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Photography – Do Shutterbugs Really Bite?
Photography happens to be one of the hobbies that anyone can do, even my five year old granddaughter takes great pictures! Nearly everyone owns a camera these days but only a fraction of the populations claims it as a hobby. Most cameras are simply used to capture memories of things important to us, which is an important use.
So how does one turn using a camera into a hobby? Usually it starts by having a passion for a certain category of photos. It might be that you are drawn to landscapes, animals, nature, people, kids, weddings or any of a few dozen other categories.
To enjoy this hobby, you need to learn some of the basic skills and techniques of taking pictures. There are training courses available or become a self-taught expert through the many books and online help sites.
While a high quality camera is critical if your intent is to sell your photos, to just get started in your hobby something less will do. If you get serious about your hobby you will likely go for the higher quality at some point. So, do you spend the money now or later?
Tips On Improving Your Photography Skills:Most beginning photographers check out the photo magazines and wonder if they will ever take photos like those. The answer is yes and here is how you do it.
Learn all you can about your camera. Try all the different settings and take lots of shots at each setting. Figure out what works and what doesn’t and then do more of what does.
Take tons of photos of all kinds. Study each one for traits that make it a good picture or not. Is it properly focused? Is the lighting right? Is the subject of your composition centered? Learn from your mistakes and keep going.
Get yourself a book or go on-line and learn about f-number, shutter speed, flash use, lenses, aperture priority, shutter speed priority, lighting and a few other important aspects of this hobby. There are even some on-line courses that will walk you through the complete subject.
Get closer to your subject. One of the biggest mistakes beginners make is being too far away. While you can edit your shot by trimming away the edges, you can’t recover the quality that is lost by blowing up a small part of the original image. So, get close and in focus for the best shots.
Make sure your shots include only one subject and keep the background as simple as possible. Remember that busy backgrounds draw attention away from your subject and reduce the quality of the shot. Your subject is the most important element of your photo.
Your subject must be in the center of the frame. Think of the photo frame as grid with three equal boxes wide and three equal boxes up and down. You want your subject to be within or centered on the box central to the nine box grid.
These are a few of the things to keep in mind as you get started. As you become more proficient you can turn more of your attention to composing your shots.
Photo Trickery:If your in the mood to have some fun, here are some techniques to give a try. - Invert a shot glass and place it carefully up against the lense of your camera. It will give you a nifty fisheye effect. - Cover your lense with a piece of shear pantyhose. It will give you a hazy look like you can see in sme of the old movies. - Hold some colored translucent plastic in front of your lense to give your photo some strange color effects. - Taking photos with a flash in the dark? Hold your finger in front of the flash for a warm, sexy red glow. Money Making Hobby:Most all of us have cameras and take lots of pictures so it is likely that photography is one of the most popular hobbies out there. So how do you turn this into cash? You need to have a good digital camera and know how to use it. You should have a good eye for composing your shots and the opportunity for taking pictures.
Diversity is the key to selling lots of pictures. The wider range of subjects you cover in your photography, the more likely you are to make a sale. Fact is most anyone can make a good living selling stock photos. Many freelancers sell as many photos of items in their backyards as they do of exotic far away places. If travelling is your thing you may be able to pay for your trip as travel guides and travel websites are always looking for good photos.
If you are taking good photos, there are places on the web where you can sell your photos. Places like iStockPhoto.com are a good start but there are many others. Most of your earnings come from Internet users that download your pictures for a small fee. You get a portion of that download fee. The hosting site keeps the rest. Not a bad deal if your photos are in high demand.
Or, there are the more traditional photography businesses such as snapping photos at weddings or other functions. These can be a niche that may or may not be available in your home area. It may pay to check out the competition.
It is important to keep a portfolio of your photography work to show potential clients. You can never be sure when that next sales opportunity will come along. I can tell you they will not be impressed if you have to hunt around to find some of your work. When you do make a sale, don’t be afraid to charge a good price. After all, you have dedicated a lot of time to your craft and deserve a decent reward.
Do some web searching to check out the long list of photography opportunities. So, grab your camera and start making some money!
Other descriptors include fun hobbies and hobby ideas.
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