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• Photography Project Ideas

Here are 10 photography project ideas to stimulate your creative juices and get you photographing outside of your box. Use them as self-assignments, and get shooting!

1. Graveyards

Graveyard
© Julie Waterhouse Photography

That idea may sound a little morbid, but graveyards can be a wonderful place to photograph. Often, they are beautiful areas, surrounded by nature. They are peaceful places to spend time, which allows you to connect with your inner creativity. You can also take along a close-up lens, and photograph the writing on the tombstones, or just the textures. Some of the old stones have wonderful, rough textures that may make good images in their own right, or they can be composited with another image in Photoshop.

2. People From Behind

It’s always good to take a different perspective on your subject matter. How often have you shot people from behind? It can produce some powerful images.

3. Mannequins

Mannequin
© Julie Waterhouse Photography

You can often find mannequins in store windows. If you are lucky, you can catch store displays in the middle of being set up. Keep your eyes open; there are many fun and intriguing photography project ideas here once you’re on the lookout.

4. Evolution of Construction

Find a spot in your neighborhood with a building that’s under construction, and photograph it every day from the same vantage point. You’ll end up with a “flip book” of pictures showing the growth of the building.

5. Nature Reclaiming

The idea here is to shoot man-made objects or environments that nature is reclaiming. Old cars, or abandoned buildings with vegetation growing throughout make for great photography project ideas. Just remember, safety first!

6. Water

Water
© Julie Waterhouse Photography

71% of our planet is covered with it. This is a big topic that could take you years to explore! You can photograph oceans, lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, or your bath tub; everything from large bodies of water to small trickles. Should you include snow or ice? You decide! There are many creative photo ideas to be found within this topic.

7. Graffiti

Here’s a project for city dwellers. The trick here is to go beyond just photographing someone else’s art, and to interpret it yourself. Can you bring order to chaos? Can you find meaning in interesting juxtapositions? Use the urban artists to inspire your own photography ideas.

8. Landscape au Monet

Find yourself a beautiful landscape nearby, and return to it many times to photograph it under different lighting conditions: morning light, evening light, mist, or rain – each one will produce very a different image. Keep an eye on the weather. Storms can produce some dramatic light. Have your camera nearby so you don’t miss out. This is an exercise that Monet did when painting his Haystacks series.

9. Patterns

Pattern
© Julie Waterhouse Photography

Repeating lines or shapes form patterns. Experiment with composing your entire image from a pattern, or breaking up the pattern with an irregularity.

 

 

 

 

10. Someone You Love

I’ve recently been reminded that the time we have with our loved ones is limited, and always too short. Take the time while you can to record some memories of the people closest to you. Make it a project that you execute over time, and find images that go beyond mere snapshots. Keep your camera ready at all times, and be ready for defining moments as they happen. Try to capture those typical gestures and expressions you know so well. You don’t have to wait for a "special occasion" to take pictures. Life is a special occasion. Photograph the person in their usual environment, performing their everyday activities. You will treasure those images later. For inspiration, take a look at this beautiful compilation of images by photographer Phillip Toledano, “Days with my Father.”

Pay it forward! If you found any of these ideas helpful, then please leave one of your own in our photography project ideas forum topic

 

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• Photography Classes Toronto

Create Photographs You Can Be Proud Of

Join an inspiring workshop that will
draw out your hidden creativity and
teach you to take fabulous photographs!

Jump straight to workshop schedule

My photography workshops are designed to help you improve your photography. I want to help you to start taking pictures that will give you a sense of pride and accomplishment; pictures that will "wow" your friends, and that you’d be happy to hang on your wall. Get in touch with your inner creativity in a fun and friendly workshop that fits into your busy schedule!

Workshops take place in and around Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

 

Take better pictures

Small class sizes ensure lots of individual attention and customised instruction, which means that you learn the specific skills that you need to take better pictures.

A hands-on approach means that you apply what you learn immediately. You can correct mistakes as they happen, and get feedback exactly when you need it most. That will speed up your learning process, and have you taking better pictures in no time.

Workshops make learning EASY

Clear explanations of concepts accelerate your learning so your photography improves even faster.

Unleash your inner creativity!

Concerned that you’re not creative enough? Don’t worry! Everyone has creativity hidden within. Workshops include specific exercises designed to draw out yours. You will start to develop your own individual style, taking your photographs to the next level. Creativity is the key ingredient to making your pictures stand out.

Improve your photography through personal feedback

After each workshop, you submit a few images to be critiqued by the instructor. All comments are constructive and helpful. You are also able to see and learn from the critiques on your fellow participants’ images. Feedback that is specific to your images is the best possible way to improve your photography. You will learn new skills that you can apply next time you go out shooting.

Jump to workshop schedule for photography classes Toronto area

Enjoy a friendly learning environment

I offer patient and encouraging instruction in a friendly and supportive learning environment. There’s no embarrassment in asking questions, and I will "meet you where you’re at," no matter your skill level. You go home with all your questions answered so that you can start taking better pictures immediately.

Have some FUN while you learn!

In a group workshop environment, you get to meet other people who share your passion for photography. You might even make a friend along the way. And that makes leaning fun!

As a bonus, you can learn from a diverse group of participants, as well as the instructor. That means more learning for you. And more learning means better pictures!

Fit a workshop into your busy life

The short time-commitment required for a single afternoon workshop makes it easy to fit into your schedule. It also gives you a digestible amount of information at one time so you don’t feel overwhelmed. That makes learning easier.

Be inspired

Outdoor workshops take place in inspiring locations, usually close to Nature. Time spent in Nature is known to have therapeutic benefits. It also inspires your creativity, which gives your photographs the boost they need to get the "wows" you want.

Ready to improve your photography and reignite your creativity? Check the current schedule and sign up for a workshop now.

2013 Schedule

Photography Classes Toronto Area

Date	Workshop (Click link to see full description)	Buy Now
On Your Schedule	One-On-One Coaching	See rates in description
Saturday, February 2, 2013 1pm-4pm	Hands-on Creative Close-up Photography	$95 + HST
Saturday, February 23, 2013 3pm-6:30pm	Winter Wonderland Field Outing	$75 + HST
Saturday, March 9, 2013 1pm-4pm	Improve Your Digital Photography (Classroom)	$60 + HST
Saturday, April 27, 2013 1pm-4pm	Hands-on Creative Close-up Photography	$95 + HST
Saturday, May 18, 2013 5:30pm-9:00pm	Cherry Blossoms Field Outing	$75 + HST
Saturday, June 1, 2013, 2pm-9:30pm	A Full-Day Creativity Field Workshop Port Hope (includes creativity video tutorial)	$130+HST
Saturday, September 7, 2013 6pm – late!	Night Photography Field Outing (includes night photography video tutorial)	$130 + HST
Saturday, October 5, 2013 4:00pm – 7:30pm	Fall Colours Field Outing	$75 + HST
Saturday, October 19, 2013 11:30am-7pm	A Full-Day Creativity Field Workshop Southwestern Ontario (Grimsby area?) (includes creativity video tutorial)	$130 + HST
Saturday, November 9, 2013 1pm-4pm	Hands-on Creative Close-up Photography	$95 + HST

 

 

Payment Information

(Photography Classes Toronto Area)

You can pay securely online using Paypal. Even if you don’t have a Paypal account, you can use your credit card through Paypal. Just choose your desired workshop, and click "Add to Cart." To view your cart, or to checkout, click "View Cart."

Alternatively, you can call Julie at 647-204-5854 to pay with Visa, Mastercard or American Express.

Save money!! If you pay for two or more workshops at a time, you receive a $10 discount on each workshop! So, have more fun and save by bringing a friend or partner! Or mix and match multiple workshops for yourself, and save while improving your photography!

Create photographs you can be proud of. Sign up now for an inspiring workshop that will draw out your hidden creativity and teach you to take fabulous photographs.

 

Workshop Descriptions (Photography classes Toronto area)

 

Julie conducts group hands-on, classroom, and online workshops, leads field trips and outings, and provides individual, one-on-one coaching and lessons. Topics include introduction to digital photography, close-up photography, printing, Photoshop, Lightroom and workflow. Her business serves Markham, Stouffville, Uxbridge, Pickering, Oshawa, Richmond Hill, Scarborough, York Region, Mississauga, Oakville, Toronto, and the GTA. Contact Julie if you have any questions re: photography classes Toronto area

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• Photography Ideas
• 365 Project

Welcome to my 365 project. I’m taking and sharing one photo a day for a year, with the goal of growing my creativity and pushing myself to try new things.

Note: The widget above shows the most recent 20 images. To see the complete collection, please visit my Flickr photostream.

I have recently started a project to take one photo a day for a year, and post it for the world to see.

"Why?", you might well ask. In April 2011, I quit my job of 18 years at a large IT company to devote myself full-time to my photography-related endeavours. I felt like my creative muscle had somewhat atrophied after so long in IT. This exercise is intended to push me creatively and perhaps take my photography in a new direction. It’s time to grow!

So far, the psychology behind the 365 project has been interesting. I’m delighted with the excitement I feel to get out and shoot every day! I do, however, feel "pressure to produce," especially given that I’m sharing the photos. I’m also fighting an urge to make them "perfect," since this might also cause me to keep them "safe." A large part of the goal of the project is to get me outside of my comfort zone (i.e., macro flowers and rural Ontario landscapes). That means shooting more experimentally, which will naturally lead to some less than wonderful images. You’ll just have to bear with me ;-).

The other internal pressure I’m fighting is to take the images I think I ought to be taking. This comes back to having an audience, and is no doubt tied up with issues of ego! LOL! In any event, it’s important for me to fight this pressure, and make sure I’m creating images that appeal to me. This 365 project is about exploring and discovering my own creative self. I can’t be photographing for "someone else."

Finally, I’ve decided that I must not "cheat" by using extra photos from a prolific day on a day where I’m finding it tough. My rule is that the picture I post must be taken on the same day.

So far, this process has been really positive, and I feel like it’s pushing me to grow creatively. I highly recommend the experience, and I encourage you to try it.

Update 1:

I have now reached the halfway point of my 365 project. I’m even more convinced now than when I started that this is a terrific way to improve your photography. I have made more images over the last 6 months than in any previous 6 month period. Not every one is a masterpiece, to be sure. I do , however, have many new images that I love that I know I would not have taken otherwise. In the past I would often observe something photographically interesting, but make only a mental note. This project has given me the extra motivation I need to actually pull out my camera and make an image. It’s also pushed me to make images outside of my comfort zone. Working from home most of the time, I’m often in the same surroundings so I’m forced to get creative in order to produce a new image. The days where I don’t feel motivated to shoot, and find my self scrambling late at night to find a subject (and yes, there are a fair number of these days!) are often the days where I produce a really interesting, unusual, or creative image. Yes, desperation does breed creativity! All in all, I’m thoroughly enjoying the experience, and heartily recommend it to any and all photographers. I guarantee that you will grow as a photographer if you commit to a 365 project and stick it out.

Update 2:

I finished the project! It gave me a great sense of accomplishment to complete a full year of photos (366 photos in all, since it was a leap year!). I definitely recommend this project to anyone as a way to grow and push your own boundaries. As a bonus, you will have a wonderful collections of unique photos at the end. I still enjoy going through mine, and drawing on them for further inspiration.

To help you stick to the project, I recommend that you go public! Share you project with the world on a website, and publicize it to your friends. There’s nothing like a little social accountability to motivate you… Go for it! Happy shooting.

Barbara Bender, a guest contributor on this website, was inspired by my project to try her own. Now that she’s reached the halfway point, read her account of her experience with a 52 week variant of a project 365.

 

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• Beginner Photography
• Photography Critique #3

Learn photography through a friendly and constructive photography critique. In this video, I share my thoughts on a beautiful, soft-focus flower image offering tips for cropping, and reducing the impact of an overwhelming background.

 

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Video Transcript

Hello, and welcome to another edition of Two Minute Photo Tips. I’m Julie from Ultimate Photo Tips, and this week it’s critique week! I have to send out a very big "thank you" to one of our readers, Paddy Howes from South Africa. She very kindly responded to my call for images, and sent in a beautiful flower photo for comment.

As always, remember that these comments are just my opinion. They are not the absolute truth, but I do hope I can offer up some food for thought that you might be able to apply to your own images. So, let’s dive right in and get started.

© Paddy Howes

Photography Critique: What I like about this image!

Here we are in Lightroom with Paddy’s beautiful flower image. Anyone who knows me and who knows my photography, knows that I love images like this: soft focus close-ups of flowers. This one is really nicely done, so there’s not a lot for me to say in terms of ways to improve this image. I will give you a couple of suggestions for things that you might want to try.

Photography Critique: Cropping

The first one has to do with cropping. The image, how it stands, has a lot of negative space around the flower. I feel like the flower is just on the verge of feeling a bit lost within the image, so my instinct is just to crop it in a little bit. So let me show you what I mean. I’m going to go into the crop tool, and I’m going to try an 8×10 aspect ratio. You don’t need to use any particular aspect ratio, but I think that’s one that’s going to work for us here.

Now, what I’m going to do — if you notice down in this bottom left corner, there’s a little bit of a gap in the background material. I’m going to adjust my cropping rectangle to kind of hide that, and have the stem starting almost out of the bottom. That gives me a bit of room that the top of the image where I prefer to have it. That’s the crop that I like.

© Paddy Howes
Crop by Julie

One other option that you could try for cropping is a square. Let’s take a peek at what that would be like. Just the default there looks pretty good. Now here, for sure, we’ve come right in on the flower and drawn attention onto the flower, no question.

© Paddy Howes
Crop by Julie

This is personal preference whether you like this crop better, or one that has a little bit more room. I like to have a little bit more room. This is now starting to feel a little bit too tight for me. I’m going to go back out to the last one, with a bit of space at the top. I actually like what’s happening in the background there. It’s nice and soft, but there’s some gentle shapes defined there that echo the shape of the petals, and there’s a little bit of breathing room. So this is the crop that I’m going to pick.

Photography Critique: Subduing the Background

Now, the other thing that I would suggest… That yellow in the background: I like it very much. I like the warmth of it, and the warmth of the green. Those two colors together give a really uplifting feeling to the image; a nice warm, sunny day kind of feeling. I like that, but I do find that that yellow is very, very strong, and its beginning to overpower the flower a little bit. Because it’s such an intense yellow, and yellow is one of the colors that draws our attention quite a lot and is quite powerful to us, it is pulling attention away from the flower a little bit.

What I’d like to do is come over to my saturation tool here. I’m just going to go into the yellow itself, and desaturate a little bit. We’ll come down somewhere around here (-25). I still have that warm feeling, but now I don’t find that yellow quite as overwhelming. It’s a little bit softer, but still in keeping with the overall image.

Now, I didn’t check the exposure yet, so I’ll look and see. This is a "light" feeling image to me, so I think we could handle a little bit more exposure. There’s a teeny little bit of room at the right of my histogram, so I’m going to bump up my exposure just a little bit. Let’s see if I can go any further. No. I don’t want to clip anything, so we’ll stay there, and brighten it up just a little bit.

Photography Critique: Contrast

Now, between that change in exposure and the desaturating of the yellows, we’ve lost a little bit of the punch and impact of the image. So now I’m going to go and add a little bit of contrast. Now, we don’t want to be too heavy-handed here, because this is a delicate feeling image. I’m just going to try what the default medium contrast does. I like that! It’s just perked up the image that little bit to bring some life back into it.

Now, like I said, you don’t want to be too heavy-handed here. If I went in here — you can see I have room at the left of the histogram — and start dragging [the blacks] out, now it’s getting kind of harsh. I’m pulling saturation back into the yellow and it looks too contrasty now. It’s just not in keeping with the mood of the image. I’m going to back that off. I want to keep in nice and delicate with just that little extra bit of contrast.

© Paddy Howes
Crop and adjustments by Julie

Photography Critique: Thank You, Paddy!

And that’s it! I like the image now! I think maybe you could sharpen the image a little bit just to make sure the little hairy bits on the back side are tack sharp, but other than that? Beautiful!

So, once again, a big thank you to Paddy for sending in her image for photography critique, and to all of you for watching. That’s it for today! Make sure to visit me on ultimate-photo-tips.com and sign up for my newsletter while you’re there. That’s where I share ideas and inspiration that I don’t share anywhere else.

Happy shooting, and I’ll see you next time!

 

I hope you enjoyed this photography critique! Be sure to check out more beginner photography critique videos, as well as our Two Minute Photo tips videos on digital photography technique.

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• Digital Photography Technique
• Photography Diffuser

Having trouble photographing in the bright sunlight? Let me show you how a diffuser can help you reduce contrast when the light is very bright.

 

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Video Transcript

It’s warm and bright and sunny again, and that makes us want to grab our cameras and start shooting! But what about that harsh light? How can we work with it so that our photos look good?

Hi, I’m Julie from Ultimate Photo Tips, and today I want to show you how to use a diffuser to help you reduce contrast when the light is very bright.

Although it feels great to be out on a sunny day, it’s one of the toughest shooting situations for our cameras to handle. That’s because the dynamic range — the range of light from darkest to brightest – is often too great to be fully captured by your camera’s sensor. The highlights blow out and the shadows block up when there’s too much contrast.

What can you do? If you are photographing a relatively small area, such as a portrait or flower, then a diffuser can be the answer. A diffuser is anything that’s white and translucent. It lets some of the light through, but not all of it, and the light that does pass through gets scattered, or diffused. As a result, you get less contrast.

Let’s take a look at some examples.

I went out this morning at about 10 o’clock to photograph some tulips in my backyard. The light was very bright. This is a shot straight out of the camera. You can see that there’s a lot of contrast. The shadows are dark and the highlights are bright, and both of those distract you from the subject itself.

Bright sunlight creates high contrast
© Julie Waterhouse

Now, here’s the same shot taken with a photography diffuser added. The contrast has been dramatically reduced, and now you can see detail in the flowers.

Using a diffuser reduces contrast
© Julie Waterhouse

Here’s an overview shot of the scene so you can see how I positioned the photography diffuser between the light and my subject. You can actually see it casting a shadow over the tulips.

Setting up the photography diffuser
© Julie Waterhouse

Here’s a second example. I was photographing the leaves on my crabapple tree against the backdrop of my brown fence. Without the diffuser, there’s a lot of contrast in the leaves, and those brights and dark spots are distracting.

Bright sunlight creates high contrast
© Julie Waterhouse

With a diffuser, again, the contrast is significantly reduced.

Using a photography diffuser reduces contrast
© Julie Waterhouse

Now, I liked the dark background of the first image, so I can add that back in with some post-processing, while keeping low contrast on the leaves.

I’ve darkened the background in post processing
© Julie Waterhouse

Again, here are a couple of overview shots so you can see how my diffuser was positioned.

Setting up the diffuser
© Julie Waterhouse

I have it quite close to my subject, which I’ve circled in red.

Setting up the diffuser (subject circled in red)
© Julie Waterhouse

You can make you own diffuser using a frame made out of foamcore, and covering it with some translucent white paper. You can also buy collapsible diffusers in a variety of sizes.

Bonus tip: You need to make sure you use a large enough photography diffuser that is also covers any background that’s in your photo as well, otherwise you’ll have a bright and contrasty background that distracts from your nicely diffused subject.

So, enjoy the bright sunshine, but don’t forget to pack a diffuser in your kit.

For more great photo tips, come on over to ultimate-photo-tips.com, and make sure to sign up for my newsletter while you’re there. That’s where I share ideas and inspiration that I don’t share anywhere else.

Happy shooting, and I’ll see you next time!

 

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• Digital Photography Technique
• Variable Neutral Density Filter

A variable neutral density filter can help you do long exposures and selective focus in bright lighting conditions. In this video, I explain how the filter works, and how to use it effectively.

 

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Find part two of this video on using variable neutral density filters for portrait photography.

Video Transcript

Let’s say it’s bright out, but you want a long shutter speed – maybe you want to create that soft, silky water look. The problem is, it’s so bright that you just can’t make your aperture small enough to allow that long shutter speed. Is there anything that you can do? Yes there is!

Hi, I’m Julie from Ultimate Photo Tips, and today I’m going to introduce you to the variable neutral density filter, also known as the fader ND filter. This handy filter can help you in tricky situations, when you have bright light, and you want to blur motion or, conversely, you want to use selective focus.

Here’s how it works. A neutral density filter reduces the amount of light entering the lens, without affecting it’s color. It looks like a solid grey. The darker (or denser) the filter, the less light it lets in. You can get a 1 stop ND that reduces the amount of light entering the lens by 1 stop, a 2 stop ND that reduces the amount of light entering the lens by 2 stops, and so on, on up. The variable or fader ND filter is a flexible version of the ND that combines a 1-stop all the way to an 8-stop (or more) filter in one. It works a little bit like a polarizer. You just turn the front element to dial in how many stops you want. Let me give you a quick close-up peek at what one of these filters looks like.

Without the filter, if you want to blur motion, like my example of creating silky water, you you choose the smallest possible aperture to let in the least amount of light, choose the lowest ISO available to make the sensor the least sensitive to light, and then your shutter speed would be determined by how bright it is where you’re shooting. If it’s too bright, and there’s just too much light, you simply can’t use a long shutter speed without over-exposing your image. But what if you could turn down the light, even outside? That’s effectively what you’re doing if you add the variable ND filter. You just set the shutter speed you want to use, and then turn the filter to increase the density, until you get to a correct exposure.

In the same way, if you want to use selective focus on a bright day, and you simply can’t get a shutter speed fast enough to allow you to open the lens to it’s widest aperture, you can use this filter to reduce the light, and get your shot.

Now you can effectively break the law of reciprocity, which says that as you lengthen your shutter speed, you must compensate by making your aperture smaller, and vice versa. Using this filter gives you control of both your aperture and shutter speed, and let’s you actually vary the ambient light to get to the right exposure. It’s like having your cake and eating it too!

Check out a
variable neutral density filter
at B&H

Join me next next week to learn about about one more situation where this filter can be useful, and that’s for portrait photography!

For now, head on on over to ultimate-photo-tips.com for more great tips.

Happy shooting, and I’ll see you next time!

 

Find part two of this video on using variable neutral density filters for portrait photography.

 

 

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• Portrait Photography Tips
• Family Portrait Ideas

Family Portrait Ideas

Stuck for exciting family portrait ideas? Look no further! We’ve gathered some creative ideas and tips to help you create a fun family portrait session, and produce beautiful photographs.

Today’s style of family portraiture has evolved from the very stuffy and formal poses of the past, where the men were in ties, the ladies in dresses, and everyone lined up neatly and smiled into the camera. Instead, families are looking for natural, candid photos that capture something personal and unique about them.

Giving the Family Something to Do

People become stiff and awkward when they are feeling self-conscious, and there’s nothing like having a camera pointed at them to draw out their insecurities! Most people are uncomfortable in front of a camera, and your first task is to set them at ease. Whether you’re photographing your own family, or you’re a pro shooting a family portrait session, remember that you are in charge. The family is looking to you for guidance as to what they should do. Now it’s time for you to become a director!

What Are the Family Hobbies?

Family portrait ideas:
Father and son fishing.

What better way to get a family to relax than to engage them in their favorite activity? You should choose an activity that is representative of the family so that it makes the portraits meaningful and personal.

Your family portrait ideas could be sports-related, such as soccer, baseball, or swimming. They could also be associated with a hobby like fishing, cooking, gardening, camping, or fixing cars. The goal is to make the portrait more than just a lineup of family members, so that it says something about who the family is, and what is important to them.

Have the portrait tell a story about the interaction between members of the family. There’s no need for everyone to be looking at the camera; having people look at each other will emphasize the passion that they share for the activity.

 

In Their Element

Family portrait ideas:
A couple cooking together in their kitchen.

Another great way to get relaxed and happy expressions from your subjects is to photograph the family in an environment that is familiar to them. This could be inside their home, in their garden, or in a nearby park.

 

Get Moving!

An easy way to get a family to relax is to get them moving. It’s much easier for people to feel at ease if they don’t have to hold themselves stiffly for a portrait. Anything that feels like play will produce happy and spontaneous smiles. Family portrait ideas that get the family running or jumping together are perfect. A connection between them, such as holding hands, will symbolically create the impression of the family bond.

Family photo ideas:
Running Together

Try a classic shot of the kids, or the whole family, running in a line together, holding hands.
Note the coordinated clothing in this shot as well. Blue and white give a fresh look to the image.

Outdoor Family Portraits

If the weather is cooperative, outdoor family portraits can produce some great results. Families are often more relaxed outside than in a studio setting, leading to more natural-looking shots. There is also more room to let them be active.

You must pay careful attention to the lighting conditions when photographing outdoor family portraits. With sunlight, you may be able to get away without a flash, but not always. If the light is very bright, then you may actually need to add fill flash to eliminate harsh shadows, and balance out the sunlight. You can also look for a shady spot to pose your family. Do try to ensure that everyone in the photo is lit as evenly as possible. You don’t want Mom in the sun and Dad in the shadows. Finally, try not to have anyone looking directly into bright sunlight, or you will find them blinking or squinting.

Outdoor family portraits can take advantage of the beauty of nature to provide a complimentary background for your photograph. If you’re using an urban environment for your outdoor family portraits, be extra careful about busy backgrounds, and always watch out for other people walking into your shot.

Family Portraits on the Beach

If you’re looking for family portrait ideas, the beach is always a favorite spot for photography, and it’s wonderful to do family portraits on the beach.

The water and sand can provide a simple background canvas for you. Do make sure your shooting angle doesn’t place the horizon line, where sand meets sky, through anyone’s head.

Water can provide opportunities for playful interaction and splashing, which can be a source of fun family portrait ideas — just don’t get your camera wet!

The following is a shot I took of a family at the beach. The causal setting relaxed everyone, so I had no complaints while I was setting up. The uneven line of people helps keep the portrait informal. This was an unplanned shot, so the clothing is a mishmash of bright colors and logo T-shirts, making it look even more informal.

Do watch out for legs and feet sticking out toward your camera when you are using a wide angle lens; they can look disproportionately large. The effect is not too pronounced in this photo, but would be much worse if I had a smaller group that was less spread out.

Family portraits on the beach
© Julie Waterhouse

Here is another portrait at the beach, this time of a mother and daughter. Here, the feet are nicely hidden by having the pair lie down. The soft warm light on their faces can be created by using a fill flash with a warming gel, or by bouncing light onto them with a gold reflector. If you have no flash or reflectors, then you can catch the late afternoon light as the sun begins to set.

More family portraits on the beach

When shooting family portraits on the beach, you may need to overexpose by a stop if there is lots of light sand in the photo. Also consider using a polarizing filter to bring out the blue in the sky and the water.

The Kiss

This is a natural pose that anyone can do. Just ask, "Give Mom (or Dad!) a big kiss!" and be ready to catch the moment. Children will feel very comfortable with this kind of interaction, and the final portrait will be more natural than asking them to look at the camera. Crop in close with your composition to capture expressions and increase the emotional impact.

Daughter giving Mom a kiss.

You can reverse the pose, and have a parent give their child a kiss. This works well when photographing a baby. You can’t really give posing instructions to a baby, but they will naturally look into Mom’s or Dad’s eyes.

Mom and baby share a tender moment.

The photo on the left was taken in a studio using a white seamless background to provide a very clean final image. All the attention is on mother and child, and the story is all about their bond and connection. The faces are arranged to create a diagonal line between the two heads, and therefore eyes, which produces a dynamic image.

You don’t need to be in the studio to execute family portrait ideas like this. You can have Mom or Dad kiss their child while holding her in their arms, or lying together on the ground.

More Family Portrait Ideas…

Here are a few more family portrait ideas for you!

For something a bit off-beat, you get have the family play dress-up. You can create a theme with costumes, or you can just use some goofy props like hats and glasses to add some fun.

Another idea for something a little different is to try a photo on a rainy day. Umbrellas make fun and colorful props, and give people something to do with their hands. You can shoot just after rain so that no one gets wet, and you will still pick up interesting reflections in the wet pavement. Don’t use umbrellas on a dry day, or it will look completely staged!

Finally, don’t forget the family pet when you’re looking for family portrait ideas! Although animals always add an element of unpredictability to photography, they are part of the family too, so make sure you include them in at least a few shots. A pet can be an anchor for the shot, giving family members something to interact with, or look at while you are photographing.

Tips

for Your Family Portrait Ideas

1. As the photographer, your job is to get people feeling relaxed and looking natural. Put them at ease with a little humor, and by getting them to do something fun — not posing stiffly.

2. You must project confidence in order to put people at ease. No one wants to hear you say "this isn’t working!" Instead, be positive, and say "let’s try something else."

3. If the family is anxious about getting some more traditional, formal portraits taken, shoot those first. After that, everyone can relax, and you’ll probably get better cooperation for your fun family portrait ideas.

4. When you’re shooting those formal portraits, tell Mom and Dad that you’ll wrangle the kids, and that they should just keep smiling at the camera. There’s nothing worse that capturing the perfect expression on a child’s face, only to find that a parent is frowning down and talking to them at the same time.

5. If you do need to get Junior to hold still, give him a coin, and tell him he can keep it if he presses it tightly between his hands while you are shooting. That usually gives him enough incentive to stay put and keep his hands still.

6. Clothing doesn’t have to match perfectly, but coordinating the family a little can give a more unified look to the photo. Avoid very bright colors, logos, and bold patterns, as they are distracting. Neutrals work well, and whites give a fresh, clean look to an image.

7. Remember that the background is part of the image too. Scan your frame before you click to make sure there are no distractions like other people in the background, litter, or a tree or post that lines up behind someone’s head. Using a wider aperture that gives you a fairly shallow depth of field will throw the background out of focus, and bring all the attention to your subjects.

 

Next, don’t miss part two of this article, where I talk about family portrait poses.

 

• Home
• Tips for Taking Digital Photography
• Histogram Examples

Histogram Examples

Take a look at some histogram examples showing actual images and their corresponding histograms. This will help you in understanding histograms, the relationship between image characteristics, and the shape of the associated histogram.

If you can’t yet answer What is a Histogram?, and would like more background on how to interpret a digital photography histogram, then read these sections first.

Images and their Corresponding Histograms

The first image is a close-up of a white carnation. It contains mostly light tones. This is reflected in the image histogram, which has a large "hump" to the right of the graph, and very little data on the left.

An image containing mostly light tones.
©Julie Waterhouse Photography

Corresponding histogram

 

For the second of the digital photography histogram examples, I have an image of a pink daisy. It has an almost-black background, and a medium-toned flower. Its image histogram shows a large spike near the left, which represents the background, and then a hump near the middle that represents the flower.

An image containing a dark-toned background,
and mid-toned subject.
©Julie Waterhouse Photography

Corresponding histogram

 

For the third of the digital photography histogram examples, I have an image of a pair of gerberas. It has a light background this time, with the same mid-tone flowers. In this case, the image histogram has a spike near the right representing the background, and a low hump in the middle representing the flowers.

An image containing a light-toned background
and mid-toned subject.
©Julie Waterhouse Photography

Corresponding histogram

 

For the fourth of the digital photography histogram examples, the image is a landscape at sunrise. The sky is extremely bright, and the foreground is very dark. This is a situation in which the dynamic range of the scene exceeds the camera’s capabilities, and we see clipping on both the left and right sides of the corresponding image histogram. We have lost detail in both the shadows and the highlights.

Landscape with high dynamic range.
©Julie Waterhouse Photography

Corresponding histogram with clipping
in both the whites and blacks.

 

For the fifth and final of the digital photography histogram examples, the image is a very low-contrast landscape. Here, our histogram does not approach the right or left, since there are no whites or blacks in the image. The image histogram shows a large hump in the mid-tones, and nothing in the shadows or highlights.

Low-contrast landscape
©Julie Waterhouse Photography

Corresponding histogram

The final image is a result of processing the previous one in a camera RAW editor to increase the contrast. Exposure was increased by +1.36 stops, and the black point was also adjusted up. Now the image histogram shows a full range of contrast from light to dark, but without clipping. As you can see from the histogram, the largest number of pixels are found in the light tones, which corresponds to the light blue sky.

Contrast increased.
©Julie Waterhouse Photography

Corresponding histogram.

 

For more information on this topic, check out my photo histogram video tips.

Or, you may be interested in learning about resizing photos.

 

• Home
• Photo Challenges
• May 2013

Photo Challenges:
May 2013

"Seeing Red"

This month, I thought we could play a little with color. The challenge is to photograph anything that’s red. The interesting part about this is that the color red commands so much attention that you only need a small amount of it to draw your eye. I’m curious to see how you’ll choose to balance your red so that it’s still clear that your red subject is the dominant element within the image. How much red will there be? How many other colors? How will the red be distributed throughout the image? Will the red have particular meaning (like my mailbox and life buoy images below)?

I look forward to seeing red!

Read the rules. One entry only each month per person, please!

Enter your super-amazing photos in our photo contests. The winning image will be featured on the Ultimate Photo Tips homepage for all of the following month.

Submit your image.

See what other people are submitting, and vote for your favorite:
View other entries.

 

I’m Seeing Red!

 

Life Buoy
© Julie Waterhouse

 

A Bad Headache!
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Mail
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Red with its complement
© Julie Waterhouse

 

A Dash of Red
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Tulips
© Julie Waterhouse

 

More Red and Green
© Julie Waterhouse

 

You only need a touch of red…
© Julie Waterhouse

 

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• Home
• Photo Challenges
• April 2013

Photo Challenges:
April 2013

"Urban Decay"

This week’s challenge is a favorite topic for many photographers: urban decay. Somehow, it holds a fascination for us – seeing what remains and imagining what once was. There’s a beauty in the decay itself, in the textures and patinas found as objects transition from new to old.

This month, I’m delighted to feature example images from my good friend, and a wonderful photographer, Harry Cartner from London, Ontario, Canada. I hope you enjoy his images below.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations of "urban decay!"

Read the rules. One entry only each month per person, please!

Enter your super-amazing photos in our photo contests. The winning image will be featured on the Ultimate Photo Tips homepage for all of the following month.

Submit your image.

See what other people are submitting, and vote for your favorite:
View other entries.

 

Urban Decay through Harry’s Eyes…

 

Please Come In
© Harry Cartner

 

Harvey Woods Building
© Harry Cartner

 

The Boiler Room
(Harry tells me this scene was pitch dark, and lit only by painting with his flashlight. Great job!)
© Harry Cartner

Dilapidated
© Harry Cartner

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