A 5-in-1 collapsible reflector is a must for indoor and outdoor photography. Using a reflector reduces shadows and makes for more even lighting on the subject. Each of the five fabric surfaces serve a different purpose.
- White reflects a natural fill-light and is great for outdoor portraits and product photography.
- Silver increases specular highlights and causes the image to be more contrasted.
- Black blocks or subtracts light.
- Gold produces a warm, golden fill-light and is great for sunset or indoor portraits.
- Translucent is used to diffuse light. It makes the light more even on the subject.
View the 40-Inch 5-in-1 Reflector
at Amazon.com.
The Nikon D40 is a great beginner digital SLR camera. It is inexpensive for a DSLR which makes it perfect for hobbyists or people who have just begun learning about photography.
It’s a good idea for people who are just starting out to learn on a lower level camera, like the D40, in order to learn the basic functions of a digital SLR camera without being overwhelmed.
Notable features:
- 6.1-megapixel
- Kit includes 3x 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor lens
- 2.5-inch LCD with three display options; built-in flash and hot shoe
- Shoot at up to 2.5 frames per second
- Powered by one rechargeable Li-ion battery EN-EL9 (included)
View the Nikon D40 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera Kit
at Amazon.com.
The Nikon ML-L3 Wireless Remote Control is useful for Nikon digital SLR users for many reasons. It allows you to release the shutter without touching the camera which is especially useful during long exposures. It also is helpful if you need to have distance between you and the camera (i.e. self-portrait, etc.)
View the Nikon ML-L3 Wireless Remote Control
at Amazon.com.
Nikon has introduced the D5000, a digital SLR camera with D-movie mode, 11-point Autofocus System, Live View, and more! The features are more advanced than an entry-level digital SLR, so it is perfect for an advanced amateur photographer.
The Nikon D5000 is sold as body-only for $729, as a kit with an 18mm to 55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens for $849, or as a two-lens kit with a 55mm to 200mm f/4-5.6 zoom lens in addition to the 18mm to 55mm for $1,100.
Notable features:
- 12.3-megapixel DX-format CMOS image sensor
- D-Movie Mode with sound
- Vari-angle color LCD monitor
- 19 Auto-exposure Scene Modes
- One-button Live View
- 11-point Autofocus System with 3D Focus Tracking
- GPS Geo-tagging
View the Nikon D5000 12.3 MP DX Digital SLR Camera
at Amazon.com.
All of the tutorials so far in this blog have been targeted towards those who use Adobe Photoshop (CS3, specifically). Well, not everyone wants to buy Photoshop. Maybe they want to enhance their pictures, but don’t want to spend the money on advanced photo editing software.
That is the great thing about Google’s Picasa. It’s free!
Click here to download Picasa 3 for FREE from Google!
Picasa doesn’t have nearly as many features as Photoshop, but there are a few useful tools that it does have that are split into three categories: Basic Fixes, Tuning, and Effects.
Basic Fixes: Commonly needed fixes
- Redeye. Even though it’s better to try prevent red-eye from happening in the first place, sometimes it’s unavoidable.
- I’m Feeling Lucky. This is a automatic one-click ”fix” for lighting and color. Using tools that auto-fix things don’t always work properly and may make the photo a weird color or too light or dark.
- Auto Contrast and Auto Color. If “I’m Feeling Lucky” doesn’t work the way it should, try Auto Contrast and Auto Color separately.
- Retouch. This tool is for fixing blemishes or other imperfections in the photograph.
Tuning: Finely-tuned lighting and color fixes
- Highlights and Shadows. The good thing about this tool is that you can control how much or how little to use it. Using both acts as a manual contrast adjustment!
- Color Temperature. Different types of lighting can cause color casts in your photos. This tool is a manual adjustment of the color cast to make it look more natural.
Effects: Fun and useful image processing
- Sharpen. Sharpening a photo should be the very last step before you are finished editing. Try not to over-sharpen!
- Sepia and Black & White. These effects are best used with the manual adjustment of Highlights and Shadows to increase the contrast.
Above are some of the most useful tools that Picasa has to offer. Some of the other tools that Picasa has include Text, Fill Light, Warmify, Tint, Saturation, etc.
Download Picasa and give it a try if you haven’t. It’s free after all!
