by Amanda Maseko
The bride and groom are usually so busy on their wedding day that without photos to remind them, many of the days events would be forgotten. Because of this, the vast majority of couple arrange for a digital wedding photographer to be there for the most important part of the day.
This isn’t easy; creating that perfect shot if you are taking photographs without help as there is only so much you can do on your own without help. With the information here you may find taking photographs with a digital camera at a wedding a little easier.
Unless you know how to compensate or have taken the shot purposely for effect; remember the background is very important. Often when there is a good background there are just too many people in the shot, so if this is the situation, just try and capture a nice head and shoulders shot of the couple.
Spectacled guests can be a problem as glare from their glasses obscures their eyes and reflects back at the camera. If there is someone in the group that you particularly want to take a photograph of but they are in a crowd then try using the zoom, it will give a good close-up that you wouldn’t achieve any other way.
Some of the best pictures you will take will be those where the subject(s) do not know the shot is being taken and the best way to do this is by using a zoom lens. You should be alert at all times when shooting digital wedding photography since you can seldom ask people to keep posing for you and the day is also about spontaneity.
Digital cameras rely on two things, memory and power and the last thing you want when you take your shots is to run out of memory or for the batteries to die on you. Professional digital slr cameras start at 6 mega pixels and very few compacts are now below that so your card will need to be a minimum of one gigabyte to be on the safe side.
The higher the resolution you set the better the images will be and the larger they can be printed out. Once you have the images it is only a matter of printing out the ones you want and saving all of them on a CD for a permanent storage or presentation.
If you have a passion for photography and a good relationship with the two people getting married then your digital wedding photography images should come out just fine.
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Posted by: David Peters in Photography, tags: adobe photoshop, advanced adobe, advanced photoshop, digital cameras, digital photography, edit photos, editing digital photography, internet, Photography, photography guide, photoshop, photoshop tutoroials, software, software help
by David Peters
The effects you can achieve today with editing software are beyond what professional photographers years ago thought possible. Now is a time when there are no limitations on editing images- everything is possible and creativity is the only requirement to make outstanding pictures. There are thousands of programs that help us improve the photographs we take, but none have the respect of the professional and amateur community as Adobe Photoshop. The software is so closely linked with altering images that the term ‘to Photoshop’ has come to mean ‘to enhance pictures’.
You can ‘Photoshop’ any image to include people and places you’ve never met or been to. An image of you on a beach playing volleyball with Elvis and The Beatles would be hard to produce before Photoshop, but now pictures like this are almost commonplace. Anything you can think of, Photoshop can render realistically.
Photoshop is also useful for taking things out of the picture that you don’t want. Glaring physical flaws like skin blemishes can be removed to improve the image, and it is even possible to remove entire objects or figures that you want out of the image. Photoshop is so refined that it will be impossible to tell if your images have been enhanced at all.
Photoshop is essential for anyone interested in photography in today’s digital world. The software is just as important and wide-spread as Microsoft Word and PowerPoint in the media industry. You may feel pressure to learn how to use the software, but the resources are easily available to anyone due to the popularity of the program. A lot of people know how to use Photoshop, so if you know anyone in college or high school, ask them if they could teach you.
They story of Photoshop goes back to 1989 when two brothers developed a software for editing images. The program was extremely useful for their personal projects, and it dawned on them that they could make money by selling this product to the growing software market. They soon founded Adobe and began production of Photoshop in 1990.
Adobe’s achievement is difficult to put in perspective. This small company has designed programs that are on almost every computer in the world. The Adobe Reader, a free PDF reader, is used by everyone to read PDFs due to its simplicity and reliability. The PDF format is just another example of how Adobe has taken over a format, creating software related to it that becomes the world-wide standard.
To become a master of Photoshop, you should find a copy that you can try things out with. Someone you know probably has it on their computer, so use their copy to try things out and get used to how Photoshop works. If your friend knows how to use the program, let them impress you with how powerful Photoshop can be. After that, you’ll be hooked on Photoshop forever.
Once you gain some experience with Photoshop, you should get a copy of your own. Trial versions are available for download, but they do not have all the features. The best way to avoid frustration is to buy the full version. Photoshop is used everywhere, so spending the money on this program is a good decision. When you’ve bought Photoshop, you may now explore it to your heart’s content. It should be noted that you will learn the fundamentals of Photoshop faster and better if you take a course on Photoshop. The tutors will take time to teach you what you need to know to be more efficient and effective in your use of Photoshop, without worrying about each individual effect.
When the time comes that you have mastered Photoshop, the only thing limiting what you can do will be your own creativity. You will have a powerful tool at your hands that can create any image you want, so now you can apply this to personal or business projects and be confident that you can pull anything off.
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by Kip Wittenger
Have you been pondering over whether to buy that new digital camera? You’ve ruled the digicam out, figured a digital camera will give you the recording time you need. So when exactly should you buy that digital camera?
Do you want your money to go the distance? In other words, do you want the latest and greatest? If that’s the case, March and November are your big months to buy a digital camera. These are the months that manufacturers lead to for big months, the new years models and the holidays.
See anything particular about those months? Of course you did, it’s the new year and the holiday season. Which means that if you’re looking for a great deal, as opposed to the cream of the crop, look just after these times of the year.
It use to be that all the talk was about megapixels. But not so much anymore, most digital cameras come with about 5 which is good enough for everyday shooting. If you’re looking to print out some photo’s, you might want to investigate more on the megapixel topic.
Don’t forget about the price tag for digital camera accessories. If you already own a camera this probably won’t matter, you’ll already have the accessories. If you’re a newbie to buying a digital camera you just might look to a deal that includes the accessories such as a tripod, case and more.
A great place to start becoming more knowledgeable is by reading reviews online. You can go to school on someone else’s experience buying a Canon digital camera, if that’s what you’re looking for. You’ll be surprised at how much information you can pick up just by reading a handful of reviews.
How about taking a few shots before you buy? Even if you plan to get a great deal online, you can go to the nearest big electronics store and take a few photos. Bring them home and download them on your PC, what better way to check out a digital camera..
When it is time to buy, is online your best bet? It doesn’t really matter, you can get good deals anywhere. I’ve always preferred to buy online because I could cover more ground faster and I’m more comfortable buying online. I’ve gotten some great deals that way.
Make sure you enjoy your search for you digital camera. Your digital camera will aid you in documenting life through all its ups and downs. Hardly a day goes buy that I don’t take a few shots on my digital camera. You could more than say I’ve gotten my moneys worth.
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Posted by: David Peters in Photography, tags: advanced adobe, advanced fotoshop, advanced photoshop, advanced photoshop tutorials, digital cameras, digital photography, edit photos, editing digital photography, internet, Photography, photography guide, photoshop tutorials, software, software help
by David Peters
The use of a frame can turn an otherwise plain picture into a pleasing one. Usually a foreground element is used to create the frame. Examples are an overhanging tree branch, a window frame, a door, arches, a fence, rows of trees, etc.
A frame serves to isolate your main subject and create an interesting composition. Oftentimes, it’s the feeling of depth you’re after. You may choose to keep the detail of the frame (as in a wall, fence or branch), or let the frame go completely dark (as in a window frame).
When you are organizing a photo, look around the foreground (and sometimes, even middle or background) and find objects that can be used as a natural frame. At times you may need to physically back up a bit, kneel down for a more pleasant composition, or even zoom in to include your subject within the frame that you have chosen.
Image editing software can also be used to create framing effects after the fact by combining two or more pictures. You can create some very dramatic effects this way and the joy of it is, you are truly only limited by your imagination.
Please keep one thing in mind when using photo editing software; while there is nothing inherently wrong with combining different images to create a new photograph, please be very careful about employing artificial frames on identifiable scenes and landscapes.
An extreme example of this warning would be to frame the Statue of Liberty by the St. Louis Arch. The picture will not look right unless your purpose is to create dissonance within your viewers’ mind.
So, before you take that shot next time, look around and see if there is an object that you can use as a natural frame. Take a picture without the frame, and another one with the frame, and compare. Betcha, you’ll like the one with the frame better!
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Posted by: David Peters in Photography, tags: adobe photoshop, advanced adobe, advanced photoshop, digital cameras, digital photography, edit photos, editing digital photography, internet, Photography, photography guide, photoshop, photoshop tutorials, software, software help
by David Peters
A photograph is the medium by which a moment in time is captured for eternity. Digital photography can catch those once in a lifetime events in order for them to be relived time and time again. From your child’s first toothless smile to when they are walking across the graduation stage and all of those other special moments, photographs are an important part of the memories you hold cherished most. Nothing is worse than the thought of these memories being lost forever. Losing one’s photographs is a frightening and heartbreaking experience as those moments have become a thing of the past.
There are methods by which digital photographs can be recovered if your photos become lost. In some instances, it may seem that the camera itself may have suffered a malfunction. This may not be the demise of the photographs however as most digital camera’s use what are called smart cards to store the information taken. The best protection is to save your photos to the card, transferring them to your computer as soon as possible. The pictures should then be backed up to a CD or DVD for further safety.
Sometimes, when you have your photographs on your computer, you may move them to the recycle bin and not even realize it. You can always correct this, by right mouse clicking the recycle bin then choosing to open it up. If the pictures are there, simply drag them to your desktop or right click them and choose restore. This will put them back in the location they were in before they were moved to the recycle bin.
There are other instances where your photographs aren’t this easy to recover. If the card in your camera has become corrupted or if your camera has experienced hardware problems, then it won’t be so easy to recover your pictures. If this is the case, you should always look towards software or professional repairmen. There is software out there that is designed for most types of digital camera problems, and it can normally recover your pictures in the case of malfunction.
Most services and software can recover almost all files that you have on your camera, from JPEG pictures to video files. Most people transfer their pictures to their computer as soon as they can, which can be recovered using data recovery methods. On the other hand, those who don’t, will need a professional to take a look at the camera. If you don’t waste any time and seek a professional immediately, your pictures can normally be recovered.
Quality photos are only a simple click away as most people today have a digital camera. If you beleive you have lost your photographs, software and professional recovery methods are available to save your photos. Even when disaster should strike, all may not be lost. Knowing there are backup services can help give you peace of mind that your special moments are not lost forever.
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by David Peters
Digital photography is the newest technology in the photo business. Many believe it to be the simplest way to take a picture and improve its overall features. Simply put, digital photography is the method of taking pictures without a need for film. With no film necessary in the practice of taking a snapshot, you can have the ease of keeping the good pictures and eliminating the bad ones. It provides the easiest way of capturing quality images and creating them into works of art.
Indeed digital photography has come a long way ever since the digital cameras and computers were developed. The birth of digital cameras has produced tremendous conveniences in the world of photography where everyone with digital cameras can take a picture and upload it to the computer and share it with friends.
There are many digital photography services available now in the internet. There are several companies that cater services of this sort. Usually, they offer services such as digital imaging, image restoration, photo retouching, and photo editing and digital enhancement. Other digital imaging services are also offered to bring satisfaction to photo hobbyists.
The fact that digital cameras are both easy to use and simple to edit make it the camera of choice today. The entire point of bringing a camera along to an event is to capture the moment forever and of course you would want that keepsake to be perfect. In the real world we know that does not always happen, but with the advancement of digital editing, the perfect shot is still possible.
What is digital enhancement? Digital enhancement is the answer to all image quality problems. It’s the best way to improve your snapshot and make it look more attractive. With digital enhancement, you can easily increase the attractiveness of images by simply adjusting the brightness, contrast and sharpness of the image. You are also given the chance to enhance the color balance of the picture. Resizing the image and cropping it at the same time can also be done with ease.
There are numerous ways on how to improve a snapshot. All of these are made possible through digital technology. Digital photography services are offered online and are available to anyone with an interest in bettering their photography. Even digital prints are even better as they are long-lasting compared to traditional photos. They are both fade-resistant and water-proof. Do-it-yourself printers can help accomplish editing and printing of photos. Photo prints done in this manner are established to last longer, different the film-based photography.
Digital enhancement works to an advantage in that you are allowed the chance to prepare your pictures and edit them to maximize the greatest image quality. You can perform photo enhancements with photo editing software or by enlisting the services of a professional digital photography firm. With photo editing software, the image is usually saved in jp or jpeg format. This allows you to upload the images and send them to several websites that offer photo printing services.
Giving consideration to all these digital photography basics will bring you great options when it comes to taking pictures in its best form. Make the most of what digital technology has to offer. If you want to get quality pictures, you should utilize the digital editing and enhancement services that are available through some photo printers online. With these services at hand, picture-perfect shots are just within reach.
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by David Peters
Selecting Colors from an Image Quickly To take a color from your image and turn it into the foreground color Press I to activate the Eyedropper Tool and then click on any color in your image. To take that color and turn it into the background color, press the ALT Key and click on any color in your image.
Change Brush Tip Sizes Quickly If you wish to change your brush tip size you can, with any brush selected, press the Right Bracket Key “]” in order to increase the size of the brush tip, or you can press the Left Bracket Key “[” to decrease the size of the brush tip.
The Move Tool & the Arrow Keys You will want to get in the habit of activating the Move Tool with the keyboard shortcut, “V”. Once the Move Tool is active you can use the arrow keys on your keyboard to nudge a layer or selection in 1 pixel increments. If you want to speed things up, press Shift along with an arrow key to nudge in 10 pixel increments.
Hide Your Palettes To hid all your palettes press the tab key once. You can press the Tab key again to bring them back. To hide all your palettes except the toolbar press Shift+Tab.
Zooming In & Zooming Out To use the zoom tool press CTRL and the plus sign “+” (Mac: Command and the “+” sign). To zoom out press CTRL and the minus sign “-” (Mac: Command and the “-”sign).
Navigating In Magnified Images If you’ve zoomed in on a large image and have lost your bearings you can jump quickly to specific views using these shortcuts: Press the Home Key to set the view to the top left hand corner of your image. Press the End Key to set the view to the bottom right hand corner of your image. Press the Page Down Key to move the view one full screen down. Press Command+Page Down (PC: Control+Page Down) to move the view one full screen to the right. Press Command+Page Up (PC: Control+Page Up) to move the view one full screen to the left.
Selecting Just the Pixels in A Layer One very easy way to select an object that is on a transparent layer is to press the Control Key (Mac: Command key) and click on the layer that contains the object in the Layers Palette. Doing this ensures that only the visible pixels will be highlighted.
Tile Images For Better Visibility When you open many files at once Photoshop has them cascade, and the overlapping files can make it difficult to select individual ones. To get around this choose Window> Arrange> Tile and all of your open files will rearrange themselves to be visible all at once. When you’re ready to close them all don’t spend time closing them individually, instead use the Close All shortcut Command+Alt+W (PC: Control+Option+W).
Getting Rid Of the Welcome Screen - And Bringing It Back When you first open Photoshop CS you will probably see a Welcome Screen that has links to Tutorials, Tips and Tricks, and a set of Color Management Help Files. At some point you might want to stop this screen from coming up. You should see a check box at the bottom of the screen that you can click to hide the screen at startup. Later on, if you change your mind and decide that you want to have it show up again, you can temporarily bring the screen back by clicking under the Help menu and choosing Welcome Screen.
Cycle through All of Your Open Documents At some point you may want to find one of your open documents that are hidden, but navigating using the Window menu won’t help because you can’t recall the name of the file. Instead you can press Control-Tab repeatedly (MAC and PC) to cycle through all of your open documents and switch between them.
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by Damion Brightion
Ever found out about someone or something that you know is going to be huge but you find it just ahead of the rest of the world? Well I know one and he’s just waiting for the world to notice. I know with such certainty that he is going to be the designer of such cutting edge art that I need to tell the world about him, I feel that if you are someone who appreciates art and can handle people pushing the limits of art that you will be in awe of his work. My personal opinion is that the great artists always create art that is unapologetic and uncompromising. This great artist is Kaalum Ross aka. Rob Church.
When I first discovered his work I was blow away by the depth of symbolism in his work as I am very interested in symbols because they keep coming up in the greatest works in history. Take Michelangelo or Da Vinci and their great works. They’re just full of symbols and they truly are the unconscious power that gets us in our guts. Rob/Kaalum’s work has this deep meaning and he does it without trying, it’s as if he’s so in touch that he can’t create anything that isn’t deeply powerful. Of course he is also very uncompromising in his critics of various institutions and society’s ideas.
It’s in this honest and unapologetic visions of our world that Rob/Kaalum works hold such great value, this is something we need in the world more now than ever before. Our world is upside down, doctors destroy health, educations completely destroy learning and so on. We need people to wake us up from our deathly slumber in order for us to stop walking to our deaths without ever questioning why we suffer so.
Two themes of Rob/Kaalums works are women and the Christian Church, these two intense hot topics are ones that absolutely need more open discussion and critics. Women of course are still used as sexual symbols more than any other vehicle for subversive advertising. This destroys their important and needed roles other than the sex kitten or vamp, Rob/Kaalum makes sure you question your unconscious attraction to any female image. The other theme (amongst many) that he really gets into is the Christian Church. This is such an important thing to question that it almost is unparalleled in it’s importance.
One needs to only look at the major historical events of the “holy church” and it becomes obvious that it has deep well of blood on it’s hands. If you don’t believe me just look at the Inquisition or the witches hammer or maybe the recent Native residential schools with their 50-60% death rates. Any artist brave enough to thoughtfully expose the dark side of our religious institutions is a splash of cold clear water to our hazy vision of the world.
In the end the basic thing to know is that there is an unknown brilliant artist just on the verge of exposing to the world his great and uncompromising visions and if you want to a part of this then you can contact him at the link below. I already know what going to happen and that I am very lucky to have known him before the world does. So if your looking for some amazing art and are willing to be open to the most honest visions you can get then you need to contact him before the line gets so long that you can’t.
About the Author:
Be sure to go and see Kaalum/Robs site and see for yourself the cutting edge art is on display. His intense visions are sure to invoke a sublime reaction in anyone.
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by Tyler Mcdougal
Posters are a cheap and welcome addition to any home or apartment. There are an unbelievable number of different posters available. Because they are so affordable when compared to buying artwork, a person can change them out regularly so they do not get tired of them.
Different types of posters include artist posters, movie posters like Scarface posters, panoramic posters, sports posters such as Tiger Woods posters, and also historic ones like Aztec posters.
The range in price for posters is anywhere from a few dollars up to fifty to one hundred dollars for limited edition artist or photography prints. This is still a good bargain as opposed to buying the artwork itself.
Landscapes are a favorite for many people. Breathtaking views can be added to your home. If you have been to that place, everyday the poster will remind you of the great trip that you went on. Further trips to new places might also be inspired by looking at posters.
A good poster needs to have a balanced design. Putting to much emphasis on one side will draw your eye away from the rest of the poster. This is something to consider when purchasing a poster.
You should always go with your first impression for which poster you like best. The things we are first drawn to always are what end up purchasing. Much time can be saved when using this method.
Posters need to do more than just fill the bare space on your wall. Take care when picking them out so they will not just be ignored. With the huge number in the market today, there is something that will make the perfect addition to your wall.
Also, often not thought of is that posters can make great gifts as well. You can find one in any area of interest. Then the recipient has a well tailored gift just to suit their favorite activities or places.
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by David Peters
You will find that there are times you may have older photographs that you would like to restore in order to preserve the memories. It is common for photos to become damaged through the passing of time. At times the pictures may become blurred, the color might fade and the surface of the picture might acquire marks and scratches. Fortunately we have the technology to restore these photos. People are now able to save and even restore their old photographs with the help of Photoshop.
Some of the things a person might use include the Elements in Photoshop, which are Dust and Scratch Filters to remove marks, scratches and even blots on the photograph. To find the Dust and Scratches Filter you can look on the Menu Bar and choose the Filter Tab. A drop down option list will show your choices and from there you can choose the Noise tab and select on the Dust and Scratches.
After selecting the Dust and Scratches menu, a dialog box will pop up with two control sliders. The first slider is for options regarding Radius and the second one is for options regarding Threshold. There may also be another window if the preview box is checked. These are the two main options that can be used in fixing the picture.
To remove scratches you will want to use the Radius slider. Too much adjustment can result in the edges blurring so please be careful with how much you adjust. If blurring occurs you can adjust the Threshold slider to allow the details to return and make the photograph clearer with the scratches disappearing. Again, you want to be careful not to set them too far or it will create blotches on the picture.
To remove any marks on the photograph you will want to select only the part where the scratches are located, not the entire photograph. To select these areas you can use the Lasso tool.
Once you have fixed some of these problems you can use the feathering tool to blend the edges of the selected area so that the manipulated area will not be obvious on the photograph. The feathering tool is located under the Feather option. You will want to repeat the process of adjusting the Radius and Threshold sliders to get the texture needed and remove all the scratches from the photograph.
It there are still visible marks on the other parts of the picture, he can do the technique again by selecting the areas he would like to adjust. To finish the process and make the picture presentable, he can crop the image enough to remove the cracks and torn edges of the picture. The canvas may be use to equally crop the image.
A person may add drama on the picture by adding a drop shadow on it. This will make the picture appear as if it has been lifted off the page. The color may also be removed using the controls Shift Ctrl U. He can then add color by putting a little amount of Sepia. He can do this with the Hue or Saturation tab. The contrast may be adjusted using the Levels option.
This is one easy way on how to remove the blotches and marks on an old picture. This is also a good way to make the picture look new but still appear classical. It will be a pleasant and easy way to display pictures kept on old albums and cabinets for a long time.
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