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• Exposure - for beginners/ intermediate photographers.
  by Mark German

  I just answered a question in a certain group forum, and it occurs to me that it may be useful to others. Feel free to ask any questions….

  I just answered a question in a certain group forum, and it occurs to me that it may be useful to others. Feel free to ask any questions. So here goes: General rule-of-thumb: expose to the right. What that means, is – use your histogram and get your exposure to the right half without hitting the far right edge. Anything clipped (blown, over-exposed) will be data lost for good. The same goes for black clipping (under-exposed). The reason exposing to the right is better then to the left, is that recovering data/detail from dark areas creates noise – whereas the reverse does not. A little rule that may help you with exposure: / Sunny 16 Basically what this catchy-named rule means, is this: / Given a bright and sunny day outdoors, correct exposure for any scene will be f/16, 1/125 SS, ISO100 (also known as ASA) Working up and down with this (and your histogram displays 8 stops of light) you can adjust to suit. For example – a slightly overcast day: / f/11, 1/125, ISO100 (1-stop wider aperture) / or / f/16, 1/60, ISO100 (1-stop slower SS) / or / f/16, 1/125, ISO200 (1-stop more sensitive film/sensor) If you have a specific requirement with SS (stop motion, blur, etc), adjust the other parameters to compensate. To stop your hand motion blur, use the reciprocal of your focal length. Example: 100mm needs at least 1/100th SS. Crop bodies need to be multiplied by the crop. (ask if confused) / If your subject is moving, double SS. If you are also moving, triple it. / Of course using a tripod (and you should whenever feasible) changes this. With photography, each numerical value doubles. / ISO: 100/200/400/800/1600/3200 / SS: 25/60/125/250/500/1000/2000/4000/8000 Aperture can be remembered by using this system: / Use two numbers (f/1 & f/1.4) and double them as you go. f/1, f/2,f/4,f/8,f/16,f/32 / f/1.4,f/2.8,f/5.6,f/11,f/22 Now put them together and you have your full range of full-stop apertures :) Some cameras will list 1/2 or even 1/3 stops. Aperture effects Depth of Field (DoF), which is the distance between the closest area in acceptable focus, and the furthest. Choose your aperture to suit your subject/scene. Adjust the other two parameters accordingly. If you ever come up to a situation that has a very high dynamic range (DR) and can’t wait for better light – bracket your shots. That is, expose +/- from the above settings. You can then either decide what you like best, or even combine exposures. (ask how). Of course – if you are a street/candid/journalistic/wildlife style photographer, then you may only get one chance. Which is more the reason to learn the above. Using additional lighting such as flash is a different matter, and other rules apply. The above is a basic guide to correct exposure for everyday and natural conditions. Hope this helps some people. Feel comfortable in asking anything, or contributing.

• Candid/Street photography - a few tips.
  by Mark German

  Today I was asked by someone for a few tips on shooting street/candids. Many people like this genre, but it is not the easiest to perform…

  Today I was asked by someone for a few tips on shooting street/candids. Many people like this genre, but it is not the easiest to perform successfully for many reasons, and often shots come out like – erm… snap shots. Since I took the time to write these brief pointers up for my friend, I thought I may as well share. Feel free to add, contest, debate, or send me lots of money. That last bit was a joke. Street/Candid / A few pointers: - A mid-zoom lens is ideal for candids. I use a 70-200mm on a crop body, and that would be fine for a full frame, also. If you do not have access to something in this range and/or can’t afford it, then concentrate on wider street scenes instead, and work within your equipment limitations. You do not need to have very expensive gear to do street. - 80% of people will be flattered you are taking their photo. Don’t try and hide it too much – and smile a lot. Walk up to people afterwards, and show them what you took (if digital). Without a long lens, you will more then likely be noticed most of the time. My rule is smile – and they smile back :) / (a hefty monopod can come in handy if things get out of hand) - 15% of people will not like their photo taken and either try and hide or cover their face or something. If you notice this – let them go – easy :) Respect people and their wishes. Many other opportunities around. - 5% of people are born assholes – or intensely dislike being photographed for their own private reasons. When you encounter this, just call out that you are deleting the image, and walk away. A few days ago, I was shooting a laughing session out in a city square. I laughed along with them. Someone asked me to join in, and I said that I was laughing on the inside ;) Then this guy rode up, and walked up to me. He asked me why I was shooting and I told him because it was a nice, fun thing to shoot. I asked him if he were going to join in and he said “no, not with a photographer around”. He said this as if I were a murderer. I said “easy fixed, mate. I promise not to take a photo of you”. And he walked off. Some people are just surly. NEVER hand your camera over to anyone. Even in the US, it is your right to take photos of anyone providing you are in a publicly owned area. This includes law-enforcement officers. Of course if they demand it, you must hand over your gear. But they are in the wrong, and it can usually be contested successfully. - A good way to take candids, is to visit fairs, fetes, etc – and face the crowd. Go to the side of the stage area and walk around, getting people used to you. Then start scanning the crowd through your lens. Make some jokes, take interest in the proceedings, become one with the crowd. Eventually people ignore you and you become a hunter/predator hahaha!!! / Look for emotions – listen to what is happening around you and time your shots to get the best emotive reactions. Position yourself so that light is to the left or right behind you, so that you can get reflections (catch lights) in the eyes. Always consider your backgrounds while shooting. Nothing worse then spending hours cloning out a light pole from behind someone’s head ;) / And frame your shots to allow for movement, as well as giving space to the direction someone is looking. - Wider street shots live and die by the ‘story’. This takes a little bit of keen observation and patience. A good system, is to position yourself in a people-traffic’ed (yes, I made that one up) location where you have visually composed an interesting scene. It may be a poignant billboard, or a large puddle in the street – maybe a pool of soft light spilling from an overhead lamp. And then wait like a spider :) A car will rush by as someone is walking, splashing them with muddy water – you time your shot to capture their indignation and water spray like an upturned umbrella. A mother and child walk through the lamplight, and as the mother moves back into darkness, the child, holding her hand, is illuminated. Your billboard espousing ‘have a happy day’ becomes a backdrop to a crying girl – or an arguing couple. Observe/setup/plan/wait/timing….a tripod is useful… Learn your camera so that settings are intrinsic. The less you need to think about technicalities, the more you can free your mind to focus on art. Hope that helps a little. Above all – try and relax and enjoy yourself. If you are uptight, it is contagious. If you smile, and interact with people, you will be automatically accepted.

• Real Photography Competition
  by RedBubble

  This is really big! We’ve tracked down some of the coolest photography prizes we could find, passed the hat round the office for some b…

  This is really big! We’ve tracked down some of the coolest photography prizes we could find, passed the hat round the office for some bubblecash, stuck the megaphone out the window, and now we’re ready to launch the RedBubble Real Photography Competition. Prizes include: / – Leica M4-P plus 50mm F2 Summicron (or a Canon 400D + 17-85mm IS USM) / – Elinchrom D-Lite 4 – Studio Lighting Kit / – Gitzo Carbon Fiber Tripod with a Really Right Stuff BH-40LR Head / – 15 x great photography books / – $2500 bubblecash There are five categories, and you can only enter once per category. Simply upload your entry and tag it as follows: 1) Landscape, Travel and Nature Tag your entry with landscapephotocomp 2) Portrait, Fashion and Commercial Tag your entry with fashionphotocomp 3) Black and White, Street, and Reportage Tag your entry with bwphotocomp 4) America Tag your entry with usaphotocomp 5) Europe Tag your entry with europephotocomp See www.redbubble.com/promo/photocomp for full details

• Protect Your Copyright - URGENT ACTION REQUIRED
  by Helen Bascom KMA

  If you are an artist or photographer in the United States PLEASE TAKE HEED: you may loose all rights to your work very soon. A bill is b…

  If you are an artist or photographer in the United States PLEASE TAKE HEED: you may loose all rights to your work very soon. A bill is before Congress which will essentially make all works of art ever created orphaned works and send them to the public domain. Essentially what this bill will do is force artists and photographers to pay fees to commercial registry companies to register a copyright on every single work you have ever created or ever will create. The current law protects your copyright without registration. Registration with the United States Copyright Office merely sets statutory damages in the event of copyright infringement. The new law will REQUIRE registration NOT WITH THE COPYRIGHT OFFICE but with COMMERCIAL REGISTRIES. The purpose of this bill seems to be the enrichment of corporations to the impoverishment of the people. If this bill passes and you want to protect your work, you will be required to pay a fee FOR EVERY SINGLE WORK OF ART ALREADY CREATED and EVERY SINGLE WORK YOU WILL EVER CREATE. Additionally, you will be required to register with more than one commercial registry to secure your copyright protection. Now let’s see, I have just on RB 250 works. If I have to pay $5 USD per photo to three different registries to protect my copyright that will cost me $3,750. This is just the cost to protect the work I have uploaded to RedBubble. What about the other 8,399 photos on my computer? If I ever print them, upload them, show them in a gallery, I have to pay for each of them as well. / Folks, this is serious. EDIT – URGENT UPDATE The Orphan Works Bill is out of committee. Now is the time to zealously advocate for defeat of this bill. Please go to the Illustrators Partnership of America Legislative Action Center for more information and useful links to contact your Senators and Representatives. This Bill will substantially limit your ability to recover financially if your work is infringed, even if your work was registered with the U.S. Copyright Office prior to infringement. So registration with the U.S. Copyright Office is a waste of your money if this Bill passes. Important elements of the HOUSE BILL Coerced Registration • The Orphan Works Act would force artists to risk their lives’ work to subsidize the start-up ventures of private, profit making registries, using untested image recognition technology and untried business models. These models would inevitably favor the aggregation of images into corporate databases over the licensing of copyrights by the lone artists who create the art. International Impact • Because an unmarked picture cannot be sourced or dated, works by artists outside the U.S. will be as vulnerable to infringement in the U.S. as work by domestic artists. • Presumably the Copyright Office and Congress expect non U.S. artists to register all their past and future art with the new hypothetical U.S. databases, or see their work exposed to commercial infringement under U.S. law. • It is a violation of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works for any country to impose registration on a rights holder as as a condition of protecting his copyright. Please take this opportunity to protect your rights under the current copyright law by speaking out against this proposed legislation. Go here and read this journal entry by Crockpot The Orphan Works Act of 2008 ~ RELEASE FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS’ PARTNERSHIP The Orphan Works Act of 2008 will be officially released momentarily. The language in the draft confirms our warnings. If this bill passes, you’ll be forced to clear all your secondary licensing rights through at least two government certified databases – or risk orphaning your art. Despite its masquerade as the “last resort” to search for a rights owner, these databases will likely become the only source many users will rely on for finding a rights owner. Reason: it will give users the legal right to infringe any copyright not in the databases. ERIN JAY’S JOURNAL ENTRY CLICK HERE FOR FULL TEXT OF THE SENATE VERSION CLICK HERE FOR FULL TEXT OF THE HOUSE VERSION CLICK THIS LINK FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK THIS LINK FOR EVEN MORE INFORMATION CLICK THIS LINK FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CLICK THIS LINK FOR REGISTRATION PROBLEMS Below is a sample letter I sent to my senators and to my congressional representative. Please adapt it for your own use. Click these links to find your state representatives: STATE SENATORS CONTACT INFORMATION STATE REPRESENTATIVE CONTACT INFORMATION Here is an interview with Brad Holland of the Illustrator’s Partnership. He explains how passage of this bill will affect every artist and photographer in the Country. Under current United States and International Law, your copyright is automatic from the moment you create the work. Registering your work provides you with legal fees and statutory damages upon discovering an infringement. If you do not register your work, your are limited to actual damages which are typically far less than provided for in the Statute. International law, and current US Law prohibit forced or coerced copyright registration. Copyright is a longstanding common law right. The proposed legislation is a back door effort to require registration with commercial registries in order to protect your work from being deemed orphaned. SIGN THE ONLINE PETITION HERE SAMPLE LETTER TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVE and SENATOR Congressman Baron Hill / 279 Quartermaster Ct. / Jeffersonville, IN 47130 / Phone: (812) 288-3999 / Fax: (812) 288-3873 Re: The Orphan Works legislation Dear Congressman Hill: My name is Helen M. Bascom and I live in Jeffersonville, Indiana. After reading about the Orphan Works bill, I am outraged that this could happen in my country. This Orphan Works legislation, if passed, will severely impact my income and life as an artist/photographer. Not only will it give license for others to legally steal and use my work for free, it will be virtually impossible for me to afford the time and money to register my creations in all the potential new registries. Commercial registries will be the only organizations that will profit from this legislation. I have thousands of photographs and works of art and I simply can not afford to register my works, even at a few dollars each. This bill, if passed, will force me to close my on line galleries which will destroy my business. Should someone consider my work to be orphaned and take my work for their own use, I can not afford the legal fees to protect my copyright. I demand that you to vote AGAINST the Orphan Works bill and protect my rights, my copyrights, to all that I have and will create. Thank you. Regards, Helen M. Bascom, / Bascom Digital Art

• Photographers - What are you paying for? (Part One)
  by Jo O'Brien

  ^Disclaimer: This is not legal advice or even professional advice. This is some stuff I’ve learned along this funny little thing called l…

  Disclaimer: This is not legal advice or even professional advice. This is some stuff I’ve learned along this funny little thing called life and may not apply in any way to your current situation. At worst, it’s my opinion, at best it’s some ideas for you to think about. If you need real proper advice, go see your solicitor. I’m of the opinion that photography should make me money, not cost me money. So far, I have been successful is making more from a photograph than it took me to create. Here is my list of not so secret tips and advice on covering your arse and saving your cash. When To Pay There are times where spending your hard earned money is the right choice. For example to obtain goods or services you can not find for less (or free) elsewhere. Or when you have done all the maths yourself and you feel you are buying into a good deal. But there are also some pit falls to watch out for. Art Direction, Ideas and Intellectual Property My rule of thumb, if I am paying to shoot, I should have full rights to everything I take. No ifs buts or maybes about it. If you shoot a commercial, the art direction team put together a shoot and then hire a photographer to take photos of what they and the crew have created. They pay for lighting design, they pay the models, they pay the hair stylist, they pay the guy who makes the coffees- and they pay the photographer. Some businesses operate under a similar model but suck money out of photographers in the process. As part of a ‘workshop’ or ‘event’, several photographers rock up with their cameras and take photos of a scene. Often they have little or no control of the setup, can’t communicate properly with the models and will walk out of it with similar images to everyone else who attended! In the worst cases they have restricted rights regarding how they use their images. So is essence, they have paid for something that out in the real world, would be making them money. Sorry if it sounds confusing, the concept completely baffles me. When you are shooting someone else’s ideas and have restricted publishing rights or have little influence over the set up, posing, lighting or set design, (in my opinion) you should be getting paid by them. After all, you are doing them a favor by taking images of their creative work. Classes or Tuition Wanting to improve you skills and knowledge is a great thing. And there are numerous classes, mentors and workshops available for you to choose from. If you are going to pay to attend these, make sure you are getting what you pay for. Before you hand over any cash there are a few details that you should have to help make your decision. Class Size: The more people attending, the cheaper the class should be. If there is a practical component, I usually wont accept a class bigger than 10-12 / Location & Time: no point signing up for an ‘on location’ workshop only to find it is out of your way. Also as a safety issue, you should always be able to tell a trusted person exactly where and when you will be shooting. / The Teacher: You should be able to find and contact the person facilitating the class to verify their experience and ask questions. It not always convenient for a facilitator to take calls from a whole class, but you should be able to send them an email and get a reply without going through a middle man. / Contracts: Ask if you will need to sign any contracts and insist upon receiving them before paying. / What do you get: do you get class notes to take home? Exactly what does the course entail? What can you hope to know and have learned at the end of the course? Contracts These are a great way to waste your money. They also happen to be very important. First and foremost contracts exists to make people money or stop people from making money. So before signing anything, read it a few times and make sure you are aware of what your actions are costing you. If you need to get images approved before sale or publication, you could be agreeing to never publishing or selling any images taken if none are ‘approved.’ It is completely reasonable to request changes to a contract or write your own and offer it instead. Don’t sign away potential income! You should always be able to take a contract away and show it to other people for advice before signing it, and especially before paying for anything. If you are not given this opportunity, my advice is to avoid it with a ten foot pole. And then there are the bazillion poorly written contracts that mean very little or nothing at all. It’s actually quite funny to me sometimes, what people will put on paper. Useful Links Australian Competition & Consumer Commission / Scam Watch Photographers – What are you paying for (part 2).

• "REDBUBBLE Exposure"
  by Aphoto4You IPA

  Due to REDBUBBLE excistance and my PORTOFOLIO exposure on Redbubble BUYER contacted me from a known MAGAZINE and i have sold Ph…

  Due to REDBUBBLE excistance and my PORTOFOLIO exposure on Redbubble BUYER contacted me from a known MAGAZINE and i have sold Photo for Magazine COVER…for a awsome fee…Thank you Buyer and thank you Redbubble for having me here…Thank you all for supporting my work graciously… This is a Photo for magazine “OREGON SPECTACULAR“ / I am on CLOUD NINE and Oregon I BE THERE in 2008

• "High Dynamic Range (HDR) Photography"
  by Aphoto4You IPA

  I have learned long time ago about HDR Photography and always go WOW but never realy learned HOW….many tines i read about it…..but ei…

  I have learned long time ago about HDR Photography and always go WOW but never realy learned HOW….many tines i read about it…..but either i didnt have a tie to understand or got discuraged…somehow… I like to know and learn about it….If there is anyone out there that can post here in few easy steps 1,2,3,4,5 HOW i and many who read this would appreciated….. Cant understand complicated technical terms..But if you give us steps 1,2,3,4 i might be bae to learn… All i know is to take 2 3 4 bracketing images and then lay them over it…or am i wrong? WHELPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP I am willing to learn…are u willing to invest your time….????

• Running Sheet for Exhibitions
  by Stephen Mitchell

  Looking for a ‘check list’ or ‘running sheet’ for your next exhibition? Thanks to the power of google.com, and a spare hour on a Saturd…

  Looking for a ‘check list’ or ‘running sheet’ for your next exhibition? Thanks to the power of google.com, and a spare hour on a Saturday afternoon of sporadic rain, I found a few PDF’s that should help you: Events Management Check List ... I really like this one! It’s comprehensive, has tick-boxes, and could easily be modified to suit any type of event. Running, Promoting and Organsing your Event / ... Page 1 to 17 have great information on setting up and ensuring your t’s are crossed and i’s are dotted. Page 18 to 20 are the pages you want to print! Club/Association Management Program / ... This is a most extensive booklet (36 pages) outlining EVERYTHING about exhibition running. Whilst it is aimed at sport clubs, the information is easily transferable to anyone’s exhibition. Page 19 says … / ” It is essential that an event has an evaluation process that is more than simply monitoring the planning and implementation. Evaluation should be carried out through the life of the event as well as at the end. Information recorded from monitoring provides a record and can be kept as a historical record for events that are held regularly. Criteria for success, and methods for measuring those criteria, need to be set when the event is first planned. Measures depend on the important questions to be answered. Questions may have to do with attendances, quality of staff, revenue, public opinion and press coverage. Methods for obtaining the information needed to answer the questions might include statistics for attendance, questionnaires from participants and spectators, and financial records. “ Survival Guide to Event Management / ... Another long-winded yet comprehensive (56 page) PDF that has a lot of useful information. Visit these pages for the details you really want: 9, 16, 24, 27, 32, 36-37. But you MUST read every other page in conjunction to get an overall and complete view of how to run your exhibition properly and successfully! Submission form for Major Events / Activities in Adelaide / ... Maybe your exhibition is SOOOO BIG that you need to fill this in. Event Guidelines / ... This could easily have been ripped off from any one of the suggested PDF’s above, but it still has some interesting information. You’ll want pages 21 to 24.

• And The Winners Are...
  by RedBubble

  STOP PRESS! Right, so for all you die-hard Bubblers’ out there who have been keeping a relentless eye on our little hamster ‘Harry’ wh…

  STOP PRESS! Right, so for all you die-hard Bubblers’ out there who have been keeping a relentless eye on our little hamster ‘Harry’ who’s been slaving away in the wheel all arvo to get BubbleWRAP 16 out – the time has come to see the results of the RedBubble Real Photography Competition ! So stop your salivating, open your eyes and settle into your desk chair because the results make some spectacular viewing! Check your email or simply view BubbleWRAP online here. We hope you enjoy!

• My painted with light technique explainded
  by Peter Zentjens

  Because of my Nostalgia series I received a few inquiries about …

  Because of my Nostalgia series I received a few inquiries about the “Painted with light” technique. About what it is and how it works. So, I decided to write a small article about it. This way, everybody who is interest in it can read it. I will not claim to be an expert in this technique, nor will I pretend that it’s something I discovered myself. It’s an old technique in the experimental photography. Rather then writing a complete tutorial on the technique I’ll try to reconstruct the path that lead me to where I’m today in the wonderful world of “painting with light”. At the end I’ll describe my own application of this lighting method in still life photography. First things first. Like many of you I’d never heard of “Painting with light” until I bumped into the work of Emil Schildt. Emil is an experimental photographer who’s experiments go in many directions. I’d like to try more of the things he has done, but, at the moment I’m still in the painting with light phase. Although Emil’s subjects are completely different from my own (his are nude models mostly), he was a huge inspiration for me. So, before you continue, check out his work in the painted with light category. (While you’re at it, check out the rest too, it’s worth a peek!). You will see that it really has a painterly feeling. Naturally, in Emil’s case, this feeling is enhanced by his other techniques, such as his special printing methods and so on. It’s this feeling that I was after in my lighting. What really got me experimenting was Emil’s description of his used techniques. Here is his painting with light tutorial. Based on this tutorial I started to experiment. In those days I was still shooting analogue and I quickly stopped again. The reason was simple. I had little spare time for my hobbies and practicing a new technique on film, having do develop them and mostly just see that it didn’t work out, having to start over again… Let’s just say it was discouraging and I wished I had a Polaroid camera. There was something better then Polaroid though: digital. When I bought my first digital camera I pick up my experiments again. The camera wasn’t really suited for it: long exposures resulted in more noise and enough dead pixels to fill up the sky with stars. But those problems where nothing Photoshop couldn’t handle and now I could experiment freely, see the results instantly and adjust my technique according to what I saw. I don’t know if it’s because the subjects are different, or because I’m jut not Emil, but I started to disagree on a number of things in his tutorial. I started to develop my own technique, or better said, my own work flow. Thinking of it that way, which is totally different from what I was thinking when I started writing this, I’ll end up writing my own tutorial anyway as I now see the differences with Emil’s tutorial that I had already forgotten. My work flow: / - Where emil advices to use a light bubble with a reflector, I advice to go for a flashlight. I suited my purposes better. Of course I’m working on a totally different scale. If you’re a model photographer I think you will have to stick to Emil’s advice. But if your subjects are smaller, like my still lifes, well, I preferred a shielded light source which produces a beam which is easier to aim with an to concentrate on one part of the image. - I don’t think I need to say this, but to be complete: you will need a tripod. - My first active step is simple yet takes up most of my time. It’s setting everything up. I start with a quick arrangement of my subjects on a table or whatever I’m using. I’m not carefully composing yet. Just putting the items in more or less the position I want to have them. This will usually changes ten times or more, but that’s not that important now. Right now, I’m looking for the angle mostly, for how to set-up the camera on the tripod. - Once the camera is up on the tripod I start to very carefully arrange my items and to really build up the composition. Of course, while doing this, the change is big that angle and crop are slightly adjusted again. All of this has little to do with the technique we are discussing, so let’s move on. - If this is the first time you are using this technique with this combination of tools (camera and light source) you will have to set up a balance between your camera and what you want to achieve. Now I’m mostly talking about the settings and amongst those most of all about white balance. Of course if you should raw you have the ability to edit the white balance later on and then it’s not so important. I wanted a very warm feeling so I leave my white balance to auto which results in a warm, reddish glow from my flashlight. It’s that combination, light source and white balance, that will dictate the colors and general mood. If you change your light or camera, you will have to search for the right settings again so try to stick to the same equipment as much as possible. When I bought my new camera and specially when I started to shoot in raw I totally lost direction and it took me a while to get the results I wanted again. On the other hand, once you used the same combination for a while, getting the results you want will go a lot smoother as you can know what to expect. - According to the size of the subject, the distance to it and so on, you will have to decide on a diafragm setting and a shutter speed. For the ISO value I would stick to the lowest one your camera has to reduce noise to an absolute minimum. The big advantage of digital is that you can do a few trial runs to see if you set up your aperture and shutter speed correctly. If not, don’t change your aperture ! You need that to pick the DOF. The big difference here is that Emil’s shooting models that have to sit still, so you want the fastest shutter speed possible. But my still lifes aren’t going anywhere, so I adjust the shutterspeed and keep the DOF where I want it. - Now, to make the actual picture, or to do your trial runs, I said the camera on “timer”. I make the room pitch dark, which is very important as you don’t want any light source then your own interfere with your image. I use my flashlight to find the camera again, push the shutter, and wait for the timer. - It’s here that the fun starts. Trust me, you will need a whole bunch of trials before getting it right. Work out a “path” for your light source to follow. Try to get the lightning right in one smooth motion. You can also hesitate with the light source on certain points of your composition to highlight them. You can move slowly or very fast to achieve different effects. Just be creative! Remember one rule of thumb though: keep moving the light or it will burn a spot into your image. If you want to highlight something, for example, make a slow circular motion to get a soft edge. Of course, it’s totally possible that you want that burned in spot, like I said: be creative. Just think of it this way: / your flashlight is your brush, light is your paint. - Repeat this, over and over again, until you get what you want, until you have your path worked out, the way the strokes of light have to be applied just right. - You are shooting digital, don’t be afraid of Photoshop or similar programs. Photoshop is your friend, even more accurate, Photoshop is your darkroom. Not all digital cameras give good results on longer, darker exposures like I already mentioned. So it’s possible that you will need a lot of Photoshop work to correct noise and dead pixels but I use it for a little more then just that. - At this point, I have several images which I like, but you will see this happening too: picture 1 has the light just right on item 1, picture 2’s background is far better lit and picture 3 has a spot of light on this tiny detail that non of your other picks have. I’m just giving an example here. I think you can guess my next step, right? I’m going to melt those 3 images into one where I have the light exactly the way I want it, everywhere. I’ll do this using masks mostly. Hiding bits from one image, showing bits from another, until everything is just right. I already mentioned the noise work (no longer necessary for me with my K10D) and the removal of dead pixels and do some other small adjustments like a little dodging, burning, small color corrections etc. Just like I would do in my darkroom in the ol’days. That’s it! That’s all there is to it. By now you should have one beautiful painted with light image. By way of inspiration, I hope, I’ll show you one of mine again. If you want more, check out my Nostalgia series update: this tutorial continues here

• Ok, stop it already! "Content" of photos and quality.
  by Natalie Manuel

  I’m getting really sick of people using the line “all those pet dog, pets and baby photos” as an indicator of the “rubbish” on RB. The…

  I’m getting really sick of people using the line “all those pet dog, pets and baby photos” as an indicator of the “rubbish” on RB. The content is irrelevant. There are some damn good “pet” portraits on RB (and yes, some really bad ones) I’m actually quite sick of a photo being considered good because of the content. Taking a photo of an exotic looking person doesn’t make you a genius photographer by default. It just means the person isn’t from your country and so is ‘interesting’. Good for you. It can be much harder to get a GREAT photo of a common subject. You have to work to make it stand out. Blurring the water in a photo doesn’t mean it’s a great photo, having a pretty sunset doesn’t make it a great photo, photographing someone who has a character lined face doesn’t make it a great photo, being naked in it doesn’t make a great photo, taking a photo of an exotic animal doesn’t make it a great photo….on and on I can go. So really, enough with the idea that pets = bad photos. Nothing is great or bad by default, it’s how you take it, YOU make it a great photo, if you can.

• Ten Tips for the Absolute Photoshop CS2 Beginner
  by The Gift of Art: Members of A Photographer's Craft

  So you’ve finally installed your copy of Photoshop CS2, the one your friends have been raving about for months now and telling you how go…

  So you’ve finally installed your copy of Photoshop CS2, the one your friends have been raving about for months now and telling you how good it is and how you won’t be able to live without it. Yet, once installed, you can’t make heads or tails out of it? The language seems so foreign and you have no idea just where to start. Here are 10 very basic tips on getting to know and love Photoshop CS2 – you’ll see that in no time, you’ll agree that your friends are right on this one – you won’t be able to live without it! Let’s begin: / 1. When you open up an image for the first time, make a copy of that image and give it a name. Then promptly close the original image so that you have a record of it. To do this, simply go to the “layers” panel, right click on the background image and then select “duplicate layer” and select “new” in the destination bar. It’s good practise to do this each and every time, so that you maintain a record of the images in their original format, to those that have been edited. 2. Digital cameras use their sensors to see the images we see with our eyes. Sometimes images captured with our cameras aren’t as we remember them. That’s because no matter how sensitive the sensor, they’re still no match for our own eyes. To try and replicate the image we saw with our own eye, we need to tweak the levels, the contrast and the colour. When you’re just starting out, simply select “image” from the toolbar, go to “adjustments”, then select auto levels, auto contrast, and auto colour. You can always undo these steps in the history panel. And when you get more comfortable with PS, you’ll be able to tweak the levels, contrast and colour yourself from that same “adjustment” menu. 3. Is the photo still lacking that little something? Perhaps you need to apply “curves” to it. No, it won’t warp it into something unrecognisable (unless you want it to…) curves will simply help with the tonal range of your image. If your image is lacking contrast, it could be that the curve is a little flat. To remedy this go to “image” in the drop down menu, select “adjustment” then “curves”, a graph will display and you will want to make that line follow an “S” shape. As you’re tweaking it, watch the changes on your image, then simply select ok when you’re done. / 4. Now, speaking of warping images. You’ve taken that perfect shot of that sunset. Compositionally it’s perfect, the colours to die for, but your horizon is crooked. Do you delete the image? No, of course not! Do you live with the image as is? No, of course not! To correct something like a crooked horizon line, go to “Select” in the toolbar, select ‘all” – you should have marching ants surrounding your image (hoorah!), go to “edit” in the toolbar and select “transform” from the menu. Now you have a selection of different methods of transforming your image – and it will depend what you want to do with it as to which method you choose. For this example, let’s select “skew”, then use your cursor to straighten up that horizon. When you’re done, just hit enter, the computer will have a think and you’re done. 5. If you’re still not sure whether that horizon is straight or you simply want to see if you’re following the “rule of thirds”, then go to “view” in your toolbar, select “show” then “grid” – these gridlines will tell you just how straight the lines in your image really are. / / 6. Get to know and love “Layers”. That is the one big mystery that catches beginners in PS time and time again. I’m sure volumes can be written about Layers alone, as they are crucial in turning an ordinary image into a WOW image. Layers means that you can divide your creation into different parts by assigning these parts to different layers. Different “layer effects” can be applied that can enhance your image, and you can blend more than one image together to create a totally new image – this is all possible by using layers. If I have an image of a flower and the background isn’t especially pleasing, then I can create a layer, position this above the flower image, select a brush and colour of my choice and begin to paint on that new blank layer. You haven’t destroyed the flower image, and any excess painting can simply be erased. Which brings me to the next point, 7. Make “Layer Masks” your next best friend to using layers. Using the analogy of painting a more interesting background for your flowers, there is an icon in your layers palette – the circle in a square, select that icon and you will see it will appear on the layer you had active. Making sure that the mask is the active of the two images on that layer, now select the “eraser” tool and make sure that the colour selection in your toolbox is set to black and white. White will erase what you have painted, and the black will add the paint back again. What this means, is that you won’t lose the image as it stands. There is nothing worse than making changes, finding you don’t like them, then finding you have to start all over again as the history panel has only gone back so far. Using layers and layer masks will help save a lot of time and effort, as what they do is act as a record for each editing change you make on your image. 8. Again discussing layers, don’t be afraid to select a choice other than “normal” when applying layers. One effect that is popular and creates a dreamy, diffused effect to your image, is the “Orton Effect”. To do this, you will need to duplicate your background image. Now with your duplicate, go to your “filters” toolbar and select “blur” then “Gaussian blur”, depending on your image and the effect, choose any number of pixels here. The greater the pixels, the more diffused and exaggerated the effect. Select ok, then go to the layers panel, select “multiply” and you now have a soft, dreamy, moody image. Selecting other effects such as overlay, soft light, hard light and so on will yield you different results, so have a play with the effects. You can always tone it down by moving the slider from 100% opacity to a lower amount. 9. Could your images use a little more sharpness to them? There are several ways of sharpening your image, but for me the easiest and most effective is the “High Pass” method. Begin with your background image, then duplicate. Go to the “filters” toolbar and select “other” from the drop down menu, then select “high pass”. Here is where you don’t want to overdo it. Only select between 1 and 2 pixels for a realistic look. The image shown should be quite grey with only the sharpest areas highlighted. Select ok, then in the layers palette, select “overlay” and your image is now sharper and crisper. If you still want to retain some areas that aren’t as crisp, simply apply a layer mask and erase the part of the high pass image you don’t want (remember to make sure you’re erasing the mask, and not the image). 10. Lastly, don’t be afraid to explore and play with his wonderful program – it has so much to offer, that these 10 basic steps really don’t even do it justice, but they’re a way to slowly introduce you to the joys of Photoshop. Keep a pen and notebook beside you so that you can record your steps and discoveries – there’s nothing worse than trying to remember exactly what you did last time. / Most importantly, have fun, enjoy and create!

• Seascapes Group
  by Mel Brackstone

  I’m very pleased to announce the new group Seascapes I’m looking forward to viewing wat…

  I’m very pleased to announce the new group Seascapes I’m looking forward to viewing waterscapes from around the world. I’d like to think that we can upload just our very very best, so please, limit your uploads to just ONE a day, and we’ll see how things go. One upload a day only Five photos per member only If you’d like critique, please ask. If you’d like information on how different techniques have been produced, please ask If you think you have a question that I haven’t mentioned, please ask. Thanks for sharing your photos with us! Mel

• How I enlarge Images and preserve their quality
  by Steven Love

  A short time ago Bianca Thomas wrote a journal entry on “Stretching Pixels” and how enlarging an image can degrade it if you stretch the …

  A short time ago Bianca Thomas wrote a journal entry on “Stretching Pixels” and how enlarging an image can degrade it if you stretch the pixels too much. / . / In essence she is correct. When you increase the image’s physical print size while leaving the pixel dimensions the same the DPI will have to drop in order to stretch the image to the needed size. These stretching of the existing pixels creates gaps which can show up as distortions called “Artifacts”. / . / There is another method of enlarging an image while reducing the number of artifacts created. It is called “Interpolation”, also known as “Re-sampling”. / . / In Photoshop CS2 and CS3 you can Interpolate the image by using what is called the “Bicubic Method”. This method allows you to enlarge an image but retains the original DPI. / . / The Bicubic Method enlarges an image by using a very complex mathematical calculation similar to Fractal Geometry. The program basically looks at the image and then through Fractal geometry calculations “Predicts” where to add additional pixels so that you can increase the pixel dimensions while retaining the same DPI setting. / . / Photoshop has three Bicubic Methods; / If you are only enlarging the image a small amount, say 10% to 20% above its original size then the default Bicubic setting is good enough. / However, if you plan to increase size more than 20% then you’ll want to select “Bicubic Smoother”, which will help reduce distortions. / . / The third method called “Bicubic Sharper” is what you would use if you were reducing the size of an image. But since most people want to make their images larger the first two settings should be used. / . / There is a limit, however, on how large you can interpolate without distorting the image. For example; if you take a 4 megapixel image, which will measure 2272 by 1704 pixles, and boost it to an 8 megapixel image, which will measure 3264 by 2448 pixels, you will get some distortions. / . / There is a way to prevent these distortions and still be able to double the size of the image. First, do not try to enlarge the image to a huge size in one single step. The best way to enlarge an image and preserve most of its quality is to do it in two or more stages. / . / The following example will be an 8 mega pixel at 3264 by 2448 pixels at 300 dpi. This original size will print to 8.16 by 10.88 inches in Landscape orientation. But the procedure can also be applied to Portrait orientation as well. / . / First I open this image in Photoshop. On a side note, you should be doing this with either a RAW, PNG or TIFF format. JPEGs don’t interpolate well because of it being a lossy format to begin with. / . / Next, run the image through a noise reduction filter to reduce or get rid of any digital noise created by the camera. Then do what ever color, contrast, sharpness and exposure adjustments that are needed. / . / Now, go to the Image Tab and click on Image Size. You should see a display showing the current image size and resolution. Before you change the size make sure that the boxes labeled “Constrain Proportions” and “Re-Sample” are checked. / . / Next, we move on to change the document size. The document size is the size the image will physically print at. Do not alter the Pixel dimensions at this time. / . / As I mentioned earlier it is best to do this in incremental stages rather than one large step. For this example the current document size is 8.16 for height by 10.88 for width. You will now change the height to 12.8. By checking the box “Constrain Proportions” you should see the width size change automatically to 17.067 which is the correct width proportion for the changed height size. You will also see that the Pixel Dimensions also changed accordingly. That is why I told you not to tamper with the pixels. The program will do that for you. / . / Also notice that the resolution of 300 DPI did not change. / . / Before you click “OK” to complete the interpolation change the Method from the default Bicubic to Bicubic Smoother. After clicking “OK” you will notice that the size change will take some time because the mathematical calculations the program has to do are extensive. / . / Once this enlargement is complete you may notice some tiny distortions in area of solid color such as in the sky or in other mono-colored areas. The distortions may look like little grains. Once again use a noise reduction filter to remove or at least reduce the distortions. / . / Once you have reduced the noise again go back to the image size control and using the same procedure as before increase the height from 12.8 to 18.0. The width should automatically change to 24 inches. / . / Now look over the image again for noise and apply the noise reduction filters to remove or reduce the noise. / . / When you have finished save the image as a 16 bit PNG. This will preserve all color depth and clarity. But be warned that the file size will be huge and the saving process will take some time depending up your computer’s RAM capacity. / . / Use this version as your master image copy. If you need to make a copy to upload to the internet simply switch it back to 8 bit and save a JPEG copy of it. / . / On a final note, even though this will enable you to make some large high quality prints there will always be some images that will have a small amount of noise or distortions. The key is to make note of whether the noise is reduceable or not. If the noise gets worse as you enlarge then you know that the prior size was the maximum you can go with the image you have. / . / I’ve been able to successfully enlarge 8 megapixel 8 X 10 images so that they’ll print as big as 18 X 24 posters with little to no distortions. But for those of you with smaller cameras, such as 4 to 6 mega pixels, you may not be able to interpolate as large as I do without some distortions. / . / That’s how I enlarge my photos using Photoshop. / . / If any of you have any additional info on the subject feel free to post in the comments.

• PHOTO SHOOT MELBOURNE & SYDNEY PHOTOGRAPHERS ALL WELCOME: JOIN THE MAILING LIST
  by Alateia

  I PRODUCE & DIRECT PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES FOR STILL CAPTURE / for Amateur & Professionals alike PRIVATE ENQUIRIES ALSO WELCOME / ”!http:/...

  I PRODUCE & DIRECT PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES FOR STILL CAPTURE / for Amateur & Professionals alike PRIVATE ENQUIRIES ALSO WELCOME / / photo courtesy of MAREE TOOGOOD / / photo courtesy of Jodie Johnson If you are interested in attending any of the PHOTOGRAPHIC SESSIONS that i stage and stepping off the virtual platform for a shoot, meeting other bubblers, working with excellent models, picking up tips on the job, let me know! and i will add you to our mailing list and keep you in the loop. / _photo courtesy of KARLS I organise, models, drops & props, venues, equipment etc. for on location and studio shoots. So jump on the mailing and stay in the loop just email SHOOTER MELBOURNE or SHOOTER SYDNEY to / events@arthouseproductions.com.au Some of the sessions are by invitation only as location can restrict numbers so let me know what areas interest you ie, dance, portraiture, black and white, cityscape, sports, nudes, fashion, catwalk, landscape, storms, seascape, animals, babies, night , long exposure, photo journalsim, macro, etc. etc Look forward to seeing you at the next SHOOTERS GALLERY !!

• Post Processing Tutorial
  by Hougaard Malan

  Post Processing 2 Sooooo…..It’s been about 3 months (I think) since my first tutorial and I’ve learnt a lot from photoshop in the mean…

  Post Processing 2 Sooooo…..It’s been about 3 months (I think) since my first tutorial and I’ve learnt a lot from photoshop in the mean time! So this is the improvement on my first tut and I’ll be going a bit more into using layers and levels to achieve better and more dynamic color range in your photos. Firstly, my disclaimer to all you critics out there. I have split landscape photography into 2 main genres. The first group show you nature as it is, they do very little processing and their photos always have a very clean, natural look. .The second group have a more artistic approach to their photography. They use a variety of cokin or lee creative filters, IR filters, strong ND filters and my favorite, Photoshop to make their photos more interesting and ‘artistic’. Now, no one can criticize the methods I am about to explain on making your photos more ‘interesting’ !!:) Secondly, to use this tutorial you must be able to shoot in RAW, because many times different parts of the images need slightly different exposures and you can achieve this with the RAW tool, with minimal loss of quality. I recommend you read my previous tut before reading this one. Here it is http://news.deviantart.com/article/35712/ Thirdly, Photoshop CS3. If you have CS2 then you’ll need to download the RAW tool plug-in which you can find at www.adobe.com . / / I’m not gonna explain how to open images or crap like that. This is not a tutorial for morons. So let’s get started! 1.Open the image your going to process, If it’s a RAW file and you have the PS RAW tool then it should open in the RAW tool. There is never any correct amount, it’s all personal opinion and what looks right to you. So whenever I say adjust something, you decide how much. You will learn what is the right amount over time. Adjust the following as much as(and IF) necessary. / White balance / Exposure / Blacks / Contrast / Vibrance The following Isn’t necessary, it can just add a little touch of vibrance or color to you photos. .Above all the sliders you’ll see a row of tabs that you can click on for other adjustments. I only ever use one, and that’s the one that looks like a coil: HSL/grayscale. That’s a confusing synonym for ‘messing around with the color’. Play around with the hue until your happy, but never adjust too much. Now at the top of the sliders there’s another sub-row of tabs. LEAVE SATURATION OUT. Go to luminance, play around, not too much though. 1a.In the case of a panorama, open all images to be stitched. Top left, click ‘select all’. Make the adjustments, save as PSD’s (doesn’t lose quality when saving, JPEG does). Merge them, layerflatten image. Crop the image, save the merged, cropped pano as a PSD and delete the PSD’s you just merged it from(they take a LOT of space). Now close it and open the merged pano PSD you just saved in the last step. This is so you can use the history brush. You’re now finished with the RAW tool, open image. The problem you now face with most images is that you want to enhance certain areas of the photo in certain ways. How do you do this? Layers…what is a layer exactly? Don’t be an idiot. It’s a layer! And layers are probably photoshop’s nr.1 key to success. You can put 500 layers on top of each other, and in the case of a photo it will always be copies of the same photo on top of each other. 2.Open the layer window. If you really don’t know how….press F7 and I will magically open it for you. 3.So decide how many parts of the image you want to edit separately and press ctrl+J to make copy layers, as many as you need + an extra one for last minute corrections. Now I’m going to guide you through the processing of my most recent image because it required the sky, ground and branch to have separate editing so it’s a good example. http://hougaard.deviantart.com/art/Shadow-of-the-Dead-76081703 Firstly the most recent one, which is a pano. I did everything as explained in step 1a. then step 2 and then step 3, to create four layers. one for the sky, one for the ground, one for the branch and one for any ‘oopsies’. 4.Edit the sky using the levels tool (ctrl+L), Do the RGB, then click the tab to select the levels of each color and then edit each color separately to get the color, tone and exposure that looks ideal to you. Make any other adjustments (curves, selective color etc.) to this layer. 5. Now that you can differ between the top layer (the one your looking at) and the one beneath it you can apply your first gradient mask. / At the bottom of the layers window you’ll see a rectangle with a circle in it. click it. you’ll see that a blank rectangle appeared next to the top layer. That’s your layer mask. 6.Now select the gradient tool by pressing G. You’ll get to know gradients as you use them more but to start click a short distance above the horizon and drag it a short distance below the horizon. See the result? You now revealed the bottom half of your top layer and what you now see is the layer below it.(to undo and try again simply press ctrl+alt+Z) You can reveal the top half simply by dragging the gradient the other way. You can create the gradient in any direction, opacity etc. Play around with the settings above the window! 7. Now in the levels window, select the 2nd layer. Edit it for the ground as in step 4. 8.If there is anything in the area of the horizon like a tree that’s sticking into the sky but but must have the same editing as the ground then you can either erase part of the mask(remember to select the mask in the layers tool) or you can use the history brush. If you have a simple photo in which only the ground and sky needed separate editing then you’re finished now. If you don’t want to lose you work, Save as a PSD at full resolution(if you don’t, you always regret it). 9.If your photo has another subject that needs it own editing then you’ve still got some work to do. Click on the top layer in the layer window and press ctrl+E to merge the 2 top layers. In my case, the branch still needed editing, I wanted to give it a reddish color to bring some more color to the photo. 2 ways to go about this. 9a. One is to select the branch with whatever lasso tool you prefer(3rd tool from the top, right click to select a specific one). Select the object. Now you’ll see, above the image there’s a tab that says ‘refine edge’. Click it and play around with the setting to well….refine the edge. Now you can just erase the object without a worry from your top layer to reveal the object from the layer beneath. 9b. The other way is to just erase it carefully, select the fine edged brush and start with a big brush, erase the center, select a smaller brush and move closer to the edge and so forth and so forth…. Both take time and patience. Effectiveness varies depending on the subject. If the object is well defined and isolated then I advise you use the first way. 10. Now that you’ve erased the object from the top layer and you see the object from the layer beneath it you can select that layer in the levels window and do the necessary editing to your object. And at the end of all that my photo was finished. The original was 70003500 pixels and when you do your processing at that scale and you upload something like a 1200700 to DA then most rough edges are unvisible and disappear. If you know that someone’s gonna buy a huge print then you better be more careful! 11. I Then pressed ctrl+E again to merge the top 2 layers and I still had one beneath the top layer(which is now the merged top 3). This bottom layer still has nothing done to it except the RAW adjustments. If you’re top layer has anything that went wrong in the editing like a rough edge, blown highlight, a shadow that’s too dark. Whatever. Eraser or history brush can usually fix it. Always save a full resolution PSD of your completed work because for certain photos this can take an hour or even more. And go through my previous tut http://news.deviantart.com/article/35712/ because it covers smaller useful things in PS and some steps that I don’t properly explain in this one. Some useful things about photoshop…. Practice makes perfect! Don’t stick to what you know, experiment! Photoshop is like maths, there’s a hundred ways to get to the same result!

• Redbubble break
  by Mel Brackstone

  Arrggghhh….I’m going to miss you all so much! Leaving tomorrow for a second honeymoon in NZ….not going to be much time for the bub, s…

  Arrggghhh….I’m going to miss you all so much! Leaving tomorrow for a second honeymoon in NZ….not going to be much time for the bub, so I’ll just have to say hooroo and will catch up with you all when I return. Gotta go pack – cameras, lenses, tripod, cable release, lee filters, batteries, battery chargers, power leads, extension cord, powerboard….these are all essential, of course. Clothing and toiletries are optional extras… Take care all you lovely people, I’ll log in if I can, but it’s not going to happen often, I suspect.

• Artistic Nude or Objectification of Women
  by Helen Bascom KMA

  NSFW

• My first solo exhibition - Aug 1 - 14
  by Mel Brackstone

  Come one, come all, I’m having my first solo exhibition, opening night August 1st. I’m going to be there on opening night, so if you wa…

  Come one, come all, I’m having my first solo exhibition, opening night August 1st. I’m going to be there on opening night, so if you want to meet the crazy old lady with the camera, feel free to come up and say gidday. I’ve been madly processing work so that I’ve hopefully got enough to put up on the walls, and I’m having the majority of it printed on Kodak Endura metallic paper. There’ll be something for everyone, and prices won’t be very high at all….seriously! Thank you so much for all your wonderful comments and best wishes!! August 1 – 14 / Brunswick St Gallery / 322 Brunswick St, Fitzroy 3065 / ph 0419 390 478 / Hours: Wed-Thur 12 – 4 pm, Friday – Sunday 11am – 6pm

• (Photography) Knowledge is Power
  by Stephen Mitchell

  Here is an amazing bunch of Photography Essays and Tutorials I found buried within luminous-landscape.com...

  Here is an amazing bunch of Photography Essays and Tutorials I found buried within luminous-landscape.com early this morning. I plan to do a LOT of reading! Understanding Aspect Ratios and the Art of Cropping Understanding Soft Proofing Understanding Sensor Issues Understanding Printer Colour Management Understanding Raw Files Understanding Local Contrast Enhancement Understanding Contrast Masking Understanding Digital USM Understanding MTF Charts Understanding Histograms Understanding Digital Sensor Cleaning Understanding Digital Work Flow Understanding Mirror Lock-Up Understanding Medium Format Understanding Depth of Field Understanding Polarizers Understanding Lens Contrast Understanding BOKEH Understanding Bit Depth Understanding Sharpness Understanding Resolution Understanding Camera Movements Understanding Colour Theory Understanding the DSLR Magnification Factor Understanding SLR Viewfinders Understanding Exposure Understanding Digital Blending Understanding ProPhoto RGB Understanding Lens Diffraction Understanding Panoramic Stitching Yikes! Yes, there is a so much here to read, but certainly worth it!

• Pricing your photography
  by Leah Highland

  I found this article and thought that I would share. / Great information and a bit inspiring to those that might not have / the confiden…

  I found this article and thought that I would share. / Great information and a bit inspiring to those that might not have / the confidence they deserve. By Scott Bourne When photographers turn pro, they face an important issue: How to price their products and services. Unfortunately, photographers are at the low end of the pay scale because they usually don’t apply standard marketing and business strategy when pricing their work. The goal of this article is to give you advice that will let you earn what you are worth and at the same time, elevate the price positioning of the entire industry. START AT THE BEGININNG – KNOW WHAT YOU ARE SELLING Are we selling square inches of paper? For some reason, the first thing that enters a photographer’s mind when pricing is print size. This has cost more photographers money than you can imagine. The most important thing to know here is to build value in your product. You do that by considering ALL the factors that go into making a salable image. So what are we selling? How about that creative eye? Anyone can buy a camera but can they see through it the way you do? Are the hours you spent training for this moment worth something? Your mechanic, doctor and lawyer all get paid for their time, shouldn’t you? Then there is your present technical ability. The casual amateur may not be able to get the most out of the same equipment as the everyday pro. And speaking of equipment, you need to consider the value of all those gadgets you have laying around the studio. When you price, charge for your logistical skills, intelligence, time and your ability to translate your client’s desires into a visual statement. You should consider standard usage and copyright in the price as well as basic business economics. And here is one of the first places that photographers stumble. They aren’t honest with themselves about the cost of doing business. In order to price something, you must know what it cost to make. Here are some things to look at: Pricing Economics 1) Overhead / 2) Profit / 3) Market Type Calculating overhead requires you to consider all the costs that are associated with being a professional photographer. That means: 1) Equipment depreciation / 2) Insurance / 3) Rent / 4) Licenses / 5) Legal Fees / 6) Accounting Fees / 7) Payroll Fees / 8) Salaries / 9) Taxes / 10) Utilities / 11) Production / 12) Repairs / 13) Printing / 14) Postage / 15) Office Supplies / 16) Subscriptions / 17) Dues / 18) Advertising/Marketing / 19) Transportation/Shipping / 20) Travel / 21) Misc. Calculating profit is a bit easier. You consider your cost of doing business by allowing for a percentage of your overhead to be applied to the cost of each job. From there you add mark up. This can be based on any number you want but a good starting point is to double the cost of your product. Now you also need to adjust this figure based on market type. Is the image being used in a small or large market? Will thousands of people or just a few see it? What is the value to the client? What will the client do with your image? What choice besides you does the client have? Are there 50 photographers in town or only three? All of these factors go into calculating a price. STRATEGY Now that you know what you have, what you are selling and what it costs you to make it, you need to devise a pricing strategy. This can be as simple as jotting down some basic facts. 1) What is your overhead? 2) What is your marketing strategy? 3) What is the competition charging? 4) How much income do you need to survive? If you have a real business plan, you will have answered most if not all of these questions. If you don’t have a business plan, now would be a great time to write one. It doesn’t have to be fancy but you need to be able to articulate your goals or you won’t be able to measure success. EDUCATE THE CLIENT After you have decided on a strategy, you need to start educating your clients about your business. Most people have no idea what it costs to run a business, let alone a photo business. Share that with your clients. If you run a portrait studio, make sure they understand the differences between what you do and what the chain studios do. If you are selling fine art nature prints, discuss your education and training, the cost of dues to professional organizations, etc. When dealing with art directors, let them know when you have purchased new cameras or computers that feature advanced technology. Once the client can see a nexus between value and price, the higher rates become less of a stumbling block. You can embark on this education process in a number of ways. Issue press releases that tout your equipment acquisitions, attendance at seminars and new employees. Bring these things up in casual conversation when selling. Publish a studio newsletter. Conduct your business in a manner that exudes professionalism. CONCLUSION There is one last but very important step that you must take to profitably price your photography. Ask established photographers how they bid jobs. Smart photographers who have made a good living at photography will gladly help beginners with this information. They realize that if you are new, you might undercharge, thereby bringing prices down industry-wide. Ask for help. You’re likely to get it. Article Copyright 2005, Scott Bourne – Photofocus Magazine ABOUT THE AUTHOR Scott Bourne is the author of “88 Secrets to Selling & Publishing Your Photography” and “88 Secrets to Photoshop for Photographers.” Both are available from Olympic Mountain School Press, http://www.mountainschoolpress.com His work has also appeared in books, magazines, galleries, calendars, on greeting cards, web sites and on posters. Scott is a professional photographer, author, teacher and pioneer in the digital imaging field. His career started in the early 70s as a stringer covering motor sports for Associated Press in Indiana. Since then, he has shot commercial, portrait, wedding, magazine and fine art assignments. His new passion is wildlife photography. Scott regularly lectures on a variety of photo and media-related subjects. He’s appeared on national television and radio programs and has written columns for several national magazines. He is the publisher of Photofocus.com, an online magazine for serious photographers and also serves as the executive director of the Olympic Mountain School of Photography in Gig Harbor, WA.

• MIRROR MIRROR... FUN COMPETITION: BEST SELF PORTRAIT IN THE MIRROR
  by Alateia

  RULES ARE: Your Self Portrait must show the MIRROR, YOURSELF and the CAMERA and you must be a member of the SHOOTERS GALLERY TO BE AW…

  RULES ARE: Your Self Portrait must show the MIRROR, YOURSELF and the CAMERA and you must be a member of the SHOOTERS GALLERY TO BE AWARDED / PRIZE IS A $20 RED BUBBLE VOUCHER., ....(er hem, dont spend it all at once)! So post away!! Competition closes 30 JUNE winner announced 1st July. / here is an example. / HOW TO ADD THE IMAGE UP HERE??? / 1. Ok, so you have added it to your gallery, / 2. you go to the public view of it / 3. you right clik / 4. scroll down to properties / 6. copy that / 7. come here and paste it between two exclamation marks no spaces / and VOILA!!! i will c u, ... c-ing u !

• Shooting smoke trails...
  by Paul Louis Villani

  A couple of nights ago Matt (of Disenchanted Photography ) and I spent a couple of hours i…

  A couple of nights ago Matt (of Disenchanted Photography ) and I spent a couple of hours in his garage with the intention of experimenting with lighting and off camera flash. / We actually ended up shooting smoke trails for four hours and had a ball! / The experimentation with flash position, ISO and shutter speeds was very beneficial and I got alot out of the shoot. / / The first (mainly black) images that I’m showing here are pretty much off the stick. / They have been converted into jpeg via Lightroom and have had the blackness darkened, a little noise reduction, contrasted and thats it. / I’ve even left the little specks of dust and flying embers on the images! / / / / / / / / / / / / / / Here are some that Matt has used his post proc skills on… / Matt has the “clear gif” setting on, so I could not copy in the larger images… / / / / / / / / / / / / I must admit after spending just a short amount of time on post prod myself I personally found an artful beauty in these type of images simply by converting them to monotone and tweaking the contrast. / / / / / / / / / / ...and to finish off, those of you who know me well know that lately I’ve been hypothetically looking for Aliens… Well I think I found one… / / / / Peace and Hugs! :D

• "Wedding Photographer's REGISTRY"
  by Karen Cougan

  If you are a wedding photographer and would like to put your name, details and website up here in our Group Please leave your details her…

  If you are a wedding photographer and would like to put your name, details and website up here in our Group Please leave your details here….. It would be really great to get a register happening here at the Bubble…....... thanks / x Karen PLACE / NAME / WEBSITE / CONTACT DETAILS