Digital Photography - How to Turn Your Hobby Into a Business

Photography has changed so much in the past two decades. The price of photography has gone down significantly so that almost anyone can become a serious photographer. All you need is a decent digital camera, a computer and photo editing software to begin a career that can take you to the next level. A professional photography career. Here are four things that you'll need to start running your own photography business:

Focus
You need to know what kind of photography you want to do. Do you want to do weddings? Do you want to photograph babies? Or do you want to do photography services for businesses? It's important to know that the sooner you decide the more focused your efforts become. If, for example, you are going to do a baby photography business then your advertising should be focused on people who want their infants photographed. The referrals that you will be getting will be from other parents who want the same service. Once you get experience and you get a good reputation you may get a referral to do a wedding but most of your referrals will come from word of mouth for your main specialty.

Training.
It's a good thing to get some training. Even if it's very basic you'll at least achieve a proficiency level that you would at least know what you are doing from the start. As your career flourishes you can take more courses to add more value and more services for your clients needs.

Networking.
There are several ways to start networking with people to build your business. Friends and family are a good first step. Let everyone know that you are in the photography business. Get business cards printed up telling people what kind of photography business you are in. Create a web site gallery where you can showcase your work. Don't forget to add the URL to your business cards. Join service clubs, business networking clubs and chambers of commerce clubs in your area. Join Toastmasters to brush up on your public speaking skills. It's all good for business.

Practice.
I think this is the most important part of this business when you're first starting out. Take every opportunity that you can to hone your craft. Even if you have to do it for free. The best place is to start with your family and friends. They know you best. Volunteer to take pictures of friends weddings for cost. Take pictures of their babies for the cost of printing them. Your friends will appreciate you and you will have the beginnings of a portfolio that you can showcase to your prospective clients. Don't forget to get signed release forms. As you get more experienced you can charge more for your services. Putting your profits back into the business allows you to upgrade your equipment and buy more advertising.

Do you want to know how you can earn a residual income with your camera?
Find more ways to make money with your digital camera here.

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Basic Fundamental Skills in Digital Photography

Upon getting your own digital camera, obtaining stunning photographs is limitless. As a beginner, you might stumble to some boundaries, because you are still stuck and have not gotten far with your skills. Here we will discuss some of the basic fundamentals to get you up and running with digital photography.

Composing pictures in an angle: Composition is one of the basic things that you need to improve in photography. Try taking images in respect with the horizon. Keeping your horizon straight and not slanted will help improve the pictures. But always remember that photography is an art, the only way you can show your artistic side in your works is by taking a number of shots and experiment with what can work for you.

Using a tripod: Contrary to many people believing that tripods is only meant for seasoned photographers. A tripod can improve your picture quality. Adding stability to your shots, and increasing your chance to shoot specially in a low light situation.

Distractions in the subject: Keeping in mind the focus of the viewer. You must always be cautious on the many things that will be included in your frame. Don't ruin your subject with a messy or a destructive background. Try eliminating unwanted objects in your frame. Always focus on your subject. Move closer to the subject if you think you can not remove unwanted distractions in the frame. Also an option is to blur out the background so that the subject will pop-out of your image.

Portrait photography: One basic rule is not to put the subject dead center, this is quite confusing at first, but once you get used to taking portraits, you will know this by heart. Always move a little bit closer for portraits. Take a few shots of your subject and experiment with different pose. Take a close up or move a little bit further, framing the face with half of the body. To make it more interesting, include some items with the portrait, it can either another person, a pet, a flower, or a scarf.

Shoot in the highest possible resolution your camera can take. This will give you a good flexibility in working with your image later during editing. And this will also give the highest possible sharpness. Be wary of lighting and exposure during shoots. When indoors, make sure that the light is sufficient for your subject to stand out, and when outdoors, stay away from brightly lit sunlight. Register to different photo sharing websites, and share your photo with your friends and relatives. And most importantly, enjoy!

To learn more about "Basic Digital Photography", visit: http://www.photographyenhanced.com About Benjo Castillo:
Benjo Castillo is an Engineer, a freelance Photographer and the owner of http://www.photographyenhanced.com Taking up photography as a hobby, and for pleasure, he quickly develops a passion for the art.

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Top 5 Digital Photography Tips For Outside

1 - learn how to see the light.
See the colour of light, see the direction of light. See the quality of light and look for the shadows and highlights, that way you can set your exposure to the right level.

2 - Create depth and dimension
Try to create dimension and depth in your pictures - in other words, we see the world in 3 dimensions, height, depth and width - trying to portray this in your picture is difficult as cameras only see 2 dimensions, height and width. It is therefore our job to try and create a sense of depth. One way to do this is to use a fore ground element when taking a landscape picture.

3 - Take your time.
When you get to the spot where you want to be, take your time to have a good look around to find the best spot. Walk around the subject, have a look at all the different possible photo angles. So when you get on to location, take a walk and take your time.

4 - Look up, down back and up!
A lot of the time, people will miss really good photo opportunities because they are not looking all around the shot. Make sure you check out ever angle before you shoot away with your camera. Don't be in a hurry to get to your final location and miss what's going on around you.

5- Frame it!
When you are photographing somebody, look for a frame such as a hole in a rock, a window frame or anything which looks like it could be used as a frame - can make for a great photo.

Photographers Leeds

Seascape Painting

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The Best Zoom Digital Camera For 2009

Somewhere, someone decided that there was a gap between the fairly inexpensive point and shoot automatic digital cameras, and the somewhat more sophisticated digital SLR cameras used by many professional photographers. That biggest feature separating the two cameras was lens zoom. Hence, was born the ultra zoom, or extended zoom digital cameras. They're a little bigger to carry around, but usually sport significantly improved lenses over the compact and ultra compact point and shoots. In addition, they don't require lugging around a case of supporting gear around, like many of the SLR cameras do.

Featuring upwards of 20X optical zoom, these are impressive cameras, and can be the perfect camera for certain situations. Like when you show up late for the wedding, and get stuck in the back pews. With these cameras you'll be able to still get great shots of the bride and grooms big kiss, without being mistaken for the official wedding photographer. As a general note for all these cameras, image stabilization is a gotta-have, unless you happen to have the rock steady hands of a surgeon.

Panasonic Lumix FZ28

This Panasonic model features an 18X zoom lens, and goes for around $350 or less. the IA (intelligent auto) setting works quite well. The auto settings are important for many photographers this camera targets as manual tweaking is generally not something a lot of casual photographers do. Of course, for those who like to make adjustments, the option is there. The LCD is a nice sized 2.7 inches. The zoom control seems to be opposite of what I would have expected, but after spending a little time with it, I'm sure most people get used to it.

Canon Powershot SX10 IS

Canon is one of my personal favorite brands, and this camera is one of the reasons why. This Canon is comparable in price (around $350) to the previously reviewed Panasonic Lumix, but with 20X zoom, instead of just 18. Even a few die hard SLR owners I've hear from, swear from this camera. A lens range of 28-560mm is nothing to sneeze at. Especially with the clarity, and noise free pictures produced by this camera, even at higher ISO settings. You can of course, get better clarity and image sharpness with a good SLR, but your also going to spend at least double the price to get there. Not to mention haul a lot more gear around for a SLR. The other nice thing about this camera, is the ability to capture video files, even if they are in the somewhat more obscure .mov Apple format.

Olympus SP-565 UZ

You should be able to find this Olympus for under $300 these days. Which is pretty good, when you consider the quality of the 20X zoom lens that comes with it. Some would argue, that is the successor to the somewhat botched Olympus SP565UZ. It's a much better camera, a little bit lighter, and includes both an auto zoom and auto focus feature. The zoom is a joy to work with, and the somewhat advance features of face recognition, and shadow adjustments work as advertised. It's got a cool feature call pre-capture, that I suppose, is the poor mans answer to burst mode offered by many high priced SLRs. It basically allows you to capture up to 10 photos in rapid succession, and then choose the ones you want to keep.

Getting the perfect zoom digital camera, is never an easy thing, due to the constantly changing technology. Fortunately, there are plenty of helpful websites online, that can narrow down your search and help you find the camera with all the features important to you.

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The Very Best Digital SLR Cameras From Nikon

All the photography purists that cringed, squawked, and moaned, when digital photography hit the scene, but now own and use digital cameras, should all take a seat in the back of the room. The same goes for the new round of purists, that are whining about how live view has no business in the hoity toity world of high end digital SLR, and should be sent back to the basement with point and shoot crowd.

Live view is here to stay, and has been for over a year now. I think it was Canon that first brought it out in their Digital Rebel XSi, and Nikon quickly followed suit. For those who are a unaware of what live view is, it means being able to frame your picture with the LCD screen. Something that has been common place in the lower priced point and shoot digitals forever. It used to be, with SLRs you could only do that through the viewfinder.

To further solidify the argument for live view, one needs to look no further than arguably the two best SLR cameras offered by Nikon. Specifically the D300, and the D700. While there is a big difference in price between these two suckers, there's good reason for it. Obviously live view isn't the reason, but lets have a look.

The D300 is meant for prosumer to semi pro digital photographer. That's just one step below the world of professional photographers. One of it's biggest claims to fame has to be it's speed. This camera is simply the fastest machine you'll find the in prosumer price range. How does snapping six photographs per second sound to you. Well, if that's not impressive, how about 100 pictures in a row. Now even I could find one good picture out of that bunch. Wiggly kids or not.

If your looking at the D700, and you don't know what full frame stands for, then put that wallet away boy, and do some more research. If you do decide to get this one, you can be rest assured it's the last camera you'll ever buy. For $3000 I would hope you wouldn't be missing much. Of course, that won't stop you from buying a trunk full of lenses and accessories to play with.

Getting the perfect camera, is never an easy thing, especially with the way digital technology is constantly changing. Fortunately, there are plenty of helpful websites online, that can narrow down your search and help you find the camera with all the features important to you.

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What is the Best Digital Camera Brand For 2009?

Picking the best camera brand is very hard, and is something that varies greatly. Some may say Canon, while others may say Kodak. It all depends on what the camera is being used for.

Technically, there is no best camera brand, and it really just comes down to individual preference. Nonetheless, there are quite a few brands that really do dominate in many ways. These brands include Olympus, Leica, Panasonic, Minolta, Fuji, Pentax, and Sony. As you can see, it is hard to pick just one brand, as there are many brands that are right up there as "the best camera brand".

As for quality, this may be a bit easier to rank. At the top would be Leica, followed by Panasonic, Minolta, Olympus, Yashica, Practika, Pentacon, Fuji, and Zeiss. There are several other brands, and just because they are not on this list does not mean they are bad brands. In fact, in this time there is really no such thing as "bad camera brand", but there are just certain brands that really shine.

Overall, many would say that the Leica could be the best if it was smaller. Many people do not like it because it is not one you can fit in your pocket. Though, it is said to be a great film and digital camera nonetheless. Olympus is probably one of the best digital SLR, and if you are willing top pay big bucks for lenses, then this is your best bet.

One thing that should be considered closely is what category camera you want as well. Some brands do not have good SLR cameras, while others may not have good ultra compact cameras. There are five categories, and before picking a specific brand you should definitely know which of these you will likely want. The categories include ultra compact (very small), compact (small), creative compact (a bit bigger than the compact cameras), SLR-like (larger), and the SLR (the largest). Some brands will not have good SLR cameras, so if you want a good SLR camera, some brands may not be an option for you. Generally, Sony caries ultra compact cameras, while Olympus is better known for SLR cameras. Picking a brand is not always something that someone can help you with. Often times people pick a camera on what they find is appealing. Try out some different cameras; see how you like their look, and their interface. It really comes down to individual preference over anything.

Getting the best brand of camera, is never an easy thing, due to the constantly changing technology. Fortunately, there are plenty of helpful websites online, that can narrow down your search and help you find the camera with all the features important to you.

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Best Ways For Making Money From Home With Digital Photography

I can't tell you enough how much I love working from home. I have time to do what I want and freedom to live my life. But many people do not yet realize how much money there is to make in the field of photography. With cameras getting better and better, it no longer takes 20 years of experience and thousands of dollars worth of equipment to make a great living from a camera.

Digital SLR cameras even at the entry level can cost $500 or more but can provide better quality than camera's that cost $2,000 and more only 10 years ago. But even a point and shoot digital camera can earn you some extra income and I will show you a few ways you can make do this.

One way to make some money with your digital photography is to sell your pictures on microstock websites. I currently make hundreds of dollars every month just by automatically selling pictures that I have taken for commercial purposes. People like web designers, bloggers, business owners and others need pictures to advertise products and services. If you take pictures that people are really needing and the quality of the image is good then you can make a few dollars a day with even a small portfolio. It's a great way to get started in the photography business.

Another method is to do some pet portraits. There are pet owners out there that are willing to pay top dollar for a great picture of their pet. Often the dog will need to be in the family picture as well, so knowing how to interact with people and pets would be a plus.

You can also take pictures of beautiful landscapes in your area and make your own calendar. There are many tools online that will help you make your own calendar and offer ways to sell it as well. People who live near you will love having a calendar with recognizeable and yet attractive places near their home and this will give the calendar some uniqueness as well.

The best way to get started making money with photography is to take this free email course. It is totally free and is a 7 day course teaching you some of the best ways you can start earning cash from your camera today.

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