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 »
The two great benefits of digital photography is that you no longer have to worry about film getting damaged and that you can delete and forget about the pictures you do not want. For this we can thank the memory card. Most of us slip the card into the camera and then forget about it. But there are some basics photographers should know to help them get the maximum from the camera’s memory cards.
1. Bigger is better. Most cameras come with a 128-256 MB memory card. Because digital photography allows you to take multiple images of an object so you can later choose the best one, this is never enough. Invest in at least a 1GB card.
2. You may need more than one memory card, especially if you are going on a long trip. As cards get smaller in physical size, keeping track of them and protecting them from damage can become a problem. Get your self a memory card case to carry your cards in or buy a camera case with a built in memory card wallet. Read the rest of this entry »
Capturing reflected images in a photograph is a great way to add depth and feeling to the picture. The simplest and most common example of this is a picture of a man fishing from a boat in a lake where the image of the man and boat are reflected in the water. Look at a picture like this and imagine how it would be without the reflection. See the difference?
Unless you are a teenager who probably has never seen a film camera, you will probably have quite a few old photos that only exist as hard copies of images captured on film. These could be pictures from your school and college days or old black and white or even sepia prints of your parents and grandparents. Like all pictures, they will deteriorate with age and the old way for you to preserve them in to digitize them by scanning them into you computer or onto CDs or DVDs. Here are a few things you can do to ensure your scans are of the best quality and that you have saved the pictures in a way that matches what you plan to do with them.
If there’s one thing every home and office must have, it is a calendar. Although we live in a world of computer calendars and organizers, online calendars, PDAs and mobile phone alerts, nothing will ever replace the printed calendar. One glance at it will tell you where you are in time and the notes you have made on it will remind you of important dates and things to be done. Nothing to switch on or buttons to press – its just there.
Calendars are of two basic types, the small self supporting desk types and the larger wall ones. There are many variations in these types – one page per week or one per month; just days and dates or space for noting things down. Whatever type you prefer, the one thing that will influence your choice is the art work or photographs on the calendar. Since this is such a major factor in a calendar’s appeal, why not try making your own photo calendar? Its easy.
The first thing to do is to choose the pictures you want to use. Its normally a good idea to choose a theme such as the family, holidays, the home, children, pets and so on and select your pictures around this theme. Read the rest of this entry »