Usually we put down our cameras after dark. Night photographs (like at discos, streets, restaurants) are usually blurry images that we keep only to remember the occasion.

But with a little effort, you can get premium concepts that look sophisticated.
Use the night lights to your advantage to get some great night light urban photos.

Tips:

• Choose a location where there are lots of light rays moving around (For e.g., a street where lots of vehicles are moving around with lights switched on).
• Set a longer exposure time (half-a-second or above).
• Use a slow shutter speed.
• Use a tripod to avoid camera shake.

Here are some examples to inspire you:

Photographer: Nrbelex

Photographer: Bob McCaffrey

Photographer: jim crossley

Photographer: Ingo Meironke

Photographer: Craigyc

Photographer: jim crossley

Photographer: jim crossley

Photographer: auburnxc

Photographer: Robert S. Donovan

Photographer: Paul Sapiano

Photographer: bhav.bhav

Photographer: Luke Andrew Scowen Photography

Photographer: rangebrompton

Photographer: moqla2010

Photographer: williamcho

Macro photography is the art of taking close-up photos that will convert a small object into a gigantic version of itself. Macro shots reveal the finest details of the subject photographed, even the features that are not visible to the naked eye.

There are popular topics within Macro photography like flowers, insects etc.. But a close up of any material or object can end up in interesting photos.

In keeping with the photo theme, Macro photos are best appreciated as large print size canvas or poster prints.

Some quick tips:

• For point and shoot cameras, switch to the “macro” mode (most cameras have this mode)
• For SLR cameras , use a close-up lens (or diopter) to focus closer. The image will appear larger in the frame. Use a small aperture (large F value) to maximize depth of field.
• If you use flash, it needs to be diffused (e.g., a tissue) or bounced (e.g., off a white card or reflector).

We have provided a pick of some popular themes for macro photos. Here it is:

Photographer: Muffet

Photographer: Aussiegall

Photographer: Salman Al-Salman

Photographer: Emi Yañez

Photographer: William Cho

Photographer: Andrea

Photographer: Mark Watson

Photographer: Ruurmo

Photographer: Bill Harrison

Photographer: Neal Fowler

Photographer: Ruurmo

Photographer: Luc Viatour

Photographer: Emran Kassim

Photographer: Geir Yngve Tro

Photographer: Dino Quinzani

Whether it’s just a few clouds on a clear summer sky or even a cloudy one, you can find these to be very easy backdrops to some great snaps.

Here are some tips and examples:

1. Unusual patterns
Although we say ‘unusual’, clouds often provide you with interesting shapes and patterns. We just need to take a look! Using water bodies or buildings to reflect these patterns adds to the composition of the photo.

2. Unusual angle
When you are in a position to take a photo from a different angle, make best use of it. Whether it’s from your flight window, or the top of a skyscraper, or on a mountain. Photos from tall locations are great for inspirational posters. It can also be used to add a sense of space to a room, particularly in a large size.

3. Silhouette
The sky can be an excellent background to silhouette a subject. A flock of birds, trees or even human beings are great subjects for a silhouette against the bright sky. These subjects can be used to depict different themes like thought, memories, emotions, mystery etc. Use such topics to lend fine art quality to your photos.

4. Smoke technique for fun photos
Find cloud patterns that appear like smoke. Look for potential subjects in the vicinity that can look like the source of the smoke. Works best if you have a friend as a subject! These are easy to take with even a simple camera. They make for great fun posters.

Photographer: Tia Bragg

Photographer: Ρanayotis

Photographer: Naama ym

Photographer: *sean

Photographer: Sharafat Khan

Photographer: EricBartholemew

Photographer: abbamouse

Photographer: far closer

Photographer: Horia Varlan

Photographer: John Carleton

Photographer: tasteful_tn

Photographer: timlewisnm

Photographer: danny chu

You can look like you are hundreds or meters tall, or lifting objects that weigh tons - isn’t this much more fun than a regular photo?

Vacation and summer is when we get to go around or even visit new places. It’s also a good time to get some unique photos than just the usual holiday snaps.

Here are some great photo ideas: They work great with tourist locations as there will be some building or monument you can use. Works even on a trip to the park or beach!

Find a tall structure - It can be anything - the pyramids, the leaning tower, a skyscraper or any other big building in the neighbourhood.

Position yourself at a point from where the whole structure is visible.

Strike a pose to make it look like you are pushing / lifting / kicking the structure.

Even cars and human beings can be great subjects for such shots. But you need to make them look like tiny objects / creatures by striking the right pose.

Note: A small aperture and a wide angle lens help you get a large depth of field, which is often very essential in most forced perspective photos. For example: a photo taken with 18mm focal length and f/16 aperture will have a higher depth of field compared to the same photo taken with 35mm focal length and f/5.6 aperture.

Photographer: bobu

Photographer: Ruth L

Photographer: Endlisnis

Photographer: Christine und David Schmitt

Photographer: Duilio Camarlingi

Photographer: Ace Armstrong

Photographer: Ace Armstrong

Photographer: Ellen Munro

Photographer: Ben Smith

Photographer: Iuri Guerra

Photographer: gfpeck

Photographer: hydropeek

Photographer: Steve & Jem Copley

Photographer: Jimmy Harris

Photographer: Jimmy Harris

Photographer: pputz2001

We usually look at moving lighted objects as an irritation in our photos, but in fact, they can be used for some special photo effects with just a bit of work!

The Halo: Choose a location with moving lights in the background (get someone to help if its easier). Click a photo with a longer exposure (half-a-second or above).
This will bring a ‘halo’ effect behind the subject of the photo- perfect for the angel-ic look!

The magic wand: For the ‘wizard’ effect just ask your subject to rotate a lighted object - say a candle or a torch. Again, make sure you set a longer exposure than usual.

Makes for great party snaps and poster prints!

Note: As you are using a slow shutter speed, use a tripod to avoid camera shake, and ask your subject to stand still. This experiment should be done in low light and requires some trials to get good results.

Photographer: Thomas Müller

Photographer: satanoid

Photographer: Kyrill Poole

Photographer: Rob Walker

Photographer: cotarobar

Photographer: ngernelle

Photographer: Tracy Ann C. Ball

Photographer: Kr. B.

Photographer: Duncan Rawlinson

Photographer: daMongMan

Children get excited while taking photos. They like showing off their own photos that are out of the ordinary. Here is an idea to make a standout photo of your child:

Ask your kid to jump in the air. Click when s/he is on top of the jump. Click at the right time, so it should look like s/he is flying or standing on air.

Photographer: Daniel Wehner

Capturing too early or too late would mean the jumping part would be visible. There should also be no trails to indicate motion.

Photographer: Divine in the Daily

It would be great if the child could be smiling or looking at you. Use your camera’s multi-shot facility to take multiple photos during the jump. One of them is bound to be taken just right. Even a photo of the child walking up the stairs can be a great subject, provided you click on time!

Photographer: Yogendra174

Photographer: Mark Sebastian

Children would love to have a full size poster of the photo to hang on their wall to show off to their friends! It’s not just restricted to kids! Even adults and animals can be great subjects for jump shots! Here are some funny jump shots of adults!

Photographer: R’eyes

Photographer: AlPie

Photographer: DieselDemon

Photographer: Michael E. Lee

Photographer: vauvau

We are excited to announce that we are all set to introduce two big new features in the coming weeks.

Free online photo storage

Upload photos from your PC to create your personal ColorMailer album. Just drag and drop your favourite photos from your album to the workspace and order print products.

You can even upload photos from your Facebook, Picasa accounts in just a couple of simple steps.

Online photo books

Design your photo books with our all-new, user-friendly online software.

The themes, backgrounds and layouts designed by our in-house creative artists will add a professional touch to your photo book!

With options like Pan, Rotate, Zoom, Transparency and Fit to frame, the user interface is easy and as powerful as a desktop software.

Hundreds of people visited us on the 28th, 29th and 30th of August during the festival! Visitors posed against some fun Indian backgounds and our photographers captured the moments.

Browse photos or search

Visit us at the India! India! Zurich festival to take some unique photos! 200,000 visitors expected!

ColorMailer is one of the main sponsors of the event along with several other sponsors, including Lufthansa. Learn more about the festival and the special event by ColorMailer!

More than two hundred thousand people are expected to attend the 2000 sq. m. Main Hall of the Zurich Main Station on the 28th, 29th and 30th of August to experience the widely varying Indian culture, art, music, cuisine, fashion and tourist destinations during the high-octane India-India Zurich Summer Festival-2009.

ColorMailer is also sponsoring a special event - and naturally, it involves taking photos! - visit us to take some photos that, we guarantee, are unique in Switzerland, you won’t be able to take them anywhere else!

Interesting?

Organized by India-India Verein, with support from the Zurich mayor’s office and SBB RailCity, the event is sure to catch the imagination of the Swiss with a splash of colours, dance, spices and, of course, Bollywood.

The main highlights of the festival this year are:

• Bollywood dance workshop - where you can hone up your dancing skills and perform steps in tune with your favourite Bollywood film songs.
• Ticket to Bollywood - a dance show by Mayuri Dance Group, featuring Bolloywood’s superhit songs.
• Cookery Theatre - a cookery show by Chef Singh, with dilicious dishes straight out of traditional Indian kitchen.
• Glory of India - a dance show by Maitreyee Pahari and team, featuring classical and folk dances in India.
• Indian bazar - where you can shop for a variety of clothes, jewellery and yummy-yummy dishes.
• Bollywood DJ party - Join DJs and dance to the tunes of latest Bollywood item numbers.

Programme

• August 28, 2009 - Friday

11:00 - 22:00 - Indian Bazaar
11:30 - 12:15 - Bollywood Dance Workshop
11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 20:00 - Cookery Theatre with Chef Singh
13:00 - 17:00 - Stage performanace by local aritists (Entrance free)
18:00 - 20:00 - Opening ceremony with “Glory of India”
21:00 - 22:00 - Dance Show “Ticket to Bollywood”
22:30 - 03:00 - Bollywood DJ party

• August 29, 2009 - Saturday

10:00 - 22:00 - Indian Bazar
11:30 - 12:15 - Bollywood Dance Workshop
11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 20:00 - Cookery Theatre with Chef Singh
13:00 - 17:00 - Stage performanace by local aritists (Entrance free)
18:00 - 19:30 - Dance show: “Glory of India”
20:00 - 21:00 - Dance Show “Ticket to Bollywood”
21:30 - 03:00 - Bollywood DJ party

• August 30, 2009 - Sunday

10:00 - 21:00 - Indian Bazar
11:30 - 12:15 - Bollywood Dance Workshop
11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 20:00 - Cookery Theatre with Chef Singh
13:00 - 17:00 - Stage performanace by local aritists (Entrance free)
15:30 - 17:00 - Dance show: “Glory of India”
17-30 - 18:30 - Dance Show “Ticket to Bollywood”
19:00 - 22:00 - Bollywood DJ party

From different paper thicknesses and textures, to special characteristics and materials earlier available only to professionals, the selection of paper types from Colormailer ensures that you can get exactly what you want.

From industry leaders like Kodak, Fuji and Canon, to Professional fine art paper providers like Hahnemuehle and Ilford papers, all you need to do is to take your pick so your photos come alive. Here is our range of paper types and their characteristics.

Posters

High quality posters in multiple sizes to suit all your needs, whether to promote your business or just to print a poster of your kid’s favourite movie star. Ideal for indoor posters, exhibitions, trade shows and booth decoration. Our combination of high end printing with Solid Pigment Ink on professional quality papers have earned archival ratings of over 100 years, in addition to being sunlight and water resistant.

Standard Formats - Canon Semi-glossy Photoquality paper 190g/m2

• High-quality resin coated photographic paper.
• Ideal for: Indoor posters, graphic art, proofing, presentations and photography.
• Produces images with an extremely wide color gamut.
• Resists stains.
• Delivers high color density and perfect image clarity.

Photo Posters - Premium Professional Photo Paper

Portrait oriented paper with richer colors and sharper text, producing excellent flesh tones. Print longevity: 100+ years without noticeable fading (typical home display), over 200 years in dark storage; and 1 to 5 years for commercial display. Ideal for: Photographic applications like portraits, weddings, commercial shoots.

Order now

Canvas prints

Hahnemühle Goya Canvas 340g/m2

• Weight: 340g/m2
• Finish: Satin finish
• Made of poly-cotton
• Matte finish
• Distinctive structure and special satin coating
• Give art reproduction and photo printing an artistic, painted appearance

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Fine Art Prints

Convert your photos into works of art on art quality paper with textures ranging from Glossy and Ultrasmooth Matte to Pearl finish. Our combination of high end printing with Solid Pigment Ink on professional quality papers have earned archival ratings of over 100 years, in addition to being sunlight and water resistant.

Available in sizes ranging from 20×30cm up to 100×300cm. There are 6 different paper types available, from 285g/m2 to 340g/m2.

Ilford Professional Instant Dry Pearl RC Paper 290g/m2

• Weight: 290g/m2
• Finish: Satin/Pearl
• Premium photographic quality inkjet paper
• Uses the latest porous technology coating making it dry to the
• touch straight from the printer
• Bright white tint for high contrast
• Optimized for high speed printing
• Fast drying
• Fully pigment and dye compatible
• Superb imaging performance
• The bright white tint is excellent for commercial graphics and displays

Euromedia Canvas 340g/m2

• Weight: 340g/m2
• Finish: High Gloss Finish
• Satin artist canvas
• Perfect for printing with water-based dye, pigmented ink and solvent ink
• Structure of the fabric remains very visible
• Light glossy inkjet coating is wipe (not water) and scratch resistant
• Very fast drying time (instant dry)
• Can be stitched
• Suitable for image galleries of graphics, art and photographic reproductions
• Very good for use as a banner.

Hahnemühle German Etching 310g/m2

• Weight: 310g/m2
• Finish: Velvet Matte
• Mould-made, acid free etching paper
• Surface similar to an etching paper which will also reproduce traditional prints excellently
• Printed side of the paper has been specially coated for excellent image sharpness and optimum color graduation
• The coating also offers a very high level of water resistance
• Suitable for images which are highly detailed and photographic imagery
• Ideal for: Fine art reproduction, business cards, greetings cards, post cards, menu and novelty applications, certificates and presentation prints for display purposes.

Torchon by Hahnemühle 285g/m2

• Weight: 285g/m2
• Finish: Ultra-Matte parchment
• Acid free watercolor paper
• Parchment or pastel paper surface
• Printed side of this paper is specially coated for excellent image sharpness and optimum color graduation
• The coating also offers a very high level of water resistance
• The original beauty and three dimensionality of a print can be captured with this bright white paper
• Ideal for: Reproductions of oil, watercolor and pastel paintings.

Hahnemühle FineArt Baryta 325g/m2

• Weight: 325g/m2
• Finish: Ultra smooth glossy
• Brilliant white
• Ultra smooth surface
• High gloss paper, high color depth, large color gamut and image definition
• Barium sulphate used in the premium inkjet coating makes it glossy
• Ideal for: Black and white prints with an extremely high dmax and the finest grey tones.

Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308g/m2

• Weight: 308g/m2
• Finish: Ultra-Matte smooth
• Smooth bright white 100% rag based paper
• Specifically designed to meet the digital photo output needs of photographers and artist
• Picks up every detail captured in the photograph
• Coated to give excellent image sharpness and optimum color graduation
• The coating also offers a very high level of water resistance
• Ideal for: Photographic and fine art reproduction, business cards, greeting cards, certificates, bookmaking and computer generated artwork.

Ilford Professional Instant Dry Glossy Paper 290g/m2

• Weight: 290g/m2
• Finish: Full gloss
• Premium photographic quality inkjet paper
• Uses the latest porous technology coating making it dry to the touch straight from the printer
• Bright white tint for high contrast
• Optimized for high speed printing
• Fast drying
• Fully pigment and dye compatible
• Superb imaging performance
• The bright white tint is excellent for commercial graphics and displays.

Order now

Photo prints

Print your photos on high quality paper and choose from multiple size and format options to transform your digital photos into photo prints. Print sizes range from 9×13cm to 20×30cm.

Premium quality photo paper

• Silver-halide, color negative, digital paper
• Delivers exceptional sharpness, clarity, color reproduction
• Designed for high color saturation, bold colors, sharp text
• Thicker base is designed to provide especially high-gloss images
• High color saturation, sharpness, and clarity
• Extra-rigid, premium-quality base
• Optimized for making crisp, sharp digital prints
• Exceptional sharpness, clarity, color reproduction, color saturation
• Bold, bright colors that last a lifetime.

Order now