Dexter Yarbrough advice for better photos: Show love for your subject

The first requirement any photographer needs to fulfill in order to take a great photo, according to professional photographer, Dexter Yarbrough, is to have great interest in the subject. If you’re just starting to get the hang of photography and you want your photos to have appeal and impact, you must first see the potential in the subject and be able to interpret it in your own way.

From Dexter Yarbrough's Photos

If you’ve seen professional photographers on the field, then you know how much dedication they put into their work. They take time to understand their subjects and decide on how to portray their subjects in the best light.


Budding photographers like you who want to improve on their photography skills, below are some pointers on how to take better photos from Dexter Yarbrough.

From Dexter Yarbrough's Photos

Firstly, in order to create a unified effect, you must decide which elements must make up the image and how to best arrange them. Use the viewfinder as the creative space within which you’ll build a pleasant composition.


Secondly, you have to decide on the viewpoint from where you’ll take a shot of your subject. Try shooting from above or below the subject. Or you may also look for unique and more interesting ways to present it.

From Dexter Yarbrough's Photos

Thirdly, it might be a good idea to highlight depth and distance in a photograph. By doing so, you will provide the impression of looking at a three-dimensional scene, making your photo a lot more interesting.


Finally, pay attentio0n to the balance of the elements. Make your photos more appealing by dividing the photograph into thirds, horizontally and vertically, and to place the subject one-third across and one third up or down the picture.


For more topics on photography, visit www.djyphotography.com.

Dexter Yarbrough: Capturing the beauty of nature with your camera

Any picture that illustrates the beauty of nature can be a powerful tool that can reconnect its viewer to the environment. Dexter Yarbrough offers these simple tips on how to produce the best nature photos:

From Dexter Yarbrough's Photos

Know your camera by knowing the environment




It’s always a good idea to familiarize with the environment. Know at what specific times in the day certain changes are bound to happen – sunsets, hunts, resting periods, migrations, and others. Depending on the subject or subjects you wish to shoot, may they be plants, animals, or landscapes, you will need to customize your camera’s settings and attach the required accessories that will suit the conditions of your surroundings.




Camera at the ready




Just as an unsuspecting antelope can fall prey to a cunning lioness, the perfect opportunity for a good shot can stealthily pass your viewfinder by, leaving you at a loss. Dexter Yarbrough suggests strapping your camera in such a way that you will be able to raise it conveniently at the right moment. For accomplished photographers, a second camera mounted on a tripod always comes in handy.

From Dexter Yarbrough's Photos

Sunlight vs. daylight




Sunlight pertains to light coming directly from the sun. Daylight, on the other hand, is a ray of sunlight that bounces off from surface to surface to illuminate a given space. Take this into the context of nature and see how greatly it can affect the vibrancy of the colors in your photographs.

From Dexter Yarbrough's Photos

View Dexter Yarbrough photographs of landscapes and wildlife at www.djyphotography.com.

The DYP collections: Dexter Yarbrough captures the splendor of the Rocky Mountains

Dexter Yarbrough’s expertise in photography has made him one of the most sought-after photographers in the Chicagoland area. His enthusiasm and passion for the job always make him deliver the best for each and every client he has, making him continue to excel in the industry.

Among Mr. Yarbrough’s specialties is nature photography. The Rocky Mountains is among his favorite places to take pictures of nature.

From Dexter Yarbrough's Photos

The Rocky Mountains, a major mountain range in western North America, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States. Visitors often come here for hiking, camping, mountaineering, fishing, hunting, skiing, and snowboarding. Dexter Yarbrough finds the place as an excellent subject for his landscape photographs. Its dramatic valleys and peaks which are formed in the past by water erosion and glaciers are always a thing of beauty for photographers like him.

From Dexter Yarbrough's Photos

Mr. Yarbrough is a professional photographer from Chicago, Illinois, who runs his own photography business, DJY Photography. He uses Canon, Sony, and Konica Minolta cameras and has already been the official photographer for numerous weddings and special events. Throughout his years as a professional and a freelance photographer, he has earned recognition and respect in the industry, receiving numerous honors and awards. Mr. Yarbrough also finds joy in sharing his expertise in photography by blogging about tips and advice in photography.

From Dexter Yarbrough's Photos

More of Dexter Yarbrough’s work can be viewed at DJYPhotography.com.

Photography, a moving experience: What drives Dexter Yarbrough to continue his passion

Dexter Yarbrough has been practicing photography for a number of years already. Still, he continues to maintain the passion and excellence that caused him to be successful in his chosen field. But what drives him to continue his love for the art?

From Dexter Yarbrough's Photos

Most photographers consider taking photographs as a moving experience. There is a sense of relief and happiness after knowing that you captured a moment in time that could not be brought back.

“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever…it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything,” Aaron Siskind, an American abstract expressionist photographer, once said.

From Dexter Yarbrough's Photos

Dexter Yarbrough shares the same belief when it comes to his photography. He believes that capturing fleeting moments in time and helping to chronicle people’s lives is what continues to drive him to excel and maintain his passion for shooting pictures. He loves what he does. As a result, he treats every photograph he takes with enthusiasm and passion.

From Dexter Yarbrough's Photos

Dexter Yarbrough is a member of the Professional Photographers of America and the Photographic Society of America. He also owns a photography studio, DJY Photography. As a photographer, he has a range of experience in capturing portraits, landscapes, special events, and weddings.

From Dexter Yarbrough's Photos

Know more about his career by visiting www.djyphotography.com.

Does the "D" Make the Difference? Dexter Yarbrough on DSLR vs. SLR Cameras

From Dexter Yarbrough's Photos

There is an ongoing debate among photographers like Dexter Yarbrough these days: Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras versus Single Lens Reflex cameras.

The latter (SLRs) appeared in the market when an obvious discrepancy appeared in photography at the time—what a photographer sees in the viewfinder is not precisely what is seen through the lens. Hence, it is not as precise as can be desired. SLRs had a mechanism that allowed a look through the lens itself, and had certain features that heightened the clarity and aesthetic effect of the image captured. When the shutter is pressed, a mechanism shifts the film to the right spot for the shot.

Digital SLRs (DSLRs) have this same function, except modified so that the images taken would be saved onto a memory card. Many professional photographers such as Dexter Yarbrough use DSLRs for their convenience especially in memory. Storage medium is very cost-efficient with DSLRs, as these days film rolls cost more with fewer photos stored, and with processing adding to the cost.

From Dexter Yarbrough's Photos

However, many photographers view film as the advantage of the SLR. Unlike in DLSRs where the LCD in a DSLR allowing an instant view of a photo right after a shot, the SLR’s usage of film limits the photographer to make a better, perfect composition prior to taking that one perfect shot. Film is also light-sensitive depending on its type, making different effects, unlike in a DSLR where light sensitivity and balance can be adjusted prior to the shot. The SLR forces the photographer to go for the perfect shot, while the DSLR can extend creative control immediately.

In the end, both types have their advantages and disadvantages. It is the photographer’s preference on which type to see as superior.

Dexter Yarbrough is well known photographer in Chicago for his photography and portraiture. Find out more in his website at www.dexteryarbroughphotography.com.

From Dexter Yarbrough's Photos

Capturing a Subject's True Self on Film: Dexter Yarbrough Talks about Candid Shots

Though he would not suggest stalking celebrities to take pictures of them, Dexter Yarbrough loves taking candid shots as they make the subject look very natural. “Taken during your subject's unguarded moments, candid pictures often turn out exceptionally well. If you want your shots to capture the natural behavior of your subjects, then go for candid shots,” the professional photographer and founder of DJY Photography says.

From Dexter Yarbrough's Photos

Candid photography is best described as un-posed and unplanned, immediate and unobtrusive. This type of photography is opposed to stalking subjects such as in animal photography, sports photography, or photographic journalistic intrusion. A photographer taking candid shots is close to and not hidden from its subjects. Focusing on spontaneity rather than technique, candid photography is about photos usually shot without a lot of technical equipment or any time taken setting up the shot. Photographers such as Dexter Yarbrough who love taking candid shots focus not on the camera, but on the current task they want to capture.

From Dexter Yarbrough's Photos

Another thing that makes candid photography work over classic portrait photography is that in portrait photographs, the subject is aware they are being photographed so they tend to become self-conscious and stiff in the desire to look good in the photo. Yarbrough adds that a candid shot that focuses on the subject’s eyes will tell those who will later look at the photo something about the subject. “A good portrait will contain at least one element that reveals the subject’s personality, attitude, unique mannerisms, or any of the other features or traits that form the individual nature of the person. A good way to capture a sense of these traits is to take a candid photo of your subject,” he says.

From Dexter Yarbrough's Photos

More information about Dexter Yarbrough is available at www.djyphotography.com.

Dexter Yarbrough: Taking a Leap Forward with HDR Photography

From Dexter Yarbrough's Photos

DJY Photography founder Dexter Yarbrough tests the waters in one of the recent breakthroughs in photography: the high dynamic range technique.

A common reminder in photography teachers emphasize is that the lens never captures a scene the same way the human eye does. Despite of the advancement of technology, even the most powerful camera cannot equate the amazing ability of the human eye to cover 10 million spectrums of colors. In contrast to this, the digital camera saves only 256 levels of light intensity in JPEG format and over 1024 levels in RAW format.

For disambiguation, the high dynamic range technique, or HDR, is not similar to high definition technology. HDR was developed primarily for image processing, computer graphics, and photography. Dexter Yarbrough explains that the concept is an attempt to replicate the way the human eye registers a particular image. Unfortunately, the camera lens captures only one exposure of a scene at a given shot unlike the human eye which automatically adjusts to the different lighting in the environment producing different exposures that create an HDR image in the human brain.

From Dexter Yarbrough

As a technique, HDR is not a replacement to traditional photography and requires a degree of expertise for it can either make or break your photographs.

Basically, HDR requires gathering three or more shots of one particular scene. A tripod would be handy if you are unable to keep your hands steady. These shots are merged together producing an image that display a higher spectrum of colors, light range, and detail which are impossible to achieve with a single shot.

This can be done even with a simple point-and-shoot digital camera that allows you to adjust the exposure setting. In an article by Dexter entitled Creative Photos with HDR Photography, he recommends the following camera settings:

• Set your ISO setting to 200 or 40.
• Turn on the aperture priority mode.
• Use the following exposure settings:
1. EV 0 (produces normally exposed images)
2. EV -2 (produces underexposed images with greater light details)
3. EV +2 (produces overexposed images with greater shadow details)

From Dexter Yarbrough's Photos

View Dexter Yarbrough’s online gallery at www.djyphotography.com.