1Gadget.net Digital Cameras

In this video I take a look at the replacement for my D40. I love this camera. Its got everything I need and more.

Need a photographer for a special event? Being a San Diego Photographer, I have some great tips to help you make the best choice for that special day. So before you go opening the yellow pages and just calling up any old photographer, here are a few steps on how to choose a good photographer.

For special days, most people want to capture those special memories with pictures; so it is very important that you research the photographer you are going to trust for the job. So why not ask friends and family for some recommendations. Their recommendations will help you formulate a list of candidates for the job.

After you have accumulated a list of photographers you should visit their websites. Check out events they have shot and determine whether or not that is the type of photography you are looking for. Photographers who have online portfolios will save you a lot of time because then you can prequalify them instead of having to wait til your first meeting to see their portfolio.

Now you are ready to conduct some interviews. This doesn’t have to be in person. You can do it over the phone. The goal of these phone interviews is to ask questions. Questions that will help you determine if this is the right person for the job. The more specific you are in asking your questions, the more specific your prospective photographer can be helping you better understand if this is the right person for the job. By doing this you will narrow the field even more, and from that you can finally schedule to meet those in person who you like so far.

Now, after meeting with the final photographers on the list, it is time to decide who will be the right person for the job. Some of the factors you want to base your decision upon is, does this person understand what you want for this photo shoot, and how to capture the special moments. Also is this a person whom you like. Believe it or not, for something as intimate as photographing a special day, you want to make sure it is somebody you get along with. After you believe you have found the perfect photographer, then go ahead and make the decision and let the person know you have chosen them.

Completing all these steps will be huge in helping ensure that you find the right person for the job. Doing this simple process will help you determine a couple of very important things. It will allow you to get to know your photographer more than any other method. This is important because it will allow you to know if this person has the style and the vision you are looking for on your special day. And most importantly you will have a piece of mind that you will not have found any other way in regards to knowing if you have found the right person. On special days, the last thing you need to stress over is the photographer.

Taking photos for a friend or taking photos as a professional in a wedding is a huge responsibility. Either way, here are 5 tips for wedding photographers whether professional or amateur that will have you doing it right.

Now this isn’t just theory, this is from first hand experience being a San Diego wedding photographer. So whether you have done a few weddings before, or this is your first time, it sometimes takes awhile before you are real comfortable in yourself in getting the job done right. If you find yourself feeling that way, don’t worry, just follow these tips and you will do just fine.

Our first tip is a simple thing you can do and that is to have the couple and the families go and make a shot list. When the day is hectic and chaotic, this will help immensely when you are trying to get family and group shots later on in the day. You will love it and when you can just go down the list and get everything without leaving anything out by accident.

The second tip is to not delete any shots. If you have a digital camera, don’t even look at the preview because you may end up deleting some pictures that the couple would really have liked to keep. The couple’s idea of what makes a good picture and yours may be different and they may appreciate having some pictures that are not exactly “professional”.

A third tip to consider is making sure you get candid shots. A good wedding photographer will not just try and get the typical shots, like family group shots, wedding party shots, or your standard bride and groom. But they will also try and capture the emotions of the day through the shots of all the people that were there. And that includes some of the things that could go wrong, like a flower girl not making it all the way to the front, or the ring bearer dropping the rings. Every shot counts.

The fourth one to consider, and something that can easily be overlooked is to make sure you have several cameras with several lenses as backup. Do you even want to imagine having a camera stop working halfway through the day. Plan for anything that could go wrong. Being prepared will help you avoid that uncomfortable moment of not having a working camera to capture the rest of the day.

And lastly, understand lighting as well. The difference in lighting outside and the difference in the lighting in the church is huge. So practice all the different lighting conditions. And if this is your first time, you might want to go and practice some shots at the location. This will help you not only with the lighting, but also will help you plan for the big shots by scouting the location.

These 5 tips will help you capture that day immensely. This will have you prepare and avert any disaster, it will prepare you to capture the moment perfectly, and it will prepare you to help the couple make this a wonderful day by being a wedding photographer they can count on.

If consistency is an enormous part of the source of the photograph, formulate it to position out in the group and make it evident. Hence the matching up of the textures between source and the background is very essential. This technique of photography once found successful can be used to the entire set of photographs that has been already taken. Another important technique that is used in photography is blustering out the places of interest or making a high-key representation makes a pleasant malleable portrait with kind of a light fresh feeling.

The ordinary viewer’s eyes can decide to contain any exacting object in ideal focus, while a lens has to prefer an exact crucial point and in photographers view point it is called as depth of field. The remoteness in the region of the central plane will still appear to be in pointed focus and it is the importance of this photography techniques. This dissimilarity presents the photographer with a significant interpretive alternative.

Portrait photography can be fun and yet difficult to master. It is normal to see photographers struggling with the subject’s pose and sometime things can get ugly when the photographer and subject can’t agree on the pose.

Lastly, practice does make digital photography better. Seriously, have you ever fail to be better in things that you do over and over again? You might have spent a lot of time thinking of how you need to pose your model when you started this but once you have build the experience, you will know how to prep your model for the camera with just a single glance.

Are there distracting shadows ruining your photographs?

Unfortunately, shadows are a constant challenge for photographers. Fortunately, there are quite a few easy but effective fixes.

First, what causes the shadow? Well, obviously it is caused by the light hitting your subject and not hitting the background behind them.

The first “fix” if you’re having a problem with distracting, ugly shadows on your backdrop…remove the backdrop. If there is nothing behind your model, there is nothing for the shadow to fall on, therefor there’s no visible shadow.

So, start out by removing the background if you can.

If your session is being shot outdoors, just move your model so that there’s no background behind them. Not too difficult.

If you are indoors, obviously you can’t take down the walls, but you can move the subject further away from them! Shoot them closer to the middle of the room instead of right up against the wall and your ugly shadow problems will disappear.

The second way to approach the problem is to position a light to illuminate the background.

If you’re lighting your subject with “studio” type lights; get your model lit the way you want and then add another light that bypasses the model and lights up the background.

Adding the extra light can be more than just a shadow remover. By adding in scrims, cookies and colored gels to modify the light, it becomes a part of the design of the photo. The modifiers will throw colors, patterns and shapes on your backdrop.

Here’s how light and shadows work. Imagine a billiards table, light is like a ball sitting on the table. If you roll it into the cushion, it will bounce off at the same angle it hit the cushion. Light is like that. It bounces off at the same angle it hits the subject. (When trying to eliminate eyeglass glare – remember that tip.)

Shadows don’t bounce, they are ALWAYS perfectly in line with the light. You can fix your problem shadow by moving the light so that it strikes the subject in such a way that the shadows fall into an area that won’t be in the picture.

You can do this outdoors by moving the subject until the light is hitting them from the direction you want. Indoors, with a studio setup, you can move around the lights to get the best angle. When shooting with only an on camera flash, you can bounce the light off the ceiling or a wall to change the angle the light is approaching the subject. Watch out for painted walls that will throw a color cast on your model.

The size and strength of the light source – as related to your model – is what will control the harshness and intensity of your shadows.

By lowering the lights’ intensity, you will simultaneously lower the shadows’ intensity. Of course the shadow will still be there, but the distracting effects may be minimized.

You can lower the intensity of the light by using less power, or by using the same amount of power – but moving the light further back.

You can change the size of the light – and make it bigger – with umbrellas, softboxes and reflectors.

You can consider a softbox or an umbrella as being like a cloud. When a cloud moves between the sun and your subject, the entire cloud becomes the light source. This obviously is a much larger light than just the sun by itself. The light wraps around the model and minimizes the shadow. Go outside and observe shadows from the sun and from a cloud. You’ll see a huge difference.

This article is just a simple primer on light, shadows and diffusion. There are entire books written on the subject and I’d suggest reading a few.

Shoot well.