help from a digital lab photo printing professional

Help from a Digital Lab Photo Printing ProfessionalWriten by Mindi Haehl

If youre like most people, you probably prefer to do as many things on your own as possible so that you dont have to spend money paying for the services of someone else. This line of thinking works well for people who are capable of mowing their own lawn or for those who are good at fixing cars. But when it comes to the subject of digital photo printing, youre probably not very likely to get a whole lot of quality pictures when editing and printing them by yourself. That is why it is best to seek digital lab photo printing professional help.

Stubborn people who refuse to dish out money for better quality pictures need only to think of this bit of information. While home printers are capable of turning digital photos into picture form, the cost of ink and paper will most likely exceed the costs of getting a professional to do them. So give yourself a break and let one of the many companies that specialize in digital photo printing do the work for you. These companies have digital photo lab professionals that can color correct balance and lighting on individual pictures as well as choose the best paper for your photos to be printed on that they will last for years to come. Finding them is easy too because many national chain stores have photo labs that handle digital printing needs and there are lots of websites offering these services as well.

Unlike paying a plumber to fix your toilet or hiring an interior decorator, digital photo printing professionals wont leave you broke with their services. Most services, offer competitive rates usually in the range of 19 per print to 29 per print. On top of that, other incentives such as membership or bulk order discounts give customers even more of a chance to save money when using a digital lab printing professional. So next time you think of printing out those digital photos of your last vacation, think again because youll most likely be more satisfied if you seek out a professional service.

To view our list of recommended sources for digital photo printing online,
visit Recommended Sources For
Digital Photo Printing Online.

get some great shots of your cat

Get Some Great Shots of Your CatWriten by Eric Hartwell

The domestic cat must be one of the most photographed animals. Who hasnt taken a picture at some time of the family puss? At first it is simply to try out the new camera but as time goes on getting a cat in every position seems almost like an obsession! But who, apart from you and your nearest, wants to see the umpteenth picture of the house moggie even if it is in a slightly different pose?

Now is the time to improvise and innovate! The family cat (or dog for that matter) can be a source of some great shots (and yes, you can still take and keep the usual pretty pictures as well).

Next time you want to take some decent images of your cat, think of the following:

-the cat hiding behind something, ready to pounce

-an action shot, the cat going scatty or engaged in an activity

-a close up get in real close, use macro or close up lenses (and a reflector)

-a studio shot keep the background plain and contrasting

-employ a human to be part of the shot the cat walking around stockinged feet or boots

-get a prop a chair, bed, shelf, bench

-focus on detail fur, eyes, teeth

-combine the cat with something appropriate but unusual a gigantic ball of wool or a large fluffy mouse

-cats and babies are really cute!

-get the cat to sit with an unusual, contrasting, object on a cycle, with some fruit, in the bath

I am sure you can think of more. Take lots of images so that you get one that looks the part.

Cats are willing participants and readily available. And you dont need to go outside!

Eric Hartwell runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com

a skylight filter is essential

A Skylight Filter Is EssentialWriten by Eric Hartwell

The importance and usefulness of a skylight filter cannot be overestimated. Everyone should have at least one. Preferably, they should have one for every lens they own. These should be permanently fixed to the filter thread.

Skylight filters are cheap, freely available and come in various filter thread sizes. This means that everyone can afford one and there will be a filter to fit every lens (or almost).

The primary function of a skylight filter is to cut down excessive UV rays which, in turn, make scenes in the distance appear to have a blue haze. The filter effectively reduces the haze and blue colour cast. Pictures of hills and mountains in the distance look clearer.

The secondary function, and why you should have one on each lens, is that of protection. Like a lens cap, the skylight filter fits over the front of the lens and helps to prevent the ingress of dirt and dust. It also protects the lens from the effects of oily and greasy fingers, stick hands and from accidental knocks. It is much cheaper to replace a skylight than it is to replace a damaged lens.

The filter is very light and has no effect on the exposure value needed for your photography (they do not stop the normal amounts of light getting in).

Eric Hartwell is an experienced photographer and owner of the photography resource website ephotocentral.

the passion of a great child portrait

The Passion Of A Great Child PortraitWriten by Martin Hurley

From a little spark, may burst a mighty flame.
Italian Poet Dante (1265-1351)

Inspired to create your own child portrait? It's very possible, with a little enthusiasm
and creativity, to create something very special. Children hold such wonderful
qualities, a simple innocence and a profound simplicity, beauty and awe about
them.

Children are, in touch with, and in tune with, what it is to be a part of this world.
With a refined sensitivity, they really are everything to us all.

And you too, can nurture these qualities in your own life... use a camera and take
pictures with the same gentleness, with the same inspirational-playing-field as
children.

Yet in creating a child portrait a certain approach is needed. I suggest coming at it
from a fun perspective. Have fun, be playful. That's how you'll reach children.

You've got to go to where they are, meet with them at their level. And generally
speaking, they hover in fun mode...

You're aiming for the essence of what they are all about. You want to cherish that
unique spark of brightness in a child's life.

Like I mentioned, children are at a level of refined sensitivity and openness. and I
think we need to be open to that, to be conscious of that, to be able to sit down and
capture something great with child photography.

Even if that means giving them the camera for a while, or rigging up a camera so
that they can shoot their own child (self) portrait!

The more passionate you are about getting a good child portrait, then you won't
mind waiting for the time when everything comes together. It can take time.

There's certain moments when you'll know things look right, and the light is gentle,
and the colors are in harmony. Be ready for that.

And of course you can encourage it by setting up a room, a party, children's time
with friends, activities or excursions when the day is motivating you to get out and
go somewhere.

Getting a good child portrait is not that difficult. Look for the right moments and be
prepared for it. Child activity happens fast. That means you've got to act fast. Wait
long time, but act fast. (You'll need to hurry up and wait!)

Carrying the tools of trade (camera) is going to create some action, responses and performance. So make it into a performance piece.

It'll be up to you what you want to achieve. But for me, I strive for a natural feel.
Often playful in front of a camera, we all spring back to normal-doing-stuff mode.
It's then that you can potentially get more natural pictures.

What you want to achieve with your child portrait? You might want to stand way
back, relax and shoot with long lens and focus in as the children play. Or go in close
with wide angle and get action shots. Technically it's your call.

My preference is to see what happens. But first and foremost I focus on the fun
factor. That's because I'm just a big kid and I want to play too.

The purpose of our lives is to add value to the people of this generation and
those that follow. Buckminster Fuller

Keep it fun. Keep it uplifting, hilarious, non-serious. You're after moments. The
moments are the precious stuff. Stuff that feels right, is right. Let everything relax
and take your time. It's easy!

Let me know how you go with it. :-)

Copyright 2006 Martin Hurley

Martin Hurley is a motivational dude, artist, photographer
and netrepreneur who enthuses creativity, marketing and
life knowledge. Get your unique down to earth approach to
life success by visiting: http://Hurleypix.com
Or his blog: http://white-ape-in-thailand.blogspot.com

passionate organizing how to create a system to organise your digital and traditional photos

Passionate Organizing: How To Create A System To Organise Your Digital And Traditional PhotosWriten by Kesh Morjaria

Digital photography promises much. Store your photographs on your computer, print them when you want, email them to friends and family share them to your hearts content. Couldnt be easier, could it? So how come that for most of us storing and sharing our photographs is a bit of a nightmare?

The ease of using a digital camera is its very undoing. Its easy to take some shots and then work on them later. The trouble is that later doesnt happen often enough and we build up a huge backlog of images that we have to sort and process. Thats where things start to get untidy. Very soon you wont know what youve printed or you wont be able to find the original file of that cute shot that your wife wants a copy of.

So whats the answer? As the Greek philosopher Hesiod put it nearly 3,000 years ago, It is best to do things systematically and disorder is our worst enemy. You need to plan a system for processing your photographs and be systematic in everything you do

You probably remember that after the thrill of your first digital camera, you began to realize some of its limitations. Without a computer or other digital device, its hard to share them with granny or the cousins back home. You realize that you have to have traditional prints to pass around and share.

So the planning system you adopt must cater for both digital and physical prints you need a single system that organizes both and ensures your precious memories are stored forever.

Heres a six point plan to establishing your own system.

1. Decide how you want to organise your photographs

Without a system, youll just get a list of meaningless file names. The longer this goes on, the harder it will be for you to find the photos that you want.

Youve got to have a system a way of organising one that suits you. I choose to organise my photos by event but you could do it by date, by family member or by whatever is meaningful to you.

Under My Pictures on my hard drive, I have four sub-folders Family, Business, Holidays and The Best. The first three are self-explanatory; The Best is where I keep images of which Im particularly proud.

2. Create mirror images on both your computer and photo album

People love traditional prints so no matter how proud you may be of your computer skills, to really share your photos with friends and family, youll need physical prints to pass around. And to get the most from your memories you should have a single system that runs across both.

Once youve decided on your system use the same categories on both your computer and your physical photo album.

3. Taking your photos

Snap away happily but dont carry around useless photographs on your camera or waste your time downloading them before deciding to bin them. As soon as youve taken photographs have a quick look at them and dump the ones that dont look special. Be ruthless and immediate.

4. Downloading back home

The temptation is to rush and get the exciting photos on the machine. This is where discipline is needed. You need to have an uninterrupted session. If you can arrange that easily fine. If you cant you should set aside a regular time once a week to do all your photographic work.

There are four tasks:

• Download your photographs onto your hard disk

• Edit them, e.g. get rid of red eye

• Give each file a meaningful name with a date so instead of P1010012 use Sarah on the beach 07/03

• Save them in the appropriate folder.

Now make a back up copy. This is essential you dont want to risk losing your images. I use a ZIP drive for back-up.

5. Print your photographs

Plan what prints you want, print them and put them into your album immediately. Update your album index as you do so.

6. Store them and show them (but dont ever give them away)

Never give your album photographs away. If someone wants a copy, resist the temptation to hand them your album copy. Instead, print them a new one or email them a digital version.

About The Author

Kesh Morjaria is passionate about organising and runs Arrowfile.com. He provides an extensive range of organizing products that are used not only in the home but by professional photographers, collectors, local government, museums even police forces. You can find the full range at http://www.arrowfile.com.

kesh@arrowfile.com

unused photographic equipment

Unused Photographic EquipmentWriten by Eric Hartwell

Have a look through your photographic equipment. Have a good look. Check through your cameras. Check through your lenses. Now the tripods, filters and flashguns. Check everything.

I'll bet there's things there you don't use. But more - I'll bet there's things there that you have never used - apart from when you first bought it.

Or worse - was given it. For the equipment we are the least likely to use is the equipment we are given. People mean well, and you should never look a gift horse in the mouth. But they don't understand photography like you do. And they understand digital photography even less.

This year, I was given a lovely book on landscapes. beautifully illustrated and written by someone that is respected throughout the world in landscape photography. The problem was, it was exactly the same as the copy sitting on my bookshelf. I also got some cheap lens wipes and a few other trinket accessories. I will never use them.

And don't go thinking that it's what others buy us that goes unused. I have plenty of stuff that has laid pretty much idle since the day I bough it all. Fisheye converters, extension tubes. I own three flashguns, only one of which I ever use. I have several tripods and several cheap lenses. I don't kniow why I don't part with them.

I'll bet you have stuff that you never get out let alone use. Can you part with it? Possibly, but for me, having this equipment tells me something about how I graduated in photography and how I have developed. But like an old favourite teddy bear, some things just have to be kept.

.... apart from my latest gifts from Aunt Audrey.

Eric Hartwell runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com

creating printable photo greeting cards

Creating Printable Photo Greeting CardsWriten by Valerie Goettsch

STAY CONNECTED WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

Making your own digital photo cards and personalized holiday photo cards is a lot easier than you think. All you need is your favorite photo or photos to get started. Soon you will have your own customized set of digital photo cards to send off to your family and friends for graduation day, birthdays, holidays and more.

Printable greeting cards are a great way to keep in touch with family and friends and show off your digital photos. Most online digital photos services offer customized photo cards, allowing you to create your own photo greeting cards for holidays, birth or wedding announcements, birthdays, invitations, thank-you notes, and more.

Creating Printable Photo Greeting Cards:

Photo cards are simple and fun to create. Online photo services such as Shutterfly and Ofoto make it easy to design high-quality customized photo cards using your own digital photos and personal message inside. Typically, photo greeting cards are printed on 5x7 card stock and you can choose from a matte or glossy finish. You just need to upload your digital photo (or photos) to the photo service, choose from a selection of layouts and greetings, and add your personal message. Photo cards usually come in sets of 20 with envelopes for mailing.

Shutterfly even let you import your addresses from Outlook or your Palm device and theyll send your photo greeting cards for you. Now isnt that a great way to take care of mailing your photo cards!

Software for Photo Greeting Cards:

You can also make your own printable greeting cards using digital photo software. There are several great programs with photo card templates for a variety of occasions. They make it easy to design your own customized Valentine Day and Easter photo cards or other holiday photo cards. Our two favorite programs for making our own printable greeting cards are FotoFinish and Adobe Photoshop Album. They both have templates for a variety of photo greeting cards including Valentine, Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, Christmas photo cards and other holiday photo cards.

There are many fun ways to use your digital camera. Get creative and enjoy!

Valerie Goettsch publishes the digital photography website http://www.digitalphotos101.com featuring reviews of photo editing and album software and digital photo printing services.

patterns in nature

Patterns in NatureWriten by Kenneth C. Hoffman

Repetition is a warm, comfortable feeling that catches the eye
and when interrupted, serves as a foil to bring attention to your
main subject. When you are out looking for good pictures to take, let you eye roam the field, and to search out patterns that can be used to highlight your main subject of interest. On your left two children climb on the monkey bars, on your right is a wall covered with climbing ivy. A judicious move to the other side of the monkey bars brings the ivy behind the action and a telephoto lens fills your view finder with happy faces against a waterfall of green leaves. Get the picture?

City environments supply the photographer with many choice patterns. A board construction wall, shadow stripes on the sidewalk, ripples in a puddle, or evenly spaced clouds marching across the sky are possible backgrounds for a myriad of subjects. All it takes is a receptive mind, a stick-to-it attitude, and careful cropping in the camera.

Patterns themselves, when juxtaposed interestingly, make good compositions, vying for a place in the modern art world. Some repetitions are recognized only with a macro lens. In nature, petals, leaves, bark and corrugated sand shapes show beautiful designs when viewed at a distance of a few inches. Interrupting features could be insect, a cocoon, an odd pebble or a reflection in a drop of water. If an interesting pattern pops up on your travels, dont be afraid to record it for a future combination with other images. The digital age is here and you can be part of it. Happy shooting!

I am now preparing for my third art exhibit.

10 things you can do to protect your photographs from infringement

10 Things You Can Do to Protect Your Photographs from InfringementWriten by Carolyn Wright

While it would be nice to live in a house where you don't have to lock the door, it's not practical these days. Likewise, here are 10 things you can do to help safeguard your images from being stolen.

#1 Use the copyright notice the with a date and name of the copyright owner whenever you publish your images. It may stop someone from copying an image, either because the person will be reminded that the image belongs to someone or because the notice impairs the image for the persons use.

#2 Include with your copyright notice the words All Rights Reserved. Some additional international protection is added.

#3 Register your copyrights with the U.S. Copyright Office. While you own the copyright to your image when you click the shutter (in most instances), registration itself provides some evidence that the image is yours. Register it even if its already published. Its better late than never.

#4 If you find a website that is unlawfully using one of your images, follow the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to contact the Internet Service Provider who must then remove the material from users website.

#5 When you provide copies of your images to someone else, put IN WRITING the specific rights of usage you are giving that person.

#6 Put a copyright notice on your website, such as: All photographs appearing on this site are the property of Carolyn Wright Photography. They are protected by the U.S. copyright laws, and are not to be downloaded or reproduced in any way without the written permission of Carolyn Wright Photography.

#7 Dont steal others work, such as music. Get a license if you need a tune to accompany your slideshow. Teach your children and others to respect others work.

#8 Read the fine print whenever you submit your image to anyone/anywhere to make sure that its not a license agreement to use your image or to transfer the copyright.

#9 Include your copyrights in your estate planning, along with your other assets such as your house and furnishings.

#10 Sue those who steal your work. Send the message that you value your work.

Copyright 2005 Carolyn E. Wright All Rights Reserved

--- ABOUT THE AUTHOR ---

Carolyn E. Wright, Esq., has a unique legal practice aimed squarely at the needs of photographers. A pro photographer herself, Carolyn has the credentials and the experience to protect photographers. Shes represented clients in multimillion dollar litigations, but also has the desire to help new photographers just starting their careers. Carolyn graduated from Emory University School of Law with a Juris Doctor, and from Tennessee Tech Univ. with a Masters of Business Administration degree and a Bachelor of Science degree in music.

She wrote the book on photography law. 88 Secrets to the Law for Photographers, by Carolyn and well-known professional photographer, Scott Bourne, is scheduled for fall 2005 release by Olympic Mountain School Press. Carolyn also is a columnist for PhotoFocus Magazine.

Carolyn specializes in wildlife photography and her legal website is http://www.photoattorney.com

digital lag capturing a quotkodak momentquot

Digital Lag: Capturing a "Kodak Moment"Writen by Andrew Wohlberg

With digital cameras, capturing a Kodak Moment has never been so easy... and so difficult.

It's never been so easy because with our digital cameras we can basically snap away like madmen with a machine gun and see right there and then whether we've captured the moment.

But it's also never been so difficult because of the annoying thing known as shutter lag.

Shutter lag is a digital phenomenon, and refers to the time between the moment that you hit the button to take the picture and the moment that the camera actually captures the image. Lag time can reach nearly 2 seconds! That's like an eternity when trying to capture a moment. I mean I've seen my children go from laughing to crying in that amount of time!

Film cameras really don't have any lag, but on many digital models (though not the more expensive SLRs), the lag is considerable. Considerable enough to mean the difference of capturing the moment and not.

The truth is, as much experimenting as you want to do and as much as you want to spend on equipment, taking pictures is all about capturing a moment. Miss the moment and it doesn't matter what kind of camera you have.

I once went to a friend's to see his wedding pictures. He showed me the pictures shot by a professional using the best camera, flash, lighting system and other equipment. Then he showed me pictures taken by friends and family with disposal cameras and average digital cameras. Though the professional took better quality pictures, the friends caught much better moments.

I'll take a captured moment over quality any time. I recently went to a birthday party with my children. My youngest daughter was having a blast, smile painted on her face. I kept trying to take pictures of her, but when I looked at the screen, all I that was left was an arm or wisp of hair as she had moved away by the time the camera captured (or missed) the moment.

I believe without a doubt the #1 Rule in photography is Get the Shot. So what to do about this pesky shutter lag problem?

Digital cameras work by first pressing the shutter button half way to focus and then fully depressing to take the picture.

What you can do is if you know you are getting ready to take a picture is:

1. Turn off all automatic features like red-eye reduction

2. Focus on your subject a couple of seconds before you know you want to take the picture, track the subject, wait for your Kodak moment, and then...Bam...take the picture and capture the moment.

Andrew is a former journalist and like many others in their mid-thirties still trying to figure out what he wants to do when he grows up. At the same time, he loves to capture moments and tell stories through photos. He is the creator of http://www.DazzlingDigitalPrints.com - a web site packed with tips, reviews, advice and newsletter all to help you get best digital prints possible.

find good digital photo prints at a great price

Find Good Digital Photo Prints at a Great PriceWriten by Mindi Haehl

It seems that there is usually a trade-off when it comes to finding a digital photo printing service. In order to obtain good quality prints, a customer probably will have to shell out a little extra money. On the other hand, a customer who is stingy with their money will most likely be left with pictures that leave something to be desired in the area of quality. These ideas represent the stereotype within the digital photo printing community that less cash equals bad prints and the only way to get good ones is to shop at high-priced companies. However, there is a way to find cheap digital good photo printing quality if you take the proper time to look.

The first step on any quest to get good digital photo printing at cheap prices is to do an online search that compares the price per print of different websites. Youll find also find other options that enhance the pricing packages offered by companies such as membership programs and discounts on bulk orders. After ranking the different websites in terms of price, it is time to check out some reviews on photo quality. Begin by searching for reviews on the sites that offer deals within your price range and compile a small list of companies that have what you desire in terms of quality. When you narrow the search to the most attractive website in terms of quality and price, youre ready to start ordering some pictures.

Although price and quality should be the main determinants in your search for cheap digital good photo printing quality, other factors still remain. Some websites are cluttered with pop-up advertisements that can hamper a persons efforts to order pictures and in turn, waste precious time for busy people. Other companies only allow a person to store pictures on their online albums for so long before they are deleted. There are sites that do not enhance digital photos of low quality as well. Make sure to keep an eye out for these other factors so that you can find the best bargains available for your digital photo needs.

To view our list of recommended sources for digital photo printing online,
visit this page: Photo Mugs.

travel light to get those images

Travel Light To Get Those ImagesWriten by Eric Hartwell

What do you take with you when you go out on a photography trip? I guess this depends on what you are going out for in the first place and how long you are going to be there.

I find that I take my camera most places and some of my most valuable images have been caught whilst on shopping trips. I love getting impromptu shots especially of people.

There are always plenty of people around near where I live together with a number of different street events happening. This is a great opportunity for good images.

Consequently, I dont need to lug a heavy tripod around and dont have the need for several flashy lenses.

My everyday bag consists of:

My digital camera fitted with 18 55mm lens and built-in flash, a skylight and polarising filter, lens cloth, memory card (and spare), fully charged battery (and spare), a small torch, notepad and pen.

Its not much and is easily portable. There are few scenarios that require more equipment. I travel light and reap the benefits of frequent photo opportunities.

Over the years I have found that because my camera is with me most of the time, it is like I am always on a permanent photography trip. Image opportunities that arise out of the blue can be captured easily because my camera is never far away.

Eric Hartwell runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com.

photographing santa

Photographing SantaWriten by Eric Hartwell

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 people don't have an open fire these days. And, if he did come in that way, there would be soot everywhere and, quite frankly, it makes an awful mess.

So, the front entrance is your best bet. And don't think he will be early - he will have to wait until all the kids are tucked up in bed and fast asleep. This means that you'll have to set up your gear and be prepared at about 4am.

Flash is best as Santa moves pretty darn quickly - he has to, there are hundreds of visits to make. Red material looks great lit by flash - beware of the highlights from the sweat on Santa's face.

Santa is fat, let's not pretend otherwise. You would think differently wouldn't you, considering all the rushing about he does each year. I guess, he sits around and eats at most other times. And fat means wideangle lenses are best - get out your 28mm just to be sure.

Don't expect any pleasantries. Santa is a busy man and works hard and fast, at least, certainly on Christmas Eve. Requesting actions such as face slightly to the left and could you tidy the beard a bit will offend. Just snap away.

If you are lucky, you might get a quick picture of a reindeer or two. Although be careful as they sometimes bite and the climb up to the roof can be treacherous for the uninitiated photographer. It's mighty cold too - especially at 4am.

Have fun and .... be at the ready

Eric Hartwell is an enthusiastic photographer. He owns and runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums http://www.theshutter.co.uk/forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com Anyone interested in getting involved contact him at shutter@theshutter.co.uk

flower pictures a mild obsession 1

Flower Pictures - A Mild Obsession #1Writen by Patrick Heathcock

What does one need to do to get the perfect close-up of a wild flower? Set up a tripod, clip on camera, then snap, snap it's in the bag, camera, chip.. whatever? Maybe... but consider a few unexpected impediments first.

Finding the perfect clump of subjects (mostly the easy part), stopping suddenly or rather screeching to a halt (sometimes interesting along a busy highway)...parking and gathering up the necessary gear (easy) - then my least favourite part, lugging everything over hill and dale. Tripod, camera bag with several lenses which never seem to get any lighter and then fun, fun, fun...It seems, seemed a short distance across three fences to where the wild, gorgeous yellow number (nothing exotic - a simple daisy but a beauty!), nods in the gentle breeze..but...

Have you ever tried to climb over a fence with tripod in hand and weighty camera bag over shoulder? Just pass them through the fence and follow, you say! In theory perfect but as is often the case when I'm out ready to shoot I have tripod ready, camera clipped in, slung over right shoulder legs extended, spread ready to go (the fact that I look like a giraffe with ungainly neck protrusions goes unnoticed) and my camera bag is old, slightly smelly and large!. So, how do I climb through the first fence, let alone the second or third in pursuit of the perfect daisy without a lot of folding of legs pushing and shoving, and unclipping of my precious digital genius first? Simple answer - I don't, I try to get through regardless. Result? The air rapidly turns blue around my head and expletives neither original nor inventive start erupting unbidden from my person. And then the final indignity as at least one part of my favourite jumper gets snagged by an ever vigilant barb! My alternative solutions: throw the gear over and hope for the best, find a gate (how many miles to the nearest?), or simply leave it all in the SUV...barring the digital genius and one's favourite 1:1 lens of course!

My final decision? Leave tripod and bag in the SUV, take the necessary, and hope that the ravages of the previous night haven't wrought havoc with traditionally rock steady hands. So then leaping like a gazelle over fences one, two and three, I stride toward the perfect clump of yellow. It's late in the season, so all the white daisies are pretty much done - rich, golden yellow it is.

Selecting the perfect specimen is next. I need to decide what I'm trying to say in the pic. Perfection with clarity - nature's form, sublime in its attention to detail or organic soft colour merging into more colour with shadowy bits - a bit of both perhaps. The magic of digital, the freedom of digital - the ability to try everything because one can! I love it. It's a revelation, a deepening of the creative urge to explore new realms without cost ...or end sometimes.

Sure, one can always argue that it leads to lack of direction, lack of planning but one can also argue in return that it extends one's vision, increases one's output and ability to see the world from different perspectives. I relish the challenge!

Back to the world of yellow! Perfection...mmmm. Unable to settle on which of the perfect choices is THE perfect choice I decide to shoot anyway, putting pen to paper or rather index finger to shutter button in order to get the creative juices flowing. As always seems to happen, I relax into it and my mind opens up to the possibilities: depth of field, front edge of a petal in focus back edge out and vice versa but mostly my mind is consumed by warm yellow. Kneeling on the ground head down intensely focused - the butt in the air angle would not be an attractive sight for any passing observer but I don't need to worry about such considerations as this mild obsession most often leads to splendid isolation.

A bit of advice - bracket everything (1 either side in stops or thirds if you have the choice), shoot at the highest resolution you can achieve with whichever model of digital genius you possess and take at least half a dozen shots per chosen angle. Give yourself the best chance of capturing the one you really wanted - the perfect image, beautiful enough to grace your wall, a wall anywhere. One feels such an idiot when one has to declare it didn't quite happen because of trigger finger meanness! Digital genius is defined by trigger finger generosity or put another way - repetition is the basis of professionalism. Whatever it takes I say. Get the shot! The satisfaction is immense.

More advice - check the first few images carefully on the preview screen just to make sure everything is working as it should. Don't end up taking twenty splendid black and white shots of a gorgeous yellow daisy - do the greyscale thing in Photoshop! Slow down, check the first few brackets. Check that the ISO is set to 100 not to 1600 from last night's fun and that all the exposure compensation overrides are back to normal (or leave the settings at 1600 over by two if weird and whacky is what you're after). Little things but in my twenty years as a photographer these little things become mortifyingly large things if ignored!

So perfection captured, 0 and 1's secured in the land of Flash wizardry it's back across the three fences leaping not quite so enthusiastically now, the gazelle's knees are a little creaky from kneeling on the damp ground - back to the ever patient, ever reliable SUV. Gear stowed, key in the ignition, we're off ...A glow of anticipation washes over me!

But never forget the first things to do on your return? Download and backup!!! Forget at your peril. DOWNLOAD AND BACKUP just in case you didn't get it the first time.

Copyright 2005 Patrick Heathcock - See my flower pictures and gorgeous yellow number at A Flower Gallery.com.

About the Author: Sometime commercial photographer London, fulltime flower art photographer and web designer living in the southern semisphere, soaking up the sun. Visit A Flower Gallery.com to view the yellow daisy and more!

beautiful photographs and meaningful portraits on location in southern california

Beautiful Photographs and Meaningful Portraits On Location in Southern CaliforniaWriten by Scott Campbell

Tired of the same old studio portrait photographs with the same lighting, same background, same, same, same? Find a photographer that will go on-location, get out, go play, make it a day of fun somewhere that you love!

Taking pictures on-location isnt a new concept. However professional, on-location still photography is usually reserved for fashion or magazine lifestyle pictures. Why is that?

Well for one, its much easier for the photographer to stay in the studio and spend an hour or so with each client. Take their pictures and move to the next customer. Also, its much easier for clients to just go into a studio for their annual family pictures and then head out on their daily routine. Yet pictures of this nature typically only capture a well lit, relatively uninteresting and dispassionate image of the customer.

Imagine however if you were to be able to go to your favorite spot, someplace you have a passion for and have your portraits taken? Wouldnt you be more likely to enjoy the experience? Wouldnt the photographs show you and others who you were at this time in your life? This type of photography is called On-Location Portraiture.

On-Location Portraiture is the Art of taking beautiful, meaningful, unique photographic images of people, families, friends, lovers, in a visually unique & personally meaningful setting. This style of photography is really a fun family friendly experience. Additionally people find it to be very spiritual, intimate and romantic. The resulting images and memories are unique because each location and each trip is a unique adventure. Generally you will find that you will receive:

- Images as art that tell a story about them.

- An exciting and fun experience to remember.

- Photographic memories that have real meaning beyond simply a beautiful picture.

Does this sound fun or what? So how do you get started?

The first thing to do is find a photographer that offers this kind of service, such as Scott Campbell, a Palm Springs Photographer. Once youve found someone willing to do this type of photography, interview them. You are going to spend a good part of a day with them so you better make sure you like them. Additionally, your pictures are guaranteed to turn out better if you like the photographer.

Another key aspect about your photographer is their ability to use natural light in their photographs. Natural light is perhaps the hardest and yet most rewarding lighting a photographer can work with. Used correctly, and the photographs will inspire emotions and feelings in the viewer that are nearly impossible to recreate with a studio lit photograph. Or used incorrectly and you will end up with a snapshot. Ask the photographer to see their portfolio or gallery of On-Location Photographs.

The next thing to do is choose a place, weather, time or all three. This may be a bit trickier. Everyone has their personal favorite place that holds deep meaning for them. Often these places are beaches, mountains, the desert or even a time of year or a type of weather. Usually these places bring out a passion and a certain beauty in a person that is unique to their experience in that location. There in lies the magic of On-Location Portrait Photography.

To find such a place you may need to spend some time thinking about what inspires you as a person, family, couple etc. Do you love to go beach combing together? Does riding a horse make you feel free? Does the city inspire you? Or maybe the deep blue sky at 7000 feet is your inspiration. These are the things you need to think about before choosing a location. If a place eludes you, yet you know the feeling you want to capture, use your photographers knowledge of their location surroundings.
For example, Southern California and the Palm Springs area specifically contain some of the most stunning natural areas in the world. Ranging from the surreal windmills along I-10, the 8000 foot peaks surrounding the desert, the majesty of Joshua Tree and Santa Rosa National Monuments, the dunes of Kelso, the Pacific Beaches to the desolation of the Salton Sea, Southern California has plenty to choose from.

Once you have your photographer and your location, plan the date. If you would like to have your make-up done professionally, schedule an early morning appointment at a make-up counter or a salon. If the location requires permits now is the time to get them, not the day before. Got maps? Dont get lost.

The time of day is absolutely critical to the quality of light available to you at your location. Typically the best light is either early morning or late afternoon/evening. Make sure your photographer knows the location you have chosen and knows the light at different times of day. Work with them to plan the timing to capture the best light time possible.

The day before your photography session eat well and get good sleep. Being tired and hungry on a long hike definitely shows up in pictures.

On the day of make sure you and your photographer are well prepared for the elements of your location. Bring water, some extra food, extra clothing and any portable beauty items you may need.

Make it a great fun day and youll come back with some amazing pictures to mark this time in your life.

For more information about On-Location Portraiture in Southern California contact the author, Scott Campbell http://www.scottcampbellphotography.com

Scott Campbell is a published, exhibited, award winning, professional photographer based in the Palm Springs area. He has a fine arts degree, 15 years creative experience and specializes in digital wedding photography, fashion, location portraits and fine art photography.

10 reasons to own and use a lens cap

10 Reasons to Own, and Use, a Lens CapWriten by Eric Hartwell

Have you ever wondered what use is a lens cap? It is often made of plastic, it is fiddly to use and often gets lost. Yet the humble cap should be seen as an essential part of your armamentarium. Here's 10 reasons why:

1. It protects your lens from scratches - remember the golden rule, if anything can scratch your lens it will

2. It protects your lens from accidental knocks - a camera round the neck is always prone to the odd knock or two

3. It protects your lens from dirt - your lens is not excluded from the effects of daily muck and grime

4. It protects your lens from sticky fingers - yours, children's and anyone else that wants to admire your equipment

5. It protects your lens from water - rain water, splashes

6. It is cheap - great value for money!

7. It is lightweight and easily portable - you won't notice you've got it, unlike your tripod

8. It fits easily in your pocket when not needed - unobtrusive when not in use

9. It is easy to attach and remove - push on, pull off

10. It shows you care about your equipment and your photography - always protect your equipment

Can you afford not to use one?

Eric Hartwell is an experienced photographer and owner of the photography resource website ephotocentral.

deal with backlighting

Deal With BacklightingWriten by Eric Hartwell

So many pictures and images can be spoiled by backlighting. You know the scenario: your friend is sitting in your conservatory with the windows behind her. You take the picture and she is darkened and silhouetted. The backlighting has fooled your camera and the wrong exposure (for your subject) has been selected.

The reason for this is all down to your camera. The meter in the camera calculates the correct exposure or so you think. In fact, it calculates what it THINKS is the correct exposure, only in the example above (and any other situation with excessive backlighting) there is an abundance of light. The camera takes all the light information and averages it out. In this case, it will expose the scene less because it sees too much light.

However, your subject wants more exposure as she is not being lit in the same way. Her face is in low light or even in shadow. The camera doesnt know this, of course.

The answer? Increase the exposure by a stop (or even two). This will increase the exposure for your subject to show face and body detail. The alternative approach is to take a meter reading not from the whole scene but from the subject alone.

Both ways will give you excellent results.

Eric Hartwell runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com.

improve your skills shoot less

Improve Your Skills - Shoot Less!Writen by Eric Hartwell

I remember picking up my first digital camera - it felt small and unsubstantial against my sturdy film equivalent. All battery powered and no film to load - it wasn't real photography.

Within an hour, however, I had been converted as I could immediately see the images I was producing. No more waiting for the mailman to arrive with my photos and no more trips to the store.

I was converted. This freedom led me to purchase more memory cards so that I could take and download many more images.

I was shooting at will and would often take 200 or more images in a session. This was Ok because I could discard what I didn't want and try again. There was no film to pay for - the only cost was the batteries and they could simply be recharged.

I now realise that there was another cost. With all this constant snapping I was losing my skills as a photographer. Sure, I could see a scene, shoot it and make appropriate adjustments on the camera before shooting again. But I stopped thinking efore I pressed the shutter release.

Digital had cost my skill. Or almost.

I gradually realised that I no longer viewed the scene before I put the camera to my eye. I didn't see the components in their entirity and I didn't compose as accurately as I should. I forgot to look for lamposts coming out of people's heads and didn't get the groups to all look at the camera at the same time. I relied on repeating a shot to get it perfect and when I downloaded my images I could have easily have discarded 90% or more of them.

This wasn't what I wanted in photography and the digital medium, which was such a great advance in photography, had been taken and manhandled by me. I was becoming a bad photographer.

But now I have reformed. I still take shots that I am not proud of and I still discard a good proportion of my images. But I think more than I used to in order to harness the digital medium rather than ignore it.

Now I shoot less. And by doing so I put more thought into each image. I look for the right light, the right expression, the right patterns and the right timing. I look around the viwefinder to see what is there and try, where possible, to get an image that needs little or no manipulation after download.

I ask myself a series of questions: why am I taking this shot? what do I hope to achieve? what needs to be added or taken away to make the image better? where is the light coming from, where does it fall and what quality does it have? what adjustments do I need to make before taking the picture - how can I harness the power of my camera in order to get it right first time?

I have seen an improvement in my work. I am no expert and there are plenty of people with far greater skill than I. But now I enjoy the picture taking process even more than I used to. I can capture all the benefits that digital has to offer but with the constant thought that it was I who was the photographer and it was I that observed, composed and created the picture.

Now more of my images please me. That is all I ever wanted.

Eric Hartman is a keen photographer and owner of the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and weblog http://photographyonline.blogspot.com

how to film the perfect wedding video

How To Film The Perfect Wedding VideoWriten by Rob Whibley

Capturing the perfect wedding day video takes more than just luck. There are a number of factors involved that should be considered when you're planning your wedding video whether you're the one behind or in front of the camera.


1. Experience


Make sure the videographer has considerable experience, has just about seen it all and can anticipate what is about to happen in order to capture events as they unfold. Take note of any recommendations from people you know or testimonials to this regard.


2. Communication


The videographer must be prepared to liaise with other people who have key roles in your day, from the photographer to the hotel manager, in order to be alerted to upcoming highlights such as cutting the cake and the speeches as well as ensuring s/he is updated of any changes to the schedule.


3. Post Editing


The video service should be able to provide additional interesting extras, such as background music and slow motion shots, which will give your finished video a professional and polished touch, distinguishing it from a regular home movie.


4. Expertise


The wedding video should be a professional piece of work, make sure that as well as having top quality equipment, the videographer also advocates technical knowledge such as an understanding of white balance, manual focus and shutter speeds. Ask to see examples of their work to judge the picture quality for yourself.


5. Lighting


When discussing locations for the wedding day, ensure that the videographer has lighting equipment suitable for indoor filming and will be able to transport it to each venue, to ensure each picture is evenly lit and exposed.


6. Sound


Ask if it is possible for the groom to wear a tie-clip microphone in order to pick up both sets of vows being made. Even the most confident of couples can be softly spoken when exchanging vows and this is the most important moment in your marriage ceremony that will want to be relived. This inconspicuous device will record voices onto the video, which may otherwise be lost.


7. Discretion


The ideal videographer will be unobtrusive and record the day without becoming a feature of it. Choose someone who understands the sensitivity needed to get all the shots whilst remaining invisible. Look for comments highlighting this ability when checking recommendations.

Rob Whibley operates a successful wedding video filming and production business based in Wirral, Merseyside. His business website is Action Wedding Videos Wirral, Chester and Liverpool. The website was developed by Web Star Creations (Liverpool Website Design).

dealing with a lying monitor

Dealing with a Lying MonitorWriten by Andrew Wohlberg

Your Monitor Lies!!!!

Don't be offended. It's nothing personal. Mine lies and so does
everyone else's. Fine, you may be saying, But what the heck does this have to do with me and my digital photography?

A lot because what this means is that the image that you see on
your monitor may very well not be the exact same image you see when you print it out. I'm not going to get into the technical reasons of why this happens, but will focus only on what this means for us and our efforts to get dazzling digital photographs.

Let's start from the beginning. You are looking at a picture on
your computer monitor and it looks a little too dark. So you use
some digital-editing software or the tools provided on the online
photo sites to lighten the image up a bit. You do a couple of
things, and voila, it the picture looks perfect and
magnificent....Well, it does on your monitor, but would it look as good on another monitor, or even more importantly, in a printed picture.

Monitors are by nature unstable. The same image viewed on two
different monitors may appear very different, though in print, the image would be the same.

So that means that the picture that appeared a little dark may have been, in reality, find and that by lightening it up, you actually made the picture worse. You see what I'm saying here?

You can really see this you see by taking a regular print picture, scanning it and comparing the print picture with what you see on the monitor. You can then take it the final step by printing the digital picture, and then comparing all three--the two pictures and the digital image on the monitor. Side-by-side, you'll definitely see some differences.

I know this is crazy, and it is without a doubt one of the Most
Maddening aspects of working with digital photographs.

Now don't get me wrong, in many cases the differences are slight
(though in others they may be more pronounced.) But a real problem is seeing a problem with an image on your monitor that doesn't actually exist, correcting it, and then discovering that the correction actually worsened the picture.

Professional graphic artists often spend thousands of dollars on
software to calibrate their monitors--making sure that what they see on the computer is what they'll get when they print. Even then, they will always get a printed sample just to make sure that the colors are right.

Fortunately, you don't have to spend thousands or hundreds of
dollars to calibrate your monitor to a level more than suitable for our purposes. What I use and recommend is a small program available with Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0. If anyone is not familiar with this software or company, they are both great. Adobe is the premier graphics and photo editing software company. In fact, Adobe's Photoshop is the premier software package. Elements is the company's slightly less professional version, and the one that I use. There is more packed into it then you'll ever need.

One of the nice things they include is a calibrating wizard called Adobe Gamma, which, after installing the program, is available through your control panels. After the wizard walks you through the process, the program allows you to see what your monitor looked like before and after the calibration. Even though the change may be slight, you'll be surprised by the difference.

I strongly recommend this software. Besides Gamma, it allows you to do so many other great and easy things to dramatically improve your photos. (We will discuss some of those methods in future
articles.) You can buy a copy of Elements here.

There are, of course, other calibration options available and you
can search for them in Google under monitor calibration.

The main thing is just to recognize that your monitor lies and just to be sure that any changes you make to your images are ones that improve.

Andrew is a former journalist and like many others in their mid-thirties still trying to figure out what he wants to do when he grows up. At the same time, he loves to capture moments and tell stories through photos. He is the creator of http://www.DazzlingDigitalPrints.com - a web site packed with tips, reviews, advice and newsletter all to help you get best digital prints possible.

flower pictures a mild obsession 3

Flower Pictures - A Mild Obsession #3Writen by Patrick Heathcock

Yellow daisy, oh yellow daisy - please tell me about fills and flags! How does one use them effectively?

Good question sighs my daisy. An answer or two...

One can shoot anything straight without flash in good daylight and get okay results. I've read a load of articles in the last few months saying that bright sunshine is bad, bad, really bad, for color saturation when shooting flowers or anything for that matter - true often, but not always so.

One needs to consider all sorts of things - purpose, time of day, result required, etc! Dawn and dusk produce warm, shadowy light and if one wants to take a landscape photograph of note, this would be the ideal time to do it...using a tripod of course! Shutter speeds slow down in order to get the depth of field required, f16 or even f22, so one is often shooting at or a second. I've met a few people who can handhold shutter speeds that slow but most of us...never in a million years! In the landscape world tripods rule okay!

I know, I know, ironic considering that I spent a bit of Mild Obsession #2 justifying my desire to shoot unfettered by a three legged monster. I did say in my defence, though, be consistent. Part of that consistency is recognition of the tools needed in each particular situation. Life is a balancing act, no more so than in the world of photography.

Another natural lighting situation to consider is sunlight mid-morning to mid-afternoon (harsh front light, but often awesome backlight), tricky at the best of times but even this light can be used well and effectively if one knows how to control it.

A really good way to learn lighting in controlled circumstances is to use angle poise lamps and a small subject on a plain background. For my subject I chose a yellow daisy...not the same one plucked from a faraway field, no, a yellow painted tin daisy, beautiful nonetheless, which I stood up on a piece of white A3 card!

What about color balance you cry? At the risk of being boringly repetitive...digital technology...white balance (WB)... All hail the little tiny green men inside one's camera, running around changing the color gels so that we can shoot color corrected images no matter what the light source. Incredible stuff!

Try this...

Grab a plain backdrop, a cotton sheet, piece of white card or anything that detracts as little from the subject as possible. Take your subject, place it on your backdrop not too close to the background, set up an angle poise lamp to the left side of the subject and point the light directly at the subject (preferably slightly above). You should be producing huge, harsh shadows. Interrogation time!

Now grab a piece of white card and line it up side on to your subject on the other side from the lamp and move it around until the shadows on the subject are softened to some degree .i.e. fill...The more one can soften the light on subject the better, so next step is to soften the source.

Turn the angle poise around pointing away from the subject angled 45 degrees up, then place a piece of white card in front of it reflecting the light back toward the subject - hey presto softer light -much softer. Soften things even more by playing with more fills on the other side of the subject too. A good soft result, not so dramatic perhaps, but eminently flattering.

I hasten to add at this point that I have done fashion shoots in the past using just harsh direct light, emulating movie-lighting of the 30's, and achieved gorgeous results. It all comes down to control i.e. positive decision making rather than negative.

Play with this studio lighting setup in miniature until you get a feel for it. There are so many possibilities...

Try this too...

Shine two lamps at the center of your background, one each side, angled at 45 degrees to the plane of the background. Make sure that your subject is flagged to stop any light falling directly onto it. How? Place black card (flags) on each side of the subject (slightly back of the subject) showing the background clearly but not allowing light from the lamps to spill onto the sides of the subject. Now place two pieces of white card in front of the subject facing the background. Leave a small gap to shoot through.

Result?

A subject only lit by backlight and reflected light from the card in front. It's a really good way to produce a backlit daylight feel. I use it all the time with studio shots of people. It can be fantastically flattering, if done well.

Play! Play lots. Light control is very satisfying when you get the hang of it.

To learn how to translate this lighting control to daylight conditions and to find out more about flags, scrims and other goodies keep a lookout for Flower Pictures - A Mild Obsession #4.

Remember always - good lighting is good lighting period. Sounds obvious, I know, but real easy to forget.

See the beauty!

Copyright 2005 Patrick Heathcock

Sometime commercial photographer London, fulltime flower art photographer and web designer living in the southern semisphere, soaking up the sun. Visit A Flower Gallery to view the yellow daisy and more!

getting your photos ready for sharing

Getting Your Photos Ready for SharingWriten by Valerie Goettsch

One of the main reasons people buy digital cameras is so they can share their photos with others. Even if you are just going to print your photos for yourself, you will want them to look their best. Here are some tips on getting your images ready for sharing or printing.

1. ORGANIZE YOUR PHOTOS

Delete the ones you don't like or those that are near duplicates of others. No sense in clogging up your hard drive or CDs with junk. Use a good photo management software program like ACDSEE 7, Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0 or Jasc Paint Shop Photo Album 5 to view, organize and name your images. These programs also let you batch rename so you can give more descriptive file names to a group of photos at the same time. You can add key words and tags to make finding your photos easier. Be detailed in your photo descriptions, not just John and Laurie. You'll probably have hundreds of photos of your kids and it will be harder to find the one you're looking for. Better to say John and Laurie waterskiing on Lake Powell, May 2004.

2. BACK UP YOUR ORIGINALS

Mistakes can happen. It is a good idea to back up all your images to a CD before you start editing or changing them. That way you always have the original to go back to if you accidentally save over an image or made changes to a photo that you later decide you don't like. CDs hold lots of photos, making it cheap insurance.

3. ROTATE IMAGES

Trying to look at a sideways photo is annoying. Use your photo management or editing software to rotate photos as needed. And if you have any images that are a little crooked, you can fix that using your editing software. Most photo editors have an automatic straighten function, or you can manually rotate the image a few degrees to straighten the horizon line.

4. REMOVE RED-EYE

Even with your digital camera's auto red-eye reduction function, your subject's eyes may still have red-eye. Use your photo editing software to remove it. Zoom in on the eyes and it will be easier for you to correct the red-eye. I've tried a number of red-eye correction tools and find that the one that comes with ACDSEE 7's photo editor is among the best. It zeros in just on the red eye and doesn't darken the surrounding eye area like some other software does.

5. CROP YOUR PHOTOS

Crop out unnecessary or distracting backgrounds and focus in on your subject. Most photo editing programs will keep the aspect ratio, so when you draw a box around the area you want to focus on it will crop it as 4x6 or whatever you have specified. That way you won't end up with an odd size photo. Kodak EasyShare Gallery also has a very good cropping tool for maintaining the proper print size. It comes with its free photo editor.

6. ADJUST LIGHTING AND CONTRAST

Some of your photos may have come out washed out or too dark. You can automatically adjust the color, brightness and contrast of your photos. The better programs like Photoshop Album 2.0, Jasc and ACDSEE also have tools for making manual adjustments for fine-tuning. Be careful not to overdo it, though, or your picture could come out grainy.

7. PREPARE TO SHARE

There are a number of ways to share your images. Several programs, like Roxio Photo Suite 7, ACDSEE7, Photoshop Album and Paint Shop Photo Album allow you to create digital photo albums or slide shows, complete with music, transitions and captions. You can burn them to CD or resize and optimize for emailing directly from the program.

Online photo services such as PhotoWorks, Shutterfly, Snapfish and Kodak EasyShare Gallery also let you share your photos on line, for free. You simply upload your images to their server into your own photo albums and add captions if you wish. Then email your friends with a link to your albums. With most of the online services your photos stay on their servers as long as you have an account with them, for free. Signing up for an account is free, you only pay for photos you choose to purchase.

For hardcore photo sharers, there are also dedicated photo sharing applications such as PiXPO v1.5.0, which lets you share photos right off your hard drive. This is a peer to peer software application that allows you to connect directly with your friends and family to share and view pictures online with no uploads. Unlike traditional photo sharing services, you have unlimited storage and you don't have to upload your photos to a distant server or wait for friends to log onto some photo sharing site. The application is easy to install and use and it's inexpensive, around $30. PC Magazine rated it an Editor's Choice in their January 3, 2005 issue.

Valerie Goettsch publishes the digital photography website http://www.digitalphotos101.com featuring reviews of photo editing and album software and digital photo printing services.

getting rid of red eye

Getting Rid of Red EyeWriten by Shaun Pearce

The photos you took of the party are really great - except for one thing: ed eye makes everyone look like extras from a low budget horror movie! Red eye can be a real problem if you're taking photos with a flash. It's caused by the reaction of light from the flash on the inner workings of your eye. Pictures of animals (especially cats) can suffer from a similar condition know as pet eye.

Photoshop offers a solution to this problem, and while it can't make things look exactly the way they should have been, it can make the people (or pets) in your pictures look less possessed.

The first thing to do is upload your photos into your computer, or scan them in if you're working from prints, then follow these simple steps.

1. To keep your original safe, make a copy of it by going to Image > Duplicate. Rename the copy if you wish, then close the original.

2. Open a duplicate window of the same image. Do this by going to Window > Documents > New Window in Photoshop 7, or View > New View in Photoshop 6 or earlier. Then zoom in on one of the windows so that an eye fills the window. Set the other window's magnification to 100%. Arrange the windows so you can see them both at the same time. This will enable you to work in close-up, but still see what the finished picture will look like. As it is the same picture in both windows, the 100% view will be updated automatically in real time.

3. Create a new layer.

4. Use the Eyedropper Tool to pick a colour from the iris of the eye - this will be fairly grey, with just a hint of the eye colour. Take the sample from as near to the red area as you can without picking up any of the reddish tint.

5. In the new layer, paint over the red area with this colour. Try various tools (brushes, pencils, Paint Bucket Tool, etc.) to achieve the desired effect. You'll have to experiment and see which one works best for you on each particular picture - a lot will depend on the photo's resolution. Be careful to avoid the white of the eye on pictures of people. Do small amounts at a time, that way you can easily undo anything that doesn't look right. If you paint over the pupil, use the Art History Brush to expose it again, or the Burn Tool to paint it in if it was obscured in the first place.

6. Go to Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur and give the layer a blur of one or two pixels to soften the edges.

7. Now set the layer blend mode to saturation. If this makes the eye look too dull or grey, duplicate the layer and change the blend mode of this new layer to Hue. This should put some of the colour back. If the colour looks too strong, change the opacity of the Hue layer until it looks right.

8. When you're happy with the results, merge the layers down, save your work, and start again with the next eye.

Shaun Pearce is a writer and video maker.
His latest production Photoshop Master shows you how to get the most from Photoshop, and can be downloaded from http://www.learnphotoshopfast.com.

bracketing and how to use tt correctly

Bracketing and How To Use Tt Correctly...Writen by Panmo Berger

What Is... Exposure Bracketing

Exposure bracketing is a simple technique professional photographers use to ensure they properly expose their pictures, especially in challenging lighting situations.

When you expose for a scene, your camera's light meter will select an aperture / shutter speed combination that it believes will give a properly exposed picture.

Exposure bracketing means that you take two more pictures: one slightly under-exposed (usually by dialing in a negative exposure compensation, say -1/3EV), and the second one slightly over-exposed (usually by dialing in a positive exposure compensation, say +1/3EV), again according to your camera's light meter.

The reason you do this is because the camera might have been 'deceived' by the light (too much or too little) available and your main subject may be over- or under-exposed. By taking these three shots, you are making sure that if this were ever the case, then you would have properly compensated for it.

As an example, say you are taking a scene where there is an abundance of light around your main subject (for example, at the beach on a sunny day, or surrounded by snow). In this case, using Weighted-Average metering, your camera might be 'deceived' by the abundance of light and expose for it by closing down the aperture and/or using a faster shuter speed (assuming ISO is constant), with the result that the main subject might be under-exposed. By taking an extra shot at a slight over-exposure, you would in fact be over-exposing the surroundings, but properly exposing the main subject.

Another example would be the case where the surrounding might be too dark, and the camera exposes for the lack of light by either opening up the aperture and/or using a slower shutter speed (assuming ISO is constant), then the main subject might be over-exposed. By taking an extra shot at a slight under-exposure, you would in fact be under-exposing the surroundings, but properly exposing the main subject.

Now, most digital cameras have auto exposure bracketing, meaning that if you select that option before taking your shot, the camera will automatically take three shots for you: one which it thinks it has perfectly exposed; a second one sightly under-exposed; and the third one slightly over-exposed.

When should you use exposure bracketing? Anytime you feel the scene is a challenging one (too much highlights or shadows) as far as lighting is concerned, e.g. sunsets are usually better taken slightly under-exposed so use exposure bracketing there, or whenever you want to be sure you don't improperly expose a fabulous shot.

Remember, you are not using film anymore, so there are really no wasted shots (unless you are severely constrained by the size of your storage media).

Digital Dodging & Burning

Should you delete the extra shots right away? No, if storage permits, keep all three shots until you get home and upload them to your PC and into an image editing software, such as Photoshop. By using the layers functionality of Photoshop (or similar functionality of another image editing software), you can load all three shots into different layers and then carefully erase the under-exposed or over-exposed part of one or more layers to end up with a final shot where both the main subject and the surroundings are properly exposed!

This Photoshop functionality allows you to shoot in very extreme lighting situations where there are many parts in different intensity of light and shadows such that you are losing details in the highlights and shadows. In this case, you might need more than two extra shots to obtain details in the different parts. Without moving the camera (a tripod is essential here), take as many shots as you need, exposing for the different parts you want details to be visible. Then you would load them all up into Photoshop, each into its own layer, and by erasing the under- and over-exposed parts in each layer (granted, this equivalent of film 'dodging' and 'burning' can be a very tedious and challenging task in itself, but done properly it can be well worth the effort), you can end up with an 'impossible' shot where every part of the cave is properly exposed.

Used judiciously, exposure bracketing is a simple technique that can ensure proper exposure of a difficult lighting situation.
Make sure you get a camera with good manual Bracketing control

Canon PowerShot S70 - Bracketing control

selling digital stock photos part 3

Selling Digital Stock Photos Part 3Writen by Keith Jones

PHOTOLIBRARIES / AGENCIES

But where shall I send my Photos ?

There are THREE main photolibraries -

GETTY (www.getty.com) ,

CORBIS(www.corbis.com)

ALAMY(www.alamy.com)

Look at these on the Internet and PRINT OUT THEIR TERMS and current requirements.

READ the conditions very,very carefully.

The commission rates for Getty and Corbis are fairly high.They get up to 70% of net received income.
Photolibraries do all the negotiating and account collection for you and some of them even scan your film photos if they need them enough !

Getty hold the current record for a stock photo sale $130,000.00(yes that's thousands !)

This was for the photo used as the startup screen for Windows XP Corbis is owned by Bill Gates and is also a hard seller. Alamy is also a big seller and is rapidly growing. They are UK based. When you visit their site look for the Photographers or Contributors links

Try to get your pictures into one of these as these are the main picture sources in the World. You can also try an alternative of supplying your pictures to hundreds of smaller photo libraries around the world
(Although I'd personally avoid Korea and Malaysia/Singapore as these are renowned as problem areas). You can find lots of these smaller photolibraries in the PHOTOGRAPHERS MARKETPLACE book and you should also read Ron Engh's book Sell and resell your pictures - you can get these from Amazon.com (Or your public library !)

PHOTOGRAPHERS MARKETPLACE has THOUSANDS of customers and agencies with a list of their needs and conditionsAlso includes many very useful forms and documents.

(Make sure you have the latest edition as many addresses change)
BEFORE YOU CONTACT ANY CUSTOMERS or agents look them up on the Internet and look at their website Make sure they still exist !
ask questions on stock photo related sites - people are generally very helpful to beginners.

Some customers and Libraries don't accept new contributions so save yourself time and money. You will ONLY make serious money if you listen to what people say. You MUST put a LOT of effort and time into selling and marketing your pictures.

Every Photolibrary is currently inundated with new photographers at present and you would be wise to start off dealing with individual customers.

Keith Jones has been a Stock and Travel Photographer for over 40 years
His Website is at http://www.fotos4web.com
Where you'll find lots of his photos and articles.
This article may be freely reproduced in print or on the world wide web providing :

This resource section is also published intact and the article is not altered in any way.

safeguard those images

Safeguard Those ImagesWriten by Eric Hartwell

You really need to organise yourself if you are going to keep abreast of your photographic activities. If, like me, you tend to take between 200 and 300 images in a session, you must have a system for storage and retrieval and to prevent accidental losses. Nothing is more valuable than the last images you took.

Make sure, first of all, that you have sufficient memory card space before you start your shoot. Delete or transfer old images. Take care what you delete it is so easy to trash ones that are important. Some people would keep everything you never know when they could come in handy. Some photographers will take several smaller cards rather than one big one so that if one is lost or damaged, it wont ruin all your images.

When you have taken your images, upload them to the computer at your earliest reasonable opportunity. This should be your priority. Images are so easily forgotten and left on the card. If this is the case, either you will have less space for future shoots or you will find yourself deleting something that you really wanted to keep at some stage.

Uploading whilst they are still fresh also makes it easier to organize your images and your thoughts. You can name them in groups either by subject (e.g. seaside, park shoot, zoo) or date order. You can, of course, assign your own special descriptions. By doing this you can safeguard you images and have them stored in a sensible and logical way. This helps for retrieval.

Consider making a backup copy of everything. You can either copy the images to an external hard drive or you can copy onto DVDs or CDs. Consider making more than one backup copy of everything. Once this process is completed, delete the files from your memory card ready for the next session.

Eric Hartwell runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com.

my photos arent sharp part 2

My Photos Aren't Sharp (Part 2)Writen by Jason Busch

This is the second part of My Photos Aren't Sharp. You may have thought there was only one page of possibilities for unsharp photos, but there are more.

Environmental Conditions

I took a roadtrip with some friends to Las Vegas back in 2002, in February. We traveled through parts of Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, and Idaho. Seeing this country during the months just before spring is absolutely the way to go. Everything is clear, crisp, but of course, the temperatures are very cool.

One of the obstacles in taking a few particular shots, was the wind factor. Regardless of trying to take images handheld in between bursts of wind, I noticed when I got home to review the images, they were not as sharp as I had thought they were. My images looked like I was taking shots from a moving car. Wind is one of nature's elements which can become a pain to deal with if you are not aware of it or think you can manage it on your own. A tripod definitely helps.

Rain is another obstacle. Most of you may not have to deal with it as much as those who are photojournalists (PJs) or who just like to live life on the wild side, but if you do shoot in the rain, you will need to have knowledge of the Shooting Trinity: Aperture, Shutter Speed, and Depth Of Field. Sometimes you may get visible rain drops in your image when you don't want them, and sometimes you may want them when you don't have them in your image. In addition, a nice little rain drop may decide to take a rest right on the front element of your lens, which can distort an image at particular settings. The amount of rain is also something to think about. Be sure to monitor the rain and its behavior when you're shooting in it. It can change drastically, and render an image that would have been just a 15 seconds ago, useless.

Wind and rain can also be a great addition to your creativity and expression of images, so they are not necessarily unwelcome. Shoot with nature. Not against it.

Quality Of Your Tripod

Not all tripods are built the same. Yes, this is true to some extent. However, you can still find a tripod for around $50-$200 that will perform just as well as a $500...and even a $3,000 tripod. Some people don't want to admit this, but hey, it's their money--not mine. In any case, regardless of the money spent on your tripod, make sure the tripod can accept the weight of your camera and lenses on it. Observe if the tripod is having difficulty remaining still when a gust of wind whips up. Depending on your equipment, you may need a tripod that can handle heavier equipment.

You And Your Tripod

This is sort of like the above, but looking at it from a different angle. Be aware of your stance when using a tripod and your camera equipment. I've seen photographers bump their tripods when shooting, accidentally trip over their tripods (I've done this a few times myself). Don't lean into the tripod. Extend yourself OUT to the tripod, and begin shooting. If you just have to have the tripod in your face, read the following...

Your And Your Feet

Suffice it to say, make sure your feet are firmly planted when you shoot. Handheld or with a tripod. The system is only as strong as its weakest link, and yes, photographers themselves are usually the weakest link. Be aware of what you do when you shoot. I've noticed in some cases I actually sway back and forth if I am stationary for a particular time. What I do is gather myself again, and create a new stance. Some photographers have the physical capabilities of having the movement of a stone, and some have the behaviors of a long blade of grass, just waiting to be swayed back and forth.

The Camera Diopter

Most DSLRs have a built-in diopter to match your eyesight requirements. Also, you can buy attachments which have more of a precise and accomodation to your particular eyesight needs. Be sure to adjust the diopter on your camera, regardless if you think you need it or not. You might be surprised.

Your Eyesight

Yes, I had to mention it. If your eyesight is not particularly accurate, this could be a problem for your images appearing blurred. Be aware of Presbyopia, where one eye could be more affected than the other. This condition is progressive, and you may need adjustments every year. Eyesight issues are generally progressive in nature which could be the explanation for your images looking fine one season, and this season they are just as good as they could be. So, be sure to have your eyesight prescriptions up to date.

Final Thoughts

We've covered several possibilities for your images not coming out the way you are wanting them to. Overall, if you haven't noticed, the key to eliminating a lot of these possibilities, is being aware of your own behavior, and aware of your equipment. In another articles, we will discuss image processing to reduce (or even eliminate) the effects of unsharp images.

2005 by Jason Busch (DigitalDingus)

My Photos Aren't Sharp (Part 2)

A part of the The DigitalDingus Guide To Photography series.

easy tips for digital photo touchups

Easy Tips for Digital Photo TouchupsWriten by John Howard

Using a digital camera to take pictures is great. It's easy and quick. Just as easy and quick is touching up those digital photos. Is your image too dark? Is there a glare that is affecting the picture quality? Red eyes are often another problem with using a flash. Many of these things and others can be corrected with the use of digital photo touchups. Here are some quick tips to improving your photo quality.

Probably the best way to fix digital photo touchups is to not have any! As obvious as this sounds, it is a common problem that can be rectified easily. Read your owners manual that came with your digital camera. Learn how your camera reacts to different light situations, shadows and glares. Prepare your picture by using your LCD screen. Taking a picture properly is the first step to not having problems with digital photo touchups.

Even still, mistakes and unexpected problems arise. Know your camera's digital photography software. Most digital cameras come with software that can help you. Again, read the manual!

Software is available! Yes, you can purchase some great software to help you with digital touchups as well. If you are avid about having the best pictures out there, you can find many programs that will enable you to fix issues quickly and simply. But remember, a good piece of software shouldn't cost you a ton either.

Standard software should provide for red eye removal, noise reduction, cropping, and other digital issues. Make sure the products you buy do these common things.

Use the black and white and sepia features to enhance the quality of your pictures in a unique way.

Check out the programs available online that can help as well. Find these by doing a web search for digital photography software. You may even find a free program as well.

Use the tools provided to you on your camera. Many digital cameras have features right on them to enable a clear shot, high resolution and more. Check your owner's manual and learn to use these.

There is an unlimited amount of options available to digital photographers and their cameras. Buy software products that have some of these features if they interest you.

Be patient and play! Yes, to touch up your digital photos you should try new things and experiment. Be patient and learn all that is to learn about your software!

John Howard is an avid digital photographers. Visit his
website for tips and tricks at: Digital Photography

2005 John Howard All Rights Reserved. This article may
be published in web based or email form as long as this
credit box is attached and the hyperlink is active. It
may not be altered or edited in any way.

slow down before you shoot

Slow Down Before You ShootWriten by Eric Hartwell

One of the best ways to capture a great image is to slow down and actually think about what you are doing. By simply pointing and shooting you not only risk the possibility of camera shake and movement blur, but you also miss other opportunities to enhance your photographic creativity.

After all, what is the point of simply seeing and snapping a picture with your digital camera. Some models have shutter lag in any case, which will meant that the image you expected to capture is different to the one which ends up on the memory card. What is so wrong with thinking first before you shoot?

We live in times of great speed and activity. Our cars go faster on the roads that are built to gets us there quicker. Time has to be filled, it seems, lest it is wasted. Everything has to be done now. Things cant wait.

But, in photography, they can. Unless, that is, you are dealing with split-second occurrences which are unlikely to manifest themselves again.

By stopping and thinking, you can begin to create that image in your mind before you even consider pressing the shutter release. What are you trying to achieve? Who are the audience? What can YOU add to the image before you take the photo?

In this way you will begin to think of composition, angles of view, viewpoints, backgrounds, depth of field and shutter speeds.

Eric Hartwell runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com

how to make your production look a lot slicker for pound40 more

How to Make Your Production Look a Lot Slicker for £40 MoreWriten by Cal Barton

Tight Budgets

Tight budgets are common these days. But the demand for high production values hasnt fallen with a drop in funds. So how do you achieve a slick looking series of shots without breaking the bank? Hire a portable dolly or a portable jib for only 40 a day.

Portable Dollies

One way to make your production look like Martin Scorsese was on location is to hire Martin Scorsese. But if you had that kind of money you wouldnt be reading this. Instead, consider using a portable dolly with track. They dont take up much more space than a tripod, they weigh less than ten kilos and the cameraman can easily use one without assistance.

The most common models are the Digidolly, the Wally Dolly and the Hollywood Microdolly. The first two are made in Australia and the third is made, as the name implies, in the U.S. Different cameramen have their preferences and you can call us to discuss the merits of each. The Digidolly is becoming the most popular. Below are a few details on all three models.

Digidolly

Australian-made lightweight portable track and dolly system that can be set up on location within minutes. The dolly takes a tripod and it also has a low-level Hi-hat mount. The Digidolly comes with 3.6 metres of aluminium track and its construction allows for smooth movement.

Hollywood Microdolly

The US-made Microdolly kit weighs only 4.5 kg and fits into a soft case only 86 cm long. The dolly takes a tripod and comes with four metres of track. The kit can be set up within minutes and can handle up to 45 kg of camera gear.

Wally Dolly

Australian-made lightweight (8 kg) track and dolly kit. The dolly takes a tripod and comes with three metres of aluminium track. The kit can be set up within minutes.

Dolly Shots

So youve got the dolly, whatll it do for you? Use it for presenter links to add nice, smooth movement that takes it several notches above a handheld shot. Use it for interviews to give your interview a different, more interesting look. Use it for exteriors and interiors of buildings and homes. Use it to shoot performances. The list goes on and if used well the impact can be strong and you will have raised the production value of your shoot dramatically for an extra 40 quid and for only a little more time.

Portable Jibs

Like portable dollies, portable jibs can be used by a cameraman without an assistant. They need weights so taking them on a job abroad and incurring hefty excess baggage costs makes them impractical for that purpose but if youre using a standard crew van theyre easily managed. We carry two models. If youve used them a few times, you can set them up within five minutes.

Eazy Jib

The Eazy-Jib can be mounted on a standard tripod with a 100mm bowl and enables a cameraman to do interesting camera movements almost anywhere. The Eazy-Jib has an adjustable arm length that can be set between 720 and 1600 mm (2 feet 4 inches and 5 feet 2 inches). It weighs 14 kg (31 lb) and can handle a payload of 18 kg (40 lb).

Quadra Jib

A portable jib arm that can be mounted onto a tripod with a 100mm bowl. The Quadrajib 2654 weighs 14 kg and can handle a payload of 19 kg.

Jib Shots

How can you use a portable jib? Again, you can make presenter links look far better than they will off the shoulder or from a fixed tripod. You can use them to bring any otherwise static subject to life. For shots around a garden, property exteriors and interiors, the list can go on. The result is the same as with portable dollies. The 40 pounds you spend will add many times that in production value.

Last Weeks Lyrics

You may remember last months lyrics question: who wrote even the president of the United States sometimes must have to stand naked. That was easy but hardly anyone got the answer right. It was Bob Dylan. This weeks is a little tougher. But the writer had profound impact on the music business. Ive never seen a night so long, as time goes crawling by.

If you have any questions or comments please send them to cal@procamtv.com. Until next month, happy shooting.

Cal Barton - Procam Television

Procam Television

Units 3 & 4

Linford Street Business Estate

Linford Street

London

SW8 4UN

Tel: (+44) 20 7622 9888

Fax: (+44) 20 7498 1580

Email: cal@procamtv.com

Web: www.procamtv.com

what makes portraiture uncomfortable for the model

What Makes Portraiture Uncomfortable For the Model?Writen by Eric Hartwell

I can never understand why people are so embarrassed about having their photo taken. I mean, we spend a good proportion of our day looking into mirrors. Even shop window reflections are a source of brief, but focussed, imagery. We seem to enjoy it. We like our own image.

Why then do people dislike formal portraiture so much? After all, they have often elected to take part in the process and they have, most likely, made themselves up to look the best possible including clothes and make-up. And, what can be better than having a permanent reminder of just how lovely they do look? It beats all those passing glimpses in car mirrors and other shiny reflective surfaces.

Perhaps its the selfishness of it all that is uncomfortable. By having your portrait taken and studied you are saying here I am, arent I beautiful / interesting. Or perhaps its the photographer someone who would be a bit unfamiliar to the subject especially in commercial studios that puts people ill at ease.

But why should any of this cause problems? We show our faces to the world each and every day. Posing in front of a camera is just a way of formalising our image in a controlled and special way.

The best photographers are able to put models at easy with quick fire comments, wit and an intimate knowledge of their equipment. The question to ask is why does he need to in the first place?

Eric Hartwell runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com

8 simple tips for taking great baby photos

8 Simple Tips for Taking Great Baby PhotosWriten by Criss White

Taking pictures of your new baby is a great way to preserve life long memories. Baby pictures can also make great postcards, keepsakes, or baby shower gifts. Here are some simple tips to get great baby pictures:

1) Avoid bright light - Babies are especially sensitive to bright light including harsh sunlight and flash photography. If possible, try to take photos during the day when flash photography is not necessary. You can also use lamps to create lighting.

2) Take pictures from different distances - Try to take pictures from different distances. Most people like to take closeup pictures, but pictures that are too close can be blurry and out of focus. By taking several pictures from different distances, you can keep the ones that are the best.

3) Be aware of your baby's mood - Try not to start a photo session when your baby is cranky or crying. If your baby is in a bad mood, then wait awhile until he or she is better rested or calmed. You will get better pictures when your baby is in good spirits.

4) Use a high quality camera and film - This tip may seem simple, but is worth saying. Using high quality cameras and film can make a big difference in the quality of the photo, especially if you are creating photo gifts or favors.

5) Get rid of any distractions - Make sure there are not too many distractions when taking pictures. Anything that moves or makes noise, like the TV, should be turned off is possible. Having too many people around can also be distracting for the baby.

6) Take multiple shots - Taking different shots is a good idea for any type of photography, particularly if you are making photo gifts. Sometimes it is hard to tell if a shot will turn out good until it is actually produced, so get those extra shots just in case.

7) Background - Make sure that there is not too much distracting stuff in the background. The focus should be on the baby, so plain backgrounds usually work best.

8) Other people - Try taking pictures of the baby with other people as well, including yourself. A baby will interact with other people and these interactions captured on film can make great keepsakes.

About the Author - Criss White is a professional web writer on baby and new mother topics for baby and pregnancy websites. For baby shower picture frames, go to Baby Picture Frames - Favors and Unique Baby Shower Favors.

Note: If you find this article useful, you may reprint it on your website, e-zine, or in your newsletter as long as the credits above remain in tact and the hyperlinks stay active.

what is a still life

What Is A Still Life?Writen by Paolo Basauri

Still Life is an art term, that refers to a special kind of picture. It represents an arrange of inanimate objects (hence the name) such as a bowl, a cup or fruits. Usually the arrangement is made according to the artist's purpose. A Still life pencil drawing can be symbolic, with an underlying meaning, or aesthetic, in which case the purpose is to communicate beauty.

About Still Life Pencil Drawings

A still life work can have many purposes. If we work in color it can help us understand how color acts in real life, how the light bounces, and how an arrangement of colors can bring a special mood to the painting. Using colored pencils we can begin studies about color, and work in the finest details. But in the case of black and white pencil drawings, the purpose of the still life pencil drawing is different. A still life pencil drawing can help us study shapes and see how they interact on our eyes, we learn how to measure correct proportions and how they can make the difference betwen a good drawing and a remarkable drawing.

When we get into shading, we then study tonal values. There are no colors here so we must learn how to see things in black and white mode, and correctly define which are going to be the dark and light areas on our still life pencil drawing.

Still lifes are the most available subjects in the world, and while some people may consider still life drawing boring, the fact is they teach us a lot. When you have no idea of what to draw, just make an arrangement of things you have at your house and start your still life pencil drawing. Don't take just as bring cups and fruits, but instead focus on what you can learn from this. If you keep practicing on drawing still life scenes you will find out that you have a much better understanding on how light works, and how objects relate to each other within a composition and color scheme.

Paolo Basauri is the owner of Pencil Drawing Madness, a blog about drawing, where you can find more about Still Life Drawings.