Capital Photography Center Blog

September 29, 2021

Photographing Abandoned Places and Urban Decay

Beth Haubach

Some of my best photography has been done at old or abandoned buildings. Exploring these locations is a look back in time and if the walls of these old buildings could talk, I have no doubt they would tell some amazing stories!

August 19, 2021

9 Tips To Stay Motivated With Your Photography

Marie Joabar

Have you ever been in a photo slump and lost your motivation to photograph? Are you doubting your ability to create compelling images even though you know you’re capable of taking them?Are you struggling to find subjects to excite and motivate you to photograph?

If you answered yes to any of these you’re not alone! Many people struggle with this but it's important to get it behind you. 

Hoping these 9 tips will help you find motivation to start moving forward with your photography again.

July 29, 2021

Exposure Bracketing: Why And When We Need It

Marie Joabar

Often when shooting landscapes or cityscapes we’re faced with a scene which presents us with a challenge; How can we capture such a wide range of tones, from light to dark, in the same exposure? Typically, the only way to do this is with Exposure Bracketing.

July 7, 2021

Creatively Capturing Lotus Flowers

Emily Carter Mitchell

Summer time is flower season and the DMV area offers some beautiful fields of flowers that people travel from surrounding states to visit. The Lotus flowers are truly unique and can be captured in so many creative ways. 

June 16, 2021

Travel Tips for Photographers

Marie Joabar

Summer is here and after a more than a year of Covid, who doesn’t want to travel and explore beautiful locations to photograph again?! 

There’s a lot to think about when traveling with your gear but the first consideration is deciding WHAT camera equipment to take and then, HOW you’re going to take it. Also think about how to get the best shots and how to back up images as you travel. 

May 12, 2021

10 Tips For Successful 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.

If this has happened to you and you purposely planned to capture a silhouette, then good for you, you probably don’t need to read the rest of this article. If however, you captured a silhouette by accident and want to know how it happened so you can do it again, or perhaps NOT do it again, then read on.

April 21, 2021

A Photographer’s Vision - Tips for Pre-Visualizing

Marie Joabar

Each photographer has a vision of what they want their photo to look like either before they start shooting or once they see their images in post processing.

Pre-visualization is seeing the finished photo in your mind’s eye before you begin photographing. It is a helpful technique giving you a goal to achieve and working through the challenges you might face while shooting.

March 31, 2021

My Favorite Places for Signs of Spring

Lori Lankford

Here are some of my favorite local places to really see the birth of spring. I hope you will get out with your camera and celebrate the new beginning of spring. 

March 9, 2021

Tips for Stronger Compositions

Michael Koren

The composition of a photograph is the single most important element a photographer uses to convey an artistic statement.  What’s included, excluded and the arrangement of elements within the frame is all part of composition.

Composition makes order out of the chaos of a three-dimensional world and distills it to the two-dimensional picture that becomes a photograph.

February 17, 2021

In Recognition of Black History Month

Admin

In recognition of Black History Month we want to share these three websites which shine on African American Photographers both past and present. Through their lens they speak volumes and their visual stories continue to be relevant now… especially now.

January 26, 2021

7 Habits for an Effective Photographer

Emily Carter Mitchell

Recently I was reminded about a superb life-guiding tool I had training in when I worked in the corporate world; The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. For those unfamiliar with it, it is a well-rounded approach to life and to creating a work-life balance that sets priorities on those things that are important and recognizing the things that are not.

Most of us are quite busy and struggle to fit photography into our daily lives so developing some solid habits that contribute to your growth as a digital artist will be beneficial. We all have choices on how our time is spent and the more that we use that time pro-actively versus re-actively helps us become more productive. So how does this transfer to guiding you in becoming a more effective photographer?

Once you begin setting photography as part of your routine, hopefully daily if not weekly, it will become more second nature for you. 

December 17, 2020

Our Favorite Photo Accessories

Admin

With the Holiday shopping season in full swing, we thought we’d share a list of the favorite photography accessories of our instructors and staff. You might find a few to add to your Santa list or perhaps get some gift ideas for your shutterbug friends.  Holiday shopping or not, we hope you'll find some handy accessories for yourself from our favorites listed here. 

November 4, 2020

Become A Weather Chaser

Emily Carter Mitchell

As the days become shorter and winter looms ahead it can be challenging to find inspiration. However, changing weather can bring a boon of unexpected photographic opportunities.

October 13, 2020

Brightness and Visual Weight

Roy Sewall

We can observe that viewers' visceral reactions to photographs are driven by the subject, light, composition, and color (or black-and-white tones). I believe that all four of these "attractors" have to be in good condition to make a great photograph; we've observed that if any of them are lacking viewers will be less pleased with the photograph. However, even if they are all in good condition, there are over 60 "detractors" that can ruin a photo. Awareness of these issues is very helpful for creating successful photographs

September 23, 2020

Are You Ready For Autumn?

Marie Joabar

Gone are the hazy, humid days of summertime and it’s so much easier to enjoy photography now as we’re not bothered by pesky bugs, and stifling heat. Instead, we find crisp mornings, cool breezes and the promise of a beautiful color palette to photograph.

Here are a few ideas for photographing fall. And check out the fall themed class list below to inspire you further.