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These photography tips are a record of new entries to the Daily Photo Tips RSS feed since November 2007. There are currently 1567 tips in the database! Contact Me to comment or add tips.
Reflections give you the ability to distort a scene, giving you more control over its appearance. Try using reflections to further abstract your subject. (First published Jan 25, 2008)
25.Mar.08Use your camera's depth of field preview button when photographing a scene with blurry background highlights. This will let you see if the highlights take the shape of your lens's aperture or not.
24.Mar.08When photographing reflections, try using a polarizing filter to control the transparency of the reflection. This will give you control over your composition without having to change angles.
23.Mar.08When digitally increasing colour saturation, be very careful when adjusting photos of people. Skin can become very ugly and strange looking with only a small saturation boost!
22.Mar.08Use a small point flash or other small light source when shooting portraits. This will form an attractive 'catch light' in your subject's eye.
21.Mar.08Look for solar halos or sundogs around the sun on days with high, thin clouds. A halo will appear as a coloured ring around the sun. A sundog will appear as two horizontal coloured spots.
20.Mar.08Professional quality ink-jet printers can print photographs on many mediums, not just glossy paper. Try art paper, canvas, translucent plastic, or any other printer-safe material you can think of!
19.Mar.08Small pupils can create fascinating portraits. To create this effect, move your subject from a very bright area to a dimmer one immediately before making a photo.
18.Mar.08Most photography software has the ability to automatically fix dust and scratches. Use this tool with care – usually, the algorithm will erase image details as well, resulting in a softer, blurrier photograph.
17.Mar.08Try using a long lens and a very wide aperture to reduce the depth of field for a complex subject. Some subjects look too busy and cluttered if photographed completely in focus.
16.Mar.08Especially if you make lots of photographs of people, be sure to familiarize yourself with the legalities of photography. The law limits what you can photograph and who you can show your work to.
15.Mar.08Many cameras allow the photographer to switch between metering systems, changing the way the camera interprets the exposure value for the scene. Common methods are centre-weighted, spot, and matrix.
14.Mar.08Photographs in a series are different from many photographs from the same photo shoot. Photographs in a series explore either the same object or theme, and are strongly conceptually linked.
13.Mar.08Centering the subject can sometimes (but not always) cause a photo to stagnate. A large object in the centre of a work is quite 'heavy', especially in a very geometric scene.
12.Mar.08If an important portrait turns out to have an uncorrectable colour cast, try printing it as a black and white. This can be an easy out if you're inexperienced working with subtle colour fixes.
11.Mar.08Apathy can make talented photographers produce low quality work or no work at all. In addition to talent, great photography takes effort, devotion, and motivation – so get out there and take photos!