International Photography Day

One day kept apart for the Photographers in this world and for the art of Photogrpahy.
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Make Motion Blurred Backgrounds On Your Cam - Photography Trick

See the above image. See its background. It is blurred but I didnt use any editing software to make this effect.

I kept the camera in my hand [ the cam was pointing to me..] and pressed the shutter while I was in motion. To get similar effect do the same. Take your picture revolve with the camera facing you. Make sure that the there is no relative motion between you and the camera. Also take care of your facial expressions. Look as if you are standing still. Use lower ISO values and slower shutter speeds to get better results.

Experiment this one many times with different camera settings to get good results. I had to take 12 snaps to get one right.

Good Luck!
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Related Posts :
* Make A Person Disappear In To Thin Air Using Your Video Camera
* Create Fantastic Effects with Your Digital Camera - Photography Trick
* Some Exilim Hacks.. For Casio Exilim EZ-30 and Related Camera's

Create Your Own Customised Search Engine In Google Style...

If you have ever visted Google.com You should have really admired the look and feel of the webpage and ofcourse the Google logo. Google.com 'weighs' just 13kb and is among the fastest loading pages on the web.

If you would like to see your own Search Engine with a logo that is as cool as the Google Logo, visit http://www.goglogo.com. This is another crazy website on the web.

To create your own search engine you dont need to know anything. There is nothing like a registration or any kind of fees. All you have to do is enter the name for the logo and then press the ' Create My Search Page ' Button on Goglogo.com

Its really creative and worth visiting...

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Create Fantastic Effects with Your Digital Camera - Photography Trick

See the image above. This is not a software edited image. I caught this one on my Digital Camera [ Casio Exilim EZ-30 ]. Here is how to do that.

Most Digital Cameras have a Night Shoot mode for taking images in low light conditions. That mode will have slow shutter speed and low ISO value. Keep that setting. If you cant find such a mode use the menu to change to ISO to ISO 50.

The image above was taken at night while travelling in a car. To get such effects move the camera very fast while the sutter is being pressed. Like point the cam to the neon lights on the street and shoot while you are in a moving vehicle.

Experiment with various ISO modes to see the change. This is like a play with colours, so keep playing.

Good Luck!

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Related Posts :

* Make A Person Disappear In To Thin Air Using Your Video Camera

* Some Exilim Hacks.. For Casio Exilim EZ-30 and Related Camera's

Some Exilim Hacks.. For Casio Exilim EZ-30 and Related Camera's

While experimenting with my Digital Camera Casio Exilim EZ-30. I found the following things. It must work with Exilim EZ-40. I am not sure of the case with other cams in the same series but its worth a try... Here we go...

* Holding the 'DISP' button pressed swith on the camera [ Record mode]. The camera lens does not zoom out and the camera starts with the voice recorder. This can be useful when you wish to record a audio clip using the camera. As the lens does not zoom out, there is some savings in the battery.
Remember to keep holding the 'DISP' button untill the camera unit is on to get this result.

* Switch on the camera keeping the 'MENU' button pressed. Before the camera Switches on the LCD Screen shows the version of the software installed on your camera. This works in both Record and Play modes.
As in the other case remember to keep pressing the 'MENU' button till the camera unit is on.

* This works in the Play mode only. In the Play mode, when and image is being displayed press the 'SET' key and the shutter [ Half-Shutter ]. Then the image will get inverted. This can be useful when you wish to show someone the image conveniently. There is no need to press the shutter button fully. Half shutter will do. Press the half shutter again to return to the normal state.

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Make A Person Disappear In To Thin Air Using Your Video Camera

Here is an old Videography Trick for the Video geeks. Using this one you can make a video in which an object can be made to disappear into thin air!

All you need to make this one is a video camera [ we will just say camera from this point ] and a tripod stand for the camera. In case you dont have a tripod find some suitable place where you can place your camera so that it does not shake. The camera must have the capability to pause in between recordings.. i.e it must be able to stop recording at some point and then continue with the same video file wihtout creating a new file. Even if your camera dont have this capability we can make it all happen.

Place the camera in the tripod and tell some one to come in front of it. Record for a while and then pause the recording. Tell the person to move away from the frame and then continue recoding for some more time. Now stop recording and see the video. It appears as if the person have disappeared into the air!

If your camera dont have the function to pause between recordings then shoot the two parts as separate videos and then combine them in  your PC using some video editing software. Add some kind of music to the video to make your audience thrill.

When you are doing this care must be taken not to shake the camera. Also take care while you press the pause button in between. The slightest shake will spoil the effect. Use the remote control if your recorder has one.

Good Luck!
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How to Trun Ur Digital Camera Into a Scanner

If you got a digital camera, then you got a scanner too!
What do u do when you need to make a copy of something on paper..? You either scan it into a digital form or you take a photo-copy..right..?
All this can be done using your digital camera

Every modern digital camera has a shooting mode for capturing objects very close to the camera with very good clarity. This is usually called macro mode. To scah a pape you will need this macro mode.
Put the camera into macro mode and take a snap shot of your document. To geed good results, place the document on a well illuminated flat surface. The surface should be of light shade.

Remember to turn off the flash before you make a shot. If you keep your flash on you will not be able to read anything.
Once you have made the copy you can see that on a PC.

You can reduce the size of the image by reducing its quality in programs like Adobe Photoshop or similar photo editting softwares, so that the image can be emailed easily. You need not worry about the image quality beacuse you will still be able to read even at lower qualities.

Try it for yourself if you got a cam.
Good Luck!
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How to picture Youself great on Photographs

Photographs are frames extracted from the millions of frames of our day to day life so that we can see those frames often. But eveyone is not blessed with a photo face or everyone is not photogenic by "default".

Here is how you can play that fine.

• If you are using a foundation cream, use those with a matt finish.
• Make sure that your hair is clean and that you hairstyle is perfect.
• Dont wear dresses with large and bold prints or bold patterns.
• Do not wear all white as wearing all white can make your body look big and your face becomes small.
• Do wear earrings and a necklace. Ornaments can make you look better in the picture
• Make sure that you have got a normal hairstyle. Making your hair look bigger that you head can make the apperence of you in your picture horrible.
  
• Have the normal style of smile on your face. Dont make up one.
• Stand errect and still. This can make yourself look smart in your picture.

Choosing a Camera

Just like choosing a CamCorder finding the right still picture recording camera from the vast market is also a devil's job. In photography unlike videography you need more talent, more hard work and more experience to make your photos look good. You have to choose from the millions of frames around you. If the choose of frames is not exact you will loose the valuable moments. But making videos is easy. You can be really sure of not missing the moment. Ofcource to make good videos you need talent, but atleast you can be sure of capturing the valuable moments.

Like wise to make good pics choosing the right cam is important. As in the case of CamCorder, first choose from digital and film based cams. If you go for film based cams you will get professional cams for around $200. But as a beginner you will have to take lots of pictures. So while you are learning you will have to spent a lot in films and other procedures. Also you cannot see the picture at the time when its caught. So I think its better to look for a digital camera. You need a computer, ofcource. You must be having one..right..?

Once you have made the choice to be digital a big world of digital cameras comes before you. Remember we are looking for a amateur-to-professional camera.

Let me tell you what you must have in minimum in such a camera.

First you need atleast 4.0 Mega Pixels. But something at 5.0 Mega Pixels or 8.0 Mega Pixels is prefered. But never let it go below 4.0.

Then something important is the Zoom. Minimum 3X optical Zoom. Digital zoom is not at all useful in still picture recording. If you use it you will get pixelized picture. 3x optical zoom must be fine.

After that you need a 2.0" LCD display. Below that you will need a microscope to see what's taken. 2.5" is prefered. But remember LCD screens take a major part of the battery. So more battery will be used if the screen gets very big. There are cams with 3.5" LCD display.

Then you will need to have a pretty good battery. Do not prefer cameras which have a standard size battery ( like a AAA size battery ). Instead look for cams which have a specific battery made only for that camera. Like the casio exilim camera which have a 12V battery made only for the camera. Such batteries last longer than the standard sized batteries. Some might say that if you have a standard sized battery you can always purchase it from a near-by store when you are out of power. But wouldn't it be better to have a battery which can take upto 360 pictures rather than replacing the battery after every 50 pictures..? ( According to CIPA standards Casio Exilim's battery last for 360 picures and from my experience it lasts for 270 to 300 pictures in real life!!! ). You can always purchase an additional battery from the manufacturer in case.

These days most cameras have slots for expanding memmory like SD card slots or Multi Media Card slot. So you wont have to ask for that at the manufacturer. Its a standard. Also do not bother if the internal memmory is as less as zero. You can always expand it.

Something which you will have to look for is the view finder. This is not always available. If you use the viewfinder you can conserve the battery power and take more pictures. Also the use of viewfinder gives the photographer more control over hand shakes.

Make sure that the one you choose has a pan-focus facility so that you can shoot the exact frame you thought of, without waiting for the auto-focus to complete. This is very important.

Then something which you can ask for is continuous movie recording and sound recording capabilites. These days cams come with in built Mp3 players and can even work as webcams. For a still picture camera the image stabilization feature is not something mandatiory but can came handy if available. Also an all-weather cam must be a good choice as with such cams you can even shoot your friends skating in the snow.

Your cam must have some basic functions like : auto focus, night mode, trimming, cropping, some basic filters ( like majenta filter to shoot the sunset )... Along with auto focus you will need a manual focus function to give the pictures your personal touch. This can come handy once you have started turning a pro.

As a beginner you will have to look for a cam which is small in size and hence must be able to be carried every where you go. Also you need to spent a lot of time trying with different camera angles and different frames. So look for the right cam with these options in mind. Always make a "must-have" list and a " nice-to-have" list. Wish you a nice time finding one.

Suggested Model : I have a Casio Exilim Z30 with me. Its great ! Its has only 3.2 MegaPixels but everything else is fine. Its was a bit expensive but its really cute. Now newer models are available with more features at half the price. A $300 to $ 500 budget must be fine. Remember you are making a choice only once..right..? And its better to chill out more bucks in the beginning than to spent it in instalments at the repair stations frequently. Sony and Canon have got really nice models too. You got a lot of them. Try it for yourself before purchasing. First find a cam and then find some of its existing users and get their feedback. That will make your choice perfect.

Good Luck.

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Choosing a Video CamCorder

My dad used to say that when he was a kid shopping was much more easier. The only thing you had to look when you go to shop was to make sure that you had the money with you. But world has canged drastically over the past 10 years. People have more money in their hands, they have more needs, more producers and more choices to make. Even if you go to purchase a pinapple candy you will have to choose from rich pinapple candy, pineappple with honey and lots more... If choosing something that simple has become this tough I dont think that I should mention how hard its to purchase a CamCorder when you have tons of them availabe in the market. ( Canon itself have over 30 models in the consumer range ).

But to shop these days you have to be really stong minded. You have to have a " must have " list and a " nice to have" list. This will make shopping easier.

Having a CamCorder at had is a really good thing. Its nice to live life again and again. 'Cuz life is only once. But choosing one is not a kids job. Let me tell you something.

When you approach the market as a consumer fix your budget. And let me tell you its better to buy something realy good than purchasing something which is cheap and having to repair it over and over. You are doing it only once ..right..?
You can get good CamCorder's at around $700. A $600 to $1000 would be a good budget. But cheaper ones are available even from world leaders like Sony at $300. Those ones will work for sure but will not have good TV quality or DVD quality for their videos. So keep the following as a minimum for your CamCorder.

Analog Cams are costlier so you have to choose for a Digital one.

You must have atleast a 1/3 inch CCD.

Cams with 3 CCD instead of Single CCD have separate units to convert the light falling on the lens to electronic image. The have separate converters for Red Blue and Green. Which means more the clarity of the video and ofcource more the cost.

The cam should preferably have atleast 2 Megapixel Still picture recording quality and atleast 1.2 Megapixels of video recording quality.

You must have an image stabiliser function. Prefer Optical Image Stabilisation ( O.I.S) to correct all your hand shakes.

You must have atleast 10X optical zoom. This is a must as digital Zooms do get you mush closer but they destroy the image quality.

Along with auto focus you must have manual focus ( with focus ring prefered ). As someday when you will become a pro, you will miss this feature badly.

Prefer models in which you can change the lens and add some other. Like remove a wide angle lens and add a telephoto lens or so. You will need that all once you are a pro.

A LCD screen of 2.5" or a mximum 3" is prefered. More the window size more battery is used so a bigger LCD is not always good. But 2.5" is essential.

Along with the LCD the viewfinder is a must. When at times to conserve battery you will have to depend on this viewfinder.

Regarding battery life ... a minimum of 1 hour backup is needed..right..?

HardDisk based drives are available these days. These comes in capacities of 30 GB and above. HardDisks keep you away from those DV tapes and DVD's. They are convinient as you wont have to carry any tapes or you wont have to convert the captured video before editing but its said that they make a rumming sound ( of rotating disks ) while in operation. Recording on DVD's is not a good option. A DVD can include only about 30 mins of high quality video. Even though many CamCorder's support re-writable DVD's I dont thnik its a good choice. Also DVD's are not cost effective. But with DVD's you can play your videos direcly on a DVD-player right after you captured the video without anymore editing.You need no more conversion to edit your videos. The quality of DV-Tapes is unmatched. Its a better option only you will have to do a conversion before you can edit. Also its cost effective. Flash based CamCorder's are available but owing to smaller flash memmories of a maximim of 2 GB inbuilt, they can record only minutes of video.
So I think you can choose from a Hard-Disk based or a DV-Tape based CamCorder at your convinience.

When you are going to record a long DVD quality video of about 20GB or 30 GB in size you need a fast method to transfer it to your PC. So you cam must have a firewire port ( its the fastest ) or at least a USB port. Some good cams from Canon have a mic input, a TV out and a Video-in ( To convert tapes to digital video's right from your cam ! ) along with both Firewire and USB port.

These days CamCorder's come with much more features like in-built Mp3 playes, webcams and much more. Look for a good one keeping these tips in mind. First write down what all features do u need and make the right choice. Also remember to choose from Sony , Canon , Panasonic , JVC or Samsung. Above all your satisfaction is important. Have a nice time finding one.

Good Luck!

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