HDR – High Dynamic Range Photography

Website cambridgeincolour has a good tutorial on the technique of creating HDR photos from a series of bracketed exposures.  The result is an image with with incredible tonal range.

This is acheived using Photoshop’s built-in ‘merge to HDR’ feature, and then tweaking the results.  The tutorial is a little on the technical side, but very good.  Read the full article here.

Obama’s Official Presidential Portrait Released

President Barack Obama’s official portrait was released Wednesday on change.gov.  The portrait was taken by Pete Souza, the newly appointed official White House photographer.  It is the first time that an official presidential portrait was taken with a digital camera.

Since it’s digital, we can take a peek at the EXIF data:

It was shot Wednesday, Jan 13 at 5:38 PM with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II using a 105mm lens stopped to f/10.  Exposure was 1/125, and the ISO was 100.

Online Tilt-Shift Tool

I’ve been playing with this cool website for the past few days.  Tiltshiftmaker.com lets you upload a photo and then automatically apply a tilt-shift effect.  It basically makes your image look like a photo of a miniature model.When your file has been transformed, the site will let you download it.  Unfortunately, it also resizes it to 72ppi, so you can’t print from it.  However, I found a tutorial on Design Pitstop that shows how to get this same effect using Photoshop.  Have fun!

Brides Speak Their Minds About Photographers’ Web Sites

As a web designer, I found this article incredibly interesting – Photo District News asked three brides to evaluate the websites of five different photographers from around the country.  Their answers are thoughtful, and give valuable insight into what might be going through potential clients minds as they view your site.  In a nutshell, the brides interviewed wanted to see pictures, of course.  Large, easy to navigate pictures.  The other thing that they placed a high importance on was biographical info and photographers blogs.  Their goal in visiting sites was really to find a photographer that they felt comfortable with, and they are basing this on the photos that they see and the personal information that the photographer reveals.

What ways could this photographer improve their site?
Jendrek: I would put the portfolio work before the info because I want to see the work before I get into details.
Saba: Organize differently, make it more user-friendly. I thought the groupings and topics were helpful though.
Erb: Add more photos, and more personal information. It is best to find a photographer who has a similar personality to the bride and groom and I would like to see more of her personality on the website.

Read the entire article here.

ProPhotoShow.net Podcasts

ProPhotoShow.net has a nice collection of podcasts focusing on marketing, equipment reviews, shooting techniques, software, and a whole bunch of other stuff.  Their podcast archive is here, and I believe they can also be found on iTunes.

Setting your prices – a comprehensive guide for wedding photographers

I am often asked questions about pricing by customers that are relatively new to the field of professional photography. They are unsure what to charge, and aren’t confident that they are pricing their services competitively, while still ensuring that they can make a profit. The short answer is… it’s complicated. It depends on the region of the country that you are in – prices in the Northeast, for example, are usually a good deal higher than studios in the Midwest – your overhead, the amount of time you spend meeting with clients, shooting and processing images, and a host of other factors. A good place to start is to look at websites of other photographers in your area, and see the range of prices that they offer.

I came across this guide today by Stacy Reeves, a wedding photographer in Dallas, Texas. In her own words, this is “The Single Greatest Guide to Wedding Photography Pricing That Ever Was and Ever Will Be.” It covers every aspect of analyzing your business and its financial needs, and then using that information to set effective prices. But, I will warn you, it is comprehensive – 24 pages to be exact. Still, I think it will be helpful, and not only for new photographers, but for established studios, too. There’s a lot of good information and advice, and I think it’s great that Stacy took the time to write this guide and that she made it available for free so that others can benefit from it. You can download her guide in pdf format from here:

The Single Greatest Guide to Wedding Photography Pricing That Ever Was and Ever Will Be

Cooksey-Talbott’s Vertoramas

Ralph Cooksey-Talbott has been photographing and printing landscapes and nature scenes since the early 70s, when he studied with Ansel Adams.

Cooksey, based in California, is now working in a vertical panorama format.   He calls his images vertoramas, and I think it gives his landscapes a really unique perspective.

“As I made more panoramic images I rapidly realized that there was only so much room to display 4 and 6 foot images.

I then started looking at the world in a vertical format and started getting images that are 10-15 inches wide by 4 feet tall.

A number of these images have a 180 degree field of view and show the world from looking nearly straight down to a little more then straight up.”

His gallery has lots of great images, and he also blogs about shooting techniques.  Poking around on his sight, I was happy to see that he prints using the same Epson 9600 printer that we have here in the lab for making our giclée prints.  Check out his gallery for some inspiration.

ImagingUSA – Jan 11 – 13, Phoenix, AZ

If you are planning on attending the ImagingUSA trade show in Phoenix next week, be sure to stop by booth #1247 and say hello to Ken and Steve.  They’ll be showing and talking about LustreColor’s latest products and services, including the Big Package,  our complete wedding package featuring one bridal book, 2 parents books, and 8 mini books, for one low price.

PPAM January Seminar

Our very own Steve Sedman will be speaking at PPAMs seminar on January 19.  Steve will be discussing competition prints, including file preparation and lab communication, to get the best possible results.  Nancy Green will also be speaking about print competition that afternoon.  For more details, and to register, see www.ppam.com

Happy New Year

It’s that time of year again, when we all make resolutions – we’ll lose weight, quit smoking, learn something new, or just generally be better people. The New Year is a blank slate, full of possibilities, and I think it’s that promise of a new start that tempts us, year after year, to set such ambitious goals for ourselves.

In keeping with the theme of new starts, I thought it would be appropriate if my first post of 2009 covered the ways that you can give your computer a fresh start as well. More often than not, when I’m on a tech call with a customer they’ll complain that lately their computer has been running slow lately. “It’s probably time to get a new one” they always say. Maybe, but before you shell out hundreds of dollars for a brand new computer, let’s see if we can breathe some life back into your old one. You might be surprised by the results.

Remember how fast your computer seemed when you first got it? Now it takes forever to boot up, you can make a cup of coffee while you wait for a file to open, and lately it’s just been acting quirky – weird messages popping up, programs suddenly quitting, and you have the general feeling that something just isn’t quite right. Your computer still has the same speed and capabilities that it had when it was new. But just like a car, or your house, it needs a little regular maintenance. Before you go running out to buy a new computer, try following these steps.

1. Make sure that you are virus and spyware free

There are so many malicious programs out there, just waiting for an unsuspecting person to click on the wrong link so that they can infect your computer. The first step is to make sure that you have a firewall, an antivirus program, and an anti-spyware program running, and that they are all up to date. There are many free programs out there that are just as effective as the expensive ones you see in stores. Some good ones are Zone Alarm for a firewall, Avast for anti-virus, and Spyware Doctor for your anti-spyware needs. Download and install each program, and run a full system scan to ensure that your computer is clean.

2. Defrag that harddrive

When you use your computer for the very first time, it runs smoothly because the hard disk is still new and fresh. Once you install applications and download files, data is written in a single contiguous block. When you uninstall or delete them, that one huge block gets filled with empty areas. The subsequent data you save in your PC gets broken up and fills the gaps on the hard disk. As a result, the computer takes a longer time to read those files because it has to go from one location to another to access the data. When you defrag your drive, that data is reassembled into a continuous string, making it easier for your computer to find and serve up data. You should probably do this once every few months. Click on the “My Computer” icon, right click on your hard drive and select “Properties”. Click on the “Tools” tab and then click on the “Defragment Now” button. I’d recommend doing this at night, as it could take several hours to complete. Also, your computers performance will be noticeably slower while it’s defragging, so don’t try to run any other programs while it’s doing it’s thing.

3. Control your startup programs

A lot of software that you install will configure itself to run every time your computer starts up. Sometimes that’s convenient, but most of the time it just increases the time it takes for your computer to boot up. There’s a free utility called CodeStuff Starter that will let you take control of which programs start automatically when your computer boots. When you install and run the program, it will show a list of programs that are set to start when the machine starts. Simply uncheck the ones that aren’t necessary.

4. Delete old or unused files

You can usually free up a lot of space on your computer by deleting old or temporary files. Click on the “My Computer” icon, right click on your hard drive and select “Properties”. Click on the “Disk Cleanup” button. Check off each item you ant to remove, then click “OK”. Again, you should probably run this at a time when you won’t be using your computer, since it tends to take some time to complete.

5. Add RAM

RAM is the memory that your computer uses while you are running programs and accessing files. Adding more RAM will increase the speed and performance of your computer, and new RAM is quite affordable. It’s easy to install it yourself, but there are several different types, so consult your manufacturers website for the type that is compatible with your computer. If you aren’t comfortable installing it yourself, most major electronics and office supply stores offer some type of installation service. Check with the ones in your area to see if they can install it for you.

Well, there you have it… five easy steps to get your tired old computer running like new. Check back for more tips to help you have a successful and productive 2009.