Guide To Digital Photography

Digital artistry is making its way into the mainstream; so is the digital album. Certainly, we possess some understanding of digital art, but what about the digital scrapbook? Is this identical with digital art?

The two are both similar and opposite in numerous ways but we are not here to examine thoroughly their differences and similarities. We are here to focus on the digital scrapbooking as an additional source to the traditional scrapbook creation. Traditional scrapbooks are created by hand alongside materials such as papers, pens, letter cut outs, adhesives, and other various embellishments you can think of. The chief axiom is this; to produce a wonderfully embroidered page that would express a better message than simply a plain photograph.

Digital scrapbooking works on a similar assumption as well. You produce one of a kind pages in addition to accoutrements to embellish the personal message you hope to address and express.

What sets the two apart is the way of attaining your expression. As mentioned, traditional scrapbooking uses material such as papers, pens, letter cut outs, adhesives, and other embellishments. Digital scrapbooking, on the other hand, uses computer graphics that replace these customary materials. You may say it is harder to work on the page lay out on the computer than on the existing page (traditional scrapbook) . But, to be honest, the work is nearly the same.

Take the following for example:

The traditional scrapbook will work on a background or appearance (on occasion called a template), pictures, texts, and embellishments. The procedure goes similar this: you place the pictures on the background, place various embellishments of your type, and pen some texts.

The digital scrapbook will work on software with all the handy digital embellishments and texts. You possess scanned pictures to be placed on a selected background. Put different texts and add extra pattern. Then, with some additional reworking on the colors and borders, you have created a scrapbook page.

(Talking of software. There are some software that would let you produce digital scrapbooks. These are Microsoft… Digital Image Pro, Photoshop … Elements or Adobe… Photoshop … Ulead PhotoImpact … or Jasc Paint Shop Pro… , to name a few.)

Oftentimes, it is tremendously easier to make a digital scrapbook than a traditional one. This is because software that lets you produce digital scrapbook which is designed to use templates for texts and backgrounds, not to mention the editing tools you require. These features make it easier to produce one unique page.

Downloadable templates are readily accessible over the internet to expand up your choices on text, embellishments, and background. This is different then the traditional scrapbook where every item is yours to create; from the background to the cutting of the embellishment.

To further demonstrate how does a digital page is created, here are the steps to follow:

1) Produce a new image from a empty canvas

2) Determine the magnitude of the page you will use.

3) Enter the settings you desire to adapt.

4) Add the photo – Photos help decide the color scheme of the design, hence, you may hope to see primarily what depiction you going to use before determining the mat of the canvas. To add a photo, you should first secure one on a file. You can either scan pictures or take them from your digital cameras.

5) Produce the background – Now that you have a decided canvas and photo, it is time for you to choose your background. Here, the choices are limitless. You can download images from the internet or use your photos to be the background itself. You can adapt the texture of the background to parallel the theme you desire to accomplish.

6) Produce the photo mat – Photo mats let the background and the photo meet on a certain point.

7) Add the text and embellishments – Ready made texts and embellishments are one good attribute of digital scrapbooking software. This helps you to put vital touches quick and easy.
Affix different finishing touches – Final editing is as significant as grouping everything in order. Make use of built in features such as shadows, emboss, effects, and others. This would aid your page look more engaging as it highlights whatever you desire to be highlighted.

Part I of this article on taking “Touchdown!” shouting photos at football games discussed some advice on preparation before the game, tips on useful accessories to take to the game, plus suggestions on what features to look for when buying a digital camera to take to sporting events. Part II expands on this advice and mentions a few technical tweaks you should make in order to take great photographs.
6) Take Photos as Fast as Possible
Action in football happens fast. Especially if you’re sitting in the stands, the combination of fast action and hand-holding a digital camera often leads to blurry photos.
* Don’t shoot in RAW mode – use high-quality JPG. You may not notice a difference in picture quality, and shooting in JPG means your digital camera can save photos to memory faster, letting you take follow-up photos quicker.
* Shoot with the fastest possible shutter speed (usually adjustable by a digital camera’s “S” setting) that still results in photos not appearing too dark. If you mostly shoot in automatic mode, experiment by pushing your digital camera a step or two faster than what it recommends.
If you own a digital SLR and are allowed to bring it to the game, a faster lens may help increase the camera’s fastest possible shutter speed. This can add to the camera’s total cost, however.
In conjunction with this:
* Experiment by increasing your ISO sensitivity. Your ISO setting determines how sensitive your digital camera is to light. The higher the ISO (the default is usually 100), the faster you can adjust your shutter speed. However, a higher ISO will add some grain (noise) to your photo. Some prosumer digital cameras can shoot with 200 or even 400 with reasonable results; with a digital SLR you should be able to use an ISO setting of 800 and possibly higher.
7) Glance Over at the Sidelines
Not all of the action in a football game occurs on the field. Glance over at the sidelines once in a while when a team is in the huddle or in other breaks in the action such as TV time-outs. You might notice coaches interacting with their team, emotions running high after a great play or costly mistake, cheerleaders, or mascots, all of which can make interesting photo subjects. Learn the Game and the Team
The more you understand the game of football and the teams playing, the better your compositions should be. You might not memorize every player’s name and a team’s entire playbook, but reading team rosters and scouting report won’t hurt.
Does a team have a pattern of running on first down and then throwing on second? Are they a deep-ball passing team or only using the pass for short yardage situations? Is the quarterback an analytical drop-back passer or likely to run if the pocket begins to collapse? On the defensive side are the players more likely to play zone or man-to-man?
As there are so many players on the field it is virtually impossible to take photos of every big play. By learning about the teams you will increase the likelihood of having your digital camera’s focus on the right player at the right time.
9) Prepare for the Unexpected
This is football and anything can and will happen. Don’t always put your digital camera down during a punting situation as you might miss a fake punt attempt. Fake quarterback spikes aren’t uncommon. Plus, interesting things can occur outside the realm of the actual game. Once at a game I attended at the Louisiana Superdome, the game was briefly halted as a small blimp-shaped balloon drifted onto the field!
Football is an exciting spectacle full of suspense, drama, and the unexpected. With so much going on over a 100-yard field, it is extremely difficult to position your digital camera at the right place and the right time to take great photos. However, with preparation, the right equipment, knowledge of your digital camera’s settings, and a bit of luck, you too can take digital photos at football games that will make your viewers shout “Touchdown!”

Get ready to learn digital imaging terms and the basic steps to get a digital image from a camera into a digital scrapbook layout.
Digital scrapbooking, sometimes called virtual scrapbooking, is so easy because the scrapbook page layout is created, simulated, or built by means of a computer. All the visual information that is built into the final digital layout is captured somewhere in digital memory as bits and bytes.
When a picture is taken, a digital camera stores all of the photographic information on a small computer memory chip known as a flash memory card. Digital cameras store digital images in JPEG format which uses data compression. More expensive cameras also use TIFF and RAW formats that use more storage space but give experienced photographers more options in processing the image.
Megapixels is a measure of how many millions of individual photon capturing elements are inside the digital camera sensor. The sensor replaces the film in a traditional camera, as each light element of a picture is translated into thousands of bits per picture or pixels.
Each digital camera has its own settings and firmware (software built into the camera) which determine how the digital picture is stored, that is, how many pixels are used per picture and in what format the pictured is saved. A digital camera set to capture images at the best quality possible will use more pixels per picture and therefore more data storage memory also. Cameras with greater megapixel capacity produce higher resolution photography.
A pixel is another computer term which is short for picture element. In a stored digital image file, a pixel refers to a single point of light in the photograph. In a digital camera that takes 1600×1200 pixel photos, each image contains 1,920,000 pixels or approximately 2 megapixels. Similarly, a 2560×1920 pixel photo stores 4,915,200 pixels or roughly 5 megapixels.
Digital cameras typically come with a cord to connect it directly to a computer. This allows the camera’s ability to read the flash memory card to be used in conjunction with computer software.
Alternatively, the memory card can be removed from the camera and placed into a card reader already connected to a computer. Some computers come with internal card readers that have multiple slots for different memory card formats. For my SD memory card, I bought a cheap USB device that allows me to plug my flash memory card into my computer USB port.
Using either method above, you can now open digital image files from where they are stored on the flash memory card and save the files on your hard drive. The copied images on the hard drive becomes the original source for all future work done with these digital images. Once you are assured that you have successfully copied the images to the hard drive, the flash memory card can now be reused to take more photos.
I have a folder (or directory) on my hard drive called camera downloads. This is where I keep all of my original digital image files. When I want to do more work with a particular photo, I make yet another copy of the digital image file into a second folder which is my working directory. This ensures that I always have an original copy because I never want to alter or destroy the original in any way. This is like hanging on to the original negatives from processed film only now it is done in the computer–virtually. That’s another plus for digital scrapbooking.
Most important to this entire process is to always make regular backups of all your personal data and digital images from your hard drive to another type of storage medium, be it CD, DVD, tape, online backups or a redundant hard drive.
So let’s recap. We took a picture that was stored digitally in the camera’s flash memory card. We connected the camera to the computer or we moved the memory card into the computer card reading device. Then we copied the picture from the memory card to the camera downloads folder on the computer hard drive. And for future processing, we made another copy of the picture into our working folder. Finally, we’ve made sure that all our original photos are being backed up on a regular basis to another storage medium.

Digital camera lens repair is as common as LCD repair, but it’s #2 on my list because it’s harder to repair and there are so many different types of lens problems whereas a broken LCD is a broken LCD no matter how you look at it.
Here are some basic tips to avoid breaking your lens:
- Do not leave the batteries in your camera in the camera bag. The power button can be pressed accidentally causing the lens to extend and get jammed because it cannot open properly inside the bag.
- Try not to drop the camera with the lens extended.
- Don’t ever pull or twist on a lens that is not working 100% properly, you will just break it.
I would have to write a book to fully explain lens problems fully (hmm.. maybe a good idea!) so I will try and keep it simple and informative.
The lens is made up of many different parts… Let’s start with the several pieces of glass referred to as the lens elements.
The outer lens element is prone to being scratched and scuffed, and usually has a special coating on it that you DO NOT want to clean off with isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), or Windex or something similar. It’s not the end of the world, and don’t worry about it if it’s missing. Just keep the lens clean (why are there fingerprints on your lens anyway??) and scratch free.
The inner-most lens element is responsible for the fine focus and resides directly in front of the CCD. When you press the shutter button half way down to focus, this part moves forwards and backwards till it’s in the correct position and your image is in focus. You won’t be messing with this part of the lens… unless you feel like removing the lens from the camera and then tearing down the lens to get at it’s ‘guts’. It’s kinda fun the first time, but uh… I wish you luck getting it back together properly. The tearing apart stuff is fun, the putting it back together is a drag!
The lens has two small motors with their own gears that connect to the two main parts of the lens. The larger motor drives the lens barrel in and out when zooming. The smaller motor drives the fine focus element mentioned above and controls the focus. If you get ONE GRAIN of sand in these gears, they will jam and the lens will “error out” as we like to say. Open it up and clean it out if you like, but it’s not easy. Typically the main motor of the lens has 5-6 different gears that must be set and aligned properly to function. But hey, your lens is already jammed, why not see how it works, right?
Then there is the CCD, “charge-coupled device” which translates the light that enters the lens into a digital signal that the camera can record.
There was a very large CCD recall by Sony over the past few years that covers many manufacturers and not just Sony, as Sony provided the CCDs to many others for their cameras. The defective CCD’s cause the camera to take solid black photos, or purple/pink “dripping paint” photos, or they have repeating white horizontal or verticle lines on the images. If your camera does this, call the manufacturer and tell them you want a repair under the CCD recall no matter how old your camera is! IF it’s on the list, you might get your camera repaired for free.
Got spots on your images that get bigger and smaller as you zoom in and out? Most likely there is a spec of dust on your CCD. You will need to remove the lens and then remove the CCD from the back of the lens and clean it off. Don’t lose the gasket that goes around the CCD, don’t get any other dirt inside the lens and don’t leave any fingerprints! Tall order I know, sorry, I’m demanding. =)
Let’s see… what else? Your lens is part way out, stuck at an angle becuase the camera was dropped while turned on. Now please read that carefully; the lens must be stuck part way out or all the way out, and one section of the lens MUST be stuck at an angle. The lens must not move freely at all for this section to apply, and you may follow this advice AT YOUR OWN RISK. The following repair trick works, but I am not repsonsible for your actions or anything you do to your camera.
Ok, it’s stuck at an angle. Hold the camera with the angled part of the lens resting against the edge of a table, and the rest of the camera hanging over the side. Do not place the camera facing down with the “Canon Zoom Lens…” chrome ring section flat on the table. The rounded edge of the lens must be what makes contact here. Now… here is the tricky part… press the angled part of the lens back into alignment by pushing down on the lens on the edge of the table. Put your fingers on the LENS below the angled part to support it and press firmly but still gently (how do I do that? I don’t know.. you just do it) and the lens will either POP!! back into place and work perfectly or it won’t budge and no harm will be done, -OR- one of the “guide pins” that run inside a small track in the lens barrel will break off and you have just destroyed the lens.
I told you it was at your own risk!! Camera repair is fun… right?
Ok, how are we feeling about lenses? I think we have covered most of the basic problems, and I hope this helps you to get your camera repaired more quickly and cheaply!

Photography is an art form that can be easily learned.  It is a skill that is capable of making something that appeals to your senses, but technical know-how will insure that the results you get are exactly what you want.  Most people who simply take pictures and don’t understand the process end up with photos that are not clear and precise, are too dark, too light, etc.Obviously if you are interested in learning photography as a hobby or profession, you want to take the best pictures possible.  Even if you are just doing it for fun while on vacation, you want your images to be true to life in color and crystal clear.  While much of this is learned just by trial and error, there are little things you can do that will help improve the results you get.For example, some people think a flash will take care of everything, but this is not true.  In order for the flash to produce the best light in the photo, you need to be within a certain range of the subject.  If you are too far away, flash is not going to help all that much.  Also, consider where the sun is if you are taking photos during the day.  If it is behind your subject, you will not be able to see the details of a face as clearly, and the sun may cause a glare into your lens.A steady hand is another plus when it comes to photography.  It seems like the harder we try to be completely still, the harder it becomes.  Try shooting your subject at an equal level, so that you are not trying to get an angle shot from above or below the subject.  Fancy angles will come with time, but keeping things fairly basic is best when you first begin.You also want to avoid a confusing and congested look when shooting photos.  If you are at a park and there are dozens of people and all kinds of activity going on in the background, move to another location.  You want as little distraction going on as possible behind your subject, so that they can be the focus of the picture.  Having a mountain or the ocean in the background is idea, because you will have a solid color for the most part and no moving activity going on.No matter the reason for doing it, photography is fun, especially when you see results that are pleasing.  Keep practicing and you will gradually get better.  Of course if you want to learn more now, there are plenty of books, courses and guides you can find online to speed things up!

The art of photography is something that many people all over the world have come to love and enjoy. It is not something that is just enjoyed as only a hobby any longer. The creativity and skill that is involved in being able to achieve a beautiful photograph, is something that has grown tremendously over the years. There is a large amount of individuals who are able to enjoy this form of art as their career choice.
There seems to be something magical about the way that a skilled photographer allows us the ability of sometimes feeling as if we are able to travel to those far away places we see in so many photographs, as seen through the eyes of the photographer. Many times, as you are looking at a professional photograph, it is often very possible to be so captivated by them, that you can actually feel as if you have literally stepped into the picture you are viewing. The art form, and great skill that is involved in the world of photography, has the ability to take us to many places. There are many people who say this same thing from reading a good book. There are many world-renowned photographers whose work is included in many popular books of today
There is a very wide spectrum of creative choices that you can explore when it comes to learning one of the many different areas of specialty that is offered in the world of photography. If you are contemplating the idea of going to photography school to enhance your skill and knowledge, you may choose to specialize in one of many different areas of expertise that is offered in photography. These would include weddings, nature, sports, weather, underwater, macro photography, urban photography, and a number of others.
Some people may not be aware, but there is a lot more that goes into the skill and art of photography than simply aiming a camera and clicking a button. For example, an underwater photographer must also be highly skilled in swimming, scuba diving, as well as have a vast storehouse of knowledge in the specialized equipment that is required for this type of photography.
For any photo’s that need to be taken in the dental, or other type of medical field, this is also a specialized area of photography that would require a tremendous amount of knowledge. Tthe use of the specialized equipment that is involved in these types of photographs.
Professional photographers that have an area of expertise that includes creative photographs taken of various types of animals would also generally require that the photographer had at least a basic knowledge of the types of animals that they were working with. To be successful in being able to take those once in a lifetime shots that many photographers only wish they could capture, you would want to educate yourself on some of the habits of the animals that you plan to be around.
At first thought, many people generally do not think there is very much involved in the field of photography. This statement however, could not be any further from the truth. It takes a large amount of dedicated practice and the utmost in skill to be able to acquire the expertise that is needed to become a successful photographer.