• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Photography Workshops and Private Lessons

Click + Travel + Learn

  • Photography Workshops
    • Photography Immersion – San Diego
    • Photography Immersion – Atlanta
    • Beginner Photography Class
    • Photography Lessons for Seniors
    • Student Gallery
  • Click & Learn Private Lessons
    • Private Photography Lesson
    • Adult – Six week session
    • Teen – Six week session
  • Online Courses
    • Online Courses
    • Beginner Photography
    • Advanced Photography
    • Creative Live Photography – All levels
    • Bundle (Beginner & Advanced)
    • My Courses
  • About Mary Buck
    • About
    • Reviews
  • Blog
  • Going Pro Tips
    • Photography Business Opportunities
    • How to Start a Children’s Photography Business
    • How to Start a Wedding Photography Business
    • How to Set up a Home Photography Business
    • How to Set up a Commercial Photography Business
    • Photography Business Tips
    • How to Sell Photography
  • Shop
    • Shop
    • Gift Certificates
    • Topaz Lab Promos
    • Photo App
    • Fine Art Prints
    • Cart
  • Contact
  • My Account

Composing in a Digital SLR Camera

August 20, 2014 by Mary Buck

purple lilies on a pond Composing in a Digital SLR Camera
Copyright 2014 Mary Buck

I recently visited one of the most beautiful places on earth; Gibbs Gardens in Ballground, Georgia. The gardens is open from 9-5 so I chose a time of the day when I thought the light would be the best which was mid to late afternoon. In the middle of August however the sun doesn’t set until 8:30 PM so the light was very harsh.  My first stop was the Monet Lily Ponds.  There were about 4 ponds and I could have stayed there all day because the lilies were in full bloom. I did a lot of shooting and was not happy with my exposures because of the harsh light on the water.  Normally I shoot in aperture priority at around f/4 so I have some nice bokeh. This time I decided to change my thinking for a more dramatic result.  I shot the image on the left at f/40 which resulted in a very slow shutter speed of 1/5 second.  I also chose spot metering instead of the default evaluative metering to bring more emphasis on the flowers. It made the background almost black.  Now the lilies really stand out.  The small aperture made everything in focus from the closest lily pad to the furthest lily pad.  While composing I thought about how cool this image would look above my fireplace as a pano so I made sure I left space on the top and bottom so I could crop it in post-processing.  The only post-processing that I did was to saturate the reflection and the cropping.  Now that’s what I call composing in the camera.

For more information on DSLR photography check out the online course.

To view my portrait photography site visit Lightscapes Portrait Studio.

To view my fine art photography site visit Mary Buck Photography.

Filed Under: Blog posts, Local Georgia Photography

Before Footer

horizontal logo


GET MORE TIPS BY SUBSCRIBING TO THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

Subscribe

* indicates required



Footer

Search

Follow on Social Media

facebookinstagramlinkedinyoutube

Contact

(404) 556-1040

marybuck1@bellsouth.net

Pages

  • Home
  • Photography Workshops
  • Click & Learn
  • Online Courses
  • About
  • Blog
  • Going Pro Tips
  • Shop
  • Contact

Brilliantly

SAFE!

photographyimmersion.com

Content & Links

Verified by Sur.ly

2022

Copyright © 2023 · Mary Buck - All Rights Are Reserved · Website by Rock Paper Scissors