Throw away the tripod!

Tripods are awesome bits of equipment, but I've gone out and about and deliberately left it in my car. Here is what I'm reminded of now

1. Make sure the ISO is high enough for speed shots, but not too high otherwise noise will be a factor;
2. I am actually allowed to crouch down or lie down to take a shot :-)
3. walls, tables, chairs and so on are good to use if long shutter speeds are needed.
4. I can actually hold a camera still but making sure that the speed multiplied by the focal length should be less than one just to be safe.So if I'm shooting with a 200mm lens I need to make sure that the speed is faster than 1/200.

I dare you to throw away your tripod, well at least for a few trips out anyway!

have fun! ☺



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You took a photo portrait style but then redid it in landscape and it became so much better - huh!?

We have at our disposal the ability to zoom in, zoom out, swap lenses, shoot vertically (ie portrait style) or horizontally (ie landscape style). But what to do when? Here are some pointers.


1. Tell the story - if the story is stronger when shot in portrait style - leave it. Likewise, if the story is stronger when shot landscape style - leave it.
2. Horizontal lines emphasis the horizontal elements in the image.
3. Vertical lines emphasis the vertical lines in an image.
4. Some shots are better cropped square and so when shooting leave space around the story so you can crop. With Instagram being so popular, cropping to a square format requires a little pre thinking before you press the button.
5. Classical landscape images work well with an aspect ratio of 3:1 or 2:1, so experiment with a few images.
6. Don't forget you can also affect the story in many other ways, for example by having the camera low (to reduce emphasis on the foreground) or high and looking down (to enhance the presence of the foreground).

Let us have a look at a few images.

This image shows space, lots of it and isolation. Does shooting in landscape enhance the story or do you think portrait style would have told a stronger story. I think this has a stronger story.

This scene of the mountain range at sunrise needs to be shot landscape and to enhance the view I think 3:1 aspect ratio who do this gorgeous scene more justice.


Here it is again cropped to 3:1 ratio and put on a black mask. Does it look different? Better? Worse?

Here in this shot of two trees, I chose to shoot vertically to emphasis the vertical lines and give strength to the story. Unlike the first image above, the space and isolation were secondary elements to the story.

This Perth skyline image shows lots of vertical lines from the buildings to the colours on the water. Using landscape removed lots of unwanted sky and I could get in all of the buildings and reflections.

In this city shot, I used a square format (for Instagram) but still managed to emphasis the strong vertical lines.

This shot of the bouncer was cropped square and works well as the vertical line of the pole and the horizontal line of the door mat and rope create a nice natural square frame. If I wanted to emphasis the story that he was alone in the line, then shooting landscape with him on one end and letting the rope guide our focus to the rest of the red carpet would have told that story.

In this early morning shot of a rainbow with the sun illuminating the cloud works well vertically because firstly it removes any unwanted elements; it strengthens the linear elements in the scene and connects the clouds to the ground and gives a nice sense of scale to the shot.

In this shot, I framed it all square as I wanted to give everything a "contained" or cramped look. I shot pretty much on the ground as the ground didn't add to the story.

In this shot of an escalator (yes it is an escalator), the square format adds a sense of stability to the image and creates a nice focal point at the end of the elevator.

And finally, a square subject cropped square. Our eyes do not wonder off and the story is enhanced.



 So hopefully, I have given you a few ideas when deciding how best to shoot something.


Have fun :-)




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One location, many opportunities

How many times have you arrived at a location to take a photo you have in mind?

Well why not use the opportunity to experiment with different techniques. For example, you could try:

1.  landscape shot
2. up close bordering on macro scale
3. when was the last time you lied down to take a shot?
4. silhouette shot
5. long shutter speed, maybe panning with a bicyclist as they go past (1/20 is a good place to start for this shot)
6. fast shutter speed to catch a bird taking flight.
7. using the zone focus method instead of auto focusing
8. framing a scene and then waiting for someone or something to complete it. 
9. capturing people and their expressions

Hopefully this will give you some ideas for next time. 

 Here are some different types of images taken from the same location during a visit. I experimented with a few different ideas, some worked, some didn't - but I did have fun!

have fun! ☺

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It's 2am and now what?

It's 2am and my part of the world is asleep ... time to head out for some night shots.

Do you have beautiful buildings and churches near you? Try shooting them at night without people around.


Here are a few tips

1. up the ISO to 800 or more.
2. take a tripod and torch
3. use the mirror lock up and a remote release if you have one. 
4. push the exposure right to reduce the noise in the shadows- you can always fix this up afterwards
5. think about how you want the finished product to turn out - what creative bend are you going to use
6. shoot in "raw" formant you get a few more stops dynamic range.
7. take a flask of hot coffee :-)

It is worth the effort ...

have fun! ☺

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