ZyuZya - Everyday Photography and Discoveries

Photophilosophy - Mental training #2

October 6, 2007 – 2:39 pm

Be sure to read the Mental training #1 before continuing

You have something to say, but you can’t seem to do it.

So there’s a guy who takes a camera, looks around, “awwws” in excitement, presses a button, process the picture, prints the picture and… eeemmm… picture is dead. Dead, dull, boring… and it’s disgusting enough to share it with anyone. What now?

Advice number one: Forget about all those shiny books with “oh so smart” things about photography and promises to make you a professional in 20 easy steps, get up and go to the museum of visual or fine art.

In the museum, with your eyes out and a sponge-like brain – ABSORB… absorb the painters with all their compositions, lighting, framing, textures and colors. Until you get enlightened. After the painters got your nerve, just go home and walking, just look at all those disgusting things surrounding you with the eyes of those painters, with their color and lighting. You should do it at least 3 times a week, 2 hours in the morning, day by day lowering your dose. Imitate those painters in your photography. It will look nothing like fine art, but practice will make it better, that’s for sure.

(c) Lyapin translated by Serge Nanovsky

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Photophilosophy - Mental training #1

October 6, 2007 – 1:06 pm

Before the next time you take camera in your hands, come to a mirror, and looking in the eyes of the one who stands there, ask a question: “So you think you have something new to say to this world?”

If yes, then this is a beginning of the problems. If not, it’s okay, because there are a lot of butterflies and flowers around.

So if there is something to say, then before saying anything, pat your camera as your favourite lover and kiss it in the lens cap… and say the thing you wanted to say to this world. But first of all, say it to yourself, looking in your eyes in the mirror. If you don’t get sick, then you’re ready to say it to the world, but keep in mind, the world can get sick of it and throw up on you. Now gently get your camera ready to take pictures.

(c) Lyapin translated by Serge Nanovsky

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Warp effect

October 6, 2007 – 12:57 am

You Do Not need Photoshop to achieve this kind of image

All you need is your camera and a decent zoom lens.

This pictures was taken by Canon EOS 30D along with Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS lens.

Here’s the trick:

Aim at your target and manually focus on it. Set the camera shutter speed to somewhere between 1/15 - 1/5 sec. (play with aperture, not to get overexposed.)

At the same time as you trigger the shutter instantly zoom in your lens. As a result you get some cool warp effect.

I would suggest you taking these kind of pictures using a tripod, switching Image Stabilizer ON (if you have it ofcourse) and a remote switch would come handy.

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Model Poses in Pictures

October 5, 2007 – 11:09 am

Many novice photographers are getting lost when it comes to working with a model, since a photographer is the one who should arrange everything and especially the model positions.

So here’s a little pack of pictures with different model poses which is pretty easy to install to your PDA and you can have a handheld tooltip while you’re at session.

Several examples below. Download a full pack of 300 pictures (Right click - Save As…) (~13Mb)