Tips for better photo composition

Five tips for better photo composition
Often, the difference between a good photograph and a great one is how you compose the image in the camera's viewfinder. Here are five ways to instantly improve the composition of your photos.

1. Apply the Rule of Thirds

Apply the Rule of Thirds for a more interesting composition. Imagine a grid drawn over the image. Position the focal point of your photo at the point where two lines intersect--anywhere but the middle.




2. Use lines to lead the viewer into the photo

Lead your viewer into the image. Use lines to lead the viewer's eye into the photograph. These can be fence lines, rows of light posts, stairs or a roadway leading into the scene.




3.Explore unique angles

Find a way to position your subject from a different angle than just straight ahead. Capture a portrait in a car mirror or a city streetscape reflected in a puddle of water or a shop window.





4. Get in close to the subject

Your subject is usually more important than the background, so move in closer. Use the camera's Macro feature (usually represented by a flower icon on a digital camera) so the subject remains in focus.




5. Get down low for children and animals

Get down low. When photographing children, small animals or even flowers, get down to their level so you look at them and not down on them.

Remove Red Eye From Digital photos

If you notice something strange about pictures of your friends, don't call the exorcist just yet. Some people--and lighting conditions--are perfect breeding grounds for devilish red-eye. Wide-open pupils, whether by nature or stimulated by low light conditions, allow the camera's flash to bounce off the blood vessels at the back of the eye and leave your friends looking like they're possessed.

Rather than wearing garlic around your neck and carrying a wooden stake, these tips should help bring your friends back from the dark side.

1. Use your camera's red-eye-reduction flash setting. Scroll through the flash settings until you find an icon that looks like an eye. This will tell the camera to emit a preflash that will cause your subjects' pupils to constrict and help prevent the light from bouncing off the blood vessels at the back of the eyes.
2. Turn up the lights. Bright lights have the same effect on your subject's pupils as your camera's red-eye-reduction setting and with the pupils less dilated, red-eye should be reduced.
3. Shoot at an angle. If you angle your camera so that the flash doesn't project directly onto your friends' eyes, there's no light to bounce back, and if the flash is pointed in the right direction, there's no red-eye. Of course, if you have an off-camera flash, that's even better since it sits higher above the lens than do most onboard light sources. Your friends will be relieved and so will you.
4. Clean it up in software. If none of the other methods work to eliminate your friends' demon eyes, there's still hope. All image-editing programs have a red-eye-removal feature that provides one-click fixes. Generally, all you have to do is select the red-eye tool, click on the center of your subject's eye, and before you can say Rosemary's baby, the red is gone.

How to Write Compelling Blog Entries

In order to maintain a successful blog, your blog entries need to be clear and speak directly to your audience. Here are some suggestions on how to write meaningful blog entries:

• Find a theme for your blog. By this I don't mean that you should write your whole blog about one thing. On the contrary, your blog should be many things, mix it up to keep people interested. What I mean by a theme is that if your blog is going to be a personal blog about you and your daily life then that's what it should be about. If you're going to write about something in the news, then write about the news. If you're blog is about the news and one of your entries is about the new furniture you bought, your readers may be turned off.
• Find a voice. Choose the way you want to write your blog. Do you want it to be serious and down to earth, or funny? Will you use proper grammar, or write in an informal style? Incorporate your own sense of style and personality to your blog.
• Be honest and write about what you know. People can tell when you're bluffing, and they won't read a blog that doesn't sound genuine.
• Good spelling, grammar and punctuation are a must, unless you're using slang -- and even then you must use slang the right way. People won't respect your writing if there are a lot of spelling and grammatical errors. Take the time to proofread your blog entries before posting.