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December 23, 2005
Taking candids can be great fun! The lure of the chase and the unexpected images resulting from it will keep you amused for hours. But taking a successful picture can be a bit tricky. Follow these simple rules to enhance your rewards:- be prepared for anything: things have a habit of happening just .
December 23, 2005
In this age of digital photography, there are almost limitless opportunities for taking great photographs. Despite the seemingly bewildering array of cameras and gadgets, it remains a fact that sales of digital cameras have rocketed in recent years as people discard film in favour of electronic ..
December 23, 2005
"When I shoot a sunset, it never appears as it does in the viewfinder. The orange and red colours consistently appear dull and lifeless. What am I doing wrong?" The answer here is white balance. Every scene you shoot has an array of colours. Ideally, you wish to capture what the eye sees. However ..
December 23, 2005
How many times have you come across people with expensive bits equipment but a poor or cheap bag to carry it all in? There can be no justification in spending lots of hard-earned cash on the latest gadgets only to put them at risk when storing or transporting them all.It is true that a variety of ..
December 23, 2005
Almost nothing is more important than composition. No amount of manipulation of your image will help a badly composed picture.But what is “composition".Don't worry about the fancy terms, but basically, composition is the art of getting the final image looking right, starting from the moment ..
December 23, 2005
When you take a picture not everything will be in focus. You may hear a lot said about “depth of field". Don’t be confused by this terminology – it’s easy to understand and, used correctly, will help your images have more impact.In any picture, there will be areas in the foreground (in front of you .
December 23, 2005
A lot of fuss is made over exposure and it can get really complicated. No more … read on!Put bluntly, exposure is just the right combination of factors needed to make a decent image. A correctly exposed image needs just the right amount of light to fall on the sensor.The amount of light falling on ..
December 22, 2005
Why do you like some portraits of yourself and not others? The answer lies in the way the portrait was taken and how close your portrait comes to the accepted idea. People like to think that if a portrait of themselves is needed, they might as well look their best. A portrait photographer must ..
December 21, 2005
The nice thing about bird photography is that it can happen anywhere on our beautiful globe. The not so nice thing is that birds are small or shy, and you need to be able to get close enough with your equipment. In this article, we will be looking at the ideal equipment for bird photography. We ..
December 21, 2005
I am a member of a camera club and often get involved in discussion about photography. Amongst the great photographers and enthusiasts I occasional hear muted cries from fellow members bemoaning these lack of photo-taking opportunities.The comments are usually in response to seeing some great ..
December 21, 2005
It’s odd what makes us all so different. We are all human, after all, and you would think we would have more similarities than differences.And, of course, we do. We all eat, sleep and yearn for relationships. We all communicate with each other, pay taxes where appropriate and generally try to get ..
December 21, 2005
As a newspaper photographer I’ve taken quite a few `snatch shots’, which are photographs of someone that were taken without the person in the picture being aware of it.Actually there are two kinds of snatch shots, long range and close range. Long range shots are usually but not always taken with a ..
December 21, 2005
"My images appear blurred and a friend says this is caused by camera shake. What is this and how can I avoid it?"If your digital camera makes even a small movement when you take a picture, you are at risk of having a blurred image. The reason for this is camera shake.Digital cameras need to be got ..
December 21, 2005
A is for … ApertureCameras let light in through an opening in the lens called an aperture. It does not matter exactly how it works, suffice it to say that the bigger the aperture the more light that is let in and the smaller the aperture the less light coming in.The amount of light determines the ..
December 20, 2005
Compact cameras get bad press. Not from the manufacturers or the users but from those photographers that think their equipment is far superior.OK, so I made that up. But there is a tendency to think that to take great photographs means that you have to have the latest and most expensive gear. And ..
December 20, 2005
A friend of mine is an avid photographer. He has a DSLR with a load of accessories and a series of nice lenses. He recently bought one that cost an arm and a leg and he was pretty proud of it.On the other side of the coin, my father has a lens for his film SLR that he bought over 30 years ago. It ..
December 20, 2005
Africa has always been known as one of the best destinations for wildlife photography, or nature photography in general. All serious professional wildlife photographers have quite a portion of their file filled with photos from Africa. Why is this? It is because Africa presents you with ..
December 20, 2005
Summer is coming and with it picnics in the park, vacations in the country and holiday visits. These events have in common a wonderful opportunity for great pictures of your loved ones.This method of outdoor lighting is very forgiving but requires at least three people, one as a subject, one ..
December 20, 2005
IntroductionPortraiture is the ‘bread and butter’ of any professional photographer. Getting it ‘right’ is essential.I once heard a professional artist - an oil painter - describe a successful portrait as one which told you something about the subject which you did not ..
December 20, 2005
IntroductionI often visit friends, relatives and customers and see out of the corner of my eye un-mounted photographs laying on the sideboard or propped up against the kitchen cabinets. And often they are very good shots.What a shame that they are not presented more thoughtfully - making a ..
December 20, 2005
While browsing through a box of photos handed down to you from a relative, you come across a studio portrait of your great grandfather and his family. The picture is in sepia tone, the edges are tattered and there are deep scratches across the picture. To make matters worse, someone folded the ..
December 19, 2005
It's Christmas. There's a great many photo-opportunities but, to be frank, I have missed them all. I have convinced myself that I am too busy. Well, there's the presents to buy and the parties to attend. And, where I live, EVERYBODY is shopping - that means queues, waiting, frustration and ..
December 17, 2005
After spending a significant amount of time taking pictures, and accumulating a large library of images, it can be a daunting task looking for a way to sell your work.With the right approach and a vast amount of hard work you soon may see a return for all the hours spent outdoors.One of the easiest .
December 17, 2005
Copyright in most works of art, which includes writing, photography and digital images occur as the work is created. To put it as simply as possible, the second you click the shutter button, the resulting image belongs to you.No formal registration is needed in more that 140 countries in the world, .
December 16, 2005
Today I hesitated, and watched the skies. Okay, they don't move - something to do with the Firmament being placed there by God, in His wisdom. But the clouds looked as if they might be getting ready to do something nice.So I tossed a coin. Then I tossed another one, because I lost the first. This ..
December 16, 2005
Slowly I walked up to this small flock of geese. Their colorful feathers glistened in the afternoon sunlight. I was being very careful not to disturb these beautiful creatures of nature. The four of them walked in unison closer to the wall. They were preparing to take flight if things became too ..
December 15, 2005
It's cold here. And, where there's cold there's condensation. Small droplets of water form where warm air meets a cold surface. In camera terms. That means any part of the kit that is exposed to cold air.This explains why my viewfinder got all steamed up when I started using my camera yesterday ..
December 15, 2005
Snow! You either love it or hate it. But, for sure, it gives the chance for some great photographs. Wrap up warm and get those shots, but remember a simple rule.Snow is cold and sloppy. It this wasn’t bad enough for the photographer, there is one other problem to face: snow can fool your camera ..
December 15, 2005
Low cost digital camera, and high quality printing now coupled with some imagination can open the door for you to create unique pictures ranging from the family pets, to autos right to custom cards and wall posters that you have created. Custom printing was expensive, and mostly restricted to ..
December 15, 2005
When a dog takes on the “misery stance”, we will see the tail between the legs, the eyes looking away from me, and the ears down and close to the head. This usually happens because the dog is unaware of the owner’s wishes and unsure of my intentions. It my pet photography photo sessions this can ..
December 14, 2005
You probably know the yellow “National Geographic" magazine. If you browse through its colorful pages you can see that many of the pictures are taken in the low, warm light of mornings and late afternoons or evenings.The photographers of National Geographic are among the best we have. You can .
December 14, 2005
When you put your camera up to your eye in preparation for that special shot, you want to be sure that you have all the ingredients for a perfect image. You want to be sure that the scen in front of you is not only worth preserving but is preserved.Don't you?It doesn't really matter if you are ..
December 14, 2005
We often put off finishing an album of photographs because of the daunting challenge it presents even to the creative mind.It’s difficult to discard a not-so-good photograph even though an identical, but wonderful photograph exists right next to it. In order for an album to capture the attention of .
December 14, 2005
Finding that your images are blurred can be a real disappointment especially if you have gone to some lengths to get the shot you wanted or if the shot would have had some value for you or someone else.Blurred images, as well as being common, are also difficult, even with digital cameras, to see at .
December 14, 2005
Have you noticed that sometimes your images have a funny colour cast over them? Was this something that was not present at the time you took your shot?If so, then you need to think of colour balance (often known as white balance).It sounds technical, and it can be very complex, but basically, each ..
December 14, 2005
Well, there's no accounting for silliness, I suppose, but sometimes the Art of Stating The Bleedin’ Obvious sheer takes my breath away...Local harbour; dateline: today, of course. Shooting away with the camera, some guy comes over to me and says: “What are you taking pictures of?". ..
December 14, 2005
The Canon 20D - a semi-pro camera. Much reviewed, much used and much admired. With such expectation, I bought it but within minutes, horror of horrors, I hated it with a vengeance. In womanly terms, it was a hag on a broomstick.But wait no longer - what is this, that's yonder coming, fair of cheek ..
December 14, 2005
Film is so expensive now days! With digital cameras, you can take as many baby photos as you want and delete the ones you don't.You can save all the ones you like but only print out the ones you need, therefore you don't waste any cash.If you do not have a digital camera yet and are planning to get .
December 13, 2005
Gathering dust in the closet is a shoe box of pictures. Among them are snapshots of your beloved pets. Unfortunately, the pictures of Skippy are all too far away for us to enlarge for placing on the wall, and the snapshot of our cute little kitty cat is an unrecognizable blur with eyes lit up like ..
December 12, 2005
Your camera is heavily reliant on battery power. Your shots will depend on such power to take shots, view them on the LCD screen (if you have one) and transfer them to the memory card and thereafter to the computer. The use of flash, the optical zoom or working in extremes of weather will use up ..
December 12, 2005
I admire the paparazzi. They do a difficult job in difficult conditions. Whatever you overall view of them, there are things to be admired.I know that the right picture will net them enough money to retire twice over. But, in reality, the majority of images will just about bring in enough cash to ..
December 12, 2005
A debate that could rage on for eternity, but let’s look at the basics. Every photographer has their own unique style, developed over time and moulded by their background and personality. Some photographers stick religiously to black & white images, whilst others swear by full colour. Which is ..
December 12, 2005
So you’ve got your basement studio all set up with lights, camera, tripod and a plain white background. Great. Wouldn’t it be terrific if you could add one of those beautiful muslin backgrounds you see in the catalogs and used by the big studios? Yeah, right. Seven hundred dollars for one. Here’s a .
December 12, 2005
I've been asked should I use my camera flash when taking photos outside and under the following conditions the answer is YES.If you're shooting a portrait or close up where the subject fills the frame completely and your shooting in bright sunlight where the person is partly back-lit, the answer is .
December 11, 2005
“Never have I found the limits of the photographic potential. Every horizon, upon being reached, reveals another beckoning in the distance. Always, I am on the threshold." -W. Eugene SmithThe invention of the camera liberated painting from its reportage role. Gone was the need to produce a ..
December 11, 2005
Your sister’s getting married, your daughter got engaged, or you’ve been picked as best man in your friend’s wedding. What these scenarios have in common is that they all need a good picture of the new couple to hand out to friends and relative. Studio pictures are fine, but a good, flattering ..
December 11, 2005
Marketing your photography studio does not have to be expensive. I've used hundreds of low cost marketing strategies over the last twenty five years and managed to build my photography studio to the point where I am one the busiest and most successful studios in my city. Here's a few tips for ..
December 10, 2005
7 tips to ensure you have a happy picture-taking party season:1. Always have enough power for your camera Cameras need batteries to work - make sure you have enough and that they are fully charged 2. Always make sure you have enough storage space Memory card get full easily; download images to your .
December 10, 2005
You can get some great images using your camera underwater. Think about the following to ensure you don't miss that important shot:Get an underwater housing - most cameras can be fitted with a specialised, waterproof underwater housing. These are available from specialised retailers or from online ..
December 10, 2005
Sadly, not many of us will catch a glimpse of Santa Claus at Christmas. Of course, there will be plenty of people disguised to look like him visiting shopping precincts and local schools. But capturing the real Santa is pretty tricky.It's not much use waiting at the bottom of the chimney. Most ..
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