fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
5 Tips To Help You Master Digital Photography
By: Sanjiv Sinha
Tags: Photos, Cameras, Photographer, Photography, Camera Lens

Have you already mastered the art of taking photos without red-eye syndrome? Are there some pictures that you know you should have turned out a lot better than they did? It happens to all of us even the expert photographers.

Here are five tips to help you move from beginner to master of digital photography, whether youre using your cell phone or a point-and-shoot camera to snap shots.

Compose Carefully

One of the most basic digital photography tips is to pay attention to whats in the frame of the viewfinder. Fill the frame. Nothing but blue sky, for instance, behind a single subject throws off the proportions of the photo and decreases interest. You can also turn the camera sideways to see if a vertical photo might have more impact than a horizontal shot of the same subject.

You can also try positioning your subject off to the side, rather than in the center of the photograph.

Take Great Close up Photos

Your digital camera has a macro mode think of it as a super magnifying glass. An extreme close up of something like flower petals can bring out textures that you never knew existed, and will add excitement to your photos. Play with this feature, you will find dozens of ways to use it to enhance your pictures.

Buy a Tripod

Digital cameras are prone to blurry photographs if your hands shake even a little bit. Several companies manufacture light, portable, inexpensive versions. Digital photography tips like this can save you hours of frustration and preserve otherwise perfect shots.

Get Active

Take your shot from the top of a teeter-totter, off the side of the boat, or standing on your head. Thinking outside the box can really pay off in unexpected ways. You will truly get once in a lifetime shots by adding a bit of creativity to your thinking.

Take a Class

Are you still hungry for digital photography tips? Theres nothing like practice to improve your photography except practice plus experience gained by learning from a pro. You can find photography classes online, at your local recreation centers, and community colleges.

Becoming an expert at digital photography takes time; you wont become a professional photographer in your first week. Just keep trying new methods each time you use your camera, and before long, your friends and family will be admiring your newfound skills.
Welcome to Film and See™
By: Eric Gordon
Tags: Film Photography, Camera, Minolta, Photography, Filmandsee

A Compendium of Film Cameras

It was 1969. I was working at a local grocery store in Los Angeles.

A friend, who lived up in the Hollywood Hills and who had access to something I did not: excess money, had a new “toy” to show off. It was an SLR camera: the Minolta SRT-101.

One of my current Minoltas. Still in mint condition!

When I held the camera, I was in awe. I peered through the viewfinder.

I clicked the shutter and advanced the non-existent film. It was sublime. I was hooked. The SRT-101 was the first Single Lens Reflex camera I ever held. But, it was not the first camera I would ever buy. That, dear reader is another story.

Over the years, I have owned and sold and re-owned numerous cameras, both film and digital.

Several years ago, as I was mentoring a family member, I extolled the virtues of film. Today, this person is professionally shooting, nearly 100% film! Film has seen a resurgence that was, as film first began to fade, unpredictable. Today, film is in its renaissance, but, it will most likely fade again, due to environmental concerns, lack of adequate consumer interest, and closure of photo labs. So, for now, we enjoy film’s color and the amazing instruments which we used during its heyday. FilmandSee™ is a celebration of film photography!

FilmandSee™, is born of a desire to present information about cameras, film and the people who shoot film as their primary photo acquisition medium. We will, I hope present information in a fun way, using the written word, but also, I hope we’re able to get a YouTube channel started up as well, to augment these articles.

Thank you for your interest. All comments and suggestions are welcome.

Eric
The Camera is the World
By: Vincent Louis Carrella
Tags: Portraits, Cameras, Headshots, Photography, Authenticity

Look a person in the eye. When you talk to someone, or even just pass someone on the street look them in the eye. Human dignity demands it. Say hello. Now, we have these digital doppelgangers that stand in for us even when we’re not present. If you think about that it’s miraculous. That’s what social media has done, it has allowed us to present ourselves to the world twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. We can see each other even when we’re asleep.

Nobody really thinks about that. How we exist in the ether now. Physically. A version of ourselves lies waiting on some server for anyone who wants to know us. This is something we should be aware of. And something we should keep in mind when we write our profiles and post our photographs.

Be real. Be authentic. Look the camera in the eye because the camera is the world. Say hello. Greet the world as you would be greeted. Let people see, and more importantly feel, the real you. I stand in for the world. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of people will see your digital representation. Don’t cheat them out of your essence. Exude yourself. No pressure. I will help you.
ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate and Professional 2019 Updates
By: Maria Taylor
Tags: Cameras, Photo Editing, Technology, Photography, Updates

The new updates include more RAW support for a number of cameras, new features, and improvements for Photo Studio Ultimate and Professional 2019.

ACDSee Ultimate and Professional 2019 Camera Updates:

Here is a list of new cameras ACDSee Ultimate 2019 now supports:

Fujifilm Compressed RAW (X-T2, X-T20, X100F, X-E3, X-H1, X-Pro2, GFX 50S)

Fujifilm GFX 50R

Fujifilm X-A10

Fujifilm X-A5

Fujifilm X-T3

Leica C-LUX

Leica D-LUX 7

Leica V-LUX 4

Nikon D3500

Nikon P1000

Nikon Z6

Panasonic LUMIX DC-G9

Panasonic LUMIX DC-GF10 (DC-GF90)

Panasonic LUMIX DC-GH5S

Panasonic LUMIX DC-GX9 (DC-GX7MK3)

Panasonic LUMIX DC-LX100 II

Pentax K-1 Mark II

Sony DSC-HX99

Sony RX100 VA (DSC-RX100M5A)

ACD Systems is committed to releasing regular updates to support RAW files from new camera models, as they become available.

To see all cameras that are supported in RAW, please visit supported RAW formats.

Photo Studio Ultimate and Professional 2019 improvements include, but are not limited to:

Introduced a Facial Recognition slider to control accuracy

Fixed a high DPI issue in Set Categories dialog

Fixed Luminosity blending mode in Edit mode

Improved Dehaze result

Fixed a group selection issue in Develop mode

Fixed a rare Commander crash

For a full list of all improvements, RAW support, and more information please visit Ultimate 2019 Release Notes or Professional 2019 Release Notes.

If you have any more questions, please leave a comment and we will do our best to answer them! Or contact our support team!
Proctoring Software and Abusability Testing
By: Mobius Project
Tags: Tech, Cameras, Edtech, Technews, Technology

Link roundup

Here are some platform abuse incidents from last week:

Abusability Testing: Proctoring Software

During the pandemic, more than 800 schools across the world have been using Proctorio, an online proctoring edtech company, to enforce academic honesty. The primary way that Proctorio software monitors students’ integrity is through making it so that the student must keep the camera, mic, and other computer activities visible and available to Proctorio and the instructors.

The company has faced public backlash and protest from students who are being forced to use them — leading students to organize petitions and public articles against the invasive nature of the technology. Other companies such as ProctorU, ProctorTrack, and large MOOCs share these features (e.g. webcam and mic access). In some cases, implementing proctoring software can help online degree programs appear rigorous in the way they evaluate students.

What should other edtech companies learn about how the specific webcam features on Proctorio have been abused?

Webcam hijacking or “camfecting” is a type of abuse where an external actor gains access to another user’s web camera without the user’s knowledge. There have been numerous reports on the ways that remote access trojans, phishing, and other malicious attacks can be used to control another user’s camera, invade their privacy, and secretly record and blackmail them with illegally obtained footage. These attacks disproportionately affect women and those with lower tech familiarity.

Camfecting warns us that proctoring companies should understand that the number of people who can be attacked increases in magnitude if someone else can peer into student cameras. The access that these proctoring apps are given through schools and institutions makes it imperative that security is prioritized. Bad actors who gain access to proctoring software will be able to exponentially multiply the reach and impact of their attacks.

This is what abusability testing offers us — a look at specific features (in this case, cameras) that are shared among technologies across the industries (beyond edtech!) and to learn from how they have been abused before. This way, we can perform risk assessments and understand the consequences of the permissions that we give to new and seemingly innocuous technologies.

This post is the third of a series where we will analyze real examples of platform abuse and abusability testing. Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter to stay in the loop!
Nikon D7500 20.9MP Digital SLR Camera (Black) with AF-S DX NIKKOR 18–140mm f/3.5–5.6G ED VR Lens : Best BANG For The BUCK !
By: Mark Louis
Tags: Lenses, Cameras, Dslr, Photography, 2021

Nikon D7500 20.9MP Digital SLR Camera (Black) with AF-S DX NIKKOR 18–140mm f/3.5–5.6G ED VR Lens : Best BANG For The BUCK ! Mark Louis Aug 27·2 min read

Disclaimer Article Contains Affiliate Link.

The D7500 employs the same CMOS image sensor used in the Nikon DX flagship model D500, offering 20.9 megapixels. Designed without a low-pass filter, it strikes an optimal balance between image resolution and low-noise performance. Paired with NIKKOR lenses, the D7500 produces amazingly sharp, crisp images.

Nikon’s powerful Expeed 5 image-processing engine handles fast continuous shooting and 4K UHD video recording at 30p with ease.

With a wide standard ISO range from 100 to 51,200 (expandable to ISO 1,640,000), you can achieve sharper low-light images with minimal noise.

Share your most impressive images easily. The D7500 can be constantly connected to a smart device4 via Bluetooth®, with the SnapBridge application installed. Automatically transfer images taken with the D7500 to your smart device or upload them automatically to Nikon Image Space.

Disclaimer Article Contains Affiliate Link.

TO CHECKOUT THIS PRODUCT CLICK ON THE LINK : Nikon D7500
How to hack the CP Plus CCTV systems?
By: Bharadwaj D J
Tags: Hacking, Cameras, Security, Surveillance, Cctv

“CP PLUS offers a comprehensive range of advanced security and surveillance solutions to meet the ever-changing requirements of different industries. At present, we are serving many different verticals comprising defence, government, hotels, hospitals, educational institutes, homes, infrastructure, and transportation among others. Being a major surveillance system brand globally, we bring efficient, reliable, scalable, and integrated solutions to our customers.”

The above text appears as soon as you open http://www.cpplusworld.com/. They are offering security solutions without security in their software and technology. That is a wonderful strategy.

Well, even after multiple explanations and proofs to this company, they are not serious about fixing this major security issue in their CCTV DVR. This vulnerability can be exploited until they fix the way Authentication is designed/implemented. Take a look at the simple steps (intentionally tried to keep it mostly non-technical)

Vulnerable product: CP Plus DVR

Version: All

Description: Account takeover through authentication bypass of the CP Plus DVR using forgot password functionality

Severity: High

Pre-Requisite:

An active CP Plus DVR system

A smartphone device installed with any QR CODE reader app

PoC/Steps to Reproduce

On the screen where multiple windows of cameras are displayed, select the Admin login option through the settings or right-click to navigate to this admin login screen.

Click on the “Forgot Password” link on the screen.

The user will be asked to enter the registered email id.

But we are free to enter any email id and click on “Next”.

Open the QR Code reader/scanner app on the mobile device and scan the QR code appearing on the screen.

The QR code will be converted into a string value.

From the email id which is entered in #3 compose an email sharing the string value and send it to: resetpwd@cpplusworld.com

Within the next 5 to 10 minutes we will receive an email with a security code along with the serial number of the product.

Enter the security code on the screen in the required field and click on “Next”.

We are free to set our own new password now and log in as an admin.

With this admin privilege, we can check the CCTV logs, copy the footages to our mobile or USB devices, modify the recording settings, delete the recordings/footages, and perform all the activities.

Enjoy!
Camera section is the top feature in Vivo Y53s
By: Ishaan Bakshi
Tags: Vivo Y53s, Cell Phone Camera, Cameras, Mediatek

The Vivo Y53s is a pretty looking device with a price tag that’s a little higher than what you expect. The specs are decent but price could have been better justified. This 4G offering from Vivo easily has the camera section as its best feature. There are triple rear cameras and a waterdrop-style display notch. The primary lens is a 64-megapixel sensor with an f/.79 lens. This is then followed along with a 2-megapixel macro shooter and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. For selfies and video chats, the Vivo Y53s carries a 16-megapixel selfie camera sensor with an f/2.0 lens. I also think instead of a Helio G80, maybe a higher end Helio gaming processor from Mediatek would have fit better. The phone is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio G80 SoC, paired with 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage, which can be further expanded via microSD card. Vivo has also provided 3GB of ‘extended RAM’ that essentially uses the inbuilt storage for multitasking.

The smartphone features a 6.58-inch full-HD+ (1,080x2,400 pixels) display with a standard 60Hz refresh rate along with a 20:9 aspect ratio, and runs Android 11 with Funtouch OS 11.1 on top. The design is a bit tired but the body of the phone is lightweight and easy to handle. Dimensions measure 164x75.46x8.38mm and the phone weighs 190 grams. The Vivo Y53S was launched in the distinct colour options of Deep Sea Blue and Fantastic Rainbow colours. The battery is pretty nice. The Y53S packs in a big 5000mAh battery that comes with support for 33W fast charging.
What Skype’s blur feature tells us about maintaining leadership in your sector
By: Enrique Dans
Tags: Cameras, Algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Photography

IMAGE: Skype

Skype has announced a new feature that allows you to blur the background when making video calls, maintaining the correct focus on the image of you in the form of an elegant bokeh effect. The algorithm is able to identify our face, hair and arms and blur the rest of the image.

The feature, that had been previously tested in the teleconferencing feature in Microsoft Teams, leads me to wonder about the pace of development of algorithms capable of recognizing the parts of an image and then dividing them up depending on the task at hand: a camera simply collects pixels, so it is no small feat to get it to understand that certain pixels are a person, that that person is trying to have a conversation, and that what is in the background is irrelevant and can or should therefore be blurred. I discussed this back in 2017 when Apple launched the iPhone 8 with Portrait mode, a feature that applies lighting effects and can be used to improve photos.

Google’s improvements to the camera of its Pixel 3 raised similar questions about which is more important in a camera: the quality of its optics — above a certain level — or algorithms that that can improve and correct a photo before your eyes. In terms of machine learning, there have been significant improvements in terms of improving lighting or blurring a background, and we will undoubtedly see further advances applied to specific tasks as time progresses.

Then there is the question of the capacities required to maintain leadership in a sector: for some time now, camera manufacturers have been developing software skills instead of focusing on their traditional business, optics and hardware, which has meant venturing into new segments where the development of expertise is based on different parameters, as well as the need to be competitive and attract talent in those areas.

With each day we must reconceptualize our products in a range of ways: on the one hand, by calculating how many of the variables of the purchasing process or competitive dynamics relate to the product, or, equally, creating a highly differentiated service, as we are seeing with Apple and its progressive orientation to services (I’m not selling you a smartwatch, but if you buy it, you can have access to a permanent monitoring service that will help detect arrhythmias or other cardio-vascular problems). On the other hand, we have to take into consideration which parts of a product will be differentiated by generally incremental improvements and which will be improved thanks to the incorporation of software with certain capabilities.

If you are responsible for some type of physical product, start thinking about it: the world has become much more complex and the ability to differentiate your products will not always depend on the same factors as before.
The Journey. Part 3.
By: Jason Giraulo
Tags: Cameras, Photography Tips, Nikon, Photographer, Photography

On the ride home from Sams that day, I could hardly wait to take my shiny new camera from the box and give it a whirl. It wasn’t long before the box and it’s contents were strewn across the office and the battery was charging.

The kit lens with its short but usable 18–55 zoom range worked great for landscapes and general photography, but in those first days with my DSLR I figured out that Florida is never going to be as satisfying to photograph as say the Grand Tetons or Yosemite Valley. I started wishing for more. More focal length, and new subjects.

On our outings across the state, my poor wife was often forced to sit on the ground, reading kindle or playing on Facebook. Wanting to make her experience better, I offered to get her some binoculars so she could look at birds and bugs and stuff. Pretty soon she was learning all about birds, and I couldn’t help but begin to wonder if bird photography might be the subject I’d been searching for.

My 30th birthday was quickly approaching and I knew I wanted a long lens. A trip to Best Buy later I, requested my most expensive camera accessory yet. The Nikon 70–300VR. I couldn’t wait for 30, envisioning myself becoming the next National Geographic photographer. On location with my trusty D3100 and 70–300 lens.

That night Mary and my Mom planned an amazing party with all of my friends and family. Among the memorable gifts that evening was my much-hoped-for lens. I remember that evening, walking out of the hall there was a Great Horned Owl just perched outside the venue. I drew my trusty Nikon, complete with 70–300 and proceeded to take shot after shot.

These first few photographs, lit by only the streetlights, were total garbage. Nonetheless I was now a wildlife photographer, it it would only be a matter of time before I was published and traveling the globe.

Over the next few weeks we traveled to countless locations, and I took thousands of pictures. All of them terrible.

The honeymoon with my D3100 and 2 lenses lasted nearly 4 months before the slow autofocus, and slow frame rate began to really frustrate me. That Black Friday Best Buy had the newly launched D7000 on sale. I begged and pleaded my case to Mary. I even clearly remember telling her that this was it, that after this camera was an upgrade to “full frame” and I would never want to do that.

The amazing and supportive woman she is, she begrudgingly agreed. This was my Christmas present.

Stay tuned for part 4…
Camera2 - Everything You Wanted To Know
Tags: API, Cameras, Android, Kotlin

Components - Setup

The Camera2 API introduces several new interfaces and classes. Let’s break down each of them so we can better understand how to use them.

Nobody said this was easy

First of, we’ll start with the TextureView.

A TextureView is a UI component that is used to display a content stream (think video). We need to use a TextureView to display the feed from the camera, whether it be by preview or before taking the picture/video. Two properties that are important to use regarding the TextureView are:

SurfaceTexture field

SurfaceTextureListener interface

The first is where the content will get displayed at and the second has four callbacks:

The first callback is crucial when using the camera since we want to be notified when the SurfaceTexture is available so we can start displaying the feed on it. Be aware that only once the TextureView is attached to a window then it becomes available.

Interacting with the camera has changed since the previous API. Now, we have the CameraManager. This is a system service that allows us to interact with CameraDevice objects. The methods you want to pay close attention to are:

After we know that the TextureView is available and ready, we need to call openCamera to open a connection to the camera. This method takes in three arguments:

CameraId - String CameraDevice.StateCallback A Handler

The CameraId argument signifies which camera we want to connect to. On your phone, there are mainly two cameras, the front and the back. Each has it’s own unique id. Usually, it is either a zero or a one. How do we get the camera id? We use the CameraManager’s getCamerasIdList method. It will return an array of String type of all the camera ids identified from the device.

Disregard anything related to the ImageReader as it will be explained later

The next argument are callbacks to the camera state after we try to open it. If you think about it, there can only be several outcomes for this action:

Either the camera manages to open successfully

Either the camera disconnects

Some error occurs

And that’s what you will find inside the CameraDevice.StateCallback

The third argument deals with where this work will happen. Since we don’t want to occupy the main thread, it is better to do this work in the background. That’s why we need to pass a Handler to it. It would be wise to have this handler instance instantiated with a thread of our choosing so we can delegate work to it.

With everything that we have done, we can now call openCamera:

Then in the onOpened callback, we can start to deal with the logic on how to present the camera feed to the user via the TextureView.
Yolov5 Object Detection on NVIDIA Jetson Nano
By: Amirhossein Heydarian
Tags: Jetson Nano, Cameras, Artificial Intelligence, Yolo, Object Detection

Yolov5 Object Detection on NVIDIA Jetson Nano

A step-by-step guide for IMX477 CSI camera configuration and Yolov5 object detection using the Jetson nano development kit. Amirhossein Heydarian Jul 31·4 min read

Image by author

This article represents JetsonYolo which is a simple and easy process for CSI camera installation, software, and hardware setup, and object detection using Yolov5 and openCV on NVIDIA Jetson Nano. This project uses CSI-Camera to create a pipeline and capture frames, and Yolov5 to detect objects, implementing a complete and executable code on Jetson Development Kits. Check out the CodePlay jetson nano youtube playlist for video instructions and JetsonYolo Github.

Requirements

One of the most common cameras used with the Jetson Nano is the Raspberry Pi Camera Module V2, but what if you need a higher resolution? Recently I tried to use the Waveshare IMX477 CSI camera for a project but had trouble connecting it to the board. Finally, after trying several different methods, I came up with a simple process and decided to share it with others. This article consists of several parts including, hardware, driver, and python libraries installation, and finally, the Yolov5. These steps are all essential for object detection using the camera on the Jetson Nano board.

Camera Setup

Install the camera in the MIPI-CSI Camera Connector on the carrier board. Pull up the plastic edges of the camera port. Push in the camera ribbon and make sure that the pins on the camera ribbon face the Jetson Nano module. Push the plastic connector down. You can use the Arducam camera setup guide for more info.
Camera Calibration
By: Aerin Kim
Tags: Machine Learning, Cameras, Computer Vision, Self Driving Cars

The Pinhole Model

If we use a wide-open camera sensor, we will end up with blurry images, because the imaging sensor collects light rays from multiple points on the object at the same location on the sensor.

The solution to this problem is to put a barrier in front of the imaging sensor with a tiny hole.

The barrier allows only a limited number of light rays to pass through the hole, and reduces the blurriness of the image.

[Example] Real image with different aperture sizes

The two most important parameters in a pinhole camera model

Focal length: the distance between the pinhole and the image plane

It affects the size of the projected image. It affects the camera focus when using lenses.

2. Camera center: The coordinates of the center of the pinhole.

The pinhole camera model is very straightforward. By knowing the focal length and camera’s center, we can mathematically calculate the location where a ray of light that is reflected from an object will strike the image plane.

The focal length and the camera center are the camera intrinsic parameters, K. (K is an industry norm to express the intrinsic matrix.)
A Long Time Coming: The MediaRecorder API Is Widely Adopted
By: Lee Martin
Tags: JavaScript, Web Development, Cameras, Vuejs, Programming

Being a creative developer on the web means you need to be patient. The web is the most incredible and accessible platform for creative programming but its evolution is subject to the adoption of new technology standards by the different browsers which display it. The people working on the HTML, JavaScript, CSS, and browser platforms are my heroes. Their work lays down the foundation of everything we do and, of course, that extends far beyond creative programming. Platforms which were once unwieldy have become more aligned and accessible everyday. Begin open, a day doesn’t go by where something has been studies, challenged, decommissioned, and introduced. I feel lucky to have aligned my own creativity with this outlet.

You might be thinking: “Lee, that’s a rather lofty introduction to the MediaRecorder API.” However, you have to understand, I have patiently waiting almost two decades for this functionality to become more widely adopted. Social technology revolves around recorded video and not having a good way to do that on the web has always been a big issue, in my opinion. I love all of the social web apps I have built in music but when user generated content was concerned, I leaned heavily towards static images. So, you can imagine my joy when the iOS 14.3 update enabled support for the MediaRecorder API by default in Safari. This closes the gap on most major modern browser support.

MediaRecorder API Example

So, now might be a good time to explain what the MediaRecorder API is and how it works. 😅 This API makes it possible to capture the data generated by a MediaStream or HTMLMediaElement object for analysis, processing, or saving to disk. And, as the MDN Web Docs say, “Its surprisingly easy to work with.” For this blog, I’d like to look at a basic example which records video from a user’s webcam and then allows them to both preview and download the recorded content.
Meet Ferne Kornfeld, Principal and Commercial Finance Consultant at Value Capital Funding
By: Ferne Kornfeld
Tags: Entrepreneurship, Ferne Kornfeld, Women, Debt

Based in Palm Beach, Florida, Ferne Kornfeld is a Principal and Commercial Finance Consultant at Value Capital Funding. Throughout her extensive career, Ferne has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. Even more, Ferne possesses thorough and comprehensive knowledge of corporate finance. Ferne, as well as her business partner and husband, Barry Kornfeld, believe in always doing what is best for the client. This philosophy is very hard to find in the world of finance, but they make it their mission.

After working within the finance industry for years, Ferne and Barry began to realize there was a gap in the market’s offerings. Companies and businesses, most of them being small businesses, were incredibly over-leveraged but seeking solutions that often led to even more loans & debt that they were trying to alleviate in the 1st place. These small businesses’ applications were often declined due to the amount of money such companies already borrowed. Ferne and Barry soon realized that what these businesses were truly seeking was a way to restructure their debt, not accrue more.

Ferne Kornfeld and her husband have decades worth of combined experience, which gave them the thorough background they needed to begin speaking to investors and lenders, creating a niche and revolutionary approach to financing and funding for businesses. With such an incredible niche specialty, and when attending association meetings, they found that no one else offers what they do. Unlike their competitors, Ferne and Barry don’t aim to only lend money. They have gravitated away from pure lending and work almost exclusively to restructure loans so that their clients can manage their debt without taking on more debt.

More than anything, Ferne Kornfeld truly appreciates and loves that Value Capital Funding is able to help small business owners who are in dire need of assistance. More often than not, their contribution is what stands between these business owners and bankruptcy. Ferne understands better than most, from being a small business owner herself, the importance mom and pop businesses have within their communities and to their families. Through rehabilitating the company’s balance sheet through debt restructuring, she is able to help them hire more people, continue their dream, and give more back to their communities.

This biography was originally published on https://SurprisinglyFree.com/ferne-kornfeld/
CREDIT SCORE FACTORS YOU NEED TO KNOW.
Tags: Debt Settlement, Credit Cards, Credit, Credit Score, Debt

SOME VITAL INFORMATION YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE JUMPING ON THE FACTORS-

1)What are the most important factors in calculating your credit score?

We know that there are five main factors that contribute to your FICO score, one of the most popular scores used by lenders today: payment history, utilization rate, age of credit history, recent credit inquiries, and types of credit used. Payment history makes up 35% of your credit score.

2) Does every credit check affect your score?

According to FICO, each new hard inquiry can lower your credit score by as much as five points. If you have multiple hard inquiries in a short period, though, it could have a compounding effect and lower your score even more.

3) What information does not go into a credit score?

Your credit report does not contain information about your gender, race, religion, national origin, marital status, political affiliation, medical history, criminal record, or whether you receive public assistance. More importantly, none of this personal information affects your credit score.

4)What is a bad credit score?

What Is a Bad Credit Score? On the FICO Score scale of 300 to 850, one of the credit scores lenders most frequently use, a bad credit score is one below 670. More specifically, a score between 580 and 669 is considered fair, and one between 300 and 579 is poor.

5) What bills affect credit?

The biggest single influence on your credit scores is paying bills on time, and historically that’s meant credit bills — payments on loans, credit cards and other debts. But now credit scores can benefit from timely utility and service payments as well.

6)What hurts your credit score the most?

The following common actions can hurt your credit score: Missing payments. Payment history is one of the most important aspects of your FICO Score, and even one 30-day late payment or missed payment can have a negative impact. Using too much available credit.

7)How many credit inquiries is bad?

According to FICO, “Statistically, people with six inquiries or more on their credit reports can be up to eight times more likely to declare bankruptcy than people with no inquiries on their reports.”

8)What are the 5 components of credit score?

FICO Scores are calculated using many different pieces of credit data in your credit report. This data is grouped into five categories: payment history (35%), amounts owed (30%), length of credit history (15%), new credit (10%) and credit mix (10%).

Now the Top 5 Credit Score Factors you need to know are-

Payment history. Credit utilization. Credit history length. Credit mix. New credit.

FOR MORE ARTICLES AND INFORMATION VISIT OUR WEBSITE: www.bharatdebtrelief.com
Improved Data Services Discusses the Most Effective Ways to Communicate with Your Debtor
By: Improved Data Services
Tags: Improved Data Services, Debt Collection Agency, Debt Collectors, Debt Collection, Debt

Improved Data Services Discusses the Most Effective Ways to Communicate with Your Debtor

Far too often, small businesses put off debt collection in an effort to avoid communicating with their debtor. It is understandable; debt collection can be an uncomfortable process for people who may not know the best way to approach their debtor. However, similar to most aspects of business, communication is key and should not be viewed as something to be avoided but as an opportunity. Improved Data Services, a debt collection agency based in Williamsville, New York, sympathizes with these businesses and offers the following advice to better help companies collect payment.

Phone Calls & Emails

Companies will often prefer to use emails to communicate with debtors to avoid any awkward, first-hand conversations. While there is nothing wrong with using email to communicate with a debtor, the most effective form of communication remains calling over the phone. An email or invoice is easy for a debtor to ignore and allows them to put off, potentially indefinitely, a future payment. Debtors are far more likely to answer a phone call than an email, allowing a connection to build between the caller and the debtor. If used properly, small businesses can use this call to communicate effectively with the debtor and create a payment plan that is more likely to be paid.

Professional Communication

Whether or not the debtor is willing to answer any phone calls or emails, a business must speak in a professional manner during each stage of correspondence. It can be easy for many people to slip into a harsh tone when frustrated or angry; however, during any form of communication with a debtor, this is to be avoided. Debtors are far less likely to make a payment or work with a business if they believe they have been treated poorly. For this reason, companies should keep a polite, professional manner when discussing any overdue payments with a debtor.

Hire a Professional

If a debtor has not made a payment in more than 90 days or responded to any recent emails or phone calls, it may be time to hire a professional debt collection agency. Hiring a debt collection agency can be an effective way to communicate with a debtor that their debt will not be forgiven. Unlike many businesses, an agency has the time and resources to pursue a delinquent debt long-term. Companies are often unable to pursuing a debt long term as it can hurt their business by drawing focus away from current clients and tying up valuable staff. To this end, companies shouldn’t view hiring a debt collection agency as a defeat but as passing the baton on to an ally.
How To Manifest Money Effortlessly Using The Law Of Attraction.
By: Shana Jahsinta Walters
Tags: Law Of Attraction, Finance, Manifestation, Money, Debt

Manifesting Money March 30 Day Challenge Part 11.

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

Welcome to Manifest Money in March 30 Day Challenge. I am creating this challenge for the sole purpose of helping you and myself to manifest whatever amount of money we want this month. Of course you can carry on this challenge for the rest of the year as well.

Step 11.

11. Donate some money today.

This is actually a practice you should keep up whenever you get new money. Always donate a portion of it.

Some people insist that is must be 10%. However donate the amount that you are most comfortable with. If it is 5%, go with that. If it is 1%, then donate that amount. No one has the right to tell you how much money you can give away as a donation.

To make sure that you don’t forget to do this, as soon as you get new money, set aside the money you are going to donate. You can make your donations online these days. So jump on the task right away.

Come back tomorrow for part 12 of this manifesting money challenge. Remember we are both in this together.

________________________________________

Right now my books are on a $0.99cents March Madness sale.

1. How To Attract Your Sweetheart In Time For The Holidays? How You Can Use The Law Of Attraction To Manifest A Special, Specific Person; Manifesting Romantic Love (Dating And Relationship Advice For Women Only) — https://amzn.to/38gIyyO
Hey, Helaine Olen You are SPOT ON with your perspectives.
By: What Is Money
Tags: Starbucks, Financial Freedom, Personal Finance, Money, Debt

Hey, Helaine Olen You are SPOT ON with your perspectives. I’m actually writing to you from a Starbucks in Las Vegas. So those coffee naysayers can kiss my ass. LOL!

Frankly, I believe that many people are spending on those latte’s and mocha’s because it’s at least something that they can afford. But to your larger point, I agree that it's not realistic for one to think that they can achieve financial freedom by dropping their latte habit. The real problem for most is not SPENDING but EARNINGS.

I see so many people struggling these days to earn a meaningful living. Many young folks, in particular, who were tricked into drinking the “let’s go to college and rack up student loans” Kool-Aid, now find themselves working multiple gig jobs just to make ends meet.

Again, great article my friend. I’ll be sure to spread the word about it.

One last point: Would love to have you on our Money Monday podcast if you are so inclined to join us. It’s a show that sprouted from questions my co-host and I had about money and how it actually works in the world. We’d love to have you join us. So please reach out to us when you can. https://whatismoneyproject.com/
Using a debt collection service
By: Jeffery Sem
Tags: Debt

Debt Collection can be a tedious procedure. The time expected to find clients with unpaid bills goes through profitable assets that could be better off working and developing your business. As opposed to experiencing the activity of obligation accumulation all alone, an elective choice is to enlist an obligation gathering organization to support you. Utilizing an accumulation organization gives you and your business key advantages.

Individuals who work in a specific job can total those assignments more productively than somebody who doesn’t. Obligation accumulation isn’t likely something you do all the time as a component of your business. Then again, obligation accumulation offices do have practical experience in gathering unpaid obligations. This enables them to Debt Broker more rapidly and effectively than if you did it all alone.

There are various state and government laws that have been set up to shield purchasers from obligation authorities. Abusing these laws can convey soak punishments that could affect sly affect you and your business. By working with an obligation gathering office, you’re banded together with somebody that knows the complexities of these laws, in this way better shielding you from a potential claim. For more information please visit our site https://www.jefferyhartman.com/
3 Questions for Your Credit Card Debt Plan
By: Financial Fiduciaries
Tags: Finances, Debt, Financial Fiduciaries Llc

Credit card debt is a major issue in America. The convenience of portable credit cannot be overstated, but it’s also a slippery slope to developing a serious debt problem. If you’ve found yourself in debt, you should understand the importance of planning yourself out of it. Formulating a plan for debt freedom is commendable, but once you have planned out your debts and repayments, it’s time to take a step back and ask yourself a few questions about your plan.

Is your Debt Manageable or Unmanageable?

If you’ve got an easy plan in place with just a few years until the final payment, then that’s perfect. A manageable debt repayment plan is what you need for continuing with confidence. However, if your plan has you making payments for decades, then it might be time to look at other options for your debt management plan — debt consolidation, credit counseling (nonprofit options exist!), or even filing for bankruptcy.

When Is Debt Consolidation the Choice?

Debt consolidation can be a difficult process but is sometimes the best choice for your debt. This is when you take several credit cards and condense them into a single payment. This can sometimes be a very good choice but isn’t right for everyone. For starters, it often costs a bit of money to have your debt moved around into a single payment, which can be difficult to manage if you’re already in debt. This also takes the debt off of your cards — which might open them up for more debt. But for convenience and streamlining, consolidation can be a very worthwhile addition to your plan.

What Consolidation Options are Available?

If you think consolidation is a good choice, then you’ll want to consider where to go for consolidation. Essentially, consolidation involves taking out a single larger loan which you use to pay off the multiple smaller loans. A personal loan from friends or family can be very good for this, as there are no fees, kinder interest rates, more flexibility — the benefits are not small. But it’s absolutely understandable if this isn’t something you are comfortable with, as it can impact the relationship.

More officially there are personal loans available through banks and credit unions, or even lenders that are built around credit card debt consolidation. Each of these options will vary wildly, and it’s best to do your due diligence and examine each option. Even peer-to-peer lending options like Lending Tree could be helpful.

Originally published to www.financialfiduciariesllc.net
Tokenized economy: Introduction to the Debt free Society
By: Peter Faleskini
Tags: Tokenization, Finance, Blockchain, Debt

Image courtesy of yodiyim at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In today's world, most companies rely on debt to finance their business.

In the tokenized economy we get prepayment, so there is no need for the debt especially not a third party debt.

There are different risks involved in financing in the tokenized economy than the risks in classical debt driven economy.

Riskin debt driven economy

liquidity

Credit default risk

Interest rates fluctuation

Debt terms vs assets liquidity

Securitization of the debt

Credit ratings

Risks in the tokenized economy

Exchange rate fluctuation

Purchase market currency

Limited daily liquidity

Keys to success in the tokenized economy

sales

conservative expansion

logistic /sufficient stock

People/customer support

High liquidity

Efficient Tax management

In some cicles, the tokenized economy is still laughed at and high debt is believed to be the only fertilizer for expansion and growth.

Survival of some tokenized projects past the five-year mark and positive outlook for the future might be the sign that one of possible development in the economy might be debt free.
Stop Paying the Minimum on Your Credit Cards
By: Taylor Boucher
Tags: Credit Cards, Personal Finance, Credit, Money, Debt

Credit: Turnisu at pixabay

The most common trap with credit cards is the minimum payment. The misconception that you are slowly paying down your debt when instead, you’re just paying interest.

A minimum payment is just an interest payment

For example, if you have $2,000 in credit card debt, at a 26% interest rate, and a minimum monthly payment of $45. It will take you almost 13 years and cost you an additional $4,900 in interest to pay down your debt.

With each payment, you’ll be contributing $1.67 to the principal, this is against your actual debt, and $43.33 to interest. That’s right, only 4% of your payment goes toward paying down the original amount.

What is the debt cycle?

The most common reason for being in this position in the first place is a lack of an emergency fund when an unplanned life event arises.

Unfortunately, over 13 years, the chances of another unplanned life event happening, is extremely high. And again, without an emergency fund, a cycle develops.

The debt cycle will put an end to your savings dreams before they begin. But there is hope!

Break the debt cycle

Here are a few simple steps to help you break the debt cycle:

1. Keep paying the minimum amount

Isn’t this a bad idea? Generally, yes.

In this case, however, you’ll be breaking the debt cycle. To do this, you need to build a small emergency fund to insulate you from the next unplanned life event.

While you do that, you do not want to default on your credit cards, hence the minimum payment.

2. Build a small emergency fund

Unfortunately, there isn’t a magic amount you should save. You know your situation best. If you’re expecting car troubles or the like, try to anticipate. Otherwise, if it’s an arbitrary amount, start with one paycheck’s worth.

3. Pay down your debt!

Now that you’ve created some buffer with your emergency fund, it’s time to focus on the real problem, your debt!

In the example above, if you were to double your minimum payment to $90, it would reduce the payoff time from almost 13 years to 2.6 years. You’d still be paying the same $43.33 in interest, but every additional dollar would go toward the principal balance.

Pick a time-frame you’re comfortable with, but don’t drag it out too long. See those interest payments as just more time spent grinding at work, not contributing to your savings.

Build your emergency fund

Luckily, this method can work with any kind of debt, not just credit cards. There are many calculators out there, like this one, that can help you get more specific with your situation.

Once you’ve broken the debt cycle, you should keep building your emergency fund. Try saving six months’ worth of living expenses for optimum peace of mind.

And, if you need help with tools for saving or tips on how to leverage your credit cards for positive growth, try reading: Trifecta for Budgeting, Saving, and Spending.