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Nikon is a Japanese company which makes cameras and other optical devices. It is a branded company and known for the highest customer satisfaction rate. In most of the photo studios around the world we often find digital cameras made by this particular company.

The Nikon D300 comes in a black colour which has got an enticing design. Moreover, it is enhanced with the latest digital technology. Although it is looks little bit huge it is quiet light to carry. For travelers the Nikon D300 Black is a right kind of camera which they can easily put into their bagpacks.

This handy camera weighs 29.12 grams only. So, no need of facing any kind of weight problem. If anybody likes to go for long hour photo session then this handy camera won’t be resulted into a bad experience. It comes with a 13.1 Megapixel camera which is quiet enough to take a host of high quality pictures. What’s more its memory power is based on compactflash and microdrive. Whenever an individual wishes to click new photos then he can swiftly click them without any delay.

The dimensions of the gadget are 4.5 x 5.8 x 2.9 in. This is a perfect configuration of dimensions which makes the contour of the Nikon D300 Black enticing. Most of the digital cameras made by Nikon come in the mesmerizing black colour.

While buying a camera it is always necessary to check out the warranty year and the enthusiastic buyers need not to worry about the warranty year of the Nikon D300 Black as it comes with one year warranty. Photographers who are about to pick up this elite gadget need to remember that this particular camera from the house of Nikon can last for a couple years without any glitches if they know how to handle with care. Thus finally venture into the word of beautiful pictures and images with this ultimate gadget.

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1. Nikon D700 D-SLR
2. Nikon 35mm f/2 AF-D
3. Nikon 85mm f/1.8 AF-D
4. SanDisk Extreme III Compact Flash Cards
5. Interfit 48? 5-in-1 Bounce/Diffuser
6. Nikon SB-28 Speedlight
7. (2) PocketWizard Plus II Wireless Transceiver
8. Tiffen Lens Cleaning Papers
9. Lens Cleaner Liquid
10. Open Light Studio Business Cards

A little explanation about why I chose those particular lenses: the 35mm is a great walk-around lens that is so very freeing, and the 85mm is such a fantastic portrait lens, along with even being able to use for product shots or other general closeups (we’ve utilized it instead of a macro lens on many an occasion). Personally, I love prime lenses because of their ability to open up to a wide aperture, along with being lighter, simpler, and more lower priced than zoom lenses while having better optics. We could go and buy the Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED lens instead of these two fixed lenses, but it costs $1800 and is so dang heavy that I don’t even really want to carry it on my camera. You can get both of these lenses for less than $1000 (and they open up a full stop or more than zooms), so it makes sense on every level to me. On another note, I didn’t put a 50mm only because I feel like the 35mm provides that extra field of view that makes it much more useable as a main walk-around lens.

The diffuser and bounce disc is such a great invention that I pretty much would always carry it around because it is so beneficial in any situation where you’re needing to soften harsh light, or fill in the eyes of a subject with the reflector. I love it, and I wish I could always carry around an inflateable assistant to hold this for me, but alas, those haven’t been invented yet. If you’re a portrait photographer of any kind, it is amazingly important that you shape the light, and a bounce/diffuser disc is a simple, light, inexpensive way to acheive this.

The PocketWizards along with our SB-28 is the only way to utilize a flash when you don’t want some blaring fill light (especially when utilized along with the bounce disc). They’re great because of the freedom and creativity you’re allowed in shooting and lighting. We bought the SB-28 flash because it has the transceiver plugin built into the flash, plus it’s heavy duty, and we could buy it used from B&H Photo for less than $100.

I personally think the lens cleaning tissue and liquid is just a safe backup to always have because I want to ensure top optical quality. Generally, I don’t want to be using my shirt and spit to clean off debris, finger smudges, etc on the lens. Finally, I think you should ALWAYS carry around business cards if you’re actually serious about your work and building your business, whether it’s wedding photography, architectural photography, pet portraiture, or food photography. You never know who you may run into on the street or need to make some contact of some sort.

It’s interesting to note that I didn’t include any sort of tripod; this is because as a wedding photojournalist, I rarely use one; VERY RARELY do I use one on any wedding or portrait session.

Just a note on our D700: it’s a great camera. Fantastic low-light capabilities on it’s 35mm-equivelent digital image sensor make it a no brainer for wedding photographers like us. I won’t go into detail on why we shoot with Nikon instead of Canon because I don’t have time, and in the end, it seems to me mostly a matter of personal decision because both companies make amazing cameras/lenses. I wouldn’t recommend spending the money on the D700 when starting out as a photographer because of the cost, but it is a good improvement once you’ve been able to add a few lenses to your bag and are on your way to making decent money as a photographer.

Lastly, I’ll just highlight the 85mm as THE LENS that you should have if you’re shooting portraits. It’s so amazingly crisp and clear, and it actually is very very sharp even when opened nearly all the way open to f/2.2. I usually have this lens on my camera over 50% of the time at weddings because it is so gorgeous. When you’re a wedding photographer like us, gorgeous images are key. Well, now that I think about it, beautiful images are always key. So I’ll restate it one more time: if you’re a portrait, wedding, documentary, product, family photographer, you should get this lens.

(you can view the full article along with images at the Open Light Studio Blog)

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Do you sometimes wonder why a professionally taken picture can look so full of impact? Sometimes you would realize a picture may have colors are “so bright” or a sunset that almost feels “warm” or a sky that is so “clear” and “blue” or even a portrait shot looks so “gentle” and “soft”.

The secret here is the clever use of filters. In analog (film) photography, a lens filter is attached to the front of a lens. Light passing into the camera is affected by the filter and this creates different effects in the final image.

In digital cameras, the built-in image processor mimics traditional filters to create the effects you would normally get. However, D-SLR cameras still uses physical filters as this allows for greater control of the effects of the filters.

If you are using a camera with threaded lens or a DSLR, here are several descriptions of some common photography filters that you can use to create interesting effects

UV Filter

If you use a SLR camera or a camera with threaded lens, a UV filter will be almost essential to keep on your camera all the time. It is a colorless filter and its purpose is to keep out ultraviolet light in the atmosphere and reducing atmospheric haze to capture images clearer.

Polarizing Filter

A polarizing filter cuts out reflections by preventing light waves from certain angle from passing through to the camera’s sensor (or film). This means that it also affects the light coming from water particles (i.e. clouds) in the sky at the same time enhancing the image by deepening the colors that comes through. It also is useful in shooting through surface of water and glass which are reflective.

A polarising filter gives you deep, rich and high contrast colours

Neutral Density Filter

A neutral density (ND) filter reduces the amount of light that reaches the camera’s sensor without affecting anything else such as colour. This allows you to create effects such as slow shutter speed. ND filter also come in graduated form which is particularly useful if you want to balance out the amount of lighting coming from the sky, which is generally brighter to light from the ground.

You can use an ND filter to reduce the amount of light and slow shutter speed to create effects like this

Warming Filter

Sometimes your pictures can look dull on a overcast or cloudy day. Your camera may capture an image that can appear cool. Warming filters help to add a little warmth for a more desirable effect. Sometimes strong warming filters can give that extra touch to a bright sunset.

Cooling Filter

Cooling filters does the opposite of warm filters and are less commonly used for photography. But, it helps to add saturation and impact to a dull sky.

Blue filter can give you a cool, misty morning feeling

There are also other less common filters such as the Soft-Filter (which is great for portraiture), Intensifying-Filter (to increase individual color saturation) and Infrared Filters (which enhances the effects of infrared radiation to create surreal light effects especially on green foliages).

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