Portrait Photography Tips

Usually budding photographers, as well as those who have already been shooting for awhile, are usually wanting the same thing. They want to shoot admirable photographs that create the "wow" response. It is not often an straightforward thing to undertake, since beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Yet, it is not impossible, and rather than sticking to rules, sometimes it is necessary to break them. Be casual and brazenly follow your gut to come up with that exceptional photograph that makes everyone stop and take notice.

1. Experiment with Lighting - The possibilities are endless with lighting. You are hindered only by your imagination and aptitude to be creative. There is no good and bad. So go ahead and mess with the lighting. You may surprise yourself. Back-light, sidelight, silhouette, the possibilities are unbounded.
2. Don't Stage the Shot - Photographing candid pictures is often better than posing the subject. People, and kids in particular are inclined to tense up and hide rather than reveal their personality when the picture is staged and they are required to pose. Shoot your grown-ups while they work or toddlers while they play. Try to capture them reacting normally to their environment.
3. Vary the Frame of Reference - More often than not portraits are done with the camera at eye level. Adjust the aspect by varying the angle from which you are photographing. Get up high over your subject for one effect. From that site you may be able to behold an even more refreshing scene. Mess around with your composition.
4. A Part of the Whole - Try focusing on just a part of the scene, for example, instead of photographing the head and shoulders of your subject, shoot their back, or their hands, or maybe even a shoulder with a special tattoo, keeping the face in shadow. Be bold and dramatic. Sometimes what is left out of the scene is as important as what is left in.
5. Mess around with the Eyes - Eye contact or the angle in which the eyes are tending powerfully affects the effect of the portrait. Looking directly into the camera isn't always the most pleasing way to capture a subject. It may be more pleasing to have the person look away from the camera, drawing those who look at the resulting photo to wonder what's there, off camera, unseen. But be careful how you do this, because drawing the viewer's eyes to the side also takes their eyes off your subject.
6. Variation on a Theme - Partially covering your subject in order to focus on one particular property works well too. In other words, concealing a lady in a shawl leaving only her eyes visible and looking at the camera. Possibly making the shawl match the eyes of the subject making for a dramatic color effect.
7. Composition Rules - Composition rules as described in these portrait photography tips, are made to be followed and broken. The rules are great to know and to use, but stretching them, or propelling to their limits makes for a more dramatic portrait. Learn the rules, get comfortable using them, then learn to break them in order to achieve a more dramatic result.
8. Move the Subject - Stunning portraits happen when you take the subject out of his or her comfort zone. Make the subject move. Put them in clothing or in a setting where you wouldn't ordinarily find them. Surround them with stuff that says who they are, but make them react differently to it. For instance, put them in business clothing in an office, but have them jump up and down or read a book upside down. Again, be artistic.
9. Staying Focused within the Frame - Namely, have your subject holding something, like a woman holding a toddler, or a child grasping an item assists in keeping the viewer's eyes focused inside the frame and on the subjects. It creates a second point of focus and helps to create a story within the frame with the main subject.
10. Using Props - Enhance your shot by creating another focal point with a prop. For example, if you are photographing a doctor, have them wear a pair of scrubs or hold a skull. Be careful not to let the prop dominate the picture, let it be part of the picture telling part of the story.
The prospects for taking WOW photographs are limited only by your capability to think outside the box. Know the rules, know how to work them, then learn how to break them for a more alluring portrait. Finally, take a series of shots... not just one... shoot often and quick... sometimes, in order to get what you were looking for.

Nikon D90

The Nikon D90 is a digital single lens reflex which is capable of excellent cinematic results, thanks to its high definition movie shooting function. This is further enhanced by the optical quality and selection of lenses. We achieved absolutely breathtaking image fidelity, much thanks to the 12.3 megapixel DX-format CMOS imaging sensor along with Nikon’s image processing techniques.

Fast moving scenes were captured really well, thanks to its fast 0.15ms power-up and split second 65ms shooting lag. Image and movie playback is done easily due to its high resolution, 1700 wide angle LCD monitor. As I take a lot of photos of people, I found the accurate face recognition system, with 11 point autofocus to be a very important feature of D90. It works really well even when taking pictures in poor lighting conditions.
D90 has a considerable heavier body than other SLRs I have tried. It feels really heavy at 1 pound, 10 ounces. In my opinion, the shutter durability and dust prevention system are better than that of its predecessor D80. D90 is easy to hold and the layout of its controls is easily understandable. Additional features observed in the shooting controls include an expansion of Active D-Lighting parameters, nine slots for custom Picture Control settings, and advanced scene modes which has Picture Controls and Active D-Lighting.
It has wireless flash controls and high speed flash sync features. It can automatically program itself to shift to slower shutter speeds when the camera knows a VR lens is attached.

Good:

• All features exhibit high performance.
• It has a nice viewfinder incorporated inside a solid, well-constructed body.
• Contrast detection autofocus with face detection is very accurate.
• It has a large sensor enabling it to control depth of field with high precision.
• Details within shadows can be controlled thus keeping the high contrast situations in check.
• It has an in-built ultrasonic image sensor cleaning.
• D90 can record movie quality film clips at up to 720p high definition in Motion JPEG format.

Bad:

• The implementation of D90’s video capturing capability is not complete because of many limitations like recording is possible for only 5 minutes, exposure is fixed for the length of the clip, it has monaural sound, and focusing is manual only in the video mode.
• The kit lens is not as sharp as its competitors, since the zoom ring is a bit too stiff.

Bottom line:

On the whole, Nikon D90 is an interesting camera. At current prices, the D90 is competitively priced compared to other manufacturers. The quality of images are good, the colors are accurate and saturated. The quality of recorded movie clips through D90 isn’t up to the mark. I also give it high credits because of the cheer shutter and processing speed which gives a great shooting experience and superb quality images.

What is More Important? - Camera Body, Or Lens?

What are important things to know when deciding which photography equipment to get?

When I got interested in photography, I had absolutely no idea about which equipment to get. It was because there were so many different kinds of cameras to choose from, and not to mention all different kinds of lenses. Many of the people who are starting out on photography really do not know what kinds of equipment to get. It is because the world of photography is changing so fast that it is evolving as you read this article.

Compared to 10 years ago, the world of photography took a new form on how to capture the moments. The new introduction of digital sensors made the film to be obsolete, and made a film division of a global company like Agfa to discontinue its film line not too long ago. Some of the major producers of film camera even discontinued their lines of film cameras.

I started photography long before the digital cameras started to surface on the consumer market. So, I had to buy film cameras. I still do enjoy using film cameras and will continue to do so as long as the films are available in the market. It is because there is this true enjoyment of developing your own film in the darkroom that many people who started on photography with digital do not know about.

Although many people are already used to the digital cameras, but they do not really know what it is that they need to get when it comes to getting the equipments for serious photography. Most of the people just talk about how many mega-pixels the cameras have, and have no idea on what kind of camera they got. So, I will explain them to you so that you can make right decisions on getting the right camera equipments for you.

This is what most of the people do. They just see the picture on the display, and they are very happy with the image that they see on the screen. But, if you are serious about photography, then you should know that what you see on the screen is never the same with the pictures you are going to get. It is because of the quality of the camera equipments determines how the pictures are going to look like. Of course, there are many other factors that determines how to pictures are going to look. But, camera equipments are what you can control to create beautiful pictures.

There are basically three different types of cameras. They are point and shoot cameras, rangefinder cameras, and SLR (Single Lens Reflect) cameras. If you want to be serious with photography, then I personally recommend SLR cameras, and here is why.

The point and shoot cameras are what you see most of the times with other people. These cameras are basically computed image capturing devices. Some of them actually have built-in zoom lens and do more things then typical point and shoot cameras. Personally, I would not even call these as cameras, because they use digital sensors not like the old point and shoot film cameras where the images are being embedded onto the film which sometimes you can still get very high quality pictures. Most of the times, the point and shoot digital cameras have low quality digital imaging processors that the end result is not even worth the time for making a print. On this kind of camera, you basically have no control or very little control on how the pictures are being taken. You should stay away from this kind of cameras because you have basically no control on how you want your pictures to look like.

Next is rangefinder cameras, and I do not like them because it is a hybrid between point and shoot and SLR together. You have the control on focal lengths which basically is the ability to shoot different distances by changing lenses, but have approximate view on what you are really taking pictures of. It is because you are not seeing what the camera is taking pictures of. You are seeing through this open slot on the corner to take the pictures of. I can not compose my picture correctly with this type of cameras, so I do not own one of these cameras.

The one that I recommend is SLR cameras, and it is because you have the full control of what you can really control. The more you are able to control how the pictures are being taken, the more you will have better pictures. If you like film and know how to use film, then go on the internet and you will plenty of great used professional film camera equipments for very low price. On film cameras, you don't have to get the best of the best because the images are being captured on the film. So, just get mid level to professional level according to your budget. I do recommend Nikon because their lenses are good compare to their prices, and you can use the old Nikon lenses to any new Nikon bodies. This is very important because you will save lots of money when you decide to get more serious. Old canon lenses are not compatible to new Canon bodies, so I would stay away.

For those who chose to go digital, then you have to get the best and spend some serious dollars. With Nikon, you have to get at least D200 or better. It is because when you are taking pictures, the sensor is recording the images. If you get a cheaper digital camera, then you will be spending lots of money upgrading cameras as you become more and more serious. On digital cameras, it is not all about mega-pixels. It is about quality of the pixels and how the camera is recording the data from the sensor. Cheaper digital cameras, quality of the image is so dramatically different then the high end ones that you will be able to notice the differences when you compare the pictures side by side. That is the reason why I bought Nikon D3 when I had Nikon D2X which I upgraded from D1X.

I got these cameras because I am a professional, and I had to get these cameras to deliver highest quality. But if you are starting your path as a serious photographer, then go buy a used high end digital camera. It is because digital is keep getting updated and when you decide to upgrade, you would not lose too much money selling the old one to get a newer one.

Also, it is very crucial to get the faster lenses. I recommend spending more money on lenses then camera bodies. It is because camera lenses are what brings the images to your film or sensor. Don't be frugal on lenses! Get the best lenses possible. For a starter, I would recommend lenses with minimum F3.5 to F4. If you are really serious, then get F2.8. You will see that bodies will change, but the lenses will be there for you as long as you do photography. I would recommend 28-70mm F2.8 if you have digital camera with 1.5 crop factor or DX format, and 70-200mm F2.8 if you have full frame digital camera or FX format. Just having one of these lenses according to the camera body you got, you will be in pretty good shape just starting out.

Many people are saying "You must have 35mm or 50mm if you are using 35mm camera!", but I find that to be just a waste of money getting those lenses which you most likely would not use unless you always want to capture everything wide.

I will post more helpful stuff later...

I hope this helped you guys.

Digital camera binoculars

As any binocular enthusiast knows, there are all kinds of binoculars to fit just about every need out there. There are waterproof binoculars for aquatic sports and hobbies, night vision binoculars for hunting or observing nocturnal wildlife, compact binoculars for travel, and tons of other types in between. One of the newest types of binoculars available are camera binoculars.

Digital camera binoculars are a fairly new addition to the binocular market, but are gaining in popularity. They combine the ability to see objects at a distance with the ability to capture them digitally, so you can capture exciting moments and share them with friends and family via e-mail or photo sharing sites like Flickr, or include them on your own Web site.

Camera binoculars work much the same way regular digital cameras do. Depending on the model you choose, camera binoculars can offer from one to four megapixels. The more megapixels, the better the photo resolution. Like digital cameras, some camera binoculars have liquid crystal display (LCD) screens, so you don't have to actually look through the binoculars to see what you're photographing. The LCD screen allows you to easily focus and center the image you want to photograph.

Most camera binoculars have a magnification of 7x to 10x, which is good for general viewing. Some even offer the ability to record video in addition to still photos. Whether they're set up for photos or video or both, camera binoculars will come with a cable that allows you to connect the optics to your computer to retrieve all the images you record with them.

Some camera binocular models have a slot for a memory card, making the transfer of data even easier and more convenient. Most also include about 16MB of internal memory, so if you forget the memory card, you can still get a few photos if the need arises. As with a digital camera, it's a good idea to carry extra memory cards with you. When you're out on the trail, or at a concert or other event, you want to make sure you have enough space to store all the photos you want. The worst thing is to have to delete photos to make room for new ones. Don't get caught in that situation. Memory cards aren't that expensive, and you can store them in the binocular case.

Speaking of cases, it's a good idea to have one for any pair of binoculars, but especially for camera binoculars. They have more electronics and mechanisms than standard binoculars, which could be damaged if the binoculars fall or are bumped with other objects when they're stored. Binocular cases will protect your investment, and ensure your optics last for many years to come.

If you really want to go all out and combine binoculars with digital camera technology, there are some high end models out there that offer the best of both worlds. Some camera binocular models offer a keypad specifically for controlling the camera. It gives you more control over the photos you take, and the quality of the images. They may also include auto focus, which is great for wildlife viewing and photographing. When an animal appears in your view, you may not have time to focus and get everything just right to snap the picture before the animal disappears again. Depending on how you intend to use your camera binoculars, it may be worth paying a little more for more features and easier use.

Derek Robinson is a keen outdoorsman who contributes regularly for many websites including The Binocular Site which is the premier consumer site about binoculars, monoculars, spotting scopes and much more at http://www.thebinocularsite.com

Making Money from your Photos for Beginners

The best, fastest and potentially most profitable way of making money from the photos you have taken over they years is to simply submit them to stock agencies that sell them for use in commercials and ad campaigns. The easiest of the agencies to enter are the "microstock" agencies. Agencies selling images at low price, but at a high volume. I am currently the world's top selling microstock photographer and yes it is quit profitable, in fact I make more then 1mil USD per year from royalties. The purpose of this post is to give you a two minute, super quick overview of the landscape of microstock and a list of the microstock agencies that are worth submitting to.

The non-exclusive microstock distribution channel (submitting to a lot of agencies, such as I do) still remains the best income provider, despite the higher commission of the exclusivity offers out there.

Finding where to sign up at these agencies can sometimes be a little difficult, so I have provided some names to sign-up with at the bottom of this post.

The income speaks for itself but you should always take into consideration the time it takes to organize, upload, attach model releases and assign categories at the different agencies. Some agencies have made it extremely easy to upload and organize your images, including Crestock and 123RF. Other agencies have not thought so hard about this aspect and it can therefore be quite time consuming to get your files submitted for inspection. Files have to be categorized and organized before they are evaluated by the editors where they may or may not get rejected.

If you have just spent hours organizing your files and a lot of them get rejected afterwards it can be quite frustrating.

The most cost-efficient (time spent uploading vs income) agency to upload to is Shutterstock, followed by StockXpert and Fotolia. The least cost-efficient is Snapvillage and Istock. This does not mean that you should not submit to these agencies, but just that you should take this into consideration if you have to do all the uploading yourself. The Yuri Arcurs Distribution Network does keywording as well as uploading for very good stock photographers joining microstock. Good Luck in microstock!

What Should I Shoot and What Sells Well?

Branding Microstock is filled with loads of imagery and literally millions of images so if you don't stand out you will be "lost in the crowd" completely. Branding yourself by having a unique style that is recognizable and consistent is probably the most important aspect in microstock and also something that makes it so hard for traditional shooters to enter micro.

You cannot underestimate the importance of branding yourself! If you do, you will wonder, "why am I not selling anything?" The reason is that you have not made enough of an impression on buyers so that they go directly for your images when searching for material to buy.

So here is the breakdown: Step by step plan for getting started

1. Find something you can shoot effortlessly. Your hobby, the sports you do, your friends, family and their life. Shoot the things you know something about, so you can make it look real, natural and genuine. Write down the things you should be able to shoot quite effortlessly.
2. Decide on a style and a limited range of subject matter and stick to it. Microstock is getting competitive so specialize yourself in your field so you can become very good at shooting it. A shoot never goes quite as planned and you often have to "play the hand you are dealt" to get some good shots out of it. You can do this with the things you know about from before but not very well with things you have little or no experience with. Write down the style and subject matter that you want to go with. Brainstorm!
3. Shoot something new and find your spot instead of duplicating successful images. Duplicating is probably the fastest way to be unpopular in microstock and because microstock agencies have forums (unlike traditional agencies), this can be highly damaging for your branding. Don't do it!

There are a few overall categories of subject matter that are neglected in microstock:

• Travel photography, special places and extreme nature
• Really, really old people
• Contemporary fashion
• Policemen, military and state officials from all over the world
• Pictures of currency other than Euros and Dollars
• Aerial pictures
• Stylistic still-life in soft and low contrast colors
• Fantastic panorama shots in high quality
• Motion-blurred and lively pictures
• Artistically executed lifestyle, edgy
• Natural looking people, that don't look like microstock models

There are a few over-represented categories where you really have to know what you are doing to compete efficiently.

• Businesspeople (too easy to put a group of people in suits around a table)
• Isolated people on white (too easy to duplicate and too many shooting it)
• Anything with a laptop
• Nudes
• Spa (requires so little set-up and every model in the world wants a spa shoot)
• Medical (Too easy: a scrub and a model)
• Backgrounds and "lonely tree" kind of pictures
• Beach pictures (Really too easy)

Jacob Yuri Wackerhausen writes articles for selling your photos online, buy photos, buy images, buy stock, best stock photography and stock photography sites.

Fujifilm FinePix A303 Digital Camera

Two years ago I purchased my first digital camera. At that time, prices for a 3.0 and higher mega pixel camera were around $350. Since then, as with all electronic gadgets, prices have dropped significantly while the mega pixels have gone up. I chose the Fujifilm's A303 digital camera, which has fared well for me, so permit me the opportunity to tell you why.

I desperately needed a digital camera when my web business took off. On many different occasions I found myself wanting to take a picture of a person, place or thing and having to rely on a 35mm camera. Trouble was I wasn't very good at taking pictures. Usually my subject came out blurry or the picture needed cropping. Yes, getting pictures developed on disk would have resolved the latter problem, but it was the former problem -- blurry pictures -- that was causing me the most grief. If only I could see "on the spot" how my picture turned out. If it turned out poorly, I could reshoot. Naturally, a digital camera presented to me something that no 35mm camera could offer; I made the purchase of a 3.2 mega pixel camera by Fujifilm after considerable shopping around and reading product reviews online.

Packed within a tough grey shell, the A303 is lightweight and can fit easily into your pant pockets. The camera's controls are simple to figure out and include a Menu/OK button, Back button, viewfinder, viewfinder lamp, a display buttion and LCD monitor to preview pictures without looking through the viewfinder or to review pictures already taken. A round dial in the back of the camera features a self timer mode where you can set the camera and ten seconds later have the picture go off. Great for when you want to get the entire family's picture and no one is around to take it. There are also close up modes, still image, playback and movie modes. The movie mode results in a fairly choppy and short film, but it is a neat feature to have nevertheless.

The standard camera comes equipped with a 16mb picture card. Most people will find that inadequate, so I paid a little bit extra and bought the 64mb upgrade. I also purchased rechargeable AA batteries -- it takes two -- and a recharger. You will sap your batteries quickly if you take 30-40 or more pictures at a time, so the recharger makes sense. I purchased the accompanying Fujifilm carrying case to house my other supplies.

Pictures come out clear and in two years of picture taking I have not experienced a single problem with the camera. At 3.2 mega pixels the pictures are more than adequate as virtually everything I do gets posted to the internet. Supposedly you do not need more mega pixels when posting/viewing pictures online. With the included USB cable and HP software, you will be uploading pictures to the internet in no time.

If there are any drawbacks with the A303 there is just one and it is a glaring problem: the time between shots can seem endless! I suppose the elapsed time is only about ten seconds, but it seems like an eternity especially compared to 35mm cameras. Technological improvements have closed the gap considerably with newer models, but if you need this camera to take a group of shots quickly you will be disappointed.

All in all, the A303 is a very good camera. I give it a 4-star rating for ease of use, price, and dependability.

Matt manages the Corporate Flight Attendant Community at http://www.corporateflyer.net and http://www.cabinmanagers.com in addition to the Aviation Employment Board at http://www.aviationemploymentboard.net