Capital Photography Center Blog

December 14, 2016

Where The Stores Are - Shopping Locally For Your Shutterbug

Marie Joabar

It's prime holiday shopping season and whether you’re buying a gift for a loved one or for yourself, visiting your local camera store can be a big help. Get advice from those in the know and be assured they’ll support you long after the sale.

October 12, 2016

Color Settings For Fall Captures

Marie Joabar

We'll soon find ourselves surrounded by fall's beautiful colors and warm tones and it’s always a joy to photograph. Whether you’ll be taking a stroll around the Tidal Basin or enjoying an afternoon hike on the trails, grab your camera and bring the autumn display back home with you.

Using two of our camera’s color settings we can emphasize the autumn shades even further for an image with more pop.

August 31, 2016

Labor Day Doings

Marie Joabar

With the Labor Day weekend upon us I thought it would be fun to share some of our instructor's favorite things about the holiday and what we all will be doing with the long weekend.

August 11, 2016

Exploring Nature Through Your Lens

Emily Carter Mitchell

Nature can be found closer than you think, and finding these special moments only needs one to be aware of their surroundings. Open your eyes and begin observing the small details; like the birds in the trees or the butterflies in the garden. Nature is everywhere you look and once your awareness grows, nature shows itself in the least expected places.

July 20, 2016

The Benefits Of Image Reviews and Critiques

Admin

Photography, much like other art forms is completely subjective in nature. As artists, we tend to view the world solely through our own eyes and rarely have the opportunity to have outsiders view our work other than family and friends.

Receiving advice and guidance for your images during a critique is invaluable. By dissecting an image, you will begin to learn not only more about the technical and creative side of photography, but you will also begin to look at your own work differently.

June 16, 2016

Controlling Focus

Marie Joabar

It's not hard taking control of our camera's focus settings once we know what to look for.

With AUTO FOCUS, there are two settings to choose, the focus mode (HOW the camera focuses) and the focus area (WHERE the camera focuses). Controlling both will result in sharper subjects.

June 13, 2016

The Benefits of Critiques

Admin

It always feels great to receive praise for your photos- who doesn’t love that feeling? Praise is important but all the compliments in the world won’t make you a better photographer. After a while, it’s not helpful to hear only what’s good but what could be better and what you need to work on. Thats where critiques come in!

May 25, 2016

The Relationship Between Aperture, Distance And Lenses

Marie Joabar

Ever set your aperture to f4 or 5.6 and wonder why your background is not blurred and everything in your image seems pretty sharp? How about the opposite: you set your aperture to f16 and find you have blurriness in the background, isn’t f16 supposed to render everything sharp? Understanding the relationship between aperture, distance and lenses can easily explain this.

April 13, 2016

Legal Tips For Starting Your Photography Business

Adriel Sanders

It can be very exciting to run your own photography business. However, before you run out to pick up your first client, you need to take the time to set up your business. While it may seem like a daunting task, it is actually relatively simple if you know what to do.

March 23, 2016

Instructor Favorites For Photographing In Spring

Marie Joabar

At long last, spring has sprung! We like to use the cherry blossoms as our indicator. It’s just not spring until the blossoms open and with today as the beginning of peak bloom, spring is here.

We asked some of our instructors to share their favorite tips for photographing in springtime. We think you’ll get some great ideas and some sure fired inspiration. Read on and enjoy these tidbits from Karen Messick, E. David Luria, Corey Hilz, Emily Carter Mitchell, Donna Vance and more…

March 3, 2016

10 Great Reasons To Use Lightroom

Marie Joabar

Lightroom is a powerful database and editing software program by Adobe and was designed for photographers from the ground up. Let’s take a look at some of the best reasons to use it for your image organizing and editing.

February 11, 2016

JPEG or Raw - Which Is Right For You

Admin

Whether you’re new to photography or have been shooting for some time, it’s helpful to understand your camera file formats and determine which is best for you.

January 19, 2016

Shooting DSLR Video - The Basics

Admin

WIth today's DSLR’s, you not only have the ability to shoot better still images but you also have the capability of shooting HD video too.

The idea of shooting video can be a bit daunting at first because you are adding in the whole idea of motion. Your subject can move, you can move… it’s a whole new world. To get started with DSLR video and develop your movie-shooting skills, here are some important settings and techniques to consider using.

December 9, 2015

Holiday Lights Bokeh

Marie Joabar

 It’s a blast to shoot the holiday lights bokeh so we wanted to give a short and sweet “How To” on just that. 

November 18, 2015

10 Tips For The Perfect Holiday Card

Admin

Each year at the same time, everyone in your household gets a little anxious knowing the dreaded holiday photo is coming up. You say, “Cheese!” and they stare at you blank faced from their spot on the sofa. But why not change it up this year and turn it into something fun?

As a professional photographer, I have taken countless pictures specifically for people’s holiday cards and with a few tips, you too can take photos that are picture perfect while at the same time making it an anticipated tradition.