Taking Portraits in Landscape Mode – A Handy Guide

A portrait is taken generally in portrait orientation. (That’s why the name portrait, I guess!). But there are no set rules that discourage a landscape orientation for portraits.  Lately I have been noticing that portraits in this mode have some features in common – especially in the way the eyes are positioned. This post discusses 3 such prevalent techniques in landscape mode of “Portraitism”.

Align Center – Eyes straight

An insane close-up of the face with the eyes staring straight at the viewer can be both captivating and menacing.

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10 Pros Say What They Wish They’d Known about Photography

As I was reading the recent dPS article – 21 Readers Tell What they Wish They’d Known about Photography, it dawned on me that a handful of pros have already talked to us regarding what they wish they’d known. Here is a compilation of their answers.

Q. Is there anything you wish you knew when you started photographing?

A.

Sriram Guruswamy (Style – Potrait)

I never had the luxury of a mentor or of a formal training. My Photography style is totally self-taught and it took years to get evolved. I realized late that photography is not just about capturing something that is already beautiful.
There is a bigger dimension to it as being an honest perspective into those real moments of truth depicted in an aesthetic way.

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One stop newbie guide for buying a DSLR

Update : Only after publishing this post did it hit me. Its been a year since I own a DSLR. It has been quite an eventful journey so far. (status) Thank you folks for being so wonderful and supportive.

Recently a friend of mine asked me to help his friend buy a DSLR. To be frank, it left me scratching my head as I was at a loss as to what to tell him. Then I realized that the posts that have been published in antzFxWay are indeed a great place to start, if read in the right order. Once I sent him the mail, I figured it could help more people. So here is the post from where you can start your research.

	A Beginners Guide to Buying a DSLR (from a Beginner) I wanted to make a transition from P&S to DSLR. So I asked Google, my all-knowing ever-faithful friend, “What should I do?”. The keeper-of-all-knowledge promptly dumped thousands of camera reviews in front of me to choose from. “Oh my!” - I pinched myself.
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Fabien Bravin – In close encounters with nature

An aeronautical engineer by profession, Fabien Bravin is a macro photographer who has chosen to walk a path rarely trodden by photographers of similar interest. A self-confessed addict of macro photography, he tries to emphasize the beauty and poetry of nature in his shots. Here we are in talk with the man who has produced an array of stunning pictures.

Fabien Bravin Flickr | 1x | Blog Technique: Macro

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Realizations of a DSLR newbie

Image by Piotr Bizior

It’s been almost 10 months since I bought my first DSLR. The days so far were both beautiful and challenging as well as immensely educational.

The time I spent juggling with my camera have given me some insight into the intricacies of this business. Given below are a few realizations I had in the last few days.

1. What you see is not what you get.

2. To get what you see you need to understand light. That takes a lot time, effort and patience.

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Rich Gastwirt – Making Iconic Images

Only recently did I come to realize that concert photography is an art form in itself. So, as a part of my research, I typed in the name “Concert Photography” into Facebook search. There I found Rich smiling at me! In this post, Rich, who likes to call himself a Photomusicologist, describes in detail his method and style towards concert photography.

Rich Gastwirt Site | Twitter Special Mention: 2010 Billboard Magazine Ultimate Music Moment Fans’ Favorite 2009 Billboard Magazine Ultimate Music Moment Fans’ Favorite Technique: Concert (Professional)

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A dozen sites for Photography Inspiration – Part 2

This is the second installment in the series – “A dozen sites for Photography Inspiration” . You can find Part 1 here.

1. 500px.com

500px is a photographic community powered by creative people from all over the world that lets you share and discover inspiring photographs.

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Half A dozen Stupid things people will do after buying their first DSLR

It is astonishing to see that newbies buying their first DSLR (including me), even after spending so much time on their research, have hit on a sequence of spending behaviours that is not exactly helping them in the long run. Here is a rundown of half a dozen of such things they we regret on later.

1. Extra battery

The battery pack that comes with the camera is an excellent unit that lasts for a reasonable amount of shots. I have used my fully charged battery on Nikon D90 for approximately 600 shots on a span of a week. Although it would make sense to buy extra battery if you are into professional business, as a newbie you will seldom find yourself actually needing any unless you trek for weeks on end in the jungles.

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James Brandon — Realistic HDR Photography

My jaws dropped when I first saw this image created by James Brandon. That was my first time experiencing HDR (High Dynamic Range imaging) and it changed my perception towards photography. Here we are in conversation with the man himself.

James Brandon About | Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter Special Mention: Author for Digital Photography School Editor at HDR Spotting Technique: HDR (Professional)

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Mukul Soman – Life is in the Street

Mukul Soman‘s camera captures some of the most unforgettable images from the street. A Computer science and Visual Effects graduate, he is currently working in the city of San Francisco. He freelances cinematography and photography. Even though he excels at street photography, he thinks his future lies somewhere else. Here we are in a conversation with the man of a few words.

Mukul Soman About | Flickr | Site | Facebook Achievements: Published twice in Daily Dozen of National Geographic. Won twice at Photo of the Month of Epson Fotoflock. Technique: Street Photography (Professional)

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