Fall Into New England – A Photographers’ Seminar (reminder)

Fall Into New England – A Photographers’ Seminar Friday Oct 9- Saturday Oct 17 Instructor: April Bielefeldt

April Bielefeldt is a nationally-recognized, award winning photographer. She has lived in several areas of the country, but New England continues to be her favorite photographic destination. She has led photography sessions in Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire in the past five years with great success. She has a degree in Fine Art and Design, and has curated both art and photography exhibitions.

Read on – this is an opportunity you shouldn’t miss!

Fashion and Glamour Photography Seminar Sept 12

Fashion and Glamour Photography Seminar, Sept 12, 2009

Instructor: David Saffir

 

Location: Santa Clarita Valley Center for Photography, 28368 Constellation Road, 

Santa Clarita, CA 91355

 

We will have two professional models and a pro makeup artist on hand.

 

Fashion and Glamour Seminar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agenda:

 

Intermediate-level class intended for advanced amateurs, aspiring professionals, and working pros.

One-day intensive, includes live shoot and Photoshop classroom work

Two models, professional makeup artist

 

First Segment: (9-12:00): live shoot, preceded by discussion of pre-shoot prep, choosing a “look”, hair/makeup considerations (mostly logistics, such as stylists), venue, lighting, props.

 

Second Segment ( approx 1-2:30): continue live shoot, variations on style such as high vs low key, style changes, etc.

 

Third Segment: (3-5pm)

- Importing images

- Basic editing in Camera RAW (demo of Phase One software)

- Macro-to-micro editing in Photoshop

- Special effects and problem solving

- Finishing up

- Client presentation

- Basic printing tutorial

- Making test prints (live)

 

Fee: $195, plus small ticketing fee. Class size limited.

 

To complete your reservation, use this link to visit Evenbrite ticketing.

 

Thanks, and see you there!

Nikon Pro Guide to the D3 Camera

I’ve been searching around for a clear, concise document that explains some of the more sophisticated (perhaps I should say “complex”) features of the D3 and its cousins. I came across a very good document published by Nikon, that among other things, provides useage guidelines for the autofocus options on the camera. Here is a link to the PDF: http://tinyurl.com/kmt5av

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

link to my web site: http://www.davidsaffir.com

New Series: Getting It Right In the Camera – Managing Depth of Field

We have a new guest author joining us. Ted Dayton (teddaytonphotography.com) has decades of experience as a commercial photographer, shooting celebrities, fashion, stock, product, architectural, and others with great success.

 He is one of the best photographers I know, producing work that is distinctive and meticulously crafted. He is also President of the Santa Clarita Photographer’s Association, and a graduate of Brooks Institute of Santa Barbara.

 In this article, Ted discusses Depth of Field, one of the key issues surrounding the topic of “Getting It Right In the Camera”.

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Popular Myths About Camera Lenses and Depth of Field

There is a myth that wide-angle lenses provide more depth of field than long lenses.

I would like to set things straight, as some readers may still be believers. We tend to use wide lenses and long lenses very differently and our perception of their relative Depth of Field properties is affected accordingly.

Wide lenses seem to have more Depth of Field because we tend to use them in ways that do in fact provide a lot of depth of field. We tend to back away from our subjects so we can see a wide view of things. This distance-to-subject dynamic affects Depth of Field as much as aperture setting does.

The lens is focused closer to infinity than for close-ups, and all lenses and all aperture settings provide greater Depth of Field as the plane of focus approaches infinity. We also tend to stop down when using short lenses in order to include as much information (sharpness) as possible in support of our wide view of things. So, we think of wide lenses as providing the greatest amount of Depth of Field.

With long lenses, we tend to shoot closer to a wide-open aperture for many reasons. Stopping down requires longer shutter speeds, which lead to shaky pictures if taken hand-held. Long lenses are harder to hold still and faster shutter speeds that are accessible when shooting closer to wide-open solve the problem.

And, long lenses are great for isolating distant subjects from other elements, especially if we use them, ahem, wide open. And so we think of long lenses as producing less Depth of Field than shorter lenses because most long lens photos we take do have shallow Depth of Field.

But it isn’t so!

Try this exercise on your own: put some common object like a basketball on the table in the backyard and take pictures of it with lenses of all focal lengths. Shoot all of these pictures at the very same aperture and fill the frame the same amount with the ball in every single frame.

Look closely when you edit and you will see the same amount of Depth of Field in every frame regardless of focal length, because of two things: the aperture setting didn’t change and the size of the ball in the frame didn’t change. This test is easier to understand if you use a fairly large aperture, like f/4. If you focus on the nearest part of the ball with a 28mm or a 200mm, the rest of the ball behind the plane of focus will be equally out of focus no matter which lens you use! (note: we did not provide an image example because we feel it is important for readers to perform this exercise and see this for themselves – David)

Summary

Depth of Field is a function of aperture setting PLUS the distance from the camera to the subject. You will soon discover that aperture setting is not the only reason why backgrounds are nice and soft or too much in focus.

The relationship of the distance from:

• camera-to-subject
• camera-to-background
• subject-to-background

 ALL affect how in- or out- of focus the background appears.

 Backgrounds far away when the subject is close to the camera will be very out of focus and backgrounds close to the subject will be much more in focus.

 Said another way, the closer you get to the subject, the more you must stop down the aperture in order to see a given amount of Depth of Field. 

The farther the camera is from the subject in focus, the closer to wide-open you can shoot while still getting deep Depth of Field. As I said before, distance-to-subject has about the same effect on Depth of Field as aperture setting. How we use our lenses creates our perception that they don’t all behave the same way, but the laws of optics and 35 years of experience say that they do!

Ted Dayton, Valencia, CA

NOTE: NEW PHOTOSHOP WORKSHOPS TAUGHT BY DAVID SAFFIR – First session is Turbo Portrait Retouching, July 19, Santa Clarita, California. For more info, go here.

New Workshops – Turbo Portrait Retouch, Landscapes / Scenics, Book Publishing

Updated: Photoshop, Adobe Camera RAW, Bridge, Lightroom.  
Image Editing, Printing, and Publishing for Photographers

This is a multi-session series that enables photographers and other artists to use Adobe image editing products effectively and efficiently. I use a goal-oriented, hands-on approach. Sessions are divided into segments which focus on important issues. You’ll go home and get results! 

Course materials include a CD with example lessons, and image files. 

CLASS SIZE LIMITED TO 20. EARLY SIGNUP IS ENCOURAGED.

•Session One, Photoshop – Turbo Portrait Retouching, July 19 COMPLETED

•Session Two,  Landscape and Scenic Imagery, July 26

•Session Three, Design and Create A Photo Book, August 16

Event Location: SCV Center for Photography

28368 Constellation Road, Suite 340, Santa Clarita 91355

 

WORKSHOP TWO: EDITING LANDSCAPE AND SCENIC IMAGERY IN PHOTOSHOP

July 26, ‘09, 9 am-5 pm. Session fee $79 before applicable discount. Location: SCV Center for Photography, Santa Clarita, Calif.

Laptops encouraged. Students are also encouraged to bring their own images to work on.

Topics Include:

-Tips and Tricks in Camera RAW – get that image ready for prime time!

-Matching color in multiple images

-Full- Frame Color – fast track to whole-image color control

-Selective Color – adjusting selected colors to make an image “pop”

-Lighting – adjusting luminance of the entire image, orselected areas

-Creating that cool 3D look- dimensionality and depth with two key Photoshop tools

-Recovering highlight detail, restoring shadow detail – two techniques for success

-Poor man’s HDR – combining exposures for extra bounce

-Create front to back depth of field and sharpness – landscapes and close-up shots

-Intelligent Sharpening – crisp details, no halos!

-Converting to Black and White – using color adjustments and filters

-Choosing print media for appearance, longevity, marketability

-Providing a Professional Certificate of Authenticity with each print sold

 

 PRICING AND REGISTRATION INFO HERE

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WORKSHOP THREE: DESIGN AND CREATE A PHOTO BOOK

Aug 16, ‘09, 9 am-5 pm. Session fee $79 before applicable discount.

Location SCV Center for Photography, Santa Clarita, Calif.

Laptops encouraged. Students are also encouraged to bring their own images to work on.

 

Topics include:

-Matching your work to a book design – large or small? wide or tall? and more!

-Creating a theme – subject, color palette, storytelling

-Choosing images

-Matching images that share a page or spread

-Creating the cover, and each page, including layout options

-Imag editing for your book – step by step

-Preparing your book for printing

-Managing costs through good design

-Selecting a book printing service

-Distributing your book – as a product, and as your portfolio

 

 PRICING AND REGISTRATION INFO HERE

 

 

All content © David Saffir, Santa Clarita, CA all rights reserved.

Managing and Archiving Your Photos

Managing and Archiving Your Photos: Part One: Organization 
by guest author Robert Ash

About the author: “Known data warehousing expert Robert Ash heads a global product management team at a leading  software company. He has 15 years’ experience working with the world’s largest data warehousing environments. His customers have won the past two awards for running the world’s largest mainstream commercial databases, plus other industry awards for data warehouse architecture and administration.”

Also an accomplished photographer,  his work has also earned high critical acclaim from top industry experts. His work hangs in company lobbies and in private collections. His online portfolio can be viewed at www.pbase.com/robertash 

Introduction

 This is first in a series of articles that will review options in managing and archiving your photos. Closely related to the overall topic of Digital Asset Management, “Managing and Archiving Your Photos” will show you options available, how to choose what is best for you, how to build a management structure with reasonable effort, and ensure that your system can be used pretty much regardless of which software you choose.

Overview  

We have all felt, from time to time, that managing our digital photos can be difficult, time-consuming and confusing. Organizing photos on disk is the first and most important step in digital asset management. I designed the method shown here to:

• Make photos easy to find, even years later
• Require minimum effort to maintain
• Provide flexibility to easily use any program you choose, or to use multiple programs (Bridge, Lightroom, etc.)
• Keep time spent embedding and updating keywording to a minimum
• Reduce computer time needed to search for an item or items

Summary

Organize images on disk the way you’ll most likely, or most frequently, want to retrieve them. Make your program reflect your on-disk structure then add the minimum additional structure needed

Details

At a fundamental level, there are two ways to organize images – time-based and subject-based.

Most writers prefer time-based organization, typically by year – create a folder for each year then sub-folders beneath it. That works if your workflow is time-based and you typically don’t need to retrieve images after you’re finished with them.

Organizing by year frequently requires duplicating your subject structure for each time period (e.g. 2008 Gorillas, 2009 Gorillas, etc.), which can be a big time waster.

 Here is my approach for working by subject:

• On your main volume or drive, create one folder Photos to hold all images. That allows full backup with drag and drop of one folder. (more on backup and storage in articles to be published in the near future).
• Under Photos create a small set of major category folders. Suggestions include Locations, Nature, People, Events, Other Subjects, Personal Projects, 0-Personal&Family. (I use 0-Personal&Family instead of just Personal&Family so that category will sort to the top of the list. )

 Here is how my largest sized category, Locations, is organized:

You might have a main folder United States, a sub-folder of California, then perhaps Los Angeles as a subfolder of California if you do much photography there and want more fine-grained division for that specific folder.

 You can also add subfolders at any time and any level you want. Just add one new folder and move relevant subfolders into it. Note that year is the bottom category, not the top one, because for me it’s the least important for look-ups and it’s placed where it makes sense for me.

 My other folders are organized like this:

• add any categories or subcategories you want or need
• Animals>Bears>Canada>BritishColumbia
• Canada>Wildlife>Bears>Grizzly>Angry Grizzlies

Strengths/Limitations

 This method drastically reduces the number of keywords needed for image look-ups because the major keywords are already the folder names. All Alaska or Lion or Sunset or Still Life or Weddings images are in a folder that is labeled with the appropriate name.

 Programs like Lightroom allow you to go to your Alaska folder or Juneau folder and see all your Alaska (Fairbanks, Juneau, Sitka),or Juneau (2003, 2006, etc.) or Lion (Tanzania,  San Diego Zoo, etc.) images at once.

 Even better, you can use any program you wish to access the images easily without having to duplicate your major keywords in all the programs, as they’re included in the folder names. (I like this idea a lot – David)

 So if your main program’s catalog gets corrupted or accidentally deleted you can still find images easily.

 Finally, you only need to create each major category once (e.g. Alaska) instead of looking for Alaska in 2007, Alaska in 2009, etc. plus having to remember you didn’t go there in 2008.

 This method will not solve issues like finding all the images including Trees in Munich in Parks in 2007. No on-disk organization method can do that. That level of detail requires keywording, and the most specific the lookups the more keywords required. That requirement either marries you to one program or requires duplicating keywords.

 However, this method can still be of great help if you need to use a different program and can’t duplicate all the keywords. In that case it’s like requiring looking only through the M’s or S’s or Aa-Ae in a telephone book instead of searching the whole book for that year.

If you need to categorize by year as well then programs like Adobe Lightroom allows automation of that through “Smart Collections”, which we can explore more in the next article, Capture and Import.

Robert Ash

Quick Selective Sharpening Technique In Photoshop

Sharpening images can be a challenging task. One of the issues involved is the choice between sharpening the entire image, or sharpening only the areas that will really add to image quality.

This is a cropped portion of a portrait taken a few weeks ago. It is shown at roughly 100%, or actual pixels. Some very basic adjustments have been made, such as color and contrast. These layers were consolidated into Group 1.

In the next step, I duplicated Group 1. This command is found under Layer > Group Layers. Next, we will duplicate the Group, by selecting the duplicate Group (blue highlight) and
using the command Layer > Merge Group. This merges the underlying layers in the group into one new layer. See the illustration below this one, and note that the group has changed to a normal layer.

 

I’ll sharpen the layer using a technique which may be new to some. Go Filter>Other>High Pass. Set the intensity to 2.o, and click OK.

 

Change the blending mode of this layer to Hard Light (see Layer panel).

 

 

Now for the best part: First, we are going to create a layer mask which hides this sharpening effect. Select the Layer (blue highlight) and Go Layer>Layer Mask>Hide All.

 

Next, left click on the layer mask (black box next to the layer thumbnail. You’ll see a highlight, or “picture frame” appear around the layer mask. Select the Brush tool, and set opacity to 100%.

Now, set the brush color to white. The easiest way to do this is to press the “d” key, which will select the default brush colors. You’ll see a black and a white square appear at the bottom of the tool bar. Left click once on the white square to select that color.

 

Use this brush, set to soft edges and sized appropriately, to paint on the black layer, using the white colored brush. (I have used a red circle to show this brush clearly). This will “reveal” the sharpening you have created on the layer. You should brush over the eyes, eyebrows, mouth, edges of the nose, ears, and if desired, the hair/hairline. Do not brush over the wider skin areas, as these will usually appear to be too sharp, making the portrait unattractive.

You can set the brush opacity to 100% for full effect, or a lesser intensity for less sharpening. You can also change the sharpening layer opacity to a lower amount if you find the sharpening effect is too aggressive. Make a test print, and enjoy! (btw, with a bit of practice this takes < 1 minute).

 

 

New Workshops here

More on the Added Value of Your Certificate of Authenticity

This new article (which I authored) is posted on the HP Pro Photo Blog, you can access it via

this link: Add Real Value to Your Fine Art Prints

New Course Catalog, Santa Fe Workshops 2009

Santa Fe Workshops has published its new Course Catalog for Summer / Fall 2009. You can find the PDF here:

santafeworkshops.com/userfiles/SFPW09SumFall_brochure.pdf

New Photoshop Workshops Scheduled in July in California can be found here.

 

Santa Fe Workshops

 

Image from “The Joy of Discovery”

another image from my new book, “The Joy of Discovery”, just for the fun of it! Shot w/ Hasselblad H-series, 35mm wide angle, Phase One Digital Back, used sandbag for a camera rest.

 

 

New York, New York