Landscape Photography

This is one of the most accommodating and the most challenging areas of photography. Of all subjects, the land simply lets you photograph it from any angle, at any time, and in any weather, but you must work to find the ideal viewpoint.
There are three essentials of landscape photography - place, time, and means - but the most crucial of all is place. And it will do you no good at all if you have an original approach to landscape in mind, but have not learned how to find just the right position from which to depict the place. To discover the perfect position you cannot rush at it, hoping it will be obvious once you get there. Once you see a view that is promising, you need to slow down completely -even put your camera away. Then just walk and look, walk a little more and look a little harder. That is all there is to it.
One of the most popular, some would say essential, accessories for the landscape photographer is the polarizing filter. This is a neutrally dark glass filter on a rotating mount. When fixed on the front of a lens pointing away from the sun, then rotated to a certain angle, the filter has the effect of making blue skies appear dark. This is because most of the light from a dear sky vibrates in a narrow range of angles: however, a polarizer passes light that is vibrating in one direction only and blocks all the others. The polarizing filter is an effective way to reduce the luminance range of a scene, but it works most effectively when the sky is already blue (and so is darker than sky with diffused cloud), when it can cause over-darkening. This filter is best used on an SLR, where you can see any changes through the viewfinder. Modern polarizers should be of the circular polarizing type. Don't be tempted to use linear polarizing filters - although they are less expensive, they cannot be recommended for most modern cameras as they render •autofocus and some metering systems inaccurate.

Do Not Buy A Nikon Or Canon Underwayer Camera Before Reading This

Memories are created just about anywhere. And when I say anywhere, I mean that memories are even created underwater - so the creation of underwater digital camera.
An underwater digital camera is not just used to capture underwater memories; some professional marine photographers also use underwater digital cameras in their business. Even marine biologists and scientists use underwater digital cameras to capture marine life and thus be able to study the life and properties of the marine life. But I think it is safe to assume that you, my reader, are neither a marine scientist nor a professional photographer. Like me, you are just some photo junkie who wants to capture underwater moments and just cant figure out how without ruining your cameras.
Please listen to me when I say that even waterproof cameras cannot withstand underwater photography. To be waterproof is to resist the water in certain levels, submerging in under the water to get the perfect shot is like throwing it out of the window expecting a pick-up truck to pass by and run over it.
Now if you're really serious about using an underwater digital camera to capture those wacky and funny moments underwater, I suggest that you buy specialty cameras.
There are rarely underwater digital cameras, as cameras are electronic and cannot withstand water and water pressure. The closest electronics has ever got to producing underwater digital cameras are producing underwater casings for digital cameras. These casing will turn your conventional digital camera into an underwater digital camera.
If you are shooting with your underwater digital camera, you need to take note of a few things to help you come up with the best images underwater.
Remember that as you farther under water, light diffuses. This means that your underwater digital camera will produce images darker than those images you took while on land - this is because of the light diffusion the red spectrum seems darker. To avoid this, use white balance come up with natural colors. Also, pictures taken underwater will come up larger than pictures taken on land with the same zoom effect. Be sure to check your underwater digital camera's viewfinder to check the right picture angle and size that you want.
An underwater digital camera with its built-in flash will produce marine show phenomenon. It is a phenomenon wherein your pictures come out as blurry and with white particles floating above it, to avoid this phenomenon it is advisable to use external flash for your underwater digital camera.
Before using your underwater digital camera, submerge the camera in the water first for several seconds then check if there are leaks through the case. Make sure that no grain of sand or piece of hair is stuck in between the seal to make sure that water will not permeate the case and thus wet your camera in the process. It is also advisable to put silica gel or two inside the case of your underwater digital camera as long as they don't disturb the camera's operation. (Silica gel will keep the moisture from forming inside your camera case.)
Most underwater digital cameras come with optional lenses. Don't be afraid to add these lenses to your underwater digital camera kit. Macro lenses will help you capture small things without getting too close and startling your subject.
Also, remember to always wash of salt when you've used it under salt water. If the salts are not washed off, in time they will crystallize; act as sands and cause leaks for your camera case. In cases when sands seem to get into the case, they are better washed off with streams of water.
Check out Sony, Nikon and Canon's website for available underwater cases for your digital cameras.

Why Photoshop Training Makes Everything Easier

Photoshop training is one of the best investments you can make in your professional career. Whatever field you're working in, Photoshop training can help you reach your full potential. Anyone who works with digital images and graphics knows that the Adobe Photoshop line of software is the tool of choice for graphic designers and professional photographers around the world.

The Photoshop interface hasn't changed a great deal since the earliest versions, so users can easily upgrade to Photoshop CS2 from any previous version. Photoshop CS2 has powerful new features that will aid designers in all fields. You can literally use Photoshop CS2 to create any visual effect that you can image-if you can dream it, you can create it with Photoshop. Like previous versions of Photoshop, CS2 is available for both Macintosh and Windows. And the best thing about the new version is the price: Photoshop CS2 costs less than previous versions of Photoshop.

New features in Photoshop CS2 make it easier to composite images in multiple layers. In earlier versions it was necessary to select a required layer in the Layers palette. But now it's possible to select multiple layers by using a marquee tool. The Show Transform Controls feature allows objects to be reshaped faster than ever before, and it works across multiple layers. Smart Guides is another innovation that makes it easier to align objects, even if they're on different layers.

People who learn on their own sometimes discover the best way to do things, but usually they discover the wrong way to do things, which causes recurring frustration and limits their ability to go on learning new things. The time and money you invest today in your Photoshop training will reward you in ways that you can't even begin to imagine.

If you try to learn Photoshop yourself, a trial and error method of learning will allow you to become pretty good at a few fundamental techniques. But you'll never begin to imagine the unlimited potential of Photoshop CS2 until you sign up for Photoshop training.

If you deal with images or graphics of any type in your work or in your favorite hobby, Photoshop training can help you reach your full potential.

Adobe says that Photoshop CS3 Extended is ideal for film and video professionals, professionals in the manufacturing industry, medical professionals, architects and engineers, and scientific researchers. Photoshop CS3 lets professionals render 3D images and incorporate them in 2D composites. When CS2 came out, professional and novices alike were thrilled with the new Font Preview capability.

And if you're considering a career as a graphic designer or visual effects artist, Photoshop training is one of the best ways to achieve your career goals.

How To Take Good Photos

Still life photography has many uses. Perhaps you want to take a photograph of a beautiful bowl of fruit or perhaps you have learned that an important key to eBay success is uploading quality photos of your products. Other reasons for learning still life photography may include selling still life photograph downloads at microstock sites or to food magazines. No matter what your reason, still life photography is a great skill to learn.

Unless you are photographing specific products or pictures for a magazine assignment, the subjects for your still life photography are endless. Fine art still lifes aren't limited to just apples and grapes. Even super simple items like a few artfully arranged spools of thread can be interesting and attract attention. There are a couple of microstock sites like Shutterstock and iStock that have a high demand for all sorts of still life pictures from simple to complex.

In one way, still life photography is a lot easier than other forms of photography like landscape, sports or pet photography. With stills, you often have full control over the composition and can arrange the inanimate objects exactly how you want them.

And sometimes, good quality still life pictures can be even more challenging to photograph. Because still lifes are taken up close, it's easy to see imperfections on your subject that you would normally never see.

Despite its challenge, using basic photography skills and the following tips, you can create quality still life pictures.

Still Life Photography Lighting

Professional photographers usually use a soft box or a light box to shoot their still lifes. However this isn't absolutely necessary as you will see in a moment, but it can be a big help. However, if you do want one, you can find a soft box online or you can easily make one using instructions you find online. The purpose of these tools is to provide good, even light.You can also get a good quality of light by setting up your photo shoot outside. A high overcast or bright sky can create a natural soft box effect without having any of the harsh shadows.

Composition for Still Life Photography

Arrange your objects in a pleasing composition. Use a classical composition technique such as "Rule of Thirds" or "Leading Lines" or "Frame within a Frame" to create a good composition. Arrange the items artfully and use your imagination to get the exact placement that you want. For example, if it's a picture of a piece of cake, instead of including the entire table setting, place a gleaming, silver dessert fork upside down on the plate and remove a tiny bite from the cake.

Fill the Frame with Your Still Life Subject

Remember, the only thing that should be in your viewfinder or on your preview LCD screen is your composition. Remove any clutter and get up close with your camera. If you have a backdrop or background you don't like don't worry about it because it can be easily solved. The soft box or light box solves this issue, but if you are shooting outside, here's something you can do: place a piece of white foam board or piece of material behind your subject, and voila - no more distracting background. Be sure to use Macro mode so that you get a sharp image.

Look for a Good Angle and Start Shooting!

Instead of shooting from your height, hold the camera so that it is level with your subject. You should also try shooting from a variety of different angles.

Hopefully these tips have provided you some helpful information on taking still life photos that you can start putting to use immediately.