Starting a general Photography hints thread

[Ross]

Originally Posted by Dorothy

Isn't that similar to the use of negative space as in the oriental brush stroke painting where the space around the subject, even if it is blank, is just as important as the subject itself (by placing the subject asymmetrically in space - simply put .. off center)

Right on! Nico is also referring (I think) to how she has the viewer's eyes flowing in the picture. That's the framing. To be sure the viewer doesn't get lost in the picture and the eye stays inside the image view. It's an artist's tool. Negative space is very much as important as the actual subject lots of times. That's one reason I specialize in educational/environmental topics - not artistic. Too hard to keep all this in mind.

I find you either have it or you don't. Nico is an artist, I am a documentarian, that prefers technically correct images. I will be approaching all questions from that view point in the future. Hope this helps in some way.

[Dorothy]

I like to get lost in a picture...
That is what's so captivating ..
To look at something seen through the eyes of another
which is reproduced for all to enjoy so they can get out of it what they will!
Ross I would think that there is still an artistic side to your work .. as technical as you may think ..
You just don't want to admit to the more feminine and creative aspect of yourself

because you are 'creating' the scene!

[Ross]

Originally Posted by Dorothy

I like to get lost in a picture...
That is what is captivating .. to look at something seen through the eyes of another which is reproduced for all to enjoy so they can get out of it what they will!
Ross I would think that there is still an artistic side to your work .. as technical as you may think .. :Hmm:
I think you don't want to admit to the more feminine and creative aspect of yourself

because you are 'creating' the scene!

Just meant, that is not my first thoughts. I think of only capturing the correct colors, proper focus, etc. I have great admiration for photographers that can see the artistic side. Usually I don't.

[Lagoon]

Thanks Ross good to know
I really don't know where you all find the attention span to do all this setting up and such ... It's a gift!!

[Ross]

Same place some find time to cook, or whatever turns them on!?

[LauraN]

One of the most distracting things for me is the date printed on photos. Most photo programs have a tool that will show you the information about when the photo was taken without it having to be printed on the photo. A friend of mine shoots everything with this feature turned on and it drives me crazy! My advice if you must leave this feature on, is to keep that in mind as you shoot, allowing room to crop it out completely in your photo.

[LauraN]

I have gotten some really great information about lighting from this forum, which is something that I need to investigate. Currenlty all of my photos are taken with natural light, with the occasional flash. I found a website that showed how to create a light box for photographing flowers and it looked interesting, I just haven't taken the time to try it out. Thank you to all of those that are taking the time to give such awesome advice. I am a bit of a nit picker myself, so feel free to give any thoughts on my photos as well!

[LauraN]

A quick tip that I always try to use, but sometimes forget is to try and always shoot in landscape! It is so much easier to create a vertical out of a horizontal then vice versa. It is extremely important in reproduction, especially as we found out in calendars! Also if you ever want to use a slideshow program the verticals are distracting and leave too much wasted space on either side, making them appear small and much less detailed.

[Dorothy]

LauraN
Could you copy and paste the link for the light box here. Thanks

[cb977]

Originally Posted by LauraN

A quick tip that I always try to use, but sometimes forget is to try and always shoot in landscape! It is so much easier to create a vertical out of a horizontal then vice versa. It is extremely important in reproduction, especially as we found out in calendars! Also if you ever want to use a slideshow program the verticals are distracting and leave too much wasted space on either side, making them appear small and much less detailed.

Hi Laura

This is a great tip! In looking for pics to send in for the contest, I've come across the problem of having most of them in vertical form! I have a few orchid pics on my computer and most of them cannot be used!