Here are two photo tips that will quickly boost your landscape photography - or any outdoor photos - to a whole new level. Use filters and rubber bands!
Photo Tip #1… Use filters in your photography!
Filters are an indispensable addition to any quality photo and most top shooters use them on virtually every shot!
With digital photography taking over the photo world, too many of us are using a point and shoot - camera on automatic - approach. Since there are no film development costs, we'll fire off hundreds or even thousands of shots in the hopes that we will get one good one.
Too often, we don't. This method has dramatically reduced the photography skill set over the last few years and it is going to get even worse.
Rather than learn to be great photographers, we are learning to be great at "fixing" photos in Photoshop.
I have nothing against Photoshop, but it should be used as a "tweak" in photography. Not a fix.
One of the "tweaks" we will frequently use Photoshop to insert is the effect of filters.
Photoshop is great at that if you simply want a color wash across the whole image!
But there are a few filters where it is best to have them on your lens rather than try to add the effect later. You could spend hundreds of hours on each photo trying to seamlessly add them.
UV filters, polarizers and neutral density filters.
These filters are a MUST HAVE for any camera bag! The UV filter will help protect your lens from scratches, etc. and can be removed before shooting if you want the sharpest images. Polarizers, remove glare from shiny objects, and give us far better skies. It's hard to imagine shooting an outdoor photo without one. And neutral density filters give us increased control over shutter speed and so on.
The best shooters wouldn't dream of not having these filters in their camera bag. But sometimes there can be a problem.
Photo Tip #2… Keep A Rubber Band Handy!
When you are using filters that screw onto the front of your lens - sooner or later you will run into the problem of wanting to remove it, but it won't unscrew. It's stuck!
Here's what you do…
Take a rubber band and wrap it around the filter. This will give you enough grip to get it started turning.
Where to keep your rubber band?
You can keep one in your camera bag so it is always handy, but here is an even better option - wrap it around your wallet! Or do both.
If you keep your wallet in your pocket, wrapping a rubber band around it makes it almost impossible for a pick-pocket to get the wallet out of your pocket! Try it; you'll see what I mean!
If you keep your wallet in a purse, there is less protection, but it still makes it harder to get the wallet out of your purse surreptitiously.
These two simple tips - use filters in your photography and keep a rubber band handy in case you can't get the filter off - are just a couple more ways to take your outdoor, landscape photography to a whole new level. For more information, check out the resources box!
Photo Tip #1… Use filters in your photography!
Filters are an indispensable addition to any quality photo and most top shooters use them on virtually every shot!
With digital photography taking over the photo world, too many of us are using a point and shoot - camera on automatic - approach. Since there are no film development costs, we'll fire off hundreds or even thousands of shots in the hopes that we will get one good one.
Too often, we don't. This method has dramatically reduced the photography skill set over the last few years and it is going to get even worse.
Rather than learn to be great photographers, we are learning to be great at "fixing" photos in Photoshop.
I have nothing against Photoshop, but it should be used as a "tweak" in photography. Not a fix.
One of the "tweaks" we will frequently use Photoshop to insert is the effect of filters.
Photoshop is great at that if you simply want a color wash across the whole image!
But there are a few filters where it is best to have them on your lens rather than try to add the effect later. You could spend hundreds of hours on each photo trying to seamlessly add them.
UV filters, polarizers and neutral density filters.
These filters are a MUST HAVE for any camera bag! The UV filter will help protect your lens from scratches, etc. and can be removed before shooting if you want the sharpest images. Polarizers, remove glare from shiny objects, and give us far better skies. It's hard to imagine shooting an outdoor photo without one. And neutral density filters give us increased control over shutter speed and so on.
The best shooters wouldn't dream of not having these filters in their camera bag. But sometimes there can be a problem.
Photo Tip #2… Keep A Rubber Band Handy!
When you are using filters that screw onto the front of your lens - sooner or later you will run into the problem of wanting to remove it, but it won't unscrew. It's stuck!
Here's what you do…
Take a rubber band and wrap it around the filter. This will give you enough grip to get it started turning.
Where to keep your rubber band?
You can keep one in your camera bag so it is always handy, but here is an even better option - wrap it around your wallet! Or do both.
If you keep your wallet in your pocket, wrapping a rubber band around it makes it almost impossible for a pick-pocket to get the wallet out of your pocket! Try it; you'll see what I mean!
If you keep your wallet in a purse, there is less protection, but it still makes it harder to get the wallet out of your purse surreptitiously.
These two simple tips - use filters in your photography and keep a rubber band handy in case you can't get the filter off - are just a couple more ways to take your outdoor, landscape photography to a whole new level. For more information, check out the resources box!
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