Welcome to the May issue of the Digital Photos 101 Newsletter.

Here we are, already in mid-May with Father's Day, Graduation and summer vacations on the horizon. With these special occasions come a multitude of picture-taking opportunities. This month's newsletter will give you some tips on how to best capture these special moments with your digital camera. We'll also clue you in on current promotions and sales so you can take advantage of the great savings available.

Graduation Day Photos

Official, professionally-taken graduation photos are important memories, but if you have a special grad in your life you'll want to take your own photos as well. To best capture the flowing robes and tassels, try taking your photo using a low point of view. Crouch down and look up at your subject. To distinguish your special graduate from a sea of black robes, take them aside and photograph them on their own with a simple background. Use the sky as a background or perhaps an interesting wall, some bushes or a tree.

Try some telephoto shots to offer a different perspective. Get your subject to smile, look like they are thinking, and a variety of other emotions. To help relax them and distract them from the excitement and activity of the day, talk to your subject while you take your photos.

Father's Day: Photographing Dad and the Kids

Father's Day is a major picture-taking day for fathers, grandfathers, stepfathers, fathers-to-be and more. You'll want to including your kids as you capture those special family moments. But photographing kids can be a special challenge, not to mention frustrating, because they have such short attention spans and they are so active. To help get your ideal shots, try involving a toy, a pet or another person (Dad!) in your photos to distract and engage the child. It will help them forget about the camera. Get down on the child's level to get a better view of them.

For better candid shots use your zoom setting so you and the camera will be further away from the child and less of a distraction. Now is not the time to pull out all the bells and whistles. Keep your equipment simple so you are not fiddling with your camera while you miss a great shot. If you have done your digital camera homework, you will have bought a camera that has a fairly fast recycle time (how long it takes before it’s ready to take another picture).Take lots of pictures. Remember, the beauty of digital is you only need to print the photos you love.

Vacation Photos: Photographing in Bright Light, Sun and Sand

Sun, sand and palm trees. Who hasn't wanted, or tried, to take the kinds of gorgeous beach photos we've seen in magazines. It is not as hard as you thought. Just keep the following points in mind and you can show off photos your family and friends will admire.

Protect your equipment from the elements. Only keep out the equipment you need at the moment, keep everything else safely tucked away in a waterproof case. When photographing at the beach, to protect your camera from the sand try putting it in a plastic sealed bag, such as a sandwich bag, and cut a hole in the bag for the lens. Be sure to move out of the wind when changing batteries etc.

Use your Zoom. To avoid shots of tiny spec figures on a jet ski overwhelmed by a vast body of water, use your zoom on the highest setting. If you have an add-on telephoto lens, now is the time to use it. Focus is important. For shots on the beach, focus on your subjects and let the beach blur. You'll still get a powerful feel of the surroundings.

Beware of Glare. The best time to take photos is morning and early evening when lighting is softer and there is less glare. If you are shooting midday, compensate for the glare by setting a positive EV compensation or use your digital camera's "beach" or "bright daylight" setting. In very bright light you may need to make some other adjustments. If you have a basic point-and-shoot camera, select nighttime, no flash. ACDSEE, makers of outstanding digital photo management and editing software, suggests spot metering. If your camera has the setting, place your subject in the center of the shot, press the spot metering button and depress the shutter release button halfway to lock in the exposure. Then move your subject to a different part of the shot, keeping the shutter release button halfway down while you recompose your shot. This will allow you to override the light meter and avoid washed out photos.

Digital Photo Services News, Sales and Discounts

Software

ACDSEE 7 - free 30-day trial available on this excellent photo management software to find, view, organize, edit, print, and share your photos. Read my full review.

PhotoImpact 10 - Photo Editing Software - Get free 30-day trial and a 20% discount on purchase. Download the PhotoImpact 10 trial program now for free. You will then receive a coupon code in an e-mail. When you are ready to purchase the full version you'll get 20% off your purchase of the full download version of PhotoImpact 10 instantly. Offer valid until May. 31, 2005, and applies to the PhotoImpact 10 trial version.

Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0 - on sale at Amazon for $46.99 with free shipping.

Jasc Paint Shop Photo Album 5 Deluxe - on sale at Amazon for $40.99, less $15 rebate for $25.99 final cost. Free shipping.

Roxio PhotoSuite 7 Platinum - Easy-to-use photo editing software to Instantly correct common photo problems. Create fun projects like calendars or holiday cards with simple point-and-click process. Special offer, $29.95 versus regular price of $49.99

Cameras, Accessories & Ink Cartridges

CIRCUIT CITY: Web Only: Save 10% on select digital cameras

RITZ CAMERA-CAMERA WORLD: Dad's and Grad's Gift Center is filled with great gift ideas, hot deals as well as tips and advice for taking portraits of Dad! Ritz Camera-Camera World stock all the major brands. Plus--FREE Shipping on orders over $100 and NO SALES TAX Gifts for Dad's and Grad

MY INKS.COM: Get 10% off all orders of printer ink cartridges. MyInks.com carries name brand inkjet cartridges at prices up to 80% off store prices. This is an extra 10% off their already low prices. Also get free shipping with $50 order. 10% off all orders at MyInks.com

Digital Photo Printing Services

Kodak EasyShare Gallery. is featuring a 20% discount on minimum $10 purchase, through July 15, 2005. Use Coupon Code ADSUMMER20 at checkout. Save 20% on Fathers Day gifts of mugs, mouse pads, playing cards, T-shirts, sweatshirts and aprons. Use coupon code GIFT4DAD. Valid through June 22, 2005.

SNAPFISH: In addition to 20 free prints with your first upload of photos, Snapfish is featuring an additional 15% off prints by using coupon code 15OFFPRINTS at checkout. Hurry, it expires May 31st.

SHUTTERFLY: There are several promotions going on at Shutterfly:

Father’s Day Sale
20% off order
Coupon Code: DAD2SAVE
Duration: 5/6/05 - 6/25/05

Spend $10 and get a FREE Greeting Card
Coupon Code: GREETING
Duration: 5/6/05 - 6/18/05

PHOTOWORKS: Free Compact Photo Book - $9.95 Value Free Every Day Compact Photo Book, choose your book color, page colors, layout, and add your own photo descriptions.

That's it for now. Have a great summer and remember to take your digital camera on your summer outings!

Valerie Goettsch
www.digitalphotos101.com
How to get the best from your digital camera

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