January 13th, 2009 by Kris
I don’t pretend to have all the answers, so this is just one way that I’ve been able to archive this look. As we progress I plan on sharing with you the sucesses from my studio explorations.
So here’s the setup, 1 1600Watt Alien Bee, 1 3021BPRO Manfrotto Tripod that has a 808RC4 Head, a few 15lbs. obnoxious orange sandbags, a decent amount of black foam core, an old door, and a big white wall. See, like this . . . Read the rest of this entry »
January 13th, 2009 by Kris
Let’s talk for a minute about what makes a great photo.
Is the moment of capture?
Man Jumping into a puddle, by Henri Cartier-Bresson
The subject?
Pepper Number 30, 1930 by Edward Weston.
Is the equipment? Or even the process?
The Flatiron, 1905 by Edward Steichen
The truth of the matter is there are several criteria to a great photo, many of them are simply ineffable. But let’s walk through, three things to think about when you go out shooting next.
- Shoot from somewhere other than eye level. Simply put, squat down, crawl up on a bench, lay down on the floor, the change in vantage point will significantly improve your image. Something else that might help, try resting the camera on the edge of something to act as a faux-tripod. Or better yet buy, borrow, or beg yourself into a tripod.
- Turn off the on camera flash. This may make shooting a little tricky, especially in low light situations (inside, at a party, etc.), so use your new found faux-tripod skillz. You may be shocked how much better your pictures look without the stark light of that little bulb.
- Take more than one picture of whatever you’re shooting. Now this may sound strange, but since we’ve got our flash off and we’re changing our point of view, try a shot on the ground looking up, try a shot on a chair looking down, try one close, you get the idea. When those of us that do this for a living take a photo, we take tens, sometime, hundreds of photos of the same setup. Making minor tweaks along the way. All you see is the final shot.
Start here and get back with me if you come up with anything you’re proud of!
Good luck, now go shoot till your fingers bleed!! (I am hereby not resposible if you take that last line seriously)
January 12th, 2009 by Kris
Let’s say for a moment that I’ve got more to say than I can put on my flikr account and that I’ve got more to talk about than food. What then might I do? Well, here we go again, more content for the masses. My objective for this blog is to simply talk about how to make a better photo and share some stories of things I run across along the way.
So, welcome to it – Kris D’Amico’s Blog #3 – How to take a better photograph!
