Ask The Pros!

Q. I am just starting out with selling my photos and am wondering about ways other than my website to get my photos viewed and sold?
—Joseph Christy

A. Joseph,
I’d suggest starting with magazines, as they are the best way to get your images seen by huge numbers of people—and drive people to your website. When I was starting out, one of my very first submissions actually was to Outdoor Photographer. I submitted a few landscape images along with an article about a local area and they published it a few months later. Getting published in a magazine is one of the best forms of marketing—and you get paid for it, as well. Many photo editors also will allow you to include your website address in the photo credit which is another great way to drive potential clients and those interested in your work to your website.
—Michael Clark

To fit the contrast range in the scene (which the human eye can see, but my camera’s sensor can’t cover in a single exposure), I needed to combine two exposures. I then proceeded to clone two offending white branches that distracted from the composition.

Q. It seems more and more lately that digital manipulation is the answer for a good photograph. I understand that a certain amount of processing must be done, but where’s the line drawn?
—Warren LaFever

A. Warren,
The answer is: It depends. Let me first address your initial statement. While it may seem that such manipulations are a recent trend, in fact, they’re not. Techniques such as cloning, contrast adjustments, even exposure blending, have been around for almost as long as photography itself. There’s also no good way to define the proverbial line. The amount of acceptable processing depends on characteristics of each individual image and on its intended use, whether journalistic or expressive.

To put your mind at ease, manipulation is never really a substitute for vision and good field technique. It takes a skillful hand to apply just enough processing for the image to be successful. Go too far, and you’ll likely offend your viewers’ sensibilities. Computer engineers use the term “GIGO” (garbage in, garbage out), which also applies in photography—no amount of processing can make a bad image good.
—Guy Tal

Q. What is the best piece of advice you can give out?
—JJ

A. Take the time to become thoroughly skilled in the operation of both your photographic and image-editing equipment. By knowing the full range of their capabilities, you’ll be able to previsualize the possibilities inherent in any photographic situation. In the age of digital, capture and processing are completely interrelated. What you can do in the digital darkroom should be in your mind when you plan your shot. Ansel Adams said it like this: ìThe negative [the digital capture] is comparable to the composer’s score, and the print to its performance.î With a full complement of skills, you’ll have much greater freedom to apply your creative vision.
—George Lepp

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bucky mccamy makes this comment

Wednesday, 14 October 2009

without using a ladder how could i stand on the ground and take a picture 15 or so feet above ground.Like taking pictures of statues.Accessories like a stand to hold the camera and a way to snap the lens.
Melissa makes this comment

Friday, 04 September 2009

I am getting ready to buy a Canon 50d and a lense. I have a tight budget and can really only afford one lense for now. I am considering the 18-200mm although I have learned that the wider range reduces quality. Would I be better off to wait and save up the money to by multiple lenses? or would the 18-200 be fine for now? Is the quality with this lense good enough to produce marketable photos for magazines, calenders, ect?
picky makes this comment

Friday, 14 August 2009

So, the explanation of the cover photo of Delicate Arch in Arches National Park neglects to say that it was a double exposure. It mentions that it was shot with a 17-35mm lens, on film. However, with a wide-angle lens the moon would not even be remotely close to the size that it appears in the photo. A longer lens, at least a 300mm, was obviously used to shoot the moon. Also, the time of day is all wrong for the moon to appear in that position. It's the old full moon, double exposure on film technique. To achieve this, an entire roll of film is used up to shoot the full moon against the black night sky. Then, the film is re-loaded in the camera and the other photo is made. I'm rather disappointed that this publication has passed that photo off as a single exposure.
sean gleeson makes this comment

Monday, 27 July 2009

can you adjust the apeture for depth of field on a casio exilums880 camera thanks
Terry Bloom makes this comment

Wednesday, 22 July 2009

I went on vacation and shot everything in raw format. When I got home I am having trouble getting my pictures to download. Some of them seems to have been converted to jpeg and others are raw or thm files. Do I have to have special software to download the raw and thm files?
Michael Leitao makes this comment

Sunday, 12 July 2009

Hi, I am beginner and would like to study photography, i would like to purchase a profesional camera but need help in buying one. for the moment i dont have a big budget so would like to buy a camera which i could use for atleast 3-4 years to go. but at the same time would like to have the option in adding lens in order to upgrade my camera. I need help, please guide me through. Michael Leitao.
R. Nuport makes this comment

Wednesday, 08 July 2009

Greetings: Seeking expert opnion. 1. Technically, which is better... a. Lens IS ...Canon, Nikon ... or b. Sensor shift IS... Sony, Pentax ... 2. Is there a way to estimate approximate correlation of distance between full wide angle shot, and full zoom shot, to achieve at least one half full size shot with fully zoomed lens. Good example is the Ad Shot on inside cover of OP, of Tamron Lens at 18mm and 270mm. The zoomed shot pretty much what may be obtained at 10 feet or so. Thank you for your time and help in every particular. R. Nuport.
Christian Egeland makes this comment

Monday, 29 June 2009

I have made numerous trips to Alaska and cannot believe how blue the icebergs are. I understand they absorb all the colors except blue. Anyway, I have used everything from my old Pentax K1000, camcorders and most recently my Sony DSC-H2 digital camera with the same results. The pictures always lack the beautiful blue in the icebergs that the naked eye sees. What do the pros do to capture the blue and not just get almost all white?
Wayne makes this comment

Saturday, 27 June 2009

Hi, I have a EOS 40D with a variety of lenses. I no longer have a standard zoom as I gave it away with my rebel xt. I wanted advice on choices for replacement. I gravitate towards landscapes, city scapes and street portraiture and i wanted to upgrade to a fast lens. My choices as i see them are the EF-S 17-55, 17-40L, and the sigma and tamron equivalents. My challenge is I'm concerned As to whether the cost of the canon 17-55 is worth it considering it's apc format or should I get the 17-40L or even the sigma or tamron equivalents. Which do you recommend?
Brian makes this comment

Thursday, 25 June 2009

I am new to digital cameras. I have one question. How does one know when to use the right aperture settings in certain condition in daylight, hazy in the background, moving objects at night. I generally use f4 when there is low light & set the iso to 1000 depending on the conditions. In a setting my f stop f5.6, f11 & beyond in what situations would I use these higher f stop??. Would this be for getting more depth of field when shooting wildlife?. Thanks in adv.
blaze831 makes this comment

Tuesday, 23 June 2009

How do I downsize a 30MB image file to something less than 1MB for online submissions to photo contests without the image becoming totally pixelated? Thanks! Mark
captian roger makes this comment

Tuesday, 23 June 2009

what would be the best online photography class to take to become a pro ???
Stephen Ross makes this comment

Saturday, 20 June 2009

I use a Nikon D-200 with a Sigma 150mm macro, Nikkor 80-400 zoom and 24-80mm zoom. All three lenses have their smallest aperture at f-22. However, I have noticed numerous times that the camera display will often register f-stops from f-29 through even f-45 when I am scrolling the f-stop dial in Aperture mode. Am I actually getting those smaller f-stops registered by the camera when the shutter is activated or is the camera only registering f-22 set by the lens?
Maureen makes this comment

Thursday, 18 June 2009

Really good article. I enjoyed reading what the pros had to say.
Melissa makes this comment

Monday, 15 June 2009

I have Lightroom and ACDsee on my computer, I would like to know what applications to use to create a black/white photo with color accents. I cannot figure out how to layer and erase on this program. Is there a different program that would be better for this? Could someone give me step by step instructions on how to do this technique? Thanks in advance for the help.
Luther makes this comment

Sunday, 14 June 2009

Hi. I've been an Outdoor Photogpraher subscriber since 1987. I'm astonished by the problems I am having trying to locate a USGS topographical map of the Joshua Tree National Park. I get tons of commercial trail maps, "attraction" maps, etc, but cannot locate what I need: a USGS topographical map of the Joshua Tree National Monument, recently promoted to Joshua Tree National Park. Has greed really completely displaced service on the Web...? Any reasonable tips would be appreciated. I will be in the Joshua Tree park area July 3 for a couple of days, and would really like to nail a dynamite sunrise or sunset shot. Thanks for your help. By the way, I live about 1.5 miles from Art Wolfe. Thanks, Luther Martin
SilverWolf4445 makes this comment

Sunday, 14 June 2009

I want to start photographing the outdoors,but I need a camera that's low cost,good pictures,and great relability for landscapes.So what camera would best fit me?
gompfer makes this comment

Friday, 12 June 2009

Is post processing a necessity or an option. Can you shoot digital and get the shot you want without any post processing? I never hear anyone saying they don't post process. The challenge in slide film was to get the shot because you couldn't manipulate it. How much of that has gone to the way side because of the ability to post process? John

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