Exploring Light

While car races and commercials are fun and exhilarating, one of the things I most love to shoot are actually car shows and meets such as the popular Cars and Coffee events. It’s automotive photography at its most basic form. Not everyone can teleport themselves across the world to shoot exclusive events and races, but anyone can roll up to a car show and snap photos.

Whether you’re photographing a newly married couple, a rock band, or your family and friends, where you place your subject can have a huge impact on the quality of your final images. It’s usually up to the photographer to select the shoot location, and a great outdoor space can turn a photo from ordinary to extraordinary. But how do you pick the best spot?

During this pandemic with less travelling and more time spent at home, it's a perfect time to dust off our macro lenses and shoot some gorgeous backyard macro photography. Even if you do not have an expansive garden, a deck or small patio will do. Here are five tips and tricks to get you started in shooting great macro photos at home.

(Editor’s Note: Exploring Light is a monthly Shutterbug column featuring tips, tricks, and photo advice from professional photographers in Canon's Explorers of Light education program. This month's column is by Joel Grimes on how to shoot portraits with a tilt-shift lens.)

Over the past 40 years I’ve written articles on just about every photographic topic. Good fun for sure. In this article I’d like to share with you some of my favorite sunrise and sunset photograph tips that I have learned through my travels around the country and around the world.