Photo Retouch

If you are a sports fan, you know what it means when a team goes into a “rebuilding year”.  It is just when the owners or coaches decide its time to train new members and correct bad habits in others.  And invariably, what team leadership says when they go into such a time is that they are going “back to basics.”

Most times it’s best for you and I as professional photographers to go back to basics.  And, of course, if you are just getting started in the world of photography and want to learn “the ropes”, the basics are a natural start.  Nevertheless you will want to study the work of other professionals.

Anybody can take a photograph.  I attended a wedding reception where the wedding party left a disposable digital camera on each table at the reception for guests to snap photos.  Before all was said and done, it was all those youngsters that were walking about taking pictures from the dirty dishes to their own underwear. These were not photographers and while those pictures will no doubt get a few chuckles, these are not the kind of professional pictures people want for their long-term memories.

Now don’t get too upset about confusing technical terms.  Aperture is just a term for how wide your camera lens is open to let in light.  And shutter speed is just how long you let the light come in to affect the picture.  For getting a shot of a fast moving event, let the lens opening real wide but a short shutter speed so you capture the event quickly and close the window so the picture is caught before more light hurts the quality.

Photography is about being able to see light and light situations.  You can and will get learn a lot about lenses and flash photography and other ways to turn the control over the lighting of a shot to you.  So add to your core skills of photography a willingness to never stop learning.  The better and more sophisticated you get in your ability to work with the equipment, the more you will learn and the more you will want to learn. 

You can get a greater control over these basic controls of the camera such as aperture and shutter speed by learning how to switch from automatic settings to manual settings.  The automatic settings of any camera are just there for the general public who are not interested in learning the basics.  So they give you some basic settings like landscape, portrait and sports settings.  By switching to manual, you can learn what settings work best in different situations.

And that takes us to the most important basic about becoming a great photographer and that is practice.  Take some time with your equipment and play with it.  Take it to situations and take photos with different aperture and shutter speed settings, in outdoor and indoor settings and different orientations to light.  Don’t be alarmed when some of your images don’t come out correctly.  That’s part of the learning curve.

By learning by doing, you will build your confidence in your work and eventually become a great photographer.  Please don’t get over confident, there is always more to learn.  And that is one of the ammusing things about cameras and photography, isn’t it?

Photography in San Antonio by Richard’s Photography- 2010 Senior Portraits

Portrait Photography can be very subjective

Do you just take pictures of landscapes without a thought to how it my turn out?  Portrait photography takes you a step up from people photography.  It gives you elements to notice such as the angle you take the photograph, the lighting you will use, and the expression of emotion on a persons face.  While you may be an photography hobbyist deciding to take Christmas photos without the expense you will need to have some creative photo ideas like most professional photographers. 

First when taking a photograph of a person you need to study their facial expressions.  The face is important to the angle you will shoot from.  Though it is a cliché, it is true some people have a better side.  This could be in relation to scarring or acne breakouts or even simpler.  For instance my left eye is larger than my right by just a bit, and looking head on into the camera will cause a horrible portrait, however if the photographer comes from the right side and angles up a little the light and shadows will help even out the features while keeping the distinctions that make me who I am.

Portrait photography is about capturing the essence of the subject, the personality.  The little nuances of a face add character to the portrait.  Your mission will to put your subject at ease.  If you are becoming a professional portrait photographer you will want to learn about your subject as you are taking pictures or perhaps meet them before the session.  If they are just your family then you should know what would get their expressions captured on your camera. 

Lighting is the next important step to portrait photography.  A lot of photographers prefer natural light to artificial.  Your subject will in part decide this for you.  Remember you will use the light you have.  Natural light will often require setting the aperture to compensate for the cameras lack of definition.  In other words you need to create the contrast with the light and shadows for the effect you want.  Often artificial light is harsh and not directed properly unless in a studio.  Again you will need to use the shutter speed and f-stops on your camera to capture the precise image you want. 

The background is also important when discussing light.  In a studio a photographer will pick a background that will not wash your features out or your clothing.  They want to have a distinction or contrast between you and the background.  This is also important of home portrait photography.  Your goal will be to locate an interesting background rather than taking it away.  Being creative and choosing a pretty location and mountains in the background can be a great portrait, but you will want to make sure the background is not too busy to distract from the subject. 
Be sure the object comes into focus and is creative in nature.

The type of camera and film you use will also determine the quality of the photography.  Once you combine techniques such as lighting, angles, and understanding your subject you will be able to create a near to professional if not professional portrait for your friends and family no matter the occasion.  Just snapping a picture is possible, but it would be great to have a better portrait? 

Richard’s Photography , Photographers San Antonio