Outdoor photographers shoot year round. That includes the hot summer. You may be surprised to learn that the best way to tolerate the heat is not to strip down to your skivvies. Instead, using the right products and wearing clothing designed to face the challenges of summer will help you keep your cool. Safety First One of the first concerns to being outside is exposure to the sun. Not only will it age your skin more quickly, sun can cause skin cancer. Everyones skin can be damaged by prolonged exposure to sunlight. Fairer skin, higher altitudes, central latitudes, mid-day exposures and summer...

There are also some excellent online courses available and some of them are free, just type Photography free online courses into your search engine. Morguefile is an example they offer sound technical advice on a variety of subjects, as well as aspects of types of photography, it is a good point to start with, showing the resources Jodie Coston, a freelance photographer, has made available online, after a series of classes she gave. The New York Institute of Photography offers an online course over a period of about eight months, with a few hours work a day at your own pace, they offer courses...

There are two sources for obtaining the moulding for making a frame. You can firstly start with a straight piece of timber, and using a home routing system make your own moulding shape with a rebate to take the art work. Alternatively you can pick from a large range of ready finished mouldings available from your local frame shop or hardware store. I recommend the latter. It’s easier, the choice is much wider, and it’s more cost effective. However, one word of warning. Always look for a moulding with a good straight back and not too flat on the surface. If the moulding has a bump or...

When my old Olympus digital camera got broke while caving during a family camping trip, I had mixed feelings. For quite some time I had felt that the quality of some of my pictures was hampered by the limitations of that camera, but I did not look forward to spending the money on a new one. The old camera wasn’t bad, but there were certain situations where it was difficult to get good pictures with it. When taking pictures at my son’s basketball games, for example, the camera would slow the shutter down to try to improve the exposure, and this would cause the fast-moving players to...

A digital camera accessory you should purchase is a spare memory card. Most cameras are sold with a ’starter’ memory card that is usually a low capacity card that’s enough to take a few sample photos on, but not enough for day-to-day use. What is a memory card? A memory card is the little removable piece of plastic that your camera uses to store your photos. Memory cards come in different sizes and names such as Compact Flash (CF), Secure Digital (SD), Memory Stick (MS), Smart Media (SM) and xD. Running out of memory on your card is a little like running out of film in a traditional...

Your lens is an essential element to good photographs. It’s not just your camera. People spend thousands of dollars on a good camera and neglect the lens. Change that around! Make sure you buy a good camera lens when purchasing a camera. Buy a good camera as well, but don’t neglect a good camera lens. Why? Your camera is just the ‘holder’ for the photograph. The lens is what your camera sees all your shots through. A good lens is essential to clear and sharp photos. With most compact digital cameras, you can’t change the lens. So in that case, don’t just buy...