The pursuit of a good San Antonio photographer

The pursuit of a good San Antonio photography by Richard's Photography

San Antonio Photography, Choosing the right photographer for your portrait needs:


Is it all ready that time of year? Your high school senior year is just flying by like crazy. You never thought the day would come but it's here and it is time to start searching for the special photographer for your senior portraits that will show off the real you. You should trust a professional photographer that has affiliations with professional photography organizations such as PPA or Professional Photographers of America.

Finding a senior portrait photographer in San Antonio can be a grueling task considering you have to weed out the amateurs from the professional. Some of the "weekend warrior" photographers don't have a clue on how to pose or about proper lighting techniques. Texas has many good photographers but you have to scope out many photography websites mostly in the San Antonio area.

You'll know good work when you see it and the expressions that show on the faces of previous clients should tell you the whole story. That person had a great time with that photographer and that's where I want to go! I love those outdoor garden portraits! I love those colors in the flowers! That's what you want to see. The price that the photographer charges should be insignificant if they can produce the artistic quality of portrait you're looking for. You have to remember you're paying for that photographer's creative license, years of experience and personality. You don't want a boring, robotic photographer that can't bring out your true expressions.

We, at Richard's Photography in San Antonio feel we live up to your portraits needs. Give Richard or Patty a call today for a phone consultation and tell them what your needs are. What your dream portrait is for your child's high school memories, for your lifetime memories. 210-349-2922 or visit Richard's Photography or Senior Portrait Gallery for great online senior portrait samples.

Portrait Photography: Tips and Methods

Portrait Photography: Tips and Methods By Richard Schneider
Portrait is defined as, “A likeness of a person, especially one showing the face, that is created by a painter or photographer, for example.” In the area of portrait photography there are some guidelines that you should consider when you go to take photos of people.
The different types of portraits are: close-ups, facial shots, upper body shots or environmental portraits. Environmental portraits are where you focus on the subject and on their surroundings that provide more character to the subject.

When people have a camera in their face it usually makes them nervous and they will try to put on a face that does not portray who they really are. The real skill to portrait photography is trying to capture photos when the subjects are comfortable and not worried about a camera.
Many professional photographers try to capture their subject’s true essence by using tricks. One example of this is counting to three so the subject prepares and then while they are relaxing after taking a planned photo the photographer will snap a few more unplanned photos. In most cases the subject won’t even know that more than one photo was taken but it’s usually the photos that the subject wasn’t expecting that capture their true essence.
Another more common strategy professionals use is to tell funny jokes that make their subjects genuinely laugh or smile. I’m sure that you have probably experienced something like this yourself.

CLOSE-UP PORTRAITS
These usually have the subject’s shoulders and head or less. They are framed around the face. These are the most common and best at capturing expressions and glamour shots. For these it is very important to have the light coming from a good angle. To accent wrinkles or small details you should have the light coming from the side or from the top. To create flattering pictures you should choose a cloudy day or try to create diffused light so there are hardly any shadows. Also make sure the subject is brighter than the background to reduce distraction.

For close-up portraits you should use a wide aperture (low f/stop) to make the background out of focus and therefore less of a distraction. Professionals commonly use a fixed telephoto lens that’s 90 mm or higher for portraits in order to de-emphasize the subject’s nose or any other unflattering feature. It works because at that distance the nose or any other feature does not seem closer to the camera than the rest of the face.

UPPER BODY OR MIDRANGE PORTRAITS
These are easier to capture because the subject is probably more relaxed because it’s less personal. These include a little more of the background than close-ups. These are commonly used for both single subjects and multiple subjects. This is the kind of portrait used to mark occasions such as graduation, yearbook, birthdays and other parties. The ideal lens would be about a 90 mm fixed telephoto or more wide angle depending on how many subjects there are.
ENVIRONMENTAL PORTRAITS

These are the portraits that let you into the life of a subject. They might include the whole subject in a scenario or the subject participating in some hobby that they enjoy. These are best for telling a story to the viewer about the subject. They are almost always used by photojournalists to look into the lives of interesting people. They also make great Black and White pictures.

Use this information to develop what kind of portrait style you would like to take, and then practice it before dealing with any serious clients.

Richard Schneider is a digital photography enthusiast and founder of http://www.picturecorrect.com/ which offers tips and news about digital photography, digital camera reviews, photoshop tutorials and computer wallpaper.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Schneider

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Photographing Babies - Getting Started

Photographing Babies - Getting Started By Bobby Jonnes


This article will focus on photographing babies. The baby portraiture session gives you a good opportunity to get to know the family and sow the seeds of a long-term relationship with potential for repeat business.


Baby portraiture, is unlike other forms of portraiture, yes it is still about capturing light and complementary images, however you don’t have the same opportunity to communicate what you are looking for from the subject! This requires a different approach to posing as well as lighting your subject.


There are some basic rules to follow to achieve your goal. Some methods and techniques work best with newborn babies, while others are most used for older babies (by older my definition is up to approximately 2 to 3 years old). No technique is restricted to a specific gender or age group, however.


It is up to you as photographer to determine the wants and needs of the parents, then adjust your lighting and posing to meet those wants and needs. You should also keep in mind that when photographing babies all of your best laid plans can be turned on their head, and you can end up with no saleable shots.


This is one of the reasons that some photographers refuse to photograph babies. I have found that it is best to have some standard lighting setups and ‘poses’ to use as a starting point. I use the word poses loosely, because it’s more a case of you positioning the baby in a pre-determined way to leverage your chance of a good shot. These can be varied to better suit the individual subject.


Using more than one setup is something you should do to keep all of your baby portraits from looking the same. You will get many and varied bookings as a long-term result of customers being satisfied with the portrait of their beloved baby. I have had many customers who have started their relationship with me through having their baby photographed. This has led to birthdays, anniversaries, graduation and even wedding shoots for the same family, so never underestimate the earnings potential of that first baby portrait session.


Do I Need a Studio?
Before I had my studio I started doing baby portraiture in the homes of my customers. You can do this too. Some of the best shots I have taken of babies were taken in customer’s homes, with minimal equipment.


For example a hand held single brolly can give excellent results when photographing babies.
There is obviously a limit to the amount of equipment that you can easily transport around, assemble and disassemble, without the exercise becoming counterproductive. If you have the luxury of a large enough spare room at home you can elaborate on the portable setup.


One advantage that I find in the studio is the immediate availability of a large number of props. This coupled with the consistency of semi permanent lighting set-ups and backgrounds will give you the added confidence of predictability of results, compared with the range of different environments and potential enforced variations in lighting encountered when visiting the customer’s home.


However, having mentioned the advantages of having a permanent studio, I am not suggesting that being portable does not have its own advantages. Parents often feel more comfortable in the surroundings of their own home; this is often reflected in the mood of the baby, relaxed parents give more chance of relaxed baby! Also, if the baby is wearing something which you know will look dreadful it is easier for the parents to change them quickly into something else.
I hope you have found this article helpful.


Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have written a comprehensive guide on baby photography.


Find our more from here Photographing Babies
Bobby is a photographer and author. He has been commissioned to shoot thousands of events, including weddings and portraits.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bobby_Jonnes

Photography - Where To Place The Subject In The Photo?

Photography - Where To Place The Subject In The Photo? By John Peace

Where to place your subject in the photo? Do you place it at the center? This is usually what we will tend to do. When we are confronted with an awesome view, it is our naturally instinct to point our camera right at the face of our subject and capture it. We care less about the overall composition of the photo. We just want to capture that awesome view.
This usually happens when we are on a tour where we need to rush from places to places. This is especially so when you are traveling with a tour group where you are only given a limited time to view the place. Given this fact, you almost always just want to capture as many shots as possible leaving you no time for a proper composition.

However, if you have sufficient time to capture your shot, you should take time to compose it. So, where should you place your subject in the composition? As a rule, you should avoid placing your subject at the center. Sound strange, isn’t it? After all, the subject should be at the center of attention. However, you will be surprise with the effect it you start to shift your subject away from the center.

So, how do you do it? You can use the rule-of-thirds. Basically, what you need to do is to divide your view finder into nine squares or rectangles. You draw two imaginary horizontal lines and two vertical lines in your view finder to form a grid. Using this simple technique can dramatically improve your composition. When you have done that, focus your subject at one of the intersection point. Focus it and shot. For a better understand of this techniques, please see here.
One of the points to take note when putting your subject off center is your focus point. The default center focus point can be a bit tricky. What you need to do is to focus at the subject, lock the focus and then reframe the whole composition before you shot. This needs some practice.
However, if you digital SLR comes with various focus points, then your job will be easier. You can select from the various focus points present in the camera. If you have one of these cameras, read the instruction manual on how to make use of them.

Place the subject of interest is an important element of photography. You can use the rule-of-thirds to improve the overall composition of your work. Test it out and see the difference. For more information, please visit Freelance Photography.

John Peace enjoys photography and maintained a website providing information on photography. He invites you to visit his website, Freelance Photography to learn more about this exciting hobby. You can even make a living out of it at home! Believe it or not. Or visit the llink at: http://www.internetbizcenter.com/photography/index.htm
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Peace

Graduation Gifts Mean Personal Electronics

Graduation Gifts Mean Personal Electronics By Chris Robertson

Graduation season is just around the corner, so it's time to start thinking of gift ideas for the graduate in your life. This year, electronics top the "most wanted" list of nearly every graduate. And with such a variety of personal electronics available in virtually every price range, there's no reason you can't make your grad's wishes come true.

Digital Cameras
When your graduate heads off to college in the fall, a digital camera will help ensure that he or she stays in touch. After all, what could be easier than attaching a photo to an email and hitting the "Send" button? Besides, college years are so precious and fleeting that your graduation gift will be put to good use and provide a lifetime worth of memories.

What should you look for in a digital camera? A digital camera with at least three megapixels should do the trick, as long as it also has an optical zoom. The most straightforward digital cameras come with a cable that hooks right up to the computer so that photos can be easily uploaded, and software that can manipulate photos by cropping them, adjusting the lighting, and removing that fabled red eye. Digital cameras are notoriously hard on batteries, and there are almost as many proprietary camera batteries as there are manufacturers. If possible, choose one that uses rechargeable AA batteries, and tuck some extra batteries and a charger into the graduation gift.

Cell Phones
What young adult doesn't live and breathe without a cell phone plastered to his or her ear - or to his or her fingers as they furiously text message their friends? With the rite of passage of graduation, it may be appropriate to spring for one of the latest models, and include a calling plan that makes it free (or nearly free) to call home. If you're willing to foot the cell phone bill for the first six months, chances are you'll hear more often from your grad.

Computers
A notebook computer is a must-have for every college student. The student will be more inclined to take thorough notes in class, and have an important tool for writing and submitting papers. College campuses are increasing jamming wireless signals in lecture halls and classrooms, so you probably won't have to worry that your grad is surfing the Internet instead of listening to the professor. When you purchase the computer, don't forget to pick up a printer. There are many compact color or black and white printers available that take up little room but give your student the flexibility he or she needs to print out research, papers, and other important documents.

Graduation is a memorable time; by selecting a graduation gift that's both useful and sought after, your gift is sure to be treasured.

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web.
Learn more about Graduation Gifts Mean Electronics! or Majon's Gifts and Collectibles directory.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Robertson

Scrapbooking Graduation Memories

It's hard to believe that my daughter has just graduated from high school. She has some great memories of this event for us to preserve in a graduation scrapbook.
We decided to purchase a ready-made scrapbook instead of assembling one. At a local bookstore we found a large spiral bound scrapbook/journal on clearance for $2.99!
My daughter was not able to get her senior yearbook before graduation, so she had her friends write notes to her in her scrapbook. She took the book with her to her senior class party, then we set the book out at her family graduation party for friends and family to sign.
We had many photo taking opportunities over the weekend. We have pictures from the graduation ceremony, from her senior class party, and from her family party to put in her scrapbook. I will mat one of her senior portraits on the front of the scrapbook.
There are other mementos you can preserve in a graduation scrapbook. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Cards from family and friends - Program from graduation ceremony - Newspaper clippings - Report cards - Achievement and/or award certificates - Senior party mementos
I will finish off the scrapbook with graduation stickers from a local craft store.
A graduation scrapbook doesn't have to be a work of art. The important thing is to preserve the memories of your graduate's big day.
This would be a great project to do with your teen. If they would like to tackle the project themselves, give them all the supplies and let them unleash their creativity. My daughter loves the finished project, but is not much interested in scrapbooking, so she is more than happy to let me do it for her.
Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of four. For scrapbooking, card making, gift-giving ideas, and more family memory-making activities, visit http://www.crafty-moms.com
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