Digital Money Making pro secrets

"Oh my" she said, "They are such wonderful pictures, you must have a very expensive camera"

A little later she served tea and home made cakes. I said to her, "I must say, these are such wonderful cakes, you must have a very expensive cooker"!

The point being, unless you know your stuff, weather it's taking great pictures or baking wonderful cakes, the best camera or the latest cooker wont help much!

FIRST FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH YOUR NEW DIGITAL CAMERA:

And if you haven't used a digital camera before, there's a few things you must understand.

Remember,if you have spent a large sum of money on a brand new digital camera, it's not too clever after opening up the box only to read the instruction manual once and to not bother to learn all the cameras capabilities.

Like learning how to control exposure, how to use different camera modes and how to use the flash. Or how to Use Optical rather than Digital Zoom.

Many Digital Cameras are marketed with both an Optical Zoom and Digital Zoom capability.

If you've previously used a 35mm.SLR film camera with a zoom lens, you would have been using an optical zoom. Optical zoom is the lens of the camera, or the cameras optics, which brings the subject closer. Digital zoom uses software to digitally enlarge a portion of the image and is not strictly a zoom lens.

Digital PhotographyTip

WHICH IS BETTER: Without doubt an Optical zoom.

You see, digital zoom just enlarges the image area, using a portion of the image to enlarge back to full size. There will be a lose of quality because of this process, so your photos wont look so sharp or clear if they've been taken with digital zoom.

If you wish to enlarge or crop your image this can be done later on your PC with a software program such as "Photoshop", providing you with greater control over how you final image will look.

With most digital cameras you can usually set the camera to inform you when it starts to use the Digital zoom, or you can set it not to use digital zoom at all.

Read your camera manual and practice these techniques until it becomes second nature and the information you gain about your camera, will allow you plenty of time to concentrate on composing your picture and thinking carefully about backgrounds, giving you more time to concentrate on your subject or models and capturing that special moment.

LEARN HOW TO CONTROL FLASH:

An important thing you must learn about your camera is when to use the flash, especially with digital cameras, as most of the simpler digital cameras have a built in flash.

For example: Did you know that the best use for flash is in bright sunlight. It helps to eliminate dark shadows under the eyes and chin. It also helps to emphasize your subject, by making it stand out from the background.

TURN THE FLASH ON:

By turning flash on, it will help to illuminate your subject in the shade or if backlit, or where there is water reflecting the sun behind the subject. Under these conditions The camera is often fooled by the bright surroundings and the subjects face would have otherwise been to dark.

PLAY WITH THE CAMERAS MODES:

Most cameras have a macro mode so you can shoot close-ups of small objects or flowers. When using this setting, make sure your camera is able to focus properly, before depressing the shutter button fully.

Camera makers put a lot of thought into the settings for each of the different modes and tailor the settings to what will work well with their camera. So don't be afraid to use the predefined scene modes of your camera.

Digital Tip

CONTINUOUS SHOOTING MODE:

Many digital and film cameras have a continuous shooting mode, where shots can be taken one after the other in quick succession.

When shooting a picture, there is usually a short delay between when you press your finger on the button, and when the picture is actually taken. This delay may mean the difference in capturing that magic moment or missing it entirely.

When using Continuous Shooting Mode you can take a sequence of shots and therefore have a far greater chance of getting the right one.

Continuous Shooting will also increases your chances of capturing a candid moment, for example: You will find using continuous shooting mode a great advantage when taking pictures of children or group shots, the biggest advantage being that with digital you can erase the shots that didn't make it.

Years ago when I use to shoot school group photography, I always shot a minimum of 3 or 4 images of each group and I remember I would have an assistant stand along side my camera to advise if I missed a shot, but now with a digital camera, life just got a whole lot easier.

ProTip

So Remember, When Photographing Groups With such a large number of people, there always seems to be someone blinking, or looking the other way. Having a large number of shots means you can pick the best of them to keep.

HOLD THE CAMERA LEVEL:

For landscape pictures this is a basic rule and since many digital cameras come with a LCD, you can use it to correctly frame your shots. So next time try to look for the horizontal line in the LCD and use them as guides. For example, when your taking a photo of a sunset.

TRY A DIFFERENT CAMERA ANGLE:

The biggest advantage with a digital camera is that most have an inbuilt LCD, which means you are able to shoot your picture from different angles and not just from eye level.

When I'm shooting a pro' assignment, I often use a medium format camera which has a viewing screen on the top. This also allows me to choose many different angles to shoot my pictures. Now with the advantage of a digital camera's LCD screen, you have some of the same opportunities as the pros and this opens up a new approach to shooting your pictures.

Try shooting from a low angle: Did you know that the first rule Fashion Photographers learn in shooting fashion, is that the camera should be used at knee height. You can also try holding the camera high above the subject, or tilt it at an angle, this will give your shots impact. Move in closer or zoom in and fill the frame for a more dramatic shot. Try experimenting with different camera angles to see which works best for you.

With digital you can take many more pictures and erase what you don't need, but always carry a spare memory card and extra batteries. Make sure you are well up on spare batteries, as you should be using flash outside and that will really eat your batteries. PS. I use re-chargeable batteries for my flash.

USE A TRIPOD:

Did you know Professional photographers use a tripod as part of their standard set-up. A tripod is invaluable in low light conditions, do not attempt to shoot without one. It's also ideal for shooting night shots in city streets etc. Also pros use them when shooting fast action sports, ball games etc.

Another advantage when using a tripod is that it will slow you down giving you time to think about your picture and surroundings. This way you're working just like a pro' and creating images, not "snaps"!

PLAY WITH THE IOS SETTINGS:

The IOS setting in digital cameras are very useful. The IOS setting of a digital camera essentially controls the cameras sensitivity to light. If you are taking a photo of a small object, like a flower, then always use a low IOS setting and allow for a longer shutter speed. It will produce a sharper image. If your shooting a moving subject, like a child playing, then a higher IOS setting of say 400 would be better.

Digital Photo Tip

PRESET EXPOSURE and FOCUS:

When set to auto, the less expencive digital cameras can take a while to adjust for white balance and focus. This is the 2-3 second delay between when you first push the shutter button, and the shot actually being taken.

If this happens with your camera, try presetting this by holding the shutter release half way down to tell the camera to focus BEFORE you need to take the shot.

Then, keep your finger held half way down until you get the perfect shot, or use your camera's 'lock exposure' feature to keep the exposure settings locked until you find the right time to shoot.

Presetting your exposure and focus will really help when taking shots of people and children. They tend to not wait for you to adjust your camera. The best shots are taken when you are prepared for that candid moment.

HAVE YOU ENOUGH MEMORY CAPACITY:

As one would need to have enough film stock when using conventional film cameras, make sure you always have enough memory capacity for your digital camera. The worst thing on a shoot is to find you haven't enough memory space left on memory card.

SHOOT MORE PICTURES:

One of the major advantages of a digital camera is the ability to erase your photos. So make full use of this advantage.

Shoot many more pictures than you think you need, and then erase those that don't make it.

If you erase more often you can just keep the very best shots. It will also mean that you won't need such a large memory card, as it will not be storing your not-so-perfect images.

Or you can always get a larger memory card, or copy your images to a laptop or card storage unit until a later date.

HERE ARE SOME GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR DIGITAL CAMERA STORAGE:

2 MEGAPIXEL cameras - get at least a 64MB card.   3 MEGAPIXEL cameras - get at least a 128MB card

4 MEGAPIXEL cameras - get at least a 256MB card.  7 or more MEGAPIXEL cameras - get at least a 1GB card

Pro Digital SLR Cameras, get a 2GB card or above. NB: In the last few years the cost of memory cards has dropped, so it makes sense to carry spares.

Roger Lewis © '2003 - 2008' www.PhotoRog.com

Phil and I go back some years and long before the days of digital slr photography, we shared some interesting adventures together, not only in the studio, but mainly on assignments abroad.

To tell some of these tales would require writing a book and weather it would be a best seller, would largely depend on how much detail of events I left in or left out!

I first met Phil in 1970 when I was a freelance photographer at Carlton Studios, London and consider myself very lucky when he became my assistant for a year or so.

I remember thinking, here was a guy that had an ability far and beyond the normal apprentice that was assigned to me, in fact we both thought and worked as one. He picked up the techniques of studio Ad/Fashion and still-life photography, very quickly. Even after his time working with me was up, I was still lucky in acquiring his services on assignments abroad, simply because I knew that he was totally reliable.

I believe that Phil’s success in setting up his own business some years later, reflected the fact that his newly acquired clients, also found that they could totally rely on him too.

Phil still remains a modest man and his pioneering experience in introducing Digital Photography to his studios over a decade ago, has insured that he is a highly sought after Digital Studio Photographer for years to come.

PS. He will probably kill me for writing the truth, but my defense is, I left a 'hell of a lot' out!

What cameras do you use, I asked: "Digital one shot camera backs, fitted to specially adapted cameras, such as the Hasselblad, 120 size up to a 5"x4" inch view camera"

I asked Phil if he would write a little about his background, this is what he had to say:

"I started as an assistant photographer at Carlton Studios, London in 1969, working with fashion and still life photographers, one of them being Roger Lewis.

Over a nine year period I worked for three different studios in London before deciding to set up my own studios in Buckinghamshire, England.

Aylesbury Studios was formed in 1978 and grew fairly rapidly, working for clients such as:

British Airways - British Leyland - Panasonic - Mail Order Catalogue Companies - Advertising Agencies.

We had three photographers, three studios, one being a large drive-in studio for cars and room sets.

We started shooting with digital photography cameras in 1998 and convinced most of our clients that it was a good thing although some still wanted their work shot on film.

We discovered that one of the main considerations when shooting digitally was to ensure that the colour balance was as neutral as possible, whereas with film a good colour processing house was an absolute necessity.

The onus of colour balance came back in house and we needed to understand, not just the RGB side of colour, but also certain areas of conversion to CNYK.

Although there is an easier access to image manipulation, when shooting digitally the criteria remains the same as when using film - attention to composition, lighting and exposure. The main advantage is that the images can be viewed on screen immediately.

There is a variety of digital equipment used by professionals including Pro digital SLR cameras, but studio based photographers tend to use digital backs that will attach to a variety of specially adapted cameras such as Hasselblad, Rollei, Mamiya or large studio view cameras.

I sold the business eight years ago and am now involved with a repro house, helping to promote their newly established digital studio photography on a consultancy basis".

Either way it might be a good idea to read this new statement on Digital SLR Photography.

The Pro Fashion Photographers of to day, while shooting with medium format cameras fitted with a digital back, now has it down to a fine art by keeping the model in the same position and checking the image on screen immediately and making adjustments to the pose on the spot.

In a way, this has helped the Fashion Photographer to eliminate the failure factor, as the client can direct the image he requires by watching a series of images on screen for his selection.

Where does that leave you, well yes you can see the images immediately on your digital cameras LCD screen, but I don't know about you, the image is so small and unless you have the eyesight of "Superman" your not going to get the picture, leave alone see it.

Of course if your a Pro working in the studio, your going to have a 21 inch. flat screen along site your camera to view and select your images immediately and this is where the Pro Ad/Fashion Photographer is definitely going to score over you.

Now where is all this going and have you noticed how the new technology always seem to favour the Pro Photographer, or does it...

Consider the other advantages for the non professional photographer and how he can benefit from the new technology, apart from the obvious advantage of not buying and processing a film.

By Simply carrying your laptop as part of your standard kit and although the screen of your laptop may not be as big as the studio based Pro Photographer giant flat screen, in some cases this can work as well for you to have an equal advantage as the Pro photographer.

If your hell bent on creating a well composed creative image, by connecting your digital camera to your laptop and viewing your picture as you progress, it will work wonders for your photography.

For example the controlled situation of landscape photography, your own home studio, or shooting at other locations, such as children's portrait and other part time photo sessions. The possibilities are enormous and even if you just use it to confirm that you have the shot you want, that in itself is a great advance in your way of working.

It was just over a decade ago that the pro and armature photographer alike could only shoot enough images and wait for the processing to be carried out by the lab to see if the results justified what the photographer wanted to achieve.

More than half a century ago, I can still remember the thrill of being in the darkroom and watching as the print developed in the tray and the first time I saw this I was only 13 years old and the thrill of those moments will never fade.

I was totally "blown away" by the magic unfolding before my eyes and what we all take for granted to day just doesnt turn me on in the same way as those bygone years.

If you ever get a chance to set up and work in a Black and White darkroom, I'll guarantee that you'll be spell bound. Sometimes going back to basics can really get you to see it all from a place way above where we are right now...

I remember shooting weddings in Black and White on a medium format camera and after we shot the cutting of the cake, rushing off to process the films and returning about two or three hours later with 'Whole Plate" size enlargements PROOF prints, still dripping wet and it never cease to amaze the guests at the reception, how quick the pictures were back and I still recall how they would be throwing their money at me to order prints.

Now you go to some weddings and at the reception while your eating, you can sometimes watch the shots an a huge plasma screen and think nothing of it, apart from the entertainment aspect of it all.

Lets all brake into a chorus of "Those were the days my friend"...

Roger and out...