Basic Principles For Making Money in Photography

Tips for Better Digital Photography

Digital photography is quickly replacing film photography. While there are some hobbyists and even professional photographers that still shoot film photos, the many advantages of digital photos are winning over more photographers on a daily basis. Digital photography tends to be easier and faster to shoot. In addition, it gives the photographer more options in shooting the pictures, editing the photos and even printing and ways of sharing the photos. If you're ready to be a better digital photographer, here are some tips to get you shooting higher quality photos.

Tip #1 Be Aware of the Background

Not only do you have to be conscious of the subject you are shooting, but you also need to be aware of the objects or scenery in the background. The awareness helps you to keep trees from seemingly growing out of people's heads or a passing vehicle that draws the attention away from your subject. Even if it means moving the subject you are shooting over a couple of steps or adjusting the angle at which you take the photo, it can make all the difference in the outcome of the picture.

Tips #2 Use Available Lighting

If your digital camera has an option to turn the flash off and there is sufficient natural lighting, then switch the flash off. In general, the flash on a camera is harsh and it reflects in the color quality of the digital photography. Camera flash can make human skin look pale or can distort colors and make subjects blurry. Indoor photographs may not provide enough light for the picture to turn out, so you may need to use the flash. In these circumstances, shoot away from windows or bright lights inside of the home or area to avoid overexposure of what you are shooting as well.

Tip #3 Shoot at a Slight Angle

Rather than take the photo straight ahead, shoot at a slight angle. Even a three-quarter angle toward a person's face permits you to see more of the person's features and expressions than if you shoot the photograph right in front of the subject's face. Shooting subjects at a slight angle also has a slimming effect on the person that you are shooting and how they turn out in the photograph.

Tip #4 Focus

Not only can you use the focus feature on a digital camera, but you can also move closer or further away from what you are shooting to bring the subject into focus. When you get a little closer to your subject, the subject tends to fill more of the frame of the camera, and ultimately the photograph. This allows you to enhance the photograph and avoid taking photos with too much of a background and not enough of the subject you wanted to capture in the first place.

Tip #5 Avoid Dead Center Subjects

Never put the subject of your picture in the dead center of the frame. Instead, put the subject slightly off center; not a lot but just a little. When shooting a group of people, draw an imaginary line in the center of the group. Then, shift slightly to the left or the right of the imaginary line to take the picture.

Following these tips won't turn you into an award-winning photographer overnight. What it will do is get you on the right path to taking better and more powerful photographs that others will comment on for years to come. Digital photography may remain your hobby or you may be able to make a little cash from selling your photographs. Either way, these tips will get you where you want to be.

10 Creative Macro Photography Project Ideas

Are you looking for some interesting and out of the ordinary project ideas for your close up or macro photography? Want to break away from the usual flowers, leaves, plants and mushrooms? Tired of bugs, butterflies and spiders? All of those can make great close up subjects, but certainly not unique ones. Here are a few macro photography project ideas that may inspire your creativity:

1. Cutlery. Knives, forks and spoons can make great macro subjects. Arrange like pieces together to create lines and patterns.

2. Feathers. Feathers are beautiful close up. The central shaft creates a strong line which may be curved or straight, while the rest of the feather provides a soft texture. Use bird feathers that you find or purchase, or pluck one out of your down pillow or duvet!

3. Water droplets. This one is a classic, but be creative, and find your water on unusual surfaces like a wire fence, a cobweb, or a rear-view mirror. Early morning dew makes almost any subject magical. In the Spring or Fall, your can look for frost instead of dew.

4. Glass. Close up photos of fine crystal glassware can yield wonderful abstracts filled with curved lines and reflections. For added fun, place glasses side by side, or one behind the other to create lines where they overlap. You can fill the glasses with colored water for even more creative images. Finally, you can add a sheet of clear, but textured glass (available for purchase at stained glass craft stores) in front of your glassware. The possibilities are endless.

5. Foil reflections. While you have your glasses full of colored water, why not pull out a sheet of kitchen foil, or some shiny silver craft paper? Use your macro lens to shoot down into the foil and capture the reflections of the colored water in its folds and creases. This exercise is a tricky one, and requires patience, but the results can be very rewarding.

6. Fruit and vegetables. They're not just good for your diet! Fruit and vegetables make great macro photography subjects. Try kernels of corn on the cob, citrus slices, or go for more exotic fare like dragon fruit. You can place translucent slices on a lightbox for a clean, bright white background. You can also photograph the fruit or vegetables on plates in complementary colors.

7. Rust and Peeling Paint. Fascinating rust patterns can be found on an old car, or even a metal garbage can in the park. Peeling paint graces old fences and walls. Most people pass by such items without a second glance. Not you! Break out your macro lens, and reveal the hidden beauty. Just beware of harsh shadows if you are photographing in bright sunlight.

8. Car Details. The sleek lines of shiny chrome and trim on a polished car can provide hours of photographic entertainment. You can photograph your own car, but don't be shy about taking your camera to an antique car show. Car owners are usually proud of their vehicles, and won't mind your photographing the details.

9. Animal Bits. The texture of fur on your pet dog, or the wrinkled skin of an elephant at the zoo, can make a great close up shot. Paws, claws and teeth are fun too, as long as you keep out of harm's way. Finally, eyes always make compelling subjects. Shoot close ups of the eyes of your dog or cat (or a person, too!).

10. Tissues. For some high key abstracts, and a really unusual subject, try photographing a tissue. With a little imagination, the lines and shadows formed by the soft folds can create some intriguing images.

For a bonus, take a fresh look at ordinary objects around your home, such as light bulbs, shoe laces, book pages, clothes pegs, straws, holiday ornaments, or pencils. Try to find interesting patterns, lines, shapes, and colors, and create a little close up magic.

I hope these ideas inspire you to get out there with your macro lens and start shooting!

If you want to learn more about taking macro photographs, be sure to check out my two eBooks. They are filled with helpful tips, useful information, and spectacular, full color images to inspire you to create better close up photography.

To find a wealth of photography tips designed to improve your pictures, visit my photo tips website at http://ultimate-photo-tips.com/. Whether you're looking for the answer to a specific question, or just want to explore and learn, Ultimate Photo Tips has hints and techniques to hone your skills and boost your creativity.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julie_Waterhouse

Digital Vs Film Photography: Which Is Best?

Photography, like many other creative outlets, is constantly surrounded by an ongoing debate- which is best, film or digital photography? There are many who are beginners to photography that may be unsure which type they should take up, fearing that they are not learning the 'correct' form of photography. However, when it comes to photography, there is no right or wrong in terms of which type creates the best images.

There are some avid photographers who may not agree with this statement, but just as each artist has a preferred medium, each photographer will have a preferred method of photography that best creates the images they desire and suits their creative flair. However, each form of possesses its own advantages and disadvantages.

There are many who initially opt for digital photography as they believe it is a much easier method. Although this can be true in the sense that you do not need to load and develop a film yourself, in order to create professional and captivating images, you will need to have a thorough understanding as to how your digital camera works and how to effectively use media to alter and manipulate your images. However, there is the added benefit that your images, once captured, will be saved onto your camera memory. When using film, all images will be saved onto the film itself and should it become damaged or inadvertently exposed to light before it has been rewound; all images will be lost instantly. Nonetheless, there are many film photographers who believe that film photography is much easier as there is no reliance on technology to capture, edit and develop their images.

Another benefit of digital photography over film is that the photographer can view their images as they are captured, using the screen implemented into the apparatus. This allows them to learn as they capture each image which can save valuable time during the editing stage. However, there are many film photographers who may argue that by not being able to view each image instantly, their skill is heavily relied upon. There could also be the argument that film photography allows for more trial and error and is a less relaxed or lazy form of photography. However, mistakes can be costly in terms of films and photography paper whereas mistakes made with digital photography can be easily deleted from your data stick.

Once you have taken your images, whether using a film or digital camera, you will then be ready for the development stage. Digital cameras allow us to take images and then alter these into either color or black and white images or even a combination of both. With film, you are limited by the type of film you have used. Once you have developed your film (either by yourself or by using a professional service), you will need to invest in special chemicals and equipment in order to expose the negative to photographic paper and then develop, stop and fix the image. When using digital photography, you will only require the use of a computer and software that will allow you to manipulate your images and print them off. In this respect, digital photography will be much quicker and in some cases, even cheaper. However, just as digital photography will allow you to add effects that are not possible with film, the same can be said with film photography.

When deciding which type of photography is best, this will be determined purely by the photographer themselves. They may prefer to work in a more mixed media way, combining their film images with paint, ink and so forth. Others may wish to achieve a more modern or intricate image which will require the use of digital media. In order to decipher which method is best suited to you, it is advantageous to dabble in both means and see which you prefer the most. It is only by stretching the boundaries of film and digital photography to their absolute limits that you will fully understand how each can be utilized in order to create fantastic images.

Learn Digital Photography - Keys to Effective Photography

Each one of us wants to become more effective in our photography. That could be winning a competition, selling your images or just taking great photos to put on your wall. So, what is effective for one might not mean effective for another. And, the person who determines how effective is...? You! How do you increase the effectiveness of your photography? Here are a few keys that have helped my students become more effective.

1. Plan

This is just so simple to do. The old adage, "those whole fail to plan, plan to fail" is so true with photography. Happy snappers just don't get the images that are stunning and fit in the context of effective photography. Before you decide to go out and shoot make sure that you sit down, even if for just five minutes, and plan what you are going to do. What type of image are you going to shoot, where do you want to go and for how long. A simple plan will increase your effectiveness quite dramatically.

2. Make a specific time

If you are serious about your photography, whether it be for pleasure or to make a career out of it, set a specific time to go out and shoot. Tagging a shoot at the end of a busy day or rushing off a few shots before going off to work is not an effective use of your photography time. It deserves your full and undivided attention. In addition to this specify how long, an hour, two hours or even just thirty minutes. Then give it your full and undivided attention.

3. Implement something new

Effective photography means learning a new technique or method so why not try to implement something you have just learnt and see how it turns out. Treat it as a project or assignment. Better still enroll in a free online course or buy a book with assignments at the end of each chapter. Use these assignments as the basis of your photo shoot.and put into practise your new knowledge. If you are more experienced then use it to brush up on your rusty techniques.

4. Get some advice

If you have a friend who is more experienced than you or you are part of a photography club, then seek out their advice. Find out where you are lacking in skill or technique and ask them to show you how they do it. I always look to those more experienced than me for help despite being a photography teacher. Never stop learning and always be teachable.

5. Evaluate

This to me is one the most important things you can do as you learn digital photography. Look at what you are doing and then evaluate it. If you aren't too sure then get others to help. Be careful who you ask as some people will say anything so as not to offend or hurt your feelings. Positive criticism is essential to uplift your level of competence. When you are trying out new techniques, print out the image and compare it to your textbooks or course material. Whatever you do keep on learning.

Effective photography begins in the mind as you actively pursue a course of action to increase your ability and skills. Be prepared to plan, set a time and then evaluate your progress. Happy shooting!

Erotic Nude Photography: Using Wide-Angle Lenses For Fantastic Fetish Shots

In photography, a "normal" lens is defined as having a field of view most similar to that of the human eye. Traditionally, a 50 millimeter lens has been considered a "normal" lens. Consequently, any focal length other than "normal" can result in a distorted perspective (at least in comparison to how the human eye views the world).

A wide angle lens will create a perspective that appears to add more "depth" to an image. Objects closer to the camera will appear larger than normal, and objects farther away from the camera will appear smaller than normal.

In contrast, more narrowly angled lenses (telephotos) can give a "flattened" perspective to an image. This flattened perspective can result in objects that are some distance from each other to appear as though they are actually quite close to each other. This is quite a difficult concept to describe in words. However, with a little experimentation, you will find that it's quite simple to see how different focal lengths can create different perspective distortions.

At this point, I would certainly understand if you are a bit confused regarding how distorted perspectives can be used effectively in the creation of nude or erotic images. However, as you progress, I assure you that the concept will become more clear to you. For now, I want to give you some insight into perspective by explaining how it can be helpful in the creation of a specific type of erotic photograph:

A popular niche within the adult photography market focuses on the feet of models (in other words, "foot-fetish" shots). Fans of this niche like the emphasis of the photographs to be on the feet. However, these fans often don't want shots that show the feet only. Instead, they want to see the entire model; with the feet being the primary thrust of the picture. This effect can be accomplished in different ways.

My preferred way is to use a wide-angle lens. By using a wide-angle lens and taking the shot from fairly close to the feet, I'm able to emphasize this part of the body in a very interesting way.

More importantly, since I'm able to emphasize feet with this method, it stands to reason that I'll also be able to emphasize any other section of the body by using the same method. This technique is very important to know because, trust me, there are specialized fetish markets for just about every part of the body you can imagine.

Photography - Types of Services Offered

Photographers have a lot of responsibility when it comes to capturing precious moments in life. Experienced photographers are there to help you catch all of them. Professional photography services include:

Portraits: Portraits can be done for any individual, family, or corporation. Some people like to coordinate outfits to have photographs of their family designed to go perfectly inside of their home. You can also have a portrait done to feature yourself in front of something that is very important to you. Whatever the case may be, you can clearly state the way you'd like to see your portrait and your chosen photographer can do their best to capture the image for you.

Head shots: If you're thinking about a modeling or talent profession, you will most likely be required to present head shots. Head shots show off some of your personality and characteristics professionally when introducing yourself in the industry.

Wedding Photography: Professional wedding photography captures the true essence of your wedding so that you may look back on it exactly the way it was. Photographers can capture the whole wedding so that you can look back on the carefully chosen decor, smiling faces of your family members, and friends.

Sports Photography: Your child may not want to forget his winning team he played on or maybe you'd like to scrap book it. Photographers can catch an athlete in his or her most talented moment or show off your skills in a way that you never thought possible. The photographs can be valuable when you are trying to promote your team or just keep the special moment for yourself.

Senior photography: Senior portraits mark a memorable point in your life. Your senior portrait represents who you were when you started to venture out into the real world. Professional photographers can capture you just the way you are so that you can always look back and see how much you've changed.

Maternity and newborn photography: The goal of maternity photography is to portray the beautiful qualities of motherhood and shows the best assets of the soon to be mother. You can even finish the collection by having your newborn photographed for you to have throughout life and show to your friends and family.

Architecture Photography: Sometimes people request architecture photography to show the beauty of their home or business to frame or put inside of adds.

Some pictures are pricey but worth it. Specific photographers may offer special discounts for people who are wanting to be photographed that are in the military or participate in the Olympics. You just have to ask during the consultation. When you pick a photographer, make sure that you enjoy the images that they have because their style will be incorporated into your own pictures.

Creative Photography Activities: Macro Photography (Tiny Things)

This is more properly called Macro Photography, where you are imaging small items. You'll need:
- A source of bright light (open window, bright sun behind a person outdoors, etc.)
- Some tiny things - paper clips, coins, paper currency, stamps, beans, you name it.

Camera Setup:
Mode: Aperture Priority (Often shown as Av on the mode wheel)
ISO: 400 or so (your f-stop and available light levels will determine this)
White Balance: Custom
Aperture: Mid-range, from f/5.6 to f/16.

Watch out for: Focus. Depending on your lens, you can only get so close to the objects before the camera can't focus on it. You may be able to back up a bit and zoom in, but without a special Macro lens or close-up attachments, your focusing distance will be limited. Check the minimum focus distance on your lens, and stay farther than that distance. If you put close-up attachments on your lens, you can get very close.

White Balance Setup: Take a shot of your reference paper right where you will photograph your items. Make sure it's bright gray, and set custom WB.

The Pose: Compose your items any way you would like. I suggest to start with a random arrangement, with your focal items clearly set to be positioned for good focus and imaging.

Framing the Image: Consider a plain backdrop such as white, black or a single other color with a small "nap" (eg not a towel). Determine if you will want the entire image in focus, or just some of it. For an entire image to be in focus, you'll either need the subjects to be exactly parallel with the image sensor (meaning you shoot from directly overhead for flat items laying on a table), or a very tiny f-stop (meaning focus zone is wide). Try both - a smaller f-stop for very small and tight focus areas, and larger f-stops for wider focus zones.

Take the Image: Your shutter speed may be limited by the light levels. Brace the camera or better, use a tripod if you have one. You may want to switch to manual focus to set the specific focus point.

Analyzing and Improving: Vary your camera angle and lighting if you can. If you camera has a live view feature, use the image magnifier to check your focus. Vary the f-stop and camera distance/zoom to change the amount of the field that's in focus.

Advanced Tricks: In post production, use the unsharp mask to sharpen up details of the small items. This is best used after the rest of your editing, and right before you save an image at a particular size.

Photography Tips - How to Get Your Whites Whiter

When talking about getting the right colours in your photos the best place to start is to talk about White Balance. If you don't know what white balance is, how to adjust it on your camera or why you would want to in the first place, then this article will help.

Adjusting the white balance in photos can actually make a huge difference in the visual experience of looking at the photo. The correct white balance in a photo means that what you saw with your naked eye matches what is represented in the photo.

You may ask why the camera doesn't automatically capture the same colours that you see? After all, you are looking at the same thing your camera is looking at right? Wrong!

The human eye actually processes then adjusts the colours you see to take into account the type of light and conditions under which it is working. While some cameras have an auto feature that makes a guess as to the type of light, these cameras are yet to replicate the level of adjustment to light that the human eye is capable of. This simply means, different light sources produce different "colours" or "temperatures" of light. This is due to the different ways or extents to which they bend or make light (a lesson for another day perhaps!). What you need to know is how to correct some of the most frequently used types of light.

Thinking of the light as temperature may help you understand how to adjust the white balance. Like a room, if the photo is "cooler" (everything seems to have tints of blues, greens, or greys) then you are going to need to "heat up" the photo by adjusting the settings to warmer. The opposite is true if the photo is "warmer" (everything seems to have a tint of reds, pinks, oranges, or yellows).

Here are some of the basic types of light you may encounter. Most cameras have some or all of these settings. It may be worth checking your camera's manual to find out more.

Tungsten- These are lights and lamps that use bulbs or incandescent light. If you've ever looked extra pink or maybe even orange in a photo, you probably took them with a few lamps on or next to bulb lights. The tungsten setting on your camera is usually identified with a light bulb. Using this will cool down this "warm" lighting.

Fluorescent- Fluorescent lights are lights that use the chemical fluorine or other similar chemicals to produce a light. Fluorescent lights are what are usually used in industrial buildings such as schools or offices. The Fluorescent setting on your camera is usually identified with a rectangular light source with rays coming off the top and bottom. Much like the lights sometimes used in changing rooms fluorescent lights can make your skin appear gray, green or bluish. Using the Fluorescent setting will warm up this "cool" lighting.

Daylight/Sunny- Daylight is not always a setting on every camera but if you have it the conditions can best be described as your normal setting. It is self-explanatory so we won't waste time telling you anything other than, if you're an adamant auto-setting user and find yourself standing in nice pleasant midday sun, give it a try. It's always good to try it and see the difference between the two.

Cloudy- Cloudy settings are usually cooler. The setting for cloudy days is very similar to the setting for fluorescent lights except cloudy days can require even more "warming up" than fluorescent lights.

Flash-The Flash setting for white balance is symbolized by a bolt of lightning. It takes the cooler temperature of the burst of flash from your camera or an attached flash and warms it up. The flash setting warms up a cool situation and is somewhere between the daylight cool and the cooler cloudy day situation.

Shade-the shade setting for white balance is symbolized by a house with diagonal lines from the side to the ground next to it. This setting is typically the coolest of the setting and provides the most warming up of all the normal settings.

Manual Adjustments:

Most cameras have preset white balance controls that will do the trick of making your whites whiter but if you have a super fancy camera such as a DSLR or high end point and shoot you may have a manual adjustment for making your whites precisely white. Simply take a photo then select which part of the photo is supposed to be true white then the camera will make an adjustment. If you are shooting something like a wedding and want to make sure the whites look their whitest you can spend a little cash on some white (or gray) cards that you can photograph to make sure you're actually photographing something that is true white. A cheaper option is to photograph a piece of white computer paper.

Exceptions to the rules: Sometimes you may not want your whites to be exactly as you saw them. There is no rule that says you cannot use any of the settings for a different condition than it was intended. Using the opposite settings as recommended can intensify the colours making whites redder or bluer depending on which way you take them. Feel free to try it out!

Websites with some good tables for the icons and temperature differences can be found here

http://www.koodibook.com/ is about preserving and sharing your memories in a unique way while giving you the best possible experience with photobook creation. The KoodibooK software allows you to access your photos at amazing speed from wherever they are stored and use them to create photobooks that can be previewed in 3-D, published online for free and printed professionally.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Karyn_Sailstad

Gift of Photography

This year has been very fruitful for most of the people. Most probably, you have been invited to numbers of baby showers by many of your friends and colleagues. These baby showers and some other baby-related events portray an evolution to a baby's life.

It would be a little frustrating because you would always want to present a certain gift to the parents of the celebrator however gift ideas are kind of hard to incorporate. Most probably, you will always have the thought of giving out baby clothes, educational toys and some other baby things but its always the thought that counts so being creative will be much more appreciated. Ask some of your friends about their most treasured ideas on what to wrap as a gift during baby celebrations like birthdays and baby showers.

One of the most imaginative one could be a photo shoot gift voucher to be done by a famous photographer in Cardiff. You can actually surf the Internet to view some of their beautiful creations of baby pictures and how explicit their pictures are. They do not only take pictures of babies and newborns, they also take pictures of pregnant mothers so you can give this to your friend who is happily pregnant. The portraits of the newborn babies were adorable and are really something to be proud of.

Photographs are probably one of the most thoughtful gifts you can give a mother to be, and, with pregnancy photographs becoming trendy nowadays, you could never go wrong. Portraits of newborns are timeless treasures that every parent should have. Every parent would always want to have a piece of their baby's memories every day of the baby's life until the baby is full-grown. However, due to the delicate condition of most bearing mothers and newborn babies, it is essential to make sure that the photographer be as gentle and considerate as possible. There must be a photographer that would surely match up with your standards. They have shown that photography is not just something improved in a virtual way but is something that should be done perfectly with the kind of an art they have mastered.

So the next time you get invited to a baby shower or a christening party, you will have an additional gift idea that would surely be a hit among your friends and colleagues. They'll surely take it as a very flattering compliment.

The Golden Ratio, How To Use It In Photography

If you are a novice in photography or not into how mathematics describes the world around you, there is a good possibility you may not have heard of the "Golden Ratio". It also has been known as the "golden mean" or the "divine proportion". It is a calculation, like Pi and the Pythagorean Theorem, which has been around for a very long time.

It wasn't, however, until the Renaissance Period that architects, artists and even designers took to using the infamous "divine proportion". They did so to make their work more aesthetically pleasing. By using some mathematical principles they determined where to place key elements in their work to greater advantage. Today, artists in all areas are still using the ratio of the golden rectangle. Simply put, the principal is a structure of thirds similar to the well known "rule of thirds". Also used is a Fibonacci spiral where a nautilus shell shape is applied to how elements are composed. The use of foreground, middle-ground and background are integral as well.

These elements should be, for the most part, self-explanatory. Applying them properly will greatly enhance your efforts. Learning how to position, isolate or enhance the objects that you are about to photograph is the basis that you will need to use this principle. What this principle will do for your photography is prevent you from taking photographs that are flat and one-dimensional. Instead, it will make photos look more dynamic and give them a sense of dimensionality.

Many people simply grab their camera and tend to just point and shoot. While cameras these days do have multiple focus sensors the default, also the most commonly used, is the center focal point. The result of which is photos with the subject in the middle taking up all or most of the image with no sense of the environment. There are cameras that are designed to make the most of the Golden Ratio by superimposing a grid that is broken down into thirds. These types of cameras take all of the guesswork out of the rule of thirds and make taking professional pictures easier for everyone. Of course, with a little forethought and care there is always the option of post process cropping. Just remember, as with most everything in art, while you can always use the golden ratio for all your pictures and every subject but they are guidelines not steadfast rules.

6 Trends in Modern Family Photography

Do you want your family photos to reflect your family's style? Today's families are using custom photography to tell a story with their family photos. Families are trending away from the chain photography studio shots and opting for more casual, documentary style photos. These photos can often show off your family's personality and allow everyone to feel more at ease during the session. Check out these top trends in today's modern family photos.

Urban Environments

Urban settings can provide a great backdrop for family photos. You can typically find an urban style location almost anywhere, but you're most likely to find them in a downtown or historic area near you. Urban environments often contain brick walls, interesting stairways, train tracks, and walkways. Jeans and casual clothing typically work best in this environment.

Open Fields

You've probably passed that big empty field everyday on your way home, but never thought of it as a location for family photos. Open fields can often provide a great location for child, family and engagement photos. The emptiness and repetition of elements can let you be the star of your photos in this environment. You'll want to have these sessions close to sunrise or sunset to get great lighting in your photos. Little girls in dresses are typically great for this location.

Your Home

Sometimes you don't have to go anywhere at all. What better way to show your family in their "element" than to have photos taken in your home. You don't have to have a million dollar home to have a great environment for family photos. Sometimes it can be something as simple as a favorite sofa, room, or wall in your house. If you have a room with great window light, that can be a great area for family photos. You can also move the family outdoors to your backyard for some family fun. Plan outdoor activities that the entire family can participate in to capture great family moments.

Candid Interaction

Gone are the days of stiff posing for the camera. We all remember those photos that mom made us take with everyone smiling, while posing on the person's shoulder in front of them. Bleh. These days families are opting for candid style photos that show genuine interaction between them. Sometimes it just takes something as simple as telling a joke or playing tag to capture those candid moments on camera. Those photos are often the ones that are treasured for years.

Jeans/Casual Clothing

Everyone remembers dressing up in your best dress or suit for "picture day" back in the day. Today, family photos are often taken in casual clothing. You definitely don't want your family to look like they just hopped out of bed but jeans and a nice casual shirt can sometimes make your family members feel at ease during your photo session. To get that polished look, try coordinating your family's clothing color scheme. Come up with one color scheme or style that will determine what everyone in the family will wear. You don't have to all dress alike, but coordinating your family's clothing makes a more compelling photo in the end.

Unique Photo Gifts

While prints are certainly classic and timeless, today's families are finding more unique ways to show off their photos. Custom coffee table books make great gifts and are the perfect alternative to the traditional photo album. Canvas gallery wraps can turn your family photo into a work of art that can be displayed almost anywhere in your home. Before starting your session, think about what you would like to do with your photos. Maybe you want something to help cover that empty wall, or perhaps a photo gift that you can send to grandma. Whatever the occasion, unique photo gifts can provide treasured memories for your family.

Modern family photography simply means capturing your family as they are. No frills or special tricks needed. Find a photographer that reflects your family's style.

The 10 Best Digital Photography Tips Straight From The Pros

Everyone wants to take great photographs, and many of us think we already do. When it comes to taking a picture that others will really want to see, and maybe even pay money for, a little bit of professional help can go a long way! Here we have compiled our list of the top ten outdoor photography tips from the pros.

1- Get ready in advance: Be certain that you have the camera set ahead of time for the conditions of the photograph you want to take. Things such as setting up a long exposure time, locking up the mirror and manual focusing all need to be done in advance to get a great shot of the stars at night for example.

2- Birds in flight are hard to capture: When you want to capture sharp images of birds in full flight (or taking off and landing) you want to make sure you use the "predictive autofocus" feature of your camera. Lock onto the bird before you are ready to take the shot by pressing down gently on the shutter button about half way and hold it. The camera will keep the bird in focus until you are ready to snap the shot, and it should turn out great!

3- People like people: When doing landscape shots, consider adding a person to the picture. This gives the viewer a focal point and puts the size of the landscape into perspective. It can be difficult to grasp the scale of a scene without something familiar to use as a guide. Having a person in the scene can also make it easier to sell.

4- Right place at the right time: Being where you need to be is far more important than having a more expensive camera or micromanaging the camera's controls. Be in the right place at the right time and make sure you don't miss the shot, if you need to fix it up slightly in Photoshop afterward then do so. Great images start out with great vision by the photographer.

5- Half-stop exposure drop: If you dial down the exposure by -.05, it will bring the colors to life and make your shadows really black. This simple step will make your images so much better you will be wondering why you never heard about doing this before!

6- Start looking down: There are so many interesting things at our feet, but how often do we notice them? Try to slow down, relax, and take in everything around you. You may be out to get a shot of an amazing landscape; but there may be a small detail shot right at your feet that could turn out to be the best shot of the day!

7- ND filters can be stacked: If you're trying to take pictures on overcast or cloudy days it can be very difficult to get any details in the sky as well as the landscape. Try stacking two split neutral-density filters, a 2-stop and a 3-stop which makes a 5-stop filter. This gives you more details in the clouds instead of them being overexposed! The trick is to stagger the dark areas of the filters so that there is a gradual and natural transition from the sky to the non-sky area of the photograph.

8- Less really is more: Keep your outdoor photographs simple! Position yourself, or zoom in so that you remove the non-essential elements from the image. What is the most important thing you are photographing and be certain to get rid of anything along the edges that is cluttering up the image.

9- Exposure compensation lives here: Try using Aperture priority for your exposure mode. Adjust the aperture setting, and the camera adjusts the shutter speed. If you need to make changes to the exposure press the exposure compensation button and make your adjustments to save on editing hassles on the computer later.

10- To the moon! To the moon! Try incorporating the moon into your photograph just after sunset. When scheduling a landscape photography session always check the phase of the moon and try to be in a location where you can capture the full moon in your photos. The night before the full moon may even be better as it is higher above the horizon than the night of the actual full moon.

There you have it, our top ten tips from actual professional photographers! Buying some new fancy camera isn't going to help your photographs improve if you don't know how to operate it properly or where to point it. Invest in your skills before you think about buying a new expensive camera.

Photography Modeling Poses - Improving Photography Posing Isn't Easy, Find Out How To Improv It Now!

Both photographers and models must understand different photography modeling poses to use during shoots. It is therefore imperative to at least take a basic photography course so you can familiarize yourself with various techniques. This is because different posing techniques are used to express and communicate different messages to the observers. Hence, you must not only use the right model to communicate the message, they must also pose appropriately for the intended shoot.

As the photographer, it is your onus to guide the models on proper posing techniques in order to reproduce the type of photos required. This obviously requires some expertise and experience on the part of the photographer. For instance a young inexperienced model will have to be coached and shown the different poses aimed at achieving diverse looks. This meticulous process takes patience and skills by photographers. They must be able to articulate exactly what is needed to the model and deliver the expected results to demanding clients.

There are two main ways through which professional photographers have been able to hone their skills for a long time. This is either by trial and error method or by working close to professional photographers. Other amateurs have tried to emulate the technique used by their mentors with various levels of success. The process normally entails studying how individual photographers approach and tackle different shoots and trying to incorporate the knowledge in your work. Still, other photographers compile portfolios of their favorite images and study them in depth. They check for the head positioning sequences, hand and leg positioning and also the body formations. All these are attempts at learning the various photographic modeling poses used in typical photo shoots.

The above methods of training for photography are all efficient but not guaranteed to give you the requisite skills needed in this competitive field. The best method of mastering photography modeling poses is through actual practice. You have to experiment with a wide range of poses to create an extensive portfolio. The more opportunities you get the more you become adept at creating perfect image representations of whatever concept is envisaged.

Below are some basic tips for improving your photography:

- Thorough Practice at every opportunity.
- Studying facial expressions, moods and different characters.
- Patience and charisma will go a long way in expressing yourself to the models.
- Learn how to use Photo management and editing software.
- Curve a niche for yourself in photography.

All in all, it takes dedication and hard work to become a professional photographer. Although there are many unconventional methods of learning, a simplified course and lots of practice is all it takes to become a photo maestro.

Creative Photography Activities: Window Portrait

This is a basic indoor portrait with soft window light from one side. You'll need:

- A window that does not face the sun (or it is overcast outside)

- Daylight

- A willing model

Camera Setup

Mode: Aperture Priority (Often shown as Av on the mode wheel)

ISO: 100-400, as low as possible

White Balance: Custom

Aperture: As low as your lens will go. Lower f-numbers mean a larger opening which creates nice fuzzy backgrounds.

Watch out for: The shutter speed. With a low-f-stop, you should not have low shutter speeds (below 1/60 second), but your ambient light and ISO setting will determine that. You may need to stabilize your camera if the shutter speed is lower than 1/60 second.

White Balance Setup: Put the white paper in front of the subject. Take one image of the paper, and make sure it is more grey than pure white in the playback. Then go to your menu, and choose Custom White Balance, and select that image to use as a reference. What you are doing is telling the camera to use the paper (which is grey/white) as the source of the definition of "white". It will then translate all of the other colors to show them correctly in the images taken. This is always preferable to a canned white balance setting, or the brainless "Auto" setting.

The Pose: Position your subject back of the centerline of the window, so a little light falls on the "dark" side of their face. Have them turn their head to look slightly out of the window.

Framing the Image: If you have a zoom lens, you can either be close and "zoomed out" or farther away and "zoomed in". With people portraits, it's usually better to be back and zoom in, as it reduces the size of the nose and other features in the middle of the face. Turn the camera to portrait (tall) orientation, half-press, and look at the read-out. You should get a focus blip where the camera thinks the focus point should be. Move the center point to the closest eye to the camera, and half-press again. Once you get a focus lock, move the camera to recompose the image. You're doing this to cause the tightest focus point to be on the eye closest to the camera. If your camera has live view, ignore it and use the viewfinder. Using the live view encourages poor camera holding technique.

Take the Image: Play back and look for blown-out highlights in the subject's face. Some cameras have the ability to show blown-out highlights as blinking white/black. If the background (out the window) has some, don't worry, but you don't want the face blown out. If you do have white highlights, use the Exposure Compensation to reduce by ? stop to 1 full stop and reshoot.

Analyzing and Improving: Look at the image. Is it exposed well? The window side of the face should be nicely lit, and as it is facing slightly away from the camera, is called the "short side". This is an example of short lighting, where the short side gets the light and the broad side (facing the camera) gets the shadow. If the shadow side is too dark, get a bit of reflective material, be it aluminum foil or white cardboard, and hold it just off of the camera on the dark side. It will reflect a bit of light from the window back to the shadow side and will reduce the contrast or shadow level. Experiment with the subject looking out the window (I call that the "dreamy shot"), and looking at the lens (but still not straight on).

Advanced Tricks: Pull this image into your editor and try converting to black and white using the Channel Mixer tool. Choose 70% red, 15% blue and 15% green, and you'll see a very nice BW image with the skin tones nicely highlighted!

Do You Remember the Alamo? An Important Lesson in Basic Photography Is Learned

A couple of years ago some friends and I drove to San Antonio to see what we could find. Do you remember the Alamo? Naturally, my camera was always at hand, ready for the clicking. Our first stop was a Mexican restaurant and if I was thinking I would have taken a picture of what I was drinking, but that's a Jimmy Buffett story for another day.

While in San Antonio we visited the Riverwalk, putting my digital camera to good use. Nearly everyone knows that digital cameras save time. You don't have to reload film, if your memory card is large enough, feel free to take as many pictures as you can, and last but not least, you can delete the pictures you know you won't want to print later. But now, I'd like to tell you about the Alamo. I remember the Alamo We did the tourist thing, walking through the Alamo, listening to the automated tour guide and finding somebody with the last name Robinson listed in the register of occupants at the time of the battle, and then it happened.

* I saw a great opportunity for photograph.

* I was at the end of an outdoor hallway.

* There were stone archways on each side.

* Lanterns hung from rough-hewn logs above the cobblestone.

* I stood at the perfect angle, steadied my stance and took in a calming breath.

* Then came the 'snap' heard 'round the world, or so I thought.

After the long drive home, the trip ended, as trips usually do. A week may have passed before I perused the photos, searching for the gems I was sure were there, just waiting to be freed from the memory card. Yearning for the release from darkness, I could feel that photo from the Alamo's long outdoor colonnade calling to me. Oh, taker of great pictures, let there be light, light enough to display the abundant artistry of my pixels.

I opened that photo with glee, certain that it would soon be enlarged, matted, framed and mounted on the wall above my cookie cabinet. Carefully, I looked at the photo, marveling at its composition. The lighting, the symmetry, its uplifting majesty was sweeping over me, and there it was, in the bottom right corner of the frame - a trash can.

All was not lost, however. Cropping, a quick click to Photoshop, or even strategic matting could solve the problem. There is only one thing in need of mending before that photograph is on display, a large helping of humble pie.

Dean Robinson is the author of this article, and points out one key aspect of framing your photograph. There is much to consider when taking a great photo or capturing an exciting event on video, not the least of which is good equipment. In most cases, a point-and-shoot camera is all you need. For instance, a Kodak EasyShare or a Canon PowerShot may be what you're looking for. For the latest digital cameras and high-definition camcorders go to http://www.kodakcentral.com/ and take a lesson from Robinson. Look before you shoot.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dean_Robinson

Landscape Photography - 4 Tips to Capture Great Landscape Shots

If you have been active in traveling, you may have had the many opportunities of capturing many beautiful landscapes in the places you travel. The landscape may look beautiful from your own eyes but it may not look as beautiful on the shots that you have captured. If so, you will want to know how to capture great landscape shots so that the next time you are out traveling and you come across a beautiful landscape, you will know how to capture it in its most beautiful form.

Increase Depth of Field
To capture a landscape with as much detail as possible, you would want to use a deep depth of field. This would ensure that most of the landscape will be sharp and in focus. To use a deeper depth of field, you will need to adjust your camera's aperture settings so that it is using a smaller aperture. When using this aperture setting, you may find that your shots will turn out to be darker than normal. The reason for this is due to the small aperture opening in your camera lens and this means less light can enter your camera lens, hence a darker shot.

To counter this problem, you will need to increase your camera's shutter speed so that your camera shutter stays open longer to allow more light into the lens. Alternatively, you could also try to bump up your camera's ISO so that the camera sensor is more sensitive to light, although that would mean a grainy shot.

Capture the Movement
You may be wondering what movement there is to capture as landscapes are generally still and passive. However, that is what most people think when they think of landscape photography. Landscapes can have movements in them such as a running waterfall, trees swaying due to wind, clouds moving, or waves pounding on the shores. These are all movements that can be captured to make your landscape shots look more dynamic and lively.

To capture landscape movements, you will need to use a slower shutter speed so that the shutter stays open longer to allow the camera sensor to capture more movements in your scene. However, this would allow more light to enter through your camera lens, thus causing your composition to be over exposed. To overcome this problem, you will need to use a smaller aperture which will then limit the amount of light entering through your camera lens.

Lookout for the Horizon
When capturing any landscape scene, it is a good idea to think about how you want to frame the horizon in your composition as it is an important part of any landscape shots. Try to align the horizon along one of the lines in the rule of thirds. Do not frame your horizon dead in the center of your composition as it usually does not look as good when compared to framing your horizons along one of the lines in the rule of thirds. There are exceptions to this but it is rarely the case when it comes to landscape photography.

Utilize a Tripod or Monopod
When capturing landscape scenes, it is normal for you to use a longer shutter speed to get more light into your lens as you will be using a smaller aperture for a sharper landscape shot. This also means that your camera shutter will stay open longer and any slight movement of your hands can cause your shot to be blurred. To counter this problem, you can bring along a tripod or monopod to help you stabilize your camera while composing your landscape photography shot.

Roy Lee is a freelance photographer residing in Malaysia, who specializes in wedding, portrait, and landscape photography.

? Copyright - Roy Lee. All Rights Reserved.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Roy_Lee_K._L.

Digital Photography - What Are Megapixels?

The dawn of the digital age ushered in new concepts, ideas and words. It wasn't so long ago when people outside of the imaging industry began to deal with the new era of digital photography and were amazed by the simplest of things. How digital pictures were formed was a mystery to a lot of us. Not anymore, ask any child, they can give you the basics of how digital imaging devices actually work. They know all about pixels and megapixels.

In the simplest of terms, a pixel is the smallest bit of information you can find for an image. There is no height or depth, only information. One million of these tiny pixels make a single megapixel. Why are these important? Having more pixels means you have a higher image resolution. Resolution relates to how well an image can be rendered. If there is not enough resolution an image can be splotchy and incoherent. There are even times when there are holes in the image because of the lack of pixels. All digital imagery relies on these tiny bits of pulsing light to transmit color. If you have trouble viewing an image or it is distorted at 100% on a computer does not necessarily mean you will not get a good print either. The size of the print will be the deciding factor.

The amount of megapixels you begin with determines how large of a print you can make and still present a quality photograph. A camera that has six (6) megapixels the largest recommended print would be an eight by ten (8X10 inches). There are however decent prints at twenty by thirty (20X30 inches) from 6MP cameras but it depends on the distance from which you view the print.

The higher the megapixels the larger the file size will be. For a camera that has only a 6MP range you will get roughly a 1.6-megabyte sized file (JPEG). The same image taken with a camera having double the pixels would increase your file size a little less than twice as much. Remember, pixels are just bits of data and like anything else you add the larger the file size. Detail (also referred to as compression) will also affect file size. You can snap the same megapixel size image with less compression it will save more intricate details than shooting it with more compression; you will find that the file sizes will also be significantly different.

Without pixels we would not have any digital images. If you are an amateur photographer or starting a home based business the more you know about how these bits of data work the better your pictures will be.

Learn Digital Photography - Choosing a Digital Camera

The fundamental question asked of me as a photography teacher is which digital camera should I buy when starting out with photography. This used to be a simple question but as digital photography has become the norm more and more camera manufacturers have entered the market with more and more camera models. This causes confusion, particularly with the variety and quality that is available. So what does the new entrant to the market do? Follow these steps and I hope that I will make it simple for you.

1. Decide whether you want to make this a hobby or profession.

If this is something that you want to do as a hobby then your quest to learn digital photography will take on a different path to a profession. Your entry level camera will be different if you are pursuing a career or profession. And, of course, the investment you make will also be different. So carefully consider the direction you will ultimately take.

2. Decide on a budget

The investment you'll be making will depend on your decision made based on point 1. Once you have decided on a budget for either hobby or profession, stick to it. Once you visit camera shops you will be enticed by sales people and advertising to spend more on your purchase. If you can get more bang for your buck, great, but don't spend more bucks for more bang.

3. Do your research

Find out what is available in the price range of your budget. Research those makes and models of cameras that fall within your price bracket. Then narrow down the models that interest you and check out their features. Take your time, read reviews and visit manufacturers sites.

4. Decide on the features you need

Notice I said the features you need and not want. We all want more than what our budgets can afford. Based on what you decided in point 1 will help you narrow down the necessary features. Again be wary of sales persons that will tell you what you need. This is why research is important. Knowing what you need puts you at an advantage when you are ready to purchase.

5. Make your purchase wisely

Whether you buy online or at a store, make sure that you are the one making the decision and not sales person or website store. Often you will be shown a more expensive deal with extras thrown in for free. Don't be fooled, someone has to pay for those items and it's you.

So, purchasing you digital camera can be a simple process if put into practise just a few points as mentioned above. Don't be afraid to challenge people giving advice and do the right research in order to make informed choices. In order to learn digital photography you need to choose the right equipment for the task. Happy shooting!

Creative Photography Activities: Back-Lit Silhouette Portraits

This is a portrait of a person or thing, taken with bright back light, causing the subject to be rendered as a dark shape You'll need:

- A source of bright light (open window, bright sun behind a person outdoors, etc.) Sunset with water behind is a great setting for this kind of shot.

- A willing model

Camera Setup:

Mode: Aperture Priority (Often shown as Av on the mode wheel)

ISO: 100 or so (there will be lots of light)

White Balance: Custom

Aperture: Mid-range, from f/5.6 to f/16.

Watch out for: Setting up the exposure. Even in Aperture Priority, the camera may try to expose for the subject. You may have to use your exposure compensation to drop the image by 2-3 stops.

White Balance Setup: Take a shot of your reference paper before you adjust your exposure compensation. Make sure it's bright grey, and set custom WB.

The Pose: Your choice here, but I recommend an interesting body pose. For ladies, I recommend a turned pose off center, hands on hips, head facing 90 degrees so you can see a face silhouette.

Framing the Image: For people shots, frame in portrait mode, and not on center. Think of the rule of thirds, and leave some open space to one side.

Take the Image: You want a very bright background and the subject quite dark. If the camera refuses to do this naturally, you can use the Exposure Compensation down by 2-3 stops from normal to force a darkening of the underexposed portions. Do not use flash!

Analyzing and Improving: If you can get the background perfectly exposed, to see the colors and features, and the silhouette is dark, you have nailed it! Try the same kind of shot with non-people things such as bridges, buildings, towers - anything that has less light on one side and will create an iconic shadow.

Advanced Tricks: Instead of messing with Exposure Compensation, you can expose for the background, note the f-stop and shutter speed, and then switch to Manual mode and crank up the f-stop (to larger f-numbers) or crank up the shutter speed (to faster values), to lower the total exposure. It also holds those parameters, and will not float around like Aperture Value tends to do when changing your composition. Also, in post production, you can use the Levels tool to pull in the darks and make them darker.