Growing up in a generation where smartphones and digital cameras didn’t exist we all of course used film cameras. Remember those cameras that you put a film in and after the film is done you take it to the photographer to develop them, then wait for two days to receive the pictures, good times. Now that’s all changed and this process is almost extinct. As a result of years of compiling photographs, we have albums and albums of pictures at home. I started to recently notice that the older pictures are either fading or losing their quality, so I decided to research for different methods to repair old photos and I found some interesting methods.

The first type of restoration is Electronic; you just simply scan the photograph you want to fix onto the computer, make corrections, fix the settings, use any photo editor of your choice and print the picture again. What’s good about this step that you can do this process all over again if more corrections are needed.

The second type of restoration is Chemical; this process is especially for the antique photographs (Black and White). You need to use a black and white developer for this step to make it visible, bleaching may be required for this process but the downfall here is that it’s a tricky process. If the bleach causes damage to the photograph its most likely damaged for good.

This step is a bit too demanding, Airbrushing. All you need for Airbrushing is a really good artist to fix the photograph with a special paint brush, to make it look as realistic as possible the painter you choose has to be very qualified.

The final option is Copying. This is the cheapest method of restoring your old photos, just take them to a professional and make copies or just take the negatives and make backup photos.

After choosing the right process or just the easiest to restore your precious photographs you need to preserve them the correct way. Make sure you keep them in a place that’s not humid and isn’t directly visible to the sunlight. Use photo albums and archival paper; also make sure you don’t touch the photographs directly. There are so many ways to restore and preserve photographs, just choose what suits you and cherish your memories.

How to take beautiful photos? this was the question I kept asking when I first start using a SLR, and  how to make artistic pictures? (advice, ideas, tips) ?

I tried to read articles, posts, watch tutorials, but honestly nothing helped, I ended up by taking my machine (SLR) and i kept change the setting with a continuous shooting, for example to have the result I wanted I used to shoot around 50 photos to have the ONE photo I wanted, but now I do it by the 2nd or 3rd tentative or sometimes at the 1st shoot.

When a photographer wants occasionally to engage in an artistic photo. there are 2 main rules to follow (framing, light) and then we must leave place for creativity. The artist can be set to customize work areas, such as fulfilling a series on the same theme (color, location, etc..).

A landscape can change greatly in appearance depending on the season, time of day and brightness:

Sunset.

Night light on a city.

Autumn landscape.

Flowery field, etc …

The advises I can give you are:

1-Attention to the light, light has a really big rule, as it gives life  to the photo. ( darkness to express sadness, lightning to express happiness and so forth)

2-Choose a subject and make it pop-up on your photo, don’t take so many things in only one photo, then the person who will see it will get confuse and can see your photo as having a ” meaningless “subject.

Light is important because it will adapt to the constraints of light. Do not make your images in the middle of the day when the light is most intense (especially in summer) and therefore where the shadows are very marked, as this may damage your photo.

Choose afternoon’s light rather than the morning. If you plan to shoot your landscape at sunset or at night, a tripod will be essential to enhance the stability of the device and therefore the sharpness of the picture.

As in this photo took at sunset time, I tried to make the photo as dark as possible, in a way I have human silhouettes shows like shadows with enough clarity to be able to see the background .

To succeed  such picture you have to  follow the following settings, and don’t forget ( sunset time with  the sun light in front of you )

• f/11
• Exposure time 1/500
• Iso 200
• Focal lenght 38mm.
• Aperture 4,7.
• No flash.

 

 

Carrying around an Instax, what we usually call “ instant camera “ will put aside our bad habits that we have when we use digital cameras: it’s about when we take continuous shots without thinking, just random shots, because we count on the fact that we will view them later on small screen and put the worst pictures in the trash … With a Instax each photo, or even every moment counts. Because we do not take a picture, unless we are sure that we want to immortalize this precise moment. Travel stick perfectly to the philosophy of a Instax camera which allows you to capture precious moments of life. Photo fate is now immortalized in your hands,

What special about the Instax picture, is that it has an exceptional paper, which allows you to enter a note under each photo. And I can say that this “small bonus” can be a real asset to the whole image itself. Whether a text that you will write as a footer for each photo, or a small drawing or even a smiley which can be part of the image, and thus it will participate in personalizing your image, and giving it stronger meaning! And another advantage of this paper, it’s that you will have the possibility to share the photo, such as when you travel and you meet someone with whom you may have fun, but probably will not meet again, so why not taking a souvenir and share it (…Snap … wait few seconds…. Photo ready..wow.. ) then give it to the person, no need to wait till you e-mail it or print it… Definitely very useful when you are traveling. In addition to the joy that this action may bring you, it’s a great tool for socializing trip… why not having real friends everywhere in the world!

 

if you want to buy a Instax camera, two choices are available to you. You can opt for an old machine, and search out bargains on the Web (although you can also find paper compatible). Or you choose the second option, that is to buy a new Instax generation (that’s what I did personally, I bought the device “Instax Mini”  for an amazing price ) . Obviously will not be ​​all doing the same, but you’ll definitely have less technical problems with a newer device.

Basically to have a good  photo portrait we have to pass through two steps :

1-Make the right adjustments

This may be the most important step to do, especially if you are a beginner in photography and if you do not really know how your device works or if you want to take the picture  at a very last moment, so you don’t have time to make any adjustments. However, this method is flawed and you should quickly switch to manual mode for best quality.
Once in manual mode, set the aperture (f) to minimum. In this way, the face will best sharp and the background will be blurred, and the eye will focus on the front object and not  on the background. In addition, to bring out the colors of the dominant faces such as hair, eyes or lips, set your camera in “Colors invigorating.” So in this way the picture will looks better.

2-Having a good picture

To have a good photo portrait, you should take care about your frame, you have to fit it well to your photo, indeed, if a part of the face is cut off or there is a blank space around too much, the picture will be screw. It should show the whole face, no more, no less for a conventional portrait photo.
Avoid the flash for photos of the day: it gives a whitish complexion and highlights the defects of the face.
If the location is too dark, do not use it. Instead, adjust the shutter speed of the camera over a second: in this way, the photo will be having a correct lighting. Perform tests to find the perfect shutter speed compared to the ambient light.
However, taking a photo with a long shutter speed will be pretty difficult if you do not have a tripod. Use one if you have one, otherwise, place the unit on a flat surface. Otherwise, you if the camera will shake  you will have a blurred picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I admit that I am one of those people that are constantly holding on to their phones and taking pictures of everything! Maybe it’s a bit annoying to my friends but I have this obligation between me and myself to capture every moment. Plus with the fact that I am an Instagram addict, this picture taking habit is becoming even more frequent. I love playing around with my photos by unleashing some creativity with the effects and for the longest time I relied solely on the effects from Instagram, but with a little bit of searching and exploring I found some pretty interesting photography Apps for iOS and Android that are somewhat underrated but give great results.

Pixlr-o-matic: 

This App is a personal favourite! With over 600 effects to choose from just simply download it on your iPhone or Samsung or any smart phone and go wild with the effects, frames and overlays. This App will never fail to impress you and give you the results you need.

Photogrid:

This App definitely gives you the customization you need. Create your own collages with up to 9 of your photos. It gives you the option of choosing from different lay outs with zooming in or out and cropping the pictures as you please. It’s an underrated App but it offers a lot of great options to choose from.

Pocketbooth:

Have the experience of an authentic 1950’s photo booth straight from your smartphone. You and your friends can enjoy taking spontaneous and hilarious pictures just as if you’re in a photo booth.

Fast Burst Camera:

Take with this ingenious App up to 10 pictures per second; it’s the best App to give you clear results of those fast motion situations. So go ahead and capture those hard to get moments with the speedy Fast Burst Camera App.

 

 

Usually the question is:  Do I have to buy a compact, bridge, hybrid  or a SLR?

First we have to estimate our needs. But how? As most of the equipment that you want to buy, you must first ask some questions before making a choice. which basically are two, somehow crucial in terms of the photo: what kind of picture I want to have ? What budget am I willing to spend? The first question is more complex than it seems, since it encompasses four sub questions, which are “what, why, how and when.” It will therefore clarify what you want to photograph (portrait, animal, landscape, urban scenes, nightlife, sports, etc.)., What purpose (souvenir photo site, magnification, etc..), According to which level (beginner, amateur, enthusiast, etc..) and how regularly (photo everyday, regular, occasional, etc.).. Each weighed by its four components sauce to see the level of requirements and determine their needs.

 

A notion of motivation is going to join the two criteria I already mentioned . And it will enable the maximum size and weight of equipment that the user will tolerate. Plus it will also confirm or deny the need for manual operation of the device (shooting modes, focus …) and some features (RAW, flash …), if it’s about motivation to learn photography.

At this stage, opportunities will emerge, choices will begin to refine. Naturally, users will be directed towards the two opposite branches supply, small compact in one hand, and a big SLR on the other hand. The things get harder for those who hesitate between several families of cameras. In fact, diversification in such ranges, especially in the large family of compact, a high-end model of this type of device can easily measure a bridge, a hybrid and even a SLR input range of aspects (the large sensor compact).

The best thing to do is to make a good balance between finances, needs and motivation ,which will help to guide you and take you away from the inevitable compromises: prioritize the image quality, even if the device is more cumbersome, expensive or complicated to use, then  focus on it compactness and versatility. The fact is that the perfect device does not exist, and if there were, it would probably be very expensive, and therefore not perfect …

From the small to the large compact DSLR, the market is dense! In many cases, the multi-equipment is the best solution to meet the maximum expectations, though of course if the budget allows. Typically a small compact for the souvenir photo and a daily reflex for a very practical qualitative more timely and thoughtful. Because lugging a DSLR and objectives always requires self discipline that the photographic devotion. But on the other hand, taking  great pictures with a small  ultra compact camera is very difficult, or even impossible. And for many users, the budget is precisely the central problem. With the fear of making a mistake at the time of decision, buying a disproportionate device , or a sub-machine proportionate. though nobody wants to choose between waste or frustration …

What is more interesting, when you want to choose a camera it is the purpose of a series of devices that have to be replaced, but are still marketed until stocks are exhausted. Must of course know what does the new model and make sure it is not exactly a feature you are looking for. But the renewal lines goes so fast (up to one year for the compact ranges, sometimes two years SLRs and compact niche) there is generally no major change between a product and its  direct successor If this is the price of the product being replaced is greatly reduced ..

The sun went  to bed early on this side of the earth …and the road is lighten, people preferred to go sleep…

Anyway, here’s a good reason to get the night shot even if you are not a night owl. (I think you are)

The tripod our today’s toy!

And yes with my faithful companion tripod surveying the illuminated streets of this beautiful city.

We will therefore tighten our beautiful camera on a tripod freshly deployed. And since we have a tripod, the exposure time is not a problem, but may well be a godsend.

Is not necessarily easy to make beautiful and original photo even if we are in an illuminated place, in my case I chose to mix night movements with the silence of the road.

We sit, we target, we measure!

So you do some testing framework, while remaining close enough to the road that cross the city (the immobile object). Yeah ! You’ve guessed,  the cars are the mobile object and the road the immobile object.

Mobile and immobile is then supposed to magically mix in a ghostly effect characteristic of long exposure photographs.

To have a beautiful yarn light I have to leave my camera open for several seconds.

I will make a first photo to measure light with the lowest ISOs to have a long exposure time and minimum digital noise.

Wishing also have a maximum depth of field, I set my aperture to the smallest> f22 …

So our parameters are  : exposure1/40s f22 100ISO … A little too short for my yarn cars light as expected.

An update is calculated, we re-test.

You can also use a filter such as ND4, reducing  4 times the amount of lights that passes into the lens with a ND400: 400 times less. In case you want to use a filter it’s better to use a ND400, multiplying the amount of light by 400 and  multiply the exposure by 400.

1/40s x 400 = 10

Better to retest, to avoid any mistake( in case you have gaps in math).

Here we are, everything is good : super!  Oups, If this is not good: there is a problem somewhere. Better  to do over again the step of measuring exposure.

….Patience, until we have the number of cars that we wish to have in our photo.

Avoid the times  where there’s no traffic at all ( like at 3, 4 am )the slightest inattention can screw up everything (oh yeah, you missed the shoot and the car is gone ) and here you need to wait for like long minutes, or even hours to have the next car passing by.

Car is approaching … Ding Ding … Click! Clack! And Voila, the picture is taken!

If it’s too long you can for example  multiply by 2 the ISO  and thus reduce the exposure time by 2 200ISO and 5s.

You can realize even magic photos with multiple effect using an open exposure, I’ll try to show you how we can draw using light and open exposure !