Apr 30 2007
Photography is an art, and when you are dealing with any art form, it is not uncommon to get discouraged with your work at some time or another. Just as a writer gets writer's block, as a photographer, you may get stuck by lacking inspiration for new and exciting pieces. When every photograph begins looking like the last, it is time to stop wasting film on mediocre prints and time to start motivating yourself for better work. Continue Reading »
Apr 27 2007
Night photography is some of the most stunning work done by professionals. If you are just beginning to learn about photography, you too can try your hand at night photography and may be very pleased with the results. Learning to take pictures at night is a little more challenging than learning about daytime photography, but with a little dedication to the art, you can get some beautiful shots at night. Continue Reading »
Apr 24 2007
Many professional photographers choose to shoot not only in color, but also in black and white. Black and white photographs have a classic look about them, and the techniques used for shooting a roll of film in black and white are not drastically different than when shooting a roll of film in color. Black and white photography is sometimes even easier for beginners to learn their technique, because you are focused more on light and composition than color. Continue Reading »
Apr 21 2007
I have modified the comment system on this blog to allow anyone to comment, even if you have not registered. The comments will, however, be held for me to approve before they appear.
So ... no need to register, just click on the "Comment" (or "No Comment" in many cases) link on any article and leave a comment for me. If I feel that it is useful to my readers, I will approve it, usually within 24 hours.
Apr 21 2007
Photography in itself is a wonderful pastime, and the end result of this hobby is a set of beautiful prints to share with family and friends. How, though, can you display these pictures in the best way? Unless you have unlimited wall space, you most likely cannot hang every single picture in a frame. Luckily, there are many other good options for storing and displaying prints so that you can look at them for years to come. Continue Reading »
Apr 15 2007
I know that some of you still have and use older versions of Paint Shop Pro, like version 7. In fact, although I have version 10 on my computer, I still have version 7 loaded as well. Why? It is a smaller program and thus loads much much faster than newer versions and uses less computer resources. If I want to do a quick crop of an image, or some other simple task, I'll use version 7.
Apr 15 2007
A quick tutorial describing the process of removing a solid background from an image. This tutorial is based on a standard Chroma Key green background. The tutorial is 5 minutes long.
I can also recommend a book that goes into more detail on this technique, and explains how to do this without a chromakey backdrop. More book info at the Back Drops Book webpage.
Apr 14 2007
Collage is an art form that uses multiple photos, drawn and painted images, and other objects to make a piece of art. Photo editing software, like Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro, can be used to give a new twist to the old art form of collage. Creating a collage using software is fun and simple, because all you need to make the digital collage are photos and the desire to experiment. Creating a collage digitally is simple, but all users can use a few tips to create an eye-catching piece of art. Continue Reading »
Apr 05 2007
If you are uploading images to the internet, especially for use as part of a website, make sure that you resize your images in a graphics editor so that their file sizes get smaller. If you just resize images by specifying a width and height in HTML or CSS, then they still take just as long to download as they would have, without the extra time serving any useful purpose.
Apr 03 2007
Today’s digital cameras make taking photos a lot easier than cameras of yesterday. This does not distract from some basic composition tips. One great idea is to keep your own journal of tips. Read the journal frequently, and add additional notes about each tip as you get better at implementing the tip. Over time you will apply these tips without thinking. Then you will truly be not only a picture taker, but a photographer.
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