Of course, art is a subjective thing. Many people would look at a Jackson Pollack “splatter” artwork and determine most definitely that modern art is not art because it “doesn’t look like anything.” And if you spend any time in the modern art world, you will definitely see something at some time along the way occupying space in a perfectly respectable art museum that, to you, could never be considered art.

So is it just a matter of opinion? To some extent, yes. But there is an art world and an industry behind it that depend on there being some standards upon which art is judged. One such standard is the intent of the artist. If you produce a photograph or an art work derived from a photograph that is intended to be viewed as art, then the viewer is obligated to try to see the artistic merit in it. Whether the viewer sees that merit or not may depend on the viewer’s abilities, how good you are at getting your artistic message across or many other factors.

But just wanting something to be art doesn’t make it art does it? As a layman in the art world, I sometimes go with the “I don’t know art but I know what I like” system of evaluating pieces I see. Art, after all, has a tendency to touch us in another place that is above and beyond the image. It is an emotional place, a place of reflection and understanding. Maybe we would say it touches our “soul”. For a work to be art, there should be a message, a feeling, a reason the artist made the work because he or she wanted to say something, even if how I interpret the statement is different than what the artist meant.

So that might also be an evaluation of a photograph as to its artistic merit or not. Now the primary objection to whether photography is art sometimes is that a photograph is often a realistic depiction of a moment taken with a machine and some would say that “anybody can take a picture.” The implication is that the same mechanical skill it might take to paint a picture of sculpt a statue is not needed for photographic art.

It’s true that the mechanical skill that the guy at Wal-Mart might need to take baby pictures may be the same as a great photographic artist might need. But the objection doesn’t hold up because the same human language is used to create great poetry as it takes yell out obscenities at a baseball game. So it isn’t the skill that makes it art.

Good evidence comes from the credit some great art experts have given to photographic exhibitions in the fine museums in the world. The very fact that photography is considered art by those who know may be evidence enough. So the conclusion must be that because the arguments against the artistic value of photographs are weak and people who know consider photography to be art, then we are safe in viewing what we do artistically too. And that opens up that side of your soul to express yourself through the medium you love the most – photography.

This is nowhere more true than photography. For decades the film and chemical processing method has undergone continual refinement to achieve higher and higher levels of sophistication and to find higher levels of quality. Small wonder that when the digital revolution came along, “the purists” were, to say the least, a bit snobby about the idea of professional photography moving in this direction.

But there are some genuine reasons to at least incorporate digital technology into your professional photography game plan. These reasons are compelling enough that more and more we are seeing the big studios going all digital. So if you are running an independent photography business or if you are “just” a photography hobbyist (and thank God for the hobbyists), you may have to think through the value of moving to digital processing yourself.

Ease of Use.

The amount of fuss and sheer “stuff” of doing a shoot digitally is dramatically less involved than using the older technologies. Witness how the digital revolution in photography has revolutionized the personal camera world. Now people can take as many pictures as they want and have them to review virtually instantaneously.

Probably the biggest leap forward in the use of digital photography is that you can do re-shoots quickly, easily and for virtually no cost. If you conduct a portrait session with a customer, you can have the “stills” of the session available almost as soon as the session is done. If a shot was good but not perfect, you can correct it and re-shoot immediately saving huge amounts of time and improving the chances you will get the portfolio you want and that the customer wants on the first session.

Rapid Customer Service.

The impression we get when a technology delivers so much value to the public is that quality will go down. But, amazingly, this is not the case with digital photography. If anything, the quality of the photographs is as good or better than any we could do with prior technologies. And the cost both to you as the photographer and to your customer drops off so dramatically that the age old complaint the customer has had about professional photographs costing too much can be eliminated making the customer want to use your services more often.

Digital photography, being a child of the internet and the digital revolution that has swept our lives via personal computers, can be delivered in a myriad of ways and at a speed that was unheard of prior to the arrival of this technology. We can deliver the photos via email, by posting them to an online gallery or by burning them to a DVD or CD so the customer can order lots more shots for the same cost and have them delivered in a way that easy to view and store.

Editing

Editing has similarly moved from the realm of the back room wizards to something any of us can do due to the sophisticated computer programs, such as Photoshop, that we can use to improve the pictures we take. It is really amazing the effects that can be imposed on a picture with this software. But more importantly we can so much more easily correct minor problems with a photograph so what might have been a lost session can be improved to become acceptable with some clever use of digital editing.

In virtually every way, digital photography, delivery and editing is superior to the way “the purists” would have us hold on to. It makes our lives as photographers easier, faster and more profitable. But above all, this is something our customers want us to use. They get to enjoy their pictures so much faster, at a more reasonable cost and the pictures can be emailed to friends and posted on their family web sites which is fun for everyone. So despite our desire to be “purists”, every reason we need is there to convince us that digital photography is the way to go.

Black and white landscape photography is the hardest section to attain true artistry because you are not relying on the colors as much as the lights and shadows the image will create. Composition is very important. Composition in photography means to look for sharp edges, tones and textures. The basis of black and white photography is getting the camera to see what your eye sees in color; to bring the highlights and shadows forward with the angle of the picture. Typical subjects for black and white photography are buildings and water. Water gives the surrounding trees and rocks a contrast while drawing the eye. Landscape can encompass buildings or bridges among other subjects. Buildings lend to the angles and contrast you seek when trying for definition and emotion.

When landscape photography is your subject in color you will need to have contrast between the colors. If the sky is blue and you have blue water below chances are the picture is not going to have the contrast you are hoping for. Like black and white photography you need to have definition or composition in the shot. You will need to take a few minutes to set up the shot and perhaps take several frames before being satisfied. Color photography takes less skill than black and white photography so if you have master the last you will succeed at the first.

Lighting for landscape photography is natural rather artificial. This is important when setting up your shot. You will need to have filters for the sunlight if it is a bright day, perhaps a tripod to set up the shot and a professional grade camera to create professional prints. Studying your subject from all angles is also important. You want to make sure you are picking the best angle for the shot. Remember the message is brought forth by the skill of the photographer.

You abilities should be honed and practiced. Digital photography makes landscape photography easier because you can assess the photo before you leave a site. Again the LCD screen isn’t going to show you every aspect of the print so you will want to take a few shots of the same site to ensure a perfect picture.

Even being an amateur photographer you can gain professional looking landscape photography. The best way to gain great photographs is to practice with a subject. Going back to the same site during different seasons can help you hone your skills and net you an even better print the next time around. All photographers’ start at the same level, some may have innate skills and an eye for the photo, but practice will lead to the best print. Landscape photography may not require the skills of wildlife photography with panning the subject or portraits where you have to enliven your subject; however, it does require skills and practice.

(1) How can we reduce the stress of this big day?
(2) How can we cut the costs?

These two questions are in conflict with each other too because in order to reduce stress, you have to increase the work that someone has to do. Sometime during the preparation time frame, the idea will come up, why don’t we let “John Jones” do our wedding pictures? John Jones may be someone’s brother who is “really good at photography” or just a friend of the family. The appeal is that they will save you a pile of money and probably do just as good a job as the expensive photographers.

While you certainly want to watch out before you turn over this important job, maybe you or someone in the wedding party can take the photos as well as a professional. After all, how many wedding nightmares have you heard about a professional photographer who either damaged the romantic nature of the ceremony by butting in too often, aggravated the guests by blotting out their view of the wedding to get an action shot or charged an arm and a leg only to deliver poor quality photos.

In truth, it is entirely possible for an “amateur” photographer to do a terrific job taking pictures at the wedding. But there are some guidelines you should follow if that job has fallen to you. If you are reading this as the bride, groom or anxious mother and you are considering using a friend for these photos, spend an hour going over these guidelines and not only will you get better pictures, your anxiety level will go down too.

1. Know your equipment inside and out. Whether you are using a run of the mill digital camera or an expensive set up that has taken you years to work up, make sure everything is in top-notch working order and that you are thoroughly familiar with every nuance of the machine. Remember Murphy’s Law. If anything can go wrong, it will. So keep Murphy out of the wedding by checking and double checking your camera and related equipment.

2. Have spares of everything possible. If there are batteries involved with the operation of the camera, have several spare sets on hand and know where they are. If the batteries go out as the bride and party are posed at the alter, you don’t want an hour delay why you run to the 7-11 to get more. The same goes for flash bulbs and even the camera itself. Have spares of everything possible so Murphy just goes to the next wedding down the road to make his mess.

3. The photo is about more than the bride and groom. If you are used to “staging” your pictures, you may not worry that often with activity in the room. After all, if everybody is posing, the environment is controlled. This will not be the case during an action shot like during the wedding or reception. So keep a keen awareness of the room, the activity around the subjects, the lighting and background props. You don’t want to produce the perfect shot of bride and groom kissing only to have Cousin Ned gagging on the cake in the background.

4. Be aware of glare from windows, lights and eyeglasses. These can sneak up on you.

As a rule, someone who is part of the event can get great shots because they know the people and can be mixing as those wonderful “little moments” occur. So it’s worth a try if you feel good about the skills of your photographer and they follow these little guidelines.

From the early cameras seen in western films we have moved on to manual cameras with film. This film or negative captured the image on a roll to be developed in a dark room to prevent over exposure. The manual cameras used a theory of setting up shots. You had to understand aperture, shutter speed, white balance, and metering to obtain the best picture possible. This meant you spent a lot of time setting up the shot and had to be a professional to catch wildlife in their natural habits.

Aperture is measured by F-stops, or the amount of light the lens will let in. Focusing and depth of field are also important when setting the aperture on your camera. You have to know what numbers will allow more light to enter the lens and the converse to avoid over exposure and blurriness. Shutter speed is the amount of time a lens is open for the picture. You may have found in a darkened room without flash your camera takes a while to imprint the picture on the negative. This is because the light is dim and the shutter must correct for the lack of light. The lack of light induces a need to expose the film longer to obtain the picture where as more light will have the shutter moving at a faster speed.

From the manual cameras we moved into the automatic. The camera became lighter. The shutter speed and aperture was programmed into the camera by the settings. ISO became important. ISO is the film speed. Instead of taking minutes to set up a shot you just had to pick the correct setting and hold the button down to focus. Many cameras came as automatic with manual options for those who still liked to treat photography as an artistic vocation.

Digital cameras are the new era in photography. Now we can see the picture we take without the use of film and negatives. We can send the pictures to all of our friends and use our home printers to create prints. Photography has moved from the concentration of taking the perfect shot with a skill born to a few to everyone taking pictures.

This is not to say photography and photographers will not remain. There is still the need for quality in taking professional grade photographs. Light sensitivity is still important when dealing with a digital camera and unless you spend a lot, you will find quality of photographs is still missing. Photograph techniques lay within the lighting provided whether natural or artificial for the subject.
You might wonder how to create a photograph in a dark room like a museum to share with your friends and family. Knowing the past photography techniques will help you in attaining that perfect photograph with your digital camera. Photography may have originated with few people, but we can see the advancements their inventions have led us to now.

The darkroom is out the computer printer comes forward for most of us using digital photography. We are able to send our pictures to all our friends with a few clicks of the buttons. Digital photography makes taking a picture simple, by eliminating some of the guesswork. With the LCD screen on a digital camera you can now view the photo you just took without waiting and hour or longer to see the film develop. We are no longer limited by film capacity, but by memory cards. Most memory cards have 32MB or 1GB depending on how much you’ve spent on equipment.

Digital photography can encompass the professional cameras with the interchanging lenses, manual setting or it can be a simple point and shoot camera. Whether you are looking for a professional grade picture or something your friends will laugh over digital photography has made taking photos easier. As I said before we can see the picture before we ever print, and also a lot of digital cameras will allow you to crop and save the photo before printing.

Digital cameras can be all sizes from a key chain camera to the professional. We have all had a little fun with digital on our phones. If you are more interested in the professional side of photography the first digital camera you choose should have interchangeable lenses with a high resolution. It can be automatic if you feel more comfortable with light settings, however most have ISO settings, aperture, and shutter speed choices as well.

Like with older photographer setting up your shot is half the fun. Determining the settings you need to use for light is the other. Setting up your shot still requires you to have an eye for the unusual or for making the unusual out of a common scene. Walk around the subject and look for every possible angle, you may even decide to take several photos to choose the best angle. This is where digital photography surpasses film cameras every time. Once you have looked at all angles and taken photos you get to see if the effect you wanted is there. It is a faster way for you to learn how to set the shutter speed and aperture on a shot and use lighting because you see the results while you still looking at the scene.

Digital photography may not seem like it would still use all those skills you learned on your old camera, but this is definitely not true. Instead digital photography enhances your learning while you are still at the sight. Instead of long hours in a darkroom or waiting in line you can get the picture you want right then. It certainly gives more towards vacation photos when you can see if your thumb is over the lens or the camera strap was in the way or worse someone just walked in front of you. Digital photography like all things has evolved to help us experience a new way in photography.

The Pros of Digital

Digital cameras are great for most people. Perhaps the best thing about a digital camera is that you have instant access to the pictures you have taken. When you use a digital camera, you can immediately see the picture that you just took and determine whether or not you need to re-shoot that particular subject. In addition, when you take digital pictures, you can easily download the prints to your computer. You can store your pictures, enhance them and print them on your printer. In addition, digital prints make for easy storage. You can shoot thousands of digital pictures and store them on a couple of disk. Compare that to the boxes of printed pictures that you probably have in your home.

The Cons of Digital

There are many cons of using digital as well. For example, digital pictures are easily lost. If you are like most people, you probably download the pictures to your computer and never do anything else with them. If you do not back up your digital pictures to disk, all it takes is for your computer to crash one time and you have potentially lost hundreds of valuable pictures. Many people feel that digital pictures do not have the same look and feel as film prints. For this reason, most professional photographers still prefer to use film, instead of digital. Digital pictures can also become pricey if you print them out at home. A good quality printer paper, plus colored printer cartridges for your printer can add up quickly. .

The Pros of Film
As mentioned earlier, many professional photographers still prefer to use film to digital. If you take pictures for hobby, you can adjust your film camera to get the exact look that you want. This is not always the case with digital pictures. Some people prefer to use a film camera, so it forces them to have their pictures developed right away. Rather than leaving your memories on a disk, you have to have your print pictures printed. You will always have them in your hand to look at.

The Cons of Film

It seems that film cameras are losing popularity. Film is not as convenient as digital. He must wait to have pictures developed before you can look at them down is also expensive and having pictures processed, adds extra expense. In addition, when you use film, you must have everything on your roll of film printed out. You do not have the ability to scroll through and delete bad pictures on the spot as you do when you use digital.

When considering film over digital, one is really no better than the other. The choice has more to do with your personal preferences than anything else does. If you are considering buying a new camera, look at both film and digital to determine which ones are right for your use. I have three digital cameras, a 35mm camera and a standard film camera. If I had to choose, I would choose the digital because of the option to view pictures right away. This way you know if you are capturing the image the way you intended too. I have been caught to many times with fuzzy pictures, missing heads and so on. Another thing is with a digital camera, if you need glasses, you will still be in focus, where as with a 35 mm focus camera, you might have a surprise, fuzzy pictures, and you may never find another opportunity like that again.

How do you know what subject you will shoot? This is where your interests lie. If you wish only to take pictures of wildlife then you will have to wait for the subject to come into view. Obviously you can go to a wildlife park such as the Rocky Mountain National Park and hope to find subjects. Most often it will depend on the time of year. Elk and Deer are more prominent when they come down the mountains to mate and eat. Birds will always be available, but the type of birds will vary. If you are in Alaska chances are you will have several chances of shooting a Bald Eagle, while in Florida you may find heron or cranes.

When you are practicing techniques you will have to choose your subject accordingly. A lot of us are regulated to the area around us. Landscape photography requires the use of the land you have around you, unless you are going on vacation to some place new. This is another important fact to choosing a subject. You are either limited or you have the whole world at your feet. It will depend on your traveling abilities. For now we will stick close to home.

Once you choose your medium you will then go in search of subjects. The subject that speaks to you is what you should choose to shoot. If a tree and the knots it’s formed interest you, you will want to check the lighting of the area. Deciding which angle to shoot from will also make the decision on the subject. The lighting may not be right for the subject you have chosen and the other side of the subject may not yield the best picture.

To choose a subject you will need a good eye for detail and observation. Often the best subject is not the one you can see with a plain eye. Have you ever looked at a tree and found a spider web hiding in the leaves? If you look closer you might even find a spider. A spider web can make a great picture not only because of the technique required to have the web show up in your photo with the silky threads, but also the pattern of a spider web. We are fascinated with an organism that can create a symmetrical pattern.

Again your eye is the best tool for finding a subject. How you choose the subject will depend on what is available, the angle and the light. Moving slowly through an area such as landscape will help you determine the subject. Looking under leaves or rocks is often beneficial to finding something new and different. You never know where you will find a picture just waiting for you to click a picture. Some people and animals do things that will never again happen and this is when you want to have camera available. Most people interested in photography carry a camera with them everywhere they go. If this sounds like a habit, a real habit turns into a hobby and a possible income if you become good at taking the right pictures. As you get better at taking the pictures, you can then start displaying your pictures for others to see and possibly buy.

We can “Photoshop in” new outfits, accessories or even people to a shot where it was just not possible before. So if you want a picture of you shaking hands with the president, you don’t have to go to Washington to get it, just “Photoshop” your image into the image of the president and it will look as real as if you had been there.

Similarly, we can “Photoshop” out things from a picture we don’t want to see there anymore. So if you have a physical flaw, that can be removed. You can even remove a distracting person from the background of the shot. The program is so sophisticated that these images are possible and you really cannot tell the alteration has been made.

Photoshop has become such a de facto standard for photo processing that if you are setting up a photography studio or business, a copy of the software is as necessary as Microsoft word or PowerPoint. The good thing about this software is that it is readily accessible and a lot of people know how to use it. So if you feel insecure about learning yet another computer application, you can probably find a college student, someone at the high school or maybe the junior high that knows Photoshop in and out and can help you jump start your use of the software as well.

But Photoshop has not always dominated this genre. The program was created in 1989 by two brothers, John Knoll and Thomas Knoll. While the brothers developed Photoshop for custom uses they had at the time, it wasn’t long before the market potential of this software became evident. So, being smart entrepreneurs, John and Thomas founded a little company called Adobe and began operations in 1990.

Adobe has been a shining example of how to achieve success in the age of the internet. Today few of us who use the internet are not aware of Adobe. You probably cannot find a personal computer that uses the internet that does not have a free copy of the Adobe reader on it to read PDF files. The PDF format is yet another example of how this little company has created and then taken over a particular market of online business.

To really become skilled at using Photoshop, the first thing to do is probably find a copy to play with. Like most computer applications, you can probably find a copy on a friend’s computer just to tinker with it and get a feel for the controls. Then if your friend is a wizard at Photoshop, let him or her show you some of the real “wiz-bang” things they can do with Photoshop using the same menus you were just tinkering with. This little Saturday afternoon experiment could turn you into a Photoshop addict forever.

After that, you would do well to download a copy for yourself. You can get an evaluation version that will give you most of the features. But you really only need that if you are not sure if you are going to buy a copy. Since Photoshop dominates this market, you almost certainly will buy a copy so you might save some frustration and purchase a licensed copy right away. Now, you will probably find yourself playing with the software for long hours just having fun and that’s great. But don’t overlook the value of taking some organized classes in photo editing using Adobe Photoshop. These classes can show you the shortcuts and how to get the most out of the software.

From there on out, your imagination is the only limit to how you will use this tool to make your photographs better for your customers. And you will be able to respond enthusiastically when someone says, “that’s ok, you can just Photoshop that and fix it right up.”

In the fashion circles famous names like Mario Testino (easily one of the hottest names out there) and Eva Mueller (photographer for Fashion Magazine Allure) are just as sought out if not more then those men and women sauntering their way into our conscious.

High Paychecks and glamour’s Lifestyle of hob nobbing it with the rich and famous might be the dream of many young shutterbug, however it is not easy to reach the golden Staircases of the well-known fashion houses and magazines. For every one talented photographer, hundreds are left panting at the sidewalk, only dreaming about the moment that their photo will be chosen.

Here are a few tips for the novice and dreamer of dreams in getting started in fashion photography. Study your subject. You can never learn enough. Read and look at any fashion Magazine you can get your hand on. There are fantastic books on Fashion and fashion photography available. Amazon.com has a true treasure trove available.
You need one or two good cameras, tripod and a lighting system. Always make sure that you have plenty of film and batteries available. SLR and digital cameras take different photos, so make sure you find the best for your field.

When submitting your work, hopefully to give a chance you have to have a portfolio on hand, just in case the editor of the fashion magazine wants to see samples of your work. I assure you if they consider working with you that is going to be a fact.
The sharp, bright images of a 4X5″ transparency show of your work to its best effort. If you have already had a publication, no matter if, it was a small neighborhood magazine/paper or a contest a tear sheet (literally a sheet you tore out of the magazine) works well. If neither is at hand a good high quality 8 X 10 “is acceptable as well. You want to make sure that you have a minimum of 20 photos in your portfolio and preferably different styles. You want to show your expertise in full figure or just partial body parts.

Remember, fashion includes jewelry and accessories. Sometimes a watch from a famous maker on the slender wrist of a beautiful woman is a good fashion shoot. If you are applying for the job, be prepared to leave your Portfolio behind for an extended period of time, sometimes as much as a couple of weeks. I would advice you to make copies and have several on hand. This comes in handy when showing your work to many different people for consideration for fashion work.

In the time of modern technology, it is good to display your talent as a fashion photographer online as well. Set up a website; submit your photos to contests. Submit them to an online fashion gallery. This helps with getting your work seen and people can see what type of work you actually do and can do for them.

Most editors are looking for your personality in the photos you take. Each fashion photographer captures the soul of the fashion and its model differently. There are a couple of very good “how to get started” websites on the net.