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Posts Tagged: Digital Photography

5 Reasons why YOU should be moving to the cloud

Over the past two or there years, I have written many articles about Web 2.0 or cloud computing. Cloud computing means that you work with programs and/or data that are not installed or saved on your computer. Instead, the programs and/or data live on an Internet connected computer (server) somewhere else in the world. These computers provide security via the password and user name that you choose. Five reason come immediately to mind on why you should start moving your data and computing power to the cloud.

1. Although more powerful than ever before, computers have become more unreliable than ever.

In particular, Windows computers require more expertise to keep them safe, updated, and problem free than at any time in the short history of home computers. Macintosh and Linux operating systems certainly require less technical expertise from the security standpoint, but still rely on desktop applications to create, save and edit data. Web based (cloud) applications provide plenty of power and flexibility for the vast majority of computer users while also presenting a simpler interface.

2. You already spend 90% of your time in the cloud already.

Non-business computer users spend the majority of their computer time emailing, surfing and researching the web and playing online games. Transitioning to web based mail and web based word processing, spreadsheets and more is easy and free with products like Zoho Office, Google Docs and ThinkFree.

3. Digital photography is easier in the cloud…and cheaper.

Too many computer users do not know how to properly resize and attach photos to email or gauge how many photos to attach to email. You spend way too much money and time on ink cartridges and paper trying to print good quality pictures. All these problems are solved in the cloud by helping you organize your photos better, share them easier, and print them in higher quality in more formats professionally. Flickr, Picasa Albums, and albums and services from Shutterfly, Snapfish, Winkflash, and others help you do all these things much easier than any desktop application. For those who like to edit their photos, these services offer some limited editing, but Pixlr, Picnik, Fotoflexer, Snipshot, Photoshop Online, and many others provide more than enough power for almost any digital photographer.

4. You either don’t know how or are too lazy to backup your important data.

I admit that I’m putting a lot of faith in Web 2.0 companies, but I know they will do a better and more regular job of backing up your data than you currently do. These companies have their reputations and big bank rolls on the line to take backing up your data lightly. If your data is truly important to you, learn to back it up. In the interim, your data will be much safer online than it is right now on your unprotected computer with no backup plan at all. If I’ve stirred you a little to think about backing up your current data, read my tips about online backup services that truly do make backing up your data easier and safer than learning to burn DVD’s, setup and configure backup programs and then maintain them.

5. Using cloud computing strategies sets you free from any computer.

Since your data and applications live on the web and are accessed through a web browser, you no longer are tied to any one computer or operating system. As long as you have an Internet connection (high speed only) and a browser, you can work and play from any computer!

I keep urging you to learn about and use these services because they are coming down the pike and becoming more mainstream every day. Microsoft, Apple, Adobe and other stalwarts of the desktop continue to make their own plans to finally come on board and offer more and more cloud computing options.

What do you think? Leave me a comment below to tell me about your cloud computing experiences and questions.

Photo by ewen and donabel

Backup your digital photos with iPhoto – Video Tip

Macintosh users take digital photos too. And they also need to make sure their photos are backed up safely. Thankfully, the bright men and women at Apple computers have built in a great picture management software called iPhoto. Within iPhoto, you will find a straight forward method of backing up your photos.

Here’s how:

1. Start iPhoto
2. Hold down the Command key on your keyboard and select which folders, albums, or events you want to backup
3. Click Share from the menus
4. Click Burn button on the menu that appears
5. Once the burn is finished, the disk will eject.

I am still partial to Picasa for picture management, but Google still hasn’t released a version for the Mac yet. However, as you can see, the iPhoto makes pretty easy work of backing up your photos.

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30
Jun 08

Great digital photography debate topics

Technology is no different than politics in that there are a variety of topics that people have opinions on. While you may not know much about these topics now, what you know about them can have a great impact on knowing who to listen to when it comes to learning more about digital photography and related topics.

PC vs. Mac:

The Mac people will tell you that Macs are better for graphics, easier to use more stable.

PC people will argue that Macs are over priced, you can do anything with a Mac that you can do with a PC and Macs won’t run the programs that most people use.

What’s the truth? As with most debates, where you stand depends on your perspective as all things are relative.

Macs are easier in the sense that it typically takes fewer steps to get from point A to point B, they don’t get viruses and spyware as much and applications are very well developed before they are released; this leads to fewer crashes. Of course there are rare exceptions in all cases.

PCs are easier if you depend on the advice and help from those around you to get you through. Chances are your tech friends and relatives don’t speak Mac. Macs will not run any PC software out of the box. You must either buy Mac versions of programs like Microsoft Office or find alternatives that run on Mac.

If you primarily use your computer for basic tasks like email, digital photography, word processing and Internet, Macs are likely a great way to go. If you are using the computer for office work such as Excel, databases, or custom software associated with your business, you may find that Macs just won’t cut it.

Canon vs. Nikon:

There are dozens of camera manufacturers, but Canon and Nikon are the two major parties that tend to have the greatest loyal followings.

Canon was always the underdog in the film photography world, it wasn’t until they made the move to convert everything to digital that they became serious competition.

Canon film cameras were typically the lower priced alternative for photo enthusiasts. Nikon had the F series of cameras that were used by professional photographers all over the world. Then the world went digital and Canon decided set the standard for photo innovation.

When it comes to serious cameras, both companies produce wonderful cameras worthy of their following. There are a few reasons that each manufacturer stands out.

What’s the truth?

Nikons in general have a more sturdy feel with a shutter that makes a beautiful clapping sound – it may not seem to matter what the shutter sounds like, but it gives the camera a more traditional aesthetic.

Canon’s typically set the standard. They are usually the first to set new standards in shutter speed, megapixel and zoom speed in their higher end models. They are also usually the first to break price barriers on the low and high end. Most 35mm professional photographers such as photo journalists, sports and portrait photographers now use Canons, the industry that once belonged almost exclusively to Nikon in the US.

CCD vs. CMOS:

Just a quick geeky topic here. CCD and CMOS are the current sensor technologies that digital cameras use as “film.” These sensors are exposed to light like film and then the image is saved to the memory.

CCD is the more traditional technology as it is cheaper to produce and is usually smaller in size.

CMOS contains more technology on the chip and consumes less power. It also costs slightly more to produce but this is quickly changing and many manufacturers are now switching to CMOS for their DSLRs and higher end cameras.

When it comes to image quality, there is no definable difference. Hand a photo to a photographer or camera expert and he will not be able to tell you what kind of sensor was used to take the photo based on quality alone.

Picasa vs. Photoshop Album (combined with Photoshop Elements)

Each of these products does the same thing but they are different in important ways.

We have exhausted the topic of Picasa – it is easy to use, it allows you to backup your photos, create photo CDs, order prints, and organize your photos into albums.

Photoshop Album is a piece of Photoshop Elements. Like Picasa it allows you to organize your photos, create projects and find lost pictures.

What’s the truth?

Picasa is fast and very intuitive. However, if you do a lot of photo manipulation it is nice to have Album incorporated with Elements.

Flash drives vs. CD/DVDs vs. external hard drives:

You know you should backup your photos, but how should you do it?

Flash drives last a long time but they are very expensive when compared to optical media and hard drives. They are also easy to erase and lose. On the other hand their portability gives them a nice advantage in some cases.

CD/DVDs are inexpensive and can be read in any computer. They are also durable and multiple copies are easy to do. On the other hand, they can be difficult to create and can only be written to one time.

Hard drives are cheap and can hold every photo you will ever take. However, they are not as portable and can have major malfunctions leading to the loss of all data.

Ultra zoom vs. DSLR:

Ultra zooms are digital cameras with large built-in zoom lenses. DSLRs are cameras that allow you to change the lenses.

Often people assume that DSLRs are the ultimate camera and all other cameras are for novices. Before buying that DSLR, there are some important pros and cons to consider.

DSLR’s take up much more space and weigh more. When you go for the shot, will you have the right lens attached?

Changing lenses must be done very carefully. dust on your sensor can lead to spotty pictures at best and a ruined camera at worst.

Ultra zooms are light and often feature more powerful and faster lenses than the kit lenses that come with DSLR models.

On the positive side, DSLRs provide the ability to add on to the camera and increase the camera’s uses. Adding a flash, extra lens, shutter release, etc. can be a big advantage if you are looking at taking the hobby seriously.

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28
May 08

Understanding exposure

Theory and Practice of Photography

Aperture:

Aperture is the setting of the iris of the camera lens. Just as your pupils in your eyes expand and contract to let in more or less light, you can do the same with your camera by setting the Aperture.

The Aperture measurement is called F-stop. The higher the F-stop number, the smaller the iris is set in your camera.

The trade-off: Each concept of photography seems to have a trade-off that prevents you from wanting to use it all the time.

With Aperture the trade-off is called depth of field. In a perfect world, you would leave the iris open wide all the time so that you could let in as much light as possible. However, when the iris is open wide your focus distance is much shorter. This means if you are taking a picture of your family in front of the St. Louis Arch in the distance, your family may be in focus at a low F-stop, but everything in the background will be blurry.

Tricky Tip: Remember, the higher the number on your F-stop, the smaller the iris is and the less light will come in. This means that when you stop up, you are really making the iris smaller.

F-stop is usually measured in numbers starting with 2.8 and going up to 22. The longer the lens, the higher your lowest F-stop possible. This is because long lenses can't let in as much light.

Film Speed (ISO & ASA):

Film speed determines how sensitive your film (or digital camera sensor is to light). The higher your film speed, the less light you need to get a fully exposed picture.

This makes higher film speeds great for sports and low light conditions because the shutter and can be set faster at a lower F-stop.

The trade-off: If faster film speeds are more sensitive to light and capture fast action better, why not always use a high film speed?

The higher the film speed – the more grainy the photo is. Grain refers to the tiny dots of random colors that appear in a photo. Shooting with 400, 800 or 1600 speed film or sensor settings will often present pictures with confetti all over.

Shutter Speed:

Shutter speed is how fast the curtain in your camera opens and closes. The faster the curtain opens and closes – the more it stops the action and the crisper your in-focus pictures are.

Shutter speeds are measured in fractions of a second, such as 1/30 or 1/250 of a second.

The trade-off: If faster shutter stops action and gives crisper photos, why not always shoot with a fast shutter?

The answer here is that you are at the mercy of your camera. The faster the shutter, the less light can come in. Setting the shutter too fast will result in a dim or black frame. Too slow of a shutter will result in a washed out image.

Exposure:

Exposure can be defined a lot of ways, but basically it is the art of finding the balance between the above three terms.

A properly exposed picture will be taken at just the right F-stop to give perfect focus to your subject with just the right film speed to capture the action, yet not give too much grain, and the shutter speed will work with your F-stop to give the desired lighting and focus.

Metering:

Every camera on the market that takes a battery uses metering to some degree.

Metering is measuring the light to determine what other settings you need for your camera. With some cameras this happens without your knowledge, with more professional cameras it is something you see before you ever take a picture.

The trade-off:

The camera does its best to recommend the right F-stop, shutter speed and (in the case of digital), film speed. But sometimes the camera is tricked by strange lighting condition.

For example, if you are taking a close-up photo in daylight of a person wearing black or dark clothes – the camera may meter on the black clothes and open up too wide. This will result in great looking clothes, but everything else will be washed out. To trick the camera, it is best to meter on the area that you want best exposed.

To force your camera to meter on a given area – point the camera at the subject with the area you want metered in the center of the photo. Once you have focused and metered with the subject in the center (do this by holding your shutter button half way down), you can move your camera to compose the shot however you'd like – as long as you don't let go of the button.

Bracketing:

This is especially important if you are film photographer, but it works with digital as well.

Bracketing is used when you are unsure which settings will work best. Most cameras will do it automatically.

When you know your settings are basically right, set your camera to bracket (see your instruction manual). This will allow your camera to take either 3 or 5 pictures in a row, each with slightly different settings. The middle picture will be taken with the settings you or your camera think are right, the photos before and after will be taken with slightly lower or higher settings to adjust for exposure.

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3
Apr 08

Avery website offers great way to make labels easily

There are certain tasks that you would expect to be done simply on a computer. At the top of this list is making labels.

In my opinion the number of label making programs on the market should rival the number of digital photography or antivirus programs on the market.

For some mysterious reason, there are hardly any good label programs out there. They are either too simple and limited in features or they are too complex and require dozens of steps that are far from intuitive.

Envelopes and mailing labels are fairly simple to make with the use of Greetings List Plus. But that program only works for making address labels from an address book that must be carefully compiled or imported.

Not all labels are mailing labels. There are file labels, large sticker labels, envelope labels, etc. For these, I discovered a great tool online. Avery Design and Print Online is a very simple, yet easy to use program for creating almost any style of label you might need.

In addition to being able to create simple labels from scratch, Avery also lets you choose to only fill in certain labels on the page. In other words, if you have printed labels on labels 1-4, the next time you can print labels 5-10. This allows you to print one label at a time or many labels at once.

The only real draw back, and it is kind of a big one, is that you must fill in each label individually and can not import lists of any kind. Creating a sheet of identical labels is very simple though using a checkbox.

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26
Mar 08

Tips for better people pictures

Tips for taking better people pictures

Here is a list of links that will help you with your pictures of people whether they be candid, portrait or group shots.

10 Tips for better portraits

5 tips for photographing couples

6 tips for perfect portrait composition

11 tips for better candid photos

Personally, I think that getting great people shots has more to do with the approach you take to getting the shots rather than following technical advice.

Whenever you are taking pictures, imagine what you would want to see 10 or 20 years from now when going through the album. Don’t worry about the background if you are shooting candid shots at family gatherings. What now may seem like distractions will be come retro points of conversation later. Capture the total atmosphere – this may include an ugly wall or unwanted object in the background.

Shoot lots. Don’t try to carefully compose each shot. Most great photos of people, especially in candid situations are happy accidents. That is the definition of candid.

Always carry your camera. The times you will need your camera the most is the time you don’t have it with you.

Don’t force people to pose in most of your photos. Take pictures of people playing, working or just talking. It will be a memory later. Posing actually came about because early cameras and paintings required the model to stand still long enough to get the picture right. Today’s camera’s don’t require that. Think of your photos as Norman Rockwell illustrations rather than posed portraits.

Riding Shotgun with Adam — 2 Comments
19
Mar 08

Where to buy a book manual for your computer

“Why didn’t my computer come with a manual?”

One of the most common complaints we hear is about how new computers don’t come with manuals. I am here to explain why this is the case.

The sad answer is that if the computer company came with a manual, it would weigh more than the computer.

“But my old computers used to come with manuals…,” Is the next comment.

Back in the old days of computers there weren’t many uses. You would use computers for word processing, finances, Internet and email. In each case there were only a handful of options.

Putting together a manual meant covering how to do email in AOL or Outlook Express. Word Processing was done in Word or WordPerfect. Finances were done with Quicken. Internet was AOL or Internet Explorer.

Today the options are endless. The method of attaching a file to email is different depending on whether you use AOL, Yahoo, Comcast, Yahoo, Juno, Outlook Express, Thunderbird, Gmail, etc. Just covering how to read an email could take up 10 pages of a book because the book would have to explain how too do it on each system.

In every case the book would be more confusing than having no book and you would pay a premium for it because of the size.

Add to that the fact that we now use computers for phone calls, digital photography, movie editing, calenders, games, and holographic teleportation. Covering all of these processes in depth would mean including a manual that covered Picasa, Word, WordPerfect, Photoshop Elements, every email system, Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer 6 and 7, Skype, iTunes, Windows Media Player, MusicMatch, Google…

In other words, once you turn on your computer, you actually never use your computer. You use the software.

If you want to learn how to use the computer, you need to learn the program that you are using. If you want to learn Quicken, buy a book on Quicken. If you want to learn email, buy a book on your specific email system.

If you don’t want to buy a bunch of books, simply buy one book on Google and that will take you into the world of free answers on the Internet.

Oh, and make sure to always check HelpMeRick.com first and we will point you in the right direction.

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19
Feb 08

I use a Mac, therefore I am

Ya, don’t ask me to elaborate too much on the title of this post, I didn’t mean anything too deep by it.

I picked up my new/old Mac that a reader gave me. It is an older system, but It does a great job. It’s a dual 867mhz G4 with a gig of RAM, 10GB hard drive and Leopard OS. While it may seem a little dated by Mac standards, it is every bit as fast as my dual core Pentium that I typically run XP on.

I haven’t used it for any digital photography stuff, but I didn’t want it for that. I wanted a mac so I could use it exclusively for a few weeks and learn how to help my Mac clients adapt to “the switch” from Windows.

A few years ago, and maybe currently, Mac used the slogan, “It just works.” That is about all I have to say about it. The only complaints I have are about the lack of programs that I am used to on the PC.

I really miss Picasa – iPhoto is no Picasa. Although it comes in at a pretty close second. The program I miss most though is Cloudmark Desktop. Filtering spam is a royal pain. I setup Thurderbird as my email system because the Mac Mail program is pretty limited.

I also loaded Firefox and I am using Zoho for my word processor. I tried AbiWord, but it wasn’t completely compatible with Leopard.

After spending a few hours yesterday configuring the system, I am totally ready to use it exclusively indefinitely. I will probably boot up my Windows system from time to time for updates and to use Picasa, but that’s about it.

I will post more as I discover more. Viva La Mac!

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24
Nov 07

Picasa class coming this Tuesday!

See below to pre-order my new Picasa tutorial CD. I will ship it out on Tuesday. Click on the "Buy Now" button and follow the directions. Note the link for non-PayPal users.

After month’s of requests, I am finally doing an entire class on Picasa. On Tuesday, November 27 from 7-9pm in conjunction with our regular digital photography user group, I will be teaching about Picasa for the entire two hours.

The class will be held at the Grand Junction Realty Board offices at 2743 Crossroads Blvd. Cost is only $10 for one or two people.Come by yourself – the cost is $10, bring a friend, the cost is $10. $5 for each additional person over $10.

I will also be selling my new Picasa tutorial DVD-ROM that covers everything we will discuss in the class.

Picasa is a free photo management program that helps you organize, view, tune and backup your photos. If you have trouble keeping track of all of your digital photos or you are looking for an extremely helpful tool that will take the complication out of backing up, emailing or organizing your photos, this is the class for you!

PRE-ORDER THE PICASA TUTORIAL CD TODAY!!