People often confuse editing and manipulation. Editing is enhancing or repairing a photo or removing needless material from it (cropping). Manipulation is about turning a photo into something totally different. You can add to a photo, remove from it, change shapes and textures, add special effects and, in other words, take a photo and make it something altogether different.
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Whether you are buying your first or tenth camera, knowing which one to buy is always a problem. The range is huge, from the basic point and shoot to the most advanced digital cameras that produce professional quality results. The plethora of reputed competing brands, all offering similar products is a double edged sword. On one hand with things being so similar between various competing models, once you are sure of your basic requirement, you can’t really go wrong whatever make you buy. One the other hand, each camera has its unique characteristics and finding which is most suited for you and your type of photography becomes almost an advance research project. And if you think this is bad, wait till you come to buying accessories and peripherals like lenses, flashes, filters, tripods, camera cases and the like. New equipment reviews and tests are meant to help you find you way through this maze of options, but there are so many reviews that finding the one that tells you what you want to know and offers advice that suits you, is also a big pain.
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Traditional film cameras are now almost museum pieces. Digital cameras offer so much more in terms of convenience, special effects, image manipulation and so on. However there is one area where many digital cameras still lag behind the film camera and that is sports and action photography.
The problem with digital cameras, especially the low end ones, is what is called a “shutter lag” – the time from when the shutter button is pressed to the moment when the picture is taken. This can often be as long as one second. In a traditional film and digital SLR, the shutter lag is only about 50 milliseconds - virtually none. However, there are some Read the rest of this entry »
Concert and Stage photography is not easy. In fact, it can be one of the most difficult things for an amateur to do. But since there’s no better way to learn than by doing it, and the results can be very satisfying, here are a few tips on what you will need and how to go about it. Keep in mind that the types of equipment mentioned are the optimal specs and a beginner should use the equipment he already has that comes nearest to these specs and see how he likes this kind of photography before investing large amounts in state of the art stuff.
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Photography shows us the world around us. Using a telephoto lens gives us a close up view of things we could normally not get near enough to appreciate in it finer detail. Macro photography enables us to see the finer details that are near but too small to be appreciated.
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Many people wonder how a stock photograph is defined. The answer to that is that it is not. Every business needs photographs for reports, projects, publicity and so on. They place they go to get them is stock photo agencies who have a huge amount (maybe millions) of photographs in their stock. The stocks could be of nearly anything and are submitted to them by photographers. As and when the agencies sells a photo, the photographer who took it will be paid a percentage of the sale income.
To make money from selling stock photographs, the first thing to do is visit the websites of various agencies and check out the categories and sub categories of photos they carry. Have a look at the various types of pictures in each and find the categories that you are comfortable with and will have opportunities to shoot. Read the rest of this entry »
To compose is to combine a variety of elements into a whole. A person who writes music is called a composer because he puts musical tones into an order that appeals to the listener. A photographer needs to do the same thing with his photos- put the various elements of the scene in an order that appeals to the viewer and catches his attention. In photography, just as in music, there are some basic rules that have been proved to work in achieving this end.
The first, most famous and basic rule it the Rule of Thirds which has been used by artists for centuries. This rule states that the frame should be divided into three equally spaced horizontal and vertical lines (your frame is divided into nine boxes). Any of the four points in the frame where these lines intersect is a point that will be a “hot spot” that will attract the attention of the viewer more than any other part of the picture. No one really understand why the mind works this way, but the brain focuses more on points away from the center of the frame.
The rule of Leading Lines says Read the rest of this entry »
In any photography club, magazine, book or even when a few photographers are just talking, you will hear references to high and low key black and white pictures. These buzz words are bandied about by even those who do not really know what they mean. For most people the words high and low in this context mean the degree of brightness (or harshness) of the lighting used. Yes, lighting does play a role but high and low key photographs and much more than the lighting effect.
While the quality of the digital camera you use is crucial to the quality of the pictures you take, don’t forget, as many people often do, the important role digital photography software play in determining the final look of a photograph. Okay, so software will not make a photo taken with a 5 mega pixel camera look the same as the same shot taken with a 10 mega pixel camera. But software can turn a normal 5 mega pixel snap into great one that can rival an ordinary 10 mega pixel one.
A camera if a very personal piece of equipment. Once you become familiar with your camera you will be able to take even better photos and create effects you did not know were within your capabilities. But one size does not fit all and the reason that there is such a huge variety of digital cameras available in the market is that manufacturers are trying to cater a wide variety of users, not just in terms of price and special features, but even in the basics of what a buyer will be using his camera for. The most expensive camera or the one with the most advanced features need not be the best for you. Here are a few tips on how to choose the right digital camera for your needs.
• Be prepared to spend time on choosing your camera. Buying a camera based on an advertisement may land you with a great camera that is unsuitable for your needs.
• Decide on what your primary use of the camera will be – family pictures, landscapes / holiday pictures, sporting events, art photography or just general use that covers everything. Each application requires special features. For example, if you are into sports photography, you will need a high speed camera to capture moving images clearly. Read the rest of this entry »