Have a 'green' Wedding, Hire a Digital Photographer!

There are many simple ways to have a ‘Green’ wedding. Hiring a digital photographer is one of the easiest ways of all… Why go digital? Well, here are a few reasons:

Receiving your wedding or portrait photography on DVD and/or CD is more cost effective and more ecologically sound than paying for several hundred printed photos you may never even use.

If you want to share your pictures, these days it's so easy to post them online or to email your favorites to your friends and family. This not only saves you time and energy, it also saves you money!

In addition to the financial benefits to going digital with your wedding photography, the ecological reasons are pretty compelling as well.

It’s been known for years that the chemicals it takes to develop and print photos are toxic. - As is the process for making the paper to print them on. That paper is chemically treated in a variety of ways and photo-paper is not known for being recyclable or recycled.

And film itself is responsible for a large contribution to environmental pollution. Most especially because of the emissions of methylene chloride, which is a solvent used in the making of photographic film. Very, very toxic.

Then there’s the processing. For every roll of 24 film prints, at least 4 ounces of chemicals get poured down the drain during the processing. Down the drain means in our water systems and leaching out into the soil.

Silver is also used in the processing of film. As a matter of fact, around 40% of all the silver consumed in North America has been used to make photographic materials.

Silver is discharged from film processors, such as photo labs and hospital x-ray units, in the form of sewer sludge. Silver ions can be more toxic to water organisms than mercury.

Now all this doesn't mean you shouldn't get any prints made at all. Of course you’ll want to have a few pictures printed for framing, but when you receive your wedding photos in digital format, all you need to do is choose just a few shots to be professionally printed, instead of dozens. Or you can even do your own printing at home.

Another really great thing about having your images in digital format is that they’ll last forever… While film images will deteriorate over the years, digital images can be safely archived indefinitely without ever losing quality.

So does such a simple choice really make a difference? Yes. More than you might think...

Recently, the Stockholm Water Authority in Sweden noted that the rise of digital photography was a major reason why silver pollution had diminished by half in the city's sewers in just five years.

Proof that choosing a digital photographer really does have a positive effect on the environment!

(ArticlesBase ID #438509)

September 2, 2009
By Tamea Burd
For more information on many ways to go ‘Green’ for your wedding, visit www.blueplanetwedding.com

Tamea Burd is a professional, eco-friendly photographer based in Vancouver BC. She specializes in portrait photography, headshots and wedding photography. Visit her website: Tamea Burd Photography
Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/weddings-articles/have-a-green-wedding-hire-a-digital-photographer-438509.html

Portrait Photography Tips - How To Improve Your Portrait Photography Technique

When you look at portrait photography, you will see that it is different from other branch of digital photography. You can see that your subjects are human beings who speak their own words, have personal feelings and want to look good in the pictures. Surely you won't hear the mountain complain when you didn't capture the best side of it. Right?

One of the important portrait photography tips is that you will want to look at the details around your subject before you snap the picture. Sometimes it only takes a small thing to ruin the perfect picture. It can be an old scar, a folded skirt, or simply a pole in the background. Imagine your client complain about the slipped bra strap in the picture. You will have a lot of trouble explaining to your client why you didn't notice that.

Now, portrait photography doesn't always mean that you only take close up face shot of your subject. You are not using that picture to apply for driving license. The essence of this portrait photography technique is to capture the natural side of your subject. Lets say your niece is blowing off the birthday candle. Don't you think it is only logic to include the candles that you can show what your niece is doing? Your niece will look silly instead of natural with only her head in the picture.

Then, for those who are using compact digital camera, you can look into the setting of your camera and select the portrait mode. This will then slow down the shutter speed and allow more light to go into the camera. This will then create a shallow depth of field (how shallow it can go depends on your camera) hence enhancing the details of your subject. You will see the difference when you compare portrait photography taken with portrait mode and other mode.

The last thing you can do to improve your portrait photography technique is to talk to your subjects. Professional photographers don't just take good pictures. They also want to know what their subjects want and how they as professional photographers can enhance that. After all it is their pictures you are taking and they have all the rights to look good in the pictures.



July 20, 2009
By Michael Wong
Do you enjoy taking photos? Do you want more digital photography tips and techniques? Michael Wong is happy to share his knowledge about digital photography with you and hope you enjoy them. Just visit =>www.Learn-DigitalPhotography.blogspot.com
Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/digital-photography-articles/portrait-photography-tips-how-to-improve-your-portrait-photography-technique-851075.html