This is a guest post written by Aarathi Edward, an avid photographer and media relations expert. She is totally in love with the film dark-room and has, at my behest, consented to share the magic that she experienced when first introduced to the gloomy, un-illuminated side of photography.

Photo: WhiskygonebadThe first time I really took notice of a photograph was when I was about 8 or 9 and my Dad had taken a picture of my sister sitting on a tree. Looking at it, you could make out just what kind of person my sister is - prim and proper (even then – on a tree; aged 12 or 13) and always responsible.

I later found another one he had taken when we were much younger. This was also a posed photograph; not much scope for creativity – and yet, he managed to catch the little imp dancing in my eyes with the mischievous tilt of the head and the responsible, seriousness that always was my older sister (she has lightened up a lot in the last 5 years though). One glance at this picture and you knew which kid was the brat and which one the good child.

I think you get by now what I’m driving at. It always amazed me how just one static, two dimensional 5×8 frame could tell so much. Dad’s old Yashica

One particular post didn’t make it to Beyond Phototips when we moved over from Photography Tip. I think it makes sense to re-post it here for the benefit of all those who missed out.

If you’re one of those who’s already read this post, why don’t you join in the fun? Add a tip in the comments; I’m sure we’ll all be able to learn something. Now, here’s the post:

Here are some thoughts that I’ve had while shooting on assignment during the last 2-3 months…

1. Make a checklist…
2. Check the checklist to make sure you’ve got everything you need.
3. Check that you’ve checked the checklist. Remember Santa… He made lists too…
4. Always take more equipment than necessary for the shoot.
5. Having someone on hand to assist you, and make sure that you have the equipment where you want it, and make sure you don’t leave anything behind is a great thing. Take a friend along if nobody else.
6. Stay Professional.
7. Stay Funny. It keeps people smiling, and your models pliant.
8. Things will go wrong. When they do, breathe deeply, think of the problem and figure out how to fix or bypass it.
9. Keep the Client satisfied, this may mean that you’ll have to take pictures that you wouldn’t take if you were shooting by yourself… Take them anyway…
10. Make sure you get the shots you want, even if they’re the ones that client said no to… they may actually like them!
11. Remember to have fun… if you’re not having fun, then you’ve got to change something.
12. Plan the entire shoot out.
13. Make a

If you know what you like to shoot and what you are really good at Photographing, you also have to know the kind of photography in which you can make money. Identify branches of photography where you need to develop your Photographic talent to enable you to make money to sustain a career in photography.

The area where you make money, may not be the branch of photography dearest to your heart! When you make enough money … you can shoot to your hearts desire!

Happy Shooting…

Waiting is difficult to put up with in today’s fast paced world. There’s a tonne of things to learn out there, and we’d never get to learn all we want to learn, or do all that we want to do if we sat around waiting - doing nothing in that time.

But what of those times where you’ve found yourself forced to wait, with nothing to do but to twiddle your thumbs; like when you’re waiting for a bus, a train, or an airplane that’s delayed? Could you use this time to improve your photography, instead of letting your brain cells die a boring death?

Well lets say, you’re waiting for a bus, or waiting for a table at your favourite lunch spot. You don’t have your handy-dandy pocket book, and you’ve left your work at the workplace (a handy place to leave it). You do have your cell phone though, and your phone does have a camera. How handy! Here are a couple of things to do with your cell phone, to improve your eye for photographs, and make you a better photographer!

1. Try Impossible angles: Camera Phones fit in your hand… Your hand fits in places where your head would never go.. Use your hand.

Try putting your hand in a large jar; what does it see? Raise your hand out of your car window, hold it out of your bedroom window, hold it near your skates when you’re skating, hold it 3 feet

You’ve all had digital pictures with “noise” in them… want to know why?

Digital cameras have sensors that receive photons (the thingies that make up light). These sensors are analogue devices that turn analogue signals into digital data. These charges are converted to digital data in cells that are sensitive to three different colours of light: Red, Green and Blue (RGB). The cells that receive more photons have a higher charge and are designated ‘lighter’ while the ones with a lower number of photons are darker.

Now, what happens when you take a photograph in a really dark place? Once you’ve opened up your aperture to the max, and used the lowest shutter speed possible, you turn the ISO up, right? And voila! Your sensor is more sensitive, right? Naah! The sensor can’t really adjust it ‘sensitivity’; instead, what your camera does is, it turns up the amplification of the photons that are received. Making them seem brighter. Simple!

So why are higher ISO photographs so grainy, and noisy? If you guessed “because of the amplification,” you’d be right… Its similar to amplification on your stereo. If the signal level is low, the more you amplify it, the more likely it is that you’re going to amplify the background static too. And this will give you lower quality sound.

Your camera’s sensor has a basic charge, so if we turn up the amplification…