11) Mr. Softee.
If your portrait subject needs softening, but you don't have a soft-focus filter, the pro who goes by the name Wolf189 (www.wolf189.com) suggests trying a slower shutter speed. Shooting with a continuous light source at 1/15 or 1/8 sec (on a tripod!) will usually soften wrinkles and other complexion problems just from the movement of your subject breathing.
12) Oil's Well.
Need soft focus in only part of a scene? And you still don't have your soft-focus filters? Gunther Deichmann suggests using your finger to very gently apply oil from your forehead to your lens (or better, UV filter) at a point that corresponds to the area you'd like softened. After shooting, be sure to remove the oil with a lens-cleaning cloth or tissue.
13) Sharp Self-Portraits.
Shooting self-portraits with a tripod-mounted camera and infrared remote is a great way to experiment with various techniques. But while the model works for free and rarely complains, it's difficult to get a proper focus on your eyes.
The website www.Meejahor.com has a clever way to force the camera to focus where you want it. Just darken the room and hold a small flashlight next to your eye. The camera will pick up the only area of contrast and lock on. Boom! Perfectly crisp focus right on your pupil.
14) Portrait Inspiration.
Is your portrait lighting stuck in a rut? Find a classic look that doesn't go out of style by watching old movies. Black-and-white films from the '30s and '40s are a great source of portrait techniques and, with many now on DVD, you can freeze-frame them and study the lighting. The first thing you'll notice: The lighting always matches the mood.
If it's a sultry scene with a starlet, you'll see an overhead butterfly pattern with some diffusion to give her a soft, dreamy look. When a man needs a rugged, chiseled look, there's hard-edged short lighting. Funnymen look brighter in broad light.
15) Car Talk.
With shiny surfaces, lots of reflections, and so many angles to shoot from, cars can be challenging subjects. Try these three tips to put your images into overdrive:
Get low. Unless you can shoot from 3 to 4 feet above the roofline of the car, taking a dramatically lower angle can make the car look more impressive, especially against a cloud-filled sky or evening skyline.
Avoid direct flash. A head-on collision with your flash will show every flaw in the car's paint. Move the flash off-camera and use sidelighting to accentuate the lines of the car.
Wet the ground. This trick is as old as automotive photography, since water raises the contrast in the image and reflects your subject, adding a sense of dimension.
16) Get Texture.
Sometimes in postprocessing you discover that an image could use some additional texture, such as a smooth, leafy, or pebbly element. To make sure you always have some textures on hand, carry a compact camera and capture any interesting textures you come across. Use the camera's macro mode and the highest resolution you can.
17) Buy Texture.
Don't have time to go out and shoot the texture you need? Turn to the web. Go to www.textureking.com. This site sells images of textures at very reasonable prices.
18) Blink Buster.
One blinker can ruin an otherwise great group photo. Sure, you can fix the picture later if you take a couple of shots and then splice them together using software, but prevention is easier. If possible, avoid flash, though it can be tough to find a bright, evenly lit area large enough for a group, particularly indoors at a party.
Got to use flash? Tell everyone you'll fire on the count of three. Then shoot on two. This way, people are already smiling, but they haven't yet blinked in anticipation of the flash hurting their eyes.
19) Sort It Out.
Like so many of us, G. Michael Anthon of Walton Hills, OH, couldn't tell which lens was which in his camera bag. After all, from the rear end, all lenses (and lots of other things) look pretty much alike. But unlike so many of us, Anthon decided to do something about it. Now he uses a metallic silver marker to note the focal length of each on the rear lens cap. He also marks the body cap from the camera (5D, 30D, etc.) and mates it with the marked rear lens cap while the lens is on the camera.
20) Ready for Next Time. If you change a lot of settings on your camera while shooting, take a few minutes at the end of your shooting day to reset it to your preferred defaults. It could save you 15 minutes -- and some good pictures -- the next day.
Contributing writers: Luis Cruz, Kathleen Davis, Melissa Macatee, Matthew Panzarino, Dan Richards, and Jon Sienkiewicz.
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