November 27, 2007

Digital Cameras: Do You Know Your Megapixels?

Filed under: Photographers Den — admin @ 9:07 am

Until recently, were you to ask someone if they knew how to operate a digital camera, they would react as though you had grown another head. A digital camera? Whoever heard of such a thing. Now, in less than 5 years, they’re the only kind of camera to buy. With digital photography there’s no need for endless rolls of film. You just focus, click, and presto, a digital image. Don’t like the picture you just took? That’s no problem, either. You can simply delete the image.

Now, with all this available technology, why should we ever worry about pictures again? Well, the plain truth of the matter is this, if you don’t have a computer, it’s still expensive and quite time consuming to download your pictures at the local Wal-mart (or Wal-greens), instruct the computer there to copy the pictures to a disk, and then pay for the actual printing. See, it’s at this point that most consumers realize it’s just downright easier to buy an old fashioned, film loaded, camera.

Let’s assume, however, that you do have a computer, and you do want to purchase a digital camera. What kind of camera do you need? Where do you begin to check out your options and see how they relate to your needs? Well, the first part of the process would be to visit an electronics store in your area. The stores that specialize in electronics will generally have a sales person on hand that can explain all the available features of a digital camera and help you decide what you need and what you can live without.

One of the big questions concerns the “megapixel” feature of the camera. The larger the megapixel number, the better the quality of the picture. You see, megapixel determines how the camera reads color combinations in order to produce the best photo possible. Now this might be a matter of great concern if you are a professional photographer, but to the everyday consumer, three or four mega pixel strength is all you need.

Next you’ll want to examine what types of subjects you will photograph and under what kind of conditions. Do you need a camera that makes pictures of moving objects? Are you making your pictures at night, or during daylight hours? Up close and personal, or over on the next block? All of these questions are valid and will affect the quality of the picture you get if not correctly addressed.

There is one final option that you might want to check: some of the digital cameras also do video. The cameras tape the audio and video of the moment as well, or better, than some of your larger video cameras, just not as expensively.

Last but not least, you need to understand your storage options, and determine how much storage space you need. Going to the family reunion, room for maybe 10 pictures will be enough; But now the class reunion, well you’re going to need room for at least 500 photos. Alright, that brings this topic to a close and moves us on to the subject of “memory stix”…….

Frederic Madore is the founder of the Digital Camera Information website. Get the best information about Digital Cameras and Digital Camera prices.

November 8, 2007

Taking a Gander at Nokia— Dominating the Wireless & Wired Telecom Markets

Filed under: Photographers Den — admin @ 8:34 pm

Nokia is an intercontinental telecoms corporation, focused on the vital growth spheres of wireless & wired telecommunications. Nokia is these days the globe’s largest maker of mobile telephones, with a global set market share of near to 38%. Nokia develops cellular phones for every primary market wedge and protocol. The outfit additionally develops telecoms network gear for applications such as mobile and fixed-line voice telephony, ISDN, broadband access, VO IP and wireless LAN.

Nokia plays a strikingly major part in the economy of Finland. Nokia is unquestionably the biggest Finnish company, comprising nearly thirty percent of the market capitalization of the Helsinki Stock; a one-off position within a first world country. It is an important Finnish employer and assorted smaller firms have grown into major firms as Nokia’s subcontractors.

Finns have ranked Nokia many times a champion Finnish brand and employer. Nokia is the 5 th most valuable brand on earth in BusinessWeek’s Best Global Brands list of the 20 most esteemed companies worldwide in Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies.

The Nokia mobile phones section furnishes the general public with mobile voice and data products around a massive variety of mobile devices. The section attempts to focus on overall high volume category sales of cell phones and devices, with consumers being the most essential customer segment.

Nokia takes it that design, brand, ease of use and price are mainstream mobile phones’ most decisive deliberations for customers. Nokia’s product back catalogue includes digital camera phones with special features, for instance, mega-pixel cameras and MP3 players which captivate the mass market.

In the 1st quarter of ‘07 it moved in excess of fifteen million MP3 capable mobile phones, which means it is not only the world’s sizable fabricator of mobiles and digi cameras (as the best part of Nokia’s mobile phones feature digital cameras, it is also thought that it has recently improved on Kodak in camera assemblage, making it the largest in the world), it is presently also the sizable fabricator of digital audio. It aspires to sell eighty million music phones by the end of 2007, outpacing sales of things such as the iPod from Apple.

October 14, 2007

Fuji Digital Cameras

Filed under: Photographers Den — admin @ 7:21 pm

Fuji digital cameras entered the market in the late 90’s. Started in Japan in 1934, Fuji has always tried to stay ahead of the pack. The history of this company is rather interesting so let us take a look at it.

Started in a small Japanese in the foothills of Mt. Fuji, the Fuji Film Co. Ltd was founded in the year 1934. At that time, no one could imagine that such a small camera making company would become a million dollar global name known all across the globe within a span of 50 years. Today, Fuji is known for its great digital cameras and innovative technology.

It took Fuji 35 years to come to the USA. In the US, Fuji again started small with the establishment of a six person office in the Empire State Building in New York City. Within a span of four years, in 1969, the company had expanded itself so fast that the
Morgan Guaranty Trust Company issued American Depository Receipts (ADRs) on Fuji Photo Film stock.

In 1976, Fuji Film launched the world’s first ISO 400 color print film. This was the fastest color still photo film present in the world during that time. Then, in 1980, Fuji launched the fastest color motion picture film - the A-250. After this, Fuji became the official sponsor of the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984.

One of the biggest launches in camera history made by Fuji was the QuickSnap in the year 1986. The QuickSnap was a one-time-use camera and it became an instant hit in the market. Due to its usefulness, easy-to-use convenience and price, the QuickSnap became the market leader during its time. Improvising on the QuickSnap, Fuji introduced the world’s first one-time use 35mm camera with a flash in the year 1988.

Fuji was not a company which could be left behind as far as digital technology and digital cameras was concerned. Even though Sony overtook Fuji in the race of introducing the first digital camera, Fuji gave the world the first digital camera with removable media in the year 1988.

Today, Fuji has firmly established itself in the digital revolution. It has continuously innovated itself and made several product launches such as the MX-700 in the year 1998, which was the world’s smallest and lightest mega pixel digital camera at that time. Fuji has also made forays into digital printing technology.

Not only this, but Fuji is a conscientious of the environment as well. In the year 2000, Fuji made a $7.8 million contribution in the construction of the Fuji Film Giant Panda Conservation Habitat in Washington DC in order to bring two giant pandas from China to the USA.

From the NANO CUBIC Technology which allows digital videotapes to increase their recording capacity to 1000 two-hour movies in 2001 to the xD-Picture Card, which was the smallest storage media in the market in 2002; Fuji continues to introduce newer and newer digital technologies today. Some of the newest digital cameras introduced today are:

A-Series : Automatic point-and-shoot cameras for basic users.
E-Series : Full featured, compact cameras with manual control as well.

F-Series : Ultra compact cameras in different styles with full features.
S-Series : Advanced cameras with optic controls for advanced users.
S-Pro Series : Extremely advanced cameras for professionals.

EzineArticles Expert Author Kevin Rockwell

Kevin Rockwell worked as a network TV cameraman for 20 years shooting news and sports. Now a devoted fan of digital photography and video he works to gather information, tips and news for digital camera users. Oh and he loves to shoot pictures of his kids playing sports.
http://great-digital-cameras.com/gdcj.html

October 9, 2007

I’m Only Human

Filed under: Photographers Den — admin @ 7:13 am

As a photographer, some tasks would seem to be a pleasure to perform, but one such task was fraught with danger. One day I got a call from a good client who needed me to photograph a woman for a large pastel portrait. This artist possessed a great talent for capturing naturalness in a body pose, but admittedly felt less than secure drawing faces and expressions.

This thirty by forty-eight inch pastel portrait was to hang over her boyfriend’s bed to remind him of her love for him. His only request was that she appear in the nude!

On the day of the shoot, the artist and I waited in the living room/ studio for the subject to arrive. In walks the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Tall and willowy, her feminine curves were impossible to hide beneath her severe office clothes. A natural blonde with light brown eyes, her skin glowed with a California tan. After the introductions, I readied the camera and lights while the subject started to take off her clothes. Almost as an after thought, she brought out a photograph of an oil painting of a reclining nude painted by a classic artist in the sixteen hundreds. She pointed out that the skin of the model in the oil portrait shone with lustrous highlights and glowed as if rubbed in oil. This was the very effect that her boyfriend requested she duplicate.

I took the artist aside and discussed the problem. No filter I knew of could reproduce such an effect on her skin. The artist decided that I would have to cover the subject’s skin with baby oil to create the desired glow. Meanwhile, the subject had stretched out on the chaise lounge we had set up with patterned tapestry velour throws forming the background. The artist went to get the oil as I tried a few poses with the subject. When she returned, she handed me the baby oil with a smirk on her face, ready to burst out laughing if I even so much as raised an eyebrow. Somebody had to do it, so I started rubbing the oil on the nude’s body, not missing an inch of skin in the process. The artist hovered in the shadows, trying to look like the cool chaperone, but not meeting my eyes when I looked at her. The subject stoically remained silent as I bent to my task. Up one side and down the other, then flip her over and do the other side.

Finally, the oiling was done and, after thoroughly washing my hands, I proceeded to photograph the subject. Four weeks later, the finished pastel occupied a center spot on the artist’s wall, a hidden spotlight enhancing the glowing colors of the beautiful woman in the picture. Since no one was allowed to see the picture except for the subject and her boyfriend, I convinced the artist into allowing me to photograph the finished work for her portfolio. A few days later, the subject picked up the portrait, never to be seen again – except in my (unrequited) dreams.

No two days were alike in the portrait profession.

September 25, 2007

Improve your Pictures with a Basic Photography Law

Filed under: Photographers Den — admin @ 6:16 am

Do your people photographs tend to look - well, nasty?

Un-flattering?

What if you could exploit a basic lighting principle that professional photographers use, without spending a cent on expensive lighting equipment?

It may sound too good to be true, but it’s not. Actually, it seems obvious once you realise what it is.

So what is this amazing principle that will improve your photographs?

It’s to do with the size of the light source relative to the subject. Let me explain…

The bigger the light source, the softer the shadows.
And conversely, the smaller the light source, the harder the shadows.

How can you use this fact to improve your photographs?

The first thing to do is be aware of it - notice the lighting. Move things around or go to a different location if you need to.

But the main way to actually use this law is to make a rule of always photographing people (one of the most popular and common photographic
subjects) with large light sources.

Here are a few examples of easy to use, large light sources:

  • An overcast sky (one of the best, because not only is it huge, it’s also still relatively bright)

  • A window (still relatively large compared to someone’s head, they’re standing right next to it - yet also directional, which can provide a nice effect)

  • A bright light (or lights) reflected against a white ceiling, or a white wall behind the photographer. A flash gun with an adjustable head is ideal for this technique because it provides substantially more illumination than, say, a desk lamp. If you specifically want hard shadows (less flattering but sometimes interesting), you’ll be seeking out small, point sources of light - like the sun.

Bear in mind that if you use only the full sun to light a shot, you’ll need to sacrifice detail either in the sunlit areas (by exposing correctly for the shadows), or the shadows (by exposing for the sunny bits).

One more thing - remember to experiment with the direction of the light source. While lighting from the front and/or top is the Conventional method (and often gives the best or most appropriate results), interesting effects can be achieved by lighting from the sides, back, or underneath, too.

Steven Pam - EzineArticles Expert Author

Steven Pam is a digital commercial photographer based in Melbourne, Australia, specializing in people, aviation and music photography. http://www.stevenpam.com.au

September 21, 2007

Cameras Of Tomorrow

Filed under: Photographers Den — admin @ 9:01 am

One time you had only to look into a little lens and press a button to take a photo, but these days cameras are more complicated. Much advertising money is spent on telling us all just how simple and easy it is to take a photo, and it is certainly easier to load a film in the average camera now than it used to be, but you still have to know more about it. You can’t just pick up that brownie box and ready, aim, fire. There are warning lights that tell you to change your angle or adjust your exposure, to mention just a few.

So what is the camera of the tomorrow going to be like? Will it be so complicated that only a rocket scientist will be able to operate it? Probably not, since manufacturers must get good sales for their products. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that there are more sales in the masses than in an elite group of rocket scientists.

So come on guys, make it simple. How about a talking camera to tell us what to do? Just imagine Great-aunt Ethel lining up her new camera to take a picture of the latest nephew. The sun slides behind a cloud and the camera growls, “Hold it, stupid!” Ethel retrieves the camera from the grass, dusts it off and focuses again. “Beep-beep-beep! The subject is not smiling!” As the family gathers around with fans and cool drinks for Aunt Ethel, little Johnny grabs the camera and drops it into the fishpond, where it happily snaps the goldfish every time they wiggle.

The camera of the tomorrow may not talk, but at a recent exhibition in New York Canon had a prototype that waits until all the subjects are smiling before taking the picture. Another can tell if you’re blinking. These are expected to be commercial within a year. Fuji has already announced it has a digital camera far superior to most in clarity and resolution.

We think of the digital camera as possessing the most modern technology, but what if it is simply the Model T of cameras? Perhaps today’s digital cameras are the forerunners of some amazing new technology hiding around the corner, just waiting for someone with vision to invent it? Some time in the future, there will surely be moving 3D images that can be clicked into being on our desktops, in mid-air, or beamed to the other side of the world in less than a second. They’ll be in full color and at the click of a button, we’ll be able to hear what is being said. I can hardly wait!

Michael Colucci is a technical writer for Photography Tips and Digital Camera Reviews - Free sites that offer photography tips and camera reviews.

September 13, 2007

Digital RAW Workflow for Beginners

Filed under: Photographers Den — admin @ 2:14 am

Having an efficient work flow is essential for photographers. In the days of film, many of the tasks in the film work flow were handled by the lab. Now, more and more photographers are switching to digital and have to handle many of these tasks themselves. The purpose of this document is to provide a basic digital work flow for working with RAW images that is camera and system independent.

Most modern digital SLR cameras, and some point and shoot models, have the ability to record the RAW data from an exposure, allowing the photographer to process the images as they see fit. This can be a daunting task, especially for those who don’t have a work flow in place to handle the images from the camera. The following steps will take you through the process of setting up your own RAW digital work flow.

Work flow Step 1: Compose and Expose

Your digital work flow begins before you ever sit down at your
computer. One of the best things you can do to make your work flow more efficient is to get as much of your image perfect in the camera as possible. Many digital photographers have fallen into the “I can fix it on the computer” trap. This costs you time and money. The more time you spend “fixing” a photo after you’ve tripped the shutter, the less time you are spending with clients.

Here are a few tips to help reduce your workload from the time you make your exposure:

  • Set your white-balance to match your scene. If you get the proper white-balance in the camera, you won’t have to adjust it later on the computer. See your camera documentation for how to set a custom white-balance. Remember to set your white balance whenever you change lenses, or the quality of light. If you change modifiers, or lenses, change your white-balance as well.
  • Expose for the highlights. Since digital acts similar to slide film, its easy to accidentally blow your highlights. By exposing for the hot parts of the image, you’ll save yourself some time in the long run.
  • Scan your frame. Get in the habit of doing a top-to-bottom scan of your frame before you trip the shutter. This will help you avoid stray hairs, lights in your frame, reflectors being visible, and anything that you might have to clone out of the image later.

Work flow Step 2: Importing and Backing Up Your Images

There are many ways to get your images from your camera to your
computer. Some people use a card reader that will read the images off the memory card from the camera. Others connect the camera directly to the computer and import the images directly. No matter how you get the images to the computer, your first step is to setup an organizational structure for the images and create a backup copy of the RAW files for safety.

First, create a folder to store your image files. In our studio, we use the folder name to organize our images. For instance, let’s say we are importing images from a portrait session with Jane Doe that took place on January 1st, 2005. Our folder name for this session would be P_2005_DoeJane_0101. If we also did a portrait session with John Doe on the same date, our folder would be named P_2005_DoeJohn_0101. This allows us to keep our images organized in a way that we are familiar with. Use whatever folder structure you like, as long as it helps you keep things organized.

Next, we will create the folders under our P_2005_DoeJane_0101 folder that we will use during the course of processing the images. We create the following folders: RAW, WORK, and JPEG. The final file structure looks like this:

-+P_2005_DoeJane_0101
-|-RAW
-|-WORK
-|-JPEG

The RAW folder holds our RAW image files, the WORK directory holds the processed TIFF files where we will do all of our editing, and the JPEG folder holds the completed files, ready to be uploaded to the lab.

Copy the images from your camera to the RAW folder using whichever method you prefer. As soon as this initial copy is complete, make a backup copy of these images. Some photographers backup to writable CD-ROM or DVD discs. Other photographers backup to a separate backup hard drive. No matter what method you choose for your backups, they are CRITICAL. Make sure you can recover your images if something should happen to your memory card.

Work flow Step 3: Verify Your Backup

Your backup copy of the RAW images files is important. Take a moment to verify that you can read the images you copied to your backup medium. Once you have verified your backup medium, you may proceed with the work flow.

Work flow Step 4: Culling the Herd

Converting the images you never want the client to see wastes time and money. Use your preferred image browser to go through the RAW images and delete any that you know you won’t use. Don’t worry about deleting the wrong file, that is why we made a backup. If you delete a file you wanted, just bring it back from your backup.

Once you have selected your “keepers” from the RAW images, it is time to move on to the next step.

Work flow Step 5: File Conversion

Most cameras come with software specifically designed to convert the RAW image data from its native format into TIFF files, JPEG files, or some other format that is compatible with the popular image editing software.

At our studio, we convert the RAW images into 16-bit TIFF files,
because we like to have the maximum amount of data available for
editing and processing. Your needs may vary. There are many articles on the Internet that deal with the different file formats and the pros and cons of each. For the purpose of this tutorial, we are going to assume that the files are being converted to 16-bit TIFF files.

We now open the software that came with our camera and set it to
convert our RAW image data to 16-bit TIFF files, and save them in the TIFF folder we created in Work flow Step 2. This step can be time consuming, so we often go out to eat while the images from a session are converting.

Once the conversion is finished, you will have a folder of 16-bit TIFF files to do editing and retouching on. We use TIFF at our studio because it is a loss less format. That is, we can save the file as many times as we like without degrading the image quality. JPEG is a lossy format, every time you save a JPEG file, you lose a little more data to compression.

Work flow Step 6: Editing and Retouching

This step of our work flow is where the real work is done. You will open each TIFF file in the image editor of your choice and make sure your colors and exposure are correct, the crop is the way you want it, and the image is ready for printing. At this point you will make any edits to the image, such as changing the crop, converting it to black and white, or doing any needed retouching.

If you use the TIFF file format, you can save as many times as you need to during this process without having to worry about losing image quality.

Once editing and retouching is done, save your work file and move on to the next step.

Work flow Step 7: Saving the Production File

One of the cons to working with 16-bit TIFF files is that they take up an incredible amount of disk space. Once we have reviewed the images with the client and ensured that no further edits/retouching need to be made, we convert the TIFF file to a JPEG production file for archive purposes and sending to the lab.

Open the TIFF file in your preferred image editor and save your file as a Baseline Level 10 JPEG in the JPEG folder we created earlier. Why not save as a Level 12 JPEG, you might ask. When printing your image, there is no discernible difference between a level 10 JPEG and a level 12 JPEG. Try it for yourself and see.

Once your files are saved as JPEGs, move on the the next step.

Work flow Step 8: Backup Your Production Files

This is a good time to make a backup (either to CD/DVD, or to another hard disk) of your JPEG production files. This ensures that you have a copy of all your hard work and if something should happen to the original files, you know you have a good backup.

Work flow Step 9: Cleaning Up the RAW and Work Files

Once we know we have a good backup of our production JPEGs, we delete the entire WORK folder and the entire RAW. This frees up the large amount of space that TIFF files require and leaves us with a manageable set of files from the job. However, we have already made backup copies of the RAW files and the JPEG files, so if we ever need to re-edit an image, we have the materials to do so.

Work flow Step 10: Final Touches

At this point our production JPEG images are ready to print or send to the lab. Make any final adjustments to the image size and print or upload your images.

Final Thoughts

With an efficient digital work flow, handling large amounts of digital images is easy and relatively stress free. I hope this tutorial has given you some ideas on how to best setup your own RAW digital work flow.

Martin F. Hengst has been a professional photographer for more than a decade. He and his wife Barbara run Captured Radiance Photography, a studio dedicated to glamour, boudoir, and intimate portraiture. His online portfolio can be found at: http://www.capturedradiance.com

August 24, 2007

Buying Digital Camera Batteries

Filed under: Photographers Den — admin @ 9:28 am

A digital camera battery is probably the most important digital camera accessory. Some digital cameras can consume power at an alarming rate, providing no more than a few hours of continuous shooting time before the battery is drained. Other cameras are renowned for the long life of their digital camera battery which allows users to snap away with barely a thought to power consumption. It is important to know how you intend to use your camera and what type of battery it needs.

There are two types of digital camera battery. The most widely available digital camera battery is a standard AA-size battery. The other type of digital camera battery is a rechargeable battery that is made by the manufacturer, otherwise known as a proprietary battery.

A proprietary digital camera battery offers the advantage of being lighter and more compact, but they are substantially more expensive, making the prospect of buying one or two backup sets much less appealing.

The alkaline AA-size digital camera battery usually has a very short life - less than an hour in extreme cases - when used in a digital camera. This type of battery makes an acceptable emergency backup, especially if you are travelling with your camera. However, the Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) digital camera battery can be used instead of the alkaline ones with a charger and this rechargeable NiMH digital camera battery has a substantially longer life at an affordable price.

Another type of AA-size battery is the non-rechargeable Lithium batteries and rechargeable Nickel Cadmium (NiCD) batteries. The lithium digital camera battery has a superior life to alkaline AA’s and offers good cold-weather performance but their price and non-rechargeable nature make them less useful than rechargeable NiMH batteries. It is also important to ensure that your camera can take a lithium digital camera battery. On the other hand the NiCD digital camera battery offers the advantage of retaining their charge while unused, unlike NiMH cells, but have shorter lives and need to be discharged completely before recharging which can be extremely inconvenient.

The LCD screen of a digital camera is responsible for consuming the most power from a digital camera battery so it is worth only using the LCD when necessary to help conserve the battery life. Always try to carry at least one backup set of batteries, especially if you plan on being away from power outlets for an extended period of time. The universally-available alkaline AA-size battery can make a convenient emergency backup if your regular digital camera battery fails.

Steve Gargin is the administrator of digital-camera-reviews.helper-guru.com/dsc717/index.html which is a great website dedicated to giving free advice on Digital Cameras.

August 21, 2007

Weddings, From a Photographers Point of View

Filed under: Photographers Den — admin @ 10:12 pm

Your wedding day is without a doubt one of the happiest and stressful days of you life. The happy part comes naturally but how can you cut down on the stress? Well from a photographers standpoint, seeing that he is with you from the beginning of the day till the end, and sees you before and after the wedding, I would like to offer some tips and secrets to make it more happy than stressful.

1. When you meet before hand with your Photographer, make sure that after you agree on the syle of photos you want that you have a list made for the Photographer of all important photos that need to be taken. Then there won’t be any stress because certain photos were not taken.

2. Make sure to tell all your bridesmaids and family members that are to be photographed beforehand where they need to be and what time you want them to be there. This way you won’t be rushed.

3. Tell everyone to pay attention during the rehearsal so everyone knows their place and what they are supposed to do. You will be nervous enough, you do not need to explain to others what they should be doing.

4. If you decide to have a receiving line, have it at the church.

It moves quicker and gives you more time to enjoy your reception where you can mingle with everyone later.

5. Tell all wedding party and family members to go immediately to the place where photos will be taken. Ask them not to stop at the liqour store or any other place that may hold things up. The sooner everyone gets there the sooner photos will be done and the sooner you can start partying.

6. Once the reception starts there is not much to be stressed about, everything should flow and everyone should have a great time.

Hopefully this does not seem as if you are some sort of control freak to be asking all of this from everyone. After almost 30 years of photographing weddings, I have found that these bits of advice make for a smooth enjoyable day. Hope yours is great.

Edward Mercer
Mercer Photography
http://www.thebestweddingdayplanner.com

August 20, 2007

Selling Your Photography To Magazines.

Filed under: Photographers Den — admin @ 5:17 pm

The magazine market is by far the biggest market for the freelance photographer, with millions of pictures published each month. If you would like to see some profit from your pictures, its really important to make the right approach.

Taking pictures for the magazine market isn’t about taking nice shots that your friends will admire or that will look nice on your wall at home. It’s about taking images that will sell to a selective audience, and to accomplish this you must understand the market.

Assuming that your photography ability is to par - there is no reason that you can’t start sending your images to photo editors straight away. Start off by selecting the markets that you may have interest in. Pick a market that you like to photograph.

Go to your nearest magazine outlet and buy 3 or 4 magazines that you are interested in submitting to.
Study each image that has been used by the photo editor and then compare the images in the magazine to your own.

This is were honesty comes in.

If your images are every bit as good as the images in the magazine, feel free to submit them. Write or send an e-mail to the photo editor telling them about your work. If you have a website, add it to the e-mail so that the editor can view a sample of your work. If you do send your images by post make sure you include a stamped addressed envelope to get your images back.

Magazines have standard prices for photographs and will pay you after the magazine has gone to print. This differs from magazine to magazine; magazines that sell more normally pay more for their images - the cover picture is normally the best paid, with the double centre being the second.

If you sell an image to a magazine don’t submit it straight away to a different magazine - the chances are that they’ll find out and won’t use your images again.

It doesn’t hurt to know the law when selling your images to magazines. The minute you hit the shutter button you own the copyright. As standard practice magazines normally pay you for the right to use your image once. If they use the same image in five months time, they must pay you a second time.

If your images aren’t as good as the images that are used in the magazine don’t submit them. You will be wasting your own time and the time of the photo editor. Photo editors are very busy and get hundreds of submissions every month. Try to improve your photography and submit at a later date.

Photo editors are always looking for new material, but first study the market.

It’s a fantastic feeling to see your images published for the first time.

TJ Tierney is an award winning Irish Landscape photographer and a freelance writer.
He frequently writes for the shopping directory www.shop-4us.com and the photography directory www.goldprints.com
To view or buy some of his images visit his on line gallery @ www.goldenirishlight.com

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