The True Essence of Still Life Photography

It is believed that the origin of still life photography is entrenched within the romanticism of conventional mode of painting. If we shed light over the inherent meaning of still life, we can perceive it as a fundamental illustration of natural world in relation to a higher degree of scenic experience. While working with a canvas, a painter presents his dilemma, frustration, depression, enjoyment, aesthetic sense with the help of the brush and color. The same thing is true for a photographer, who uses his still life photography technique to express the inner feelings in order to make each and every photograph unique.

The Blend

In 17th century, still life painting raised to the level of fine art. These paintings were largely rich in their unique application of texture and vibrant colors along with radiant emphasis over multitude of shadowing. The scenes of the painting primarily focused on rich heritage of that time, illustrating the layers of food served on the table, packed with the costly wine, fine clothes, etc. The subjects of still life photography by that time were not abstract or complicated. The unique essence was derived by the special rendering and treatments given by the photographers. While Salvador Dali and Cezanne did much experimentation beyond the traditional limitation of painting, the periphery of still life photography was developed to a greater extent by Andre Kertesz and Man Ray.

A ’Blank’ Canvas

Similar to the painting, when a photographer starts his still life photography, he actually initiates the process from a ’blank’ canvas. There is no single scratch on it. Typically the still life photography is developed through the process of illustrating the scene in an empty space, where textures, shapes, colors, and tones are applied to give the photography a desired character. In addition, photographers exploit the lighting arrangement to give the photography a higher dimension. The last but not the least, darkroom skills are essential to make the picture seeable to the spectators.

The Application

Quite prevalently, the elements used in still life photography are not dynamic in nature. While learning the technique of still life photography, the learner knows about the in-depth aspect of camera view and camera perspective in addition to the lessons incorporating the segments like composition, use of light, color balance, contrast and concord of all ingredients. In other words, still life photography is an autonomous expression in which all of the ingredients combine to provide a unique contribution to the overall outcome. The application of still life photography is wide and varied including advertising, book covers, catalogue painting, brochure designing and many others. In fact, anything and every thing can be the subject of still life photography.

Expanding Your Photography Skills with Online Photography Courses

Whether you are a brand new photographer, an old hand looking to switch to digital photography, or just need to brush up on some photography techniques, online photography courses are extremely helpful.

Online photography courses come in a variety of formats and subjects. There are beginning courses for people who have never so much as held a camera before. These courses are great for teaching you the basics of how a camera works, how to frame a shot, and how to get what you want out of a photograph.

Other online photography courses assume that you already have some knowledge of photography and teach a specific skill. These skills vary greatly, and could include black and white composition, landscape composition, or portrait basics. These online photography courses could be beneficial for photographers of nearly any skill level, since these techniques are used by a wide variety of photographers.

When you are comfortable with the basic techniques, you can move on to online photography courses in specialized subjects that interest you, such as nature photography or underwater photography. These courses will help you to develop a natural eye for spectacular photographs in the specialty of your choice.

How Do Online Photography Courses Work?

Participating in online photography courses may be easier than you think. You can either take courses through an online college, or you can go through a company that specializes in online photography courses. The latter choice is great for hobbyists who don’t want to obtain a degree, or for professionals who don’t need to go through basic classes and just want to skip ahead to the courses they do need.

Your online photography courses may be completed through the website holding the course, or you may be sent some files that will detail the techniques being taught. Some courses involve an instructor with whom you can communicate; you send your assignments to the instructor to be evaluated and you receive feedback for each one. Other courses are strictly one-sided; that is, the information is provided to you and you complete the steps at your own pace.

The type of online photography course that you take is entirely up to you. If you work better in a self-paced environment, you may not thrive in an instructor-led course. But if you have trouble understanding things after just reading through them, having an instructor might be helpful so that you can ask questions whenever you are unclear.

Online photography courses can provide you with valuable skills. Whether you are just starting out or trying to expand on your already-sharp skills, there are online photography courses out there for everyone.

A Brief Look at Digital Indoor Photography

Make no bones about it the digital cameras of today are far more easy to operate than the old school traditional film cameras. This does not mean, however, that these cameras are without their complexities. Additionally, there may be some added complexities associated with indoor digital photography, a type of photography that is often considered more simplistic than exterior shooting. Well, while it is true that exterior shooting can be somewhat complicated its complexities do not exist at the exclusion of complexities associated with interior shoots. While there are a number of tips for improving one’s picture taking, here the two most common impediments to solid picture taking will be examined.

Light and Shadows

Is it a trick of light and shadows? This was the question asked on the old commercial for the infamous Face on Mars videotape. While no one will be shooting photographs of the landscape of the Red Planet from their living room, when one takes part in indoor digital photography there will still be concerns about light and shadows. After all, poor light will kill the quality of photographs greater than anything else. Of course, a solid flash will eliminate any problems with light exposure but it is also striking to note that there is also flashless digital cameras as well that are quite reliable. Either way, paying attention to the light conditions for a camera will always be of paramount importance for indoor digital photography.

The Benefits of a Tripod

Believe it or not, when it comes to digital indoor photography many people do not take into consideration the value of a tripod. Often, people will assume that a tripod is necessary for outdoor shoots due to the commonly uneven ground of an exterior, but the relatively even surface of an interior shoot makes the need for a tripod unnecessary. To put it mildly, such logic really doesn’t add up! There are many reasons why this notion is wildly lacking in logic, but the main reason would be that without a tripod there will be a need to hold your camera steady exclusively by hand. Needless to say, this can be problematic at times and can often ruin a shot. So, if you want to make sure you digital indoor photography is solid then it may be best to stick with a tripod.

Again, while there are a number of areas to take into consideration regarding this type of photography paying attention to light and using a tripod will eliminate 90% of the most common problems associated with snapping pictures. It is as simple as that.

Use Your Camera for Extra Money

One of the easiest ways of making extra money is with a camera. More people own cameras than radios, and photography is the fastest growing hobby in the world. Yet using a camera as an extra income tool is largely overlooked!

With a little imagination, a flair for showmanship, and just a hint of salesmanship, the average man or woman, or even teenager, can easily make an extra $300 a week with his camera.You don't have to have one of the popular, more expensive cameras either, or a loot of high priced attachments and equipment. In many instances, a Polaroid or other "off-the-wall" camera will suit the purposes perfectly. The only special piece of extra equipment you may want to invest in would be a tripod for mounting the camera in certain situations. One of the easiest ideas is to visit a children's clothing store in one of your busy shopping centers, or the children's department in one of your large department stores. Sell the manager or store owner on the idea of your setting up in a corner of the store or department, and taking pictures of the shoppers' children. He can promote the fact that you'll be in the store taking pictures for special prices during certain hours - perhaps on Friday evenings and all day Saturdays - in his advertising, thus drawing patrons into his store because of you.

You'll need a sheet or a plain piece of material, or some sort of imaginative set for a background. But this you can easily make or build yourself. You should also have an eye-catching poster that calls attention to what you're doing and the prices you're charging. Unless you're a commercial artist, spend the money to have this sign made for you by a professional. The next and last thing you'll need will be a 2-part receipt or coupon. This can be a simple piece of paper about 2" wide by 5" long. On the left side draw lines for your customers to fill in their name, telephone number and address. You might also want to include space for additional information such as the child's name and age and the number of children in the family, for future efforts, but keep it brief and simple. On the right hand side of this coupon, have your business name, address and telephone number, plus a quick outline of the different kinds of photography work you handle, and perhaps a business slogan such as "Satisfaction Guaranteed or You Don't Pay." To add a little bit of class to this coupon, take the basic outline of this idea over to an instant print shop. Tell them what you want; show them your outline; and have them typeset everything. Then put a fancy border around the whole coup on and have it printed on colored paper. The best color of paper is a "dollar bill" shade of green. If you want to give it even more class, you could have it printed on green, lightweight card stock. You'll want to divide the "information" side o f this coupon from the "business card" side with a dotted line and perforations. If you layout this coupon properly. You should be able to get six of them on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper or card stock. This means the printer can print and cut 6,000 of them for about the same cost as printing 1,000 circulars or flyers. On your printing, shop around for the best deal, but in the end, it shouldn't cost you more than about $60 for all 6,000 coupons which will come from those 1,000 sheets of paper or card stock.

Now, when you take a person's picture, regardless of whether it's an "in-store" set-up, out on the golf course, or along the street, you give your customer one of your coupon-receipts and tell them their prints will be ready in a couple of days. They fill in the information part of the coupon and give it back to you, retaining your "business card" portion of it.When the prints are ready, you can phone the customer and remind him - volunteer to deliver and collect; send them through mail with a bill; or make arrangements with a store to take care of them until the people call for them and pay at that time. Most stores, golf courses, bowling centers, and other retail merchants will be glad to handle this part of it for you, because it brings the customers back into the places of business, and provides another sales opportunity for them. By all means, be sure to include an advertising circular with each set of pictures you deliver. This circular should explain how the customer can get more prints, how he can get enlargements of his favorites, and details relating to all the other photography services you offer.

Back to the original "in-store" picture taking set-up during evening shopping hours and on weekends for extra income. You can call attention to your "in-store" set-up and bring in more business with a few merchandising promotional ideas. In the following paragraphs we give the highlights of a few ideas that have worked well, how evþer, you should keep your eyes open to observe additional promotional ideas that could be adapted to fit your new business. Dress a helper in a clown suit, and take pictures of the kids on his lap or with his arm around the kids. Put a sandwich advertising board on a helper and let him stroll through the shopping center advertising the fact that you're in Kiddie Clothing store taking pictures.

Promote a "Baby of the Year" contest where you take pictures of babies, display the pictures on a "show board" and offer $100 cash plus a merchandise prize in a big drawing at the end of the year. Set up a booth in the mall and promote "Instant Snapshots." Be a Roving Photographer and take candid shots of shoppers and promote a "Shopper of the Year" contest. Work with a clown and have him "attach himself" to the kids, and ask if they'd like to have their pictures taken with him. Build an inexpensive and portable set, such as an air plane, a race car, bucking bronco, hand-shaking scene with a famous person or "balloon figures" and take pictures of people standing in or on these sets.

Get out to the golf course and take pictures of the golfers teeing off. Get over to the bowling centers and take candid shots of the bowlers in action. Do the same thing wherever there's a sports event taking place. Be on the spot and ready whenever there's an opportunity to take team pictures. You might follow, or hire someone else to follow a Little League team through its season, take candid and action shots. You then arrange the best of these pictures in a photo album with the team's name and year on the front. You should be able to sell one of these albums to each member of the team.

There's also the idea of "just strolling through the park" on a Sunday afternoon. You take candid and interesting pictures of couples, children and people in general spending time with their relatives. Keep tabs on the announcements of new births. Send advertising literature to the new mothers, and follow up with phone calls efforts to set up photography sessions. Keep tabs on the engagement notices in the weekend papers. Send your sales literature to the brides-to-be, and follow up with phone call efforts to take the wedding pictures. Set up household and business photo inventory service. With this idea, you contact the insurance companies and determine if they will approve and endorse photographs you take of their policy holders' household, personal and business property in loss claims.

Most will, and from there - working either with the help of an insurance agent, the agency itself, or on your own - contact owners of property and sell them on the idea of your taking pictures of the household goods they have insured. You take pictures - a pictorial inventory of everything they're claiming or would like to claim on an insurance policy - and then identify the pictures, giving one set to the property owner and the other set to his insurance agent or company. Picture inventories of household and personal property is still a new thing, but everywhere it's been introduced, it's definitely proven to be a super money-maker for the people willing to get out and hustle. If this idea arouses your interest, you might want to check into a online photography service,that specializes in helping you sell some of your best photography photos online, this offers photographers a quick and easy way to start earning some quick cash. Once you decide that using your camera to generate extra income is what you're going to do, get out and use your camera, start taking pictures, and allow yourself the opportunity to build. Give yourself the chance, and you'll quickly begin to think of hundreds of ideas for taking pictures, merchandising ideas for promoting your services, and sales angles for increasing your profits.

The important thing is to get started, regardless of how small your start, and begin chasing in on an idea that's still in its infancy. This is an idea that can produce new concepts for profit every day of the week. An idea that can be fun, as well as financially rewarding for you! You've got the idea and the plan - the rest is up to you. You've got the ball; now run with it!

Is Black And White Digital Photography Hard?

Many people mistakenly think that black and white digital photography is difficult, but it really doesn’t have to be. There are just some differences between the basic color and black and white digital photography that you will need to understand, and which will be discussed here

Shooting Tips

Here are a few tips that will help when you are shooting black and white digital photography. The first is to shoot in RAW. This is basically the counterpart to JPEG that you are most likely used to, but which will give you the most control in the post production phase of converting your color photographs into black and white.

Using a low ISO is also very important, and shooting with the lowest ISO possible is one of the best things you can do. It is also very important to learn when to shoot, because usually novice photographers find themselves shooting a million pictures a minute, hoping that one of them will turn out.

It is much better to take your time, know what you are doing, and produce that single, top quality picture. A dark or overcast day can be a great time to shoot outdoor shots especially if you are going for a black and white photograph, because the sun will not be glaring in the lens and it will turn out a lot more dramatic.

Composition is another very important feature here, especially for black and white digital photography. The main difference with composition when it comes to black and white digital photography is that you are unable to use color to lead the eye into or around your shoot.

Find The Right Camera

If you want to shoot in black and white, it is very important to choose the right camera for your needs. You need to find a camera that is going to offer all the features and components that you are looking for, and one that you are going to feel comfortable using.

Of course price is also an important factor here, as you want to spend enough to get a good quality camera but at the same time should not go too far over your budget where you are spending a fortune and going to be broke.

Cameras range significantly in price from modestly cheap up to thousands of dollars. Make sure that you find one you know is good quality and which will produce good photographs, but which is not too expensive for you to comfortably pay for. A high quality camera can only enhance any black and white digital photography.

Secrets of make money with photography

Make money as a photographer? Here are a few ways to do that

So, you want to make some extra cash with your camera. But the question is how to start. You are in the right place. Here I tried to give detailed information about Secrets of make money with photography.

A picture is helpful in revealing a fact or a beauty. To illustrate a subject, it is not possible to write an article of many words, but it is possible to present the details of your content with a picture. Can you imagine a day without media? Of course not! it is not possible to imagine anything without media today. And the picture is a common issue in every case of the media. From the print media to TV channels, movies, social media, even in a personal and social life, such as marriage, birthdays and other events the presence of the camera can be seen almost everywhere. And the camera operator who is called a photographer is so much more demanding, so the photographer's workplace is quite extensive.

Before start ask yourself

• Do you have a decent digital camera?
• Can you take photos that make a strong statement about the subject?
• Do you want to earn with photography?

If all answers are true, then the article will help you to reach your goal

There is no shortage of cameras in the market and people behind the camera. So if you learn to shoot good photography, then the good photographer's position is absolutely ripe. You can earn yourself by making a portfolio or freelancing. On the other hand, you are just a travel-crazy man and you have a digital camera, which gives you some spectacular pictures at the time of travel, with love or a hobby, you capture some pictures every day in your camera. Every day everywhere you go with your camera and take some cool snap, it gives you joy but does not pay any money. Be glad to know that you can also convert these pictures to money. You can sell your stock photos without any training, even without a personal website.

You Need a decent Digital Camera

There is no substitute for a good digital camera for taking pictures. You may be able to take good and beautiful pictures with expensive smartphones nowadays, but it is not enough to make money. On the other hand, in order to make money do not need an expensive camera. In the beginning you can choose one of these cameras that are priced at a low price for you. Canon EOS Rebel T5 or Canon Eos Rebel T6.

The image is a matter that occupies the largest part of the Internet world, and its needs are not ending. Every day, new websites are being created on different topics, and the beauty of a website is a picture, and that's why its demand will never end. Using your photography hobby is not very hard to earn from the internet. It can be used as an alternative to the profession and many people do it.

Take photos that make a strong statement about the subject

A simple picture that does not attract people will not give you money. A picture that you want to convert to money should be interesting and make a strong statement about the subject. You can read this awesome article to know details processes or procedures how to get a good picture.

How to earn money as a photographer

There is a lot of ways for earning money as a photographer that cannot be explained in a single article. Many online designers have been looking for pictures for their projects, and from different types of designs to industrial value, people also buy photos.

Many small companies or webmasters want to use their photos as advertisements, magazines, posters, videos or website content. But many times it cannot be taken as pictures of mind, but at the same time, someone has given such a picture online. But the problem is the permission to use the pictures taken from others. So in this case, Royalty Free Image can be used by anyone who can buy and purchase pictures and use them for their needs. So there's a lot of demand. In this case, many small companies, webmasters, personalities, newspapers etc. are buying these pictures. And when they are selling pictures they get permission to use this picture. A lot of photographers work around us. Each job field is different.

List of careers in photography

1. Earn as a portrait photographer
2. Make money as a Photojournalist
3. Make money with photography Blog 
4. Graphic design photography
5. Revenue by selling pictures on the Internet
6. Earn money as a freelance photographer

There are much more areas to build a career in photography. For making money, you can do photography on the following topics Such as: Fashion, Advertising, Landscape, Wildlife, Family, Baby, Food, Vehicle, sports, Pet, Event, Real Estate and Architecture, Photojournalist, Concert, Medical, Travel, Street, Nude/erotic, Stock Photo, Wedding Photography, Documentary etc.

Let's talk about the topics - careers in photography- mentioned above

Earn as a portrait photographer

Portrait photography is a photograph of a person or group of people that capture the personality of the subject. People make Portraits for many purposes such as use on a personal Web site or display in the lobby of a business and many other business purposes. Even Many people also create portraits for social media profile pictures.

For making money you can take pictures locally with a studio or a person calls in his own place. Here you can learn more about Portrait photography.

Make money as a photojournalist

A creative and skilled photographer has a lot of workplaces. A photojournalist captures and displays images in order to tell a visual story. If you have intellectual brains to decide in the moment and get used to the cameras at the moment's notice then the photojournalism may be your career. Many are financially well-off by taking photojournalism as a profession. There is work opportunity for a photojournalist print media, electronic media, news agency, and photo agency. Photographer's income from different sectors is different and the salary is different for the different country. Based on experience and expertise in the US, a photojournalist's salary is $ 26,381 - $ 58,789. You can take an idea of your country's photojournalist's income by Google.

Photography Income with Blog

It is possible to earn money by creating a photography blog that will create many areas for more income for you. If you can create a popular photo blog and good traffic, then you do not have to worry about ways to make money. The pictures published in a photo blog can be an example of your photography skills that can bring you more new work opportunities.

Suppose a person is searching for a good photographer for a project. He searched your blog by searching the Internet, where there is a sample of work that he liked. Then he will contact you for his work and you will get a new job. This is a common example. There are also several ways to earn from a photo blog, for example...

Google AdSense in your blog

Google AdSense is another way of earning a photography blog. Google AdSense has the ability to provide all types of ads, including text-based ads, video ads, link units, and display ads. Google Adsense generally advertises ads that are relevant to the content of a blog or website. If your photos are accompanied by some text, you can place text-based ads.

Suppose you have published a few tips on taking good pictures on your blog. A visitor searched Google for a better photo shoot and came to your blog and found some ideas that helped to develop his photography knowledge. As well as the advertisements of Google Adsense appearing on your blog, which attracts users and takes them to the advertiser's website and that's why Google paid you.

Earn with In-image ads

You can use In-image-ads for photography blogs. Those who do not know about In-image ads, they may wonder what are in-image-ads? When visiting a web page, you might notice that the ad comes out when the mouse hover over an image. That's the in-image ads. In-image-ads companies provide relevant services using image-recognition-technology. There are many in-image-ad companies who offer this service like gum gum

Graphic design photography

Photography and graphic design are very important to each other. For this reason, a graphic designer is deserving of the photographer for his work. You can work from home. There are many such works available in the online marketplace. You can earn money by taking photographs for a graphic designer.

Revenue by selling pictures on the Internet

Another best way to start earning money from photography is to sell image through the stock photography website. You need to sign up for the stock photography website. You have to upload some of your photos and submit them for approval. If someone purchases your photography, then the Stock Photography website will provide you a commission of paid money which is usually up to 50%. There are many websites, such as SmugMug, iStock Photo,  Fotolia, Photocrati, Shutterstock etc.

Earn money as a freelance photographer

You can earn money by contacting local magazines as freelancers or by signing up at the online Marketplace. Nowadays there is no shortage of freelance photographer. On the other hand, there are plenty of jobs available in the online marketplace. However, you must have a good and strong portfolio to work as a freelancer. It increases your chances of getting more work done.

My request to the experts on this topic: If there is any wrong information here, please make a comment.

Simple Digital Photography Techniques

Today, it would be very unusual to find too many people that are still clicking away on the traditional film-based cameras, for now-a-days, both professionals as well as amateurs know of only one way to shoot pictures and that is the digital photographic way. Thus, it would pay for you to know of the best digital photography techniques in order to get the best out of your digital camera, and because it is now free to shoot pictures, you can view whatever you have shot on the LCD screen on your camera and not have to wait for the film to be developed or worry about paying development costs either Take Several Shots

Thus, the simplest of all digital photography techniques is to take several pictures that will help ensure that you get at least one shot that is exactly as you wanted. You can also use simple digital photography techniques by varying the settings on your digital camera to allow for various effects and thus create more artistic pictures by simply changing the ISO and shutter speed as well aperture. In fact, there are a number of digital cameras that have pre-configured settings for you to select and then are able to shoot the picture with even more precise settings.

This is a very simple digital photography technique that can be used even for taking shots that the settings were not intended for, which will nevertheless still provide you with very unique outcomes.

The one thing that some users of digital cameras complain about the most is the relatively long time it takes to focus on a subject as compared to the amount of time that traditional film cameras take. The worst thing is that in case your focus gets delayed, you can even miss taking a shot, though now there are the new digital photography techniques that can be used to overcome this problem in which all you need to do is to point at the subject and press the focus knob half way down and then simply wait till the focus locks onto the subject. As soon as you want to shoot the subject, you push the button completely and your camera will do the rest for you.

Another very useful digital photography technique is using an optical viewfinder that may not be a feature that is found in all digital cameras, but is still very useful when the LCD view is not too clear because of conditions such as when the day is especially bright and sunny. However, in case you don’t have an optical viewfinder on your digital camera, you can still use the tried and tested digital photography technique and that is to take several shots till you get one that is just right.

Digital photography has many such innovative digital photography techniques that you can use that makes this new form of photography a real pleasure and which provides endless fun to all manner of photographers ? from a newbie to the most professional photographer.