Ten Tips for Better Flower Photographs

         

        
        By:Kerry T.Giviens

1. BE SELECTIVE. At a flower show , there is an enormous number of beautiful flowers. Don’t rush to photograph the first blossom you see. Find a plant with the best combination of form, color, lighting and background.
   
2. ISOLATION. For impact, isolate your subject. Find a camera angle that minimizes distracting elements, such as other flowers or spectators. Take the time to try low angles, high angles, or moving to the right or left. A wide lens aperture ( a lower-numbered f-stop on and SLR camera) will enhance this effect by softening the background.
   
3. COMPOSITION. Pay attention to the position of your subject in the viewfinder. Putting the subject in the dead-center of the picture is often the first instinct, but is not always the most aesthetic composition. Concentrate on what you see in the viewfinder, and recompose the picture until it looks the best to you. And don’t forget to try vertical framing, as well as horizontal.
   
4. TRIPOD. Because the light in parts of the Conventions Center (or building) is varied, you may be forced to use slow shutter speeds. In this situation, hand-holding your camera might result in vibrations and unsharp pictures. Use a tripod to steady your camera if it has a tripod screw-socket. If you don’t ( or can’t) use a tripod, try to steady your camera in other ways- nestle it on a bean bag or your coat; brace the camera against a wall; or at the very least, take a firm stance while shooting, with your legs slightly apart and your elbows braced. When using and SLR camera on a tripod, cable a release can significantly reduce unwanted vibrations.
5. PATIENCE. When photographing flowers outdoors, be aware of small breezes that might set the flowers in motion. Likewise, breezes can be caused indoors by the opening of a door or the brisk movement of people. For sharp picture, you must be prepared to wait for all movement to cease before releasing the shutter.
   
6. ENVIRONMENT. Wonderful photographs can be created by showing the relationship of you subject to its environment. A simple way to achieve this is with a wide- angle lens on a SLR camera, or the wide mode on a dual-lens or zoom lens point-&-shoot camera. Position your subject as close as possible in the foreground.
   
7. EXTREME CLOSE-UPS. Flowers take on an entirely different look when viewed in extreme close-up. Use your viewfinder indicators to move in as close as possible, while still maintaining sharp focus. If you are using a 35mm SLR camera, your macro (close-up) capabilities can be extended with accessories such as a macro lens, a macro teleconverter, or even screw-on supplementary close-up lenses or extension tubes for your present lenses.
   
8. THE WHOLE PICTURE. Consider the whole plant when you photograph, and not just the colorful bloom. Examine the fascinating textures and geometries of leaves, seed pods and fallen petals.
   
9. EXPERIMENT! Don’t be afraid to shoot a few extra pictures. Try different angles and different lighting. Also depict your subject from several different viewpoints.
   
10. LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES. If your picture don’t convey what you saw in your mind’s eye, ask yourself: “What went wrong?” If you study your mistakes, you will be rewarded wit a greater number successful photographs on your next outing.

Basic Photography Tips from Photo Field Imaging

You found this articile because you are interested in photography or live in the Newmarket Ontario area, which is located just north of Toronto.
My name is Stephen Cornfield and I own a company called Photo Field Imaging (www.photofieldimaging.com). We provide photographic as well as digital photo editing and digital scanning services (photographs, negative and slides).
As a photographer in Newmarket Ontario, I have found that no matter where you are, there is a seemingly endless amount of subjects to shoot. All you have to do at times is to open your eyes and go find them. Sometimes when I go out I do not know what I will find. Often, though, I will have an idea of what I would like to shoot, but finding the exact subject and location for my idea do not always come together. 
In the Newmarker area there are many outdoor places that can provide you with photographic opportunities. Fairy Lake (my favourite) and the trial systems are just a couple. You can also shoot indoors at "The Tannery" once a permit has been attained.

As you go around and talk to photographers you will find that some love landscapes, for others it is wildlife but for me it is people. Does that mean that I do not occassionaly go and intentionally shoot landscapes or wildlife? Of course I do, when the opportunity arises. I love shooting people in both formal and informal settings. By formal settings I mean for occassions when people are dressed up and are expecting to be posed or posing in certain ways (i.e. weddings). Informal settings could be birthday partings, social get togethers, etc..
To me, when I am looking for a shooting location I am always thinking background, background, background. What is in the background? Will the background be a distraction in the photograph? Will the background serve as simply background or a backdrop? Is there garbage or other unwanted artifacts lying around? Will the background add to or take away from the subject? Trust me. A background can either make or break a photograph.
The second thing that I look for is lighting. What time of day is it? Is the sun high in the sky? Is it overcast (i.e. cloudy)? Etc. I personally love to shoot on overcast days, where the light is more diffused (i.e. no harsh shadows or "speckly" backgrounds). If the light is harsh then I prefer to shoot in shady areas where the light can be more controlled. If I am shooting a subject that is out in the open I try to make sure that the scene is not backlit. If a scene is backlit it can make it very difficult to get proper exposure for the intented subject.
Last, but not least, is the subject. Even a photo of my beautiful wife can turn out bad if the first two steps have not been completed properly. When working with your subject some things to be considered are: How is the subject posed? How is their posture? Are they sitting/standing straight or do they have rounded shoulders? How are there hands positioned? Are their hands simplying hanging like clumps of meat or are they doing something? I personally like to have the guys with their hands behind their backs or one hand in their pocket with the other leaning or resting on someone or thing. 

by: Stephen Cornfield - Photo Field Imaging

Digital Camera Tips: Megapixels

How Many Megapixels Should I Get ?
 The answer depends on what you're going to do with
your pictures. Let me explain what I mean by that.
The first thing to understand is that a megapixel simply refers to a million pixels.
That naturally leads to the question -- "What is a pixel?"
Pixels are very small dots of color that make up the
images in your digital photographs. They're the most
basic (and smallest) elements of digital pictures.
"Pixel" stands for "picture element." Using the
abbreviation Pix for picture and El for element, the
two are put together like this :
Pix + Element = Pixel.
It takes a lot of pixels to make a picture. Remember, it takes a million pixels to make one megapixel.
Pixels also make up what is called the resolution.
The more pixels in the image, the higher the resolution.
That simply means more information can be captured in a larger data file. It's kind of like a big, fat file folder stuffed full of papers and documents vs. a skinny little file with only a few papers. Obviously the fat file contains more information and details.
It's the same with resolution. You get more information and details in a higher resolution image than a lower resolution--and it results in better colors, more definition, clarity and smoother color gradations. That's why higher resolution usually means a better-looking picture. Of course, the quality of the lens and sensor also influence the image quite a bit.
But generally, when you have more megapixels, not only can you get more details, but you can also print bigger     pictures or make enlargements.                                     
 For example:
- 6 megapixels and up will look great from a thumbnail all the way up to a 16x20 poster.
- 5 megapixels will look great from a thumbnail all the     way up to 11x17 inches.
- 4 megapixels will print up nicely as an 8x10 and will still look pretty good up to 11x17 inches.
- 2 megapixels will just barely print an 8x10 - but will do a better job with smaller pictures like 5x7's or 4x6's.
- 1 megapixel - Don't even try printing an 8x10 with 1
megapixel. Stick with a 4X6 or smaller or email the picture.
Putting up a picture online or sending it by email doesn't require a lot of megapixels. In fact, you're better off with less. If you have too many, you might crash your email or have a webpage that takes forever to load.
So, you see, the way you plan to use your pictures
determines how many megapixels you should get.
If all you want to do is email your pictures to friends and family, one MG (or even less) is enough. But that's NOT enough if you want to print out 5x7 or 8x10 prints.
However... storing pictures with higher megapixels takes a lot more space. You have to have lots of storage in your hard drive and lots of RAM. Or you'll need to put your pictures onto some sort of permanent storage like CDs to make sure you don't use up all of your computer's hard drive.
For most people (and most families) 3.2 megapixels is
perfect. It gives you nice detail without taking too much space on your computer. And you can print out nice looking 5x7s and 8x10s.
Next: In a couple of days, we'll talk about how easy it is to use a digital camera, the types of digital cameras there are and how much they cost.

By: Rufina James

What is Photography : Photography Tips for Photography Jobs

Digital cameras have definitely simplified the manual labor of the photographers and do their job at mere a click of button. But, that does not mean you can have perfect shots with just the aid of your camera equipment. You can feel a bit more confident with digital camera in your possession, but the job of "clicking" has become specialized. Some misunderstandings about its functional aspects, and the entire love's labor is lost! The photography of an event is lost for ever...Having depth knowledge on what is photography really helps you to get better photography jobs.

So, some standing instructions, some important workable tips need to be followed by the man holding a digital camera. Experience combined with technical expertise is what makes you a perfect photographer.

1. Look your subject in the eye, don't spray your attention all over. Sometimes, you get a fraction of a second to click an important event. There are occasions, you have to vie with hundreds of other photographers. You need to develop the meditative concentration, to 'hunt' your object.

2. Use a plain background. If the background is a hotchpotch, it will have a direct bearing on the main photograph. - Hint for photography jobs.

3. Use flash outdoors.

4. Move in close. Adjustments from the close range can be done easily. They will be more effective.

5. Move it from the middle. That is always the safest way. If you move from one side, there is every chance of missing the activity on the other side.

6. Lock the focus. That is very important as it is your main job.

7. Know your flash's range. This is a very important technical aspect, that is mastered by experience. A bad flash can spoil, beyond repair an important shot.

8. Watch the light. It constantly change.

9. Take some vertical pictures. This adds variety to the total number of pictures that you have shot.

10. Be a picture director. A sense of involvement is necessary. You need to be in a position to anticipate the results, just as a movie director directs his actors for getting a perfect shot. - Here you get answer for what is photography and some tips to develop photography skills which may help you to find better photography jobs.

Don't credit those magnetic eyes and bewitching smiles to the account of digital camera alone. It is the skill and the sense of timing of the photographer that matters most. You need to know when to tell your photo-audience to "say cheese", and those fraction of seconds before their response to the cheese. Have an eye contact of a sharp shooter, with his shooting object.
There is a lot of photography accessories on the market today - some are very useful, but most of them are a waste of money. Here are five of the most important accessories for landscape photography

Tripod: A tripod is important for one main reason, keeping your images sharp. You'll want to select a small aperture to maximise depth-of-field, so you should be using a shutter speed of less than 1/60 second. It's impossible to get a sharp image holding your camera in your hand at these slow speeds.

When choosing a tripod pick one made out of carbon fibres, these are light to carry but are sturdy in the ground. Choose a tripod that the legs will spread out far, this will help to optimise the strength of your support.

Filters: A small selection of filters is well worth packing when heading off for a trip. They don't take up too much space and will definitely add a bit of spice to your images. A polarizing filter should be top of the list, while a few Neutral Density filters will certainly help with tough exposures. A 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 will help with exposure without affecting colour.

Bring a few warm-up filters to help when the light is cool. The 81-series are the best choice, which will give your images an extra bit of life. There's a large amount of filters on the market today; these are the most important filters for landscape photography.

Correct Film: Fuji Velvia is an obvious choice for me when it comes to shooting landscapes. This is a slide film that is high in saturation and is perfect for capturing the colour of all seasons. It comes in two speeds of ISO 50 and ISO 100.

It's always handy to have a few rolls of Black and White film in the bag. You never know when you see a scene and know that it's perfect for B/W. Whichever film you choose, bring plenty of rolls; don't be caught in the middle of nowhere without film.

If you are shooting with a Digital SLR bring plenty of memory.

Cable Release: If your camera has a connection for a cable release you should buy one. It is a perfect accessory to minimise the risk of camera shake - especially if you are taking long exposures. It doesn't take up too much room and is extremely light.

Light Meter: All modern day cameras have light meters built into them, but if you are serious about landscape photography it's advisable to have a hand-held light meter. These are small and of light-weight, and when used correctly are extremely accurate.

These are the most important bits and pieces for your camera bag; other important accessories include spare batteries, a grey card and a few spare lenses.
I had talked about various aspects of photography here along with some great tips for better photography jobs and I am sure I had given you good ideas on what is photography.

By:Marlon Jason

Camera Cases ? best accessory that protects your camera

If you have to use your camera often or you are a camera freak love to click snaps often then choose one of the camera cases described above that will suit best for your camera. Camera and photography is everybody's entertainment and it is also the livelihood profession for many people. Buying an expensive camera and taking awesome pictures would be everybody's dream that will easily come true. But great attention must be given to protect your favorite camera. There are many accessories that serve this purpose. Camera are one of those accessories that ensure camera safety and protect the camera for a longer period of time. If the protective pouches or cases that you buy along with you camera is damaged or lost do not worry because there are lots of camera available online.

As these are lots of camera available in market, we must be careful choosing the best one. Neither the cost nor the quality should be compromised. Durability is one of the factors concentrated much while buying this camera case accessory. Also the comfort, convenience and easiness are considered as important factors. For each brand like Lumix, Canon, Panasonic different camera are available.

The cases vary by different factors like cost, material from which they are manufactured. Hard case cases, soft and cushioned pouches, Leather Camera are the most preferred varieties. All these varieties are trusted much because of their durability and also for the safety they provide to the camera against dust, dirt. They also minimize the external damages like scratches and bumps to the maximum extent.

Each variety has its own special features. For instance, the hard case camera cases look elegant and smart. You can happily keep your camera inside the case without any another kind of protective material wrapped over it. As it is hard case, undoubtedly it gives bet protection. For Lumix the hard case cases are the most common ones that ensure good safety. This is also quite cheaper variety.

And another variety of camera cases that come for a long life time is leather pouch cases. These are quite expensive compared to the previous hard case type of cases but these leather camera cases just look awesome and quality is the best beneficiary part in these types of cases. These are manufactured from very good quality materials and these cases last for a long time in spite of wear and tear. Cushion type camera cases are good in quality and affordable too. They come with padded structures that safeguard the camera from external impacts.

By:Damon