More Things To Do With Your Digital Photos

Digital cameras have changed the way we take and use photos. With tradition film cameras you usually ended up printing photos and sorting them into photo albums. With digital cameras however the number of possible usages for digital photos is enormous.

Digital photos are files stored on electronic media such as flash memory, hard disks and CDs/DVDs. When digital cameras just appeared in the market most users followed their old film camera habits. They printed the digital photos and sorted them into old fashion photo albums. Later on they viewed the photos as they used to view old film camera photos. As people continued to use digital cameras they found more interesting ways to use the newly created digital photos. Here are some such ways:

Computer screens: The simplest way to use digital photos is by viewing them on a computer screen. Instead of going through the hassle and the cost of printing the digital photos you can simple use one of many viewing software packages that display your digital photos on your color-rich screen. Such software can also provide other features such as random slide shows, programmed slide shows, fading effects and more.

Digital photo frames: These are devices that elevate photo frames up to the digital era. Digital frames embed an LCD screen that can display different digital photos at different times. Digital photo frames have different features: some can receive the photos wirelessly from a computer while others use internal storage. Other features include the ability to read memory cards content directly from a digital camera. They can also show a single photo until it is manually switched to another one, roll through a list of photos or show photos randomly.

Sending digital photos by email: Digital photos are computer files and like any other file they can be sent as an email attachment. Sending digital photos by email is a great way to share an experience with someone else. There are a limitations and considerations that you should be aware of before sending your digital photos by email. Most ISPs and free email services limit the size of the attachments that can be sent to just a few megabytes. It is not considered ‘ok’ to email large attachments unless you personally know the recipient and he or she expects to receive such an email. It is a good practice to resize the photos before sending them by email. In most cases the recipient will only use the files to view the photo on the computer screen. For that purpose a photo resolution of 640X480 or 800X600 is more than enough and the reduced resolution files will be much smaller. Make sure though that you are making low resolution copies and keep the original full resolution files intact. Some email clients such as Microsoft Outlook will automatically ask you if you want to resize digital photos before they are sent.

Using online photo albums: There are many free online services that offer digital photo albums. You can use such photo album to organize, save and view photos by yourself or you can share the album with other people – either a private group of friends of the general public. These sites also offer other services such as photo printing the are easy to use and affordable. Most photo album sites will resize the digital photos for fast viewing and loading over the Internet. Make sure that you keep a safe version of the original digital photos. It is not a good idea to rely on such photo album services as the only copy of your digital photos.

Use as your desktop wallpaper: You can set a digital photo that you like as your desktop wallpaper. You can also use software that allows you to choose a list of photos to rotate through as your desktop wallpaper: Such digital photo wallpaper rotation can be done on a time basis or on a random basis.

Use as your screensaver: When your computer is idle it can be programmed to do one of many things: turn off the monitor, go into standby mode or show a photo. You can program your screen saver to show a digital photo from your photo album. You can also use software that will allow you to set the screen saver to rotate between a list of digital photos.

Load digital photos to your cell phone: New cell phones include cameras and allow you to take digital photos and short video clips. They also store digital photos and display them on their small LCD screens. If you have a digital photo that you like you can download it to your cell phone and set it as your cell phone wallpaper.

Use as a personal online display image: Some software and web sites allow you to load one or more digital photos that can be used as your display image. This digital photo represents you when communicating with other users. MSN messenger is a good example – when you chat with a friend you can set a photo that your friend will see that “represents” who you are and what you feel. You can load digital photos that tell something about you and about what you’re going through – maybe a photo from your birthday party if you had one in the last week or two – or from your last trip abroad.

This list is just an example of what can be done with those digital photos. The possibilities are endless and new usages are found every day by the millions of digital camera users. Be open to new idea and try to get rid of your old film camera habits. Digital photos are must more than a 4X6 color printed paper.

Smart Usage Can Extend Digital Cameras Battery Life

Digital cameras are powered by batteries and are limited in the number of digital photos that can be taken between either replacing or recharging the batteries. If you are planning for a long digital photo shooting session or are traveling learning some habits that can save on power will help you conserve energy and squeeze more digital photos from your batteries.

Digital cameras have many features and options. Some features consume more energy than others. Some of the greatest features are power hungry. Learning which those power hungry features are and using them with caution can help you get more digital photos from your camera battery.

Digital camera LCD screen: The digital camera LCD screen is one of the biggest energy consumers. Digital cameras provide viewing of digital photos on a small LCD screen. You can also shoot digital photos using the LCD instead of the viewfinder. An LCD screen consumes a lot of energy. This is the reason why all digital cameras turn off the LCD screen after a certain amount of no usage time. In order to conserve energy try the following: Turn off the LCD and use the viewfinder whenever possible. Only use the LCD when you must for example when taking an overhead digital photo when the optical viewfinder is not usable. Minimize digital photo viewing. When you view photos on the LCD you are wasting energy. Only use the LCD to view photos when you need to do so for the benefit of the next digital photos shooting – for example to check if a composition was right or if the lighting was good.

Digital camera mechanical motors: The motors that move the mechanical components of the digital camera such as the lenses when focusing or zooming are also a big power consumer. Motors consume a lot of energy when moving the digital camera optical components. In order to minimize the motors movement try the following: Do not use continuous focus when not necessary: The motors that move the optical components in order to focus consume energy. You can not avoid focusing but you can avoid focusing that is not necessary. For moving objects such as in sport events continuous focus is used so your can stay focused on the object until you are ready to take the photo. In those cases as long as you press the shutter button half way down the camera will continue to focusing on the object. To save energy minimize that time to the minimum necessary.

Digital camera flash: The digital camera flash unit is also a big power consumer. Shooting photos using the flash consumes more energy than shooting photos without flash. You can not avoid flash photography when it is needed but in many cases you will find yourself shooting digital photos in situations where the flash is not needed but it is fired because it was left in automatic mode and the camera fired it for no reason. When possible set the flash to manual mode and control its usage.

False shutter button usage: Every time you press the shutter button half way down and do not take a photo you waste energy. When pressing the shutter button half way down the camera goes through a series of processes getting ready to shoot a digital photo. It focuses the lenses it wakes up electronic components and gets the flash ready if needed. Avoid pressing the shutter half way down when you do not plan to shoot a photo.

In conclusion until there is a breakthrough in battery technology you will have to keep in mind power consumption when going on long shooting sessions without being able to change or recharge the batteries. Fortunately you can follow the few simple usage tips given in this article to significantly extend your digital camera battery life.

Depth Of Field In Group Portrait

When you are shooting a group of people, you should always make sure to have the necessary depth of field so that important details do not fall out of focus. This is not trivial to achieve. Therefore, you must pay particular attention when using telephoto lenses and when shooting particularly close to your subject, as both cases lead to a reduced depth of field. The same holds true for wide apertures, too.

Which is the most critical group portrait as far as depth of field is concerned? Sure enough, the most difficult is the close-up. If you do not have enough depth of field to focus completely your subjects, it is pivotal that you sharp focus at least the eyes and the frontal planes of all the subjects. This means that the lips and the tip of the nose must be sharp. Ears take second place in order of importance: keep them in focus if you can.

A good photographer knows that the depth of field of a lens is both behind and in front of the point of focus; besides, it is usually greater behind than it is in front. Therefore, it is an error focusing on the nearest part of the subject. Instead, you should focus between the nearest and the farthest points of your subjects, about one third within. In case of doubt, keep it simple and focus on the eyes. This has the additional advantage of focusing on a highly contrasting region (the eyes), making it an easier operation.

As for 3/4- and full-length portraits, it is much easier to focus them properly, as the greater distance from the subject makes the depth of field greater. Anyhow, all the aforementioned recommendations still holds true. If a blurred background is desired, just use a wide aperture.

If many people are involved in a group portrait, it could be taxing to fit all the individuals in the same focusing plane, even in full-length portraits. This is where the skilled photographer takes over and through careful posing of the subject and choosing a good vantage point can expertly accomplish the task.

The theory to work the problem out is quite simple. Just pose all the individuals on the same plane and make sure the camera is pointing perpendicularly to that plane. Easy, isn't it? Unfortunately putting this prescription into practice is a whole other ballgame. The simplest posing strategy is having the individuals in the back of the group lean forward and the people at the front lean backward. This will reduce the depth of field required for a sharp image.

There is a very clever trick to point the camera as perpendicular to the group plane as possible. Your group will typically consist of some people in the front row with their faces lower than the people behind. For instance people in the front row can be crouched and people behind them standing. So, if you raise the camera and point it downward, a better alignment will occur. This, in turn, has the additional advantage of averaging the relative dimensions of the people in the group; otherwise, the people in front would appear larger than those behind.

If your group is very huge, yet another consideration must be taken into account. If you line up all the people in the group in a straight line, those at the sides will be farther away from the camera than those in the center. This is no good, because you want all of them on the same focus plane. So the solution here is to arch the group of people by having them lie in an arc of a circle: let those in the center step back and those at the ends step forward and adjust the others accordingly. All of them will now be at the same distance from your camera, making it easier to sharp focus the entire group.

A Common Photography Problem: Shaded Objects In Digital Photos

Digital cameras are becoming more and more sophisticated. On one hand they allow high quality automatic point and shoot. On the other hand they allow full manual control of their settings. Regardless of the mode you use there are some scenes that require special care. Without such care your digital photos will be of poor quality regardless of how sophisticated and automatic your camera is.

New digital cameras include sophisticated hardware and software that allow a simple point a shoot usage and result in high quality digital photos. Such high quality digital photos are achieved in most scenarios but in some scenarios solely relying on the cameras automatic feature is not enough. In such scenes the camera hardware and software will make the wrong decision as to the optimal camera setting for the best digital photo. The result will be a poor quality photo.

Being aware of such scenarios can help in avoiding such poor quality digital photos. When you identify such a scenario you can use some simple techniques, by manually setting the camera, by changing the photo shooting angle or by manipulating the scene.

One of the common problems with automatic digital camera photo shooting is shaded objects in digital photos. A good example of shaded objects in digital photos is when taking a portrait photo in daylight. The digital camera ambient light sensor measures enough light to set a relatively low exposure value. But even scenes with that have enough ambient light can result in shades that appear on the object depending on the angle of the light source relative to the object. For example if the object is a person with his face lit from the side the object’s nose can create shades. Another example is if the object is a person that is wearing a hat and is lit from a light source above – in such a scene the hat can create shades on the object’s face.

The camera can not automatically identify such problems and correct them. One way to easily eliminate the shades on the objects is by using the camera fill-in flash. Turn the fill-in flash on. When taking a photo the fill-in flash will fire and will light the shaded areas on the object. One limitation of this solution is that the objects must be within the fill-in flash effective range. Otherwise the flash light will fail to light the object and the shades will not be lit.

The best way to learn how to avoid Shaded objects in digital photos is by experimenting and practicing. Try to find scenes that will confuse the digital camera into taking digital photos with Shaded objects. Take a few digital photos using the camera automatic mode and review the results confirming the expected poor quality. Now correct the problem and take a few more photos. Review the new digital photos and make sure that indeed the Shaded objects problem is gone. Practicing in a controlled environment will help you be prepared to quickly and efficiently handle such scenes in real time photo shooting.

Usage Of Polarizing Filters

The main goals of using polarizing filters are to delete "soft" reflection, reduce white-outs and glare from nonmetallic surfaces, and in most cases increase the color balance. For example, whitish sky might become rich-blue on a photo where the filter has been used. This along with great composition can totally change the viewers' impression. In short, a polarizing filter is definitely a "must have" accessory for every professional photographer and may be used for both black-white and color photography.

Types of polarizing filters

Although armed with such good intentions, buying a polarizing filter may lead to confusion. There are a lot of different types, and you might encounter up to 7, including: C - PL, MC - CPL, Wide C - PL, Water Proof Coat C-PL, DHG C – PL. How do they differ?

The first filter, called PL, is used with MF (manual focus) cameras only, and it uses a linear polarization. The second type is for all type MF/AF (manual/automatic focus) cameras and uses a circular polarization. If you are using polarizing filters with an auto focus camera, ensure that the filter has the С.PL/C-PL logos on it, or it is otherwise clearly marked as a circular polarizing filter. We will discuss below why that is so important. Some filters with bigger diameters are linear only. Filters with MC - CPL and MC – PL marks use multilevel coating, effectively minimizing glare and reflections and providing more light. Water Proof Coat C-PL or WPC-PL, as it stands from the name, has a water resistant material on the external surface. The last one, DHG C-PL-filter is specifically designed to protect a digital cameras lens.

The light polarized by a linear filter (PL) can cause errors of aperture and focus measurement in all auto focus digital cameras. With polarizing glass turned equal to 90 degrees, the digital camera most likely will stop processing the picture at all. To avoid this, it is recommended to use circular polarizing filters (C-PL) that will not cause such effects. There are no other differences between these two major types of filters, so you can select the one most appropriate to your purpose.

How to use polarizing filters?

With a manual focus camera, it is simple: 1) install the filter onto your lens, 2) start rotating the filter checking the result through the view finder. The most noticeable effect is in the dark parts of the composition. Use the ^ mark on the filter for more accurate settings. Sometimes you may find that the effect is minimal due to the location of the light source (usually the sun). If light falls to a surface under 90 degrees on the side closest to the axis of the lens, the effect of polarization may not occur. At the same time, if the sun is about 90 degrees on the side closest to the axis of the lens, the effect will be maximal. In order to reduce glare on surfaces like water, the lens has to be about 30-40 degrees from the surface level.

You can also use polarizing filters with other types of filters. When doing so, the polarizing filter should be the last filter on your lens. This rule is not hard to remember because in most cases polarizing filters have no external threading. Try it! The combination of color and polarizing filters may give unusual effects, extending or reducing some of the colors in the photo.

One last point to keep in mind: since polarization filters use iodine, they cannot resist heat and ultraviolet light. Therefore, apply the filter only when you really need it and keep it in a case the rest of the time. Simple! Used properly, a polarizing filter will last for about 5-6 years before it needs replacing.

Camera Bag Technology

Camera Bag technology has come a long way in recent years. In the past, the only thing a camera bag was good for was holding stuff. It didn't really offer the protection photographers needed for expensive equipment. Today's camera bags have superior added technology that have photographers doing things they've never been able to do before.

Foam Protection. Camera bags today are constructed from a thick closed cell foam material. The foam protects the contents of the bag from all angles. The foam is covered with an ultra soft felt lining that provides a non-abrasive surface for delicate equipment. Plastic paneling is used for the structure of the bag, giving it a rigid form.

Waterproof. Water-resistant material is used as the casing for the camera bag. Some bags come with a protective weather jacket that adds another level of moisture protection by surrounding the entire case.

Padded Lens Cradle. For lenses, camera bags can now come equipped with a padded U-shaped cradle that attaches to the interior of the bag using Velcro straps. The cradle is padded and covered in ultra-soft material to securely hold the lens with the grip facing upward.

Modularity. Modularity is a new function, unique to certain types of camera bags. The modular system allows photographers to use large and small camera bags together with the use of a modular belt to connect them. This modular belt allows photographers to use a much or as little camera equipment as needed for a given shoot.

All these new and advanced features make camera bags better than ever.

Wedding Photography: Your Available Options

If you are planning on getting married now or in the new future, you will likely have a large number of decisions to make. Planning a wedding can be an exciting task, but at the same time it can be difficult to handle. One of the many things you will have to think about, when planning your wedding, is photography. Your wedding day should be an event that produces beautiful memories and what better way to document those memories than with wedding photographs?

If you are interested in having photos of your wedding, you will have a number of options. One of those options includes having a friend or relative take pictures for you. The other option involves hiring the services of a professional wedding photographer. If you live in or around the Las Vegas area, you will want to hire a professional wedding photographer. Selecting one of the previously mentioned options may be a difficult decision. You are urged to consider the advantages and disadvantages of each.

One of the reasons why many couples make the decision to have a friend or a relative take wedding pictures is because it is cheap. Many times, the only thing that needs to be paid for is the film and developing. If you want, you can choose to tip a friend or relative who takes your wedding pictures, but that is only optional.

While having your wedding photographs snapped for a low price may seem nice, you may not always get the best results. Many times, most ordinary people are inexperienced with it comes to photography. In addition to experience, the quality of your photographs will also depend on the type of camera that is used. If you are looking for better results, you may want to consider using the services of a professional Las Vegas wedding photographer.

Perhaps, the greatest benefit of using a professional Las Vegas wedding photographer is what you will receive. Most professional wedding photographers are experienced in taking professional photographs. In addition to years of experience, many professional photographers have undergoing the appropriate amount of training. This training most often includes a number of photography classes. You will find that, in most cases, your wedding pictures will be the shots that you were looking for and the quality that you expected.

The only downside to using the services of a professional Las Vegas wedding photographer is the cost. However, this disadvantage can also turn into an advantage. The services of most photographers do not come cheap. While their costs may seem high, you will find that many include a number of services, including the cost of film and photo developing. When you take into consideration everything that is included in the cost, you may find that it isn’t really as high as you originally thought.

It is likely that your wedding day will be memorable no matter who you decide to have take your pictures. However, to make the most out of your wedding day memories, you are encouraged to fully weigh all of your options. You will find that doing so will enable you to make the best decision.

Digital Photography - Simple Tips And Advice To Help You!

For sure, even those of us who've always owned digital cameras for a long time can use tips on how to make better pictures and troubleshoot when problems arise. And beginners to digital photography need a little guidance to build confidence in their ability to take great shots.

Here are some points to remember about digital photography pointers:

Ever see a fantastic scene outside your bay window at home or your car window and wonder whether you can shoot a good picture through glass? The answer is, yes, you can. All you need to do is stand as close as you can to the glass when you take the shot. This minimizes the effect of light reflecting on the shiny surface of the glass.

Would you like to take some shots of rectangular paintings to put in an online gallery, but fear they'll come out resembling parallelograms instead of rectangles? Don't worry. Digital photography can work for you in this case if you line your camera and picture up so that they are perfectly parallel. If you raise the picture on the wall and the camera on a tripod so that the center of the camera lenses is trained right on the center of the picture should do the trick, and you'll seem like a pro.

Have you tried to take pictures of children at play and been dissatisfied because the great scene you tried to capture is already gone by the time you push the shutter button, and you're left with something not very interesting and perhaps unclear? You might know the solution to this. Increase your shutter speed because that will help freeze action. Also, knowing that your tykes are almost always in motion, try to discern where the action is going next, and point the camera there and you'll have a better chance of catching the next perfect moment developing before you.

Have you quit taking nighttime shots because whenever you took pictures of your friends at an evening gathering with your new digital camera the shots were all way too dark With this problem you do the opposite from what you do to get great shots of kids at play. You decrease your shutter speed-1/15 or 1/30 of a second rather than the standard 1/60 of a second should do it for you.

Perhaps one of the most important things is to read the instruction manual that came with your camera, and you should try out all of the features to see how they work. Also, find others who are interested in learning how to make the most of digital photography. Share tips and go out on picture taking adventures together. Sooner or later you'll be giving other people much better tips than these in no time!

Time Lapse Still Digital Photography Technique

Time lapse photography is a technique that allows to quickly and visually convey processes that take a long time in real life. For example time lapse photography can shrink to 10 seconds the complete process of building a new bridge. Although usually used in videos time lapse can also be used in still digital photography.

The idea behind time lapse is simple. You want to capture a change that usually takes a long time in real life. In order to accomplish that you take photos either every fixed period of time or every time there is some change in the real life process. For example you can take a photo once a week to document the building of a new bridge, or you can take a photo every time a new floor is built in a new skyscraper. When viewing these photos in sequence the feeling of the actual real life process and its magnitude is very effectively conveyed.

Time lapse photography is mostly known for such scenarios as the process of building bridges and buildings or the process of flowers growing. There are however other usages to time lapse photography that are more relevant to the amateur home photographer. Here are some examples:

Moving apartments: You can document your moving to a new apartment using time lapse techniques. In this scenario it is best to take photos based on events and not every fixed period of time. For example start with a photo of the apartment you are moving from. Then as you start packing take a photo every time you pack a box. When the movers show up take photos as furniture are moved away from your apartment. Do the reverse in the new apartment. Take a photo of it being empty. Then start taking photos as furniture move in and finally take photos as each single box is opened and put in its new place. Taking the time to take such photos can be a great way to capture memories for years to come.

Renovating your house: Similar to moving, renovation can be documented using time lapse techniques. Take photos as significant changes are made to your house. Take the first photo before any work is done. Then continue taking photos as renovation progresses, for example when a wall is taken down. Take the last photo when the renovation is completed and the house is ready.

People and kids: You can use time lapse techniques to document how your kids are growing up or other changes in people you care about. One way to accomplish that is by taking a photo of your kids every 6 months or a year. It is a good idea to take the photos in the same place and in the same position as it will intensify the effect of the changes happened to them over that period of time.

Your garden: If you are working on your garden, maybe planted a tree or some special flowers you can use time lapse techniques to document the progress of your work. Take a photo every fixed period of time, depending on the time it takes for the tree or plant to grow this can be a few days or a few weeks.

Professional photographers sometimes use special equipment that can automatically take photos every certain period of time. For most amateur usages manually taking the photos is good enough. Some things to care about when taking time lapse photos: try to take photos in the same time of the day and with the same lighting – this will intensify the effect as the difference between the photos will be mostly the changes that you care about and not other external factors like lighting that can draw unwanted attention.

Making A Digital Picture Frame Work

You’ve seen digital picture frame products on the market and you, like everyone else, want to have one in your home. But, how can you add these to your home? Do you have to redesign your entire home around this new medium of technology that will not display your photos? Don’t worry about the details, but enjoy the benefits that it can provide. A digital picture frame is an ideal way to bring your home together, not to cause you to have to redo it.

First, take into consideration all that these picture frames can offer to you. They allow you to create a slide show of wonderful pictures that will bring back smiles and warm thoughts. Once you have it loaded with your memories, you need to pick the right place to put it. The digital picture frame can be mounted to a wall or many of them can be placed in a sitting position. In either case, you should be able to select a place of distinction for it.

Instead of putting it surrounded by other pictures as you would a standard picture frame, decide to find a place for it to be placed solely. This allows you to keep other pictures elsewhere. Look for a location that you will walk towards often and for more than just one second. For example, at the end of the hallway would be a nice choice because as you walk, you can see the slideshow of pictures playing before you. Find a place in your home that allows you to easily view your pictures.

A digital picture frame can be purchased in many different colors, styles and sizes depending on what you would like. You don’t have to have an ultra modern home to truly enjoy what they have to offer to you. Instead, you’ll want to consider the many benefits of placing these frames in locations to enjoy. Select the type that works the best for you and then make it a focal point.

Secret Tip Number 3 To Digital Photography

Okay now I know you are wondering what the third secret to digital photography is....

I think I'll wait till next week to tell you....just kidding! I'll tell you now.

It’s technical ability. Is that all? You say. Well my friend, learning what things mean what on the camera feels like it can take a lifetime, so here are some simple ways to help you learn to refine your digital photography skills. Once you have the artistic side of digital photography covered, you can then fine tune the artist in you and work that camera.

Just before I explain the digital camera in more details, firstly I want to say this about digital photography you need to learn the technical aspects of the digital camera so that you can become the master and controller, not the other way around. When you first start out in digital photography it feels like you are at the whim of the digital camera and it controls your digital photography. Once you start learning what does what on the camera, you'll find that you become the master and controller.

Lets look at the common terms in digital photography and simplify them into plain English. (God knows you will be forever looking at the camera manual thinking "what the heck does that mean?" So read this instead...)

Hey the only thing I knew when I started digital photography 6 years ago was what a lens cap was so if you don't know the basic stuff please don't feel bad. That's why I am here to help you.
Firstly to be good at digital photography you must first understand how the camera works. Your digital camera is a brilliant device and is very much like the human eye. There is an "eye lid" and a "pupil". The eye lid blinks open and shut- this is how the shutter speed works. The pupil- how far the lens opens to let light in is the aperture. The flash works as a torch light. It is a direct source of light to provide more light where the camera needs it. You can use this anytime of day or night.

So with that basic analogy we can define some meanings. Don't get too stressed about trying to remember these things, just remember the basics of how the camera works to begin with, then eventually these things will become more and more attainable to you.

Exposure: This means, basically, the total amount of light falling onto the sensor in your digital camera. The way this is "measured" is by calling the level a "value." Or in shorter terms for digital photography its called an "E/V". The more E/V registered on your digital camera the more light is getting in. Think of it as a higher E/V means a higher concentration of light going in the camera.

On my Sony brick...sorry I mean my old Sony Cyber shot, if I take a sunset shot and need to have more light in the picture then I'll increase the E/V to +2.0. If it is a sunny day, like a bright summers day and I want to stop the picture from being overexposed and reduce the amount of light coming in to the digital camera, I'll reduce the E/V to -0.3 for example.

These numbers simply pertain to my camera, so don't worry too much about them, but just understand the principle. The lesser the E/V number the less light. In effect you are making the pupil smaller so less light comes in and vice versa.

Aperture: The aperture means the actual size of the opening of the lens. It's a lot like exposure but relates to size more than anything. Think of this as the opening itself and controls how much light gets into the cameras sensor.

Shutter speed: This is the eyelid, if you like. It’s the speed in which the eye lid blinks open and shut. A fast "blink" means you can freeze time and capture fast action shots such as a person running without blur, or cars racing without blur. So really it is the measurement of how long the shutter is open when the digital photo is taken.

You will see sometimes 1/125th or 125 for example. This means that the shutter is open for 125th of a second. The higher the amount of time, the longer the shutter stays open. So in digital photography picture-taking terms if you want a blurry effect then leave the shutter open for a second to ten seconds and see the difference in effect. The quicker the shutter is open, the more you will capture, such as race cars or peoples fast action suspended in time without blur.

Lag: I just know this as "pain in the butt". It’s the time delay between when you press the shutter button and when the camera actually takes the photo. It's been the problem with digital photography until recent years when the dlsr cameras have almost reduced this altogether. The higher priced cameras have very little lag.

Flash Fill: This is a saviour for day photos where there is over exposed and underexposed areas in a digital photo- in the same photo. Imagine a bright sunny day and you take a photo of someone on the beach with the sun behind them. The digital camera will actually "see" the bright sky and keep that in focus and reduce the light on the persons face. To combat this you can use the flash to compensate for the camera "forgetting" about the persons face. Its the best thing since sliced bread. This is how you get shots of people blowing out birthday candles and are able to see their faces clearly.

Rule Of Thirds: When I first started digital photography I thought "Gee I mustn't take that picture unless I abide by this principle." Well that didn't last long. Now I don't even think about it. But this principle in photography should be called a guideline, not a rule. However when you are just starting digital photography its great to learn- it really helps you.

Effective use of Flash Photography

Did you ever put your flash unit in manual mode? Did you ever manually turn on the flash when taking a day time outdoor photo? For many the answer to both questions is “no". For most amateur photographers flash is just a solution for taking photos when there is not enough natural light. Although a legitimate use of flash photography there is much more ways to efficiently use flash. In this article we will cover the various types of flash units available, the different scenarios under which they can be used, the advantages of using flash to achieve better photos and the common mistakes people do when using flash photography.

As with any other technology knowing how it works behind the scenes and what your options are can help in better utilizing it for your advantage. Flash photography has been around for more than a hundred years. It started with a dangerous and manually controlled technology that used a powder that was lit by either fire or electrical current. These flash solutions were both dangerous and hard to use since the flash was not automatically synchronized to the camera’s shutter. Modern flash units use an electronic flash tube that is synchronized with the camera’s shutter. When turning the flash on the photographer does not need to worry about flash timing - the camera takes care of it automatically.

There are two types of flash units: Internal and External. The internal flash unit is built-in to your camera. It can be controlled through the camera’s menus. Some low end cameras only allow the use of their built-in units. Some low end cameras and all high end cameras also allow the attachment of an external flash unit. External flash units are either attached to the camera’s body through a dedicated slide-in slot or are connected to the camera using a cable. They vary in strength – how much light can they generate for how long - and in mechanical characteristics – can they be tilted or skewed or are they fixed in relation to the camera’s body. Regardless of the connection type external flash units are electronically connected to the camera and are synchronized with the shutter.

When setting your flash unit to automatic mode the camera fires the flash in scenarios where not enough light is available. Many times the camera will make a wrong judgment and will either fire or not fire the flash when the opposite was needed. Also in some scenarios the camera will not be able to tell that firing the flash will actually result in a better photo. One problem when using a flash is washed out photos. When the flash is too strong or the object is too close to the camera the result is a washed out photo there are not enough details and the object appears to be too white or too bright. Another problem is a photo with too many details: in some scenarios the flash can create artificial shadows and lights which result in a photo that includes details that are exaggerated relative to their appearance in real life. For example when taking a photo of an older person skin wrinkles and imperfections can look much worse than they really are in real life.

It is important to know the limitations of the flash unit. Any flash unit has a certain amount of light that it can generate. Usually this amount can be translated to an effective range for using the flash. When trying to take a photo with the object too far – more than the flash unit range – the object will appear dark. When trying to take a photo with the object too close to the camera the object will be washed out or too white. It is important to know your flash range and make sure that your object is within that range.

If you need to take a photo with your objects not within your flash unit range it is better to turn off the flash completely and use a tripod with long exposure. Using the flash in such scenarios can fool the camera into setting a high shutter speed which results in a photo darker than a photo taken without using the flash at all.

In some scenarios the camera will not automatically fire the flash although using the flash would have resulted in a much better photo. One such scenario is taking a photo during day time when the object is shadowed. For example if the object is wearing a hat the hat can block the light from the object’s face or when the object is lit from the side the object’s nose can block the light creating a shadow. In such scenarios the flash unit can be set to “fill in" mode. The flash will be fired to fill-in those shadowed areas but it will not be fired strong enough to wash out the photo.

Another scenario is when the sun is behind the object. One example is taking a photo on the beach against a sunset. If taken without a fill-in flash the result will most likely be a silhouette of the object. If taken with a fill-in flash and the object in range the result will be a clear photo of the object against a sunset.

In conclusion your flash unit can be a great tool. Although for many using the flash in automatic mode is enough for the more sophisticated photographer who wants to achieve higher quality photos understanding and experimenting with the flash unit can yield great results. Following some simple rules such as making sure objects are within the flash unit range and using fill-in flash when shadows can appear on the objects is easy and significantly improves your photos.

First Impressions and Your Brand Image.

You are in your best jeans and a clean t-shirt. But, you’re at a black tie dinner and you want to impress the CEO’s in the crowd. If you’re not a rock star, this clothing is going to seriously dampen your clout. Similarly, if you wear a tuxedo to a rodeo – you’ll be seen as a geek. Your brand image has the same effect - you need to match the look of your marketing to the audience you want to reach.

The written word is a powerful tool for promoting your business, and good copy writing is more important than ever. However, what you “say" can be tossed aside in your audiences mind if the “image" you use is not in sync with your words.

Consider the words which you want to describe your company and its services or products. There’s lots of words to choose from. Strong, vibrant, innovative, experienced, new, fresh, knowledgeable, daring, stable, healthy, independent, well-connected, high-tech, handmade, and so on. Grab your thesaurus and dictionary and come up with your own list.

Since marketing campaigns that try to “be everything to everybody" have a long history of failure, don’t try. Instead picture your “perfect" customer. Don’t worry about getting everybody because there are lots of your “perfect" customers out there, and even more people who want to be just like your perfect customer. So, picture this person and write down who they are: male, female, either, old, young, middle-aged, professional, unemployed, retired, rich, low-income, thrifty, luxurious. Come up with your own list. Now, grab the three words that are most likely to appeal to your perfect customer. This is your brand image.

Keep these three words as the basis for everything you do in marketing. You don’t have to use the words themselves but keep them in mind for your advertising, the look of your web site, the photography you commission, the way your staff answers the phone, your signage, the brochures you print, the layout of your store/office. If an aspect of any of your marketing is not in sync with these important words, you could be shooting yourself in the foot.

They say you have three seconds. That first impression is created by the look and feel of your marketing and is remembered more than the words you use. In learning, there is only a five per cent retention of the words which are read. There’s a twenty per cent retention of audio and visual content.

As well, if you don’t have a brand image that reflects the words you use, you create what is called cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is when an existing idea conflicts with a new idea, and the person rejects the new idea because of the dissonance.

If the look you use creates one idea (that first impression in the first three seconds) is different from what you are saying - is your potential customer going to pay attention to their first impression or the words you use?

Even if your words are brilliant and many people still buy because of them, what about all the ones who don’t buy.

The real kicker is that creating a unified brand image like this does not have to cost one extra cent on anything you do, outside of buying nicer clothes for the black tie dinner. You’re still going to have a web site, answer the phone, layout your store, print brochures, or whatever else your marketing needs. Just make sure they are in sync with your brand image.

Perfect Photo Prints

There are many ways to share your landscape photos with digital photography, but photo prints remain the most popular. Prints can be framed and hung up on the wall to show your photos off to friends and family. Creating the perfect print can become even more challenging if your monitor isn�t calibrated properly. You will have suddenly wasted your time, paper and ink on a print which doesn�t match what you see on your monitor. Read these quick tips for getting the best prints possible.

Dpi and Ppi - When you make a print of one of your photos on an inkjet printer, a lot is happening inside the printer. Inkjet printers work by spraying ink dots of cyan, magenta, yellow and black from nozzles while they pass over the paper. Most inkjet printers have a print resolution of 1440dpi and some printers go as high as 5760dpi. In general, the higher the resolution of your printer the greater detail you can print and the better your photo will look. The single biggest point of confusion comes from Dots per inch and Pixels per inch. Dpi is very different from ppi, which is the resolution of an image on your computer screen. Printers create dozens of tiny dots to fill the space of one pixel, and the more pixels you pack in an inch the finer the detail will look. The ideal resolution for printing an image is 300 to 400dpi/ppi.

Ink and Paper - You have a lot of options when choosing different quality inks and paper types, all of which can be combined to form a satisfying result. Different photo papers will give surprisingly different results from the same photo printed on the same printer. Photo paper comes in many different styles, weights, and photo finishes, including matte, glossy and varying degrees of gloss, which is usually called semi-gloss. Colour photos usually look best when printed onto glossy or semi-gloss photo paper, while black and white photos usually look better on matte. It is also worth while creating and saving different profiles for your printer for each type of photo paper you use. This is because on some papers a printer may use too much of one colour, instead of correcting the colour yourself you can select a profile you created before. The cost of ink can sometimes be greater than that of paper. Purchasing brand name inks by your printer manufacturer is usually the safest option and will produce the best results. Remember that printer damage caused by third party printer cartridges sometimes isn�t covered by manufacturers. Some companies such as Lyson produce high end inks which in some cases are better than the manufacturers own. Archival qualities and resistance to colour fading is also important when choosing inks. For example pigment based inks help guarantee that your prints will remain crisp and vibrant for many years. If you are going to print a large quantity of photos it is also worth checking the prices of online printing stores to see if they are a better option for you.

Monitor and Printer Calibration - Calibrating your monitor and printer is essential when viewing and printing your photos. Your monitor could be displaying inaccurate colours and density. Adobe Photoshop comes with something called Adobe Gamma which will most likely already be installed on your computer. You can use Adobe Gamma to create an ICC profile which uses calibration settings to change the way your monitor reproduces colours. Start Adobe Gamma, located in Control Panel and then select step by step and follow the instructions. Daylight can affect the accuracy of colours displayed on your monitor, this is why its best to carry out your monitor calibration in a darkened room. The first and most important step in printer calibration is to use the correct driver for your printer. Every printer driver comes with its own calibration controls and tools, designed for fine tuning the overall colour of your prints. You can visual calibrate your printer using test images with a wide range of tonal values, including colours bars, photographs, and blocks of colours. You can then adjust the colours using your printer�s controls to match on screen with what you have in print. Alternatively ICC profiles provide a way to insure consistent colour reproduction. Every printer comes with default profiles for use with different combinations of inks and paper which may be suitable for your needs.

Digital Or Film?

For many, digital photography is a breath of fresh air, but be wary - believing our landscape images will be superior could be a serious blunder.

Having lost count of the number of people who have asked me: �have you gone digital?� I am always left wondering why it�s such a much-asked question. The camera is only a tool in which a photographer creates an image. His personal ability to create a unique image remains the same.

For many forms of photography, digital has long held obvious advantages, but for landscapes the resolution necessary to make larger prints just wasn�t available. But things have changed and digital cameras are fast becoming the tools that most pros use.

Modern digital cameras are perfectly capable of matching the 35 mm film - the format which most landscape photographers begin with. But can they really match the large format film cameras? This is probably the greatest question that all photographers face.

Instant LCD feedback is digitals greatest gift and this enables the photographer to check exposure and composition of their image in the blink of an eye. While this is a big advantage, the hours spent in front of the computer processing the raw images have to be a hindrance. A landscape photographers time is best spent behind a camera not in front of a computer.

The pros and cons of digital photography will remain an issue for some time. At the end of the day a digital camera won�t make a photographers images better. The same values we apply in our photography should remain regardless of which camera we use.

Good photography remains as elusive and as enticing as it ever was; going digital doesn�t change this or make getting good images any easier. It brings technical advantages, and plenty of them, but the majority of photographic techniques never change. Good landscape images come from the photographer�s personal ability, not the ability of a camera. The camera helps, but the creative eye remains the same.

As a landscape photographer I am still hesitant to embrace digital photography and all the qualities that digital has brought to other professionals in different photography fields.

There are a few simple reasons that I still use a film camera:

The authenticity of my images could be questioned if I used a digital camera. It is often assumed that great digital images have been manipulated.

Too much time is spent in front of a computer.

Slide film produce stronger colours than a digital camera.

There are many advantages for changing to digital but I�m going to stick with film; for the time-being that is. With time film cameras will be a thing of the past and all our images will be exchanged for the pixels. But, be wary - believing our work will be superior would be falling into a great trap. For me size matters, the larger I can print an image the better.

Beauty of Winter Photography

Gorgeous landscapes, early morning fog lifting off the frozen lake, the glistening icicles on the tree branches. Photography opportunities meet you at every corner.

When your winter vacation takes you to the secluded, covered in snow, corner of Ontario; and you just discovered that perfect winter paradise scene; now you want to get it on film, or store it for latter so you can plaster it all over your desk top... Or maybe your children build that perfect snowman and you need to make a digital record of it, so you can show it to their children someday...

There are countless reasons to take pictures in winter time. But heard the horror stories about the underexposed snow scenes, or foggy lenses...

If you are convinced that trying winter photography will only leave you with less then perfect prints, you don't need to worry.

The art of winter photography is no longer reserved for the professional, you too can have exceptional results with your digital or 35mm camera.

First things first, if you plan to take spectacular winter landscape photographs, you will need to get yourself ready for the cold. As with dressing for any other winter outing, it is best to put on layers, as opposed to one bulky piece of clothing. You can always take off layers if the weather changes.

Wear appropriate winter walking shoes, ones that will grip the snow and ice and not slide on it. We don't want you dancing on ice, sliding and slipping. You may not only fall, damage your camera but also become a suitable object for other photo enthusiasts out there. So lets get some good winter boots.

Other things that you need are warm hat and a pair of thin, warm gloves. It is so much easier to take pictures wearing a slim glove and not the fat, bulky one. If you wear thick gloves, it may be nearly impossible to operate your camera, especially if it is a manual focus one. You may need to take the gloves off, exposing your hands to the cold, winter air. Your hands will quickly become cold and stiff and the photo session will be over...

Since you are ready, now we have to take a look at your camera. First thing that will happen when you step outside, will be a fog on your lens. To overcome this, simply wait couple of minutes and let the optics adjust to the temperature. The fog will disappear with time. Please be patient and do not try to wipe it off. You may not only damage the lens, but also smudge it, so when it does adjust to the cold, the smudge will dry up and be impossible to remove on the spot.

Make sure that your camera is protected from snow and water. If the snowflake lands on your lens it will melt and smudges will form, just like described above. So keep your equipment well protected and covered, if it is snowing outside.

Winter photography requires an equipment that will stand up to freezing temperatures. The film cameras or SLR (Single Lens Reflex) cameras are better choice for outdoor, winter photography, because they have a much sturdier parts. The Digital Cameras may fail you in very cold conditions. You may avoid this by keeping the batteries warm or changing them for fresh, warm ones if needed. You can warm up the batteries by holding them in your hand, or in the car.

The winter landscape, beautiful as it may be, is quite tricky. It's just like shooting the high-key studio portrait. Majority of the landscape is white, the background and foreground are bright and the camera's exposure meter will tend to give you the wrong reading, resulting in underexposed shot. In order to avoid this problem it is a good idea to switch to the manual program and take the picture by overexposing it by one stop.

Sometimes the winter will serve up some gray skies and you may think that your pictures will look equally gray and sad. That may not be the case; you have several options in this case. The first would be to use the gray sky to your advantage, that moody color may add more character to your image. You will have a grater opportunity to showcase the full spectrum of the gray scale, visible in the winter sky. When you are finally tired of the gray, try to shoot from such an angle that the sky area is not as visible. Another option is to use a gradual coloring filter to visually change the sky color. Besides shooting the grey sky, you may consider other choices for your winter photography project.

If you have a dog, take it with you on your shooting trip. It may surprise you how playful dogs can be in the powdery snow. The picture of the friendly mutt's face covered with the white fluffy stuff will make your heart melt.

If you lucky enough to be by the water somewhere, make sure to take some shots of the frozen surfaces if it's a lake or maybe the spectacular frozen river scene with just a trickle of water coming through onto the cascading stones.

The country scene with a crooked, old barn surrounded by sparkly branches of low growing bushes covered with ice. Make sure that your scene composition is done in your viewfinder, so it is balanced and perfect, not on your computer.

With Digital cameras, and the flexibility of processing that they offer, you have the greater ability to choose the finished format of your photograph. The winter scenery may work well in the wide landscape format.

Other options for outdoor winter photography may include horses in the pasture, colorful birds at the feeder, wild animals in the forest.

Your children will provide the endless array of images that you can work with. Just remember to dress them in layers and let them have fun. Make sure to get down to their level, and get in close. If you are afraid to spoil their fun, or you know that they will be camera shy, step back, use a telephoto lens and a tripod for stability. The final results will be well worth the hassle.

If you are lost for choices in winter photography themes, you can always try the close-up shots. The beauty of the frozen patch of grass, sparkling in the sun on the background of glistening snow, may be discovered only through the viewfinder of your camera.

Time lapse still digital photography technique

Time lapse photography is a technique that allows to quickly and visually convey processes that take a long time in real life. For example time lapse photography can shrink to 10 seconds the complete process of building a new bridge. Although usually used in videos time lapse can also be used in still digital photography.

The idea behind time lapse is simple. You want to capture a change that usually takes a long time in real life. In order to accomplish that you take photos either every fixed period of time or every time there is some change in the real life process. For example you can take a photo once a week to document the building of a new bridge, or you can take a photo every time a new floor is built in a new skyscraper. When viewing these photos in sequence the feeling of the actual real life process and its magnitude is very effectively conveyed.

Time lapse photography is mostly known for such scenarios as the process of building bridges and buildings or the process of flowers growing. There are however other usages to time lapse photography that are more relevant to the amateur home photographer. Here are some examples:

Moving apartments: You can document your moving to a new apartment using time lapse techniques. In this scenario it is best to take photos based on events and not every fixed period of time. For example start with a photo of the apartment you are moving from. Then as you start packing take a photo every time you pack a box. When the movers show up take photos as furniture are moved away from your apartment. Do the reverse in the new apartment. Take a photo of it being empty. Then start taking photos as furniture move in and finally take photos as each single box is opened and put in its new place. Taking the time to take such photos can be a great way to capture memories for years to come.

Renovating your house: Similar to moving, renovation can be documented using time lapse techniques. Take photos as significant changes are made to your house. Take the first photo before any work is done. Then continue taking photos as renovation progresses, for example when a wall is taken down. Take the last photo when the renovation is completed and the house is ready.

People and kids: You can use time lapse techniques to document how your kids are growing up or other changes in people you care about. One way to accomplish that is by taking a photo of your kids every 6 months or a year. It is a good idea to take the photos in the same place and in the same position as it will intensify the effect of the changes happened to them over that period of time.

Your garden: If you are working on your garden, maybe planted a tree or some special flowers you can use time lapse techniques to document the progress of your work. Take a photo every fixed period of time, depending on the time it takes for the tree or plant to grow this can be a few days or a few weeks.

Professional photographers sometimes use special equipment that can automatically take photos every certain period of time. For most amateur usages manually taking the photos is good enough. Some things to care about when taking time lapse photos: try to take photos in the same time of the day and with the same lighting - this will intensify the effect as the difference between the photos will be mostly the changes that you care about and not other external factors like lighting that can draw unwanted attention.

Some macro digital photography basics

Macro photography is underused by many amateur photographers. Professional photographer use macro photography to take extremely high quality macro photos that impress their viewers. Here are some facts about such macro digital photos.

We have all seen macro digital photos even if some of us did not realize that they were such. The two most common macro digital photos objects are flowers and insects. But macro photography is not limited to these objects. Creative photographers take macro photos of objects that you would never think of - and create astonishing digital photos. For example taking a macro photo of a simple screw that is half way screwed in a piece of wood can be an amazing digital photo if taken using the right techniques of lighting and macro photography.

So what is macro photography? There are many definitions that can be used. The most intuitive one is simple: digital photos that are taken from very close to the objects. Another definition is digital photos that present objects in real life sizes when printed on a 4X6 paper. Yet another definition extends this to a real life size (1:1 ratio) or better (i.e. bigger than in real life).

Professional photographers use special equipment that was designed specifically for macro photography. Special lenses, lens tube extenders, flash units such as ring flashes and more are used. There is no doubt that such equipment can help specially in scenes that are hard to photograph. But even the cheapest digital pocket camera is capable of pretty good macro photography if only used right by the photographer.

Practically all digital cameras can be put in a "macro mode". Usually this mode is illustrated as a "flower icon" (probably because flowers are the most common object for macro photography). When you put the camera in a macro mode - the camera optimizes its settings for the best macro digital photo. If your camera allows manual control of some of its settings (like aperture and focus) you can improve the quality of the photos further more.

In macro mode the digital camera will set a wider aperture in order to achieve a narrower depth of field. This helps create a macro photo that is focused on a very close item with its background blurry. The camera will also optimize its focusing algorithms to focusing on a very close object. In fact in macro mode it will be hard to make the camera focus on objects in normal or infinite distances.

Some cameras also set the flash intensity to lower since the object is close less flash light energy is needed to light up the scene. Macro photography lighting is a complicated issue due to the close proximity of the object to the lens. A right angle, source and intensity of the flash are hard to achieve. For that reason it is always better to take macro digital photos in a highly lit environment like in daylight.

In conclusion - like most other photography techniques it is important to use macro photography in the right scenarios. It also takes a lot of practice to achieve high quality macro digital photos. For example if you want to get a macro photo of a bee on a flower - you need to learn how to lock the camera focus - press the shutter button half way while all the settings are set and wait for that bee to show up. Also take as many photos as you can so hopefully one of them will be the perfect one you were aiming at. Go out and start taking macro photos to practice your skills. It is a good idea not to limit yourself to flowers and insects, anything can be a good object, a nail, a screw or a piece of candy.

First Impressions and Your Brand Image.

You are in your best jeans and a clean t-shirt. But, you’re at a black tie dinner and you want to impress the CEO’s in the crowd. If you’re not a rock star, this clothing is going to seriously dampen your clout. Similarly, if you wear a tuxedo to a rodeo – you’ll be seen as a geek. Your brand image has the same effect - you need to match the look of your marketing to the audience you want to reach.

The written word is a powerful tool for promoting your business, and good copy writing is more important than ever. However, what you “say" can be tossed aside in your audiences mind if the “image" you use is not in sync with your words.

Consider the words which you want to describe your company and its services or products. There’s lots of words to choose from. Strong, vibrant, innovative, experienced, new, fresh, knowledgeable, daring, stable, healthy, independent, well-connected, high-tech, handmade, and so on. Grab your thesaurus and dictionary and come up with your own list.

Since marketing campaigns that try to “be everything to everybody" have a long history of failure, don’t try. Instead picture your “perfect" customer. Don’t worry about getting everybody because there are lots of your “perfect" customers out there, and even more people who want to be just like your perfect customer. So, picture this person and write down who they are: male, female, either, old, young, middle-aged, professional, unemployed, retired, rich, low-income, thrifty, luxurious. Come up with your own list. Now, grab the three words that are most likely to appeal to your perfect customer. This is your brand image.

Keep these three words as the basis for everything you do in marketing. You don’t have to use the words themselves but keep them in mind for your advertising, the look of your web site, the photography you commission, the way your staff answers the phone, your signage, the brochures you print, the layout of your store/office. If an aspect of any of your marketing is not in sync with these important words, you could be shooting yourself in the foot.

They say you have three seconds. That first impression is created by the look and feel of your marketing and is remembered more than the words you use. In learning, there is only a five per cent retention of the words which are read. There’s a twenty per cent retention of audio and visual content.

As well, if you don’t have a brand image that reflects the words you use, you create what is called cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is when an existing idea conflicts with a new idea, and the person rejects the new idea because of the dissonance.

If the look you use creates one idea (that first impression in the first three seconds) is different from what you are saying - is your potential customer going to pay attention to their first impression or the words you use?

Even if your words are brilliant and many people still buy because of them, what about all the ones who don’t buy.

The real kicker is that creating a unified brand image like this does not have to cost one extra cent on anything you do, outside of buying nicer clothes for the black tie dinner. You’re still going to have a web site, answer the phone, layout your store, print brochures, or whatever else your marketing needs. Just make sure they are in sync with your brand image.

Fifteen Tips For Better Photography

Keep an eye on the weather:
Weather conditions can play a big part in setting the mood of your shot. Rather than waiting for the bright light of the midday sun, a misty morning in a forest can be the perfect time of day for that mood-shot.

Take your time to choose the subject:
Take your time to choose the subject, then spend time walking around the subject looking for the best angle and lighting.

Take your time to set up the shot:
Don't be afraid to take your time to set up your shot. Although it can get a bit frustrating if you have your loved ones tagging along and they're sitting and waiting impatiently for 20 minutes for you to take a single shot of a piece of driftwood on the beach!

Don't always choose brightly-coloured subjects:
Subjects with muted colours can sometimes produce excellent results. A field of wheat of similar yellow-brown colour can produce striking results when accompanied by a low-sun and long shadows.

Movement diffusion:
If you have a camera that allows you to shoot with a manual shutter speed - try slowing the speed and increasing the F-stop. Then move your camera when taking the shot. Some very effective arty-type images can be produced with blur effects.

Overexpose your subject:
Not too good to do all the time, but experiment with results by over-exposing the subject.

Try macro photography:
Grab a magnifying glass and see if you can focus your camera through the glass onto a small subject. It just may work! And may open up a whole new range of subjects for you!

Shoot through wet glass:
Try spraying water onto a window, then take a shot through the window to a subject outside. (wet the outside of the window - not the inside of your home!)

Colour balance:
Try balancing colour by having subject and the surrounding detail in similar colours.

Silhouettes:
Silhouettes usually have a small range of colours, but can produce some of the most beautiful images. Shooting a silhouette involves having the background brighter then the subject in the foreground.

Experiment with patterns:
We've all seen those amazing images of the red and orange leaves of maple trees in the fall/autumn. Thousands of leaves - all of a similar shape and colour - but very awe-inspiring and beautiful.

Compliment colours:
Two strikingly-different colours can be beautiful too. Picture an image of your girlfriend or wife in a red dress sitting on a field of green grass. Or your boyfriend or husband in a red shirt walking through a field of waist-high wheat stalks. Complimentary colours that will bring more attention to the subject.

Use a colour filter:
If your camera can be fitted with coloured filters - try your hand. Although this effect can be made quite easily these days with photo and image-editing software.

Sunrise is better than sunset:
Wake up before sunrise one day and go on a photography expedition. If you've not done it before you'll be pleasantly-surprised by the contrasting light and shadows. But remember you'll only have a very short window of time in which to shoot (usually less than an hour) before the sun rises too high and you lose the light.

Use a flash in daylight:
Use your flash during the daytime to fill a close subject with light. This will produce better results where the background is brighter than your subject and the automatic shutter speed on your camera shoots too fast to effectively show the detail of your subject.

Three Tips for Trade Show Photography

Trade show photography has one of the largest formats of all photography. Because of this, the professional trade show photographer can magically make the client’s logo jump out on the trade show exhibit, have the trade show display look modern and contemporary, and can reproduce beautiful artwork in some of the biggest displays and settings that photography is used.

When you are planning to have a trade show exhibit, it is essential to pre-qualify photographers who have experience in trade show display shooting. Your photographer must be familiar with and can handle the demands of producing oversized, exciting, compelling and crystal clear trade show display images. The effective trade show exhibit professional photographer is able to capture very large photo images in a dramatic way. Ideally he/she will shoot with top- of- the line Nikon, Canon or medium format digital cameras that purposefully translate images to large formats.

Christian Tanimoto, trade show photographer, re-toucher, and graphics production assistant at Professional Exhibits & Graphics of Sunnyvale , California –a premiere trade show display company, says that because of the large size requirement, trade show photography must adhere to special requirements. He gives advice on the three most important ingredients for shooting trade show display images. They are:

#1. The size of the digital file is key--the larger, the better.

All photos used for trade show displays need to be on a file that is ideally 12 to 16 or more mega pixels. It is always best to begin with a digital file format in order to achieve a highly accurate resolution.

#2. Use an uncompressed raw file.

It is best to use a file that has does not need to be compressed so that you can have large prints that do not look pixilated. The images must look sharp. By using an uncompressed file, you will avoid the posterized or rasterized appearance. Your trade show display design panel artwork will be crisp, clear and have many levels of tone. If photography is not shot in a large digital format, the artwork needs to be converted from either film, slides, or negatives. The images then need to be scanned, downloaded and compressed into a digital file.

#3. Attach color profiles to digital files.

By having a large enough color pallet with a wide range of colors, you will be able to select and print true color. Accessing a color profile, the designer can interpret the correct color. You will then be able to accurately communicate color and color match your website and collateral materials seamlessly.

Eye catching, stylish trade show photography can be used on a vast spectrum of trade show displays-- from the small trade show kiosk exhibit to the custom free-standing multi-story trade show exhibit with integrated office, meeting room and theater arenas.

Trade show photography is some of the most exciting photography displayed and needs to always look beautiful and exciting, advises Tanimoto. This is equally true if you are purchasing stock photography for your trade show exhibit. Having a large digital file is the key, whether the artwork is used in a custom trade show exhibit, a custom modular trade show display, or a rental trade show booth.

Remember the above tips for impactful trade show photography, and you will have a breath- taking and beautiful trade show exhibit with exceptional graphics. This is true wherever you exhibit—be it the McCormick Convention Center in Chicago , the Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland , the Moscone Center in San Francisco , the Santa Clara Convention Center or the San Jose McEnery Convention Center .

Photography Poses – The Missing Ingredient

Slow down, soldier. Before you take 200 shots that seem great at the time, but then upon review of the final picture are less than what you expected, let's prepare. Prepare?!?! I'll bet you thought charging the battery was the hardest part of taking great photos, didn't you? Sorry to disappoint you, but if you want to improve your photo results 50% in 2 minutes, let's review some basic advice of the pros.

There are two categories of GENERAL ADVICE which applies, regardless of whether you're using a digital camera to take family portrait poses, baby pictures, pet portraits, group pictures, funny photos, or even maternity portraits. The first category is...

"Good Planning" Advice for Photography Poses

1) Prepare For The Event

Prepare for the event by thinking about every photograph you want to take and what kind of photography pose or poses you would like to capture. Consider who, where, how, and the type of environment.

2) Take Multiple Photographs

Take multiple shots of each pose (remember, digital memory is reusable, a.k.a. "free"). Regardless of what you say or do, people will blink. And don't count on spotting small problems on the tiny camera LCD screen (even on full magnification); which leads to...

3) Check LCD Screen

Check the digital camera's LCD screen for general framing of the picture, any movement, visibility of faces, and the histogram. Note that you can think up a fantastic photography pose; arrange everyone perfectly; and, have the photograph "frozen" (no blinking, and no shaking of the camera)...but, when you check it out in the LCD, you see 2 drunks fighting in the background! And, my favorite...

4) Funny Phrases

Have some funny phrases handy to use just before you take the photo. Don't use it when setting up for the shot. And, don't use the same phrase all the time. Throw in funny anecdotes, phrases, names, words that you know your family will find more amusing than "cheese." A natural smile looks four times better than a fake one. The second category is...

"Location" Advice for Photography Poses


Taking indoor family photography, is very different than outdoor family photograph (duh!). For INDOOR pictures...

1) Wide Angle

You will tend to use the wide angle more often than your telephoto setting. Pay particular attention to your "end people" (those farthest to the right and the left in your viewfinder), and verify there is enough space in picture, so that if cropping is required, the end people don't have to lose a limb.

2) The Flash

Flash considerations are critical. Do not be outside your "flash range." For example, if at ISO 100, your flash can properly illuminate 12 feet, don't attempt any photography pose that requires anyone to stand at 14 feet (unless, of course, it's evil cousin Ira who you want to appear in darkness).

3) Plan "B"

If you need to be further away than your flash allows, here are 2 things you can try...First, increase the ISO setting (but not so much as to produce to much noise), or second, move to a significantly brighter location.

4) Watch Your Background

If there are distracting features, change your settings to blur the background (see the Techniques page). The best photography pose in the world won't look right with a distracting background. And finally...

5) Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall

If there are mirrors or reflective surfaces in the background and you can't find a different location, only take the picture in such a way that the flash is not perpendicular to the surface, but at an angle (unless you want a nice photo of your flash).

Outdoor family photography has completely different issues. For OUTDOOR photography...

6) The Sun

Avoid photographing in direct sunlight, or in mixed light and shade, especially faces. Optimal lighting results from a slightly overcast sky.

7) Shade

When photographing in shade, use fill-flash (see terms) when necessary. And, really finally...

8) Beauty

If practical, take the picture at one of the beautiful natural settings near you. Imagine the result of a creative photography pose captured in a stunning environment. Can you say: "Over the mantle!"?

Digital Photography - Exposure Settings and Tips

Exposure is the amount of light collected by the sensor in your camera during a single shot or photograph. If the shot is exposed for too long a time the photograph will be washed out. If the shot is exposed for too short a time the photograph will appear too dark.

Almost all cameras today have light meters which measure the light in the given composition and set an ideal exposure automatically. Most people depend on the light meter which is fine, but if you know how to control your exposures you can get some creative and sometimes greatly improved pictures.

Aperture and Shutter Speed

The two primary controls your camera depends upon for exposure are shutter speed (the amount of time the sensor is exposed to light) and aperture (the size of the lens opening that lets light into the camera). Shutter speeds are measured in seconds and more commonly fractions of a second. (1/2000 of a second is very fast and 8' seconds is extremely slow). Apertures are measured in something called f/stops (a very wide aperture is f/2.8 and a very narrow aperture is f/19).

You might wonder why there isn't just a constant shutter speed or a constant aperture so that you would only have to worry about one control. The reason is that even though they both designate the amount of light getting to the sensor they also control other aspects of the picture. Shutter speed, for example can be used to freeze subjects in midair with a fast speed or it can be used to blur water with a slow speed. Aperture controls the depth-of-field which is what is in focus in the picture. Aperture can be used to draw attention to one subject (like the flower on the right) by blurring the background with a wide aperture (low f/stop). Aperture can also be used to focus everything in a picture with a narrow aperture (high f/stop).

ISO Speed

On most digital SLR's (Single Lens Reflex) cameras today you can even change the sensitivity of the sensor when collecting light which is called the ISO speed. The common span of ISO speed is 100 to 1600. The higher the ISO speed the faster the camera collects light but it also adds more noise to the photograph than the lower speeds. For example if your trying to take pictures in dim light without a tripod you might want to raise the ISO speed in order to get a picture that's not blurry. Most of the time you should keep it at a lower ISO speed if there is enough light, but it makes a big difference when there isn't. Different cameras make different amounts of noise in photos so I would definitely experiment with your cameras ISO settings so you will know what to expect when it matters.

White Balance

Most people don’t experiment with or use the white balance function on their cameras. White balance is simply a function where the photographer has the option of designating what parts of a scene are white so the camera can adjust to the other color temperatures accordingly. Almost all digital cameras today give the photographer the option of manually setting the white balance which can sometimes be hard if you don’t have a white or grey card. Many new digital cameras have a set of preset white balances for certain types of scenes such as snow or clouds. I have found that using the preset modes is almost just as effective as setting the white balance manually so I would definitely advise others to keep the preset white balance modes in mind when they are using their cameras.

Time of Day

The time of day is usually what determines how much light you are going to be working with. In the early morning and the late afternoon there will be less light than in the middle of the day. During this time there should be enough light for most kinds of exposures except if you are trying to catch an object in motion. If you are trying to catch sports photos or objects in motion you will have to adjust the aperture and maybe even the ISO speed (both of which are discussed in this article) in order to be able to use the necessary shutter speed. In the middle of the day (with typical weather) the light is very bright and you should be able to use any shutter speed or aperture that you want at the lowest ISO setting. At night it is a totally different story if you are not using flash. If you aren’t using flash and are taking photos at night probably with a tripod then you should set the ISO speed very high and you will need a very long shutter speed and a moderately wide aperture.

To become comfortable with exposure settings is a very difficult task. But if you master exposure enough to know what you should use for each scene, then you could become a much more professional photographer.

Chemical Element Silver

Silver, a chemical element, exists in the periodic table with the symbol "Ag" and atomic number 47. Silver is a soft white lustrous transition metal. Due to the fact that it has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal, silver is widel used throughout the world, used in used in coins, jewelry, tableware, and photogI'm sure if you looked you would have in your household several objects that are made of polished silver. For example: Silver dollars, or Silver cutlery, or photography equipment.

Being just a bit harder than gold, silver is very ductile and malleable. Because of silver's physical properties as a brilliant white metallic luster it can take a high degree of polish. Copper has replaced silver in several instances due to it's hire cost, this is especially true for electrical purposes.

Silver has a number of other notable characteristics:

- Silver has the whitest color of any metal

- Silver has the highest thermal conductivity of any metal

- Silver has the lowest contact resistance of any metal

- Silver has the highest optical reflectivity of any metal

Silver is stable in both pure air and water, but does tarnish when it is exposed to ozone, hydrogen sulfide, or air with sulfur in it. The most common use of silver is as a precious metal and its halide salts. This is especially true of silver nitrate. Silver is also widely used in photography, which has today, become the biggest single industry in which silver is used.

Top 10 Advanced Digital Cameras

If you’re an intermediate level digital photographer, you might be looking for a good advanced digital camera. I know it’s very tough to decide on which one to buy – given that these models usually cost a bomb. A good advanced digital camera should be pretty rugged and also give you as much control over the photography process as possible. I’ve compiled a list of the top 10 advanced digital cameras that are selling like hotcakes in the market right now.

Canon EOS 20D
The Canon EOS-20D is one of the best digital cameras for the advanced user. With an 8.2 megapixel resolution and a bewildering range of manual modes, this digital SLR will deliver professional looking photos.

Canon PowerShot G6
The Canon PowerShot G6 has a 7.1 megapixel resolution, a 4x optical zoom, as well as a wide range of scene modes and manual controls. Even though it lacks a digital SLR body, the images shot with this camera are nothing short of outstanding. It’s also one of the cheapest advanced digital cameras out there.

Olympus C-7000
The Olympus C-7000 zoom offers a 7.1 megapixel resolution and 5x optical zoom. It also boasts 5 scene modes and full manual options. A very attractive buy, although the optional lenses are not allowed.

Nikon D70
The Nikon D70 is one of the best-selling entry level digital SLRs. It has a solid design, a bewildering range of options, powerful speed, as well as great photo quality. With its cheap price, this 6.1 megapixel SLR is one of the best value cameras for serious photographers looking to upgrade their camera.

Canon Digital Rebel
The 6.3 megapixel Canon Digital Rebel is a direct competitor to the Nikon D70. It targets photographers at the lower end of the advanced digital SLR market. Its low price, excellent image quality and speed give the Nikon D70 a run for its money.

Sony Cybershot Pro DSC-V3
The Sony Cybershot Pro DSC-V3 is a decent advanced camera which is light and easy to use. With its 7.2 megapixel resolution and 4x optical zoom, it’s a great buy. Do note the colors can be a bit poor in some shots.

Canon EOS-1D Mark II
The Canon EOS-1D Mark II is a new digital SLR aimed at professional photographers who want excellent customization options, great photo quality and impressive speed. This 8 megapixel camera is high on my list of recommendations.

Olympus C-8080
With its 8 megapixels and a 5x optical zoom, the Olympus C-8080 represents great value for those hunting for a digital SLR. While it doesn’t sell as well as the Canon and Nikon SLRs, I think Olympus comes up with pretty decent advanced cameras too.

Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2
The Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2 is a hot favorite amongst professionals. From a feature and function point of view, it’s one of the best digital SLRs I’ve seen. However, the build quality lacks that nice and heavy SLR feel.

Sony DSC-F828
Featuring a whopping 8 megapixel image resolution, the Sony DSC-F828 comes replete with a powerful 7X zoom lens and great camera optics. Very nice camera indeed.

Conclusion
There are lot of cameras suitable for the advanced digital photographer, but the list above covers some of my favorites. I particularly like the Nikon D70 and Minolta DiIMAGE A2. One shopping tip to remember is that the camera above tend to be more expensive than the average point-and-shoot model. So do consider carefully whether you need to features before buying the camera. If you're just starting out in digital photography, you may want to try a simpler and cheaper model first.

Digital Printing vs. the Traditional method in photography

For the past years our technology has been continuously evolving and it has completely improved graphics, artworks and printing. This new breakthrough in technology has made printing affordable and easy to use. Printings for photographers have been made very easy and consultative. More photographers have switched from the old style to the modern enlarged printing with the digital use of inkjet.

Before photographers used to go through the process of scanning of the negatives from the pictures they have taken while the modern use of digital cameras are now taking it into effect to make perfect digital shots. This is the very reason more photographers have been switching to the digital age. Digital image printing is developed in corresponding softwares like PhotoShop, CorelDraw and may other softwares. But among them all, Photoshop is the commonly used software application to meet the standard and demands of clearer and precise digital prints. So it is now difficult for photographers to sell out the equipments they used in the darkroom.

With the growth of printing technology, there are also issues on the rise whether digital printing compared to the old way of printing is useful and lasting. Some have been pondering over that question. They also ask if digital printing will contain the same level like that of the traditional image outputs. For other critiques, they said printing in inkjet is printing sort of an imitation for the original because they are being printed with the use of ink while the old style contained natural mixture for photography purposes. But even with the advancement in digital photo printing, still others appreciate the old way of printing.

The issue of this digital printing has started when they began questioning if inkjet prints will give a long-lasting effect as that of emulsion printouts. They have questioned if inkjet prints will endure the exposure longer and still maintain its quality. But some have quite proven that the traditional prints have not lasted that long and have slowly been fading in time and also with the belief that there really will be no image to withstand a long period of time. Since the enhancement in digital technology is ever growing, questions and issues regarding its performance have been lessened for it has played its role.

Inkjet prints have contributed much to giving an eventual effect in the uniqueness of images. The printing of inkjets have divided tiny dots into the paper making it appear more realistic and attraction. This is just to say that these new printing technology has done their own way and part to the creativeness and finesse considering their own defined artworks.

The acceptance of inkjet prints has been very unpredictable. In some exhibit and art galleries, they allow the inkjet prints for their designs, but some ignore them. Some designers would still prefer the traditional emulsion prints to be part of their artworks. For those who rely on the digital printing, they rather use it for long and not switch back to the old method. It has been found out that in time, when digital printing will continue its rise in the technology, many will be clinging and will switch on to it.

The use of digital printing requires refinement with art skills and a little extra effort as that of the traditional method of printing. Accuracy and preciseness should be followed and maintained. To enhance printing abilities, the aid of Photoshop learning is very useful. It has been found out that the use of application of digital printing has made enlarging of prints and images easily which traditional printing cannot perform.

Dealing with the newest trend in the new technology of printing has been very time consuming and produce outputs faster but still these issues cannot be overcome easily. But no matter how these issues arise, it is still up to you to make a pick whether to rely and stay in the old darkroom method or advance your way through.