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