This is a little trick that I usually try when I’ve covered an event from a lot of different angles and I want to spice things up a bit.
Most clients are wowed by this, since most don’t know how it’s done.
It’s really very simple:
1. Set your camera to Manual
2. Adjust your shutter speed to about 1/8 to 1/15 of a second.
3. Rotate your wrist before you start to press the shutter and continue to rotate as you press the shutter. It should be a smooth movement. It will take a lot of practice to make sure that you can do it.
4. Place your subject near the center of the circle, since that area will not move as much as the outsides.
5. Adjust the shutter speed slower and faster if your subjects show too much movement or not enough.
The slow shutter speed picks up any specular highlights as you twist your camera.
Give your photos a twist to liven them up.
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 want to share a bit more about utilizing diagonals in your images.
To recap:
Diagonals are powerful.
They cause visual movement within your frame and take your viewers from one area to another.
Take a look at today’s image.
It’s just a shadow of a person walking towards a building in the morning light.
But, the placement of the shadow takes our viewers from the lower left area of the frame to the upper right area.
This little journey is visually compelling and thus creates an image that viewers want to look at.
The shadow of the person is framed by a wide shaft of light that is itself two diagonals.
Three for the price of one!
That’s a deal!
Look for these powerful compositional tools in your future compositions.
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 have photographed this building before, but tonight I it drew my attention due to the lovely silhouettes the setting sun was creating.
There’s a lot going on in this image:
1. Silhouettes
Classic case of the light falling on the palm trees being darker than the light falling on the background. Creating silhouettes!
2. The reflection of the sunset in the mirrored panels of the windows of the building. Another perspective.
3. Strong diagonals
The roofline of the building creates a very strong and dramatic diagonal which gives movement and power to this image. Diagonals are a photographers friend. Look for them and use them whenever possible.
4. The light is so smooth.
It seems to envelope each subject as it slowly slips beneath the horizon and gives way to the night. The last minutes of light are referred to as the golden light. This is why.

A very nice image from a church parking lot that I’ve been to hundreds of times and yet it never looks quite the same.
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. Her 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 love the beginning of semesters.
There is such promise and hopes of new ideas and images to be created.
Today’s post deals with natural light portraits.
Most of the images that photographers make are related to people.
So I inform my students that learning to light their people photos is a priority.
The unfortunate students that forgot their cameras this morning were tapped to be our models.
It was interesting to see and show my students how different 4 models can be.
Two were really at ease, one was okay and one was super nervous.
With the right amount of coaching, each subject was made to look at ease and we were able to capture good photos of each subject.
The light utilized was all natural.
The main light source was the ambient light that was shining through the window.
The fill light in the room was coming from other windows that were further away, camera left and a fluorescent that was weak and overhead, but really wasn’t strong enough do affect the photo in any way.
In this image, we directed the subject to put her shoulders against the back wall, put one of her feet on the wall(which was actually too high) and to turn her head towards the window.
The result was a pleasing natural light portrait.
The trick is to identify your light sources.
The ambient light in this image isn’t strong enough to overpower the light coming through the window.
So the photographers’ job is to make sure the subject cheats their face towards the strongest light source.
Look for the light and you’ll be making better and stronger portraits in no 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. Her 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

In the past, I wondered what my style of photography would be.
I’ve looked and studied the work of most of the masters and some who aren’t masters yet.
Last year, a photographer whom I respect, made an off-handed remark about my photos.
He remarked, “You’re really good at negative space.”
I smiled and thanked him and continued my lecture.
Later, when I had more time to think about his statement, I was floored.
I realized that my style had started to show through, when I hadn’t even been trying.
Negative space.
I’ve found myself drawn to shooting images with the subjects in the extreme edges of the canvas for sometime.
I didn’t realize that I was doing it more and more.
Extreme composition means placing subjects outside the center of the grid and in the outside edges or boxes of the tic-tac-toe grid.
That’s exactly what I’ve been doing.
Take your photography to a different level by looking at as many different photographers as possible.
Try their various styles, learn their techniques and see what you are drawn to.
Become the photographer that you were meant to be.
Be inspired!

Michael worked as a photojournalist in southern California for 20 plus years and has taught photojournalism at UCLA. He currently is an adjunct professor at Cal Baptist University in Riverside, CA where he teaches photography. He is the author of, “Take Better Photos Now!”
click here for “TakeBetterPhotosNow!

My wife found a 128KB compact flash card in her van the other day.
It was like finding a prehistoric fossil from the Mesozoic Era in our vehicle!
It was like finding a time capsule from years gone by.
I estimate that this beauty was about 10 years old.
My photography style has changed, hopefully for the better, as I’ve pushed so hard on the fundamentals over the past few years.
This shot is of my kids about 10 years ago.
We had just purchased a doughboy above ground pool and my kids were having more fun with it being filled up than I could even imagine.
Utter chaos was breaking out as they completely freaked out!
Isn’t that one of the things that is so wonderful about children?
Everything is pure joy when you are a kid. Even two inches of water.
My wife was so good about slathering way too much sunscreen on the kids to counteract the hole in the ozone layer.
My boys even have t-shirts on!
Makes me wonder why she didn’t put our daughter in one too?
Here’s a few of my technical thoughts about this image:
1) Each child has their own space. The two outside ones are in the respective, left and right, areas of convergence and the pool liner serves as the horizon.
2) Great peak moment of action. The joyous look on the youngest child is pretty apparent and makes a nice feel for the overall image.
3) The background serves as a nice neutral and clean canvas that helps the subjects to “pop” or stand out from the background.
4) The Harsh noon-day lighting is counter-acted by the one child looking straight up. Thanks Devin!

All this amounts to a great second chance for me to capture a moment of my life and more importantly, my children’s childhood, with great light, good composition and an engaging moment. All that does add up to an image that my wife and I will always treasure.
Look to document your family’s life.
Everyday.
It goes so fast and we don’t always have the luxury of finding compact flash cards in our cars.
Be inspired!

I was fortunate to photograph former NBA great, Bill Walton, the other night.
I had never seen him speak before and was delighted at his keynote speech before the National Association of Realtors.
He was inspiring, funny and insightful.
Plus, he is tall!
6 foot 11 inches tall!
Unfortunately, the lighting was pretty terrible.
It was dark and ugly light, but I used that too my advantage.
Negative space.
It’s a tool to balance off when the main subject is in an extreme area of composition.
I placed Bill Walton in the extreme lower right area of convergence which was balanced off by all the darkness of the stage.
It’s a dramatic image that highlights this dynamic and unique man.
Try out this technique to balance your images.
Be inspired!

I was hired to photograph a 5k fun run last weekend.
Visual story telling is the answer to informing our friends where, who and what we did recently.
Here’s a few tips.
1. Think like a reporter.
The 5 W’s of reporting will help you to frame your photos. The Who, What, Where, When and Why, will tell you what to communicate for your story.
In the first photo, we have the What. Looks like a race and that’s exactly what it was, a 5k charity race.
You can photograph a sign or the runner’s numbers or as I have here, a human interest story.
The winner of the race ran back to find his sister and finish the race with her holding hands.
Some of that information is needed in a caption, but there’s lots of clues in this image. The boy already has a medal and their numbers are in sequence and they are running around a track.

2. Did something interesting happen at the event?
It rained like cats and dogs!
These friends gathered under an umbrella to have their photo taken. I focused with my long lens and made an image as they were being photographed.
3. Interesting or humorous event?

These boys gave up running early in the event and popped up their umbrellas and kept walking.
It tells the story quickly, but also gives us more information about the event, too.
Like it was raining hard!
4. Establishing shots help ground the viewer.

I always try to make a quick shot that tells where we are or what’s going on to include in the story to help the viewer.
In this set of images the beginning of the race shows the mayhem that occurred and also establishes that there was a race with quite a few people involved.
I’ve always wondered why more children aren’t trampled during these starts?
5. Details! They move the story along.Detail shots give information that is quick and concise. Visually it helps to move the story, without taking too much space.
Each of the racers were given snacks at the end of the race. Bananas!

Grab a hold of these quick tips and try them out at your next event that you want to share with friends.
In only a few images you can tell an entire story without being redundant or more importantly boring.
Be effective and concise.
Be inspired!

So, I’ve photographed wedding rings hundreds of times.
Today, I left them in the box and was looking around when I spied this interesting pattern coming through a set of doors with wrought iron placed in-between two panes of glass.
The shadow was incredible and I knew that I had to try.
The shape of the light and the shadow was a triangle.
Powerful because of the diagonal.
I placed the boxes within the light and shadows and loved the dramatic image that was created.
Funny piece of the story, I found the light because the mother of the groom was standing in it and I had to ask her to move.
I might not have found it if she wasn’t standing in the light.
Thanks mom!
I’ve repeated this many times, but this is a great example of being aware and looking around.
Dramatic light is always around, just waiting to be found.
Be inspired!

What’s the most important feature in the majority of portraits?
The eyes!
We tend to want to see the eyes.
We naturally need to connect with them or at least see them in the subject.
Too many times, photographers don’t consider the eyes and place them in non-interesting areas.
This quick portrait was made while I was waiting for my subject to arrive.
My assistant and I were killing time, just resting our feet(We had already shot for another client earlier that day.)
The open shade that we were sitting in was perfect lighting for this portrait.
The direction is slightly side light with enough fill from the front to illuminate the subject’s face perfectly.
I cropped in tightly, losing the top of her head and one of her shoulders, but that is okay because it places the eyes, perfectly in the upper horizontal of the grid.
The eyes are the first thing you notice in this image.
Because of their placement, they demand that you address the subject.
And that, is exactly what you want your portrait to do.
Make people look.
Concentrate on the placement of your subject’s eyes and viewer’s will spend more time on your images.
Be inspired!