Digital Photography Guide

If you’ve ever taken a photo with a TV in it, you might notice just how hard it can be. The picture can seem squiggly or, as in this photo, not even visible. You don’t have to be a Photoshop pro to replace the screen in post production. The answer is in shutter speed.

The screen on a TV is rolled down one pixel at a time at lightening speed. Use a speed of 1/30 or slower to catch the fully ‘rolled out’ screen of pixels.

If your camera doesn’t allow you to set a shutter speed, take a look at the automatic modes. For example, ’sports’ mode wouldn’t be any good because the shutter is too fast.

Today’s new television technologies don’t present this problem because they no longer work with a scanning electron beam like older televisions. But as you can see from my photo, some us still have the old types :)

Other factors that present themselves when setting such a low shutter in an indoor environment are camera shake and motion blur from your subjects. A tripod or resting your camera on an object can help with camera shake as can IS (image stabilisation) lenses. As for your subjects – well – tell them to freeze! And if they’re kids and there’s a TV in the room you probably won’t have to tell them :)

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

How to Take Photos of a TV Without the Squigglies

A Guest Post by Scott Bideau from capturedbyscott.com

A common question asked by an amateur photographer looking to turn professional is, “what equipment do I need?” I’ll skip the discussion around skill and experience being more important than equipment, but before you rush out and buy any equipment or start offering your services to others, you should consider the various liability issues and the options for operating as a legal entity that are available for your business and obtain the proper insurance for both your equipment and liability. I’ll cover specific options available in the United States in this article, although similar concepts are available in other countries.

Legal Entities

The most common mistake for beginners is to operate a business as a sole proprietorship, meaning there is no legal distinction between the owner and the business. This may sound easy and convenient, but it also means that you have unlimited personal liability for the actions of your business, and this includes the actions of your employees or even volunteer assistants. Operating as a general partnership is even riskier because all the partners are personally liable, even if it is for something done by the other partner that you didn’t know about. Even if you have liability insurance coverage for yourself, an accident caused by one of your partners or assistants (paid or not) could significantly expose you to liability.

Imagine you invite a friend to be a voice activated light stand at a wedding and he accidentally drops the boom on the bride. Worse yet, imagine he misplaces an electrical cord and someone is electrocuted. Even if your friend drives their personal car on an errand or trip for your business, such as on the way to the church for the wedding, and causes a bad accident or injury, they are liable for their negligence, but so are you since they were acting as an agent or employee of your business. If you are doing business as a sole proprietor then you are in essence personally guaranteeing everything that the business and any agents or employees do. Your spouse likely won’t appreciate you etting sued for something an assistant did which results in a judgment lien against your house because you didn’t have proper liability coverage.

A much better idea is to separate your personal matters from the business by forming a Limited Liability Company (LLC) or a corporation. In most instances, the LLC (not you) bears the responsibility for the liability of its other workers (paid or unpaid). You cannot escape liability for your own acts or negligence through an LLC, including possible claims for negligent supervision or training of employees or helpers, but you can significantly limit exposure for the acts or omissions of employees, agents or other members of the LLC. Filing as an LLC is a fairly simple process in most states and after the initial setup requires only a small fee and annual report to be sent to your state each year. Under current IRS rules, you can even include your single member LLC income and loss on your “Schedule C” form on your personal tax return.

Some photographers choose to form their business as a corporation, including making an election to become a “Sub S” Corporation (which eliminates the double taxation issue found with the C Corporation). While organizing as a corporation does provide certain benefits under unique circumstances, including the ability to carry forward a net loss from one year to the next (such as using the high startup costs for equipment this year to offset your profits next year) and has a longer track record of liability protection going back hundreds of years, often times the additional complexities outweigh the benefits. A corporation will require a separate tax return for the corporation even if there is only one stockholder. Either way, you should seek the initial advice of an attorney and an accountant to ensure your business entity is setup to your greatest benefit and protection.

Insurance

Once you’ve created the correct business entity for your operations, you should always obtain an adequate amount of liability insurance. Otherwise, you may be one accident away from financial ruin…even if you are setup as an LLC or corporation or were not even the one who caused the accident. General Liability policies can often be purchased for a very reasonable premium and if properly written can provide you and any of your employees, assistants, or even volunteers with adequate coverage. Be very sceptical if your insurance agent advises you that protection is already provided under your homeowner’s policy or tries to sell you a personal umbrella policy: personal policies almost always exclude liability or property protection for any commercial or business purposes…even part-time ventures. Always check your policy documents and get confirmation from your agent in writing! If you have filed as an LLC, both the LLC and you as the Member should be listed as “named insured.” Often times your employees, assistants and other non-members or non-officers of the company are not insured.

Finally, consider insuring your equipment. Many insurance companies who offer a commercial liability policy also offer inland marine policies, which is a strange name for a plan that protects your camera equipment from theft and accidental damage. These policies are often more expensive than the options available for personal equipment on your homeowners policy, but again, most personal policies exclude any commercial use. One exception to this rule is the popular “Personal Articles Policy” offered by State Farm, which in most states provides a “professional use” option to waive the commercial use exception specifically for camera equipment, but at a much lower in price than a full inland marine policy.

Scott Bideau is a management consultant with a strong passion for photography. You can view his photographic work at capturedbyscott.com.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

How to (Legally) Become a Professional Photographer

A Guest Post by SusanG from Camelot Photography Forum.

We talk about things like Workflow and Task Management. Yet, how much time do we dedicate to looking, really looking, into our own work? The end product itself!

I spent eight months last year photographing one linear mile. It wasn’t a planned series, but evolved into a long-term project. I recently reviewed the whole collection to select forty images as representative. In re-assessing the series, I took a long hard look to determine if the photography was an evolution of a signature approach, or a rut. That was not easy. It almost teetered into a self-involved downward spiral of “Why is everything rubbish?”

I kicked my ass out of that one ASAP as the end result of whinge-influenced decisions often is not a forward motion but a knee jerk response. Which can result in decisions that don’t further the goal. What does further the goal is to analyse objectively why an image (or images) failed or didn’t succeed as well as expected. Define the problem then look for solutions.

Also take the time to see what has been accomplished. If you know in your heart and mind that you have achieved a goodly portion of your photographic goals, take a moment to bask in that. There is more to be gained from honest congratulations then beating your self up. But keep that “Why Is Everything Rubbish” on hand for brief self-indulgences, and then use it in a positive manner.

My appraisal identified what lens and camera purchases I will be making next. I see that I still have issues resolving what I think I’m seeing to what I’m actually seeing in terms of composition. Which tells me I need to evaluate more completely the scene before I think I’m ready to click the shutter.

Perhaps that isn’t earth shattering, or a Road-To-Damascus moment. It is an important process and it has helped me to plan the next steps to where I want photography to take me.

Practical Things – Recap!

1. Look at what makes the bulk of your subject and composition. Think about making a specific purchase (lens, filters, even camera upgrade) to take those types of images.
2. Look for what’s missing! Could you have repositioned the camera to take a better or more complete perspective? Do you need to spend more time looking for different views to photograph a scene or subject?Be brutally honest with yourself when considering the above. You’ll stand a better chance of purchasing the equipment you need, and have a better idea on how to use it.
3. Look for what’s right in your photography! No matter how small you may think it, everything you feel you got right is one more step towards becoming the photographer you want to be!

These are only a part of an ongoing process. Once you know where your photography is, you have taken an intelligent and objective look at your work. There’s bound to be items I missed or are unique to your own photography. That is what makes your work unique. That is what defines part of your signature style.

SusanG is the Creator of Camelot Photography Forum, a MySpace™ Photography Site where anyone can find their new level.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Taking Stock of Your Own Photography

Weekly Assignment

We finished another food photography assignment this week, and the subject was Main Dishes. We wanted you to show us how tasty the food that your meal is based around is. Our winners seemed to have a bit of a seafood theme going this week, but there were some great shots of other mains too. Our winner was phillj for the shot of Prawns. The lighting and colour really made this shot stand out to us. This shot was really just out of the ordinary which made it stand out in our eyes. Our first runner up was the first of two sushi shots we liked, bubblybeginner’s “Oishii Sushi” (or the sushi shot with the red chopsticks). The colours in this one were great, as were the patterns and the lines. The way that the background related to the foreground was perfect, and the combination of lines and circles worked great. All of it helping to highlight the sushi. And last, but not least, our second runner up was emmabelle’s Sushi on a Blue Plate. The shot had a lot of good choices on it. The blue plate really helped punch up the reds and greens of the sushi and helped to highlight the sesame, and the colour temperature suited the cold nature of the dish.

We’re on to the last of our food photography assignments this week and your assignment this week is to show us Beverages. Whether they’re hot or cold, alcoholic or not, we want you to show us your favorite beverages that quench your thirst. As usual, a quick reminder of the rules. First, your photo must have been taken between 17 February – 3 March 2010. Next, Your post must include the words “Assignment: Food Photography – Beverages” and the date that the photo was taken. Finally, your EXIF should be intact, and it’s useful if you can include some of the main points such as shutter speed, aperture, ISO, lens, camera, etc. Next week’s assignment will be Jump. The goal is to get a picture of someone jumping. Whether it’s a person or an animal, yourself or someone else, we want to see them in mid-air. These shots can look really good, but they aren’t always as easy as you may think. Make sure you have enough light to get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the action. You can try continuous shots or you might want to pull out your flash. But either way, get out there and Jump!

Hot Threads

• Photo Walk with Complete Strangers: We opened our Photo Walk forum recently, and one of the topics that’s been busy in there asks the simplest question: would you go on a photo walk with a group of strangers? If you are willing to do that, why not pop over to the Photo Walk area of the forum and see if there’s a walk by you, and if there isn’t, why not think of organizing one yourself?
• What Makes a Good Photo?: We all have different ideas of what a good photograph is, but we aren’t always sure what other people think. So why not come join in the discussion and tell us what it is that makes a good photograph in your mind.
• Photography Questionnaire: If you were ever interested in how some of our forum members got started in photography, what they do, what they like, and generally just a bit about the photography aspect of their lives, you may be interested in this thread. And if you have a few spare minutes, why not come share some details about yourself with us.
• What Would You Do: Every week there’s a chance for forum members to test out their post-processing skills by editing the photo of another forum member. Whether you’re new to post-processing or not, you’re welcome to join in the fun of the thread and see what you and others can do with the photo.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (21-27 Feb ‘10)

Three or four years ago nobody had heard of General Imaging, a new division of the General Electric industrial conglomerate. But GE has rapidly established itself as a camera marque with ambitions. At PMA we had a look at their pre-production X5 bridge camera.