Pro Techniques

One of the things that makes a photograph successful is that attention is directed to the subject. This can be done with good lighting, muted backgrounds, or graphic design. An important design element that directs our attention into the heart of a picture is called a leading line. This is a line that usually begins at the bottom of the composition and extends into the heart of the scene...

When Canadian engineer Joseph Cacic designed and built a tripod in the late 1990s that would accommodate bird’s eye aerial images, Boston photographer Frank Siteman was among his first customers. For Siteman it was the perfect solution for the environmental photographs that he favors. Weighing 75 lbs and easy to roll, the tripod can be placed in a garden without disturbing any of the floras...

It’s common to see blinking buttons and scrolling banners and other animated graphics on websites that look pretty much the same as those on every other website. I want to show you how you can do something different with animation: blur an image, then use animation to grab your viewer’s attention by bringing the blurred photo back into focus.

I’ll be using Ulead...

“Understanding the genres, history, and style of the music is a huge part of my success,” John Scarpati observes. “I work very closely with the bands and artists to make sure the cover art reflects what they want to say.” Scarpati (www.scarpati.com), as he prefers to be called (“when someone yells Scarpati on set...

The photographic career of Jody Gomez started off simply enough, as a spectator parent when her son began riding steers. Frustrated by the poor quality of the pictures snapped and sold by another parent, Gomez began taking her own photographs, starting off with an entry-level 35mm Canon Rebel. In short order, Gomez was installed as the official photographer for the California Junior Bull Riders...

My friend wanted to begin shooting digital images of small objects for his company’s website, so he asked me to get him a deal on an expensive, full-frame D-SLR. The images were to be used primarily online at low resolution, and occasionally in an HTML e-mail newsletter. They were using a professional photographer to shoot the artwork for brochures, packaging, and their trade show booth.