Digital Photography for Next to Nothing: Free and Low Cost Hardware and Software to Help You Shoot Like a Pro
Learn how to take great photos on a realistic budget withDigital Photography For Next To Nothing.Revealing hundreds of free and low-cost photographic products, accessories, software, tuition and resources, this book will turn you into a serious photographer without breaking the bank.Written by John Lewell, an experienced landscape photographer and an expert in digital image-creation technology, this hands-on guide is packed with ways to improve your photography and editing skills.Find out how to:Take amazing shots with a single lampBuild your own scrims, and lighting rigs for next to nothingSave hundreds by building your own tripods, monopods, and stabilizersUse older lenses on modern digital camerasShoot and process RAW for absolutely nothingShoot macro without a macro lens – or make your ownMake your own lens hoods, flash diffusers, flash concentrators, decorative Bokeh effect lensesUse free and low-cost photo applications for processing, viewing, cataloguing, editing, creating HDR, photo stitchingBuild powerful photography processing and editing suites with free software and plugins that go head to head with expensive tools like Adobe Photoshop and LightroomFour Great Ways to Save Money on Digital PhotographyAmazon-exclusive content from author John LewellDo you want to take great photos, but are wondering where best to spend your cash? If so, try thinking in advance about where you can save money without compromising on quality. After all, even though digital photography is far more economical than film photography, it can still become an expensive activity unless you make savings in the right places. Here are three ways of doing it:1. Buy Last-Year's CameraLike many other people I love to buy the latest gadget, especially if it does something entirely new. However, this typically eager approach of the "early adopter" is not really necessary with digital cameras.In the days when manufacturers were trying to outdo each other by upping the number of megapixels in each new model, maybe it made sense to get this year's 4 megapixel camera instead of last year's 2 megapixel model. But now that most new cameras offer 10 megapixels or more, you may have to wait several years to get significantly higher resolution. Remember: 15 megapixels matches, approximately, the resolution of 35mm film. You also need to quadruple (not double) the megapixel count to double the resolution of the image in both dimensions.Instead of megapixels, manufacturers have started to add features such as movie recording, GPS, panoramic processing and high dynamic range. These are all nice to have, but they add significantly to the complexity of the camera while contributing little to the quality of individual photos.For all these reasons, if you want to save money when you buy a camera, buy last year's heavily discounted model, not this year's all-singing, all-dancing, intensively marketed model.A word of warning: I am not suggesting you purchase a used digital camera. In fact, buying secondhand cameras or lenses is not a brilliant idea unless you have some money to spare. This is because you may not always get a good example (or in photo parlance, a good "copy") of the product.InDigital Photography for Next to NothingI've described a strategy for purchasing brand new cameras at a significant discount. You can save hundreds of dollars on a terrific, unused DSLR if you time your purchase correctly.2. Use Free SoftwareOver the last couple of years, I've downloaded and tested several hundred free and almost-free photo manipulation packages, from which I've selected around a hundred for inclusion inDigital Photography for Next to Nothing. Sure, some of those I rejected are unlikely to cause any worries over at Adobe headquarters, but many of those that made it into the book are quite astoundingly good.Here, I'll mention just one package, but there are plenty of others -- in different categories -- of comparable quality.If you want to extract the maximum detail from your digital images, shoot in RAW format -- using unprocessed, straight-from-the-sensor image data. RAW tends to produce huge files, but these files contain detail in the highlights and shadows that may be completely lacking in the JPEGs processed by your camera.There are dozens of commercial RAW processors, most of them quite expensive. Adobe Camera Raw is an exception, but you have to buy an Adobe image editor such as Photoshop, Elements, or Lightroom, in order to get it. An alternative is to download Raw Therapee, a terrific program that runs on all recent versions of Windows, from 2000 onwards (and Linux). It is in no way inferior to any commercial RAW processing software, yet it is free (donations are welcomed but they are not obligatory).Raw Therapee not only turns the RAW data into a viewable picture, it also lets you recover highlights, adjust the exposure and fine-tune the white balance to make the image warmer or cooler. With cropping, color management, lens distortion correction and edge preservation, Raw Therapee exemplifies all that is best in the new generation of free photo software.3. Make Your Own AccessoriesAlthough I don't recommend skimping on lenses -- and you certainly need a good, sturdy tripod for landscapes and portraits -- you can save a lot of cash by making your own accessories. With a little know-how it's easy to construct light tents, flash diffusers, mini-pods, white balance caps, scrims, snoots and lens hoods. I describe how to build all of these -- and more -- inDigital Photography for Next to Nothing.Will people be surprised if they see you sporting a homemade lens hood or flash diffuser? Not if they know anything about photography. Professional photographers have to improvise constantly, which often means building accessories if there's nothing suitable off-the-shelf.If you've bought a telephoto lens that comes without a lens hood, it's possible to make one out of synthetic, flexible material, sealed with a special adhesive. It comes in a choice of camouflage patterns, making it ideal for wildlife photography. It will be lighter and more convenient than the standard lens hood made by the lens manufacturer. And the cost? Just ten percent of the cost of a standard hood.Admittedly, unless you have access to well researched information, it can be hard to identify and then locate the right materials for making these accessories. This is where I hope you will find my book particularly useful. It can save you hundreds, even thousands of dollars that can be better spent on lenses, travel, and other unavoidable expenses. What's more: you can give every accessory a professional finish, so no one will think it's homemade.4. Read the Free ManualOne other point: don't forget to Read The free manual that comes with your camera. A recent study in the U.K. revealed that British consumers spend £52 billion ($75bn) a year on electronic gadgets they never learn how to work properly. What a waste of money! It's far better to explore your camera in depth, make mistakes, and learn to correct them.With a little ingenuity and a minimum of expense it's possible for anyone with a "good eye" to make the transition from snapshots to saleable photography. If you find yourself in the right place at the right time you can recoup the entire cost of your equipment with one great shot.Digital Photography for Next to Nothingcovers the full spectrum of photography from improving your snapshots, to getting serious about photography, acquiring a better camera, saving money on lenses, using free pro-level software, and finding free tuition and free online resources. In addition, I've included some projects simply "for fun" -- showing you how to build items that will help you take creative or experimental shots. It's a treasure trove of free and low-cost tools and techniques.