computers

If you’ve never had kids and wonder why your mom-friends keep showing pictures of their babies to you every chance they get or why they are so obsessed with taking baby portrait photos, the answer is simple. Baby Portrait Photography is a very fascinating and enjoyable leisure!

Mothers and fathers have taken the art of baby portrait photography into their own hands. In fact, if you’re a new parent, I bet you have a camera tucked in your bag all the time. To capture the witnessed unexpected ‘firsts’ or simply, capturing the right moment that candidly presents itself, are sure the ultimate joys of a parent.

Poses at Specific Ages

However, there is also a challenge in taking baby photos; and that is, babies do not know how to pose. The subject is still too unaware of its surroundings or at certain ages, unpredictably active. So it would be helpful if we could be least expecting of their abilities to strike a pose. We know babies can barely hold up their heads or retain a particular position at 0-3 months that’s why we would need to hold them to pose.

Experiment on how the baby could be held but make sure that the focus of the photo would be on the baby and not on any one else. You must find a way to capture only the baby’s profile while being held by another person. There are still limited positions you can capture when you are taking photos of babies between the ages of 3-6 months. The good news is that babies can now hold their heads up so it’ll be much easier to get the face into profile. Costumes and props that are safe for these ages may also be used to liven up the photos.

Babies begin to sit around 6-9 months and this is when you can capture very odd poses from the babies. Since the babies start to become very active, this is the time when you need to master the shutter speed feature of your camera. And from ages 10 months onwards, some babies may be able to recognize that their photos are being taken and might even hold their poses a little longer. Candid photos may do very well during these ages.

Portrait Photography Made Easy Page 7

10 Things to Keep in Mind about Baby Portrait Photography

1. Make sure that your camera has film all the time and that your batteries are fully charged all the time

2. If you are using a digital camera, it is best to have batteries ready.

3. Familiarize yourself with the use of shutter speeds and camera flashes.

4. Do not be afraid to take ultra-close up photos of your babies.

5. Try shooting at distances and capturing the drama of the scene.

6. If you are going to pose your babies, hold them securely.

7. Your babies need not be dressed in costumes all the time, just make sure they are clean unless you intend to take photos of them wiping chocolates go on their faces which is very adorable too.

8. Try shooting in grayscale. Black & white photos come out very classy and elegant, so if you intend to frame the photos, you will never go wrong with it.

9. Remember that babies can easily get distracted, if you caught your baby doing something very nice, be quick in clicking the camera or you might miss the moment.

10. Get others involved. Have your relatives of family members make coo-coo sounds to make the baby smile or simply talk to the baby to get eye contact.

There is nothing like capturing the essence of a child in a photograph. They grow up so fast so you want to really get every precious moments on film. You will learn simpler baby portrait photography techniques as you go along, and you’ll be proud each time you get a cute little smile recorded for eternity

You’ve seen the dreaded demon-eye effect that occurs when the camera flash bounces off the eye of a person or pet.  An otherwise wonderful picture can be ruined by this.  Technically, this is called red-eye and is caused when the pupil of your subject’s eye is wide open and the light from the camera’s flash reflects off the subjects retina.  In people, the color ends up red; in pets, the color is often green. 
Many photo editing programs include a red-eye correction filter, but this may not allow your photograph subject to appear “normal.  These filters also do not work on the green effect produced in a pet’s eyes.  Photo stores sell pens that are used to clear up red-eye, but again they are not always natural-looking and do not work on the green.  The best thing is to prevent the demon-eye effect from the start.
It is rare to find a digital camera that does not come with a red-eye reduction feature.  This feature can be turned off or on.  It is best left on in all circumstances other than direct sunlight.  The red-eye reduction feature works by flashing a short burst of light at your subject before you snap the picture.  This burst of light causes the subject’s pupil to close and makes it less likely for the camera’s flash to reflect off the retina. This in turn reduces the chance of red-eye.
It also helps to direct the flash of your camera so it does not directly hit your subject’s eyes.  Bouncing the flash off a nearby wall or other object will soften its effect and reduce the chances of this unwanted malady.  Between bouncing the flash and using your digital camera’s red-eye reduction feature, your little angel, whether human or animal, will have eyes that don’t glow.

Olympus has always been known to produce quality cameras, either point and shoot or professional cameras. However, these days Olympus has joined the digital scene by producing their own line of digital cameras.

Olympus digital cameras are best known for producing DSLR cameras. These digital cameras are the kind that professional photographers use in their craft. Although this is for a fact, this company has also produced their own line of point and shoot Olympus digital cameras.

First up is an Olympus digital camera called the MJU-mini. A 4.0 mega pixel Olympus digital camera, it is cute, portable and can capture great pictures. Also, a tough Olympus digital camera, it is made with a metal frame and known for its solid weight - this is great because hands get too shaky when a camera is too light. With 2x digital zoom, a 5.8-11.6mm Olympus lens, this baby is your best bet for your personal Olympus digital camera.

Another personal Olympus digital camera is the MJU 500, obviously the higher version of the MJU-mini. the MJU 500 is a 5.0 mega pixel Olympus digital camera that is easy to use and one favored by consumers who are looking for a digital camera within this particular price range. (The MJU 500 is around $400-$500). The first notable feature of the MJU 500 is its large 2.5-inch HyperCrystal LCD screen. With its 160-degree wide view range, this large LCD screen enables its users to view subjects at extreme angles (though it does not feature the flip or rotate like other LCD screens from other digital cameras). Made from durable lightweight metal with rubber gaskets in its interior and weighing only 3.0 lbs., the MJU 500 is also weatherproof. Meaning that this Olympus digital camera can withstand a few splashes here and there. (Note: it is weatherproof and not waterproof, there is a big difference between the two - splashes and not water). The MJU 500 of the Olympus digital camera line, introduces an alternative design apart from the curvy MJU series with its new flat surface and smooth and round edges. It is so compact, with its 3.9 x 2.2 x 1.2 inches dimension, it can easily fit in your handbag or the back pocket of your pants (just be careful not to sit on it). This Olympus digital camera also features 23 shooting modes, one of which will enable its users to shoot in consecutive sequences and just choose the best one later. Another one of its many features is its ability to record and playback those videos and sounds. It has an expandable memory card slot, but when you buy the package, you would have to settle with temporarily with the 32MB xD card that comes with the package. this fashionable Olympus digital camera comes in two colors - silver and blue.

for a professional Olympus digital camera, the Olympus 5300 is the right DSLR for you. it is the first 8-mega pixel camera out in the market. with a 7-14mm lens, it gives the equivalent of a 14-28mm lens. also, a first for this Olympus digital camera is its side-swing mirror that doesn’t need a pentaprism, giving you a smaller and sleeker camera. another unique feature is the Super Sonic Wave Filter (SSWF) that shakes off the dusts in your sensor, this way dust can never accumulate in your camera. with features like four exposure modes and 14 scene modes, this USB 1.1 compatible Olympus digital camera is one of the best DSLR cameras in the market.

another Olympus digital camera is the Olympus CaMedia C-70. It is also a small and compact digital camera but equips a 7.0 mega pixel camera that gives you power and portability at the same time. Packed with 5x optical zoom and, it start up fast and auto focus even quicker than most digital cameras in the market. It has a 2.0-inch LCD screen, a xD picture card slot and furnished with a 7.9-39.5mm Olympus lens that has 5x optical zoom. The CaMedia C-70 is the perfect choice for high quality shots, good features, great build and excellent portability.

Nikon is a camera brand, best known for producing SLR camera. As with the boom of digital cameras all over the world, Nikon joined the bandwagon by producing what they make best, thus the new era of the Nikon digital camera was born - digital SLR.

One of the best in DSLR, the Nikon digital camera called Nikon D70 is 6-mega pixel Nikon digital camera. Coated with polycarbonate over its stainless steel chassis, this Nikon digital camera is furnished with a 50mm AF Nikkor lens that can combine with an 18-70mm kit lens and still be portable enough to be carried around. It has a 200-1600 ISO effective speed range, great for taking pictures both in the shade and under the sun. and why won’t it be?! With its three frames per second continuous shooting rate and its 1/8000 second shutter speed, taking pictures is as easy as clicking away and having fun. this Nikon digital camera is supported with a Flash card.

Another SLR from Nikon is the Nikon Coolpix 8800. An 8-mega pixel Nikon digital camera, the Coolpix 8800 has a compact body. Furnished with a 1.8 inch flip-out and swivel LCD, this baby is surely first rate SLR. This Nikon digital camera features an image stabilizer system to reduce camera shakes particularly on long shots since this gadget can zoom up to 10x (optical zoom) and can focus to up to 3cm in macro mode with its 35-350mm lens. Key controls are very user-friendly, with modes such as sensitivity, image size/quality and white balance - found directly with the mode dial. The image output quality is the middle name of this Nikon digital camera, with great detail rendition, color fidelity and saturation. a rather exceptional feature of the 8800 is the continuous shooting modes, where users can choose 1.2 or 2.3 frames per second. A bit bulky to carry around, the 8800 is perfect for shooting action and sports shots. The 8800 works with a Compact Flash card for storing up your images.

Another digital SLR from Nikon is the Nikon D50. A 6.1 mega pixel Nikon digital camera, this gadget has 7 varied modes to shoot from using its AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor 18-55mm lens. These modes are Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Close Up, Sports, Night Portrait and Child. To see the images that you took, this Nikon digital camera is furnished with a 2.0 inch LCD screen. How fast can this camera shoot? It has 2.5 frames per second and with uninterrupted shooting of up to 137 frames per second. This Nikon digital camera is not too bad, especially for novice photographers. This package also includes a software for touching up, editing and sharing your pictures. The software even enables you to burn your images to VCD or DVD format.

One of the first point and shoot Nikon digital cameras is the Nikon Coolpix 4800. A four mega pixel Nikon digital camera, the old school designed 4800 is equipped with a 1.8 inch LCD screen for viewing your pictures. The 4800 is an 8.3x zoom Nikon digital camera with 6-50mm Nikkor Ed lens that zooms quickly and has continuous auto focusing (a feature where your lens is always trying to keep your pictures sharp). It also allows users to shoot, record and playback short movie clips with its assist and excellent scene modes - meaning that includes providing outlines for portraits (for tweaking purposes), exposure and sensitivity settings. These features are very helpful especially for novice photographers that want to try their hands at photography. Along with that, it comes with a 13.5MB SD card and the Li-on battery pack.
 

Toshiba Satellite C855D-S5230 Laptop

If you are looking to upgrade your computer then let me start by saying this model is not for you. TheToshiba Satellite C855D-S5230 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
is for entry level or light weight users such as students and small business persons needing a good laptop without having to break the bank. It is perfect for family use, the kids can watch movies and play games taking advantage of the built in DVD player and the wide screen, while the business man can keep all their files etc.

With a price point of around $360.00 this makes this model good value for money. It has all the specs on this machine you would normally have to pay around $500.00 for.

Pros:

For those of you on a budget then this is a no brainer really with the features on offer. Coming with dual-core AMD E1-1200 accelerated processor (APU), which combines a 1.4 GHz CPU and an AMD Radeon HD 7310 graphics processing unit (GPU) on a single chip.

Satellite C855D-S5230 15.6-Inch comes with 15.6-inch LCD which offers a 720p native high-definition resolution this is done by using the TruBrite TFT Display. Alongside the AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics unit makes for good viewing experience for the user.

For that bit of security the C855D-S5230 comes with Face Recognition software on this machine, you’ll enjoy a more convenient way to communicate, log on, or share your laptop among the family. Along side of this they have incorporated a separate 10 keypad for working on the family budget and school work.

Along with the 320 GB Serial ATA hard disk drive (5400 RPM) you also get 4 GB of installed DDR3 RAM (1066 MHz; 8 GB maximum capacity; 2 memory slots) which is more than enough for family use.

Cons:

Well the good news is it comes with two super-speed USB ports, the bad news is that these are the new 3 USB, now if you are just starting out and are buying all your external devices at the same time this is not a problem, but if you already have external devices this will be a problem too you. The new 3 USB ports are the way the manufacturers are going so you will have to adapt to them sooner or later.

While coming with built in stereo speakers and web-cam they are not the best but for the price of the unit it is a good trade off as the function as well as can be expected for the price.

In the box you will receive This package contains the Toshiba Satellite C855D-S5230 notebook PC, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, and operating instructions.

It also comes with the following software:

Norton Internet Security 2012 (30-day trial); Microsoft Office Starter 2010; Google Toolbar and Google Chrome; Microsoft Windows Media Player 12; Microsoft Live Essentials; WildTangent Games Console; Toshiba Online Backup (30-day trial)

This laptop is backed by a 1-year limited hardware warranty.

All this is what you would normally only receive on a higher end model.

Toshiba C855D-S5230 Summary

Well you will be hard pushed to find another laptop offering the same spec’s for the price at the moment,so for anyone on a tight budget you cannot really go wrong with this model.