Baby Boomer on a Budget
Pamela Stefl Dadlani
Pix Tricks
Apps, Filters, Toys, Tips
Powerful Portraits
Location: Yossi Milo Gallery in New York City
Camera: Apple iPhone 7
Editing App: Camera+
Filters: Ansel, Sharpen
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Sometimes, all the right elements come together by luck to create an amazing shot. You just have to be able to see them when they do. I didn't tell Michael to wear a striped shirt nor did we know that we would be in a gallery with this background. We were enjoying an exhibit, he turned around to say something and I said FREEZE!
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Notice how flattering his profile is. When a person turns their head, the neck stretches and smooths the skin. The eyes are strained a bit and become larger.
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Some people naturally find shots like this. But, honestly, the more you shoot, the better your eye becomes. And, sometimes, you don't even see how great the capture is until you get home and play with cropping and apply some filters.
Shooting Architecture Indoors
Location: Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Camera: Apple iPhone 7
Specs: f/1.8, 1/341, 3.99mm, ISO 20
Editing App: Camera+
Filters: Noir, Sharpen, Pinhole, HDR
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The courtyard in the MFA Boston is spectacularly designed with horizontal and vertical lines that draw the eye up naturally to the roof. One can hardly complain about being stuck inside on a snowy day when such an active photo can be captured.
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The snow on the roof was centered while cropping to use a blurring effect around it. It draws more attention to the snow shapes that fight with the strong lines of the building.
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While finding such a striking opportunity, take a few different shots to get different directions of the lines. While editing, each image can be played with to find the most appealing composition.
Reflections on Puddles
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Location: Welt Museum Vienna
Camera: Apple iPhone 7
Editing App: Camera+
Filters: Noir, Sharpen, HDR, Contrast
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Shooting architecture in the rain can be just, well, blah. Everything turns to grey with little contrast and almost zero color. As a result, people usually think that when the weather is nasty, it is not a good day to go out.
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I really wanted an image of this building for my #museumnoir series but I just couldn't find an interesting angle. Good days. Bad days. Outside or in. The architecture just wasn't speaking to me. Every image just looked like another old building.
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But then I remembered some of the amazing images people were getting in Vienna using the reflection off of water. Most of the ones I had seen usually included the building as well but when I looked down and focused on just the reflection, I could see how interesting the composition could be when it was taken out of the context of the sky. In this case, the sky has become the negative space.
Shooting buildings upside down like this in puddles also reminds me of the original cameras where the photographer was not distracted by the subject but instead could focus on the composition.
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Lousy day outside? Stop looking up. Start looking down.
Shadow Selfies
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Location: Salzburg, Austria
Camera: Apple iPhone 7
Editing App: Camera+
Filters: Noir, Sharpen, HDR, Contrast
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My daughter calls me the "Selfie Queen"... much to my embarrassment. But, I am uncomfortable about giving my smartphone to strangers and they never capture what I want anyway. I need to be in control! And I am not afraid to take it.
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The two of us were traveling together when we checked out this cool castle on a hill at night. It was lit up for the entire city to see. Well... they got a bit of a show that night. As soon as we stepped into that spotlight, the stage was ours! We walked back and forth until our shadows were the size we wanted. Then, we thought about the pose that would best show off our silhouettes. Since the beginning of life, people have been using their hands to make shadows and communicate so we knew they had to be out there.
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I would love to say that this picture tells a thousand words but I am happy if it shares just a few. Castles are pretty unique backgrounds for friends back home. It is obvious we are thinking of them with our waves. You can tell it is us by our hair and body shapes. But, most of all you can see we are having a great time.
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I am sure they were wondering "what were they thinking?".