I wanted to share with you one of the very first pieces of advice I was ever given when taking pictures. My father and grandfather were both photography hobbyist, and the reason my love affair with photography began. My father first placed a professional camera in my hands at the age of 16. I remember holding the old piece of equipment, and taking in its leather smell. I was so excited to try it out, I think I went through an entire roll of film in about 20 minutes!
Tip: The closer you are to your focal point, the lower/wider you want your
aperture setting to be. For example mine was set to f/2.2, this is how I was
able to keep her face sharp, and the palm branches soft. You will also want
to make sure to toggle your focus points in your lens when using wide apertures,
especially on people. The focus point in my lens was directly over her eyes.
Once teaching me a few technical things about its operation, my Dad gave me a great piece of advice that I have now applied to every aspect of photography. While we were out shooting for the first time I had practically tripped down a hill when trying to avoid some brush that was getting in the way of the shot I wanted. My Dad told me that instead of avoiding the brush, to use it. Frame the shot he said! So I tried it. I outlined the shape of the base of the tree I was trying to photograph with the brush. After getting the photos back I flipped through them and one picture in particular caught my eye. Yup, you guessed it, the one where I had framed the tree with the brush. It had so much more visual interest than any of the other pictures I took. So, long story short? I started using that technique in nature photography and now I apply it to every aspect of photography I do. So the next time you’re out and about taking pictures try using some of nature’s natural elements and FRAME THE SHOT! You might just love the results!
Sometimes I try to fix the framing by cropping after the fact. But, when I try to print the picture, the dimensions are all messed up. That's how I learned that framing the shot when I shoot it is key.
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