Passionate Organizing: How To Create A System To Organise Your Digital And Traditional Photos

Digital photography promises much. Store your photographs on your computer, print them when you want, email them to friends and family ? share them to your heart's content. Couldn't be easier, could it? So how come that for most of us storing and sharing our photographs is a bit of a nightmare?

The ease of using a digital camera is its very undoing. It's easy to take some shots and then 'work on them later'. The trouble is that 'later' doesn't happen often enough and we build up a huge backlog of images that we have to sort and process. That's where things start to get untidy. Very soon you won't know what you've printed or you won't be able to find the original file of that cute shot that your wife wants a copy of.

So what's the answer? As the Greek philosopher Hesiod put it nearly 3,000 years ago, "It is best to do things systematically and disorder is our worst enemy." You need to plan a system for processing your photographs and be systematic in everything you do

You probably remember that after the thrill of your first digital camera, you began to realize some of its limitations. Without a computer or other digital device, it's hard to share them with granny or the cousins back home. You realize that you have to have traditional prints to pass around and share.

So the planning system you adopt must cater for both digital and physical prints ? you need a single system that organizes both and ensures your precious memories are stored forever.

Here's a six point plan to establishing your own system.

1. Decide how you want to organise your photographs

Without a system, you'll just get a list of meaningless file names. The longer this goes on, the harder it will be for you to find the photos that you want.

You've got to have a system ? a way of organising ? one that suits you. I choose to organise my photos by event ? but you could do it by date, by family member or by whatever is meaningful to you.

Under 'My Pictures' on my hard drive, I have four sub-folders ? Family, Business, Holidays and 'The Best'. The first three are self-explanatory; 'The Best' is where I keep images of which I'm particularly proud.

2. Create mirror images on both your computer and photo album

People love traditional prints so no matter how proud you may be of your computer skills, to really share your photos with friends and family, you'll need physical prints to pass around. And to get the most from your memories you should have a single system that runs across both.

Once you've decided on your system ? use the same categories on both your computer and your physical photo album.

3. Taking your photos

Snap away happily but don't carry around useless photographs on your camera or waste your time downloading them before deciding to bin them. As soon as you've taken photographs have a quick look at them and dump the ones that don't look special. Be ruthless and immediate.

4. Downloading back home

The temptation is to rush and get the exciting photos on the machine. This is where discipline is needed. You need to have an uninterrupted session. If you can arrange that easily fine. If you can't you should set aside a regular time once a week to do all your photographic work.

There are four tasks:

<ul>

<li>Download your photographs onto your hard disk

<li>Edit them, e.g. get rid of red eye

<li>Give each file a meaningful name with a date ? so instead of 'P1010012' use 'Sarah on the beach 07/03'

<li>Save them in the appropriate folder.

</ul>

Now make a back up copy. This is essential ? you don't want to risk losing your images. I use a ZIP drive for back-up.

5. Print your photographs

Plan what prints you want, print them and put them into your album immediately. Update your album index as you do so.

6. Store them and show them (but don't ever give them away)

Never give your album photographs away. If someone wants a copy, resist the temptation to hand them your album copy. Instead, print them a new one or email them a digital version.

About The Author

Kesh Morjaria is passionate about organising and runs <a href="http://www.arrowfile.com" target="_new">Arrowfile.com</a>. He provides an extensive range of organizing products that are used not only in the home but by professional photographers, collectors, local government, museums ? even police forces. You can find the full range at <a href="http://www.arrowfile.com" target="_new">http://www.arrowfile.com</a>.

<a href="mailto:kesh@arrowfile.com ">kesh@arrowfile.com </a>

Photography 101 Part 2

Basic Composition

Now that you are beginning to understand how your camera works you can begin to understand basic composition. I know that many people that I've talked to think that photography is just pointing your camera and taking a photo but it's more than that. After you understand how your equipment works you can begin to get into the real art of photography and that art is called composition.

Basic principles:

1. Use all of your available space. Fill the image with the image. If the reason that your taking the photo is your daughter's beautiful face then get closer. If you're taking an image of the breathtaking valley before you. Fill the frame with the valley. Keep distractions out of the frame. They're called distractions for a reason.

2. Look at the forms in your image. You almost have to look at the people or the landscape before you in their simplistic geographic forms. A good way to learn form is to practice taking photos of still life objects, that you can arrange into pleasing forms. A good photo is always a beautiful arrangement of form. Whether it's the beauty of a woman's face, her features being forms, or a wonderful landscape, trees, rocks, and hills being forms.

3. Line or direction, motion. The direction of the forms in your photos is very important. Never have action or motion moving outside of your image. It will direct the eye away from your image. Diagonal motion lines are good, curves and &quot;s&quot; curves are better. The last two is probably way landscape photography is so popular nature is full of curves. Also never put a horizon line in the center of your frame.

4. Contrast, the difference between black and white. Now it is possible to have a beautiful photo with little contrast if that is your intention, this works best with color. But a lot of shots, some really beautiful shots have a nice balance of black, white, and grays. This can be manipulated for artistic purpose of course, but in the beginning you want to focus on trying to take shots with equal amounts of black, white, and shades of gray. (Shoot a roll of B&W film to really learn this principle.)

5. Color, you may have to familiarize yourself with the color wheel. (See my article Graphic Design Using Color for more information it's for graphic design but the first couple of paragraphs talk about basic color theory) Whether you're shooting nature or setting up your own shots in a studio you need to know what colors go together and why. Many of us have an instinct as to what looks good. When in doubt follow your instincts. Start out by taking shots of things that you think have pretty or beautiful colors. Show the photos to others and see if they agree. Photographers learn not only what they think is beautiful but what is universally beautiful as well.

Now the hard part practice all these principles at the same time. It's not easy! Now you really know why photographers take years to really learn their craft.

This week's assignment: Let's break this down into four assignments. You'll need four rolls of film. Roll one, fill your available space. Shoot pictures of whatever you like, but get closer. Eliminate distractions from your image. Keep the focus of your image on whatever it was that made you want to take that photo. Roll two, forms. Here's an old stand by that I did in college. Get out an assortment of vegtables and fruit from your kitchen. Put a sheet down on your table, no distractions, shoot an entire roll of the veggies and fruit making sure that your rearrange with each shot. Make sure you study your results and see which forms looked best. Roll three, Contrast, you can do this in B&W film if you want to. Take a shot of the flower in your garden in the early morning, afternoon, and sunset. Shoot some portraits at the same times, by candlelight too. When you see the results you will be surprised. Roll four, color. Use the vegtables again, this time paying attention to the colors. If you can tell me why a red tomato looks best on a green bed of lettuce or the orange sunset with the purple clouds is so captivating then you've figured out some of color theory.

If you have some specific questions please visit my Photography Forum at: <a href="http://kellypaalphotography.com/v-web/bulletin/bb/index.php" target="_new">http://kellypaalphotography.com/v-web/bulletin/bb/index.php</a> and post your question there.

About The Author

Copyright 2004 Kelly Paal

Kelly Paal is a Freelance Nature and Landscape Photographer, exhibiting nationally and internationally. Recently she started her own business Kelly Paal Photography (<a href="http://www.kellypaalphotography.com" target="_new">www.kellypaalphotography.com</a>). She has an educational background in photography, business, and commercial art. She enjoys applying graphic design and photography principles to her web design. <a href="mailto:kellypaa@kellypaalphotography.com">kellypaa@kellypaalphotography.com</a>

Market Your Photography Business

Setting up your own photography business it easy, you don't need office space in can be done from your own home. However this is not the easiest type of business to market, especially if you are new to the business. Quite often to market this type of business you need specialist contacts, and your newness to the business precludes you from having these contacts, unless of course your surname is Eastman.

Don't underestimate the power of marketing, because it is the tool that can make or break your business. Marketing is the commercial aspect of transferring goods from one owner to another. Without this tool you are lost, but don't despair, there are effective avenues you can explore to market your business successfully.

First of all you need to decide what form of business you are going to set up, there are only two basic types - Assignment photography and Stock photography.

Assignment photography covers jobs that you have been hired to photograph. In other words you have a specific target to photograph. An example of this type of photography is to cover Mr X's wedding. This type of the photography is the bread and butter of photographers, however it is unlikely to win you the Pulitzer Prize for photography.

The photographs will have a limited appeal, in the case of Mr X's wedding; no matter how technically perfect those photographs are, they are going to have a limited appeal. They are simply not marketable outside the field of the family of Mr X.

Stock photography, is exactly what the name suggest, you have a stock of photographs and you have to market them. You have taken the photographs without having a buyer. This type of photography is much more speculative, and you may waste a lot of resources. You may have to invest a great deal of time and or film, depending on whether you are using an SLR camera, or a Digital Camera. Non-professionals think these photographs occur when you are in the right place at the right time. In reality though, being in the correct place has an element of advantage, who can forget the child on fire from Napalm running out of a village in the Vietnam war; often they are a particular photograph taken out of a series of hundreds. Whilst these photographs are often more exciting to take, they can be boring as well, and you may never quite get that photograph that &quot;Says it All&quot;.

There are effective ways to market these stock photographs, which is wonderful for the beginner because you do not bear the cost of the marketing. There are several stock picture libraries on line. You submit your photographs to these libraries, and they then sell the rights for others to reproduce them. The price structure on this type of photography depends on its content and also where it is sold. It may go on the front page of an encyclopaedia with a print run of half a million, and it may go on someone's private web site. There will be a different rate for the type of photograph and its market. When your photograph is sold the library will deduct a percentage of your commission for marketing and of course profit.

Most photographers when they start will combine these types of business to varying degrees. There are several ways that you can boost your marketing profile without actually spending any money. Join a local photography society is one way, another is to go to your local town hall and see if your local chamber of commerce has a group of professional photographers. Another more involved way to market your business and bring it into a higher profile with the local community is to offer to teach photography free of charge. Yes I know the chances are that you are working from home, but why not offer to do it in a local school.

The debate is still raging about SLR cameras versus digital, and it looks like it will for some time to come.

It is still fair to say that most photographers want great imaging, in a compact affordable package. Improved design techniques for the digital camera are now delivering a viable alternative to 35mm film, but one of the drawbacks to marketing this type of film, was the time consumed producing digital photographs at home. Home development often does not give a professional finish. There are now photo development agencies online which will give you great images. You upload the photographs on to your chosen site and they will print them and forward them on to you. This way you can ensure crystal clear prints to your instructions. Kodak gallery allows you to share your prints online afterwards by allowing you storage space, which means that you don't even have to scan your pictures. Don't forget to check out our other articles for great hints and tips for every step of your business development. Make your business work for you!

Whilst marketing is a very important aspect of the business, it does not compensate for lack of quality. Sharp clear prints sell, and others don't. Make sure that you invest in good quality basics, such as a tripod. It is not necessary to invest in products you will use once a year, if you need them then hire them, especially when you are just starting. Even if you use digital, it is still a fact that the lens is more important than the camera. Make sure the equipment you buy is going to work for you. Extra time spent asking questions before you buy will pay dividends later, in terms of money saved. Everyone wastes money at some time or other, but being forethought and researching can reduce that substantially.

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 <a target="_new" href="http://www.profitable-photography.com">http://www.profitable-photography.com.</a> Other related and reviewed services & research sources can be found at <a target="_new" href="http://www.profitable-photography.com/html/117/">http://www.profitable-photography.com/html/117/</a> The information on this and adjoining pages may be reprinted and used on other sites providing all information remains unchanged and the article and all pages remain as they are found here in its current font size & image with all links in tact.

Memories That Get Lost

How many people have pictures in a shoe box? In a drawer? Inside a book? Sitting in the garage?

Imagine 40 years from now. Someone will get those pictures and they will say: Who are these people? What are they doing in this boat?

They won't have a clue about the stories that those pictures tell and they will probably throw part of your story away. - How sad is that?!!

There are several ways to preserve your memories. You can make a scrapbook, which is great. But as time goes by it will get faded, get wet or any other kind of accident and your memories may then be lost. Also it is not an easy or inexpensive way to share with friends and family who don't live close by. Some of the pictures will need to be restored and this may be a costly option - You can also have your pictures in a slide show, but that can be really boring and after some years, people still won't know a lot about those pictures.

A fairly new home-based company in Salt Lake City offers a solution for that. - It's a storybook CD / DVD that tells the stories behind the pictures.

Pictures may say a 1000 words, but they usually need some help. In this format, you may have your pictures, the story- in a written format, animation, voices and video clips. It is not a slide show, and it is not a video. It is based on new softwares designed for multimedia productions.

It's a great way to teach your kids in a fun manner about your life, and share special events of your past with your family.

Because the designers have a lot of experience with movies and tv, the timming and rithym is taken into consideration to make your story like it should be told. We know that grandpa Joe has trouble reading and little Jack who is 7 is still struggling with words, and that is also taken into consideration.

The company doesn't use templates, everything is customized according to your story, your needs and wants, and you don't just send the photos and then receive the product. As everything else done at Bearycrafty.Com, you're part of the process.

Even a kit that helps you organize the pictures and write the story is provided to ensure a high quality final product. This is a very affordable option, it is quite inexpensive to get copies for your family and really cheap to send by mail.

Your memories count and should be preserved.

Shahar Boyayan
Is the owner of <a target="_new" href="http://www.bearycrafty.com">http://www.bearycrafty.com</a> photo restoration and Legacy DVDs. - Has a degree in e-commerce and Psychology, She's been an international public speaker since 1997 on topics such as &quot;Negotiation skills, stress & change management, and self-leadership&quot;. Author of &quot;Market yourself now&quot; and movie director since 1999.

Contact: (801) 533-4213 / (801) 674-5815, <a href="mailto:shahar@bearycrafty.com">shahar@bearycrafty.com</a>

Digital Camera Interpolation Explained

In a device such as a digital camera it is very important to understand the very basic aspects of the device so as to properly operate it and give it the due respect it deserves. Such a topic is interpolation! These are accessories that help the digital camera to perform the technologically advanced features that it is capable of. In extreme explanatory and simple terms it can be summed up as that interpolation refers to software programs that can effectively enlarge image resolution beyond the actual resolution by adding extra pixels using complex mathematic calculations. Now, this is a feature that can be absolutely useful in providing a good success to a user.

Looking into the technical aspects it can be stated that interpolation is a technique where the spatial resolution of an image is increased from its original size to a higher or larger resolution. The spatial resolution of an image is simply its horizontal x vertical pixel count. For example 1600 x 1200. Again getting into further intricate details it can be stated that there are two techniques of interpolation commonly used, they are software and hardware. Again software interpolation can be performed on a digital image using a one of a number of image editing programs such as PhotoShop. This is often termed as resizing and is done with a computer, performed on an image file from a digital camera that already exists in a file format such as JPG. Hardware interpolation involves the resizing of an image, but it differs from software interpolation in that the image is resized algorithmically inside the camera during the image processing sequence and before the image has been saved as a JPG image file.

Also, it can be noted here that JPG is a compressed image file format. Whenever a file is saved as a JPG file, image data is lost in the compression process. Image data is thrown away in exchange for file-size efficiency. Software interpolation is a process performed after the JPG losses have been applied. Hardware interpolation occurs inside the camera prior to JPG compression and before JPG losses have been applied. The resulting hardware interpolated images are of superior quality to a comparable image interpolated in software.

These are basically the important points as discussed in the above lines regarding the digital camera interpolation. The explanation is worth for every user who can be a novice as well as an expert and thus uncovers another great feature of a digital camera, the process of interpolation.

About The Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of <a href="http://www.snapjunky.com" target="_new">http://www.snapjunky.com</a>. Visit his digital camera guide and learn how to take better pictures with your digicam.

Photographs Everywhere, But Is It Really Art?

I once heard a lady say to a photographer that she would have bought his work if it had been a painting. She liked the image, but for whatever reason didn't consider the medium suitable for her &quot;it's just a photo&quot;.

I am sure that some share her thoughts, whilst others would be quite happy either way, but a growing number of people do recognise photography as an Art form. And collect it.

&quot;There are three fundamental components of what we call art. First, is the artist; second, is the medium; and third is the artwork. All three, clearly are interrelated." Tad Beckman

Defining photographic art

It is true many people do regard photography as merely a reproductive medium, and the photographer as simply the technician. And if this were just about your holiday snaps then it would be a valid point.

So let's start with my definition of photographic art. I say my definition because there is no stock answer it means different things to different people.

For me it's about creating a beautiful image that is an interpretation of the scene that I saw in my mind captured on film, rather than just a recording of what is already there.

It's about the photographer being the choreographer of the various components; the composition is critical, as is the lighting, weather conditions and the colours at play.

It's not just about pressing the shutter release, although timing is everything. Patience comes into play too, as you wait for all the components to be perfect all at the same time.

Some things you can control, but the weather well that constantly throws out surprises that can add that hint of drama to a picture or send you home disappointed.

It's these uncertainties that add the challenge, and this results in creativity as you respond to the situation. Other photographers will have their own criteria, but we all are producing very personal pieces of work that we feel passionate about and that are a representation of our interpretation of the world.

A photograph - more than just a sheet of paper with an image on it?

Oh yes! Typically a photographer will capture an image that pleases their eye. They will create something that is close to their heart, and therefore give a little of themselves in the image.

Effectively they are allowing you to see how they perceive the world to be, one moment at a time. Add into the fact that many photographers print their own work (once they have an order!), and sign it then you could say you are buying a piece of history - or designer art!

In other words you are not buying a mass produced print, and naturally the price reflects this. You are buying into the reputation of that photographer and you will expect to pay more. When someone is starting out and building reputation then you are investing in the potential of that person.

You won't pay as much, but you'll be backing your own instinct and demonstrating your belief in that person's talent. Contemporary photography is affordable art.

Subject matter - does it matter?

Personally I don't believe it does, and I mean this in the sense that people will be drawn to your work because they have seen something of yours and liked your style, and typically that means they like your choice of subject matter too.

My preference is for landscapes and increasingly flowers, whilst other photographers prefer sport, people or a more abstract approach to name but a few.

I think the key to preserving artistic integrity is to shoot for your own personal satisfaction, although naturally as your reputation builds you will develop an understanding of what collectors want, but for me I always have to love the image myself to want to share it with the world. Anything less and it stays in the drawer!

I still experiment, and search for new subject matter, but my photographic style is what it is. It just keeps evolving.

A new language

Understanding the language of the image is something quite individual to the viewer, it does not explain itself in the same way to each person. It is subjective. And although some may view photography as easy, believing that there own point and shoot cameras can produce similar results to a master photographer are confusing the issue.

After all most of us have made paintings at some time in our lives, and may still own paint brushes, but wouldn't necessarily look at a painting by a master and not consider it to be art would we?

It is the heart and hand of the author behind the brush, camera or pen that executes the creative vision not the tools used.

About the author: Sue Kennedy, LRPS & LBIPP Sue Kennedy is an UK based photographer specialising in outdoor photography and works on commission for companies & individuals as well as shooting for picture libraries. To purchase from Sue's current print and card selection visit her Website <a target="_new" href="http://www.blueeyesphoto.com">http://www.blueeyesphoto.com</a>

Copyright ? 2004 Sue Kennedy Blue Eyes Photography Ltd

Photography Has No Gender

Women photographers are fortunate. Unlike other titles, photographer has no gender. Women photographers don't have to force stilted language like &quot;flight attendant&quot; instead of &quot;stewardess,&quot; or &quot;letter carrier&quot; instead of &quot;mailman.&quot; &quot;Photographer&quot; doesn't have the historical male/female titles such as &quot;author&quot; and &quot;authoress,&quot; or &quot;actor&quot; vs. &quot;actress.&quot; Women photographers may not even have to battle the associated gender that &quot;doctors&quot; or &quot;nurses&quot; do. Did you know that bank tellers always were men up until WWII because it was thought that women couldn't handle money?

So when you visualize a photographer, is it a man or woman? It probably depends on your most recent contact with one. But when you look at a photograph, can you tell whether it was taken by a man or a woman? Probably not. So, at least on one side of the lens, it doesn't make a difference that the photographer is a woman.

So why is it important to talk about women and photography? Because, according to a recent study conducted at the University of California at Irvine, women's brains are different than men's.

The study found that women have more &quot;white matter&quot; than men. White matter handles the connections of the brain's processing centers. Men, on the other hand, have more &quot;gray matter&quot; than women. Gray matter controls the information processing centers in the brain. According to Rex Jung, a neuropsychologist and co-author of the study, &quot;this may help to explain why men tend to excel in tasks requiring more local processing (like mathematics), while women tend to excel at integrating and assimilating information from distributed gray-matter regions in the brain, such as required for language facility.&quot; Although different, the study found that both types of brain designs are &quot;capable of producing equivalent intellectual performance.&quot; http://today.uci.edu/news/release_detail.asp?key=1261

It therefore makes sense that when women think and learn about photography, and even when they take photos, their approach is different than men's. What should women photographers do, then, with this information?

First, women should acknowledge and celebrate their differences. There is no right way to approach photography, as long as it works for you. Don't try to imitate male photographers, and certainly don't be uncomfortable with how you shoot. Second, study the work of women photographers who were pioneers, such as Imogen Cunningham and Dorothea Lange, as well as current women photographers such as Linde Waidhofer, Lisl Dennis and Joyce Tenneson. They may have created easier paths for you to follow.

Most important, you should look for support as a woman photographer. There are organizations that specifically serve the needs of women photographers. A primary example is &quot;Women in Photography International.&quot; Its mission is to promote the visibility of women photographers and their work through a variety of programs, exhibitions, juried competitions and publications.

Seek programs like that provided by the Professional Photographers of America (&quot;P.P.A.&quot;). It held its 2nd annual &quot;Women in Photography Retreat&quot; this past August. The purpose of the event was to &quot;embark on an exciting journey of self-discovery . . . to forge new friendships, cultivate your strengths, and shape strategies for your personal, professional and creative development in a relaxing, stress free resort.&quot; You also should evaluate your situation. Does your local camera club involve you as a woman photographer? Do you get the support you need from your friends and family? You may have to make some careful choices about your associates if they don't encourage your art.

Likewise, you should examine whether you are getting the photography instruction that you need. It doesn't have to come from a woman for it to help you. Choose photography workshops that offer the opportunity to share the passion and inspiration with all photographic artists in a welcoming environment. Finally, you should use your female advantage in photography. There are the obvious areas. You can be in the bride's dressing room and you can make a connection with the crying baby. There are the less obvious items, too. You can &quot;communicate&quot; with the person who speaks a different language, connect with the wild animal or see the unique lines of the landscapes. Let your vision expand to its fullest, female state.

This is not to suggest that you become a ranting feminist photographer. The art of photography is to be cherished and appreciated, regardless of whether it is done by a woman or a man. The point is that photography has no gender. As a photographer, you should create superb images of enduring quality. The viewer won't care who it came from. Don't let any artificial designations get in your way. But you also should acknowledge, celebrate, explore and nourish your difference. You may be pleased with what you discover.

Copyright 2005 Carolyn E. Wright

--- ABOUT THE AUTHOR ---

Carolyn Wright is a professional photographer with an active portrait, event and nature photography business. Shooting for 25 years, her award-winning images have been used in books and corporate marketing materials. Her wildlife photos will be included in the upcoming book, "Captivating Wildlife - Images from the Top Ten Emerging Wildlife Photographers" by Scott Bourne and David Middleton. She also is working with Scott Bourne on "Wolfscapes," a photo book documenting the beauty and strength of wolves. Her wildlife images can be viewed at <a target="_new" href="http://www.vivdwildlife.com">http://www.vividwildlife.com.</a>.

On the faculty of Olympic Mountain School of Photography, Carolyn's passion is enhanced when teaching photography. She enjoys writing and speaking on the subject, as well, and is a regular columnist for PhotoFocus, an online magazine for serious photographers.

Picture Framing for Photographers - Part 2

There are two sources for obtaining the moulding for making a frame. You can firstly start with a straight piece of timber, and using a home routing system make your own moulding shape with a rebate to take the art work. Alternatively you can pick from a large range of ready finished mouldings available from your local frame shop or hardware store. I recommend the latter. It's easier, the choice is much wider, and it's more cost effective. However, one word of warning. Always look for a moulding with a good straight back and not too flat on the surface. If the moulding has a bump or some raised section in the top surface it will cut and join easier than a flat moulding. Most mouldings are made from pine or obeche. These are soft grain timbers and cut and join well. Hard timbers like ramin are more difficult to work with.

Measuring and Cutting

How much moulding will you need? The outside dimensions of the frame are determined by the size of the mounted photograph. Carefully measure the overall size of the matted picture you're framing, adding a little extra (3-smm) for "play" to ensure the picture fits easily into the finished frame.

Add the length and the breadth together, then double the total. This will give you the overall length. But you also have to allow for the mitre cuts, so multiply the width of the moulding by 10 and add this to your total (total length required = 2 x (length + breadth) + 10 x width of moulding). The 45 mitre cuts are most important - a bad cut will never join properly and will always look terrible. There are a number of machines on the market for cutting 45 degree mitres starting with the simple mitre box, radial arm saw with a mitre attachment, or a commercial mitre saw (see picture 1).

Cutting one side of a frame is easy. Cutting the second side to be EXACTLY the same side to the first side is the hard part of frame cutting. Using a measuring system you can cut lengths accurately every time. The FrameCo measuring system will attach to any brand of electric or manual mitre saw and will make the cutting of the frames quick and foolproof.

If you have a saw you can cut without using a measuring system. Follow this easy step-by-step guide to cut mitred lengths for your frame:

* Calculate the dimensions of your frame.

* Place the moulding into the saw.

? Cut off a small piece at 45 degrees with the saw in the lefthand position.

* Remove the moulding from the saw.

? With a tape, measure along the back of the moulding, to the length you require.

To this length you have to take into account the size of the moulding you are using. So you add to the length of the side an amount equal to twice the moulding width - not including the rebate. Then make a pencil mark on the back of the moulding near the top so that you can see the mark.

? Put the moulding back in the saw and align the saw blade on the pencil mark.

? Swing the saw around and cut the next mitre.

? Place the two pieces back to back so you can transfer the size you have just cut to the back of the moulding length.

? Repeat the cutting procedure for the other pieces.

Joining the Frame

To ensure a tight and stable joint, glue should be applied, especially if the frame is large. A light smear of a good quality PVA glue is all that's necessary. Although it is possible to buy clamps that join two corners at a time, it's simpler and quicker to clamp all four corners at once. This allows you to see how the corners match up before gluing and securing the mitres. There are several types of clamps...

Cord Clamps: This simple, but effective clamping system works well for small to medium-size frames. It consists of four flexible plastic corners and a length of cord. (See picture 2).

Metal Strap Clamp: This clamping system is slightly more sophisticated and consists of a metal strap, flexible corner pieces and a screw operated tensioning device which allows you to apply a considerable amount of tension so that the corners are pulled together tightly. The Strap Clamp is suitable for large and small frames. (See picture 3).

Once the frame is clamped together and you've made sure all the corners are aligned, then the mitre joint should be secured or reinforced. Glue alone is not safe and secure enough for most sized frames. Here are some options.

Panel Pins: You can nail a panel pin across the mitre. It is advisable to pre-drill the holes and secure the joint in a vice before hammering the pins into the frame. Punch home the nail head and fill the hole with a coloured woodfiller.

V-Nails: Professional framers use these v-shaped staples, which are inserted using a special manual or pneumatic joining machine. The "PushMaster" is a DIY version of these machines and is suitable for low-volume high-quality framing such as required for photography or portrait framing.

Biscuit Joints: More suitable for large and heavy frames such as mirrors. Most commercial picture frame mouldings are small and a biscuit joint is not necessary.

V-Nail Joining Machines There are several models of these machines and all are suitable for the DIY or low-volume picture framing. Here are some of the models.

PushMaster: Similar to a large punch, the PushMaster is a handheld, easy to use tool for inserting the v-nails into the back of timber picture frames. The vnail is loaded onto the magnetic end of the PushMaster, sharp end down, then simply pushed into the wood. The v-nail pulls the joint together because it is made from spring steel. The advantage of the PushMaster is that it doubles as a fitting up tool. The magnetic tip can also be used to fit flexipoints and backing nails to secure the picture into the frame. (See picture 4).

BenchMaster: The BenchMaster is ideal for the serious DIY framing photographer. The powerful cam action of the handle combined with the heavy duty Push Master drives v-nails into the hardest of timbers. Its gentle hand action suits joining small or odd-shaped mouldings. If you start with FrameCo's Push Master you can upgrade to the BenchMaster at any time. (See picture 5).

V-Nails - How Do They Work?

Upon entering the wood moulding from the base, the sides of the metal v-nail are deflected outwards. As the v-nail pulls back into its original shape this pulls the joint tightly together. There is a little curl on the outer leading edge of the nail that locks the nail into the grain of the timber. This stops the nail from pulling out of the end of the mitre, keeping the joint stable and secure. The v-nail method of joining is the preferred method of professional picture framers. With a few simple hand tools it's possible to achieve the same result with a minimal outlay in machinery.

Making Multi-sided Frames

With most good quality suspension type mitre saws there's always the possibility of cutting mitre angles other than 45 degrees. The problem is that the saws do not have a system of measuring the length of the cut. The FrameCo measuring system has a clever scale included with the unit. It allows you to measure a length for any angle. A six-sided frame has the six mitres cut at 30 degrees, while an eight-sided frame has the eight mitres cut at 22.5 degrees. The Measure Mate Scale converts the measuring system into a multi-angled scale so that each one of these different angled mitres can be measured.

So it's possible for the amateur framer to make attractive multiangled frames that add style and creativity to your framing.

Finishing and Assembly

Now that the frame is joined and the glue joints dry you're ready to assemble your mounted photograph into the frame. The PushMaster can be used to fit backing nails or flexipoints into the frame to hold the picture into the rebate.

Seal the back of the picture with gummed tape or good quality backing tape. The best backing tape to use is a silicone coated tape as this will not peel off over time.

Screw two small O-rings or screw eyes into the side of the frame, approximately one third of the distance down the top of the frame, then attach a length of wire or cord securely through the O-rings or screw eyes. After that, your image is ready to hang on a wall.

Gary Leete, of <a href="http://www.clubframeco.com" target="_new">Frameco Picture Framing Supplies</a>, is a professional framer. For further information on any of the his DIY picture framing tools contact FrameCo P/L Australia, Ph: (03) 98723600 or visit the web site at <a target="_new" href="http://www.clubframeco.com">http://www.clubframeco.com</a>

Use A Tripod!

Using a tripod is essential when taking photos - and not just for night shots. To get ultra crisp and sharp pictures, your camera cannot move at all when the shutter is open. In some circumstances, even the tiny movements your hand makes are enough to make a slightly blurry image. The best way to ensure your camera does not move is to use a tripod or other camera stand.

On sunny days or when you use a really fast shutter speed, simply holding the camera in your hand will still produce a sharp image. But there's another reason for using a tripod on these occasions as well. Erecting the tripod causes you to SLOW DOWN and think a little more about the shot you're about to take. Because you're concentrating more, you'll have a better chance of composing your image correctly and ending up with a super shot.

Types of Camera Stands

Tripod. This is a three legged stand that attaches to the mount on your camera. This is the most common type of mount to hold your camera steady, and allows you to move your hands away from the camera completely and still have it steady in position.

Monopod. A variation on the tripod, this stand only has one leg. Attach the monopod to your camera, stand it on the ground and use your hands to ensure the camera and stand don't fall over. This helps because the monopod stops the camera moving up and down, and provides a rest for your hands so camera shake is reduced. For a bit of extra stability, lean yourself, or your camera against another sturdy object like a light pole.

Chainpod. An ingenious design consisting of a length of chain (or string) with a loop on one end large enough to place your foot into. The other end is attached to your camera. To use a Chainpod, place your foot through the loop and pull your camera up so the chain is tight while taking your photo. The tension in the chain will reduce camera shake just like a monopod. The great advantage of a chainpod is you can crunch it up and place it in your pocket!

Dolly. This is a tripod with wheels (and brakes!). A dolly allows you to move your tripod around easily without needing to lift your camera, but it's not so useful outdoors when the ground is uneven. There are dolly attachments available for regular tripods.

Car Window Mount. This gadget allows you to mount your camera to your car window to take photos of wildlife while still sitting in the car.

A Rock! Yes, you can use any ledge as a tripod when you need a sharp picture but don't have a tripod handy. You can also use a small bean bag to steady your camera and lens if your camera doesn't stand upright by itself.

Which should I purchase?

If you're just starting out, I recommend purchasing a standard tripod with telescoping legs that stands full length (5-6 feet). Make sure you get a sturdy (preferably all aluminum) model. Pick the heaviest model you can carry around with you.

Lightweight models are available, as are mini-tripods - Perfect for portability, but they don't have the stability of the larger models.

Using a Tripod

Most of the time, you just setup your tripod, place your camera on top and shoot! There are a few subtleties to using a tripod that can help enormously.

- The longer the legs of the tripod, the less steady the tripod becomes. Extend your tripod legs only enough to enable you to get your camera into the correct position.

- Sometimes the act of depressing the shutter causes movement in the camera. To minimize this, use your other hand and press down on the top of the camera directly above the tripod mount. This will help to further reduce movement.

- You're most likely to need your tripod when your camera is fully zoomed in. When fully zoomed in, any small shake is likely to show on the image.

Other Tripod Secrets

- Try to find a tripod with a built in level. The level will help ensure your landscape shots are completely straight and save needing to rotate the image slightly in your computer to get a level horizon.

- Specialized lenses are available that can compensate for camera shake. They are called "Image Stabilizers" or "Vibration Reduction lenses". They can be rather expensive, so I recommend sticking with a tripod.

- Try to get a tripod with a quick release mount. This will enable you to quickly remove the camera from your tripod should you need to take a quick 'candid' shot.

David Peterson has a great love of photography and has created a series of free tips at <a target="_new" href="http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/">http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/</a> to help digital photography users everywhere take better photos.

Digital Wedding Photography: Myth Vs. Reality

1. Myth: Digital photos are pixilated or fuzzy. Reality: most people that say that have never seen a photo produced by a professional grade digital camera. The quality of modern digital cameras is equal of greater than film cameras.

2. Myth: Digital photos don't last they will fade in a couple of years. Reality: Only the photo capture part is digital. The printing is done using traditional photo paper on the same paper and chemistry used to print film photos. So, both will last the same.

3. Myth: Digital colors are muddy. Reality: Only if they are produced with cheap, low quality cameras and/or the photographer doesn't know how to adjust them and process them for printing

4. Myth: Digital photos are dangerous; the photographer can lose your photos.

Reality: Nowadays most photos are stored using Flash Cards that is one of the most reliable forms of digital storage. After the wedding the photos are downloaded to the computer and additional backups are created on CD or DVD allowing several copies of the same event to reside on different locations. In the case that photos are accidentally deleted they can be recovered using software. With film there is only one copy. It is not uncommon for the photo labs to lose the film, damage it in the printing machine, process it in the wrong chemistry, scratch it, etc. Film also can be damaged in camera, be fogged, damaged by X-rays at the airport, suffer color changes due to heat or age etc.

5. Myth: Digital photos lack detail. Reality: Only if they are produced with cheap, low quality cameras. It is not unusual for us to produce 30x40 inch prints from our professional grade cameras with stunning detail.

6. Myth: Digital is cheaper because there is no film. Reality: Professional grade digital cameras and lens are very expensive. In addition the professional photographer has to invest on computer equipment and software to process the photos.

7. Myth: I got a digital camera that takes great photos now I can start a career as a wedding photographer. Reality: Wedding photography requires that you have artistic talent and that you learn photography including composition, lighting, etc. A wedding is an uncontrolled event that requires technical and artistic skill. It is not the place to learn photography.

8. Myth: I don't have to take care when I take photos anymore I can fix it later in Photoshop or other photo-editing program. Reality: Garbage in and garbage out. There is no fix for badly composed photos, out of focus, bad lighting, etc.

9. Myth: Digital photography is easy now I don't need a professional wedding photographer. Reality: If you trust your wedding memories to somebody who doesn't have the professional skills you are likely to be sorry or disappointed.

10. Myth: I am afraid that the photographer will do weird effects. Reality: the purpose of the editing software is to enhance the quality of the photos. It is not a license to create weird stuff. Talk to your photographer about your expectations.

11. Myth: Digital will never be better than or equal to film. Reality: Digital cameras are equal or better than film in terms of resolution color fidelity etc. and far superior in low light situations. The "film look" can be easily emulated using digital imaging processing techniques.

12. Myth: I got a bigger fancier camera with more megapixels than your so my photos will be better than yours. Reality: Unless you have the technical and artistic skill the camera that you use will have minimal impact on the quality of the photos that you produce. A great camera in the right hands will produce great results. Some of the greatest photos in history were produced using mechanical cameras.

Juan Carlos Torres is a very respected and awarded wedding photographer in Oregon. He has a Masters Degree in Remote Sensing with a strong background in digital image processing and photography. He is a member of the several professional photographer organizations including the Professional Photographers of America, the Professional Photographers of Oregon, the Wedding Photojournalist Association, and the Oregon Wedding Photo Guild. His wedding photographs are unique and very artistic and have been featured in national and international magazines. For a sample of his works please visit <a target="_new" href="http://www.juancarlosphoto.com">portland oregon wedding photographer</a> and <a target="_new" href="http://www.willamettephoto.com">eugene oregon wedding photographer</a> For a discussion on wedding photography see our Blog at <a target="_new" href="http://www.willamettephoto.com/portland-wedding-photographer/">oregon wedding photographer</a>

Is your Digital Camera Compatible With Your Computer?

So you recently bought a digital camera or perhaps your thinking about it. And perhaps you may be wondering how many pictures will your computer hold? First you need to answer a few questions to come to an accurate conclusion. First, how big is your hard drive and how much free space does it currently have? You can find the answer to that question by first left-clicking on "My Computer:" Right-click on "C drive." A menu should appear. Left-click on "Properties." A pie chart should be displayed that will show you the size of the hard drive and how much of the disk drive is free. Your next step is too know how many mega pixels does your camera have? A pixel is a light sensing cell on the image pickup device.

The higher number of pixels, the higher the resolution or picture quality of the camera. A higher pixel number will also require more storage space in your camera and computer for a picture. How much storage does each picture need? If you have a 2M pixel camera, a high resolution picture will require storage in the range of 500kb. Two 500 kb pictures would occupy 1 MB. If that one picture requires 500kB of storage, you should be able to store 2000 pictures of that size in 1 gigabyte of disk space. I usually store my pictures in one folder in my computer called &quot;Camera Pics&quot; and then create sub-folders within that folder with different names depending on the occasion the pictures were taken at for easy reference later on.

Most camera manufacturers will provide software to allow you to transfer and edit pictures from your camera. But some of that software is not the easiest to install and operate. There are a few ways to do the transfer without the camera software. If your camera has a memory card, you can buy a memory card reader and use it to read the pictures from your camera. The memory card reader plugs into a free USB connector on your computer. When you plug a memory card into the memory reader, you should notice a new hard drive on "My Computer."

Your computer will consider the memory device to be a hard drive and will allow you to manage pictures as if they were files on a hard drive. Many new cameras are directly supported by Microsoft XP If you plug a USB cable into the camera and a USB slot on the computer, you might discover that your computer knows how to read the pictures off the camera. Digital cameras offer an economical way to get into photography. After you pay for the camera, it doesn't cost anything to take pictures. You just need a computer to allow you to view and save your pictures. After you have saved a bunch of pictures in your computer, I suggest you to transfer them to a CD or DVD. If you do not, someday you may lose all your pictures if your computer ever crashes.

One other thing you need to be aware of is that older computers will have a hard time working the large megapixel cameras that are being produced today. If you have an older computer and go out and buy yourself a 8 or 10 megapixel camera, you may suddenly find you that you may have to buy a new computer too, or at least upgrade the one you have. The hefty picture files that are created by these large megapixel cameras use a tremendous amount of computer memory and can cause an incompatible computer a lot of problems.

The average needs of most people really do not require a large megapixel digital camera unless you plan on printing large photos. So it is best to keep this general rule in mind when considering a digital camera. A typical 2-megapixel camera will produce a very good 4 x 6 inch image using a typical desktop color inkjet printer. With a 4 -megapixel camera, you can turn out a very good 8 x 10 print, which is the largest print anyone who is not a professional is likely to need.

Doug Rogers has worked as a freelance photographer for the past 25 years in various fields of photography. In the past two years he has become an avid and devoted fan of digital and video photography and a life long lover of new technology. For tips on better digital photography and the latest reviews on the newest digital equipment that hits the market, Subscribe to his monthly Newsletter &quot;The View Finder&quot; at <a target="_new" href="http://www.best-digital-cameras-review.com">http://www.best-digital-cameas-review.com</a>

Exposure Compensation

The digital camera is in reality a great possession with many facets of its utilities and not only that knowing these utilities makes the understanding the digital camera complete. The utilities are also so very diverse that they too offer further introspection of details in their varying applications. Such an area is digital camera exposure compensation. Only knowledge of digital camera exposure is not enough, so the digital camera exposure compensation requires some amount of exposure in itself! This discussion is focused towards that cause itself.

Looking at different digital cameras, even temperately costing digital cameras have arrangements for exposure compensation settings. To explain in a bit detail, the exposure compensation allows the users to control the amount of light entering the lens. And thereby the illumination of the photograph is decided. Exposure compensation can be altered manually or by the help of a digital camera's exposure compensation setting that lets one override the metered exposure set inside the digital camera itself. Strictly speaking, the exposure values provide an expedient line of attack to put a figure on the available light intensity and therefore exposure.

As per general norms of the users of digital cameras, certain standards exist for selecting such values. These values are specifically known as Exposure Values (EV). Selecting an up to standard Exposure Values (EV) helps maintain the details contained in dark areas of a photo, or diminish the more than usually bright areas. Again, looking from technical point of view, the Exposure Values are numbers that refer to an assortment of combinations of apertures of lenses and shutter speed respectively. They have a selective range of values, ranging between -2 to +2 Exposure Values (EV). As a general rule positive exposure settings are used for cases where bulky areas of a scene are especially bright such as taking pictures of a snow scene and also during times of photographing when the background is a good deal brighter than the focal area under consideration. Also, negative exposure settings are used for cases where bulky areas of a scene are especially dark and also during times of photographing when the background is a good deal darker than the fore area under consideration.

One point that is worth noting is that light meters cannot see color. They deliver every scene as 18% middle gray and become accustomed to the exposure accordingly. And most digital cameras will allows a photographer to compensate the exposure by 1 to 2 EV plus or minus in 1/3 or 1/2 stop increments. A very important realization for any photographer is that the right exposure is only "correct" in the eye of the photographer; Exposure Value compensation can also be used as a creative tool.

With this information available to the users of the digital camera, the knowledge of digital camera exposure as well as digital camera exposure compensation becomes. But it is only knowledge, the proper acquiring of the whole feel comes only from personal experience.

About The Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of <a href="http://www.snapjunky.com" target="_new">http://www.snapjunky.com</a>. Visit his digital camera guide and learn how to take better pictures with your digicam.