Have you ever wondered about the reason behind people in early photographs not smiling? That is one of the little-known facts about photography and we’re going to take a look at several of those.

No Smiles. That little-known fact mentioned above results from the fact that early photography required a very long time for exposures. One of the little-known facts about photography is that those exposures took hours sometimes. Imagine holding a smile for hours while getting a photo taken!

Baby Pictures. Taking photos of adults was really hard in the early days and taking baby pictures was almost impossible. Babies squirm and move – a lot! One of the little-known facts about photography involves taking those pictures we all love to have. How did they do it? Well, it seems mothers were often disguised as chairs and held their babies while they had photos taken. And a more eerie of the little-known facts about photography is that sometimes those babies had their photos taken after they died!

How Many Pictures? Another of the little-known facts about photography has to do with the number of photos taken. For example, the number of photos taken every two minutes now is equal to the number of photos taken by all people in the 1800s! Yet another of those little-known facts about photography involves the number of photos on Facebook. Currently, the total there is 10,000 times more than the total number of photos in the U.S. Library of Congress. And those photos in the Library document the history of the U.S. from its beginning. Right now, more than 350 billion photos are taken every year!

Which Side Of Your Face? Do we all have a best side? One of those little-known facts about photography tells us that may prove true. Research done at Wake Forest University showed the left side of a human face gives a more pleasant photo than the right side. This may come from the left side having more intensity of emotions than the right.

It Cost What? How much did your latest camera cost? Or the camera on your phone? One of the little-known facts about photography is the cost of the most expensive camera ever sold. It was on an auction and was a 1923 Leica O-series camera. It was a very rare piece and sold for $2.8 million! Want to rush right out and pick one up this week?

If you want the best photographers available to take your photos. Pixel Perfect Photography in Amherst, NH, is the perfect place to capture the magic of your moments. Karen and Kiera are waiting to do their best for you. Call to schedule a time to get together and plan how they will meet your needs.

Many times when people set out to take photos, they return home when it starts raining. It’s not necessary to that when you know these tips for taking photos in the rain.

Take Care of Your Camera. First and foremost when taking photos in the rain is to protect your camera. There are numerous covers you can purchase for your camera that will keep it dry. But keep in mind a good plastic bag with no holes might work just as well. You’ll probably want to use a lens hood to keep rain drops off the lens. Remember to cover your camera bag, too.

Moisture Absorbing Packets. The second tip for taking photos in the rain is to take along those little silica moisture absorbing packets. Not matter what, your camera will get so water on it. Putting these packets in your camera bag will rid your bag of some of the moisture that will build up in your bag.

Include Color In Your Photos. Another tip for taking photos in the rain is to be sure to include color in the subject matter of your photo. Most of the time when taking photos in the rain you’ll only see things in various shades of white and gray. So add color. Be sure someone in your photo is wearing something colorful.

Get Reflections In Puddles. When taking photos in the rain it’s often hard to get pictures of the raindrops. Focusing on puddles allows you to shoot the ripples created by raindrops hitting the water. It also gives reflections of your subject broken up by the rain.

Check Out The Sky. This tip for taking photos in the rain involves something not often considered: the sky. Not only can you get some great dramatic shots of clouds whirling and swirling, if the sun breaks through you will capture gorgeous shots that wouldn’t be possible without the rain.

Watch The People. The final tip for taking photos in the rain involves people. Everyone reacts to rain differently. There is your subject matter! Capture the moments given you by people to yield magnificent photos in the rain.

If you want someone else to deal with getting great photos in the rain, you want the best photographers available to take your photos. Pixel Perfect Photography in Amherst, NH, is the perfect place to capture the magic of your moments. Karen and Kiera are waiting to do their best for you. Call to schedule a time to get together and plan how they will meet your needs.

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It’s possible to get great photos in any season of the year. Every season has its own problems to overcome as well. Following are some winter photography tips that you need to keep in mind so that your winter photos turn out well

Be careful with your light meter. The first of the winter photography tips has to do with correct exposure. This is a challenging task because snow can overpower your light meter with the light coming off all that whiteness. If you depend on your light meter alone, photos may turn out underexposed and those wonderful winter snow-scapes become gray.

Knowing this, you can compensate by adding some overexposure. Much of the time, this overexposure only has to be +1 stop. If you are taking photos in bright, sunlit snow conditions, you may want to go to a +2 stop. Anything over this can cause your photos to be blown out and lacking in detail.

Another of the winter photography tips has to do with Filters. In short, use filters in the winter. The polarizing filter is one that can really be used to improve your winter photos. This filter adds definition to clouds, does away with glare, darkens blue skies, and makes colors more saturated. Low sun angles can lead to over-polarization making the sky appear unnatural. The answer to this? Take several frames with different polarization to see which gives you the effect you want.

Other winter photography tips regarding filters: Graduated neutral-density filters can be used to deal with variations in exposure when your scenes have different amounts of light in different aspects. A three-stop neutral-density filter appears to be a good all-around filter for winter scenes.

Another of the winter photography tips with filters: Use a warming filter like the 81C. Although not used a lot in this digital age, this filter continues to help neutralize what can appear to be a bluish cast to snow on days that are sunny or in the shade.

Focus problems. Yet another of these winter photography tips deals with focus problems. When you have low contrast like on foggy days, overcast days, or when it’s actively snowing, autofocus might not be able to work well. In these conditions the lens has difficulty finding something with enough contrast to focus.

In addition, your lens might try to focus on the falling snow, leaving everything else out of focus. Switch to manual focus. Hold the shutter button down halfway to allow good focus in your viewfinder.

Next month, we’ll cover some more winter photography tips.

If you want someone else to deal with getting great winter photos, you want the best photographers available to take your photos. Pixel Perfect Photography in Amherst, NH, is the perfect place to capture the magic of your moments. Karen and Kiera are waiting to do their best for you. Call 603-672-8780 to schedule a time to get together and plan how they will meet your needs.

Last month we began a discussion of photography in different light conditions. This month the topic comes under consideration again.

In general, outdoor photography doesn’t turn out as well in the harsh light of midday. The light from the sun high in the sky seems harsher and not as warm as the light early or late in the day.

On the other hand, winter often proves conducive to good photography in different light conditions during the daytime. The sun stays low in the sky at this time and provides interesting side and back lighting.

One of the different light conditions for photography comes during cloudy days. Often, people interested in photography dismiss cloudy days. On these days, the light seems flat, lacking in interest or drama.

However, this one of the different light conditions for photography lends itself to portraits. Rather than highlighting wrinkles and blemishes as strong sunlight does, this type of light spreads evenly on the subjects and gives more flattering photos.

Outdoor photography in different light conditions often yields good results in the time just after sunset while there is still light available. Beautiful colors in the clouds make for beautiful results. The light often proves softer at sunset than at dawn.

One of the different light conditions that produces professional results when taking portraits is window light. Its gentle light coming from a natural source yields wonderful portraits.

When using window light, you will want to turn off internal lights and utilize shades to control the light. The shadows and patterns obtained by using curtains and shades can give you very interesting different light conditions. If manipulating the light leaves darker shadows on one side of your subject, use a reflector to change the light.

Backlighting is another of the different light conditions used in photography. If you decide to use backlighting, you will probably want to use manual focus and exposure.

This kind of the different light conditions provides an unfocused background and a dreamy look to photos. Photos taken this way in the golden hour turn out particularly well.

If you want someone else to deal with different light conditions and get great photos, you want the best photographers available to take your photos. Pixel Perfect Photography in Amherst, NH, is the perfect place to capture the magic of your moments. Karen and Kiera are waiting to do their best for you. Call 603-672-8780 to schedule a time to get together and plan how they will meet your needs.

Photography is all about light. Because of this, it’s important for you to understand how different light conditions affect your photographs.

Nowhere is this more true than when you’re taking photos outside. Different light conditions are typically not a factor when your work takes place in a studio. There you can control the light conditions and make them what you want. Outdoors, you must take the different light conditions into consideration. The quality of light outdoors can take your photos from ‘okay’ to ‘wonderful’.

The Morning Blue Hour

This is one of those different light conditions that is sometimes hard to judge. It can be the half hour before sunrise to several hours before. The sky has changed from black to a beautiful shade of blue. It is the best time to make photos of cityscapes. The balance of light from the city and deep blue from the sky makes wonderful photos. When the sky is black, there may be too much contrast, making exposure a difficult task.

The Golden Hour

Another of those different light conditions you must consider is the time right at dawn or right at sunset. For nature shots, dawn may be the best of the different light conditions. The light seems to be more subtle then than at sunset. One thing to keep in mind: Light conditions change quite a bit between the blue hour and the golden hour at dawn. During this golden hour, whether at dawn or sunset, the sun is lower in the sky allowing the atmosphere to scatter the blue light and allow more of the warm light shine through.

Fall is a really good time to utilize the different light conditions found in the golden hour, either at dawn or sunset.

Misty Conditions

Another of the different light conditions you may want to consider are those times when mist is present. Luck plays a great part in taking photos in misty conditions. Morning mists in particular add a quality to photos that make them dramatic.

We’ll discuss other of the different light conditions in next month’s post.

If you want someone else to deal with different light conditions and get great photos, you want the best photographers available to take your photos. Pixel Perfect Photography in Amherst, NH, is the perfect place to capture the magic of your moments. Karen and Kiera are waiting to do their best for you. Call 603-672-8780 to schedule a time to get together and plan how they will meet your needs.  

Last month we talked about some issues in storing hard copy photos. This month we have some more issues to discuss.

Choosing the right container for storing hard copy photos is something most people don’t consider. The two main types of containers are photo albums or photo containers.

In the past, people didn’t know the issues involved in storing hard copy photos in albums. They bought cheap albums, put their photos in them, and left them, sometimes for years. Now they regret that decision.

Now, people understand your pictures can be harmed by storing hard copy photos in these kinds of albums. Non-archival quality papers such as found in these albums can contain lignin and other acid substances that can destroy your photos. Some of the adhesive substances used in storing hard copy photos in albums can yellow with age. Some of the plastics in these albums can degrade and cause your photos to become permanently stuck to them.

There are many boxes that can be bought that are much better for storing hard copy photos. They are archival quality, acid-free, and safe to use for your photos.

Loading the boxes the right way in storing hard copy photos will preserve and protect them for long periods of time. Be sure not to overload the boxes. You don’t want to bend or crush your photos.

But you also don’t want to underfill the boxes. Storing hard copy photos in underfilled boxes will allow your photos to move around, leading to bending or curling the edges. You can use approved dividers if you don’t have a full box.

If the environment where you’re storing hard copy photos is not humid or hot in a high temperature zone, it’s all right to stack your photos. Be sure to stack them loosely.

Some ‘don’ts’ to follow when storing hard copy photos include don’t use tape or glue to fix them on the pages of albums. Also, don’t use any paper other than archival quality paper in your albums. Don’t hold photos together with paper clips or rubber bands. Don’t store photos in envelopes unless the envelopes are made of archival quality paper.

In order to get the kind of photos you want to store, you want the best photographers available to take your photos. Pixel Perfect Photography in Amherst, NH, is the perfect place to capture the magic of your moments. Karen and Kiera are waiting to do their best for you. Call 603-672-8780 to schedule a time to get together and plan how they will meet your needs.  

There are times when storing hard copy photos becomes necessary. Perhaps you’re going to move into a new home and don’t have time immediately to decide where to place them. Or you have new photos and want to display them for a while.

Whatever the reason for storing hard copy photos, there are some factors you must take into consideration so you’ll have the photos for a very long time to come. Three main factors must be considered: humidity, temperature, and light.

When you think about humidity in storing hard copy photos, remember this: The National Archives and Records Administration recommends humidity levels no lower than 15% and no higher than 65%.

The paper photos are printed on can become very brittle at really low relative humidity. But when most people consider storing hard copy photos, they think about places with too high relative humidity.

Basements for example can have very high relative humidity. This encourages the growth of mold, can cause photos to stick together because the ink and pigments run together, and encourage the growth of insects that can destroy your photos. Avoid high humidity when storing hard copy photos.

Usually, the lower the temperature when storing hard copy photos the better. Lower temperatures keep down the growth of insects and slow the degradation of paper and ink.

For sure, when storing hard copy photos choose a place with temperatures below 75 degrees Fahrenheit. This means your attic is not a good place.

Garages are also not a good place to choose when storing hard copy photos. This is because the temperature there fluctuates with the outside temperature.

Ultimately, a climate controlled environment is best for storing hard copy photos because both temperature and humidity can be controlled.

Most of the time, when storing hard copy photos you should choose a dark place. Light will break down the images over time, especially UV light or fluorescent lights. Fading due to exposure to light can be a definite issue when storing hard copy photos, so it’s best to have the original stored in a dark place while you display a copy.

Be sure also to store your photos in a place safe from insects, rodents, and water.

When you handle your photos, do so with no lotion on your hands that are also clean and dry. Handle the photos by the edges only.

There are more tips coming next month concerning both storing hard copy photos and handling them. Meanwhile, you want the best photographers available to take your photos. Pixel Perfect Photography in Amherst, NH, is the perfect place to capture the magic of your moments. Karen and Kiera are waiting to do their best for you. Call 603-672-8780 to schedule a time to get together and plan how they will meet your needs.