Welcome to Week Five of the Color, Click Capture Photography Challenge hosted by East9thStreet, A Helicopter Mom, Sunshine and Sippy Cups, and me. This week’s color is BLUE!
Summer is my second favorite season of the year. I love heading to the beach with my family and relaxing close to the beautiful blue waters of Cape Cod Bay. In a few short months, we’ll be back at it again!
This week’s tips come from Jen Villa, photographer, collage artist and owner of The Little Beach Gallery in Hyannis, Massachusetts. She is a trained photographer and alumni of the world-renowned photography school, Brooks Institute of Photography. She has been studying art for over fifteen years and worked as a food and editorial photographer for award-winning publication, The Santa Barbara Independent. Her photography and artwork have a very unique style and combine her love for the ocean and passion for travel.
Tip #1
Light is EVERYTHING!
Lighting really makes or breaks a photograph. A lack of light will leave the subject looking flat and produce a usually boring image.
I love using natural light whenever possible. It’s best if you can set your scene or subject (not always easy!) near a window and use warm light coming in from outside if you’re shooting inside. The highlights and details reflected are usually wonderful!
The best time of day to shoot is early morning and late afternoon. High noon sun is very harsh and creates shadows that usually create difficulties, especially when human subjects are involved. This isn’t always an option so if your shooting your subject outside at the peak of sunlight try to get them in “open shade” and you will have a more neutrally lit image.
Tip #2
Learn to operate your camera.
If you’re new to manual options on a digital camera, memorize your manual and EXPERIMENT!
Try out all the menu options.
Always remember to concentrate on getting the main subject matter in FOCUS. Without a sharp focus, you don’t have a good image.
Want to participate in our challenge? It’s super easy! Here’s how It Works:
- Take a picture the represents the color of the week.
- Write a blog post that features your picture and link it up.
- Visit other people’s posts and hopefully find some inspiration!
- You can put the button and link code on your blog if you wish but it’s not a requirement.
Our color for next week is PURPLE!
I’ve been meaning to get a new camera. I think summer is the best reason to do it.
That is beautiful!
Blue
Oh, so relaxing and peaceful… wish I was there!
Very pretty and makes me long for the nicer weather!
I’ve never been to Cape Cod. It’s on my bucket list, along with 10 million other things!
Such a pretty shot. I just love all the different blues you picked up: the gradient blues of the sky, the hard band of navy blue at the horizon, the blue-greens of the water… Wonderful!