Improve Your Portrait Photos Fast - See the Light!

Tired of seeing black eye sockets and whitened out faces in that last series of snaps you took at the family outing? It's easy to get a much better result if you just look at the light. No light, no picture, but what counts is the light quality and direction. And the good part is you can use natural lighting just as effectively inside as well as outside. A little careful seeing before you click the shutter is all that's required.

Light has quantity, quality (contrast), direction and color.

Generally, the more light there is, the better. The greater the quantity the faster you can shoot. Too little light causes problems with long exposures (movement shows in your picture), and in really low light levels in digital cameras "noise", little specks, can appear in the shadows. A good amount of light gives you more control over how you interpret your subject. You can capture an image in low light conditions by increasing the ISO number, but that brings more noise and usually an unsatisfactory picture. The "snap" goes from the "snapshot".

Quality. Hard? Soft? Somewhere in between?

In a nutshell, find a soft light coming from the side. Hard, contrasty light (direct sun) is the enemy of successful people shots. Overhead it causes dark eye sockets and unwanted textures on the face. Full on the face gives squinty eyes as the subject finds the light too bright to look into. Both positions give nasty, hard and unflattering shadows. And make sure there are no streaks of hard light and shadow across the face.

This high contrast between the light and dark parts becomes too great for the image recorder in your camera to handle, so the bright bits white out, losing detail, and dark bits go too dark, ditto. If you try to compensate on one side, the other becomes even worse. Professionals have special reflectors and diffusers for light management, but there are other ways.

How to control light direction

As it's hard to shift the sun, shift the subject. The idea is to stop direct light striking the model, so find a shady area, under a porch, tree, beside of a house, where the sun is no longer directly involved. The light will still have direction, but now is much softer and more flattering. Another idea, if the sun's not overhead, is to turn the subject's back to it. This is bit more dangerous as sunlight in the lens causes flare, with loss of contrast and colour, so make sure there is no direct sunlight into the lens.

Now the model's face may be a bit too dark, and to overcome that your camera could well have a backlight compensation setting on it. This opens up the lens a stop or so to let more light in. If not, find the exposure compensation control (read the handbook!) and add a stop of exposure yourself. The rewards can include a nice halo around your subject's head. But many problems are solved if there are clouds around. These are great light softeners, and if it's a partly cloudy day, you're in luck.

Color and how we see it.

Color temperature is too big a subject to explore here, but you have around seven controls for color balance on your camera. Sunlight, shade, tungsten and the others are all there to allow catering for various colors in light. The human brain does not interpret color changes very well, and provided the red, green and blue frequencies that make up white light are there in reasonably similar amounts, you see white, even though your camera may see something else. With portraits a slightly warmer color is always better than a cool or blue tinged one. Experiment to see under what conditions each setting is most effective.

And what about inside?

The laws of physics never change, inside or out, film or digital. Soft light is good, and the best is from a window. Put your subject close to it. You can have them looking outside, or perhaps turned towards you. Use a piece of white card or similar to reflect a little light back into the face from the darker side. And there you have it.

Now go shoot some

So before you next have to face a crowd of family and relatives all wanting a fine picture of themselves, spend a few minutes with a willing helper and try a few ideas out. Really look at the results, and figure out how they can be improved. Is the light coming from the right direction? Is it soft enough? No hard shadows? Flattering? Experiment. You will be amazed how a little investment of time will show up in vastly improved images. Portrait shooting is fun and a successful one is a great reward for yourself and the model. Happy shooting!

Say Goodbye to Boring Holiday Photos

The one thing about coming home from vacation that everyone looks forward to is to SHOW OFF their photos. It's also the one thing your family and friends DREAD. Let's face it, holiday snaps can be pretty boring.

Check out these 5 steps to go from boring to incredible, creative and even interesting holiday memories that you and your friends will want to see over and over again. These are the 'secret' techniques that the professionals use so shh...don't tell anyone.

1. Composition
One of the biggest mistakes amateurs make is that they rush the shot and don't take the time to look around. This is really the most important part of taking a great picture instead of a boring one. Take a little time to consider what you are trying to capture.

The scene needs to have a subject, be it a boat, sunset sky, land mark, tree or building. This is because you are aiming to a) show off your photo and b) remember what caught your attention. What is the subject of interest in the shot you are about to take? If there isn't one, then there will be no interest in the printed image!

Work out the best angle to capture the subject by moving around, getting up high or down low and tying both horizontal and vertical options in the viewfinder. Always look up, down and behind you. This can help make a much more dramatic image and sometimes you will see things you didn't notice. I was once taking some nice sunset shots over a lake, only to turn around just in time to catch a massive orange moon rising up behind me.

It's a great idea to get some good shots of the scene as you remember it to file away when you get home, but then get the shot with you and your travel companions in the shot.

Place your person (subject) in the frame but to one side so that they are facing the way you want the viewer to look. Depending on what the background is, you may even like to try to play around with the aperture to get the background slightly out of focus. (Look for an aperture setting of around F16 or less as an average, or you may have a setting that is for 'landscape with people'). This works well when the subject is very close to the camera and the background doesn't need to be the main focus.

Now here's the trick. Using the auto focus, focus on the person by half pressing the shutter button while aiming directly at them. Then, while still holding the button half down, move the camera so that the subject is now at the side of the scene. Push the shutter all the way and the picture is taken. (You may like to practice this before you go). The subject will stay in focus but they will be at the side of the photo, while the background will be slightly out of focus. Find the scene, find the light, and then put your subject into it. Location, location, location.

2. Self Timer
Get yourself in the picture. Don't come home without PLENTY of shots with YOU IN THEM! This happens all the time. Don't forget, if they wanted to see a photo of the Eiffel Tower, they could buy a postcard. It's much better when you're in the picture.

Learn how to use the self timer before you go on holidays, and then get into the picture with your friends or family. For holiday snaps, keep it simple. A pocket digital camera is all you need. (Try to get a camera with some settings such as Aperture and Shutter Speed). Don't set the timer pause for too long or you'll have everyone looking in different directions by the time the shot is taken. You need just enough time to get yourself back into the scene. A good idea is to count out the number of seconds you have from the time you press the shutter so you and your group will know when to 'say cheese'. The countdown will often get a good laugh out of everyone as well.

3. Travel Tripod
Professionals always use a tripod for low light shots such as at sunrise, twilight, sunset, evening shots and also fireworks and city lights. You can use this valuable piece of equipment too, but without having to carry heavy equipment around. What if I told you that you can get a tripod the size of a credit card. More on that in a minute, but first, why use a tripod?

I'm glad you asked...because understanding this will give you an amazing advantage over other photographers that don't see the necessity. When you take a photo in low light (even with the setting on auto) your shutter speed will slow down. This means that when you press the shutter button, and the shutter opens, it will stay open longer to allow more light onto the sensor to enable the scene to be visible in your image. This also means the camera will capture any movement and blur the shot if it's not held still. It is virtually impossible to hold the camera steady for the length of time the shutter is required to be open for these low light shots.

One tripod known as Fozi Tripod is plastic and will fold down to fit into your wallet. There are also stronger metal mini tripods that fold to about the size of a ruler and mini fold down versions of the larger standard tripods. Do your research and check the internet and local camera shops for more info before you go away.

4. Get in Close
You want to show some emotion on faces, details in the architecture and the beauty of a tropical flower. What were the things that you were doing that made your trip memorable, besides the scenery? It's not always about where you were, but what you were doing. Was there dancing with local tribal people? Was there a warm fireplace? Did you relax on a tropical beach? Why not try taking a close up of some deck chairs and a palm tree with the water and sand in the background, and not worry about getting the entire scene into the picture.

Sometimes, by photographing only part of an object or building, the image is much stronger and more pleasing to the eye. Do you really need to show the entire scene to portray cocktails were being consumed? These close up shots will make a stunning collage and tell a great story when you get home. (Take the entire scene as a reference, but don't include it in your 'show off album').

5. Copy the Pros
This one is simple. Check the postcards in the shops nearby and then imitate what they have done. The professionals know when and where to get the best shots so use them as a guide. You need to put your own flair into the shot to make it personal.

I know I said it's simple, but you still need to think about what the camera sees. Here are some of the things to look for and consider in a good postcard style shot:

- Where has the picture been taken from
- What angle was used
- What time of day was it
- Is the shot wide angled or tightly cropped
- Could I take this at a different time of day to make the photo even more interesting
- Would this shot work with me and my friends in it
- Would the same subject look as good or even better if I took it from a slightly different angle
- If it's a night shot or other low light, do I need a tripod

Don't forget: Keep the story of your holiday exciting and never boring. Pick out the most interesting shots and file the rest away just for yourself. Choose the photos that have lots of people in them and put them into an album or make a coffee table book. Let the images tell the story of your trip of a lifetime!

Take plenty of batteries and rechargeable if possible. (Don't forget to allow for the different power outlets in other countries). You'll need lots of storage space for your images. Either take lots of flash cards with plenty of space or use a portable device such as an Image Bank which allows you to insert your flash card, store the images and reuse the card again.

So...here's to the holiday of a lifetime and the reward of wanting to show off the photos for years to come.

SmartCarving - The Key to Recovering More Photos

Recover More Photos with SmarCarving Technology

This article describes SmartCarving, a new recovery technique that improves the recovery rate of deleted files by actually analyzing the contents of each file. This greatly improves on the signature based techniques used in current recovery products, as they are unable to handle files that have been fragmented or corrupted.

In addition, SmartCarving techniques allow for the validation of deleted files, therefore, greatly improving the ability to determine which files are complete and which files are partial or broken. What does this all mean? It basically translates to 15-20% more files recovered on average when compared to existing photo recovery products.

How Does Traditional Photo Recovery Software Work?

Recovery of deleted photo or image files is accomplished by a technique called file or data carving. Traditional data carving, attempts to find the unique header associated with a photo or image file type (for example - "FFD8" for jpegs) and then assumes that the remaining parts of the file are stored consecutively on the disk.

Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that a photo or image file is sequentially stored on a disk. This is because, the file storage may be fragmented (1 or more pieces of the file are stored in different areas of the disk), or worse, part of the file may have been over-written by another file.

This means that most recovery tools show corrupted or garbage images when showing a recovered deleted photo or image file. A common misconception is that since the image is not seen the rest of the data is not present. However, the rest of the data may be present, but since most recovery tools are unable to handle fragmented data the user is never aware if the file can be recovered or not. That is until the discovery of SmartCarving technology.

SmartCarving Technology Breakthrough

Lately there is a new carving technique called SmartCarving which recovers files not based on their starting signatures, but based on the actual contents of files. SmartCarving analyzes files block by block determining if and where files are fragmented, and by looking at the actual content of the data determines where the next pieces of the file are. In essence, SmartCarving attempts to solve the digital equivalent of mixing hundreds of jigsaw puzzles together and reconstructing each one.

As each disk block is analyzed it is compared against that of the previous block to determine how good a fit it is. For photos this involves looking at the boundaries formed when adding a new block and determining the likelihood that the block belongs to the photo. In other words, not only is the structure of the photo used to recover, but individual photo contents are used. This is in fact very similar to how a human would recognize a corrupted photo. Research has shown that on average up to 15-20% more photos can recovered by SmartCarving technology compared to any other technique.

While all this sounds interesting what is the science behind it and does it really work? SmartCarving was researched and presented as a paper to the Digital Forensics Research Workshop (DRFWS) in 2008. It won the best paper of the conference award, and therefore, has the recognition of the foremost forensic scientists in the world.

Another product called Adroit Photo Recovery incorporates SmartCarving for jpegs. While currently only photos are supported, future products will support SmartCarving of additional file types. Adroit Photo Recovery is free to try and can easily be downloaded from Internet.

How To Take Amazing Digital Photos Of Your Kids (Or Anyone Else)

Children and a Camera - probably the most difficult, but creatively satisfying way of archiving your life's wonderful moments.

Shooting pictures of children can be more difficult than getting a shot of that awesome dunk or the spectacular home-run hit, because a sports moment is probably more predictable than the expression of a child. It's almost like trying to hit a moving target, except you don't know when your target will show up, and which way it will move!

But rest easy - amazing advancements in digital photography, both in terms of technology and lower prices, have made it possible for your special moments to be captured with far better accuracy and detail than ever before. Newer cameras with improved photo resolution and shutter speed, with the help of spectacular low-cost lenses, help to make it easier for both professional and novice photographers to take excellent pictures. When these features alone cannot help take the picture you want, fancy software that comes for free with the digital cameras lets your alter the pictures to do full justice to the moments they capture.

Many believe that great cameras take great pictures. Well, there's both good and bad news for you - the good news is that you don't need a $2000 camera and a $3000 lens in order to take an amazing picture; the bad news is that you - the photographer - are the one who can single-handedly make or break an amazing photo - all by yourself, just with your "eye" for photography (or the lack of it).

Any photographer worth her salt will tell you that when it comes to taking good photos, timing is everything. There is a very small window of opportunity to capture a truly great shot, and whether you're after that exhilarating sunset, or trying to capture that all fleeting expression on your child's face, your fingers must have precision, timing and an intuitive sense of when to click. It is tougher than it looks, and that's why photography is an art.

Similar to the famous saying, beautiful pictures lie in the eye of the photographer, and not in the camera.

Famous photographers charge thousands of dollars to take a picture. It is not because they have better cameras or expensive lenses (even though that does matter, but not as much as you probably think), but because they know what to focus on, and when to click.

Most of us only come close to getting the ideal shot, never fully realizing it in the end. More often than not, our pictures have most of the elements, but fall short in a few key areas: Perhaps you frame your subject well, but the lighting is just a little bit off; or perhaps the lighting is good but you forgot to include a flash or use red-eye reduction.

This is where modern digital photography becomes a necessary component in taking the perfect photo. Within minutes, just about any picture can be edited to reach its full potential when it is created with a digital camera. Automatic color enhancement, red-eye reduction, and zoom and crop features that go along with taking digital photos are just a few of the many awesome features that digital photos have to offer. With these tools in easy reach, taking beautiful pictures has become easier than ever.

It is then a no-brainer that you should be buying a digital camera, and not a film-based camera, for obvious reasons: you can shoot as many pictures as you want, repeatedly, till you get that perfect picture, without having to worry about burning through tens if not hundreds of dollars worth of film rolls, development and printing costs. Plus when shot using popular formats like RAW, the things you can do to your pictures before you print or publish them, are mind boggling.

All you need is to find the right camera. You want a camera that offers great pictures as well as easy options for downloading to your printer or computer. You can edit your pictures as you like with commercial programs like Photoshop or Corel, or with software that comes with the camera, like Canon's EasyBrowser.

Technology has advanced so much and there is so much competition amongst camera makers, that the prices are now so attractive which makes it very hard to mention money as an excuse.

The hardest choice then becomes what 'type' of camera to buy:
- a Point-and-click (that has a built-in, permanent lens), or
- a SLR (Single Lens Reflex - whose lenses can be removed and changed).

Point-and-click cameras are meant for the average person, who doesn't want to be bothered with too many options or choices - someone who wants to just point at the target, and click, and be done with it. The average auto-focus camera comes with an in-built zoom lens, has a little flash bulb, has a little screen behind the camera where you can see the full frame of what you are about to shoot, as well as a preview of the photo after you've shot it.

They take great pictures, no doubt. But they can, in no way, be compared to the pictures taken by the slightly more expensive SLR cameras.

An SLR camera comes with the ability to switch lenses, so that you can choose the right lens for that super-close up picture of that bee pollinating a flower, or the perfect wide-angle lens to capture the entire view of the Grand Canyon from where you stand.

Other features that make a SLR a much better choice for taking great pictures that last a lifetime, are:

* Built for speed - Super fast start-up speed so that you never have to miss that perfect moment because it took your camera 20 seconds to get to ready-to-shoot state.

* Accurate "what you see is what you get" picture when you compose your shots through the view finder instead of the LCD display. In fact, the LCD display on an SLR will not show you a preview of your current composition, but will only show you the photo after you've shot it.

* A wide choices of lenses: You're not stuck with just one lens like you would with a point-and-click camera. You have the option of buying and using a variety of lenses to match just what you are about to shoot.

* Better pictures in low light - Due to the ability to vary aperture, a SLR lens can open the aperture long enough to let in more light in low-light situations, or click faster in a very-bright situation (like a bright overhead sun).

When you are ready to buy your digital camera, you need to take the price into consideration, but it is more important to think about the features of the camera that you buy. It is the features that will help you to make the most of your pictures. You will not need an feature filled camera if you are only using it for recreational purposes. However if you plan to do a lot with your photos, you will want a camera that offers the right features for you.

Even though I own a Canon Rebel XTi myself and cannot recommend it highly enough, here are some digital SLR cameras to consider:

Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi: http://amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000I1ZWRW/nosim-20
This is what I own - a 10.1 MP (Mega-pixel) camera that takes phenomenal pictures, and offers a great combination of performance, ease-of-use and value. It comes with a 2.5-inch LCD monitor, a integrated cleaning system featuring a self-cleaning sensor that vibrates the sensor to shake-off dust, all of this in a very light, ergonomic body.

Nikon D80: http://amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000HGIWN4/nosim-20
This is a 10.2 Megapixel camera with instant 0.18 sec. start-up, and fast 80ms shutter response. Allows continuous shooting at up to 3 frames per second and up to 100 consecutive JPEG images. Takes about 2,700 images per battery charge as per Nikon. Has a similar 2.5" LCD color monitor with 170-degree, wide-angle viewing. A little more expensive than the Canon Rebel XTi.

Sony A100: http://amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000DZH60O/nosim-20
A 10 Megapixel CCD, that has quite similar features to the Canon and Nikon, like Anti-Dust system, 2.5" LCD amd 9-point autofocus. The distinguishing feature of the Sony A100 is the Super SteadyShot image stabilization feature that moves the CCD to compensate for camera shake. This will come in handy especially when shooting in low-light situations, where the aperture opens more to let in more light, which means it could take a lot longer for the "click" than in normal-light conditions, and both the photographer (you) and the targets (your kids, friends or family) have a greater tendency to not stay still for that few precious seconds.

Canon and Nikon overcome this by incorporating image stabilization features into the lens, instead of into the camera itself like Sony does. This leads to slightly more expensive lenses, but some believe that lenses do a better job of handling "shake" rather than the cameras themselves. So, this is one more thing for you to consider while making the choice between say, a Canon and a Sony.

Finally, the bottom line is cameras can only enhance a great picture - they cannot create it from scratch. You are the one who has the ability to elevate an ordinary shot into an extraordinary one with your sense of timing, angle, and composition. So, depending on your own internal "brand" preference, any of the above cameras would make a great choice.

To see how others have shot pictures of their little ones, check out the world's cutest baby pictures at http://www.BabyNamesIndia.com. After that, head over to Amazon.com, read the reviews, do your research, and take your time in deciding which digital SLR is right for you.

If you are thinking that deciding which camera to buy is a difficult task, wait till you have that beautiful camera in your hand, and you wait for your little one to come up with that same expression that he had on his/her face last week, when you missed taking a photo because you had a slow and tedious point-and-shoot camera in hand!

Take amazing pictures that last a life time. Get a digital SLR.

Keep Your Photos and Environment Safe

With all the pictures out there of little polar bear cubs and their mothers up in the arctic looking very thin in recent years, it makes you wonder what the end result will be regarding the impending environmental changes. Is this a natural cyclical change at work here, or have our internal combustion engines, aerosols, fertilizers, chemicals, etc., over the past 100+ years been a factor in all of this? At this point, the jury is still out on that issue.

But something is definitely happening, I'm sure you'll agree. Is there anything out there, we as modern day folks may ask ourselves, that doesn't damage the environment? Rest assured, there are products out there that don't damage the environment one iota, among them being the absolutely beautiful eco-friendly photo albums available on several websites scattered across the Internet.

They're handmade works of art, and are made of jungle-renewable materials which, because the growing season never ends in the tropics of Indonesia, the island of Bali will always have the resources for their manufacture readily at hand right outside the front door of the workshop--things such as bamboo, seeds, pressed leaves and pressed flowers.

On top of that, because they are organic photo albums, they most likely don't have the dangerous chemicals (polyvinyl chlorides, or PVCs) in them that are in the plastic pages of many photo albums found in your local drug store, so your photos will be safe for decades to come, instead of getting bleached out over time.

Summing up--no damage to your photos, no damage to the environment. Additionally, most are very affordable.

Taking Aquarium Photos

Aquariums are a popular destination for photographers of every level of skill and experience. They provide ample animal subjects of varying size, shape, and color. Aquatic scenes can be vibrant and dynamic, but they can also be surprisingly difficult to capture. Many factors contribute to this fact; from the lighting to the glass of the tanks to the contained water itself. These simple tips will help you take great shots on your next trip to the aquarium.

Amateur photographers often don't realize that the lighting in aquarium calls for some special consideration. The tanks appear bright to humans because our pupils dilate to allow more light into our eyes. Our pupils remain open, too, allowing for ample time to process the light they are receiving. A camera can pull some similar tricks, but you must remember to employ them when you are taking your aquarium photos. You should use a larger aperture (smaller F-stop) and extend your shutter speed. Don't go above 1/60th of a second, however, as the moving fish are likely to come out blurry. A film speed of ISO 800 is recommended if you are shooting without a flash. Do your best to exploit the tank lighting. Aquarium displays are usually lit from the top, so think about taking your shots from an elevation if this is possible. Also ensure that you do not use a flash when photographic light-sensitive creatures.

The glass or plexiglass of the tanks in aquariums can be up to a foot thick. Both materials distort and bend light, especially at these dimensions. They are also prone to reflecting a nasty glare whenever a flash is used. You may need to use manual focus, as the glass can confuse automatic focusing systems. It is generally a good idea to try to shoot perpendicularly to the tank, as this will minimize the light-distorting effects of the material of its walls. If you must use a flash, then be sure to shoot at at least a 45 degree angle to the wall of the tank. This will cause some distortion of the subject of your photo, but it will mitigate the chances of capturing your own flash.

The last substantial hurdle to aquarium photography is all of the water between your camera and your subject. Watch the clarity of the water and plan to shoot when the densest concentrations of waterborne particles have passed. While this should be obvious, you should take your photo when your subject is closest to the wall of the tank. This will enhance the quality of the final image. Some aquariums offer aquarium photography workshops to interested photographers. Consider these programs if you want to further refine your skills.

Top Three Tips To Sell Photos Online And Earn Profits From Your Photography Hobby

Do you think you have what it takes as a digital photographer to sell photos online? Do you think you can make money from your photography hobby? Most digital photographer hobbyists are now making money by selling photos to stock photography websites online. You can even earn more when you sell photos online to media outfits.

What is stock photography? It is the supply of high quality digital photos that can be used legally by media outfits and businesses to suit any purpose such as advertising collaterals. Nowadays, it is very common for businesses to use stock photo websites to find digital photos for their advertising. Some use it for magazines to complement articles with good quality stock images. Even graphic artists use it for their web design needs. This means a lot of savings as compared to hiring and paying the fees for professional photo services by a digital photographer.

What one needs is to become a member of this stock photography websites and upload stock photos that you think will sell online. Every time a buyer purchases one of your stock images, you get paid for commissions which are usually 50%-80% of the amount paid by the buyer. The commission varies and depends which stock photography website you sell your stock photos.

The usual fee is between 1 to 10 dollars for every sold stock photo or image. The selling price of each stock photo starts from a dollar to about 10 dollars and if there is a need for a special stock photo and there are less supply than the demand then the price per stock photo increases. When you think of the commission you get from each sale you feel that when you sell photos online it makes your images amount to nothing. But if you add up all the sales you get when you sell photos online each month, it can become a source of profit for your photography hobby and even become your full time income online.

Follow these tips if you want to sell photos online and make a profit from your photography hobby online:

1. Do research on these stock photography websites.

Try to register with the best and know stock photography websites to maximize your potential to earn if you sell photos online. The more stock photography websites you register the higher your chances for buyers to see your photos online. Be careful with choosing the category to submit your stock photo online, it may end up being rejected by the stock photography website.

Always make sure that you have full copyright of all the photos you sell online. It is to avoid claims and legal problems if another photographer make a claim on your stock photo.

2. Choosing the subject that sells.

Remember most of these images are used for advertising. Don't use your family as your subject. A good tip is to choose generic subjects such as common objects and places of travel which is a popular subject among buyers of stock images online. By doing research online, you will see which stock photos actually sell online. You can now recreate images based on a particularly popular subject.

3. A good digital camera.

It can be the difference of actually earning form selling photos online and being rejected by the stock photo website for not being able to produce high quality stock images to sell online. If you think you can earn from selling photos online invest on a good and high end digital camera. In the end the digital camera will pay for itself.

Take thousands and thousands of frames to get the best possible stock photo from a particular subject. This will help you start making money and earn some profit from your photography hobby.

It comes natural to a digital photographer who loves photography to take a lot of frames anyways it is part of the whole experience.

Hope you learn something about making money selling photos online. Last tip to successfully sell photos online, you need to start shooting!

10 Tips for Taking Sharp Photos

You've spent your cold, hard cash on a great camera; yet capturing a crisp, sharp image still escapes you. What's the catch? A professional photographer will tell you that the secret to sharp photos requires hours of practice and the proper technique.

Here are ten tips for taking sharp photos:

1. Do what professionals do: Use a tripod or monopod, especially when the light gets low.

2. When using the tripod with the camera shutter speed at a slow setting, use a remote release or the self-timer--that way you don't have to touch the camera at all.

But what about those times when you really can't do that?

3. Then become a tripod by keeping your arms and elbows close to your sides to steady the camera. Lean on a wall if one is handy.

4. As you shoot, press the shutter--don't poke it.

5. Make sure that the camera has confirmed that the auto focus has locked on your subject (otherwise the camera might actually take the picture after you think you took the picture).

6. Set the ISO to a higher number, such as 800 or 1000. You may get increased noise (which looks like grain), but the camera will fire at a higher shutter speed, and that promotes sharpness.

7. If your camera has selectable auto-exposure modes, shift to Shutter Priority mode and set a faster shutter speed.

8. When it gets too dark, use a flash. Flash exposure freezes camera shake and subject movement because the burst of light from a flash is so very fast.

9. Watch for the peak of action and carefully time your shot--this is especially useful when shooting sports. If someone is jumping, for example, catch the person at the instant when he or she has leaped the highest and is about to settle back down to earth.

10. Consider a new camera with image stabilization. This can be built into the lens or camera to compensate for camera movement during exposure that will make subjects blurry. It's the ultimate remedy for a case of the jitters.