Leahlefler is one of HubPages’ best writers and photographers. Known for useful, insightful, and unique Hubs, leahlefler has consistently done well in the HubPages contests she enters, which is one reason why we are particularly excited to have her on as a judge in the photos, poetry, and prose-centric HubPatron of the Arts contest.
Here is a short interview with this lovely Hubber. Read on to discover some of the smart methods she employs when creating beautiful photos. They shall certainly give a leg up to those interested in submitting photo galleries in the HubPatron of the Arts contest!
Your Hubs are consistently gorgeous, but they’re also quite interesting! Do you start with text or photos?
Thank you for the compliment! I always start with text, and add the photos later. Generally, the photos I use are to illustrate a point in the written text. Some of the photos are taken after a Hub has been written, and I find I need a quality photo: for many of my recipe Hubs, the photos of the finished project were taken after the written Hub was completed (in an off-line word processor).
Have you been professionally trained as a photographer?
I have no training as a professional photographer. Most of my images are straight “out-of-camera,” though I do edit the occasional photo with an image editing software. Since I am rather frugal, I use the open-source editing software called GIMP (it is free to download and use). With editing software, it is possible to crop images, change the color scheme, or to create borders and banners that can be placed on hubs.
What sort of camera do you shoot with?
Most of the images used on my hubs come from a Canon 30D digital SLR camera. This camera was originally bought for my husband as a birthday present, but I use it far more than he does!
As a judge in on the photo gallery panel of the HubPatron of the Arts contest, what will you be looking for in the entries you review?
I will be looking at the overall quality of the image, the composition, the relevance to the written text, and the overall “feel” of the photo. I know there are a lot of great photographers out there on HubPages, waiting to be discovered!
Do you have any basic photography tips for Hubbers looking to use their own images in their Hubs?
Get close to the subject: a close-up, cropped picture is often better than a distant snapshot. If you are photographing small things (think children and dogs), get down on their level to take the picture. Overcast days are the best for getting portrait shots, as the light doesn’t create shadows on people’s faces. For recipe Hubs, you can take serial images of each step, and create a composite image of the steps in a photo editor. This way, you will only need to use one photo capsule to show several images. Likewise, a photo editor can be used to “fix” images with spots, to create black and white images, or to add an artistic punch with a black and white photo mixed with colorful elements. Most of all, get creative and have fun! Photos always come out better when the mood isn’t stiff and posed!
[Thanks, leahlefler!]
You can learn more about the HubPatron of the Arts contest by visiting the official contest page.
