Digital Photography Guide

Copyright bfishadow

There’s no doubt digital photography has made some amazing leaps and bounds since hitting the mainstream consumer mark well over a decade ago.  Some things have been a bit ‘gadgety’ (I’m thinking of a Kodak camera that had a ‘Thinner’ feature to slim down waistlines) however there have been some handy features for consumers and pros alike.

Some were driven by the advent of digital photography itself, such as sensor cleaning technology that had no reason to exist in the film world.  The ability to set white balance would be another innovation and something that was never possible in the film world, short of rewinding film part way through a roll and changing canisters.  The same goes for ISO adjustment.  A lot of the others can be classified as ‘gadgety’ as well, but they do provide some real world uses, such as the newer face detection technology that helps the camera focus and adjust exposure to properly render people, rather than bright backgrounds.  Sure, a number of these things aren’t needed if basic photography principles are learned, but the utility is hard to deny.

As we are starting a new decade I’m left thinking forward to what another 10 years will bring.  While the soul of photography will always lie in the camera handler’s ability to capture what they have in front of themselves in a meaningful way, regardless of tools available, I’m curious to know what innovations you’d like to see come to digital photography in the next 10 years.

Please leave a comment below with your guess of where digital cameras (P&S and DSLR or ????) will head in the semi-near future.  Or feel free to list your wishes for new innovations.  And remember, “Nothing” is a perfectly acceptable answer too.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

What Is The Next Digital Innovation You Would Like To See?

A Guest post by Eva Polak  

“Inspiration does not come like a bolt. Nor is it kinetic, energetic striving. It comes into us slowly and quietly all the time, though we must regularly and every day give it a little chance to start flowing, prime it with a little solitude and idleness.” – Brenda Ueland

Whether you have been creating photographs for years or only for few weeks, finding inspiration is not always easy. We all experience periods of creative blocks when we get stuck and all our good ideas come to a halt. Inspiration seems to elude us. So, what can we do to help a creative energy affect us day after day? Is there a way to stay inspired? For me there is a definite “Yes” to these questions.

Throughout the years I developed some systems and strategies to ensure I remain creative and make things happen. The followings are my favourite ways to keep igniting my creativity.

1. Keep a Notebook

Keep your notebook with you whenever possible, so that you can write all your ideas, notes, inspirational quotes, dreams, goals, etc. Be consistent and add items to it often. In time it will become a great source of inspiration but also a reminder of your goals to keep you focused and motivated.

2. Take your Camera with you Wherever Possible

There are possible photographs all around us. You never know what you will see. Be prepare.

3. Read Biographies of Artists that you Admire

A biography is a great source of inspiration. You can learn, not only facts from someone’s life, but also discover important insights while gaining a deep appreciation for challenges these artists faced and the accomplishments they achieved. You may find parallel experiences in their life, be inspired by their persistence, and be motivated by their success.

4. Experiment

Take risks and try photographic styles or techniques you’ve never done before.

Use different camera settings. Play “What if…” game. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Just explore and have fun.

5. Start a Personal Project

Set realistic goals and plan your photo shoots. This requires a lot of discipline, so start small and you can always build up.
Evaluate your results from time to time, but remember this is your project, your ideas and your photographs. Don’t let anyone discourage you.

6. Visit Art Galleries

Going to see an exhibition can enrich your imagination. You will get new ideas to focus on and see your own art in a new perspective.

7. Learn Something New Everyday, Every Week, Every Year

Start reading books about art and photography. Subscribe to newsletters, podcasts and feeds. Take a class, attend a workshop, join a photography group. These activities will trigger new ideas, increase the level of your skill and boost your confidence.

8. Visit New Places

You don’t have to go overseas to find something exciting to photograph. Explore your neighbourhood. You will discover all sorts of places that you didn’t even know existed.

9. Look after Yourself

A healthy body equals a healthy mind. Exercise, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, drink a lot of water. Take some time out to relax.

And above all have fun!

Eva Polak is fine art photographer based in Auckland who specializes in impressionist photography. Author of two books “At the beach” and “Impressionist Photography Techniques” – visit her site at www.evapolak.com.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

How To Be Inspired Every Day

Last update (30 January’10):
- Review & Sample Photos @ WDC

Olympus Stylus Tough-6000 is a 10 megapixels point-and-shoot digital camera features 3.6x optical zoom (28-102mm in 35mm photography) with dual image stabilization, shockproof up to 5 feet, waterproof up to 10 feet underwater, freezeproof up to (14F/-10C), Tap Control, smile shot, and a 2.7″ (6.9cm) HyperCrystalTM III LCD with Backlight. The camera measures 3.8″W x 2.5″H x 0.88″D (95.3mm x 63.4mm x 22.4mm) and it weighs 5.3oz (149g) without batteries and media card.
[More Features & Specifications Detail]

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars | Latest Price Info

Also Consider

Olympus Stylus Tough-8000

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars | Latest Price Info

Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars | Latest Price Info

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars | Check Availability

Canon Powershot D10

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars| Latest Price Info

The ultimate battle ensues for the top drawer in my toolbox: presets versus actions. What’s the difference and what are the pros and cons according to Elizabeth?

First the basics: Presets are Lightroom’s way of applying many changes to a photo in one click. They can be made by you for a way in which you commonly treat a photo and would like to apply your own recipe in one click. Alternatively, they can be the recipes of other photographers which you purchase from them as .lrtemplate files to import into your lightroom catalogue of presets. Even better, some photographers give their presets away for free! Keep reading for those.

Photoshop’s one-click version are called actions and they work in the same way. Scroll through the effect names, choose one and click. You then see your photograph go through a makeover in a split-second. Again, you can record your own action sequences or buy them as .atn files from other photographers.

I prefer LR presets. I’m a control freak (big time) and I want to have complete, effortless control over every last pixel of my work. I appreciate the foundation that presets can lay in my editing process, but I never click once and move on. I always then play with the sliders to make every last element of my photo exactly what I want it to be. With actions, I feel that I lose control and unless the one click produces exactly what I had in mind (it never does), I don’t prefer to use them. The few times I’ve used actions, they always end up being from Florabella because she makes them work with a variety of layers which you can then tweak. But still, I don’t feel that I have enough control.

So what actions/presets do I love? My first love came from the ‘Lightroom Killer Tips’ website. Matt gives utterly amazing LR tutorials and gives his presets away for free. He even invented a preset extractor program which extracts LR setting from photos on Flickr and that is free as well. Genius! For actions, I use Florabella. She is the love of my textures life and also makes smashing actions. Another place for free actions and presets is CoffeeShop. For presets, my loves are Rebecca Lily and One Willow’s ‘Retro Candy’ presets with delicious names like ‘cotton candy’.

Keep in mind that most presets are created to work on RAW files, so if you’re not shooting in RAW yet, look into starting that before using presets. If you’re not sure about RAW vs JPEG, read this.

Which method do you prefer? Who are your favourites?

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Lightroom Presets vs. Photoshop Actions