Big Accomplishment as a Google Guide

Got this today:

Chenkin top Google Photographer
Alan Chenkin recognized for over 5 Million Views on Google!

In my role as a Google Guide, I frequently take pictures and occasional videos of the places and restaurants I visit while traveling or staying local.  While this has been a slow year for traveling or even going out, I have been keen to take photos and inspire everyone who will be traveling post-pandemic.

For the most part, I use my Google Pixel phone camera.  It’s adequate for quick posting of plates and dishes of food, and can be fairly ubiquitous as everyone lives on their phones these days.

While traveling, I used either my pocket shooter, a  Canon SX720  (Great zoom, quality images) or my Bridge Camera, A Nikon B700 (Goes from Close up to insane zoom without changing lenses, and sends images to phone via Bluetooth app).

On occasion I carry my DSLR, a Nikon D5600, But it requires a larger bag for the additional lenses and accessories.  I have to say it has more controls and post-processing options than the Nikon B700  Bridge camera, especially when adding filters for effect, or doing time lapse photography.  When you are traveling or taking quick shots for a restaurant review, the compact nature of the Google phone or the Canon SX720 make it easier to take and post quality pictures.

Even if you are not a Google guide, I hope my pictorial reviews will inspire you to better photography and good choices with cameras for your photographic adventures!

Thanks for reading my blog, and hoping all your shots are good ones!

-Alan

 

Do this one thing and you will have better pictures!

It doesn’t matter whether you shoot with a smartphone or a fancy DSLR camera – there is one tip that will help you get better shots.

Are you ready?  Take more shots.

Example of burst mode – From Wikipedia

Everyone is smiling around the birthday cake?  take 4 or 5. or more.  Someone may blink, or move so much the picture is blurry, so you need a way to compensate!

you may not get a second chance for a “once in a lifetime” picture, so don’t be stingy with your pictures, take extra shots.  SD cards are cheap.  So is cloud storage.  You already have the basis for a good picture, even if it is a snapshot!

Many cameras (like my Nikon) have the ability to take pictures in “burst mode”,  where one click of the shutter takes multiple shots.  This is great for many situations where you want multiples and will get them without  effort or coaching your subjects.  I find this is great when shooting pictures of puppies, children, cars in motion, and other fast-moving objects!

No matter what, always think of your composition before clicking the shutter – multiples of a bad shot are just terrible, but multiples of a good shot are inspirational.

Burst mode, also called continuous  shooting mode, or continuous high speed mode, is a shooting mode in almost all still cameras.

In burst mode, several photographs are captured in quick succession by either pressing the shutter button or holding it down.[1] This is used mainly when the subject is in successive motion, such as sports photography. The photographer can then select the best image of the group or arrange them in a sequence to study the transitions in detail. (this description is from Wikipedia).

With all the options you have with a modern camera, or even settings on a smartphone camera, you may want to carry a “cheat sheet” with you, so you have a fast reference to the shooting modes that you would use in any situation.  Because they are like the “Cliff Notes” of your camera’s manual, cheat sheets are usually a small laminated card, or cards, that have quick reference to the available shooting modes and tips for your camera.  There are also general tip sheets relating to Depth of field, exposures, etc.

Sweet As Photos - Plastic Double-Sided Photography Quick Reference Cards / Cheat Sheets

Even if you shoot a lot of pictures, these guides will give you a refresher on composition, exposure, shooting modes, etc.  It is a good item to keep in your bag, and review when you take your camera on a trip or review prior to taking some shots on vacation.

PhotoBert Photo CheatSheet for Canon EOS 5DS/5DS R Digital SLR Camera

Tell your subjects to hold the pose, and click the shutter one more time!

I hope you found my point of view enlightening and informative.  Please share, like, and upvote!