Photography Tips - Day 2
Van Couver Harbor
Today's assignment is improve mobile phone photography. I used to drag my DSLR around in my bag, but the lens and camera housing, plus all the other stuff I seem to need (god knows why) whenever leaving the house, had become such a pain that I now often just take photos with my Iphone. All the same rules apply to shooting pictures with your phones as it does with a regular camera. The Rule of Thirds as discussed yesterday and tips of how to compose a photo. However there are other ways you can improve a photo and that's by making uses of proper lighting.
1. Use Proper Lighting
unlike studio lighting where you can show directional lights on an object, outdoor shoots and especially when on the go with your phone camera requires to make use of existing lighting.
What I have learned as a portrait artist is to use natural lighting and placing my subjects next to a window. The diffused light shining on a person against the darker background of a room usually makes for a really nice image.
Now this I learned new - when outside place a person right at the edge where light and shadow meet. I still need to take a photo for this challenge and will post it here later.
2. Use Light to Tell A Story
That brings me to my image today. I love reflected light and capturing mirrored images. When we were in Amsterdam, I walked passed this window display of tulips in vases and at first passed it. But as I walked by I also noticed a bit of the reflection of the buildings across the street. That gave me the idea to capture what Amsterdam is known for, which is it's long narrow buildings, tulips and blue and white china. Something else happened, which was a total accident. Notice that the backdrop for the display has trees, which have merged with the reflection of trees that were in the street. I just love that effect because in a way it is also repeating the organic patterns on the blue and white china.
