So how do you go about creating a Dutch Tilt? It’s easy.. Normally you hold your camera even with the horizon, this is called  “Landscape Mode”.  If you turn your camera on it’s side, this is called “Portrait Mode”. Hold your camera at any angle in between, that’s a Dutch Tilt!

As humans, we are all too often compelled to follow the rules,  living each day within the lines of what is proper or expected.  Think about this, almost 99% of all photographs taken, are shot in landscape mode. Less than 1% of all photographs taken taken in portrait mode.  

Using a Dutch Tilt is breaking the rules of what is expected or ordinary. Photographs taken with a Dutch Tilt can add interest to almost any photo in the right situations. Dutch Tilt,  give it try…

So what exactly is Auto Exposure Bracketing? Autobracketing is a feature found on more advanced cameras, mostly, DSLR cameras, but I have seen Autobracketing starting to show up even in some of the high-end point and shoots.

Simply put, AEB is where the camera will automatically take several successive shots (usually a series of three) with slightly different exposure settings. Depending on your cameras AEB settings, the difference between each of the autobracketed shots could be anywhere up to two stops in each direction, in half-stop or one-third stop increments.

The reason you do this is because the camera might have been deceived by the light (too much or too little) available and your main subject may be over- or under-exposed. By taking three differently exposed shots, you are making sure that if this were ever the case, then you would have properly compensated for it.

As an example, say you are taking a scene where there is an abundance of light around your main subject (for example, at the beach on a sunny day, or surrounded by snow). In this case, using Weighted-Average metering, your camera might be ‘deceived’ by the abundance of light and expose for it by closing down the aperture and/or using a faster shuter speed, with the result that the main subject might be under-exposed. By taking an extra shot at a slight over-exposure, you would in fact be over-exposing the surroundings, but properly exposing the main subject.

Anytime your photographing a subject with tricky lighting or lots of variation between bright and darker areas. Anytime you feel the scene is a challenging one (too much highlights or shadows).  For example, sunrise/sunsets are usually better taken slightly under-exposed so using Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) here is a great idea.

To sum things up, be sure and use AEB whenever you want to be sure you don’t improperly expose a fabulous shot that you may not get the chance to go back and take again. Use AEB whenever you want to be absolutely sure you have the best exposure possible.

Take a look at the example below:

You can see the cameras Auto Mode, incorrectly exposed this picture because of the strong light coming through the background. The cameras AutoMode thought that the scene had enough light. As you can clearly see the main subject was badly under exposed, almost dark enough to produce a silhouette.

Obviously the issue with this shot is that there is just not enough light from the front of the subject, to light up the subject with the shutter speed selected by the camera.

The Solution

While there are a number of possible solutions to this problem,one of the easiest is to override the camera and force it to shoot with a flash. This is commonly referred to as the Fill Flash Technique. Fill Flash is used to supplement existing light in a scene – it’s generally not the primary light source, but fills in light where natural light doesn’t go. Here’s that same shot with a fill flash:

In addition to helping with backlit subjects fill flash helps in more subtle ways also by helping to eliminate shadows cast by facial features (under eyes, noses, chins) or under hats – especially when light is shining down from above. It also could be used to add a special little sparkle to the eye of the person you’re photographing. Producing those lovely catch highlights.

Most of todays cameras have built-in support for Fill Flash. In most cameras, there’s problably a little button, with a picture of a lightning bolt (flash) on or near it. But be sure and check your camera’s owners manual on how to activate your cameras Fill Flash mode.

The correct answer of course, is it depends on the type of photowalk your embarking on. If your photowalk is taking you through lots of beautiful vistas and landscapes, a nice wide angle lens would be ideal. On the other hand,  If your photowalk is taking place in more of a urban setting,  then, maybe a longer tele-zoom would suit you better.

For me, I’ve gotten in the habit of carrying  2 main lens with me on all photowalks. I carry a 24-105mm f/4, and a 70-200mm f/2.8. I find that these two lens are usually more than ample to cover most shooting situations.

Even if you don’t own a DSLR, most of today’s point and shoot cameras are outfitted with great general purpose lens. My little Canon G9 is outfitted with a 35-210mm lens, which is perfect for photowalking.  Remember, photowalking is about the experience, not how expensive you gear is.

So get out and photowalk this weekend!

If you have a question on photowalking or photography, or would just like to suggest a topic for us to cover, be sure and drop us a line. You can email us at: photowalkinglife@gmail.com

As great as the technology is, it can’t read your mind. Even the most advance auto focus system cannot determine your photographic intentions. With subjects at various distances from the camera, a multi-point AF system will often focus on the nearest reliable target. Undoubtedly there will be times the cameras auto focus will focus on the wrong subject, giving you less than desirable results.

Instead of relying on your cameras auto focus to make decisions for you. Why not break away from the point-and-shoot approach, and tell the camera exactly where you want the focus.

Most cameras today, that offer multi-point AF, allow you to manually select which focus point to use to ensure focus on your intended subject, and give your photos the results you want.

I recommend setting your camera to use a single focus point. In my opinion, using the method of Focus and Compose, is the most effective method of getting accurate shots.

To use this method, simply set your cameras AF to only use the center focus point. The rest is strictly technique. When taking a picture, position the camera’s center AF point directly on the subject you wish to be focused on, then activate your cameras AF Lock by pressing the shutter button down halfway. Once your cameras signals you a focus lock, (usually a audio beep or the center AF point in the view finder will light up). Continue to hold the shutter down halfway, then recompose your shot.

We’ve all seen those fantastic portraits were the models eyes just draw you in. In these type of portrait shots, we generally want to focus on the eyes. This
effect can rarely be achieved in a point-and-shoot mode with multi-point AF.

Using the Focus and Recompose Method, we simply place the center AF point directly on the subjects eyes, lock the focus, and recompose, once composed, take the shot.

This will take some practice, but the results are well worth it.

Let me start out saying that “The Rule of Thirds” is a compositional ‘rule of thumb’, not a hard and fast rule. The first rule in photography is; that there are no rules. To explain the rule of thirds, we need a visual. The rules says you should divide your image into a grid of thirds, like pictured below.

You’ll notice the grid causes the lines to intersect at four (4) main intersections (Marked with a red circle). At the intersection of these lines is where you would place a point of interest for a subject. The rule of thirds is considered by many to make pictures more aesthetically pleasing and professional-looking. The rule of thirds can be applied by lining up subjects with the guiding lines, placing the horizon on the top or bottom line instead of the center, or allowing linear features in the photograph to flow from section to section.

The rule of thirds is a simple and effective way to produce aesthetically pleasing pictures, and once you start putting it into practice, you’ll begin noticing it being used in paintings, billboards,  and even television. The rule of thirds may turn out to be the most powerful tool in your camera bag.

Lens hoods play a very important role, especially in outdoor photography. Despite it’s importance, it’s still one of the most overlooked items by the average photographer. A lens hoods primary function is to prevent unwanted light from hitting the lens. Without the protection of a lens hood, unwanted side light will hit the lens, reducing contrast, and possibly create nasty lens flare. Lens flare can destroy an otherwise fine photograph.

The lens hoods also serve a second function, that being one of protection. With a lens hood installed you’re less likely to accidentally touch the optics. If you’re photographing small children or animals at close range this will also help you from getting unwanted smudges on the lens, because we all know how much kids and animals love shiny things. 

Now for the downside. Lens hoods are expensive! Each lens has a specific matching lens hood. How expensive you ask? The average cost of a lens hood is generally around $30. That’s some very expensive plastic!  

All in all, lens hoods are a vital tool, and worth the investment.

Photographers take great care to show their photos at there best, and would never think of letting you see a raw unfinished photo. What’s  the difference between a snapshot and a masterpiece? Sometimes it’s just the ability to see the picture in the picture. Of course I’m talking about photo cropping.

When I decided to write this article, I immediately ran through my photo collection looking for the worst possible photograph that I could find, just to illiterate that even a bad photo can be cropped into a good one.

This is a photograph of my brother on a recent visit.

There’s not much right about this photograph, but we can still save it. Let’s see, the background is terrible, the left side is dark and under exposed, the right side is just plain boring. The door frame molding is coming directly off my brothers head, I also have a casted shadow onto the background.. What was I thinking!

I wasn’t.. I was a normal everyday person, taking a quick snapshot of my brother before he left for LA. Well, when you think about it.. isn’t this a typical snapshot we take all the time? Sure it is..

So let’s look at this picture and find the picture in the picture. Look at my brother’s natural pose, and great smile.  This is a candid for a portrait. Yep! I think I’ll crop this photo from a landscape mode to portrait. 

We have uncovered the “picture in the picture”!

Of course we could stop here, but I was still bothered by that background, even through the picture cropped is a vast improvement already. I decided to go one step further, and remove the background using photoshop.

There we are! A everyday snapshot turned into a masterpiece suitable for framing..

Simply by installing a ultra-violet filter (UV filter). A UV filter is a simple piece of glass that screws on to the front of your lens and protects it from scratches, dust, dirt, moisture and fingerprints while reducing unwanted ultra-violet light. Remember, it’s far cheaper to replace a scratched filter than your $1000 lens.

When shopping for filters be sure and buy a high quality multi-coated glass. Be sure and stay away from cheap UV filters as cheap plastic filters will degrade your picture quality. One of the best  UV filters is the B+W MRC UV , it’s made from high quality glass and I consider this the best UV filter available.