DPS

Every few months I take a look at what photography gear readers of the dPS community are buying at Amazon (according to the reports Amazon give us from our affiliate program*). Today I spent some time digging into the purchases of DSLR lenses and have compiled the following breakdown of best selling lenses. These results end up on our Popular Digital Cameras and Photography Gear page.

Canon DSLR Lenses

As usual the f1.8 50mm lens wins in the Canon range – a huge seller (see notes before). It’s a great quality lens and considering its price and how fast it is – it is almost a no brainer to have one in your camera bag.

1. Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens
2. Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom
3. Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM Standard & Medium Telephoto Lens
4. Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens
5. Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens
6. Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens
7. Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens
8. Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Telephoto Zoom Lens
9. Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Standard Zoom Lens
10. Canon EF 100-400mm
11. Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Standard Zoom Lens
12. Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens
13. Canon EF 20mm f/2.8 USM Wide Angle Lens
14. Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L USM Wide Angle Lens

Nikon DSLR Lenses

As with Canon – the 50mm lens is king here – doubling the sales of its nearest rival in the Nikon range – again its to do with quality of the lens and the value for money!

1. Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
2. Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Lens
3. Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR [Vibration Reduction] Nikkor Zoom Lens
4. Nikon 105mm f/2.0D AF DC-Nikkor Lens“>Nikon 105mm f/2.0D AF DC-Nikkor Lens
5. Nikon 50mm f/1.4G SIC SW Prime Nikkor Lens

Other Brands DSLR Leneses

Many of these lenses from third party suppliers like Signma and Tamron can be used on different brands of cameras (just make sure you’re buying one with the appropriate mount for your DSLR.

1. Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Lens
2. Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG APO Macro Motorized Telephoto Zoom Lens
3. Tamron AF 70-200mm f/2.8 Di LD IF Macro Lens
4. Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 Di LD Macro Zoom
5. Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 Lens
6. Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM FLD Large Aperture Standard Zoom Lens
7. Sony 50mm f/1.8

A few notes about these results:

Remember these lists are simply based upon what our readers are buying. They don’t guarantee that they are the ‘best’ quality lenses – in fact the lists include a real mix of lenses from those at a professional (and quite expensive) level through to more budget lenses.

The Canon lens is biggest because that’s what our readers buy most but also because the spread of lenses our readers buy on the canon range is larger than for other brands. Nikon’s list may not be as long but our readers buy similar amounts of these lenses to Canon except for one lens – the 50mm f/1.8.

The biggest selling lens by a long long way is the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 - in the last quarter this lens outsold all other lenses significantly (in fact it saw over 3 times the sales of the the next biggest selling lens – the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens.

For interests sake – here are the top five selling lenses across the brands:

1. Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
2. Nikon 50mm f/1.8
3. Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Lens
4. Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom
5. Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Lens

* dPS earns a small commission when readers click through on links to Amazon from dPS. This helps us to keep dPS free so if you’re in the market for a new lens we appreciate you buying through these links.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

The Best Selling DSLR Lenses According to What Our Readers are Buying

Coffee! that’s right… That lovely little cup of *POW* that some of us consume from time to time… (Some maybe more than others?!)

Well, this last week, you guys went away and photographed your coffee! This last week you also probably had in the back of your mind that BlackRapid were going to be giving the winner a little Strap / Bag named the SnapR10! Well, let’s get on with the show, shall we?

Massive Thanks BlackRapid!

 

The winner of the Coffee Assignment is ShutterBugDeb! slips into first place by ONE point! “Nice use of repetition. Circles everywhere from the bubbles to the cup and saucer (and the circles on the handle) to the tablecloth. Well thought out.” —Deb, as ever, drop me an email simon at gtvone dot com and I’ll organise your prize! Congrats! –s

ShutterbugDeb with Coffee and Chocolate

Second place this week for “Strong Hot Black” is AnnWen from just up the road in Victoria, Australia! “not just your average here’s some coffee beans photo. The layout was well thought out, nice and crisp. Could be used for an advertisement!”

Strong, Hot, Black by AnnWen

SiewFeun is in third place today! With this great piece of shadow play! “Great use of light and shadow. The light lends to the lovey dovey mood (yes, lovey dovey is a technical term).” (we let this one slip through as the assignment heading is in the post – sime)

"Fancy a cup of coffee?" (actually, yes please! - Sime)

 

Next week the assignment is GOLDEN HOUR and we have a great new device from Peak Design for our assignment called “Capture Camera Clip System” or, just “Capture” for short! I’m fortunate enough to have one of these little guys, I use it with my thinkTankPhoto pro speed belt, but you can use it with your belt / bag – try it on anything. A truly great device (review coming, soon!)

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums | Coffee

I’ll admit to you here and now: I am extremely picky about photography books. If you need proof to believe me, just look at the collection of 6 photography books sitting lonely on my bookshelf. Maybe this peculiar snobbery comes from the fact that I like photography books to have powerful photographs, be written very engagingly, and have good balance technical information. For whatever reason, these kind of books I have had great difficulty finding.

So then it is with great excitement I bring you the following resources as books that fulfill all my own personal criterion. These are books that I myself will be purchasing for my bookshelf, and strongly recommend to other photographers of all skill levels. I promise, study these books and your abilities will drastically improve and develop.

1. Photo Idea Index: People – Jim Krause

For those photographers who are exploring what it may look like to develop their abilities shooting people and portraits, but are running low on creative ideas. Krause has created a sort of “look book” for a resource that will help with just that. A thick one and half inch book, this photo index provides the most eclectic collection of people pictures in one piece. And don’t think these pictures are typical – if anything each image pushes the envelope of innovation. Any photographer can choose literally any area of interest within portraits or people photography and find inspiration, from motion, to drama, sports to quirky, Goth to kids. It’s a fantastic coffee table book sort of resource.

Buy Photo Idea Index: People by Jim Krause at Amazon

2. Focus on Photographing People: Haje Jan Kamps

Kamps has created a book that does a fantastic job opening the eyes of novice photographers and giving them wings to possibility in the portrait field. Innovatively designed, this book gives just enough technical details to inform without overwhelming.

Buy Focus on Photographing People by Haje Jan Kamps at Amazon.

3. The Hot Shoe Diaries – Joe McNally

Granted, this book is not quite as full of technical “how to” as some may like. However, McNally provides a unique perspective within this genre: What it looks like to add light (via flashes) in all kinds of varying environments. His writing paints a vivid picture of the shooting scenario, making you feel like you were with him as a part of the shoot. McNally shines in giving the viewer examples of his pictures as they progress through the shoot, before completing the “final image”. This certainly is not a book of “nuts and bolts” (though he certainly does state his opinion on this), but rather practical inspiration and craft.

Buy The Hot Shoe Diaries by Joe McNally at Amazon.

4. People Pictures: 30 Exercises for Creating Authentic Photographs: Chris Orwig

This book is hands down the best resource I’ve found which combines practical development ideas, technical aspects, stories, and inspiration. Best of all, the book is overflowing with profiles of real-life, successful portrait photographers who provide short industry vision and encouragement to the reader. Topics include connecting with your subjects by being empathetic, identifying the differences between mediocre and magnificent portraits, and how to be a catalyst with your portrait work.

Buy People Pictures: 30 Exercises for Creating Authentic Photographs by Chris Orwig at Amazon

5. The Portrait Photographers Lighting Style Guide: James Cheadle

With a book that perfectly balances technical details with inspiring imagery, Cheadle has created a resource by which creativity to be born. Interspersed through the book are powerful pictures, technical data, stories describing time and setting, and even charts of the lighting set up. An incredible variety in portrait styles represented, including street photography, action portraits, Hollywood vintage, and editorial portraits.

The author also provides a “Toolbox” of suggested equipment and workflow suggestions. This is a guide you won’t be able to put down until it’s been read from cover to cover.

Buy The Portrait Photographers Lighting Style Guide: James Cheadle at Amazon

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

People Photography and Portraits: Best Resources Toolbox

In recent months it was obvious that Sony and Panasonic had left the upper end DSLR to others … such as Nikon and Canon.

Until now! And this one is a big mother… the Sony SLT-A77!

Loaded with battery, card and the supplied f2/16-50 SSM lens the camera weighed in at 1.3kg, thanks to the magnesium alloy body. Ports, doors and controls are weather-resistant.

The A77 is the first camera to incorporate the continuous focus ability of Translucent Mirror Technology into an enthusiast level body.

It has a new Exmor CMOS sensor, OLED viewfinder, weather-sealed body and a radical three way tilting 7.6cm LCD screen … a world first? The top-mounted LCD mirrors the exposure information usually found on a rear LCD.

Both the LCD monitor and turret finder are operable with Live View and give you a preview of white balance, focus, depth of field, exposure, etc.

A factor which will please some people who feel they should not be expected to pay for an AF function in each lens they buy, Sony’s in-body SteadyShot allows lens stabilisation on all suitable lenses, enabling steady shooting up to 2.5-4.0 lens stops.

Sony SLT-A77 Features

My early hours with the camera were a bit of a challenge as it was delivered to me without an instruction manual — printed or PDF!

However I did manage to determine that the A77, in keeping with its pro aspirations, has a bundle of external controls, some of which are customisable.

So, without need to labour in the jungle of the viewfinder menu, you get to fine tune the ISO setting, white balance, exposure compensation, finder enlargement, drive mode (single, continuous), a Function button and others. The red movie record button is placed right next to the turret viewfinder.

The mode dial has 12 options: auto exposure, Program AE, aperture and speed priority, sweep panorama, scene modes, 3D, movie and others.

The 24.3 million effective pixels allow a huge maximum image size of 6000×4000 pixels: expect to make a 51x34cm print.
In movies you have the option of Full HD 1920×1080 in AVCHD format; you can also shoot 1440×1080 in MPEG4. The auto focus and auto exposure worked brilliantly while shooting video, but the bad news is that you cannot shoot still images while shooting a movie. It may also be a wise move to kill sound recording via the mic if you want to avoid the squeaks and bumps from the camera and lens operation.

Burst shooting can be made at up to 12fps, with continuous focusing in play all the way; this speed allows for capture of full size images. This amazing speed is aided and abetted by the translucent mirror: it remains fixed in position to reduce ‘tween shot blackout time. Total of 13 shots at the top setting.

There are some significant ‘helpers’ in the A77 as well as some dinky features that indicate the camera could be used as a family snapper as well.

With JPEG capture (only) there is an HDR function that will capture three shots varying in exposure in a range of one to six f stops.

There is built in GPS that records location and the time of every shot taken and then gives you a view of your images on a map when loaded onto a compatible computer and Internet apps.

Backlit or heavily shadowed subjects can be optimised with the Dynamic Range Optimizer. You can choose from auto, a choice of five operating levels and off.

The dinky: there is a smile shutter, adjustable for sensitivity! Slight! Normal! And Big!

More: a handheld twilight mode shoots six shots very quickly and blends them into a single image for smooth, low-noise evening shots. The data from all six undergoes a reduction in noise equivalent to two additional steps of ISO sensitivity, with sensitivity selectable up to ISO 16000. This is OK for handheld shooting as, post-shoot, image processing is applied to handle subject blur, camera shake and noise.

Even dinkier: the A77 can auto detect up to eight individual faces, adjust focus, exposure, white balance and flash to capture optimum images of people. Face Registration can remember friends and family members.

There are 11 Picture Effect modes that will help the newbie; these include Posterization, Pop Color, Retro Photo and so on.

Of course, Sony’s giant killer Sweep Panorama function is on board to capture huge vertical or horizontal panos. This feature alone is worth the trip to a retailer to try it out!

Startup

What else would you expect from a camera that has no flipping mirror: rapid startup and the ability to fire off shots as fast as you can hit the button: but with a 12fps burst ability, why bother doing it manually!

(insert Sony SLT-A77 ISO 50 to Sony SLT-A77 ISO 16,000)

Sony SLT-A77 ISO Tests

A very good, noise-free performance all the way up to ISO 3200, with only a small amount showing at ISO 6400. By ISO 12,800 we’re nearly over the edge. At ISO 16,000 we’re over!

Sony SLT-A77 Verdict

Quality: Close to top level DSLR.

Why you’d buy the Sony SLT-A77: big, big 6000×4000 pixel stills; 12fps ability; terrific movie mode; top drawer exposure modes; you want to explore high end photography without the tech tangles of a high end camera (like the Canon 7D).

Why you wouldn’t: weight may be a penalty if you’re trekking.

There will be some, brought up on optical viewfinders who will find the Sony’s approach to be less than ideal. In truth, an LCD view is far from ideal but, IMHO, the benefits outweigh the penalties.

However, at the price, and if you can afford the top glass available for it, this is a phenomenal camera. Deserves to do well in the market. Good news Sony!

Sony SLT-A77 Specifications

Image Sensor: 24.3 million effective pixels.
Metering: 1200 zone multi segment, centre-weighted, spot.
Lens Mount: Sony A-mount.
Exposure Modes: Program AE, shutter and aperture priority, manual.
Effective Sensor Size: 23.5×15.6mm HD CMOS.
35 SLR Lens Factor: 1.5x.
Shutter Speed (stills): 30 to 1/8000 second and Bulb. Flash sync: 1/250 sec.
Continuous Shooting: 3-12 fps.
Memory: SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo cards.
Image Sizes (pixels): Stills: 6000×4000 to 3008×1688.
Movies: 1920×1080 (AVCHD) — (PAL: 50p/28Mbps/PS, 50i/24Mbps/FX, 50i/ 17Mbps/ FH, 25p/24Mbps/ FX, 25p/17Mbps/FH); 1440×1080 (MPEG4) — (PAL: 25fps/12M), VGA: 640×480 (25fps/ 3M).
Viewfinder: Live (2.36 million pixels); 7.6cm LCD screen (921,600 pixels).
File Formats: JPEG, RAW, JPEG+RAW, MPEG4, AVCHD.
Colour Space: sRGB, Adobe RGB.
ISO Sensitivity: Auto, 100 to 25,600.
Interface: USB 2.0, HDMI mini, ext mic.
Power: Rechargeable lithium ion battery, DC input.
Dimensions: 143x104x81 WHDmm.
Weight: 732 g (battery and card).
Price: Get a price on the Sony SLT-A77 With 16-50mm F2.8 lens or Sony SLT-A77 – Body Only.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Sony SLT-A77 Review

Today while surfing on Flickr I came across this old classic photo from 1908. It was in the Library of Congress Flickr account in their ‘photographer in the picture‘ set and not only captures an Indianapolis street scene but also the photographer in the act of taking the shot – or at least his shadow.

The shadow itself tells a story of the moment the photo was taken – the size of the camera, the remote shutter release, the photographers (Lewis Wickes Hine) outfit (hat and coat). Something about it grabbed me so I thought perhaps this weeks photographic challenge should be – ‘photographer in the picture’.

Your challenge this week is to take and share a photo with you the photographer somehow in the frame.

There are a variety of ways you might want to do this ranging from a full self portrait – to something a little more subtle – perhaps capturing your shadow, perhaps your reflection, perhaps a part of your body… I’ll leave it up to you as to how you do it – but do let your creative juices get going!

Note: while we don’t mind you posting previous images that you’ve taken that fit this topic – the real point of these ‘challenges’ is to inspire you to go out and take NEW photos. So perhaps instead of just trawling through your old photos to find one that fits – grab that camera and go use it too!

If you’re looking for some inspiration – do check out our Self Portraiture resource.

Once you’ve taken your ‘Photographer in the Picture’ Images – choose your best 1-2, upload them to your favourite photo sharing site and either share a link to them or – embed them in the comments using the our new tool to do so.

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

Also – don’t forget to check out some of the great shots posted in last weeks Smile challenge where there were some great shots submitted.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Photographer in the Picture: Weekly Photography Challenge

Part two in this four-part branding your photography business primer takes a look at photographers’ business cards. You can find part one here.

You’d be hard pressed to find a functional business without a business card – no matter what industry. Photographers are no exception – and in fact their business cards get much more creative than most industries. Different sizes, shapes, tabs or holes and of course lots and lots of images. What goes into a business card and what you should think about if you’re designing it yourself can really help solidify your branding style. Here are a few things to consider for your next round of business cards.

Can I Find You?

The ultimate purpose of a business card is to leave someone with your contact information and usually direct them to your website. Always keep that at the top of your head. Your business card is an action step. If a client doesn’t know where to go next from it, you’ve probably lost any business that might have come in from handing it out.

Keep your information clearly organized on your card. Make sure your name, number, e-mail and website are on there. If you’re going for that ultra-minimalistic look, at least make sure the one piece of info you do put on the card is a link to the rest of your contact info. Again, remember that your card should be an action step to reach out to you.

My general recommendation is to keep all your contact information on one side of your card. I’ve seen a few people who opt to put their website on one side, and additional contact info on the other. You’d be surprised how many people don’t think to simply flip your card to the other side.

Representing Your Visual Style

Like any other piece of your branding, your business cards should work with your images, not against them. Nothing will throw your clients off more than an edgy, fashionable card and fun-filled images on your site. What you’re saying to them is that you don’t really know what you’re trying to evoke with your style, you just happen to be taking some nice shots here and there. Fonts, colors, card shapes and designs can all add to or subtract from your brand. Designer be wary!

You can try making your own business cards, or working with a designer to help put together a few options for you. That’s exactly what I did when I worked with the crew at The James Agency again. I knew I wanted something fun that captured my lifestyle and travel work. Together we came up with the idea for luggage tags and put the rest of the pieces together. Today, it still gets wows every time I hand it out to a new client. That’s exactly the effect you want with your business cards – just make sure your images back up that wow factor!

Photos on the Back

As photographers, we’re obviously in the image business.  The biggest question most photographers often have is whether to include photos on the back of their cards or not. It’s a very subjective question, but here are a few things to consider.

A back of the card image shows someone immediately what it is that you do. Definitely place a lot of thought into what image you put on there – because it’s going to have to represent your entire body of work and create an actionable impression. Ask yourself, “would I want to see more based on this image?” If the answer is no, don’t even think about putting that on the back of your business card. You can also consider putting a different image on 4-6 cards, giving you a variety of work. This mini collection usually looks great together, but don’t put any image on there you wouldn’t feel comfortable standing alone to represent your work. Thin the herd to the best of the best of the best.

From moo.com

The downside to images on your card can be a negative client impression. What if a client really likes your entire body of work, but they just don’t like that image you chose for your business card? Chances are you’ll never know because they might not bother to look at the rest of your work if they don’t like that one image. They weren’t inspired to see more. The other downside can come when you’re starting out and getting better with every shoot. You may print a round of 200 cards, hand out 50-100 of them and then a month or few months later hate having to hand out old images that no longer represent your work. It happens a lot! Think carefully if your work is ready to last as long as those cards will – or if you don’t mind tossing them out and spending money on new ones.

Saving as Vector PDF

If you’re designing your own business cards, one of the biggest factors in quality can come down to how you save those files. Nothing is worse then thinking you have a cool design, uploading a jpg to the printer, and receiving back grainy text files. To prevent this, you’ll want to save your files as vector-based PDFs. This will hold the resolution of text based files when sent to your printer. It’s a lot simpler than it sounds.

First, find out the dimensions of the card you’ll be printing to and create that size file to work on in Photoshop. Make sure you check with your printer about any trim margins so that you don’t cut off any important texts. As a rule, try not to put anything too close to the edges anyways. Ensure you don’t rasterize any of the layers then save the file as a Photoshop PDF – that’s a .PDF or .PDP file extension. Below you will see a box that says “Include Vector Data” and “Embed Fonts.” Check both of these. Voila! Now it’s ready to send to your printer and maintain your text resolution.

Where to Print

There are countless numbers of printers across the globe. Where you go depends on your budget, the style you want and paper quality. If you’re running on a shoestring budget, the cheapest printer will probably be a local Kinko’s (FedEx Office) or other mass market budget printer.

There are also a lot of options to upload online to printers and have your cards shipped to you. One that has been especially popular amongst photographers is moo.com because of their thick quality, ability to print multiple images and mini cards.

Consider working with and endorsing a local printer as well – as long as you get the quality you want. Helping your local market is always a plus and continues to keep businesses running in your community.

Keep these tips in mind and you’ll be on to better branded business cards.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Branding Your Photography Business – Part 2: Business Cards

OK – this one’s a little quirky but I’ve met 3 photographers in the last week who’ve given their camera a name! The names were ‘Roxanne’, ‘Pip’ and ‘Brad’ (no idea why they ended up with those names).

I’ve not come across anyone who did this before – so 3 in a week makes me wonder if anyone else has too?

So – own up – who’s given their camera a name – or are these three people the only ones?

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Does Your Camera Have a Name?

I am a ceramic artist with a passion for photography and I firmly believe that everyone out there has the ability to take a fantastic photo.

It doesn’t matter what sort of camera you use, whether it is a DSLR or the camera in your phone. A good photo is all about using your eye and really looking at the world around you.

All aspiring photographers should occasionally stop, take a breath and simply watch the play of light and shadow, enjoy the view and drink the life around you in with your eyes. Look, really look deeply for a minute or two at your chosen subject and then take the photograph.

When I was first starting out on my artistic journey I was an impatient beginner, I would throw a pot on the wheel, be unhappy with its form and so into the slop bucket it went. I would work hard all day trying to make the perfect pot and at the end of the day I would have a slop bucket full to the brim with my failed attempts at perfection. At the end of my first year of study I only kept one pot I was happy with.

An established ceramist gave me a very valuable piece of advice. Herme Cornelisse told me to stop throwing my work away so quickly. She told me that each pot I made had merit and that sometimes you need to live with your work for a while before the qualities are truly revealed.

It wasn’t until the end of my second year of study that I really started to understand Herme’s advice. I stopped being so hard on myself and I started to keep more of my own work, I started to keep pots that, whilst not perfect in form or function, had something about them that appealed to me. These imperfect pots have since become the inspiration for work that I am making today.

This is what I would say to all aspiring photographers, don’t be so quick to hit the delete button. Live with your photos for a bit. Allow the images to breathe for a while and come back and revisit them when you are in a different frame of mind.

I will illustrate what I mean. Here is a very ordinary photo, I took lots of very similar shots on the day. As I was scrolling through my image files pressing delete, delete, delete and pretending to be a dalek I noticed a speck on top of the rocks.

On closer inspection the speck turned out to be a man on the rocks. I magnified the image to 100x and cropped the photo until I was happy with the proportions of man to rock to sky. I fiddled about with the exposure until I was satisfied with the colour of the sky, as to my eye the original photo looked a bit washed out. I increased the contrast a small amount and also raised the percentage of black by a couple of percent to highlight the shadowy spaces between the rocks until I liked the feel of the image.

I often wonder what that fellow on the rocks is doing and each time I see this image on my wall I smile. It isn’t the best photo in the world and it won’t win any technical awards but I am very pleased that I paused for that instant before I pressed the delete button.

Another example of looking twice at a photo is this following image. I was filling up the wood box in the kitchen when the colours in this piece of wood caught my eye. The combination of the green on the black charcoal would look fabulous on a pot and so I quickly snapped a photo.

When I was looking at the photo on my computer I was struck by the figurative qualities of the log of wood and I also noticed how interesting the background was as well. Again with only a few minor edits in photoshop a very ordinary photo becomes an interesting Arty shot. This photo is hanging on the wall in my studio and it serves as a reminder for me to always look deeper, to stop for a moment and just breathe, to remember that the most important tools I have are my eyes and to not be too quick to throw away any of my work.

Kim Foale is a ceramic artist, based just outside of Hobart, Tasmania. You can find Kim blogging at Frog Ponds Rock, tweeting at @frogpondsrock or on facebook as Frogpondsrock. If you are ever in Hobart, Kim’s ceramics are available at the Off Centre Gallery, Salamanca Arts Centre, Salamanca place Hobart.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Live With Your Photos Before You Delete

Micro, mirrorless cameras are upon us, with sales for the pioneers — Olympus and Panasonic — soaring as people welcome the small, clever, interchangeable lens models with open arms.

Nikon and Canon have dragged their feet on this evolution with the former only now recognising the market demand with a pair of models that bear all the hallmarks of the sector: small, easy to use, with an eye-level LCD finder, a rear screen and a range of interchangeable lenses.

The Nikon 1 range of CX format cameras includes the upper level V1 and a lesser model — the Nikon J1.

I missed the Sydney launch, thanks to a messed up press invite and a nonchalant publicity arm. However, a few weeks later, I managed to snatch the upper model, the Nikon V1, for this review.

The review camera was all white, with two lenses supplied — mostly white again: f3.5/10-30mm and f3.8/30-110mm. Both were VR (Vibration Reduction lenses); there are two other lenses available. It’s worth noting that each lens has an external button to ‘pop out’ the lens for shooting: this makes the camera much smaller when carried.

Besides the white body, there’s also pink, red, silver and black. Takes all kinds! … and indicates how wide Nikon’s market aim appears to be. There are also many features that, frankly, have ‘happy family consumer’ appeal that may turn off some pros looking for a backup camera. Read on and you’ll see what I mean!

The 10.1 megapixel CMOS can capture a maximum still image size is 3872×2592 pixels, leading to a final print size of 33x22cm.

MPEG4 Movie shooting up to 1920×1080 pixels is available. AF and exposure are constantly adjusted as the camera moves and zooms. If you shoot a still while in movie recording, the latter stops.

Nikon V1 Features

The camera sure looks smart, sits well in the hand. Some will miss the traditional speed grip at the right edge but there is a raised security bar at the front and a rear non-slip patch that may help you feel safer.

Top deck: power on/off, shutter button and red movie record button.

Rear: my old bugbear — controls that are hard to read in dim light. Design-wise, I like the white styling of the front but figure it could have been carried around to the rear so that the controls could be set in black type on white buttons. Maybe it’s just me.

A tiny mode dial — and I mean tiny! At 12mm diameter! — carries four options:

• Motion Snapshot. Each time you fire the shutter a still image and about a second of movie is shot. On replay the movie is slowed to around 2.5 seconds, followed by the still. This forms a movie/still vignette; to this, one of four phrases of background music can be added automatically. How cute!
• Smart Photo Selector. Each time you hit the shutter the camera automatically shoots a burst of shots. The camera indicates the best shot as well as four other ‘likelies’.
• Still image mode. Possibly better described as Program AE, where the camera sets aperture and shutter speed.
• Movie mode. Three options: 1902×1080/60i and 1920×1080/30p and 1280×720/60p.

Note: you must dig into the viewfinder menu to select aperture or shutter priority … no external control. Thankfully, the viewfinder menu is simple, easy to navigate and operate.

Aside from the mode wheel there is a Feature button that gives access to three different shutter types: Mechanical, Electronic and Electronic (Hi). One benefit of either electronic shutter is quieter operation plus a top speed of 1/16,000 second.

Added to this, you can shoot at 5 fps with the mechanical shutter plus 30 or 60fps with the Electronic (Hi) option.
The Electronic (Hi) also delivers movie frame rates of 400 to 1200 fps at reduced sizes (640×480 and 320×120) in five second bursts.

The Feature button also offers choices of music background for Motion Snapshot shooting.

A novelty is an enlargement control that, in replay, zooms in to 10x for close inspection of replayed images.

Then there’s a rocker dial that offers the menu button, exposure compensation, AF options and self timer. The control layout is quite radical and you’ll take some time to get used to it. I did!

There’s no inbuilt flash unit but an optional unit can be attached to the accessory outlet on the left upper surface. This port also accepts a GPS unit.

Startup

About a second after power up I caught the first shot, then each follow-up came in as fast as I could hit the button.

Nikon V1 ISO Tests

Terrific, noise free quality up to ISO 1600; at ISO 3200 a bit more noise ands slight definition loss but not to an extreme.

Nikon V1 Verdict

Quality: above average.

Why you’d buy the V1: it’s a Nikon!; you want a very small system camera; adaptor for Nikon F lenses.

Why you wouldn’t: you may find the ‘clever’ options a bit off-putting.

Frankly, I found the layout of the camera a bit challenging. Call me a ‘stick-in-the-mud’ but I was quite happy the way things were. But then, I would enjoy a camera able to shoot at 1/16,000 second.

A downer is the small CMOS: it’s equivalent to a 16mm diagonal sensor and little larger than some fixed lens compact sensors; the sensor’s 2.7x 35 SLR lens factor means any F1 lenses clipped onto it will suffer a major magnification: a 50mm then becomes a 135mm!

Nikon V1 Specifications

Image Sensor: 10.1 million effective pixels.
Metering: Matrix, centre-weighted and spot.
Lens Mount: Nikon 1 mount.
Exposure Modes: Program AE, shutter and aperture priority, manual.
Effective Sensor Size: 13.2×8.8mm CMOS.
35 SLR Lens Factor: 2.7x.
Shutter Speed (stills): 30 to 1/4000 sec (mechanical) or 1/16,000 sec (electronic) plus Bulb and Time (with optional remote).
Flash sync: 1/250 sec (mechanical shutter) or 1/250 sec (electronic).
Continuous Shooting: 5 fps as well as 10, 30 or 60 fps using the Electronic (Hi) shutter
Memory: SD/SDHC/SDXC cards.
Image Sizes (pixels): Stills: 3872×2592 to 1936×1296.
Movies: 1920×1080/60i and 30p; 1280×720, 640×240, 320×120
Viewfinder: 12mm (1,440,00 million pixels); 7.6cm LCD screen (921,000 pixels).
File Formats: JPEG, NEF (RAW), JPEG+NEF, MPEG4.
Colour Space: sRGB, Adobe RGB.
ISO Sensitivity: Auto, 100 to 6400xxxx.
Interface: USB 2.0, HDMI mini, accessories.
Power: Rechargeable lithium ion battery, DC input.
Dimensions: 113x76x43.5 WHDmm.
Weight: 383 g (battery and card).
Price: Get a price on the Nikon V1 in different configurations including:

• Nikon 1 V1 with 10-30mm VR 1 NIKKOR Lens
• Nikon 1 V1 10.1 MP HD Digital Camera System with 10mm and 10-30mm VR 1 NIKKOR Lenses
• Nikon 1 V1 10.1 MP HD Digital Camera System with 10-30mm VR and 30-110mm VR 1 NIKKOR Lenses

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Nikon V1 Review

Traveling and photography go hand in hand for many of us. New sights are a feast for the eyes and those of use with strong photographic intentions love capturing the color and life we find on (digital) film for sharing back home. Or sometimes just for our own enjoyment.

One subject that comes up time and again for me as a photo tour operator is, “Do you ask permission when taking someone’s photo?” It’s one of the touchiest subjects in photography in general. Ask any seasoned street photographer and you will likely receive a resounding, “No”. Same goes for photojournalists. But most of us don’t fall into those two categories. Most of us are just out enjoying the world and aren’t looking to make a name as a world renowned journalist.

So there the question still lingers. For the average photographer, out on vacation (not on assignment), do you ask permission when taking someone’s photo?

My advice when asked? Yes, always. Most of the time. Except….  You see, it’s not black and white for me (my CCD only records in color). I try my best to ask for permission before shooting out of respect. For me it relates to the Golden Rule and I’d appreciate others asking my permission first if the lens were reversed. Whenever practical, yes, ask. I know, I know….it ruins the shot most of the time. But for me, being respectful of people I share the planet with goes further than bringing home that really cool shot (and unless I’m shooting for a Pulitzer, all the shots are just cool shots). I have found that asking for permission, while ruining one shot, will often lead to other shots that never existed before I said hello. Asking also leads to connection with people in the area I’m shooting, rather than treating them all as decorations that sparkle and amaze me. I also don’t mind taking people’s portraits (which often happens after asking for permission as people tend to pose) so it works both ways.

On the flip side, I do take a number of shots without asking, especially in crowded market situations. I take it on a case by cases basis and often ask after the fact, showing the subject the picture. This can also strike up a conversation leading to more knowledge than if I had never engaged. The cobbler pictured here in Bhutan, mending my boot, became far more animated and talkative after I asked for his image. Especially when his friend in across the street saw me taking the photo. It opened up conversation, eased the comfort level between us and lead to other shots.

Other times it is simply not practical. A stone mason at work high on a wall. Traffic police in the middle of an intersection. There are times when the subject is in plain public view and asking would either not be practical nor advisable. In those cases I try to make eye contact and wave a ‘thank you’ or simply walk on.

What about you? How often do you ask permission when traveling? Do you typically ask before or after and has it ever led to more than you anticipated? I’d love to hear your experiences in the comments section below.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Travel Photography – Do You Ask Permission Before, After Or Not At All?

A Guest Post by Chris De Bruyn. WARNING: some images in this post may cause distress to some readers.

It seems that almost every time I turn on the news these days, there is a new massive, potentially dangerous event such as the Arab Spring or Occupy (Major City) Protest. Since moving to Iraq in 2009, I have shot a number of events such as national elections, cockfighting and political protests. While these events can produce very thought provoking photos, there are a number of things to keep in mind when decided whether or not to shoot them.

1. Blend in – Do your best not to stand out. If you are in a foreign country, knowing the local language is a big advantage when photographing a dangerous event. At the very least try to learn phrases such as “Pardon me”, “May I take your photo” and “thank you very much.” Wearing local clothes and ha right kind of facial hair will help as well. Make sure to have credentials/passport on hand in case you are questioned by police.

Don’t go alone – Go with at least one friend and make sure to have your cell phone turned on, ready to dial emergency contacts/police.

Be alert – Be aware of your surroundings at all times. Have a sense omosphere of the crowd and be ready to respond accordingly. Keep an eye out for trouble and take appropriate actions to prevent it.

Know the area – scout out the area before hand if you can. The more familiar you are with a location, the less likely it is than an accident will occur.

Know when to leave – No photo is worth putting your life in danger. If the atmosphere of an event becomes too heated, leave.

Chris De Bruyn is an English lecturer and photography instructor at the American University of Iraq-Sulaimani. His work has been featured on VOA News, The Bay Citizen, BBC, and National Geographic. Feel free to visit his website at www.chrisdebruyn.com

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

5 Tips for Safely Photographing a Dangerous Event

In a previous post, I looked at content aware resizing in Photoshop CS4 which is the same as in CS5. I also mentioned the online application called Rsizr. Today I’m going to show you a plug-in for Gimp that does pretty much the same thing.

The tool is called Liquid Rescale which you can download from here. Close Gimp, install the application and then reopen Gimp and you will see the application on the Layer menu.

This plug-in is an alternative to the crop tool. You use it to reduce an image’s size but, where the crop tool removes the data from one or more sides of an image, content aware resizing removes it from the middle of the image. This gives you basically the same looking image but smaller in one dimension. You might use this, for example, to remove some empty area from the middle of an image where the more interesting parts of the image are to either side of it.

The same tool can scale an image up to make it larger in one direction – and this time it will create extra data in the image to fill the space. You might use this, for example, where you have a rectangular image that you want to make into a square image without losing any detail.

To see how this can be done, I’ll take this beach image and size it down from 3571 pixels wide to 3000.

Open the image in Gimp and choose Layer > Liquid rescale. When the dialog appears, click the Output tab and set Output Target to a New Image. Enable the Resize image canvas checkbox and click Ok.

Set the new image width – I set this to 3000 but made sure that the link icon was disabled as I don’t want the height altered. Click Interactive and wait as the image is resized.

The program resizes the image by removing unimportant details from it and keeping what it understands to be the important bits. This is the result:

If you find that some elements in the image are squeezed or damaged by the process, you can create a mask to prevent this from happening.

To do this, click the original image again and choose Layer > Liquid rescale and set up the Output tab options.

Click Feature Masks and, to create a protective mask, click the Feature Preservation Mask option and click New. The paint color will be set to green so select a brush, enlarge it to an appropriate size and paint over anything on the image that you do not want to change as the image is resized.

In my case, that is the swimmer at the front of the image and the lifeguard and boards at the back. I’ve added some other bits I don’t want skewed out of alignment like the vertical poles too. Anything else can be adjusted except these elements. When you’re done, click Ok.

Type the size for the new image and click Interactive and wait as the image is resized. Here I chose for the image to be reduced from 3571 to 2500 pixels wide, and the surfer, boards and flags have all reduced well. The protected areas have not been touched.

The plug-in also has a tool that you can use to remove elements from the photo. In my image let’s take out the large pole in the foreground. In this case you use a Feature Discard Mask – and paint in red over the area that you want removed from the image. Adjust the strength to the highest value, set the width value by clicking Auto size: Width so that the image is scaled to the appropriate width for the item you are removing and click Interactive.

In this case, the flag has gone but we’ve got a bit of a repair job to do with the rest of the image to fix it up. It would require some work with the clone tool to fix up the image but Liquid rescale has got us some part of the way towards where we are headed.

You can also use the plug-in to enlarge an image. In this case, we’ve enlarged the image to create a square image.

The rescaling process isn’t perfect but generally you’ll get a good enough result that with a small amount of cloning afterwards using the clone tool you’ll be able to produce a realistic result.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Content Aware Resizing in Gimp

Assignment | Cool Colours

That was our theme this last week, and a few of you managed to nail it! well done! We could, as ever, only choose three winners, first, second and third…

Of course, first place comes to you courtesy of thinkTankPhoto this week (Next week it’s BlackRapid!) and so, without any further chatter by ME, let’s get these winners up here!

First place, and the new owner of a memory card holder from thinkTankPhoto is…

LISA as voted by our moderators “this has completely captured my attention. The softness of the image along with the cool blue and pods really set off the dreamy feel of the overall image.” Well done, Lisa! Please contact me via email [ spollock@thinktankphoto.com ] and I’ll post your prize out! – Find more from Lisa here on Flickr 

assignment | cool colours by Lisa

Second winner this week is HollyBug, well done!! “abusing white balance is a good way to pull the colour warmth one way or the other. All this dreamy shot was missing was a fairy or two.”

assignment | cool colours by HollyBug

And, this week our third winner was Veggie1215 with this stunning photograph.. “…not entirely dissimilar to the image given at the opening but definitely cool to the point of freezing.”

assignment | cool colours by Veggie1215

Well, there you have it!! Make sure you stop in and post your coffee assignment images!! Here’s one of my recent coffee images (for those of you that don’t know, I shoot my coffee almost daily)

 

Thanks as ever to thinkTankPhoto for kindly sponsoring our forum assignments! Please check them out for any camera bag related information you’re after! Next week we’re sponsored by BlackRapid, makers of some of the most fantastic camera straps that I have ever had the pleasure of hanging from my person!

See you next week! –Sime

 

 

 

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums Nov 13 – 19

If you like street photography, you’ve probably heard of Thomas Leuthard. He lives in Switzerland and, although he hasn’t been on the street photography scene for very long, he’s made quite a name for himself in the community worldwide. The guy has got quite an eye! When I see his regular posts on social media, I am always astounded by the number of quality of images he manages to shoot on any given photo walk. There is something very special about his photographs, some will make you smile, others will move you. He does it out of sheer passion for the craft. He loves to roam the streets of large cities worldwide and enjoys sharing his work and knowledge through social media and workshops. His generosity has even led him to publish two fantastic e-books about street photography that are downloadable free of charge! He agreed to answer a few questions for the dPS readers. If you haven’t already done so, I urge you to check out his work by visiting his website  from there you can find all the links to Thomas’ social media world.

1. When did you start doing street photography and why?

It was in May 2009 when I ordered a new Nikon 85mm prime lens and decided to make only street photos with this lens and upload it to a new online profile called 85mm. This was the start of 85mm Street Photography. The lens changed to a wider one over time, but the name remained.

 2. What do you look for when you roam the streets?

There are a lot of things I’m looking for. I focus on Interesting characters, funny situations, graphical repetitions, matching colors and so on. I scan the streets all the time while I’m walking…

 3.  What drives you most, the actual shoot or the resulting images?

For me it’s the challenge to see interesting things, to capture life and to make an interesting shot of something ordinary. Sure the result makes you proud, especially when you know the story behind it and when it was a special situation to capture it.

 4.  If someone objects and asks you to delete in camera, what do you do?

Yes, I delete, when someone requests me to delete.

 5.  What gear do you use?

A Nikon D7000 with a 50mm prime lens for candid portraits. A Lumix GF1 with a 20mm pancake lens for full scenes. I’m in the process of using also the FujiFilm X100 which should replace the GF1, but I’m not sure yet. The GF1 is a great camera for the streets.

 6. Do you spend much time in the digital darkroom? What is your work flow?

No, just 1-2 minutes per photo. I try to limit the time spent in front of the computer to a minimum and the goal is to make the photo as perfect as possible within the camera. I don’t like to crop, often take the original cutout. Then I add some contrast, sharpening, vignette, B/W and that’s about it. I use a preset in Apple Aperture 3 which save some time. But post processing is not the important part of my photography.

 7.  You started using flash for your street photography, how did that change your approach?

I tried it out, but I didn’t really like it. It was just for fun and to see how it works. It didn’t really change my approach. I was just flashing those faces instead of taking a portrait. For me flash is not something that I will use for the future as it is not a way that will improve the content of a photo. You cannot really tell a story, flashing someone’s face.

 8. Do you have a favorite city?

Yes, the bigger and more versatile the better. I would not mention a name as there are so many of them.

 9. What was your most memorable moment as a street photographer?

There were a lot, but there was one moment when we spend a whole day with a farmer whose wife we met outside of Yerevan, Armenia. This day really changed my life as I could once more feel how people can be open to complete strangers and provide a way of hospitality I would not encounter in my country.

 10. What was you scariest moment?

There were no real scary moments. There were people approaching me asking questions, swearing and threatening me. But it was not scary.

11. Do you have a favorite image?

“Hitchcock” is my most favorite image I have done lately. But there are others which I like. It depends from which perspective you look at your photographs. There are many which I like because there is a big story behind it, which cannot be seen by the observer.

12. Who are the photographers who have inspired you the most?

I don’t know a lot of the famous photographers. There is one person’s eye I admire the most. His name is Siegfried Hansen and he is a street photographer from Hamburg, Germany. His work is different, but extremely outstanding.

13. If you could give 3 tips to someone who is going to try street photography for the first time, what would they be?

Have a plan/concept, what you want to shoot. You have to focus on something to get good results. It can be a color (Everything in Orange), an action (people reading newspaper), a body part (feet & shoes) or a light situation (Silhouette). This helps you a lot. Start small and don’t try to jump into everybody’s face at the beginning. Observe a lot and don’t shoot too much. Start scanning for forms, colors, interesting faces and so on.

I hope the images above have inspired you as much as they’ve inspired me. Don’t forget to checkout 85mm to see more of Thomas’ beautiful work.

Thomas Leuthard

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Focus on Thomas Leuthard – Street Photographer

Image by Dimitris Papazimouris

This week your photographic challenge is to take and share a photo on the theme of ‘Smile’.

Feel free to interpret the theme as you wish – you might take a portrait of someone smiling or perhaps you’ll take a photo that makes those who view it smile. It’s totally up to you.

Once you’ve taken your ‘Smile’ Images – choose your best 1-2, upload them to your favourite photo sharing site and either share a link to them or – embed them in the comments using the our new tool to do so.

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

Also – don’t forget to check out some of the great shots posted in last weeks Master the Master challenge where there were some great shots submitted.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Smile: Weekly Photography Challenge

1. Find Inspiration

A painter once said, “The soul of art is inspiration.” I couldn’t agree more. I can’t count on two hands the number of times I continued to work on a shoot because I was inspired by the light, or got up in the middle of the night to brainstorm a shoot idea because I was inspired by the movie I just watched. Inspiration has a power to drive us artists in a way that few things can. This being the case, it is so important that we seek inspiration in our working and off hours.

Developing technology has blessed us with many opportunities to find inspiration and tuck it away for when it’s needed most. Sites like Pinterest or even flickr allow you to harness the power of visual imagery from blogs, sites, magazines, or even your own pictures. I’ll give fair warning to you though: Pinterest may become your next inspiration obsession.

2. Find Causes and Run with Them

There are few things more rewarding than finding ways to use your photos to support a cause you believe in. Generally most nonprofit organizations – especially the smaller ones – are ecstatic to have a photographer offer to assist their cause. Volunteer your services in whatever way they may need and you will grow as a person, as a storyteller, and as a photographer. Need ideas on where to start? Seth Godin’s “Tales of the Revolution: True Stories of People who are Poking the Box and Making a Difference” is an incredible resource to help you brainstorm.

3. Find Time to Develop

How often do we really just take the time to develop our craft? Many professional photographers agree that it’s easy to pick up a camera for jobs – but will do so on few other occasions. Take a challenge like 365 Project and push yourself develop the eyes to see art all around you – and share that with others.

4. Find Resources

There is a proverb that says “there is nothing new under the sun.” In the area of art, we create when inspiration and our own innovation collide. Discovering new perspectives is a critical part of our photographic development. When was the last time you went to an Art Gallery? Be it local or part of a museum, routine visits to an Art Gallery gives way for you to explore art through other artists eyes.

5. Find Your Loves

What things in life give you intense pleasure and enjoyment? Those are the things to take pictures of. We never grow tired of the things that we really love – that give us refreshment and perspective. Returning to these loves in both conceptually in the creative process and practically subject matter will make room for photographic exploration.

6. Find Community

Camaraderie in creativity is a fantastic resource for our artistic development. Finding a photographic community – or creating a group yourself will provide collaboration, fellowship, and a lot of fun. With PUGs, FTP groups and more, there are plenty of opportunities for you to dive into a community.

7. Find New Vantage Points

Many of us have heard the old adage: “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.” So why is it so difficult to apply this to our art? Take a risk. Try a new idea. The real deal of art is to never put yourself in a box – so take steps outside your comfort zone with concepts, with shoots, with editing. You may be surprised by what new discovery you find yourself in love with.

8. Find Local Experts

Gone are the days of “trade secrets” and tight-lipped professionals who do everything in their power to stay on top. Today’s photographic industry is full of individuals who are more concerned with connecting and helping than the bottom line. Take some time to hunt down professionals in your area whom you respect and admire – both personally and in their work. After you have a small list gathered, contact these individuals and inquire as to if they would be willing to get together with you over coffee for questions and discussion. Who knows, while you may be looking for a mentor, that photographer just may be looking for someone to invest in.

9. Find Honest Critique

It’s difficult to critique your own work – after all, you know the backstory, you are biased to the reasons why you took the shot, etc. In the past we’ve explored some ways to critique your own work, but sometimes we just need the strong, non-nonsense critique of others. If you have built a photographic community, or know a local expert, try to schedule a time they may be able to conduct a review and critique of your work. The feedback you gain will give some good indicators of specific areas you may need to develop.

10. Find Your SWOT

If you really want to invest developing as a photographer, conduct a SWOT of yourself. Strengths. Weaknesses. Opportunities. Threats. Be honest and objective as you work this analysis, and then brainstorm a plan to maximize and grow each of these areas.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

10 Ways to Develop Yourself Photographically

A Guest Post by Judd Green

Photographers have spent years studying light, how to use it, manipulate it, hey, I’m sure some have even tried to bend it! Don’t get me wrong, light is our best friend in the photography world. But what about crossing over to the ‘Dark Side’ for a different effect? Use darkness to your advantage! How do we do this?

Learn your camera limits

Understand your camera. Study it’s limits, it’s ISO, shutter speed and White Balance. WB is one thing people tend to brush over, but is important in getting skin tones etc. correct. In low light people tend to turn into Umpa Lumpas (orange skin).

The rule of thumb also, is to shoot to your lens’ limits, depending on how wide the aperture is. But this is something you can experiment with, so have a play.

Light?

Ok so you DO need light to take photos. Look out for available light. When I was studying this topic, I noticed one of my boys went to bed and fell asleep with his torch on. Great opportunity for photos! Another time they were playing games on the iPad under their blanket, so I grabbed my camera and jumped under with them! –On a side note, you want great kids photos and to learn your camera? Never turn it off! Mine is always easily accessible and on ready to go.
So be on the lookout for available light, streetlights are good, windows etc.

No light?

Then OCF (off camera flash) works a treat. But for better effect, experiment with the position of it. I documented a wedding where we ran out of light (with it raining also), by the time we got away to do the bridal party shoot. So I played with my flash, with GREAT results. I gave the couple an umbrella to use and we went for a walk out into the open, I placed the Speedlight behind them to create a silhouette of them. The light ended up bouncing around the umbrella creating a ‘glowing’ effect for the photo.

The digital photography world is constantly evolving and doing unbelievable things. The best way to keep up? Keep shooting, never turn your camera off and think outside of the box.

See more from Brisbane photographer Judd Green at Juddric Photography.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Using the ‘Dark Side’: Thinking Outside the Box with Darkness

Have you ever wished that Photoshop could be as quick and easy as Lightroom at simply applying the same edit to many photos? Have you ever loved Photoshop but hated going from photo to photo applying the same action one at a time? Well wish no further because the answer is right under your nose – batch editing!

With the batch edit command in Photoshop, you can play the same action on a whole batch of opened images or even an entire folder without even needing to open the images. Now, personally I wouldn’t recommend blindly applying and saving actions to an entire folder of unopened files unless it’s something minor like a little sharpening.

So first, I open a few images I’d like to edit. I don’t usually do more than 10 at a time because I know that’s all my computer can handle without slowing down.

1. File > Automate > Batch:

2. This is the panel that opens up:

3. First, choose what set of actions you want to use for the images and then which action from that set you want to use:

4. Now, choose whether to apply the actions to a folder of images on your computer or the images you’ve already opened in Photoshop. Personally, I open the images and apply the changed to ‘opened files’ as seen here:

5. Now, tell it what you want to do after the actions have been played. Since I play my actions on opened images, I choose here ‘none’ which will keep the images open in Photoshop after playing the action so I can further tweak before saving.

 

And that’s it! Now sit back and be amazed as Photoshop does all the work!

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

How to play Photoshop Actions on Multiple Images with Batch Editing

Image by Sary García

Today I’d like to invite you to participate in a dPS reader workshop. We’ve done a few of these in the past and they’ve always been fun. In short we take a reader submitted question and throw it open for some discussion in the comments below.

Todays question is from one of our regular readers – Gary and he’d love your advice on photographing a friends cafe (coffee house). Here is his question:

Dear Darren – I’ve been asked to photograph my friends cafe (a quaint little coffee house) which is opening later in the week. They want some good shots of the cafe and some dishes that they can use in promotional materials, their Facebook page and for press releases. I’m experienced at taking portraits – but interiors and food photography are a little out of my comfort zone. I wonder if you or your readers might have any suggested starting tips for me?

OK – what advice would you give Gary? Your tips on both photographing the cafe itself as well and/or some food photography tips would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to suggest the type of shots that might work, lighting tips, composition tips, mistakes the avoid etc.

Over to you!

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Help Me Photograph a Friends Cafe [dPS Community Workshop]

The town of Riomaggiore (Cinque Terre) at dusk

Back in September I was fortunate enough to go and shoot a wedding in Italy for a long time client and now friend. I brought my wife along with me and made a nice little extended vacation out of the trip and it was incredible. I’ve picked up quite a few travel tips over the years and I learned a few more on this most recent trip. So, I thought I’d compile a short list of some of the more important ones here. This list (in no certain order) will help not just anyone traveling to Italy but anyone traveling period.

1.) Keep Your Photo Gear In A Backpack, Not A Suitcase

This was a tip that I didn’t have to learn the hard way and it is of particular importance when in a foreign country. The main reason for this suggestion is to prevent theft and keep your photo gear in your possession at all times. Getting pick-pocketed in Europe is a very real threat so it’s important to keep your possessions in sight and nearby at all times. When you step on to a train, you have no choice but to put any suitcases you’re traveling with in the overhead compartments or in the designated luggage areas spread out in the trains. Sometimes the space above your seat is full and you have to place your suitcase several rows down (or in the next train cabin)! Would you feel comfortable placing your thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of photo gear in an overhead compartment out of sight for a 4 hour train ride? I know I’d be a nervous reck the entire time so I was glad to have my backpack in my lap the whole trip. I even used it as a pillow at times (although not a very comfortable one). My backpack of choice was the Shape Shifter from ThinkTank and I absolutely loved it. Be on the lookout for a review of that backpack coming very soon!

2.) Don’t Check Your Tripod

On the plane that is. I have always carried my tripod with me on the plane. I’ve never thought twice about this but for some reason I decided to check my tripod on my trip back to the states from Italy. I had to learn this lesson the hard way when I walked off the plane into Madrid-Barajas Airport in Spain for a 2 hour layover. If you’ve ever been to this airport then you can imagine my frustration. Terminal 4 at Madrid was redesigned in 2006 and is now one of the most elegant and modern airport terminals in the world and a photographers paradise! And I didn’t have a tripod! I know a lot of people don’t use tripods, but I rely on mine for the work I do. Try hand holding a camera in low light at f/11 when you’re trying to get an infinite depth of field and blur the people walking through the terminal! The one time I didn’t have my tripod!!! Ugh…

3.) Editing Can Wait

Sometimes I enjoy editing as much as (or more than) taking pictures. However, I was in Italy and was surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery on Earth. Every time I tried to sit down and edit I thought to myself, “What’s a better use of my time: Editing the images I’ve already taken or going out and taking more pictures?” You can imagine what my answer was each time. Don’t use up your precious time in an exotic location doing something that will be just as enjoyable when you get home. Get out there and enjoy the scenery!

The Rialto Bridge in Venice During Morning Twilight

4.) Don’t Bother With 1st Class Trains

This one is a little Euro-centric I know. We bought two first class train tickets during our jaunt around the country and regretted it both times. In almost all cases, first class is the exact same as coach. You may get a food cart that comes by if you’re on first but you still have to pay for the food! So you basically pay about 30 extra Euro’s per person to get the option of buying food during your trip. Again, ugh…

5.) Unless Your iPhone Is Truly Unlocked, Consider It Useless

This was very, very frustrating in Italy. iPhones in America (at least through AT&T) are sold locked, meaning you can’t pop an international SIM card into it during a trip to a foreign country. I paid around $24 before leaving to jailbreak and unlock my iPhone so that I could purchase an international SIM card and continue using my phone on the trip. I wanted to do this because we were traveling with clients and I wanted to be able to reach them through phone, text or email if we needed to make plans to meet up somewhere. I clearly verified that my iPhone had been unlocked and we stopped at a cell phone store in Milan to purchase our international cards. We both purchased a ‘TIM’ card for about 10 euros which included 10gb of data, 60 voice minutes and 50 text messages. The first week was also totally free and we were only staying for 11 days. Well Michael (my client) popped his TIM card into his Android phone and was up and running in minutes. I popped mine in and…nothing. We spent the rest of our trip using the internet on Michaels phone to try and figure out how to get mine working and to no avail. The potential of this problem became very apparent in Venice when we discovered that the water taxi’s were on strike and we’d be forced to walk 45 minutes to our hotel will all of our luggage through the crowded streets and alleyways. Michael gave us his wife’s phone (also an Android with a purchased TIM card) and we simply plugged in the address to our hotel and used Google Maps to guide us straight there. We had to make so many turns through random alleys, across bridges and down narrow streets that there would have been absolutely no way to get there without a map. The walk took 45 minutes but it would have likely taken several hours had we been forced to rely on locals trying to understand our language.

6.) Research The Places You Visit Ahead Of Time

This tip really paid off in some situations, and would have really helped in others. The places that I researched beforehand were so much more enjoyable to visit knowing the background and history of each place. I could really appreciate these locations and it made photographing them so much more rewarding. On the flip side, I also visited several places that I didn’t research. This left me really unsatisfied because I had no idea what I was looking at and was desperate for some kind of information about it. Fortunately I was able to talk to locals in a few cases or find some sort of plaque to describe the place briefly. Sometimes there’s no way to plan for things, for example when you stumble on to some place you didn’t plan on visiting, but if you know you’ll be traveling to a certain location or ruin or building, dedicate some time to researching and studying the background and history of it. It will always pay dividends!

Trevi Fountain in Rome

7.) Figure Out How Much Money You Need To Save, Then Save More!

The last thing you want to do is be concerned about money on a trip. If you have time to plan and save for a trip, go ahead and save more than you need so you can splurge a little. Saving extra allowed us to eat out at nicer restaurants, travel to more places, purchase tickets to more museums and sites, taste more wines and cappuccinos, buy more souvenirs, drink more water (at 3-4 euros each, water gets expensive quick!) and just be able to enjoy ourselves rather than stick to a tight budget the entire time. I think anybody can do this if they plan accordingly. Budget before the trip so you don’t have to budget on the trip.

8.) Spend Some Time Without Your Camera

I know, this sounds absurd, and it’s a hard one for me at times but I always try to spend some time away from the camera and just let my mind…my soul really…take everything in. I love taking pictures, I love the challenge of finding that perfect composition and pressing the shutter at just the right moment. But there’s something to be said about letting the camera sit one out every now and again. To enjoy a fresh cup of cappuccino with your wife without taking a picture of it. To just be in the moment and take it in without trying to take anything from it but memories. Depending on how obsessed you are with photography, this may have to be a conscious decision you have to make and follow through on, but I never regret taking at least a few moments to just let my memories take the snap shots.

9.) Have A Backup Plan For Your Images

I haven’t been through this yet (and God willing I won’t have to) but I have heard horror stories about people taking thousands of images on a trip, only to have their camera stolen, their hard drive crash or their memory cards fail before they get home. Don’t take any chances with your precious images! They are your memories! When I travel, I always have a well thought out backup plan in place.

In Italy I took two sets of CF cards. One set for all my travel and landscape work and another for the wedding I shot there. My goal was to never erase over a CF card unless I absolutely had to, so the CF cards would act as a form of backup if needed. At the end of the day I’d download the images from the day to an external hard drive and make a copy to my laptop (I made sure before the trip that I’d have enough space on the laptop as well). With the images still on the CF cards I had everything backed up in three places. I then placed the CF cards in my camera backback, my laptop in my wife’s backpack and the external hard drive in my suitcase. That way if one bag got stolen somehow we’d still have the images in two other places. Nothing is going to protect you absolutely 100% but you might as well take as many variables out of the equation as possible.

Looking Up In The Milan Cathedral

 

Conclusion

Well I am quite confident that a number of our readers here at DPS have trips coming up to Italy or some other part of Europe (or the world for that matter). I hope this article will serve to better prepare you for the adventure of a lifetime and prevent you from making some potentially costly mistakes in the process. Traveling is one of the greatest things you can do to invest in your world view and your short time here on Earth and I hope you’ll consider it if you haven’t already. Anything worth having is worth working for and traveling around the world is worth having! So here’s to getting off the couch and getting out there. Cheers!

“The measure of your success usually comes down to who wins the battle that rages between the two of you. The ‘you’ who wants to stop, give up, or take it easy, and the ‘you’ who chooses to beat back that which would stand in the way of your success – complacency.”

– Chris Widener 

Now I want to hear from you! Have you been to Italy or some other foreign country recently? Feel free to expand upon this article in the comments below with extra little nuggets of wisdom about traveling abroad. Looking forward to your thoughts!

Oh and be sure to follow me (James Brandon) and Darren Rowse on Google+! My last article here at DPS was about tips for G+ and it was written while G+ was still in beta and invite only. Since then it has opened up to the public and has (I believe) over 50 million users at this point. I really am loving G+ so far, it’s a photographers playground really! So drop by and say hello and I’ll add you to my DPS Readers Circle. Cheers!

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Lessons Learned From My Trip To Italy