Podcast #76 – Conversation with David Ziser – Choosing the right aperture
February 26, 2010 – 8:42 am | One Comment

This week I sat down with David Ziser to discuss a handful of topics including how to choose the right aperture for a particular shot, determining the depth of field for a particular shot, when …

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Articles in Shooting Tips

Taking outdoor portraits
May 18, 2007 – 12:00 am | 2 Comments
Taking outdoor portraits

Natural light can be your friend or your enemy depending on how you approach it. The biggest mistake people make is thinking that the sun is a giant soft light in the sky. While the Sun is over 92 million miles away, if you hold your thumb up to the sun at high noon, it appears to only be the size of your thumbnail making it a VERY small spotlight which causes very harsh shadows.

Setting up a basic portrait shot
May 13, 2007 – 7:34 pm | 2 Comments
Setting up a basic portrait shot

The most common mistake in doing a portrait is to use an on-camera flash. While an on-camera flash will illuminate a subject well, the direct head-on light will wash out all the shadows making the face look flat. So our first rule is to have the key light off to the side of the subject’s face.

What Equipment Should You Buy
April 30, 2007 – 7:32 am | No Comment

In forums and comments all over the net you will see people asking the same question over and over again – “What equipment should I buy?”. Not meaning to sound rude, but this is like asking some stranger on the street “what kind of car should I buy?”, the simple answer is “you aren’t giving me enough information to give you an answer”.

Using equipment that isn’t ‘cool’ anymore
April 23, 2007 – 8:07 pm | No Comment
Using equipment that isn’t ‘cool’ anymore

I am a big believer in bartering goods and services whenever possible. This week I did some computer service for a professional photographer friend of mine, in exchange he offered me one of his older studio lights. When he handed it to me I thought “what the hell is he giving me”. The old box lamp that looked like something from the dark ages. He swore this Lowel Omni Light was a top notch light.

Taking Good Product Shots
March 23, 2007 – 7:29 am | No Comment
Taking Good Product Shots

I basically started off my photography journey doing product shots for some hobby websites I had. I was competing against big print magazines so I always strived to come up with product shots that were as good or better than what the big guys were doing.

Improving Travel Photos
March 13, 2007 – 8:06 pm | 2 Comments
Improving Travel Photos

As i write this I am on vacation with my wife in San Francisco and I think that taking a look at some example photographs may help you take better travel photos. While there are plenty of the basic snapshot photos, I also want to capture something a little different sometimes.