Feex’s Photography

We all do it at one point or another. We like taking photos of nature (for example), so we take more and more photos of nature, and tend over look other areas of photography. Then one day, someone calls up and says, “Hey, we were talking the other day about you doing photography. I think I have some extra work for you, are you interested?”

“Sure!” You say enthusiastically, then almost as an after thought you ask, “What are we shooting?”

The person you are talking with has decided to go for the World Speed Record in a wheel chair. Now, I’ve taken photos of people and I’ve taken photos at more traditional sporting events, like Football, Basketball, and Soccer; but how do you gear up for something you have NEVER shot before? The first photo tip to remember is to always have business cards with you. Because even though he said “the other day” you realize it has been almost two years since you had this discussion, but you did give him a business card and obviously he kept it.

Back to the problem at hand, this photo shoot is prior to the actual event. The photos he wants you to take are to be used as promotion shots. The customer suggests a local park for the photo shoot location. The first photo obstacle is the location itself, yes there are some nice points but, this park has office building on one side and a huge school on the other side. Always be aware of the background in your photo shoot.

Admittedly this was a new situation for me, but the first dozen shots or so just didn’t feel right to me. Then my mind starting thinking about how I take photos of little kids at weddings; I get down on their level. Yes, this was a full size adult, but the photos didn’t feel right until I was at the same level he was. If the subject is looking down and you photograph looking down at him, there is no interaction. Always take your photos with interaction in mind.

This particular person designed this particular wheel chair specifically for racing. Being totally naïve regarding handicap racing, I had to reply on his expertise to get the right photo. Regardless of the type of event you are shooting, remember this photo tip: use other people’s knowledge to make your photos look more professional. In wheelchair racing for example; the front wheels control all the steering. If I had only shot photos with his hands resting on the back wheels, anybody who did know the event would know I (the photographer) didn’t know what I was doing.

Even though we started this photo shoot early in the morning, the higher the sun got, the more dramatic the shadows got. When the subject was in an actual racing stance and he was leaning forward in his chair it did create some really deep shadows. I experimented with a reflector, a flash and some photos with both. Even though it was a beautiful day, quote “not a cloud in the sky”; I had to be prepared to control the existing light.

To review the lessons learned when photographing something totally out of your everyday experience, this is what I had to learn, or relearn to get the job done:

A) Always have photo business cards available, you never know when they can lead to new and exciting photo opportunities. (Even two years later.)

B) Always be aware of the background! That sounds obvious, but you want to make sure the subject is the main center of attention in your photo, not a reflection off an office window.

C) Always take photos with interaction in mind. Originally I was going to say at the same eye level, but during this photo shoot I also got down and took pictures at ground level as well.

D) Always use other people’s expertise to make your photos look good. This is especially true when shooting things you have never shot before. The subject is much more likely to approve of your work if he or she knows they actually helped with the input.

E) Always be prepared to control the light in your photo to meet the needs of the shoot. A bright sunny day is not always the best time to take a great photograph. Remember this: the brighter the light, the harsher the shadows.

A final thought, as a photographer, your most valuable tool is your mind and the ability to think and see creatively. Do not get so wrapped up in one specialty area of photography that you forget to apply those same photo tips to other areas as well. Life is a journey, not a destination. Likewise, who and what we are as photographers is what we learn from the different types of things we allow ourselves to photograph.



Written exclusively for FeexFoto.com by Tedric Garrison

A photo bag is always a great gift for yourself or others because it enables you to keep cherished memories close wherever you go. Take your time when designing your photo handbag to end up with a perfect product.

Steps to Help You Get the Best Design for Your Photo Bag

The first two steps are actually interchangeable depending on which you deem more important - type of photo or bag.

Step #1 Choosing a Photo

Search for the photo that you wish most to immortalize through your photo handbag. In this step, it’s all about what you care that matters. It could be a photo of you and your grandmother who had recently passed away, the first photo taken of you and your partner, a photo of your newly born child, or a photo of your family during your vacation in Paris.

The photo must be of good quality so it can be printed clearly on the bag’s surface later on. If the photo’s pretty old, have a professional edit it first. You can choose two different photos if you wish and have them printed separately on each side of your bag.

If it’s a close up photo, you can use it even on smaller-sized bags, but if it’s a photo with lots of background details, it might suit a larger-sized bag more.

Step #2 Choosing the Bag Size and Type

Let’s say that your photo will suit all sizes of bags. If that’s the case, you’ll now have the benefit of choosing the right size and type of bag according to your preferences.

As most photo bag sellers nowadays offer all kinds of bags, you’ll definitely have a fun time choosing. If you take a look at the marketplace today, you’ll no doubt see photo bags ranging from vanity cases to purses to wristlets to handbags to tote bags to backpacks and so much more.

Choose what you feel you want and need most.

Step #3 Choosing Other Bag Features

Sometimes, the photo bag maker will allow you to fully customize your bag. In this case, consider the following factors:

Handle Type - Look for something sturdy like bamboo handles or those that are stitched multiple times to the body. The color of your bag’s handles may also be different from the body color of the bag to provide contrast.

Material - If it’s photo quality you’re most concerned of, choose fabrics that are easily printed on like cotton rather than leather. Choose a fabric that’s durable and allows you to select from a variety of colors and styles.

Text - A number of photo bag designers also allow you to add text to your bag. They might require you not to go beyond a specific number of characters depending on the bag size or if you don’t want to be charged extra. Choose the font color and type that will best match the design of your bag.

Step #4 Ordering Your Bag

You’ve now finished designing your photo bag. All you have to do is submit your order form. Make sure you go over it several times by yourself and with the designer or any of the company’s representatives to make sure they get every detail right. You can usually upload your photo to their website or mail it to them by post.

You’ll usually receive your photo bag in a few weeks’ time. Have fun when you do!



Written exclusively for FeexFoto.com by Mario Churchill

One of the great gifts you can give is a picture on canvas. Most of the times, the picture is probably a photograph taken during one of the most memorable events you have shared with family and friends, pets, wife or husband, and kids.

In order to create the best picture on canvas, you need to take the highest quality print or digital photo. Photo editors through the use of the best photo editing software and scanning equipment on the market can only produce a picture as good as the original photo. They can try to enhance it but there are limitations. They can work around those limitations and the original image and then create an entirely new picture to canvas. As long as you can take enough photographs, the photo editors will be able to review and choose among them, and optimize each one to get the best possible results.

You have three choices when submitting your picture to canvas it and create the best possible print job. These are the best, reasonable, and poor photo choices.

• Best Photos. The best photos you will be able to submit will result in produce high quality photos. Nearly all styles of photo editing are well suited on the best photos taken by a professional or a novice. This is best described as shots that are in focus and the subject of the shot fills up nearly the entire frame. You need to get as much detail as possible so that the photo editors will have something to work with. So you need to have the figures centered, the details should be crisp and clear, and the shots should have a good composition.

• Reasonable Photos. Reasonable photos can turn out into good quality picture to canvas. These shots are a step down from the best photos. If we zoom into the image, we can only get details that are not as sharp as the best photos. The photo editors can still use the image and improve them but not all the styles used in digital printing and editing can be used on reasonable photos. So reasonable photos are taken with focus that is almost clear particularly the subject of the photo, the subject is filling up the entire frame, and the details merely have medium clarity. Some causes of reasonably taken pictures are subject is not centered when you took the shot, the subject you took a picture of is just too far away, or you used a strong camera flash.

• Poor Photos. The photo editors will have very limited use on such poor photos. Poor photos will not have very good quality picture on canvas. Some causes of poor photos are dark shots of the subject, pictures are faded, details are unclear, and you have used a small resolution on your digital camera when you took the shot. What will happen is that you will have poor clarity of the details which is important when you want the picture to canvas.

In worst case scenarios when your photo is too old and you really want the picture on canvas, what you need to do is submit the picture so that the photo editors can take a look at it and tell you how much they can work on or if they can actually work on it. They might be able to enhance the image but it might just as far as they can go. If you are not satisfied with the results, you can always ask for a refund.

Whatever the case maybe, you are guaranteed that a picture on canvas that you have is the best gift you can give. As the saying goes, “A picture paints a thousand words.”



Written exclusively for FeexFoto.com by Vikram kuamr

Digital photo printing has completely changed the way how photo printing is done, making it easier and convenient. Digital photo printing has totally eliminated the problem of keeping the images that you shot stored in your digital camera, computer hard disk or for that matter memory cards. Digital photo printing means quality and intensity. Now you can have crystal clear photographs printed out on quality paper.

Digital photo printing can be done at home. For this all you need to do is buy a quality printer – an ink jet printer with around six colours will be sufficient. In addition to this, you also need a photo editing software. Make sure it is anything less than $120 dollars. It should be equipped with advanced automatic characteristics such as colour adjustment and correction, brightness control panel, and auto focus controller. And most importantly buy paper without compromising on quality so that you can have fantastic photo prints.

Digital photo printing in itself is not complete. It requires external components to supplement it such as printers. The market is flooded with printers that are designed specifically for getting digital camera photo printouts. These come with cartridges and photo papers meant exclusively for photo printing. These printers are capable of transferring the images stored in your digital cameras onto photo paper. The photo prints so obtained are of immense quality.

Another benefit that digital photo printing offers you is that you do not require a computer to make these printers work. A direct print from the digital camera can be taken. Some printers also have memory card slits, which facilitate direct and smooth printouts of images without exhausting your camera battery. So, digital photo printing has made the process of taking photo printouts a pleasurable experience. Photo printing has never been so simple and convenient than it is today, thanks to digital photo printing.



Written exclusively for FeexFoto.com by Thomas Jack

How to take adorable photos of your pet

They’re cute, cuddly and they really do become cherished members of the family. But if you want photos of your pet that you can use for photo sharing, it will help to learn a few inside secrets.

While great pet photography is an art like anything else, if you master these tips you can create photos you can use for easy photo printing as well, and that your whole family will talk about for years to come.

Tip #1: You can’t get a ’staged’ photo

The first thing to remember is that Fido, Fluffy or Tweetie may not pose exactly like you want - unless you simply want them to sit and look at the camera. While posed shots have their place as records of important moments or events, it’ll take a little more work to take of your pet you’ll truly cherish - photos you’ll be proud to use in photo sharing and easy photo printing. But the effort you put in will be well worth it.

Tip #2: Get down to their level

In one respect, pets are like kids. They’re all over the place, they fidget and rarely, if ever, keep still. So it helps to get down to their level. No, that doesn’t mean making funny faces or acting a bit foolish. What is does mean is getting down on the floor in order to take the best photograph. Basically, you wan to be eye-to-eye with your pet — whether he’s relaxing on the sofa or on top of the picnic table.

When you do you’ll have be able to photo memories you can use for photo sharing - wonderful photos of your pet in some of their most natural poses!

Tip #3: ‘Go below’

If it’s at all possible, try to take pictures of your pet from a perspective that’s below them - get underneath their normal line of sight. This will make for an unusual and intriguing shot and create photos no one will ever forget - photos that people will want to reprint using easy photo printing! You’ll also have fun for many years as you use the Internet for photo sharing.

Tip #4: Be quiet!

You never want to startle or alarm your pet. So try not to make any sudden movements or loud noises that might frighten your best friend. This is especially important when you’re sneaking up on him while he’s playing with a ball or rolling around on the floor.

Tip #5: Bring out the performer in him!

This is very different than actually trying to get your pet to pose. The fact is, many cats or dogs will actually perform tricks for certain family members they are comfortable with. And they’ll do it on command. If you can capture one of these moments, you’ll have some great photos that will be special and quite hilarious - and perfect for photo sharing!

Tip #6: Keep your pet’s personality in mind

If you’re struggling for some good ideas, why not concentrate on your pet’s personality or his features? What makes him special or endearing? He may love to sleep on his back in a funny way? Or he may love jump real high when waiting for a treat. Or he may have unique eyes or an unusual color.

The point is, you know your pet’s best attributes. Capture them with your camera and you’ll be using photo sharing and easy photo printing to share memories of your pets for years to come.

Tip #7: Put yourself (or a child) into the photograph

In the great scheme of things, people and pets go hand in hand, especially children. Who can resist a little kid and a pet?

While solitary shots are perfectly good, you can add real excitement and drama by creating contrasts and contradictions. Small children and big animals or big men with a small dog or cat will make everyone smile!

Tip #8: Avoid flash photography

Again, this is an easy one. It should be obvious that any type of flash may really frighten or alarm your pet. So it’s always best to shoot when the natural light is good. Besides, animals are prone to red eye and eliminating the flash and using natural light is a great way to end the red eye effect!

Tip #9: Be prepared!

Let’s face it - getting the perfect shot of your family pet involves luck, being in the right place at the right time. So be prepared at all times. You never know when that precious moment will occur. Catch them while they’re sleeping or munching on a snack.

Oh, and don’t try for the perfect shot. Just have fun. That’s one of the biggest secrets to being able to enjoy photo sharing and easy photo printing!



Written exclusively for FeexFoto.com by Carey Paris

Don’t you think that photography is exorbitant? Of course, it is expensive only at the high-street shops but not in the online market. We need photo prints for various reasons. Sometimes for personal use and sometimes for commercial purpose. You can also use photo prints for making online photo album. For this purpose, you got to visit a few notable photo printing websites.

What does make people to rush after the photo printing websites? The most satisfactory answer for this question is that people get unique services as well as cost-effectiveness from these photo printing websites. If you pay a few bucks, then you can have good quality prints of photos. Besides, these are 100% digital photo prints. Such digital photo prints always attract many people. So, use them for capturing moments that might fly away with the passage of time.

Local photo studios are the means of the past. Thanks these studios have become old, at least our valuable money is in safer hands. Their ordinary photos cannot be compared to the standard photo prints provided by the various online sources. So, it is better to visit these online sources and enjoy their extra-ordinary work.

People have been always accepting changes that can really change their lives. So, the same story is with beautiful photos prints. These days people do not use their personal computers to get photo prints. Instead, they go for various sites that offer guaranteed photo printing work. There are websites which also offer free online software that help people to design photo prints with respect to their thinking. So, these online sources are the only places on this earth to expose your creativity as well as talents.

Hurry up and grab the different online discounts and take out photo prints as many as you can. Try to use a sophisticated website to let you serve with its exclusive photo printing work. Hence, watch your lovely moments in fine photo prints.



Written exclusively for FeexFoto.com by Thomas Jack

Imagine yourself in the past trying to get fine photo prints. Would this work have been so easy? Definitely not. The kind of photo prints that you used to get in the past even after paying lots of money were not good in their quality. But these negative issues are no more. Having photo prints of your memorable times is a joy forever. For additional information, go through the following lines.

These days getting photo prints have become very cheap. Just with a few bucks you can have multiple photo prints. On the photo printing websites you can also enjoy other facilities like online sharing of photos, online photo books, self designing of photos etc. Such facilities can never be found in the local photo studios. Online websites let you enjoy many things which you will find very interesting and pleasureable. Many people are enjoying these facilities within the comfort of their homes. So, you should also make use of these benefits.

There are people who still think that photo printing websites cost very high price. It is completely false. If you personally visit these websites, then you will find that prices are very low in comparison to what people think about online photo prints. Never listen to what just people comment about these online services. Many people are making use of these websites and are reaping benefits out of it. Visit a couple of websites and find out the difference by yourself.

If you need photo prints for commercial purpose, then you can also take the help from the photo printing websites. These websites offer huge corporate and commercial discounts. Make use of these benefits and enjoy a happy photo prints experience. There is no doubt that you will get addicted to the facilities offered by the photo printing websites. You will surely get back to these sites next time when you will think of having photo prints.



Written exclusively for FeexFoto.com by Thomas Jack

By now you’ve probably heard that writing photo articles is a great way to get Qualified Traffic to your photography web site. By “Qualified Traffic” I mean people that are actually interested in photography to begin with. Let’s face it, 10,000 visitors a month to your site means nothing if only 10 of those people are actually interested in photography.

I want to be up front with you. I have 30 years photography experience, 10 years web page design experience, but only two years of writing photography articles experience. So, you ask, why am I writing about writing if that’s what I have the least experience in? I write about 48 years of lifetime experiences and relate them to photography. In other words, all that we are as photographers or writers comes from ALL that we are.

On my own website I currently have about 120 photo articles, 120 photo tips, 120 photo quotes, etc. The reason I choose 120 as the magic number was so that I could list 10 new photo articles, 10 new photo tips, 10 new photo quotes etc each month on my front page. This way my home page would have new and different information showing up each month for a whole year before anything was duplicated.

That having been said, I ran into an interesting design problem. When I had to list an article with a title like: “Depth of Field - A Major Player in Creative Control”, it physically would not fit in the small space I had on the left hand side of the page. At first I shortened the link to something like: “DOF- A Major Player”.

Keep in mind that web pages and articles have several things in common; one of the most obvious being that they do better when “Key Words” are included. Key words are those words people will type into Google or Yahoo to find your website or article to begin with. To give you an idea how important they are, my first photo website was called: “lordtedric.com”, simple, unique, easy to remember. The problem is: it said nothing about photography. Unless someone knew me personally, they had absolutely no reason to go there.

I had learned that lesson when I designed my current website, but I still had not applied it to my articles yet. Maybe I get too focused in on one problem at a time. At the time I was thinking about web page design not articles, but I did realize I had a similar problem. Rather than using the short description “DOF- A Major Player” I went to “DOF in Your Photo”. Presto! Problem solved. Short, concise, to the point, and now my link had another Key Word on my home page.

Sometimes one good idea leads to another, and another, and another, etc. I figured if it would work on my article, why don’t I change ALL the links to include a key word? This is where I got my education about article titles. I did NOT write most of the photo articles on my site. There are many photo articles written by very good photographers, but a surprising number of them never mentioned the words photo or photography in their title. I am not passing judgment, because I did the same exact thing. True, “Depth of Field” is a key phrase, but not as basic or as widely searched for as photography or photo. By changing the title of my photo article to: “Depth of Field - A Major Player in Your Photography”; my search engine response for that article increased dramatically.

Notice the current article you are reading has the keyword “photo” in the title, twice. It is also no accident that I have started writing articles with my web site’s name in the title as well. This is something that has been learned over time. I had already written 60 photography articles, when it finally dawned on me that I REALLY needed to include key words in the main title. For me, having the word photo or photography in the title of a new article is not even an option any more. No matter how clever or catchy a title may appear if it does not include a key word, (like “photo”) then it defeats the purpose for having written the article to begin with.

Like wise, it is possible to write a photography article and only use the key words two or three times. Yes, it is possible to do this; in fact it is amazing how many people do, but if the reason you are writing your photo article to begin with is to draw attention to your photo website, then you need to include those key words in the body of your text as well. The article you are reading has the words “photo or photography” in it at least 30 times. Is that over doing it? You tell me. Read this article again, does it feel like those key words were forced? As long as the key words are relative to what you are talking about, use them as often as possible.

Personally; I believe photography is a gift from God, as is the ability to write clearly. Speaking as a parent (and as a grandparent), I also believe the best gifts are those that can be shared. A great photo can motivate, uplift and inspire. Do you know anybody who does NOT need a little more of those traits in their life? Go out and make the world a better place. Share the gifts you’ve been given with the world today!



Written exclusively for FeexFoto.com by Tedric Garrison

Photography is truly an enjoyable art because of the great freedom it offers. You can take many different types of photos you don’t have to be stuck taking the same type of photos everyone else does. You can be as creative as you want. While it’s an awesome hobby, it can also be something that makes you money. This article is for all the photographers who have ever wondered how to sell photos online. You’ll learn exactly how to sell photos online for a profit.

Step 1: Look Online

There are certain types of images which are in demand, and there are those which aren’t so popular. Before even trying to make money by selling photos online, you should take some time to do a little research. Go online to a stock photography web site and take a look at their selection of images. Next to an image, you might find something that says it is popular or in demand. These are the types of images that you want to take as they the most profitable photos to sell online.

Step 2: Good Equipment

Stock photography sites and their customers demand photos of a certain quality. They usually don’t want amateur looking shots, but rather those that look very good. You should invest in a very good digital camera to take the photos with. Now which camera you choose will depend on the types of images you’re hoping to take. For instance, if you’re looking to take action shots (that is, photos of things or people in action) you might want a digital camera that is especially good. You can get camera recommendations at any digital camera forum. Don’t ignore this step as it is one of the most important to sell photos online.

Step 3: Take the Photos

Now that you know what type of photo to take, and you have the right equipment, it’s time to actually take the photo or photos. When doing this, if you are using a model, make sure they sign a waiver giving you all the rights to sell the image(s)–failure to do so can result in potential legal trouble. If possible, take a lot of photos so that you’ll have a good amount to select from. This allows you to truly find the best images, which will make it that much easier when you sell photos online.

Step 4: Find Places to Sell Them

You have the photos. Now what? Well, it’s now time for you to find places to sell photos online. To this end, there are many sites which are popular and will allow you to successfully sell photos online. The key is to find these sites and not get caught up in the few that are actually rip-off sites. For this part of the selling process, you may want to enlist Google and look for terms like places to sell photos online, stock photography web sites etc. You may also want to join some photography forums and ask experienced photographers which sites are reliable to sell photos online and which are not.

Step 5: Select a Place

It’s unwise to just find a site and automatically choose to use it for when you sell photos online. That’s why like some of the other steps of the photo selling process, you need to take time to research. Research each site you’ve found to see if they’re reliable, fair to customers and those who submit the photos (i.e. you), are well-known and organized. You absolutely don’t want to choose a site that has a poor reputation or else you’ll end up not selling very many photos online. Google is your best friend in this part of the process as you should be able to thoroughly research any web site to see if they’re good for you and your photos or not. Again, you might also want to ask fellow freelance photographers for recommendations, just so that you get enough information to make the best decision.

Step 6: Submit the Photos

After you’ve picked the site you wish to use to sell photos online, it’s time to actually submit the photos. When doing this, you need to be sure to follow all the rules the site has for submission. You’ll want to fill out the form as accurately as possible, and if they ask you what category your photo belongs in, take the time to research and find out what is the best fit as far as a category is concerned. If you have questions about the form, ask the site. We can’t stress this fact enough: you absolutely NEED to follow all the directions for submission as if you don’t, no matter how good your photos are, they won’t be accepted. Do not neglect this important part of the process to sell photos online or it could cost you big time.



Written exclusively for FeexFoto.com by Ron McNeil

AnvSoft Inc., the multimedia software developer, unveils a new website (http://www.photo-dvd-maker.com) today for its best-selling slide show software, Photo DVD Maker. The newly-revamped web site of Photo DVD Maker features stylish new layout, refined graphic design, vivid demo flash, and an enhanced online support center.

Begin with the appealing words, “We all have big days. Birthday, graduation, wedding, Christmas, party, holiday… A special photo slideshow with music makes the big day special,” the Introducing Photo DVD Maker section offers a simple but promising overview of the photo slide show creating program. “Creating photo slideshows with Photo DVD Maker is easy and enjoyable.” With Photo DVD Maker, yes, you can.

Photo DVD Maker is designed for creating photo slideshows that can be burned to DVD/VCD for watching on TV, transferred to iPod, PSP, mobile phones, uploaded to YouTube and MySpace, and saved in FLV, MPEG, AVI video formats.

The Features section highlights some of Photo DVD Maker’s best functions and features, such as

– Add text and clip arts to slideshows

– Make film-style photo DVD movies

– Support iPod, PSP, mobile phones and YouTube

– Customizable DVD menu templates

Over the past months, AnvSoft has been worked on collecting user feedback, analyzing technical solutions, and preparing the web presentation of the online support center, which offers comprehensive resources of FAQs, how-to, License Key Auto Retrieval, and contact information.

Frequently asked questions are selected, based on user feedback, and answered in well-organized order: Order Issues, Backup CD, Installation & Registration, Project & Albums, Adding Photos, Adding Music, Effects, Themes & Templates, Burning DVD/VCD, Watching on TV, and Uploading to the Internet.

Hot topics such as, “How can I get the program and license code after ordering”, “What if I lost the license code”, “How many photos can be added to one slideshow”, “How to add protected music to the slideshow”, are answered in the Top 10 Questions section.

As Christmas nears, AnvSoft is preparing for the holiday shopping season. “The revamping of the website of Photo DVD Maker one of the moves,” said the Marketing Manager of AnvSoft, “A one-stop-for-all-AnvSoft-Software special offer for the Christmas holiday is on the way rolling out.”

About AnvSoft

AnvSoft Inc. (http://www.anvsoft.com) is a multimedia software company that develops markets and sells photo slideshow maker, flash creator, DVD/video tools and audio converter program. Ever since 2002, the product line of AnvSoft has expanded from audio converter and video converter to a complete set of DVD/video tools, audio tools, photo management software and slideshow/flash software.

Contact for more information about this press release:

support@anvsoft.com



Written exclusively for FeexFoto.com by Emma