How do I do the following tricks?

[RealWorlder]

Hello all this is my first post and Im so glad that I found this website. I bought a digital camera over the summer its a Nikon 3100 coolpix and so far I like it. I am in the process of making a website with the pics that I take and what not. I have a few questions though,
*I have been trying to take pics in the dark and they never come out that great what is the trick for taking pics in the dark?
*I have a picture that I have turned into black/white but I would like for some things in the picture to maintain its original color anybody know how to make this trick using those photo suite programs? For example, the picture is of a boy sitting on a big ball color red, blue and yellow and I want the pic to be black and white but i want to the ball to remain with those colors.
*What is a good program for photo editing, special effects and what not?
*How do u make that special effect of when ur take a picture of someone standing in fron of passing cars and building at night and you make as if the cars were moving in the picture but the person remains normal? for example, u dont really see the cars and the people around but instead you see yellow lines. LIke that madonna "ray of light" video...

[PacAce]

RealWorlder wrote:
*I have been trying to take pics in the dark and they never come out that great what is the trick for taking pics in the dark?

Proper exposure! Use a flash if the subject is relatively close (within 9 or so feet) to you. If flash is not an option, then open up the aperture and use a slower shutter speed. Of course, you'll need a tripod if you drop the speed down to below 1/60.

RealWorlder wrote:
*I have a picture that I have turned into black/white but I would like for some things in the picture to maintain its original color anybody know how to make this trick using those photo suite programs? For example, the picture is of a boy sitting on a big ball color red, blue and yellow and I want the pic to be black and white but i want to the ball to remain with those colors.

Use an editor like Photoshop and use layers of the same picture, one in BW and the other in color. Then, in the colored layer, you can erase everything but the objects you want in color.

RealWorlder wrote:
*What is a good program for photo editing, special effects and what not?

Adobe Photoshop although it's a bit pricey. You can get one for around $270 if you're a student or a teacher. I'm sure there are others, too, but I don't have any experience with them.

RealWorlder wrote:
*How do u make that special effect of when ur take a picture of someone standing in fron of passing cars and building at night and you make as if the cars were moving in the picture but the person remains normal? for example, u dont really see the cars and the people around but instead you see yellow lines. LIke that madonna "ray of light" video...

One way that kind of image is made is to take a flash picture of the subject but with the aperture set to a small opening and the shutter sets to a slow speed so that passing cars and pedestrians are blurred out. The subject will have to hold still though and you'll need a tripod although handholding the camera may add some interesting motion blur effects too.

I can't give you the specifics but, since you're shooting digital, you can always experiment with the different settings until you get what you want. And that's the best way to learn, too...by trying out different things to find out what works and what doesn't.

[karusel]

It seems pacace did quite a job here :)

Just a remark: unless you perform flawlessly in photoshop your photos will look as if done in haste. Anyway, personally I look down on these games in photoshop, since you can practically paint over the photos, add a zillion of effects, change colors, inverse them, delete some, substitute others... I can do it, but I don't kind of like it, because it just isn't true. It's less art then shooting good photos. With photoshop, a **** photo can become a superb photo, and somehow it just isn't fair.. or right, I don't know... :/

[PhotoAZ]

"Art is not just some fellow's name."

I have been in the business of photography for about twenty years now and find that all good photography is not about truth but about perception.

If someone wants me to take their picture they want it to be best that they can look. To be an honest portrait shouldn't I also have images of them scratching, yawning, blank looks, along with the posed and bright image of them smiling and intelligent? I can but they will only want the best looking one. Is this truth?

If I can remove a zit or dark circle under the eyes in Photoshop that may not be there next week is this being dishonest? How many of us remember our grandmothers as wrinkled old women or as loving caregivers that we treasure in our hearts. A soft focus image of her is not going to take away our love.

If a background is cr** and I can blur it or even replace it to bring out the subject have I impeached the integrity of the image?

It is my view that as photographers we need to touch the hearts and minds of our viewers. If that means using Photoshop then great. The great landscape master of photography Ansel Adams always said that Negative is like a music score while the print is the performance. He would dodge and burn, crop, and play with the final print till it showed the beauty that he saw in his mind's eye. I have seen a side by side of a straight print from one his negs and his printing of the neg. Let me tell you there is no contest. If he was around today he would be giving lessons in Photoshop.