Sometimes we will have a guest who will blog an article, if you have suggestions let me know.

Guest post : Rain photography

/1 Comment/in , /by

I’m still out with the flu, so today a quick guestblog post.
If you also want to be featured on the blog as guest feel free to drop us a mail.
Today a blogpost on shooting “Rain”.

 

Rain Photography: Tips and Tricks for Shooting in the Rain
by : Gilbert Bermudez

 

 

 

Image Source: Pixabay

 

A heavy downpour is certainly not a photographer’s idea of a perfect shooting weather. But in some cases, the falling rain and dull lighting may even make your photos better. Rain often lends a moody, dramatic quality to your shots that you won’t be able to achieve otherwise, and by using it to your advantage, you can produce some truly spectacular images. Whatever photography niche you specialize in, you cannot escape rain photography. The weather can be unpredictable, which means you will have to learn to shoot in the rain at some point in your career. Rain photography can be difficult, but it can also yield beautiful, incredibly artistic results.

 

What You Will Need:

Rain Gear
Bring a raincoat, umbrella, rain boots, or any other type of rain gear you have at home that can provide you with adequate protection from the rain. Before you can even think about protecting your equipment, you need to think about protecting yourself. Going out in the rain without so much as a hat is one surefire way to get sick, which will certainly put a damper on your photographical exploits. Another problem with not wearing proper rain gear is the fact that getting soaked from head to toe will leave you shivering from the cold, and a shivering photographer is less likely to keep his hands steady to take such finicky photos.

 

Waterproof Camera Case
Protecting your camera is the second highest priority. Invest in a waterproof camera case for your DSLR, especially if you plan on doing more rain photography in the future. These cases are also great for protecting your camera from other elements such as dust, sand, or mud. You can find them at your local camera shops or at online stores like BH, Adorama or for example CameraNu.nl

 

Lens Hood
Don’t forget to bring and use your lens hood when shooting in the rain. Aside from reducing lens flare and protecting your lens from everyday bumps and knocks, it also keeps raindrops away from your lens.

 

Microfiber Cloths
When shooting in wet conditions, clean microfiber cloths in your camera bag come in handy. That way, when your camera or lens gets wet, you can easily dry them in a snap.

 

Tripod
It’s optional but recommended. Due to the tricky conditions, using a tripod may make your life easier to help prevent image blurring from camera shake. Faster shutter speeds are ideal for capturing individual droplets of rain, but if that is not what you are going for, you may end up using a slower shutter speed due to the low-light conditions. Tripods can help you avoid camera shake or motion blur when using slower shutter speeds, so it’s best to have it on hand just in case.

 

The Basics:

Shutter Speed
If you want to “freeze” the rain and capture each drop in your photo, you will need a faster shutter speed. Conversely, you will need slower shutter speeds if you want to capture the movement of the rain and make it appear as a blur. Use 1/250 sec as a starting point and go faster or slower, depending on your desired effect. 1/125 sec or lower is not ideal for freezing motion.

 

Aperture
With rain photography, you aren’t just photographing your subject—you are trying to capture the background and the rainy environment as well. Since this is the case, try to avoid a shallower depth of field so that more elements are in focus. Start with f/8 and go from there. If using faster shutter speeds, you will need a larger aperture to ensure that you get enough light, and vice versa.

 

ISO
Most cameras these days have an auto ISO feature, so if your camera has that, you may not have to worry about this too much. Nikon’s newer DSLR models have their new ISO Sensitivity Auto Control feature, which allows you to set a limit for how high your ISO can get or determine a preset shutter speed at which it should start automatically raising the ISO. Of course, you can also adjust it yourself. If you are trying to freeze the raindrops, go with ISO 1600 or above. However, keep in mind that higher camera sensitivity means more image noise, which may or may not be a good thing, depending on the mood and composition you are going for. Experiment with your settings and go lower as needed.

 

Focal Length
Once again, you will need to experiment here. Longer focal lengths, particularly 50mm or more, can offer greater magnification (due to the narrower field of view) that will be useful for creating more or less blur.

 

Flash
In low-light conditions, you may want to try using your flash to “freeze” the raindrops. But if you’re going for the blurry rain effect, you may not need to use your flash at all.

 

Other Useful Tips:

Shoot Against a Dark Background
Darker backgrounds will allow you to put more focus on your subject and the rainy atmosphere.

 

Experiment with Lighting
When it comes to capturing the rain, the best lighting is one that comes in from the side or from the back.

 

Take Shots From Different Angles
Shoot your photos while walking around your subject to find the perfect angle and the best lighting conditions to shoot from.

 

Get Creative with Your Flash
Using your flash in creative ways can help give you a variety of lighting options to choose from. You may also use your flash to create interesting effects.

 

 

Shooting in the rain does not have to be a difficult or troublesome venture—as long as you follow these useful rain photography tips, of course.

Now, the next time rain starts pouring down while you’re doing a photoshoot, you won’t have to take a rain check.

 

Smugmug and online portfolios

/in , /by

SmugMug, Advantages of a good online portfolio

 

“Why It’s Important to Have a GOOD Online Portfolio”
Ask yourself, when was the last time you checked your online portfolio.  Sometimes you get caught up in your work, upcoming shoots or just with life in general.  If you haven’t checked, updated or modified your portfolio in a while, you may want to go and look at it, I try to update my portfolio at least once a week, but my website is updated almost daily with new images, stories and reviews. You have to make sure people come back and back and back… especially in a time where there is so much competition online it’s important to keep people engaged and willing to check out your site.

 

Together with SmugMug we created this blogpost for you to try to help you out to create a better online presence.

 

Having a great portfolio is more than just a few shots you love.  It’s how potential collectors can find your art, clients can determine if you have the right aesthetic to portray their brand, and how you can build a following.  In my opinion a good portfolio is also not a “garbage” place where you “dump” all your shots, only post the once you REALLY love, or better the ones everyone loves and keep the rest for social media or your blog. You don’t want bad images on your portfolio.

 

Here is a basic checklist to help optimize your portfolio and ensure your best foot is forward.

 

Homepage:

  • Contact – Can visitors contact you with information on it or within 1 click?
  • Navigation to galleries – Do you have an easy and clearly labeled ways to find your work?
  • Looks great on multiple devices – Try looking at your site and portfolio from a desktop computer, mobile phone and a tablet.  Does everything display nicely?
  • Bio – Is there a bio or about us page to walk through your services and help visitors learn more about you and your studio?

 

If the answer to any of these is no, you may want to use a different template or see how you can add these navigation features to your website.
(side note: If you’re on a mobile device, make sure the phone number on your contact page is click to call.)

 

Galleries:

  • Ease of use – Can people scroll through your galleries and go back to the main gallery page to look at another one?
  • Variety – Are the main types of work you focus on represented and in properly labeled galleries?
  • Level of work – If you sell prints and exclusives for collectors, are these labeled?
  • Updated – Do you have your newest and bestselling shots available and have you removed ones that get little to no engagement?
  • Shopping – If you allow photos to be purchased, can they shop from the photo or from the gallery?  Can they add shots to their cart from it?
  • Social sharing – Can visitors share your work on social sites like Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter?

 

Checkout process:

  • Ease of purchase – Is it easy to find a shot, select what to print on, add it to their cart?
  • Multiple devices – Can you shop easily from multiple devices like a phone, desktop or tablet?
  • Upsells and cross sells – If you know people normally buy a print on metal and also on a coffee mug, is there a way for you to cross promote the other product?  Can you send a follow up email saying it’s also available on XY items since you know they normally sell together?

 

Contact page:

Make sure your contact page has the right information.  If you have separate contact information for clients, corporate customers or shoppers, label them differently.  All contact pages should have the following.

  • Phone number – So potential clients and customers can call.
  • Email – Do you check this regularly and is it up to date?
  • Location – Your studio or where they can reach you for a shoot or visit.
  • Map – If you have subjects, models or clients, include an interactive map so they can find you.
  • Form – If they don’t want to email, include a contact form.
  • Social Media – If you’re active on social media, build a following from people who want to contact you from this page.

 

A good and easy to use portfolio can be the difference between new customers, more clients and gaining exposure.  That’s why we prefer and recommend SmugMug. SmugMug websites are built for and by photographers.  Their designs are designed to quickly and clearly display your work.  You have full ecommerce solutions with partnerships to let visitors buy prints on more than 1,000 products (no need to stock inventory) including wall art on canvas or metal.  Now don’t get me wrong, there are many other solutions out there that also work and offer similar options, but for me personally SmugMug just worked the best and gave me the best performance and design options, plus I LOVE their storage option, you can backup a LOT of material online via them all within your plan.

 

Also important for some companies is that SmugMug gallery options also enable you to share privately with clients, sell exclusives to collectors and let your fans pick their favorite shots and purchase them on items like coffee mugs.  The best part about using SmugMug for your portfolio is that everything is drag and drop so you do not have to code to have a great looking website and portfolio, especially if you need something fast and easy…. well it just saves time and makes the difference between “I still have to do this but I don’t have the time”, and “Ok let’s do this quickly and get it over with”.

 

Now I know you guys love deals, so we tried to get something cool for you.
Because of our relationship, they’ve offered us a 15% discount for our website visitors to save on any SmugMug package.  Click here to save 15% on any package.

 

Your online portfolio is how others will see you.  It determines if you get bookings, make sales and land a dream client.  That’s why you need to have it optimized.  Use the checklist above and also try out SmugMug.  It doesn’t take long and can make a world of difference for your business.

Guestblog : Rob van Esch Huge spaces

/in /by

Today I welcome Rob van Esch to my blog.
Rob has some amazing shots of “huge” spaces and will show some of his work today, so enjoy….

 

Capturing Huge Spaces

 

You probably recognize the feeling. Standing in the middle of an enormous hall, beautifully decorated, a space which is a piece of art of itself. You grab your camera and start pointing. And then? How on earth can one capture that impressive space in one image? I love that challenge! During the last few years, I’ve been travelling to places where these immense spaces can be found. Objects that are covered are e.g. famous museums and train stations. Common characteristic of the images in this post is that they are all shot with an ultra wide lens, and that more than one image was needed to fully accomplish the challenge. I am using the Canon 17 mm TSE, a wonderful tilt-shift lens. As the huge spaces covered are mostly public spaces, it takes some preparation to start shooting. I cannot do without my tripod, and you know, the tripod police is everywhere in those places (:-). The solution of course is to ask permission in advance, and that has until now never been a problem (on the contrary, it seems to be really appreciated if you kindly explain what your intentions are.)

 

Enough said, let me show the images.

 

 

  1. British Museum, London

British Museum

 

Read more

Guestblog DPC

/1 Comment/in , /by

Hi everyone, this is my second guest blog here at Frank’s website and this time I would like to introduce you to one of my favorite websites “DPChallenge”, which is short for “Digital Photography Challenge”.

title1

DPC has been around since 2002 and I have been a member since 2006. After more than 7 years of fun and building my photography skills through entering challenges and chatting with other members, I think you should know about this place as well… Becoming a registered user is free, and yearly membership costs only $25… with that, you can enter more challenges each week, join member-only discussions, get more space and have your own portfolio page.

Read more