Camera Lounge

Wow – a great list of top tips over at DPS

Well worth a visit

Sigma has announced a bumper release of new equipment at PMA 2010.

Oooh I could be tempted with the 85mm f1.4 and the 70-200mm f2.8.

Will keep my eye out for pricing and reviews, and update you here ASAP.

I heard about this little gadget a while ago, but dismissed it as a bit of a gimmick. However, I keep seeing it popping up in the blogosphere, and I have to admit I am becoming rather drawn to the idea of it!

The PoGo is basically a small, mobile printer, that you can connect to directly from your camera via USB, or via bluetooth. The printer has a rechargeable battery, which really opens up the mobile possibilities.

Prints are small at 2×3″, but remember the idea is that it is mobile, not a full on printer. I love the idea of being able to instantly share images with friends and family, even clients as a sneak peek of the proof images to come later… Additionally, you can peel off the paper at the back to turn your print into a sticker!

Images are printed on ZINK (Zero Ink) paper, currently available from £6.49, and the printer retails at around £25.

Read a great review over a DPS

Definitely on my wishlist

An interesting article over at Lightstalking suggests some excellent ways to improve your photography, without spending any money on new kit. As somebody who has a never ending list of kit I would like to buy, I thought it was worth a read!

• Utilize the rule of thirds – This is a good one. Really focus on your composition to get a more powerful image.
• Fill the frame – Be brave and really make the subject stand out with no dead space around it.
• Bokeh – Create interesting backgrounds by using a wide open aperture and throwing the background out of focus.
• Use the flash when the sun is out – I am not a big flash fan, but the example used in the article does get me thinking I should utilise that more!
• Light trails – great fun to shoot

I would also add the following:

• Restrict yourself to one lens for a while – something like a 50mm prime would be perfect for this. It will really get you thinking about your composition and you will be zooming with your feet!
• Set yourself a weekly theme, or better still, join in some challenge/theme communities such as PhotoFriday, or vfxy
• Go out on photoshoots with your photography buddies – a bit of company can be inspiring

What else would you recommend? Let us know in the comments!

Well hello!

Gosh, I can’t really believe I started this blog back in 2006, when I was just starting to get into photography pretty seriously, but never really managed to keep it going while still working 9 to 5 in the corporate rat race… BUT, I left that rat race back in June 2009, and am now a full time professional photographer, so I am rather intent now on resurrecting this blog, and really getting it back on track in 2010.

I hope to be able to share my experiences and development as a professional, update you on interesting news items, share techniques and tutorials, and generally deliver interesting, and fun posts, on a regular basis.

My ultimate aim is to build a strong community of photography enthusiasts, and have others contributing their own posts someday.

I have a long list of things to do to get this going…

#1 is to upgrade to the latest Wordpress…
#2 is to find a decent theme…
#3 is to get posting!

TTFN x

When I first started out in photography, I used good old fashioned film cameras. The first I can remember was bought for me as a birthday present by my Dad. It was a wonderful 35mm Olympus. Workflow back then was simple:

• Take picture
• Take to the printers
• Pick up from the printers
• Review images and select the best ones for an album or frame

My second camera was a freebie from work. At the time I worked at HP, and they were just starting to get into digital imaging. I had a little compact that was 4 megapixels – pretty good at the time!! Workflow then meant:

• Take picture
• View the back to check the picture
• Transfer to PC
• Occasionally print with own printer.

I shot in the only format available – JPEG, and hardly any manipulation was done in the post processing. I don’t even think I have PhotoShop at the time. I quickly started to become frustrated with the results from the digital compact.
The battery life was rubbish, the shutter was really delayed, and I just wanted more from my images. I decided to get into photography ‘properly’ and purchased a Nikon F65 SLR. I was then back to the original workflow, but had more control over the framing, shutter speeds, aperture etc. I was also in control of the film – colour, black and white, fast, slow ISO etc.

The workflow changed in that I now ordered a CD of my images along with the negatives, instead of the prints. I did this because I wanted to be able to manipulate the images in PhotoShop – post processing. I could shoot in colour and then convert to mono, I could increase saturation or contrast. I could crop images to improve the composition, straighten wonky horizons. Suddenly more time was being put into ‘workflow’.

Eventually I saved up and purchased a Nikon D70 Digital SLR. Initially I shot in JPEG, but I quickly started to learn about the advantages of shooting in RAW, and workflow suddenly became rather important! I have muddled about in a variety of applications over the last year:

• RAW Shooter Essentials
• Adobe Camera RAW
• Adobe Lightroom Beta

RAW Shooter Essentials was highly recommended and at the time was a free software download which was incredible given the level of features the programme had, and really opened my eyes to the power of RAW processing. I also spent some time using the Camera Raw add on in PhotoShop, perfectly adequate, but a little limited compared to Raw Shooter Essentials.

I am now finally starting to settle on the Adobe Lightroom beta. It can be a little slow, but the wait is worth it. The processing feels like ‘proper’ processing and I have beenincredibly impressed with the results.

Typical Workflow

• Take Picture
• Transfer to PC
• Select files for processing
• Process RAW files and convert to JPEG or TIFF
• Edit in Photoshop
• Print/publish to web/backup

In Parts 2, 3, and 4 over the next few weeks I will run through examples of my workflow using RAW Shooter Essentials, Adobe Camera RAW and Adobe Lightroom Beta.

I often use my camera phone when out and about as there are plenty of occasions that I don’t have my DSLR, but feel the need to take pictures of things! Examples of this are:

Nights out on the town where a DSLR is just not a good look or a wise accessory around alcohol!

• When I am away on business and don’t have room to pack the DSLR.

• In my car and a DSLR is just not practical!

I have even featured some of these results on my photoblog. Here are a couple of tips for you to get the best out of your camera phone images.

Black And White

Some of my best results have actually been indoor night shots using the black and white effect setting. I find this gives quite a nice grainy effect that reminds me of HP5 black and white film!

Using the contrast slider or curves adjustment in Photoshop you can boost the contrast and really give the image some impact. You can even do this using the tuning settings in Picasa for even faster results.

Collages

Recently I have started using the ‘picture pile’ feature in Picasa to make a collage of camera phone images. I have found this quite successful for images that are no good on their own due to quality, but look good all chucked together to make a story.

This is really simple to do if you have Picasa, you simply select the images you want, use the hold feature if they are in different folders, and select ‘picture pile’. I find that 5 or 6 images work quite well for this. You can keep on clicking on the collage until you are happy with the layout (can take some time!).

Picasa

If you don’t already have Picasa then I suggest you download it now – it is free, and a really useful little application for importing, organizing and viewing your images. In the spirit of camera phone images, it is quick and easy to use without the need to go into Photoshop and spend hours editing! You can even preview RAW files from your DSLR!

Whilst I always prefer the quality of my DLSR images, there is always a place for my camera phone images on my photoblog, as they fulfill the ‘diary’/’snapshot’ side to my photography, where things don’t have to be perfectly composed or artistic. They are just what they are! In a way, the camera phone is the new Polaroid, or Holga, or Diana. I love it.

There is a useful article over at Digital Photography School with tips on how to take better pictures with your camera phone. This is something I myself have dabbled in and I often snap away with my mobile phone when I don’t have my clunky SLR to hand

Top Tips

• Make sure your subject is well lit
• Get close
• Keep it steady
• Edit images later
• Don’t throw away mistakes
• Avoid using the zoom
• Experiment with white balance
• Take loads of shots and experiment
• Follow rules of composition, and then break them!
• Keep your lens clean
• Observe camera phone etiquette
• Rename your images
• Use the highest reslolution on your camera

Although I agree with the point about editing the images later, personally I have had some good success using the black and white setting on my K750i. Ultimatley, it is all about experimentation and although it can be a bit hit and miss at times, it’s all good fun!

VisitDigital Photography School for more information.

I found this cool DIY project via Lifehacker

For less than $10 you can build a mini studio for macro photography! You just need a cardboard box and some tissue paper, and two sheets of poster board – black and white.

I’ll be giving it a go for some product type shots this weekend I think!

There is a useful article by Steve Johnson over at Nikonians about how to shoot sports scenes like a professional.

Camera Settings

• Continuous servo autofocus
• Lock the center focus sensor
• Center-weighted metering
• Aperture priority (usually wide open)
• Possibly some negative exposure value (EV) to avoid blowing out white jerseys. Hopefully not more than -1.0.

Worth a look if you are interested in trying this sort of thing. I thought sports photography was all about shutter priority, so it was useful to see some tips pointing more towards shooting with the lens wide open and using a slighlty negative exposure to prevent the highlights blowing out.

Via Nikonians