If you’re using a dSLR, put your left hand below, supporting the base of the camera, with the index finger and thumb positioned to adjust focus/zoom. Support your left elbow with your chest and grip the camera body firmly with your right hand, positioning your right index finger above the shutter release.

Posture is important too. Stand firm and erect with your feet spread apart a bit. Do not lean forward, this will make your stance unsteady. Standing straight and with good posture will also reduce strain on your back, especially if you’re carrying a lot of gear.

Do you have other tips on how to hold your camera? Drop ‘em in the comments.

We Support: Whitespace For Design, Technology, Business, Process & Culture.

If you’re one of those who’s already read this post, why don’t you join in the fun? Add a tip in the comments; I’m sure we’ll all be able to learn something. Now, here’s the post:

Here are some thoughts that I’ve had while shooting on assignment during the last 2-3 months…

1. Make a checklist…
2. Check the checklist to make sure you’ve got everything you need.
3. Check that you’ve checked the checklist. Remember Santa… He made lists too…
4. Always take more equipment than necessary for the shoot.
5. Having someone on hand to assist you, and make sure that you have the equipment where you want it, and make sure you don’t leave anything behind is a great thing. Take a friend along if nobody else.
6. Stay Professional.
7. Stay Funny. It keeps people smiling, and your models pliant.
8. Things will go wrong. When they do, breathe deeply, think of the problem and figure out how to fix or bypass it.
9. Keep the Client satisfied, this may mean that you’ll have to take pictures that you wouldn’t take if you were shooting by yourself… Take them anyway…
10. Make sure you get the shots you want, even if they’re the ones that client said no to… they may actually like them!
11. Remember to have fun… if you’re not having fun, then you’ve got to change something.
12. Plan the entire shoot out.
13. Make a list of shots that you need to take, put down the additional ones to (the ones you think the client may not like, but think that you need to take anyway)
14. Get to the location on time.
15. If you can’t be there on time, blame it on the complexity of the job at hand and the tough choices you’ve had to make when it came to equipment selection.
16. Don’t blame the traffic, most likely your client got there the same way that you did.
17. If you find yourself shooting for one client while you’re supposed to be at another client’s location shoot, do the same as point 2. But remember to finish off the assignment at hand to the client’s satisfaction first.
18. Remember not to take on rush jobs in the first place. They can quickly get messy and will most likely entail more work than you thought they would.

There are a lot more where these came from, but I’d like to hear from you… do you have anything you’d like to add?

We hit 1000 subscribers a couple of times last month. But RSS feed subscription numbers are not absolute. They fluctuate often, sometimes going down, sometimes going up, based on daily feed views (not acutal subscriptions); so I preferred to err on the side of caution before making this announcement!

I decided to use the benchmark of 1000 subscribers over a period of one week; and we just managed to achieve that with your help (8 days now, actually)!

Wow, I’m thrilled about your support! For a blogger who does not post all that often, you’ve shown me a great deal of it. Thank you!

With a Little Help From my Friends

Through our transition from Photography Tip to Beyond Phototips, I’ve had some support from some wonderful bloggers, Brian Auer from Epic Edits Weblog and Umesh Gopinath from Whitespace have been a continual source of motivation. There are others too, but too numerous to mention, and some without a blog for you to check out… However, If you’re one of them, you know…

The graph below shows the steady increase in RSS subscriptions from when Beyond Phototips used to be Photography Tip till the 6th of May, 2008.

The large jump that you see from around 230 subscribers to around 550 subscribers in November 2007 is mainly attributed to Brian’s post about his favourite photography blogs and their RSS feeds.

You’ll find Beyond Phototips listed there at 31 under the name “Photography Tip“. This was before we moved from the blogger platform to an independent domain. BTW, Brian’s site comes up as a “Highly Recommended RSS” addition to your feed reader.

Whats coming…

My work as a Web Designer / Photographer does not give me much time to write for Beyond Phototips, but it is enormously encouraging to see this kind of support for whatever little that I do write. I suppose its also a good reason to try to make some more time in my schedule to write a bit more.

I’m going to take this opportunity to let you all know that I’m working on a new series of posts that I hope will be revealing to some, and engaging for all of you. What is it about? Check your feed reader one of these days, and you’ll find out!

Thanks for the great times so far, but I’m curious to see where this goes in the future. I hope you choose to stick around for the ride!

About RSS Feeds

If you’re wondering what all the fuss is about RSS subscribers, here are a couple of links to help you out, also do remember to come back and subscribe to the Beyond Phototips RSS feed, once you’re done. You could also sign up to receive our posts in your email.

• RSS in Plain English (Recommended Video)
  
• Getting Started with RSS

Also, do remember that your feedback means a lot to me. If you ever want to request a post about a particular topic, do leave a note in the comments, shoot me a mail (at susheel <at> beyondphototips.com) or catch me online at my twitter account. While I cant promise that I will write about it, I certainly will try to fill that request.

The area where you make money, may not be the branch of photography dearest to your heart! When you make enough money … you can shoot to your hearts desire!

Happy Shooting…

But what of those times where you’ve found yourself forced to wait, with nothing to do but to twiddle your thumbs; like when you’re waiting for a bus, a train, or an airplane that’s delayed? Could you use this time to improve your photography, instead of letting your brain cells die a boring death?

Well lets say, you’re waiting for a bus, or waiting for a table at your favourite lunch spot. You don’t have your handy-dandy pocket book, and you’ve left your work at the workplace (a handy place to leave it). You do have your cell phone though, and your phone does have a camera. How handy! Here are a couple of things to do with your cell phone, to improve your eye for photographs, and make you a better photographer!

1. Try Impossible angles: Camera Phones fit in your hand… Your hand fits in places where your head would never go.. Use your hand.

Try putting your hand in a large jar; what does it see? Raise your hand out of your car window, hold it out of your bedroom window, hold it near your skates when you’re skating, hold it 3 feet out of a balcony and look down; you’re likely to find a whole new world, and its all in your hands…

2. Go Abstract: Try to find the unusual in the usual. This is one of those times to “see” the unusual. Many of us try to pick out the unusual only when we’re with a camera - in “camera mode”. Wouldn’t it be more fun if you could do that all the time, now that your cameraphone is with you, in your pocket?

Look for that abstract representation… bubbles in a paperweight, Streaks of coloured light on a wall, Markings on a road taken out of context, they’re all out there for you to discover, and you don’t even need a camera… Just your mobile phone, your cameraphone!

3. Take a Photograph - practice composition: No, not a snapshot, a photograph! See it, think it through… Picture it in your head… Then take the photograph. Look for interesting perspectives, and even more interesting juxtapositions; waiting in an airport has never been more rewarding than now.

4. Try a Panorama: Some camera phones offer the option of making panoramas… They’re a good thing to try, because they offer you a view that you very rarely ever see. I believe that they make you look at the place you’re standing at with a “wider” perspective.

5. Go Back to Basics: Photography students are asked to take photographs of textures, patterns and such, in an effort to make them understand their importance and to teach them how to incorporate them into their regular photographs for heightened impact. You could do the same.

6. Try New Points of View: Ever wondered what your dog or cat sees from its height? You spend hours watching your TV; what does it see? What does your fridge see when you peer into it? Try to simulate this stuff with your cameraphone..

7. Discover: Your cameraphone is with you more often than your camera. Use it to keep records of places and things that you discover. Rename the files immediately so that you remember where / what it is.

8. Try Some Portraits: Bus stops have this great quality about them… They’re a collecting point for people. The same goes for train stations, subways, and airports. If you ever find yourself stuck at one of them waiting for a bus, train or airplane, all you have to do is whip out your mobile phone. It is always a challenge to approach somebody you’ve never met before, especially in a public place where they’re not expecting to be approached, but if you think you can, then go for it. Alternatively, you could take some candid street photography.

9. Record Yourself: Self portraits have always been an intriguing art, and a defining record of who you are, and what you were. Try them out to remind yourself of that…

10. Find Objects: Cities are great places to find interesting things. They’re literally strewn around alleyways, waiting for you to find them and photograph them…

11. Make a Montage: You’ve got the camera, you’ve got the flash memory storage in your phone… why dont you make a montage of everything that’s happening around you?

There are so many more things that you can do in the “camera” mode of your camera phone… These are just a few of them. Do you have some other favourite function for your phone? Let us know!

Yes, its been a month since the last poll, where you answered the question “How often do you take photographs?” The response was better than I’d hoped! Unfortunately, a tonne of work and a short holiday in the hills have kept me from following it up…

This time we ask you, What do you photograph most often?

Is it your family? Or is it something else? Do you use photography as part of a different passion such as documenting your unique collection of moths?

Do you have a unique area of interest in photography itself? If so, do add it to the poll, we’d love to know what you do with your camera. Drop in a link to some of the photographs that are dearest to you in the comments (No spam, please - I’ll make sure the links are relevant and appropriate). You could also give us some reasons why your attention is drawn to a particular kind of photography!

EDIT: Shikha Pointed out that I’d left out some important categories. I’ve added them in. Do take another peek.

Decide what you like to shoot. It may be Birds … Historical Ruins … the Female Form … Portraits; or any one of the good subjects you have around you!

Next… decide what you are really good at shooting! Like Portraits … if you can capture the incredible range of emotions on the Human Face … or may be the real beauty of the human Form.

What ever it is, know what you like to shoot and what you are really good at photographing … and know the difference.

Happy Shooting!

5 Tips for Directing Models
Tips for making people relax, who might not be comfortable in front of a camera. This goes perfectly with my last post.

Getting those Portraits right, once and for all
Some interesting pose-related tips for taking better portraits.

Approach to Taking a Portrait
Different people, Same needs when you’re taking a photograph. How to get through to the person being photographed.

Wired Magazine’s top 10 Reader Self Portraits
Some really interesting self portraits here.

About a Pair of Green Eyes
A beginner’s first portrait photo-shoot.

All these just off the first page!

Photo: TopGun2000

Possibly because they looked at the photographer, through the lens.

When you’re taking portraits, the most difficult thing to do, and the most important, is to get a great connection between you and the sitter.

After all, your intention is to convey the personality of the person in front of the lens. How do you do this? They’re usually pre-occupied with the makeup, their hair, their clothes… whether you’re going to show them as they are, or going to show them as they don’t want to be shown… How do you get them to get out of their shell, so that you can get “The Shot”?

WHEN DO YOU GET ‘THE SHOT’?

When your sitter looks at you… Not at the camera, not at the lens, not at a black something… When the sitter looks at you; through the lens! Then you’ve got it. That’s when your connection with the sitter comes through… Through the lens, to the photograph. It gives them life, it gives them personality, it makes the photograph real.

HOW DO YOU DO THAT?

Keep it real. Keep that inter-personal connection real. Make it last. If you don’t care, its apparent that you don’t really care about your work; they’re not going to either.

Get the technique out of the way. If you’re constantly fiddling with the lights, or your camera, your sitter is constantly reminded of the unnatural situation that they’re in… In front of the lights, or in front of a camera. It only helps them get more nervous. Get your technique worked out in the days before the shoot, and you’ll be able to focus more on that connection!

Make them laugh. Laughter helps create a bond, especially when the time in which to create that bond and bring out those really interesting expressions is very limited. Keep your session light hearted, and you’re likely to gain their trust; and get that photograph.

Take a lot of photographs. If you take only a few photographs, its likely that each of those photographs is going to become an “event”, bringing your sitter’s focus back to the camera, and not to you. When you become the “event” then the sitter is more likely to look at you. Not the camera, not the lens… you can take a cue from the previous tip.

Photo: Simon Pais-ThomasLet them loosen up. Usually, the best shots from a session happen towards the end. Unless the sitter is a professional model, its always difficult to open up and be themselves. Being in front of the camera is difficult if you’re not experienced. Get the sitter to talk, chat, tell a few jokes, let them loosen up and lose that rigidity!

Let it go… Some people just don’t like to be photographed. They may have come to you for a portrait, or for a commercial shoot, but sometimes, they just don’t have what it takes to be themselves in front of the lens. This is usually where the photographer’s people skills and experience comes in to play, but sometimes, you just cant get a photograph with real connect, because they’re not connected! So let it go.

This post was inspired from an interview with British Celebrity photographer Rankin (some of it NSFW) do head over to his website to read the full interview and see his brilliant work.

Here are some links to some beautiful portraits with connect.

Here are a couple more links to get you started off on your portrait photography!

• A collection of Portrait tips from DPS
• 5 Technical tips for better Portraits
• Top Five Tips For Better Portraits
• The portrait photographer’s motivation

I hope that this gets you started off on some really interesting portraits. We’d love to hear from you if you have some more ideas… Do mail me, or leave a comment.

If you liked this post, and would like to receive more like it, do subscribe to the Beyond Phototips RSS feed.

I got to put together a nice pie chart before doing a rough analysis of the results!

Now for the Deconstruction:

This is how the numbers looked at the end of the week, with most photographers taking pictures every week [33 of them! / 42%]. The second group was a tie… 15 [19%] each shot every day, and “from time-to-time”.

What is interesting is that there are some people out there who shoot up to 100 pictures a day. Eric, commented that though he’d put down that he shot over 10,000 images a year, it does not say much for the quality of pictures.

I’d like to briefly mention that with each photograph that you take, if you analyse your composition, the light available, and your exposure (think of those three to start with) and think of ways to improve your reaction to that situation, you’ll always end up with better photographs at the end of those 10,000 and a year…

Cheers to all of you who took part! Do look for the next poll, coming this Friday!