TIPS ON QUALITY DIGITAL PHOTOS

Photos that capture moving objects motion

2007-05-01T15:46:00.001-07:00

Still photography freezes a scene. A photo is still in nature but sometimes you would like to convey a feeling of motion to the viewer. For example when taking a photo of a moving car or a runner. There are techniques that can help you achieve that – here is how.
You have probably experienced shooting blurry photos usually as a result of wrong camera settings or the object moving while you were taking the photo. Such blurriness is not something you would like to see in a photo but if controlled some blurriness can actually be used to capture and convey the feeling of motion in a still photo.
Shutter speed is what determines if a photo is frozen or blurry. The faster the shutter the more frozen the photo is. The slower the shutter the more motion is captured in the photo in the form of blurriness. Open the shutter for too long and the photo will be completely blurred.
There are two ways to capture motion: to blur the moving object while keeping the background in focus or to blur the background while keeping the object in focus:
Blurring the object: Blurring a moving object captures its motion. For example consider a car driving down the road. If you freeze such a scene with high shutter speed the viewer can not tell if the car is moving or if it is parked. However if you use a slower shutter speed the moving car is blurred and the feeling of motion conveyed.
Blurring the background (panning): Consider the same car from the above example. Another way to convey its motion is by blurring the background while keeping the car in focus. This is much harder to accomplish. The concept is simple: set the camera to a slower shutter speed. Pan the camera in a way that it follows the car. The car stays still at the same spot in the photo. Then shoot the photo as you continue panning the camera to keep it aligned with the moving car. The result is a car that is in focus while the background is blurred.
What is the right shutter speed needed to capture motion? Unfortunately there is no magic number. The shutter speed depends on many factors such as the speed of the object, its distance and the amount of motion (or blurriness) that you would like to capture. As a rule of thumb shutter speeds faster than 1/250 of a second tend to freeze the scene while shutter speeds slower than 1/50 of a second tend to result in some blurriness. If the object is very slow you might need to keep the shutter open for even a second or more. If the object is very fast 1/50 of a second can be all that you need.
It is very important to keep the camera steady when taking photos using slower shutter speeds. Usually when capturing motion in such a way you would need to stabilize the camera using a tripod or by putting the camera on a steady surface. The exception is when trying to blur the background of a moving object – since you need to pan the camera to keep it aligned with the object the camera inherently needs to move. The movement needs to be in the same speed and direction as the object and only in that direction. Sometimes such panning can be done using a tripod that allows control movement of the camera.
Photos that capture motion are impressive. The only way to learn how to shoot such photos is by experimenting. Start with experimenting blurring the moving object. This technique is relatively easy and within a short time you will master it. Once you do try to experiment with blurring the background. This is much harder to achieve and can be frustrating at the beginning.

E-Photo Albums

2007-05-01T15:45:00.000-07:00

Grandma might be the one doing the whining, if you have just graduated but your happy pictures can only be found online. Printing out multiple copies of your digital images and then having to assort them, before you have to sit down to create a photo-album that included dates, nametags, and even exam notes, seems like a big hassle. But then again, sending only a couple of hard copies to your mom or best-friend for them to use and decorate their fridge area, will not bring smiles to that poor grandma who wants a chance to show how proud she is of your accomplishment and she also wants to feel special. So, if your graduation, bachelors, wedding, baby, birthday, summer, camping, pool, pictures are corny enough for you to share them with friends by uploading them online in distant servers, why not taking the same amount of time to electronically create a photo-album everyone will cherish for years to come?

It is about time we face it. Although the original idea of pressing some buttons to produce a clear copy of the digital images stored in a computer's memory seemed extremely hassle-free at the beginning, the truth is that the more you use your digital picture the more digital pictures stay in that computer's memory for a long time. But storing them in a hard drive at home or online, does not permit everyone that wishes to view them to be able to do so, since not everyone knows how to log on to the Internet, if in fact an internet connection is available, or how to view and download their photograph copies from your choice of online image hosting server.

As a result, more and more people have decided today to return to using more old-fashioned ways in order to present their choice of digital photographs to their beloved ones. Creating an electronically made photo-album and then sending its hard copy to the homes of family members and friends, constitutes a lovely and thoughtful action. In fact, by creating a variety of photographically embellished products, communicating feelings and thoughts is easily done and much less time-consuming. Interested individuals are able to upload their digital images to some of these online image servers (image banks) and then select and create their choice of personalized mug, book cover, bag, t-shirt, and of course, photo-album. Reliving the excitement one once felt, when the local photographer called to inform that the prints outs of that trip's pictures were finally ready, seems today to excite a great number of technology enthusiasts. With the ready-to-use image software of websites like Shutterfly, Photoworks, and Kodak EasyShare, producing a personalized photo-album version can be a fun as well as an instructive experience. So, get started by selecting your theme and photo-album design template. Choose colors, textures and captions if you wish and send your lovely grandma her much-deserved copy of photographs. You better hurry up as time is ticking and you will soon be picking up the phone trying to figure out how to answer those "you've-forgotten-all-about-me" arguments.

Creating Holiday Digital Photo Albums

2007-05-01T15:44:00.002-07:00

After wonderful holiday and other family gatherings,you need create photo albums, edit your digital photos, and then watch them on your TV using your DVD player. Imagine being able to show your friends and family all of your great shots in the comfort of your living room! Your whole family can enjoy this private photo albums.

This article will help you create your Digital Photo Albums yourself. These freeware or sharewares combine ease-of-use, power and flexibility.If you have older photos that are too delicate for handling, you can preserve the image forever on this software.

Album Creator Pro is a Photo Album product from firmtools, get 5 Stars SoftSea Rating, AlbumCreator lets you create online albums from your digital photos using unique and highly professional Flash and HTML theme templates. You can customize the existing templates, create your own or download additional ones. The software also includes editing tools to enhance your photos, remove red eye, adjust colors, apply watermarks and more. It supports EXIF data, so you add EXIF information as image comment or image title. Album Creator Pro includes a simple FTP client that lets you upload the finished album to your web site. You can choose between several Flash themes and a variety of HTML templates, each of them unique and sophisticated. Additional features include lossless rotation and direct import of photos from your digital camera.

Flash Album Creator is from dreamingsoft, Flash Album Creator lets you create your own digital photo slideshow and publish it as a Flash file on the web, or as standalone EXE file. The slideshow comes with a small navigation menu that the user can use to start/pause the slideshow. When used for web publishing, Flash Album Creator can also create the HTML page, including custom title and background. The result is an attractive Flash presentation of your images. The software can only handle images properly that are larger than 640x480 (most digital camera images are). Other can also be processed but may be stretched to fit.

PhotoAlbumStudio is from exapower, PhotoAlbumStudio allows you to manage and distribute your digital pictures. It provides an interface to catalog your pictures (jpeg and gif) in virtual albums that can be placed on your hard drive or burned on a CD (burner not included). Since the presentation is HTML/Java based, you can also upload it to your web site and offer it for online viewing. Each picture may be provided with a comment or a short story. A number of albums may be managed in the project or catalog - they are displayed on an initial index page, so the viewer can choose an album. A project may be saved for later editing and published on a local hard disk along with JavaAlbum viewer. No extra program installation is required to view the published albums. PhotoAlbumStudio is very easy-to-use, all you need to do is select the images to be included, and generate the nice-looking photo album.

Photozig Albums Express is a Photo Album product from photozig, Photozig Albums is the complete solution for managing digital photos and short videos in the desktop computer with web connectivity. Photozig Albums software is the ultimate digital photo album and photo organizer software for consumers, consisting of digital camera/scanner transfer, album organizer, picture viewer, image editor, slideshow software, generator of free animated screensavers, and much more. You can also send free online photo albums to the internet and email your digital photos to your family and friends easily.

Centico Photo Album is from centico, Organize your photos in rich albums that contain both photos and text. Ordinary albums that show only photos are ok, but not very interesting. By adding text directly inside the album you will create attention-grabbing albums that your friends and family will love to see. This is a outstanding way to immortalize your child's antics, or what happened during the vacation.

JAlbum is a Photo Album product from datadosen, get 5 Stars SoftSea Rating, JAlbum allows you to create nice looking photo galleries for the web. You can simply select or drop drag/drop folders containing images or movie files onto JAlbum and it will create thumbnails and HTML pages to publish your images as a gallery or picture slideshow. JAlbum also includes a small web server that enables you to share images directly from your PC, without the need to upload any files to a web host. The galleries are based on various template designs and appearance can be further customized by advanced users. Additional features include support for EXIF data, URL encoding of file names, style sheets, lossless image manipulation, optional Shutterfly integration, (built in FTP client, UPnP support, and more.

The Way To Imagine Digital Photo Frames

2007-05-01T15:44:00.001-07:00

Photo frames are becoming part of our life day by day, as the digital photography has taken over the classical one there was the demand for device that could show the digital photos similar to an old album. It would have been hard to imagine digital photo frames in the past, but not any more. With the digital frame you can save the pictures you want to display in the frames memory and after that, the pictures will be shown one by one, you practically create a slide. Another great advantage is that you can connect your frame to the Internet and thus download the latest photos.

I'm not going to ask you to imagine a digital photo frame, just think of the mechanism and the way it works. You are in Europe on a visiting tour and you want to send home the pictures you make, the only problem is that your parents can't handle a computer so you can upload your pictures on a specialized site. The frame will get the pictures from the site and show them immediately, so practically your parents will just see the pictures on the frame changing, without doing anything. You can also display videos on your frame not only pictures.

Another argument for having a digital frame is that statistically speaking almost 65% of the digital pictures are never printed, so practically having an external support to show your last taken pictures is a very good idea. Digital frames vary greatly in price, in quality and characteristics, if you consider in acquiring a digital frame take in consideration the following models, they are reasonably cheap, and offer a reliable quality. Those who imagined these digital photo frames knew what they were doing.

IMAGIN IM7MA 7" digital Photo Frame is a decent solution for a family that wants to display their photos but don't want to throw a bag of money on a digital album. The LCD has a 7 inch diagonal and a resolution of 480 x 234 pixel, it supports various card readers (SD,CF,MS), it can be connected to a PC using an USB 2.0 port and can play MP3 and MPEG4 files.

ASK Imagin DPF7J digital photo frame costs around $110 with all taxes, it has a 7 inch LCD and a resolution of 480 x 234 pixel, 262.144 colors 330cd/m2 brightness and 300:1 contrast ratio, supports many types of cards like SD,CF,MS ; it has a classical USB 2.0 connector and supports MP3 and MPEG4 file formats. It accepts almost any kind of memory sticks, all in all it representing a good solution at a reasonable price.

Photos that capture moving objects motion

2007-05-01T15:28:00.000-07:00

What makes a good subject to photograph at night?

2007-04-25T07:57:00.002-07:00

The night is a fascinating subject to photograph. It requires a challenging mixture of creative and technical skills. It's an art which can take a lifetime to master. But every step along the way is fun and enjoyable.
One of the questions I often get asked about night photography is: What makes a good subject to photograph at night?
Choosing a subject can be tricky for night shots. Often what looks good to the eye doesn't translate so well to the camera or vice versa. Only through trial and error will you begin to develop the knack of finding the perfect shot without using two or three rolls of film to find it. It is also important to remember that night photography in general is very technically challenging. Photography is literally painting with light, so when there is hardly any light to hand, things can get a bit tricky.
Generally good night shots are things like:
Streets either empty or full of traffic. There is loads of light around and many creative ways to capture what's happening around you.
Fireworks are a perennial favourite. More detail on how to be successful at this can be found later in this course.
Concerts and general nightlife scenes are also good because of the lights and the unpredictable antics of people. This is particularly rewarding in Europe where the city centre and entertainment districts are much more compact than those in American cities.
City skylines work well, particularly if there is a river or lake in front on which you can capture the reflections of the city lights.
Monuments and statues are often lit at night. The Washington Monument in Washington DC immediately comes to mind as a striking example of what can be done in this genre.
Industrial areas and factories, both working and abandoned provide hours of subject matter for the night photographer. It is difficult to resist the combination of strong shapes, floodlights and smoke.

Custom Made Photo Album: Create Your Unique Photo Album

2007-04-25T07:57:00.001-07:00

It’s a known fact the Photo Albums has been the gift of the century: from traditional to custom made photo albums. That’s because it is the safest gift option available. You just cannot go wrong when you give photo album as a gift. People often has abundance of photos, therefore there is always a need for photo albums.

Though an excellent and practical gift option, the enthusiasm for photo album gifts diminished. But this can be easily countered with a unique custom photo album gift.

You probably are afraid to tackle the challenge of designing a unique custom photo album gift. Many believe that they are not creative enough or just don’t know where to start. Therefore, I established four basic steps in designing a unique custom made photo album as gift.

Step 1: Establish a Theme. A theme for your photo album will help you immensely in creating a unique custom photo album design. The most popular theme for custom made photo album is Wedding, Sweet Sixteen, Debut, or Quinceniera.

When you combine custom made photo album concept with milestone events, the photo album gift is not only unique but very practical. The recipient of the custom photo album could group all of her or his photo into one photo album that matched the occasion.

Step 2: Establish Gift Recipient Profile. If you are designing this photo album for yourself, you can skip this step. This step is very important if you are designing custom made photo album as a gift. One of the major problems when designing a photo album gift is that people forget that they are designing it for someone else.

This is just a precaution to ensure that your photo album design reflects the sense of style of the gift recipient, making the photo album gift unique to his/her personality. Profile information could be as simple as their age, favorite color, or style.

Step 3: Select Your Color. Color combinations play a key role in designing a unique custom made photo album design. If the photo album gift is relevant to a party (e.g. Sweet Sixteen, Wedding, etc.), then you can use the motive color of the party. Otherwise, select the recipient’s favorite color.

Color combinations could make your photo album unique. After all, how many photo albums have you seen that has different color combinations? If you wish to use color combination for a unique photo album design, color wheel makes a great reference. Here are the basic color combinations you can use for your custom photo album design.

o Mono-chromatic color scheme use a combination of colors with different tones, tints, and shades from one color (e.g. blue, dark blue, light blue). This color scheme creates harmony and is perfect for conservative custom made photo album design.

o Complimentary color scheme is a combination of colors opposite of each other in the color wheel (e.g. purple and yellow). These two colors has strong clash, creating a funky combination. Perfect for absolutely unique photo album design.

o Analogous color scheme is a combination of adjacent colors in the color wheel (e.g. yellow and yellow-green; blue and blue-green). Analogous color scheme creates a warm look which is great for conservative custom made photo album design.

o Triadic color scheme uses three colors that are of the same distance from each other such as red-yellow-blue. I suggest you use this for a funkier custom photo album design.

Step 4: Brainstorm A Unique Photo Album Design. Now that you have a theme, profile, and color scheme, you are ready to create a unique design for your custom made photo album. Basing your photo album design on the profile from Step 2 would make your custom made photo album gift absolutely priceless and unique to the recipient. This step is important since it forces you to narrow down your design ideas into one unique custom made photo album gift.
These four basic steps will help you tremendously in creating a unique custom photo album gift that the recipient will fall in love with. It requires a little bit more research and thought, but you would be please with the recipient’s reaction.

Photography Lighting Techniques

2007-04-25T07:56:00.001-07:00

Lighting "maketh a photograph" - a very true and true to life statement, just as "clothes maketh a man"! Consequently if you are a photographer the importance of correct photography lighting techniques need not be overemphasized.

Light effects create prize winning photographs that the great connoisseurs of art crave for. The most relevant topic in photography is type of lighting and how to use it for the best possible result in your photographs. To make the subject easier we shall discuss four basic types of lighting and their conventional usage and constraints.

1. Back Lighting - One of the most popular forms of artistic photography is done through back lighting the objects. It can also be a constraint in case of normal photography when one wishes to capture lighting effects along with the subjects of the photographs like humans or other objects. Perfect photography lighting techniques are to be used in case you wish to capture the breathtaking effect of sunrise and sunset say on a beach with human subjects taking in that natural view! Of course, if one wants to take a silhouette and create a lasting effect it is necessary to compose the picture without any form of filters or flash photography. In contrast if one desires the entire composition to be evenly lit it is advisable to use fill flash equipment.

2. Side Lighting - One of the most common and popular artistic photography methods of illuminating the subject, object, and the background to give really stunning effects! Many systems are possible and these photography lighting techniques can offer a true art form when properly implemented. Half lit and half dark (kind of eclipse effect!) photographs give uncanny but thrilling effects to your hobby. Allowing light to fall from the side and casting a shadow on the opposite side can enhance features if a close up is contemplated. Special portraits are taken with side lighting to emphasize the right or left features of a human form and give depth to an object like flower vases, round objects etc. Photography lighting techniques using the side illumination effect are used for depicting texture and somehow also gives a three dimensional effect.

3. Artificial Lighting - Most indoor photography is carried out with artificial lighting and in this art form - the sky is the limit! Your passport or marriage proposal photograph is normally taken in artificial light. However, for artistic photography, artificial light needs to be well arranged to avoid undesirable effects such as red eye, yellow tinge, and a harsh environment.

4. Diffused Lights - Most important and most natural photography lighting techniques are with the use of diffused light systems. For many photo compositions it is necessary to avoid direct light from falling on the subjects or objects. In case of outdoor photography one must choose the right time of day to take a snap. Sunrise, sunset and mid day sunlight can be too harsh for a proper picture to be snapped. The use of suitable filters is advised to avoid hot spots and create a mush smoother lighting effect.

Though there are many other photography lighting techniques available in the market, the above four basic systems give a fair idea on the effect of illumination in the photographic profession.

Taking good digital photos of people faces

2007-04-25T07:55:00.000-07:00

Taking a really good digital photo of someone face can be very impressive. Accomplishing such high quality with face photos is hard. There are many things to consider such as shooting angle, lighting conditions, flash usage and background handling. Here are some tips and ideas to help you achieve better face photos.
Following is a list of things to consider when taking such face digital photos. As always it is better to experiment and try out the concepts described here in order to get a better grasp of why they are important and how they can be used to your benefit.
The right background: A face photo is as the name says all about the person face. You would like the digital photo viewer to focus on the face. By choosing the wrong background you might draw the viewer attention to other objects rather than the person face. The right background on the other hand can focus the view attention on the person face and at the same time also emphasize some of the face characteristics. It is best to pick a neutral background that does not attract attention. A soft solid color background for example is much better than a busy street background. It is also good practice to avoid having people or other moving or interesting objects in the background.
Blurring the background: you can use another technique in order to make sure that the person face stands out in the photo. This technique involves blurring the background. By blurring the background you send a message to the viewer that the background is not important and you emphasize the face as the only in-focus object in the photo. Blurring the background can be achieved by taking a photo using a shallow depth of field. Shallow depth of field is accomplished by using a zoom lens and shooting from a short distance or by setting a wide aperture. If your camera does not allow you to blur the photo by setting a shallow depth of field (it is hard to achieve such a depth of field with low-end pocket cameras) you can always blur the background later on using photo processing software on your computer.
The eyes are the center: focusing on the person face is best achieved by actually focusing on the person eyes. The eye are the most important part of the person face in the photo and usually express the most emotions and human touch. Try to play around with the person looking straight to the camera or sideways focusing on some other object. A smile is also recommended unless you are specifically looking for a face that does not smile in order to send some message to the viewer.
Lighting: capturing the face skin color is mostly a matter of using the right lighting. The best lighting is natural lighting. Taking face photos outdoors during the day is good practice in order to capture the skin color and warmth. When using outdoors natural light position the person in a way that the sun light hits it from the side. Do not take face photo with the sun behind the person or right in front as these will result in shadings or overexposure respectively. With lighting coming from the side some shades might appear on the person face, to compensate for these simply use a soft fill-in flash. If you must shoot indoors and use artificial lighting try to use indirect light sources such as bounce flash or lights that illuminate the room instead of directly shining on the person.

8 Tips For Protecting A Digital Camera's Memory Card

2007-04-25T07:54:00.002-07:00

The way that memory cards for your digital camera are handled, used, and stored can greatly influence the length of their useful life and dependability. Observing a few precautions can be the difference between the disappointment of lost images and the pleasure of having pictures with which to reminisce.

Avoid physically damaging memory cards:

• avoid exposure to direct sunlight and temperature extremes

• protect memory cards from exposure to moisture and store in a low humidity environment

• do not write or put stickers on the cards

• store cards in a protective case or leave them in the camera to avoid accidentally breaking them or getting dirt or dust on them

Protect memory cards through proper use:

• keep the batteries of the digital camera fully charged to assure they don't fail while shooting pictures as a failure may result in lost images and permanent damage to the card

• be sure data has been saved, the process completed, before removing the card from the camera or card reader; it's best to turn the digital camera off before removing the card

• move images to the computer to edit rather than editing photos on the card itself

• delete images and re-format the card in the digital camera after downloading on a regular basis

Although the failure of a digital camera's memory card is a rare occurrence, the results can feel tragic nonetheless. Observing manufacturer's guidelines and some of the precautions reviewed above can help to circumvent the unnecessary loss of photographs.

So many digital cameras: finding the one that's right for you

2007-04-25T07:54:00.001-07:00

How much do I have to pay?
First on most people's minds is cost. Digital sounds expensive, but it's not anymore. There are cameras with terrific features available for as little as $100-perfect starter cameras, or great for kids.

Of course, you can spend more than that-as much as several thousand for the most advanced digital single lens reflex (DSLR) cameras. However, unless you are a professional who needs interchangeable lenses and manual everything, you can get a great camera for between $150 and $400. It all depends on what you want to do with your camera and your photos.

What is a megapixel and how many do I need?
Digital photos are made up of pixels, which is computer-speak for "picture element." Get a thousand of these little squares together and you have a megapixel-MP for short. Every digital camera you consider will have a number of megapixels associated with it, but higher isn't necessarily better.

Megapixels affect the resolution of your digital photos-that is, the potential clarity of the photos. If you choose a camera with a high number, for instance, 10 MP, you'll get rich, detailed photos, perfect for making large prints. Or you could crop your picture and enlarge a section into its own photo without losing clarity.

That sounds good, right? The downside is that the larger the photo resolution, the more space it will take on a memory card, so you won't be able to take as many photos unless you carry extra storage.

TIP: If you don't need to make large prints, but do want to print standard sizes like 4" x 6" or 5" x 7", or e-mail or post your photos online, a camera with 5-6 megapixels will work well for you.

How much control will I have over camera settings?
The short answer is, as much or as little as you want-often on the same camera. Many digital cameras let you choose the level of control, from fully automatic, where the camera makes all decisions, to the completely manual, where you run the show.

In between those options are helpful pre-set shooting modes. These make it easy to take clear, well exposed pictures under a variety of settings-in bright sun, at night, during a sporting event, at the theater. Another fun feature is the ability to change pictures to black and white or sepia, adding versatility. Beyond that, some cameras help you prevent red-eye and other common problems.

TIP: Compare shooting modes and design features when you shop. Look for common ones, like Landscape, Portrait, and Action. Then see if there are others-Night or Snow mode, for example.

If you want more control of your digital camera's variables, you can have that too. In addition to the pre-sets, many cameras, especially in the middle and upper end of the price range, let you go manual, and set aperture, shutter speed and ISO yourself-or set one manually and have the camera choose the best settings for the other elements.

It's fun to play with these different options and see how your pictures change. And one great thing about digital photos is that, if your experiment isn't successful, you can delete the photo and take another.

What is the difference between optical and digital zoom?
Optical zoom is how far your camera's lens can physically extend from the camera body (its focal length). It lets you get closer to your subject without actually moving, and without your photo becoming blocky or pixelated.

Digital zoom stretches your camera's pixels to make a photo look bigger-similar to cropping a photo and enlarging it, but it happens right in the camera.

Digital cameras will often show you a combined optical and digital zoom. They get this by multiplying the two numbers together. For example, a camera with 3x optical zoom and 8x digital zoom will have a total zoom of 24x.

TIP: Pay most attention to the optical zoom, as it will result in clearer close up photos.

What about the camera size-is heavier better?
Digital cameras are built to endure plenty, so choose the style that suits your needs. A slim, small model is handy because it fits easily into a purse or pocket, making it a no-brainer to take along on family excursions or trips.

Slightly larger models offer some helpful features, too, like a bigger LCD screen for taking and viewing photos, and often more manual control.

Go a little bigger still, and your digital camera may also have a more powerful zoom lens, helpful for getting shots at the soccer match, or architectural details of the castle you saw on your trip to Italy.

What other equipment will I need?
Batteries: Some digital cameras use AA batteries that you replace more or less frequently depending on how many photos you take and the resolution of each picture. However, digital camera features like the LCD screen and auto-focus draw lots of power, meaning batteries get depleted quickly. Rechargeable batteries are an alternative option.

Rechargeable batteries use one of two different technologies: Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) or Lithium ion (Li-ion). NiMH batteries come in standard sizes and can be recharged multiple times before they need replacing. Many newer cameras are equipped with Li-ion battery packs. These have the advantage that they both hold more energy and be used and recharged more often than other batteries. Check your camera's manual to determine which type is compatible.

Memory cards: Your digital camera stores images on memory cards, and there are many options for these. It's a good idea to have several available-especially on vacation or at a special event like a wedding where you'll be taking lots of photos. Get a larger card-think 1 GB or more-to make sure you'll have lots of memory.

Dock: If your camera has rechargeable batteries, consider buying a docking station. It gives you a safe, secure way to charge your camera, and an easy way to connect it to your computer when you want to upload photos.

Carrying case: In addition to protecting your camera, a carrying case also lets you keep extra batteries and memory cards in one convenient place.

Now you're ready to make the buy, and start using your digital camera to help capture and share cherished memories.

Retouching And Improving Your Photographs

2007-04-25T07:52:00.002-07:00

Retouching and Improving your Photographs – Photoshop makes it Possible.

Digital imaging and more specifically Adobe Photoshop as well as other image editing software have revolutionized photography. The advances in digital image manipulation now allow for unlimited possibilities in the area of improving photographs through retouching and restoration.

What types of improvements are possible by retouching photographs with Photoshop?

Blemishes

Embarrassing skin blemishes like acne or scars can easily be removed using the retouching tools available in Adobe Photoshop. You can learn these Photoshop techniques in minutes.

Damage to Prints

The benefits of digital imaging for restoring old damaged or worn out photographs are one of the best reasons to learn Photoshop. Once an old photograph is scanned it can be retouched to remove tears in the paper or water marks. You can also restore colors that have faded over time. Once you have retouched your image and it is like new again it will last forward because digital images do not deteriorate over time like prints.

Closed Eyes

This is one of the most common problems with group photographs. You finally got the entire family together for a family photograph including Aunt Martha only to find that she closed her eyes. Closed eyes are not a problem for a skilled user of Photoshop. You can easily open her eyes and no one will ever know.

Removing unwanted Subjects

Not only can you remove blemishes in Adobe Photoshop but another common use of Photoshop’s retouching capabilities involves removing unwanted people or objects. Old boyfriends can be forever removed from photographs quickly and easily if you know what you are doing.

Retouching photographs has never been easier than it is today. Photoshop and other photographic editing software applications have made it a breeze to open closes eyes, remove blemishes and scars, change colors, restore old damaged photographs and remove unwanted objects.

Optical or Digital Zoom? The Choice is Clear

2007-04-25T07:52:00.001-07:00

What is zoom?
Sometimes when you take a photo you need to focus on one area in the picture frame. For example when you take a portrait photo you want to make sure the object’s face fills the photo frame while when you take a group photo you want to make sure everybody is in the photo frame.
In to focus on that one area in the photo frame you can either physically move closer to the objects or use the camera’s zoom feature. When using the zoom feature the camera (mechanically when applying an optical zoon or electronically when applying a digital zoom) enlarges that area to fit the full picture frame.
There are two types of zoom – optical and digital (in older film cameras the only zoom option was optical). We will try to explain the differences between the two.
How does optical zoon work?
Optical zoom works by physically moving the camera’s lenses and changing the focal length. By changing the focal length you can make objects appear bigger and fit the full photo frame.
When satisfied with the zoom position you can shoot the photo by simply applying the shutter button.
How does digital zoom work?
With digital zoom you actually use built-in software in the camera to define a portion of the photo which you are interested in. Once chosen the software crops the rest of the photo and enlarges the area you chose to fit the complete photo frame.
The process of enlarging the zoomed area is also known as extrapolation. The camera software needs to calculate new values for the pixels that were cropped in order to result in a full frame photo. The downside of this digital process is that the enlarged photo quality is lower than the original photo taken.
It is easy to understand the quality loss using an example. Lets assume that you have a 2MP (2 megapixels) camera. You point the camera and decide that you want to zoom in 2X. You run the digital zoom software and choose a 2X zoom. To accomplish this zoom the camera crops half of the photo and enlarges the other half to create a 2X zoom effect. In the process a 1MP area is discarded (the half that is cropped). The other 1MP area is enlarged in a process that copies every pixel once to generate a 2MP photo. Although the new photo seems to include 2MP it really includes only 1MP of information that was copied once. The result is a photo with a quality equivalent to a 1MP photo.
If you have used a 4X digital zoom in this example the result would have been a photo with an equivalent quality of a 0.5MP camera (the zoom area is 1/4 of the frame – 3/4 of the frame would be discarded and the rest 1/4 would be copied three times to fill the frame).
Digital zoom significantly reduces the quality of the photo. If your camera does not include digital zoom you can always shoot the photo without zooming and then use a PC photo editing software to crop a portion of it and enlarge the rest. In fact using PC software is always the preferred method to built-in digital zoom since it allows you to try different zoom sizes, different zoom areas and different zoom algorithms while not losing the original photo.
So which one is better?
Optical zoom is superior to digital zoom. In fact from a practical point of view digital zoom should not be considered zoom at all. It is always better to apply digital zoom on a PC at a later time rather then when taking the photo using the camera’s built-in digital zoom. When using a PC different sizes can be used and different zoom algorithms that can result in better qualities.
Know your camera's zoom
Some manufacturers claim the maximum zoom figure their cameras support without specifying if it is optical or digital zoom. This information is confusing as many consumers do not understand the difference between the two. For example if a camera supports a 5X optical zoom and 10X digital zoom advertising the camera as a “10X zoom camera” is confusing – 10X digital zoom can be done with any camera using simple PC software.
When buying a camera always make sure that you know what the optical zoom figure is and that it meets your needs. Ignore the digital zoom figure as it does not mean much and can not compensate for a camera with poor optical zoom.

Digital Noise - What Is It? What Causes It? And How Can I Get Rid Of It?

2007-04-25T07:51:00.001-07:00

Digital noise in photos taken with digital cameras is random pixels scattered all over the photo. It is a similar effect as “grain” in film photography and it degrades the photo quality.
Digital noise usually occurs when you take low light photos (such as night photos or indoor dark scenes) or you use very slow shutter speeds or very high sensitivity modes.
When taking pictures with a digital camera an electronic sensor (also known as a CCD) built from many tiny pixels is used to measure the light for each pixel. The result is a matrix of pixels that represent the photo.
As with any other electronic sensor the CCD is not perfect and includes some noise (also know as white noise to hint on its randomness attribute). In most lighting the light is significantly stronger than the noise. However in extreme scenes where the light is very low or when a high amplification is needed noise levels can become significant and result in pixels in the photos that include more noise data than real photo light data. Those pixels usually appear as random dots or stains on the photo (for example white dots scattered randomly on the photo).
Understanding digital noise in various scenes:
low light (night photos or dark scenes): when the scene is dark the amount of light measured by each pixel of the CCD is low. When the light intensity is very low it can become too close to the level of noise naturally found in the CCD. In such cases some pixels can appear as noise because the noise level measured for them is significantly close or higher than the actual light intensity.
slow shutter speeds: when the shutter is kept open for a long time more noise will be introduced to the photo. A slow shutter speed translates to the CCD integrating more light per pixel. The effect can be easily understood as the CCD “accumulating” light in each pixel and measuring the total light over the shutter period of time. However at the same time the CCD is also “accumulating” noise. For that reason in slow shutter speed photos some pixels will appear as noise because for these pixels the amount of noise integrated is significantly close to or higher than the actual light measured.
high sensitivity modes: high sensitivity in digital photography is implemented by mechanisms that result in amplification. The CCD amplifies the measurements it takes. However there is no way to just amplify the actual photo light that falls on the CCD pixels instead the noise and the actual light are both amplified. The result is that the CCD becomes sensitive not only to light but also to its own noise. When too much amplification is applied some pixels will appear as noise.
While it is impossible to completely prevent digital noise there are a few options that allow you to significantly decrease it. When taking photos in low light scenarios such as night photos there are two main parameters to play with: sensitivity and shutter speed. Raising sensitivity creates more internal noise in the CCD while slowing down the shutter allows for more noise to integrate on the CCD. The amount of noise generated by both parameters is different. It is recommended that you set your camera to manual mode and play with a few different sensitivity/shutter speed pairs to find out the one that generates the least noise.
Some cameras include a built-in feature called “noise reduction”. Noise reduction is implemented by sophisticated software that can identify the noise pixels and remove them. For example the software can identify the noise pixels based on their randomness and usually extreme intensity gap between them and their neighboring pixels. Removing the noise can be implemented by interpolating a replacement pixel value based on its neighboring pixels.
If you do not have a built-in noise reduction feature or it does not work properly you can use a PC based software that removes digital noise. Many photo processing software include a combination of automatic and manual digital noise removal. Some software packages can also use a few photos of the same object to “average” them and thus remove the noise (relying on the fact that digital noise is random and the noise pixels will be different in each photo taken).
To conclude digital noise should be understood by any amateur or professional photographer. However for most photographers digital noise is not a practical problem even in low light scenarios usually digital noise is minimal and can be significantly reduced by simply turning on your camera’s noise reduction feature. For professional photographers who shoot in more extreme conditions digital noise can present a real problem and can be dealt with using a combination of optimizing the camera settings and removing noise with professional software.

Understanding Red-Eye in photos and how it can be prevented

2007-04-25T07:50:00.002-07:00

Why are eyes red in photos?
Red-eye is a phenomenon that happens only when taking photos using a flash. When taking photos in day light or when in high ambient light scenarios people’s eyes look normal. When taking pictures in low ambient light scenarios using a flash the result many times is redness in the people’s eyes.
The reason for the color red is simple – when flash light from the camera hits the eyes it penetrates and is reflected back from the retina. The color of the reflected light is red because the light is actually reflected from the red blood in the retina.
In some scenarios the red-eye is evident while in others it is mild or doesn’t seem to appear at all. One of the main factors for that is the state of the pupils. If the pupils are dilated (for example the pupils dilate in darkness or when drinking alcohol) more light is reflected back from the retina and the eyes in the photo appear redder.
Common way to reduce red-eye
The most commonly used method to reduce red-eye is activating the camera’s built-in red-eye reduction feature. The red-eye reduction feature is very simple yet effective. When turned on the camera shoots a series of pre-flash strobes followed by one more strobe when actually taking the photo. The pre-flash strobes cause the pupils to reduce in size and by the time the photo is taken the pupils are small enough for the eye redness to substantially reduce.
The red-eye reduction feature does what it is supposed to do: reduce the red-eye effect but almost never is it completely prevented. There are many limitations to this feature for example pupils reaction time to light can vary. In addition this feature can have a side-effect that results in photos having people’s eyes closed. The reason is that the pre-flash strobes blind the people and cause them to close their eyes.
Other ways to prevent red-eye
Understanding what causes red-eye helps being more creative in preventing it. Following are some ways to prevent red-eye other than using the built-in camera red-eye reduction feature:
Increasing the light where photos are taken (for example by turning on the lights in a room before taking photos of people) causes people’s pupils to reduce in size and eye redness to reduce.
Point the flash away from the eyes. Since red-eye is caused by flash light reflected from the retina the best way to prevent red-eye would be to eliminate such reflection as much as possible. In most cameras the angle between the flash and the lenses is narrow (this is especially true for built-in flash and pocket cameras) causing most of the flash to bounce back from the retina to the lenses. Increasing the angle (for example by using an external flash) reduces the reflected light. You can also use a bounce flash – by having the flash light bounce off a bright surface (a white wall or a professional reflector) most of the direct reflection from the retina can be eliminated.
Red-eye can also be removed after photos were already taken by using photo processing software on your PC. Most digital cameras include a CD with PC software that embeds this feature. Although this method doesn’t eliminate the red-eye from the source it can result in a practically red-eye free photo. Some software are better than others some are manual while others automatically identify the red-eyes and process that area to revert to normal eye colors.

Still digital camera image stabilizers - keep your images sharp

2007-04-25T07:50:00.001-07:00

Taking stable and sharp photos is hard in some situations. For example when taking a photo using high zoom lenses even the tiniest camera movement will result in a blurry photo. The reason for that blurriness is that while the shutter is open and the photo is being captured the camera moves and the image on the sensor also moves losing its sharpness. Image stabilizers help in solving the problem, here is how.
The best solution for camera movements is of course to eliminate the movements. Sometimes this can be accomplished by using a tripod or placing the camera on a stable surface when taking the photo. However in many situation it is impossible to completely stabilize the camera – for example when taking photos of fast objects in high zoom.
When movement elimination is not possible other solutions can be used that instead of preventing the movement compensate for it and prevent its symptom: blurry photos. Such solutions are also known as Image Stabilizers.
There are many different implementations of image stabilizers and many manufacturers keep their implementation details secret to prevent competitors from copying it. An image stabilizer implementation can be divided to two: detecting the movement and compensating for it. Detection is the mechanism that detects that the camera moved while shooting a photo. Compensation is the mechanism that for detected movements compensates to prevent the movement symptoms.
There are two common ways to implement image stabilizers (sometimes known as mechanical image stabilizers for the implementation mechanical feature): a floating lens element or a moving sensor.
Floating lens element: An element is added in the lenses usually in the form of a compensating lens. This element is “floating” in the lenses and can move left, right, up and down. Gyroscopes are placed in the lenses – or micro gyroscopes or equivalent sensors. When the camera moves the gyroscopes detect the movement and send a signal to the floating lens to move in the right direction in order to compensate for the movement. Moving the lens corrects the angle in which the light hits the image sensor compensating for the movement.
Moving sensor: The sensor is a chip behind the lenses that converts the light reflected on it to digital pixels. When a movement is detected the sensor is slightly moved in the opposite direction to compensate for it. Gyroscopes or equivalent sensors could be used to detect movements though many stabilizers use a DSP processor that analyzes the image on the sensor in real time to detect movements eliminating the need of another mechanical part
The advantages of such stabilizers are: getting sharper photos while practically eliminating blurriness in most common scenarios. Sensor based detectors work very well in low light scenarios since they detect actual physical movement while DSP processors based detection is less effective in low light scenarios and more prone to errors. The disadvantages are: added cost, weight and size to the camera as a result of the mechanical mechanism.

The advantages of digital photos and digital cameras

2007-04-25T07:49:00.001-07:00

There is no debate that digital cameras are going to take over the photography market and with time we will see less and less film cameras sold and used. It is beneficial to take a moment and try to list the advantages of digital cameras and digital photos and put some order in why everybody likes them so much. In this article you will find that list.
Digital photos and digital cameras have many advantages and allow many new usages that were not possible with film. Here are a few:
Low photo cost: Photos taken with a digital camera literally cost nothing. The photos are kept in erasable memory and thus can always be discarded at no cost. Viewing the photos is immediate and does not cost anything (there is no film development cost). Also the photos you would like to keep can be copied to digital media such as a computer’s hard disk. With storage prices going down the cost of saving a photo on disk is practically zero.
The capacity: With ever growing storage capacities digital cameras today can hold hundreds and sometimes thousands of photos on a single media. You can always have a few more in your pocket and changing is very fast. The result is that a digital camera has practically infinite capacity. You can shoot as many photos as you want and at the end of the day just dump them on your computer’s disk. There is no time lost changing film and there is no photo opportunities lost due to lack of film or reserving film for later.
The feedback: One of the great advantages of digital cameras is instant feedback. Almost all digital cameras include a small LCD screen. Once a photo is shot you can go back and watch it on that screen. The ability to see how the photo looks like results in better photos. If the photo is not good you can take another one. Being able to see the photos on the spot results in an educated decision how to fix a photo or how to compose it better. It takes a lot of the guessing away from photography.
New shooting angles: With digital cameras you can take photos without your eye glued to the viewfinder. Overhead shots where you raise the camera over your head are much easier since you can still see what the camera is shooting by just looking up at its LCD screen. You are not limited anymore to angles where you can look through the viewfinder – you can shoot from any angle that the LCD is visible from. You can always shoot blindly like photographers used to do with film cameras.
Correcting photos: With digital cameras photos can be corrected using photo editing software. Some correction abilities are built-in the cameras but many more are available as software packages for your PC. Such corrections include red eye removal, contrast enhancements and more.
Changing conditions: With digital cameras the settings of the sensor can be changed instantly for each photo taken. With a click of a button the camera can be put in an indoor or outdoor mode, low light, night photography etc. Some cameras will automatically sense the scenario and set the sensor mode accordingly. This is literally like changing a roll of film to the optimized one for every photo you shoot – the best ISO, color features and more.
Longevity: Digital photos never lose their quality. A digital photo will be identical today and in 500 years. As long as you refresh the digital media every now and then and back it up your photos will literally last forever with no quality degradation. Digital photos do not turn yellow, they do not fold or get torn.

Photography Tip: Adjust the Background to Highlight Your Subject

2007-04-25T07:48:00.000-07:00

Many times the emphasis you want to place on the subject of your photo can be improved by first focusing your attention on the background. Objects, colors and other elements in the background can often diminish from what would otherwise be a great photograph.

When you are composing your image through your camera's viewfinder or LCD monitor, take a moment to focus on what is appearing behind and around the main subject. Our minds filter out elements that we're not concentrating on, so it is quite easy to overlook telephone poles or other vertical elements that seem to 'grow out of the head' of your subject. Other people or objects in the background may also seem to be attached to your subject because of their alignment. Colorful signs, bright colors, and other unusual objects in the background can vie for your viewer's attention.

If you notice that the background is affecting your photograph in a detracting way, the easiest solution may be to simply change position. A slightly different angle or perspective can make a huge difference in the final shot. If changing your lateral position is difficult, try adjusting your vertical position. A high-angle or low-angle shot may be the ticket to eliminating background clutter, and the unique angle could potentially give you a more interesting photo as a bonus. The zoom feature of many cameras can also be used to crop the edges of the photo; simply zoom in and out until extraneous objects are cut out and the ideal composition is found.

While a simple, plain background will help your subject stand out without much effort, patterned or colorful background elements do not necessarily have to be avoided. By adjusting the aperture and shutter speed of your camera manually, the focal length of the photo can be shortened so that your subject remains in crystal clear focus while the entire background is transformed into a blend of abstract colors and distracting objects are blurred past recognition.

Digital photography offers the added benefit of being able to improve your photograph after the fact. Photo editing software (such as Adobe Photoshop or Corel PhotoPaint) allows you to modify your images in ways only limited by your imagination. With a problem background, for example, the entire background of the photo can be blurred, softened, lightened or darkened until the subject stands out. Clutter or detracting objects can literally be removed from the photograph entirely. Expert software users can cut the subject from the photo in order to place it in a more suitable position. If all else fails, you can 'cut' the subject from the original photo and 'paste' it into a completely different background... just be sure to blend the edges into the new background, and make doubly sure that the coloring and shadows are compatible.

Five Tips for Steady Cameras

2007-04-25T07:47:00.002-07:00

Few things are as difficult to watch or as nauseating to experience as shaky camera work. Home videos of vacations and family events are notorious for this and that is why they get taped but never watched. The difference between steady and shaky footage has nothing to do with the camcorder and everything to do with the videographer. The following list of five essential skills will improve any video if applied during the shoot.

One: Hold the Camera with Both Hands

Some people think it is cool to operate cameras with just one hand. I believe the manufacturers are doing you a favor by freeing up a hand not so you can use it to eat a candy bar, but so you can use it to steady the camera. Two hands are always better than one. It sounds obvious and simple yet every time I go to record a public event I always see folks holding the camcorder with just one hand. Stop acting like an amateur and hold the camera with both hands. Your audience will thank you, maybe not verbally, but will appreciate your effort.

Two: The Correct Stance

People are lazy, especially during long shoots. If you have the job as videographer you had better not be leaning your weight on just one leg. Stand with your feet approximately shoulder length apart with your body weight balanced between both legs. This stance is proven to improve stability in all physical activity and it definitely applies in this case as well.

Three: Electronic Stabilization

Once again, the manufacturers are trying to help you out. If you are shooting without the use of a tripod then turn the electronic stabilizer on, but be sure to turn it off when you put the camera back on the tripod. This technology has improved greatly in the last few years and makes a huge difference in the final shot.

Four: Avoid Zooming, Get Closer

The wide angle is doubtlessly the most stable setting. Zooming make the camera much more reactive to the slightest movement. While holding the camera in your hands this includes up and down as well as side to side. Many zooms are digital now and I frown upon its use. Only use optical zoom! Digital zoom only enlarges existing shots which start to pixelate and the quality plunges. If you can get closer without zooming, this will keep the angle wide and will stabilize your shot.

Five: Just Use a Tripod

The professional’s best friend is the tripod. There is no shame in using one. Tricky movements should be attempted with a counterbalance system like a Glidecam. Most shooting, however, can be accomplished with the use of a tripod. Use it. It may be a little bulky to carry around but that is the difference between the amateur and the professional. Don’t be lazy. Take a tripod and use it as much as possible.

Action Photography

2007-04-25T07:47:00.001-07:00

Of all the kinds and styles of photography being practiced today, sports photography is probably the most exciting—not to mention the most difficult—of all. Since this kind of photography involves so much speed and action, photographing the subjects or players would require more than the usual knack for good angles but also the strength to endure physical limitations during the shoot.

Sports photography usually include shots that are taken during the game or while the subjects are in their respective field. Aiming to “freeze” moments during the actual event, sports photographers should be equipped with the right photography equipment, trained with enduring tenacity, and fueled with an overwhelming desire to capture each moment and emotion at their best.

PHOTOGRAPHING DIFFERENT KINDS OF SPORTS

The best thing about sports photography is that the photographer can freeze a single moment that contains pure and raw emotion and share it with the public in print. If you’re into photography and quite interested in taking adrenaline-pumping shots, you should familiarize yourself with different kinds of sports first. Since each sport varies, the styles and techniques used in capturing and freezing each moment also vary.

If you are already in the field taking photos, it is a must that you have a brief background about the sport you are covering. Knowledge in the fundamentals of coaching style, sport rules, and players will help you identify their most interesting angles. It is also a must to identify your “safety” (a shot that is easy to shoot and can be published if you don’t get good photos all throughout).

Here are some basic sports photography guidelines fit for common sports:

1. Baseball. Most seasoned sports photographers would agree that baseball is one sport that is hardest to shoot because of its unpredictability. Make sure that you get your safety first before getting experimental shots.

2. Basketball. Unlike baseball, this is the easiest sport to shoot because you only have to focus on two subjects: the player who handles the ball and the net. But its simplicity limits you to different angles, so make sure you get plenty of shots to choose from.

3. Football. This is another easy sport to shoot but it is considered as the most equipment intense sports because it would require waiting for the perfect shot. Although it’s easy to get safeties, it’s still up to you to produce action shots that would be a stand up.

4. Soccer and Hockey. Because of the speed and sudden movements involved in these sports, auto focus cameras are recommended.

5. Volleyball. Although it is one of the rarely covered sports events, volleyball is also one of favorites because dramatic shots can be derived all throughout. Since moves in the sports are quite tricky, make sure that you turn your camera’s auto focus on.

6. Golf. It’s hard to shoot photos during the game due to the nature of the game itself. What you can do is to camp at one location and take shots as players pass by or use a cart to follow the individual players.

7. Track and Field. Though access can be limited, this is one sport that is fun to shoot because movements are predictable and easy to shoot. All you need is good timing.

8. Gymnastics and Figure Skating. One basic rule in these sports: NO FLASH. Since they involve individuals performing, the use of flash is restricted because it distracts the players. The major problem you’ll encounter is lighting but this can be solved once the venue is lit up.

9. Motorsports and Racing Events. These are fairly easy to photograph because you can get away with slower lenses. But since you’re far from the track, you need longer lenses for the shoot.

Compressed digital photo file formats – storing digital photos

2007-04-25T07:45:00.000-07:00

Digital photos are stored as files on memory cards and computer hard disks. They can be stored in different file formats (each format has a unique file extension). Most of the formats are compressed to save space and each has its own pros and cons.
The need for standard file formats
Digital photos are saved as digital files on electronic media. These digital photo files are a collection of bytes. If each manufacturer and camera would have used a proprietary file format then you would have needed proprietary software that could read, print and display those formats. Using a standard format allows any camera to save photos while any other software can read, display and print them.
What is compression and why it is needed
A digital photo is a collection of pixels – each pixel is stored as a value that represents its color and intensity. Usually each pixel is represented by an RGB value (three numbers one byte each with values 0 to 255 representing the intensity of Red, Green and Blue that combined together create the pixel’s color). An RGB value occupies 3 bytes. So how big is a digital photo file? It depends on the number of pixels in the photo. For example if you shoot a photo using an 8 mega pixels digital camera the photo will have 8000000 pixels each one occupying 3 bytes. The total file size would be 8000000*3=24000000 or 24Mbytes. This is a very big file. Big files are harder to manipulate they take a long time to send by email, they occupy large storage space and they take longer to load.
In any digital photo there is data that is either redundant or that if removed the viewer would not be able to notice the difference. In addition representing pixels as RGB values is not efficient in terms of storage space. The process of compression takes advantage of these facts. When you compress a digital photo the compression software represents pixels in a more efficient way, removes redundant data and removes data that is “not important”. The result is a significantly smaller file. For example the above 24Mbytes file could easily be compressed to about 3Mbytes with hardly any noticeable quality degradation.
Before compressed digital photo files can be viewed or printed they need to be decompressed. Decompression is the reverse process of compression - a compressed file is converted to its original format – usually a simple RGB pixel file. Using standard compression file formats allows one software to compress a digital photo file and another software to decompress it and process it.
Lossy or Lossless compression?
There are two main types of compression software: lossy and lossless. Here are the differences:

Lossless compression: Lossless compression means that if you take a file compress it and then decompress it – the decompressed file would be the exact copy of the original file. With lossless compression no data is lost in the compression process – the compression software uses better representation of the data in the file but it does not remove any data from it.

Lossy compression: Lossy compression means that if you take a file, compress it and then decompress it – the decompressed file would be slightly different than the original one. The compression software not only represents the file’s data more efficiently but it also removes data that it considers minor or not important. Such data can be removed without hardly any noticeable degradation in the file quality. The differences between the original file and the decompressed file are minor and should be negligible to the user.
Lossless compression is usually applied to text and other data where all data is equally important. For example when compressing the text in this article and later on decompressing it you would want to get the exact original article without any words or sentences dropped by the compression software that decided they were not important.
Lossy compression is usually applied to digital photos and graphic files. Such files include data that the viewer would not be able to notice if removed. For example small changes to color in a photo might not be noticeable. The decompressed file is not exactly the same as the original one but when viewing both the original and decompressed photos side by side the viewer can not tell the difference. Lossy compression software can be set to different compression levels based on how much data is allowed to be lost. At some point losing too much data is noticeable and degrades the digital photo quality. Many digital cameras allow you to set the level of compression from low to high where high compression means smaller files but less quality and low compression means bigger files but no noticeable quality degradation.
Common digital photo file formats
You can know what a digital photo file format is by checking its extension. Usually the extension is three letters representing a specific format. Here is a list of the common extensions and formats:
BMP – Windows Bitmap: this is a basic raw format. The photo is stored as a pixel raster and is not compressed. While this format is very easy to use and is supported by practically all software it is not efficient as there is no compression applied.
GIF – Graphics Interchange Format: An old file format initiated by CompuServe. It uses a lossless LZW compression and is thus more efficient than BMP files. GIF files are very efficient for storing basic graphics (that include lines, circles and other graphical shapes) and also efficient for storing small digital photos but are rarely used to store large digital photos as there are more efficient formats for that purpose. GIF files can also include multiple “frames” and support basic animation.
PNG – Portable Network Graphics: This relatively new format was designed to be used in online applications such as web pages. It uses a lossless compression. The original goal of the PNG format was to replace GIF (due to some licensing complications associated with the GIF format). PNG is commonly used now by online web sites to represent small digital photos or graphics replacing the GIF format.
JPEG – Joint Photographic Experts Group: Also known as JPG this file format was designed by a special industry group and became an ISO standard. The design goal of the format was the efficient storage of digital photographic files. Although JPG files can support lossless compression they are almost always used in lossy compression mode. JPG files are very efficient in compressing digital photos. The JPG compression software can be set to different compression levels – with higher compression levels the photo files can get very small but they can also get distorted. JPG files are the most common ones used by digital cameras to store compressed digital photos on memory cards and computer hard disks as they result in small file sizes and hardly any noticeable photo quality degradation.

What is a digital photo JPEG file?

2007-04-25T07:44:00.002-07:00

Digital photos are stored as files on memory cards and computer hard disks. They can be stored in different file formats (each format has a unique file extension). Digital photo files can be compressed to save storage space and can use a standard or a proprietary format.
Digital photos are saved as digital files on electronic media. These digital photo files are a collection of bytes. JPEG is a standard file format for storing such digital photos. The JPEG format supports compression and allows very efficient high quality storage of digital photos. When using the JPEG format any software from different vendors that adheres to the standard can create and process JPEG files.
JPEG – Joint Photographic Experts Group
The JPEG file format was designed by a special industry group for the purpose of storing and compressing high quality digital photos. Later on JPEG became an ISO standard and it is probably one of the most popular formats for storing digital photos today. JPEG files are also known simple as JPG files (named after their common file extension .JPG).
The design goal of the group was the efficient storage of digital photographic files while maintaining their original high quality (or quality which is as close as possible to the original one). JPEG files can support lossless compression but since lossless compression is inefficient when compressing digital photos it is hardly used. In most cases JPEG files use lossy compression to efficiently represent digital photos.
It is easy to understand the motivation for such efficient compression by using an example: Digital photos files are built of pixels each one has a value representing its color and intensity. Each pixel occupies 3 bytes (one for Red, one for Green and one for Blue - representing the color and intensity of the pixel). If you shoot a photo using an 8 mega pixels digital camera the photo will have 8000000 pixels each one occupying 3 bytes. The total file size would be 8000000*3=24000000 or 24Mbytes. This is a very big file. Big files are hard to manipulate they take a long time to send by email, they occupy large storage space and they take longer to load. If that same file was compressed into a JPEG digital photo file its size would reduce to about 3Mbytes – a much more manageable file size.
JPEG files are extremely efficient in compressing digital photos. They are using compression methods that were specifically designed for digital photos and take advantage of digital photos attributes that allow a more efficient representation of pixels. The JPEG format standardized the way a digital photo is represented and suggested ways to compress digital photos. Using this standard software from one vendor can compress and create a JPEG digital photo file while software from a different vendor can read and process it. There are many different compressors implementations that differ in the quality of the compressed photo. Also – the digital photo compressor can be set to different levels of compression. When using a very aggressive compression setting the digital photo file can be very small – the side effect however is degradation in quality – most noticeable is the appearance of large square areas with the same color and pattern.
JPEG files are the most commonly used ones by digital cameras to store compressed digital photos on memory cards and computer hard disks as they result in small file sizes and hardly any noticeable photo quality degradation. Most cameras also let the user set the level of compression applied to the digital photos – usually three level are provided: low, medium and high – where low results in minimal file size reduction but superior quality and high results in the smallest files but the highest degradation in quality - in most cases however that degradation is hardly noticeable by the amateur photographer.

Digital photo pixel color formats RGB CMYK and HSV

2007-04-25T07:44:00.001-07:00

Digital photos are built of pixels. When you look at a digital photo on a computer screen or on a printed version of the photo you are really looking at millions of pixels each with a unique color and intensity. When put together all these pixels form the photo that you see. There are a few formats used to represent a pixel color – here are the common ones.
You have probably heard at least one of the following acronyms: RGB, CMYK and HSV. RGB is the most popular one with CMYK not lagging far behind. Each format is a different way to describe a pixel color. The same pixel can be represented in each of the three formats. Each format is commonly used in some applications.
Here is a description of each of these formats and their usage:
RGB – Red Green Blue: In RGB format each pixel color is represented as an addition of three primary colors: red, green and blue. Any color can be reproduced by mixing these three components in different ratios. RGB is most commonly used to represent colors that are displayed on compute screens. The reason is that RGB is an active format or in other words it describes colors as an addition of red green and blue light emitted from a light source such as a compute screen. A compute screen emits red blue and green light for each pixel in order to create the pixel color.
CMYK – Cyan Magenta Yellow Key: The CMYK format is used for representing pixels color on printed paper. The fourth component, key, is also know as the black component. Different colors are created when mixing the first three components CMY. Pure black however is hard to achieve with such mixing and for that reason black has a value of its own. The CMYK format is also aligned with how most color printers are implemented – they have one black cartridge and three color cartridges for cyan, magenta and yellow. The reason printers are implemented this way is that pure real black color is hard to reproduce by mixing three other colors. Opposite to RGB which works by mixing light emitted by a light source CMYK works by mixing the light not absorbed by ink on paper. CMYK is thus also known as passive while RGB is known as active. HSV – Hue Saturation Value: The HSV format is used by many photo editing software and by most semi-professional and professional graphic designers and artists. The HSV format is more aligned with the way we see and describe colors. Hue defines the color – for example green, yellow, purple etc. Saturation defines how pure the color is– it varies from dark or faded color to the pure color for example a green hue can be 100% saturated – or a pure green or it can be 0% saturated or practically black. Value is the intensity or brightness of the color. A value can be 0% which means the color is not bright at all or is practically black or 100% which means the color is as illuminated and bright as it can possibly be. This format follows how we see and describe colors and for that reason it is used by photo editing software. When we see color we first describe what color we see (e.g. green) then we add how saturated it is (e.g. faded green) and then we add how bright or illuminated it is (e.g. bright faded green).

What Digital-SLR-Photography Is All About

2007-04-25T07:39:00.002-07:00

The cameras of the past did not have that much clarity or depth. Even with the development of the lens which allows the user to focus in on images, this did not yet make photographers completely satisfied after a take.

Fortunately, the digital age has brought about the creation of the SLR camera. This single reflex unit allows the user to produce quality images from pressing the button till it comes out when it has been developed.

The SLR is quite expensive. One unit costs about $5,000 and upgrading the lens to reach farther will be another expense. This is probably why many advise to have this insured in case this gets lost or damaged.

Here are some of the known brands of SLR camera’s worth checking out in the market.

1. The first is the Nikon D2x digicam. Though its features are almost the same like others in the market, it comes with a GPS recorder so that the person can remember when and where it was taken so this can be done again.

The pictures can be downloaded to a laptop so the pictures can be printed or developed in the store.

2. Another great SLR camera is the Canon EOS-1DS Mark 2 Digicam. This model enables the person to shoot in any environment. This has better shots per second than the first one mentioned which is great for shooting moving objects.

3. The Kodak DCS Pro is another camera worth checking out. This lightweight model can use Nikon accessories and lenses to be able to get those shots that other units cant.

These units are just one of many that are available in the market. The price of each are not that far apart so it will really depend on how comfortable the user is. Some hobbyists have used one brand for a number of years and decided to stick to it.

In order to keep these in good condition, the owner must also know how to properly store or clean these items. The cover must always be placed on the lens when not in use and should be wiped after each use.

Some people who are not happy with the cover can use a filter which is better protection from dirt, fingerprints or crashes.

A lot of stores usually sell the SLR camera with a bag but others usually buy a bigger one to hold other equipment and accessories.

The digital SLR camera is one innovation that is here to say. Though it may hurt the pocket in getting one, the shots taken will be rewarding.

Outdoor Photography

2007-04-25T07:39:00.001-07:00

If you are interested in beginning an interesting and exciting hobby while taking advantage of the outdoor opportunities of your city, it is time to consider buying a camera and photograph nature, people, sights, sports , landmarks, the sky, the sun and the landscape. The possibilities are endless and your intuition can lead you anywhere you believe you are going to take your next amazing photograph.

Being an amateur photographer, less than a year ago I decided to invest in buying a digital camera and a couple of extra lenses. Since then, I have taken more than 2,000 pictures of places and people trying to focus on what I wanted to portray and tell a story through the selected imagery. Although my photographic illustrations have not always been really great, I am extremely happy I decided to take this hobby as I have been walking the city streets since then looking with a different eye the things I have been crossing indifferently in the past.

Outdoor photography has evolved since the creation of the first photographic camera to an activity anyone can do as it offers tremendous possibilities and gives people the initiative to explore the unknown or known world with the eyes of a conscious observer.

During the summer, I usually go out looking for interesting spots to shoot my photographs and every digital album I create has a summer theme. The same I plan to do during the fall and winter times and in a year from now, who known, perhaps I will be able to show my photographic collection to friends, family and strangers in my first personal expedition.

Consider taking photography as a hobby as you can enjoy the fulfilment you will feel every time you press your camera's button. Moreover, your kids, friends or partner can act as the models of your frames and you will always save in your memory the times you will spend watching your children laugh while playing. Through the look of your camera you will become more conscious of your surroundings and you will remember how it feels to look at a tree or the sky and be content that you are alive and able to admire nature's miracles or humans' amazing constructions.

Auto and manual focus modes in digital cameras

2007-04-25T07:38:00.003-07:00

One of the important phases of shooting a good photo is focusing on the photo’s objects. Photos that are out of focus look bad and blurry. Sometimes shooting out of focus objects is done on purpose as an artistic effect but in most cases a sharp focused object is the photographer goal.
Most low-end pocket digital cameras do all the focus work for you. These are literally “point and shoot” cameras. Furthermore even if you wanted to manually focus using such cameras it would have been practically impossible since they do not include a real optical viewfinder. Using the LCD to check for focus is useless as the LCD is not good enough to truly let you know if an object is perfectly focused or not.
Digital SLR cameras on the other hand have an optical viewfinder that allows you to truly see the photo through the camera’s lens. With digital SLR cameras you can see how well the objects in the photo are focused and correct the focus as needed.
Digital cameras support at least three focus modes:

Manual focus: In this mode the camera does not automatically focus on the objects in the photo. You will have to manually set the focus as desired. This is accomplished by either pushing some buttons that in turn change the focus or more commonly by rotating a focus ring on the lens clockwise or counterclockwise as needed. You can see the results of changing the focus by looking through the viewfinder. When you are happy with the focus you can press the shutter button to take the photo.

Single auto focus: In this mode the camera automatically focuses on the objects in the photo. The camera automatically focuses when you press the shutter button either all the way down to shoot a photo or half way down to lock the focus. In this mode the automatic focus process is carried out only once as soon as the shutter button is pressed. Once the focus is achieved it is locked and it is not changed until the next time the shutter button is pressed. If you keep the shutter button pressed half way down and then the camera moves or the object moves the focus might be lost. This mode is useful when shooting static objects. In most cases you will press the shutter button and hold it half way down. The camera will run the auto focus process. It will let you know when focus is achieved by displaying a green icon and by playing a short beep.

Continuous auto focus: In this mode the camera continuously focuses on the objects in the photo. Once the shutter button is pressed and as long as it is held half way down the camera continuously focuses on the objects in the photo. In this mode the camera continuously corrects the focus as the objects distance from the camera changes. This mode is useful when you shoot photos of moving objects such as a race car during a race or airplanes during an air show. You can hold the shutter button half way down and continuously move the camera to follow the object. The camera will continuously keep the object in focus. When you are ready to shoot the photo simply press the shutter button all the way down. One drawback of this mode is high power consumption as the camera continuously corrects the focus it uses the power hungry motors in the lens in order to move the optical components.
Like any other feature automatic and manual focus modes have their pros and cons. The first step to using them to your advantage is to understand how they work and what they were designed for. The next step is to experiment shoot photos using different focus modes and different types of objects and see how the camera behaves. Once you have done that you will be ready to instinctively use the best focus mode for each photo situation.

How Does Sensor Size Affect Your Digital Photography

2007-04-25T07:38:00.001-07:00

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 24x16mm to 36x24mm, but it remains of the range of 8x6mm 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 ¾ 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.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Digital Photography

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1. Lesser cost

One of the advantages that digital cameras provide is the fact that it is largely practical and convenient. There is lesser cost in the long run as one need not buy films anymore and will need not develop the pictures the old fashion way. They would only need to charge the batteries, get a reasonably large memory stick and they are good to go.

2. Better storage

Photographers can now store the pictures that they have taken in their computers and in their cds, allowing them to use the memory stick over and over again. There is no more need to store rolls of film and worry that they might disintegrate.

3. Printing convenience

Another convenience that digital cameras provide is the fact that it can be printed at home the same way one would print any kind of file.

4. Trial and Error

Another convenience that digital cameras provide is the fact that one can actually view the photos right after taking it and have the option of erasing it when it is not good. This, according to experts, spoils photographers. Because they can do a take over and over again, they don’t learn the discipline of planning for their shot before actually pressing the button.
Still, for the amateur photographer, this is like manna in heaven as this enables them to easily take good photographs and see their mistakes.

Disadvantages

1. Need for Computer literacy

Similar to film photography where you need to be also familiar with working in the dark room, one needs to have a modicum of computer skills. Not only will you be storing your photographs in the computer, operating the camera is like operating a small computer. You really have to be computer literate in order to maximize the functions of your camera.

2. Artistry is lost

There are some that argue that artistry and spontaneity is lost when using a digital camera because photographers do not shoot using various effects. For instance, some would not bother to blur the background anymore because they can fix the photo in Photoshop and other graphic programs. One can do a number of things with the computer, erase flaws, fix red eyes and sharpen some features.

Continuous focus mode used for shooting digital photos of moving objects

2007-04-25T07:35:00.002-07:00

It is harder to shoot good digital photos of moving objects than of still objects. When objects are still you have all the time that you need to focus on the object and set the other camera parameters like shutter speed and aperture. This time shortens as the objects in the frame move faster and faster.
An example of moving objects that you might be photographing is a runner in a race, a racecar in a racing event or a jet fighter in an air show. The closer you are to those moving objects the faster they appear to be moving relative to your position and the faster they move the less time you have to set the camera and shoot the digital photo. For example if you are really far from a racecar during a race you have more time to take the photo than if you are virtually on the track and the car is heading your way.
There are many aspects to shooting good moving objects photos. In this article we will only look at one: focusing on the object. Other parameters such as shutter speed and aperture are explained in other articles. When objects are in focus digital photos look sharp and crisp when objects are out of focus they look unclear and blurry.
With low-end pocket cameras you do not have much choice when it comes to focusing. The camera will make its best effort to focus on the objects and there is little control for you as the photographer to guarantee the results. Semi-professional photographer are more likely to use SLR digital cameras with zoon lenses when taking photos of moving objects in scenarios like those described above. When using such equipment you can take advantage of a focusing mode known as Continuous Focus.
In Continuous Focus mode the camera continuously focuses on the objects in the photo. Once the shutter button is pressed and as long as it is held half way down the camera continuously focuses on the objects in the photo. The camera continuously corrects the focus as the objects distance from the camera changes.
When using this mode to shoot photos of moving objects you should hold the shutter button half way down and continuously move the camera to follow the objects. The camera will continuously keep the objects in focus. When you are ready to shoot the photo simply press the shutter button all the way down. By continuously correcting the focus the camera guarantees that it is always ready to shoot the photo when you feel the composition is right. For example you can use this mode to track an airplane in an air show and take the photo exactly when the composition is right – maybe when another bigger and slower airplane is visible making the digital photo composition more impressive.
This mode is not free of drawbacks. One drawback is the associated high power consumption as the camera continuously corrects the focus it uses the power hungry motors in the lens in order to move the optical components back and forth. Another drawback is the need to keep the objects in focus in a specific area of the frame that the camera focuses on limiting the composition options - usually this area is in the center of the frame.

The biggest power consumers in digital cameras

2007-04-25T07:35:00.001-07:00

Like other portable electronic devices digital cameras rely on batteries to power up their electronics and mechanical elements. Although battery technologies have improved a lot in the last few years they are still very limited in their energy capacity.
Understanding what elements of your digital camera consume the most power can help you to understand why you run out of battery so fast and to conserve battery power in the future. In this article we will list these power hungry components. Other articles explain how you can optimize usage to preserve power.
Your digital camera is built from many components. Some of them are electronic like the chipsets that run the camera and carry out all the wonderful automatic features. Some of them are mechanical like the motors that move the lenses to achieve focus or change the zoom factor. And some of them are optical like the lenses and the mirror in SLR cameras.
Every digital camera components consumes different amounts of energy. Some components consume very little power while others consume a lot. Digital cameras include smart electronics that optimize power consumption but for the most part power consumption depends on how the photographer uses the camera and its features.
Here is a list of three components that consume the most energy in a typical digital camera:

LCD screen: One of the great features of digital cameras is the ability to view photos immediately after they are taken using a small color and bright LCD screen built into the camera. This allows photographer to review the composition and decide if the photo is good enough or if they need to take more photos. Before the digital era photographers had to wait until the film was developed in order to review their photos. The digital era shortened this wait time to virtually zero. LCD screens are also used as convenient view finders – when taking a photo you can look at the LCD and see exactly how the photo will look like. Pressing the shutter button actually shoots the photo. The problem with color and bright LCD screens is that they consume a lot of energy. This is the reasons why all digital cameras turn off the LCD screen automatically if not used for a certain amount of time.

Motors: Digital cameras include moving components. These are mostly optical elements that move in order to focus on objects or change zoom factors. Digital cameras include motors that move those elements as needed to achieve the photographer desired results. For example when auto focusing on objects in the photo frame the digital camera built in computer sends commands to the motors to move the lenses back and forth until focus is achieved. Motors are mechanical components and consume a lot of power when used. Furthermore the bigger and heavier the lens and optical elements that the motor have to move (for example big zoom lenses) the more energy is needed for the motors to complete their task.

Flash: Flash is used when shooting photos in dark conditions or in conditions where shadows can appear on the objects. Flash is an electro-optical component that works by charging energy into a special electronic component and then discharging this energy in a short time as light energy. There are many types of flash units the bigger and longer distance that a flash supports the more energy it consumes each time it is used.

How to Shoot Multiples

2007-04-25T07:34:00.001-07:00

There are several types of in-camera multiple exposure, with numerous variations thereof:

• Two or more completely different scenes shot on one piece of film. A shot is taken, then the shutter is cocked but the film isn't advanced. Then another shot, taken somewhere else, is exposed on that same frame.

Back in the old days, when shutter cocking and film advance were separate operations, these kinds of multiples were easy (too easy, as some will attest). Most modern cameras, 35mm in particular, wind and cock the shutter in one operation (via the push of a lever or crank of a motor). So you must disengage the wind function to make multis. On some mechanical cameras, you can simply disengage the winding clutch by pushing the rewind button or lever. (Consult your manual.) On electronic cameras, however, you usually have to switch to a separate multi-exposure mode, then enter the number of exposures you want to make on a single frame.

Because each exposure adds more density to the film, you'll end up with extremely overexposed negatives or slides if you simply shoot away at the meter reading. To prevent overexposure, you must deliberately reduce each exposure. With a double image, it's easy: You just shoot the two pictures at half the normal exposure, in other words, one stop under.

But how do you figure exposure if you're shooting, say, 12 multiples? Just multiply the number of exposures times the ISO rating of your film, and reset the camera to that new rating. Example: To shoot a 12-shot multiple on 50-speed slide film, multiply 12 times 50 to get 600. Now set your camera ISO to the nearest standard rating, in this case 640, and shoot away.

• Single-subject multiples: A specialized version of the multiples described above, these are done by keeping the camera in one place (preferably on a tripod) and exposing the frame over and over again. If you shoot, say, a boat bobbing on the water, you'll get an impressionistic, blurred boat against a sharp background!

• Dark-field multiples: If you're shooting a scene with a large black or nearly black area in the frame, you can create multiple images in which individual elements don't have the semitransparent look.

A classic application of this is adding a big moon to a night landscape. A scene with a dark sky area is first shot; then, on the same piece of film, another exposure is made of the moon to add it to the sky. Unlike simple multiscene multiples, dark-field multiples don't add exposure in layers Each shot against the black back ground should be made at normal exposure.

• Flash multiples: Similar to dark-field multiples, except flash is used for the exposures. A fun shot is a double exposure of a person by a solitary tree after dark: With the camera on a tripod, one shot is made with your subject on one side of the tree; another with the subject on the other side of the tree. The two exposures of your subject look like identical twins.

You don't need multi-exposure provision to make a flash multiple - in fact, you don't even need flash synch! With a dark background, just open the shutter on B (or a long timed exposure) and fire the flash the appropriate number of times with the flash test button. Then close the shutter.

• Stroboscopic flash multiples: Some flash units (and some point-and-shoot cameras) have a setting for true Stroboscopic flash: multiple bursts in rapid succession - 10 pops a second, or even more.

Using a black background (or an open space at night), you can use strobe flash for such motion studies as analysis of a golf swing or a check of your Little Leaguer's at-bat form.

Avoid These Five Shooting Mistakes

2007-04-25T07:33:00.003-07:00

The difference between professional and amateur video work is obvious to audiences but is not always so obvious behind the camera. With so many things to consider, it's easy to overlook something while shooting that may be irreparable later. Your audience will know if the shoot was handled well or not by how they react to the images you present. Professionals have often
learned by hard experience the consequences of failing to plan against the following five mistakes:

1. Bad framing. Nobody likes to see an actor whose head is cut off by the top of the video frame, but even fewer people like to see an actor with his chin cut off at the bottom. It's important to maintain good balance in the composition of the shot, but the somewhat experienced amateur tends to go to the other extreme by putting all the subjects smack in the center of the frame. That gets boring and the audience will see everything objectively. The professional follows the rule of thirds, keeping the subjects on the lines that divide the frame into thirds, keeping eyes on the top third and movement on the third opposite of the direction in which the subject is moving in order to keep open space in front. While this may seem simple, it is not as easy as it appears once the action begins. Practice following the rule of thirds and you will be able to keep your subjects interesting to watch.

2. Too much zooming. Most consumer grade camcorders have few effects built in but all of them have zooms so many amateurs tend to overuse it. If you pay attention to most of the stuff you see in films or television, the actual zooming is not commonly displayed. Home videos, however, are deeply infected with over zealous zooming and it weakens the production. Picture quality and audience interest remains when you track the camera in for a closer view instead of constantly zooming. The wide shot keeps the highest picture quality so try to use that whenever you can.

3. Backlighting. The amateur videographer is 99% ignorant of how light affects the appearance of the subject on the screen. So much amateur video is so fraught with black figures with dark faces by windows or in front of the sunlight. A word to the wise: keep the strongest light source in front of your actor or subject for the best video quality. Photographers have a flash so they can mix it up but video isn't served by having backgrounds that are brighter than the subject. When forced to video a backlit subject, increase the exposure to totally blow out the background. Better to have a clear face and nothing in the background than a beautiful background with a dark subject.

4. Background noise. Camcorders com with omnidirectional microphones built in but many videographers continue to shoot as if the sound from the front is the only audio that the camera will pick up. What they fail to consider is the fact that the microphone is picking up the planes overhead, the trucks on the nearby highway, the children playing nearby, and the wind. Cut out all the background noise you can before you start rolling tape because once that audio is recorded, you may not be able to clean it up in post production.

5. No tripod. Please, just use it. Get one with quick release plates so it doesn't slow you down much when you need to hold the camera but no human arm or shoulder will ever be able to compete with the steady, dependable, and strong shots that come from using a tripod. Videographers are cocky and think they can handle it with their hands. They obviously have never participated in the production of a major motion picture. The cinematographer never holds the camera himself, he's not so incompetent as to think he can get consistent quality shots with his own arm.

Avoid these mistakes and your audiences will love you for it.

Features Of A Waterproof Digital Camera

2007-04-25T07:33:00.001-07:00

Why in the world would you need a waterproof digital camera? No, you don’t have to be a scuba diver to have this need. You could need one because you like to sail or enjoy taking pictures outdoors. Even the rain can harm some types of digital cameras. So, if you enjoy taking pictures you may want to look into options for a waterproof camera.

The options range from waterproof casings to waterproof and weather resistant digital cameras. A waterproof casing is basically a housing unit you can buy for your existing camera and use when the conditions require it. These units can be purchased for most cameras as they are manufactured by many of the larger camera companies including, Canon, Olympus and Sony. If scuba diving were your thing, you can purchase a waterproof casing that is capable of being submersed 130 feet.

If you don’t want to add the casing to your existing camera and have an ongoing need for a waterproof digital camera there are many options on the market today. Again, Canon, Olympus, Sony and Pentax all offer a waterproof camera. These cameras have all of the bells and whistles of non waterproof models from flash to movie making capabilities. It is better to purchase a package deal that includes a memory card, editing software, and USB connection.

There are many factors to consider with deciding on purchasing a waterproof casing or waterproof camera, not the least of which is price. How much you are able to spend will determine the resolution you are able to obtain. Low resolutions cameras around two megapixels are suitable for printing 5x7 photos and email while it is recommend you have at least a four megapixel camera for larger prints. Only professionals who will be doing editing really have then need for a camera over 5 megapixels.

An important characteristic to keep in mind when purchasing a waterproof camera is ease of use. Personally, I want something that I can take right out of the box, point and shoot. The more hassle and setup involved the more likely I am to say “forget it.” Some cameras also take a long time to warm up and start. If you are going to the trouble of purchasing a waterproof camera in the first place, you are likely shooting in wet conditions and will want something that starts fast. Another feature to check out is the LCD display. Make sure you can easily view this in all lighting conditions from low light to sunlight.

Now get out there and start taking some photos with your new waterproof camera.

What Are The Features Of A Mini Digital Camera?

2007-04-25T07:32:00.001-07:00

There are many different kinds of mini digital cameras available. The world’s smallest digital camera, which has been around for a number of years now, is the Smart mini digital camera. It’s ultra-compact, multifunctional, and smaller than a credit card. But this mini digital camera takes jaw-dropping digital photos and can even double as a webcam because of its built-in personal computer camera functions.

The Smart mini digital camera comes loaded with 16MB of built-in ROM, allowing you to store up to 20 pictures. Downloading the photos to your computer is easy, simply connect it to your pc with the USB cables that come with it nd use the included software package. The software also has editing capability, allowing you to crop pictures and make any desired color adjustments.

In additon, it’s 352x288 pixel screen allows you to use it as a webcam to communicate with friends. This mini digital camera is so compact; it will even fit on your key ring. And it comes complete with its own key ring attachment and leather pouch. It also has compatibility with Microsoft operating systems from Windows 98 forwards.

The mini digital camera includes an LCD display, letting you know just how many pictures you have taken in the still photo mode, or telling you the amount of ROM available in continuous mode. The display also tells you which function is currently activated. Change the shooting mode of the camera with the touch of the button; choose between high resolution and low resolution. Do you want to be in your own photographs? The Smart mini digital camera also has an auto-shoot mode.

Casio also has two mini digital cameras, the EXZ55 and the EXTRA-S100. While they are more expensive and slightly larger than the Smart mini digital camera, they do take higher-quality photographs. The Smart mini digital camera is best used as a webcam. The EXZ55 mini digital camera is 87 millimeters wide by 58 millimeters high by 22.5 millimeters deep. Or 3.45 inches wide by 2.23 inches wide by 0.89 inches wide. This is the size of a credit card, but slightly thicker. The EX-S100 is smaller, measuring 88 millimeters wide by 57 millimeters high by 16.7 millimeters deep. Or 3.46 inches by 2.24 inches by 0.66 inches deep. The EXZ55 mini digital camera has five megapixels with a 3x optical zoom and a 2.5 inch LCD display.

Black And White Photography In The Digital Age

2007-04-25T07:31:00.000-07:00

The world is celebrating color in full spectrum, not just in the environment but also in the computer. In the 60's, people are happy to see their photographs in black and white copies and it extended for quite some time until technology can already reproduce and provide people with colored digital photography.

Why still use black and white? If you have watched the controversial movie "Schindler's List" (1993) by Steven Spielberg, it has been presented in the screens in black and white color. Critics were expressing dissatisfaction, and to some degree, one could think it is such a waste denying the audience of more than 1 million colors reduced to nothing but grayscale monochromatic theme.

Nowadays, black and white photography is directly proportional to vanity, because everyone desires colored output. In case of "Schindler's List," it was released on purpose as black and white, to give way to a dramatic impact for the setting of 1945 Nazi occupation. The effect of black and white reel, has added spice to the thematic goal of the director. The essence of using black and white is important for character shots.

The world is ironic and ridiculous at times, but we cannot simply take away black and white especially in the era of digital photography. We know all Graphic Arts editing applications, scanners, digital cameras, and other photography gadgets have grayscale options.

To start with your own black and white digital photography shots, you will not need extra effort and complications other than shooting as is. Take the shot in color then you can switch the setting of the digital image in an editor, using array of choices. If you are using Photoshop or Fireworks, you can change the whole image into black and white by editing "Hue and Saturation" or simply switching it to "grayscale" format.

Old photographs from developed films can be converted into digital images by scanning them. If you want a black and white portrait out of it, set your scanner into grayscale. The result is black and white photo.

Setting your digital camera into "evening shot" mode automatically converts the image as monochromatic. You can remove saturation to convert it to black and white. Digital camera works efficiently with a computer. You can do everything about it in full control---that is if you are adept with the manipulation of the technical side of it. It will be quite expensive but worth the effort.

Technology is getting better and better, if you choose conventional effects, as long as you have the 360-degree options to enhance possibilities, then black and white digital photography is very simple to produce.

Basic understanding of your digital camera flash

2007-04-25T07:30:00.002-07:00

Many of us do not think twice about the usage of our digital camera’s flash assuming that the camera will use the flash automatically as needed. Flash however can and should be manually set in many scenarios resulting in high quality digital photos.
The most common usage of flash photography is when there is not enough ambient light for example when taking an indoor digital photo in a dark room. There are many other ways in which you can use your digital camera’s flash to get high quality digital photos. One such usage is fill-in flash.
Before setting your flash to manual mode and making more efficient usage of it you should know a bit more of the technology and history behind flash photography. Flash photography has been around for more than a century. During the early days of photography flash was implemented as a powder that was literally lit by either fire or electrical current. At that time flash photography was a risky business. Digital cameras today use a safe implementation by utilizing electronic flash tubes that are automatically synchronized with the camera’s shutter.
You have two options for using flash with your digital camera. The first option is using the digital camera internal flash. Practically all digital cameras have build-in flash units. Most cameras also allow the usage of an external flash unit. Such flash units can be either mechanically attached to the digital camera or they can be connected to the camera via a cable and mechanically positioned on a tripod or any other mechanism. They are synchronized and controlled by the digital camera. External flash units vary in price and features. They can have different maximum light energy that they can emit and different mechanical capabilities (tilting, skewing).
In automatic flash mode the camera sensors evaluate the amount of ambient light in the scene. The digital camera fires the flash if the amount of ambient light is not high enough. There are limitations to the cameras automatic sensors resulting in either firing the flash when it was not needed or vice versa.
In some scenarios the usage of flash can result in poor digital photos. For example when the object is too close to the digital camera the flash light will be too strong and will wash out the object. Another example is in scenarios where the flash creates unwanted shadows in the digital photo. Yet another example is exaggeration of details such as when shooting a digital photo of an older person the skin wrinkles and imperfections details can be overly detailed.
Digital camera’s flash units have a certain effective range. This is a limitation of how much light energy the flash unit can emit. Internal flash units usually have shorter range than external flash units. If the object in the photo is outside of the flash range – the flash will not be effective and the object will be dark. On the other hand if the object is too close to the flash unit or the flash unit emits too much energy the object will be washed out. If your object is outside of your flash unit effective range you should turn off the flash and use slow shutter photography preferably with a tripod or another stabilizing mechanism. If your flash units allows the setting of the light energy that will be fired (usually by setting the distance to the object) – make sure that it is set right to prevent washed out objects.
In some scenarios there will be enough ambient light to take a digital photo but without the usage of the flash the digital photo quality will be very poor. In such scenario if the camera is left on automatic flash mode it will not fire the flash. For example daytime photography with an object that is shadowed. If the object is wearing a hat it can create shades on the object’s face or when the object is lit from the side the object’s nose can create shades too. Putting the flash in manual fill-in mode will force the flash to fire. The flash will lit those shadowed areas and prevent the shades in the final digital photo. The object of course must be in effective flash range. Another example is an object that is lit from behind such as when taking a digital photo of an object against a sunset. Without a fill-in flash the photo will likely be just a dark silhouette of the object.
These were some basic concepts behind flash usage. There are many other advanced options for your digital camera flash. For example bounce flash can result in great digital photos – in that mode instead of pointing the flash directly at the object it is pointed to some reflecting surface like a wall or a special reflector. The result is more natural light and color rich digital photos.

Smart usage can extend digital cameras battery life

2007-04-25T07:30:00.001-07:00

Digital cameras are powered by batteries and are limited in the number of digital photos that can be taken between either replacing or recharging the batteries. If you are planning for a long digital photo shooting session or are traveling learning some habits that can save on power will help you conserve energy and squeeze more digital photos from your batteries.
Digital cameras have many features and options. Some features consume more energy than others. Some of the greatest features are power hungry. Learning which those power hungry features are and using them with caution can help you get more digital photos from your camera battery.
Digital camera LCD screen: The digital camera LCD screen is one of the biggest energy consumers. Digital cameras provide viewing of digital photos on a small LCD screen. You can also shoot digital photos using the LCD instead of the viewfinder. An LCD screen consumes a lot of energy. This is the reason why all digital cameras turn off the LCD screen after a certain amount of no usage time. In order to conserve energy try the following: Turn off the LCD and use the viewfinder whenever possible. Only use the LCD when you must for example when taking an overhead digital photo when the optical viewfinder is not usable. Minimize digital photo viewing. When you view photos on the LCD you are wasting energy. Only use the LCD to view photos when you need to do so for the benefit of the next digital photos shooting – for example to check if a composition was right or if the lighting was good.
Digital camera mechanical motors: The motors that move the mechanical components of the digital camera such as the lenses when focusing or zooming are also a big power consumer. Motors consume a lot of energy when moving the digital camera optical components. In order to minimize the motors movement try the following: Do not use continuous focus when not necessary: The motors that move the optical components in order to focus consume energy. You can not avoid focusing but you can avoid focusing that is not necessary. For moving objects such as in sport events continuous focus is used so your can stay focused on the object until you are ready to take the photo. In those cases as long as you press the shutter button half way down the camera will continue to focusing on the object. To save energy minimize that time to the minimum necessary.
Digital camera flash: The digital camera flash unit is also a big power consumer. Shooting photos using the flash consumes more energy than shooting photos without flash. You can not avoid flash photography when it is needed but in many cases you will find yourself shooting digital photos in situations where the flash is not needed but it is fired because it was left in automatic mode and the camera fired it for no reason. When possible set the flash to manual mode and control its usage.
False shutter button usage: Every time you press the shutter button half way down and do not take a photo you waste energy. When pressing the shutter button half way down the camera goes through a series of processes getting ready to shoot a digital photo. It focuses the lenses it wakes up electronic components and gets the flash ready if needed. Avoid pressing the shutter half way down when you do not plan to shoot a photo.
In conclusion until there is a breakthrough in battery technology you will have to keep in mind power consumption when going on long shooting sessions without being able to change or recharge the batteries. Fortunately you can follow the few simple usage tips given in this article to significantly extend your digital camera battery life.

A common photography problem: out of focus digital photos

2007-04-25T07:29:00.002-07:00

Digital cameras are becoming more and more sophisticated. On one hand they allow high quality automatic point and shoot. On the other hand they allow full manual control of their settings. Regardless of the mode you use there are some scenes that require special care. Without such care your digital photos will be of poor quality regardless of how sophisticated and automatic your camera is.
New digital cameras include sophisticated hardware and software that allow a simple point a shoot usage and result in high quality digital photos. Such high quality digital photos are achieved in most scenarios but in some scenarios solely relying on the cameras automatic feature is not enough. In such scenes the camera hardware and software will make the wrong decision as to the optimal camera setting for the best digital photo. The result will be a poor quality photo.
Being aware of such scenarios can help in avoiding such poor quality digital photos. When you identify such a scenario you can use some simple techniques, by manually setting the camera, by changing the photo shooting angle or by manipulating the scene.
One of the common problems with automatic digital camera photo shooting is digital photos that are out of focus. An out of focus photo looks blurry and has low contrast. Usually such a photo is useless and there is no way to correct it using software on your home computer. Most digital cameras can automatically set the focus for you and in most cases they choose the right focus for the scene. Some scenes however are harder to focus on and can fool even the most sophisticated high-end digital camera’s auto focus mechanism. Moreover with most digital cameras excluding digital SLRs you can not really confirm the focus quality. The reason is that the viewfinder is not connected to the actual lenses and the preview LCD screen is too small to really allow correct focus appreciation.
If you are using an SLR camera you can make sure that the objects are in focus by looking through the viewfinder. Most cameras sound a short beep when the focus is locked and also display a green rectangle around the area that they focused on. The first step to ensure correct focus is to make sure that this area is where the objects that you care about are. For example if there are two objects in the scene in different distances from the camera make sure that the camera focused on the object you want.
Extreme scenes are be harder to focus on. For example scenes that include a few objects that are very close to the camera and a few that are far or scenes that simply include very close objects. Such scenarios take special care to focus on. If your camera allows manual focus – try to manually focus to make sure that you got the desired focus. In any case when you identify a potential focus problem take more digital photos than you would usually take while changing the focus settings, taking a few in manual mode and a few in automatic mode, changing the shooting angle and the distance from the objects if possible.
The best way to learn how to avoid out of focus digital photos is by experimenting and practicing. Try to find scenes that will confuse the digital camera into taking out of focus digital photos. Take a few digital photos using the camera automatic mode and review the results confirming the expected poor quality. Now correct the problem and take a few more photos. Review the new digital photos and make sure that indeed the out of focus problem is gone. Practicing in a controlled environment will help you be prepared to quickly and efficiently handle such scenes in real time photo shooting.

A common photography problem: blurry digital photos

2007-04-25T07:29:00.001-07:00

Digital cameras are becoming more and more sophisticated. On one hand they allow high quality automatic point and shoot. On the other hand they allow full manual control of their settings. Regardless of the mode you use there are some scenes that require special care. Without such care your digital photos will be of poor quality regardless of how sophisticated and automatic your camera is.
New digital cameras include sophisticated hardware and software that allow a simple point a shoot usage and result in high quality digital photos. Such high quality digital photos are achieved in most scenarios but in some scenarios solely relying on the cameras automatic feature is not enough. In such scenes the camera hardware and software will make the wrong decision as to the optimal camera setting for the best digital photo. The result will be a poor quality photo.
Being aware of such scenarios can help in avoiding such poor quality digital photos. When you identify such a scenario you can use some simple techniques, by manually setting the camera, by changing the photo shooting angle or by manipulating the scene.
One of the common problems with automatic digital camera photo shooting is digital photos that are blurry. Blurry digital photos look out of focus or have objects that are not clear and appear to be smudged. Most of the blurry digital photos are the result of camera shakings. When the shutter is open and the scene is captured on the digital camera sensor (also known as CCD) any shakings or movements of the digital camera will result in the objects moving around the CCD while the photo capturing process is executed. The result of such movements is a blurry photo since the object seems to be “captured” by a few areas on the CCD in different intensities.
Learn how to hold your digital camera to minimize shakings: it should be held firmly with two hands and it should “touch” your face. Camera shakings and movements are more problematic when shooting in extreme conditions such as slow shutter speeds or very high zoom values. With slow shutter speed the camera has more time to “move” and blur the photo. With high zoom value even very small camera movements that would otherwise not be noticeable are enlarged and blur the digital photo. If you are shooting photos using slow shutter speeds or high zoom values you should use a sturdy tripod to prevent shaking. If you can not guarantee that the camera will be stable – for example if you are shooting while you’re moving – set the camera to shutter priority and choose a fast shutter speed (assuming of course that the light conditions allow such setting) – for example setting the shutter speed to anything faster than 1/250 of a second will most likely guarantee a non blurry photo even if the camera shakes a bit. If you
have to take high zoom value digital photos without a tripod or a sturdy surface you can also consider using high end lenses that include built-in image stabilizers.
The best way to learn how to avoid blurry digital photos is by experimenting and practicing. Try to find scenes that will confuse the digital camera into taking blurry digital photos. Take a few digital photos using the camera automatic mode and review the results confirming the expected poor quality. Now correct the problem and take a few more photos. Review the new digital photos and make sure that indeed the blurry digital photos problem is gone. Practicing in a controlled environment will help you be prepared to quickly and efficiently handle such scenes in real time photo shooting.

A common photography problem: underexposed digital photos

2007-04-25T07:28:00.001-07:00

Digital cameras are becoming more and more sophisticated. On one hand they allow high quality automatic point and shoot. On the other hand they allow full manual control of their settings. Regardless of the mode you use there are some scenes that require special care. Without such care your digital photos will be of poor quality regardless of how sophisticated and automatic your camera is.
New digital cameras include sophisticated hardware and software that allow a simple point a shoot usage and result in high quality digital photos. Such high quality digital photos are achieved in most scenarios but in some scenarios solely relying on the cameras automatic feature is not enough. In such scenes the camera hardware and software will make the wrong decision as to the optimal camera setting for the best digital photo. The result will be a poor quality photo.
Being aware of such scenarios can help in avoiding such poor quality digital photos. When you identify such a scenario you can use some simple techniques, by manually setting the camera, by changing the photo shooting angle or by manipulating the scene.
One of the common problems with automatic digital camera photo shooting is digital photos that are underexposed. Underexposed digital photos look dark and lack details. Their color is not rich and the objects tend to look grayish and not “alive”. The reason for underexposed photos is setting the exposure too low. Although the camera can measure ambient light and make the exposure decisions for you it can be confused by scenes that are more complex. Many times such scenes do not really have one perfect exposure setting and the best exposure depends on the results and the objects in the scene that you care about the most.
For example if there is a very bright light source in the photo it can confuse the camera to believe that there is enough light in the scene for a low exposure setting. The result will be a photo that captures the bright area but darkens all the others. Usually you can assume that scenes that have extreme lighting gaps between different areas confuse the camera – for example if a quarter of the photo is very bright and the rest is very dark the camera is likely to set the wrong exposure. When you identify such cases you can manually set the exposure to the right value for the results you are looking for. Another options is to pan the camera a bit and point to a scene that does not have such light gaps (for example that does not have a very bright object in it) but that its objects are in the same focus distance as the scene you are planning to shoot. At that point you can press the shutter half way down (or use any other specific camera mechanism) in order to lock the camera focus and exposure settings. Once
you have done that you can pan the camera back to the original scene and shoot the photo.
The best way to learn how to avoid underexposed digital photos is by experimenting and practicing. Try to find scenes that will confuse the digital camera into taking underexposed digital photos. Take a few digital photos using the camera automatic mode and review the results confirming the expected poor quality. Now correct the problem and take a few more photos. Review the new digital photos and make sure that indeed the underexposed digital photos problem is gone. Practicing in a controlled environment will help you be prepared to quickly and efficiently handle such scenes in real time photo shooting.

A common photography problem: overexposed digital photos

2007-04-25T07:27:00.002-07:00

Digital cameras are becoming more and more sophisticated. On one hand they allow high quality automatic point and shoot. On the other hand they allow full manual control of their settings. Regardless of the mode you use there are some scenes that require special care. Without such care your digital photos will be of poor quality regardless of how sophisticated and automatic your camera is.
New digital cameras include sophisticated hardware and software that allow a simple point a shoot usage and result in high quality digital photos. Such high quality digital photos are achieved in most scenarios but in some scenarios solely relying on the cameras automatic feature is not enough. In such scenes the camera hardware and software will make the wrong decision as to the optimal camera setting for the best digital photo. The result will be a poor quality photo.
Being aware of such scenarios can help in avoiding such poor quality digital photos. When you identify such a scenario you can use some simple techniques, by manually setting the camera, by changing the photo shooting angle or by manipulating the scene.
One of the common problems with automatic digital camera photo shooting is digital photos that are overexposed. Overexposed digital photos have blown out areas and sometimes are completely saturated and white. Their color is not rich and the objects tend to look white and not “alive”. The reason for overexposed photos is setting the exposure too low. Although the camera can measure ambient light and make the exposure decisions for you it can be confused by scenes that are more complex. Many times such scenes do not really have one perfect exposure setting and the best exposure depends on the results and the objects in the scene that you care about the most.
For example if there is a very bright light source in the photo it can confuse the camera to believe that there is enough light in the scene for a low exposure setting. The result will be a photo that captures the bright area but darkens all the others. Usually you can assume that scenes that have extreme lighting gaps between different areas confuse the camera – for example if a quarter of the photo is very bright and the rest is very dark the camera is likely to set the wrong exposure. When you identify such cases you can manually set the exposure to the right value for the results you are looking for. Another options is to pan the camera a bit and point to a scene that does not have such light gaps (for example that does not have a very bright object in it) but that its objects are in the same focus distance as the scene you are planning to shoot. At that point you can press the shutter half way down (or use any other specific camera mechanism) in order to lock the camera focus and exposure settings. Once you have done that you can pan the camera back to the original scene and shoot the photo.
The best way to learn how to avoid overexposed digital photos is by experimenting and practicing. Try to find scenes that will confuse the digital camera into taking overexposed digital photos. Take a few digital photos using the camera automatic mode and review the results confirming the expected poor quality. Now correct the problem and take a few more photos. Review the new digital photos and make sure that indeed the overexposed digital photos problem is gone. Practicing in a controlled environment will help you be prepared to quickly and efficiently handle such scenes in real time photo shooting.A common photography problem: shaded objects in digital photos

A common photography problem: red eyed objects in digital photos

2007-04-25T07:27:00.001-07:00

Digital cameras are becoming more and more sophisticated. On one hand they allow high quality automatic point and shoot. On the other hand they allow full manual control of their settings. Regardless of the mode you use there are some scenes that require special care. Without such care your digital photos will be of poor quality regardless of how sophisticated and automatic your camera is.
New digital cameras include sophisticated hardware and software that allow a simple point a shoot usage and result in high quality digital photos. Such high quality digital photos are achieved in most scenarios but in some scenarios solely relying on the cameras automatic feature is not enough. In such scenes the camera hardware and software will make the wrong decision as to the optimal camera setting for the best digital photo. The result will be a poor quality photo.
Being aware of such scenarios can help in avoiding such poor quality digital photos. When you identify such a scenario you can use some simple techniques, by manually setting the camera, by changing the photo shooting angle or by manipulating the scene.
One of the common problems with automatic digital camera photo shooting is digital photos that have objects with red eyes in them. Red eyed objects in digital photos is a very common phenomenon. It is usually common when taking digital photos of people or animals and using a flash in a dark environment. The eyes of objects in such digital photos have some red glow in them. The reason for the redness in their eyes is light that is reflected from the blood rich back of the eye. There are a few things that you can do to prevent red-eyes: some cameras support a “red eye reduction” mode. In that mode the camera fires the flash a few times before taking the photo. Although this can help reducing red-eye it can also result in photos of people with their eyes closed (as they are blinded by the pre-flash their reflex is to close their eyes). Other ways to prevent red-eye is to use bounce flash (you can do that with special equipment or for example by pointing the flash to a white wall) and using more ambient light if possible (for example by turning on all the lights in the room). Some cameras include built-in image processing software that automatically removes red-eye from the photos or alternatively you can use many software packages on your home computer to accomplish the same.
The best way to learn how to avoid red eyed objects in digital photos is by experimenting and practicing. Try to find scenes that will confuse the digital camera into taking digital photos with red eyed objects. Take a few digital photos using the camera automatic mode and review the results confirming the expected poor quality. Now correct the problem and take a few more photos. Review the new digital photos and make sure that indeed the red eyed objects are in the digital photos. Practicing in a controlled environment will help you be prepared to quickly and efficiently handle such scenes in real time photo shooting.

A common photography problem: dark silhouettes in digital photos

2007-04-25T07:26:00.000-07:00

Digital cameras are becoming more and more sophisticated. On one hand they allow high quality automatic point and shoot. On the other hand they allow full manual control of their settings. Regardless of the mode you use there are some scenes that require special care. Without such care your digital photos will be of poor quality regardless of how sophisticated and automatic your camera is.
New digital cameras include sophisticated hardware and software that allow a simple point a shoot usage and result in high quality digital photos. Such high quality digital photos are achieved in most scenarios but in some scenarios solely relying on the cameras automatic feature is not enough. In such scenes the camera hardware and software will make the wrong decision as to the optimal camera setting for the best digital photo. The result will be a poor quality photo.
Being aware of such scenarios can help in avoiding such poor quality digital photos. When you identify such a scenario you can use some simple techniques, by manually setting the camera, by changing the photo shooting angle or by manipulating the scene.
One of the common problems with automatic digital camera photo shooting is digital photos that include dark silhouettes in them. Dark Silhouettes appear when you are taking digital photos in a scene with a bright light source behind the object. An example of such a scene is when the sun is behind the object. The result will be a digital photo that includes a dark silhouette of the object. One scene that is very likely to result in such a problem is when taking a photo of someone on the beach against a sunset. The result will be a dark silhouette of the person with a good photo of the sunset in the background. Dark silhouettes are a result of the camera setting the wrong exposure. Because of the bright background the camera sets a low exposure and the object that are not lit from their front are severely underexposed.
The dark silhouettes in the digital photo can be eliminated by simply using the camera’s fill-in flash. When taking a photo with the fill-in flash turned on the flash lights the object making sure that it is captured with all its details. Use a fill-in flash when taking pictures of objects with a bright light source behind them. One limitation of this solution is that the objects must be within the flash effective range – otherwise the flash is useless and they will still appear as silhouettes in the photo.
The best way to learn how to avoid dark silhouettes in digital photos is by experimenting and practicing. Try to find scenes that will confuse the digital camera into taking dark silhouettes digital photos. Take a few digital photos using the camera automatic mode and review the results confirming the expected poor quality. Now correct the problem and take a few more photos. Review the new digital photos and make sure that indeed the dark silhouettes problem is gone. Practicing in a controlled environment will help you be prepared to quickly and efficiently handle such scenes in real time photo shooting.

A common photography problem: Shaded objects in digital photos

2007-04-25T07:25:00.000-07:00

Digital cameras are becoming more and more sophisticated. On one hand they allow high quality automatic point and shoot. On the other hand they allow full manual control of their settings. Regardless of the mode you use there are some scenes that require special care. Without such care your digital photos will be of poor quality regardless of how sophisticated and automatic your camera is.
New digital cameras include sophisticated hardware and software that allow a simple point a shoot usage and result in high quality digital photos. Such high quality digital photos are achieved in most scenarios but in some scenarios solely relying on the cameras automatic feature is not enough. In such scenes the camera hardware and software will make the wrong decision as to the optimal camera setting for the best digital photo. The result will be a poor quality photo.
Being aware of such scenarios can help in avoiding such poor quality digital photos. When you identify such a scenario you can use some simple techniques, by manually setting the camera, by changing the photo shooting angle or by manipulating the scene.
One of the common problems with automatic digital camera photo shooting is shaded objects in digital photos. A good example of shaded objects in digital photos is when taking a portrait photo in daylight. The digital camera ambient light sensor measures enough light to set a relatively low exposure value. But even scenes with that have enough ambient light can result in shades that appear on the object depending on the angle of the light source relative to the object. For example if the object is a person with his face lit from the side the object’s nose can create shades. Another example is if the object is a person that is wearing a hat and is lit from a light source above – in such a scene the hat can create shades on the object’s face.
The camera can not automatically identify such problems and correct them. One way to easily eliminate the shades on the objects is by using the camera fill-in flash. Turn the fill-in flash on. When taking a photo the fill-in flash will fire and will light the shaded areas on the object. One limitation of this solution is that the objects must be within the fill-in flash effective range. Otherwise the flash light will fail to light the object and the shades will not be lit.
The best way to learn how to avoid Shaded objects in digital photos is by experimenting and practicing. Try to find scenes that will confuse the digital camera into taking digital photos with Shaded objects. Take a few digital photos using the camera automatic mode and review the results confirming the expected poor quality. Now correct the problem and take a few more photos. Review the new digital photos and make sure that indeed the Shaded objects problem is gone. Practicing in a controlled environment will help you be prepared to quickly and efficiently handle such scenes in real time photo shooting.

Using a digital camera panoramic photography mode

2007-04-25T07:24:00.000-07:00

Panoramic digital photos cover a wide angle of view. In its extreme a panoramic photo can cover 360 degrees of view. Such panoramic photos are for example taken from a sky scraper to convey the view it provides. Most new digital cameras provide a panoramic mode that supports such photography.
There is no formal or definitive definition of what a panoramic photo is. It is common practice to define panoramic photos as such that cover a wide angle of view. How wide? A common definition is “wider than our eyes can see” – or in other worlds – provide an artificial view that otherwise we could not have gotten by just looking at the scene (without moving our head left and right or up and down of course). Panoramic digital photos can be taken in a single shot using special panoramic wide angle lenses. This technique is limited of course as for example a 360 degree panoramic photo can not be taken this way.
Another way in which panoramic photos are created is in segments – a few photos are taken in series and are later attached to each other to create one big panoramic photo. The process of attaching the photos together is fast and easy thanks to modern digital photo processing software (as long as you’re following some guidelines when taking the photos). Panoramic photos are not limited to capturing landscape or wide angle view. They can be very useful when capturing objects that are just too big to be captured from where you stand. For example if you are standing too close to a tall tower and can not retreat to a farther position – using panoramic photography will enable you to capture the complete tower (in 2 or more shots).
Most digital cameras support a special panoramic mode. In this mode the camera optimizes its optical settings for panoramic wide angle photography. But more than just setting the optical parameters the camera also provides tools that allow you to more easily take the photos series and later on stitch them together. When put in panoramic mode the camera will first let you choose if you plan to take a horizontal panoramic photo (i.e. taking photos from left to right or right to left while keeping the vertical position fixed) or to take a vertical panoramic photo (i.e. taking the photos from bottom to top or top to bottom while keeping the horizontal position fixed). You can also choose a combination.
After you choose the panoramic mode – the camera will let you start taking the photos. On its LCD screen you would always see the previous photo you took and the new photo you are taking. This allows you to easily compose each photo in a way that it complements the previous one. You would also want to make sure the photo overlaps a bit with the previous photo – this allows for easier photo stitching later on. The camera also names the digital photos files in a special format that further helps stitching.
Photo stitching can be easily done on a computer at home. Many digital cameras come with a photo stitching software. If your digital camera did not come with one you can find either free or low priced commercial software that can stitch single photos. Basically what the photo stitching software does is: based on the photo file names it orders the photos in their right order. Then it identifies the overlapping areas in each pair of photos and places the photos in a way that these overlapping areas match (this is why having a bit of overlap is important). The final step is to attach all those pairs of files and create a single panoramic digital photo.
It is a good practice to use a tripod when taking panoramic photos. A tripod will help you maintaining either a fixed horizontal or a fixed vertical position. Also it is good practice to keep the optical settings fixed between shots and to make sure that the lighting stays the same. As always practice makes perfect – go and experiment with panoramic photography and master your digital camera panoramic mode.

Your camera CCD sensor size and the number of megapixels

2007-04-25T07:20:00.000-07:00

The digital cameras megapixels madness is very similar to the personal computer Mhz madness back in the 90s. The number of pixels a camera uses to produce a digital photo is just one element in determining the photo quality. Another important element that is usually forgotten is the sensor size. Here is why.
Digital cameras use an electronic sensor (also known as a CCD) in order to capture a digital photo. This sensor replaces the old film rolls used by traditional cameras. The electronic sensor is built from small light sensors also known as pixels. When you take a photo the camera opens the shutter for a certain amount of time. During that time light hits each individual pixel. The amount of light that hits each pixel determines its intensity (also known as the pixel value). A digital photo is comprised of many pixels each with its own pixel value.
There is a direct relationship between the size of the CCD the digital camera uses, the number of megapixels it supports and the size of each pixel. For a fixed CCD size the more pixels the CCD supports the smaller each pixel is. On the other hand for a CCD with a fixed number of pixels, the larger the CCD the bigger each pixel is.
So why should you care about the pixel size? There are many reasons to care about the pixel size as it plays an important role in the overall quality of your digital photos. One reason that is very easy to understand is sensitivity to light. Assume that you are taking a photo with the shutter opened for a fixed amount of time. During that time light hits each pixel. The larger a pixel is the more light energy that it accumulates during that period of time. The result is that with larger pixels you could take photos in darker scenarios than with smaller pixels. Also – with larger pixels the amount of noise in each pixel value is reduced.
For example if you have two digital cameras both having the same number of pixels but one is using a larger CCD sensor – the camera with the larger CCD will be able to take digital photos that are sharper and with less noise. It will also be able to take digital photos in scenes that are too dark for the other camera. Higher light sensitivity also allows more flexibility with both shutter speed and aperture settings.
High end cameras like digital SLR use larger CCD than point and shoot digital pocket cameras. Why is that? The main reason is simple: cost. It costs more to manufacture a larger CCD (for reasons such as yield and other specific manufacturing processes issues). The CCD size also influences other optical attributes of the camera – for example the aperture needed in a specific scene changes as the CCD size changes. The depth of field is directly influenced by such aperture changes.
In conclusion, when buying a digital camera always remember not to get fixated on the number of pixels. Although this number is important it is not a standalone feature. If you plan to take digital photos in extreme conditions, if you do care about depth of field, aperture settings, shutter speeds and light sensitivity than you should also check the size of the CDD the camera uses among other optical parameters of the camera.

Digital camera flash units

2007-04-25T07:19:00.001-07:00

Digital cameras flash units come in many shapes and sizes. Low end digital cameras include low energy built in flash units. High end digital SLR cameras can support sophisticated external flash units which can provide superior lighting in difficult scenarios. Here are some basic facts about flash units both built in and external.
Flash units came a long way since their early days. Back then flash units were using powder that was lit by electrical current and literally “blew up” to produce the light energy. Using these flash units was a risky business. It was also difficult as the flash units were not automatically synchronized to the camera’s shutter. The photographer had to make sure that the flash goes off at the exact right time synchronized with the shooting of the photo.
Nowadays flash units are sophisticated technology devices. They use an electronic flash tube that is automatically synchronized to the camera. The photographer merely needs to do nothing. New digital cameras can decide on their own if the flash is needed, they can set its intensity and other parameters and they can fire the flash at the exact right time when the shutter is opened. All this is done automatically in the background. Digital camera also provide the user with the ability to manually control the flash, force it to either fire or not to fire, set its intensity and more.
Flash units are divided into two categories: Internal built-in flash units or external flash units. Internal flash units are built into the camera. Almost all digital cameras include such a unit and allow the user some control over it through the camera’s menus and buttons. External flash units are attached to the camera’s body through a dedicated slide-in slot or by using an electrical cable. Not all digital cameras support external flash units. Usually the lower end pocket cameras do not allow external flash units while all high end digital SLR cameras do allow such external flash units. External flash units can vary a lot. They can have different light energy levels that they can emit and different mechanical characteristics. Some external flash units also include smart sensors to measure ambient light, distance and other optical parameters in order to optimize the flash effect.
Digital cameras can use their flash units in automatic or in manual mode. In automatic mode the camera measures ambient light and fires the flash when not enough ambient light is available. Sometimes the camera will make the wrong decision as to using the flash and will either fire or not fire the flash when the opposite was needed. Setting the flash intensity is important too. If the flash unit fires too much light energy on objects that are too close to the camera the digital photo will be washed out. On the other hand if the flash unit fires a small amount of light energy on an object that is farther away from the digital camera the digital photo will be a too dark.
Flash units have limitations too. They can not light any scene and any object at any distance from the camera. It is important to know your flash unit limitations. For example check what the maximum light energy that it can emit is and what the farthest that an object can be effectively lit from. This is also known as the effective flash range. If the object is out of the effective flash range it is actually better to turn off the flash altogether and use a tripod with a longer exposure. Sometimes it is useful to use the flash even if there is enough ambient light. In such cases you can manually force the camera to fire the flash. This is also known as fill-in flash as it is usually used to fill-in shadowed areas on objects in the digital photo.

How does a digital camera passive auto focus work

2007-04-25T07:18:00.000-07:00

In focus objects in a digital photo is a very basic requirement for high quality photography. There are two different ways to focus on such objects: manual or automatic. There are a few automatic focus methods one of them is known as passive auto focus.
High quality sharp and crisp digital photos are a result of many optical parameters that need to be set right. One of the most important optical parameters is focus. When objects in a digital photo are out of focus they look blurry and are missing details and clarity. When objects are in focus they look sharp and crisp.
While focus can be set manually by the photographer in most cases using the digital camera’s automatic focus feature is much easier and faster. There are many different algorithms and methods that digital cameras use in order to automatically determine the right focus for a specific scenario. One of those methods is knows as passive auto focus.
Passive auto focus
In many ways the passive auto focus imitates the way in which we set the focus manually. The digital camera defines one or more regions in the picture to focus on. These areas are usually around the center of the photo and are marked as rectangles on the viewfinder or the LCD. The digital camera then analyzes the captured picture seen through those regions.
The digital camera has a built-in computer chip that can run image processing algorithms. The camera executes such image processing algorithms to determine a Focus Level number. The exact way in which such a number is calculated is out of the scope of this article. A very simplistic explanation is that the digital camera transforms the digital image to a frequency space and measures the amount of high frequencies in the photo (high frequency in an image correlates to high contrast or to focus). The more high frequencies present the more in focus an image is and the higher the Focus Level number is.
The digital camera goal is to maximize the Focus Level number. In this way the digital camera achieves the best possible focus (or at least theoretically achieves such a focus). The digital camera does that by moving its lenses back and forth as it recalculates the Focus Level number. The camera is searching for a position where the Focus Level number is the highest.
When such a position is found the digital camera compares the Focus Level number to a predetermined threshold. If it is higher the digital camera announces a successful focus (usually by coloring the focused areas in green). If it is lower the digital camera announces a failure (usually by coloring the non-focused areas in red).
The passive auto focus method is relatively cheap to implement as it does not require extra sensors (such as distance sensors for active focus solutions). However passive auto focus can also fail. The reasons can vary: poor lighting conditions, low contrast objects that are hard to focus on like walls or solid surfaces and others. When the auto focus fails you can either try to focus on other objects in the same distance from the digital camera, lock the focus and pan back to the original objects you wanted to capture or you can revert to old fashion manual focus.

How does a digital camera active auto focus work

2007-04-25T07:17:00.000-07:00

In focus objects in a digital photo is a very basic requirement for high quality photography. There are two different ways to focus on such objects: manual or automatic. There are a few automatic focus methods one of them is known as active auto focus.
High quality sharp and crisp digital photos are a result of many optical parameters that need to be set right. One of the most important optical parameters is focus. When objects in a digital photo are out of focus they look blurry and are missing details and clarity. When objects are in focus they look sharp and crisp.
While focus can be set manually by the photographer in most cases using the digital camera’s automatic focus feature is much easier and faster. There are many different algorithms and methods that digital cameras use in order to automatically determine the right focus for a specific scenario. One of those methods is knows as active auto focus.
Active auto focus
Setting the digital camera focus to its right position can be easy if only you knew the exact distance between the camera and the object or objects that you are trying to focus on. If you know the lenses that you are using, the aperture and all the other optical settings then by simply by knowing the distance to the object or objects in the digital photo the exact focus can be calculated and set.
This is exactly how active focus works. Digital cameras that are equipped with an active auto focus system use distance sensors that measure the distance from the camera to the objects in the scene. Usually the camera measures the distance to the object or objects around the center of the photo.
There are a few techniques to measure the distance. One of them is by using an ultrasonic sensor. Such a sensor transmits an ultrasonic signal toward the object. When the signal hits the object it bounces back and some of its bounced energy is received back by the digital camera sensors. The digital camera measures the time it took the signal to reach back the camera and since the speed of such an ultrasonic signal is known the distance can be calculated. Other methods use infrared signals. Once the camera determined the distance to the objects the focus can be set by calculating the exact position of the lenses and by moving the lenses to that position.
Active auto focus has the advantage of working in complete darkness. Since the camera does not rely on measurements done on the captured photo the camera sensors can calculate the distance to the object in complete darkness and in focus high quality digital photos can be taken in scenarios where otherwise focus would have been impossible.
Since the active auto focus method requires extra sensors it is more expensive to implement and is usually found in higher end digital SLR cameras. Active auto focus can sometimes fail. The reasons can vary: some objects tend to absorb the transmitted signal energy instead of bouncing it back while other objects actually radiate similar signals (for example candles radiate infrared energy) and can confuse the digital camera sensors. When the auto focus fails you can either try to focus on other objects in the same distance from the digital camera, lock the focus and pan back to the original objects you wanted to capture or you can revert to old fashion manual focus.

Factors to Consider in Determining the Best Angle in Photography

2007-04-25T07:16:00.000-07:00

To get the very best quality we need to know which lenses to use and the best time to use they. There are several lenses on the market today that should become part of our every day tool.

Photography is defined as “The art or process of producing images by the action of light on surfaces sensitized by chemical processes.”

Seeing the sun rise up out of the oceanfront may be absolutely astonishing to someone who has never been to the beach. It’s all relative.

The backbone of photography is the camera, the instrument or device that works on the principle of optics. The camera and photographic techniques have undergone phenomenal changes since the time the first camera was made.

If you love taking pictures and the idea of a career in photography sounds good to you, just how do you begin finding photography jobs?

Factors to Consider in Determining the Best Angle in Photography

Many aspects have already been said up to now that dealt with the position of the camera in relation to its subject when it comes to photography.

The camera, however, may be focused on the subject from various angles that can also affect the shot. The three basic camera angles are eye-level, high, and low shots. Among the three, the two basic angles are the high and low angle shots.

Basically, the angle of the camera has an aesthetic and psychological significance when it is seen in the context of the story. This is because the photographer can project an air of domination depending on the kind of angle that he wants to use or the way he wants to emphasize the subject through a distinctive camera angle.

With this, camera angle speaks only for the context in which it is found. You can't surmise that the photographer wanted to express the whole concept or idea of the subject, in general, through camera angles. This is because camera angles only show a certain point of the story through the dominant position you may want to project. There is a wide world of photography. It touches each of us in our lives on a daily basis in some form or another. Photography is so much a part of our culture now that we hardly even notice all the places that it exists.

Modern photography has given a totally new meaning to the entire perception of life and privacy. Photography has made it possible to capture and preserve special moments, in private and in public life.

Aside from the prizes, winning a contest may be your opportunity to showcase your photography skills in a national magazine. It’s easy to see why someone would want to enter a contest. Aside from the prizes, winning a contest may be your opportunity to showcase your photography skills in a national magazine. It’s easy to see why someone would want to enter a contest.

A macro lens will also allow you to take unique abstract images. By using a wide aperture with a macro lens on natural shapes can create the perfect abstract image.

Consequently, the correct determination of the best angle will render good picture of the subject that will, in some way or another, replicate the best view of the real scene. Keep in mind that the camera does not exactly capture the way the human eye sees a particular scene. Hence, it now depends on the expertise and skill of the photographer to determine the best angle to capture the best view. There are many factors to consider in determining the best angle. Here are some of the basic and the most important factors in order to determine the best angle when it comes to photography:

1. Point of interest

This is the most basic factor that every photographer must learn to master. Photography should always have a point of interest. This is where the story evolves.

After determining the point of interest, the angle of the camera will follow by emphasizing on the kind of drama the photographer wants to express in his shot. The idea is to attract attention, to compel readers to see the picture and derive its meaning.

2. Lighting

In determining the best angle, lighting becomes a deciding factor in determining the personality of the subject in focus. This goes to show that the subject’s personality may change depending on the kind of lightning used in taking the picture. Indeed, camera angles may seem ordinary but they best define what photography is all about. That is why the determination of the best angle in photography is extremely significant.

Then you can search on the internet at freelance photography job boards or photography websites and message boards. Get specific into types of photographing you have done and look on the internet for those.

You can also purchase underwater cameras for more of a price but they last whenever you need one. Some people find this more economical than disposables, especially if they want to take these pictures often. You will then want to check for any fine print and be sure you agree with the terms. For example, some contests have rules about copyright and you give up copyright by submitting, others ask for print to publish – even if you don’t win, and without notifying you. If you do not agree to the terms of the contest, you should not enter. More on Wedding Photographer Malaysia.

Getting developed rolls of film back from a reunion or vacation is heartbreaking if something went wrong (and even someone having their eyes closed, if it is during a wedding portrait, is “something wrong”).

Another consideration in selecting a professional photographer for your wedding is what you get for your money. Most professional wedding photographers offer package deals that include a set number of prints of different shapes and sizes for one price.

7 Proven Tips and Techniques That Will Have You Taking Great Digital Photos That You Can Be Proud Of

2007-04-25T07:13:00.000-07:00

Taking great digital photos is not as hard as you might think!

In fact, if you are wondering how to take great digital photos, these 7 proven practical tips will tell you just that!

By following these quick tips and techniques you will significantly improve your digital photography to the point where you will be taking impressive photos everyday!

1) *** Take More Photos! *** Get out there and take more photos with your digital camera.

It won't cost you anything!

It will give you practice and skill using your camera so handling it will become second nature; you then have more time to think about the photo itself!

This tip will also increase your chances of getting that great photo – particularly with group shots, where you might find later that someone was blinking etc.

Children and pets are great to practice this tip on as they can be difficult to get that perfect shot of, and you will need to keep taking photos to capture it!

*NB* If you don't have a big enough memory card you will need to delete some photos every half hour or so.

A better option is to invest in a larger memory card. That way you can take as many photos as you need (always more than you think), and not worry about deleting those that don't quite make it until later!

2) *** Focus *** Make sure you and your camera are focusing on the same thing!

Check which ‘mode' the camera is set at to see whether your camera is ‘looking for' a single subject (often in Macro, Portrait and Sports Modes). Or is it trying to ‘pull' everything into focus – such as in the Landscape Mode?

Set the camera to the appropriate mode for your subject, or use the auto mode – where the camera will decide for you the best focus and exposure for the subject.

3) *** Move In Closer *** Most people stand too far away from their subject!

Don't be afraid to get in close! Take a few steps closer and see what a difference it makes.

If you cannot get in closer, use your optical zoom (never the digital zoom) to bring the focus closer to you.

You could even kneel or stand on a chair to get in closer and to change the perspective of the photo.

*NB* Optical zoom uses the mechanics of your camera; digital zoom is an electronic function. Results from digital zoom often produce poor quality photographs.

4) *** One Key Subject *** Focus on one key subject to make the photo really stand out!

Stop trying to record everything you see!

Pick a focal point that will be the centre of ‘attention' which you can concentrate on.

Using portrait or macro mode can help this technique as both have shallow depth of field – which effectively ‘blurs' everything in front and behind the focused subject.

Try picking one key subject, such as a single flower, and see what the difference it makes to your digital photos!

*NB* There are factors which affect the depth of field, such as how close you stand to your subject, so you will need to experiment as see what works best for you.

5) *** Simple Backgrounds *** Try to find a ‘simple' background for your subject.

One that is uncluttered and unobtrusive.

This can be particularly important for portrait and group photographs. You don't want to have a distracting background for a lovely soft portrait, or have the classic light pole ‘growing' out of someone's head!

Move the subject/s into a position that will minimize the background.

Remember having the subject further from the background will also lessen its effect.

6) *** Off-Centre the Subject *** That's right! Get the subject out of the middle of the photo!

Use the ‘rule-of-thirds' to position the subject in a pleasing location in the image.

The ‘rule-of-thirds' is like having an imaginary ‘tick-tack-toe' diagram drawn on your focus screen. Where those lines cross is where you place the subject.

This can really make a difference to your photographs.

But don't use it all the time – remember rules are made to be broken!

7) *** Use Flash *** Yes – even in daylight!

This is often called ‘fill-flash'. Using it will lessen any harsh shadows, resulting in better light for your photo.

This tip is great if you take photos in the middle of the day when the light is harshest.

It works particularly well for portrait and group photography.

But remember the flash on your camera is only good for about 10 feet – don't stand too far away from your subject!

These 7 tips and techniques are proven fundamentals of digital photography.

Start using them today and you will be taking great digital photos that you can be proud of!

How To Get The Best In Digital Lighting

2007-04-25T07:12:00.000-07:00

Digital photography concerns photographs in hundreds of thousands, or millions of tiny square picture elements, "pixel." Computers and printers use these minute pixels to display photograph images. It's compared to a painter who dabs small bits of paint on subject he expressed in canvas.

Determining color and brightness is processed thru number-value counts of grid pixel from the digital photograph prints, after computer divides the screen and print page into grid pixels. Controlling grid of each pixel this way is bit mapping, and "bit-maps" are the produced digital images.

Purchasing a digital camera starts to digital photography. Hundreds are available but the best digital cameras run down to a few top feature cost brands, guaranteed to produce best quality results with complete lighting kits.

Combining passion in portrait photography skills, computer software applications, and digital technology completes the elements of digital photography. Putting into photos the perfect touch of light distribution and color is essential to a successful print copy.

Taking pictures in most cases does not focus on the subject always. It's up for the photographer to apply a situation best suited to time and place of photo sessions.
Manipulating control of lights is done either ways: under the direct heat of the sun, or in the interior of a closed dark room. A seasoned digital photographer can do both, finishing photos of standard quality.

Capturing Light Effectively

1. Direct Sunlight - The mid-day sun creates shadows immediately underneath a certain subject. Set some modifications to control bright sunlight in facing the reality, you can't move the sun from its axis.

Dark shadows that bounce beneath developed the harsh "raccoon" image on the subjects' face, an ill effect-results of the whole process. If it can't be avoided, placing a reflectors underneath the subject's chin, takes instant neutralizing effects of unpleasant shadow, could lighten intensity.

Other reflectors could cause eyes to be watery. Recourse is to use a white poster board also providing enough light to the shadowed face. Avoiding direct sunlight and be devoid from eye squinting that destroys beautiful facial expressions, is a shift to some shaded place with likewise shaded background. Bright backgrounds could result on the iris' automatically turning the subject to silhouette form in effort to compensate the bright effect of the sun.

2. Orange Color - The hues of dawn and near twilight, best "peak setting" in photography. For best results in lighting about digital photos, do your shooting just after sunrise or just before sunset (at daytime and dusk, Orange disappears), when the color of orange around makes everything look better.

Your computer represents the dark room in digital photography, mediating to take the tasks necessary on adjustments you wish to achieve of images input after photograph sessions.

Necessitates cropping, working on brightness, contrast, and color adjustments. You can add special effects in frames and shadowing to create a unique dimensional appearance, taught in multi-task image editing software.

Digital Photography Basics - The Way To Better Pictures

2007-04-25T07:09:00.000-07:00

Have you ever looked at someone else's photographs and thought, "I can't take pictures like that.", even though you may even have a better camera? The truth is that most of the time it's not the camera, but how it's used that makes for a terrific picture. By learning about your camera and practicing basic photography techniques, you can greatly enhance your digital photography in a short amount of time. The following pointers will help you see noticeable improvement in your photos.

Learn how your camera works.

Even though most cameras come with a "Point and Shoot" or "Auto" setting, by relying on this for all of your shots, you are badly restricting your chances of taking excellent photos. Almost all cameras have many modes, and by taking a moment to evaluate the conditions of the shot and choosing the correct mode, youll find your photographs will be much improved. Modes most often found are: "Portrait" when taking pictures of people or close objects, use this setting if you would like to have the subject clear and the background (if it's distant) slightly indistinct; "Action" for quickly moving objects, or in a low-light situation and prefer not to use the flash, choose this setting to have the camera select a fast shutter speed, which will freeze a moving object; "Scenery" this mode selects settings for distance shots; "Nighttime" choose this for low-light situations if you have a tripod, as the shutter speed will be slow and motion will be blurred; "Macro" excellent for extreme close-ups, great for photographing nature, such as insects or flowers. If you use the correct mode, the camera works with you to depict your subject in the most excellent way possible. It may be that you have manual settings available on your camera, but the use of these is not covered in this article, as they require more advanced technique.

Pay attention to the elements in your picture.

Generally, when shooting a picture, people look only at the subject in the middle and then are astonished when they view the picture and see a telephone pole coming out of their mother's hat! Radically improve the quality of your photographs simply by imagining what the camera is seeing - the whole shot. Notice some ugly wires across the top, any busy or distracting background, and if so, take steps to alter the shot to do away with these problem areas. When taking shots of people, try to have them fill most of the shot. Faces make appealing photos, much more so than whole bodies, for the most part. Chose what the point of the picture is, and then take the shot with that in mind. A little care in the setting up phase will be well rewarded.

Be aware of your camera angle.

In some movies, youll often find that when an evil character is filmed, the camera points up at him, which distorts the subject and makes him look ominous. When taking still photographs, it is also true that angling your shot will create a distortion, creating a point of view, often not one you meant. Be certain that you are even with your subject unless you desire to create a precise effect. Photos of children and animals are often dramatically improved by adjusting camera level. When you become level with them, you correct the usual distortion that occurs when taking the shot from above. For pets and babies, lying on the floor can help to take better photos.

Use natural lighting whenever you possibly can.

Use of flash, in particular the typical camera-mounted flash, lends itself to issues for your photos, like unforgiving shadows, color loss, red-eye, and over- and under-exposure. Sometimes you absolutely have to use a flash, as at an indoor event where everyone is moving about, but overall you will get a better outcome by using existing light, including indoor lamps. You can take eye-catching indoor portraits by surrounding your subject with lamps, being sure to illuminate one side of your subject more brightly than the other, creating soft, attractive shadows. Try different lighting - you'll be amazed at the beauty of shots taken like this.

Hold your camera steady.

Even though this point is fairly obvious, it is good to be reminded of it. When the camera moves around while shooting, the resulting photo will be blurry. Don't push the shutter button - squeeze it gently. When taking shots in low light, be sure to use a tripod or find some other way to support the camera.

Shoot tons of pictures.

With the advent of the digital camera, being miserly with your picture-taking doesnt make any sense. You have no film, no processing, and you only print what you like, so go to town and take loads of tries. Professional photographers take many shots of each scene, aware that each one is slightly different, and taking more improves the chance of an excellent shot. Experiment with lighting, angles and composition. If youre taking moving subjects, you should use the "Burst" setting if your camera has one, to take many pictures in quick succession. At the end of the day, you'll find you have many more "keepers".

Take batteries and an extra memory card with you.

There's nothing worse than getting ready to take the most important shot of the day, and finding that your battery has just died. Act like the pros and be prepared. Have an extra charged battery, or a new pack if your camera uses alkaline batteries, and take a spare unused memory card. Someday you'll be glad you did.

The difference between a snapshot taker and a photographer isnt due as much to the camera, but in how the camera is used. Practice the basics laid out here, and you will be using the techniques of professional photographers - knowing how your camera works and choosing settings for the proper circumstances, carefully designing the shot, taking notice of your camera angle, using flash cautiously and with care, correctly supporting the camera, taking loads of pictures, and being properly equipped.

So, spend a little time getting to know your camera, and get out and take pictures. Soon you will be shooting photographs that you can proudly treasure always.

What do we mean by Digital Photography Equipment?

2007-04-25T07:08:00.000-07:00

Digital cameras are in vogue today and almost everyone carries one everywhere. It reminds one of the Japanese tourists in Europe or America decades ago who became the best ambassadors of Canon, Ikon, Yashika and other famous brands. Today the same companies are manufacturing digital photography equipment and competing with other digital firms around the world. Good and sharp results have always been the requirements of the photographer and digital products do offer the best there is in the world today.

But it is not only about digital cameras alone! One also need several other equipment as ancillaries before your collection of a digital studio or even that small hobby room is complete. With computers controlling the processing and printing of photographs, it is essential to learn a bit of information technology as well to be successful in the use of digital photography equipment.

What equipment do we require for Digital Photography?

Quite obviously the first piece of equipment is a digital camera! The market is full of different makes and models of this product and one need to be very careful in choosing one for their use. For a novice the basic models will suffice while for the professional one may go for a SLR model that is much more sophisticated and has a lot of useful features.

The memory chip or key is an essential part of the digital camera and depending on the usage is rated in terms of MB capacity of storage, just like a hard disk or RAM memory chip!

The batteries used in digital photography equipment are important and only Nickel Metal Hydride or NIMH rechargeable cells must be used. The charger is an important part of the digital equipment and a 4-cell charger is recommended. At least 8 to 10 hours charging is required for the batteries to retain a useful charge life.

The advantage of a digital camera is that you can easily take snapshots of the family and even use the inbuilt self timer to do a remote photographic session. For this one requires a good standard tripod for best results. The tripod will ensure trouble free photography of even moving objects and is imperative as an ancillary to this hobby. This digital photography equipment is only the basics and several optional items can still be purchased.

The software that accompanies the digital camera is without fail the most important item in digital photography. It not only provides proper drivers for the operating system being used, but also bundles variety of image processing software and viewers to facilitate your handling of those lovable pictures that your digital photography equipment took!
Finally, it is always worth your while to review and investigate the multitude of digital cameras and items available in the market. The Internet and off line stores offer great discounts and models to suit almost every taste. One must also check those who have purchased digital photography equipment at one time or the other and have experienced the immense pleasure one gets out of this - let us call it - a social hobby!

Digital Photography Tips for Beginners and Experts

2007-04-25T07:05:00.000-07:00

Do you own a digital camera? Have you started to make the most out of it? Without really starting the features of a digital camera, one can start using his or her digital camera to take beautiful pictures because of the technology embedded into that small little device.

A digital camera can help movies like me to autofocus I do on a mountain view, or a small little beautiful flower. When I first bought my camera, the salesman was very persuasive. And I quote, all you need to do is point and click. I was instantly sold on getting that wonderful camera.

As the days and weeks go by, I began to be familiar with the digital camera and suddenly digital photography became a passion for me. I wanted to take more than just ordinary pictures! I dug through my old closet and found the manual to this digital camera and started reading it. I learned about quality, that a 300 dpi will produce a better quality than a 72 dpi resolution. If only I have learned this much earlier! I learned about shutter speeds and exposure, white balance and how to remove red eye effects... digital photography is becoming very interesting!

Do you have problem taking pictures through a window? every time I take a picture to a window, there is always a reflection on the picture. Sometimes the reflection is so small I can only is it after I transfer it onto my computer. If only I knew to stand closer to the window, I would have reduced the reflection that reflects on shiny surface of the glass.

Have you tried to take pictures in the dark? if you try to use the flash with the camera, the picture could look too bright. Especially if you use it in a jungle, you will scare away most of the animals. There is a way to use the camera to take pictures without flash in the dark. That is to increase your light exposure. You can control your shutter speed by decreasing it. By decreasing the shutter speed, you allow more light to go your camera and brighten up the dark picture.

In addition to the light present, the amount of light that is reflected from the image is then absorbed into the shutter. The longer the shutter close its lead, the high exposure and brighter the image. Have you wonder how cats can see very well in the night? Their eyes are so sensitive to light, a candle in the dark can lid up a whole room for them. It takes some practice for you and I to learn about the shutter speed. Experiment and testing is crucial to know what is the correct speed.

As digital camera is getting cheaper and cheaper these days, digital photography is being picked up by many amateur Digital photographers. The younger generation to be able to pick up on softwares in many leading pictures past digital photography is a growing hobby.

Getting A Digital Camera That Is Right For You

2007-04-23T15:02:00.000-07:00

As you will soon find out buying a digital camera especially if it is your first time purchasing one can be extremely difficult. But if you want to ease the problem of trying to decide on how to buy a digital camera without all the hassle then read below.

The first thing you should do is try and learn about the terminology that relates to digital cameras as well as the basics and find out which features are crucial in any new digital camera.

It is important that when you are looking to buy a digital camera for the first time you know what much of the lingo (or language that the sales staff is speaking) is about. So it is important that you understand what such words as megapixel mean, zoom, memory card, memory etc. Also look at what features each camera has to offer you. You do not want to buy a digital and then find when you get it home that it only great for close up work and the zoom feature on it is no good at all. Also look at what the quality of prints the camera produces will be like you may find that it produces great 8 x 10 prints but anything smaller or larger just look awful and the quality is terrible. So it is important that before you make your digital camera purchase you are aware of the features which matter to you the most.

So when you go shopping for your first digital camera there are some questions that you should be asking yourself so that you do not end up buying a camera that you don't really need.

1. Ask yourself what you will be using the camera for and the type of photography that you will be doing?
2. Next ask yourself in what type of conditions you will be using your digital camera? Will it be outdoors, indoors etc.
3. Are you after a camera that you can do more with rather than just staying in auto mode all the time?
4. What particular features are you looking for in your digital camera? Do you want a long zoom, one that is able to stabilize images or one that comes with a large LCD display.

Another thing to do in order that you buy a digital camera that is really what you want and need is by reading as many reviews as particular makes and models. The web is full of sites that provide reviews on digital cameras and there are even photography magazines which do in depth reviews in to all makes of cameras including digital ones. Hopefully what has been provided will help you when you want to know how to buy a digital camera that is really the right one for you.