Here is a quick 5 minute video from Rick Sammon giving us 10 general "rules" to think about when we head out to shoot on location.
You can see other videos from Rick here.
And you can get more of Rick at his website and at his blog.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Interview with photographer Adam Daniels
I came across an image of a dog, a Doberman to be specific and followed it home to its owner, and ended up at the website of Adam Daniels.
One thing was quite clear, Adam Daniels knows how to take a picture.
Adam was kind enough to spend some time answering a few of my silly questions and then give the "behind the scenes" info on four of his pictures.
Q. When/how did you get into photography?
A. I picked up my first SLR camera in 2001 after switching from an animation major to a photography major at Savannah College of Art & Design. I loved animation, but the end product took days, sometimes weeks. Photography was a medium through which I could more quickly see results. But it wasn't until I switched to digital photography a couple years later when I began utilizing Photoshop to really get creative with my visions.
Q. Who (or what) had the most influence on your development as a photographer?
A. The person who most influenced me in the art world must have been my mom. She always has had a knack for decorating the house, and creatively lighting every corner of every room with appropriate soft-lighted lamps. I cannot have my eyes open without analyzing the lighting in front of me. Of the photography masters I studied, Clarence John Laughlin stands out as a favorite. His spooky images of ruined buildings and ghost-like figures hits home for me, as I love dark and stormy nights, and horror movies.
Q. What camera do you shoot (and why)?
A. My main camera is a Canon 1DS M3. I chose this mainly for the resolution. I wanted to be able to make large prints of my darker portraits for art shows, and also have a camera capable of producing commercial-quality work. I have a backup 5D.
Q. What is your favorite lens?
A. My favorite lens is hands down the Cannon 24-70 f2.8. I wish it telescoped a bit more, but you can't have everything... yet.
Q. What is your favorite shooting (off camera) accessory?
A. My favorite off-camera accessory as of late is my Q-Flash. This thing is great! I just used it at a wedding this past weekend as a 2nd flash, to light up the banquet hall. Not only did I have my hot-shoe flash, but I triggered the Q-Flash via radio slave, giving each picture so much more life. It eliminated my hatred of shooting weddings inside!
Q. RAW or jpg (and why)?
A. RAW as much as possible. Although hard drives become quite numerous, shooting RAW gives me so much control over color balance and exposure, while providing lossless image quality. With JPGS, each time you re-save them you lose image quality.
Q. If you could only have one, would it be Lightroom or Photoshop?
A. If I had to choose, it'd be Photoshop over Lightroom any day of the week. I retouch everything I shoot in Photoshop/Camera RAW. To me, there's no program more important.
Q. What was your "big break"?
A. My "big break" has yet to happen, I feel. This is good in that it keeps me looking forward to something that I know will happen! But as with everything, you have to work for it. You can't just sit around waiting. Get out there and shoot, constantly! You'll get better each time you go out, I promise.
Q. I see you have both “recognizable” people and products as clients, how did that come about?
A. I used to work as a graphic designer/animator at TV stations. Two of the recognizable people on my website are those whom I stole for a few minutes after their appearance on the morning shows. The products you see on my site are mostly lighting tests done in my apartment. I'll get inspiration from a movie or website sometimes at odd hours in the morning, and won't be able to sleep until I've taken some photos.
Q. If you had to pick a single marketing tool to focus on for your business, what would it be?
A. There is nothing more beneficial as far as a marketing tool than word-of-mouth. Almost every time I get out to a networking event - and they're more prevalent than ever nowadays - I make great business contacts that, more times than not, lead to a job. And the more times someone sees you networking, the better your chances that they'll remember you when someone they know needs a photographer. How good you are doesn't nearly matter as much as how many people you know. If you're apprehensive about networking with strangers, take a friend with you to an event who can talk you up, so you don't have to.
Q. Can you share one marketing mistake that you would advise others to avoid?
A. One marketing mistake I made while at a big networking event a few years back was to place my business card at each place setting at the table before our meeting began. A networking professional approached me and told me that simply throwing my cards around was no way to really meet people and establish a relationship. "It was a cheap salesperson thing to do", he said. I took offense at first. But after thinking about it, I realized that he had an interesting point. How much respect would you have for someone if they approached you and handed you their business card then walked off without getting to know you?
Q. If you could have lunch with any photographer, who would it be?
A. You've stumped me on this question. If I were to choose a photographer with whom to have lunch, I'm afraid I couldn't. I am inspired every day by showcased photos that come through my inbox from PDN, NAPP, etc. However I couldn't give you a specific name of anyone. So if I had to choose, I would much more enjoy dining with students, and answering any photography/Photoshop questions they may have. I'm always willing to help fellow artists!
Q. What is your favorite photography magazine or book?
A. My favorite photography magazines are PDN and Photoshop User. PDN keeps me up-to-date on the industry news, new up-and-coming photographers, and helpful resource guides which I use to find strobe rentals when I'm shooting in other cities. Photoshop User keeps me up-to-date on cool new techniques.
Q. What is your favorite online photography resource?
A. My favorite online photography resource would probably be fredmiranda.com. It's a website that discusses and rates new cameras/lenses. Before purchasing any equipment, I check that site out first.
Q. Lastly, what is the one thing you would want people to know about Adam Daniels?
A. One thing I want people to know about me is that I'm always willing to help out a fellow photographer with any questions they may have. Back in college I used to keep too many secrets about my photography/Photoshop techniques. I would refuse to share them with anyone for fear that they would start using them in their work, and cause me to lose business. This was super-ridiculous thinking. Thankfully my instructor gave me his wisdom, and suggested I share with others. And to this day I love helping out and teaching other aspiring photographers.
You can view larger versions of these images (in a new window) by simply clicking on them.
Tennis - This was a test I did in my apartment a couple of years ago. Two shots, and some Photoshop smudging for the special effects. Profoto strobes, Canon 5D.
Old Man -This is one of my favorite, award-winning images. It was taken of a man in New England whom I passed on the street. I asked if I could take a picture of him, telling him that he had an interesting face. Then through a technique I discovered while messing around with Photoshop, created this image.
White Dog - An old girlfriend's dog shot on a white seamless bkgd. Most times, treats or toys are needed to get a dog's attention. This is why it's good to have an assistant or dog owner dangling a toy or food above camera. I believe a piece of cheese was used for this shot.
Doberman - Black dogs suck up light like a black hole. This one was no exception. I used a 30 degree gridded light on the right side, a soft box on the left/above without diffusion panel, and a 30 degree gridded light on a white background. The colored background was done in Photoshop. Finishing touches on the image included adding selective contrast via Curves masks, as well as hairs with a hair-shaped Photoshop brush, making the image look less like a composite and more believable as a straight shot.
If you like what you saw here (and I am sure you did), be sure to check out Adams website and his blog.
And a big thank you to Adam for being so willing to share.
One thing was quite clear, Adam Daniels knows how to take a picture.
Adam was kind enough to spend some time answering a few of my silly questions and then give the "behind the scenes" info on four of his pictures.
Q. When/how did you get into photography?
A. I picked up my first SLR camera in 2001 after switching from an animation major to a photography major at Savannah College of Art & Design. I loved animation, but the end product took days, sometimes weeks. Photography was a medium through which I could more quickly see results. But it wasn't until I switched to digital photography a couple years later when I began utilizing Photoshop to really get creative with my visions.
Q. Who (or what) had the most influence on your development as a photographer?
A. The person who most influenced me in the art world must have been my mom. She always has had a knack for decorating the house, and creatively lighting every corner of every room with appropriate soft-lighted lamps. I cannot have my eyes open without analyzing the lighting in front of me. Of the photography masters I studied, Clarence John Laughlin stands out as a favorite. His spooky images of ruined buildings and ghost-like figures hits home for me, as I love dark and stormy nights, and horror movies.
Q. What camera do you shoot (and why)?
A. My main camera is a Canon 1DS M3. I chose this mainly for the resolution. I wanted to be able to make large prints of my darker portraits for art shows, and also have a camera capable of producing commercial-quality work. I have a backup 5D.
Q. What is your favorite lens?
A. My favorite lens is hands down the Cannon 24-70 f2.8. I wish it telescoped a bit more, but you can't have everything... yet.
Q. What is your favorite shooting (off camera) accessory?
A. My favorite off-camera accessory as of late is my Q-Flash. This thing is great! I just used it at a wedding this past weekend as a 2nd flash, to light up the banquet hall. Not only did I have my hot-shoe flash, but I triggered the Q-Flash via radio slave, giving each picture so much more life. It eliminated my hatred of shooting weddings inside!
Q. RAW or jpg (and why)?
A. RAW as much as possible. Although hard drives become quite numerous, shooting RAW gives me so much control over color balance and exposure, while providing lossless image quality. With JPGS, each time you re-save them you lose image quality.
Q. If you could only have one, would it be Lightroom or Photoshop?
A. If I had to choose, it'd be Photoshop over Lightroom any day of the week. I retouch everything I shoot in Photoshop/Camera RAW. To me, there's no program more important.
Q. What was your "big break"?
A. My "big break" has yet to happen, I feel. This is good in that it keeps me looking forward to something that I know will happen! But as with everything, you have to work for it. You can't just sit around waiting. Get out there and shoot, constantly! You'll get better each time you go out, I promise.
Q. I see you have both “recognizable” people and products as clients, how did that come about?
A. I used to work as a graphic designer/animator at TV stations. Two of the recognizable people on my website are those whom I stole for a few minutes after their appearance on the morning shows. The products you see on my site are mostly lighting tests done in my apartment. I'll get inspiration from a movie or website sometimes at odd hours in the morning, and won't be able to sleep until I've taken some photos.
Q. If you had to pick a single marketing tool to focus on for your business, what would it be?
A. There is nothing more beneficial as far as a marketing tool than word-of-mouth. Almost every time I get out to a networking event - and they're more prevalent than ever nowadays - I make great business contacts that, more times than not, lead to a job. And the more times someone sees you networking, the better your chances that they'll remember you when someone they know needs a photographer. How good you are doesn't nearly matter as much as how many people you know. If you're apprehensive about networking with strangers, take a friend with you to an event who can talk you up, so you don't have to.
Q. Can you share one marketing mistake that you would advise others to avoid?
A. One marketing mistake I made while at a big networking event a few years back was to place my business card at each place setting at the table before our meeting began. A networking professional approached me and told me that simply throwing my cards around was no way to really meet people and establish a relationship. "It was a cheap salesperson thing to do", he said. I took offense at first. But after thinking about it, I realized that he had an interesting point. How much respect would you have for someone if they approached you and handed you their business card then walked off without getting to know you?
Q. If you could have lunch with any photographer, who would it be?
A. You've stumped me on this question. If I were to choose a photographer with whom to have lunch, I'm afraid I couldn't. I am inspired every day by showcased photos that come through my inbox from PDN, NAPP, etc. However I couldn't give you a specific name of anyone. So if I had to choose, I would much more enjoy dining with students, and answering any photography/Photoshop questions they may have. I'm always willing to help fellow artists!
Q. What is your favorite photography magazine or book?
A. My favorite photography magazines are PDN and Photoshop User. PDN keeps me up-to-date on the industry news, new up-and-coming photographers, and helpful resource guides which I use to find strobe rentals when I'm shooting in other cities. Photoshop User keeps me up-to-date on cool new techniques.
Q. What is your favorite online photography resource?
A. My favorite online photography resource would probably be fredmiranda.com. It's a website that discusses and rates new cameras/lenses. Before purchasing any equipment, I check that site out first.
Q. Lastly, what is the one thing you would want people to know about Adam Daniels?
A. One thing I want people to know about me is that I'm always willing to help out a fellow photographer with any questions they may have. Back in college I used to keep too many secrets about my photography/Photoshop techniques. I would refuse to share them with anyone for fear that they would start using them in their work, and cause me to lose business. This was super-ridiculous thinking. Thankfully my instructor gave me his wisdom, and suggested I share with others. And to this day I love helping out and teaching other aspiring photographers.
You can view larger versions of these images (in a new window) by simply clicking on them.
Tennis - This was a test I did in my apartment a couple of years ago. Two shots, and some Photoshop smudging for the special effects. Profoto strobes, Canon 5D.
Old Man -This is one of my favorite, award-winning images. It was taken of a man in New England whom I passed on the street. I asked if I could take a picture of him, telling him that he had an interesting face. Then through a technique I discovered while messing around with Photoshop, created this image.
White Dog - An old girlfriend's dog shot on a white seamless bkgd. Most times, treats or toys are needed to get a dog's attention. This is why it's good to have an assistant or dog owner dangling a toy or food above camera. I believe a piece of cheese was used for this shot.
Doberman - Black dogs suck up light like a black hole. This one was no exception. I used a 30 degree gridded light on the right side, a soft box on the left/above without diffusion panel, and a 30 degree gridded light on a white background. The colored background was done in Photoshop. Finishing touches on the image included adding selective contrast via Curves masks, as well as hairs with a hair-shaped Photoshop brush, making the image look less like a composite and more believable as a straight shot.If you like what you saw here (and I am sure you did), be sure to check out Adams website and his blog.
And a big thank you to Adam for being so willing to share.
Shaking a soldiers hand
When a soldier returns home from Iraq or Afghanistan they pass through an airport in the small town of Bangor Maine.
It will be the first American soil their feet will have touched after having been away for too long.
And the chances are really good that the first faces they see... the first hands they will shake will be those of the Maine Troop Greeters.
The Maine Troop Greeters are men and women committed to welcoming every soldier returning home from war and to give a proper send off to every single man and woman heading overseas.
They offer a warm handshake, provide a free cell phone so they can call loved ones, a snack to keep them going, and hug to let them know we care.
Since they started greeting flights in May of 2003, the Maine Troop Greeters have welcomed over 3900 flights, more than 800,000 service men and women, and 172 military dogs.
This heart warming story has been turned into an award winning documentary film called "The Way We Get By" written and produced by Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly.
Check the schedule to see if there is a screening in your area, if there is, please don't miss it.
Stories like this move me, deeply.
But I am embarrassed to admit that there is this small place within me that's just a little bit envious.
During the "Vietnam Era" we were warned not to travel in uniform, especially when passing through airports, because it was not uncommon to be heckled, or worse, spat on. Seriously.
Some forty plus years later there are those still waiting for their welcome home.
If you’re a subscriber and the video did not get “pushed” to your email, be sure to come back to the blog to see the trailer for "The Way We Get By".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70xGwH9k4Qg&feature=player_embedded
Tips For Turning Your Photos Into A Calendar
Have you ever wanted to turn your photos into a nice looking calendar for display?
Or perhaps to give to friends and family as a gift? Well, this is all possibly with some simple steps.
Read on and find out how you can do this. It's really quite a simple procedure - anyone can do it within one or two hours.
1. Select Good Photos
The first step in turning your photos into a calendar format is to select some good candidate photos. The trick is to select your favorite 12 to 15 photos and place them into a suitable folder. Usually, for such a selection you can go by themes, e.g. children, famous landmarks or even seasonal photos like winter or summer landscapes.
You can easily turn digital photos into a calendar
2. Clean Up Pictures
Once you've selected the photos, the next step is to have them cleaned up. Remove any dirt or noise from the photos using your favorite paint program. If need be, you can also apply special effects to the photos using filters like sepia for a more interesting look.
3. Ensure Photos Are Large Enough
You then need to make sure that the photos you selected are large enough. Typically, if you intend to produce 8x10 inch photos, you need to have 1600 x 1200 pixels of resolution. I'd say that a 3 megapixel camera or above will be more than enough to produce such shots.
4. Upload To Photo Sharing Site
The next step is to then upload those selected and cleaned up photos into a good photo sharing site. A good one is Smugmug
Conclusion
And that's it! Now you know how to select photos and create a calendar for sharing with friends and family. A calendar with nice, memorable photos makes a perfect gift. So do try this idea out the next time you're out of gift ideas. Good luck!
The International Creativity Bank will be launched in the World Wide Web soon
The International Creativity Bank "Swisstock" will be launched in the World Wide Web soon. As the project's founders say: "The main goal of this project is to promote creative work of billions creative minds."According to available information the project will allow the authors to present the results of their creativity to the worldwide Internet audience, effectively establish commercial promotion and profitable sale of their creative work, reflecting their opinions and suggestions in professional field, as well as to establish contact with potential partners, customers and fans.
The promo could be viewed at www.swisstock.com
IT Global News
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Microstock Agencies
By Thomas Boleslav
As a photo editor and designer, I always have to ask the question 'Where do I get the right pictures from?' Until recently I used the traditional stock photo houses like 'Getty images', 'Corbis', 'Jupiter images', Alamy, etc. However I decided to explore the microstock world a little and was quite surprised about the quality of the pictures available on microstock. What I see as a problem of microstock sites is that the content of the microsites is very similar - you will find the same pictures on Dreamstime as on Stockxpert, Fotolia etc. I have listed my favourite microstock sites below - the 4 which are the most popular because they have the largest portfolios. I also added some smaller sites which I found interesting.
THE 4 MOST POPULAR
ISTOCKPHOTO (http://www.istockphoto.com)
Positives: great site with many advanced functions.
Big portfolio containing exclusive pictures but also video, flash and even audio! It also has a large community.
Negatives: Highest prices among microsites, and I find there is too much text lumbering around which can take distract you if you just want to quickly buy and go.
DREAMSTIME (http://www.dreamstime.com)
Positives: Large portfolio, high quality pictures, user-friendly interface.
You find all the information you need, exactly where you need it.
Negatives: Sometimes the site can be quite slow.
FOTOLIA (http://www.fotolia.com)
Positives: Large portfolio, high speed search results.
Negatives: Sometimes irrelevant keywords by pictures.
STOCKXPERT (http://www.stockxpert.com)
Positives: Large portfolio covering a broad range of subjects.
Negatives: Not many exclusive images, the website is sometimes quite slow,
especially getting dynamic and large previews that last. The thumbnails are too small.
OTHER INTERESTING 5 AND WHY THEY ARE WORTH VISITING:
MOSTPHOTOS (http://www.mostphotos.com)
Positives: They differentiate from other microsites by their really interesting and great
web design. They also have different pictures than other microsites, so you can find
something new.
Negatives: The prices are a little higher (25, - Eur per picture)
PIXMAC (http://www.pixmac.com)
Positives: Here you can find many high quality pictures which i have not seen on any other
microsite. The site is very quick and easy to work with and the price levels rank among
the lowest on the microstock market. They also have quite big thumbnails which i appreciate.
Negatives: I miss there advanced search option.
MOODBOARD (http://www.moodboard.com)
Positives: User friendly website which has some advanced helpful functions. It is obvious
that they know their customers needs. The content is divided into 3 categories (micro,
premium and plus) which makes it easy for the user.
Negatives: The only negative I can see is that by searching in all 3 categories it isn't
visible by the thumbnail which price level the picture is in.
YAY MICRO (http://www.yaymicro.com)
Positives: The site is very easy to work with, there is not a large amount of excessive text
lumbering about, and everything is clear at first sight.
Negatives: Their watermark is too heavy, which makes it difficult to examine the picture.
Their collection doesn't seem to be very big yet.
ZYMMETRICAL (http://www.zymmetrical.com/art/fonts/)
Positives: They don't only feature photos, but graphics, videos and fonts.
The difference to other microsites is that you can pay in your own local currency.
Negatives: The main problem of this site is the speed - unfortunately it is really slow with showing the search results and it seems they have less photos in comparison to other agencies.
(They are still in Beta at the time of this article).
Visit Author's site: http://www.designvision.cz/
Hiring a Photographer
by Nick Young
These days, with the advent of digital cameras, it seems that everyone claims to be a photographer. However, if you are in need of photography to help sell your product or service, it's best to seek out a pro. With the help of a professional, you can elevate your product and really make it stand out in an often-overcrowded marketplace.
How it Works
Before hiring a professional photographer, it's important to understand the difference between consumer photography and commercial photography for publication. Consumer photography such as wedding and portraiture provide a final product to the retail customer in the form of a wedding album or framed portrait. However, photography for publication provides a service as opposed to a product. This means that the final user, the client, who uses the image(s) in his or her brochure, advertisement or catalog, etc, are paying for permission the reproduce the image(s) in their publication. The photographer retains the copyright of the image and is, essentially, licensing the image for a particular use and period of time.
There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, such as a Work-for-hire contract. Most photographers will avoid Work-for-hire contracts as it means giving up all rights to the images they create. As a client, if you feel it's important to own the copyright to the images the photographer creates for you, then another option is the "buyout." This will normally cost upwards of double the photographers normal creative fee.
What do you really want?
So, how do you find the photographer who's right for you? Well, the most important thing is to know what you want. That may sound like an odd thing to say but often people hire photographers without fully understanding what style and image they wish to convey. For instance, imagine your company provides customer service and tech support to users of your product, and you want to show portraits of these representatives in your brochure and on your website. A bright, light environmental portrait, which portrays them as friendly and approachable, will be far more effective than a formal portrait against a gray backdrop. Do your research before calling in portfolios and nail down the style you want by seeing what's out there in magazines, annual reports', on the web, and so on.
"When deciding on a style and direction for a particular project, I think about my target audience. My approach will be different for teenagers than their parents!"
- NANCY P.
Graphic artist
Finding the right person for the job
A lot of photographers specialize in a particular area of photography so don't try to save money by asking your local wedding photographer to shoot high-end food photography! Also there are many different styles even in one particular specialization. For example, food photography for advertising can be slick, with everything in sharp detail, showing the product in fine detail or with selective, or short, focus that portrays more of a mood and feeling.
"The photographers I shoot with must be able to work with direction well, however, I also want someone whose creativity will enhance the project. A collaborative effort makes all of the work experience and end product that much better."
- MARLENE M.
Art director.
"When I hire a photographer for a job I look for more than just talent. I need to know they are reliable. I don't want to be standing with the client on shoot day, wondering where the photographer is!"
- DANIEL Q.
Graphic designer.
Narrowing it down
The Internet has made browsing portfolios much easier as any photographer worth his salt has a website.
Try:
An Internet search for local photographers in your area by the specialization you require.
Ask colleagues or business associates for recommendations.
The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) is a great source for local talent and has chapters in all States and most major cities.
There may also be other visual arts organizations in your city that may be of help.
If your budget is really tight, you could seek out a photo assistant who is trying to build a portfolio. The ASMP can probably help with this too.
Also, if their price is so low it seems too good to be true... it probably is!
Nick Young Photography
http://www.nickyoungphoto.com
Digital Photography Tips Tricks & Tutorials
by Sessions.edu
Crashed memory card
PhotoRescue is a flash card recovery solution that does not do anything to your memory card except read it. The files are not changed in any way. Just have the card attached to your computer and run the software. It will show you thumbnails of what is on the card, and you can select which images to rescue. The application costs $29, and the demo software on their site (www.datarescue.com/photorescue) will show you the data but will not let you download it. You must pay the money and register to get access to your files. If the demo sees the images, the software will work. If the demo doesn't see the image, neither will the full application. Mac and Windows.
Profile your monitor
It has been estimated that digital photographers get rid of 90% of their color problems when they purchase a colorimeter, such as the Gretag-Macbeth Eye-One Photo or the Spyder Color Vision. At least as an interim step, check out the Pantone huey, which will only do one monitor and does not allow for such accurate control, but which costs less than the professional models and is extremely easy and quick to set up.
Cleaning inside
Digital SLR camera owners should be aware of the risks of dust and other contamination on their CCDs. Nikon and Canon don't recommend cleaning the CCD, but Kodak, Fuji, and Leica all do. It's a very delicate operation, and all manufacturers warn that you do so at your own risk. Good images are dependent on the pristine quality of the CCD. One of the better cleaning strategies is to start by blowing dust off with CO2. If dust still adheres to the CCD, try Sensor Swabs from Photo-graphic Solutions (www.photosol.com), specifically designed for cleaning CCD chips and other delicate or hard-to-reach surfaces. Although Nikon, Canon, and others vociferously warn you not to clean the CCD, the risk is minimal if you are very careful. The CCD is covered by an anti-aliasing screen, which is fairly hard and durable.
Before doing a cleaning, do a Google search for instructions on cleaning your particular camera. Certainly dust will get onto the CCD, and unless you enjoy cloning images or have the time, money, and patience to keep sending the camera back to the manufacturer, learn to clean it yourself. After doing it once, it will become routine.
Histograms and histograms
When you look at the histogram in your camera and compare it to the histogram in Photoshop CSx Raw, you will notice a significant difference. This is because the camera converts the image to jpeg to construct the histogram. This embedded jpeg preview has been processed, and had highlights and shadows clipped.
Some cameras only provide the luminance data in the histogram, others all the RGB values. So should you trust your on-board histogram? Probably not too closely. If you take photos in low light environments at 1600+ speed with +1 compensation, and adjust for the histogram by backing off a little, you are actually judging your image on clipped highlights. So probably you should experiment with leaving it at +1. You will probably find this is perfect.
Can't mess with Raw
When you adjust settings such as target color space profile, bit depth, pixel size, and resolution, white balance, exposure and tonal settings, sharpness, smoothness, and color noise reduction, or other settings in Camera Raw, the original camera raw image file remains unaltered. The settings applied to the camera raw image are stored either in the Camera Raw database file or as a sidecar XMP file.
Bigger flash
As the price of flash memory cards continues to decrease, they are becoming a viable storage medium for images. Prices for a 1-GB start at about $50, and 2-GB cards can be had for less than $100. While this is a lot more than DVDs, there are no problems with exposure to air and light, the medium (silicone) does not degrade, and the lifetime is said to be indefinite. 8-GB cards are starting to appear, and the prices will soon become affordable. Having a few large format cards when traveling can save a lot of headaches.
Emulate lens filters
If you're trying to emulate lens filters used on black-and-white film when transforming color into black-and-white with the Channel Mixer, here are some numbers to get you started. You will want to adjust these according to your image. The larger the red setting, the darker skies and water will become. You will often have to tone down the specular highlights. First make sure you do this on an adjustment layer (Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Channel Mixer), rather than on the original. Check the Monochrome box in the lower left, and start with these settings:
| R | G | B |
| Green filter: | 14 | 58 | 33 |
Yellow: | 58 | 20 | 22 |
Orange #1: | 80 | 22 | 0 |
Orange #2: | 65 | 20 | 12 |
Red #1: | 100 | 0 | 0 |
Red #2: | 75 | 25 | 0 |
Red #3: | 140 | -20 | -20 |
Red #4: | 155 | -20 | -35 |
Normal #1: | 24 | 68 | 8 |
Normal #2: | 43 | 36 | 30 |
High contrast: | 40 | 32 | 60 |
Anonymous JPEGs
For those times when you don't want metadata attached to a JPEG file, there is a free utility called JpegStripper 1.0.0.3. It's very simple; just drag a file onto the small interface window and the metadata disappears. Nice, in that it does not require opening and resaving, consequently it is lossless.
www.addict3d.org/index.php?page=downloadfile&ID=3077
No more underexposing
Many photographers who have moved from film to digital find they must change some old habits. In situations where the light was variable or unpredictable, it was common to underexpose by a half a stop. This saved the density of the image, because with film it is nearly always better to have more density than too little. But with digital this is not the case. Underexposure can cause slight posterization and an increase in noise in darker areas. So if bracketing is out of the question, it might be better to err on the side of overexposure. This of course will entail some adjustments to the image later. If you want to get the best results, correct exposure is always best. We still use a handheld exposure meter for incidental light meter-ing where possible, but this is partly due to old habits.
Raw is not always the place
Although it is often possible to manipulate an image in Camera Raw so that it is almost perfect and needs little or no further work in Photoshop, this is not always a good idea, unless you particularly enjoy working within the limitations of Camera Raw. Usually when processing a Raw image using Camera Raw, you are attempting to extract the maximum amount of information from the image. So you might expand the dynamic range with the Exposure and Shadows adjustments. Even this reduces the integrity of the file, so working on copies and keeping all the detail your camera could capture is the thing to do. On the finished print, often you will end up diminishing this range, even eliminating detail in shadows or in a channel. By setting up basic parameters in Raw, it is possible to batch-process multiple files while leaving creative adjustments to the individual files.
Where to put your lens
If you're combining several lenses to get a higher power, mount higher-power lenses closer to the camera lens.
Pricing stock
If you sell your images to publications, the Photo Price Calculator can help estimate an approximate market value for the image and guide for negotiation. It has three categories: advertising, corporate, and editorial. Each category is further broken down into magazine, billboard, brochure, catalog, inserts, newspaper etc. with places to enter size and circulation. A newspaper editorial half-page, with circulation up to 500,000, ranges from a low price of $175, average price $287, and a high of $400. A magazine half-page, for advertising, with the same circulation ranges from $650 to $1,400. Prices have been calculated from survey responses from Visual Support Inc. who sell about $1 million worth of stock images a year and represent photographers within excess of 10,000 images. For most a good place to start.
http://photographersindex.com/stockprice.htm
Cleaning sensors
If you are getting dust and hairs stuck to your image sensors, they will become very apparent when photographing with small lens apertures; what you see is a shadow of the dust on the anti-aliasing filter in front of your sensor. Previously we pointed you to cleaning supplies, but some people are very nervous about actually messing with the sensor. If this is the case, consider sending the camera back to the manufacturer. However, if you have a steady hand and wish to do it yourself, there is a collection of documents about what is entailed at www.northlight-images.co.uk/links.html#dust. We recommend that you read them all.
Digital depth of field
Depth of field with digital cameras tends to be very different when you use lenses for digital cameras rather than lenses made for film cameras. With small digital cameras, the size of the sensor influences the size or focal length of the lens used. Digital lenses start getting very small. A lens with a 35mm equivalent of 28-200mm might actually be 7.2-50.8mm. This affects both apertures and focal length for depth of field. Shorter focal lengths give a more apparent depth of field, so these very short lenses give more depth of field than typical 35mm lenses. As the lenses are physically smaller, depth of field increases (for example, a pinhole gives infinite depth of field), so with small lenses the aperture is smaller, giving more depth of field.
Memory failure
CompactFlash memory cards rarely show signs of failure before they eventually do. Although manufacturers do not usually list the expected life of these devices, it seems to be very long when they're well treated. Some companies do state that their cards are not to be used on life-support systems. However, if you start to see image corruption after a format, it is probably time to retire the card.
Up-size non-squares
If you have a camera that captures in non-square pixels, such as the D1X, upsize the resolution in Camera Raw at least one step, for the highest quality, and then scale to your final size in Photoshop.
Hand-held rule
A good rule of thumb for hand-held, no-flash exposures is that the shutter speed most be faster or at least equal to the lens length in mm. If you are using a100 mm lens, shutter speed must be 1/100 or faster (1/125, 1/200, etc.). This also applies to whatever focal length you have a zoom set to. To be on the safe side, if there is enough light, go even one speed up or brace your camera, and/or your self against something solid.
Reading EXIF
EXIF data from any photograph can be read from the Properties dialog. Just select the file, right-click on the file name, scroll down to Properties, then select the Summary, and finally click on the Advanced button. Here you will see the EXIF data that has been stored with the camera. Just be aware that some software does not preserve this data, although most image editors do.
Color Efex strangeness
There is some odd behavior when using Color Efex Pro 2.0 with PhotoShop CS2. Under various circumstances, the Color Efex Pro Select dialog, which normally remains on top of PhotoShop, will disappear behind PhotoShop. This happens when switching between PhotoShop CS2 and Adobe Bridge , or when minimizing PhotoShop CS2 temporarily, then maximizing it. It can also happen simply by clicking an image title bar. All of these issues seem to be related, and are being investigated by nik multimedia.
Where's your WB?
All too often, cameras set to Auto White Balance will pick up on a white dress, nearly white sky, or even on a bright yellow and adjust to this. It is always safer to carry around a small white card and manually set your balance with that. If you also include a grayscale bar on the other side, you can be much surer with your exposures.
Quick view
If you need to look at photographs on the road, it is often more convenient to use Pixture Studio's QuickImageCM. This opens the images almost instantly with a single click. Although it is not an editor, many people just want to check the image on their PowerBook, make sure it is what is needed, and then save it for image editing later. There are several things you can do with the image within the application, but it's real use is solely as an image viewer. (Mac only)
http://www.pixture.com/software/macosx.php
Can you use more memory?
Now that memory cards can hold up to 5 or more GB, don't just assume that your camera can write to cards of any size. If your camera is more than a couple of years old, it may well have a limit of 2 GB. To find out if your camera can handle cards with a capacity over 2GB, check to see if it supports FAT32, in which case it will. If it supports FAT 16, it won't. If you can't find any mention of this in the literature associated with your camera, assume that it will not, but email the manufacturer and check.
Better sunsets
When photographing a sunset with a digital camera, make sure that the white balance control is off and that you are not using auto-focus. The first will try to compensate for the saturated colors, and the sun can confuse the auto-focus controls and cause the camera to focus incorrectly. If you have a landscape mode, use it.
Remove the battery
If you don't intend to use you digital camera for two weeks or more, you should consider removing the batteries. Even the best batteries can leak or corrode.
A TIFF is a TIFF is not a TIFF
Files saved in the Nikon TIFF format are not the same as files saved as regular TIFFs. Nikon uses the LAB color space for their TIFFs, and to load these into Photoshop you have to use a plug-in that comes on the same CD as the regular Nikon View software. You can also open them in Nikon View and save them out in regular formats. This plug-in should be installed at the same time as Nikon View, but it will not be included in other regular versions of Photoshop. The plug-in cannot be downloaded on its own, but the whole software bundle can be obtained from the Nikon website.
Card care
Don't format a Compact Flash and Smart Media cards in your computer. Sometimes the format is not recognized by the camera, and either the card may become unusable or portions of the card will appear to contain data that the camera will not be able to write to, thus reducing the available space for files. Don't remove the card while the camera is reading or writing, or even remove the batteries with the card in the camera. Although cards are not affected by X-rays or electromagnetic radiation, they are susceptible to sharp knocks and static electricity, so ground yourself before removing a card.
Before you buy
If you're about to buy an expensive digital camera, you are probably reading a lot of hype about the merits of both the CMOS and the CCD sensors. Users and manufacturers always extol the virtues of their own system, and it's difficult to find dispassionate comparisons. A couple of references go a long way toward explaining the differences and the technology but won't come out and tell you which to buy.
The first, www.dalsa.com/markets/ccd_vs_cmos.asp, has a comparison chart and is from a manufacturer of cameras used in auto-sensing, which uses both types.
The second, www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,566961,00.asp, is from Extreme Tech and is written by the very competent Sally Wiener Grotta, who also writes for PC Magazine. It is more technical and goes into the subject in depth.
Sessions Online School of Design
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