Sarah Latour

As you can see, wedding marks anew chapter in a couples life and many are happy to hire a professional wedding photographer to capture the moments on photographs. How can you be good in wedding photography then?

1. Enthusiast or professional

Since you are building your career as a professional photographer, you are different from the photography enthusiast. You are supposed to see the best side of the couple and capture the essence of the couple without them posing for you.

As a professional wedding photographer, you too are supposed to be well prepared for the ceremony. You ought to bring enough memory sticks and battery packs. Telling the couple that you forgot your equipments is not a good reason especially when your reputation is on the line.

2. Equipments

Imagine your photographer carrying a compact digital camera during your wedding and told you that he is there for the job. He doesn’t sound convincing. Does he?

So, having a DSLR camera does help to improve your image as a wedding photographer. Remember, you are a professional instead of a photography enthusiast. So, be professional and invest into something professional.

3. Black and white

Some thought that black and white photography is outdated but little do they know that black and white makes marvelous wedding pictures. Some photographers even belief that black and white wedding pictures are more classical and more long lasting.

So, when you are involve in wedding photography, give black and white a chance and have a look into it. You can show the couple some of your pictures in color and monotone. Let them make their decision. After all it is their wedding and not yours.

4. Your personality

As a professional photographer, you are supposed to provide your professional point of view to the couple instead of shoving what you like down the couple’s throat. You might be a fanatic for black and white photography but the couple might feel that wedding is supposed to be colorful. You will spoil the couple’s mood when you insisted on your way.

So, before you start the job, have a short discussion with them. Let the couple know what a person you are and at the same time you can ask them what they are looking for in the wedding pictures. Once the mutual understanding has been established, satisfying the clients and your need will be easy.

michael wong
http://www.articlesbase.com/digital-photography-articles/learn-digital-photography-how-to-become-a-good-wedding-photographer-737576.html

Imagine that you are online, reading newspaper or watching TV. Have you ever had a moment that you fail to see a picture? And ever since photography went into digital, it has sparked more people to become professional photographer.

Often, how the pictures turn out depend on the photographer’s experience. That is why famous photographers’ pictures are more outstanding. Think about how much money you can make when your pictures stand out from the crowd.

Continue reading when you want to build a career with digital photography:

1. Learn the art

The first thing you need to keep in mind is that photography is an art. Like a professional artist, you need to know your profession. Professional photographers get their reputation today through continuous learning.

When you are starting out to make money with digital photography, make sure you learn the art through books, clinics and practice how to shoot right.

2. Equipments

You need to start looking at professional DSLR camera when you want to become a professional photographer. The compact digital cameras are just not meant to build your career with digital photography.

Luckily the DSLR cameras nowadays are getting more affordable. Today, you can get a DSLR camera and extra lenses with investment less than $1000. That just feels great doesn’t it?

3. Portfolio

Now, you must have an impressive portfolio in order to make money with photography. This is to show your potential clients what you have achieved.

Put your best work in the portfolio as that is what your potential clients are going to judge you with. Your skills and creativity will determine whether you can land the job or not.

4. Being different

You need an identity in the market. Express yourself with how you capture your subject. Your potential clients will appreciate something different yet aligned to their needs.

The bottom line is, you need to be unique.

michael wong
http://www.articlesbase.com/digital-photography-articles/4-tips-to-building-a-career-with-digital-photography-709719.html

Usually, on starting a photography business, people work on a freelance basis or part time until they are able to build up enough reputation to open a studio of their own. Usually people wait till they have done sufficiently well before opening up their own studio. You can always opt to set up a photography studio at your home, if you have the space, which will save you money, or you can rent a space for setting up the studio. It really depends on the budget you have assigned and also on your own personal preferences. If you livesomewhere in the boonies, you will probably want to rent a space nearer to the town so that people don’t have to drive too far to see your work and meet you. Your studio should reflect your own personal style and you should strive to make it look like that.

Regardless of the type of photography you do, there are three basic areas you need to include and look into while setting up your studio.

Your photography studio requires an office space, a work area and an equipment storage area. The office area will be used for storing paperwork relating to business, expenses, bills, invoices etc. Ensure your desk is of suitable size, as you will be signing contracts, doing your billing and performing many otherimportant activities here. You require a phone in order to be contacted by customers, a printer and fax machine along with your computer, and a storage filing cabinet for storing everything. You can also use this space to maintain and create your portfolio. You could store the photos that you will use for your portfolio or future projects, here.

In the storage area, all your photography equipment will be kept. For this you need to first install some shelving units that can hold heavy and fragile items. This means they need to be strong and durable. You need to be organized when it comes to storage, as you will need your things to be in easy access and conveniently placed so that you can quickly take it. It is extremely frustrating to misplace an item just because you are not organized. Very often you end up buying it again and this can cost you time and money. Also ensure that the shelves are nailed at appropriate heights as you do not want to exert all your energy in just removing an item from the shelf.

The work area is the most important part of the photography studio. This area should be allotted maximum space. The room’s lighting needs to be paid special attention as it impacts the quality of photos. You will need different types of lightings that you can move around for creating effects in your photographs. You also need to provide provisions for natural light. Skylights and plenty of windows would be suitable for this. Different photo backdrops will add to the atmosphere and you shouldn’t forget to allocate space for waiting parents and customers. Also include a space where the customers can change their clothing in. Often customers want photos in various dresses, so it is important to provide them a space to change in. Also they might want some privacy to make up and get ready for the photo shoot.

Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/photography-articles/photography-studio-things-you-need-to-keep-in-mind-739834.html

Nikon D70 SLR ideally suits Digital Infrared Photography because of the power that its settings deliver. Next I will show you the camera settings that I use in taking digital infrared photos, thus helping you to get best results out of the Nikon digital SLR. Firstly, you should get a tripod, which is necessary for taking perfect infrared photos, and then choose an infrared filter that you desire – I personally prefer Hoya R72. Then, spend a little time in planning the digital infrared photograph. This will help to eliminate some uncertainties that digital infrared photography brings, that can result in just a photo which is OK, instead of a WOW!! photo. Just like always, there isnt a right way in achieving the results. However, these steps brought me the most success, using the D70 until now.

Type of image: I prefer shooting in RAW mode for the digital infrared photography. Even though Nikons native format NEF is very versatile, it don’t stand up to the quality that RAW mode gives, so any imperfections can just be edited using software like Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro.

ISO: Very Good results could be achieved when increasing ISO settings, however, the best results I got were with ISO 200. Otherwise, noise is too great that is my opinion at least. Also, I do a good amount of post processing using Photoshop, so the noise becomes a problem while working at high magnifications. Keep in mind that, unlike the infrared film, where graininess is an important part for the feel and look of the image, the digital infrared noise or “grain” really degrades the image. However, if you need to add an effect of grainy film, you should do this using Photoshop, or using other package.

White Balance: From my experience, setting custom white balance represents a key in GOOD Digital Infrared Photography using Nikon d70. Using a filter which blocks most of the “regular” light, then the camera’s inner white balancing mechanism cant give you an accurate measurement for colour temperature of the environment. Because foliage reflects the IR light, by making it the brightest, the whitest part from your photo, in this case you will need to “calibrate” the D70 in order to let him know visible light green equals infrared white. A couple of ways exists for doing this.

First: The simplest method for white balance is opening the menu of the D70, then to use the control button to get to the setting for white balance, and then change this to +3 fluorescent. Because in infrared photography, most likely you will be shooting under bright sunlight using a “red” filter, if you add some false color correction, this gives your IR image more “punch.” Also, I have found that the incandescent setting also works.

Second: Other way to adjust the white balance for your digital infrared photography using Nikon D70 is by taking a photo to green grass in full sun at midday. But, try and photograph only the grass – no trees, no feet, no sky. Simply point the camera towards the grass by looking at it straight down, then click! After this, in the menu, you will set white balance using this photo. Hence, go to the menu, and select the white balance, then preset then use photo then select image and then use the control dial for navigating at the image with the grass. The menu should say now “this image > set.” And now you are ready for shooting infrared!

Alex Don
http://www.articlesbase.com/digital-photography-articles/master-the-digital-infrared-photography-using-your-digital-slr-nikon-721904.html

Photographers are known through their profiles

A photography portfolio is like a resume or a portfolio that a super model creates to promote to the public. A well written profile can do wonders for the photographer since the first contact with the art critics and public is through this medium.

As in any profession it is important to sell oneself and the promotional technique used will determine how successful or otherwise an artist would become. One must learn this art of seductive persuasion for attracting the public to make a beeline for one’s Galleries.

What are the steps of preparing a Photography Portfolio?

All good things happen in threefold! Let us consider the 3 most important steps to achieving a write-up that everyone will think is written by a professional copy writer!

The first step one should take is conceptualizing the USP of your art. By USP we normally mean the Unique Selling Proposition but in our particular case let’s rename this acronym as Unrivalled Self Portrait! What needs to be written or included in good and effective personal achievements in the artistic world?

What ever you have so far completed in terms of picture composing should be placed as a theme in your Photography Portfolio. The theme is what you do best in photography and must be illustrated with an aesthetic design of your theme work.

Maybe you are a black and white photographer of the abstract kind, or a realistic current affairs political events reviewer in pictures, or dedicated to the artistic bent of mind that young children depict and need to be encouraged etc. Always plan your theme presentation before choosing or taking appropriate photographs.

Secondly, be very careful and judicious in picking your best photographs and in case you require a new set for the chosen theme, take pains in creating new photos. A photography profile cannot be just a collage of photographs. They must be systematically placed in the profile document to tell a specific story to the reader.

Out of a multitude of pictures to your credit you must only choose the very best that exhibit your artistic talent and place them interspersed between short text that enhances the art form. It is not that length of your resume matters so much as the relevance of how you promote your acumen towards the theme art being depicted. This makes up the gist of a professional photography profile.

Thirdly and finally you are ready to exhibit your work in the form of a portfolio. This is just what a super model or budding fashion model also does! Become a true salesperson and visit local art collectors and critics who matter.

Learn the art of online and offline marketing to approach your family, friends, acquaintances and show them your aptitude in a subtle manner. Remember, you cannot really promote yourself by giving lectures and talks at seminars etc, but you can surely sell your artistic bent of mind or “camera fingers” by creating an extraordinary photography portfolio.

Seth Willis Jr.
http://www.articlesbase.com/careers-articles/photography-portfolio-126476.html

The steady, ongoing work produced from wedding photography generates the majority of new clients for most photography studios and freelance photographers. A wedding photographer will need to comfortable with the following activities & skills:

Candid shots (photojournalistic) and posed shots

Making slides, prints, and slideshows (digital or otherwise)

Traditional albums

Taking shots in the outdoors at a party, beach, or rustic locale

Snapping shots indoors at a temple or church

In the late 1860’s in America, couples started hiring photographers and posing at the wedding. The art form of photography for the wedding was created by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1826. However, the idea of live action shots and of capturing the event itself came up after the Second World War. Often, the photographers would just show up inconspicuously at a wedding, snap the photos, and venture to sell them later on to the family. This forced studios to start covering the events, lest they be booted out by freelance photographers.

After the wedding is over, a small time lapse is incurred, and, thereafter the photographer shows “proofs” to the couple. The proofs can be in the form of prints, thumbnail galleries, or all of the images on CD-ROM. They may also make separate galleries or slideshows, and they’re sometimes themed.

Photographers may sell additional prints to the couple through a web site with thumbnail galleries and an e-commerce back-end, often in conjunction with a vendor or broker website that charges a commission for each print purchase.

The common types of wedding photography include the photojournalistic realism and spontaneous photographer behavior of some, the classic or traditional posed method, and a hybrid of the two called fashion-based wedding photography.

In big cities, there are often studios devoted to wedding photography because photography for the wedding is such a mammoth market in metropolitan areas. People are always moving in and out and getting married. Take a look at a portfolio of the photographer’s former work for assurance.

The Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI), the Professional Photographers of America (PPA), and, especially, the Wedding Photojournalists Association (WPA) offer training, professional support, and tips to member photographers.

Eric Hartwell
http://www.articlesbase.com/marriage-articles/professional-wedding-photography-125143.html

Of all the kinds and styles of photography being practiced today, sports photography is probably the most exciting—not to mention the most difficult—of all. Since this kind of photography involves so much speed and action, photographing the subjects or players would require more than the usual knack for good angles but also the strength to endure physical limitations during the shoot.

Sports photography usually include shots that are taken during the game or while the subjects are in their respective field. Aiming to “freeze” moments during the actual event, sports photographers should be equipped with the right photography equipment, trained with enduring tenacity, and fueled with an overwhelming desire to capture each moment and emotion at their best.

PHOTOGRAPHING DIFFERENT KINDS OF SPORTS

The best thing about sports photography is that the photographer can freeze a single moment that contains pure and raw emotion and share it with the public in print. If you’re into photography and quite interested in taking adrenaline-pumping shots, you should familiarize yourself with different kinds of sports first. Since each sport varies, the styles and techniques used in capturing and freezing each moment also vary.

If you are already in the field taking photos, it is a must that you have a brief background about the sport you are covering. Knowledge in the fundamentals of coaching style, sport rules, and players will help you identify their most interesting angles. It is also a must to identify your “safety” (a shot that is easy to shoot and can be published if you don’t get good photos all throughout).

Here are some basic sports photography guidelines fit for common sports:

1. Baseball. Most seasoned sports photographers would agree that baseball is one sport that is hardest to shoot because of its unpredictability. Make sure that you get your safety first before getting experimental shots.

2. Basketball. Unlike baseball, this is the easiest sport to shoot because you only have to focus on two subjects: the player who handles the ball and the net. But its simplicity limits you to different angles, so make sure you get plenty of shots to choose from.

3. Football. This is another easy sport to shoot but it is considered as the most equipment intense sports because it would require waiting for the perfect shot. Although it’s easy to get safeties, it’s still up to you to produce action shots that would be a stand up.

4. Soccer and Hockey. Because of the speed and sudden movements involved in these sports, auto focus cameras are recommended.

5. Volleyball. Although it is one of the rarely covered sports events, volleyball is also one of favorites because dramatic shots can be derived all throughout. Since moves in the sports are quite tricky, make sure that you turn your camera’s auto focus on.

6. Golf. It’s hard to shoot photos during the game due to the nature of the game itself. What you can do is to camp at one location and take shots as players pass by or use a cart to follow the individual players.

7. Track and Field. Though access can be limited, this is one sport that is fun to shoot because movements are predictable and easy to shoot. All you need is good timing.

8. Gymnastics and Figure Skating. One basic rule in these sports: NO FLASH. Since they involve individuals performing, the use of flash is restricted because it distracts the players. The major problem you’ll encounter is lighting but this can be solved once the venue is lit up.

9. Motorsports and Racing Events. These are fairly easy to photograph because you can get away with slower lenses. But since you’re far from the track, you need longer lenses for the shoot.

Low Jeremy
http://www.articlesbase.com/advertising-articles/action-photography-58284.html

Your wedding day can be the realization of a lifetime of dreams; you want everything to be perfect – from your dress to your flowers and everything in between. But, for most of us, planning the perfect wedding means doing so on a budget. And when it comes to high-end services such as photography, staying true to that budget can prove extremely difficult. However, with research, planning, and a significant dose of flexibility, you can find affordable wedding photography that will not only meet your budget restrictions but provide you with the beautiful photography you deserve.

Finding affordable wedding photography can be accomplished in a number of ways. Word of mouth is the most essential tool you can use to find those wedding services you want at a budget that works for you. Talk to friends or acquaintances that have held weddings similar in size and scope to what you’re planning to determine what vendors worked successfully within their budget.

Another avenue you may want to explore when it comes to finding affordable wedding photography is the venue where you are holding your reception. Clearly, reception sites host a variety of weddings throughout the year; they often have access to quality vendors who offer affordable services.

Some people may think that hiring a wedding planner works against a budget-conscious wedding, but the opposite is often true. Wedding planners will often pay for themselves with the money they save you in vendor fees. Because wedding planners work with photographers frequently, they often have established relationships that will save you money in the end.

But when it comes to affordable wedding photography, sometimes limiting the services you require rather than choosing a low-priced photographer will help you stay within your budget restrictions. If you have your heart set on a particular photographer that does beautiful work then compromise to get to the price that you need; perhaps have the photographer only shoot your ceremony and formal shots and then ask your guests to help take photographs throughout your reception to be gathered into an album at a later date.

Ultimately, affordable wedding photography is about creativity and flexibility. If you think outside the box and think of small ways to save money, eventually those small steps will add up to big savings.

Michelle Bery
http://www.articlesbase.com/marriage-articles/finding-affordable-wedding-photography-121314.html

Photography is an interesting hobby. It eases your mind and soul and brings out the creative instinct in you. But this art gets more and more interesting when done with the use of a digital camera. It also introduces one into the world of digital photography. Here age, sex or skill does not matter. There was a time when people hesitated to get into the hobby of digital photography, the basic problem being the investment, but now, the time has changed and people have seriously started Digital Photography as their hobby. Do you like to be one such person?

All that matters is your passion for the art of digital photography.

Process of Digital Photography

The process of Digital Photography is a chain that starts from the shooting of images and ends with the display of the photographs. In the digital world, it is the image that forms the key element. And the picture quality of the image is determined by its resolution. The resolution in turn is the number of horizontal and vertical pixels on an image. Therefore resolution is the key factor that decides how big you can print your image or how much of it can be cropped.

Steps involved in Digital Photography

In order to understand how the digital camera suitably fits into the system of Digital Photography it is necessary to understand the steps involved in making digital photographs.

First Step: Input of Images

The input device in a computer is probably the keyboard. However, in Digital Photography the input devices are those that capture the images.

Digital Still Camera – It shoots images in a digital format.
Digital Video camera – It can capture images like a digital still camera.
Video cameras – It captures images onto a video format.

Second Step: Processing the Digital Photograph

Digital photographs can be stored onto your PC after they are taken. They can be then edited using in whatever way you want using the photo-editing program, Adobe Photoshop. Here the options are endless.
Few ways by which you can process your images

1.Crop parts of the image that you feel unnecessary and highlight the main frame.
2.If you wish to post the photos on the Web then trim down the number of pixels in the image so as to make it smaller.
3.Use filters to give the images the look of an oil painting, watercolor or the look of your desire.
4.You can stitch-up multiple frames in a single frame to create a landscape effect.
5.For a 3D stereo effect or an animated image merge two images and you can display this on the Web.
6.To improve the images make slight alterations in brightness and contrast.
7.Mish mash the images to create a photo medley.

Third Step: The final output, the Photograph

In Digital Photography there are many ways through which you can display and share the photographs you have taken.

Some of the well-known ways are as follows

1.Just e-mail the digital photographs to your friends or to family members.
2.Post the digital photos to the Web Service that will allow printing the digital photographs on T-shirts, mouse pads, posters and even on cakes.
3.Add the digital photographs to a word processing program or to the desktop of your PC so as to publish it as a document.
4.Mail the digital photographs on a Website or onto a Photo network.

John Darby
http://www.articlesbase.com/technology-articles/digital-photography-passion-and-hobby-becomes-art-62338.html