Student Comments

Tuscany 2010

Fine Art Figure 
Photography Workshops

Workshop 1: June 20 - June 26
Workshop 2: June 27 - July 3

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Digital Photography Articles, News and Tips from
The ViewFinder Center, Zürich, Switzerland

Entries in tips (7)

Friday
Jul302010

Photo Inspiration - "Baby Love"

If your passion is photographing babies and children, the July 2010 “Baby Love” issue of Professional Photographer magazine is a must-read. The online edition offers PDF articles to download and a couple web exclusives. Click on image to go to PPMAG.com

Lots of great ideas and pro tips you can use, whether you area snapping your own family pics or shooting professionally for paying clients.

Want to learn more about taking better people photos? Join us for this ViewFinder class:
Creative People Photography
- Saturday, 11 September 

Tuesday
Jul202010

One thing for better photos - Move!

Image 1 - Return Journey by Shane Walsh

Before you press the shutter, be clear about what you want to share in your photo – not just the subject, but the mood and feeling. Now MOVE! Move around, move in, or zoom closer to your subject and frame your composition to capture and emphasize that specific element. Almost any photo can be improved this way – making the difference between an ordinary photo and one that wows.

Image 2 - Wicklow Tress II by Shane Walsh

Try moving yourself to frame the subject to one side of the frame or the other, not always in center. Move your camera from horizontal orientation to take vertical shots and see what works best for the image you want to create.

In these three photos, taken by Shane Walsh, there is a noticeable difference in mood achieved, in large part, by moving around the subject to create the composition and point of view he wanted.

Image 1 - The horizontal orientation is typical for landscapes, and he’s used a few other fundamentals – the rule of thirds and leading lines – to help make this a strong image.

Image 3 - Wicklow Trees by Shane Walsh

Image 2 - He moved in closer and turned the camera for vertical orientation, creating a portrait of the two trees.

Image 3 - By walking around the trees, moving in closer, and shooting from the side, he captures the more dramatic curves and lines of the branches. Black and white post-processing further adds to the impact.

Want to learn more about creating more intersting images? Check out these ViewFinder classes:
Creative Composition for Better Photos
- Saturday, 24 July
Color and Black & White Photography
- Sunday, 25 July

***

Whether you are a beginner feeling overwhelmed by all the functions of your new DSLR camera or an experienced shooter debating over which lens to use, it’s easy to get caught up in technical details and lose sight of simply making good photographs. Our “One Thing for better photos” blog posts each highlight one specific thing to do - or learn - to improve the quality and impact of your images.

*Thank you to Shane for letting us feature his photos!

Monday
Jul122010

One thing for Better Photos - Shallow Depth of Field

photo: David Kai Piper

Getting out of Automatic mode and learning to control aperture is one big step toward creating more dynamic and more interesting images.

A lower aperture number – f5.6 or lower – will narrow the depth of field, softening or blurring the background and foreground, leaving only your subject in sharp focus. Even a single, simple subject, such as the farm cat in this photo, can be made more interesting when you shoot with more creative manual control. Our example image also demonstrates another point about making better images: Keep it simple! And it takes advantage of leading lines and framing too.

Higher aperture numbers, f8 or higher, will put the whole scene in focus, as in landscapes. But more about that in another post.

Want to learn more about using aperture? Check out these ViewFinder classes:
Creative Composition for Better Photos - Saturday, 24 July
dSLR Photography for Beginners - Saturday, 28 August

Friday
Jun042010

Have Camera will Travel - Secrets of great travel photography

Photo: Bryon Paul McCartneyCheck out our “Travel Photography is a Snap!” feature (PDF) in the June 2010 issue of SwissNews for helpful tips and ideas for getting great travel photos on your summer holidays. You can get download the article here, or pick up a copy of SwissNews at Kiosks and bookstores throughout Switzerland.

This is the fourth in our continuing series of photography features for SwissNews. Catch up on previous ViewFinder photo articles…

Wishing you happy travels and great shots!

 

ViewFinder class tip: Better Travel Photography

Thursday
Feb182010

Winter Photo tips in Swiss News

Click on image to download article as a PDF

Make the most of your photographic opportunities in the Swiss winter wonderland! Check out the February 2010 issue of SwissNews magazine for winter photo tips and ideas from ViewFinder.

You can download the article as a PDF here, or pick up your copy of SwissNews at Kiosks and bookstores throughout Switzerland.

This is the second in our series of regular photography features for SwissNews. If you missed the fall 2009 issue, you can read more here.

 

Saturday
Sep122009

What is a Lensbaby?

Photo: Bryon Paul McCartneyMany of our students have heard me talk about the Lensbaby and my appreciation for this creative lens. For those of you new to the Lensbaby, I suggest you check out their website. There are now three types of Lensbaby lenses and I am not ashamed to say that I own all three.

The Lensbaby concept is simple and mimics the workings of a traditional view camera or tilt-shift lens, allowing you to freely adjust the focus ‘sweet spot’ of the lens for creative, selective focus effect.

The ‘Muse’ is the most basic Lensbaby. It requires that you hold your camera and adjust the flexible lens at the same time. It takes a bit of getting used to, but once you master the technique, it is quite easy to use.

The ‘Control Freak’ works the same way as the Muse, except you have the added advantage of being able to lock the lens in a fixed position. This is great for shots where you want to repeat the same effect while making adjustments to lighting or you need to wait for a perfect moment.

Photo: Bryon Paul McCartneyThe ‘Composer’ is the most recent Lensbaby and it uses a ball and socket design to allow you to swivel the lens into different positions to experience different selective focus effects. You can also lock the Composer into specific positions. The latest versions of the Lensbaby line-up also include a new ‘optic-swap’ system, which allows you to use up to four different optics with your Lensbaby, giving you the choice of double glass, single glass, pinhole/zone and plastic optics. Changing the optic you use can have dramatic effects on how your final images will look. My personal preference is for the plastic optic which produces a milky almost dream-like effect.

If you are looking for a fun way to give you images some kick, you should definitely check out a Lensbaby. We will offer a class on how to use the Lensbaby on 19 November. For class details, click here.

Saturday
May022009

Simple Outdoor Lighting Tips

Golden Hour LightLens FlareNight ShotMany people have the impression that lighting is complicated and technical, that it is important to calculate mathematic formulas and remember lighting ratios in their heads in order to get nice lighting.

Here are some quick, simple tips to keep in mind for outdoor lighting.

Click to read more ...