≡ Menu

Quick Photo Tips

Quick Photo Tip: A Room with a View.

My view at sunrise.

My view at sunrise.

Check out my new workshop on the six concepts in the Psychology of Gestalt: Gestalt Workshop link

As I tell my online students with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around our planet, light is everything and I’m constantly thinking about it.

That said, I’ve been a professional traveler for almost fifty years, and my job has been to take pictures in the best possible light. That’s what I do, and that’s what I think about all the time…especially when I first research then check into a hotel.

The first thing I think about is the view I’m going to get every time I look out the window. I can tell you from experience that some of your best photos can be taken with your pajamas still on…or even if you sleep in “the all together, in the buff, or in the raw” as some call it.

Here’s what I suggest to my fellow photographers that are traveling on business, pleasure, with a group, or just by themselves:

When checking in ask what direction the rooms face. If you’re an early riser by nature, ask for a room that faces East. If you’re not then ask for a room that faces to the West. A suggestion here would be to take an East facing room over one that faces North or South. That way you’ll at last have a choice as to getting up early or not.

Another factor for me when I have a choice in picking a hotel is the number of floors it has. If you’re only interested in seeing the entire city and taking an overall panoramic, then ask for a room close to the top. If you’re interested in seeing more of a close-up, than ask for something closer to the ground floor.

The absolute best advice I can give you is to ask to see the room first. That way even if you get an East or West facing room, you won’t be disappointed when you pull back the curtains only to see the hotel’s roof top parking lot and/or the air-conditioning units.

Depending on the time of year, a North facing window would be my third choice after East and West. The light will be coming in from the side, which can be a great way to show the textures and the three-dimensional qualities of the city.

I can’t suggest strongly enough to set your clock to at last take a look out the window, you can always go back to sleep if nothing interesting happens. If it does and you get something great, going back to sleep is easy even if you’re only wearing a smile.

🙂

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and follow me on Instagram: www.instagram.com/barabanjoe. Check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

Check out my new workshop on the six concepts in the Psychology of Gestalt: Gestalt Workshop link I’m always after […] Read more

I will often walk up to one of my fellow photographers on some street in Sicily, France, or in another […] Read more

I don’t remember when I first fell in love with my 20mm F/2.8 lens. I’m sure it had to do […] Read more

If I had a dollar for every time a student of mine opened Photoshop and unnecessarily worked on one of […] Read more

Fortunately, I’ve never had to photograph kids to make a living, but over the course of my almost fifty years […] Read more

Check out my “Autumn in France workshop” under workshops at the top of this blog. 14One of the ways to […] Read more

I want to announce my next workshop “Autumn in France” to be next October 2nd. It will be in Bordeaux, […] Read more

I want to announce my next workshop “Autumn in France” to be next October 2nd. It will be in Bordeaux, […] Read more

Since I’m from the old School of Photography (you know the one, the school where you learned to do things […] Read more

I teach three four-week classes with the BPSOP, and I also conduct my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops around […] Read more

I teach my fellow photographers how to use the Elements of Visual Design to create stronger compositions, as well as […] Read more

How many of my fellow photographers that have taken my online class with the BPSOP, or been with me in […] Read more

In the past year, I’ve written a couple of posts on the importance of using shadows to create drama in […] Read more

I teach people how to use the elements of visual design and composition to create stronger and more memorable images. […] Read more

When you’re watching a car commercial on TV or looking at an ad in a magazine, have you ever noticed […] Read more

  A topic of conversation that always comes up in my online classes with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching […] Read more

Di·chot·o·my noun \dī-ˈkä-tə-mē A difference between two opposite things: a division into two opposite groups. A division into two mutually […] Read more

  For anyone new to this blog, I teach online classes with the BPSOP, and I also conduct my “Stretching […] Read more

Maybe it’s a touch of voyeurism and maybe I’m just a people watcher who likes to observe how people go […] Read more

One of the things I find fairly common in my online class with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching your […] Read more

I see it all the time. It might be when someone submits a photo in one of my online classes […] Read more

Coming from the days before the digital era, not only did we have to crawl three miles in the snow […] Read more

For those that like to smoke cigars, drink a bunch of whiskey and bird hunt, or for others that would […] Read more

I have four grown kids ranging from thirty to thirty-eight and four grandkids ages one month to thirteen and have […] Read more

When I’m walking around with some students in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshop, I see photographers in a […] Read more

Since I can remember, I’ve been accused of someone lacking in patience. I don’t necessarily agree with that except for […] Read more

I teach fellow photographers how to incorporate the elements of visual design into their photos. Both in my online class […] Read more

Eddie Adams was a Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist that was known for his photo essays while being a combat photographer […] Read more

As most people that either follow my blog, or have taken one of my online classes with the BPSOP, or […] Read more

In my part II class with the BPSOP, we spend one week out of four, an entire lesson, just working […] Read more

Eddie Adams was a Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist that was known for his photo essays while being a combat photographer […] Read more

First of all, I’m not a religious person; in fact far from it. But when I read something and it […] Read more

In the past year, I’ve written a couple of posts on the importance of using shadows to create drama in […] Read more

Besides teaching an online class with the BPSOP, and conducting my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around […] Read more

I’ve seen it happen all the time, and once upon a time long, long ago I was even guilty of […] Read more

Here’s a really quick tip that will help you take your photos what I refer to as “up a notch”. […] Read more

I spent my entire career shooting assignments around the planet, and most of the time I had been fortunate enough […] Read more

One of the recurring questions I get from students in my online class with the BPSOP, and the “Stretching Your […] Read more

Before reading this post, for all of you that have taken my part I and II classes, the school is […] Read more

One of the first posts I wrote when I started this blog (way back when) was on one of if […] Read more