TUTORIALS (Help and Advice forums)

Hiya Guys & Girls Here is a little tip to help you get the same results as my image below…... Over the years i have been facinated with macro shots of water drops hitting the water surface in during all my attempts i have come to realise that this is not an easy thing to get right… We obviously have the usually problems such as lighting, DOF etc etc but the worst is getting the actual focus on the target point rght.. Well, here is a little idea you may find useful.. I use a sinple cork (As in wine bottle) and a litle bit of chain from a sink plug.. I basically position the cork where the drop hits using the weight of the chian to keep it from moving all over the place. I then focus on the Cork, so that when the actual water drop falls, it is in focus.. When i am ready and the camera is set up, i simply remove the cork and chain and shoot.. The only thing at this point is getting the timing right.. Apart from this, you should have a clear, sharp image of the water drop or the crater that is left after it hits the surface.. Anyway, this is how i get the images of water drops just before they actually hit the surface… I hope this little tip is helpful.. Full write up can be found in The Photographers Vault All the best and enjoy…..... Rob xx

Hiya All, I have recently been asked to share this little tip regarding how i got the effect of such clear steam in my photograph “OIL BURNER” as shown….............. This is not a difficult thing to do and requires absolutely no specialized equipment other than a small LED torch or light.. I use a small bicycle light which gives off a brilliant white light with a very narrow field at reasonably close distances from the subject. Obviously the further away you move the light the wider spread of light you will recieve… Simply aim the torch or light towards the subject you wish to light (in my case it was the steam) trying not to light up anything else and you will recieve a very nice image… I shot the above image with nothing more than using a tripod, auto shot and 1/16 on the flash. The subject was i a reasonably dark room and the only lighting on the subject was from the torch which was around 10 inches away from the steam.. REMEMBER to place the light behind the steam, not infront of it.. I use the little light mainly because i find that most lights for this create to much spread therfore lightingup to much of the object which takes the impact away from the steam or smoke.. LED lights, expecially little torches etc are ideal for placing in close areas to the subject without lighting it up too much… I hope this little tip helps and if anyone has a better way then please let me know as i am always open to knew ideas and methods…. Full write up can be found in The Photographers Vault Rob ;)

This applies to all artists looking to sell their work. I’ve been surfing thru Twitter tonight and came across a photographer/blogger that had some very sage advice. His twitter account is PhotoJack, and although I like to steer away from people named Jack (long story), I do find his tweets & retweets rather advantagous and sage. / So for those of you RB’ers who are looking for a plan to market your artwork and want to do more than sit here hoping somebody will notice that you’re extraordinarily talented and can’t live without filling their home, business and/or Mom’s house with your arwork, then heed what PhotoJack has to say: / FYI…I have no idea what a TOG is, but I’m assuming it’s an acronym for something or someone. / Tweet #1: for Togs waiting for economy to hand them work-it’s going to be a long wait. Take charge. Create your own destiny. Now. / Tweet #2: Togs. get pen/paper out and write down today 20 measurable action items you can begin to intitiate to get LOCAL business / Tweet #3: Bad business plan: “People will buy my stuff”. Good business plan: “I’ll sell stuff to people” ;) / Tweet #4: Togs create their own destiny by creating/executing written, measurable, defineable action lists. then doing it better, cheaper, smarter / Tweet #5: Rule no 1. if it’s not on paper then it ain’t real. Commit to writing actions. with measurable goals and deadline / Tweet #6: Rule no 2. Togs fear writing down their business plan and strategies because it make’s them accountable to the plan. / Tweet #7: (Gotta love this visual – very empowering!!!) Rule no. 3 take what’s in your head (creative ideas), to your fingers (writing it down), to your feet (walk the talk). Re-read this one a few times…it doesn’t get any better than this!!! / Tweet #8: (For those who have never written a business plan) I’m not talking full blown business plan. but a 1 pager full of actionable items you want to do for your biz. / So there you have it…a list of suggestions to get your business of selling your artwork off the ground. / Who says I don’t know how to share the love???? LOL… / Ok people, make sure you have your business plans on my desk first thing tomorrow morning!! / / Hugs, S.

Depth of field (DOF) refers to that part of a photograph that appears to be in focus. It exists within a plane perpendicular to the axis of the cameras viewpoint. The photographer chooses which affect of depth of field to choose. Narrow DOF tends to separate the subject from an out of focus background, in this image notice how a line of sharpness moves through this photograph of a tray of sewing bobbins. / / While greater DOF incorporates the background as an essential element in the photo. Increasing the light allowes for a stopped down aperture and a greater depth of field. / / A photographer has three tools to manage the DOF, choice of lens, aperture and focal point. The focal length of a lens affects one element of the DOF available from that lens. Generally speaking the shorter the focal length of the lens, the greater the DOF. When set at the same aperture and focal point a longer lens will always have a shallower DOF then a wide angle lens will. A focus point 2 feet from the camera will have less DOF than a focus point of 10 or 100 feet. Aperture selection is the third tool. When a lens is stopped down to, let’s say f22 it will always have greater DOF then if shot wide open at f2.8. / An example of a depth of field chart illustrates the concepts of managing DOF. The cells give two distances the first is the closest distance to the camera that the subject will be in acceptable focus. The later number is the furthest distance from the camera that the subject will be in acceptable focus. / / Hyperfocal distance is a focus point that will give the greatest range of DOF keeping acceptable focus only to infinity but not beyond. / Example / 24mm lens aperture of f11, focused to 9’ gives a DOF of 4’4”/infinity / 200mm lens aperture of f11, focused to 550’ gives a depth of field of 282’6”/infinity / So as the chart points out if you were shooting with a 200mm lens at f11 and the main subject is 290’ from the camera focusing on infinity would put the prime subject out of focus. But focusing to 550’ moves your DOF forward so the subject and background will be sharply focused. / So have fun and happy shooting-Larry “Revisiting On Depth of Field” was featured in TUTORIALS 11/05/09

Tags Tags Tags. They help people find your work, improve you chances of being featured, and google search will love you more. So learning to do it right is a great idea. Excessive tagging does not work in your favor. You should only use tags that are obvious keywords that would connect a searcher with your work. Let me give you an example… Here is an image of a calculator (courtesy of google search) A good set of tags would be: calculator, numbers, mathematics, maths, buttons, machine, white, photograph A not so good set of tags would be: calculator, numbers, integers, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, +, -, /, add, subtract, divide, mulitply, square root, screen, buttons, grey, black , white, maths, mathematics, science, finance, bookkeeping, nerd, office, administration, machine, technology, digital Why is the second set the weaker one? Because most of the terms tagged there only have the tiniest little thing to do with the image. This then goes on to pollute the searches of people who are actually looking for an image of a + symbol or an image of a nerdy caricature . The more polluted the search is, the more times people will just give up and go elsewhere. Anyway, hope that is some good general information for you.

Keep your portfolio short and sweet. Show only your absolute best work and ensure your portfolio can be flicked through in under a minute. People have really short attention spans Use tags. But only use relevant tags which describe key features of the work. Use your journal to give buyers a glimpse into your motivations, inspirations and learning. Don’t put anything negative in it (people can see it!) Remove negative or critiquing comments from under artworks- potential buyers can read them and you don’t want them to be put off Personalise your work by adding meaningful descriptions that tell your audience about how the work was created, what it was inspired by or the story behind it Think about and make a deliberate decision on how much to charge for your art

If you are tired of rummaging through countless pages trying to feature a group member or an image that won a challenge and have so many more pages to go and your mouse hand is cramped. Try this method. NOTE: This only works for groups that you Host / Co-Host / Also be careful in doing this as it will have the reverse effect on a featured image. / It will remove it from the featured section if it is already featured. / Be sure to visit the groups “overview” page to make sure your handy work has included all the images you wanted to feature. To feature Challenge Images / 1.On your groups “overview” page there is a link to your “featured work” section right click the link and select (with Firefox)”copy link location” (with internet explorer “copy shortcut”) / Now you are ready to feature some images the easy way / 2.Go to the challenge page that shows the awesome challenge winners that are about to be featured and while holding the control (CTRL) key left click the lucky images doing this will open them in new tabs in your web browser / 3.Now the fun part Clicking one of the new tabs that were opened will take you to the image page drop a comment if you like while you are there. To feature it in the address bar highlight the web address all the way to the word “art” then press and hold the control (CTRL) key press “V” to paste the address you copied in step 1 / or you can right click the Highlighted text and select ‘paste’ from the pop up menu. / Here is an example / Original address (the part in bold will be replaced) / http://www.redbubble.com/people/envelope150/art/2934496-2-egret-dock / Now the new address to feature this image would be / http://www.redbubble.com/groups/groupnamehere/featured_works/2934496-2-egret-dock / 4. Now just press enter (or click GO). / 5. Click the “feature” button on the confirmation page and your done. / You can close the tab and move on to the next one. / This also works for T-shirts / Example address (the part in bold will be replaced) / http://www.redbubble.com/people/envelope150/t-shirts/2478267-4-original-mobil-phone Feature a Group Member / To feature a group member go to their public profile page and click the “send bubblemail” link and in the address bar there is a number that you will need to feature the group member. / Example: The number below in bold is my number / http://www.redbubble.com/mybubble/conversations/new?recipient_id=14964058&return_to=%2Fpeople%2FEnvelope150 / Highlight and copy the members number / Go to the featured members link on the groups page / EXAMPLE: http://www.redbubble.com/groups/groupname/featured_users / and add the copied number at the end of the address in the address bar / Like this / http://www.redbubble.com/groups/groupname/featured_users/14964058 / Press enter and presto a featured member. Featuring Writings and Journals / also works by going to the members writing or journal page and clicking the work to feature and pasting the address like we did above. / Examples:replace the part in bold / Writing / http://www.redbubble.com/people/envelope150/writing/3092254-feature-me / Journal / http://www.redbubble.com/people/envelope150/journal/3092254-feature-me Happy Bubbling (Happy Featuring) / Dan Need More Help? / Chat with me on Skype User Name / envelope150 Get the Firefox and Internet Explorer Tool bar for Redbubble Here / See more info See all my How-to’s Here Includes “Framed image on Bubblesite home page”, “Adding Calendars to your bubblesite”, “feedjit Live Traffic Feed”, “Using tags on Redbubble”, “Add a visitor counter to your bubblesite or profile page” and More Please don’t Copy and paste this written work as that would really hurt my feelings :) / you can copy the code below and paste it if you would like to share with others on Redbubble "Featuring the easy way(Host Tutorial)":http://www.redbubble.com/people/envelope150/journal/2948588-host-tutorial-featuring-the-easy-way / or to share on the web / <a href="http://www.redbubble.com/people/envelope150/journal/2948588-host-tutorial-featuring-the-easy-way" title="Host Tutorial">Featuring the easy way</a> / or / /

For those of you who like to work with textures, I have decided to share a lot of my photos that I use in my composites. Not all of them, mind you! I worked hard to create some of them, so I will hold on to them jealously for a little while longer. In any case, there are a little more than 50 of them in a special album of my Flickr account, under Creative Commons licence. Most are big images with the larger side at over 3000px. I you use them, I would appreciate if you could give me proper credit and a link back to my Flickr home page as mentioned in the description of each image. Click on the image below to go to my texture album. Please note that only the images from that album are stock resources and free for the taking. All other albums are protected by copyright . Enjoy! Featured in TUTORIALS – Help and Advice Forums on May 7, 2009

Macro Photography Light Most of us who try to attempt super macro or macro photography discover very quickly that lighting is a major problem. If the light is bright enough to give you a sharp image it is often impossible to place the camera where you can get the shot you want without having a shadow from the camera itself. The cost of commercial macro lights are from $90 US and up. NOTE: The following is not an original idea from me, I found the idea published in a web site that some one had posted. I did a search for macro lights on Google. I have tried to find the web site again so I can give credit to the person who had the idea but can no longer find it. I bought a 24 LED Camp light from Ebay for less than ten dollars including shipping. I simply put “LED camp light” in the eBay search window. My macro camera has an outside lens barrel diameter of two inches so building mine was relatively easy. I was able to keep the battery mounts inside the light so I didn’t have to change any wiring. With a larger barrel diameter camera the idea will still work but becomes a little more involved. You will have to remove the battery holders (they can be broken off using a pair of pliers) and solder wires (they can also be twisted together and taped but are not as secure as soldered wires) to the wires that connect the batteries in the light. You will then need to purchase an additional battery box with a switch and wires to solder (or twist and tape) to the confectioning wires in the light. Radioshack’s on line web site sells a four battery (AA) box which is a series box giving you six volts, with switch and wire leads for around two dollars. The batteries have to be in a series (+ to – + to – + to – + to -) so that you have a six volt supply to run the lights. I located the center of my camp light and drew a two and one eighth inch circle on the front and back plastic pieces of the light. I then used a rotozip tool to cut out the circle in both the front and back. There are a number of different tools you can use to cut the plastic in a circle including a box knife. Because the camp light I bought had a built in switch originally in a hole in the front of the light. I was able to cut a slot in the back of the light and place the switch there without having to rewire anything. I used a piece of old insulated extension cord (the round type) to make a rubber protective ring for the holes in the light to keep my camera barrel from getting scratched with the plastic since the camera is placed through the hole in the camp light. I carefully split the insulation on the extension cord so I had a straight line cut then removed the insulation, cut it to length and used a hot glue gun to glue the insulation rubber ring to the inside of the hole in the camp light. You can use any protective material, felt, rubber that you want to line the hole just so the outside of your camera barrel is not scratched. I used rubber and made it fit tight so I can slide the light on the camera and I will stay without having to hold it in place. I have to admit that I could have made it look a little neater with more time spent on the glue work When using LED light for photography you will often need to adjust the white balance of your camera or edit the image in your computer because of the blue quality of light that LED lights emit. It is also possible to buy similar light rings with IR (infrared) lights to make your own light ring which does not have the blue light quality. You can also make one without using a camp light just by using LED or IR lights hand wired to a circle you cut from different types of materials. To get more ideas Google “Macro light or LED Light Rings” Now an example of images without and with the Macro Light!! An Image with the camera shadow An Image with the light Good luck with your creation and Enjoy.

Welcome to my longest tutorial so far. / This Tutorial has a lot of information in it That makes it seem harder than it is be patient but I know you can do it. / Using small pictures of mounted prints, posters, matted prints, canvas prints, shirts or cards. / To do this you will need the Picture Number / To get this go to your “art” section and find the image you want to use right click it to get the web address(URL) / It will look similar to this / http://images-3.redbubble.net/img/art/cropped/size:xsmall/view:main/2472080-2-lavendar-rose.jpg / The number in BOLD in the example above is the picture number, use it in the below examples where it says PICTURENUMBER NOTE: The codes used in this journal can not be copied and pasted it will not work To get the small previews to work you must right click these images to get the Web address or URL (see how below), Or once you create your small previews you can right click those. If using firefox simply right click the image / and select “copy image location” Using Internet explorer right click the image / then select “Properties” A Properties box will appear copy the Address(URL) / High lighted in blue “right click” the Highlighted text then choose “copy” / or once it is highlighted hold the “control(CTRL)” key and press “C” To paste the web address press “ctrl+V” or right click where you want it to go and select “paste” I’ve also included the HTML code for using these on the web. / You can copy and paste these / Then just paste the web address you got above where is says / paste image location here and Change the PICTURENUMBER / The options can be changed at anytime. All of the examples I provided will go to your profile page. / If you want them linked to your bubblesite you will need to know the set number / of where the images are. / To get the set numbers go to your bubblesite “gallery” and right click a set (folder) / select “properties” in the box that appears you will see the web address (URL) for the set (folder) / EXAMPLE: http://USERNAME.redbubble.com/sets/7279/works / The number in Bold above is the set number. Below are examples of where to put the link. / Note:The USERNAME, SETNUMBER and PICTURE NUMBER needs to be changed to your information / To use on the web (linked to bubblesite) <a href="http://USERNAME.redbubble.com/sets/SETNUMBER/works/PICTURENUMBER"><img src="paste image location here" alt="" /></a> Here is the version for RB (linked to bubblesite) !paste image location here!http://USERNAME.redbubble.com/sets/SETNUMBER/works/PICTURENUMBER / BONUS TIP Make a super small preview by using /pixelsize:60×60 / http://images-0.redbubble.net/img/art/backgroundcolor:f7f7f7/backingcolor:white/pixelsize:60×60/product:greeting-card/view:preview/2472080.jpg / CARDS grey background black background white background Here is an Example of a card image location with a black background http://images-0.redbubble.net/img/art/backgroundcolor:000000/backingcolor:white/pixelsize:170×180/product:greeting-card/view:preview/2389415.jpg To use it on redbubble / !paste image location here!:http://www.redbubble.com/products/configure/PICTURENUMBER To use it on the web <a href="http://www.redbubble.com/products/configure/PICTURENUMBER"><img src="paste image location here" alt="" /></a> Don’t forget to use your picture number Options / To change the background change the backgroundcolor: / !http://images-0.redbubble.net/img/art/backgroundcolor:f7f7f7/backingcolor:white/pixelsize:170×180/product:greeting-card/view:preview/PICTURENUMBER.jpg! Colors for Grey use backgroundcolor:f7f7f7f7 / for Black use backgroundcolor:000000 / for White use backgroundcolor:ffffff To change the background of the card for those cards that don’t fit the layout of the RB card change the backingcolor:white or backingcolor:black EXTRA Adding the backgroundcolor: examples from above to the large card preview will also change the background. / Example!http://images-2.redbubble.net/img/art/backgroundcolor:000000/backingcolor:white/product:greeting-card/view:preview/2333688-5-great-blue-heron-ii.jpg! / Will give you this / Mounted Prints no border border / white w/details / large image border / black w/details / small image Here is an Example of a mounted print image address with a white border with details http://images-3.redbubble.net/img/art/pixelsize:170×180/border:whitewithdetail/product:mounted-print/size:large/view:preview/2324884.jpg To use it on redbubble (No border) !paste image location here!:http://www.redbubble.com/products/configure/PICTURENUMBER To use it on the web (No border) <a href="http://www.redbubble.com/products/configure/PICTURENUMBER"><img src="paste image location here" alt="" /></a> Options / Change the border:noborder / for White border with details border:whitewithdetail / for Black border with details border:blackwithdetail / You can also change the size of the two images that have a border / by changing the size:small / to size:medium or size:large Framed image Cherry/Black / Large Cherry/white / Medium Cherry/Off White / Small Here is an Example of a framed image address with a white background, cherry frame, black matte and a large image. http://images-2.redbubble.net/img/art/backgroundcolor:white/framecolor:cherry/framestyle:flat30/mattecolor:black/pixelsize:170×180/product:framed-print/size:large/view:preview/2001857.jpg To use it on redbubble !paste image location here!:http://www.redbubble.com/products/configure/PICTURENUMBER To use it on the web <a href="http://www.redbubble.com/products/configure/PICTURENUMBER"><img src="paste image location here" alt="" /></a> OPTIONS / Change the frame color by changing framecolor: Frame Colors framecolor:cherry / framecolor:black / framecolor:charcoal / framecolor:mocha / framecolor:walnut Change the matte color by changing mattecolor: Matte Colors mattecolor:off%20white / mattecolor:bright%20white / mattecolor:black Change the size of the print image by changing size: Image Sizes size:small / size:medium / size:large The background can also be changed by changing the backgroundcolor:white Colors for Grey use backgroundcolor:f7f7f7f7 / for Black use backgroundcolor:000000 / for White use backgroundcolor:ffffff Laminated Image Black / w/Details / Small White / w/Details / Medium Black / w/Details / Large Here is an Example image address of a Laminated print with a small image and a black border with details http://images-3.redbubble.net/img/art//pixelsize:170×180/border:blackwithdetail/product:laminated-print/size:small/view:preview/2294839.jpg To use it on redbubble !paste image location here!:http://www.redbubble.com/products/configure/PICTURENUMBER To use it on the web <a href="http://www.redbubble.com/products/configure/PICTURENUMBER"><img src="paste image location here" alt="" /></a> Options / Change the border: / for White border with details border:whitewithdetail / for Black border with details border:blackwithdetail / You can also change the size of the two images that have a border / by changing the size:small / to size:medium or size:large Matted Prints Black White Off White Here is an Example matte print with a black matte http://images-3.redbubble.net/img/art/mattecolor:black/pixelsize:170×180/product:matted-print/size:medium/view:preview/2472080.jpg To use it on redbubble !paste image location here!:http://www.redbubble.com/products/configure/PICTURENUMBER To use it on the web <a href="http://www.redbubble.com/products/configure/PICTURENUMBER"><img src="paste image location here" alt="" /></a> Options Change the matte color by changing mattecolor: Matte Colors mattecolor:off%20white / mattecolor:bright%20white / mattecolor:black T-Shirts / Clothing Here is an Example image address of a white men’s T-shirt with a black background. http://images-1.redbubble.net/img/clothing/backgroundcolor:000000/pixelsize:170×180/bodycolor:white/product:tshirt/size:large/style:mens/view:preview/2478267.jpg To use it on redbubble !paste image location here!:http://www.redbubble.com/products/configure/PICTURENUMBER To use it on the web <a href="http://www.redbubble.com/products/configure/PICTURENUMBER"><img src="paste image location here" alt="" /></a> Options / The background can be changed by changing the backgroundcolor: Background Colors for Grey use backgroundcolor:f7f7f7f7 / for Black use backgroundcolor:000000 / for White use backgroundcolor:ffffff The Preview Style can be channged by changing the style: Style long sleeve style:longsleeve / short sleeve style:mens / V-neck style:vneck / Girly Fitted Short Sleeve style:womens The Preview Color Can be changed by changing bodycolor: / Note each T-shirt style may have Different color options Body Colors style:womens / style:mens Colors bodycolor:white / bodycolor:creme / bodycolor:silver / bodycolor:lemon / bodycolor:aqua / bodycolor:babyblue / bodycolor:lightpink / bodycolor:heathergrey / bodycolor:gold / bodycolor:grassgreen / bodycolor:teal / bodycolor:red / bodycolor:kellygreen / bodycolor:raspberry bodycolor:asphalt / bodycolor:army / bodycolor:cranberry / bodycolor:brown / bodycolor:forest / bodycolor:navy / bodycolor:black style:longesleeve Colors bodycolor:white / bodycolor:pink / bodycolor:heathergrey / bodycolor:asphalt / bodycolor:brown / bodycolor:navy / bodycolor:black style:vneck Colors bodycolor:white / bodycolor:lightpink / bodycolor:heathergrey / bodycolor:asphalt / bodycolor:cranberry / bodycolor:brown / bodycolor:navy / bodycolor:black EXTRA using the backgroundcolor: on the large view will change those as well / EXAMPLE http://images-0.redbubble.net/img/clothing/backgroundcolor:000000/bodycolor:white/product:tshirt/size:large/style:mens/view:preview/2478267.jpg / Canvas no options To use it on redbubble (linked) / !paste image location here!:http://www.redbubble.com/products/configure/PICTURENUMBER To use it on the web (linked) / <a href="http://www.redbubble.com/products/configure/PICTURENUMBER"><img src="paste image location here" alt="" /></a> Posters no options To use it on redbubble (linked) / !paste image location here!:http://www.redbubble.com/products/configure/PICTURENUMBER To use it on the web (linked) / <a href="http://www.redbubble.com/products/configure/PICTURENUMBER"><img src="paste image location here" alt="" /></a> BONUS TIP You can create a large preview by changing the pixel size / from pixelsize:170×180 to pixelsize:875×440 Click here to see an Example / Thanks for reading my longest Tutorial so far. / Hope you find it useful / Happy Bubbling / Dan Need More Help? / Chat with me on Skype User Name / envelope150 Get the Firefox and Internet Explorer Tool bar for Redbubble Here / See more info See all my How-to’s Here Includes “Framed image on Bubblesite home page”, “Adding Calendars to your bubblesite”, “feedjit Live Traffic Feed”, “Using tags on Redbubble”, “Add a visitor counter to your bubblesite or profile page” and More Please don’t Copy and paste this written work as that would really hurt my feelings :) / you can copy the link below and paste it if you would like to share with others on Redbubble / "Using Small Product Previews":http://www.redbubble.com/people/envelope150/journal/2502507-tutorial-using-small-product-previews / or on the web / <a href="http://www.redbubble.com/people/envelope150/journal/2502507-tutorial-using-small-product-previews">Using Small Product Previews</a> / /

How does one create links within RB to say, featured work? And how do people show their images in frames. Not everyone uses it but I’d imagine it’s just an HTML link to an image. Any help greatly appreciated.

Hi folks I was wondering if you would be interested in contributing in the new forum. Critique Centre This forum would be a place to add an image of your own that you would be interested in getting some feed back on from others. It could be advice on camera settings, positioning, lighting, effects…..etc If you add an image be expected to get critique, but we ask our members no unpleasantness please. What do you think? go the group TUTORIALS

I’m very excited today, because I’ve just learned that a local gallery is going to exhibit 20 of my images for 6 weeks from the end of this month. WOOHOO!!! ..... very excited about this!! So now it’s time to decide which 20 images to use. The gallery owner tells me that ‘almost anything goes”, but images with a rural slant tend to do well. / I have a number of images in mind, but I’ve discovered that what I like doesn’t necessarily mean that others do too. So if you have any suggestions, I’d welcome them with big huge open arms! / Let me know which of my images you think would do well at exhibition. ( Please don’t tell me ‘none’.... that’d ruin my fantastic day!) love to hear from you all :D

Hi to all fellow members and dear friends at RB. i am running away from the buzz for a couple of weeks, trip to The Kruger National Park, need to reload on energy and just melt way in the wonders of nature! Will be back in two weeks time, know I am going to miss you, your wonderful art and rb a lot! Know the catching up wont’t do the thing, but, keep up the stunning work! Be back soon, hugs Maggie x

When photographing action we have a choice of stopping, or freezing the action, or allowing some degree of blurring to impart the idea of motion. So after choosing an approach we must understand how the camera sees action. The important factors are the speed and direction of travel of the subject. It is easier to capture, movement directly into or away from the camera, using slower shutter speeds, while action moving perpendicular to the lens axis typically requires a higher shutter speed to stop or freeze. Try this experiment on a city street photograph someone walking straight towards you at 1/60sec. Notice that the image is mostly captured intact. Try again at 1/125sec and 1/250sec. to see the difference. Now repeat the same with a subject moving from left to right and notice the blurring of the hands and feet. Try again at faster shutter speeds to get a feel for what you can capture. Try the same with a moving car or motorcyclist. You will soon get a feel for what shutter speed is required to stop the action. This motorcycle racer was captured at 1/250sec but notice the blurring of the wheels as they are travelling faster than the main subject. / You may want to show some blurring of the action if so then slow down the shutter speed. So when, a camera is held in a static position the background may record sharply but the moving object will blur. Or try panning, moving the camera in sync with the moving object, to give the prime subject a sharper image while blurring the background. Panning can be difficult requiring significant hand =eye coordination. Pick up and follow the moving subject before you trip the shutter and hold the follow thru for a couple of seconds after taking the photo. Panning the camera and shooting at 1/60sec managed a sharp capture of the carnival ride while blurring the faster moving silhouettes of the riders. / And of course we have seen the many images from a tripod mounted camera focused on the falling or rushing waters of a wild land stream. So make the decision to freeze the action or let it blur. So go shoot some action and enjoy that camera-Larry Grayam

Tags Tags Tags. They help people find your work, improve you chances of being featured, and google search will love you more. So learning to do it right is a great idea. Excessive tagging does not work in your favor. You should only use tags that are obvious keywords that would connect a searcher with your work. Let me give you an example… Here is an image of a calculator (courtesy of google search) A good set of tags would be: calculator, numbers, mathematics, maths, buttons, machine, white, photograph A not so good set of tags would be: calculator, numbers, integers, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, +, -, /, add, subtract, divide, mulitply, square root, screen, buttons, grey, black , white, maths, mathematics, science, finance, bookkeeping, nerd, office, administration, machine, technology, digital Why is the second set the weaker one? Because most of the terms tagged there only have the tiniest little thing to do with the image. This then goes on to pollute the searches of people who are actually looking for an image of a + symbol or an image of a nerdy caricature . The more polluted the search is, the more times people will just give up and go elsewhere. Anyway, hope that is some good general information for you.

Keep your portfolio short and sweet. Show only your absolute best work and ensure your portfolio can be flicked through in under a minute. People have really short attention spans Use tags. But only use relevant tags which describe key features of the work. Use your journal to give buyers a glimpse into your motivations, inspirations and learning. Don’t put anything negative in it (people can see it!) Remove negative or critiquing comments from under artworks- potential buyers can read them and you don’t want them to be put off Personalise your work by adding meaningful descriptions that tell your audience about how the work was created, what it was inspired by or the story behind it Think about and make a deliberate decision on how much to charge for your art