Protect Your Digital Camera from Extreme Heat, Cold Weather and Rain

A lot of people feel that when it's raining or snowing, extremely hot or cold, the camera automatically has to stay safely indoors. I do have to admit, that is a good way to protect your camera, but you end up missing some great shots.

On the other end of that spectrum, some people are careless about their digital cameras. They don’t think anything of leaving their cameras in stuffy car when the temperature outside is 100 degrees. All cameras hate extreme heat and extreme cold.

You invested hard-earned money into a digital camera. When the weather's bad, be it hot, cold or raining, you don't want your camera to be damaged.

Get a good camera bag

One thing you can do to protect your camera while traveling or hiking or exposed to the elements is to invest in a good, high quality camera bag. There are plenty of them out there and a lot of them are weatherproof. Bogen and Lowepro are two makers of quality bags.

Not only will a good bag protect your equipment from the weather, but they will also keep all that equipment you carry around safe and secure.

Use a UV filter

It's also a good idea to use a filter such as a UV (ultra-violet) or skylight filter to protect your lens. They’re much cheaper to replace then a lens any day of the week.

Rain tips for your camera

There are a few things you can do for your camera if you happen to be stuck outside with holding it, and weather really becomes a factor.

If the weather turns to rain, you can put your camera under your jacket, shirt, hat, anything that will shield it. If you’re interested in getting some pictures of the weather, you can put your camera in a plastic bag and make a hole big enough for the lens. Just use a rubber band to secure the bag to the lens.

How to beat the heat

Avoid leaving your camera in the extreme heat if you’re outside. Laying a light towel over it will help shade it from the sun. Don’t use dark colors, as they will just absorb the heat.

When it's cold outside

When its gets cold out, one thing you can do for your camera is try to keep it as warm as possible. Again, putting it under your jacket works well using, your body heat. Keeping your camera as warm as possible will hopefully prevent condensation from occurring.

If condensation does happen, open the battery and memory compartments, empty them and keep the compartments open until they dry out. Don’t take your camera back outside if there is condensation in/on it. It is possible it will freeze. (source: cameras.about.com)

Set Your Digital Camera to Photograph Art (©Larry Berman)

You might have purchased a new digital camera instead of a film camera because the shows are starting to jury digitally. You might have asked a friend to photograph your art with their digital camera because you don't own one yet. If you're new to digital photography, keep reading. You're probably shooting JPEG because it's easier and may not have heard of RAW. RAW is the original data captured by a digital camera that hasn't been processed yet. Capturing in RAW, if you know what you're doing, can give you the highest quality images that a digital camera is capable of. But for the purposes of digital jurying it's not necessary.

Over the past few years I've been contacted by too many artists who have taken their own digital jury images and tried to tweak them and have run into the same common problem. They've opened the JPEG in their editing program, modified and pressed Save, overwriting the original - and have ruined their images. If you're one of those artists, or are new to digital photography, this article is for you.

And if you are in the market for a digital camera, please get one with at least seven megapixels, which will give you over 3,000 pixels long dimension. That will give you enough information to compose and crop properly.

Some basic misconceptions
Just because you capture your images as a JPEG, it's ready for digital jurying. Or how about this one. The sales person at the camera store told me to set the camera at a lower resolution setting because I told him I needed a JPEG file. A few truths and tips to get you started in the right direction
Out of the box, the digital camera is set wrong. It's set for auto everything and not even the highest quality JPEG. You need to change your settings before photographing your art work.

Before using your camera

the instructions that should come with every new camera

Purchase a tripod
Let me repeat. Always use a tripod. For the highest quality photographs, either with film or digital cameras, always use a tripod to steady the camera.

Set the ISO to the lowest setting
By default, the ISO is set to Auto which lets it fluctuate between the lowest and highest setting that the camera is capable of, depending on the amount of available light. Lower ISO is higher quality with less digital noise. This is equivalent to ASA film speed where ASA 25 or 100 speed film is higher quality than ASA 400 speed film because higher ASA films have more grain. Digital noise is equivalent to grain. The less the better.

Set the camera to capture the most pixels it's capable of
This won't be an option if you shoot TIF or RAW because those setting will always give you the most pixels available. But it's really important if you shoot JPEG because you'll need all the information the camera is capable of capturing. Besides, digital cameras always use all the pixels but if a lower resolution setting is selected, the camera makes the file smaller, something that can be done afterwards in post processing if needed. Forget what that sale person told you when you mentioned needing JPEGs. Web sized JPEG images are too small for ZAPP. Additionally the JPEG setting in most digital cameras offers you a choice of compression quality. Always choose the setting that gives you the highest quality with the least amount of compression. If you don't have enough room on your memory card, purchase a larger capacity card. Memory is cheap and you shouldn't let it dictate the quality of the images you produce.

Never use the digital zoom
All consumer digital cameras have an extended digital zoom range. If you can't get close enough with the built in optical zoom, move your tripod. The digital zoom interpolates in camera and is not as good as cropping (and enlarging) in an editing program like Photoshop or Elements. You should try and keep the optical zoom in the mid range when photographing your art because there will be less distortion caused by lens aberrations.

Fill the frame
Fill the frame as much as possible with your art so you end up using more of the available pixels. That will give you potentially a higher quality jury image. If your work is horizontal, position the camera horizontally. If your work is vertical, position the camera vertically. Use the most amount of image area you can in the long pixel dimensions. If you're using a 7 or more megapixel camera, leave some room around your work so it can be cropped in a visually pleasing way.

Turn off the flash
Shooting artwork with the built in flash is ugly, with hot spot reflections of the flash. Better to shoot without the flash and use window light to illuminate the art, or shoot outdoors under your white canopy for even illumination.

White Balance or why can't I get accurate color - advanced information
If at all possible, set your white balance to match your light source. That will insure that the whites in your work, or background, show up as white in your digital files, which will let all the other colors fall into line. This is a difficult concept to grasp. And to complicate things a little more, most cameras allow you to set a custom white balance so mixed lighting can be used accurately. Auto white balance should only be used in situations where matching colors from image to image isn't necessary.

Color space sRGB
Most digital cameras create files in the sRGB color space. That's a good thing for digital jurying because the images will be projected in the sRGB color space. More advanced digital cameras also may give you the option of the Adobe 1998 RGB color space. Either is OK for capture as long as you convert your digital file to the sRGB color space before creating your JPEG image for jury submission.

A JPEG is not a JPEG
The image quality of a JPEG that a digital camera captures is almost indistinguishable from a TIF. For the purposes of digital jurying, you can shoot JPEG and end up with excellent digital jury images. That's why you should always shoot at the highest quality with the least amount of compression. I know I'm repeating myself, but it's important. The JPEG you wind up with after editing, if done correctly, will be a compressed JPEG and have little relation to the JPEG originally captured in the camera.

Opening your camera original JPEGs in an editing program
This is one of the most important facts on this page. When you first open your images in an editing program like Photoshop or Elements, go to File>Save As and specify either a TIF or a PSD, which is a Photoshop file. Those are uncompressed image formats. A JPEG is a compressed image format which looses something with each modification. NEVER work on an original JPEG out of camera. It's your negative and you need to archive it. Working on a JPEG causes the image to degrade and if you save over the original, you've lost it forever. Always work on an image in an uncompressed format so any changes you make improve the image, not degrade it. If you have any questions, this is where you e-mail or pick up the phone and ask someone who understands, before you do any irreparable damage to your digital images.

Every digital image needs post processing
Actually every photograph, either captured on film or digitally, can be improved in post processing. This is really the reason we work in programs like Photoshop. It's not to just resize our images, but also to improve how they appear to others. After all, you want your image to accurately reflect how your art looks. That requires practice and is an acquired skill.

Blur the Background of a Photograph

How do professional photographers make those stunning candid portraits, where the subject is in perfect focus but the background is a blur?

Steps

• Gather your equipment. See "Things You'll Need."
• Fill the frame (head and shoulders) with the subject.
• Focus on the eyes.
• Shoot a series of images with the lens wide-open and stopped down one or two stops. Noses, ears and hair will be in varying degrees of focus. By shooting at various apertures, you'll get to choose the most pleasing image.
• Narrow the depth of field. To make as shallow a depth of field as possible, use a long/telephoto lens set on maximum zoom. Stand as close to the subject as possible (Note: if you have a very long lens, this might still be quite far away).
• Move with a moving target. If the subject is moving, as is the car seen in the picture below, you must move the camera to follow the subject. Consider using fast film or setting your digital SLR on a fast ISO setting. Keep your body and the camera as steady as possible, track the subject through the viewfinder and ensure your camera is focusing properly on the subject, and take the photo. This technique uses the blurred background to highlight the motion of the subject, whereas background blurred solely through a shallow depth of field is used to make the subject stand out from its surroundings.
• Alternatively, you can use Photoshop, select the background and use the Blur filter. However, this Photoshop technique does not create true depth as it blurs everything in the background uniformly rather than independently based on distance from the lens. An image blurred "in camera" collects visual information from a scene that a Photoshop blurred image can never obtain because the data is not there in a Photoshop file, thereby making the "in camera" image a much truer and organic image/record.
• If you are using an updated version of Photoshop, your program may offer a 'smart blur' option in the filters sections un blur. The filter takes into account the depth of field and perspective and applies more blurring to pixels it interprets as farther away and less to pixels perceived as closer to the subject. The filter is also adjustable so it is better to gradually add the effect until you have the look desired.

Tips

• Because of their small imaging plane/chip size, point-and-shoot film cameras (110's with 13 x 17mm imaging size, or Super 8, etc.) and digital video and still cameras (1/3" imaging chip) have difficulty achieving these results. Choose a 35mm film SLR camera (24 x 36 mm imaging size for standard still photography), a digital SLR camera, or a professional video camera (2/3" imaging chip) and equip it with the kind of lens described above. With some long zoom point-and-shoot cameras (6x-12x), you can still get a background blur even without an expensive SLR.
• This effect is caused by a shallow depth of field. Other than imaging size and wide aperture (f/1.8-2.8), there are other factors that affect the depth of field, including (a) focal length of the lens, and (b) the distance from your subject.

Things You'll Need

• Camera with a large imaging plate/chip, such as a 35mm film camera.
• A "fast" lens, that is, a lens with a maximum aperture (opening) of f/2.8 or larger. The lower f-number, the larger the aperture. Large apertures, in conjunction with the imaging size, provide very shallow depths of field: they blur the area in front of and behind the subject.

Turn an Image Black and White Except for One Color (Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0)

You've probably seen black and white photos where the color of a particular object remains for dramatic effect. There are a number of ways of accomplishing this selective coloring effect depending on the image editing software you are using. In this tutorial, we will use Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0.




Steps

Make a copy of the image you want to work with, so you don't muck up the original. On the option bar choose "Image" then "Duplicate Image". In this example, we will keep the leaf green while turning the rest of the picture B&W.

Use a selection tool or combination of selection tools to select the area you want to accent with color. Trying to create a perfect selection all at once is almost never successful. Using the "add to" and "remove from" selection options will make it much easer to build a accurate selection a bit at a time. Adding a one or two pixel "feather" option to the selection will make the color area blend with the non-color naturally.


Do Select - Inverse to select everything except the colored area.


In the Layers window, click on the Create adjustment layer icon and select Hue/Saturation...


Move the Saturation slide all the way to the left to remove all colors.

The image will turn B&W, leaving only one accent color (unless you have purposefully selected an object with a number of colors).

Tips

• When selecting your color (or object), you may want to start with a Tolerance level of 30 and then switch to 10 as you get closer to selecting everything.
• You may also need to use the other selection tools to make it easier to select small areas of pixels.
• Use Shift + selection tool to add new areas to your selection and Alt + selection tool to remove areas selected by mistake.
• Ctrl-Z will undo your last selection.

Take Better Photographs

Many people think they'll improve their photography by buying a spiffy new camera. The truth is, in photography, technique is much more important than equipment. And taking good pictures is something anyone can do with any camera, if you practice enough and avoid some common mistakes.

Steps

• Read the camera's manual, and learn what each control, switch, button, and menu item does. At the very least you should know how to turn the flash on, off, and auto, how to zoom in and out, and how to use the shutter button.

• Set the camera's resolution to take high quality photos at the highest resolution possible. Low-resolution images are more difficult to digitally alter later on; it also means that you can't crop as enthusiastically as you could with a higher-resolution version (and still end up with something printable). If you have a small memory card, get a bigger one; if you don't want to or can't afford to buy a new one, then use the "fine" quality setting, if your camera has one, with a smaller resolution.

• Start off with setting your camera to one of its automatic modes, if you have a choice. Most useful is "Program" or "P" mode on digital SLRs. Ignore advice to the contrary which suggests that you operate your camera fully manually; the advances in the last fifty years in automatic focusing and metering have not happened for nothing. If your photos come out poorly focused or poorly exposed, then start operating certain functions manually.

• Take your camera everywhere. When you have your camera with you all the time, you will start to see the world differently; you will look for and find opportunities to take great photographs. And, of course, you will end up taking more photographs; and the more you take, the better a photographer you will become. Furthermore, if you're taking photographs of your friends and family, they will get used to you having your camera with you all the time. Thus, they will feel less awkward or intimidated when you get your camera out; this will lead to more natural-looking, less "posed" photographs. Also, remember to bring batteries or charge it if you are using a digital camera.

• Get outside. Motivate yourself to get out and take photographs in natural light. Take several normal 'point and shoot' pictures to get a feel for the lighting at different times of the day and night. Go outside at all times of day, especially those times when anybody with any sense is sleeping, eating, or watching television; lighting at these times is often dramatic and unusual to many people precisely because they never get to see it!

• Keep the lens clear of caps, thumbs, straps and other obstructions. It's basic, yes, but it can ruin a photograph completely. This is less of a problem with modern live-preview digital cameras, and even less of a problem with an SLR camera. But people still make these mistakes from time to time.

• Set your white balance. Put simply, the human eye automatically compensates for different kinds of lighting; white looks white to us in almost any kind of lighting. A digital camera compensates for this by shifting the colors certain ways. For example, under tungsten (incandescent) lighting, it will shift the colours towards blue to compensate for the redness of this kind of lighting. The white balance is one of the most critical, and most underused, settings on modern cameras. Learn how to set it, and what the various settings mean. If you're not under artificial light, the "Shade" (or "Cloudy") setting is a good bet in most circumstances; it makes for very warm-looking colors. If it comes out too red, it's very easy to correct it in software later on. "Auto", the default for most cameras, sometimes does a good job, but also sometimes results in colours which are a little too cold.

• Set a slower ISO speed, if circumstances permit. This is less of an issue with digital SLR cameras, but especially important for point-and-shoot digital cameras (which, usually, have tiny sensors which are more prone to noise). A slower ISO speed (lower number) makes for less noisy photographs; however, it forces you to use slower shutter speeds as well, which restricts your ability to photograph moving subjects, for example. For still subjects in good light (or still subjects in low light, too, if you're using a tripod and remote release), use the very slowest ISO speed that you have.

Compose your shot thoughtfully. Frame the photo in your mind before framing it in the viewfinder. Consider the following rules, but especially the last one:

• Use the Rule of Thirds, where the primary points of interest in your scene sits along "third" lines. Try not to let any horizon or other lines "cut the picture in half."
• Get rid of distracting backgrounds and clutter. If this means you and your friend have to move a little so that a tree does not appear to be growing out of her head, then do so. If glare is coming off the windows of the house across the street, change your angle a bit to avoid it. If you're taking vacation photographs, take a moment to get your family to put down all the junk they may be carrying around with them and to remove backpacks or hip packs as well. Keep that mess well out of the frame of the picture, and you will end up with much nicer, less cluttered photos. If you can blur the background in a portrait, then do so. And so on.
• Fill the frame with your subject. Don't be afraid to get closer to your subject. On the other hand, if you're using a digital camera with plenty of megapixels to spare, you can crop it later in software.
• Try an interesting angle. Instead of shooting the object straight on, try looking down to the object, or crouching and looking up. Pick an angle that shows maximum color and minimum shadow. To make things appear longer or taller, a low angle can help. If you want a bold photo, it is best to be even with the object. You may also want to make the object look smaller or make it look like you're hovering over; to get the effect you should put the camera above the object. An uncommon angle makes for a more interesting shot.
• Ignore the advice above. Regard the above as laws, which work much of the time but are always subject to judicious interpretation -- and not as absolute rules. Too close an adherence to them will lead to boring photographs. For example, clutter and sharply focused backgrounds can add context, contrast and colour; perfect symmetry in a shot can be dramatic, and so on. Every rule can and should be broken for artistic effect, from time to time. This is how many stunning photographs are made.

Focus. Poor focusing is one of the most common ways that photographs are ruined. Use the automatic focus of your camera, if you have it; usually, this is done by half-pressing the shutter button. Use the "macro" mode of your camera for very close-up shots. Don't focus manually unless your auto-focus is having issues; as with metering, automatic focus usually does a far better job of focusing than you can.

Keep still. A lot of people are surprised at how blurry their pictures come out when going for a close-up, or taking the shot from a distance. To minimize blurring: If you're using a full-sized camera with a zoom lens, hold the camera body (finger on the shutter button) with one hand, and steady the lens by cupping your other hand under it. Keep your elbows close to your body, and use this position to brace yourself firmly. If your camera or lens has image stabilisation features, use them (this is called IS on Canon gear, and VR, for Vibration Reduction, on Nikon equipment).

• Consider using a tripod. If your hands are naturally shaky, or if you're using very large (and slow) telephoto lenses, or if you're trying to take photographs in low light, or if you need to take several identical shots in a row (such as with HDR photography), or if you're taking panoramic photos, then using a tripod is probably a good idea. For very long exposures (more than a second or so), a cable release (for older film cameras) or a remote control is a good idea; you can use the self-timer feature of your camera if you don't have one of these.
• Consider not using a tripod, especially if you don't already have one. A tripod infringes on your ability to move around, and to rapidly change the framing of your shot. It's also more weight to carry around, which is a disincentive to getting out and taking photographs in the first place. As a general rule, you only need a tripod if your shutter speed is equal to or slower than the reciprocal of your focal length. If you can avoid using a tripod by using faster ISO speeds (and, consequently, faster shutter speeds), or by using image stabilisation features of your camera, or by simply moving to somewhere with better lighting, then do that.

Relax when you push the shutter button. Also, try not to hold the camera up for too long; this will cause your hands and arms to be shakier. Practice bringing the camera up to your eye, focusing and metering, and taking the shot in one swift, smooth action.

Avoid red eye. Red-eye is caused when your eyes dilate in lower lighting. When your pupils are big, the flash actually lights up the blood vessels on the back wall of your eyeball, which is why it looks red. If you must use a flash in poor light, try to get the person to not look directly at the camera, or consider using a "bounce flash". Aiming your flash above the heads of your subjects, especially if the walls surrounding are light, will keep red-eye out. If you don't have a separate flash gun which is adjustable in this way, use the red-eye reduction feature of your camera if available - it flashes a couple of times before opening the shutter, which causes your subject's pupils to contract, thus minimizing red-eye. Better yet, don't take photographs which require a flash to be used; find somewhere with better lighting.

Use your flash judiciously, and don't use it when you don't have to. A flash in poor light can often cause ugly-looking reflections, or make the subject of your photo appear "washed out"; the latter is especially true of people photos. On the other hand, a flash is very useful for filling in shadows; to eliminate the "raccoon eye" effect in bright midday light, for example (if you have a flash sync speed fast enough). If you can avoid using a flash by going outside, or steadying the camera (allowing you to use a slower shutter speed without blur), or setting a faster ISO speed (allowing faster shutter speeds), then do that.

Go through your photos and look for the best ones. Look for what makes the best photos and continue using the methods that got the best shots. Don't be afraid to throw away or delete photos, either. Be brutal about it; if it doesn't strike you as a particularly pleasing shot, then ditch it. If you, like most people, are shooting on a digital camera, then it would not have cost you anything but your time. Before you delete them, remember you can learn a lot from your worst photos; discover why they don't look good, then don't do that.

Practice, practice, and practice. Take lots and lots of photos -- aim to fill your memory card, or to use up as much film as you can afford to have developed. The more pictures you take, the better you'll get, and the more you (and everyone) will like your pictures. Shoot from new or different angles, and find new subjects to take pictures of, and keep at it; you can make even the most boring, everyday thing look amazing if you're creative enough about photographing it. Get to know your camera's limitations, too; how well it performs in different kinds of lighting, how well auto-focus performs at various distances, how well it handles moving subjects, and so on.

Tips

• Your camera doesn't matter. Nearly any camera is capable of taking good photographs in the right conditions. Even a modern camera phone is good enough for many kinds of shots. ^[8] Learn your camera's limitations and work around them; don't buy new equipment until you know exactly what these limitations are, and are certain that they are hindering you.

• Pick up a big-city newspaper or a copy of National Geographic and see how professional photojournalists tell stories in pictures. It's often worth poking around photo sites like Flickr for inspiration, too. Try Flickr's camera finder to see what people have done with the cheapest point-and-shoot cameras. Just don't spend so much time getting inspired that it stops you from getting out there.

• When shooting photos of children, get down to their level! Pictures looking down at the top of a child's head are usually pretty lame. Stop being lazy and get on your knees.
• If you shoot digital it's better to underexpose the shot, as underexposure is easy to correct later on in software. Shadow detail can be recovered; blown highlights (the pure white areas in an overexposed photo) can never be recovered, as there is nothing there to recover. Film is the opposite; shadow detail tends to be poor compared to digital cameras, but blown highlights are rare even with massive overexposure.
• Get your photos off your memory card ASAP. Make backups; make several backups if you can. Every photographer has, or will, experience the heartbreak of losing a precious image/images unless he or she cultivates this habit. Back-up, back-up, back-up!
• If the camera has a neck strap, use it! Hold the camera out so that that the neck strap is pulled as far as a can, this will help steady the camera. Furthermore, it'll also stop you from dropping the camera.
• Install photo-editing software and learn how to use it. This will allow you to correct color balance, adjust lighting, crop your photos, and much more. Most cameras will come with software to make these basic adjustments. For more complicated operations, consider buying Photoshop, downloading and installing the free GIMP image editor, or using Paint.NET, a free light-weight photo editing program for Windows users.
• Keep a notebook handy and make notes about what worked well and what didn't. Review your notes often as you practice.
• To find an interesting angle at a tourist location, look where everybody else is taking their picture, and then go somewhere completely different. You don't want the same picture as everybody else.

Warnings

• Beware of taking photographs of statues, artwork, and even architecture; even if it is located in public places, in many jurisdictions this can often constitute a violation of the copyright in these works.
• When taking photos of people, their pets, or even their property, ask for permission. The only time you clearly do not need it is when you are capturing a crime in progress. It is always polite to ask.

Things You'll Need

• A camera. Whatever you have, or can borrow, will be good enough.
• The biggest memory card you can get, if you're on digital, or as much film as you can afford to have developed if you're not.

Make 3D Photos

With a pair of red-blue 3D glasses, a digital camera, and some photo editing software, you too can make your very own three-dimensional photographs (anaglyphs)! Popularized by spectacular shots from the NASA Mars rovers in 2004, these images portray depth with surprising accuracy.

Steps

Find a subject to photograph. Your subject should be able to sit still, and it should contain some depth. Your buddy in front of a bare white wall will look as boring in 3-D as he or she does normally. Consider close-ups of detailed things. You will probably want to set your camera to macro mode - the symbol is typically a flower.

Your subject needs to be able to sit still because you will be taking two "as-identical-as-possible" photos: one for the left-eye view and one for the right. A tripod might be nice, but it certainly isn't necessary. Take the first photo, then move the camera about 2 inches (the distance between your eyes) to the right and try to retake the photo to be as identical to the last one as possible.

Copy the two images to your computer. Open in whatever photo editing program you prefer.

Convert the first (left) image to gray scale (yes, you are discarding color information).

Convert the second (right) image to gray scale, then reconvert it back to RGB. It should still appear gray.

Still working on your second image, change your program to a mode that controls color channels. Select just the Red channel (usually designated by an eye icon next to the selected channel.)

Back on the first image, select all (

+

), then copy (

+

) the image. Return to the second image and make sure the color channels are still displayed with only the Red channel selected. Now paste the first image that you copied. Now select the RGB channel. This replaces the Red channel of the second image with the first image. You should now see a gray scale image with red and blue halos.

Move the red layer around with the mouse or arrow keys so that the two line up, minimizing the halos.

Examine the photo while wearing your red-blue glasses (red over the left eye). You can change the natural focal point of the photo by readjusting the red layer's alignment. Eliminate the halos around an object in your photo to make it the focal point.

If it is just not working for you, try looking through the glasses backwards (red over the right eye). When you have something you like, crop off the red and blue edges of the photo and save it. A well done 3-D photo should look mostly gray with small shadows of red and blue.

Tips

• A common mistake is to move more than 2 inches in step 2.
• You should ideally move the camera 2cm for every 1m to the subject for the best effect.
• There is also software that will do all this automatically for you including online services like Start 3D or downloadable windows software such as Stereo Photo Maker. In both cases just upload/load your two photos and the software will do the rest for you. They will also keep elements of the colour.
• Fuji launched the world's first consumer 3D digital camera the FinePix REAL 3D W1 in October 2009 that allows you to capture two shots simultaneously and so make amazing action shots.

Warnings

• While increasing the distance between the two camera shots can cause a more dramatic effect, never exceed 8 inches, as this may give the viewer a severe headache.

Things You'll Need

• A digital camera
• A computer with photo editing software, such as The GIMP, Adobe Photoshop, Jasc Paint Shop Pro, Photobie, or Paint.net
• A tripod (optional)

Strip and Clean a 29mm Pentacon M42 Lens

The Pentacon 29mm is a very cheap and very usable lens that can be used with modern DSLR cameras. However, like any other old lens, they accumulate dust, fingerprints, and other nasties internally; and sometimes the aperture blades can get sticky. Fortunately, it's a very simple lens to strip and rebuild. Here's how.


Steps

• Set out your workspace. Set out at least two pieces of clean, white paper for you to put things on. Give yourself plenty of space to work with. Pour out some denatured (preferred) or rubbing alcohol or other similar fluid into a small glass.

• Focus your lens to its shortest distance.

• Remove the front cover. Grip the focusing barrel, grip the front cover and twist the latter counter-clockwise. You may find this needs more force than you think.

• Remove the front element retaining ring. This unscrews counter-clockwise. Use a special tool for this purpose if you have one; otherwise, grip the lens firmly and use a screwdriver to push it. This can be extremely stiff. Be very careful; slipping and gouging your front element with a screwdriver would lead to a very sub-optimal state of affairs.

• Remove the front element for cleaning later. With the retaining ring above gone, this will simply lift out Place it on a soft cloth the right way up.

• Remove the second-to-front-element. This is threaded into place; you can remove it the same way you did the front element retaining ring above.

• Unscrew your front aperture guide ring. You can see this when you look down into the front lens barrel; it's held in place with three screws. Undo these and keep them safe.

• Remove your front aperture guide ring. You might want to use a magnetic screwdriver to lift this out.

• Separate the front barrel from the lens body. This will lift out easily. Now turn this upside down, and we're going to go to the rear of this.

• Remove the rear element retaining ring. This is another of those "jam a screwdriver in and pray" notched rings. As before, be careful.

• Remove the rear group. This will drop out quite easily. Put it somewhere safe, and remember which way it came out!

• Remove the groups's housing. This is the black part of the body in which the last group you removed sat. Now, turn what's left of your lens rear-upwards. You will notice that there are three, very small grub screws near the top. Remove one of these -- you only need to do one to free the housing, and undoing all of them may or may not make this part tricky to re-align. If you don't need to undo it all the way, don't. These screws are extremely fiddly to re-fit. Otherwise, put the screw somewhere safe -- these are extremely easy to lose.

• Remove the last element. This is held into place along with a retainer with two holes in it. You might get lucky and be able to jam a nail into one of these holes and turn it, but the farm should not be bet on such. If you have a pair of circlip pliers, these will work much better. Unscrew it counter-clockwise and drop it out.

• Loosen the rear aperture retainer's grub screw. Immediately underneath the small grub screws holding the second group's housing in place (one of which you unscrewed earlier), you will see one more, even smaller grub screw. Loosen this. Again, don't remove this all the way if you can possibly avoid it. This is even smaller and fiddlier to re-fit than the last one you removed, and even easier to lose.

• Remove the rear aperture retainer. This should simply screw out counter-clockwise; removing this will expose your aperture blades.

• Make a quick drawing of how your aperture blades interact with each other. You'll need to refer to this later.

• Remove your aperture blades and place them in your alcohol. Be very very careful about how you do this. Aperture blades are, as you will notice, extremely thin and very easy to bend. You may find it useful to lift out the rear aperture guide, complete with blades, and simply drop them into your glass of alcohol. But if you lift them out individually, do so very carefully with tweezers or a magnetic screwdriver. If you're using the latter method, then remove the rear aperture guide too.

• Clean your optical elements. If they're not too bad at all, then blow any large particles away with a blower brush, and use a soft, lint-free lens cloth to polish them. Otherwise, contact lens cleaning fluid might do the trick. Place them somewhere safe and clean.

• Clean out your housing and your aperture blade guides. Wiping them with some alcohol and a dust-free cloth should do the trick.

• Refit your front aperture guide. This was the one you removed earlier, which was held in place with three screws. Don't do these screws up tight yet.

• Drop your rear aperture guide into place. The holes in the latter should roughly line up with the slots in the former.

• Remove your aperture blades from the alcohol. Allow them to dry naturally; placing them directly under a lamp should help to evaporate the alcohol.

• Take a break. Get a cup of tea or coffee and a snack, some fresh air, and a smoke if you're that way inclined. Seriously, you'll need it.

• Re-fit your aperture blades. This is the most difficult, time-consuming part of the rebuild. Refer to the diagram/scribble you made earlier and take your time. Use tweezers to put them back into place. When you find yourself having to slide one aperture blade under another, you may find that lifting the latter with a magnetic screwdriver helps, too. Remember that bending or breaking one of these could make your lens a write-off, so be careful. Take breaks as often as you need to.

• Verify that the aperture opens and closes correctly by moving the lever on the side back and forth.

• Re-fit your rear aperture retainer. Fasten the grub screw you undid earlier when you're done. Open and close the aperture again to make sure everything is okay.

• Re-fit your rear groups. This is exactly the opposite of undoing them; there should be no surprises. Use a lens cloth to clean them both before and after fitting.

• Open your aperture fully and drop your front barrel into your lens body. You'll notice that the aperture lever should, on auto lenses at least, line up with a prong inside the lens body. Push your stop-down button (or aperture pin on M42 lenses) to ensure that the aperture is opening and closing properly.

• Check your apertures again. Stop the lens all the way down to f/22 with the aperture ring on the body, and hit the stop-down button. You'll pretty much have to guess what looks right and what does not; wide-open, the aperture should not obscure the rear elements too much (if at all), and stopped down, it should not be a tiny pinhole. Adjust the front aperture guide ring until it looks right. When it does, tighten the three screws that hold it in place.

• Re-fit your front elements, ensuring that you put the groups back in the right way up! Again, there should be no surprises doing this; it's the opposite of removing them. And again, clean your groups twice, once before fitting and once right after doing so. Re-fit your front cover, too.

• Take your camera out and get some photographs. Make sure that your lens focuses and stops down properly. If it doesn't focus properly, you may have gotten one of the groups fitted the wrong way around; if it's sticky stopping down, you may have contaminated your aperture blades with dust, hair or something else.

Tips

• Wash your hands regularly with plain bar soap. Even normal fingerprint grease can cause aperture blades to stick together and make them very awkward to re-fit, for example.

Warnings

• It is a good idea to wear gloves when doing this work; keep your workspace as clean and dust-free as possible.
• Don't smoke around solvents. Make sure everyone knows it's there, and doesn't mistake it for water.
• It bears restating as often as possible: be very careful with your aperture blades.

Things You'll Need

• A set of precision screwdrivers.
• A normal flat-bladed screwdriver for removing retaining rings. If you're not feeling brave, then you can buy tools designed specifically for removing this sort of thing.
• A magnetic screwdriver.
• Circlip pliers.
• Clean, white sheets of paper.
• Rubbing alcohol, or some other strong solvent, in a glass.

Create a Photo Studio

Photography is a wonderful career, and you may want to pursue it. However, in order to be a successful photographer, you'll need a successful photo studio! Follow this guide to obtain just that, make money, and do what you love.

Steps

• Get a location. The place you choose should be wide, spacious, and comfortable. A lot of equipment will have to be set up here, and you need room for: backdrops, equipment storage, and even people! An indoor place is more suitable than an outdoor one, but if you're planning on taking more outdoor shots, then that's a fine place to set it. However, this may interrupt the process (you'll have all sorts of bothers such as nosy neighbors, etc.). Nothing in the room should be too eye-popping, or that will take away from pictures you take. Bare walls work the best. Comfy, cream colored carpeting make a nice atmosphere. Remember: this place is where you'll be taking photos of people. Use your location to welcome your customers, and let them know that they haven't made a mistake by coming.

• Get a waiting room (optional). If you're going for a professional approach, you may want to establish a waiting room, where customers can lounge and relax before coming in for their photographs. This room doesn't have to be as spacious as your "photo room". But it must be fairly big. Set up chairs and/or a few couches, so that your customers can have a seat and look around. This room should be colorful, warm and welcoming. Hang some of your past photography work on the walls, for customers to observe and compare. You can also provide magazines for their entertainment. Create a nice atmosphere by exploring wall and carpeting choices. Make your customers feel like guests...you may even want to provide snacks.

• Get workers and establish the schedule. You can advertise in help wanted sections of your newspaper, to get workers for your photo studio. Specify the experience and style of the people you are looking for, and if possible, set up interviews with the possible choices. Unless you plan on establishing an entire photo studo by yourself, you'll need responsible, dedicated people to assist you. You'll need somewhere between 2-8 people to successfully get your photo studio running. After you have finished this process, and have a good team, you can start making the schedule. When will your photo studio open and close each day? Who will work each day, and for how long? Discuss this with your current workers. As the boss, it is your job to make sure everyone has their hours done, and that they have agreed to come to the studio at the designated times. Now that your schedule is done, you have the basic platform of a photo studio: a place, and a time frame.

• Get seamless paper backdrops. A good photo studio has a wide selection of backdrops, or backgrounds, for photos. Customers will expect quality designs, landscapes, and solid colors, to compliment their photos. Backdrops should not be sloppy or unprofessional. Have a few backdrops to choose from (solid white, solid black, and maybe a few scenery ones). They should be large enough to take up the whole frame. Use gels on the background lighting to adjust the appearance (a solid white background can appear red with the help of gels).

• Have makeup and accessories on hand. Customers want to look their best in the photographs- after all, they're paying good money for it. Show that you respect his, by supplying makeup for their use. Hire a make-up artist to apply the makeup for them. Provide a medium sized mirror, that can assist them in putting the makeup on. Also, consider providing accessories for the photos such as: hats, jewlery, purses, etc. This can help make the photograph more fun looking, and stylish. Your customers will be pleased with your immense assistance, and strive for their picture to turn out great!

• Decide on prices. Prices are an important factor to consider when creating a photo studio. A cost that is too high, will show that you are greedy, and will have you losing customers very quickly. However, a cost that is too low, will make your profits skimpy. Look at the prices of your area. Charge a sitting fee (they usually range from $75 to $300) and also charge for prints. Factor in the wages of your employees, the cost of studio equipment, and your experience.

• Post the price list so that customers can see it.

• Name the studio. Every photography studio needs a name to attract customers. The name you give can excel or fail such a business. Discuss the name choice with your fellow colleages and think about your cooperation. What are the strong points? How can you express this in a few words? Give everyone a chance to share their opinions on the matter, before writing each one down. Then file a vote between everyone. However, if you feel that the winning name will not sell your portraits, then bring it up withing the discussion. As the boss, you should be able to voice your opinion on the matter and try to come up with a compromised solution.

• Advertise the studio. Now that you've established a location, workers, props, and even a cool name, it's time to begin advertising your photography studio. Before beginning the actual advertisement, make a list of all the studio's strong points. Why would a customer want to come to your photography studio? What does it have to offer that the other guys don't? Create a colorful, eye-popping advertisement that lists these strong points. Give contact information (such as the phone number you can contact, to schedule an appointment or get more information). Also, include the address of your location.

• Run the business. As you get more customers, run your business accordingly. Have fun!

Tips

• Always treat your customers with exemplary kindness and respect. Refer to them by sir or ma'am unless asked otherwise, and act enthusiastic about meeting them. People will be more willing to suggest your business to others, if you show a positive, kind attitude. However, in order to produce the best images, it would be best to call them by their first name once you start to take pictures of them. If you don't, the relationship won't be personal enough and the images you'll get will reflect that.
• Give your customers freedom when choosing backdrops, makeup, etc. Although you can share your own opinion on the subject (so that they don't look overdone or silly in the photograph), let them choose the things they want.
• Take a variety of pictures with different poses, etc.
• If the pictures happens to come out horrible, retake them. The images that leave your studio should be ones that you are proud of.
• Decide on your retake policy. Will the retakes be completely free? Will they have to pay the full price? Portion of the sitting fee?
• Ask the customer what kind of a picture they're going for, and then pose them accordingly. You should be posing them; not simply taking pictures.
• It's a good idea to compliment the person getting their picture taken. Statements such as, "oh, you look beautiful in that dress!" or "this picture is going to be lovely!" work like a charm. However, don't overdo it or you will sound pushy.
• If any worker begins acting snotty toward customers, or doing anything else that is hurting your business, discuss the problem with the worker privately. If the situation continues, fire the person.

Warnings

• Make sure you are aware of the person's allergies before applying any makeup on them. You don't want your customer leaving, angry, and covered in a rash!
• Ask your customer to bring lipstick/eyeliner with them if they plan on having it applied. Ask them not to apply any makeup beforehand.
• Having one eyeliner or lipstick that you share among all customers can cause the customer to get red irritated eyes, and germs.
• Provide disposable combs, and use a different one for each customer, to prevent lice.

Things You'll Need

• Photo room
• Waiting room (optional)
• Dedicated workers
• A schedule
• Poster paper
• Paint
• Makeup
• Accessories
• Fair prices
• Camera

Sell Photos

Not everybody wants to buy a photographic masterpiece. Most people just want to see their loved ones being happy. It's not hard to capture that with your camera if you understand the "Three Classic Elements" of producing salable portraits. Rather than spending countless hours in classes learning every possible detail about photography, you can learn some basics which can get you started actually making money in the business.

Steps

Understand the importance of lighting.

• Photograph happy people whose faces you can readily see. They'll never tell you this at a photography workshop, seminar, or photography institute, but this is what people want to buy.
• Use soft lighting such as from a flash umbrella or a sunset. Make sure there is enough light to eliminate any shadows and produce a clear photo. You may not win any competitions or awards this way, but if you get plenty of light on the faces, you'll create salable prints.
• Create bright faces in low-light situations outdoors by using a fill flash. Use a setting on your flash unit that is one less than what is recommended for the current conditions. That will provide just enough light to fill in the shadows without over-exposing your subjects.

Arrange the body positioning of your subjects.

• Avoid photographing your subjects straight on. The exception to this rule will be for families and large groups, for reasons of body placement. The narrower the body area, the more focus will be on the face of your subject. Regardless of whether people are standing, seated, or reclining on the ground, notice the body angle, hands, and feet positions.
• Turn hands sideways with the fingers together, so that they are less visible. You can also hide them behind someone else in the portrait, if possible.
• Minimize the amount of leg area seen by crossing at the ankles, if the legs will be visible. This blends the two legs together, and tapers them nicely. If standing, have the person place one foot in front of the other in such a way that the legs are seen as tapering into one general area. Have them place their weight on the back leg (remember, they are at a slight 3/4 angle) and bring the front leg forward, tilting the foot slightly to face out towards the camera.
• Have subjects tilt their head slightly. A woman alone should tilt her head just slightly in either direction, while men can stay straight up or tilt slightly away in the opposite direction from the most forward shoulder.

Develop a good eye for composition.

• Keep everybody's head at a different level. In some cases, you will recognize that it's not possible, but if you do your best to stagger head height from individual to individual, you will create professional-looking images.
• Have people stand, sit in chairs, on the arms of chairs, or on the floor. Get others to kneel, crouch, and even lay down.
• Tip heads inward toward one another for unity when photographing a family group, and note that men are usually positioned higher than women. Believe it or not, the images where mom is sitting higher than dad don't sell as well as the reverse.

Tips

• Notice what elements of your photos appeal to people. Ask them why they chose the particular prints that they buy. The more you understand about your work and what your customers like, the easier it will be for you to play around and have some fun while you're producing salable prints.

• Don't believe that you need to know every possible detail about how to make perfect pictures before you begin. The typical amateur photographer makes this fatal mistake and therefore never proceeds into the business until everything is "perfect" which is unnecessary in order to please the average portrait client.
• Go out, find some customers and get started. Learn from your mistakes and grow your business.
• If you know some cute couples, take pictures of them and sell them wallet pictures of eachother!
• In addition to creating your own website or portfolio, there are services such as Cutcaster, Fotolia or IstockPhotowhere you can sell royalty-free photos by commission to a broad audience.

Choose a Camera

Having trouble deciding what camera to buy? Don't know what camera will fit your needs? Not sure what your needs are? Read this and find out.

Steps

Define your needs

• Write down what your primary goal is. Why do you need a camera? If all you need is a camera for vacation snapshots, then a cheaper model might be better for you.

• Write down how many times you expect to be using the camera. The more you use it, the more likely you are to upgrade your camera. Buy nice or buy twice.

• Write down how much you want to spend. This is a good way to gauge what quality of camera you will be buying. Don't be afraid to go a little over so that you can get a camera that you will keep much longer.

• Decide if you want analog or digital. Both types have pluses and minuses.

Analog (film camera): Now that a good number of hobbyists and professionals are going digital, film cameras have the advantage of being extremely cheap compared to a digital camera of the same quality. Film cameras do not have the same issues with noise as low-range digital cameras, though of course you get grain from the film. On the other hand, developing film can get expensive if you're taking lots of photos. Bear in mind that you might want to include a good-quality scanner in your budget.

Digital: The main advantage of digital cameras is the ability to view the pictures that you have taken right after taking the shot. This results in not wasting money on unwanted prints and you can retake a shot if needed. You can also print and edit any picture you want. These days, you can go to Kodak or cord camera's website and upload your pictures and they'll send you prints for about 15 cents a pop. It's much cheaper to have a picture (or group of pictures) printed by a commercial printer than to print it yourself on an inkjet printer.

Point and Shoot vs SLR

First off, what is the difference between SLR and Point and Shoot?

• Point and shoot cameras are just what they sounds like: you point your camera at the subject, zoom in or out, then press the button to take the picture. Such cameras require very little effort on the part of the photographer; they typically focus themselves and adjust themselves to light conditions.
• An SLR (single-lens reflex) camera, on the other hand, is the sort of thing you see professional photographers use. With a DSLR (and many SLRs), you have total control over the photograph. You can adjust the shutter speed alone, the aperture alone, change the ISO speed to whatever you want, or just use it like a large point and shoot. Unlike point and shoot cameras, you can use interchangeable lenses. This means that you have a wide range of lenses to choose from depending on the manufacturer. The downsides of DSLRs are the weight, you can't record videos, and can't use the LCD for composing with most camera models.

Look at your needs. Do your needs really match up with what a SLR has to offer? Unless you're either experienced with an SLR or willing to learn the basics of using one, you don't need an SLR, not to mention they hit the wallet a little harder too. On the other hand, if you have any desire to capture fast moving kids/pets, the shutter lag of a point and shoot will make it impossible, and the only thing that can capture them is a DSLR.

SLR cameras comes in digital and analog formats. With a digital SLR, you don't have to pay for film and developing fees, can experiment more freely, and can instantly see the picture after you take it. However, film SLRs can be purchased at a lower price and the cost of taking a picture can be help improve your photography skills because you'll be thinking more about if the picture can be further improved.

If you are not sure about making photography your hobby, get a point and shoot with advanced options. They are not as expensive as an DSLR, but do give you the ability to experiment with different settings.

Compare

Visit your local photo store and ask to try out some cameras. With digital you can snap a few shots right there in the store and see how you like it (alternatively, Flickr allows you to browse photos by camera type).

• Is it too complicated? Will you avoid taking pictures because it's a pain?
• Feel the weight. Is it too heavy to carry around while on vacation?
• Feel if the camera is comfortable in your hands.
• Take notes or ask for a brochure so you won't forget what you just had in your hands.

Read up on the Internet what the pros and cons of the cameras you tried are.

Tips

• Think about the future. If you think you won't be taking pictures as a hobby, but rather just to point and shoot, it's probably not worth getting an expensive digital SLR camera.

• With digital cameras, don't be taken in by the number of megapixels. A typical compact camera will show a decrease in image quality above 6 megapixels.

• Be sure to compare a lot. There are lots of websites full of information, reviews and user experiences. Use this to your advantage.

• Don't forget to get accessories. A carrying strap or bag can be a lifesaver when you're carrying your camera around a lot.

• If you take the digital route, ask the salesperson how many pictures you can fit on a given memory card, is this too much or too little?

• It is cheaper to buy a one gigabyte stick than two 512MBs.

• Buy plenty of memory. It's cheap. Don't buy a small amount and resort to deleting pictures of the camera to make room. Furthermore, deleting pictures can corrupt the card. Format the memory card each time after you upload them to your computer.

• Also, you may want to get a good photo editing software for both types of camera. If you get an analog camera, remember to ask for the CD with your prints. this saves that hassle of scanning, and you can edit and print pictures whenever you need to. Photoshop Elements 6 can be purchased for $90.