While throwing in the best under eye cream to our luggage for our family trip, it accidentally hit my kits lens. I realized I had been bringing too much of a camera for a vacation. I bring a DSLR with its kit lens and 50mm, and a digicam for wider range. Well, for one, a vacation is supposed to be relaxing. And carrying too much stuff is no relaxing at all.

No wonder most photographers, who are on a vacation, and just want to have fun with family (or friends), just bring their 18-200mm lens. Makes perfect sense.

I use to wonder why jewelry magazine always showcase their pieces of loose diamonds on a black felt-like materials. When I started learning about photography, I realized jewelry is one of the most difficult to photograph.

They say it’s like taking pictures of mirrors. You avoid the light (from the flash) to be reflected and at the same time, avoid a reflection of yourself to be photographed. Thus, jewelry photographers make use of a light box.

Above all, and like any other photography, a good knowledge of lighting is a good start. I found a very good page on this to get one started.

The old practice is to position the camera on eye level for close-ups (shoulder shots). While for whole body shots, on waist level.

I’m no expert but I’m about to share what have been the practice of more “adventurous” type of photographers.

For people who wants to look slim on their photos, the camera man should position himself from above making the subject look up to him. You could place it on high tv stands or use a ladder. This has been the favorite shots of teenagers using their mobile phones.

For celebrities (e.g. politicians), you would always want to position the camera a little below the subject’s eyeline. Some even dare to position the camera below the subject’s waistline. This is to make the one viewing the photo “look up” to the one on the photo.

Moreover, you can experiment different places of your camera to achieve creative shots. Happy shooting!

My husband is so lucky! He visited the palace and cathedral in Krakow. I was so envious! I love taking pictures of structures and what’s better than palaces and cathedrals? His officemates were just happy to take pictures with their digital cameras. And I was equally glad that my husband, who’s just too uninterested to take pictures, took some! Still, I know he would have taken better photos with our SLR, which in his opinion was too heavy and bulky for his trip. Wasn’t that just a little price to pay for high definition photos? Oh well. He wouldn’t understand. He’s just not into it.

Our team was the organizer for this year’s offsite. But I wasn’t able to join them when they had the ocular inspection of the place. I had to renew our auto insurance that day.

I was just told to bring a mosquito repellant lotion for our stay. So in my mind, I knew the place will be full of trees and grass. Perfect for picture taking. Just look at this wishing well.

Oops, I didn’t notice the bottle there. Did you?

While shopping around Hong Kong, I saw some interesting items like an old Mickey Mouse (as in the black and white version Mickey Mouse) luggage, or a Toy Story themed car seats and other auto accessories. It seems that Disney merchandise are not only available inside Disneyland but around Hong Kong.

Anyway, while we were in Disneyland, I had difficulty with my camera settings, because it was either gloomy or too sunny.

We had the mistake of standing in a place where we watch the parade against the sunlight. So either the photos are up front but washed out.

Or I wait for the subject to pass me by for the perfect lighting. Like this one, all I see is its behind.

My mom, who had been observing me every time we meet them for dinner, once asked me why I take pictures of lamps and ceiling fans. She’s probably wondering what relevance I find in inanimate objects. I could not give a good answer. All I know is I like to.

Not to mention, they are much more “behave” and manageable than people as subjects.

Photographers with toddlers will definitely agree.

Are you like me who, in a rainy and gloomy days (like today), gets discouraged to take any pictures? But tonight, I’ve read that the best time to take black and white pictures is when the lights are low. So next time heavy rain pours, I will definitely practice shooting raw for possible terrific photos.

“The superior man makes the difficulty to be overcome his first interest; success comes only later.”
~Confucius

It has been said, blogged and shared a lot of times that the best hours to shoot outdoors is an hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset. Then, I found an interview with professional photographer Dan Lipow on what to do with the rest of the day.

Q. The hours just after sunrise and before sunset are the best times to photograph outdoors. But what do you do the rest of the day?
A. First, you can utilize your camera’s ability for exposure compensation. If you underexpose a very bright scene, by one-third or two-thirds of a stop, that adds richness to it. I also set my camera’s white balance to a cloudy setting or an open shade setting. These settings will help warm up the image, and that can add a lot more dimension to the photo.

You can read the rest of the interview here.

I have this habit of browsing pictures over at Flickr. I realized that a great photo doesn’t necessarily need a high end for-professional-use kind of camera. In fact, I saw several macro shots taken with a point-and-shoot camera. I guess this only proves that a big factor in creating a great photo is the creativity of the photographer.

Although, let’s admit that those expensive lenses can make these great pictures, uhm, greater.

From the time we were deciding which SLR to buy, I’ve been blogging that we prefer Nikon over Canon.

Would it be such a crazy idea if we sell our Canon 450d with kit lens and 2 other Canon lenses to buy a brand new (but older model) Nikon d80?

This had been running through my mind, which is why I’ve been contemplating whether to buy the Canon version of my dream lens, or just the Sigma version. At least, I still could use it if in case we switch to Nikon. Sigh.

I’m writing a list because these are the things I’d like to read about. Hope this gives others an idea. ^-^

1. camera settings used – trust me, I’ve been scanning a lot of photo blogs and I end up coming back to those blogs where I can learn good settings from.

2. composition and balance – there are countless beginners like me who would like to learn a thing or two. What may be simple to you could be a great discovery for us. E.g. rule of thirds, juxtaposition, etc.

3. post processing – a plugin / action you discovered online and enjoyed using to correct bad exposure. E.g. how to correct noise.

4. gear especially lens reviews and/or comparisons – beginners like me, almost always end up buying (additional) lens or external flash after buying the kit.

5. good lighting – well, I honestly think someone should create a blog / website solely on how to achieve good lighting.

Needless to say, sample photos should be included. We enjoy drooling.

As I was researching about insurance lead generation, I suddenly thought of comparing my kit lens (canon 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS) with our 50mm f1.8 lens. Well, that’s because when we still haven’t bought our 50mm, I kept looking online for the comparison. I thought this could be helpful to others who might be looking for one.

Note: no editing done except for resizing and watermarks.

It was late last year when Ate Jen twitted about light painting. I think it is really cool especially when you’re really good at it.

Then the other night, I wondered if I can do it even without any knowledge on how to do lightpainting on your own. All I know is it should be done in long exposure (still, I could be wrong).

I did a couple of trial and error. The first few settings, the shutter wouldn’t fire at all. So just want to share how I did it in case you want to try it too.

Equipment used: SLR on a tripod or you can place your camera on top of something stable like bed frames perhaps; light source such as a flashlight. Although I used my mobile phone ‘coz like I said earlier, I did this on a whim.

Steps that I did, some of which may not be necessary hehehe:
1. I set up the SLR on the tripod on a place where it was dark.
2. I set the lens into manual.
3. I set the camera to the Tv mode / speed priority, and the shutter speed to 1/8
4. I set the ISO to 1600.
5. I set the camera’s timer.
6. I waited in front of the camera and drew a heart using my lit-up mobile phone when I heard the shutter about to burst.

This was the first photo that the shutter, with the different settings I tried, actually clicked.

I would have wanted a darker background and a nicer light paint. But this one isn’t so bad as a first.