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The OTHER Reason To Use a Tripod

April 29, 2013 by Steve Berardi Leave a Comment

tripod_equipment3You hear it all the time: if you want sharp photos, you gotta use a tripod whenever possible.

Well, if that isn’t reason enough for you, here’s another benefit of using a tripod: it forces you to think more carefully about your composition.

When you handhold your camera, there’s a tendency to snap away photos as soon as you spot your subject. Then, after you got a few shots, you’ll just move on.

But, add a tripod to the equation, and all of a sudden you’ll be carefully adjusting those knobs until the camera is exactly where you want it. Sometimes this will take a considerable amount of time, but during this extra time there’s a good chance you’ll notice something new about your subject that will take your composition into a whole new direction. [Read more…] about The OTHER Reason To Use a Tripod

Filed Under: Landscapes, Tips Tagged With: camera, composition, landscape, reason, sharp, still, tripod, why

How To Merge Two Exposures

February 18, 2013 by Steve Berardi Leave a Comment

Photo by Steve Berardi
Photo by Steve Berardi
One of the most common problems in landscape photography occurs when photographing a sunrise or sunset: the sky is always super bright and the foreground is always super dark. This causes some trouble for your camera because it can’t handle that dramatic range of brightness.

There’s a few ways to solve this problem, but one solution is to shoot two exposures: one exposed for the sky and one exposed for the foreground. Then, you can merge these exposures later in Photoshop.

Here are some details on how to accomplish this: [Read more…] about How To Merge Two Exposures

Filed Under: Landscapes, Photoshop Tutorials Tagged With: blend, bright, dynamic range, exposure, exposures, hdr, highlights, histogram, landscape, merge, overexpose, photo, shadow, shot

The Benefit of a Point and Shoot Camera

October 16, 2012 by Steve Berardi 21 Comments

When you first got an SLR camera, you might’ve buried your point and shoot (P&S) camera in a drawer somewhere. But, the point and shoot camera can actually be a very valuable tool in developing your photography skills.

Since they’re so small and lightweight, you can bring them just about anywhere. And, you don’t have to spend a bunch of time setting up your shot.

With an SLR, you might spend up to thirty minutes setting up a tripod, and changing a bunch of settings on your camera. But, the point and shoot is always ready to go–it’s why they’re called “point and shoot” 😉 [Read more…] about The Benefit of a Point and Shoot Camera

Filed Under: Landscapes, Tips Tagged With: camera, cell, compact, creative, creativity, landscape, mobile, p and s, p&s, phone, point, portable, scouting, shoot, vision

There’s No Such Thing As Bad Light

September 17, 2012 by Steve Berardi 9 Comments

California Poppy / Photo by Steve Berardi
California Poppy / Photo by Steve Berardi
In photography, there’s always a lot of talk about “good light” and “bad light.” Especially when it comes to specific subjects (like that popular rule that says the only “good light” for photographing landscapes is at sunrise or sunset).

But, as I create and look at more and more images, the more I’ve realized that these “rules” always have exceptions. There’s really no such thing as a type of light that’s always bad for a specific subject.

For example, it’s often said that the best light for photographing wildflowers is under overcast skies (I’ve even said it myself here on PN!). And, for a long time, I would only photograph wildflowers under overcast skies (or with some kind of light diffuser). But, then I started seeing all these great images of wildflowers under bright sunlight. I really liked how the bright sunlight helped “light up” the inside of the flower, so I started looking at wildflowers differently ever since then, and now I have numerous photos of wildflowers under bright sunlight (like the one above). [Read more…] about There’s No Such Thing As Bad Light

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: bad, bright, condition, exposure, good, landscape, light, lighting, overcast, sunny, wildflower

8 Tips For Photographing Silhouettes

September 3, 2012 by Steve Berardi 16 Comments

Photo by Steve Berardi
Photo by Steve Berardi
One of the simplest ways to capture the dramatic colors of a sunrise or sunset is to photograph a silhouette.

Although they’re simple looking images, here are a few tips for photographing them:

#1 – Use a telephoto lens

With silhouettes, you’ll usually want an out of focus background to help draw attention to your silhouetted subject. A telephoto lens will help you here by reducing depth of field. They’re not always required though (the image above was taken with a 50mm lens). [Read more…] about 8 Tips For Photographing Silhouettes

Filed Under: Landscapes, Tips Tagged With: civil twilight, landscape, low light, nature, outline, photography, photos, plants, silhouette, sun, sunrise, sunset, trees, twilight

Why You Should Prepare For the Unexpected

August 14, 2012 by Steve Berardi 11 Comments

Photo by Steve Berardi
Photo by Steve Berardi
This past weekend, I missed out on a really good photo opportunity. I was hiking with a friend in the chaparral of Southern California, when all of a sudden a big thunderstorm rolls through. I noticed the weather forecast called for a 20% chance of rain and thunderstorms, but I’ve seen that kind of forecast so often (and end up hiking under crystal clear skies), that I’ve learned to ignore anything below a 60% chance of rain 😉

Plus, I’ve only heard thunder or seen lightning twice in my five years of living in Southern California. So, when the weather forecast keeps saying “thunderstorms,” I always think to myself, “yeah, right…” [Read more…] about Why You Should Prepare For the Unexpected

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: california, chaparral, landscape, lightning, mountains, photograph, prepare, rain, rare, storm, thunder

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