Ray Baker – Page 11

8 Tips for a Successful Landscape Shoot

22/09/2024 by Ray Baker

Photography equipment requirements are different for various settings or modes of photography. What one may require for portrait photography is not necessarily needed for landscape or outdoor photography. Of course, having a cupboard full of equipment is nice but can be a poor use of funds and much of it can just sit there gathering dust. When it comes to photography equipment, always purchase what you need and remember, even the best photographers improvise a lot of the time. Here are some suggestions and tips on equipment for landscape photography that work for me…

Digital Photography: Negative Spaces and Positive Spaces

22/09/2024 by Ray Baker

Today’s topic is a term borrowed from the art world. This term is negative and positive space. If this is something you have never heard of, then you will love this article. Additionally, it will assist you immensely with your photography.

Shutter speed, lighting, aperture and focus are factors you are dealing with in digital photography. Whether you realize it or not, you are also working with space very precisely. How does this affect your skills as a photographer?

Negative space is defined as “the space around the subject of an image”.

This refers to the empty space around your main subject. This may seem like unimportant background area, but this vacant area can add a crucial factor to your photography composition.

Wedding Photography

22/09/2024 by Ray Baker

Photographing The Wedding

Just about anyone wants to hire a photographer to capture their life-changing event of marriage in beautiful pictures for keepsake purposes. Most couples seek out a professional photographer to make sure they receive the highest quality photographs to remember their beautiful day with. Weddings provide some of the largest profit jobs available to photographers in this day and age.

Most weddings should include a contracted agreement between the couple being married and the photographer hired to capture the moments. This contract should include disclaimers for the sole purpose of relieving the photographer of grievances caused by poor lighting, failed equipment or any other events not readily under the photographer’s control.

Fun, Morning and Evening Lighting Shots

22/09/2024 by Ray Baker

Here’s a fun exercise; Take your camera (digital or conventional film) out to a place you like to photograph early in the morning just before the sun rises. continue taking photos of this site as the sun rises and casts its morning light! Notice the variations!

Now, use the same site, only take the pictures at sunset and continue until the sun is nearly gone! Again, notice the changes in lighting (colors, textures, and contrasts). This is a fun exercise and you will be surprised in the dynamic variations in lighting and contrast you will see from morning to night!

I recommend taking oh, say 200 or so photos for a good sampling of night and morning light. You may then wish to

Glamour Model Photography

22/09/2024 by Ray Baker

You see them on TV. You see them in every magazine, on billboards, on the sides of buses – simply everywhere. I am talking about fashion and glamour models. People young and old rich and poor aspire to enter this exciting and glamorous vocation. One thing they all have in common is they-need-YOU, the photographer. They need photos for portfolios.

Here’s the good part. You can be an amateur-beginner or seasoned pro and still attract models to shoot right in your own hometown.

Now lets be honest. If you are looking for a date try a dating service. Be professional and respectful and your reputation will shine along with your business or hobby.

Outdoor Photography: Donâ€™t Stop at Sunset

22/09/2024 by Ray Baker

I really enjoyed the article I read today entitled, “Fun, Morning and Evening Lighting Shots,” by Dave Corn. In the article, he wrote:
“â€¦.. take the pictures at sunset and continue until the sun is nearly gone! Again, notice the changes in lighting (colors, textures, and contrasts). This is a fun exercise and you will be surprised in the dynamic variations in lighting and contrast you will see from morning to night…..”This is excellent advice for anyone interested in expanding his/her photographic horizons. The soft light of early morning and late evening is great, and can truly enable you to take photographs of a scene that are totally different from the “so-so,” “Ho hum” results of a mid-day shoot, when the lighting is so harsh.

Mr. Corn was also right on with his suggestion to take a tripod. Even with a fast, vibration-damped camera or lens, trying to get a really sharp sunset photo is difficult without a tripod. Sure, you can do it, but most of the photos taken that way are softer than we would prefer. Use either a good tripod, or, at the very least, a rest or a beanbag. Use a fast shutter speed. Use mirror lock-up. Even use a cable release or a remote to trip your shutter. Your photos will be sharper for your efforts.

Sports Photography: Race Car Shoot

22/09/2024 by Ray Baker

Recently I was invited by Windsor Life Magazine to do a photo layout of the Detroit Grandprix held on September 02/07 on Belle Isle. I gained valuable experience and information in this highly competitive area of sports photography. Panning your shots is extremely important and very useful to capture a screaming indy car going past you at 160 miles an hour.

I used a Nikon D200 mounted with a 70 – 200 mm lens with VR and I shot the photos at iso 200 at f5.6 five frames per second 3200ths of a second shutter speed. The photos were excellent.

A Photography Lifestyle

22/09/2024 by Ray Baker

Here’s the thing. I am not a professional photographer. I don’t have loads of useful photography tips or know what the best equipment is. What I can talk about is how taking pictures has changed my life and my feeling of passion for capturing beauty in pictures.

It all started about 3 years ago. I started to take my camera with me when I took my dogs for a walk in the woods. Soon, I found I didn’t want to go anywhere without my camera. I upgraded my camera to a Sony Cybershot 5.1mp and have found that it gives me consistently good results. I also picked up an Exilim 10.1mp to carry around with me. I love to get in the “zone” (forgive the clichÃ©) and keep shooting my subject as many times as I can from as many angles as I can. Then, as soon I can, I go to my computer to download the shots and see what I’ve got. Usually, I get one or two good shots out of 10 to 15 pictures and that makes me feel great.

Pet and Wildlife Photography

22/09/2024 by Ray Baker

Trying to photograph animals is great fun, but challenging While it may only have been ten minutes, it felt like an eternity when trying to get a good shot of this vocal and precocious parrot. Every time I had him in focus and thought I had the perfect shot lined up, he would hide his head under his feathers, preen, or turn his back on me.

Finally, with the unintended help of a very young boy who was also following his every move, I managed to get my shot. The parrot had been squawking loudly, intermittently, and, in exasperation, the little boy blurted out “shut up, my mother tells me to shut up all the time”! The bird peered over at him and that’s when I got my photo. “Thanks”, I muttered. He looked up and very matter of factly said –

Hot Rod Photography

22/09/2024 by Ray Baker

Recently I had the fun and exciting opportunity to attend a local Hot Rod Show at Lake Merced, CA. What a great setting. The Hot Rod Clubs were allowed to park their cars all around the lake’s perimeters near access roads and in other locations in the park area!

With the lake as a background and the subdued lighting, the stage was set. I took advantage of morning light and cool air conditions and showed up at the show at 9:00 in the morning. By that time there were several hundred cars carefully placed in the park and around the lake. Each owner was his own showman and had his own way of presenting his custom hot rod in all of its glory.