2011 May

Archives

May24th

Review: Damien Symond’s Clean Processing in Raw Class

Posted in: Reviews, Tips!

Disclaimer: Damien Symond’s Clean Processing in Raw class was provided to me free of charge in order to write a review. I do my best to provide you with a fair and accurate review and opinions stated are my own.

Damien Symond’s Clean Processing in Raw Class

If you’re a photographer moving from JPEG to RAW and need help understanding the editing process with RAW photographs, then you should consider taking Damien’s class. A $75 class consisting of informational slides using Facebook as a platform, Damien walks you through what each slider in ACR/Lightroom does as well as help you understand basic RAW workflow.

If you want to try out the class, the first module is free.

Platform, Ease of Use, Support

The class is hosted on Facebook as a platform, so you have to be Facebook friends with Damien in order to gain access to the class. I’m not a huge fan of having to do this (even though Damien and I were Facebook friends before I took the class) but once I got into the class, I actually felt it was a great way to set up his class: you can see how many slides are in a module, you can see questions from other students as well as Damien’s answers, and since Facebook is something most people use, it was fairly intuitive.

To start, Damien sends you a message with the table of contents of the class as well as a PDF workflow chart (one of the best things about the class is the PDF chart you receive). You simply click on each link in the table of contents to get through each of the 11 modules.

Each module is well-written and easy to read. Damien writes in a conversational tone that makes even the most technical thing easy to understand. In addition to written modules, some have videos where you can watch Damien going further into the topic.

In addition, if you have any questions, Damien promptly answers all of your questions. Although I have yet to ask a question, he’s always been incredibly responsive to my e-mails.

The Class/Information Presented

For RAW shooters

Even if you’ve been shooting in RAW for a while and in general, have a pretty clean processing style, this class is a great way to fill in whatever gaps of knowledge you may be missing. For me, I’ve been shooting in RAW for as long as I’ve done photography professionally and it was really helpful for me to see how I should be editing my photographs: which order I should be moving the sliders in Lightroom and why. It was also helpful for me to see his ideas behind the “perfect white balance” and “perfect skin tone.”

So, even if you’re comfortable with editing RAW photographs, this class is a great way to reinforce ideas and fill in gaps of knowledge.

For Beginners

If you are a beginning photographer, this class is a MUST. Inspire Me Baby receives a lot of submissions for features that are supposed to be a photographer’s BEST work and you would be surprised at the number of submissions we receive that don’t have the basics down like exposure and/or color balance. Damien’s class is a wonderful way to understand the basics of editing RAW and in a sense, what a good, basic photograph should look like.

If you’re comfortable shooting with your camera and have a calibrated monitor, taking Damien’s class should be your next step to help you understand what you’re doing when you’re editing (in RAW).

Time

The beauty of online classes is that you can do it when it’s convenient for you and Damien’s class is no exception. The materials are available to you for 12 months, which I hope is plenty of time to get through the class!

I was able to get through the modules in a day but now need to go back and take the time to apply the concepts I learned to my own RAW workflow.

Overall

Damien’s class is well-written and well-presented with a LOT of useful information without the fluff. The class in addition to being able to ask Damien questions, our “Photoshop master,” is definitely worth the $75.

For more information, please visit Damien’s website.
May23rd

Inspire: Child Session By Cloud Dust Photography

Posted in: Child, Inspire

This session by Cloud Dust Photography shows exactly what you can do with an idea and 10 minutes. I love sessions that show you don’t need anything complicated to create something fun and creative.

If you’ve ever photographed a session using a clothesline as a prop, please link to it in the comments!

From Cloud Dust Photography: I actually did the shoot to enter a contest for a free dress from Little Wellies… The dress worn in the pictures is from Little Wellies. I found this gorgeous tree in a public location in my town. The entire shoot was literally done is 10min. The clothes pins ended up being a wonderful prop for Mae to hold and play with. I hung all the dresses, and then took pictures of her taking them down, even though it looks like she’s hanging them up! Details in this shoot made a big difference. Like the plastic high heeled shoes, and the clothes pins around the top of the basket, as well as the title of the magazine.. :) One suggestion I have would be to move around and get shots from more then one angle. Sometimes we can forget to be creative in our shooting when we have a creative set up already, in fear that we might lose the set up in the shot. Even if u really only have one direction to shoot due to backgrounds, make it work! I went to the other side of the tree limb and shot at a down angle as well. You would never know that the free housing center in our town was right behind her at that point!

// From Cloud Dust Photography // Follow on Facebook //
May18th

Inspire: Baby Session by Kristen Cook Photography

Posted in: Child, Inspire

If you’ve never seen Kristen Cook‘s work, you should head on over to her site. Her photographs are beautiful: simple and clean coupled with post processing that is never over the top.

I hope you find her work inspiration that you don’t need elaborate props or extensive styling for a gorgeous photo shoot.

From Kristen Cook Photography: Babies are wondrously intuitive. They can spot a fake a mile away. Some little flowers take a little while to blossom; shyness can often come from the unknown. My focus in sessions like these is always about showing the beautiful honesty in their eyes. I talk with parents at great length about their little ones – they become cheerleaders of their own cause. When that moment of connection happens, exploration evolves. Beautiful light is a must, and I love to play with it, explore it and make it work for me. I savor simplicity – babies are uncomplicated, their innocence is to be treasured. Most importantly I am passionate about sessions being baby-led – happier babies means happier parents, and by default, a happier me.

// From Kristen Cook Photography // Follow on Facebook //
May17th

Guest Blogger: Setting Up Your Own Photobooth by The Modern Tog

Posted in: Guest Blogger, Tips!

This week, please welcome Jamie Swanson from The Modern Tog!

Photobooths are becoming increasingly popular at weddings, birthday parties, family reunions and corporate events. With very little extra equipment costs, they can be a great addition to the services you offer your clients.

When we put together our photobooth kit, we wanted it to be easy to haul around and simple to construct since we primarily shoot weddings. It also had to be relatively small to fit inside our car.

Here’s what we use:

Photoflex Backdrop Stand- We picked this backdrop stand because it has a telescoping crossbar and a carrying bag that makes it easy to transport.

King-sized Fleece Blanket – This is what we use for a backdrop. Fleece is awesome because it doesn’t show wrinkles, and it’s way cheaper than buying a formal portrait backdrop.

Hand Clamps – We use these to attach the blanket to the backdrop stand. We pull it tight and clamp it to the stand. I’d suggest using seven. Put three across the top and two on each side.

Alienbee B800 – We use this as the main light source for our photobooth and connect it to our camera using the cord that comes with it, but you could also use a flash such as the Nikon SB-900 or the Canon 580EX II if you already have one.

60″ Photoflex Convertible Umbrella – We use one umbrella pointed directly at the subject that is positioned slightly above our heads. We do this instead of putting it off to the side in order to avoid people shadowing each other in the group shots. Sometimes the booth gets pretty full of people. We use a 60″ umbrella because that’s what we happened to have, but a 45″ umbrella would probably be sufficient.

We also bring a lot of fun props such as hats, feather boas, empty picture frames, headbands, over-sized sunglasses, and mustaches on a stick. We carry these (along with our fleece blanket and clamps) in a large plastic tote.

Tips for running a photobooth
Running the photobooth can be a TON of fun, but there’s a few things you should keep in mind when you do one.

1. Put your background stand against a wall. There’s been a few times when the guests got a little bit rowdy in the booth and leaned back into the stand. Without a wall behind it, it will go right over.

2. Put some gaffers tape down on the floor and tell people to stay within the box if they want to be in the photo. This helps keep you from photographing outside of the backdrop. I didn’t do this the first few times we did a photobooth and ended up having to clone out some parts of the background because people were too close to the edge.

3. Shoot in manual mode. This makes editing the photos a breeze because you can edit the first one and sync the rest because all the settings are the same. It saves SO much time.

4. Don’t be afraid to decorate your backdrop. Use streamers, banners, or other things that you can hang from the stand to give the photobooth a different feel. You may even find some fun shower curtains that could be used.

5. Post the photos to Facebook with a note telling people to “like” your business page to tag themselves in your images. This is an incredible way to market your business, as people LOVE using these as their profile photos. It also gives them the opportunity to download a copy for free. While some people may not want to offer this, we charge enough up front to compensate for the loss of sales and add a small website address to the bottom of the photo so that people know where to find us.

Jamie Swanson is a Wedding Photographer in Madison, WI and writes a blog with awesome business tips for photographers called The Modern Tog. She loves mathematics and created a Free Photographer’s Pricing Guide to help you determine prices for both weddings and portraits combined in one business. Click over and check it out.
May16th

Inspire: Rain Themed Session by Modern Exposures Photography

Posted in: Child, Inspire, Lifestyle

If you think about weather from Southern California (where I am), you might imagine bright sunny days along with beaches, palm trees, and maybe some surf. Imagine my surprise when I heard the sound of rain on Sunday morning. If I had a session, I would definitely have been rained out.

This rain themed session by Modern Exposures Photography would have been great inspiration for those days where you find you’ve been rained on unexpectedly. It screams not to be afraid to use color and to just let the children play – and oh yes, don’t forget all the cute details.

From Modern Exposures Photography: This was a rain themed session where we utilized a few key props like cute rain boots, umbrellas and of course water! I love the color the umbrellas add to the photos and mom did a great job styling adorable outfits for her daughters to highlight the rain boots.

As photographers, we have had a hard time deciding if we want to use props in our photo sessions, but think the right prop at the right session can be amazing! Rather than focusing on a specific prop, we focus instead of an activity that children would enjoy and build the session and prop ideas from that perspective. These types of sessions give children something to focus on and play with. Our favorite photos are often the ones where a child is lost in an activity and gives a true smile or laugh! We also love to get detail shots of the aftermath of a messy activity (the dirty dress or frosting on little hands and faces).

Even though this session was a “prop” styled session, we can always get some photos that no one would ever know are from a themed session. This is especially important for providing parents and grandparents with more traditional images that they can frame and display in their home.

// By Modern Exposures Photography // Follow on Facebook //