PhotoActive Photography Blog | How-to photo technique tips

Precise timing has caught the exact moment when this beach tumbler's fingers have touch the sand. It's a photographer's skill that does not need 'continuous' shooting mode

Capturing the action

Everything / Photo Technique / PhotoActive

There’s more to capturing the action than simply freezing the movement by using a fast shutter speed and shooting at 10 frames per second. Philip Dunn explains that good action photography starts with anticipation and an understanding of your subject. It is far more important to capture the right moment than freeze the wrong one No motor-drives, or multiple-shooting modes were used when capturing the action in the picture above. It was taken on a basic Nikon F2 many years ago in the West Indies. I captured the action simply by pressing the shutter at…

William was keen to show me the sailmaker’s palm used by his grandfather and still in use today. This was the ideal opportunity to take a close-up of his strong-work-calloused hands. I preferred this in black and white. Photography by Philip Dunn

Photographing craftsmen and women

Photo Technique / PhotoActive

Photographing craftsmen and women is, for me, always a joy. Call them artisans, makers, or skilled workers, these are the capable people who can create things with their hands. Practical, dexterous and accomplished, they are almost always worth photographing, and they often work in photogenic places. The sailmaker Everything about the sailmaker’s loft was purpose-built to inspire a photographer. That included William Leitch himself. He is the sailmaker and owner. A big, gentle, bear of a man with a great bushy beard and a mischievous twinkle in his eye. William is the third generation of…

The chap didn'r see me photographing him groping about in the water, but when he grabbed a fish in his bare hands, spotted the camera and showed off his catch with a great big smile on his face

Nervous of photographing people in the street

Everything / Philip Dunn / Photo Technique / PhotoActive

Too nervous for Street Photography? Are you nervous of photographing people in the street? Frightened they may see you pointing a camera at them? Just what's the first thing to do if your subject spots you taking that candid shot? It's easier than you think Here, Philip Dunn offers advice from his long experience covering Travel and Street Photography for The Sunday Times and other major newspapers and magazines. Many photographers share this dread of being caught red-handed taking a candid picture; they feel embarrassed, exposed and vulnerable. Positively the first thing to do is…

A fun candid shot of a butcher chatting on the phone in Shrewsbury's wonderful indoor market hall. It was taken during one of our Street Photography Workshops. Photograph by Philip Dunn.

NEW Street Photography Workshop date

Everything / Philip Dunn / Photo Shropshire / Photo Technique / PhotoActive

Here's a NEW date for the next Photography Workshop with Philip Dunn Street Photography Workshops in Shrewsbury - the next workshop will be on Saturday 26th January 2019. From 9.30am to 12.30am. So something special to look forward to in the New Year. New approach to your photography The tricks and photo techniques you learn on these workshops could be the starting point of a whole new way of approaching your photography. Street Photography has been the mainstay of my career since I left The Daily Express way back in 1986 and turned my back…

Irene's shot of Venice. It's a great attempt, but Irene's has not quite pulled it off - just a bit too dark. Why?....

Hand-held flash – a student’s question

Everything / Photo Technique

Hand-held flash - get the balance right with available light I was taking about hand-held flash in my previous post. A long-time student of mine, Irene Dunton, commented that on her recent trip to Venice she had tried the technique of using a time exposure with flash. Her results proved a little disappointing, so she asked me what went wrong. 20 second exposure and flash Irene wrote: "I had a bash at this technique just last week in Venice. I did a long exposure of San Georgio Maggiore (20 secs) and towards the end fired…

The shutter was opened, the maroon was launched, the flash was fired and the shutter was closed. Simplicity itself. No fancy cables or wireless channels. Just old-fashioned photographic techniques that always work

Time exposure with flash

Everything / Philip Dunn / PhotoActive / Vintage Black and White

Vintage photo tricks still work today The simple photography technique of using a time exposure with flash goes way back to the days of flash powder and glass plates. And it's just as effective and worth applying today as it was then. The Victorians didn't need fancy sophisticated flash set-ups to produce great images; they had no multi-channel wireless systems or remote shutter controls. You don't need them either. All you need is a camera with a manual long-exposure setting, a good, firm tripod and a flash unit with a manual release button. Oh, you…

Can you tell me where this photograph was taken? The church in the background should be a clue, but I cannot remember where it was

Where was this photograph taken?

Everything / Philip Dunn / PhotoActive / Vintage Black and White

Can you help and tell me identify this vintage image Where was this photograph taken? I'm having trouble identifying the place. I certainly don't know the identity of the lady gardener. I've been sifting though more of my extensive archive of old negatives and transparencies again. Sorting and then scanning those photographs that have stood the test of time. It's such a time-consuming job that I can only do it is short bursts of a couple of days at a time. Frankly, I find sitting in front of a computer tedious and boring. Still, it…

Landscape Photography in the Shropshire Hills. Brian Pierce on his Shropshire one-to-one photography course. The weather closed in soon after this picture was taken - but not before we had managed to get some good photographs of this wonderful scenery

Shropshire One-to-One Photography

Everything / Philip Dunn / Photo Shropshire / Photo Technique / PhotoActive

It's been a busy time with the Shropshire one-to-one photography courses this last few weeks, and I've certainly had to cover a wide range of interests and needs from the photographers On my Shropshire One-to-One photography courses I seem to have entertained just about everyone. From keen landscape photographers to students who wanted to get to grips with the mysteries of Street Photography. There have even been several photographers who preferred not to go out taking pictures at all - what they really wanted was to sit and talk about camera techniques and how to…

One-to-one photography course in Ludlow

Everything / Philip Dunn / Photo Technique / PhotoActive

One-to-one photography course in Ludlow I had a most enjoyable one-to-one photography course in Ludlow the other day. But then, it's always great to work with a real photography enthusiast who is keen and eager to learn. My student for the day, Amanda, lives in Shropshire, so she did not have far to travel. She took up photography seriously just six months ago when she bought her Canon 760D and a couple of very nice Sigma lenses. I realised very quickly that Amanda is not a lady to do things by halves. She came with…

The joys of Street Photography in Shrewsbury. My student Joe Banin shows his picture to his willing subject during our morning photography session

First Photography Workshops in Shrewsbury

Everything / PhotoActive

A great start for the first Photography Workshops in Shrewsbury What a great day we had for the first Photography Workshops in Shrewsbury. The sun shone for our Street Photography session, so there were lots of people about to photograph. Even the threatened rain failed to arrive for our Mixed Light Photography Workshop in the evening. The people of Shrewsbury exceded all my expectations. Yes, I knew Shrewsbury was a friendly town, but this really has to be the most welcoming place in England. People were actually stopping us in the street and suggesting…