Philip Volkers, A Photographer With An Eclectic Blend Of The Occult

It's no surprise to hear that Philip Volkers grew up in Glastonbury, or that his house is covered in skulls and his inspirations are based on death and mortality.

Volkers work very loudly and clearly speaks for itself. An eclectic blend of the occult and soul searching self expression, his style is like a surreal dream, occasionally shocking, whilst peeling back the layers of a subject to reveal its true self.

The edgy photographer studied philosophy and comparative studies at London's SOAS, where he got the opportunity to indulge his fascination of the occult, and research subjects such as shamanism, and pinnacle figures like Alestair Crowley, an influential English occultist, who in the early 1900's was known as 'the most evil man in the world.' Crowley, who impacted the work of such musicians as Led Zeplin and the Beatles, has also had a strong effect in shaping Volkers style.

The other side of Volkers is based on another passion of his, extreme skiing. Throughout the winter months, he lives in France shooting extreme sports and putting equipment through its paces for Olympus. In contrast, during the summer months Volkers documents all the major music festivals such as Burning Man and Glastonbury.

Jeff Vickers played a key part in mentoring Volkers after he received the foundational 'Jeff Vickers Genix Bursary' for aspiring young talent. Volkers maintains that in his profession, 'It is very important to be believed in.'

Not long after his studies at SOAS, Volkers encountered a chance meeting with Robert Fairer, who he showed some pictures of a recent trip to India. This led to an apprenticeship as first assistant to the renowned Fairer, and a very interesting six seasons including work for American Vogue and shooting Marilyn Manson's wedding.

Costume and hat maker Barbara Keal, who has a reputation for her fantastical creations such as enormous hares and the odd minotaur, said on a recent shoot with Volkers, 'Enthusiastic and persistent man that he is, Philip, models, makeup artists and myself fairly ran up Malling Hill, and he took his pictures into the sinking sun. Put quite simply, the talented Philip Volkers asked to borrow some hats, found some gorgeous girls and then we all went to the woods, and the results, stunning. He got too good a deal on a wolf hat for himself, but did he get the animal right?'

Big Eye Gallery Partners, Garry Wade and Amnon Bar-Tur, who recently showed some of Philip's work at the Affordable Art Fair in New York, commented that, 'Philip's work was received exceptionally well, people were drawn towards his collection which sold swiftly. His work seemed to also have an impact internationally.' Amongst the pieces sold were striking images of subjects wearing head pieces constructed from unusual materials such as apples. Head pieces are another of Philip's signature themes.

Big Eye Gallery, Volker's sole representatives in the US, is a collaboration between Garry Wade and Amnon Bar-Tur, and a platform for collectors, photographers and fine art alike. Bar-Tur is known, amongst other things, as being the co-founder of C2Media (Chroma Copy), which grew to be a leading digital imaging company in the US. With a strong hold of seven offices in the US and Canada employing over four hundred professionals, Bar-Tur and his partner sold the company in 2009.

Garry Wade, who is widely recognised for his photography, originally hales from northern England. His work covers locations and lifestyles amongst many other subjects, encompassing a number of prominent clients including the New York Times magazine and US News.

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Photo Tip - Get Better Photography, Lessons From A Sniper!

Today's photo tip will help us get better photography, learn to master our camera equipment inside and out and get comfortable with all our photo gear! Blindfolded and in the dark.

In the last several portrait photography photo tips articles, we've been studying lighting. Admittedly it has been some pretty heavy weight learning. For today's photo tip, let's kick back a bit and ponder...

Have you ever noticed how being a photographer and being a sniper are very similar?

First off, there's the obvious term - shoot. A sniper is trained to shoot and a photographer is trained to shoot. We call it shooting a portrait or shooting a landscape - having a model shoot and so on...

Next, no good sniper would ever take a shot without recording it in his shot notebook. It's how they learn the effects of heat and cold on a bullet. They learn how the ballistics are altered by varying wind speeds, altitudes and etc.

While less than 1% of you are likely to be keeping a notebook, the top photographers do. I've been harping on it forever. This one simple act can propel your photography to heights you can only dream of right now.

Have you ever studied the stance used by good (rifle) shooters when they are shooting from a standing position?

It is SOLID! Both in the legs and upper body.

The legs provide a strong steady platform and the rifle is held tightly against their shoulder. All to minimize any possible movements.

BTW - the stance is exactly the same every time too! They learn to do it the best possible way - then never alter it! It becomes a muscle memory.

Then they gently squeeze the trigger - so they don't inadvertently alter the rifles aim.

If you observe a top photographer, the stance is very similar - if not exactly the same. A steady base is just as important for a photographer as a sniper.

To avoid movement, the camera is held tightly against their face, while they look through the viewfinder. (If you are holding your camera at arms length and watching the viewing screen - stop it. RIGHT NOW!)

And they gently squeeze the shutter release to avoid camera shake.

I could go on and on... but the similarity I want to discuss in today's photo tip involves putting on a blindfold or going into a darkened room.

Can you imagine a highly trained sniper not knowing what a certain button or knob on his or her rifle does?

By the way, I say his or her because there ARE female snipers out there. Did you know that Dr. Ruth is a trained sniper?

They knot only know what each one does, but they can make whatever adjustments are needed without looking. In fact, they practice completely taking apart their weapons and reassembling them while blindfolded or in the dark.

But that isn't enough... not only do they practice doing it in the dark, they practice at doing it faster and faster!

Why?

They do this so that they become so familiar with every aspect of their rifle that they don't have to think about it anymore. It becomes second nature. In a high stress (possibly deadly) situation, they don't have to wonder about what to do. It just happens.

If you were blindfolded or put in a dark room, could you change lenses? Identify what every single button and knob does? Change batteries?

When you are shooting, there are a million things to think about and consider. Add to that the fact that - often it is a high stress situation and cannot be repeated (weddings or other once in a lifetime events). Do you really want to lose the shot because you had a hard time getting the battery compartment back in place? Or the memory stick was inserted incorrectly?

You may never find yourself in a high stress - or life and death situation, but the confidence of knowing your camera gear inside and out will eventually show in your photography.

For today's photo tip, study your camera equipment manuals until you know what every button, knob and dial does. This means all your photo gear, not just the camera. It's amazing how few of us really know how to use an on camera flash! Then practice making adjustments, changing batteries and so on - in the dark or while blindfolded.

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Take A Shot At Being Your Own Professional Photographer

For many people, photography is a passion that they would never even consider following seriously. It's a popular and fantastic hobby, and it isn't uncommon to get the nagging feeling that you could make something more out of it. With digital camera technology advancing at an incredible rate, it's more affordable than ever before to take high quality, beautiful looking pictures. Why hold yourself back any longer? Take a shot at being your own professional photographer, and read on to find out how you can turn your passion into something more than just a hobby.

Making Money Through Photography

The Internet is making it easier than ever before to sell yourself, your brand and your images to people all over the world. You don't have to rely on a brick and mortar store or friends and family to advertise your photography services - now you can do it yourself and at an extremely low online cost.

The first step is to build yourself a website and Facebook profile that showcases your images and style. With your contact information and a few details about yourself and the services you provide, you suddenly have all the marketing potential that you need to build a local client base. It's not an incredibly fast way to start, but it's important that you have an online presence for customers to refer to.

Managing Your Data

Photo management software is a crucial investment for anybody working with digital imagery, letting you easily organise your files and offering you some incredible functionality. Build your own portfolio, backup images online and start sharing work with clients in a professional and hassle-free way.

Online Stores

Stock imagery is a huge market online and one that you can easily take part in. Sell your images through stock image websites and make money every time they are downloaded. Stock image stores give you the freedom to take the shots that you want while still affording you the potential to turn a profit. It will take awhile for you to build a repertoire of images large enough to see regular downloads, but stock image work will give you the practice you need and help you build a strong portfolio.

Start out slow and test the waters working as a small, independent photographer. Make use of local connections and build yourself an online presence that accurately shows off your skills to potential clients. There's no reason that you can't turn your passion for photography into much more. Why not give it a go?

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Creating Your Own Greeting Cards Really Gets The Message Across

Selecting the perfect greeting cards to give to people can often be easier said than done. Finding an image which exactly matches the occasion and the personality of the person you're giving it to is frequently very difficult, and all too often you find yourself making do with something which might be described as the 'least worst' option. Since the entire point of choosing and giving a card is to let the other person know exactly what they mean to you, this seems to be somewhat unsatisfactory to say the least.

The answer to this problem lies in the technology offered by the widespread take up of digital photography. Thanks to the ease with which digital images can be stored, accessed, modified and utilized, it's now not only possible but also extremely easy to create greeting cards which are exactly what you want them to be, down to every single detail. The software which has been developed to aid in the creation of personalized greeting cards has been devised with the amateur or casual user in mind. Consequently, it has been built in a way which means that the process moves forward in simple, logical steps, moving instinctively from one stage to another.

The first of these steps consists of uploading the images you wish to turn into personalized photo greeting cards, choosing those which form the best match. Pictures of children are perfect for Mothers day or parents birthdays, for example, whereas what could be more touching than an anniversary card from a husband to a wife which is based around a favorite picture of the place where you first went on a date? Once the images in question have been uploaded, it's incredibly simple to tweak and alter details such as the size and shape of the card and add any text which you might feel is necessary to underline and enhance the message you're trying to get across.

Having been designed, your card will be printed to the kind of standard you'd usually expect to find when spending money in a card shop. The card used will be of the highest possible quality and the printing techniques employed will ensure that the image is crisp, clear and colorful. Seeing the face of the recipient light up when they open the envelope and realist the lengths you've gone to will make the time and effort more than worthwhile, and once you've created a bespoke greeting card you can utilize the same techniques to gather larger numbers of your favorite images together on the pages of luxury bespoke photo books. Whether you create a photo book to keep in your own home or one to give as a gift, the finished item will be luxurious and totally unique and will bring pleasure for many years to come.

Beach Portraits, Hints and Tips for an Awesome Session

In this article, we will introduce you to a few hints and tips that will make your family beach photography session go off without a hitch. We intend to share this knowledge with you, so your session will be amazing.

Please make sure you touch base with you photographer as soon as you arrive on vacation. As you well know cell phones are sometimes unreliable while on vacation, so it is critical you call and touch base on a land line in your condo. When you call to touch base, your photographers should go over essential things like directions to the beach you use, what to bring, what not to bring, etc.

The best tip we can offer in preparing for your session, is that you should allow the children to relax for the most part of the day. This simple tip, is the main reason most photography subjects look so fresh and relaxed. They have been lounging all day.

Sessions on the beach are often hot in nature. A cold water goes a long way, hint, hint. Bring a few for everyone, and you will stay much cooler during your beach session. Younger kids might even enjoy a break mid-season with a juice box, or similar drink.

Now onto the day of your session. Most all reputable photographers will demand you leave all personal items in the car. This includes cell phones, cigarettes, and cameras. Your photography session is going to be full of fun and exciting things, and any distraction is just that, A DISTRACTION. And though it should go unmentioned, it is not a good idea for adults to consume alcohol before the session.

Most importantly, relax, have fun, and enjoy your family beach photography session. The more fun you have, the more fun the memory. The session will be filled with some awesome moments.

We do recommend you also avoid tanning sprays if you do decide to lay out the day of your session. Even with a shower, they leave a residue that makes you appear shiny on film. Best to avoid them, your skin will thank you for it. The oils also soak into your skin, which in turn makes sand stick to you like crazy. Its touch to wipe off, and can slow down the progress of the session.

Please also bring baby wipes if you have a leaky baby. We all go through the age where things come up just as easily as things go down. So if you have a "leaky baby", it is a good tip to bring baby wipes!

Sand loves skin, and sticks to it often. Baby powder can prevent this. Before your session, lightly dust you legs with baby powder, and wipe off with towel until the powder residue is no visible. Like magic, the sand will now fall right off your legs. It just will not stick.

See, didn't we promise some good tips and hints. Now your session will be a memory that will last a lifetime. Have fun, and enjoy. It is these moments that make your memories last a lifetime.

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Basic Photoshop Editing

Most people limit their photo editing to the basics and there is software available online for photo editing, with the most popular being Adobe Photoshop. People can use Photoshop for free, via the trial version, but must be careful because some websites offer free Photoshop and people later realize that the files are laden with viruses. The Adobe website trial version of the software is good for 30 days. However, if you want the full capabilities of Photoshop, you have to buy the full version. The thing is that the complete version has a lot of features that ordinary photographers may not need. Most average photographers need the following photo editing basics.

1. Correcting Exposure

This is probably the most common adjustment people do to their pictures. Photoshop allows exposure correction of photos in a wide range of formats, including RAW and JPEG files. Wrong exposure can be corrected by going to "Image" in the menu, clicking "Adjustments", and then clicking "Levels". The histogram will be shown. You can make fine adjustments by moving the sliders. The photo will turn darker or lighter, depending on which slider you move and how you move it. Adjust the sliders until you get the desired brightness.

2. Correcting Blown Highlights

An easier way to do this is to go to the "Curves" option. But this can be an annoying command for beginners. It takes a while to perfect this, but it is worth practicing the "Curves" command because it can correct blown out highlights or lighten up shadows to retrieve more detail. The best way to avoid this problem is to underexpose the camera in high contrast environment.

Balancing the overall exposure is tricky. Another way to tone down very bright highlights is to use the selection tools to select highlights. You can then choose to darken these highlights. This is also tricky. Make sure you have a backup copy of the file, in case you mess up the current one during the post-processing.

3. Editing Color Casts

Color casts are usually an in-camera error. This can be corrected at first by making sure you choose the correct white balance during your photography session. Setting the white balance in your camera is a no-brainer. But before you correct the color cast, make sure you have corrected the exposure first. Once the exposure is fixed, fix the color cast by using the "Color Balance" tool and the "Color Match" tool.

4. Color Editing

Aside from color correction, another easy adjustment you can do is altering the color of your photos. This can range from simply making your photos appear warmer or cooler. You can also mute colors to create a classic grayscale photo. You can also saturate the shades to make the photo more expressive. More advanced photo enhancement includes muting other colors, and making one shade stand out.

5. Sharpening

Even correctly focused pictures can be enhanced through sharpening to make outlines more obvious and compelling. It is one of the basic photo editing that can be done even with other types of software tools. Just make sure you do not over-sharpen your photos.

There are other basic photo editing techniques, like red eye removal and noise reduction. But make sure you edit your photos to enhance them. Over-enhancement can backfire and make your photos look peculiar. Make sure you save your original files separately from your edited files so that you have something to go back to if the editing work goes awry.

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The Advantages Of Shooting In Raw

Why Should We Always Shoot In Raw?

There are many different ways to perfect your photography. First you can use a high-quality lens. Secondly you can invest a small number of hours editing your images in Photoshop or Lightroom. These ways will certainly make a big change to your photography. Is there anything else we know how to do to progress our images? Yes, there is.

Another approach to capture tack sharp and high-quality pictures is to photograph in raw. Working in raw is equivalent to generating a negative of the photo. The camera will photograph the image in a manner that is a whole lot sharper and more detailed than JPEG. Let me explain.

Raw is a kind of photo file. When you capture images in raw you achieve much more quality and sharpness. You acquire this contained within regions of light and shade, vibrancy and hue. This excellence and definition simply means that the digital camera is gathering more information. When you photograph in raw the camera is able to handle this information a lot faster and more effectively.

Let's take the case of a flower. In reality the flower is a rose-pink red colour (this is what our eyes observe). When you take pictures of the flower in JPEG you may lose some of the pink in the colour. The bloom may appear as a sturdy red colour instead. That is for the reason that JPEG basically cannot reproduce the mid tones of colour as fine as raw can.

JPEG might discover in-between hues and colours tricky to identify. It simply isn't seeking for the finer, subtle detail in your photo and this is why it does not distinguish it. However, when you change over to shooting in raw you will find that the camera picks up reddish pink tone of the flower. Simply put, the digital camera replicates so much more finer details when you capture in raw.

There is one downside though. They cannot be seen in any program. You need special software to see raw photos. Depending on the kind of camera model you have the software will be different. Canon has special software called Digital Photo Professional. This software allows you to see your raw shots. As a Canon user I am only able to use Canon raw software. If I capture a photo with a Nikon camera I am not able to use this software program. Nikon have raw platforms that are available to Nikon users.

Raw files are sharper, clearer and have better quality. They also last a lot more than JPEG. After a few years JPEG might have the propensity to lessen in detail. This is particularly true for small JPEG files. In raw this doesn't happen. It would take a lot more time than 10 years for raw file to reduce in quality. As a result raw files are reliable for archival quality.

Should you amend your raw pictures? Many people ask me if you should generate a JPEG file duplicate in order to persevere with the raw file untouched. My answer is that it depends on your personal preference. Many photographers do this different ways. I like to create a copy of the raw file for editing. That way I have the untouched original photo. If anything happens to the JPEG photo then I still retain the original as backup. The only reason that I will create a copy of the raw shot a JPEG is if I like to keep it on a website or upload it.

Raw files are fairly large. The JPEG photo might be about 3 Mb. Lots of the raw images that I capture in are about 30Mb. What is the advantage of this? This is massively useful because when the raw file is larger it means it has photographed terrific quality, definition and sharpness. The better a photograph, usually, the better quality it will be present.

Shifting your working mode over the raw is so easy. It is done using the menu in your digital camera. When you open the menu go to "image size" you will typically find it effortless to change over. This will mean that you can select to shoot in raw only. Then again you can concurrently shoot in raw AND JPEG. Be mindful that when these two shots are created at the same time you will eat through your memory cards. The camera just needs more space if it is to create two shots at once. The JPEG file might only be 3Mb but your raw file will be 20Mb. After a few hours of photographing the space on your memory card will begin to lessen. Always take two memory cards when you shoot to avoid running out of memory space.

Many professional photographers, like me, will only photograph in raw. This is because we want the quality. If we desire to produce a JPEG file for assessment purposes we can simply create a copy later on. In the meantime we know that we are producing superior quality. The pictures look sharper and clearer. We also know they will stand the test of time.

Raw is more interesting from a creative sense. Colours are very sharp, landscapes clearer, and your pictures are better exposed. The shade and highlights are not as prone to exposure problems as they would be in JPEG. Raw seems to balance out the lighting. In truth it is simply picking up more finer details in the scene. This is idyllic for photographing people and wedding ceremonies, night and dim light shots.

Wedding photos can be fairly complicated when you have many different regions of light. Some of these highlights can work in opposition to somebody's skin tone. Shooting in raw can help retain beauty in skin color tones. A person's skin and natural colouring will look warm and soft when you photograph in raw. This is why lots of wedding and portrait photographers photograph in raw alone.

I recommend shooting in raw all the time. Not only will it be better than a JPEG shot but you will love the quality. Your photos look sharper, clear and more crisp. You get a healthier variety of vibrancy and light. It will dramatically improve your photography. Happy shooting!

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Photo Tip - How To Use A Hair Light In Portrait Photography!

Today's portrait photography photo tip begins our discussion of specialty lights... specifically, the photography hair light. We will explore what it is, how to use it and some precautions.

So far, in our study of portrait photography lighting, we've learned that the majority of the time we will use a three light setup - the main light, the fill light and the separation light. This will do for the vast majority of our portraits. In fact, many professional photographers will go an entire career and never use more than the basic three.

But, at times there is a need for additional lighting. That said...

Caution: it is easy to get into the more is better mindset. Fight to avoid it! Just because you HAVE more lights, doesn't mean you should use them! Every light you add to the mix exponentially adds to the possibility of messing up your portrait.

But, on the other hand, properly used, specialty lights can add a lot!

Our first specialty light - and the most commonly used - is the hair light. The hair light is just what it says it is - it's a light that is used to light the hair.

The hair light is positioned above and behind the subject. It can either be off to the side or directly behind your model, depending on your creative outlook.

As it shines down, it will create light on both the hair and upper shoulders - so this one is frequently confused with and used as a separation light, because it does actually separate the subject from the backdrop.

Often, photographers will use a hair light to do double duty, particularly in a situation where a model has dark hair and is in front of a dark backdrop.

There are a few cautions you need to take when using a hair light...

First - the exposure value. This is where the vast majority of photographers mess up on the hair light. They make it too bright.

This is particularly a problem with blondes!

A hair light is meant to light up the hair, not blow it out! If your light is too bright, you just end up with a massive highlight and no individual hair detail.

That's not what you want.

What you want is to be able to see the hair - not just a blob of light.

Set your light to be about the same exposure value as - or a bit less than the key light. Various hair colors absorb more or less light, so you can't just use the same settings for everyone. You have to adjust.

It's these little tweaks that will make all the difference. And it's where shooting digital photography really shines! All you have to do is take a quick shot, review it and keep adjusting the lights until you get what you want.

Back in the olden days of film, we had to get everything set up and then take a shot with Polaroid film to see if all the lights were correct.

If we didn't have a Polaroid camera (or a Polaroid film back for our camera)... we just set everything up - and prayed.

Second - Our next potential problem with the hair light is that - since it is behind and above the subject, the light is pointed at the camera. The potential exists that stray light will make it to the camera and cause lens flare.

Lens flare will ruin the shot! Be sure to watch for it. To avoid the problem, just tape a piece of cardboard over the front edge of the light to block any extraneous light. You want to focus all the light onto the subject.

To block the light, professionals often use a "snoot" or "barn doors" on the light. These are just fancy photo gadgets that do the same thing as the cardboard.

I recommend you not buy them until you have a distinct need. The cardboard is cheaper and can do the job.

Consider using a "hair light" in your portrait photography. This photo tip can easily set you apart from the run of the mill photographers in the area and possibly start bringing in the photo contest prizes!

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Understanding Light for Photography

It seems like a simple concept, but surprisingly one of the most basic understandings that will immediately improve the way you take photographs is the understanding of light and the direction its coming from.

A common mistake many photographers make is to put their subjects in front of a light source. You often see this during a beautiful sunset with beautiful, saturated colors. The natural tendency is to want to take a picture with this beautiful light in the background. The problem is that since the light is coming from behind the subject, the subject is in a dark shadow. Compounding this is the amount of light your camera is capable of detecting. The human eye can observe and see a very wide range of light. We can see many details in shadows and highlights - and our eyes can rapidly adjust for lighting conditions. Cameras on the other hand (particularly digital cameras) have a very narrow range of light that is recorded. It's enough to make great photographs, but in the case of that great sunset - the subject in the shadows will be too dark to get any details from. The subject will be a black silhouette against a beautiful sky.

There are several solutions to getting a picture like this to work. The best thing to do is to turn on your camera's flash mode to "fill flash". This will pop the camera's flash at the end of the exposure just in time to light up the face of the person you're shooting a picture of. You'll still have the great sunset.

If you don't have a flash, you can try some more artistic options such as posing the silhouette in an interesting way. Or better yet, just turn your subject around and allow that beautifully colored sunset light their face and hair. They will look stunning. Other options to consider are playing with your composition to try and get both the sunset and the subjects face. This can be done by moving in closer and shooting your subject at a 45 degree angle with the sunset near the back at an opposite 45 degree angle.

There are many options you can try with just a simple point and shoot camera. However if you are using something a little more robust such as a DSLR there are additional options that you could explore with off camera flash units.

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Do You Need Adobe Photoshop?

This is a question a budding photographer would eventually ask himself. Photography and photo editing are two different forms of art. Does processing your photo make you less of a photographer? Or is it a must for all photographers to post-process pictures? Is Photoshop necessary?

While many people can download Photoshop free of charge, the rest would have to spend around 700 dollars to get a copy. The legit version is expensive. If you have photography as a temporary hobby, then purchasing the full version is not a practical option. If you do not do much photo processing on editing software, then you really do not need to spend that much.

The question is: is it possible to create a masterpiece; a perfect photograph without using Photoshop?

The answer depends on what type of photographer you are. But it is possible to come up with a great image without doing post-processing. A good photographer should be able to capture their desired photo by setting the camera settings right and taking into account ambient conditions, before taking a snap. Important settings to consider when taking a shot are:

• ISO

• Exposure Compensation

• White balance

• Aperture

• Shutter speed

• Composition

So if you get things right in the camera in the first place, your chances of getting the perfect photo is so high, that you would not need to post process it later. If you set the ISO right, you may not have to go through aggressive noise reduction on software. The right exposure compensation ensures the photo looks just right-neither dark, nor bright. White balance ensures colors come right. Proper composition eliminates the need for unnecessary cropping or image rotation on the software.

However, there are many cases where even professional and seasoned photographers have to edit their photos. These are some of the cases:

• When there is time constraint in photography - You can get the settings right, as long as your subject can wait for you to set the camera and get the right composition. In so many cases, this is impossible. Outdoor, travel, street, sports, and wildlife photography involves taking photos continuously, without much time to tinker the settings. It is during these crucial moments when you have to prefer capturing the picture and just making adjustments on the image later. Setting the camera each time would mean missing precious moments.

• When the photo needs to be enhanced - There are those that already look right, but can still look better through post-processing. Portrait, wedding, and fashion photographers are heavy users of post-processing techniques. For instance, you have a nice portrait; everything is set right, but your subject's face has blemishes. You see, no in-camera setting can remove these facial blemishes. You have to resort to the removal of these imperfections on Adobe Photoshop. This is a usual trick many professional photographers do.

• When a photo needs to be altered artistically - Advanced photographers usually do not settle with just a snap straight from the camera. There are several ways to change the image to make it look entirely different from the original photo. For instance, the background can be blurred significantly, or the subject can be made to retain its color to make the background recede into grayness. Photographers can also add elements to a photo or change the background entirely, or clip photographs together to form a panorama.

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Photography Tips - A Beginner's Guide to Better Pictures

Basic manual-mode photography tips for the up-and-coming photographers.

In this article, we will make certain assumptions. Assumption #1, we own a camera (digital or otherwise). Assumption #2, we have taken pictures with it and know that they could have turned out better. Assumption #3, we would like for them to turn out better! Then, here we go. We will focus on digital as it is easiest to learn on due to instant access to our results via technology.

As this is a basic tip article, we will start with the basics. We consider "the basics" to be 3 things: light, aperture and shutter speed. After grasping these 3 things, we will notice a marked improvement in the quality of our photos. Then, we can move on to more advanced tips.

Light

Light is both a photographer's blessing and curse. When we have the right lighting, our pictures are amazing. When we have too much lighting, or not enough, it causes our pictures to turn out in a way other than we would have liked. If taking pictures outside, try to shoot early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Also, try to position our subject so that the light plays to our favor. If our subject is a person, avoid shooting from the sun. Get at an angle so that they are not looking at us with the sun in their eyes. Try to make sure that the lighting across our subject is consistent. If our subject is a person, again, try to keep the whole body or face (whichever part we are shooting) in the shade or the light. This will help to avoid the unwanted and awkward shadows. *If we want to get creative, we can also invest in a reflector to try and further master the lighting of our subjects.

Aperture

The best way to think of the aperture is to lift one our hands and form an "O" with our fingers (bring tips together with thumb-tip). This is our aperture. Now, bring it up to one of our eyes. Is it easy to see out of? Great. Now, still holding our hand up to our eye, we can start curling our fingers in to our palm along the base of our thumb. Is the light disappearing? That is the way our aperture (also known as an f-stop) works in our cameras. It opens and closes to allow more or less light into our shot from what is available to us. The lower the number is, the bigger the opening is and more light that reaches our image sensor. The higher the number is, the tighter/smaller the opening is and less light that gets in. This function is used together with shutter speed.

Shutter Speed

Blink. Now blink a few times. The time between the blinks, or the amount of time that our eyes/shutter stays open, is the equivalent of shutter speed. It determines how much light to let in and also how much action. The smaller the number is (or higher the 1/ number is, i.e. 1/1000 versus 1/30), the faster the shutter speed is. There are also specialty settings B and T for bulb (keeps shutter open for as long as our finger is on shutter release) and time (keeps shutter open until we hit release again. The fast shutter speeds only let in a little light and are pretty useful in high-light scenarios or with moving targets. Slow speeds are useful in low-lighting. Slow speed will blur if there is movement. Ever see the cool pictures with blurred car lights on the streets? Slow shutter speed. Tripods or something else was used to prop the camera on so the hand shaking would not warp the picture. That's right. Our own hand shaking (even a little) will cause blurred images on slow shutter speed.

Taking pictures at different times of day, in different locations, should give us an idea of the different combinations of aperture and shutter speed that will work for us to get "that shot" that we are looking for. Now that we covered the basics, get out there and have some fun! Best of luck!

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Photo Tip - Get Rid Of The Turkey Neck Waddle, Use Butterfly Lighting In Your Portrait Photography!

In previous articles, we've been discussing photo lighting patterns where we place the light source to the side of the subject - split lighting, loop lighting and Rembrandt lighting - and create shadows that go off to the side. Continuing with our series of portrait photography lighting patterns, today's photo tip discusses "Butterfly Lighting"!

Keeping in mind that it's shadows that create 3D depth and form in our photos, these lighting patterns are good ones to make our subjects come to life and "POP".

But, the flip side of shadows showing form is that they sometimes show things we may not want shown!

For example, what if we are doing a portrait photograph of an elderly lady? I'm not talking about some moody character study; I'm talking about a nice photo of grandma.

Everyone over a certain age wants to look younger. As an old dude myself, I can tell you that my outward appearance has absolutely no relationship with the way I feel inside and the way I wish I looked!

In other words, I'm a 23 year old trapped in a 63 year old body.

But, what makes us look older?

It's sagging skin and wrinkles that visually age us. The older we get the more - and deeper - wrinkles we get.

If we could tone down the wrinkles, we would visually appear much younger.

By the way... never COMPLETELY get rid of them, it looks fake and will make the portrait worse.

Since it is the shadows that show form, it is the shadows that visually create wrinkles. The darker the shadow, the deeper the wrinkle - and vice versa. So, to visually eliminate or tone down wrinkles, all we need to do is lighten the shadows that visually created them. Obviously the way to do that is by shining a light into the wrinkles.

To do that means we have to have the light coming from straight in front of the subject - at the camera angle.

A ring flash (a ring light is an on camera flash, but completely circles the lens) can work.

In fact, we most often see ring lights used in modeling shots where they need an absolutely flawless skin.

This is the ideal light for removing any sort of blemish or wrinkle, but it is a very flat light and really isn't that good for portrait photography. It leaves an odd looking, unappealing catch light in the eyes too!

Slightly better is the on camera flash that is normally attached to the top of the camera. But we still have a flat light - and with both ring and regular on camera flashes we have problems with red eye.

So, we take the light off the camera and - staying at the camera's position, we raise it up. It's above our head and we will actually be shooting from under the light.

This creates the "Butterfly Lighting" pattern because it casts a small butterfly shaped shadow under the nose. It can be tiny and almost unnoticeable, or slightly larger - depending on how high you position the light. But, it is enough to add some depth and life to the photo.

The butterfly lighting pattern fills in and lightens a lot of the shadows in the wrinkles - but not so much that it looks phony - and it will create a shadowed area under the chin too! This visually gets rid of that turkey neck waddle we old people get!

True, this can be done in Photoshop - if you want to spend hour after hour retouching. Or you could spend 5 minutes setting up a butterfly lighting pattern. Your choice!

Grab your favorite model and a flashlight... get out there today and experiment with this photo tip. Learn how to create a butterfly lighting pattern in your portrait photography and your wrinkly older subjects (and acne ridden younger models) will thank you!

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Photography - How to Get Inspiration

As a photographer you might reach a rough patch now and then when you simply do not have inspiration. You'll only be successful at photography if you have a constant stream of ideas to work on. Needless to say, you'll need to work really hard to ensure that you always have ideas that spur your creativity. If you do not work on this then you might become typecast with regards to the kinds of photos you take.

One of the best ways to get inspiration for photography is to look at lots of photos whenever you have the time. You obviously shouldn't lift ideas entirely but you can use them for creative stimulation. Make it a point to visit as many photography exhibitions as possible so that you can see what work other people have been creating. Don't limit your exposure to the works of well-known photographers. You'll be surprised that up and coming shutterbugs can also be a source of inspiration.

You can also get plenty of ideas from other types of visual media; cinema and art shows can kick start your creativity and give an interesting twist to your creative urges. You ought to take in all sorts of movies, both classic and modern, in order to see how the cinematographers make use of light in order to convey a variety of emotions. You'll obviously have to include all the famous names in your list of things to see.

If you aren't already a member of a photography club then you should consider joining one. These clubs generally organize photography walks to interesting and unusual places where you can all take photos. You will get to meet lots of like-minded people here and will be able to bounce ideas off them. The right club is a very stimulating place to be and you will rarely be short of ideas thanks to the people you meet here. In fact, you will find it easy to look at things from vastly different perspectives when compared to before.

It is very clear that you'll need to take the trouble of getting out of your comfort zone. Only then will you be able to get plenty of excellent photography ideas. Not all the ideas you get will pan out but some of them certainly will. Once you get plenty of inspiration you will be able to shoot photos that are beautiful and meaningful.

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2 Photo Tips To Improve Your Landscape Photography!

Here are two photo tips that will quickly boost your landscape photography - or any outdoor photos - to a whole new level. Use filters and rubber bands!

Photo Tip #1... Use filters in your photography!

Filters are an indispensable addition to any quality photo and most top shooters use them on virtually every shot!

With digital photography taking over the photo world, too many of us are using a point and shoot - camera on automatic - approach. Since there are no film development costs, we'll fire off hundreds or even thousands of shots in the hopes that we will get one good one.

Too often, we don't. This method has dramatically reduced the photography skill set over the last few years and it is going to get even worse.

Rather than learn to be great photographers, we are learning to be great at "fixing" photos in Photoshop.

I have nothing against Photoshop, but it should be used as a "tweak" in photography. Not a fix.

One of the "tweaks" we will frequently use Photoshop to insert is the effect of filters.

Photoshop is great at that if you simply want a color wash across the whole image!

But there are a few filters where it is best to have them on your lens rather than try to add the effect later. You could spend hundreds of hours on each photo trying to seamlessly add them.

UV filters, polarizers and neutral density filters.

These filters are a MUST HAVE for any camera bag! The UV filter will help protect your lens from scratches, etc. and can be removed before shooting if you want the sharpest images. Polarizers, remove glare from shiny objects, and give us far better skies. It's hard to imagine shooting an outdoor photo without one. And neutral density filters give us increased control over shutter speed and so on.

The best shooters wouldn't dream of not having these filters in their camera bag. But sometimes there can be a problem.

Photo Tip #2... Keep A Rubber Band Handy!

When you are using filters that screw onto the front of your lens - sooner or later you will run into the problem of wanting to remove it, but it won't unscrew. It's stuck!

Here's what you do...

Take a rubber band and wrap it around the filter. This will give you enough grip to get it started turning.

Where to keep your rubber band?

You can keep one in your camera bag so it is always handy, but here is an even better option - wrap it around your wallet! Or do both.

If you keep your wallet in your pocket, wrapping a rubber band around it makes it almost impossible for a pick-pocket to get the wallet out of your pocket! Try it; you'll see what I mean!

If you keep your wallet in a purse, there is less protection, but it still makes it harder to get the wallet out of your purse surreptitiously.

These two simple tips - use filters in your photography and keep a rubber band handy in case you can't get the filter off - are just a couple more ways to take your outdoor, landscape photography to a whole new level. For more information, check out the resources box!

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