Simple tips for winning photo competitions

Actually, these are really just good tips for improving your photography in general. I'm not sure I like the idea that you should solely focus on winning a competition.

http://www.my-photo-school.com/2012/07/25/photography-competitions-how-to-improve-your-chances-of-winning/

Daily Photo

I have discovered the 365 Project, and for now, I am going to be posting my daily photos there instead of here. I have a couple more days preloaded here, so I'll let them run out, but then all of my new pictures will be here: http://365project.org/staceyb/365 We'll see how that works out! Perhaps there will be outings where I still want to share multiple pictures, and then I may return here for that purpose.

I will be aiming not just to post a picture every day, but to take that picture on the day it is posted. Wish me luck, and please come visit!

Data Management: The Mundane Side of Photography

A very nice article about storing all those photos.

http://www.scottdavenportphoto.com/blog/2013/12/19/data-management-the-mundane-side-of-photography

Tips from the pros

I haven't posted an outside link in ages! Here's a good one. (15) Photography Tips That 96 Photographers Wish They Would Have Learned Sooner. (The title makes the article sound scary, but it is boiled down to 15 fairly concise tips.)

"Hadouken" Photography

This is a really interesting video on how to shoot images that look like video game action. It's not super serious, but even if you don't want to do THIS type of action, it might give you ideas for how to shoot other interesting or unusual action shots. Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/paqe3pQIiv0

Buying a photoprinter?

Earlier this year, PCMag published an article about buying a photoprinter. They don't tell you which particular one to get, just explain the different factors involved, questions you need to ask yourself, and things to consider. How To Buy A Photoprinter

And Christmas isn't too far away, so if you're going to ask for one as a gift, you might want to do the research for yourself and ask for something very specific!

Tips for Improving Wildlife Photography

Are you looking for some tips to improve your photography of wildlife? As you may have noticed on these pages, it's one of my favourite subjects. If you enjoy it, or just want to get better in case the opportunity arises, the Digital Photography School offers this article with 10 Tips for Improving Your Wildlife Photography. And even if you aren't in to shooting this kind of image, the pictures used as examples are worth clicking the link, all by themselves.

Candies in Water

Are you looking for some inspiration? A creative idea to break you out of a rut you're in? Take a look at these beautiful candies photographed in water drops.

Protecting your images from thieves

If you are like me and want to share your pictures with the great wide world, you might be wondering how you can make sure other people don't claim your work as their own. From my research, the short answer is: If you want a <i>guarantee</i> that no one can steal it, don't share it.

Okay, so now that we've gotten past that, let's assume that you are comfortable with some level of risk, but you'd like to at least make it difficult for someone to take your work. The following sites have various pieces of advice about how to go about protecting your stuff!

iPlus 360 has a quick explanation of 3 different ways to protect your work.

About.com has a page with many different methods.

BloggerStop.net has several methods. I don't agree with everything they say (I think watermarking is a good method, and they are negative about it) but it's worth a read anyway.

Note that watermarking doesn't have to be straight across the center of the image, the way it's shown on iPlus 360 above. That was just one example of how to do it. I would recommend not putting it too much off to one corner, or it can simply be cropped out of the way, but I'm sure you can come up with a compromise between those two extremes.

Get closer

This is a great little tips post from the fine folks at the Digital Photography School.

http://www.digital-photography-school.com/beginners-tip-get-closer

If you haven't already signed up for their news letter, I recommend it. I wish I had read that suggestion before going out the other night - then I might have some interesting go-kart images for you, instead of the boring guck I ended up with! Perhaps some cropping with salvage something as a pretend "get closer".

Self Portraits

One thing that often turns up on photo challenges is a self-portrait. I find these particularly difficult, as I'm relatively self-conscious in front of the camera at the best of times. If you're like me and need some inspiration, The D-Photo has shared some great examples from several different photographers. My favourites are from Dustin Diaz (about half way down the page).

Cropping

As you know if you've been reading this blog at all, I tend to post my images more or less "as taken". Here's a great example of what you can do with cropping, and a reminder that we shouldn't be afraid of cutting out the noise! You don't have to get it perfect the first time.

http://brianmatiash.com/2012/01/20/on-aggressive-cropping/

Stuck in a rut?

Tiffinbox has a great suggestion, not only to break out of a rut, but also to stretch your skills. And you never know what you might learn doing one kind of photography that will actually (and unexpectedly!) be transferable to another type.

http://tiffinbox.org/in-a-rut-photograph-something-different/

Black and White photo webinar

Are you looking for help with your black & white photography? How about signing up for a free 1 hour webinar?

Black & White: Craft & Vision, presented by Harold Davis and hosted by O'Reilly publishers.
Thursday, January 19, 2012, 10am Pacific time, 1pm Eastern.
Sign up here

I'll be there! Will you?

MacGyver of photography

Wimp.com called this guy the MacGyver of photography, and I'm inclined to agree! The picture at the end is fabulous! (Just ignore the bad hair.)

http://wimp.com/macgyverphotography/

Christmas photo tips

Christmas only comes once a year, so you'll want to make sure you get the best pictures you can - there are no do-overs!

Digital Photography School has posted 16 Digital Photography Tips for Christmas (I love tip #3 and will quote it at the bottom of this post.) Here are some of the great links they've provided as well:

• Taking pictures of Christmas lights from Strobist
• Here's a nice, season-independent set of hints for taking group shots
• Some great tips for taking candid shots

Best Family Photography also has a lot of great tips about taking Christmas phots - and they don't only talk about people.

The New York Institute of Photography has some good tips - some at a more advanced level. Holiday Photos

Overall, these are my favourite tips:

1. be prepared. Charge your batteries, have extras. Scout out the area ahead of time if you can to get a sense of the light you are working with and the layout - where is there clutter, where is there clear.
2. catch candids. These are almost always better than posed photos. Use multi-burst or continuous shot if you can.
3. out of the ordinary. You don't need to only take pictures while people are opening presents. Catch people chatting, wrapping presents, setting the table, or making presents.

This is Tip #3 from the Digital Photography School link provided first in this post.

3. Set up a DIY ‘Photo Booth’

While you probably can’t afford to hire a photo booth for your party you can set up a ‘portrait zone’ of your own where you’ll take photos of your guest.

I did this a few years ago and set up a little place where I asked everyone who came to sit for me so that I could take a nice shot of them.

I photographed everyone as they came in and then left the camera (a point and shoot) set up on a tripod and set to a short self timer time so people could photograph themselves during the rest of the party.

I set it up in a well lit position with a red velvet curtain looking background with a few Christmasy decorations around the edges. I left a few Santa hats and tinsel for people to decorate themselves with.

The shots were great – people went back to it throughout the party and the photos got crazier and crazier as time went on. It was the hit of the party.

Putting your photography skills to good use!

In combination with Monday's tips on how to take photos of pets for a formal session, here is the other end of the spectrum - how to take good photos of shelter animals. Those dogs that don't have a human who dotes on them and would love to pay to have their pup star in it's very own photo shoot.

Pup Fan recently attended a workshop to help photographers take better pictures of shelter dogs, and she kindly shared some of the most memorable points! Offer up your services to your own local shelter or rescue, or just use the tips to help you get better pictures of your own four-legged friends.

http://istillwantmorepuppies.blogspot.com/2011/11/lessons-from-second-chance-photos.html

Always a great way to stretch your skills is taking part in various challenges! I've posted many pictures from a couple of versions of the 30 Day Challenge, and here's another excellent one if you have a dog: The Daily Dog Challenge.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/dailydogchallenge/

I'm sure you could adapt many of the challenges to a non-pet circumstance as well, if you don't happen to have one of your own, or one you can borrow on a regular basis. For example, Monday's challenge was: "Make a monochrome photo with your dog today! Remember, monochrome means 'one color', and while often black, it doesn't have to be."


Good luck, and have fun!

(Taken in France, 2008.)

Taking pictures of dogs

I've decided that it's okay if I mix in some posts that include photo assignments that I've done or am going to do to improve my skills and stretch my thinking, as well as other tips or interesting photo advice. The goal is still a post per day!

These pictures are wonderful shots of wet dogs shaking themselves off.

http://www.petapixel.com/2011/07/28/portraits-of-dogs-as-they-shake-off-water/

This video has some good tips about photographing pets. While it's directed more towards professional photographers, most of the tips can easily be adapted to taking pictures of your own pets.

http://www.petapixel.com/2011/10/15/tips-and-tricks-for-photographing-pets/