T&F Camera Blog

Back-to-School Photographs That Tell the Story

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 14:28:48 GMT

Back-to-School Photographs That Tell the Story

By Bart Feldman

The beginning of a new school year is an important moment for children and their families. Whether a child is entering kindergarten, starting middle school, beginning senior year, or leaving for college, the traditional first day-of-school photograph becomes part of everyone’s family history.

Most of these pictures are taken quickly near the front door, often while everyone is watching the clock. A little preparation can make the photograph much better without adding stress to an already busy morning.

Begin by choosing the location the night before. Look for a simple background without trash cans, parked cars, garden hoses, or other distractions. A front porch, walkway, fence, or shaded area in the yard can work well. If possible, avoid direct sunlight on the child's face. Open shade provides softer light and helps prevent squinting and harsh shadows.

Pay attention to the direction of the light. Place the child facing toward the brighter part of the sky, but not directly into the sun. If you are using a cell phone, tap the child's face on the screen so the camera focuses and exposes correctly. Hold the phone vertically (portrait style) for a full-length portrait and horizontally (landscape) if you want to include more of the home or surroundings.

Take more than one photograph. Start with the traditional pose showing the new outfit, backpack, and perhaps a sign with the child's grade and the date. Then make a few less formal pictures. Photograph the child adjusting the backpack, walking toward the bus, talking with a sibling, or waving goodbye. These candid moments often tell more of the story than the posed photograph.

Try photographing from the child's eye level instead of always standing and pointing the camera downward. Kneel if necessary. This small change creates a more natural perspective and makes the child the most important part of the image.

Do not forget the details. Take a close-up of the new shoes, lunchbox, school supplies, or name tag. For older students, photograph something that represents their interests, such as a musical instrument, sports equipment, art supplies, or the keys to the car they are driving to school.

Parents should also consider taking a photograph with their child. We are often so busy making pictures that we forget to be included in them. Ask another family member to take one, or use the phone's timer.

Finally, print at least one photograph. Digital pictures are easily forgotten among thousands of images stored on a phone. A printed photograph placed in an album creates a record that can be enjoyed years later - especially when you compare the first day of kindergarten with the first day of senior year.

Photography creates your own personal family history. This is unique to your family well worth preserving for generations to come.

Late Summer - A Season Worth Photographing

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 14:19:12 GMT

Late Summer - A Season Worth Photographing

By the time we reach the middle of August, it is easy to feel that summer is almost over. Vacations are winding down, back-to-school displays are everywhere, and our thoughts begin to turn toward fall. However, late summer offers some of the best photographic opportunities of the entire season.

The days may be getting a little shorter, but the evening light can be beautiful. During the hour before sunset, commonly called the golden hour, sunlight becomes warmer and softer. This is an ideal time to photograph family members, children, pets, flowers, or a local landscape. Here in Southern New Jersey, you do not have to travel far. A farm field, a quiet road, a backyard garden, the Maurice River, Union Lake or even the edge of a wooded area can provide an excellent setting.

When photographing People, (Adults, Children or combinations) try placing your subject so the sun is behind or slightly to the side of them. This will create a warm outline around their hair or clothing called rim light. If theface looks too dark, move closer, turn the subject slightly toward the light, or use your camera's flash to gently brighten the shadows. With a cell phone, touch the subject's face on the screen and adjust the exposure slider if necessary.

Late summer is also a wonderful time to photograph details. Look for sunflowers, insects, water droplets, produce stands, weathered barns, fishing boats, and outdoor activities. Instead of photographing an entire scene, move closer and concentrate on one interesting part. The texture of an old wooden fence, a butterfly resting on a flower, or a basket of fresh peaches can tell its own story. Remember to check out open fields surrounded by a wooded area. At sunset you will see Owls searching for prey. A great time to capture that difficult nature shot.

Do not overlook blue hour, the short period after sunset when the sky takes on a deep blue color. During this time, streetlights, porch lights, and illuminated buildings begin to stand out against the sky. Keep your camera or phone steady by using a tripod, railing, table, or other solid surface. Avoid using the digital zoom on your phone or point and shoot camera because it will reduce image quality. Move closer whenever possible.

Most importantly, photograph the people and places that represent summer to you. A family cookout, children playing in the sprinkler, an evening on the boardwalk, or grandparents sitting on the porch may seem ordinary today. Years from now, those photographs will become the ones that matter most.

Late summer is not simply the end of a season. It is a brief period filled with warm light, color, and memories waiting to be photographed.

Questions about photography may be sent to bfleldman@gmail.com .

Through the LENS | T&F Camera Shop Inc. | Vineland, New Jersey

T&F Camera Civil War Photography Experince

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 14:09:21 GMT

T&F CAMERA SHOP INC.

Enter the Civil War as a Field Photographer

Don't Just Photograph History. Become One of Its Field Photographers.

October 30-November 1, 2026 | Studio in the Woods | Vineland, New Jersey

For one weekend, photographers attending T&F Camera Shop's Civil War Photography Workshop will do more than photograph reenactors. They will enter the encampment as members of the T&F Civil War Photography Corps, taking on the role of Field Photographers assigned to create a visual record of the people, atmosphere, and unfolding events around them.

The Civil War was the first large and prolonged conflict to be extensively documented through photography. Photographers such as Mathew Brady, Alexander Gardner, and Timothy O'Sullivan transported cumbersome cameras, glass plates, chemicals, and portable darkrooms into the field. Their photographs allowed the public to see soldiers, military camps, damaged landscapes, and the aftermath of battle in a way that had never before been possible. Because nineteenth-century cameras required long exposure times, Civil War photographers could not freeze battlefield action as photographers can today. They photographed portraits, camp activities, military preparations, locations, and the aftermath of combat. Their work helped establish photography as a new powerful tool for documenting history. From October 30 through November 1, 2026, participants in T&F Camera's fourth annual Workshop in the Woods will explore that tradition from both a historical and modern perspective. The Studio in the Woods will be transformed into a Civil War encampment with reenactors in period clothing, military camp scenes, replica weapons, campfires, the period-style chapel, wooded locations, and carefully created photographic scenarios.

Each Field Photographer will move through the experience with a modern camera while also receiving hands-on instruction with two Civil War-era cameras. Participants will be challenged to think like photojournalists: observe the environment, anticipate meaningful moments, document important details, create visual narratives, and photograph the individuals whose experiences make history personal.

Three Photographic Perspectives

Rick Friedman, a nationally known photojournalist, will teach participants how to examine a scene as a working news photographer. His instruction will emphasize observation, anticipation, storytelling, environmental portraiture, and practical location lighting. Participants will learn to create a collection of images that communicates what is happening, who is involved, and why the moment matters.

Rick Ferro will concentrate on posing, expression, portrait construction, and the use of studio and available light. Working within the Civil War setting, Ferro will demonstrate how adjustments to the subject, clothing, hands, body position, background, and light can transform a simple photograph into a convincing historical portrait.

Vanelli will bring a dramatic contemporary style to the assignment. He will teach participants how to use lighting, composition, and camera technique to create gritty, emotionally powerful photographs. Vanelli will then guide the Field Photographers into the modern digital darkroom, where they will use Luminar Neo to edit and finish selected images while preserving the mood and historical character of the original scene.

The instructors will teach from within the environment, frequently approaching the sessions from the perspective of photographers assigned to document the encampment. Participants will move among the reenactors, photograph military and civilian portraits, document camp life, capture staged action sequences, work with dramatic lighting, and build a visual account of the weekend.

This is not simply a history program, a reenactment, or a traditional photography class. It is an immersive photographic assignment connecting the beginnings of American war photography with the equipment, creative lighting, visual storytelling, and editing tools available today.

By the conclusion of the workshop, members of the T&F Civil War Photography Corps will leave with more than individual portraits. They will have created their own visual record of an earlier time-and gained a better understanding of how photographers help determine what future generations will see and remember.

The Civil War Photography Workshop will be held October 30 through November 1, 2026, at T&F Camera Shop's Studio in the Woods in Vineland, New Jersey. For information and registration, visit tfcamerashop.com or call 856-691-5328.