Thursday, May 21, 2009

Friday Thoughts

So You Want to Take Better Pictures Do You?


I want to recommend a book to you if you're interested in taking better photographs. I've been carrying it around for a year now and I use it as a reference almost every time I start shooting. This book is in plain English and it is filled with simple easy to follow instructions to help you take better photographs. It is "The Digital Photography Book" by Scott Kelby. It is available on Amazon for about $12.00. Believe me, it will be the best twelve bucks you've spent in a while. Not only is Mr. Kelby an excellent photographer, but he is one of the best PhotoShop users/teachers I have ever read. Here is an example of what happened when I followed the instructions.
This time of year I see alot of photos of flowers on Ruby Tuesday and other meme's. The typical photograph looks something like this. I took this with my digital camera this afternoon when I got home from work. They are Day Lily's.





















There is nothing wrong with this photo, it is just that there is nothing special about it. It is taken from the same point of view that you see when you walk upon the flower and admire it. So how do we make it special? Shoot the subject from a different angle. Give the viewer a whole new perspective.




















This is the same flower. I just took the photo from a different angle. An angle that you would not normally view the flower from. I did increase the contrast just a bit, but the main difference is the point of view. The next time you're out taking pictures, try looking at things a little differently. I think you'll be amazed at just how good you can be.

1 comment:

  1. That's good advice. My photography is more of a point and click when something catches my eye. I rarely try to frame anything. I get ok shots on my itty bitty camera for an amateur.

    But with my Friday feature, maybe I should start paying better attention.

    ReplyDelete