With digital cameras becoming the norm or even a fashion item more and more children want to know how to use and set up their new cameras. Digital cameras are easy to buy but they come with a manual about an inch thick and like most children, they put the manual aside and fumble through hoping for the best.

They can take pictures with their mobile phones these days, so how hard could it be to use a digital camera?

Unfortunately that’s the attitude and most miss out on how to change a few settings in their camera to get really great shots no matter what the lighting. Teachers are often at a loss to know how to take a class and teach a new technology that they themselves know very little about.

Digital photography is becoming more integrated with university courses. Having a digital camera will soon be like owning a calculator for the average student.

It is so important for a student to become proficient at the use of their new digital camera, as many lecturers are setting assignments that must have photos included, its just part and parcel of the new multi media revolution that is taking place at an enormous pace before our very eyes.

Knowing how to use the camera is half the battle, the other half is teaching students how to take photos that are aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

Most children learn better by being shown how to do something rather than reading hard to understand photographic books.

As their photography teacher goes through step by step how to set up and use their digital cameras, they learn key skills that will help them in getting the most out of their cameras.

About the Author

Sydney Pix is a professional photographer who teaches an 8 week TAFE course covering all the settings that a student needs to use their camera correctly. This course is now a comprehensive two DVD training course.

For more information go to http://www.profotocourse.com/school-photography-lessons.html –

After hearing of the Maryland Jockey Club’s decision to prohibit Preakness infield spectators/partyers/lunatics from bringing their own beer into Pimlico Race Course this year, we were reminded of an old polka standard, called “In heaven, there is no more on this article

Boise Art Museum preparator Ron Walker adjust the lighting on prints in the Ansel Adams exhibit at the Boise Art Museum on Thursday morning. At right is an 8×10 view camera, similar to the one Adams used for many of his photographs. But how about his more on this article

Riverside, CA, February 28, 2009 –( PR.com )– Riverside, California photographer Jes s Manuel Mena Garza will illuminate his and other documentary photographers works in a class offered Documentary Photography at the University of California at more on this article

Work on display by Elliott Eaton, Ev Bergeron, Tim Rogers, Parker Ford, Les Lindell and his students, Dan Armstrong, Berna Loy Ost, Joi O, Rabbit Knows Gun, Allen Knows His Gun, Joe Knows His Gun, Carolyn Stone, and Peter Reuthlinger more on this article

Whether your have a brand-new digital camera just out o the box or whether you?ve been using your digital camera for some time, it?s important to understand the camera?s various settings. No two photographers are the same or have the same thing in mind for the photos they are taking, so keep in mind what you plan to do with your photos. Will you just look at them on your computer? Will you only make small prints, or are you planning to make 11 x 17 prints to mount on your wall? With your final purpose in mind, here?s a checklist to go through to make sure you have selected the best settings for how you plan to use your photos.

1. Set the date and time ? Some digital cameras require that the date and time be set before you can use them. Others don?t. If you?ve already set the date and time on your camera, double-check that it?s current. If you haven?t set it yet, now?s the time to do so ? even if you have to carefully read the manual to figure out how. It is worth the trouble. This will not only provide a reference for you when searching for a photo. It will also make organizing your photos easier.

2. Set the image resolution ? Image resolution determines how sharp your photo will be, especially if you?re going to enlarge the photo. However, the higher the resolution, the bigger the file size of the image. A larger image size allows you to crop a photo and still have a decent file size in the cropped photo for a sharp print. In contrast, a lower resolution and smaller file size allows you to squeeze more photos onto your memory card.

3. Set your file format ? Even the most basic digital cameras allow you to change the format of the file your photos are saved in. Most of the time a .jpg is appropriate. However since .jpg is a method of compressing the original file to save space, some of the data is lost in the compression, which cannot be retrieved later after the file is compressed. The opposite is the ?raw? file format, which saves all the data from when a digital photo is taken. However ?raw? files are huge, so it?s usually best to shoot .jpg images unless you plan to process the image later with advanced digital photo processing software that can handle the raw format.

4. Set the IS speed ? Back in the days of film, you had to choose between high speed film, which allowed taking pictures in low light, but which produced grainy photos, or lower speed film, which required more light for a good photo, but was far less grainy. With a digital camera, you can make the camera simulate low or high-speed film. But just like with real film, a higher speed setting will result in a grainier picture. So be sure to use a lower speed setting like ISO 50 or 100 unless you are shooting in a low light situation.

So, in summary, take control of your camera?s setting and use them to improve your photos.

–

Taken with a 17mm full-frame fisheye stopped all the way down. What I didn’t realize at the time is that while I was composing this I became the subject of a shot myself…At home in my natural element. Kathy Porupski, one of my first students and possibly the busiest person I know, occasionally finds time to rip herself away from her hectic schedule and accompany me on a shoot. Children’s dance competitions are her bread-and-butter photography work but just like me she loves to escape to the wild places and shoot just for herself. This is an effective use of leading lines and of course I like her choice of subject matter. Kathy has a new website where she currently displays her dance photos for parents to buy and will soon be displaying some of her nature and fine art photos. Since I did the original design work for the site I’m more than happy to give it a blatant plug here.
Source: www.jrsphotos.com

05-09-06: Framed Again
Yes, I’m obsessive-compulsive when it comes to finding and shooting framed compositions. I discovered this one last week while roaming around Plant Hall in infrared mode. I almost didn’t post anything here today, my hands are pretty cramped after creating seventy-five pages of new shopping cart code for the latest event photo gallery. I don’t think this brave new world of digital photography is necessarily easier than film, its more a matter of a different set of skills and challenges. Some days I feel like all I’ve done is traded chemistry for carpal tunnel.
Source: www.jrsphotos.com

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.

About the Author

This article can be published and used as long as the resource box including the backlink is included. Mr. Haparnas writes about practical technology issues. Information about photography and photo prints is on printrates.com – your home for Sony and digital prints Ziv Haparnas is a veteran technologist. –

Taken with a 17mm full-frame fisheye stopped all the way down. What I didn’t realize at the time is that while I was composing this I became the subject of a shot myself…At home in my natural element. Kathy Porupski, one of my first students and possibly the busiest person I know, occasionally finds time to rip herself away from her hectic schedule and accompany me on a shoot. Children’s dance competitions are her bread-and-butter photography work but just like me she loves to escape to the wild places and shoot just for herself. This is an effective use of leading lines and of course I like her choice of subject matter. Kathy has a new website where she currently displays her dance photos for parents to buy and will soon be displaying some of her nature and fine art photos. Since I did the original design work for the site I’m more than happy to give it a blatant plug here.
Source: www.jrsphotos.com

The Darkness
The Darkness by Patricia Rodwell (c) Copyright Patricia Rodwell
Source: www.photogalaxy.com

05-09-06: Framed Again
Yes, I’m obsessive-compulsive when it comes to finding and shooting framed compositions. I discovered this one last week while roaming around Plant Hall in infrared mode. I almost didn’t post anything here today, my hands are pretty cramped after creating seventy-five pages of new shopping cart code for the latest event photo gallery. I don’t think this brave new world of digital photography is necessarily easier than film, its more a matter of a different set of skills and challenges. Some days I feel like all I’ve done is traded chemistry for carpal tunnel.
Source: www.jrsphotos.com

Itching to churn out photographic masterpieces? Then a digital camera is a handy and inexpensive aide to your photography cruises. Digital cameras combine a range of features to ensure that you capture the scenes and moments of life in all their stunning reality. But to expound a popular myth, a frightfully expensive digital camera is not a guarantee to skillful digital photography. Remember the phrase about the sloppy workman who always blamed his tools! Let the tips on digital photography come to your rescue.

Tempting Tips to Dazzling Digital Photography

Seasoned digital photographers are unanimous on one thing: they honed their photography skills mostly by tinkering with the camera and taking a whole lot of trash shots in the beginning. Thus after you have acquired your camera, fiddle with it to your heart’s content and snap at anything and everything under the sun. Tips to increase your digital photography proficiency levels include the following:

- Flip through the instructor’s manual and know your camera by heart. In particular, be aware of its potentials and limitations. For instance, most digital cameras come equipped with different scene modes to complement varying settings. A thorough knowledge about them will help you to come up with the optimum results.

- Pack in a sizeable memory card into your camera. This will enable you to shoot at the camera’s highest resolution and come up with top-notch pictures. Also think of the logic, if you have paid through your nose to get a 8-megapixel camera why on earth should you be stingy about making it go all the way only for want of a voluminous memory card.

- Most tenderfoots with the digital camera have a hard time with keeping the camera still while shooting. The result is pictures where the Leaning Tower of Pisa looks upright while all other towers look inclined and about to topple over. This is especially true when these amateur photographers are using their LCD for composing the photos. The best way to counter this is to take multiple shots with varying angles of a single scene. One is bound to turn out right. Practice will make you perfect.

- For acquainting yourself with the basics of lightning, you do not need to attend workshops and seminars. Just remember that if the sun is behind the subject, the photograph will turn out to be a silhouette and if you intend to capture the shot with the subject facing the sun, be prepared for narrowed eyes and a little bit unnatural looking photograph. An interesting variation would be rim lighting, wherein you can have the sun light up the hair of the subject from a side.

- Let not your flash shots be only flashes in the pan! Make it a habit to take good and discernible photographs in the flash mode and for this you need to stand a bit close to your subject when using the fill flash outdoors (most in-built flashes have a range of 10-feet or less). This way you can ensure an even exposure all the elements in the scene.

- Explore the Macro Mode and add a new, exhilarating dimension to your photographs. But as you maneuver this mode, it is important to remember that you are dealing with very shallow field depths. So focus on the part of the object that you deem most significant and let the remaining parts go soft. Sit back and marvel at the result!

- Be an actual part of the picture you are taking. And for this you need to use the self-timer on the camera, which just happens to be the most slightly used feature of a digital camera. A self-timer is also a great way of ensuring that there is no jerking of the camera while you zero in on the correct exposure parameter.

- Don’t always go by the settings that come with the camera. You will be missing out on a lot of exciting and visually appealing openings. For instance, the white balance setting is usually “auto”, but try adjusting it to “cloudy” when taking shots out in the sun. You will be amazed by the results, more precisely, the warm tones of the image. This is because the “auto” white balance mode leans on the “cool” side.

The road to National Geographic status photography is not easy. But these tips on digital photography will just give the impression that you have arrived on the scene.

–

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If you are interested in digital photography like me, then you will be interested in buying a handbook to give you tips and pointers. After all, who doesn?t want a digital photography handbook giving them good advice that they could use for the rest of their life? It doesn?t matter what kind of digital camera you have, these tips should be readily available in any handbook that you decide to purchase.

Any good digital photography handbook will have an extensive section on lighting. Lighting, as we know is one of the most important parts of any type of photography, since without light we would be unable to see the subject of the picture we are taking. The handbook should include tips and pointers on what kind of flash you may need for the camera. Yes, you may need a separate flash for the camera, even if you are not a professional photographer. It would also tell you the right and wrong times to use that flash. Nobody wants to look at photos that look washed out or too dark, so knowing when to press that button can be very helpful.

A good digital photography handbook will also teach you about getting your pictures from the camera or digital card and onto a piece of paper. Going to one of those one hour quickie photo labs is not a viable option for anyone who really cares about their prints. Think about it: the people who work at one hour photo labs no longer even have to take classes or seminars on photography like they used to do in the old days. Today, they just briefly cover the basic while training someone to work the lab.

Are these the people whose hands you want to leave your pictures with? No. A digital photography handbook will tell you what kind of stores and labs are best suited for people like you and me, or where to buy materials for opening up your own little ?mini-lab? in a closet or extra room in your house. Listen, I could go on and on for days on end telling you what a digital photography handbook should have when you are about to purchase it. But, eventually you just have to go out and buy one. Keep an eye out for these things plus things other things that you may or may not find important.

–

LOS ANGELES (AP) Time to brush off the tuxedo, yet again, for the Academy Awards. I’ve seen them at Grauman’s Chinese and the Pantages Theater in Hollywood, the Academy’s small theater in Beverly Hills, the Shrine Auditorium and the Dorothy read more

Around 200, mostly professional, photographers gather at the headquarters of the Metropolitain Police, New Scotland Yard, in central London yesterday. They joined together to protest against new proposed legislation that makes it an offence to read more

London, England (CNS) – British reality TV star Jade Goody got married to her fiance, Jack Tweed on Sunday after being told by doctors last week that her cancer is terminal. Goody, 27 tied the knot with Tweed, 21, in Hatfield Heath, Essex, east of read more

When digital photography began to appear on the scene, disciples of the film photography put up many arguments as to why this new phenomena was a ?nine day wonder ?and couldn?t possibly catch on.

While they grudgingly admitted that digital photography offers more options for creativity, they insisted that it could never be more efficient, faster and cheaper than traditional film photography.

It sounds ridiculous when you consider it today, but only a few short years ago you would spend fortunes on getting films developed. There were even a few people who had their own dark rooms and developed their own films.

However there is no escaping the fact that traditional photography has more or less disappeared from the scene and digital photography has scored a convincing victory. Let is try and examine the reasons that has brought about this dramatic turn about:

1. The overall cost of digital photography is so much less than film photography. For a while traditional film cameras were so much less expensive than digital cameras. Over the years the prices of digital cameras have reduced and their capacity has increased considerably, to match and master the levels of film cameras.

2. With digital photography you can take as many shots as you wish (within reason). Every digital camera contains its own disc. Depending on the size of the disc and the digital size of the image captured, these discs can hold up to 1000 images before they need to be uploaded to the hard disc of your computer.

3. After you have uploaded the images to your computer hard disc, you can browse them at will, and delete the less successful ones. You will not know if your traditional films shots were successful or not, till you take them for development. Also if you were to pay to develop 1,000 film photographs, it would cost you more than it would cost to buy a digital camera. That if you can still find a film developer who is still in business.

4. After you have scanned all your digital images, you can select a few that you would like to print out. Today you can printers for digital development that are high quality and relatively inexpensive, both to buy and cost per print. All in all so much cheaper per print than n traditional film, with the end product being of the best quality.

These are the main reasons why digital photography has become so popular and a hobby for millions who would never have been able to encompass traditional film photography.

–
Is Digital Photography Expensive?

 by: Jakob Jelling

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

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

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

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

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

By Jakob Jelling

http://www.snapjunky.com

Using your camera’s basic exposure controls does not have to be a challenge. Here’s how to use the aperture priority and shutter priority modes to take better photographs.

When you use the aperture mode, you control how large the lens opening is. With a small lens opening, you can have a very sharp focus on one object in your picture, but objects that are not the same distance from the camera will not be as sharp. That’s because of what’s called depth of field. In other words, at what distance away from the camera are objects in sharp focus. If the lens opening (aperture) is small, you have a narrow depth of field. If you’re photographing a flower, you may only want objects 12″ to 15″ to be in focus to get a super-sharp image of the flower.

If the aperture opening is larger, objects up close and not so close to the camera can both stay in focus (greater depth of field). At a large aperture opening, you might have objects in focus from 3″ to as far as you can see. To compensate for adjusting the aperture, when you increase or decrease the aperture, your digital camera will adjust the shutter speed up or down.

A small aperture and a slow shutter speed is great if you’re taking a close-up of a flower and want it to be extra-sharp. But if you’re photographing a moving object, you must have your shutter speed set fast enough to stop the motion. This needs to be at least 1/125th of a second if you are following the motion with your camera. This will put the object in motion in focus but blur the background. If you are holding the camera still and shooting a scene with motion in it, you probably need your shutter speed to be anywhere from 1/250th to 1/1000th. When the shutter speed is increased, there will be less time for light to come through the lens, so the lens opening (the aperture) must be larger to compensate. You can control the shutter speed in the shutter priority mode. Then the camera will adjust the aperture to match.

The best way to learn about how to use your camera’s aperture priority and shutter priority modes is to practice when you’re not under pressure. Don’t wait until you’ve traveled to an exotic garden to learn to photograph flowers or until you’re at a racing event to learn to freeze motion with a fast shutter speed. Practice controlling depth of field by having a friend hold up a sign with the settings you’re using. Take several photos with different setting. Then study the photos to see the results. If you’re going to a race, practice photographing cars on the highway, but put your friend in the foreground with a sign again showing your camera settings. This will give you a quick, practical education.

–

Digital photography is very popular these days. If you have recently shifted from film cameras to digital photography, it is essential that you understand the various terms and abbreviations associated with it:

A PIXEL It is the smallest part of a digital image. Pixels are combined with millions of other pixels to form a photo image. The resolution of digital cameras is expressed in terms of pixels.

The total quantity of pixels in a photo image is the RESOLUTION. The quality of the picture becomes sharper and better with the increase in resolution; more pixels mean better the quality.

One million pixels make a MEGAPIXEL. A picture with three or four megapixels will have much better quality than a picture with just one.

DPI (dots per inch) is used to describe the quality of a printer or computer monitor. Laser printers have about 300 dpi resolution, while monitors only have 72. Photo quality inkjet printers have a dpi of at least 1200 dpi. Here again, more the dpi, better the quality.

MEGABYTE represents computer memory. One megabyte equals one million bytes of file storage capacity.

JPEG stands for joint photographic experts group. It represents a format for storing images in digital cameras. JPEG files can be displayed easily on the Internet and e-mailed.

The digital files of all digital cameras need to be stored on a MEMORY CARD. The sizes of these cards depend upon the amount of storage capacity required. For convenience, buy as big of a card as you can afford. This is one computer-related storage space you?ll use all of, routinely.

LCD is an acronym for liquid crystal display. Most digital cameras have this feature so that the photographer can check the scene before clicking, then review the picture after taking the photo.

Happy clicking!

About the Author:

http://www.travel-outdoor-tips.com http://www.recreation-news-magazine.com

A few years ago I became interested in digital photography, mainly for web publishing and personal reasons. You know, how nice is it now to NOT have to deal with film, scanning pictures, and the costs of developing all of those “not great” photos that you didn’t know were so bad until you paid to have them developed!

A few years ago I became interested in digital photography, mainly for web publishing and personal reasons. You know, how nice is it now to NOT have to deal with film, scanning pictures, and the costs of developing all of those “not great” photos that you didn’t know were so bad until you paid to have them developed!

So, at the time I got my first digital camera a friend of mine was playing in a rock band, and needed pictures for their web pages and promotional printings and ads. When I first began to do their photography, I had NO IDEA what it all would lead to… and now I will reveal to you someof the MANY ways to make money, part-time, with your love for photography!

Now, at the clubs my friend’s band played in- a lot of the time they would be in a line-up of 3 bands for the evening, of which I shot live pictures of my friend’s band’s performance. Then I got another idea, I’m there already, usually to finish the night with the band, so I started to take pictures of the other bands. Afterwards, as they were breaking down their equipment, I introduced myself as the other bands photographer, and explained that I liked their music and look- and also took pictures of them also.

I got the names of the band members, jotted down notes about which instruments each one played, and then got a mailing address to reach them. I told them that I was going to print up some proof sheets and send them off to them… all were very agreeable and willing (and why not, it doesn’t cost them a thing).

Then I printed the proof sheet(s), and selected three of what I thought were the best- of which I made a little bigger on a seperate sheet and used Photoshop to refine and enhance the images prior to printing (all on my little ink-jet printer).

I composed a form letter that I could customize for each mailing explaining details like:

- The first proof sheet was all of the raw digital images

- The second one with the larger images was digitally self enhanced

- I would professionally print any pictures they wanted for XXX cost (considering mailing costs, printing costs at a local printing shop, labor for digital enhancement, and healthy profit margin)

- For any order I would give them a CD with ALL of the photos in digital form for them to use any way they wanted

- Add my contact information

- And finally my availability to book shootings with them in the future

Now I could personalize this form letter and send it with the proof sheets to the band, and when I would call them about a 8 days after I made the mailing to ask them if they recieved the proof sheets and which ones they liked (and I liked)- and I simply asked for an order.

It was amazing how well this worked, and I expanded the idea.

I would go to fund-raising events, marathons, special events hosted by radio station personalities… always getting the contact information for reaching whoever is in charge of promotions and following the same system!

As you go along, you realize some other benefits to you new “business”- like free admissions (and no club cover charges), press passes, exciting opportunities to meet interesting people and celebrities, discount drinks, and much more! It’s amazing what people will GIVE you, if you just ask!

Then there are the home-business tax deductions that are eye-opening in themselves!

As soon as you can, upgrade to more professional equipment so you can not only “play”the part, but also “look” the part. Print up business cards, and make up your own porfolio of your “best” digitally enhanced photos of all kinds of subjects and previous shootings.

Seriously, this could turn your love for digital photography into an exciting lifestyle and an income that could surpass your present one!

But then again, I know I have only just scratched the surface with professional digital photography, and I’m sure you now have just entered a “think-tank” that will spur many more ideas for you to make digital photography more than just a love. Make it a great life!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

–

Taken with a 17mm full-frame fisheye stopped all the way down. What I didn’t realize at the time is that while I was composing this I became the subject of a shot myself…At home in my natural element. Kathy Porupski, one of my first students and possibly the busiest person I know, occasionally finds time to rip herself away from her hectic schedule and accompany me on a shoot. Children’s dance competitions are her bread-and-butter photography work but just like me she loves to escape to the wild places and shoot just for herself. This is an effective use of leading lines and of course I like her choice of subject matter. Kathy has a new website where she currently displays her dance photos for parents to buy and will soon be displaying some of her nature and fine art photos. Since I did the original design work for the site I’m more than happy to give it a blatant plug here.
Source: www.jrsphotos.com

The Darkness
The Darkness by Patricia Rodwell (c) Copyright Patricia Rodwell
Source: www.photogalaxy.com

05-09-06: Framed Again
Yes, I’m obsessive-compulsive when it comes to finding and shooting framed compositions. I discovered this one last week while roaming around Plant Hall in infrared mode. I almost didn’t post anything here today, my hands are pretty cramped after creating seventy-five pages of new shopping cart code for the latest event photo gallery. I don’t think this brave new world of digital photography is necessarily easier than film, its more a matter of a different set of skills and challenges. Some days I feel like all I’ve done is traded chemistry for carpal tunnel.
Source: www.jrsphotos.com

One thing that both newcomers to digital photography and even more experienced photographers find most challenging is getting the correct exposure for their digital photos. One of the great things about digital photography is that we can use PhotoShop and other photo editing software to make corrections after the digital photo has already been taken, but it’s certainly better to get the exposure right to begin with.

Most people take their digital camera out of the box, make sure the exposure setting is on automatic and never change it. However, using all the settings on your camera is not really that complicated. It just takes a little information and some practice. Here are some tips for taking more control over your digital photos.

First, decide what you want to emphasize in your photo. That’s the object or area of the photo where you want the exposure most correct. Are you taking a digital photo of a child against a dark background? Do you want to be sure the child’s face or clothing is correctly exposed, or do you want to emphasize what’s in the background?

Second, choose whether you want the camera to decide on the exposure, or whether you want to make some or all of the decisions about exposure yourself. Most modern digital cameras give you a choice of exposure modes, including so-called programs. For example, there might be a stylized symbol of a mountain for landscape photographs or a profile of a runner for action photos.

If you select one of these modes, the camera can then use one of its internal programs to make decisions about shutter speed and camera lens aperture. The camera will select the settings the manufacturer has decided is best, on average, for these kinds of photos. The problem is, you may not be in an average situation for your landscape or action photo. If so, it’s time to get into a more lands-on mode, and take more control over how your digital photos will look.

In addition to auto exposure, nearly all digital cameras come with settings for aperture priority, shutter priority and manual modes. The aperture setting determines how large the opening is in the lens that lets the light through. The shutter speed is how long the lens stays open. The larger the aperture, the more light comes through, so if the aperture increases (more light), the shutter speed must also decrease (open a shorter period of time) to make a correct exposure. If you select the aperture priority mode and set the aperture you want, the camera will select the correct shutter speed. If you select the shutter priority mode and set the shutter speed you want, the camera will select the aperture to compensate.

Manual mode gives you total creative control. How to use manual mode is covered in another article in this series. Just remember the best part of digital photography is, if the photo didn’t come out like you wanted, you can always try again.

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Unlike classes you took in school, digital photography classes are not only interesting but also a lot of fun. With the wonderful, affordable digital cameras available on the market today, digital photography schools are extremely popular. They teach you all aspects of taking digital photos including instructing you on the internal parts and mechanics of your digital camera. This helps a student to choose the right digital camera when the time comes to buy one. Digital photography classes start with an introductory lesson that gives you a general summary of digital photography and camera setup, so you understand what a digital camera and photography are capable of accomplishing. These classes usually concentrate on teaching the student the important manual mode of taking photos.

To become a great photographer, a student must understand and learn skills that give them control over how their pictures turn out. Depending completely on built-in automatic camera controls, such as auto flash, exposure or focus, does not always give you the best digital photographs. Taking consistently great digital photos requires both aesthetic and technical mastery, composition and shooting techniques. You learn about the fine points of taking a photo, such as in-depth composition training and details. Digital photography classes also teach you about editing your photos and processing digital photographs. They take you through the process of accessing stored images on the memory cards, along with great PC editing techniques and tweaks that transform even an average picture into a fabulous work of art. You also learn how to turn your digital images into a compact file so you are able to upload them onto the internet.

Digital photography classes teach students hands-on experience, by taking you on outdoor field trips. You learn theory in class but outdoor filming teaches a person about lighting issues. They teach you all about night photography and the problems you may encounter. They also teach you how filters tone down and correct photo tints, when you take pictures in full sunlight. Your teacher helps you deal with any photography issues you encounter while on an outing, that might not occur when you practice in a classroom setting. They work with you in different settings and locations to help you fine-tune your digital filming, resulting in great pictures every time. Because there are so many things a photographer is capable of doing with their digital images, such as printing, you learn the fundamental and basics of getting quality digital prints. Digital photography classes are a perfect way to learn about the art of digital photography, become knowledgeable and take great pictures. If you find you love taking classes and learning about digital photography, advanced classes are available for students thinking of entering into professional digital photography.

About the Author

Terry Roberts is a professional translator and linguist, with a wide range of interests. To read more about digital photography classes – and about photography in general – visit his website http://www.photographyfornovices.com

Itching to churn out photographic masterpieces? Then a digital camera is a handy and inexpensive aide to your photography cruises. Digital cameras combine a range of features to ensure that you capture the scenes and moments of life in all their stunning reality. But to expound a popular myth, a frightfully expensive digital camera is not a guarantee to skillful digital photography. Remember the phrase about the sloppy workman who always blamed his tools! Let the tips on digital photography come to your rescue.

Tempting Tips to Dazzling Digital Photography

Seasoned digital photographers are unanimous on one thing: they honed their photography skills mostly by tinkering with the camera and taking a whole lot of trash shots in the beginning. Thus after you have acquired your camera, fiddle with it to your heart’s content and snap at anything and everything under the sun. Tips to increase your digital photography proficiency levels include the following:

- Flip through the instructor’s manual and know your camera by heart. In particular, be aware of its potentials and limitations. For instance, most digital cameras come equipped with different scene modes to complement varying settings. A thorough knowledge about them will help you to come up with the optimum results.

- Pack in a sizeable memory card into your camera. This will enable you to shoot at the camera’s highest resolution and come up with top-notch pictures. Also think of the logic, if you have paid through your nose to get a 8-megapixel camera why on earth should you be stingy about making it go all the way only for want of a voluminous memory card.

- Most tenderfoots with the digital camera have a hard time with keeping the camera still while shooting. The result is pictures where the Leaning Tower of Pisa looks upright while all other towers look inclined and about to topple over. This is especially true when these amateur photographers are using their LCD for composing the photos. The best way to counter this is to take multiple shots with varying angles of a single scene. One is bound to turn out right. Practice will make you perfect.

- For acquainting yourself with the basics of lightning, you do not need to attend workshops and seminars. Just remember that if the sun is behind the subject, the photograph will turn out to be a silhouette and if you intend to capture the shot with the subject facing the sun, be prepared for narrowed eyes and a little bit unnatural looking photograph. An interesting variation would be rim lighting, wherein you can have the sun light up the hair of the subject from a side.

- Let not your flash shots be only flashes in the pan! Make it a habit to take good and discernible photographs in the flash mode and for this you need to stand a bit close to your subject when using the fill flash outdoors (most in-built flashes have a range of 10-feet or less). This way you can ensure an even exposure all the elements in the scene.

- Explore the Macro Mode and add a new, exhilarating dimension to your photographs. But as you maneuver this mode, it is important to remember that you are dealing with very shallow field depths. So focus on the part of the object that you deem most significant and let the remaining parts go soft. Sit back and marvel at the result!

- Be an actual part of the picture you are taking. And for this you need to use the self-timer on the camera, which just happens to be the most slightly used feature of a digital camera. A self-timer is also a great way of ensuring that there is no jerking of the camera while you zero in on the correct exposure parameter.

- Don’t always go by the settings that come with the camera. You will be missing out on a lot of exciting and visually appealing openings. For instance, the white balance setting is usually “auto”, but try adjusting it to “cloudy” when taking shots out in the sun. You will be amazed by the results, more precisely, the warm tones of the image. This is because the “auto” white balance mode leans on the “cool” side.

The road to National Geographic status photography is not easy. But these tips on digital photography will just give the impression that you have arrived on the scene.

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So you bought a digital camera and now you want to start a digital photography business. With all the software for posting photos online, this makes a digital photography business more realistic today than ever before.

In fact, anyone who has, or is looking to start their own digital photography business can now use the Internet as a solution to selling more of their digital photographs. Digital photographs can be uploaded and you, as the photographer can sell your photographs to anyone with an Internet connection, anywhere in the world. This concept has greatly increased the digital photography business for photographers around the globe while increasing their sales in their digital photography business.

It does not take much to start your own digital photography business. In fact, you can get started with just a simple digital camera and an Internet connection and the desire to own your own digital photography business. For those who want to start a digital photography business can do so from their home. A home based digital photography business is ideal for college students, stay at home moms and retired individuals looking to supplement their income. In fact, a home based digital photography business is one of the best home based business one can start.

There are some things, however, to consider such as the type of business you will set up. Whether a sole owner or a LLC, you will need to know the legal aspects of setting up your digital photography business as with any business. Once you have all the legal aspects in place, the next step in your digital photography business is to start taking digital photographs, submit them online and start making money.

To learn more about the specifics of starting a digital photography business read on…