Architecture and Patterns

One of the readers sent me this about architecture photography.


The key to this type of photography is to stop looking at buildings as whole structures and focus on the small pockets of interesting patterns and shapes they're made up of. 


Don't overlook the ugly looking buildings either as most of the time, once you're zoomed in and focused on one part, you'll find they're perfect subjects when you're on the hunt for architectural patterns.

Window Light Portraits

Using a the natural light form a window can give you some great portrait shots.



Place your model near the window and turn off the lights inside. This should give you a rather dramatic look. You can add a reflector to light up some of the other side of the model if needed. Just move the reflector closer or further away to adjust the amount of light being reflected.

BOOK: Welcome to OZ 2.0

Welcome to Oz 2.0: A Cinematic Approach to Digital Still Photography with Photoshop (2nd Edition) (Voices That Matter)

When the original book from Vincent Versace was released, I picked t up as soon as I could. This new book is even better. Creating memorable photographs is a process that starts before you edit an image in Photoshop, before you capture the image, even before you pick up the camera.

Book: The Art of Photography

An Approach to Personal Expression

Santa Barbara, CA—This is an updated and newly revised edition of the classic book The Art of Photography: An Approach to Personal Expression (Rocky Nook, $44.95 USD, originally published in 1994), which has often been described as the most readable, understandable, and complete textbook on photography.

With well over 100 beautiful photographic illustrations in both black-and-white and color, as well as numerous charts, graphs, and tables, this book presents the world of photography to beginner, intermediate, and advanced photographers seeking to make a personal statement through the medium of photography. Without talking down to anyone, or talking over anyone's head, Bruce Barnbaum presents "how to" techniques for both traditional and digital approaches. Yet he goes well beyond the technical, as he delves deeply into the philosophical, expressive, and creative aspects of photography so often avoided in other books.

A Brief about Exposure

What Camera to Use?
Exposure affects all cameras, so really you can use any camera to experiment with it. SLRs are most adept at controlling the different parameters though so we recommend you use an SLR if available. You can try out the same effects using a compact or point and shoot, but you may find it harder to control the individual settings.

The short answer about which SLR is best is that all of today's cameras will give you a great image. Some will simply be better than others at certain functions.