Apple camera support catches partway up to Adobe

With Apple's Mac OS X 10.5.2 update on Monday, Leopard now can handle the unprocessed "raw" images produced by several new higher-end digital cameras.

Among high-profile newer cameras that Leopard now supports are Canon's top-end EOS-1Ds Mark III and its top-end compact camera, the PowerShot G9. Nikon's new SLRs, the D3 and D300, also are on the list, as is Sony's Alpha A700.

Raw images provide more flexibility and detail than JPEGs, but to use them, people must convert the unprocessed camera data. Apple's Mac OS X handles this conversion on its own. Software such as Apple's iPhoto or Aperture must wait for the update to be released before images from those cameras can be handled without other software, but one operating system update handles those applications and others that use the raw tools.

In contrast, image-editing leader Adobe Systems writes its own raw conversion software, available in Photoshop, Photoshop Lightroom, and its Digital Negative (DNG) converter utility.

Adobe, whose bread and butter is software of this sort, beat Apple to the punch with the raw support. Adobe added support for the Canon 1Ds Mark III, Canon G9, Nikon D3, and Nikon D300 in November and the Sony A700 in September; it also already supports the Olympus E-3 and Panasonic's DMC-L10, neither supported in Mac OS X.

Apple's lagging raw support has rankled some users, driving some to drop Aperture in favor of Lightroom. "I am seriously considering switching for one reason: the length of time for Apple to enable Aperture to support new cameras. It took months for support of the Nikon D200, and now the same with the D300. And yes, Lightroom already supports both cameras. This serious flaw is of great concern considering how solid the program is otherwise," wrote one commenter in the Apple Aperture forum.

In the discussion, Joe Schorr, Apple's senior product line manager for photo applications, offered assurances that Apple knows about the issue. "We at Apple are acutely aware of the pressing need to get support for the newest round of cameras into your hands as soon as possible. This is a top priority," he said. "We fully intend to give our customers what they need in this regard."

Microsoft has added raw support to Vista, and with a download users can retrofit Windows XP, too. Microsoft, though, relies on the camera makers to supply a conversion plug-in.

Also supported in Apple's update are Hasselblad's CF-22 and CF-39 and the Leaf Aptus 75s, Apple said.

Tom Hogarty, the Adobe executive in charge of Lightroom, said the Mac OS X 10.5.2 update also fixes a bug he reported in November. That problem could crash Mac OS X's Finder file management software when viewing image files accompanied by Lightroom editing data stored in XMP files. That issue now is "confirmed as fixed," Hogarty said.

Cameras with built-in geotagging on horizon

Geotagging, in which digital photos are labeled with the location where they were taken, is mostly unfamiliar to photographers today. But new developments are likely going to put the technology on the map.

In interviews at the Photo Marketing Association trade show in Las Vegas recently, several camera executives expressed an interest in geotagging and some companies were demonstrating technology. It's clear that mainstream geotagging is a matter of when, not if.

The strongest evidence I encountered is Air Semiconductor, a start-up building a chip designed to let cameras process GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite signals so latitude and longitude data can be attached to digital photos. It remains to be seen how well this works, but this idea is the holy grail of geotagging--no extra hardware or software is required.

Samples of Air Semiconductor's first chip, the Airwave-1, are due to start shipping this summer, with production versions going on sale at the end of this year or early next, said Chief Executive Stephen Graham.

"I think PMA next year is going to be when a number of companies unveil cameras with geotagging built in," said Graham, who flew in from the company's Swindon, U.K., headquarters to meet with camera companies at the photo show.

One can expect Graham to be bullish on his market, but there's independent evidence, too. General Imaging, the licensee of General Electric's new camera product line, plans to begin selling a camera this fall that takes a significant step, if not the full plunge, toward GPS integration. And market analysis firm IMS Research expects about 40 million GPS-enabled digital cameras to ship in 2011, more than a fifth of the total.

"Camera manufacturers need to differentiate in an increasingly competitive market," IMS Research analyst Matia Grossi said in a November report.

Why geotag?
Geotagging offers a new twist on digital photography, but it's got more promise than practicality today.

By adding location data into pictures, photographers will be able to search through photo archives on their computers based on where they took their pictures, not just when.

And geotags provide an easy way to figure out where a particular photo was taken, which could be useful when trying to identify something like a cathedral long after your memory of your trip to Europe two summers ago has receded into a blur. Today, software such as Apple's Mac OS X and Adobe Systems' Photoshop Lightroom can show a map when the user wants to see a photo's location.

Geotagging will be built into cameras, said Steve Haber, senior vice president of Sony Electronics' digital imaging and audio division. "It has to be," he said. "We keep hearing, 'My PC is this black hole for my photos'...People (need) as much metadata on their pictures as possible--date, location, event--which allows for easier search and for eliminating the black hole."

"There's no doubt we'll see cameras with built-in GPS within the next two years, possibly sooner," said Chuck Westfall, technical adviser for the professional products marketing division at Canon, the world's largest camera maker. "The desirability of that feature is quite clear."

The technology that's appearing extends well beyond the home PC. Photographers can share and view geotagged photos at Web sites such as Google's Picasa and Yahoo's Flickr.

Why not geotag?
Today, though, geotagging involves work beyond just taking the photos. A geotagger typically carries a separate GPS navigation device, transferring its location data to a computer along with the camera's photos and using special-purpose software to marry the information.

The process takes a lot of time, USB cables, and forethought.

Why not just build a GPS receiver into the camera? Mainly because new hardware makes cameras bulkier and more expensive, and GPS receivers draw significant battery power.

"At this time we feel there are too many glitchy things--dropouts of communication with the satellites, power consumption," said Richard Pelkowski, digital SLR (single-lens reflex) product manager for Olympus America. "We just have to overcome some limitations."

Nikon and Canon have taken baby steps toward tighter integration. High-end Nikon SLRs such as the D300 and D3 have a port that lets a GPS unit be attached directly, communicating with the camera so the location information can be recorded. A wireless transmitter can augment Canon's higher-end SLRs, including the 40D and 1D Mark III, to provide a GPS port, too.

General Electric's 10-megapixel E1050, which licensee General Imaging discussed at PMA, is a bigger step.

The company's current plans are to sell two versions of the E1050, a $249 model in May and another with a built-in GPS receiver by about September that's expected to cost about $50 to $75 more, a GE representative said.

However, the E1050 can't actually geotag by itself. When a person takes a picture, the receiver briefly powers up and records a brief signal from the GPS satellites. Later, software on a computer processes the data, in part based on GPS satellite data retrieved from a server over the Internet, and tags the photos.

That process is the very one used by Geotate, an NXP Software spinoff that showed off its geotagging technology at PMA. At the show, Geotate product manager Paul Gough specifically pointed me toward the GE cameras, saying, "We'll see our technology--we're hoping before the end of this year." GE, though, declined to confirm the partnership and said it's conceivable GE might eventually use a different supplier's technology.

Air apparent
Air Semiconductor has its own way of working around GPS limitations.

First, the Airwave-1 chip is designed to consume very little power most of the time. As with regular GPS receivers, it takes awhile to find itself--the unpleasant half-minute minimum wait called time to first fix. But then, it goes into a low-power mode, even when the camera is off, that keeps track of its position with a very rough accuracy of about 100 meters, Graham said.

Then, when a person takes a picture, the chip goes into a higher-power mode for substantially less than a second to capture more precise data. The rough location data already present essentially gives the chip a running start on figuring out its location, sidestepping the time-to-first-fix wait, Graham said.

"The power consumption we're taking is completely negligible compared to the power consumption of the (camera) system," he said. The chip consumes 1 milliamp of current when in its low-power mode, compared with about 30 to 100 milliamps for handheld GPS chips and 400 to 500 milliamps for a camera overall.

Graham wouldn't divulge the Airwave-1's power consumption during peak activity, but said it would consume less than one-tenth--and probably less than 100th--of the camera's battery capacity even with heavy use.

The chip isn't designed to work in weak-signal areas such as indoors, a task that consumes a lot of power. Instead, when the satellite signal is lost, the chip tells the camera the last known position.

Graham was previously marketing manager for Renesas' radio-frequency products group, and the other Air Semiconductor co-founder, Chief Technology Officer David Tester, was GPS group leader for Conexant. The 12-employee start-up uses Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to build its chips.

How To Choose a Compact Digital Camera

By : Michael Contaro

Compact digital cameras are such a craze today that almost every household has one.
The popularity of digital cameras has in fact overshadowed to near extinction the
use of cameras with films. But what is it about digital cameras that make even
the professional users go gaga over it?

Digital cameras may cost more than the ordinary camera but it is cost effective in the long
term. Unlike ordinary cameras, digital cameras operate without expensive films. The photos
can be stored in the user's computer, or he can save it in a disc or have it printed in photo paper. It is said to be a good investment not only because it does capture memories, but also it allows the user to save on film expenses.

The mad rush for compact digital cameras has begun and even those who could not afford to
buy one are saving for that precious digital camera. To make it a good investment, buyers of digital cameras should make sure they know what they are buying and that they are buying the digital camera that best fits their requirements.

Neophyte digital camera users believe that the higher the pixel of the camera, the better for them. The truth is, a digital camera's pixel is only as good as the user's requirements. It means choose a digital camera pixel depending on your needs and not just for the sake of buying a digital camera with high pixel.

Before considering the type of digital camera you need, it is practical to take note of your budget or allowance allotted for buying the camera. Digital camera makers come up with new models every six months that digital cameras that are highly priced before now can be more affordable for you later on.

Choosing a digital camera brand really depends on the preference of the user. There are brands that are highly priced because they are popular and the manufacturers have spent millions for advertisements. Good reviews will also depend on the preferences of the camera reviewers so better stick to the basic requirements of a good camera. Sometimes, buyers opt for well-known brands that have been in the camera business for a long time to make sure they are buying quality digital cameras.

Prospective buyers of digital cameras should be patient in reading the guide or manual because unlike the ordinary camera, digital cameras are a bit complicated to use the first time. It gets easier though once you get the hang of it.

When choosing which digital camera, take note of the optical zoom and not the digital zoom because the former does the real zooming. As to the matter of mega pixels, the higher the pixels, the more expensive it gets. However, if you just need to print your photos in small sizes, you do not need the higher mega pixels. When using digital cameras with the intention of printing your photos, it is ideal to choose the highest resolution but this will also mean each shot will require more memory storage. You also have to know that digital cameras come with software that will allow users to adjust the sizes of the photos. However, it is always best to change a higher resolution shot to lower resolution than the
reverse because it has a tendency to become pixelized and the image will become blurred.

Whatever model of digital camera you choose, make sure it is appropriate for your requirements. If you are an amateur, start with a digital camera that has the basic requirements and a lower mega pixel so it will be affordable for you.

Introduce Your Child to Photography

By : ian Williamson

Give a child a camera and you have given them a time machine which will create wonders and may, at some time in the future, be considered family treasures. Expect that, at first, film will just be used quickly in order to see the pictures, but be patient, this will soon be over and selectivity will begin to be shown.

You will undoubtedly be treated to some early shots of grandma as a headless wonder, but these will also be accompanied by some unexpected jewels. As the young photographer learns more about his or her new hobby and why grandma's head was not in the picture, skills will begin to develop and you will start to see a legend of the world through the eyes of a six year old, or whatever age your young photographer is, begin to emerge.

Expect to see more pictures of the family pet than you will see of any other member of the family. Hey, don't let it get to you! The kid really doesn't love the family dog more than he or she loves you, I'm sure of it.

Buy the young photographer an album and fill it with these pictures. Don't forget to put the date on the back. You might also want to keep a written journal of your own to include with these picture when special occasions are observed and are photographically recorded for all posterity.

You may want to consider buying or borrowing from the library a book or books on photography for children and share it or them with the young photographer. If the book or books is/are written for someone older, you can simplify it.

Helping your child to set up a scene with toys can make for good shots also. Let him or her see how toy trucks and cars can be set up and photographed in such a way that they look like their full sized counterparts.

Is there a younger sibling in the family? Read up on taking pictures of babies and small children, then share the tips that you have learned with your young photographer. Such things as putting a piece of scotch tape on a little one's finger for example can lead to some fantastic facial expressions, as he or she tries to figure out what has happened and how to get rid of that thing. Armed with a camera, encouragement and a little bit of knowledge, your young photographer may be the one to get THAT picture, making it doubly a family treasure.

Getting a child interested in photography, is giving them a gift that may well last them a lifetime.

Photo Digital Printing: Beautiful Prints from your Digital Camera

By : Timothy Rea

Whether you like to be served, or you are a do-it-yourself, you can get beautiful, high-quality prints from your digital camera.

There are two ways you can print your digital photos and get photographic quality prints for your scrap books or your wallet.

Online or Retail Store Prints - After you take your digital photos, go online to a site like Shutterfly, Snapfish, KodakGallery (previously Ofoto), Photoworks, or VistaPrint among many other choices.

On these sites you can upload your photos into your own private gallery. From there you can order prints in all sizes and have them shipped to your home with a minimal shipping fee. You will have to register on the site, and upload your pictures from your camera to your computer so that you have them available to upload to the site.

Major retailers like Wal-Mart, Walgreens, CVS, and other regional or national stores with an online store, will also allow you to upload your pictures and order prints to be mailed for to be picked up.

Additionally, you can take your memory card out of your camera and take it to your local pharmacy or to a discount store and look for the photo print customer service desk. Here you will hand your memory card to a customer service person to have your prints made. Some of these stores also have kiosks where you can order your prints and download pictures for printing using step-by-step instructions on the kiosk touch screen.

Digital Photo Printers for the Home - The other option you have to print your digital pictures is to get your own photo quality printer. Companies like Dell, HP, Epson, Samsung, Sony and others make photo lab quality printers to instantly print your digital photos.

Some printers allow you to print your photos by docking your camera directly on the printing station and downloading your photos there.

Others require you to upload your pictures to your computer and then send them to your photo quality printer to get prints of your digital photos. If you are in the market for one of these digital photo printers, you will want to check the resolution and print quality and figure in the cost of photo quality paper, and the color printer cartridges with which you will print your digital photographs.

For some people, this cost outweighs the advantage of getting instant pictures. It really depends on how much you plan to use your digital camera and how often you want prints of the pictures you take.

Whether you choose to let someone else print your digital pictures and send them to you, or go to a local store and upload your digital pictures to get prints, or buy your own printer and go the self-service route, you are bound to get beautiful, high-resolution pictures with little or no muss and fuss!

Digital Picture Frame Choices Can Make The Shot

By : Tom Sample

In this high-tech age of computers and digital images, many people forget the value of a beautifully framed print. Pictures locked on a camera might be safe, but it's hard to show off the latest baby picture or that family vacation when prints aren't available. This is where a digital picture frame can come into play.

Choosing to make prints of digital shots can result in one of two things. The first option, is a substandard print that is broken up and ugly to behold. The second is a crisp, clear picture that can rival anything printed out from a 35 mm camera. The difference will be in the camera itself and in the printing method.

Good digital pictures are taken on cameras with higher resolutions. This is measured typically in mega pixels. The pixels basically equate to the dots per inch of the digital image. The greater the number, the better the quality of the finished picture in most cases. Remember though, even with a high mega pixel camera, the quality can be dictated by settings. In general, for good frame quality digital prints, the way to go is the highest quality settings possible.

When shooting digital pictures with framing in mind there are some things to consider. Digital cameras can and often do provide superior images over 35 mm prints, but the cameras themselves have some downfalls. Even expensive cameras can have a long reset time, which means fast action shots can be very difficult to capture. Also, small children will often be very difficult to photograph because they tend to move out of the frame before the camera clicks.

The best ways to overcome the problems are to remember digital technology allows the shooting of a lot of pictures. There's no fear of wasting money on film or prints that aren't wanted. With this removed, it kind of gives the shooter the psychological freedom to shoot like mad and even try to "anticipate" shots.

Anticipating shots is an art that may or may not pay off with a digital picture that's worth framing, but when it does, it does so in a big way. When taking pictures, this practice involves aiming and shooting in an area where you expect the action to move. Continue clicking away. This works for sports pictures and even for a crawling baby. Basically frame the area where you expect the people or action to move and keep clicking.

Once "the shot" has been obtained, a simple print will suffice for showing others what you'd like to share, but a framed print can make a bigger statement. Digital framing is a little easier to handle, too, since it's often easy to manipulate the image on computer to see what it would look like in different types of frames. Some pictures, for example, look great in gallery type frames, complete with matting, and other simply pop out in very simplistic colored frames. There are many camera programs that come with framing options to help users choose the right look for their digital images.

Remember a digital camera is a great investment for getting the right shot, but if pictures haven't been printed, few will see them.

The Secret to Buying a Digital Camera

By : Dave Poon

A digital camera comes so handy nowadays. Compared to using a traditional camera that uses film, taking with you a digital camera on your nature trips, tours, special occasions and formal gatherings is more convenient and fashionable too as most digital cameras come in sleek and smart modern designs. There are also lighter and easy to use compared to your old-fashioned camera.

If you do not have one yet, buying a digital camera instead of a conventional one would be a better option. Aside from the abovementioned advantages, buying a digital camera would provide you the following benefits:

1. You can take as many photos as you want as digital cameras have large storing capacity. 2. You don't have to worry about buying film. 3. You can preview photos taken (provided there's a preview LCD), delete unwanted pictures and take another one till you get the desired shot. 4. You have many options as to the resolution, quality and size of the photos. 5. You can connect it to your computer and easily transfer data stored in it. 6. You can edit the photos in the computer before printing. 7. You can select the photos you want o print out as well. 8. You can upgrade it so you can take and save more pictures in it. 9. You can use it to record sound and video as well. 10. You may directly connect it to a printer and print out photos without the need to transfer images to your pc.

After deciding to buy a digital camera, the next thing that might be bothering you now is how to buy the right digital camera. Buying a digital camera needs some careful analysis, too. Especially if you are not too familiar with the technical aspects of a digital camera, you would have to research and carefully understand what those pieces of information that you have gathered mean. Buying a digital camera starts with actually knowing what you really want. It is only upon knowing enough that you can make a better decision of which digital camera to buy.

There are several factors you need to consider in buying a digital camera. First and foremost is the resolution of the photos (the number of pixels in a photo); next is the memory. The resolution will determine the quality of the images so if you want high-quality photos buy only high resolution digital cameras. The memory on the other hand (expressed in MB) determines how many high-resolution or low-resolution images can be stored in your camera.

Taking into account the purpose for which you are buying digital camera would help you decide on thing more clearly. If you simply want a camera you can bring along anywhere anytime to capture wonderful moments and scenic views without the intention to display those photos, you can start with a digital camera with fewer features. As you master the art of photography, you can buy a more advanced kind of digital camera.

Of course, your budget is also very important. You cannot buy something that is way beyond your means. You may choose a digital camera with fewer features however it can be upgraded in the future. This will help you save money for the mean time without sacrificing the quality of the product.

Author Resource:- Dave Poon is an accomplished writer who specializes in the latest in consumer electronics. For more information regarding buying a digital camera,
please drop by at http://consumer.answerwisely.com

How to Buy the Right Digital Camera

By : Heather Colman

Finding the right digital camera can be a hard decision for you to make because there are so many different types, brands, styles, and sizes available on the market today. This article is going to show you the specific things you should consider when purchasing a digital camera.

The first thing that must be done is to budget the amount of money you are willing to spend on a camera and stick to it. Doing so will allow you to shoot directly for the cameras that are in that price range or lower. A digital camera can come with so many different, attractive features that it is easy to be lured into something you simply cannot afford.

Another key aspect in choosing the right camera for you is to consider how you intend to use it. This is important because a digital camera can snap pictures at different speeds. If you simply intend to take pictures of your family and friends, this may not have much bearing for you. However, if you intend to take photographs of moving objects, you will need a camera that will snap a picture at a higher speed.

Next, consider the memory of the digital camera and how often you will use it. These two combined should not be taken lightly. If you are simply going to use the camera every now and again, a smaller digital camera will be suitable. However, if you will use it often and maybe even professionally, you will need a camera that can carry a large number of photographs at one time.

Consider your experience in using cameras. If you are a beginning photographer choose a camera that is uncomplicated and easy to use. You will also need to consider the lenses. Are they appropriate for both close up and distance shots or will you need a separate lens for either one? Choosing to purchase the separate lens is of course a personal decision, based upon how you intend to use the camera.

While considering these aspects, use the power of the internet and conduct online research. This will allow you to check out different brands and styles, making your decision a little easier. However, it is recommended that you actually visit the store and actually hold and inspect the digital camera. This will ensure that you are getting the right camera for your needs.

Finally, choose one that you are comfortable with and is affordable. It is not a wise decision to place yourself in debt just because the camera offers all of these cool features. Choose one that you are happy with and will work well for your needs.

Author Resource:- Copyright © 2006, Heather Colman. Find more digital camera resources at digital-camera-journal.info.

My First Digital Camera

By : Hans Hasselfors

About a week before my son was born, I bought a digital camera. I wanted to create a baby book for him that would include not only his first year milestones, but also photos to capture his physical growth over his first year of life. I wasn't sure which camera would be best so I went to Best Buy and talked to a sales representative. He helped me sort through the features and select a digital camera that would be best for my project.

If you're a technology freak, you've probably owned a digital camera for years. But for someone like me, making the switch from traditional photographs to a digital format involved a leap of faith. It's not that I don't appreciate technology, I just wondered how good the pictures would be from a digital camera when compared to my trusty 35mm. So I bought the camera, brought it home, and began snapping pictures.

One feature about a digital camera that I love is the ability to review the pictures before printing and saving them. You can take a series of photos and then choose the best one without worrying about wasting film. But the most important feature, the one I was most worried about, was the quality, and I have to say that I was very impressed with my camera's ability to turn out even better pictures than the ones taken with my 35mm.

Digital cameras have come a long way over the last few years, and now you can buy one with so many features that, if you're an amateur photographer like me, you'd never even use. That's why it's important to talk to a salesperson when you're buying a digital camera for the first time, so that you can decide what features you need and which features you can surely live without. Since I would be mainly taking pictures of my family, I didn't need a digital camera with a tremendous zoom feature. But because I would be taking photographs most every day for a year, I did need a digital camera with a good battery. These were just a couple of the features I talked about with the salesperson at Best Buy and he was able to direct me away from the high-end professional cameras to the more reasonable ones without all the special features. I ended up spending extra money to get a digital camera with a good battery, but it was worth it because I hardly ever ran out of juice during an important event.

Low Cost Digital Photo Printing

By : Marc Lindsay

If you've gone out and bought yourself a mini home lab with printing, ink, and photo paper then you won't be find a low cost digital printing. A home printing lab is very costly to setup and maintain.

What you should be doing is some research on the internet to find the best place to print photos online. Printing digital photos online is not as hard as you think. Due to high competition in this industry you'll find places that compete with each other. Some places go as low as $0.09 a print! That's almost the same cost as printing a black and white photo from home.

Most of the top online photo printing websites come with the facility to upload and edit your photos so you can do it from anywhere. Your home, office, friend's house, café and where you can find an internet connection. You can also have them delivered to your door step with a very small fee. If you look around I'm sure some places will offer free shipping if you spend above their limit.

Some photo facilities will allow you to:
• Change the contrast and brightness
• Manipulate colour saturation
• Crop and resize images
• Red eye reduction
• Lens filters like Polarizers, Haze & Black & White

When selecting an online digital photo printing website you should do some research. Try searching the internet for the company name and see if you can find any reviews or articles about them. If you can than it must mean that they have a good reputation based on the articles. You want to also find out if they can also print on T-Shirts, mugs, calendars. This will help you in the future if you want to print of a mug as a gift for someone.

After you've found a couple of sites to compare you'll want to do further research on their costs, bonuses , and bulk printing. You'll find that each website will generate different print results and some of the really cheap places may charge you half the price but half the price does not make up for quality. So if you manage to find a reputable website but you have to pay an extra 2 cents more pre print, you should consider doing so because getting it from a respectable place is worth it. Nothing can make up for a bad print.

Here's what you do before you print. Try printing around 10 photos and see how they turn out. If they are great and better than you expected, go for it. If not at least you know you won't be printing from there again.

Web Design Secrets For Professional Photographers: Five Keys to a Successful Website

By : Robert Provencher

Professional photographers are aware that if they are going to be in business, they are going to need a website. This is particularly true for photographers who focus on wedding photography and portraiture - potential clients want to see what you can do before they give you a call. Even if they do happen to call before viewing your work, they may ask for the address of your website. If you don't have one, rightfully or unrightfully, you may be considered an amateur - and perception is just as valid as reality.

Many companies, like Yahoo! and GoDaddy.com and many others will provide software for you to create your own pages if your sign up for their hosting services. Some photographers may find it easier to let a professional web designer put their site together for them. Or better yet, learn the basics of web design and create your own. That way you get to add samples or monthly specials whenever you want. Either way, there are five key elements that every site should have. Most web designers focus only on the design element of web creation and fail to see the sales power and marketing muscle that can be yours when used effectively. Here are five key ideas:


1- You must establish credibility - freely present your credentials and a nice portfolio. Avoid unprofessional graphics at all costs, misspellings, and grammatical errors. The most important message you can telegraph to your prospect is your work. In it holds your biggest benefit that you bring to your prospect. They must be able to see your best work, and as many samples as possible.

2- User-friendliness - make it easy for your site visitors to navigate - they shouldn't have to go backward to go forward. Or wait for slow loading flash files or work their way through cluttered layouts. And, please avoid the number one mistake that 90% of the photographers do over and over. What is it? Black background with light or white text. I know, I know, you want to look cccooooolll and artsy. But the fact is, and many studies have proven this to be true, that black text on white is the most easily read. Think about it. We read newspapers, magazines, books etc etc etc....alll black text with white backgrounds. Why do you want to go against the current? Ego. That's why. Don't let your ego steer you. Let common sense be your guide.


3- Include a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section. You'll be the one to write and answer the questions, anticipating your customer's needs for information. This is your chance to add facts that don't fit neatly onto your other pages. Of course you can include portrait planning tips, location ideas that work best for specific portrait ideas or at certain areas in your area. Include as much information as you can possibly come up with to pre-emptivelly answer the questions your prospect has in their heads. This is a great opportunity to help your prospect in a consultive way. You will be perceived as professional and someone whom they will want to do business with.

4- Promote your site. By this I mean managing traffic that arrives to your site through search engines and other online methods or any traffic that is generated by other media sources outside of the web, such as your local newspaper, yellow pages, business cards etc. You can easily and readily find out how many searches are done using specific search terms to do with your city or town. Have your site optimized so it ranks high enough in the search engines and you will get pre-qualified and targeted leads visiting your site. You can also buy qualified leads from google.com or overture.com. Your websites' job is to effectively sell these leads into clients. Overture and sites such as wordtracker .com have programs you can use to help you research search terms.

5- Sell. That's right, sell. Too many portrait studio owners are afraid of selling. They seem to think it is nasty and negative thing. Fact is selling is simply offering a fair and mutually beneficial service. The more you tell you better you sell. You mustn't be afraid to extol the virtues of your service by making offers, pointing out the benefits and backing up those benefits with the features. The truth is people are afraid of salespeople who don't reveal enough information. That's why your website is the perfect opportunity to sell, and have the site do a lot of the selling for you by using an informative and consultive approach.


A website should be a reflection of what your business is. You can't add anything to your web site message that conflicts with the reality that already exists. If you offer great service and products and have a great reputation within your community, your website will be an extension of that message.

A website will not magically create anything for you. You must have something to offer. This is your message. It is what makes you and your business different from all others. Your website is merely a delivery method of your message. An extension of you and our studio.

If you have an innovative approach to your packaging and products, that is a part of your message and it will and should be used as part of your sales message. If you have a dirty, cluttered place and your website suggests otherwise, what kind of message will you give to clients when they do show up at your place of business after they've checked out your website?

Take a good look at what exactly your business message is. What is your typical client like? How do they usually buy from you? These are basic, yet essential questions that will reveal more information for you to use in your marketing arsenal.

Remember that your website is an ad, and advertising is selling. Selling is serving. And serving is informing. With that golden rule as a guide you can never create ads or offers that otherwise would hold anything other than the customers needs as top priority. And you will profit by building a trusting and repeat client base.

How To Take Great Photos With Your Camera

By : Marc Lindsay

The truth behind a great photo is not the camera. It's the person who's taking it, you! Great photos are also not as simple pointing and clicking. There's a lot of things that make a great photo and sometimes you do get lucky with a great shot. But most of the time you'll have to work at it.

On top of a great photo you might need to retouch the photo on the computer by enhancing the colours and contrast.

Here are a few tips that you should know before you go out and start shooting.

Polarizing Filter

This is very important for outdoor photography. A polarizing filter helps take away glare and unwanted reflections and can enhance the colour of your photo. Not all cameras come with polarizing filters and if your camera dosen't have one then here a neat trick. Grab any sunglass and position it in front of you lens while taking the photo. The sunglass will act as a polarizing filter.

Tones

If your shooting outdoors you may want to change your white balance from to cloudy. This will put a mild filtering when you take a photo. It increase the red and yellow saturation on your camera and will make the photo come out warmer.

High Resolution

When taking photos that you want to keep and edit its better to set your camera to high resolution. Its easier to edit the image size and resolution from a high resolution image than to enlarge a low resolution image. Having a high resolution image also helps when printing, it'll come out sharper.

Memory

Depending on how many photos you want to take you may need to bring with you a few memory cards. You'll want to buy additional memory when you buy your new camera. If you have a 3 megapixel digital camera you'll need a 512 megabyte memory card and if you own a 4 or 6 megapixel camera you should try a 1 gigabyte card. The higher resolution cameras will take a chunk of memory so grab a few memory cards if you're going to take lots of photos.

Macro

If you own a digital camera there should be a macro mode. Usually you have about 3 feet before your camera looses its focus but if you hit the macro mode you'll be able to get as close as 1 feet. However if you have a digital SLR camera you can actually buy a macro lens to attach to it. This way you can get as close as your lens lets you. If you don't have a digital SLR you can still buy a mount on macro lens for your camera. Ask your local camera house for more information.

If you want to get better at photography practice more and take more photos. You'll eventually understand your camera better and you'll be able to learn more techniques along the way. Try buying books and researching for more tips on the internet you'll be surprise how much you can learn online.

Photography as a Fun and Interesting Hobby

By : James Hunt

Photography is a fun hobby that interests many different people across a broad range of ages. Enthusiasts of all types have found a creative recreational outlet in the hobby of photography and with the advances in technology that have occurred in recent years (especially with the advent and ubiquitous adoption of digital imaging technologies such as digital cameras, scanners, digital image editing software and photo printers).

There was a time when an individual who was interested in getting into the hobby of photography had quite an initial investment to make. To get a serious start in the craft, one would need to purchase an SLR (single lens reflex) camera ($400-$1000+), darkroom equipment ($300+) and very expensive exhaustible supplies (35mm film, developing chemicals, photo paper, etc).

With digital photography, the hobbyist has a much lower cost to pay to get into the hobby in a serious way. Once the initial purchase of a quality digital camera and professional imaging software (such as Adobe Photoshop) are made there is little to no expense required to participate. Aside from the occasional prints, there are few other necessary hidden costs to the hobby when approached from the digital side of things.

If you are interested in getting into the hobby, you should check out some of the photography communities on the web.. There are literally thousands of enthusiast's sites out there and hundreds of free tools to make the most out of the digital photography technology. From online image repositories with the ability to meta-organize digital photos like Flickr to web gallery software like Coppermine to free image editing tools like the Gimp, there are many tools and resources out there for the taking online. These free tools, together with a very active and robust online digital photography community make for an excellent hobby that can provide hours of enjoyment to those who are willing to put in the time and effort.

Printing Digital Photos Online

By : Marc Lindsay

Most people who buy a digital camera would often go out later to buy a photo printer. It's perfectly fine to do this however what most people don't know is that it's cheaper in the long run to print your photos online. Let's go through why this is the case.

Digital Photo Printing At Home

Let's say you bought a camera for $400 and you then decided to print your own photos at home. You buy an average photo printing for around $200. It'll cost you around $40 (almost double for a new cartridge) to change your colour ink cartridge and that's if you recycle them. However using recycled ink cartridges can cause your printing to break down. On top of that you'll also have to buy photo paper for around $50 for a pack.

If this is still ok with your budget and maintenance cost, you'll be surprise to see the quality of the prints when they come out. If you have an average printer you won't be pleased with the quality. And if you're after quality you'll have to get a better printing which could set you back around $300 to $500 depending on the model. You'll still have to pay for ink and paper which could cost more depending on the model.

Now if you can accept all the disadvantages of printing at home you'll be even more disappointed to know that if you wanted to print a large size photo, you're printing might not be able to do so.

Digital Photo Printing Online

Printing your photos online is an alternative solution for people who don't want the hassles and cost involved with having your own home printing lab. Online printing websites all come with facilities for you to upload and enhance your photos if you haven't already done so.

Some online photos shops even allow you to print your photos on T-Shirts, mugs, calendars and much more.

And one of the major benefits of online printing is that you can save money when you print in bulk and you can also get them delivered right to your door step!

If you haven't already tried online printing I do suggest you give it a go and see how you like it. It's very fast, cheap and saves time because you can get them printed while at work or in a café.

Digital Photography: The Top Five Reasons Why

By : Robert Provencher

One thing I discovered during my experience with digital photography after 20 years of shooting film, and I teach this point in all the many seminars that I've put on to hundreds of other full-time pros, is that digital photography is very well suited for the portrait photographer. So why are we the last to jump on the band wagon? Many commercial shooters have known about and mastered the use of digital in their business's for far longer than the portrait photographer.

My guess is that we're afraid. Afraid of the learning curve and afraid that the quality just isn't there unless we spend an ungodly amount of our hard earned cash on some scary looking gigantic array of confusing and awkward, let alone "how am I going to learn how to use this stuff" equipment.

Truth is, you can easily get away with as little as a 3.5 megapixel camera. I know, I used my Canon D30 for the first eight months of my digital journey. That camera created more memories, more sales and more wall portraits that I ever thought imaginable.

Whoa, wait a minute you say, wall hangings? Can't be!! When I put on my seminars I routinely display many large wall samples for all to see, with some of the older samples I created with the 3.5 megapixel camera; and the reaction I get is usually disbelief.


Listen. The quality is there. I've proven it over and over and I know anyone can replicate the same results. Yes, even with a 3.5 megapixel camera.

You've just got be careful, that's all. We have a collection of images at our studio, even large wall hangings captured with our dinky little D30, and they are "jaw-dropping" stunning. I know other photographers who have had amazing results as well. I know that it works and file size is secondary.

There are many reasons, but I'll work with the main list. Here they are:

*Quality. The quality of images captured with a high quality lens, properly exposed and well posed is more than enough, even if you shoot JPEGS. Yes, JPEGS. Over 90% of the more than 30-40,000 exposures I put through my camera every year is shot in JPEG mode. Why? Why would anyone in their right mind shoot in such a "low quality" mode? The answer is simple: It works.

I like to compare JPEG's to shooting with portrait film. It is slightly softer (although not even noticeable to the human eye) and muted, ideal for skin tones, right? Besides, we slap on "softar" filters in front of these outrageously expensive lenses and degrade the image even more. Don't bother. Shoot with a good lens, in JPEG mode, expose properly, pose and create as usual, and it will all come together. Add any effects later.

Look at what else portrait photographers have been doing to their finished images besides purposely degrading the image with "softars". We retouch the surface of the print, sometimes extensively. We canvas mount. Add texture sprays.Oils. Linen laminates...on and on.

My point is simple. Portrait photographers do not need to create the very sharpest, highest resolution images available. If they have in the past, they've always degraded the image through these other means. It's kind of ironic don't you think? You can still shoot in RAW mode if you wish, but it isn't really needed.

If we needed the absolute highest quality image at capture we would have all been shooting with Kodachrome 64 or Velvia on a 4"x5 camera. But we don't. JPEGs work. I have many 30" prints, and even a 70" print, that was captured in JPEG. And they look amazing. Your can too.

*Control. People want their photos fast. We live in a drive-through world and minutes count. In our studio we create a slide presentation for our sessions and we show them to the clients within 20 minutes of every shoot. Clients love it. They get to see the results instantly. If you fight this you're fighting basic human nature. We want, want, want, and want to see it sooner than later. Sales go up, the client is already in the studio ready to see the images, and ready to spend. Their is ample evidence that when you show the images sooner, and you create large projected images, which is a cinch with digital, sales go up. Digital gives the portrait photographer more control over the sales process, and ultimately it means more profits.

*Retouching. Let's face it, people want to look good. What used to take hours and whole lot of aggravation with spray booths, smelly and dangerous lacquers, is now possible with absolute ease. Even when I decided to farm out all my retouching because I had had enough, it still took weeks or months, and huge retouching bills.

Not to mention the loss of control I had over the retouching aspects. It was up to the subjective interpretation of the retouching artist to enhance the images the way I wanted them retouched. Now, with a few basic skills, and all those years of retouching experience all transferred over to the new darkroom, my computer, I can easily retouch to any degree I like. In mere minutes. With absolute astounding results. This ultimately translates to satisfying a basic need that needs to satisfied in our clients, their vanity. They want to look good, and they want it fast.

*Innovation. I could go on for days when it comes to what new products, ideas, services, sales processes, packages, etc, etc...I have been able to create because of digital photography.

Suffice it to say for now that I am excited and alive again with passion about my photography and about the possibilities. When you apply the power of digital, and get a handle on it in your workflow, you can create new and exciting products like never before.

I've seen it and experience it every week in our busy little small-city studio. The proof ultimately boils down to net profits, doesn't it?

After all, we are in business first, and creative artists second, right? Right? Are you with me on this one? We are in business to make money and survive. We need new and exciting angles, ways to stay afloat, so we can pay our bills, keep the bankers happy and provide for our families. No one can predict will total accuracy how digital photography will ultimately evolve, but my betting dollar is with it all the way. I'm not taking any chances.

Anyone remember when colour film and paper was introduced as a mainstream commodity? I don't, I was just a wee lad, but I heard stories about the many studio owners closing their doors and packing it in because they didn't want to keep up with the demand and latest craze that colour film and colour paper had created. Dinosaurs. Every last one of them. Their loss, all because of a thick head and mis-guided egos. Don't be a dinosaur.

My biggest discovery: Who the true expert is!

Ultimately the true expert in our business is not ourselves, or our peers. The real expert is the client. They open up their hearts and wallets and fork over hard earned cash for the memories we create for them. Do they care if it is shot on a JPEG? In RAW mode? Do they care if we use the biggest, best, strongest, fastest computers and software?
Of course not. When you get into your clients head and listen to the conversation that goes on these things are totally irrelevant.

Far more important to her, and to us, is the fundamentals of good photography. In a whirlwind of technological advances nothing seems to ever stay the same. Truth is, the fundamentals of good photography will never change. That's where is all starts.
Master that and you have 99% of your digital photography challenges mastered.

What to do With Digital Pictures

By : Charles Kassotis

The person who thought up digital photo technology had a terrific idea. And the fact that digital cameras are now so affordable means that more people are choosing this option for their photo needs. But there are some major differences between film cameras and digital cameras when it comes to the end result.

One of the biggest advantages of film cameras was also one of the biggest disadvantages. When you completed shooting a roll of film, you took it to a lab (or mailed it off) and got photos in return. On the downside, you didn't usually get photos developed until you had an entire roll of film finished. Some people say that not having the photo is one of the biggest negatives of digital photography. There's a tendency to shoot the photos, download them to the computer and simply leave them there. But there are some options - some really incredible options!

Printing on your home printer has never been easier. And as the technology continues to advance, photo paper is becoming increasingly more affordable. There are even some printers out there designed to read directly from the camera and spit out photos on the spot.

You can also have digital photos printed from your local retailer or any number of online photo labs. Upload photos from your computer to their sites, or take your digital camera media in. The cost is very reasonable. What's more, you can choose the sizes you want, get multiple prints of only those that you want, and eliminate the bad shots without paying for printing.

Most computers have great photo software that allows you to correct problems before printing. You can eliminate red eyes, crop out unwanted backgrounds, and even sharpen the focus to some degree. You can also lighten or darken to make up for bad lighting at the time of the shot.

If you're into special effects, the sky's the limit. You can change from color to black and white, insert your subject into any scene, add text or change colors. What's more, every mistake you make while experimenting is easy to rectify, or you can simply trash that endeavor and start over.

Having digital photos on your computer can also be great when it's time for gift giving. There are software programs that allow you to create calendars using your own photos. You can make customized cards for any occasion. Imagine sending out birth announcements with the baby's first photo on the front of the card!

There are plenty of gift ideas from online. Most online photo labs offer options for every season. You simply upload a photo, then choose the gift you want with that image. Coffee cups, t-shirts, puzzles, posters, playing cards and more are available, personalized with your favorite picture.

It's interesting to see that more companies are offering options with digital photos. Even the US Postal Service has recently announced that you can order personalized stamps using a photo you upload from your computer.

There's no doubt that film photography is still preferred for certain situations, but digital photography has certainly taken the lead in many venues. Whether you're a professional or simply the designated family photographer, take a look at some of the great things you can do with those digital photos.

PicAnswers helps identify house plants, the rest of life's little mysteries

By Josh Lowensohn

A few months back my roommate's rare house plant was dying. In a last ditch effort to bring it back to life, he enlisted my help. We scoured various message boards and Q&A sites with little success to get help identifying the plant (he got it as a gift).

The plant ended up going to that big greenhouse in the sky. The experience made me realize there's a pretty basic need for sites, such as PicAnswers, which lets anyone upload a picture and ask a question about it. Interestingly, the amount of high profile Q&A services that don't let users do this is surprising. One of the few to allow it is the AOL-owned Yedda, while sites such as Yahoo Answers, Microsoft's QnA Live, and Amazon.com's Askville are limited to text.
Like Amazon's Mechanical Turk project, PicAnswers is driven by humans. People upload their photos, and other users chime in if they can answer the query. A lot of the questions posed on the site range from simple identification issues like "what the heck is this?" to advice about what to do about a problem posted in the picture.

Here are a couple of my favorites so far:
Toothpick or food skewer?
My chili is yellow
Is there any Chinese poison in this toy?

Despite its simplicity, PicAnswers is missing two very helpful components: a way to vote on other user's answers to help filter down the best responses, and a karma system that makes it worthwhile to answer other people's questions. As it stands, you're left to sort through the answers yourself and answer out of the goodness of your heart. I'm hoping the site's creators add these soon. In the meantime, it's definitely worth bookmarking for the next time you unearth something that needs photo identification.

Ask.com offers news page

By Elinor Mills

Ask.com has quietly launched a news page called "BigNews" that aggregates top news stories from a variety of sites ranging from The New York Times to small blogs.

The company, whose parent company InterActiveCorp is having troubles of its own over plans to split off its different brands, enters a crowded field with more established news aggregators like Yahoo, Microsoft, and even Google, as well as sites like Digg and Topix.

Ask.com says the news page stories are dynamically generated based on freshness, source authority, social media references, article content, and multimedia availability. You can use a source filter to search for stories based on geographic region and track stories via the site or RSS.

The top stories on the site Thursday afternoon were Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney dropping out of the race, the Shuttle Atlantis launch, U.S. Defense Secretary defending NATO's mission in Afghanistan, two studies concluding that biofuels are not so green, and a Utah couple and their dog rescued after being stranded for 12 days in the snow.

By contrast, Romney, Atlantis, and a story on a baby found alive amid the wreckage of a tornado in Tennessee led on Yahoo News, which was similar to news on the MSN and AOL portals. Google News led with Romney, mob raids in Italy and the U.S., and a standoff between police and a gunman in Los Angeles.

Ballmer: Yahoo brand will live

By Ina Fried

Microsoft says it can find $1 billion in cost cuts by combining Yahoo's business with its own Internet services operation, however CEO Steve Ballmer says the Yahoo name isn't one of the things on the chopping block.

"Yahoo, the brand, will live," Ballmer told BusinessWeek.

Even if the brand lives, though, it is unclear which of Yahoo's technologies Microsoft would adopt. A merged company would have to choose among two e-mail systems, to ad platforms and two instant messaging systems, to name just a few of the many overlaps.

Microsoft has thus far offered few details on what it might look to cut if its deal goes through, and Ballmer didn't offer much in the way of new details in the magazine interview.

Of course, the biggest hurdle at the moment is convincing Yahoo to take its offer, one which has declined in value since it was made last week.

Firefox Mobile could be invisible

By Jessica Dolcourt
A few days ago, two prototypes of Firefox Mobile, the latest bun in Mozilla's oven, made it onto the Mozilla wiki. Today Firefox Mobile product manager Doug Turner released two more designs.

Turner's team didn't scrap the toolbar entirely, but based on user feedback, they did make it much less intrusive. Why look at the buttons when users really want the Web, they reasoned. Letting the toolbars dissolve away when they're at rest is one method for making the most of the screen. Tapping a translucent icon (shown solid here) could bring the command buttons back.