As any seasoned photographer will tell you, making a living in photography is more about the business than it is about the art. Anybody with good or decent picture skills can make a good living from it. The trick is to use it as part of a good business plan. Real estate, car dealerships and product photography lend themselves as good ventures in this field.
Car dealerships are a good source of work. They all have a need for pictures, but dealers are good at selling cars not necessarily at taking pictures. Therefore, it should not be hard to sell this service. If you can develop a nice website to showcase the cars, it can provide recurring revenue by charging a monthly fee. Additionally, there are many individuals selling cars on eBay who need a good picture. Don't be surprised if you get recurring jobs as you become better known in the field.
Real estate also offers many opportunities if you are interested in architectural photography. I recall getting a job from an architect who had just finished a project. She was putting a portfolio together, and she needed good quality pictures. Another good strategy is to target those selling their homes. Most house hunter will do a search in the internet as opposed to drive around the various neighborhoods as it was once the case. Real estate brokers have their own websites and showcase their properties in much the same way as car dealerships.
Product photography requires more equipment such as light tent, flash lights, and special lenses. However, if you like to work in the comfort of a studio or the client's store, then this might be the business for you. There are literally hundreds of thousands of eBay listings placed every day. What do they all have in common? Yes, they all need pictures. Since the buyers will rely on them to make their purchase decisions, they need to be of good quality and present the product in detail.
There is no need to be Ansel Adams to make a good living with digital Photography. A good business sense is what often times makes the difference. Look around at all the pictures in the internet and ask yourself where they come from or even better how you can take them.
by Alexander Seiglie
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Spy Equipment Accessories for Home Surveillance
Spy equipment accessories may not seem very glamorous or exciting, but they are often necessary for the more efficient functioning of your surveillance or your counter-surveillance efforts. The fact of the matter is that there is more to spy equipment than just a neat gadget. There are accessories that are “behind the scenes” to make sure that everything runs smoothly, and that you have everything you truly need.
Most of the more useful spy equipment accessories are for cameras. These cameras are often surveillance cameras that can detect intruders and record vandals, helping you better protect your home. This equipment can help you keep your home safe, protecting your most valuable asset, and your valuables (human and otherwise) inside. The different options available to enhance camera performance can only aid your efforts to fortify your home.
One of the best spy equipment accessories for the camera is the illuminator. Illuminators come in various sizes and they are effective up to different ranges. These illuminators usually sit atop the camera, or somewhere nearby, to provide adequate light for the camera to pick up different people that come in its range. This is especially helpful at night, as most illuminators help the camera “see” in the dark what it otherwise would not have been able to distinguish.
Other helpful spy equipment accessories include camera housings. These housings for CCTV cameras protect them from the elements, helping them last longer and protecting your investment in better home security through premises surveillance. Some housing are even equipped with blowers and heaters. These keep the cameras from overheating during the summer and protect them from the bitter cold during the winter.
Other helpful spy equipment accessories include things like videotapes for recorders (long tapes that hold 9 or 10 hours of footage, as opposed to 6 hours) and power supplies and battery packs. Battery packs may even be rechargeable, making it that much easier to make sure your surveillance system always has adequate power to do the job. Additionally, plug and play cables of different lengths can add to the effectiveness of your spy equipment.
by: Shawn Davis
Most of the more useful spy equipment accessories are for cameras. These cameras are often surveillance cameras that can detect intruders and record vandals, helping you better protect your home. This equipment can help you keep your home safe, protecting your most valuable asset, and your valuables (human and otherwise) inside. The different options available to enhance camera performance can only aid your efforts to fortify your home.
One of the best spy equipment accessories for the camera is the illuminator. Illuminators come in various sizes and they are effective up to different ranges. These illuminators usually sit atop the camera, or somewhere nearby, to provide adequate light for the camera to pick up different people that come in its range. This is especially helpful at night, as most illuminators help the camera “see” in the dark what it otherwise would not have been able to distinguish.
Other helpful spy equipment accessories include camera housings. These housings for CCTV cameras protect them from the elements, helping them last longer and protecting your investment in better home security through premises surveillance. Some housing are even equipped with blowers and heaters. These keep the cameras from overheating during the summer and protect them from the bitter cold during the winter.
Other helpful spy equipment accessories include things like videotapes for recorders (long tapes that hold 9 or 10 hours of footage, as opposed to 6 hours) and power supplies and battery packs. Battery packs may even be rechargeable, making it that much easier to make sure your surveillance system always has adequate power to do the job. Additionally, plug and play cables of different lengths can add to the effectiveness of your spy equipment.
by: Shawn Davis
Friday, November 20, 2009
A Spy Camera on Your Body
Are you afraid that you might miss something important? With a spy camera carefully concealed on your body, you can enter a room and observe with your eyes, and then look over everything else later, with the benefit of slow motion added in. A spy camera of this sort can come in very handy, and it is easy to use and virtually undetectable.
A spy camera that is placed on your body for surveillance purposes makes use of a transmitter that sends the images it captures back to a recorder of some sort. This can be a VCR or DVD, but increasingly sophisticated technology allows it to be sent to computers. This means that you can set your computer to record the images from your camera, and then you can look over them later, focusing on different parts of the images, and seeing things that maybe you failed to see the first time with the naked eye.
There are different ways that a spy camera can be hidden on your body. Usually they look like regular objects. For instance, a camera can be hidden in a button, baseball cap, or a pair of sunglasses. They can even be in common objects that someone might carry, such as a pen, pager, cigarette pack, lighter, or book bag. Some of them are in the form of bore scopes that also serve the same purpose. In any case, the point of a spy camera is to be able to take images without others knowing what you are doing.
In addition to a spy camera hidden on your body, you might find it useful to wear a small listening device. This will only serve to augment the visuals you capture, and can even help you add context to what you are seeing. Additionally, it gives you the ability to listen again for things that you might have missed during your initial surveillance.
When you perform surveillance, it is important to make sure that all your bases are covered. This means that you should have a backup to your own eyes and ears. This is possible with a small listening device and a body worn spy camera.
by: Shawn Davis
A spy camera that is placed on your body for surveillance purposes makes use of a transmitter that sends the images it captures back to a recorder of some sort. This can be a VCR or DVD, but increasingly sophisticated technology allows it to be sent to computers. This means that you can set your computer to record the images from your camera, and then you can look over them later, focusing on different parts of the images, and seeing things that maybe you failed to see the first time with the naked eye.
There are different ways that a spy camera can be hidden on your body. Usually they look like regular objects. For instance, a camera can be hidden in a button, baseball cap, or a pair of sunglasses. They can even be in common objects that someone might carry, such as a pen, pager, cigarette pack, lighter, or book bag. Some of them are in the form of bore scopes that also serve the same purpose. In any case, the point of a spy camera is to be able to take images without others knowing what you are doing.
In addition to a spy camera hidden on your body, you might find it useful to wear a small listening device. This will only serve to augment the visuals you capture, and can even help you add context to what you are seeing. Additionally, it gives you the ability to listen again for things that you might have missed during your initial surveillance.
When you perform surveillance, it is important to make sure that all your bases are covered. This means that you should have a backup to your own eyes and ears. This is possible with a small listening device and a body worn spy camera.
by: Shawn Davis
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Catch the Holiday Spirit with Digital Cameras
It’s the time of the year when your family and friends spend their time together at home. It’s also the best time to get memories in print. But oftentimes people are frustrated to find out that the pictures they have taken don’t look too good when they get printed. So the best way you could perhaps do to minimize excessive outflow of money and effort is by using digital cameras.
Digital photography has opened up a lot of new and valuable opportunities to all. Here are a few reasons for you to go digital. First, you can always make sure that the shot you took is the one you like before leaving the scene and if it does not meet your expectation, you can always delete it and take another shot. Second, digital cameras allow you to easily and quickly retrieve images. You also have the option of having your photos printed at home at your own convenience. Digital cameras can also mount filters, auxiliary lenses and polarizers allowing you to meet any photographic challenge you might come across with.
These are just a few reasons to make you cross over the fence to digital photography. When you do decide to use digital camera there are a few things to consider in choosing the right one as there are a lot of choices when it comes to digital camera today. Most of these cameras only differ in use and price. If you are thinking of only using your camera to exchange snapshots with your friends, you do not need to spend a lot for the camera. Don’t forget to ask the seller if the camera you are buying can accept external power supply. Remember that cameras use power fast so you do not want to spend most of your time buying batteries and miss the opportunity of getting the shot that you want.
Buying your digital camera need not be a difficult task. To make things simple, just try to remember these factors when shopping for your camera – number of megapixels, user controls, battery life, zoom lens and exposure control. So get started with your shopping for the right digital camera today. After all, you would not want to miss grandpa crying beside the Christmas tree because of the gift you gave him or miss little Annie getting frantic because she finally got the Barbie doll she likes. Happy Holidays everyone!
by: Viojieley Gurrobat
Digital photography has opened up a lot of new and valuable opportunities to all. Here are a few reasons for you to go digital. First, you can always make sure that the shot you took is the one you like before leaving the scene and if it does not meet your expectation, you can always delete it and take another shot. Second, digital cameras allow you to easily and quickly retrieve images. You also have the option of having your photos printed at home at your own convenience. Digital cameras can also mount filters, auxiliary lenses and polarizers allowing you to meet any photographic challenge you might come across with.
These are just a few reasons to make you cross over the fence to digital photography. When you do decide to use digital camera there are a few things to consider in choosing the right one as there are a lot of choices when it comes to digital camera today. Most of these cameras only differ in use and price. If you are thinking of only using your camera to exchange snapshots with your friends, you do not need to spend a lot for the camera. Don’t forget to ask the seller if the camera you are buying can accept external power supply. Remember that cameras use power fast so you do not want to spend most of your time buying batteries and miss the opportunity of getting the shot that you want.
Buying your digital camera need not be a difficult task. To make things simple, just try to remember these factors when shopping for your camera – number of megapixels, user controls, battery life, zoom lens and exposure control. So get started with your shopping for the right digital camera today. After all, you would not want to miss grandpa crying beside the Christmas tree because of the gift you gave him or miss little Annie getting frantic because she finally got the Barbie doll she likes. Happy Holidays everyone!
by: Viojieley Gurrobat
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Digital Photography Techniques
Improve With These Tips
Since the advent of the digital camera many more aspiring photographers have become interested in developing their basic photography skills: learning some of the jargon associated with this new hobby is absolutely necessary if you intend to progress beyond the very basics of turn the camera on, take aim and press the shutter.
Digital photography techniques, such as 'dynamic range', 'depth of field', and 'field of view' can all help to improve the quality of your pictures. Our eyes are much cleverer at discerning different aspects of vision than even the most expensive camera that is available to date so, to obtain a finished photograph that resembles as closely as possible what our eyes see, manual changes have to be made by the photographer, depending on the degree of light available and the distance away the object being photographed is from the camera.
Establishing a precise focal point and then maintaining that area around that focal point in clear focus involves the photographer making a decisive decision about the depth of field: the decision to be made involves keeping close to realism or being rather compliant in terms of artistic portrayal.
When staying close to realism the photographer needs to decide between the length of exposure, the depth of field and the level of film grain whereas, multiple exposures can be implemented if the photographer decides to enjoy a variable amount of artistic flexibility. They end result is a photograph that exhibits multifaceted focal points that is loosely similar in the way our eyes interpret a scene when we give a view a fleeting glance that takes in both near and far objects simultaneously.
Digital photography techniques overcome the natural drawback a camera has that our eyes can overcome, such as dynamic range. Whereas our eyes can adapt, with little problem, to changing light conditions, the photographer has to have sufficient knowledge of digital photography techniques to surmount this problem. Dynamic range accounts for discernment of details and making sense of shadows and contrasts which, by utilising a range of filters, can overcome dynamic range with evenly exposed images.
This prevents the finished photograph looking as if it has been overexposed. Field of view takes into account the wide panorama our eyes are naturally able to view in any single sight. However, the camera is dependent on lens aperture and, of course, the previously mentioned, depth of field and dynamic range.
In order for the photographer to obtain a similarly panoramic effect, other digital photography techniques need to be used - especially a technique known as digital panorama: it is also referred to as photo stitching as this better describes what it actually does. In order to obtain an enhance panorama, the photographer will aim the camera at a series of consecutive views.
A series of photos is obtained from which final picture is obtained. This is one of the more complicated digital photography techniques but the end result produces a picture that reveals better perspective and less lens distortion - essentially by matching up the individual pixels by blending the pixel seams.
The particular technique for matching up the pixels for a seamless finish is usually accomplished using software and involves isolating the vanishing point and the horizon alignment. This final stage only really requires the photographer to use the camera to take a series of still shots - the rest involves computer techniques of digital photography.
Article Source: Philip_Lim
Since the advent of the digital camera many more aspiring photographers have become interested in developing their basic photography skills: learning some of the jargon associated with this new hobby is absolutely necessary if you intend to progress beyond the very basics of turn the camera on, take aim and press the shutter.
Digital photography techniques, such as 'dynamic range', 'depth of field', and 'field of view' can all help to improve the quality of your pictures. Our eyes are much cleverer at discerning different aspects of vision than even the most expensive camera that is available to date so, to obtain a finished photograph that resembles as closely as possible what our eyes see, manual changes have to be made by the photographer, depending on the degree of light available and the distance away the object being photographed is from the camera.
Establishing a precise focal point and then maintaining that area around that focal point in clear focus involves the photographer making a decisive decision about the depth of field: the decision to be made involves keeping close to realism or being rather compliant in terms of artistic portrayal.
When staying close to realism the photographer needs to decide between the length of exposure, the depth of field and the level of film grain whereas, multiple exposures can be implemented if the photographer decides to enjoy a variable amount of artistic flexibility. They end result is a photograph that exhibits multifaceted focal points that is loosely similar in the way our eyes interpret a scene when we give a view a fleeting glance that takes in both near and far objects simultaneously.
Digital photography techniques overcome the natural drawback a camera has that our eyes can overcome, such as dynamic range. Whereas our eyes can adapt, with little problem, to changing light conditions, the photographer has to have sufficient knowledge of digital photography techniques to surmount this problem. Dynamic range accounts for discernment of details and making sense of shadows and contrasts which, by utilising a range of filters, can overcome dynamic range with evenly exposed images.
This prevents the finished photograph looking as if it has been overexposed. Field of view takes into account the wide panorama our eyes are naturally able to view in any single sight. However, the camera is dependent on lens aperture and, of course, the previously mentioned, depth of field and dynamic range.
In order for the photographer to obtain a similarly panoramic effect, other digital photography techniques need to be used - especially a technique known as digital panorama: it is also referred to as photo stitching as this better describes what it actually does. In order to obtain an enhance panorama, the photographer will aim the camera at a series of consecutive views.
A series of photos is obtained from which final picture is obtained. This is one of the more complicated digital photography techniques but the end result produces a picture that reveals better perspective and less lens distortion - essentially by matching up the individual pixels by blending the pixel seams.
The particular technique for matching up the pixels for a seamless finish is usually accomplished using software and involves isolating the vanishing point and the horizon alignment. This final stage only really requires the photographer to use the camera to take a series of still shots - the rest involves computer techniques of digital photography.
Article Source: Philip_Lim
Friday, October 2, 2009
5 Things You Can Do With Flash Memory
Got flash memory cards? They aren’t only for your digital camera. Probably the coolest yet overlooked ways to use your flash memory card is as floppy drive replacement. Think about it, a flash memory card is really a form of storage disk.
Most notebook computers today don’t come with a floppy drive anymore. I’ve personally been in situations where I needed to share a file with someone and haven’t been able to because they handed me a floppy disk.
If you already own a card or a digital camera, chances are you already have the necessary equipment to read the card and transfer files to and from them. If you don’t it’s easy. Get yourself a flash memory card reader – they are so inexpensive these days you can even pick one up free after rebate if you watch the deals. Hookup it up to your computer and pop in the card. It will show up on your computer as a new drive. When you’re ready to save data to it, just drag and drop. It’s no different than a regular floppy or hard drive. Once you see in this light there is a whole bunch of things you can use your flash memory card for and here are 5 ideas for you.
1. Use as a greeting card. Hey there’s always an occasion around the corner. If you’re already thinking of sending a CD greeting card – use your flash memory card instead. With the large storage sizes you can afford to have multimedia in your ecards too and when that person gets tired of it, the card itself is a gift for their computing convenience. As if that wasn’t enough, you can probably get by with less postage too.
2. Use as media storage. One of the best things about flash memory cards is how much its small physical size can pack in. With memory sizes up to several Gigabytes, you could use it to store your media like video clips, picture clips, audio files and just about any downloadable content. Its small size also makes it highly portable without taking up valuable space on your notebook computer hard drive.
3. Sharing files or transferring files from one computer to another. If you need to do this often, here’s a quick tip. Carry with you a USB card reader. Many of them are very compact and no heavier than your cell phone. Doing this has advantages over carrying a flash memory drive. Flash memory cards are smaller and a tiny catalog of cards can offer you much more memory than a flash drive. Better carry two things than a bunch of drives.
4. Build yourself an ebook library. Are you a book worm? One tiny flash memory card can store a lot of ebooks since most text based files are smaller than media files. You can store whole libraries of ebooks in various topics either on one card or dedicate one for each topic you are interested in. Again, they are easy to share and very portable – you’ll never run out of reading material again even when on the road.
5. Run small software from it. Yes, there are tiny software that don’t need to be installed and can run from the card itself. This is particularly helpful when you’re using someone else’s computer. Now you can carry your software with you too.
Now that you know – gather up those flash memory cards and start using them. Just because your new camera isn’t compatible with it doesn’t mean you should let it go to waste and the best part is, you won’t have to worry about obsolete cards anymore.
by: Lynn Chan
Most notebook computers today don’t come with a floppy drive anymore. I’ve personally been in situations where I needed to share a file with someone and haven’t been able to because they handed me a floppy disk.
If you already own a card or a digital camera, chances are you already have the necessary equipment to read the card and transfer files to and from them. If you don’t it’s easy. Get yourself a flash memory card reader – they are so inexpensive these days you can even pick one up free after rebate if you watch the deals. Hookup it up to your computer and pop in the card. It will show up on your computer as a new drive. When you’re ready to save data to it, just drag and drop. It’s no different than a regular floppy or hard drive. Once you see in this light there is a whole bunch of things you can use your flash memory card for and here are 5 ideas for you.
1. Use as a greeting card. Hey there’s always an occasion around the corner. If you’re already thinking of sending a CD greeting card – use your flash memory card instead. With the large storage sizes you can afford to have multimedia in your ecards too and when that person gets tired of it, the card itself is a gift for their computing convenience. As if that wasn’t enough, you can probably get by with less postage too.
2. Use as media storage. One of the best things about flash memory cards is how much its small physical size can pack in. With memory sizes up to several Gigabytes, you could use it to store your media like video clips, picture clips, audio files and just about any downloadable content. Its small size also makes it highly portable without taking up valuable space on your notebook computer hard drive.
3. Sharing files or transferring files from one computer to another. If you need to do this often, here’s a quick tip. Carry with you a USB card reader. Many of them are very compact and no heavier than your cell phone. Doing this has advantages over carrying a flash memory drive. Flash memory cards are smaller and a tiny catalog of cards can offer you much more memory than a flash drive. Better carry two things than a bunch of drives.
4. Build yourself an ebook library. Are you a book worm? One tiny flash memory card can store a lot of ebooks since most text based files are smaller than media files. You can store whole libraries of ebooks in various topics either on one card or dedicate one for each topic you are interested in. Again, they are easy to share and very portable – you’ll never run out of reading material again even when on the road.
5. Run small software from it. Yes, there are tiny software that don’t need to be installed and can run from the card itself. This is particularly helpful when you’re using someone else’s computer. Now you can carry your software with you too.
Now that you know – gather up those flash memory cards and start using them. Just because your new camera isn’t compatible with it doesn’t mean you should let it go to waste and the best part is, you won’t have to worry about obsolete cards anymore.
by: Lynn Chan
Digital Photography, For Better or Worse
Do you remember the first digital cameras you saw? Did you even stop to contemplate the photography process and the changes that would occur due to a new method? Probably not. Not until the widespread use of digital cameras has the process of digital photography been a topic of any interest. Now, we all are buying digital cameras, and must learn the ABC’s of digital photography.
Unlike traditional photography, the advent of digital utilizes “pixels” to control color content, clarity and the quality of the picture. Each photo is composed of hundreds of pixels. These pixels are small square pieces of color, that when put together produce the image captured on the camera. Think of pixels as pieces of a puzzle. Each piece of the puzzle contains a small portion of the color and object, that when locked together form the much bigger whole. Digital photography offers the professional photographer a much broader scope of options than traditional methods. Adjustments can be made to just a small portion of a photo rather than having to change the entire background, subject color, or other complete coloring of an object in the photograph.
Digital photography is not new, but it is new to the average consumer. Professionals have been reaping the benefits of digital photos for several years. It is only since the explosive growth of computers, however, that digital photography has become a realistic method of photography for just about everyone. Now, John Q. Public can use his digital camera and upload his pictures onto the computer. It is here that any real benefit of digital photography, from a personal standpoint, ends. For most of the pictures we take of our family and friends, we don’t need professional quality photos. We just like the ease and convenience of taking the picture, uploading and printing in a matter of minutes. The use of digital photography today is for the most part, a replacement of the old Polaroid of the 70s.
There is some irony here. Isn’t it just par for the natural course of things? Something as beneficial and complex as digital photography is simply the everyday answer to the Polaroid. The real benefits of digital photography are lost on the general public. Digital photography allows us to dissect a picture. Much like investigators can dissect the pieces of a murder case, we can investigate the pieces of a picture. Once again, the real benefit is realized and appreciated only by the professional photographer, not your next door neighbor.
The last piece of required equipment when making digital photos would be the software necessary to view the pictures and make adjustments to the pixels. Usually, this software will accompany the digital camera when purchased, and quick install instructions make it possible to complete the software upload in a matter of minutes. User friendly “buttons” have eliminated the need for most of us to even understand how to break apart pixels to adjust color and contract, we simply move an arrow up or down to make the adjustment.
Digital photography is helping to revolutionize the way we view our pictures and the way we are able to capture the most breathtaking images. But, what does that really matter, if all you need is an up-to-date version of a Polaroid?
by: Frederic Madore
Unlike traditional photography, the advent of digital utilizes “pixels” to control color content, clarity and the quality of the picture. Each photo is composed of hundreds of pixels. These pixels are small square pieces of color, that when put together produce the image captured on the camera. Think of pixels as pieces of a puzzle. Each piece of the puzzle contains a small portion of the color and object, that when locked together form the much bigger whole. Digital photography offers the professional photographer a much broader scope of options than traditional methods. Adjustments can be made to just a small portion of a photo rather than having to change the entire background, subject color, or other complete coloring of an object in the photograph.
Digital photography is not new, but it is new to the average consumer. Professionals have been reaping the benefits of digital photos for several years. It is only since the explosive growth of computers, however, that digital photography has become a realistic method of photography for just about everyone. Now, John Q. Public can use his digital camera and upload his pictures onto the computer. It is here that any real benefit of digital photography, from a personal standpoint, ends. For most of the pictures we take of our family and friends, we don’t need professional quality photos. We just like the ease and convenience of taking the picture, uploading and printing in a matter of minutes. The use of digital photography today is for the most part, a replacement of the old Polaroid of the 70s.
There is some irony here. Isn’t it just par for the natural course of things? Something as beneficial and complex as digital photography is simply the everyday answer to the Polaroid. The real benefits of digital photography are lost on the general public. Digital photography allows us to dissect a picture. Much like investigators can dissect the pieces of a murder case, we can investigate the pieces of a picture. Once again, the real benefit is realized and appreciated only by the professional photographer, not your next door neighbor.
The last piece of required equipment when making digital photos would be the software necessary to view the pictures and make adjustments to the pixels. Usually, this software will accompany the digital camera when purchased, and quick install instructions make it possible to complete the software upload in a matter of minutes. User friendly “buttons” have eliminated the need for most of us to even understand how to break apart pixels to adjust color and contract, we simply move an arrow up or down to make the adjustment.
Digital photography is helping to revolutionize the way we view our pictures and the way we are able to capture the most breathtaking images. But, what does that really matter, if all you need is an up-to-date version of a Polaroid?
by: Frederic Madore
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