The other day I was out shopping and I happened to be looking around, since it was pretty photogenic, when I decided to look up.
There’s something special about old alleys and brick buildings and this area had both.
I usually utilize my Hipstamatic app, but lately I’ve been using my Camera+++ app.
It allows me to shoot in a rectangular mode, rather than the square mode.
For this image, I needed just a bit more width and with the horizontal format, I was able to include most of what I wanted.
The shadow from the window, gives a nice diagonal to the image which provides movement and visual interest.
I’ve chosen to show just a sliver of sky at the top of the frame to emphasize the building and make a more dramatic composition.
A quick shot of a historic building that uses a few rules to spice up the image.
Be inspired!
Michael is the author of, “Take Better Photos Now,” and, “Mommie Pics,” ebooks that help everyone become better photographers through tips and secrets that he has learned during his more than 25 years of experience as a professional photographer and photography teacher. He currently is an adjunct professor at Cal Baptist University in Riverside, California. To purchase either ebook, click the links. CLICK HERE FOR “TakeBetterPhotosNow!
CLICK HERE FOR MOMMIE PICS

Found a great site for an image today and I wanted to share the process.
I was on assignment at the Garden Walk in Anaheim. It’s an outdoor mall across from Disneyland with restaurants, a movie theater, shops and a bowling alley.
I saw this mural and knew I wanted to capture it.
Here was my first view:

I knew that I needed a human element to show, 1) how large the mural was and 2) to give it that human element.
Of course, when I was approaching the scene there were at least a half dozen people wandering around the mural.
By the time I got my gear ready, I was able to make this last exposure with the family walking in front of the mural.
No one else came by for the next 15 minutes!!!
Typical.
I had to report for my assignment, so I had to settle for the first and only exposure with humans.
That’s why it’s good to be ready all the time.
Be inspired!

Michael is the author of, “Take Better Photos Now,” and, “Mommie Pics,” ebooks that help everyone become better photographers through tips and secrets that he has learned during his more than 25 years of experience as a professional photographer and photography teacher. He currently is an adjunct professor at Cal Baptist University in Riverside, California. To purchase either ebook, click the links. CLICK HERE FOR “TakeBetterPhotosNow!
CLICK HERE FOR MOMMIE PICS

I was out looking for some Mother’s Day presents today and a birthday present, too.
That means I’ve got a lot of presents to buy and not a lot of time to do it.
I always head to an antique store that has a lot of consignment stalls.
It’s great and there’s always a bunch of great things for me to choose from that usually matches my mom, sisters and my wife’s tastes.
I was pumped and hoping to get this all done quickly, but I showed up about 45 minutes too early.
I headed over to the Starbuck’s around the corner to kill some time, but I got antsy and thought I might look for something to photograph while I was waiting.
There was some great light pouring through one of the many windows and it was creating some really interesting shadows on a dress form.
I couldn’t figure out which letters were making these cool designs, so I just shot it and ran it though a grunge filter that I found to make the image look older.
Bam!
One cool looking image and I was able to find quite a few presents, too!
Be inspired!

Michael is the author of, “Take Better Photos Now,” and, “Mommie Pics,” ebooks that help everyone become better photographers through tips and secrets that he has learned during his more than 25 years of experience as a professional photographer and photography teacher. He currently is an adjunct professor at Cal Baptist University in Riverside, California. To purchase either ebook, click the links. CLICK HERE FOR “TakeBetterPhotosNow!
CLICK HERE FOR MOMMIE PICS

As most of you know, I’m always looking for photographic inspiration.
It doesn’t matter where I am, I’m trying to make myself be aware of anything that lends itself to interesting or inspirational images.
A few weeks ago, I led a photo class to the art district in Los Angeles.
A lot of murals and a lot of inspiration.
In fact, I think it was information overload for a lot of my students.
But they were able to buckle down and made a ton of great images.
Here’s one of my shots that I found that really made me stop and work the situation.
Angels and a provocative view of a subject’s eyes, drew me to make this image and be my muse for today’s post.
Be inspired!

Michael is the author of, “Take Better Photos Now,” and, “Mommie Pics,” ebooks that help everyone become better photographers through tips and secrets that he has learned during his more than 25 years of experience as a professional photographer and photography teacher. He currently is an adjunct professor at Cal Baptist University in Riverside, California. To purchase either ebook, click the links. CLICK HERE FOR “TakeBetterPhotosNow!
CLICK HERE FOR MOMMIE PICS

I saw this scene painted on the side of a building in Los Angeles recently.
If only we could cage up hunger and throw away the key.
Interestingly, the image framed up better in a square format, rather than my DSLR.
I love that I was able to find a compelling image, compose it & make it even better.
Be inspired!

Michael is the author of, “Take Better Photos Now,” and, “Mommie Pics,” ebooks that help everyone become better photographers through tips and secrets that he has learned during his more than 25 years of experience as a professional photographer and photography teacher. He currently is an adjunct professor at Cal Baptist University in Riverside, California. To purchase either ebook, click the links. CLICK HERE FOR “TakeBetterPhotosNow!
CLICK HERE FOR MOMMIE PICS

Last night was the coming of the Super Moon.
When the moon in it’s elliptical orbit around the earth is at its’ closest and full.
It is about 14 percent larger than normal and especially when it is first rising nearest the horizon.
I was able to gain access to my old newspaper, the Orange County Register.
I was trying to make an image of an airplane as it passed through the Super Moon, unfortunately, this is one image I’ll have to keep trying for.
Enjoy and Be inspired!

Michael is the author of, “Take Better Photos Now,” and, “Mommie Pics,” ebooks that help everyone become better photographers through tips and secrets that he has learned during his more than 25 years of experience as a professional photographer and photography teacher. He currently is an adjunct professor at Cal Baptist University in Riverside, California. To purchase either ebook, click the links. CLICK HERE FOR “TakeBetterPhotosNow!
CLICK HERE FOR MOMMIE PICS

Some provacative images from 2011.
Take a look and be inspired!
Oh Click anywhere on the type!

Michael is the author of, “Take Better Photos Now,” and, “Mommie Pics,” ebooks that help everyone become better photographers through tips and secrets that he has learned during his more than 25 years of experience as a professional photographer and photography teacher. He currently is an adjunct professor at Cal Baptist University in Riverside, California. To purchase either ebook, click the links. CLICK HERE FOR “TakeBetterPhotosNow!
CLICK HERE FOR MOMMIE PICS

As a visual storyteller, deciding what to show and what not to show is a skill that helps the viewer to quickly see the best part of any scene.
My example for today’s post shows the final image from a mural that we spotted on the street.
I’ve cropped into this mural that includes an owl, koi and a woman with what my daughter dubbed, “zebra vomit,” coming out of her mouth.
I’ve placed the woman’s eyes in the upper left area of convergence and her mouth in the lower left area.
The striped lines are in the lower horizontal. All this adds up to a very strongly composed image for the viewer.
Here’s what I started with, during an impromptu group shot.

It’s all up to the eye of the photographer.
Be inspired!

Michael is the author of, “Take Better Photos Now,” and, “Mommie Pics,” ebooks that help everyone become better photographers through tips and secrets that he has learned during his more than 25 years of experience as a professional photographer and photography teacher. He currently is an adjunct professor at Cal Baptist University in Riverside, California. To purchase either ebook, click the links. CLICK HERE FOR “TakeBetterPhotosNow!
CLICK HERE FOR MOMMIE PICS

I went on a field trip today with some advanced photojournalism students to the art district of Los Angeles.
The assignment was to find an image that was inspiring, photograph it and then be able to articulate why it was so inspiring.
I was able to find words on a brick wall that had been deconstructed, basically the words in the cracks were destroyed and it left just a few words.
I found the word, “weak,” and it made me think of how I don’t want to be weak.
Interestingly enough, this was only one of a few words that had survived. So, weak was strong and resilient.
Strange.
The colors and the textures were so alive and vivid it brought another layer or depth to this image.
Truly inspiring and a very different image that I’ve been able to make in a long time.
Be inspired!
Michael is the author of, “Take Better Photos Now,” and, “Mommie Pics,” ebooks that help everyone become better photographers through tips and secrets that he has learned during his more than 25 years of experience as a professional photographer and photography teacher. He currently is an adjunct professor at Cal Baptist University in Riverside, California. To purchase either ebook, click the links. CLICK HERE FOR “TakeBetterPhotosNow!
CLICK HERE FOR MOMMIE PICS

One of the most spectacular buildings in Los Angeles is the Disney Concert Hall.
So beautiful and elegant, I was able to make a few shots recently during another shoot.
I wanted to show a few images to represent my vision of this beautiful edifice in the City of Angels.
Be inspired!

Michael is the author of, “Take Better Photos Now,” and, “Mommie Pics,” ebooks that help everyone become better photographers through tips and secrets that he has learned during his more than 25 years of experience as a professional photographer and photography teacher. He currently is an adjunct professor at Cal Baptist University in Riverside, California. To purchase either ebook, click the links. CLICK HERE FOR “TakeBetterPhotosNow!
CLICK HERE FOR MOMMIE PICS