one of my most memorable photography outings happened on a whim back in 2012, when i first got a dslr. i had gone into the city for the day and stumbled upon the korean war veterans memorial, located near the lincoln monument. the special thing about this outing was the people who were visiting the memorial at the same time i was. they were veterans, a entire group of them. and to say it was humbling would be an understatement. little did i know when i ventured out that day that my simple tourist photography would take a beautiful turn as i instead embraced the patriotism that surrounded me. as you think about photographing patriotism, here are some tips for things to keep in mind.
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Photographing Patriotism : How To Embrace Patriotism Within Your Photos
.jpg "Photographing Patriotism : How To Embrace Patriotism Within Your Photos | Bethadilly Photography")
Incorporate Your Flag
while the flag doesn’t have to be the focal point of your image, look for creative ways to incorporate it into your image as you are photographing patriotism. it is one of the greatest symbols of patriotism and can create a very strong image. in the image above, i photographed our american flag from behind one of the solider statues, softly blurring it in the background. i love that it evokes patriotism, in that it looks like the solider is looking at his flag.
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Photograph Veterans
there is nobody more patriotic than the men and women who serve our country. find ways to incorporate our veterans into your photos as you are photographing patriotism. the photo above is one of the photos in my portfolio that i am most proud of. while visiting the korean war veterans memorial, i noticed a veteran sitting in a wheelchair, simply taking in the memorial. i was so inspired by him and often wish i would have asked him to tell me his story.
i purposefully placed my focal point on the statue, allowing the man to fall into the blur of the background because i felt that the statue was telling the story of why this gentleman was visiting the memorial. the statues were his focal point, and therefore mine.
.jpg "Photographing Patriotism : How To Embrace Patriotism Within Your Photos | Bethadilly Photography")
Photograph People Being Patriotic
we show our patriotism in a variety of ways. whether it is by visiting a memorial, waving a flag, or gathering together to show patriotic support. note how others show their patriotism. maybe this looks like a patriotic wreath hanging on someone’s front door or a more formal patriotic ceremony. when photographing patriotism, be sure to be observant with your camera and photograph what patriotism looks like to other people. one of the easiest ways to photograph patriotism is to simply be observant.
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with the photography skill for week 17 of The Bethadilly 52 being framing, i was looking out for opportunities to frame my little girl in her surroundings all week. and this week, it happened to mean also photographing a major milestone as well! for the past couple of weeks, our little one has been trying to pull up on things and getting herself up on her knees. as a new mama, this comes with a lot of gasping on my end as i am so terrified of her getting high off the ground!
i decided to place her in her crib, as a way of framing her within the crib rails as she played and crawled around. but then, she stood! she just grabbed right on to the side of her crib and pulled herself up. and i was right there, will my camera in hand! of course, i took this photo really quick and rushed to her, fearing she would fall. but she didn’t. it’s moments like these that remind me why i am so thankful that i always have my camera handy. because years from now, i will look back on this photo and be able to relive the moment she stood for the first time.
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The Bethadilly 52 Week 17 – Framing
.jpg "The Bethadilly 52 Week 17 - Framing | Bethadilly Photography")
this photo was achieved using : nikon d750 and sigma art 24mm f/1.4 lens.
my settings were : ISO 800 | f/2.0 | 1/100ss
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to learn more about framing your subject, be sure to read how the use of framing makes your images stronger.
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i will be honest, macro photography isn’t something that i do daily, or even weekly. not because i don’t love it, it just isn’t something that i think to do. i am more of a pullback girl, instead of an unclose girl. but when i do take macro type shots, i am always really inspired by them. there is something so eye opening about macro, as we are given a closer look into the tiny details of ordinary things.
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macro photography is really popular and photographers grab their macro lenses for subjects like tiny baby toes or the delicate details found within nature. while i don’t have a macro lens, i have found ways to get up close photos with the lenses i do own. while macro lenses definitely earn their praise, it is possible to still capture crisp details with other lenses too. as you begin to explore macro photography, here are some fun lenses you could try using for those beautiful detailed shots.
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Macro Photography : Fun Lenses To Try For Macro Photography
.jpg "Macro Photography : Fun Lenses To Try For Macro Photography | Bethadilly Photography")
nikon d750 and nikon 105mm f/2.8 lens
A Macro Lens
an obvious lens choice for macro photography is a macro lens. while i don’t own a macro lens, my friend allowed me to borrow her nikon 105mm f/2.8 lens after my daughter was born. after asking my friend for some focusing advice, i had a lot of fun with it and found that it was easiest to get crisp shots if i manually focused the lens, instead of leaving it on autofocus. the photo above of my little girl sticking out her tongue is one of my favorite images.
.jpg "Macro Photography : Fun Lenses To Try For Macro Photography | Bethadilly Photography")
nikon d750 and sigma 24mm f/1.4 art lens
My Everyday Lens
during an outing to see this year’s cherry blossoms in washington dc, i knew i wanted to get a few detailed photos of the cherry blossoms but wasn’t sure i was going to be able to accomplish it with my wide angle lens that i was bringing. always being one to simply try, i decided to try getting some closer detailed photos of the blossoms and, while they aren’t as tight as a macro lens, i was really happy with the macro like feel i was able to achieve. i was happy to know that i could achieve some crisp and close detailed images with a wide angle lens!
.jpg "Macro Photography : Fun Lenses To Try For Macro Photography | Bethadilly Photography")
nikon d750 and sigma 24mm f/1.4 art lens
.jpg "Macro Photography : Fun Lenses To Try For Macro Photography | Bethadilly Photography")
nikon d750 and sigma 24mm f/1.4 art lens
A Macro Lens For Your Smart Phone
during a vacation with my family, i decided to leave my camera home and the only camera i had was on my iPhone. because i knew there would be some fun flowers that i would like to try some macro on, i brought my aukey lens kit that has a macro lens attachment for my iPhone. it’s a really affordable option for macro! the image below is of a flower that was smaller than my pinkly fingernail, that was brought to life with the macro attachment for my phone.
.jpg "Macro Photography : Fun Lenses To Try For Macro Photography | Bethadilly Photography")
aukey lens attachment for iPhone
if you don’t have a macro lens, there are definitely other ways you can get some beautiful detailed photos of your subject. if you want to get even closer to your subject, try manually focusing your lens to achieve focus up close. i found this to be a very helpful tip that allowed me to get closer to my subject, while maintaining focus when my lens couldn’t quite grab focus for me because of my close distance. have you achieved some macro photography with any other fun lenses? be sure to share with us in the comment section below!
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.jpg "Macro Photography : Fun Lenses To Try For Macro Photography | Bethadilly Photography")
to be completely honest, i have been planning our baby girl’s first birthday party for a little longer than i care to admit. and a first birthday is truly more about celebrating an entire family and their first year together. it was important to me to make a big deal out of the day and that everything was just so. and the husband totally gave me total freedom to live out this dream, he truly is the best.
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i have an aversion to all the loud character items that clog our world and i also have an aversion to themes. i honestly hate themes. i didn’t do a nursery theme and i didn’t want a party theme. when initially thinking of our baby girl’s first birthday party, my goals were to incorporate pink tones (and a super specific pink tone at that, because i like to make things difficult on myself) and soft florals. i knew i wanted a delicate vintage feel and an organic tone. being obsessed with the rifle paper co, i was giddy to find that they made a banner and, once seeing that the tones matched my vision, i decided to base the entire party around that banner.
if i am telling you the truth, i have been comparing and shopping for just the right party items for probably 4 months. i slowly began creating a pile of party decor in our spare bedroom and made it my goal to work on her party once a week. before long, our little weekly outings for party supplies turned into a nice little pile of fun for the big day.
Baby Girl’s First Birthday Party – A Vintage Floral Party
.jpg "Baby Girl's First Birthday Party - A Vintage Floral Party | Bethadilly Photography")
the moment everything was in place and i stood back to look at my months of checklists and work, i almost cried. celebrating our baby girl’s first birthday has been a milestone that i’ve been so excited for and i wanted it to be a day that everyone remembered. even more, it is a day that our friend’s and family celebrated us being parents for our first year. and celebrating the parents is so very appropriate, too.
i couldn’t begin to express how happy i am with the final outcome of our baby girls’ first birthday party. and a very big thank you to my mama for making the most beautiful cake and cupcakes and for helping me tackle my long birthday checklist on the big day.
without further ado, here is what our beautiful baby’s first birthday looked like in photographs. also, everyone adored her and her party.
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.jpg "Baby Girl's First Birthday Party - A Vintage Floral Party | Bethadilly Photography")
truth be told, landscape photography isn’t something that i do a lot of. however, when i do, there are things that i definitely consider when photographing a landscape. in fact, when i look at these images, i am inspired to give landscape photography more of a try because there really is so much beauty to be found in the various landscapes that make up our world. okay, but in all seriousness, i totally jacked this golden gate bridge picture from my husband’s phone. it was a snapshot taken during a business trip, didn’t he do a great job? thanks, honey! okay, back to landscape photography…here are 5 main things you might want to consider when photographing any given landscape.
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Landscape Photography : 5 Things To Consider When Photographing Landscapes
.jpg "Landscape Photography : 5 Things To Consider When Photographing Landscapes | Bethadilly Photography")
1. Your Horizons Should Be Straight
although this seems to be obvious, it amazing how many photos i have with tilted horizons. yes, i went through a phase when i thought that a tilted horizon was “artistic.” oh boy. when taking a photo of a landscape, be sure that your horizon line is straight. if you are like me and can’t shoot perfectly straight, you can always fix it in lightroom during post processing. but try and get your horizon as straight as possible out of camera.
2. Aperture Choice
you may want to consider using a higher aperture to ensure that all of your landscape image is in focus. first determine if you want everything in focus and then choose the corresponding aperture. for images where you want the entire scene in focus, be sure to use a higher aperture like f/16. for images were you would like to blur either the background or foreground, play around with lower apertures such as f/3.5 or lower.
.jpg "Landscape Photography : 5 Things To Consider When Photographing Landscapes | Bethadilly Photography")
3. Consider Your Lens Choice
my favorite lens to use for landscapes, and outdoor photography in general, is my wide angle lens. my wide angle lens allows me to get more of my surroundings within the frame, without having to back up too far to do so. consider your lens choice and choose a lens that will allow you to photograph more of your landscape.
4. Incorporate Depth
i really find it fun to incorporate depth into my landscape photography. in the image above of the cherry blossoms, i was focusing on the water landscape in the background but decided to frame my focal point with the cherry blossoms in the foreground. when possible, use your natural surroundings to frame your landscape and incorporate depth into your image. it will help bring more dimension to your landscape photo and invite the viewer into the frame.
5. Composition Rules Apply
just like in any type of photography, all composition rules still apply and are very effective when using in landscape photography. be sure to think about the rule of thirds, framing, depth, pops of color, etc when determining how to compose your photo. landscape photography doesn’t have to be flat and boring, it can be brought to life through your composition choice.
landscape photography can be so beautiful and definitely frame-worthy. as you are being inspired by the landscapes that surround you, be sure to consider these 5 tips when taking your next landscape photos. do you find yourself photographing a lot of landscapes? what tips would you add to the list?
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Thank you so much for these tips on landscape photography. I’m glad that you mentioned that it’s important to consider the lens you are using, and that it’s important to pick one that can allow to see more of the landscape. Definitely seems worthwhile for new photographers to research and learn more about lens types as well as other factors to be able to capture a great photo. Better to let the photographer be in charge and know what to do than to let the camera control the photographer, I think.ReplyCancel
Mike Wade - Love the article!