Beginners Guide to Film Photography

Have you been wanting to experiment with Lightroom, but feel overwhelmed and don't know where to start? Click here to get started using Lightroom today!

I've loved the work of the creative agency TERRENCE CAVIAR for some time now. The agency is made up of stylist Michelle Maguire and photographer Kelsey McClellan which reminds me of Arabela and myself. I am always so inspired by seeing othe

3 Beginning Photoshop Lessons Anyone Can Teach Engagement % %

Professional photography gear costs thousands of dollars but you can take stunning pictures by spending only a fraction of the cost. If you have the time and the patience, and aren't afraid to get your hands dirty, then simple DIY hacks can achieve similar results to spending big bucks on advanced kits.

Portrait photography is the cornerstone work of many photographers. If you're starting in this genre, here are nine tips to keep in mind as you strive to elevate the quality of your work.

Digestive and easy to remember photography cheat sheet cards. The cards can be printed or uploaded to your device for the future reference.

Israeli artist, designer, and illustrator Shira Barzilay, who goes by the artist name Koketit, creates abstract line drawings laid over photographs. Her distinct style celebrates...

Custom White Balance with Kelvin • Auto White Balance was my best friend for a good two years. While I was learning how to change my aperture, shutter

2D or not 2D is the second collaboration between photographer Alexander Khokhlov and make-up artist Valeriya Kutsan. This time around, the team was increased to include Veronica Ershova who …

Un blog déco rempli d'inspiration, de projets et de conseils, pour tous les styles d'intérieurs !

Japanese photographer Daisuke Takakura takes clone photography pretty seriously. His project "Monodramatic" features some models tens of times, with some

Depth of field refers to the area of your photograph that is in focus. Depth of field can vary from having a very thin sliver of your subject in-focus to a very expansive focus that covers everything in your entire photograph. Many photographers understand that aperture affects the depth of field in your image, but there are other important considerations as well. Join in! Depth of field is this week's topic for the Boost Your Photography: 52 Weeks Challenge. Depth of Field and Aperture Yes, changing the aperture of your lens will have an immediate and observable impact on the depth of field of your photograph. The wider your aperture, the narrower your depth of field. So, shooting with wide aperture values, in the range of f/1.8 to f/3.5 will result in an image with a narrow section of your subject in focus and much of the background out of focus. (Read more about What an Aperture of F/1.8 Can Do for You.) Conversely, the narrower your aperture, the wider your depth of field. So, shooting with narrow aperture values, in the range of f/18 to f/22 will result in an image with all of your subject and much (or most) of the background in focus. (Read more about What an Aperture of F/22 Can Do for You.) The four photographs in the series above were all taken from the exact location, with the camera on a tripod. You can clearly see how the background trees change from being blurry greenness with the wide aperture to nearly in-focus trees at the narrow aperture. This relationship between depth of field and aperture holds true, provided that you and your subject remain in the same place. If either you or your subject moves position, then there are two additional factors that affect depth of field. Depth of Field, Distance, and Focal Length Depth of field also varies depending on the distance between the photographer and the subject, and it will also vary depending on the focal length of lens used. The closer you are physically to your subject, the narrower the depth of field will be. (This is why, for example, you can shoot a far-away landscape or cityscape and have everything in the distant scene appear in focus even when using a mid-range aperture like f/11.) This comparison demonstrates the relationship between depth of field and both focal length and distance. Each photograph was composed identically in an effort to keep the scarecrow model in the same place relative to the rest of the composition. Starting right up close to the scarecrow for the 18 mm shot, I had to back up a few steps for each subsequent focal length in order to keep the composition the same. (You can see other examples of this in the article on Photographing Architecture: watch your lines and Zooming vs. Cropping: perspective in photography.) Each of these photographs was taken with a constant aperture (f/6.3), but you can see that the effective depth of field changes dramatically. The longer the zoom used, the narrower the depth of field, and the more the trees in the distance become simply blur and color. The field of view also narrows dramatically: the background of the 270 mm shot is reduced to only one of the trees, compared to three entire trees in the 35 mm shot or a veritable forest in the 18 mm shot. This simplifies the background tremendously, drawing the eye toward our subject instead of being distracted by the background. Depth of Field and Background Distance This off-center photograph shows the setup used for the series above. The scarecrow is about five feet away from the green tree, while the other trees are at a significant distance. This illustrates a final point about depth of field: if you want a blurred background, you can give yourself a hand by positioning your subject farther away from the background. Look again at the series of photographs, and pay attention to the green tree. You will notice that the depth of field is still wide enough to encompass the green tree that is just behind the scarecrow, even at the longest focal length. Only an extreme amount of aperture or focal length is going to be able to turn a nearby background into bokeh or blur. Make it easy on yourself. If you want a blurred background, then keep your subject farther away from it. Apply It: Depth of Field Give it a try. Pick a subject and shoot a comparative series of shots, like the ones above, and see how much your depth of field changes as you use a longer focal length and get farther away from your subject. Or, shoot a series of shots at the same focal length and aperture, but move yourself and your subject farther and farther away from the background. See what distance gives you a look that you like. Looking to shoot a bokehlicious portrait with a blurry out-of-focus background? If you do not have a prime lens with a wide aperture (like the 50 mm f/1.8, read more here), use your zoom lens. Try the shot with a longer focal length, keep the background away from your subject, and see what you can do. Want a final reminder? Check out this chart on depth of field by Digital Camera World. Click on the pin to see the original post and chart. How do you use depth of field? Share a link or a photograph in the comments below, or consider joining the BYP 52 Weeks Google+ Community to share your weekly photograph and see what others are capturing. Boost Your Photography: Learn Your DSLR is now available from Amazon. Get the most out of your camera with practical advice about the technical and creative aspects of DSLR photography that will have you taking beautiful pictures right away.

In today’s Photoshop tutorial we’re going to create a cool portrait effect using a long passage of text that bends and deforms around the contours of the face. Known as a Calligram, this effect is particularly powerful when used to present famous quotes or speeches by depicting the author/speaker with the actual words. Photoshop’s Displace […]

The brewery offers students from all over the country the opportunity to pursue a professional career by providing them with 100% coverage of their tuition at Tecmilenio.

Can you make a flower image that is creative and dramatic somehow? Here are a few ideas to get you started making more dramatic flower photos.

Another attempt for the fotoclub Berkelland. I had seen a picture like this on internet, but that one was more beautiful. I was fascinated by the simplicity and composition of just 2 glasses. By the time we had to make a picture with the theme glass, it was clear that it had to be this one..... There are differences between the one I had seen and this one: the other one was very very clear (mine isn't.....) and this one has a bit of light reflecting in the bottom of the glass....... The difficulties I had to face were: finding the right glasses (which included a lot of shopping, no problem for a woman.....)and avoiding reflections and distortion. Hope you like it!

Sharpness is a critical aspect of photography, and learning how to maximize the sharpness will allow you to take your landscape photography to the next level. In this article we'll take a look at the steps you can take to get super-sharp photos.

Photography is a way of making a picture using a camera. Click for more kids facts & information or download the worksheets collection.

How to Throw Things at Your Students (and Get Away With It!) % %

In this final, students will use an accumulation of many of the skills they have learned to restore one damaged image, COB another, and use their photography to explain the Rules of Composition in photography.

Twyla Jones Photography This year in my Facebook group Emotional Storytelling we have been working to inspire and create new images based on weekly themes. Our most recent theme was #faceless. This is one of my favorite types of images and I always feel this pictures tell so much more of a story by showing […]

Ever wonder why your photos look flat and lifeless? Or why it’s harder to get a good photo in different lighting conditions?

Establishing consistent accountability when using the workshop approach to teaching and learning may seem daunting at first. After all, your students are producing, and consuming an immense amount of content during workshop on a daily basis…far more than you can (and want) to grade. The good news is, you don’t have to grade every activity. I know what you’re thinking…”If I stop grading every single thing…there won’t be enough accountability.” The reality is, there are other far more efficient ways to establish accountability and boost meaningful student growth. One of these ways is routine student self-reflection. If you’re ready to bring more student reflection to your classroom, these tips can help you establish routines that maintain consistent accountability in your workshop classroom. Creating Rubrics Together A foundational rubric will help you and your students create a common language that can make ongoing assessment more meaningful and fluid in your classroom. Begin by pulling the rubric your district requires you to use, or write a rubric that communicates your parameters for each level of understanding in your classroom. Rewrite this rubric in your own student-friendly language so you can share these parameters with your class. Making a slide or poster for each level on your rubric so it is easier for students to digest may be helpful. Set aside time in your schedule each day to create a one-week series of work sessions when you and your students can rewrite the rubric again as a class using language that is actually produced by your students. You may opt to: Have all slides/posters on display simultaneously while students rotate to stations where they work in groups to make meaning of each level of understanding. Students can then write their interpretations on the slides/posters, which can be aggregated on the final day. Display one slide/poster each day and host a class conversation that facilitates meaning-making for each level of understanding. Record student ideas as you work toward a common, and final definition for each level of understanding. At the end of these series of work sessions, you and your students will have a rubric that is unpacked by them, rewritten by them, and ready to be used by them. Working together as a class to write a final rubric that will be adopted as the foundation makes conversations about assessments more meaningful and productive. Rubric Drawers Once your class rubric is created, you can make it easy for students to consistently reflect on their work by submitting any assignments to “rubric drawers” that are marked with the definitions for each level of understanding. This built-in practice of self-reflection builds students’ intrinsic motivation to reach higher and produce quality work. If you notice your students have a tendency to submit work to the “wrong” drawer, this signals they need a follow up lesson on the type of work quality required to achieve each level of understanding. Using exemplars (examples of each level of understanding from a particular subject area or activity) can help students build a stronger definition for what work quality looks like. As students build their ability to accurately assess themselves, you can also have them attach a short note of justification for their self-scoring. This will provide insight about any misconceptions they may have about their work or the rubric levels your class has written. If you want to track the score students give themselves on an activity, provide a special pen or stamp that allows them to mark their score before placing it in the drawer. In addition, you can have students submit work with the help of a partner. Once an activity is complete, a student can briefly confer with their assigned partner to get feedback, and make a decision about which drawer a piece should be submitted. This provides an additional layer of motivation for students to reach higher, as they know a peer will be reviewing their work quality. Reflection Letters Another routine that can boost student growth through self-assessment is the writing of reflection letters on a routine basis. Students thrive when they know they have an important role in their assessment process, and will be eager to read your response. Begin by creating a prompt that asks students to reflect specifically on different areas of the assignment that will support their goal setting and goal progress. Also direct students to refer to their rubric to self-assess, and provide justification for their assessment as part of their reflection process. This routine will remind students the importance of keeping the rubric in mind as they complete their work each week, which will foster stronger performance. Set aside time to read these reflection letters and write brief responses which may include your own score using the same rubric, and comments that support your scoring. This written dialogue further emphasizes the value you place on student work and growth. If you find the need to differentiate this letter writing process to support the unique needs of students in your classroom. Here are some differentiation ideas: Have students dictate as you record their reflection. Have students circle their score on a rubric and mark evidence with color-coding or sticky notes. Provide sentence frames to scaffold independence. Self Assessment & Reflection In Your Classroom Ready to give self-reflection a try in your own classroom? Here are a few editable tools to help you get started. Once you’ve established student self-reflection routines in your classroom, stop by and share your experience. I look forward to hearing about the growth your students make, and the freedom you feel from teaching in a workshop classroom where accountability and engagement are off the charts.