September 3, 2009 – Buckhead sidewalk during lunch

1/640

f5.6

ISO 200

70mm

RAW

Today was packed with stuff that was demanding my time, and I really had one easy chance to get some photos &mdash walking to and from the Chick-Fil-A during my shortened lunch. I used my 70-200mm f2.8L lens to compress the angle of view. I liked how the longer lens compressed the view down to just the sidewalk, the trees that lined it, and the building in the background. This angle really helps convey how much greenery there is on this block of Peachtree Road where my building is, and the tress on the right provide a kind of leading line into the center of the photo.

I stayed a few minutes to get a few shots with a varying amount of pedestrians walking along. Now that I have looked at the results, I decided it looked a lot better with more people in the shot, so I went with this one. And the lighting was wonderful, too. When I took this photo, the sun had gone behind a thin cloud, giving a soft, diffused light. This eliminated the harsh shadows that full sunlight can create. Not sure what I mean? Just pay attention to the shadows of the closest pedestrians. They are soft and fuzzy. If the sun was shining fully, they would have been dark with sharp outlines.

Sometimes a photo is about what you leave out as much as it is what you leave in. One big thing I left out of this shot was a giant for sale sign. Technically, I guess you can say it's still in the photo, but it is behind the shubbery and flowers in the lower left corner of the photo. I definitely liked the angle, but the sign was obnoxious and immensely distracting. So instead of giving up on the photo, I found a way to get rid of the sign! I just backed up about 20 feet and moved a little to my left, and presto! The sign was gone.

As for what I would change, I wish I had more time to get some variety (specifically, a few more women walking around). I also don't like the do not enter sign and the red hand beside it. I could use Photoshop to get rid of those, but I am a huge fan of getting photos right in the camera and not relying on tools like Photoshop to fix them.

August 21, 2009 – Tennis portrait

1/400

f2.8

ISO 100

175mm

RAW

My two daughters have joined a tennis class, and couldn't be more excited. My wife, Rachel, has been asking for more photos of the kids, so I was happy to oblige. When I went to take the photo, however, I discovered a problem. There was a lot of stuff along the fence in the background that I didn't want in the photo, so I had to come up with a solution that would create a narrow field of vision.

I stood about 30 feet away from them and used a long telephoto lens (my 70-200mm f2.8L zoom lens) to focus on just them and leave out as much background as possible. I also put the camera in aperture mode (which should be an 'A' on your mode dial) and set it to 2.8. This wide aperture does a nice job in blurring out the background. So I had the best of both worlds — the long lens created a narrow field of vision that left out most of the clutter and the wide aperture made what was left (a bench) nice and blurry.

What also helped in the photo is most of the court was in the shade of some trees, so I had them stand in the shade in the middle of the court. There was plenty of ambient light coming down from the bright, open sky above them, which helped illuminate their faces and create a softer light that was void of harsh shadows.

Finally, a couple of more little tips. First, I knelt down to get the lens to their chest level. This subtle trick can really help make a difference in child photos. It also helped bring more of the fence into the background instead of the court surface. Second, I used the net as a sort of leading line into the photo. By placing my girls where they are, the net practically ends at them, which helps keep your attention in the center of the photo.

There's one huge thing I wish I would have done differently. It just seems awkward that my older daughter's hand is hanging limply in the middle of the photo. I should have asked her to hold the racket with both hands or drop her left arm down on the other side of the net. And while not as much of a problem, I probably should have had them swap sides and place the shorter one on this side of the net.

Basic Photo Tip: Framing and leading lines

Framing and using leading lines can do wonders for your photography. They can take a good photo and make it great. Using these elements properly can really rivet your viewer’s attention to your photo.

Framing is using something in the photo to frame the subject. You can frame the subject with two tree trunks, in a mirror, through a window, under an archway, or in any other similar way. You often see this in portrait and wedding photography.

Below is one of my favorite photos. Here I use the bottom of a curved playground slide to frame the face and hair of my youngest daughter. It’s a very simple framing technique, but works really well.


In other example of framing, let's go back to the photo of my daughter waiting for her event at a swim meet. I used the out-of-focus bodies of two other swimmers to frame her face.


As for leading lines, look to see if there are any natural elements that will lead the viewer’s eye into the photo or towards the subject when you are composing a photo. These leading lines can be things like a path, roadway, river, railing, or even clouds in the sky.

In the next photo, we were walking around the gardens surrounding the Alamo in San Antonio. I just loved the shot of my daughter following the rest of the family, but turning around to make sure I was following to. Notice how the path keeps your attention in the photo.


In my photo below of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the curving road leads the viewer’s eye into the center of the photo.


Leading lines can do wonders to subconsciously keep them looking at the photo, but only if they lead the view into the shot. Leading lines can easily draw the viewers eye out of the photo, too.

Because the road in the photo above disappears before reaching the left edge, it helps keep the viewer’s eye in the photo. If I had composed the photo so the road went from one edge to the other, I would have risked the viewer’s eye going out of the photo. Then the viewer could easily loose interest.