Taking your camera on vacation

Stephen Dent photography studios has always strived to help our clients take the best photos possible, which is why we maintain this blog. If you would rather hire a photographer than take your own pictures, please visit our main website at www.stephendentphotos.com. If you want fun and easy ideas on how to improve your photography skills and your entire photography experience, please subscribe to our blog so you will always be up to date on Stephen Dent news and advice.

Today, Stephen Dent has some advice for taking your camera on vacation, and how to get the best possible pictures while you’re gone. Some common mistakes that people make when they go on vacation are forgetting to buy and take a spare battery, taking the strap off their camera, and not bringing a hood to block excessive sun rays. Most of these problems are simply a matter of forgetting. It can be stressful to plan a vacation, especially if you have a family, or are leaving the country. There are many important details to attend to, and thinking about your camera can fall to the bottom of the list. Just remember these few easy tips when packing your camera.

You probably will want a spare battery at some point during your trip, especially if you are going to be gone for more than a week. Taking many pictures can drain the battery quickly, and some batteries can take hours to charge. In that time, you might miss the picture of a lifetime! A spare battery means you will never be left without your camera whenever that perfect shot comes.

Leaving on, or putting the strap that came with your camera is probably a good idea. Carrying your camera around can become tiresome, especially when taking tours or walking long distances. If you are able to hang your camera around your neck or on your wrist, it will seem less burdensome, and you will be more likely to take it out with you everywhere you go.

Many cameras that have interchangeable lenses come with an attachment called a hood. If your camera has an interchangeable lens but didn’t come with a hood, they are available for purchase and a pretty inexpensive. A hood is a plastic ring that attaches to the end of your lens to help block out excessive sun. This is particularly helpful when taking pictures in the afternoon, taking pictures towards the sun, or when visiting beaches, going sailing, etc. When you use a hood, you are less likely to have pictures that are overwhelmed with sunlight, giving you instead a clearer, more natural picture.

Remember, Stephen Dent is your source for all things photo and video, including advice, lessons, and photo shoots on site or in the studio. Visit our main website at www.stephendentphotos.com, or follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/stephendent10.

Find Photos with Stephen Dent

The Stephen Dent Photograph blog has always strived to bring our followers new, fun photography ideas, along with keeping you in the loop about our new promotions and services. Today, we are going to do both! Stephen Dent has a great new limited time offer for back to school pictures. Until the end of the month, we will be doing two back to school pictures for the price of one, which you can use to get two different poses for the same child, or you can pay for one child and get a second child’s photographs for free! We know the economy is a little rough right now, and that many struggling parents have a difficult time with the hefty cost of school supplies, so Stephen Dent wants to cut all those hard working parents out there a break. Please visit our website for more information about how to contact us and the locations of our studios at www.stephendentphotos.com.

For today’s photography tips and tricks, Stephen Dent wants to share the simple but not always obvious trick of looking at great photographs to use as a guide for your photography adventures. There are thousands of photography books, websites, and magazines to use for ideas, and often you can easily find very famous photos online. These are great points of reference, even if you aren’t looking at a famous picture. Any picture you like is a great study tool!

It can be really fun to try to imitate a famous or favorite photograph. Look at the picture and think about what the lighting conditions are, how crisp the photo is in the foreground and background, what the subject matter is, and how far the picture is taken from the subject. Then go out and try to reproduce these conditions and see what effect it has on the overall outcome of the pictures. Do you like what you came up with, or are you happier with the pictures you took in your own style?

Another fun and creative way to take pictures is to include other photos in your photo. For instance, it can be cool to snap a picture of someone holding an interesting or important photograph, or to get a picture of another person taking a picture. This can change the context of the photograph and create an interesting discussion piece, especially because those behind the camera so rarely end up in front of it.

These as always are only suggestions! Grab your camera and go out into the world (or stay inside and explore the details of your home you never pay attention to!) and see what new ways your camera can help you see the world in. Be creative and don’t be afraid to experiment with new styles or to push buttons and change settings on your camera; great things can come from exploration!

If you want more photograph help, or would like to hire Stephen Dent to photograph or film any special even in your life, please visit our website, then come on down to any of our Southern California studios. You can find Stephen Dent at www.stephendentphotos.com.