Tag: photography Page 5 of 6

How To Make Your Fall Photos Pop

On October 23, 2018

There’s something so charming and lovely about fall, and it’s not only the magical colors of the falling leaves or the beautiful and softly dimmed light coming from the sky. This season brings with it a cozy, welcoming feeling, and we’re sure you have felt it too.

Now that autumn is upon us, we bring you some useful advice to consider not only when shooting during the season, but also in post-production.

1. Mind the colors

Photography during the autumn season is all about color. Try to compose your images with fall’s rich hues in mind: That golden-reddish foliage is your ultimate goal, but contrast it with some lovely greenish-blue tints or neutral tones for a balanced touch.

2. Mind the weather

Shooting in rain or snow is a fantastic way of capturing photographs that will take your breath away. But proceed with caution as doing this can damage your camera. Carry an umbrella or a waterproof coat, or better yet, invest in weather-proofing gear.

3. Look for reflections

If you’re shooting in rain, try to look for some little ponds on the streets. These little windows are great for capturing reality in a whole different perspective. Don’t worry if you get your knees muddy—it will be worth it, trust us.

4. Cities are great…

If you’re still thinking about where to go for autumn, here’s some good news: you probably don’t have to travel too far. The great thing about autumn is that cities are immersed in a very beautiful light. Wander around the streets of your hometown and you’ll see how easy it can be to shoot beautiful autumnal photos.

5. But woods are even better

If cities are great during autumn, woods are the ultimate expression of fall. The forests will be perfect for all sorts of photo shoots you can imagine. Take the kids and let them have fun playing with the leaves on the forest floor, and shoot away!

6. Shoot RAW

We can’t say this one enough: Shoot RAW whenever you can. This is the best way to recover details and maintain the season’s beautiful colors on your photographs in post-production. While it’s true that RAW files are heavy and that they limit your storage, you should be able to work around it if you’re serious about photography. Put some thought into your shots, and you’ll eventually end up shooting fewer but better-looking photographs. Quality over quantity, always.

7. White balance is key

If you shoot RAW and understand the power behind white balance, then you’ll have the most fulfilling experience with photography. All you have to do is to import your RAW files through your favorite development software and play around with the temperature and tint values from the white balance section. By doing this, you’ll achieve virtually any mood you could imagine. Use it wisely, and you’ll be all set with your fall photographs.

8. Display your photos

During autumn, not every single day is perfect for going out, and that’s fine! What you can do is to display your fall photographs on a Nixplay frame in your home. This is a great way to keep yourself inspired motivated to take better photographs.

Federico Alegria

Federico is a documentary photographer, writer and educator based in El Salvador. Check out his photography portfolio.

https://federicoalegria.com/

Tips and Tricks: How to Use a Film Camera

By Federico Alegria

On October 15, 2018

In Photography

Is film photography dead?

After digital photography skyrocketed some years ago, a very odd thing happened: film became popular again. Maybe it had something to do with the appeal of delayed gratification, or it might have coincided perfectly with the rise of hipster culture.

Endless theories could be drawn around the reason why film photography got a second stab at popularity. Film has a long way to go before dying, and if you’ve already joined the film bandwagon, here are some of our tips and tricks on how to use a film camera and improve your photography skills with film.

Our Top Film Photography Tips for Making the Most of Your Camera

1. Your camera can offer great value

Your film camera has a couple of great benefits that you may be missing right now. It doesn’t matter if it is a 35mm or a medium format camera: They both are highly desired formats in the digital world thanks to these formats’ capabilities.

For a fraction of the monetary investment digital cameras require, you can enter into the exclusive formats that are only reserved for the high pros. Also, you can access some really well-built lenses without going broke.

2. It’s a great tool for improving your photography skills

Using a film camera will eventually make you a better photographer because you’re shooting with a reduced amount of frames. Instead of spraying and praying, film photography can help you develop a more conscientious way of crafting images.

By shooting less you’ll eventually become a better and more discerning photographer. Shooting this way will teach you more than any tutorial out there on the web. You don’t have to be totally loyal to film photography—it’s just a good way of building a mindset that will make you a better photographer no matter if you keep using a digital camera, or even your phone.

3. Score some new film

Kodak recently re-launched its iconic Ektachrome film, which is a great sign. If shooting expired film is good, shooting fresh film is better. Stock up on Ektachrome now!

4. Dig around for expired film

Film has an expiration date, but it is so generous that it doesn’t matter too much for some people. Try to look around in your house for some unexposed film—even 20-year-old rolls will do—and try to develop them. The great charm about film photography is that it will always have unexpected results when shot under such stormy conditions.

5. Learn how to develop your own film

Some people like to develop their own film, and there’s a good reason why. This gives the photographic experience a completely different spectrum. Seeing your photographs appear in front of you almost out of nowhere is an experience every person should have at least one in their lives.

Now, getting film developed is one thing, but printing it out is another story. Film scanners have become pretty popular these days, and they are extremely powerful too. You can scan out your film, invert it, and display it directly on a Nixplay digital frame. This saves you the effort of printing out your negatives. Your frame can also serve as a portable lightbox where you can see all the negatives before deciding which images are worth printing out.

The Beauty of Film Photography

At the end of the day, what matters most is the beautiful relationship between a person and their photographs. Using a film camera offers you something that you can only dream of achieving through a mobile phone camera. Its timeless beauty with unexpected imperfections and charming effects cannot tryly be replicated with an Instagram filter.

Photography is a popular hobby that is ever-growing with new members, creatives, and ideas. With modern gadgets and devices being brought out frequently to expand the field, more and more people are developing an interest in the topic. If you’re a photography fanatic with all the gadgets, you may want to try a Nixplay digital photo frame—the only one of its kind that can play both video and photos through the display screen. Show off all your favorite memories in ultra-high pixel density with the click of a button on the next-generation smart frame. Find your Nixplay frame today.

Federico Alegria

Federico is a documentary photographer, writer and educator based in El Salvador. Check out his photography portfolio.

https://federicoalegria.com/

4 Easy Ways to Instantly Improve Your Mental Health

By Mars Salazar

On October 10, 2018

In Lifestyle

There’s some stigma attached to mental health problems, but the fact remains that these are issues which a surprisingly large portion of the global population deal with. Fortunately, it’s a topic that is garnering more and more attention in recent years, and for good reason.

Although serious problems require professional help, these four easy ways to instantly improve your mental health should help brighten your spirits in times of woe. Read on.

1. Exercise

Exercise is a natural endorphin-releasing activity, and although you may not always feel like going to the gym or doing strenuous exercise, you’ll naturally feel much better after doing so. Generally speaking, the better your body’s health is, the better your mind’s health becomes. Exercise for at least 20 minutes a day and track your progress to make it a part of your daily routine.

2. Take pictures

If you’re looking for a hobby that is relatively easy to pick up, photography is always a great choice. Whether you’re taking snaps on your smartphone or capturing long-exposure shots with a high-end DSLR camera, producing and retouching photos is one of the most calming hobbies out there, especially if you’re in a beautiful natural environment. You could even display your images on your Nixplay Wi-Fi Cloud Frame to remind you of your favorite memories. Your Nixplay Frame can also serve as a portfolio of sorts, helping you gain pride in your accomplishments.

3. Don’t be shy to ask for help

Whether you need serious help or you just need to get some problems off your chest, suffering in silence is sure to lead down a slippery slope if you’re not careful. When you feel like you’re not coping well with life, it’s best to talk to someone who can help you. It doesn’t have to be a psychologist–a close friend or family member whom you can confide in can still do wonders for your mental health.

4. Make time for yourself

We all need a little time to ourselves, no matter how much we love the people whom we surround ourselves with. Whether its 30 minutes in a nice bath or a couple of hours on Netflix, it’s important to unwind by yourself from time to time. This simple act of self-care goes a long way in keeping your mental health and stability in check.

Mars Salazar

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

nixplay blog importance of having a curated instagram feed

The Importance Of Having A Curated Instagram Feed

By Federico Alegria

On October 3, 2018

In Customer Testimonials, Photography

Photography has turned out to be the universal language among us human beings, and many people haven’t realized the important role photographs have in their lives nowadays. Today we want to give you something to think about: The quality of content on your Instagram feed.

With such a massive invasion of images flooding our feeds constantly, keeping a highly curated Instagram feed is going to enhance your life like nothing else before. And we are not saying this in a cocky way, but you should keep your Instagram feed under control in order to make it a useful thing in your life. Otherwise, you’ll end up looking at tons of pictures with no meaning at all in your professional and your personal life.

Curated Instagram for Stronger Bonds

Keep Things Exclusive

First, let’s talk about our personal lives. It is impossible that we could ever have hundreds (or even thousands) of truly close friends and family. It is important to have a certain degree of exclusivity when it comes to our personal Instagram Feed, and you shouldn’t feel bad about it. This should respond to our necessity of keeping in touch with the lives of the people that we truly care about. For broad networking, use other social media accounts like Facebook or LinkedIn.

This Will Be Your Window to What Matters to You

Have you noticed that the family photo album has become almost extinct? This object was one of the most important assets for any family just a couple of decades ago. Now, all the images, from school pictures to travel photos, are floating in the cloud.

As long as we keep control of the beautiful things technology has to offer to us, there is no reason to freak out about this.

Less is More

You should keep in mind that not everything that is being published out there is meaningful for you; hence the necessity of keeping your Instagram feed curated. Otherwise, how would you strengthen those bonds that made the family album a valuable asset of the household?

Curated Instagram Feeds to Create Better Stuff

Your Instagram Feed as your Daily Input

The creative economy has become extremely powerful in the last years, and every creative needs to keep consuming stuff to keep updated and relevant within their respective disciplines. If you are a creative, you’ll understand this without further explanations.

Developing a Useful-Instagram Mindset

You need to see your Instagram account as a pristine place to consume the finest images out there from the creators you admire the most, as well as the peers you adore and respect. Instagram is fantastic because it allows you to discover emerging talents, as well as many great creators from all over the world.

How to Curate Your Instagram Feed

Just keep things separated. Your personal Instagram account should only have family members you care about, as well as your closest friends. Your professional Instagram account should be a meaningful place for your discipline; a portfolio that embodies your work.

The best way is to start fresh, keeping things clean right from the beginning. Of course, this isn’t always the case, so you should start doing some cleansing by designing a set of criteria that will make your feed exclusive. For example:

❌ Promotions from the newest creamery on the block
✔ The Photographer that made you fall in love with photography

High-Quality Image Consumption

You won’t escape the current state of image consumption in the world, but what you can do is to have a higher quality experience while looking at them. Viewing images through a frame satisfies this because there are no distractions such as text messages or app notifications.

Now, imagine having your highly curated Instagram feed showcased in a digital frame that will give you a richer connection between you and your loved ones. It’s almost like going to a gallery with all your favorite creatives, right at your own place.

This is exactly what you can get with a Nixplay frame: An absolutely nurturing image consumption experience with no distractions at all, updated in real time. Unlike other digital frames, Nixplay lets you update your images wherever in the world you may be.

Always Keep This in Mind

One thing that you need to keep clear about when curating (or even designing) your feed, is that Instagram was born as a social network in which the only way of sharing stuff is via images. Nowadays there are comments and direct messages, but the spirit of the platform is still the same: Image-based content, period.

Therefore, you should only follow accounts that publish images that will inspire you or will keep you uplifted, and not the other way around. If you can manage to spot those accounts, you’ll be a healthy image consumer.

Federico Alegria

Federico is a documentary photographer, writer and educator based in El Salvador. Check out his photography portfolio.

https://federicoalegria.com/

6 Reasons To Digitize Your Photos As Soon As Possible

By Mars Salazar

On August 3, 2018

In Photography

If your family is like most, you probably have a stash of printed photos and film rolls at home. Some may be meticulously laid out in photo albums and frames, while others are stocked in boxes or kept in the envelopes from the photo store. These images serve as tender reminders of a simpler time, triggering nostalgia within seconds.

However, these photos are in danger of being left behind during the mass migration to the digital sphere. Digitizing printed photos can be tedious work, with dozens—maybe even hundreds—of images needed to be labeled, sorted and scanned. Add in the process of organizing the prints for safekeeping and the time you’ll inevitably spend reminiscing over your memories, and you’ll surely take a long time.

The good thing about this process is that there’s no deadline. There’s no real need to rush—you can take all the time in the world. But of course, the sooner you accomplish it, the more secure your photos (and their accompanying memories) will be.

This is where the Association of Personal Photo Organizers (APPO) come in. APPO trains and supports professional Photo Organizers who can make sense of your photo collection. They can curate and safeguard your precious images so you and your loved ones can keep enjoying them in the years to come. This way, your photos, as well as the memories you’ve made through the years, won’t be an “out of sight, out of mind” situation.

If you’re still on the fence about hiring a professional Photo Organizer, here are a few reasons why you should give them a call soon.

1. Prevent your photos from deteriorating.

At the end of the day, your printed photos are flimsy and extremely susceptible to damage. The paper will turn brittle and yellow, the vibrant colors will fade, and the details will be gone. A Photo Organizer can use state-of-the-art organization and preservation methods to ensure that your precious images will stand the test of time.

2. Remember moments you might have forgotten.

Your memory won’t remain sharp forever. In fact, we bet you can’t even remember what you had for lunch two weeks ago—that’s how fleeting memories can be. What more when it comes to events that happened several years ago? Organizing and scanning your images will force you to take a deep dive into the past in order to provide the necessary documentation for your printed photographs.

3. Avoid damage from natural causes.

You never know when a major disaster like a flood, earthquake, or fire might strike. Will you have the time to fix your photo collection when more pressing matters are at stake? With an archived photo library stored in the cloud, you can still have a reminder of some of the most enjoyable times of your life even when the printed images you took back then are gone.

4. Proper organization.

Ever gone digging through your printed photo albums in search of a particular photo from a specific time? It can be such a hassle if you’ve got a lot of images to go through, especially if your albums and boxes are not labeled properly. A Photo Organizer can help you sort through all your photos so you’ll never have a problem looking for a certain picture again.

5. Easy sharing and reminiscing.

When all your printed images are archived and stored on the cloud, you can share your photos with loved ones with just a couple of clicks. Sharing your memories is even easier when you and your loved ones have Nixplay Frames—just a few taps, and you’re done!

6. Preserve your memories.

The best thing about hiring a professional Photo Organizer to fix your files? All your precious images will be safely stored online and can be easily accessed by future generations without much fuss. This way, your photos—and the memories they hold—can be kept safe forever.

Click here to find an APPO-certified Photo Organizer.

Mars Salazar

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.