Your baby is very cute, and nothing makes a parent prouder than sharing pictures of their new child. Everybody loves looking at pictures of babies, too. If you have a little one in the house, get your camera ready and start sharing those cute baby pictures today. The more pictures you have the more fun you will have showing your precious pictures. Here are some great ideas to help you take better shots of your baby.
Stay Ready
You can never know when your baby will do something entertaining or do something for the first time. For that reason, you always need to have your camera nearby and ready to go. That means making sure you have plenty of film if you use a film camera and making sure your have enough room on your memory stick or card if you use digital. You will also want to make sure that you have enough battery life in your camera at all times. Many parents use more than one camera, too. You can even put a disposable camera in the car or diaper bag for times that are just too cute to pass up.
Get Candid Shots
Some of the sweetest pictures of babies are candid shots. You can take memorable pictures of your baby taking a bottle, sleeping and smiling. Candid shots look much more relaxed and natural than posed shots and you will only feel frustrated trying to be posed shots anyway. Babies are notorious for not cooperating for posed pictures. Do not waste your time and take candid shots instead. Do not forget all to take pictures of every part of your baby, such as those fat little fingers or those tiny toes. Those are always sweet reminders of this young age. If you have a good zoom lens, you can often take great candid shots of your baby from a distance. These are great because your baby will never even know you are there.
Take Pictures in Black and White
You cannot get very many adorable pictures of your baby taken in black and white or in sepia tones. You can guarantee that grandma and grandpa will be gushing over those, too. Most digital cameras come with black and white and sepia settings, so take advantage. In addition, when you take black and white, you do not have to worry about what your baby is wearing, because everything looks good. The more natural the pictures the more fun you will have looking at them in the future. Kids caught doing what they do best is always a showstopper. They offer hours of enjoyment and catching all the excitement counts.
Take Many Shots
You should take many shots of your baby doing the same thing. You may take twenty-five of your babies crawling of the first time, but may only get two or three that are worth using. The more pictures you take, the more you have to choose from the better. It is always best to take more than not enough. A professional as well as armatures know, that not all pictures turn out, especially if you use a high-speed camera. Just keep taking pictures to ensure you capture the moment.
Do Something with Those Pictures
The last tip is to make sure you actually do something with your pictures after you take them. So many people leave undeveloped rolls of film sitting around for months or never print their digital pictures. Babies grow and change too fast. You should make it a point to print and share your pictures every week. In addition, if you use digital pictures, you should always make sure you back up your pictures onto a disk on a regular basis. You certainly do not want to lose these irreplaceable photos. This has happen too many successful photographers and does cause quite a commotion when you lose all your precious moments that you never again will see.
20.8.09
Start Your Own Photography Business
When you are a kid and thinking about the many ways you can make a living when you grow up, what is the advice your elders always gave you? It was, “Do what you love to do and you will always be happy.” And that has to be true because if you can spend your work week doing what you love the most, it really won’t be work as much as it will be play that people pay you to do.
So if your passion is photography, it makes sense to start your own photography business. But how to go about it? You see so many small photography shops that seem to spring up from nowhere. What is the best way for you to go about starting your own business like this?
The first thing to think about when starting a photography business is how to do it in a legitimate way. You want a business that will last a lifetime so you want to start it out right. So don’t fall for the “get rich quick” internet schemes or books that claim they will spill the insider secrets of other successful photography business. There are no insider secrets to this business other than what you need to know to run any business. To succeed you have to…
* Pay your dues
* Get your education.
* Learn from the pros.
* Know your stuff.
* Network
* Value your customers.
You can accomplish the first five of these objectives by going to school and working part or full time in somebody else’s photography shop. You may despair at the idea of more school. But your photography business will be about more than just cameras, photo shoots and dark rooms. You have accounting principles to comprehend and execute, taxes to be paid, a facility to rent, employees to pay, insurance to worry about, contracts to sign and all of that other “stuff” that goes with running a business. So start early and get some basic business classes under your belt such as accounting and economics. It will benefit you dozens of ways as you march toward success.
Many trades have an apprentice system where you tutor under a master of the craft. But it might be a good thing for you to take this matter into your own hands. Plan to work for a photography shop long enough to learn the ins and outs of running a small business and of running a photography business. This gives you the chance to build your knowledge and exposure to equipment, learn technique and how to work with your subjects.
In fact, it might be a good idea to deliberately apprentice at a number of different types of photography studios before launching out on your own. So you can learn the ins and outs of wedding photography, baby photography, fashion photography and others from specialists all before you spend a dime of your own money to start your own enterprise. In this way, you build skills, you build knowledge, you build experience and you can watch and take notes of the great things others do and the mistakes to avoid.
Your employers will be thrilled to share their real world knowledge with you if you are open to them that you want to learn from the masters how to do this with the goal of becoming their competition in the future. Above all, you can build a client base from the many customers you work with before you start your own business. Buy taking care of someone else’s customers, they can become your customers when you hang out your shingle. And that is good business.
So if your passion is photography, it makes sense to start your own photography business. But how to go about it? You see so many small photography shops that seem to spring up from nowhere. What is the best way for you to go about starting your own business like this?
The first thing to think about when starting a photography business is how to do it in a legitimate way. You want a business that will last a lifetime so you want to start it out right. So don’t fall for the “get rich quick” internet schemes or books that claim they will spill the insider secrets of other successful photography business. There are no insider secrets to this business other than what you need to know to run any business. To succeed you have to…
* Pay your dues
* Get your education.
* Learn from the pros.
* Know your stuff.
* Network
* Value your customers.
You can accomplish the first five of these objectives by going to school and working part or full time in somebody else’s photography shop. You may despair at the idea of more school. But your photography business will be about more than just cameras, photo shoots and dark rooms. You have accounting principles to comprehend and execute, taxes to be paid, a facility to rent, employees to pay, insurance to worry about, contracts to sign and all of that other “stuff” that goes with running a business. So start early and get some basic business classes under your belt such as accounting and economics. It will benefit you dozens of ways as you march toward success.
Many trades have an apprentice system where you tutor under a master of the craft. But it might be a good thing for you to take this matter into your own hands. Plan to work for a photography shop long enough to learn the ins and outs of running a small business and of running a photography business. This gives you the chance to build your knowledge and exposure to equipment, learn technique and how to work with your subjects.
In fact, it might be a good idea to deliberately apprentice at a number of different types of photography studios before launching out on your own. So you can learn the ins and outs of wedding photography, baby photography, fashion photography and others from specialists all before you spend a dime of your own money to start your own enterprise. In this way, you build skills, you build knowledge, you build experience and you can watch and take notes of the great things others do and the mistakes to avoid.
Your employers will be thrilled to share their real world knowledge with you if you are open to them that you want to learn from the masters how to do this with the goal of becoming their competition in the future. Above all, you can build a client base from the many customers you work with before you start your own business. Buy taking care of someone else’s customers, they can become your customers when you hang out your shingle. And that is good business.
10.8.09
Insider Tricks to Create a Great Wedding Video.
If you have been hired to create a video of someone’s wedding and reception, it can be a really fun job. Not only is there a lot of joy, laughing and fun moments during a wedding celebration but it is really gratifying to know that the video you are creating will be part of family celebrations of these people for decades to come.
Naturally, you want to do a good job. But whether you are just getting started or have been shooting video for years, you know things can sneak up on you and make your job more difficult. So there are some “insider tricks” that you should keep in mind especially on the big day so the wedding goes off like clockwork and you get that great video without disturbing the joy and fun of the family.
The first few precautions actually happen long before you drive up to the church and that is a thorough equipment check. Check and double check your equipment and then check it again. It can’t hurt to be a bit compulsive about this. Also, check that all of your supplies are new, in good shape and that you have back ups of batteries, bulbs, tapes or whatever recording media you are using. If you know your equipment is in good shape, you can walk in there like the professional you are.
Next, be everywhere early and well prepared. In fact, it can’t hurt to scope out the church and reception hall the day before to check the lighting and do some planning on where you might plan to get your best video from. If Martin Scorsese can preplan all of his shoots, so can you.
Now be sure everybody knows who you are. Meet the bride, groom, the wedding party and others close to the planning. If there are security people, be sure they know who you are as well. If there is a need for passes or badges of any kind, be sure you have one well ahead of the wedding day.
Part of networking with the key players includes getting some face time with others who may be supporting the wedding. Many weddings have a wedding planner who must know everything that is going to happen. Be sure he or she knows who you are and what you are going to do before you start disturbing their domain. It is also a great idea to meet the other photographers and do a bit of preliminary choreography so everybody can get their shots. Be aware that you really don’t want to do such a great job of videotaping the wedding that you damage the experience of the wedding guests. This all takes lots of planning.
If they rehearse, you rehearse. The rehearsal is one of the great missed opportunities that wedding photographers and videographers have to step through the wedding with the party and plan where you are going to be. Now secure permission to be there as you never want to surprise a nervous bride or her mother. But if they know you are working as hard as they are to get ready, they will be thrilled and you may find them giving you directions on shots they want included in the video and where they want (and don’t want) you to be at strategic moments during the wedding. This information is gold on producing a high quality video for your customers.
Once everything is ready, jump in there and enjoy the wedding right along with everyone else. You know you are ready and you like what you do so you can celebrate this big day and produce a top-notch video that will be a treasured memory for this bride and groom for many years to come.
Naturally, you want to do a good job. But whether you are just getting started or have been shooting video for years, you know things can sneak up on you and make your job more difficult. So there are some “insider tricks” that you should keep in mind especially on the big day so the wedding goes off like clockwork and you get that great video without disturbing the joy and fun of the family.
The first few precautions actually happen long before you drive up to the church and that is a thorough equipment check. Check and double check your equipment and then check it again. It can’t hurt to be a bit compulsive about this. Also, check that all of your supplies are new, in good shape and that you have back ups of batteries, bulbs, tapes or whatever recording media you are using. If you know your equipment is in good shape, you can walk in there like the professional you are.
Next, be everywhere early and well prepared. In fact, it can’t hurt to scope out the church and reception hall the day before to check the lighting and do some planning on where you might plan to get your best video from. If Martin Scorsese can preplan all of his shoots, so can you.
Now be sure everybody knows who you are. Meet the bride, groom, the wedding party and others close to the planning. If there are security people, be sure they know who you are as well. If there is a need for passes or badges of any kind, be sure you have one well ahead of the wedding day.
Part of networking with the key players includes getting some face time with others who may be supporting the wedding. Many weddings have a wedding planner who must know everything that is going to happen. Be sure he or she knows who you are and what you are going to do before you start disturbing their domain. It is also a great idea to meet the other photographers and do a bit of preliminary choreography so everybody can get their shots. Be aware that you really don’t want to do such a great job of videotaping the wedding that you damage the experience of the wedding guests. This all takes lots of planning.
If they rehearse, you rehearse. The rehearsal is one of the great missed opportunities that wedding photographers and videographers have to step through the wedding with the party and plan where you are going to be. Now secure permission to be there as you never want to surprise a nervous bride or her mother. But if they know you are working as hard as they are to get ready, they will be thrilled and you may find them giving you directions on shots they want included in the video and where they want (and don’t want) you to be at strategic moments during the wedding. This information is gold on producing a high quality video for your customers.
Once everything is ready, jump in there and enjoy the wedding right along with everyone else. You know you are ready and you like what you do so you can celebrate this big day and produce a top-notch video that will be a treasured memory for this bride and groom for many years to come.
29.7.09
Getting the Best Possible Audio from a Camcorder
When you move from photography to videography as your means of capturing moments either personally or as part of your profession, you enter into a much bigger world with greater challenges as well. For one thing, you now have to deal with issues of movement. The problems of lighting and surface noise are just as big of an issue except now you have subjects that may be on the go and you have to go with them.
But when using a camcorder to capture the event under scrutiny, whether it’s a wedding, a speech or presentation or some other significant event, the issue of having the best quality sound presents unique challenges. So its best to do some concentrated planning on how you are going to accommodate the sound needs of the event to your equipment because if you have wonderful pictures but the words and sounds of the event are muddy or lost, then the quality of your final product is seriously damaged.
Many an unsatisfactory video was taken with a camcorder because the operator depended too heavily on the small microphone that is built into the casing of the machine. The only situation where this microphone may be adequate would be if you were conducting a one on one interview in a small room where you could position the camcorder within three feet of the subject. Even then, surface noise from the surrounding building could become part of the audio outside of the awareness of the operator at the time.
To assure that you have complete awareness of what is going onto your video recording of each event, the investment in a good set of closed back headphones to monitor the audio is an outstanding move. You can plug it into the camcorder and you are dynamically aware of what is going onto that tape at all times. If something gets into the audio that is not appropriate, you can use editing techniques or even re-shoot the segment if that is possible in the context of the event.
For the majority of events, plan to use the auxiliary audio input plug to incorporate a mobile microphone unit rather than depend on the onboard microphone in the camcorder casing. This small plug alone opens up a large range of solutions to the problem of poor camcorder audio that is so often endemic of videos made with this technology.
If you are working with an external microphone, be aware of the limitations of the wire if you are not working with a radio frequency microphone unit. In a situation such as a speaker doing a presentation, you can lay the cord down between the recorder and the speaker’s stand assuming you have sufficient cord length to reach the where the microphone will mount on the stand. Be careful with the excess cord, perhaps securing it with duct tape so those listening to the presentation don’t trip on the cord or pull it free which could cause injury and damage the equipment.
In many situations such as one in which you plan to interview people in a roving fashion or to record a speaker who is on the move a great deal, a radio frequency microphone may be necessary. These can be more expensive but without the investment in this technology, your audio quality relying exclusively on the camcorder built in microphone will almost certainly be disappointing.
But when using a camcorder to capture the event under scrutiny, whether it’s a wedding, a speech or presentation or some other significant event, the issue of having the best quality sound presents unique challenges. So its best to do some concentrated planning on how you are going to accommodate the sound needs of the event to your equipment because if you have wonderful pictures but the words and sounds of the event are muddy or lost, then the quality of your final product is seriously damaged.
Many an unsatisfactory video was taken with a camcorder because the operator depended too heavily on the small microphone that is built into the casing of the machine. The only situation where this microphone may be adequate would be if you were conducting a one on one interview in a small room where you could position the camcorder within three feet of the subject. Even then, surface noise from the surrounding building could become part of the audio outside of the awareness of the operator at the time.
To assure that you have complete awareness of what is going onto your video recording of each event, the investment in a good set of closed back headphones to monitor the audio is an outstanding move. You can plug it into the camcorder and you are dynamically aware of what is going onto that tape at all times. If something gets into the audio that is not appropriate, you can use editing techniques or even re-shoot the segment if that is possible in the context of the event.
For the majority of events, plan to use the auxiliary audio input plug to incorporate a mobile microphone unit rather than depend on the onboard microphone in the camcorder casing. This small plug alone opens up a large range of solutions to the problem of poor camcorder audio that is so often endemic of videos made with this technology.
If you are working with an external microphone, be aware of the limitations of the wire if you are not working with a radio frequency microphone unit. In a situation such as a speaker doing a presentation, you can lay the cord down between the recorder and the speaker’s stand assuming you have sufficient cord length to reach the where the microphone will mount on the stand. Be careful with the excess cord, perhaps securing it with duct tape so those listening to the presentation don’t trip on the cord or pull it free which could cause injury and damage the equipment.
In many situations such as one in which you plan to interview people in a roving fashion or to record a speaker who is on the move a great deal, a radio frequency microphone may be necessary. These can be more expensive but without the investment in this technology, your audio quality relying exclusively on the camcorder built in microphone will almost certainly be disappointing.
30.6.09
Taking Professional Quality Pictures
By now I’m sure you’ve used Either a digital or film camera. You’ve taken pictures and had them developed and just weren’t satisfied with the Quality. You don’t need to be a professional or have a really expensive camera to take good photos. Here are some tips that can help you take your photo’s from 0-100 in no time.
These are several tips that you can use to take higher quality pictures. It’s important to take time to learn how your camera works, and to test different shooting scenario’s (light, etc). Try some or all of the above tips and I’m sure you will satisfied with the quality of your photos.
Feel free to reprint this article as long as you keep the following caption and author biography in tact with all hyperlinks.
These are several tips that you can use to take higher quality pictures. It’s important to take time to learn how your camera works, and to test different shooting scenario’s (light, etc). Try some or all of the above tips and I’m sure you will satisfied with the quality of your photos.
Feel free to reprint this article as long as you keep the following caption and author biography in tact with all hyperlinks.
20.6.09
Photographing Fish: 5 Tips For Frustrated Beginners
Photographing pets can often be a difficult proposition. Add water, glass reflections and the low lighting of an aquarium environment, and you've got the recipe for one extremely difficult photo shoot.
But it doesn't have to be that hard. Armed with the following tips, you can get great photos of your fish in just about any situation.
1: Get a tripod.
Tripods are usually used for non-moving subjects. But they can be immensely helpful when photographing fish, even ones that are constantly moving. Low light levels lead to slow shutter speeds. So anything you can do to stabilize the camera will be of tremendous help. The best way to photograph moving fish with your camera on a tripod is to loosen the levers on the tripod so you can move the camera freely left, right, up and down but the camera will remain in position if left alone.
2: Get your fish acquainted with the camera.
Now that you have a tripod (since you faithfully followed the first tip), set it up in front of your aquarium with the camera mounted on the tripod. Now leave it. For as long as possible... several days would be ideal. The purpose of this exercise is to get the fish used to seeing the "thing" you're constantly moving around, pointing it at them and making noises. When they're comfortable with the sight of the camera, they'll be more relaxed and less prone to dart around the tank or hide.
3: Use a digital camera.
Digital cameras allow us to "just take the picture" without worrying about whether we're wasting the film and processing money on a shot that won't be good. When you can focus on getting the best shot possible, no matter how many tries it takes, you're on the right track to get the shot you want.
4: Turn off the lights in the room.
Ambient light causes reflections on the tank glass that may ruin a perfectly good fish photograph. Eliminate all sources of ambient light that you can, and be very aware of any reflections as you shoot. If there are some reflections you can't get rid of, try putting your body between the light source and the glass to shield the tank from the light.
5: Clean the glass, cut the pumps.
Turning off the aquarium pumps before you shoot is an excellent way to clean up your shots of particles and bubbles in the water column. and if you happen to have a planted freshwater tank or reef aquarium, this will also prevent the plants or corals from swaying in your picture, turning into a blurry mess.
Cleaning the glass is probably the most overlooked step to aquarium photography, and quite possible is responsible for more ruined photos than any other issue. Remember, just because you don't see it now, doesn't mean you won't see it in the picture. Amazing how that happens. So clean the glass well, every time, before you pick up the camera.
6: A Bonus!
Have fun. Aquarium photography can become an interesting and challenging hobby all its own. Have fun with it, experiment freely, and be sure to share your pictures online!
But it doesn't have to be that hard. Armed with the following tips, you can get great photos of your fish in just about any situation.
1: Get a tripod.
Tripods are usually used for non-moving subjects. But they can be immensely helpful when photographing fish, even ones that are constantly moving. Low light levels lead to slow shutter speeds. So anything you can do to stabilize the camera will be of tremendous help. The best way to photograph moving fish with your camera on a tripod is to loosen the levers on the tripod so you can move the camera freely left, right, up and down but the camera will remain in position if left alone.
2: Get your fish acquainted with the camera.
Now that you have a tripod (since you faithfully followed the first tip), set it up in front of your aquarium with the camera mounted on the tripod. Now leave it. For as long as possible... several days would be ideal. The purpose of this exercise is to get the fish used to seeing the "thing" you're constantly moving around, pointing it at them and making noises. When they're comfortable with the sight of the camera, they'll be more relaxed and less prone to dart around the tank or hide.
3: Use a digital camera.
Digital cameras allow us to "just take the picture" without worrying about whether we're wasting the film and processing money on a shot that won't be good. When you can focus on getting the best shot possible, no matter how many tries it takes, you're on the right track to get the shot you want.
4: Turn off the lights in the room.
Ambient light causes reflections on the tank glass that may ruin a perfectly good fish photograph. Eliminate all sources of ambient light that you can, and be very aware of any reflections as you shoot. If there are some reflections you can't get rid of, try putting your body between the light source and the glass to shield the tank from the light.
5: Clean the glass, cut the pumps.
Turning off the aquarium pumps before you shoot is an excellent way to clean up your shots of particles and bubbles in the water column. and if you happen to have a planted freshwater tank or reef aquarium, this will also prevent the plants or corals from swaying in your picture, turning into a blurry mess.
Cleaning the glass is probably the most overlooked step to aquarium photography, and quite possible is responsible for more ruined photos than any other issue. Remember, just because you don't see it now, doesn't mean you won't see it in the picture. Amazing how that happens. So clean the glass well, every time, before you pick up the camera.
6: A Bonus!
Have fun. Aquarium photography can become an interesting and challenging hobby all its own. Have fun with it, experiment freely, and be sure to share your pictures online!
10.6.09
My Secrets of Choosing a Digital Camera
When shopping for a digital camera, there are a few things that you should consider. It is not only to get the cheapest digital camera or the model with the most functions. Check out my list and than go and find the right camera model for your special purposes.
Size
Small is beautiful. Todays digital cameras are sometimes so small, that they fit into the breast pocket of your shirt easily and are still fully featured so you get the most out of the camera in almost every situation. Just imagine taking a picture of a wonderful sunrise when your are on your morning run or the happy smile of your kids when you pick them up after school. With a small digital camera you don't have to lug around heavy equipment, you are always ready to take the picture of your life.
But too small could be a nightmare for someone with large hands or big fingers. In this case it is not practical and the fingers could cover the lens, the internal flash or could not work the tiny buttons to select the diverse functions, a modern digital camera offers.
A larger, heavier digital camera is useful when you want to do more serious work. Think about taking pictures where the internal flash is disabled and you work with longer shutter speeds. A heavier camera is easier to hold steady and it can better compensate the tine movement when you press the shutter button.
System
there are many different kinds of cameras on the markiet today. The consumer has the choice between an ever increasing number of brands, but mainly his decision is based on what what he wants to use the camera for and what his past experiences with photography are.
Viewfinder cameras
this is the most simple system on the market. The viewfinder is located in the upper left corner of the camera (seen from the rear) and presents a picture that is slightly offset to what the camera really sees. When you are very close to an object, the difference in view can be dramatic.
This type of digital camera works very good for snapshots as well as for most photographic needs of the average person. Disadvadvantages are the fixed lenses, the lack of influence you can take on the picture (e.g. sharpness, focus, light).
Some more advanced models also use the small LCD monitor as a viewfinder. The advantage here is that the picture you see on the screen is the same that you will take with your camera. You have good control of what you will put into your picture. Disadvantage witht his type of display is that you cannot preview the pictures in a brightly lit environment. Taking pictures in brought daylight is sometimes difficult as you try to hold the camera stready and also shade the lcd.
Bridge cameras
this type of camera is more heavyset than the usual compact digital camera. Usually it features a fixed lens with a good zoom factor. Ranging from wide angle to telephoto, you can cover most photographic challenges with these models. They offer a trough the lens view finder, which gives you a correct impression of the photo you are going to take, regardles of focus length. The picture is projected on the CCD chip in the camera and projected on a small monitor that is either inside the camera positioned like on traditional cameras or on the back panel of the camera body.
These cameras are usually more capable of changing photographic parameters and are used by people who want to do more than the occasional snapshot.
Digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex)
this is the most advanced type of digital camera on the market today. It works very similar to traditional SLR cameras, but using the digital process instead of film.You can choose different lenses for every possible purpose. Whether it is a wide angle lens for landscape photography or a small telephoto lens for doing portraits or close-up work. The lenses are interchangebel and you sometimes even get compatible lenses from thrid party manufactures that are of similar quality, but lower in price. The picture is reflected into the viewfinder via a mirror (this is why its called reflex). When you release the shutter to take the picture, the mirror is moved away, the shutter curtains open and the light is directly sent to the CCD chip. A small LCD screen on the back panel of the camera is used for doing a first check on picture quality and for setting the different features and options of the camera. Digital SLR cameras are usually used by professional photographers and high level enthusiasts.
Memory - Bigger Is Better
The advantage of digital cameras compared to traditional ones is that you can shoot as many pictures as the memory chip allows. Pics that turned out to be low quality can easily be discarded and again you have room on your memory card to take new pictures. As advantageous as it is, this circumstance leads to taking more pictures than with traditional cameras and as the resolution of the digital cameras increases from year to year, the need for memory increases. Therefore it may be useful to exchange the memory card that came with the camera with a bigger one or having a spare one when going on a longer trip. Below table lists the aproximate number of photos that fit on a 128 MB memory card when using the jpg-format:
Resolution \ Quality_____Best_____Good_____Standard
6 mpixel - 3008x2000_____34_______70_________117
4mpixel - 2400x1600______51_______96_________161
1.5 mpixel - 1536x1024___106______173_________271
The above quality rating is based on the compression factor of the jpg format (higher compression results in smaller files, but in lower picture quality).
Now, I wish you good luck with shopping for a new digital camera.
Size
Small is beautiful. Todays digital cameras are sometimes so small, that they fit into the breast pocket of your shirt easily and are still fully featured so you get the most out of the camera in almost every situation. Just imagine taking a picture of a wonderful sunrise when your are on your morning run or the happy smile of your kids when you pick them up after school. With a small digital camera you don't have to lug around heavy equipment, you are always ready to take the picture of your life.
But too small could be a nightmare for someone with large hands or big fingers. In this case it is not practical and the fingers could cover the lens, the internal flash or could not work the tiny buttons to select the diverse functions, a modern digital camera offers.
A larger, heavier digital camera is useful when you want to do more serious work. Think about taking pictures where the internal flash is disabled and you work with longer shutter speeds. A heavier camera is easier to hold steady and it can better compensate the tine movement when you press the shutter button.
System
there are many different kinds of cameras on the markiet today. The consumer has the choice between an ever increasing number of brands, but mainly his decision is based on what what he wants to use the camera for and what his past experiences with photography are.
Viewfinder cameras
this is the most simple system on the market. The viewfinder is located in the upper left corner of the camera (seen from the rear) and presents a picture that is slightly offset to what the camera really sees. When you are very close to an object, the difference in view can be dramatic.
This type of digital camera works very good for snapshots as well as for most photographic needs of the average person. Disadvadvantages are the fixed lenses, the lack of influence you can take on the picture (e.g. sharpness, focus, light).
Some more advanced models also use the small LCD monitor as a viewfinder. The advantage here is that the picture you see on the screen is the same that you will take with your camera. You have good control of what you will put into your picture. Disadvantage witht his type of display is that you cannot preview the pictures in a brightly lit environment. Taking pictures in brought daylight is sometimes difficult as you try to hold the camera stready and also shade the lcd.
Bridge cameras
this type of camera is more heavyset than the usual compact digital camera. Usually it features a fixed lens with a good zoom factor. Ranging from wide angle to telephoto, you can cover most photographic challenges with these models. They offer a trough the lens view finder, which gives you a correct impression of the photo you are going to take, regardles of focus length. The picture is projected on the CCD chip in the camera and projected on a small monitor that is either inside the camera positioned like on traditional cameras or on the back panel of the camera body.
These cameras are usually more capable of changing photographic parameters and are used by people who want to do more than the occasional snapshot.
Digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex)
this is the most advanced type of digital camera on the market today. It works very similar to traditional SLR cameras, but using the digital process instead of film.You can choose different lenses for every possible purpose. Whether it is a wide angle lens for landscape photography or a small telephoto lens for doing portraits or close-up work. The lenses are interchangebel and you sometimes even get compatible lenses from thrid party manufactures that are of similar quality, but lower in price. The picture is reflected into the viewfinder via a mirror (this is why its called reflex). When you release the shutter to take the picture, the mirror is moved away, the shutter curtains open and the light is directly sent to the CCD chip. A small LCD screen on the back panel of the camera is used for doing a first check on picture quality and for setting the different features and options of the camera. Digital SLR cameras are usually used by professional photographers and high level enthusiasts.
Memory - Bigger Is Better
The advantage of digital cameras compared to traditional ones is that you can shoot as many pictures as the memory chip allows. Pics that turned out to be low quality can easily be discarded and again you have room on your memory card to take new pictures. As advantageous as it is, this circumstance leads to taking more pictures than with traditional cameras and as the resolution of the digital cameras increases from year to year, the need for memory increases. Therefore it may be useful to exchange the memory card that came with the camera with a bigger one or having a spare one when going on a longer trip. Below table lists the aproximate number of photos that fit on a 128 MB memory card when using the jpg-format:
Resolution \ Quality_____Best_____Good_____Standard
6 mpixel - 3008x2000_____34_______70_________117
4mpixel - 2400x1600______51_______96_________161
1.5 mpixel - 1536x1024___106______173_________271
The above quality rating is based on the compression factor of the jpg format (higher compression results in smaller files, but in lower picture quality).
Now, I wish you good luck with shopping for a new digital camera.
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