Thru My Photos

Have you ever noticed that your shots sometimes have a cool, clammy feel to them? If so, you’re not alone. The default white balance setting for digital cameras is auto, which is fine for most snapshots, but tends to be a bit on the “cool” side.

When shooting outdoor portraits and sunny landscapes, try changing your white balance setting from auto to cloudy. That’s right, cloudy. Why? This adjustment is like putting a mild warming filter on your camera. It increases the reds and yellows resulting in richer, warmer pictures.

One of the challenges of shooting in the middle of summer on a beach is that it can be incredibly bright and your camera could want to under expose your shots if you’re shooting in Auto mode. If your camera has a manual mode it can be well worth playing with it at the beach and experimenting with different levels of exposure. I find that I get the best results when I look at what the camera wants to expose the shot at and then over expose it by a stop or two. Of course this depends greatly from situation to situation - brightly lit landscapes are generally very tricky - especially if you have shady areas as well as bright ones. Sometimes it’s a matter of working out which area you want to be well exposed and focussing on that area as to get everything right is often impossible.

A smirk, a frown, a wail—capture all the emotions, not just the pretty smiles. Babies are uninhibited and uncensored. Show it in your pictures.

I found this really helpful article about how to become an award winning photographer

More »

The start and end of days can present the best opportunities for shooting at the beach. For starters there will be less people there at that time of day but also you’ll find that with the sun shining on an angle that you often get more interesting effects of shadows and colors - particularly in the evening when the light becomes quite warm and golden.

Read more: http://digital-photography-school.com/10-beach-photography-tips#ixzz0Gi2UV2TS&B

An uncluttered background focuses attention on the subject, resulting in a stronger picture. Place your subject against a plain, non-distracting background. Alternatively, sometimes just moving yourself (and the camera) a few feet one way or the other can eliminate distractions from view.

Surprise friends and family with an online album of your best shots. From an album on KODAK EASYSHARE Gallery for example, they can even order prints of their favorite pictures and have them sent to their homes.

 “It’s better to burn out, then to fade away.”

Neil Young

Photo Data

One technique that I’ve been using a lot lately in beach photography (and other genres also) is to do a little post photo production and see what impact stripping a photo of color has upon it. There’s something about a black and white shot at the beach that completely changes the mood and feel of a shot. It’s also a great way to bring to life beach shots taken on dull or overcast days which can often leave a beach scene looking a little colorless.

Abandoned red car on one of Ras Al Kheiamh's mountains

.

“Art is never finished, only abandoned.”

Leonardo da Vinci

Photo Data