props simplest scarf primark material Simon Q. Walden, FilmPhotoAcademy.com, sqw, FilmPhoto, photography

AOP part 40: The Simplest of Props

This is one of my most favourite props. It is called an infinity scarf. It is a simple piece of material joined at the ends to form a loop.

posing poses classic assist works Simon Q. Walden, FilmPhotoAcademy.com, sqw, FilmPhoto, photography

AOP part 39: Frame Within a Frame and Posing Assist

I've talked before about door frames and their use. This is a classic example of how it works both as a frame within a frame and a posing assist.

publication square shots maja caption Simon Q. Walden, FilmPhotoAcademy.com, sqw, FilmPhoto, photography

AOP part 38: Stop Shooting Square On

Somehow all portrait photographers are programmed to shoot square on to the background. It really does take some effort of will to move the camera off the perpendicular and go for some angled shots.

fashion nude style paint yellow Simon Q. Walden, FilmPhotoAcademy.com, sqw, FilmPhoto, photography

AOP part 37: Different Room

I mentioned earlier that three of the rooms at the location were all brick wall spaces. There is a fourth room which has wood panels at each end and unpainted plaster on the remaining walls.

video various trapped theme supports Simon Q. Walden, FilmPhotoAcademy.com, sqw, FilmPhoto, photography

AOP part 36: The Boxes

Ten years ago I created a large body of work around people bring trapped inside cells. This was exhibited in various places as both still images and a short video.

negative create triangle supports shapes Simon Q. Walden, FilmPhotoAcademy.com, sqw, FilmPhoto, photography

AOP part 35: Negative Space

In general I think Robert Capa's advice, "if your pictures are not strong enough, you are not close enough", is pretty good.

obvious type tempting tax smaller Simon Q. Walden, FilmPhotoAcademy.com, sqw, FilmPhoto, photography

AOP part 34: Avoiding the Obvious

Now with a big post like this right in the shot it would be so tempting to do the obvious and use it for some pole dancing type shots.

camera tripod title settings process Simon Q. Walden, FilmPhotoAcademy.com, sqw, FilmPhoto, photography

AOP part 33: DoubleTrouble

Just a quick aside, I've been involved with judging photo competitions and exhibitions for years. If you give your image a clever title, I can guarantee that us judges have heard it before.

headpiece bust tonality striking straight Simon Q. Walden, FilmPhotoAcademy.com, sqw, FilmPhoto, photography

AOP part 32: Striking

And now we have the exact opposite. I have increased the saturation of key elements and pushed the contrast at the extremes as far as I can safely go.

contrast reduced drama saturation reaching Simon Q. Walden, FilmPhotoAcademy.com, sqw, FilmPhoto, photography

AOP part 31: Removing Drama

In most images we are looking to add impact, our standard tools for this will be saturation and contrast.

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