Photography Tips

Photography Tip – Isolating Your Subject

Posted by Jill Flynn on Sep 20, 2011 | 2 comments

We live in a hectic, fast paced world. It seems like everyone is always pressed for time. A Mary Chapin carpenter song wraps it up perfectly – “ … everybody’s got to go, got to be, got to get somewhere.” I know this feeling all too well and have consciously made changes in my life to slow down and just breath in many ways. When we slow down we see more. And you really need to see your subject in order to connect with it. It doesn’t matter if it’s a person, pet or thing. If you don’t take the time to get to know your subject, all you are doing is taking a snapshot. So slow down, connect and make your subject shine through your lens. One way to do that...

Photography Tip – Wide Angle Portraits

Posted by Jill Flynn on May 13, 2011 | 5 comments

Most people don’t think about using a wide-angle lens when photographing people or animals. They tend to reserve that lens for photographing majestic or sweeping landscapes. You are missing out on some great photo opportunities by only using your wide-angle lens for landscape photography. Next time you are out photographing people or animals, use only your wide-angle lens. It’s a good photography exercise and one that I recommend to students all the time. It will force you to approach and interact with your subjects in a different way. It will also get you thinking about and using perspective more creatively. I took all of the photos below using my Nikon 12-24mm...

Photography Tip – Put Some Color in Your Pet Portraits

Posted by Jill Flynn on Feb 28, 2011 | 6 comments

The next time you take a photo of your pet, think about using color in a creative way. Color can make a portrait sing. The first thing I do when photographing pets is I seek out or create beautiful light. If I’m working in a studio setting, I can create that beautiful light with strobes, soft boxes and umbrellas. If I’m using natural light indoors, I seek out north windows or rooms filled with diffused light. When shooting outdoors, I seek out open shade, soft cloudy days or that magical early morning/early evening light. Once I have the light I want, I seek out the background. I can’t stress enough the importance backgrounds play in pet portraits. The last...

Photography Tip – Shooting in Bright Sun

Posted by Jill Flynn on Nov 9, 2010 | 3 comments

Most photographers, including myself, don’t normally shoot under bright sun. The light is harsh and usually not very flattering for your subjects. Ideally, you want to use diffused light from a soft cloudy day or that magical early morning or early evening light. But sometimes you don’t have a choice and you have to shoot in bright sun. You may be shooting an event that is outdoors. You don’t have control over the time and you don’t have control over the weather. So you have to make the best of it. Think outside the box, think perspective and most of all think shadows. Probably the only advantage about shooting under bright sun are the amazing shadows you can...

Photography Tip – A Different Perspective on Pet Photography

Posted by Jill Flynn on Jun 23, 2010 | 0 comments

If you follow your pets around the house and outside, they will lead you to your next memorable portrait. Always listen to your animals and take what they give you; it beats a posed shot any day. Whether it’s natural light portraits, studio style portraits or outdoor portraits, find or create beautiful light and photograph your animals being themselves. Keeping it simple is sometimes the best idea. Photos of animals sleeping make wonderful portraits. I don’t know any dog or cat that does not like to take a nap. If they have a favorite chair, couch, blanket, etc., position it in a room that has good light. A nice big window with diffused light at a 45-degree...

Photography Tip – Framing Your Subject

Posted by Jill Flynn on Feb 27, 2010 | 1 comment

In October 2009, I a took a long road trip that included a stop in the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. I was lucky to capture fall color along with some snow. The bushes along the water’s edge at Oxbow Bend were vibrant. I thought they would be the perfect way to frame the snow capped Tetons in the background. The Tetons are majestic no doubt, but when I saw them that day capped in snow and so far away, they looked small and unreachable. The vibrant bushes on the other hand were right in front of me where I could touch them. They were just as beautiful (in their own way) as the mighty Tetons and were bursting with color and life. So I got my wide angle lens,...