Lighting, Camera, ACTIONS!

Lovers,

Many people ask me what my favorite part of photography is, and really, I don't have a favorite. I love all of it! I love setting up shoots. I love the planning - whether it is the hair, make-up, clothing, location, etc. I also love the part where you first see your images on the computer screen. The results. Another important part of photography is the editing. I love this part. This completes an image. I use Photoshop CS2 and Lightroom 2. I don't know what I'd do without these programs. These programs are just as necessary to the digital photographer as the darkroom is to a film photographer. What I do hate however, is when people try to use these programs to save bad photography. It is so important to figure out your camera. Read your manuals! Use the internet! The internet is full of so much easy information at hand to learn more about photography. I can always tell a new photography business - the images are always over-saturated, over-contrasted, and the highlights are way blown out. Don't fall into this trend! Once you master lighting and your camera settings, you can experience all the fun elements that photography offers: actions. Here is a list of websites with fantastic actions.

www.ittybittyactions.com
www.fallintoblue.com/actions/
www.gettotallyrad.com
www.wynonarobison.com/actions.html

All these websites, you will have to pay. In my eyes, it is totally worth it. It cuts down your editing time by half. For all those with a low budget - you can search www.deviantart.com through their actions for some freebies. Pay attention to the guidelines that each person sets - some people don't allow you to use their actions for commercial reasons. Respect each artist just as you want other people to respect your image copyrights on the web!