fotodirt 2.0

Article by David M. Peters

Oftentimes people have older photographs in albums or frames that become damaged by the sun or wear and tear. It is easy to restore these cherished photographs thanks to the technology available through the computer and photo editing software, including Adobe Photoshop.

An easy to learn program is Photoshop Elements. This program contains options that can help restore your old photographs. One of these elements is the Dust and Scratch Filter which can be used to remove the marks, scratches and blots on your old photos. The Dust and Scratch Filter can be found on the Menu Bar and then clicking on the Filter Tab. A drop down menu will list your choices at which point you can choose the Noise tab and click on the Dust and Scratches.

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Article by Wendy Addams

Pictures of human emotions can be very striking and powerful. Emotion is something everyone can relate to, and when you capture that perfect expression, the viewers of your photos can be impacted in a big way.

The best facial expression photos happen when the person you are photographing is genuinely feeling that emotion. Sure, it’s easy to fake an emotion, and the picture will turn out decently, but when your subject is feeling the emotion and is really experiencing it your photos will turn out better. Try taking a self-portrait when you are genuinely sad. Now try taking a picture again when you’re not really sad, but pretending to be. You will see the difference.

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Article by Andrew Goodall

Landscape photography is a most rewarding pastime, but it can be far more challenging than some people imagine.

It sounds so easy: Visit a beautiful location, shoot a few snapshots, and come home with a work of art in your camera. After dealing with the public for over 20 years, I swear most people think it really is that simple.

But really good landscape photography is much more challenging. Anyone can recognize the potential of a good subject, but turning that potential into a memorable image is another story. The task is even greater if it is a popular location. When you photograph a place that is photographed a thousand times a day, you have to find a way to create something different from the everyday snapshot.

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Article by Suzanne Vandegrift

There are almost as many types of camera bags as there are cameras. Selecting the right one should be taken as seriously as the purchase of your valuable camera and accessories. After all, it’s going to protect that valuable equipment.

One pretty basic rule is the camera bag needs to fit the amount of equipment you plan on packing into it. Too big a bag will allow your camera and accessories to bang around and get damaged. Too small is equally as detrimental to your equipment. The equipment needs to fit nice and snug inside the bag.

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Article by Terry Day

Lighting creates the mood, visual impact and in some cases, the actual composition of your photographs. Lighting is without question, the single most important aspect in photography. Today let’s discuss how your camera sees light.

If you look at a standard gray scale, one end is pure white and the other is pure black. Of the several shades in between, the one right in the middle is called “neutral or middle gray.”

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Totally mistitled article (don’t blame me!). Decent tip nonetheless, but really has more to do with getting into the right frame of mind to be able to produce excellent portraits rather than posing (in fact, I don’t even think posing is even mentioned once). Go figure. — EES

Article by David Gladstone

If you want to be a great ‘people’ photographer, you might think you need to know a lot of different poses, or know how to talk to your subjects like a fashion photographer. But really it’s more about being yourself.

Photographing people can be the most rewarding, and yet they can be the most difficult subject to photograph. The photographers in magazines make it seem so easy. Is it really that difficult? I used to think so; I used to be pretty intimidated by it. I struggled with — do I see their whole body, or just their face, what do I do with the hands, what do they wear? Yikes, just a few things to think about, all of this when you’re also struggling to think about exposure and lighting.

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Article by David L. Whittle

Family portrait photography has become more than just photographs of your family.

Many modern photographers now view portraits as a form of artistic expression. The feeling is that a well composed portrait can show the bond shared by the family, how they feel, and represent who they are.

Portraits are no longer just about smiling and staring into the camera. They can be both unique and creative.

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Whether you’re looking for inspiration, education, information, or just good old entertainment, you’ll likely consider the time you use up browsing through the over 800 Reuters Images of the Year as time very well spent.

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Aticle by Betsy Bowen

Stacks, drawers, boxes, albums — all full of photographs. Each photograph has a significant meaning, capturing a time, place or person that we wanted to remember. Today we have an abundance of photographs on our home computers, because of time restraints many find a home on our hard drives, never seeing the light of day!

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Article by Robert Grazian

Digital photography is a wonderful thing, but soon one ends up with hundreds of pictures, which would be great except they need just a little correction or tweaking. Maybe there are problems with red eye, or the contrast or brightness was not quite right. Few people want to spend 50 to 300 dollars on a photo editing program to deal with these problems. Luckily, there are plenty of free quality photo editing programs out there to choose from.

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