Lines and Shapes in Photography
Photography isn’t just about including the desired subjects inside the frame. In order to have better photographs, one should try to make effective compositions. A strong composition is the product of a thoughtful study of the environment around you, its lines, shapes, and the patterns they form.
Lines can have a very nice impact on your composition making it more appealing. They can grab the attention of the eye into a certain direction, they can add depth to the photo, and they can form interesting patterns.
While you may not notice, lines are abundant in our surroundings. The horizon, beaches and fallen trees, all can add interesting horizontal lines to your photos which can add a sense of stability to the picture. To have the maximum impact, try not to cut your image into halves by placing the horizon on the center, and make all horizontal lines as horizontal as possible. It is worth noting that horizontal lines usually look better in landscape orientation .
If you look around, you’ll probably notice that vertical lines are even more abundant. It is a natural fact that nearly everything tends to grow vertically which is why vertical lines usually reflect growth and power. As with horizontal lines, the vertical lines should be perpendicular with the edges of the photograph because an inclined vertical line may harm your photo significantly. Also remember that this type of lines is usually more convenient to vertical photos.
Another type of lines is the diagonal lines. Just look ahead of you along road or railway lines and you will sense a feeling of depth while your eyes will be set to their point of convergence of the diagonal lines. They can give a sense of speed and movement. It is usually better to have the diagonal lines away from the photo’s diagonals so as to make it more interesting.
The perspective usually control how the lines exist inside the photo. By utilizing a different angle, a pair of parallel lines can easily become converging lines and lead the eyes into the photograph. This can produce a totally different composition with more depth and more points of interest at the meeting point of the diagonal lines.
While lines may add a certain mood to your photograph, shapes usually provide the meaning. The shape is the first thing that identifies an object and it is usually considered as its 2D outlines. Contrasting an object with a different background is usually the best way to put emphasis on its shape . Thus, the edges of your object will be clear, and consequently, its shape will be very well defined.
Objects may look the same from some angles and that may result ambiguity. Because photographs have two dimensions only, choosing the right perspective is essential to present the object with the shape you want.
Understanding composition in terms of lines and shapes is one step forward toward more mature artistic expression.
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September 25, 2009
Get the Best Out of Your Compact Digital Camera
A compact digital camera usually appeals to those who are interested in taking good photographs with no trouble. It is easy to use that all you need to do is just point to your subject and click the button. But did you know that your camera maybe capable of doing more? If not, you should.
Knowing your camera’s features very well will lead you to make better decisions about what settings to use in different situations. Maybe you should first check the automatic settings as they will quickly give you a better control on your photographs. They are sufficient in most conditions, however, being able to manually adjust your photos will generally yield better results . In this case, manual controls should be used instead if your camera allows it. The more manual controls you have, the better your ability to adjust your photos as desired will be.
It is always recommended to take all your photos at the maximum resolution using the highest quality available, especially when you plan printing these photos. This is important to insure that the prints will not look pixelated. Consequently, the size of the images will increase, so it is advisable to make sure you will have enough space in your storage media, while at the same time trying to find a reliable backup solution.
Nearly every compact camera sports an autofocus feature these days. When taking your picture, just press the shutter button half way down and keep holding it that way. The camera will perform the analysis and try to automatically set focus on the subject. Holding down the button half way down allows maintaining the focus as well as the exposure even when the camera is moving. After choosing the desired composition, the button should be completely pressed so as to capture the photo.
One of the main drawbacks of photographing in low light situations is the difficulty to get a decent photo without a tripod. Unless you can rest your hand on something, it is nearly impossible to hold the camera still during long exposures. Most compact digital cameras will not produce very clear images in low lighting even when a tripod is used, so it is always advisable to improve the lighting if possible.
In all the features that your camera is capable of, some are not very useful. Most compact cameras produce bad photos at high ISOs (>400) and they should only be used for capturing fast moving objects. The built-in flash should be avoided except for open areas or very dark places. Its strong, non diffused, near the lens frontal light will make sure that your photos look awkward. It is usually better to consider external light which will give your photos a better professional look. As for the digital zoom, it should be neglected altogether.
Getting to know your camera well requires experimenting . No matter how difficult it may sounds, you should know that this is the shortest path towards improving your photographing skills.
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September 24, 2009
Taking the perfect shot
Photography history started with the camera obscura. The french inventor Nicephore Niepce created the first photograph by using a camera obscura. These cameras were made up of a dark room or a box with a small hole at one end. If the hole was small enough, an up side down picture would develop on the opposite wall of the box, of what ever the hole was facing. Niepce had to expose the first photosensitive paper for eight hours to capture the image.
The capability of the camera obscura to copy images, is the basis of all photography technology and camera lenses. Today this technology is still growing and evolving at a very fast pace.
Taking pictures are much more complicated than just aiming and snapping. People who are serious about photography should learn what influence different aspects have on the pictures they take.
Pictures taken in excessive light result in an overexposed film that produces pictures that are too bright. WIth moderate or no light, the pictures will be underexposed and will be too dark.
Learning how to control the lighting you have available and the film speed will enable you to get the right level of exposure. If you want to take a photo of a person, the soft lighting of a cloudy day work the best. Early mornings or late afternoons will be best to take beautiful landscape pictures.
A flash can even be used outdoors to improve the quality of your pictures. The flash will help to eliminate the darker shadows under the nose and the eyes. It will also help to illuminate faces and make them stand out from the background on cloudy days. To prevent your pictures from being too dark, you should know the range of your flash.
Getting the right composition is a matter of adding some props, rearranging your subjects, and trying different angles. By getting down to the level of your subject, you can improve the angle and composition of your photos. This is especially recommended if your subjects are pets or children. They do not even have to look directly into the camera; the eye level angle alone will create a more personal feeling.
By ensuring that you have a natural background, the pictures would be even more capturing. A busy background will be distracting while a plain background will draw attention to your subject.
Move in close and fill your picture with your subject.By doing this, you will reduce any distraction from the background and highlight only the details of your subject. Use your camera’s macro or “flower” option to get good pictures of small objects.
Change the angle of your camera, some pictures look better if taken in a vertical picture.
Developing and enhancement is an ongoing process for cameras and photography. Whether you are a serious photographer, an amateur or a professional, it is important to stay well informed and up to date with the latest technology and photography techniques as new innovations appear daily such as affordable underwater cameras and digital cameras.
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Make Money with Photography - Ways to Earn From Your Photos
It comes as no surprise that more and more people are seeking ways to profit from photography. After all, more than 50 percent of photographers are self-employed photographers.
There’s more than one way to rake in money from photography. If you wish to make your photography business boon you with a lucrative income stream, consider employing a combination of means.
Go online to peddle your photographs. Put up and promote a photography website. Market your rights to your pictures on display on the Internet. Profiting from your photos need not be a one-time event. You can continuously earn money from the same photo if you market licenses instead of full rights for photo usage. Putting up your own website requires time and monetary investments on domain hosting as well as marketing. However, when you succeed in drawing in more traffic to your site and upload more photos later, your website venture can turn out to be quite profitable.
Shoot pictures of auction items for sale at eBay and other auction sites. Freelance photographers are needed to shoot photographs of merchandise which the seller intends to auction off. Although you will receive a one-time income only from the pictures, the technique is an excellent way to strengthen your portfolio and make a name for yourself among clients. Consider other types of websites and publications such as magazines. Maybe they need your help with photography.
Take shots of various real estate properties. Do a rain check with real estate companies to see if they are interested in your property pictorial services. Be prepared to negotiate your professional fees. Even when they’re not frequent, assignments like this help you to productively use your spare time in between work hours.
Build libraries of stock photos and vend them to the online community. Expect to become best buddies with two circles of professionals: the graphic designers and the web designers. A number of these designers want to purchase photo libraries instead of purchasing individual rights to the pictures. Come up with an extensive data base of pictures that are organized according to themes. Once you have your library, sell the collections to the designers who need and want them.
Earn money from Microstock photos. Microstock operates in the same way as stock libraries mentioned in the preceding paragraph. You earn for each download and each rights purchase made by designers and other customers. It’s a superb way to continuously generate income for photos which you long took.
Sell your photos at online stores like CafePress. When you advertise the stores, be sure to include photos that go with the variety of products on sale. You can hit two birds with one stone with this strategy: you earn money for the actual sales of the product and you promote your photographic works to potential customers. There is a potential to earn repetitively from the actual selling of the products, and there are no costly hard-copy printing or stock hoarding expenses involved.
Each method tells you how exactly you can make photography profitable.
The specific amount you aim to generate from photography and the methods you will be employing are your decision.
After reading this article you may want to find out how you too can Make money with photography.
To assist you in your journey to making money from your photos, you might also wish to read this article “Learn digital photography“.
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