Posts Tagged ‘digital photography software’

How To Use Lenses In Photography

Monday, July 27th, 2009

Just having a camera is not going to get you the best pictures.  Most of us who take photos are amateurs in the art world, but with the right digital photography training our photography can be elevated to a new height.When you settle on a medium you are going to train in, lenses are important.Photographers most the most part tend to specialize in one particular area of photography.There is a standard 35-80mm lens along with telephoto and panoramic lenses among the many types that are available.

 

Most 12mp digital SLR cameras have a 35- 80 mm lens, even the point and shoot type.  Often when you purchase a camera casing they will sell you the standard lens with it.  All lenses are interchangeable.  You do have to stick with the same brand of lenses as your camera and make sure the diameter is the same.As long as you keep to the same brand, the diameter of most lenses is the same.  The 35- 80 mm lens tells you the extent of reach.A standard lens just won’t give you the distinction of features that you are looking for even though you can use one to take photographs of objects that are several miles away.  The standard lens is great for close up shots, such as flowers, spider webs, people, and pets.You need a larger lens in order to gain a more defined picture that is miles away.

 

There are many telephoto lenses in photography.  One is the 75- 300 mm lens.  While this is not as massive as other telephoto lenses you may see a professional walking around with it is a great step up for mountain and wildlife photography when your quarry is some distance away.It is best to have a stabilizer with the lens especially when you begin to move from the 35mm into something larger.Even if your hand moves a little bit, a stabilizer will help you hold the camera steady to get a clear shot.  When you move into the world of the telephoto lens you can by accessories to help with angles and light.

 

Photography in the world of panorama is another way to take spectacular landscape photos.Especially with a digital camera, a panoramic lens will allow us to widen the photograph.The panoramic lens is the best way to go rather than cutting an pasting a picture of a glacier or mountain range together in Photoshop in order to get the whole picture.  I’m sure you have seen landscapes with a panoramic view and wished you could have that option.  Even with film cameras you could have a panoramic lens to widen the photograph.

 

All three lenses are just the icebergs on the use of lenses in photography.  Whether you are an amateur photographer or a budding professional you will want to maximize your photo taking skills.A tripod will be the next piece of equipment you will want to purchase because it will help you stabilize a camera with a larger lens even more.  Tripods are pretty simple and lightweight pieces of equipment and work great for portrait photography.  All mediums in photography require moderate to top of the line camera equipment to produce a photograph with quality.  Photography also relies on the photographer’s skill and eye.When you begin your study of the art of photography you will find that lenses are just a small part of photography.The best place to find answers if you have any questions about lenses is at your local photography shop.

 

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in General | Comments Off

Adobe Photoshop CS4

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Never before in the history of digital photography softwarehas anyone ever been able to produce such terrific results in photo editing as has happened in the digital age.  And while there are a myriad of tools that the computer and Internet have made available to us to enhance and change the images that come from a photo shoot, none can top the popularity and power of Adobe Photoshop.  This digital photography softwarehas become so synonymous with editing and creating effects that the term, “to Photoshop” has become a verb that means to enhance or alter an image.

We can “Photoshop in” new outfits, accessories or even people to a shot where it was just not possible before.  So if you want a picture of you shaking hands with the president, you don’t have to go to Washington to get it, just “Photoshop” your image into the image of the president and it will look as real as if you had been there.

You can “Photoshop” something out of a picture you don’t want and you won’t see it anymore.You can remove physical flaws with ease.You can even remove your noisy brother in law from the background of the shot.  This digital photography is so sophisticated that these images are possible and you really cannot tell the alteration has been made.

Photoshop has become such a de facto standard for photo processing that if you are setting up a photography studio or business, a copy of the software is as necessary as Microsoft word or PowerPoint.A good thing about Photoshop is that it is available everywhere and there are many people who know how to use it.  So if you feel insecure about learning yet another computer application, you can probably find a college student, someone at the high school or maybe the junior high that knows Photoshop in and out and can help you jump start your use of the software as well.

However, Photoshop has not always been the dominate program.In 1989, two brothers named John and Thomas Knoll created this program.The brothers created Photoshop for their custom use, but it wasn’t long before the market was clamoring after it.John and Thomas were pretty smart so the founded a company called Adobe in 1990.

Adobe has been a shining example of how to achieve success in the age of the Internet.  Today few of us who use the Internet are not aware of Adobe.I don’t think there is a computer working today that does not have a free copy of Adobe reader on it.Another example of how this little company has taken over a particular market is found in a program format they own called PDF.

You need to find a copy to play with first to really become good at Adobe Photoshop.You usually can find Photoshop, like most computer applications, on someones computer that will allow you to play with the software a bit.  Then if your friend is a wizard at Photoshop, let him or her show you some of the real “wiz-bang” things they can do with Photoshop using the same menus you were just tinkering with.It is real easy to allow a little Saturday afternoon photography spree to create and Photoshop addict out of you forever.

When you are done you will need to download a copy for yourself.  You can get an evaluation version that will give you most of the features.You only need this is you are not sure you’ll be buying a copy.To avoid some frustration when you buy your copy, make sure you get a licensed copy since Photoshop dominates this market.I know you will soon find yourself just playing around with the software for hours on end just having fun and that is OK.  But don’t overlook the value of taking some organized classes in photo editing using Adobe Photoshop.  These classes can show you the shortcuts and how to get the most out of the software.

If you really want to make photographs better for your friends and customers, then the only limit will be your imagination when using this software.When someone says,”that’s OK, photoshop can fix that right up” you will be able to enthusiastically say, that is right.”

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in General | Comments Off