Digital Photography Guide

Start with getting to know the basics.

• At http://photo.net/learn/ you can go to the first section, Making Photographers, which talks about light, exposure...


• free online photography class:
  http://www.morguefile.com/docs/Classroom
  (it's old, so there won't be any feedback, but if you go through the steps you will learn quite a bit of the fundamentals)

Then keep yourself busy; practice, practice, practice!

• free online photography tips, lessons & tutorials:
  http://www.hp.com/united-states/consumer/digital_photography/take_better_photos/index.html
  http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=academy
  http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials.htm
  http://www1.nikonusa.com/slrlearningcenter/
  http://www.fodors.com/travel-photography/


• weekly photography assignments:
  http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=22


• photography projects:
  http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/photo-projects-why-you-should-participate/

great photography resources:

• http://www.photonhead.com/simcam/


• http://kenrockwell.com/tech.htm#technique
  (plus this site is great for camera and lens info)


• http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm

ok, that's a lot
have fun!

PS
oh yeah, get inspired and get feedback at www.flickr.com

Digital photographers are always looking to improve their skills behind the lens. Anyone can point and click, but what does it take to take a picture with real depth, meaning, and intrigue? What does it take to move from taking a vacation photo to capturing a moment in time? The following open courseware collections aim to help students move from just playing around with a digital camera to creating works of art.

1. Introduction To Photography

Introduction to Photography is an essential beginning class for any digital photographer. You begin learning about the basic philosophies of photography. It focuses on digital photography, capturing black and whites images, lighting, exposure, film development, and printing. This all-around basic course in the fundamentals of photography will help to get any digital photographer started and will give any photographer a firm grasp of the basics.

2. Photography And Truth

Photography and truth is an open courseware collection that teaches how photography is used as a method of communication. The meaning can be communicated through the photograph as an artistic tool or through a research tool. Photos are meant to capture life, meaning, and substance. This class in photographic truth is an excellent addition to any digital photography course of study.

3. Language Of The Image

http://www.newsu.org/courses/course_detail.aspx?id=nu_loti04 is the class to choose to work on making your photographs tell the story that you want. Transforming a photo from an image into a storytelling device is the aim of this class. Anyone can take the picture but it takes a skilled photographer to complete a story in one still image.

4. Stories Without Words: Photographing The First Year

Stories Without Words: Photographing the First Year is a class that teaches you to explore a new place through photography. Exploring new environments is often a goal of photographers as they learn to develop their skills, and this collection of learning tools will help any photographer to achieve that end.

5. Picturing The Family

Picturing the Family is a class that discusses historical family photos. This niche includes the cultural history not only of the family but of older photographic techniques as well.

6. Reading Visual Images

Reading Visual Images is an open courseware collection that teaches the scientific and historical implications of photographs. They can be used as sources of sociological data. When you think of time periods of historical significance you probably conjure up images of photographs that capture these time periods. This is their significance.

7. Audiovisual Production Learning Club

Audiovisual Production Learning Club is a class collection that educates students about the production and distribution of visual media. Once you begin producing your digital images, you will want to learn methods for distributing them and this is a great place to begin that education

These 7 excellent open courseware collections for digital photographers offer a well-rounded education regarding photography and digital photography in general. Whether you are an experienced digital photographer or if you are just beginning to explore this visual medium, you can improve your craft with all the information included in each of these collections.

Thomas Rheinecker is a freelance author and writes about education topics, such as how to research online university rankings accreditation, and more.

Read more at digital-photography-school.com

Ask me your photography related questions at Yahoo! Answers, or just browse my best answers.

FAQs

Q1: Are there any online programs to edit images for free?
Q2: Is there free editing software to download?
Q3: What are those moving images you see on MySpace called, and how do you make them?
Q4: How do you create a photo where one thing is color and the rest is black & white (selective color)?
Q5: Can you recommend some websites with photographs that will inspire my own work?

A1:
"Picnik makes your photos fabulous with easy to use yet powerful editing tools. Tweak to your heart's content, then get creative with oodles of effects, fonts, shapes, and frames. It's fast, easy, and fun."
picnik.com

"FotoFlexer is the world's most advanced online digital photo editor. It performs advanced effects previously only available to professionals using expensive software."
fotoflexer.com

"Splashup, formerly Fauxto, is a powerful editing tool and photo manager. With all the features professionals use and novices want, it's easy to use, works in real-time and allows you to edit many images at once. Splashup runs in all browsers, integrates seamlessly with top photosharing sites, and even has its own file format so you can save your work in progress."
splashup.com

"Do what you want with your photos. Give them cartoon colors. Distort them. Go nuts. Turn average photos into jaw droppers with options like Pop Color, Sketch, Hue, Black & White, Tint, and more."
Adobe PhotoShop Express

"If you're looking for a few filters, a bit of layer support, and a decent range of tools, Pixlr might be the one you want. You'll recognize tools from using desktop apps like Photoshop and Gimp, but it's rare to see so many advanced options in a web app. Some of the surprising Pixlr perks are : opacity sliders, layers and transparency."
Pixlr

15 online photo editors compared

A2:
"The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) does most of what Photoshop does; the Gimpshop project (plasticbugs.com) even makes it look like Photoshop." (hall of fame - best free software - PCmag)
GIMP

"Picasa is a free software download from Google that helps you locate and organize all the photos on your computer, edit and add effects to your photos with a few simple clicks, share your photos with others through email, prints, and on the web: it's fast, easy and free. Take your photos further with Picasa from Google."
Picasa

"Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that run Windows. It features an intuitive and innovative user interface with support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools. An active and growing online community provides friendly help, tutorials, and plugins."
Paint.net

A3:
Animated gifs. You can make some here:
http://lunapic.com
http://blingee.com
http://gickr.com
http://animator.iconator.com/animator.php

A4:
you can use http://www.picnik.com
* upload image
* click the "create" tab
* click "black and white"
* "paint" the colored area you want

video for picnik: http://flickr.com/photos/curiouskiwi/2490932286/in/pool-vidtut

in photoshop:
http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/mono-with-a-dash-of-colour-photoshop-cs2-tutorial/

in GIMP
http://www.gimp.org/tutorials/Selective_Color/

A5:
National Geographic
Boston.com's The Big Picture
flickr's Explore

The Academy of Art University
Savannah College of Art and Design
New York Institute of Photography
BetterPhoto.com
Picture Perfect
ed2go.com

WorldwideLearn.com

Neil van Niekerk says:
"As photographers we're always looking for perfect light.
And yet, the quality of available light isn't always ideal. It is rarely perfect.

But I feel that in using flash wisely, I'm able to enhance or over-ride the available light. With careful use of flash, I am more in control of light, and hence the way my photos will look - than if I had just accepted the existing ambient light.

Instead of waiting for perfect light, I use what I have ... and add flash to make the best of the situation."

Take the time to go through this site carefully; it is loaded with amazing information - not to mention Neil's terrific wedding photography.
planetneil.com

Is your direct flash causing harsh images, especially indoors? Well, bounce that light for more flattering photos:
diyphotography.net

Bounce tools for:
Speedlights aBetterBounceCard.com
Point & shoots flickr.com/groups/camerahacks
Pop-ups thedigitalbean.blogspot.com, imaging-resource.com, amazon.com

Film vs. Digital
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/filmdig.htm

Trusted suggestions
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/recommended-cameras.htm

Digital camera reviews
http://www.dpreview.com
http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/?tag=cnetfd.dir

Camera buying guides
http://www.popphoto.com/buyingguide
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare.asp
http://reviews.cnet.com/4247-6501_7-3.html?tag=dtbox

Getting to know your camera
http://geekologist.com/blog/photography/tutorials/basic-camera-controls

Maintenance
http://www.copperhillimages.com

Many thanks for
SquidAngel blessings from