I want to start by saying you don't have to be a professional photographer to capture great pictures of flowers. I mean, you could be taking pictures at a botanical garden or of a red rose from your own garden and your pictures can turn out just as good. But, of course, there are some basic guidelines viagra canadian you should keep in mind when taking pictures of flowers, so let's check them out!

Get in the Right Light

It's been said that it's best to wait for a bright mid-day sun before you start taking pictures of flowers. But, in all actuality, that's one of the worst times, because the powerful sunlight can wash out your image and create harsh shadows. Instead, it's advised to take pictures when it’s overcast or in the morning or evening when the sun isn’t so bright. Doing that will result in more saturated colors in the blooms of the flowers.

Choose a Focus

You must be sure to have a focal point. Whether it's a cluster of brightly colored flowers or just one blossom, be sure you pay close attention to everything in your frame. It's also good to keep an eye on distractions or items that are unattractive in the foreground or background. If you encounter something like that, it's best to move into another focal position.

Keep It Steady

A potentially stunning flower picture can be ruined by something as simple as human nature, such as a shaky hand. Even if you think your hand is steady, you might be surprised with your results. It's best to keep your options open by carrying a tripod around with you. That will eliminate the shaky hand syndrome and your pictures will turn out even better!

Get on the Right Level

When you're photographing flowers, it's advised to move around and not just stand in one place. You should try getting down onto the same level with the flower, stand above it or even shoot underneath it. It's also good to play around with the distances of how close or far away you are from the flower.

Add a Little Spice

It's best not to just shoot the flowers, but also look for some unique ways to capture the flowers. You could try framing the flower with something natural in the environment, such as dangling vines. Sometimes insects on flowers make for an interesting picture as well.

Spring is here and the flowers are blooming, so get outside and take some of your own great flower photos!

After you're done taking pictures, do you ever think that your photos would maybe look better if some of them were foggy, while others were in focus? That type of thing creates what is called depth of field and it basically gives your photos a three-dimensional effect. It conveys distance, directs the viewer to the point the photographer wants to emphasize and it makes your photos look like they were done by a professional.

Now, you can do it too and it's really pretty easy. Without getting into the nitty gritty of aperture values, etc., you can use Photoshop to create your own depth of field in just a few easy steps. Let's go!

1.) Create a New Layer

Close-up landscape shots work best when trying to create a depth of field appearance. Therefore, the first thing you need to do is pick a picture you’ve taken in extreme close-up, where there is more than one subject. With the Photoshop effects, you can emphasize one subject (for example, a flower) and isolate the rest (like other flowers, branches, trees, etc). And here's how you can do it! Click on the Layers icon and a layers palette will open on the right hand side. Next, drag the Background Layer onto the icon at the bottom of the layers palette, titled "Create a new layer." That creates a copy of your original picture.

2.) Apply the Blur

Ensure your Background Copy layer is still highlighted and then click on the Filter menu at the top of the Photoshop window. Navigate down the scroll menu and choose Blur. Then choose Gaussian Blur.

3.) Set the Blur Level

Once you click on Gaussian Blur, you will see a pop up window that asks you to set the blur level. Type in 8.5 and click OK. You are now on your way to creating your very own depth of field!

4.) Set the Areas

To create depth, you now need to choose which areas you want to be blurred and the ones you want to be in focus. That's the main basis of generating depth of field in a photo. Keeping the Background Copy layer highlighted, click on the Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the layers palette (it looks like a circle in a rectangle). A white rectangle will then appear on your Background Copy layer.

5.) Mask It

Masking allows you to reveal more or less of the layer underneath and it’s completely reversible. Go ahead and apply a Layer Mask using the Brush Tool. You should go for a soft brush that gives just enough to create the desired effect. Using a black color will reveal the image underneath, whereas a white color will erase any unwanted applied masking. With the Layer Mask thumbnail selected, use a black brush to paint over the areas you want to be sharp. During this process, if you want to move the image around without using the scroll bars, you can hold down the Spacebar and drag the canvas with your left mouse button.

6.) tablet viagra Reversing Your Mask

Sometimes you may end up applying a lot more layer masking than necessary. But, like I said before, this process is reversible. So, you could paint your mask with a white brush, change the color in your foreground palette to white and then paint over it again.

7.) Subtle Masking

Now, it’s all about blending the blurred and non-blurred areas together to make the viewer feel like your photo is real and not just some Photoshop tweak. To do that, simply apply a gray layer mask. Change your foreground palette to gray and then brush over the elements you think would still be in focus. You can zoom out every now and again to see if the masking has transformed the image the way you want. If you're satisfied, flatten your layers by choosing Layer, Flatten Image. Also, don’t forget to save your work!

In Conclusion

Detail is everything, so be accurate in your rendering of blur. In other words, zoom into the image a little more than necessary to make sure the image doesn’t suffer from unnecessary blurs in some areas and clarity in others. If some are very narrow gaps you need to mask, simply change the size of the brush you're using. All in all, creating depth of field is an easy process and with Photoshop's help, your photos will look as good as ever!

It's your lucky day! I have two brand new digital photography tips for you today and I think you're really going to enjoy them. The two topics really have nothing to do with each other, but I figured they were both something you all might be interested in. Let's take a look!

Tip #1 – Photographing Your Pets

People love to take pictures of their pets, but this is how the photos usually turn out:

As you can see, that picture definitely requires a lot of help. Luckily, if you just follow the simple tips below, you can fix up your pet photos in no time at all!

Get Down and Dirty – You usually see your pet from above, but that's not the best angle for a portrait. Instead, flop down on the floor and meet them at eye level. Shooting from their height presents them as an equal in the photo, which will help bring out their personality.

Light it Right – Direct on-camera flash will give your pet a killer case of green, yellow or blue eyes. Try to avoid any direct flash if possible. If you can, bounce the flash off the ceiling or a wall. Or, you can just ditch the flash and use the light around you, both indoors and out.

Fill the Frame – I'm sure you've heard of this one before. It's important to fill your camera's frame with your subject in order to make the subject prominent in the photo. You can then crop out any distractions later on.

It's All in the Eyes – You might find yourself shooting with a shallow depth of field, so no matter what else you do, make sure your pet's eyes are in focus. The eyes are the window to the soul and they must be kept clear.

Ahh, that's a much better picture, don't you think?!

Tip #2 – Shooting Water

When drinking, some like their water icy, while others like it tepid. It's simply a matter of taste. In photography, moving water can be recorded with various appearances, depending on the shutter speed. Some like it frozen in an instant of time and some like it blurred with a long exposure. There's no right or wrong. How you like to photograph water is also just a matter of taste. Here are three other approaches you may like as well.

Glass Sculpture – Fast shutter speeds like 1/500" or 1/1000" will depict moving water as frozen solid. Splashes and droplets will hang suspended in online viagra australia the air.

Minor Blur – Intermediate shutter speeds like 1/15" or 1/30" give some motion blur to the water, but individual ripples and splashes are still discernible. You'll probably need a tripod or other camera support when using such slow shutter speeds.

Silky Smooth – Shutter speeds of 1/2" or longer will smear the water out to a smooth, cottony, smoky look. You'll definitely need a tripod to achieve this look when photographing water.

Now, go on and take some great shots of your pets and of water. Or, your pets in water. You decide. Have fun!

A lot of emphasis is put on sunset photography. But, if you stop and think about it, it’s difficult to get a different, yet engaging shot from a sunset. Therefore, how about thinking lateral? You know, taking pictures long after the sun has gone down. And that's exactly where twilight photography comes into play. The best thing to do is wait 15 to 20 minutes after the sun has dropped below the horizon before actually snapping a picture. Your results may vary and it could take as long as 40 minutes after the sunset for any magic to really happen. So, before you go out into the night, here are a few tips that will keep you from unnecessary hassles. Let's take a look!

Get All the Tools

By this, I mean a rock steady tripod, a fully charged battery (with at least a couple spare batteries just in case it runs out of juice) and a good amount of patience.

Arrive Before Sundown

Twilight photography is mostly about landscapes with people, trees, etc. acting as silhouettes to contrast the setting and infuse more life into those images. Therefore, it’s important to study the natural landscape where you're shooting. And that's why it’s best to go before sundown to study your location's highs and lows. You should also keep the time of the season in mind before you venture off. Days could be warmer, but nights can get cold. That is particularly true if you're shooting at high altitudes where the temperature drop after sundown is fast and dramatic.

Now that you're all set up, look around and see if there is a lake nearby, a giant rock that resembles a human, bird, animal, etc. that might make for some interesting shots. It could even be the unique pattern a tree’s branches create. Anything interesting is worth capturing, so take note of everything.

Take Some Test Shots

What your mind perceives may not really turn out to be what you think. Therefore, it’s best to test out your subjects using different settings and different focal length options, such as telephoto to wide angle. Set your camera on a tripod and compose your image. After you set your camera into the full manual mode, set the aperture, shutter speed, ASA and white balance. You'll want to set your ASA as low as it will go, which is not less than ASA 100. You should also set your f-stop somewhere between f8 and f13. Next, lock your focus on the portion of the image you think is the key element. Check your focus and then check it again. After that comes the most important thing: turning off the autofocus so that you have more room to focus on what you want to see and nothing else. That's where your shots become unique and stand out from the usual sundown photos.

You should test shoot for only ten minutes after sundown and not before. Of course, the pictures won’t be as good as you'd expect, but remember, they are only test shots to get your camera ready and to check on your composition and settings.

Get Your White Balance Going

Since most of you probably use the JPEG mode to shoot pictures, white balance is key to a good landscape photograph (it's not necessary if you're shooting in RAW). Use your camera’s LCD screen to judge colors and contrast. At this point, some photographers drop their white balance to 2,800 degrees generic viagra K, even if only to increase the saturation of blue tones. Then again, that is largely subjective. You need to do what suits you best, but the white balance will significantly change the way you take your pictures. You should then take a few more test shots to see if you’ve picked an appropriate white balance and exposure. Keep taking pictures until you've found your sweet spot!

Keep Clicking

Now, your test shots are over and you're ready for the real thing. Here again, you need to keep taking pictures, because you never know what you might end up with. You should start between 20 and 25 minutes after sundown. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule, but in most cases, a half hour window is all you need to get your twilight pictures singing and dancing! You should continuously tweak your exposure time and keep clicking away to capture the fleeting moment in which you could treasure for life. My advice is to keep shooting even when things appear to be dull and monotonous. Why, you ask? Well, the cycle can be quite unpredictable. Something that's dull one minute could turn into the most spectacular image, so you have to keep clicking!

Patience is Key

At the end of the day, twilight photography requires a lot of patience, because you're shooting nature, which is something you can’t control. The best way to cope with that is to keep clicking, keep changing settings and continue shooting until at least one hour has passed after sundown. Once you decide there’s nothing more to it and you don’t have the energy to carry on, you should pack up your bags and call it a day.

And Finally…

After you transfer all of your pictures to your computer, you shouldn't delete the images that appear dull at first sight. If you give it some time, you may find that some of the images have a certain quality that makes them unique. That’s the magic of twilight photography!

Photo Gallery

After more than a year of anticipation, Adobe Systems will finally roll out Photoshop Express, a Web-based application for editing, organizing, and sharing images. The application, which runs in Flash-enabled browsers, is free and an account includes 2GB of storage.

VIEW THE GALLERY

https://www.photoshop.com/express/landing.html

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