Senin, 30 Oktober 2017

Birthday Party Photo Tips - How To Make Yours Truly Stand Out

How many of the birthday party pictures you've seen are kept just because they are of someone's birthday, not because it is inherently a terrific photograph?

When was the last time you heard anyone exclaim: "THIS IS REALLY A GREAT BIRTHDAY PHOTO?" Can you say... NEVER?

And yet, birthday parties are happening ALL THE TIME. You would think that "practice makes perfect," wouldn't you; but in this case... uh-uh, it apparently doesn't.

So, here we are, with another important birthday party looming on the horizon and not knowing how to improve on past "how hum" photographs. NOT THIS TIME! Follow the following 11 tips and you will need to start getting used to being asked to photograph OTHER PEOPLE'S birthday parties.

Can't-Miss Birthday Party Photo Tips

1) Prepare For the Party

Abraham Lincoln once remarked that if you're going to cut down a tree, spend 90% of your time sharpening the axe. Preparation makes any activity go better. And for birthday parties, you don't want to have to wait until next year to make up for lack of preparation, do you?

So, what should you prepare for?

KNOW THE LOCATION. Whether the party takes place in a home, party room, or amusement park; realize that each location has its own photographic "blueprint." Based on the location's blueprint, prepare beforehand for the correct digital camera settings for white balance, metering mode, and exposure compensation.

2) Know Your Obstacles

What is going to be in your way at the birthday party (excluding your drunken brother-in-law)? Are there any fixed columns, hanging plants or lights that need to be planned around? For example, if there is a fixed object right where the optimal photos should be taken from, consider setting up the main table someplace else. It's much easier to figure this out before the event than getting to the party and realizing that you need to "move the room a bit to the left."

3) The Main Table

If using rectangular tables, take the birthday party pictures FACING THE WIDE END OF THE RECTANGLE. When doing this, use the wide angle setting on your camera. If you shoot any birthday photos from the narrow end, use as large an F-stop number as possible (optimally F-22 or higher). However, even if you do, some of the guests will probably still be out of focus (hence, the "shoot from the wide end" suggestion).

4) Flash Decisions

Don't automatically assume you should use the camera's flash all the time. If your camera has a "hot shoe" (this and many other useful terms are defined at If it does, consider using a bounce flash or a diffuser.

As a real eye-opener, find out how high your ISO setting can go and see if the resulting photos are not too "noisy" (digital noise = film grain)

5) Better Safe than Sorry

Take multiple shots of the critical photographs. Consider flash/no flash; different metering modes, and different F-stops. Also, regardless of what you say or do, people will blink. And, by the way, don't count on spotting small problems on the tiny camera LCD screen (even on full magnification).

6) The Background

What does the background look like? If it's neutral - use it. If it's ugly, maximize your depth of field (smallest possible F-stop) to blur the background. If you don't write this one down, I can guarantee that you won't remember it for more than 10 seconds once you start taking photos. Also, be aware of shadows that fall prominently on your background (hence the suggestions to consider using bounce flash and no flash with a high ISO setting).

7) The LCD Display

AVOID USING THE DISPLAY TO CHECK ANYTHING OTHER THAN IF YOU CUT OFF ANYONE'S HEAD. LCD displays should NOT be used to confirm contrast, color, exposure, or any other critical factors. This is why the computer is needed to evaluate test shots prior to the party. If you are very experienced, you can tell certain things from the histogram, but to be safe - take test shots and examine the results on a computer (or, ideally a printer) way before the actual date of the party.

8) Equipment

Have fully-charged batteries, memory cards, chargers, external flash, lens accessories, and tripod ready.

9) Construct a Birthday Party Pictures List

Jot down MUST HAVE pictures, as well as the ones you would like to capture, if possible. And, what's the good of putting together a list unless you remember to take it to the party AND TO REFER TO IT.

10) Candids

If you're putting together a list, may I suggest including "Candids" on it. Very often the best birthday party photos will be candids. Since most birthday photos are generally posed, candids take on a special uniqueness.

Candid birthday party photos of sleeping children should always be a top priority. Why? On a purely emotional note, they are always cute, will typically produce a smile for the viewer, and sometimes even get a laugh.

11) Surplus Time

If it's your child's birthday party, they will never look better than they do JUST BEFORE THE PARTY STARTS. If possible, locate a spot where natural light is entering a window and POSE them and the cake for some big smiling photos. (The younger the child, the less chance for smiles, so don't go crazy.)

And, by the way, there will be plenty of opportunity later to take some birthday party pictures with cake and ice cream dribbling out of their mouth.



Selasa, 17 Oktober 2017

Top 10 Digital Cameras - What You Need To Know About Them

There are a large number of top 10 digital camera lists available on the Internet today. Each one of them is different and they all have different sets of criteria, on the basis of which these lists are compiled.

However, it is not necessary that a top 10 list by a particular site is the top 10 list for you. Since every camera user has his/her own preferences, it is not really correct to assume that one top 10 list works for everyone.

So, the best thing that you can do is to develop a set of top 10 criteria for yourself. Once you do this, then you will be able to develop your own top 10 digital camera list. So, now the question arises that how do you develop your criteria list.

The first and foremost thing to do is to determine the reason why you want to buy a digital camera. What are you going to use the camera for? How do you plan to use the photographs? And the most critical question of all, what is your budget?

Let us assume that you answer the above questions in the following manner :
You want a digital camera to take pictures of your family and during holidays.

You plan to use the photographs by printing them out to put into family albums, calendars and to post them on your web site.

Your budget for the camera is $200-300.

The above statements are enough to narrow down your choices quite a bit.

You specifically need to look at the battery life of the camera - since on vacation you will not be able to charge your digital camera at all times.

You also need to see the storage space available on the camera as it will not be possible for you to keep on transferring images at all times.

You need a camera with zoom options but whether you go for an optical zoom or digital zoom will get decided by your budgetary constraints.

You need flash since family photographs are normally taken indoors.

Your camera should be user-friendly, since it is likely that other/younger family members will be using the camera as well.
The camera should be sturdy as well, especially if you are on vacation with young children.

The camera should be compact and light-weight as it is not possible to carry big, bulky cameras while traveling.

A digital camera which can shoot good images to be put on a web site and in calendars needs to have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. So this is another factor to be considered.

If you visit the beach while vacationing, then you might want to consider a water-proof camera. However, to fit this into your budget might be a bit difficult. Hence, there are digital cameras which come with water-proof cases and are cheaper. So, this might be the next best option for you.

You can also go for a digital camera which supports MPG files, so you can click mini-videos. This is a great option for those people who do not possess digital video cameras.



Rabu, 11 Oktober 2017

Panasonic Digital Cameras - The History Behind Their Cameras

Panasonic is a world-renowned consumer electronics company today. Its digital cameras have recently entered the market. In this article, we will view the story of Panasonic and some of the latest cameras which have been launched by the company in the market.

The inception of Panasonic took place in the year 1918 on a small work table in the house of Konosuke Matsushita. At that time, Matsushita invented the two-socket light fixture. This product became a success and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. was established.

Panasonic is the largest manufacturer of consumer electronics in the world today. The firm produces a wide array of products which cater to several needs of consumers. Its policy of achieving hundred percent customer satisfaction and providing optimal quality goods, has led Panasonic from strength to strength. In fact, the name Panasonic is synonymous with innovation, quality, performance and ease of use.

As far as digi cameras are concerned, Panasonic has got several types of digi cameras which can cater to various audiences depending on their budget and needs. In fact, Panasonic has also entered into an alliance with German camera maker, Leica to develop still digital cameras. The reason for this alliance is the fact that Panasonic is a small player in the digital market today. This alliance will help both Leica and Panasonic to take over an estimated ten percent of the digital camera market share.

Panasonic's latest line of digi cameras consists of mainly three series. One of these is the Lumix digital camera series. The Lumix camera makes use of lenses provided by Leica. This helps in getting images which are extremely clear and bright. The Lumix is a highly advanced camera and also comes with manual control options. Its shutter interval is also less than 0.04 seconds, hence allowing the photographer to take shots quickly.

Another series of digital cameras are cheaper and smaller, known as the D-Snap digital camera series. These cameras are trendy and small. They are super-slim and come in different colors. These cameras can also record videos and play music. The D-Snap digital camera is aimed at teenagers and youngsters who are looking for something smart and trendy and which also fit into their budget.

Slowly and steadily, Panasonic is establishing a name for itself in the digi camera world. This company, which has always believed in putting the customer's needs first, is sure to make a mark in this arena as well.