Photography is the art of deciding what you want to emphasize and what you don’t want to emphasize. When it comes to pointing out what’s interesting, there is no better practice than focusing. Whatever is in focus tends to be emphasized more than what is not in focus. To create emphasis, we need only know [...]

• 1 Comment

Portraits are some of my favorite pictures to take. You rarely ever get a chance to bring out someone’s unique personality in some of the other more “staged” shots. And nothing screams personality more than the eyes. If you want to take portraits that truly stand out, you need to give the eyes as much [...]

• 4 Comments

How many pictures do you take on an average shoot? If you’re at all like me, it’s at least a few hundred. With so many photos and so little space, how do you choose which ones you want to keep and which ones don’t deserve your attention? If you have too many images, you risk [...]

• 0 Comments

Every good image should have a theme of some kind. It should hone in on one particular subject, and it should make a statement about that subject in a meaningful way. Sadly, most amateur photography remains unfocused, too busy, and it often skips from one subject to the next. When an image lacks a focus, [...]

• 4 Comments

We spend so much time talking about avoiding bad backgrounds, but have you ever given thought to the foreground you’re using? I’m talking about the stuff in front of your subject. If it’s getting in the way, it can make your image look much less interesting. Here are a few tips to help you select [...]

• 0 Comments

If this is what your indoorphotos look like, maybephotography isn’t yournumber one concern. If only there weren’t so much extra “stuff” in the world. Clutter is everywhere. It’s in your room. It’s out on the street. It’s the extra wine glasses you left on the counter because you were too tired to put everything away [...]

• 2 Comments

In a rut with your creativity? It can happen to the most practiced photographers. It is during these times that we need to take a step back and look at what we can do differently. Sometimes all we need is a change of framing or perspective. When we go out with a new goal in [...]

• 3 Comments

If you’ve been reading some my articles on composition, you know that it isn’t always such a good idea to place your subject directly in the center of the frame. Unfortunately, whenever you place your subject a little to the right or to the left, you open up a whole new problem when you press [...]

• 2 Comments

We’ve been on the topic of visual focal points and how they draw attention to your subject for the past few weeks. Now I want to introduce you to something that’s in the back of your mind. You probably don’t know why sharp lines and powerful shapes can create such an impact, but you’re about [...]

• 1 Comment

Visual focal points are everywhere in great photography and art. It’s impossible to produce outstanding images without them. The funny thing about visual focal points is that you don’t even know they are there. They simply tie everything together and make you say “WOW.” But if you’re going to take your photography to the next [...]

• 2 Comments

They’re the most stunning examples of photography you’ll ever see. When you flip through the pages of Time Magazine and National Geographic, you are confronted with the best of the best. How do these photographers do it? Are they simply lucky, do they have the right social connections, or is it much more than that? [...]

• 1 Comment

Photography is about choices. Whenever you go out for a shoot, you have to decide which lenses you want to bring with you, which angle is best, and what aperture gives the right depth of field for your subject. Another important choice is the one you make between portrait and landscape modes. It is a [...]

• 3 Comments

Truly great portrait photography isn’t anything like what you remember from high school. It isn’t about capturing someone in front of a fake background and hoping it turns out. From my experience, the portrait photographers who really know what they are doing take the time to learn everything there is to know about their subjects. [...]

• 1 Comment

There has been a lot of recent talk about digital SLR cameras, lens modifications, and whether you need to go out and get a digital SLR right away. Sometimes the best arguments for getting the most out of your point-and-shoot system come from seeing what can be done with them. Usually, this is enough to [...]

• 6 Comments

There is something peculiar about people. We are amazingly adept at reading one another. We can look into someone’s eyes and see emotions without having to think for a second about it. Because people are so good at this, photographers have to be careful when they frame portrait pictures. If you don’t give your subjects [...]

• 6 Comments