In this article, I’ll teach you how to ensure the correct white balance when taking pictures.

Different types of light have different “temperature”. Cooler temperatures come out looking blue, while warm temperatures appear yellow or red in your photo. The best color for a shot is a neutral temperature. All this means is that white objects in the picture actually look white. If you can achieve a proper white balance, you’ll notice the coloring of your pictures comes out more like what it looked like to your eye when you snapped the shot.

With film cameras, getting the correct white balance means changing a filter, but with digitals, the camera does most of the work for you. The problem is, the camera doesn’t always know what white is, so you have to know how to use the features.

The easiest way to adjust your white balance is to let the camera do it for you using the “auto white balance” feature. This is just like auto focus or anything else “auto” on your camera; the camera determines what filter level it thinks is right for the shot. The problem with auto white balance is also the same as any other auto feature on your camera; the sensors just aren’t as good as your eyes. Start with the auto white balance on. If the white in the picture doesn’t look white to you, then you can start adjusting.

When you go into your camera’s white balance menu, you’ll notice a lot of choices that may or not make sense to you. Sunny and cloudy white balance should be self explanatory, but you’ll also find adjustments for different kinds of indoor light bulbs, called tungsten (incandescent) and fluorescent.

If you’re like me, you can’t look at the ceiling and say “ah, that looks tungsten, I should use that filter”. The easiest way to determine the correct setting is to take a picture and look at the color. If you’re picture is turning out blue, try using the tungsten or incandescent feature. For yellow or red hues, try the fluorescent option.

If none of the preset white balance options on your camera are working, many cameras now let you set the white balance yourself, although you may need to pull out your camera manual to find exactly how to do it on your particular model.

The manual function works by you telling the camera what color is white, just like you set a scale by telling it what weight is zero. Take a white card and hold it where you will be taking the picture; be sure the camera is zoomed so only the white card is in the frame. Set your white balance to zero and you should have the perfect coloring.

If you’ve tried all the above options and nothing has worked for you, don’t give up yet. Almost all photo editing software programs have an option for adjusting your image temperature. Just look for a setting that can make your picture “cooler” or “warmer”.

While perfecting the white balance in your pictures may take a bit of time, you’ll notice a significant improvement in the quality of your shots.

The Claim: “Earn $200+ per day taking simple photos in your local area.”

“Make money taking local photos for national companies. A step-by-step guide to getting started in this virtually unknown industry.”

Easy Photo Biz Home Page

The Truth: Well, the fact that I don’t really know what to call this product already starts it off a little lower than the competition.  Do I call it “Easy Photography Business”, “Easy Photo Biz”, “Make Money Taking Local Photos For National Companies” or “Earn $200 A Day Taking Local Photos?” I’ll be honest, I don’t really know what to call it.  The author, John Carroll, has done a poor job in that regard.

Once I looked past the naming snafu, I found there was actually a pretty good product underneath. John Carroll does provide over 100 sources that are looking to have pictures of items (cars, homes, boats, etc) on their behalf.  The one thing you need to understand though, once you start contacting these companies is that not all of them are going to be looking for people in your area.  There’s a big list for a reason.  If you do want to use this system, then keep trying until you get a “yes” from someone.

The nice thing about this system is that it’s great for people who need a lot of flexibility.  For example, stay at home moms, students, and people with otherwise busy schedules can use this system, make money, yet still manage to fit this into their already hectic lives.

Many books will teach you how to make money with your pictures regardless of what pictures you’re taking. However, that can turn out to be low paying work if no one wants pictures of what you are photographing.  In this book, however, you’re getting paid very well for taking simple photos.  They might not be exciting photos, but it’s still a good way to earn money while you learn to become a better all around photographer.

Highlights:

• No major investment in photography equipment required.  A consumer level digital camera is all you need to get started
• A flexible opportunity - great for students and stay at home moms or anyone with a busy schedule
• Other opportunities to earn money performing additional services these companies are also in need of. (not necessarily photo related, but helpful to anyone in need of money)
• Bonus: This system also comes with a bonus called “Hometown Freelancing” (he named the bonus but not the actual product?). This bonus was a great addition since it provides several other methods you can use to make money with your camera.  If you decide you’d like to expand or have more creative freedom then this bonus can definitely help you.

We found the eBook to be packed with content, not fluff and filler.

Credibility: At DigitalShotsGuide.com, we like it when the author of a book “walks the walk” instead of just “talking the talk.”  Easy Photography Business author John Carroll is an individual who is actively involved in the business himself, which gets earns him a gold star in our book.  Rather than just talking about theories, this book delivers “the goods.”

Rating:

Easy Photography Business has earned an excellent rating - 4 Stars! It was close to earning that elusive 5th star (but can you really earn 5 stars if you don’t give your product a name?), but we settled on a four. This is a highly specialized niche that few others even know about…much less reveal how to profit from.  John Carroll does an excellent job teaching anyone with a camera and a computer how to make money taking pictures.   Recommended.

Click Here To Learn More About Easy Photography Business

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Website URL:
www.easyphotobiz.com
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Picasa Homepage

There are plenty of photo manager software options out there, but the one I have to recommend is Picasa. This is the program I will use to describe the features photo manager software has. This software is fairly extensive and easy to use, but best of all it’s free from Google. It takes just minutes to download and install, and just a few more to find all your pictures so you’re ready to get started. It searches your computer (or just document and picture folders if you like) and finds all image and video files. You can also import images from a camera or memory card for all the new images you take.

After your images are all in the program, it then displays all your photos as they were ordered on your computer. If you move a file in Picasa, it will move the file in Windows as well. This way you don’t have to copy and paste files and navigate through folders. You simply click and drag. It couldn’t get any easier. I personally know the frustration of having files all neatly organized one place and a big mess somewhere else; this program takes away all the hassle.

Picasa also allows you to name, caption, and rate your photos for easy searching and sorting, which you can do by tabs in the program. Another feature that’s great for file organization is being able to search for pictures. You can search by file name, title, date, or even rating. That way you can easily find a picture to use or share, or quickly find the best you have to offer (so you know which ones to sell, of course). It also has a handy timeline that organizes your pictures in chronological order.

After you have all your pictures sorted and filed, you can then begin editing in Picasa. While it’s not a full photo editor, it has a lot of easily accessible and useful options. You can zoom in and pan your pictures to see what needs fixing. It has handy buttons to crop; remove red eye; fix the color and lighting; and much more. It may not have all the high tech tools, but it definitely has enough for most of the quick fixes you’ll normally need.

And once your pictures are all ready to go, you can then easily share them with family and friends (or anyone else who wants to see them). You can transfer then to an external drive, burn them to a CD, upload them to a photo sharing website, or email them using your email, Google’s g-mail, or Picasa’s built in client. This way no matter how you want to do it, you can share your pictures with the world.

Picasa is just one example of photo manager software. Go ahead and download it today so you can start enjoying the ease of photo management.

Save 10% when you design great looking stamps with your own photos at YourStamps.com. Use Promo Code SAVENOWAF

Want to learn how to take pictures of fireworks or lightning? Want to be able to take those cool pictures with only a background and the blur of a light or of writing in the air with light? Well you can create all these effects and more using one simple rule: low light, long exposure.

All you need is a tripod and a camera with an adjustable shutter speed. Set up in an area with little or no light (except the subject of your picture, of course) and set the shutter to be very slow (several seconds). Be sure not to move or jerk the camera when your picture is being taken (using a camera remote helps, but is not needed) and you can capture moving lights and objects creating unique, artsy, or just plain cool pictures. Below are a few examples to start with, but there’s really no limit to what you can do.

Blurring Lights

One application of this is blurring lights. Many of us have seen this technique (maybe on video) where the background is clear and crisp, but anything moving appears blurred with the lights showing up particularly well. For outdoors pictures, twilight is best (or even when it’s dark). Take the picture when one or more objects in the picture are moving. It looks best when a moving object is lit up (i.e. headlights on a car) because this will show up best in the picture. The length of your exposure (as always) depends on the speed the object is moving and the light level around you. Set your exposure as long as you need to in order to capture the scene. If the picture turns out overexposed or even completely white, shorten the time your shutter is open.

Picture of a rotating fiber optic Christmas tree taken using a long exposure. (click image for larger, high-quality shot)

Drawing With A Laser Pointer In Your Pictures

Have you ever seen Picasso’s light drawing of a bull? This was doing by using a very long exposure time and a bright light beam (point flashlight). When I first showed my friend this technique, he thought the pictures were of someone writing on glass. In actuality, the subject simply writes slowly in the air with light while the shutter is left open for a long time (depending on how long the artist needs and how long your camera will allow you to keep the shutter open). If you’ve never tried this technique you should. It is great fun and you get a product that definitely gets a second look. Just remember to set up in a room or area that is VERY dark. If you can block any light coming in, do so. This way the writing or drawing will show up best.

Taking Pictures of Fireworks

Using a long exposure time is also a great way to take lightning or fireworks pictures. You really can’t just guess when lightning is going to strike (and if you can, please tell me how) and it may be hard to predict fireworks as well. In a lightning storm (or fireworks show), simply set a long exposure time and let the camera sit. For lightning, you probably want to start with the slowest shutter speed possible and work down. Fireworks can use a faster shutter speed because you can predict them better and they may blur. Since these pictures will be generally shot at night or under dark cloud cover, you don’t have to worry about overexposure, but the slow shutter speed will allow you to capture the light show without psychic powers. If you don’t want to do all this hard work yourself, many cameras have a fireworks setting that does all the work for you. But using a tripod still helps for crystal clear shots.

Photo of fireworks taken using a slow shutter speed. (click image for larger, high-quality shot)

These are just a few ideas for great pictures you can take using this technique. There are endless possibilities for other fun things you can do. Why don’t you try using this idea to take pictures of stars (watch your exposure time though, the stars do move), go out during a meter shower, or come up with some ideas of your own?

The Panning Shot

This picture was taken using the panning technique. Notice how the car is much clearer than the background.

Panning is a pretty difficult skill to master, but once you do you can get some wonderful shots. In pictures with this technique, the subject, which is moving, appears clear while the background appears blurred. You do this simply (ok, maybe not so simply) by moving the camera with the subject as it moves. This can be difficult, because the field of your shot needs to be moving at the same speed as the subject. To best accomplish this, you should begin moving the camera before the subject enters your field, and continue moving the camera after the subject has exited (like following through on a basketball shot). Also, remember not to set your shutter speed too fast or the subject and background will both come out clear. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t perfect this technique right away - it’s tough, just keep practicing.

Slow Motion Water Pictures

Another fun technique is slow motion water shots. These are pictures where the background looks clean and crisp, but water in the scene appears almost as if it is a painting. This technique is accomplished by using a slow shutter speed (best is one to two seconds) and a tripod to steady your shot so the whole scene isn’t blurry. You then take a picture of water that is moving. My favorite use of this technique is to photograph waterfalls, but the water doesn’t need to be falling. It can be moving rapidly or flowing slowly over rocks and other objects. It does, however need to have moving edges to create the "flow" effect. Also, it should be noted since you’re using a relatively slow shutter speed, the lighting should be low. Shooting at dusk or dawn is best; however, you can also shoot in a shaded area, heavy cloud cover, or after dark in an area
with not a lot of lighting.   And if you want to have a person in this type of picture, they need to remain perfectly still or they’ll appear blurry.

This waterfall photo was taken using a tripod and a 2 second exposure time.

Pinhole Camera Pictures

Another technique you can try, that might take a little more work to accomplish, is pinhole camera shots (yes, the things you use to look at eclipses). These are a great way to take pictures with an almost infinite depth of field. Make a box out of wood or cardboard that’s about a foot square. The inside of the box should be painted black on five sides and white on one. The white side will be the side you project your image onto. This is what you will actually be taking an image of. The opposite side of the box should have two holes cut into it: one for your camera lens (be sure to make this snug so you can block out the light from entering) and one in the center of the side for your pinhole. You then cover the hole in the center with silver foil and poke your pinhole. You can use this page to calculate your pinhole size. Once your camera is set up, be sure the camera is very still (you could use a tripod or even make a stand for it if you’re using wood) and take the shot. You should set your exposure length as long as you can because very little light is making it through the pinhole. One you get this technique down, you can take some great shots.

These are just a few techniques to take cool and interesting pictures. Try experimenting with them to see what you can come up with. If you get really good at them, try using the principles from these techniques to come up with other interesting shots you can take.

1. Blurry Photos

• Turn on the lights in the room so that your subjects’ pupils will decrease in size.
• Ask them to look to the side of your camera rather than straight at the camera when you snap the picture.
• Divert babies or pets so that they look away from the camera.

3. Lens Flare

These simple tips should have you taking better, and more consistent, photos in no time!

Camera advertisements always mention digital zoom along with the regular optical zoom, but it’s best not to use it. All it does is zoom in and crop to a part of the picture without increasing the quality. You can do this using a photo editor and then you can get the framing of the picture absolutely perfect. When buying a camera, ignore the total zoom number and just look at how much optical zoom the camera has.