Photography Blog DigitalPixels.net

By 'exposure' we mean the amount of light that falls onto the film, or CCD if you are using a digital camera. In modern cameras the exposure is usually set to automatic by default and, most of the time, it can be left there and will produce beautiful pictures. There are times though, when the lighting conditions are difficult or we want to produce a particular effect and it would be nice to understand what is going on 'under the hood'.

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Depth of field (DOF) is the distance in front and beyond the object that is in focus. This tutorial will teach you about how to use Depth of Field in your own photography.

A short depth of field can be very useful when you want to isolate your object from the background, such as when taking portraits or macro photography. A large depth of field is great when you photograph landscapes and overall when you want every detail to be in focus.
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The A300 may be average in terms of size and weight, but it does have something that makes it stand out of the crowd: Live View with fast auto-focus. None of the currently manufactured competitor models – the 'non-SLR' Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 aside – can auto-focus quickly in live view mode, and that's because they get the live view feed off the main imaging chip, which means their mirror must be raised while in this mode, blocking light from reaching their AF sensors.
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Astrophotography is a complex activity, you can not simply point a camera at the sky and take a photo. There are a wide range of technical challenges that must be solved. Learning the basics is just the first step in the process, there are a multitude of small issues that need to be addressed while photographing. Few are of any great difficulty, but there are a lot of them.

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Try as we might, it’s not always possible to capture what’s needed in a single photograph. Though I prefer to do as much as possible in the camera, digital tools now allow us to create most anything. The trick is pulling the elements together to make a quality photo and not a “Frankenshot”. Luckily, my business partner (Bob) is an expert Photoshop user and enjoys a good challenge.

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Victoria's Secret Fashion Videos

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High-end digital cameras have always made it possible to take panoramic shots through the means of point and shoot, point and shoot, point and shoot again and then work to stitch a dozen or so shots together. The results, however, have always been disappointing. With the steadiest hand in the world pictures have always varied and it has always required exemplary digital photo-editing skills just to create something that was half-way good.

Giroptic has single-handedly changed all this. The company has created what they say to be the world’s first truly automated 360° digital camera which takes high-quality panoramic shots with just one click.

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Nothing gets me excited like a good process and when it comes to photo editing its something that evolves as your eye becomes more aware of your shot. My personal feeling is that you stop at the step that leaves you feeling most complete when looking at your photo. More is not always better with editing. Often times less is more

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Unless otherwise noted, photographs below were taken at default settings, with the ISO fixed at 80. The image quality and resolution were at their highest levels.

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The PhotographyBB Online Magazine Issue #11 for December is now available for download!

The holiday season is upon us and what better way to celebrate than to grab a cup of hot chocolate, kick back, and enjoy the December Issue of the PhotographyBB Online Magazine. This month, we head back to Moscow where Jon Ayres gives us a look at how the holidays are celebrated in Russia. We’ve also made some slight changes to the magazine to include more “how-to” style articles. Check out this month’s issue for:

• Night photography techniques - Part II - Painting with Light and Holiday Lights
• Best Shooting Gear for the Holidays
• Better Portrait Posing Techniques
• Mastering Photoshop Brushes
• Pro Retouching Techniques
• and more!

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In the last post I wrote about LR2's Graduated Filter. The other localized editing tool, which many think might be the most significant addition to LR2, is the Adjustment Brush [AB]. The AB (keyboard shortcut "K" in your program) allows you to "paint" localized non-destructive effects like Exposure, Saturation, Sharpness, etc. You can then change or add parameters to the selected area and fine tune the effect to your image.

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ISO should be one of the easiest aspects of digital photography to master, but many beginners in photography still have a hard time understanding this fundamental camera setting.

I suspect this is because of the way it is being taught. You see, ISO started out as a property of film, and it was much easier to visualise it in terms of the old technology. So that's where I want to start my explanation, before bringing you into the 21st century with ISO today.

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