Photo Creation Contests

Not only do magazines host digital photography contests to find the best digital photos, but they also have contests for other related areas. One of the more popular contests deals with photo editing. These digital art contests are usually free to enter and have a number of different categories (like best morphs, best photo art design, etc.).

If you do enter by email remember to check the specs of the contest. As magazines might request a specific type of file format or file size—if yours does not match you could be eliminated the moment you send it.

$crapbooking for Profit

Some people not only scrapbook for themselves, but also for others. Scrapbook stores are becoming very popular. People just come in and drop off their digital photos and, in a couple of weeks, they have a book of cherished memories. If you are thinking of creating your own digital scrapbook picture business you will need:

• A computer
• High quality printer
• Image editing software

This equipment will not only help you finish scrapbooks in record time, they will also help you save your time on future projects. If you know certain designs, frames, or captions that are very popular you can create a template. Then, with each new project you can just drop the digital photos in the pre-designed frames and pages.

Another helpful idea that can help with customer relations is to offer customers a peek behind the curtain (you can email samples of the pictures and pages to get comments before you print the final product). This way, you can be sure that you are on the right track and everyone can get what they want.

Family Portrait Plan

Digital photography is all about giving you control. You can keep the digital photos you want and you print the sizes you want—all without having to worry about sending rolls of film out to be processed or ordering prints in specific sizes. You can do everything from home. For that reason it makes it a lot easier and less time consuming to do projects like taking a family portrait.

Before you set out to create digital portrait photos, however, you should have two things on your digital camera: a tripod and a timer. The Tripod will help keep the camera steady and aimed the right way without human help and the timer on the digital camera will allow you to join your family in the picture. Since you are using a digital camera you can shoot again and again, until it's perfect.

Surgery Results Before Surgery

There's probably something we'd all like to change about ourselves. Maybe you want to alter your nose, correct an overbite, or tighten your tummy. The scary part is not knowing what the change will look like after a procedure until you actually have the procedure done.

Now, with digital imaging systems you can see how the procedure would look without the cost and pain of doing it first. If you are interested in getting something done cosmetically it's possible to see the results in advance. You can have a digital image taken of yourself and then altered using digital imaging technology to see the probable results.

*If you don't want to go somewhere to have this done, it's even possible to alter an image yourself. Do a net little surfing because many medical companies have websites that can digitally alter a digital picture of yourself right at that moment so you can see their work and how it would look on you.

A Winning Shot

Digital photography has made it easy not only for people to take photos, but to share them as well. This has turned a lot of everyday picture takers into photo-buffs. Photo magazines have helped fuel the fire by hosting free digital photo contests.

Digital photo contests usually occur every month to follow the magazine schedule. Usually, the contest is broken into a variety of visual categories (best sports shot, best landscape shot, etc.). The prizes offered can range from photo trips to cameras and equipment. To enter, just follow the instructions in the magazine or on magazine's website (usually just sending an image in). On top of winning prizes, the winning photos are usually posted in the magazine.

*If you do have to send in actual digital photo prints remember that in most cases the contest won't return the photo, so make a copy.

Don't Re-Shoot, Retouch

Have you ever taken a bunch of photos, looked at them later, and wished they were in black and white? Well, it's too late now, right? Wrong! With digital a digital camera it's possible to turn your color digital pictures into black and white digital pictures in seconds…without re-shooting them.

Just like photo retouching can alter image sizes and shapes, it can also do the same with color. This means that you can convert any color image to a digital black and white photo.

*Remember that you might need to do some adjustments to the image so it doesn't come out too dark or light when you print it out.

Viewer with Various Features

Technology has blurred the line between many different modern devices. Now, you can play games on cell phones, TVs can be used to surf the net, and cars come equipped with navigational computers. Digital picture viewers have also found their way into other devices:

• Digital cameras are designed with a mini-screen so you can see your photos
• Organizers that not only keep your appointments, but also can keep your favorite photos
• Some Mp3 players allow you to view digital photos while listening to tunes

Be warned, however, that all of these features are great but they can also be a great drain on the battery. So, if you know you'll be going away and bringing this device, you might want to throw in extra batteries or the battery charger.

Printing Pixels

We all know that digital photos can be displayed and stored on your computer but did you know they can also be printed on your home computer? If you wantr to print out your digital images at home, however, remember that not all printers print equally.

Some of the lower end printer models are great for type and simple graphics, however, for detailed pictures they might be less than spectacular. Make sure you ask about how the printer handles photo quality before you buy anything. Also, before printing you should look at the size of megapixels of the digital photo (a lower count of megapixels will cause the image to break up when you're printing larger sizes).

No waiting for Wedding Pics

No matter where you get married (a church, a wedding hall, a mountain top) they all have one thing in common—the wait for the wedding pictures. When a photographer uses film, processing needs to be done in order to produce the pictures and this means you need to wait. Usually, this wait is long since wedding studios often have a back log of wedding photos that need to be processed.

*Since digital wedding photography needs no processing, that process is eliminated from the equation—dramatically reducing the time it takes to get the initial proofs and your final wedding album.

The Digital Revolution

Digital Photography has changed our entire photo-experience for the better. Now there's no more lamenting about loading film and no painful process of getting photos processed. Digital photography is just what it says it is—photos are captured in digital images rather than on film. Once you snap a picture, digital images can be displayed right on the camera or downloaded right to your computer—instantly!

*Remember, whether it's film or digital, cameras are still relatively the same when it comes to taking a picture so make sure your subject has the proper amount of light or you that have a flash ready before you take those digital photos.