Outdoor Photography How To

Philippe Halsman, in his book Halsman on the Creation of Photographic Ideas, talked about an ad he’d shot, where he had to show a car making a splash as it was driving through a water-filled trough. But rather than give it the traditional treatment of the day, he sought to make a real splash with the picture, so he lit it differently. Shooting at dusk, he positioned flashbulbs so they hit the “wings,” as he called them, from each side. Like Halsman, photographers specializing in automotive are finding ways of introducing unusual and unique twists to make the shot stand out. Peter Dawson is one such automotive photographer who takes a particularly keen interest in dealing with challenges outdoors, on location.

Think back to when you were first getting started, and what you were told about ISO settings. If you’re like most of us, you were imbued with the notion that using ISO 100 (or lower) was the only way to obtain clean and noise-free images. Right?

If you’re feeling low and uninspired about your photography, travel photographer Pierre T. Lambert has some advice for you: try shooting from a low angle. As Lambert explains in the somewhat counterintuitive video below, going low can yield high quality results.

There are a variety of Lightroom techniques for rehabilitating underexposed photos, yet some methods come with a catch: They do a good job of repairing exposure but may introduce unsightly noise in the process.

One of the basic rules of composition, that’s even familiar to most beginning photographers, is to avoid framing a shot so a tree, fence post or telephone pole appears to be emanating from a subject’s head. But what about those ugly power lines running across the sky, that seem to be everywhere we look?

A solid understanding of key camera settings is essential if you're serious about shooting impressive photographs instead of mere snapshots, and one of the most important considerations is whether to use the Raw file format or shoot Jpegs. As you'll see in the video below, the decision you make depends up a variety of factors—including the specific way you intend to use the images you make.

In a Splash

Shutterbug reader JP Gregg captured this striking image of a sunset reflection in a puddle while walking west down an avenue in Venice, Florida, after dinner one August evening.