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.

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Consumers are clearly switching over to Digital photography from film photography in droves. All you have to do is take a look at the number of ads for digital cameras and compare them to those that you find for film cameras these days. It becomes very obvious then that digital photography is the wave of the future. What if you’re still using film to take your snapshots and photos though? Well here are the top five reasons that you should start seriously considering switching over to digital photography in the near future.

1. Perhaps one of the most outstanding features of digital photography that makes it so much easier and more convenient for the average person is that you can actually see the photo or snapshot that you just took in the viewfinder of your digital camera. This is an invaluable aid to help you make sure that you get the shot that you want. With film cameras, you have to wait until the film is processed and developed to know whether it actually got the shot that you intended. And by then, its usually too late to do anything about it. But a digital camera gives you immediate feedback and lets you see exactly the photo that you just took. If it didn’t turn out the way you want, just delete it and try again until you get it right. Now isn’t that easy?

2. A second big advantage of digital photography is the ability to print out your photos almost immediately. With film cameras, you have to take the film to be developed, and then go back to pick them up. Even with a one-hour photo store, it still takes longer than with digital photos. In fact, if you have a digital photo printer, all you have to do in many cases is just connect your camera to the printer and press a button.

3. Another huge benefit of digital photography is the ability to edit and change your photos and snapshots in any way that you desire. Because the photos are in digital files, they can be opened in photo editing software programs that let you adjust the image in lots of ways to make it better. For instance, you could crop out sections of the photos that you don’t particularly care for, or you could adjust the brightness or contrast of the snapshot to your heart’s content. There’s lots more that can be done with a good photo editing software package. And all of this gives you far more creative control over the finished product than you could ever get with film cameras.

4. There are lots of products on the market today that let you unleash your creative side too, and turn your digital photos into coffee mugs, T-shirts, greeting cards and so much more. You can make calendars out of your family photos if you wish, and all of this creativity is due to the fact that the files are in digital format allowing you to use them in a variety of ways other than just printing them on photo paper.

5. Finally, one of the great advantages of digital photography is the fact that you can quickly and easily share your photos and snapshots with friends and family no matter where they are around the world by e-mail. Try doing that with your film camera. Of course, you can have your film photos converted into digital format but that is an added expense that is just not necessary for digital photographers.

As you can see digital photography has opened up a whole new horizon for the average person, making photography easier, and letting then take much higher quality photographs at the same time. We hope you will agree that there is no better time than now to make the switch to digital photography.

About the Author

You can find out how to buy digital camera online and about digital camera technology by visiting our Digital Photography website.

One of the least explored creative uses of the digital camera is black and white photography. With a little practice in developing an eye for when it will be effective, taking photos in black and white can be a rewarding addition to your photographic repertoire.

The biggest problem beginning photographers have when experimenting with monotone photography is knowing how to look at a picture with grayscale in mind. Color tone, or contrast, takes on a much larger importance, since the ordinary color distinctions are lost. Training your eye to register color intensity takes some effort. To help speed up this process, use the black and white setting on the camera. Although there is no real advantage to this from the imaging standpoint, since even free photo editors admirably convert images to grayscale and sepia monotones, when you change the camera setting, the display changes, letting you actually see the picture as it will be. This helps to spot problems with color tones blending together, unwanted shadows, and other problems that wouldn’t be noticeable in color. Practicing previewing in this way can help educate your eye, and soon you will become aware of the distinctions even without the camera.

With the removal of color, the photographer must look at his prospective image with new eyes: Linear patterns and shadows can be much more striking in black and white than in color. Look for lines and shapes that define the images – photos that would be quite ordinary in color take on drama in monotones. The ratio of darks to lights (contrast) affects your shot more drastically as well. To create a delicate sense, you can fill the image with light area, creating an otherworldly look. A more somber shot might have a higher ratio of dark space. Experiment with mood – it can often be more easily expressed with the simplicity of black and white.

Black and white portrait photography can produce extraordinary results. The loss of color can mean the loss of many potential defects – blemishes, flushes, red noses and the like can fade away, leaving a more flattering shot than one truer to the real thing. Careful lighting can either accentuate features like wrinkles, or reduce them. Try to choose the lighting to help show what you want to say. Generally, it is best to fill the frame with your subject, unless there is something in the background that is important to the story you are telling about him. Remember, simple images are often the strongest.

Scenery photography can also be more dramatic in black and white. One of the problems in photographing distant points is haze that washes out the colors. This is no problem in black and white! Bring out nature’s drama by using light and dark rather than color. Anyone who has doubts about nature photography in black and white need only look at Ansel Adams’ work.

Whether you’ve tried monotone photography before and haven’t been thrilled, or it’s a new experience for you, you can learn to take stunning photographs in this manner. The basic elements of good photography are the same – composition, contrast, depth of field, focus, lighting, exposure, etc. You just need to learn to see slightly differently – contrast, lighting and exposure have more impact on the final image, and need to be considered more carefully. However, with some practice (and with digital film there is no need to be stingy about the number of exposures), someday you may find your best photos to be in black and white.

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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

04-28-06: The Shot, The Shooter
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 automatic exposure feature on today?s inexpensive digital cameras is often better than the auto exposure was on expensive film cameras 10 years ago. Advances in computers allow a very sophisticated auto exposure brain to be packed into a tiny space in today?s digital cameras.

But even the most sophisticated auto exposure features can sometimes simply make an error or read the scene wrong and set the wrong exposure. The exposure compensation feature of your digital camera enables you to compensate for these mis-readings by making your photos lighter or darker than you would get using auto exposure alone. Here are some tips for improving your digital photos by using the exposure compensation feature of your digital camera.

1. Take a photo and check the exposure ? After you take your photo, review it in your camera?s LCD screen. One of the joys of digital photography is that you can always lighten or darken a digital photo later using Photoshop or another kind of digital photo editing software. However, while you?re still on the scene, why not use the exposure compensation feature to make the correction in the original. Photoshop can darken a picture after the fact, but it can?t bring back details that were lost in an overly bright section of your original photo. If they got washed out when the picture was taken, they are simply not there to bring back.

2. Choose the camera program settings ? You can always use exposure compensation with the fully automatic mode, but there is a better way. If you want to maximize the depth of field, switch to aperture priority and keep the camera aperture small. Of course this will decrease the shutter speed to allow more light to come in to the camera. Be sure the resulting exposure will not be at a shutter speed of less than 1/125th unless you are using a tripod.

If you are shooting a moving object, you?ll have to switch to shutter priority and set the shutter speed fast enough to eliminate blurring ? usually at least 1/400th. Just keep in mind that, when you do this, the depth of field will suffer, so focus carefully on your main subject.

After you?ve selected aperture or shutter priority, take another photo and check the results. If the depth of field and sharpness are acceptable, now it?s time to use exposure compensation.

Most digital cameras allow you to increase or decrease the auto exposure setting by 2 stops in 1/3 stop increments. You?ll have to check your digital camera?s manual to see just how to do it. It varies by camera. Start by adjusting the exposure compensation + 2/3 or ? 2/3, depending on whether your auto exposure photos was too light or too dark. Take another photo and check the results. If it?s still not right, make an additional adjustment to the exposure compensation and try again.

Exposure compensation gives you much more control over the exposure setting so your digital camera. Just remember, once you go to your next photo taking session, to be sure to return the + 2/3 or ? 2/3 or whatever to -0-. Otherwise you?ll get exposure compensation on your next photos without wanting it.

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The exposure compensation feature of your digital camera can be a very effective way to correct the exposures you?re getting in your camera?s fully automatic mode. But it requires taking a series of photos until you have the exposure just right. Here is a simple techniques to take care of some common exposure situations that can fool your camera?s auto exposure system, without as many steps as setting up your digital camera?s exposure compensation feature. It may not work every time, and you may have to go through the steps of using exposure compensation, but it will work many more times than not.

Normally, to determine the correct exposure, your camera will evaluate the brightness of the entire scene you are shooting and will calculate the average brightness of the entire scene. This usually works in most situations, but if you are shooting on a really bright, sunny day, for example, and your main subject is in the shade, the bright sunlight can overwhelm the auto exposure feature, causing your subject to be under-exposed and too dark.

Almost all digital cameras have a feature called exposure lock. This allows you to aim the camera at one scene to let the auto exposure system calculate its settings, and then you can aim the camera again at your real subject and take a shot, while preserving the settings from the first scene. You?ll have to look in your digital camera?s manual to check how to activate the exposure lock on your camera, but for most cameras you push the shutter button halfway down and hold it there to lock the exposure settings.

For example, if a bright sky is making the scene on the ground under-exposed, point the camera down until the scene on the ground fills the viewfinder. If your subject is in the shade, point the camera at the shady area. Lock this exposure setting by pushing halfway down on the shutter button. Then reframe the scene to include the sky. This locked exposure setting may now over expose the sky, but your subject on the ground should be correctly exposed.

Using the exposure lock is a very simple technique to master that should be in the bag of tricks of every digital photographer. Happy shooting, and may all your photos be neither too dark nor too light.

This information is Copyright January 2006 by http://www.santaclausca.com and Loring Windblad. References for this article include the author’s personal knowledge and experience. Additional information references with first article. This article may be freely copied and used on other web sites only if it is copied complete with all links and text, including this header, intact and unchanged except for minor improvements such as misspellings and typos.

OK, you have read my article Digital Photography: The Basics, and checked out all the references above and their good information, and you are ready to decide on your new camera. The final pieces of choosing your digital camera are determining just what you are going to use the camera for and how much money you have available to invest in your camera. Your considerations should be 1) your purpose for using the camera, 2) quality of product (particularly the lens), 3) megapixel rating of the camera and 4) buy the best camera you can afford.

Are you really ready to buy just yet? Well, maybe, then again, maybe not? Your overriding consideration for this purchase must be quality of image. Almost equally of importance is your intended use. Are you going into photography as a professional? As an amateur? To make video records? Still image records? A combination of still and video? How much local processing will you be doing on your pictures – i.e., color corrections, readying them for internet use, putting them into just libraries or creating presentations with them? How many pictures will you be taking at a time; i.e., how much memory will you need for your camera before you dump the pictures onto your computer?

Do you need a video camera which will provide JPG stills? Do you need a video camera which will provide both JPG stills and MPG video as well as regular video? Do you need a still camera (JPG) which will provide you AVI or MPG video clips? Or do you need a professional quality SLR which will provide JPG still images only?

Simply saying “I’m going to get the best, most expensive, digital SLR I can find” doe not mean this camera will meet your photographic needs. What if you want, or need, both digital stills and digital video? Check both of my video presentations at http://www.santaclausca.com. Note the sound problems in the first one which has partially been corrected in the second one.

First, I am no longer involved in professional photography except coincidentally. So I guess that means “Yes, I am involved in professional photography” – at least as far as the above link goes, with my Santa Claus work. We started with my wanting a good quality 35mm SLR when we got married. And I replaced it with a better one a few years later. Then we decided we wanted to add video, and got a high-end JVC VHS camcorder, one of the new smaller ones. A few years into that and we decided to go with digital video. We went with a Sony TRV 140. It gives us Digital Video on Digital 8 tape; it also provides us with JPG still images in the 640×480 range at about 125 kb each and 15-second video MPG, both on the “memory stick”. However, the “quality” of the still images is the equal of a 2 to 4 megapixel still camera which produces images in the .6 to 1.2 megabyte range.

This was such a great improvement over the VHS camcorder that I purchased a second Sony TRV 150 a year later, which is even better in some respects. Image quality is very high. We can make a video and take still images without interrupting the video at all. We can make 1-minute long video MPG directly on the memory stick with the JPG images. And with our new computers we can take the video output directly off the camera and onto our computers in a digital video format.

I added a cheap Mercury 3.1 mp digital camera and it was nice but overall very unsatisfactory, and very slow recovering from taking a picture and getting ready for the next picture. I found a discontinued Minolta 2 mp digital camera for a reasonable price that actually took better pictures, had a 3X optical zoom lens (the equivalent of 35mm to 135mm lens on a 35mm SLR) and was not so slow on recovery and readying as the Mercury. It was also less susceptible to blurring if you did not hold it perfectly still – a better shutter action.

Later I found on an eBay auction a Fuji 2.2 mp digital camera which I accidentally won high bid on? Hah! That’ll teach me to play around with bidding on my account before I know what I’m doing. It could have been a financial disaster but I knew the price of the camera retail ($299) and the price I bid ($150) and I actually got a pretty good deal. Particularly when there were 9 others of the same Fuji model and none of them went for under $220 each.

I have learned some differences between my Minolta and Fuji. These include 4 AA batteries for the Fuji and 2 AA batteries for the Minolta. This boils down to a brighter flash and better flash results from the Fuji over the Minolta. It also makes for slightly less lag time moving from one function to the next and a faster shutter time (less delay) when you take a picture. The resultant pictures are about 865 mb compared to 675 mb from the Minolta. But if I need audio on the AVI video clips the Fuji does not provide it. I have to use the Minolta for audio tracks on the video clips.

I’m actually very satisfied with both cameras, and with the two Sony digital video cameras as well. And while the digital still image quality from the Sony jpg’s is very high, the 125 kb size does not allow printing of anything larger than 4″x6″ while I can print very satisfactory 8″x10″ pictures from both the Fuji and Minolta cameras. I have two 256 MB SD memory sticks for the Fuji and Minolta digital cameras, each of which provides about 285 pictures. Nice for trips somewhere. And I have a 128 MB and 64 MB chip as well.

As to the Sony video cameras, they do come in handy. We do most of our picture taking with the Memory Stick and JPG/MPG pictures and video clips. This is a lot of fun and makes for nice memories. A few times, however, I have been called upon to take videos of presentations, 1-2-3 hours long. The Sony video cameras come in very handy for those, too. But on trips or traveling around, my sweetie usually carries the Sony while I carry the digital and film still cameras.

We actually chose the Hi8 digital format when we purchased our Sony cameras a few years ago; were we to make the same decisions today we would simply go with the straight digital format instead of Hi8. For the Sony’s, we have two 64 MB memory sticks for the TRV-140 and we have two 256 MB memory sticks for the TRV-150. If we did no video clips at all the 256 MB memory stick would give us almost 2000 jpg images and make a standard 1-hour-per-tape home movie at the same time. Three hours of video plus 2000 still pictures would cover a very long trip.

However, when I really need versatility and the highest quality possible, I continue to use my 35mm Minolta film camera. It takes about 20 mp of digital picture to equal the quality of the 35mm film results – and we aren’t there yet. The last I checked we were at about 12 mp for digital quality. So I still shoot a lot of film; I just process it anymore by having it put right to CD in digital format, with no prints. I usually start out any trip we take with 10 rolls of 35mm film of the finest grain I can get by with – ASA 100.

So lets take one final look at the “image quality” question. 125 kb from the Sony, as high quality as the lenses are, simply does not compare to 675 or 865 kb from the Minolta and Fuji still cameras. Nor do they compare even remotely to the 925 kb pictures I get from the film. And that’s a bone of contention for me because 2 years ago my film pictures came back at about 1.5 mb each; then all of a sudden a couple of years ago they started coming back at 1.1-1.2 mb and for the last year plus they are in the 900 kb range? The quality is still good, but we’re dealing with pixels here rather than film grain.

If you have any kind of angled surface – i.e., any angle not either vertical or horizontal – you will have a low-resolution result. The reason is that pixels are squares. When my film (dots of color) is converted to digital (squares of color) I lose the higher resolution capability of dots to produce angled and curved lines.

OK, you say, I’ve got 8 megapixels. That gives me much better resolution than your 2.2 megapixels? Well, yes it does but not near as good as my film camera provides! Nor good enough to make 18X24 or 24X30 prints. 12 megapixels still only gives us high quality at 11X14 or perhaps 16X20. The reason is that as the little squares of color become visible they tend to blur the edges of angled and rounded objects whereas the dots from a film negative tend to keep those same lines sharp. So even though the film gives me higher resolution, the conversion to digital format costs me some resolution.

There’s one more important factor that goes into this matter before you decide on your particular camera needs. This is the difference between optical zoom and digital zoom. Let’s say that you get a camera with 3X optical and 4X digital zoom and they “sell you” on this model because it is “effectively 12X zoom”! And well, yes, it is “effectively 12X zoom”! But just what does that mean? Not all that much.

The optical zoom part is the only important factor. Typically a 3X optical zoom on a digital camera would give you a lens that corresponded to 35mm x 135 mm focal length on a 35mm camera – i.e., wide angle to short telephoto (actually what used to be known as a “portrait” lens). What the digital feature actually does is not enlarge your image but enlarge your pixels. This actually reduces the quality of the resultant picture because it is reducing the total number of pixels per square inch in your final product. The other downside of digital zoom is that you must put your camera on a tripod and make sure you don’t jiggle it when you snap the shutter – otherwise you will definitely get blurred pictures.

As you can see, choosing your camera or cameras to fit your needs is not all that quick and easy and may actually involve owning more than one camera. Maybe several cameras. But for your still image work you should choose a camera that has at least 6X to 10X optical zoom (totally disregarding any claims for digital zoom) and 4-5 megapixels or larger image. Also, make sure that the camera has a mike pickup for digital video sequences. You don’t need to use this capability but you can’t use it if you don’t have it.

So now you have your cameras and you need to know what to do with the pictures? Well, see my next article, Digital Photography: Using Windows XP (to manage your digital pictures).

About the Author

Loring Windblad worked as a freelance photographer for more than 20 years. He and his wife presently own and regularly use 1 VHS camcorder, 2 digital 8 camcorders and two digital still cameras. His latest business endeavor is at: http://www.santaclausca.com –

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Digital sensor is an important matter of consideration for a digital camera owner. The quality of the photography depends on the size of the sensor. The larger the sensor the better will be the quality of the photograph. This fact plays a vital role in choosing the perfect digital camera.

The size of the sensor affects digital photography

The final image is an outcome of the various pixels that are arranged by the sensor of the camera. Soon after clicking on the shutter button, the pixels start to accumulate the photons in a cavity. After completion of exposure, camera confines those pixels and find out the number of photons that are attached to each other. Now these photons are compiled in accordance with the levels of intensity. But all these can only give you a colorless image. There are some filters on the cavities that release the specific color of light into those cavities. All the contemporary digital cameras are unable to capture all the three primary colors. Only one of the three primary colors gets into each cavity. Thus the camera needs to estimate the remaining two colors to get the adequate information about all the three colors at every pixel.

Bayer array is one of the commonest color filters used in digital cameras and passes on all the information about different primary colors to each pixel. Higher or lower resolution of photograph depends on the array.

In a very precise meaning a sensor is a silicon semiconductor meant for acquiring photons and converting them into electron. The size of the sensor is, perhaps, the second most important thing just after the quantity of mega pixels. Though the size of the sensor has a huge range, generally it is of two basic categories. The sensor of DSLRs comes under the range of 24×16mm to 36×24mm, but it remains of the range of 8×6mm in the case of a consumer camera. The size of the sensor affects the performance of the camera and decides the intensity of sensor produced noise. Noise, actually, worsen the images of digital camera. If the sensor is smaller than actual requirement, then the camera is unable to capture the full view of the image. Fisheye lens can actually compensate this to some extent. But one, who really does not want to compromise with the quality of the image, should only go for the camera having adequate size of sensor. In case the sensor is small, centre of the lens captures the image. Since maximum portion of the image passes through the centre of the lens, quality of the lens becomes very important factor to consider. The quantity of light that reaches into the pixel is very less. Therefore useful image is only available after proper enlargement of the same.

There is a relation between sensor and crop factor. In this case, because of limited size, while using 35mm lens, the sensor crop out the inferior quality portion of the image. This is simply because the fact that the image passes through the centre of the lens in case of smaller sensor and the image remains sharpest at that position. The use of lens becomes a meaningless practice if the sensor of the camera is undersized. But a 2/3 or even ? size can give optimum output if it is used with a 35mm lens.

In upshot, it can be concluded that finding out a pixel pitch of a given sensor, while buying a digital camera can be tricky. However, one can seek the help of certain review sites that provide the information about recent models including their sensors.

About the Author:

OpenDP Digital camera buying guide web site. Visit OpenDP and get the hottest photography tips on shooting and buying guides on sports, portraits, weddings, birds and wildlife, underwater seascapes, landmarks, flowers and nature and more

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A three-day photography exhibition titled ‘Endangered Environment: Endangered Human Beings,’ organised by the Photojournalist Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd, ended at the National Press Club Auditorium on Wednesday. It was sponsored by Grameen more on this article

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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

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Starting out in digital photography? Then you’re right on track. In this article, you will learn about the basic tools that you need in order for you to start this enjoyable and challenging hobby – digital photography. Learning how to use a digital camera is not very hard, but you need to invest in time and practice before you can fully grasp how your digital camera works. Once you know how to operate each function in your digital camera, you are a step closer to taking quality photos.

Digital cameras used to cost a lot, but now there are many digital cameras in the market in all price ranges. However, you must remember that cameras that are not as expensive as other brands may not have a very good resolution, and some features may be missing. Higher priced cameras have enhanced features such as LCD monitoring, higher storage capacity and many others.

LCD monitoring is a very useful feature. With this enhancement, you will be able to preview the photo. This way you will be able to judge whether to take another picture until you are satisfied with the results.

It is also important to note the camera’s resolution. High quality photos require high resolution cameras. Low resolution cameras do not produce photos in large sizes. At most, it can produce photos with 800 x 600 pixel resolution.

There are other gadgets that you will need in order to produce photos in larger quantity and higher quality. You need to get familiar with photo editing applications. This will greatly help in improving certain aspects of the photo that you were not able to achieve.

You will also be needing a printer. If you are a hobbyist, you may be able to purchase an inexpensive printer that will give you the quality that you need. However, if you plan on going into the photography business, you need to invest on a high quality printer. This sort of printer may be costly, but it will help you produce high quality photos. You will also need to invest on high quality photo paper.

There are other tools you may need such as tripods, lenses, lights, cases and memory cards. These items can be bought at very affordable prices.

Now once you get these tools in your checklist, you are well on your way to starting you new hobby or photography business!

About the Author:

Luke Cameron is owner of Technology Booth – an online magazine offering news, tips and articles on technology related topics. His website can be found at: http://www.technologybooth.com

Digital sensor is an important matter of consideration for a digital camera owner. The quality of the photography depends on the size of the sensor. The larger the sensor the better will be the quality of the photograph. This fact plays a vital role in choosing the perfect digital camera.

The size of the sensor affects digital photography

The final image is an outcome of the various pixels that are arranged by the sensor of the camera. Soon after clicking on the shutter button, the pixels start to accumulate the photons in a cavity. After completion of exposure, camera confines those pixels and find out the number of photons that are attached to each other. Now these photons are compiled in accordance with the levels of intensity. But all these can only give you a colorless image. There are some filters on the cavities that release the specific color of light into those cavities. All the contemporary digital cameras are unable to capture all the three primary colors. Only one of the three primary colors gets into each cavity. Thus the camera needs to estimate the remaining two colors to get the adequate information about all the three colors at every pixel.

Bayer array is one of the commonest color filters used in digital cameras and passes on all the information about different primary colors to each pixel. Higher or lower resolution of photograph depends on the array.

In a very precise meaning a sensor is a silicon semiconductor meant for acquiring photons and converting them into electron. The size of the sensor is, perhaps, the second most important thing just after the quantity of mega pixels. Though the size of the sensor has a huge range, generally it is of two basic categories. The sensor of DSLRs comes under the range of 24×16mm to 36×24mm, but it remains of the range of 8×6mm in the case of a consumer camera. The size of the sensor affects the performance of the camera and decides the intensity of sensor produced noise. Noise, actually, worsen the images of digital camera. If the sensor is smaller than actual requirement, then the camera is unable to capture the full view of the image. Fisheye lens can actually compensate this to some extent. But one, who really does not want to compromise with the quality of the image, should only go for the camera having adequate size of sensor. In case the sensor is small, centre of the lens captures the image. Since maximum portion of the image passes through the centre of the lens, quality of the lens becomes very important factor to consider. The quantity of light that reaches into the pixel is very less. Therefore useful image is only available after proper enlargement of the same.

There is a relation between sensor and crop factor. In this case, because of limited size, while using 35mm lens, the sensor crop out the inferior quality portion of the image. This is simply because the fact that the image passes through the centre of the lens in case of smaller sensor and the image remains sharpest at that position. The use of lens becomes a meaningless practice if the sensor of the camera is undersized. But a 2/3 or even ? size can give optimum output if it is used with a 35mm lens.

In upshot, it can be concluded that finding out a pixel pitch of a given sensor, while buying a digital camera can be tricky. However, one can seek the help of certain review sites that provide the information about recent models including their sensors.

About the Author:

OpenDP Digital camera buying guide web site. Visit OpenDP and get the hottest photography tips on shooting and buying guides on sports, portraits, weddings, birds and wildlife, underwater seascapes, landmarks, flowers and nature and more

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