As a beginner, you may find yourself overwhelmed by the number of buttons a typical dSLR camera has. However, once you become familiar with the function of these buttons you will find that using the camera becomes easier. Each of these buttons have a task. Some may do several tasks depending on what mode your camera is in. The model of your camera will also have an influence on the number and function of these buttons. It seems the more expensive the camera the more buttons it has. Regardless of the cost or size of your dSLR the first step to discovering what each of these buttons do is your instruction manual. As you go through this article you might want to have your manual opened next to you. As we go down the list you can reference your manual and compare your camera's function with what is discussed here.

The tattoo industry, unfortunately, is filled with many dangers. Untrained artists known as scratch artists abound and their ignorance of the business puts their customers at risk. If you knew what I know about the shady side of tattooing you would probably swear off ever getting a tattoo from a stranger. Unless you have a personal relation with an artist and know, without shadow of a doubt, what their character and skills are you are literally in a craps shoot. After all, you are entrusting an image with strong emotional connections to be etched into your skin for ever. Early in my tattooing career I chose to pay attention to every single problem and complaint I heard my customers tell me about their prior experiences with other artists. I then decided to do the exact opposite and now I have one of the most respectable tattooing businesses in the area. I learned from other people's mistakes. The reason I bring this up is because working photographers are not immune from...

Now that we have our multiple photos from part one of this tutorial it's time to put it together. If you did everything right in the first part then each image should line up with each other. Most major photo editing software can be used to accomplish this effect. Just make sure you can work in layers . If you are a beginner it is often easier to do all the image composing first and then do a final enhancement after. If you are more advanced and/or are working in RAW do all image enhancement first. Just make sure you apply the same enhancement to all the images in the series. This will ensure your final composition has a unified look.

A fun little project we have done with our group in the past is a ' multiplicity self portrait '. It is a simple technique that challenges several skills to accomplish good results; storytelling, staging, maintaining continuity, photo composition, layers, blending and so much more. If you're an advanced photographer this is all child's play and you might want to skip over this, but sometimes playing is good for the soul. This is also a fun project you can sell to potential customers, specially young people. Kids really get into this. If you're a beginner this is a great way to learn several skills at once. It gets you thinking in terms of a project rather than just going out and snapping photos . Doing this exercise requires planning, attention to detail and patience. Skills needed if you are to advance as a photographer. In this first part I will go over the setup and things to consider when doing the actual photo shoot. Part 2 will cover the post proc...

When building up a collection of equipment for either a professional studio or a serious hobby studio, price is always a consideration. I am a big proponent to DIY equipment, specially if it can be crafted in a way that doesn't look home made. However, some things just can't be home made that a well stocked studio can't do without. Here is a small list of some of those little things you will always find yourself reaching for when doing studio work. Keep in mind that this is by no means an exhaustive list and there are some useable items I'll surely have forgotten to include. Feel free to add to the list in the comments section below.

Years ago I used to teach modeling at the New Haven Barbizon Academy. I had many students over the six years I taught there and the majority of them were not there to become fashion models. They were there for enriching their own lives. Whether it was to learn how to present themselves professionally or walk with grace the underlying reason was to gain self confidence and a sense of self worth. Many introverts came through my classes. One tool I used to explain "fear versus confidence" was the confidence meter . It is an imaginary scale starting at your feet and fading off into the distance. The scale starts off at a save green color indicating your comfort zone and progresses on into a red color representing your anxiety zone . The green represents those situations and environments where you are comfortable and at ease with yourself and your surroundings. Your confidence is high, your attitude is positive and you feel good about yourself. There is a sense of familiarity...