A reader writes…
Help! I’ve been taking all your digital photography advice, and now I have a TON of photos on my hard drive. I am running out of room and I’m thinking about putting all my images on CD and wiping them off the hard drive. Is this a good idea or is there a better way?
I’ve got one word for you – SCRATCH!
Personally, if I had… Continue reading
When you print digital photos do the colors look different than what you saw on the monitor?
Not way off, but just a little (and you have enough ink)?
If you print a lot of pictures then what you can do is print out a picture, let the ink dry over night, then adjust your screen to match.
By synchronizing your settings you should get what you see on the… Continue reading
A reader asks…
I’m going on a trip and want to take my digital camera. Can the X-Ray machine at the airport damage the memory card? I know it can mess up the film in a regular camera.
That very same question has been asked enough times that there has been a study done on it by the Committee for Integrity in Transportation of Imaging Products. (really, that’s the name… Continue reading
OK, if you’ve been shooting your digital camera for more than a few hours you’ve probably noticed your camera thinks of your battery inventory as an all-you-can-eat buffet. So, here is some advice that will, hopefully, save you some money and make your batteries last longer:
1. Use rechargeable batteries. Check your owner’s manual to see if you can use rechargeable batteries. If the answer is yes, then go out… Continue reading
There is a compositional rule known as the “Rule Of Thirds”. Basically, it says to mentally take your viewfinder and divide it up into thirds—both horizontal and vertical. Where the lines intersect are the “power spots” (say that with a deep booming voice and an echo for the full effect). Try to put your subjects as close as you can to the intersections. Continue reading
Wow, we’ve been getting a LOT of questions lately asking how to save an image in a different format. For example, you have a TIFF and want to save it as a JPEG, or maybe you have a BMP and you want to turn it into a GIF. Well, regardless, this is usually a very easy process.
First, open the original image in your favorite imaging program. Now, just hit… Continue reading
I found something to make managing images for specific purposes easier that I know you’ll enjoy. How many times have you found the need to resize pictures? How about change a picture’s file extension (jpg, bmp, etc)? Whether it’s posting pictures on a website, emailing photos, creating avatars, or posting signatures on message boards there are many reasons to change the size or type of an image file.
This isn’t… Continue reading
Here’s what happens: you’re working on a really great image you shot with your high-resolution digital camera. It looks great—so sharp you could cut yourself on it. Then, someone asks you to e-mail it to them so they can see it too.
Since it’s a high res shot, you decide that you should probably resize it first. You go into your imaging program, click the Image Size menu option, and… Continue reading
Glossy paper can cause problems when scanning since it affects the light bouncing off the page.
Check your scanner interface to see if there is a setting for glossy paper or photos. This will give you better results.
For text that you will scan with OCR software you may want to photocopy onto plain paper first to have a “flat” finish to work with.… Continue reading
Have you ever been out shooting and suddenly your camera stopped responding? It looks like it’s on, but nothing works—no dials, no buttons—it’s locked up. I know it’s happened to me a time or two and no amount of pounding it on the hood of my Jeep seems to make any difference.
So, when a friend called this weekend and told me he was shooting some pictures and the camera… Continue reading
When people talk about lenses, they talk about focal length. This is basically a measurement that will help you determine how far your zoom can “reach” or how much of that great scenery your wide-angle lens will encompass.
For those who wonder how it’s figured out, it’s the distance from “optical center” of the lens to the point where it is focused when set to infinity. (No we’re not talking… Continue reading
Our article on viewfinder diopter adjustment prompted the comment, “Who cares what the picture looks like through the viewfinder? I use the LCD screen anyway.” For the article, head to:
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/1414
So why, with that fancy LCD screen on the back of your camera, would you even consider squinting into primitive viewfinder?
One word:
Speed
I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but most regular (non-… Continue reading
Make your image files easier to find by giving them names.
For instance, rather than “Image403.jpg” assign a name like “041225-too_much_eggnog.jpg”. Notice the 04 is the year, 12 is month, and 25 is day. By putting the year first it will sort pictures according to year—if you did it month first then all the 12′s for 04, 05, etc. would be lumped together.
It’s best to assign names when the… Continue reading
A reader asks, “Help! I think I did something bad to my digital camera. When I look through my eyepiece viewfinder, everything is blurry. It looks fine on the LCD screen, but the viewfinder image is way out of focus. Is it repair time?”
Actually, sounds like you’re lucky!
Your camera probably has a small dial or slider right next to, above, or below the viewfinder. That’s a diopter adjustment… Continue reading
ISO Can Be Fun! Really!
Ever notice that little button on your digital camera labeled ISO? Ever lie awake at night wondering what it’s for? Time to rest easy…
The ISO setting controls your camera’s sensitivity to light. Most cameras have a variety of exciting choices for this, including:
Of course, the number of choices on your camera will probably vary from my… Continue reading
Have you ever come upon a scene where the color was just magnificent? You know, it was like all the colors seemed to have been “turned up” a notch or two. The greens were vibrant, the blues were striking, the reds were intense—you get the picture.
If you’re like me, it’s almost impossible to keep your camera put away at a time like this, so out it… Continue reading
A reader asks, “I have a memory card reader for my digital camera. I use it to move the photos on my card over to my computer—and that’s it. Someone told me I could delete the photos off the card right from the computer (once they are transferred). Is this safe?”
Let me give you a qualified “yes” to that question.
You should be able to delete the photos off… Continue reading
We’ve been getting a lot of questions about megapixels lately. Stuff like, “How many do I need?” and “Will my photos be sharper with more?” and “Will more megapixels improve the quality of my images?”
Well, here’s the scoop!
First, how they are determined -
So, you’ve found a camera that has 5.0 megapixels and you’re wondering exactly how they arrived at that number. Did they just grab it out… Continue reading
If you’re like most photographers, you probably pack up your camera equipment once the snow starts flying. Sure, you’ll drag it out for the holidays, but for the most part it sits on shelf looking more like a knick-knack than a high tech piece of photographic equipment.
Well, no more!
Some of my best images are taken when there’s snow on the ground. There’s nothing like going out of… Continue reading
A reader asks:
“I have a problem with my digital camera. When I shoot an off-center subject, the camera focuses on the wall behind them. How can I make the camera focus on what I want it to?”
Many digital cameras focus on whatever is in the very center of the viewfinder or LCD screen. So, if your subject isn’t there, the stuff behind (or in front) of them will… Continue reading
The Basics
Have you ever been out shooting and thought you snagged a capture worthy of the next Nobel Prize? Have you ever gone home, loaded that same photo, and noticed you missed an empty fast food cup that was sitting smack dab in the middle of your composition? You were so close to that perfect image, if only there was a way to remove that stinkin’ cup…
Ah, you’re… Continue reading
Lens Cleaning Techniques
Yeah, I know, this doesn’t really seem like an overly exciting topic today, but I think it’s well worth a mention. Seems like every time someone hands me his or her camera to take a photo, the lens looks like it’s been dipped into a shop vac.
First off, a clean lens is an essential ingredient to great photos. A lens that’s full of smudges, dirt, or… Continue reading
Havin’ Fun Flashin’
Nope, this isn’t an article explaining how to go out on the street and flash unsuspecting victims, but I couldn’t resist the title 
OK, over the last three weeks or so, we’ve been poking around in some of the more intermediate and advanced areas of digital photography, so I thought we’d go with something easier this week—Flash Modes.
Most digital cameras have a variety of different… Continue reading
Histogram Fun
A Hist-o-what?
A histogram is a graphical representation of the light values of the image. Yeah, I know, that really helps. Many newer digicams include a histogram display, and it’s actually one of the most useful features you can have on a digital camera.
First off, let’s look at a picture of one:
Wait, don’t stop reading! I know, I know, it looks confusing, but just hang… Continue reading
Exposure Compensation
Have you ever shot an outdoor scene and had it come out a little too light or a little too dark? Yup, it happens to all of us at one time or another. For whatever reason, the camera misreads the scene and your exposure is all wrong.
So, what do you do when you look at the LCD panel and the photo you just shot is too light… Continue reading
Fall Color Tricks And Tips
With autumn here already (where, exactly, did summer go?), we’ve been getting lots of requests for fall color tips. So, when you venture out this season to grab some brightly colored autumn imagery, keep this in mind:
1. Shoot during good light — we’ve been talking about his for the last couple weeks, so I’m not going to get too detailed. Suffice to say that… Continue reading
Great Light
I get questions all the time about my photos. People want to know why they look the way they do. They think it’s some big Photoshop secret I’ve yet to share. Nope
One of the biggest tricks in my bag is to shoot during great light. If you can do that, you’ve won 80% of the battle—the rest is just compose and shoot.
What do I mean… Continue reading
