Creative Photography: 10 Things A Successful Photographer Will Never Do To Stay Creative

Introduction
Creative photography is a special type of photography that strives to discover new patterns, color, adventure and beauty among many other things. This makes creative photography very exciting. It awakens all the senses of a photographer adding a very artistic touch to their final work. Many amateur photographers dream of becoming creative photography pros. There are however very few who actually master it although creativity is an inborn aspect of life in everyone.
Successful photographers have already learned to keep their creative juices flowing which is why they enjoy tremendous success in their trade. They also know much more on every aspect of photography. Most importantly, they know what they shouldn't do as professional photographers. If you are interested in knowing what you shouldn't do as a professional photographer in order to stay creative, you are in the right place. Below are 10 things a successful photographer will never do to stay creative.
1. Waste time thinking about gear
This is one of the most important things a successful photographer will avoid at all costs. Photography gear may be important for enhancing shots however it's not as important as core photography when taking creative photos. Successful photographers know this especially in regards to creative photography which is why they don't waste too much time thinking about gear. In fact, most creative shots come out better when they are taken naturally without gear.
2. Leave the camera at home
Creative photography is all about capturing unrehearsed moments anywhere anytime. Successful photographers know the pain of missing great opportunities because of simple mistakes like leaving the camera at home. They therefore make a point of having a camera anywhere they go. This enables them to capture interesting moments regular photographers miss. This is part of what makes them stand out.
3. Use the same technique over and over again
There is nothing creative about using the same photography technique all the time. Successful photographers stay away from stagnant photography techniques which hinder them from growing their skill and experimenting. The best photographers offer variety which can only be offered by using many techniques and being open to new ideas. Successful photographers avoid monotony at all costs.
4. Ignore the importance of copyrighting work
Copyrighting original work is advisable for obvious reasons i.e. you get recognition among other benefits i.e. money from people interested in using your work. Any experienced photographer know the importance of protecting their valuable work especially if it falls under the creative photography docket. Photographers become successful by receiving recognition and financial returns from their work. Copyrighting safeguards a photographers future earnings on past work and also keeps a record of their creative efforts avoiding duplication. This is precisely why successful photographers don't ignore the importance of copyrighting.
5. Share technical problems with clients
This is another thing successful photographers will never do to stay focused, creative and maintain their reputation. Although it is important to be honest with your clients at all times, successful photographers know the dangers of sharing technical problems with their clients. Being honest when faced with technical problems does more harm than good from a professional photographer's point of view. For instance, clients can start viewing you as unprofessional which can hurt your reputation denying you referral business. Successful photographers have learned to stay mute about technical problems when dealing with clients. They go as far as planning ahead to avoid occurrences where they will be forced to share technical problems. Dealing with technical problems internally also helps to maintain focus which is important to stay creative.
6. Take each and every assignment they get
You can't jump at each and every photography opportunity and expect to be remain creative. Creative photography is about inspiration. Successful creative photographers know inspiration is hard to come by which is why they choose their assignments carefully. For instance, they never take assignments just to make money. This is because they understand the importance of being in the right mind frame when working. This explains why they successful photographers don't take assignments just to please clients. They have to feel inspired which doesn't happen all the time.
7. Create friction with event planners
Successful photographers also avoid creating friction with event planners at all cost. This has something to do with staying focused and being able to explore. Successful photographers understand the important role event planners play in their success. They provide photographers with the necessary support they need to do a great job. For instance, event planners obviously have a lot of influence in things like venue setup which can affect the final outcome of creative photography. In order to increase the chances of doing a perfect job, successful photographers will do everything they can to maintain good rapport with event planners.
8. Try to be the life of an event
This is another mistake successful photographers never make. Successful photographers understand exactly what their job is in any event. They know their work is simply capturing memorable times. This explains why they never go overboard trying to interact too much with guests. Amateur photographers always make this mistake which shifts their concentration affecting their creativity. Events are not held for photographers. You shouldn't therefore try to network, entertain guests or do anything outside your job description because you will end up losing focus and affecting your creativity.
9. Doing everything themselves
Successful photographers have also learned to concentrate on their core work which explains why they don't do everything themselves. As mentioned above, creative photography is all about concentration and focus. When these two ingredients are missing, it is very hard for a photographer to remain creative. Doing too much at once definitely shifts focus and concentration.
10. Ignore the internet
Finally, successful photographers never underestimate the power of the internet. Part of the reason successful photographers become so successful is recognizing what works and what doesn't. The internet can be very great source of inspiration for photographers looking for new creative ideas. Although creative photography is more about originality, successful photographers know how important the internet is in offering creative ideas which is why they never ignore it.
Conclusion
In summary, the above information should help aspiring photographers avoid common pitfalls that can easily stall their creative photography careers. Although there may be many other professional photography taboos, the above information is adequate enough to guide amateur photographer in the right direction.

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Winter Carp Bait Secrets Of Maximizing Homemade Boilie And Paste Success!

Can you maximize your results in cold water by harnessing the power of some of the most essential processes and substances carp use every day? The answer is yes and some of these edges can be boosted to a huge degree to improve your success and most often produce very instant big fish catch results on both homemade and ready made baits boosted in these very special ways! Read on and get this essential information right now!

To begin with think about harnessing the power of natural digestion product short cuts and flavors which carp consume naturally as essential food!

I suggest that you really read up on active yeasts and source these on the web. Examples of these include pro-biotic yeasts for instance from CC Moore (for whom I am a consultant.) Combine active and in-active yeasts within your cold water base mixes and within your liquid food mixes; this way you will massively improve bait performance! This is an area I have a huge amount of testing experience in and with very good reason!

Producing homemade yeast mixtures for use as or within cold water baits can be done with very little prior knowledge or expertise. However as with anything else, the very best effects and results are found through testing combinations on actual fish when test fishing in winter!

I recommend that you only apply small batches of test baits while fishing. I do my most significant bait testing in winter and the test feedback at this time is the most valuable of any time of year as it can be applied in practice to all the rest of the year with absolute confidence!

When water is very dense due to the cold, fish metabolism is drastically reduced, and this is when feeding activity is at its absolute minimum. Test fishing on easy shallow lakes in these conditions very quickly indicates a winning batch of test baits! But you can apply these winning baits then to hard or big fish waters immediately following easy fish testing and bait refining.

More often than not a winning combination will then not only catch you big fish, but it can mean catching the biggest fish in the lake! It can also commonly mean that you catch the biggest catch of the entire year, because fish tend to become very closely group up in the wintertime and even become literally stacked up on top of one another! (My friend Alan Welch recently told me of this while doing underwater filming in January for our forthcoming CC Moore TV pieces!)

What other practical tips can you apply very instantly in winter at home or on the bank to improve your results? Well many essential oil components act on carp sensory systems in similar ways to stimulatory hormones which carp release during the mating season. these substances attract carp very strongly stimulating them into taking baits and even competing for them! (This is just one hidden effect of some of the commonly known and used spice essential oils when used correctly in the right dosages!)
In winter you can significantly raise the levels of essential oils you use. But never forget to always use a high potency liquid lecithin to emulsify any oils! These forms of lecithins make oils and similar substances far more easily dissipated and easily detected in cold dense water.

Liquid lecithins make oils far more digestible too! Therefore if you prefer to use for example low temperature fish meals in winter, do remember to exploit the power of lecithins!

Consider the fact that soya high potency liquid lecithins are a high caloric food and boosts carp cellular energy which helps more trigger feeding activity and are a true feeding trigger according leading Japanese fish scientist Harada!

One favorite tip I like to give is to use paste in winter! This was the way for hundreds of years and right up to the boilie revolution the leading carp anglers used high protein pastes to catch record fish!
Baits based upon very high protein ingredients often are resilient in their binding characteristics to last intact for many hours all the while dissolving true feeding triggers into the water column. Live and inactive yeasts coupled with n-butyric acid for example, and fresh squeezed pineapple juice for example and marmite mixed in creates a fine dip or soak for any bait in winter. Of course there are many ways to enhance such a liquid, including salts, fruit oils, essential oils, various powdered amino acids such as lysine, and also other low pH substances including a range of different betains and flavor substances, natural extracts and so on.

If you are unsure about how to approach making pastes for winter, or indeed how to create a beginner paste for winter and any other time of year, then the following suggestions with be a great help!

Think about bait in terms of not being a solid but as what it will become; liquid solution form, flowing and actively dispersing throughout the water column layers outwards as far as possible!

Think about your whole bait as a dissolving soup and as a dense feed-triggering cloud of substances. These must penetrate the water actively thus surrounding your fish so powerfully in cold water that they do not merely stimulate fish into noticing something new in their surroundings, but they will actively and dynamically change carp body and brain chemistry!

These changes will produce maximum catch results because they literally positively change fish behaviors in response to the presence of your baits in the water!
This might all sound very complex, but there are many beginner ways and methods and approaches to start to begin to achieve this! Tutti Fruitti flavor contains a substance for example, which in effect gives fish a free energy boost within the cells, and this significantly helps wake up fish metabolism improving feeding responses and numbers of cold water bites achieved! Robin Red liquid and powdered additive and spice essential oils also do similar things in various different ways!
Raw molasses represent a really important base ingredient in winter baits. Molasses are rich in feed triggering betain and other essential nutritional factors. Among the most proven and positive impacts and effects of molasses is its capacity to improve bait function by opening dense baits up so they become more soluble and active on many levels!

Another tip is about bait solubility! This factor is absolutely vital in winter and the colder months! If you base a paste upon molasses and Belachan powder just for starters, then believe me you will improve homemade and ready made boilie effectiveness most especially if you choose to include eggs.
The ways to improve your homemade and ready made boilies, stick mixes, pastes, method and spod mixes are endless. However regarding boilies, I have found that paste is the best way in winter. I avoid heated baits as much as possible! A friend of mine just this Christmas 2013, fished the easy lake on the Farlows complex.

In a day he caught 14 carp up to upper twenty, including hooking the biggest fish which was an upper thirty. This was using paste baits created after reading my further information and refining his bait substances recipes and pastes. Further bait testing of his new homemade baits on my advice was the reason why he was fishing the easy lake for instant feedback. His test result catches were far beyond those of anglers on the lake that were using ready made boilies. He very excitedly contacted me tell me how pleased and massively confident he was since getting into homemade bait making!

As he was on for 48 hours, he told me he decided to fish the main lake for the very first time. That night he succeeded in catching one of the seven much sought-after thirty-pound common carp in the lake; what a result! It was a new personal best for him for a winter common carp! Such is the power of paste baits teamed with powerful bait information and bait refinement and testing in action. This is why I use active bait testing all the time and I really do recommend that you fish new baits using a control bait on easy waters in winter to refine fantastic homemade bait winners for winter and in fact all year round!
You might ask how and why else would I use paste baits? Well the best way to introduce a new bait to any water is by using paste and not boiled or steamed baits! The secret of this is how efficiently the dissolving substances that are intrinsic to your paste baits dissipate in the most concentrated levels possible and these levels are far beyond those possible with any boilie!

Perhaps you want some tips on proven winter winners. Well for instance if you want to use Tutti Fruitti flavor which is a very popular proven cold water flavor, then make paste baits instead of boilies! In my years of testing in winter and summer, the most effective peak results time range for over-flavored baits is the first 30 minutes. This is followed by the proceeding 3 hours, upon which the bait impacts reduce dramatically as the most actively dissolving substances are lost! This is the time to cast out using fresh baits!

Keep moving your baits in winter because you will definitely attract the attentions of curious fish and you will even even locate them more easily. I have had times when casting repeatedly in winter when I have eventually literally cast right on top of fish thus achieving hooked fish while only just placing the rod in the rests after casting! Winter fish can be very curious and the splash of fresh baits really does make all the difference!

Many anglers ask me about bait soaks and how to improve them. For cold weather for instance you can create homemade liquids using highly potent powdered additives. Some of my choice examples include belechan powder, liquidized fresh frozen bloodworm and low pH enhancers and flavors, and include a generous amount of butyric acid, and maybe even a flavor based around caproic or caprylic acid. Real fresh squeezed pineapple juice is a great edge too, (there is more going on than merely active bromalain going on in there to make your baits work better!)

I like to combine many different sources of active and commercial enzymes in my homemade baits and these are exceptionally important for cold weather success! I have studied and tested countless numbers of these in various levels and combinations with very good reason!

The pH of your bait (when mixed with water to produce a solution) is another significant factor. Low pH flavors can be added to more significantly lower your boilie pH and make them more effective against background chemical clutter, such as ammonium from decaying autumn leaves and other silt forming detritus etc.

Low pH flavors and low pH additives in liquid forms increase feeding responses greatly in most carp waters in winter. They create a far more concentrated gradient of distinctly attractive and easily detected soluble substances for your carp to home in on for maximum winter success!

Use of examples of additives such as citric acid and betain HCL are merely the beginning of possibilities to harness, in vastly improving your winter and spring pastes and boilies! Revealed in my unique ready made bait and homemade bait carp and catfish bait secrets ebooks is far more powerful information look up my unique website (Baitbigfish) and see my biography below for details of my ebooks deals right now!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8248541

How to Photograph Dramatic Clouds at Sunset

The difference between a nice sunset and a dramatic sunset is all about the clouds.
Of course, the difference between a dramatic sunset and no sunset is all about the clouds too!
A clear sky at sunset might turn a shade of pale blue or pink, which is beautiful and calming, but with just the right amount of clouds the sky becomes alive with fire and drama as the day’s last rays reflect off the clouds making them red, orange, purple and pink.

Not all clouds are created equal though. They come in many shapes, sizes, densities, and altitudes, and they all refract or absorb the light in different ways that can drastically change the quality of your photographs.

Types of Clouds

Clouds that hang low in the sky and form a band on the horizon or appear like a thick blanket covering the sky will block the sun’s high-flying rays and make the sunset pretty anti-climactic, if you can see it at all.
Sometimes large and lumpy clouds that are brighter on the top and dark on the bottom can create a lot of contrast, making for a very moody atmosphere. Rain, snow, and hail clouds fall under this category, as the weight of the excess moisture weighs them down.

The most radiant displays of colour emerge when the clouds are very high in the sky. They are usually smaller, whiter, and thinner than the low-lying clouds, and they are able to catch the sunlight from beneath, allowing us to view those fiery colours from the ground.
These are more likely to occur when the weather is hot and dry, which is why desert landscapes are famous for their magnificent sunsets. When you want to create a dazzling sunset photo, these are the clouds you want to look out for.

Predicting the Weather

Sunsets don’t last very long, so it takes a little planning and a lot of luck to have nature set up the perfect sky for you. You never know when the ideal conditions are going to present themselves, but if you tune your senses to the weather and its patterns, you will start to get an idea of when you can expect to see the right amount of clouds in a sunset sky.
Watch the sky over the course of the day to see what kinds of clouds are forming and how fast they’re drifting overhead. Check your local weather forecast to find out when the sun will go down, and try to judge if they’ll be sticking around based on the time of day and the speed of their movement. Keep informed about any storms coming in that will bring low-hanging clouds along with them.
If you have a great view from your back yard, all you have to do is keep your camera at hand so you can dart out when you see a great sky. On the other hand, if your aim is to travel to a more distant location to get your shot, you’ll have to be a little more precise in your calculations to avoid hauling all your gear up a mountain only to have the clouds dissipate. Your best bet is to choose a location that will be beautiful with or without clouds – that way, if nature doesn’t cooperate, you haven’t wasted the trip.

The Perfect Exposure

The most effective way of bringing out the natural saturation of coloured light is to underexpose very slightly – between a half-stop and a full stop. This darkens the rest of the image, making the colour pop in comparison. Use your exposure compensation to adjust this.
To make sure you get the best possible exposure, bracket your shots. This means taking several images at different exposures, so you can analyze them on your computer at home in order to determine which is the most successful. This can be done manually using your exposure compensation setting – take one image using the camera’s default settings, then take one that is underexposed by half a stop and one that is overexposed by half a stop. Some cameras will have an automatic bracketing option that you can utilize to change these settings for you.
Another option is to create a high-dynamic range (HDR) image by combining multiple exposures as I did in this photo of a Joshua Tree. I made one exposure for the sky, another for the mid-tones, and another for the shadows and combined them in post-processing.

If you want to soften the appearance of moving clouds, use a long shutter speed to blur them slightly. If they are drifting slowly you’ll need a longer exposure to achieve this than if they’re gliding swiftly across the sky.

Foreground

When you’re going after sunset-specific shots, there’s a good chance that your foreground is going to be silhouetted against the sky. When this happens, it’s easy to forget about the foreground all together. This is a mistake. Remember that every part of your frame is important. The darkened foreground is simply negative space, and should be composed just like the rest of the image. Look for interesting shapes or objects to place in the frame to create a focal point that enhances the picture. If you want your foreground to be more visible, use fill flash (flash with the brightness turned down) to lighten the subject slightly without overexposing.

Post-Processing

When you bring your photos into an image editing program, you might have the urge to crank up the saturation and make the colours really bold. Resist the urge to go overboard on this feature; a 5% increase is all right, but much more than that can cause your image to take on a cartoonish look that could make it appear inauthentic. If your software allows you to, change the “vibrance” instead. This option is similar to saturation, but it focuses its effects on the pixels with lower colour intensity, preventing over saturation. Be ginger with your adjustments, and when in doubt dial them back a little bit to ensure the alterations are subtle and the final image looks natural.



article author  : Anne McKinnell


article source : http://digital-photography-school.com/photograph-dramatic-clouds-sunset

Top Reasons Why You Should Consider Adding Cool Effects To Photos

There are quite a few people out there who think that adding effects to photos is wrong. These are the people who typically have a very traditionalist approach to photography. What they don't know that even the most professional and highly regarded photographers these days encourage the addition of cool photo effects to enhance the overall look and feel of photographs. The one thing that you need to bear in mind about adding effects to your photographs is that it should be done in such a manner that it must not change the image. What this means is that you can just remove or add certain elements, or just highlight one that is already there so that you can attain a shot that is literally perfect in all its different senses. Apart from that, given below are a few major reasons as to why you should consider adding photo effects:

Got errors on your photo? Hide them away with cool photo effects!

You heard that right! If there are any errors whatsoever over the image that you just shot, you can easily hide it by adding effects to photos. This way, there wouldn't be any need whatsoever for you to discard a photograph for the simple reason that it has a minor error over it. No matter how good or bad an image you have acquired, you can actually make it look a hundred percent better by adding effects to it. Cheating the human eye isn't all that hard these days and that is just what you will be doing when you add effects to photos. Any part of the shot that you think needs improvements can easily be enhanced this way. Thanks to effects, there is no reason at all as to why you should have an imperfect image at hand!

It helps in the enhancement of your photos

Every single photographer out there obviously wishes to attain perfection in the photographs that he or she snaps. To them, any image that hasn't achieved perfection is a waste. For this reason, even the top photographers these days make changes in their photos to make them perfect with the help of cool photo effects. There are endless effects that you can use to enhance the overall appearance of your photo shots, so make sure that you look into them from now onwards to get that wow factor in your images.

Highlight the subject of your photographs through photo effects

You can actually add effects to photos in order to highlight the subject of your shots. Your subject is obviously the focus of your photograph so you can highlight it all the more with the addition of photo effects. The best part about this is that by doing so, you really wouldn't change or ruin the subject of your photograph, but would just enhance it more so that it receives the best attention.
If truth be told, there are endless reasons why you should add photo effects, but to sum them all up, it is best for you to use effects in your photos to give them a more 'perfect' look and feel.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8111268

Close-Up Photography Tips - Macro Extension Tubes For Photographers On A Budget

If you are a macro photographer with a low budget, there are many cost-effective alternatives you can opt for. One of these alternatives is to use macro extension tubes.

These photographers gadgets come with different camera mount fittings. This enables the them to fit nicely between the cameras and lens so that the distance between both lenses and sensor are increased.

Macro Extension Tubes Tip #1 - Image Quality

When this happens, the minimum focusing distance is reduced so that you can focus closer. Unlike using close-up filters, the quality of the images taken with a macro extension tube will not be affected because these photography gadgets are hollow as they do not contain any optical elements.

Macro Extension Tubes Tip #2 - Greater Magnification Vs. Amount of Light Lost

Nonetheless, when you use this photography gadget, it will affect the amount of light that enters the camera. Bear this in mind; more light will be lost when the magnification is greater. Your DSLR's through the lens (TTL) metering system will automatically counteract this issue. Still, it will be best for you to not forget that the shutter speed will be a little longer when you use one.

Macro Extension Tubes Tip #3 - The Wider It Is, The Higher The Magnification

The thing I love about this photography gadget is that they are compact, light, and can produce stunning results. They are sold in sets of three lengths, but they can also be bought separately. The common lengths are 36mm, 25mm, and 12mm.

You have to note that the wider it is, the higher the magnification. The magnification may be equal to or perhaps, greater than the life-size (1:1) capabilities of macro lenses.

Macro Extension Tubes Tip #4 - Do Not Use Too Many

Nevertheless, when you use a lot of it, the distance between your camera and your subject will appear looking very short. This situation would still be alright if your subject is one that is static. However, it may be inappropriate for photographers attempting to conduct wildlife photography.

Macro Extension Tubes Tip #5 - Highly Recommended

It is highly recommended for photographers to purchase Auto Extension Tubes. They are great choices because they include electronics that will maintain your camera's metering and focusing.

Although they are more expensive than basic tubes, they are still way cheaper as compared to macro lenses.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5501010

Stuck for Inspiration? Don't Forget Your Roots - Here Are 5 Key Ideas for Photographers

There is a famous quote that alludes to the idea that a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, while agreeing with this quote, it is essential to state that a well taken photograph is worth much more than a thousand words. Indeed, an excellent photo has the ability to not only express beauty, but also store the fondest of memories. Photography is an art which requires skill and technique.

To help you gain the necessary skills, here is an article outlining 5 basic ideas for photographers.

#1 Acquire the best camera

It is quite hard to talk about ideas for photographers without mentioning the camera; for it is the device through which photos are taken. Cameras come in various sizes, shapes, color and most importantly resolution powers. There is no doubt that technology has revolutionized the photography industry because it has spearheaded the manufacture and production of high resolution cameras which have the ability to shoot crisp-clear photographs. Therefore, the first and most essential idea to great photography is to ensure that you are equipped with a powerful camera.

#2 Detail

Taking a great picture is about capturing that particular detail which will make the difference. Every photo should be taken with absolute creativity to ensure that all the details are captured. Even when there appears to be no outstanding detail, try to look closely and you will certainly find one. Just like drawing a picture to represent a thousand words, creativity goes a long way in delivering a memorable photo.

#3 Light

Cameras directly depend on sufficient lighting to produce excellent shots. While this is not to say that photos cannot be taken during the night or in dark places, it is important to confirm that light is an integral element of photography.

If you intend to take photos in locations where natural lighting is alien or limited, you have to use an artificial lighting source such as electricity to increase your chances of taking a beautiful picture.

Although technology has brought us powerful cameras which are capable of independently taking photos in dark locations, you have to keep in mind that the trick here is to shoot great pictures with these 5 great ideas for photographers.

#4 Background

Almost always, a great photo has an amazing background. Here, two aspects of photography come into play; instant and selective. There are times when you have to take photos without having the option to change locations or backgrounds for that matter.
A case in point is when you are taking photos of people attending a certain ceremony. You are required to make use of your creativity and alertness to produce high quality picture, but when you have the freedom to choose from various backgrounds, be sure to go with smoky or watery backgrounds as they bring the best out of a photo.

#5 Photo framing

Of these 5 ideas for photographers, photo framing is definitely the easiest to implement. This is largely because framing the photo adds a touch of creativity and design to it. Different photos require different frames for them to be great. You need to exploit the use of various frames to determine the most suited to fit on a particular photo.

In conclusion, there are numerous tips, but the outlined 5 great photography photo ideas will give you a perfect start to taking awesome pictures! Once you master these basics you can start looking towards more advanced techniques like trick photography and special effects.
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8041525