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Photography expert Barb Gordon, Master Photographer publishes Barb Gordon Photo Coach's Shooting for Success ezine. If you're ready to take your photography career to the next level, get your FREE reports "Make Photography More than a Hobby" and "15 Ways to Make More Money with your Photography" now at http://www.barbgordonphotocoach.com

12 Elements of Composition for Remarkable Photographs #5 The Foreground
By Barb Gordon, M.Photog., CR, CPP


A strong and interesting image can be achieved by including a lot of foreground leading to the subject. For an environmental portrait use enough depth of field so your image is sharp front to back to tell the story.

This is not a riveting example but it is a good example of recomposing the image to include foreground interest.

I wanted to show my family the cedar posts that my husband used for our front porch. Photographing just the posts up close was kind of boring. So I backed up to include some more of the hard work my husband has done in our driveway. The rock has now created an interesting foreground that leads to the cedar posts.

Another and very beautiful foreground sample image is on the blog, click here. (I think I did this link right as last week I got confused with all the steps there are to do this linking stuff!)

This is a twelve part series with most articles continued on the blog due to their lengh. Next week- Textures


© 2010 Barb Gordon Photo Coach & Gordon Photography & Gallery, Inc.

A Contest and a Great Site!

I am all about showcasing people that are teaching! The Savvy Photographer not only has a great site filled with information, but she is also having a giveaway! Click here to enter! The Savvy Photographer

I have been focusing on photographing birds in flight. I find a bird feeder where they are flying in for food, focusing my camera to the side of the feeder and catching them landing, taking off, grabbing food, etc. Some things I am learning. When using this technique be very aware of what is in the background.

My first attempts had a big sign in the background and while I got some great shots, I couldn't use them with the sign in the back.

Focus in on the space closest to the feeder, but not the feeder. If you focus on the feeder, the feeder will be clear but the bird blurry.

Be patient. You will have to take a lot of pictures to get just one good shot! Trust me. But so worth it.

For these shots I am using a digital Canon Rebel Camera, with a 300mm Zoom lens. I am still struggling with focus, blurry images, etc. But each time I think it gets a little better!

Have fun. I would love to see your pictures!

Pictures I see may not be the picture you see...

Recently, someone purchased a picture from me. It was a picture taken at Bellows Beach on the island of Oahu. My home town. It was one of my older pictures so I was a little leery of the request. He wanted an 11 X 14 of the picture, and I was fearful that it wouldn't look as good as his expectations of my work. I am an amateur. I am getting better, and sometimes I get the perfect shot, but in my opinion this wasn't one of those times.

We talked back and forth and I learned that he had some very fond memories of Bellows Beach. It was his memories that made that photo beautiful to him. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder they say, and I have come to realize how true that can be. Each day when we pick up our camera, we are taking pictures of the beauty we see, or the oddity, or juxtaposition of the shot.

But someone else, is seeing a memory of their past, or perhaps a goal for their future. They are remembering a tale once told, or a song once rehearsed. Photos allow others the opportunity to relive or replay their own stories.

Its kind of wonderful when you think about it. Don't get so caught up in taking the perfect shot. Take pictures of what you love. You never know what memory you make wake up, or who you may inspire.

Pondering a New Thought. What do you think?

On another website a therapist who works with photography to help people make changes in their life wrote "Your photos are actually "self-portraits" even if you are not in them". WOW, I mean Whoa! that caught my attention, made me feel a little bit uncomfortable so I knew I was in the learning mode with God at that moment and I had to think about that statement. Especially since I have been a little less than satisfied with some of my work. Her belief is that we take pictures of things that move us, people we want to spend time with, actions that amaze us. These snap shots can give us an idea or our mood, our journey through time, our future.

So I began thinking about what was bothering me about the pictures. They were too blurry, they weren't crisp or as "Pretty" as some of the other professional photos I see, I can't get the f stop, ISO, aperture correct, etc, etc, etc. And in this self analysis I realized a few things. 1) I am in too much of a hurry to be perfect 2) Because I am in too much of a hurry, I am taking pictures just to have a picture, but not really to learn the process and 3) Like everything in my life I rush, look for quick, fast easy ways, and don't enjoy the experience. And so, what do I get? Blurry photos. It is self portrait of my hurried, fast paced existence. The beauty comes from slowing down, looking for the best shot, perhaps not always taking the photo, but just enjoying that quiet solitude, those moments when no one is around and you are seeing it all take place around you.

I am challenging myself to make the time to slow down. To no be so worried about getting a shot, but to spend more time with the learning, more time with relaxing and enjoying the visuals. Finding composition through my own life interpretation.

I love to learn new things about myself, about processes, about people. Its no surprise to me that this new revelation about myself has come up "once again". It just is. I hurry. I move fast. A lesson to learn is the slowing down. Perhaps we will begin to see a change in the way we take photos as we slow down and enjoy the process.

This also translates itself to photo editing. Photoshop should not be used to just slap on some layers and call it a day. It should be another slow process where we feel the photo and find ways to translate the moods into a finer print. Textures, words, layers can all be useful in expressing what we saw during those quiet moments but it can only be done if we took the time during the shot to feel the experience, to relish and enjoy the shot. What do you think?

Frustrating Photos

Okay, I went out this past Friday (I had the day off) and headed over to a reserve at 8:00am to capture some shots of the Eagles they just let loose from rehabilitation. The day was perfect, it was very early in the morning, and not a soul was in site. The lake was calm and everything was coming to life. Butterflies, geese, birds, dragonflys, eagles, osprey, blue heron. I was in wildlife heaven, shooting photo after photo, after photo. Two hours later I headed home with some beautiful shots. You could see birds preparing to descent to catch fish, an osprey grabbing a fish from the water, a blue heron skimming the lake inches about the water. It was amazing and I was so proud that I had captured it all on film.

Coming home I was so excited, and tired. But I immediately began to download my shots. Photo after photo was blurry, out of focus. I was so upset and so frustrated. I just couldn't believe it. So I began to research the problem. And in a nut shell, here is what I learned.

1) Taking good shots is going to take time, patience and study. You can't rely soley on Automatic Focus. There are too many variables when it comes to capturing movement. In fact, there are three things that come in to play: Shutter Speed, Aperture and ISO. I could go into detail about it, but I recommend that you head over to this site: digital photography school read up! They are a wealth of information. They give good tips on all sorts of subjects. Photography at night, photographing kids, photography for children...and more.

2) Blurry photos can be fixed. I found this plug in FOCUS MAGIC that works as a plug in with Photoshop elements and while it looks easy, my first day of practicing its use was a little daunting. I will post more on it as I practice. It costs $45 so seemed reasonable enough. They let you have 8 free edits to try before you buy, but since I didn't read the instructions prior to trying, I didn't have much success. I broke down and registered for it, so I now have alot of practice time. I will keep you posted.

The great thing about Digital photography is that you can keep going back and taking more pictures and trying again. Its frustrating when you think you got the perfect shot, and you want to see it, frame it, send it out to all your friends!

As you can see, they are quite blurry, but they are very clear in my mind. Here's the thing, no matter how many times I go back and take that picture it will never come out right if I don't take the time to slow down, learn something new, and take a few risks.

And with digital, I can do it again, and again and again! Wish me luck! If I master the blurry corrections on these photos, I will post them to show you the differences. Are you learning something new? If so, please share it with us. This is what its all about!

Free Photoshop Classes! Registration Begins on Monday!

Hey everyone, join me at Jessica Sprague for her 2 year Birthday Bash. She is offering free Photoshop classes, giveaways and tips from other designers all on her site. Registration begins this Monday! Don't miss out. Its a great way to get your feet wet in Photoshop and if you are a scrapbooker a great way to learn digital scrapbooking techniques. I plan to attend and take all the classes. Can't attend? Jessica Sprague offers on line courses all year round. Costs vary, but once you order the course, you own it for life and can always go back and practice what you learned. I think this is the best training on Photoshop I have ever seen! Let me know how you do and what you thing!

Registration opens this Monday for the free class Photo Editing: Frame-Ups & Special Effects. In this brand-new class, you'll soak up dozens of awesome techniques to add effects to your photos, including brushes, frames, masks, textures, blending modes, filters and more! Don't worry about the class filling up-they've got plenty of space for you and your friends. But you have to register between June 22 - 28! So spread the word with our blog badges or by tweeting, posting on Facebook or emailing your friends and family.

Sharing what you Know..

Well, I said I would be taking a class on Photoshop soon, and I was so excited about it that I went a week early! The class is this Wednesday so once I have the lesson, I will be sure to let you know how it went and some of the cool things I learned. I am having trouble learning how to load pictures onto the Photoshop, I think I get confused when I am uploading from my camera. Another program called JASC keeps opening and I just get confused. Jessica Sprague is offering some free Photoshop lessons on her site at and I plan to take those classes too! The more I learn, the more practice I get right?

Which leads me to this weekend. My husband and I headed out to a National Park in our area to see what we could take photos of this week. It had rained quite heavily and so we headed to the Falls. It was a beautiful day and although kind of a long ride, we went out and spotted red tail hawks, the falls, dragon flies, birds. All kinds of fun photographs! On our way out of the park there was a crowd of people with cameras taking pictures of something on the ground. I wasn't wearing my glasses so asked a photographer what everyone was looking at. He looked at me and said "Oh its just a really interesting tree" and he walked away. I believed him. So I kept looking and looking trying to see what was so special about it, and then it moved.

There up against the trunk was the most beautiful fawn. Its mother was on the other side of the tree eating grasses and she obediently sat there waiting for her mom to return. I sat there for about 30 minutes taking shots, waiting for her to raise her head. It was such a special site. Kids walked by and I shared my binoculars so everyone could enjoy that special moment.

That to me is the point of art, nature, life. To be able to share it with others. Shame on that man for not wanting to share it with me. Perhaps he thought we would endanger the young fawn, but I suspect he was just being selfish.

This site is about sharing what you learn. About anything. Photography just happens to be my art right now, but I am learning scrapbooking, card making, jewelry design and more. I learn from books that I read, people that I meet, and places that I go. I do hope you will come on in and share a little or alot. Don't be like the man who was simply looking at a "very interesting tree". Delight in your knowledge and share it with others. There is a little kid out there who may never see a fawn in the wild who is just happening by, and you could be his entrance into understanding that the world is much bigger than the space we take up. The photos above, are of the fawn and its mother. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

New Camera, Exercise, Turning 50 and FUN!

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah...I turned 50 this month, had a reduction in my job hours, gained 30 pounds and life just wasn't looking all that rosy! And then my birthday came. My Mom decided it was important for my 50th birthday to be special and so her and My Dad bought me a new camera. When I found out I was speechless. It was an amazing gift. You see I had been using my company's digital camera to explore and practice my new found interest in nature photography. They had approved it, but after the job situation I just didn't feel the same there. I didn't feel like part of the team anymore, and just couldn't use it any longer. So it was back to the regular 35mm camera, waiting for your photos to arrive to see if you got good shots. It was different, but I would survive.

And then this wonderful gift. And you know, I started really thinking about it. It was so generous and so wonderful, but it was much more than that. It was acknowledgement. My parents saw in me what I wasn't seeing in myself. They saw my passion. Here I was at 50 with my negative voice saying "Who am I" "What am I passionate about?" Feeling down and a little unsure. And they were saying: "You are so creative, wonderful, passionate..." Well, those are what I heard!! LOL. My point is, we spend a lot of time second guessing ourselves and those that love us are showing us in so many ways how great they think we are. Maybe we just need to believe in ourselves a bit more and hang around those that think we are fabulous!

Well, as for the 30 pounds and the aching back, yesterday my husband and I took my camera on a hike and we caught so many wonderful pictures. I walked farther than I realized, the back pain is a little less painful this morning, I feel great and I have a feeling this camera is going to get me up and running again! I can't wait to get back outside today!

I am posting a picture today of a woodpecker. Its taken right outside through my screen door. Its not the best shot, but I am posting it because that is what this is all about. Learning. It could be a little clearer, it would be awesome in a tree with greenery in the background. But I live in the suburbs in a little townhouse with a small postage stamp backyard, and he was coming to the feeder, which in and of itself is a little odd because woodpeckers are typically insect eaters. Perhaps he too is having to adapt?

So, what are you learning today? What fear are you pushing through? How are you embracing the changes in your life?