11. Watch a Sports Event
This is a great idea. One of my favourite things to do is to check out baseball games. It is one of my life's goals is to visit all 30 major league ballparks. I have been to eight ballparks already. It's fun to buy the cheap seats and sit in the upper deck because it allows you to wander around the area and take impressive wide-angle shots, such as this one of Dodger Stadium by sunset. Of all the stadium shots I've ever taken, this shot of Turner Field is by far and away my favourite:
So yeah, go to a baseball game and see what you can capture. I've also been to hockey and basketball games, but they are much harder to shoot because of poorer lighting conditions.
12. Visit the Zoo
Hey, here's an idea where you can probably get hundreds of shots. Don't forget to bring the telephoto lens(es) to capture portrait-like images of animals. And as the entrepreneur recommends, "you don’t have to try to squeeze your lens between the bars. Shooting the kids in awe at the monkeys can create some interesting images too." Speaking of visiting the zoo, it's on my to-do list to visit Zoo Atlanta soon.
13. Shoot Fast at a Race Track
I haven't been to a race track in a long, long time. However, what I can tell you is that it allows you an opportunity with a technique called panning. Basically pick a shutter speed that's a bit "slow" and move the camera and lens in the direction of the motion of the speedy car. Although difficult to perfect this technique, the finals results will be worth it in the end! Essentially, if you are successful, the main subject will be sharp against a blurred background. Again, the idea is to follow the subject as it passes in front of you and continue to follow it as you press the shutter button on your camera. Try it out sometime!
14. Visit an Exhibition
Visiting an exhibition is a lot of fun and very informative. Not only would you be exposed to creative techniques, but it's possible you'll end up talking to the photographers who made the picture happen. And how much more can you be inspired than by the artist himself?
15. Browse Google Images
I mentioned this idea in #7 (typing in "wedding photography" in google), but of course you can search for whatever you please. However, I actually will recommend against google images because so much stuff that comes up is garbage (low resolution or otherwise very crappy). I have a much better idea. Go to www.pbase.com, a site dedicated to hosting photos (usually by full-time photographers and excellent amateurs), and do a search (in the upper right there is a search box) for whatever you like. A search for "Yosemite" (as in Yosemite National Park) produces a gallery of tagged "Yosemite" images. And they are spectacular, such as this one of Yosemite in winter. So again, pbase.com is your friend for inspiration!
16. Join Flickr Groups
I won't comment on flickr too much because I don't spend much time there, but according to one photographer, "flickr is photography gone viral." I have checked out a few discussions and threads related to techniques for composition and lighting, and they have been very insightful. I'll probably switch over to flickr eventually (more exposure of my photography is always a good thing).
17. Just Step Back and Watch
This is such a great suggestion, and one with which I absolutely agree. Too many times I see photographers just snapping away, hoping to end up with a killer shot. But if you just sit back and explore the surroundings first, you'd be training your eyes to find something noteworthy to shoot. What I like to do is to hold my camera and lens on my shoulder (or in my photo bag) and walk around with the camera looking for photographing opportunities. As the photopreneur states, "Stepping back and watching the subject can reveal whole new sides. That’s true for portrait photographers, wedding photographers, animal photographers… in fact just about any photographer!" and I couldn't agree more.
18. Roam the World with Flickr Maps
The geo-tagged images on Flickr are pretty awesome. I was exploring images of Zion National Park the other day, and people post very accurate locations (for example, Angels Landing is certainly at a different location than the Temple of Sinawava, headway to the Narrows hike). Flickr Maps is a bit slow (certainly slower than Google maps), but it's a lot of fun exploring.
19. Change your Angle
This suggestion is pretty cool and something I enjoy experimenting with on a frequent basis. While on a recent vacation to St. Petersburg, Russia, I was photographing the area around the Winter Palace (Hermitage Museum). The area is absolutely breathtaking, but what really can set the image apart is if you get down on the ground and capture the cobblestone-covered street, with the Hermitage Museum in the background. And that's exactly what I did! It made for one dynamic image! Again, there's so much you can do by changing the angle!
20. Change your Time
I will admit that most of my shooting occurs in the daytime (I don't shoot enough in the dark). However, night photography is a lot of fun. During my recent visit to Zion National Park, I broke out the camera and tripod and captured a cool (or should I say hot?) scene of campers around their campfire:
If you are shooting with a digital SLR, and if you are going to explore night photography, make sure you use a tripod. Also, sometimes manual focus will be required. In that case, set your lens to the "infinity" mark to make sure everything you shoot will be in focus (this suggestion is applicable to landscape shots, in particular). If you're not keen on shooting in the dark (for whatever reason: you're afraid of the dark, you don't have or can't afford a tripod, etc.), try shooting in the early morning, just before and as the sun is coming out. Morning light is incredibly diffuse and creates an amazing backdrop to your images. Light is worst (for photography) in mid-afternoon, so I'd avoid shooting too much in the daytime. Again, experimentation is key! Just get out there and do something you haven't done before (incidentally, this suggestion applies to life in general), and who knows what wonders you will discover...
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