Capital Photography Center Blog

January 1, 2014

Tips for Winter White Snow

Marie Joabar

Snow often fools our camera meters which results in dark photos with washed out graylooking snow. Follow these few tips for 'white' snow and beautiful winter compositions.

November 14, 2013

Secrets of Shooting Silhouettes

Marie Joabar

When faced with photographing our subject in front of a bright background, we often end up with the background perfectly exposed but our subject a silhouette. A few simple tips can help us to shoot silhouettes intentionally or avoid them when they’re not intended.

October 30, 2013

10 Tips for Colorful Fall Captures

Marie Joabar

Fall provides shutterbugs of all levels the chance to enjoy the outdoors with their passion of photography and for many it is the favorite season for shooting. Take advantage of it to shoot colorful autumn landscapes and seasonal portrait shots of family and friends.

Here are 10 tips to get the most out of photographing the colors of fall.

October 16, 2013

Shooting Color in Black and White

Wesley Schaefer

With the colorful Fall season upon us don't let your excitement be dampened or pout if nature provides us with a gloomy gray sky and horrible light to work with. The flat light and a gray sky gives us the opportunity to tune our eye and photograph in black and white.

The lack of color options will help transition your eye from seeing bright vibrant colors to noticing the deep shadows, shades of gray, streaks of light, and patterned textures. All will help develop your eye and improve your vision when you go back to shooting in color.

September 19, 2013

Fine Tuning the Focus - Tips for Landscape Photographers

Marie Joabar

The key to an engaging landscape scene is to convey a sense of depth. Having something interesting in the foreground grabs the viewer’s attention and draws them into the scene from which they can explore the middle and background. When confronted with elements that provide interest in all three areas, it’s important to render all of them sharp. There are a few ways to do this, try any or all, experiment and learn what works for you and your subject matter.

July 29, 2013

Insight on High Dynamic Range Capture

Marie Joabar

​When faced with scenes where the sky is super bright and the sun is casting deep, dark shadows, the dynamic range is beyond the normal 5-6 stops of light that cameras can capture. One solution is to bracket images and merge them in HDR software to create images with incredible range and detail.

April 23, 2013

How to Shoot Panoramas

Admin

​Why shoot panoramas? Why not? It increases file size and gives the viewer a much wider sense of the scene without the distortions of super-wide angle lenses. Find out how to create your own panoramics in a snap.

March 26, 2013

Keep An Open Mind!

Admin

​ "Don't let a location lock you into an expectation. Keep an open mind!" Ideas, images, and an example from a recent photo shoot with the hope of helping you expand your photographic opportunities when out in the field.

February 27, 2013

Painting with Light

Timothy Cooper

​By definition, Light Painting is the process of photographing at night while illuminating your subject with a handheld device such as a flashlight or camera flash. 

A fascinating mix of painting and photography, illuminating your subject with a flashlight is an extraordinary amount of fun, and due to modern digital cameras, this type of photography is easier than ever.  

December 5, 2012

8 Great Tips for Photographing Holiday Lights

Marie Joabar

​Colorful holiday lights add to the magic of the season and can be great fun to photograph. At this time of the year we’ll find beautifully lit outdoor displays at many of the DC area regional parks, at houses in our neighborhoods, along city  streets and of course let’s not forget the Christmas tree in our own living room.

November 20, 2012

Improve Your Photography With A Photo Critique

Timothy Cooper

​Having your images critiqued by a professional is paramount to your growth as a photographer.  It’s tough working in a vacuum.  Not knowing whether you are executing your techniques properly or more importantly if your vision is getting across to your viewers.

October 29, 2012

Fun with Fall Reflections

Admin

​Fall has arrived and naturally we think of photographing the brilliant display of color as the leaves turn from gold to crimson then bronze. There’s no doubt these make stunning photographs, but next time you venture out to capture the season’s color, put on your creativity cap and instead of looking up to the leaves, look down to find colorful reflections in the water.

October 4, 2012

Secrets for Shooting Great Compositions

Timothy Cooper

​Good composition is the ingredient that separates the snap shooter from the artist.  It’s the difference between merely documenting a scene and providing your viewer with your personal interpretation of that scene. While learning the basics of leading lines and the rule of thirds is somewhat easy, creating meaningful images using these rules is a lifelong endeavor.   Successful composition is always a delicate balance between perception, expression, and execution.

September 5, 2012

Portrait Photography Tips

Marie Joabar

​Whether it is parents taking photos of their children, friends taking party snapshots, or a commercial photographer shooting fashion, people pictures and portraits are being taken by millions of photographers, both professional and amateur, daily.

With a little understanding of the essentials and the right equipment, anyone can begin making great portraits. Here are a few things to focus on to get the most from your efforts.

July 25, 2012

Four Must Have Filters for Outdoor Photography

Marie Joabar

​With the popularity of today’s high end image editing software programs, the need for many traditional filters has been virtually eliminated. Programs like Adobe Photoshop, Elements, Lightroom, Aperture and others include tools or offer plug-ins that can create specific filter effects easily without the need for extra equipment.  However, there are a four filters you shouldn’t go without regardless of the capabilities of software.