South Florida Photo Safari is a Unique Opportunity For Sharing Photo Lighting Tips

The recent surge in digital camera sales has been possible due to the low cost camera that anybody can afford. Basic digital photography techniques are simple to master with just a little bit of practice and patience.

I recently bough a new camera for myself and then gave my daughter my old one. It was a simple point and shoot with the ability to set the shutter, aperture and ISO. Within a few weeks she sent me a bunch of photos by email and they were pretty good for snapshots but lacked any really good shots. In most cases the lighting was poor or were just poorly framed.

A few weeks later we were in South Florida, South Beach Miami to be exact, and we embarked on an Urban Photo Safari. We started early and headed down by Ocean Avenue. Knowing the sun was directly in our face while looking to the east, she snapped a away at all the cool lifeguards stands and the water. I on the other hand photographed the Art Deco style hotels and restaurants.

When we returned to our hotel later in the morning I down loaded the images to my laptop. My daughter was disappointed at how her photos were all washed out. How the water was dark and the sky was more white than blue. When we reviewed my photos, the buildings were sharp, the colors were bright and while a few of the photos had shadows, most of the shots were pretty good.

Then she asked why I did take any photos of the beach. I told her that I knew the lighting was bad and that they would probably not be very good. At that instant I could practically see the light bulb come on in her head and a valuable lesson was learned.

Later in the afternoon we went back to Ocean Avenue on South Beach and this time we had the sun to our back. Her photographs were beautiful, the lifeguard stands had vivid colors and the sand, sky and sea glowed. Lighting and time of day are very important in shooting outdoor photos.

More South Florida Photography Opportunities

South Florida has many great places for your Photo Safari. Palm Beach offers many great places to shoot photos. Along Flagler Avenue you can shoot multi-million dollar yachts in the water or the buildings that line the Avenue. Worth Avenue in West Palm Beach also offers a photographer many opportunities.

Fort Lauderdale offers many of the same type of shots. One idea is to hop on one of the many tourboats along the waterways and get great shots from there.

The Everglades is one of Florida's more popular eco-destinations. Birds, alligators and other wildlife make for great subjects. For the thrill of a lifetime try an airboat ride, you'll get plenty of great shots from one of those too.

The Florida Keys are another great Eco-destination. John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo offers many trails and walkways above the mangrove swamp.

Islamorada in the middle of the Keys also offers unique photo opportunities. Fishing boats of all types, from rugged commercial vessels with their salty flavor and rustic rigging to the mega yachts with black and gold fishing rods and other bling make for great photos. If you're there in late August you'll see lobster traps stacked high on every vacant spot (near the water and on the boats), that can make for some interesting photos.

If it's interesting people you're looking for Key West is the place. People who go to and live in Key West tend to march to the beat of a different drum. From salty old commercial fishermen to female impersonators, the people of Key West are truly unique.

Key West also features a lighthouse, the Hemingway House Museum with it's six toed cats and Mallory Square with those famous sunset parties and street performers. You'll find some interesting people there too.