What Digital SLR Photography Is All About

What Digital SLR Photography Is All About
by: Low Jeremy

The cameras of the past did not have that much clarity or depth. Even with the development of the lens which allows the user to focus in on images, this did not yet make photographers completely satisfied after a take.

Fortunately, the digital age has brought about the creation of the SLR camera. This single reflex unit allows the user to produce quality images from pressing the button till it comes out when it has been developed. The SLR is quite expensive. One unit costs about $5,000 and upgrading the lens to reach farther will be another expense. This is probably why many advise to have this insured in case this gets lost or damaged.

Here are some of the known brands of SLR camera’s worth checking out in the market.

1. The first is the Nikon D2x digicam. Though its features are almost the same like others in the market, it comes with a GPS recorder so that the person can remember when and where it was taken so this can be done again.

The pictures can be downloaded to a laptop so the pictures can be printed or developed in the store.

2. Another great SLR camera is the Canon EOS-1DS Mark 2 Digicam. This model enables the person to shoot in any environment. This has better shots per second than the first one mentioned which is great for shooting moving objects.

3. The Kodak DCS Pro is another camera worth checking out. This lightweight model can use Nikon accessories and lenses to be able to get those shots that other units cant.

These units are just one of many that are available in the market. The price of each are not that far apart so it will really depend on how comfortable the user is. Some hobbyists have used one brand for a number of years and decided to stick to it.

In order to keep these in good condition, the owner must also know how to properly store or clean these items. The cover must always be placed on the lens when not in use and should be wiped after each use.

Some people who are not happy with the cover can use a filter which is better protection from dirt, fingerprints or crashes.

A lot of stores usually sell the SLR camera with a bag but others usually buy a bigger one to hold other equipment and accessories.

The digital SLR camera is one innovation that is here to say. Though it may hurt the pocket in getting one, the shots taken will be rewarding.

About The Author
This content is provided by Low Jeremy. It may be used only in its entirety with all links included. For more information on photography & other useful information, please visit http://photography.articlekeep.com.

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Digital SLR Photography - How To Take Stunning, Lively And Ravishing Pictures

Digital SLR Photography - How To Take Stunning, Lively And Ravishing Pictures
by: Connie Fillmore

Photography is digital SLR photography, at least to any self-respecting photographer. Suggest otherwise, and he is sure to give you a piece of his mind and proceed to praise the virtues of digital SLR photography.

Digital SLR photography uses a digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera that uses a movable mirror placed between the lens and the film to project the image on to a focusing screen. Digital SLR photography churns out the most amazingly realistic photographs, in fact much better than the ones turned out by the conventional fixed lens cameras. But its prime appeal to photographers, both amateur and professional, is in the fact that he can work out a large amount of control over how his pictures end up as.

Digital SLR photography is all about customized photographs that are stunning to look at, to say the least. This is because the cameras come with extremely good lenses. This is why the discerning photographers are not miserly about getting a lens, frightfully expensive they may be.

However, digital SLR photography enthusiasts should never think that a swanky Nikon or a Canon is the passport to great photography. The apparatus notwithstanding, good photography depends a lot on the skills of the person brandishing the camera. The basics of digital SLR photography are not hard to pick up.

The first and foremost tip about digital SLR photography is to equip yourself with the nitty-gritty of lighting. If you are shooting outdoors during the day it is best to have the sun directly behind you. It is also essential that your subject also does not have to face the sun so that he has to squint. You should know that the best time to film landscapes, buildings and outdoor portraits is either dawn or the twilight hours.

If you want to impart the warmth of the rising or setting sun to your midday photo shoot, then a skylight or a warm filter is your key.

Tips to great digital SLR photography insist on maintaining control over the camera's flash property. To be precise, don't have your camera have the last word about where the flash should come on. Take the reins yourself and ensure that your photograph subjects are not lost in a maze of bright light.

Good photography, digital or analog, SLR or otherwise, is all about being able to use the filters right. You never know when that polarizer or the gradual filter or the skylight/UV filter might come to your rescue at times when the light situations are tricky.

The Macro Mode atop the camera just happens to be the most underrated and under-used feature. But unknown to many, this mode is great for taking enchanting close-ups of tiny objects.

Realistic and stunning digital photography is actually the norm with plethora of controls that come with modern day digital SLR cameras. And photography tips harp on tinkering with the controls to get a hang of the controls and the outcomes they produce.

Experimenting for instance, with really slow (30 seconds) extremely fast (1000th-8000th/second) shutter speeds can produce dramatic results. The ISO setting is another area for experimentation. In fact, high ISO values come in quite handy when you cannot use a flash in low light situations.

Get well up on your digital SLR photography tips and tricks and shoot at sight willingly.

About The Author
Connie Fillmore is a successful writer and publisher of photography related issues, for more informative articles go to http://www.digitalphotographyguy.com.

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How To Click It Right With The Best Digital Photography Camera

How To Click It Right With The Best Digital Photography Camera
by: Connie Fillmore

The digital photography camera has ushered in an absolute revolution in the world of photography. With its excess of futuristic features, the digital photography camera has also brought in considerable cost reduction of photography. No wonder, people are flocking to digital camera stores.

To elaborate, digital cameras make for easy storage and editing of pictures on the PC, you cut back on film costs with the reusable memory cards and innovative features like sound and video recording. Photography just had quite an interesting makeover. Delving into the intricacies of the entire digital camera mechanism is worthwhile so that the salesman doesn't lead you up the garden path with tall claims. And being well up on the features of your digital camera will also give you food to brag.

The first thing to know about your digital camera is the kind of CCD (Charged Couple Device) you have. This fancy-sounding device is actually the be-all and end-all of your photography unit and the pixel count in them is what that determines how good your snap is going to be.

It is also vital to know what pixels count to opt for. Anything upwards of 3-Megapixels is good for prints of 8 x 10 inches or larger, of course, the more the merrier. But if your requirement is minute 3 x 5 or 4 x 6 photos for the Web, then 1 or 2-megapixel camera will suffice admirably. On the other hand, nothing less than 5-megapixels should be on your minds if you plan to have prints of your digital stuff.

The Zoom feature is closer to your digital camera than any other feature. Optical zoom refers to the camera's capacity to magnify a subject. This zooming in or zooming out takes place within the lens itself and it is visible from the lens advancing and retracting just like the conventional film camera. This is one feature, which is best when you have it in plenty.

There are many who would swoop on a digital camera lured by its pixel count and optical zoom capacities. But the power consumption of a camera is also worth taking a peek into, for there are cameras with voracious appetites for batteries and you could well end up spending a fortune on them. So when you are buying a digital camera, ensure that it works on rechargeable batteries. A charger included in the package is a great buying option.

Stacking up on the memory card is a good idea if you are the traveling kind. A CompactFlash memory card, offering a lot of storage sizes ranging from 16MB to 1GB and greater compatibility with a large number of makes, is definitely a popular choice.

LCD monitors come in a variety of sizes and resolutions, besides the captivating ones that bend and twist at impossible angles. What you will go for of course depends on the kind of work you will be doing with the camera. If you are involved in on-site architectural work and it is shooting around angles that you are aiming at, then a moveable LCD is the one to go for. But the primary thing to take care of is that you don't have to peer too hard to make out what is on the screen.

These are the basic things that you look out for when purchasing a digital photography camera. Things when gone awry will virtually render your camera quite inefficient. There are certain other features of a digital photography camera that when present in the right dosage, make for some excellent photography sessions.

Scene modes, for instance. Having a choice helps, especially when you have not yet familiarized yourself with the intricacies of exposure, focus and shutter speeds.

A Red-eye reduction feature is quite a handy mechanism to have around when you shoot a lot of portraits. If red-eye is much of a bother, then opt for a camera with a hot-shoe connection, that is one that facilitates the installation of an external flash. A flash that is away from the lens reduces the incidence of red-eyes.

Be well up on the internal mechanism of a digital photography camera and enjoy your tryst with it.

About The Author
Connie Fillmore is a successful writer and publisher of photography related issues, for more informative articles go to http://www.digitalphotographyguy.com.

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Digital Cameras- Which One To Buy?

Digital Cameras- Which One To Buy?
by: Philip Russell

Make sure you know what you need from a digital camera before you buy!

You might be thinking about making the leap from a regular camera to a digital one but are unsure of what you need. This article should be able to clear up some of the finer points to help you make the best possible purchase for your money and needs. First, when looking at digital cameras, think about what you really want out of it. Do you want to save time and money on developing costs? You will definitely benefit with just about any digital camera on the market here.

Second, you may or may not know that digital cameras are the best way to go for most any household. The range of features available make a digital camera very cost effective and more than likely you can find the exact type of camera for your needs.

If you are not the best photographer and often end up getting back your developed pictures to find out that you have cut the head off your Aunt Mary, then relax, the digital camera is here to help. For this type of photographer, you will want a camera with a wide screen on the back. This way you see what you are taking a picture of and the best part about it is that you can see the picture seconds later instead of waiting until they are developed, which saves time and money.

If you were looking to print out your pictures to hang on the wall or send to relatives then you would want a digital camera with a high resolution. This is especially important if you tend to have your pictures enlarged.

On the other hand, if you tend to share picture by viewing them on your computer or only on the web, then you really don’t need to be concerned with buying a high resolution camera.

The Macro Feature would be something to look for in a digital camera if you tend to take close up pictures or love to shoot pictures of bugs, coins, or very small objects.

Another consideration is if you are going to be taking pictures of high speed objects or at sporting events. Then you would want to look for a fast burst rate. In addition if you are taking many pictures at night then you would be looking for ISO equivalents or sensitivity settings.

There are many factors in buying a digital camera and like so many events that take place in life, there seems to be a digital camera to match. Read up on the camera that you are considering buying before making the purchase. You just might save yourself some headaches by doing a little research before you buy.

About The Author
Philip is a logistic consultant and owner of http://www.discount-tech.com where you can find the best quality and price for wholesale electronics sold to the individual or company.

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What You Need To Know When Buying A Digital Camera

What You Need To Know When Buying A Digital Camera
by: Luke Cameron

If you are not technologically aware then purchasing a digital camera could be a difficult task for you. With so many options and features provided by different companies on various models, it is not easy to select the best. The best way out is to refer to the Consumer Reports provided about each and every product in the market so that you can judge the worth of the product. Just a little research before purchasing a digital camera could help you more than you can imagine. Trust me, this is the best approach one should follow as I myself is the sufferer because I didn’t followed this procedure when I purchased the digital camera. What I always thought was that you don’t need to be technologically aware to purchase such things, just select the mid priced product and be happy. But believe me that am not true.

The digital camera I purchased from a discount bargain store was of a local company. How foolish I was as I couldn’t differentiate between a digital camera and grocery items. Never ever purchase a digital camera from such stores. But I had purchased the digital camera so I had to use it.

On the very first day I realized that it was very difficult to use that piece of scrap. It was a complete user-unfriendly device as its shutter speed was very slow, around a picture in four seconds that nearly annoyed me and not to mention the time I had to spend to learn to use that weird object. To add on the problems even the initial picture required two second delay that confused me when to press the button and when not. Moreover, an anti-red-eye flash always appeared before the actual flash thus creating the problem. I can’t express the problem I faced to photograph even the still objects and adults with this digital camera.

Next time when I was out to purchase a camera what I did was exactly the right approach. Firstly, I did a complete research on the different models available of various companies and at what price. I also reviewed the customer reports on many digital cameras. Then I visited a studio and consulted the professional photographer before purchasing the camera. It was then I got the camera of my dreams, the perfect technological machine.

About The Author
Luke Cameron is owner of Gadgets Booth. - an online magazine offering news, tips and articles on Gadgets. His website can be found at: http://www.gadgetsbooth.com and http://www.technologybooth.com.

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5 Materials and Technologies That Just Might Eliminate Digital Camera Shutter Delay

5 Materials and Technologies That Just Might Eliminate Digital Camera Shutter Delay
by: John Young

Bob pushed the shutter release button and…NOTHING HAPPENED. The football passed into his son's hands and the actual photo he took was one of a cheerleader's pom-pom. Bob missed the touchdown too. He resisted an insane urge to slam the camera to the ground and jump on it. This was his first digital camera, and Bob had just experienced an unpleasant surprise. He had used film cameras all his life, but when his Yashica went into the shop a friend loaned him a digital camera. He naively decided to take some action shots and discovered the most maddening "feature" of digital cameras – the shutter delay.

MADDENING AND FRUSTRATING

Articles on this subject have attributed shutter delay to:

1. The camera's focus system

2. The time it takes the camera to digitally process the image

3. Reaction time of the photographer

Numbers one and three are lag times that most people using digital cameras are accustomed to. Most have used a film camera and know it needs a few milliseconds to focus.

The no-brainer solution is to reduce the aperture of the lens to increase depth of field, or aim the camera at the object you wish to be in focus and depress the shutter button half way in order to "tell" the camera what to focus on, then move the camera to center the image and depress it the rest of the way.

As far as human reaction time, well, it hasn't really changed much for users of film cameras, and people experienced in taking action shots usually get what they want.

So let's look at number 2, the time it takes to process the picture.

TIME TO DO THE PROCESSING

Processing the picture (so the camera can be ready for the next one) comes in several steps to move it from the image sensor to flash card storage:

1. Color corrections. The camera has to examine each and every Charge Couple Device (CCD) element on the photo sensor. It adds green, blue, and red to achieve the right color balance. For a 3 mega pixel camera, the processor has to make 9 million calculations.

2. Sharpening. This boosts the contrast by detecting and sharpening edges.

3. Compression. This process converts the 12 to 14 bits of each CCD sensor to 16 bits by "padding" the information and compressing it to 8 bits. This compresses the file size to 9 megabytes.

These steps require a tremendous amount of computational time. No wonder Bob missed his shot!

CATCHING THE ACTION

There are two ways of capturing action:

1. The "consecutive mode". If the camera has this mode, you can take a series of rapid shots moving through the event. This requires a camera with a large ‘buffer" to hold photos for processing.

2. Anticipating shots by depressing and holding down the shutter release prior to the event. This requires an ability to predict the future, something most of us don't possess.

THE FUTURE OF FASTER SHOOTING

Obviously this would all be simplified if micro processing were faster. Even with large buffers, the speed in which data is transmitted to the processor is prohibited by the rate at which data is conveyed from the CCD. Micro processing speed is the next bottleneck.

Faster clock rates and data transfer speeds would reduce or even eliminate "shutter lag" time. There are several technologies in the wings that offer hope:

1. Nanotube and nanowire technologies. These are both the offspring of "nanotechnology", the ability to make tiny machines at the "nano" level, a billionth of a meter in size rather than a millionth of a meter (micrometer) and offer hope for a 500 GHz clock rate or more.

2. DNA Yes, you heard me right. Computing based on DNA strands in which information is stored and processed.

3. Other materials

• Gallium Arsenide with much a faster speed has been used for years for military purposes.

• Silicon-Germanium chips increase the transfer of light signals to silicon. These traditionally have worked best at ultra cold temperatures, but many computer simulations have shown that they may be made to approach 1000 GHz (1 THz) at room temperature.

• Indium-antimonide. Much faster than silicon

•Optical transistors. A glass material known as chalcogenide becomes a switch as its refracting properties are changed. No need to translate those photons into anything else.

• Coated Viruses. The latest research involves coating viruses with a conducting material. Much higher speeds at the molecular level can be obtained. This will give a new meaning to the term "computer virus".

4. Parallel Processing As we've noticed lately with the war between Intel and AMD over the number of parallel processors crammed into a CPU, digital camera processing would benefit from parallel processors handling the focussing, sharpening and squeezing.

In addition, improvement in instructional efficiency by reducing the lines of code would make the whole process more efficient.

HOLD ON AND WAIT FOR THE FUTURE

The REAL solution to this maddening shutter delay appears to be in the material the processor is constructed of, as well as advancements in the software.

But we've got awhile to wait for it. Although a few alternate materials have been around for awhile, everything else is still in the research and development phase. Even when it finally trickles out of the labs, it will probably make your future digital camera cost around $10000 - $15000.

Quite a price tag for the ability to take pictures as fast as a film camera! Still…

Except for the lag, the digital camera has it all over film cameras, once the photo is captured by the memory card. The new technology will be worth the wait.

Digital camera owners are known for their ability to wait…as they desperately punch the shutter release trying to grab the fleeting smile of their new baby, or the football that lands in his hands eighteen years later, when he scores the winning touchdown.

About The Author
John Young is a writer and editor with a technical background living in California with his wife and cat Bear. Take a look at his new ezine “The Digital Zone” at http://www.pcreveal.com/digitalcamera.

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Digital Cameras- Which One To Buy?

Digital Cameras- Which One To Buy?
by: Philip Russell

Make sure you know what you need from a digital camera before you buy!

You might be thinking about making the leap from a regular camera to a digital one but are unsure of what you need. This article should be able to clear up some of the finer points to help you make the best possible purchase for your money and needs. First, when looking at digital cameras, think about what you really want out of it. Do you want to save time and money on developing costs? You will definitely benefit with just about any digital camera on the market here.

Second, you may or may not know that digital cameras are the best way to go for most any household. The range of features available make a digital camera very cost effective and more than likely you can find the exact type of camera for your needs.

If you are not the best photographer and often end up getting back your developed pictures to find out that you have cut the head off your Aunt Mary, then relax, the digital camera is here to help. For this type of photographer, you will want a camera with a wide screen on the back. This way you see what you are taking a picture of and the best part about it is that you can see the picture seconds later instead of waiting until they are developed, which saves time and money.

If you were looking to print out your pictures to hang on the wall or send to relatives then you would want a digital camera with a high resolution. This is especially important if you tend to have your pictures enlarged.

On the other hand, if you tend to share picture by viewing them on your computer or only on the web, then you really don’t need to be concerned with buying a high resolution camera.

The Macro Feature would be something to look for in a digital camera if you tend to take close up pictures or love to shoot pictures of bugs, coins, or very small objects.

Another consideration is if you are going to be taking pictures of high speed objects or at sporting events. Then you would want to look for a fast burst rate. In addition if you are taking many pictures at night then you would be looking for ISO equivalents or sensitivity settings.

There are many factors in buying a digital camera and like so many events that take place in life, there seems to be a digital camera to match. Read up on the camera that you are considering buying before making the purchase. You just might save yourself some headaches by doing a little research before you buy.

About The Author
Philip is a logistic consultant and owner of http://www.discount-tech.com where you can find the best quality and price for wholesale electronics sold to the individual or company.

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Decision Made On What Sort Of Digital Camera You Want

Decision Made On What Sort Of Digital Camera You Want
by: Allison Thompson

You have now decided to go a head and purchase a digital camera, but like many other electronic devices available to consumers now days the digital camera is changing all the time. You may find that for the same amount of money you would have spent a few months ago on a camera you will now get one with more and more features such as megapixels, storage space and zoom facilities. This article will hopefully provide you with a few hints and tips on what you should be looking for and how to choose the best camera for you. There are a number things that you will need to consider when making this all important purchase. Firstly you need to work out how much you are willing to spend, some can cost from as little as ten dollars to ones that will cost a thousand dollars or more. You will also need to decide what you will be using the camera for as well as how much you are going to spend. The best way of solving this is by writing down a few simple questions such as will I be using it to take family pictures? Will it be used to take photographs of the landscape? Will I be traveling a lot? Will I need it for taking lots of flash photography? By having these questions in mind it will make your choice of camera easier.

Now that you have decided on how much you want to spend and what it will be used for you can look at a range of potential cameras that fit in to your criteria and build up a list of the ones you are interested in and include details such as price and the features that each one has to offer.

Below I provide a list of features with a short explanation that should be included when you are making up a list of features for the cameras that you are interested in.

Firstly there are Megapixels. Many cameras now come with an ever increasing number of megapixels and many people ask if the more megapixels a camera has is better. Having more megapixels all really depends on whether your are going to print photographs (especially enlargements) or you want to zoom in and crop the fine detail out of large photographs. Or is it just that you want to look at them on your computer and may be occasionally print of a few small prints. I would suggest that you look at using a 2 megapixel camera for the latter as you will find that most computer screens have a resolution of 1024x768 which even when viewing a photograph on a full screen which equates to less than 1 megapixel. Even a photograph (4x6) printed off will have a DPI higher than 300 which will be more than enough to produce a high quality print.

However, if you plan to print enlargements of your photographs then you need to look at the different print sizes and what megapixels are required to produce high quality prints. The table provided below shows you the photograph size and the megapixel required.

Photo Size - Megapixel
4x6 - 2
5x7 - 3
8x10 - 7
11x14 - 14
16x20 - 28
20x30 - 54

However, if money is no object where the purchase of your camera is concerned then the more megapixels you have may out weigh other features that could be available to you. For example should you spend money on the extra megapixels or a better lense, or an external flash unit? Really, it all depends on how you camera will be used. So remember to decide what your camera will be used for and make the decision on what is more important to you based on this.

Next is the Zoom feature. In some cases it is very handy to have the use of a good quality zoom on your camera, especially say when you want to take a good quality portrait photo where the object/person’s face fills the complete photo frame, whilst when taking a photo of a group of people you want to make sure that everybody is in it.

You will find that there are two types of zoon now available, optical and digital. The optical zoom works by physically moving the cameras lense and changing the focal length of the picture. By changing the focal length you are able to make objects or subjects appear bigger than they are and that will fit the full photo frame. Whilst a digital zoom works by using built in software in the camera to clearly define a certain section of the photo that you are interested in taking. Then once this has been chosen the software inside will remove the rest of the photo surrounding the area and will then enlarge the chosen section and this will fit into a complete photo frame. Unfortunately the one downside of using a digital zoom is that the quality of the enlarged photo is less than that of the original photo taken.

So in conclusion if you are serious about taking photographs and not just to use it for taking those all important holiday snaps I would suggest you opt for the optical zoom and from a practical point of view a digital zoom should not be considered as a zoom lense at all.

However you need to be careful when looking at a camera you are thinking of buying as not always do the manufacturers stipulate whether the zoom figure specified is actually optical or digital. It can become quite confusing for those people who do not understand the difference between these two. So for example if a camera says it supports a 5X optical zoom and 10X digital zoom then is being advertised as a “10X zoom camera” you can see how the confusion can arise. A 10X digital zoom can be done to any camera just by using some simple PC software.

Once you have compared different cameras zooms then always compare their optical zoom capabilities as well. Really you can totally ignore the digital zoom figures that you will be provided with.

About The Author
Allison Thompson who lives in Spain and is a work at home mum has set up a site with her husband Mark that is specifically tailored to the needs of those interested in digital photography. If you would like to learn more then please visit http://www.photoreport.info.

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How To Master Digital Photography Basics

How To Master Digital Photography Basics
by: Connie Fillmore

With the advent of digital cameras, the cost of photography has plummeted considerably, with the result that there has been a surge of interest in the field. Greenhorns in this area however, need not fret. Sharpening up on your digital photography skills is easy, provided you have the basics at the tip of your tongues, or is it, at the tip of your lenses! Mastering the basics of digital photography, first and foremost involves knowing all about pixels and resolutions. These are the parameters that have a direct bearing, and quite a lion's share on the quality of the images being generated. The more the pixel count, the better the resolution or clarity of the picture and the better it turns out when enlarged. So it is obvious that the fastidious photographers prefer robust pixel values. However, with the market flooded with digital cameras of various makes, you can hope for a good bargain. Let us discuss a few basics of digital photography.

Zoom And Tele Lenses

Going digital has also meant that you can click away merrily at anything and everything under the sun. This will only help you get well up on the nitty-gritty of the zoom modes. The Optical Zoom of a camera is worth tinkering with. The "Telephoto" mode makes your subject appear larger while the "Wide Angle" mode is all about cramming a lot of a scene into your picture and hence the elements of the picture appear smaller.

Focusing

Toying with the controls of your digital camera is a good way of getting a hang about the different picture modes and hence be able to put them to good use. For instance, instead of relying on the instruction manual, see for yourself that the Portrait Mode actually sharpens your subject and de-focuses the background. For those who are not yet comfortable with the exposure, focus and flash parameters can take the help of the Auto Mode in the awkward initial stages.

Lighting

There is no such thing as a photography gene. Good photographers weave magic with their cameras, but this magic is all about getting the lighting and flash issues straightened in their photographs. Shooting in the early morning light is advisable if you want to avoid the harsh glare of the midday sun and in case of night photography, filming during the twilight hours or just as the moon is rising gives you the best results. You should not shoot with the sun directly in front of the lens.

Using the Flash

The flash is quite a lure for the novice photographer but results are not always satisfactory. This is because improper use of the flash function leads to the marring of good photos. In fact, the flash really leads to underexposure, and thus ungainly shadows in night photography. While you are using this feature, inch closer to your subject and thus make sure that all the areas of the picture are equally lighted up.

Shutter Speed

The shutter speed is one area that many newcomers to digital photography is quite oblivious to. But you will be amazed at the dramatic results that mere varying the speeds can bring about. The rule of thumb: fast shutter speeds "freeze" the action, while slow values will result in a blur. Slow shutter speed also let more light enter into the camera, so this is an option worth considering when you need to shoot in low light conditions.

The basics of digital photography are not hard to master. And being well versed in them will help you capture reality in all its essence.

About The Author
Connie Fillmore is a successful writer and publisher of photography related issues, for more informative articles go to http://www.digitalphotographyguy.com.

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Digital Photography Tip - Which One To Follow

Digital Photography Tip - Which One To Follow
by: Connie Fillmore

Itching to churn out photographic masterpieces? Then a digital camera is a handy and inexpensive aide to your photography cruises. Digital cameras combine a range of features to ensure that you capture the scenes and moments of life in all their stunning reality. But to expound a popular myth, a frightfully expensive digital camera is not a guarantee to skillful digital photography. Remember the phrase about the sloppy workman who always blamed his tools! Let the tips on digital photography come to your rescue.

Tempting Tips to Dazzling Digital Photography
Seasoned digital photographers are unanimous on one thing: they honed their photography skills mostly by tinkering with the camera and taking a whole lot of trash shots in the beginning. Thus after you have acquired your camera, fiddle with it to your heart's content and snap at anything and everything under the sun. Tips to increase your digital photography proficiency levels include the following:

- Flip through the instructor's manual and know your camera by heart. In particular, be aware of its potentials and limitations. For instance, most digital cameras come equipped with different scene modes to complement varying settings. A thorough knowledge about them will help you to come up with the optimum results.

- Pack in a sizeable memory card into your camera. This will enable you to shoot at the camera's highest resolution and come up with top-notch pictures. Also think of the logic, if you have paid through your nose to get a 8-megapixel camera why on earth should you be stingy about making it go all the way only for want of a voluminous memory card.

- Most tenderfoots with the digital camera have a hard time with keeping the camera still while shooting. The result is pictures where the Leaning Tower of Pisa looks upright while all other towers look inclined and about to topple over. This is especially true when these amateur photographers are using their LCD for composing the photos. The best way to counter this is to take multiple shots with varying angles of a single scene. One is bound to turn out right. Practice will make you perfect.

- For acquainting yourself with the basics of lightning, you do not need to attend workshops and seminars. Just remember that if the sun is behind the subject, the photograph will turn out to be a silhouette and if you intend to capture the shot with the subject facing the sun, be prepared for narrowed eyes and a little bit unnatural looking photograph. An interesting variation would be rim lighting, wherein you can have the sun light up the hair of the subject from a side.

- Let not your flash shots be only flashes in the pan! Make it a habit to take good and discernible photographs in the flash mode and for this you need to stand a bit close to your subject when using the fill flash outdoors (most in-built flashes have a range of 10-feet or less). This way you can ensure an even exposure all the elements in the scene.

- Explore the Macro Mode and add a new, exhilarating dimension to your photographs. But as you maneuver this mode, it is important to remember that you are dealing with very shallow field depths. So focus on the part of the object that you deem most significant and let the remaining parts go soft. Sit back and marvel at the result!

- Be an actual part of the picture you are taking. And for this you need to use the self-timer on the camera, which just happens to be the most slightly used feature of a digital camera. A self-timer is also a great way of ensuring that there is no jerking of the camera while you zero in on the correct exposure parameter.

- Don't always go by the settings that come with the camera. You will be missing out on a lot of exciting and visually appealing openings. For instance, the white balance setting is usually "auto", but try adjusting it to "cloudy" when taking shots out in the sun. You will be amazed by the results, more precisely, the warm tones of the image. This is because the "auto" white balance mode leans on the "cool" side.

The road to National Geographic status photography is not easy. But these tips on digital photography will just give the impression that you have arrived on the scene.

About The Author
Connie Fillmore is a successful writer and publisher of photography related issues, for more informative articles go to http://www.digitalphotographyguy.com.

Read more!

How To Manage Digital Photography Lighting

How To Manage Digital Photography Lighting
by: Connie Fillmore

Photography blends science with art. The photographer is the artist who engraves his creation with light and shade. Science has gifted the artist a technically advanced digital camera for him to captivate life with it. But he must know to decipher the codes of light

And, Let There Be Light...

Natural light sources like the sun and the moon are considered the best light sources. These lights often invade indoors and make natural shots come alive. Men have created artificial lights like the ordinary bulb, the tungsten halogen lamp or the bright photoflood.

There are various types of lighting, the photographer can employ. The most common is the Directional lighting provided by flash, tungsten or several sources and can be used from the front, back or side.

Front lighting is the most in vogue but it reveals every detail. The light is at the back of the photographer beaming at the face of the subject highlighting every detail. This often results in an unexciting and flat look of your subjects. Another technique is to mystify your subject by lighting up from side. The main illumination from side adds interest and vigor with presence of dark shadows.

In Back lighting the source light remains in the rear of the subject shining in the face of the camera. So, you must be very careful while using this mode otherwise the subject will appear like a silhouette. The main advantage here is, you will be able to capture the natural expressions of your subject in an outdoor shoot, as he will not squint facing bright light.

You can employ Cross lighting where strong directional light comes from both sides. But this method is only suitable for studios with bright flash or tungsten lights.

Lighting For Digital Photography

Digital cameras may offer a wide range of easy lighting modes but there are challenges for the artist in his path to perfection. You must adopt the trial and error method and acquire the knowledge of lighting.

Most digital cameras have preset digital photography lighting modes or 'scenes' for different lighting situation. There is the indoor mode to click without flash, which is particularly useful in art galleries or museums, the night and portrait mode allows you to take pictures of your subject with a gleaming backdrop at night using a slower shutter speed.

The digital cameras provide an automatic setting for white balancing .You can determine the baseline white in your image against which, other colors will be rendered. Your camera may have a histogram to evaluate exposure in different digital photography conditions. Most cameras have various options like daylight, cloudy, tungsten and more.

What Is Auxillary Lighting?

If you want to create art using light and shadow, the Flash unit alone is not enough. Here, auxiliary lighting comes in. If you decide to shoot portraits or product shots in a studio then auxiliary lighting is not optional but necessary.

For great results use head and kicker lights. Flashlights do not generate heat like floods and spots, so are more suited for portraits. Make sure the flash suits your digital camera. If you want to shoot still shots or product shots, continuous tungsten light is the cheapest and best. A range of wattage bulbs and reflectors will help you control the intensity and direction of light too.

If you don't have money you can rent lights. Top studios have various assortments of flash units, flood and spotlights.

How to use light

Light is made up of all colors. If seen through a prism it bursts into different colors. You are free to experiment with the rainbow. Artificial lights have their own characteristics. The photographer can utilize different light sources. You can alter white setting for a different effect. Most digital cameras have color setting modes to achieve accuracy of the colors.

Direction of light is important in digital photography. People look best in diffused sidelights and backlight produces a halo effect while overhead lighting produces sharp contrast of light and shadows. Strength of light is also an essential factor. You can have placid effect from diffused lighting and sharpness from strong light.

Indoor lighting gives you ample scope to shoot nice pictures. You can assemble light as per your choice and can even harness sunlight when it enters your house to soften your image.

Outdoor shots are more challenging. It leaves you at the mercy of Mother Nature. While landscape looks good in soft light, the wildlife is captivating with fine details in bright light. So photographers try to capture wildlife just before dusk or before dawn.

In digital cameras, you do not need to worry about ISO film speed. Most digital cameras have preset ISO setting. However, experimentation is the perfect way to curb imperfection. So inflame your imagination and hone your skill. You are ready to enter the luminous empire of photography.

About The Author
Connie Fillmore is a successful writer and publisher of photography related issues, for more informative articles go to http://www.digitalphotographyguy.com.

Read more!

Basic Skills In Digital Photography

Basic Skills In Digital Photography
by: Low Jeremy

Photography blends science with art. The photographer is the artist who engraves his creation with light and shade. Science has gifted the artist a technically advanced digital camera for him to captivate life with it. But he must know to decipher the codes of light

And, Let There Be Light...

Natural light sources like the sun and the moon are considered the best light sources. These lights often invade indoors and make natural shots come alive. Men have created artificial lights like the ordinary bulb, the tungsten halogen lamp or the bright photoflood.

There are various types of lighting, the photographer can employ. The most common is the Directional lighting provided by flash, tungsten or several sources and can be used from the front, back or side.

Front lighting is the most in vogue but it reveals every detail. The light is at the back of the photographer beaming at the face of the subject highlighting every detail. This often results in an unexciting and flat look of your subjects. Another technique is to mystify your subject by lighting up from side. The main illumination from side adds interest and vigor with presence of dark shadows.

In Back lighting the source light remains in the rear of the subject shining in the face of the camera. So, you must be very careful while using this mode otherwise the subject will appear like a silhouette. The main advantage here is, you will be able to capture the natural expressions of your subject in an outdoor shoot, as he will not squint facing bright light.

You can employ Cross lighting where strong directional light comes from both sides. But this method is only suitable for studios with bright flash or tungsten lights.

Lighting For Digital Photography

Digital cameras may offer a wide range of easy lighting modes but there are challenges for the artist in his path to perfection. You must adopt the trial and error method and acquire the knowledge of lighting.

Most digital cameras have preset digital photography lighting modes or 'scenes' for different lighting situation. There is the indoor mode to click without flash, which is particularly useful in art galleries or museums, the night and portrait mode allows you to take pictures of your subject with a gleaming backdrop at night using a slower shutter speed.

The digital cameras provide an automatic setting for white balancing .You can determine the baseline white in your image against which, other colors will be rendered. Your camera may have a histogram to evaluate exposure in different digital photography conditions. Most cameras have various options like daylight, cloudy, tungsten and more.

What Is Auxillary Lighting?

If you want to create art using light and shadow, the Flash unit alone is not enough. Here, auxiliary lighting comes in. If you decide to shoot portraits or product shots in a studio then auxiliary lighting is not optional but necessary.

For great results use head and kicker lights. Flashlights do not generate heat like floods and spots, so are more suited for portraits. Make sure the flash suits your digital camera. If you want to shoot still shots or product shots, continuous tungsten light is the cheapest and best. A range of wattage bulbs and reflectors will help you control the intensity and direction of light too.

If you don't have money you can rent lights. Top studios have various assortments of flash units, flood and spotlights.

How to use light

Light is made up of all colors. If seen through a prism it bursts into different colors. You are free to experiment with the rainbow. Artificial lights have their own characteristics. The photographer can utilize different light sources. You can alter white setting for a different effect. Most digital cameras have color setting modes to achieve accuracy of the colors.

Direction of light is important in digital photography. People look best in diffused sidelights and backlight produces a halo effect while overhead lighting produces sharp contrast of light and shadows. Strength of light is also an essential factor. You can have placid effect from diffused lighting and sharpness from strong light.

Indoor lighting gives you ample scope to shoot nice pictures. You can assemble light as per your choice and can even harness sunlight when it enters your house to soften your image.

Outdoor shots are more challenging. It leaves you at the mercy of Mother Nature. While landscape looks good in soft light, the wildlife is captivating with fine details in bright light. So photographers try to capture wildlife just before dusk or before dawn.

In digital cameras, you do not need to worry about ISO film speed. Most digital cameras have preset ISO setting. However, experimentation is the perfect way to curb imperfection. So inflame your imagination and hone your skill. You are ready to enter the luminous empire of photography.

About The Author
Connie Fillmore is a successful writer and publisher of photography related issues, for more informative articles go to http://www.digitalphotographyguy.com.

Read more!