Discover The Latest Fun Ways To Edit Digital Photographs

By David M Peters

Choosing photo-editing software can be difficult. Windows comes with rudimentary tools that will help you with your photos. But you'll need more if you plan on doing more than resizing and rotating photos. Also, cameras usually come with editing software. However, these probably lack essential features to editing your photos. For the average user, Photoshop is overkill. The learning curve is steep, to say the least. It will allow you to transform a photograph completely. However, its tools are aimed at creative professionals. Even experts struggle to master it! If you have outgrown lesser photo-editing programs, Photoshop may be for you. There are no other programs in the same league. The first thing you should look for is ease of use. Try editing one of your photos. With any program, there will be a learning curve. But, you should be able to find the controls you need fairly easily.

New and expert photographers alike have experienced it. You take an otherwise perfect picture of friends or family but there's one major flaw: glowing red eyes. Here are some reliable tips for avoiding red-eye in the first place: whenever possible, try not to use a flash. If you have to use a flash, ask your subject to look toward the camera, but not directly at the lens. Also, use additional light sources in the room. You can also take pictures during the day, because at night the pupils will dilate meaning red-eye will be a certainty. Lastly, you can stand farther away from your subject.

At some point or other you're likely going to want to change the size of a digital photo. This will usually be to serve an intended purpose such as emailing a smaller sized version of your original photo. A common size change for a digital photo is cropping. This can be done to either "zoom in" on a section of the photo (create a new photo of just a portion of the original photo) or to change the aspect ratio of the photo. Cropping involves selecting a portion of the image and removing the rest. This creates a new smaller image with just the portion of the image that you want. Cropping can be used to remove annoyances in the photo, to "zoom-in" on a selected portion of the photo, or to change the aspect ratio of the photo so that it can be printed full frame on a selected paper size. Most good photo programs have a cropping tool.

If you have a rather plain photograph, or a black and white picture, there are ways to manipulate the colors to make the picture more interesting. Your editing program will probably have a way to enhance the color of a picture, or you can completely change the color of an object. If you learn to use the tools well, you could be able to convert a black and white picture to color. You can also create aged effects, or make a picture grayscaled. Experiment with your program and find out what you can do to improve the coloring of your pictures.

Unsharp masking is an image manipulation technique now familiar to many users of digital image processing software, but it seems to have been first used in Germany in the 1930s as a way of increasing the acutance, or apparent sharpness, of photographic images. The "unsharp" of the name derives from the fact that the technique uses a blurred, or "unsharp", positive to create a "mask" of the original image. The unsharped mask is then combined with the negative, creating the illusion that the resulting image is sharper than the original. Digital unsharp masking is a flexible and powerful way to increase sharpness, especially in scanned images. However, it is easy to create unwanted and conspicuous edge effects. On the other hand these effects can be used creatively, especially if one channel of images in RGB or Lab colour space is selected for unsharp masking.

What's the "right" size for a picture? Well, that depends on the photo. Most monitors display at 72 dpi (dots per inch). So, if you want the picture to be 5 inches wide (probably about the biggest you would want for an e-mail message), the picture would be 360 pixels wide (5 inches x 72 dpi = 360 pixels). Pixel is short for "Picture Element" and is the smallest unit of visual information used to build an image. If you have ever zoomed in on an image, Pixels are those little squares that you see. The more pixels in an image, the better the resolution.

Final compression and using the right format can be as important as taking good photos and scanning them correctly. Macs and pc's - and other types of machines - are readily mixed in today's computer environments. This means that proprietary file formats are no longer useful, because you want to be able to exchange files with other people using other types of computers. Web formats are excellent exchange formats, but unfortunately not well suited for archival purposes. This list covers the most common file formats and comments on their characteristics. BMP is the format that is the native Windows format, but it has no advantages over TIFF apart from support in Windows Paint. It is accurate but compresses poorly and has nothing close to the flexibility of TIFF. Use TIFF for archiving in stead. Useless on the web. TIFF is the best format for storing originals and transporting files. TIFF is accurate and compresses well without loss of quality. TIFF can store all types of pictures - simple and complex, B/W and color, photos and logos. TIFF is platform independent and works on both Mac's and PC's.

Would like to find out more about editing digital photography? Don't trust anybody's advice until you read this free report

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What is glossy digital photo printing

by Jessica Thomson

Digital photos are the latest trend in the photography. Not only that it is easy to click a photo using a digital camera but also the print is more attractive due the technology. There are two options one has for printing a digital photo - matte and glossy. Different types of prints are done by making use of different chemicals and photo paper. The finish of the glossy prints is shiny while the matte prints are more subtle. To decide between any of them one ought to have a thorough understanding of the characteristic of both of them. Below are stated the details of the glossy in Digital Photo Printing:

A simple definition of the glossy prints can be that they are shinier than the matte finish. In short they have a glossy finish. Glossy finish is more alluring to the eye. The colors in the glossy finishes are more vibrant and they look quite fancy. The glossy finishes are sharper in contrast giving the photo a rich look. The shine gives a more lively and beautiful look to the photo. The appearance of a glossy finish photo is more profound and deep giving it a surreal and fantastic look. Another distinctive feature of the glossy finish photos are their brightness. If a Digital Photo Printedin glossy finish then its brightness and hue make them seem almost real. However, this very feature of the feature of the glossy finish photos can turn out to be their disadvantage also. It becomes quite difficult to view a glossy finish photo if the light is quite bright. Due to their brightness intense light and the glossy finish photo contradict each other. If one sees the photo in bright sunlight or strong bulbs then the view is not quite good. The photo starts reflecting light which blinds the viewer and obstructs the view. The glossy finish has some other drawbacks also. Since a glossy paper is shinier and is quite bright also, they are at higher risk of attracting dust. A glossy paper is quite likely to succumb to dirt and fingerprints. If the photo is a black and white one then glossy finish does not look quite good.

Like the matte finish glossy finish also has its pros and cons. One has to choose between glossy and matte finish keeping in mind that each has its own advantages as well as drawbacks. Glossy finish definitely looks much better but one has to pay the price for beauty.



For more insights and further information on Digital Photo Printing and an understanding of Snapfish , photo, Digital Picture Printing, Kodak Gallery as well as getting an online comparison of reputable Digital Photo Printing website online visit us at http://www.digitalphotoprintingcritic.com/.



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Equipment for travel photography

by Grant

Do your homework well before you leave, particularly for longer trips. Investigate the locations you intend to travel to, by viewing existing photos in travel brochures or the internet, then try to establish what camera gear you MUST have, as opposed to what you might like to have with you. If you happen to have a number of lenses, this can be difficult to decide at times. If you’re going to a location where you expect to see lots of wildlife, then an obvious choice would be to take along your longest lens.



However there might also be the opportunity to take some landscapes as well, in which case you will also require a wider lens. If your carrying capacity is limited, then a compromise might be in order, such as a zoom lens that will give you a reasonably wide angle along with a good length telephoto. For most people carrying large loads of camera gear on a holiday is a handicap, so just take what you feel is comfortable for you, yet will provide the means to capture images that you will be happy with. It really gets down to how important photography is for you.



Make certain you are familiar with all the functions of your camera equipment before you go away on holidays. It is all too often that you hear of people buying a brand-new camera duty free just before they head off on a once in a lifetime trip to some exotic location. Photographically, this is a recipe for disaster. It takes time and good amount of use before people become familiar enough with a camera’s operations so that the operation becomes second nature, without fumbling with controls at a crucial time.



Get to know how your camera, flash and lenses function, and read your camera manual to make sure you fully understand the features that you will use when you are away. Practice taking photos on day trips well before you head off on holidays, and you will be much more relaxed and confident about your photography when you are away.



It is a very good idea to check that all your camera equipment is in good working order at least a few weeks before you intend travelling. This way if there is a problem, you have time to attend to it, without causing any last minute panics. Make sure all batteries are fully charged or new, and have backup batteries and/or a charger to recharge them with. Check that things like remote cable releases work properly, and that your lenses are all clean and working properly.



Ensure that you have sufficient film or memory cards and storage to see you through the holidays, and again don’t rely on a store at the location/s having supplies to get you through. If your camera is an older camera, then it is a good idea to have it serviced before an important trip. They don’t last forever, and things like shutter mechanisms do actually wear out. Basically, where equipment is concerned, be self reliant, and check all your equipment yourself before you go away, and ensure it will work when it counts.



Author Bio:- Steve Grant is webmaster to http://www.geoffrossphotography.com. Geoff Ross is an acclaimed Australian landscape photographer, specializing in stunning Landscape Photography. For more stunning landscape photography and related distinct articles feel free to visit http://www.geoffrossphotography.com or write to webmaster: webmastergrant@gmail.com. Yours comments and suggestions will be highly appreciated.



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Canon Digital Rebel XT vs XTi or XSi Upgrade

By Chris Campbell

Now that Canon has released the latest addition to it's ever popular Digital Rebel lineup, the XSi, many current Rebel XT or XTi owners are likely wondering about upgrading. The short answer is . . . don't! It's really not worth it. Sure, Live View, a larger LCD, and faster FPS can seem enticing, but is it really worth it? What is it your really after here? More bells and whistles, or better pictures? Personally, if I'm going to upgrade it's going to be something substantial. Something that allows me to take better photographs, and improve my skills as a photographer. Allow me to illuminate.

All the Canon Digital Rebels are really just entry level digital SLR cameras. That includes the XT, XTi, and XSi. Don't get me wrong, they're really great cameras, and provide an excellent bridge for those wanting to move from the no-brainer simple world of point and shoot photography to the beautifully rendered near-pro quality of SLR photography. Arguably Canon has done a better job of filling that gap. Better then any other camera manufacturer including Nikon, Sony, and Olympus. My point being though, if you really want to move up to a better SLR, then raise your sights a little higher, and have a look at the Canon EOS 30D or Canon EOS 40D. It will not only challenge you to improve your photography skills, but also produce much better photographs.

By skipping up a model line in the Canon chain of command, you get a few extra advantages. Moving up to a 30D or 40D gives you a full metal camera body. Metal bodies are far more shock resistant, and durable than the molded plastic found on the Digital Rebel lineup. The more delicate and sensitive internal camera parts will survive longer encased by a metal body. In addition, you'll get better ISO performance, metering and picture control. Also, try to keep in mind, that more megapixels does not necessarily make a better camera. Especially once your over 5MP.

Another advantage to the Canon 30D and 40D models, is that most accessories that work with the 30D and 40D will also work with cameras further up the Canon model line like the 5D. Rebel accessories generally won't. Given the perpetual affliction of "upgradeitis" that many cameras geeks find themselves in, that could save a whack of money on the next upgrade. Of course you don't necessarily need to save that money, you could always just sink it into a really nice new lens to go with that upgraded camera ;)

Well, there you have it. Don't just buy the latest and greatest digital toy on the shelf. Look for the best camera for YOU that will help YOU take better pictures Even if it means broadening your digital horizons a little.

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