How to Take Great Car Photos

While many love cars for the mechanical engineering, science, and technology that goes into them, others love them for the rush of driving fast, while others love them simply because they look great. Indeed, car photography is a niche in the photography world, with many photographers, studios, filters, and communities dedicated to the art. Did I forget to mention the beautiful women that are also frequently in attendance at car shows? Whether you are taking professional photos at a car show or are simply taking snaps of the sedan in your driveway, follow these tips and you’ll be taking photos like a ‘pro in no time.

 

Wash The Car

First thing’s first, make sure your car is washed with soap before you start your shoot. For professionals this is a no-brainer, but if it’s your first time, make sure to give it a good scrubbing and buffering before you begin taking pictures. Make sure it has no imperfections such as a broken windshield or glass, and if you need to, visit a windshield repair shop beforehand. This step alone will make your car look many times better. Even if you are taking photos of a person and the car is going to be in the background, take the time to wipe it down so that it looks great on its own.

 

Shoot During Golden Hour

This is generally a great rule for photography, but try to time your photoshoots to the time of day that’s just after sunrise, or just before sunset. At these times of day the sun is low in the sky and produces a wonderful soft light that makes everything look great. It’s called golden hour for a reason, use it to your advantage!

 

Pay Attention to Color

If you can’t shoot during golden hour, at least try to be cognizant of how the color of your car reacts in different kinds of light. For example, very bright colors might look better at night than in direct sunlight, or the reverse for darker colors. Experiment a bit to find the best time for your vehicle.

 

Take a Driving Shot

Taking a shot of the car moving is not only majestic, but you’re showing the car being used as it was meant to be! You’ll need to be careful while doing this, the trick is to take the picture from another moving car. To do this take the picture while carefully sticking the camera outside of the window, using a fast shutter speed of at least 1/100th of a second.

 

Watch Out for Reflections

A nice shiny car will also produce some unwanted reflections, so be cognizant of what your car’s surface looks like. It’s best to try to take the photo with an open space behind you so there’s nothing that can reflect off the car. It’s also not great to have the photographer’s reflection in the photo, to avoid that you can use a tripod set the camera on a timer.

 

Now that you’ve read our tips, fire up your camera, rev your engines, and get out there!

How to Take Great Landscape Photos

Landscape photos are a common subject for obvious reasons: often natural beauty is so plentiful and striking that we naturally want to capture it to film. Sadly, often times the images come out different from what we expect, failing to capture the essence of the nature in front of us. After trying a few times, it’s clear that there’s more to capturing a great landscape than simply whipping out your camera and snapping a few photos. Here are a few tips that will improve your nature photography, allowing you to better capture that ephemeral vista before you.

 

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  1. Properly Compose Your Shot

It’s important to compose the elements of your picture properly so the viewer’s eye is drawn purposefully through the image, telling a story. The rule of thirds is an effective method for composing your landscape photography. Simply break up your image into thirds vertically and horizontally using imaginary gridlines (many digital cameras also have the option to actually display these gridlines on your screen), and then position the main elements of your image at the intersection of the lines or on the lines themselves. Many novices take photos placing their subjects at the center of the image, but if you try the same photo placing the subject at one of the intersections, you’ll notice that the picture is balanced much better, and is much more visually appealing.

 

  1.  Photograph at Golden Hour

There is a saying in the film industry that goes, “God is the greatest gaffer,” essentially meaning that the best light is natural light. Golden hour refers to the time period just after the sun rises and just before the sun sets, because of the naturally beautiful, diffused light created by the sun being low in the sky. Golden hour naturally creates a warm image with long shadows, adding an interesting level of depth to the scene. There is a reason why many photographers go out at this time of day to take photos! You can of course take photos at other times of the day, but note that during midday the sun might be especially harsh. You can try to soften the image by taking photos from a shaded area or waiting until a cloud passes of your subject.

 

  1. Use a Mid-Range Aperture

Using a mid-range aperture will help you capture a sharp, clear image that is desirable when doing landscape photography. To get a nice, sharp image, use an f-stop number that’s around 2 to 3 stops higher than the lowest possible. If you try to use an aperture that’s too far toward either end of the spectrum, such as f/2.8 or f/22, you will notice a slight reduction in clarity, which you don’t want.

 

Often the beauty of being in nature is that it captures a fleeting sense of wonder that is particularly hard to replicate. Hopefully with a few of these tips, you’ll be able to take a little bit of that wonder home with you.

Inner City Photography Tips

Whether you are taking a picture of a graffiti wall in Brooklyn or a dumpster rental in Fayetteville, here are a few pieces of advice to keep you safe and take the best shots.

 

There’s no doubt that cities are some of the most beautiful places on earth. Stunning architecture, hoards of people, and storied histories make these landscapes ever-changing playgrounds of inspiration for photographers. If you’re in a new city you may be tempted to stick to the classic tourist areas, but there are unfound treasures in forgotten side alleyways, residential buildings, and local pedestrians that are waiting to be discovered. This leads me to my first tip…

 

  1. Get the Lay of the Land

Talk to locals about which areas are safe and which are not, especially if you are a tourist. Also note that streets take on a different character at night, and a town square in the middle of the afternoon may suddenly turn unsafe when the sun goes down. Try not to attract too much attention to yourself by walking around with tons of equipment. Bring only what you need. If you insist on taking pictures at night, travel with at least one friend. This is also recommended for daytime photography as well.

 

  1. Wear Comfortable Clothing

Exploring a new city frequently involves many hours on your feet and in the sun. Make sure you’re outfitted in comfortable shoes and loose fitting clothing. If it’s going to be cold outside, dress in layers to keep in your body heat. You can also dress like a local and shop locally – local shops by default have clothing that works for their environment.

 

  1. Pay Attention to The Details

While it’s easy to spot a massive monument like the Arc de Triomphe, don’t forget about the little details such as cracks in buildings, interesting shop windows, and plants or trees.

 

  1. Bring a Tripod

Bringing a portable tripod will allow you to capture the city from a higher angle, allowing you to capture even more detail. Tripods also free your hands allowing you to get long exposure shots, stunning sunset photos, and panoramas with ease. Some cities have restrictions against tripods though, so be sure to check with local regulations.

 

  1. Take Photos of People, Carefully

People are just as big a part of a city as it’s buildings, and can be very interesting subjects to photograph. Remember that they are not inanimate objects, so treat them with respect when you photograph them. Avoid taking photos too close to them, and don’t take a photo with the intention of making fun of them. Instead, you’ll get a better photo if you aim to tell a story with your picture or try to convey a message. Using a smaller camera will help you go unnoticed, and you can try snapping the photo with your camera at your hip to be exta-undercover.

 

Cities are undoubtedly some of the most beautiful and overwhelming places on the planet. Take your time and enjoy shooting the next time you’re there!

How To Choose A Camera

Digital camera, bridge, reflex, film, the vocabulary of photography can seem complex, and the market is so vast that one can get lost. A few pointers and tips to buy the most suitable device for your needs.

The Silver Film: A Bygone Era?

At first, it is important to dissociate the digital and the film. Silver is what we can find in granny’s granaries. They require a photo film.

Some will find that they are too old, yet it is a mode of photography, which has returned to fashion, defying digital techniques. The “surprise cliché” during the development attracts many enthusiasts, just like the “vintage” aspect of the photographs.

However, filmmaking is still a rather expensive technique if we add up the purchase of film, the price of development and the price of the apparatus itself. Although the good old disposable camera can be used to test for silver!

Compact Digital Camera (P&S): Many Advantages

The digital camera (P&S) is the most widespread and often the least expensive model in the world of photography.

It has many advantages: Its price, its size (it is small, light, slips a little everywhere and can accompany you at any time, traveling). Many brands have developed very good quality cameras, powerful zooms, new technologies, allowing the taking of photos of very good quality.

The number of pixels (indicators of the definition of the image) also tends to increase constantly, but know that beyond 10 megapixels, the quality is very good, and the difference is insignificant, even with a 16 or even 18 megapixels. A remark that applies to all types of cameras.

The Digital Bridge: A Good Compromise

First of all, why a “bridge”?

It is simply a model that bridges the gap between conventional Point-to-shoot cameras (P&S) and the single-lens cameras (SLRs). It was created to satisfy users seeking more quality, but not wishing to spend a big budget for a reflex.

Today, the bridge market has expanded, offering a very large range of products, in terms of price, quality, and ergonomics.

Digital SLR: For Real Photographers

The camera known as “reflex” is intended for people who are a little more experienced.

It is a camera consisting of a camera (“body” of the camera) and a lens, which can be changed according to the needs of the photographer.

There are objectives specific to macro photography (for close-ups and details), others more adapted to portraits, landscapes. The handling is more complex than for a simple camera.

The smartphone: For live pictures

At a time when smartphones are in full expansion, we could not pass over their photographic quality.

Although they will not be able to replace a high-quality camera, they are very practical and their quality remains very good.

In addition, the smartphone accompanies us throughout our activities, which is convenient to take snapshots quickly and to share them with a click on social networks. Moreover, it fits in the pocket.

 

Different Styles Of Wedding Photography

Marriage is a very blissful occasion that doesn’t come again and again? You tie a knot with the person who you love the most in this world, and your family and friends are there to shower love and blessings upon both of you. This is an amazing moment and you should not let it go that easily.

There are certain preparations that you need to do in order to make the wedding the most special and memorable moment for you, your partner and everybody involved. You must have spent a huge amount of money to buy a perfect wedding dress, beautiful flowers, a chauffeur-driven car and of course, the wedding hall.

However, do not forget to hire a professional wedding photographer who knows how to handle wedding photography. Today, destination weddings are in trend, and if you too are interested in a destination wedding, then it becomes important for you to hire a photography service that is proficient in the same. Many people identify the best location for their weddings but don’t hire the right type of photographer, which results in average looking wedding albums.

You must be aware of the fact that every photographer has its own style of clicking pictures, so here are some of the most popular wedding photography styles for you. This will help you give a better idea of the latest trends that are being used in the world today.

Traditional wedding photography: If you love doing things old school style, then you should hire a photographer whose niche is traditional photography. He/she will use still photography, which was very popular back in the old days.

Reportage wedding photography: This is called photojournalistic wedding photography and in this style, you will not realize if the photographs are being captured. It is a unique type of photography style, which is getting immensely popular in the US.

Contemporary wedding photography

This style consists of strange camera angles and poses of the couple during different activities and traditions at the wedding. This type of photography offers a complete solution to the couples for capturing all the moments before, during and after the wedding.

Only a professional and experienced photography service would know about the aforementioned photography types. Therefore, it is better to hire a reputed photography service regardless of the fact that they will cost you more because by paying a few extra bucks, you are at least getting stunning photographs of the most important events of your life.