Project 52, Week 47, Thanksgiving Family Portraits

Thanksgiving is a good time to get family group photographs, whether it's two people or twenty.  (And yes, friends count as family. Sometimes more so than your actual relatives.) 

If you don't have a family or can't get together with your family and friends this week, maybe you can volunteer to take someone else's photos, or create your very own project that is pertinent to you.  Compose photos with a Thanksgiving or autumn theme, using the composition techniques we've been practicing this year.

If you're wondering what family portraits have to do with "movement", you've never tried taking a good group photograph that included everybody, all at the same time, standing still, smiling, and not looking silly.

Things to Consider:

• Get prepared. 
• Check your equipment and charge your battery the night before. 
• Make sure you have a digital media card with plenty of space in the camera. 
• Plan your shots (as much as possible).  Do you want one large group and then individual groups?  Do you want a table shot and an outdoor shot? 
• You may want to set up a special photography area with a backdrop and/or props for some shots.
• Practice using any new equipment before you need it.
• Don't expect perfection. 
• Get that classic shot with everybody at the table, but get another group portrait away from the table.
• Keep a camera handy and get plenty of candid shots. 
• Get in the shot.  I recently heard a story from a professional portrait photographer who used Photoshop to create a family portrait.  After the father's death, she had to use Photoshop to put the father in a picture with the mother and three children because they had no family group photos that included him. 

Suggested Readings and Examples:

1. How to Take Great Thanksgiving Family Portraits by Amanda Herron at eHow; a lot of great tips
2. Thanksgiving Photography Tips at Exposure Guide; short illustrated tips, photos include setting suggestions
3. How To Capture Thanksgiving With Your Camera at New York Institute of Photography; short illustrated article
4. Shooting Thanksgiving Photos and Get-Togethers at Lifepics; short illustrated article
5. Thanksgiving: family photo tradition by Barbara Curtis at Mommy Life; short illustrated article - maybe not the best technical photos, but a lot of heart

Project 52, Week 46, Move it! Move it! Move it!

Sometimes you need to move the subject to compose the best shot.  Sometimes you have to move you.  This week pick a subject and photograph it from several different viewpoints and camera angles. 

Things to consider:

• Remember to look left, look right, look up, look down, look all around to find the best angle.
• Moving the subject or the photographer can help improve a composition by eliminating distracting backgrounds or by adding more interesting backgrounds or framing. 
• Moving the subject or the photographer can help improve improve the lighting.
• Sometimes you don't need a zoom lens - you just need to move your feet.  Compose a photograph by shooting several feet from a subject for a wide angle shot, then move up a few feet and take another shot, then move forward and get a close up.  Watch the depth of field.

Recommended Readings and Examples:

1. Finding Fresh Angles to Shoot From – Digital Photography Composition Tip by Darrin Rouse at Digital Photography School; very short illustrated article
2. Composition: Not Just About Positioning Your Subject, But About Positioning Yourself Too by Darrin Rouse at Digital Photography School; very short illustrated article
3. Beginner’s Tip: Get Closer by Peter West Cary at Digital Photography School; very short illustrated article
4. Choosing the best camera angle photography tip 6 minute YouTube video about moving you or the camera for different angles; by SilberStudios
5. Composing Your Shot at GCF LearnFree.org; short illustrated article with comparions photos

Project 52, Week 45, Action Shots

November may not be the best time for me to get action shots as my state is frequently cold, wet, and dismal at this time of the year so who wants to go outside?  But there are many opportunities for interesting and experimental indoor action shots. (Like dropping an olive into a martini and capturing the splash, or dropping a red cherry onto a bowl of vanilla ice cream - you'll have to be fast to get that shot at my house before it disappears.)

There are basically two types of action shots in still photography: 

1. Freeze the action - the subject and background are sharp and in focus
2. Blur the action (which is not the same as a blurry photo!) - the subject or the background is  blurred.

Things to Consider:

• Fast shutter speed freezes motions, sometimes so much that there's no hint of motion at all.  You may want to compose the shot so that the motion is implied. For example, a picture of a person jumping in the air or a running horse with feet off the ground.
• Show shutter speed creates "motion blur" creating a sense of motion. 
• Motion blur: the moving subject or the background is purposely blurred instead of sharp  (Tip: if it looks good - say you composed it that way on purpose)
• Panning: Tracking a moving subject with your camera - either you and the camera move with the subject or you stand still while following the subject with the camera.  Subject should be in focus while everything else is blurry. 
• When photographing something like a race or marathon, you may want to set up the composition ahead of time.  Perhaps even have someone pretending to be a racer on the race path/track so you can decide where to position you and the camera in advance.  After all, you can't very well make the actual racers go back and do it again just because you missed the shot! 

Suggested Readings and Examples:

1. Understanding Shutter Speed – A Beginner’s Guide by Nasim Mansurov; beautifully illustrated article on shutter speed
2. Back to Basics: Five Tips to Freeze Action and Motion by Tiffany Joyce at Beyond MegaPixels; short illustrated article
3. Tips for Action Photography by Tiffany Joyce and Steve Russell at Beyond MegaPixels; short illustrated article
4. Photo Composition # 2: Images that Mean ACTION! at BigNoseBird.com; short illustrated article 
5. 10 Tips for Capturing Action Packed Moments by Jim Harmer on ImprovePhotography
6. Basics of Photo Composition by Connor Walberg on Action Photo School (APS); illustrated article on composition and framing
7. Motion Blur Photography by Erik Kerstenbeck; illustrated short article
8. Master the Art of Action Photography in 8 Easy Steps at APN Photography School; illustrated short article
9. Mountain Bike Photography Technique by Seb Rogers on DPReview; illustrated article includes panning, lens choice, and lighting as well as composition
10. Blurred Panning Techniques at The Global Photographer; short illustrated article
11. Panning in Composition by Scott Simmons at Learn Outdoor Photography; very short article with 1 photo
12. Capturing Motion Blur in Camera Explained by Tiffany Muellar at Light Stalking;

Photos for inspiration:

1. 28 Extreme Action Shots by Lee Milthorpe at Smash & Peas; 26 (mostly crazy) shots with a few tips
2. 15 Stunning Images Using Blur to Portray Movement by Darren Rouse at Digital Photography School
3. 40 Awesome Examples of Action Photography by Bill Jones at Photo Argus

YouTube Videos:

1. Splash Photography Technique - No Flash needed a 5 minute video from LearnMyShot
2. River Landscape Photography: How to photograph Moving Water a 5 minute video from LearnMyShot
3. DSLR Tips: How to blur action shots for a feeling of speed a 6.5 minute video from LearnMyShot
4. Shooting A Strawberry in the Water-Creative Photography Ideas and Images with Bryan Peterson a 2.7 minute video from PPSOP.
5. Digital Photography 1 on 1: Episode 15: Panning a 6.5 minute video from Adorama TV