Do you know what ISO is? Perhaps not. And, in fact, you don’t need to know what it is - just how to use it. In very simple terms, the ISO setting is a measure of how sensitive your camera sensor is to light. A low ISO (e.g. 100) will not be very sensitive to light whereas a high setting (e.g. 1600) will be very sensitive.

How does this affect you?

It’s simple, and don’t let others tell you otherwise. If you have plenty of light around - say on a sunny day or if it is bright but overcast, use ISO setting 100 or 200. In fact, keep it at that setting for most of your shots. Then just take your pictures as normal.

If however, you are in low light levels, you may wish to use flash (keep the same ISO setting) OR use a higher ISO without flash.

Here is an example of practical use:

You want to take a picture of your friend. Normally, on a normal bright day, you would use programme mode or a semi-automatic mode which will select an aperture of 5.6 and shutter speed of 1/250. No problem.

But if the light is fading and you don’t want to use flash, then the shutter speed for the same aperture might reduce to 1/30 or 1/15. At slow speeds like this you will find your shots are not as sharp due to camera shake. Here, you can switch to a higher ISO setting - for every doubling of the ISO you can halve the shutter speed. Therefore you will be able to use a faster shutter speed in low light conditions with a higher ISO.

That’s it really.

There are two drawbacks. First, you will get a “noisier” image at a higher ISO setting (more grainy - but this can often create a nice effect) and secondly you must remember to switch back to your usual ISO after the shots have been taken (so that your usual images have the optimum ISO setting).

Eric Hartwell runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com.

There are also some excellent online courses available and some of them are free, just type “Photography free online courses” into your search engine. Morguefile is an example they offer sound technical advice on a variety of subjects, as well as aspects of types of photography, it is a good point to start with, showing the resources Jodie Coston, a freelance photographer, has made available online, after a series of classes she gave. The New York Institute of Photography offers an online course over a period of about eight months, with a few hours work a day at your own pace, they offer courses in Photography and digital photography. Whilst they state they have been teaching photography for a hundred years, they do not quote their prices online, you have to contact them direct. They offer the information that most of their students are mature. Photo seminars offer a free workshop and a free lesson, so that you may you may evaluate the course before you buy. The enrolment cost is 39.00. U.S. dollars. They also offer links and resources. Better Photos, also offer a wide range of courses at different prices, with differing lengths, the subjects are either technical or cover “How to take more dramatic photographs”. For these courses you need to transfer the photographic assignment you were given to a web page on their site, so you need access to a computer.

There are times when the free courses cannot teach you any more and you have to pay for further knowledge. There are excellent resources in the forms of e books that give you invaluable practical information.

If you are just starting digital photography, you will find that you need skills that are not covered in analog photography. You will need to learn how to use an editor Adobe Photoshop, which is the industry standard for desktop imaging. Whilst Adobe produce their own official training manual’s, they are not the easiest resource for total beginner’s (my apologies to the author, but they are hard), there are on line courses available at Beren Patterson is a professional photographer who offers free online courses at his Sister site tribalcog, most of his work is in the travel area, but he has interesting tips about telling a story with your photographs.

There are excellent resources for the committed photographer, as well as the passionate hobbyist offered by the Kansas public Library, they offer galleries, informative articles, history resources, and general photographic resources. It is a very easy place to lose yourself for a couple of days; it is certainly worth more than a cursory glance.
As well as on- line courses there are excellent resources available to the photographer.

There are several sites for the professional photographer. The American Society of picture professionals is an association of professional who sell photographs overseas and at home. They have four types of members, and their fees range from 25.00 to 100 U.S. dollars. The American site of Media Photographers, have three aims. To protect and promote the interests of photographers whose work is for publication, to promote professional standards and ethics, as well as the promotion of friendship between photographers. They also have several classes of membership, as well as buying and selling photographs. The National Press Photographers Association has available some interesting free reports, and you do not have to be a member to read them.

There are an assortment of lessons both free, and paid for and also those available only to member’s at the Web Photoschool, they offer a tour around their site, so you can familiarise yourself with its feel. The lessons cover all levels of experience from beginner’s to professionals.

The Epsom Online Experience offers a unique and innovative course, for the digital photographer. For $29.95 you will receive five new video lessons per week for 12 weeks. It is run by professional photographers, Greg Gorman, Jay Maisel, and Bruce Dale.

They are available to teach you how the techniques, that they utilised to get their award winning shots. There is a library of “how to” that you have access to, as well as tutorials on how to use the scanner and printer to the best effects. Previews of the video are available on their site.

For those of you that feel you learn better under tutorial guidance, the School of photography offers courses 24/7 for you to work at your own pace. The courses are from beginner to the professional with a course on “how to freelance”. They have a free course available on aspects of night photography, which is in three parts.

Exposure 36 specialise in photographic education, most of their courses are in centres in Canada and the U.S.A. but they offer CD’s and also offer training on a one to one basis, or for yourself and a group of friend to set up a photographic workshop. They also have a series of articles aimed at all levels that are available for purchase.

For the nature lover in the U.S.A. there are online newsletters available that cover all aspects of photography in America, they are an invaluable introduction to the photographer who wants to explore new areas. The newsletters have been published for fifteen years, and back issues are available.

Not only are their online courses available, but also for those who need to brush on specific techniques, such as marketing - there are electronic books (e-books) available, most of these are written by professional photographer’s already making money in a competitive market. These books cover how to market a small business, photographic techniques, and photographic markets.

Better Photos offer a wide range of courses aimed at all levels; they offer courses on techniques such as lighting, as well as courses on marketing aspects. Each week you are sent a lesson via electronic mail. Contained in this lesson is a practical assignment, which has to be completed within a fortnight.

Publisher & author: Roy Barker. Roy is the author of the popular ebook, Income from Photography - a downloadable ebook which guides the reader on how to start up and market a Profitable Photography business. It can be viewed at http://www.profitable-photography.com. Other related and reviewed services & research sources can be found at http://www.profitable-photography.com/html/117/ The information on this and adjoining pages may be reprinted and used on other sites providing all information remains unchanged and the article and all pages remain as they are found here in its current font size & image with all links in tact.

The task of choosing the correct digital camera can be both a time consuming and daunting experience without the right tools at your disposal. One of the things you can do to make your shopping experience more successful is spend some time learning about common terms used to describe the abilities of digital cameras. This article will focus on two terms related to light exposure in digital cameras: aperture and shutter speed.

One of the first technical specifications you may encounter when you look at camera information is the aperture. (’ap-&(r)-’chur) The word aperture comes from the middle English aperture and Latin apertus. Apertus is the past participle of aperire, which means to open. And this is exactly what an aperture is.

Aperture refers to the size of the diameter (distance from one side of the opening to the other) of the iris when it is open at its largest point. Aperture is measured in the units F-stop. Try to remember that the smaller the F-stop, the larger the maximum lens opening on the camera. The sensitivity of the camera to light is controlled in part by the aperture.

If you are purchasing a new camera, you should look for product with an aperture range from F2.8 to F8, while advanced photographers may need a range closer to F1.8 to F16. A large aperture means that you have more leeway with lighting conditions when you are shooting. If you have a larger possible aperture, you will be more prepared for low-light conditions. To give you some perspective, the mid-range Z650 digital camera by Kodak offers both wide and telephoto options for aperture, which range from F2.8 to F8 and F3.7 to F8 respectively.

Aperture is related in part to shutter speed. Shutter speed on cameras can range from as short as one eight-thousandths of a second up to a full thirty seconds. This time refers to how long light is allowed in through the camera lens when you hit the shutter (picture capture) button. Today’s digital cameras generally offer both an automatic and manual shutter speed mode. For example, the new Kodak EasyShare Z650 has an automatic shutter speed range between 1/8th and 1/1700th seconds. The manual mode of the Kodak Z650 goes from eight to 1/1000th seconds.

It doesn’t hurt to pay attention to shutter speed when you’re picking out a new digital camera for yourself because there are some interesting techniques you can practice with a variable shutter speed. One example is using your camera to capture an object in motion. If you follow the object and have adjusted your shutter speed correctly, you can succeed in showing the object in perfect focus and yet a blurry moving background.

An interesting aspect to keep in mind as you look around for a digital camera is that aperture and shutter speed are related terms. These two aspects of a camera work together to control the amount of light that reaches your CCD, CMOS or other digital sensor. By shopping for a camera that offers you maximum aperture size and range of shutter speed, you will be giving yourself more options to shoot different kinds of photos.

In closing, a higher maximum aperture is better, as it allows more light to hit the sensor in your camera. A smaller minimum aperture size is also good, because it gives you more flexibility when lighting is abundant. A fast shutter speed means that you’ll have greater ability to shoot fast moving objects and make use of a number of popular motion-based shooting techniques.

Phillipe Testanni is a photography hobbiest and author of articles about taking digital photographs for Elite-Cameras.com. Alex gratefully acknowledges the help and mentoring and photography lessons he received from Clara Parks.

Want To Improve your Photo Sales? Here Are Seven Marketing Mistakes To Avoid.

“Why Do I See Others Photos Published –
Yet Mine Are Better?”

My cousin in Texas told me she wanted to get into stock photography and hoped to start selling to magazine and book publishers. When I visited her a couple of years ago, she brought out an album of her outdoor and travel photography. “People have told me these pictures are as good as the ones they see published in magazines and books. What do you think ?”

“Before I look at the pictures, let me see your marketing methods,” I said.

“My what?”

If you are interested in seeing your credit line in national magazines and books, and you can produce excellent images, the following will be helpful to you.

We all know that trying to sell excellent umbrellas on a dry day is difficult. Even the inferior ones will sell during a downpour.

The engine that drives the selling process for stock photographers is fueled by effective marketing methods.

Over the years, I’ve looked at dozens of collections of superb photos gathering dust in a shoe box. One important element stood between those pictures being published and remaining in the shoe box: skillful marketing techniques.

I’ve noticed that the photographers who succeed at selling to the book and magazine industry are those that have developed a strategy for selling, which today we call, marketing.

We’ve heard of the photographer who hit the jackpot with the sale of one photo for use on a billboard or an advertising campaign. This is rare. Your best bet to break into the stock photo field is the book and magazine industry.

The photography budget for a medium-size publishing house is between $20,000 and $40,000 monthly. For a major publisher, it’s twice that amount. Stock photographers who are consistent at selling their photos have learned to identify certain markets that match their own areas of interest. Once they become a “regular” at the publishing house, they receive a steady stream of photo requests and assignments.

Want to improve your marketing methods? Here are seven marketing mistakes to avoid.

CREATE FIRST THEN FIND A MARKET
Number one is probably the most oft-repeated marketing mistake. Creative people tend to produce their product first and then attempt to find a market for it. This is a recipe for disaster. The Boulevard of Broken Dreams is strewn with bodies of creative people who never learned: “Find the market first, and then create for that market.”
Most entry level stock photographers fail because they go after the “photos that sell”, not necessarily the ones they love photographing.

SPECIALIZE
When you try to be all things to all people in the publishing world, the photobuyer’s reaction is: “No one can be that good!” Discover your photographic strength areas, and go for them. Most entry-level stock photographers go have the whole pie rather than the piece of the pie.
Become a specialist. don’t photograph everything you see. you’ll burn out. Stay within a “segment” and become an expert in your area(s) of interest. Learn to speak the language of your interest areas. You’ll become a valuable resource to a certain group of photobuyers out there. If wild horses can’t pull you away from your goals, you’ll succeed. You’ll fail or get bored if you aim for only those markets that ‘pay well’.

FOR SOUL NOT FOR SALE
Writer’s rarely publish their poetry and even rarer is getting paid for it. In the stock photography field, don’t expect your ‘artsy’ pictures to sell. Consider them your poetry. Ask yourself next time you’re taking (making) a picture, “Is this for sale or is it for soul?”
Spend Sundays to take pictures that feed your soul, take the marketable pictures during the week to feed the family.

PASSING THROUGH
Give the appearance that you are a ‘permanent’ resident. Most creative people have a tendency to change their address once every five or six years. Photobuyers have a tendency to shy away from the vagabond, the wanderers, no matter how talented they might be. Buying photos is a business and they want you to be businesslike in their dealings with you, and that means being ‘reachable’ five days before deadline. Get an e-mail address and stick with it.

LOOKING LIKE A BEGINNER
If you appear to be ‘just starting out’ photobuyers will pass you on by. They don’t have the time to hold your hand or “train” you. They’d rather spend their time with someone who is “hassle-free”. You should give the appearance of looking like a pro. Build a quality website. Correspond on quality stationery, labels, and envelopes. The photobuyer will put you on her/his “white list.”
Don’t use the Internet to send a catalog of your pictures to a prospective editor. Instead, ask for permission first.

TECHNICAL FAILINGS
The automatic controls on digital cameras today make it nearly impossible not to get a technically good photo. Photobuyers expect technical excellence from you. No matter how excellent your image may be, if it does not meet the reproduction quality for the publishing industry, you’ll fail.

A 1D meg picture may be resolution enough for magazine and book markets, however, a 50 meg image is often the minimum requirement of many of your markets. Use this as a guideline when buying your next camera.

HOMEWORKLESS
Do your homework. Know what your strengths are, and then begin photographing in the areas that you love best, where you ’speak the language’ of the photobuyer. Do your homework on the web or at the reference library. You’ll find scores of powerful directories awaiting you, plus photobuyers who, at this moment, are searching for your talent and know-how. They will recognize your mini-expertise that matches the special interest of their magazine or publishing house audience.

ROHN ENGH published a book back in 1981 called, “Sell & ReSell your Photos. (Writer’s Digest Books. It’s now in its fifth printing and has become a bible for photographers just entering the field of stock photography. Rohn also publishes photo needs of national publications in three market letters ranging from a monthly to a daily. He can be reached at Pine Lake Far, PhotoSource International, Osceola WI 54020. (715) 248-3800.