Texture is one of my favorite elements of composition! Learn how to use texture to make your images more interesting and meaningful. What is Texture? Texture is a visual representation of how something feels, whether it is rough or smooth or soft or prickly. The cues we use to determine texture as we look at…
Shadows are often a hindrance to photographers — for example, when you use your phone to take a picture of a bracelet you are thinking of buying and your hand and phone cast a shadow on the bracelet. Or when you want to get a photograph of everyone in front of the shoreline but the…
The rule of thirds is one of the most popular rules of photography composition – in fact it is the first one I ever learned. The rule of thirds guides the placement of your subject within the image. Most of us before we become intentional about photography tend to place our subject in the center…
Another concept word! Winter is the most hygge time of year, with its warm blankets, fireplace hearts, big pots of soup, woolen sweaters, and mugs of hot chocolate so I thought it was a good word for the 28 Day Challenge! What is hygge? Hygge is a Danish word for the feeling and atmosphere of…
As photographers, we take a small slice of the world around us and frame it within the viewfinder of our camera. If we like what we see, we press the shutter and record the image within the boundaries or frame of the camera’s sensor. But we can use framing within the frame of the image…
Solitude is often associated with loneliness, isolation, and separation. And yet, solitude has within it many gifts. A chance to slow down and pause, to exist in the present moment without any distractions. An opportunity to connect with yourself. To check in with yourself, to examine your emotional landscape, and to come to a deeper…
Changing your perspective can give you new insights and a deeper appreciation of your subject. The most significant example of this is when astronauts go to space, and see the earth from above. “As we got farther and farther away, the Earth diminished in size. Finally it shrank to the size of a marble, the…
“Soul” was one of my favorite movies of 2021. It’s a beautiful story that affirms “regular old living” is the miracle of life. Not the achievement of one’s grand dream or the pursuit of one’s passion. While dreams and passions are certainly very special, it ends up being the small moments, the grace notes that…
Most people take photos from eye level. This is in part because you stand out if you do something different, like take out a telescoping pole to hoist your phone up or get down on the ground to take a photograph. It can be uncomfortable to stand out, to draw attention to yourself. A few…
I recently watched my Dad toss hundreds of slides he had taken from a trip he took around the world when he was in his 20s that meant nothing to him any more. As I looked through the growing stack feeling a little badly that I didn’t want them either, I realized that any tourist…