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By Anna Pande
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Friday, 12 December 2008 11:56 |
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It’s that time of year again … the wedding invitations are piling up and many of you must be anticipating some excellent opportunities to practise your photography skills. However, how can you be sure that your wedding photos will stand out from the rest and go on to become ‘classics’? Fotoflock.com is here to answer this question and offer some advice.
Meet the couple If you’re charging for your work, it is essential to meet the couple beforehand to agree on the price, show them your work/style and discuss their expectations (how many shots they want, what they want to be recorded etc.) You will also need to determine the couple’s style: do they want contemporary or traditional style photos? Do they prefer colour or black and white? If they’re not sure, go through a wedding magazine with them and get them to point out the photos they like. Visit the location(s) This will give you ideas about how to position your shots. You can even do this with the couple before the wedding to take a few test shots (which will also make nice engagement shots). You should use this opportunity to practise your lighting and exposure settings. When you’re reviewing the photos, select settings, which work best, write them down and take this information along with you to the wedding.
Create a shot list Get an itinerary of the day so that you know which ceremonies are taking place and the important moments that you want to capture. Even better, discuss this with the couple beforehand. This is particularly important in India, given that there are so many ceremonies for couples to choose between!
Capture the preparations There is more to a wedding than just the event itself. If possible, try to capture the preparations, such as the bride getting her hair or make-up done or inspecting her dress / saree. 
Photo by Premkumar Muthu Bring an eye for detail Look out for the small details: jewellery, shoes, flowers etc. These will bring back memories in years to come and add an extra dimension to your album. 
Photo by Shrikrishna Pundoor Change your perspective Just because you are anxious to ‘get it right’ doesn’t mean you have to leave behind your creativity. Change your perspective from time to time by taking shots from down low, up high and at wide angles.  Photo by Somnath Mukherjee Candid shots Although many of your shots may be traditional, posed shots of the family and the wedding party, look out for those spontaneous moments that often say volumes about the day. These candid shots often end up as favourites.  Photo by Premkumar Muthu Expect the unexpected No matter how much research and preparation you (or the bride and groom) do, there are so many factors which are out of your control. The key to good wedding photography is to adapt to each scenario as it unfolds! And remember that the things that go wrong, although they may seem like disasters at the time, often turn into fond memories and strong reminders of the day.
Have backup As a wedding photographer, you will be shooting one of the biggest days of someone’s life so, especially if you are being paid, make sure that nothing can go wrong. Bring along a spare camera (if possible) and other backup equipment (and make sure that you know how to use it!) To find out whether you’re prepared, ask yourself whether you’d be comfortable shooting the entire wedding with your back-up equipment. If the answer is “no”, you need to be sure of an alternative. Charge batteries, bring plenty of spares, make sure that memory cards are blank (we’re assuming almost no one is shooting film these days!). If you can, arrange for an assistant who wants to learn. This will take a lot of the pressure off you and will allow you to capture a far wider range of shots (e.g. while you are taking formal shots, the second photographer can be scouting around for candid shots). Finally, make sure that know how to get to the venue and where and when events will be taking place. And get there before time. When the day is over, remember to keep a careful track of your memory cards and download the images as soon as possible. As for films, it is best to take them to a professional lab (or at least a reputed store) for processing, to minimise the danger of them being damaged, destroyed or lost. Have fun!
On a lighter note, weddings are supposed to be enjoyed! So remember to put on a smile along with your best clothes and go out and have some fun! |
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By Aditi Jain
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Tuesday, 18 November 2008 08:00 |
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With the increasing popularity of sites like Facebook, Orkut, Flickr and MySpace, the niche category of online photo editing sites has emerged. These offer various online editing features for which no downloads are necessary and most of them have an extremely easy user interface, perfect for the amateur photo editor.
 This website facilitates the editing of RAW files online, the application of special effects and features of face detection and the basic fixes of crop, rotate and resize. Image adjustments are not restricted to small images but can be performed on images of up to 10 MB as well.
It is an extremely user-friendly site and is perfect for basic fixes, which come with presets making it ideal for an amateur to use. Clear labels, easy terminology and simple navigation are the advantages of this site. The only drawback of this site is the fact that it does not support integration with any photo-sharing websites. This makes it a lengthy process if the images are being edited with the end purpose of sharing them over the web.  Pixenate is again an online photo editing site which is extremely easy to use. It includes the basic fixes of crop, rotate, flip, light, red eye, whitening teeth, colour adjustments, etc. The advantage of pixenate is that in addition to these basic fixes, it also offers a pool of fun personalising features such as frames, collage, shapes and fonts, which lets a layperson add an individualised touch to their photographs.
If you share your photos using Flickr, this site is integrated with it, making it a breeze to edit and share your photos.  Phixr.com is a site which is comparatively more complex to use. Prior experience with Photoshop or frequent use of the site is necessary to make the most of the possibilities that this online photo editing site offers. The user interface is similar to several offline photo editing software packages used by professionals, especially Photoshop.
Phixr is a site recommended for more professional photo editing where more complex editing or fine-tuning is required. An added advantage of this site is that it offers an instant online editing tool which lets you pick up images from the net as you browse, eliminating the hassle of saving and then opening the pictures as you edit. This site is integrated with popular photo-sharing sites like Buzznet, Dropshots, Fotolog, Fotopic.net, Imageshack, Livejournal, Photobucket, Smugmug, Webshots, Facebook, Flickr and Picasa, making it perfect for quick sharing.  For quick editing, picnik.com is a useful online editing site. It facilitates all the basic fixes including sharpening and red eye reduction. There are also advanced controls to fine-tune your results; one can crop, resize and rotate in real-time. It boasts of many special effects, from artsy to fun and is impressively fast, right in your browser. In addition, it showcases a variety of fonts and a top-quality type tool; there are basketfuls of shapes from hand-picked designers.
Picnik is conveniently integrated with Photobucket, MySpace, Facebook, Flickr, Picasa, webshots and freewebs etc.  Fotoflexer’s ease of use is excellent. It offers editing options in effects, fonts, shapes, doodling, distortions, retouch, layers and certain advanced options for more detail. With this online editing software you can transform a photograph into a work of art. This software would make a lot of sense for a photographer or photo editor who considers himself an artist and wants to add a lot of creativity to his pictures.
Fotoflexer offers integration with Photobucket, MySpace, Facebook, Flickr and Picasa etc.  This online photo editing site features unlimited storage, thousands of free photo designs, hundreds of free fonts and shapes and dozens of editing effects. It is useful for an editor who prefers to cash in on time and optimise on preset templates and effects during editing.
Flauntr.com is integrated with Picasa which makes using it bliss for Gmail users.
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By Sonu Sangameswaran
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Tuesday, 26 August 2008 13:57 |
A camera bag is one of the most important accessories for your digital camera. While it’s a good idea to consider an all-purpose bag, your best bet is a camera bag that matches your camera model and traveling style. It should also provide protection.
Remember, the primary consideration before buying a camera bag is the kind of camera you have. If you only carry a compact camera, a bulky, chunky camera bag will be wasted. However, if you have a digital SLR with a couple lenses, a laptop and a bunch of other gear, protection becomes important; loads of padded space that accommodates lenses and extras is what you need.
Your photography style also matters for the type of camera bag you need. If you are a casual photographer, you’ll only need a lightweight and basic bag such as the ones Case Logic makes. If you travel a lot, a rugged camera bag that can handle moisture, temperature extremes and a major beating is necessary.
That being said, remember that a good camera bag must fulfill some basic considerations:
• Be useful in all kinds of weather
• Protect when on the move
• Be comfortable to carry around
Size matters and you should ensure your camera and its accessories fit firmly inside the bag. Too much room means moving and rattling around, which is not good for any digital equipment.
Camera bags can be reasonably expensive. We’ve listed out ten of the best bags that fit most budgets. Buying online can be rewarding as well; www.amazon.com, www.naaptol.com and www.sify.com sell some of the better brands such as Lowepro, Tamrac, Kata and Caselogic.
Just don’t forget—the options are endless; protecting your camera is as good an investment as working with photography!
 Domke Toad 20 is a contoured waist and hip pack for SLR cameras. Available in black and lagoon, its top cover unzips away from your body for easy access to your equipment. Two adjusting loops on the belt ensure it fits snugly against your body. It’s light on your wallet too at 30 dollars. (1320 INR)
Kata W-94 GDC: It’s easy to see why the Kata is a favorite among photographers; with its modular and versatile waist pack design, you can attach 2 or 3 products that are "EPH System Compatible" into a set. With more than 15 different possible combinations, this is for the serious photographer. It is water and dust proof and is made of an abrasion-resistance fabric. You get shock protection and insulation against cold, heat and moisture too. More expensive of the lot but fully customizable, at 100 dollars (4405 INR), the Kata is still a great deal!
You can also check out the expensive but highly recommended—Kata R-103 GDC Rucksack—an all-purpose model at $141 (6213 INR).
 Lowepro is well known for their camera bags. Their Inverse 200 AW beltpack in black has a contoured mesh lumbar belt with a dual adjust system that evenly distributes weight providing great comfort. Locking straps allow you to secure a tripod to the bottom panel of the belt pack. You get total protection against rain, dust and sand for $72 (3170 INR).
If you want to up the stakes a bit, check out the Lowepro Slingshot 200; an all weather sling bag that can hold an SLR with mid-range zoom lens attached 3-4 extra lenses, cables and accessories. It also has a built in digital memory card organizer, a micro fiber LCD cleaning cloth and a lifetime warranty all at $90 (3963 INR).
 If you own Canon’s EOS SLR cameras, check out the Deluxe Photo Backpack 200EG which fits two smaller SLR camera bodies, 3-4 lenses, and additional small accessories. A rugged travel bag, the construction of waterproofed polyester plus nylon and water repellant, urethane coating makes this bag extremely durable. It also includes tripod straps on the bottom. At $32 (1796 INR) it’s a great steal!
Tamrac is another great camera bag maker. Their Adventure 7 Photo Backpack available in grey and black is contemporary and trendy. Designed for the SLR photographer who carries a large digital or film SLR with a grip, several lenses, a flash and accessories, it’s also created to hold a light jacket, lunch or other personal items! At $75 (3302 INR), Tamrac's bag also has a memory and battery management system that uses red flags to identify which memory cards and batteries are available.
You can spend even less and still own a Tarmac; the 5273 Expedition 3 SLR Photo Backpack in black has cinch straps that hold everything in place and a giant rain flap for weather protection! At $57 (2508 INR), this is a well recommended alternative.
If you carry your laptop along with your gear and don’t want to spend a bomb, the Caselogic SNMB-15F can accommodate a 15.4” laptop, cell phone, MP3 player and a bottle opener. It’s totally padded and lined for protection at a reasonable $40 (1759 INR).
For only $8 (352 INR), you can protect your basic digital camera with a Caselogic PSL-16 Compact Sport Camera Case in funky purple. Designed for functionality, durability and protection, the case protects the most compact cameras and helps keep your LCD scratch-free.
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By Aditya Kuber
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Tuesday, 15 July 2008 08:51 |
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 Macro photography can be seen as an art form as well as a useful technique to shoot small objects. There have been many questions raised over the purposefulness of this method, but macro photography does possess one thing for sure: wow factor!
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One of the best aspects of an SLR is that you can change the lenses. During those lens changes, however, there is a risk of dust falling “onto the sensor”. In fact, the CMOS or CCD sensor is covered by a color filter or a clear glass plate, so really the dust has fallen on something that is covering the sensor. Nonetheless, you want to be careful and non-aggressive at this point, because if anything near the sensor is scratched, the camera needs to go in for professional service.
