Digital Photography Hacks

Why Digital Photography Hacks?

The term hacking has a bad reputation. It is often referred to as the process for breaking into computers and turning them into weapons of discord. Among people who write code, though, the term hack refers to a "quick-and-dirty" solution to a problem, or a clever way to get something done. And the term hacker is taken as a compliment, referring to someone being creative and having the technical chops to get things done.

The Hacks series is an attempt to reclaim the word, document the good ways people are hacking, and pass the hacker ethic of creative participation on to the uninitiated. Seeing how others approach systems and problems is often the quickest way to learn a new technology.

This collection of hacks reflects the real-world experience of photographers who are steeped in photographic history and expertise. They share their no-nonsense and, sometimes, quick-and-dirty solutions to "getting the shot." This book contains tips for working indoors, outdoors, during the day, at night, in front of the computer, and even with a camera phone in hand.

Each hack can be absorbed in a few minutes, saving countless hours of searching for the right answer. Digital Photography Hacks provides direct, hands-on solutions that can be applied to the challenges that face both new users, who are meeting the digital camera for the first time, and longtime users, who are already toting hefty digital SLRs. I'm confident that this collection contains many gems that will delight you.

How to Use This Book

You can read this book from cover to cover if you like, but for the most part, each hack stands on its own. If there's a prerequisite you ought to know about, there'll be a cross-reference to guide you on the right path. So feel free to browse, flipping around to the sections that interest you the most.

I've written the book this way for a reason. Exploring photography is not a linear process. You don't wake up one morning and say, "Today I'm going to learn everything there is to know about aperture settings." I remember standing in a camera store and overhearing a customer talking to the salesperson. He said, "Yes, last week I mastered black-and-white photography, and now I'm ready to conquer color." Photography just doesn't happen that way.

Instead, what you might say when you wake up in the morning is, "I need to figure out how to shoot tonight's lunar eclipse." Chances are, you really don't care about the history of aperture settings or the relative brightness of the moon compared to the sun. What you want to know is how to get the shot. And if that requires clamping your digital camera to an old telescope and using gaffer's tape to hold it in place, so be it.

If this approach makes sense to you, so will the organization of this book. When you need to solve a problem, I'm hoping that you'll find the solution, or at least a clue, in the following pages. The Table of Contents is comprehensive, as is the Index. Use them to search out your answers. And if you're just in the mood to try something new, open the book to any page and say, "I'm going to do this project today."

How This Book Is Organized

Even though this book is designed for you to "open anywhere and start exploring," it's also organized into general categories. There are eight chapters, many of which contain more than a dozen hacks:

Chapter 1, Digital Camera Attachments
Let's start with the goodies. This chapter introduces you to the various odds and ends that you can attach to your camera to help you accomplish hacks in subsequent chapters. Along the way, you'll become familiar with most of the basic terminology we use to describe camera parts.

Chapter 2, Daytime Photo Secrets
Even though creative juices often flow in the wee hours of the night, photography requires light, and there's no source more plentiful than the sun. But if you think this is just another chapter on boring daylight technique, you're wrong. We'll have you stretching things over the front of your lens, spinning your camera around in circles, and getting so close to objects you'll think you're exploring another world altogether.

Chapter 3, Nighttime Photo Hacks
The stars come out at night, and so does evocative photography. Through your lens, you'll capture streaming lights, exploding fireworks, and glowing candles. Colors seem richer against a dark background, and the images you produce by working with these hacks will saturate your eyes.

Chapter 4, Magic with Flash
For many photographers, the camera flash is an untamed beast that never behaves. But there are situations in which a burst of light can make the difference between success and a ho-hum result. This chapter provides a collection of hacks that will change your mind about electronic flash.

Chapter 5, The Computer Connection
Your PC is a digital shoebox, sophisticated darkroom, and mad-scientist laboratory rolled into one. The minute you connect your camera to the computer, magical things can happen. Not only will this chapter help you improve your technical chops, but it also provides step-by-step instructions on how to become a movie maker, web publisher, and master printer.

Chapter 6, Photoshop Magic
If you really want to push the limits of photography, you need to explore Photoshop. Often, the Elements version is bundled with cameras. If it isn't included with yours, you can buy it for less than US$80. But then what? This chapter is pure Photoshop for photographers. Your entire image-editing world will change as you investigate these hacks, and you'll find yourself in charge of your pictures instead of at their mercy. Most of the techniques work with the cheaper Photoshop Elements software, while some require the professional CS version. Still, there is plenty here for anyone with any version of this outstanding image editor.

Chapter 7, Camera-Phone Tricks
Have you looked at the instruction manual that came with your camera phone? Not very helpful, is it? We think camera phones have great creative promise, in addition to some practical applications. So we've dedicated an entire chapter to mastering this raw but potentially exciting aspect of photography.

Chapter 8, Weekend Photo Projects
This chapter is a grab bag of photo goodies. Treats include instructions on how to create your own coffee-table book

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