[Photography] Emotional Photography: 5 Tips to Add Feeling to Your Photos

The post Emotional Photography: 5 Tips to Add Feeling to Your Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Peter West Carey.

The best photography often conveys emotions, but how do you create emotional photography? How do you add feelings to your photos so you can move the viewer and ensure they connect with the piece?

I’ve spent years honing my ability to infuse photos with emotions. And in this article, I’ll share my absolute favorite techniques – so that you can capture powerful, moving images, too!

Of course, not all viewers experience the same emotions in response to the same photos, so don’t feel pressure to convey specific feelings to everyone. Instead, use these tips, plus your personal emotions, to create powerful, one-of-a-kind images.

Let’s dive right in, starting with my first tip:

1. Identify your mood before shooting

The emotional state of the photographer – that’s you! – has the largest impact on the emotional quality of your photos.

So whenever you head out with your camera, before you take a single shot, or even look for a shot, ask yourself: How am I feeling today? Then let that emotion guide your shooting, and channel it into your photos.

After all, it’s tough to infuse an image with an emotion that you aren’t feeling. If you’re over the moon with happiness, you’ll struggle to find sad or bleak compositions. And if you’re down in the dumps, creating awe-inspiring or uplifting images won’t be easy.

So start by identifying your emotions. Look for compositions that align with those feelings.

At the same time, it’s often worth rechecking your feelings periodically throughout your photoshoot. Depending on the view, the light, chance encounters, etc., emotions can change, and you don’t want to miss out on emotionally resonant shots because you’re searching for the wrong thing.

Make sense?

By the way, sometimes, your emotional state might simply be “bored” or “bleh.” That’s okay; it happens to the best of us. When I look back through my travel photos, I’ll notice a dip in quality, and it often corresponds to my feelings at the time. On days like these, you might consider leaving your camera behind, watching a movie, or doing something creative that doesn’t pressure you to take powerful, emotional shots.

And don’t worry. Your boredom will pass, and pretty soon you’ll feel excited about photography again!

2. Simplify the shot (try using a telephoto lens)

In wide, busy, expansive scenes, emotions often get lost. Yes, the emotion might be there, but the viewer will have a hard time noticing – the image may fall a bit flat, at least from an emotional point of view.

So if you’re looking to create emotional photography, consider simplifying the shot. Exclude elements from your frame. Choose a perspective that highlights a single area of interest, not the entire scene.

An easy way to simplify is with focal length and/or compositional cropping. The longer the lens, the less you include in the shot, which can be a great way to emphasize certain subjects, so consider shooting with a 70-200mm lens rather than a wide-angle option.

That said, you can also simplify wide-angle images. Try getting down low, so that the subject is framed against a uniform sky. Or use natural framing to exclude distracting elements.

And you’re also free to “zoom with your feet” by moving forward to isolate people, natural features, and beautiful details.

3. Focus on faces

Faces are full of emotion. The eyes are the windows to the soul, after all, and often show anger, joy, sadness, love, and so much more.

Plus, faces can convey emotions through puffy eyes, tears, wrinkles, etc. So if you want feelings to really shine through, train your lens on people’s faces!

A word of caution, however: Do not rush up with your lens, thrust it into a person’s field of view, and snap a shot, especially if they’re feeling emotional. Instead, be respectful. Whenever possible, ask permission, especially if you don’t know the person. (I often just raise my eyebrows while pointing at my camera, and it works great.)

By the way, if you want top-notch emotional portraits, make sure to think about the lighting. Learn about lighting patterns and how they affect the viewer, because it’s easy to convey different emotions simply by changing the light’s position relative to the subject.

A final piece of advice: Don’t encourage your subjects toward specific emotions. If they’re feeling sad, take a sad photo; if they’re feeling happy, take a happy photo; if they’re feeling tired, take a tired photo…You get the idea. Yes, it’s good to head into a scene with specific feelings in mind, but you must be adaptable, depending on the content of the scene.

4. Set your camera down and observe

When I tell people to stop shooting and put the camera away, I often get criticized, yet it’s an important part of photography – especially photography infused with feelings.

Setting down your camera gives you time to observe the world. Just look around and see what pulls at your consciousness. Ask yourself: What interests me? What draws me? What do I want to capture? What matters to me about this scene?

These questions only take a minute or two, but they’ll help you identify new, emotionally resonant compositions, plus they might clarify your ideas about a scene and show you the way forward.

Also, when I shoot, I often travel in a bubble. So setting down the camera lets me feel the surroundings and its emotional content, which can, in turn, affect my own emotional state (this matters a great deal; see Tip 1!).

Sometimes, it can be enough to simply sit down or stand in place for a minute or two, just looking around and taking in the scenery. Other times, you might want to pack your camera in your bag and go for a walk. It depends on your mood, and I don’t recommend you force things, but a little break can go a long way.

5. Return to the same scenes repeatedly

Scenes look different on different days, and your feelings are different on different days, too.

Take advantage of that fact.

If you’re shooting a subject that you can return to, then do it. The street or beach or room or person will have a different feel on different days, especially if you’re photographing outdoors and the weather changes often.

Make sure you return to a location with an open mind. Don’t expect certain feelings, or you might be disappointed. Instead, clarify your emotions, then pretend you’re seeing the scene for the first time.

(Pro tip: Try changing up your approach each time you tackle the scene. Bring a different camera, use a different lens, shoot with a tripod, shoot a long exposure, etc. Anything to capture new emotional content!)

And who knows? If you return to the same scene/subject enough, you might even create a series, which can turn into a portfolio or an article or even a book.

Capturing emotional photography: final words

Conveying emotion is a surefire way to create powerful images that connect with the viewer. Feelings will elevate your work and give it more punch.

So remember the tips I’ve shared. Think about your own emotional state. And capture some gorgeous photos!

Now over to you:

Do you have any advice for capturing images full of feeling and emotion? Do you have examples of emotional photos? Share your thoughts (and shots!) in the comments below.

The post Emotional Photography: 5 Tips to Add Feeling to Your Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Peter West Carey.

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[Photography] Lightroom vs Adobe Bridge: Which Is Best in 2021?

The post Lightroom vs Adobe Bridge: Which Is Best in 2021? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Matt Murray.

Which should you buy, Lightroom vs Adobe Bridge? If you haven’t used either program extensively, it can be a tough choice.

That’s where this article comes in handy; below, I give an overview of both Lightroom Classic and Adobe Bridge along with their pros and cons, then I pit them head-to-head on three key features to help you decide. 

So whether you’re a beginner looking for your first photo editing and organization tool, or you’re a more experienced photographer trying to decide on the most effective option for your needs, read on. 

Adobe Bridge: overview

Bridge is a file browser on steroids, which shows the contents of creative assets on your drives.

Most photographers will be familiar with Lightroom and Photoshop, but what about Adobe Bridge? Where does it fit in and how can it be of use? Let’s start by taking a look at this often-overlooked part of the Creative Suite. 

Adobe Bridge is a creative asset manager that lets you preview, organize, edit, and publish multiple creative assets quickly and easily. Note the reference to “creative assets,” here, rather than “images;” Bridge works with all sorts of files, including images, audio, and video, as well as files created in Illustrator and InDesign. 

Bridge can even be used to organize and view metadata for other types of files such as PDF and Word documents. 

Put simply, Bridge is a file browser on steroids. It shows you the contents of the folders on your computer, and helps you find assets, view metadata, and access files.

Pros

• Excellent way to browse files
• File structure of your computer is left unchanged
• Easier to see metadata than Lightroom 
• No import needed; files are already there on your drives
• Many metadata and export features are similar to Lightroom 

Cons

• Not an all-in-one solution 
• No built-in editing tools 
• Some photographers may struggle to find a use for Bridge 

Adobe Lightroom Classic: overview

Adobe Lightroom is a creative tool for image organization and manipulation; it’s been the market leader for photo editing and cataloging for well over a decade.

Lightroom has been the market-leading photo editing software for over a decade.

Before Lightroom, Photoshop was the industry-standard photo editor. After the launch of Lightroom, photographers found that the new program allowed for quicker and more efficient editing. 

Lightroom has two innovative features that set it apart from Photoshop. First, it is a non-destructive editing program. Image changes are saved but are easy to roll back at any time, even after the files and the software have been closed and reopened.

Second, Lightroom has a sophisticated, in-built image cataloging system. With Lightroom, you can apply metadata, create Collections, set flags, ratings, and much more.

The familiar Library view in Lightroom.

With an increase in demand for editing images across multiple devices and storing images in the cloud, a second program, named Adobe Lightroom CC, arrived on the scene. Featuring a more streamlined interface and stripped-back set of tools, it does have one major advantage – the ability to sync developed photos between computers, tablets, and mobile devices. 

The program many of us knew and loved was renamed Adobe Lightroom Classic, which is the version of the software that we are examining in this article. 

Pros

• All-in-one solution for photographers
• Excellent options for organizing files, including metadata and ratings
• Easy-to-export files
• Ability to batch rename and apply settings across an entire shoot, Collection, or catalog
• Ability to import third-party Lightroom presets 

Cons

• Images need to be imported into catalogs
• Large catalogs slow down the software for some users
• Steeper learning curve than Bridge 
• Some image editing still needs to be done in Photoshop

Lightroom vs Bridge: comparison of key features 

Now that you’re familiar with the basics, which program should you pick? In the next section, we’ll take a look at some key features such as file organization, ease of use, and image editing to help you decide which option is right for you.

File handling

Both Lightroom and Bridge are excellent for general organizational tasks like adding and viewing metadata, rating files, creating Collections, and exporting images. Both programs let you look through a series of images quickly and efficiently, rate the keepers, then create a filter or a Collection based on your picks.

Both Lightroom and Bridge have excellent ways to rate and sort images.

When you take a more in-depth look at both programs, the one you prefer may depend on whether you like to organize your files yourself or prefer the software to take on that task. If it’s the former, Bridge will suit you. If it’s the latter, try Lightroom. 

As stated above, Bridge is a file browser showing you images already on your computer. Lightroom is dependent on you importing photos into its catalog; until you do this, you’re more or less staring at a blank screen. 

With Lightroom, images from your source folder (typically a memory card or external drive) are copied by default to a location, where Lightroom creates a folder for that year, then creates a folder for each day that you took photos.

You can import images into your Lightroom catalogs from your hard drives, but that generally doesn’t make a lot of sense. If you move the files to another location, Lightroom won’t know where they are, and you’ll have to search for the files before you can do proper viewing and editing. 

Importing files into Adobe Lightroom Classic.

If you don’t like the sound of this, Adobe Bridge may suit you better. You’ll never have to import any photos, which also means that photos don’t go missing from a catalog if you move them. 

Bridge also has some nice little tricks up its sleeve, like the wonderful Reveal All Recent Files menu option. This lets you instantly find all the most recent files you’ve been working on in Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop. 

Both programs are excellent for viewing files, though Lightroom does have a slight edge. The standard view of the Library module is a series of thumbnails that, like in Bridge, you can make bigger or smaller. Lightroom’s advantage is that you can double click to view a single image within Lightroom – whereas in Bridge it will open the image in Photoshop instead. 

The Reveal All Recent Files option in Bridge.

However, Bridge does do a better job of displaying metadata. Although both programs offer the familiar metadata panel on the right-hand side, Bridge gives you some alternatives. I particularly like the Details view in the Essentials tab – this gives you a list of images down the screen with detailed metadata in each row.

This is a welcome change from Lightroom. I must admit I am often frustrated by its metadata view, particularly the small amount of information the Loupe overlay shows. 

So who wins the file handling comparison? I’ll call it a dead heat, depending on whether you like to organize your files yourself or if you prefer the software to do it for you. And of course, how you like to view your metadata. 

Metadata view in Adobe Bridge.

Photo editing

At first glance, a photo-editing comparison might seem a little unfair. Lightroom is an excellent photo editor, whereas Adobe Bridge has no in-built file editing capabilities at all. But bear with me, because this is all about how you like to edit photos, and not so much about the capabilities of each program. 

Lightroom is the undisputed king of photo editing. The Develop module contains an extraordinary range of tools, including exposure and contrast, highlights and shadows, white balance, temperature, tone curve, hue/saturation/luminance controls, color grading, and lens corrections, to name just a few. There are also cropping and straightening tools, red-eye reduction, graduated filters, radial filters, and healing brushes. 

Lightroom Classic has an extraordinary range of editing tools for photographers.

However, I know a few photographers who prefer to use Photoshop over Lightroom for all of their image editing. If you are the same, then the Bridge/Photoshop combination will probably appeal more. 

This combination gives you the best of both worlds – you get the file browsing capabilities of Bridge with the power of Adobe Photoshop. Opening files to edit from Bridge is a breeze. Double-clicking on an asset opens it in one of Adobe’s other software programs: JPEGs open in Photoshop, and RAW files open in Adobe Camera Raw. Project files from Audition, InDesign, and Illustrator open in their respective programs. You can even double-click to view other files, such as those created by Microsoft Office. 

If you do want to make small changes to RAW files without leaving Bridge, there’s a way to do that, too – right-click any image and choose Open in Camera Raw. This accesses Adobe’s Camera Raw plug-in without heading to Photoshop. You can even change the behavior of double clicks to do this (in your Bridge preferences). 

You can right-click an image to edit in Camera Raw without leaving Bridge.

That said, I have to hand Lightroom the photo-editing win for its non-destructive capabilities. You can, of course, edit photos in Photoshop in a non-destructive manner, but Lightroom makes it easy, and with so many powerful tools at your disposal, Lightroom offers over 90% of what many photographers look for in photo-editing software. 

Ease of use

As a longtime Lightroom user, I’ve seen the software go through multiple iterations, and I’m pretty comfortable with how it works and how to find things – so it’s tough for me to judge impartially.

Lightroom is based around a series of modules; you can select a module by clicking on its name across the top right of the screen. These include Library, Develop, Map, Book, Slideshow, Print, and Web. Almost all my time in Lightroom is spent in the Library and Develop modules (so yes, there’s a lot of functionality in the software that I just don’t use). 

Bridge is also well designed and features the familiar feel of other Adobe products in the Creative Suite. It’s fairly intuitive as a file browser, with many of its features easy to use and understand.

However, Bridge did leave me scratching my head at some of the different views across the top right of the screen. For example, there doesn’t seem to be much difference between the Metadata and Keywords views, and details from both of these can also be viewed elsewhere, like in the Essentials view. 

There are lots of ways to view files in Adobe Bridge.

As someone who prefers to edit in Lightroom as opposed to Photoshop, the key question in my mind was not how to use the software, but what do I use it for? Yes, Bridge is a better file viewer than Finder on my Mac, but other than the improved metadata view, why would I go for Bridge over Lightroom’s excellent file organization and editing tools? 

Although I have a real appreciation for Bridge, I can’t help but think that Lightroom is more straightforwardly usable. You can organize your library, rate images, add metadata, edit images, and export them – all in one program. What could be simpler than that? 

Lightroom vs Adobe Bridge: Which should you choose?

Lightroom and Bridge have many similarities, but they are fundamentally different programs. The one that suits you best will ultimately depend on two factors: how you like to organize your files and how you like to edit them. 

I recommend you try Bridge if:

• You like to organize your own file structure
• You prefer to edit images in Photoshop
• You work with a wide range of creative assets like video, illustration files, and InDesign files

And I recommend you try Lightroom if:

• You like software to organize your files for you
• You prefer an all-in-one solution
• You primarily work with images

At the end of the day, both programs have excellent features for file handling and organization, with the ability to create Collections, add and view metadata, rate files, and export images.

So whether you choose Bridge or Lightroom, you’re certainly in for a treat.

Now over to you:

What do you think about these two programs? Which do you plan to use and why? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Bridge vs Lightroom FAQ

What is the point of Adobe Bridge?

Adobe Bridge is a creative asset manager that lets you preview, organize, edit, and publish multiple creative assets quickly and easily. Bridge may suit photographers who like to organize their own file structures and edit images in Photoshop.

Do I really need Adobe Bridge?

Adobe Bridge is a powerful asset manager that comes as part of the Adobe Creative Suite. You don’t need Bridge, but many people like to use it for browsing and organizing files.

Can I edit images in Adobe Bridge?

Adobe Bridge doesn’t contain any in-built image editing tools. Double-clicking JPEGs opens them in Photoshop; double-clicking RAW files opens Adobe Camera Raw. You can also right-click an image in Bridge to launch Camera Raw.

Can I use Lightroom without a catalog?

No, you need to create a catalog and import images for Lightroom to work.

The post Lightroom vs Adobe Bridge: Which Is Best in 2021? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Matt Murray.

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[Photography] 10 Tips for Spectacular (and Spooky!) Halloween Photography

The post 10 Tips for Spectacular (and Spooky!) Halloween Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darren Rowse.

Looking for Halloween photography tips and tricks? Want some fun Halloween photoshoot ideas to take your images to the next level?

In this article, I’m going to share plenty of techniques for beautiful Halloween pictures, including:

• Lighting tips for spooky results
• Compositional secrets to give your images an edge
• Easy ways to photograph your kids and their adorable costumes
• Fun Halloween photo ideas
• Much more!

So if you’re ready to pick up that camera on the scariest day of the year…

…then let’s get started!

1. Include spooky or atmospheric Halloween props

Halloween involves plenty of objects, from pumpkins and costumes to skeletons, bats, and ghosts. 

So use them. If you’re doing Halloween portrait photography, bring in a prop or two. Have the kids hold a ghost; have your spouse peek through a skeleton; have your pet wear a pumpkin costume and photograph them up close.

Here’s a nice, prop-based image:

Sometimes, as with the image above, the props alone can make great photos. You can capture beautiful shots of Halloween gravestones, houses decked out in bats and ghosts, and more. 

Don’t just take snapshots, though. Make sure you pay careful attention to composition (see the tips below), lighting (also see below), and do what you can to tell an interesting story with your camera.

2. Highlight a relevant point of interest

If you’re after great Halloween pictures – spooky, cute, or anything in between – you absolutely must include a focal point, some key “hero” element that the viewer immediately prioritizes.

For instance, if you’re photographing your child in their costume, make them the center of attention. Ensure you’re working with a clean background (with no distractions whatsoever!) and a bare foreground. Adjust your camera settings to make your child’s face sharp and well exposed.

Of course, you can always include secondary subjects or items in a photo. But they should not be the priority, and as soon as they begin to distract from the main subject, then you should toss them out. 

Check out this example, where the woman is the subject, but the wine glass acts as a secondary subject:

Do you see why the image works? The background is relatively clean, there are no distractions, and the viewer’s eye travels straight to the woman’s face, to the cup, and back. The image is also wonderfully Halloween-esque; check out the dark background, orange colors, and wonderfully spooky atmosphere!

Bottom line:

Before hitting the shutter, ask yourself, “What is the focal point of this photo?” And do everything in your power to emphasize that.

3. Fill the frame with Halloween spirit

Halloween is a time of drama. And you can convey this in your images by getting in nice and close – so that you fill the frame with your subjects.

If you’re photographing your child in a costume, make sure there’s no boring, empty edges around the frame. Instead, zoom on in (or get in close) so every little detail is captured by your camera. 

No need to go overboard, though. Don’t go in so far that your lens can’t focus, and don’t get so close that the viewer doesn’t understand what the photo is about, either. Instead, identify your subject (tip 2!), make them the center of attention, and zoom on in.

If your main subject doesn’t look Halloween-esque enough, consider spicing them up with additional decorations, costumes, trinkets, and the like. More Halloween is usually better!

4. Give subjects space to look into

Here’s a Halloween portrait photography tip for better compositions:

Note the direction of your subject’s face and eyes. Then adjust your camera framing until the subject has substantial room in front of their line of sight. 

It might seem weird, but it actually helps balance out the composition, plus it’ll add a sense of dynamism; the viewer is compelled to follow the subject’s gaze throughout the shot. (In fact, it even has a name: the rule of space.)

Here’s a nice example:

The two boys are looking downward, and the composition is perfect with plenty of room near the bottom of the frame (note how their eyes have lots of space to look into!).

5. Find unconventional angles and foregrounds to add spookiness

Halloween photography is often about improving the atmosphere (the spookier, the better, right?). And a great way to create that sense of holiday chill is via perspective.

You see, by getting down low – down in the dirt, in fact! – you’ll make your subject loom large over the viewer. The effect is especially powerful when combined with a wide-angle lens. 

You can create an ultra-scary shot, with a skeleton, bat, or ghost emerging from the scene.

Another quick tip: 

Try backing up to put an interesting foreground element in front of your subject. Of course, you don’t want to add anything distracting, as I discussed above. But a dark branch or two in front of the subject can do a lot to enhance the atmosphere.

6. Photograph the little details

It’s easy to get distracted by the flashy parts of Halloween – but it’s often when you take a step back, look around, and notice the smaller details that you’ll find the money shots. 

Halloween is filled with interesting little moments worthy of capture. There are:

• Decorations
• Pumpkin carving fun
• Actual carved pumpkins (see the tip below!)
• People getting dressed in costumes
• Lots of candy at the end of the night
• Sleeping kids at the end of parties and/or trick-or-treating
• Close-ups of food

So don’t let these subjects pass you by. Instead, keep an eye out – and when you see a memory worth recording, do it. A few years from now, these intimate images will tell the real story of Halloween, and you’ll be so glad you captured them.

7. Don’t forget the group photos!

Halloween is a time for fun gatherings and parties, which means that you’ll have plenty of opportunities for group photos.

So break out your wider focal length lenses, get everyone arranged in a group, and take some images. Consider finding a higher vantage point (if you’re indoors, try a stepping stool; if you’re outdoors, consider some steps or even a roof).

Of course, make sure everyone grabs a prop or two and puts on their costumes. And ask them all to make their scariest faces!

8. Shoot low-light silhouettes for a spooky effect

When you think of Halloween, the type of images that come to mind are dark and spooky, such as candles in pumpkins, bats in the night, and mysterious cats walking about in the evening. 

So why not try to create a few spooky images of your own, using a low-light silhouette technique? It’ll get you images like this:

First, find a subject that makes a good silhouette (it should have clearly defined edges and should – ideally – be recognizable, like the cat in the photo above). 

Then wait until the sun has gone down and you have an orange, red, or yellow sky. Position yourself between the subject and the sunset, then crouch low until the subject is framed against the beautiful background.

You’ll want to keep your flash deactivated, and I recommend underexposing the image for a darker effect. Here are two ways you can do it:

• Increase your shutter speed, taking test shots as you go. You’ll probably want to start around 1/100s or so, depending on the level of darkness, then increase to 1/250s, 1/500s, and beyond, depending on the effect you achieve. (Remember: Review each image immediately after hitting the shutter button!)
• Narrow your aperture (again, take plenty of test shots along the way). This will darken your photo, but it will also increase the depth of field, consequently sharpening the background, which can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your goals. 

Anyway, the ultimate goal is to get a relatively dark, moody image, so don’t worry about the shot looking too underexposed. Simply aim for a little bit of silhouette detail with a medium-bright background, and the results will turn out great.

9. Use flash gels for atmospheric Halloween photography

Here’s a clever Halloween photography idea that past readers have suggested: 

Find some sort of colored cellophane (orange, yellow, and red all work well), then place it over your flash. When you take a shot, the cellophane will act as a flash gel, changing the light color for a beautiful effect. 

(If you can’t find colored cellophane, just grab clear cellophane but draw on it with an orange marker!)

You’ll want to test this one ahead of time, because you need to carefully apply the right density of cellophane (one sheet versus two or three, etc.). But when done right, the effect is absolutely marvelous and makes for cool Halloween pictures. 

By the way, it doesn’t matter if you have a camera pop-up flash, a handheld off-camera flash, or a full studio setup. You can use this tip no matter your equipment, and you’re bound to get gorgeous results. 

Make sense?

10. Photograph the jack-o’-lanterns, too!

Jack-o’-lanterns are Halloween classics, and there’s nothing quite so satisfying as capturing a beautiful shot of a glowing pumpkin. So make sure to spend a little time with your camera pointed at a jack-o’-lantern or two!

Now, photographing jack-o’-lanterns can be tricky, because you need to capture both the pumpkin exterior and the interior glow, which is a bit of a tightrope walk between overexposure and underexposure. If you can, take a few photos with varying shutter speeds. And consider bracketing your exposures and blending using high dynamic range techniques in post-processing.

That way, you can be sure to get the impact you’re after.

Halloween photography tips: final words

Well, there you have it:

Some Halloween photography tips, Halloween photoshoot ideas, and just general advice to take your images to the next level.

So this Halloween, make sure you remember these tips. You’ll finish the night with some outstanding shots!

Now over to you:

Do you have any Halloween photo tips of your own? Do you have any Halloween picture ideas? What do you plan to photograph this Halloween? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

The post 10 Tips for Spectacular (and Spooky!) Halloween Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darren Rowse.

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[Photography] 10 Questions for Photographers (You Should Always Ask!)

The post 10 Questions for Photographers (You Should Always Ask!) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Guest Contributor.

If you meet a photographer, what questions should you ask them? What questions about photography will help you understand what they do? How can you use their knowledge to improve your own photography?

I’ve spent a lot of time interviewing photographers, and I’ve developed a list of essential questions for photographers that I highly recommend you commit to memory. These are the types of questions that will give you the best, most useful advice, and they’ll also help you understand how the photographer approaches their own photography.

That way, the next time you run into a photographer you admire or you simply engage with a photographer on a website or forum, you know how to come away with the most helpful information.

Let’s get started with my first question:

1. What is the one thing you wish you knew when you started taking photos?

Every photographer struggles when they start out – and improves as they gain experience. Which means that every photographer has one, or two, or even dozens of things they wished they had known at the beginning.

Advice you receive might include:

• Composition
• Lighting
• Gear
• Scouting
• Motivation
• And much, much more!

So it’s a great question to ask a photographer right off the bat. Plus, it’s very open ended, so it can lead to lots of interesting advice and conversation.

2. How did you get good at photography?

No matter how skilled a photographer might be, they didn’t begin as a photographic genius. Camera settings, composition, light, post-processing; it all takes effort to master, which means that every photographer has experienced some journey.

So ask them about it. Ask them how they went from beginner status to professional (or skilled amateur, semi-professional, etc.). What did they do that helped them most? Was it reading books about photography? Photography courses? Viewing photography? Practicing? Some type of magic bean?

(Bonus: Plenty of photographers love this question, because it’s clearly flattering! So you’re likely to get a good, long, helpful answer.)

3. What gear do you use?

I don’t recommend you start off with this question, because it comes off as a bit superficial; after all, it’s the photographer, not the gear, that makes great photos.

That said, gear does make a difference, and understanding a photographer’s setup can help you in two key ways:

1. It’ll offer recommendations for your own kit (after all, if a photographer you admire shoots with a certain lens and achieves tack-sharp images, the lens is undoubtedly capable glass!).
2. It’ll give you an understanding of the necessary equipment for different photography genres. For instance, a panoramic landscape photographer will need a certain type of tripod – but if you’ve never shot panoramas, you may not know this. Same with a macro photographer who uses a focusing rail, a long exposure photographer with a 10-stop neutral density filter, etc.

By the way, when you question a professional photographer about gear, don’t limit yourself to cameras and lenses. Accessories are often amazingly helpful and less well known, so I highly recommend you discuss tripods, tripod heads filters, flashes, camera bags, and even rain covers.

4. Which lens is your favorite? Why?

This question about photography continues on the gear theme, except it attempts to understand why a photographer uses the lenses that they do – and what makes certain lenses better than others. Again, it’s worth emphasizing here that a great photographer can make images with any lens, but focal length, maximum aperture, autofocusing speed, and more can all affect your photos (potentially a lot more than you think!).

By the way, when it comes to choosing from among high-level lenses, it’s not so much about determining which lens is the sharpest. Instead, it’s about determining which lens fits your particular preferences and requirements, so that you can achieve the shots you’re after. Make sense?

5. When you go out to shoot, do you take any essential items aside from a camera and lens?

Most photographers have an interesting accessory or two that they can’t live without, like a cleaning kit, a portable charger, or even certain hiking boots.

And these items vary from photographer to photographer, depending on their shooting genre and style.

It can be a lot of fun to ask a photographer about their essentials, and be sure to find out why they carry the items that they do. And pretty soon, you’ll have a list of items to add to your own gear wish list!

6. Among the photography gear that you’ve purchased, is there something you wish you hadn’t bought? Why?

It’s not a question that often comes up, which is part of what makes it interesting. As a photographer, what wouldn’t you buy?

You’ll get plenty of different answers here, and that’s great – encourage the photographer to be as broad or specific as they want. Photographers might talk about lenses that sat in their camera bag getting dusty, tripods that shook on windless days, lights that broke after five uses, or something else entirely.

Note each item, but don’t let it stop you from buying the equipment yourself; what works for one person might not work for another!

7. What are your favorite settings?

I recommend you leave this question open ended, because you don’t want to know the precise settings that a photographer uses every now and again; instead, you want to know the best settings for specific occasions, as well as the can’t-live-without settings a photographer always needs.

These settings might include:

• Aperture
• Shutter speed
• ISO
• White balance
• Focusing modes
• AF area modes
• Image formats (RAW vs JPEG)
• Image aspect ratio (3:2 vs 1:1 vs 4:3)
• Image style (do they shoot in black and white or do they convert later?)
• Button customizations

Some photographers are very particular about their settings, whereas others tend to leave things on Auto and focus on lighting, composition, and processing. So don’t push the photographer if they don’t give you much (and don’t restrict the photographer if they talk about settings for hours!).

8. What kind of tools do you use for post-processing? What’s your workflow like?

Post-processing is very unique to individual photographers, plus it can be daunting for beginners – so if you struggle with post-processing, this is a key question to ask.

You might start by determining the software the photographer uses, but then dig deeper. Ask about specific tools and techniques (Do they color grade? Do they have any favorite sliders? Do they dodge and burn?). And if they seem open to it, ask about their workflow. In other words, how do they go from start to finish on an image? What does the process look like?

Be sure to listen carefully; the key to a photographer’s style is sometimes hidden in the smallest of details!

9. Out of all your photos, which one is your favorite? Why?

Photographers generally love talking about their own work, so this is a great icebreaker question and a great way to get even the shyest of photographers talking.

It’s not a useless question, either; if you ask a photographer about their favorite work, they’ll often explain how they approached the, why they like it, and potentially even the techniques they used to create it. It’s an information goldmine!

10. Whose work has influenced you most?

Out of all the questions to ask photographers on this list, the “influence” question is the most difficult to answer – but if you have the time and the photographer is willing, it can lead to outstanding insights into their work.

See, all photographers have influences. And while most work is original to some extent, by understanding how a photographer developed, you can nail down certain aspects of their thought process, such as:

• What they’re trying to say with their photography
• How they approach composition
• How they think about light

And asking about influences will often give you a few new photographers to follow!

Questions to ask a photographer: final words

Well, there you have it:

10 questions about photography to improve your knowledge, skills, and more. So the next time you come upon a photographer, don’t be shy! Ask them a question (or 10!), and see what advice you get.

anees k A is a photography enthusiast who likes to explore the wild. He call his clicks -‘clickography‘ – all of them ‘clicked’ using his d90. He tweets as @aneeskA.

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