Winter Photography!

My gosh the Polar Vortex continues to plague us here in Michigan and around the country!

-30 degrees is COLD!

Snow is piled everywhere. I believe we had a snowfall of approximately 9 inches and we were lucky!

As mentioned in a previous post, winter can be a beautiful season for photographers to capture the outdoors.  From sledding to landscape photos, winter offers many opportunities to photograph great memories!

Here is an article by the New York Institute of Photography on Winter Photography:

Winter Photography Tips

By Tom Cavalieri on December 22nd, 2012

Plan on using your digital camera outdoors for winter photography? Take a few tips from this photographer's summer assignment.
August. Not normally a month to be taking digital photos in the snow. But that's just what I was doing on Washington's glacial Mount Baker, participating in and reporting on an Alpine Ascents International mountaineering course for The Robb Report, the luxury lifestyle magazine.
It just so happens that the year I undertook this assignment, Mount Baker, just north of Seattle, received a record amount of snow that lasted well through the following summer. The snow was almost a foot deep in the parking lot near the base of the mountain and at 8,000 plus feet elevation, it may as well have been February. Which meant that despite the season, the class was learning how to get along in snow and ice, and as far as my photographing it all was concerned, winter rules applied as well.
No matter if you're traversing glaciers, skiing the slopes, sledding with the kids, or just trying to capture that first snowfall of the season there are some winter photography basics to keep in mind in order to get great winter pictures with your digital camera.

Baby It's Cold Outside

The first thing you need to consider when shooting outdoors in the winter (or at least, in snow conditions) is the temperature. Sure, you're all bundled up, but what about your camera? The batteries in your digital camera don't react well to the cold, it reduces their output. That's why your mom always kept new batteries in the fridge, right? Keep your camera warm by carrying it under your coat, as close to your body's warmth as possible. And carry extra sets of batteries in a warm place too.
I kept two extra sets of batteries stashed in my pants pockets anytime I took my camera out. I'd rotate the batteries to give them a chance to warm up again. Otherwise, cold batteries act like dead batteries.

Digital Photography Tip: Don't be Snow Blind

Once you get past dealing with the cold, taking winter photos is a piece of cake, right? Nope. You've got all that shiny white stuff to deal with in winter photography. Snow presents all kinds of problems to the digital photographer. If you just "meter the scene" your camera's built-in light meter will read all that snow as an 18% gray tone. The snow will look gray and everything else in the picture darker than the snow will look black. A general rule of thumb is to compensate for the brightness by opening up one or two stops or over-exposing, to let in more light. If your camera has automatic exposure compensation try both a +1 and +2 and see which works best. Another solution, which we teach in the NYIP Complete Course in Professional Photography is to set exposure using a gray card.
Of course if you're trying to photograph the people in that snow scene and you use the above method, you run the risk of over-exposing them as well. You've got to choose which is the more important part of the subject, the people or the snow. If it's people you're after then the trick is to get right in their face (with your camera of course) and take a reading of the light that's hitting it. Set your camera accordingly and no matter where you shoot from you should have the proper exposure for the person's face. If you can't get a close-up reading, (for instance, someone zooming by on skis) take a reading of your own hand (minus the glove). As long as your skin tone and the amount of light is same as your subject's you should get an accurate exposure.

Timing is Everything

Another important digital photography tip for every photographer to know is that good lighting is the key to great pictures and the best time of day, lighting-wise when shooting outdoors is often early morning or late afternoon. That's especially true in snow. At a low angle the sun casts long shadows and adds contrast to your subject that otherwise might not be there if it were directly overhead. Knowing where the sun is in relation to your subject is important any time of day. Keep the sun at a right angle to your shot early or late in the day and behind you when it's high in the sky.

Winter Photography – Yes, it's All White, All Right

While the idea of capturing that pristine field of snow might sound appealing, it may lead to a boring photo. Look for objects that add color and contrast to your scene. Colorful ski clothes and dark contrasty shadows abound in winter. Use them to add emotional weight as well as interesting compositional devices to your pictures.

A Not Too Bright Suggestion

One of the things that I found most annoying on those cold August days was not being able to compose my shot in the camera's LCD display. I just couldn't see because of all the glare. This was really a problem when I used a telephoto adapter attached to the camera and couldn't use the viewfinder. My camera had no way of attaching a hood to shade the screen, but I was able to get around the problem by calling on the photographer's (and the camper's) best friend: duct tape. I fashioned an improvised hood from the tape, just large enough to shade the display and allow me to see what it was I was shooting.
One last thing: When I was finally back in civilization and reviewing the photos I had taken that snowy summer, I was glad that I had decided to bracket many of the shots I had taken. While some of the images needed major color correcting in Photoshop, more times than not, I had some great raw material to work with right out of the camera. The key was taking a few different exposures whenever possible and deleting the files that were obviously over or under exposed but keeping all the rest.
If you try some of the techniques mentioned above the next time you find yourself shooting in snow, winter or summer, you'll end up better, more interesting images.

Here is a photograph taken after a snowstorm one afternoon two  years ago.

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Appleberry Photography

Be safe and warm during the Polar Vortex and capture some awesome photographs!

Ellen

How to take Halloween Photographs - New York Institute of Photography

The days are getting shorter, the weather has turned cooler, the trees are beginning to have their fall coloring.  Now is the time to learn how to take awesome photographs of Halloween!

Here is an excellent article from the instructors at the New York Institute of Photography!

How to Take Great Halloween Photos

By NYIP Staff on December 13th, 2011

Halloween Editor's Note
Since Halloween is a holiday that presents terrific photo possibilities, it's no surprise that "How to Take Great Halloween Photographs" is one of our most popular "How To" features. Because we've received so many requests to run it again, we're happy to oblige. If you've never read this article on Halloween photos, we promise you'll take better pictures of the goblins and ghouls that you meet on All Hallows Eve after reading our Halloween photo tips. If you have read it in the past, why not review it as a brush up? And, for more merriment, don't forget to check out the NYIP Project Redeye Halloween Photo Challenge video on YouTube." After all, like Christmas, Halloween comes but once a year! If you see a ghost, don't forget to say "Boo!"

October is a great month to take pictures not just Halloween pictures. The humid hazy days of summer have given way to crisp cool days with clear air and bright blue skies. The perfect combination for sparkling photographs! The sun is lower in the sky, providing wonderful long shadows in early morning and late afternoon. So conditions are perfect for photographers — amateur or professional — to get out there and take great pictures.
October starts with the wonderful colors of fall and the harvest, and it ends with a bang with Halloween — one of the year's greatest photo opportunities.

Let's cut to the Main Event — Halloween — and discuss how you can make all types of dramatic and eerie Halloween photos. This is a great opportunity to use your camera. Enjoy!
Pope Gregory III started it all in 739 A.D. when he officially designated All Saints Day, but he wouldn't recognize Halloween as we celebrate it today. It's become a night of fantasy for children of all ages — a night of glowing jack-o-lanterns, spooky costumes, and kids trick-or-treating. It's a night of spooks and spirits.

Some years, it's not even confined to just one evening. If Halloween falls on a weekend, or as it does this year on a Monday, the festivities and parties will likely start on Friday night, carry through the weekend, and culminate with Trick or Treating on Monday. That translates into multiple opportunities to capture superb Halloween pictures! And, that's not all, in some parts of the world — for example, Mexico — November 1 is "Dia de los Muertes" (Day of the Dead), a major holiday with both comic and solemn overtones to commemorate the memory of departed ancestors. (In case you're wondering, the picture on the left is a "typical" Day-of-the-Dead party favor. Some party. Some favor!)
It's easy to turn Halloween fantasy into permanent photographic memories if you keep just two things in mind: First, NYI's three Guidelines for Better Photographs. Second, the "spirit" of Halloween.
Let's start with the NYI Guidelines. As with any picture you take any time, good Halloween photos depend upon your fulfilling NYI's Three Guidelines. Before you press the shutter, you must decide on the answer to the three questions we call our Three Guidelines: One — What is the subject of the photograph? Two: How can I focus attention on that subject? Three: How can I simplify the subject? If you're unfamiliar with these Guidelines, we suggest you first read our Photo of the Month Review analysis for a demonstration of how these Guidelines work.

For example, look at this picture of "Ms. Dracula." Here's a subject that can sink her teeth into you! All Three Guidelines are clearly met. There's no doubt as to what the photographer had in mind. Those fangs are clearly the subject here. They're right up front and stand out loud and clear. There's nothing to distract you from the intent of this picture. Ms. Dracula's eyes are staring right at you, and make it absolutely clear that you — the viewer — are about to be lunchmeat! Ouch.
But, as we've noted, the Three Guidelines are only part of the story on how to get great Halloween photos. The second key is to capture the "spirit" of Halloween. What's the "spirit" of Halloween? Fantasy. Fear. The supernatural. The eerie. The unworldly. And how can we capture this "spirit" in our Halloween photographs? One of the best Halloween photo tips is to use the right dramatic lighting. Since nighttime ghouls are so central to the holiday, this often means shooting at night or in dim light.
"Hey, shooting at night? No problem, right? Just use a flash, right? Wrong! Halloween should look dark. Using flash will give you bright lighting of scary creatures. Is that what you want? No. They look a lot more frightening when you view them in the dim light of the crypt or the glow of the moon. Lighting? Yes. Perhaps, "ghoul lighting." (We'll explain this in a moment.) Perhaps, candlelight. But flash? Usually, no!"
We divide subjects for Halloween pictures into three basic groups, and each calls for its own type of lighting: 1) Glowing Jack-O-Lanterns; 2) Kids and adults in costumes; and 3) Kids out trick-or-treating. Let's look at each category separately.

Jack-O-Lanterns

Here's one area where it's almost always better to avoid the harsh, show-all light of the flash. Let's say you've just finished carving a scary, snaggle-toothed jack-o-lantern. Let's take some pictures of it right away.

You can end up with a bunch of Halloween photos like the one on the left of the carved pumpkin where you carved it – say, on the doorstep. Problem: The setting is apparent. And the setting can distract from the subject. Here are some Halloween photo tips to get the best jack-o-lantern pictures. First, it is better to place it somewhere that is less distracting — for example, in the garden where the leaves can form a background for the jack-o-lantern — as in the picture on the right.
Better, but not perfect. Why? Because the real magic of the jack-o-lantern doesn't emerge until it's dark and you've lit a candle inside to capture that ghoulish glow.

So you wait until dark to shoot. Now, we have some new problems. If you don't override the "automatic flash" on your camera, your flash will fire and you'll end up with a picture like the one on the left, above. In this strobelight, you don't see much of the inner glow of the candles, but you see every "complexion" defect on the pumpkin's skin and a shiny highlight that screams "Flash!"
On the other hand, if you override the flash and make sure it doesn't fire, you end up with a picture like the one on the right, above — lots of candle glow, but no sense of pumpkin! This isn't exactly right either!
What to do? How can you get a combination picture that shows the glow of the candles, and also shows the pumpkin? Here are some more Halloween photo tips to help you get great images.
Call in the pyromaniacs. For cool Halloween photos we place the jack-o-lantern in the fireplace and make a small fire from a few sheets of newspaper behind it. Result? You get something like these:

How do you get these different effects? By varying the lighting. (By the way, one thing is constant. To get enough candlelight inside the pumpkin, we use three candles. Our experience is that one or two are not enough!) The picture on the top left is taken with just the three candles inside the pumpkin and the fire behind. The picture in the top right is lit the same, but we've also added strobe. Personally, we think the flash is a little too bright. So we shot the picture on the right using strobe again, only this time we put one finger in front of the flash to cut down the amount of light that hits the subject. Which of these pictures do you like best? It's a matter of choice.

Here's another photography technique for low-light Halloween photographs. Take a tip from the pros. When they want to show a scene at night, they often shoot before it's totally dark. They shoot during twilight when the sky has that rich blue/purple color shortly after sunset. Like them, you'll find that finished prints or slides make the scene look darker than it really is so that the viewer will assume it was shot at night.
When you apply this photography technique, if you're using a film camera, use fast film. Whether you use a single lens reflex (SLR) or point-and-shoot, load your camera with a film that is ISO 400 or faster. You'll be thrilled with the results. Try it!
In addition to the other Halloween photo tips, if you're using a digital camera, try boosting your camera's effective speed or ISO. While this may add a little noise to the photo, that won't be inconsistent with the subject matter.

Gremlins and Goblins and Ghouls

Everybody enjoys putting on a scary Halloween costume and having fun. In fact, you may be surprised to learn that in recent years, sales of costumes for adults have outpaced costumes for kids! Whether you pose portraits of your favorite poltergeist while he or she is getting ready to haunt the neighborhood, or you "grab" candids of spooky partygoers or paraders, the steps are the same.
Let's say you want to take Halloween pictures of your little boy (or kid brother) in a "scary" costume before he goes out trick-or-treating. First, figure out what's the best part of the costume. Is it just the mask on the face? Or is it the mask and the torso too? Then get in close and fill the frame with the parts you've decided are best. A pro tip: It's usually better if you don't shoot from head to toe since shoes are often the weakest part of a costume. (One year we wanted to go to the local Halloween parade disguised as a rabid raccoon, but we just couldn't locate the right footwear.)

Here are some Halloween photo tips for composition. If you're shooting a child or a group of children, bend down low to kid's-eye level. Don't shoot from adult level down on these little ghouls — you'll trivialize them. Or if you're limber enough, bend down to below kid's-eye level or even lie down for the shot. Nothing makes a monster more imposing than looking up at the scary countenance.
If you're shooting two monsters, get them as close together as possible and, again, get close enough to fill the frame with the best parts of their costumes. People tend to drift apart when there's a camera pointed at them. You want just the opposite — no space between those monsters — like this:

Important Halloween Photography Tip: Be sure to take some Halloween pictures of your favorite creature with and without the mask. That way in future years everyone will be able to identify the little devil behind the mask, and this year you may be able to use the picture for your holiday card. After all, if all you take is a picture of your nephew dressed and masked as Spiderman or one of the Fantastic Four, viewers won't know who's under that mask.
The same Halloween photo tips go for portraits of adults in costume, only you don't have to get down so low to be at eye-level. But don't forget the possibility of bending low or even lying down to make the monster look taller and scarier.

And don't forget Fido or Cleo. Put a mask or silly hat on the family pet, and shoot — but fast. The suffering beast will probably be too embarrassed to suffer this indignity for more than a few seconds.
When you turn to groups of monsters, aim for the two elements that help any group photograph. First, show relationship by having them close together, touching one another wherever possible — you know, arm over the shoulder, etc. Second, make it casual. Try to get them to laugh and relax.
With groups of monsters — young or old — it's the same. First, pack them together, have them touch, and fill the frame with them. Second, keep it casual. Don't line them up like soldiers at attention. If you're photographing three, group them in a triangle — this arrangement usually looks best. In a larger group, like the one shown below on the left, have some kneel or crouch down in front of the others so you get an up-and-down arrangement. Regardless of the grouping, before you shoot the Halloween pictures get them to give their scariest growls and grunts and moans. In this case, it beats laughing!

Now, how should we light these posed creatures? When possible, try "ghoul lighting." We mentioned "ghoul lighting" before. What is it? Remember how, as kids, we would shine a flashlight up at our face from below the chin. This is "ghoul lighting." It's different from our everyday lighting which is almost always from overhead, whether it comes from the sun or from room lights. Ghoul lighting creates shadows on the face that are eerie, other-worldly, exotic — in a word, "ghoulish." If you're taking a closeup of a face, here's what we suggest: Don't use your flash. Rather, have the vampire hold a flashlight about six inches under his chin and point the light up onto his face. Then just bare a few fangs, and Eek! By the way, if you would like to see ghoul lighting in action, you might want to check out our Youtube Video: NYIP Project RedEye "Halloween Photo Challenge."

Candid pictures at parties and parades use pretty much the same photography techniques. While you may have to react faster, the secret is to decide on the best part of the costume before you shoot, then get in close enough to fill the frame with this part. Chances are, you'll have to use strobe to get enough light, but often you'll get a better-lit picture if you just use available light. Of course, if you plan to use available light, once again we suggest you use a fast film — ISO 400 or faster. With a digital camera, you'll probably want to use your flash.

Trick-or-Treat

We really have two different types of situations for Halloween photo tips here. First, Halloween photographs you take from inside your house of goblins who come trick-or-treating to your door. Second, Halloween photographs you take from outside a neighbor's door when you follow around after your own baby goblin. We made the portrait of this scary trick-or-treater using the ghoul lighting technique that we described above.
When you're taking pictures of monsters coming to trick-or-treat at your door, you have to be ready. Kids come and go mighty fast. Here's one time when flash on camera can come in handy.

It's best if you have two people in the house. One to answer the door. The other to take the picture from behind so that the photo includes both the person answering the door and that porchful of ghastly visitors. Tell the ghouls they'll have to grimace and groan before treats are dispersed — then snap the shutter while they're howling.
If you are following your own kids with your camera on their trick-or-treat rounds, try to capture their expressions of glee when candy is poured into their outstretched hands. As always, get in close. And — very important — position yourself so that the door won't swing open and block your view.
In sum, the key to great Halloween photos boils down to following the three NYI Guidelines and capturing the spirit of the occasion — ghoulish celebration and silliness. So, for all types of great Halloween photographs, know what you want the subject of each of your pictures to be, and make it important in the frame usually by making it big and up front in the frame. Then add the "mood" that captures the spirit of Halloween by the ghoulish way you light your pictures and/or the silly way you pose your subjects.

If you apply these simple Halloween photo tips, you're going to make this a Halloween you'll never forget!

Photography Tips

Appleberry Photography  recently had several inquiries from our readers on advice on what philosophy we use when taking our photographs!  We welcome all comments and questions!

I've take courses at the New York Institute of Photography.  With each photograph I take, the lessons I've learned from NYIP are in my mind. 

Here is an excellent article from the New York Institute of Photography;

This simple Three-Step Method is the secret of every successful photograph ever taken. 

1. Know your subject .
2. Focus attention on your subject.
3. Simplify.

This simple Three-Step Method is the secret of every successful photograph ever taken. We teach our students to consider these three steps every time they look into the viewfinder. To consider them before they press the shutter button.
When our students mail in their photographs for analysis by their instructor, the instructor starts by commenting on what we call the three Guidelines. Of course, the instructor analyzes other elements of the picture too – focus, exposure, filters, etc. But the key to every good photo – and the essential element of every great photo – is adherence to these three Guidelines.
How do they work? How can you apply them? It's beyond the scope of this Web site to teach you every nuance, but you will get an inkling from the Photo of the Month Analysis that follows.

Photo of the Month – "Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice the Hard Way!"

by NYIP Graduate Edward Mineer
Who says that photography has to be deadly serious? Not me! This amusing image by NYIP Graduate Edward Mineer really tickled my funny bone. Let's take a look at it in detail.
What is the subject? That's pretty straightforward as there are only three elements in the image – the orange, the glass, and the railroad tracks. Taken together they represent the subject. Remove any single element and you have no picture, at least not one that has meaning. Speaking of meaning, is there anyone viewing this photo who does not understand what is going on here? Perhaps there is. After all, not every culture has orange juice on the breakfast menu.
How did the photographer draw attention to the subject? Both the orange and the glass are in the foreground and are the only elements that are really in sharp focus. Additionally, the orange is the only prominent color here. Your eye is just naturally drawn to it. By the way, this photo is an excellent example of the Rule of Thirds. More of a guideline than a rule, but placing the subject off-center usually results in a more dynamic look. We encourage our students to use this principle, though occasionally they will assume we mean EVERY photo should be composed that way. There are exceptions to every "rule" but such placement works very well here.
Could the image be simplified in any way? Are there any distracting elements that don't belong? Well, some might argue that we don't need all those railroad tracks off in the distance. Why not crop the photo a bit, as I have done here, to really zoom in on the orange and the glass. A lot of images can be improved by some judicious cropping; though that is best done when you are composing the shot in the camera's viewfinder, rather than after the fact. Does cropping improve THIS image? Maybe, but personally I like those tracks converging in the distance. I believe they add a little tension and anticipation to the scene. "When is the train coming?" I think to myself as I look down the tracks. "I want my OJ now and that orange isn't going to sit there forever!"
I suspect many people looking at this photo would wonder if the mechanism of the orange, tracks, and glass would really accomplish what the arrangement suggests – make juice. Of course, there's a missing element, the train; but personally I don't think this would work. More likely, the orange would be obliterated and vibration from the train would knock the glass over. I wonder if the photographer actually tried it.
However, I really like this photo. We all could use a chuckle now and then and this image is certainly "mirth-making". Besides, the simplicity of it appeals to my minimalist sense. I confess to a bias against overly "busy" photos, though sometimes I am guilty of violating my own "rule" about that. I congratulate Edward Mineer on a successful realization of his creative (and funny) vision.

Sure you can use Photoshop and other online editing software to "fix" or "enhance" photos, but hopefully you will want to photograph awesome photographs without them!

Happy Photographing!
Ellen 

Tips on how to photograph sunsets!

 Yesterday we mentioned how fast the summer months fly by!  We wait for it though the long, often bitter, winter,  and spring then the warm months feel like they've come and gone in a heartbeat!
As July 2013 draws to an end, we still have the entire month of August before the school year starts  in full swing! 

Here is an excellent article from the New York Institute of Photography on How to Take Photographs of Sunsets!

How to Take Great Photos of Sunsets

By NYIP Staff on July 18th, 2011

"Ah, Krakatoa, now those were sunsets! If only we had color film back then!" -Quote from the old, old, old photographer.
With Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano filling the skies of Northern Europe and Britan with ash from multiple eruptions, photographers in the areas where the ash is drifting may be in for some great sunsets for quite some time. This article will help you take great sunset photos whether they are caused by volcanic eruptions or not.
We know a photographer who visited Hawaii exactly once, and then only for two hours while changing airplanes for a flight to Japan. He had time to take a few pictures right around the airport, including a photograph of that evening's dramatic sunset with a palm tree in the foreground. He sold that image over and over again through his stock photo agency and made a total of $17,000.
Not bad for a two-hour layover in Hawaii. Sunsets sell!
We get a lot of questions at the Institute about how to take great photographs of sunsets. The truth is, it's easy. The hard part is finding a great sunset and being ready at the right time. We promise that if you follow the tips in this article, you'll be ready when you find the perfect sunset.
The sun sets every day, but to get a perfect sunset picture you need the right conditions of dust and clouds.
The dusky-red of the setting sun is the result of dust in the air. Where does it come from? Wind blows lots of dust from the ground up into the air. And smoke and industrial pollution provide dust too (it's one of the few benefits of air pollution). So do forest fires. Perhaps the biggest contributor of all is volcanic eruptions. There's nothing like a volcano to launch a huge payload of dust and smoke into the upper atmosphere from which it circles the globe.
When the old, old, old photographer stopped by the office last month, he reminded us that the eruption of Mount Krakatoa in 1883 is said to have produced beautiful sunsets for over a year around the entire world! In recent years, beautiful sunsets have been credited to the eruption of Mount St.Helens in Washington, Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, and most recently, Mt. Etna in Italy. Now it's Mt. Redoubt's turn.
Clouds help too. Whether it is thick clouds that obscure portions of the sky or wispy clouds that take on colors of their own, the most dramatic sunset pictures almost always include clouds.
We usually think of sunsets in conjunction with beaches and islands. Why? Does humidity and water have something to do with sunsets? The answer is yes...and no. Large masses of water and a hot sun do combine to produce dramatic clouds.
But that's not the main reason we usually see the most dramatic sunsets from a beach. The reason is more subtle.
The main reason we associate beaches with sunsets is that they give us an unobstructed view of the setting sun on the horizon. No mountains in the way. No buildings. No city lights. Just a flat horizon and the setting sun. Plus a smooth expanse of water to reflect the colors!
Plus, if you're hanging around on the beach, you're probably relaxed and in the mood to enjoy a great sunset. You have time to watch the sun go down and savor the changes that take place over time.
Before we turn to photography, one other question: Why are sunsets more often dramatic than sunrises? Assuming you're the type who gets up early enough to even see the sunrise, the polluting smokestacks usually aren't as active at night, and the cool air of nighttime is less likely to be as windy as the hot air of late afternoon. So, when it comes to exciting skies to photograph when the sun crosses the horizon, the sunset is king! Turn your camera to the west.
Now, what's the best way to photograph the sunset?
The questions we hear most often involve what exposure to use. The answer is that there are a range of correct exposures. If you use your camera's built-in meter, you will usually be way off because the sky is still relatively bright, and the meter will underexpose the image. If you have a separate light meter, your best approach is to try to meter the ambient level of light. To do this either take an incident-light reading, or take a gray-card reading. Either approach will usually give a proper exposure. However, to be on the safe side, we suggest you take a number of bracketed shots.
Bracketing is a technique used by professional photographers to get the best exposure, which sometimes isn't the exposure the meter claims is the right exposure. To bracket, if your meter tells you to expose the scene at 1/60 of a second at f/8, then make the photograph and then take another frame at 1/60th at f/5.6 (one stop more exposure)and another at 1/60th at f/11 (one stop less exposure). This way, you have taken frames with more and less exposure than that which the meter indicates. The photos below were taken with a one stop difference in exposure. You may find that a slightly lighter or darker version of the scene may give a more pleasing overall exposure.
What if you don't have a separate meter or a way to control your camera's aperture and shutter speed? As long as your camera has auto-exposure lock, you can still bracket...only you'll do so by "fooling" the camera. Here's how... First, point your camera at the sunset and take the indicated exposure. Second, point your camera at the ground where it's darker, lock the exposure, recompose on the sunset, and take another exposure. Third, point the camera at the sky, lock the exposure, recompose on the sunset, and take another photograph. You should now have three different exposure settings for the sunset!
There's another aspect of exposure for a sunset — timing. Sunsets aren't static. They happen over time. When you prepare to take those sunset pictures, plan to spend at least half an hour, so you can photograph the scene every five minutes or so. Clouds move, colors deepen and change, and the image you record a little later as the sunset unfolds may have more drama and richer colors than you saw fifteen minutes before. Take lots of pictures, and choose the best of them later when you see the results.
What about composition?
Even the most spectacular sunset will look like abstract wallpaper if you don't provide some context. Silhouetted trees or other objects in the foreground give a sense of scale and location to the scene. A great sunset will have a different feeling if it's taken at the beach with a few palm trees in the foreground. (Don't forget our friend who sold $17,000 of such an image!)
Of course, dramatic sunsets, despite what we've said about beaches and islands, can be seen in other places too. Wherever, see if you can place an interesting object in the foreground — for example, a Civil War monument in the foreground of a sunset at Gettysburg. What about mountains? They make wonderful images, but they often present a problem when it comes to sunsets. If the mountain is tall, the sun will set behind it while still glowing a bright yellow. The mountain may rise too far above the dust-laden horizon for you to see the deep red hue of the setting sun.
What focal length should you use for a great sunset? Figure it this way. The longer the lens, the larger the sun will appear in the picture. The surprising fact is that the sun in reality is only one-half a degree in diameter. What this means is that, if you shoot with a "normal" lens — say a 50mm — the sun will be less than 1/80th the width of the frame! You want the red globe of the sun to be a lot more significant than this. To achieve this, use a very long lens — 200mm is the minimum...400mm or longer is even better. One point, however: With such long lenses, be sure to support the camera on a tripod, monopod, or convenient flat surface since the exposure will be relatively long and you want to prevent camera shake.
WARNING: It is dangerous to your eyes to look directly at the shining yellow sun. Don't look directly at it until it is low enough in the sky to have turned red. If you're using a long lens, this is especially important. The lens is like a telescope. It magnifies the intensity of the sunlight. Don't look at the sun through the lens until the flaming yellow glow has turned a dark red.
If you use film, what should you use for sunset photos? Almost any film will do. Some pros want the "grainless" look of Kodachrome. Others will use their regular ISO 800 film, and see no difference. Our recommendation: ISO 200 or 400 will be fine. These ISO are good settings for use with a digital camera as well.
Here's a subject where slide film will record subtle differences in bracketed exposure better than color-negative film. Each slide provides you with an image that precisely reflects the exposure you gave the film. With color negative film, your efforts at giving more and less exposure through bracketing will often be minimized because the automatic printing machines will guess at the exposure you "meant" to give. If you have "custom" prints made by a lab, be sure to tell the technician you want to preserve the different exposures of your bracketing.
There are a few things that are different about shooting sunsets with a digital camera. Let's turn to them now.
Shooting Sunsets With a Digital Camera
Using a digital camera to photograph a sunset requires you to follow some common rules. Let's look at some of the similarities as well as the distinct differences too.
White Balance
White balance refers to the correctness of color in a photographic scene. The white balance feature in most digital cameras ensures that color appears correct regardless of the lighting conditions. Theoretically, if the white balance is correct, then all of the colors in the scene are correct too.
The first and perhaps easiest method is to shoot RAW files in the ìAutoî white balance mode. The camera will automatically select the white balance for you, and allow you to focus your efforts on composing a great image. However, you will most certainly need to correct the white balance later in the digital darkroom during the RAW conversion process. For sunsets, you will likely find that the ìcloudyî or ìshadyî presets will more closely resemble the actual look of the scene. While this is a useful method, we here at NYI believe in getting it right in the camera the first time. Not only is this the mark of a true professional, but it will save you post-processing time later.
Rather than allowing the camera to think for you, try using ìCustomî white balance. When you get to your location, start by taking a full frame image of a neutral gray or white card. Next, select the custom white balance in the LCD menu screen. The camera will then ask you to choose an image to set the white balance with. Select the image you just took of the neutral card, and you now have a custom set up for the scene before you. Please note that different camera manufactures have various ways to set Custom WB, so check your manual for their specific procedure.
Highlights
Another major consideration for those shooting digitally is how to handle the highlights. Much like slide film, digital sensors are quite sensitive to light. Even if you are very careful, itís easy to overexpose the bright areas of a scene. Most camera manufactures have responded to this situation by including a user selectable ìhighlight priorityî feature. It works by allowing more detail to be preserved in the lightest areas of the image. This is not only useful for bright sunsets and clouds, but for white wedding dresses as well. Of course proper exposure is still necessary, but this just may give your image that extra bit of dynamic range to really make it stand out. Weíve seen some examples of this mode, and can tell you that it truly works well. Donít just take our word for it, try it yourself.
Sun Can Damage CCDs
It's never a good idea to point a digital camera directly at any intensely bright light-source. Direct exposure to the sun while it is high in the sky can damage the delicate image sensor found in most digital cameras, the CCD. Fortunately as the sun approaches the sunset its intensity will diminish greatly. That's primarily because the light rays become scattered as they pass through atmospheric haze and pollutants that surrounds the earth. The closer the sun gets to the horizon, the safer it will be to point a digital camera at it. Never stare at the sun. You will cause damage to your eyes.
Auto-Focus
Very bright objects in the center of the frame can confuse the Auto-Focus feature found on most digital cameras. You can avoid the problem altogether by switching to Landscape mode. Landscape mode sets the camera lens to Infinity ensuring sharply focused sunsets.
Turn around!
Many times we get so caught up in photographing the sunset itself that we forget about the beautiful light that is being produced by this modified light source. Turn around and take notice of the golden light a sunset provides.
Golden Light
Don't stop shooting after the sun has dropped below the horizon. The light levels may be low but the quality of the light is pure beauty. Try shooting a portrait in this light and you'll be amazed at the rich golden tones you'll get.
Why is the quality of light so special? With the sun below the horizon, the sky essentially becomes a huge soft box, spreading reflected light through the atmosphere without the harshness and shadows of a point source such as the direct light of the sun.
The bottom line is digital cameras will perform better under soft reflected light conditions. Take advantage of this golden light, it doesn't last long.
Use a Tripod
Because of low light levels, shooting sunsets may require long exposure times, so you'll need a tripod. Exposure times of one or two seconds are common when shooting sunsets. Many digital cameras have replaced the cable release with a remote control. If your camera has one, bring it. This will reduce the possibility of camera shake during exposure times.
Include Foreground elements
Consider including foreground elements such as an interesting a tree or house into your scene. Just because you are shooting a sunset doesn't mean you only have to include the sun. Because of the direction of the light, foreground elements will almost assuredly be reproduced as silhouette, which can help to build visual drama in a sunset image.
Conclusion
A sunset is one of those moments in life that is often overlooked. Despite their regularity, each and every sunset is unique and anything but common. Perhaps that is what spurs us to grab our cameras and start shooting like today's sunset is the first one we have ever seen. In a way, it is.
If you follow these simple procedures, you're sure to get great sunset pictures. As we said at the head of this article, the problem is to get to a place that has great sunsets. The rest is easy!

How to photograph on the Beach-New York Institute of Photography

We're in a heatwave!   Many people will be heading to their local beaches to keep cool! Below is
an article that will show you exactly how to capture that perfect beach photo! 


Beach Photography Photo Tips - New York Institute of Photography

Here is an excellent article on photographing on the beach! 

Beach Photo Tips

By NYIP Staff on May 20th, 2012

What's a beach? To us, it's any sandy stretch on the edge of a lake, a river bank, or the ocean. It's a great place for fun and relaxation, and we hasten to add, a great place to take beach photos‚ anytime! While we have summer's warm and sunny weather and long lazy days in mind as we write this, photography on the beach can give great results any time of the year, in any weather, from sunrise to sunset. Here are some beach photo tips that will yield great results, no matter the season.

© NYI Student David J. Ginther

Typically, you won't need lots of fancy gear when you go to the beach. A point-and-shoot or DSLR with a normal range zoom lens is all you'll need. If you wish, bring along a small flash and a tripod for long exposures.
There are two reasons to keep the gear simple when headed to the beach. First and foremost, we're going to have fun, and packing too much equipment just gets in the way. Second, the sand, sun, surf and salty air creates an environment that can be rough on delicate equipment.
Here are some beach photography tips to help you protect the gear that you do bring.
Everyone knows that salt water and surf are rough on cameras. What most people don't realize is that sand can be the worst enemy of all. Fine sand particles can get inside camera bodies and lens barrels and wreak havoc with your camera's mechanics and optics. While camera manufacturers have made great improvements to camera body seals, there are some common sense beach photo tips for you to try.

© NYI Graduate F.X. Laubscher

There are two principal ways that sand can get into your equipment: Wind and stupidity.
Fine particles blown by the wind cannot be avoided, and in those conditions we suggest you work only with "sealed" cameras, anything from a waterproof disposable model, a point-and-shoot or a DSLR that's in a special waterproof housing or a model that's designed for use underwater.
You may wonder about using "waterproof" cameras out of the water, but they are very good for this purpose. The cameras we're talking about are the generally inexpensive "weatherproof" models or "waterproof" models. They're good for use on the beach and, in some cases, on or near the surface of the water. We're not talking about expensive gear designed for deep scuba diving.
(NYI Director Emeritus Don Sheff, who we note with pride is a Certified Underwater Photographer and veteran diver, reminds us that pressure underwater increases rapidly. Most "waterproof" point-and-shoot cameras can't handle depths greater than 10 or 15 feet. If you want to go deeper, then you'll need either an expensive scuba-housing for your camera, or a specialty scuba camera like the Nikon Nikonos.)

© Chuck DeLaney, NYI Dean

Getting back to the beach, blowing sand is an unavoidable menace, and if you don't have a protected camera, one of the best beach photo tips is to stay away on a windy day. On the other hand, if it's not windy, your regular camera should do if you use it intelligently.
Which brings us to stupidity. Whether it's windy or not, the other way that sand gets into your camera is through carelessness. This includes obvious no-no's like handling the camera with sandy fingers, changing memory cards while your friends are shaking sand out of a blanket, or similar stupidities.
What should you do if, despite your best efforts, some sand does get into your film camera? First, try removing it by using a blower. A rubber bowl blower may suffice. If not, try a compressed air blower. If this doesn't remove all the grains of sand, try Step Two. Gently...GENTLY... use a brush to remove them. A sable or mink brush is best since you don't want to scratch your delicate camera or lens. If brushing doesn't handle the job completely, you're up to Step Three. Even more gently, try to brush away the grains using a microfiber cloth. If you still can't get rid of all the grains of sand, STOP. Bring your camera to a repair shop and let the experts take over.
After sand, heat is the second-most dangerous enemy of your camera when taking beach photos. Heat is hard on cameras and sensitive electronic circuitry. But excess heat is easily avoided. Just keep your equipment out of direct sun. Never let your camera bake in direct sun. Keep it covered and in the shade as much as possible.

The third gremlin on the beach is humid air. In cold weather, the danger is that the camera gets cold outside so that, when it's brought back into the warm humid air in a house, droplets condense on it. In warm weather, surprisingly, the danger is really just the same. Here's why. Often, your camera is cool because it's been stored in a cool air-conditioned car or a cool air-conditioned cabin on a boat. When that cool camera is brought out into the hot humid air of the beach, it too may have droplets condense on it.

© NYI Student David Nicherson

Solution? If your camera is cold, let it adjust to the beach conditions gradually to minimize condensation. In other words, give your digital camera time after you take it out of a cool environment. Never start shooting immediately when you move your camera from a cool-and-dry place to a warm-and-humid place like a beach. Of course, worse than hot, humid air is hot, humid, salty air, the type of air you'll find at an ocean beach in summer. Watch out for salt condensing on your camera ‚ especially on the electronic parts inside your camera. Salt can really damage delicate electronics. What to do? Again, use common sense. If you use a digital camera when taking beach photos, don't open it too often ‚ and shield it from ocean spray when you do. Salt should not get inside. If it does, treat it like sand. Follow these beach photo tips and attempt to blow it out...brush it out...microfiber it out.
Finally, the most obvious gremlin. Keep water from striking your camera directly. Do everything you can to prevent water from splashing on your camera, or moist air from blowing into the interior of your camera.
What if your camera gets accidentally soaked? If it gets soaked with plain water, let it dry, and take it to a repair shop. But if it falls into salt water and gets thoroughly immersed, contact a repair shop immediately.
A final word about protecting your equipment during beach photography: We've given you all sorts of warnings, but don't get discouraged. If you use ordinary common sense, you won't be bothered by any of these gremlins and you'll be ready to take great shots at the beach.
Now, you may wonder why we included a strobe in our suggested gear. After all, the sunny beach has too much light, if anything. It usually has direct sunlight. That's why many people go to the beach – to sun themselves. Why would we need a strobe to take beach photos? Because of that direct sun, that's why! The bright sun casts dark shadows. We need the strobe to add light to those shadows. To open them up. To fill them. That's the purpose of the strobe. To act as a fill light.

Use fill flash (such as the small built-in flash on your point-and-shoot) to fill in shadows as in these two shots above.
Now that we've covered equipment for beach photography, let's turn to subject matter.
As with all photographs including beach photography, we suggest you keep NYI's Three Guidelines uppermost in your mind when you shoot.

• Guideline One: What's my subject?
• Guideline Two: How can I give emphasis to my subject?
• Guideline Three: How can I simplify my photograph?

Probably the Number One subject on a beach is people. People at rest. People at play. People swimming. People sunning. People sleeping.

The beach is a powerful backdrop, filled with activity and distraction. To avoid distracting from your subject(s), keep your subject large and up front in your frame. In the NYI Course we have an entire lesson on techniques for drawing attention to your subject.
When you're photographing people on the beach, the biggest danger is squinting. You follow the old Kodak "rule": You set up with the bright sun streaming into the face of your subject from over your shoulder. Forgetting for the moment the problem this creates with dark shadows (which you open up with your fill flash), we think the biggest problem when taking beach photos is that your subject has to squint. And most people don't look their best when squinting. In fact, most people look terrible squinting. How can you avoid this? One of the most obvious beach photo tips is to try moving your subject into the shade‚for example, the shade of an umbrella. Perhaps, wait till a cloud obscures the direct sun. Or turn your subject so that the sun is behind him or her, and use fill flash to light the face. In other words, watch out for squinting and take steps to avoid it!
In beach scenes of people, the second biggest danger is distraction. Here's where simplification comes in. Pay close attention to the background. It's easy to overlook distracting things when you're surrounded by so many interesting sights. Look carefully. If you see distracting elements‚ — trash cans, coolers, misplaced towels, etc., — try to either remove them or change your angle to eliminate them from view.

This picture of the girl with the sea gulls (above right) is an example of one that could benefit from a little more simplification. We find those two out-of-focus figures sitting at the water's edge are distracting. The photographer might have eliminated them by finding a slightly better angle.
Children at play are among the best subjects for beach photos. Something about the beach seems to promote kids getting lost in fantasy projects. Don't forget to document the results.

Another common type of beach photo is the scenic shot where you show an entire stretch of beach. It's unusual to get a shot without people so don't even try. In fact, people give a sense of scale to this type of beach photography.
Their activity may even tell a story. Shooting from a high angle may help to capture the sweep of the beach.
Lighting can play a key role in beach photography. We've reminded you in the aforementioned beach photo tips to use fill flash to avoid heavy dark shadows in foreground subjects.
On the other hand, don't rule out using backlighting for dramatic silhouettes including sunset shots.

Speaking of sunsets, how do you expose for sunsets? There are a number of possibilities. Best is to take an incident reading of the light or a gray-card reading. Either of these should give you right-on exposure since they read the light regardless of the subject and color. For more information about sunsets, read our article, How to PhotographSunsets
If you don't have an incident light meter or a gray card, then take a reading with your built-in meter...and bracket!
What about with a point-and-shoot that's "automatic everything"? Use the exposure-lock button on your point-and-shoot, and take two readings. First, tip the camera down so it "reads" more dark water and less bright sky in the frame. For beach photos you want to press down the exposure-lock button so the camera is fooled into giving more exposure because it thinks the subject is darker than it really is. Shoot the scene using this exposure reading. Second, tilt the camera up toward the sky and lock exposure on that brighter scene. This time, we've fooled the meter into thinking the scene is brighter than it actually is, so there will be less exposure. Shoot this way. When you get back the prints, pick the photo you like best and tell everyone that's exactly the way it looked.
Remember this above all other beach photo tips: you'll get warmer light and long, dramatic shadows when the sun is low in the sky. Filmmakers call it the "magic hour." But overcast days and open shadows can make interesting photos as well. Let your imagination run wild.

So, now that you've read our beach photography tips, toss your favorite camera into your beach bag, along with your strobe, and get to work on those beach photos. Don't forget the "he-man" subject but watch out for nasty shadows like this one on the right. It's easy to fix, just yell: "Yo, Tarzan, stop straining and lift your fat head and look into the camera!" And get ready to run fast before he has a chance to come over and kick sand in your face.

Pho