There he was hanging from the tree. The neck strap had caught on a branch as he fell. It snapped his fall to a sudden stop. His body slammed into the tree, swinging from the strap. Whew, good thing “he” is only your $300 Nikon binoculars. It is too bad the binoculars are broken. The good news, it wasn’t around your neck. Why did you take them off anyway? Was your neck sore? Were the binoculars in your way again? With a Nikon Prostaff binocular harness, both you and the binoculars would have survived the day.

How many of us have removed our binoculars and either laid them down, or hung them from an outcropping on the tree? Admit it, you have probably done it. A neck strap is not very comfortable. The binoculars get in the way when you lean over to grab your thermos. Once you get frustrated dealing with them, you take them off. When you are wearing a properly adjusted binoculars harness you would just wear the binoculars all day. They would be comfortable. The binoculars would stay out of the way. No need to look for that “safe” hanger for your binoculars.

While you were in the tree, did you see the 10-point buck on the horizon? If you binoculars are hanging from the tree, or sitting on the stand, probably not. If they were hanging on your binocular harness strap you would have quick access, and would have seen the buck.

Using a bino harness is not just about convenience and comfort, it really can be an issue of safety. There is less opportunity to get your strap caught on an obstacle when it is remains safely against your body. With a neck strap you have a loose swinging strap hunting for a place to get caught. Most times the strap just gets in the way, but even that is a safety concern. When you are climbing into a tree stand you do not need anything impeding your climb. The binoculars on a harness are out of the way, and your hands and arms are free for the climb.

You remember how you loved using your binoculars when you first bought them. Then after a few outings you started mumbling about them being a hassle to haul around. You can have the old feeling back when you keep them in the right place, and ready for action. No more binoculars flying from trees, only safe, enjoyable spotting of game on the move.

At MyBinocularHarness.com you can find a binocular strap harness and much more.

Taking photographs of people have two categories.They are candid shots or portraits.

Portraits are the photos you take when your subject strikes poses.While the candids are when your subject is doing things naturally.

I would like to focus on taking shots that are candid.This form of photography is an art form, and if you take these few steps, you will be happy with your work.  This is from my experience as a San Diego Photographer.

First off you don’t want to obtrusive.  Most candid shots you take of course are going to be people going about their business, but the secret to taking a great shot like that is to make sure they are unaware of the shot.

Because a lot of times, if they happen to notice you, the essence of capturing that unguarded shot will be gone.  So try hard to make sure they are unaware of the camera. 

Another thing to consider is the setting or the environment.  When you are taking a candid shot, the setting plays a vital role.You want to capture your subject in their setting as naturally as you can with your candid shot.  It’s that setting
whether is is their house, their work, or the street they are on, will tell a story about your subject’s life.  This is especially important if you are going to be taking shots as a Wedding Photographer San Diego.

A third tip to think about is to anticipate behavior. An important part to being able to take candid photos of people who are acting naturally is to know what your subject will do next in a situation.

This will help you if you are trying to catch something in particular because it will allow you to be prepared rather than miss the shot.  Knowing how they will react and being able to capture that is all about anticipation.

Finally, always be looking for those times when a person may express their emotions.Because if you think about it, when you take these photos, the main thing is trying to capture their emotions in these shots.

Look at what your subject is doing and see if it will be a moment that will express emotion.Such as impatience shown in an expression at a stoplight.  Or a joyous expression at an event.Every second in time is an opportunity to capture a moment of beautiful emotion.  Being prepared for those moments will help you capture and tell that story in that moment of time.

Taking candid shots is definitely an art form.  Especially if you truly want to tell a story in your candid shots. Following these few simple steps will help you be on the road of capturing as many storytelling moments as possible as a photographer.

When most couples plan their wedding day they take a lot of things into consideration. They coordinate the date according to vacation times from work. Or they coordinate the wedding day for the family to be able to make it into town.  Or they plan it based upon maybe available venues, like the church or the restaurant.

But one of the biggest things couples fail to plan for is the photographer. This is no small issue.  And I am not just saying it because I am a wedding photographer. 

No planning the wedding day with the wedding photographer in mind could mean all the difference in the world. Especially when you consider the pictures are what is going to be captured for a lifetime.

What are the things to think about when making plans with the photographer in mind.  The time and the date.

Let’s start with the time.  How many people want their photographer to rush through the photos? I am pretty certain that most people, couples especially, will not raise their hand to that thought. 

Not even thinking about your photographer, most of the times the bride and groom will do just that. The couple will end up rushing the photographer to get all the shots in. 

How so you ask?  Well a lot of times, the couple will schedule the ceremony for let’s say 1-2 pm.  With the reception starting at 2:30.  How many shots do you think the photographer can realistically get in with only half an hour to work with? Not that many.

Even worse, let’s say he does take all the shots?  Do you think they will be of the best quality when the shots are rushed?  Of course not.

So plan the wedding and reception with enough time in between to take the photos.

Second thing to consider when planning with the photographer in mind is your photographer’s availability.

Most probably don’t realize this, but most good photographers will be booked months in advance. Let’s say you are dealing with a large photography company, they probably have a few photographers.

Well making wedding plans without thinking about the availability of the photographer could be a nightmare. Because when you reserve that special day, without making sure your photographer is available, come wedding day you might get a shock when you find somebody totally different.

This scenario happens when you are dealing with a big company. You may not even realize that they have a staff of photographers and if the photographer you liked is booked, unless you ask, they might not tell you. When the wedding day comes, a second rate photographer or worse yet, they might outsource the work and somebody else will show up.

So be prepared and don’t let this happen.  Planning your wedding day is wonderful. Make sure that your plan has the wedding photographer in mind as well.

In this age of digital cameras, you have probably thought that you can just point and shoot and out will appear a great shot.  Not so fast.  The truth is you can have the top of the line digital camera, but if you don’t know what you are doing, you will take lousy shots.

Well, I’d love to share with you some great advice in photography to help improve your skills.  These tips are coming from years of experience as a San Diego wedding photographer.These tips are about using lighting and they will be some of the best advice and keys to your success in taking great photos.

First tip you will use in regards to lighting.  Now if you are taking shots outdoors during the day, natural sunlight provides some of the best lighting possible.  Now you are probably thinking, “that’s easy, when you are a San Diego photographer since it is always shiny there”, when in actuality really bright sunlight can cast harsh shadows.Or it could blur the details of faces when the sun is overhead.

Overall, most of the shots you are going to want to take with the sun behind you.This eliminates any harsh shawows from effecting your shot from the sun.  But there will be some instances when you want to try different angles when you are trying to get some shadows into the shots.

Now that we know what to do during the day shots, what if you have to take some night shots? 

The trick to taking night shots is to turn off your flash.Of course if it is absolutely dark with no light you wil need it, but for times when there is some lighting, use the lighting around you, but make sure the shutter speeds are slow enough to let light in.  Also you want to stay steady when taking the shot or you will blur the photos.  Doing these couple of tricks can make a dramatic difference when taking night shots. 

The final piece of advice to use for lighting is using the golden hour to capture great shots.There is this time that photographers like to call the golden hour or magic hour, and that is sunrise and sunset.

These times of day you wll be able to capture great shots because you will get the more warmer and inviting colors.You’ll be able to get that golden lighting that isn’t available during any other time of day.

There you have it.Probably the biggest secret in taking great photographs is taking advantage of the natural lighting.  Knowing what techniques to use for different parts of the day, or just scheduling a photo shoots to capture those times of day will help you become an excellent photographer.

Being asked to be the photographer for a wedding is a big responsibility.If you’ve been approached to do it as a friend, or maybe asked to do it as a professional, here are 5 great tips to do the job right.

This tips are coming from first hand experience as a San Diego wedding photographer.You could be a seasoned pro, or you could be an amateur, but by following these tips, you will do the job smoothly without second guessing yourself.You will be ready for whatever may happen.

Our first tip is pretty simple and that is to have the couple and their families make a list for you of shots they want to take.  When the day is hectic and chaotic, this will help immensely when you are trying to get family and group shots later on in the day.Imagine how wonderful it will be to just go down your list and know that you aren’t leaving anything out.

The second tip on our list is to not delete any shots.  In this day and age of digital cameras, most photographers use them.Even though they are great, it is also tempting since it is so easy, to delete a shot.Don’t bother even peeking at the previews.Remember, what you think is a great shot, could be vastly different than what the couple thinks is a great shot.You never know, they might like all those so called un “professional shots.

A third tip to consider is making sure you get candid shots.A good photographer isn’t one who just takes the standard basic shots, like family shots, typical wedding shots, or whatever is the usual.  But they will also try and capture the emotions of the day through the shots of all the people that were there.It may include the things that go wrong also, like a flower girl making a wrong turn or the ring bearer not wanting to walk down the aisle.  Every shot counts.

The fourth tip is which is often overlooked is to make sure you have several cameras and other equipment as backup.  Do you even want to imagine having a camera stop working halfway through the day.Plan for the worst that could go wrong.  Being prepared will help you avoid that uncomfortable moment of not having a working camera to capture the rest of the day.

Finally, you have to be prepared for the lighting and you do that by practicing. There can be a huge difference between the lighting inside the wedding and outside, so make sure to practice for all the different possible conditions. Go see the locations and scout it out for the big day, by finding the best places to shoot as well as studying the lighting needs.

Taking these 5 tips into account will help you immensely.  It will prepare you for whatever might go wrong, it will prepare you for capturing what goes right, and it will prepare you to help contribute to this wonderful day by being the best photographer you can be.  Take it from my years of experience as a San Diego photographer.