Have you ever considered photographing lighting? As quick as a flash, the dramatic light appears in the sky, and believe it or not you can capture this on film. Against a dark night sky, the effect is dramatic. Here are some tips.
Do you remember being fascinated by the pictures you took at your vacation? The action of the waterfall in motion seemed real. The colorful beetle that drank a dew drop from a bright green leaf made an array of emotions run through your heart. The dolphins caught in their flight made you leap with joy. The photograph of your friend in mid-air was made you crack up with laughter. You even managed to sneak in and catch your friends unawares. Hey! Maybe you have the knack for photography. But wait a minute! Why does Bill look so ghastly? Why are his eye sockets, looking so deep? And when did Jim grow a toothbrush mustache? Or is that the shadow of his nose? You need to pay just a little attention to lighting and your photographs will look great.
So you’ve just seen the most wonderful photo opportunity jump right out in front of you and scream to have it’s picture taken. The baby is just so cute, and it’s got this HUGE smile, and even has a little grin on it’s face.
You grab your trusty camera, flip it on and start to snap away happily, getting in nice and close. You hear a sudden CLICK from your camera’s flash, and look to the back of the camera only to see a bleached and almost white outline of what looks like a head.
If you’ve been taking pictures for any length of time, you’ve probably run in to a situation like this. Or perhaps you’ve used flash at a time when it seems like you would need it, only to find that it produced oily-looking highlights on people’s skin, and made them into red-eyed demons from the underworld.
The thing about using a flash is you have to know when and how to use it! For any photograph you have a few options to choose between when it comes to light. Mind you, there are a large variety of options within these, but these are the main place to start from when choosing a type of lighting. Read the rest of this entry »
Regardless of the manufacturer you prefer, if you’ve been in the market for a new camera lately I’m sure you’ve had to sit down and ponder this question; point-and-shoot or DSLR? If you’re living in the United States like I am right now, you’ve probably got a little tax reimbursement burning a hole in your pocket and 
would just LOVE to make it turn into a slick, shiny new camera that would make you the envy of all who know you. But the question still remains do you want small and convenient, or high quality with bulk?
The decision doesn’t get any easier even if you’ve finally picked one or the other, cause then you have to pick which model, features, and yada-yada-yada. But today I want to focus on the pros and cons of that first over-arching question.
Is it all about size?
For many people it comes down to convenience. Though they can see that DSLR’s just produce better looking photos, they’re many times not as inclined to having to carry a large brick over their shoulder when they go out for a night with friends. Some do, but for a vast majority I’d say they want something that they can throw in their pocket and not worry about. With the advent of better and better technology the point and shoot cameras have definitely come a long way as far as quality, but their top feature is really the convenient size. And honestly, the cell phone companies wouldn’t have all rushed to put cameras in their phones if people weren’t enamored with the idea of small cameras that fit in pockets.
But what do you sacrifice for all this convenience? Primarily, you still sacrifice quality, and versatility. A DSLR, though large and somewhat ungainly, will always produce better photos due to the quality of the lens and the speed at which you can shoot. If you’ve ever tried taking photos of fast-moving objects with a