Planet Photography

Day 212: Switching

2010-08-01T04:06:52+00:00

sevenman posted a photo:

Discussion: Social Media and the Emerging Professional Photographer

2010-08-01T01:20:50+00:00

Well, we tried it with UStream and that was a bust. I think this solution may even be better. You will have the opportunity to ask questions live (and if you have a vidcam, you will stream right on up to me and be seen). I have tested it a bit and seems to work pretty well, so you should probably signup and let’s give it a shot at 6PM Pacific Time, Sunday, August 1.

Resources for this Discussion:

7 Reasons Why Social Media Ain’t Working for Your Photography Business
What is the Difference Between Shooting for Free and Shooting for Me?

Questions I would like to discuss:
1. Is your social media interactions part of a larger plan of brand or market?
2. Why do so many photographers blog for OTHER photographers? Wouldn’t a client-centric approach work better?
3. What is the focus of the social media – and can you really USE it to advantage if you have no plan?
4. Have you taken a personal audit of what you want to accomplish – and what your appetite is for engaging others?
5. How has it worked out so far, and what changes will you be instituting – if any?

I have a few other things I wanted to add here:
As many of you know I am also a graphic designer. And I build websites for a lot of small and medium sized businesses. There are some specific things that the web offers us that too many photographers either ignore or do not know how to implement. Websites should be more than an online view of your images… the site should interact, create interest, allow for more information, engage the viewer and most importantly, provide a reason for the viewer to come back.

I build websites that are SEO ready, and integrate a lot of features to engage the viewer.

Currently I am looking to trade a full website for a used MacBook (not pro) in nice condition. If you are interested, let me know. See the contact page and give me a call.

I am also going to start broadcasting these shows from my studio. If there is anything in particular you want me to cover, let me know. I have a full sheet of programs that will be starting this month (August) including headshot lighting, working with food, shooting shiny objects and more. However, I do want to answer questions as we go to make sure you are getting the information you need. I do not know if I will be archiving these shows, or whether we will roll a few other cameras to catch the entirety of it.

Lighting Essentials Workshop Alumni – watch your member’s page for more information on special shows just for you.

Well, I hope this one works. If you would like to follow me on Twitter where I give links and info to all kinds of photographic things that catch my attention, here is your opportunity! Interested in a workshop? Visit Learn To Light for more information on the workshops.

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3 Things to Know about Working in Adobe Bridge

2010-07-31T19:58:40+00:00

Do you open photos direct into Photoshop or do you use Adobe Bridge? If you don’t use Bridge, there are some good reasons for changing your habits.

You may not realize it but some of how Camera Raw behaves depends on whether you open an image from Bridge or from Photoshop. Here’s how:

Freeze Photoshop or not?

Open a Raw image in Photoshop and it opens, of course, in Camera Raw. But look at the screen – Photoshop is open but the window is frozen. You can’t minimize it and you can’t work in Photoshop at the same time as work in ACR.

Close the image and now do the same thing from Bridge – right click a Raw file and choose Open in Camera Raw. See the difference? When you open a Raw file from Bridge it opens in Camera Raw but without seizing the Photoshop window as well. You can still work in Photoshop at the same time as you work in Bridge.

In short, if you want the best of both worlds – Photoshop and Camera Raw then head to Bridge to open your images from there.

Bypass Camera Raw

If you’re in Bridge, you can bypass Camera Raw entirely and open a Raw file direct in Photoshop by holding the Shift key as you double click the image in Adobe Bridge. The image opens automatically in Photoshop. This is handy, for example, if you’ve already processed an image in Camera Raw in the past and if you now want to work on it in Photoshop.

JPGs to Camera Raw

In Camera Raw you can make adjustments and craft images often much more quickly and easily than you can in Photoshop. This being the case, you may want to use Camera Raw for your JPG files as well as your Raw files. In Photoshop CS3 and later versions, you can open any JPG in Camera Raw by right clicking the JPG in Bridge and select Open in Camera Raw. You can’t do the same thing from inside Photoshop.

As a bonus the changes you make to JPG images in Camera Raw are undoable. So, for example, if you convert a JPG to greyscale in Camera Raw and click Done, the photo will show as greyscale in your Bridge thumbnails. However, open the JPG in Camera Raw again and you’ll see the changes aren’t permanent – you can undo them and return the image to full color – don’t try that in Photoshop!

So, if you’re not using Bridge – there are three good reasons for considering changing your workflow habits.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

3 Things to Know about Working in Adobe Bridge

Michael Wesely’s Long Exposures

2010-07-31T18:12:33+00:00

Came across this today via Facebook: The Longest Photographic Exposures in History Some incredible three-year exposures of MOMA by German Michael Wesely. Michael Wesely Photographie

212 / 365

2010-07-31T17:28:40+00:00

kf4lnq posted a photo:

First underwater shot of the year :)

This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (25-31 Jul ‘10)

2010-07-31T14:03:18+00:00

Weekly Assignment

This week, we had another kitchen assignment and we wanted to know What’s in your Refrigerator? Sometimes it was scary, sometimes it was funny, but there were a lot of good shots this week. And if there’s one thing that always has the ability to make me smile when tallying up the assignments, it’s that we often get at least one new forum member in the top 3. But this week, all 3 of our winners had less than 30 posts! There are some very talented new forum members out there. So, without further delay, our winner this week was katot9’s “The Thing in the Refrigerator”. This shot really took some planning and effort. Not only was everything in the refrigerator well lit, but so was the person looking in. And to top it all off, the composition and details were excellent. This was a clear winner this week. Our first runner up was violett213’s “In the Fridge.” The composition of this shot was really nice, and the black and white suited it well. And you can’t help but think of midnight snacks when you see a shot like this. And last, but not least, was
JaiCatalano’s “Touch the Ice Cream and Die”. Oh, the humor of this one was great, as was the motion blur that was captured. It was definitely well done.

Whether it’s summer or winter, that shouldn’t stop you from participating in our latest assignment, Water in Motion. When water is moving, you have a few options for how to capture it. You might stop the motion and essentially freeze it, or you might show the motion through those soft silky streams of water that happen when you use a longer exposure. We want you to show us water in motion. Show us how it moves and how you capture that movement. But, before you post, just have a quick read of the rules. First, your photo must have been taken between 21 July – 4 August 2010. Second, your post must include the words “Assignment: Water in Motion” and the date that the photo was taken. Finally, your EXIF should be intact, and it’s useful if you can include some of the main information like camera, lens, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, etc. Next week’s assignment will be Motion Blur: People or Animals. So you’ll have to show either people or animals in motion, not the backgrounds. Good luck!

Hot Threads

Photography Inside Flight: So, if you’ve been on a plane (especially around sunrise or sunset), you might have looked out the window and thought “gee, I wish I could capture that gorgeous view.” Well, how do you capture the view out the window? Come add your thoughts, suggestions, tips, and even share a photo or two and tell us how you took it, over in the forums.
What Happens When / If I Die?: It might not be something you really want to think about, but consider how many photos you’re probably taking, and consider what would happen if you were to die? What happens to the copyright? Who is allowed to have access to them? Do you have a plan for your digital photos? How will people know where they’re stored even? It might not be happy, but it’s definitely something to consider, so come share your thoughts over in the forums.
What to Look for in a PC: Ok, let’s cheer things up a bit, and think instead about how to make sure your computer can deal with all your photo editing needs. How do you decide how much RAM you need, what kind of processor to get, and what you need in a video card? Come share your suggestions for what’s needed in a photo editing machine over in the forums.
What if I Fried my Memory Card?: One of the dangers of underwater cameras is the potential for water to leak into the memory card slot. But what happens if you experience that? Well, one forum member has. There are some great suggestions for what to do if you think your memory card has gotten wet and some suggestions for if you still need help. If you have any help or suggestions to add, why not chime in over in the forums as well.
Powerful Portraits: One forum member is looking for help with determining how to shoot a powerful portrait? Just what is it that makes a powerful portrait? Is it the pose, the lighting, the angle? Come share your thoughts and suggestions and help out another forum member.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (25-31 Jul ‘10)

The Value of a Muse

2010-07-31T06:43:07+00:00

The Value of the Muse

muse: Classical Mythology, -n a goddess that inspires a creative artist.

A model shows up on time and well prepared for a shoot. A good model takes direction and looks like a natural in front of the camera. An excellent model makes any photographer they work with appear even better than they actually are.

Then there is the muse. The muse is the rarest of all models. They are all of the above but they somehow inspire the photographer to search for reasons to pick up the camera, any reason at all. They participate in the shoot unlike anyone else and share the passion for creating something new and interesting. This passion is contagious. Enough passion can change almost anything in the world, including your photography.

I have LOVED shooting with dozens of models, I’ve really, really loved shooting a smaller group of ten or so models and I can count the number of muses and potential muses I’ve stumbled upon over the past ten years on one hand. Here are just three of them… though a couple more are unlisted. :-)

First there was Katherine.

I do, and will always, credit Katherine as the main reason I eventually became good at photography. Her bubbly quirky personality was and is magnetic to be around. If she was born 4,000 years ago wars would have been fought over her. Immediately after shooting her I’d want to shoot her again, and again, and again. This was in the day before digital cameras and it was much more expensive to shoot but I didn’t care. We had a lot of good times me and her and she always inspired me to take better photos. I still get to shoot her every few months or so today but is getting less and less as she gets busier and busier, though she will always be my very first muse.

Mara sent me an email at the very tail end of 2004.

She attached a couple snapshots of herself and said she was interested in modeling. I was immediately inspired by the amazingly rounded structure in her face, it had a very rare chiseled quality that I couldn’t possibly describe with mere words. I was only able to shoot her for a year or two before she moved away to L.A. but in that short amount of time I became addicted… I wish she’d visit Utah again!

Carly and I had our first shoot in July 2007, just before her 18th birthday.

I knew Carly would be amazing almost immediately. That rare combination of a fear-nothing personality to a bewitching shyness the contradictions in Carly are endless, which shows in the way she models. She fluidly moves from pose to pose, constantly shifting between whacky and serious. She’s amazingly fun to shoot and is the reason for this post…

The Value of a Muse

To celebrate our three year anniversary of our very first shoot Carly convinced me we should do a classic shoot from the food series I worked on a couple years ago, a series Carly helped me with many, many times!

As she’ll tell you I was very skeptical, I shot so many images during that little phase that I thought it would be impossible to think of ideas that I hadn’t already done, but it was Carly and when she gets something in her head…

So there we were at the grocery store shopping for food, we got a number of items before meeting up with Steven Robertson (who volunteered to do some styling)… it was after the shoot I realized something… the food series from a couple years ago was full of quirky ideas but it felt like just a warm-up, now I had to really make a series out of it.

This one suggestion from one model not only sparked an amazing shoot that night (shown below), but I have since shot three more girls for a new series based around food… which is blowing my mind! It will be up sometime soon.

Until then here’s an appetizer…

Day 211: Before the ride, July 2010 edition

2010-07-31T05:28:30+00:00

sevenman posted a photo:

A couple of people chatting before the July 2010 edition of the Toronto Critical Mass ride.

211 / 365

2010-07-30T21:29:43+00:00

kf4lnq posted a photo:

I actually made this sushi tonight.

Close to Home: Weekly Photography Challenge

2010-07-30T19:36:49+00:00

This week your challenge is to take and share an image on the theme of ‘close to home’.

This bounces off our post earlier today – 5 Photo Ideas for Shooting Close to Home – but you could also interpret it any way that you want and do something a little more abstract on the theme of Home.

Once you’ve taken your “Close to Home” image, upload it to your favourite photo sharing site and either share a link to it below or embed it in the comments using the our new tool to do so. Please note it sometimes takes us a while to approve comments with images as there’s a moderation queue – particularly over the weekend.

If you tag your photo on Flickr, Twitter or other sites with Tagging tag it as #DPSPHOME to help others find it. Linking back to this page might also help others know what you’re doing so that they can share in the fun.

PS: don’t forget to check out some of the great photos shared last week in the PHOTO WALK challenge.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Close to Home: Weekly Photography Challenge

Day 210: A bike in Port Credit

2010-07-30T18:29:55+00:00

sevenman posted a photo:

Five Photo Ideas for Shooting Close to Home

2010-07-30T14:05:26+00:00

A Guest Post by Wayne Turner from http://www.21steps2perfectphotos.com

It’s Saturday morning, a beautiful day and your photography juices are flowing. Your trigger finger is itchy and you just want to get out and shoot photos. You pick up your gear bag, take a step towards the door and then stop. What are you going to shoot? The inspiration bank is suddenly empty.

I have been in this position often and my solution has always been to go to the ideas book I keep. Like a photo journal of thoughts and ideas. Always keep one with you and as soon as you get an idea, write it down. Out of this ideas book comes five photo ideas close to home. Why close to home? The more difficult it is to get to a location the less likely you are to go there so you need to make it easy.

1. In the Kitchen

Image by limonada

Don’t laugh or discard this idea before trying it. I was standing in front of the sink the other day and realised a great photo opportunity was staring me in the face. There in two large jars was a variety of kitchen utensils just waiting to have their photo taken. Full of holes, texture, pattern and all shiny and bright with great reflective surfaces. The draws are full knives, forks and spoons. How much more could you ask for. If you have a macro lens, macro feature on your lens or compact camera then this is for you. Try it and see just how rewarding it can be. The kitchen is a great place to learn digital photography and the weather will never affect it. Just watch out for the water sprayer. But don’t just limit yourself to the kitchen, try the bathroom (not toilet) and other parts of the house.

2. The Garden

Image by Ashley Rose

One step away from the front door is the garden. And, I’m not just talking flowers and insects here. Look around and see what there is. Get down low and explore the ground and you’ll be surprised what you see. The cracked pathway, a coiled hosepipe or a rusty hand trowel standing in a flower bed. Metal buckets, watering cans or wheelbarrows all have photo potential. Just be prepared to look and start seeing with a photographer’s eye. You will surprise yourself. Again, a macro lens will be great but you won’t necessarily need a macro feature.

3. The Driveway or Garage

Yes, still close to home and many opportunities. The family car if you have one, or, perhaps the neighbour’s motorcycle if you don’t, makes a great subject. Getting in close on the most boring car can give you images that you never thought were possible. Key here is to experiment with angles and get in as close as your lens will allow. Focus on colour, reflection and lines. Lie down on your back and shoot up. If the car is old then focus on damaged parts like rust. There are just so many little things you can shoot and when viewed up really close can give an amazingly abstract image.

4. The Park or Public Gardens

Image by Chaval Brasil

Around the corner for many of us is a park, public garden or kids play park just waiting to be photographed. Here you’ll find all sorts of objects from sculptures to water fountains, play equipment to stone walls.

When you get there just sit and observe and try to see the potential photo opportunities. Allow yourself to start seeing rather than just looking around.

5. The Local flea or Street Market

Image by funadium

Street photography is a real hot photo topic at the moment. Going into a flea market and shooting just anything, from people to colour to antiques and art are just some of the ideas. Be sensitive to people and when shooting close up ask their permission. You’ll find so much atmosphere and activity that will stimulate you to shoot many interesting subjects. This is a great place to learn digital photography because the opportunities and ideas are so diverse.

These five photo ideas close to home will hopefully inspire you as you learn digital photography and add skills to your photography journey. Shoot regularly and don’t allow a few obstacles to stop you taking great images.

Share Your Ideas and Shots

Over the next few days – try some of the above photographic subjects and come back to share your best shots in comments below.

What other ‘close to home’ photo subjects have you enjoyed photographing?

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Five Photo Ideas for Shooting Close to Home

FAQ : Design, Photography + Publishing a Wedding

2010-07-30T09:46:00+00:00

The conversation occurred on a sandy beach in the Cayman Islands. As I spoke with wedding designer, Calder Clark, and Southern Weddings Magazine Editor, Lara Casey, I realized we expressed similar sentiment, but came from different angles. The story: A wedding designer spends forever and a day creating a spectacular wedding. Then the photographer doesn't pay attention to the timeline and misses his opportunity to get the detail photos. Then the magazine editor is left with a lackluster wedding submission because the detail photos are...well...lackluster. When they truly could have been spectacular.

What went wrong? And could this situation been avoided?

Calder, Lara, and I collaborated on the following blog post to offer insight as to best prepare yourself for the ideal approach if you (the photographer) and the bride are interested in submitting the wedding for magazine publication. This is merely just three girls offering our opinion. Of course, there are hundreds of ways to get it done right, but if you'd like to join our conversation, you're more than welcome to. The comment box is yours at the end.

Rockstar photographer? That's you. Wedding Designer in the mix? I'm in. Together: a shoo-in for the glossy mag? Hardly.

We know you're gonna nail the first waltz and the sugary wedge of cake. But what about a shot of the entire stationery suite? Not without a plan, Stan.

Rewind, and let's have a little pow-wow. I've been slaving over the details for a year. Now, the exhaustive agenda is in place and I have sky-high expectations that you'll clone yourself and be in 4 places at once. Obviously, we need to chat.

Do we want the same thing?
I'd love to see this in a magazine, would you? I have painstaking details ready to shoot; all I need is your talent on site to capture.
How can we capture the details without destroying the fabric of the evening?
I'm armed with the timeline and you have a second shooter. How can we put our heads together to serve the bride (first and foremost) and snag the pretty little nuances before night falls?

Here's a gameplan:

Be aggressive about being collaborative
Team up with the planner to hash out the agenda and detail shot lists. The wedding is designed for flow, but you can talk us through where your editorial prep-work fits in best.
Share your second shooter
Divide and conquer to cover all your bases. Perhaps, you can stop by to take tight shots and then retreat to the bride while your second shooter stays behind to capture the broader scope.
Think like a commercial photographer
Surfaces, props, lighting, juxtaposition: all of them matter. I can gather her old, new, borrowed, and blue if you can shoot it in the afternoon light on a reclaimed wood console.

In a nutshell? Communicate and anticipate together......then capture. Better yet, hear it from a world class photographer next.

I'll keep this short. The only thing I need from a wedding planner is time. I just need time. I recently had a conversation with a planner and explained that there was no way I could capture the bridal party, the family (immediate and extended), the cocktail hour, the bride+groom, and reception details in the 55 minutes she allotted in the schedule.

Having the conversation opened the doors for open communication, got us on the same page, and she happily reworked the schedule to accommodate my requests. At the end of the day, the planner and I are on the same team...creating conversations in advance help ensure we work together for seamless execution, which creates a stronger wedding submission.

And, of course, I'll take this chance to remind brides of the benefits of having a First Look. Oh, com'on...you know I wasn't going to talk about the best thing on the wedding day besides the First Kiss! ;)

For more on this subject from an editorial perspective, here's the ever talented Lara Casey...

Brides, if your first sentence to your planner or photographer is "Which magazines will you be submitting me to?" then, Houston, we have a problem. Planners, if in your first consultation with a bride you are talking glossies, it's time to refocus. Photographers, If you miss an important moment because you are getting a detail shot that will look great in a spread, back up. Marriage is sacred. Photographers are paid the big bucks because they are artists hired to capture sacred moments for the couple and their family to treasure... Not for press. Having said that, yes, you are running a business. Yes, press can aid said business. I happen to publish a magazine and, like any editor, I want your best work in its pages. If you choose to submit your work, there is a way to do it well... and lots of ways to shoot yourself in the foot.

After countless conversations with fellow editors, it's clear that, while our submission requirements may be vastly different, we share much of the same perspective on how to do it right.

What I need from the photographer is simple in concept but sometimes harder in practice. A sampling of the many things editors will thank you for:

" Rule #1 to getting published on major wedding blogs and magazines: read them. Know what they want, style, image format, who they target. Do your research and follow the rules. Every publication has a unique system for submissions. I repeat: follow the rules. Check FAQ pages before asking a question.
" Use Two Bright Lights. It is the solution to most submissions woes. You create great images, Two Bright Lights gives you the tools to get them seen in the best light. We love it and use it every day to accept work for publication.
" Make sure your brides WANT to be published. Many times we have a feature done but the bride won't return an interview. Feature lost.
" When you do submit, put your company name in the image file name. I went through 867 image submissions last week and had to have an intern spend two hours downloading and renaming files for me to sift through. Help a girl out! "amazingweddingphotographer_rad_couple.jpg" Easy.
" For editorial, don't over-process. Trust your images and hone your craft in the camera. I can't stress this enough. You will rarely see heavily processed images in a magazine because we need consistency. Most editors want true-to-life color to inspire brides. Clean, crisp, clear editorial images publishable.
" Photographers, study commercial and food photography to learn how to shoot details. Brides love seeing them, we love publishing them. For our brand, we love details that have meaning and they have to be realistic to inspire brides. On that note, brides, don't create details because they'll look great in pictures. Create them because they reflect who you are.
" Deliver. If you want to get published, be a responsible business owner and, like I always say, just make it happen. Bottom line, no matter which role you play, be a professional. Be aware of all the players' needs. And most of all, do your job. Take care of that couple and produce, capture, design, execute, unfold that perfect love story that is just waiting to be told. Glossies are great. Love is all that really matters.

I'm doing an online intensive on how to get published on August 24th. Too much to say in a single blog post. If you read this post, send me a twitter message and I'll give you a special discount code for registration since I love Jasmine so much. I'm always happy to answer submission and publication questions because I want your work to shine. I want that great love story to change people, to inspire and to heighten the level of quality and integrity in our industry. Selfishly, I want to be changed by the love story you tell, too. I'm a sucker for great photography.

I know for a fact we could never touch on all the aspects of publication in a single post, so this is just the start of the conversation. We'd love to hear your thoughts and questions.

© Jasmine Star. This post cannot be republished without permission. Stealing makes me sad.

None

2010-07-30T06:00:00+00:00

While temporarily lost in the Mongolian outback, I came across these ponies all huddled together. My choices? Double back and see if I missed a turnoff somewhere or ride my 250cc Enduro into the oncoming storm. Thankfully, my newfound equine friends nodded me in the right direction. (This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot.)

Interview with David Giral, Montreal Photographer

2010-07-30T02:48:13+00:00

Our Interview with Montreal Photographer David Giral. I met David in Toronto at the Workshop. I loved his work and asked him to do this interview with us.

1. How long have you been in business? Was it a slow transition or did you just open shop?

Until recently, I didn’t believe that I had what it take to be self-employed. So switching from IT consulting in the financial industry to photography full time has been a slow process, which started in May 2009. I was still working part time employed as a consultant but since March 2009, I am now a full time photographer and since I’ve never looked back. It was time to move on and really give it a try.

2. How did you get started? Any mentors or great stories here?

It all started in June 2004 when I bought my first digital camera. Before that, for various reasons, I never really had the chance to really explore photography and had probably shot 6-7 rolls of film (I actually knew how to use Photoshop before doing photography). Even though I wasn’t shooting at the time, I had always been fascinated not only by beautiful architecture and interiors, urban environments and landscapes of Europe but also by people. As soon as I started shooting, it felt like I had to make up for all those lost years. I then realized how much I liked taking pictures and really started snapping like crazy and I then opened an account on Flickr in September 2004. The dynamics on Flickr were amazing up until the recent years and the feedback I was getting on my photos was priceless and I would probably not be where I am at without that precious feedback. At the beginning, I was mainly selling stock photos through Flickr and Alamy, I then started to be commissioned for architecture assignments. Because I wanted to add a human dimension to my photography, I decided to also specialize in headshots and lifestyle photography (for spas and yoga studios). I also do a lot of event photography for major electronic music venues and high profile events.

Regarding my influences, I would say that my grand-mother who was a painter (and also a poet and writer) was definitely my first source of inspiration, she used to live in the mountains of Pyrénées in France, in a beautiful old medieval village with an amazing view over a beautiful valley. She used to paint landscapes and beautiful places of the south of France. The first photographer who really inspired me was Arnaud Frich, an amazing french photographer who is specialized in night photography and got me hooked on “blue hour” photography. The only person I really consider as a mentor is my friend Bobby Alcott, a talented photographer from Detroit whom I met through Flickr. He has always been there at key moments of my career as a photographer and I can’t wait to collaborate with him on a few projects this year.

Photographer David Giral

3. Describe an average week at your studio.

Everything is so new! I usually start my week by sending emails, calling clients, finding new leads and organizing my schedule. When I don’t shoot events, portraits or architecture/lifestyle assignments, I’m editing photos, reorganizing my portfolios or figuring ways improving my business processes. When I have some downtime and when I am not a dad, I give tailor made Photoshop trainings (focused on the workflow).

4. Why Montreal? Have you considered anywhere else?

I moved to Montreal from France in 1997, did my university degree there (in Geology and environmental management) and went back to Paris for 3 years before coming back as an immigrant in Montreal in 2003. What inspired me so much about Montreal is that it is a bilingual city with interesting architecture and it’s right in the middle between the west coast and Europe. I am planning to stay there for a while and work between the west coast (mainly Los Angeles), the east coast (NYC and Miami) and Europe (Paris). I love traveling and discovering new places and new people.

Photographer David Giral

5. What motivates you, or gets you going? What do you use for inspiration?

I breathe photography and spend each and everyday either taking photos or editing them, or looking at photos from others . The feelings you get from taking photos and editing them are really amazing, it’s like being connected to the universe. I’m very curious, enthusiastic and driven. Most of my inspiration comes from within and from the beauty of people’s souls and of the world surrounding us.

Photographer David Giral - Victoria Sanchez (actress)

6. What is it you like the most about being a photographer? Do you do anything else for a hobby or avocation?

I love meeting and connecting with new people everyday and I also love the beauty of things, places and people I shoot, it’s always about finding the right angle to anything you photograph. Editing is also so rewarding when you get results that reflects your vision.

I’ve been a geologist, an IT consultant but it wasn’t my vocation. Photography is, and it’s also the best way I found to get to meet a lot of new people and learn about them.
I’m also an avid runner and yoga practitioner.

Photographer David Giral - Andrea Osvart (actress)

7. Are there any downsides to being a commercial photographer that you would like to change? How would you change them?

As in many other business, there is a constant need to educate our clients so they understand the value of our work, by showing them our workflow, how we handle a project up until the delivery of the product. I also personally try to communicate as much as possible that I don’t sell just plain photos but products containing photos that are carefully planned and edited. In the end, I think there is always room for photographers who always look to put the best product on the table, even if you have to spend more energy trying to market it at the beginning.

8. What was your most memorable assignment?

The next one. I always keep moving forward and never look for too long in the rear mirror. I think our ability to evolve and create even more striking images is limitless.

9. Any ‘war’ stories you would like to share? You know, the ones that always start with “There was this one job where….”

I’m way too young for war stories! Being in front of 100.000 people taking photos at Electric Daisy Carnival in Los Angeles last June is really something special. Shooting a red carpet with studio flash on the sidewalk at 1:30am for the Grand Prix Week-end was also quite an experience. Driving from San Francisco to Vancouver was also quite an experience!

Photographer David Giral

10. What would be your ideal assignment?

If I had to pick a dream assignment, it would be shooting the interiors and exteriors, the cover of Travel+Leisure and a few portraits in one of the world most beautiful hotels.

Photographer David Giral

11. Future plans for David Giral and his photography?

Improving my portfolios and my business processes and bringing them to the next level is always one of my top priorities. Expanding my network so I am able to work more often in areas such LA, NY or Miami is also key to my marketing strategy.

Even though I am currently focusing on events, portraits and commercial/residential architecture photography for small companies, I will soon start contacting bigger firms more aggressively once I think my work will have reached that level.

I am also working on my photo/photoshop workshop Light Engineering: RAW, DRI, HDR workflow for architecture and landscape photographers and really hope to launch it soon!

Photographer David Giral

12. Tell us a little about your new work…

One of my current struggles is to let go of technical perfection and keep on redefining my vision. For that reason, there is no other way to progress quickly than going outside of my comfort zone as often as possible. I also keep on adding a spiritual dimension to my photos with yoga and I think it’s an avenue that I would love to explore further. Also because I love DJs and their music, I started shooting DJs portfolios and there are a lot of things I would like to try out like mixing HDR and portraits a bit like Joel Grimes.

However, my list of avenues to explore is unlimited and there are a few other personal projects that I would like to try out very soon.

[davidgiral-08.jpg]

13. Oh, and what is on the music box right now at your studio?

(yes, it was supposed to be 12, but what the heck…)
Techno music: progressive trance (Armin Van Buren), progressive house and tech house (Blond:Ish). This type music gets me flowing when editing. It also makes clients comfortable.

–

Thanks David.

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UPC Outing to Kuala Penyu

2010-07-30T03:27:19+00:00

The trip to Kuala Penyu was absolutely amazing. We had so much fun, there wasn't any time for rest.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves thanks to the hard work from the committee and all the members who made the outing a success as well as Quenie for her excellent modelling work.

This is my favorite shot from the outing. The dark cloudy sky added a sense of high dynamic range to the photo as diffused sunlight from the left gave a very soft feel to the image.

Note: Ki Choy's blog is going going to be active again. He's got tonnes of photos to upload and God knows they have been collecting dust in his hard drive ;) Be sure to check out the blog soon.

210 / 365

2010-07-30T00:35:56+00:00

kf4lnq posted a photo:

Prevent dSLR Camera Shake With These 3 Techniques

2010-07-29T20:09:51+00:00

A Guest Post by Jeff Bartlett.

Let’s face the facts; lugging a tripod isn’t always a fun way to take pictures. Ignoring the obvious complaints, which include their size and weight, tripods are actually becoming banned in a number great shooting locations. Unfortunately, hand holding a camera in low light can be extremely difficult and many honest attempts result in soft images.

Thankfully, any of these three techniques will greatly improve the likelihood of sharp hand-held images.

A. Correcting the stance

Most photographers are familiar with how to hold a digital camera in their hands, but most ignore the important aspect of body position. Many people lean forward, leaving their arms to hold the camera steady. Much like lifting a heavy object, the weight is best handled by your legs so adapt your step to fit these guidelines:

Hold the camera with both hands. The left hand will be on the lens, while the right holds the camera body and controls the shutter.
Take a half step forward and keep your knees bent. This will distribute your weight equally over both legs.
Bring the camera up to your common shooting position. For dSLR cameras, this means with the viewfinder held firmly in front of your right eye, while compact cameras should be held at eye level, about 15 cm in front of the face.
Squeeze your elbows tightly against your sides. The left forearm should be completely vertical and behind your toes. Avoid the temptation to lean forward and take the weight off your legs; leaning forward will result in camera shake.
Take a deep breath and let the air out. Before taking the next breath, press the shutter as gently as possible.

B. A pocket-sized tripod

While tripods are awkward to carry, this technique will add a pocket-sized solution to low-light shooting situations.

Before going out shooting, cut a string that equals your height and keep it in your pocket or camera bag.
At the low-light shooting location, take the string out and loop it around the camera lens. Let the extra string fall to the ground.
Step on the loose end of the string and slowly raise the camera to your eye. Carefully pull the string taunt, while making sure not to pull hard enough to effect the camera-to-lens connection.
With the string pulled tight, stand in the same position described in the first technique, and gently push the shutter.

C. The Joe McNally Grip

Photographer Joe McNally, best known for his speed-lighting techniques, regularly shoots for publications like Sports Illustrated, National Geographic, and the now defunct Life Magazine. Despite shooting in various lighting situations, he rarely uses a tripod. Instead, he uses his own grip style that requires shooting with the left eye. With a little practice, this grip allows photographers to handhold with really slow shutter-speeds.

Follow the same foot position as technique one, with the left foot in front of the right, shoulder width apart.
Turn your upper body so that your left shoulder is pointing towards your subject.
Holding the camera with your right hand, bring the camera up and set it on your shoulder. The corner of the camera body should sit in the small hole behind your collarbone.
Use your left hand to brace the camera against your body. Anchor your weight equally on both feet, and lower your left eye to the viewfinder. Take the shot after letting out a deep breath.

Jeff Bartlett is a freelance travel photographer and writer. He splits his time between opposite ends of the earth; he lives six months in northern Canada before heading south for six in Argentina. He is also the editor of The Camping Cook..

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Prevent dSLR Camera Shake With These 3 Techniques

FAQ : Shooting Wedding Details

2010-07-29T15:02:00+00:00

Yesterday I had the distinct honor of having a wedding featured on Style Me Pretty. Like always, I love working with Abby and the SMP crew, so when Emily and D.J.'s Montage Laguna Beach wedding was featured, I was thrilled. It was awesome to revisit their wedding, so as I perused their wedding details, I thought I'd post a few more pictures...and include the metadata.

After posting the Dark Church and Ceremony FAQ post, a few photographers emailed and asked for more metadata posts. I usually shy away from these posts because they take f.o.r.e.v.e.r, but I'll try to make more of an effort to share. Like usual, I'm not inferring my way is the best (or the right) way to shoot..I'm merely sharing how I do it. I hope it's cool...

This post contains photos that weren't included in the original wedding blog post, to better focus on their wedding details...

Emily made a truly stunning bride and her wedding remains one of my favorites still to this day...

This photo isn't really a detail, but, just look at this pretty much grainless photo...shot at 3200iso...seriously, I love my Canon 5DMII.

Cocktail hour and lounge...

The decor and design was created by Square Root Designs...and I loved it!

Many thanks to Patty Burns and Jaime Puffer of the Montage Laguna Beach Events and Catering department...they're simply divine.

Happy Thursday!

© Jasmine Star. This post cannot be republished without permission. Stealing makes me sad.

Baby Photography: Photographing Babies Without Losing your Mind

2010-07-29T14:08:06+00:00

Today Natalie Norton shares with us a series of 6 tips for photographing babies.

*Image Credit Nicole Hill.

Babies, babies everywhere! It seems like everyone around me is either pregnant or has a new born! I’m a total sucker for tiny people. I love the way they look, all pink and wrinkled. I love the way they smell, like baby powder, and well, let’s just face it, slightly like sour milk. I even love the way they sound, fire engine siren screams and all.

However sweet they may be, they are NOT the easiest of photographic subjects! Here are 6 tips to nailing your next newborn session with flying colors.

1. Plan ahead of time!

Here are some things you’ll want to discuss with Mom and Dad about a day or 2 prior to your scheduled shoot.

Talk to Mom and Dad about the baby’s schedule. They may or may not have one, but one way or another, 9 times out of 10 Baby’s parents will be able to tell you which time of day their baby tends to be at their best, most calm state.
If you’re shooting the baby at home, be sure to get specifics as far as where Mom and Dad would like to shoot. If you don’t have studio lighting (which I don’t) you’ll want to make sure you know which way the windows in the chosen room are facing at the time of day you’re shooting to be sure you’ll have adequate light.
You’ll also want to know how Mom and Dad feel about wardrobe (or lack there of) for the baby. I love a naked, pink, wrinkly baby booty, however, not all parents share my affinity. Be sure to discuss this with Mommy and Daddy before you get to a shoot, ask Mom to strip the baby down, and then have to deal with awkward tension when she says “no way!”
If the parents are comfortable with shooting baby in the buff, be sure to request that they remove all baby’s clothing at least an hour in advance of the scheduled shoot so that the baby won’t have any funky clothing lines on their skin. I even tell my clients to fasten the baby’s diaper loosely during this time as well. Those lines can be fixed in Photoshop, but I for one would MUCH rather be out shooting than spending hours using the healing tool in front of my computer.

2. Come PREPARED!

Make sure that you have EVERYTHING you need VERY well organized and easily accessible. Babies are fidgety, fussy and very impatient, and you’ve got to take the initiative to plan accordingly.

If you’re using studio lighting, you should be set up at least 10 min before you’re scheduled to start shooting. That will give you time to run a few test shots before the baby is brought into the room.
This next one is a given, but remember that sensors and lenses should be checked before the shoot and cleaned if necessary. You can’t afford to stop in the middle of a newborn shoot because you notice a spot on your sensor. Babies are not as forgiving as their adult counterparts. They’re like ticking time bombs, and I guarantee all you moms and dads out there are nodding in agreement!
Get a good night’s sleep! You have got to arrive a vision of patience and with energy to spare. Remember, you’re likely walking into a home where NO ONE has gotten more than an hour of consecutive sleep for days on end. The last thing everyone needs is another exhausted, grumpy adult, whose patience has run dry to add to the mix. YOU set the tone! Come with a full tummy and a good night’s rest. (The full tummy thing is PARTICULARLY important for me as I tend to have low blood sugar. My patience, not to mention my creativity, is out the window if I don’t have something in my belly).

3. Get the Details!

Don’t be afraid to get in close and focus on the details. Most images I shoot of babies are shot with very low apertures (wide open) to encourage very shallow depth of field. I’m not by ANY means saying that this is right for everyone, but this is my particular style, and I do this for many reasons.

They are only tiny tiny for a VERY short time. I like to focus in and capture little feet and toes for example, before they slip away into roller skates and ballet slippers. . . it happens sooner that you know!
Shallow depth of field creates a mood of tenderness and intimacy which are so very appropriate for a shoot of this nature.
The main reason that I shoot the majority of my infant sessions with such shallow depth of field is that shots like this, in my humble opinion, help depict how suddenly your whole world is about that little person. Though everything else around you may be out of focus, the one thing that matters is perfectly clear.

4. Bring a Hat!

My friend and fellow photographer/mentor, Nicole Hill, of Nicole Photo (nicolephoto.com) and A Little Sussy (nicolehill.blogspot.com), recently informed me that a little stocking cap (beanie) can be a solve all for the . . . (cough cough) alien looking infant! Well, she didn’t say the alien part. That’s all me, but we have to just be honest and admit that often tiny babies look a little like E.T. My 3 boys included. Yup, I said it. If you saw their baby pictures, you couldn’t deny it either! Nicole is right, a beanie can cover a misshapen head or just soften a face that hasn’t quite grown into it’s features. Enough said.

5. Establishing Shots!

Establishing shots are images that establish the feeling, location, etc of the time during which an event took place. In this case you’re trying to tell a story about the feelings surrounding the birth of a new child. The welcome of another little person into an already established family unit. Each family unit will be different than the next, but each is special and should be documented as such. For example:

If you’re shooting in a home, most likely you’ll be in a nursery. Grab a shot of that! Establish the environment. It will be a treasure for the family to remember what their home was like at the time that they welcomed their little sweet heart into their heart and home.
Whether in studio or on location, try to grab a shot that establishes the whole family as they were at the time of the birth.

6. For Heaven’s Sake: BE FLEXIBLE!!!!

You’ve got to be flexible. There are so many variables when shooting a tiny baby. They can be SO unpredictable. Remember to:

Handle each hiccup in a loving way. I am convinced that babies can sense our tension and frustration and that they will respond in kind. Likewise, if we can remain calm and collected, they will find it easier to relax as well.
If you have to stop, STOP! If the baby is on the brink of a full blown freak out, TAKE A BREAK! Let Mom and Dad pop in and calm baby down, feed, burp, change a messy diaper, whatever. NEVER push a baby to the point of no return. If you let a baby get to the point of total freak out. . . well, sorry sweetheart, you may just be plum out of luck. . . and with no one to blame but yourself. Be in tune to baby and let him/her run the show.
If baby is fussing just a bit, you may not be bothered by it. Mom on the other hand may be totally on edge. Part of your job is to be aware of that. Ask her if she’d feel more comfortable continuing after she’s had a chance for a little snuggle. The last thing you need is a Momma bear worried about her cub. I’d ellaborate, but something tells me, ‘nough said.
Give yourself plenty of time. I have never had an infant shoot that has lasted longer than 30min-1hour. Maybe I’ve just gotten lucky! Probably so!! But I ALWAYS schedule a 2 hour block so there is time to feed, change, soothe etc between shots if necessary.

There are SO MANY more things to remember when you’re running an infant shoot. Hopefully the few I’ve shared will be helpful. Feel free to add others in the comment section below! I also encourage you to make a checklist out of the information above to be sure you’re prepared in the future!!

Happy Shooting!

Natalie Norton lives and shoots on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii with her wonderful husband and her 3 crazy sons! Raleigh (5), Cardon (3) and Lincoln (22 months).

PS from Darren: Coincidentally – I also had another baby photography tutorial submitted yesterday – so as we’re in a baby mood here at DPS this week I’ll post that one tomorrow – I think they compliment each other nicely. Stay tuned!

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Baby Photography: Photographing Babies Without Losing your Mind

First Live Broadcast: Discuss Photography and Promotion

2010-07-29T13:48:21+00:00

This is for today’s date: Thursday, July 29, 2010. It will not be archived unless I decide to, you know, archive it… we’ll see.

We are going to try a little something different.

Recently we have discussed pricing and the perils of “shooting for free” and the perils of ‘not’ shooting for love. We have looked at branding and what it can mean for photographers on the way up. And yesterday’s post at Photoshelter on Social Media’s and why it may not be working is top of mind for a lot of photographers.

These are topics I want to discuss with a few of you in a more personal way. So we are going to try this as an experiment. I see some synergy in the topics.

Below is the Embed of my UStream.tv site. I will be on from 7PM to 8PM (pacific) to discuss these topics. I have chosen this form as the first experiment at it. There is a chat window below, and we will discuss this as best we can. If it doesn’t work, well… we gave it a shot.

Personally I am not into podcasts, I am way to visual for that. I wish there was a multiple audio stream way to do it… but I also think that could be terribly noisy. So we will see how this works.

References:
7 Reasons Why Social Media Aint Working for Your Photography Business
What is the Difference Between Shooting for Free and Shooting for Me?

See you on Thursday, July 29, 2010, 7PM (Pacific)

Sorry everyone. Seems like the www.ustream.tv was a bigass #FAIL. It didn’t work. Very frustrating, but I guess that is why it is free. Ahhhhhh the economy of free. Also means the economy of ‘we don’t give a shit if it works.” We may try it again sometime. I will get a go-to-meeting account if that is the best way to do it.

Damn.

Learn to Light is my site for the workshops, and you can follow me on Twitter if you like. I am planning on getting some new dates for the end of the year, and we are also going to do some different approaches to the workshops to change them up.

Purchase Selina's excellent audio program on being a successful commercial photographer through Lighting Essentials and save $100. Use the code FOSLE at checkout.

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None

2010-07-29T06:00:00+00:00

A giraffe casts a shadow against a wall at the London Zoo. (This photo was submitted to My Shot.)

Day 209: After the rain

2010-07-29T03:30:15+00:00

sevenman posted a photo:

209 / 365

2010-07-28T23:25:04+00:00

kf4lnq posted a photo:

In Plain Sight

2010-07-28T21:16:34+00:00

It took me a couple of minutes to realize this grasshopper when I was going around taking pictures of the flowers :S

I will be uploading a couple of my favorite pictures from Kuala Penyu soon. Right now I'm just checking if there are any more that I might have overlooked.

Olympus SP-800UZ Review

2010-07-28T19:32:05+00:00

Now that cameras such as this are nearly commonplace, the decision whether to buy a digicam that shoots HD movies as well as pretty big stills or a camcorder that shoots HD video and stills is a tricky one. Pricewise, it’s also a close race.

Now we have the Olympus SP-800UZ with an enormous 30x optical zoom that equates to a 35 SLR range of 28-840mm and, note, the tele end enjoys an f5.6 aperture. Check out the difference – shooting at either end of the zooms range:

The camera has 14.0 megapixel capture that can shoot a maximum size image of 4288×3216 pixels, or enough to make a 36×27cm print.

In video it can record 1280×720 pixel resolution, viewed via the large 7.6cm LCD screen. The odd thing is that you cannot use the optical zoom whilst shooting… but you can preset the zoom position before you start to roll.

There is face detection for shots that contain up to 16 faces. An interesting Shadow Adjustment can be left on or off or even set in auto. Whilst the manual gives little info away about this function, it would appear to be able to control the brightness range in pictures.

The camera has four continuous speed settings: that range from about 1fps to 10fps that range in size from 4288×3216 to 2560×1920 — very handy when you need it.

Go to the LCD screen and you can choose from Program AE, iAuto, 14 scene modes; Magic filters; Panorama and Beauty to soften skin texture in portraits.

Added to this list is an HDMI output for HD viewing on tele and a whopping 2GB of internal memory.

Olympus SP-800UZ ISO Tests

At ISO 50 a clean and sharp image.

The ISO 800 shot still shows a good performance

Noise and artefacts apparent at ISO 3200 while sharpness is reduced; note also that camera shrinks the image size down to 2560×1920 pixels.

Distortion

Barrel distortion is apparent at the zoom’s wide end, while the tele end shows only a small amount of pincushion distortion.

Startup Time

A slow performer, the SP-800UZ took four seconds before I could shoot the first shots; follow-ons were about three seconds apart.

Comment

Quality: about average, not brilliant but OK; sun flare was a problem in some situations.
Why you would buy the SP-800UZ: you have hands steady enough to fully take advantage of the long zoom; you want a really compact, pocketable camera; you need a ripper continuous shooting feature.
Why you wouldn’t: you have the shakes; you need more exposure control in the form of shutter and aperture settings; the camera’s bulk does not deter you.

The SP-800UZ appears to share not only the CCD as well as many features with the more compact and far less optically powerful Mu 9010 Tough camera.

One sour note: the battery/memory card compartment is easily opened accidentally.

Olympus SP-800UZ Specifications

Image Sensor: 14.0 million effective pixels.
Metering: ESP and spot.
Sensor Size: 11mm CCD.
Lens: f2.8/4.9/4.9-147mm (28-840mm as 35 SLR equivalent).
strong>Shutter Speed: 15 to 1/2000 second.
Memory: SD, SDHC cards plus 2GB internal memory.
Image Sizes (pixels): 4288×3216, 3264×2448, 2560×1920, 1920×1080, 1600×1200, 1280×960, 640×480.
Movies: 1280×720, 640×480, 320×240 at 15/30 fps.
LCD Screen: 7.6cm LCD (230,000 pixels).
File Formats: JPEG, WAV, Motion JPEG.
ISO Sensitivity: Auto, 64 to 3200.
Interface: USB 2.0, HDMI, AV.
Power: Rechargeable lithium ion battery, DC input.
Dimensions: 107.3×73.4×84.7 WHDmm.
Weight: 418 g (inc battery and card).
Price: Get a price on the Olympus SP-800UZ at Amazon.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Olympus SP-800UZ Review

Photoshop: Working with Locked Pixels

2010-07-28T14:01:35+00:00

If you’ve ever wondered what the small icons in the Layer palette do, you might be surprised at how useful they can be. Here’s what the Lock Transparent Pixels icon does and how you can use it.

There are times when you are working with content on layers in Photoshop that the layers can do things that you don’t expect them to do. For example, in this image, I have extracted the background to a layer of its own by selecting it and then choose Layer > New > Layer via Copy.

I now want to blur this layer so if I select it and apply a Gaussian blur filter to it, you will see that the Gaussian blur filter pushes the background over the edges of the flower.

This time, instead of selecting the layer contents I selected the Lock Transparent Pixels icon in the layers palette.

Now when I apply the same heavy blur filter you’ll see that the edges of the background are maintained.

The layer is blurred but only the area that was covered by the original pixels is blurred and the blur isn’t permitted to ‘bleed’ into the area that contains fully transparent pixels.

This option is useful when painting over details to change their color. For example, when you photograph someone against a green screen background you will find hairs and areas around the very edge of your subject may have a green tinge. Or when you extract a subject, like a building, photographed in bright sunlight it may display some chromatic aberration around its edges.

If you select the layer by Control + Clicking on it (Command + Click on the Mac) and sample a color from adjacent pixels you can set the Brush to Color mode and paint over the edges. The problem is that, as you paint, the color is built up on partially transparent pixels which, if you paint too many times, begin to lose their transparency.

If, on the other hand, instead of selecting the layer, you click the Lock Transparent Pixels option and then paint with the brush set to the same Color blend mode and sampling colors from the image as you go, you’ll paint out the problem colors but without affecting transparency.

The same option can be used when you fill a selection with a foreground or background color by pressing Alt + Backspace (, Option + Delete on the Mac). If the selection is partially transparent and if you simply Control + Click on the layer to select it, the more you fill it the more transparency is lost. On the other hand, if you select Lock Transparent Pixels you can fill it over and over again and no transparency is lost.

In short, using Lock Transparent Pixels ensures that an object on a layer can never become more or less transparent than it was when first created and that its edges won’t change if you, for example, add a blur to it.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Photoshop: Working with Locked Pixels

CreativeLive : Bride+Groom

2010-07-28T12:49:00+00:00

Life is crazy beautiful. Often times more crazy, but when beautiful strikes, it's awesome. Remember that wild adventure I'm taking with creativeLIVE? A couple weeks ago, I posted that we needed a real life couple who'd be willing to get married, and in turn for their generous participation, they'd get a free wedding. The response was amazing and the couples who took time to submit their videos blew me away. I was incredibly honored to hear their stories.

One of the couples was Laura and Billy. And they made the following video...
(embeded object)

Laura and Billy want to win a free wedding with Jasmine Star from Laura Marchbanks on Vimeo.

Seeing them so in love and happy made my heart melt. The creativeLIVE team and I are happy to announce Laura and Billy as the contest winners! It was an incredibly hard decision, but after a few Skype conversations, we knew we found the perfect fit! The day will be made extra amazing with the help of Daniela of Bella Signature Design, one of Seattle's premiere wedding coordinators. She has some amazing things in store and we're stoked to have her talent for this event.

If you'd more information how you can participate this event online, definitely check out the creativeLIVE website. Or, if you'd like to join the fun in person, you can submit a video and hopefully score a seat for the actual event in Seattle. Don't forget: The deadline is THIS Friday!

Happy Wednesday!

© Jasmine Star. This post cannot be republished without permission. Stealing makes me sad.

DIY Camera Hard Case

2010-07-28T08:13:36+00:00

In this post, Kevin A Crider will show you how to make a DIY Hard Camera Case the size of a suitcase. And yes, you can get a pro, feature rich version for $800, but if you walk to the closest garage sale, you can make a camera hard case for $5 and the price of the foam.

All this project requires is a suitcase that opens in the middle and a sheet of foam. You may use any suit case, but the ones that open in the middle allows us to store equipment on both sides.

Who Is This Guy

2010-07-28T08:02:53+00:00

If you were wondering who is that weird guy behind DIYPHotography, you can grab a hot chocolate and head over to PetaPixel where Michael Zhang gave me quite an extensive interview. Extra! Extra! read all about it. + You get the bonus of enjoying my unedited superb English)

And the obligatory link.

None

2010-07-28T06:00:00+00:00

On the dunes of Socotra island, Yemen. Seconds later the camel set off in a run down the dunes, its feet sinking into the sand. It vanished behind the dunes, leaving me with this picture and the most awe-inspiring memories of Socotra. (This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot.)

Day 208: Sadly sprawled

2010-07-28T05:04:26+00:00

sevenman posted a photo:

Day 207: Out there

2010-07-28T04:43:12+00:00

sevenman posted a photo:

208 / 365

2010-07-27T22:43:12+00:00

kf4lnq posted a photo:

Travel Photography Subjects: Transportation

2010-07-27T19:18:24+00:00

This post is number ten of twenty one subjects that will help you focus when on your next journey and you wish to bring back a well rounded story of where you were. If you’re just going on vacation and only want pictures of yourself by the pool sipping boat drinks, then you can probably skip this one. These posts are not intent on telling you everything you need to do, step by step, to capture perfect, cookie-cutter pictures while traveling. Instead, they are intent on pointing out some vital elements to capture when on the road and ask thought provoking questions you may want to ask yourself. My hope is they help guide you to find your own means to better expressing what your travels have meant to you and present that in the best light possible.

Getting from here to there. Transportation. This Travel Photography Subject is easy because you will be directly involved, one way or the other, as you travel. From the planes that take you over vast oceans, to the trains, taxis, rickshaws, tuk-tuks, motorcycles, chicken buses, long boats, barges…..I think you get the picture. Transportation is the backbones of travel, and unless you’re hoofing it on foot, you’ll be using some form of transportation from the moment you leave your house.

The trick is to get creative with your photos of transportation. While standard, representation shots of the side of the bus you rode from Nairobi to Arusha will do, what’s another way to tell the story? Do you have shots of what it’s like inside, packed three to a seat? What about luggage storage or the exhaust billowing out the tailpipe? And along the way, do you make any stops and what’s the activity around the bus like? The driver and the money handler, what’s their part in the travels?

Take a look at not only the aesthetics of your mode of transportation, but also how it fits in with the overall culture. In some places taxis are everywhere and run by highly organized groups. Driver’s tend to know each other and may be more cooperative. In others locations it’s far more adversarial. You’ll get a flavor for the culture pretty quickly. Try to incorporate that into your representation of the mode you choose.

Some people also find a certain fascination with one particular mode, especially when it’s something new. If this is you, run with it! Maybe it’s rickshaws in Asia. For instance, you could collect shots of all the different decorations and colorings. Or document the different drivers you see. If your travels are centered in one country, maybe decsribe how the rickshaws change from town to town or region to region (if they do at all). Expanding out from there, how do the rickshaws in Vietnam compare to those in Nepal? Or Africa?

Also take a look at not just human transport, but the transportation of goods. In some areas, half the wheels on the ground are carrying commerce from here to there. Carts full of vegetables, fruit or TVs. Lories packed beyond capacity with cotton from the fields. Mules, oxen, yaks and horses packing rice, crates and climbers expedition gear to the Himalayas. It’s all fodder for the overall category of transportation.

What have been your experiences shooting Transportation during your travels? Post a photo or link in the section below and include a bit of background information.

—-

Previous articles in the Travel Photography Subjects series include Water, Old People, Young People, Religion, Sports, Socializing, Icons, Rich and Poor. Be sure to subscribe to this site to receive the other 15 subjects as they are posted!

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Travel Photography Subjects: Transportation

Refueling.

2010-07-27T15:44:00+00:00

I'm suffering from blockage. In the worst of ways. I feel completely depleted and uncreative. Heck, it was like pulling teeth to write this blog post, but I decided I needed to get it out because I need to remember these days. The days that feel like my creative bank has been overdrawn, and who likes NSFs anyway?

So now what? What am I going to do to get myself back where I need to be? Nothing. Yup, that's right. A whole lot of nothing. I'll take care of office things and lingering emails, but I refuse to become frustrated. Instead, I'll read, watch movies that make me feel something, and maybe hit up a museum. I'll likely conclude my night tucked away in the magazine section at Barnes&Noble. Just staring, soaking in, and making deposits.

This picture? Well, it's a piece of art I bought at an antique fair. It's a rusted rim of a 1953 Thunderbird and sea nest. Or something like that. I didn't really have to know what is was because upon first glance, I loved it. I made me feel something. It made me happy. It made me feel alive. And I knew I needed it in my house.

Happy Tuesday!

© Jasmine Star. This post cannot be republished without permission. Stealing makes me sad.

Engagement Portrait Shoots: 7 Professional Tips to take your Engagement Shoots to the Next Level

2010-07-27T14:05:28+00:00

Today portrait photographer Christina N Dickson shares tips on how to shoot engagement portraits. Christina’s work can be found at www.ChristinaNicholePhotography.com.

Shooting engagement portraits are perhaps some of the most enjoyable for photographers. Most often, they are taken before the whirlwind of wedding planning is fully underway, and the couple is still quite enamored with one another. How do you take advantage of this time and produce incredible images? Follow these few steps to achieve real and vibrant engagement portraits.

1. Be involved!

As a photographer, you must keep your people skills sharp. With engagement photos, you have to do your research on the couple you are photographing. What are they like as a couple? What are they like as individuals? What is their wedding going to be like? How did they meet? This is going to affect the way you want to build your images and portray them.

2. Encourage affection!

Rather than posing each shot, ie, “okay, now you kiss her cheek!” encourage your couple to show as much affection as possible. Every couple does certain things to show one another love. If you want to capture them accurately, you will urge this type of interaction.

3. Be observant!

A couple is most natural when they are focusing on one another. Try to direct the shoot by suggesting they talk to one another, telling one another most embarrassing moments, or 5 things they love about each other– topics that will pull out expression, interaction, and affection.

4. Remember that space determines relationship!

If a couple is leaning in for a kiss, or walking arm in arm, you will be able to communicate a message of intimacy. Sometimes you can get sweet shots with contrast and tension in the picture by placing the couple far apart in the frame, but be sure that this is your purpose if your going to do it.

5. Tell a story.

No love story is the same. Find unique traits about the couple, and then pull this out in the creation of your images. If the couple is perfectly at ease with one another because they have been best friends for 10 years, you can create images with a laid back and contented feel. If the couple has had a whirlwind romance after meeting on e-harmony.com, it will be natural to pull out the affection and passion of their relationship

6. Be open to suggestions!

Often times the bride to be will have an idea for a shot she will suggest to you before hand. Other times her fiancé may think of an idea on the spot during the shoot. If you can integrate these ideas into your shooting, you will delight the couple, and possibly find yourself inspired by new ideas.

7. Be personable!

If you get to know your couple, and allow them to fall in love with your personality and style, you have a good chance of booking them for a wedding also. Your job is not only to take good pictures, but also to give them a fabulous time they will remember for the rest of their lives.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Engagement Portrait Shoots: 7 Professional Tips to take your Engagement Shoots to the Next Level

Shooting Waverunners in Mexico – In the Ocean

2010-07-27T13:55:48+00:00

Well, I am kinda with my buddy Kirk here. We have had some distinctly powerful discussions on working for free and what to charge. So we are going to lighten it up a bit with some discussions on images.

So let’s take a look at something I am working on right now. I have been asked to do some lifestyle ad shooting for a local client. We are looking for something a little edgy to promote some villas in Rocky Point. I am doing the photography and the creative, so I am working with owner on the direction of the work.

The project will be a brochure, an ad campaign, and a couple of large billboards. He wants to make the look very modern and he has a pretty good design sense anyway, so it will be a nice collaboration. Some clients think they are pretty design savvy, and this client is actually better than he thinks, so it will be a good working arrangement.

We did an audit of competing companies direct mail and large display ads and determined that a lot of them were saturated color and fairly static… shots of the villas themselves, or empty swimming pools with zero edge.

I presented a more ‘active’ and compelling direction to the work. The images are fun, distinct and a bit desaturated for a look that would stand out. My plan is to deliver the ‘fun’ and ‘excitement’ of staying at a villa in the little Gulf of California town south of Arizona. They are experiencing quite a downturn in visitor traffic so the plan is to focus on the fun. And I want the viewer to feel they are a part of the fun, not just looking at it from afar.

We are also going to do some video work, but that is down the road a bit. However, as I am working on the stills and direction of the still work, I have to take the video shooting into perspective. It will be necessary to tie the two together to provide a cohesive look to the ads, collateral and display advertising.

Briana on a Waverunner in Rocky Point, Mexico.

This is one of the shots we are using for the testing portion of the pre-production. It was taken very early in the morning a year or so ago in Rocky Point. The shot puts the viewer ‘in the scene’ by keeping the camera angle low. The wide angle lens choice brings the waves right up to the viewers chin. Point of View is such an important part of making an image.

This shot was also shot at the same time as the one above.

I mocked up a simple layout (not the final design, folks) to kind of show how the type and the image work together to provide a nice context for the viewer… come to Mexico and have fun. Being there, so to speak.

It was very, very early in the morning because we had decided to make our Mexico trip about two weeks too early and it was hot as hell. The water was actually like a bath, and the heat had already started to make itself felt at 7AM. The girls had been in makeup since about 4AM (we had 4 models and only one MUA, so we staggered the calls to get them in and ready for the 6:45 call. I think they drew straws… heh.)

I had the two models ride by and hit the brakes/gun it to create a big splash and lots of flying water. I would take a few bursts of shots as they played and acted happy. Well, they didn’t have to act that much cause those things are a hell of a lot of fun. I was up to my neck so that I could get that POV that I wanted when making the shots.

Continued after the jump.

I should note, that when I was shooting these, I didn’t have this gig. It was the opportunity to shoot image from a different angle that drove me to the water. I am also shooting with my Rebel because if I dropped it, I would lose an inexpensive camera. The lens may or may not make it, but could be fixed. Was this kinda stupid…? Yeah, so? I should have had a waterproof housing. But I didn’t, so I was as careful as i could be. I didn’t plan on getting it wet – and I didn’t. Mostly.

It can take a lot of coordination to get the models to work with you when they are on loud machines and you are right next to the water where sound doesn’t travel nearly as good as you expect. We had a great little arm/hand motion going so I probably looked pretty silly out there neck deep in the water waving like a crazy guy.

NOTE: When standing neck deep in the Ocean, it is very important to remember that the water is about 12 inches from eye level. So dropping it to your waist as when standing on the land can be catastrophic. Yes, I caught it in time… Sheesh.

When this gig came about and we started talking about the stuff we were going to do, I remembered these shots and am using them for creative direction. So far so good.

Post processing includes: open shadows, higher contrast, increased luminance contrast, and de-saturation. The challenge for the shoot will be to get some clouds in the sky – whether by them being there or putting them in during post.

The scene of the crime.

Yeah, we were deep into the water, and kinda, you know, wet.

All in all we shot for about an hour… one girl, two girls, even working on getting two Waverunners going by each other head to head and neck to neck. I shot about 1000 frames. And while I like some of the images with the two Waverunners, it is my nature to go for the simpler, more ‘deliberate’ images. I like the cleaner look, and the graphic design of the image being straight forward.

I will be going down with two models to do the shoot in early October. It will be so much nicer then, and we will be able to do the shoot without being encumbered by extraordinary heat and horrible humidity. Since “Sandy Beach runs East/West, I will also be able to shoot in the morning and the evening. Two chances for some pretty cool clouds.

One last thing. You will notice that we do not have the models wearing life vests. It is because we were working in a very small area right next to the beach. We had permission to do that and we had help standing by. The area was clear of any other craft so we were pretty tight and safe. When the shoot was over and it was time to play on the Waverunners, the life vests went on. And we had a blast.

My most recent posts are:
“Enough Negativity: Ten Things to Positively Affect Your Photography”
No Assignments Without Experience, No Experience without Assignments… Yeah, That Makes Sense, Right?
What is the Difference Between Shooting for Free and Shooting for Me?
Be sure to check the Archives for hundreds more articles.

Thanks for following along on this shoot. You can follow along on Twitter anytime, and check out Learn to Light for information on our lighting workshops.

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2010-07-27T06:00:00+00:00

One of the coolest animals (literally) on the planet, the wood frog has the ability to go into complete hibernation (including complete heart stoppage) during the winter season. The heart, lungs, and brain completely freeze. In spring, the frog thaws out and comes "back to life". Spotted at Potato Creek State Park, Indiana. (This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot.)

Day 206: Point of view

2010-07-27T04:59:30+00:00

sevenman posted a photo:

Life is Hectic… Summer of 2010

2010-07-27T02:40:37+00:00

I’ve been awfully quiet on my blogs and social media accounts over the last few weeks — but I’m not just being lazy. Most of you probably don’t give a hoot one way or another, but for those who are interested, here’s what I’ve been up to lately…

At the end of June, my wife took the kids up to North Idaho for their annual “summer vacation with the grandparents” routine. While she was up there, she saw that the house across the street from my parents was for sale. She’s been wanting to move back to that area for some time, so naturally, she pestered me about the house for a solid week. At first, I blew it off and found excuses for not moving back home. Then I found myself rationalizing such a move.

We started talking with the Realtors and banks a few weeks back and life has been hectic since then. Sign this, sign that, answer the phone 15 times a day, jump through flaming hoops while juggling chainsaws, etc, etc. Things have been moving very fast and I’ve been busy for about three weeks straight. But…

We’re buying a house!

The price was right and the location is perfect — I would love to raise my kids where I grew up. We’ll be close to our immediate families again, and I’m hoping we can settle down into a more relaxed lifestyle. For about the last 9 or 10 years, we’ve been living in apartments in college towns and cities in New Jersey and Southern California. Up in Idaho, we’ll be sitting on 5 acres and the neighbors are barely visible.

We’re moving out this Friday and we should be in the new place by Monday or Tuesday. It’s crunch time with the packing and all the other last minute arrangements, so I’ve been hard pressed to get near my computer. Once we get up there and settled in, I’ll be working from home while looking for a new job, so I should have some time to get back into the blogging scene.

I do love San Diego and all that it has to offer, but I love North Idaho more. I’m glad I got to take part in the Southern California scene and I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t experience more of it, but it’s time to move on. I’ll be trading beach towns & street scenes for wilderness & landscape — but I’m fine with new and interesting photographic challenges. Here are a few Idaho photos (mostly from my last visit in the winter 1.5 years ago).

So I’ll post what I can over the next week or two, but life has to come first. So long California, it’s been fun! And I hope to see all my SoCal friends again soon — you guys are great!

Sponsors of Epic Edits

207 / 365

2010-07-26T22:55:49+00:00

kf4lnq posted a photo:

How [Not] to Take a Self Timer Portrait

2010-07-26T20:29:25+00:00

This one hit our inbox 3 times today so I thought I’d share it here.

How to Photograph yourself with a self timer:

Step1: Choose a good background

Step 2: Set Self timer on your camera

Step 3: Smile

Step 4: Be Careful

Step 5: Call 911

What photography disaster have you had? Share them in comments below.

Thanks to Douwe who was the first to send this in.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

How [Not] to Take a Self Timer Portrait

4 Hours | One Model | One Stylist

2010-07-26T19:38:23+00:00

The beautiful Alexa was lucky enough to receive a stellar 16th birthday present from her parents, a four hour photo-session with on-set professional styling. So how much can we accomplish in just over 4 short hours? Here is your answer.

Hair & Makeup by Steven Robertson

Equipment used to achieve these images

Links take you to B&H (the premiere online photo store) where you can view more details about each of these products, or purchase them.

Camera: Canon 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM
Tripod: Manfrotto 190XPROB
Tripod Grip: Manfrotto Ballhead (322RC2)
Memory Card: SanDisk Extreme 16GB
Strobes: Two Elinchrom 600RX Monolights
Light Modifier (Strobe 1): Large Photoflex Softbox with grid
Light Modifier (Strobe 2): Medium Photoflex Softbox with grid
Software: Adobe Lightroom & Adobe Photoshop CS5

To book your own personal photo session visit

http://www.jakegarn.com/booking (this particular session was a Long Shoot under the Model Portfolio section)

Craziness!

2010-07-26T14:40:22+00:00

And I’m loving it! haha! Seriously, my life has been so busy the last few weeks between shooting a ton of seniors, organizing workshops, taking care of my 4 year old, trying to keep my house in somewhat good order, and now opening a studio where I live. I signed a lease the other night. I have always dreamed of this! I have dreamed of being full time and having my husband work with me some day. Well, that’s if we wouldn’t drive ourselves crazy. Anyway, I wanted to announce some workshops.

Salt Lake City: Only a couple spots left. It’s 495 for the day on September 23! We are going to be near Ogden, Utah.

Sacramento Area: October 22 - 24 Only a couple spots left! At Cari Clinkenbeard’s Studio!!

Austin Texas: November 5-7

If you want to come please let me know. Send me an email asap to get your spot!

This was taken with my AB 1600 and Westcott 50 softbox.

We spent the entire weekend getting rid of the purple and yellow. Ahh it’s starting to shape up in there. We have to get a plumber in there to get rid of the pipes now and also build a wall. Put in some electrical paint the new wall and then move in!

And then the daunting task of decorating! If you know me, I’m horrible with decisions like this. You should have seen me try and pick out paint!

Now, I will be able to do workshops out of my studio as well!!!!

Studio Lighting Course? :)

An Introduction to Bird photography

2010-07-26T14:34:57+00:00

A Guest Post by Lithuanian Photographer Tadas Naujokaitis.

Birds are very interesting creatures, but it’s not so easy to photograph them. Wild birds usually don’t pose where you want and, moreover, it’s often difficult to get close enough to take quality pictures. But if you know some basics of bird photography, it becomes much easier to capture amazing moments of the birds’ life.

Equipment

It’s not necessary to have an expensive camera of lens, however the proper equipment lets to take bird photos easier.

Lens
Most birds are quite shy, so you need at least 200mm (300mm is better) to take pictures of them. Longer focal length not only lets to photograph birds from larger distance, it also gives more blurred background. However more millimeters (or larger aperture) means more expensive, larger and heavier lens. Knowing all that, I think that 400mm f/5.6 lens is the best, if you want to have as much millimeters as possible, not too small aperture and still want to be mobile. Of course, you can make magnificent bird images with 100mm or less, just you should find more courageous birds or compose them to landscape.

Grey Heron is landing far enough where it feels safe, but with 400mm it's possible to capture it with all the details.

Camera
In bird photography, almost all DSLR’s will make a good job. However, if you’re planning to photograph birds in flight, pay attention to fps (frames per second), high ISO results and AF (autofocus) system’s accuracy. If you don’t have a DSLR camera, then bird photography becomes a bit more difficult (especially due to slow AF), but don’t give up – a good photographer, I believe, will make better bird photos with mobile phone than a poor one with the most expensive equipment.

Tripod, monopod, flash, even remote control sometimes help much, but usually aren’t necessary.

Camera settings

It’s very important to know what settings to choose in certain situation to get most from your camera.

Exposure
In bird photography lens with long focal length are usually used, so it’s very important to set not too long exposure, if you don’t want that camera shake would cause blurry pictures. The rule is to set expose not longer than focal length of your lens. For example, if your lens focal length is 400mm, you need to set at least 1/400 exposure to get sharp images. However, it is valid only if you have a full-frame camera. If your have a DSLR with smaller sensor (e.g. APS-C DSLR – with 1.6 crop factor), you need to multiply millimeters of your lens from the crop factor. This time that would be (400 x 1.6 = 640) 1/640 exposure. If you don’t have a DSLR, you usually won’t need to multiply anything – the focal length, written on your camera lens, usually already is multiplied (actually it’s 35mm equivalent). Today, most lens or cameras have image stabilization (IS, VR…), and that helps much in low light conditions. Using it, you can set as many steps longer exposure, as you find in your lens/camera specifications, and get sharp images. For instance, if there is a 2 steps 400mm lens stabilizer, you can set 2 steps longer exposure (1/400-1/200-1/100, with APS-C camera: 1/640-1/320-1/160). When using tripod, of course, these rules to minimize camera shake are not so important.

If you want so freeze action, set 1/1000 or shorter exposure, if you would like to show movement, use 1/60 or longer.

Aperture
As you may already knew, aperture controls DOF (depth of field). That means, if you want a more blurred background, set the largest aperture (the smallest number). However, when using telephoto lens, some parts of bird’s body may appear out of focus, so pay attention where exactly you are focusing (that usually is the bird’s eye). If necessary, close aperture a bit.

When photographing these young Swallows I needed to set f/8 aperture to get both birds in focus.

ISO
In bird photography, as in anywhere else, the lower ISO speed, the better. However, it’s much better to set ISO 800 or 1600 and get a sharp picture, than ISO 200, and get the blurry one.

This photo of Black Redstart was made with ISO 2000, because there wasn't much light, and I believe it was worth it.

Some other notes
When photographing birds, three modes work the best. If you want to control aperture (depth of field), choose Av (aperture priority) mode. For shutter speed controlling (especially useful when photographing birds in flight) use Tv (shutter priority) mode. If you exactly know what settings you need, choose M (manual) mode.

If you photograph dark bird in light background or want to get more details from dark areas, set the positive exposure compensation value, if you want to avoid overexposed areas, set the negative one.
I recommend you to always shoot in RAW, if possible, because later you can easily fix such things as WB (white balance) with computer.

Ways to photograph birds

The next step is to learn, how to get to the birds closer, so then you will be able to take quality pictures of them.

So you can:

Don’t do anything exceptional
Some birds are courageous and let you to come close enough. The best example is Mute Swans.

Move carefully
Many birds let you to come close enough if you simply don’t make any sudden movements.

Stalk
Sometimes this really works, just make sure that bird doesn’t see you when you are getting close and then, very carefully, take picture.

Lie without any movements
Birds sometimes come surprisingly close, when you lie. Just find a good place or put some food and be patient!

Hide
When photographing a shy bird or wanting a small bird to come very close for a quality photo this is the best technique. You can hide using hunting blind, camouflage net or the blind you made yourself from surrounding materials. The lower is blind, the more courageous birds feel. If you use surrounding materials to camouflage the blind or to hide yourself, that is another advantage. You can hide near various objects, which attracts birds. Also, you can put some food where you want for birds to come. Sunflower’s seeds are the best food in most cases. If you want that bird would sit on the twig or something similar before taking food, put that twig above the food.

Here you can see the photo of Great Tit and how it was made.

Sometimes it's enough to put some sunflower's seeds on the grass! And this is the result.

It doesn’t matter which way you choose, be patient. Don’t wander from one bird (birds) to other (others), if you didn’t succeeded from the first time. Sometimes it’s a good idea to go back next day and try again.

The Image

Now, lets talk about the image itself. We know what equipment we need, what camera settings to choose, how to get to the bird closer, now it’s time to find out how to make the image of the bird look attractive.

The light
Everything starts with a good light. The best time for photography is morning or evening because the light is soft and has a pleasant hue, shadows are not so distinct, it’s easier to get details from very bright and dark areas.

In this example you can see that this White-winged Tern has both black and white feathers, but because it was photographed in the evening, there are no pure white or black areas.

Composition
It is usual to leave some space in the direction the bird is looking or flying. Rule of thirds sometimes helps too. Simply try some different framing to see when you get the best result. In addition, try to avoid any distracting elements, when you are taking the picture. And one more thing to mention: when you are taking the photo of the bird, try to be in it’s eye level.

The bird’s sitting place and the background
It’s the best, when the place, where the bird sits, shows bird’s natural habitat. It can be almost anything because birds live in very different habitats. The background shouldn’t be distracting and usually it looks better when it isn’t the sky (but not always!).

Capture something more

Ethics of bird photography

Birds are wonderful creatures. When you are taking photos, don’t harm them. I strongly advice you not to photograph birds near nests (except when the distance is large and bird isn’t sensitive to disturbance – there are only very few such species). Even if you don’t harm birds, you can show the place of the nest for predators. The life of bird is more important than a photo.

Conclusion

Bird photography is exciting and full of adventures. I hope after this article it will be easier for you to take beautiful bird photos.

About the Author: Tadas Naujokaitis lives in Lithuania. See more of his work at www.tadasnaujokaitis.tk and connect with him on his Facebook page.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

An Introduction to Bird photography

He Calls Me Fathead.

2010-07-26T14:33:00+00:00

A couple weeks ago, JD and I attended In The Heights, a Broadway musical, in Hollywood. To say I loved it would be an understatement. From the opening number, I was smitten and it only got better. I now listen to the soundtrack and belt out showtunes at the start of every peaceful morning. Polo loves it.

I was so moved by the musical, I surprised my parents with tickets for last Saturday's performance. My father texted me at intermission and said my mother cried through the entire first half. Her tears were memories from her childhood in Puerto Rico and New York. They were tears because she saw pieces of my grandmother on stage. Her tears were happy, but also longed for a life she tries to remember.

As a way to say thank you, my parents bought me a gift.

They found glasses I could use to read at night in bed. Kind of like the pair my dad bought me from a thrift store when I was a kid. But not as cool.

© Jasmine Star. This post cannot be republished without permission. Stealing makes me sad.

How To Build The Smallest Intervalometer In The World

2010-07-26T09:26:27+00:00

If you are into time lapse you must have checked the option of getting an Intervalometer. as you can see from the Canon and Nikon links an Intervalometer is not cheap. Not really expensive either, but definitely not cheap. So As usual I ask: what can you DIY about it?

Some cameras already have the time lapse feature built in, and Canon photographers can turn to CHDK for adding a time lapse feature. But there is a third, cooler version if you are into electronics (which I know lots of site readers are not afraid of).

Achim Sack - a super electronics engineer - has a project for building an intervalometer the size of a finger nail. It needs no power and learns the interval between shots as you go. If you are into embedded programming, this is a project for you, if not, "move along nothing to see..." [Image credit: tonyVC]

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2010-07-26T06:00:00+00:00

A wet grizzly takes a break and dries off on a log. (This photo was submitted to My Shot.)

Enough Negativity: Ten Things to Positively Affect Your Photography

2010-07-25T22:01:22+00:00

While some pros are worried about kids shooting Facebook and concert pix for free, I think that the perspective is really skewed when we start to become more interested in what non-consequential folks are doing and forget to be excited about this wonderful thing called photography. To make photographs is a joyous event, something I love to do. I don’t want to sit around kvetching about some dude who shot his company picnic. Hope he had a blast and made good shots. They couldn’t have paid me enough (well, they actually could have, but they probably wouldn’t have regardless of the product manager’s awesome handling of the formidable D-Series camera… and what if he had a Pelican case… Judge Brown would have made him the winner anyway).

I have made my feelings known on the ‘working for free’ thing on several posts. It isn’t for ‘free’ if value is gained… and if it can be a win-win… then take the damn win.

So today we aren’t going to worry about that $400 wedding (with CD and proofs) that happened yesterday, or the IT guy who shoots for the local ice-cream parlor for trade (Mmmm – Rocky Road). Who cares anyway. Did you really want those gigs? Today we are going to focus on what we can do that is positive and fun.

Ten things to POSITIVELY affect your photography that you can do NOW.

1. Shoot something totally out of your comfort zone.
Are you a portrait shooter? Take some gear out and shoot landscapes. If you normally shoot still life, grab some stuff and go somewhere to shoot street portraits. Do something different. Shoot something different. Try a totally different subject matter… and try to bring your aesthetic to it.

Do it with the seriousness of an assignment. Work toward something that would be ‘portfolio’ worthy. Make the date and keep it. Whatever the impending challenges, meet them and create a shot. If it is raining… cool, make that work for you. No excuses… bring back a shot that you love.

Examples:
Dave Hill’s Landscapes
Arthur Elgort’s “Jazz” (you will have to click on it on the navigation. Stupid UI (flash) doesn’t allow for deep linking… but then this is Arthur so he probably isn’t looking for SEO… heh)

2. Do a “series” of images on something new to you.
Or something familiar, I don’t care. But make it a true series. Tell a story. Five or more images that work together. Not a ‘comp’ card approach, nor am I wanting you to write a ‘story’ and make illustrations for it. (Although, that sounds like a possible #11 to me… hmmm.) I am talking about images that ‘belong’ together.

Plan a couple of excursions to that place or event, or some time blocked off to work out all the shots you need. “Cover” the subject with enough shots that when you edit them down, you can get to a set of images that says something about what/who you shot.

Examples:
Joni Sternbach’s Surfers
David Eustace’s Trip with his Daughter
Chase Jarvis’s Songs for Eating and Drinking

3. Rent a Tilt-Shift lens and spend a week with it.
This is a somewhat unique tool. It can change the perspective on an image and allow you to control converging lines and depth of field. Still life shooters use it, as well as architectural shooters. Here is a link to a tutorial I did on how to use it.

Take it out as your single lens for a day or a weekend. Find things that it can do to help make your images different. Play with it. Experiment with it. Shoot portraits and exploit the tilt to alter DOF.

Resist the urge, if you can, of tilting it back and making landscapes look like toy scenes… yeah. Cute. OK… maybe one or two, but don’t get carried away. Oh, and BTW, if you do a google search for Tilt-shift photography you will find a ton of these lameass shots and articles. And most of them are too that silly ‘toy’ look, that is ONLY tilt, NO Shift involved… but hey, stupid runs rampant on them interwebs.

Rent it from these nice folks if you live somewhere they are hard to find. They make a few flavors of wide to semi-telephoto and each do their own thing. I would say start with the 24MM, but that is only a suggestion.

How a Tilt-Shift Can Change Your Work
From Luminous Landscape, this great post.
Wiki has some good info as well.

4. Plan a large-scale shoot. Then do it.
This is great for the soul and great for the commercial shooter working on building a book.

The planning and production of a large-scale shot is one of the things that is so hard to learn from a book, or a blog. It is something that takes practice and experience. And it has a ton of learning associated with it.

Working out the set, the models, MUA’s, stylists needed. Then the time and coordinating the shoot with the realities of time. Three models and one makeup artist means you better have the models on set waaaaay before the shoot. Scheduling them for a half hour before shooting could be a terrible mistake.

Do you need permits or permissions? Get them. It’s good practice. You will have to do this more and more as you move into larger commissions, so get comfortable with the system now.

Do a casting… not a MM thing where people simply show up (if you are lucky) – but a real ‘casting’. Find the people you need and KNOW will work for the shot. Look for the look you want. Settle ONLY as a last resort. And then resist it like hell.

Need props… find them. Find rental houses, if you can. Ask friends and family. Somebody knows somebody with a Harley if you need one. Getting the resources together to make a big shot happen is as important as understanding what it takes to pull a big shot off.

Be tenacious and make the shot happen. If you are lucky and prepared, you will get something for your book. And you will learn a ton of stuff to do differently next time. And then start planning the next time.

Make the jump, there’s more on the other side.

5. Make a Book.
Seriously. Make a book.

Take your images and edit them down to 30 or so, then edit them into a ‘flow’. Take your time and develop the images in a sequence that makes sense. Hint: Cheap 4×6′s are a great tool for finding the sequencing. I cannot do it on a computer… back and forth is not the same as grab and switch.

I generally use Photoshop to create full page designs that are to my liking, and really not use their design software. It isn’t bad, but it is not my preference. You, however, may enjoy their templates. Make a hard cover book and show it around to everyone.

What you will learn is the so valuable as you go through the process. Flow of images, color matching, layout. There are a ton of things that you will face to get it right. And in the end you have a book to go on the coffee table. You can spend as little as $30 on it.

Want a really fun idea? Do the book in conjunction with a road trip, or a series of images, or stuff you don’t shoot very often. If your kids skateboard, spend an afternoon with the lights and get them and their friends doing cool stuff. No matter what you do, where you live and who you know… there is something cool going on around you.

Book Makers to consider:
Blurb
MyPublisher
LuLu
Asuka Book (a little more pricier, but very nice)

I have made books with all of the above. I have been happy with what I received in all cases.

6. Make a Portrait of Someone Famous (or nearly famous).
Yeah… get on the phone, send an email, show up at the door – and make it happen.

Maybe it is a local musician, or the symphony conductor. A local chef who is renown for his cooking. An author, painter, heck – even another photographer. Just make it happen. Could be you set your sights way high… Catherine Zeta Jones for instance. OK, you are going for a big name… can you pull it off? I bet you can… it just takes legwork and time and energy. And if you need anyone to, you know, hold the lights or something, I am available for that one. Yep. Sticking to local celebrities may be easier.

The shot MUST be killer, so make sure your stuff is up to par. But the point of this exercise is to work out how to make this happen. It takes guts. It takes initiative. It takes gumption and the ability to sell yourself and the gift of gab and more… It won’t happen while playing Farmville, and it won’t happen sittin’ on your ass watching re-runs of American Idol (the white-hair guy wins, can’t remember his name.) It surely won’t happen while you are spending every waking moment at your BF/GF… that is for damn sure.

You may also learn a thing or three about celebrity shooting. It isn’t nearly as easy as you think it is, and you already don’t think it is that easy. Correct. Egos, time, PR flacks, weenies with too much power because they glom on… it is quite an interesting world. Get your feet wet locally and see how it goes. However it goes, you will learn a ton about the business/production side of photography.

7. Get a List from Agency Access.
Oh, and then use it. This is for people who have already got their book together and are ready to make the rounds. Get a list. Get a good list. It may cost a few hundred bucks, but it is so worth it. Agency Access.

1. It eliminates that lameass excuse of ‘not knowing who to show’ the work to.
2. It is tailored to what you want to do (magazines vs ad agencies for instance)
3. It gives you a target and a real tangible sources for your efforts.
4. It becomes the foundation for your marketing efforts – and is worth 10 times what you paid for it.
5. None of the above count if you get the list and continue to NOT do a damn thing with it.
6. Read #1 again.

You should have your mission statement, marketing tools and drop-offs and leave behinds ready as you begin this process, so we are going to simply let that stand as a very important pre-cursor of this exercise. If you are not ready, what is your time frame? Don’t tell me – tell yourself. Oh, and you should have some ideas of rates and billing.

Now get after it.

8. Create an EMail Marketing Campaign.
If you aren’t totally ready for the big time yet, you can start by creating an email marketing campaign and get it ready to go.

Finding a template there for your photography by not be the easiest thing to do – even though there are several billions of templates or so. Know what you want to send. Work with a designer to get the look you want, testing it to yourself and a few friends. This will take a while and you can be getting your other stuff ready in the meantime.

You can find some pretty cool templates for email at Envato. Or look for a designer you like and find out what something custom would cost. Not as much as you think, probably. If you are good with html, you will most likely be able to customize one of the templates provided.

Try it out on a few customers or a circle of prospects. This is a list of the ones I have used and recommend. You may find others that you love. That’s cool.

MailChimp
Constant Contact
Mad Mimi

9. Road Trip.
Oh yeah, man. I love them. They get me going. Apply the road trip to any of the above suggestions in as liberal a dose as you can handle.

10. Work With a Designer and Create a Direct Mail / Leave Behind
Get that direct mail piece into the works.

It can dovetail with the list above, and of course the email list as well. It may take a while to get together, and it may cost a bit (tradeout?), but it is worth it. This piece is your calling card, it is YOU when you are not there. It says who you are, and shows your attention to detail, aesthetic, style, vision, presentation and relevance.

Start to research the different styles and methods of these important parts of your business. I would recommend these sites to see examples of direct mail and leave behinds.

A Photo Editor
Heather Morton Art Buyer
Graphis (print as well)
Communication Arts Magazine (print as well)

Getting this vital piece of the puzzle done before you start to get calls is very important.

And anytime you start to actually ‘work’ with your own images, you find out a lot about yourself. We can miss holes in our work, and stylistically out-of-place images when we are simply shooting and storing. But going in and working with them to make a book, or a direct mail piece, an email campaign and other things we can do, can bring them to us in new and different ways – ways that transcend just being an interesting photograph.

Or we can sit around complaining about other people who have no more consequence to professional photography than the man in the moon.

And this should be #11, but it is a reminder that you will probably not spend a hundred bucks on anything more valuable than Selina Maitreya’s 12 hour long audio series, “The View From Here” on success and vision and style. She has examples, road maps and more in this baby, and it could be worth 10 times what she is charging.. and you get half off her price of $200 by purchasing it through Lighting Essentials. Just enter FOSLE in the checkout and you will save $100. I don’t do a lot of ‘selling’ on this site, but I so very much believe in this information that I really do think you should get it.

So that wraps it up for this post. Follow my bloviations on Twitter, and come to a lighting workshop to pop your chops up another notch.

SHARE/SAVE

Travel Photography Subjects: Poor

2010-07-25T20:03:46+00:00

This post is number nine of twenty one subjects that will help you focus when on your next journey and you wish to bring back a well rounded story of where you were. If you’re just going on vacation and only want pictures of yourself by the pool sipping boat drinks, then you can probably skip this one. These posts are not intent on telling you everything you need to do, step by step, to capture perfect, cookie-cutter pictures while traveling. Instead, they are intent on pointing out some vital elements to capture when on the road and ask thought provoking questions you may want to ask yourself. My hope is they help guide you to find your own means to better expressing what your travels have meant to you and present that in the best light possible.

On the opposite end of the spectrum from rich would be the poor. Every country has a population that lives on less. Sometimes it’s obvious, with large ghettos or shanty towns, but sometimes the poor and more wrapped around inside a society, speckled here and there. Unlike photos of the rich, I know people often have moral issues with taking photos of poor people. Some see it as exploitation while others are just downright uncomfortable being around beggars and the needy. My advice here would be the same for taking pictures of anyone; try to get to know them, ask permission and, if the situation warrants it and you’re comfortable, offer alms as thanks.

I’d caution against heading into the poorer parts of town just to take photos. If you’re going to go there, go to learn first and take photos second (see my previous advice on leaving your camera behind, just for an hour or ten). I know this isn’t often possible, especially if you’re on a tour, but it does result in better photos. Go with the intent of learning more, making a connection. The picture with this post can be seen as an example of that. While these two gentlemen, Kashmiri and Digboda, in Nepal were hired as our porters, and paid well for their work, I took the time on the trail to make a connection, asking them how they were doing in Nepali (the little that I know) and finding out where they came from, if they have family, the normal ‘get to know me’ questions. This photo of them shows the intensity with which they carried our packs to basecamp and my request for a photo was happily granted after they had a hearty lunch.

Just as you’d look for many aspects of the rich in a country and how they fit into society, do the same for the poor. Is the population large or small? Obvious or integrated? Are they constantly begging tourists (if you’re in a large, obvious tourist bus, you’re going to have a different feel for this than if you’re alone, without a camera and on the ground) or more reserved? Are they approachable or withdrawn to strangers? What do they do for entertainment, food and shelter?

Yes, photos of the poor can be done in an exploitive manner. But with a bit of humility and sensibility, being able to show the real life conditions and personalities of those living them is worth the time to present a fuller picture of life on your travels.

If you have particularly favorite photos of the poor you’d like to share, please do so in the comments section below.

—-

Previous articles in the Travel Photography Subjects series include Water, Old People, Young People, Religion, Sports, Socializing, Icons and Rich. Be sure to subscribe to this site to receive the other 15 subjects as they are posted!

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Travel Photography Subjects: Poor

206 / 365

2010-07-25T15:48:35+00:00

kf4lnq posted a photo:

MM Theme: Rolling Stones Song - Bitch :)

BITCH
(M. Jagger/K. Richards)

Feeling so tired, can't understand it
Just had a fortnight's sleep
I'm feeling so shot, I'm so distracted
Ain't touched a thing all week

I'm feeling drunk, juiced up and sloppy
Ain't touched a drink all night
I'm feeling hungry, can't see the reason
Just ate a horse meat pie

Yeah when you call my name
I salivate like a Pavlov dog
Yeah when you lay me out
My heart is beating louder than a big bass drum, alright

Yeah, you got to mix it child
You got to fix it must be love
It's a bitch
You got to mix it child
You got to fix it but love
It's a bitch, alright

Sometimes I'm sexy, move like a stud
Kicking the stall all night
Sometimes I'm so shy, got to be worked on
Don't have no bark or bite, alright

Yeah when you call my name
I salivate like a Pavlov dog
Yeah when you lay me out
My heart is bumpin' louder than a big bass drum, alright

I said hey, yeah I feel alright now
Got to be a...
Hey, I feel alright now
Hey hey hey
Hey hey yeah...

What Percentage of Our Readers Use a DSLR as their Primary Camera? [Poll Results]

2010-07-25T14:01:44+00:00

Over the last month or so we ran a poll here on dPS asking readers what type of camera they use as their primary digital camera.

After just on 50,000 responses the results are in – and they’re pretty conclusive – here at dPS people certainly like their DSLRs.

Of course dPS has a fairly ‘enthusiast’ type audience so I wouldn’t claim that this is an accurate reflection of the total percentage of DSLR users going around today – but it certainly shows a shift towards DSLRs in our community (and beyond).

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

What Percentage of Our Readers Use a DSLR as their Primary Camera? [Poll Results]

Tom's Shoes Collaboration : Irvine Spectrum

2010-07-25T12:45:00+00:00

It was warm, yet breezy. I searched for her amidst a sea of artists, all with their tattoos, uber cool sunglasses, and tighter than normal clothes. Yes, it was art in Orange County. And I loved it. I found my sister, Alexandria, working on Tom's Shoes and a line waiting for her.

And I was proud.

Alexandria recently graduated from art school and is quite talented (although I might be biased). She was one of the chosen artists work on a Tom's Shoes and Active Ride Shop collaboration at the Irvine Spectrum yesterday. Throngs of people showed up to purchase a pair of Tom's and a featured artist would customize the shoes for the wearer. It was the story. Alexandria gave her time and talent to this amazing event and I was proud. Of her. Of the event. Of Tom's.

Each artist was given a GIVE frame to design and I immediately knew this was my sister's....

For those who aren't familiar with Tom's Shoes, for every pair of shoes purchased, a pair will be given to a shoeless child...the event's goal is 10,000 shoes and I can't wait for them to blow this number out of the water!

I love the Irvine Spectrum...I'm pretty much there everyday (much to JD's chagrin when he finds my receipts) and it was awesome to see the Spectrum host such a great event...

Here's Alexandria talking about her customizations...

A few samples of her work...

Alexandria was working for many hours, so I dropped by with Jamba Juice for a little extra pick-me-up....but nothing could take the smile from her face...

Word.

Happy Sunday!

© Jasmine Star. This post cannot be republished without permission. Stealing makes me sad.

None

2010-07-25T06:00:00+00:00

The herds of elephants found in Tarangire National Park in Tanzania are nothing short of amazing. This beautiful group was walking toward me single file during the golden hour before sunset. I absolutely love the light in Africa! (This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot.)

Day 205: Rainy day scooter

2010-07-25T03:18:24+00:00

sevenman posted a photo:

Cascading Gold

2010-07-25T00:43:17+00:00

This was shot at the Tanjung Aru beach. I really wanted to get a good shot of the fountain but even with the aperture set at f/2.8 I couldn't get a shallow enough depth to blur out the restaurant which was much too close behind it.

In the end I just used photoshop to create a radial blur around the fountain to isolate it from the background.

WorldWide Photowalk 2010 - Durham Edition

2010-07-24T23:25:08+00:00

Today is the 3rd Worldwide Photowalk, hosted in cities everywhere. I participated in the downtown Durham, NC one.

I chose to travel light and I took only one lens on my T1i and carried it on my R-strap. That was a good choice as it was hot as hell and I was happy not to be lugging a lot of gear around. I did miss my macro lens a few times but I’ll go back to get some of those shot another day. The other gear I brought that I would highly recommend for anyone doing this in the heat were a wide brim hat and a camel back for water – those made all the difference in making it a great walk and not a hellish one.

The whole walk was great and we had a pretty nice crowd. I’ve shared my favorite shots from today on Flickr.

205 / 365

2010-07-24T21:59:27+00:00

kf4lnq posted a photo:

My favorite from today's photowalk.

204 / 365

2010-07-24T21:57:31+00:00

kf4lnq posted a photo:

Tips for Using Your Camera in a Hostile Environment

2010-07-24T19:50:02+00:00

A Guest post by Saul Molloy from Shotslot.

I recently took my DSLR sailing for a week on a yacht off the West Coast of Scotland. Now my camera, though heavy and rugged-feeling, is not the most waterproof of objects, in fact there’s no real weather sealing at all and the combination of salt-water, rain, repeated physical bumps (from the waves) and the general chaos generated by having five people in an enclosed space for a week is about the worst thing I can imagine doing to my precious camera, short of introducing it repeatedly to a lump-hammer.

I know that some people are really, really careful with their cameras and I can’t blame them for being precious over such an expensive piece of kit, but I feel I need to be a bit more daring with mine – sometimes you’ve got to be somewhere fairly extreme in order to ‘get the shot’. Because of that I sat down and prepared a plan as I packed my travelling kit in order to try and minimise the chances of my precious camera’s internals becoming a useless hunk of silicone, solder and gold.

1. Get some specific camera insurance. Your standard travel insurance policy is probably no good – it usually has a clause limiting loss associated with a single item and the chances are that if your a semi-serious photographer this amount is a lot less than your kit is worth. It’s probably good practice to have insurance even on a day to day basis anyway, because it has the added advantage of giving you the confidence to take occasional calculated risks with your camera.

2. Make sure you’ve got a good camera bag to keep all your kit in one place, dry and secure. You don’t need to spend a fortune on the latest poser-pouch but you need to get something that’s specifically designed for DSLRs – shoving all your kit in any old bag isn’t so wise. Things get lost, or broken.

3. Wear your camera around your neck. I know this seems obvious but I don’t think it should be overlooked. On the boat, I often found myself shooting from a moving deck at a moving object in a light drizzle and occasional spray, whilst trying to hold my camera with one hand so I could use the other to stop myself falling into the sea. Drop your camera in 50 meters of water and it’s gone. Of course, the same is true if you drop yourself in the sea with your DSLR round your neck, but if that happens you probably have more to worry about than your camera!

4. Try and limit your camera’s exposure to risk as much as possible – whether that’s stowing it securely in an identified place when not in use, using a rain cover to minimise exposure to moisture/dust/salt etc., or even fitting a proper waterproof (and thus everything-else-proof) case, remember that careless treatment costs cameras. One note about the rain covers though, some say that there can to be issues with condensation, so if you’re repeatedly moving from a cold to warm environment you need to take extra care…personally I’m more of a plastic bag and lots of air kind of person.

5. Make sure that anybody with you understands that your camera is a precious object. Assuming you trust them not to run off with it, some people just don’t understand that they need to be careful with your stuff. Anybody who doesn’t know about cameras probably wont think that your shiny 7D (or whatever) is anything special, is fragile, or that it needs treating with care. Make sure they understand, assume nothing.

6. Don’t put your camera down there! You know where I mean – anywhere that it is at risk of being sat on, soaked, covered in noxious substances, falling off, being stolen or anything else…put it back in your bag, I appreciate that this is a pain and that you’ll miss shots, but you’ll miss many more when your camera is dead or gone. I also know that there are bags which purport to offer quick-access opportunities…great, so long as they allow you to keep your stuff all together and that they really work, and you’re willing and able to carry them around all the time.

7. Wipe your camera free of potential contaminants as soon as you can, if it’s light moisture from drizzle you need to do that with something absorbent that itsn’t just going to push moisture into the area around the buttons. I use a special, clean, monofibre cloth that I also use for cleaning my lenses. If it’s dust or anything else that might find its way onto the sensor of your camera you need to clean it especially carefully. Pay attention to the seal around the lens. Get some cotton buds or similar.

So, that’s my tips, I’d be interested in hearing yours, especially from those who have subjected their kit to extreme environments.

See more of Saul Molloy’s work at Shotslot.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Tips for Using Your Camera in a Hostile Environment

This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (18-24 Jul ‘10)

2010-07-24T14:18:11+00:00

Weekly Assignment

This week our photography assignment took us into the heart of the home when we went In the Kitchen. The kitchen is so often the source of fond memories. The baking, the smells, the smiles… all of it reminds us why the kitchen is the heart of the home. Our winner this week was Carina for the shot of the incredibly cozy mugs. There was just something about the strong leading lines, the reflection, and lighting that drew us to the shot. Not to mention those are some cozy looking glasses! Then we had a 3 way tie for the runners up. So, in no particular order (and with a bonus photo), first up we have zetson’s Kitchen with a View. This lovely old looking kitchen really suited the treatment well, and the composition was spot on. And that’s definitely a gorgeous view! Next up we have gunners67’s Washing Dishes in a Flash. We really liked the motion blur in this shot and the details really kept our eyes entranced in the shot. And last, but not least was Lesedi’s Kitchen is the Heart of the Home. The bright colours, the well thought out setup, and the entire concept really just caught our eyes. And those letter magnets definitely bring back memories.

This week we’re continuing the kitchen theme with What’s in Your Refrigerator? Is it leftovers, dessert, perhaps something you forgot about long ago that’s about to grow legs and walk out on it’s own? This week we want you to be creative with what you have and show us what’s in your fridge. As always, a quick reminder of the rules. First, your photo has to be taken between 14 – 28 July 2010. Second, your post must include the words “Assignment: What’s in your refrigerator” and the date that the photo was taken. Third, your EXIF should be intact, and it’s helpful if you can include some of the main details (including camera, lens, ISO, shutter speed, and aperture) in the text of your message. Next week we’re going to start a series of assignments aimed at working on capturing motion blur. So the first of these assignments is Water in Motion. While waterfalls are probably the first thing to come to mind, there are many subjects that can fit this topic, some even in your home. So think about how you would capture water in motion.

Hot Threads

Third Annual Worldwide Photowalk: Depending on where in the world you are, you may have already been and gone, but this is the third year for the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk. If it’s just turning the 24th where you live, why not check and see if there’s on in the area. And if you’ve been and gone, why not come share your favorite photo over in this thread.
What’s Your Current Level: If you were to think about where in photography you currently rate yourself, what would your current level be? Are you a casual hobbyist? A serious hobbyist? A moonlighter? A full time professional? While these are just a few ways you could rate yourself, why not come and share what level you’re at over in the forums.
Appearance vs Client Expectations: If you aspire to be a professional photographer or you’re just starting out, you might wonder if the way you look can have an impact on your ability to conduct a photography business. If you’re a professional photographer, come share your experiences with how and if appearance matters in the photography profession.
Wedding Photography Etiquette… For My Own Wedding: Normally we wonder what we should be doing as photographers, but think about it from the other side. What happens when you’re the bride? How can you make sure that you get the photos that you want in the style you want? And what happens if you want to photoshop the photos in the end? Is that possible? Come offer your advice and suggestions for those on the other side of the lens.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (18-24 Jul ‘10)

Inspiration vs. Mimicking

2010-07-24T09:20:53+00:00

Is imitation the sincerest form of flattery?

Yes.

Sometimes it’s annoying to see someone post work showing off their skills when clearly they’re making a full fledged effort to mimic somebody else, but the fact of the matter is we are all doing it.

That doesn’t mean we’re all consciously trying to be like someone else but every artist in the history of time tries to relate their art to the world around them, the only difference between good art and bad art is how successfully the artist hides it.

For instance, when I take a photo that is an original idea, say a model shooting herself in the head with Silly String. A great idea and one I never, ever saw shot before. An original idea… at least I think it is… that being said I won’t be surprised when someone links me to a photo very similar to it (but I haven’t seen one).

The problem is not one single element in this image is a creation of mine. Silly String was patented in 1972 – five years before I was born, the model is an exquisite creation of God, and the satire of suicide by string is ironic only because of the more serious issue it alludes to.

My only contribution was to combine a bunch of elements (that are not mine) and show them in a new way. Technically I haven’t actually created anything.

Isn’t that all that art really is? A reproduction of some form of the life we know? Can we really claim ownership of that?

Well the answer is a resounding YES! We can copyright just about any artistic creation but where is the line between new and old? When does a portrait of another person actually become the artists‘ creation?

Before I had a camera I drew. That was my artistic release, and when I would draw I’d look towards other images to mimic. Just as a type of practice. I made this drawing in high school based on a beautiful photo in National Geographic. Not my creation but I did bring a new element to it, I changed the medium from a photo to a drawing… what are the ethics of that? Am I allowed to change someone else’s photo into another medium?

What about this drawing of Bob Marley I did during the boredom I endured at the outbound telemarketing job I had in High School? Who’s art is it? Is it the photographer that took the original image? Is it the drawer? Is it Bob Marley’s parents for giving birth to him? The question can get a little blurry… but the fact is I didn’t have permission from the photographer to make a work based on their photo, but does that mean I can’t draw it? Not at all!

That said the ethics in the art world are pretty well established. Drawings (and photos) that mimic somebody else’s creation are great for showing off and practicing technique, but you should never put mimicked images/photos/drawings in a professional portfolio (online or printed) and claim sole credit for the creation. That’s just not cool. But a personal site or a critique website where you go to learn? I think most people agree that’s fair game.

If you want to claim credit for work then make sure it’s not just a copy of someone else’s hard work and inspiration. Take something from the world around you and make it your OWN! If you really want a drawing to be yours you need to draw something that nobody else created without your help or input! Or if it is based on something at least bring something original to the table! It’s a lot harder to draw from real life but it’s a lot more rewarding… take this charcoal drawing I did nearly 10 years ago (not the greatest thing in the world but not half bad for a hobbyist).

My advice to you is to know the phase your work is in… if you are in the mimicking phase then don’t worry! Everybody starts somewhere, but just realize that maybe you aren’t quite ready to slap that “XXXXX photography” logo on your images just yet. Save that for when you start producing your own ideas, it’s much more rewarding that way!

PS – I looked quite hard to find the original photograph of the Lady in the Hat and Bob Marley with no luck… if you can find them post a link in the comment section, I’d love to give credit to the original photographers but I drew them about fifteen years ago!

EDIT July 30th, 2010 - It needs to be mentioned that I am not referring to ANY photographer I personally know, I have had multiple guesses from multiple people, “Is this about so-and-so?” or ”Is this about me?” The answer is NO… it’s about nobody specifically! That said, we can ALL use a bit more uniqueness in our styles, myself included, so in that sense it is about nobody and everybody I know.

None

2010-07-24T06:00:00+00:00

Graceful in water, hippos are good swimmers and can hold their breath underwater for up to five minutes. At sunset, the animals leave the water and travel overland to graze on grasses. (This photo was submitted to My Shot.)

Day 204: A dubious sense of humour is better than none

2010-07-24T03:39:26+00:00

sevenman posted a photo:

PHOTO WALK: Weekly Photography Challenge

2010-07-23T19:05:17+00:00

Image by Drewski Mac

This week your challenge is to take a ‘photo walk’ and share a favourite image or two from it.

We’re doing it this week as on Saturday is the world wide photowalk. You might like to join one of them (it’s pretty last minute but not too late) or just do your own alone or with a friend.

So grab your camera and…. take a walk. Where you walk is up to you – it might be around your neighborhood, it could be in the countryside or it could be around your house. It’s totally up to you.

Once you’ve taken your “Photo Walk” image, upload it to your favourite photo sharing site and either share a link to it below or embed it in the comments using the our new tool to do so. Please note it sometimes takes us a while to approve comments with images as there’s a moderation queue – particularly over the weekend.

If you tag your photo on Flickr, Twitter or other sites with Tagging tag it as #DPSPHOTOWALK to help others find it. Linking back to this page might also help others know what you’re doing so that they can share in the fun.

Thanks to Morgan ‘Bell’ Davis for suggesting this theme to us on our Facebook Page. Make sure you ‘like’ us there to have your theme considered next week.

PS: don’t forget to check out some of the great photos shared last week in the YELLOW challenge.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

PHOTO WALK: Weekly Photography Challenge

4-4-4 Exhibition Travels to Ourense, Spain (while I stay home)

2010-07-23T17:47:35+00:00

Curator Marie-Noëlle Leroy tells me that ”the 4-4-4 exhibition will be presented in Orense from October 28th to November 14th in the Municipal Museum”. I have one piece in this show that has travelled from Paris, France and then Barcelona, Spain. (humm, why aren’t I traveling to France and Spain instead of the artwork?)

No Assignments Without Experience, No Experience without Assignments… Yeah, That Makes Sense, Right?

2010-07-23T16:45:11+00:00

Rant/Rave today.

So it kinda sounds like this to a lot of young photographers:
1. You can’t get gigs unless you have experience.
2. Without actual shoots you cannot get experience.
3. You must always charge for your work (see # 1 above)
4. Get an assistant gig.
5. There are few assistant gigs.
7. Never shoot for experience alone.
Start at the top… repeat.

That, folks, sounds like a politician trying to tell us that unemployment is a blessing because it increases employment.

Yeah – sure.

There is always a conundrum that plays on in this business, and it makes me crazy to see and hear such a deafening silence when someone actually asks HOW to get off that round-about.

On a private forum I belong to, one of the photographers, Paulo, asked me a set of questions about my post, “Sometimes It Is About Getting the Shot”. He is allowing me to share the questions and my answers with you.

“After all you come out of college with your photography degree, or leave your job with everything up until that point telling you that you are a great photographer but can you really be expected to hit a home run every time?”

Yes. By carefully picking your starting points, and making sure you have the assets in place to produce the work required. In other words… pick your challenges. Would a kid coming out of college have the experience to shoot a 6 day annual report over several countries? Probably not. Environmental portrait in the city… sure. I would at least hope so.

So the point is to begin to build to the point where doing the big stuff comes second nature. My friend Ken, who I referenced in the article, had a client here in Phoenix that had him shooting about 20 portraits a month. They paid $250 per and let him do his thing on the images… he built a great portfolio, and actually put a lot of money in his pocket. If it had been a one off, it would have been too low of a rate… but they guaranteed him at least 10 per month… so it was not a bad deal. I can tell you that the experience Ken got while doing that gig was priceless.

Want to shoot high end real estate? Do work for architects where a ‘re-shoot’ isn’t that big of a problem. There are usually not that many deadlines, and you can return the next day and shoot it again. If access is required, get access for a period of a few days to make sure you can get it. The ‘practice’ and experience should start to build in to your personal ‘apps’ if you will.

It is more about managing your learning, testing incessantly, and building your skills. And many times you spend a lot of your own capital doing so.

Put together a larger shot for a weekend morning – set a shoot time in your head. Three models, a MUA, a stylist. Set the call times and treat it as a professional gig. Of course make great images, but also make note of things like timing, and set control, and managing the shoot from the photographer’s position. We can learn how to go out and make a photograph when there is only a model and ourselves… and no time frame – and no distractions and the freedom to do what we want…

Things change real fast when there are more people in the mix, a time frame and the exponentially increasing challenges that brings. Did your shot come together in the time frame you expected? Or did hair and makeup take longer than expected, lighting take up too much time, or the people become unmanageable for directing into a tight shoot schedule?

If it came off great, wonderful. Do another shoot just like it to build that experience into your personal apps. If it didn’t, imagine how it would have gone if the call were sunset? The sun doesn’t set on your time… it sets on its time. So do it again, but then have the very real, scary deadline reveal itself slowly falling to the horizon.

“So what is the enabler? What turns your average photographer or even a gifted newbie into the kind of pro that you are talking about? Skills, talent , vision and common sense can get you off the starting blocks and for some very gifted people that may well be all they need to reach your standard but I think the vital missing ingredient is experience.”

Experience is the most important thing of all. We used to get it by assisting, and yeah, that is a lot harder to come by these days. But working for smaller companies and smaller agencies can lead one up. You must start “small” – if you will – and keep your abilities to do the gigs in the fore of what you are looking to do.

In some ways your portfolio will help you keep those expectations under control. In your book show the work you are prepared to do. Show the work you are proficient in. Don’t accept assignments you cannot do. If it is out of your league, be smart enough to pass on it. (Or be smart enough to hire the best damn assistants you can find who actually HAVE experience in doing that kind of shot. I did that on a few occasions. Paid the assistants handsomely, LEARNED a ton, put some money in my pocket and delivered exactly what the client wanted. But you better be dialed in to the best assistants in your area.)

In any case, be damned sure you can do what you are being asked to do. Does that mean we play it totally safe and never, ever put ourselves out there on a limb? ROFL… oh hell no… part of this amazing business is the excitement of possibly instant death (well, maybe a little over the top, but the adrenaline that gets pushed… whew!!!)

Let’s say you want to shoot for big time sports officials. Here in the states we have the NFL or whatever. It is nearly impossible to start with them… too big, too much power, and too many gatekeepers. The challenges would be formidable.

So start with the minor leagues. Want to do big setup shots? Do one. It may mean a little more arm twisting and some out of pocket… but arrange and create a bigass setup shot. Do the best damn little league shot ever made. Find some pickup basketball players and bring out all the bells and whistles to do a killer shot of them playing in the street courts. Gymnasts, Ice Skaters, Bodybuilders, and Dancers can all be approached for photography. Do it, do it, do it. Period.

Take the images and do what we used to call a “post mortem” on the shoot. What did you learn? How can you make it better next time?

As you build your book… keep pushing your work and your style to a place where you are so totally comfortable with it that you can create it when needed.

“How do you get experience?”

By doing it. I know that sounds a little snarky, but it is not meant to be. I would say that if someone wanted to shoot music, and couldn’t find anyone to photograph, or bands to work with, or managers willing to take a chance on a portfolio shoot – that person is going to have a terrible time in the ‘music photography’ business. If you cannot find a way to make this stuff happen, how will it be easier when you have a ton of restrictions, expectations and money on the line?

Create your shots, form a group that meets once a week to do a big shot. Assist and shoot. (I have an idea about how that should work… if you are the shooter, you shoot and others assist. Period. When it is your turn to shoot your gig, others assist… but no one shoots but that day’s designated shooter. Otherwise the images can be pretty worthless… Unless you totally change the shot from shooter to shooter. Having a couple of shooters with the same image in their books is just stupid.)

“The best way is on the job, but all the lessons learned can harm your career as your article illustrates. Working as an assistant will teach you how to solve problems by learning from someone who already has the experience or at worst learn from their mistakes without any cost to you.”

It is so important to understand that you don’t start at the top. Shooting an editorial is usually not as ‘gut wrenching’ as shooting for an ad agency. Shooting (testing) models for agencies is less dangerous than shooting editorial for local magazines. So you start there. Shooting real estate for brokers has less ‘failure’ for re-shoots than a location shoot editorial for “Metropolitan Home”. Shoot food for local restaurants before heading out to do a 5 state trip shooting for “Cuisine”… it only makes sense.

It is one of the things that makes the Harrington post, (“12 Excuses for Shooting Photos for Free — and Why They’re Bogus”) that I refer to in my current LE piece (“What is the Difference Between Shooting for Free and Shooting for Me?”) simply wrong. There ARE times and places where you have to parlay your work and find people to work together to create an image that benefits you both. That has value in and of itself. To think that people can start this business without having any opportunities to prepare is simply insulting. Of course there are necessary sacrifices to get to the point where the work has the kind of value that can be considered sustaining.

And ANY pro who tells you they NEVER shot anything for free or nearly free are just blowing smoke. I know too much about this business to accept that at face value. Ask any fashion shooters if they have ever shot without money changing hands? Or travel shooters… or sports, glamour and beauty shooters. Do they do it as a matter of course? Well, of course not. But I know Avedon did. I know DeMarchelier does. I know Elgort does. They are sometimes working to get something for THEMSELVES and the collateral folks needed get something for them.

I would like to share this quote with you from my friend Steve Korn (one of the best drummers ever and a wonderful photographer)

“Musically, I don’t get nervous because I feel prepared and experienced and know I have the skills to handle pretty much anything. After all these years I know that I’ll always sound good sometimes great, but even on a night when I don’t feel like I’m playing my best, I’ll still sound at least good. It may sound like a load of ego, but it’s really just confidence and experience and I know that pretty much whoever calls, I’m up to the task.” – Steve Korn, Musician

Making it to the point of charging good money can take a lot of turns and changes, but the path is one that has to be made. Finding that path and sticking to it is so important. Commitment of time, money, time, effort, time and the knowledge that is built while doing the hard work to get there will pay off. I could go into a rant about the lack of commitment to this business that I see everywhere, but I did a rant about it here.

I hope you liked this Rant. I will be doing a followup on the “Shooting for Me” post on Monday with a list of things to watch for when contemplating working with others and working for your own book without legal tender changing hands.

—-

As always, follow me on Twitter and if you are looking for a workshop to hone your skills, check out Learn to Light.

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8 Steps to Crafting Images in Lightroom

2010-07-23T14:16:49+00:00

Lightroom has more tricks up its sleeve than simple photo fixes such as exposure and contrast. It’s possible to craft images inside Lightroom and, in many ways, the tools in Lightroom make the task easier than it would be in Photoshop or another editing program.

In this post I’ll show you a way to turn a relatively hum drum image into something much more visually exciting. So, when you don’t get the image you want straight out of the camera see if, armed with some simple Lightroom tools, you can coax some better results from it. Remember too that this is a creative technique – you’re not looking for realism as much as a way to create a different look for your image.

Step 1

Start out with an image that has what I call “good bones”. It needs to be pleasingly composed and it needs to have something that compels you to want to look at it and to spend some time working with it. Good contenders for this process are images with interesting skies and these include heavy clouds and clouds captured at sunset and sunrise.

Step 2

In the Develop module use the adjustments in the Basic panel to apply global adjustments to the image. I focus in detail on the adjustments that aren’t available in the Adjustment Brush and Graduated Filter such as Blacks, Fill Light, Recovery and Vibrance.

I will adjust the Recovery slider at least half way to the right and adjust Fill Light to get some detail from shadows. I’ll adjust the Blacks even to the extent of plugging some shadows for now. I’ll also use other adjustments such as Exposure and Brightness just as a start.

The fact that none of these changes are permanent is a big plus because if you don’t like the results later on you can come back and readjust them.

Step 3

Having dealt with the overall image I’ll now turn my attention to parts of it. Here there are three areas in particular – the hut and bottom right of the image, the bottom left and the sky.

Starting with the hut I’ll drag the Graduated filter in from the bottom right of the image. Then I’ll bring some detail out in that area by adjusting Brightness, Exposure and Clarity.

Step 4

The sky is treated the same way as the hut. This time the Graduated Filter is dragged down from the top. Then I decreased Exposure and Brightness to reveal the detail in the clouds. I added some Contrast and Clarity and a hint of dull yellow color.

Step 5

In the bottom left of the image another Graduated Filter adjustment fine tunes this area of the image and adds a hint of dirty yellow color. Reducing both Sharpness and Clarity softens the details here.

At this point I might consider adding a second Graduated Filter over the top of this one to again reduce Clarity to soften the details even more. The Graduated Filter can be used cumulatively so adding one on top of the other enhances the effect.

Step 6

Once I’ve finished with the Graduated Filter, I will return to the Basic panel and fine tune the settings there. Here I adjusted the Brightness and Fill Light to lighten the image a little.

Step 7

At this point I cropped the image to remove some excess detail from the bottom and right edges to focus interest more in the water and the hut.

Step 8

To finish, I used the Adjustment Brush on the plastic crates. By painting over them with the brush and reducing the Exposure slightly they are made a little less distracting.

At any time I can revisit any of the changes I have made including those applied with a Gradient Filter or the Adjustment Brush and adjust the settings if desired.

Not every image will lend itself to this treatment but many will. You should note too that here I was working on a jpg image and because of the in camera processing applied to jpg images and the fact that much of the data that the camera captures is discarded in the process of saving an image as a jpg, the scope for adjusting this image was significantly less than would have been the case if I had the image captured as a raw file.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

8 Steps to Crafting Images in Lightroom

Chroma key & a free action

2010-07-23T10:43:23+00:00

Have a look at this image, can you see the join? Click the image to enlarge it, if it helps. It’s made using a system called chroma key, which you may know as blue screen or green screen. You’ve seen chroma key at work before. It’s used widely on TV shows, in news interviews and weather reports, and all the time in the movies from the biggest sci-fi blockbusters right down to the tiny home spun amateur flicks.

I’ll put the original image at the end of the post.

If you want to try this yourself all you'll need is a blue or green background and either a lot of hours in Photoshop or download my free chroma key action.

To be honest you probably will need more then this action. Getting a good extraction is as much about getting a good shot in camera as it is about Photoshop skills. Hair is always a problem and if it’s long blond hair it’s vital that the original photograph is perfectly lit and correctly exposed. My number one chroma key tip is… always get the model to wear a hat. OK, that’s a bit tongue in cheek but there is a grain of truth in there.

Getting back to Photoshop, I’ve tried many techniques to make a quick, clean extraction in Photoshop. I loved Photoshop’s Extract Filter, but sadly Adobe didn’t and removed in in Photoshop CS4. Photoshop CS5 has a vastly improved masking system for selecting hair, which looks very promising, although I’ve yet to explore it in detail.

I’ve also used 3rd party Photoshop plug ins for chroma key and after trying quite a few demo version I settled on Primatte from Digital Anarchy as the most powerful and straight forward tool I could find.

The trouble was which ever system I used to cut out the blue or green background it always took time, particularly if I needed to work on a whole batch of images. To speed things along a little, I made an action which does a pretty good job of removing either blue screen or green screen from an image. It’s far from perfect but it gives a very quick and dirty way of see how the cut out will look.

The action is roughly based on a Dave Cross & Layers Magazine technique. Read the full article here

None

2010-07-23T06:00:00+00:00

A group of children watches as a walrus performs at Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Washington. (This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot.)

Day 203: Not the unspoiled fields you were thinking of

2010-07-23T03:33:05+00:00

sevenman posted a photo:

203 / 365

2010-07-23T03:01:22+00:00

kf4lnq posted a photo:

202 / 365

2010-07-23T02:59:39+00:00

kf4lnq posted a photo:

Sweettarts

Gone

2010-07-23T00:13:13+00:00

Exam is over! :D

What makes a photographer a ‘professional’?

2010-07-22T19:55:24+00:00

I get emails regularly from people asking the same question. What makes you a ‘professional’ photographer and how can I be one? Although the definition of being a professional anything is pretty straightforward, for the one searching for where they fit into the photography world, it can actually feel a pretty abstract concept. As I can see from those many emails, there are many photographers wondering where they fit in.

So to make this clear: you’re a professional at something when it’s your profession. And a profession in the loosest sense of the word is “a vocation or business”. Although in the photographic world, the word profession may have a more strict definition and that’s open for debate. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as, say, being a doctor or a therapist or even a farmer. Because photography is unique in that it is a hobby or passion which can turn into a very nice business. For some, it’s part-time, for others full-time. When do you cross that line from hobbyist to professional?

A few things that DON’T make you a professional:

A big ass camera
A bigger ego
All the editing programs in the world

So what do I tell those people who email me? When people love what you do and recognise you as a ‘photographer’, when you make any amount of money or business out of photography, then you are a ‘professional’.

What would you tell someone asking you the question: “what make a photographer a ‘professional’?”

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

What makes a photographer a ‘professional’?

Introduction to Radio Controlled Helicopter Aerial Photography

2010-07-22T15:29:32+00:00

I am very excited to introduce the following guest post on Aerial Photography Introduction by Eric - crashing is not an option - Austin.

Yea, it is that dude that rigged a Canon 7D to a custom RC Heli whom we interviewd a little while ago.

What is aerial photography?

Aerial photography originated over 100 years ago, soon after man first took flight. It is the method in which pictures or video are captured from a perspective not seen at ground level. From satellites high above the earth to an RC plane or helicopter, aerial photography can be an awesome DIY project!

Kisses+Disses : Garbage Men + Barometers

2010-07-22T14:09:00+00:00

I ran up and down the stairs this morning. Huffing and puffing. It was a workout. That's how much I was running. I asked him where the picture was. JD had no idea what I was talking about. I sigh. The picture of OUR DAUGHTER!! He still had no idea what I was talking about.

Back up a sec...
Last week we went to Dave&Buster's. On a Friday night. Which is akin to, say, Friday night at Walmart in the Midwest. A bunch of people walking around trying to kill time and waste money. With adult beverages. And yes this happens at Walmart too...I saw a documentary about Walmart once. Except Midwesterners take their own coolers and hide them in their Camaros. So, yes, Dave&Buster's. At the end of the night, JD and I sat in a game machine that took pictures of our faces and then produced a picture of what our future daughter would look like. Let's just say when I saw the picture, I was visibly shaken. Reason #4,982 to explain to my mother-in-law why I don't have a child. Internet, it was scary.

This morning...
I thought it would be funny to blog the picture of our future daughter. You know, so I could scare you too. But I couldn't find the picture. Then I ran up and down the stairs and sighed. And that's when it hit me: JD threw the picture away. HE THREW AWAY A PICTURE OF OUR FIRST CHILD. How can I be married to such a man?! Who would do that?!

Internet, JD scarred me today. And I'm still trying to forgive him. Which leads to another installment of Kisses and Disses...

This week's DISSES go to:
*Husbands who throw away pictures of their first pretend child.
*AT&T. Whenever I hear these three letters, I can't help but twitch and raise an angry iPhone.
*Walmart. Any place you can buy a lamp, garden hose, and a ham at the same time scares me.

This week's KISSES go to:
* :) . Yes, a big kiss to smiley faces in emails. Those two symbols together can change the entire tone of a sentence...love it.
*Antique stores. I bought a barometer (with cracked glass) last week for $21 for a new cabinet. Go ahead. Be jealous.
*Pickles. A dill pickle next to a sandwich makes the world a better place.
**And a bonus kiss to Tanya at Photographer's Edit for always giving great customer service and taking such good care of me!

© Jasmine Star. This post cannot be republished without permission. Stealing makes me sad.

How To Find The North Star And Why You’d Want To

2010-07-22T14:07:52+00:00

And before those of you in the Southern Hemisphere jump all over the title, with its clear Northern Hemisphere slant, don’t worry, I’ll be talking about the Southern Cross (Crux) as well. There just wasn’t room in the title to fit in all of that.

Let’s start off with the ‘why’ and then move to the how. For those of you well versed in astronomy this may all seem very simple to you and you’re welcome to skip right over. But as I’ve traveled I’ve been amazed at how many people, while sitting around a campfire or on a beach, can’t find the North Star or Southern Cross. I’ll admit, for most people, it doesn’t matter. They just like seeing stars overhead, making up constellations and looking for shooting stars. And that fine. But if you are looking to take pictures of the night sky, it can be helpful to find either the North Star (Polaris) or Southern Cross.

The reason is that it will tell you how light trails from the Earth’s rotation will show up in your picture. Are you looking for streaks across the sky when using a long shutter speed or stacking photos? Or do you want that cool circular effect? It can be fun to play with different directions and foreground objects and unless you’re familiar with finding the right locations, it can be tricky. First, some explanation.

A Pole Star is a star that sits near the point of rotation for the axis of the Earth directly above either pole. In the case of the North Pole, it’s the North Star. In the case of the South Pole there currently is not a single star close in that is easy to spot with the naked eye, so the Southern Cross is often referenced. Unless you are on the equator, you can only see one or the other (or very high up a mountain near the equator, like Mt. Kilimanjaro). When you point a camera at either Polaris or the Crux and leave the shutter open for a while, you’ll get a swirled pattern as you see in the photo above (shot in Arches National Park, Utah, USA). If you point the camera away from the pole, you’ll get more gradual curves depending on your location. The photo at the bottom of this post was taken near the equator, in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, while pointing Southwest.

Speaking of location, let’s find the North Star. It’s fairly simple and you only need to know one constellation, the Big Dipper or Ursa Major. I usually reference this constellation rather than the Little Dipper (Ursa Minor), even though Polaris is part of the Little Dipper, because the Big Dipper has ‘brighter’ stars (I know I’m disturbing some astronomers out there with a few colloquial terms and I apologize). Once you have found the Big Dipper, connect the dots from the bottom of the outside of the dipper (farthest from the handle) to the top of the outside of the dipper. Now follow that line until you meet the next bright star. That’s Polaris and it is at the tip of the handle of the Little Dipper.

As I have practically no experience finding the Southern Celestial Pole, I’m going to borrow from Wikipedia (this is where the astronomers can jump in and give some pointers (har har har)) “Since the southern sky lacks an easily visible pole star, Alpha and Gamma (known as Acrux and Gacrux respectively) are commonly used to mark south. Tracing a line from Gacrux to Acrux and extending it for approximately 4.5 times the distance between the 2 stars leads to a point close to the Southern Celestial Pole. Alternatively, if a line is constructed perpendicularly between Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri, the point where the above mentioned line and this line intersect marks the Southern Celestial Pole. The two stars of Alpha and Beta Centauri are often referred to as the “Southern Pointers” or just “The Pointers”, allowing people to easily find the asterism of the Southern Cross or the constellation of Crux.”

A helpful reminder when finding either celestial pole is they are as far off the horizon, North or South, as you are from the equator. In other words, the photo at the top was taken in Utah at approximately 38.7°North Latitude, so the North Celestial Pole is 38.7° off the horizon to the North. This is helpful for visualizing a trip in advance. If you know your latitude, you can guesstimate what your star pattern will look like.

And that’s the how and why of finding either celestial pole. Armed with that knowledge, and the DPS post 4 Steps to Creating Star Trails With Stacking Software, it’s time to head outside when the sun goes down and see what you can create! Feel free to post some of your memorable star trail photos in the comments section.

PHOTO NOTES: The top photo is a stack of 36 images taken over 51 minutes. Each image is 75 seconds in duration shot at 16mm, ISO 1250 f/6.3. The second photo is one single image lasting 618 seconds, f/2.8, ISO 400, 16mm.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

How To Find The North Star And Why You’d Want To

What is the Difference Between Shooting for Free and Shooting for Me?

2010-07-22T13:59:07+00:00

And I should add to that headline… “and not giving a damn?” Today’s RANT on common sense.

A recent post at Blackstar Rising has created a mini fire-storm there. The post, by John Harrington, who runs the very popular and quite informative Photo Business News and Forum. Lots of good action / info in the comments.

In the post, Harrington seems to be a little harsh and off the mark, at least to my way of thinking. His admonitions of “Never for Free” are certainly important, but then he begins creating arguments to illustrate that proposition.

And that is where it falls short.

Look, I think photographers should be paid, they should be paid well… VERY well for their work. It takes a long time to clear the bar of mediocrity and get to the point where the work is viable in the marketplace. I wrote an article about working for cut rate here, so you know where I am coming from.

But attacking kids who make MySpace or FaceBook pics of their friends or some guy who shoots his company picnic? Wow… I don’t get that. Nor do I think that there are no situations wherein shooting for something other than money may be important as well.

I spoke with a young man who shot a ton of bands – on his own nickel – at a famous Indie Concert. The access he had was amazing, and the doors it opened jump-started his business. The bands he shot ended up ordering prints, and the managers of some of the bands also had more work for him – hiring him to do entire press packs. AT his rate.

It is certainly important to note that the bands did not ask him for the work, he asked them for the access. Can you see the difference? I can. Instead of being ‘used’ by the bands, he ‘used’ the bands to promote his own work. Did money change hands? No. Did the photographer ‘profit?’ Oh, yeah… he did.

It was such a powerful marketing tool that he is going back to the concert this year with a goal of shooting 25 Indie bands. The images are also going into a book.

Soooo… shooting for free? Or having the bands pose for free? Seems like a paradigm shift to me.

I have a bud that wanted to start a local magazine. I knew what he had done to get that first issue off the press. I told him I would help him in his endeavor by shooting some stuff for the magazine… for free. A gift for starting it up. All I asked was that I was given the opportunity to shoot what I wanted… and access to the advertisers.

I had fun. Shot some pretty cool stuff. Contacted the advertisers who had all seen my work and landed a half dozen gigs (both photography and design) for that quarter. So yeah, I could have charged the local ‘rate’ for the shots, but I parlayed the access into about $25K in design and photography over the year.

And the magazine got successful and I was paid rate for further shoots. We had a great run, he sold the magazine – they brought in a new AD and that was that.

Now there is a hell of a lot of difference between shooting something cool, for access and the ability to market and grow the business, and shooting for free. Would I recommend that anyone shoot a catalog of bolts for free? Hell no. And no corporate portraits, or annual report stuff. Common sense is a wonderful asset.

If there is no benefit to the work, and no access to leverage the work, then it really is ‘shooting for free’. And that will make no one wealthy – or even pay for the gear.

Here is a wonderful example of a photographer shooting something without direct remuneration, but incredible visibility – AND the knowledge that they created something cool. Janell attended a workshop I did in Seattle. We discussed doing something to enhance a photographers visibility. She took the idea and ran with it. Following my instructions to the letter, Janell and her sister ended up getting at least three big write-ups in the local newspaper and two full page stories. All mentioning that Janell was a local portrait shooter.

Any idea what a full page ad costs in the Everett Newspaper? Heh.

So she shot 50+ portraits for free. Gave copies to the county for a show – which pulled a ton of people in.

Yeah, I’m going to go for that trade-off.

Ask yourself:
1. Will the image be worth it? Will it be something that others would recognize as something valuable?
2. Will the image be something that you will be able to ‘market’ and create ‘buzz?’
3. Will you do what it takes to do the hard work that it takes to get that ‘buzz?’
4. Is this something that anyone could do? Something stupid/simple? Chances are that image isn’t worth your time. It is probably worth money.
5. Is it something that you can put into your portfolio, and then show it to get some more work in that genre. (Hint… simple stuff, catalog, most small advertising, anything that is simply boring ain’t gonna go in your book – got it. A ‘tearsheet’ of a quarter page ad for a real-estate company or some corporate guys against a gray background are not interesting to anyone.

And one last thing about worrying about low-ballers. I don’t. I don’t care if a guy shoots his companies picnic. I don’t care if someone shoots a wedding for $400. I don’t care if the kid across the street shoots FaceBook shots of all his buddies.

I don’t care.

I have a business model that is a little beyond that work. And if I cannot shoot in the market I have spent decades building, I would do something else. I cannot imagine shooting a wedding for $400. Hell, I’d charge my kids more than that… and I love them. (Family gets 15% off… no questions…) And FaceBook shots? Yeah… sure. On my 38′ full cove? Hell it costs me a hundred bucks to cool the place down for a day.

Lexus doesn’t care about Kia’s pricing. Ruth’s Chris’ management doesn’t stay up late at night worrying about Arby’s pricing. The Biltmore Resort doesn’t call a quick meeting every time Motel 6 has a sale.

And I don’t care about those who are scrapping for – well – scraps. I don’t hate them, I don’t worry about them… and I don’t compete with them.

So I agree with John on the overall approach of not working for free, but NEVER is a little strong, and the examples seemed to be off mark for me. But I also think that access, PR, word of mouth, and the ability to use the imagery to promote ones self can also be considered valuable. You just gotta KNOW what you are gonna do with it, and then follow through.

Oh, and I had a chance to photograph Mohammed Ali – twice. I donated the tiny fee, and didn’t make a nickel on the gigs. But I got to photograph and shake hands with my lifelong hero. Worth it? Oh man, yeah. It was.

Workshops being announce this week: Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Savannah, and Portland.

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Christmas in July – 25% Discount on Any dPS eBook – This Week Only

2010-07-22T11:50:08+00:00

The 25th July is approaching this weekend and at our place that day we’ve invited a group of friends over for a Christmas in July dinner. On the spur of the moment today I thought it might be fun to extend the ‘festivities’ to dPS and offer you – our wonderful community – a little gift to celebrate the season.

For the next week I’m offering 25% off any dPS eBooks with a special discount code. The code is:

chrisjuly25

It will give you 25% off one or all of the following 3 eBooks:

This discount gets you just under $5 off each book – you can get it on one or all three.

To get the discount – add the eBooks you want to your shopping cart and then add the code (chrisjuly25) to the discount code field and hit ‘update cart’ to see the discount reflected in the checkout total before checking out.

If you want some quick info about any of the ebooks – here’s a quick outline of each.

The Essential Guide to Portrait Photography

Whether it’s taking pictures of our friends, kids, partners or even ourselves – people are what we’re looking at through the viewfinder (or on the LCD) when we line up a shot.

Yet so many of us struggle to take portraits with the ‘WOW Factor’.

We wanted to help you achieve your true potential as a portrait photographer, so we’ve released a comprehensive 78 page downloadable e-book to teach you the secrets of stunning portraiture.

The Essential Portraits Photography Guide is our biggest selling E-book and has been enjoyed by many thousands of our readers.

Buy the Essential Guide to Portrait Photography OR Get more Information on This Resource.

Transcending Travel: A Guide to Captivating Travel Photography

Taking a Trip? You’ve Got One Chance To Get Your Pictures Right…

Transcending Travel is a dPS downloadable eBook designed to give you the skill and inspiration to take riveting travel images, ones so striking you’re friends won’t be able to stop talking about and sharing them.

It’s written by experienced Travel Photographer Mitchell Kanashkevich and is filled with new actionable teaching on many aspects of travel photography, practical exercises to help you prepare for your trip and inspirational images.

Buy Transcending Travel today OR get more information on this brand new resource.

Photo Nuts and Bolts: Know Your Camera and Take Better Photos

73% of digital camera owners wish they had more control over their camera!

These results from a recent poll of readers highlight a challenge that many camera owners face – they’re unable to use their camera to its fullest potential because they don’t understand the basics of how to use it.

If you wish you had a better understanding of your camera and how to get it working to its potential – this is the resource for you.

Covering 10 Lessons on the basics settings of camera (complete with homework tasks to go away and try for yourself) you’ll walk away from this resource better equipped to take control of your camera and use it to its potential.

Buy Photo Nuts and Bolts OR Get More Information on This Product.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Christmas in July – 25% Discount on Any dPS eBook – This Week Only