*click to enlarge

focal length: 50 mm
shutter speed: 1/250
aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 200
flash: none

Last night, we had the most amazing sunset. It started out pink, red and purple and as the sun set lower we had a blast of fiery omnipotence. I rushed outside with the camera into the middle of our street and took a few shots before the darkness took over. To get this silhouette look, try lowering your exposure compensation. I set mine to -1.0 so the houses and trees in the foreground became much darker, leaving the sky more ominous. In post processing, I increased the blacks ever so slightly just to darken the foreground a bit more. I also had to remove a large power line that ran across the center of the shot. I simply cut the bottom half and moved it up a bit followed by a little erasing and cloning to blend the two sections together.

Do you ever run like a kid to grab your camera when you are taken aback by the awesomeness of something? You should try it sometime. It’ll bring up your energy level for sure!

Laura is a Vancouver wedding and portrait photographer. Visit laurahana.com.

To wrap up the series of articles on compositional guidelines, here is your one-stop-shop to improving your photos before you press the shutter release button. Keep in mind that there are always exceptions to the “rules” but these are the ones I found most helpful to me. Just click on the header of each tip for a more in-depth article of that particular compositional principle.

Click to read the rest of this article »»

Laura is a Vancouver wedding and portrait photographer. Visit laurahana.com.

focal length: 70 mm
shutter speed: 1/125
aperture: f/3.5
ISO: 200
flash: none

Wow… can you say “vibrant”? I love the colour of the flower and the leaves. I actually didn’t touch the colour at all. I just increased the blacks a bit and added a slight black vignette to bring more focus on the flower. I was tempted to pull down the vibrancy a bit even! I shot this at 70mm, the longest focal length on my lens (24-70mm f/2.8) and used an aperture of f/3.5. In retrospect, I should have used a smaller aperture, say around f/5.6 so more of the flower would be in focus. Next time, I will also use manual focus rather than rely on my auto focus for just a little more control.

My next lens purchase wants to be a macro lens. Yes, I just personified a lens purchase.

Laura is a Vancouver wedding and portrait photographer. Visit laurahana.com.

focal length: 66 mm
shutter speed: 1/2000
aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 200
flash: none

Today, while I was practicing shooting in Manual mode, I spotted these gigantic flowers resting on our fence. I had never seen them before and they were so beautiful. I felt I had been taken to another place. In a sense, I suppose I was elsewhere since these are my neighbour’s blooms in his carefully manicured yard… a far cry from my own! Knowingly, I made sure my side of the fence was not in the frame and focussed only on the flowers and the beautiful sky and puffy clouds.

Look closely at your own everyday surroundings and perhaps you’ll find yourself in another place.

Laura is a Vancouver wedding and portrait photographer. Visit laurahana.com.

focal length: 24 mm
shutter speed: 1/50
aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 320
flash: none

Who can resist taking at least one of these types of shots? It probably happens more often than not and usually we instinctively move back to avoid a tug-o’-war with our child. Before you whip that camera back and say “Not for baby,” take a couple shots using a wide focal length for a scene you’ll fondly recall years down the road.

I had to be careful how close her hand was to my lens since it was at it’s widest focal length and therefore very close to her. Objects in mirror…er… viewfinder are closer than they appear.

Laura is a Vancouver wedding and portrait photographer. Visit laurahana.com.