For this month’s Photo Tips webpage, we have included the latest articles on a wide range of topics which our club members have expressed an interest in.

Specific articles and videos are under specific topics below:

CHRISTMAS PHOTO IDEAS

Tips For Taking Photos Indoors This Holiday Season – Find as much light as you can – you’d be surprised how much of a difference opening up the curtains, the blinds or a door (if the weather allows) can make on the amount of light available in the space where you’ll be taking photos. When possible shoot photos as close to one of these natural light sources as possible. – READ MORE

GENERAL

A Helpful Checklist To Use Before Photographing Anything – If you are reading this you probably find photography exciting, maybe even so exciting that from time to time you forget changing your camera settings according to the subject you’re shooting. You have probably already missed at least one amazing shot, just because you forgot to change the ISO or shutter speed. – READ MORE

Your Guide to Creating Unique Conceptual Photography – What is conceptual photography? Have you heard about it, but not been able to work out what it is? Who are the artists doing it? How can you do it? If you have asked yourself any of these questions, then read on and see if they can be answered for you.

Conceptual photography is a type of fine art photography. Like the latter, everyone you ask will give you a different definition. It is an art form that has been around for as long as people have been making art. It seems to be something that people have only started talking about in the last 10 years or so. – READ MORE

6 Tips for Using ISO Effectively With Your Camera – ISO has long been called the third corner of the exposure triangle, but was it really? In the film days you couldn’t even change your ISO, except by changing your film. In the early days of digital, you could change your ISO after each shot, which was a definite improvement. But, if you dared to increase the ISO, your picture would probably end up with a lot of digital noise in it. The reality is that most of us were confined to a very narrow range of ISO values when making our exposures.

Times have changed though. Newer cameras offer a lot more flexibility when it comes to ISO. First of all, they are capable of taking pictures at higher ISOs. Cameras now will routinely shoot at ISO 25,600 (and higher), which was almost unheard of just five or six years ago. Secondly, when newer cameras do shoot at higher ISOs, they produce less digital noise. – READ MORE

COMPOSITION

Leading Lines: From Roads & Borders To Infinity – You may have seen these two photographs being shared around the Internet. They strike at something very profound in us, although we might not know exactly what it is. The Tuscan highway glows with lively warmth at a cool, meandering pace, while the Swedish/Norwegian border is cold and biting, but exhilarating. The images are completely different in tone and texture, yet we can all feel that they are the same—parallels of each other from flip sides of the European continent. They are both endless, stretching as far as the eye can see in either direction. They are the Yin and Yang, identical and opposite, adding up to the infinite. – READ MORE

Diagonal Leading Lines In Photography Composition – Of all the lines used in photography, diagonals are the most dynamic. You can use them to create a strong impression of movement or you can use them to create a tremendous sense of depth. All images are created with lines—some vertical, horizontal and others converging—but knowing how to place them affects the mood and composition of the final image. – READ MORE

How To Think Like A Pro – Improving your composition is one of the biggest challenges in photography, and sadly there isn’t a convenient button on your camera you can press to fix poor framing (although you can often turn on grids to help you adhere to the rule of thirds, etc). Composition and framing decisions take place before you press the shutter button, and although there is a certain amount you can fix in software through cropping, it’s best to get it as right in camera as you can. – READ MORE

FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY

Outdoor Flash Photography Tips With Children & Pets – As we all know, photographing children can be very challenging. It is tough enough just to keep them in sharp focus. Who in their right mind would complicate the task even further by adding pets and flash lighting to the mix? You should! Adding the right amount of flash at the correct angle can turn an ordinary snapshot into a work of art. – READ MORE

LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY

Chip Phillips: 5 Tips For Photographing In Winter – I’ve done a lot of winter photography in the Canadian Rockies, the Tetons, and various mountains in my home state of Washington and it’s one of my favorite times to shoot. Ice and snow can convey so much drama and color, and create really beautiful and unusual opportunities for composition. It does, however, come with its own set of challenges. Here are some tips that I’ve found helpful along the way. – READ MORE AND VIEW HIS IMAGES

NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY

Night Or Low Light Photography Tips -Twilight is a magical time. Just because the sun is down doesn’t mean you should put away your camera. When the sun sets, a different looking world exists for photographers. Colors don’t appear the way they do in daylight. Instead, colors display based on your camera’s white balance setting and how that setting matches the various light sources in your scene. – READ MORE

WILDLIFE NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY

How To Photograph Nature And Wildlife – Nature has the endless mine of wonders and beauty which we all want to capture. We often get amazed by the stunning nature or wildlife photographs in the popular travel or science magazines. So what is the secret of taking stunning nature photographs?

Well, as true for every form of art, photography is something which you need to master. Knowledge, practice, creativity and a good camera is what you need most of the time. Please be aware that this article is not meant for pros. This is targeted to help someone who has just got started or thinking of getting started. – READ MORE