I had lunch yesterday with an old friend of mine who remarked that “Things change when you can see the end”. He was referring to the fact that he wants to work less and enjoy his life more. He, like me, is 57 years old. It is true. Even at, say 49, life looked different to me. Increasingly, every minute is important. More and more I look at my stock photo career and ask myself how I can use it to not just make money, but to enjoy my life. A good example can be seen in a stock shoot I did in Buenos Aires.

I arranged to go with two friends of mine, Dew Kelly and Sam Diephuis. Both are excellent shooters and often work with me to produce stock photos for Blend Images. This was a ten day trip to produce stock photography and produce it in a way that we could also really enjoy the experience.

After committing to the shoot the first thing we did was to look for some locations for our shoot. We settled on three primary locations knowing that once we were there we could fill in other locations and shoots as needed. The first of our locations was found via the Internet. We found a luxury Apartment on one of the top floors of the second highest building in Buenos Aires. It has 360 degree views of the city and a clean, modern look. The apartment easily accommodated the three of us, and we were able to stay there as well as shoot there. Even at $600.00 per night it was a bargain. What we saved over the location fee of a comparable place in the U.S. more than paid for our travel expenses! We shot stills and video. Sam shot a panorama video from the roof of the building and that footage, while only having sold twice so far, pretty much paid for the cost of renting the location.

The apartment provided for both upscale lifestyle shots and business shots (the dining room also passed for a corporate boardroom). We shot party scenes, people with their dogs, romantic couples, domestic chores, home exercise and much more. I was able to wake up in the morning to breath taking views and to begin shooting without schlepping equipment. We could dine out or cook our own meals. Actually, we had so much “shoot” food that we couldn’t eat all of it. But hey, we had a refrigerator and freezer to store it in. We had a washer and dryer, rooftop access and grounds to enjoy. Not a bad way to conduct a stock shoot!

We rented a smaller, but still nice apartment, for the remainder of the shoot. Our shoots (put together with the help of our Argentinian producer Paula Zacharias) included a gym (shooting a gymnast doing his routine in a business suit), a theater (where we staged a rock concert, a bodybuilding contest, a political debate and also shot audience reactions), and a soccer shoot in which we hired a local semi-pro team. We had an awesome time and came back with tons of great content including ethnically diverse lifestyle, Business, and concept images.

An important thing to remember for these kinds of shoots, is to get property and model releases upfront. This trip went smoothly in that regard, but I have had some unpleasant surprises when I have failed to take the “upfront” precautions. Another important thing is to look closely at every model release before the model leaves. On the whole, models do a terrible job of filling out releases (they also do a terrible job of bringing their own wardrobe…but that is another story). When shooting in situations like these I also tend to hire extra models. The expense of one or two models is small compared to having everything set up and ready to roll, and then not having enough models. It is always a good idea to allow for the “model flake factor” (no offense to the many models who are professional, prompt and thorough).

Also, when in foreign countries it is important to understand the cultural differences around time and commitment. I have shot in Argentina many times and have finally gotten use to my producer calling up models at 1:00 in the morning for a shoot that day! Come to think of it, maybe the most important thing to remember when shooting in far off places is to bring you best attitude. I always try to keep in mind that if a shoot just isn’t working, for whatever reason, it won’t be the end of the world, and every minute I spend in unhappiness over it is a minute I will never get back.

Stock Photos of Animals, People, Lifestyle, and more Elephant In The Room

Ethnic stock photos: Hispanic Stock Photos

African American Stock Photos: African American Stock Photos

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/digital-photography-articles/lifestyle-stock-and-minutes-youll-never-get-back-1433168.html

Considering many of camera seeker in the world on seeking of pocket size digital camera, within few months ago Samsung as once of well known brand name launched its pocket size digital camera’ Samsung ST500 and ST550 on last August 2009. One of the interesting for these types of camera namely it has an extra LCD monitor on the front side panel of the camera which enable user to take picture of her/him self easily. The user will know whether her/his standing position is good or bad to shoot. The LCD screen is 1.5 inches which suitable for those people who mad about taking her/his own picture by her/his own self.

The other interesting of both camera Samsung ST500 and Samsung ST550 is provide children mode schemes’ that help you while shooting a baby or children easily with this small LCD screen in which in the front of this screen will show you some animation of funny clown. This camera has 12 megapixel resolution completed with varieties of feature that rare to find on same models of other digital camera.

Samsung ST500 and Samsung ST550 has the same features except the different of backside of LCD screen that has 3,5 inches and HDMI connectivity at ST550 while ST500 has only 3 inches with AV connectivity. Once of the interesting features that is the ‘Smart Gesture’ with gravity censor in which enable user to change the mode to watch number of ranges pictures only by shaking slowly the camera to right and left. This feature also enables the user to marking selected picture only by finger touch means that touch screen access is available for both Samsung ST500 and ST550.

In addition, both type of camera ST500 and ST550 beside has double LCD screen they are also offer Excellency of photography with double image stabilizer, smart shoot and auto shoot followed by 27 mm angel lens to catch wider shooting area. Some creativities features provided for the user to manage and editing picture through this camera if images seems dark, red eyes, rouge etc. So both type of camera should be considers when you are seeking for pocket size digital camera.

Currently I am living in Indonesia and I am electronics lover, i am always seeking for any sophisticated technologies ever found and trying to make review on it, it could be various kinds of electronics portable thing such as digital camera, laptop or notebook and Mp3 or Ipod

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/digital-photography-articles/pretty-double-screen-lcd-from-samsung-st500-and-samsung-st550-1422820.html

If you are looking for a compact and slim digital camera, Nothing wrong to consider Panasonic Lumix DCM-ZR1. This camera body seems slim and thin with dimension 5,4×9,7×2,6 centimeters. Whole the body made form metal materials that enable the user to hold it easily with weight 138 grams, so very simple to put in the pocket.

It has 2,7 inches LCD screen than you will find playback button in the right panel, E-zoom, display button and Q menu. The excellent of the E-zoom that enable the user to shoot an abject from long distance with 12,1 megapixel resolution and able to zoom an object till 16 times. It will show you how the zoom lens moves from wide angel mode to telephoto. It is very interesting.

This camera can categorized as a new digital camera cause this camera has use OIS technology (Optical image Stabilizer) that called OIS Power by Panasonic that has stabilizer two time different than other types of camera. It simple in use, you just need about 2,57 seconds after you switch the power button, this camera ready to use.

Unfortunately, there is now video camera recorder as well as the other camera version form Panasonic. But if you are looking for compact camera, Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1 is appropriate to be considers. This camera is available on various color such as black, silver, red, and blue. The quality of image after zoom is very clear and has low consumption of power that enable your battery life longer beside it attached with 40 MB Intel memory that would be use when the SDHC card is full.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/digital-photography-articles/long-distance-shoot-with-panasonic-lumix-dcmzr1-1422876.html

Do you have a passion for photography? Were you aware that you could turn your passion into an extra income? If you have a digital camera, an internet connection, and access to a photo editing software program you can turn your photography hobby into cash. Interested? All you need to do is read on for some tips on making this happen.

Internet contains a plethora of websites where you can stock your photos. There are micro stock agencies, which deal in providing with low cost pictures to the customers. There are many people who browse these sites and are willing to pay good price for the photographs. Simple images of a budding flower or an abandoned building will attract enthusiasts.

One tip to selling is picking a theme for your photographs. Attracting the customers attention is vital and you can do this by uploading your most attractive and finest quality photos. Creativity is also vital and this is achieved by putting a new spin on basic items. Customers are looking to purchase images that will enhance their product so if you have put a new spin on an existing item you will be catching their eye. A great example is a photograph of a lady with red lipstick in one hand and a cherry in other. This photo will sell more than a monkey jumping through the trees.

Worried you can’t produce quality photos? Taking pictures as a hobby is different than trying to market them to professionals. It is best to do some research on what qualifies as a “quality” photo, i.e. lack of noise, clarity, etc., before submitting your photos to the stock photography sites. Online you can find a variety of tutorial e-books that can guide you through this process. turnyourphotosintocash.com is one of the best books that I have found. It has clear instructions on how you can actually start getting great results in digital photography by following a few guidelines.

I mentioned that you would want access to photo editing software as you will need to crop and edit your photos. If you are unfamiliar with these programs I recommend you look into learnelementsnow.com. Here there are loads of tutorials and tricks to make the most of your digital photos. The site creator, David Peters, also has an e-book which gives you step-by-step instructions on how to master your skills in Adobe Photoshop Elements in just 2 hours!

After you have done your research and taken some quality photos you will want to submit the photos to the stock photography sites. Each site has its own guidelines for submission but a general rule is that your photos are in .jpg format. You will want to make sure your photos are crystal clear with no grain or noise. Make sure you don’t include name brands or labels in your photos as these will automatically be rejected. Don’t forget, you can use photo editing software to remove these items and fix lighting and quality problems.

Naming your photographs is one of the most overlooked elements of stock photography. When naming your photos you want to include keywords that are appropriate to the photo itself. This is another area where research will pay off. Typical consumers use keywords to search for what they are looking for and you want to ensure your photos appear on the first page. Look at similar photos and see what keywords they use to describe what they are selling.

The most important part is your payment. Prior to submitting your photos you will want to check out the terms and conditions for each site which should give you an idea what the commission rates are. Some stock photography sites will hold back as much as 50% of the selling price as their fee so you will definitely want to find a site that meets your needs.

Uploading to more than one stock photography site is a good idea and there are many to pick from. Getting your photos sold is the key so by submitting them to a variety of agencies increases your chance to earn a higher income. Doing this will also help minimize your loss.

Get your FREE Stock Photography Business report that reveals how to Sell Photos Online and Discover how make money selling your photos online with just a digital camera, PC and internet connection by reading Dan Feildman’s Stock Photography Blog.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/digital-photography-articles/how-to-make-money-by-selling-your-photos-1424162.html

Way back in the old days cameras had a thing called film.  Light would strike tiny particles of silver in this film and whenever more than a couple photons of light hit one of these silver grains it would be called “exposed”.  Exposed grains were soaked in a solution called a developer and they would then turn black.  The parts of the film that received the most light would have the most silver grains developed, and that part of the film would be blacker than the rest.

One problem was that if a grain was developed, whether by two photons or by a thousand photons, the entire grain turned black.  So the resolution of the film was limited by the size of the silver grains, and in order to have a good resolution, like what we call today pixels, the film size had to be as large as possible.  The most practical size for film for good pictures  was 35mm, and thus the most popular camera was called the 35 mm camera.

Now the 35mm camera took pictures that were good enough that people wanted to see exactly what they were filming before they pressed the shutter.  Cheaper, smaller format cameras had a viewfinder that was offset from the lens, so it looked at a slightly different part of the world than the camera lens, so there was some guesswork involved in what exactly would show up on the film.  The solution was to place a movable mirror right in the middle of the main camera lens.  This mirror would move out of the way when you pressed the shutter, but until then, it would deflect the light that would normally fall onto the film up to the viewfinder so you could see exactly what would fall onto the film.

The motion of this mirror was called reflex, and because there was only one main camera lens – instead of a camera lens plus a viewfinder lens – the cameras were called single lens reflex, or SLR.  Almost all of those cameras exposed 35mm film, meaning that the size of the exposed film was 35mm across.  Every part of the camera, from the body to the lens to the distance of the lens from the film, was designed specifically to make an image of the outside world onto a 35mm long strip of silver grains.

Fast forward to the 1980s and 1990s.  Innovations in design and manufacture of light sensitive semiconductor arrays made possible small chips with at least 640 by 480 individual light sensitive regions, which was as good as or better than most commercial camera film of the same size.  This availability of cmos and ccd led to an entire generation of small consumer cameras; remember that both the lens, the body and the geometry of a camera revolves around the size of the film, and in this case these chips compared in size to 8mm or 16mm film, much smaller than 35mm.

These small form cameras featured a viewfinder like their old small film type cameras:  the viewfinder was offset from the camera so it showed a slightly different picture than the film, or in this case the chip, saw.   But the new cameras were now digital, so they read the amount of light at each point, or pixel, of the chip and converted that amount of light into a number; the digital cameras could display this digital image on a small screen, so the photographer could preview exactly what the chip was seeing.   Previews on the back of the camera gave these small form cameras the major advantage of SLR with the convenience of inexpensive consumer point and shoot cameras, and today these cameras comprise a large part of the consumer electronics market.

Thanks to technology, today you can find inexpensive small format point-and-shoot digital cameras that rival the consumer 35mm cameras of days past, and the professional photographer can find full frame digital cameras that perform as well as any 35mm film camera.

Jay Vy reviews digital slr cameras online, as well as camera lenses, telescopes and more.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/digital-photography-articles/digital-slr-cameras-provide-full-frame-professional-features-1416890.html

Unfortunately we have all been there. The subject matter is uninspiring and there is absolutely nothing you can do to make it visually stimulating. For me this usually occurs when I have to film an event or other social gathering however I never let it get me down; when this happens I figure I have two choices, I can either let the boring and humdrum win or I can use some of the following tricks and attempt to get some prize winning footage.

POV: When you use the Point of View Shot you are virtually taking the shot from the point of view of the subject itself. This shot was immortalized during the film The Patriot when the cannon ball comes right at the camera and then the action cuts to a soldier being cut in two by that same cannon ball. The shot easily gains the interest of the audience and quickly pulls them into the action. I normally go with this shot when I have a lot of action and I want to get great shots of the same action.

Rack Focus: Rack Focus shifts focus between subjects in the background and foreground so a viewer’s attention moves from subject to subject as the focus shifts. Rack Focus gives you some amazing footage since it puts the camera man in direct control of the audience. By manually changing the focus of the camera between subjects distant and close you include two totally distinct subjects without cutting or moving the camera. You are forcing your audience to change focus from one subject to another during a shot, guiding their attention to a new point of interest while the previous one blurs. This technique adds a professional look to any video.

Crooked Angle: By turning the camera to its side so the ground is no longer parallel with the square of the viewfinder you will get some very interesting shots. It sounds crazy but you will definitely be astounded by how amazing some of these shots can be. Sea sickness is possible though if there is a lot of movement with the camera so try to keep the camera somewhat still. You can still use very slight movements at crooked angles which is an easy way to create interest and cast your subjects in a new light.

Track Shot: If you can figure out the logistics track shots is a great way to get a video that will hold peoples interest. A track shot is when you move the camera in a definite path. You can do this shot using a wheelchair or skateboard but it creates some amazing video!

Turn your bland session into something incredible with these four classic shots which will definitely increase the interest of your productions and leave your audience wanting more.

Did you like this digital photography tutorial? Curious about reading more Digital Photography Tutorials? …What are you waiting for? Read This FREE Digital Photography Report And Check Out The “Learn Digital Photography Now” Blog For Even More Digital Photography Tutorials…

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/digital-photography-articles/digital-photography-tutorial-reveals-4-easy-tricks-to-produce-the-perfect-shot-1415062.html