Friday, March 25, 2011

Vacation Photography Tips

I recently got this new camera, a digital SLR.  I thought I would share some tips and tricks I have learned along the way, especially as I was experimenting with it on my trip last week:

-Always remember where the sun/light source is.  This is a cardinal rule of photography that I seem to forget a lot.  It can create some weird shadows, although occasionally having the sun in my frame makes for a cool shot, like this one:

-Invest in some filters.  I always have a UV filter on, if for no other reason than to protect the lens.  A $20 filter is way cheaper and easier to replace than trying to repair or purchase a lens.  Also, I added a polarizing filter on top of it, which helped reduce the glare off water and glass, and also helped give the sky a richer tone.


-If at first you don't succeed, keep shooting until you do.  I really really really wanted a cool shot of this marina sign at the end of a road in Key West, but the sun was right behind it, shading the whole picture. I was taking pictures from every angle, trying to get something out of the shot.  Finally, I got so frustrated that I walked over, stood underneath the thing, and shot.  And it came out great.  I did a little color enhancement in the photo editor, and voila, my perseverance paid off!


-Don't be afraid to edit, and don't delete pictures until you've had a chance to play with them.  I kind of already mentioned this above, but photo editing software can do you wonders.  I wish I could show you the before and after of this shot, but I think my friend might kill me.  Let's just say that half her face was washed out and the other half was completely hidden by shade, she had 5 chins, and a little bit of sunburn.  I took 10 minutes to retouch, add some color enhancement, and blur the edges, and came out with a halfway decent portrait.  It's nothing professional, but trust me, it was a delete-able picture beforehand, and now I can at least put it on Facebook (or this blog)!



Stay tuned for an AWESOME project from Mrs. K!!!!!

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