This is the second entry in what I hope will become an occasional feature dissecting how some of my photos - and those of the Cheapshooter community - were taken. These photo dissections will highlight how a photo concept is developed technically on a limited budget and will be geared for more advanced photographers. Cheapshooter’s first photo dissection was dubbed “Held Hostage“.

The concept: As fall continues, I have more and more assignments to shoot. The bulk of these are boring as all hell - I shot a street sign yesterday, for example - but occasionally an opportunity to be a bit more creative comes down the line. After an earlier photo assignment fell through, I had to rush to put together a portrait of a member of a student skateboarding club. Daylight was fading quickly, so I knew I would need to break out the flashes for a night session.

The equipment: It’s been a bad week for me, equipment wise. One of my budget radio triggers has been on the fritz, so I was limited to one flash. My Canon 40D is already in the shop, so I broke out the trusty Digital Rebel XT. Light was provided by a Canon 430 EX, a silver umbrella and a stand. I wanted a wider perspective for this photo and my flash would provide plenty of light, so I utilized the 18-55mm kit lens, which works surprisingly well in situations like this.

See how it all came together after the jump.

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Note from Dan: I’ve always been impressed with Nuno Correia’s smoke photography over at Photoassignment.net, many examples of which he’s shared with Cheapshooter readers. I asked him to write a tutorial on how he approaches smoke photography, and he gladly obliged. Thanks to Nuno for this great post - I’m excited to try his methods out for myself.

Smoke photography can free your imagination: its like looking for familiar figures in the clouds. The minimalism found in a thin line of smoke and the complexity of its little swirls is fascinating.

You don’t need top notch hardware to capture smoke photos; a point-and-shoot digital camera works just fine. See how after the jump.

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Photo originally uploaded by gerome

Ever see that informercial with the annoying catchphrase “Set It and Forget It”? Sometimes the same principle applies in photography.

With some photos, you just don’t want to over-complicate things. This photo is a perfect example of a situation in which it’s easy to get a great shot without a lot of tinkering around. See how after the jump.

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Lupe Fiasco at Northwestern University

Concert photography is one of the most fun assignments a photographer can get. It’s the best seat in the house, and you get to document it all. But with the wrong equipment or the wrong approach, bad photos can spoil your night.

There’s no doubt that concert photography is a difficult assignment to shoot. It’s dark, the stage lighting is constantly changing, and the band is always in motion. It’s enough to drive even the most seasoned professional batty.

While I can’t profess to be an expert at all things concert, I have had to shoot shows on occasion. Here’s how I get through the night and get shots that work.

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Photo by Senmu

I’m moving to Chicago today, so excuse the lack of a morning article. It should be business as usual on Wednesday.

Instead, check out this tutorial by Sam Lu on how to use the Auto Align and Auto Blend features in Adobe Photoshop to seamlessly stitch together a series of images. I’ve struggled to create panoramas either by hand or with some third party tool, but the results from Lu’s process look promising. I’m eager to take a couple images and try it out.

If you’ve used this process before, let me know what you think of it in the comments. People on Lu’s site seem pleased with their own results.

Auto-Align tutorial (via gosammy.com)