Better Photo Tips – A Picture Thinker

What comes to mind when you hear the phrase, “a picture is worth a thousand words”? If you have Dyslexia or are close to someone who does; you realize that this is a much more accurate statement than many people give it credit for. It is said that a verbal thinker may have 2 to 5 thoughts per second. A dyslexic person is considered a picture thinker and would have 32 thoughts per second. Picture thinking is estimated to be, overall, 400 to 2,000 times faster than verbal thinking. This information comes from: “The Gift of Dyslexia” by Ronald D. Davis.

When a verbal thinker learns the word “CAT” for example; he has basically 4 thoughts, each letter and what they sound like together. The picture thinker on the other hand; will see the letters in the word “CAT” in at least 40 different ways, before even thinking of sounds. From an outside perspective; it seems that the picture thinker is handicapped because he or she is so much slower, but in reality they are putting MUCH more effort into the process.

Having worked for a large nation wide portrait chain before, I remember being limited to 7 shots per portrait sitting. Even if I was only shooting one subject that still came across as verbal thinking, (very limited). If I was shooting pictures of a family that gave me even fewer options. A picture thinker on the other hand; could easily shoot 30 to 40 photos of the same subject and not think anything of it. If they wanted to push themselves; a picture thinker might do 50 or 60 photos of the same subject.

Some people will argue that when you take that many photos of the same subject, of course you will get “lucky” with a few shots. In my opinion, luck has nothing to do with it. When you explore all the possibilities (not just left, right, up or down); something magical starts to happen, you start to tap into that section of the mind that too few of us dare to venture into. You start to find your creative edge in photography.

Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Leonardo de Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, John F. Kennedy, Steven Spielberg, Whoopi Goldberg, Cher, and Henry Winkler were all successful NOT in spite of having dyslexia; but largely in part because of having it. Because they were picture thinkers they had greater vision (no pun intended). You too can share in that vision by releasing yourself from your own limitations.

Of course you will have more failures; because you have made more attempts but as Thomas Edison once said, “I have not failed. I know 10,000 ways NOT to invent the light bulb.” 

Obviously; if you are a newspaper photographer or a portrait photographer who has people waiting in line at Christmas that would not be the best time to expand your creativity. But on the other hand, if once a week, or even just once a month you took any subject and pushed it beyond your limits . . . I guarantee those limits will start to expand.

When someone has mastered something, they have learned it so well they can do it without thinking about what they are doing. It is human nature that we all learn by doing. I invite you to step outside your comfort zone and shoot more photos than you have ever shot on a single subject in your life. This process will help transform you from a verbal thinker into a picture thinker. Remember, as a man thinketh, so is he.

Once you master how you think, you will discover your gift is no longer a handicap. You will be seeing things without effort that a dozen other photographers at the same event will miss. If you are serious about photography this is how you take your photo work to the next level.

Award winning writer / photographer Tedric Garrison has 30 years experience in photography. As a Graphic Art Major, he has a unique perspective on the Elements of Design and how those elements relate to all aspects of photography. His photo eBook (http://www.betterphototips.com/creativeedge.htm) “Finding Your Creative Edge in Photography” proves creativity CAN be taught. Tedric shares his wealth of knowledge with the world, at: (http://www.betterphototips.com) Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tedric_Garrison

Buying a Digital Camera? 3 Vital Things You Need to Know First!

Most people when buying a digital camera really don’t know what to look out for. Let’s face it, most of us are not particularly tech savvy, so we have to rely upon what other supposedly tech savvy people advise us on. It really is essential that you know what you’re buying when it comes to buying a digital camera, so in this article we will discuss the most important factors to lookout for and what to avoid.

Megapixels:

With the exception of the high-end professional digital cameras of 12 plus megapixels, the number of megapixels a digital camera is capable of generally speaking is the most important quality factor when it comes to how good your digital photos will come out. In the case of the high-end digital cameras the lenses themselves will also play a very important part.

When comparing digital cameras by the number of megapixels they are capable of, you will need to look closely at the small print on the digital camera or in the digital cameras manual. You may find that the camera is in reality capable of less megapixels then it leads you to believe.

For example some digital cameras will have in big print on the camera and or in its documentation say six megapixels, but underneath in small print it will say something like five megapixels enhanced to six using software. Basically this means that the camera is really only capable of five megapixels but the software in the camera will attempt to enhance the quality of the photos to six megapixels, this will never be as good as a true six megapixel camera.

How much zoom do you need?

You’re going to have to decide just how much zoom your camera will need, for this think about the type of photography you want to take with the camera, if a lot of long-distance photos are going to be taken, obviously more zoom will be very useful.

There are two kinds of zoom, optical and digital. Optical zoom zooms in using lenses within the camera, so there will be no quality lost. Where as digital zoom on the other hand will simply make your pictures bigger and so will lose you are lot of picture quality. Here too many digital camera manufacturers will try to mislead buyers by stating the digital zoom in big letters, but only revealing that it is in fact digital zoom in small print underneath.

In my opinion digital zoom is about as useful as mud, I’d much rather not use digital zoom and instead digitally enlarged the picture at home on my PC. This way I would be able to see exactly how much picture quality I would be losing and I would still have the original picture at full quality.

The powersupply for your digital camera:

The powersupply is something greatly ignored when people buy digital cameras. People just don’t consider it, yet when you think about it having a reliable power source for your digital camera is vital to make sure you don’t ever run out of power right when you need your digital camera most.

AA and AAA batteries are the most common method used to power the lower end digital cameras. In many ways having this kind can be a good thing in that these batteries are cheap and easily replaceable at anytime.

Some lower end and most of the higher end digital cameras will only accept their own powersupply specifically made for that camera. These powersupplys are normally Lithium batteries and can be quite expensive. They will generally give you the advantage of lasting longer, however it is still wise to have at least one spare pack charged and ready to go with you at all times. When considering price on different cameras remember to take into account the added price for battery packs in the future.

A few digital cameras have the capability of being able to take both their own specific battery pack and normal AA or AAA rechargeable batteries you can find at any supermarket. If you take into account everything mentioned above when you compare digital cameras, you should have no problem in choosing a good camera for your usage. Also remember to check out on-line reviews as they will help you compare each camera.

This is especially important if you are buying a high-end digital camera, since as I have mentioned there are other factors such as the digital cameras lenses that will affect the quality of the pictures the digital camera takes.

One will see a Basic Digital Photography Guide here that contains anything from purchasing a camera to Digital Photography’s Actual History. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jayen_Woods

Black & White Photography Tips

Black and white photography was once thought of as being a thing of the past. Colour photography and technology were leading the way and everything became bright and bold. More recently, however, the art of the monochrome picture has been re-evaluated by many and has become a chosen format by some. By understanding some basic black and white photography tips it is surprising what a difference you can make.

There are some subjects that will always look better if photographed in colour. For example the starting grid of a Formula One race would look fairly lack lustre without the exciting race colours of the cars and drivers. Some scenes can look equally good, although very different, in both black and white and colour. Scenes such as a woodland, for example, can benefit from either format but the two pictures would have a very different feel. Some simple black and photography tips can ensure that you bring out the shade and shapes in your pictures and this will result in an added depth that is often missing with colours.

Portraits can be given a lovely timeless feel if taken in black and white. It is almost like losing one of your senses. If you shut your eyes you will find that you are able to hear better. It is similar with photography. If you take away the colours, you will tend to see more deeply into a face. Some black and photography tips regarding the taking of portraits include consideration of texture. It is best to have your subject dressed in plain clothes as too much pattern can draw the attention. However, add some texture to bring depth into the frame. This may mean in the background. Perhaps you could use a brick or stone wall as a back drop. Alternatively, you could use texture in the clothing. Try woollen sweaters in place of smooth cotton tee shirts.

Consider the content of your pictures and try to incorporate some interesting shapes. Either similar or contrasting shapes will create interest, but be careful to keep things simple and well constructed. Try to structure the shapes so that they have a relevance to each other. You can get some great black and white photography tips just by looking at others people’s work and trying to evaluate their reasoning behind the construction of the shapes in their pictures.

Black and white photography tips, as well as advice on all aspects of the art, are available on the internet, very often freely. If you become interested and think that you would like to become involved in photography either as a hobby or as a profession, there are many courses available at colleges, often on a part time basis. You may also find that there is a photography club in your area where you can meet others with a similar interest and sometimes with work to exhibit.

Ian Pennington is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about photography, please visit Photography for Beginners for current articles and discussions. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ian_Pennington