Here’s our 2nd installment on how to take a perfect portrait photo for your loved one for Valentine’s Day. And it involves what are called the “windows of the soul”…

Tip #2 – Get Eye Contact

The eyes are often speaks volumes when someone’s portrait is taken, so get up close so just the subject’s face and maybe a little shoulder can be seen. A striking & personal effect can be achieved by having the subject look straight into the camera lens .This is also quite powerful when there is little or nothing is in the background to distract the viewer in any way. The photo of Kim in our previous post is a good example of this principle as well.

Which brings me to Tip #2 1/2, which goes well with Tip #2 in this case: The subject of your portrait (and affection) can be your pet!  This is a wonderful time to get a shot of your animal companion that will foster fond memories to years to come! (Photo by Fred Bonilla). Consider including the family pet(s) in your loved one’s portrait; they can add a relaxed, comfortable effect to the final result. We’ll post an article on taking great pet pictures soon.

Tip #3 will come on Wednesday (which involves light…), but Canon fired a countering salvo to Nikon’s new Coolpixs and introduced their new cameras, including the T2i, which we’ll cover tomorrow.

This time of year throughout America, countless millions of dollars will be spent on candy, flowers, greeting cards & gifts for Valentine’s Day. And while the sentiment is certainly heartfelt, the effects can be fleeting or soon forgotten (especially when you don’t remember that your loved one LOVES milk chocolate but DETESTS dark chocolate…). Why not take a portrait of your loved one & present it as a special Valentine’s Day gift? Such a portrait shows you truly care and profoundly appreciate the person’s unique qualities. These portraits need not focus on traditional romance but on capturing the inner beauty of  your subject.

Capturing the character of yourself or your model is most effectively achieved through what we call an “environmental portrait.” To get you started and ready for the big day, I’ll be posting some tips to help you take that perfect shot that will say  “I Love You” long into the year & beyond.The ideas are simple, such as finding a flattering angle or blurring the background, but they can have a huge impact on the photos. Other tips include using props found around the house or outside and making sure to take advantage of beautiful, natural light. Let’s begin…

Tip #1 – Blur The Background

This photo of my CWS colleague Kim Williams shows how blurring the background emphasizes the face in the foreground and gives a dramatic effect to the picture. You’ll notice looking in magazines & websites that this is a technique that professional photographers commonly use to good effect. (Photo by Fred Bonilla)

If you’ve got a camera with manual controls, such as a DSLR, your can open up your lens to F/5.6 or lower to blur the background. This can also be done with point-and-shoot cameras by putting the camera on “portrait” mode. And many of the better point-and-shoot cameras give you the chance to choose a lens opening when you set the camera to the “A” or aperture priority mode, then picking an f stop of 5.6 or lower (If you have a pro quality lens for a DSLR that goes down to F2.8, here’s your time to shine!).

The dial illustrated to the right shows the portrait mode (the face) as well as the aperture priority mode (AV) that can help you acheive this effect.

Experimenting by taking the camera of off automatic and using the portrait or AV mode will instantly give you a better result in your people shots and will get you well on your way to taking that perfect portrait for the 14th. Try it!

On Monday, I’ll give Tip #2 which deals with the windows of the soul… the eyes!

This was a big week for new camera introductions. First, we had 7 new Nikon Coolpixs come into the market. Now Olympus has introduced the E-PL1, their new Micro 4/3rd compact DSLR. A more affordable version of the E-P1 & 2, it has added a much requested feature that it’s siblings does not have – a built in pop up flash. But to make to the sub $600 level ($599 to be exact), it is a little more streamlined with a smaller (2.7 inch) LCD screen, reduced ISO levels to 3200 and a maximum shutter speed of 1/2000 of a second.

But for the novice DSLR or EVIL owner, this camera will have LOADS to offer, including a Live Guide mode that will simplify & take the guess work of settings such as f-Stops, shutter speeds & white balance.  The E-PL1 will be available sometime in March.

A more detailed description of the E-PL1’s features can be found by clicking to Olympus’ webpage of the camera shown below. Next week, we’ll cover Olympus new 30x zoom hybrid point & shoot and other new products!

http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1501

Today, we’ll cover the 4 remaining Nikon Coolpix cameras that will be coming within the next 2 weeks. We are accepting preorders on any of the 7 new models, so don’t hesitate to contact us if you want any of these new cameras.

First, the Coolpix L22 replaces the L20 with 12 megapixels, 3.6x Zoom & a big,bright 3 inch LCD screen. The Easy Auto Mode with Scene Auto Selector simplifies your picture-taking experience by letting the camera automatically select the best setting to get great pictures. And their VR picture stabilization technology minimizes the effect of camera shake. Available in Black, Blue, Silver & Red (as shown), The L22 will sell for $129.

Next, we have the The Coolpix 3000 & 4000. Both have 12 megapixels with 4x wide angle zooms & VR Image Stabilization. The Coolpix 4000 (shown below in silver) will also have HD movie &  a 3 inch touch-screen panel display. The value priced Coolpix 3000 has high quality video with sound, a 2.7 inch bright LCD screen,will come in six colors – Plum, Silver, Black, Blue, Green and Orange & will sell for $149. The touch screen 4000 will come in Silver, Plum, Black, Pink  & Red and will sell for $199.

The Coolpix S6000 will have 14 megapixels & a 7x wide angle zoom that will cover a range 0f 28-196mm in 35mm & be the thinnest 7x point & shoot zoom camera in the market. It will also feature a New Creative Slider system that creates pictures the way you imagine them by simply adjusting brightness, vividness and color tone. It will be available in Bronze (as shown below), Red, Black & Silver and will sell for $249.

The highly popular Coolpix S70 touchscreen and the innovative S1000PJ with built in projector will remain in their line from 2009, making the Nikon Coolpix line the strongest & most diverse line of point & shoot digital cameras today! Allow us to show you a Coolpix that will meet your budget & needs.

Check us tomorrow for news on the brand new Olympus Micro 4/3 camera, the E-LP1! And don’t forget our “Flip” video class, tonight at 7 here at the store.

Nikon introduced it’s new line of Coolpix Point & Shoot cameras this morning and they’re going to be hot! So, we’re accepting preorders on any of the 7 models we’ll be featuring today & tomorrow! The Coolpixs were the best selling digital camera brand of the 2009 holiday season & we anticipate the same for this spring & summer. So, listen up as we tell you about the 3 top priced upcoming models…(Photos Courtesy Of Nikon USA)

First, we have the P100, their new “bridge” point & shoot with an incredible 26X zoom, faster performance than the previous P90, 3 inch variable angle LCD Display screen and Full HD movie with stereo sound! !10.3 Megapixels, this would be the perfect camera who wants more of EVERYTHING from their point & shoot! The P100 will come in Black & sell for $399.00.

Then, we have the L110, a worthy successor to to their 2009 model L100. How so? Well, an upgrade in megapixels to 12.1, 15x zoom with wide angle, the ability to take 840 photos or 7 hours of video on a set of 2 AA lithium batteries and HD video with stereo sound! It comes in Black as well, but will also come in Red (as shown) and will sell for $279.

Finally, we have the Coolpix S8000, their top of the line pocket Coolpix, with 14.2 megapixels, 10x wide angle zoom, the fastest start up and auto focus speed of any camera in it’s class & again, HD video with stereo sound. Plus,  for you soccer moms & hockey dads, a greatly improved Sport Continuous Mode,with high-speed continuous shooting at up to approximately 4 fps for 45 frames (3 MP image per shot)! This camera will come in Black, Red, Bronze & Silver & will sell for $299. These 3 cameras will ship & be in stores by the end of the month. We now are accepting pre-orders on each of these cameras: Just call us @877ecamera or if your in the Stamford area, just come in!  

Tomorrow, we’ll cover Nikon’s new touchscreen Coolpix and 3 other models. And Friday, we’ll tell you about Olympus’ new E-PL1 micro 4/3 camera. And we’ll update you with the introduction of all the cool new cameras you’ll need to know about as soon as we know!