{ Camera Fun - Shutter Speed/Color/Unsharp Mask }

Are you ready for some more camera tricks?

You know it's been amazing learning all these neat little features in my camera and the more I learn, the more I want to do. But one thing I've also discovered is that there are certain features that I doubt I'll ever use, and trying to get them to work right is too much of a headache.

Like the Shutter Speed for example...UGH UGH UGH. I don't think I'll ever get it figured out completely. In a nut shell what I've learned is that shutter speed affects the motion of whatever you're photographing. Let's say for example, the kids are running around and you want to get a good motion picture. You need to have a fast shutter speed so that it freezes the object. If you have a slow shutter speed, then what you'll end up with is a blurry picture.

There is way too much info on it and I honestly don't have the patience nor the yearning to learn more, so I think Shutter Speed is one of those *forget about it's* for me.

Here's some examples:

This one was taken with a slow shutter speed, see how everything came out blurry?

This was a fast shutter speed and I was able to get a good picture of the flame without blurrying.
So since I don't want to bother with shutter speeds, I just use the High Speed Shooting feature and leave it on all the time, that way I can catch moving objects. Your camera should have one too, or you can have it set to Sports or Children or whatever option you have.

But moving on onto something a lot more fun to mess with. I'm sure by now you know that you can change the color of your photos? You don't have to worry about taking a photo and then using a graphics program like Photoshop or Paintshop Pro to make it a black and white photograph. You can do that IN your camera before the photos are even taken.

My camera gives me 3 options. If I push the F menu, under the Color Mode, I can pick Standard, Chrome (vivid) or Black and White). My older camera also gave me the option of taking Sepia photos, which I LOVE.

So I stepped outside and took a few photos using the different colors and then I'll show you one of my favorite photo editing features. (Click on any photo to enlarge)

Standard

Chrome (Vivid) - Look how much brighter the colors are

Black and White - I LOVE B&W photos and can't wait to do a whole photoshoot with the kids

Tree in B&W

Standard

Chrome (Vivid)

Now here is one of my favorite things to do with the photos. I use Paintshop Pro, I know a lot of people prefer Photoshop but honestly, they do exactly the same thing.

When I want to make my photos stand out, I take them into PSP and apply the Unsharp Mask feature which can be found under your Image Menu. You can play around with the settings a bit until you get it just right. If you click on the photo below you'll notice that it's a lot sharper than the ones above, it makes the photos crisp and really stand out. Love it. Go ahead and give it a try.

Love these little guys, they stand outside my front door....here they are in standard mode

And in Chrome....a lot more brighter

And again in black and white

So there you have it. I know it may seem like a lot of info to go through, but I try to keep it as simple as possible, I always say "if you're going to teach me something, show me like I'm 2 years old" LOL

Go enjoy your camera, and if you post about any of these features on your blogs, come back and let me know so I can check out your photos :)