Concepts and guides in photography are building blocks to creating and capturing wonderful images.  While the rule of thirds is among the most common building block in composition, the S-curve is also one to be on the look out for.

Photo by nickton

The S-curve can lead into or out of a scene, start at the bottom or side, but fundamentally it will roughly shape the letter S and either define the photograph or split the composition into two sections.

In the photo below, you’ll notice that it doesn’t follow the rule of thirds for the horizon placement but that’s OK.  The S-curve is placed into the right third most of the frame, so vertically speaking it does separate the composition in a pleasing manner.  Utilizing an S-curve is all about balance.

Photo by swotai

S-curves also don’t need to be used as separators or dividers, they can also be utilized as the focal point of the photo, as seen below in this winter photo at the mountain.

Photo by jurvetson

While these three examples show mostly landscapes, S-curves are visible in most all types of photography, including shooting people and groups.  The key is to look for and exploit the oppertunities you have to utilize these soft, flowing lines to either help create compositional separation in the frame or utilize the curve itself as the focal point and featured portion of the image.

No matter what niche of photography you are in, there is a good chance you are going to end up outside, caught in the rain or a wet environment sooner or later.

Photo by jk+too

The people who predict the weather are cruel at best and while they are a good guide, you should always be prepared when shooting outside.  Here’s 10 tips for shooting in the rain and wet situations.

Be prepared. The old boyscout motto holds true for everyone.  At the very least, a large ziploc bag (or disposable poncho) or two in your camera bag takes up no room and can be used in a pinch to cover your camera.  Depending on which lens you have, you can actually shoot through a ziploc bag as a last ditch effort to get the shot.

Invest in rain gear. If you’re an outdoor shooter with sports, landscapes, people or always keep a camera on you, your chances of getting caught in the rain are even higher.  Many companies make specific bags for different DSLR models that are designed to use most of the functions on the camera and offer a better shoot-through plastic protector compared with the ziploc bag. If you’re planning on hiking or even going for long walks, buy a rain poncho for yourself and always keep it in your bag.  They are cut generously enough to cover you and your backpack or messenger style bag and help protect it from the elements.

Photo by peupleloup

Read the labels. Most camera specific gear for shooting in the rain is water resistant. That does not mean waterproof.  Don’t go jump into the lake with a water resistant bag and expect your gear to stay dry.

Buy a wet-weather camera. Several companies make point and shoot cameras that produce very nice photos and are waterproof up to 30′ without any extra case needed.  If you frequently are in or around pools, lakes, oceans or other wet zones investing in a dedicated wet camera could be the smartest choice.

Photo by Global Jet

Snow is wet.  Shooting in snow can have as much effect on your camera gear as a light mist so treat snow the same as rain.

Let it dry completely.  One of the least advertised features of waterproof point and shoot cameras is that they are only waterproof while the batter / memory card door is closed.  When the time comes to get the memory card out and move the photos to your computer, wait until the camera has completely dried.  I’d suggest at least eight full hours – more if you can wait.

Rinse it off. If you take camera gear, waterproof point and shoot or bagged DSLRs to the beach or in salt water, rinse them off with clean fresh water before they dry.  The salt in the water can cause corrosion and dry-rot the rubber gaskets that help seal the memory card door.

Bag your bag. Most camera bags are not waterproof, although some premium bags come with a rain cover, it’s often the one accessory that’s tossed to the side after purchasing it.  A large garbage bag will cover a backpack or messenger style bag to help protect the contents.

Keep silica gel in your bag. Those small pouches that say do not eat that come in bottles of vitamins and sneaker boxes are silica gel.  They are used to capture moister and help keep things dry. Get a couple and keep them in your camera bag.

Photo by matsuyuki

Look for the reflections.  Rain collecting in streets can cause some beautiful reflections. Point your lens down and look for reflections in the water of surrounding scenery and frame accordingly.

Photo by ramsesoriginal

Take a friend along. Take a friend with you to help hold an umbrella, and to be a second set of eyes to help look for reflections, patterns and subject matter.

Increase your ISO. With the rain come clouds which block the sun – these darker shooting situations are similar to shooting near dusk, so a higher ISO sensitivity is needed.

Those rainy days don’t have to be boring and keep you confined inside putting puzzles together.  With some proper planning you can have a great time outside, or be prepared for an unexpected turn in the weather while you are outside with these simple tips.

Photography is a visual form of art that is presented in many different ways and books are no exception.  Books also offer a way for learning the craft, reference and furthering your knowledge.  Here’s a look at 7 books no photographer should be without.

Photo by brewbooks

1. The manual that came with your camera. You’d be amazed at how much information is in your manual about your camera with regards to features and functions, if you sit down and actually read it you can feel more confident in using your camera. They are usually small enough that you can keep them in your bag for quick reference on the go.

2. The Magic Lantern Guide Books for specific camera models take the somewhat dry context of the factory manual and present it in a way that’s more digestible and enjoyable to read.  Like the factory manual, you’ll learn about every aspect of your camera, including the somewhat tricky menu systems that are becoming more common on DSLR cameras.

3. Helmet Newton’s Autobiography.  Helmet’s fashion and editorial work changed the face of fashion and how it was viewed through the second half of the 20th century.  His book told in his own words covers the travesties of his childhood through living in Australia and Southeast Asia, and eventually ending up in the United States.  His philsophy and outlook on life and photography is real and inspiring and the work he created in his lifetime still appeals to the masses.

3. Diane Arbus Revelations.  This book spans Diane’s entire life with more than 200 photos in it and shows her bold style.  It’s an inspiration to any photographer.

4. I Am a Camera: The Saatchi Gallery. More then 400 pages of work from unknown artists and well know photo stars, I Am a Camera covers three main themes: True Life Adventures, Fiction and Artifice, and Places Portraits Still Lives Tableaux.  This collection highlights the importance of photography in contemporary art forms and is a wonderful addition to any coffee table.

5. Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision.  Finding the essence of what you see through the lens can often be an internal struggle many shooters face.  Within the Frame is a book about finding and expressing your photographic vision, specifically where people, places, and cultures are concerned.  While part instructional, this book is more inspirational and will help drive you towards reaching your photographic goals.

6. Sleeping by the Mississippi.  This collection of photographs along America’s 3rd coast has taken the photographic world by storm, and it’s not even a decade old yet!  Shooting large format and following iconic and not so iconic landmarks and scenery of the south, it also captures people who live and work in this area, musical influences, racial prejudices and more.  46 photos comprise the entire book but tell such a moving story that reading it over and over again is a must.

7. Chuck Close: A Couple of Ways of Doing Something. Chuck’s creative style and stringent attention to detail while mastering the large format photography he’s become famous for is shown within these pages.  Daguerreotypes done masterfully in rich tritone show the skill at which Chuck works.  His portraits are like none other.

Bonus. Lost America: The Abandoned Roadside West.  Classic, forgotten about Americana shot mostly all on slide film at night with long exposures, this beautifully put together collection of images is one that you’ll have to show friends and family when they visit.

Books are wonderful things, instructional, informative and beautiful to look at.  Whether you need to learn how to do something or get inspiration, these seven should help you out.

Capturing the moment is a tricky thing to do.  The right place, right time and right gear can only get you so far, sometimes pure luck is also needed.  With these 17 action shots you’ll see a combination of all and in the end, some really nice captures. Don’t forget to check out our tutorial on panning to see how a lot of these photos were taken.

Photo by nattu

Photo by VancityAllie

Photo by Éole

Photo by moophisto

Photo by mikebaird

Photo by wvs

Photo by ms4jah

Photo by Dirk Gently

Photo by Two Big Paws

Photo by Néstor Baltodano

Photo by ViaMoi

Photo by looking4poetry

Photo by m4r00n3d

Photo by Jeff Kubina

Photo by Pörrö

Photo by sub_lime79

Photo by dez&john3313

Your camera is a tool, tools should be kept clean to operate properly, but because they are also sensitive electronic devices, some special care needs to be taken.  This guide will give you a great overview to keep your gear working properly and for a long time, all the while performing the day you pulled it out of the box.

Body

Photo by pointnshoot

Wipe the body down with a soft rag and / or use an air blower to remove dust and from any area the rag can’t reach.  Avoid chemicals as they may deteriorate the finish and coatings that the manufacturer has applied.  A trick to getting dust out of the small gaps around shutter buttons and mode dials is to use a clean, new, hard bristle paint brush to softly coax them out.  Use a standard pencil eraser to clean the contacts for the hot-shoe too.  Many people have bought a new flash or taken theirs in for repair only to later find out a dirty contact was causing their inconsistency problems.

Lens

Photo by DeusXFlorida

Lens barrels can be cleaned the same as a body, with a soft cloth.  The element itself should be cleaned with either dedicated, disposable photo wipes or a microfiber cloth and cleaning fluid.  When using the microfiber cloths, take care to always store them in the provided bag and replace often.  The ongoing debate to whether or not a UV filter has adverse effects on photo output is as heated as a Chevy vs. Ford or Windows vs. Mac debate, but in regards to lens cleanliness, it’s a sure fire way to help drastically reduce accidental scratches and other associated problems.  When cleaning, don’t ignore the rear element and contact points too!

Your hands touch the body and lens often, so even if they don’t look too dirty spend a few minutes once a month to wipe them down anyway.

Internals

Photo by CLF

Check the metal mount ring for any debris every time you change the camera, a lint free microfiber cloth can be used to clean it should something be there.

The mirror inside your DSLR is off limits, don’t even bother trying to clean it, you could cause more harm then good.

Whether you should personally clean the sensor itself is another one of those Ford vs. Chevy debates that will forever reign on.  There are some very good tools to clean your sensor at home, but one wrong move and you could damage it beyond repair.  Sensors should be cleaned when the dust / dirt on them is negatively affecting your post production.  The other option is to have a professional do it, most local camera shops offer this service and even pre-sell a number of cleanings at a discount.  If this is the route you are going down, check what the shops policy is in the rare event they damage your gear.

Clean your gear before you go shooting!  While it’s not uncommon to get your gear dirty in the field, you shouldn’t be doing preventative maintenance while on a shoot.  Lastly, clean out your camera bag.  Remove anything that could potentially scratch your gear (loose change for example) and, from time to time, remove everything including velcro’d in dividers and give it a good cleaning.  A lint roller is a great tool to remove hair, dust, dirt and other gunk from inside your bag.  It’s pointless to spend time cleaning your gear if you put it back into a dirty bag.

Candid photography is one of the best ways to capture people in an environment that they feel comfortable in and these photos are generally the ones that will rehash old memories when looked back upon.  There are a few mistakes though that could kill the image, this tutorial will help point out what not to do.

Don’t forget your camera at home.  Candid shots in-the-moment, you never know when that moment will happen, so always be prepared!

Turn the flash off!  You may be able to get away with the first shot but each and every one after that people will be aware you’re around.  The flash isn’t so bad if you’re looking to capture candid shots during a wedding reception, but if your goal is candid street portraits you don’t want anyone to know you’re shooting.

The subject isn’t always the main focus of a candid shot.  Don’t be afraid to zoom in and crop some of the forehead off or shoot at an odd angle.  Take into consideration how the person is currently in the environment and try to either include that into the composition or completely isolate it.

Get down on one knee.  The perspective from three feet is significantly different from your standing eye level and provides more intimate photos.

Blend in, don’t stand out.  The key to candid photography is to capture people in un-posed, natural situations, laughing, crying, enjoying moments of their lives.  If you’re dressed in loud colors or in the middle of a conversation you could be missing out on something fun or important happening.

Have patience.  If you’re in a rush or impatient for a shot you could miss out on the best situation to take photos.  Candid photography isn’t staged, it’s the exact opposite, therefor you must flow and work within the scenario you are created and not try to dictate what happens.

Don’t ever ask someone to re-do a pose, laugh, hug or other gesture because you missed it.  If you missed the shot, take a breath and relax, another will happen, but don’t force people to re-do anything.

Don’t miss the story.  Photography is commonly called painting with light but it’s also all about telling a story.  Before you even put the camera up to your face take a few moments to evaluate the entire area you’re shooting in or walking through.  See what the flow of people is, determine if you should be stationary in one spot capturing people passing by or if you should actively mingle within a crowd.  Look for moments between two or more people and how they interact and frame your shot to capture this engagement between the subjects.

Forget about being selective when shooting.  Digital photography means the cost per shot is near non existent, unlike film where every frame on every roll cost money.  Because the difference between a great candid and a miserable one could be only seconds apart, over-shoot candids and weed them out in post-production.  Better to have several similar shots to choose from instead of one almost great shot.

Candid photography is very much like photojournalism, capturing moments of time that are happening, telling your story through still images.  Many shooters struggle with candids at first because of the inability to not control the situation.  Look at shooting candid subjects like the wind, you can’t control it, you can only capture what it does, where it does it and with your own vision and angle.

Over the last 150 or so years that photography has been in our lives, it didn’t undergo much change until twenty years ago.  While film sizes and developing techniques had minor changes, it wasn’t until the 80’s when the first glimmer of the future of photography started to appear with auto-focus camera’s and faster frames per seconds.  Then digital came and has forever changed our lives.

Here’s a look at what predictions could be forthcoming in the future of photography, some more realistic then others, all are somewhat plausible though.

In camera HDR.

High dynamic range photography has been more of a curse then a blessing as most photographers see it.  Most over-use the ability and create more art images compared with a true photography, layering and layering until what they have more closely resembles a digitally created image, not a photograph.  If a camera can have the ability to do HDR on the fly, in camera it could open up the door for better, more equally exposed images.

Unlimited ISO.  High end DSLRs now seem to be able to shoot in near total darkness, however the blacks still tend to go green in hue.  Working towards better chips that don’t get as hot will lead to better night images without flash.

Simulated grain.

Grain is not a bad thing!  25 years ago photographers chose film based on the grain type, fine, coarse, etc., and the location being shot and how the subject was being shot.  Something about the grain structure in a 3200 speed film shot at noon on a sunny day produced some amazing results.  Digital has noise which is different from grain, so the quest has been to eliminate it; all fine and good.  While post processing techniques can add grain to images, having it in camera would cut down on post processing and allow more creativity while shooting.

3g equipped cameras.  There are already Wi-Fi enabled SD cards, however you must be within a certain distance of an established network with a properly configured router for the transfer of files to a computer work.  Having 3g built into cameras, DSLRs and point and shoots would allow for instant uploads to blogs, photo sharing sites and social media networks.

GPS equipped cameras.

GPS attachments are available for a few of the higher end DSLRs abut the ability to geo-tag your images would allow for better sorting during post-production.

Polaroid film comes back to life. The original instant feedback medium prior to every camera having an LCD monitor on the back was Polaroid.  Hopefully Polaroid will be coming back to life shortly and the company will establish more consumer friendly cameras to utilize instant print technologies.  They can be immensely fun and a nice distraction from digital now and again.

Universal batteries. For whatever reason, camera manufactures like to create a new battery type for each and every camera they make.  There is virtually no difference in quality between the original Canon 5d battery and the 5d mkII battery, other then a huge price increase and very limited availability when the camera was initially released.  One battery shape for all DSLRs and another for point and shoot cameras will allow third party manufactures a chance to make better, cheaper batteries and cross compatibility for all camera owners.

The everything lens.

The dream is a fast zoom lens that covers wide to telephoto, is compact and doesn’t weigh a ton.  Think 15-250mm f/1.8, 2.5″ long and under 10oz. in weight, with macro capabilities.  Every photographers dream!

The future of photography will change, that much is fact, but will manufactures listen to the demands of their customers?

Each and every city across the world has a character all its own in terms of feel, smell and emotions, but they share one thing in common, a skyline of buildings and high-rises that, while put together by different builds, come together to form a beautiful end result.  Each and every building in a city is special, but stepping back to look at all the pieces in the puzzle can be stunning;  this collection of 21 photos captures just that essence.

Photo by Werner Kunz (werkunz1)

Werner Kunz (werkunz1)

Photo by joiseyshowaa

Photo by Burning Image

Photo by wildpianist

Photo by by coka_koehler

Photo by Christopher Chan

Photo by kennymatic

Photo by besar bears

Photo by mugley

Photo by joiseyshowaa

Photo by steena

Photo by discopalace

Photo by stevewhis

Photo by Sprengben

Photo by Auzigog

Photo by `?ccdoh1?

Photo Wolfgang Staudt

Photo by tripleman

Photo by Sarmu

Photo by mischiru

Digital photography has changed all of our lives and given us the ability to sit behind a computer monitor and be our own Ansel Adams with the post production.  But it’s not that simple, there are several pieces of software to edit your photos with after you take them, the most well known being Photoshop.  There is a clear cut rival to Photoshop called GIMP, an open source software that is very similar to Photoshop, and some say better.

Image by Rore

1. Starting with the most obvious and possibly most important, GIMP is free.  Yes free, no charge, nada, zip, zero.  Photoshop costs upwards of $700 for a single license!  The old saying stays true, if it’s free it’s for me.

2. GIMP is a much smaller install, about 20x smaller then Photoshop.  Not only does the install go much quicker, but it takes up far less hard drive making it the perfect image editing software for laptops and netbooks where hard drive space may be at a premium.

3. Photoshop is extremely resource intensive, it will run on older hardware but it’s not optimized to and will be sluggish and slow.  GIMP on the other hand is amazingly fast and stable.  It will install on nearly any hardware running Mac, Windows or even Unix!

4. Gimp is more user friendly.  Photoshop was actually created as a piece of software intended for graphics and photographic editing, never just digital photo editing.  Because of this it’s bloated with features and functions most photographs don’t want or need.  The physical layout of the screen is similar to that of Photoshop, but is also customizable and flexible to fit your needs.

5. Open source architecture means anyone can modify the core code and develop plugins and new features, you don’t need to be approved by Adobes’ development team.

6. Batch processing through automated actions is far superior in GIMP.  Because photographers often need to do repeatable actions to large groups of images, this feature alone is worth its weight in gold.

7. Open, edit and save Photoshop’s native PSD file format with GIMP.  If you’re editing for someone else, it doesn’t matter if they’ve started the job in Photoshop because GIMP can handle the file format.

8. Free upgrades.  Not only is GIMP free to download, install and use, upgrades are free!  Photoshop upgrades, which happen on average every 12-18 months can cost as much as $200, on top of the original purchase price!

9. Replicate the look and feel of Photoshop and its keyboard shortcuts in GIMP.  There are several tutorial sites aimed at skinning and rearranging GIMP to fully replicate the Photoshop layout if that’s what you are used to using.

10. GIMP goes portable! As if the install of GIMP wasn’t small enough already, a portable version is available to load on your USB thumb drive to take on the go and edit programs on anyone’s computer, anywhere!

With all the benefits and upsides to GIMP and the free price of the software, it’s most definitely worth looking at when searching for an image editing software.

The traditional studio shot of families is fine, but boring as call can be!  The reason very few people are excited about having a family portrait done is because they usually lack creativity, involve standing around with fake smiles and wearing a matching outfit with the rest of your family.  BORING!

Taking the ultimate family portrait is about capturing moments within the family dynamic, it goes beyond lining family members up from tallest to shortest or putting on white button down shirts, khaki pants and sitting on a beach.  Think outside the box and look beyond normal standards for ways to get a group shot unlike any other your family, or your client has ever seen!

This great family portrait has some unique characteristics about it.  First of all, Flickr user RKHawaii was both photographer and model, this is a self / family portrait.  He had a trigger in his hand to take the actual shot and utilized a strobe with a power pack to light it since the sun was at his back and he took an interesting angle, by putting the camera low he is able to capture the foreground, the mountains, sky and some of the solar glare from the sun for a really nice capture.  You’ll also notice no one is looking into the camera.  These more casual family portraits are the growing trend, they look far less staged and seem to tell a better story.

Flickr user Mhogan35 took a much different approach to shooting himself with his brother.  This image has been heavily post processed, but at the core is a rather unique image.  Location, attire and posing are the key factors in this photograph.  It works extremely well due to the symmetry and emotion.

The anti family portrait!  Flickr user 1Happysnapper (photography) uploaded this wonderfully rich photograph of a family where none of the faces are visible, yet this is still a family portrait at the purest sense of the word.  Taking some bad weather into account and making the best of it, the use of large colorful umbrellas and punchy post-processing help transform a line of family members into a fun and quirky portrait.

To plan for these types of portraits you need to look for:

• Opportunity
• Location
• Posing
• Focus
• Story

Examining these one by one, you look for opportunity to capture moments between making moments.  By this, I mean don’t always expect to shoot the perfect family portrait by staging the shot, sometimes the best portraits are captured between the staging and positioning of all family members, or when someone cracks a joke, or makes a funny face.  These idiosyncrasies are what make families, and how they remember each other.

When choosing a location, don’t pay as much focus to where you’re shooting, but how you will capture the family in that moment.  Equally stunning photographs can be taken in a living room, garage, open field or studio, it’s how you pose the family and utilize them in relation to the location.

Directly in relation with location is posing, which has been mentioned here a few times.  In the first example the family is very casual, almost as if they don’t know the camera is there.  This style is often called photo-journalistic, but it can be posed.  As a photographer, if this is the style you are after ask that your family just enjoy their company, shoot the breeze and forget you are there.  In the second photo is a much more rigid pose, the two brothers are positioned to mirror one another, side by side.  This is slightly more classic, but given the dynamic of the image, it works really well. In the last photo the family isn’t even facing in the direction of the camera and their faces aren’t visible.  Think outside the box, look towards creative ways to capture people within the environment they are in.

The focus of a family portrait should always be the family but that’s not to say they need to be in focus, or even centered.  The last photo is a prime example of this, however utilizing other photographic techniques like wide open aperture for a creamy bokeh can deliver breathtaking photos.

Every photo tells a story in some way shape or form.  Each of these three examples tell you something about who the families are, what their relationship is like, where they live or what they like to do, and in the last photos, what happened that day.  Step back and try to imagine in your head what words would be used if a monologue was being told while you were shooting this.  What would you title the shot and what would a stranger take away from looking at it; more importantly, will the family look back years from now and remember how the air smelled or what the wind felt like by looking at your photographs?

This is a guide on how to shoot with passion more-so then an any particular technique.  While specific techniques are required to capture the shot, when shooting people and families, how the moment is captured is ultimately the most import ingredient, and sadly one of the most over-looked by photographers.