Shoes, Shoes, Shoes

Shoes, boots, heels, sandals, who doesn't love them. I am crazy about my footwear, knee high boots, ankle boots, cow girl style boots, winter cosy boots, high heels, stylish summer wear sandals, and I even have a pair of bright yellow wellies.

Therefore, I decided to photograph shoes this week in the most creative surroundings to make the idea in the finished photograph very stylish.

I have taken most of the photographs using my mobile phone and using natural available light as well as the functions on my phone.

The photographs below have also been photographed using natural light on my mobile phone. The heels were placed on a brown backdrop and were photographed at different angles and with some photographs, selective focus was used to enhance the detail.

These are photographs of one of my heels. I chose this particular pair because of the details on the straps. The high heel is covered with tiny coloured roses and gems.

Photo 1 - both heels
Photo 2 - a collage of all photographs taken at different angles, moving closer

Pink heels

Close-ups

The photographs below are of cowgirl style boots, the boots are very simple, yet I felt I could get a few good photographs of the same pair.  These photographs have been taken using my mobile phone on the normal camera setting, with the phone's aperture at f1.8 using natural light.
Photo 1 - taken in the garden
Photo 2 - boots placed on the stair banister
Photo 3 - boot placed on the table top and photographed from the top
Photo 4 - taken in the garden

The photograph below was also taken with my mobile phone, using normal camera setting and available light. The idea behind it was spontaneous; I saw the heels and weighing scale and thought of the shot. I was not sure if the idea was going to work, however it adds a different element to the concept of 'Shoe Photography'.

Silver heels

If you have little shoes, use them, as they can create very dramatic and interesting images.
These tiny baby shoes were photographed indoors using natural light and my mobile phone. I like the idea of the large empty space in front and behind the shoes as it shows the scale of the tiny shoes.

Tiny shoes

Try to create different compositions with little shoes or slippers, sometimes they can add drama to the final image. I created a moment in time with these slippers by placing them on a cushion as my little one used to do when she was 2 years old.
This photograph has also been taken using natural light and the mobile phone.

Precious slippers

The photograph below was taken as part of the 'Street Photography' series. This shoe was photographed in the shop window using my Sony A6000. The idea was to focus on the pink and yellow roses, so I used a shallow depth of field. The saturation of the final image has been increased slightly.
These are my settings:
Aperture - f4
ISO - 320
Shutter - 1/200

Shoe in the window

The photograph below was taken in 2008 of my model on location. I used my Nikon D200 for this image with off camera fill-in flash. I added this photograph in the 'Shoes' theme because it shows shoes in a different, creative manner. I remember that shoes were very 3D with laces on the upper part of his t-shirt.

Shoes on t-shirt

Try taking a photograph with your phone mounted on a selfie stick and capture your own shoes/wellies in action.This photograph was taken while I was out on a walk.

Yellow wellies

The photograph below was taken for the model for her modelling portfolio on the theme 'Punk Rock' in 2010 using my Nikon D200. I sat on the floor as I wanted to emphasise her big boots.

Big Boots

There are lots of photographic possibilities when you try different angles and techniques. The shot below is a collage of different shoes photographed, showing the details in each one of the shoes.

Details of shoes

Finally, the last image is of Doc Martens boots photographed using light painting techniques. This image was taken using a battery-operated candle on a mobile phone. Please see this link for a detailed 'Light painting with mobile phone'.

Light Painting shoes

This was another interesting project to photograph, I have used styles and techniques like selective focus, light painting techniques, close-up, different angles views, different surroundings. I hope you too will have fun photographing shoes.

Bhupinder Ghatahora ABIPP, ARPS, ASWPP
Ghatahora Photography
info@ghatahora.co.uk
www.ghatahora.co.uk
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Colour

This week's project is on a Colour', I chose to photograph the colour pink. For this project you can choose any colour to set a theme for this project. Below are a selection of images that I photographed showing different styles in photography. I have varied the style from smoke photograph, panning close-up etc.

This was photographed using the panning techniques.

Fixed subject panning

Photograph of smoke, using pink gel fixed on the flash, set from the left hand side from the camera.

Smoke with pink gels

Close-up of a flower photographed at the local garden centre, using available light

Flower patterns

I chose to add a pink background to photograph the flower bud in the garden.

Pink background

The photograph of Loch Lomond early in the morning showing the colour pink in sky

Dawn - Loch Lomond, Scotland

Bhupinder Ghatahora ABIPP, ARPS, ASWPP

Ghatahora Photography

info@ghatahora.co.uk

www.ghatahora.co.uk

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Tips for better landscape photography

I love landscape photography, especially when it is not sunny and bright outside, I believe weather conditions that we have here give us an endless opportunity to capture the beauty of the countryside/landscapes we have. Here are a few tips to improve your landscape photography.

Tip 1:
Photograph sunsets:
* metre for reflective foreground, such as the water; this will record the sunset and the foreground correctly
* use the ND (Neutral Density) filter

Reflections on the canal

Mountain reflection in the lake - Lake District

Tip 2:
Choose the right time of day:
* understand and see your light
* find a suitable viewpoint
* wait for right lighting conditions, light can make a huge difference in your final shot
* photograph in golden light
* photograph landscapes early morning

Photograph taken in Wales in the evening

Early morning, Loch Lamond, Scotland 

Golden light on bridge - Reading

Tip 3:
Weather conditions:
* capture atmospheric shots - take photographs in bad weather, capture rainy day shots, fog
* capture raindrops on tree branches, spider webs etc
* take a spot reading from a mid-tone from your scene

Early morning mist

Dew drop on the branch

Rain on grass reed

Snowy day, view from start of the Iron Bridge - Telford

 Tip 4:
Photograph seascape in all weather conditions:
* capture sky and reflections
* shoot dark stormy skies to create mood and atmosphere

Sunset behind the mountains

After the sunset over the beach - Lake District

Before the rain - Leicester

Tip 5:
Show scale in your photographs
* include in your photograph a human, tree, house to show scale
* use a long focal lens
* use a tripod for long exposures and in low light conditions

The tall tree - France

Walk in the park - Wakehurst Place

The red taxi - Bangkok 

Tip 6:
Exclude the sky:
* create dramatic, colourful images by excluding the sky
* concentrate on colour
* photograph reflections in the water, be creative
* photograph during the summer's hazy light to add character to your images
* exclude sky on dull days, shoot detail, patterns in the fields

Stormy day - Lands End, Cornwall

Carpet of Tulips - Keukenhof , Amsterdam 

Bubbles - Eden Project, Cornwall

Tip 7:
Photograph winter landscapes
* sun in the winter has a warm hue, giving it the 'golden light', which adds mood to the photograph
* photograph trees covered with snow, frost or rain drops
* shoot looking up at the trees
* shoot in wide angle and zoom in

Snow - Near Bishopswood Golf Course, Baughurst

Tall trees - Pamber Forest

Snow in the trees - Tadley

Tip 8:
Leading lines:
* include paths, lines leading into the image, it creates perspective and adds sense of distance & depth
* use a wide angle lens

Micheldever Woods, Basingstoke

Dinas Head - Cornwall

Tip 9:
Include foreground interest:
* use wide angle lens
* include foreground interest to create a sense of distance
* shoot from low angle to emphasize the sky
* photo white clouds and dramatic stormy clouds

Seaside - Northumberland 

Textures - Northumberland

Tip 10:
Use slow or fast shutter speed:
* capture movement in water or to freeze the waves
* on bright sunny days use filters to have a slow shutter speed
* cloudy/shade is perfect lighting conditions to photograph movement in water

Waves - Cornwall

Bradgate Park - Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire

Bhupinder Ghatahora ABIPP, ARPS, ASWPP
Ghatahora Photography
info@ghatahora.co.uk
www.ghatahora.co.uk
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Light Painting with Mobile Phone

Mobile phones today have amazing in-built features that one can use to photograph creatively. I have a Huawei P30 Lite which has a triple camera with 48MP. I am really amazed with the quality of the photographs the phone produces.

I have never tried light painting with my Professional Digital camera before, however, I was ready to set my self a challenge to create light painting photographs with my Huawei Peacock Blue mobile phone. The mobile phone has standard features such as; AR Lens, Night, Portrait, Photo, Video and More. See the images below, please note that these images are screen shots of my phone.

Under the 'More' function, the phone has 11 extra settings (see image below of the functions on the mobile phone Please note that these images are screen shots of my phone).

I chose the 'Light Painting' function, which is further divided into 4 more functions, (see image below, these images are screen shots of my phone).

All of the below photographs are taken using the 'Light Painting' mode on the mobile phone.

For the shot below, I set mobile phone on 'Light Graffiti', the phone was mounted on a selfie stick which also can be converted into a mini tripod. The shot below was taken on my kitchen counter, no backdrop was used. The lights were switched off in the kitchen, prior to that the shot was focused and locked in on the face.

I used a battery operated candle to create light the image. The mobile phone on light painting mode has a ''live view' which means I could see the image being created and knew when to stop the exposure on my shot. I used the candle to light the front of the image, starting with the face, shoulders, then moving the candle around to light the whole image. While doing this, I had to keep a very close eye on the camera as it was creating the image and making sure that the light does not create any unwanted shapes or glares. The total exposure for this image was around 5 minutes.

For the shot below, the same technique as above was used. This image was lit from the back of the bottle, again keeping in mind to add no unwanted glares added to the image. I also added light to the front of the perfume bottle using a small LED torch. The torch was covered with a piece of white tissue to diffuse the light. The exposure for this shot was just over 4 minutes. I quite like the way the use of the torch has added a blue effect on the lid of the bottle. This is because the candle has a warm temperature at 1500 Kelvin and a LED torch on average is 4000/6000 Kelvin, a cooler light temperature.

This image is of a jelly candle and was lit using a battery operated candle from behind, moving the candle up and down slowly. Again, I kept an eye on the view finder to see that the image was not over exposed or casing any glares. The total exposure for this image was roughly 4 minutes.

This is an image of a house plant shot in 'Light Graffiti' mode, lit with a battery operated candle. Each part of the plant was lit in sections.
 

This image of the perfume bottle was shot using the 'Light Graffiti' mode and was lit using the LED torch and battery operated candle. The swirls were created using the candle.

The next two photographs were also taken using the mobile phone on 'Light Graffiti' mode. Both images below are of fairy lights. The phone was hand held and moved in various directions to create interesting patterns. I must have taken several photographs as I got carried away taking photographs around the house in the middle of the night. Again, keep an eye on the view finder as the image can easily be overexposed. The exposure time range from 10 seconds to a minute.

This image was taken in the garden of the stars. The phone was mounted on the mini tripod and pointed up towards the sky. The phone was set on 'Star Trails' mode. The phone was left in the garden for 45 minutes on the mini tripod. I took this shot in May around 9.15 pm. If you are taking photographs of the stars, it is best to set up when there is still some colour in the sky and on a clear night.

The last two photographs were taken through my bedroom window. It was dark outside - the light from the moon and the windows created an atmospheric scene. This was photographed on 'Night' mode on the phone.

This image is of the same scene, I just moved my phone up and down to capture the light in an abstract form.

I was truly amazed with the images the phone was capturing. When I started this project, I was not sure if it was going to be successful. It was a challenge that I am willing to explore again at another level.

Bhupinder Ghatahora ABIPP, ARPS, ASWPP

Ghatahora Photography

info@ghatahora.co.uk

www.ghatahora.co.uk

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