Top Canadian Photographer and Photo Coach Michael Willems shares his secrets, with a new post every day.
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Category Archives: Composition
Group Shot Technique
Ever had to take a group shot, like this one I toom of Kristen, Dan, and their wedding party in Jamaica last month? You have heard me mention these many times. They are both fun and rewarding. And to do them, … Continue reading
Posted in Composition, Picture of the day, Technique
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Props To You!
You can often make a shoot more fun by using props. Items. Even -or perhaps especially – in a studio shoot, like in the portrait shoot I did with a few young ladies the other day. So, what props, and … Continue reading
Shadows and creativity
Of course shadows can be good. As long as they are used well - meaning not the “drop shadow on the side” you get when you use the pop-up flash on your camera. That one is a no-no. But that … Continue reading
Posted in Composition, Picture of the day, Technique
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FTF
..or “Fill The Frame”. We like photos to be good, whihc often means both “draw attention to subject” and “get close” as well as “simple, without clutter”. Take, for example, this portrait photo, taken yesterday: Not bad. But now, look … Continue reading
Posted in Composition, Picture of the day, Technique
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Jamaica
As Bob Marley said: No want you come galang so; No want you fe galang so. You want come cold I up; But you can’t come cold I up (“I don’t want you to be like that / You want … Continue reading
Posted in Composition, Light, Picture of the day, Technique
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Details, details…
You have heard me say many times: details count. Very much so! So, when the camera position results in extraneous stuff, and it cannot be avoided at the time, as in this interview photo – taken last week, when I … Continue reading
Posted in Composition, Picture of the day
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Face it: you can do without faces
Following up from what I said yesterday: You can do without faces in portraits, and often it’s better, because the viewer, as I so often say here, has to put the story together in his or her mind. You see that I focused … Continue reading
Posted in Composition, Picture of the day, Technique
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Light
I shot a few pictures featuring light, Monday night. Light can be depressing. Light can show as bright, in courtyards that to us look pitch black. Just turn up the ISO, lower the f-number, and slow down the shutter speed: … Continue reading
Posted in Composition, Light, Picture of the day
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Ave Caesar
Why did I shoot this stature of a young Julius Caesar, who forgot to put on his pants, this way? Well… You might say “to make him look dramatic and powerful”. You might say “to emphasize my subjugation to the … Continue reading
Posted in Composition, Picture of the day
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Sam The Studio Man
When I prepare a tricky shot, I tend to use stand-in model while I work on light, so the model does not need to stand there for half an hour while I adjust and move lights. But these stand-in shots … Continue reading
Posted in Composition, Digital Darkroom, Light, Technique
Tagged desaturate, Flash, Nudes, portrait, Snoot, Studio
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