Your camera is a tool, tools should be kept clean to operate properly, but because they are also sensitive electronic devices, some special care needs to be taken.  This guide will give you a great overview to keep your gear working properly and for a long time, all the while performing the day you pulled it out of the box. Body [caption id="attachment_662" align="aligncenter" width="402" caption="Photo by pointnshoot"][/caption] Wipe the body down with a soft rag and / or use an air blower to remove dust and from any area the rag can't reach.  Avoid chemicals as they may deteriorate the finish and coatings that the manufacturer has applied.  A trick to getting dust out of the small gaps around shutter buttons and mode dials is to use a clean, new, hard bristle paint brush to softly coax them out.  Use a standard pencil eraser to clean the contacts for the hot-shoe too.  Many people have bought a new flash or taken theirs in for repair only to later find out a dirty contact was causing their inconsistency problems. Lens [caption id="attachment_664" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Photo by DeusXFlorida"][/caption] Lens barrels can be cleaned the same as a body, with a soft cloth.  The element itself should be ...

Photography is a wonderful, amusing, entertaining, though-provoking and emotional medium of art, but it's also one of many facets, each one different and requiring a specific amount of training to truly excel at.  Recently, a friend asked me to shoot their upcoming wedding, which I politely declined and suggested some friends of mine who are wedding photographers.  They were a bit shocked, as we've been friends for some time and they reiterated that they've always loved my worked but couldn't understand why I was reluctant to do it. I explained to them that I'm capable of shooting them, but it's just not my niche.  Still not understanding, because as they saw it, I am a photographer and can do this, I gave them this example: A heart surgeon and a dentist are both doctors, both went to medical school, but I wouldn't want one doing the others' job, ever. This seemed to make sense for them finally and the topic changed to something else. Photo by Ben McLeod To find your niche in photography, you must look at what in life you enjoy and how you enjoy doing it.  For example, you may really like wildlife photographs but may not be into a three ...

Learning to be a good photography takes time, patience and lots of learning, most of it through trial and error.  There seem to be countless books, classes, tutorials and blog postings how to do, create, setup, finalize, post-process, etc. to yield the best possible image and get that killer shot.  Less talked about is what you should never do as a photographer though, and this article will hopefully help you cut down on some of the errors while you are still in trial phase. Never disrespect your camera equipment. Treat it with care and respect at all times and try your best to keep it out of harms way.  Utilize protective, quality UV filters on the end of your lenses to aid against scratching and a lens hood whenever possible as a first barrier to it bumping into something.  If there is even a chance of rain while you're shooting outside, get a proper rain guard for your camera.  Get a properly padded bag that will hold your gear for transport and to work out of.  Never leave your camera gear in a car overnight, no matter how safe your neighborhood is.  Not only could it be an easy target for ...

By definition, a Portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this reason, in photography a portrait is generally not a snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position. A portrait often shows a person looking directly at the painter or photographer, in order to most successfully engage the subject with the viewer. But that's not to say those are the explicit rules of portrait photography. Sometimes going outside the box is needed to evolve and change how we look and feel about a portrait. Go Square! The square format isn't as popular as it was decades ago when medium format camera's shot 120 film in a square, not rectangular format.  Fill the frame and don't be afraid to crop in tight! Tackle the High-Key look! This one also just happens to be square, but high-key portraits is shooting with a white background and over-exposing the subject so only the details appear.  This was taken one step further and converted to black and white. Shoot for the emotion! Portraits don't always and ...

Up until about a decade ago photographers had it pretty easy.  Shoot, drop the film off at a local lab, then spend the next two to three days doing whatever you like; shoot more, meet with clients, lounge around your house, whatever.  You'd go pick up your developed film and prints and either build your albums or send the prints onto your clients.  Digital has offered us instant gratification and put more power then ever for developing our files, more commonly called post-production. With the seemingly endless ways to handle images in post, the seat time photographers now have with a computer in front of them can be as long or longer then a photo shoot itself!  This doesn't have to be the case though, and this article will lay out some time saving tips for your post-production. 1. Don't shoot with the attitude of I can shoot a little loose and just fix it in post. Digital is not an excuse to be a lazy photographer and if you start shooting with this attitude it can be a hard one to break.  Try your best to nail exposures, not only will your final image look better, it's one less thing to ...

Photography is amazing, it is one of the only hobby's that can capture moments in time that will last a lifetime and allow you to recoup some, all or even profit.  Unlike say, snowboarding, where you need to not only pay for the gear you use but a drive to the mountain and buy a lift ticket every time you want to actually snowboard, photography only has the initial investment; beyond that, the world is yours to capture. Every few years a story breaks on the news about someone finding a priceless painting or artifact in their basement or attic worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.  While we all dream for this to happen, what if you had a hidden gold mine in your photo collection stuffed away in a shoe box or hidden on your hard drive somewhere?  Photography is becoming an increasingly great way to earn a little income on the side, both passively and actively. What You Should Know About Stock One of the best ways to earn passive income is through selling stock photography.  Stock photographs can be used for anything from inner-office memo's and company email newsletters to product packaging and billboards.  Basically, anywhere you see a photograph ...

Photography is about capturing light though lenses, but choosing the right lens for the job isn't always cut and dry.  Lenses for landscape photographers can be particularly difficult to choose because the vast array of options available. First and foremost, there is no one-size fits all, do everything lens.  New photographers often look for the one lens that will do everything and then some, this doesn't exist.  There are options to fit your specific needs though, and that's what we're going to explore.  The real answer is 12mm-500mm, it really depends on what you're shooting and where you are in relation to it. Size and weight are also a factor for some photographers.  Because most landscape photographers are also hikers, campers and travelers, carrying around twenty or thirty pounds of gear can be daunting, so choosing faster prime lenses instead of a larger, heavier zoom lens means you won't have as much flexibility as a zoom lens provides but the trade off is a significantly lighter load to carry with you. Fast lenses, or those with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 or faster aren't always needed either, because the sweet spot of most lenses, or where they are sharpest and perform the best, ...

Photography is an art, much in the same way painting and sculpting is, however the initial investment to produce art is usually much higher compared to painters or sculptors.  Oddly, you rarely hear of a painters saving money to buy the newest, latest and greatest paints, brushes or canvases to take their art to the next level; why should photographers always look into their wallets to produce better photography?  Lets explore some ways to improve your photography without spending any more money. Photo by notsogoodphotography Utilize the rule of thirds. One of the easiest ways to improve your photography is to frame subjects differently.  Rather then placing the subject directly in the middle, move them to the right or left third of the frame, or horizontally to the top or bottom third.  This can make a dramatic difference in photographs of the horizon, especially during sunrise or sunset.  A great example of how the rule of thirds works is in the photo below where the subjects are both to the right third and to the lower third of the frame, as shown by the window jams. Photo by Rock Harris Fill the frame.  Don’t be afraid to fill the frame when shooting.  There is ...

If you’re into landscape photography then you will almost certainly know that clouds can have a massive impact on the atmosphere and beauty of a shot. Whether they are whispy and light cirrus clouds or thick and smoky cumulus, a cloudy day is often the perfect time to pull out the camera. But how do you photograph clouds to get the perfect result? Let’s take a look at some methods you will want to learn and also take a look at some stunning examples! Photo by Garry Let’s Talk Lighting and Camera Filters Perhaps one of the trickiest parts of getting a great cloud photograph is the fact that often, clouds will emit a large variance of light. From the deep dark greys of a storm cloud, you might find that the edges are bright white, especially if the sun is behind the cloud. This can make it difficult to meter the light. If you’re shooting digital, then it won’t be so much of a problem as you can see the results instantly and know if you’ve over or under exposed the shot. You can minimise the chances of getting it wrong by getting your filters right though. The first thing you are going ...

If you have ever spent serious time working or learning from a well-known professional photographer, then you will come to realise that some of them barely ever take a bad photo. While it can be a little disheartening to see the shots from an afternoon and know that their worst shot is better than your best, it also means there is a technique to the craft that can be emulated. In my experience, the people who take constantly excellent photos have a few characteristics and follow a few rules that set them apart from many other photographers. Here is what I have witnessed. Photo by Christolakis They Know Their Camera – Most folks I have seen whose skill I want to copy know their camera like the back of their hand. Without taking their eye from the view finder they can switch back and forth from auto-exposure bracketing, white balance adjustments, ISO, aperture and whatever else their weapon of choice can do. Usually this is a result of them having used the same gear for years and practiced so much that adjustments on their camera become a reflex. A great piece of advice for amateur photographers with a new DSLR is to ...