Posts Tagged ‘Digital Photography’
Film Cameras have always have always been around for family pictures. They can really help family members keep track of moments in time. Of course, during weddings/nuptials the handy cameras are are always somewhere around.
It is a fact that wedding celebrations are one of the great occasions in an individual’s life. Many people wait for the day they can have a great wedding day with the one that they love. And in order for them to have at least a good memory of this great event, digital cameras are used.
You know, it’s amazing how far our technology has come with regards to photography. Many digital cameras are now being introduced in order to help people capture meaningful occasions in their everyday everyday moments.
There are also varieties of digital cameras that are being made especially to capture the most treasured times in our everyday lives. Among these devices are digital cameras. These devices are really great for capturing happy moments during events like weddings.
Since the introduction of digital cams, they have outsold film cameras. Thus, this makes wedding day pictures a more popular service than film photography. How come?
Well, this may be because digital photography can take wedding pictorials into new heights. Cameras used for digital photography provides a lot of new advantages to their users.
One of the major advantages of these digital cameras is that they let users skip the usual film separation process, which is among the most time-consuming processes in photography. So, removing one time-consuming process would mean getting your pictures back quickly, right? And when living in a a hectic world, quick results are a must have!
More advantages of digital wedding photography is that, even though it provides fast results, the quality of each processed photo is not in fear of being lost. This means that no matter how fast you get your pictures, the result is still stunning.
Another advantage of digital wedding day pics is that it provides customization options to its users. This would mean that a user can edit photos even before they are printed. You can change the size, brightness, contrast or sharpness of your picture. You can even add or remove some details on your photos.
Digital photography has also joined with cellular phones. This means that you only need to bring a phone to sneak some images during weddings. Nevertheless, it is a fact professional digital cameras can provide much more quality than the cameras of cell phone camera. Most professional digital cams have 6 mega pixels while cellular phones usually have lower mega pixel.
But perhaps the greatest advantage of digital wedding photography is the availability of your photos to be reproduced over and over again without making any variations between the first printed photo and the last photo printed. Digital photography allows users to save their files on their computers, which would mean that they can be reproduced without wearing out any film, since it doesn’t need one.
But, no matter how great a technology is, it’s still not perfect. One of the major disadvantages of digital photography is that it is not ideal for 4-color printing. Why? Well this is because of the fact that there will always be a variation between the images you will see on your pc monitor and your 4 color printed photograph.
Why? Well, computer monitors use RGB, right? Four color printing uses CMYK. RGB and CMYK have entirely different outputs. So, no matter what you do, the image on your monitor will never be the same as your 4 color photos, unless there are computer monitors that also use CMYK to produce vivid colors for the images and texts.
Nevertheless, digital wedding photography is still the best choice than film photography and that is also a fact. Take a peek and see on your own.
Author: Richard Rives of Richard’s Photography in San Antonio.
One of the confusing things in choosing a digital camera is deciding how many mega-pixels you should look for. The answer depends on what you plan on doing with the digital images.
To begin with, you need to have a good understanding what a pixel is. In terms of digital prints, a pixel simply means a dot of color that makes up the image. A mega-pixel is equal to one million pixels. The more mega-pixels a camera has, the more the amount of information it records.
The easiest way to decide what to look for is to know the type of photos you are likely to print from your camera. A one mega-pixel camera is fine for those who don’t plan on printing photos but rather just post them on the internet. A small print, say 2×3, will print acceptably from this camera.
A 2 mega-pixel camera will enable you to produce decent quality 5 x 7 prints and fair quality 8 x 10 prints. When you reach 4 mega-pixels you can print out excellent quality 8 x 10 prints and acceptable 13×19 prints and a 5 mega pixel camera will allow you to print out high quality 20×24 prints.
Most families find a camera in the 3.2 Mega-pixel range to be the best choice. The quality of both 5 x & and 8 X 10 prints is excellent yet the files on your computer are not so large you need worry about not having enough space.
Any camera over 5 mega-pixels is not necessary for all but professionals in photography; even then, only those who have need for super large size prints find that many mega-pixels worth the money. Most freelance photographers find 4 or 5 mega-pixels to be more than enough for excellent-quality prints.
The choice is yours. Look to what you plan on doing with your photos and then decide. In most cases spending an arm and a leg for increased optical zoom and lower mega-pixels is the best choice.
Author: Richard’s Photography – San Antonio Portraits
One thing I discovered during my experience with digital photography is that it is very well suited for the portrait photographer. Why is it then that they are slower to switch to digital SLR cameras? It seems that commercial photographers learned about and started using digital cameras long before the average portrait photographer.
My guess is that maybe they’re afraid? Afraid of the learning curve and afraid that the quality just isn’t there unless they spend an ungodly amount of hard earned cash on some scary looking gigantic array of confusing and awkward, let alone “how am I going to learn how to use this stuff” equipment.
Truth is, you can easily get away with as little as a 5 megapixel camera. Digital SLR’s have the quality needed and I’ve seen many photographers with amazing results. Yes, even with a 5 megapixel camera.
There are many reasons, here are 5 good ones.
1- Service
These days a real camera repair shop is very hard to fine and service for film cameras is evaporating even more rapidly. Most camera stores will just send your camera to the manufacturer and then charge you more than the flat repair rate that you would get from Sony, Canon or Nikon etc. yourself. If you look online you can still find a real digital camera repair shop including ones that specialize in digital SLR camera repair and charge much less than the $250-300 flat rate repairs that the manufacturers offer.
Many digital repair parts are replaceable by the consumer such as battery doors, memory card doors and other body parts like zoom switches. Some consumers do replace their own broken LCD screens and lenses, but many still leave that to a professional.
The real problem with finding good Canon digital camera repair for example is lack of knowledge. If you take your defective camera to a retailer and ask about repair, they will tell you it’s too expensive and you should just get a new one. The reason they tell you this is because they have no idea that affordable digital camera repair and do it yourself options actually exist! A couple simple searches on Google will go a long way to help you find a reputable repair shop for your Sony digital camera repair.
2- Quality
The quality of images captured with a high quality lens, properly exposed and well posed is more than enough, even if you shoot JPEGS. Yes, JPEGS. More than 90% of the photos I take are shot in JPEG instead of RAW. Why would a professional want to take pictures in “low quality” JPEG mode? The reason is simply because it works.
Most of the time the average portrait photographer doesn’t need an extremely high resolution image to work with. If they have in the past, they’ve always degraded the image through these other means. It’s kind of ironic don’t you think? You can still shoot in RAW mode if you wish, but it isn’t really needed.
3- Control
People want their photos fast. We live in a drive-through world and minutes count. In our studio we create a slide presentation for our sessions and we show them to the clients within 20 minutes of every shoot. All clients love it. The client can see the result right away. The client is already in the studio ready to see the images, and ready to spend, so sales go up. Their is ample evidence that when you show the images sooner, and you create large projected images, which is a cinch with digital, sales go up. Digital gives the portrait photographer more control over the sales process, and ultimately it means more profits.
4- Retouching
Let’s face it, people want to look good. What used to take hours and whole lot of aggravation with spray booths, smelly and dangerous lacquers, is now possible with absolute ease. Farming out all retouching took weeks and sometimes months to get back and we incurred huge retouching bills.
Not to mention the loss of control I had over the retouching aspects. It was up to the subjective interpretation of the retouching artist to enhance the images the way I wanted them retouched. Now, with a few basic skills, and all those years of retouching experience all transferred over to the new darkroom, my computer, I can easily retouch to any degree I like. In mere minutes. With absolute astounding results. This ultimately translates to satisfying a basic need that needs to satisfied in our clients, their vanity. They want to look good, and they want it fast.
5- Innovation
I could go on for days when it comes to what new products, ideas, services, sales processes, packages, etc, etc. . . I have been able to create because of digital photography.
I am once again excited about photography and the new possibilities. When you apply the power of digital, and get a handle on it in your workflow, you can create new and exciting products like never before.
I’ve seen it and experience it every week in our busy little small-city studio. The proof ultimately boils down to net profits, doesn’t it?
After all, we are in business first, and creative artists second, right? We are in business to make money and survive. We need new and exciting angles, ways to stay afloat, so we can pay our bills, keep the bankers happy and provide for our families. No one can predict how digital photography will ultimately evolve, but my bet is with it all the way.
Anyone remember when color film and paper was introduced as a mainstream commodity? I don’t, I was just a wee lad, but I heard stories about the many studio owners closing their doors and packing it in because they didn’t want to keep up with the demand and latest craze that color film and color paper had created.
I have always been a fan of photography and shot many rolls of film over the years. I never thought I would switch to digital, but once I gave it a try I was sold and haven’t looked back.
Have you ever wondered where modern photography originated? While we are now moving into the digital age and away from film, the lighting techniques and other photography techniques began sometime in the early 1800s. Niepce and Daguerre were the first inventors of modern photography. They used a chemical component from silver and chalk, which darkens when exposed to light. This kind of camera use used a glass negative to hold the photo in place.
Since the early time of photography in movies we have moved on to manual cameras with film. This film or negative captured the image on a roll to be developed in a dark room to prevent over exposure. The manual cameras used a theory of setting up shots. You had to understand aperture, shutter speed, white balance, and metering to obtain the best picture possible. This meant you spent a lot of time setting up the shot and had to be a professional to catch wildlife in their natural habits.
The aperature or lens opening is determined by setting f-stops, or the amount of light the lens will let in. Focusing and depth of field are also important when setting the aperture on your camera. You have to know what numbers will allow more light to enter the lens and the converse to avoid over exposure and blurriness. Shutter speed is the amount of time a lens is open for the picture. You may have found in a darkened room without flash your camera takes a while to imprint the picture on the negative. This is the reason the light is not as vivid and the shutter must correct for the lack of light. The lack of light induces a need to expose the film longer to obtain the picture where as more light will have the shutter moving at a faster speed.
From the manual cameras we moved into the automatic. The camera became lighter. The manual shutter speed and lens openings were concealed into the digital camera. ISO became important. ISO is the film speed. Instead of taking minutes to set up a shot you just had to pick the correct setting and hold the button down to focus. Many cameras came as automatic with manual options for those who still liked to treat photography as an artistic vocation.
Digital cameras are the new era in photography. Now we can see the picture we take without the use of film and negatives. We can send the pictures to all of our friends and use our home printers to create prints. Photography has moved from the concentration of taking the perfect shot with a skill born to a few to everyone taking pictures.
This is not to say photography and photographers will not remain. There is still the need for quality in taking professional grade photographs. Light sensitivity is still important when dealing with a digital camera and unless you spend a lot, you will find quality of photographs is still missing. Photograph techniques lay within the lighting provided whether natural or artificial for the subject. You might wonder how to create a photograph in a dark room like a museum to share with your friends and family. Knowing the past photography techniques will help you in attaining that perfect photograph with your digital camera. Photography may have originated with few people, but we can see the steps taken towards the inventions of today’s photography.
Author: Richard Rives of Richard’s Photography in San Antonio Texas Visit Our San Antonio Portrait Gallery for Family Portraits and Senior Portraits
Over the years, photography has went through a lot of changes. First of all, its price has dramatically decreased, paving way for just about anyone to start becoming serious about photography. As a matter of fact, all it takes nowadays is a good camera, a computer or laptop and a photo enhancement and editing software to start a professional career in photography.
There are many forms of photography that have gained popularity, like digital photography. There’s no difference from standard photography. The only thing that sets them apart is the fact that the digital photography, as the name suggests, utilizes digital technology. Before, photography requires film and photographic processing before an image can be produced. On the other hand, we can print, store, edit, and display images without any chemical processing.
Photography is also a form of pastime for some people. Anyone can handle a digital camera and take photos. This is why many people feel they can enter the photography business. It’s a great way to enjoy yourself and earn extra income. So, how does one turn what we do for pleasure into profit? Following are some useful tips for starting in the business of photography
1. Have focus on what you do.
You really need to decide which type of photography you are best suited to before starting a business. Are you keener on wedding photography? Or maybe you would like to take images of babies instead? There is always the option of opening your own studio. You must decide what type of business you would put up sooner. Then you can better focus on efforts. If, for instance, you decide to take baby photography, then you should advertise on people who would like to get their babies photographed. Once you make a name for yourself and you start acquiring more customers, you can move on to another specialty. Word of mouth is your strongest weapon so you should take care of it.
2. Get more training.
The art of photography should never be taken lightly. Getting more professional training never hurts. In fact, it is useful if you want to improve more on specific aspects that you are not that good at. Training also provides yo with confidence in what you are doing. While you build the business, take more courses and build your knowledge to allow the business to grow. Courses also add to your credibility and reputation.
3. Start networking online and offline.
To make yourself known it is very important to network. The best first step is through your friends and relatives. Let them know that you are currently in photography business. Put your business details on to a printed business card. You may even create your own website and provide a gallery where everyone can see your work. Remember to put your website details on your cards so people can look at your work. You can also join local clubs for networking in your area. Try social networking sites such as Facebook as well. These websites create a lot of traffic and ads will be widely viewed.
4.Practice always makes perfect.
In starting a business this is the most significant part. Try anything that will help you hone your skills in photography, even if it means giving services for free temporarily. For example. take a friends wedding photos for cost price. Your friends will apreciate your work and may start hiring you for other occasions. As well as this, you can add any pictures taken to you portfolio and then use this to sell to future clients. As word of mouth spreads and you become more in demand, you can increase your. This additional money may be used to upgrade your tools and equipment. You may also have more ads.
5.Create a portfolio of your own.
A portfolio is the photographer’s resume. It is important if you want to impress your prospective clients. Place all of your best photos together in a binder. Your clients can use your portfolio as a reference. If they are impressed with your photos, the chances of being hired are obviously greater.
6. Use local settings to your advantage.
What settings you choose will decide the final quality of the shot. If you live near a beach, take as many photographs as possible. A gazebo may come in handy for events such as graduations or weddings. Wild animals or just friends can be a good start for taking pictures in a forest setting.
7. Do not hesitate to invest money.
Equipment required for a photography business can be expensive, but you will find it is all worth it in the end. You need not buy all the necessary equipment all at once. Start off with a camera and a laptop or computer to edit the pictures with. As soon as you start earning money, you can now buy the other things to help improve your business. When you have a regular customer base, every penny you spent and more.
8.Give special discounts and promotions in return for referrals.
Discounts and promos are very attractive to a customer’s eye. People love to make savings regularly. By giving these kind of discounts, you will get customer referrals in return. This is a fair compromise between you and your customers.
9. Have a good photo editing software.
The one advantage of using digital cameras for photography is that the pictures may be edited according to the customers’ preference. Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Corel Paint Shop Pro X are some of the well known image editing applications used today in digital photography.
10.For a photography business, get a license.
If you are starting a full time photography business, you need to have a license for legal matters. Also, customers may want to ask about licenses. This is their assurance that they would not be scammed. You would not need a license, however, if you are only venturing out for assignments.
You may find these tips helpful if looking to further your skills in digital photography. So why not go for it? Start your own photography business today!
MattsCanvas with over over 15 years experience offers quality Canvas Prints, Photos on Canvas and Pop Art Portraits.
The continuing development of digital camera technology offers near limitless choices for the professional and amateur alike when looking to achieve the best photographs possible. There is a wide array of camera options ranging from compact digital cameras to large DSLRs. Each type of camera available has pros and cons associated with it, so shopping for the right camera can be confusing. Nevertheless, it will still boil down to the type and specifications that each person is looking for.
The best digital cameras will of course cost thousands of dollars due to advanced features and controls. The current top digital camera brands are Canon, Sony and Nikon.
Probably the most essential parts of a digital camera are the lens, viewfinder and the LCD screen. Proper cleaning and care of these parts will prolong the use of your camera. These sensitive components such as a camera LCD screen should never be bumped or have a battery put against it inside the camera case; you don’t want to have to pay for a camera LCD screen repair. Purchasing some good quality lens cleaning items such as a brush or blower and lens cloth and cleaning solution can be important. A lens blower can help remove dust and dirt, while a cleaning solution and cloth can remove debris that the blower cannot. Another important reminder is to protect the cameras lens by always putting on the lens cover when the camera is not in use.
Another important aspect of taking care of your digital camera is storage. It is recommended that the camera be stored in a cool and dry space. Always keep the camera out of the sun and from cold temperature. Always remove the batteries from your camera when it will no be used for any length of time. And just as a precaution, magnets of any kind should be kept away from the camera body and definately the memory card.
Besides just the camera itself, you should also remember to take care of your accessories such as memory cards. These are small accessories, so you should take care to not lose or damage them. Never remove the memory card while transfering images to your computer. Memory cards should be stored in the camera or in a card case to avoid damage to them and avoid losing them.
Taking good care of your camera is important so that it will be with you for a long time. You should look for overall brand reliability before making your purchase, and Canon has a great rating; but this does not mean that the camera won’t suffer from normal wear and tear just from normal use. As much as possible, to avoid having to find a Canon camera repair shop you need to protect it from impact damage, water exposure, sand and dust and extreme tempertures.
If you notice any damage or malfunction to any part then it is important to find someone who can affordably provide you with reliable camera repair services. Remember that your camera cost a lot of money and it certainly pays to take good care of it.
Many people have asked about repairing their front covers/flaps on their Canon PowerShot SD series cameras, so I’ve written up some instructions. The barrier kit on most Canon PowerShot SD series cameras is a little tricky but not impossible to replace yourself. You will need patience, a good eye and a steady hand as well as a small screwdriver. We use dental picks, they work great!
To start, you will need to turn on the camera and extend the lens, then open the battery door to turn off the camera and keep the lens out. This allows you to easily work on the lens barrier assembly.
The first part that goes in is the barrel drive ring; it has a small part sticking down into the lens. Some cameras don’t have one, so if there isn’t one in your kit then your camera doesn’t need it. Make sure it rotates slightly once it has been inserted, otherwise it’s not in properly and can jam the lens.
Next we will install the barrier plates or ‘flaps’ with the springs attached. Put one spring on each of the flaps, there are little tabs to hold them on. They are TINY, they are hard to hold and if you drop it… please take my advice and don’t drop it, ok? We do have just the springs available for purchase, but please try not to lose them.
Gently put the flap in the hole with the spring laying towards the post that the free end will mount on; then with something with a very small tip (we use dental picks!) gently grab the loop of the spring and stick it on its post.
Do this with the flaps in the open position, they will stay in place if you get them seated properly. If everything pops off, just start again. Try not to stretch out the springs, they need to remain tight for the assembly to work properly.
Then gently put on the barrier cover, it’s a flat plastic ring. There are tabs on the barrier cover, they match up with little slots on the lens and it locks into place. Be gentle, don’t force anything too hard or you will break it and the parts will not hold it place.
Now it’s time to test your skills! Put in the battery (cross your fingers) and press the power button! Did it work? Did it go *SPROING!* and all the parts flew across the room? I hope not, but you’re not alone I’ve been there too.
Once you have it working smoothly (…you’re almost done with your first camera repair!)
Next put the dual sided tape on the barrier cover. VERY IMPORTANT: Peel the tape off the yellow backing paper but DO NOT remove the paper from the side that is cut to match the shape of the tape!! Removing the small paper part will cause the tape to fold up on itself and stick together. Bye bye tape!
The tabs of the tape fold over the edges, if they stick out the lens cover will not fit properly and can jam up the lens. The tape lines up with one tab at about the 11 o’clock position, then fold the tabs over and press them in so they don’t stick out.
Now put on your chrome or black lens cap, line up the cap with the small indentation at the bottom, you’ll see how it goes on easily.
Fire up the camera again and admire your handywork! Congratulations you repaired your camera yourself for $20 and the good old Geek Squad told you it would be $200 and take 3-4 weeks to repair.
Hmm… I think I’m seeing the beginning of something big here; affordable Canon camera repair!
Digital photography can be defined as the use of digital technology in creating a range of images of assorted objects. Before the technology of digital photography was advanced, photography film in creating images that could latter be subjected to photographic processing making them visible was being used. With the advancement of technology, it is rather obvious that to learning digital photography is vital for those who want to take photos of great quality.
Future digital photographers should be ready to enroll in a photography college or can contact a photography studio where they can work as trainees. The trainee must however be prepared to work extra hard as he or she works with people that must complete work within specific periods of time or deadlines. For those who are too busy, they may decide to buy a book with the necessary information regarding digital photography and learn at their own pace and convenience.
Training will enable one to be aware of the troubles regarding digital photography and be in a position to resolve them. The photographer will also be able to print digital pictures that are of very high quality as he or she will have details and know how about printer inks and printing software among others. The trainee will also have much knowledge in details like exposure, flashes, horizontal lines and lighting.
It is important for every learner to start using a simple camera during his or her early stages of learning photography and avoid using complex digital cameras until he or she gets expertise. Learning about white balance is important as this adds warmth to the photographs, and in addition, learning to use a filter aids in eliminating glares and reflections that damages a good photo. He or she will also be able to make the correct photo framing and also use the flash optimally when needed. One should also have the knowledge of framing an object. One should also learn photography basics such as having a large-sized memory card and charged batteries whenever he or she is in the process of taking many photos.
So you just go a new digital camera. And very excited to start taking photos with your new gadget??
But Alas, why does the picture not look as good as you wanted to !! Fret no more, stay tuned below for 4 new tricks to taking more interesting and memorable photos.
Trick #1 – Try out different camera exposure settings
—————————————————
By looking at the setting for exposure in your camera, you could have pictures looking more brilliant with 0.5 to 2 stops underexposed in bright surroundings, and scenes appearing more clear with some overexposure. Just by simple tuning of the exposure level, you can create pictures which can bring out different moods from people viewing it. Thats why the quote “A Picture Says A Thousand Words” is very true indeed ! For newbies, try out bracketing (i.e: Take the same photos with different exposure levels) and take your favorite pick from them.
Trick #2 – Bring out some creative blur in photos
—————————————————
By using blur you can showcase out stronger features of a picture, while using the rest as good complement, providing an overall nice touch. This can be done in 2 basic types.
First type is depth-of-field blur. Varying the lens aperture between 0.4 to 1.4 can create a lovely, soft background blur which bring sharp focus to the subject in the foreground.
Second type is movement blur. Accomplished by adjusting the shutter priority, and keep it slow so as to capture interesting streaks as the subject moves in front of the camera.
Trick #3 – Create something out of nothing !!
—————————————————
How so? This exercise encourages you to take a step back and rethink how you can take beautiful pictures with things you already encountered on a daily basis.
One approach is to create your shot around the common elements around you such as lines, space and patterns. This can mean anything from the roads to the bridges, the trees, the railings, etc.. You start to see more possibilities and room for creativity.
Trick #4 – Take Unique Photos !!
————————————–
It is best to not take photos in places where everyone takes them, it will not be fresh, and the excitement is also much diminished. Try out new exciting photography (for example: underwater photography), or it could be as easy as shooting through thick glasses for that extra 3D feel, or taking pictures of reflections of objects in water or other reflective objects.
I hope you we this article
This article is support by Puerto Rico Wedding Photographer
Are you one that just takes pictures of friends without thinking how they might turn out? Portrait photography takes you a step up from people photography. It gives you elements to notice such as the angle you take the photograph, the lighting you will use, and the expression of emotion on a persons face. While you may be an amateur photographer deciding to take Christmas photos without the expense you will need to have some basic knowledge of techniques used by the professionals. You can find this knowledge through a digital photography course online but first, read a good digital photography course review.
First when taking a photograph of a person you need to study their face. The face is important to the angle you will shoot from.It is true that some people do have a better side even though that is a cliche. This could be in relation to scarring or acne breakouts or even simpler. For instance my left eye is larger than my right by just a bit, and looking head on into the camera will cause a horrible portrait, however if the photographer comes from the right side and angles up a little the light and shadows will help even out the features while keeping the distinctions that make me who I am.
Capturing the essence of the subject’s personality is what portrait photography is all about. The little nuances of a face add character to the portrait. You will want to loosen up your subjects. If you are becoming a professional portrait photographer you will want to learn about your subject as you are taking pictures or perhaps meet them before the session.You should know what would get their personality captured on film if they are just your family.
The next important step to portrait photography is lighting. A lot of photographers prefer natural light to artificial.In part, your subject will make this decision for you. Remember you will use the light you have. Natural light will often require setting the aperture to compensate for the cameras lack of definition.To get the effect you want you need to create the contrast between the light and shadows in other words. Often artificial light is harsh and not directed properly unless in a studio. Again you will need to use the manual settings on your camera to create the perfect portrait.
The background is also important when discussing light.Picking backgrounds that will not wash out features or clothing is what good studio photographers do. They want to have a distinction or contrast between you and the background. This is also important of home portrait photography. You will want a background that gives color to your subject rather than taking it away. Finding a nice spot with a tree to sit on and mountains in the background can be a great portrait, but you will want to make sure the background is not too busy to distract from the subject. Make the subject seem apart of the picture rather than outside of it.
The type of camera and film you use will also determine the quality of the photograph. Once you combine techniques such as lighting, angles, and understanding your subject you will be able to create a near to professional if not professional portrait for your friends and family no matter the occasion. Just snapping a picture is possible, but it would be great to have a better portrait?