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Let’s face the facts; lugging a tripod isn’t always a fun way to take pictures. Ignoring the obvious complaints, which include their size and weight, tripods are actually becoming banned in a number great shooting locations. Unfortunately, hand holding a camera in low light can be extremely difficult and many honest attempts result in soft images.

Thankfully, any of these three techniques will greatly improve the likelihood of sharp hand-held images.

A. Correcting the stance

Most photographers are familiar with how to hold a digital camera in their hands, but most ignore the important aspect of body position. Many people lean forward, leaving their arms to hold the camera steady. Much like lifting a heavy object, the weight is best handled by your legs so adapt your step to fit these guidelines:

1. Hold the camera with both hands. The left hand will be on the lens, while the right holds the camera body and controls the shutter.
2. Take a half step forward and keep your knees bent. This will distribute your weight equally over both legs.
3. Bring the camera up to your common shooting position. For dSLR cameras, this means with the viewfinder held firmly in front of your right eye, while compact cameras should be held at eye level, about 15 cm in front of the face.
4. Squeeze your elbows tightly against your sides. The left forearm should be completely vertical and behind your toes. Avoid the temptation to lean forward and take the weight off your legs; leaning forward will result in camera shake.
5. Take a deep breath and let the air out. Before taking the next breath, press the shutter as gently as possible.

B. A pocket-sized tripod

While tripods are awkward to carry, this technique will add a pocket-sized solution to low-light shooting situations.

1. Before going out shooting, cut a string that equals your height and keep it in your pocket or camera bag.
2. At the low-light shooting location, take the string out and loop it around the camera lens. Let the extra string fall to the ground.
3. Step on the loose end of the string and slowly raise the camera to your eye. Carefully pull the string taunt, while making sure not to pull hard enough to effect the camera-to-lens connection.
4. With the string pulled tight, stand in the same position described in the first technique, and gently push the shutter.

C. The Joe McNally Grip

Photographer Joe McNally, best known for his speed-lighting techniques, regularly shoots for publications like Sports Illustrated, National Geographic, and the now defunct Life Magazine. Despite shooting in various lighting situations, he rarely uses a tripod. Instead, he uses his own grip style that requires shooting with the left eye. With a little practice, this grip allows photographers to handhold with really slow shutter-speeds.

1. Follow the same foot position as technique one, with the left foot in front of the right, shoulder width apart.
2. Turn your upper body so that your left shoulder is pointing towards your subject.
3. Holding the camera with your right hand, bring the camera up and set it on your shoulder. The corner of the camera body should sit in the small hole behind your collarbone.
4. Use your left hand to brace the camera against your body. Anchor your weight equally on both feet, and lower your left eye to the viewfinder. Take the shot after letting out a deep breath.

Rolling hills and vales, enchanting areas of woodland, rugged shorelines and a dappled spring meadow can all become the most obvious of subjects for the landscape shooter, often yielding strongly emotive and awe-inspiring results.

The recipe for success however is less obvious and so here at Digital Photography School we aim to provide a list of the most necessary ingredients for capturing that captivating landscape.

Step 1: Finding the perfect spot

To minimise petrol costs scouting out that prized location, do a little preparation work before you head off. Research nearby or far-flung locations online, in the library or at your local tourist information office to discover what has been captured and decide how you can better it. There is no shame in looking at the work of photographers who you admire or who inspire you, and attempting to learn from the work they’ve achieved.

You could also try looking under resources for hiking, camping, mountain climbing, biking and canal boating, as well as many other outdoor pursuits, as these are likely to highlight scenic areas of interest. Talk to other photographers in person or on forums for their advice about where to try and where to avoid. Once you’ve created a shortlist of must-see locations, take a trip out to judge its potential in the flesh.

Step 2: Getting the right light

A landscape can be transformed with the right light and depending on the size of your scene it’s likely you’ll be dependent on the one obvious light source: the sun. Many landscape photographers believe the best light comes with the early morning light; a window that lasts an hour so before and after sunrise. Others argue that sunset provides more vivacious colouring, whereas some declare winter sun to be the best for shooting during the middle hours of the day.

Whatever your preference, photograph with the light behind or to the side of you and be prepared to get their ahead of the ‘window’ to find the best position, program settings and wait for the show to start. With that in mind – pack a comfortable chair, flask of warm beverage and warm clothing. Revising sunrise and sunset times for that particular location can be of great benefit, particular if you have a great distance to travel.

Before I dove head first into the world of photography (there was no toe-in-the water transition period for me), I hadn’t ever considered or learned about composition. I thought it only had something to do with painting. If I was going to take pictures of real life, I didn’t imagine that I would be saying to the man running for the bus, “excuse me, could you please step into this third here?” I disregarded composition entirely. Then there came a point where I began intuitively setting my manual settings without much thought. I was suddenly left with loads of time on my hands while shooting to, not necessarily bother my subjects with moving around in a scene, but to move myself appropriately and be quick enough to catch something in the split second when it was naturally well composed.

So if you are like me and you haven’t yet considered composition, here are a few rules to get you going. Naturally, rules are made to be broken. But you can’t break the rules until you have mastered them. More on that another time. Here are four hard and fast rules of composition I can’t live without:

Thirds – This may be the most widely known rule of composition among photographers. There’s even an option in most DSLRs to switch on a visual grid in your viewfinder. This rule states that for an image to be visually interesting, the main focus of the image needs to lie along one of the lines marked in thirds. For example, according to this rule, a horizon shouldn’t be smack bang in the middle of a photo, but on the bottom third. A single tree in a field should be aligned with one of the two vertical lines.

Rule of odds – The rule of odds states that images are more visually appealing when there is an odd number of subjects. For example, if you are going to place more than one person in a photograph, don’t use two, use 3 or 5 or 7, etc. Of course this is a pretty silly notion for an engagement shoot, right? Or a wedding shoot. Or a family with only two kids. But when possible, when you are not just shooting real life but composing images (still life, family groups, flowers) remember the rule of odds. Studies have shown that people are actually more at ease and comfort when viewing imagery with an odd number of subjects. I’d be very interested to know the different opinions readers have for why that is. I’ll share mine in the comments below.

Rule of space – I used to get this rule mixed up with the rule of thirds. The rule of space probably comes naturally to you and you don’t even know it’s a rule of composition. The rule of space says that in order to portray movement, context and the idea that the photo is bigger than just the part that you’re seeing, you need to leave clutter free ‘white’ spaces. For example if you’re photographing a runner, give him a space to run into. Don’t photograph him with all the space in the world behind him because this doesn’t help the viewer  picture the forward motion & the space he has yet to run. If you’re making a portrait of a woman laughing at something not in the photo, leave space in the direction where she is laughing. This leads the viewer to wonder what’s just beyond the boundaries of the photo. What is she laughing at? The reason I got this mixed up with the rule of thirds is that naturally, when giving your subjects space, they will be placed in a third of the photo.

Viewpoint – Often referred to as POV, point of view is the most basic of composition rules. And it’s as simple as clicking the shutter. You are  your viewer. Your camera is their eye. If you photograph a dog at eye level, your viewer will be viewing the dog at eye level (which gives the idea/feeling of equality). If you photograph a dog from below, your viewer will be seeing the dog from below (a low shot gives the notion of dominance). If you photograph a dog from above, you are projecting a feeling of your viewer’s superiority in relation to the dog.

It’s Saturday morning, a beautiful day and your photography juices are flowing. Your trigger finger is itchy and you just want to get out and shoot photos. You pick up your gear bag, take a step towards the door and then stop. What are you going to shoot? The inspiration bank is suddenly empty.

I have been in this position often and my solution has always been to go to the ideas book I keep. Like a photo journal of thoughts and ideas. Always keep one with you and as soon as you get an idea, write it down. Out of this ideas book comes five photo ideas close to home. Why close to home? The more difficult it is to get to a location the less likely you are to go there so you need to make it easy.

1. In the Kitchen

Don’t laugh or discard this idea before trying it. I was standing in front of the sink the other day and realised a great photo opportunity was staring me in the face. There in two large jars was a variety of kitchen utensils just waiting to have their photo taken. Full of holes, texture, pattern and all shiny and bright with great reflective surfaces. The draws are full knives, forks and spoons. How much more could you ask for. If you have a macro lens, macro feature on your lens or compact camera then this is for you. Try it and see just how rewarding it can be. The kitchen is a great place to learn digital photography and the weather will never affect it. Just watch out for the water sprayer. But don’t just limit yourself to the kitchen, try the bathroom (not toilet) and other parts of the house.

2. The Garden

One step away from the front door is the garden. And, I’m not just talking flowers and insects here. Look around and see what there is. Get down low and explore the ground and you’ll be surprised what you see. The cracked pathway, a coiled hosepipe or a rusty hand trowel standing in a flower bed. Metal buckets, watering cans or wheelbarrows all have photo potential. Just be prepared to look and start seeing with a photographer’s eye. You will surprise yourself. Again, a macro lens will be great but you won’t necessarily need a macro feature.

3. The Driveway or Garage

Yes, still close to home and many opportunities. The family car if you have one, or, perhaps the neighbour’s motorcycle if you don’t, makes a great subject. Getting in close on the most boring car can give you images that you never thought were possible. Key here is to experiment with angles and get in as close as your lens will allow. Focus on colour, reflection and lines. Lie down on your back and shoot up. If the car is old then focus on damaged parts like rust. There are just so many little things you can shoot and when viewed up really close can give an amazingly abstract image.

4. The Park or Public Gardens

Around the corner for many of us is a park, public garden or kids play park just waiting to be photographed. Here you’ll find all sorts of objects from sculptures to water fountains, play equipment to stone walls. When you get there just sit and observe and try to see the potential photo opportunities. Allow yourself to start seeing rather than just looking around.

5. The Local flea or Street Market

Street photography is a real hot photo topic at the moment. Going into a flea market and shooting just anything, from people to colour to antiques and art are just some of the ideas. Be sensitive to people and when shooting close up ask their permission. You’ll find so much atmosphere and activity that will stimulate you to shoot many interesting subjects. This is a great place to learn digital photography because the opportunities and ideas are so diverse.

These five photo ideas close to home will hopefully inspire you as you learn digital photography and add skills to your photography journey. Shoot regularly and don’t allow a few obstacles to stop you taking great images.

1. Show Action

Use the shutter speed to your advantage and show action in your picture.  If you want to show your subject in motion, slow down your shutter speed.  For a clear crisp look at your subject in one moment of action, increase the shutter speed.

2. Into the Looking Glass

Use reflective surfaces like  water, mirrors, polished surfaces, and glass around your subject to add interest.  Incorporating reflections will bring a whole new look to your shot.

3. High ISO in Low Light

In low light conditions try to take advantage of the high ISO the latest cameras have to offer.  You can create dramatic pictures without using a flash.  Know your limitations though and beware of noise when you bump the ISO to a higher setting than your camera can handle.

4. Avoid Clichés

When you are getting out your camera to photograph an icon, ask yourself “How can I make this my shot unique or different”?  Another version of the same shot that’s been taken by millions may not be worth the time.

5. Focus it manually

In situations where you are very close to the subject or there is very little light, the camera may have trouble auto focusing.  Help the camera and your photo by focusing the shot yourself with manual settings.

6. Color creates Mood

Use color to bring out the mood of the scene.  Watch the colors and lighting changes as the day progresses from dawn til dusk.  You’ll be amazed how fast the mood can swing. Use the picture style style in your camera to bump up the saturation and contrast to enhance the shot. 10 minutes earlier this shot would not have been so colorful.

1) Camera Settings – Burst mode, Focal Points & Aperture Priority

When shooting any sports, make sure your camera is set to burst/continuous mode to keep up with movements of the players. This will save you having to press the button manually for every shot. Have your camera’s focus mode to AI servo mode which is made to shoot continuous movement & for panning.

Also ensuring all your focal points are active will make sure you have optimum chance of focusing on the player with the ball. When shooting sports it is ok to have the camera in Aperture Priority mode as we’re dealing with a really fast game and you need to be on the ball with exposure rather than having to always toggle the shutter speed manually.

2) Camera Settings – Shoot in JPG!

I personally shoot in jpg as opposed to RAW. When you’re taking so many continuous shots you’re going to want a maximum buffer speed. You’ll find when shooting soccer / netball tournaments, the parents buying the shots aren’t going to be too fussed on quality of the image as long as you captured something at the right time. A sporting tournament can get quite messy when you’re coming out and back off the field to download CF cards and you’re having to wait for the raw files to download.

3) Lens settings – 2.8 Is Almost An Essential!

You’re going to need a fast telephoto zoom lens when photographing sports. I shoot with a Canon 70-200 f/4 IS USM and I love it! Although indoor sports photography like bowling may require a 2.8 lens as you get another full stop of light in.

4) Lens settings – Image Stabiliser & Focus Mode

An absolute MUST when photographing sports photography is to have IS on your lens. You want to set your lens to Image Stabiliser Mode 2. Mode 1 is only made for still subjects & portraiture and won’t perform as well as the panning mode 2 in sporting situations. Have your focusing distance range set to 3m to Infinity mode instead of 1.2m to Infinity. This will make sure you have the fastest focusing possible.

5) Note The Time of Day

Soccer games usually run in the morning so if you’re aiming to sell prints after the game of the individual players be sure to spread out the range of players shot. There are certain players who like to step back more than others but it’s your responsibility as the photographer to record everyone and to maximise your profits.

Take note of where the sun is and make sure the sun is to your back when shooting. This will ensure you have your shutter speed on it’s maximum without having to worry about exposing for the faces of the players if you were shooting into the sun. I am willing to sacrifice a little squinting and panda eyes from the players to ensure I get the right exposure. After all if you don’t nail that exposure no one is going to care about panda eyes because there won’t be a shot.

Concentrate on shooting one team for the first half as they will be in the right position with the sun illuminating their fronts/faces. Then when half time is over aim to shoot all the players on the other team as they would have switched sides on the field.

6) No Eyes! No Shot!

When photographing sports, the key rule is to include the eyes of the subject and you can never fail. If you’re shooting the back of a player, STOP! ..Wait for them to turn around (or turn to another player on the field) ..and shoot when you have their eyes in the shot. The best shots in soccer are the headers and knee shots, as their eye level will typically be above parallel to the ground which is what we want. Whatever you do, don’t forget to photograph the goal keeper! He/she doesn’t have much interaction with the entire game, but the anticipation shots in between can still make great shots.

7) Include The Ball!

The eyes and the ball are two of the most important compositional elements in a shot. Then to add to the shot is the expression in the players face. Although it can be difficult to capture, parents of the players are more likely to buy a picture that includes the game ball in it.

8 ) Wear an Official Photographer Vest!

Make sure you wear a big yellow/orange vest to indicate to people you are the official sports photographer. A photographer in Wollongong, NSW taped a sign on his back saying ‘Request A Shot!’ and at least that indicates to them that they are welcome to pull you aside. If you are more open to people nagging you, (yes it will be a little annoying having to be pulled aside with parents saying ‘look out for my son, number 12!’) the more sales you will make from prints.

Good food photography induces a physical response. A really great food photo makes you hungry, makes you salivate, makes you want some for yourself.

All in all, it’s no surprise that the big food photography sites on the web like Tastespotting and Foodgawker are known as the food porn sites. Whether you are a recipe blogger, trying to write your family cookbook, or just stuck at home on a wet afternoon, there are a few simple tips that can make your food photos truly seductive.

1. Pick physically attractive stars
Sure, beauty comes from the inside, but until someone invents taste-o-vision, visual appearance will remain a critical part of food photography. And that means choosing fruit without bruises, lettuce without brown edges and meat that isn’t overcooked.

2.Don’t be afraid to enhance your assets

Food pornography isn’t about dieting and small portions, it’s about generous, even lavish quantities, and creating an idea of abundance.  If you have big cups to fill, and don’t have quite enough food, just use padding.  For example, by putting an upside down saucer or a tea cup into a bowl, it will make it easier to fill the bowl right to the top.

3. Consider the use of multiples.

Repetition of simple elements helps create the idea of abundance. One cookie on it’s own looks a little mean, a whole pile of cookies is much more enticing.

4. Think about a garnish

Garnishes are the lacy lingerie of the food world.  They may not be the main event but they add a little colour and a hint of what’s to come.  Consider a herb that is in the dish, a little chilli, or even just a sprinkling of black pepper to make an everyday meal seem more alluring.

5. Use flattering lighting

Poor lighting makes food look unappealing, especially the use of direct flash. You won’t find anyone in the adult entertainment industry working with the lights off and nor should aspiring food pornographers.  But you don’t need fancy camera equipment, daylight is perfect for food photography.  Don’t be shy to take the action outside.

6. Focus on the main event

Good food pornography tends to favour a shallow depth of field, really focusing on the action in the foreground.  Keep the background uncluttered, again, so that the focus is brought onto the food.

7. Find the “money” shot

Try both portrait and landscape mode when shooting. It can create a different feel to the finished photo.  If you are wanting to submit to one of the foodporn sites, you will need to crop the photo to a square format so it’s a good idea to keep this in mind from the beginning.

Above all, remember that food pornography is best shared.  Don’t  just sit there drooling over the computer screen, bake those cookies and enjoy them with someone special!