Kodak Goes Bankrupt
[Report Abuse]
Reason
Posted by:
soulblueprints
Eastman Kodak (commonly known as just Kodak), one of the pioneers of photography, has filed for bankruptcy this week, after chief executive, Antonio Perez, made the announcement. The fact that the 131 year old company is facing financial difficulty may not come as a surprise to many. Kodak had its last boom in 1996 when shares were $80 apiece. But with the development of the digital age, some of Kodak’s products have become redundant. Previously, Kodak almost had a monopoly on photography film in the United States, but most people have switched to digital cameras, instead of the traditional cameras that use film. As a result, Kodak has had to work hard to keep with the technological trends in photography. It has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, meaning it is not shutting down, but it will just become leaner. CEO, Perez, wants to be able to pay off creditors, and work on focusing Kodak on key elements of the company that are still relevant in today’s digital age. Some of the items that Kodak hopes to expand on are faster, more flexible consumer and commercial digital printers and its top quality printing ink. It also has 11,000 patents, so it can recover from licensing fees as well. Though Kodak will still be around, its bankruptcy does illustrate how much people and photographers alike have moved away from traditional photography methods and truly embraced digital photography. For some people, who are feeling nostalgic for the bygone days of taking photographs and having no idea what they look like, then experiencing the excitement of collecting the prints and going through each photograph as a trip down memory lane, it signals the end of an era. But photography has continuously been changing, even during the century-long existence of Kodak, and the growth of the digital age is just another transformation, which will be followed by other changes still. Photographers as artists and documenters are able to use the changes as they wish, as well as continue using old methods in their art.
Tags: Kodak, Photography, Camera, Bankruptcy, Digital
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Exposure Triangle
[Report Abuse]
Reason
Posted by:
soulblueprints
Understanding exposure when you aspire to work in photography is essential. Exposure is an element in photography that must be understood in order to grasp and begin to master the field. Understanding the relationships between ISO, shutter speed, and aperture is the key to comprehending exposure and learning to master your photo skills. The three elements combined create the balance that in the long run determines shutter speed. Learn to master these and you will soon find the many advantages that it presents to you.
To b  ecome the best in your field and to learn these tricks, you must understanding some of the metaphors that have been created in order to explain them. The first of these is the window. Aperture is the size of the window. The bigger the hole, the more the light comes through. Shutter speed is the amount of time that the shutters are open. The longer you leave them, the more that light comes in. ISO (low ISO in this example) is like wearing sunglasses in the room: it desensitises you to the light. The less or greater the ISO, the bigger the exposure on the film. Understanding the correlation between these elements is fundamental. You add one of these on top of the other and you get more light or you get just the light that you want. There are a number of ways to increase the light in the room. Take off the sunglasses or make the window bigger or leave the shutters open for longer, or combine these. Depending on the effect that you want, you will need to add or remove some of these for the light to be greater or less. Carefully ascertain the exact effect that you desire for getting it just right with a proper understanding of the exposure triangle.
Tags: Exposure, Triangle, ISO, Aperture, Shutter
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Managing Children on Shoots
[Report Abuse]
Reason
Posted by:
soulblueprints
One of the biggest challenges for a photographer is looking for a suitable subject. Though many times people who do photography create their own subjects by artificial means, some of the most beautiful pictures come when the thing being photographed is a natural. And among all that can be photographed, one of the most appealing is a child. There is something about their innocence and Cupid-like features that makes them very interesting subjects. Here are some suggestions and tips when it comes to photographing these wonderful little people.
1) Keep them amused
As any parent will know, perhaps the greatest challenge when it comes to children is keeping them interested for a long period of time. Since photography is sometimes a time-consuming process, this is a small difficulty. To combat this, give the child being photographed some age-appropriate material to keep them occupied, like toys or a colouring book.
2) Keep them calm
Though it may be an obvious point to some, it is a rather hard task to keep a child in one place for any length of time. It is, in part, due to the child having a great amount of energy. This can be taken care of in a number of ways. For example, you could keep the child's parent around to relax and keep them child calm. Or you could photograph them towards the end of their day, so they are a little more lethargic.
3) Keep them fed
Probably the most important thing to a young child is food. This should come as no surprise. When a child is hungry or deprived of food, they sometimes begin to get cranky and whiny. This is nothing weird or unusual. To avert it, then, it is probably a good idea to keep the child occupied with a good supply of food.
Tags: Photography, Colouring, Toys, Child, Food
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Why Join A Photography Club?
[Report Abuse]
Reason
Posted by:
soulblueprints
A lot of people have taken up photography and never managed more than a few holiday snaps. Maybe it was a passing phase, maybe it was difficult to get the right equipment – or maybe that expensive camera has been gathering dust in the drawer because nobody was telling you to get it back out again. When you’re developing a new skill, always it’s important to have someone else around to encourage you and bounce ideas off. One of the best ways to make sure that camera never stays inside the box is to join a photography club. Simply put, a photography club is any group of people who share a common love of taking pictures. Members might meet regularly to swap work and ideas with each other, but online clubs are becoming increasingly popular – with photographers sharing their work on digital forums. Though it might be more fun to actually get together with other budding enthusiasts, online clubs have a lot of benefits for beginners and pros alike. One of the great draws of a digital group is the sense of community. Everyone who shares a common love or passion can stay in touch with likeminded people all around the world and stay up to date with the fast moving world of technology. Whilst many people already use forums for problem solving advice, the exchange of creative ideas is also an important part of any club. Swapping great photos and techniques with an online community can help one good idea take off and expand into avenues that you might never have dreamed of.
Tags: Photography, Club, Online, Community, Technology
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Outdoor Photography
[Report Abuse]
Reason
Posted by:
soulblueprints
There’s nothing quite as satisfying to a photographer as a shot of the Great Outdoors. From portraits to panoramas, there’s something about capturing nature in all its wild glory that makes it worth trekking through the woods with a heavy camera around your neck. However, outdoor photography can be difficult to get right, and it’s important to remember the quirks and issues of taking pictures in the field. Many people are of the opinion that, given the great amount of natural light outdoors, there’s no need to use a flash. Though sometimes true, this doesn’t always mean you have to light with the sun. It might usually be bright enough outside during the day, but there are certain situations when it’s still important to use a flash. For example, when shooting at sunset, using a flash gives a stunning contrast between near and far objects that couldn’t be achieved without an artificial bulb. This effect has to be taken on a shot-by-shot basis, of course, so don’t make the mistake of missing out on the infinite creative possibilities of natural light. Nothing has been more harmful to the art of photography than Photoshop. Now, don’t misunderstand. Photoshop can be an extremely useful tool for touching up details and making slight adjustments. The problem comes when photographers lose the motivation to take a good, balanced picture because they know that Photoshop can fix any flaws. Whilst you can easily apply filters and touch up the tone and colour of a picture in Photoshop, you can never transform a mediocre shot into a good one. Every photographer should always try to take the best picture that they can, without thinking too much about how it might be improved on the screen. A slight mistake can be touched up later, but a large one cannot. No matter how fast the technology tries to catch up, the real magic of photography still relies on a good eye and a steady pair of hands.
Tags: Photography, Outdoor, Photoshop, Picture, Creative
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The White Balance
[Report Abuse]
Reason
Posted by:
soulblueprints
The white balance is an aspect of photography that many aspiring photographers fail to understand, placing them at a great disadvantage due to not being able to get the maximum out of their cameras as perhaps they may have wanted to. Understanding why you would need it and how it benefits you is key to moving ahead in your photography and taking it to the expected (OR TOP) level. It is the one thing that separates the pros from the amateurs besides giving you a serious advantage in the long term. Knowing how to adjust this important aspect of photography, particularly in situations where there is a great amount of light, will set you on the road to success. In its purest form, white balance is the adjusting of the white in a picture (either lessening or increasing its effect) in order to make a truer definition of the colours presented. For instance, in situations where the light level is very high, lowering the white balance may be the best way to get the colours you want to represent and avoid that unwanted whiteout where necessary. Also, adding a higher white balance to a photo where the content is dark may make up for poor lighting and draw out the colours of the dark that are missing. Many amateurs substitute exposure settings for this, and while that does have a good outcome, the exact effect that the white balance setting on a camera can have is an added and necessary advantage. Knowing when to use one or the other (white balance vs. exposure) will greatly aid you in getting the most out of your photos. This benefit will strengthen your skill and set you on a road to take your photography skills to the next level and set you up to work as a professional in this field.
Tags: Photography, Balance, White, Light, Exposure
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forced Perspective Fun
[Report Abuse]
Reason
Posted by:
soulblueprints
Most amateur photographers stick to fairly basic methods of photography such as taking pictures of their friends at parties, sleeping pets, or taking portrait pictures of a lover or sibling. Even though all these exercises are worthwhile, of course, if you really want to have fun with your photography, if you want to spice things up a little, then there are virtually an infinite amount of tricks that you can do to make some damned cool photographs. The most fun part of these techniques is forced perspective.
So what is forced perspective? It could be defined as any optical illusion that makes a certain object appear smaller or larger by its placement nearer or farther from the camera. One of the most common examples is the photograph many tourists take with the Leaning Tower of Pisa where they are portrayed either leaning or pushing against the tower or holding it up. This trick has been used by innumerable number of people, to the point where a level of over-saturation has been reached. However, many people still manage to make clever use of the trick.
A good example is The Lord of the Rings films, where you have hobbits – who are supposed to be under four feet – and dwarfs – who are supposed to be of a similar height – all together in scenes with people of normal height. While you might think that this effect is achieved using shorter actors or by digitally editing the scenes, they are not. The scenes were shot with some very clever forced perspective tricks with the ‘hobbits' sitting farther away from the camera and the people of normal height sitting closer. This effect is further enhanced by the clever construction of the sets, which were created in order to make the effect look organic. And, as anyone who has seen the films can attest to, it worked magnificently.
Tags: Photographers, Tricks, LOTR, Organic, Pisa
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Types of Photography Part 2
[Report Abuse]
Reason
Posted by:
soulblueprints
In part one, six of the most popular photography types was described. In this second part additional types are given with descriptions. Following after Photojournalism, Documentary Photography, Action Photography, Macrophotography, Microphotography, and Glamour Photography is Aerial Photography. By the name itself, Aerial Photography is simply taking pictures from above ground or objects on the sky. In contrast to Aerial Photography is the Underwater Photography which focuses highly on capturing scenes from under the surface of the water. This is among the most exciting type of photography however because of its expensive requirements, only very few photographers are able to enjoy its comfort. Another type of photography is centered on the aesthetic beauty of the subjects. It is called Art Photography. Artistic taking of pictures is innate in each of us; however experts have the better ability to manage the correct capture of the intended shoot. One of the oldest known type of photography is the portrait. It is not hard to understand what portrait photographers do because it has been common for everybody to understand that the image of a person is the foremost subject. Then there is also advertising photography – a complicated, well studied type which is intended for the advertisement of the product endorsed. This takes a lot of artistry and thought since primarily it is something which must be able to capture the intention of the viewers. Last in this list is Travel Photography which obviously is inclined towards taking pictures of scenic vistas the photographer probably came across. Usually, this type is attended when one needs to keep a memorabilia of his travels. There are a whole lot of different things covered by photography as an art and science. However, due to the fact that they are very many, it will be impossible to dive into all of them at the same time. Even though the photographer can work on several ideas in one night, they will probably still choose a type where they may find themselves to excel.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Still Narration
[Report Abuse]
Reason
Posted by:
soulblueprints
Every photographer wants nothing more than to capture the best shot. Lots of efforts are made trying to best achieve the goal of being able to impress the viewers of the masterpiece. Not all photos however attract the attention of viewers. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” so the maxim says. Every viewer and artist has their own perception of beauty so it will not be easy to capture the attention of these people with just one shot. However, having been exposed to the world of photography for quite a while, I found out that among the many faces of pulchritude offered by differing perceptions in photography, one sort of pictures emerge to be very successful in capturing the attention of many. It will not be surprising to know then that pictures that tell a story would most likely be on top of an onlooker's attention.
Given then that pictures which tell stories are highly admired by photographers and audience alike, photo artists strive hard to capture these kinds of pictures. However, it will not be easy to produce a photo which can speak out for itself. There are a number of characteristics which would be required of before it can totally be gained. Among the most common of these are identified in the succeeding paragraphs.
Like how a story is wonderfully crafted by a writer, an excellent photograph must also be created with the five essential elements in mind – mood, emotion, narrative, ideas or the message. To begin with, every photograph must put into consideration the mood portrayed in his photo. This mood can be achieved by the use of proper background and the interconnectedness of the objects in the photograph. Secondarily, emotion must be given attention. Such can be achieved through the facial expression of the subjects or the activities they are doing while the shot was taken. Furthermore, the photo must have the idea of narration which can be attained by including objects which tell the viewers that something happened before or will still happen after the shot was taken. Almost similarly, the idea and the message of the photo go together. These are the elements which was why the photographer intended to publish the shot. This is the hardest to achieve among the elements if the photographer did not have it in mind before taking the picture. Otherwise, the photograph will be no less than sufficiently telling its audience something which the photographer wishes to convey.
To sum it all up, an excellent photograph must tell a story. To tell a story, it must be taken with careful consideration of the conditions and situations during the moment it is captured. Everything must be in order, as the photographer wishes them to be. However, most importantly, the photographer must have a purpose behind why they are taking the picture; there must always have a message to express through their masterpieces.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|