The first thing you need to to look for when shooting silhouettes - dark subjects, often in profile with no detail - is a scene in which the background is much brighter than the main subject. Then, of course you will need to find your subject.

Silhouettes of Palm Trees - Canon EOS 5D @ 1/8 sec, f/16

What’s essential is to choose the right subject. The more interesting shape your subject has, the more interesting your photo will be. Don’t wait until there’s a vivid sunset/sunrise before looking round for something to use as a silhouette. However, as you travel around, keep your eyes peeled for suitable subjects. With a little imagination you can also create your own silhouettes by placing something suitable in front of the scene.

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I have many photog friends who will just say to me, “I am going out shooting today”. I find that I can’t just do that. Go out with nothing in particular in mind. When I have tried, I usually shoot nothing or crap. On the other hand, I will all of a sudden have an idea and go for it. (I do alot of still life for stock and this weighs in to that a lot) When that happens, I usually get shots although, I would say that if I shoot 40 photos, I probably only use 2.

Girl in Spring by Ann (profile)

How do other people find inspiration? Do you start with an idea? Do you just go in search of anything that might strike you? I find that I usually start with an idea and usually one that is a challenge for me. For instance shopping. I then might go out and decide to work on shooting shop windows-dealing with glare, composition etc…Or I start with an emotion. I recently did “a feeling of being alone”.

>> Continue to read “Inspiration and How You Go About Shooting” in our photo community forum…

Bird Photography video tips by Gary VanRiper. Uploaded by mvliving.

HP has some tips for taking better sport photos using your point-and-shoot digital camera.

Some tips for capturing better landscape photos using your point-and-shoot digital camera

This is an old timers technique used by poor mans photography to create shadow less studio works before strobe lights were available. A film camera would be set on a tripod and the photographer would use a single tungsten light. Lights were turned off in the studio, camera shutter opened and the light pointed at the subject would be waved in an ark resulting in a very subdue soft shadow. In the early days exposures were a bit of trial and error.

I revisited this technique in the late 80s using a flash strobe with a bit of a twist. In almost any environment where studio lights where difficult to place or required too many lights a single flash can exceed your expectations. The only real limitation is a need for a dark space without light.

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If you can’t have fun while doing what you like best. Give it up and find something you do like.

Shot with Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H1 Enhanced on Adobe Photoshop using auto color adjustment and auto contrast features. Resized to bring out more details in stamins and the bee.

A lot of photographers have been thinking of getting into the fine art of macro photography.

There is a whole world in macro that hasn’t been explored yet and today’s new and modern digitalized equiptment is much more flexible and much easier to use in tandem with computer programs.

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Learn how you can easily remove unwanted objects like people that ruining your holiday photo.

Ok. So you’ve read up on the technical side of taking great photos. You know your aperture from your exif and you’ve experimented with shutter speeds. But there is something missing from the photos you’ve been taking. They’re ok, but that’s it. Just ok. Why? You wonder. Well, here’s a little secret: it’s all about luck. Well not really. More to the point, great travel photography is about creating your own luck.

Six on a motorbike…. Phnom Penh, Cambodia by shadowplay

Preparation

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For the artist who is a painter the brush, oil paints and canvas are extentions of what goes on in the painter’s brain. The motivating factor is the inspiration that drives the artist to create what is considered an original work of art. The painter is limited by how long they can hold onto the image within their minds that has inspired them, providing they aren’t working from a photograph. Its much more difficult for a surrealist painter since most of the content that inspires their work is the product of dreams or a too lively imagination.

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