Family Photography How To

It’s November, and that means retail stores and malls are shifting into end-of-year holiday decoration mode. Soon the red-suited elf will be shaking his bell outside the train station. Is it rushing the season? You be the judge. One thing we know for sure: it’s not too early to pick up a few new ways to give your holiday photos that extra sparkle.

Freezing rain is falling, your tomcat is suing you for royalties from the YouTube videos he starred in, and every bird in the city boycotts your feeder because of your snoopy telephoto lens. Cheer up! We all have those days when we feel like f/16 in an f/1.4 world. But there’s always something to take pictures of—and it often can be found as close as our own kitchen.

Time to hit the Reset Button and put your notions of Image Quality on Pause. In our everyday lives as photographers we prize sharpness, saturation, acutance and absence of aberration when we idealize the images we want to capture. Now it’s time to recognize that images that are blurred, smeared, warped and otherwise traumatized can be beautiful.

Lensbaby lenses produce images that are intentionally unsharp, because optical aberrations can be beautiful. In a word, a Lensbaby turns blur into bliss.

Don’t wait! Plan your fall foliage photography forays now. Here are four interactive maps that help you predict when the fall colors peak in your area, plus a recommendation of three glass screw-in camera filters that make autumn colors more vibrant.

It’s spring—the time of year made especially for photographers, lovers and dreamers. Poets too, come to think of it. You’ll find plenty of things to photograph without even trying—but here are some ideas you may not have thought about yet.

Did you just get a new camera? Or maybe you’re getting reacquainted with a camera that’s been on the shelf for awhile? Getting good pictures consistently – the ultimate goal of all photographers – is easier than you think. Here are 10 tips that I share with all photographers regardless of skill level.

Like you, I’m looking for sensible indoor activities during this temporary quarantine. I’ve tried a few. Juggling was fun but there are still stains on the ceiling and glass particles in the carpet. So I told my family that instead of throwing things up in the air and dropping them I’d buy a ukulele and learn to play it. They said they’d support my musical inclinations, but of course, they’d miss having me around, too. Ultimately I turned to my very most favorite pastime. And after that short nap, I thought about photography.