Photography is an Art

The greatest artist there ever was, is and will be is our creator. Every single time I am memorized by the beauty of watching the show of a sunset or sunrise, it absolutely takes my breath away. I feel it is a gift to share in that beauty as it is presented to me, frame by frame, as he lights the sky in a fire of colors constantly intensifying until the crescendo that fills your heart with its beauty and takes your breath away, leaving you with a feeling of having just received one very special gift.

An Artist sees the beauty everywhere in the world around them, whether it is in the tiny bare feet of a newborn child, the love shining in a mothers eyes, the shimmer of the light as it dances on a lake, or the stars as they shimmer in the midnight sky.

Sometimes it is honesty they see, the withered hands of those that have so seen so much of our world, those hands that have held generations of babies, seen so many changes, lived more life than we can even imagine, that have seen so many pass on, the stories they have to tell...they look at those withered, and wrinkled hands with honest respect of who they are.

An artist feels so much, it is hard for them to express those feelings in words, they feel this need to capture these moments in time, this beauty, this reality, their perception of what they see. To capture that one moment, freeze it in time and share it with the world.

A photographer is an Artist, hoping to capture that one moment in time, in a frame, with one click of that shutter. Finding that shot, finding that picture through their lens, that will capture what that moment means to them, so they can share it with the world.

The tools you will need for taking great photos

The Camera

Our biggest tool as a photographer is the camera we choose.

Digital Photography has opened a whole new world for amatuer photographers. The intensity of the photos in just incredible in even a small digital camera.

The key to knowing which camera will take the best pictures is the megapixels. What exactly is a megapixel you ask?

Megapixels: Definition: One-million pixels, a unit of measurement in an image. This number will determine the quality of the image. It is the number of dots in your picture. A low density of dots will result in a poor image.

Lower megapixels might be just fine if all you will be doing is emailing photos. But you will need higher megapixels for better quality pictures that you can blow up and frame.

So lets talk about the different options.

2 megapixels or less:

These are usually found in inexpensive cameras, cell phones and pda. This might be fine if you have a very tight budget and only want to email photo's or post them on a personal webpage.

3 megapixels:

These will take a decent 4x6 photo and even a fairly good 5x7. You might be stretching it to get a good 8x10. But they are usually pretty decent in price.

4 megapixels:

These will print really good 4x6, 5x7 and a nice 8x10.

5 megapixels:

Some really nice 8x10 and even 11x14, nearing closer to a professional level. You will see a lot more quality in these photos.

6 megapixels on up:

Now your talking, these are premium cameras that will produce fantastic professional quality photographs. These tend to go into a lot higher price range, but you can find some pretty decent prices on the newer digital cameras that have six megapixels and higher today.

The price will usually reflect on the quality of the camera, but for the beginner you should be able to find a camera that will take great pictures so that you too, can share your artistry with the world.

Some more camera choise with pictures are featured below.

Best composition to enhance the subject you are photographing

Find the Picture:

That may sound strange to some, a picture is anything you point your camera at and push the button, right? Wrong!

When we look at a view, a person, or a subject; we can see so much more than a camera can actually capture in the view finder. You have to find a way to capture not only what you are seeing, but what you are feeling at the time. What is it about this particular scene that has you captivated.

Find the shot

Think about what it is that has captured your attention, what is it that is enticing you to catch this special shot.

What emotions does the subject provoke in you, the photographer, in you the artist?

share with the world.

Get a feel for what it is you are wanting to share with the world, or capture for your own memory.

Now that you have identified that subject, how to best frame it in the photo.

It is our first reaction sometimes to want to center our main subject in the middle of the picture frame. But that is not always the best choice. Sometimes if you move that subject a little to one side or another, it will look less "planned" and more "natural".

to your photos to enhance them.

Adding contrast to your photos can really enhance them too. Maybe you want to photograph a beautiful lake. If you can include those reeds on the side in the photo it adds contrast and interest into your work of art.

Finding the best light for your photo

How to find the best lighting for your subject:

Find the best light for your photo can be tricky. It has been the rule in the past to put the light behind you. Not only is this not always possible, but it may not be the "picture" you want.

even ruin a photo

Light can enhance or even ruin a photo.

Again, look at the effect you are wanting. Portraits in natural lighting can be so soft and beautiful. Sometime you might consider opening a curtain wide, and turning the lights off. You may have to also turn off your flash when doing this.

Light can blur your photo or reflect badly

When shooting outdoors, of course you do not want the light to reflect so badly on your lens that it blurs the photo. make sure you find the perfect lighting.

put your subject right in front of it

But sometimes you can use direct sunlight by putting your subject in front of the sunlight, so that the light shows only around it in a halo of light, and the subject hides the sun behind it.

and reflections

You may be wanting to show the long shadows or rays of sun, that shot is often best from a side view.

You can experiment with different types of sunlight by shooting the same scene at different times of day. Some of my favorite moments in nature are during the early morning sunlight, and the evening light and sunset.

How close should you be to your subject?

How close should you be to your subject:

This depends on what you are looking to portray in your picture.

Can you feel their emotion?

Do you want to show the emotions in the eyes of the animal, the lay of their hair, the sweat on a person's brow, the shimmer of light on the back of that duck, the way the water sprays up over that rock or the contours of the rose petals and the pollen on the stamen of that flower.

The size...light...view...

Do you want to show the enormous size of the Grand Canyon, the shimmer of light on the rolling waves of the ocean, the entire view of that waterfall at Yellowstone, along with the entire Canyon view at Artist Point in Yellowstone.

or not to fill, that is the question

Sometime filling the frame with your subject is okay, sometimes it is better to have it a tiny part of the entire view.

Bring your camera everywhere with you.

Take Pictures

So now you have your camera, you have found picture, the best composition for it, the best lighting, the best distance.

fill that memory card up...practice makes perfect

Now it is time to take pictures, if you have a digital camera you can fill that baby up! It is always best to set your digital camera quality to the very best. Unless you are short on memory and then you may have to set it to a lower setting. It should have a setting something like, good, better, and best. My thoughts on it are this, you can always shrink a photo, which lessens the pixels as well as the size. But if you start with a lower quality, you can not make it better.

is just around the corner

So, I would definitely suggest you take your camera everywhere possible. You never know when a prize winning photo will present itself. Watch for those little moments in time that you want to capture and keep.

Think you took a bad photo? Think again.

Think you took a bad photo? Think again.

I will let you in on a little secret!

The new digital imaging software, many of which will come with your new camera, have amazing recovery and enhancing features for your photos.

If you think you have taken a bad picture, don't delete it. (Unless it is obviously flawed, like blurring or totally blackened photos) Download it on your computer and use your digital imaging software to recover from bad lighting or, poor composition.

The New Software that comes with most cameras have amazing features that can take a photo that looks "washed" out because of the lighting and will actually pull the colors out that should be there. They can even take a photo taken in not enough light and lighten it up to where it should be.

They also have some fun feature like the images below where you can make cartoons, coloring books, metallic looks, and all sorts of fun tools to play with to get the look you want.

Don't forget your humor

Don't Forget Your Humor

Sometimes the best pictures, or not those that are something you would hang on your wall, but those tiny little moments caught that just make you smile.

Or those moments that capture the memory of something that made you laugh.

Thank you for stopping by my Photography is art website!

I would love for you to drop a note, so I know you were here.

Then go out and take some great photos!

Happy Picture Taking!

Linda

PS: As a bonus enjoy the long exposure photos on this website., they are well worth the look, I promise!