Digital Photography Courses

Free video class on how to take good photos. In this step-by-step online guide to photography, learn basic photography tips and techniques, including how to use framing, how to take good pictures, candid photography, head shots and poses, and other photography lessons.There are 15 videos in this series and all are about 1 minute. Not a lot of information here and I wouldn’t class this as intermediate. It is definitely beginner area, but this is my opinion. Check it out for yourself, maybe something here for you.

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I cannot recommend this course, one of the few free online photography courses, as I haven’t completed it. But on the outside, it seems to have all the basics there. It is well constructed with plenty of photographic and diagrammatic examples and illustrations. Importantly, it gets you going, providing homework with every topic.

The site is called Digital Photography School and the course, Photography 101 – A Basic Course on the Camera. The best thing about this course is its price, worth a look!

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Technorati Tags: Digital Photography, Digital Photography Courses, Online Photography Courses

Digital photography is an exciting new field to explore and learning about it can open up a stream of freelance income. This modern photography has made things easier since you can take as many photos as you like, finding out the good ones and deleting the worthless ones without wasting money on the costly photographic films, like in the good old days of film photography.

If you want to be a professional photographer you must buy a DSLR camera. This camera is actually the digital version of the good old days SLR camera. Though it is heavier than the point and shoot camera, you get a much better photographs with the help of the DSLR cameras. These cameras use the mirrors and lens arrangements to get much better photos than the point and shoot cameras. The DSLR uses the CCD light sensor to capture the images, unlike the older SLR models which used films. You can change the lenses and fit telephoto or wide angle lenses to the DSLR to get much better photos than the point and shoot ones.

Here are some helpful tips that will definitely help DSLR camera users in getting some perfect images using the new art of digital photography.

1. Don’t take full body images as they appear small. Take shots from the shoulder up.

2. The law of optics remains the same whether using an old or a digital camera. For instance, if the sun is behind the subject, the picture will be silhouette. If light is in front of the subject, the picture will appear very bright.

3. You can use your sunglasses over the cameras to act as a polarizer to take away unnecessary brightness from shining objects.

4. You can also use a sunglass to increase the exposure of subjects.

5. Change your white balance setting from auto to cloudy when shooting bright landscapes and outdoor portraits.

6. Do not use the flash mode when the setting is already sunny.

7. You can use the Zoom in to emphasize a certain striking aspect of the subjects being captured.

If you learn the techniques of photography you will be able to earn nice income as a freelance photographer. You can work either online or offline and get good assignments for photography work. You can show your works by creating a portfolio website in which you can display your photographs. This can act as a doorway to attract prospective employers and clients, who can award you lucrative contracts.

It is enough to say that the techniques in getting the perfect shot have not changed. However, using digital cameras and employing this latest art of digital photography have simply improved photo shooting by getting pictures easy for everyone.

In other words, practice is what really makes perfect shots!

You can login to my blog http://freelancingincome.blogspot.com to find more articles on freelance work and work from home jobs and various
ways to increase your freelance income, either online or offline.

There are many great digital cameras on the market that allow users to take control of elements such as focus, exposure, lighting, and so forth. However, for the majority of consumers, a simple point and shoot camera is the device of choice. Although understanding and using appropriate lighting is critical to produce quality shots even with these cameras, basic picture composition must be the first consideration. If the composition of the image captured is poor, then great lighting, perfect exposure, and so forth will not remedy the problem.

There are a number of “rules of composition” that can be studied but understanding and employing just a few basics will allow even less committed amateurs to produce more enviable images.

• Identify your subject. Every picture should have a single point of interest or subject. Trying to capture an entire scene of activity often produces less than desirable results. It is generally better to focus on individual elements so that a viewer’s eye will immediately identify the subject of the image. Therefore, getting up close with the camera and capturing an image of a single tuba player often produces better results than standing back to take a picture of an entire marching band and the audience lining the street.

• Simplify the Scene. This will accentuate the single point of interest by eliminating distracting elements from the scene. For instance, it is better to pose children sitting on the lawn with a backdrop being the carpet of shaded green grass versus a busy playground with traffic moving by in the distance. Reducing this clutter can be achieved a number of ways.

o In some instances, a simple background can be selected with subjects posed as described in the example above.

o In other instances, the photographer will need to reposition themselves and their camera to eliminate any distracting elements from the viewfinder of their camera. In a sense, they are cropping the picture as it is being taken. They can step in closer, or zoom in, to cut out the offending background and fill more of the frame with their subject. The photographer can also move their viewing angle by stepping further to the side, higher, lower, or simply turning the camera vertically to cut out some of the clutter.

o Another technique used by more experienced photographers is to reduce the effect of background elements that take attention away from the subject by purposely taking the background out of focus. The blurry background greatly softens the effect of the extraneous elements and focuses attention back on the main subject.

• Draw attention to the subject. There are a number of ways that the human eye can be drawn to a particular subject within a photograph.

o Some extraneous elements are desirable in photographs; particularly when they give it perspective or draw attention to the main point of interest. For instance, objects in the foreground can frame the subject; a woman framed by a doorway or a child framed by a swing. Other elements can provide perspective: a small kitten surrounded by coffee cups to demonstrate its diminutive size or a fence row to demonstrate the distance and size of a far off towering oak.

o It is often good practice to position the subject off center when it does not fill the entire frame of an image. Less distracting elements are then left to fill in any void remaining on the opposite side of the scene. For instance, a kitten on the right one third of a shot may be the subject but the small butterfly it is focused upon can add meaning to the scene and fills the space on the left half of the frame. One of the rules of composition asks that the photographer imagine a tick-tack-toe kind of grid over the scene in the viewfinder of their camera. The subject of the photograph should then be positioned at the intersection of a vertical and horizontal line rather than in the space created at the center of the grid.

o Lines can guide a viewer’s eye. A winding path in the foreground can draw attention to the elderly couple standing at the end, a row of trees can pull the eye toward a fountain flowing on the horizon, and so forth. These are other instances where there is a single subject but other elements are used to draw attention toward its direction.

• Outside the rules of composition. There are a few concepts to take to heart that aren’t really part of the tried and true rules of composition that are nonetheless important for amateurs.

o Take time picking the shot. Patience is what often creates great photographers. Those who meticulously move about, reframe, and change their angle of view with the camera are the ones who get the shots that create applause.

o Look closely at what is in the viewfinder of the camera. This is part and parcel of taking time to pick the right shot. Be sure to look critically at the background. Be sure there isn’t something in the background that will distract viewers from the subject: Bright scenes on a television in the background, tree limbs sprouting from the head, or ten to fifteen children in baseball uniforms can be distracting to the point of being unable to identify an intended subject.

o Take more than one shot. The ability to take multiple shots without the cost of printing is one of the great advantages of a digital camera. If a photographer wants to capture the field of runners at a track and field event, take the shot. Then zoom in with the camera and focus on an individual runner as he concentrates on a quick start or raises his arms in victory. The decision as to which shot better captures the aura of the day can be made later.

Although the “rules of composition” are more extensive than this, the ability to use these basic concepts can be a huge first step for the novice amateur in using their digital camera to create shots that are worth saving and sharing with the world.

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Portrait Photography – Tips And Methods. You may have already started to make money from your photography, but if you are still a gifted amateur, then there are effective methods you can use to kick start your chances of making a profit. At the present time there has never been more opportunities for the photographer. New technologies in the form of digital cameras are changing the face of the industry. However that has always been the case for photographers, and it is no reason to get discouraged.

It has never been easier for the amateurs to take their own photographs. However there are certain circumstances where it is harder than others. An example here is pet photography. There are plenty of people living alone, who have pets, and whilst they can photograph their pets it is far harder to get a photograph of them with their pets. Advertise locally to take pet photos, or take a walk in your nearest park and ask people. If you use a digital camera, you can advertise to people that not only can they have a copy of their pets, as a photograph, but they can have it on their desktop as wallpaper. Digital online printing services will also print the photo on postcards. Get some done and then post them to friends or relations overseas. mugs and serve them in your house to pet owners and see how long it is before someone else wants one.

There are other possibilities, with the tee shirts and mugs, some people will want their own photographs on a tee shirt with perhaps their own caption, advertise these services locally through the means of small ads.

Have some business cards printed, and go and cover local sporting events and contests, there is always someone without a camera, especially if they win, they will want a photograph. Or you may like to consider joining a local society, and advertising yourself as a photographer, there is nothing as effective as word of mouth advertising, all the money paid for advertisements cannot beat it!

Be aware of local activities that take place in your area that you can capitalise on. Graduations are an occasion when people wish to have a more formal record. The cost of graduating itself is so high that what is the cost of a formal portrait in comparison. Especially if you have a digital camera and have no film, you can almost use it in a speculative manner. In other words there are a lot of people together who constitute a market. If you photograph them all then the chances are that you will sell about 40% of your work. There is always someone who has a jammed camera, or in the wrong place, or even proud grandparents who do not possess a camera.

Not everyone lives down the Road from the Taj Mahal, or Gracelands, but many of you will live near a landmark that attracts photographers. Many people will have their cameras but they will not necessarily be digital. If you have a digital camera you should be able to show people a photograph they want in front of something. These photographs, though time consuming to start with, are a start on the photographic market ladder.

Join a photographic club, and talk to other photographers who are making money now. Not only will you make contacts, but you will have the opportunity to refine your techniques. Even in this digital age, it is vital that you keep abreast with technology, and you will be able to compare the value of equipment, that is being used now.

If you have a digital camera, take it in your local nightclub, there is always one in any time, which are new and trendy, take photographs of the range of cocktails on offer. Attractive looking drink will sell better with a photograph, see if you can sell the photographs, or better still negotiate a price for new printed menus. Speak with other local businessmen and see if they can improve their marketing techniques with the use of photographs. A second hand car dealer can increase his business potential with the use of photographs.

Remember when you are starting to make money from photography that you may feel as though you will attract more market share if you sell your work cheaply. Before you take this strategy though, think about some of the implications. It will have a short-term increase that is for sure, but in the long term how many businesses and families want to hire the cheapest photographer in town. People know that they rarely get good quality for super cheap prices and photos,…well, they’re special items to most people. Don’t be too expensive but don’t be cheap either!

Your technical ability is sufficient to represent your client’s marketing in a visual statement, that requires more than point and shoot. Do not sell these skills short. You have to be aware of the hidden costs of doing business; all to often it is easy to absorb a little loss of profit, because it is only small. These costs can add up to a sizeable amount. Ask other local photographers price their market, this may seem a strange technique, but they have a vested interest in not letting a new comer under price their market.

Take into account your realistic overheads, that is the depreciation of your equipment, your insurances, legal fees, accountancy fees, repairs, travel time and costs, subscriptions, and possible rent, both of equipment and studio space. Educate your client explain to them what the higher technology costs, but also what it can offer them. All businesses have to be made more profitable, and it is difficult but not impossible to find a balance between the price you need to charge, and the price the customer will pay, the more the client understands new technology, the less likely they are to balk at paying for it. After all it is cheaper to ride a bike to work than invest in a new car, but who realistically wants to do it.

It is a good idea to sit down and write a business plan to define where you want to go and define your target audience. This is a good marketing strategy; it stops you wasting time effort and money, targeting areas that will provide you with little or no return. Find more information about Steps Towards Having A Successful Wedding Photography here.

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