Shooting

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I, Photographer: Skydiving Shooter Norman Kent

Anything for the best angle
- By Interviewed by Lori Frederickson on December 16, 2012
What came first: flying or shooting? I started working with photography when I was 14, and I first started skydiving on my 19th birthday. I thought my first jump would be a one-time thing, but once I’d landed, I knew this was going to be part of my life. The aerial perspectives are a photographer's dream, so I knew I wanted to shoot it. By my 24th jump, I had a camera mounted to my helmet.What kind of work have you done professionally since then?
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You Can Do It: Take Better Photos Using Direct Sunlight

Recognize the right light at the right time to optimize using direct sunlight as your main light source
- By Peter Kolonia on November 25, 2012
You can get lucky with light. Of course, you can buy expensive gear and study this essential craft at the feet of the masters, but sometimes your success with lighting will come down to a single variable: Being in the right light at exactly the right time.But this success requires more than simple luck. You have to recognize great light when you see it and manage to leap into action to capture it. That’s how Theophilos Papadopoulos, a Greek high school teacher, bagged the beauty above.
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- How-To
- direct sunlight
- Lighting
- photos
- Shooting
Photograph Your Family: How-To Take Great Candid Photos Of Kids

Winky Lewis, one of the nations best children photographers, shares her secrets
- By Peter Kolonia on November 20, 2012
We asked one of the country’s best professional child photographers how she captures the innocence, warmth, sweetness, and silliness of childhood. Her answer? She never fakes it.Your images of children have a wonderful natural and unposed quality. How do you achieve that?
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20 Simple Ways to Customize Your Camera

Teach your old camera some new tricks
- By Dan Richards on November 7, 2012
Ever wish you could customize your DSLR (or ILC, or advanced compact) to make it work exactly the way you wanted? Or to make it better somehow—to make operation faster, to boost stamina, to better match a specific shooting situation, or even to make it a special-purpose camera? You can pretty much do it, with adjustments ranging from simple, no-cost setting tweaks up to physical modification of the camera.
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You Can Do It: A DIY "Rig Shot" For Adding Motion To Photos

Former drag-racing photographer Rich Lavigne creates rig shots of a baby stroller in a supermarket for a twist on baby photos
- By Peter Kolonia on October 21, 2012
“It’s a classic rig shot,” says Rich Lavigne, a former drag-racing photographer in South Plainfield, NJ. He explains, “In automotive photography, a rig shot is when the camera is attached to the side of a car using an arm and clamp mechanism. You make the shot by dragging the shutter while the vehicle is in motion.”But instead of a turbo-charged hot rod, the vehicle in this photo of his is a baby stroller, and the venue is no drag strip, but one of the aisles in his local Wegman’s supermarket. The passenger? Lavigne’s then six-month-old son, Tyler.
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I, Photographer: Tattoo Shooter Brian Cummings

Shooting artwork on a living canvas is tough work
- By Interviewed by Julie Leibach on October 11, 2012
How did you start photographing tattoos? One of my hair and makeup stylists has amazing tattoo artwork all over her body—including her grandparents’ portraits—and she asked me to photograph it. I agreed, but didn’t know how to start. I was visiting the Chicago Art Institute when it hit me: I’ll treat it like the Baroque masters. So I shot her in the Rembrandt style, trying to mimic that lighting. I really liked it and decided to do a series, photographing about a dozen people over six months.How did your style evolve?
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You Can Do It: Shoot Dramatic Bubble Macro Photos

Civil engineer Feryal "Faye" Berber experiments with LED flashlights and patterned surfaces to turn soap bubbles into fine art
- By Matthew Ismael Ruiz on October 10, 2012
A self-described “accidental” civil engineer, Feryal "Faye" Berber has been translating visions from her mind’s eye into photographs ever since she got her Canon A-1 in 1983. The Ringoes, NJ, resident finds motivation in her curiosity rather than a paycheck. The experiment in effervescence shown here tested her eye, as well as her lighting skills.
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- How-To
- Lighting
- photos
- Shooting
How To: Add Life to Portraits

Photographer Francesca Sara Cauli shares some ways to make fun people pix
- By Peter Kolonia on October 9, 2012
Photographer Francesca Sara Cauli of Bologna, Italy, says that it’s easy to make fun, upbeat portraits: Just hang out with fun, upbeat people.We know that’s not always possible. Luckily, her por-trait of Alma Gitanna here exemplifies other techniques for energizing your people pictures. Here are a few:• Tilt the camera to throw the horizon line off-kilter. This can add a serendipitous kick.
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You Can Do It: Capturing After-Dark Scenes With HDR Photos

Commercial photographer Kai Wang merges separate exposures to tackle nighttime contrast
- By Peter Kolonia on October 2, 2012
“I moved to New York City in 2010 to get my MFA in photography and was at once overwhelmed by the city,” says Brooklyn-based commercial shooter Kai Wang. To this newcomer from Taiwan, the experience was a paradoxical mix of large rushing crowds and personal loneliness.
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You Can Do It: Use Low-Tech Props For Better Portrait Photos Without Editing

Florida self-portraitist Alexis Mire creates clouds without the help of software
- By Peter Kolonia on September 27, 2012
In these times of sophisticated digital retouching, making images with special effects that are created with old-fashioned, low-tech contrivances offers its own kind of of charm. The images come off as sweetly disingenuous, wickedly ironic, or a delectable blend of both. This low-tech/no-tech approach is championed by Florida self-portraitist Alexis Mire, whose special visual effects come without the help of software. (See the undisguised threads holding up her “cloud” in this photo?)
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- How-To
- clouds
- props
- Shooting
- You can do it

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Shooting

I, Photographer: Skydiving Shooter Norman Kent

You Can Do It: Take Better Photos Using Direct Sunlight

Photograph Your Family: How-To Take Great Candid Photos Of Kids

20 Simple Ways to Customize Your Camera

You Can Do It: A DIY "Rig Shot" For Adding Motion To Photos

I, Photographer: Tattoo Shooter Brian Cummings

You Can Do It: Shoot Dramatic Bubble Macro Photos

How To: Add Life to Portraits

You Can Do It: Capturing After-Dark Scenes With HDR Photos

You Can Do It: Use Low-Tech Props For Better Portrait Photos Without Editing

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