Anyone who has read this blog for awhile knows that I really like ladders.
Strange, but they inspired me.
There’s mystery and romance behind a good ladder photo.
I was at a photo shoot today and was early(always a good thing) and I spied a ladder outside the clients building.
A great opportunity to explain my process for producing a good image.
The first image is composed well, but the reflection in the window at the bottom isn’t working for me.
The composition is okay, but the contrast of the ladder and the light striking the building isn’t quite right.
Photo #2:

Ah, now we are getting closer.
I cropped out the window and just included the building and the shadow created by a reflection striking the building around the ladder and causing a very interesting
shadow pattern around the ladder and by the ladder.
This could be the best image, but I continue to press in for another try.
Photo #3:

A much looser version than photo #2 and I think it adds a bit more mystery to the final image.
The viewer can see more information, the light/reflection striking the building and the ladder is much more prominent and the ladder is reduced to a much smaller
part in this image due to it’s much smaller size in relation to the entire image.
#2 or #3?
Leave your vote and tell us why in the comment section or on Facebook.
No one will be wrong, just interested in your thoughts.
Thanks and be inspired!

Michael Kitada is the author of i365project.com. He worked as a staff photographer for the Orange County Register in southern California for almost 20 years and has served as an adjunct professor at UCLA teaching photojournalism and currently teaches photography at Cal Baptist University in Riverside. He also is the author of the photography CD, “Take Better Photos Now! ” which serves as a “must have” guide for all serious photographers. Click this link for more information http://takebetterphotosnow.com/

Here’s a great example of where to place your horizon and what it can do for your images.
A quick recap of the landscape rule is to place the horizon in the third and never beyond that.
For example, 1/3rd sky and 2/3rd’s land etc.
For more emphasis, make a greater ratio, like 1/8 sky and 7/8th’s land etc. Get it?
Here’s a shot that I made a bit ago that featured the Huntington Beach surf during some surfing lessons.
In the finished image, I’ve cropped so that the horizon is in the say 20% of the image, while the land and people are in about the remaining 80% of the frame.
But, here’s the original image:

It makes a huge difference and takes your images from visually boring to visually interesting.
Notice how your eyes don’t really know where to go in the second image?
Should we look at the clouds or the people and surfboards?
Now back to the cropped image.
The clouds are definitely not the specific area of interest, so we notice them later after the initial viewing.
The people and the surf boards take up most of our interest.
Remember this simple rule and it can take your images to the next level.
Be inspired!

I wanted to quickly touch on a landscape photography tip.
To review, the horizon should be placed in no greater than a 1/3 rd area of the total composition.
For example, our first image today has a horizon line that is marked by the tops of the trees, the building and the chimney-type stacks.
The horizon line that they create is about 1/8th of the total canvas when viewed from top to bottom.
Thus, the horizon is in an area less than 1/3rd.
It makes for a far more interesting image for the viewer, rather than an image where the horizon is near the 1/2 line of the image.
In our first image, I love the diagonal that the smoke plume is creating. It moves diagonally from the lower right area of convergence to the upper left area of convergence.
Environmentally, I’m not so sure that I’m all that excited about all the burn off hitting the atmosphere.
Here’s another example:

The pier makes a very obvious horizon line for the viewer which also emphasizes the beautiful cloud formations.
Just like the rule of thirds, stay away from the middle, our eyes seem to find that boring, at least the majority of the time.
Be inspired!

As I was leaving school recently, the light from the setting sun was so brilliant in a tunnel that I just had to stop and make a few images.
The image is rather center-focused, but the symmetry of the image really lent itself to that type of composition.
The dramatic shadow really helps the image, too!
I made a few images like this and then decided to crop into the scene a bit to see if that might yield a different type of dramatic image.

This image focuses on just the shadows of the students walking towards the setting sun.
I tried to compose them so that the shadows were just on the edges of the frame.
Symmetry but with a twist or more of an angle and less center-focused.
Again, be on the look out for dramatic light and you will find it more often.
Be inspired!

Back to school means new students and a great opportunity to talk about portrait photography.
Today was the first day that I had my beginning students actually start taking photos.
One of the things that I noticed was how far away most of the beginners stood from their subjects.
I asked them to all move closer.
I even instructed them to move close enough to be able to touch their subject.
This is a great technique to help beginners break that scary awkward barrier that most feel.
I laughed inside myself, because this was a favorite line of a past colleague who would mostly shoot portraits with wide angle lenses, standing close enough to touch them.
Try this technique on your next shoot to break through the initial feelings of insecurity by subjects and even yourself.
Move in close and…be inspired!

Out in downtown Los Angeles today, shooting on assignment.
I spotted a beautiful statue at a Catholic church.
Apparently, it was entitled, “Out Lad of the Angels,” which I thought was appropriate.
I took a quick photo from across the street and noticed what befalls a lot of photographers.
The distracting background.
There’s an ugly parking sign below and buildings behind, it’s just a busy image with all of the different elements that you would expect to see in the midst of a bustling city.

I tried to crop out most of the distractions, but still I wasn’t happy with the result.
The building is still drawing too much attention and I was shooting at f2.8, so there was little depth-of-field.
Finally, I crossed the street and with the same lens that I started with, I made my final image.
I chose to not show the entire statue, which although lovely, I felt just a portion would be more dramatic with a clean background.
Notice how the blue sky gives all the attention to the statue?
I placed the face in the lower left area of convergence and the arm in the left vertical which dra
ws the viewer’s eyes straight to the face.
The clean background allows nothing to deter from the main subject.
Remember the first image?
You would never know that Parking is just $6 or that there’s a stop light just camera right.
The city of Angels is watched over well.
Be inspired!

What do most people say when you pick up your camera to make a portrait?
“What should I do,?” is common.
But, introduce a prop, to give them something to do, and a lot of subjects come to life!
Last year I asked my class to bring a prop with them to be photographed.
Kayla, a graduating senior, brought a huge flower.
I saw her group photographing her and she just sparkled with this silly flower.
Everything she did with it just worked.
Why? It took the focus off of her and placed it onto the flower.
Then she could concentrate on having fun and being herself.
I snuck up and grabbed a few images, while her classmates worked on their assignment.
Don't forget to vary the composition and play with the negative space, too.
Props can be a great tool to relax and take the focus from your subject, helping them to relax and create great portraits.
Be inspired!

I found one more image that illustrates visual complexity.
This is a great technique for vacation photography or travel photography.
It adds the human element, without being too blatant about having a person in the photo. It also adds motion with the slow shutter speed which blurs the subject as they walk through the image.
I noticed these giant photos of “bad guys” who Reagan had to deal with in the 80’s, I knew I needed a human element and waited just a moment for this young woman to walk through the image. I set my camera for a relatively slow shutter speed and just waited for the subject to walk.
The result?
The subject walking is slightly blurred and thus, doesn’t draw too much attention away from the portraits on the wall.
Try this next time you want to show off a static element and you have people walking through the image.
Setting the shutter speed to below 1/15 of a second or slower will probably give the best results, just be careful that your final shutter speed isn’t so slow that you can’t hold the entire image still.
Be inspired!

After yesterdays post on the rules of composition, I thought a few posts on various tips would be a good idea.
Just a quick refresher course!
Today is photography lighting tips and especially the ability to see the direction of light.
Identifying the direction of light in any situation will enable you to take your photography to the next level.
In the first photograph, the light is coming from camera left. It casts a shadow onto the subject’s left side of her face, nearest her hand.
“Seeing” that lets the photographer craft his image better.
Want to emphasize the wrinkles in a person’s face? Utilize this type of lighting in an older person and all the wrinkles will be highlighted.
Do you need to silhouette your subject? make sure that you see the light is behind your subject.
Seeing helps you turn every situation into an optimal lighting scenario for your images.

Here’s another example:
The light is coming from camera right, flowing across the frame and falling on the girl on the left’s face.
The shadows are distinct and mold and shape the subjects.
Practice seeing your light in each of your photos to make you a stronger photographer and ultimately to make your photos stronger, too.
Be inspired!

(photo courtesy of The Orange County Register)
Today you are in for a treat. A veteran photojournalist and past co-worker, Paul Rodriguez.
He has been a staff photographer at the Orange County Register for 26 years and before that was at the highly acclaimed photographer for the Claremont Courier for 3 1/2 years.
Paul is sharing his recent experience at a high school track meet. The photo, as you can see is stellar and I asked him to share about how he obtained it and the thought process that goes through a photojournalist’s mind on the job.
Enjoy as I turn it over to Paul:

“Shooting Track and Field is more difficult than it would seem, especially with the “photographers” and “videographers” that have seemingly multiplied in recent years– everyone is a “photojournalist” now. Anyway, one of my main concerns while covering the Orange County Track and Field Championships was trying to avoid getting these other photographers in my shot. Whereas I was shooting with a 400 mm from farther away, these other “shooters” were maybe 10 feet away from, say, the high jump bar. So it was very difficult trying to get a clean shot in between heads. Fortunately there was a hill at the end of the track where the high jump competition was taking place and I was able to get a little height to clear some of the foreground. So the position and the 400 mm lens set wide open at 2.8 allowed me to get a great shot with a clean background and foreground.”

It is a great shot with separation between the subject and the background and seemingly there’s no one else around. But now we know better that there’s almost a dozen other photographers all standing about 10 feet from the high bar itself.

Long lenses can be a real help in situations like this or when you want to really separate the subject from the background due to the “look” that a long lens gives when the aperture is opened all the way. This creates a very shallow depth of field and isolates your subject against the background that is thrown out of focus to a maximum degree.
What about composition?
Paul has placed the head of the high jumper a bit outside the right upper area of convergence and his hand near the lower right area. This placement causes the viewer to follow the torso, which is in the upper horizontal, towards the head and the hand for a very engaging visual image.
So, the next time you are shooting some sports or action type shots:
* Look to isolate your subject with either a long lens or a clean background (the best is both).
* Look for anything in your surroundings that might help. Paul used a small hill to elevate himself over the other photographers.
Think first. Then shoot.
Many Thanks to my friend Paul Rodriguez for joining me today. You can view his work in The Orange County Register and www.ocregister.com
Be inspired.