Lean in and create some fun images.

Sometimes to change my image composition, I lean into my subjects. I can change the mood, direction of photo shoot and connect to my subject using this technique. I feel more part of the shoot with this style of shooting. It also opens the door for conversation or laughs with your subject. You composition can be more two dimensional and lively with this shooting style. Before doing this, I would make sure you have a lens that will work while getting in close. I would photograph this way if I felt the subject was game or in good spirits. A subject that has strong personal space boundaries or feels really uncomfortable in front of your camera may not be the best subject to try this with. I try not to make my subject feel more stiff.  The participants of the Color Run I photographer were very game with me leaning in and photographing them close-up. They even played along, creating funny faces or shapes with their bodies.

Let’s shoot in Manual Settings and Manual Exposure.

What scares a new photographer more than the sticker price of a decent DSLR camera? Shooting in manual settings and manual exposure. Once you understand what key factors are involved and practice a lot, shooting in manual will come naturally. Your exposure is the amount of light (controlled by the aperture or f-stop of your camera lens) that is captured over a specific amount of time (controlled by the shutter speed of your camera shutter). Your ISO controls how much noise or grain is recorded on your images. ISO also influences your aperture and shutter speed choices. I often tell my beginner students to put your camera setting on Program. Position your camera to what you want to photograph. Depress the shutter and see what the camera is going to record your scene or take an image(check image info for camera exposure setting). For the next image, you change the camera setting to manual. Change your shutter speed and/or aperture to see what happens to your next image.

Keep moving the dials up and down so you change the exposure and see what your choices are capable of.

Understanding your camera’s metering system and the quality of light you are shooting in also helps with selecting your manual settings for the correct manual exposure. In addition to white balance, exposure compensation and steadiness of your hands, your manual exposure is unique combination of numbers, science and creativity.