Perfect Vacation Photos

By Marcia Womble

If you're like me on vacation, you keep your camera glued to your side. Every time a "Kodak" moment presents itself, my camera is ready to take 20 or more photos to capture that one perfect shot. To ensure that your vacation photos are a success, here are some simple steps you will want to follow:

Prior to your vacation:

1. Be sure to thoroughly read your camera manual. You MUST know all of the ins and outs of your camera. Determine if you have red-eye reduction. Where is this setting located on your camera? Does your camera have a scene shooting guide or pre-programmed shooting modes to assist you in certain photo-making situations? Some cameras (particularly digital) come equipped with shooting modes to assist you inside, at the beach, in the snow, and using available light for example. (I have discovered with my own camera that some of the pre-programmed modes don't work as well as I would like.)

2. Practice, Practice, Practice using your camera!! After reading the manual, put what you've learned into practice. Take photos of family members or simple landscapes. Be sure to use your camera at different times of the day. How do your photos look with the sun behind you and in front of you as you take the photos? You must practice to discover what your camera is capable of doing for you.

3. Pack your camera and all necessary items. A camera bag is extremely helpful. Don't forget batteries, film, extra media cards, a small tripod. While on a trip to Disneyworld with my family, of course, my batteries ran out of juice. I forgot to pack the extras into my bag and had to pay a fortune for new batteries at a kiosk in the world.

While on vacation:

1. Take LOTS and LOTS of photos. The more photos you take, the more choices you will have when you get back home. Sometimes it can take many shots to capture that one shot you're looking for--the shot that shows the true mood and fun of your vacation. Make sure all of your photos are not "posed" shots. Remember, "variety is the spice of life!"

2. Zoom in to capture the faces of your subjects or a unique object you've found. Crop out unnecessary parts of the background. Focus on what is most important to you in the photo. I've made amazing pictures of up-close seaweed--you'd never know it was seaweed! Taking photos of your kids--get down on their level.

3. Try lots of different angles. Don't stay cemented to one spot while taking your photographs!

Try these tips and see if your vacation photos improve.

Even after following tips for making "perfect" photos, our photos can fall short of our expectations. Click on my link below to discover how you can improve your photos when you get home from vacation. When you show your photos to your friends, they'll think you hired a professional photographer to tag along on your vacation!

Venice

Venice

Choosing A Camera Battery Is More Important Than You Think
By Madison Greene




Finding the right replacement battery to match your digital camera or equipment can be difficult, so no matter what kind of camera you need; a traditional film camera, an automatic 35 mm camera or a digital camera you need to know not only about the camera, but the camera battery as well.

You want to choose a camera that has a battery that is easy to find and cheap to buy. This is especially important before you buy any camera, whether it is for you or it is a gift.

What Kind Of Batteries Does The Camera Take?

You need to know what kind of camera batteries any camera takes. Does the camera take a brand-specific camera battery or does it take a general size of battery?

For example, a lot of traditional automatic cameras run on AA or AAA batteries. They only need that size. They don't need a specific brand.

These kinds also can be disposable or rechargeable. These batteries are also incredibly common and are sold just about everywhere.

How Easy Is It To Find More Batteries?

Even though your camera might not be brand specific, you still need to know how easy it will be to get replacement camera batteries. You might have to go to specific electronic stores if the camera battery size is rare, or unusual. If this doesn't bother you, then keep in mind whenever you go on a vacation, you need to bring spare camera batteries in case the stores where you are don't carry your camera's size.

How Expensive Are The Batteries?

Sometimes the camera battery costs more than a camera is worth. Keep in mind how often you are going to use this camera. The more you use your camera, the more you will have to change the battery.

You could opt for rechargeable batteries, but not all sizes of camera batteries will recharge. Most li-ion (lithium-ion) will, though.

If you don't use your camera all that much, then perhaps the camera battery cost will be a moot issue. One good trick to keep you up to date with your camera battery needs, without spending a penny, is to ask for them as a gift on your birthday or gift giving occasions.

Another Good Question To Ask: How Heavy Are the Batteries?
If you plan on doing a lot of travel or on location shooting, a heavy camera battery is a nuisance. You need as light a battery as possible. If you only plan on using the camera around your home or on special occasions and don't need to pack and unpack it, then you do not need to worry about how heavy the battery is.

How Long Can The Camera Go On One Set Of Batteries?

You never really seem to get an answer as to how long a camera lasts on one battery until you actually use it. For this reason, always see if you can get a warranty on your camera.

A lot of the battery's use depends on what camera functions you use and how often. Most batteries will tell you an estimated time of use, and try to find the maximum time for your buck.

I hope that I helped clear some of the confusion surrounding cameras and batteries. As you can see it is important to also consider the battery within the camera when you are purchasing a camera. If you don't pay attention you could end up with a battery that is very hard to find, is too expensive, or too heavy.

How To Pick Camera Accessories
By Madison Greene


One of the most confusing aspects of buying a camera are determining what accessories to buy with it. It can also be difficult to find accessories that fit your camera, as most digital equipment requires the use of compatible accessories.

The prices of camera accessories can also vary, depending on the make and model of your camera. Some cameras use high grade materials, which are more expensive, while others use low grade material, which tends to be less expensive.

Common Camera Accessories
The most common digital camera accessories that buyers can find in the market are the lenses. These come in several focal lengths. These focal lengths are the basis that camera buffs and photographers use to shoot at a certain distance or a certain angle. The ranges are usually 21 mm and below and up to 300 + mm. 21 and below mm can shoot at a very wide angle whereas the 300 + can shoot objects at very close range.

Flashes are also common camera accessories that are essential for indoor and dark photo shoots. These devices are used to momentarily emit a surge of light, enough to illuminate the dark area being photographed.

Most cameras come with an electronic flash that suffices for most indoor pictures but in some cases, the flash that comes with the camera is not enough. Some cameras are equipped for additional flashes that can be bought after market.

Another common piece that is sought after to accessorize your camera is a device that stores the pictures you take. There are several kinds of storage devices and these include:
* Compact flash disks
* Memory cards/ sticks etc.

These are used to store the pictures taken by digital cameras. What people usually do with these are to either directly connect the digital camera to their PC, without taking out the storage device, or to take out the storage device and plug it into their PC. You need to have a card reader to be able to do this and most PC's already have one installed in them.

Camera accessories also include tripods. These are necessary for a steady shot or a shot where the photographer wants to be included in the shot. Most of the time, a tripod can usually be extended to be as tall as an average person. Other tripods are small and can be mounted on a table or even wrapped around a tree trunk.

Batteries and battery chargers are also necessary camera accessories. Pay attention to the price and weight of batteries when you are selecting them. If you travel long distances or hike with your camera then you will want to choose a lightweight battery.
With any accessory that you choose to buy, make sure that you find one that matches your camera make and model. Also you should shop around, there are many different camera accessory stores with different products and prices

Merry Christmas And Happy New Year !!!!

10 Tips For Better Photography
by Mike Singh


Once the purchase of a digital camera is made, the beginning steps have begun as a professional photographer. Correctly handling the camera is a great tool to begin learning. The images it sends out are pretty close to perfect, but it takes a little while to get to that point. Understanding how it runs, what steps need to be learned, how to shoot indoor and outdoor pictures, or just limiting ourselves to a point-and-click style of photography are all part of knowing what to do. To not understand any of this is doing great injustice to the camera, which is made for better use. To avoid not learning, or simply not knowing, how to take a picture - we need to follow ten top shooting tips.

1. Too many novice or amateur photographers rely entirely on photo-editing tools to digitally enhance the photograph. Do not depend on this - in the back of the mind will always be the thought, "if it does not turn out, I can always fix it with software". The pleasure of photography should begin with the way the picture is shot, along with its emotional connection, not the result of the digital manipulation with a half-done picture. There is nothing the matter with the photo-editing tools, only what we do with them to make our photos look good.

2. Underexposure lacks color quality, so it really should be avoided. What happens is the sensors fail to read the colors that form the image. However, if given a choice, several photographers choose underexposing above overexposure. This is because even if underexposed, the details of the photograph are still recorded. In addition, it can still go into an editing program over overexposed photographs.

3. Digital cameras use millions of assorted pixels to produce the final image, with each sensor designed to capture a certain tonal range. When we do not allow full light to fall on the sensor, we are doing a great injustice to the image. Most of the pixels are unable to capture the tonal range in their full sweep and brightness, which ends up lowering the picture quality. The choice of sensor size is equivalent to choosing between assortments of formats - 35mm, medium and large format cameras. There are many different sensor size options regarding depth of field, image noise, diffraction, cost and size/weight.

4. When focusing on a subject, there are three factors which affect the depth of field: focal length of the lens; distance from the camera to the subject; and the size of the aperture or setting of the f-stop. You must focus on the subject, and not on people or objects around the subject. The subject at a greater distance will have greater depth of field than one that is close-up. This will reduce the noise level in your photographs. Also, less worry needs to be given to being out of focus, bringing in clarity and sharpness to the image.

5. When a picture is overexposed, too much detail is too high in tonal range. Just as under exposure makes a picture dark and toneless, over exposure makes colors too rich giving the picture an artificial hue - causing highlight to lose their detail. Over exposures also blanks out light and dark effects, along with the tones that give an image a natural look causing everything to look gray with less saturation.

6. Exposure warning lights have a purpose - with the word "warning." We must learn to look and respect under exposure warning lights just like a red flashing light at an intersection. These are especially good for beginners who can change the exposure until the blinking areas disappear. Later, the user can start using their own insights in deciding the exposure levels.

7. The camera can take a great picture, but we as the photographer prepare before then. The best photographs are those whose parameters are decided by the human mind. No amount of automation can change this fact. We, too, should gradually move away from automated functions and start making our own combinations when it comes to exposure, color, noise etc. Only then will we find gradual, but unmistaken, improvement in the quality of photographs taken.

8. Thinking of the composition should be the focus before clicking the button. Composition is the art of focusing on the subject using frames, movement, lights etc. We can learn composition techniques either from a senior photographer or from a book. Then we should start practicing them with new techniques. We will find an automatic improvement in the quality of our photographs.

9. To constantly improve one's photography skills, take as many different pictures as you can - all the time. Take enough pictures that you can tell how they will turn through experience, fixing them in advance.

10. The last one tip is to think ahead, think what you want to shoot, think how it is to be shot, think about its exposure, color, noise - all about visualization. We must learn to critically examine each image that we shoot as if it were our last. Try and find out the weaknesses of the photograph. Shoot again to remove the weaknesses - until we are completely satisfied.

Fashion Photography
by TJ Tierney



The true art of fashion photography.

Do you want to be a fashion photographer? Fashion photography is an extremely tough market to break into, but if you are willing to work hard, have a good imagination and hold the ability to take perfect images you are off to a good start.

A fashion photographer must be good in two photography disciplines. First, you need to be a great portrait photographer - second, you need to be able to create images for the advertisement market. You must be able to combine the two if you are going to succeed.

To be a successful fashion photographer you must also have a love of fine design clothes - without it you will never achieve the heights that bring success. A fashion photographer must stay up to date with all the latest fashion and have the ability to use his/her imagination to sell new designs.

Selling is the key - the fashion photographer must be able to sell his images to the fashion editor. Fashion photography is advertising and selling clothes.

To establish a reputation in fashion photography, the first thing you must do is set up a portfolio. Your portfolio should display your best work and be your first selling point. The second, and equally as important as the first, is to set up an online portfolio - your own personal Website.

To set up a portfolio you first must hire a model. Contacting your local modelling agencies can do this. You don't need to hire a well-known model for your fashion portfolio - you need someone who will act well in front of the camera.

To be very successful you need to build a good relationship with models. Some models can be tough to work with so people psychology will play an important part. If you intend to shoot from your home studio supply a changing room for them.

If a model becomes unhappy for any reason the photo session will be a waste of time. Allow your model to make their own suggestions - regardless of how trivial it may be, it will help to keep them relaxed and you may get results that may be useful.

Once your portfolio is created you need to get exposure for it. If you have previously published work - use them as a statement with the picture editors. You need to establish a good working relationship with all fashion editors that you'll be working with. So be professional.

Fashion photo editors are looking for concise images that clearly communicate an idea. You must, as a fashion photographer, have the ability to create unique settings.

When you do gather a large amount of fashion images, submit them to a fashion agency: Women's magazines all over the world buy hundreds of stock shots every month. Photo agencies exist to sell photographers images - some of the larger fashion agencies have buyers all over the world. Some agencies can also re-sell your work in several different markets, and others will give you great career advice.

Keep up to date with fashion magazines, study the market and always be on the lookout for changing trends.

Don't be afraid to take the first step. If a fashion editor has no interest in your work - don't worry - try contacting different magazines or agencies - most great photographers have their work rejected some time during their career.

How To Make Money With Your Digital Camera
By Rick Rouse


If you own a digital camera, you have probably taken at least a few photos that you think others would like. Did you know that it’s quite easy to make money with most any digicam – even a low-end point and shoot? Well, it is, and I’m going to tell you how to get started!

You don’t need to be an experienced professional photographer to start earning money with your digital camera. And you certainly don’t need a bunch of expensive photographic equipment. All you really need in order to earn some extra cash – and possibly even a good living - is a decent digital camera, an active imagination and a little practice.

First, let’s discuss the practice part. Get out and start taking a bunch of pictures. Take pictures of anything and everything you see including landscapes, buildings, automobiles, animals, people…well, you get the picture. Take pictures of everything, even things that might seem boring or uninteresting.

The key to getting several great pictures every time you pick up your camera is to take a boatload of them! In fact, I fill up my camera’s 2 GB memory card virtually every day. That’s 569 high-resolution images per day! Out of that many pictures, I almost always have several “keepers”. Of course the advent of digital cameras has made it very easy and inexpensive to take tons of pictures any time you want to.

Be sure to spend some time “learning your camera” as you take your practice shots. Practice using the different settings and “picture taking modes” available on your particular camera model so that you’ll be prepared to capture the best images possible under a wide variety of conditions. For example, low-light photography, action photography (sports) and portraits all require different skills and varying camera settings in order to produce the best results.

After you have become familiar with your camera and feel confident about using its various settings, it’s time to start making some money. Studio portrait photography probably isn’t an option unless you already own (or are willing to buy) the proper equipment. This includes a high-quality camera and lens, lighting equipment, backgrounds, etc. But there are plenty of other%2

How To Take A Perfect Scapbook Picture
by Krystal Phelps

It's true-you can make a beautiful scrapbook with less than perfect pictures. However, if you learn to make the most of your photography, you will find that you spend less time working on embellishing a page because the pictures will speak for themselves. Digital cameras make it easy to delete blurry or otherwise bad shots, but you may not get the second chance to capture your infant's precious smile or your pet's latest antic. Be armed with your camera at all times, and keep a few tried and true rules in your head to take shots that will stun.
This is the most talked about photography technique, and once the mystery is taken away, you will find that it is also one of the simplest ways to separate good shots from breath-taking ones. The initial concept is simple. Imagine you have drawn a tic-tac-toe board in the frame. Therefore, you have two lines running vertically and two lines running horizontally, intersecting at four points. Your initial urge is probably to center an image-and this sometimes proves to be the best option-but the four points of intersection are what professional photographers refer to as "sweet spots." Our eyes are naturally drawn to these places on a page, so when the main points of a subject matter, such as your cat's face, fall on one of these spots, the picture looks more appealing and balanced. If you cannot capture this perfectly, you can always crop your photograph when you scrapbook to help your picture adhere to the rule of thirds. Remember that you don't always have to stick to this rule, but it may help you find your shot.
The rule of thirds is not the only composition trick that photographers use to create beautiful photographs. A lot has to do with subject matter. Every picture has a background and foreground, but if you cut most of that out and fill the frame with your subject matter you will usually have a much better picture. Also, look at the lines in a picture. This is especially helpful with a landscape shot, because by placing the horizon on one of the lines you created with the rule of thirds, you will have a much more effective shot. Diagonal lines should be used to create interest. For example, railway tracks cutting across the frame and leading your eye through the sweet spots will give you a better shot.
Lastly look at color. This is important even in black and white photographs. Make sure that the light and dark colors are balanced. By doing this when you take the picture, you will be able to create better pages that are coordinated to match your photographs, and by following the other tips your will be able to create better pages in general

Starting A Photography Business? - 11 Reasons Why You Should Not!
by: Roy Barker

We are always confronted with the positive if not the encouragement to look at why we should open or think of starting a photography business. Sometimes it is suggested by those around you and often it's a personal whim. I thought it would be beneficial to perhaps look at the 'other side of the coin' and answer why some people should not be starting a photography business even if you've got enough money to do so. Here are eleven reasons why you should not be starting a photography business. For the sake of easy reading I've placed these in bullet point fashion, - If you believe that your fantastic photo ability on its own will attract an abundance of customers, think again because there are some great phoographers out there and there will always be one that you can learn from - If you like to avoid conversation with strange people or just people in general you are unlikely to survive running your own photography business - If you think that the term customer service is a useless cliche and is an overrated term, then starting a photography business is not for you. The 'best of the best' keep on surprising their new and existing customers with little extras they simply were not expecting. As a result their customers become loyal and won't go anywhere else - Being pleasant in unusual circumstances or when the subject is getting tired and irritable is essential - do you have that skill? - Living on a budget while you struggle to make ends meet but still do all of the above is not for the faint hearted - discipline and staying powere is also essential - Someone who jumps in without learning anything about starting a photography business and equally important, making it profitable is bordering on stupidity (this one is for the cheap skates who blame everyone else except themselves when it all falls down) - Not having enough cash flow to see the early period through before the business becomes profitable. Some of you are clever enough to have another job while they build a clientelle if they don't have enough cash in the tin - Not deciding on what photography business(es) they would like to specialize in before they start - If you're aren't sure whether you enjoy photography or not - If you suffer from any kind of depression regularly - If you have difficulty in understanding why 'the customer is always right' then starting a photography business is not a good look for you None of these points are intended to be offensive just factual. I apologize if any of this information struck a nerve but better you think about this now than too far down the track - right? Starting a photography business is a big move.