So put on your walking shoes, grab your camera and go for a walk. You’ll be surprised at the photographic opportunities that present themselves. We’d love to see all of your photos as you can submit as many as you like!
Please tag your photos with Weekend Photo Walk 49 and then post your links in the comment section. Your entries won’t be judged—this is just for the fun of it!
The beauty of fall surrounds us. As Kier mentioned in his Pro Tip: How to Take Great Fall Photos fall colors never fail and I have to say that fall is my favorite season too! The innumerable colors, textures and patterns of the changing leaves create ever-evolving visual stories that begged to be captured. Read up on Kier’s suggestions and challenge yourselves to create your own autumn masterpieces.
OFFICIAL ENTRY RULES
To officially enter the Creative Challenge, you must tag your three submissions with creative-challenge-fall. You can then view them and everyone else’s submissions on the DISPLAY PAGE (it updates about every hour). To find out more about this, read the Using Tags on Creative Challenges post.
Submission Guidelines
1. Our editors look for sharp, clear horizontal images that are at a minimum resolution of 800×600 (submissions can have larger resolutions than this). Currently, vertical images cannot fit in the homepage template. Therefore, we cannot publish vertical or narrow panoramic images.
2. Images with added text or images, including watermarks, logos, copyright symbols, graphic borders, frames and time stamps, will not be considered. Collages, however, are acceptable.
3. Please do not submit pictures that have already been featured on the homepage.
4. The Creative Challenge runs from 12:01 a.m. on October 29 to 3:00 p.m. on November 3 (all times EST).
5. 3 pictures per member tagged exactly (including hyphens) with: creative-challenge-fall
*Note:Images that don’t meet the exact guidelines can be submitted and viewed for everyone to enjoy, but please understand that we cannot publish images that don’t meet minimum guidelines on the homepage. Also, now that you’re tagging your entries, you don’t need to post links in the comments section anymore.
NEXT WEEK’S THEME: The Roads We Travel From a slow and winding country lane to the hectic, blaring of a New York street, the roads we travel are an inspiration of color, texture, design and composition. Next week we’ll challenge you to capture the essence of a road you’ve traveled.
This week’s Creative Challenge: Creepy was certainly not for the faint of heart. There were so many freakishly scary entries, that we just had to publish more than one. We recommend that you don’t view the winners in the dark by yourself as you never know if you’re really alone.
#1. This haunting image by dcrrld really creeped our editorial staff out. The spooky combo of ghostly elements (lightning and a vintage eyeless ghoul) and applying an absence of color really worked. We love this photo, it’s a scream! Congrats to member dcrrld —we’ll feature you’re photo on the homepage tomorrow!
#2. How many brave souls would trick or treat at this haunted house from member wafox100? We think the combination of an old house on the hill with a lightning rain storm makes this entry an instant Halloween classic. Well done!
#3. If you believe the urban legend that one black cat is bad luck, then you’re in real trouble with these frightening felines from brian1707. The cats are a perfect symbol for Halloween and the use of orange and black works very nicely too. Just to be on the safe side this Halloween, it might not be a bad idea to stock up on milk.
Thanks to everyone who entered the Challenge and shared their photos with us. We really enjoyed viewing all the creepy entries and hope you had a spooky good time as well. To see all the entries in the Creative Challenge: Creepy, visit the DISPLAY PAGE.
My personal favorite time of year is here again. Fall is the time of year when the colors never fail. On sunny days, colors burn incredibly bright. On overcast days, the muted tones still convey tremendous warmth. And the increasingly angular sun gives ever more dramatic lighting scenarios.
Don’t put your camera away if it has been raining, the moisture on the wet leaves create beautiful texture and rich colors. Often times, the leaves will look even more saturated and the exposure will appear less contrasty if photographed away from direct sunlight.
Here are some tips on getting the most out of various shooting scenarios.
Portraits:
The colorful leaves provide great backgrounds both before and after they drop from the trees. While still on the tree, leaves serve well for traditional portrait poses and shooting situations. Blue and green clothes will provide an extra bit of punch in these situations. For a particularly brilliant setting, take a late afternoon portrait shooting towards the sun, with your subject blocking the sunlight – this will create a halo effect around your subject. To increase the effect further, shoot towards the sun, but have a tree filled with fall foliage blocking the sun – the effect in your photo will be that the color of the foliage will be like a huge colored glow.
Once the leaves have dropped, child and pet portraits work especially well with the subject partially buried in the leaves. The contrast of the colored foliage, and the effect of a glowing face shining through, makes for photos that will not be forgotten. You will see that blue and green eyes will seem to jump from the photo in these situations.
Landscapes:
Landscapes can be difficult to shoot in a boring manner in the fall. But to try some things different, use fall foliage to contrast on every day items. Look for the ordinary in your area, and see how it’s contrast with the fall colors make it extraordinary. Also try shooting through foliage – get in close to a tree and let the leaves create a frame around a subject in the distance.
Nature Close-ups:
On overcast or rainy days, there are still lots of great scenes in the fall. The foliage on the ground or on trees can create muted but warm colors to bring interest to many shooting scenarios. Look for contrasting scenery such as late season flowers blooming amongst the fallen leaves. Water can provide a waverly mirror to the foliage still on trees, adding an interesting bend to the normal patterns. Mossy rocks, with the rich green growth on them, are a great contrast to red and orange leaves as well.
Street scenes:
With the low sweeping angle of the autumn sun, street scenes can become increasingly dramatic. Look for how the sun lights up subjects against a shaded background to create photos that really pop. Car shows are another great venue in the fall, as the warm light makes a great tool for detail work on classic cars. One way to get some great photos of classic cars is to stake out a colorful spot on a known route to the car show – then wait for the show cars to come by on their way to the show. You can practice your panning technique, creating motion photos of classic cars with a blurred colorful background.
Have you captured some fantastic fall photos this year? If so, share your link in the comment area for everyone to see!
Photo walks, a popular activity among photo-sharing communities, let us all be a part of something no matter where we are in the world. By taking a walk this weekend and sharing the pictures with us, you’re contributing to a global mural of life.
So put on your walking shoes, grab your camera and go for a walk. You’ll be surprised at the photographic opportunities that present themselves. We’d love to see all of your photos as you can submit as many as you like!
Please tag your photos with Weekend Photo Walk 48 and then post your links in the comment section. Your entries won’t be judged—this is just for the fun of it!
Halloween will soon be here, and we can’t think of a better time and subject to practice your skills in night photography, long exposures and possibly some filter effects to make the most of this creepy photo challenge. Creating Ghostly Images was the subject of the most recent Pro Tip, so you should have plenty to help you in this week’s creative challenge.
last year’s winner of the Spooky challenge
cemetery spirit
tales from the crypt
eerie eyes
OFFICIAL ENTRY RULES
To officially enter the Creative Challenge, you must tag your three submissions with creative-challenge-creepy. You can then view them and everyone else’s submissions on the DISPLAY PAGE (it updates about every hour). To find out more about this, read the Using Tags on Creative Challenges post.
Submission Guidelines
1. Our editors look for sharp, clear horizontal images that are at a minimum resolution of 800×600 (submissions can have larger resolutions than this). Currently, vertical images cannot fit in the homepage template. Therefore, we cannot publish vertical or narrow panoramic images.
2. Images with added text or images, including watermarks, logos, copyright symbols, graphic borders, frames and time stamps, will not be considered. Collages, however, are acceptable.
3. Please do not submit pictures that have already been featured on the homepage.
4. The Creative Challenge runs from 12:01 a.m. on October 22 to 3:00 p.m. on October 27 (all times EST).
5. 3 pictures per member tagged exactly (including hyphens) with: creative-challenge-creepy
*Note:Images that don’t meet the exact guidelines can be submitted and viewed for everyone to enjoy, but please understand that we cannot publish images that don’t meet minimum guidelines on the homepage. Also, now that you’re tagging your entries, you don’t need to post links in the comments section anymore.
NEXT WEEK’S THEME: Fall Color Autumn has arrived in all its glory! Next week’s challenge will be to capture it’s beauty.
If anyone can capture the sun, it’s the Webshots community of photographers! This week’s challenge, Capturing the Sun, was a difficult assignment as the sun doesn’t always shine and when it does, it’s not easy to take its picture as far as exposure goes. We saw many beautiful entries that didn’t quite meet the criteria, so we’ll feature them elsewhere on the site. Now, it’s time to put on your sunglasses and check out the winners who blinded us with their creativity!
#1. We love member peg353’s amusing photo because it really looks like the squirrel is rubbing his little hands together by the sun, trying to stay warm. What a wonderful and creative way to use the sun as a main subject in the photo. Congrats to member peg353—we’ll feature you’re photo on the homepage tomorrow!
#2. Member TreyMir created a spectacular image of a women holding the sun over a beach, making it look like she is the one controlling the sunset! While the shot is a classic pose for capturing the sun, we felt that this photo was particularly nice because of the beautiful golden glow that the sun gives off and the nice vignetting affect that the image has. Nice job!
#3. Member didi24 has the sun at her finger tips in this photo. We really like the rocky beach in the scene and appreciate the attention to detail by having the finger tips in the photo right on the edges of the sun. Great job!
Thanks to everyone who entered the Challenge and shared their photos with us. We really enjoyed viewing all the entries and hope you had fun as well. To see all the entries in the Creative Challenge: Capturing the Sun, visit the DISPLAY PAGE.
Halloween is next Friday—are you (and your camera) ready for some spooky fun? We have a great guide and some helpful tips for creating ghostly images that you’ll definitely want to try. Get into the spirit now and start creating images that make us get chills down our spines!
The Set Up
Step 0. Know Before You Go
Spooky photos require dim lighting, so it’s best to photograph at dawn or dusk. If you can barely see your subject, then you know you have just about the right amount of light.
Step 1. Prepare Your Models
You need creepy imagery for your ghostly photos, so ask your models (friends, children, grandmas) to wear vintage clothes or a costume that will fit the part. If you plan to present the image in black and white, try using contrasting make-up, such as darker lipstick and light face powder or paint.
Step 2. Find a Spooktacular Location
An old house, cemetery, or location with historical significance would work well for telling your visual story.
Step 3. Use a Tripod and Cable Release or Timer .
Your hands might be shakin’ (because you’re so scared), so these tools will ensure a focused photo.
Step 4. Set Your Camera to Spooky Mode*
Spooky Mode: Set the ISO to 100 for maximum quality and turn your camera’s dial to bulb mode.
How To Capture Ghostly Images
Double Exposure
If you have a film camera and can double expose the same frame, then do that for your frightening photo. However, digitally re-creating a double exposure in Photoshop is easier: Using a tripod, take two identical photos without moving the camera, but have one with the model and one without. Then, load the two images into Photoshop and copy and paste the image with the model onto the image without the model. Highlight the layer that has the model, then using the layers window, fade the opacity to your desired level of ghostliness. Once it’s super scary, use layer >> flatten image to merge the two layers into one image. After flattening the layers, turn the image to black and white or darken the image even more for effect!
Long Exposure
If the scene is dark, expose the scene for a couple seconds so that your camera records some of the detail. Then, have your model walk into the scene (creating a blur) and then have your model stand completely still, and with your flash detached, point your flash at your subject and fire it manually. If you don’t have a flash, you can use a strong flashlight to paint your subject or have your model hold the flash and point it under their face for a floating-head look. You may have to play with your exposures to get the shot you want. If it’s really dark out, you can record multiple ghosts while using the same model if your exposure is long enough and your model moves quickly in different locations and fires the flash on themselves.
For both methods, the key is keeping the camera completely still while collectively recording a proper exposure. If you own a point and shoot camera, you may have to use the fireworks setting to force your camera to record a long exposure. Also, if you are using the bulb setting, you may want to hold a black card in front of the lens in between exposures if your model needs more time to get set. Let us know how it goes, and be sure to post links to your ghostly images below!
P.S. Want more Halloween photography tips? Read our popular post on Photographing Jack-o’-Lanterns!
So put on your walking shoes, grab your camera and go for a walk. You’ll be surprised at the photographic opportunities that present themselves. We’d love to see all of your photos as you can submit as many as you like!
Please tag your photos with Weekend Photo Walk 47 and then post your links in the comment section. Your entries won’t be judged—this is just for the fun of it!
This week’s fun challenge was inspired by an email that was sent around that had some great shots of people catching, poking, holding and sometimes eating the sun while it was low in the horizon. When shooting for this challenge, be mindful of your composition and get creative. Some of the examples below are perfect shots in regards to background, placement of the subject and composition, while others were unique ideas that could be made ideal by eliminating distracting background elements. This should be a fun challenge, so get out there while the sun’s still shining, grab a friend and see what you come up with!
holding the sun
lifting the sun
carrying the sun
balancing the sun
eating the sun
OFFICIAL ENTRY RULES
To officially enter the Creative Challenge, you must tag your three submissions with creative-challenge-sun. You can then view them and everyone else’s submissions on the DISPLAY PAGE (it updates about every hour). To find out more about this, read the Using Tags on Creative Challenges post.
Submission Guidelines
1. Our editors look for sharp, clear horizontal images that are at a minimum resolution of 800×600 (submissions can have larger resolutions than this). Currently, vertical images cannot fit in the homepage template. Therefore, we cannot publish vertical or narrow panoramic images.
2. Images with added text or images, including watermarks, logos, copyright symbols, graphic borders, frames and time stamps, will not be considered. Collages, however, are acceptable.
3. Please do not submit pictures that have already been featured on the homepage.
4. The Creative Challenge runs from 12:01 a.m. on October 15 to 3:00 p.m. on October 20 (all times EST).
5. 3 pictures per member tagged exactly (including hyphens) with: creative-challenge-sun
*Note:Images that don’t meet the exact guidelines can be submitted and viewed for everyone to enjoy, but please understand that we cannot publish images that don’t meet minimum guidelines on the homepage. Also, now that you’re tagging your entries, you don’t need to post links in the comments section anymore.
NEXT WEEK’S THEME: Super Creepy Photos In honor of Halloween we challenge you to submit your creepiest shots for next week’s challenge.