Anticipation: Shoot from the Hip Photography Part 6

When shooting weddings, etc. some of the best shooting opportunities come after the ceremonies are over.  If you remain unobtrusive and stay in the background and use your anticipation, you can say goodbye to those same ol' same ol' photos of persons either looking self-conscious or giving you big bright smiles with a wave, and instead catch a lot of unaffected, natural candids.  During the post-ceremony festivities of an...

Synchronisation: Shoot from the Hip Photography Part 5

I was aboard a ship docked in Madras and a few hours before departure time I learnt that a gypsy troupe was about to give a performance in the main hall.  Already on board and with no plans, I thought I would check it out and just as well because the performance turned out to be a photogenic one, full of colour and movement.  The 36 exposure roll in my...

Split Second Foresight: Shoot from the Hip Photography Part 5

Instantaneous 'Shoot from the Hip' photography; which is not limited to persons and pets; natural events and city incidents lend themselves to this type of photography;  is the diametric opposite of portraits and interiors, as mentioned, and requires a different mental approach.  When you approach a portrait or still life, you give careful consideration to camera angles, aperture, lighting, focal length, filters, etc.  You use a tripod.  These are virtually...

Shutter release delay: Shoot from the Hip Photography Part 4

Here is one practical application of my exhortation to make your camera an extension of your body.  Every camera's shutter button (by way of the shutter release mechanism) activates the shutter curtain after some or another slight 'shutter release delay' that is measured in milliseconds.  (The finer and more expensive the camera, the briefer the shutter delay, and vice versa.) 

By practice and more practice, you will intuit your camera's shutter-release...

Preparedness: Shoot from the Hip Photography Part 3

I set out to take some action photographs of an adopted cat playing with a toy, a dangling rubber ring.  Though, in this

case, I was setting out to take a particular type of photo for which I was ready, for one thing, it still required me to shoot at precisely the right split-second; cats bat their paws lightning-fast  (Flash, distinct and separate from shutter-speed, helps to...

Readiness: Shoot From the Hip Photography Part 2

One evening I saw my dog Rusty regally stretched out on a petal-strewn section of a patch of grass in our compound.  I went indoors, got my camera and flash, returned to my dog and, murmuring affectionate words to try to get that happy expression dog-lovers know so well, took a photograph.  Half-a-second later, taken with the attention and affection, my dog did something she would seldom do: she...

Fire! How to capture those Instantaneous ‘Shoot from the Hip’ Situations (an indepth class)

That killer, sparkly-eyed, from-the-heart, smile that flashes for a split-second.  A cat jumping straight up in the air in fright.  Two children at boisterous play; and one suddenly twirls in glee.  Two moving objects colliding and shattering.  Are these examples of 'lucky shots'? 

Not quite: capturing such photographs  seems to be a knack or a talent that some photographers just have and others don't.  From a photographic perspective, this kind...

Countdown: 7 Rules for Surefire Holiday Snaps

On holiday, you shoot a lot of the 'sights'  from city buildings to scenic landscapes.  Do it as you usually do.  Then, change the angle.  Get low, get high, get to a side, go around, work in some foreground experiment.  For example, if you go to Barcelona and are enthralled by one of Antonio Gaudi's several fascinating buildings, shoot them from where you're standing, sure.  But then, try entering...

Best Photo Editors for 2012

Way back when, there was no such thing as 'photo editing'.  If you wanted a colour negative printed with particular filtration or wanted to dupe and sepia-tone an old print, you had to head to the photo studio.  Then along came PhotoShop and its competitors, which you had to pay a pretty penny for and keep on your hard-drive.  Now, it's all 'out there' on the Net . . ....