Guest Post: Watch where you’re pointing that thing!

Are you having fun while I am gone? I sure hope so! This post is from my husband, Andrew. He loves to be fully connected to his camera. I am sure in the future you will hear more from him.

When you take pictures with your camera, you really need to watch where you are pointing it. I know this sounds simple and some of you are thinking things like “Duh!!”, or “I‘m not stupid you know!” Well, I realize you aren’t dumb or stupid, but I would like to share a couple tricks I learned during my 15 years in the photo industry.

Glass & Mirrors-
Have you ever taken a picture of somebody in front of a mirror? Remember how nice it looked through the camera? Do you remember that gigantic hazy hotspot covering up half of the picture as well? When taking a picture of someone in front of a mirror, it can’t be taken from head-on. This will result in that hotspot I was talking about. This is caused by the light from the flash bouncing off the mirror directly back at the camera, and into your picture. If you wish to take a picture of someone against a mirror without that effect, simply change the camera angle. Move yourself one way or the other so that the angle allows the light to bounce away from the camera. Imagine a circle on the floor. Now pretend the circle is a clock. Find the 7 and the 12 on the clock. Shoot from the 12 or the 7 and put the subject where the hands meet.

Been to the Zoo or Aquarium lately? Remember taking pictures of animals or fish in a glass container? I am sure you remember that annoying bright rectangle of your flash reflecting off the window into your picture. Your own camera’s flash reflects off the glass back at you. The solution is quicker and simpler than you might think. Note: Before doing this, make certain the glass of your lens does NOT stick out further than the plastic or metal rim around the lens. Softly and very carefully place the rim of your lens up against the glass. By placing the rim of the lens against the glass you remove the possibility of light bouncing into your camera. This works for ANY camera big or small.