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. 

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.  

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.

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. 

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.  

Planning A Wedding Photographer

Planning A Wedding And Still Looking For The Perfect Photographer

Wedding photography is perhaps the most important field because these are the special moments in life we want to capture.  Portraits are important and often play a major roll in wedding photography, but there are more to the wedding and finding the perfect photographer.  Below are several tips to finding the right photographer for you.

Equipment is one of the most important aspects.  There are new photographers who will start out not being able to afford a lot of camera equipment, lights, tripods and so on.  This doesn’t make them a bad photographer, but it can mean they will miss important wedding moments when they are reloading the film on one camera.  In today’s world a wedding photographer should have at least one digital camera at the professional grade and two film cameras.  A successful photographer will have enough cameras to put appropriate lenses on and be able to switch memory cards in the digital camera with ease.  They should also have a video camera run by another person to capture the entire wedding.

Experience will determine the cost of the photographer.  Most photographers who have been on the circuit longer will charge between $3000 and $10,000 for wedding photographs.  It all depends on the type of package you will want and how many assistants they will need to cover the entire affair.  Other photographers typically charge between $300- $3000 depending upon the package and their experience.  A well-known wedding photographer is going to cost more, just for the name.  These packages often denote their experience as well as the equipment they can use.  A digital camera does not cost film, but purchasing one can be expensive so most new photographers may charge a little more to replace the cost of the equipment.

Price of a wedding photographer should only be a moderate issue.  The top important aspect of a professional wedding photographer lies in their photography skills.  They will instantly walk into the places your wedding and reception will take place and have ideas of the placement of equipment and lighting.  They will also be able to show you a portfolio of past weddings.  Wedding photography is about the moments that pass between your family and yourselves.  The moment where you are looking at your betrothed with love written on your face when you think no one else is looking will make the best photographs.  A wedding photographer needs to see these moments and capture them as well as obtain the portraits.

Wedding photography is often seen around the home with the portraits.  The portraits of the bride holding her flowers, the wedding party posing, and the groom and bride together.  The traditional wedding photography will include the hands with the shinning wedding bands placed on a pillow or wrapped around the bride’s waist.  The arrangement of the wedding couple is as important as the photograph.  The wedding photographer should be able to pose you while capturing the light and background.

Photography is an intricate profession and when you have an important day such as a wedding you will want the best.  You may have ideas of the photographs you want and the wedding photograph will be glad to help bring those ideas to fruition.  Photography is about lighting, catching those unguarded moments, and creating memories that will last forever. 

Get Paid Taking Pictures CLICK HERE

Lighting Tips For Photography

Photography requires a few skills to make your prints look professional.  One part of making a print professional is lighting.  Lighting in photography takes a little planning and understanding of a few techniques.  You best subject or object might not turn out that way if the proper light does not help to laminate the area. Below are a few tips on using light for photography.

First you must decide if you will use artificial or sunlight.  If you are using sunlight you will rely on the Kelvin scale to determine the temperature of light and therefore the color of light.  The color of light is important to maintaining the colors you see around you.  For instance the warmer the light the redder the light will be, thus you may need to pick the time you will go out and shoot photographs. Outdoor lighting offers so many different times to take pictures depending on your need. 

Next a photographer needs to understand the sun’s color scale.  Pictures tend to lead the viewer towards certain feelings; often softer colors evoke more emotion.  So understanding the suns impact on the colors will help you find the correct time of day.  The sun evokes blue hues in the morning hours, while closer to noon you will find more neutral colors.  The neutral colors can take away some of the definition you want in your print.  Knowing how you want to shot the picture will also help you determine when you wish to take the shot.

When using natural light you will need to work with the angle and direction of the sunlight.  If the sunlight is broad and diffused you will have softer shadows while the more narrow the light is focused the more shadow you can create.  Often at noon when the sun is in mid arc you lose definition of the subject.  The subject could look grainy.  This is why shadow is used; the shadows can give you more quality to the print if used correctly. This adds to the beauty of your pictures. 

You can also modify sunlight through certain techniques.  Modifying sunlight when taking portraits outdoors requires the use of a background.  You may wish for a breath taking landscape that will provide more composition to the photo.  You may need to block the sun if it interferes with you or your subject’s sight.  You might also b

ring in a white surface to fill the shadows.  Landscape photography requires less work than usually natural light for portraits.  In fact using natural sunlight for landscape photography without modifications can yield you a better photograph.

Landscape photography uses nature to provide the light and shadows.  This is why you need to understand the light scale and temperature.  Time is the most important aspect of using sunlight.  To understand natural lighting you need to understand the affects the sun will have at certain times of the day.  For instance if you are in a thickly vegetative forest the sunlight will have difficulty streaming in unless it is over head.  You will have natural shadows in the forest and remember you can move around your subject to find the best angle with the sun.

Photography is an art that requires techniques and practice.  Lighting is a major part of photography, especially when you are using natural light.  Sunlight can bring plenty of shadows or take them away depending on the time of day.  Knowing the best time to take a photograph depends on the sun’s angle.  Photography is an interesting hobby and profession when practiced properly will give you plenty of prints for your home and others.

Whether you are a professional or a novice photographer, you want to produce some exquisite pictures with the proper lighting. With this in mind, choose your lighting according to your needs and the needs of your subject or object. Your pictures will be delightful with brightness when you use the best lighting situation. 

How To Create A Professional Landscape Photograph

Landscape photography is widely popular.  I am sure if you look around your home you will see at least two landscape prints that spoke to you.  Photography is an art that has a message.  As a photographer youhave to find the message you want to portray.  If you specialize in landscape photography you might thinkyour task is easy to complete.  As with any photography you have to pay attention to the details, the lighting, shadows, subject, and the equipment.

Black and white landscape photography is the hardest section to attain true artistry because you are not relying on the colors as much as the lights and shadows the image will create.  Composition is very important.  Composition in photography means to look for sharp edges, tones and textures.  The basis of black and white photography is getting the camera to see what your eye sees in color; to bring the highlights and shadows forward with the angle of the picture.  Typical subjects for black and white photography are buildings and water.  Water gives the surrounding trees and rocks a contrast while drawing the eye.  Landscape can encompass buildings or bridges among other subjects.  Buildings lend to the angles and contrast you seek when trying for definition and emotion.

When landscape photography is your subject in color you will need to have contrast between the colors.  If the sky is blue and you have blue water below chances are the picture is not going to have the contrast you are hoping for.  Like black and white photography you need to have definition or composition in the shot.  You will need to take a few minutes to set up the shot and perhaps take several frames before being satisfied.  Color photography takes less skill than black and white photography so if you have master the last you will succeed at the first.

Lighting for landscape photography is natural rather artificial.  This is important when setting up your shot.  You will need to have filters for the sunlight if it is a bright day, perhaps a tripod to set up the shot and a professional grade camera to create professional prints.  Studying your subject from all angles is also important.  You want to make sure you are picking the best angle for the shot.  Remember the message is brought forth by the skill of the photographer.

You abilities should be honed and practiced.  Digital photography makes landscape photography easier because you can assess the photo before you leave a site.  Again the LCD screen isn’t going to show you every aspect of the print so you will want to take a few shots of the same site to ensure a perfect picture.

Even being an amateur photographer you can gain professional looking landscape photography.  The best way to gain great photographs is to practice with a subject.  Going back to the same site during different seasons can help you hone your skills and net you an even better print the next time around.  All photographers’ start at the same level, some may have innate skills and an eye for the photo, but practice will lead to the best print.  Landscape photography may not require the skills of wildlife photography with panning the subject or portraits where you have to enliven your subject; however, it does require skills and practice.

History of Photography

Have you ever wondered where modern photography originated? While we are now moving into the digital age and away from film, the lighting techniques and other photography techniques began in the 1820’s. Niepce and Daguerre were the first inventors of modern photography. They used a chemical component from silver and chalk, which darkens when exposed to light. This type of technology used a glass negative to cement the picture.


 
 From the early cameras seen in western films we have moved on to manual cameras with film. This film or negative captured the image on a roll to be developed in a dark room to prevent over exposure. The manual cameras used a theory of setting up shots. You had to understand aperture, shutter speed, white balance, and metering to obtain the best picture possible. This meant you spent a lot of time setting up the shot and had to be a professional to catch wildlife in their natural habits.


Aperture is measured by F-stops, or the amount of light the lens will let in. Focusing and depth of field are also important when setting the aperture on your camera. You have to know what numbers will allow more light to enter the lens and the converse to avoid over exposure and blurriness.  Shutter speed is the amount of time a lens is open for the picture. You may have found in a darkened room without flash your camera takes a while to imprint the picture on the negative. This is because the light is dim and the shutter must correct for the lack of light. The lack of light induces a need to expose the film longer to obtain the picture where as more light will have the shutter moving at a faster speed.

From the manual cameras we moved into the automatic. The camera became lighter. The shutter speed and aperture was programmed into the camera by the settings. ISO became important. ISO is the film speed. Instead of taking minutes to set up a shot you just had to pick the correct setting and hold the button down to focus. Many cameras came as automatic with manual options for those who still liked to treat photography as an artistic vocation.

Digital cameras are the new era in photography.  Now we can see the picture we take without the use of film and negatives. We can send the pictures to all of our friends and use our home printers to create prints. Photography has moved from the concentration of taking the perfect shot with a skill born to a few to everyone taking pictures.

This is not to say photography and photographers will not remain. There is still the need for quality in taking professional grade photographs. Light sensitivity is still important when dealing with a digital camera and unless you spend a lot, you will find quality of photographs is still missing. Photograph techniques lay within the lighting provided whether natural or artificial for the subject. You might wonder how to create a photograph in a dark room like a museum to share with your friends and family. Knowing the past photography techniques will help you in attaining that perfect photograph with your digital camera. Photography may have originated with few people, but we can see the advancements their inventions have led us to now. 

digitalPHOTOGRAPHY: Taking Pro Pictures - Have You Seen The Latest Street Photography

digitalPHOTOGRAPHY: Taking Pro Pictures - Have You Seen The Latest Street Photography

Taking Pro Pictures - Have You Seen The Latest Street Photography

One of the most candid styles of photography is street photography.  It consists of candid pictures taken of people in public situations.  Street photography was done everywhere on the street and now has moved to the mall, at clubs, streets, parks, and practically anywhere.  A street photographer never asks anyone to pose, and he or she does not want anyone to act as if he or she knows what might happen next. This takes away from the natural look needed when using the technique of street photography. 

Street photography stems from another type of photograph that called documentary photography.  Documentary photography once said to be the most honest and true to life picture taking.  There are professional and amateur brands of documentary photography, as well as street photography.  Street photography reflects society in its untainted state. This accounts for many pictures we see on the internet and television that reflect what was happening at the time. 

 Pictures of this genre use black and white film.  Street photography often shows irony in situations.  Many street photographers use wide view lens cameras to capture a wider area.  The shots usually have the appearance of a screen or a window viewing the human state at a particular moment.  The photographer becomes removed from the scene.  This type of picture taking captures the most honest moments in life.

Some photographers who specialize in street photography take their cameras to public events like conventions, meetings, and tragic sites.  Others simply photograph life around them.  A famous street photographer named Garry Winogrand was well known for capturing New York everyday for years.  He was interested in shedding light on the contemporary social issues of his time.  He became prominent after the 1960’s.  He shot about one hundred photographs a day for about thirty years, and left over three hundred thousand unedited exposures.

One interesting thing about street photography is that sometimes a photographer might capture things on film that they were not even focusing on.  Strange and funny things might be happening in the background or the foreground of a photograph that they do not even notice.  When the film is developed, they often find things within the scope of their shots that are ironic, interesting, or funny.  Many times, things are seemingly unrelated to the rest of the shot, but because of this factor, one can say that street photography is one way that we use to capture the moment.

The genre of street photography started between the end of the 19th century and the mid to late 1970s.  One of the assisting inventions of this type of picture

taking was 35-millimeter film.  Thirty-five millimeter film was introduced towards the late 19th century.  Photographers from both Europe and North America spread the popularity of the genre and developed the art behind it.  Including in the early development were photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson of France and Robert Frank of Switzerland.  

You do not have to be a professional to take on street photography.  You do not necessarily have to use black and white film either.  All you need is a way to take pictures.  You can make your own documentary film series.  The pictures you take can comment on society.  Your photographs can record people doing mundane activities like eating or sleeping.  It is important to remember, however, that you should not publish pictures of people without their consent.

Becoming a street photographer can be a great hobby.  You can donate your pictures to museums and websites, or you can start your own website.  There are also photo archives that consist of collections of pictures that are available for public use.  This is also a place that you may have your pictures displayed. Street photography is one way to capture the real moments of life.  Thanks to technology, film editing is easier than ever.  Once you try street photography, you find yourself caught up in the real world. The pictures reflect the everyday life and times.