Browsing all posts in "Photography".

When AWB Doesn’t Work

By Steve Russell For anyone who’s unfamiliar with white balance (WB), it’s the process of removing unrealistic color casts so that objects which appear white in person are rendered white in your photo and the colors are as accurate as possible. Most cameras today have various built-in WB settings including AWB or automatic white balance. [...]

Your Weekend Photography Project – Ordinary Objects

There is something very challenging about finding the extraordinary within the ordinary. You have to slow down, look a little closer, and examine every object with the knowledge that there is something about it that is worthy of fascination. Photographers take pictures of ordinary, every day objects in order to train their eyes to see [...]

Tips for Photographing Funerals

By Steve Russell For birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, holidays and other special occasions, cameras and photographs are an integral part of the festivities but what about funerals? Funerals are solemn, sad occasions and cameras seem to be intrusive; an invasion of privacy. Still most people who have lost a close family member or loved one would [...]

PocketWizard Straight Out of the Box

I purchased two PocketWizard FlexTT5 Transceivers (here’s the one for Nikon) for use with my Canon EOS 7D and Canon Speedlite 580EX II. This morning I took them out of their boxes, put the batteries in, put one on my speedlight (which was mounted on a light stand) and one on my camera’s hot shoe. [...]

Flash, Strobe, or Constant Light?

When casting light upon your photographic subject, which is better, flashes and strobes, or constant light sources such as bulbs and lamps? The answer, as in many things in life, is “it depends”. Five Reasons To Use A Flash or Strobe: 1. You really need to be able to direct, modify and shape the light. [...]

Composition – Leading Lines

By Steve Russell Have you ever observed a scene you thought was beautiful so you photographed it only to have the photo turn out to be very mundane? I know I have and I suspect that if honesty were to prevail we would all say we’ve had a similar experience. Remember that the camera doesn’t [...]

Composition – Rule of Thirds

By Steve Russell It’s important to be very knowledgeable about the technical aspects of your camera. Otherwise you won’t know the best way to maximize your camera’s capabilities to capture the best images you can. This is true regardless of the make or model of your camera. Unfortunately, being an expert in all of the [...]

Super Moon!

In honor of tomorrow’s anticipated “Super Moon” event (Saturday May 5th), here is a rerun of Steve’s article on photographing the moon from last year. ———- By Steve Russell Whether you’ve photographed the moon numerous times or have just thought about doing it, Saturday evening, March 19, 2011 May 5th, 2012, is a must do [...]

Yes, you can shoot at midday!

We’ve all had the “golden hour” concept drilled into our heads – those times around sunrise and sunset when the light is long and lovely, creating beautiful conditions in which to capture our photographs. So does that mean your camera has to languish in its bag during the midday hours? No, it does not! All [...]

This is your chance!

Happy Friday, friends! I’m in the throes of the last week of this semester in college, and Steve is wrapping up his moving extravaganza. So, today’s post is going to be all about YOU. As we wind down our other responsibilities and gear up for a summer full of great content on Beyond Megapixels, we’d [...]