Use free Photoshop Tutorials to Become a Master in Photography

People who work with digital photographs are probably masters in the art of using Photoshop. And when I say art I mean that, from normal photos, they can obtain really artistic photos, with all flaws corrected, with the right color saturation and all kinds of marvelous effects.

But we are all asking ourselves, how these people can transform a photo into a work of art? The answer is quite simple: they have learned all their tricks by using books and free and Photoshop tutorials. But it's a lot easier to use tutorials when you want to learn something new, because you no longer have to consult different books and ask your friends until you get your questions answered. These free Photoshop tutorials are made in such a way that everyone can understand how the software works.

These free Photoshop tutorials can be found on the Internet divided into different categories in order for you to find them easier and faster: the basics category, the photography tutorials, and the texturing category and only for Photoshop fans the special FX and the web designing tutorials. On other websites you can find free Photoshop tutorials classified by the version of the program so you can pick up a whole set of tutorials made especially for the Photoshop version you use. Only for Photoshop fans tutorials that are great for multimedia pros, video, film, graphic and web-designers.

If you search the Internet and type free Photoshop tutorials you will be surprised to see how many tutorials for this great software are out there. Basic Photoshop tutorials are for those people who do not know a lot about how to use Photoshop. They can easily learn from these free Photoshop tutorials how to change the color of the hair, how to remove red eyes, retouch pictures, learn the essentials of layers, get a quick overview in what concerns the gradient tool and many more.

Those people who own a website can also use Photoshop tutorials. In some more advanced tutorials you can learn how to make a hosting server with Photoshop, create website navigation bars, create professional introduction pages and make media site content boxes easily. These are only a few examples of what free Photoshop tutorials can teach you. There are also a lot more options and tutorials for you to choose from, and they are not limited only for Photoshop fans, they are available for everyone.

You can find hundreds of Photoshop tutorials on the Internet, but if you really want to learn something you should stick to a few basic tutorials and then rush for the more advanced ones that are reserved only to the Photoshop fans. Step by step you will learn all the tricks this great software offers you.

Free Photoshop tutorials are a great opportunity that no one should miss. Learning something new and fun for free is not something to refuse every day. Maybe you will not become the director of an imposing magazine by learning how to use Photoshop, but at least you could have a great photo album to share with your friends.

If you are looking for a large variety of free Photoshop tutorials made only for Photoshop fans please visit http://www.psfanatic.com

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 lense), 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 picutures, 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 bottomline 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/pictures.html . Afer 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.

Ravi Jayagopal is a Software Architect and eBusiness Consultant from Westchester, New York, helping web site publishers with their Programming, SEO and Internet marketing needs. Check out some of the cutest baby pictures Ravi's site, http://www.BabyNamesIndia.com/pictures.html

Portrait Studios

Portrait studios are a significant component of the portrait. For the background to be very victorious, it is must that is not compete with main subject but still support the frame of mind of the portrait. The competing shapes as well as the lines intersecting center of the interest have to be avoided. Except the artistic statement, sturdy colors are inclined to distract from message.

If you have the studio in to your basement or else in the separate room, then your background will most likely be along longest shipshape wall. One of the unavoidable features is line made up by the junction of wall as well as floor. This line repeatedly appears in lower third of picture, the cutting all through the portrait with no regard to affect that it has on the theme. It can also be the airbrushed out or else digitally detached however the best answer is to remove that from room actually.

Many of the studios now rely on the hanging the large muslin fabric background lying on the wall. The advantage of the muslin is it hides the corners as well as the floor lines plus can also be stored in the bag while not in exercise. The scenes though look best when it is not draped, however stretched quite tightly athwart the wall. The solid colors as well as subtle outlines can be wrapped loosely or else bunched for the artistic outcome. Most valuable are the subtly combined light shades as well as the solid black. The one attached at ceiling height, they will be long adequate to be carried out just short of the camera location for the full liberty of posing.

Primarily, make out wherever the inexpensive to no-cost photographers are lynching out. The Community colleges and the university are proliferation grounds for imaginative types. The Department store portrait studios make use of photographers at bare minimum wage to snap movies of family for the holidays. less important group of people newspapers more often than not hire photographers with small work knowledge and large dreams.

Many of the portrait studios provide the well-liked background option of white. While the pure white doesn’t exist in the nature, it is ultimate look of the non-interference in the portrait background. The outcome to some extent remindful of the catalog advertisement but it narrates well to the high input photography as well as faded vignettes. The large roll of the white paper can also be used, however over time it is expensive as well as mars easily. The improved solution is washable decorated surface.

This kind of the painted background can also be brought on the floorboards, progressively shaded to the neutral gray. Curved floor that is the ’invisible horizon’ might add much of the distance as well as separation to the portraits. Now with the digital cameras that are showing the bigger depth of the field, it is very significant that your background come out soft as well as uncluttered which is a great news.

Find more information on Portrait Studios at our site!

Tips for Better Vacation Photos

Photos are a great way to share your travel experiences with family and friends. Here are a few suggestions to help you capture vacation memories you will treasure for years to come.

PLAN AHEAD

Make sure your digital camera is in good working order before you go, and keep it in a water- and shock-resistant case. Bring two sets of rechargeable batteries and don't forget the charger and relevant cords. Make sure your camera has enough memory. Packing an extra memory card is wise, as there is nothing worse than running out of room for pictures halfway down the Grand Canyon. It may be tempting to lower the resolution so you can store more pictures, but you will regret this later as it may result in poorer quality prints, or you will be limited to smaller size prints. Set your camera at its highest quality JPEG setting and get more memory if you have to. You will appreciate this when you're viewing and printing your photos after your trip.

TAKE LOTS AND LOTS OF PICTURES.

With a digital camera you can always erase the photos you don't want. Take pictures of anything you find interesting and try to focus on some of the details such as an attractive doorway or a colorful market, not just panoramic scenes or major landmarks. Let your pictures tell a story by creating a visual diary of your trip. Include street scenes, interesting signs, people you see along the way. For variety take both vertical and horizontal pictures.

READY FOR YOUR CLOSE-UP?

When taking people shots, don't make the mistake of standing too far away. You want to be able to recognize the people in your photos. Get close enough so you can see the expressions on your subjects faces. Zoom in on individuals or capture them from the waist up. Pictures are often more interesting when you can catch people at candid, un-posed moments. In posed photos, try to incorporate some of the background into your shot. Try snapping from interesting angles rather than simply head-on.

USE YOUR FLASH

When photographing in bright sunlight, setting your camera's "fill" or "forced" flash is very helpful, particularly when photographing people. Brilliant sunlight often makes people's faces look harsh, casting dark shadows under the eyes and accentuating wrinkles. The daytime fill-in flash will soften the lighting and make the images more flattering. Your family and friends in the photos will thank you!

EDIT AND ENHANCE YOUR FAVORITE SHOTS

When you get home you can edit, crop and enhance your favorites using photo editing software such as Foto Finish, Ulead or Photoshop Elements. Consider adding drama to your images by turning some of your color photos into black and white or sepia tones and then upload all your images to an online photo printing service like Ofoto or Shutterfly for fast and convenient prints. You can take your best snaps and use your photo editing software to create a photo calendar or make photo cards for personal notes, or to email your favorites to family and friends.

Most of all have fun with your camera!

About The Author

Valerie Goettsch publishes the digital photography website http://www.digitalphotos101.com featuring reviews of photo editing and album software and digital photo printing services.

How to Photograph Your Baby

Babies make the best and the worst subjects to photograph. They are the best for two reasons, people are more tolerant at looking at baby photos, as well as the fact that babies are not aware their image is being captured, and therefore they do not tend to put on the "camera face" so typically used by elder children and adults. They are the worst subjects because their behaviour is unpredictable. Because their behaviour is uncensored, they show their emotions, and can just as easily cry as gurgle happily into the camera.

One of the most challenging aspects of photographing a baby is to control the subject. On the one hand you want them relatively still, but too much control and the photo looses it impetuousness. Lighting and background are both important, you want the background as uncluttered and simple as possible if the photograph is indoors, or as natural as possible outside, a piece of grass is ideal. The lighting should be coming from at least two directional sources, but if it is too strong it will throw shadows that complicate the picture, and often lose the wonderful facial expressions it is possible to capture. However don't miss those impromptu shots either especially with a digital camera, you can always edit the background later.

It is usually helpful to restrict babies' activities; they are not portrayed at their best nappy high in the air crawling across the floor. A good way to restrict them is a highchair, or holding them in the arms of another person. Baby photography is often better taken very close up, and it is a wise move to look at the manual for your camera, and see how close you can get. It is better to get everything set up first, and then place the baby in position when the lighting and setting have been chosen. However that of course is not always possible.

Distractions in the form of noise, and toys can be a tool, but never forget that a baby's emotion's are always lightning fast, and it all makes for great photographs, whether it is tears of frustration, pouring a drink over your best camera, or laughing.

They are often easier to photograph when there is a minimum of people around because they are so easily distracted. The old school of thought was keep the mother well out of the way, however I personally can't see any mileage in that, as babies are calmer with someone they know, and in most cases that is the mother. Above all remember that photographing babies is fun, the unexpected if caught at just the right moment, makes great memories. Although I doubt if a father who has just picked up their offspring for a photograph will forget the time that their child was sick all over them. Control can only go so far with babies.

Babies are babies for short a period of time, you can never have too many photographs, and here a digital camera can save enormous amounts on both film and development. It also allows for wastage as you can view the results immediately and can the ones you don't want. You will have huge embarrassment value in later life showing your daughter's first boyfriend her as a baby with no nappy! Another enormous advantage to digital photography is that you don't have to shoot the photograph with a little black box in front of your face. This will catch a baby's emotions perfectly, but is not the best way to capture their best expressions. A small child will respond better when they respond to your expressions. By being able to hold the camera away from your face you have a chance to capture the best of their expressions as well; an LCD screen generally reaps huge benefits.

Another great myth was that the best photographs are taken by professionals, whilst there is no denying that professional take great formal photographs, and every baby should have at least one set to keep as an adult. However this formal stylised pose often lacks something, somehow, because children are not camera aware, they are not camera shy. Young babies are better photographed in an environment that they are entirely comfortable with and that place is often their own home or the garden. The great thing about photographing your own child is that it does not need any special equipment, special effects, or even any really special effort, and it certainly does not involve trailing somewhere in the middle of the night to capture a beautiful dawn. A point and shoot will work wonders.

Probably the most important technical point to remember when photographing a baby is that because of their size, you have to get down to their height to get that wonderful close- up. The easiest way and least dangerous way is to physically get down on the floor with them, not necessarily the most dignified way, but certainly the most rewarding. There are no imperfections in a babies face, you can get as close as you can without showing crow's feet! You cannot engineer this type of photography it has to happen, but you can be creative in your approach and let the baby respond to you, because it has no knowledge of how to respond to the camera.

With a very young baby still in its crib, there is very little option, but to shoot from the above, unless you want the baby to look as though it is captured in a wooden box, but it is an approach to be avoided if at all possible.

You have more opportunities to photograph babies in more settings than at almost any other age. After all you don't photograph your mother on the toilet. Few props are useful with babies, but baths and potty's are great because they are both tools that they are familiar with and with a little patience they can be put to great effect regarding play. Surely you can put up with getting a little damp at bath- time, but of course try and remember to make sure the potty is empty! Above all remember that it fun and relaxed, you will never have the opportunity to have so many natural photos again. Enter into the spirit of it and you will be amply rewarded. Another great "prop" to use if you have one is the family pet, providing it is not intimidating to the baby.

There is no fun at all in photographing someone screaming the house down in fear. Whilst every parent should have at least one set of professional photos taken, don't rely on someone else to capture those truly enchanting moments, especially at momentous milestones. If it is your child's first birthday they will reward you with better photographs if you take them yourself. Get someone else to do it on a less important day.

Publisher & author: Roy Barker. Roy is the author of the popular ebook, Income from Photography - a downloadable ebook which guides the reader on how to start up and market a Profitable Photography business. It can be viewed at http://www.profitable-photography.com. Other related and reviewed services & research sources can be found at http://www.profitable-photography.com/html/117/

10 Things You Can Do to Protect Your Photographs from Infringement

While it would be nice to live in a house where you don't have to lock the door, it's not practical these days. Likewise, here are 10 things you can do to help safeguard your images from being stolen.

#1 Use the copyright "notice" the © with a date and name of the copyright owner whenever you publish your images. It may stop someone from copying an image, either because the person will be reminded that the image belongs to someone or because the notice impairs the image for the person's use.

#2 Include with your copyright notice the words "All Rights Reserved." Some additional international protection is added.

#3 Register your copyrights with the U.S. Copyright Office. While you own the copyright to your image when you click the shutter (in most instances), registration itself provides some evidence that the image is yours. Register it even if it's already published. It's better late than never.

#4 If you find a website that is unlawfully using one of your images, follow the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to contact the Internet Service Provider who must then remove the material from user's website.

#5 When you provide copies of your images to someone else, put IN WRITING the specific rights of usage you are giving that person.

#6 Put a copyright notice on your website, such as: All photographs appearing on this site are the property of Carolyn Wright Photography. They are protected by the U.S. copyright laws, and are not to be downloaded or reproduced in any way without the written permission of Carolyn Wright Photography.

#7 Don't steal others work, such as music. Get a license if you need a tune to accompany your slideshow. Teach your children and others to respect other's work.

#8 Read the fine print whenever you submit your image to anyone/anywhere to make sure that it's not a license agreement to use your image or to transfer the copyright.

#9 Include your copyrights in your estate planning, along with your other assets such as your house and furnishings.

#10 Sue those who steal your work. Send the message that you value your work.

Copyright 2005 Carolyn E. Wright All Rights Reserved

Carolyn E. Wright, Esq., has a unique legal practice aimed squarely at the needs of photographers. A pro photographer herself, Carolyn has the credentials and the experience to protect photographers. She's represented clients in multimillion dollar litigations, but also has the desire to help new photographers just starting their careers. Carolyn graduated from Emory University School of Law with a Juris Doctor, and from Tennessee Tech Univ. with a Masters of Business Administration degree and a Bachelor of Science degree in music.

She wrote the book on photography law. "88 Secrets to the Law for Photographers," by Carolyn and well-known professional photographer, Scott Bourne, is scheduled for fall 2005 release by Olympic Mountain School Press. Carolyn also is a columnist for PhotoFocus Magazine.

Carolyn specializes in wildlife photography and her legal website is http://www.photoattorney.com