East London printing lab theprintspace has launched a photo contest on Facebook. Read more and comment . . . → Read More: Theprintspace Announces Competition II on Facebook
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 Recent versions of Photoshop have an automatic Red Eye Removal tool. But what do you do when that tool fails as it does all too often with people, and always with pets? Here’s one technique that I like to use. I’m going to illustrate it on a pet photo featuring “green eye”, but the same trick works on people with red eye, too. 1. Zoom in on the eye of your subject 2. Get your Paintbrush (Keyboard shortcut B) 3. Set your foreground color to black 4. In the options bar, set the brush mode to Color, opacity 100% By painting with the brush in this mode, we will desaturate the area that we paint. 5. Using a small brush with a medium-soft edge, paint the mis-colored part of the eye to desaturate it. Since all we are doing is desaturating, this leaves the highlight and other gradients that reveal the shape of the eye intact. If we simply painted black we would destroy these details that make the eye look realistic. After desaturating, all we need to do is darken the pupil. 6. Get the Burn tool 7. In the options bar, select Midtones, Exposure 20% 8. Paint gradually in the pupil to burn (darken) the Midtones By restricting our burn to the Midtones, we avoid destroying the highlight in the eye or darkening that natural rim around the eye. We only affect the middle gray that was originally colored red or green. 9. Darken the pupil to a reasonably dark gray (not pure black), and you’re done! Of course, this technique won’t work in every case, because there are a lot of different types of “red eye” in people and animals, but it’s usually my first go-to method for tough cases. To see a free video which includes this and several more techniques for difficult cases, visit SteeleTraining.com. About the Author : Phil Steele is the founder of SteeleTraining.com where you‚Äôll find free tutorials on photography, Photoshop, Lightroom and more. This article is based on an excerpt from his video training course “Photoshop Basics for Photographers” . Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . Photoshop: Red Eye Fix for Difficult Cases in People and Pets . . . → Read More: Photoshop: Red Eye Fix for Difficult Cases in People and Pets  Thanks to everyone who purchased our brand new eBook Captivating Color in its first two weeks. As early bird buyers you all went into the draw to win a 16GB iPad 2. We’ve seen many readers buy the eBook over the last 14 days and the reviews of it have been very positive – thanks everyone for your feedback. The winner was – Kathy L. (I’ve kept her surname private). I’ve just drawn the winner and sent them an email with details of their win. Thanks again to everyone for your support in this eBook launch. For those of you yet to get your copy – you can do so here ! Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . The Winner of the iPad is… . . . → Read More: The Winner of the iPad is… There are two streams of photography that receive far more attention from practitioners than their substance would indicate: macro and wild life. It seems to me that many photographers either want to move in magnified steps towards a minuscule mosquito… or to take tiny, timid steps towards a terrifying tiger. George Lepp is a well-known US outdoor and nature photographer and his images have appeared in National Wildlife, Time, Newsweek and The New Yorker. His initial message neatly covers both macro and wildlife in recommending an approach to shooting a butterfly: “Successful butterfly capture requires advance preparation and practice …. Most of the optional automatic functions on your camera are not useful for this type of photography…” The structure of the book rests on stories from the field that give enormous help and advice on how to “bring ‘em back alive.” Like his anecdote of how a “big bull elephant walked directly towards our vehicle and allowed a full-frame shot at the zoom lens’ maximum range of 400mm.” The message here is that sometimes the best way is to let the wildlife come to you. Incredibly, technique even comes in to play when the subject co-operates: “I knew I wanted a vertical panorama of an entire giraffe but it was difficult to find a co-operative subject.” Fortunately a big giraffe stood motionless while Lepp took seven horizontal shots to comprise a vertical panorama, printable at near life size. He uses every trick in the book, even to hiring animal handlers: “Martin’s cats were trained to run for food [so at his suggestion] we worked with the cats in some new ways: they would pose for portraits, snarl and jump…” For the casual reader keen on animals in the wild, the book is an excellent read in its own right and, cleverly and simultaneously, uses anecdotes blended with tall tales and true to tutor the budding wild life photographer. Information and advice on which lens to use, shutter speed and lens aperture is interwoven into the tales. The pictures are of course magnificent. Author : G and KV Lepp. Publisher : Lark Books. Length : 208 pages. ISBN : 978 1 60059 632 2. Price : Get a price on Wildlife Photography: Stories from the Field (where it is currently 37% off) Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . Wildlife Photography Stories from the Field [Book Review] . . . → Read More: Wildlife Photography Stories from the Field [Book Review]  This week your photographic challenge is to do some ‘Street Photography’. Image by ‘an Untrained Eye’/Tom I know some of you just went into a cold sweat thinking about the idea of going out in public to photograph strangers – but let me say up front you can interpret this any way that you like and need not make it Street Photography with a people focus at all. There are many other alternatives. For example you might like to head out on the street you live to photograph an urban landscape, or you might want to photograph some of the houses and buildings you find, or you might photograph a quirky sign or bill board…. really anything can go. Just take a walk like we talked about earlier today and see what you can find . Better still – take a friend and do the challenge together. A few tutorials that may come in handy: 20 Quick Street Photography Tips 10 Tips for the Aspiring Street Photographer Photographing Urban Landscapes Once you’ve taken your ‘Street Photography’ Photos – choose your best 1-2, upload them to your favourite photo sharing site either share a link to them even better – embed them in the comments using the our new tool to do so . If you tag your photos on Flickr, Twitter or other sites with Tagging tag them as #DPSSTREET 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 Contrasting Colors challenge – there were some great shots submitted. Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . Street Photography: Weekly Photography Challenge . . . → Read More: Street Photography: Weekly Photography Challenge  Park Bench Here is a simple exercise you can do anywhere that will help develop your photographic eye. Take your camera with just one lens and go for a walk (of course any point and shoot camera will do the trick too). While walking down the street, at the park or even in the wilderness, make a point to stop randomly and find something to photograph within 10 or 15 feet (3 to 5 m) from where you are standing. Better yet, if you are walking with a non photographer, ask him or her to tell you when to stop. Look up and down, look all around you and take your time to find something interesting to photograph. It can be a scene in the street happening just in front of you, an architectural detail, the manhole cover on which you are standing or an insect on a flower. If you are using a DSLR limit yourself to one lens but experiment with a different lens each time to make the exercise more interesting. The point is to learn to make the ordinary look extraordinary. Try different angles, a shallow depth of field, etc. Or try some magic in the digital darkroom later! Another idea is to get children involved in this exercise. A perfect way to get them to walk and introduce them to photography at the same time. Their discoveries might surprise you! This exercise can also be helpful if you are planning to start a 365 day project. Here are a few examples of pictures taken during this simple exercise. I like details, in architecture or in nature and I also like to shoot with a very shallow depth of field. The goal of this exercise is not to produce fine art photographs. Consider it as a photo assignment with no pressure and see what happens. The possibilities are endless, just remember to have fun. Please post some of your results in the comments! Rusty wall Back alley Peeling paint on old park bench Detail of dead tree stump Moss on tree stump Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . A Simple Exercise to Train your Photographic Eye . . . → Read More: A Simple Exercise to Train your Photographic Eye In his early years, author Paul Comon was taught that good composition “is the elimination of all unnecessary elements.’ Seems so simple doesn’t it! The sad truth is that the more you learn the more you will eventually have to unlearn. There are rules and there are rules! Beginners at photography will be told “follow the rule of thirds.” And the sad truth is that following this advice on placing elements of a picture within the frame will often lead to dull and dreary pictures. More simply stated: a single subject should never be centred in the frame. Then author Comon wins my absolute attention when he states that photographers who divide the picture areas into thirds do better than those who don’t …”but there is an even more pleasing solution.” Fibonacci numbers! Intrigued? There’s much more in the book as it investigates the framing of an image to account for colour, depth, lines of force and symmetry. The topics of film vs digital, colour vs B&W, original capture and print sizes, along with the triangle versus rectangle versus square versus circle versus oval are discussed in detail. Then Comon gets into lines: horizontal, vertical, diagonal, intersecting, oblique, curved etc. Here’s an example: The oblique line (when used in a composition) can lead the eye into a picture, especially when it enters from the bottom of the frame … but the oblique line should never enter from a corner. And lighting is considered, with its effect on a composition: a bright sun is ideal for scenics but can often be too contrasty for close-ups. Camera-mounted flash creates undesirable conditions, Comon advises, creating shadows that surround the subject. Tip: use bounce flash whenever possible. The images in the book are stunning. On page 19 for example is a rhythmic composition of female Asian drummers that I would have given my eye teeth to have taken, dazzling not only in the effect of its diagonal layout but with the added zing of rich colour. Quite possibly, the best book on composition that I have ever read. The lessons in its pages are worth gold! Author : PR Comon. Distributor : Capricorn Link. Length : 160 pages. ISBN : 978 1 60059 703 9. Price : Get a price on the Fundamentals of Photo Composition (where it is currently 25% off) Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . Fundamentals of Photo Composition [Book Review] . . . → Read More: Fundamentals of Photo Composition [Book Review]  A Guest Post by Photo Book Girl . Since jumping into the world of digital photography – like most folks, I rarely ever printed out my photos anymore. Slipping photos into plastic sleeves had long lost its charm and my photos gathered virtual dust, hidden away in some long forgotten folder. My poor mother lamented that she never saw any family photos, and squinting at a tiny LCD screen wasn’t very satisfying. Hence, my first foray into digital photo books back in 2005 was of a family trip to Hong Kong – a gift to my mother, motivated by my never-ending quest to make my mother happy. Some 50 books later, I suppose you can say I’m seriously hooked (and so is Mom!) If you haven’t made a photo book online yet, the advantages of digital photo books over traditional slip-in album are numerous: Digital photos books tend to be much lighter in weight. Mine take up less than a fourth of the space of my traditional albums; Digital photo books are easily duplicated, making them great to give as personalized gifts for the entire family; Creativity is limitless – you can create a very clean composition of photos – portfolio-style or utilize a variety of themes, embellishments and borders for a scrapbook-look; You can share and even sell your creations online, allowing you to test the market without the expense of printing mass copies; With the number of companies providing online print services increasing every day, so have the options – from affordable $8.00 softcover books, to higher-end flush mounts and premium pro options for $250.00 or more. Here’s some tips on how to get started: Narrow down the photos you plan to use to a manageable number so it doesn’t become overwhelming and you don’t waste time uploading photos you aren’t going to use. For a 20-page photo book, I average anywhere from 1 to 5 photos per page (assuming a standard 11″ x 8.5″ sized book), so 80 to 100 photos should provide a good selection from which to choose; Edit your photos using your own photo-editing software. The editing tools provided with most free book software are not very sophisticated, and are generally limited to the basics such as converting to black and white, rotating and brightening; If in doubt, err on the side of brighter. In my experience, photos tend to print darker than on screen. (Calibrating your monitor and obtaining printer profiles from the printer can also be very helpful.) Duplicate and save all the photos you plan to use in a single folder for easy upload; For a quick and easy book, most companies have preset themes, easy drag and drop templates and also “one-click” options that automatically place your photos for you; For complete customization, use your own design software such as Adobe Photoshop, Aperture 3, or Adobe InDesign (free trials are available for download at the company’s sites). However, having your own software isn’t necessary to make a customized and professional-looking book. Look for a photo book company that allows you to edit and create your own templates. < The author is the blogger behind Photo Book Girl – a resource for finding the best photo book companies, the latest photo book deals and helpful tips on designing your own photo book. For more tips, check out her ongoing series: “ How to Make Your Own Digital Photo Book “. Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . How to Make Your Own Digital Photo Book . . . → Read More: How to Make Your Own Digital Photo Book  Thanks to everyone who entered our recent competition to win one of 3 Fundamentals of Photography Courses from New York Institute of Photography. We had over 1000 entries and it was a tough choice for NYIP to choose the winners as so many people put great entries together. The response was so overwhelming that NYIP have decided to offer a special $100 discount or free shipping (depending where in the world you are) to all who enroll in the Fundamentals of Photography Course. You can see details of this and a message from them below. But first – the 3 Winners have each just been emailed with details of their win and are: Joe CatWalker Heather A Message from the New York Institute of Photography In reading through the hundreds of responses that we got from this post, it was fascinating to see all of the reasons people wish to take our Fundamentals of Digital Photography course. Some responses told stories of life long photographers who were looking to improve their skills in the digital world and others were from teachers or parents wishing to learn more so that they could pass on the information to others. We hope that those of you who did not win will continue to consider the New York Institute of Photography for your educational needs. In fact, many of you seem to already be too advanced for the Short Course and may want to look into the Complete Course in Professional Photography where you can learn more about the business of photography. Thank you all for the kinds words about NYIP and for participating in the giveaway conversation. The sheer number of responses was inspiring. Thanks to DPS for hosting the great contest. And a special congratulations to the winners, I am sure we’ll be hearing from you soon. Because the response was so great, we’d like to extend a limited-time special discount offer on our Fundamentals of Digital Photography Course. If you are in the US and Canada, enroll online at nyip.com/enroll and use the offer code 2F1 to save $100. If you are outside the US and Canada, use the offer code 1FF1 to get free shipping. Thank you all! Thanks again to everyone who entered and to NYIP for their sponsorship of this competition! Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . And Winners of the NYIP Photography Course Are…. . . . → Read More: And Winners of the NYIP Photography Course Are…. So how often do you get your camera out and how many shots do you take on an average week? Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll. Looking forward to seeing the results on this one. Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . How Many Photos Do You Take Per Week [POLL] . . . → Read More: How Many Photos Do You Take Per Week [POLL] A very common camera repair performed today, no matter the type or manufacturer, is the replacement of the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screen. At the outset of this walkthrough a few things must be stressed; a disclaimer if you will. Trying to replace an LCD without proper knowledge and experience can be very difficult and sometimes hazardous. Pulling electronics apart and seeing how they work can be fun for some, but it can easily result in further damage and far more costly repairs. Nine times out of ten, when an LCD is being replaced, it is physically broken due to damage that was likely caused by some sort of trauma (from dropping etc). Cameras are very tightly packed little pieces of technology and generally the LCD is attached to and/or part of a lot of other integral components. Because of this, there is a high probability that there are other things broken that only a trained professional can diagnose/fix easily. Also, having spare parts on hand doesn’t make economic sense for your average consumer because the costs of replacement parts for cameras are not in proportion to their selling price. Furthermore, camera repair facilities have the necessary testing, calibration and adjustment equipment to get cameras fully operational. Bottom line, if one does attempt this at home, there is very little to no margin for error. Keep in mind this is a general walkthrough NOT a repair guide, I take no responsibility for any damage to property or personal harm that may occur from anyone making use of this information. With that said… The first things first, parts and tools are necessary to doing this job right. Obviously the part needed is a replacement LCD. It has to be for that particular make and model; this ensures the connections align and it fits properly. The essential tools for “most” LCD replacements are: A set of small Phillips Head screwdrivers (preferably magnetized) A straight pair and a curved pair of ESD (Electrostatic Discharge) safe tweezers A lint free cleaning cloth (microfiber) Compressed/canned air A shallow container or a flat refrigerator magnet for screws and parts *In more complicated configurations, a few additional tools may be needed, such as a soldering iron and solder. And now for the show, replacing the LCD! Please keep in mind this is a general many camera models are more complex and will require additional disassembly in order to remove and replace the LCD. Battery and memory card are removed. Inspection for any additional accessories that might get in the way is also done. Location and unscrewing of all housing screws to remove the necessary housing cover(s). It is easy to strip out the tiny screw heads; many manufacturers “glue” the screws in place. If the LCD was damaged due to impact, the housing may have shifted, making the screws problematic to remove. Proprietary screws can also be a problematic; the screwdriver may have to be special ordered from the manufacturer. Screws may also be hidden behind stickers or panels. The cover is loose now. The LCD is either attached to the rear cover or bracketed to the main circuit of the camera. There is a very real risk of shock from this point on. DO NOT TOUCH ANY CIRCUITRY. The flash capacitor circuit on some models is located nearby and will give a painfull serious jolt if one is not careful. Flexible Printed Circuits (FPC) and wires attach buttons on the external housing to the main circuit board; pulling those out accidentally is bad. The screws securing the LCD to the rest of the camera are now removed. These are fairly easy to find but there may be additional clips or seals to watch out for. Connecting components (generally wires or FPC’s) that run from the LCD to the rest of the camera are disconnected using the appropriate set of tweezers. It will be clear whether or not a soldering iron and solder is needed at this point. Proper soldering techniques apply here. Once those connections are severed, removal of the damaged LCD is easy. The damaged LCD is discarded after any important components are removed. The new LCD has a protective plastic sheet that is removed before installation. Touching it with bare hands must be avoided, potential damage could be done. It’s also in bad form to get any oils on the nice new LCD screen. Using the compressed/canned air, dust is blown out that may have settled on the new LCD or inside the camera. Care is taken to not blow dust into the wrong spots (viewfinder, lens, sensor, etc). Work in reverse; re-connection of the connections/wires and re-securing with the previously removed screws to the new LCD is done. Beware: It is very easy to bend/crack the connections. Special attention is paid to the FPCs and connections. They must be secure and seeded. Screw size is very important here. Using the wrong size can short or damage other components in the camera. Housing Cover(s) is/are re-fastened onto the camera and secured with the housing screws. Things may not line up properly at this point, something has gone wrong. It will have to be taken apart for evaluation and reassembled. Wires can bunch wrong here and there is a risk of pinching wires. The Battery and memory card are replaced and the camera is powered on. This only tests if the LCD was installed correctly. If the camera/LCD is not working there are countless other things that could be going wrong and are evaluated. As mentioned in the beginning, there is a high possibility that something else is broken and/or needed to be calibrated/adjusted. Further testing of the entire camera must be done to ensure the camera is fully operational. Just to stress again, trying these kinds of repairs at home, can be a great hobby for some, shouldn’t be taken lightly. Professional photographers always have a backup camera in case of any type of equipment malfunction; it’s not a bad idea. Kevin Gornto is a Factory Trained and Authorized Technician at C.R.I.S. Camera Services, a digital camera repair company located in Chandler, AZ. Kevin has an electronics degree that provided him with his advanced hardware knowledge and digital imaging expertise. He also enjoys writing about his technical experience and is a major contributor for the company’s camera repair blog; focused on care, maintenance and repair tips for digital cameras and imaging equipment. Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . How to Replace a Digital Camera’s LCD – a Walkthrough . . . → Read More: How to Replace a Digital Camera’s LCD – a Walkthrough  This is the final part of a series on Wedding Photography. Read earlier parts of the series at: Wedding Photography 101 – Part 1 Wedding Photography 101 – Part 2 Image by Deann Barrera Work with what you are given You can prepare for everything and every eventuality for a wedding, but the one thing you can’t control is the weather. The optimum conditions for a wedding shoot is a slightly overcast day; producing bright, yet even light, which will not only flatter your couple and other subjects but allow you to record as much ambient light as possible, thus lowering ISO and resulting in sharper, cleaner frames. However, as controlling the weather is out of your hands, wedding photographers must learn to adapt to shoot in any environment. Sunny day Although the guests will adore a bright blue sky and hot sunny day, the photographer may secretly be praying for cloud cover. If you are confronted with a harshly lit day, bear in mind the best light will come in the morning and evening, so it could be a good idea to set off even earlier to get the bridal prep and location images in good light and if possible leave some of the romantic couple portraits until the sun lowers in the sky. There are a few other tricks one can also use to counteract the harsh light, for starters move in closer to your subject, focus on details and if you can shade the subject in some way this will help to avoid shadows. Don’t be afraid to head in doors and position the couple next to a clean and ideally – veiled – window for softened light and even consider the use of a polarizing filter to cut out reflections and reduce contrast or flash to fill in the shadows when frames are backlight. Furthermore, you can actually create some emotive silhouettes when shooting into the sun, simply position the couple between you and the sun so they appear in completely in shadow, this may mean that you need to move lower or to the side to get the best position. Another trick is to have the sun behind you and have the couple walk away hand in hand – perfectly lit. Remember to set a white balance according to the light conditions, or even bet learn to set it manually for completely accuracy and to recover details in a blown-out white dress when this is the focus of your frame underexpose the image by a stop or two. Rainy Day Image by Liliana If it rains on your wedding day it is said to be lucky, but try telling that to a disappointed bride. As with harsh sun, there are a few ways around the rain and after a downpour it can even lend itself for naturally creating saturated colours and magnify details, which can be teased to greater effect with a polarizer – so as soon as there is a break in the shower grab your couple and quickly get those frames in the bag. This is where your pre-shoot recce pays off, as hopefully before the shoot you visited the venue and identified places where you could photography romantic portraits and the all important group shots should this situation arise. Look for large windows indoors to position your couple next to and capture some evenly lit frames. Use a flash for indoor captures, employing a diffuser to soften the harshness of the beam and also incorporate some if the ambient light. Finally if you do shoot outdoors in the rain, whilst your couple are positioned under the safety of a porch for example, use a raincover or at the least a plastic carrier bag, to protect your camera and lens and if it’s windy utilise a tripod ideally pulled down with your camera bag or a bag full of rock for extra stability. You could also ask a willing guest to hold the reflector and bounce any available light onto the couple for that extra degree of improvement. Snowy Day Image by Anna Jarske Working in snowy conditions and cold temperatures will quickly deplete your camera and flash batteries so make sure you pack a few fully-charged spares and keep them as close to your body when not in use. Whilst a snow-dappled churchyard will undoubtedly make for a beautiful setting, getting the right exposure can be a nightmare; underexpose and you’ll have a grey canvas, overexpose and you’ll lose those all important details. Take a few trial shots to correctly identify what settings work using the histogram for guidance, or bracket exposures. Always set your white balance manually before you start and it is advisable to shoot in RAW if your camera allows it as this will provide you with more scope for adjustment at the post-production stage. When you and the couple are finished shooting outdoors, have a second camera already waiting for you indoors as the one you have just been using will need to be left in a safe area by the entrance – gradually being moved into the building in stages to allow it to warm up slowly to avoid condensation. Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . Wedding Photography 101 (Part 3) . . . → Read More: Wedding Photography 101 (Part 3)  Weekly Assignment Our Geometric Shapes assignment finished up this week and we had some fantastic shots. But our winner this week was very clear. Congrats to a_brewley and the shot of squares and circles that really stood out to all of the judges. The use of several shapes rather than just a repetition of one and excellent use of high-contrast lighting really make this shot stand out in our minds. Our first runner up was lotteotte ’s “On the Brooklyn Bridge”. I have to admit when I first saw it, I thought it was the sky reflecting off of a glass building, but it’s lines from a bridge! The softness of the clouds works with the regular pattern and the composition, and the light really blends the two together. And last, but not least was jojonac ’s Triangles. The strong lines work well, but what really catches your eye is the odd piece out. It helps break up the repetition and shows the depth. Well done everyone! We also started our Marketplace assignment this week. Whether you shop at Wal-mart, a tiny corner store, or an open air market, we want to see some interesting images of a marketplace. You can show it as a wide angle or a more intimate view, but we want to get the feeling of the place you are photographing. As always, a quick reminder of the rules. First, your photo must have been taken between 16 – 30 March 2011. Second, your post must include the words “The Marketplace” and the date that the photo was taken to show that it is eligible for the mini-contest. Finally, your EXIF should be intact, and it’s helpful if you can include some of the main points such as camera, lens, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc. Next week we our assignment The Workplace will be posted, but you can start photographing now. Good luck everyone! Hot Threads Should I love My Camera’s Auto Settings or Go Manual Only? : On the forums it’s been referred to as the Cult of M, and it seems like more often than not any mode other than manual mode gets a bad rap. But does that mean that we should ignore the other modes? Come share your opinions over on the forum. Photography With A Compact Camera – Introduction : You might also feel like if you don’t have a dSLR you can’t take creative shots, but RichardTaylor has put together a post to help show you how to get the most out of even the most basic camera. Picture Titles : When you post a photo online you might consider giving it a title. Or maybe not. Does a title add to the image? Can it ruin it? Share your thoughts over in the forums. Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (20-26 Mar ‘11) . . . → Read More: This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (20-26 Mar ‘11) Image by Pedro Szekely Last week, in the lead up to the release of our Captivating Color eBook, we issued the challenge to take and share photos that were VIBRANT in color. Today we’re still thinking about color – but are thinking about ‘contrasting’ colors (suggested by a number of people in our facebook community ). The subject matter can be anything you like – portraits, landscapes, cityscapes, abstract… anything you like – just make contrasting colors a part of your image. Once you’ve taken your ‘Vibrant Color’ Photos – choose your best 1-2, upload them to your favourite photo sharing site either share a link to them even better – embed them in the comments using the our new tool to do so . If you tag your photos on Flickr, Twitter or other sites with Tagging tag them as #DPSCONTRAST 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 Vibrant challenge – there were some great shots submitted. Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . Contrasting Colors: Weekly Photography Challenge . . . → Read More: Contrasting Colors: Weekly Photography Challenge Preparation Image by Sean Molin One of the most important steps a wedding photographer can do before a wedding is prepare themselves for all eventualities. Firstly this means meeting with the bride and groom and setting in concrete what it is the couple want and don’t want so there can be no confusion down the line; this will also be the time to establish a fee and contract with the clients. Next you should visit the ceremonial venue and reception venue a week or two ahead of time to mentally place where the romantic portraits and group shots can be taken. Take into consideration where the light will be coming from at the time of day you’ll be shooting (hence why you don’t want to do a reconnaissance mission too far ahead of time) and also have a contingency plan if the area doesn’t work for whatever reason, as well as having an indoor backup if it rains. The day before the wedding, mentally run through everything the couple wants as well as any ideas you envisaged during your pre-shoot scout. Fully charge the camera and flash gun batteries and format memory cards. Insert these into your equipment the night before and take a few test shots to ensure everything is working as it should be. Prime your camera with the settings you expect to use at your first shoot – which will most likely be the bridal preparation. Kit considerations Although you’ll want to take a range of accessories for every eventuality it is a good idea to travel light. The minimum a photographer should pack in a medium size camera backpack is: a favourite DSLR and back up DSLR, a flash gun with diffuser, a reflector, several memory cards each holding a capacity of around 2-8GB, lens cloth, raincover or carry bag to protect your camera in the rain and a lightweight tripod. If you have the room, strength and skills you may also want to take a selection of lighting equipment, filters, a laptop, pocket wizards, remote controls and props. Lens choices In terms of lenses there are three types that we would suggest are essential for a wedding, but if you are doing this as a favour for a friend or for your own portfolio then you’ll be able to get by using one or two zooms that cover a wide focal range – for example 18-200mm would be ideal. However if you are looking to exert a more professional edge you should probably invest in a wide-angle lens for the group and location shots – ideally something like a 16-80mm zoom lens will be perfect and covers a range of bases. It’s a good idea to invest in a prime lens for portraits and images of all the smaller yet hugely significant items such as: the rings, party favours, flowers, bridal accessories etc – so a 35mm, 50mm or 80mm would be ideal. Finally a healthy telephoto zoom lens will allow you to capture those spontaneous ‘moments’ that people treasure because they show the subject as being ‘real’ . Using a telephoto such as 55-200mm will allow the photographer to ‘snipe’ shots from a distance without being detected, thus the subjects are totally relaxed and the result will be completely natural. Camera Settings There are no hard and fast rules to adopt in terms of learning what aperture/shutter speed combination to use for which occasion, as it will largely depend on what quality and quantity of light is available at that time, as well as focusing more on the ‘moment’ rather than getting the right technique. However as a guide, many photographers generally prefer to use some of the following apertures as a rule of thumb, but you shouldn’t be afraid to try something different if it suits the style and purpose of what you want to achieve. Church and indoor ceremonial establishments can tend to lack enough natural light and as most venues won’t permit flash push the ISO as much as possible before it starts to degrade image quality and if appropriate consider using a tripod (just remember to turn the VR off if you do). Opt for a fast lens and don’t be afraid to use a wide aperture even as low as 1.4 or 2.8 to make the most of what light is there. Use the same aperture for the small yet significant items such as the rings and bridal accessories, thus softening the background but generating enough depth of field to render the subjects nice and sharp. F5.6 for candid shooting and the romantic portraits will again keep the subject in focus yet blur distracting background detail. However there are occasions when you might prefer to slip into shutter priority, for example to capture the bride throwing the bouquet or children chasing each other around the venue - for these occasions (depending on the light) a speed of 1/250 will lend itself for creating some charming results. Depending on the number of guests that the couple want to appear in the formal group shots, you’ll be best using an aperture of between f8 and f11 to keep everybody pin sharp – depending on the quality of your lens this may mean pushing the ISO or incorporating a tripod. For pulled back compositions of the couple within the venue grounds and location shots in general you’ll need an aperture of between f9 and f11 to keep everything in sight in focus. Finally for those end of the night dance images either use a long shutter (with some form of stability) to generate movement within the photo and for capturing waves of light from the DJ’s lighting rig, or employ a flash to freeze the action using an aperture of your choosing to compliment the effect you wish to achieve. Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . Wedding Photography 101 (Part 1) . . . → Read More: Wedding Photography 101 (Part 1) We all know the reasons why doing a friend or family wedding would stink. One of them being that you’re essentially being asked {or requesting to be} a working guest. Although, there are some reasons you might want to do a wedding you’ve been invited to like: Practice Exposure {pun intended!} A gift for the couple So how can you manage being a working guest and still feel that you enjoyed the wedding? Consider these 5 things: Write the vision and make it plain. Get everything down in writing. Discuss how you’d like to shoot each section of the wedding, from what vantage point you’d like to be shooting and, of course, what the end product will be {a disk? A book?} Getting ready. Will you be there when he/she is getting ready? Consider when/how you will also get ready and whether this will be feasible for you. As a woman, you could even book into the hair and makeup they have going on and get a little help yourself! The ceremony . You could request to be seated near the front. So you can sit as a guest {with your date} and still get her coming down the aisle as well as pop into the aisle for a couple shots from behind during the ceremony. The reception. I’d get there a tad early, shoot the venue without any people, get the details and then relax as a guest. Hire a great low-light zoom lens so you can sit at the table and still get shots all around the room from the comfort of your seat. After hours. If you plan on partying into the night, consider telling them when you plan on ending the gig as the photographer. If people will be drinking, dancing and the lights will be low, you don’t want to leave your camera around while you’re off having fun. Lock it safely away and go have a much deserved party! Your ability to shoot a wedding as a guest will depend greatly on your own personality. I have a fear of missing something and so I just can’t relax and turn off my brain if I’m meant to be shooting. Which doesn’t make me a good candidate to be both a lovely date for my husband and a photographer for the wedding. My poor husband wouldn’t even get more than two words out of me if I were meant to be shooting a wedding as a guest! Being able to pull it off will also depend on your ability to stop shooting. Know when you got the shot needed and then sit down and have a great time! Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . Weddings – 5 Ways you can be a Working Guest . . . → Read More: Weddings – 5 Ways you can be a Working Guest  Today I’m excited to announce a brand new dPS eBook – it’s our most colorful one yet! It’s called ‘ Captivating Color – A Guide to Dramatic Color Photography ‘ and we’re releasing it today with two great extras for Early Bird buyers over the next week: we’re throwing in a complete bonus eBook worth $12 it’s 25% off – just $14.99 for both eBooks Why We Produced Captivating Color The Dream – taking photographs that go beyond simply recording a scene – images that evoke emotion , making people feel as attached to the images as you are. The type of images people pay for. The Reality – you continually take bland and lifeless photos – they just don’t capture the moment, as you see it through the lens. No matter how much you tweak in post production – you just can’t communicate the meaning behind the scene. The Answer – color is as much a part of visual communication as composition or light – but you need to learn to see and understand it. This eBook will teach you to do just that and will illuminate the topic of color for anyone interested in using it to produce stronger , more interesting and more emotional color images. Written by Mitchell Kanashkevich (author of our best selling Travel Photography eBook) – Captivating Color is brimming with gorgeous and inspirational images and practical advice that will help understand the creative potential of color and how to use it. Get Full Details on this brand new eBook at the Captivating Color information page or order it directly by hitting the ‘download now’ button below. Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . Captivating Color – A Guide to Dramatic Color Photography . . . → Read More: Captivating Color – A Guide to Dramatic Color Photography  Sunset is arguably the most beautiful time of day for portrait light. But you don’t want to simply take your subject outside and start shooting. Take a few moments to identify “how” to use your light and your portraits will be dreamy. Here are three ways you can use the light by setting your subject in relationship to the setting sun. 1. Front Light: Place your subject facing the light. Shoot facing your subject with your back to the light. The light will brightly illuminate your subject, bringing out stunning catchlights. Take note: if the light is too bright for your subjects eyes, simply have them close thier eyes until you are ready to snap the shot – and make that moment count. 2. Side Light: Turn your subject so that only one shoulder is facing the light. Then turn thier face 3/4 degrees into the light. This side angle will give you soft transfer edges between the highlights and shadows. This lighting will also add depth to your portrait. Shoot facing your subjects lit shoulder. 3. Back Light: For a most unique and artistic shot, place your subject with thier back to the setting sun. On Manual mode, overexpose the portrait so your subject is evenly lit. Remember this will cause your background to be overexposed and your highlights will be blown out. Experiment with the angle at which you place your subject to the sun and you will be more than pleased with the creative results. Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . How to Use Sunset Light to Light Portraits . . . → Read More: How to Use Sunset Light to Light Portraits  I am a photographer and my iPad is my new portfolio. I like the look on my client’s face when I hand them my Apple device and let them page through my images on that beautiful screen. My iPad wasn’t cheap and I like to protect my investment. I recently discovered the Acme Made StretchShell neoprene skinny sleeves and cases and I was seduced! I love my glossy white slick case . It definitely fits the clean and sleek Apple look while providing exceptional protection to my expensive tablet. It features a sturdy double zipper and an internal divider to store cables and accessories. The iPad fits with four elastic bands to allow for book-style reading. You can also open the case and fold it onto itself to use it as a horizontal lap pad. The StretchShell neoprene is water and stain resistant and very well padded. It is available in gloss white and matte black. The same company also makes a Skinny Sleeve which is perfect for iPad users who like to hold their device in their hands without a case around it at all times. It forms perfectly around the iPad, it is also made of StretchShell neoprene and is available in gloss black and gloss white . It’s not a look that everyone will love but I’ve had some great comments about my glossy white case and I really like the fact that the occasional coffee stain will wipe right off! Check out the Acme Made website to check out a variety of other design-focus accessories for your laptop, e-reader, camera, iPod, iPhone, etc. The iPad cases and sleeves retail for about $39.99 USD and $29.99 USD respectively but I also saw some great deals on Amazon . Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . iPad sleeves and cases by Acme Made of San Francisco . . . → Read More: iPad sleeves and cases by Acme Made of San Francisco  Weekly Assignment We finished up our Delicate assignment this week, and there were a lot of different ways that people interpreted the theme. Here are our winners for this week. Our winner this week is a_brewley ’s delicate little girl. With delicate lashes, soft, shallow dof, even a delicate flower in her hair, this one really stood out. Our first runner up was NovtemberMommy ’s boy with a bubble. A child blowing bubbles wasn’t a unique idea but we loved the processing and also the framing of this one. With so much negative space we thought this one met the title very well. And last, but not least was duna ’s “waiting”. The mother presents a very strong figure in contrast to what is often portrayed of pregnancy but one, you would want to tread gently around. It was a nice twist on the idea of delicate. Our newest assignment is Geometric Shapes . Try looking for geometric shapes in the world around you; don’t construct your own. You can find them in the natural world with plants as well as man made architectural shapes or objects you find around your home. Concentrate on training your eye to find them wherever you are. Try different angles or lighting to emphasise the shape you want to highlight. Shadows can add to the geometric feeling. But before you get started, first a quick reminder of the rules. First, your photo must have been taken between 9-23 March 2011. Second, your post must include the words “Geometric Shapes” and the date that the photo was taken. Finally, your EXIF should be intact, and it’s useful if you can include some of the main points, such as camera, lens, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc. Next week’s assignment will be The Marketplace Whether you shop at Wal-mart, a tiny corner store, or an open air market, I’d like to see some interesting images of a marketplace. You can show it as a wide angle or a more intimate view, but I’d like to get the feeling of the place you are photographing. Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (13-19 Mar ‘11) . . . → Read More: This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (13-19 Mar ‘11) |
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