Planning Photo Day Trips

By Kenneth C. Hoffman

How many of you budding photographers own an expensive SLR camera or the latest digital

camera with tripod and haven’t a clue how to get started using them? Raise your hand. Hmmmm. What you need is a whole day out in the field taking beautiful pictures for your album, contests, your scanner and your walls. Here are some ideas for photo opportunities you can count on to produce a high percentage of winners.

The New York skyline or any famous city within travel distance are sure fire people pleaser's when photographed in an unusual way. If you have access to a view of the city from a westerly point, try to arrive at the scenic point one hour before sunset. As long as the sun is out, the city buildings will be bathed in a warm light, while the clouds or sky will appear many shades bluer. This color contrast highlights the importance of the buildings and provides a visual interest not available at other time of the day. Place the horizon one third from the bottom of the picture for a ‘sweeping sky’ look. If possible, scout around for a tree or other over hanging structures for framing and foreground interest. A secondary center of interest in the mid-ground helps the feeling of depth. After the sun series, an hour wait for near dark presents another ‘magic’ time for an interesting shot. A clear dark sky will photograph royal blue when a short time exposure is used. The warm incandescent lights of the city are further enhanced by the comparison. A slow to medium speed ISO setting requires a shutter speed of two to three minutes at F5.6 or F8.

A visit to a local antique store is a gold mine of beautiful pictures. A kind word to the owner and a promise of a picture or two usually insures their cooperation. Set your camera on a tripod in order to take advantage of the natural light in the room An edge-darkening filter in front of the lens greatly improves the pictures. You can make your own by cutting a four by four inch piece of 2x neutral density plastic filter material. Cut a one inch by three-quarter inch oval hole in the middle. When placed in front of the lens, a natural fad-out is produced on the edges of the picture. Look for interesting subjects to photograph like a sleeping doll, light coming through colored bottles, antique items on a dresser top, an old rocking chair with the old owner int, or an antique hobby horse. Try to stay away from straight lines and very dark objects. Window light is best, so you may find it necessary to relocate the item of interest nearer to a window. The owner surely knows many interesting stories about their antiques. Altogether a fun day!

Another fun spot laden with picture possibilities is the local arboretum or formal gardens. Depending on the time of year, spectacular photos can be made from the many unusual plant life. You can photograph tiny blooms from one inch away, discover patterns in strange leaves or capture the mood of a forest with a creative filter on your lens.

At certain times of the year, you can find a lake or local body of water blanketed by a transparent layer of fog. I know it’s hard to get up before dawn, but for this field trip it will be necessary. Bring along waders if you have them or rent a row boat or canoe. Unless building are particularly photogenic, don’t use them in your composition. A horizon line one third from the top will place more importance on the water and fog. A super saturated film or setting on your digital camera will enhance the color of the scene. Strong foreground interest and small apertures with long exposures are important features of the day. A small stone thrown into the still water simulates a hungry fish and a few handy large leaves floating past can help capture interest.

If there are no overhanging branches at the chosen location, a cut branch held over the lens a few feet away can substitute. The best photographs in the scenario will be fore the sun comes up. If you can, include the rising sun in you composition for a different look. For variety, shoot a few super close-ups of flowers, insects or leaves. Since the sun will give you a false exposure, a meter reading of the darkest portion of the scene can be set manually for a proper exposure. Work fast sine one hour is the most time you can expect to have Bring along a fishing pole and enjoy the rest of the day. Happy shooting.

I used to photograph only people. Now I photograph everything.

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Albums - An Arranged Marriage

By Kenneth C. Hoffman

We often put off finishing an album of photographs because of the daunting challenge it presents even to the creative mind.

It’s difficult to discard a not-so-good photograph even though an identical, but wonderful photograph exists right next to it. In order for an album to capture the attention of the viewer and hold it, it must be provocative, show variety, and progress in a timely fashion.

First, separate you photographs in piles representing events. Then choose one photograph with impact that also summarizes the main subject. For example, at you grandmother’s birthday party the presence of most of your immediate family afforded you the opportunity to take lots of pictures including all the action. The aforementioned cover shot would be a close up of Grandma and Grandpa in a hug opening her present.

Next, separate the main groups according to chronological order. Further divide these groups in a series of threes: one scene setting shot, one medium action shot and one close up. Of course, you have to work with what you have, so make the best of it. There will be many posed pictures of various family members, so in order to separate them, distribute the series of three at different points throughout the album. No chronological order is necessary since these photograph could have been taken at any time throughout the evening.

It is important to discard any pictures that an unflattering (unless comedic), especially ones in which the subject blinked. It serves no purpose to embarrass the subject, and only promises to disappoint. If there are two or more snaps of the same subject and you need only one, discard or store the extra images for safe keeping. If they are place in your story album, you risk boring the viewer to death with repetition. Save a particularly nice shot of the main subject (Grandma) for the last photo in the album for a warm, happy ending. I suspect this memory album will take its place as one of her most treasured possessions.

Retired portrait and wedding photographer. What do YOU think?

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Photography Tip- Dreamy Studio Backgrounds Made Easy

By Kenneth C. Hoffman

So you’ve got your basement studio all set up with lights, camera, tripod and a plain white background. Great. Wouldn’t it be terrific if you could add one of those beautiful muslin backgrounds you see in the catalogs and used

by the big studios? Yeah, right. Seven hundred dollars for one. Here’s a method to make a background of your own design at a cost of under twenty dollars.

First decide how you would like your background to look. Find a greeting card or postcard you like. It could be a forest of trees with sunlight slanting to the ground, a quiet lake scene, pine trees under a new fall of snow, an old fashioned garden in France or even a picture of yours that you love.

Make a slide or viewgraph transparency of your selection and prepare the surface for the artwork. An old king-sized sheet will do very nicely or you can use the wall itself. If using the sheet, stretch it firmly on the wall and project the transparency on it. Make sure the projector is firmly supported and square to the wall. Mark the position with tape in case it moves. Using a charcoal stick, trace in all the edges of the picture on the wall. If a removeable background is desired, stretch a king size white or light gray or beige sheet on the wall. Make sure it is firmly attached since you w will be drawing on it later.

Buy a gallon of white ceiling paint (for its matte surface) and some tubes of color. Mix enough paint of the needed colors in a few plastic buckets. With a two inch brush, paint the picture on the wall, using the photograph as a guide. You don’t have to be an artist since the rendition should be loose and a water color like representation of the chosen subject. Avoid using black or very dark colors and tone down any brightly hued colors with white or gray paint. If the scene is to portray a high key effect, one further step is recommended. Mix some white paint with an equal amount of water and roll or brush on a semi transparent layer over the dry painting.

If a more classic look is wanted, you may skip the transparency and paint right on the sheet or wall. Start in the lower center with beige and light gray
and work your way toward the edges, mixing the colors on the wall using veridian/brown, alarizen red/brown and brown/dark blue. These colors are sure to compliment skin tones. Use a four inch brush with either a diagonal stroke for the whole background or a quarter moon shaped overlapping brush stroke. Work fast, using the darker colors toward the edges. One warning: never go back to correct an effect after the paint has partially dried. One advantage of the classic background is that the edges can be extended around the corners of the room, allowing larger subjects to be photographed. The character of your unusual and beautiful background will be limited only by your imagination.

My home made backgrounds were so much in demand, other studios paid me $400 to paint one on their studio wall.

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