Choosing a Digital Camera for Your Child

Which Camera Should You Get for your Child?

This article is divided into age groupings to help you decide what kind of camera would be best for your child. The age guidelines are simply a starting point, as kids progress at their own pace, and some will be more interested in "serious photography" than others.

Toddler through Early Elementary: What Kids Like About Cameras/Photography

Turning the camera on and off on their ownThe cause and effect of pushing a button and having something happenSeeing someone or something through an LCD displaySeeing themselves on the display or in a pictureDoing things like Mom and Dad

The Type of Photos You Can Expect to See:

Pictures of the floor, the ceiling or partial shots of people and objectsMultiple pictures of the same person or object

What to Look For in a Camera:

Since the first stage usually applies to younger kids, you'll want a sturdy camera designed for small handsCompletely automated features, including flash and focusA picture resolution/storage space combination that can hold a lot of photosControls that are easy to use and understand

Early Elementary through Middle School: What Kids Like About Cameras/Photography

Capturing favorite things, people and placesCapturing memories, such as vacations, field trips, birthday partiesBeing trusted with a digital camera of their ownPrinting pictures or using them for cards, journals and scrapbooks

The Type of Photos You Can Expect to See:

Posed and candid shots of friends, pets and family members MANY pictures from each life event, including field trips, vacations and partiesShots of themselves posing with friends or doing silly things

What to Look For in a Camera:

Easy to use and understandSturdy and inexpensive, in case it is dropped, lost or stolenMostly automated features, but some control over things like the flash and zoomGood resolution (clear photos), but not so high that the pictures eat up storage spaceJust for fun: special effects, such as captions, clip art, etc.Customizable camera cases and straps for the fashion-conscious

Middle School and Older: What Kids Like About Cameras/Photography

Capturing friends and favorite places or belongingsExploring sense of self with self-portraits and photos with friendsSelf-expression and a creative outletEditing photos and possibly creating scrapbooks, collages and journalsPrinting photos, using them on web pages or otherwise sharing them

The Type of Photos You Can Expect to See:

A lot of group shots, particularly of friendsMore artistic pictures of nature, architecture and peopleSelf portraits, either alone or with friends, that display different aspects of their personality.Expect to see more expressions of sexuality in the photographs as that is an important part of exploration for this age group.

What to Look For in a Camera:

A reasonably priced, adult-sized cameraControl over flash and zoom and possibly other more advanced featuresSome kids may still enjoy customizable faceplates or "fashion" camerasMostly automated features, unless they are showing a more serious interest in photographyExpandable memory options

The great thing about digital cameras is that you can easily download the pictures to your computer for viewing ( or deleting) without paying for prints. They can also be downloaded to a disk for storage, or printed at home.

Show your child the basics of how to operate the camera. Kids may even need to know what button to push, and where to place their hands, so that they are not blocking the viewfinder. Teach them the importance of light, such as making sure there's enough light to see what they're photographing. Teach them to have the light in front of the subject. Tell them not to point her camera into the sun. You may need to teach your child to focus the camera.

Show your child books of photography by famous photographers, including those that feature photos of children. Good examples are "In Our Time: The World as Seen by Magnum Photographers", any of Anne Geddes books or photos of babies, or any by Ansel Adams. If you have pets, any of William Wegman's dog books would be good to show them, as well. Point out the use of light in the books, how the photographer centered the subject in the photographs, and what there is about the photograph that makes it interesting or fun.

Take your kids to photo exhibits, or find ones suitable for your family online. Look for local exhibits by contacting studios or museums in your area. Ask the children to comment on the use of light and how the photographers created their images.

Print your child's photographs, and display them for her to see. Acknowledge all your child's efforts.

Let them come up with ideas for photo shoots or photo contests, that can include the entire family. You can suggest a "What Is This?" Contest.

What is that?

When taken close-up, many commonplace things take on weird, unusual, and otherworldly appearances--especially if they're shown upside down or at an unexpected angle. Even the family pet!

"What Is This?" mystery photos can be put on-screen on your computer as a slide show, and everyone can take turns guessing what is in the photo.

Or you can hold a Photo Exhibition, where you can invite family and friends over for snacks and an art showing. Kids love showing off their works of art!

Another idea is to make a jigsaw puzzle out of a photo print.The kids can print out a photo (on card stock) or paste a photo onto cardboard (to make it thicker), and cut into squiggly pieces for a puzzle the whole family can enjoy.

Let your kids have fun with their digital camera. Encourage them to photograph whatever subjects appeal to them. Answer their questions, and be there if they ask for help.

Leslie Uhl has a B.A. Photography from Art Center College of Design and has been taking photos for over 20 years.
Both of her children also love to take pictures, and this article is based on her experiences finding the right equipment for them.
To see some of her work, go to http://leslieuhlphotography.com/

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Choosing Camera Lenses for Different Photography Techniques

If you're a professional photographer or really interested in this field of work, you'd need to think carefully about which types of photos you're generally more likely to take. When choosing camera lenses, you need to be aware of which photography techniques are possible with a specific lens before making a purchase. Let's have a look at some of the camera lenses on the market today.

1. The Fish-eye Lens: Originally used and preferred by astrologists, this camera lens basically distorts the image, creating a curved image as if looking through a looking-glass. This lens has a wide range, giving photographers the option to capture landscapes with ease.

2. The Wide-Angle Lens: When it comes to choosing camera lenses, the wide-angle lens is preferred by most landscape photographers as the lens has an extremely wide range of view, as the name suggests. The ability to focus on both background and foreground simultaneously, while being able to capture a wide landscape which is far beyond what the human eye can see makes this one a firm favorite. If you're looking to focus on a single object rather than an entire landscape, avoid using this lens as these photography techniques are rather limited with this one.

3. The Macro Lens: Since most new digital cameras have a macro setting it's not necessary to purchase one of these unless you specialize in taking close-ups and would like the best possible picture quality. The Macro lens is perfect for shooting dew on a flower, ants carrying food or anything that would otherwise distort on normal cameras when taking photos at such close range. This lens removes the blur which will usually be seen with other lenses when taking close-ups, making the macro lens the perfect toy for nature lovers to extend their photography techniques.

4. The Zoom Lens: Whether you're into landscapes or portraits, the zoom lens is a great addition for any photographer when it comes to choosing camera lenses. You have the ability to widen and shorten the focal length to adjust the magnification of your shot, one downfall however, is that the zoom lens has small lens opening which makes it difficult to get a quality photo in low-light. When purchasing a camera, don't be deceived by the "amazing" digital zoom capabilities, if you're looking to become a pro, you need to focus more on optimal zoom capabilities. Optical zoom provides much better quality as opposed to digital zoom, which crops the image and reduces pixels in the process; optimal zoom keeps the image as is.

5. The Telephoto Lens: There's not much difference between a zoom lens and a telephoto lens when it comes to photography techniques. The telephoto lens will make photos seem closer than they really are.

When choosing camera lenses, ensure that you get something that will complement your photos. If you're and expert at photography techniques, look for something that will make your job easier as a professional, something that will save time and improve quality at the same time.

If you want to learn more about trick photography visit the authors Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/PhotographyTricks

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24 Things You Should Be Concerned About When Choosing A Wedding Photographer And Why

Here's an article for soon to-be-married couples. The list will below will give you an idea if your prospective wedding photographer will be the right wedding photographer for your wedding day.
Portfolio. Ask the wedding photographer to provide you with a url of his or her website and meet him or her in person to see actual prints and/or albums. Better yet, ask him or her to show a complete portfolio of a single wedding.
Scope of coverage. Will the coverage start from your preparation up to the end of reception? Or just the ceremony or reception? Again, your choice, as this may impact on the cost.
Coverage Style. Ask the photographer what's his style. Photojournalistic, traditional, or mixed?
Will the photographer personally shoot your wedding. Because some photographers sometimes assign the work to others. Ask him or her to put it in writing, together with alternatives if he or she can't really personally shoot your wedding.
Unique and personal photos.What's the photographer's plan or M.O. or S.O.P. with regards to making your wedding photographs unique and personal to you?
Prenup and postnup photography. Does the wedding photographer offer an engagement photo session or prenup? How about postnup? Ask him or her how much, and if there's a discount for any of these services.
Photographer's experience. Ask your prospective wedding photographer how long has he or she been in business?
Costs. These are the different packages. Does the wedding photographer have different wedding packages to choose from. Most wedding photographers will spell out the things included in a particular package.
Overtime fee. Will there be an overtime fee? Ask beforehand and request that it be put in the contract if the wedding photographer has one.
Travel Fees. It's customary for photographers to charge travel fees for out-of-town weddings. Negotiate if you can.
Discounts. Will he or she give you a discount for duplicate prints, albums, enlargements, thank you cards, signature frames, etc.?
Proofs for the album. These may be in the form of contact sheets, CD /DVD, online gallery, or 3R prints. From theses proofs, you will select the pictures that will go into the album. It's seldom now that photographers provide contact prints and 3R prints. Wedding photographers and couples today prefer a CD/DVD or an online gallery because of convenience. The photographer may likewise opt to send you the pictures thru email (slow and laborious) or send the photos to a cloud storage service (easy to use and fast), like Dropbox, which I currently use.
How long will the wedding photographer give you the pictures for selection after the wedding. 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month?
How much time will the photographer allow you for picture selection. I usually give my clients all the time they need to choose. But, as a rule, you should make the selection within 2 weeks, at the most, because after a month or two, your wedding photographer may be busy with other shoots.
Picture selection. Will the photographer help you in selecting, like give you a short list of his own choices to make the process easy for you? In the Philippines, most couples like to choose themselves from the thousands of pictures I give them. Your choice, really. There are pros and cons to both.
Prints/Reprints Orders. Would the prospective wedding photographer have a system that will make it easy for your friends and relatives to order reprints for themselves?
Picture quality. How long will the printed pictures and album last, in terms of fading.
Viewpoint or attitude towards photographing weddings. For instance, is it just a job for him/her? More often than not, the answer to this question will tip the scale for or against your decision in hiring the photographer.
Assistant. Will he/she have an assistant or assistants?
Backup equipment. Another basic and yet very important so that your photographer can continue shooting even if his or her main camera or other equipment decided to take a rest in the middle of your celebration.
Film or digital. Again, there are pros and cons to both.
Payment policy. This is another item you and your photographer should be able to agree on beforehand, preferably in writing.
Availability. Is the wedding photographer available on your wedding date?
Guarantees. This is important as you are paying with your hard-earned money. Ask him or her if the service comes with some form of guarantees.

If you feel that the wedding photographer is right for you, you can now relax and make the commitment with the confidence that you've made a well-formed, smart decision.

Tony Oquias is a professional photographer and writer based in the Philippines. You can visit his website at http://tonystill.com/ or read his blog with more photography articles and tips at http://tonystill.com/blog.

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