Steve Payne's Photography Tips

Equipment- Keep it simple and use a tripod as often as possible. I really recommend using a good ball head for ease in using your tripod without thinking about it.

I use Canon EOS cameras. The following is my basic and most often used equipment list.
2- Canon A2E camera bodies w/built in flash (Can be replaced w/digital Rebel or D10)
1-Canon L 2.8/17-35 zoom (5% usage)
2-Canon 3.5/28-105 zooms (80% usage)
1-Canon L2.8/80-200 zoom (15% usage)
1-PRO 1.7 Tele-Converter
1-Canon EF25 Extension Tube
1-Canon 550EX Flash Unit
1-Manfrotto Tripod and Ball Head

I do 80% or more of my personal photography with the 28-105 zoom lens and a tele-converter. So, if you’re looking for the absolute simplest option, there you have it.

Basic Technique- I’ll say it again use a tripod whenever you can, and when you can’t, make yourself as stable as possible with your feet spread and your elbows locked into your chest. Practice exhaling and briefly holding your breath as you press the shutter release.

Play with your camera when you aren’t actually photographing so that it becomes a familiar friend in your hands. Read the manual and know how to set the controls without thinking much about it. Then it becomes an extension of your eye not just a camera.

Films- Pick one or two films that you like and use them all of the time. This way you’ll learn what they will do and won’t do. It just makes life easier to keep it simple and not jump around from film to film all the time.

Exposure- Most modern in camera meters do a pretty good job. Run a few bracket tests with slide film to see how your meter reacts to different kinds of lighting and then go with it. Remember that the meter is trying to give you medium gray so when the subject is all or mostly light, you’ll have to open 1-2 stops to compensate and the opposite if the subject is predominately dark.

Composition- Remember to try and turn off your other senses and just study what’s in the viewfinder. Remove everything that isn’t absolutely necessary to the composition. Tell a story by taking several photographs, rather than trying to get it all in one image. Strive for balance in your compositions and you’re well on your way to pleasing photography. Remember that the natural movement of the eye is clockwise from the lower left hand side of the photograph. Lead the viewer where you want them to go.

Lighting- Study light all the time. When you are waiting in a line, watching a movie, looking at magazine, sitting in a restaurant. Notice what makes things look pleasing and use this knowledge to your advantage. Remember that a simple piece of white cardboard can make a very effective fill reflector. Remember what a white bedsheet can do to diffuse hard light. Try the garage door studio idea. Use flash as sparingly as possible and go for a natural look in your photography.

Above all have fun with your photography. If you have fun you are much more likely to make photographs that you like and that’s really the bottom line.

Enjoy! - SP