* * I took this photo at the Jersey Shore then had it blown up to 40 x 30 - it was gorgeous!
Is it the camera that takes the best pictures or is it the photographer?
A note about focal lengths. When you are comparing cameras you want the smallest focal length for wide angles. When looking at zoom you want the highest length. The focal length for each camera should be listed right on the camera or on the box. The chart below may be helpful.
Typical focal lengths and their 35mm format designations
< 20mm Super Wide Angle
24mm - 35mm Wide Angle
50mm Normal Lens
80mm - 300mm Tele
> 300mm Super Tele
When you are talking about lighting using a different camera may not make that much difference. The best thing you can do is practice with your camera. I must have taken 30 pictures of my living room to get a good before and after picture. Sometimes having the lights on cast weird shadows or reflections on the walls. I kept playing around with the lighting turning lights on, trying different times of day. Sometimes evening is the best time to take photos because you are only getting light from the flash. If the room is very bright you may not need any flash. Also fluorescent lighting causes the colors in photos to become distorted. They may end up looking yellow or blue so try turning them off.
This is not a practical solution when taking photos at a clients home but you can take several photos changing the lighting each time. Hopefully you will get at least one good shot.
Lastly, you can use photo editing software to enhance your photos. Most also come will color correct and lighting options and easy cropping tools. I have tried many of these and my favorite one is Picasa by Google. It is really easy to use. You can download it free from the google website. Here's a link:
http://picasa.google.com/
Here is a link to a site where they enlarge photos and stretch them over canvas. I used them to blow up the above photo. It was at my door in 4 days and it was stunning!
