Photo Paper

Choosing Print Paper For Your Photos
by Christine Peppler

For those who purchase a digital camera hoping to print their photos at home, there are numerous decisions to make before creating photo lab quality images. The printer, ink, paper, and print settings selected will all be important. For the easiest and surest way to get the best results most experts would recommend that the printer, ink, and paper should be produced by the same manufacturer. There is good reason behind this, as manufacturers develop these products specifically to work together and they can vary significantly between makers.

There are a variety of sizes, finishes, textures, and so forth to choose from when selecting the paper to be used. Using plain printing paper is generally not sufficient for printing images from a digital camera, as the ink tends to absorb too quickly resulting in puddles of ink and fuzzy images. This paper, typically used for printing text documents, may also curl or warp and offers no real protection from fading due to exposure to air and light.

A porous coated paper is a somewhat better choice and it allows quicker drying resulting in a more acceptable image. However, these papers generally don't produce a photograph that will stand the test of time as they are not well protected from the air. Fading will occur rather rapidly.

Photo paper is designed specifically for producing and preserving photos taken with a digital camera. This paper will produce a more color saturated image. Some of the paper is described as "swellable, non-porous" paper. This swellable attribute means that the paper swells as ink is absorbed and then shrinks as it dries, resulting in a barrier that protects the ink from exposure to air. Although offering better fade resistance, this swellable paper is generally a bit more expensive. However for those who are willing to accept a slower drying time and live in a low humidity environment, it is a good choice.

There are numerous finishes available. In most instances, a glossy, high gloss, or satin gloss finish is preferred by most consumers for color photographs while a matte finish is generally the choice for black and white photos. Glossy photo paper is among the most expensive but is highly recommended for most color prints to assure the best image and greatest durability. Images produced on glossy photo paper tend to make images from a digital camera look most similar to those created in a photo lab.

The size of paper used depends upon the images that will be printed and, of course, the printer's capability. Common sizes include 4x6, 8.5x11, 11x 17, and 13x19. Although 4x6 is the traditional size of most prints, larger paper can allow the user to fit multiple prints onto a single page. Specialty sizes are available for printing panoramic shots, gift cards, and other odd size images.

The digital camera has brought many conveniences to the world of home photography. The ability to produce high quality, durable photographs without a photo lab is quite possible using the right paper, printer, and ink.


Creating your own prints at home is simple. Let the author show you how. Visit her online home electronics store, homemedias.info. Visitors to the site can also shop for devices such as a digital camera or camcorder.

Article Source: http://www.articles-heaven.com/articles/?Choosing-Print-Paper-For-Your-Photos&articleid=3414

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Rules of Photography

One of the most beneficial rules of composition is the rule of thirds. This is helpful to the professional and amateur. You will find that the rule of thirds can help you to get your composition set up. It is not difficult to learn. Keep this rule in mind so that you can see an improvement in the quality of the pictures that you take.

Fortunately, our minds think in a Rule of Thirds mode, even if we do not know it. If your viewfinder has a grid option, use it. This was set up to make using the Rule of Thirds easy. If your camera does not have this option, you’ll have to imagine it. When looking at a frame, you will want to draw a mental note of a tic-tac-toe box so that you can see lines that are running horizontally and vertically.
Next, check out your subject matter in relationship to the horizontal lines. Your picture will have the most impact if the horizon is placed close to one of these lines, so that your sky occupies about 1/3 or 2/3 of the picture. This will have a visual impact. The next step is to look at your subject matter in relationship to the four points on the grid where the horizontal and vertical lines meet. Also known as “sweet spots” for photographers. By placing visual importance in these spots, your picture will look more balanced.

A good photographer will include diagonal lines. It will appear more pleasing if they run through one or two of the sweet spots. keep this rule in mind when you are taking pictures. Understanding the importance of these elements will help you to make great shots, however having said that remember not everything will fit picture perfectly in the sweet spots. But keeping the rule of thirds in mind will help you to create wonderful pictures with more of an impact. You can practice using it when it comes to still life shots, landscapes, and when arranging portraits. You can take good pictures and make them great within a few seconds.
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Best Digital Cameras

HOW TO FIND THE BEST DIGITAL CAMERA

It seems that every month, if not every week, different manufacturers are coming up with the latest digital cameras to entice potential clients. And it's just not working for us!

After spending sizeable amount of time at the mall figuring out which is the best digital camera for us, we finally have enough money to buy for that eye-popping, 7 mega pixel, 10x digital zoom, potable, candy colored, up to 512MB expandable memory of super hi-speed SD memory card and not to mention very portable, (that will be the envy of almost everyone we know). We march to the mall armed with our life savings and lotsa pride in ourselves, when we pass by a new display - an eight mega pixel, up to 1G expandable memory, with built it mic and stereo surround, video playback capable, with 22 scenic modes kind-of-camera. And we sigh because the producer of this amazing gadget claims that this is the best digital camera yet out in the market. And so as we always want to have the best, armed with our life savings and a few credit cards, we buy the "best digital camera." But then again, that doesn't last too long, after two months or so, there's another "best digital camera."

And so it confuses us. What makes a digital camera, the best digital camera?

Well, there are certain factors to consider when looking for the "best digital camera" for us.

MEGAPIXELS. One of the most important features of digital camera to make it into the best digital camera category is its mega pixel property. The higher the mega pixels the better the actual photograph will come out. A mega pixel is equivalent to one million pixels. The resolution of your image is based upon the mega pixel property of your camera. This means that as you enlarge the picture, you would get more detail and less blurry colors.

LCD SIZE. The best digital camera will always have a large LCD to help you frame your subject without having to squint to the viewfinder. This is also helpful when reviewing your images, some cameras enable touch up and editing features with its LCD. A 1.5-inch display is average, a 2-inch LCD display is good, but the best LCD size would be 2.5 inches or higher.

ZOOM. Most digital cameras have both digital and optical zoom. A higher optical zoom is always better than a higher digital zoom. Digital cameras are usually furnished with optical of between 3x to 10x. The better the optical zoom, the higher it climbs up to the best digital camera category.

MEMORY CARD. Always make sure that your memory card is the right one for your digital camera. There are different types of memory card like the xD, SD, Flash card and the likes. And these types of memory cards go with certain types of digital cameras. of course memory storage is also up there in choosing the best digital cameras. Choose the size of memory that you need, if you're a photo junkie, you might need more than 32MB. Memory cards can go up to 1G.

The key point to find the best digital camera is to find one that will best fit you and your lifestyle. Don't just buy the latest or the one that claims they are the best digital cameras out in the market. You wouldn't want to buy a DSLR and use it with your home activities or family outing and have to lug it around?! Or you don't want to buy the latest point and shoot camera when you're serious about being a professional photographer. (Of course, you can use this for starters, but if you're not a novice photographer anymore, you wouldn't want to get this kind of camera.)

Actually, the best digital camera is the one that you will enjoy and use. Not the type that you'll just leave rotting in its box or after a few weeks of usage or so, up there in the attic.
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