Make Money or Start a New Career with your Digital Camera

Wow! This new Canon DSLR camera boasts 18 Megapixels and an array of amazing on board technologies. This type of camera would have cost $20,000 to $25,000 not too many years ago, but now is available for less than a tenth of that cost. Is it any wonder why I am always so excited about the digital revolution.

The digital revolution has created some amazing technologies. Cameras now have the ability to be able to recognize when a person enters the frame, and will take a photo when it senses that everyone is smiling. The camera will even warn you if someone blinked when the photo was taken, allowing you to take another and so be sure of getting a good image. Wow! Awesome.

The computer inside the camera is doing a whole bunch of amazing things when you take a photo. With the typical DSLR system, the computer will analyze the scene you are about to capture and compare the lighting and contrast with a database of one hundred thousand images or more, and then make a decision as to the aperture and shutter speed required to get a good photo based on this data. And if the camera senses that there is insufficient light to take a good photo, then the computer will instruct the camera to fire the flash at the same time to get that perfect image. All in the blink of an eye.

So, what does all this technology mean? It means that it is very difficult to take a bad photo, at least technically. But, if you enjoy taking pictures, and you have a decent camera, then you can learn to be more creative and start taking pictures that people will pay you to take. If you enjoy photography, and like using the computer to edit the photos, then you can start your own business. Like everything in life, you can always learn the techniques required to take good photos as long as you enjoy the process. And wedding photography is a great way to start making money with your love of photography. A great many of todays photographers began their careers by taking wedding photos of friends and family.

But how do you get started? The first thing you need to do is buy and read all the wedding magazines at the bookstore. Don’t be embarrassed about buying “women’s” magazines. These will show you the latest styles in wedding photography, and will show you how to take really good images. These magazines usually will be displaying the latest in photo styles, as well as the latest in wedding attire. Part of your job as the wedding photographer, will be to make suggestions when requested.

The magazines will help with one of the biggest problem areas I see in wedding photos, and that is in posing the entire wedding group. Most times, you will not have a lot of time to arrange the group into a pleasing portrait. Looking at as many different photos of groups will help you when it come time to photograph the group, be it a small or large group.

This also goes for the photos of the bridal couple and their families. I have met a number of newly weds who have complained about their photographer not having taken the pictures they expected, including a decent selection of the immediate families of the couple. In this regard, you will often face other challenges also, such as parents who are divorced, parents who have new partners, either married or just friends. You need to be aware that you cannot place these people next to each other, and usually not even on the same side as each other. You do need to be very sensitive to these situations.

If the couple being married have children, then you also need to take special care in making sure that these children figure prominently in your photos for the day. If they are also part of the bridal party, then be sure they are in all the group photos, as well as photos with just the bride and groom. You will want to be sure that you also take as many photos as possible of these kids by themselves. You will have very happy clients if you follow these rules. You will also have the opportunity to sell more reprints if you follow these rules. The kids will want one of the photos, as well as the bridal couple, and also the grandparents.

Which brings me to another point you must follow. Always be sure to capture some good portraits of the grandparents by themselves, with just the bridal couple, with just the kids, and also with the bridal couple and the kids as a group. These generational portraits will have great sentimental value for the bridal couple and the families. Remember, often, these photos of the grandparents will be the last photos they will ever have taken with friends and family, before passing on. So it is critical that you capture all the images that the bride and groom are paying you for, even if you are doing it as a favor to a friend, you need to be aware of these critical images.

For more than thirty years, Tom Jackson has been photographing brides, people and places, all around the world. As a professional photographer, Tom, like many pros, began his career shooting weddings, for himself and other studios. More info available here.

How To Take Great Photos of Kids

Taking photos of children can sometimes be quite challenging. But, like all portraits, as the proverb goes, the eyes are the doorway to the soul. It is important that the subjects eyes are well lit. The eyes portray so much emotion and character, that it is critical that they are well lit and in focus. If the eyes are not in focus, then the image usually will not work.

One of my most enjoyable moments in photography, is when the client takes a look at the proofs and smiles, cries, laughs or just plain shows raw emotion for the moments caught and now remembered. When your client shows this kind of emotion, you know that you have done a great job in capturing the character of the subject. And kids can be quite difficult to capture with natural expressions.

As the photographer, you are always looking for that definable moment that captures the spirit of the child. The expression on the face, the look in the eyes, the smile, the gestures. All play a critical part in capturing the essential character of the subject. So, you not only have to be a good photographer, using all the skills you have to capture the moment technically correct, but you also need to be a psychologist, comedian, peer, parent, friend and whatever else you need to do to capture the moment when it is right.

There are some rules, of course. Technically, even if you are outdoors, you need to generally have the flash fire with every photos in order to open up the shadows and create even, smooth lighting for the subject. Flash will also make sure that the eyes are clearly visible and have a tell tale catch light in the pupil. This will help make the portraits look more natural. You will need to be sure that the flash does not overpower the subject and blow out highlights. You will be using the flash to just fill in the shadows (when outdoors) not using the flash as the main source of light. The flash will need to be one or two ƒ stops less than would normally be required.

Also, you will need to be sure that there are no distracting elements in the background that would otherwise spoil a masterpiece. Of course, you can always use Photoshop to edit out distracting elements, but it is always better to try and set the scene properly before taking the photos. This will save you a lot of time and effort later when you are getting ready to make prints of the images.

An important consideration when photographing children, is to try and make sure that you are taking photos at their level. Do not stand with the camera pointing down to take photos. They will not look normal. You want to be at their level for the images to look natural. To ensure the eyes and face are exposed properly, you will usually need to be sure that you use the flash on each image. However, try to balance the flash with the available light so the images still look natural.

Always be sure that when taking photos, you do so using the RAW format (if available). This will give you maximum flexibility when processing the images on the computer later. The RAW format will give you an image with all the image data captured by the camera. If you use the JPEG format (see next para), you will automatically be losing a certain amount of information, which you can never get back. Also, use the maximum resolution available on your camera. This will enable you to crop your images as necessary, without any apparent loss of detail.

The JPEG format was created many years ago in an effort to enable cameras to be able to take and store more images on the available memory cards. In the beginning of memory cards, the technology was expensive, and memory cards had only limited capacity. Today, memory cards are very inexpensive and now come in very large sizes. When shooting in the JPEG format, the computer inside the camera analyses the image data and makes a determination of image data that can be discarded without adversely affecting the overall image. The data that is discarded can never be regained. Once it is discarded, it is gone forever. So, when shooting images, use the RAW format if available or if you have to shoot JPEG images, be sure to select the finest JPEG mode available, in an effort to keep as much image data as possible.

I have included some sample images in the blog post listed below. You will note that the flash has been used on each of these images. However, if you look closely, you will not see any harsh shadows from the flash as can often happen. I have balanced the amount of flash output to the conditions so that the lighting looks more natural. It is very important that you maintain detail in the face of your subjects. Too much flash will create distracting highlights on skin, and detract from your photos. Typically, if you can, you should make sure that the flash is giving off about one or two stops less light than the available light. So, if the available light shows an exposure of 125 at ƒ8, then set the flash for an aperture on 5.6 or 4.

Tom has had a camera or mouse in his hand for more than 30 years. His step father was a well known English actor who starred in many films with the likes of Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, Maureen O'Hara, John Wayne and many others. One of his favorite movies was with John Wayne in The Quiet Man, shot in Ireland. He played the part of the visiting Bishop. After coming off set one day, he was approached two Nuns who thought he was a real bishop, and so the nickname "Bish" stuck with him from then on. He was an avid photographer, and taught me photography from the age of 12. He was a great man and a great mentor. I miss him very much.

Photography is a wonderful medium. It captures moments in time forever available for you and the world to see, whenever you want to go back a remember a special moment. Your parents, your childhood, your family and kids. And if you enjoy photography as much as I do, then you might be considering how to make some money with your camera. The hardest part is making a start. The course described in the web site can help if you are serious about making money in photography.

Like many professionals, Tom Jackson began his career by shooting weddings. You can make a substantial income shooting weddings with little overhead. Tom has had a camera or computer mouse in his hand for more than 30 years. With the advent of digital cameras and software, Tom has been a consultant to the graphic design, advertising and publishing industries, teaching digital technology. You can get more info on wedding photography, cameras and computer image editing, and see examples of his work, or info on how to start your own business at this website

The RAW Facts, RAW or JPEG

RAW file opened in Apple Aperture.

Using the Loupe to inspect the image.

Converted to Sepia Tone.

You may be looking for ways to make some extra cash in these hard financial times. If you own a digital camera system and can edit images on your computer, you may have all the skills you need to make a good second income. If you have a passion for taking photos and sharing them with others, you might be able to make a good second income with digital photography. And, if you are interested, you may even be able to make a new career with your photography skills. Many of the top professional photographers began their careers taking photos for friends and family. They had a passion for the creative potential of photography, and enjoyed taking photos whenever the opportunity became available. If that sounds like you, then you too may be able to start a new career, or at least make a good second income.

The technology of digital cameras has come a long way in a very short period of time. Cameras today can tell when a subject is smiling, they can tell when a person enters the image area (you set the camera on time release and when you appear back in the photo the camera senses that and will then take the photo) and they can even tell you if someone blinked when the photo was taken so you can take another and get everyone with their eyes open. Amazing technologies.

But, a question most beginners ask is what file format to use. You may be aware that the smaller, less expensive compact cameras do not have an option, other than JPEG and the ability to take lower resolution images. Cameras today are typically ranging in the area of 8-12 megapixels. By allowing you to use say a 3 megapixel option, you can take many more images, but they cannot be enlarged nearly as much as taking an image at 12 megapixels.

The higher end compact cameras and virtually all DSLR ( Digital Single Lens Reflex) cameras, will allow you to select either RAW or JPEG. Note, when shooting in the RAW format, the camera will always use the maximum resolution of the sensor. Although you can get very good quality images shooting at high res. JPEG option, you will lose many of the editing options whan processing these images on the computer. It is always advisable to shoot in RAW format, to give you the maximum flexibility when editing your images on the computer.

There are many options for editing your RAW images. In most cases, the camera maker will supply some software for your computer, and there are numerous software companies producing software for editing RAW images. Two of the most common include Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Aperture from Apple.

If you goto the blog mentioned at the bottom of this article, you will see some sample images taken from an editing session using Aperture. You will notice on the left side of the first image, many of the editing options available when editing a RAW file. You can more easily restore detail in both highlights and shadows, because the RAW file retains every piece of information that was captured at the time of taking the image. With JPEG, you lose image data, because JPEG files are compressed, and hence, some data is lost when the file is created. This data can never be recovered. It is gone for good.

In the second image in the blog, you will see a drop down menu in the Adjustments pane, and the Sepia Tone option is about to be selected. The third image shows the resulting Sepia Tone image. Now, while this can be done with a JPEG file, the beauty of the RAW format is that the original file is never lost. The software just makes these adjusted images to Proxies of the RAW file, so you can always go back to the original RAW file anytime.

Another advantage of shooting RAW files, is that you will always have the maximum amount of data available for enlargeing your images and making great quality prints. Even if you need to print an 8x10 photo from just a small area of the file, you will usually have enough detail to do so. Remember, you can always create smaller files from your large RAW files, but you can not create large files from a small JPEG image, and expect to get a good looking print.

If you need to email your files, the software will also allow you to Batch Process a whole folder of images, creating a small JPEG file from each RAW file automatically, saving you a lot of time and hassle. Then, for anyone that needs a larger version of the emailed file, it will be an easy task for you to provide such an image.

These days, the cost of memory cards has come down so much, that the cost of memory cards is no longer an issue when taking photos. You should always take your photos at the highest resolution your camera will allow. Memoery cards of 2gig and 4gig are now so cheap, you can purchase several and have always have a spare with you. So, happy shooting and have fun taking photos.

Like many professionals, Tom Jackson began his career by shooting weddings. You can make a substantial income shooting weddings with very little overhead. You can get more info on wedding photography, cameras and computer image editing, and see examples of his work, or get more info on how to start your own business, please visit my site here.

Create Black and White Images

Original Color Image.

Converted with Red Channel Overlaid on Grayscale Image

Creating a Sepia Tone print.

Final Sepia Tone.

Are you looking for ways to make some extra cash in these hard financial times? Do you own a digital camera system? Can you edit images on your computer? Do you enjoy taking photos and sharing them with others? If you answered yes to these questions, then you might be able to make a good second income with digital photography. And, if you are interested, you may even be able to make a new career with your photography skills.

Digital photography has come a long way in just a few short years. Cameras are now able to do some amazing things thanks to computer technology. Some of the new systems just coming to market include the ability to take a photo only when everyone is smiling, and the camera can tell you if some one blinked! Wow, now that is amazing.

Photography is a fun and exciting art and people with creative skills will always be in demand. And in this day and age of amazing color camera and printer systems, many people are looking back at the art of black and white photography. Black and white photos gave always had an intrinsically artistic aura about them. Ansel Adams developed the Zone System, in an effort to make black and white photography more predictable and consistent. In his day, this was a time consuming and labor intensive task.

But, with the computer systems of today, and the inexpensive ink jet printers available, just about anyone can create good black and white images.

So, if you are interested in creating black and white images from your color photos, let me show you a couple of techniques to create great images. You can see samples of the conversions, beginning with an original color wedding photo and the method used to create the black and white versions at the blog mentioned at the end of this article.

If you open an image in Adobe Photoshop, and take a look at the channels, you will notice that the Red channel always has an interesting, bright, almost infra red appearance. In the first example shown in the blog, this Red channel is first copied to the clipboard, the image in converted to Grayscale via the Image, Mode menu option. Once the image is in Grayscale mode, Paste the copied Red channel on top of the newly created Grayscale image. Next, lower the opacity of this new layer to around 50 percent, or just until you have a visually pleasing result. In most cases, the resulting Black and White photo will have a beautiful texture, with a more pleasing result than just the default Photoshop conversion. Of course, this is just one method.

Another method is to use the Black and White adjustment option in the image menu. This method gives you the ability to refine the grayscale appearance of each color in the original image. Many people prefer to use this method, but in my opinion, there are many ways to achieve the result you are looking for, and so I believe you should experiment, have fun, and discover other ways to achieve the desired result.

Now, another option is to create a Sepia print, or a Duotone. This is the recreation of an old technique, where the image has a slightly brownish/reddish tint. The process of achieving this look is via the Duotone option in Photoshop. So, once you have converted your image into a Grayscale image, you go back to the Image menu and select the Duotone option from the menu. This will bring up a dialog box, where you can specify the number of colors you want to use, in this case, a Sepia tone, we want to add a reddish cast, so we will be adding just one other color to the Grayscale image. By clicking on the color square you can select any color you would like to use. Of course, you may want to create an image that has a different color cast, such as a blue etc. Entirely up to you. Once you have selected the color, you then click on the small graph on the left, which will allow you to tweak to effect the color has on the final image.

Now, the final piece of the puzzle is the printer you use to print the results for your client. You will want to purchase a printer with 8 or 9 colors. This type of printer will have two or three black ink cartridges, which will enable you to create a rally beautiful Black and White image, full of the rich tones and lots of detail, to create a truly outstanding image.

Remember, people do not mind paying for quality. If you spend the time to input your creativity to get the images you and your client desire, you will have a client who will be recommending your services where ever they go. Certainly, every time they show someone one of the images you created. Your client will forever appreciate your efforts. And as a photographer, that is what it is all about. Client satisfaction. And client satisfaction leads to income. No one will ever be upset for paying for quality results.

Like many professionals, Tom Jackson began his career by shooting weddings. You can make a substantial income shooting weddings with very little overhead. You can get more info on wedding photography, cameras and computer image editing, and see examples of his work, or get more info on how to start your own business http://www.howtoshootweddings.net

Portraits for Cash

It is possible to make a good income doing the things you love. Photography is a fun and exciting art and people with creative skills will always be in demand. Considering the hard economic times we are facing right now, many people are looking for ways to supplement their incomes. More and more people are losing their jobs. Finding ways to make ends meet is becoming difficult. But, if you own a digital camera system, then you may have the skills and the equipment you need to make a good second income.

Many of today’s top photographers started out taking pictures of friends and family, before they reached the pinnacle of their profession. Some of the top wedding photographers started taking pictures at the request of friends, before they realized they could make a decent living taking photos.

Often, you will be asked if you can take some portraits. If you have decided to try your hand at starting your own part time business, then taking portraits is a great way to make some extra cash and get some great experience. Remember, as a photographer, you need to understand what the client is looking for, and try to take photos that represent what the client needs. You will add your creativity to the equation, and hopefully you will have a satisfied, paying customer, who will recommend your services to all their contacts.

In the blog mentioned at the end of this article, you will find some sample photos that explain more clearly the concepts covered here. As mentioned, you need to show some creativity and you need to capture the essence of the clients character. That is what a portrait is all about. Capturing the essence of the client in such a way that is interesting and tells a story for anyone who will be viewing the images.

In this case, the client wanted some images to capture the spirit and exhilaration of speed and independence, provided by the car and motorcycle of the client. The car is a special high performance model from the Chrysler factory, with a race tuned, turbocharged engine.

To make the portrait stand out, the first image is shot from ground level. This gives a sense of power and speed. The client is posed beside the car, so one can get a good clear view of both the client and the car. This gives a sense of balance, and shows the client as someone who enjoys taming the power of the machine.

The second image is designed to show the sense of power and speed, by taking photos of the car in motion. The trick here is to have the car and driver moving in a direction around the camera. The photographer then need to pan the camera at the same speed as the car, so the car and the driver will be in sharp focus, but the background and the wheels of the car will show a motion blur, giving a heightened sense of speed.

In the third image, we have an image of the car, her motorcycle and the client. In this image, we bring all the elements together in a way that shows these are the things that matter to the client. Here is someone who enjoys power and speed and the thrill of the open road. Here is a person who is a true independent, self motivated and fun loving individual. This is what the client is looking for in their portrait session, and that is what you have to deliver.

If you enjoy photography, then making images like these will be fairly easy for you. In this type of session, you need to have fun with the assignment and takes lots and lots of images. These days, memory cards are cheap, and reviewing the photos on the computer screen is easy and fun. You need to work with your clients. Make them feel at ease and enjoy the shoot. You will come away with lots of great images to sell if you do this.

Remember, people do not mind paying for quality. If you spend the time to input your creativity to get the images, you will have a client who will be recommending your services where ever they go. Certainly, every time they show someone one of the images you created. Never be afraid to look a little silly if that what it takes to get a great image. Your client will forever appreciate your efforts. And as a photographer, that is what it is all about. Client satisfaction. And client satisfaction leads to income. No one will ever be upset for paying for quality results.

Like many professionals, Tom Jackson began his career by shooting weddings. You can make a substantial income shooting weddings with very little overhead. You can get more info on wedding photography, cameras and computer image editing, and see examples of his work, or get more info on how to start your own business here http://www.howtoshootweddings.net

Extra Cash With Your Digital Camera

Here is a wedding album being prepared in Apple's iPhoto software. This program come with every new Mac computer, and it makes it very easy to create and order custom wedding albums. This is the cover jacket for the album, and all the text starts out as a place holder, so you just select the default text and compose the correct text. All very easy with a very professional finished result.


This is a sample spread page. Creating an album is just a simple matter of drag and dropping images into the frame you want, to get the look you want for each album. You can create a large album for the bride and groom and smaller albums for the parents and friends.

The economic depression we are all facing at the moment, is certainly one of the worst, and some believe, even more damaging the great depression back in 1929. Many people are being laid off and losing their jobs and their income. It is very difficult for most people to continue to pay the bills and the mortgage when this happens. Having a skill with which you can make a part time or even full time income if necessary, can be the difference between making ends meet or filing for bankruptcy.

If you own a digital camera system, then you may have the skills and the equipment you need to make a good second income. Wedding photography can be a very lucrative part time of full time option. In the United State alone, wedding photography is approximately a $5 Billion per year industry. That's a sizable market. And with some know how and a decent digital camera, you can be a part of this industry. I have designed a course that includes everything you need, including business forms, technical discussions, sample ads and business cards, and even tips on using Apple iPhoto, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Apple's Aperture. You can see more information at my blog or website.

If you use an Apple Macintosh computer system, you have all the items you need to be able to process, edit, order prints and create photo albums, right from within the iPhoto software. You can create custom wedding books using iPhoto, and fully customize the printed product to please any bride.

iPhoto makes it quite easy to order prints and photo books. The orders are place right within the software, see my blog for sample images of the process. You can add words as well to really get a personalized product for your clients. The bride and groom will love the results, as they are very professionally printed, and relatively inexpensive.

Apple’s iPhoto makes it easy to edit and adjust your images. You can also remove red eye and blemishes. iPhoto ’09 is quite a powerful product if you do not own or wish to purchase other, more expensive software, such as Adobe Photoshop.

One of the first questions I am asked when shooting with a digital camera (after the "which camera do you use, question), is, what format should I shoot? Tiff, High Res. JPEG, RAW etc. And the answer is very simple. RAW! There is NO other option. And you need to make sure that you are using the highest resolution (mega pixels) available on your camera.

You should only be using a digital SLR (DSLR) camera, with the most powerful (expensive) flash you can afford, available for your system. When you shoot a wedding, you will need to use flash for almost every shot you take. Indoors and out, even in bright sunlight. The flash will light dark subjects inside and when you are outside, it will fill in the shadows of your subject, and make the resulting photos look their best.

A very important point to remember when you photograph the bride, is to make sure that there is lots of detail in the wedding gown. With digital cameras, the sensor cannot record as wide a range of light to dark as with traditional film cameras, and whites in particular, can be very challenging to record with detail. This is where you need to be able to balance the flash with the available light to get acceptable results. Otherwise, you may have some angry people calling you after the event. And you cannot arrange a do-over for a wedding, it is a one shot deal. So, make sure you do lots of practice before your first real paying event. A good way to practice is to have you wife/girlfriend/kids dress up in white clothes and take lots of shots and note the settings you need to get detail in the dress, and good even skin tones on the brides face.

Photos of kids at the wedding can help make you a lot of extra money. Whenever possible, set up the kids in the bridal party by themselves. These kinds of photos will sell to the parents, the bride and groom and many other family members, especially the grandparents. Part of your job is to not just take good photos, but to take photos that will sell and keep you in a job and allow you to buy more equipment as you need it. You should always take individual shots of each kid and have the parents help to get them comfortable so you can get some good shots. Always try to choose an interesting background where possible. In order to focus attention on the kids (refer to the photo on my blog, listed at the end of this article) and not the background, I have made a selection around the kids in Adobe Photoshop, and darkened the background a little, so the kids will stand out and be the center of attention in the photo.

Like many professionals, Tom Jackson began his career by shooting weddings. You can make a substantial income shooting weddings with very little overhead. You can get more info on wedding photography, cameras and computer image editing, and see examples of his work, or get more info on how to start your own business at http://www.howtoshootweddings.net

Making Money in Hard Times

This is the final image after editing with Adobe Photoshop. The original image is below. Also, I have included some enlarged detail images for reference.



We are currently in an economic depression. Many people are being laid off and losing their jobs and their income. It is very difficult for most people to continue to pay the bills and the mortgage when this happens. Having a part time hobby with which you can make a part time or even full time income if necessary, can be the difference between making ends meet or filing for bankruptcy.

You can make a good income with wedding photography. It can be a very lucrative part time of full time option. In the United State alone, wedding photography is approximately a $5 Billion per year industry. That's a sizable market. And with some know how and a decent digital camera, you can be a part of this industry. I have designed a course that includes everything you need, including business forms, technical discussions, sample ads and business cards, and even tips on using Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Apple's Aperture. You can see more information and order at my blog or website.

Using Adobe Photoshop will be essential to making a good income with photography as many of the photos you take will require some kind of manipulation, even if it is just a small brightness or contrast adjustment. However, if you can master some of the trickier tools, you will be able to create some stunning photos. You will also be able to contract to other studios for work. Mastering Photoshop is still something that not everyone can do. But id you enjoy creating images on the computer, then you can could be in great demand by others looking for help.

On my blog, you will see images of a cabin in the snow country of Arizona. The client wanted an image that they could frame and put on the wall. They were very proud of their cabin, but to make a really good image required some extensive Photoshop work. The main tool I used was the Clone tool. I think that the Clone tool and the Pen tool are the two most powerful tools in Photoshop. If you master these tools, you will be able to create some really great images.

As you will see, by astute use of the Clone tool, the overhead power lines were eliminated, so we have a nice clear view of the beautiful blue sky. Next, we smoothes out the snow covered road, and deleted the car by Cloning the snow over the car. Next, the sidewalk was smoothed out and the footprints were removed. Then, some Cloning of the snow on the roof to make the roof line look better. Finally, judicious use of the curves and a selection on the cabin itself, brought the warmth and texture of the wood walls to life. These kinds of techniques will enable you to earn money, even in a down economy. Just be sure to practice as often as you can.

One of the first questions I am asked when shooting with a digital camera (after the "which camera do you use, question), is, what format should I shoot? Tiff, High Res. JPEG, RAW etc. And the answer is very simple. RAW! There is NO other option. And you need to make sure that you are using the highest resolution (mega pixels) available on your camera.

You should only be using a digital SLR (DSLR) camera, with the most powerful (expensive) flash you can afford, available for your system. When you shoot a wedding, you will need to use flash for basically every shot you take. Indoors and out, even in bright sunlight. The flash will light dark subjects inside and when you are outside, it will fill in the shadows of your subject, and make the resulting photos look their best.

A very important point to remember when you photograph the bride, is to make sure that there is lots of detail in the brides dress. With digital cameras, the sensor cannot record as wide a range of light to dark as with traditional film cameras, and whites in particular, can be very challenging to record with detail. This is where you need to be able to balance the flash with the available light to get acceptable results. Otherwise, you may have some angry people calling you after the event. And you cannot arrange a do-over for a wedding, it is a one shot deal. So, make sure you do lots of practice before your first real, paying event. A good way to practice is to have you wife/girlfriend/kids dress up in white clothes and take lots of shots and note the settings you need to get detail in the dress, and good even skin tones on the brides face.

Photos of kids at the wedding can help make you a lot of extra money. Whenever possible, set up the kids in the bridal party by themselves. These kinds of photos will sell to the parents, the bride and groom and many other family members, especially the grandparents. Part of your job is to not just take good photos, but to take photos that will sell and keep you in a job and allow you to buy more equipment as you need it. You should always take individual shots of each kid and have the parents help to get them comfortable so you can get some good shots. Always try to choose an interesting background where possible. In order to focus attention on the kids (refer to the photo on my blog, listed at the end of this article) and not the background, I have made a selection around the kids in Adobe Photoshop, and darkened the background a little, so the kids will stand out and be the center of attention in the photo.

Your Wedding Photography Business, Taking Special Photos

Wedding photography is a very fulfilling activity. You get to meet lots of people. You travel to places you have never been to before. You will see some beautiful sunsets. And you get to be intimately involved in an event full of emotion for the bride and groom, their parents and all the friends and family who attend.

If you enjoy photography, and you have some good digital equipment, then you too can participate in the wedding photography industry. An industry that is worth approximately $5 Billion per year. Many of today’s professional photographers began their careers shooting weddings. It is usually the easiest way to get into the photography industry because nearly all of us know someone who will be getting married. And they will need a photographer.

If you know the bride and groom well enough, you can offer them a deal directly or have one of your friends approach the bride or groom. In the tough times we face today, most couples will love the opportunity to save some money. But you do need to ensure that you provide the couple with a quality product. Check some of the downloadable courses available on the net if you are not experienced.

When I am teaching wedding photography, I always tell my students, that every photo you take needs to be good enough that it is one you would buy yourself if you were the bride. Just because you are starting out in this industry, does not mean that you can deliver an inferior product. You really do not want the wrath of the bride and her mom coming down upon you.

One way I make sure I have saleable photos, is to pose the couple, but not in a way that makes the photos look posed. Yes, many will need to be posed, like the photos of the parents etc. But if you can provide some photos to show off the glamour of the occasion or the fun that the couple had on the day, you will receive lots of orders for prints, and the referral of the couple to others they know who will need the services of a wedding photographer.

Whenever I have the chance, I will use items that are meaningful to the bride and groom in my photos. For instance, if the bride is wearing an item that has been handed down from one generation to the next, I will make sure I cover that item in one or more photos for the bride and her family to choose from and hence, make me some more money. This is a business, and you need to keep in mind that you need to make money so you can invest in new technology, as well as providing your clients with a memorable product.

If you check out the photo on the blog shown at the end of this article, you will see one such photo. The groom owned an old Cadillac which was his pride and joy. It was the main car for the bride and grooms arrival at the church and reception. So, to make a memorable shot, I had the bride take the wheel and pretend to be driving away in the grooms pride and joy, while he tried to hop aboard before she ‘got away’. The couple loved this shot. He had to get both feet off the ground to make the shot work, and I did some Photoshop work to make it look like the car was traveling at a higher speed than it was. I think you’ll agree, the shot came out great and the couple loved it.