Daily Distractions

¶ 05 June 2007

That’s My Monkey →

Strange name, but very helpful site (therefore, don’t be put off by the name of the site) — That’s My Monkey. It’s written by Bruce and Michael Snell, both photographers who have 20+ years experience in the field.

There are two things this site offers that you won’t find anywhere — nicely designed printable PDF’s of articles they’ve written and self-authored QuickTime video tutorials.

They talk about such topics as balancing flash with ambient light, post-processing photo techniques, RAW vs. JPEG, Zoom vs. Prime Lenses, Mac vs. PC, and even Canon vs. Nikon.

¶ 04 June 2007

Adorama’s Wedding Photography Guide →

Adorama’s Wedding Photography Guide: a series of articles, tips and tutorials from the experts at Adorama. An absolutely great resource for photographers, but it’s too bad they don’t offer any RSS feeds or notification of when new articles are posted.

See also their general AIRC: Adorama Imaging Resource Center section, which offers the same type information but is not specific to wedding photographers.

¶ 03 June 2007

Jeff Ascough Actions →

Jeff Ascough Actions II: “bringing the darkroom to Photoshop”. A set of 18 actions and 13 utilities (adjustment presets) to help make your photos look better.

The entire set costs £60.00 (~$118 USD) and requires Adobe Photoshop CS2 or later.

¶ 02 June 2007

How They Make Camera Lenses →

A fascinating video on how today’s camera lenses are manufactured.

¶ 01 June 2007

Lego Artist →

Nathan Sawaya left a career as a lawyer to become a LEGO artist.

¶ 31 May 2007

Flash Flavor →

Matt Adcock and his soon-to-be bride, Sol Tamargo, have teamed up and started a blog called Flash Flavor, which is focused on sharing creative flash techniques for wedding photographers.

There are some absolutely amazing images you have to see with your own eyes!

¶ 30 May 2007

Ten Most Overpaid Jobs in the U.S. →

What follows is a list of the 10 most overpaid jobs in the U.S. (from 2003), drafted with input from compensation experts:

1. Mutual-fund managers
2. Washed-up pro athletes in long-term contracts
3. CEOs of poorly performing companies
4. Orthodontists
5. Motivational speakers and ex-politicians on the lecture circuit
6. Real estate agents selling high-end homes
7. Skycaps at major airports
8. West Coast longshoremen
9. Major airline pilots
10. Wedding photographers

Some of you may be surprised to see wedding photographers grace the list as #10.

Wedding photographers earn a national average of $1,900 for a wedding*, though many charge $2,500 to $5,000+ for a one-day shoot, client meeting and processing time that runs up to 20 hours or more, and the cost of materials.

The overpaid ones are the many who admit they only do weddings for the income, while quietly complaining about the hassle of dealing with hysterical brides and drunken reception guests.

If you’re not sure how much you should be making, (as you calculate your cost of doing business to include what you are paying yourself), see John Harrington’s Pay Yourself What You’re Worth.

¶ 29 May 2007

Think Tank Photo →

I used to think LowePro camera bags were the best designed bags in the industry. After seeing some of the kick-butt products from Think Tank Photo I might have to change my mind — Think Tank Photo’s attention to detail and lifetime warranty is unmatched — but I think LowePro still has the edge when it comparing their full product lineup.

I’m a big fan of their Rotation360° (an amazing new backpack that lets you access your gear without taking the backpack off) and their Airport Security ($359) carry-on bag.

¶ 28 May 2007

Totally Rad Actions for Photographers! →

Add some visual “ooh” and “aah” to your photographs by using Doug Boutwell’s (of Boutwell Studio) Totally Rad Actions for Photographers!.

The set of 46 actions require Adobe Photoshop CS2 or later and cost $149.

¶ 27 May 2007

Fine Art Textures →

Looking to take your digital photos to the next level? Jesh de Rox’s fine art textures might just be your ticket:

We are offering this set of Fine Art Textures for an introductory price of $245 (regular $345). You are purchasing 35 high-res Texture image files used in Jesh de Rox’s award winning experiential post processing style, as well as the license to use them for personal and commercial photographs and/or art pieces. The set includes a short instructional video with a few tips for beginning your exploration.

The Fine Art Textures are not Photoshop actions — they are individual high resolution textures. The image JPG files are approximately 8.3” × 12.5” inches at 350 DPI and can easily be up-resized many times higher.

¶ 26 May 2007

Original Photoshop Brushes →

What better way to freshen up your digital wedding album design than some cool Photoshop brushes? Look no further than the Original Photoshop Brushes by Janita Mlotek.

¶ 25 May 2007

Why Hire a Professional Wedding Photographer? →

Why should a bride and groom hire a professional wedding photographer?

Ryan Goldman: A professional knows how to use his equipment to not only capture but enhance the mood and drama so you look your best […] In the end you’re not just buying pictures. You’re buying memories, a chance to relive one of the best days of your life any time you wish, and the peace of mind that comes with knowing a competent, skilled professional is there each step of the way.

WedFog: If you commission a wedding photographer who will shoot all day and hand over the files for such a low price, you may not be getting the quality images that you’d hoped for. Wedding photographers operating at this level are often either beginners with little experience or casual part-time shooters.

Of course there are hundreds (if not thousands) of more answers, but it’s nice to see people in the community bringing attention to what being a professional wedding photographer really means.

¶ 24 May 2007

Thom Hogan →

Thom Hogan’s Web site is another gem in the Nikon community, providing extensive information about Nikon photographic equipment.

He’s also a published author of several books and Nikon field guides. His site is divided up into four sections—Books/Cards, 35mm, Lenses/Flashes, and Digital—each with a wealth of information.

¶ 23 May 2007

Lavalu: A Wedding Photo Post-Processing Service →

If you find all of your free time is spent in front of computer doing post-process editing of your engagement/wedding photos, maybe it’s time to outsource your work (and no, I’m not suggesting offshoring your editing to India)?

However, wedding photographers Michael Connell and Mindy Sonshine may hold the answer for you:

Lavalu is the creation of wedding photographers Mindy Sonshine and Michael Connell. As their wedding photography business grew, they realized the importance of outsourcing all of their post-production so they could maximize their revenue as well as their free time. Once they had a full time post production employee in place, other wedding photographers started asking where they too could find such a perfect solution.

Thus Lavalu was born — a place where wedding photographers can enjoy the benefits of having their own virtual post-processing employee — without any of the traditional hassles of employee management.

I personally haven’t tried their service, but if you find your free time dwindling you might give their wedding photography post-processing service a try.

¶ 22 May 2007

El Doble Dual Flash Mount Bracket →

If you’ve seen or heard about the Denis Reggie dual-flash bracket but don’t want to spend $169 for each bracket, Todd Brewer offers a much more reasonably-priced bracket — named the Brewer Bracket, ($59) — that basically does the same thing.

Constructed of Aircraft Grade 6061 T6 heat treated aluminum alloy for strength, rigidity and durability, the El Doble dual flash bracket is an affordable, lightweight, portable, efficient and elegant means to mount two speedlight type flash units in one umbrella. It is designed to be used with a single shoe umbrella adapter (not included) and also fits in a SuperClamp for non-umbrella applications.

I haven’t had an experience using either Denis’ or Todd’s brackets, but I love the idea of being able to have studio quality lighting on location without breaking my back carrying around a heavy bag full of strobes.

¶ 21 May 2007

How To Sell Your Old Camera Gear →

Wondering what your old camera gear is worth? KEH Camera Brokers allows you to get an instant quote on your gear by simply answering a few questions about the condition and quality of your used equipment.

There are many other sites that allow you to sell your gear, including Adorama, B&H Photo/Video, as well as the obligatory eBay, Craigslist, Amazon and others too.

¶ 20 May 2007

How To Use Your Nikon SB-800 Flash Wirelessly →

Atlanta-based photographer, Julia Greer, explains how she harnesses her Nikon SB-800 flash off-camera to setup a wireless studio on location:

What if you could have perfect studio lighting on location without the burden of lugging strobes with you? In fact, what if you could fit an entire four-light set-up in a small shoulder bag? Nikon’s SB-800 flash makes all this possible and more.

At the end of her article she even gives a few pointers in using her setup outdoors using the SB-800 off-camera as a wireless fill flash.

¶ 19 May 2007

Techniques for Better On-Camera Flash →

Neil van Niekerk shares his insight on how to match available light and flash, using on-camera flash.

Instead of waiting for perfect light, I use what I have … and add flash to make the best of the situation. With careful use of flash, I am more in control of light, and hence the way my photos will look – than if I had just accepted the existing ambient light.

His site is packed with example images that illustrate the techniques behind each effect of how he achieved each individual exposure.

¶ 18 May 2007

PhotoVision Videos →

PhotoVision: a video magazine on DVD for professional photographers delivered to your studio or home every other month. A one year subscription costs $149.

¶ 17 May 2007

The Real Story of JPG Magazine →

The “True Hollywood Story” behind JPG Magazine and how Derek Powazek got booted out of his own company reminiscent of Steve Jobs and Apple.

Unfortunately, issue 10 will be the last one that Heather and I will have a hand in. We are no longer working for JPG Magazine or 8020 Publishing. […] In one evening, Paul removed issues 1-6 from the JPG website, removed Heather from the About page, and deleted the “Letter from the Editors” that had lived on the site since day one. Paul informed me that we were inventing a new story about how JPG came to be that was all about 8020. He told me not to speak of that walk in Buena Vista, my wife, or anything that came before 8020.

¶ 16 May 2007

Amazon Acquires Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com) →

DPReview, the well-known photography review and forum site run by Phil Askey since 1998, has been acquired by the worlds leading online retailer, Amazon.com.

“We’ve worked very hard over the last eight years to deliver consistently high quality content to our readers”, founder Phil Askey said. “It will be fantastic to be able to expand and build on that without compromising our quality or independence. With the support and resources of Amazon we can achieve this.”

Started as hobby site in 1998, dpreview.com has grown to be the number one destination for anyone interested in digital cameras and digital photography. Each month dpreview.com has seven million unique visitors (over 22 million sessions) who read over 120 million pages.

The site will “continue to function as a stand-alone operation based in London.”

¶ 15 May 2007

How-To Make Models Look Great Without Makeup →

How People Magazine used all the camera tricks “in the book” (read: no help from Photoshop) to make celebrity stars look great without makeup.

¶ 14 May 2007

Camdapter Hand Strap System →

Tired of your DSLR camera, professional lenses and on-camera flash weighing down your neck on a long day of shooting? Give your back a break and use your hands instead of your neck strap with the Camdapter Hand Strap System:

The Camdapter Hand Strap System basically consists of two components. (1) The Adapter, and (2) The Hand Strap.

Some clever engineering is what makes the whole thing possible for most cameras. They’ve developed a variety of adapters to fit almost every type of DSLR camera and the most common tripods.

¶ 13 May 2007

Guide To Buying a Digital SLR Camera →

Philip Greenspun (Editor in Chief of “Photo.net”) has a very clear and practical guide for anyone considering buying a digital SLR. His recommendations?

If you don’t want to read this article and are impatient to get started immediately, get a Canon Digital Rebel XTi, $700 and Sigma 30mm f/1.4 for Canon, $445; if you must have a zoom, the Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM, $1,180 is a good choice.

As a die-hard Nikon use I don’t agree with his recommendations, but the gist of his advice applies to whatever camera you should purchase — be it a Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Leica, Olympus, Sony Alpha, etc.

If you’re wanting a second opinion on what to buy, see Ken Rockwell’s Spring 2007 Camera Recommendations.

¶ 12 May 2007

How to Pronounce "Bokeh" →

Mike Johnston: I decided that people too readily mis-pronounced “boke”, so I added an “h” to the word in our articles, and voilá, “bokeh” was born.

How do you pronounce bokeh? In Japanese, Bo is like Bo in ‘Bob’ and Ke is like Ke in ‘kennel’, therefore as a spoken word you pronounce bokeh like the English word “boquet.”

bo•keh |bō‘kā|
noun Photography

the visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image, especially as rendered by a particular lens: a quick, visual survey of the foreground and background bokeh of a variety of lenses.

ORIGIN from Japanese

You don’t pronounce “bokeh”, you write it, and you pretend you know what to expect from it, and you use the term here and there to supplement your comments about lenses.

Ken Rockwell knows a lot about bokeh too …

¶ 11 May 2007

Simulacrum? →

Dave Shea shares his secret recipe for creating a blurred perspective effect to screenshots, simulating what many professional photographers do with their camera and lenses:

There are pretty much only two steps to this effect, the perspective transform and the focal blur, with an optional third, lighting effects.

Since the final effect simulates a flat surface, the starting image is usually a screenshot or object that looks like it will sit properly on a flat surface.

Nothing is stopping you from using a photograph, but the end result looks like a physical printed photo sitting on a surface, which usually isn’t what most people want.

¶ 10 May 2007

Apple Pro Application Support →

Pro Application Support 4.0 is now available from Apple. It updates various system components that are used by Aperture and other Pro Apps.

¶ 09 May 2007

Business Card Inspiration →

Hundreds of inspiring and refreshing ideas for business cards.

¶ 08 May 2007

Google Voice Local Search →

In case you missed the news, Google just introduced another free life-changing service: Google Voice Local Search.

Google Voice Local Search is Google’s experimental service to make local-business search accessible over the phone — and it’s free. Google doesn’t charge you a thing for the call or for connecting you to the business.

Call (800) GOOG-411 and it will look up any business number for you, purely by voice, and connect you, for free.

¶ 07 May 2007

Shooting Vertical? You Need a Flash bracket →

Why the flash bracket? When you shoot verticals, with on camera shoe-mounted flashes you get an ugly shadow cast behind the subject, particularly noticeable on red carpets, with advertising banners close behind.

You can also get harsh shadows in the subject’s eye sockets or under the chin, which is also not so flattering. But you don’t need one when you’re using flash as fill in bright light situations, or when using bounce flash.

¶ 06 May 2007

What’s in Your Camera Bag? →

Wedding photographer, Jessica Strickland, shares “what’s in her camera bag”.

¶ 05 May 2007

Basic Photography Tutorials →

A handful of good basic photography (and Adobe Photoshop) tutorials.

¶ 04 May 2007

Stamps Soon To Be $0.41 →

Postage rates last went up in January 2006. However, the cost of mailing a letter will again go up on May 14, 2007, but you’ll be able to lock in that price (no matter how rates rise in the future) by buying the new “forever” stamp.

The first forever stamps will sell for 41 cents apiece, but they won’t have a price printed on them and they will remain valid for sending a letter regardless of any future rate increases.

While a forever stamp will always be valid for mailing a latter, that doesn’t mean the price won’t go up. If rates were to increase to 45 cents, for example, that’s what a forever stamp would sell for. But stamps already purchased at a lower rate could still be used without adding extra postage.

Price of heavier letters will go down

But folks sending heavier letters—such as wedding invitations—will see a reduction in the price. That’s because the 41-cent rate is for the first ounce, but each additional ounce will cost just 17 cents, down from the current 24 cents.

That means a two-ounce letter will cost 58 cents to mail, compared with 63 cents now.

¶ 03 May 2007

Bounce Flash Tutorial →

Mastering the use of on-camera Flash can best be overcome by practice, practice, practice.

Everyone has their own techniques for bounce- or fill-flash but they all are aimed at the same thing: to get “soft lighting”, that when balanced with room lighting, looks natural and flattering.

Cory Parris: “Why is your flash sideways?” The Bounce Flash Article!

Bounce flash is a quick and easy way to upgrade the lighting in a room. Whenever I am looking through my camera I am looking at the type and angle of light as well as content and composition. When I see that the lighting is mostly from overhead sources, I usually want to modify it somehow.

To use bounce flash, you don’t have to do anything too difficult. You attach your flash to your camera (or to an off-camera shoe cord if you wanna get funky) and point the flash in the direction that you want the light to come from.

You can see what I did with a piece of black plastic (a file folder from Staples) and some Velcro. […] I’ve shown it to other people, but most don’t share my enthusiasm for attaching ugly, home-made devices to their flashes, but willingly spend $40 on a piece of Tupperware to sit on top of it!

If budget means nothing to you and you’re looking for the best in flash diffusion, the new Gary Fong Whaletail Studio/Whaletail Reporter or the older LightSphere II are two of the best tools money can buy.

If you’re on a shoe-string budget, the Rockwell 1¢ Soft Box (Bounce Card) may be just what the doctor ordered.

¶ 02 May 2007

Advice from a Magazine’s Picture Editor →

It is not important if photographs are “good.” It’s important that they are interesting. What makes a photograph interesting?

[…] a photograph needs to show something distinctive. A two-headed cow is unusual. A bride in her wedding gown standing in a kitchen is a bit odd; but there can also be something special in a child’s yawn, a man’s gestures or a tree’s shadow.

Don’t try to tell a photographer how to take a picture (except possibly suggesting some special effect). You want the photographer to follow his own instincts.

¶ 01 May 2007

Using the Denis Reggie Dual-Flash Bracket →

After 25 years of toting heavy manual lighting gear, flash meters, and radio slaves to every wedding assignment, Denis Reggie and his back were ready for a change. Current technology allows for a far lighter and quicker solution for professional quality location lighting — instead, Denis embraces the Canon wireless E-TTL system used with Canon D-SLR camera.

The wireless E-TTL principle is based on signaling one or more “Slave” units with a “Master” unit mounted on the camera’s hot shoe. Currently, Denis uses a total of 3 Canon 580EX flash units (to act as Slaves and Master), and, for minimizing battery changes and speeding recycle times, 3 Canon CP-E3 battery packs. Each flash unit holds 4 “AA” batteries while the CP-E3’s each hold 8 more “AA” batteries – all 12 batteries should be identical in rating. Maha Powerex rechargeable NiMH “AA” batteries and matching chargers are his favorites.

Though Denis finds that one “Slave” flash unit typically has enough power for group photography – especially when shooting at ƒ:3.5 or ƒ:4 with his Canon EOS 1D Mark II N, ƒ:4 to ƒ:4.5 with his 1Ds or 5D – he prefers using 2 Slave units pointing into the same umbrella for the sake of redundancy. Why? Mostly because the current Canon flash signaling system needs line-of-site between the master and slave (it is not a radio based signal), so the added measure of dual 580ex Slave units means that misfires are all but eliminated. Denis often points the red receiving panel on the Slave flash units directly toward the master for optimum signal handshake.

Denis designed his custom dual-flash bracket to be fast, light, rugged, and very easy-to-use.

The same setup could be achieved using the Nikon CLS (Creative Lighting System), possibly even using Denis Reggie’s custom flash bracket mounts.

¶ 30 April 2007

Canon and Nikon Lens Reviews/Recommendations →

If you’re a die-hard Canon lover or even a casual shooter and you’re looking for some great information and reviews on Canon lenses, then Bryan Carnathan’s site The-Digital-Picture is for you.

P.S. - For you Nikon lovers (me included!), Ken Rockwell is your man for the low-down scoop on Nikon gear (although he has been writing more about Canon gear lately).

¶ 29 April 2007

West Lafayette, IN to be Smoke Free →

The West Lafayette, Indiana, City Council has passed an ordinance that requires the city to be “smoke free”. The new smoking law will go into effect on July 1, 2007.

City Councilor Patti O’Callaghan, author of the West Lafayette ordinance for smoke-free air in public places and places of employment, stated that “This ordinance is an important measure for public health, worker safety, and economic development. We are proud to take this step to protect our citizens.”

Indiana has some alarmingly poor health statistics with regard to smoking. 10,200 Hoosier children under 18 years old start smoking each year, and 160,000 kids now under the age of 18 will die prematurely from smoking. Indiana ranks 2nd among all states in the number of adult smokers.

While the weather in Indiana doesn’t quite feel like California, the ban on smoking sure makes it feel like life on the west coast. It will be finally be nice to go out for dinner and drinks and come home without your clothes and hair wreaking of smoke.

¶ 28 April 2007

Ken Rockwell is the Chuck Norris of Photography →

Of all the photography sites I read, Ken Rockwell’s personal site is my favorite. Ken is a real prankster and knows a lot about photography, but he also has his own strong opinions on things.

I came across some Chuck Norris facts about Ken most people probably don’t know. Here are some of my favorites:

• Ken Rockwell is the Chuck Norris of photography.
• Sure, Ken Rockwell deletes a bad photo or two. Other people call these Pulitzers.
• Before Nikon or Canon releases a camera they go to Ken and they ask him to test them, the best cameras get a Nikon sticker and the less good get a Canon sticker.
• When Ken unpacks his CF card, it already has masterpieces on it.
• Ken Rockwell’s portraits are so lifelike, they have to pay taxes.
• On Ken Rockwell’s computer, the Trash icon is really a link to National Geographic Magazine

Whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em, Ken shares his views and opinions on photography in a fashion unlike anyone else — and he’s even a Mac user too (which is all the better)!

¶ 27 April 2007

Great Panorama Software for Mac OS X →

While there are many tools (open source, free, shareware, etc.) to create panoramic images by stitching together a series of images, none are easier to use than DoubleTake by Echo One Software:

DoubleTake is the “nano” of stitching software. Drag & drop your images onto or into DoubleTake, arrange them, and check the overlaps. When you are done, save and perhaps copy and paste the result to iPhoto.

Like many great Mac applications that do more than what appears to the naked eye, DoubleTake can even split an image onto several pages to make large prints.

Once you get your killer panoramic image stitched together, you can print it out on your ink jet printer and glue the sheets together to create a single print.

This is not only for panoramas, but for any image (so long as you don’t mind some cutting with a real knife and pasting with glue). The author has instructions to do this on his Web site.

¶ 26 April 2007

Sales Tax and How it Affects Your Photography Business →

Wedding Photojournalist, Rob Rife, has posted a great thread on DWF. He outlines his insight and experience with state sales tax:

I just received a phone call from the lovely state of Ohio. If you don’t collect sales tax bacause you’re shipping out of state…you better have shipping receipts. If you think you can seperate product from service because you feel the law is vague…good luck. The state doesn’t think it’s vague at all.

If you’re business is based in Indiana you’ll want to fill out Form BT-1 or submit your business tax application online.

As Benjamin Franklin once said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”.

¶ 25 April 2007

Nikon Firmware Update for Windows Vista →

Nikon users who’ve upgraded to Windows Vista and discovered their pictures are unreadable in Photoshop can breathe easier: Nikon has a fix.

The camera maker has published a new patch, called a Codec, that you can download from its web site. This patch lets Microsoft’s troublesome new operating system recognize RAW files shot on a Nikon camera that haven’t been edited in third-party software.

The Nikon RAW Codec is a software module that enables you to handle RAW image files (*.NEF: Nikon Electronic Format) under Microsoft® Windows Vista® with the same ease as JPEG or TIFF images.

Previously, if customers added metadata, the images became unreadable in third-party software such as Adobe Photoshop.

Note: This is not a firmware update for a Nikon digital camera, it’s an update that only applies if your computer is running Microsoft Windows Vista — Mac users can rejoice once again!

¶ 24 April 2007

2007 Web Design Survey →

Citing a lack of existing data, A List Apart (the website for people who make websites) has taken it upon themselves to “form a picture of the ways web design is practiced around the globe.”

So help them out by taking the 2007 Web Design Survey at A List Apart. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes, and your participation is essential.

¶ 23 April 2007

National Small Business Week →

For more than 40 years, the SBA has recognized outstanding small business owners for their contributions to the nation’s economy and for their personal achievements during small business week.

The U.S. Small Business Administration will mark Small Business Week 2007, with events to be held on April 23-24, 2007, at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.

Since 1963, every President has declared National Small Business Week to formally recognize the important role of America’s small business community.

As photographers we’re a vital part our of nation’s economy, and it’s nice to see our efforts as small businesses being recognized.

¶ 22 April 2007

ApertureToFTP Pro Plug-in →

ApertureToFTP Pro is an Aperture plug-in that automates the process of uploading photos from Aperture to a remote FTP server.

Its feature lists includes:

• Support for multiple FTP server bookmarks
• Finder style browsing of the remote server
• Multi-Threading for responsive user-interface
• Ability to create new folders on the remote server
• Mac OS X Keychain support

You can also watch a brief video demo (i.e. screencast) on how the plug-in works. The plug-in is free and is a Universal Binary but requires Aperture 1.5 and Mac OS X 10.4 “Tiger”.

¶ 21 April 2007

A Tedious Explanation of the f/stop →

The ƒ/stop is a source of confusion and mystery to many photographers, even to some who use it all the time. If you’ve ever wanted to know more about ƒ/stops or the effect the camera’s aperture has on your images, Matthew Cole has lots to tell:

The shutter speed regulates how long the film is exposed to light coming through the lens. The ƒ/stop regulates how much light is allowed through the lens by varying the area of the hole the light comes through.

For any given film speed and lighting combination there is one correct amount of light to properly expose the film. This amount of light can be achieved with many different combinations of ƒ/stops and shutter speeds.

His tedious explanation of the ƒ/stop covers everything from shutter speed, focal length, depth-of-field, and answers some often asked questions such as “What is stopping down?” and “When people talk about an fast lens, what does that mean?”.

Whether you’re new to photography or an amateur wanting to sharpen your skills and terminology, this article is a good starting point.

¶ 20 April 2007

Aperture 1.5.3 Now Available →

Aperture 1.5.3 is now available via Software Update or from Apple’s support/download section. The update addresses issues related to overall reliability and performance in a number of areas, including:

• Generation of thumbnails for adjusted images
• Entering and exiting Full Screen mode
• Working with large sets of keywords in the Keywords HUD
• Restoring from a vault

The update is free for any licensed Aperture user and checks in at 130 MB in size.

¶ 19 April 2007

LightScribe Offers Free "Wedding Kit" Theme →

LightScribe is a technology used by some CD and DVD burners which enables you to etch designs and text into the tops of specially-treated blank discs, saving you from having to apply a sticky label for a custom look. Now HP has released a themed kit especially for preserving wedding memories.

The LightScribe wedding kit includes several different label designs. The designs can also be incorporated into CD or DVD covers, cards, or anything else you’d like to make to accompany the disc.

The company also features kits themed for gifts, music, photography and others.

¶ 18 April 2007

SingleShots – Portraits for Online Personals →

Meeting the right person is hard enough right? Well that’s what the folks at Single Shot thought too — but they took the idea of a self-portrait for one’s classified ad a step further.

“A photo from SingleShots is a great way to improve the response rate to your online personal. We offer retouching for all of your personal digital photos that you want to put online.

Their basic service of “Good Retouching” (lighting, color-correcting, cropping, etc.) will cost you $25 per photo, while their “Best Retouching” (teeth/eye whitening, face or body slimming, etc.) will set you back a hefty $65 per photo.

Why not get rid of a blemish or undereye circles because you didn’t sleep well the night before? Retouching just takes care of some of those elements afterwards.

I have to admit it’s a good idea for the average consumer, but a person worthy of calling themselves a true professional can (and should be able to) do most of their services themselves.

If you want to see some great examples of the level of retouching that goes into high-profile magazine covers (such as Playboy, Maxim, People, etc.), see the portfolio of Greg Apodaca.

¶ 17 April 2007

Photoshop Script for SlideShowPro →

Developer Matt Johnson has churned out a free script for Photoshop CS2 that quickly publishes slide show images and thumbnail images — and the requisite XML file — for SlideShowPro.

Written in the Javascript language for the Adobe Photoshop DOM, this script quickly produces folder structures, optimized images, and outputs the XML source needed for the creation of galleries in SlideShowPro.

It’s really easy to use. Simply open the original images you want to use in your slide show, start the script from within Photoshop, and the script spits out all the content SlideShowPro needs. Not only that, but if a photo has XMP data embedded in it, the script will populate the XML file with that data as well.

¶ 16 April 2007

Adobe Ships Creative Suite 3 (CS3) →

Adobe begins shipping Creative Suite 3 (CS3), the company’s suite of applications designed for the creative professionals.

Available today are Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium and Standard editions and Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium and Standard editions.

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium, and Adobe Creative Suite 3 Master Collection are expected to ship in the third quarter of 2007.

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium edition costs $1,799 and $1,199 for Creative Suite 3 Design Standard edition. Creative Suite 3 Web Premium costs $1,599 and Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Standard costs $999.

¶ 15 April 2007

Top 10 Wedding Photographers →

American Photo magazine’s first-ever list of the best wedding photographers in the world. Herewith, ten of the best and most influential wedding photographers working today.

1. Denis Reggie – Atlanta, Georgia
2. Jeff Ascough – Littleover, Derbyshire, England
3. Joe Buissink – Beverly Hills, California
4. Bambi Cantrell – Pleasant Hill, California
5. Alisha and Brook Todd – San Francisco, California
6. Christian Oth – New York, New York
7. Stephen and Jennifer Bebb – Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
8. Jerry Ghionis – Victoria, Australia
9. David Beckstead – Kettle Falls, Washington
10. Kevin Kubota – Bend, Oregon

Absently missing from this year’s list was someone by the name of “Ryan” from Apostrophe Studios. Hehehe …

¶ 14 April 2007

The Value of Photography →

What determines the value of a photograph?

The price of an image should be commensurate with how and where the image is used. The uniqueness of an image plays a major role in determining its value.

Photographers have always held the power but only a few have realized it. Maybe that will change? Stranger things have happened.

¶ 13 April 2007

Stationery Pad = Easy Templates →

The Finder’s “Get Info” window (File > Get Info, CMD+i or ⌘+i) in Mac OS X is one of the unsung heroes of the Macintosh user experience. The “Get Info” window houses a lot of great options, and Stationery Pad is one of them.

If you have any kind of workflow where you need to repeatedly modify some sort of a file template, checking this option in any file’s “Get Info” window will tell its parent application to open a copy of it by default, ensuring that the original file remains unedited.

Stationary Pads don’t just apply to text documents either, you can make any document a template,—even a JPG, TIFF, or PSD—and a copy of the file will be created when you open the original.

¶ 12 April 2007

Drobo Storage Robot →

Who needs an expensive, high-maintenance RAID array when you can have a robot working for you?

Just connect Drobo to your Mac or PC. No software required. No RAID levels. No management or configuration. Drobo does everything for you. Get rid of multiple external drives.

Avoid the complexity of RAID, by adding any number of SATA drives and Drobo does the rest for you. It will manage your storage so you don’t have to.

The world’s first storage robot—I want one ($699).

¶ 11 April 2007

Wedding Photojournalism Myths →

With the number of wedding photojournalists perpetually on the rise, confusion seems to be increasing at a parallel rate.

WPA: This article aims to bust the most common wedding photojournalism misconceptions and stereotypes circulating in the marketplace.

• Myth: Wedding Photojournalists Can’t Create Good Portraits
• Myth: Wedding Photojournalists Won’t Use Flash
• Myth: Wedding Photojournalists Take Grainy And Blurry Photos
• Myth: Your Photos Are Going To Look Cluttered Because Wedding Photojournalists Never Alter Scenes
• Myth: Anyone Can Be A Wedding Photojournalist
• Reality: Communicate And Trust Your Own Eyes

When considering a wedding photographer, it’s best to communicate and trust your own eyes, not rumors or heresay. Look for a photographer who is able to tell the story from start to finish, instead of presenting just one good photo from each wedding.

¶ 10 April 2007

Calibrate Your Mac’s Display →

Using a Mac, but aren’t embracing a color-managed workflow? Don’t have a colorimeter or spectrophotometer to calibrate your display?

Here’s a simple fix that will enable your online photos to look better on Windows’ computers:

Don MacAskill: Most people don’t have light-controlled rooms with color-calibrated monitors. Almost everyone will see your photos slightly differently than the next person. […] We’re not talking about perfect color precision here, because on the net, that’s an impossibility.

The fix is rather simple:

Unless you have a color management expert instructing you otherwise, select a 2.2 gamma and a D65 white point.

Go to Apple > System Preferences > Displays > Color > and pick sRGB IEC61966-2.1. Then quit Safari and restart it.

¶ 09 April 2007

The Secret to Client Relationships? Deliver Good Work! →

How can you build long-term relationships with clients?

Dennis Brack: “My advice is simple: Do a great job, listen to the client and give them the pictures he or she wants; friendships may or may not follow.”

¶ 08 April 2007

Easier to Understand Licensing of Photos →

The way in which we have, for years and years, described the types, sizes, media, and locations of where our photography is used, is dizzying. Is it a transit ad, or a bus back? Is it a brochure or a sales sheet — what’s the difference?

John Harrington: “Enter the PLUS Coalition, a non-profit international multi-industry organization that has created image and illustration licensing standards applying to assignment and stock photography and illustration. PLUS is the Picture Licensing Universal System, a system of standards for use by photographers, illustrators, stock agencies, designers, publishers, ad agencies, museums, libraries, educational institutions and others.”

Organizations such as Adobe, Getty Images, Corbis, and NewsCom are among those that are taking a leading role in sustaining this coalition.

Photographers may access and view the PLUS glossary and licensing codes for free, making it a no-cost system for you to integrate into how you license your work.

Another interesting ideas on licensing comes from 1Passwd:

License keys don’t need to be boring text strings. All the data contained within the license key can be kept in a beautiful image. […] Drag-and-drop defines the Mac. We do not want people trying to type the license key by hand; images can be dragged and dropped with ease.

Software is intangible, and this is especially true for products purchased online without a shrink-wrapped box. The sequence seemingly random characters does not give you a feeling o that you got something real in return. The license card is a close as it gets …

¶ 07 April 2007

Monte Zucker Passes Away →

Legendary wedding photographer, Monte Zucker, (1929-2007), has passed away at the age of 77 from pancreatic cancer at his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.

Mr. Zucker, who began taking wedding photographs in the late 1940s, was an authority on posing, lighting, composition and other aspects of classical photography. Some of the industry’s most successful photographers employ his techniques for weddings and portraits.

Monte was known as the dean of the traditional-style wedding photographers for his classic posing and lighting techniques. In 1990, he was voted Wedding Photographer of the Year by nearly 20,000 brides in Brides magazine.

Gary Fong writes “I’ve never known a wedding photography world without Monte Zucker in it. It is truly the end of a chapter, but history will look back fondly at him, the grandest of masters, the one who inspired an entire generation.”

John Harrington shares a funny story about how Monte justified charging $30,000 to shoot an bride & groom’s ultra-exclusive wedding.

There’s a celebration for him in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, April 22, 2007 from 1-4 PM EST and all are invited — RSVPs are encouraged.

Those wishing to share their personal thoughts can voice them at montezucker.com →