Todays photo blog entry is more of a tip than a technical lesson. The example photo is of exterior architecture, but the same principles can be used for many different styles of environmental photography.

Have you ever taken a photo of a building and the formerly blue sky turned out completely white? Or, the sky was a proper exposure, but the backlit building came out shadowy and dark? The problem is the great difference in light levels between the dark shadow of the building and the very bright light of the sky. The easiest way to correct this problem (if you have the time) is to wait for the sun to go down. Approximately 1/2 hour after sundown, depending on your location, the light in the sky will be about the same brightness as the artificial light emanating from the buildings.

The window for getting balanced light is very short, sometimes only 20-30 minutes. As an experiment, place your camera on a tripod, and take the same photo every 5 minutes. When it is too dark to see any sky, you can pack up and review your photos at home. You will find that maybe 3 or 4 photos look excellent, and they will probably be the ones taken in the middle of your session.

This technique is very popular with photographers who specialize in house exterior photography. They simply turn on all the lights in the house, wait until the outdoor sky is the same brightness level as the indoor house lights, and the result is a beautiful warm interior with a cool dark blue sky. Try it out on your own house!

This photo was taken in Ebisu, a part of Tokyo, Japan.

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

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.

The Cycle skin has multiple options for slide transitions. Transitions include fade, fadeZoom, scrollUp, scrollDown, scrollLeft, scrollRight, scrollHorz, scrollVert, shuffle, slideX, slideY, turnUp, turnDown, turnLeft, turnRight and zoom. These transitions and timing of the transitions are all configurable in the Cycle skin tab in JAlbum. There is also an option for easing during the transition animations (bounce in, out, elastic, etc). You may want to play with these and see how they work with different timings and transition effects. It can be configured with a manual or automatic Slideshow option. Lastly, each slide can be clicked on to enable a Lightbox popup window of a full size photo.

This is the first version so there are some issues still to be worked on. It's best if you keep the default settings of the Skin except for the settings under the Cycle tab.

Cycle is a skin built with the jQuery javascript library, for more info on the jQuery Cycle plugin: http://malsup.com/jquery/cycle/ 

Regardless of where you travel to, if you have a camera in hand there will usually be an interesting landmark or building to photograph. As you already know, the subject matter that is in front of you has already been photographed ad nauseam. To set your photo apart from all the millions of other similar images, try a simple framing technique where the main subject is encased within a secondary point of interest. In the case of this image, my goal was to photograph the Budapest parliament building, but to have the image framed by a secondary subject, the famous Buda Castle.

There are many examples of this technique throughout the history of photography, and the one that stood out for me the most was a snapshot that an acquaintance took of the Taj Mahal in India. There are countless Taj Mahal photographs in existence, but this one was framed within a minaret shaped archway or gate, and the effect was very dramatic.

If you are a nature photographer, you no doubt have already employed framing devices in your images. An often-used example is autumn tree branches surrounding your main subject. Outdoor portrait photographers often use similar techniques to add drama to their images.

Experiment with different angles, and try shooting your main subject through another subject. It may just be the extra touch that takes an ordinary photo to something mysterious and compelling.

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