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[Eternalnyght]

In this digital age there is so much emphasis on color to grab attention. Sometimes though, Black and White will tell much more of the story. Black and White shows the tale in shadow and light.

Simply open your photo in any editing software and choose grayscale.

Show the world what you have to say in stark contrast.

[vandyll]

My tip is simple: Don't be afraid to break some of the rules that everyone tries to tell you are essential to proper photography. Intentional use of the "wrong" white balance or the "wrong" exposure can produce some dramatic results in your photos.

The "wrong" White Balance (WB) can be used to really accentuate certain predominant colors that already exist in a scene and make those stand out even more.

The following shots were taken at a local lake on a sunny day. I used a tungsten WB to help make the already vibrant blues in the environment pop even more.





Be creative and learn how changing settings like this can have different effects on the exact same scene. Sometimes, being "wrong" just pays off.

[superdewa]

When I began shooting in RAW format and processing RAW photos in ACR (Adobe Camera RAW), my RAW photos looked dull next to my JPEGs and to what I saw on the back of my camera, and I had a difficult time tweaking them to get them to look "right." Then I discovered camera profiles. By using camera profiles, my RAW photos looked like what I had seen on the back of my camera.

Camera profiles come with ACR 5.2 (and Lightroom 2.0). If you have ACR 4.2 or higher you can download profiles from http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/DNG_Profiles. To use profiles, open your photo in ACR, click on the camera calibration icon (looks like a camera) in the right panel, and pick the camera profile that works for you. Your photo should look closer to what you originally saw and you will notice your histogram changes as well.

Here is an example. This is a photo I took in RAW. I opened it twice in ACR and saved it as a JPEG twice. Other than sharpening both JPEGs and saving them for the web, the only thing I did did was change the camera profile.

The first time I chose the Adobe Standard profile:


The second time I chose the Camera Standard profile:


While you may prefer the first photo, the second photo (Camera Standard profile) is far closer to what my eye saw and what the back of my camera showed me when I took the photo.

My Picasa photo album: http://picasaweb.google.com/superdewa

[spotpuff]

The most important thing in photography is you the photographer. Nor your lens, not your camera body, and not anything else. You can have the best gear in the world but if you aren't a good photographer it won't matter at all.

[borgendorf]

Your camera is pretty good about detecting what is "white" in an image, but it frequently needs help. For example, if you have blue images in some rooms, and orange images in others, you need to adjust your white balance. One way to do this is to set your camera to the Custom white balance setting and then choose an image that you shot in the same lighting conditions. You can buy professional white balance cards (typically called Grey Cards) and you can correct the white balance in software, and those are certainly valid in professional lighting situations, but for me, I just use a white coffee filter.

Hold the white coffee filter over the lens, and point it into the same scene that you'll be taking pictures in. Take a picture (you might have to switch off auto-focus on some lenses before your camera will take the picture).

Go into your camera settings and set the White Balance to Custom, then choose the image you just took as the image to use. On Canon systems, this is a two step process; one click for Custom, another menu selection for the image. Check your camera manual to find out how to set a custom white balance.

Give it a try. Coffee filters are cheap, portable, and will give you amazing results!

[Homebrew]

Read the Manual. Especially if it’s not your first camera, you probably only skimmed the manual when you bought your camera. After all, you already know how to take pictures, you just need to know the settings work on your particular camera, right? Wrong.

Camera manufacturers want you to enjoy your camera and to take good pictures. They want you to know everything that the camera they're so proud to produce can do. They often put in special features to make your life as a photographer easier or more fun and they tell you about these features in the owner's manual.

Did you know that the Nikon D80 has a multiple-exposure mode right in the camera? So do some Olympus and Pentax models. Do you know how to lock your mirror to get camera shake down to an absolute minimum? Isn’t it likely that at least some of those camera presets you’ve been ignoring are actually perfect for some of the pictures you are taking?

Even for more basic things like aperture priority mode, good user manuals provide a short tutorial with example pictures. If you don’t understand a technique you’ve read about somewhere, there’s a good chance that picking up your camera and your user manual will get you through.

Spending some time getting reacquainted with your user manual can help everyone from the true novice to the most advanced user get the most from his or her camera.

[Metatron]

Streets are always dynamic and your main subject - people - are always moving, changing their locations and expressions. It doesn't give you much time to think about, that's why, one good approach is to think less. Main purpose for street photography is that it should talk to viewer, tell him a story, make him ask questions about people in photos, that's why you can just shoot everything, that catches your eye, then after sorting you can find lots of pictures, that are telling more and more, as you watch them.
For starters, you might try just finding a good spot, where you can sit down, relax and take pictures of people passing by. After you get a grip on that, you are sure to move forward and try moving around, while taking pictures.
Mostly people perceive pictures with their subconscious mind, so you should trust it as well, while looking for subject around you. Yet never forget, to think out of boundaries.

[GWD Photography]

In some of my free time I decided to experiment with macro splash photography. The way the water formed fascinated me. I saw some of the pros shots so I new just what I was looking for. After a few trials I got what I wanted. First you will need this list of materials:

1) A clear bowl filled with water
2) A colorful background
3) A trash bag with water in it
4) Food coloring
5) A camera (preferably a DSLR)
6) A macro lens or macro-ish
7) Some type of light source

Setup
First place the bowl of water on a flat surface. Next mount the background behind the water. Then hang the bag of water directly above the bowl of water. Add the food coloring to the water (I used blue). If you don't add food coloring the image is not as colorful. Then turn your camera to the macro setting and macro focus. Next, place an object where the drops will be and make sure your camera is focused. Once you have done all of this, use a needle to poke a hole in the bag. The water should drip continuously at a nice pace. Now you are ready to shoot.

Shooting
There's not much to the shooting. Just try to time the splash as good as you can and hope for the best. You will need an exposure of at least 1/60. I used the flash for mine because I didn't have enough natural light for it. Your result is mainly luck, although skill is required. The best tip is to always experiment and have fun! Hope you enjoyed!

[uwe]

Being in the zoo or wildlife park gives you the wonderful opportunity to take great photos of animals - without the hassle to travel to Africa.
However there is a trick to make your photos even better:

Face to Face (aka "Get down!")
Well, we are all lazy (at least I am...) so we are standing right in front of some cute animal, lets say a ...wombat. (Wombats aren't that cute. they bite into sneakers. But that's a different story.).
So we are taking our shot ... and something is wrong. The photo looks boring, uninspired. The reason? Quite simple: The photo shows you nothing new, no new impression, no new perspective. You just look down on the furry brown thingy.


So lets take a different approach. Meet your motive on eye level. Bend your knees, crouch on the floor (or climb trees for that matter). So lets have alook at this cute little fellow

Well, maybe not cute as in "I wanna huddle it!" but nevertheless far better than the mean an evil and boooring wombat.

Another fierce and mean wild life animal of Australia lures for prey (that is innocent leafs) in the top of trees. Behold...the Koaaaalaaaa!

Again, he animal looks far better - and has more personality -if you meet him face to face.

Well, thats it - give it a try!

[Algernon]

The best piece of advice I can give to the novice and the expert is this: continue to go outside your comfort zone. One of the best ways to do this is to hack your camera.

A hack, in the simplest sense, is finding ways to use a product for something besides the intended purpose. In digital photography, this can mean installing software to override your camera's factory set perimeters. Without any knowledge of programming, I've been able to shoot in RAW, tweak my brackets, and even make HD time lapse videos using free software available online. All this, with a Canon Powershot S3 IS point-and-shoot camera. A google search of hacks for your camera should lead to some interesting possibilities.

Even without new software, there are always ways to mechanically alter your camera for exciting new photographs. The beauty of hacking your camera is that you can expand your portfolio and your knowledge without investing in new equipment. Anyone can take better photos with a better camera, but a true artist will constantly push the boundaries of his medium.