Wrapping your mind around the relationship between these three concepts when you’re just starting out is genuinely hard. I had pages of notes taken from Bryan Peterson’s Understanding Exposure, and I was drowning in diagrams and test shots at every ISO/shutter speed/aperture combination I could think of. One day it clicked, and everything else followed. (Check out our friends at Photzy for more free photography cheat sheets.)

The chart below would have saved me a lot of time if it had existed back then. Daniel Peter of Fotoblog Hamburg created this free downloadable cheat sheet for beginner photographers using clear, simple diagrams. It gives you a visual overview of aperture, ISO, and shutter speed without going deep into the theory behind each one. That’s by design. It’s formatted to print on a business-card-sized piece of paper so you can carry it in your pocket while you practice.

If you’d rather learn by watching, check out the SLR Lounge Photography 101 Workshop. We walk you through how to create strong images with basic gear, how to move from auto modes to manual mode, and how to actually use the exposure triangle in the field. Below is a sample from Photography 101.

Watch: understanding exposure with the exposure triangle

Watch the video below to see how Pye explains the exposure triangle. This is pulled directly from the Photography 101 Workshop.

Expanded explanation of the exposure triangle

Shutter speed is expressed as fractions of a second, so 1/50 is a longer exposure than 1/200. That trips a lot of beginners up. When photographers say “higher shutter speed,” they mean faster, not a mathematically larger number. So 1/200 is the higher shutter speed even though 1/50 is the bigger fraction.

Aperture works the same counterintuitive way. It’s also stated in fractions, so the smaller the number, the larger the opening. An f/1.4 aperture is wide open; f/22 is a pinhole. Bigger number, smaller hole.

A useful analogy: picture a bucket with an adjustable hole at the top and a stream of water pouring in. The smaller the hole, the longer it needs to stay open to fill the bucket. The larger the hole, the faster it fills. In this analogy, the hole is your aperture, the time the hole stays open is your shutter speed, the water is light, and a full bucket is a properly exposed image. Not much light available? Open the aperture wide and/or use a longer shutter speed. Lots of light? Close down the aperture and/or use a faster shutter speed.

Simplified: a lot of light means faster shutter speeds and smaller (higher-number) apertures. A little light means slower shutter speeds and larger (lower-number) apertures.

A full stop means you either double or halve the amount of light in the exposure. With shutter speed, this is straightforward: going from 1/100 to 1/50 is one full stop because you’ve doubled the time light hits the sensor. With aperture, the math is slightly more complex because you’re changing the area of a circle, but the practical result is the same. Each full stop on the aperture scale (f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8…) either doubles or halves the light entering the lens.

As you double the light coming in via shutter speed, you need to halve it via aperture to maintain the same exposure. They work in opposite directions, and balancing them is the core skill the exposure triangle is teaching you.

What do these settings actually do to your images beyond exposure? Slower shutters introduce motion blur: streaks of light, flowing water, a moving subject going soft. Faster shutters freeze motion. How fast you need to go depends on how fast your subject is moving. For hand-holding without camera shake, a good starting point is the reciprocal rule.

Aperture controls depth of field. At f/1.4 with focus on one person in a group, everyone in front of and behind that person will be blurry. At f/8 or f/11, far more of the scene stays sharp. This is exactly how human eyes work: squinting to see something more clearly is your iris stopping down. There’s a trade-off at very small apertures, though. Stop down too far and diffraction starts softening your image.

ISO is the third variable. The higher the ISO, the less light you need to achieve a correct exposure, which lets you use faster shutter speeds or smaller apertures than you otherwise could. Think of it as artificially pressurizing the water in our bucket analogy to fill it faster. The cost is image noise: higher ISO introduces grain and reduces fine detail. How much noise is acceptable depends on your camera’s sensor. On modern full-frame cameras like the Canon R6 Mark II or Sony A7 IV, ISO 3200 and even 6400 can be clean enough for professional work. On smaller-sensor crop bodies, we tend to cap things lower. The specifics change with every camera generation, so your own testing in your actual shooting conditions matters more than any general rule.

Flowers provide a unique range of colors, tone, texture, and other attributes that make them perfect subjects. In fact, it is in the details of these attributes that we find ourselves inspired. To prove it, we’ve curated a collection of inspirational macro flower photos that we’d like to share with you. For those interested in taking a more hands-on approach, we’ve also put together a list of tips and the gear you’ll need to practice macro flower photography.  Here’s what we’ll cover in this article:

• Macro Flower Photography Gear
• Tips for Optimal Macro Flower Photography
• Macro Flower Picture Inspiration

The Gear You’ll Need for Macro Flower Photography

While you can’t overstate the importance of education when it comes to exploring new territory, there’s also something to be said about the gear you use on your journey, especially when it comes to macro photography. A number of point-and-shoot cameras offer a macro “mode,” which can get the job done, but I’d like to encourage you to explore other modes (such as aperture priority or manual mode) as they’ll give you more creative control along the way. This might require an upgrade in gear, but use what you have available until you’re ready to take the next step.

Camera (DSLR or Mirrorless) for Macro Flower Photos

Most DSLR or newer mirrorless cameras offer more creative control in terms of exposure, stability, file type, and more. Here are a few great, hi-res options from Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Fujifilm.

Macro Lens Choice for Flowers

First, know that you can capture macro-style photos without a macro lens, using distance or other techniques. For example, you might photograph a flower from a close distance with a longer distance between the flower and the background in order to achieve a shallower depth of field; however, a dedicated macro lens or extension tube will simplify the process and offer more creative options. The focal length of macro lenses varies, but the wider the angle, the closer you’ll have to get to the flower. 100mm (or its equivalent if you’re using a crop sensor camera) is a good go-to focal length. Consider some of these lens options that we’ve reviewed at SLR Lounge:

• Canon RF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS Lens
• Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 Macro Lens
• Sigma 70mm f2.8 DG Macro ART Lens
• Fuji Fujinon XF 60mm f/2.4 R Macro Lens

Tripod

A tripod is handy but not absolutely necessary. A tripod will give you the ability to capture sharp images at lower shutter speeds. However, if your scene has plenty of light, then you may not need one.

When shooting close up, motion becomes more exaggerated. Even with image stabilization in the camera and lens, you still risk camera shake, and the last thing you want to do is spend any significant amount of time setting up a shot only to have it come out blurry and destined for the digital trash bin. You can help eliminate (or at least minimize) camera shake by placing your camera on a quality, sturdy tripod.

Lighting

Natural light can work, but a ring light or off-camera flash will come in handy when ambient lighting is less than desirable. You will need to modify the lighting.

Spray Bottle

The unsung hero of macro photography, spray bottles work well for adding a touch of mist to flowers for additional texture.  Combined with angled light, the water droplets created from the spray bottle add texture and interest to a macro flower image.

Tips for Shooting Macro Flower Photography

Focus on Composition

Whether you’re photographing buildings, people, or flowers, you should begin setting up your shot with an emphasis on composition.

For macro flower photography, consider compositional theories like the rule of thirds, depth of field, balance, symmetry, leading lines and other compositional tools to help you create a visually compelling composition.

Ensure You Have a Focal Point

Focus is always important, but it’s especially important in this genre. Use manual or autofocus to pinpoint the exact area of the flower you want to highlight. If the depth of field is too shallow, for example, make adjustments (via stopping down the aperture or by increasing your distance from the flower) until you can see in detail the areas of the flower you want in focus.

Find Unique Angles & Perspectives

Storytelling is key in photography, even when photographing flowers. Capture wide, medium, and tight angles so that you can put together cohesive sequences (perhaps in a blog, social media post, or album). Shoot each of these angles from a different perspective (top-down over the flower, side angle, or underneath the flower, looking up toward the sky) to add visual interest.

Shoot at the Ideal Times

Early morning or late afternoon (perhaps golden hour) sessions work best for getting softer, more pleasant light. Try to avoid the harsh, midday sunshine, if possible; otherwise, look for shade or use a reflector or scrim to diffuse and soften the light falling onto the flower(s). If using natural light, position yourself so that the natural light creates subtle directional light when it falls across the flower. Otherwise, position your flashes (and your camera) in a way that allows you to create directional light.

Use the Right Camera Settings

• Use Depth of Field with Intention – It’s really quite simple. Opt for a shallow depth of field (f/1.2-f/4) if you want to focus on key elements and blur out the rest of the flower’s surface; otherwise, dial your aperture in to f/11 and up to capture a broader range of detail in the image.
• Use a High Shutter Speed – Unless you’re indoors with absolutely no breeze, there’s a good chance the flowers you are photographing are going to blow in the wind and/or move a bit. Along with a tripod, you can dial in your shutter speed to a faster setting (1/200 or faster) to help freeze the action and eliminate camera shake.
• Use a Low ISOs – To maximize image quality, photograph your macro flower photography at low ISOs. Some cameras have better low light performance than others, but in general, try to keep your ISOs at 800 and below.

Mind Your Backdrops

Unlike other genres of photography, macro photography makes it very easy to control the background, especially for those super tight closeup shots. The focus typically falls on the shallower side while backgrounds blur into oblivion.  According to Photography-raw.com, “In a macro image, especially concerning an insect, unless you go for stacking, there will be large unfocused parts.”

Please note, however, that you should still be mindful of any distracting elements in the background and opt for a clean backdrop. You can even use a piece of paper or some other surface of your choosing to create a unique backdrop.

Shoot in RAW

Shoot in RAW (rather than jpeg) to allow for more dynamic edits. For more information about the benefits of shooting in RAW, see our article on RAW vs JPEG.

Macro Flower Photography Inspiration

Without further ado, let’s jump into a collection of inspirational macro flower photography portraits, featuring talented and award-winning artists from around the world.

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed this collection of inspirational macro flower photography portraits. The list is not exhaustive, of course, but hopefully serves as a starting point to encourage you to further explore this unique genre of photography.

The article will cover the following aspects of lighting photography:

• Gear
• Safety
• Settings
• Location Scouting
• Lighting Photography at Night
• Daytime Lighting Photography
• Composition Tips

1: Things You Need to Photograph Lightning Successfully

There are a few items that will help you capture the best lightning shots. The good news is that as a photographer, you probably already have them.

• DSLR or mirrorless camera – you’ll need to use manual controls for shutter speed, aperture, etc, and it’s best to shoot in RAW format.
• Tripod – while some folk get lucky with hand-holding their cameras for lightning, using a good tripod will make it so much easier because you’ll likely be using long shutter speeds.
• Lenses – any lens will work for capturing lightning, but if you want to capture lightning as part of a big scene then a wide-angle lens is best. Zoom lenses will also give you more flexibility for shooting lighting at different distances.
• Weather-proofing – As lightning often appears as part of a storm, you should expect to get wet! If your camera and lenses aren’t weather-sealed, then you’ll have to protect them from the rain. You should also think about waterproof clothing for yourself – being wet and cold is no fun. Take several lens cloths with you too, so you can safely clean any raindrops off the front of your lens.
• Remote control or cable release – this isn’t essential but does make it much easier to take sharp photos because you’re not physically pressing the shutter and introducing camera shake.
• MIOPS Trigger (Optional Accessory) – FLEX detects lightning strikes and automatically captures the image. This will allow you to focus more on the creative aspects including exposure, composition, etc.

That’s really all the equipment you need to shoot lightning. However, if you are seriously into lightning photography then you may want to buy some specialized gear, like a lightning camera trigger. This takes a lot of guesswork out of shooting, because this trigger sends a signal to your camera the instant a lightning bolt begins, and it automatically takes photos of it.

2: Think Safety First

Lightning is beautiful, but don’t forget how deadly it can be. If you can, it’s best to be inside a building or car so that you are protected from being struck. It’s really not wise to photograph lightning in an open space, especially if there are trees, water, or tall structures nearby. Don’t be fooled by how far away the lightning looks – if you can see it, it’s close enough to strike you.

3: Understand the Right Camera Settings

When you get to your chosen location, set your camera up on the tripod and set your lens to manual focus. Focus to the distant horizon (infinity), and check it’s sharp by taking a test shot and checking it. Manual focus is best for shooting lightning because if it’s too dark the AF system can have trouble focusing.

The settings below are just a rough guide, but you can use them as a starting point and adjust as necessary..

Use Manual Exposure Mode

Set your camera to manual mode (usually ‘M’) on your mode dial. Auto modes tend to give the wrong exposure when it comes to lighting photography.

ISO for Lightning

Set the ISO to the lowest value your camera has. You should only raise your ISO to capture very faint, distant lightning strikes as part of a much darker, starry nightscape image.

Shutter Speed for Lightning

Setting the shutter speed for a longer time gives a better chance of getting the lightning. Try and set it for between 5 and 30 seconds to start with. This will brighten up the ambient exposure, of course, but as long as you capture lightning during the exposure, your shutter speed will not actually affect the brightness of a single strike, just like how a strobe flash works!

If you’re looking for a dramatic, dark foreground shot, or if lightning is striking so frequently that your exposures are getting blown out, then you might want to try a shorter shutter speed of around 1-3 seconds, and just capture back-to-back exposures!

Aperture for Lightning

A medium aperture of f/4 or /5.6 is a good starting point, if there’s nothing in the foreground of your composition. You may find your images look overexposed at this setting, so try at f/8 instead, or adjust your shutter speed to be faster, if you’re trying to catch faint lightning strikes that might “disappear” as you stop down your aperture.

If there’s a foreground subject in your composition, then you may want to use a small aperture (bigger f/stop) to get more depth-of-field. If you find yourself needing to use f/11 or f/16 to achieve good depth of field in your scene, you might have to raise your ISO a little bit in order to catch those faint lightning strikes.

4: Finding Great Locations

This may be easier for those who live where there are lots of storms! However, it’s not just about capturing lightning bolts in any old scene – the trick is to find an interesting foreground.

This means you may well have to plan ahead. It’s dangerous and pointless to wait until you’re in a storm to find good backdrops for your lightning photographs. Think of some places local to you that you could get to quickly when a storm is brewing, and preferably, shoot safely during the storm. Lightning shots look best when there’s a lot of sky, but also some details in the foreground, such as buildings or hills.

TIP: Here’s how you can tell how far away lightning is from your current location: count the seconds between the flash of light and the boom of the thunder Every five seconds equals one mile. So, if you count ten seconds, you are a lot safer, but if you count just one or two seconds, you could be in extreme danger!

We recommend finding somewhere indoors, for maximum safety if you know a storm is going to pass right over you. If you’re outdoors and a storm is heading towards you, you need to leave the area, of course!

5: How to Photograph Lightning at Night

Shooting lighting at night gives you some really dramatic images,  but there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to the settings you should use. There’s a lot of variables to consider that may make a difference to the settings you use. Once you have set up your camera and manually focused to infinity, ask yourself these questions:

• Is the lighting fairly close? If it’s not a long way away and is striking several times, then it’s best to close down your aperture (higher f/stop) and keep your ISO low. This will help to prevent overexposure.
• Is there a lot of ambient light in the scene? If you are shooting lightning over a cityscape, for instance, you will need a faster shutter speed and a low ISO.
• How fast are the storm clouds moving? If the storm is moving fast and there is a lot of flashing lightning, try using a faster shutter speed to avoid ghosting in the clouds. This is where the same shape is caught in your image as it moves while your camera is taking the photo. This means slower shutter speeds will show more ghosting because the shutter is open for longer while the clouds are moving across the sky.
• Too many strikes in quick succession will also just blow out your long exposures, of course!

Take some test shots with lightning in the exposure, and check to see that you’re happy with the focus and settings you’ve chosen. If not, adjust the focus, shutter speed, or ISO accordingly.

6: How to Photograph Lightning During the Day

• While shooting lightning during the day can be a challenge, there are a few tricks you can try to get great shots. Set your camera up and manually focus to infinity. Take a test shot to make sure the foreground has enough detail. You may need to go down to f/16 or even more. Set the ISO to the lowest setting, and choose a slow shutter speed.
• You may find it easier to shoot lightning during the day if you use a lightning trigger. This little device will attach to your camera and set the shutter off when a flash of light is caught by the sensor. There’s a big choice of lightning triggers on the market, from budget to professional ones.
• If you don’t have a lightning trigger then another option for photographing lightning during the day is to set your aperture to f/22 or more. Use the lowest ISO, and set your shutter speed as slow as you can. All you have to do then is shoot continuously. Hopefully, you will capture some good lightning strikes, although, with such a dark aperture and ISO, you may not see faint strikes that just aren’t very bright. (Remember, lightning behaves just like the pop of a strobe flash, in terms of setting your exposure; aperture and ISO will make lightning brighter or darker, but shutter speed will not!)
• Take plenty of spare memory cards if you go the route of “spray and pray”, as your card will fill up quickly with all the images. If your camera has it, use a compressed RAW mode so that your camera’s buffer stays ample, too.

7: Composition Tips for Photographing Lightning

Shooting successful lightning photos requires a slightly different composition than you may be used to. For instance, you need to cover more sky than your foreground or background. This might not look right at first, but once the lightning strikes it will become the main focal point of the image.

Because lightning appears in different places, you never know where it’s going to show up in your photo. This is why it pays to use a wider-angle lens than usual so that you can crop to a good composition later if you need to.

Alternately, if you’re feeling really ambitious, and if you have an old beginner SLR lying around, consider setting up two cameras and finding two different compositions of two different parts of the sky!

Final Thoughts

Patience is a virtue when it comes to photographing lightning!  It’s unpredictable, and you’ll find that you take many, many shots without getting anything good. You may also find that your just have to LEAVE an area, for your own safety, especially if a storm is approaching, and not moving away from your position.

[REMEMBER: For every five seconds between the lightning flash and the thunder’s boom, that is only ONE mile between you and the strike. That’s only ~5,000 feet away! Now might be a good time to also remind you that a lightning strike is around 300 million volts and 30,000 Amps. For reference, just a fraction of one Amp, or just 50-100 Volts, can be lethal, depending on the combination of the two. Feeling a little more cautious now? Good.]

Eventually, everything will come together just right and you’ll feel a huge sense of satisfaction at having safely captured the perfect lightning shot!

Hopefully, our tips have given you a bit more understanding of how to photograph lightning. We also hope they inspire you to get out there and have a go. Have fun, and don’t forget to stay safe while shooting!

Action Photography Video Demo

In this article/video, we’ll start by showing you what to avoid for capturing an action photography shot, and then we’ll go through the artistic process of finding better picture angles to get to our final image. We cover these concepts and more for all cameras, including smartphones, in our Creative Photography 101 Course.

6 Steps to Better Action Photography

Avoid the “Walk Up” Shot

Before we get into the steps for capturing an exciting action photography shot, let’s talk about walk up shots and how to avoid them. To illustrate, we began this session by capturing a walk up shot of our model Derek doing a backflip on the beach. The shot is framed well enough, but the background is distracting and the picture angle is average at best. Unfortunately, this is the picture angle that most people would use when walking up with their smartphones or cameras to capture the action.

Use a Wide Angle Lens for Action Photography

First, lens choice. As a general rule, you want a lens that is as sharp and fast as possible. Depending on what you are shooting, you are likely going to want something that can get close to the action. If you are shooting a sport like baseball, hockey, soccer, football, or anything else with a large playing surface, your best bet is to purchase or rent a fast zoom lens such as a 70-200mm f2.8 or something similar. If you have good lighting, there are quite a few options for longer telephoto lenses that won’t break the bank but that will still provide great images.

For non sports action photography, start building your action photography shot by using a wide angle lens, such as a 15-35mm lens at 15mm, which will allow you to move in closer and actually get into the action. 

Basically remember:

• Large playing surface = Use a zoom lens to get close to the action.
• Smaller playing surface = Move around!

Action Photography Composition

Rather than relying on a perfect background, we can look for creative picture angles that use available objects in our favor. For this shot, I chose to lie on the ground and shoot toward the sky, incorporating the palm trees that the model used to launch into a backflip. The trees (along with the sand that I’ll introduce later) serve as a thematic element for the beach, but they also help frame the subject, leaving plenty of negative space in the blue sky to highlight the backflip and make the model’s outfit pop against the background.

Pro Tip: Snap a reference shot. Ask your subject (or an assistant) to step in while framing your shot so that you don’t have to repeat the action because you didn’t frame it properly.

Whenever your subjects are moving in a direction, a basic rule of photography is to leave room in the direction the subject is moving. This rule is important because the viewer’s eyes are naturally drawn from the subject to whatever the subject is looking at or facing. If the subject is facing the edge of the frame, it leaves the viewer wondering where the subject is looking. Furthermore, if the subject is moving toward the end of the frame, it leaves the viewer wondering where the subject is going, leading the attention off of the image. Lastly, if the subject is moving toward the edge of the frame, the subject can seem confined and enclosed. As always, showing is more effective than explaining, so as you view these images, imagine how they would look if the subjects were cropped at the other end of the frame.

Shot at the 2009 University of Utah vs. San Diego State Football Game in San Diego, CA on a Canon 40D with a 70-200mm f/2.8L Zoom Lens at 1/250 f/2.8 ISO 400

Shot at the Summit House in Fullerton, CA on a Canon 40D with a 70-200mm f/2.8L Zoom Lens at 1/400 f/2.8 ISO 200

Dial In Your Exposure Settings

Before you cue the action, make sure to dial in your exposure settings. If you aim to freeze the action, prioritize your shutter speed and then adjust your ISO and aperture until you get a balanced exposure. Ideally, you want to maximize your dynamic range to maintain as much of the highlights and shadows as possible. You can enable the highlight alert and use the histogram to help ensure that you’re not blowing out any highlights on your subject’s skin. I like to use live view for this step.

Pro Tip: Set your camera to burst mode (or some similar high-speed setting) so that you can shoot through the action as it unfolds and choose the best frame for your final image.

Lock Your Focus

You don’t want your camera to hunt for focus during your action photography, so lock in your focus ahead of time. For this shot, I set the focus on the model’s head while he stood by for the reference shot and then enabled the focus lock feature on my camera. You can also switch the lens to manual focus.

Cue the Action and Add Variations

All that’s left at this point is to cue the action and capture the shot. After looking at my initial capture, I liked the results, but I wanted to see how it’d look if I added another visual element. I decided to throw sand over the subject during the flip, which you can see in the final images below.

Pro Tip: I would recommend exercising caution when photographing at the beach, especially when playing with sand. Cameras and sand don’t mix well!

Final Images

Before

After

Settings for the Final Image: 15-35mm at 15mm, 1/2000, f/4, ISO 100 | Edited with Visual Flow Presets > Mood Pack > Hard Light

What Kind of Motion Should You Show?

There are two approaches to photographing motion. You can freeze the motion in progress or you can capture it in a manner that shows the motion. If you choose that option, there are two ways to do it. You can either allow motion blur into the photograph, or you can pan along with your subject and blur the background to indicate motion.

Motion Blur for Action Photography

To introduce motion blur to a photo, simply lower the shutter speed enough that the sensor picks up a bit of your subject’s movement. You can simply take the photo as you follow your subject with your camera and with a slower shutter speed they will leave “trails” as they progress through their motion. Or, if you know where your subject is going to end up (like a runner at the finish line or a baseball player at home plate, etc.) you can pre-focus on where they will end up and snap the picture as they move into the frame. This will also capture the motion while helping provide a sense of action to the shot. Another fun way to be creative with this is to use a slower shutter speed that shows motion blur while turning your flash on in rear curtain sync mode. This will fire your flash at the end of the exposure capturing both the motion trails and a relatively sharp capture of your subject.

Freezing Motion in Action Photography

This might actually be one of the simplest pieces of the puzzle! Freezing motion is all about getting your shutter speed high enough that the camera doesn’t show the movement. Depending on what you are shooting, you might have to get shutter speeds up into the thousandths of a second! Of course, when doing this, you have to be in an area that has excellent, bright lighting. Obviously, the shutter isn’t open very long in these cases so, the more available light in this case, the better.

Conclusion

As photographers, we really have no excuse for capturing uninteresting photos. Most everyone has access to quality cameras these days, even using their smartphones. Where people tend to come up short is technique. As you can see here, putting in a little creative effort can go a long way to build a worthwhile action photography shot.

If you’d like to dive deeper into your photography education and exercise your creativity side, our latest course, Creative Photography 101, provides frameworks for training your creativity so that you can stop settling for boring photos.

Tip #1: The Sky is a Softbox with Cloudy Day Portrait Photography

Photographers spend an enormous amount of money on lighting and lighting modifiers. One of the most popular lighting modifiers on the market is a soft box, which diffuses & softens the light passing through it. Clouds, which essentially act like giant soft boxes in the sky, diffuse sunlight on a grand scale, often resulting in flat lighting. While some photographers fear flat lighting, it has a time and place, and portraiture calls on it often.

For closeup portraits, flat light reduces the appearance of lines, blemishes, and imperfections in the skin to create a more flattering look. Go ahead and place your subject in a bright, open area. The clouds should provide enough cover to keep your subject from squinting while you direct your subject into a pose and cue whatever expression you’re after.

Tip #2: Create Directional Light With Overcast Skies

Flat lighting is not your only option when in cloudy day photography. If you want to add shadows for dimension, you can easily create directional light using one of two methods to either add or subtract light.

Option 1: Add Light

To add light, use the white or silver side of a 5-in-1 reflector and position it at a 45-degree angle in relation to the camera and the subject. It helps to have an assistant so that he/she can hold the reflector. You can also use flash to add directional light.

Option 2: Reduce Light

To subtract light (see the image below), place the subject next to a dark object (building, tree, or the black side of your 5-in-1 reflector) and position your subject so that the dark object reduces the light reflecting on one side of your subject’s face. A large open space will allow more light to fall on your subject, but the dark object will cut or block some of the light falling on that side.

Tip #3: Capture Catchlights from Above

In addition to serving as a giant soft box, a cloudy sky can also stand in as a large reflector. If you’re shooting at eye level with your subjects and you ask them to look down or off to the side, you’ll likely struggle to find any catchlights in their eyes; however, if you position yourself at a higher vantage point, either by standing on a bench or asking your subjects to sit, you’ll find the cloudy sky provides a great source for catchlights as your subjects look up at you.

Tip #4: Get Moody with Off-Camera Flash

Off-camera flash definitely opens up the creative possibilities of any shoot, and we recommend familiarizing yourself with various flash photography techniques. One thing flash photography allows photographers to do is add drama to an image. By lowering ambient exposure to retain more highlights and using flash to expose your subject’s skin, you can take advantage of the cloudy sky to capture a moody portrait that wouldn’t work as well in a clear, blue sky.  This maximizes the potential of cloudy day photography so long as there is some color behind the clouds.

Tip #5: Go Bright for a Clean Backdrop

In the opposite direction from the previous tip, you can embrace the bland nature of the cloud cover and use the dreary sky as a canvas to create a clean backdrop. This is one of those situations where it’s okay (even encouraged) to blow out the highlights for effect. Check your histogram and enable your highlight alert to ensure you only blow out details in the sky, not on your subject’s skin. A clean background can set the scene for an elegant portrait and draw more focus to your subject, especially if you follow the next tip.

[Related Reading: Tips to Overcome Bad Weather from 14 Wedding Pros]

Tip #6: Add a Dash of Color

When set against the drab backdrop of an overcast sky, bright colors tend to pop a bit more and can be used to create visual interest and emphasize the focal point in a photo. If there’s time to plan ahead for wardrobe, brush up on your color theory and choose colors to enhance the mood in the image or establish a complementary or monochromatic color scheme.

Tip #7: Adjust Your Settings for Reduced Light

When shooting on a cloudy day, you will need to boost your ISO to compensate for 2-3 stops of light reduction from the clouds. This means if you typically shoot at ISO 100, you’ll need to bump your ISO up to 400-800, sometimes needing to go as high as 1600. Most modern digital cameras make easy work of this adjustment without adding too much graininess or noise to the photo.

Tip #8: Try It in Black & White

If you find you’re still lacking adequate contrast in your cloudy day photos, go bold & dramatic with black and white edits. I’m not saying that you should edit the entire session in black and white, although that is an option, depending on your taste. Instead, choose an image or two and adjust the highlights and shadows to create more contrast. You can go beyond a standard black and white conversion and create incredible monochromatic images from your cloudy day photographs with just a few key adjustments.

Tip #9: Create Your Own Golden Hour

If your clients have their hearts set on golden hour shots, they’ll delight to hear you can still make it happen on a cloudy day. Creating golden hour portraits under an overcast sky will require off-camera lighting gear, but the setup is pretty quick and easy. You can learn more about using this technique here. We even offer a complete mini-workshop on the subject.

Tip #10: Backlight the Rain

In the event that the cloudy weather gives way to rain, fear not! So long as you come prepared, you can take advantage of the downpour and lift your portraiture to new heights with a backlit shot. Gearwise, you’re going to need the following items:

• Umbrella
• Rain Sleeves/Zip-lock Bags for Your Camera & Lighting Gear
• Off-Camera Flash
• Portable Light Stand

Your subjects/clients are going to love the look of the illuminated raindrops glowing from a light placed behind them. Simply place a flash behind the couple and point it directly at them to create some unforgettable images.  If your cloudy weather photoshoot turns into rain, make the most of it!

[Related Reading: 8 Rainy Day Wedding Photography Tips You Need to Know]

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed this article on cloudy day photography and how to get great pictures in unideal weather. Here’s a quick recap of the tips we included above:

• Use the cloudy sky like a giant soft box
• Create directional light
• Capture catchlights from above
• Get moody with off-camera flash
• Go bright for a clean backdrop
• Adjust your settings for reduced light
• Add a dash of color
• Try it in black & white
• Create your own golden hour
• Backlight the rain

Your results & options will vary, of course, depending on the intensity of the cloud cover, but just remember that you can make most weather scenarios work in your favor with a little planning & creativity. If you’d like to dive further into your photography education, check out our Premium subscriptions, which include streaming access to all of our workshops on everything from photography fundamentals to advanced lighting and editing techniques, as well as a number of complete training systems (flash photography, wedding photography, photography business, and more).

Video: How to Photograph a Newborn at Home

In this article/video, I’m going to walk you through how to create your own professional newborn photos from start to finish right in your home garage. Before we begin, be sure to grab the Exercise File and edit it along with me!

Best Time for Newborn Photos

When considering the timing for newborn photos, the first two weeks of the baby’s life often provide the best results, especially between days 5 to 12. It’s during this period that babies tend to sleep deeply, which allows for various newborn and baby poses without disturbing them. Also, they retain much of the natural fetal position, making it easier to capture those quintessential newborn shots.

Creating the Right Environment

One of the critical aspects of newborn photography is ensuring that the environment is suitable for the baby. Firstly, babies are accustomed to a warm ambiance, reminiscent of their time in the womb. So, make sure the room where you’re photographing is cozy, ideally around 80°F or 27°C. This is particularly important if you’ll be photographing the baby with minimal clothing. The ambiance also matters. A calm, quiet environment will ensure that the baby remains peaceful and undisturbed. A handy tip is to consider using a white noise machine or even an app on your phone. It can be instrumental in recreating a soothing environment, similar to what the baby heard in utero.

Safety is paramount. When trying different poses, always ensure that there is sufficient support for the baby, especially for the head and neck. Even when they seem secure in a particular position, always have an extra pair of hands nearby, just in case.

Lighting

In photography, lighting can make or break a picture. For newborn photos at home, natural light proves to be the best choice. You can achieve soft, diffused lighting by positioning the baby near a large window, though not directly under sunlight to avoid harsh shadows. If you’re trying to plan around the weather, overcast days are splendid because the cloud cover acts as a natural diffuser, ensuring the light isn’t too harsh. But if it’s a sunny day, shooting during the early morning or late afternoon is advisable.

Poses

When it comes to poses, the idea is to showcase the natural beauty and innocence of the baby. Wrapping the baby in a soft blanket not only looks endearing but is also functional as it keeps them warm and gives a feeling of security. Placing them on their back and letting their tiny arms and legs stretch out or allowing them to curl up can bring out their vulnerability and cuteness. Don’t forget to involve family members too. A shot of the baby nestled against a parent’s chest or a gentle touch from an elder sibling can evoke powerful emotions.

How I Captured the Image

Before we begin, I’d like to point out that you can use any camera you’d like to capture this image and if you’d like, you can even use your phone in portrait mode or portrait mode equivalent and still come out with fantastic, professional-level images. For today’s tutorial, I photographed my newborn daughter, Josie, with the Fujifilm GFX100S Medium Format Mirrorless camera paired with the Fujifilm GF 80mm f/1.7 R WR Lens which is roughly a 50mm full-frame equivalent. Generally, for portraits like these, I recommend either a 50mm or 85mm prime lens. Since toddlers and young children tend to move quickly, I kept my shutter speed around 1/400 to 1/500 seconds and with our bright natural light coming in through the garage as the primary light source, our ISO will land at around 400-800 depending on the time of day.

For this image, I set up my Backdrop by Ethan Alex a little deeper in the garage since the neutral colored walls provided abundant fill for a large amount of light coming in through the garage opening. If you don’t have a backdrop, you can always use bedsheets or even just a plain wall and when you’re taking the photographs, make sure you always have an adult right by the baby and remove any distractions from the room while you or an assistant try to catch their attention for that perfect expression.

Related Reading: 10 Newborn Baby Photoshoot Ideas & Inspiration

How to Edit a Natural Light Newborn Portrait

You may have noticed that the exercise file is a JPEG. That’s because Lightroom doesn’t yet support the massive 100-megapixel RAW files that come out of the GFX100S, so we’ll be editing the JPEG file which is already beautiful on its own. Specifically, I’ll be using Lightroom Classic, which is a powerful and often underestimated tool and I’d recommend it over Lightroom CC if you’re looking to get the most out of your raw images with the full desktop experience.

Step 1: Getting That Perfect Crop

By pressing R+O with the cropping tool selected, you can cycle through the various composition guides to help you frame the image just right. I began by slightly tightening the frame and getting Josie’s face right in the middle of the picture.

Notice I left a lot of negative space around Josie. I did that because I like the overall look, but also, practically speaking, I’ll want that extra room in case I decide to print the picture down the road and need to fit it into a frame or an album. If the picture is too tight and I need to rework it for any reason, I won’t have anywhere to go without potentially cropping into the subject.

Step 2: Applying the Base Tones with the Basic Adjustment Sliders

There’s a tendency to adjust the exposure first, but we’re going to think a little differently and work backward starting with the evening out the shadows and highlights. By lowering the whites and highlights and raising the shadows and blacks, we’re reducing the contrast and enhancing the brightness and softness created by the large light source coming in from our left.

We’ll lower the contrast slider just a touch and then I’ll brighten up the exposure as well as raise clarity by 10 to boost some of the mid-tone contrast. Using the white-balance selector, find a point in the image that’s closest to neutral that’s also being lit by the primary light source. Seeing that mostly everything in the frame has a tint, I picked Josie’s headband as the closest neutral source and made slight adjustments to arrive at the settings above.

Step 3: Fine-Tuning with HSL and Color Grading

We’ll be working with just the Saturation part of the HSL panel. The biggest difference you’ll notice is that I desaturated most of the blue hues. The blue often happens when you’re working with natural light from a window and you’ll see that mostly in the shadows. By removing the blue hues, we arrive at a more neutral palette. I also pulled some oranges and red hues out of the skin tones as well as greens, aquas, and purples, which are colors that aren’t in the scene anyway.

In the color grading panels, I added warmth to the highlights to match the skin tone and likewise in the mid-tones as well as upping the luminance. In the shadows, I added a touch of blues and raised the luminance to polish up the overall color tone.

Step 4: Final Retouches and Adjustments

Using the adjustment brush tool, I added a touch of warmth to the bottom of Josie’s feet to match the color of her hands and her face. Josie’s smile lines also appeared a bit on the dark side so I used the Diminish Lines tool from our Visual Flow Retouching Toolkit and painted over the lines to soften up the shadow areas and you’ll see that it brightens up the image quite a bit.

After some basic spot healing to get some little flecks and in some cases, boogers, off, our last adjustment is on the eyes. I used Eyes: Whiten as well as Catchlights from the Retouching Toolkit to help Josie’s eyes pop out. Just be sure to zoom in and out frequently to make sure the effect isn’t overdone and is evenly applied to both eyes.

Quick Tip: Hold down Alt or Option, click and drag the adjustment brush marker to the left or right to evenly adjust the overall intensity of the effect.

Before and After of The At Home Newborn Photo

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this full walkthrough of how I captured and edited this newborn portrait of my daughter, Josie. The screenshots layout the baseline settings so that you can create your own adjustment brushes and presets, much like those included in the Visual Flow Retouching Toolkit. We also have an entire Newborn Photography Workshop for those interested in mastering the techniques and incorporating stunning newborn photography into their portfolios.

Be sure to catch our next episode of Mastering Your Craft on Adorama’s YouTube channel next week! If you want to catch up on all the episodes, make sure you check out our playlist!

Get Your Equipment in Order

The first step in our how to become a sports photographer guide is to get the right camera gear.  You’ll want to look for a DSLR or Mirrorless for sports photography as there are plenty of affordable options on the market and you can swap out lenses quickly.

Depending on the sport you plan on shooting, you’ll need a few different lenses in your kit. A “fast” lens (f2.8 or faster), is always good to have on hand, as these let in more light than standard lenses and are great in low-light situations. If you’re shooting sports from a distance, then you’ll also need a quality 200m or 300m telephoto lens. And then a nice Wide-angle (24-70mm) or Fish-eye to get those epic up-close action shots or super-wide “WOW” moments

These lenses are significantly heavier than most standard lenses, so you’ll need to buy a monopod or tripod to make sure your shots are stable.

You’ll also need to have multiple memory cards to hand, so make sure you have at least two 32GB memory cards in your kit. Depending on the sport you want to shoot, you may need more, and if you’re using a larger sensor sized camera, you’ll need more or larger cards again still! It’s always better to have spares and not need them to end up running out of space on a shoot!

[Related Reading: Best Camera For Sports Photography | DSLR & Mirrorless]

Knowing the Game

If you want to become a sports photographer, you may already have an idea of the sport/s you want to shoot. Regardless of if you’re a fan or a sportsperson yourself, you need to brush up on the rules and understand the timings of matches, rounds, and games. It can be helpful to rewatch sports online to get an idea of tactics and formations, too.

Before you start looking for jobs, you should go to different games of your chosen sport/s and do some test shots so you get a feel for the action and find what works for you. Don’t be afraid to try different angles to what you’ve seen online and play around until you find your style. However, you should avoid reviewing your shots while you’re on location as it could lead to you missing a key part of the game.

Knowing Your Camera

Having a strong technical knowledge of your camera’s settings is key to capturing clear sports shots. Knowing the apertures of your lenses and understanding how that affects your shots is vital, as is understanding how each of your camera’s settings changes the outcome of a shot.

Increasing your shutter speed to 1/500 or even 1/1000 can significantly help in getting crisp shots of subjects in motion, but as with all aspects of photography, it’s worth testing your settings to find the best results.

If you’re photographing indoor sports, then you should adjust the white balance on your camera to make sure that your shots don’t become yellow-tinted from the fluorescent lighting. Again, you’ll want to experiment with your settings to see what balance works best for you.

You should also get used to using burst mode on your camera. As you already know, sports games are fast-paced affairs, and burst mode can help you to capture a perfect shot during a short window of time. If you’re using burst mode, make sure that you have at least one back-up memory card to hand, as this can fill up your storage quickly.

Something else to keep in mind is the low-light capabilities of your camera, some situations will require you to push that iso well past 3200, so be sure to get a system that has a great low light sensor that can keep up with the shifting requirements of the events you’re at.

[Related Reading: 3 Custom Camera Settings for Wildlife & Sports Photography]

Getting Jobs as a Sports Photographer

Once you’ve done a few test shoots and you’ve learned more about how to get great quality sports shots, then it’s a good time to start hunting for some paid work opportunities.

Unfortunately, as a new photographer, this might mean taking on unpaid or volunteer work to get your name out there. Offering your skills to a local youth club, shooting a charity game, or even volunteering as an assistant for another sports photographer can be a great way to improve on your skills and network with other photographers.

The key here is practice! Even without an “official” assignment, it’s great advice to cover every game / sport as much as you can, so even taking shots at a local park’s pickup game is a great place to start building your portfolio out and learning how & when the magic moments are going to happen.

You could also take a course at your local school, college, or community center, which will help you meet like-minded people and learn more about photography. It’s also worth taking a course in photography post-production software like Photoshop and Lightroom, as this will help clean up your best shots for publication.

On the subject of publication, it’s also a good idea to start a blog, Instagram account, or online gallery to display your work. Not only can this act as your online portfolio, but it’s a great way to start networking with other photographers and learn more about the industry. It’s important to have a healthy mix of an updated website/portfolio along with an active social media feed like Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

Lastly, and probably the most important, is always be polite and professional! While having all the gear and skills needed to capture a great shot is important, it’s also important to be reputable! Maintaining a punctual, professional, and “nice” reputation will get you a lot further with your career than you’d think! Putting all these things together will help get you started on the path of photographing sporting events and capturing some epic images! As usual, if you have any tips be sure to add them in the comments below, and if you’re shot sporting events, be sure to share some of your images as well!

Video: Creative Photography Ideas | How to Shoot “Water Hats” on the Cheap!

The temperatures have been soaring lately. Depending on where you live, you might’ve even seen record heat over the last couple weeks. Normally, such weather makes staying indoors (so long as you have air conditioning) sound ideal. However, in this article, we’re going to share a fun, creative photography idea (inspired by Tim Tadder) that’s perfect for getting outside on hot, sunny days. To make sure anyone can do this without breaking the bank, we used inexpensive items for the entire shoot (including a black bedsheet for the backdrop), and you’ll just need any camera that you already have (including a smartphone camera).

Step 1: Find Hot, Midday Sun

Let’s avoid freezing our children in winter as we pop water balloons over their heads. I know that we normally try to avoid midday photo shoots, but this technique works best with midday sun (generally around 11am or 1pm) with just a slight trace of directional light.

Step 2: Set Up Your Backdrop

If you have a black cloth background, great! Use that. If you do not, a simple bed sheet will work (preferably a darker color, such as black). Likewise, if you don’t have a regular backdrop stand (pictured above), you can also line up a couple chairs and drape the sheet over them, using the backside of the covered chair as a backdrop. If you plan on shooting more photos against a backdrop, however, I recommend picking up a backdrop stand. They’re affordable and come in handy.

[Related Reading: One Simple Step for Better Photos | Advanced Composition]

Step 3: Verify the Angle of Light

Make sure that your subject’s back is to the sun. In other words, you will shoot towards the sun. We chose to use midday sun because the high angle of the sun allows your subject to be backlit while keeping the backdrop in the shade.  If you were to use this creative photography idea at a different time of day, the angle of the sun would cast longer shadows and it would become more difficult to separate your subject from the background.

Step 4: Dial In Your Camera Settings

Select the Highest Frame Rate Option

For this shoot, I used the Canon EOS-R, which offers somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 frames per second when shooting stills. Some cameras offer super fast frame rates (20 frames per second or faster), and the faster, the better,  but you can really use whatever camera you have available to pull this off; it might just take a couple more tries to get the perfect frame.

Choose a Fast Shutter Speed

In order to freeze the action, we need to choose a fast shutter speed. 1/4000 of a second is good, and 1/8000 of a second is better.

Stop Down the Aperture

By stopping down the aperture to f/5.6 , as opposed to opening it up to f/2, you’ll get more depth and keep more of your subject and the water droplets in focus. If it’s especially bright outside, you can stop down to f/7.1 to capture even more detail.

Adjust the ISO to Get the Proper Exposure

Finally, adjust your ISO to balance out your exposure. Make sure, based on the camera that you’re using, that the ISO setting will not reduce the image quality too much. For example, even though we’re shooting in midday sun, I bumped the ISO to 1600, but that fits within the acceptable range of ISO for the OES-R and doesn’t compromise the image quality. The settings will vary, of course, based on how bright it is. The first time I tried this technique, it was under midday sun and I was able to shoot with ISO 400. The second time, the sky was a little overcast, and I had to bump the ISO a bit more to ISO 1600.

How to Adjust Your Settings with an iPhone

If you’re using a smartphone for this shoot, you can dial in your settings by sliding your shutter button to the left to go into burst mode. The phone will then automatically adjust the other settings. You may notice the quality drop off a little as you relinquish control to the camera’s auto settings, especially if you’re trying this with both a phone and a regular DSLR or mirrorless camera, but the phone camera still gets the job done and is fun to use as well.

Step 5: Pop the Balloons!

It’s time to have fun and pop the balloons! I purchased a pack of “Buncho O Balloons” from Amazon. They’re quick and easy to fill, which is perfect when you need to fill up, well, a bunch of balloons. All you need to do is put a pack of balloons over the hose and you can fill up several balloons at once. Of course, you can use other brands, but these worked well for us.

Once the balloons are filled, get your subject into position. Whoever is tasked with popping the balloons should hold the balloon directly over the subjects head (just out of frame) and have a pin or needle ready to pop the balloon on your command. At this point, you should’ve already locked your focus and dialed in your settings.

We found that if we counted down, “3…2…1,” the subjects would anticipate the pop, close their eyes, and squint through the action. The goal is to capture a typical pose and expression with a funny water hat, so we switched up our approach and I told the balloon popper to wait for my shutter to start clicking and then just pop the balloon. Once you DO hit the shutter, just hold it down and rapid fire through the whole sequence.

After you capture a sequence of images, look through them to make sure you captured the perfect expression and water hat. If not, run through the cycle again as soon as your subject is ready. Or, if you have a good expression in one image and a perfect water hat in another, you can create a composite image and quickly swap the expressions.

Gallery

Here’s a gallery of images we captured using the technique outlined above. The camera settings were as follows: 15-35mm @ 35mm, 1/4000, f/4.0, ISO 1600.

[Related Reading: Long Exposure Phone Photography Tip! From Shoot to Post]

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed this creative photography idea for photographing water hats on the cheap! For more creative photography ideas, check out our newest workshop, Creative Photography 101! Every image in the workshop is taken using a phone to show that photography is not about the camera, but rather the person behind it.

Be sure to catch our next episode of Mastering Your Craft on Adorama’s YouTube channel next week! If you want to catch up on all the episodes, make sure you check out our playlist!