We are kicking off Portrait Month with Newborn Portraits. I love photographing newborns – the bubbles they blow, the faces they pull when asleep, and the cute way fluff gets trapped between their toes. But best of all is knowing I am capturing an amazing stage of their lives for their parents. I can’t wait to see your images. Photo ©: Quintin Mills

This week the theme is “Wheels”. Bicycle wheels, the mags on your hot hatch, we are looking for beautiful images of wheels. Remember the leading lines, composition, foreground interest, all the things that go to make up a great image. Good luck and have some fun with it.
Get your entry in early so more people see it and can vote for it.
Photo ©: Digitalmovie

Understanding light is the most valuable skill you can learn as a photographer. Lens flare can be accidental or deliberate. Some photographers like the look of lens flare because it can add a touch of realism and heighten artistic drama; others don’t like it. It depends on your photography style and what look you hope to achieve with your images. In any case, it’s helpful to know what causes lens flare so you can learn how to prevent it—or, in some instances, learn how to deliberately achieve it. Photo ©: Jay Cassario

Macro photography is a unique form of photography that involves photographing small objects to make them look life-sized or larger in the photo. The usual subjects include flowers and small insects, which we don’t normally get to see up close with the naked eye. Everyday objects take on a new perspective when viewed from close range, so your garden or a local park can be the perfect testing ground. Photo ©: Shaun McCabe

Reflection photography is challenging, very rewarding and requires an artistic eye and flair. Reflections can be hard to capture because they involve you looking at your perspective differently, they can also act as a frame for capturing an image within an image. From reflections of trees in water to shots of new buildings with their surroundings reflected within them, there are plenty of ways a photographer can shoot and use reflections to their advantage. Photo ©: Laura Williams

Photographing your subject from a low angle is a great way of enabling you to capture the world in an entirely different way. Shooting from a low angle can make your photo much more interesting to the viewer. It’s more likely to catch their eye in the first place and it will hold their attention for longer. Straffen Short

As photographers, we are well aware of the golden hour, which extends from about half an hour before to an hour after sunrise and about an hour before to half an hour after sunset. These times are some of the best times to photograph as the light is warmer and the skies glows beautifully. During sunrises and sunsets, the sun sits at the horizon. This means sunlight must travel greater distance through the atmosphere before it reaches us. Because of this greater distance, more of the light is scattered as it interacts with molecules throughout its journey. The blue lights have mostly been scattered in the first fraction of its journey. By the time the light reaches us, the only color that can still be scattered are the oranges and the reds. So that is why sunrises and sunsets are reds.

Backlighting in photography is a way for photographers to create dramatic lighting, either in a studio setting (for things like portrait photography) or when shooting outdoors. Learning backlit photography techniques can help improve your photography dramatically. Photo credit: Justin Klusener

Photography is as much a study of the creative, as it is a study of the technical. Often, knowing all the technical ins and outs of your camera still does not guarantee an image that makes you stop in your tracks and take a second look. One really cool technique to add a little bit of creativity and flare in our imagery is shooting through objects. This technique is, quite literally, to have a small object between the front of the lens and your subject. This is often used to frame the subject, in order to draw attention to it/them, soften the edges of the image, or add a cool colour special effect, to an otherwise ordinary image. Photo Credit: Kierran Allen

Lightning travels at speeds of up to 321 million km per hour. It comes, quite literally, in a flash, and often disappears before you can reach for your camera. This week’s POTW is all about being at the right place and the right time. Photo Credit: Jason Weingart

Capturing motion blur for sports is relatively simple – use a slow shutter speed. The challenge is to make sure that you have an important element in focus and pin-sharp at the same time. So for car racing, the race number or name on the door, showjumping – the riders face etc. The slower the shutter speed, the more dramatic the final image, but it does make it infinitely more challenging. This week, the challenge is to shoot a Sports motion blur image.

Good luck and remember to have loads of fun. Photo credit: Quintin Mills

Spiral staircases are known for being space-efficient as well as beautiful and stylish. But did you in medieval times, spiral staircases were built out of stone in castles and they were wound clockwise and sometimes were particularly tight so that attacking swordsmen would be at a disadvantage. Sometimes they even had uneven steps so the enemies would trip. In photography, the beautiful shapes and leading lines are a big attraction. This week is all about spiral staircases.
Photo credit: HD wallpapers

What does on the edge mean for you – extinction, disaster, greatness… This theme has so many potential outcomes, this week I am looking for an image that describes “On the edge” for you. It can be you standing on the edge of a cliff or a beautiful alcohol packshot like the example from Yechiel Orgel. I am excited to see how you interpret the theme this week.

Leading lines are lines that appear in a photograph that have been framed and positioned by the photographer to draw the viewer’s eye towards a specific point of interest. These lines often draw the viewer’s eye in a specific direction or towards a designated portion of the photograph.
Photo credit: Marius Boshoff