Gainesville's Next Top Budget Photographer

Snapchat stories are great for giving some behind the scenes footage and photos of each shoot you do! (Or sometimes it can be used to promote your blog like this story I did for today.) Check out my story for today explaining what this blog is all about.

It's not the easiest to take 360 photos on your phone. You shake around, don't move slow enough, mess up and have to start again multiple times. However, when you get that perfect shot it can be breathtaking. I decided to capture a landscape in this photo because there are many things to look at all around you. This is behind my house in Cocoa Beach. It's a view of the Indian River and the houses that are along it. bubble null

One of the cool parts about having a camera is being able to change the lens on it. A lot of people don't understand that the lens is what creates the photo, not the camera body itself. The lens is the most expensive part of the camera and is really important for taking great photos. However, I find out very recently that you can get different lenses for your iPhone or Android camera as well! This article talks a little bit about the best iPhone lenses you can get on the market. My favorite, that is featured in the article, is Kamerar Zoom. It is the cheapest option out there at only $25. It has two sets of lenses, a fisheye one and a telephoto one and then a macro one. They just slide over your iPhone lens when you want to use them and slide back to the side when you don't. Very easy to use and give such amazing effects to your photos.

If you live in the Gainesville area and don't know who Tamara Dobry, then you are missing out. I had the pleasure of getting to shadow local fashion photographer and director of photography for GFW Tamara Dobry. Dobry is a freelancer who has done over 400 photo shoots in her career in the categories of fashion, sports, wedding, journalistic and personal. Dobry had a recent fashion photo shoot that I tagged along for. It was amazing to watch her work with someone she barely knew, yet was able to make them so comfortable and calm while doing her job. Dobry also talked about how she chooses her models for each shoot. She thinks about what she needs from that shoot, such as color palettes, clothes, and overall look. She then finds her models based on what she creates in a mood board for the shoot. She admitted to me she has a hard time picking places to shoot because she has an idea in her head, but will change it just moments before starting the shoot. Dobry typically tries

A huge pet peeve of mine is when people use one angle for all of their photos. I scroll through Instagram and see the same boring angles all the time. Changing the angle just a bit can make a world of a difference to a photo. For example, this photo below was taken sitting down on the field during a football game. This shot would not be possible if I was standing because I wouldn't be able to get the other players legs in the foreground. It also looks good for the photo to be level with the ground because it brings the viewer inside the scene. If the photo was taking standing up, it would look very different. The player would most likely be in focus, the grass would be in less of the photo and it wouldn't have the same effect of bringing the viewer into the scene. My personal favorite of all the camera angles to try is shooting above the subject. Getting up high on a ladder or even just holding the camera up can change an ordinary picture into something really cool.

Let's be honest, it's hard to take photos of your pets. I have a lot of trouble getting my cats to actual do what I want. Every time I think I have a good photo of them, I realize that I don't because they move or jump or try to claw my camera. Here is the single photo I have been able to take of one of my little kitties: Having said that it's much easier to take photos of food and other inanimate objects. The real key to taking photos of these is lighting. Food looks better in soft lighting, it gives the food a glow which actually makes it look better. If it's in harsh, bright lighting, it will look unappetizing. Most food is shot in natural window lighting, so it's is soft, but not too much. You also have to work with angles as well because every dish has a "good side." It's your job as the photographer to find that side. You can apply this to other inanimate objects as well, such as flowers, toys, books, and instruments. Let's tal