Here are a few photography tips for you as I get so many comments on my photos. I use a Nikon D40 with the factory lens. I have been dreaming of a nicer lens and the D90 but what I have is working for me right now. Small, digital cameras can also take great photos! and even if they don't you can edit a photo and make it great.
The reason I am going over this here is that most of you photograph your art for you blogs or photograph your items for sale on Etsy. As an Etsy seller, I know you only have a small window of opportunity(sometimes 1-2 seconds) to make a first impression! Your images need to be bright, clear and sharp.
The image above is an edited version of the one below.
It was taken by me at a local science center. SOOC (straight out of camera) it's not too bad. The main subject is slightly off center (a good thing) You can't see any glass glare (I look through my lens until I was in a position where there was no glass glare) I definitely am glad there was glass between these kitties and me! :)
*I try to NEVER use flash. It creates harsh shadows that just aren't becoming to an image. Sometimes that means waiting for the indirect sunlight. Meaning, maybe outside on a sunny day but in the shade. Or inside in a bright room out of the direct sunlight. (like a flash, direct sunlight can cause unfriendly shadows)
*I don't have a tripod so I have learned to exhale then click my photo when my breathe is gone. I find I am most still at that moment.
*I look at my image immediately and ZOOM it. Is it blurry? I retake it. Sometimes you can't tell if a photo is blurry until you zoom in.
*I take many photos, dozens sometimes of the same subject. I had 6+ of the mountain lions.
For this image I cropped (maintaining 4x6 ratio), sharpened (his face and neck fur area), brightened, increased the contrast, used 'region out of focus' to blur the edges, and increased the saturation (to make the colors pop).
It would take me hours to take the screen shots and edit them to show you each step... when I have more time I'll try to do that for you. In the mean time I don't need to recreate the wheel. There are tutorials out there on how to do all of the things I just mentioned.
I use Photoscape almost exclusively now. (I haven't received any compensation from Photoscape for this post.. they don't even know I exist!) I do have Photoshop Elements and CS but find Photoscape is so much more user friendly. And it's FREE! I have been using it for 4 years now and I haven't had any issues, it hasn't crashed my computer or locked it up and there are tons of online tutorials on Youtube for it. The only issue I have with the software is that it is a confusing software if you use it to PRINT your images. I find it is easier to use my other software for printing.
My best suggestion is to PLAY! download the software, open it up, to EDIT your images CLICK on EDITOR. (See image below.)
Select your image from the files on the right hand side and start playing! You won't hurt your image or change permanently until you save it. I haven't really played with the other functions (and there are many!) just Editor.
I'll try to do more tutorials for you, to show you how to layer images etc.. in the upcoming weeks. But in the meantime, download it, and start playing. Watch the tutorials and check out their site for more info as well.
Hope that helps a bit!
xoxo~
Abbie
Saturday, January 19, 2013 at 4:33PM 
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