Easy Photography Business – eBook Review
An honest review of the “Easy Photography Business eBook” by John Carroll
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.”
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.
Low Light, Long Exposure Photography
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.
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3 Common Photography Mistakes
Blurry photos, lens flare, red eye…we all see them in our pictures from time to time. Here are some helpful tips to prevent undesirable effects and take more consistent shots.
1. Blurry Photos
Especially in low-light situations, blurry photos can kill a shot for both amateurs and professionals alike. In cameras with auto-focus settings, make sure your camera is fully-focused before snapping the shutter. If shaky hands is the issue, try keeping a portable monopod or tripod available if possible. Or, my favorite trick, find a solid object near your vantage point to anchor your camera on. Cars, boulders, trees, edges of buildings have all served me well on my travels. In well-lit situations, use a faster ISO setting in your digital camera–the increased shutter speed usually means less shakes will be produced.
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The Advantages Of An Articulating LCD Screen On A Digital Camera
Lawren here again.
Today I’d like to talk just a little bit about one of my favorite features on a digital camera – the articulating LCD screen – in fact I will not buy one without this feature.
If you were to ask me what my favorite advance in photography in the past few years was, I wouldn’t say photo editing, increased megapixels, or even DSLR’s. I would tell you about my articulating lcd screen (also called a “flip out and twist” screen), and I’d probably go on about it for another 10 minutes.
Not only is my lcd screen protected when I’m not using it (it’s folded into the body of the camera), but I can take pictures from almost any angle with out having to leave the framing to blind faith. This way, even if you don’t have an external flash, you can still bounce it and see what you’re shooting at the same time.
My dad’s favorite part is the great candid shots you can get. Who would suspect you’re taking a picture when your camera is sitting in your lap or on the table. You can get great realistic shots without posing or camera shyness. If you get really good, you can even take pictures of someone standing behind you!
While it’s a piece of cake to find a video camera with an articulating LCD screen (it comes on virtually all consumer models), for some reason an articulating screen is harder to find on digital cameras, and just because the previous model of a camera had one doesn’t necessarily mean it’s next version will.
Case In Point. The Canon Powershot G7. While it’s predecessors (dating back to the Powershot G1) all had articulating LCD screens, Canon didn’t include on in its most recent release with the G7.
So here’s a list of digital cameras with articulating LCD screens. You’ll notice a lot of Canon cameras in the list, and they do certainly make more flip out and twist LCD screens than any other manufacturer, but they’re not the only one. I tried to cover all the current models in this release, but its likely I missed some. If that’s the case, then please post any corrections or omissions in the comments below.
Canon Powershot G1, G2, G3, G4, G5, G6.
Nikon Coolpix 5000, 5400, 8400, 5700, 8700, 8800.
Canon Powershot S1 IS, S2 IS, S3 IS, S4 IS, S5 IS,
Konica Minolta DiMAGE A200
Canon Powershot A80
Pentax Optio 750Z
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50K (one of the best higher end cameras with this feature)
Canon Powershot A640, A650 IS
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H9 (flip out only, no twist)