Megapixels Aren’t Everything.

The more megapixels a digital camera has the better pictures it will take, right? WRONG! This is probably the biggest misconception in digital photography. The quality of an image is dependent on multiple things: the cameras sensor size and quality, the internal processor, the quality of glass within the lens, the amount of light available in the scene and most importantly, the photographer!

The most important component to capturing a great image is ALWAYS the photographer. A photographer who knows their camera well can take a photo with a 3MP camera that will outshine a similar photo taken from a 10MP camera and an inexperienced photographer. A person who knows photography well can generally pick up any camera and pull off great shots. For those that don’t know a lot about photography don’t worry, get to know your camera you’ll be happy – take lots of photos!

The number of megapixels (MP) does not affect the quality of the image in the sense that the more pixels you have the better quality photo you get, it really only affects the size of the image you can print while still maintaining the highest quality. Almost all cameras on the market today
… Continue reading ‘Megapixels Aren’t Everything.’

Social Networking – Don’t Let It Cost You Your Job!

Social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace are so common it seems like people everywhere have joined. These sites are great for keeping in touch with current friends and family, reconnecting with old friends and even meeting new friends and professional contacts. But if you’re not careful these sites can turn into your worst nightmare!

Many people don’t realize how public their social networking activity can actually be. Every photo, status update, hobby and personal piece of information you or others post could be open for anyone to read. If you’re not careful that photo of you binge drinking or getting sick at last weekends party could cost you your job!

Employers frequently use search engines and social networking sites to assist with screening possible future employees and current employees. Luckily the social networking sites are getting better at providing security and privacy settings that give you some control on what others see … use them, and SOON!

Facebook and Myspace both have security and privacy settings that can get quite granular and allow you to control every aspect of who can see which parts of your profile. It’s definitely worth taking an hour or so to go through all of the available settings to make sure your information can only be viewed by the people you want to see it.

Stay tuned, I am currently working on an article to help you understand the security and privacy controls on Facebook. I’ll explain some areas that can be a little confusing and provide suggestions for managing different types of contacts individually (i.e. professional vs friends). I’ll provided some examples of how my account is set up and I’ll also highlight areas you want to be sure tol locked down!

I’ll update this post with a link once it’s complete but you can also keep your eye out buy subscribing to the RSS feed in your favorite reader or through email using the form at the top right corner of any page.

Rule of Thirds

Arguably one of the most important rules in photography, the ‘rule of thirds’ is a compositional rule to help you decide where to place the subject within the frame of your photo. Compositional ‘rules’ help create a sense of balance and add interest to your photos.

The word ‘rule’ in quotes because it’s more of a guideline than an actual rule. What I mean by this is that you don’t always HAVE to follow the rule in order to create great photos. In fact, intentionally breaking the rule will, in some cases, create a dramatic or tense feel which may be better suited to your end goal. Generally speaking though, following photography rules will help create more appealing photos.

---

The rule of thirds says you should divide your photo into three equal horizontal and vertical sections creating a grid with nine equal sections, four lines and four intersection points.

The four intersection points are considered the optimum locations for placing the main subject within a photo. If the subject of the photo is tall or long, a building or country landscape, place the subject along one of the lines instead.
… Continue reading ‘Rule of Thirds’

The Scott Gawne Photography Blog, Welcome!

I really love photography!

Not only do I love taking photos but I also love reading and learning about photography! The only problem is that in the past few months I’ve found it difficult to get myself motivated and go out and take photos. So during my holiday vacation I started thinking, “I really need to find something to boost my motivation and encourage more shooting”.

Usually when I start thinking I end up with a new web project. Last year my holiday thinking led me to converting my old personal website (sgawne.com) into a photography site under the name SG Photography (recently changed to Scott Gawne Photography). The Scott Gawne Photography website gave my a new medium to share photos with friends, family and anyone else that stumbled across the site.

The Scott Gawne Photography website by itself wasn’t quite enough. Don’t get me wrong, the opportunity to share photos with others is a great one, but I wanted more. I wanted an easy way to give back to others what I have had the opportunity to learn!

What you see now is my solution, The Scott Gawne Photography Blog. A photography blog where I am not only able to share my photos with you but also the knowledge that’s helping me to improve my photography. I am a computer engineer by degree so not only will I be sharing photography tips but I will also be sharing general computing and technology tips.

I love hearing from and interacting with readers and fellow photographers, so please email me (contact page coming soon) or leave a comment below.

The Scott Gawne Photography Blog still has a little work left before I will consider the design complete but I have decided to go ahead and launch my first post to help break the ice and get things moving.

For more information about the blog and me please visit the about page. Also, don’t forget to visit my main site: www.sgawne.com!

I hope you enjoy the site!

–
-Scott

p.s.
Seeing as I am a engineer by trade I don’t do a whole lot of writing my writing style is in no way perfect, in fact it is usually far from it. I’m hoping that through this process my ability to communicate through writing will improve, but until then you will have to forgive my errors.