Tag: Information

Danger! Tips for Photographers

January 11, 2022 Cathy MobleyLeave a comment Techniques

It’s important to be safe when you’re out and about shooting portraits. Photographers can’t always control the environment in which they shoot, but that doesn’t mean they should put themselves in danger! Here are some safety tips for photographers:

Be careful when crossing the street.

When crossing a street, always look both ways before stepping out into traffic. Make sure to cross at intersections and use crosswalks whenever possible.

Watch out for cars.

When shooting in a busy area, always be aware of the traffic around you. Don’t stand in the middle of the road to take a picture!

Be careful when using props.

If you’re using props while shooting, be sure to use them safely. Watch out for sharp edges or points that could cause injury.

Look out for low-hanging branches.

Shooting in the woods or other areas where trees are present? Watch out for low-hanging limbs! They could hit you, your subject, or even damage your camera equipment.

Watch out when climbing rocks and ledges.

If you’re shooting on top of a rock formation or ledge, be extremely careful about where you’re stepping. One wrong move could result in a nasty fall.

Stay away from dangerous animals.

If you’re shooting in an area where there are potentially dangerous animals, be sure to keep your distance! Don’t try to get too close for that perfect shot – it’s not worth the risk.

Use common sense.

Above all, use common sense when you’re shooting. If something feels wrong or unsafe, don’t do it!

Be aware of your surroundings.

Always be aware of the environment around you and who is in that environment with you. This includes potential hazards such as dangerous animals or busy streets. When crossing a street always look both ways before stepping in.

Stay safe! Always make safety your number one priority when you’re out shooting portraits. These are just a few of the most important things to keep in mind while photographing, but there’s more information available online about staying safe as a photographer. Be sure to research other photographers’ tips for keeping yourself and others around you safe while shooting.

Joint and Muscle Pains Photographers Face: How to Deal with Them

January 11, 2022 Cathy MobleyLeave a comment Techniques

As a photographer, it’s not uncommon for you to experience joint and muscle pains. These can be caused by the repetitive motions of your arm and shoulder as you take pictures with long lenses or tripods. Photographers may also develop carpal tunnel syndrome from spending hours behind a computer editing photos, or they could have neck pain due to the weight of their camera gear.

It is important that photographers learn how to prevent these physical pains before they become an issue. The following blog post will discuss types of joint and muscle pains that photographers face, as well as provide tips on how best to deal with them!

Carpel Tunnel Syndrome

Description: Carpel tunnel is an entrapment of the median nerve, which travels through your wrist and into your hand. It can cause pain in any one or more of these areas along the path it takes.

Symptoms include numbness, tingling, burning sensation in fingers &/or hands (usually thumb to little finger), and pain in the wrist.

Physical Tips:

  • Wear a brace when you’re experiencing symptoms or if you think it may be coming on (it can make your symptoms worse before better). – Stop what you are doing to give yourself time to rest & heal. If necessary, take breaks of at least five minutes every hour while you are working on a computer. – Keep your shoulders back and down, elbows at chest level in front of you while using a mouse or touchpad, make sure wrists aren’t turned inwards. Don’t grip items that require pinching with thumb & index finger for long periods of time.
  • Try to avoid sitting with arms crossed when shooting.
  • Keep your neck in line with spine (don’t look down when taking photos).

Physical Therapy/Exercises:

  • Use a computer without strain for at least 20 minutes everyday if possible; try to break up usage into smaller blocks of time throughout the day, and take regular breaks.
  • Stretch out fingers & wrists for at least five minutes.
  • Make a fist with one hand and place it over your opposite wrist, holding this position until you feel the stretch &/or tension release. Repeat on other side of body.

Arthritis

Description: This is a disorder that affects the joints, and it can also cause pain in other areas of your body. Symptoms include stiffness, swelling or redness in one or more joints (especially hands), loss of function in a joint.

Physical Tips:

  • Keep your blood sugar levels under control if you have diabetes/impaired glucose tolerance; uncontrolled blood sugar can worsen symptoms.
  • Use assistive devices as needed (canes, walkers, braces).
  • Ice the affected joint for 15 minutes every four to six hours; if you have swelling, use a cold pack or ice wrap. Limit heat exposure to the area.

Physical Therapy/Exercises:

  • Exercise regularly (especially strengthening exercises), and weight train (avoid using weights that cause pain). Warm up your muscles before exercising.
  • Alternate hot and cold showers; do this for 15 minutes, several times a day if you can.
  • Wear supportive shoes or foot braces as needed; check with podiatrist &/or doctor to ensure safety of high heels.
  • Gently move the joint through its range of motion.
  • Take a supplement such as glucosamine chondroitin sulfate, which helps to rebuild cartilage and improve joint function.
  • If you are in pain, take over the counter antiinflammatory medication (such as ibuprofen) to help relieve pain.
  • Use moist heat or a heating pad to help ease pain & stiffness in the affected joint(s).
  • Do gentle range of motion activities that don’t cause you discomfort.

How To Make Your Photos Look Like Professional Edits

July 23, 2020 Cathy MobleyLeave a comment Editing

Photographs were taken by nonprofessional and professional photographers give us a clear difference when analyzed. The professionals of photography do know the editing techniques for an excellent photo. He would not leave a photo taken as it is and he would employ all the professional edits so that the picture quality is jaw-dropping. The ultimate result of the photos is mind-blowing for the viewers. Both a variety of on-site and lab techniques are applied by the professional of photography.

A beginner or even some professionals would find it tough to cope with the excellent photographs. Only an experienced and technically sound professional in photography can do magical things as he likes. Let us see some techniques on How To Make Your Photos Look Like Professional Edits.

The first and basic technique of photography is the light exposure feature of the camera. The light that enters the camera has to be understood so that the desired results are obtained by a person. The major components like shutter speed, aperture, and light sensitivity are important features for professional photography. If you shoot at a place where the light is very low then you have to show your professionalism by making the picture very good and quality. Especially, during evening hours you have to apply low-light tips that are taught or learned.

Next is the resolution tips for the low-resolution problem during the photoshoot. In this case, the professional would go for the high-resolution feature so that the quality and brightness of the picture look far most better. The Resample image tool helps the beginners of photography to a maximum extent for making your photos more professional.

Focus Feature

Many photographers have issues because of the autofocus feature of the camera. Due to this advanced feature, the expected clarity and crisp of photos are not obtained. A perfect tip for this issue is using the manual focus so that your expectations are fulfilled by getting a professional picture. This manual focus makes you focus on a particular subject alone.

Motion Blur

Many professionals face the issue of motion blur during their shoot. The smart way of reducing motion blur is to make your camera face down. This is the only easy way to cope with the blur issue. Another tip is to mount your camera on a tripod for a clear photo shoot. The tripod has to be placed against a wall.

Resizing Feature

Another professional tip for the best photography is resizing photographs. Using the image size option is a clever idea for a perfect photograph. The image features are modified by using this tool. The resizing tools are available for you to alter the image size as per your wish.

Landscape Tips

If you are going to shoot at a landscape then you must show your expertise without fail. You can Make Your Photos Look Like Professional Edits with the help of a polarising lens. This lens reduces the glare and reflection issues that normally occur.

Coloring Feature

You should concentrate a lot on coloring features when you shoot a photo with proper techniques. You can increase the level of color saturation for the desired photo quality.

How To Choose Your First DSLR Camera

July 16, 2020 Cathy MobleyLeave a comment Cameras

You can’t blame yourself if you are excited to purchase your first DSLR camera. It is something you can take with you on your travels and take tons of pictures. The longer you have it, the more you will learn about taking nice pictures. You can even start a sideline as a photographer. There is nothing wrong with that as it always feels great to get added income. Here is how to choose your first DSLR camera:

Check Modes

The more modes there are, the better it would be for beginners. One new mode would be a food portrait as it is used to take pictures of food. #foodgasm is always trending on Instagram so you may as well join the craze by taking good shots of food too. When you use this mode and post your pictures on social media, you can expect more followers. Another popular mode would be landscape portrait as it is great for nice scenes like when you are on top of a mountain or at the beach. When it is time for sunset, you know you would want to take a portrait of that.

Check Resolution

If the resolution of the DSLR camera is higher than 15 megapixels, you are going to get what you paid for. The image quality is going to be great as that is usually the first feature the camera will brag about. You know you are going to be proud of your images when the resolution is high. That would mean you won’t have to spend much effort on editing them. You can just directly publish them or do it online.

Editing Capabilities

It would be awesome if you can edit your photos after you’ve taken them as most of the new DSLR models have editing capabilities. Of course, you can’t really compare what you can do with the picture to what you can do when you do it from your computer. The good thing about it is that you don’t have to wait until you get home before you can finally do it.

Durability

You may want to check recent reviews about the DSLR you are eyeing and see if the camera was able to last longer than they originally thought. You would certainly want a camera that would be able to survive tons of terrains so that it would be worth every penny you spend on it. If you see some reviewers praise its durability, then you know you must be extra careful with it especially the lens. It would be awesome if it is waterproof if you plan on taking it to the beach or the waterfalls.

Once you know what you want in a DSLR, better take a lot of photos using it to get a sense of whether or not it is the model for you. If you feel comfortable taking pictures, you know you could do it no matter where you are. You know you would want to bring it wherever you go even if it is a bit bulky.