Continuing Education In Photography

One of the hallmarks of professional photographers is that you'll find them constantly going back to school. They'll also be involved in a local guild or professional association. In fact, they'll be involved in just about any activity that gets them involved with other photographers and out shooting pictures for assignments or group projects. Besides that, you'll find them participating in and leading photo walks on their day off.

The reasons behind that are complex, but the main reason is that photography tends to be kind of a lone wolf profession. Very few shops can support paid help, other than on a contract basis, so it tends to be an isolated profession.

If you stay isolated long enough in photography your work can become stale and routine. Working by yourself there's no one to challenge you, to inspire you, or show you some new lighting technique, or new way of shooting a particular shot.

Taking a photography class is something you'll find even pros do once in a while, even though they may sit through a class or online course that lasts for days in order to glean one or two new tricks. Professionals also understand the value of reviewing the basics of framing, like the Rule of Thirds, exposure and other photography fundamentals.

The more you grow in the profession, the more you know, the more time you have to put in to gain knowledge. Doesn't seem fair, does it? But that's really true in any profession. The higher you go up the ladder, the more time you have to put into education to move up. Photography is no different in that regard.

Beyond the purely educational aspects, photography is still much like a trade in many ways. Older photographers help those coming along in their careers and most people getting into the business do so by building up their portfolio as an apprentice or second shooter for someone more experienced. In situations where a photographer can't afford an apprentice or assistant, then classes, photo walks and arranged group shoots are the only way you'll get to network with other photographers to build your portfolio.

Photography is one of those trades that takes days to learn but a lifetime to master. The only way to really master the craft is to be constantly learning. Studying the technical aspects, learning the rules, then learning to write your own rule book.

The day you stop progressing in photography, pushing forward with learning, is the day you start sliding back into mediocrity. There are very few people who can keep their edge if they're not constantly out shooting. If you lose interest in going out every weekend for a shoot and getting together with other photographers, then you may want to consider whether photography is really your best option for a career field.

You'll learn even more with Proud Photography - how to digital photography.

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Analyzing the Effect of Composition in Photography

The only possible general conclusion concerning composition in photography is that circumstances alter cases. Rules should act not as restrictions but as guides that will assist you more often than not. If there are good enough reasons to break them, you should do so without qualms. No rule should be followed without question. You should be looking for reasons to make exceptions even while applying rules.

There are three useful ways of testing the validity of any composition. They are all based on the assumption that a picture that looks right usually is right, regardless of how far it may seem to depart from conventional standards.

1. For the first method, cut out two L-shaped pieces of gray or white cardboard (if gray on one side and white on the other, their edges can be seen clearly against any sort of picture). Face them in opposite directions, overlaid to make a frame of adjustable proportions, on top of a full-negative print. Move it around so that it frames varying parts of the image, and vary its proportions as you go. If you can make a stronger composition by cropping the image, then reprint doing so. There is nothing sacred about the proportions of standard film dimensions. You can crop a side or bottom or top any time that a given image is thereby improved. There is also nothing immutable about how you composed while looking through the viewfinder. You may well find it better to print and display only a portion of the image on any given negative.

2. The second method of analysis is better suited to guiding your future work than to saving what you have already done. If you make a picture that just does not "look right," hold a thumb over the various major or minor picture elements one at a time. If the picture looks better without that element, it should not have been included. But if the picture looks weaker by its absence, that element can be considered necessary. If such deletion does not strengthen the picture, perhaps you had no potentially successful composition to start with. Although this is a post-mortem device (to see why the picture died), it may help to prevent a similar catastrophe in the future.

3. Finally, it is beneficial to allow time to affect your judgment. Reserve some wall space for hanging your best efforts for long-term examination. See how well you can live with an image. Should you become tired of it before long, try to analyze why. Is the picture dull? Do subtle flaws become obtrusive with time? Does the image have a posterlike "grab-the-eye" quality without sufficient complexity to engage the mind more than temporarily?

There is nothing like time to give you the answer to these questions, and others that will come to you. Sometimes, in fact, pictures that you had first thought to be rather slight develop staying power to a remarkable degree. (These are the really subtle ones.) Let time pass while you keep on looking and thinking.

Find out more things about Camera Photography and Tips To Take Photos. Check out Basic Camera Photography for more information.

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Why I Am Going Back to Film Photography

The problem is that digital photography is just too easy. A saying that often proves true is; "if it's free, it probably isn't worth having", and that's digital photography. Sure it has many benefits when used as a component of modern communications (emailing, web graphics, auction selling, etc), but the fun of photography for photography's sake has been lost. The technology of digital imaging has largely removed the need to think and plan ahead: we now blindly point our cameras and click as the mood take us, simply because we can.

We no longer need to hump bulky bags of lenses, and are not required to make any special effort to prepare our cameras for use (like buying and loading films), yet I seldom make the effort to take my digital camera on life's everyday adventures; as I once did habitually. Sadly, the consequence is that I have no snap-shots of the mundane events of recent times. There is nothing solid to supplement the memories in my mind.

Our digital photos are stored electronically, and only become "physical" if we commit to print. But this step involves cost, which is somewhat counter to the digital ethos, and not undertaken routinely. We can delete all that is imperfect or ephemeral at the click of a button, and the memories - once immortalised on film - are lost forever.

Looking at my old photos made me smile, and caused me to recall how I had used film to memorialise my day-to-day life. I made an effort to take a camera on trips, and to events. I took the time to record the places I had seen, the things I had done, and the people I was with. I carefully considered my shots, and strived not to waste the finite number of exposures available to me. Film photography presented an inbuilt driver to do a good job of shooting frames.

Waiting for films to be developed provided both anticipation and excitement. Picking-up your prints from the Chemist was an event. Sure there would inevitably be shots that were duds, but they were nevertheless a physical record of those moments. They didn't get deleted: just put away.

The ultimate irony of photography is that the imperfect pictures are often the ones that most evocatively capture a memory. They amuse us because they freeze stupid expressions on our faces. They delight us when we see our hideous dress sense, naff haircuts, or are reminded of the awful décor in our homes that we had long forgotten.

The really pleasant thing about returning to film photography is the low cost of equipment today. Those iconic cameras I once coveted, but could never afford, are available today for tiny prices.

So, my wife and I are now the proud owners of 35mm film cameras. From now on, our photography will be a planned event, and not an afterthought. We will take the effort to photograph our typical activities. We will take the time to study and think about the things we see through the lenses of our cameras. We will anticipate and look forward to the collection of prints, and keep each one - good or bad. We will collect memories of humdrum events, like a winter walk with the dog on the beach. We strive to again enjoy photography and photographs, as we did before digital imaging.

Original article

Photography in a Rainforest

The amazing thing about walking in a rainforest is how your eyes deceive you into thinking that the light levels in there are fairly comparable with a regular kind of daylight exterior location. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

As soon as you pull the camera out of its bag and check the exposure levels, you will be amazed at how little light there really is. Long exposures are the only way to work and a tripod is a must.

We are all so used to seeing rainforest shots that appear to be well lit with the light streaming through the canopy that we sub-consciously imagine this to be the reality.

My experience of this environment shows that in order to achieve a low ISO setting it is necessary to work with shutter speeds of several seconds duration. If noise or grain levels are not a problem for you, then you may be able to get away with something in the order of 1/8th of a second, but clearly a tripod is still a good idea for such long exposures.

The discipline of working with a tripod for every shot is a good one. As most of us are used to hand-holding, a tripod causes one to take a breath, slow down and consider the important matter of exactly where to place the camera for achieving the coverage of the particular subject we are after capturing. We will work much slower than we may be used to, but the rewards of taking our time can be enormous.

The Australian rainforests seem to be relatively safe places to be, though I found that one slightly distressing experience was my encounter with several little blood sucking leeches. These little guys hang around under leaves and when a possible host passes by they propel themselves in their general direction with a great deal of determination and precision. I found myself (after stalking some twisted vines in a particularly dark area just off the track) to have fallen victim just below my neck when I put my hand there and felt this soft squidgy little body attached to me. Not knowing what it was at first, I panicked in trying to persuade him to leave the vicinity immediately. Instead of this he fell down into my shirt and straightaway latched on to my tummy area and started another feed there! After successfully knocking him away I became I slightly paranoid about any other of his chums finding me irresistible too. Despite extreme care not to brush against the undergrowth, when I arrived back at my car 2 hours later, I was bleeding in 4 different places - and I hadn't even managed to exploit them in a similar way and get any shots of them. Maybe the answer would have been to take a companion to act as a model with the little blighters.

If you ever find yourself fortunate enough to be in a rainforest......in the rain, beware the blood suckers amongst the wildlife, but enjoy the experience!

Original article

Practical Digital Stock Photography Tips

Here are some useful digital stock photography tips to enable you to begin or improve your photography.

· Concepts - It is important to take some time to think about your concept. Study images by other photographers in magazines, websites, adverts, newspapers etc to get an idea of what your competition is doing. While doing your research, be sure to jot down your findings. Look for inspiration in other's work, without copying it.

· Lighting - Before you begin to shoot, ensure that your lighting is just right. Even if you will be shooting in natural light, you may want to wait to achieve the right lighting conditions. Try various setups to find what works best for you and keep in mind that even lighting is more useful for those who will buy your stock photography.

· Colors and Look - In digital stock photography, aesthetics are of great importance, and as such colorful and attractive images always sell better. Stock imaging isn't just about showing how things are, but how they would ideally look like. As such, you should aim at images that portray the world in an improved version of reality.

· Composition - In terms of composition photography tips, you will find that photos are generally more interesting when shot from unusual view points.

· Camera Settings - Take your shots using the manual modes on your DSLR. To avoid noise, check your settings and use low ISO. Before you press the shutter button, ensure that the ISO, white balance, speed settings and aperture settings are correct. Before taking an image, determine the proper settings for instance for when freezing an action, showing motion or even isolating the subject from its background.

· Post Processing in RAW - In order to improve your images and make them pop, you may have to make a couple of adjustments. For instance, when you set your camera to Raw format, you are more likely to have a better outcome than having to improve a JPEG image that is already compressed. While in the Raw format, you get to enjoy more control because you can improve tint, contrast, alter the white balance, increase or decrease shadows, increase or reduce saturation and so much more.

· Consistency - Be consistent in order to improve your digital stock photography skills. And always keep in mind that as with any other craft, practice does make perfect in this field of photography. You should therefore set yourself some goals and shoot a couple of images each day.

For more information on photography, please visit: http://www.photography-tips-and-resources.com/.

Joan One is a freelance journalist and creative writer who immensely enjoys writing and researching into any topic under the Sun. She specializes in writing "green" eco-friendly topics aimed at enabling environmentally conscious readers to find simple ways to reduce their carbon footprint and help save our planet.

Original article

Photography for Ordinary People on a Special Day

You get out of bed early and notice your brightly coloured fluffy bedroom slippers. You get your digital camera and take your first shot of the day. About to climb down the stairs, you are surprised to find the huge Christmas tree glittering with Christmas decorations you see for the first time. Your mom must have gone shopping without you yesterday. You promise to ask her during breakfast and try to get her to give you an idea of the Christmas gift you will get tonight.

From above, the Christmas tree didn't seem so big but nonetheless is charming with the glitters of changing colours and hues. Without the lights, its beauty seemed so natural. You want to preserve the wonderful sight so you get your second shot for the day.

The dining room/kitchen area is empty. Finding nobody home, you feel alone and nostalgic. It will be Christmas by midnight tonight and everybody will celebrate Jesus' birthday. You take another shot. This time, it's the empty dining table and the kitchen area in the background, a lonely pre-Christmas scene. You silently eat a cold, light and simple breakfast.

Half an hour of silence seemed to have renewed you and you feel ready for the day. You check your calendar and suddenly remember it was supposed to be a busy day. You want a few things cleared with your mom before leaving the house but you just have to deal with it when you get back. A quick shower, a hurried change and makeup, then you leave the house making sure the door is locked. At the gate, you take a snapshot of beautiful stray kitten lazily lounging under the shade of the large round lamp. That is supposed to be your fourth photo shot for the day.

On your way to the mall, you observe how happy everybody seems to be. Christmas has that inexplicable cheerful atmosphere like an inexorable contagion freely floating in the air with a charm that unfailingly bring smiles to faces of both young and old. You take many shots in the bus, mostly of surprised joviality from radiantly smiling faces.

Arriving at the mall, you find your mom with your friends suddenly remembering last year's agreement amidst the fun for a repeat of the get-together. Your brother and father will join you by lunchtime after their pre-Christmas chores at work just like the year before. It also dawned on you that you haven't yet uploaded last year's pictures. You will have a lot of photos to upload this year. It will be like a before-and-after gallery you will do for this year's pre-Christmas rendezvous as the "official photographer" of the family.

Looking for some photographic inspiration?
Visit the http://hotelphotographer.org/ website and check out the great range of photos.
There are lots of great niches including Outdoor, Hotel and Travel Photography

Original article

Lighting in Photography

Lighting is very important in photography as it helps create a great shot. Below are some basic photography tips for lighting.

Lighting is one of the most difficult things to achieve in photography. It is easy to ruin a perfect photo by having too little light, too much light or a combination of both. The perfect lighting in photography will include a broad light source. In fact, try to have as broad a light source as possible so as to achieve the softest light possible. With a narrower source of light, you will end up with harder light. With a broad light source, you have fewer shadows, suppressed texture and reduced contrast.

Backlighting is the light that comes from behind your subject. To avoid having your subject underexposed and transformed into a silhouette, be sure to use a fill-flash to fill in the needed light and chase away the shadows from your subject.

The brightness in side lighting comes from the left or the right of your subject. This has the effect of casting one side in complete darkness, while leaving the other side in the spot light. This is great if you wish to achieve a dramatic and mysterious portrait photo. An easy way to obtain such a shot is by posing your subject in front of a window, with one of their shoulders close to the window.

Diffused lighting helps you to avoid ending up with washed out light colors and contrasting shadows that are way too dark. As such, it is important to always wait until the sun goes behind a cloud. And if your subject can move, position them in the shade of a building or tree and then take the shot. If you cannot move your subject and there are no clouds in the sky, you could make your own shade simply by using an umbrella or a similar object.

Be careful with artificial lighting as this can cause various flaws in your photo. For instance, the flash in your camera can easily cause red eye if the flash is too near the lens. Camera flashes are also known to cast harsh light on the subject. However, with an off camera flash, you will be able to bounce the light and thereby achieve a softer effect. You should also be careful with regular indoor lights as these tend to give the image a yellow cast, unless of course you are using black and white film.

For more information on photography, please visit: http://www.photography-tips-and-resources.com/.

Joan One is a freelance journalist and creative writer who immensely enjoys writing and researching into any topic under the Sun. She specializes in writing "green" eco-friendly topics aimed at enabling environmentally conscious readers to find simple ways to reduce their carbon footprint and help save our planet.

Original article

Demand for Budget Photography on the Rise

With an increasing trend for online start-ups, less money is required to get a business on it's feet compared to an old fashioned bricks and mortar business. However, a large portion of an online start-up's capital still goes into photography, particularly for online retail shops that are relying on good photographs of their products to close the online sale.

With so much expertise and experience required for good photography, high hourly rates and studio rental have been justified and fueled by lenient budgets that existing businesses can afford. However, with the new wave of low overhead, low capital online businesses, comes an increased demand for more affordable photography solutions. To detriment of the photo quality? Initially, you may think so, but with rapidly decreasing technology prices and access to free online education resources such as forums and YouTube, we are witnessing a new generation of 'amateur' photographers with some intimidating skill and photography folios to boot.

Tight budgeted online start-ups coupled with an increasing trend for amateur photography and SLR cameras in the home, the perfect environment has been formed for some budget photography solutions. And this is exactly what we are seeing with small studios, offering great value for money popping up.

These more affordable business-to-business solutions are welcomed amongst the new generation of entrepreneurs, but maybe not by traditional photography studios who have enjoyed high fees for some time. Photography is just one these business-to-business solutions that is now accessible to low budget start ups. Web design, marketing, PR, and administration are all available at budget prices.

As online retail continues to grow, the demand for cheap, fast, flexible photography solutions will increase to keep up with constant rotation of products. The ability to have your inventory photographed quickly and inexpensively with defiantly provide an edge to online businesses.

Post production using Adobe Photoshop used to be another large cost, but can now be done offshore by freelancers who provide their services on websites like oDesk and eLance. Post production can be done for as little as 30 cents an image.

It is exciting to see the business-to-business solutions providers adapt to keep up with this wave of online retail start-ups and modern, low budget business structures. Particularly in the current economic climate, it is expected that clients will trying to save a dollar. So next time you are getting some quotes for photography and/or studio hire, be sure to check out some budget solutions.

Original article

Film Photography Techniques

Today, there are digital stock photography tips and film photography techniques for digital and film photographers respectively. In order to create stunning photographic images, every film photographer needs to apply some basic film photography techniques. These include:

1. Composition is one of the most important techniques in film photography, which makes the difference between mediocre and professional shots. Before capturing image to film, you must always take composition into account. For instance, those learning how to photograph art should properly balance shapes and diagonals to maintain interest, cropping, as well as bringing the subject to the foreground.

2. Depth of Field is the distance between the foreground and background of the subject which remains in focus. This is a basic technique of photography which is handled with the aperture setting of the film camera and the subject's focal distance. For a shallow depth of field, you require a clear focus on your subject, and the out of focus areas around it. For a great depth of field, everything will be in the frame in focus.

3. Motion photography will enable you to capture motion. It is possible to capture motion using various techniques, as well as varying shutter speed settings. To capture frozen motion photography, you will require a fast shutter speed to enable you to capture your subject during movement in an image that is in focus and perfectly sharp. A tip on how to photograph fireworks displays through blurred motion photography is to use slow shutter speed.

4. For night photography, you will require long exposures and a lot of patience. This technique can prove difficult when it comes to figuring out the proper aperture and shutter speed settings. You may have to use a handheld light meter because many 35mm film cameras do not have a light meter to provide you with accurate readings for your night photography.

5. Landscape photography will require sharp detail achieved through slow shutter speeds and small apertures. With landscape photography, the possibilities are endless. All you need to do is follow the simple rule of composition with a foreground, background and middle ground. In order to learn how to photograph landscapes well, be ready to walk to various spots and patiently wait for the right lighting to fall on your scene.

6. For wildlife photography, you will need a handheld camera and pretty fast shutter speeds. Use a long camera lens to take close photographs of wildlife without getting too close to startle or cause them any harm. With a zoom lens, you can zoom in on birds which are likely to be higher than you.

7. For winter photography, you will need to overexpose your film so as to bring out the white of the snow.

For more information on photography, please visit: http://www.photography-tips-and-resources.com/.

Joan One is a freelance journalist and creative writer who immensely enjoys writing and researching into any topic under the Sun. She specializes in writing "green" eco-friendly topics aimed at enabling environmentally conscious readers to find simple ways to reduce their carbon footprint and help save our planet.

Original article

Photography Trends And Tools For 2012

The photography world is in a constant state of evolution and flux. As the technology available to both professional and amateur photographers is changing every year, there has never been a period that is so exciting for those people who are passionate about this art as what is being experienced today. Keeping abreast of the latest trends and tools coming from Asia is an interesting topic. As it is no longer a uni-polar world, today's culture is influenced as much by the East as it is from the West.

One of the most interesting developments over the last twelve months has been the growth in the use of the iPad as a cool tool for photographers. Although this 'must have' Apple gadget will never replace such software as Photoshop and Elements, its ability to be used to edit images when on the go is a real attraction. What's more, it offers the option to quickly upload and share images and video in an easy-to-carry package.

HDR is a concept that has gained a lot of ground during the last few years, it has become a format that is being experimented with in a big way by photographers throughout Asia. Though the basic idea behind High Dynamic Range photography may be obvious, up until fairly recently it has been hard to get it right with digital technology. HDR involves taking a number of photographs at different exposures which when combined create a single image that captures that entire dynamic range of a particular scene.

Every year technology improves; this is one of the great boons of this modern age. Photographers now have the option of using super-zoom lenses. The trend for ultra detailed snapshots can be seen in many of today's best portfolios. Some of the results that have come about as a result of using super-zoom lenses are truly staggering.

Digital infrared may not yet be a format that is used widely, but it is a style that is certainly gaining ground. Experimenting with this medium can produce extremely dynamic images that capture sights and scenes in ways that have not been possible before.

On a final note, the love affair for black and white remains as strong as ever. There are legions of Asian photography professionals who practice their art using only black and white images. Thanks to the inherent affordability of today's digital cameras, there is a new demographic group who are now producing the most spectacular photographs using this most enigmatic and traditional format.

You can find more information about the latest trends in Asian photography and learn how to create HDR photos at http://www.photokore.com/ now.

Original article

Photography and Video: Short and Long Lighting

Short and long lighting are techniques used to bring out the best qualities of your subject. These techniques can also be used on objects but let's talk about faces here. The face can be classified in one of three shapes; narrow or oblong, triangular or heart-shaped and round. No face is exactly any of these but they are more one than the other. Working with the face is a good way to improve your ability to see the natural shapes within a subject but that's another lesson. In most lighting schemes the aim is to make the face look triangular. If you find this idea to be superficial, or worse, untrue, think of this. Most hairstyles are cut to frame the face in a triangular shape. When people look in the mirror they tend to turn their face so it presents them with a triangular appearance. Maybe not when you're concentrating on a task in the bathroom mirror but catch a glimpse of yourself in a store window and notice your reaction. Of course the first thing is you'll do is stop slouching and suck in your gut, then you'll turn your head slightly to one side or the other.

No one wants to look at a mug shot of themselves or anyone else; unless it's the only picture you have of a loved one. So when you're posing a subject you will turn one side of the face slightly closer to the camera. This is very slight in an interview situation or it can be very extreme in a portrait or artistic sitting. The side of the face closest to the camera's lens, no matter how slight that may be, is the long-side. The side of the face furthest from the camera's lens is the short-side.

Now, even though you may be using more lights, let's just talk about two of them: The Key Light, your brightest light, and The Fill Light. Look at your subject and decide on the shape; does it tend to toward being round or oblong? This is easier to see with women since they will have already done most of the work with their hair styling. But it's still important for you to identify it. Then at least the two of you are working together.

Now for the simple part. If the face is oblong shine your brightest light, which is your Key Light, on the Long-Side of the face, the side closest to the camera's lens and your Fill Light on the Short-Side. This will give the face what it lacks: fullness. If the face is round place the Key Light on the Short-Side and your Fill Light on the Long-Side. This will slim the face.

This works on people, dogs, cats, oranges, bananas, jewelry, cars, whatever. Identify the shape. Identify what you want to do with it. Then do it.

Thanks for listening.

Joseph Valentinetti is an author of novels: fiction and fiction based on fact. He writes articles on a variety of subjects, from impressions of travel spots to speculating about the name of the moon, but his focus is on his writing and author interviews. Get better acquainted at http://www.valentinetti.com/. Join his site and get a free booklet on photographic lighting. Pick up his feed and become part of the dialog. Read A Book.

Original article

Starting a Business in Wedding Photography

Becoming a Professional Wedding Photographer

Creating a successful wedding photography business is a lot of hard work but doesn't come without its rewards. Just because you can take a good picture doesn't mean that you are ready to start your own wedding photography business. There are many stages involved in building a successful wedding photography business. Believing in yourself and your abilities as a photographer is essential in starting your new business in wedding photography.

Some things to consider when starting out. What makes your images unique, for example, are your images more of a photojournalistic style capturing candid moments, and working in all natural light? or do you enjoy working with off camera flash in a studio like setting. Always be true to yourself, find your own creative style. If you perfect your skills in a certain style of photography you're passionate about this is the best way to building confidence in yourself. Practice on friends and family, but don't take their word for how good your work is as naturally they are going to be bias. The average customer you will get as a wedding photographer is going to be more critical about your work.

You might be wondering how to get exposure out in the field? You currently have no portfolio to show potential clients, and no experience dealing with new clients. From my experience, one of the best ways to start out in the Wedding Photography business and start building your portfolio is to find work as an assistant or second shooter for an already established photographer or studio. This is the best way gain confidence, and get first hand experience not just for producing some great images, but also customer service and learn how to direct a shoot. Even at this early stage you should always carry a backup camera.

I wouldn't recommend taking on a friends wedding as the main photographer, this is way too much of a responsibility, even if you think you are well prepared. Its their special day and shouldn't be time for you to practice wedding photography.

You need to also be critical of your photography. Know that you're good, but also know where there is room for improvement. Rather than trying to compete with a million other wedding photographers out there, set yourself a personal high standard. If your not at the level you need to be at, find a photographers work that you admire, research what makes them successful, understand the quality of work they have to offer and know whats involved in producing it. Forget about the rest, there are a lot of ordinary photographers out there too. Remember you need to aim high. Research what you need to get to that high level. You can never spend enough time researching new photographic methods and the latest equipment on the market. Always use your camera in manual mode, know your equipment like the back of your hand. This will give you the confidence and practical skill that you will need as a professional.

It is also of great importance to be proficient in post processing, spend plenty of time using Lightroom and photoshop, buy photography magazines, watch tutorials online, you can educate yourself, as everything you need for honing your photographic skills is online. I've always thought that if you do a course in photography, you are only ever going to be as good as the person that teaches you, their technique is not necessarily the best, teaching yourself builds more confidence, you are learning your own style not someone else's!

After gaining some experience as a second shooter, and you have your own portfolio, you might be thinking that your ready to begin your own business, remember not to don't rush into it. Try to save as much money as you can from your assisting work to go towards advertising your business. If you have enough work on as a paid second shooter you can think about advertising your business locally and online, and see what kind of response you get. If you have a good contact that you are assisting for that has plenty of work, I wouldn't recommend moving on to your own business until you are close to fully booked for a year.

When setting your prices an important factor is knowing your value. don't set your prices too low, people will second guess your quality, even if you do great work, they will perceive it differently. Of course don't charge too much either if you are just starting out, you don't want to lose clients because you're too expensive! I find smack bang in the middle is a good option. That way clients won't second guess your prices. If they like your work enough they normally have a set budget for their wedding photography, and they'll hire you. The average for photographic coverage with all images in high-resolution on a disk is $2500, this doesn't include an album, but with the disk they can print as many photos as they like for their own personal use, and perhaps create their own album.

Establish a relationship with a local print lab learn about the proper conversion of files from digital to print, get some test prints done and figure out what type of finish best displays your work. Make sure you have a logo, and business email, its these finishing touches that make a big difference in how you present your business.

Look into wedding album suppliers, and have some ideas for when a client requests an album, getting a sample album made up is a good option, you can take this or an iPad with you to show clients your portfolio.

When running your own wedding photography business, start locally. Pick an area and start advertising with local business linked to weddings. That includes:

Dress makers

Cake makers

limo drivers

wedding planners

wedding venues etc.

Get some quality business cards and brochures made up to give to them. A good idea is to offer a finders fee for any referrals. 10-20% is a good amount. This will mean that they will be actively promoting you by passing on your business cards, and brochures and recommending your work to new customers looking for photographers.

After registering your business, you should be promoting your own website online. A great way is doing some SEO - search engine optimisation, again, this takes a lot of time and research, but you will reap the rewards if you put the hard work in. There are great tools online that will scan your website for keywords, meta titles and tags, this is how people find your website. If you don't promote it online, you will not have a presence. People will never see your work. Pick only your best images to display online. Photomerchant.net offers some great web templates specific to a professional photographers needs with pages in HTML format which you need for optimising your site. Make sure you monitor your site online using google analytics and web master tools. If its not performing as well as you'd hoped, you can do tweak as necessary by doing more SEO.

There are plenty of wedding photography business listings online that are worthwhile to sign upto, a lot are free, and some can charge $100 or more per month, most of the time their reasoning behind charging that much money is because they get so many views per month. Check compete.com, this shows how popular their site is and then maybe you can possibly trial them for a month and see if you get any leads.

A very important aspect of being a wedding photographer is your customer service skill, always be on the ball and be very clear with your clients, don't wait to long to reply to their emails, and keep them unto date with whats happening by confirming their payments, and delivering contracts to them.

Its very fulfilling when you start your business from scratch. Your images should speak for themselves when it comes to marketing yourself, but with wedding photography producing great images is 50% and the other 50% is great customer service. If they loved working with you they are going to pass on the good word to their friends and family. Do your job well, and you will find most of your work is in referrals.

Melissa Fiene is a wedding photographer based in Sydney Australia. She produces high quality images, providing contemporary, and natural style wedding photography. To view her work please visit http://www.melissafiene.com/

Original article

3 Keys to Success With Microstock Photography

Advancements in technology have indelibly changed our lives. TVs are flat (and some have 3d) stuff that used to be small is large, things that use to be huge are now tiny. These changes coupled with a recession have caused businesses to cut cost and people are willing to do more to earn an extra income.

Multiple types of sites that accept submissions of stock photos, however the particular category that we are going to focus on is micro stock. There are higher paying forms of stock photography such as macro stock or rights managed but microstock is usually the easiest to submit to for newbie photographers.

Lots of Quality Photos
Take lots of photos and focus on quality. Always look for different angles, consider lighting and study new techniques. Bear in mind that you may have lots of "bads" at first but that's alright. Bear in mind that stock photo agencies have very high standards so you always want to be improving.

A large amount of photos is what is going to earn an income. One seasoned photography told me that he an average earned $1.00 per year for every photo that he submitted. Bear in mind that most of the photos that he submitted didn't sell (and that was with Royalty Free.) The point is, you can earn an income but you are going to have to work hard for it.

Multiple Agencies
Just about every stock agency is going to give you the offer of being exclusive. This usually means that you don't sell photos to other agencies and can mean that you can't sell them on your own site. They will usually offer you priority listings on their site, banner advertisements and possibly some other benefits. If you are a veteran photographer with years of experience then I'd recommend that you do this. However in your case I would submit the same photos to as many sites as possible. Different sites attract various demographics of clientele who have diverse interest. This means that a photo that doesn't sell well on one site may perform better on another.

Keywords
Keywords are the way you talk with both the stock photography search engines as well as sites like yahoo and Google. Look for successful photos that are similar to yours and use the same keywords that they are using.

Hang in there as you learn this business, no one is an overnight success but with a lot of patience you can be successful.

For more information about stock photography as well as a list of sites check out my hub at: http://photojoe21.hubpages.com/hub/sell-photography-online

If you'd like to improve your photography skills then read my squidoo lens. It's a quick guide that will quickly have you taking amazing photos:
http://www.squidoo.com/portrait-photo-studio

Original article

Good Photography Techniques for Beginners

Good photography techniques are important as they enable you to learn how to set up the perfect environment, and what rules to follow in order to shoot the perfect photo. Below are some of the key digital and film photography techniques you should consider.

1. High Speed Photography

High speed photography involves capturing super fast movements even with an ordinary camera. These images are typically of high-speed events such as breaking glass, popping balloons, as well as splashing liquids which reveal interesting structures that are not visible to the naked eye.

2. Tilt-Shift Photography

Tilt-Shift photography involves using camera movements on small and medium format cameras, through the employment of special lenses. This type of photography comprises of 2 types of movements. The first is the tilt which involves the rotation of the lens relative to the image plane. The second is the shift which refers to the movement of the lens parallel to the image plane.

3. Black and White Photography

Black and white photography begins even before you take your shot. To do this well, you will need to practice and focus on the texture and contrast. There are certain settings you will need to have on your camera in order to achieve the best black and white photographs. In addition, you will also need to know which color filters are ideal for taking your black and white images.

4. Motion Blur Photography

With motion blur photography, you are able to display a sense of speed. This can be artificially achieved in a normal setting, by using a camera with a slow shutter speed. This type of photography is common amongst photographers who capture movement in images while shooting sports and other fast-moving events.

5. Infrared Photography

With digital photography, you can take photos whenever you please, mix them up with normal images, view the results immediately and play around with the settings until the image comes out just right. If you want to shoot near-infrared images straight out of your camera, you will need to do a lot of post-processing to enhance your photographs and get them looking as dramatic and beautiful as images captured normally.

6. Smoke Photography

Smoke photography involves photographing different types of smoke such as outdoor smoke, incense and liquid nitrogen. For the perfect smoke image, you will need to learn how to get the smoke right, set up your exposure and lightning perfectly and thereafter learn how to manipulate images digitally.

For more information on photography, please visit: http://www.photography-tips-and-resources.com/.

Joan One is a freelance journalist and creative writer who immensely enjoys writing and researching into any topic under the Sun. She specializes in writing "green" eco-friendly topics aimed at enabling environmentally conscious readers to find simple ways to reduce their carbon footprint and help save our planet.

Original article

Professional Photography Pricing Considerations

Pricing... you can't work as a professional photographer for very long without becoming caught up in the subject of pricing your work (well, you could, perhaps, but you would never make any money). Then there's the question of, not only what prices to charge, but also how to educate your clients about your price list without them bailing out or thinking you're trying to pressurize them.

In the time that I've been running my studio as a professional photographer, I've explored different methods of presenting my prices to clients and potential clients, with various degrees of success. These include the usual suspects...

* Printed price menus
* Combined price list and brochure
* Web site price page
* By sending out price lists by email

But, the issue I had with these methods was that sales just didn't seem to be where I wanted them to be. I would hand out price lists to prospects who requested them, count the accesses to my price list website page, or email my list to anyone who asked for it - yet the clients disappeared as quickly as they came, like ghosts. This was a complete puzzle to me, and it doesn't take too much of that to imagine that, "my prices must be too high."

Looking at my price list, and considering the lack of returning customers, I really did start to think that my prices were too high - so I made the awful mistake of lowering them. Yes, you guessed it - I got just the same result. The moral is that we can get tangled up in a vicious cycle of always fiddling with the fees.

Is any of this familiar? Are you stuck in that wasteland of trying to second-guess your prospects to find out what you think they would easily pay, rather than what you believe they should pay?

You aren't alone - just about every professional photographer I know has encountered this painful process. But, there is a solution...

Don't Tell - Show

The answer to this problem really requires three distinct things. First, you should decide what your products and services are going to be (i.e. what it is that you're actually selling). Secondly, you should decide on your fees, based on your production costs, level of competition and income requirements. Lastly, produce one price list that is yours, and yours alone.

That's correct, just ONE - no one sees your complete price list unless you personally give it to them - complete with a full sales presentation and in-depth explanation of everything you offer.

I can hear you exclaiming, "that's the dumbest thing I've heard!" but stick with me here for just a moment.

There is a perfectly good explanation why the other methods don't work effectively. When a customer looks at a web site and finds a price list, they can see how much a portrait or a wedding package costs. But how are they going to compare that with what they've seen elsewhere, except by the price?

All of a sudden, your prospect has been turned into a price comparison shopper! In the mind of most clients, all 8x10s are printed equal - but we know that couldn't be more wrong. It's what is printed on the paper that's critical, not the print itself. But how can we clarify this to the prospect when they are a web browser or someone sitting at home reading a price list?

Wedding photography packages are an even better example. Displaying a price for a collection on a web site or in a pamphlet they can take home is only going to make the prospect think, "I get such and such for this price, but that other photographer down the street will give me the same or more for a lower price." You and I both know that the "other" photographer won't put as much time into the wedding day as you will, doesn't have the level of experience you do, won't deliver as fast, or simply isn't as professional. But the prospect is only looking at prices.

The same thing goes when the prospect calls you on the phone. The first question is, "how much?" If you answer that question straight away, they're gone, and we never hear from them after that. Instead, we have to divert our chat away from the price (at least at the beginning of the call) and on to the less logical reasons for the photography they're looking for. Once we've had a chance to educate them about what makes us unique, then we can gently mention pricing, after which we arrange to meet with them personally for a more detailed consultation if the price is within their expectations.

By the time the prospect meets with you for a consultation, they already understand that your prices are affordable.

The Personal Touch

As you might expect, I meet with every prospect before I allow them to book a portrait session or a wedding. This is an opportunity to give my complete sales presentation before showing them my price list. As a salesperson, it is my job to ensure I understand as much about their wants as possible before selling them anything - they won't care what I know until they know I care about them. If making money is the only motivator to you as a professional photographer then you are in the wrong business.

There is one copy of my price list, and I keep it in a leather binder, printed on fine paper. To the prospect, it looks like an official copy, which it is, and nobody has ever asked to take it home.

When I'm meeting with a customer to discuss a wedding or portrait session it can take 45 minutes to an hour before we ever get to the topic of price. The price list is there in front of them, I'm sure they know what it is, but I don't open it until I'm ready. If they ask about the price list, and I don't feel ready for them to see it, I simply say, "I'm so happy you brought that up, and I'll be glad to go over it shortly. But first..." and then I ask them more questions about the wedding or portrait.

By the time we do get to the price list, we've talked about the wedding day, how the couple met, what they like to do together, what's important to them and their family about the wedding, how many bridesmaids & groomsmen they have, the color scheme etc. At that point, they understand that I really care about them, and now the topic of price is no longer the main driving force. Obviously, they will have a plan in mind, and there should be a collection that falls within that range, but they are no longer just comparing our prices to everyone else's. They are making a comparison - but it's to do with things like service, quality, attention to detail, personality etc.

"Selling" - Start At The Top!

When I go through the price list I start with the most expensive choice, even if they've already indicated their budget. Doing it like this, I only have to sell down and not up. Selling up is as hard as climbing a mountain - it's usually much simpler going down than up.

Don't make the awful mistake of confusing this method for pressure sales, because it isn't. The reason for selling down is to help them become involved with a package that's right appropriate for them, even if it does happen to be the cheapest one you offer.

The client doesn't understand as much about creative professional photography as us, so they may not truly understand which considerations they ought to be most concerned about. Instead, they get stuck on the only thing they can relate to, which happens to be the price. At the end of the day, it's our job to get them off the price, and re-connect them with the real elements of what we do.

Summary

I just want to make sure that I do underline this point:

I have only one printed price list to show to prospective clients - there are no prices listed on my web site, no prices emailed out to those who ask for them, no detailed prices given over the telephone and no brochure with a few photographs and my prices for them to take away.

I am not hiding anything from my customers or trying to deceive them - that's not the way to run a solid photography business. But, it does demonstrate to my prospects that I value them above the prices for my photography. It also helps to screen out the types of prospects I don't want to work with - the ones to whom price is the main important factor and to whom family, relationships, memories and emotions are not as valued.

So far, no one has complained about this procedure. My customers now treat my prices with respect and they understand the context in which they're given. This encourages better sales and, in my opinion, an overall better experience for the prospect.

About The Author

Nigel Merrick is a professional photographer, blogger and business coach for other working photographers. Nigel's blog ( Photography Business and Marketing ) helps professional photographers find peace in their business, love from their clients, and happiness in their personal lives by clarifying their focus on business and marketing.

Original article

Fun Picture Ideas Such As Nude Photography

Have you ever seen a photo of your great-great grandparents? Great portrait photography is everlasting and becomes a family heirloom. When should you hire a professional and when should you do it yourself? It depends on the subject or if there is an occasion.

Wedding Pictures

You definitely hire professionals for a big event such as a wedding. Your photographer can take pre-wedding pictures, too! Negotiate a package that includes this service. Excellent venues are parks andthe beach. National parks are fantastic especially if they have ponds with boats and, if possible, a waterfall! Look out for man-made structures such as a gazebo. If you get lucky there may be great specialty items such as bed boats with a canopy.

Pre-wedding photos are great because you can include these in a wedding book. The wedding book will have these pictures and of the wedding itself. Make sure there are pictures with parents, bridesmaids, the entourage and friends. On the day of the wedding be sure to plan for a picture-taking time before, during and after the wedding.

An example of taking pictures before the wedding is if the venue is by a beach. The bridesmaids and entourage and the couple can wear their formal attires and head to the beach. Wedding venues such as hotels and resorts usually have areas that make great backgrounds. Try to take a picture of the couple and print it wallet sized. Then include this as part of the wedding favors, which can be a picture holder.

Family Picture

Portrait photography is usually done by an expert. You can do this more than once. The first, when the kids are still small and then when they are all grown up. It's up to you to decide on the attire but formal is a safe route. Decide on the venue - outdoors or indoors, but keep it simple. Remember that this may be passed down through generations so get it both in color and black and white.

Nude photography is becoming popular but have a professional handle this. It looks great colored and neutral. Do it with your partner and in singles. Bring a transparent shawl that reflects your favorite color. Red is popular. Make sure that when you hire a photographer that you also have your hair styled at the salon. Avoid too much makeup. Try to hit the gym and go on a diet a week before taking the shots.

Pregnancy shots are special so hire an expert. Take the picture when you are 6 months pregnant or when the stomach is obviously large enough to indicate pregnancy. Pictures can be done nude or semi-nude. Take pictures with and without your partner, and have black and white and colored versions.

DIY

Invest in a good camera such as a Nikon, Canon or other well-known brands. Choose an SLR but also have a small point-and-shoot. The small digital camera should be in your bag at all times for those unexpected occasions. They are especially useful when hiking in national parks. Make sure you have good lighting in your house and 1 or 2 reflectors. Also buy a camera stand.

The SLR is great for taking pictures of your baby each month. Make sure you have a baby toy that is in each month's picture. It's great watching how babies and children develop. Plus the pictures are cute! There will be days when the baby will cooperate and days when he/she won't. You can use themes such as costumes or even pots in the picture.

Agata Bennett is an experienced photographer knowledgeable on the principles of nude photography and portrait photography.

Original article

Facts About Modern Photography - Learn More Here

Once the birth of the camera arrived and the popularity of photography exploded, the only thing that could follow was mass production of cameras as well as the wide distribution of pictures. As a result of photography, it has changed history, art, memories and the in which we view the world.

This also affected well known public figures and this caused their privacy to vanish. They were constantly being photographed. Having a photograph with clear evidence that a certain event has taken place would cause things to go unchallenged.

The Art Form-
It was not accepted in the early years. The art form was criticized and challenged by many of those that opposed it being considered an art form. Photography was considered a hobby or craft and was looked at as an insult when one considered it an art.

Photography is finally accepted-
Once art schools and galleries as well as museums finally started to come around and embrace it as an art, the impact grew wildly and the end result is what we have today in the world of photography.

During the mid 1960's photography was accepted as a visual art and photographers started creating mediums of interest that were different from the more traditional norms that were first used within the art form.

Photography has been combined with other forms of expression such as multi-media and other forms of imaging.

Practical Photography-
Photography has been used for many practical situations. Photography is often time used in medicine, real estate development, military planning as well as business and media.

One area that has benefited from photography the most is science. If you think in terms of aerial maps, meteorology and geology, you'll notice they all use photography to advance the research and fact finding process.

Digital Photography-
With the invention of digital photography and the use of software, images can be changed and appear to be more or less than what they are.

As a result of digital photography being created, this caused a change in the way in which many photography techniques are used.

Photography is more than 100 years old and this is one art form continues to innovate and create new and improved technology and methods. You'd think we were on the tail end of the art form but the art continues to grow and develop and it does not appear to being slowing down anytime soon.

If you'd like to keep up with the latest developments in photography, I'd suggest you subscribe to a few of the leading magazines as well as follow a few of the cutting edge blogs.

About The Author

Keith S. Black has many different photography methods. He is a successful photographer and makes a full time living as a photographer. To find out about one of the best cameras to use for your photography you can visit: http://reviewdslrcameras.com/nikon-reviews/ to read one of Keith's Nikon Reviews and get more information.

Original article

Considering Photography School? Here's How To Choose The Best School

Lots of people have a strong desire to make photography a long term career instead of just a hobby. The first step is to get a solid photography education.

Photography school is no different from other schools. You'll want to ensure that you select the best school for your needs and one that has met all of your requirements as it relates to getting a great education.

Below, I will provide a few good tips that you can use to help you select the best school for your needs.

Have a broad view.
In order to have a broad view, you must be able to have a very open mind. This entails thinking long term and asking yourself what are your ultimate career goals? The beauty of photography is, you can take multiple paths to lead a fulfilling career.

Two tracks to consider are: The artistic side and the business side. If you're going for the artistic side of the art, you can find various different paths and subjects that will assist you with getting on this track.

If you're interested in the business side of the art, you can look for schools that offer great photography business courses with the focus being on creating a for profit business, sales and marketing of your services.

In the minds of many, photography is only point and shot. When you're enrolling in school don't assume that just because you're studying photography, that you can avoid taking the difficult courses like math. You'll be surprised to find out those courses are skills you'll need to develop and have a good grasp of, especially as it relates to the business side of photography.

Not to mention, business courses like finance, accounting and marketing for small businesses are courses that you should take as well.

Smaller class sizes are better.
If you have large classes, that can actually hinder you're learning process. Large classes make it difficult to ask questions and spend time getting the one on one attention that is needed from your instructor.

Technology.
The best schools will have cutting edge courses as it relates to the use of computers in photography. Entering the filed of photography as a career is massively competitive and having a very strong background in the use of computers is nothing less than mandatory This is even more important because digital photography is driven by technology.

Financial Aid.
If you can find a great school that offers some sort of financial assistance this will be much better than taking out lots of student loans and strapping yourself with debt for years to come. Also, if that means going to school part-time while working full-time to avoid student loans, I would suggest this to be the path to take.

In addition to the above, the equipment that is needed for attending photography school is very expensive and having a nice savings account with extra cash is going to make your career choice much easier.

Choosing a great school is not hard if you have first considered what you want out of your career. Once you've figured out the hard part than selecting the school is the easy part.

These are just a few of my tips for selecting a good school. If you follow my tips and do your research, you'll find the school that will meet your needs.

About The Author

Keith S. Black has many different photography methods. He is a successful photographer and makes a full time living as a photographer. To find out about one of the best cameras to use for your photography you can visit: http://reviewdslrcameras.com/nikon-reviews/ to read one of Keith's Nikon Reviews and get more information.

Original article

Trends in Photography Web Sites

Being an artistic industry, photography is subject to trends and fads, just like any other business related to the arts. Those trends can be in picture styles, post-processing techniques, lighting techniques and print options.

With the rise of the web-based portfolio, there are trends starting to appear online as well. Some of these are positive developments, some of them we could all live without.

More HTML5, Less Flash

This would be one of the positive developments. Flash has several problems related to use on the web. It's not search engine friendly and Flash has a reputation of being slow, inefficient, a resource hog and a security problem.

With the rise of mobile devices, Flash has become an even bigger issue. Many of them simply don't support it. With the rise in technologies like HTML5, JavaScript and CSS3 the need for Flash in photography sites is becoming less of an issue. Most effects commonly used on photography sites no longer require Flash.

Less Music

Another positive trend is photographers are finally getting the hint to turn off the music on web sites. There's nothing like music suddenly blasting out of their speakers to really annoy users. Unless you're trying to leave viewers with the impression that you're an annoying dolt, in which case, go right ahead.

If you want to add music to a slide show, that's fine. Just make sure the music is off by default and that the link to the show is clearly marked "with music". Giving users the option for music will be much better received than trying to force it on them.

The End of Big Text

Nothing shrieks "amateur" quite as loudly as massive block text blasted all over a web site.
The text on your web site should be an aid to navigation and convey information as cleanly and elegantly as possible. After that your photography should be doing the talking, not block text floated over your work.

The same theory applies to watermarks. Your watermark should be large enough to read the name with the unaided eye but not so big it takes away from the pictures. Many photographers attempt to deliberately spoil a photo with the watermark to discourage copying.

In these days of search engines like TinyEye.com, it's possible to search across the internet to find sites or people improperly displaying your work. There's no need for the self-promoting monster watermarks.

More Text

Another positive development is photographers adding more text to their sites. Photos still are not search engine friendly and the text, particularly on your landing page, will help search engines steer users your way.

Another benefit is people searching to hire photographers many times want to know what you have to say.

The concept has sometimes been referred to as the Semantic Web and smart photographers have picked up on the trend. Although photography is a visual art, there is always a desire to learn more about the artist, beyond the mere facts of their personal history.

You'll learn even more with Proud Photography - one of the best online photography schools available today at Classes on photography

Original article

Casual Photography

Taking pictures got easier and easier as time went by. Today, almost any electronic device you buy comes with a camera and it becomes unlikely that you ever find yourself missing one.

Of course in front of a great opportunity you may sometimes feel that you do not have the proper tools.

If you just have your cell phone, you may wish you had your DSLR or any better camera. Still, you have something with you and can take that shot.

Is there really any proper tool anyway?

Some great photographers in the past used cameras that were much worse than what your bad cell phone camera can provide you with. Did they take bad pictures? On the contrary, their pictures survived until today.

If you have a smartphone, as many do today, you have probably noticed many photography application popped up every day. Some are good, other useless. The trend seems to be the possibility to add a vintage look to your pictures. For some it will do the trick. If you are serious about photography you may feel limited though. Yet creativity is all about how you can do something different within a frame of rules and limits. Why not limit yourself sometimes to see what you can do?

Instead of focusing on the limiting aspects, consider the advantages:
• Always available
• Easy to share
• No backache at the end of the day
• Enable you to practice

If you want to do the same things you do with better, heavier, more expensive gears, you will be disappointed.

If however you find a new way to play within the limits of the device, then you go out of your comfort zone and get creative.

If you own whatever device with an apple on it, you may want to give a look to applications such as Instagram.

In case you would use another kind of cell phone there are most likely equivalents. And if it's not a cell phone but a gaming device, a social camera or whatever, what does matter is that it has a camera, does not it?

Considering Instagram, it is indeed limiting, only has pre-sets for processing and only enables you to take square pictures.

If you want to see further, consider how much stronger the impact of symmetry is when using the square format. Learn the rule of thirds and break it. The Square format is quite demanding about composition, but if you want to learn, this is only for the better.

Recently I have been using an iPod touch to take a few pictures. At first I felt it was very bad, the camera has a definition of 0.7Mpx and terrible dynamic range. Yet I always have it with me and it made it really easy to take pictures everywhere.

I may not shoot a fashion shot with it (though some people have had fashion shots or music clips with an iPhone).

But I can get around the bad definition with panoramas, or focus on patterns, contrasts, and subjects that do not require what I cannot get. In the end it is all about expressing things, only the means are different.

Thibaut Fantian is a landscape & portrait photographer currently based in Kyoto, Japan. His work and services are available online at http://www.frameaway.com/.

Frame Away aims at providing pure photographs for your vision.

Email contact@frameaway.com today for further details.

Original article