Ok, so I finally broke down and bought a new camera, I picked up a 7D  and so my 50D has been relegated to being a backup camera. While you could certainly go one and …

We are beginning a series we are going to call photography basics to help explore the basics of digital photography. While the focus is on digital photography, all of the concepts will apply whether you are shooting film or digital. In this first installment we are going to look at how to control exposure by manipulating the different settings on the camera such as ISO, Shutter, and Aperture. Upcoming installments will focus on other areas such as depth of field, motion control, and specific shooting scenarios.

A big stumbling block for many new camera users is how to figure out how much depth of field a particular image will have it in given the focal length of the lens, the aperture used and the distance to the subject. Trust me on this, trying to do the algebra to figure it out is not something most people want to try to do in their heads. In this article we will cover all of the math involved and then make it real easy with an Excel spreadsheet and some links to some free applications to help you out.

A common issue some people have is getting their images to portray a sense of movement. Today we are going to look at how adjusting our shutter speed can help achieve the desired look that we want. For this simple example we will look at a ceiling fan taken at different shutter speeds so you can see how adjusting the shutter speed through an entire typical range can help you achieve the exact look you are aiming for.

Although you may think that no two situations are alike, the fact is that there are quite a few constants that you can rely on to give you a good starting point. The sun is one of these things you can count on to be consistent. Of course there are things that affect the sun’s output like the time of day, haze, fog, and clouds, but on a bright sunny day the light output is very consistent and knowing the camera settings for this condition will give you a guideline to make adjustments. This is where the “sunny 16″ rule comes into play.

Tonight on the Live Learning Lab Jason Anderson and I will be discussing RGB/sRGB/ProPhoto Colorspace and what this means to you as a photographer, when to use which, and how this affects your images. You …

While today’s cameras do a pretty good job when in fully automatic mode, in order to make the most of your camera you should learn how to use your camera on the manual setting. To go full manual you will need to have an understanding of shutter speed, aperture settings, and ISO speed. In this article we will get you going and get you shooting like a pro.

When done well, a photograph that has good control over the depth of field can add dramatically to the impact of the picture. When we are talking about depth of field, what we are referring to is a shot were the main subject of the picture is in sharp focus but other elements in the picture are blurred or out of focus. Two key terms to learn here are focal plane which is the area of the image that we want to have in sharp focus and bokeh which is the out of focus sections.

Some of the more interesting photographs are often of ordinary things viewed from a different perspective. A blade of grass from ground level looking up, a bride and groom looked down on from a balcony, etc. What makes these different is that the person viewing the photograph is able to see things from a perspective that is not normal.

Photographers are human and are therefor prone to making mistakes, however, some mistakes as a photographer can cost you dearly. Fortunately for me, my mistakes have never happened on a paid gig. I have however gone out to shoot nature and landscape shots and realized I didn’t have any compact flash cards once, and didn’t have my tripod another time.

Our good friend Jason Anderson has just posted his latest podcast which features yours truly as the guest host. The focus of the show is all about posing as we discuss some key tips to …

In this installment of “Getting the Shot” we look at night shot of a girl on a beach. We  see the water crashing onto the subject and a dark sky behind her. She is lit …