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Concerns with Macro Digital Photography

Life can revolve around what point of view we might take. Taking a simple object and viewing it fresh, from a different perspective can create an amazing new outlook on the everyday with only a change of focus or angle. Digital macro photography can help to change the outlook of the viewer with its new spin on the seemingly ordinary.

Without a doubt, digital macro photography is a form of art. Only the imagination of an artist can transform something commonplace and elevate it into an expression defining a facet of life. That is the essence of art itself. Art is the reflection of the world as seen by the artist. By viewing an art piece such as digital macro photography, we see a glimpse of the world through the eyes of those around us creating an emotional and powerful bond.

One thing to understand about digital macro photography is that it is not easy. Many factors come into play in creating an amazing photograph. But what are these factors?

1) Skills - do you actually have the skills necessary for digital macro photography? Do you have the eye for beauty that would be appreciated by people who view your photographs? That’s not all you need. You also need to have a steady hand. While taking digital macro photographs, even barely noticeable movements of the hand can ruin your picture.

You need to have the skills to use a camera properly. You need to be able to adjust the camera in order to take the picture that you truly want to appear. Sure, you can actually edit a digital macro photograph using the computer, but why should you give yourself more work than necessary?

Photography skills come naturally for some. But know it is still essential to polish these skills by taking classes or attending workshops. The goal in digital macro photography is centered on showcasing things in news ways and perspectives. Keeping this in mind, know that people may view your work differently from the way you designed it to been seen. A new point of view never hurts and only creates another facet to your vision.

Equipment - You will also need the right tools. The proper tools will go a long way in helping you to achieve the results that you want. Although there are tools today that declare themselves usable for any photography type, try to find equipment especially designed for digital macro photography. The right camera and gear can most certainly bring out the best in your abilities.

The proper equipment is crucial since digital macro photography requires a lot of skill and practice to be perfected. With the right tools for digital macro photography, this goal can be reached much easier and will present your photos to the best of you and your subject’s ability.

3) Subject - everything is interesting when viewed in different ways. However, some subjects are more interesting than others. Some objects, when you choose them as subjects of digital macro photography, manage to amaze you with the amount of things you do not know about them. Great subjects of digital macro photography reveal worlds beyond what you can see with the naked eye. So choose your subjects wisely.

Tags: Photography   Posted in Photography

Photo Albums

Using a photo album to store all of your pictures in on location is a great idea. There are so many different types of photo albums out there to choose from. Many of theme are used for a specific group of pictures like weddings or babies. Then you have the big one for all of those other fun times you caught on camera.

The sizing on photo albums is something you need to consider. Some of them have slots that you simply slide in photos. This can be easy enough but you have to make sure your pictures are going to be a good fit. Some of them have lines on the sides where you can write about the photo. Dates and names are always good because you may one day forget as people change and many years can span over the course of photos.

Another feature on some albums is a slip that slides back and allows you to arrange your photos however you’d like. There is a lot more freedom in these types of photo albums. Another great type of album is the wallet size. These are convenient for those who like to show off their photos often.

A child can receive plenty of benefit from having their own photo album too. It can help them to not forget people’s faces. It can also help them cope with missing someone when they have a photo of them. It helps them feel closer to the person if they can see a picture of them. The child’s photo album is also a great after school project. There are tons of designs they can create and personalize the phot album with.

A photo album is priced based on the quality of the materials used in its production. When it is customized for a wedding, a baby, or a family the price is usually increased too. The person putting together the photo album for the occassion charges for their time and also for the quality of the photo album they use.

Take very good care of all your photo albums. The pictures in them will become more valuable as time passes on. Don’t leave them where they can suffer from water damage or other accidents. There is too much history and too many memories in photo albums for them not to be well kept.

Tags: Photography   Posted in Photography

Advice on Photographing Pets

You’ve been wanting to take stunning photos of your pet, but have not figured out how to get started. You have stumbled upon this article because you don’t want to end up with plain, boring photos of your pet. Not to worry, these tips will get you taking awesome pet photos.

1. The best lighting for your pet is natural light. Window light is great, or if you can, take your pet outside. Unfortunately flash photography is not that great for pets. The flash may scare them, and it also makes them have red eyes in photographs.

2. Get on the same level as your pet. Bend down or lie on the ground. This not only gives you a different perspective, but you will appear less intimidating. It’s always amusing when pets get close to the lens to investigate, creating a great photo opportunity.

3. Learn about your pet’s idiosyncrasies and personality. When you know more about them, you will have more fun and will find them easier to photograph.

4. Experiment with different lenses, aperture settings, and shutter speeds. A macro lens will let you get take close-up photos, a wide-angle lens fits more pet in the frame, a smaller aperture blurs the background, and faster shutter speed will catch your pet in motion.

5. Be patient. As your photo shoot progresses, your pet will get more comfortable with you and the camera. If you are anxious and uncomfortable, they too will become anxious and uncomfortable, so remember to relax and be calm.

6. Expect the unexpected. You never know when you will get a good shot because pets are unpredictable. Try photographing them with their favorite toy, enjoying a treat, or frolicking in the park.

Don’t forget to have fun! Your furry friend will be looking like a rock start in no time. If you need more ideas, look online or in magazines.

Tags: Photography   Posted in Photography

Painting with Photoshop

Both painting and erasing are simple with Photoshop. The painting tools in Photoshop are a fundamental part of just about anything you can do with this program. Not only can you paint in color, you can also make selections, create transparency and much, much more. Let’s take a look at just a few of the more widely used tools in Photoshop such as the pencil, line, paintbrush, airbrush, eraser, paint bucket, and gradient tools, their functions, and their differences.

You can’t paint without a brush. Photoshop 5, finds brushes in a floating palette, while Photoshop 6, the brushes palette are attached to the option bar as a drop-down menu. Many brushes are available from the standard to additional ones from the Photoshop CD. The shape, hardness, and spacing of the round brushes can be tailored, and you can also create your own custom brushes from any option that allow you to adjust sizing. The brushes palette menu allows you to reset, save and load brushes. What are some basic brush palette functions? Photoshop 5: If you want to make a new brush without changing an existing brush, choose New Brush from the palette flyout menu. Double clicking on a brush permits you to modify the diameter, hardness, spacing, angle, and roundness while it changes that brush in your brushes palette. To rotate through the brushes in the palette while painting, use the bracket keys [ and ] to cycle through the brushes in your palette. Holding the shift key down while pressing the bracket keys will take you to the first or last brush in the palette. Photoshop 6: When you make adjustments to a brush you can click the preset button to add it to the brushes palette. You can also choose New Brush from the palette flyout menu to make a new custom brush. Clicking on the brush preview in the options bar allows you to change the diameter, hardness, spacing, angle, and roundness. To adjust the brush size on-the-fly while painting, use the bracket keys [ and ]. Holding the shift key down while pressing the bracket keys will adjust the hardness of the brush. Try out the brush options and experiment with them for feel. You can return to the default brushes at any time by choosing reset brushes from the brush palette menu.

You have a few options available to you in regards to how you add color. The most common are the paintbrush and the airbrush. Paintbrush is most likely the painting tool you will be using most often. The shortcut key is B. The Paintbrush tool applies color to your document similar to the way a traditional paintbrush would apply paint on paper or canvas. Other options in paintbrush include wet edges that apply paint acting more like watercolor paint or markers, a fade option in the options palette that can fade the opacity only in Photoshop 5.x, but can also fade the size and color of brush strokes in version 6 and a paintbrush options palette (Version 5.x) and brush dynamic menu (Version 6.0) are where you would go to make adjustments to the way Photoshop reacts to stylus pressure if you do not have a pressure sensitive tablet (if you do, you’ll want to use your tablet’s pressure sensitivity to achieve fading). The airbrush tool works more like a traditional airbrush or spray paint. Its shortcut key is J. The airbrush puts paint on a bit lighter than the paintbrush tool, but when you hold your mouse button down without moving the cursor, the paint builds up just like it would if you were to hold the nozzle down on a can of spray paint. Instead of adjusting the opacity for the airbrush tool, you set the pressure. The higher the pressure is set, the thicker your paint will go on. The airbrush is especially useful for painting subtle shading and highlights.

There are tools offered more intended for drawing. The pencil tool allows you to apply paint color that always has a hard edge (like drawing in color). The shortcut key for the pencil tool is N in Photoshop 5.x. In Photoshop 6, the tool is shared with the Paintbrush and the shortcut key is B. Shift B toggles between the Paintbrush and Pencil tool. The line tool is used to create straight lines and arrows. In Photoshop 5, the line tool short cut is N and the toolbox location is shared with the Pencil tool. The line width and arrowhead locations can be adjusted through the options palette in Photoshop 5.x. In Photoshop 6, the line tool is shared with the Shapes tool. In the options bar, you can decide whether to create the line as a shape layer, a path, or a filled region.

You can “cheat” and fill areas with color at a time. The Paint Bucket is the simplest of these painting tools, used to fill areas with solid color or patterns and works by filling with color based on color likeness chosen by the tolerance setting. The paint bucket has a blending mode menu and opacity control, just like the layers palette, allowing you to change the way the paint blends with the pixels you are painting on the same layer. The Gradient tool allows you to apply graduated color fills that blend from one color to another. Gradients are not just limited to two-colors. You can create custom gradients using several colors and changeable levels of transparency for unlimited effects. The Gradient tool shortcut is G. In Photoshop 5.x, Shift G toggles the five types of gradient fill types. In Photoshop 6, the gradient fill type is selected from the option bar and Shift G toggles between the gradient and paint bucket tools. There are five types of gradients: Linear, Radial, Angle, Reflected, and Diamond. The transparency checkbox enables gradients with transparency; otherwise the transparent areas are filled with the neighboring color. Reverse flips the order of colors in the gradient. You can also use patterns as paint and fills in Photoshop. In version 5, you need to define a pattern every time you want to use a different one. Defining a pattern is simple, just make a choice and choose Edit > Define Pattern. Anytime a pattern is defined, the tools and commands that required a pattern fill will show that option. When you want to use a different pattern, just select it and choose the define pattern command again. In Photoshop 6, pattern fills are selected from a menu of patterns in the options bar. To add a new patterns you just open the image and choose Edit > Define Pattern. Patterns can be used as fills with the paint bucket and the Edit > Fill command. You can also paint with patterns using the Pattern Stamp tool. This tool shares the toolbox location with the rubber stamp tool. The pattern stamp works like a paintbrush, but instead of solid color paint, it paints with the presently chosen pattern. The aligned check box causes your pattern to line up even if you stop one brush stroke and start a new one. When aligned is unchecked, the starting point of the pattern is reset each time you make a new stroke.

How do we fix our mistakes? The eraser tool shortcut is E. The standard eraser tool has four painting modes to choose from: paintbrush, airbrush, pencil, and block. The eraser tool paints in transparency, unless your layer is a background, in which case, the eraser tool paints with the current background color.The eraser tool options are basically the same as the painting tools, with the addition of one new option: Erase to history. When you erase to history, it works just like the history brush. The Magic Eraser works just like the magic wand, but instead of making a choice, it immediately changes the pixels to transparent. The areas to be erased are controlled by adjusting the tolerance and contiguous options. Clicking once erases all the pixels that fall within the tolerance range. If the magic eraser is used on a background layer, the background is automatically promoted to a layer. This tool is best for when you have a background that is fairly solid in color. It just takes one click with the magic eraser and your background is gone. The background eraser also erases to transparency, but instead of using only the tolerance range, it continuously samples the background colors in your document as you erase. It’s useful for backgrounds that have a range of colors in the background, but where the background colors are still distinct from the foreground object you want to isolate. It works best with a fairly large brush. Be very careful to keep the crosshairs away from the object you want to keep. When using this tool, you may become aware of some bits of the foreground object becoming somewhat transparent along the edges. Do not be too worried about this, as you can always paint those bits back in using the Erase to History option or the History Brush.

There are a few tricks and tips in Photoshop. Photoshop is set to show the painting cursors at the actual brush size. This setting can be changed through your Preferences (under the Edit menu in Photoshop 6; the File menu in Photoshop 5 and earlier.) In most cases you’ll want to leave it set to brush size. You can toggle to exact cursors without going through the preferences dialog by locking the caps lock key. Anytime you have a painting tool active, you can press the Alt/Option key to temporarily change to the Eyedropper and pick up a new foreground color from anywhere in the document. You can adjust the pressure of the airbrush tool or the opacity of the other painting tools by pressing the numeric keys on your keyboard instead of going to options. While a painting tool is active you can cycle through the blend modes using Shift -(minus) and Shift (plus). These shortcut keys also rotate through the layer blend modes when non-painting tools are active All the painting tools have the capacity to be faded using the Fade command. In Photoshop 5.x, this command is under the Filter menu. In Photoshop 6.x, it was moved to the Edit menu. After using any paint stroke, fill, or filter, you can select this command to fade it back so it blends with the original pixels. You can also use it to apply a blend mode if you forgot to set the blend mode before applying paint. Now with a little practice, you’ll master Photoshop in no time.

Tags: Photography   Posted in Photography

Digital Photo Editing With Adobe Photoshop Elements for Mac

If you’re like me you’ve taken tons of photos with your digital camera and now they are all stowed away somewhere on the hard drive of your Mac. Does sound like you? Are your photos in need organizing and editing but you don’t know where to start? Since I have been there I hope to provide some advice to help you get started in digital photo editing with Adobe Photoshop Elements Mac Version 4.0.

To start with you need digital photo editing software. I personally recommend Adobe Photoshop Elements Mac Version 4.0. Version 4.0 is compatible with G-series as well as the new Intel Macs. Photoshop Elements is an offshoot of the market-leading professional Adobe Photoshop software. Photoshop Elements is geared for the home digital photo enthusiast and performs basic photo editing tasks quickly; the nice thing is that there are many sophisticated Photoshop features available to you at the click of a mouse.

The user interface is well laid out and easy to understand; Elements includes a great feature for the digital photo editing beginner, the use of descriptive icons, where you hover your mouse over an icon and message pops up with a description of its function. Organizing your photos is a snap as well since Elements allows you to manage, sort, delete and view your picture collection in a variety of different ways including face tagging and keyword tagging. There is also an exhaustive list of file properties for each of your images so misplacing photos will be a thing of the past. Since there is a partnership between Adobe and Kodak you the opportunity to share your photos online, print greetings cards, custom calendars or photo books. A quick note: before you eject the install cd you want to make sure you copy the Goodies folder to your hard drive - it contains a huge variety of frames, backgrounds and extras to play around with.

Quick Fix allows you to execute basic editing functions which can correct the most common digital photo flaws. With a few clicks of the mouse smart fix and auto red-eye removal easily gives you a photo that is ready to print. Some more handy functions include the skin tone adjustment tool, which makes skin tones appear more natural and the straighten tool which allows you to straighten and crop crooked photos. A couple of the more advanced features include the magic selection brush and magic extractor tool. Using the magic selection brush you can scribble on an object and, providing there is enough contrast between it and the background, Elements will select it for you. The magic extractor is an even better tool; it is easy to use and allows you to separate objects from the background of an image in seconds with great accurately.

Hopefully you now understand that if you want to edit your photos with no trouble with and a minimum of fuss, and get them off your hard drive for people to see, Adobe Photoshop Elements Mac Version 4.0 offers all the functionality you’ll ever need and is excellent value for money.

Tags: Photography   Posted in Photography

Infant Costumes Toddler Costumes

Will the Gorons/ Zoras/Gerudos/the Shiekah species be in the Twilight Princess?
The Gorons were seen in the GDC 2005 and E3 2006 trailers, and there is official artwork of a Goron. The Zoras have not been confirmed, though EGM speculated based on an interview they would make an appearance. The Gerudo and Sheikah have not even been mentioned, although Zelda’s “robe” in the Twilight Realm has the Eye symbol with a teardrop - the Sheikah symbol from Ocarina of Time - so fans believe Sheik or the Sheikah are making a comeback.I have seen a few different vinyl baby dragons mistaken for the three known versions of G1 Spike and the six Princess Pony dragons. Note that, unlike ponies, NONE of these MLP dragons have ANY Hasbro markings. However, they do come in only one mold, are all approx.

How do your Princess/pirate birthday parties work?
The Princess party is our newest party. Each girl will have a choice of special princess pottery(cup, bowl, plate, frame,plaque-selection may be limited)to paint. After painting a princess craft will be completed. Pink plates, napkins and forks will be supplied and finally we will hand out loot bags. All girls will get a tiara and loot bag. Cost is $23.75/person. Add $1.50 per person for a choice of the frame and add $1.50 per person for embellishing a frame or a plaque.Cut to the chase, if you want to make this purchase fast, reliable, professional and easy with guaranteed success, purchase both your Diamond and your Engagement Ring Setting from us. Four steps in one easy process at the most competitive price.The Princess party is our newest party. Each girl will have a choice of special princess pottery(cup, bowl, plate, frame,plaque-selection may be limited)to paint. After painting a princess craft will be completed. Pink plates, napkins and forks will be supplied and finally we will hand out loot bags.

I have a baby dragon; how do I know if it’s MLP (i.e. Spike, UK Princess Pony dragon)?
I have seen a few different vinyl baby dragons mistaken for the three known versions of G1 Spike and the six Princess Pony dragons. Note that, unlike ponies, NONE of these MLP dragons have ANY Hasbro markings. However, they do come in only one mold, are all approx. 2 inches tall, and have no hair (unlike most others that have been seen).No, I am not really a princess. I have always had a “thing” for princesses (my parents used to joke that when I was little, I did a lot of insisting that my “real” parents, the king and queen, were going to come get me soon) so I stuck a princess in the book just for kicks.and VOILA! The Princess Diaries was born.A1.

Can I represent other titles if I win a Princess preliminary title?
Depends, this decision will be at the preliminary directors discretion and *prior approval must be obtained from the director before doing so! (*Please refer to the preliminary pageant application/paperwork or consult the director)Unfortunately, No, once you win a Princess of North Carolina State title you are bound to that title soley until crowning at the following years state pageant! Any other titles that you currently hold you will be allowed to return and crown your successor.

I have a baby dragon; how do I know if it’s MLP (i.e. Spike, UK Princess Pony dragon)?
I have seen a few different vinyl baby dragons mistaken for the three known versions of G1 Spike and the six Princess Pony dragons. Note that, unlike ponies, NONE of these MLP dragons have ANY Hasbro markings. However, they do come in only one mold, are all approx. 2 inches tall, and have no hair (unlike most others that have been seen).The Princess party is our newest party. Each girl will have a choice of special princess pottery(cup, bowl, plate, frame,plaque-selection may be limited)to paint. After painting a princess craft will be completed. Pink plates, napkins and forks will be supplied and finally we will hand out loot bags. All girls will get a tiara and loot bag. Cost is $23.75/person. Add $1.50 per person for a choice of the frame and add $1.

How has Link’s Tunic changed in the Twilight Princess?
It’s a different shade of green, it’s made of different materials instead of it being one giant tunic, and it is much more “detailed” (his cap has stitches in it, whereas before it was always a seemless cap). Additionally, Link now dawns chain mail under his tunic. (For those of you who don’t know what chain mail is, chain mail is a type of armour that consists of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh.Source Forge provides our web-hosting, CVS repository, mailing lists, and other services which we use to maintain the project. However, there is no organizational connection to us as a group (i.e. they don’t tell us what to do, or vice-versa, beyond obvious things like “don’t put anything illegal on our server”). It’s basically a much more advanced version of the free web-hosting services you’ve probably seen all over the web.A1.

Tags: Photography   Posted in Photography

How to Photograph Kids

Children are rarely shy of the camera, and they are a lot of fun to photograph. Start thinking like a kid before you begin. Let simple things inspire you, and be awed by everything. Below are tips to help you take amazing photographs of kids.

1. You will want to get on their level, so either get on the ground or bend down. If you photograph children from you above, you might make them feel threatened. By photographing them from below, you elevate them.

2. Photograph children with their family and friends. It’s great to see children interacting with their parents, siblings, and other children. You may want to start out photographing kids with their parents so that they get comfortable with you and the camera.

3. Remember to be patient. Don’t get too frustrated, photographing children is not easy. Kids will need breaks and refreshments. If you rush the sessions you may not be getting the photographs you want, so slow down and even photograph them when you don’t think they are doing anything at all.

4. Their expressions are priceless, and their eyes are intriguing. Pay close attention to how they react to the world around them. Have them make happy faces or have them make funny faces. Get them lean in and look right into the camera.

5. Take children to a new location such as a new park or playground. Watch them explore and document how they react to the new environment. Outdoor lighting is the best light, and you will get soft light before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m.

6. Remember to relax. Children can sense if you are nervous, and that makes them uncomfortable. When you are having fun, they will start having fun. They will love it if you bring toys or games, and especially food.

It’s always good to give children some direction, but let them be themselves and make sure they are having fun. You never know what they will do, so be prepared to capture those precious fleeting moments. While you may want some posed pictures, candid ones generally produce the best shots.

Tags: Photography   Posted in Photography