Photography Tip: Give yourself assignments

It seems that sometimes picking up the camera and taking pictures can feel like picking up a 20-ton block when you're not motivated. Motivation can play a key role in helping you to take better pictures. One of my biggest gripes about my childhood photos is that they all seem to be holiday and vacation photos. My family members weren't really motivated to take pictures any other time.

One great way to keep your eyes looking and get good inspiration is to give yourself assignments. My photography students have a tendency to groan when we tell them their "themes" for the day or week. This is probably because they are lazy, but I digress. Giving yourself a theme, such as something like the color red, can really change how you see things. All of the sudden the color red shows up everywhere. Kind of like when you get a new car and all of the sudden you notice that everyone has the same care you do. Experiment with different assignments such as colors, numbers (ie; sets of 3), and other themes of interest to you. Try to start off with something simple. A complicated theme that is too challenging might discourage you at first, so it is better to keep it simple.

If you are looking for some ideas for a theme to take pictures and can't think of any, try one of these:

Letters-go on a nature walk with your camera and see how many letter of the alphabet you can find in nature (such as a branch in the shape of a "Y")

Numbers- Look for sets or groups of things in numbers.

Colors- Pick a favorite color and try to find as many things as you can with that color.

Don't forget to be creative with your theme. This can be a lot of fun too.

Getting Flashy with Flash Exposure Compensation

While it is true that natural light makes photography a whole lot easier to use (most of the time), there are times when you must choose to find another light source, or just plain put down the camera and give up. Many people find flash photography very unappealing and try to avoid it at all costs. This is rightly so, since, if used wrongly, the built-in flashes on most cameras can turn a calm beautiful picture into a promo poster for Tales from the Crypt with red-eye and ghostly white skin.

There is however, an option on many cameras that can allow you to actually control the camera's flash power, called flash exposure compensation. This option can turn a horribly overpowering light into a soft burst that gives just enough light to illuminate the subject well. Since many cameras vary on where this option is, I would consult your manual on how to adjust it. Most all cameras offer flash compensation control from -2 ev to +2 ev. The negative numbers cause the flash to emit less light while the positives will give you more. The subject distance and ambient lighting in your situation will dictate how well this will work for you. Of course, the best thing to do is to find this setting and try it out for yourself. I suggest experimenting with the different EV levels and taking note of how the changes affect the light on your subject.

Have more questions about photography or cameras that you'd like me to address? Let me know in the comments.