• fire begin with a shutter speed of at least 1/250 for capturing individual flames or smoke. a slower speed will help if you want to show the full impression — the glow, for instance. see what happens when fire is the sole light source in a room.
  • geocaching challenge load a geocaching app onto your smartphone and then head out with a view to taking artistic pictures of every geocache location you end up in. don't shoot the geocache hiding place itself - you don't want to ruin it for other people - but just the general area.
  • starlight landscapes to capture the best starscapes you'll need a completely clear sky. it's best if the moon isn't visible: it can make it difficult to keep detail in the whole sky in a single exposure. to keep the exposures short enough to prevent the moving stars blurring, use manual mode and set a high iso such as 1,600 or 3,200 and a shutter speed of two seconds. even then, you'll need a wide aperture: f/4 or even f/2.8. this means it's almost impossible to keep both the stars and any foreground subject in focus in a single shot. shoot two exposures, one focused on the stars and one on the foreground, then combine them in photoshop.
  • still life bokeh something as simple as a crumpled piece of foil can be the basis for a creative photo project. position a still-life subject on a sheet of glass with a piece of dark material underneath it. scrunch up the kitchen foil then smooth it back out and place it in the background. shine a table lamp or torch on the foil and, with a tripod mounted camera, dial in the lens's widest aperture to create some beautiful 'bokeh'. during the exposure, shine a flashlight onto the subject.
jan 29 2018 ∞
jan 29 2018 +