Sarah Latour

Getting a professional look to your landscape photographs then, is as much a challenge as it is a pleasure when the praise starts coming in: realistic, awesome or inspiring results can be achieved with the right lighting and angles but it does call for patience and some amount of dedicated practice to learn the use of basic equipment and techniques of outdoor photography.

The techniques of outdoor landscape photography differ vastly from indoor or studio photography techniques and so does the lighting and equipment needed to get good results. Once, the hobby photographer has learned the importance of using the right equipment in the correct manner, landscape photography is no longer a mystery to someone who applies the knowledge of art and a passion for capturing a landscape in a way that it speaks to the observer.

You too can learn to deliver artful messages to the viewer through your work, the way in which you present a shot or series of shots so that it moves your viewer to feel something for the work. Whatever message you want to portray should be clear to the viewer through the mood setting dominant in your landscape photograph and so the main details you need to pay special attention to are the kind of lighting you are focusing the camera angle in, existence of any shadows (sometimes even shadow-plays give great results for a dreamy, fantastic or even mystical mood setting, but this requires a lot of practice to achieve – and sometimes, just weather-luck) besides necessary equipment.

If you choose to use B/W film for landscape, this is a really demanding medium for the photography of nature since true artistry is difficult to attain through this as there is little reliance on colors beyond black and white and so the dependence of the picture looking eye-catching is mostly on any shadows the image creates. This is why composition is an important part of landscape photography: the picture should have certain sharp edges, tones and textures to alleviate the sense of lacking colors but still having character.

The foundation of B/W photography is getting the camera to capture what the eye actually views in color and also to highlight a definite portion and let shadows play on another section; varied angles of buildings and water have made for great black and white photography in the past and you can try your luck with this aspect too.

On the other hand, even trees and rocks, bridges and natural ridges, land formations and man-made buildings against a natural backdrop make for an interesting contrast say, like contradictions existing peacefully alongside and so draw the eye to this play of opposites.

A photographer can use various angles to give a sharp or even soft contrast to the effect one desires and evoke definite emotion in the viewer simply by allowing for a touch of color play, if taking to color photography in subtle tones. Natural lighting required for landscape photography makes for easier candid shots to be captured by color films and thus, many hobbyists prefer taking up Digital photography that allows them to evaluate the quality of the picture before committing it to print as the LCD screen shows them most important aspects of the picture’s focus, which goes a long way to ensure a perfect picture.

So, as an amateur photographer, you need to put in some amount of practice with your basic photography equipment and learn best angles, focus points, time of day and spots to pick out for getting consistent results each time – to breathe in life into your landscape photos!

Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/photography-articles/landscape-photography-catching-the-professional-look-739814.html

Portrait photography is usually used at functions such as birthdays, graduations and weddings and is used to hang decoratively on the wall in a way to look good and to intrigue people. These prints are normally blown up for a better effect and put in lovely looking frames to make the best of the photos.

As a general rule, portrait photography focuses mostly on the face of the model, but can involve the shoulders and even more of the body if requested from the photography professional. Portrait photography is a great way to capture the mood and emotion of a particular moment and provide great memories that can be remembered and looked at over and over again.

Unlike some of the other types of photography like landscape and wildlife, portrait photography became very popular when the camera was first discovered as people enjoyed taking lots of photos of their family and loved ones. It was a way of remembering and capturing the pure love and emotion of one single moment forever. They could also be hung on the wall in frames or put into photo albums so that other people that were visiting could admire the prints as well. Back in this time, however, the portrait photography was just black and white and not in colour, which is what we have got used to in modern times. However, for a better and more effective style of portrait photography, the photography professional is very often asked to take photos that are in black and white, and these look great when hung on a wall or placed in a photo frame. It is a very effective look, but unfortunately, not as forgiving for errors as colour photos tend to be.

As portrait photography grew more and more popular, the art of taking photos became more individual, leading to photography professionals creating their own personal styles. Different types of photography grew in popularity as well, leading to prints of landscapes and wildlife and other such things to make more modern and stylish wall hangings. People started to desire more dramatic backdrops for their portrait photography, and also different poses as well.

Any photography professional that is any good will know that people have different tastes and different styles and should accommodate for this when taking the photos. They are there to serve the people ordering the prints and should do exactly what is requested from them. Portrait photography has grown massively, and now there is a demand for photos for weddings, new babies, family portraits, graduations and suchlike.

These prints do not have to be massively expensive, but you will have to pay for the services that you get, so the more prints you want and the better you want them, as well as the size that you request will make the rate for your payment, and it is worth thinking of this when you decide on exactly what it is that you want.

Portrait photography makes for wonderful gifts for family and loved ones and should be thought about in the coming up of special occasions like birthdays, Christmas, wedding anniversaries and such like.

David