Photography is an art that is tried by many and only mastered by a few. Taking pictures may seem as simple as 1-2-3, but there are several factors that make a photograph stick out of bunch. So, what it takes to make a good photograph?

Just three things:
1.    Plenty of light
2.    Suitable background
3.    Visual clarity

Once you get hold of these three, your photograph will be a masterpiece. Let me explain how each of these factors contributes in taking that picture prefect shot. To start with lighting, a well lit vista gives clarity to your subject. Mastering basics of lighting is an essential ability to any good photographer. Lighting creates contrast.
A well contrasted photograph is delight for both the photographer and the viewer. Proper lighting adds depth to your subject, whilst adding life to the overall setting. You can play with light to accent a particular feature or for creating that dramatic appeal.

Next, we come to backdrops. A photographer has to be careful while choosing a background. Where on one hand a well-chosen background sets the mood of a picture, it tells your subject’s story, on the other. It underlines several trifling details that are not so apparent otherwise. However, choosing a backdrop is just one part. What comes first is the proper planning of all important details for your photo shoot. Remember, a backdrop must serve the purpose of photo shoot and more importantly the subject’s purpose in having his/her pictures taken. A rule of thumb – areas that can be 1) easily remembered, 2) are distinct and 3) meets the purpose of the shoot makes best backdrops.

Altar for a church wedding, soccer goal for your child’s first soccer game, cake for a birthday party etc. count for some of the most eye-catching and easily recognized backdrop examples.

For a studio photo shoot, I recommend backdrops that will augment the appearance of your subject. They must emphasize the features of your subject. A backdrop must complement the subject instead of distracting the viewer to other superfluous details. A harmonious backdrop calls for extra attention and creativity. Suggested photography backdrops are those that don’t clash with subject’s apparel and makeup. Last but not least, backdrops should be free of any stains, spots or wrinkles.

If your subject wants outdoor theme, better go outdoors than using replicated backdrops in the studio. Shooting outdoors may seem simple, but there are lots of distractions in the open that may steal the focus on your subject. Therefore, caution is required. Take care there are no bystanders or people passing by.

Last comes visual clarity. Now, do I need to explain this? If you take due care in the preceding steps, results automatically follow in terms of visual clarity. One should perform all steps properly since the purpose of each step is to accomplish a perfect photo, free from all sort of visual clutter.

So, what are you waiting for? Open your creative eye and start capturing right away. Make a conscious effort to know what your subject is looking for and let that understanding lead your instincts in choosing the appropriate background.

 Navtej Kohli on Facebook

When the time comes to taking portrait digital images, it can be very different than taking images of still items or landscapes.
Portrait photography is lot different from still or landscape
photography. With portrait photos you’re not in total power over the
photo. Your model now is in group effort with you for the shot and your
posing skills must make them look however you want.
Taking portrait shots is no less than an art, especially when it comes
to handling subject a great deal of patience is required. Not all
people being photographed cooperative. Some will get annoyed quickly
and some will be annoying quick! But your ultimate goal is to make the
model as comfortable as possible.
Portrait photos should give the viewer a glimpse of the person’s
personality. Portrait photos not necessarily deal with smiling and
happy looking people. Portrait photography is a serious business. Look
out for intense and interesting faces. Make sure that background goes
well with the expressions.

Do not limit yourself to taking portraits behind plain backgrounds. The
wilderness can make for amazing backgrounds as well. Lots of great
places out in the wild can make for amazing backdrops for portraits.
There are also really dramatic locations you can take portraits at.
Think of alleys, scary looking woods, etc.
Portrait photos should be lit as nice as possible. The better the
lighting the better the person will look. You can use front or side
lighting for portraits. Front lit subjects will look more flawless. The
problem is that this can make details diminished too much.

Who said photography is meant for those prying paparazzi or devoted
shutterbugs. You can take up this hobby at any point in your life.
Retiring from one’s job doesn’t mean the end of life. There is a lot
you can do in your leisure time after mid-50s. Photography is one of
the most popular hobbies, elderly take resort to after their retirement.

To be a photographer, you need not necessarily have professional
expertise. All it need is a sight to look beyond obvious and capturing
that in your camera, so meticulously that it speaks for itself.

Photography is not an anti-pocket affair. However, photography
aficionados run pillar to post to collect all the fancy tools and
equipments available in the market. Also, the invention of digital
camera redefined the traditional photography tricks. In the age of
velocity, you can view photographs the moment they are clicked.

Developing your own prints is also a gratifying experience, which is
still preferred by many, especially those who have an extra room in
their homes. Besides, if you are planning to take up this hobby
seriously, you can always do that. You can avail yourself of
photography classes; it’s never too late to start. You can discover you
forte which can be anything from nature, portraits or wildlife… just
don’t let the best shot skip your sight.

Photography may not seem like an adventurous hobby to many, but it
can definitely take you to some whimsical places. So get close to the
nature, imprison some wildest beasts but don’t forget to carry your
camera.

Main features of the new Ricoh G600 :

1. Superior water and dust resistance plus even greater shock
resistance make the G600 ideal for hard outdoor use. The well thought
out design and positioning of the large buttons make operation easy
even with gloves on, such as while skiing.

2. Powerful flash with effective range of up to 10m and ISO3200 sensitivity for low-light photography.

3. Large 2.7-inch picture display.

4. Compact and lightweight body that can be carried in a breast pocket.

5. A 28-140 mm wide-zoom lens on a water and dust-resistant digital camera.

6. The large-capacity lithium ion battery provided with the camera
gives long battery life for approximately 360 shots (CIPA standard). If
the battery runs out, readily available AAA size batteries can be used
instead. A

7. An edit check function detects for image data tampering. This
increases the reliability of the data when digital photographic images
are submitted as corroborative evidence.

So, if you are in the market to buy a new camera then this might be a potential candidate.

These cameras look and act like traditional cameras with a few extra
features. Tricky camera designs are quickly leaving the marketplace
because photographers want to take pictures and not be bogged down by
hard-to-use technology.

Many things about digital cameras are identical to film cameras, a
few things are slightly tweaked from film expectations, and a number of
features are unique to digital photography. Some of the big differences
can actually help you take better pictures than you ever did with a
film camera.

For quality results from any camera, the basics of photography still
apply no matter how an image is captured. A tripod is always important
if slow shutter speeds are needed and big telephoto lenses are used.
Fast shutter speeds remain a key way to stop action, and f-stops
continue to affect depth of field. The important parts of a scene still
need to have the focus centered on them, and dramatic light always
helps make for dramatic photos.

The “digital” in digital camera has caused even experienced
photographers to worry that this new technology will be difficult to
master. But consider this: No beginner ever picked up a camera and knew
what all the controls did. For the serious photographer, f-stops and
shutter speeds were definitely not instinctive.

Types of Cameras

Digital cameras come in a variety of forms, from point-and-shoot
pocket cameras to advanced digital SLRs. There is no right or wrong
type, though a specific one may be best for you and your photography.

Simple point-and-shoot digital cameras can give surprising quality
when they have the right lenses and sensors. Because they are totally
automatic in focus and exposure, they just have to be pointed at a
subject and clicked. They have limited capabilities for controlling the
image, although even very inexpensive cameras often have white balance
controls. Some are exceptionally compact, able to fit easily into a
shirt pocket, making them ideal cameras to keep at hand so you won’t
miss a great photo opportunity.

Advanced point-and-shoot cameras are similar in that they mostly
rely on automatic controls; however, this group tends to add special
features to make the cameras a little more flexible. Such features
include exposure compensation, more white balance controls, limited
manual settings, and more. Still relatively inexpensive, these cameras
can be a good introduction to digital and are perfect for the families
of serious photographers.

Interchangeable-lens, digital SLRs offer all the controls of a 35mm
SLR, including lenses that give you a wealth of focal-length
possibilities. These cameras are definitely bigger than the other
digital cameras. They include complete and extensive photographic
controls, the best in image-sensor and processing technology, high
levels of noise control, and more. The LCD panel on the back of an SLR
can be used only for reviewing images, since the sensor cannot provide
“live” images due to the mirror design.

More Tips to follow in my subsequent posts, till then,  Happy Clicking!

Newsweek’s worth reading only when Peter Plagens is in it, and
that’s not very often. The sweep of his knowledge and his breezy tone,
his clarity and resolutions make him unique and distinctive.

About that breezy tone: Matthew Collings gets full credit
for creating a style that gave art criticism somewhere to go beyond the
dry bog of the academic, but Plagens was there first, writing serious
things with a light touch.

That’s why his most recent foray – “Is Photography Dead?”- bewildered me. Is photography dead? Of course not.

Plagens is upset that photography has abandoned its commitment to
the truth (”lost its soul”) in order to revel in Photoshop fantasies.
What commitment? Truth in art has always been a fluid concept, and
Photoshop is a tool, not a weakness. By opening a wider crack in the
factual, photography has moved to the center of contemporary art
practice, instead of where it was 30 years ago, at the margins,
brilliant only in the work of a few great photo documentarians and
dead-ended for those following somebody like Ansel Adams, for instance.

What’s threatened in digital photography isn’t art. It’s the
personal record of family life. Until recently, people took rolls of
film to be developed at the drug store. They got back packets of
pictures, which they mounted in albums or left in piles in shoe boxes.

These images existed. Digital photography produces the illusion of
existence. Fewer people bother with the hard copy, and it’s the hard
copy that matters.

Decades ago, Susan Sontag wrote that the unphotographed child
suffered from a form of child abuse. As digital images fade from the
family computer screen, the record they were supposed to provide
disappears with them. Only the tech savvy will avoid this fate, and how
many people does that include?

Well,as far as Navtej Kohli’s view is concerned, he firmly believes that Photography is more alive than ever!!

The good: Excellent specification for price, great
image quality, Anti Dust system, Eye Start, D-Range Optimiser,
ergonomics, sensor-shift image stabilization; useful Live View
implementation with flip-up LCD.

The bad: LCD cannot be swivelled back into the body (for protection)

Verdict: Excellent performance and great image
quality combine neatly within in an easy to use body and good price
that make the Sony Alpha 350 worthy of serious consideration.

Main features of the new Ricoh G600 :

1. Superior water and dust resistance plus even greater shock
resistance make the G600 ideal for hard outdoor use. The well thought
out design and positioning of the large buttons make operation easy
even with gloves on, such as while skiing.

2. Powerful flash with effective range of up to 10m and ISO3200 sensitivity for low-light photography.

3. Large 2.7-inch picture display.

4. Compact and lightweight body that can be carried in a breast pocket.

5. A 28-140 mm wide-zoom lens on a water and dust-resistant digital camera.

6. The large-capacity lithium ion battery provided with the camera
gives long battery life for approximately 360 shots (CIPA standard). If
the battery runs out, readily available AAA size batteries can be used
instead. A

7. An edit check function detects for image data tampering. This
increases the reliability of the data when digital photographic images
are submitted as corroborative evidence.

So, if you are in the market to buy a new camera then this might be a potential candidate.

Photography is a unique art that requires keen sense for aesthetics and technical expertise. This medium of self-expression can be as good a profession as it is a hobby. With the ever-expanding communication network, the growth of advertising and media and the fashion boom, digital photography has become a good money-making profession.

Photography, however, has become an inseparable part of Print and electronic media and thus has a greater scope for those who are planning to opt it as a fulltime profession.

It is one creative medium that is more of inherent than learned. Though, there are many training institutes that help you hone your skills, but creativity is something that lies within the photographer.There are several specializations in photography like portraiture, fashion and advertising photography, journalistic photography, wildlife and outdoors photography etc.

For taking a commercial quality photograph, the photographer must know the angle specifications, lighting conditions and most importantly the latest equipments and technology in this field.

To be a successful photographer, there is no specific eligibility criterion, as such. You can enroll into a diploma or certificate course soon after you have completed your high-school. Besides, having a background in computers and electronics is also beneficial to shine in this field.

But as I’ve mentioned before, a successful photographer is one who is instinctively creative and can actually communicate through his/her photographs. To be a good commercial photographer you should have the ability to understand client’s need. It’s only your understanding and perceptive that ultimately appears in your photographs. And mind it, once you are in the field work pressure, difficult conditions and irregular hours are a common sight.

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