AdvancedPhotography.Net

Newborn Photography — 31 Cute, Awesome And Adorable Pics Of Newborns

Shivanand Sharma — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:00:39 +0000

Cute pictures of kids, toddlers and pets impress everyone. More than imaging techniques, what matters the most with these innocent creatures of god is “capturing the moment” — the moment filled with love, care and lots of emotions. All these things make up for brilliant photographs, especially when the subject itself is God’s own creation — infants and newborn babies. Here are 31 adorable flickr pics of newborn babies.

Newborn
Baby Booties
Cadence Newborn
The Newborn Face
Newborn Bubby
Toes
One Month
Bathed In Light
My Niece
Baby Faith
Baby Yawning
Little Baby
Protection
The Most Natural Pose
Bundled
Tiny Foot
Sleep Like A Baby
Little Hands
Geborgenheit
Chloe
Three Days Old
Feet
Deep Sleep
Snug As A Bug
Mommy & Baby
Baby C
Baby Feet
Can’t Let Go
Maia
Wombed Again
Studio Portrait

Watch out this space for some amazing tips to get started with newborn photography. Meanwhile, let us know which one is your favorite?

Newborn Photography — 31 Cute, Awesome And Adorable Pics Of Newborns is written by AdvancedPhotography.Net photography tips.

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Rangefinder Vs Digital SLR — 6 Reasons Why Rangefinders Score Over SLRs

Shivanand Sharma — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:30:23 +0000

Recently I came across an article on various camera systems. Among the other cameras, like DSLRs, micro-thirds, mirrorless and point and shoot types, what caught my attention was the mention of the rangefinder cameras. The rangefinder cameras were quite common from 1930s to 1970s, which were gradually taken over by more advanced, automated and simplified SLRs. But some features that set apart rangefinder cameras even today are:

Rangefinders Have A Better Focus System

The joy of shooting with rangefinder camera lies in its focusing system. Unlike SLRs which include a reflex mirror, the rangefinder cameras are designed to include a beam-splitter and a pentaprism placed parallel to each other. The internal design of the rangefinder results in forming two images of the subject in the viewfinder. You then need to rotate the focus wheel until the two images are overlapped; the state where focus is achieved. The article titled SLR vs Rangefinder over at Photozone explains how does the focusing mechanism of the rangefinder works and helps in getting accurate focus.
Rangefinders Offer Superior Image Quality

Rangefinder cameras offer higher image quality. It is achieved owing to the camera design which eliminates the flipping mirror, the very essence of a single reflex camera. When you shoot with a SLR, the SLR mirror flips upward, the shutter-curtains open up to expose the film / sensor to incoming light and then the SLR mirror swings back to its normal position. The entire process cause vibrations which results in a certain blur effect, which at times can deteriorate the image quality. The absence of flipping mirror in rangefinder cameras minimizes the vibrations resulting in a better image quality.
Rangefinders Have Compact Size

The compact size, tinier lenses and lesser weight attributes to make the camera handy for almost all occasions, the best being the travel photography.
Rangefinder Viewfinders offer a Greater Field Of View

The rangefinder cameras are good option for wide-angle photography. The lack of flipping mirror allows the rear element of lens to project deep into the camera body, which allows the viewfinder to cover a greater field of view than the lens in use. This makes room for lens-designers to design wide, ultra-wide and ultra-ultra wide lenses for rangefinder cameras. The Voigtländer 12mm lens was the widest-angle rectilinear lens in general production for a long time, with a 121 degree angle of view; even before SLR ultra wide angle lenses entered the market. For instance check out this photograph: shot with Leica M9 with Leica Summicron-M 50mm f/2 (III) mounted.
Rangefinder Cameras Never Blackout

Since there is no moving mirror, as used in SLRs, there is no momentary blackout of the subject being photographed. This comes in handy for viewing and capturing the exact expression of the subject even when the flash is fired.
Rangefinder Allow You To Frame With Both The Eyes

One of the most important difference between the two types of cameras is the way you frame and focus the image. Unlike TTL (through the lens) mechanism of SLR, rangefinders use viewfinder window for determining the focus. This kind of viewing allows the flexibility of composing the shot with both the eyes.

If you want to know what a rangefinder actually is, see the last post on what is a rangefinder camera.

Rangefinder Vs Digital SLR — 6 Reasons Why Rangefinders Score Over SLRs is written by AdvancedPhotography.Net photography tips.

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25 Elegant & Beautiful Examples Of Simplicity And Minimalism In Photography

Shivanand Sharma — Sun, 13 May 2012 12:26:22 +0000

Simple things are often more beautiful, elegant and bold. But achieving the simplicity in itself is an art — an art of expression where less is more. Lesser words and more impact, lesser clutter and more of an effect. Well I am not here to give you tips about zen life like Leo Babauta, zenhabits.net fame, but to share with you some simply beautiful photographs that explicitly add to the interest, mood and expression of an image. Check out for yourself and give your creativity a zen advantage for a variety in your photo-collection.

Life
Feet On The Beach
Una De Flores
Light Curves
Gazing Out To Sea
The Inlines
Thieves Are At Work At This Cinema
Seasons
Japanese People Call This Art Nature
Untitled
The Spine
The Do Stay Just A Little Bit More
A World Of Its Own
I Have You With Me
Boat And Rope
It’s About Time
Lonely Tree
Just My Glasses
Fulla
Reeds
Breathing In The City
My Solitude Enlightens Me…
Monsoon
Silence
Flores Rojas

Wow, simple things are really quite effective, just like these photographs. Some of the pics unfold the joy of silence while others recite the hollowness of loneliness. What more? Check out the article on simplicity and minimalism for some quick tips and photography ideas to add value to your art with Simplicity & Minimalism.

25 Elegant & Beautiful Examples Of Simplicity And Minimalism In Photography is written by AdvancedPhotography.Net photography tips.

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Rangefinder Camera — What Is A Rangefinder Camera?

Shivanand Sharma — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:16:21 +0000

A rangefinder camera has a range-finding focusing mechanism allowing the photographer to measure the subject distance and take photographs that are in sharp focus. This is what makes the rangefinder cameras popular among the passionate photographers — the focusing mechanism. The viewfinder of the rangefinder camera shows two images of the subject and as you go on rotating the focus wheel, one of the images moves closer to the other until the two images coincide and fuse into one. And this is how the rangefinder cameras get sharply focused images. Check out the beautiful images shot with Leica M9:

Sunset Glow

Rowing Through The Sunset

Under Construction

Dedication

Sunset Meditation

Even though digital rangefinders have made their way, it is still film rangefinders that are the talk of the town even today. The nostalgic magic of film and an amazing focusing mechanism is enough to charm serious photographers. Rangefinders score over SLRs owing to the following reasons:

Better focusing system.
Higher image quality, especially when shooting with wide angle or normal lenses.
Ability to go wide — ultra-wide.
Smaller size and light weight construction.
No flipping mirror, thus no blackout while shooting.
Ability to shoot with both the eyes.

Having talked of all the advantages that you get with rangefinders, here are some of the fall backs of rangefinder cameras:

Parallax Error: The viewfinder of a rangefinder camera is necessarily offset from the lens taking the photograph, thus the image shown is not exactly what will be recorded on the film. This parallax error is negligible at large subject distances, but increases as the distance decreases; as in the case of extreme close-ups. In contrast, ‘through the lens’ feature of the SLR eliminates the parallax error, thus allowing you to capture what you see.
Not Suitable For Macro Shots: De facto with rangefinder cameras is that these cameras rarely focus closer than two or three feet. When you move closer to the subject, the viewfinder no longer points at the subject and you fail to get the intended picture. The camera however is good for theater photography, portraiture, action grabbing candid shots or for taking crisp and sharp street photos.
Poor Focus With Tele Lenses: While its focusing mechanism is an advantage for wide-angle photography, the focusing gets less accurate for longer distances. Depending on the effective base-length of the model, its operating focal length is specified. Leica M6 for instance is designed to work with lenses no longer than 135 mm.

Still some photographers simply love rangefinders. Watch out this space for the reason — stacking them up against digital/SLRs.

Rangefinder Camera — What Is A Rangefinder Camera? is written by AdvancedPhotography.Net photography tips.

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Portrait Photography — 5 Quick Techniques To Give You Awesome Portraits

Shivanand Sharma — Tue, 08 May 2012 19:29:45 +0000

Portraits? Come on… Well, but aren’t those the only photographs where the subject can talk back to you? Yes, portraits have the potential to get you the maximum reaction and promotion. And portraits are one of the most common types of photography — you don’t need to look for a nice subject with sunlight, greenery and waterfalls etc. Done well, the subject would promote you for free. So here are 5 simple techniques to add flair to your portraits:

Play With Eye Contact

The eye is the liveliest and the most expressive part of the human body. As the popular quote says, “The eyes are the mirror of the soul”, it is one of the best practice to focus on eyes for portrait session. Go for a close-up and try catchlights to add interest. Retouch and sharpen the eyelashes a bit and you are in for some wonderful finishes.

Ask your subject to look into the camera and don’t shy away from photographing the eyes leading out of the frame. The way you focus on the eyes and play with eye contact changes the mood and feel of an image. For instance, direct eye contact silently speaks volumes about the subject’s mood whereas eye contact between the subjects portrays the level of intimacy and adds “love in is the air” feel; especially when a wedding couple is photographed.

Beautiful eyes
Reflections And Reflectors

Add drama to your shots by introducing abstract elements like reflections and shadows. Well not just the reflections in water! Utilize the reflective surfaces or shoot mirror images. Just hold the reflecting surface close enough to the subject so that it doesn’t actually become a part of the picture. You can also try some reflectors to lighten up the shadows or use a golden reflector and silver dish for some glamor effects.
Try A Flash Diffuser

It’s just a plastic cap that you place over the flash and get going with some beautiful diffused and soft light. The direct flash on the camera without a diffuser looks a tad unflattering otherwise. A flash diffuser allows you to eliminate harsh light and shadows to thus evenly illuminate the scene for a natural look. You can find one here or simply go in for DIY homemade soft flash diffuser.
Multiple Exposure

This is more of an exception than a rule. But sometimes experimenting with effects like multiple exposure can land you some moody shots with added interest. Turn on the multiple exposure and set the number of shots required to create the desired effect. These special effects enhances the subject or the scene and renders dreamy & nostalgic air to it. Get creative at it!

Create atmosphere with multiple exposure
Try Post-processing

Just fire up Lightroom, play around with vibrance, saturation, vignetting, split toning, etc or simply try a preset. Use any of your favorite photo editor to add some amazing image-effects. From one touch effects like sepia and black & whites to the 300 effect, anything is possible. And guess what, these attract more interest than the plainly retouched portraits.

How do you add uniqueness to your portraits?

Portrait Photography — 5 Quick Techniques To Give You Awesome Portraits is written by AdvancedPhotography.Net photography tips.

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Portrait Lighting Technique — 3 Simple Steps For A Basic Portrait Lighting Set-up

Shivanand Sharma — Fri, 04 May 2012 06:51:22 +0000

Lights, camera, action — and here we go… for making an awesome portraiture. This reminds me of a lovely quote:

Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.
— George Eastman

Be it natural light or studio light getting to know the most of it — the light, definitely pays you off.

Especially when working with the model in the studio set-up, choosing the appropriate lighting set-up is like half the battle won. The arrangement of lights play an important role in accentuating the shapes, form, contours, facial details and expressions; the very essence of portrait photography.

So, let’s get started with a simplistic lighting set-up to create mood with your portrait photographs.

Step One — Placing An Accent Light

Accent light comes in handy for adding dimension to otherwise flat pictures. Accent light also known as the highlight lighting is used for accentuating or emphasizing some specific object or area in the photograph. In case of portraits, the most common used accent light is the hairlight. Place the accent light slightly above and behind the subject so as to light the subject’s hair. This helps in separating the subject from the background.

Accent Light: The hair light separates the subject from background

Step Two — Positioning The Key Light

Next step is to place the key light. Key light is the main light used for illuminating the subject as well as the scene. For adding depth to the scene and selectively illuminating the subject place the key light just opposite to the accent light so as to shine directly upon the subject.

Key Light: Main source of illumination

Step Three — Adding A Fill Light

While accent light separates the subject from the background and key light reveals the contours and textures, fill light helps in evenly illuminating the shadows produced by key light. The fill light illuminates the subject evenly, thereby adding a diffused glow which makes the photographs look more natural and appealing.

Fill Light: Lighting up the shadows

Setting up the lights in such a manner, is popularly known as the three-point lighting set-up. In fact three-point lighting method is a standard method used in visual media such as video, film and still photography. However the strength, color and angle of the lights determine the final shot. So, what are you waiting! Get ready to try your hands at this basic lighting set-up for some awesome portrait photographs.

Portrait Lighting Technique — 3 Simple Steps For A Basic Portrait Lighting Set-up is written by AdvancedPhotography.Net photography tips.

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Wedding Photography — Quick Tips And Ideas For Wedding Photography Poses

Shivanand Sharma — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:00:21 +0000

Author’s Intro: This is a guest post by Kevin. Kevin provides various tips and tricks on wedding photography, portrait photography and family photography.

A photographer is perhaps one of the most important components of a couple’s wedding day — the person responsible for making those special moments truly special for the couple to cherish for the time to come. Besides capturing the traditional pictures that most couples want, an experienced photographer can apply creative techniques to create unique poses and interesting photos. The sort of poses used in a picture can be just as important as light, angle, focus and landscape when it comes to creating a great photo.

With so much competition in the field of wedding photography, it is important to offer a wide range of services on one hand and have a vast amount of knowledge about what makes a great photo on the other hand. But one thing that sets apart the great wedding photos from among the good ones is — directing and capturing unique poses.

Go For Natural Poses

Unless the subject is a professional model, it is always beneficial to ask them to pose naturally. It is important that the person being photographed feels comfortable in front of the camera and enjoys the experience of being photographed by the photographer. However, adopting just a few simple movements can help make a good picture even better.

One of the easiest and basic poses to ask for is to ask the subject to stand or sit at a slight angle, rather than facing the camera inwards. In many cases angling the shoulders slightly can provide you with a balanced shot which will help lead your viewer’s eye towards your main focal point.

Change The Angle Of View — Shoot From Above

Where possible, it is always better to shoot from above the subject to avoid any unsightly double chins. As the whole premise of a wedding day is romance and love, make sure the happy couple are holding hands or standing close to one another in each shot. A shot of them standing forehead to forehead with their eyes closed can provide a beautiful and tender photograph.

Say Cheese! And Here You Go — Make Them Laugh

One of the golden rules of posing for photographs, especially on someone’s wedding day, is to get the people in the picture to smile. Try cracking a joke or shout a silly statement just before clicking and see what sort of response you get. To add a bit of variation, ask the bridal couple to perform what has become known as “The dip”. This simple action of the groom bending his bride backwards gently, and leaning over to kiss her can make a dramatic pose on its own, or will simply make people laugh and clap when they see it.

Capture The Moments Of Love & Playfulness

After the formal ceremony, it is quite expected that the newly married couple will disappear for a short period of time to pose for the photographs. This can be a great opportunity to introduce an element of fun and playfulness into the photos. Try and find a landscape that might add as some sort of prop such as a gate or swing and introduce depth to the photo by asking the bride to sit on the gate so she is slightly higher than he is. Allow them time to chat, while you make beautiful pictures of the couple. This will definitely capture the natural expressions.

What About The Funny Poses!

Comical poses work well, such as getting them to stand a few feet apart, bending at the hip with backs straight and meeting in the middle for a kiss. Getting the bride looking directly into the camera, while the groom looks down at her is another nice pose that works well. Or reverse the pose with the groom looking into the camera and the bride looking up at him.

About the author: Kevin provides various tips and tricks on wedding photography, portrait photography and family photography.

Website: Dreamlife Wedding Photography

Wedding Photography — Quick Tips And Ideas For Wedding Photography Poses is written by AdvancedPhotography.Net photography tips.

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Lomography — 75+ Lightroom Presets For Beautiful Lomo Effect Off-camera

Shivanand Sharma — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:35:05 +0000

While there is no match to in-camera effects, you can always play around with various effects off-camera for that awesome cinematic and romantic feel to your photographs. Likewise, you can create or use custom presets for replicating the lomo effect off-camera. Here we have a collection of some awesome Lightroom presets to transform flat pictures to stunning lomographs. Beautiful light leaks, romantic hues, oversaturated colors and surprising vignettes will help you in adding dramatic effects to your photographs — for the perfect innocent imaginations of lomography.

Analogue Love
Archived Grain
Dreamcatchers
Bluecan Camera
Color Tints [collection with 4 presets; one for cyans, blues, purples each]
Color Fantasies
Fantasy Wedding
Icecold
Lomo 1 Free Preset [a collection 7 presets for lomo effect]
Lomo Effect [a set of 8 presets]
Miami
Light Leak Punch Grain
Old Retro Look
Frosty Season
Purple Nature
Soft Sun Light
Strong Landscape [a set of 4 presets by Preset Gallery]
Summer Afternoons
Sun Kissed [a deluxe pack of nine presets]
Faux Lomo
Toy Camera [a set of 15 toy-camera effect presets]
Toy Cameras [a set of nine unique toy-camera effect presets]
Vintage Effects [3 presets for the polaroid look]
Vintage Vegas
Warm Fuzzy

Which ones do you like?

Lomography — 75+ Lightroom Presets For Beautiful Lomo Effect Off-camera is written by AdvancedPhotography.Net photography tips.

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Lomography — An Introduction To Lomo Photography

Shivanand Sharma — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 11:59:55 +0000

Sheer colorfulness, diversity and power of expression — that’s what life is and that’s what Lomography revolves around — capturing the essence of life; that too with film camera. Yes, you get it right! Lomography is all about sharing your love for analogue photography. In all its hype, Lomography has emerged as a powerful community of impressionist artists who are engaged in making the moments click with their lomographs.

Lomography is slowly engulfing the photographers; be it the beginners or the pros to reveal the magic of imperfection. What better proof than the stats itself. Today’s stats over at Lomography.com reads, “In the last 24 hours there were 7,187 photos uploaded, 2,095 messages written, 1,318 comments made and 50,189 likes given”. Wow, lomography is getting viral. So, what are we all waiting for! Let’s quickly learn what lomography is all about and yes, dive in action.

What Is Lomography?

Lomography is a new style of artistic experimental photography that came into being in 1990s when two students in Vienna, Austria had rendezvous with Lomo Kompakt Automat – a small, enigmatic Russian camera. Impressed by the unique, colorful and sometimes blurry images produced by 35mm Lomo LC-A, the term lomography came into existence as the movement for taking amazing photographs with simple yet fantastic little analogue cameras.

Lomography actually is the commercial trademark of Lomographische AG, Austria for products and services catering to lo-fi photographers. Surfaced as the sole distributor of Lomo LC-A cameras outside of the Soviet Union, the company soon engulfed the lo-fi market by offering a wide range of lomo cameras, films and lifestyle products. And the best of all is the movement of keeping the analogue photography alive.

Lomography is getting popular day-by-day as an art movement; with scores of galleries, stores, groups and competitions to spread the word and the motto, “Don’t Think, Just Shoot”.

Lomography is an all new world; far away from the conventional form of photography. Lomography encourages photographers to click the photographs without actually worrying about the technicalities of traditional photography. It’s a fun experience to shoot lomographs — unpredictable, dramatic and crazy photographs. It is definitely something out-of-the-league which every photographer must experience once-in-a-lifetime. So, let’s move in the right direction and have a look at some quick tips to get started with lomo photography.

5 Quick Tips To Get Started With Lomo Photography

Choose Your Camera

Quite strange, but Lomography offers a wide range of cameras – each designed for a specific photographic effect. For instance add Diana F+ to your cart if you are longing for that muddy, romantic feel as Courtney Driscoll or go in for a supersampler for framing four different views with four different lenses in one single exposure. Wow! Here are some of the most popular lomo camera’s:
All these cameras are easily available at Lomography.com, or you can also visit Four Corner Store. You will get a score of options in toy camera market. A good option is to ask all your friends to buy one of the toy cameras each and then use them interchangeably to experience different photographic effects.
Choose The Film

Just like cameras, there are multiple options for films as well. Each camera uses different kind of film. While Holga and Diana F+ uses 120 medium format film, Fisheye, Diana Mini and the likes use standard 35mm film. You can however get amazing and surprising results by trying your hands at color slide films, infrared films or color negative films.
Get Ready To Play With Various Image Effects

Now that you have selected your weapon, it’s time to experiment with the cool effects your camera offers. Have fun experimenting with double exposures, contrasty colors, long exposures, red scaling and other beautiful image effects. You can get some useful tips here. You can also try out HDR with lomo cameras.
Make Your Way Through “The Ten Golden Rules” Of Lomography

The essence of lomography lies in its commandments, popularly known as the ten golden rules of lomography. These rules will take you to an entirely different world of photography; where you are all on your own. Check out the rules here:
1. Take your camera everywhere you go
2. Use it any time – day and night
3. Lomography is not an interference in your life, but part of it
4. Try the shot from the hip
5. Approach the objects of your Lomographic desire as close as possible
6. Don’t think
7. Be fast
8. You don’t have to know beforehand what you captured on film
9. Afterwards either
10. Don’t worry about any rules
And now get ready to overwhelm yourself with the lomographic magic.
Make The Most Of Your Camera

The lomo cameras are quite unpredictable as far as the results are concerned. Sometimes, entire roll may get washed by the light leaks or at other times you may simply fall in love with the vignettes, off hues and saturated colors. Getting to know your camera and making friends with it is one of the valuable tips one can offer you for lomo photography. Initially, you may not like the results at all, but as you click more and more photographs, you will understand your camera better and also know when your camera produces outstanding image effects. Once you unlock the key to success, there is no looking back — just you, your camera and rough, imperfect yet stunning photographs.

So, what’s next. Watch out this space for some really amazing Lightroom presets for replicating cool, trendy lomo effect off-camera.

Lomography — An Introduction To Lomo Photography is written by AdvancedPhotography.Net photography tips.

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Lomo Photography — 35 Cool, Wonderful And Stunning Examples Of Lomography

Shivanand Sharma — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:29:09 +0000

Have you tried out instagram as yet? Amazing filters, cool retro effect and amazing vintage style effects add a classic touch to the photographs. Then there is another iPhone app called Hipstamatic, that brings back the look, feel, unpredictable beauty and fun of plastic toy cameras from the past. Looking at the usage stats, ratings and reviews — people are just going crazy for these apps. The reason being — The Lomo Effect.

The lomo effect is nothing but the imperfect photographic look achieved through cheap toy cameras with plastic lens. The amazing part of the story is that the fan-following of lomography is largely owing to its inherent lo-fi quality. Overly saturated colors, vignetting effect, strange light leaks, lots of noise and grain add dramatic effects to the images. But there is a twist to the tale. When photographing with lomo cameras, expect the unexpected. You never know when will the light leaks, multiple exposures, split lenses and saturated colors work wonders for you.

So, get ready with the lomo camera in your hand and keep your fingers crossed to fill the frame with beautiful effects, like the ones in the collection below.

By the way, did I tell you that you can mimic and replicate the lomo effect in Photoshop and Lightroom as well. When your iPhone and Android powered phones can allow you to do so, there is a whole lot of things you can do in Photoshop and Lightroom. Watch out the stunning examples of lomo photography here and explore more about lomo photography in the following links:

Diana
Leelanau Tart
Lomo Bike
Lomo Buddha
Lomo Drop
Broom
First Comet Goldy Fishy
2 Lil Cats Hiding
An Intimidating Composition Lomo
As The Sun Sets
Caught In The Tractor Beem
Glaswegian Rats View
In The Princess’s Bed
Lomo LCA+
Lomo Grass
Lomo Sticks
Lomo-ish
Lomo-Tejo
Olha O Mar
Parasol
Lomo LC-A+
Patterns Emerge
Pretty In Pink
Putrajaya Bridge
Stand Up Paddle Sunset
Supersampler Debut
The Sunset Factory
Lomo Effect
The Way To Freedom
Turbine Hall
Untitled Instrument
Untitled
Wheel Of Fortune
You Still Bloomed In Songs
Zone-3

Watch out this space for more on Lomography!

Lomo Photography — 35 Cool, Wonderful And Stunning Examples Of Lomography is written by AdvancedPhotography.Net photography tips.

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Photographing Elderly People — Tips And Examples For Photographing Older Generation

Shivanand Sharma — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:08:45 +0000

As the time passes by and age goes on adding as numbers, one gains experience and becomes wise. And the sphere of wisdom expands to all edges — be it relationships, emotions or expressions. Advancing towards the older age, people tend to have a life full of real stories — harsh struggles, accomplished dreams and a lot of experience to share with the coming generations.

Just like the charm of kids and peppiness of teens, they too have something special about them. This reminds me of my granny, who is a little stubborn, gets frustrated easily, defines her own fashion statement, nurtures new generations, unites the diverse thoughts, shares her past experiences with a broad smile and above all one thing that makes her all the more beautiful is her genuine expressions and emotions that add subtle importance to her being. Even at this stage of life, she lives life to her fullest — though with some complaints and some unrealized dreams in her eyes.

I had never thought that I can speak about her at length. She is superbly beautiful and a perfect subject to click some of the great photographs — to implicitly portray wisdom, strength of character and a lifetime of dreams. It’s not just me, many photographers like Peter Carey love to capture the warmth, lifetime story and moment of truth of elderly people when they are out on a travel photography shoot. In fact, photographing old people marks as the second subject on his list of travel photography subjects. Check out what Peter Carey has to say about it:

Old people. They’re everywhere you go but many of us tend to look on by when traveling. And yet, besides young children, I have found the elders of most areas to be inviting, warm souls who are easy to smile. They hold the history of what has gone on around them and have many stories to tell. And often all it takes is a few moments, a smile and an honest attempt to relate with another human to make that connection so vital to taking good people photos in general.

Likewise, senior citizen portraiture or old people photography forms an interesting subject for portrait photography. Their sparkling eyes, loose wrinkled skin, genuine expressions and striking personality add a photographic tale to it.

So, here are 7 awesome tips and 35 fantastic photographs to help you capture the best shots of older generations.

7 Awesome Tips For Photographing Old People

Posed vs Casual Shots

Flip the coin and decide for yourself whether you’d love to photograph the formally posed portrait or would like to tell the story through your photographs. If you inform the subject that you are about to click the photograph, they become serious, wear unnatural expression or simply shy in front of the camera. Whereas capturing the shots when the subject is engaged in telling you stories or is busy doing some work make for great shots. Contextual, environmental and family portraiture also works well with old people. For instance, an old lady sewing sweater for her grandchildren, old men talking politics and current state of affairs or grandparents together playing with kids look more naturally appeasing.
Fill The Frame

Get up close, personal and capture the fine details like facial expressions, lines & wrinkles, rugged hands, sparkling eyes, etc to add a unique sense of depth and emotion to image. Even though lines, wrinkles and age marks add character to senior portrait shots, occasionally carrying a soft focus filter helps you in smoothing the harsh details and induce soft, dreamy effect to compliment to make pleasing photographs.
Capture The Expressions

Expressions form an indispensable element of portrait photography. Expressions portray human emotions and add liveliness to the captures. So, here is the quick tip for capturing the expressions — Set your camera on tripod and make your subject laugh, play, sing and feel special. Let them completely forget the presence of camera to capture the moments of genuinity. Also don’t forget to focus on the eyes as “Old men’s eyes are like old men’s memories; they are strongest for things a long way off”.
Make The Most Of Naturally Available Light

Try to avoid flash. It acts as distraction in 90% of the cases and almost always ruin the photographs unless you know when and how of flash photography. By the way, utilizing the natural and available light is quite rewarding. While soft, diffused lighting is apt for the glowing skin of old people, occasionally employing harsh lighting and high contrast effect brings out the details in their face and can give a great quality. Also, experiment with side-lighting, window-light and edge lighting to add drama to your captures.
Shoot In Color

Black and white seems to be the first choice for senior portraiture. But shooting in color is far more effective for creating mood and communicating the emotions. Retain the color photographs and convert them to black and white to give them timeless classy effect.
Add Image Effects

Cool lomo effect, rustic sepia touch, nostalgic retro effect or old classic vintage look add dimension to the simple shots of old people. These effects revive a sense of history and revisits all the great memories that come along with it. Open your photographs in Photoshop and play around with right filters and adjustments to get the look and feel that best compliments your subject’s expression.
Photograph The Child-like Acts

The old are in a second childhood. Observe them carefully and you will surely come across some of the habits, traits and actions and sometimes inactions which will pave way for some interesting shots, like this one — the seniors all ready to perform at the Mayfest.
Bonus: Don’t Think Too Much, Just Release The Shutter

And here goes the last and the best of the advice. Don’t think whether the shot will come out perfectly or whether your subject will appreciate your act, just press the shutter release and make a timeless capture of the priceless moment!

35 Fantastic Examples For Photographing Older Generation

Just Like The Old Days
Warming The Bones
Four Glasses
I Play Flute, You Enjoy Your Life
Past Time…
First Sunny Days
The Lady In The Pink
Resting In Peace
Sweethearts
Bohemian
Substance
Jonathan
Unspoken Conversation
Old Neighbour
Sr Antero
Gaiterio
Love Is…
One Life
The Older Stuff
Old Couple
Indifference
A Beautiful Old Lady
Kindness
Thoughts Of Your Future
Old Man And The Sea
Old Thai Woman
Penseur
Begging
Los Ojos Tristes De Charapan
The Grandmother
Meghwal Elder
Amma Hugging Goat
All Life Is An Experiment, The More Experiments You Make The Better
Java Malang
Older’s Man Profile

So what are you waiting for? Pick up your camera and get ready to take the shots that capture the essence of older generation. Turn on life for them, turn on life for yourself — photograph the funny instances, some cool stuff and serious side of your subject — The Old People.

Photographing Elderly People — Tips And Examples For Photographing Older Generation is written by AdvancedPhotography.Net photography tips.

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10 More Awesome Android Apps For Photography Enthusiasts

Shivanand Sharma — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 12:20:16 +0000

Technology has opened up creative solutions for photographers. And with the rise of iPhonography — the trend of making beautiful pictures with your camera phone, we have entered the all new world of taking and making the photographs. As much as it is simple to carry your camera phone around with you as the most handy camera, more are its utilities as photo organizer, viewer, editor, presentation tool and sharing platform. And what makes the camera phone more flexible is the photo-applications like the ones enlisted here and (showcased earlier as well).

With passage of time, there have been new additions in the Android market, the very first thing is the name itself. Google Android Market is now Google Play and here are some of the latest, free, creative and awesome applications for photographers. The best of all being Instagram — fast, beautiful and fun way to share your photographs with friends and family. After making a successful venture in App Store, it is now available as an Android app as well.

Just give it a glance. Here are 10 more free and awesome android apps to have fun clicking the photographs through your camera phone.

BTW, which apps are you using on your android powered camera phone?

10 More Awesome Android Apps For Photography Enthusiasts is written by AdvancedPhotography.Net photography tips.

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Photographing Water Droplets — 51 Stunning Examples Of Water Droplet Refractions

Shivanand Sharma — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:30:43 +0000

Photographing water droplets can really be addictive. Especially when capturing beautiful serenity of background or foregorund elements in tiny water droplets. Try it out! You will ultimately fall in love with the simple physics of the water droplets — REFRACTIONS!!!

Harold Davis, Steve Wall, Lord V, Evan Leeson, Macorlin have captured some of the finest examples of water droplets refractions. Speechless, is what these wonderful pics make you feel. Check out for yourself! Here are 51 handpicked water droplet refraction photographs. Each photograph is a perfect instance of unique colors, reflections, refractions and creates magical sensation in its own right.

Water Jewell
Catching Fire
Double Sumac Bokeh
Explored
Orange Drops
Pens
Rain Drops
Unseen Realm
Refraction
Springtime Refracted
Amber Rain
Back Garden
California Blues
Chihuli Blown Glass Chandelier
Coca-Cola
Lovely Refraction
Dandelions in Dandelions
Double Refraction
Dripping Paint
Drop Flower
Elemental
Natural Selection
Floating Hope
Flowery Drops
For Icekitty
Green Slice
Hang The Sun From A Stem Of Dried Glass
Heather Up Close
Iris In A Drop
Many Paths Of Light
Monday Morning
More Wildness
Mostly Green
Multitasking Drop
My Drop Has Bees
Natural Refractions
Om Mani Padme Hum
Verity Drops
Paper Crane Drops
Accept That There Are Many Perspectives
Poppy Leaf Refraction
Orchid Bloom Reflection In Waterdroplet
Primrose Refraction
Rose Drop
Small Planet In A Fuzz Universe
The Other Side Of The Refractory
Tiny Worlds
Purple Primroses
Meecan: The Wildflowers Of Beacon Hill Park
Zero Gravity
The Drops Are Taking Over

Which one is your favorite?

Photographing Water Droplets — 51 Stunning Examples Of Water Droplet Refractions is written by AdvancedPhotography.Net photography tips.

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9 Awesome Photography Techniques For Adding Drama And Mystery To Your Images

Shivanand Sharma — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:25:43 +0000

Have you explored Flickr’s interestingness? It showcases unique, unusual and of course interesting photographs captured by enthusiasts, hobbyists and even pro photographers. Flickr’s interestingness is a hub of unique ideas and amazing photography techniques. Wide open aperture, motion blur, multiple exposures, creative overexposure, dramatic lighting, beautiful bokehs and the list goes on…

All these image effects and photography techniques contribute a lot in communicating drama, emotion and mood of the photograph. Just like simplicity and minimalism add elegance to the captures and noise makes one feel nostalgic, there are several methods you can use to add drama and mystery to your images.

So get ready to pack your bags with these awesome creative ideas; not just for taking the photographs but for making the photographs you want — expressive, impressive and dramatic.

Add The Lens Flare Magic

I am still not out of it — the lens flare magic. So, lets start with this one. The circular discs, streaming light, hazy dreamy look and early morning feel accomplished with lens flares does its good in adding drama to the otherwise flat pictures. Check out more about lens flare here.
Create Mood With Smog, Fog, Mist, Smoke

When you are into creating mood with your photographs, don’t forget to experiment with foggy, misty mornings. All the elements — smoke, fog, smog, mist, haze and dust offer strange evocative feel to the scene. Even though making an exposure can be little tricky with suspended droplets and particles in air, going manual can yield very compelling, moody, and dramatic results.
Try Your Hands At Low-Key Photography

Low key photography is an interplay of illumination and elimination. It is the style of photography that predominantly utilizes dark colors to convey atmosphere and mood. The dark tones and colors of low-key photography add seriousness to the air, making the captures more dramatic than usual. Check out Josh Johnson’s complete beginner’s guide to shooting low key to learn more about low key photography.
Go Out Of Focus On Purpose

Either selectively focus the subject (or scene) or simply leave your subject unfocused. The lack of focus on the main subject will induce incredibly dreamy and mysterious effect. This can be achieved by choosing a wide aperture and turning on the manual focus for delibrately focusing on anything else in the image except the main subject.
Embrace The Overexposure Bliss

Optimal exposure is for the technical satisfaction of the photographer. Perfectly exposed image ensures that the maximum details of the subject or scene have been captured. However looking at the creative side of the things, overexposure even though undesirable, can turn out to be a blessing for the photographer. Check out what Jim Richardson remarks about overexposure, “It turns out that overexposing a little looks bad, but overexposing a lot can look quite wonderful.” So the next time you are looking to try something new, get this on your list — Don’t shy of light, in fact, let there be light! Fill the frame with bright glowing light even at the stake of blowing the highlights.
Use A Wide Aperture

Narrow depth of field shots and the bokeh effect are perhaps the photographer’s best friends for achieving dreamy effect. This amazing technique of using fast lenses and smaller f-numbers help you in complimenting the subject with soothingly blurred backgrounds. Tack sharp, clear and sharp focus on the subject and out-of-focus background is perfect for creating mood.
Strive For Lighting Effects

Side lighting, edge lighting, back lighting, frontal lighting, angular lighting — it’s all about lighting in photography. Embrace the lighting effects to add glow, define shape, manipulate contrast and paint the subject with light. Check out 11 Tips And Examples To Add Drama With Side Lighting and 9 Special Effects That Can Be Achieved With Basic Lighting and get ready to employ lighting effects to your advantage.
Introduce Movement

Motion blur, ghostly effects, slower shutter speed and rear sync flash together can work amazingly; beyond your imagination. While the subject is in sharp focus, the image is well complimented with trails of the subject or lighting streaks following it; which adds a new dimension to your image.
Capture Colors Or Go Black And White

While classic black and whites are good at creating mood, bold, strong, captivating colors go a long way to make the photographs interesting, lively and evocative. It is the language of colors that makes the difference. While the language of grays is classy, timeless, moody, artistic and captivating, lively, warm & peppy colors intensify the emotions. Whatever the case may be, keep the best of both the worlds. Shoot in color and convert to black and white and thus retain the serenity of colors and visual beauty of mono-chromes both at the same time.

Now it’s time to add your techniques and ideas to the list! How do you add drama, mystery, interest and mood to your photographs?

9 Awesome Photography Techniques For Adding Drama And Mystery To Your Images is written by AdvancedPhotography.Net photography tips.

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Artistic Lens Flare — 7 Steps To Get Creative With Artistic Lens Flare

Shivanand Sharma — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:11:02 +0000

Lens Flare Magic

Photographers are creative beings. From time to time, they employ their imaginative skills to bring all that difference to real world captures — to make the shots more dramatic, mysterious, dreamy, hazy or soothing. The photographer’s keen interest to eye the world through the camera’s viewfinder acts as the inspiration for creating mood in the photograph. At times deliberately introducing the noise lets them portray lonliness while at other times employing selective focus gives them an edge to add depth to the scene.

Talking of various photographic effects, how about creating a feel of romanticism and mystery in the photograph. This is what artistic lens flare adds to your photograph — the early morning feel, the dreamy, hazy look and “love is in the air” effect which truly make the captures the magical moments.

While strolling my way through various photography websites, I came across Melissa Jill’s article titled Behind The Image: Flare. What a wonderful wedding portraiture! Lovely pose, essence of red, warmth of love and romantic appeal adds drama to the scene. But what exactly makes this snapshot pop is the magical light streaks and lens flare rings that act as the blessing for the shot and for the newly wedded couple as well . Woo! I am all over falling in love with wonderous, mysterious and magical lens flare. Want to give it a try! Here are 7 simple steps (along with photographer’s commentary) to spice up your photographs with the artistic lens flare.

Add Romanticism With Lens Flare

Before heading on to applying the technique, let’s dig a little as to what the lens flare is and how it happens. Once you understand the simple theory behind the lens flare, it’s your pick — you use it to your advantage (like pro photographers) or completely ignore it to get crystal clear and sharp image. Here we look at the technical aspect of the lens flare.

Lens Flare — Technical Overview

As a general scenario, the camera lens consists of a number of lens elements. When capturing the image, the light passes through the lens, travels its intended path, reaches the image sensor and makes the impression.

Lens flare however is created when the non-image forming light enters the lens. Instead of traveling through its intended path, the light reflects internally on lens element a number of times before finally reaching the image sensor. This reflected light produces an artifact called the lens flare — an optical defect which manifests as starbursts, polygonal rings or circlular discs.

Flare! Lens Flare

The lens flare is often an undesirable effect that lowers down the overall contrast of the scene by producing bright streaks of light and a washed out look. Photographers however have successfully employed lens flares for creating striking images. Check out for yourself! Follow the steps below and make the difference to your photographs with The Lens Flare.

7 Steps To Get Creative With Artistic Lens Flare

Shoot Into The Sun

Natural light at its best; the lens flare can be easily achieved by shooting in the sun. Let the sun’s rays hit the camera lens at an angle such, that the light reflects internally instead of reaching the sensor directly. This reflected light lets the magic happen. You can also shoot indoors and utilize the window light for the ethereal look. Check out how Nathan Schroder accomplished the shot where his model was bathed in a burst of detail erasing light and yet made an impression with flare and flair — Tips From A Pro: Using Lens Flare To Your Advantage.
Partially Block The Light Source

Shooting against the sun (or any source of light) is perhaps the most important requirement for creating lens flare. You can however creatively employ the lighting effects by partially blocking the light source as Melissa Jill has done for this shot. She has used the building for blocking part of the sun, so as to give a sense of streaming light and save the image from a complete wash out.

Partially Block The Light Source
Turn On The Manual Mode

Shooting in light is quite challenging and tricky. While you do so, your camera plays smart tricks. Assessing the brightness of the overall scene, your camera will try to compensate for bright light and will thus under-expose the subject. Manual mode will come in handy for properly exposing the subject.
Aperture Settings

The appearance of the lens flare changes with the aperture settings. Narrowing down the aperture allows you to create complimentary lens flares with sun-star effect, shooting with the wide open aperture on the other hand smoothens the background details to highlight the dreamy, hazy effect. This image represents the combo — Shooting In Sun + Shallow DOF = Selective Focus + Dreamy Effect + Lens Flare = An Amazing Shot.

Shooting In Sun + Shallow DOF = Selective Focus + Dreamy Effect + Lens Flare = An Amazing Shot.
Switch To Manual Focus

When in auto-focus mode the camera will try to focus the object best lit in your frame; i.e, background in this case. Thus switching from auto-focus to manual will enable you to properly focus on your subject.
Take A Lot Of Shots

Even though you try to delibrately create the lens flares, it has an element of surprise to it. You cannot make out what you are about to get on the frame when shooting with sun in your eyes. Also the appearance of the lens flare depends a lot on your position, aperture settings and the angle of light hitting the lens. Taking a lot of shots guarantees that you will probably have some awesome lens flares in your collection.

Pick your shot
Sprinkle The Post Magic

And now it’s time to polish your images. Lens flare magic brings along with it the lower overall contrast curse and detail-erasing light which can be controlled to an extent by post-processing tweaks. Fine-tune the contrast and play around with the recovery sliders to give final finishing touches to your wonderous lens flare image.

And now it’s your turn to step up and try out creative and artistic lens flare magic. While you do so, don’t forget to share your lens flare images and shooting experience with us.

Artistic Lens Flare — 7 Steps To Get Creative With Artistic Lens Flare is written by AdvancedPhotography.Net photography tips.

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Add The Lens Flare Magic

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Capture Colors Or Go Black And White

Artistic Lens Flare — 7 Steps To Get Creative With Artistic Lens Flare

Lens Flare — Technical Overview

7 Steps To Get Creative With Artistic Lens Flare

Shoot Into The Sun

Partially Block The Light Source

Turn On The Manual Mode

Aperture Settings

Switch To Manual Focus

Take A Lot Of Shots

Sprinkle The Post Magic