Incredible Words

We all love our animals. They do such funny, adorable, and cute things. But somehow when that camera comes out they run and hide or they just seem to always be pointed away from the camera when you push the button. Well here are some tips to help you have a better chance at getting great photos of your pet.

1. Don’t wake your pet out of deep sleep and attempt to coerce him into performing for the camera. It won’t happen. Try to take photos of your pet during their routine playtime.

2. If there is enough daylight to take photos then turn the flash off. My cat has learned to close his eyes just before the flash goes off. He learned that little trick quick too! Many times a camera flash is just too bright for them, that’s why they point away from you when they know that you’re taking photos.

3. Don’t try to get them looking into the camera. If there is someone around who can play with your pet just get a shot of them playing with someone else. You can have the photo with the person and the pet or get close to crop the person out of the shot.

4. If your pet always runs away from you every time you pull the camera out try leaving the camera sit out where it can be seen. Take photos of other things in the home and try turning the flash off.

5. Be prepared to grab your camera and take photos when your pet is ready, read “doing something cute.” I’ve been able to get some of the best photos of my cat when he’s just doing something on his own.

Remember don’t put pressure on your animal to perform for the camera. Think more on the lines of catch them in their natural habitat. Our pets want to make us happy and you can easily confuse them by pressuring them to look good for the camera. Also be prepared to take a whole lot of bad photos for that one really good one.

About The Author

Copyright 2004 Kelly Paal

Kelly Paal is a Freelance Nature and Landscape Photographer, exhibiting nationally and internationally. Recently she started her own business Kelly Paal Photography (www.kellypaalphotography.com). She has an educational background in photography, business, and commercial art. She enjoys applying graphic design and photography principles to her web design.

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You can be forgiven for thinking that using a camera, and all the associated activities, is much harder these days. Everything is digitally-related and computer based. Unless you are a techno wizard, you are going to have trouble getting decent images. Yes?

No.

Emphatically no.

Whilst it is true that cameras are different now to what they used to be, they still perform the same basic function of recording images. And, yes, there is some tricky jargon to get to grips with and some different features on modern equipment.

But, if you can press a shutter button (and most of us used to be able to perform this simple function in film days) then you will find photography more simple now than ever before.

Most of you will remember the old sequence of events. Purchase a film (which one and from where?). Spend half a day undoing the canister and loading the film into the camera (how DOES the back open?). Take 24 or 36 pictures (how DID that image turn out?) then rewind the film and take it out of the camera.

Then, send it away for processing (where and how much will it cost?) or take it to the local photo lab (ditto). Wait a few days, a week, several days longer than this and look at the results - overexposed and underexposed pictures that need retaking - only the image-taking opportunity is lost forever.

And where do you put your images when they are printed? How do you share them with friends far away? How do you enter them into competitions and where on earth did you put that replacement 36 exposure film that is now needed for the camera?

I know aficionados of film will castigate me for these words. And I know that the situation is just not that simple. And, believe me, I like film too.

But what I want to point out is that, although the transition for film to digital may seem a huge leap of faith, you really will find that the skills needed are far less than using film and that the equipment is not only simple to learn and use but also very forgiving.

Try it if you haven’t already.

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.

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One of the great benefits of digital photography is that you can edit the shots you have taken and vastly improve the images before you print them out. This puts the ultimate responsibility for the final photo output in the hands of the photographer instead of a processing lab, and lots of people like it that way. So here are a few ideas on how to use your photo editing software.

Actually many digital cameras will let you make some basic image adjustment within the camera itself, including rotation, removing red eye from flash shots, and some basic cropping. But beyond that you will need a digital photo editing software program to take editing to the next level.

You may have gotten a photo editing program bundled with your digital camera when you bought it, so be sure to check through the package and know what the manufacturer provided as some of these bundled software programs can work very well for you. If you didn’t get a photo editing program with your digital camera there are still plenty of other options, as there are several good free photo editing software programs available on the internet for download that will let you do more advanced editing including cropping and file resizing, color adjustments and much more.

For the average or above average photographer, there are two programs that you can also buy for around $100 that will bring almost all the features you will need to any photo editing task and they are Adobe Photoshop Elements and Corel Paint Shop Pro 9. Either of these programs offer more advanced features including incremental control over brightness, contrast, sharpness, color saturation and much more. They are also fairly easy to learn and use.

And then for the most demanding of photographers or professionals who work with digital images, the ultimate photo editing program is Adobe PhotoShop itself. There is almost nothing that you can’t do with this program. It is extremely powerful, but also has a fairly steep learning curve, so if you don’t fit into this small circle of high end users there is no real need to pony up the hundreds of dollars that will be necessary to get such an advanced program. The choices mentioned above would be a better bet for the vast majority of folks instead.

So as you can see there are several choices to be made when it comes to how you plan on editing your digital photos, and there are also plenty of digital photo editing software programs that can help you accomplish almost any editing task that you could want simply, quickly and easily. Just choose the program that best fits your individual needs as outlined in this article.

Thad Pickering writes on many consumer related topics including digital photography. You can find the best photo editing software and photo editing programs by visiting our Digital Photography website.

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I was at a photographic convention just a short while ago. It was all hustle and bustle. There was frantic activity everywhere. There were lots of stands with manufacturers showing off their wares and plenty of workshops and other “hands on” activities going on.

Amongst the constant chatter and discussions, I heard many people talking technical language. They had a “4 gigabyte” this and a “16 megapixel” that. They had equipment costing a King’s ransom complete with state-of-the-art spangoolies that gave them the opportunity to take any image imaginable on this earth, and perhaps, beyond.

It was very overawing and I felt a little bit intimidated. After all, I own and use a simple 6-megapixel camera with a 512-megabyte memory card and just two lenses of mediocre quality.

How on earth did others, less experienced than me, feel?

It reminded me of my younger days. I used to do a lot of running. I was fairly good - nothing spectacular and I never won a race. The highest I came was 11th in a marathon. On competition days, I would mill around with the other competitors. They wore class gear, had all the sprays, potions and electrolyte drinks and did all the warm-up routines. There was much laughing, shouting and bravado.

It reminded me of the convention I attended.

The only difference was, with my running, I used to overtake most of these people. When I finished 11th there were over 1000 other competitors. I had no electrolyte drinks, fancy garments and had no fancy warm-up routine. Their outward appearances had no bearing on their skills.

That’s the way I think and I would like you to think that way as well. You can own as much equipment as you want and you can talk the fancy talk. But it’s the final images that count.

I’ll wager that I could hold my own with the majority of those photographers at the convention. And so could you.

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

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So you have rushed out into the malls in a mad panic for this christmas holiday and are going to purchase a electronic item on Credit think again. Consumers are paying again through the nose agin this year 1.5 billion in sales up from last year and sure to gain ground next year again.

Almost on a monthly basis you see a new digital camera rolls off the assembly line almost like clockwork. In order to save your money when getting into digital photography we suggest getting something more middle of the road like the Fuji F450.
Fuji F450 review

Don’t fall for salesman tactics for upselling, you don’t need anything over 5 mega pixel in my opinion. All digital cameras above 5.0 are a bit overkill unless your a professional photographer in which case you would most likely purchase a digital SLR camera. Kodak has stepped up to the plate like always with many versions of the easyshare cameras. Kodak packs value into every camera they produce in my opinion and their very inexpensive. I would recommend having a look at the Kodak easyshare DX7590 if your looking for affordable cameras.
Kodak DX7590 Review

If you are looking for a camera that is very universal and packs in my opinion one of the most respectable names and quality customer service, I would stick with a Sony Cybershot digital camera. Sony has some of the best cameras for quality and price with warranty out on the market today. Whatever you choose this holiday season take your time get information on what your buying and don’t think that the higher the mega pixel the better the camera. As well be very wary and ask if the CCD sensor is the mega pixel number that they report or is it totalled by interpolation. Remember if you interpolate the mega pixels then the camera isn’t reporting its correct processing of the mega pixels.

Good luck with your next camera purchase.

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Thinking of joining the ranks of the greatest photographers of all time? Well, it might be a good idea to check out a few of them and the works they’ve done so you know just what it is you’re up against.

Probably one of the most famous photographers of all time was Ansel Adams. Adams was born In San Francisco California in 1902. He lived in Carmel until he died in 1984. His most popular photo was titled “Moonrise Over Hernandez, 1944″. This is a breathtaking photo showing a beautiful night view and the small town below it. Other famous photos by Adams were “Clearing Winter Storm” and “Winter Sunrise”. Adams did a lot of outdoor photography with some breathtaking views. His most popular photo has about 1000 copies in print. The price range of these photos, depending on condition goes from $5,000 to $175,000 if you can find one.

Moving from outdoor photography of landscapes to nude women on beaches we have the works of Jock Sturges. Sturges was born in the big city of New York in the year 1947. He currently lives in Seattle, Washington. His most popular images, all of beach nudes, are “Misty Dawn 1991″ and “Northern California, 1991″. His prints range in price from $1,000 to $3,000. His most expensive print sold for $4,000.

Herman Leonard was known for taking great photographs of jazz legends. He was born in Allentown, PA in 1923. He currently lives and works in New Orleans. His most popular images are photos of great jazz legends Dexter Gordon, Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday. Herman Leonard was one of the more active photographers even when not working at his craft. He often traveled with great entertainers like Marlon Brando, who he hung out with in 1954. His photos range in price from $950 to $5,500.

Another great photographer was Irving Penn who was born in Plainfield, NJ in 1917. Penn was actually known for a number of different styles of photography including fashion photography and provocative life style portraits. His most famous work was “Cuzco Children” which sold for as much as $175,000 at the turn of the century. Penn worked for some of the most popular magazines of our time including Harper’s Bazaar, Saks Fifth Avenue and Vogue Magazine.

Another great photographer, who most people have actually heard of, was the one and only Helmut Newton, who just recently passed away in 2004. He was most known for photos involving fashion and nudes illustrating themes of mass media, glamour, sex and theater. Newton’s work was often categorized as bizarre. He was once quoted as saying “My job as a portrait photographer is to seduce, amuse and entertain”. He most certainly did that better than just about anyone else. His most popular image is “Sie Kommen I, II”. His photographs are in such demand that some go for as much as $400,000 each.

The list of famous photographers goes on, literally forever. So if you are thinking of joining the ranks of these greats and many others, then you’re going to have to work hard at your craft.

Very, very hard.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Photography

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I was walking to the local store the other day. It was cold, wet and overcast and I felt pretty miserable I can tell you. I was on a mission to buy something from the store and to get home as quickly as possible. Nothing else was on my mind.

Then, I passed a construction site. There was a flurry of activity - diggers and cranes on the move. Nothing special and I didn’t take too much notice. But, then I caught sight of a couple of workmen - they were wearing bright yellow jackets and red hard hats - moving some rubble by hand. They looked cold, wet and engrossed in their work. The backdrop to all this was a large and partially constructed building.

I was impressed by the colours of the workmen’s attire and the contrast with the damp weather and the greyness of the partly built structure. It would have made an interesting photograph. It would only have taken me a few seconds to capture it and the light was reasonably good so I would not have needed either a tripod or flashgun.

But, I didn’t have my camera with me and I lost the shot.

I have a number of cameras, one of which is a Canon A60 - a camera that is small and fits neatly into my pocket. I remember telling someone that they should always carry a camera, even on short errands. I failed to do so and lost an opportunity.

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

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Many photographers probably have stared at a silhouette image and pondered to themselves how exactly it had been taken and composed. Silhouette images could contain a couple looking at a sunset, a cityscape with the sun shining through buildings, or just a normal horizon. In order to get an effective silhouette image, a photographer must be in the right place at the right time and have the right exposure settings.

-Silhouette Definition

In the area of photography, a silhouette is defined as an outline that appears dark against a light background. More specifically, it is where your subject appears as a plain black shape against a brighter background. It is an artistic photography expression that many photographers like to refine and perfect in their images. This effect can be achieved with any bright light source with the sun being the most common. In a sunset silhouette photo, the sunlight in the background is exposed correctly forcing everything else in the photo to be underexposed causing the effect.

-Silhouette Techniques

When you are preparing to take a silhouette image, there are many things to keep in mind. These tips are equally effective for both digital and film photography. First of all, you need to make sure that there is not too much light on your subject, even if it is being reflected on to your subject the stray light will ruin the effect. If there is not enough light in the background, your subject will appear grey instead of black. The effect is just multiplied when you have multiple colors of bright lights in the background. Some photographers focus on artificial lights, others focus on the sun at certain times of the day, the possibilities are endless.

-My Silhouette Tips and Techniques

I usually take my silhouette images when the sun is just above the horizon. I prefer the time around sunset because the sun causes the sky to be brighter than everything else for greater contrast. Another technique I use is to align the sun directly behind the subject so it causes a glow effect around the main subject. I usually use a relatively big subject so it creates a more drastic effect then a small insignificant subject.

I always use a narrow aperture (high f/stop) so the camera captures the whole scene with a high depth of field so everything is in focus. I usually use the aperture manual mode on my camera so I can control what the aperture will be and then the camera automatically selects the right shutter speed necessary for the photo. If you are trying to create the effect with a point-and-shoot camera make sure you compose the photo with the background light by pointing the camera at the background. If you compose the image by pointing the camera at your dark subject, then the background will be over-exposed and you will not end up with a silhouette.

There is no exact science to taking a great silhouette image. It will take practice, luck, and experience to capture truly amazing silhouette images. So keep practicing.

Trisha Leung is a digital photography enthusiast and regularly submits articles to http://www.picturecorrect.com/ which offers tips and news about digital photography, digital camera reviews, photoshop tutorials and computer wallpaper.

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For Pick-up or Mail-order

As the online digital photo revolution evolves we see changes happening so rapidly that it is hard to keep up. We now have the option of uploading our pictures to a professional photo developer who can print crystal clear digital photos. Locations are popping up everywhere that will do this photo printing and are in your area. They are sometimes difficult to find and are sometimes where you would least expect them.

The days of printing from home are over

We have all been disappointed with our personal photo printers and have long since given up printing them ourselves. We have waited for a long time just looking at our photos on computer screens, palm pilots and cell phones. Now with faster internet connections sweeping the country it is easy and fast to upload our photos to a professional developer for processing and printing that is of very high quality.

Easy uploading

By putting your photos on your computer the usual way, with a USB cable or plugging your memory card directly to your computer, you can have your photos ready for uploading. Uploading is simple. from the website where you are doing the uploading you simply browse to the files where all of your photos are saved and select them one by one or as a group depending on the site that will print your photos.

Pick-up at the location is available everywhere

Picking your photos up at the location is available everywhere. The beauty of this is that 1 hour developing has now paved the way for people to want their photos quickly. With many photo processors digital photos can be available for pick-up in less than 1 hour.

If you don’t want to leave the house mail delivery is easy and reliable

For those of you who are pressed for time running to the location to get photos is not an option no matter how fast they are printed and made ready for you. Prints can be mailed to you in a timely manner and is often FREE. This is a great option and the cost is even better. It is like printing your pictures to your mailbox.

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

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