Superhero Photo Challenge: Shoot into the sun

photo by Anna Kuperberg

I am a self-taught photographer and every once in a while I get a little insecure about the fact that I don't know much about F-stops and shutter speeds. I'd love to be able to walk into any situation and instantly know how to set my camera for the perfect exposure. But alas, digital came around just in time! and now I get to simply play and experiment and know just enough to get what I want but not too much to lose my sense of play. And then there's that handy little screen that shows you what you're getting. Thank god for the little screen!

One "rule" someone told me many moons ago and I had never questioned was this: Do not, I repeat, DO NOT shoot directly into the sun!! Your subjects will turn out dark, you might have lens flare, the picture will be terrible and you will look like a total hack. Did any of you out there believe this too? Are you blinding your friends by having them look into the sun like me?

When I fell in love with Anna Kuperberg's photos I noticed how brilliantly she used sunlight. And I want to highlight the word, used... she didn't just tolerate the sun or work around it like I did, she really uses it to her advantage and gets the most extraordinary images shooting straight into the sun. (The photo above is from my maternity portrait session with her)

This week's challenge is in two parts. First, I want to see your best shots shooting right into the sun (or having the subjects head just blocking it) Get some lens flair! Have some fun... I also want to hear your tips for getting great images this way. Do any of you know how to use the sun to your advantage? I would love to hear. (And if you are using flickr, please tag your photo with superhero photo challenge. Your shot will end up on this page.)

Superhero Photo Challenge: Self-timer self-portrait

A few weeks ago, I was lamenting to my husband that I wasn't getting great images from my Canon Elph SD1000. "It's still a great camera," I said, "totally portable and good for snaps and short video. I just wish I could take beautiful images with it."

Just a few minutes later I had an inspiration. I set the camera on the ground, set the self-timer (for the first time since I've owned it) and let her rip. This is what I captured, and I love the way it came out, especially with the blur at the bottom. I became a little obsessed after that and shot this way for the rest of the day. It is so much fun people!

This week's photo challenge is to try it out with your camera. Set the self-timer, set the camera on the ground, click the shutter and get in front of the lens. Then post the results in the comments. Looking forward to seeing your shots!

Superhero Photo Challenge: Find a face in an unlikely place

For the first Superhero Photo Challenge, I decided to go with a classic. One of my favorite things to do is to find faces in food, in clouds, in the cottage cheese of the ceiling. There is a very particular delight (childlike and brimming with magic) that I get from making discoveries like this.

I also really like the metaphor of it, the idea that we find what we put our attention on, or that the world is a manifestation of our thoughts. If you are looking for the bad and the ugly, you will surely find it. If you are looking for beauty you will find that too. For me, carrying a camera is my little beauty seeking device.

The capture in this theme I am most proud of is cheese dog, the St. Bernard I found in the gorgonzola of my salad a couple of years ago. I felt strangely attached to him after parading my plate around the entire dinner party. "Cheese dog!" we all exclaimed with glee. "He is so cute!" "What are we going to do with him? You can't eat him!" (He was eventually photographed then eaten)

Your first Superhero Photo Challenge is to find a face in an unlikely place. When you put on this lens to view the world, you will start seeing them everywhere. I look forward to seeing what you find! (For this challenge and for future challenges, just comment on the post and include the static link of your photo to share with all of us what you’ve found)