photo tips
Tip # 9
Keeping a Level Head
- Darwin Wiggett
In my role as a photo instructor and workshop leader I see a lot of photos from both beginners and advanced shooters. The most common flaw I see in landscape photos is the dreaded tilted horizon. I recommend every outdoor photographer buy and use a hot shoe bubble level on the camera. Be sure to get the double level as pictured so you can level both horizontal and vertical photos. These levels are available at most camera stores and are inexpensive insurance against the seas draining from every photo you take.
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Hot-shoe Bubble Level in Use |
Mount Rundle at Third Vermilion Lake,
Banff National Park, Alberta
Camera - Canon EOS-1ds Mark II
Lens - Canon EF 45mm TSE
Exposure - 1 second at f16, 100 ISO
Filters - Singh-Ray 2-stop soft-edge
grad and Singh-Ray Warming Polarizer Plus.
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Simply line up the bubble between
the two vertical lines for perfectly
level horizons every time.
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Tip # 10
Dirty Knees for Better Critter Shots!
- Paul Burwell
By consciously moving your camera to match the height of your subject's eyes, you
can create photographs that are more personal and create a greater emotional
connection for the viewer. Try to avoid photographs that look down or up at your
subject from extreme angles. When I can't physically get down or up to a critter's eye
level, I back away from the subject and use either a long lens or the extreme range of
the camera's optical zoom to lessen the apparent difference in height. Making photos
at a critter's eye level may not impress your launderer, but you'll definitely improve
your photos!
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how-to advice delivered right to your door.
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Goslings swimming on a pond
Clifford E Lee Nature Sanctuary near Devon, AB
Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel
Lens: Canon 100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS @ 400mm
Exposure: 1/1000th of a second at F8, ISO 400
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Black-tailed Prairie Dog
biting its nails
Grasslands National Park, SK
Camera: Canon 1D Mark II
Lens: Canon 500mm F4L IS, 1.4X
Teleconverter @ 700mm
Exposure: 1/2000th of a second
at F8, ISO 400
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TIP # 1&2 • TIP # 3&4 • TIP # 5&6 • TIP # 7&8 • TIP # 11
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