My wife took this...

As I said before, I stopped to homeschool. I would still do photography, but on a personal level only, never again commercial. I even did my son's high school graduation photo.

Advice? Study Rembrandt lighting and butterfly lighting. Find and study the Old Master's techniques and incorporate them in your natural lighting. Learn from your natural lighting and use the seasons. For example, in spring for best lighting, I always shot outdoors early am to mid-morning. Autumn would be late afternoon to early evening. Never between 11am and 2pm - the sun was always too high and too bright - washed everything out.

When you see a portrait or style you like, study it. Look at the lighting and rip it apart in your mind. You know the science of light and shadows, so examine it with a scientific mind. If you don't know the science of light and shadows, study it TO DEATH! Mastering light is the key - make it work for you.

And lastly, don't copy fads - create your own style.

On a personal note... I hated any prop that nature did not create.

I love photography too, although I also don't have much equipment or whatnot (just a moderately expensive digital camera that will probably need replacing in a few years because technology will leave it behind..). We should have a photo thread.

A photo thread would be very nice.

Thanks for the advice, Marcia! I still have so much to learn.

Mrs. Wigrid wrote:A photo thread would be very nice.

Thanks for the advice, Marcia! I still have so much to learn.

Yes, there is a lot. But it is a fun thing to learn and you have an easy way to learn with your driveway and your child. Plus with digital, you can see the results instantly. I had to always wait until I could process the film and compare. (I could never afford the Polaroid backs.)

Here's project for you, but it will take one full year to complete. Find your favorite section of your driveway that shows it in its most natural beauty. Shoot it now for a summer scene.

Shoot the EXACT scene again in October or so for orange, gold, and red leaves falling.

Again, in Jan or Feb for a bare, cold and hard scene.

And again in April or so for soft greens, flowering buds, and tender new growth showing.

Make sure all are shot at pretty much the EXACT same location to give you the perspective you need to compare.

Plus it makes for a beautiful and interesting photo array in one's living room!

PeacethroughX wrote:

Mrs. Wigrid wrote:A photo thread would be very nice.

Thanks for the advice, Marcia! I still have so much to learn.

Yes, there is a lot. But it is a fun thing to learn and you have an easy way to learn with your driveway and your child. Plus with digital, you can see the results instantly. I had to always wait until I could process the film and compare. (I could never afford the Polaroid backs.)

Here's project for you, but it will take one full year to complete. Find your favorite section of your driveway that shows it in its most natural beauty. Shoot it now for a summer scene.

Shoot the EXACT scene again in October or so for orange, gold, and red leaves falling.

Again, in Jan or Feb for a bare, cold and hard scene.

And again in April or so for soft greens, flowering buds, and tender new growth showing.

Make sure all are shot at pretty much the EXACT same location to give you the perspective you need to compare.

Plus it makes for a beautiful and interesting photo array in one's living room!

I am totally going to do that!

Thats just an amazingly beautifu forest you have captured with your camera!! Editing or not. whats the big deal? I want to see the trees!

The ony thing I have to say about this photo as improvement is that she should have taken it up in the forest, among the trees, away from the road. To make it even more nature-ish.
What country is this from anyhow?


/the treehugger

I believe the Colonel and his lady are here in the USA.