Marissa Elman | Fashion & Photography

Marissa Elman is a lifelong lover of fashion and photography.

Archives for November 2018

Improving Your Travel Photography

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One of the best aspects of traveling is the moments you are able to capture through your photos. These memories are ones you can keep with you forever, so it is important that you are aware of the basic skills to ensure that you are getting high qualities photos. So, here are some simple tips that will help you get the most out of your travel photography and capture every single moment as they come.

 

Focus On Faces

This tip might seem a bit obvious, but it is still important to note. Whether you are looking to capture wildlife or people, you want to focus your lens on the face of your most important subject. Most people are naturally drawn to the eyes, so that is probably where you will want to focus.

 

Learn The Lingo

One great tip will be to take some time during your travels to learn some of the basic language skills pertinent to your location. Knowing how to say simple phrases like “hello, excuse me, please, thank you, sorry, yes, and no” will go a long way even in those countries where English is spoken in the tourist areas. This basic knowledge of the language can even make a difference in regards to the access you might receive and the things you can see. Language can open the doors to things that would otherwise be closed to the average tourist.

 

Hire A Translator Or Guide

Sometimes, getting access to the everyday lives of people is challenging if you do know any of the locals, especially if it is your first time at that location. So, you might want to consider hiring a guide or a translator who can communicate with the locals on a deeper level that goes beyond knowing basic phrases. This guide can help you make great friends and introduce you to unique people and places where you can catch some of your more memorable moments.

 

Shoot Fast

When taking photos in fascinating cultural settings, you will need a completely different mindset than if you are shooting landscapes. You will want to think less about the image quality and more about capturing the moment. You can be ready by relying on your autofocus and fast shutter speeds which will freeze the action. Handheld devices will be the way to go here because you will not have the time to fiddle around with a tripod.

Common Long Exposure Photography Mistakes To Avoid

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Over the last few years, long exposures have become a popular form of photography, and with the right tools along with a proper understanding of the techniques, you can create incredibly surreal and dreamlike portrait and landscape images. These images take time and preparation to capture, and the last thing you want is for something to go wrong that you could have easily avoided. So, with that said, here are some of the most common long exposure photography mistakes and how you can avoid them.

 

Not Properly Locking Down Tripod Legs

One of the simplest things that often gets overlooked is your tripod or mounting system. When shooting on tripods, typically, we do not think about how stable the legs are or whether we have locked everything tightly down. When it comes to long exposure photography shooting images for several seconds to minutes long, someone simply walking by can be enough to shift the tripod and ruin your image. Make sure you are using a sturdy tripod and ensure that every point of adjustment is locked down as tight as possible to avoid image shake. Some tripods might even come with hooks are a mounting system on their center column which would allow you to attach a sandbag and add some weight and stability to your system.

 

Leaving The Viewfinder Open

When dealing with photographs that take 30+ seconds, your viewfinder can be one of the easiest things to forget. Leaving the viewfinder open can lead to light leaks and often leave strange colored blobs in your shot. Make sure to cover your viewfinder to avoid the light leaking in from there. Some cameras will have a switch built in to close it up, but if not, place some black gaff tape or any other handy materials over the camera back.

 

Not Using Mirror Lock

When you are using a DSLR and looking through a viewfinder, what you are doing is looking into a mirror which is looking into another mirror over your camera’s sensor. So, when you take a picture, the mirror flips up, and shutter activates to take the shot, after which the mirror flips back down. This might not seem like a big deal, but when it comes to shooting long exposures, this can create some shake to the image. So, if you want to avoid this issue, set your camera, assuming it has this feature, to “M-Up” and then get ready for the two-step process for the shot.

Now, once you line up the shot, you can click the shutter release button which will lift the mirror and then you will need to click the button again to activate the shutter to take the shot. Another option is to enable “Live-View” mode if your camera supports it which will shoot your images with the mirror already lifted. For those with a mirrorless camera such as the Sony A7/A9 series of Fuji can ignore this mistake avoidance step.