Category: 2 Minute Tips

Why did it take so long for me to figure this out? I have a nice tripod with a nice ball head with a quick release plate on my camera. I always have it on my camera and mostly shoot from a tripod. The problem is that when I turn my camera vertically, the camera… Continue reading An easier way to shoot vertically

In 1973 the British rock group ‘Traffic’ released ‘Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory’. Forty something years later, I can’t sing any of the songs on that album except for one… “Sometimes I feel so uninspired. Sometimes I feel like giving up…” Writers talk about ‘writer’s block’ – as visual artists, I guess we are… Continue reading (Sometimes I feel so) Uninspired

We’ve all done it. We see something interesting and pull out our camera and start shooting. Sunsets, cute kids, the Grand Canyon, the Eiffel Tower, etc. The list goes on and on… What’s the most common outcome? A boring shot of a very cool subject, which is certainly not the same as a cool shot.… Continue reading Pictures of interesting things vs. interesting pictures

Here are some simple and inexpensive tips on keeping your gear from being stolen. First things first. Make sure you have the serial numbers of everything recorded safely at home (and a copy somewhere else – like your safe deposit box, or even a Google document.) Check with your insurance company and find out what… Continue reading Protecting your gear from theft

If you’ve ever taken a photography class, or read books on photo techniques, you know that you’re just supposed to know the list of ‘full stops’. Everyone knows that (for instance) f 3 is not a ‘real’ f stop. Why not? For those of us who cut our teeth on film cameras, we remember when… Continue reading f stops – why the strange numbers?

Reciprocity is a pretty simple idea. If you double the amount of light through the lens (by changing the f-stop), you can keep the same exposure simply by cutting the time the shutter is open in half. As an example, if f8 at 1/125 of a second is correct, then so is f5.6 at 1/250,… Continue reading Reciprocity – big name – easy concept

We’ve all done it! We compose and shoot a great shot. Then we find out that it’s not exposed correctly. What did we do wrong? Is there something wrong with our camera’s exposure meter? Most likely, there’s nothing wrong with the exposure meter. I guess that means that it’s our fault.

If you have to explain what your image is about, it’s probably not a very effective image. One of the common reasons that you might need to explain the image is because it includes ‘privileged information’. (Also known as ‘inside information’, ‘contextual knowledge’, etc.)