Digital Photography Student

When traveling, people usually take a lot of snapshots. Don't get me wrong, having snapshots in your portfolio is OK, but if you really want your photos to stand out, you need to kick in your creative wits. One of the more popular creative techniques is framing the shot, thus creating a frame within a frame. In example, take a look to the photo on the right. This is a Sagrada Famillia church in Barcelona that I have visited over a weekend. The photo has been taken from the roof of La Pedrera with a long lens. Yes, the Sagrada Famillia looks OK, but it is not creative. Let us now examine how could leverage some creative framing. Fortunately, Antoni Gaudi 's work on La Pedrera has produced one nice arch with a direct view towards Sagrada Famillia . I waited for the moment when nobody was close and fired the shot. So the tip of the week is: Look behind the obvious, and if you plan to frame the shot, try to find a frame that will strengthen the context of your subject. ...

In today's video momphotographer shares some very useful tips for arranging your shot.

The beauty of photography is, that it is individual. Your photography style is your own, and the one thing that makes you different from all of the other photographers out there. So, have the courage to be unconventional. One of my most memorable quotes I have read from a photography book (can't remember which one) was: When you are out there taking pictures, if people are looking at you funny, thinking what the hell are you doing, chances are you are doing a great job !!! Why ? Because you see something that they are missing ! I remember when taking this photo in Potsdam, Germany, in Sansoucci gardens, after initial exposure and parameter check, I was framing the shot for a good 10 minutes. I remember keeping my eye constantly in a viewfinder, just waiting for the right moment to shoot. I guess I was in this position for a while (or I took a funny pose), since later I saw a couple of people looking at me as if I was completely nuts. What they failed to see was that I ha...

Michael Freeman wrote an excellent book on composition I have just finished reading the book The Photographer's Eye by Michael Freeman, and I think that this book provides an excellent material on composition, and offers a ton of useful advice followed by well illustrated examples. I would not recommend it as first book to read. For that purpose books by Scott Kelby will do the trick. The main thing that I like about The Photographer's Eye is that Freeman approaches the subject from a very thoughtful perspective. While the book covers the basic elements (lines, shapes, dynamic tension, balance, etc.) he also talks at length about more emotionally-related issues: chiaroscuro and key, the search for order, reactive thought, etc. These are the concepts that more experienced photographers (and artists) find themselves confronting once they have a solid feel for design elements and construction. I particularly liked his approach on explaining in detail, how exactly does a human eye...