Graphic Photography

So what is Expression Web?

noreply@blogger.com (Faren) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:19:00 +0000

Expression Web is an HTML editor and general web design software product by Microsoft. In Expression Web you can design and develop web pages by with the help of XML, XSLT, PHP and JavaScript. It supports for a wide range of essential technologies like PHP, HTML/XHTML, XML/XSLT, CSS, JavaScript, ASP.NET and ASP.NET, Silverlight, Flash, Photoshop files and video/audio for webcasting. It also uses it own standards-based rendering engine, which is different from Internet Explores Trident engine.

This program is suited for both beginners and expert in building web site. Building-based websites is faster and easier to make here. You can drag and drop controls simplify adding rich media, such as Silverlight from Microsoft Expression Blend^®, Silverlight video, Adobe Flash, and Windows Media. With the advanced Adobe Photoshop you can import your Photoshop file which give you a total control over imported layers and transparency.

Go to http://any-expression.com/expression-web/tutorials/ to view Expression Web tutorials.

Thank you for reading.

Have a good day!

Adobe Illustrator

noreply@blogger.com (Faren) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:26:00 +0000

Adobe Illustrator can be classified as a powerful program because of everything that you can create in it. It is a vector graphic editor developed and marketed by Adobe Systems. It also provides results in the typesetting and logo graphic areas of design.

It features include:

Sophisticated vector drawing tools, stroke perspective drawing, Gradients and transparency, Blob Brush Advanced typography, Flexible brushes, Brushes with corner control, Live Trace, Live Color, Clipping masks , 3D effects Blend and shape builder tool.

Adobe Illustrator can get confusing at times but if you continuously work with the program you get to know and understand it the program better.If you have not heard of Illustrator before or have not worked with, there are always tutorials that you can follow on the Internet to help you create mind-blowing designs.

If you are interested in viewing tutorial visit the site below:

http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/design/learn-adobe-illustrator/

Here are a few of my own designs that I have created in Illustrator. Just to give you a glimpse of what you can create in Illustrator.

My first year designs:

Logo Design

Kitchen Design

House Design

Banner

Thank you for viewing my post

Enjoy the day!

Things to consider when creating a website

noreply@blogger.com (Faren) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 01:01:00 +0000

1.Select a colour scheme and stick to it.

I know it is difficult to stick to a color scheme because one tends to change you ideas often. It is better to stick to your first idea and go forward with it. If your company has a logo or preferred colours on its stationery that’s a good start. For those of you starting from scratch, choose two or three complementary colours and stick with them – don’t change colours on every page.

The most common colour schemes include:

-Red, yellow and white
- Blue and white
- Red, grey and white
- Blue, orange and white
- Yellow, grey and white.

2. Use templates.

If you not sure how you want your template to look you can always choose a template. There are many templates or pre-set designs.

Visit: www.web4business.com.au emplates1.htm
www.newtemps.com

3.User-friendly navigation system

This is an important issue. Many users tend to always complain about this. How they find it difficult to navigate to different pages on your site. Make sure you make it visible and easy to use.

Most websites either display their navigation bar on the left or at the top. And since most people are used to this type of navigation, it’s best to stick with it. It also helps to include your navigation bar at the bottom of each page to save your visitors from having to scroll back to the top.

You can also include a sitemap to make things even easier. If you website is more than 15 pages, it is useful to have a site map or a “Search” feature to ensure your visitors can easily find what they’re looking for.

4. Don’t over do your site with too many effects

Whilst it is ok to have one or two special effects to jazz up your website, spinning graphics and logos often distract your visitor from the content, not to mention they can take too long to download. Your visitors may click away even before your spinning logo finishes loading.

5. Backgrounds

Ensure your visitors can read the text on the background, ie. no black writing on dark blue background or yellow on white. Also be careful that your links are visible before and after being visited. The default for links in most programs is blue (before being visited) and burgundy (after being visited), so if you have a dark background, ensure your links are light.

6. External Links

It is a good idea to open links to other websites in a new window. That way your visitors can easily return to your site when they are finished browsing the external link

8. Have a brilliant content

While it is important that your website looks clean and professional, it is far more important that you concentrate your efforts on the content and promotion.

If you want to create a professional web site try to avoid the following:

1. Flash intros, revolving globes, bevelled line separators, animated mail boxes
2. Loads of pop up or pop under boxes
3. Autoplay music. Allow your customer to play music only if they choose.
4. Hit counters of the free variety, which say, “you are 5h visitor”
5. Date and time stamps, unless your website is updated daily or weekly
6. Busy backgrounds.

Thank you for reading

Have a good day!

Graphic Designers

noreply@blogger.com (Faren) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 00:57:00 +0000

Usually describes as something you create that is pleasing to the eye and attracts the viewer’s attention. Graphic design can also be classified as a combination of text and graphics. When designing logos, graphics, brochures, corporate identities, newsletters, posters, signs and any type of visual communication, it often creates an effective message to the viewers. Graphic designers often use desktop publishing software and techniques to achieve their goals.

There are many things related to graphic design. Its not just creating a picture on paper and adding a few colors. It takes skills and creative thinking to be a Graphic Designer. You should know what you want to achieve, how you are going to achieve it and who your target market is. Be creative and make sure what you want to create does not only look cool but works as well.

Dictionary.com says this:
"The practice or profession of designing print or electronic forms of visual information, as for an advertisement, publication, or website."

Ever thought of becoming a Graphic Designer and not sure if there are career paths?

There are many career paths to take within the field of Graphic Design.

Here are a few career choices I could think of:

· Book designer

· Web designer (I would recommend this career)

· Logo and banner designer

· Branding

· Illustration and Advertising

More information about what Graphic Designers do, view site below:

http://www.tmdesigns.co.za/index.php?option=com_neoreferences&Itemid=23&catid=1

Thank you for reading.

Have a good day!

Making the most of advertising banners

noreply@blogger.com (Faren) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 23:15:00 +0000

Banners are the most important form of Internet advertising. It can be highly interactive and the action is performed immediately. Not only does it attract customers but is can also be converted into sale. The main point of the banner is to attract the customers.

A few point to bare in mind before creating you online banner campaign.

The purpose of your banner is to attract the right target market to purchased your products or services.
Strengthen and create brand awareness.
The text and graphics you will be using in the banner. If you wish to insert a message inside your banner, make sure message is strong and to the point.
Animated banners are better than static ones because it involves the user by attracting their attention more effectively.

An important factor to remember is to advertise your product or service and not your website. It is important to link the page that the product is on as apposed to the home page for the viewer or potential customer do not want to look for your product. They will most likely just leave the website for they do not want to spend time looking for the product that was advertise.

Thank you for reading
Have a great day!

Owning a Camera

noreply@blogger.com (Faren) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 08:17:00 +0000

If a picture is worth a thousand words then surely that must justify that a proper camera is worth thousands of Rands. Getting the right camera is not as easy as going to the shop and buying it off the shelf. That can be done, but you might not be as happy as you think or worth your while. So much to look at! There is camera lens, camera pixels, camera model plus the brand and what is the camera going to be used for? So many different variables that that play at hand. Next time you go to the camera shop for your new camera keep that in mind. My advice would be to do a little research before you go and splash the cash.

For more information view the site below. You can find out about lens elements and image, quality influence of lens, the focal length zoom lens vs. prime lens and many more.

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-lenses.htm

If you want view different brands of cameras and prices, you can go to:

http://www.takealot.com/electronics/browse?cat=212&brand=Canon&gclid=CLvVhrnU3asCFYQntAodNQOnOQ for more information.

Lastly here are few cameras that http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/recommended-cameras.htm recommend, which can help you as a photographer can use.

Thank you for reading!

Have a good day!

Designing can be fun

noreply@blogger.com (Faren) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:06:00 +0000

We mostly focus on logo, banner, and corporate id design for companies. It also involves designing and developing of websites. The layout, structure and whole design of the website. You can view my Gallery page to see a few designs that I have done in Photoshop and Illustrator for my assignments, just to give you a preview of what we have learned so far.

You can use different effects on different images. It is so easy to edit your images via Photoshop. Anything you can think of. Either creating your own ideas for example combining two or three images together to make one. There are so many tools and option to choose from. Once you get the hand of it you will be able to create anything you like.

Visit the site below if you want to learn more about Photoshop and its tools or you can also click on the YouTube link on the video bar. It will link you directly to the YouTube site where you can view tutorials on Abode Photoshop CS4 or the latest version Adobe Photoshop CS5.

http://photoshoptutorials.ws/

Here is a little something that I think will make your day…..or hopefully a smile!

Thank you for reading!

Have a blessed dayJ

Photography continues

noreply@blogger.com (Faren) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 13:41:00 +0000

!READ ME!

Photography can be one of the most enjoyable hobby or profession one can have. I don’t know about you but I can spend hours taking pictures. Can be for birthdays, pictures of family and friends, the outside world or just random picture outside in the garden.

Another exciting thing of photography is editing the images. The contrast, brightness and color correction. Here is where you can combine your graphic design knowledge with photography. They actually go well together. View my gallery page to see a few of my images that I have edited.

Coming back to photography here are some fun facts that I read on the internet. I can say that I relate to a few of the facts. Read and see if it relates to you as well.

Funny facts about photography

- 1 GB of memory lasts most people a month but barely lasts you the afternoon.

- You know what aperture-priority means.

- You delete more photos in a week than most people make all year.

- You need just one more lens.

- You’ve crawled on the ground to get a shot of something rusty.

- Your camera equipment is worth more than your car.

- No one else brings a camera to an event if they know you’re coming.

- Your family doesn’t recognize you without a camera covering your face.

- You have thousands of pictures and you’re not in any of them.

- You’ve been up before dawn or out in the freezing cold or even done something semi-dangerous… all for a photograph. (my sisters almost kill me right after that shot loll!)

- When you go to movies you spend more time trying to figure out their lighting than trying to figure out the plot

- When you lose track of a dramatic conversation between two characters in a movie because you're too busy paying attention to the nice bokeh behind them....

- When you lose track of the entire movie by thinking about which lenses were used in each shot...

- You're addicted to Flickr

Follow the link below

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisaa5/2772415153/

Thank you for reading.

Feel free to add any comments.

Have a wonderful!

Learn something about photography

noreply@blogger.com (Faren) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 21:44:00 +0000

As you know by now Photography is something that has always been a passion of mine .After browsing through the internet, researching and finding out more about photography I have learned quite a few things about it. Knowing what to expect when one actually does the photography course and what you can actually learn out of it. I read about a photographer that has experienced a few things doing photography and i would like to share them with you.

Read the article below...hope you can learn something from it.

Original link:

http://www.digital-photography-school.com/100-things-ive-learned-about-photography

'Martin Gommel is a photographer on Flickr that I’ve been admiring for a while. Martin also has a blog called KWERFELDEIN (German) and has generously offered to to translate one of his photography articles for Digital Photography School. I’ve also made a few minor amendments/translations – and hope that between us we’ve created a helpful article for you. PS: the images in this post are all Martin’s – enjoy.

100 Things I’ve Learned About Photography

Since I found photography two and a half years ago I have learned different things which I would like to share with you today. These lessons have made me richer and I hope that you will find them refreshing and inspiring on your journey with the camera, too.
1. Never do photography to become a rock-star.
2. Enjoy what you are shooting.
3. Prepare well for your shooting, realizing that your battery isn’t charge when you’re setting up for that sunrise shoot is too late!
4. Always take one warm garment more than you actually need with you
5. Pay attention to your thoughts and emotions while you are shooting
6. Set goals you can achieve
7. Write tips about photography, because writing is also learning
8. Never go shooting without a tripod
9. Be pleased with the little prosperities
10. Build relationships with potential photo buddies
11. Watch the place you want to shoot first with your heart then with the camera
12. Always stay calm
13. Know that you tend to overestimate yourself
14. Perspective is the killer
15. Dedicate yourself to photography, but never browbeat yourself too much
16. Take part in a photography community
17. Keep your camera clean
18. Never compare yourself to others in a better or worse context
19. Find your own style of photography
20. Try to compose more and to hit the shutter less
21. Seek out and learn to accept critique on your images
22. Do something different to recover creativity
23. Get inspiration from the work of other photographers
24. Criticize honestly but respectfully
25. Get feedback from your lady
26. Don’t copy other photographer’s style
27. Be bold
28. Take care of the golden ratio
29. 10mm rocks!
30. Take selfportraits
31. Read books about photography
32. To give a landscapephotograph the extra boost, integrate a person (maybe yourself)
33. Every shooting situation is different than you expect
34. Pay attention to s-curves and lines
35. Always shoot in RAW
36. Keep your sensor clean, so you can save some work cleaning your image in post production
37. Discover the things you think are beautiful
38. It takes time to become a good photographer
39. The best equipment is that what you have now
40. You can’t take photographs of everything
41. Break the rules of photography knowingly, but not your camera
42. Pay attention to the different way that light falls on different parts of your scene
43. The eye moves to the point of contrast
44. Clouds increase the atmosphere of a landscape
45. Start a photoblog
46. Accept praise and say “thank you”
47. ‘Nice Shot’ is not a very useful comment to write
48. ‘Amazing!’ isn’t useful either. Try to describe specifically what you like or don’t like about an image.
49. You are not your camera
50. Ask a question at the end of your comment on a photo to get a ping-pong conversation with the photographer
51. Do a review of your archives on a regular basis, the longer you photograph – the more diamonds are hidden there
52. Always clarify what the eyecatcher (focal point) will be in your image
53. No image is better than a bad one
54. Everyone has to start little
55. Your opinion about photography is important!
56. Leave a funny but thoughtful comment
57. Speak about your experiences with your photo buddies
58. Limit your photograph to the substance
59. Participate in Photocontests
60. Post processing = Optimizing your image to the best result
61. Shoot exposure latitudes as often as possible
62. Use photomatix as seldom as possible, HDR’s always have a synthetic flavor
63. Always remember what brought you to photography
64. Never shoot a person who doensn’t want to be photographed
65. Always turn arround, sometimes the better image is behind you
66. It’s who’s behind the camera, not the camera
67. Mistakes are allowed! The more mistakes you make, the more you learn!
68. If you have an idea and immediately you think : No, this is not going to work – Do it anyway. When in doubt – always shoot.
69. Understand and look to your histogramm while shooting. It delivers very important information about your image
70. Know your camera, because searching the menu button in the night is time you don’t want to waste
71. Shoot as often as possible
72. Believe in yourself
73. Don’t be afraid of getting dirty
74. Pay attention to qualitiy in your image
75. Your photographs are a personal map of your psyche
76. Re-check your ISO-Settings. It’s aweful to detect the wrong settings on your screen.
77. Be thankful for long and thoughtful comments on your images
78. Never trust your LCD. Normally it is brighter and sharper as the original image.
79. Provide for enough disc space, because it’s cheap and you will need it.
80. Learn to enjoy beautful moments when you don’t have a camera with you.
81. Always arrive at least half an hour earlier before sunrise / sundown, composing in a hurry is a bad thing.
82. Try to amplify your mental and physical limits. Takes some extra shots when you think “it’s enough”
83. Pay attention to structures in the sky and wait until they fit into structures in the foreground
84. Visit the same place as often as possible. Light never shows the same mountain.
85. Print your images in big size. You will love it.
86. Calibrate your monitor. Working with a monitor that is not accurate is like being together with someone you can’t trust. It always ends badly.
87. Don’t think about what others may say about your image. If you like it, it’s worth publishing.
88. Never address reproaches to yourself. Learn from your mistakes and look forward, not backward.
89. Fight your laziness ! Creativitiy comes after discipline.
90. Ask yourself : What do you want to express in your images ?
91. Always try to think outside the box, collect new ideas about photographs you could do and ask yourself : Why not?
92. Search for a mentor.
93. Photography is never a waste of time.
94. Every community has it’s downsides. Don’t leave it out of an emotional response.
95. There will always be people who will not like what you are doing.
96. Henri Cartier-Bresson was right when he said that “Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.”
97. A better camera doesn’t guarantee better images.
98. Always have printing in mind when you postprocess your images.
99. Photography is fair : You gain publicity with the quality of your images. Unless the images are stolen, there is no way of cheating yourself higher.
100. Write a 100 things list

Do you have learned something that I didn’t mention ? I would be glad if you let me know it as a comment, so I can learn from you ! '

Thanks for reading!

Please look forward to my next post...hopefully you will like what you see!

GP- Read all About it!

noreply@blogger.com (Faren) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:15:00 +0000

Welcome to Graphic Photography. A company that i have created for an assignment in Online Web Marketing. I’m currently studying Web Design and development at Prestige Academy in Cape town and i specialize in Web designing. I have year and a half experience in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, HTML and CSS (creating websites),Microsoft Expression Web, Dreamweaver, AdobeSoundbooth, AdobeFlash (ActionScript), Javascript, StructuredQuery Language(SQL), Catalyst and Premiere(CS4) . We have worked with After Effects which will involve the graphic design part. This year I will be completing my studies in Web Design and Development. Then I will have learned ASP.NET and PHP. This blog mainly involves what i as a student enjoys doing editing and optimizing of photos, graphic designing and animated banners.

Photography is also another passion of mine. The photography part of this small business involves pictures that I have taken over the past years. I have seen a few photography sites and this has really inspired me to continue next year with a graphic photography more in detail. Below are some links to their sites. These are mainly magazine sites.

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/07/10/35-beautiful-photography-websites/

Here are some images that I have taken beginning of this year. I went to Palaborwa for a week and in that week I went to Nelspruit and took these pictures. I hope you enjoy the view like I did when I took the pictures.

If you want to learn about HTML and CSS then you can view the link below. It shows you how to use and apply it afterwards. This you can use when you want to create your own website or create a website for a friends, family member or a business.

http://www.htmldog.com/guides/cssbeginner/

Please look forward to my next post which will be posted soon.

Thank you for viewing Graphic Photography.

Enjoy the day!