This is the fourth in a series of posts on digital darkroom techniques describing digital darkroom techniques that “combine” groups of images towards various ends. Previous parts covered focus blending and stitching, today we’ll talk about HDR (high-dynamic range) imaging. (more…)
SoFoBoMo has begun rercuiting for their second year, and it’s definitely worth a look.
SoFoBoMo is an project based loosely on NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and NaSoAlMo (National Solo Album Month), efforts to provide structure for creative types to produce their first novel or musical album. SoFoBoMo participants pledge to entirely produce (from inital photography through graphic design, layout and writing) a photography book within a 31-day span (any one month span in May and June 2009). The only length requirement for SoFoBoMo is that the completed book must contain at least 35 photographs. (more…)
I recently was talking to an aspiring wedding photographer about gear. She has a ::amazon(“B0007QKMQY”, “Rebel XT”)::. I wrote her an email that outlined what gear I thought she should be looking to get. (more…)
This is the third of a series of posts on digital darkroom techniques describing digital darkroom techniques that “combine” groups of images towards various ends. Part two covered focus blending, this post will discuss stitching. (more…)
“So,” I said, “How do you feel about standing in traffic?”
A few weeks ago I had this idea for a shot. I wanted to shoot a couple surrounded by blurred movement while they stood frozen in time… in their own world. The first obstacle to overcome was how to shoot a long exposure on a sunny day. A neutral density filter solved that problem ( I used a 6 but really needed a 9). Next I had to get the couple. Lucky for me I was getting ready to shoot an engagement session at the University of Tampa which sits on Kennedy Blvd, one of the busiest roads in town.
So, after about an hour and a half with my clients I finally asked them to stand in traffic. They were totally on board with the idea and stood there without moving for about 15 minutes while I stood on my own little traffic island with my tripod, shooting away. (more…)
Radio program Fresh Air with Terry Gross had a good discussion of fair use and other copyright issues surrounding this case. The case as a whole has been analyzed ad…
This is the second of a series of posts on digital darkroom techniques describing digital darkroom techniques that “combine” groups of images towards various ends.
Focus blending is a technique for combining a series of images of the same scene to create a resulting image with a wider depth-of-field. Focus blending is best-known to aficionados of macro photography, as depth-of-field at close distances is almost always razor-thin even at the tiniest apertures. While best known in macro circles, it could benefit any type of photography where it’s impossible or pragmatic to get enough depth-of-field. (more…)
The advent of digital photography has opened up an array of new techniques for working with and combining multiple images in pursuit of technical perfection. Three of the most popular techniques in this category are panoramic stitching, focus blending, and high-dynamic range imaging.
As of Photoshop CS4, Adobe now includes some level of support for applying all three of these techniques without external tools. In this post, I’ll provide a brief overview of the three techniques and the problems they’re intended to solve. In future posts, I’ll address each of the three techniques individually, provide an example or two, and discuss both Photoshop’s built-in tools for applying those techniques as well as talking about third-party solutions and other alternatives. (more…)
Now don’t let the term “corporate” scare you. I understand that most of us don’t want to live in the corporate world, myself included. I have no desire to work in a cubicle, make decisions by committee or wear a suit every day. But a big part of our business is reminding our clients and customers that we are expert at what we do. (more…)
As my alarm went off at 4:00 am – the first thought in my head was why do I do this? As I kissed my sleeping kids and wife good-bye so I could get to the airport, I wondered, why do I do this? I loaded my bags in my truck and headed to the airport, had the whole road to myself, still wondering why do I do this? Shared the airport shuttle with a couple heading to Utah for a week of skiing, they asked where I was headed, “Santa Fe, NM, skiing they asked? No photography workshop. So you’re a photographer? I am, Wow that must be a great job. It is.” With that, I started to realize why I do this. (more…)