The Secret Of Motion Effects in Image Editing

The zoom effect refers to the photographic technique in each you take the photo in such a way that it seems the subject is coming towards you or moving away from you. The movement is simulated by some motion-like lines. This technique is also called 'racking the lens'. This effect can also be created after the photo is done in programs like Photoshop (where it is called 'radial blur'). This article will refer to the creation of a motion effect while shooting.

There are three steps you should follow if you want to achieve this effect: Step 1: Set the shutter to a longer exposure. Step 2: Compose the picture, focus and then shoot. Step 3: Zoom the lens in and out in between the times when the shutter opens and when it closes.

This may not work from the beginning, but you'll get it right with a lot of practice, and that's the fun part about photography. Here are a few tips that can get you better results in less time:

1. Setting the shutter speed - You should choose a the speed in such a way as to give you enough time to zoom the lens all the way in or out. There is no standard setting. There are some factors you should take into account whenever you take such a photo. These factors include the level of lighting available, the type of lens you have and the amount of movement (both of the subject and the camera). Again, experimenting with different speeds is very important as a different setting will give you another level of the zoom effect.

2. Aperture - Though not very important for the zoom effect, aperture can be a problem in overexposed situations when you set the shutter speed very low as it allows more light inside. You can cope with this by setting a larger aperture.

3. Zooming - In order to get nice and uniform motion lines in the photo you should be able to keep the zooming speed constant. Speeding up at one point and slowing down later will ruin the picture. Experimenting is again critical for success.

4. The use of lighting - Using lights in a certain way can have pretty interesting effects on the zoom effect. Below are two pictures taking at a stage performance with the stage being lighted in colorful bright lights while the rest was dark. The first photo is aimed to show the real situation, while the second uses the racking the lens effect. In the second photo, the photographer pressed the flash button just enough to catch the subjects on the foreground. In long exposure, he did manage to freeze just part of the picture (the audience and video crew) while creating a movement effect behind it (the stage performance) as well as around it (the infrared effect from a camera)

Hope you will find these tips useful. However, remember that the more you practice, the better you'll get. It's all about experimenting and playing with the camera.

Shooting Excellent Fireworks Photos

When sky is illuminated with fireworks, one may get excited and try to capture the instantaneous moment. Often it ends up with failure due blurred or foggy or mixture of lights which does not depict the fireworks which we saw. This means shooting fireworks display is a challenge to a amateur photographer and the professional too. Shooting fire works display is simple if you follow few simple tips as given below by www.reshade.com excellent online photographic store.

1.Have the Right Exposure.

In order to get the unique looking fireworks photos, it has to captured at the exact moment when it occurs.

If your shutter speed of your camera is set wrongly, it may not snap at the precise time resulting in blurry or smoky images. It is important to set your camera to manual mode and the shutter speed to be set to snap in 1.6 seconds. Manually set your camera to snap in 1.6 seconds. Under these settings, you are certain to capture precise colorful fireworks go off which you wanted.

2. Use a good Tripod.

It is better to use a Tripod when taking Fireworks photos.

The reason is fireworks display not only display vibrant colors in the sky but also shows different arrays of lights moving fast at different directions. Hence, the handheld camera may not be able to hold without shaking to capture the fire work in its natural way. Using a tripod, the camera could be kept very still so that you could get the fabulous image of fire display.

3.Get Rid of the Flash.

Many believe use of flash during fireworks photography will assist them. The flash will not add any value to the fireworks photos. Hence, always keep the flash turned off during photographing fireworks displays. This means, its better to use the manual mode if you are using the digital SLR.

4.Use Low ISO setting

It is important to note that photographing fireworks is not similar to other photo sessions. Since most of the fire works displays are done during night, the vibrant colr displays instantaneously, the light sensitivity of your camera has significant importance. For example, the ISO setting of your camera has to be low.

What the experts say is you have to keep the ISO to be kept at 100 so that you could get fantastic photos depicting the fire display which you were shooting.

5. Less Dependence on Automatic Features

Since the fire works photos are all to do with lighting, When you set the camera to auto mode and use for fireworks shooting, it will not capture the lighting properly resulting blurry or overexposed images. Always set the camera to the manual mode when shooting fireworks photos, you are certain to get clearer and dramatic pictures.

So we hope by following the simple steps above, you are sure of getting amazing fireworks photography. Make use of the digital camera's many settings to take many fireworks photos that will give you excellent pictures which may have an interest to many people. In conclusion, fireworks photography will give any photographer the opportunity to explore his talent and creativity.

credit to: Alex Don

Tips For Buying Underwater Digital Camera

Often it is not possible to capture the beauty of underwater life with normal camera, but thanks to underwater digital camera, now you can explore the marine life. An underwater camera is a special designed digital camera used for still and video photography to capture the amazing flora and fauna of marine life.

You can capture the still images of sea life or can shoot while scuba diving. Safely protected with waterproof casing, these digital cameras are designed to be fully submerged underwater and withstand any surrounding pressure. The smaller models of underwater cameras are normally ideal for up to two hundred feet to four hundred feet while the bigger digital cameras are made for deeper water regions.

As compared to film-based underwater cameras, the underwater digital cameras are much better since they don`t run out of film. Yon can also delete any bad shots or change to a lower resolution picture mode in low-light conditions. No more fuzzy backgrounds and edges as seen in film underwater cameras, with their wide-angle photography, underwater digital cameras delivers sharper images.

Available in all sizes, shapes and film format, many underwater digital cameras also come with viewfinder feature which helps in picture adjustment for photography. With some nice prints, the underground digital camera produces better images which are really helpful for amateur photographers.

However the underwater digital camera is not only meant for deep-sea divers. Many underwater digital cameras available today can also be used to take quality pictures on dry land in harsh climatic conditions like snowfall and severe rains. Adorned with multi-flash function, color correction filter and macro lens, the underwater digital camera offers superb image quality. Just like normal digital camera, this underwater digital camera also comes with 15MB of sufficient memory along with the storage, editing and manipulation software.

If you wonder which model of underwater digital camera to choose, what features to consider, then here is a briefly discussed guide on the features of some prominent underwater digital camera models.

Panasonic SDR-SW20:

This compact model is for those who want an easy-to-use and lightweight underwater digital camera. With 10x optical zoom and MPEG-2 format up to 10 Mbps, this is one of the best digital cameras available for video recording. However, with only 0.3MP 640x480 still imaging capability, the still imaging options are basically non-existent in this new model.

Pentax Optio W30:

One of the pioneers in underwater digital camera market, the current Optio W30 comes with 7MP with ISO1600 and 3x optical zoom image recording feature. Supported by both SD and SDHC, Videos in this underwater digital camera is of 640x480 in MOV QuickTime MJPEG format.

Sanyo Xacti VPC-E1:

This is the one of the best designed underwater digital cameras for up to 5feet depth of water. With 4GB card, and MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 at 640x480 powers, the Xacti E1 allows shooting with an approximate record time of over 5 hours. For still images, this digital camera offers a solid 5x optical zoom with a 6MP CCD at up to ISO1600 power. One special key feature of this underwater digital camera is the flip out view screen which saves you from the risk of bumping in with underwater objects while swimming around.

Olympus SW series:

At 10 Megapixels, ISO1600, and a 3.6x optical zoom feature, Olympus may also be one of the most well rounded underwater digital cameras. With an underwater depth up to 6.6 feet, this is the deepest water digital camera on the list.

Intova IC-700 7.0MP digital camera with underwater housing:

Available in an affordable price of around $300, this underwater digital camera features 7 megapixels, macro mode and an in-built flash that can reach up to five feet underwater.

credit for: Roberto Sedycias