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Friday, March 21, 2008

Digital Photography - What's So Great About It?

Simple Step By Step Digital Photography Lessons. If You Cant Learn Photography From These Lessons Then You Cant Become Photographer Anymore

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I admit it - I've been slow to embrace the digital photography phenomenon. As a hobbyist, I have two film cameras, an old manual focus Nikon and a newer autofocus Canon Rebel, and I resisted the temptation to indulge in a digital camera up until recently, even though each of my children had them for years now. But recently my father gave me his mid-priced Olympus (he didn't like the menus), and I've been giving it a try. And, to my surprise, I even like it.

My favorite thing about the camera is pretty obvious - no film. My father gave me two (bless him) substantial memory cards, and I just don't run out of film. I don't pay to develop photos that I don't really want now that I've seen them (I don't pay to develop photos period), and since I can actually see how they look on the spot, I can delete bad shots to save the space for more. Taking lots of shots helps me improve, and improves the chances of a better than average photograph as well, and now it's free. My camera has settings on it that allow me to pretend I have film - I can set film speed and worry about aperture/shutter speed combinations just like with my other cameras, so I can still use what I already know about photography, which I really like. And I love not having to wait to see how the pictures came out.

The other really cool thing about digital photography is photo editing. I haven't invested in Photoshop yet, but I have my eye on the Elements program for next year. I just use Google's free Picasa and sometimes my PhotoDeluxe editor (came free with my scanner), and even then I can do an incredible amount of really exciting things with my pictures. The best is being able to correct poor exposures (I admit, I often don't notice backlighting). With a couple of adjustments, what would have been a throwaway photo can become a keeper! I remove red-eye easily, sharpen focus, adjust contrast, warm up colors, and remove excessive unwanted tint (such as from lamplight). Cropping is my favorite - those lucky few who have their own darkroom crop their photos routinely, but us regular folks used to have to take what we got - no longer! We can pick and choose, and glory in removing unwanted background, excess sky - we can even remove most of the shot and make it a close-up. Resizing is a snap - want some wallets? No sweat. 8x10, 5x7, some oddball size - just a simple selection will do it. And don't forget special effects. Depending on the editor, you can turn your photo into a painting, add glow, filters, neon - your imagination can go wild!

When you have your masterpiece ready to go, you can print it on photo paper at home, or you can send it out for processing. Through Picasa, you can click and send it to a processor via the internet, and get your professionally printed photos in the mail - but only the ones you have decided you want. You can upload your photos to a web page, email them, use them in a blog or on MySpace - they are easy to share.

So, as you can see, I am a digital photography convert. There is so much fun in having this kind of control over your work that it has actually rejuvenated my love of photography. If you haven't already converted too, think about it. It really is a blast.

Interested in learning more about digital photography? Then try visiting DigitalPhotography4All.com where you can get real information for regular folks, and lots of ideas to improve your own digital photography.

Carol Miller is a long-time photography fan, and the owner of many websites, such as http://www.DigitalPhotography4All.com

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Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Stock Photography - Who wants to know how to sell online? Learn the business of stock photography.

Simple Step By Step Digital Photography Lessons. If You Cant Learn Photography From These Lessons Then You Cant Become Photographer Anymore

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Stock photography is a huge industry, one that generates steady incomes for those photographers with the willingness to succeed. As with any worth while undertaking nothing comes easy and nothing comes for free. To succeed in this game you need to be able to; a) take saleable photographs, b) be organized enough to get them to the market. c) be patient and keep adding more images to your library In the past getting into Stock photography was a huge undertaking. You either had to set up your own mini Agency or sign on with one of the big agencies. If you set up your own agency you were required to do all the leg work of sorting, filing and marketing your images. If you signed on with a big agency you were required to have at least 1,000 images before they would even talk to you. With the advent of the Internet and the growth of high-speed broadband connections these barriers have been eliminated. Today anyone with a quality digital camera can enter the stock photography market place and make money selling their images online. There are literally hundreds of agencies online offering photographers a place to sell their images. In addition photographers have the opportunity to set up their own online mini agency or add a Stock Page to their portfolio site. The big agencies have also moved online, but their requirements for acceptance have also become more difficult. Getting your images in Gettys or Corbis is very difficult and for the most part the domain of well established professional photographers. However you chose to sell your images online, one thing is for sure you will have to adhere to the three basic principles of the successful stock photographer - Quality, Quality, Quality. Oh and lets not forget Quantity.

What photos will sell? The first step in selling your images on-line is understanding what images sell, and which sit and collect cyber dust. Truth be told there is very little restriction on what sells and what does not sell. The key here is to understand which type of images sell the most and in the case of Licensed images the most often. As you sell your images on line you will need to understand that just about any image can sell as long as it meets the technical requirements of the agency and you can find a buyer. A search for "Stock Photography" on Google returns 15,400,000 sites. The biggest agencies like Corbis and Getty are of course listed first. These agencies are still the domain of professional photographers with huge libraries, and will not entertain enquires from amateur photographers. They have huge libraries of images from professional shooters and even hire their own photographers to shoot stock on assignment for the agency, which the agency then owns. All the regular photos that you would think are really great and will sell have been done and are sitting in these agencies files. These are what are generally know as commercial stock photos and your chance of selling these is not so good. What you will be able to sell are EDITORIAL stock. Editorial stock does not sell for as high a price as Commercial Stock, but you will sell more images more often than when trying to sell Commercial Stock. The images you will be able to sell are the ones that no one else has or that no one else has access to such subject matter. What you need is a niche. Pictures of regular people doing regular things, shot in a professional and appealing manner are what you will be able to sell online. Photos that sell are the ones that tell a story or as stock photographers like to call them; photo illustrations. A photo illustration is a photo that has something going on in it. We have all heard the term "A picture is worth a thousand words" well when you hear this, think Photo Illustration. These are the stock photos that sell well.

Also is is important to enjoy your photography so go out and shoot things that interest you; your trip to the fair, grandma doing her needle point, dad cooking burgers on a backyard BBQ & your brother mowing the lawn. If you work in a factory or mill and can get permission from your managers or boss to take pictures, these type of images have great potential. Industry, commerce and business are areas of high value in Stock Photography. Always try to include a person doing something. A picture of a tractor in the field is good, but a picture of a tractor with the farmer sitting on it, is much better. (Image Farmer in the Field). If you insist on taking scenic pictures and expect to be able to sell them, if you include a person actively doing something, your chances of a sale are greatly increased. For instance, a shot of a beach sunset in great, but remember there are hundreds of just such images already in circulation, take the same shot and add a silhouette of a boy chasing a football and you have a much more saleable shot. Also when you are taking pictures try to imagine a theme or mood. By this we mean try imagine a feeling you want to convey with your photos. Some are happy shiny people holding hands, while others will be more somber or moody. A photo that has a clear mood or theme will sell well. You can use colour, shapes and texture to illustrate different moods and themes. Images that convey feelings have high resale value. Images that are stereotypical have less. By stereotypical we mean the stuff we have all seen a thousand times in a thousand magazines and other places. While you may think that the silhouette of lovers kissing against a backdrop of a gorgeous sunset is a good marketable picture, it has been done to death and if we searched any of the major stock libraries we would find many examples of this exact picture. What might be better would be to show the couple doing something a little less typical, maybe one taking the picture of the other???

Also remember the rules of composition. The law of thirds works well and so do tightly cropped images. The old rule of "keep it simple" applies. This is not a book about how to shoot good images, there are thousands of such references available, what we are teaching you here is how to sell them online. Just remember, the images that sell are the attractive appealing ones with good composition and good exposure. One thing to remember though is that as most of the agencies websites display the images on thumbnail pages, having images that are attractive as thumbnails increases your chance of a sale, this follows from the rules of compostition and cropping already discussed.

Selling images online is the next big thing, something that every keen hobbyist is looking to get into. The principles of photography apply, but you must temper them with some business sense, knowing which photos sell is the best start.

Sean David Baylis is a photographer living and working in Hong Kong. Stock Photography - Who wants to know how to sell online? Learn the business of stock photography.

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Thursday, March 6, 2008

Lighting In Nature Photography

Simple Step By Step Digital Photography Lessons. If You Cant Learn Photography From These Lessons Then You Cant Become Photographer Anymore

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Lighting is one of the most important factors in taking photographs of natural subjects. Unlike with studio shots where you control the lights and the shadows, taking photos outside is a little bit more complicated. In addition to not being able to control your subject, you also have to take into consideration the elements especially the lighting.

Of course for the seasoned photographer, natural light is no longer a hindrance. In fact, most photographers use light to create great effects and put color into an otherwise drab picture. Hence there are photos that play up the shadows or those that capture the different colors of the sky. This is especially true with landscape shots or those that capture flowers and other objects in the environment.

Light can have a lot of sources. In the morning, there is the sunlight while in the evening, there is the moonlight. There is also what photographers call the natural light, which is not as direct as the two previously mentioned. One can use any of these sources of light. The trick is to know how to use it by angling the camera and the subject to achieve the exposure that you want.

This is often done by studying the effect of the light and its corresponding shadows to your subject. For instance, if you want a more dramatic effect, some photographers will use shadows as their main light instead of the natural light.

There are four main directions that photographers must learn in order to take advantage of the light outside. Overhead light for instance has high contrast and harsh shadows. This is achieved when the light is directly above the subject like when it is noontime. Using lights at the front will result with a flat shot.

This is usually seen with shots that use flash in the camera. Often, pictures shot in this direction will lack depth and dimension. Light at the back, on the other hand, may require an additional fill or reflector at the back to bring out the color of the subject. Often, with a light at the back, the shadows may ruin the photo.

Shooting with the light at the side is perhaps the most recommended when it comes to the direction as this will bring out the texture and the shape of the subject that one is using. For instance, with a light on the side, there will be parts that will be highlighted and parts that are not.

This content is provided by Low Jeremy. It may be used only in its entirety with all links included. For more information on photography & other useful information, please visit http://photography.articlekeep.com

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Wednesday, February 13, 2008

The Art Of Photography Magazines

Simple Step By Step Digital Photography Lessons. If You Cant Learn Photography From These Lessons Then You Cant Become Photographer Anymore

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A photograph is a picture painted by the sun without instruction in art (Ambrose Pierce). Let?s face it, we cannot all be Van Gogh or Monet, and we will not even try; but photography. Now that is an art for the common man. From the childhood pinhole camera to the digital SLR as an adult, all of us have dabbled, some of us more than others, in this form of expression. There is something about memories ? we all hold on to them, in our minds, and in our scrapbooks.

If you want to know how to make your photographs look better, then a subscription to a photography magazine is the best way to get there. I would recommend subscriptions to at least three, actually.

The Popular Photography Magazine is great for beginners, and is referred to by professionals as well. Each issue of this magazine teaches you the basics of photography, like composition and production. There is a section for new products, to help you make the correct choice of equipment, according to your budget and level of interest and expertise. There are helpful tips and solutions to making your pictures look better.

If collecting photographs is more up your alley, then the Blind Spot Magazine is for you. Not only does it feature the finest works of art that you will find, it also showcases some upcoming talent. This is the best source of works for a collector, or a curator, as well as for designers, who are looking for innovations in their work. Most of the photographs featured in this magazine are those that have never been seen before. Try it; it will satisfy the artist in you.

Aspiring and established photographers swear by the American Photo Magazine. It is very technical, and has reviews and curtain-raisers on the latest equipment in the market. There are sections devoted to industry trends and techniques as well.

The digital way of living has changed the way photographs are taken. Some people have welcomed digital cameras with open arms, but the more orthodox one swear by film. Without being biased, there is no denying that computers are here to stay, and there is a beautiful relationship between computers and photography in this age of flawless imagery. The PCPhoto Magazine makes life easier for the digital artist. This magazine provides, in each issue, step-by-step instructions on how to enhance and improve your digital images. There is a whole section dedicated especially to the newest cameras, scanners and software in the market.

Another magazine that tries to please both factions in the digital vs film war is the Photo Techniques Magazine. This magazine deals with Photoshop in detail; essential in today?s imaging business. It should be of great help to both the professional and the amateur.

As for the video enthusiasts, there are two magazines that will help, whether you are a beginner, or an expert ? the Videomaker Magazine and the Camcorder Magazine. Now you can make your own home videos and edit them, but better than your parents did!

There are many more magazines in the market. You just have to figure out which one is of more useful to you. And remember, when you click in color, you capture the clothes; when you click in black and white, you capture the soul.

James Brown writes about Magazine City,Magazines and MagMall Magazines

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Thursday, February 7, 2008

The Art Of Glamour And Nude Photography

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Understanding the art of glamour photography.

Creating nude portraits has long been an element of art - instead of capturing these portraits with the brush on canvas; today they are captured with the pixel.

Since the invention of photography the naked human body has been a natural subject for photographers and there has always been a large audience there for it.

What is glamour photography? Glamour photography covers a wide range - from the partial nude body, which you may see an a billboard advertising ladies underwear to the erotic images or the full nude body you may see on Page 3 of some papers or adult magazines.

There are no special elements to photographing glamour; all the standard photography techniques remain the same. Care should be taken when photographing models, nude or partially nude because some may find a sexual element attached to it.

Finding a market: Glamour photography remains one of the most lucrative areas of freelance photography. For a student trying to break into the glamour photography market, he would be well advised to use a film camera over digital. Film will give you warmer skin tones and give you a greater chance of being published.

When trying to find suitable markets for your glamour photography, the same principles apply as in any other photography field. You must study ?Glamour Photography Publications? to find out what sort of material they use.

Where to shoot: If you don?t have your own studio, don?t worry. Most of the great glamour images are shot on location. Shooting in the natural environment will be rewarding - use the early morning light to give extra warmth to the skin. Try different places - your neighbours hay barn can make an effective setting for a glamour image or if you have an attractive garden - perfect.

Choosing a model: One of the basic elements of glamour photography is a willing model. If you are having trouble finding one try your local art classes. People with an ambition to be a model may let you do test work. But if you are serious about being a glamour photographer you should work with a professional model.

Glamour images don?t always need to be sharp. Many of the great glamour photographers defuse their image with a filter to add mood to their nude portraits. The best way to get good is plenty of practise and sharpen your eye by looking at glamour publications.

There should be greater emphasis on controlling light contrast to ensure that the human body isn?t lost in heavy shadows or bright highlights. Controlling exposure is very important to get the perfect body tones.

While many may find this type of photography offensive, the glamour photographer is an artist and should be respected as one. It?s not for me to comment on whether the use of glamour material is good or bad, but to explain the art of this competitive and lucrative market.

TJ Tierney is an award winning Irish Landscape photographer and a freelance writer. He frequently writes for the photography directory http://www.goldprints.com and the shopping directory http://www.shop-4us.com To view or buy some of his images visit his on line gallery @ http://www.goldenirishlight.com

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Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Strengthening The Overall Theme With Photography

Simple Step By Step Digital Photography Lessons. If You Cant Learn Photography From These Lessons Then You Cant Become Photographer Anymore

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There is a very common misconception about photography. People think that photography is not a strong enough decoration medium. Historically, paintings, drawings, and relief decorations have been used to decorate our homes. If you think far enough into the past, people have been doing this for thousands of years. Think about the lavish, and beautiful palaces, cathedrals, churches, and other historic buildings, decorated with beautiful frescoes, paintings, reliefs, carved statues, etc. While photography is an excellent journalistic medium, many still feel that it is not as well suited to decorating our walls. There are many ways to introduce photography into your home decor, and couple it harmoniously with your existing paintings, sculptures, and drawings.

Photography is a New Medium

We should all keep in mind that photography is a fairly new medium. While we, the people, have been sketching, drawing painting, and sculpting for thousands of years, photography dates back just over a century. It is very new, and perhaps more exotic than paintings, sculptures, and others more traditional mediums. Because there are so many different genres of photography, and different styles, there is, without a doubt one that will appeal to your senses. There are few rules to decorating with photography, but here are a few suggestions to keep in mind. These will help you get the most out of decorating adventures.

Complementing your D?cor

Consider complementing your current pieces of d?cor with similarly themed photography. For example, if your paintings communicate open spaces, such as the sky, massive bodies, of water, or other distinct environments, try to match your photography to this theme. A photo depicting sail boats, or perhaps a dock would certainly complement paintings with bodies of water. This is but one example. Be creative and draw patterns in your mind. Possibilities are indeed endless.

Remember, it is OK to mix your paintings and photography. But, consider keeping the two opposite each other, instead of sharing the same space. Keep logical organization on your walls, and our eyes will appreciate it. Remember, our brain likes patterns. Our eyes will expect to see certain patterns, and if they are seeing something which they cannot draw any patterns from, you will feel like something is lacking, or just does not fit. It may be a good idea to match your medium to a room. For example, consider decorating your living room with paintings, and sculpture, while decorating your home office, your bedrooms, and hallways with photography. Again, this is just a suggestion. Photography will fit equally well in any room of your house.

The most important thing to keep in mind is to be creative. Don't be afraid to experiment. Remember, photographs are hung from a single hook, and they are easy to move, and reposition. Just keep a bunch of dry wall filler around.

Written by Professional Photographer, and an owner of a Photography Selling Service. To learn more about this, and many other general, as well as more specific photography related subjects, or to explore a Fine Art Photography gallery, please consider visiting http://www.worldonpaper.com/

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Wednesday, January 16, 2008

10 Tips To Improving Your Digital Photography

Simple Step By Step Digital Photography Lessons. If You Cant Learn Photography From These Lessons Then You Cant Become Photographer Anymore

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Digital photography is the new way to take photos and offers many conveniences that the old 110 camera just cannot provide. Here are a few tips to help make sure your digital photography is the best it can be.

Try to place the focal point of your subject in the center of the picture. This is the best way to snap the perfect digital photography image and, while it can be difficult, a little positioning will get the subject in center focus.

Avoid any photo with random subjects, such as a waterfall with other tourists standing around taking pictures or that perfect picture of your new pup with someone petting him.

Select the highest resolution for your digital photography. On most digital cameras, there is a resolution selector that allows the photographer to determine a low, medium or high resolution for their digital photography.

Get as close to the subject as possible or use the zoom feature. If it isn't possible to get very close to the subject, either because of location or safety, most digital cameras offer a zoom feature that allows the photographer to get a close-up view without being close at all.

If you are photographing individuals, always use the red eye reduction feature. It's a well known fact that some people's eyes turn red in photographs and others do not, but do yourself and those in your photo a favor and use the red eye reduction just incase.

If possible, take digital photography from a unique angle. Rather than straight ahead, consider a low position as you are looking up toward the subject or a high position as you look down on the image.

Have fresh batteries and a spare pack with you at all times. Digital cameras operate on batteries and, when traveling, you will always want to have some spare batteries incase yours run out.

Use a tripod for a steady image. If you are naturally shaky and want to make sure that you get the perfect digital photography, set up the tripod and point the camera directly at the subject before snapping a pic.

Use the review feature that most cameras have so that you can make sure the image was perfect. This is the best feature of a digital camera. Why? Because a view screen gives you the opportunity to review photos that are stored in your memory card. If you missed the perfect photo or simply snapped it at the wrong time, there is no wasted film. Simply erase the photo and take another one.

Adjust the flash for the proper surroundings. If your digital photography project requires a night photo or one taken indoors, a flash will be needed. On a sunny day or even if just a few clouds are looming, you may be able to accomplish the perfect digital photography without the flash feature being used.To get more facts about digital photography, check out our website at http://www.best-digital-photography-tips.info for lots of free digital photography information and reviews.

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Sunday, December 30, 2007

Portrait Photography

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Almost anyone that can point a camera and take a picture can take a portrait picture. There are a few things to learn about when it comes to this type of photography that will help you understand the basics of what makes a good portrait. In reality, you do not need a studio or some special equipment and technical resources to take an outstanding portrait photograph.

A portrait is taken to define the likeness of a person or people and even more so, it is a picture of someone?s face. However, in general the word has a deeper meaning when it is shown in a photo. Portrait photography is understood to be of good quality and not only does it capture a person?s physical look on film, but will also show a characteristic in the manner that is pleasant to the eye, attractive and a unique mannerism of the subject. A very well done portrait will at least contain one element that reveals what the subject?s personality and attitude or any other traits or features that is natural to the person.

One of the benefits of doing portrait photography is the conversation that will take place. It takes an understanding and skill of human nature to be able to take a good portrait. It will require engaging in a conversation with the subject you are working with, find a suitable topic that will spark and interest and a reaction. Common ground is a great way to start when building a rapport with the person, the more you know about the person you photograph, the easier it will be to take a great quality shot. It is important for the subject to be at ease with you so their natural characteristics will show through and appear natural on film.

Albreht Moy has fine art reproductions on his site.

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Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Web Cam Astrophotography

Simple Step By Step Digital Photography Lessons. If You Cant Learn Photography From These Lessons Then You Cant Become Photographer Anymore

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Web cams have changed amateur astrophotography profoundly. You can now have a CCD for a fraction of the cost. Web cams can take awesome planetary and lunar astrophotos right out of the box. You can use the capture software that comes with the cam for capturing your shots and then use freeware to process the results. Can't get much cheaper than that. Of course for better results it is you should use specialized software, but that is available on the cheap as well.

And if you are a do-it-yourselfer, web cams can also be adapted to take long exposure astrophotos, pretty cool right? Plus there are ready to go, web cam based planetary imagers now available from Celestron, Meade and, Orion. Meade and Orion also have imagers for long exposure, deep-sky imaging. All these include software. They are however more expensive. If you already have a web cam great, you only need some software which can be downloaded for free, and an adaptor to connect the web cam to your telescope. If you don't own one the following cams have proven to be good for astrophotography and good deals can be found on eBay for example.

-ToUcam Pro by Philips PCVC740K or PCVC840K ToUcam PRO II. I have both of these. I am leaving the new one as a dedicated planetary imager and adapting the PCV740K for long exposure astrophotography.

-Vesta pro also by Philips. I haven't personally used this web cam but others have with great success. It can also be adapted for long exposures.

-Quickcam pro by Logitech. I used to have one of these, but I prefer the ToUcam. It does a good job though and can also be modified for long exposures.

-There are other web cams which are good for astrophotography but these three are the only ones I have experience with.

Now for the adaptor to connect the web cam to your telescope. I use a Mogg adaptor, made by, surprise Mr. Steve Mogg. More information and purchasing can be found at: Mogg web cam adaptors For either ToUcam you will want the UWAT-F, for the Vesta Pro the UWAS-F, and for the Quickcam Pro the UWAL-F. He has adaptors for other astrophotography web cams as well.

Next you will need some software to make this all work. Good news it won't cost you a single penny. First you will need some capture software. K3CCDTools version 1 is absolutely free. It works very well to capture astrophotos with web cams. I use version 3 which costs $45.00 because I use some of the other features it offers but you won't need that for basic planetary work (yet). You can download it at: K3CCDTools web cam astrophotography capture software.

To get really nice detail in your shots you will need to combine (stack) multiple images. A really nice piece of software is called RegiStax. It is also freeware. You can download a copy at: RegiStax.

The next article in this series will be on setting up your web cam and software, capturing your first image during daylight, then getting your first astrophoto (the moon).

Carl Gilbertson has been involved in amatuer astronomy for over 30 years and astrophotography for over twenty-five years. Learn more at his site: Web Cam Astrophotography

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Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Dreaming Winter Photography

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The sight of early morning snow, the shimmering frost in the trees, your sister falling off in your snow filled front yard and your stunning snow angel, don't you ever wish you could just capture that moment right away and place them in your computer desktop? Right, sounds easy but for an amateur photographer this may sound too challenging and laborious. But thanks to the dawn of digital photography and winter photography need not be exclusive to the professional anymore.

You have to remember a few pointers though. Winter shooting can be tricky as majority of the landscape is white and the background is bright. When shooting a snow filled area, the brightness of the snow may often cause your digital camera to somewhat underexpose the scene, thus making the snow to look gray. To correct this, you might have to increase your exposure compensation so the whiteness of the snow can be appropriately captured. The time of the day you took the picture can also have an effect in your image. So if you want cooler shots shoot closer to midday but if you want warmer shoots, shoot early in the morning or late in the afternoon.

Although traditional photography belief tells us that using flash outdoor is not necessary but if you are shooting a winter photograph, using a flash can bring out details and highlights that might not be captured without it. However, if you are shooting close shots avoid using flash as much as possible as the reflection can greatly reduce any detail in your photo.

With the flexibility of processing available with digital cameras, you have better choices when in comes to choosing the finished format of your photograph. There is really nothing to lose to trying winter photography. You might even be surprised with the images that you captured. Once you have become accustomed to winter photography and have been familiar with the different techniques, you will find that winter is one of the best times of the year to go out there, take photos and make use of your digital camera. You will be surprised to see that the final results are worth the hassle.Viojieley Gurrobat loves readings books in her spare time. She writes stories and poems about anything under the sun. For comments and suggestions kindly visit http://www.digitalroom.com/Digital-Printing.html

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Thursday, October 11, 2007

Masters Of Photography

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Friday, September 21, 2007

Is digital photography expensive?Jakob Jelling

Simple Step By Step Digital Photography Lessons. If You Cant Learn Photography From These Lessons Then You Cant Become Photographer Anymore

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http://www.snapjunky.com

Being such a fascinating device as the digital camera, this technological masterpiece is of course a precious and priced possession. And acquiring it also means that one time achievement feeling. Thus a person must also be very careful and at the time quite a little knowledgeable in order to make a good purchase and not lose a good bargain in the maze of soaring prices and mist of exaggerated cost myths. This discussion is again focused to pierce that mist and unravel that myth to reveal the truths and facts regarding the actual and economic cost of a digital camera!

As per recent marketing trends, the conventions has it that there are only two types of digital camera users, firstly the average people who only craves to push the button, and secondly the professional photographers, people who looks for good control over the digital camera and its well carved features and are willing to pay virtually any price. Thus with this idea in the back of the entire process of sell and purchase, diverse levels of resolution for such digital cameras are available that are the real culprits in defining the price range of the cameras. United with such singular features the digital cameras come in a spectral variety of price range for an even varying customer range that are willing to pay anything from 30 to 1,500. The cost of an average digital camera probably lies in the region of 260, however in spite of this a person must be aware of what functionality or resolution that he or she is looking for and ultimate paying for, so that the purchase does not result in too much in exchange of too little of whatever must be desired from the digital camera. A person must self analyze the reasons for purchasing the digital camera before venturing into an expensive rendezvous. He or she must be aware of what the real purpose is, is it only snapping for casual reasons or a serious plan to produce super quality photographs to be printed as art or for professional purposes.

Looking into the price index in a little more detail reveals more facts! SLR (single-lens reflex) digital cameras have attained quite a price shedding with the invention and market release of digital cameras like Canon's EOS Digital Rebel, an SLR priced below $1000, perhaps the very first of its kind. Even with certain add on into the digital camera that even add to the price a bit more, still the Rebel cost remains about $600 below its flanking competitors. However comvention has it that these standard digital cameras cost around $2500 to $4,000.

In an effort to find out the reasons behind such soaring high prices, research reveals that digital camera sensors are, for all intents and purposes, computer chips. The bigger the computer chip, the more likely it is for errors. The reason remains that a single blemish in the silicon wafer may reduce to rubble an entire chip. Thus the random flaw increases with the size of the wafer. This is the exact reason why costly chips like Intel Pentiums processors are basically not bigger than 20mm square and can be also manufactured in greater volumes. Yet with the reduction in size the prices soar up and this proves the high costs of the digital cameras.

Thus it becomes clear from this discussion that a predetermined mind set is required when approaching for purchasing a device like the digital camera. This discussion provides an overview of the price ranges of good digital cameras, but a person must identify his or her own needs and preferences and have an open mind but with some notion of what a good but should be, and the cost of the digital camera would be a guaranteed perfection!
http://www.snapjunky.com

Being such a fascinating device as the digital camera, this technological masterpiece is of course a precious and priced possession. And acquiring it also means that one time achievement feeling. Thus a person must also be very careful and at the time quite a little knowledgeable in order to make a good purchase and not lose a good bargain in the maze of soaring prices and mist of exaggerated cost myths. This discussion is again focused to pierce that mist and unravel that myth to reveal the truths and facts regarding the actual and economic cost of a digital camera!

As per recent marketing trends, the conventions has it that there are only two types of digital camera users, firstly the average people who only craves to push the button, and secondly the professional photographers, people who looks for good control over the digital camera and its well carved features and are willing to pay virtually any price. Thus with this idea in the back of the entire process of sell and purchase, diverse levels of resolution for such digital cameras are available that are the real culprits in defining the price range of the cameras. United with such singular features the digital cameras come in a spectral variety of price range for an even varying customer range that are willing to pay anything from 30 to 1,500. The cost of an average digital camera probably lies in the region of 260, however in spite of this a person must be aware of what functionality or resolution that he or she is looking for and ultimate paying for, so that the purchase does not result in too much in exchange of too little of whatever must be desired from the digital camera. A person must self analyze the reasons for purchasing the digital camera before venturing into an expensive rendezvous. He or she must be aware of what the real purpose is, is it only snapping for casual reasons or a serious plan to produce super quality photographs to be printed as art or for professional purposes.

Looking into the price index in a little more detail reveals more facts! SLR (single-lens reflex) digital cameras have attained quite a price shedding with the invention and market release of digital cameras like Canon's EOS Digital Rebel, an SLR priced below $1000, perhaps the very first of its kind. Even with certain add on into the digital camera that even add to the price a bit more, still the Rebel cost remains about $600 below its flanking competitors. However comvention has it that these standard digital cameras cost around $2500 to $4,000.

In an effort to find out the reasons behind such soaring high prices, research reveals that digital camera sensors are, for all intents and purposes, computer chips. The bigger the computer chip, the more likely it is for errors. The reason remains that a single blemish in the silicon wafer may reduce to rubble an entire chip. Thus the random flaw increases with the size of the wafer. This is the exact reason why costly chips like Intel Pentiums processors are basically not bigger than 20mm square and can be also manufactured in greater volumes. Yet with the reduction in size the prices soar up and this proves the high costs of the digital cameras.

Thus it becomes clear from this discussion that a predetermined mind set is required when approaching for purchasing a device like the digital camera. This discussion provides an overview of the price ranges of good digital cameras, but a person must identify his or her own needs and preferences and have an open mind but with some notion of what a good but should be, and the cost of the digital camera would be a guaranteed perfection!

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.snapjunky.com. Visit his digital camera guide and learn how to take better pictures with your digicam.

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Monday, September 10, 2007

Photography for Your Jewelry and Craft Website

Simple Step By Step Digital Photography Lessons. If You Cant Learn Photography From These Lessons Then You Cant Become Photographer Anymore

         >>  Digital Photography Secrets Revealed <<

 

Not only is it important to take good photographs for your website, it is equally important to make sure that your pictures load quickly. In this article we will cover a number of important issues:

Photography set up
Camera settings
Editing for Website
Other Important Resources


Photography set up:

Your backdrop is your first concern. Where will you take pictures of your product, craft or object? Outdoor light seems to be the most recommended background. The outdoor lighting helps to create beautiful pictures. For jewelry, this option is not the best. It is harder to photograph jewelry than other crafts. For jewelry there are many other options for setting up a small photography studio.

How to Make My $15.00 Photo Studio http://www.home-jewelry-business-success-tips.com/jewelry-photography.html

Lapidary Art: Basic Jewelry Photography
http://www.lapidaryart.com/projects_2.html

Photographing Jewelry for Print and Web
http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/lessons/vault/index.html


Camera settings:

Each camera comes with their own terms. You will have to read your manual to decide what term they use for each of these settings. There are a few settings that you need to make on your camera.

Quality - I use the middle setting. This takes really nice pictures, but does not use up as much disk space.

Picture Resolution - My camera has either High (1760 x 1168 pixels) or Standard (896 x 592 pixels). Use the Standard setting.

Using a scanner to take pictures - Use the highest setting for you scanner to scan your pictures. Then edit as you would pictures that you have taken with a camera.


Editing for Website:

Before we begin editing your photos there are a few things that you should know:

Do NOT save your photos in JPEG format until you are DONE editing. JPEG files do not take any changes very well. If you save it as a JPEG, then change the size, the picture quality goes down. Each time you open and change it, the quality keeps getting worse. Save all of your original files in your photo editing programs format such as .psd for Photoshop.

Save all of your website pictures in the size that you will use them on your site. Do NOT change the size of them once you get them onto your website. This will cause them to lose their quality. I like my "thumbnail" pictures to be 125 pixels x 125 pixels. The smaller the picture, the quicker it will load.

When you use the "thumbnail" tool, you are VIEWING the picture smaller, but your file size is still large. This causes your pictures to load just as slow as when you put the large picture on that page. This is why you save your picturethe size that you want it to appear on your website. If you want a "thumbnail" sized photo, save it that size.

I recommend Photoshop or Photoshop Elements (the less expensive version approximately $80 at Buy.com) photo editing. There are many more products out there that are less expensive.


Following are the steps to take to edit your pictures for you website.

1. Once you have taken your pictures, download them to your computer. Save these files in your photo editing programs format. Since I use Photoshop, I save them as .psd files.

2. Open your photo editing program and open your picture. Crop your picture two sizes.

-Crop one picture for the "thumbnail" sized picture. I crop at 125 pixels x 125 pixels for square or 140 pixels x 125 pixel. You will have to decide how large or small you want your pictures. Just remember that the larger that they are, the slower they will load. (crop, save this file, then click "undo" to crop your next picture)

-Crop one picture for the larger picture that people will see once they click on the thumbnail. I use 300 pixels x 300 pixels, or 300 pixels x 275 pixels.

3. Use your photo editing tool to sharpen, and adjust brightness. These are all tools that you will have to play with to get the look that you want. I suggest that you read the tutorial on the photo editing program that you are using. Once you have the setting that you like, write them down and use them for most of your pictures.

4. Once you are happy with the appearance of your picture, it is time to save it for your website. In Photoshop they offer an option to "Save for Web". Once you have clicked Save for Web, it will take you to a tool that allows you to save it at the quality that you want. You can save most pictures for websites at 60%-80%. You will also have to play with this to find the right balance between picture quality and load time. For example:

-Picture saved at 60%, not real clear, loads in 3 seconds
-Picture saved at 70%, pretty clear, loads in 4 seconds -- Best Bet!
-Picture saved at 80%, very clear, loads in 10 seconds

If your program does not offer, Save for Web, you will have to read the directions on saving for a website. **Just make sure that you save all of your website pictures in the JPEG format.**

5. Always keep a copy of your original (saved in your photo editing programs format). You may decide to go back and change it.

Lisa Jay is a freelance writer and the jewelry designer behind Lantana Designwear. You can visit her websites at http://www.LantanaDesignwear.comand www.JewelryMakingHQ.com
Be sure to sign up for her newsletter at http://www.JewelryMakingHQ.com/signup_newsletterto receive helpful information on making your business a success.

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