Photography tip: Fine art photography

A very easy way to get a painterly look to your images, and to produce photographs that do not appear to be photographs, is to utilize the setting sun.

The only requirement for this type of abstract image is a window that receives light from the setting sun. If your house is not oriented as such, try a friends house. The first step is to place your props on a small table or other movable surface. The props should have the setting sunlight shining directly on them. The second step is to place a piece of white bristol board (available at any stationary store) behind the props, thus creating the shadow projected on the blank surface. For this image I just used my living room wall, however the bristol board may be a better option as it is movable.

You will find that you can control the level of sharpness of the shadow. Simply experiment with the distance of the props to the window, and the distance of the props to the background bristol board. When you get the desired effect, you will need to work quickly as the sun sets quite fast. Have your camera on a tripod somewhere between the window and the back surface, and shoot a few different shots with different exposures. Since this is more of an artistic image, there is really no correct exposure; go with the image that feels right.

If you find that the shadow is not as warm as you like, try adding a warming filter available at your camera store. If you are shooting digital, experiment with different white balance settings, most notably the "cloudy day" setting, or the "shade" setting. Finally, when you take the picture you will be photographing at a slight off-center angle, as you can't be in the way of the sunlight hitting the props.

Thanks to professional photographer Mark Hemmings (www.markhemmings.com) for writing this photo tip.