Happy New Year 2015.

Very very HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL FRIENDS...........May the new year bring love, good health, prosperity and all u wish.

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Flash with ambient light & rxperiments with colored gels (post no.150)

USE flash - but also capture some ambient light......using only flash will result the background is always dark and all pictures look the same.......To capture the ambient and to establish where the photograph has been shot-----at home, on the streets or in a restaurant with red, yellow or green lighting -----use the FLASH IN A SLOW SYNCH MODE, or use the night portrait mode in ur compact  camera. These modes fire flash during a long exposure thereby capturing the ambient light and giving a sense of the place the image was shot at. Thus u will be confirmed of the place at a later date and lapse of time, having captured the atmosphere as well besides ur kins/friends/relations......

----Get creative with flash, using colored gelatine papers on the flash of ur camera for different kinds effects. Blue and red gelatine will help u introduce a unique color cast to ur pictures.....the sky is the limit.   ...move away and experiment with different colors........continueFlashAmbient light

I used here camera flash to light up the face which was under the shadow......so when chance comes that u are hesitant to shoot the picture, but the picture is under shadow, which is rather dark, so pop up the camera flash and take few snaps. The time will look worth spent.

Posing IN PORTRAITS.....continued.(post no.150)

PLACING THE ARMS.........................This is a formal and ideal portrait taken in home.......U can view the placements of hands with this homely pose.......Nobody is strained.....Just a call and click. Why not make poses like this in studios.......Most important is placing of arms. The lady has delicacy in her hands as well besides making her ''pallu'' cover her head as an Indian daughter-in-law.

2. While standing avoid pressing ur arms against ur body......nor wud u like to look stiff with hands and arms. Keep the arm slightly away from body and leave them hanging loose (as in the case of the gentleman above).....In ladies with some good flesh, sleeveless blouse may show under arm flash.....that has to be avoided. Even a flabby beauty wud like to look slim......Here photography skill comes in hand and trying with sarees, angles will certainly help and please the lady.

3. Always we are more cautious of ladies than men as the sentiments flow fast and their demands have no ends.........Folded arms too look good keeping the angle of the body to 3/4th towards camera.......also breathing and holding it to push tummy a little in wud help a lot. ....Shoulders----the supporters of arms shd also be taken care of with a critical look......they shd not be loose and bending in front......whatever may be, it is photographer's duty to have a watchful eye and instruct in a mild tone, his customers........iF THERE ARE TWO persons, they can make use of arms and hands by placing them on shoulders, hand-in-hand, etc. A photographers has to face every second person a different one from the first.   You are lucky if u get customers with slim body.....otherwise it is all ''managing'' it to full satisfaction of the client since ur reputation depends upon all praises from customers in order to fetch more of them.

4. Do not allow clients to make stiff postures in any case whether one is sitting and another standing. The rules are rules in case of one person, 2 persons or more........POSITIONS are many, and ur mind shd work to create the best of poses. Like creating pleasant thoughts, as the girls are prone to these and will make good poses. Likewise the waist and legs shd be making better poses. Legs also to be kept loose, may be keeping one another taking support of the wall in studio and tree outdoors......NATURALLY OUTDOORS HV MORE BETTER OPPORTUNITIES FOR BODY POSTURES, WITH LOT OF PROPS AROUND......TREES, ROCKS, BIG STONES, PLANTS, FLOWERS. HEDGES, GOOD SHADOWS OF TREES ETC ETC......THERE IS NO END TO MAKING GOOD POSES FOR ANY SORT OF CLIENTS.....SO GO AHEAD. Theoritical it is all information    IT IS ALL PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE THAT WILL MAKE ANYBODY PERFECT.
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Posing in PORTRAITS......continue...(post no.149)

---WORKING IN UR LEGS::......In the upper picture, the dress worn on festivals makes her a bit heavy in body, though she is slim......Even if ur subjects are a bit heavy bodied, this pose is good to make them slim. When she will be looking in camera as above, she wud be gorgeous.

    Here if my subject wud have been in Salwar suit, Kurti-tight pyjama, or in jeans......I WUD HAVE GIVEN A CURVE ON THE LEG WHICH IS CLOSER TO CAMERA, and her hand resting on her waist----thus  u can view which style looks good on her, becoz I am not there! In other words, placing one leg in front of the other, pointing this leg towards the camera. U may slightly bend the knee to create a flattering curvy look......Ideas are enormous, but ur eye shd be an 'eagle' eye till you are at the back of ur camera and the subject is being tensioned needing ur approval to let her off the mood. I did work with girls who are ready to work hard before the camera.

-------WORKING WITH HANDS: Difficult is nothing once u are determined.......Hands being upper part of the body  showing the personality of person are as important as the face, look etc.......If they are not marriage proposal photographs, the hands can be placed conveniently on thighs, waist, shoulders,  even on heads turning the hairs or playing with hairs, tucking the hairpins, supporting face in a photographically decent manner, like one hand up on head and another on the chin turning downward supporting from its back near wrist..........using glamourous looks..................................................................................................................................continue

Posing in Portraits....(post no.148)

STRIKING A RIGHT POSE makes a great difference to the photograph.It is not only necessary to make the subject beautiful but also make body in its best look.

Double chin and long neck........Good illusion can be created of having a long neck just by lowering ur chin and leaning towards the camera....Here will be the opportunity to avoid the double chin.
I TELL MY SITTERS TO HOLD THEIR BREATH WHILE SQUEEZING THE DOUBLE CHIN A BIT FOR FEW SECONDS to avoiding or minimizing the double chin.

SLIGHTLY foreshortening the figure: For an interesting angle, the photographer can stand on a slight higher place, may be a chair, and request his subject to look at him.Not only will it create a unique photograph but will  once again hv the opportunity of reducing the double chin.and less seen the dark circle below the eyes and help make the subject appear thin.

HANDS ON HIPS: In order to avoid ur shoulders from looking a rounded appearance, ask ur subject to put his hands on his hips.......................................................................to  continue...

Photography tips on portraits.(post no.146).....

I took this picture with one lamp of 200wt in a reflector.....The picture was in color...then I converted it in B&W for sheer beauty of the monotoned images shot on b&w films, still favourite of the masses, shot on digital and then converted into b&w.......The beauty of the picture above rests on its single 45degree lighting effect, which is making a bigger loop on his right cheek (may be termed as a Rembrandt loop)....Then his boldness of looking straight into the camera and the hairstyle, his smile and a small piece of his dress at left making a good base for his black dress merging into the shadows below the chin....Other important thing is the dark background which keeps the viewers' eyes straight on the triangular face, which place diagonally to give strength to the look and add difference into a straight face...the two tiny points of small buttons adds charm to his otherwise dark dress....I retained them for the liveliness of the whole image...........See further on the next page.

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Off-centre subject....(post no.145)

Placing MAIN SUBJECT OFF-CENTRE:....Balanced images r perfectly centred and are more stable but since the eye does not move around the frame, they are boring. Asymmetry is dynamic and can be created by placing the main subject off-centre in the composition. It is better to avoid tension to the eyes as there are different points of interest for the eyes to follow.

Thus the size of the positive and negative space determines the balance in the frame. Take an example of a daisy with the petals spiralling out neatly from the centre is an example of a symmetrical and balanced.

The picture below is spreading up in the frame  and there is a good hollow space around to move the eyes and bring back on the butterfly, besides it is not totally centred. The space above is indicative of the movement of the butterfly. The vignette is also created to stop the eyes going out of frame......THE PICTURE WAS SHOT BY NIKON SLR WITH ISO400, Shutter Speed 1/200 and aperture f9.

Sweet children--dear children before ur camera.(post no.144)

In the world, the human babies are the most photographed.....First parents too are interested with advent of digital cameras....then their close relatives...and sometimes people like me who found  her in her father's lap in a mall. She has just finished her icecream.....I like this photo, as she may more demand her fav. cup of icecream.....Though I made some gestures to get her smile, she was looking a bit scared, as happens with less comfortable children with other people.

In the situation, we were unknown to each other, but in ur home or in neighbourhood, there may be small children...so do not leave chances photographing them.....If they feel scared, use good lighting to capture them with ur tele-zoom from a distance....Camera's choice is yours, as if professional or serious enthusiast, DSLR with different lenses are good choice....But ever now camphones with good no.of pixels will render good results.....Save them in ur hard-drive....but if u can gift some copies of photos to their parents, it will be a generous gesture, promoting u to shoot more pictures of children....Here I used my Canon compact, worthy of delivering good results in ISO80 or 100....So if u get lower shutter speed, support ur camera on tripod, or some hard space, even your knee will help. In slower shutter speeds, and higher angles, I view the pic in camera screen, pressing the camera on my chest and click....Even I can ask a friend to stand still, fixing camera on his shoulder and click.....So human body too is of much help in taking pictures in low light with lower ISOs for best quality of pictures.

Live musical programs....(post no.143).

Generally there are concerts, other musical programs in ur town or may be near town......It is most interesting to shoot pictures of artists performing....I saw that when I reach near them, though below the stage, they look getting extra energy.....it is magic of photography.....I am close to VIP there. It is more interesting too, that it looks compulsory to take pictures of the first row people (though, thus covering many rows behind), who while watching camera becomes aware of their alertness to give a good pose (may be published in next day's newspaper).......Stage, I cover from various angles, because the artists behind playing instruments are too curious to come in the field view of the camera lens.......I go up on stage to get them close sometimes and they feel obliged. If in next concert if I happened to meet them, I get a bigger smile and hand iver copies of photos I took of them, which is beyond their imagination....and for next time they are more conscious and give a better pose and play the instrument wonderfully well.

Any camera will do....camphones, to compacts to SLRs....But if u are close to be a professional, use SLR FOR BEST RENDERING THE IMAGES.....Though, this time above, I shot them with my Canon compact.....Not to worry upro 5x7 at ISO 200 with good stage lighting with compacts......If tripod is used, better shoot at ISO80 or 100 on compacts.. With DSLRs use aperture priority with + or - compensation, one stop if necessary. f5.6 or 8 are good apertures.(above prog I took last week).

Tribal Dance to commemorate festivals.(post no.142).

Very interesting, very enthrawlling......the tribal dances of India are famous for their uniqueness, based on religious occasions.......recently shot from Nikon with stage light....ISO800, 1/30,  f5.6......U can see and appreciate the colors......Pictorially, the lady behind makes the balance in the photograph and show relation of participation of male and female artists.

Tribal dancers...(9post no.142).

The tribal dancers will be seen in cultural programmes organized by associations/govt.organizations.....The r generally dark in color so their skin tone will go reddish, or brown, since there is effect of outdoor halogen light effect is also there.....it is more enjoying to shoot them.......
However you may require to increase ISO and use slow shutter speed with some hard support as there is not much bright light in many areas of stage,...........1/30, ISO800, aperture f5.6.

Cruise craze....(post no.141)

An evening with Cruise....the light was going dull....Pl click on photo to see bigger.

Pigeon couple.....(post no.140).

The sparrows are easier target....but near homes, in trees or house walls the pigeons are easily available for clicking photographs.

2. Here I hav caught one in action, while other spouse may be thinking like us.......''AB KAB AAOGE''....Oh no u are here only...love u darling, is the conversation they may have.

3. In such pictures, the photography rules are easily observed.....one at one corner, another at other.....there is dividing line of wall, which is a support for their stay......AND both are at rule of thirds, thus making a balance in the photograph.....The bg is as usual blue sky without any filter....EXPOSURE ON APERTURE PRIORITY and ISO400.