Hampton Photo Arts

Have you ever wondered how those professional photographers make their subjects stand out from the surroundings? For example, a flower may stand out against a blurred background, or a small insect is set against a blurred leaf. Well, its not difficult to achieve this effect.

The trick is to use the selective focus technique. With this technique, we can choose one part of the image to be sharp and in focus, while the rest of the image is kept out of focus. It's very useful in macro and close-up photography.

Note that it is in fact possible to achieve the selective focus effect using image editing programs. You can simply select one part of the photo, keep it sharp and then blur the rest. However, personally, I choose to shoot the image with selective focus because the effect always looks more natural.

Hampton Photo Arts meets your photo printing needs with two account choices, both offering convenience and quality.  Home users can open a free Standard Account for easy online photo processing.  With the Photographer Account, professional and amateur photographers can showcase their prints for others to view and order. 

All our photos are produced using top-quality Fujicolor Crystal Archive Technologies for vivid colors that endure the test of time.  

Standard Account
Skip the hassle of making an extra stop to get prints of your digital photos. With our free Standard Account you can easily upload your photos to our website.  Our user-friendly interface allows you to browse and order which prints you want. Pick up your finished prints at our store in Bridgehampton, or have them shipped directly to your home. You can even organize albums online to share with your friends and family.

If you don't have or can't create a photo studio, concentrate on environmental portraiture. Show the subject and also his surroundings. These tend to work best if you can enlarge the final image to at least 11x14 inches. In any smaller photo, the subject's face is simply too small. Taking photos that will enlarge well is a whole art by itself. Your allies in this endeavor will be a low ISO setting, prime (rather than zoom) lenses, a tripod, and at least a mid-range digital SLR.

There are two elements to a photo studio for portrait photography. One is a controlled background. You want to focus attention on your subject and avoid distracting elements in the frame. Probably the best portraits aren't taken against a gray seamless paper roll. On the other hand, you are unlikely to screw up and leave something distracting in the frame if you confine yourself to using seamless paper or other monochromatic backgrounds. You don't have to build a special room to have a controlled background. There are all kinds of clever portable backdrops and backdrop supports that you can buy or build. If you absolutely cannot control the background, the standard way to cheat is to use a long fast lens, e.g., 300/2.8. Fast telephoto lenses have very little depth of field. Your subject's eyes and nose will be sharp. Everything else that might have been distracting will be blurred into blobs of color.

The issue is that many digital cameras do not perform very well under low-light conditions. To take good night photos, there are some tricks you need to remember - so here are a few of them.

Tip 1: Use Long Exposures
The key to successful night photography lies in a long exposure. We’re talking about exposures measured in seconds. When a long exposure is used, more light is allowed into the camera, allowing the details in your night photo to be captured.

The problem with using long exposures is that you may shake the camera, resulting in poor pictures. The way around this is to use a tripod. I prefer to install a tripod with a shutter-release cable to ensure that I don’t jolt the camera at all.

Photographs are vulnerable to damage. Here are some things you can do to ensure they last for the longest possible time.

Handling photographs
Handle photographs by their edges to avoid leaving fingerprints. Oils and salts in our fingertips leave permanent marks on photos and contribute to fading of the image.

Do not try to repair photographs that are torn or in pieces. Materials such as sticky tape and masking tape cause fading and staining. Keep the photograph in a folder or sleeve by itself.

Photographic materials have complex physical and chemical structures that present special preservation challenges to the librarian and archivist. Since the birth of photography in the late 1830s, many different photographic processes and materials have been utilized, each subject to deterioration through time and with use. Although deterioration is an ongoing natural process, nevertheless much can be done to slow the rate at which it takes place in photographs.

Deteriorated photographs may require specialized conservation treatment by a professional photograph conservator, often a costly, skill-demanding, and time-consuming procedure. For the majority of photographs in research collections, single-item conservation of deteriorated photographs is probably not a feasible or a cost-effective preservation solution. Instead, preventive conservation actions such as maintenance of a good environment, promoting proper care and handling through staff and user education, and the use of good quality storage housings will have a more lasting, positive impact on the preservation of a collection.

The advent of digital photography has opened new doors to amateur and professional photographers. Popular photo editing software provides a literal mini darkroom for the computer. When the editing is completed, photographers want their final product to look professional and reflect the pride they take in their work.

For over twenty years Hampton Photo Arts has provided high quality, professional processing services to photographers all over New York. They have now expanded their excellent photo print services to include mail order. With this service they can meet the needs of photographers nationwide. Hampton Photo Arts uses Fuji Crystal Archive paper, and chemicals, to assure brilliant colors, bright whites and image stability to keep customer's photos beautiful for generations to come. Daily equipment testing, assuring color accuracy and consistency, is only one aspect of their commitment to excellence.