Impressionist Photography by Don O. Thorpe
 Home  ||  About  ||  Galleries  ||  Portraits  ||  Prices  ||  Services  ||  Site Map  ||  Contact 

 

PHOTO TIPS & CLIPS

Useful tips about photography and the Internet

CLOSER IS BETTER
Most mediocre photographs could have been better if the photographer had moved in closer -- a lot closer. Shooting close eliminates most of the distractions seen in mediocre snapshots. Fill the frame with the subject!

FALL FOLIAGE PHOTOGRAPHS
Shooting the rich warm colors of Fall can be challenging.  When shooting with auto settings, avoid over exposure by pointing the exposure sensor at a middle toned portion of the scene, then hold that setting as you fill the frame with the subject and take the picture.

SHADOWS AND BRIGHT LIGHT
Watch for hot spots of light and avoid them, or compensate for them by deliberately setting an underexposed reading. Squint your eyes to determine where the hot spots of a scene are located.

Watch for deep shadows and try to avoid them, or compensate for them by deliberately setting an overexposed reading. Squint your eyes to determine where the dark areas of a scene are located.

SAVE FADED, DAMAGED AND BAD PHOTOS
If you have a one-of-a-kind photograph that you wish was darker, lighter, or sharper, and you don't have the original negative or slide, you can still improve it if you have access to a scanner and one of several photo manipulating programs. You can change the color, contrast and clarity of a photograph, and even repair badly damaged photos.

SHOOT NOW, DON'T PUT IT OFF
Never wait till later to take a photo of something that looks good. The opportunity will never be exactly the same later, even when you are sure it will be. SHOOT IT NOW!

SAVE THOSE EXPENSIVE LENSES AND STILL SHOOT FAST
Some photographers protect their lenses with lens caps.  But this can really slow you down when you see a fast moving subject.  It is better to use a skylight filter on the front of your lens as a protection.  Then you can pull up the camera and shoot immediately without having to take the time to remove a lens cap and find a place to put it.

BETTER PHOTO QUALITY ON THE INTERNET
Some photographers have had trouble getting good quality images on the Internet. You should do all of your enhancement and resizing in TIFF format before the image is resized to a smaller JPG file for a web page because re-sizing degrades the image quality, and every time you save a JPG file you loose some of the image quality. 

Increasing or decreasing the brightness/contrast ratio sometimes helps. Be aware that browsers will dither the images differently than they appear in PhotoShop, and they will not look as good on the Internet.

E-mail me if you have some tips you think should be listed here or if you have a question about website design or photography that I might be able to answer.

DON O. THORPE
EMAIL: donothorpe@gmail.com
Telephone:
  801/582-6019


 Home   About   Galleries   Services   Prices   Contact   Site Map 


  © Don O. Thorpe. All Rights Reserved.