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Tips For Photographing Your Cat

Every cat is proud of his or her friendly feline.  Cats make perfect subjects in which to photograph.  You can catch your cat and a variety of interesting and fun poses when you know how to take pictures of your cat. If you are interested in photographing your cat, here are some tips to help you get the best shots. 




Catch your Cat Napping
Nothing looks quite as relaxing as a cat taking a nap. Cats do sleep a lot, so if you take a picture of your cat napping, you have plenty of opportunity.  The best time to take a picture of your cat is to catch it when it is asleep.  You can take close-ups of your cat either as it sleeps, or gently wake your cat up for a relaxed look. For a nice shot of your cat, try gently rubbing your cat’s belly right when you want to snap a picture. This will encourage your cat to roll over on its back. 

Natural Sunlight
When you think of a sleeping cat, where do most cats enjoy sleeping? You can usually find a cat napping in the sun. If you have a window that gets full or filtered sunlight during the day, then try to open the curtains or blinds to encourage cap napping. As soon as you see your cat sit in the sun, try to take a few pictures. When the sunlight is good, try a few shots without using your flash. This will give your picture a nice natural glowing effect. In addition, natural light often works best anyway because if you use a bright flash, your cat will usually close his or her eyes or the eyes could end up looking red.




Forget Posing and Planning
Cats are much for posing. You cannot really ask that a cat stay and sit. When you take pictures of your cat, you should always have your camera on hand for candid shots. Look at your cat during the day and determine your cat’s schedule and favorite places. Work around your cat and you will get better pictures.  Try to be spontaneous, and above all stay patient. It may take several tries to get a couple of great shots, but posing your cat rarely works.

I have tried to get my three cats to pose and let me take a picture, but even though they sleep together, play together, they cannot stand or in this sit next to each without someone starting something. If I had three people to help and set back out of the picture, it might work. As you can see, cat’s needs to do what cats do and take your pictures that way. 

Get Help
Another good tip for taking pictures of your cat is to get help. You can get great pictures of playful cats and kittens by having someone help you wiggle a string, the throw a ball or call the cat’s name. It is very difficult to try to play with your cat and take pictures at the same time. Your pictures will turn out much better if you get someone to help you. In addition, if you are trying to get a picture of your cat looking directly at your camera, have someone stand above you can call the cat's name, or make a noise that will prompt the cat to look directly above your head.

If you are a patient and willing, you can get some excellent shots of your cat. Cats are so fun to take pictures of because you never know what they will do. Keep your camera handy and ready to go as soon as your cat springs into action. Cat’s normal activity seems to make us smile and laugh, their antics always may wonderful pictures. Pictures of kittens playing from birth on also make for some great pictures. If you have the camera, you will never miss the perfect picture. 

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The Use Of Lenses In Photography

Just having a camera is not going to get you the best pictures.  Most of us who take photos are amateurs in the art world, but with the right equipment our photography can be elevated to a new height.  Lenses are important especially when you settle on a medium you will train in.  Most photographers choose one area of photography to specialize in.  There are many types of lenses, the standard 35- 80mm, telephoto, and panoramic lenses. 




Most cameras have a 35- 80 mm lens, even the point and shoot type.  Often when you purchase a camera casing they will sell you the standard lens with it.  All lenses are interchangeable.  You do have to stick with the same brand of lenses as your camera and make sure the diameter is the same.  The diameter of most lenses is the same as long as you keep to the same brand.  The 35- 80 mm lens tells you the extent of reach.  While you can take photographs several miles away with a standard lens you will not have the distinction of features in the print that you need.  The standard lens is great for close up shots, such as flowers, spider webs, people, and pets.  To gain more defined picture miles away you need a larger lens.

There are many telephoto lenses in photography.  One is the 75- 300 mm lens.  While this is not as massive as other telephoto lenses you may see a professional walking around with it is a great step up for mountain and wildlife photography when your quarry is some distance away.  When you begin to move from the 35mm into something larger it is best to have a stabilizer with the lens.  A stabilizer will help you hold the camera steady for clear shots even if your hand moves a little bit.  When you move into the world of the telephoto lens you can by accessories to help with angles and light. 

Photography in the world of panorama is another way to take spectacular landscape photos.  The panoramic lens allows you to widen the photograph, especially with a digital camera.  If there is a mountain range or glacier that you wish to get the whole picture without pasting them together in Photoshop the panoramic lens is the best way to go.  I’m sure you have seen landscapes with a panoramic view and wished you could have that option.  Even with film cameras you could have a panoramic lens to widen the photograph.  




All three lenses are just the icebergs on the use of lenses in photography.  Whether you are an amateur photographer or a budding professional you will want to maximize your photo taking skills.  The next equipment you may want to purchase to help you with the larger lenses would be a tripod to stabilize the camera even more.  Tripods are pretty simple and lightweight pieces of equipment and work great for portrait photography.  All mediums in photography require moderate to top of the line camera equipment to produce a photograph with quality.  Photography also relies on the photographer’s skill and eye.  Lenses are just a small part of the photography world when you start to study the art.  If you have any questions on lenses the best places to find answers are your local photography shop.

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The Underwater World Captured With Photography

Underwater photography is growing every year, those who go diving wish to bring the diving world visible to those who do not dive.  We have always been fascinated with the oceans and bays of the world as an unknown world.  Bringing vacation pictures home to your friends or selling them as professionals has been a time honored tradition and now we can bring the underwater world home through the use of digital photography.

There are many types of underwater cameras.  You have the highly expensive professional cameras and the one time slightly effective versions.  Knowing which camera will work for you is very important.  Part of finding the right camera may lie with in the housing you wish to purchase.  Underwater photography requires you to protect your camera from the harmful affects of water so you will have to purchase housing with seals to eliminate the water.  The housing you find may fit the camera you have.  In fact, most companies will sell the housing for the cameras you have.  If you find you, need a better camera for the underwater world you will need to look at packages.  These packages will include the housing.

Let us look at the 35mm cameras.  Most of these cameras are just point and shoot.  If they were meant for underwater chances are they have at least a mild filter to correct for the lack of color underwater.  These cameras will not filter out the particles you find floating along in the water on a poor visible day.  Usually they are limited to less than 100 feet.  I would not use this type for anything below 80 feet.  You would not want to loose pictures because the housing failed under pressure.  While this is not common, it is a concern for most photographers.

The more professional cameras are larger with a huge lens to let light in as well as have filters to help bring clarity to any photograph.  Typically, these cameras require you to have a deep-set hobby in underwater photography, as the expense is high.  Digital cameras are the best way to take underwater photographs because you can make sure you have the desired affects before leaving the seen.  Of course, most underwater life will not hang around for a second shot, but coral reefs and the animals that inhabit them may remain.  

Most underwater cameras will also have a flash.  It is best to take an underwater photography course before delving to far in your hobby.  Sometimes the flash will help you with the photographs, but other times it will wash the subject out and ruin the print.  You can also use underwater cameras when you are snorkeling.  Some flashes are built in to the camera while others are external.  The external flashes can be a stick with a little light bulb on top.

When storing your underwater camera and flash you usually want to store them without the batteries as the batteries can die quickly.  This is mostly for the cameras that use double AA batteries.  Underwater photography is a great world to take home with you especially if you are on a dive vacation.  Underwater photography requires a few more skills than regular photography due to the lighting conditions, but once you understand them you will be bring home great pictures every time.  

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The Use Of Filters In Photography

Filters have two different meanings depending on how long you have had photography as a hobby.  Most of us today think as filters as an option with Photoshop.  This is not the case.  Before the invention of computers and things like Photoshop we had small glass discs to create the filtered affect.  There are many options with filters you can blur a picture, sharpen the picture, and even block out the UV rays.  Filters are often used to correct a problem or make a picture look a little different.

Lets talk about filters that blur a photograph.  When you are taking a picture of
a waterfall at the bottom where the water rises in a cloud you can add a filter to create the cloud in the picture.  Cameras don’t always see what the eye sees.  In some cases it can have a high resolution to depict the actual water drops rather than the cloud, so adding a filter to your lens can help create the effect your eye sees.


Other filters such as the UV protector guard against the harsh rays.  Along with the UV filter you should have a polarizer.  The polarizer is used in photography when you are taking a shot into direct sunlight or other light.  It will help balance out the photograph so that you don’t get the washed out look.  Other filters can give you the washed out effect
if you feel your photography would speak more.  The filters in Photoshop are not as wide as the filters you can actually buy for your camera, but they can have some of the same effects that you are after.


Have you ever wanted to create a star effect when taking pictures of light filtering through the trees?  You can create a star effect with any photograph by using a star effect filter.  This filter allows light to pass through a series of thin lines etched into the filter letting the light streak outward in a star shape.

Some filters actually help you create a depth of field or focal point.  The fog/ mist filter is one of these.  The fog/ mist filter allows for a glow or flare of light in the photograph.  Photography is filled with much skill and equipment.  Having filters to help create the perfect professional photograph will enhance your fun with your hobby.  Lets look at a few more filters.



There are color correcting lenses.  If the sky is too blue for the photograph you can choose a filter that will tamp down the blue to a less bright state.  If you are into underwater photography you might have filters that allow for the underwater colors.  The color spectrum does not have a great range under water.  A lot of things will look red even though they are not.  It is easy to bring about the original color of underwater life when you use special filters for color correction.


The use of filters in photography not only allows you to have special effects in a photograph to create something new and different, but it can help enhance the shot by adding color or dampening the natural effects of light.  Photography has many types of equipment that require skill and knowledge making it a wonderful hobby or profession. If you need a hobby, photography allows you to be creative. 


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The Underwater World Captured With Photography

Underwater photography is growing every year, those who go diving wish to bring the diving world visible to those who do not dive.  We have always been fascinated with the oceans and bays of the world as an unknown world.  Bringing vacation pictures home to your friends or selling them as professionals has been a time honored tradition and now we can bring the underwater world home through the use of digital photography.

There are many types of underwater cameras.  You have the highly expensive professional cameras and the one time slightly effective versions.  Knowing which camera will work for you is very important.  Part of finding the right camera may lie with in the housing you wish to purchase.  Underwater photography requires you to protect your camera from the harmful affects of water so you will have to purchase housing with seals to eliminate the water.  
The housing you find may fit the camera you have.  In fact, most companies will sell the housing for the cameras you have.  If you find you, need a better camera for the underwater world you will need to look at packages.  These packages will include the housing.


Let us look at the 35mm cameras.  Most of these cameras are just point and
shoot.  If they were meant for underwater chances are they have at least a mild filter to correct for the lack of color underwater.  These cameras will not filter out the particles you find floating along in the water on a poor visible day.  Usually they are limited to less than 100 feet.  I would not use this type for anything below 80 feet.  You would not want to loose pictures because the housing failed under pressure.  While this is not common, it is a concern for most photographers.

The more professional cameras are larger with a huge lens to let light in as well as have filters to help bring clarity to any photograph.  Typically, these cameras require you to have a deep-set hobby in underwater photography, as the expense is high.  Digital cameras are the best way to take underwater photographs because you can make sure you have the desired affects before leaving the seen.  Of course, most underwater life will not hang around for a second shot, but coral reefs and the animals that inhabit them may remain.  


Most underwater cameras will also have a flash.  It is best to take an underwater photography course before delving to far in your hobby.  Sometimes the flash will help you with the photographs, but other times it will wash the subject out and ruin the print.  You can also use underwater cameras when you are snorkeling.  Some flashes are built in to the camera while others are external.  The external flashes can be a stick with a little light bulb on top.

When storing your underwater camera and flash you usually want to store them
without the batteries as the batteries can die quickly.  This is mostly for the cameras that use double AA batteries.  Underwater photography is a great world to take home with you especially if you are on a dive vacation.  Underwater photography requires a few more skills than regular photography due to the lighting conditions, but once you understand them you will be bring home great pictures every time.  

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Techniques For Underwater Photography

Underwater photography brings the underwater world to the surface.  Some wonder wheat swimming in the ocean is like, but the don’t wish to learn how to dive.  Underwater photographers have taken it upon themselves to bring the underwater world to those who don’t wish to dive or never had the chance.  While all photography is an art the underwater world needs special skills to bring the highest quality alive.

Unlike wildlife photography the underwater world needs to be viewed up close.  
That is to say the marine life needs to be photographed closely.  This is because of the water.  The water refracts images often distorting them so the closer you are to your subject the less water you have between you an the subject.  Underwater photography requires a great deal of patience.  You subject may swim quickly by like the shark, whale or dolphin, or they may hide with in the coral popping out only when danger is not felt. Water holds particles, most usually living organisms called plankton because these particles often float by while you are trying to take a picture you can loose contrast and sharpness of the image.

Marine life uses the premise of hiding more than speed or survival of the fittest.  This means you will often find your subject camouflaged rather than out in the open.  You have to seek your subject with determination, without startling the subject.  The underwater world demands respect.  You don’t want to touch the living organisms and therefore you must learn to move with the current while trying to attain the perfect shot.  A lot of marine life will die if you touch it, especially coral so having a hobby of underwater photography requires you to follow the rules, a code of ethics.  

Underwater flash or more typically called a strobe can help you gain the light you need to take a perfect photo.  It is essential to have a flash with an underwater camera.  It will help you bring other colors rather than red and orange into the picture.  The strobe only needs to be medium sized, any larger and it can hinder your photo taking experience.

Composition is also very important.  You will follow the same rule you did in regular photography; however, you still need to have an upward angle on the subject.  This goes back to the camouflage technique of most marine species.  

They tend to melt into their hideouts or in some cases; their bodies are designed to hide in the water when swimming like sharks.  When you are trying to get a clear shot when the subject blends into the background can be difficult and creates a challenge. 

When dealing with underwater photography as a hobby you will need to hone your photography skills on land first.  Once you take great pictures on land you can move into the harder version of the underwater world, where some rules you’ve used no longer apply and attaining the best picture takes patience as well as skill.  Underwater photography brings the marine life to the surface alleviating some of the unknown.  If you find you are just starting to have an interest in underwater photography you will want to seek a professional underwater photography class to teach you some of the important techniques as well as practice.

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Taking Great Shots Of Your Baby


Your baby is very cute, and nothing makes a parent prouder than sharing pictures of their new child.  Everybody loves looking at pictures of babies, too. If you have a little one in the house, get your camera ready and start sharing those cute baby pictures today. The more pictures you have the more fun you will have showing your precious pictures. Here are some great ideas to help you take better shots of your baby.



Stay Ready
You can never know when your baby will do something entertaining or do something for the first time. For that reason, you always need to have your camera nearby and ready to go. That means making sure you have plenty of film if you use a film camera and making sure your have enough room on your memory stick or card if you use digital. You will also want to make sure that you have enough battery life in your camera at all times. Many parents use more than one camera, too. You can even put a disposable camera in the car or diaper bag for times that are just too cute to pass up.

Get Candid Shots
Some of the sweetest pictures of babies are candid shots. You can take memorable pictures of your baby taking a bottle, sleeping and smiling. Candid shots look much more relaxed and natural than posed shots and you will only feel frustrated trying to be posed shots anyway. Babies are notorious for not cooperating for posed pictures. Do not waste your time and take candid shots instead. Do not forget all to take pictures of every part of your baby, such as those fat little fingers or those tiny toes. Those are always sweet reminders of this young age. If you have a good zoom lens, you can often take great candid shots of your baby from a distance. These are great because your baby will never even know you are there. 

Take Pictures in Black and White
You cannot get very many adorable pictures of your baby taken in black and white or in sepia tones. You can guarantee that grandma and grandpa will be gushing over those, too. Most digital cameras come with black and white and sepia settings, so take advantage. In addition, when you take black and white, you do not have to worry about what your baby is wearing, because everything looks good. The more natural the pictures the more fun you will have looking at them in the future. Kids caught doing what they do best is always a showstopper. They offer hours of enjoyment and catching all the excitement counts. 

Take Many Shots
You should take many shots of your baby doing the same thing. You may take twenty-five of your babies crawling of the first time, but may only get two or three that are worth using. The more pictures you take, the more you have to choose from the better. It is always best to take more than not enough. A professional as well as armatures know, that not all pictures turn out, especially if you use a high-speed camera. Just keep taking pictures to ensure you capture the moment. 

Do Something with Those Pictures
The last tip is to make sure you actually do something with your pictures after you take them. So many people leave undeveloped rolls of film sitting around for months or never print their digital pictures. Babies grow and change too fast. You should make it a point to print and share your pictures every week. In addition, if you use digital pictures, you should always make sure you back up your pictures onto a disk on a regular basis. You certainly do not want to lose these irreplaceable photos. This has happen too many successful photographers and does cause quite a commotion when you lose all your precious moments that you never again will see. 

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Still Life Photography Techniques

There are many mediums to choose from in photography.  Often a person will begin with still life photography and work their way towards portraits, wildlife, or landscapes depending upon their interests.  Still life photography teaches a person to use light and shadows to find the emotion of the object.  Here I will discuss many different aspects of still life pictures. 

Still life expresses the photographers self while using in animate objects such as pottery, flowers, candles, leaves, and fruit.  The first step in still life photography is the lighting.  You will want the object to have light from a single direction, so that you can cast shadows as well as light on the object.  This will give it a depth of field, and dimension.  You will need to choose whether you want a soft or harsh light.  The more harsh the light the more shadow you will have.  Often in still life reflectors are used to tone the light down.  The best type of lighting for still life photography is side- lighting because you will attain more contrast between the object.  

With still life photography, you have color control.  You can choose the colors of the objects you use.  When choosing the colors say with leaves and fruits you will want a contrast in colors, but retain a natural look.  Harmony is the best word to use when attaining color control.  The color will attract the viewer’s eye, so if it is displeasing to you the chances are your viewers will find it just as displeasing.

With still life, you can choose an abstract motif.  You may choose to put two objects together that do not make sense, but create a moving picture.  You might have an interesting cut on fruit, such as a melon to reveal the inside core. The angle of the cut and the meaning of the picture will require thought from the viewer. Some viewers see different from what another viewer might see. This happens in the art world daily. What one thinks represents art another finds unappealing. Never let these influence your dreams and stop you from becoming even better in your work as a photographer.  

You can also have control of variations.  You can use the same subject repeatedly with different backgrounds, arrangements, and other objects.  The key is to avoid clutter while creating contrast.  The rule of thirds of composition is a great way to utilize still life objects.  You can create a pattern based on the rule of thirds.  Setting up the arrangements and trying several shots will lead you to finding the harmony between the objects.  

You may think still life photography lacks the depth of other mediums; however, it can be used as a stepping-stone to greater photography.  Still life can include an arranged garden to please the eye or a natural look.  You can use natural light to offset the shadows and find the contrast.  Still life inside or outside creating the arrangements is just one way to find pictures you will wish to display or give to friends.  Remember lighting, color, and variations on arrangements will provide you will tons of subjects.  

Applications for still life photography can include taking photographs for magazines.  Often magazines have still life photos to show flower arrangements or decorating ideas for the home.  With the many choices in photography, still life takes a special eye for arranging objects and understanding lighting techniques.  With all of photography being art you need to pick the subjects that will speak most to you and make them speak to others. These types of pictures go well when deciding to sell your photos or display them for the public. All pictures whether you think it or not may be just what someone wants to display and may offer to buy it. This helps you start a real goldmine of a business if you feel confident with your work.  

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