Welcome to the first exciting post since I finished posting my mini-course last week. Phew, it was fun to work on the fly, not perfect but fuss-free and fun.

I will add a link to the course page (where all the course sections have been gathered) at the end of the post, and this week I want to add some bonus content.

Right now, Join Bionic Basil and Bentley and Pierre from the Bayou for a bundle of ideas to take your photo fun further on Pet Parade 345.

Tips and Tricks for Photos

I will start adding links to several of posts you may not have seen if you were busy with the course.

These posts cover content in more depth and will be helpful once you work your way through the mini-course. You can experiment and try different types of photo with your pet using your photo software.

• How to Get Cats to Pose for Pictures – Convince your cat(s) to do the right thing and pose.
• Dodge and Burn Your Cat – No not really! I introduce two unfamiliar tools available in most computer photo software that might transform a cat photo for you.
• Take an Action Cat Photo – Taking a cat (or any pet) in motion can be tough. Check these tips.
• Black and White Photography – Have you thought of taking a black and white photograph? You might be surprised how good your photos might be.
• Introducing a DSLR – If you are curious about what these cameras can do. Check this post.

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These are interesting times and when the going gets tough, the tough take pictures. Grab your smartphone, open your photo editing software and relax for a while.

Useful Photography Definitions

You may encounter some of these definitions when you read photo magazines or online articles. If you are not sure, read an article or photo blog post and then check the references here later. The one exception might be Derp…..

• Derp: Cat speak for a cute or dumb face pulled by your model that makes people go ‘Awwww”. Also used as a substitute for speech regarded as meaningless, or to comment on a foolish or stupid action when speaking about humans.
• Bokeh:  bokeh (/?bo?k?/BOH-k? or /?bo?ke?/BOH-kay) is the quality of out-of-focus or “blurry” parts of the image rendered by a camera lens.
• Aperture: Aperture changes how wide the lens’ opening is. Inside the camera, a set of circular blades widens and narrows as the photographer adjusts the aperture. The human eye adjusts to bright light by controlling the size of the pupil. Aperture follows a similar concept in that the opening adjusts to different light, only mechanically, not biologically – Creative Live
• ISO: Is the sensitivity of your sensor to light. The ISO setting you use depends on the amount of light in the scene you are photographing. The more light you have to work with the lower you can set your ISO. As settings go, ISO is one of the key camera menus you need to learn. – ImageMaven
• Shutter: When a camera fires, the shutter opens and fully exposes the camera sensor to the light that has passed through your lens. After the sensor is finished collecting the light, the shutter closes immediately, stopping the light from hitting the sensor – Photography Life
• Modes great for clear in-depth definitions of each mode.
• Exposure Compensation is used to alter the exposure from a value selected by the camera, making photographs brighter or darker. In Nikon modes P, S, and A, (Canon P, Av and Tv) the camera automatically adjusts settings for optimal exposure, but this may not always produce the exposure the photographer intended. Nikon
• White Balance: White balance in digital photography means adjusting colours so that the image looks more natural.  Full definition: Photography Life
• Depth of Field: DOF for short, refers to how much of an image is in focus, specifically the distance between the nearest and farthest in-focus parts of an image – SLR Lounge

Now you have lots of links, and some helpful tips to boost your learning.

I hope you join the Pet Parade for a lot of fun and some fantastic friends this week.