Enter A Pet Photography Contest And Promote Your Pet

By Dee Bovis

 

Want to let the world know about your pet?

Entering pet photography contests is a great way to promote your pet. By submitting your pet pictures to a pet photography contest, you will have a chance of getting your pet photos published. Here are 3 online contests run by reputable websites.

The Dog Guide (dogguide.net)

The Dog Guide, a popular dog site, recently started a monthly dog picture contest. I like the Dog Guide's contest because they make it easy to submit your pictures. All you have to do is send a description of your dog and 3 pictures to the.dog.guide@gmail.com.

At the end of the month, they will choose the top 3 dog pictures. First place will get $30, second place $20, and third place $10.

Cats Central (cats-central.com)

If you own a cat, consider entering your best cat picture in the Cats Central picture contest. Cats Central does not pay the winners of their contest. However, if you win, you will get bragging rights as Cats Central will publish your picture on their contest web page.

To enter this contest, email your best cat photos to mooredesigns@gmail.com. Don't forget to include a description about your cat.

Pet Contest (petcontest.com)

Check out Pet Contest if you have other kinds of pets. Pet Contest allow anyone to submit pictures of birds, reptiles, horses, pigs, fish, and other pets.

To enter their pet photography contest, go to their site and click on the "enter the contest" link. You will have to fill out a form with your personal information and your pet's information. On the next page, you can upload your pet picture.

Learn more about The Dog Guide's dog photo contest. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dee_Bovis

The Rule of Thirds in Digital Photography

By Tracy Crowe

 

The rule of thirds is one of the long-standing rules of photography. It is a widely accepted aesthetic principle. The basic idea of this is that you get a much more aesthetically pleasing image if you place the subject of your photo a third of the way across the frame instead of in the center of the frame. It is long been the accepted way to create more beautiful photos.

Using the rule of thirds meant that photographers should imagine a grid of nine squares placed over their image and then to look to line up elements along this grid, particularily paying attention to the key places created by the four intersections of the grid lines. The objects and areas of interest might also be laid near one of the lines, (it's a good idea to put the horizon below or above the center, for example)

This was a simple guide for photographers to use mentally when looking through the view finder; they didn't need to try to match up lines in their image to the exact grid. Some photographers have the opinion that using the rule of thirds has made the images as mundane, stifling, and conventional as the earlier photography with the subjects centered in the middle of the picture.

The rule of thirds originates in the golden ratio discovered by the ancient Greeks and called "phi". The way this ratio works is if a line A was divided into two sections B and C where one was larger than the other, the golden ratio is achieved when A/B=B/C, or a ratio of 1.6180339887. The golden ratio is found throughout nature. It underlies many growth patterns throughout nature, form the spiral of a Nautilus shell to the petals of a sunflower to the planets of our solar system. It shows up in so many things that we think of as beautiful. This ratio has been used extensively in architecture, art, and music. Ancient Greek buildings are full of golden ratios, and the ancient Egyptians used it too. Leonardo De Vinci used them all the time.

For the photographer it is difficult to work out exactly where the golden ratio is in the viewfinder so people made it simple and said things look better when the subject is about a third of the way across. That is easier for photographers to work with

When people first discovered the rule of thirds they tended to leave the grid on. Often photographers so rigidly adhered to an obvious grid of nine squares that the content of the images was almost less important. There is nothing wrong with this; it is okay to place the subject of the photo a third of the way across as a matter of routine. If all your photos clearly look like a grid then maybe you need to alter your subject matter or other aspects of the photo's composition

A clearly structured photo with an obvious grid is not in any way bad or amateur. However a photo that doesn't show an obvious grid is not at all less aesthetically pleasing either. It is more important to look for the well-composed picture than it is to look for the grid. When you are just starting out you can use the grid as a useful safety net; but also as a launch pad rather than a law that constrains you. With more experience you will find the rule of thirds in your photos where you never consciously looked for it.

The rule of thirds is an established way to make your photographs look better. This being said, you should use this principle as a launching pad for your creativity rather than as an absolute rule. For beginners, it is a good safety net. With experience, you will find yourself using this principle in an unconscious, intuitive manner anyway. You will be taking very appealing, beautiful photos. Have fun.

Tracy Crowe loves beautiful photos. For information about digital photography, visit http://yourdigitalphotographyinfo.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tracy_Crowe

Photography Jobs- How to Become a Ski Bum, I Mean a Professional Photographer

By Brandon Baumgarten

 

A career in photography can be educational, rewarding and lots of fun! But where do you start? How do you get your first photography job? Do you work for an advertising company, newspaper, or modeling agency? Maybe if you are a photography major. So where does that leave the rest of us.

Depending upon your level of motivation and commitment, you can be a successful freelance photographer lining up your own work, but that is another story. Or, you can find an employer to take you on and train you. Yep-sure, where are you going to find that?

How about an on-mountain photographer job at one of the Nations major ski resorts. Almost every major ski mountain has a photography program. Breckenridge, Steamboat, Vail, Copper Mountain Colorado, Heavenly California and Jackson Hole Wyoming will train outgoing and enthusiastic candidates to be professional photographers.

Have you ever wanted to become an extreme sports photographer? This is your chance. The action photographers shoot the ski/snowboard terrain park and get private appointments that typically want extreme shots. Another part of the photography job is setting up on the side of a run and photographing skiers as they rip by. Your action shots get really good, quickly when you shoot a thousand pictures a day and you work on commission.

Do you have a zest for life, love working with families, would you enjoy working with a variety of groups or shooting child photography? Then a ski hill portrait photography job would be perfect for you. You set up your shop on the mountain at the scenic overlook. Families, groups, couples, kids ski right up for a photo shoot. it is not unusual to shoot 20-30 groups a day during peak periods like spring break, you can't buy experience like that, but you can get paid to do it!

You will learn valuable photography skills that you can use the rest of your life. You will gain the experience and confidence to go up to anyone, anywhere take their picture and sell it to them. You will learn a work flow that can be applied to many different types of photographic situations when you freelance on your own.

The whole world will open up for you and your love for the art of photography with real world experience.

It is important to note that most of the ski areas will provide you with the proper camera equipment, uniform, and a mountain pass to get to your zone. You need your own ski/ snowboard equipment and Although they rarely provide housing they may have suggestions on how to get settled in to the area.

This isn't for everyone, if you really just want to ski, get an evening job doing something else from 3-11pm. You can ski all day, everyday.

If you love photography and skiing you better hurry up and get in touch with one of the resorts right away because they fill their photographer jobs in October and November.

I have been a top professional photographer at several western ski resorts including Vail and Breckenridge Colorado, Brighton Utah, and Grand Targhee Wyoming. The season starts Thanksgiving and ends in April. Visit our digital photography website for more information about resort photographer jobs. If you know someone that enjoys photography and skiing or snowboarding, email this article to them. They'll get a kick out of it! This article is free for republishing provided the content, resource box and active links are retained exactly as published. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brandon_Baumgarten

How To Take Good Photographs Of People

By Weis Ow

 

Have you ever thought of how to take good photographs by yourself? Ever wondered how the professional photographers shoot those shots of their models? Why their faces are so sharp and clear?

You can achieve such effects if you knew the techniques. But taking good photos of people is not just about the person. There are several other considerations that you need to be aware of.

You must get your subject to relax if you want to get good shots. Nothing spoils a shot more than a person who appears stiff and uncomfortable. One of the ways is to talk to your subject. Carry out a conversation about their work, their families and giving them the posing instructions while they are talking. This will give you many chances to take nice, natural poses. Also, make sure you and your camera equipment are ready. No one likes to wait, and waiting for you to get ready could put your subject into a foul mood. Bye-bye nice photo.

How to take good photographs of pple? One technical tip that you should find helpful in taking photos of people would be to play with the aperture size. This is the f-number on your SLR camera. If you want the subject to be clear and sharp, but don't need the background, set the f-number larger. This makes the aperture wider and causes the background to blur a little. The contrasting effect will make your subject appear sharper, much like those movie-star type of photos.

If you need everything sharp and clear, then close the aperture by selecting a small f-number. This should bring everything into focus.

Another tip is to be at eye level with your subject. When taking shots of people, it is the face that is most important. If there is no need to, avoid full body shots. Zoom in to the face. So, if you are shooting children, kneel down to get to eye-level with them.

You can even create candid shots on purpose. By holding your camera at a slight angle, say 45% or so, the image could appear as if the cameraman was taken by surprise and squeezed off a shot that was lop-sided. Following all these tips, you will never have to wonder about how to take good photographs again.

There are many things you can do with people. Most importantly, relax, have fun, and remember the fundamentals of good photography.

Weis is a media developer, keen to explore things from all walks of life, thus penning them down into articles. She like to do research on a lot of different topics and currently, she's exploring on how to get make money doing simple photography! For more information on the researches, visit http://www.earncameradollars.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Weis_Ow