Cropping at the Joints

 Ballet is really hard to photograph.

REEALY hard to photograph. 

I tried it a few weeks ago, and didn't do very well.

It was dark.

People were moving fast.

And I kept zooming in too close and cropping off fingers, hands, or feet.

That is one essential thing when you are composing a photo.
DON'T crop your photo at a person's joint. Anything...elbows, wrists, fingers, knees, ankles! 

Why? Because it makes something look wrong. Doesn't the below photo look a bit weird?

Lovely, just lovely... I cut off 2 wrists and 3 ankles. :(

Really love this photo... but is pretty much ruined...look at her arms. I cropped the photo at her wrists. :( 

And their faces are blurry. *sigh* 

Well, I got a few decent photos which I'll be posting soon....

but the lesson to learn is:
DON'T CROP AT THE JOINTS! 

It looks weird.

Windows + Reflectors

I am posting an educational blog post, that (for once!) hopefully will not leave you feeling like your brain has been fried. :P It is just about using a reflector in indoor photography. 

Ever seen those lovely photos that are highly grainy and orange tinted? Taken in low unnatural light inside a house? I have...lots of them.

I've even taken them. Like most people. :) But there are some ways to fix indoor-photography-that-isn't-so-great. 

1. Use your flash. Try making yourself a diffuser. I posted a little about the one I made HERE. 
2. Check your white balance. If you set it correctly, it can effectively reduce yellow-orangish lighting.
3. Shoot at a higher ISO or lower shutter speed to prevent underexposed photos.
4. Get near those windows! Or a door! They usually provide the best indoor light.
5. Use a reflector. [This is what my post today is mainly about]

 What? Reflector?

A reflector helps bounce light so that your subject is evenly lit.

Like so:

See how the left side of her face and her hair are all in shadow?

But after strategically placing a reflector beside her, her face is more evenly lit. 

The below photo demonstrates the way I set the reflector up. 

A window on her left and a reflector on her right! Voila. 

Okay... what do you use for a reflector? 

I use that shiny grey thing. I think it is called foam core, but I'm not sure... It works very well though!

When using a reflector, you often need an assistant to hold the reflector while you take the photo. Kind of inconvenient sometimes, but worth it in the end.

Left: without reflector | Right: with reflector

Post #50! Wow! And it's only been 3 months!

Safety Glasses

 My siblings and I got a good laugh out of putting the safety glasses on our cat a few days ago.

Poor cat.

The glasses didn't stay on for long.

An Adorable Little Boy with an Orange Bandanna

Isn't he one of the most adorable little kids? I saw him playing around during the Bible Dedication and just had to take a few photos of him. :)

How do you like his orange bandanna? It was part of the traditional tribal costume for the men there :)

Heading off into a busy weekend....

happy 11/11/11 to all of you :)

Rainy Days

 Oh, how I love rainy days!

(check photo captions for what element of composition they are....)

element of composition: symmetry

 It is pretty much the only time the weather cools down. And I get to wear rain boots :)

And take photos of wet things.

element of composition: depth of field, possibly lines

Wheeee! I love the above photo!!!

elements of composition: n/a (tsk tsk.... it's not a great photo)

 *sigh*

element of composition: depth of field,

 Yes, dear readers, that IS a rain drop on my camera lens. Two drops to be exact. I didn't mean to get them on there. I cleaned the lens very carefully afterward. But I love the photo :D

element of composition: simple backgrounds (?)

And our cute kitty had her tail curled around her paw. Aw. Was she cold, or was she scared of my camera? 

Does anyone else love rainy days?