Miami Is Calling You, Photographers

I used to sign up in some photographic website and they always send the latest photographic competitions to me. It helps a lot to keep me in line with the newest information. And today, I receive an email informing me to participate in the premier showcase for international emerging contemporary art – SCOPE art sales.

Renowned for presenting the most innovative galleries, artists and curators, SCOPE Art Shows in Miami, Basel, New York, London and the Hamptons have garnered extensive critical acclaim, with sales of over $200 million and attendance of over 425,000 visitors. Art Takes Miami is open to all creative talents (over the age of 18) from anywhere in the world! Professional, amateur and casual artists, photographers and creatives are welcome to apply. The entry will be closed at and the price is quite rich. 

If you’re interested, search the competition on the Internet and submit your work. This is your chance to have a piece of it.

Good Way to Understand Aperture

Aperture is one of the three pillars of photography, the other two being ISO and Shutter Speed. Without a doubt, it is the most talked about subject, because aperture either adds a dimension to a photograph by blurring the background, or magically brings everything in focus.

1) What is Aperture?

Aperture is a hole within a lens, through which light travels into the camera body. Take our eyes as example. The cornea in our eyes is like the front element of a lens – it gathers all external light, then bends it and passes it to the iris. Depending on the amount of light, the iris can either expand or shrink, controlling the size of the pupil, which is a hole that lets the light pass further into the eye. The pupil is essentially what we refer to as aperture in photography. The amount of light that enters the retina (which works just like the camera sensor), is limited to the size of the pupil – the larger the pupil, the more light enters the retina.

2) Size of Aperture – Large vs Small Aperture

In photography, aperture is expressed in f-numbers (for example f/5.6). These f-numbers that are known as “f-stops” are a way of describing the size of the aperture, or how open or closed the aperture is. A smaller f-stop means a larger aperture, while a larger f-stop means a smaller aperture. Most people find this awkward, since we are used to having larger numbers represent larger values, but not in this case. For example, f/1.4 is larger than f/2.0.

Take a look at this chart: The larger the f-number, the smaller the aperture.

3) What is Depth of Field?

The size of the aperture has a direct impact on the depth of field, which is the area of the image that appears sharp. A large f-number such as f/32, (which means a smaller aperture) will bring all foreground and background objects in focus, while a small f-number such as f/1.4 will isolate the foreground from the background by making the foreground objects sharp and the background blurry.

How to Take Photos with the Zoom Blur Effect

The first time I saw this photo, I was shocked. I used to think only masters and professional image-processing software can achieve this. However, photography, like many things in life, is easy once you know how. Tips from digital camera school will help you create impressive blur effect photos. It is easy to fail, but with a little practice, you will soon get the hang of things.

1. Control the Zoom

Once you have set your camera to a slow shutter speed, you press the shutter release button whilst simultaneously zooming either in or out and this will automatically distort your pictures.
One of the best things to do is to play around with different zoom techniques as you will discover the best ways to dramatically change the effect of your photographs.

2. Watch out for the Light

When the sun is out, you might well find creating these types of photographs with a slow shutter speed is impossible to achieve due to over exposure. To an extent, it can be solved by increasing the aperture value to as high as it will go.

3. Keep the Camera Still

 This is easier said than done. Try twisting the zoom smoothly and not snatch at the controls. This might take a bit of practice but it will definitely pay off. Get in a comfy position and try to support yourself and your camera using whatever is available. This will enable you to get the best possible results.

4. Shutter Priority Mode

Putting your camera in shutter priority is a good place to start with your ISO set to a low value, just turn the dial down to increase the shutter time until you get the results you are looking for. If the light is changing because of the clouds then you will have to tweak shutter speed for the current light levels.

5. Let’s go Full Manual

If you are shooting on an overcast day you might have a very small aperture, which is a similar set-up to the shutter priority mode. Set your shutter speed to 1 second and then you can tweak the shutter speed setting to get the results by increasing or decreasing the shutter speed time.

Why Not Use a White Wall as Background

Identification photos are largely needed in our daily life. When I was in university, I often take photos by myself and develop them at print shop. It is simple to realize; just stand before a white wall and ask your friend to press the shutter. Both time and money are saved. And for product shots for a catalog, it looks better that way.

It seems extremely easy in theory while it takes a lot of experience or a lot of slow and tedious work. First, you need to understand what doesn’t work and why. You can’t put something in front of a white wall, take the shot, and expect the background to be white. It won’t be. Instead it will be some shade of gray. But it is possible to make this work with just two lights – one for the subject and one for the background. If the subject is very large, you will need at least two lights on the background. The main thing is you have to pour a lot more light on the background than you do on the subject.

Next, turn on your background light or lights. You want it to fill the visible area of the background that will show in the image. Take a picture again and look at the image in your LCD panel. If your camera has something called highlight warnings (commonly “blinkies”), turn that on. If the background is properly exposed, then the entire background will be blinking and the subject will look well exposed. Once you get to that point, you are done and you have a perfectly lit subject on a white background.

Although you may face plenty of light and trial and error before accomplishing the same thing, it is a worthwhile exercise to learn how to do it right before spending more money. Just take a trial!

How to Take Creative Couples Portraits

Whatever their skill level, most photographers do everything they can to avoid cheesy, awkward and generic couples portraits. But there are a few creative elements to think about while you’re at the location and also when editing your images that will make them a bit more special. Now let’s learn from Alice Laidlaw, a young award-winning photographer.

LOCATIONS

Locations don’t have to be iconic or super amazing. Integrating texture, form and pattern can lend in telling a story about the couple, and create a narrative in your images.

Trees and Foliage:

Framing couples in the branch formations or space around the tree allows it to be important in the composition without distracting from the couple. This is particularly effective if you stand far back from your subjects. Bushy, full foliage with pattern and texture makes a great background.

Buildings:

Doorways, archways and windows are great to position couple in and give the composition a dynamic aspect. It can often give the image balance, and can be applied to both indoor and outdoor sessions. Carefully positioning yourself and your couple in front of these elements can produce great graphic compositions.

EDITING

If you struggle to think of creative ways to present your images to make them stand out, there are a few things to consider which can make a good image a great image.

Cropping:

If you have a great shot of your couple with the expressions you want, don’t be afraid to crop in really tight. This is also an opportunity to create some alternative formats. Cropping to a square format can also lend to an artistic result.

Combining images:

Pair appropriate images together side by side on the canvas. A good option is placing a close-up portrait orientation next to a wider landscape orientation.

Filters:

A very faint colored filter can change so much in your image and alters the mood dramatically. Warming the tone can instantly romanticize a couple’s portrait. To create an even softer effect, reduce the overall saturation of the original image.

Noise:

Once you’ve done your overall adjustments, applying some noise over the image is a great way to add subtle texture and gives your image an “arty” look.

Add a Border:

Adding a border can make such a different in the overall look of the final image and raises the bar in presentation. It certainly makes your image look more like an art photograph, and also acts as a frame. 

How to Photograph the Stars on the Night

national geographic

Yesterday, it was reported that there would be a meteor shooting across the sky on that night. But it’s pity that most of people didn’t catch a glimpse of any trail. Don’t be regretful. There will be two successive meteors tomorrow, which leave opportunities to feast your eyes. Therefore, how about studying some star photographic skills from how-to wiki? It will help to freeze the brightest “diamonds”.   

Pick a spot

The first thing is pick a prime location. City lights, airports and other brightly lit areas on the ground cause light pollution. Pick a spot far away from the city, preferably in the mountains, in the desert or in a rural area.

Mount your camera to a telescope

You don't need to attach your camera to a telescope to take star photos. Wide-field sky images work just fine with your camera's lens. But if you want to photograph the moon or planets, you'll need to mount your camera to a telescope.

Take your best shot

national geographic

Mount your camera, set the aperture to open all the way, set the focus to infinity and hold the shutter open for several minutes. Brighter objects only require 2 to 10 minutes while distant galaxies may require 20-30 minutes. Don't touch your rig while the shutter is open. You can hold a piece of cardboard in front of the lens when you trip the shutter. Then, pull it away when the camera "settles".

How to shoot meteors

Pick your target based on the meteor shower. Make sure the moon isn't in your shot, since it's so bright it will drown out the stars and meteors.

You should set your lens for a wide field of view. Keep the shutter open for 2 to 10 minutes. If you're lucky, one or more meteors will cross the camera's field of view during that time. If not, try again!

More practice

Keep a log of the objects you shoot along with notes on cloud cover, light pollution.

Start with the moon. It's big and it's bright, making it easy to photograph, even in areas with moderate light pollution.

New Portrait+ Plug-in for PhotoShop: Speed Up Your Efficiency

For most of PhotoShop users, it’s quite annoyed to airbrush blemished skin with hundreds of clicks, and so do I. It’s Ok to spend some time on some delicate work when I am free. But when I am trapped in busy work, I just want to finish it quickly and spare time on other things.

If you are troubled the same way, you may find some useful information here, that is, we are happy to inform you that ArcSoft has released a new Portrait+ plug-in designed for PhotoShop users. The new plug-in combines PhotoShop and Portrait+ together and will greatly improve your efficiency and productivity.

Portrait+ Plug-in applies facial recognition technology to precisely pinpoint facial features instead of requiring complex manual framing. 20 pre-set stunning styles are available including deepen smile, slim face, brighten eyes and more, you can quickly enhance one portrait photo with amazing results and batch-export multiple styles at once. Last but not least, a user-friendly results comparison feature enables you to compare and select the best photos.

If you’re a fan of PhotoShop, you can’t miss this effective photo retouching plug-in. Get free download and take a trial and I believe you won’t regret for it. More specific details, please visit: http://www.arcsoft.com/portraitplus/plug-in-features.html