15 Weekend Photography Project Ideas |  |
- 15 Weekend Photography Project Ideas
- 4 Tips for Helping People Relax in Front of the Camera (Video)
- Interesting Photo of the Day: Curious Polar Bear Wants to Get A Little Closer
- 10-Year Timelapse of the 9/11 Memorial Construction in NYC (Video)
- Matrix-Style Bullet Effect Captured With 50 Nokia Smartphones (Video)
| 15 Weekend Photography Project Ideas Posted: 22 May 2014 10:54 PM PDT If you’re interested in improving, or if you’re just looking for a fun activity, why not take on a weekend project? By choosing a specific project for the weekend you can focus on something that will give you a new experience, teach you something new, or improve your skills in a certain area. In this article we’ll look at 15 different ideas that are perfect for weekend projects.  “Rain Man (double exposure in camera)” captured by Janice Bailey (Click image to see more from Janice Bailey.) 1. Rent a LensI’m sure you have several pieces of gear or accessories that you have been waiting to get your hands on. Photography gear, and certainly lenses, can be quite expensive, so most of us will never be able to buy everything that we want. One opportunity that many photographers overlook is the option of renting equipment, and specifically lenses. Renting can be a great way to try it before you buy it, and if you’re looking to do something fun for a weekend, renting a lens can be a great option. You could rent a fisheye lens and experiment with landscape or urban photos. You could rent a tilt shift lens and experiment with depth of field and perspective control. You could rent a telephoto lens of take it to a sporting event or a zoo to put it to the test. You could rent a macro lens and practice photographing flowers or insects. As you can see, there are a lot of possibilities. There are several websites where you can rent lenses, including Borrow Lenses and Lens Rentals. Of course, if you’re renting a lens online you’ll need to plan ahead to allow time for it to be shipped to you. You may also have a local camera center or shop in your area that offers rentals. 2. Make a DIY BackdropIt’s possible to take great photos right from your own home, even without having an expensive studio setup. There are loads of tutorials online that show how to create great, and in many cases inexpensive, photo booths or backdrops. Creating your own backdrop is a perfect weekend project. Just find a friend or family member and practice some portraits with your new backdrop. If you have kids this is a perfect approach to have some fun photos, and the kids can enjoy it as well. For some ideas and tutorials see 55 Awesome DIY Photography Backdrops and 55 Fun and Creative DIY Photography Backdrops.  Photo by Promise Tangeman (Click image to see more from Promise Tangeman.) 3. Still Life SessionIf you want to work on your photography without even leaving the house, still life is a great option. You don’t need anything fancy or expensive to make this work. You could photograph flowers, fruit, jewelry, toys, and any other objects you find around the house. Still life is not something that most photographers practice on a regular basis, but it can provide some excellent opportunities to work on things like composition, lighting, angles and perspective, as well as to gain more experience with your camera and lenses. If still life is new to you, you may find this article to be helpful: 10 Tips to Get Started with Still Life Photography. 4. Self PortraitsTaking self portraits can be an effective way to practice and improve without needing anyone else. Set up your tripod and experiment in your home or wherever you want. Don’t let the amount of selfies that you are bombarded with on a daily basis discourage you from taking quality self portraits. If you haven’t taken self portraits before, see How to Take a Self Portrait for some helpful tips. 5. Macro PhotographyI mentioned macro photography earlier when I mentioned lens rentals, but it deserves its own section as well. You may already have a lens that can handle macro shots, or extension tubes to increase the magnification. Macro photography is a great option for a weekend project because it can be done anywhere. You can practice with flowers and plants around your house or at a local park. You can even photograph textures. Textures are everywhere, so they are easy to find if you look for them. You can even capture seasonal moods and subjects, like autumn leaves, blooming flowers, or objects covered in snow or ice. If you’re new to macro photography see Macro Photography for Beginners.  “~ Blossom ~” captured by Stuart Williams (Click image to see more from Stuart Williams.) 6. FilmAlthough digital photography offers plenty of benefits, there are still some things that can be learned by practicing with film. For starters, when you’re shooting with film you’ll be much more selective and careful about the photos that you take. Even when you move back to digital you’ll benefit from being more selective rather than clicking away because you have plenty of room on your memory card. Also, using film can help you to learn more about exposure. You won’t have the opportunity to change ISO, that will be set by the roll of film that you’re using, so you’ll have aperture and shutter speed to deal with. Chances are you’ll learn more about exposure, and you won’t be able to rely on making exposure adjustments in Lightroom, so you’ll need to get it right. And that’s not to mention that film produces better color and dynamic range. If you don’t have a film camera you could possibly rent one or buy a used one to keep the costs low. If you’re new to film see 9 Shooting Film Tips for Beginners. 7. Sunrise/SunsetSunrise, sunset, and the hours surrounding them offer some of the best opportunities for landscapes and outdoor photography. If you’ve got a free weekend this is a great project. You don’t have to travel far. Just find a local park, lake, or some other setting that you’d like to capture at sunrise or sunset. Personally, I prefer sunrise because there are usually very few people out and you can have a lot of privacy even in more popular locations. It’s a great way to work on your skills over the weekend, and you’re likely to get some beautiful shots. See Sunrise Photography Tips and 12 Tips for Photographing Stunning Sunsets. 8. Street PhotographyStreet photography is another excellent opportunity for a weekend project, and partly because it can be done anywhere, you don’t need to travel to an exotic destination. Whatever city or town you live in or near can provide the setting for your practice. Street photography can also challenge your comfort zone and force you to learn by trying new things. See Beginner Street Photography for some tips.  “Saturday Night Bus [Nighthawks]” captured by Chris JL (Click image to see more from Chris JL.) 9. HDRHDR can be a bit of a sensitive topic. Many photographers either love it or hate it. However, HDR photos don’t have to be extreme. Many of the best HDR photos aren’t the obvious, over-the-top examples. You can use HDR to improve your results while still getting realistic photos. You can take some time over the weekend to get more familiar with shooting and processing HDR. If you don’t have software dedicated to HDR, like Photomatix, you can simply use Photoshop’s HDR Pro. Photomatix and some other professional HDR software also have free trials that you can use. If you’re new to HDR, see this HDR Photography Tutorial. 10. Double ExposuresIf you’re looking for a fun and creative weekend project, experimenting with double exposures would be an excellent choice. If you’re like most photographers, double exposures aren’t a part of your normal routines or habits, so focusing on them for a weekend will provide you with some new experience, and you may wind up with some results that you really like. If you don’t have experience with double exposures you’ll need to get familiar with the process first. See How to Take a Double Exposure with a Digital SLR. 11. Night PhotographyNight photography is another option that can be fun and challenging while adding a new skill to your arsenal. You could head out to a park or somewhere isolated for night landscapes, or go to the city and capture a totally different atmosphere and environment. Night photography introduces some new challenges, but the rewards are truly stunning photos. You can learn more and get some tips from Night Photography Tips and Techniques.  “The Ferris Wheel” captured by Billy Wilson (Click image to see more from Billy Wilson.) 12. Pick a ThemeWhy not take a weekend and focus on subjects with a particular theme? The theme could be anything. You could focus on architecture, strangers in the street, cars, farms, flowers and plants, railroad tracks, or whatever you want. Think about the local area where you live and the types of subjects that you can find easily. Also think about what interests you and what will help you to push your boundaries and challenge you. If you are focused on a particular theme for the weekend you will approach it much differently than if you were going to a particular location and just photographing whatever happened to catch your attention. 13. PanoramicAnother option is to practice by creating panoramic shots. You’ll need to find the right location, but creating a panoramic is not as difficult as you might think. You can use Photoshop to automatically stitch multiple photos together, or there are also a number of programs dedicated specifically to stitching panoramas. For a guide see Panoramic Photography Tutorial. 14. Step Out of Your Comfort ZoneIf you want to improve, one of the best ways is to identify your typical habits and intentionally step out of your comfort zone. If you normally shoot in aperture priority or auto, try shooting exclusively in manual for the weekend. If you typically shoot landscapes and nature, find someone to pose for portraits. If you normally shoot portraits in a studio, head outside and try street photography. If you usually stick with a particular lens, limit yourself to a different lens. The idea is simply to identify your habits and crutches, and then push yourself to try something new. Since it is just for a weekend project it’s easier to push yourself out of that comfort zone, and you’ll wind up with some new experience and you may find that you actually like it. 15. Find a ModelIf you want to work on portraits, find someone to model for you. The best option here is to have a friend or family member who is willing to model for you, but if you don’t have anyone who is willing there are some other options. You could search Craigslist or post something of your own in search of a model. You could also use sites like Model Mayhem, One Model Place, and PureStorm that help photographers and models to connect.  “Cecelia” by Daniel Zedda (Click image to see more from Daniel Zedda.) What’s your choice?Have you chosen to take on a project for the weekend? Feel free to share your choice in the comments. About the Author: Go to full article: 15 Weekend Photography Project Ideas |
| 4 Tips for Helping People Relax in Front of the Camera (Video) Posted: 22 May 2014 04:09 PM PDT One of the hardest parts of portrait photography is getting your nervous subjects to look natural. Jasmine Star, an international photographer who specializes in wedding photography, has had her share of experiences with uncomfortable clients. In this video, she expands on how she attempts to make her clients comfortable with the camera during her shoots: 1. Give your clients time to relax.Start off your shoot by striking a conversation. Ask how their day has been going or compliment their attire. The more comfortable your client is with you as a photographer, the more natural your shots will look in the end.
2. Explain how the photo shoot will work.Discuss the process of the shoot. The less that is left up to the imagination, the better. This provides a stress-free environment and makes sure that both you and your clients are on the same page. 3. Be specific when giving instructions.Often times, photographers give general commands such as, "Act natural!" The more specific you are in your instructions, the more comfortable your client will feel. Tell your subject exactly what to do.
4. Have clients move into a pose.Once you've posed a client, have them relax from this pose and then move back into the pose again. This causes the shot to look less stiff and posed—and more natural.
Go to full article: 4 Tips for Helping People Relax in Front of the Camera (Video) |
| Interesting Photo of the Day: Curious Polar Bear Wants to Get A Little Closer Posted: 22 May 2014 02:48 PM PDT If a group of polar bears is approaching you with a look of curiosity, it’s only natural to start taking photographs of them, right? I mean, look how cuddly and cute they seem. Like puppies, only bigger–a lot bigger with sharper claws and more powerful jaws. Okay, on second thought, maybe they aren’t quite as cuddly as a puppy:  “Bernard Spit Polar Bear” (Via Imgur. Click image to see full size.) While the thought of polar bears converging near them would send most photographers into retreat mode (this photographer included) the shutterbug responsible for taking the image you see above was brave enough to capture a few shots of the animals before scampering off to safety. Sticking it out to take photos of these magnificent yet dangerous animals is perhaps taking it a little too far in terms of safety, but looking at the photo, it’s also sort of easy to see how a photographer could be enamored enough to put his life on the line all for the sake of “getting the shot.” Go to full article: Interesting Photo of the Day: Curious Polar Bear Wants to Get A Little Closer |
| 10-Year Timelapse of the 9/11 Memorial Construction in NYC (Video) Posted: 22 May 2014 12:38 PM PDT Construction at the former site of the World Trade Center Towers has been underway for over a decade in an effort to emblemize the site as a tribute to the the victims of 9/11. The National September 11 Memorial Museum, which opened May 21, 2014, took nearly 10 years to create and was documented in the form of a well-planned timelapse video: The timelapse chronicles the construction site from the beginning of the project, which started in October 2004, all the way through i’s completion in May of 2014. The cameras, which were positioned around the site to create the timelapse, collected footage for an astounding 4,617 consecutive days–and continue to do so–giving EarthCam, the timelapse creators, over one million images to choose from when making the timelapse video.  Image of the 9/11 site from 2004.  The museum just weeks away from its grand opening.
Go to full article: 10-Year Timelapse of the 9/11 Memorial Construction in NYC (Video) |
| Matrix-Style Bullet Effect Captured With 50 Nokia Smartphones (Video) Posted: 22 May 2014 10:53 AM PDT If you have ever watched The Matrix, you probably remember a camera technique called the “bullet effect” that is responsible for all those awesome slow motion shots where the scene seems to just pop off of the screen. When filmmaker Paul Trillo joined forces with Microsoft, the team set out on a mission to create similar style clips while on location in New York City, using nothing but smartphones. Take a look at the video below to see how well they fared: With 100 percent mobility, the project is a first of its kind, given that it was shot exclusively with smartphones (via PetaPixel). Once set up on a pre-calculated arc, the team took the 50 phones—all Nokia Lumia 1020s—to the street, where the contraption was wheeled around using two moving dollies.
The entire system, including a wireless network connection, had to be powered by a generator, which was also wheeled around with the camera arc as shown in this behind-the-scenes video: The cameras were all programmed to fire simultaneously and were controlled using a special app on a Microsoft Surface Tablet. At the end of the shoot, the team was left with about 30,000 photographs to work with.  In the final video, this skateboarder appears to hover in the air. The sets of photos, comprised of 50 photos each, had to be meticulously processed, compiled, and stabilized to create the end result. Go to full article: Matrix-Style Bullet Effect Captured With 50 Nokia Smartphones (Video) |
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