles, the inverse...
Two Initial Impressions
I recently purchased a Canon EF 2.0X III Telephoto Extender and a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM 1-to-1 Macro Lens, and I wanted to share my initial impressions with you all. First, the 2x converter. Construction is very solid – it’s made of the same gray/white body material that the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L...
Expose for the Sky
A reader recently asked, “I’ve read a lot of photography articles where they say to “expose for the background” or “meter for the subject”, then “recompose and shoot”. When I do that, it still doesn’t work! My camera just adjusts the exposure for whatever I’m focusing on. For instance, if I want to take a...
Your Weekend Project – Purposeful Focus
Focus is inherently critical in photography. What is OUT of focus is just as important as what is IN focus. Using unexpected focus, or off-center focus, can add interest to your photographs. This weekend practice purposeful focus. Focus and recompose, or practice moving your focus points around through the viewfinder. Break away from auto focus...
Zone Focus Explained
Zone focus is a technique that allows the photographer to essentially “set and forget” the aperture and focus. When used correctly it adds speed and convenience to your shooting experience, especially in situations when fast-moving subjects outpace auto-focus capabilities. Zone focus is also known as “f/8 and be there,” a term that was coined by...
