Summer is already here, and so are those awaited summer photography tips. For those taking your summer vacation, whether in or outside your home spaces with your loved ones (or alone), you might need some summer photography tips to capture the perfect moment that will stay with you for years to come. With this in mind, and in order to help you out with your summer moments, one of Dubai’s top photographer Jef Anog decided to share with us the best kept secrets and tips for your summer photography, that will freeze time in place.
Here are the top 10 best-kept secrets of summer photography which anyone who loves taking photos can learn from, according to Jef.
See the Light: Photography is all about lighting. Pay attention to how much light you have and the sources of it. Learning how to see the light is essential to develop your skills in photography. Being able to determine the direction, temperature, and intensity of the available light will help you know how to position your subject and which camera settings to use. If you are going to shoot outdoor using the sun as your main light source, be cautious not to take photos of a person when the sun is at their back. However, if you’re taking a photo in front of a stunning tower and you’re unlucky to move in another position you can use the camera’s flash or a reflector to fill in shadows.
Right Camera Mode: Your camera has different shooting modes, ranging from manual operation to very specific scene modes. If you’re into sport or any activity with fast movements you can use Shutter Priority (“S”) mode and put at least 1/125 second to freeze the action. If you are in low light situations, you can use Aperture Priority (“A”) and put the widest aperture (smallest F number) to make sure more light is entering the lens as possible. Try to avoid using Automatic or P mode, since it does not give you much control over the exposure.
Compose Your Images: I think the heart of a photograph is its composition—how you compose or place different elements in the single frame. The easiest way is to follow the Rule of Thirds, imagine four lines, two lying horizontally across the image and two vertical creating nine even squares. Try and align the subject along these lines and intersections and it will give you a more dramatic interesting shot than the boring centered subject. Most of the cameras have a rule of thirds grid overlay that you can activate when shooting.
Use Simple Backgrounds: It is a very simple approach that works perfectly in digital photography. You just need to decide what needs to be in the frame and avoid anything that is a distraction. Choose background with neutral colors and simple patterns as much as possible. This is very important especially when you place the model off center.
Sense of Depth: If you are into beautiful sceneries or landscape photographs, you definitely want your viewer to feel like they are also present in that place. Create a sense of depth by using a small aperture of f/16 or smaller so that everything in the image is sharp. Placing an object or person in the foreground gives a sense of scale and emphasizes how far away the distance is. Use a tripod if possible because small aperture usually requires a slower shutter speed.
The White Balance: Paying attention to the white balance settings will give you a more stunning image with accurate colors. If the white balance is even slightly off, it can produce a highly noticeable bluish or reddish shade appear in an overall picture. In order to set the correct white balance, first is to take a picture of a white piece of paper or a gray card. Second, tell your camera which neutral image corresponds to the correct white balance. It all depends on the camera make and model you’re using, but the basic process is pretty much the same. Go the main menu, pick white balance, and then pick manual. Under manual white balance, there’s an option to use a reference shot from your camera’s memory. Pick that one, and then find the image you just took. Your white balance is now calibrated for the situation right in front of you!
Use Flash Wisely: Sometimes using flash in an indoor shoot results in harsh and unnatural portraits. Therefore, there are various ways you can take an image indoors without too much harsh lighting. First, use the widest aperture as possible – this way more ‘light’ will reach the sensor and you will have a nice blurred background. 
Also, you need to set the ISO range from ISO 800 to 1600. Using a tripod or an I.S. (Image Stabilization) lens is also a great way to avoid blur. And finally, adding just a little bit of flash, ‘light’ makes it possible to fill in shadows and will give you a more natural-looking photo. You can also point the flash at the ceiling or a side wall and bounce the flash onto the model to get significantly softer and more flattering light.
Use a Tripod: A tripod only takes seconds to erect and adjust, yet it can support your camera in the perfect position for however long you wish, helping you to take great images. Using a tripod will allow you to set up framing, and can come in handy—along with your camera’s self-timer—for getting that shot of you in front of an iconic tower.
Consider a Retouch: It is not “cheating” if you retouch your images. Getting your photos right in-camera is the main goal, but it is not a crime if you do a bit of retouching. Performing some very basic editing on a photo can help improve its quality drastically. Cropping a bit can help with composition, and you can also rotate a photo so that horizon lines are straight. Consider using a free photo editing program like Pixlr, GIMP or Picasa for your photos.
Quality over Quantity for your summer photography
It is very important to choose the best from the best in your set of images. You can take hundreds of photos of one perfect subject but don’t flood your social media accounts by uploading all of those images. You should spend some time going through your shots to select the best and eliminate photos that may be out of focus or poorly composed. It’s always good to show just one image or two for your viewers not become bored seeing multiple images with almost the same composition.
According to Jef, a picture paints a thousand words and then some. “Images are very important as sometimes it is the only thing that never changes over time, and we need these keepsakes to help us remember and treasure the special moments captured by one single click.”
I will be featuring Jef’s beautiful photography story in another post. But just to give you a snippet on this lenseman, Jef is known for working with famous celebrities such as Haleema Boland and Alina Blinova and fashion designers such as Michael Cinco and Ezra Santos. His images have been featured on the covers of numerous magazines and publications.
What do you think of these great summer photography tips? Share with us your own tips so that we do not miss a thing while capturing these perfect moments.
xoxo
About the Author
- Esther Lackie
- Aesthetics enthusiast, in love with running; marketing and PR pro during the day, an amateur chef and wine taster behind closed doors.
