Does a picture always have to be a rectangle? - tips for good Photography

The last post was about choosing your favourite and best picture to print up. Most people only think of their images in the landscape and portrait rectangles. Sometimes square works very well especially for large images with simple shapes and colours like these.

During a recent visit to Hampton Court Palace I discovered these conic box topiary. I liked the perspective and the near thirds that key lead in lines made with the vanishing point.

These sweets in the window of shop in the Albert Dock Liverpool caught my eye and by eliminating the surroundings the colours and shapes were given the emphasis the shop owner clearly designed.

With such unusual lovely Easter weather here in the UK a flower should be included. Is it too bold a colour and shape to make into wall art and perhaps just a bit too Ikea?

Hope you enjoyed the picures and Happy Easter!

To print or not to print? - tips for good Photography

In preparing for a recent wedding fair I enlarged some of my pictures to 30 inches by 20 inches and and had them printed and mounted.

When I saw them for the first time out of the packaging a fresh sense of awe in how beautiful they were came over me. I look at images on a computer screen all day long and having a big image is essential to my work so I have a big monitor. But seeing them printed, and so large, made a big impression on me.

I have also made up many wedding albums, and mounted a number of images for clients, and again that feeling of pride in the finished presentation was very strong. Such images have great emotional meaning for me and the people involved, and I handle them with care, almost reverence.

So I believe that printing up our favourite images is very much worthwhile, but it has to be done well. I use professional laboratories who use the best printers and the best papers, and the results are worth it.

Why not take one of your own pictures, your best or your favourite, and have it enlarged to at least 10 inches by 8 inches and printed for high quality. Spend a little money on a decent mount and frame and then stand back - I would be very surprised if you do not also feel the same wave of pleasure that I did!

Controlling the shutter speed - tips for good Photography

This picture of the running rabbit was shot with a shutter speed that would keep the rabbits head sharp as I followed it (called panning), but give the background enough blur to show how fast 'Thumper' was going. Click on the picture to enlarge it to see the effect more clearly.

The shutter is the 'door' that opens and lets the image light into the camera when you press the button to take a picture. How long the doors stay open you can change according to how well lit you subject is, how fast it is moving and what special effect you might want to create.

 In bright light the camera may set a fast shutter so that not too much light hits the sensor. In low light the shutter may open and close slowly to let more light hit the sensor. Sometimes we want to photograph fast moving objects, and to freeze the action we need a fast shutter. This shot of a dolphin is an example of this.

Sometimes we want to slower shutter to blur somethings for artistic effect. Taking control of your shutter speed can be one step towards more creative photography.

Many cameras have a setting called 'shutter priority' which means you can control how fast the shutter opens and closes, the camera will control the rest of what needs to be done. This image of crashing waves in Malta uses a slow shutter speed to capture the spray as a fountain. I used a tripod to try to keep the rocks sharp because too low a shutter speed (less than 1/60th of a second) and the shaking of your hand, or any movement you make, will blur the picture.

There is a whole lot more to learn about the relationship between shutter speed and aperture, but enough for now.

Be brave and have a go with the shutter priority setting on your camera to enhance your pictures!

Springtime discount - 20% off all bookings in April for weddings and portraits

See my website http://www.richardlinnett.com/ for details.