Find The Right Digital Camera At The Right Price

by Dave Knight

Digital cameras of a high-resolution are no longer a luxury item; five mega pixels are the norm. The cameras are becoming ever more sophisticated and yet the prices have plummeted. Comparison sites will search for the best prices and a keyword search of eBay will list thousands of offers. Internet review sites provide all the technical information you want to make an informed choice. It’s that easy to find the right digital camera at the right price.

So what specification do you need? One mega pixel is one million color dots per picture. Ideally you should buy a camera with four mega pixels or more. Actually five mega pixels is the norm these days and cameras are now being made with eight mega pixels. More mega pixels mean larger pictures without sacrificing quality.

Digital cameras come with built in memory capacity but it's never enough. No problem! The flash memory card has been invented. It not only increases the amount of pictures you can take and store but makes transfer to a computer child's play. The amount of flash memory you need depends on your application. Test it out, a 256Mb or 512Mb may be enough and memory prices are so low now it won't break the bank to buy a spare.

Digital cameras have a zoom facility and you should consider the zoom factor carefully. There is optical zoom and digital zoom. Optical zoom uses the lens to enlarge the image. The optical zoom factor is the most important. Digital zoom on the other hand enlarges pixels digitally, no surprise there! This is a useful feature but remember you can always enlarge the image on your computer so it's not so important as optical zoom.

The advantages of digital photography were first recognized by real estate agents and motor traders. These sectors have always recognized the benefit of adding photographs to their ads. Instant digital photography was an answer to their dreams. But as the mega pixels increased so did the fans.

Anyone earn extra cash with a digital camera. Listings on auction sites such as eBay always get better results when one or more photographs of the product are included. Some online classified sites allow photographs also.

The use of pictures in advertising is just one of the many examples where you can earn extra money.

Whether you use a digital camera for fun or profit carefully consider what is required to get optimal results for your needs. Maybe the camera you already have is adequate. Maybe that latest hot-off-the-production line model is actually over specified for you. Hopefully this article has given you a few ideas and the facts to make an informed decision.

Dave Knight writes how-to articles on computer and Internet related subjects. This article courtesy of http://www.ComputerBitZ.co.uk You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.

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The Advantages Of Online Photo Sharing

By Andrew Regan


In the last decade, photography has become an increasingly digitised medium. But while many have revelled in the convenience and high-quality photography that digital cameras have granted, others have lamented the loss of traditional photographic printing - claiming that many digital cameras are not built to provide long-lasting photographic memories. While these complaints hold some ground, developments on the internet over the past few years have meant that there is now an easy way to maintain the longevity of your photos: online photo sharing.

The burgeoning popularity of online photo-sharing sites has seen the emergence of many successful internet brands in the new generation of web 2.0 sites. Photo sharing sites have flourished as more and more people - both professional and amateur photographers - continue to post their work and invite comments, links and general debate about their photos.

Uploading your photos and sharing them online has a range of benefits. For starters, if it's your child's first birthday party and you're keen to share the photos with family and friends across the world, you'll be able to do so - both simply and affordably - by placing them on an online photo album. Sharing your photos in this way avoids the expense of having to post photos to multiple recipients by mail, and is far more convenient than emailing large photo files that can take a while to download. What's more, using an online photo sharing site can also act as storage space for your photos, so you'll be able to keep them for an indefinite amount of time without cluttering up your computer's hard drive.

If you're a budding professional photographer, placing your photos on an online photo sharing site can be a great way to get yourself noticed by your peers. Many photo sharing websites let users add tags to their photos, so that other members of the photo sharing community will be able to easily find and view photos on similar subjects or from the same geographic location.

Tagging photos that you've uploaded to a photo sharing site means your photos will have much better visibility, and will also be likely to generate more user comments and constructive criticism of your work. Search engine Yahoo!, for instance, have recently started incorporating photos of famous world landmarks into their search results.

Online photo sharing, therefore, has a variety of merits that can be enjoyed by a cross-section of web users. Whether you're a developing photographer keen to share your work with the world, or you simply want to find an easy way for your grandmother to see photos of your new baby, online photo sharing is the answer for you!

Andrew regan is a freelance online journalist.

http://www.mypix.com/uk/uk/home/

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Photography Tip - Let's Do The Twist

By Brandon Baumgarten


I'd like to share my model slenderizing photography tip with you, so that you can use it to help slim your subjects and trim their waists. The better your subjects look, the more they will appreciate your photos.

I was recently on a photo shoot with a couple at the lake. During the meet and greet before the shoot, the female subject said to me, "make me look thin and I'll buy a ton of photos", I told her "not-to-worry, I've got a magic lens!" Why was I so confident? I've got some tricks up my sleeve. I work on commission, so my life depends upon making her look good. I knew exactly what I was going do.

My first photographic pose was a standing shot of the couple. I used a technique I call, The Twist! To make the models appear thinner in the standing full length photograph. Here's how I did it:

I posed the subjects for a full length (head to toe) standing image, with the models standing together next to each other and facing me. Both models kept their feet together and parallel. The subjects turned their feet towards each other, not completely facing each other but definitely turned towards each other. They turned to the same degree so the couple was evenly balanced.

I had the models do The TWIST in which they rotate the upper body to the outside while keeping the lower body turned towards each other. In other words, they kept their feet planted and facing in towards each other. Then I had them twist at the waist and brought the subjects-chests around so they were pointing at me. Photography Tip: Men and women alike generally look better when the chest is facing the camera rather than a shoulder.

It was amazing at what The Twist did. It made the hips appear narrower and the tummy look tighter! It also brought attention to the chest so that the viewers eye is drawn away from the mid section. This technique also produced neat, tidy and balanced subjects.

I adjusted a few more subtle details from this basic position to change the look and feel of the pose. I had the models move their outside feet straight ahead, say two inches. Then I had the models turn the toe on the outside foot out slightly. and lastly I had the female subject place the outside foot on it's toe and turn the heel in and then bend the knee in for a zesty twist.

A couple more more last minute adjustments like straightening posture, sucking in the belly, and some silly antics to spark genuine smiles up on the couple and I had the shots I was after. From each variation of the pose, I quickly shot several vertical full length and horizontal full length portraits.

I then zoomed in for some waist-up shots and even more for chest/head close-up portraits of the couple. Photography Tip: If you have a client that is self-conscious about their bodily appearance, shoot extra head shots.

Experiment with these photography tips and add your own variations of The Twist. Implementing these and other posing techniques can eliminate potential objections on the sales floor in the studio. Take control of the portrait from the start, It's your job! Your clients will appreciate your attention to detail.

Brandon is a professional digital photographer from Lake Tahoe, California. Brandon specializes in on-mountain action and portrait photography during the winter months, photographing skiers and snowboarders on the slopes. Brandon also has a digital photography website which is full of excellent tips and techniques.

Photography tips are great, but if your really serious about having fun as a professional photographer, it begins with a photography education. Compare online and campus based photography schools for the program that best fits your field of study.

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Simple Composition Tips to Improve Your Photography

By Pat McCarthy

You can improve your photography dramatically by following a few simple principles of composition. This article give you some tips to help you shoot well-composed photos.

1. Decide on your subject. Know what you want the viewer to look at and focus attention on that part of the picture. How do you do that?

1. Leave out any distracting elements. Make sure the overflowing trash can and the cluttered kitchen counter are not in your picture. You may be concentrating on your subject, but the camera records everything in the viewfinder.

2. Simplify the background. If you're shooting people or animals, try to position them against a plain wall, a background of grass or trees, or a sheet or curtain you've hung up.

3. Zoom in on the subject. Let it fill up most of the frame. Then there will be no doubt what the subject of the photo is.

4. Use leading lines. Diagonal lines are great for leading the viewer's eye into the picture. A road, a fence, or something similar coming in from the bottom left corner does a wonderful job of leading the eye straight to the subject of the photo. Curves are pleasing and do the same thing. Using triangles helps the composition of your photo, too. If you have three people, don't arrange them in a row, but have two in front and one behind, to create a triangle. You can do the same thing with elements in a still life or landscape. 2. Use the Rule of Thirds

Envision a tic-tac-toe grid in your viewfinder. Position your subject where two of the lines intersect for the most pleasing photo. 3. Frame your subject. Use something around one side and the top of the subject, or all the way around.

1. You can frame a person in a doorway or a window.

2. Often you can use tree branches to frame the subject. It can be a log cabin, a person or a barn.

3. If you're shooting in an area with rock formations, you can sometimes frame your subject within one of the formations. 4. Watch the placement of moving objects. Make sure to place them where they look as if they are moving into the picture, rather than out of it. Also have people or animals looking into the picture. 5. Avoid mergers and amputations. Watch for trees growing out of people's heads or similar distracting elements. Also be careful not to cut off a person's arm or leg at a joint. 6. Decide between landscape and portrait orientation.

1. Things such as trees, windmills, lighthouses and people are taller than they are wide, so they usually look better if the picture is taken in portrait orientation, or vertically. Simply turn your camera sideways to look through the viewfinder and snap the picture.

2. Long, low objects such as cars, trains, animals on four legs and some scenery work best in landscape orientation, which gives you a horizontal picture. 7. Vary your camera angle. If possible, walk around your subject, looking at it from all angles. Try a high camera angle and a low one. Also try a close-up shot and one not so close to see which looks better.

If you'll put these principles into action, your photography is bound to improve.

Pat McCarthy is an instructor for the Institute of Children's Literature and the author of over a dozen books for children. Learn more about her books at her blog, http://www.PatMcCarthysAuthorBlog.blogspot.com If you have a question about writing for children, e-mail Pat at patmcbirder@woh.rr.com . More resources for children's writers will soon be up on the blog.

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Photography - The Urban Landscapes

By John Peace

When we talk about landscape photography, we usually think about countryside or nature. We think about the vast valley, waterfall, desert or the forest. How about our urban landscapes filled with skyscrapers? Are we doing our architects a disservice by not capturing their creations? If you have been missing the buildings you see everyday, perhaps you can give it a try. Take some urban landscapes photo today.

When you have decided to give urban landscapes photography a try, you have to bring along a wide-angle lens, telephoto (zoom) lens, polarizing filter and a tripod. You need a wide-angle lens to capture wide shots while you need a zoom lens to capture distant details, for example, the cross of a cathedral. The polarizing filter will help to darken blue sky and remove reflections from non-metallic surfaces. Needless to day, the tripod is for low shutter speed usage.

One of the challenges when doing urban landscapes photography during weekdays and working hours are the people and traffic. These two elements will inevitably be part of your foreground images. To avoid this, you can do it on weekends. However, this may not be possible all the time if you have other commitment.

Since we cannot get rid of these two elements (people and traffic), we might as well use them as part of our composition. As recommended by Practical Photography (Apr 07 edition, page 36 by Chris Rutter), one of the recommended approach is to blur these moving objects. For slower moving objects such as the pedestrians, you can use a shutter speed of around 1/8 sec to 1 second. Whereas for the fast moving traffics, you can try using shutter speeds of 1/8 sec to 1/30 sec.

When you are ready to shot a building against a blue sky, remember to put on your polarizer filer. This is extremely useful when the building is glass fronted. With the filter, it will help to increase the saturation of blue skies as well as reducing the glare and reflections from glass fronted building.

Another viewpoint you can consider is to shot upwards. This is a different composition and you can get rid of the people and traffic in you foreground. You will get some great shots from this viewpoint as well. You can see some upward viewpoint shots here.

If you have been doing nature landscape photography, you might want to consider doing some urban landscapes photography. As you walk along the road everyday, try to look out for something that you can create a stunting and memorial picture. You do not need to go out far and get it. It is how you compose it.

John Peace enjoys photography and maintained a website providing information on photography. He invites you to visit his website, Freelance Photography to learn more about this exciting hobby. You can even make a living out of it at home! Believe it or not. Or you can visit the link at: http://www.internetbizcenter.com/photography/index.htm

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