Old Factory in... Photoshop This shoot I took in old Bulgarian village at my friend's wood factory. I was on trip so when I came back at home I decide to post process like old chines factory. So I desatured colors, make some vignette in corners and add with special brush text layer. So I made some kind of old Chinese factory.
Lady on exhibition Last week I shoot a lady on an exposition. I used my canon 5d camera and 24-105L. The flash was bounced in a ceiling. The exhibition was about the bible graphics (actually first edition in Bulgaria) of the Family Bible, so I decided to made B&W photos in my post-production process. So, she was watching one drawing and suddenly she looked me. I was prepared - released the shutter and took picture.
Photos from Bulgaria, Sofia
Sofia's development as a significant settlement owes much to its central position in the Balkans. It is situated in western Bulgaria, at the northern foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the Sofia Valley that is surrounded by mountains on all sides. The valley is the largest one in the country with territory of 1,186 square kilometres (457.9 sq mi) and average altitude of 550 metres (1,804 ft). Three mountain passes lead to the city, which have been key roads since antiquity, connecting the Adriatic Sea and Central Europe with the Black and Aegean Seas.
Why you are so beautiful "Why you are so beautiful?", someone may ask. Well the beauty is matter of perceptions and uniqueness. Everyone can feel the beauty, but no one can create it. Originally God create the beauty, and we have a chance to remake it by inspiration of God. Here is two shoots of beautiful girls. Yes, we all may agree, there are beautiful. They express charm and romance. They are created so tender and elegant by Creator. We are all unique. Our uniqueness is a God's work. The girls are unique, I'm unique and you are too. We only can feel the beauty and uniqueness and shoot it. No more! So, fell it, and shoot it. Its everywhere around us!
Portrait photography - most powerfull photography Try to shoot people and you will understand that this is not so easy. Human beens have the most expressive nature of all creatures. When you shoot people is not about only of the moment or the feelings, but its about the relationship. The best photos ever made are full of relationship not only with the photographer, but because people o the photos are connect with something in their own world. For example Winogrand Garry had remarkable style. "Winogrand was known for his portrayal of American life in the early 1960s, Many of his photographs depict the social issues of his time day and in the role of media in shaping attitudes. He roamed the streets of New York with his 35mm Leica camera rapidly taking photographs using a prefocused wide angle lens. His pictures frequently appeared as if they were driven by the energy of the events he was witnessing. While the style has been much imitated, Winogrand's eye, his visual style, and his wit, are unique."(Wikipedia).
It's all about the color This photos is mostly about the color. There is a hair light from the left and the main light. The set up was created in feeling for th colors. I hope you will enjoy it.
Beauty and Romance
I recently shot the girl for Coiffure Beauty magazine. It's about hair styling. I used cross color process to change the images. If you have opportunities to change something in photos, what will be?
Photos of my Daughter! Hello, this morning i tried my old konica hexanon 40/1.8 on eos350. My friend made an adapter to use it on canon. So it has manual expouse and i used different shutter speeds -60-100. Here is sample shots in open diaphragm. As you see the picture is nice sharp (i made some sharp in photoshop), but the lens itself has enough sharp and quality. I'm pleased of it.
Are you planning to buy a digital camera? Not sure what exactly you want? Have you bought a digital camera before that you weren't satisfied with? It's amazing how many people I've met who are unhappy with their digital camera. Yes, it's true! Many of these people took lots of pictures, and had 35mm film cameras that they were very happy with. While it is far easier to buy a digital camera now that you will be happy with, it is still also easy to choose a digital camera that will disappoint you. It is also very easy to spend far more for a digital camera then you need to. It is also important to get a digital camera that is capable of doing what you want.
You will find here how to buy a digital camera. You will be able to choose what models have features that you need, the right resolution for you, and know what to avoid. My goal is to help you make an informed choice based on the features that will really make a difference. I won't tell you what model to buy, because models will change within months. You will, by following these guidelines, be able to choose a digital camera that won't make you feel like it's outdated next year. Let's start!
The first one is resolution. I strongly recommend that you start looking at cameras in the six megapixel range. A 6 megapixel digital camera will take pictures that are just as good if not better than a 35mm camera. One reason many people have been disappointed with their digital cameras is because they bought a camera with a lower resolution. Take a digital camera industry is little but responsible for this. Digital cameras have long been touted to have film quality. This claim was made long time before it was really true. One and two megapixel cameras were not film quality. When he came to three and four megapixel cameras, you might be able to say it was film quality, albeit 110 or APS but not 35mm. It was not until the five and six megapixel cameras came out that digital cameras were truly equal to 35mm.. If you buy a digital camera with at least six megapixel solution, you will have a camera that will produce the quality of photographs, most people are used to seeing.
Should you buy a digital camera with a higher resolution? If you have the money, a seven or eight megapixel digital camera will give you a little bit extra detail for cropping or enlargements. This option helps sometimes. Keep in mind, with a higher resolution comes a larger file size. You will need larger memory cards, and a more powerful computer if you choose to work on your pictures. What about the 10 megapixel and higher resolution cameras? Unless you regularly make enlargements larger than 20 x 24, you probably will not see any advantage in a digital camera with a resolution this high. Even a six megapixel camera will provide great images up to an exceeding 20 x 24. Most people do not make enlargements larger than 8 x 10 and so much of this resolution is wasted on almost all the photography. While these high resolutions may sound cool, for many people it may be just wasted money. Most people will be more than happy with a digital camera in the Six to eight megapixel range.
The next thing to consider is the type of digital camera. The compact point and shoot digital camera is not going to be good for shooting pictures of your children in sports. If you want to take pictures of a moving subject you'll need a digital camera that has an optical viewfinder. On the other hand, a large digital single lens reflex is not convenient to take to a theme park. Think about how you plan to use the camera. Purchase a camera that is good for that purpose. If you're looking for convenience, choose a small compact point and shoot. You are taking lots of family pictures at important events, look at the advanced prosumer models, you'll find their added speed and cache eliminate waiting for the camera to be ready. If you're serious hobbyist, you definitely may want to consider a digital single lens reflex (DSLR).
What features should you look for when buying a digital camera? Useful features you may want to consider include image stabilization and zoom range. Image stabilization will help you get sharper pictures under difficult situations. The optical zoom range of the camera is also another feature to use when comparing different models. Do not be misled by a digital zoom feature. Using the digital zoom means less detail. You may also want to consider the inclusion of software. Some cameras include a copy of Photoshop Elements, an excellent image editing program. In general, still cameras make poor video cameras and video cameras make poor still cameras. Internal memory, not to be confused with cache, isn't very useful with today's low prices in memory cards. It may also complicate things if you try to print at a local printer.
Finally, you should stick with a well-known camera manufacturer. Canon and Nikon are probably the most well-known and reliable camera manufacturers. Both are well known for long-lasting cameras, and high quality. While many consumer electronics companies make very high-quality cameras, they also tend to make products that seem to have a shorter life expectancy. Definitely stay away from a brand you never heard of before.
In conclusion, start by buying a digital camera with at least six megapixels resolution. Choose a model that is appropriate for what you plan to use it for. A digital single lens reflex (DSLR) won't fit in your pocket or purse, but you almost need it if you want both your child and a soccer ball in the same picture at a soccer game. They have more advance option. And finally, buy a camera made by a well-known film camera manufacturer. You should now know how to buy a digital camera that you will enjoy for many years to come. by: James_Thoenes
How to Master the Art of Portrait Photography
Portrait photography, if you have the knack for it, is a very satisfying type of photography. I say you have to have a knack for portrait photography simply because it’s true. If you can’t put your subject at ease and get them comfortable sitting in front of a camera then as a portrait photographer you have a problem on your hands. Your subject will turn out stiff and unwilling and it will come through in the photograph as well, and it won’t matter how good a photographer you are, or how much wizardry you can do with editing software.
If the original photograph you take is flawed then there’s not much you can do about it except go back to the drawing board. And by the drawing board here I don’t mean your portrait photography skills but the need for you to brush up on your people skills. And don’t worry if the first ever portrait photograph you take is of the person looking stiff and unnatural. You just need to keep trying until you get it right. And you will make it. Besides, most first attempts at anything invariably come out looking wrong so don’t get discouraged.
It’s only when things are still looking decidedly dicey after about two years of almost dedicated portrait photography that you might want to think about brushing off those people skills you knew you had but which you haven’t been able to find. For my very first portrait photography session, I hijacked my sister into being my willing victim – oops, I meant to say guinea pig – and I can tell you that the end results were disastrous to say the least.
After that I just forgot all about it and left my desire for portrait photography behind me. Again at this point it was the whole film and processing thing, I didn’t feel like wasting my time and money on something that I clearly wasn’t good at. I also knew that no matter how much I tried to brush up my people skills that that was really as good as it got. So there I was, and there was portrait photography, a seemingly unobtainable goal in my photographic life, until that is of course, I bought my digital camera.
And I have to say that after that, whole new worlds opened up to me and I even went so far as to dream about doing some portrait photography as well. Luckily for me as the years had passed my people skills had also loosened up a little bit and I wasn’t so stiff-necked when I went it to this time. My photographs were still stiff necked, in the beginning at least, but they did improve with time and I can now take a decent portrait photograph without too much of a problem.
The moral of the story then? The digital camera is good for experimenting with photography. And portrait photography is good if you can easily interact with your fellow human being. But overall, don’t give up on portrait photography just because your very first shots were far from perfect. Give it a few more tries and don’t lose hope that you’ll eventually get something more than halfway decent.
Before I forget, I’d also like to point out that portrait photography need not only be about the traditional portraiture. You have many options open to you and which one you take depends to a large amount on your subject, basically which type of portrait would display them best, and your own inclinations. This was just to give you an idea of what type of portrait photography you can look forward to. Good luck! By Muna Wa Wanjiru
Make money by selling photos from home Got a new digital camera? Now you can earn money selling your pictures on the Internet! If you have a good eye and if you are a creative person, you can generate very nice monthly income by selling your pictures on stock photography web sites. Personally, I am receiving checks and PayPal transfers for few hundreds bucks every month and you can do it too.
I truly love online stock photography Internet phenomenon, since it is the first in the world and probably the only business model which allows amateur photographers like you and me to earn some money. In fact, if you are a talented photographer and you shoot hundreds of pictures every month you can earn a very significant part of your living by shooting high quality creative pictures .
There are many stock photography sites that will be happy to sell your photos. are just few stock sites to name. All stock sites allow you to register for free as their submitting photographer and start uploading your work to their banks. However, be aware that many sites will ask you to provide detailed personal information such as a scan of you picture ID or passport. Also, at many sites you will be requested to sign and fax back a signed copy of the site's 'submitter agreement'. These requirements are part of continuous effort of limiting the image fraud on the Internet and protecting both image buyers and image copyright owners from the fraudulent behavior.
In addition to the submitters authentication, many stock photo sites will ask you to pass a professional online test, which should verify that you have all the required photographic skills and that you understand rules of the game on stock photography market. Do not be afraid of that test. If you know the difference between shutter speed and the aperture and if you can explain what is DOF you will pass this test for sure. And the basic stock photography rules are quite simple:
1) Be aware and do not submit images that include any copyrighted material Avoid photographing company logos, trademarks, third-party images and brands.
2) Provide a model release for any recognizable person in your image Each site has its own standard model release form that you have to fill in and send along with each image containing a recognizable person. It could be a good idea to keep handly printed copies of model releases for all the sites where you submit your photos. When you shoot a person, do not forget signing her on one or more model releases!
3) Editorial content Some stock photo agencies, e.g. ShutterStock has a separate section / category for editorial images. Different rules set apply for editorial content. Editorial content can be used only in news and therefore editorial images do not require model releases and can include copyrighted material. So, if you have shot a carnival in Brazil do not throw out all your pictures because you do not have model releases for all these people. You still can submit your images as editorial content at some stock photography sites. However, be aware that there are not too much buyers for this type of content and the submitters' competition could be tight.
4) Use appropriate lighting and composition. Your images compete for the buyers attention with images created by highly qualified talented professional photographers which shoot for years, own nice equipment and definitely know how and when use it. You must think creatively in terms of lighting and composition, otherwise your images will never sell.
For instance, if until now you relied on built-in camera flash as a proper source for indoor lighting it is a time to change your mind. Go to the stock sites and take a look how other photographers use light in their work. You will probably need to switch to some more professional sources of lighting for your indoor photography.
5) Images format must be JPG at most sites, typically starting from 2 megapixels and with max file size of 8-10 MB
6) Properly prepare your images before uploading them to stock photo sites. First of all it means digital editing. There are many software applications that can help you to edit your image, starting from the industry standard de-facto Adobe Photoshop tool, followed up by the newest and much cheaper than Photoshop Adobe Lightroom and ending up with Google's Picassa, which is very limited in its editing capabilities, but is available free of charge. Do your best editing your pixels. In many cases some light extra-saturation will help. But do not over saturated!
However, making your image look gorgeous is still not enough to create a bestselling picture. Think about buyers. Buyers still have to find your image among all the similar pictures in the web image database provided by a stock agency. It means you have to describe your image using appropriative keywords, title and description. It is important to do it before uploading images to a stock photo site, otherwise you will need to add keywords at every stock site, thus multiplying image preparation time.
Fortunately, keywords data can be inserted directly into JPG file, so the image carries its own keywords. This image metadata modification protocol is called IPTC and is implemented by some graphical applications, e.g. Adobe Photoshop. Editing IPTC data and selection of proper descriptive keywords can take significant amount of time, especially if English is not your mother tongue or if you just much better in taking pictures than in describing them in words. Buyers will never find your image if it was loosely keyworded, but the proper keywording and upload to multiple sites can take a while! Additionally, if you wish to keep the control what image was uploaded to which site and when, you might be completely lost after uploading a few tens of images. In Fotolia for example there is a tool called "tag search" it allows you to track most searched keywords.
Fortunately, there is dedicated stock photography management tool which takes care of all the issues above. ProStockMaster provides significant aid for a stock photographer by streamlining stock photography workflow. The application sports semi-automated images keywording, IPTC data editing, EXIF reading and provides simultaneous images upload to multiple leading stock photography agencies. ProStockMaster is available for free download from the product web site: http://www.prostockmaster.com. The free version is limited to 5 image uploads daily which certainly could be enough for many beginning stock photo submitters, saving them tens of hours of routine image preparation and management work in front of their computers.
7) Prices and payments – what income you can expect Most stock photography agencies pay photographers for each download (a purchase) made by the image buyer. This is a micro-payment model and the prices you get paid start as low as $0.20. However, if you were successful to create a real bestselling image you can easy hit few hundreds downloads a month, so your earning arithmetic can be $0.2 x 300 = $60 monthly for a single image. Shooting 10 bestsellers monthly could generate you $600 monthly income – definitely not a bad return on a few hours investment.
The rule of the thumb says the more images you have online in each and every stock photography agency the more images you sell and the higher monthly income you get. This is game of the numbers. Typically, stock agencies send you a check or a PayPal transfer at the end of every month if you have earned more than a certain amount of cash, typically $100, during that month. Your earnings will be collected by the site until they reach this minimal payment.
Well, that's all folks! Just take your digital camera now and go for a shooting session. Oh, - wait!, wait a second. First, open your web browser and look what other people submit to stock photography agencies. Note the most popular images and agencies suggestions for stock content categories and keep these subjects in mind when you shoot. My personal advice? Avoid flowers close-ups, typical landscapes, city scenes and buildings. Try to materialize business terms and shoot pictures which represent them,e.g. 'success', 'failure', 'partnership'. Be always creative in your work and your pictures will become online bestsellers. Good luck! By: David Mail (edited: ybs)
Non Clasical Style
Here I publish my new Photo session of Coiffure-beauty magazine. I used 3 lights - key, fill and hair. Very interesting make-up they made in grey-black scale.
Presentation of Cannon 5d in a studio setting I am posting a shot made in a studio setting using three lights. The photos are in 100 ISO and in RAW. You can see the scheme of the lights here. The key light has eight angled soft box, 45 degrees above the face of the model. The Fill light is set up with a half f-stop less than the key light. I have back light high above the back part of the hair and one more flashlight for the background. You can see a soft light upon the face, slight back light on the hair, so that the haircut and the color of the hair are emphasized. The roots of the hair in this case are darker when compared with the ends of the hair. The purpose of that is to highlight the haircut as well as the color diversity. The lens 24-105L works very well on 75-105 mm. The aberrations are not seen, just the vignettation in the angles due to the matrix. The image in the center is sharp and has very good color rage, due to the good lens. At the ends of the photo the image is not so sharp due to the slightly aberration of the zooming. The gradation of the colors is very soft; one can notice the L quality of the series. If you look more carefully at the hair you may notice that the black color lacks the color range one would find in a movie. The reason is simply that the digital technology lacks enough dynamics. I look forward with great anticipation to the successor of 5d primarily for the improved dynamics of the image.
First photos at 1600 ISO Here is two shots of Canon 5d at 1600 ISO. There is 100% crop from the center of images. I think 1600 is really useful. There is no so much noise I expect, that wonderful. The shot with girl is with 24-105L - 1/50, f4.0, 73 mm, 1600, the another one is 1/20, f4.0, 99 mm, 1600. Soon I will upload more photos in different location and conditions.
My newCanon 5dis already here! The set contains – Canon 5d, 24-105 L (Image Stability), Canon Speedlite 580II, 2x4GB Compact Flash memory. I had the opportunity to use it for the first time while shooting reportage. I have taken some photos of Bill Hybels, whom you see in the photo. My first impressions about the camera are:
Advantages
- Balanced weight of the body and the lenses – the grip helps for that balancing, as well as the verticaltrigger whichis perfect for vertical shooting
- an easy access to the functions forIso, White balance –I do not need to search for them in the menu, they have been taken outside it with buttons
- big – 3” display, quick overview showing the exactness of the zooming
- wide glass (there is no built in flash) – there is the ability to cover a larger area of the shot
- very little noise in 1600 iso
Disadvantages
- the body of the camera, the lenses (24-105L) and the flash are pretty heavy – when used for a long time the hands get tired (heavy)
- the vignetationof the angles – in 24 mmone can clearly see the vignetation of the full framematrix
- the lenses have diaphragm 4, if it had 2,8 it would have been better for a reportage
