It’s a great idea to take along a digital camera when you travel. The camera is not as important as how you see what is around you. You could be delighted by the results.

Shooting What You See

Sometimes you might have taken a photo that looked good in real life but didn’t look so great on the computer. One reason for this could be the type of lens you used. The eye has a vision field of about 40 degrees. A scene like a landscape or skyline is one way of testing yourself. Don’t move your eyes right or left and note what you’re viewing. Compare how this scene appears through the camera. You’ll observe that some parts of the scene are missing, or perhaps now you’re seeing elements that were formerly excluded. Zoom back until you get the same approximate framing as your eye’s view. By trail and error you’ll learn what zoom will equate with your eye’s view.

Composition

Composition is the art of ‘framing’ the photograph or arranging the elements so that it draws the viewer’s eye to what you want seen or noticed. Here are some basic rules of composition:

1. The Eye Scans Diagonally

The eye usually scans automatically from bottom right of a picture diagonally across to the top left. You can get some idea of this by taking any picture you have in your files and flipping it horizontally with your photo editing software. You’ll notice that different elements come to the fore according to how the picture is flipped. You can use this rule, for example, in portrait photography.

Position the model with his or her body turned to the left about 45 degrees. Direct him to make loose fists and rest his hands on his legs. Now tell him to turn towards the camera. This is called a three-quarter pose. Check what you can see through the camera. Notice that your eye looks first at the hands and they guide it to the subject’s face. After you have taken the photo, upload it into your photo editing software and use the ‘flip horizontal’ function. Which looks best and is most communicative?

Here’s an exercise you can do: look over a photography website or through a book to see the rule in action. If you study some successful pictures or paintings you’ll notice the artist has used a color, geometric shape, or line to guide the eye towards the center. This rule can also be broken to produce a jarring effect.

2. Frame the Photograph

The edges of a photograph are like the fence around a house. In this way space is defined. Mount one of your pictures in a frame and you’ll see this effect. All the elements in the image have become more defined. You can use this in composition by deliberately placing your subject between trees, standing in a doorway, or at the side of a building. Place your subject before a featureless or out of focus background like an ocean scene and you can achieve a contrasting effect. With nothing else to distract it, the eye is drawn to the picture’s subject.

Shoot to include background to create more mood or ‘feel’. Occasionally a background will be too cluttered and distracting or dominate the scene. If possible, avoid these. However you can make your visual story generally more interesting by including the background. When you frame your picture ask yourself if the final result answers these questions:
Where is it?
What is the identity of the subject?
Why are they in that location or scene?
What is the purpose for them being there?

The Rule of Thirds

This rule divides the image into thirds horizontally and/or vertically. The main subject should appear in the middle section. Alternatively, arranged to occupy the points where the grids intersect. Landscapes generally use this rule by having the sky in the top zone and the subject in the middle zone. The foreground occupies the lower section acting as a foundation for the subject.

Vertical framing is the usual rule with portrait photography. If you imagine the frame to be divided into thirds from top to bottom, the face appears where the top and center sections meet each other. This gives you a more pleasing view by allowing space above the head. And this is a more balanced composition with the space either side of the subject.

Extreme close-ups can sometimes create a feeling of intensity and work well.

You’ll get better and better. Take lots and lots of shots and study the good ones - and the bad ones. Expect to learn the basics of this rewarding hobby quite quickly.

Technorati Tags: travel photographs, travel photography, travel photography tips, vacation photography, vacation photos

In most interiors art photographs are brought in as the finishing touch.
It’s one of the elements that can instantly warm up a space and make it feel like home.
Photographs can expand a space both visually and emotionally, give us a window to the world, bring interest and color to the wall spaces, and generally liven up the place.
Here’s concise hints how to arrange photographs in a room.
In general, photographs should be hung so that the center point of the photograph or grouping is at about eye level for the average person. While this won’t be possible in every situation,
it’s a good guideline to keep in mind.

Size and Grouping
• Relate photograph to wall size. Choose smaller pictures for narrow walls and larger works for big wall spaces.
• Relate photograph to furniture size. When hanging a framed photograph over a piece of furniture it should not be longer than the width of the furniture.
• Don’t hang the photographs too close to each other or you will end up with a cluttered look. Don’t hang them too far apart or you’ll lose that unified look.
• Proper use of line can set the mood in a room:
- Strong horizontal lines in photograph, or in the way it is hung, tend to be calming and can give the illusion of width in a narrow room.
- Strong vertical lines in a photograph or in the arrangement on the wall add to the feeling of height in a room.
- Strong diagonal lines either within a photograph itself or in a line of photographs arranged on the wall add drama and excitement.
Symmetrical or asymmetrical arrangement of photographs can be done for creating either a formal or a casual feeling. Symmetry adds balance and formality to an arrangement and is generally pleasing and calming to the observer.
• A grouping of photographs should be thought of as one unit.
• One large photograph makes a statement and keeps things simple.
• A number of photographs framed in one mat and frame will have more impact.

Themes
• Support your room theme with photographs, repeating the colors, motifs, and style of the room’s interior.
• Landscape photographs visually open up a smaller space. The view of a distant horizon acts as a sort of window.

Color
• Vibrant colors bring excitement to a room, neutral colors are more calming.
Photographs will have greater impact if they are matted in a color that contrasts with the color of the wall. A dark colored mat goes best with a light wall and a light colored mat for a dark wall.

Framing
Go for frame colors and styles that matches the style of your home.
To harmonize a set of photographs, mat and frame them alike.

Lighting
• Illuminate photographs well. It can be lost if it is not well lit.
One can use a picture light, track lighting or recessed lighting depending on a given place.

Hanging
• Hang photographs securely. Rate picture hooks for the weight of the framed photograph.

Care of Photographs
• Never hang photograph in direct sunlight: it can fade.
• Never hang photograph above a working fireplace.
• Never hang photograph on an exterior wall without adequate insulation: it can dampen.
Humidity and room temperature should be kept constant.
To prevent the occurence of yellowing, only acid-free mat boards and adhesives should be used.

This article is support by Puerto Rico Wedding Photographer

Technorati Tags: fine art, home decorating, interior design, photo gallery, Photography

Just bought a new camera ?? And very excited to start taking photos with your new gadget??

But Alas, why does the picture not look as good as you wanted to !! Fret no more, read more for the 4 tips on getting the most out of your new camera.

Trick #1 - Try out different camera exposure settings
—————————————————
By looking at the setting for exposure in your camera, you could have pictures looking more brilliant with 0.5 to 2 stops underexposed in bright surroundings, and scenes appearing more clear with some overexposure. Just by simple tuning of the exposure level, you can create pictures which can bring out different moods from people viewing it. Thats why the quote “A Picture Says A Thousand Words” is very true indeed ! For newbies, try out bracketing (i.e: taking pictures with different exposures level) and choose the best ones from them.

Trick #2 - Bring out some creative blur in photos
—————————————————
By using blur you can showcase out stronger features of a picture, while using the rest as good complement, providing an overall nice touch. This can be completed in 2 basic types.

First type is depth-of-field blur. Varying the lens aperture between 0.4 to 1.4 can create a lovely, soft background blur which bring sharp focus to the subject in the foreground.

Second type is movement blur. Accomplished by adjusting the shutter priority, and keep it slow so as to capture interesting streaks as the subject moves in front of the camera.

Trick #3 - Create something out of nothing !!
—————————————————
What does it means? This exercise encourages you to take a step back and rethink how you can take beautiful pictures with things you already encountered on a daily basis.

One approach is to create your shot around the common elements around you such as lines, space and patterns. This can mean anything from the roads to the bridges, the trees, the railings, etc.. You start to see more possibilities and room for creativity.

Trick #4 - Take Unique Photos !!
————————————–
Try to avoid taking photos from already popular places where everyone else has taken before,the picture will be dull, and the excitement is gone. Try out new exciting photography (for example: underwater photography), or it could be as easy as shooting through thick glasses for that extra 3D feel, or shooting reflections of objects in water or other reflective objects.

Hope you enjoy this article

This article is support by Puerto Rico Wedding Photographer

Technorati Tags: camera skills, camera tips, Digital Photography, master photography, photography classes, photography jobs, photography training

Photography isn’t just about including the desired subjects inside the frame. In order to have better photographs, one should try to make effective compositions. Recognizing lines, shapes, and the patterns they form inside a photo, and using these things to make an impact on the composition you are creating is essential so as to improve your photography.

Lines can have a very nice impact on your composition making it more appealing. Using them correctly can totally transform the mood of your photo as well as add a more depth to it.

Lines can be found all around us. The horizon, beaches and fallen trees, all can add interesting horizontal lines to your photos which can add a sense of stability to the picture. To have the maximum impact, try not to cut your image into halves by placing the horizon on the center, and make all horizontal lines as horizontal as possible. It is worth noting that horizontal lines usually look better in landscape orientation .

Vertical lines are even more obvious to us. Think of buildings, upright trees and light posts, they usually reflect growth and strength and when used correctly, they can provide interesting patterns especially when the photograph contains other elements. As with horizontal lines, the vertical lines should be perpendicular with the edges of the photograph because an inclined vertical line may harm your photo significantly. These lines look best in portrait orientation.

Diagonal lines are even more usable than the previous two types. They can add depth to a photograph as well as creating points of interest inside your composition and if repeated, they can also produce nice patterns. They can give a sense of speed and movement. It is usually better to have the diagonal lines away from the photo’s diagonals so as to make it more interesting.

The perspective usually control how the lines exist inside the photo. Just by changing your point of view, you can turn horizontal or vertical lines into interesting diagonal lines. This can produce a totally different composition with more depth and more points of interest at the meeting point of the diagonal lines.

While lines may add a certain mood to your photograph, shapes usually provide the meaning. Shapes are the 2D outlines of the objects, and they play a major role in making these objects recognizable. Contrasting an object with a different background is usually the best way to put emphasis on its shape . Thus, the edges of your object will be clear, and consequently, its shape will be very well defined.

Every object has its own distinct shape from specific angles, but some objects may look similar from different points of view. Because photographs have two dimensions only, choosing the right perspective is essential to present the object with the shape you want.

Lines and shapes are abundant around us; we just have to remember how to utilize them efficiently.

Go to CanvasPrintsOnline to get your FREE photography eBoook.

Technorati Tags: art photography prints, beginner photography, Canvas printing, Canvas Prints, lines and shapes in photography, Photography, photography techniques, photography tips

You have bought a compact digital camera and you are enjoying taking photographs with it. Taking a photograph can be as easy as pointing and shooting. But did you know that your camera maybe capable of doing more? If not, you should.

Knowing your camera’s features very well will lead you to make better decisions about what settings to use in different situations. Most compact cameras come with a preset of automatic settings used in specific situations. They are sufficient in most conditions, however, being able to manually adjust your photos will generally yield better results . In this case, manual controls should be used instead if your camera allows it. The give you the ability to fine tune your photos as you wish.

If printing photographs is desired, the camera should be set to maximum quality and the photographs should be stored at the maximum resolution. Prints usually require high resolution, and any compromise in the photo’s quality is not a good thing. This will lead to an increased usage of the storage space, which means that you will have to take care of the storage and backup issues.

Nearly every compact camera sports an autofocus feature these days. When taking your picture, just press the shutter button half way down and keep holding it that way. The camera will perform the analysis and try to automatically set focus on the subject. Holding down the button half way down allows maintaining the focus as well as the exposure even when the camera is moving. Pressing down the other half will capture the image.

Even if your camera has an anti-shaking feature, it is usually better to use a tripod (or anything equivalent) to hold the camera still while photographing in low light situations. The reason is that the camera will try to compensate for the low light with long exposure. Always try to improve the lighting as most compact digital cameras will usually produce noisy and blurred photo in low light.

In all the features that your camera is capable of, some are not very useful. Most compact cameras produce bad photos at high ISOs (>400) and they should only be used for capturing fast moving objects. Using the built-in flash should be avoided except when there is no other efficient light source. Its strong, non diffused, near the lens frontal light will make sure that your photos look awkward. It is usually better to consider external light which will give your photos a better professional look. The only feature that you should never use is digital zooming.

Obviously, one needs to understand some basic photography concepts in order to get the best out of his camera . Fortunately, this can only increase its worth by making it produce better photographs and increase your experience by making you a better photographer.

Go to CanvasPrintsOnline to learn more and get your photography eBook.

Technorati Tags: art photography prints, beginner photography, Canvas printing, Canvas Prints, Compact digital camera, Photography, photography techniques, photography tips

In July 2009, the site will begin offering weekly photo contests which are intended to roll forward into monthly and yearly contests when participation becomes significant enough to create these next levels. Competition begins with weekly contests, with the top three winners from these to be automatically entered to win a monthly set of free prizes.

When the monthly participation grows large enough, the top three winners from each month will get chances to win prizes in the yearly photo competition levels. Since it will take some time for participation to build, our focus will be on growing our weekly and monthly incentives. When weeks or months pass without enough competition, there may be no weekly or monthly winners to collect prizes. This anticipated low entry volume means more chances to win for the few who do participate.

During rising participation, contestants will find it possible to win multiple weekly and monthly prizes through the year. More wins at these levels mean better chances for selection in higher level contests. When yearly contest prizes become set, they will be greater than the ones offered for monthly winners, and be made up of variations on digital creations available from our site.

To ensure fair competition, we may need to adjust some of our initial contest structure occasionally. We may need to make allowances for the skill levels of various contestants, to make sure everyone has more chances to win. This might be done by creating several skill level categories, or through some other limiting criteria. As time passes, we reserve the right to change any of our contest criteria, or to disqualify entries for being improperly submitted, inappropriate, off subject, or other reasons we will pass along to those who want to enter our contests. These contest ideas are being created to showcase works of our visitors, and give our audience an opportunity to see what we can design from digital photos.

Technorati Tags: photo competition, photo contest, yearly photo contest

Ever been disappointed in your digital landscape photography photos? Wonder why they don’t look as good as others that you have seen in books or magazines? Your not alone, most photographers are never happy with their own images. Not to mention the fact that you can’t rearrange a nature scene to your liking. Shooting landscapes does not have to be a mystery if you just take a minute to plan your shots.

Of course a nice breath taking view would be nice for starters, landscape photography is actually an art. Always be on the lookout for a great scene, what may just be “farm land” to someone, could actually be a winning photograph to others. Just as an example, I went to visit my Dad recently and he had this beautiful landscape scene photo that he had shot up on the Blueridge Parkway. I told him how really beautiful it was, it truly was a breath taking photo even though it was just of some farm land with bails of hay strewn about, a torn up roof on a barn, etc. Do you want to know what made the scene so beautiful? Timing, timing was the key, you see my Dad took the photo at the right time of day AND during fall colors. The trees were all changing with different colors, the lighting (time of day) was just right. It was just an awesome photograph. I guess my point is that you must consider all variations, my Dad took me to the spot where he shot the photo in the middle of the summer and I didn’t even take a picture, it just wasn’t “breath taking” on a plain ole summer day.

Other things that can add to the beauty of a landscape scene is weather. Consider storm clouds or white puffy clouds or even just a really beautiful deep blue sky. These things I've suggested are simply to give you ideas and get your creative juices flowing and they will definitely improve your photographs. Consider lighting for great photographs whether it be sunset, dawn, night or any other time of the day, lighting plays a key role in making photos either boring or great.

When I was up on the Blueridge Parkway with my Dad, I began to notice textures, like old wood or even bails of hay, I took some very interesting pictures of hay and split rail fences and buildings with old grainy, gray wood. I think they are pretty awesome anyway. Even an old wooden window can make a great photograph if you compose it properly.

Nature photos are a favorite of many photographers and the most fun to shoot in my opinion. Especially, those breath taking landscape photographs.  At least you don’t have to make people smile, etc. Nature is just plain beautiful and it doesn't have to "say cheese" to look pretty. Keep in mind the few tips I’ve given you here and your images will surely improve. Planning plays a big part, check out your scene at various times of day and keep an eye out for clouds, weather, tree colors, etc. Hopefully, I gave you some great ideas to consider when shooting landscape scenes. Ok, go take some great photos.

Technorati Tags: digital landscape photography, Digital Photography

It has become more and more common and popular for couples getting married to have a video of their wedding and reception celebrations. This does not necessarily replace the wedding photographs but complement the photographer’s records. As a result, the professional category of wedding videographers has gained quite a lot of importance. Why has videography developed so much lately? Well, people want to remember those wonderful moments and share their happiness with friends and family members. A video provides a different way of looking back at the events of the ceremony and reception as it gives you the opportunity to view them from a different perspective. Therefore, to benefit from good video productions I would say that you should resort to professional wedding videographers.
Pontiac Solstice windscreen windblocker wind deflector windstop

As we said before, if it is important for you to have a high quality video of your wedding and, of course, if you have the necessary budget for this, it is a must that you think of professional wedding videographers. Each videographer has a certain particular style which also affects the price of the video production. However, there is no standard charge for professional wedding videographers and the costs vary from a few hundred dollars or pounds to a few thousands, depending on the professional’s experience, the equipment quality and the size of the team that will work on your wedding. Anyway, like most things in life, you usually get what you pay for. But, as a piece of advice, you should not spend more money, or at least much more money on video than on photos.
BMW Z4 windscreen windblocker wind deflector windstop

After searching the net to get a picture of what wedding videographers do and how much they charge, what options are available on the market, and before visiting or speaking to a videographer, you should think a little about the style you would like for the wedding video as such. You might want just the standard wedding video style or you might be tempted by a fly-on-the-wall, documentary style production which involves using more cameras. Another aspect to consider is whether you want a video of only your reception or a recording of the whole day, from the bride and groom preparation to the last dance. If you consider all these aspects, you will know exactly what to ask for from the wedding videographers you will talk to, and you will react properly to their suggestions, being able to choose what best suits your wishes.
Chrysler Crossfire windscreen windblocker wind deflector windstop

Technorati Tags: event, services, videographer, videography, wedding

Wedding videography has recently turned into an art as more and more agencies strive to make the wedding day as unique as possible. As an art, the retelling of the wedding story has to include special moments and effects that look neither too extravagant nor too simplistic. Depending on the taste and desire of each client couple, wedding videography may be applied to the video of the first day in marriage in order to suit the expectations of both the wife and the husband.
Pontiac Solstice windscreen windblocker wind deflector windstop

Most wedding videography is realized by videographers who happen to be husband and wife. Apparently it is quite a trend to make this branch of human activity a family business and it looks as though it is also one of the things that may attract clients. Probably people expect a wedding videography-oriented couple to be more sensitive to the needs and interests of another couple getting married.
BMW Z4 windscreen windblocker wind deflector windstop

When planning your wedding and taking into account wedding videography, it is a good start to search for agencies or companies on the Internet. A respectable videographer will not only make promises regarding the quality of services but he or she will also upload samples of edited filming taken from the weddings where he or she has provided services before. Thus, you can check for yourself and predict more accurately whether you are going to be pleased with your future wedding videography. The prices and the packages available with one company or another should also be available on the web pages of the wedding videography companies.
Chrysler Crossfire windscreen windblocker wind deflector windstop

In case prices are not shown, there are also lower budgets that some may need and get included in the packages. The most important thing when viewing their samples is for the video to look professional. In case you still want some more samples of wedding videography, then you can get in touch with the company over the phone or get to their address based on the displayed contact details. Once you come in contact with them, you will surely figure out whether they are cooperative enough and manage to handle your requests professionally, even on a lower budget.

All in all, wedding videography has become more and more important these days as it has literally taken the place of simple photography and later classic filming that were trendy many years ago. Be sure that you make the most special moment of your couple life unforgettable and hire somebody worthy of being there next to you on such a day providing good services.

Technorati Tags: event, services, videographer, videography, wedding

Over half of photographers freelance, there is no doubt that photography can offer great opportunities to earn money from one’s skills

Making money from photography can be done in a variety of methods. The more ways you employ, the surer you can be that your photography business can do more than just break even.

Go online to peddle your photographs. Put up and promote a photography website. Market your rights to your pictures on display on the Internet. A way around selling your full rights is through selling licenses instead. Doing this allows you to enjoy repeat earnings generated by a single photo. Having your own website can be a time-consuming process. You initially need to shell out money on domain hosting and marketing. You begin earning profit once you upload enough photos on the site and once your site generates enough traffic. Persevere in the process and things should look rosy for your business.

Shoot photos of for-auction items. Sites like eBay are great places to begin. A lot of online sellers don’t photograph their merchandise for auction on their own. They hire freelance photographers to do the job for them. Even though you earn only once for each photo you shoot, generating photos for auction sites like eBay enables you to buff up your portfolio and your reputation as a photographer. The opportunity to make money from pictures isn’t limited to auction sites. Consider magazines and other websites that need photographers to shoot pictures for them.

Take pictures of various real estate properties. Market your services to real estate businesses by getting in touch with the latter. You can then promote yourself and your photography skills. Be prepared to negotiate your professional fees. The job might not be frequent but it’s a productive way for you to spend your vacant periods from work.

On the internet, peddle your stock photo libraries. Expect to become best friends with two circles of professionals: the graphic designers and the web designers. For many of them, paying for large libraries of photos is a much better option that having to purchase photo rights individually. After you’ve set up your library, organize the collections by theme. Then market them to interested web and graphic designers.

Earn money from Microstock photos. Working the same way as the above-mentioned photo libraries, you get to make money from Microstock whenever designers download your photos or decide to purchase individual rights to the pictures. In this way, you are able to profit from your pictures more than once over an indefinitely extended period.

Sell your photos at online stores like CafePress. Your job is to have your pictures accompany the various products marketed by the stores. If you do this, you not only earn whenever customers purchase the products, but you also get to tap the power of free advertising as you spread the word about your photography to the rest of the world. The cost of printing out ads or hoarding stocks is practically nil. So long as the product is selling, you can expect your earnings to come in continuously.

Each method tells you how exactly you can make photography become a serious income stream.

The specific amount you aim to generate from photography and the methods you will be employing are your decision.

If you found this article helpful you might want to check out the best guides about how to Make money with photography.

Better photos will enable you to earn more money, you might also want to check out different ways to Learn digital photography quickly and efficiently.

Technorati Tags: earn from your photos, learn digital photography, make money from photography, make money from photos, make money in photography, make money with photography