American Shutterbug

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2011-01-26T15:02:00.001-06:00

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Give Kids Something to Do

2009-06-04T09:44:00.000-05:00

One of the tough parts of photographing kids is that they get bored with it pretty quickly. You can ask most kids to "smile" about three times before they decide that they'd rather be chasing the dog or digging for worms in the garden. But most kids are really good at taking instructions (most adults should be so good!) and they also love a creative challenge. If you give them something interesting to do they will pretty much ignore your camera.

The trick is to find an activity that keeps them relatively calm and in one place, yet is also something they like to do and that also makes an interesting photo. You obviously can't ask an eight-year-old boy to climb a tree or you'll have to climb up after him to get a close picture. But there are lots of fun passive activities that work nicely--drawing with chalk in the driveway, coloring Easter eggs or even just reading a book out loud to you. Just be sure to set the shot up in an attractive area with good natural lighting so that you don't have to rearrange things once you start shooting.

You also have to put a time limit on the photography part of the session, even if they want to continue on with the activity--otherwise they'll start to get tired (of your camera mostly) and withdraw. My friend Alice was only four when I photographed her blowing this huge bubble and she'd never done it before! I was amazed (really amazed) at how good and patient she was a blowing bubbles and at how huge they were. After about 20 minutes though she let me know that photography was over and so we put the cameras away and just blew bubbles. There's a time for pictures and a time for bubbles and let's face it, bubbles are a lot more fun.

Tech Notes: By the way, you might want to know that the way I got the background out of focus was by using a combination of a moderately long lens (the equivalent of about 105mm in 35mm terms) and a small aperture (the lens was almost, but not quite, wide open at f/5.6). The combination of the long focal length and relatively wide aperture created a limited depth of field (near-to-far sharpness) and restricted sharpness to just her face and the bubble. When you do limit the depth of field though, be very careful to focus on what you want sharp. In this case I focused on the area around her nose and the bubble. I also worked close to her and that helped keep the background out-of-focus, too. And I chose a location where the light was fairly bright on the shrubs behind her so that the scene would have a light, airy feeling. I did do a bit of careful softening of contrast in Photoshop and I warmed up the colors a tiny bit. The scene is pretty much how it came out of the camera, however.

Lay Down, Look Up

2009-06-02T09:07:00.000-05:00

When I first got into digital photography I bought an Canon G3 camera. It's was a great 3 megapixel camera. One of the things I like about it is that the LCD is partially articulated--in other words, you can pull it away from the back of the camera body and angle it up. One of the many things that this makes it possible to do is to lay the camera on the ground and shoot up at low-lying subjects.

The first summer I had that camera I crawled around on my back lawn and in my gardens looking for things I could shoot up at from ground level. The neighbors must have thought I was nuts (who cares!). By just laying down with the camera and aiming it up slightly I was able to shoot these tiny flowers (about 4 inches tall) as if they were towering trees. I love the look of them. The articulated LCD isn't necessary, but in this case it just made it a bit easier to see the composition without pushing my face into the lawn.

I have since upgraded to the Canon G10, and it doesn't have the swivel LCD, and I really miss it!! If you're thinking of buying a new point-and-shoot, consider that feature (especially if you're deciding between one camera that has it and one that doesn't). The ability to pull/twist/turn the LCD really has some nice benefits (like shooting over your head and still being able to see the image). But regardless of the camera, next time you're shooting flowers (soon I hope) try laying the camera on the ground and shooting up.

Black Out the Background with Flower Close-ups

2009-05-28T09:46:00.002-05:00

Among the most common flaws I find in my own close-ups shots are messy backgrounds--backgrounds that are either just too filled with clutter or where lighter objects in the background (grasses, stems, other flower blossoms) are competing too aggressively with the main subject. One way to tame backgrounds, of course, is to use a really selective focus and limited depth of field (near to far focus). Shallow depth of field is an inherent quality of close-ups, but sometimes if the depth is too shallow, your subject is out of focus too. So there are a lot of times when I end up using a small aperture to keep the subject in good focus, but that also brings stuff into focus from the background. A real problem!

The solution? The best solution I've found so far is to use a black background behind my primary subject. You can use a piece of black fabric (try to avoid a shiny fabric) or a piece of black Foam Core board (I spray it with a matte spray to kill any glare spots). Even if you use flash (as I often do) for close-ups and keep the background a few feet behind the subject, the backdrop will still remain jet black. To get this shot of bleeding heart blossoms (isn't it neat they way that you can see the progress of the blossoms opening on just one stem?) I placed a piece of black fabric over a lawn chair and placed the chair about four feet behind the plant. Because I wanted the colors richer and didn't care how "black" the background went, I ended up using a -1 stop exposure compensation setting to saturate the flower a bit.

Speaking of exposure, though, it's important to set your exposure for the flowers and don't let the meter get fooled by all that blackness in the background. If you're shooting by existing light, just meter before you put the backdrop in place. But if you're using flash, and matrix metering (in the Auto or Program modes, for example), the camera will base its exposure on the flash and you will probably get very good exposures automatically.

Rename Files Before Saving New Versions

2009-05-26T09:48:00.000-05:00

Unless you're really a whiz at Photoshop, chances are that you'll go through several edited versions of a photograph before you arrive at just the version you're after. I often spend hours (even days) on a really important image and create a dozen or more different interpretations.

One thing you have to be careful of though is not saving the new versions with the same file name as the old one; if you do, of course, you erase the previous version. While that might not seem to matter if you like the new version more, the fact is that in the cold light of day, you may actually prefer earlier versions. All it takes is a little bit of organization (and some hard drive space) to save each different version until you're sure you have the one you want.

I've played with this shot of the Camden, Maine harbor many times (the shot is simply too crowded, but I keep playing with exposure and color balance to try and improve it--silly, I know) and each time I do I change the file name slightly: "Camden_Harbor 1" "Camden_Harbor 2," etc. That way I can always go back and look at earlier takes. I also keep the layers open when I save "working" images because that way I can trace exactly what I did and also turn various layers on or off at will. Finally, when I'm sure I have a file I like, I flatten the image, choose a final name and save it to a "finals" folder.

One other reason to change file names slightly is that if you open and re-save jpeg files (and only jpegs--it's OK to save TIFF or PSD files with the same name--though you will, of course, still delete the earlier version if you do) using the same exact file name, you degrade the file! Yes, you are actually harming the file each time you open and resave it under the same name--so don't do it!

Organization is an important thing in image editing, especially when, as I do, you have tens of thousands of digital files. So come up with a good naming scheme early and stick with it--you'll be glad you did.

Emphasize the Sky with a Low Horizon

2009-05-21T09:50:00.000-05:00

A few days ago I talked about placing the horizon high in the frame to emphasize foregrounds and make your main subject seem farther away. Before I get away from that concept, I wanted to show you how the balance of an image changes when you place the horizon extremely low in the frame.

With the horizon low you give emphasis to the sky or whatever else dominates the upper portion of your composition. I'll often do this with sunsets, for example, because the sky is generally the most colorful and interesting part of the scenes. But there are other times when I'll use a low horizon: if I'm photographing a lone tree on a hillside, for example, I'll keep the horizon low because I want to dramatize the isolation of the tree and it's small size compared to the sky or the hillside.

Horizon placement usually becomes instinctive after a while and I don't really think about it beforehand that much, but often I will shoot scenes both ways and then compare them later. It's free anyway, so why not make the extra effort. The one place most books will tell you not to place a horizon is directly through the horizontal center of the frame--and usually that's good advice--but rules are meant to be broken and sometimes it leads to startling visual discoveries. More about this in the days to come.

Shoot During the Golden Hours

2009-05-19T09:51:00.000-05:00

Although I am on the prowl almost constantly for pictures, especially when I'm traveling, I would have to guess that I do 70-percent or so of my shooting during what photographers call the "golden hours." The golden hours are the first hour or so after sunrise and the last hour before sunset. During these times the sun is much lower to the horizon, making the light softer and more golden in color.

There are a number of benefits to shooting at these times. The sun is lower to the horizon during the golden hours and the warm color of the light is, of course, an obvious draw. I had been shooting this bridge late one afternoon and the light was very blue, very common and I was pretty frustrated. I had actually begun to pack up the camera and was going to look for another subject and then as I was loading up the car, looked back and saw the bridge transformed by this golden glow. I should have known better and waited longer! I had to quickly grab the tripod and head back out onto the dock I was shooting from and reframe the scene. It was worth it because the shot suddenly came to life and I've sold this shot several times to book publishers.

Light quality is another nice benefit of the golden hours. There is a softer quality to the light, which means that contrast is gentler, shadows are more open and highlights are less likely to be burned out. Also, because the light is raking across the land at such an oblique angle, there are a lot more textures brought out in landscapes. And if you're doing a portrait, you can place the low sun behind your subject and get a nice warm glow around the hair (turn on your flash in this situation to open up the faces a bit).

Raise Your Subject Up to Create Depth

2009-05-14T09:52:00.000-05:00

As long as we're on the topic of creating the illusion of distance in landscapes, here's another useful tip: place your main subject higher in the frame if you want to make it seem farther away. By placing the subject higher (or placing the horizon higher) in the frame, you exaggerate the foreground, reinforcing the sense of distance from the camera to the subject and/or the horizon. It gives the viewer the sensation that they would have to walk farther into the scene to get to the subject.

It helps when you're trying to exaggerate space if you use a wide-angle lens and also if you use a small aperture to create a lot of depth of field (near-to-far sharpness). Having sharpness throughout the frame adds to the depth illusion. Creating the illusion of distance in a landscape is very important because in a photograph you're only working with two dimensions--it's up to you to create a feeling of depth. By the way, when you want to accent the sky rather than the foreground, just drop the horizon lower in the frame.

Compress Space with Telephoto Lenses

2009-05-12T09:53:00.000-05:00

One of the interesting qualities that telephoto lenses have is that they compress space--and the longer the focal length is, the more the compressed space appears. We've all seen shots of a football player who is catching a pass and appears to be almost in the stands with the crowd. The reason they appear so close together is because the photographer used a very long lens and the space between the player and the spectators just evaporated.

In landscape photography compressing space can be a fun tool because it brings together distant elements in a very believable way. I photographed the sunset here outside of Tucson, Arizona using a 300mm lens (equivalent of 450mm on my Nikon D70s body because of the 1.5x cropping factor) and it appears that the saguaro cacti and the mountain range are relatively close. In reality the brushy hillside and the saguaro are about 100' from me but the mountain is probably 20 miles away (and the sun is millions of miles away!). But by using the power of the telephoto lens to shrink spaces, the three layers of the photo (hillside/mountains/sun) all appear incredibly compressed.

Next time you're out shooting landscapes, shoot a few frames of a scene with a normal lens and then either zoom in (using a built-in zoom lens) or, if you have a DSLR, switch to a long telephoto and compare the resulting images. It's great fun to see space compressed like this and the illusion is very convincing.

Silhouette Subjects Indoors

2009-05-07T09:54:00.000-05:00

Taking silhouettes is a fun way to create simple bold compositions and though most silhouettes are created outdoors against the sky, you can also create them indoors.

You can also create some clever silhouettes in other indoor situations. I photographed my wife in front of a huge aquarium window at the Atlanta Aquarium, for instance, just by hanging back and watching as she waited for something interesting (a beluga whale in this case) to swim past. I shot several frames of her just standing there.

The secret of a good silhouette is having a bright or colorful background (preferably both) and exposing for the background. Exposure isn't critical and you can always saturate the black shapes and the colors later in editing.

Take Some Snapshots Just for Fun

2009-05-05T10:00:00.000-05:00

A lot of times those of us who take photography seriously tend to take is so seriously we forget about taking "snaps" just for fun. I don't mean semi-serious photos, I mean just silly old snapshots. There's some kind of mental barrier in many photographers' brains that prevents us from taking "bad" photos. Lose that mental barrier!

Taking total snapshots is not only fun, but (especially when you're traveling) it can also be a good way to free your creative spirit. If you say, "I don't care what this looks like, I just want a memory of this place at this moment," then you find yourself shooting pictures that genuinely convey that spontaneous feeling of just being somewhere new. No f/stops to think about, no depth of field, no lens choice, just snapshot fever.

Personally I don't think snapshots get the artistic respect they deserve: they are perhaps the most honest of all the photos we take and have no pretense, no high ambitions, no technical correctness, just a quick look at a moment in our lives. So take some snappers--they are tons of fun to look at and come with zero angst!

Crop in the Camera

2009-04-30T10:04:00.000-05:00

Cropping your images during editing is easy and it's a fast way to get rid of peripheral clutter or to gently recompose a picture. The trouble is that when you crop in editing you're throwing away pixels and therefore shrinking the size of your image. The more you crop, the less image area (number of pixels) you have to work with.

Since I like to make big enlargements, I prefer to do most of my cropping in the camera. By using your zoom lens to crop in camera you can create a variety of views of a subject and yet each one will contain the maximum number of pixels your camera captures. In other words, you'll have the same full-sized image for each different cropping. Just be sure that as you crop (especially if you're using a variable-aperture zoom lens) that you adjust the f/stop to extend the depth of field (near-to-far sharpness) and keep the entire subject in sharp focus. Remember that as you zoom closer the added magnification reduces the depth of field.

Use Off-Center Subject Placement

2009-04-28T10:06:00.000-05:00

Here's a very quick tip that will improve about 90-percent of the photos you take: next time you're composing a photograph, make an effort to place the main subject off-center. Most of us automatically place our main subjects smack dab in the center of the frame largely because that's where the focusing indicator is in the viewfinder. Placing the center of interest in the middle of the frame creates a very static design with no surprises, no reason to explore the rest of the frame.

Using off-center subject placement creates a sense of visual intrigue and, if done well, a sense of balance within the frame. In this shot of a Japanese garden, by placing the stone lantern to the extreme right and balancing it with a large open area, I've used that open area to balance the "heavier" portion of the frame (the tree and lantern). The eye roams around the rest of the frame, curious about the vastness of the space surrounding the subject. I think that in this particular case, the design also reinforces some of the Zen feeling of the garden.

Don't be a slave to the center of the frame. Try some extreme placements and see if you don't enjoy them more!

Extend Depth of Field with the Landscape Mode

2009-04-23T10:07:00.000-05:00

Depth of field is the near-to-far distance in a scene that is in acceptably sharp focus. There are three factors that contribute to how much depth of field a shot will have: lens focal length, lens aperture and distance to your subject. All other things being equal, a wider lens (shorter focal length) and a smaller aperture create more near-to-far sharpness.

One fast and easy way to get a lot of depth of field is to put your camera in the "landscape" exposure mode. In this mode the camera automatically selects the smallest possible aperture giving the amount of existing light and the ISO you have set. (The camera will also try to select a shutter speed that is safe for hand holding.) In this rural scene, for instance, I wanted to keep everything from the grass in the foreground to the distant hills in sharp focus. I could have taken manual exposure readings and then choosing the smallest available aperture--and that's usually what I do. But there are times when I'm just taking a quick snap of a pretty scene and in those circumstances, I simply flip the camera to its landscape mode and shoot.

Read your manual for more info about these specialty exposure modes (often called "scene" modes in manuals); they can provide some very useful technical shortcuts.

Create Frames within Frames

2009-04-21T10:09:00.000-05:00

There are a lot of little tricks that both photographers and painters use to tie together various elements of landscape or other outdoor scenes. One that I often find myself using is the idea of a "frame within a frame." Using framing devices has several advantages. For one, it lets you bridge the foreground and the background together, as I've done here by framing a pier in Rockport, Texas with a big rusty loop on an old anchor I found on shore. In that case, having a thematic connection between foreground and background also helps strengthen the shot.

Unrelated frames can also be used to focus attention on your main subject: framing a full-length portrait through a pretty garden gate, for example. Still another good use of internal frames is to hide distracting elements: using a clump of arching tree branches to surround a church steeple, for example, to hide nearby power lines or telephone poles. In all cases it's important to keep the frame a bit darker and more subdued tonally than the rest of the frame otherwise the frame will compete for attention with your main subject. I tend to let the frames fall slightly out of focus for the same reason, but that really depends on the specific situation. There are times when it works better if both frame and subject are in equally sharp focus. Remember, these aren't rules, just guidelines and ideas.

Next time you're out shooting a landscape or an informal portrait, look around and see if you can't find an existing frame that you can work into the composition. My guess is that once you start looking for them, you'll see them everywhere: doorways, windows, tree limbs, etc.

Convert Your Digital Photos to Black and White

2009-04-16T10:13:00.000-05:00

It's probably been more than 20 years since I shot a lot of black-and-white film, but I miss the look a great deal. So the minute I discovered that you can use image-editing software to convert color images to black-and-white images, I was hooked. (Interestingly, all digital images are actually recorded in black-and-white and then converted to color by your computer.)

Converting your images to black-and-white can be easy or complicated depending both on the type of editing software you have and just how particular you are about the quality. Photographers who have had extensive experience working with black-and-white films and making their own darkroom prints tend to be much more picky about quality (including myself).

Most software programs have several options and the most basic of these is to simply convert the image to gray scale which just transforms the image from color to monotone. Another method is to "desaturate" the color using the hue-and-saturation tool which, in effect, drains the color out of your pictures. The fun thing about that method is that you can do a partial-desaturation (or even a selective one, choosing to desaturate individual colors), so that the image has a faded-color look. And in the current version of Photoshop there is actually a very sophisticated tool for black-and-white conversions. Just check your software manual or help screens to see what options are available to you.

Don't forget, many digital cameras also have a black-and-white shooting mode, so you can actually shoot monotone originals. Look in your camera manual for the menu setting that gets you to the black-and-white mode.

Raise the ISO Speed in Low Light

2009-04-14T10:14:00.001-05:00

Virtually all digital cameras have a flash that provides instant light in situations when the existing or "available" light is very low. Flash is handy, but it's rarely very attractive. The reason is simple: the light from a built-in flash is coming from the same place that you're standing and it provides a flat, often over-powering light that pretty much erases the mood of the ambient lighting.

Fortunately digital cameras provide an alternative to using flash and that is the ability to raise the ISO speed when you encounter dim settings. The ISO setting is merely a rating of a digital sensor's ability to respond to light and the higher the ISO, the more sensitive it becomes to low light. In the film days you had to buy separate rolls of film for different situations: a low ISO film speed for bright daylight and a faster one, such as ISO 800, for darker surroundings. But digital cameras, bless their little microprocessor hearts, have an "adjustable ISO" that lets you change the ISO speed from frame to frame.

In other words, if you were photographing the exterior of a cathedral in bright sun, you could use a relatively low ISO, such as ISO 100 (the typical default speed of many digital cameras). If you then wanted to move indoors, where the light is extremely low and flash is not allowed (or very desirable), you could raise the ISO high enough so that you can shoot at a safe handheld shutter speed. To photograph the candles, for example, I raised the ISO to 1600 (the maximum for my Canon camera) and was able to shoot handheld at 1/60 second without any need for flash. Had I used flash the candle light would have disappeared and I would have gotten a great deal of glare from the votive glasses.

Incidentally, the benefit of using lower ISO speeds when light allows is that the images are free from digital "noise" which is the grainy-looking appearance that higher ISO settings often create.
Many cameras have an automatic exposure mode (usually the green "A" mode) that continuously adjusts the camera's ISO setting as the light intensity changes. Read your manual to see how your camera handles setting different ISO settings. Knowing how to adjust that setting will provide a lot more flexibility in changing lighting conditions.

Turn the Camera Vertical

2009-04-09T10:16:00.001-05:00

Have you ever noticed that most of the photos that people shoot are taken horizontally? Even when the subjects themselves are vertical--things like trees and other people and tall buildings, people try to squeeze them into a horizontal format. In fact, one of the biggest complaints I hear from photo editors at magazines is that even though virtually all magazines are essentially vertical, photographers still shoot more horizontal images.

I think the real reason that most of us shoot so many photos horizontally is because that's how cameras are designed to be held and used. The viewfinder is on the top in the middle, the camera controls are (mostly) on the top of the camera and the LCD on digital cameras is horizontal. But that doesn't mean it's the best orientation in creative terms. Lots of subjects cry out to be framed vertically and they'll seem a lot more balanced and powerful if you let them proudly express their height. So next time you spot a subject that's taller than it is wide, turn the camera 90-degrees and see if things don't look more natural.

Find the Beauty in Found Objects

2009-04-07T10:17:00.001-05:00

I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse, but I see still life compositions almost everywhere I look. A vase of flowers on the windowsill? Grab the camera. A pile of old tires in the garage? Wow, great shot.

The subject itself doesn't much matter when it comes to making interesting shots out of found objects, it's finding a clever and simple way to present them to your viewer. What attracted your eye to the subject? Was it the combination of shapes? The patterns of light and shadow? Or did the objects seem to define a universal theme? Shoot the image without even getting out of ypour seat and don't arrange anything, though there's nothing wrong with making adjustments in the subject if it suits your vision. If something strikes you as an interesting gathering of found objects, go ahead and shoot it--you just never know what you might find.

Save Camera Batteries: Use the Peephole

2009-04-02T10:19:00.001-05:00

Ever since the invention of digital cameras, easily the most popular feature has been the LCD viewfinder. And why not? Instead of mushing your face up against the back of the camera and squinting into the peephole (optical) viewfinder like we did with film cameras (back when dinosaurs roamed the earth), the LCD lets you compose images while holding the camera at a comfortable distance from your face. It's easier to see, you can hold the camera at weird angles.

The problem with LCDs (other than that they are hard to see in bright daylight) is that they drain batteries very fast. The more you use your LCD to compose and review photos, the sooner you'll have to recharge your batteries. So when using the LCD isn't critical, or when you're shooting in bright daylight and the LCD view is hard to see anyway, try going back to using the peephole viewfinder. Some manufacturers have started doing away with optical viewfinders, which in my mind is a mistake--so that's one thing to consider when buying a new camera. If you shoot a lot and take your camera on trips, charging batteries is not always that convenient and that old-fashioned peephole can save you a lot of otherwise wasted battery power.

Turn Your Scanner Into a Camera

2009-03-31T10:21:00.002-05:00

If you have a flatbed scanner attached to your computer then you might not know it but you have one of the world's best digital cameras sitting on your desktop. Your scanner is not only great at copying old photos and documents, but it can take a scan (i.e. a photograph) of anything that you can fit on the platen: an arrangement of seashells, your antique button collection, or even some flower blossoms fresh from the garden. I laid these flowers on my Epson scanner (two separate scans), turned off the room lights (to get a black background) and scanned it. The great thing about scanners is that, while they can only "see" one surface of your subject, they have incredible depth of field (near-to-far sharpness) so almost everything the scanner sees will be sharp. I was surprised by the "tubes" in the green flower, could not see that with the naked eye, wild, isn't it?

Here are some quick tips for success:

Scan at a high (300 dpi) resolution so that you can make really nice prints.
Keep the glass clean.
Turn off the room lights or use a sheet of black paper over your subject to keep the background black.

Take Your Camera Everywhere

2009-03-26T10:32:00.001-05:00

Visual stuff happens. Beauty happens. Drama happens. Patterns happen. Nature happens. While it would be nice (photographically, at least) if we could predict when great visual things are going to happen, the best that we can do is to be prepared all the time. As photographers, that means carrying our cameras with us wherever we go. While most of us won't haul the DSLR over shoulders every hour of the day, it's easy to carry a tiny compact digital camera in your purse or jacket and you should. Beauty, drama, patterns, natural wonders--these kinds of things just suddenly appear and how many times have you said, "I wish I had my camera!" The opportunities don't have to be earth-shaking to be worth photographing either. I photographed these zucchini/squash looking gourds at a farmers market in Boulder Colorado just because I thought the pattern was interesting. It's not the world's most original photo, but had I seen those zucchini/squash looking gourds and not had my camera I know what I would have been saying to myself!

Explore the Night

2009-03-24T10:40:00.001-05:00

There's no reason that the sunset should signal the end of your picture-taking day. The night is filled with interesting and colorful subjects from city skylines to lighted monuments to glittery neon signs. Light levels are lower at night, of course, but your digital camera can record anything you can see. If you're traveling light (i.e. no tripod), you can just crank up the ISO speed (this regulates your camera sensor's response to light, but remeber this adds noise to the image) and keep on shooting. Of, if you're a bit more serious about your work, bring a tripod along and you can use longer exposures for creative effect. I shot this photo from our hotel room in Las Vegas with my Canon G7 (it's a point and shoot camera not a DSLR!).

Prepare for Great Sunset Photos

2009-03-19T12:00:00.001-05:00

Unless it's raining or very cloudy there are two visual miracles happening each day: sunrise and sunset. Capturing great sunrise or sunset photos is fun and somewhat easy--after all, nature does much of the creative handiwork for you. But you can improve your sunsets enormously if you "hang" that pretty sky over an interesting and simple foreground. The time to start scouting sunsets is early in the afternoon when you have time to spare; once the sun begins to set, the colorful sky show happens very quickly, so you want to be ready. One trick a lot of pros use is to carry a compass with them so that--even in strange locations--you can predict where the sun will set. Just figure out where west is, find a simple foreground and wait for the drama to begin.

Zoom in on Interesting Textures

2009-03-17T12:00:00.001-05:00

Whether it’s the soft silky sheen of a baby’s fine hair or the rough bark of an old maple tree, lots of subjects have visually interesting textures. By using your zoom lens to close in on just the texture you’ll reveal a side of a subject that most people ignore. Textures are revealed best when the light scrapes across the surface of a subject, coming either from the side or behind the subject. Early morning and late afternoon are the best times to look for surface textures because that’s when the sun is low and skitters across the surface of the earth creating the shadows that reveal textures.

7 Reasons to Shoot Vertical

2009-03-13T12:10:00.002-05:00

When should you shoot a vertical? Whenever you shoot a horizontal. Seriously, many photographers overlook the advantages of the vertical shot, which are many.

• Portraits: Verticals aren't called "portrait orientation" for nothing. The 3:2 aspect ratio of most film and digital SLRs closely matches the proportions of the human face. The best way to avoid a distracting background is to leave it out to begin with, so turn that camera sideways and fill the frame with the face.

•Deep Space: Verticals let you got a wider angle of view with the same focal length, as they can take in low foreground detail without losing the background

•Reflections: For those puddle/pond reflections, go vertical. This will let you take in more of the skyscraper or the mountain. Try framing nothing but the puddle reflection.

•Dynamic space: The vertical (standing) format is inherently more dynamic than the horizontal (reclining) format. If the picture looks flat and lackluster, add a jolt with a vertical. Curves and lines moving through the frame help here .

• Neater stitches: If your widest-angle lens isn't wide enough to capture your subject, and you decide to stitch, verticals attached along their long side give you a more manageable final image shape (a conventional rectangle) than merged horizontals, which become unwieldy long ribbons.

•It's only natural: Some things are by their nature verticals—skyscrapers, redwoods, statues, giraffes . You'd be surprised how many people forget this.

•Defy expectations: Take verticals just for the heck of it, even if you know it should be a horizontal. Look for an interesting crop of the big horizontal scene. You never know.

3 Ways to control White Balance

2009-03-12T12:00:00.005-05:00

You could go forever without adjusting white balance, left on Auto, your camera will usually get it right. But sometimes you want to be in charge. Here are three ways to take power over white balance.

1. Use a preset WB.
These settings are simple to understand and can be useful when shooting under multiple light sources, which can fool Auto. Use Tungsten (usually denoted by a light-bulb icon) indoors under incandescent lighting—it makes the colors in photos less yellow (i.e., cools them down). The Fluorescent setting compensates for greenish artificial light, warming up your shots. Cloudy and Shade settings will also warm up cool, blue tones.

2. Create a custom WB.
If even a preset won't do it in mixed light, make your own setting. Photograph a neutral gray under the light in which you'll be shooting, and select this frame in the CWB mode. Your camera will "correct" it to neutral gray and apply the same correction to ensuing photos. Result: cast-free color.

3. Fix it in post production.
If you don't want to bother making adjustments while shooting, or if you got it
wrong, there's always hope. In Adobe Photoshop, use the Gray dropper in the Levels command or the one-click white-balance tool in any RAW converter to click on any area that's supposed to have neutral color. The rest of your photo's color will fall in line.

3 Ways to fix a photo's background

2009-03-12T12:00:00.003-05:00

What surrounds the subject in a photograph can make or break the shot. Get the background wrong (too distracting or cluttered) and it draws attention away from your subject. Get it right, and it pulls together all of the elements in a photo to create a perfect composition. Here are three ways to improve your background.

1. Watch out for competeing lines, colors and patterns. If your subject has strong lines, you want to avoid a background with any sort of line or pattern, it will make your image too busy and confusing. If possible, move your camera or your subject to avoid competetion from the background.

2. Blur it out. Can't avoid a adistracting background? Smear out the details with a shallow depth of field by shooting with a lens that has a long foacal length or a wide aperture. To make your subject stand out, or to give your picture a sense of action, try panning with your subject's movement to create a streaked and blurry background.

3.Fill the frame. The background won't compete with your subject if you eliminate it altogether. Either zoom in or simply step closer.

Fill the Frame

2009-03-05T10:56:00.004-06:00

The simplest way to draw attention to your main subject is to let it fill the frame. Filling the frame leaves no question about what it is that you want your viewers to see. There's an old photo adage that says when when you think you're close enough, take another step forward--and it's true. Also: ask yourself what your subject is and then exclude anything that doesn't answer that question.

The When is just as important as the How

2009-02-03T08:21:00.000-06:00

A remarkable setting plus an unremarkable time of day can equal an ordinary photograph—and ordinary isn't the goal. You know what I'm talking about. Sure, there are any number of ways to deal with poor-quality light, but the simplest and best solution, by far, is to adjust when you're actually taking a photograph.
Time Of Day
I can't stress enough that it's "all about the light." The time of day the image is taken has so much influence on the success of a photo. The best shoot¬ing occurs at "sweet light"—when the light imparts warm tones and soft illu¬mination. Sweet light peaks during the first 30 minutes of a sunrise and during the last 30 minutes of a sunset. During this time, you'll find the most attractive shades of yellow, red and orange filtering through the horizon. If you're using a D-SLR, look for a white-balance feature that will act as a built-in warming filter. For instance, the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-L1 has a "cloudy" white-balance setting that enhances beautiful sunsets and sunrises.
Direction Of Light
Governed by subject matter, the direc¬tion of light can make or break an image. Front light can be effective when try¬ing to capture an evenly lit subject with¬out any shadows or textures, but its lack of contrasting tones makes it a poor choice for shooting landscapes.
Instead, work with sidelight, which reveals textures, patterns and shapes. Suddenly your subject becomes defined. How you compose the shadows and high-
lights determines how dramatic the photo will be. Shadows will recess details, while highlights will bring details for¬ward, giving a three-dimensional effect to your images.
Go Beyond The Obvious
Show your creativity by looking beyond the obvious shot. Whatever subject inspired you to point your lens toward it in the first place should be captured in as many fresh and interesting ways as possible. Don't be complacent with just one shot. Instead, exhaust all possibilities.
If you took a shot of the mountains horizontally, flip your camera and take it vertically. If you photographed a field of flowers from a standing position, get on your stomach and shoot it from eye-level to create a unique perspective. You'll be surprised by the interesting shots that weren't obvious at first, but prove to be the best ones of the day.

Better Sports Photos in Bad Lighting

2009-02-03T08:19:00.001-06:00

The real problem: Indoor gyms and non-professional stadiums don’t have a lot of light. Even a “bright” high school ball field will have less than a thousandth of the light outside at high noon.

Another real problem: Most of us don’t have as much money as we would like.

So we say “I’m just an amateur, so I don’t need as good a lens as a pro.”

What we don’t say, but really mean: with my limited budget, I want to take photos in badly-lit amateur venues and get pictures as good as those on the cover of Sports Illustrated!

Professional sports photographers use fast lenses, monopods, and get close to the action.

The ideal solution:
• Expensive professional lens with fast fixed aperture (f-stop) and image stabilization.
• Sideline passes.

In the real world:
• Those high speed lenses are big, heavy, and very EXPENSIVE. For example, a 300mm f2.8AF lens can easily cost $4,000.
• Popular-priced zoom lenses are at their slowest – least sensitive to light – when the longer focal lengths are selected.
• You can’t get sideline passes but you can get nosebleed seats in the high school stadium. The lights in the high school stadium are not very bright.

One possible solution:
• Fixed focal length 135mm or 200mm lens are often much faster than zooms, if you can find one that fits your camera.
• For the more popular auto focus cameras such as the Nikon, Minolta and Canon cameras, very few of these lenses have ever been made available at popular prices.

Real world: Set your camera to do the best that it can and hold the camera steadier than your body can do on its own.

Get down on the sidelines so you’re closer to the action

Don’t let your worries about “grain” ruin your photos:

Higher film speeds or digital equivalent have higher noise levels or grain. So far, so true.

Some photographers worry so much about a little grain that they choose slow film speeds (ASA or ISO ratings).

Yes, that’s a good choice for brightly-lit landscapes – not for action!

Action photos need high shutter speeds, and you can’t get high shutter speeds without high film speeds (or the digital equivalent).

A sharp image that’s a little grainy is better than a grain less image which is blurred.

Therefore, set the ISO as high as it will go.

Set the camera to the AV or A setting. This is the exposure mode where you choose the lens opening and the camera chooses the highest shutter speed possible under the lighting conditions.

Shoot with the lens wide open (largest aperture).

A $35 monopod provides more image stability than an IS lens that costs an extra $500 (or more). While neither image stabilization nor a monopod can freeze action, they both greatly reduce the shakiness of your hands and body moving.

Since a monopod only has one leg, if the action comes toward the sidelines it’s easy to run away!

It also helps keep your neck and back from aching due to the weight of the camera and lens.

It’s absolutely the best tool you can buy for sports photography.

Shoot at the peak of the action.

Pan along with the subject most important to you. When the principal subject is stationary relative to the camera, even slow shutter speeds can look sharp.

Panning means swinging the camera and lens along with the action. When done properly, you can get fairly sharp photos even at speeds as slow as 1/30th of a second.

Frame the action tightly. Even if you only get a couple of good pictures out of a session, that’s not such a bad thing.

Think ahead of the action. Be ready when the athletes get to the perfect spot.

Bring your sports photos to us. We’ll look them over and tell you candidly what you can do to make them better.

Black-and-White is Beautiful

2009-02-03T08:15:00.001-06:00

Black-and-white photography has been around decades longer than color photography and has a very special place in the hearts of most viewers. Black-and-white images are classic. They are offered as an extra special service in wedding photographers' menus, seen as striking photos in today's fashion magazines, and are highly prized by fine-art photography collectors. Unforgettable black-and-white scenes from 1930s and 1940s movies, such as Casablanca and Grapes of Wrath are etched into our collective memories. Warm, glowing sepia brown images also have the emotional impact of vintage photography from years ago.
Black-and-white is beautiful, and your color digital camera can make these traditional monochrome images. If you read your instruction book closely, you'll find information on how to set your camera to produce attractive black-and-white and sepia photos. The instruction guide may call them "grayscale" images, which is computer lingo for black-and-white.
In addition to making your original exposures in black-and-white, you can also use a computer imaging program, such as Photoshop Elements, to change color digital photos to black-and-white or sepia images. Sometimes this may be the safest approach, since you can retain a full-color version of the images and still create a black-and-white version of the file. This is helpful in case you don't like the picture in black-and-white.
A third choice is to bring the camera memory card or a CD with your images to a local photo retailer, or to use an online photofinisher, asking that the color photos be printed as black-and-white or sepia images.
Black-and-white photography is different than color photography because different color hues can separate the subject from the background, such as a girl in a red sweater posing by a green forest. In monochrome photography tones of black, gray, and white are modified by brightness and shadows, contrast, and the quality and intensity of the light.
The best approach is to take some test photos with your camera on the grayscale mode setting and learn how the images are different from color pictures. A good starting rule is to place a light colored subject against a dark background and a dark colored subject against a light background, so that there is a maximum contrast between the subject and the background.
The direction of the light is very important in black-and-white photography. Usually it is best to have the light "wash" across the subject giving it dimensional substance. That way the shape and contours of the subject are accentuated, creating a three-dimensional quality through the light. Usually early morning or late afternoon sunlight has this quality. Sometimes, midday sunlight filtering through an overhead skylight can have the same results.
The opposite effect is flat, or heavily diffused, lighting, such as cloudy-day illumination. This can be very attractive for close-up facial portraits, since the light is soft and flattering. But, unless the subject is well defined, flat lighting produces overall gray-looking images.
Backlighting can be very dramatic. With the light source behind the subject, the subject can be dark, in shadows, or under-illuminated. However, if you are close enough (no more than 10 feet away), you can use the camera flash to illuminate the subject. If the background is at a greater distance it will remain very dark. This technique can be applied to portrait subjects – their backlit hair will almost glow with sunlight, while the "fill flash" from the camera illuminates the subject's face. This approach also eliminates unattractive squinting eyes.
So far, we've been describing outdoor black-and-white photography, but the same techniques can be applied to indoors. If you are interested, you might want to experiment with some standard reflector bulbs and a floor lamp with a moveable lamp socket which permits the bulb to be directed toward the subject. (Be careful, these bulbs can become very hot. Don't try to adjust them when they are lit.)
There are two types of standard 110-volt reflector bulbs, "Spotlight" and "Floodlight". You can experiment with each to see how these light sources illuminate a subject. If you like the Humphrey Bogart look in Casablanca, use the "hard" spotlight alone. If you like the softer look of Ingrid Bergman, use the floodlight and place a white cardboard reflector nearby the subject on the side that is opposite the light.
If you want an even more professional look to your portraits, you can use a second reflector bulb in another floor lamp directed toward the back of the subject's head, keeping the light source completely out of the picture. This produces a backlit "hair light," which helps define the subject's head.
As a digital photographer you'll be far ahead in your lighting learning curve, since you can see the results of your photography on the camera's LCD monitor, and immediately make changes for a better color or black-and-white picture.

Copying Pictures from your digital camera to your computer

2009-02-03T08:14:00.001-06:00

STOP: Before you go any further, you need to know the basics of how your computer stores and organizes files. This topic is not a “camera” topic, it’s a really important part of understanding your computer. There are several excellent explanations in your computer’s Windows HELP files, and the Windows for Dummies book series explains files very well.
To your computer, that beautiful picture you took is a file made up of 0s and 1s. Before you can do anything with that picture, you want to get that file onto the hard drive.
The process can be called “uploading” or “downloading” but it’s really just a process of copying the computer file(s) from your camera to your computer.

Copying pictures from camera to computer using Windows XP
1. DO NOT USE THE SOFTWARE PACKAGED WITH YOUR CAMERA.
2. The easiest program to copy picture files from one place to another came with your computer. It’s called “My Computer”
3. Turn off your camera and remove the memory card.
4. Insert the memory card in a card reader, either one that’s built into the computer or a separate one.
5. To open My Computer, click Start, and then click My Computer
6. The memory card shows up as a removable disk in “My Computer”
7. Left click on that removable disk to find a folder called DCIM (Digital Camera IMages)
8. The files in that folder are your pictures, and their names end in “jpg”
9. Copy those files by selecting them and copying them. The keyboard shortcut (control-A) marks all the photos in a folder and the keyboard shortcut (control-C) copies them to the computer’s clipboard.
10. Navigate to the folder within “My Documents” named “My Pictures” and paste (control-V) your photos into place.
11. Learn how to make new subfolders within the master folder “My Pictures” so that it’s easier to find a photo you want. I make up folders with names like “2007March” and divide my photos by the month taken.
12. After you copy files or folders to the hard drive, it is useful to view the hard drive to confirm that the files are copied.
13. Do not erase photos from your memory card until you are positive you’ve saved them on the hard drive!

Using the camera as a source, instead of a card reader (but we really, really suggest using a card reader)
• You can copy photo files directly from your camera to the computer. Use the USB cable that came with the camera.
• Very important: make sure that your batteries have a full charge before you start this procedure.
• If the power fails during the transfer, data will be corrupted.
• Be very careful when inserting the USB cable connector into the socket of the camera. This is one of the most fragile components of the camera and we have seen cameras damaged by carelessness.
• After you copy files or folders to the hard drive, it is useful to view the hard drive to confirm that the files are copied.
• For the greatest safety of your irreplaceable images, make a second copy on CD, DVD or detachable hard drive.

How to send a photograph attached to an e-mail

2009-02-03T08:12:00.000-06:00

It's easy to send a photograph to us or to anybody else, using the software that you normally use to send email.
However, you can't attach a photo file or any other kind of file unless you know exactly where it's located on your computer. Most pictures will be located within the overall folder "My Pictures" which is within the folder "My Documents"
1. Compose a message in your email software, such as America Online or Outlook Express
2. Find the button for attachments on your email software. It may look like a paper clip and it will probably say "attach files".
3. Click on that button. An explorer window will open.
4. Navigate to the folder where the file you want to send is located. For example, mypictures/2007Jan/0123.jpg
5. Click on the name of the picture or other file.
6. If you want to send more than one file, hold down the "control" key and click on the additional file names.
7. The display of the email message you're sending will have change. It will now say something like "attachments (1) 0123.jpg"
8. The message will probably also tell you the size of the file(s) you have attached - "140KB" for example.
9. Press "send"
Email with attachments takes longer to upload than plain text. If your photos are large, it may take a minute or more.

Using the White Balance Settings on Your Digital Camera

2009-01-31T10:01:00.001-06:00

These days, there are so many menus and settings on digital cameras that it is difficult to learn them all. Most casual photographers learn the basic settings or rely strictly on the automatic modes of digital point-and-shoot and SLR cameras.

With a little experimenting, you will find that you can command great control of your camera and more importantly, your images.

The white balance setting is one that can have a large effect on the outcome of your images. Understanding white balance and learning how to change the white balance setting in your camera can help you turn an average picture into an exceptional picture.

To put it simply, white balance is the reference point in which your camera determines the true color of white. If you tell your camera that a particular object in the room is white, the camera will calculate the color temperature of your images based on that information.

First, lets look at the different types of environments that we find ourselves in. Sunny days with bright light overhead, overcast days where the light is muted, outside in the shade or under a tree, inside a home with incandescent lights placed randomly throughout, or a gymnasium with florescent lights (one that poses a challenge to many amateur photographers).

Each of these scenarios presents a very different light for you and the camera to deal with. With a few simple adjustments to your digital camera (provided that it has white balance settings) you can "tell" your camera how to handle the lighting conditions.

Many of the newer digital cameras have preset white balance settings for some of the more common conditions. If you are taking pictures under less than ideal lighting situations, it is best to change your camera to one of the white balance the preset modes for this lighting.

If you want to take this your photography to the next level, you can learn to create custom white balance settings and take even more control of the situation. Setting a custom white balance will produce better color than your camera's auto and preset white balance settings under many different conditions.

You can do this, in many cameras, by switching from auto white balance to custom white balance. Take a picture of a white surface, in your shooting environment, then use this image to program your camera to understand that, in this location, this image is white. To get the best results, you can use a "Grey Card" (a card printed with 18% grey).Each picture taken thereafter, until you change your white balance setting, will be color balanced. You'll get healthy skin tones, red reds and yellow yellows.

Sure, many of the lighting problems can be fixed in image editing software like Adobe PhotoShop or Corel's PaintShop Pro, but editing each image takes time. Taking the time to set your white balance before shooting your pictures will save you lots more time in the post-capture phase.

One piece of advice: You must also remember to reset your white balance or turn off custom white balance when you switch shooting environments, or your images will be captured with potentially incorrect color balance.

Once you learn to set the white balance of your camera, you will find yourself using this feature at every important shoot. Heck, it's there, why not use it?

Card Capacity: What it Means to You

2009-01-31T09:47:00.007-06:00

Whether you're a professional photographer or just dabbling with your new digital camera, it's important to be informed about memory cards and the differences between them.

Digital cameras come with little, if any, memory of their own, so if you're interested in maximizing your shooting capacity, you need to consider purchasing a high-speed memory card.

More Power
Image quantity and quality. High-end DSLR cameras offer higher megapixel counts, and adding a high-speed memory card can increase this even further. This means whether you're shooting a slew of photos or using your camera's video function, you're getting more images at a much higher resolution. High-capacity cards allow you to shoot even more, higher quality photos using JPEG high-resolution and RAW formats for even better results.

Chart Your Capacity
There's no exact standard amount of photo capacity on a memory card because it's based on content, compression, and file type, all of which can vary. But you can use the chart below to help determine the approximate number of still images that can be captured on different capacity cards.

*Actual number of photos and minutes will vary depending on camera model, format resolution and compression, usable capacity, and bundled software. Actual usable memory capacity may vary. 1MB equals 1 million bytes. 1GB equals 1 billion bytes.

For prosumers or professional photographers, capacity is critical. Ask anyone shooting a wedding or faced-paced sporting event. There's no time to change out cards. And for photographers working in extreme conditions-underwater or aerial photographers, for example, the opportunity doesn't even exist to be able to swap out cards.

In-camera processing time. The internal RAM of a DSLR camera can also work with a high-capacity memory card to deliver faster in-camera speeds. A memory card can also affect the processing speeds from memory card to camera memory and camera memory to computer. While these speed changes may not be significant for a point-and-shoot camera, it definitely makes a different to professional photographers or those taking multiple shots in short time spans.

Memory Card Types-CompactFlash and Secure Digital
Once you've decided to add capacity to your camera, you need to check which type of memory card your camera supports. Cameras using CompactFlash (CF) memory cards are generally more professional-level, offering many capabilities and shooting options, while cameras using Secure Digital (SD) cards fall more into the point-and-shoot category and sometimes offer video capabilities.

Regardless of type, these cards can provide incredibly fast image read/write speeds that can fully leverage a DSLR camera's high-speed processor and accelerated image download times. The seamless workflow slashes your processing time and lets you enjoy more time shooting.

The Perks of Added Capacity
The basic advantages are obvious-you can easily shoot many more photos before ever needing to worry about swapping out cards. This always gives you the benefit of having the card space to take many more photos before you need to review and delete unwanted photos. But there are many other advantages to take into consideration.

Enjoy more freedom in your photography. A high-capacity memory card gives you the freedom to be creative in your photography. Have fun experimenting with the correlation between light and shutter speeds, take a slew of photos without worry of needing to immediately switch cards to continue, or take full advantage of the video option on your point-and-shoot camera. You can enjoy a multitude of capabilities with peace of mind, knowing your memory card gives you that freedom.

Choosing a high-capacity card gives you the freedom to experiment and explore new photographic frontiers knowing your camera has huge memory capabilities. For anyone serious about photography, it's important to have multiple high-capacity cards to ensure you are always ready for that next photo.

Memory Card Do's and Dont's

2009-01-31T09:42:00.001-06:00

Purchase the fastest card you can afford from a reputable maker. Cards in the neighborhood of 300x are now readily available and the price keeps dropping! Fast cards mean you are less likely to miss action shots while the buffer is being filled. Faster cards also translate into faster download times.

Test out your new cards before leaving for your photo trip. If a card is going to fail, chances are it will fail early in its life. So format your cards in your camera and take some images.

Buy high quality cards from a reputable dealer. A friend of mine bought a counterfeit card on eBay. I'm certain it looked like an original but it sure didn't perform like one!

Format your cards after each download. Some folks insist on leaving favorite images on cards forever. Cards work best when reformatted, as reformatting cleans up the file structure. Almost every card failure I have seen has come when images are individually erased while in the camera. I never erase an image in-camera. Rather, I wait until I have downloaded images from the card, then after making a backup, I reformat the card. I have seen too many photographers accidently erase all their images by pressing the wrong button!

Do not open the memory card door and remove it while images are being written to it. This would most commonly happen after shooting a burst of images. In the heat of the moment, it is easy to want to change your cards quickly. Every camera has some sort of warning you should heed. By disconnecting a card from its power source, you can cause file structure failure.

Never push your camera's batteries to their maximum. It increases the possibility that the battery will run out of power just as you are taking an image. You risk losing images due to this power failure or worse, file structure damage to the whole card.

Be careful when loading cards into the camera. I have seen folks jam cards into the camera upside down and backwards. This generally results in damage to camera contacts rather than to the card. It is usually more expensive sending the camera in for repairs than buying a new card. Memory cards are, for the most part, very durable and I have heard stories of cards being run over or washed with clothing and still working.

Before using a new card, make sure that your camera has the most recent firmware updates. This is most important if you are using older camera models. Some older models may not be compatible with newer cards, so be sure to check your camera's compatibility.

Good memory card readers can mean the difference between a quick, easy and reliable download and a slow, difficult one. Spend a little more and get a decent memory card reader. Cheaper readers may wear out earlier than those with quality made components.

Have a system in place so you do not reuse a full card before you download images from it! Most photographers I know use some sort of digital memory card wallet. After I have filled a card with images I turn the card over in my wallet so the back is facing up, that way, I know not to use this card again until I have downloaded and reformatted it. Something this simple can keep you from copying over a full card!

What’s the best way to deal with water-damaged photos?

2009-01-30T16:55:00.001-06:00

What’s the best way to deal with water-damaged photos?

Q. My customers have presented several questions concerning what can be done to attempt to preserve family albums and photos. What is the best response?

A. The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (http://aic.stanford .edu/contact.html) suggests damaged photographs for which there are no negatives receive first attention. Once photographs are stuck together or become moldy, saving them may not be possible. Handle wet photos carefully; the surfaces may be fragile. Wet photos may be rinsed in clean water (if needed) and sealed in a plastic bag with a tie or a Ziploc-type enclosure. If possible, put wax paper between each photograph. If a freezer is available, freeze the photos immediately. Later, the photos may be defrosted, separated, and air-dried. The Northeast Document Conservation Center (NDCC) in Massachusetts (www.nedcc.org/ home.php) also has some very good information. In fact, the Center has a whole series of leaflets on its website for the care and preservation of photographs. The NDCC suggests setting priorities to deal with wet photographs. The priority scheme should be based on the material involved. In general, films (plastic-based materials) are generally more stable than prints (paper-based materials); therefore, prints should be salvaged first. Important exceptions include older types of film, such as nitrate and safety films, which are extremely susceptible to water damage.
Photographs in water will quickly deteriorate: images can separate from mounts, emulsions can dissolve or stick together, and staining can occur. Mold can grow within 48 hours, and it often causes permanent staining and other damage to photographs. For these reasons, photographs need to be dried as quickly as possible. If photographs cannot be dried, they should be frozen. Certain types of photographs are much more susceptible to damage than others. The initial response for wet photographs is to allow excess water to drain off the photographs. Separate photographs from their enclosures, frames, and from each other as soon as possible. If they are stuck together or adhered to glass, set them aside for freezing. Spread the photographs out to dry face up, laying them flat on absorbent material, such as blotters, unprinted newsprint, paper towels, or clean cloths. Keep the air around the drying materials moving at all times. Fans will speed up the drying process and minimize the risk of mold growth. Negatives should be dried vertically. They can be hung on a line with plastic clips placed at the edges. Photographs may curl during drying, but they can be flattened later. If photographs are going to be frozen to deal with later, wrap or interleave the photographs before freezing. Use a nonwoven polyester material or waxed paper to separate the photographs. This will make them easier to separate when they are eventually treated. When it is time to remove the frozen photographs for salvage, the NDCC recommends the following steps: Frozen photographs are best dried by thawing, followed by air drying. As a stack of photographs thaws, individual photographs can be carefully peeled from the group and placed face up on a clean, absorbent surface to air dry. If slides are involved, they can be handled using slide cleaner or a similar commercial product, and air dried. Dry them by hanging them on a line or propped up on their edge. Ideally, slides should be removed from their frames for drying, and then remounted. Slides mounted between glass must be removed from the glass or they will not dry. The U.S. Library of Congress also has information on preservation of newer types of images, such as InkJet, dye-sublimation, and electrostatic prints. This information is available at www.loc.gov/ preserv/care/photolea.html.

Your family photos may disappear in just a few years.

2009-01-30T16:49:00.002-06:00

Your family photos may disappear in just a few years.
Frightening, isn’t it?
According to Carnegie Mellon, the lifespan of a computer hard drive is just over three years. Computer hard drives wouldn’t have statistics like MTBF – Mean Time Before Failure – if failure and loss of data weren’t an everyday occurrence.” That's why it's really important to back up your photos on CDs or DVDs.
How to burn a CD on a computer using Windows XP
1. Insert a blank, writeable CD into the CD recorder.
2. Open the Windows utility My Computer
3. Click the files or folders you want to copy to the CD. To select more than one file, hold down the CTRL key while you click the files you want. Then, under File and Folder Tasks, click Copy this file, Copy this folder, or Copy the selected items.
If the files are located in My Pictures, under Picture Tasks, click Copy to CD or Copy all items to CD, and then skip to step 5.
4. In the Copy Items dialog box, click the CD recording drive, and then click Copy.
5. In My Computer, double-click the CD recording drive. Windows displays a temporary area where the files are held before they are copied to the CD. Verify that the files and folders that you intend to copy to the CD appear under Files Ready to be Written to the CD.
6. Under CD Writing Tasks, click Write these files to CD. Windows displays the CD Writing Wizard.
Follow the instructions in the wizard.
Notes
• To open My Computer, click Start, and then click My Computer.
• Do not copy more files to the CD than it will hold. Standard CDs hold up to 650 megabytes (MB). High-capacity CDs hold up to 850 MB.
• Be sure that you have enough disk space on your hard disk to store the temporary files that are created during the CD writing process. For a standard CD, Windows reserves up to 700 MB of the available free space. For a high-capacity CD, Windows reserves up to 1 gigabyte (GB) of the available free space.
• After you copy files or folders to the CD, it is useful to view the CD to confirm that the files are copied.

CDs and DVDs can be longer-lived, but only if you choose wisely and follow some simple rules.
First, don’t pinch pennies when you buy CDs for important storage. That means you should buy Compact Disks whose top layer is coated with gold rather than any less stable metal. The bottom of the disk, where the data heads work, is actually pretty well protected. It’s the label side that is most vulnerable.
The biggest no-no is writing on the label with a Sharpie or other solvent-based pen. Use only special CD pens with a water-based ink.
The way you store your CDs can also make a difference. Standing them upright, rather than lying flat, extends the average life. Avoiding extreme heat or humidity is recommended practice.
If your CD burning drive has variable speeds, recording at a lower speed reduces wobble, which can lead to problems in the future.
DVDs can have the same problems, with the additional concern that there is no single standard format.
It would almost be funny, if it weren’t so frightening. We’ve made prints from glass plates going back before the War Between the States, but we’re likely to lose most of the digital pictures being taken in the 21st century! Negatives and prints may fade a little, but binary data files have this annoying tendency to disappear!
Here’s a simple plan to keep family photos safe:
• Copy them all onto the best quality CDs available
• Make extra paper copies and “give” them to your children or other relatives each Christmas. That not only gives the kids something they will enjoy, it gives you a place to recover his photos if the house burns down.
• When new technology emerges, copy all those CDs to that new media.
And perhaps the best archive of all? Print all the important pictures and throw them in a shoebox!

Five Things to Know About Your Digital Camera

2009-01-30T16:45:00.002-06:00

Five Things to Know About Your Digital Camera

Digital cameras offer photographers more choices for operating settings than film cameras. For best results, digital photographers should do their homework by studying the camera’s instruction book. Here are five settings that make for better photographs.

1. Flash Adjustment: Learn how to turn the flash on and off, even if the camera has an automatic flash mode. Sometimes flash will ruin a photo. It may be better to try a longer exposure in natural light. For example, if you use the flash when shooting through a glass window, the flash usually reflects back into the camera lens causing a flare. Ambient light can also capture a more natural look to your photography in most cases. Finally, see if there is a “Fill Flash” setting on your flash menu. If so, use the “Fill Flash” setting in bright sunlight to illuminate harsh shadows in portraits, which are caused by overhead sunlight. Remember, most built-in flash units can only operate at a maximum distance of about 10 feet from the camera to the subject.

2. ISO Setting: The ISO setting determines the camera’s sensitivity to light. For example, on a bright sunny day ISO 200 or ISO 100 (or lower) is perfect for picture taking. Many cameras permit the ISO to be adjusted to 400, 800, and even 1600. These higher ISO settings are best used for low-light indoor picture taking, or nighttime photography, since they are the most sensitive to light. Also setting the camera to a higher ISO setting also allows you to stop action better. But remember a higher ISO also means more noise (grain). Usually a camera’s LCD menu allows you to select the right ISO for the job.

3. Erase Pictures: You have to be careful about erasing photos in the camera, but it can be done. First, learn how to erase just one photo at a time. This is useful when you snap a bad photo and you want to retake the picture without cluttering up your camera’s memory card with a bunch of poor images. Next, learn how to erase all the photos on the memory card, so that the card can be used again. Only do this after you’ve downloaded the images to your computer. And don’t get the two settings mixed up, or you can lose all the photos! And let’s not forget that deleting the image is permanent, how many of us hate the photo taken of ourselves last week, but love the silly photos that were taken ten years ago? Photography is about creating memories, we are not perfect people, so your photos don’t have to perfect either.

4. Image Size: Most digital cameras allow you to adjust the image size, which is the number of pixels used to make up the photo. The general rule is the larger you want to print a sharp photo, the more pixels you need. Therefore, if you want big prints, use the maximum image size. For example, on an 8-megapixel camera, the largest setting is 3,264-by-2,448 pixels. This can be adjusted downward several times, to 2,560-by-1,920, 1,600-by-1,200, or 640-by-480 pixels. Why would you want to do this? First, with a lower setting, more individual photos can be put on the card. Second, if you are only interested in viewing photos on-screen, monitors can’t use all the pixel information (all photos look good on a monitor, but that doesn’t mean they will look good as a print). Third, if you only want 4-by-6-inch snapshot prints, the 3,246-by-2,448-pixel setting takes up too much of the memory card’s memory and some data has to be dumped anyway. But remember, if you want to do enlargements you will want to use the largest image size setting.
5. Image Quality: Also associated with image size is image quality. This is usually identified on the camera’s LCD menu as “Standard,” “Fine,” “Extra Fine,” and “TIFF.” Not all camera makers use the same words, but you get the idea. In addition to image size, image quality also affects the number of photos you can take on your memory card. For making the largest, sharpest prints, “TIFF” is the best setting, particularly when a high image size is selected. For snapshot-size prints, you can select one of the lower image quality settings. One way to find out what you want or need is to take some unimportant photos at different settings, to discover if you can see any difference. Then pick the lowest settings for the pictures you like best. Remember, this is for prints … almost everything looks great on a computer monitor. But once again, if you want to do enlargements you will want to use the highest image quality setting.

Your camera manual will have a lot more information, and you should read it closely! If you are still having problems understanding how to adjust camera settings, take your camera and manual to a local photo retailer and ask a salesperson to explain the settings to you. They are the experts, and should be happy to help you, while also suggesting any camera accessories you may need.

July 4th Photo Tips!

2008-06-16T13:21:00.002-05:00

Food, family, friends, and fireworks…July 4th is the ultimate American summertime holiday. The day is full of activities: parades, BBQs, neighborhood parties, visiting with friends and family, and the culminating fireworks display. Every aspect of the Fourth of July has fantastic photo opportunities, so follow the tips below to truly capture your family’s Independence Day experience.

The Parade

No event represents traditional Americana better than a Fourth of July parade. Flags, fire trucks, face paintings, floats, and red, white, and blue decorations line your city’s streets. Local celebrities march alongside high school bands and candy-throwing politicians. Kids decorate their bikes and laugh with their neighborhood friends. And where are you amidst all this celebrating? Right in the middle of it all, with your camera of course! Photograph everything: the parade, the people lined up on the streets, candid shots of your kids (especially if they are in the parade), the decorations, and anything else that strikes you. These shots of Americana make great framed decorations around the house. And remember, when you are concentrating on photographing the parade, don’t get run over by the Shriners!

The Party

Following the parade, many people like to head home or to a friend’s house for a good old fashioned American BBQ and yard party. Parties provide great opportunities for shooting candid shots. Capture the kids playing in the yard, Dad working the grill, old friends catching up, or the dog in a USA hat. Take pictures of the food and deserts too. Any of these shots make great photos for next year’s party invitations! Another fun thing to photograph at a Fourth of July party is sparkler sky writing. This works best at night in an unlit area outside. Use a tripod and a long exposure (15 seconds) in Manual mode. Have someone light a sparkler and write their name in the air using the sparkler as a pen. Try it once, make any necessary adjustments (like setting a longer shutter speed), and try again. As always, when handling sparklers or any fireworks, keep it safe and legal!

The Fireworks

Fireworks are undoubtedly the main event of any Fourth of July celebration. You may remember last year’s tips for photographing fireworks, but in case you missed it (or forgot), here they are again, along with a few more:
• Bring a tripod and flashlight to the fireworks display. It’s dark and you’ll need longer exposures, so use the tripod to avoid blurry pictures. The flashlight will help you adjust your camera settings in the dark.
• Set your camera to Fireworks mode (if you have that feature), which will automatically take care of the settings. If you don’t have Fireworks mode, set your camera to Manual mode: ISO 200, aperture f/8, and shutter speed between 5 and 15 seconds. After you take a few pictures, take a look at how they are turning out, and adjust the shutter speed accordingly (leave the ISO and f-stop alone).
• Include a landmark in the photo, such as a statue, stadium, park, lake, or whatever the surrounding area includes. As the fireworks explode, they will light up the landmark beautifully.
• Take a lot of pictures! You can take over 100 pictures and only keep 2 great ones. The more pictures you take, the greater chance you have of capturing the perfect shot. Be a ruthless editor; you only need one or a few photos to frame and share!
• Remember that fireworks come fast and furious during the finale of the show. Therefore, you may need to decrease your shutter speed. 15 seconds will likely be overexposed during the finale. Try 5 seconds instead.