Control reflection with a POLARIZER

Control reflection with a POLARIZER
A polarizer is a filter that attaches to your lens. Polarizers have two primary uses: to remove light reflections and to enhance or deepen the color saturation. When you use a polarizer to increase the color saturation, you must shoot at a right angle to the sun. As you turn more toward or away from a right angle to the sun, you are able to control less of the effect. Circular polarizers can be rotated, which enables you to control the level of the effect. When you use a polarizer to enhance colors, you need to be careful to not overuse the effect, as it can result in a contrasty and wholly unacceptable photo.

When you want to shoot without the distraction from light reflections, you can use a polarizer to reduce or eliminate them altogether. A polarizer is useful, for example, when you want to shoot through a glass window and show what is on the other side or to shoot toward water and show what is beneath the surface. You can also use a polarizer to control bright reflections from reflective or shiny surfaces such as metal or glass.
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Shoot color for DRAMATIC PHOTOS

Shoot color for DRAMATIC PHOTOS
Color can be one of the most powerful elements in a photograph. Certain colors evoke emotions and create moods; others are less apt to be noticed. Red, for example, is always a color that is quickly noticed, even when it takes up a small part of a photo. Most scenes or subjects can become spectacular or relatively uninteresting depending on the color of the light that is available. Study colors to learn how they work together and how they can be combined to ruin a photo. Although heavily saturated bold colors can be dramatic, so can soft, subtle colors and even scenes with little color that result in a monochromatic photograph.

When you find a subject or scene that you like, visit and shoot it at different times of the day over a few days to see how different light changes the colors. Your repeated visits will help you learn how to capture color as you want it. Shooting subjects slightly out of focus and underexposing sometimes can further enhance your photos to produce rich, saturated color.

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Shoot photos based on a THEME

Shoot photos based on a THEME
For a number of good reasons, you should shoot photos based on a theme. First, if you have chosen a theme that you are interested in, you will enjoy taking the photographs for it, and capturing the theme can be a motivating factor to get you shooting. You will also find that you will become a better photographer as you continue to learn and work toward getting better and better photographs of a similar subject. Having more than one or just a few photos of a subject helps you to compare what is good and not so good in each shot that you take.

You can choose to shoot a theme that can be completed for example, all the country churches in a specific county. Or you can choose a more open-ended theme such as antique automobiles, old barns, or even gargoyles. The photos in this task are good examples of one very specific theme antique automobile hood ornaments. Notice that all but one of them are Mack truck hood ornaments. What theme should you pick?
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