Recently in Q&A Category

Rohit writes,

"I'm using a Canon S3. It's a simple SLR so and I'm a beginner. Is it a good camera for me?"

I haven't tried that camera, but from the specs it certainly appears to have all the features you'll need to learn photography.  As I often say, "It's not the camera, it's how you use it." If you haven't signed up already, please consider joining 12 Weeks to Better Photography!

Adrian writes,

I've tried recently to photograph lightning but with little success. Is there a basic set of rules to follow for this? Or some sort of guideline where I can try to find what works best for me?

I personally haven't tried lightning, so for this one I turn to the National Geographic Photography Field Guide by Burian and Caputo. They recommend as follows:

Adrian writes,

I notice a lot of professionals always use their flash no matter the conditions. I've tried this but sadly poor results. Why do they do it and why do most of my flash photos suck!?

Photographers often use their flash for "fill", especially when photographing people. Rather than blinding them with the sun and getting a photo of a squinting subject, it is often more effective to put them in the shade or even with their back to the sun and then use a reasonably powerful flash to light the subject. It's just another technique to control the light falling on your subject.

Gerry writes,

I get the impression from what I have read so far about digital photography that all pictures have been somewhat modified in a photo editing program before being displayed in magazines. I would have thought that a picture taken by professional photographers would not need photo editing.

It depends upon how we define "modified". Technically, you are quite correct. At minimum, basic adjustments such as white and black levels, contrast, saturation, etc. are usually required to produce a good magazine print. But that's not really any different than what we had to do with film. it is also normal to crop images, especially if the camera aspect ratio is different than that magazine page or other space in which the print is required.

An anonymous reader asks,

I took a bunch of photos at a party over the weekend. They looked fine on the back of my camera, but when I posted them to the web I noticed that a lot of them were blurry. Why doesn't my camera do well with quick movement?

As we love to say at MyPhotoSucks, the problem isn't your camera, it's how you use it. The simple answer is that you should have used your flash.

A reader asks,

"I'm thinking of entering [an image in a competition]. The rules state that I can send jpg images on a CD but that they must be in RGB format and not CMYK format. When I capture images on my Canon S2IS what colour format does the camera use? If I use Picasa as my photo program does it use CMYK (I know most printers use these colours)? If I have a jpg image, can I use something like Photoshop to convert from CMYK to RGB?"

Virtually every digital camera on the market produces image in the RGB colour space, so the good news is that you don't have to do any conversion.  People are often confused by the fact that their inkjet printer uses a CMYK process.  However, the printer appears to your computer as a RGB device, as does your monitor, so you should continue to work in the RGB colour space unless there is a specific reason for you to convert to a different colour space.

Ken writes,

"What program or programs are recommended for captioning digital photos? I want to be able to choose the location of the caption, the font, and the colour of the text."

Most photo editing packages allow you to add text to your images. I seldom add captions to photos (and SmugMug automatically watermarks my uploaded images for me there), but when I do I usually just add a text layer in Adobe Photoshop. I just checked Photoshop Elements 6, and it supports text layers as well. Just click on the "T" in the toolbar, click on the image,and it will create the layer for you.

Many companies have downloadable trial versions online. For example, you can download Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 here and see if it meets your needs.

Jim wrote to ask,

"Eric you spoke of small cheap flashes a while ago would you have a model number I could search for. I am looking for something to light behind my subject triggered by an optical trigger."

While the best solution to light a background is a pair of strobes, you can often get away with a basic flash and trigger to light a small area. Just about any flash will do, although you'll need to play with the output level and/or distance to the background to get what you need. If you're close to the background a diffuser might come in handy -- you can buy one or make one out of translucent fabric or plastic.

If you're looking for something cheap I'd try your local photo store and see what they have laying around. You can also talk to anyone who has upgraded to a digital SLR and bought a new flash. If you have to order off the net, check this out.

And, as always, leave me a comment and let me know how it goes!

"I'm looking for a good point and shoot camera.  What do you think of the new Canon G9?"

Fay writes,

"Please advise best sequence for working with a digital image, download from camers and proceeding to -- 1. Change PPI 2. Crop 3. Resize 4. Sharpen, Contrast, etc."

Also, apologies to Trevor who wrote with a similar question while I was redesigning the site,

"What is your typical work flow with regards to editing photos?"

These are great questions because, depending on what software you use, performing these steps in the wrong order can make your life more difficult and cost you a lot of time. To begin, let's divide our post-processing into three stages that I'll call acquisition, editing, and output.

A reader writes,

On recent vacation, I really did take many terrific shots, but a bummer being a group shot of four kids against some rocks at the beach. The colour and lighting are fine, but three kids are in crystal clear focus and the fourth, blurry.

There are a few things that could cause that problem.  Autofocus isn't magic, and can't read your mind, so it sometimes ends up focusing on something other than what you want.  Autofocus mechanisms look for a straight line, so, for example, if a person is standing in front of a fence, it's not unusual for the camera to autofocus on the fence rather than the person. Digital SLRs often have multiple autofocus modes, and it is critical that you understand the characteristics of the mode you're using.

Nancy’s going to be shooting a wedding inside a small church and wrote to ask what flash she should use for her Nikon D-80.

Nikon has several external flashes, but for most people I recommend the SB-600.  The SB-800 does provide a bit more range and some other features for people using multiple-flash setups, but most people don’t use those features and the additional range is not worth the higher price tag.

Nancy writes,

When I told you I rec'd a Nikon D80, you recommended a protective lens to me. My husband bought:

Tamron 67mm UV Haze Filter

Will this lens work as you recommended?

It should do the job to protect your lens, but it might not be your best choice.

Gabrielle posted a question a while back, and in summary, she wanted to know why an image she found on the net "sort of comes towards you".

You can find the image online at http://www.pbase.com/image/75217819

I think the image is strong due to the prominence of the foreground and the lines that lead the viewer's eye toward the horizon.  The fact that some of the lines converge seem to add to the impact. From a technical point of view, I think the wide angle lens, sharp interesting foreground, and horizon at the upper thirds line also contributes to this wonderful image.

If there are any artists reading that can give us some more insight, please do leave a comment with your thoughts!

Hank asks,

I'm looking for point & shoot top end with 28 mm lens, what do you think of the Panasonic Lumix DMC TZ3. I've read the reviews hard to believe how opinions differ.

Unfortunately I have not had any experience with the DMC TZ3, but when it comes to reviews I have found dpreview.com to be reliable, accurate, and unbiased.  Hope that helps!

Terry writes,

My digital pictures tend to have washed out pale sky much like the sample at the upper right of your homepage. The software that came with my Lumix doesn't seem to help. Do I need to use a filter, different software, or do something else?

Photographs that include the sky are often problematic because the sky is usually brighter than anything else in the image, and in many cases it isn't that blue colour we're looking for.  Here are a few solutions...

Dave asks,

Does the speed of memory make your camera shoot faster?

It depends on your camera. Faster memory allows your camera to write an image to the memory card faster. If your camera can take advantage of the faster memory, it will take less time to be ready for the next shot.

Trevor asks,

In your honest opinion is there much of a difference between manufacturers of digital SLR cameras?  Is it better to look only at the two biggest being Canon and Nikon or are the other ones worthy of a look too like Olympus and Sony?

As usual in photography, it depends :)  While Canon and Nikon dominate the professional DSLR market, other manufactuers including Fuji, Leica, Olympus, Pentax, and Sony have some nice products.  If you are looking to buy a camera and one lens for recreational photograhy, all of them are worth of consideration.

Gabrielle asks,

I always thought my pictures were pretty sharp, well up until I saw some pictures from other photographers. My photos all of a sudden don't look so sharp anymore. What does a really sharp picture really look like? And I mean without Photoshop edits. I know I'll end up editing in Photoshop, but I really would love to know what I am capable without edits.

Image sharpness is a very common issue among digital photographers.