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The Sky’s The Limit With Digital Photography

April 2nd, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Digital photography is less than twenty years old, which makes it one of the newest art forms on the planet. Because it is so new, the standards of what can separate the good digital photos from the bad are still being made. This is an exciting time for those who love digital photography, because they can help shape the artistic aesthetics of generations to come.

Is It Real Photography?

There will always be purists who will decry digital photography as not being “real photography”. Some artists and critics think that traditional film photography has a depth and beauty that digital photography cannot match…yet.

If photography is defined as the art of making still images to show some truth about the world, then it really shouldn’t matter what medium is used to make than image. Traditional photography captures images on film. Digital photography captures images in binary data. Sometimes this gives the digital images a blockier look, as if it was captured from a television screen rather than from real life.

But digital photography has advantages over film photography. With digital photography, you can store many more images on your computer or on ofoto web site albums rather than bulky albums of film photos. Digital photos don’t age as fast as traditional film photos. And you can do some editing tricks that are impossible in traditional film photography.

Don’t Believe All You See

Because images are stored as binary data on your compute, you can blow up the image and edit it. Many digital photography programs allow you to change colors and shading. But, more importantly, they can seamlessly transfer one image to another. Many trick photos using film photography look fake – on closer inspection, you can see where one image was physically pasted over another. But in digital photography, the eye is fooled into believing what you see.

In one example popular over the internet among guinea pig lovers in the late 1990’s, was a very convincing photo of Queen Elizabeth II holding a cushion where a giant green guinea pig was sitting on it. The guinea pig even cast shadows! The shade of green was so light and the photo so convincing that for a moment you could believe that somehow light green giant guinea pigs had been successfully bred in Britain and then went to go visit the Queen.

Digital photography promises to take creativity to a new level, as long as the digital photographers reveal that the images are works of self-expression and not the literal truth.

Black And White Photography Brings Out True Beauty

April 1st, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

With apologies to Paul Simon, writer of the hit song Kodachrome, everything does not look worse in black and white. To many people’s eyes, everything looks better in black and white photography because with the subtle palette of grey brings out the inner beauty of a subject much better than being masked by a riot of color.

Case In Point: Peter Gabriel

When British rock star Peter Gabriel was asked for a portrait to be on the cover of Rolling Stone for January of 1987, the magazine wanted a color portrait to emphasize the singer’s intensely blue eyes. As Peter Gabriel’s big hit So contained the song In Your Eyes, it was logically thought that a simple portrait of his face centering on his blue eyes would best portray the singer-songwriter.

Robert Mapplethorpe was honored to take the portrait. The sessions lasted over days as both artists battled heads over what constituted a good portrait. In the end, both artists wound up with a profound respect for each other. When Mapplethorpe generously gave Peter Gabriel the pick of the portraits as a gift, Peter Gabriel chose portraits done with black and white photography. That portrait would later grace the cover of his greatest Hits compilation in 1990.

Why Black And White?

Color can be blinding. Just ask anyone who has a red car. Even though there are no actual scientific studies done, it is popularly thought that red cars are ticked more by police than any other color of car. We are ingrained to associate specific color with specific meanings. Colors are archetypes in the collective unconscious. Black and white photography should really be called “grey photography”, since even the colors black and white are softened. But “grey photography” just doesn’t sound as catchy, does it?

In black and white photography, there is no extra baggage hauled around with colors. You concentrate on the shape, the arrangement, the expression, the decay – anything that the photographer wishes to emphasize. Perhaps with the case of Peter Gabriel’s portrait, both Mapplethorpe and Gabriel thought the focus on Peter’s blue eyes and peaches and cream skin did not portray the true man. Gabriel’s music touched more people than just blue eyes white people. By using black and white photography, Gabriel was now race less, sexless and beyond fitting into any categories we automatically place strangers in – he was just a human being like any other one on the planet.

Coming up With Black and White Photography Backgrounds

March 31st, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

The beauty of photography is something that if not done as a profession, is truly in the eyes of the beholder. Whether it is color photos or black and white art that you have a passion for, in the end photography is all about imagination and having the ability of finding beauty in the most unlikely of places.

When it comes to photo backgrounds, especially black and white photography backgrounds, the sky is the limit when coming up with new ideas. Of course not every photo subject needs a background but when photographing people, pets or small objects, a photography background for black and white or even color photos is usually desired.

Ideas for Backgrounds in Black and White Photos

When it comes to creating beautiful black and white photography, backgrounds are an important element not to be forgotten. There are many different ideas that can be employed as a background for your work, and a few of them follow:

Outdoors-

If you have access to public beaches or State parks, these places provide for extremely luxurious backgrounds for your black and white photography. Whether you decide to use huge rocks or the ocean at the beach as your subject, or big trees and nature at State parks, the natural background in your target area couldn’t get any prettier. Being lucky by capturing a sunset during your trip can make for a once in a lifetime piece of art that is unforgettable.

You can also use old buildings as backgrounds for black and white photography. Shopping centers and clothing stores are good places to start, and with the pictures being in black and white you can photograph vendors and customers in a light that’s not often captured.

Indoors-

A good place to visit for an indoor background for your black and white photography is your local library. Because there tends to be so many different areas of a library within one building, you can capture many different aspects of the building by using them as backgrounds for a particular subject you’re shooting. This aids not only in offering more opportunities for pictures, but also in not having to run around town for these pictures.

A popular place for people when it comes to finding indoor backgrounds for their black and white photography is a museum. Making art by capturing art is becoming more and more popular, and visiting a museum to use its insides and out as backgrounds for your art is an excellent way in getting started with this form of art.

Using Baby Photography to Make Extra Money

March 30th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Babies are known to make the world go round, with their beautiful little faces and innocent personas. Because of this, babies are always being photographed in order to maintain the memory of how they were when they were young.

Parents tend to get pictures taken of their children all the way through school ages, and it’s usually done on at least a yearly basis. However with babies, this process is known to be done multiple times per year, hoping to capture every part of their young childhood.

So no matter how many photographers specialize in baby photography, there never seems to be a time when the market is fully saturated. Like all businesses, starting a baby photography business will take time, effort and lots of exposure. So, it never hurts to pick up some tips along the way.

Don’t Forget the Portfolio

The importance of a baby photography portfolio is second to none. Without a portfolio featuring the work that you do, it’s hard to stir up interest in your business from others. As they say, the proof is in the pudding so don’t leave your proof at home. Take your time creating your baby photography portfolio, and then bring it with you wherever you go as you will never know when it will come in handy.

Get out There Baby!

You can’t get any business if you don’t get out there. Meet people, as many as you can. Go places where you’d expect to find parents and start talking! Local parks is a good place to start, but remember not to just start snapping pictures of children you don’t know yet as this tends to worry parents. Just introduce yourself, show them your portfolio and offer a business card that produces proof of your baby photography business.

Other places you can visit to create some buzz about your business include the zoo, local fast food restaurants and roller skating rinks. Anyplace parents are more than likely going to be with their children is a good place to associate yourself as a baby photographer.

Don’t Forget to Advertise

Advertising doesn’t have to be expensive. Use Internet resources that may let you advertise for free. Forums and discussion boards are good starting places. Using services like Craigslist are easy and usually free (Depending on the area you’d like to advertise in). Also, online parenting websites may offer inexpensive advertising which can work wonders for you. Creating your own baby photography website is not a bad idea either, just make sure you know that you’ll need additional advertising to drive traffic to your website.

The Advantages Of Artistic Photography

March 29th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Artistic photography is perhaps one of the easiest routes into the world of photography for the complete beginner. You can start with the most basic of cameras and experiment as much as you like before investing in a better one.

What Is Artistic Photography?

Artistic photography is the art of turning the mundane into the amazing. Most artistic photos contain things we wouldn’t normally want to take photographs of. Blocks of wood, an old decrepit building, a broken gravestone, even a drainpipe – all of these things and more can and do appear in artistic shots that are fascinating and even beautiful to look at.

Tips On Getting Started

The best piece of advice to any beginner aiming to take artistic photographs is to open their eyes to the world around them. It’s very easy to pick up your camera, look around and wonder what to take a picture of. We’re almost spoilt for choice.

You need to start looking at your surroundings in a different way. Look for the details you might otherwise miss. The better the zoom is on your camera, the more adventurous you can be with your artistic photography efforts.

You could start by going out into your garden and looking at what you see there. Grab a chair and spend some time really exploring the whole area with your eyes. What really attracts your attention?

Don’t just look at the flowers and foliage – look at the cracked paving slabs and that plant that never quite made it as well. Your subject doesn’t need to be an attractive one to make it into a successful artistic photo.

Tricks And Techniques

Get into the habit of taking more pictures than you think you will need. Vary the angle, distance and light (if possible) with each one. This will give subtle but noticeable differences to the final photos. Even the smallest difference can turn an average picture into an outstanding one.

Always be prepared to experiment and try new ideas and subjects for your artistic photography. You can incorporate people into your artistic photos, but think about what you can do to transform the photo from a straightforward portrait shot into an artistic one.

The main advantage of artistic photography for the beginner is that it gets you into the habit of looking at things differently. It allows us the freedom to use our imaginations to get photographs that are out of the ordinary, or turn the ordinary into something quite different.

Art Photography Mimics Renaissance Paintings

March 28th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

It is often been said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and so is the interpretation of art photography. What is pure art to many people may be considered nothing more than “dirty pictures” to others. Since the first pictures of females, wearing very little covering or nothing at all surface in the mid-1950’s the debate about what constitutes art photography or pornography has raged.

Court battles have pitted those who take the pictures and those who publish them against those who believe they are a violation of community standards. Most courts have sided with the photographers and publishers on an issue of free speech or free expression. Despite the continuing animosity against art photography, there is also a continued demand for the photos. They are the mainstay of many photo galleries and line the walls of art lovers who compare them to some of the famous nude pictures by famous artists.

Most art photography does not show genitalia or depict sexual activity, but the totally nude males and more often females, continue to spark debate. Recently, photographs of large groups of nude people of all walks of life and all sizes have been taken around the world and are being displayed as art photography in many major galleries.

Photographers Say Definition In Viewer’s Mind

Most photographers working in art photography content the context of the picture, as well as the thinking of those looking at the picture, is what makes some believe it is in pornographic in nature. One person can look at a nude picture and see art photography while another can look at the same picture and see a sexually suggestive image. It is this difference of opinion that has dogged the profession for years, made worse by a few who believe they can make money through pornography.

Most photographers view art photography much as the same as artists view painting and drawing nudes, which occurs in classes around the world. The human body with the right attitude behind the picture can be an art for in and of itself. They contend they are producing the same image, but are using a different media for its presentation.

Still, others believe that art photography is a form used to hide the intention of creating pornography and continue to fight its presence. However, as long as the battle has raged, there is no clear cut definition as to what differentiates art photography from pornography and it will remain in the eyes and mind of the beholder.

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