The Best Camera Is The One You Have With You (Mobile Photography TIPS)

The Best Camera Is The One You Have With You (Mobile Photography TIPS):

All photographers go through a lifecycle; those distinct stages from new photographer through to seasoned shutter bug. It definitely happened to me and, looking back, my one embarrassing stage was the camera kit snob stage. I’m not going to dwell on it, but suffice to say, it was a pretty cringeworthy stage for me personally. Now I am not too proud to miss an opportunity just because I don’t have my main camera on me.
Years ago I stumbled upon Chase Jarvis who is, I think, a massively creative photographer. He came up with a common sense mantra, the title of this article. The premise is that we should all embrace the camera we have on us and, hopefully a safe punt, that is going to be your cell/mobile phone.

If you are reading this article, chances are you don’t carry around an ageing Ericsson or Nokia from the late 90s. Personally I use iPhone, but I figured out early on with a few must-do tips, you can come up with some impressive images using just the camera in your phone.
All the images in this article were captured, hand held, with a Nokia 808 Pureview. All image editing was performed in Photoshop CS5 and, apart from black and white conversion, very basic – really, 3 minutes load through to save basic.

Shooting: Composition

Always think about the composition and what you are trying to capture. I’m willing to bet, with SLR and tripod, you put a great deal of thought into your shot, so why should it be different with your phone.

Rule of Thirds. Except for symmetrical compositions, like shooting down a tunnel, avoid centering subjects and horizons in the frame.

Reduce poor skies to the smaller portion of the frame.

The eye will follow leading Lines into the frame and distance. This is something you can control, like a winding road that will lead the eyes across the beautiful landscape in the frame.

Light is the biggest factor that will make or break a good photo. This is especially true for camera phones and their small sensors – they love the light. Early morning and late afternoon light (golden hour) will enhance everyone’s images! Try and move to compose where the light falls on your subject; faces, buildings, statues, etc.

Decisive moments make for strong compositions. See a great scene? Set up for the shot and then wait for something to occur. In Florence, on a recent trip, I waited on a bridge, with a great view into the distance, for… people on Segways! They’re a rare site in the UK, so I thought it would make a great juxtaposition.

Check out Christina Dickson’s most useful article, breaking down composition into geometric areas.

Shooting: Steady

As with an SLR and tripod, I always try to find a rest or surface to remain steady for the shot. Window frames, lamp posts, benches, trees, girlfriend’s head, etc. It will make such a difference to the resolving power of the pea sized lens on your phone’s camera.

Shooting: Straight

I do edit and publish on the move, so getting it right in shot will get the highest quality up front. Each app you use to edit shots will degrade and potentially resize your images all the more. You have a big LCD, so take a moment to line up and level before pressing the shutter.

Editing: Color and contrast

I don’t think twice that Photoshop will be editing this image for an SLR shot, so the same usually goes for my camera phone shots. It is rare if I do more than boost color and contrast, but it does make for a significant improvement.

Editing: Straighten, Crop

Someone out there always tells me if my images are not meticulously level, so I’ll recheck in Photoshop. If need be, I will crop too – too much sky, half a bird, etc.

Editing: Sharpen, Resize

Use your image editor to make the full size image sharp and then resize down for the internet. I will use a High Pass filter technique in Photoshop.
Camera phone images don’t need to be terrible snaps and with these tips, equally important for compact cameras too, you can definitely open the eyes of those firmly entrenched in the ‘SLR is best’ camp!
Want to learn more about mobile photography? Check out our iPhone Photography eBook.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.



Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

The Best Camera Is The One You Have With You (Mobile Photography TIPS)

Early Miscarriage - Chemical Pregnancy

Early Miscarriage - Chemical Pregnancy:


Chemical pregnancies are hard to track. They happen early and maybe often, depending on which source you read. Many women think they've just had a late period. Though, if you're looking you can find them, like the mother who shares her story of a chemical pregnancy.
...
Read Full Post

Study Says Moms Need Two Months Sick Leave in Pregnancy

Study Says Moms Need Two Months Sick Leave in Pregnancy:


Did you laugh when you read that headline? I certainly laughed when I wrote it. I didn't laugh because I don't believe it to be true, but I laughed because I don't know anyone in the United States who can afford to do this, short of true medical emergencies with their pregnancies. The study that we're talking about here, was done in Norway, where they have excellent parental leave policies in place. This has had to have played a part in the findings, so much so that I think for my purposes, that's the bigger story - why don't we have leave in pregnancy?
...
Read Full Post

What Makes You A Professional Photographer?

What Makes You A Professional Photographer?:

There are quite a few hot photography debates floating around the internet. Whether it’s HDR, watermarks, Nikon vs. Canon, Mac vs. PC, straight out of the camera vs. post processing; there’s certainly no shortage. One of the newer ones I’ve seen pop up recently is this big fuss over what makes a photographer a professional. This is a debate that I feel truly does have a black and white answer and shouldn’t be a debate at all. So let me explain and then let’s see if you agree…

When In Doubt, Use A Dictionary

First things first, let’s get the definition of professional and amateur and settle this debate real quick, then I’ll expound on it a bit.
professional
adjective
1 [ attrib. ] of, relating to, or connected with a profession: young professional people | the professional schools of Yale and Harvard.
2 (of a person) engaged in a specified activity as one’s main paid occupation rather than as a pastime: a professional boxer.
amateur
noun
1 a person who engages in a pursuit, esp. a sport, on an unpaid basis.
2 engaging or engaged in without payment; nonprofessional: an amateur archaeologist | amateur athletics.
Ok, thanks for reading!
Hehe, just kidding. But that really does settle this whole debate right? A professional photographer is someone who’s paid occupation is photography. An amateur is someone who engages in photography without payment just for the love it. So what’s wrong with that?

Nobody Wants To Be An Amateur

Well, almost nobody. I’ve found that most amateurs who have never been professionals want to be professionals. But many professionals miss being amateurs and the purity that came with it. When you get money and clients involved, the purity of creating art seems to get tainted to some extent, especially when you’re creating images to suit your clients needs instead of clients hiring you for your creativity and giving you freedom over the images. See the difference there? Being a professional has nothing to do with quality of work. There are amateurs that are better photographers than I am. There are amateurs that are better photographers than you are.
There are professional photographers out there who:

• Have been making a living for 30 years with their grip-n-grin, hand under your chin, head slightly tilted, perma-smile, muslin backdrop in a studio type images.
• Shoot weddings and charge $800 for 6 hours in JPG mode and burn the images straight out of camera to a disk, yet they make good money because they are so cheap and shoot so many weddings.
• Run travel photography workshops around the world with a litany of sponsors and followers. Yet their images are plagued with halos and over saturation. Good marketing can take anyone a long way.

On the flip side, there are amateurs who:

• Take far better images than most professionals, but just do photography for the love of it.
• Have full time jobs and make enough money from their photography to buy new gear regularly.
• Have full time jobs yet are more connected and intertwined in the photography community than a lot of professionals.
• Make great money through photography but still work somewhere else to have steady income, health care, pensions, etc.
• Take and create award winning photographs worthy of any gallery.
• Make more money part time than some professionals make full time.

So why is being an amazing and unbelievably talented photographer not enough? Why do we also want to be considered a professional when our work shines above (what we feel is) the rest? I think it’s just the general disconnect around the two words and the secondary meanings that they have formed over recent years. I mean, think about this:
A teenager who goes out and races his car at a drag strip every single weekend, who lives and breathes racing, who works on his car every day after school, isn’t considered a professional. It’s his hobby, even though it takes up a very large portion of his every day life. Yet a NASCAR driver who hasn’t won a race in three years is still considered a professional race car driver. Why? Because that’s what he does for a living and he earns a paycheck for it!
My wife loves to cook. She’s a foodie to the core. She can take just about any recipe she sees on the Food Network and recreate it and make it her own. It’s amazing. But she isn’t a professional chef is she? Yet the guy that works at the burger joint up the street and runs the kitchen is considered a (professional) chef because that’s his living and his main source of income.
So why is photography any different? I really don’t understand…

Conclusion

Well, in this case, the conclusion is really up to you. Do you agree? Disagree? Voice your opinion in the comments below and let me know what you think. Or hit me up on twitter (@jamesdbrandon) and let me know there.  Be sure to use the hashtag #DPSdebate


Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.



Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

What Makes You A Professional Photographer?