Sunday, September 30, 2007

Learn More About Digital Photography

Digital photography, as opposed to film photography, uses electronic devices to record and capture the image as binary data. It has opened up opportunities for amateurs to explore darkroom techniques which used to be reserved only for professionals with large amounts of money and experience. You are able to experiment with the camera settings, different styles of images can be tried out, and techniques improved all without the expense of film processing. Digital photography has also been adopted by many amateur snapshot photographers, who take advantage of the convenience in the form of sending images by email, placing them on the World Wide Web, or displaying them in digital picture frames.
Common Problems Associated With Photography:
Photography has long had its own language, and digital photography adds many new terms. Ever wonder what the difference was between a tripod and a monopod or just wondered what both of them do. Here are a few common terms and their meaning:
Image Sensors: Pixels and Image Sizes describe key concepts such as resolution, aspect ratio, and color depth that have a huge impact on your photographs.
Image longevity: Although digital image data does not degrade (film stock can fade), the media on which the digital images are stored can decay or become corrupt, leading to a loss of image integrity.
Image browser: An application that enables you to view digital photos.
Image editor: A computer program that enables you to adjust a photo to improve its appearance.
Digital manipulation: A digital image can be modified and manipulated much easier and faster than with traditional negative and print methods.
Say good bye to light problems:
Digital photography has made it possible to quickly and easily take a pair of images of low-light environments: one with flash to capture detail and one without flash to capture ambient illumination. Digital photography bypasses the physical world altogether and directly captures the light from a scene onto a light-sensitive chip and saves the image as a computer file.
Tools and Equipment
Camera equipment has made great strides over the past century in mimicking how the human eye perceives the three-dimensional world within a two-dimensional medium. Cameras with digital sensors that are smaller than the typical 35mm film size will have a smaller field or angle of view when used with a lens of the same focal length. Cameras with high mega pixel ratings take larger pictures with more detail. Cameras with a direct electronic camera-to-computer interface are preferable to those requiring the use of an external memory card.
Digital cameras now outsell film cameras and include features that are not found in film cameras such as the ability to shoot video and record audio. Digital cameras can be much smaller than film cameras of equivalent quality.
Junius Fullard is a dedicated entrepreneur that runs a site dedicated to Digital Photography http://www.jaysupdates.com/digitalphotography
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Junius_Fullard

How to Take Your Photographs To A New Level On A Budget?

Point and shoot digital cameras are great for the occasional family snapshot or the roadside landscape. But what if you want to expand your photographic horizons? Can your point and shoot digital camera expand with you ? No. These types of cameras can be very limiting if your desire is to reach new heights with your photography and expression. Point shoot digital cameras are difficult to impossible to shoot with selective focus, micro shots, and extreme telephoto photography (over 200mm).
So if you want to step out of that point and shoot digital camera but are having a hard justifying the cost to move up to a new digital SLR camera. Why not buy a used one? Getting good used camera equipment has been the cornerstone of success for many pro photographers who were starting out in the business.
Why a used digital SLR camera?
Well if you are like most people funds and budgets are limited. To maximize your investment in equipment buying a used digital slr camera is the way to go. Why a digital SLR camera rather than a point and shoot with a wide range fixed lenses? In buying a digital SLR you get flexibility and room to grow as you gain experience. One of the biggest advantages of most digital SLR cameras is that it lets you shoot your pictures in RAW format. This in invaluable when you are starting out and learning. Most of the major manufactures have stopped producing point and shoot cameras that can shoot in RAW format all together.
Who cares about shooting in RAW format I shoot in JPEGs?
In a nutshell image exposure control. Shooting your pictures in a RAW format produces a digital negative very much like a film negative. If you get the exposure wrong its OK, you can fix it on your computer using your RAW file with NO to very limited loss. RAW files give you at least 2 stops of exposure latitude, which is like shooting with C-41 film (Print Film) in the old days.
Buying a used digital SLR camera gives you the ability to change lenses and experiment with different lenses types, telephoto, Marco, and zoom lenses. This helps expand your creative possibilities. If your goals are to take your photography to the next level why not pick up a used digital slr camera? They are cheaper, sometimes 40% off the latest and greatest new models. Just look at EOS Canon 20D cameras they once retailed at $1400-$1500 dollars now you can pick one up for $400 to $500 dollars. This is a great way to break in at a lower cost, and advance your photographic skills.
Get the best deals on Used Digital SLR Cameras http://www.useddigitalslrcamera.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Scott_Karcich

Editing Photos for the Rest of Us

Before the digital age, photo editing was an arcane process, only performed by experts. It required exposure to chemicals, expert timing, and a lot of care. Now, however, you can use a computer program to easily produce effects that were a lot of work when 35mm film was the standard. There are a lot of different programs to choose from, for every price range and skill level. This article aims to talk about just a few.
In the arena of free photo imaging software, popular options are GIMP, Serif PhotoPlus, Paint.NET, Pixia, and ImageForge. All of these programs are available to the user legally and free of charge. However, some freeware programs are older or cut-down versions of software that's available for a price, so they may have limited functionality. Others are fully functional, and released under a GPL, or General Public License.
These programs, like GIMP, are volunteer-coded and supported, so there could be unexpected bugs or strange program behaviors. However, if you want a functional editor to help you modify and improve your digital images, but can't afford to buy a higher end program, these freeware programs are a great place to start.
In the arena of pay photo imaging software, there's a wide range – from programs meant to satisfy the home or occasional user, to high-end professional ones like Adobe Photoshop. At a retail price of $649, this is a bit pricier than most individuals can afford. However, Photoshop is well known for being the cutting edge of photo manipulation technology, so if you need its functions, it's worth the cost.
For the rest of us, there are programs like Photoshop Elements, the scaled down version of Adobe's premier photoeditor, which retails at a much more affordable $99, PhotoImpact, Digital Image Suite, PhotoPlus, Paintshop Pro, and Picture It! Ranging between around $20 and around $100, all these programs offer digital camera support, can import images from a scanner, and feature important tools. You can use photo imaging software to crop, resize, and rotate your photos, remove red eye, correct over exposure and under exposure, changing lighting and coloration, and even remove or add elements.
There's a photo imaging program for every user. Whether you're a professional who needs to work on photos and other images on a daily basis, or just a home user with some snapshots that need work, you'll have no problem accomplishing what you set out to do. Today, it seems inconceivable that photo imaging used to require so much expertise and so many chemicals. Now, simple photo manipulation is available with just the click of your mouse.
Learn how to easily or more elaborately edit your favorite photos at: http://www.photoeditingsoftwaretips.com Photo Editing Software
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rita_Lambros-Segur

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Start Your Own Photography Business From Home

Anyone with the right camera equipment, and the necessary skills can set up a home business, marketing photography. You need only to convert a room of your house into an office, and then you can work immediately.
With modern technology in the form of SLR digital cameras, you do not even need the room for a dark room. You need only to have a personal computer and a photo-editing program. The standard is Adobe Photoshop.
It is not necessary to clutter yourself with equipment you do not need. You can hire equipment on and when you need it basis. You have the freedom to work part time for a while until you can devote yourself full time to photography. All you need to be is a serious photographer. There are two types of photographers that makes their living from photography, the serious photographer and the very serious photographer. You can always bookmark this link and then you can quickly access just about all you'll ever need from here.
Whilst the technical skills needed to make a successful photographer have never been easier, other aspects have changed the business. The market for photographs of virtually every type has widened, the world seems to have an insatiable appetite for photographs. However the price has fallen as the marketing net has broadened. Photographers are needed in many more fields. For instance many people use car web sites, they simply did not exist ten years ago, and they sell their products as a result of photography. Cameras used by scuba diver’s are now an excellent quality, and whilst they are initially expensive, they have forged a new market. People celebrate special occasions more with photography, than they did years ago. The travel and advertising markets have a greater need for landscape, travel and nature shots.
It is now easier than ever to turn your dream into reality and create a worthwhile business out of an engrossing hobby. However in today’s modern world there is more to it than simply pointing a camera, and shooting a picture. You need to be aware of marketing techniques, and here marketing simply means transferring ownership of a product, in this case an image from a buyer to seller. You also need to be aware of any local gaps in the market in your local area. You should also try to be on top of your competitor’s prices, to undercut an existing photographer is one choice, but to neglect to value your skills and not charge enough to cover your overheads is another matter entirely. Remember this, its an important point.
Use your skills to the best advantage of the business and define what you want from it. Writing a business plan helps to keep you focused on the areas you specifically want to exploit. A business plan helps you to define your goals and strategies, it will be changed and updated, but it will help you, to keep things in perspective. You can then refer back to it when things become confusing or complicated. Everyone’s business plan will be different, as every objective will be different, but there are certain common factors that make up a good business plan which will help your business grow. It allows you to develop a professional attitude to your business, which not only helps you to increase your earnings, but also help you to finance your business.
For the photographer it should include, your business name, or your own, with full details of the proposed location of the business, a copy of your logo, as well as details of your copyright notices. What is the form of your proposed business (sole ownership, partnership, Limited Liability Company or Corporation). This should be followed by a table of contents, which focuses on a logical order. There are resources that will give you further details on such as profitable-photography.com
Included after this should be the type of business you intend to pursue, in a fair amount of detail, and it should contain the services you intend to offer. This section should include any future gaols or avenues you would like to explore, stating your clear objectives. This is so you can check at a later date whether your objectives are on course, or if you have got sidetracked.
If you envisage at any time you may need financial help, then you should include your personal business history.
You should also state a clear and concise marketing plan that should demonstrate how your business will differentiate from the businesses of your competitors. You should be able to establish whom your customers will be, as well as where your market will be, as in wholesale or retail or a combination of both. You should also be able to determine how long this type of market will be available to yourself.
The next section should clearly define your opposition, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. This should include the ways you may be able to exploit any gaps in the market in the specific area where you live. A section should follow this on how you intend to market and promote your individual services.
A financial segment should be included as to how you intend to manage the day-to-day bills of the business. How you intend to price your services, and what factors influence this pricing structure, which includes a section on your competitor’s financial structures. This means a fair amount of detective work as well as homework. Get your friends to ask from quotes from the local competition. Or try an even more direct approach, tell your competitor’s that you intend to start a new business, and that you do not want to undercut them, as this reduces the cake for everyone. They may well offer to help you construct a pricing structure that ensures everyone’s livelihood. It is in their interests to help. Not everyone will be cooperative, but it may mean you can get a truer picture of the market factors that govern your area.
Make a list of all the equipment you will need in your first year, as well as how and where you intend to purchase. Note any difficulties that may arise in obtaining your supplies. Note whether the prices of your supplies have a seasonal fluctuation, that may help you influence you when to buy. You should make a note of any local licenses that will be necessary, as well as any zoning restrictions, that may restrict the growth of your business. Your neighbours may not be thrilled at a procession of customer’s to your door, check whether they can restrict your services. Make a study of all your business insurance requirements.
The final segment should be devoted to how you intend to finance the growth of your business, as well as isolating what your financial needs will be. This should include a projection on your future earnings, as well as an accurate assessment of your outgoings’. This should be assessed on a monthly basis for the first year, and on an annual basis for the following three years. An important aspect of the financial statement is an assessment of the break-even point of your business, in other words the minimum you will have to take to pay your expenses.
The purpose of this documentation is to allow you to enunciate what the core elements of your business will be, in doing this it should help you to be able to quickly evaluate the success of your business objectives. If you are not clear on your objectives then you cannot possibly make a plan to bring about the success of those objectives.
Supplied courtesy of Roy Barker. Supplied courtesy of Roy Barker. Roy has supplied 30 tips for a successful photography business here . Of course, if you just want the focused nitty gritty but you want to ensure that your new photography business is going to be profitable first time round, then you should read Roy's guide - starting a profitable photography business. If you're just simply researching photography tips and forums try http://www.photography-business-tips.com .
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Roy_Barker

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Manipulating Your Images

Browsing through envelopes of prints fresh from the drug store and then tossing them into a picture drawing is not going to work anymore, thank heavens. As you begin to develop a strategy for culling, editing, storing, organizing and most importantly enjoying the mountain of images you will soon face, keep in mind that the goal is to end up with an effective retrieval system, not just a storage system. Never, ever edit your original images. Always work on copies. Archive the originals for safe keeping in their original format. Absolutely nothings gained by converting camera-fresh JPEGs to a lossless format until you begin editing them. Most digital photographs deserve at least a trial pass through your photo editors auto-balance, instant fix or general enhancement feature. If you are new to post-processing, you can begin to get a feel for what works and what does not by noting what adjustments your auto-balance made to the good, the bad and the ugly results. Even a suboptimal auto-balance result can be a good starting point for your manual adjustments. Most digital cameras come with computer software to edit and to organize your images. These programs will assist you in correcting and manipulating the brightness, sharpness and color of your photos. The possibilities for image editing and manipulation are limitless once you become acquainted with the program. With your software, you can crop the photos to remove unnecessary background images and focus on the subject of the picture itself. You can also adjust the contrast, brightness, and colors to make the photo more eye-catching and appealing. Removing red eye is also possible with these programs. Plus, you can enlarge or reduce your photos at the touch of a button. If your camera did not come with a program, you will have to go buy one. We recommend Photoshop. Its the most widely used program out there and provides you with lots of options when working with your pictures. Many experts say that you really should not stick to only the software that came with your camera. When there are so many different software programs out there, you owe it to yourself to play around with them and find one that will give you the effects you are looking for. What specifically are we talking about? Well, the photo imaging software can help you make your pictures look wonderful and you will be proud to share them with friends and family! Consider the following: First, cameras do not take square pictures, they take rectangular pictures. If you forgot to rotate the camera before snapping, its alright. Rotate the picture to the left or right by a 90 degree angle. In the rush to take a picture, getting the camera perfectly level is not always possible. That adds up to a photo where the horizon is slightly askew. What you need in this case is to rotate the picture a degree at a time. This feature is probably somewhere in the Edit or Image menus. Look for an option to rotate the picture and enter a small value like 1 degree to the left or the right depending on which way you need to adjust. We did say that cropping is a huge benefit with image software. When you took the picture of your daughter on the swing, once you view it on your computer, you realize that you did not zoom enough and theres more trees in the picture than your daughter. Use the image editors cropping tool to cut away the unwanted part of the picture and isolate the subject. In most programs, this tool is in the Tool menu and it might look like a picture frame. You will click on the image (after clicking on the Crop icon) and hold your cursor down as you draw inside the picture to get rid of the background and leave the subject intact. If your photo is too dark, you can adjust the brightness to give it some life. Try using your image editors gamma control. This is a tool that is designed to brighten the darkest parts of the picture without over-exposing the parts that are already bright. You can usually find the gamma control in menus like Color or Image. Using your cameras flash can sometimes cause dreaded red eye in your pictures. Many programs today have a one click correct of red eye. Look for red eye removal somewhere in the Effects menu. If your program does not have this feature, try zooming in on the subjects face and using a coloring feature to match the color of their eyes. When you zoom back out, you probably will not be able to tell the difference - unless you painted brown eyed Suzy,s eyes blue! You can also use image editing programs to add a caption to your photos. This is helpful if you want to identify the people in the picture, the location, or the date. Look for a text tool, which is often the letter A. When choosing a font, choose a fat one because skinny ones are often hard to read in a digital picture. If you want to e-mail photos to someone, be considerate to the recipient by resizing it. If you attach a bunch of huge 3mp images to an e-mail message, you can bog down their inbox with a huge file. The message will take forever to send and receive. The image editor will allow you to resize the picture - usually under the Image menu. 640 x 480 pixels is good for e-mailing. If your digital camera takes pictures at this size, you will not have to resize. Keep in mind too that some programs will automatically resize pictures that are being e-mailed - like Windows XP. Most of your picture files are given a default name containing strange numbers and symbols. Rename your files when you go to save them so that they are easily identifiable. Renaming will also help you avoid over-writing any files when you download more pictures. There are also some fun effects that can be found in software programs to make your photos more interesting. To add some spark to your digital photos, you may want to consider adding a stylistic border or edge around the photo. Instead of the traditional rectangular photo, artistic edges can make your pictures stand out from the rest. While many effects can be done with a lot of work with your digital photo editing software, some software packages can automate this process. Play around with blurring and layering. The best part about working with imaging software is that theres always an Undo button if you do not like what you see. Clicking on Undo will take your picture back to where you were before you started editing. Remember, though, we very strongly suggest that you manipulate only copies of your pictures instead of the originals. You do not want to take the chance of ruining the one copy you have of a cherished moment. You can also use this software to make a picture look old. How do you do that? Here is a step by step process: 1. Find a photo that works. Do not take a photo of your family next to a modern skyscraper. Great effects can be created with photos of country landscapes or of historical structures, such as cannons or log cabins. 2. Give your colors a brownish tint. If you have a color balance tool, you can do this by turning your reds and yellows up at the expense of blues. Or, if your image software supports duotone, give your image a brownish tone. 3. Reduce your images brightness and/or intensity. You want your photograph old and weathered and such images should not look bright and sunny. 4. Choose an Add Noise filter, if you have one, to your image. Most software programs should have this option. 5. Use your photo softwares Dust and Scratch tool, if applicable. 6. For a truly weathered look, see if your photo software has a rain, snow, or fog filter. Apply a few touches to the photograph to make it seem like it has seen better days. In fact, digital photography opens up a whole new world for your memory preservation. Consider scrapbooking to save your photos.
Author Resource:- For several years now, Jason has been reviewing hundreds of online products and services. Many consider his reviews to be very insightful and reliable. Visit his website bestcamerabargains.com
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Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Aerial Photography-A Great Perspective

I have been interested in photography for as long as I can remember. And have experimented with many different forms. Among my favorites are photographs that I have taken from a unique perspective such as a single engine airplane or glider. These are among my most fascinating accomplishments in the field of photography. And I have learned that aerial photography can lend some assistance to your personal creativity. History Aerial photography is defined as the taking of photographs from the air with a camera mounted or hand held on an aircraft, helicopter, spacecraft, balloon, rocket, kite, skydiver or similar airborne vehicle. Aerial photography is an important artistic and commercial skill, which was first developed by a French airman by the name of Felix Nadar who took his first aerial photos from a hot air balloon 1858. This new technology was first used extensively during World War I where in 1918 units in France took as many as 10,000 photos per night during peak activity. Throughout World War II aerial photos where used extensively for military operations to spy on the enemy and assess their installations and ground fighting capabilities. These photographs provided updated and realistic impressions of the topography as well as troop movement on the ground and potential targets. Once an attack against the enemy was complete aerial reconnaissance photographs were used to assess damage and to form an opinion as to success of the mission. In 1957, aerial photography reached new heights with the Russian's first satellite launch of the Sputnik. This was the beginning of satellite imagery. Then in 1972, with the first launch of Landsat satellites by NASA satellite imagery was sold commercially for the first time. Today's Uses There are many potential commercial and non-commercial uses for photographs taken from above. Today they are used for developing topographic maps, planning land use, archeology, production of movies, espionage, environmental and weather studies, commercial color advertising for magazines, billboards, posters and postcards, hobbies, and many other fields. The use of technology has also crawled into this field of photography. Advances in radio control technology have allowed for the use of aircraft models which are controlled from the ground to conduct low-altitude photography. This solution is primarily used for advertising and in the real estate industry to address safety regulations that prohibit manned aircraft from flying at low altitudes over populated areas. These radio-controlled aircraft work well in this environment and offer a low cost solution to the photographer. Public Domain Aerial photographs are considered public domain because the pictures are taken from aerial views which are considered public places. As a result you will find that there are many ways to view aerial photographs on-line. One of the most popular today can be found at Google Earth, which provides satellite imagery as well as aerial photos of the planet. You can actually use the service to search for places in a given area such as parks, restaurants, schools and hotels. It can also be used to identify the best routes for reaching a given destination. You can also view the aerial photographs from different angles by tilting and rotating them on screen. If you are interested in learning more about this topic you can browse through some basic materials at your local library or use the internet, which offers a wealth of information on the history, benefits and commercial service providers. Additionally, if you are just starting out or wish to expand your hobbies as a photographer just stop by your local community airport. There you will find a number of flight schools and other flight services where for a reasonably small investment you can enjoy a one hour flight and add many interesting photos to your portfolio. To Your Success as an Aerial Photographer!
Author Resource:- Did you know that you can continue learning about Photography for Free? Find out exactly how easy it is to improve your skills and knowledge and continue your photographic education at: Photography - For the Average Guy!
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