10 Tips for Taking Great Cityscape Photos

10 Tips for Taking Great Cityscape Photos
Interesting Photo of the Day: Asperatus Clouds Captured Over New Zealand
Cycling Photography Techniques

Posted: 09 Oct 2013 04:34 PM PDT

Cities are not only home to many people’s homes, businesses and offices but they also full of energy, power and vitality. There are many things that make a city great and capturing the true essence of a city in one single photograph is a very hard thing to do.

“Cat Street” captured by AlwynL (Click Image to See More From AlwynL)

The main thing that encapsulates and defines a city can actually differ depending on the time of the day and even the season. During the morning cities can look peaceful and calm, whilst during the evening or nighttime they can come alive with activity and purpose.

Most of the people that call the a particular city home don’t take the time to stop and marvel at the magnificent landmarks and sights that make their own home city such a wonderful place to be a part of. A really good city photograph not only shows off the majestic buildings in the heart of the city centre, but should also showcase some of the more enthralling aspects and delights that day to day city life has to offer.

1. Choose an Interesting Subject – Make sure you have an interesting subject for the photo, either in the middle section of the photo or in the foreground.

2. Have a Mix of Foreground & Background – Ensure that you have a good mix of interesting foreground and background areas in the entire photo.

3. Leave Room to Crop – When you are framing up the photo in the viewfinder make sure that there is some room around the edge of the photo to crop the final image.

4. Use a Level Tripod – Before taking the photo make sure that you use a level tripod so that the horizon is straight. Even though you can fix this up later in photoshop it is easier to do it right in the first place to save yourself the hassle.

5. Keep the Sun Behind You – Try and keep the sun behind you so that you get the most amount of light on your the city and the sky has a brilliant blue look to it.

6. Choose the Right Time of Day – Try to take photos as early or as late as possible in the day, as these times generally give the best light and produce more shadows and detail on your photos.

7. Use the Correct Exposure – When setting the exposure for a photo make your reading based on the brightest part of the photo so that there is no overexposure.

“paris” captured by abeer (Click Image to See More From abeer)

8. Use a Timer or Remote – Always use a timer or remote control to take the photo so that there is not any camera shake caused by you when you depress the photo button.

9. Use a Polarizing Filter – On your SLR camera use a polarizing filter to remove the light reflections that bounce of building windows and metal objects.

10. Buy in a Good Lens – In order to get the best from your SLR camera invest in a good quality lens. They may be expensive but it will be well worth the money.

By using all of the above tips you are sure to see a noticeable improvement in any photos that you take of city building or skylines. Not only will your city photos will clearer and more well defined, but they will also has a wide spectrum of color, which is the sign of a great photo.

“shtil” captured by Raluca Mateescu (Click Image to See More From Raluca Mateescu)

About the Author:
This article was written by Rueben Hird, his site on landscape photography also has a range of city photography displayed from interesting metropolitan areas around the world.

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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

Interesting Photo of the Day: Asperatus Clouds Captured Over New Zealand

Posted: 09 Oct 2013 02:07 PM PDT

Stratocumuliform, cirrus, cumulonimbus, altocumulus: what do these strange words all have in common? They’re all used to classify different types of clouds. In this case, the scientific name is actually as cool as the object it describes. Clouds come in all kinds of varieties and it’s what makes many landscape photos dynamic and interesting. Pictured below are asperatus clouds floating over New Zealand captured by Witta Priester. These clouds are interesting in the fact that they vary greatly in visible texture rather than stay uniform throughout like most clouds:

Asperatus Clouds photographed by Witta Priester

If you haven’t heard the name asperatus before, it’s because it is a newly proposed classification for clouds. Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society, has been promoting this cloud type since 2009. The name has not been officially adopted yet, but if it is accepted, it will be the first cloud formation added since 1951.

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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

Cycling Photography Techniques

Posted: 09 Oct 2013 11:52 AM PDT

F-stop pro photographer Jeff Curtes is no stranger to the outdoors. Skiing, snowboarding, cycling, Curtes loves the world of outdoor sports and he loves photographing them. Starting out shooting photos of his brother, (who became a pro snowboarder) he was able to gain attention for the blossoming sport and became a favorite among his clients for his intimate knowledge & passion for the subject. Curtes’ latest project involves photographing cycling, one of his own favorites hobbies:

Tips for Shooting Sports:

Know the Sport – It may sound like simple advice, but the more you know about the sport, the more you’ll understand what’s popular, easy, difficult, cinematic, boring, fun, etc. You’ll gain an understanding of what your subjects can/will do and what works best as far as photographing them.

Scout Locations – Are you looking for a slightly urban scene for your cycling photos? or a beautiful countryside vista? Search for places by driving around and asking around. If you find a place you really like, visit it at different times during the day to see how the light changes.

Practice Safety – Photographing some sports can be potentially dangerous if you’re not careful. Curtes had no problem hanging out the window of a car to get his shots, but he had safety measures in place to catch him just in case. For any sport, make sure that you’re a safe distance away from the action so that you don’t endanger yourself or your subject.

Be Friendly with Flash – Flash can help make your sport photos pop, but make sure your subjects are cool with it. You don’t want to blind them and cause them to injure themselves.

Be Aware of Your Shutter Speed – For the most part, you’ll want to have a high shutter speed to freeze the action. But sometimes a little background blur or movement blur can add to a photo. Actively think about your exposure settings. You can bump up your ISO to get that extra few stops of light and shoot faster, but don’t increase it so much that your images are over noisy.

Don’t try this at home

Using flash can help your photos pop

“Surround yourself with great people and don’t be intimidated with projects that are beyond your scope of competency. It gives you the power to realize that you can kinda…achieve anything.”

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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

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Thursday 10 October 2013