Photography tips: Night photography, Vectorial Elevation, Vancouver, BC

Use a long exposure for the lights, say several seconds.
The flash will illuminate the person in front of you but
will not go further. Have the subject hold still if
you want an image without a ghost. If you do want a ghost
then after the flash fires, have them leave the scene as
the camera exposure continues to record the background where
they used to be standing.

Photography tips: value serendipity

I was shooting for some corporate work and I noticed the
shadows of people passing by the decorated fence.
I took about 40 shots, trying to get interesting compositions
and gestures from the passersby. I think I would not
have noticed this on a different day or a different time of
day. Or last year. I like serendipity. And the more you practice
just looking out for happy accidents, the more they seem to happen.

Photo tip: Night photography, Vectorial Elevation, Vancouver, BC

Shooting the lights is great fun. I know you can get some kind of picture with your point and shoot camera at the highest iso setting and balancing the little thing on the edge of the bridge
but I'm thinking I could make some money out there by renting tripods. I like to have a non-noisy picture that is sharp and that means using a steady tripod, not one of those pathetic little wobbly things. If it's worth the trouble to go out at night with your camera, it's worth doing
it right. Invest in a good tripod.

Photo tip: keeping it simple

The most important part of a picture is the frame.
We don't need everything in the picture. Usually, less
is more. The more we think about line, shape, colour, texture
and the other elements of visual design,
and take the label off the subject (as Freeman Patterson
says in his excellent books on photography) the stronger
our pictures become. Does it matter what this is?
It's an interesting photo because of its strong colour, shape and
lines. That's enough.