insights into photography
Free ebooks from Photo Fidelity, the full list and links are here
“I’m giving you another 20 free eBooks to read besides the two from last time just to keep you busy and out of trouble. I can’t vouch for the quality of all because I haven’t even had time to read them through myself. You might want to limit yourself to those that pique your interest. Some of these may be a bit dated, but it won’t cost you anything to look.”
Sometimes towards the end of a understanding your camera type course I am approached by a student with their new entry level digital slr and kit lens attached to it and told they are going to be a wedding photographer and do I have any advice to get them started. Ignoring the sheer arrogance I try to explain that having just completed a basic understanding your camera course might not be enough technical skill and that experience is vital as no amount or classroom teaching can allow for that moment when the heavens open and you are forced to shoot groups of 20 people in a corridor leading to the bar as that is the only open space available. On occasions I am blown away by the fact that said students give me their business card declaiming themselves as a photographer who will do your wedding, portrait, fashion, commercial, in fact every type of photography they have ever heard of.
Well now I can just direct them to this post, it really does define the minimum amount of professional equipment required, and the need for the understanding of how to use it, how having complete technical understanding is a pre-requisite before offering to mess up someone’s wedding pictures. There is no doubt that photography has always been an industry and profession that people have entered without formal college training, and that taking a professional approach and learning the craft is part of entering a profession.
Here is that article, before you decide you are ready have a look and see what a professional brings to the party, here is that link by Mark Stagi
We are off to the massive firework display in South Parks this year, November 5th, Firework Night, yes I know that we see fireworks every month of the year for some celebration or other but Firework Night or sometimes Bonfire Night, there is a magic in the air, that and the baked potatoes, sausages, toffee apples and mugs of Bovril. Photographing fireworks requires techniques specific to the subject and although you can try to wing-it a bit of advice and preparation is a good idea to get the best results. This tutorial by Barry at Free Photo Resources is well put together and covers all the important stuff. If you plan to get your camera out to capture those brilliant and brief moments of splendour read here first
or if you prefer here are some more tutorials from:
Toad Hollow photography, each week, put together a list of must see photography links to tutorials, galleries, photo blogs and essential stuff for the interested photographer. Have you noticed how most people who has a dslr lists photography as an interest or hobby but most of them only ever express that interest by buying the camera in the first place. You, looking here at our blog and being invited to travel the wonder web with us experiencing and enjoying the fantastic world of photography, are clearly not most people, you are a bit special.
Anyway here is the weekly round up from Toad Hollow via those nice folks downunder at Lightstalking
“The world of photography has produced some great work this week, and Toad Hollow Photography has been busy finding the best tutorials, photography and interesting blogs. Truly great images have been produced by some awesome photographers, and all the links listed here will take you to see them. We really hope you enjoy perusing this list as much as the Toad did in bringing it to you.”….MORE
William Eggleston – Red Ceiling
Here is a taste of this weeks offerings from TH
TUTORIALS
How to Photograph Your Fist Smashing Through a Wall of Water – a great video tutorial that shares some great tips, tricks and insight into this very interesting style of photography. High drama and intrigue await those who use this technique, producing some truly one-of-a-kind images.
Loire Valley Boathouse – Stressing the Focal Point in Photography – a compelling picture is accompanied by a very informative write-up that discusses the use of focal points in photography. Great tips, tricks and examples are brought together in the comprehensive post, sure to teach most everyone something of the subject.
14 Composition Techniques that Will Instantly Improve Your Photos – a very well written and informative article on the act of composition. Great examples are provided with each point discussed, giving the reader strong conclusions and ideas to try in their own work.
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – Creating a Viral Video – a different perspective on how to market yourself is expressed in this interesting article. It includes some examples to show how to effectively utilize this technique of personal marketing.
“Keywording is a tool to assign or tag meaningful words to your photos so people searching may find them. I often think of stock photography when I hear the word “tag” or “keyword” because it’s an important step in that industry — allowing photo buyers to find appropriate images. Although this is the case, adding keywords to your photos is also important in building your exposure on the web. Most online photo sharing sites, search engines, and web galleries use keyword recognition to help people find your images.
Keywording photos can be a time consuming endeavor, but it should still be included in your workflow if it is not already. There are programs that help you select words (just do a search on Google for “photo keywording tools”) but the best way I have found is to brainstorm and figure them out on my own. Every photo is unique and should be given time for tagging appropriate keywords. The great thing about digital photos is we only need to add keywords to our images once. By saving keywords to our photos’ metadata we are essentially storing them for use at anytime in the future.”.…more by By Jacob Maentz at Lightstalking
Title: Mangrove Seedling
Description: A single mangrove seedling in its coastal environment.
Oxford School of Photography 