Photo Tip Friday: Hold your Lens Parallel to your Subject

by Mary Denman  @MaryDenman

There are times in your photography when you need to be aware of the relationship between your lens and your subject. 

Specifically, when you want to make sure that your subject is uniformly in focus, but you're using a narrow depth of field/focus.

Let's look at some examples.

Monday's Musings

What perspective do you view life from?

I've learned in photography that perspective makes a big difference in the shots I take. And I started thinking, the same is true in life.

 
My perspective about life events sure does make a difference in how I look at my life and respond to it.
 
So how does this work? Well, let's look at a common flower. The iris.

They bloom in the spring and only in the spring. They come in waves of beauty. This is how we tend to see them, colorful blooms in the midst of lots of green leaves. This is the normal, or average view of them. And unless they happen to be in our own yard, we often just see them in passing.




 



But what happens if we stop and get a little closer? What if we actually examine them? They are beautiful flowers full of amazing details. Yet, you have to take the time to look for those details.












So how can perspective make a big difference in how we view a common flower? Well, have you seen many pictures of irises with blue sky in the background? Probably not often. Why? Because a photographer has to get down on her hands and knees to get the shot. And sometimes she has to take several shots to get a really good one....



Do you get the drift? Same flower, three different views....

I'll be the first to admit that I often don't stop to think about what's really going on in my life and in my heart. I'm just cruising through, catching glimpses of beauty. Grabbing a bible verse here and there. Or, if things aren't going my way, I may not even catch the beauty.

But sometimes I do stop and focus closer in. I see where God is working in my life. But until I stop, I'm still missing some important details in my life that God wants to teach me.

Sometimes those details are best seen while I'm on my hands and knees, looking up to God.

It may not be my first choice, but when I find myself on my knees, it can provide a pretty unique view of life. 

Have a blessed day and stop to see how God is working in your life.

Mary

Monday's Musings - Doors to Nowhere

I recently visited an old mill.

Something interesting caught my eye.

Doors to nowhere.

When this old building was functioning as a mill, the doors made sense. They probably had stairs that took a worker safely down from the second story of the building to the ground below.

But not any more.

The stairs are long gone.

One misstep out of these doors and you could end up with broken bones.

And there were multiple doors to nowhere.

Mary Denman Photography

But I thought about what it would be like to be on the other side, trying to get out of the building. Using one of these doors would be a bad idea. A really bad idea.

But it would seem okay from the inside since you wouldn't know the stairs were missing.

Then I thought about God and his foresight.

I may see a way that seems good to me. And then I may get frustrated because the way I want to go is blocked.

There may be a really good reason why God blocks my path. He is trying to stop me from making a bad choice or decision.

He will love me nonetheless, but I need to trust him that he is looking out for what's best for me.

And that may come in the form of a locked door.

So when your brain is saying, "I know where I'm going and can get out of this myself," take a deep breath when you find your way blocked.

God may be saving you from a really bad fall.

Monday's Musings

Macro Monday

Wordless Wednesday

Sunflower on Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

If you are so kind as to leave a comment or link up, I'll be happy to come visit and leave you a comment as well! Happy WW!

Photo Tip Fridays

Today’s tip for taking better photographs is about Perspective.

I noticed some delicate roses running up a wrought iron railing in my neighbor’s yard.  After checking with her, I set about taking pictures of the flowers.

This first shot isn’t really all that special. But it shows what caught my eye. It has soft colors against strong lines and is generally interesting. Well, at least to me.

But there’s no well-defined focal point in this shot.

So, I changed my perspective and walked to the foot of the stairs. That’s when I took this photo. This is closer to what I was trying to capture. Notice the strong black line of the railing that cuts through the photograph. It’s in stark contrast to the soft greens and yellows of the vegetation. And, the sharp right angles of the brick stairs also form a contrast.

Then, I sat down on the stairs and looked through the railing. I used the wrought iron to frame the picture and moved in close on a clump of roses. Again, by changing my perspective, I created a completely different feel to a photo of the same subject.

Finally, I set my camera on the railing and looked back up. This is my favorite shot. I love the lines and softness, juxtaposed next to each other.

The lesson here is that when you see something that catches your fancy, try a different perspective to see how the photographs come out. Some may work and some may not. But push yourself and keep getting better. 

I hope this tip helps. 

Keep on clicking!

Mary

Life in the Rear View Mirror