Category: technical

Video tutorial delayed

Jason2 Comments

As the Thanksgiving holiday recedes into the past, a few lingering tasks remained so the tutorial that I had planned for production tonight is not complete yet.  But, never fear, fellow photogs, I have something to share.  It seems recently that there has been a lot of focusing (bad pun) on photoshop techniques, yet we have these amazing devices that can really do wonders if we know how to use them – called cameras.  As a service for those that could use some additional explanation, and as a refresher for the rest of us, I’ve put together a paper on determining the best apertures and shutter speeds for various compositions.  Check it out below.  In the meantime, happy shooting, and I promise a tutorial will be available for viewing tomorrow.  Until then…enjoy the written word!  

apertures-and-shutters.pdf

Postscript:  As an additional thought – I keep a cheat sheet of this info in my camera bag as a reference chart for what different apertures and shutters accomplish at each stop’s setting.  If anyone would like a copy (it’s laminated and easy to fit in a side pocket), email me and I’ll get you a hard copy.

Creating re-sizing actions in Photoshop

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For those who like to create actions for their own work flows in Photoshop, I’ve created a set of re-sizing actions that I use pretty regularly to resize image from their camera raw settings to either 800px or 600px on the longest side. It took a bit of manual, but simple math, and then some tedious manual size adjustments, but the results are far better than anything you would get from a one-stop adjustment tool (unless of course it’s another action). If you’d like to see the completed action, just drop me a line and I will be happy to share the action on an as-requested basis. Thanks again for tuning in, and enjoy the podcast!

Ready and raring to go…

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The new mic has been set up and all accessory components are also in place.  I recorded a test podcast tonight to basically do a sound check and hear the audio quality.  I must say that a condensor microphone has far and away better quality than anything I had tried via USB or stereo mini connection.  I guess it would be with a diameter more than 10x that of the rinky-dink ones in Best Buy and Wal-mart, and that requires its own power supply source!

The latest podcast should be out tomorrow with the new audio gear in place – the subject:  Photoshop selection methods.  Should be a fun subject to explore and I’ll be showing three different techniques to use in concert with one another for obtaining the best selections you can.

An amateur audio adieu and adios

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Funny store I thought would be worthy of sharing on the blog today…

As a blogger about photography, the last position I thought I would do is find myself in is spending my hobby monies on audio equipment, but… since I never really do things halfway, I decided to invest in some additional audio accessories. Until recently, my techno-phile tendencies were limited to two Windows-based PC’s, a Linux box that acts as a file/print server, and a Canon DSLR with a complement of a solid tripod, 3 accessory lenses, replete with multiple CF cards and gear bags.

A month ago, I added a Macbook Pro to the tool belt, and quickly saw the benefits of adding a peripheral keyboard and additional audio tracks, so saved some monies to bring that into play. Now, as I crawl up the underside of that learning curve, I decided it would be silly to keep recording the audio tracks on inferior gear ($20 combo headset/microphone).

So, I entered the audio realm full bore. First off, a Samson condenser mic. (This came with the keyboard actually as my birthday monies combined well to cover the cost.) After that, another wave of funds covered the accessories to both mount the microphone to a wall with two goosenecks serving as my “poor man’s boom”, and connecting cables to patch the audio to the computer. Filled with exuberance, I plugged the mic in and got set to record my first video podcast with new tracks and audio setup.

Much to my chagrin, the mic did not work.   After about ten minutes of troubleshooting, and a phone call to B&H to confirm my suspicions, I learned that condensor microphones require a dedicated power source, often referred to as phantom power supplies. Another investment on the order of roughly $40, and I am just about there.  However, the powersupply is another day or two away from arrival, so my next podcast will still have the popping “p”s and “b”s, but I am happy to say, it will be the last recorded at the “amateur audio level”…

So….in my next podcast (coming out tomorrow), I will bid an amateur audio adieu and adios!  (You  had to know the alliteration would return eventually!)  In any case, be on the lookout for another podcast soon – digital framing!  Enjoy the weekend all and happy shooting!

The Debate over LCD Screen Resolution

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Had been doing some reading lately and was noticing the Canon vs. Mac debate taking and interesting turn.  It seems the Nikon bodies have always sported a higher LCD resolution on their bodies, which allows for sharper picture previews than their Canon counterparts, on similar screen sizes.  I’ve not really looked at the numbers side by side, but this raises an interesting question.

On the one hand, any increase in resolution that helps you with review, possibly to even re-shoot without having to go back out and re-creating the scene later would seem like a good thing.

On the other hand, there does seem to be a long standing tradition regarding using LCD’s to review or “chimp”.  I’ve heard some people say that the LCD screen is really intended for menu selections and settings, and quick checks for nothing more detailed than basic composition, white balance, and histogram checks.

I can see the merits of each argument, and am grappling with the subject myself…so, I’ll pose the question here:  Is screen resolution important to you?  It’s pretty obvious that screen SIZE can make a difference, but if resolution is important too, then that kind of begs the question of what purpose the LCD screen serves in your processing.?  Would you consider it just another tool in the arsenal for photographers, or would you frown on people that zoom in on the LCD screen to see how sharp things are?  I can see how it could be an effective tool, but at the same time, how great would any decision be that is based off what you see on a 3″ screen versus a 19″ or better monitor?

What are others thoughts here?

Tuesday’s Tutorial – Creating Actions in PS

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While I don’t have a regular schedule for releasing content, tutorials or otherwise, the alliterative bonus of having a tutorial on Tuesdays tastes terrific to tongues. And…since i posted it before midnight, it technically was released on Tuesday, even though it’s 11:20pm! Well, what was neat about this was that on my weekly visit to Photoshop User TV, Matt Kloskowski showed how he created an action for curves adjustments in LAB, and this same technique is what I used for the sharpening aspect of my work flow. While I also have the LAB action assembled, I had split that up into three different ones (one at 3 hashes, one at 2 hashes, and another at 1 hash). Check out the video on their weekly blog post here: Photoshop User TV. I gotta admit though, it was kind of cool though to see a technique I use also be showcased in the tip from the likes of Matt Kloskowski. So, in keeping with the use of layers adjustments as a means of applying different effects repeatedly for evaluating images, my tutorial follows the same theory, but applies it to sharpening rather than curves.

It’s kind of long (12 minutes) because I went through every step, AND I left a mistake in intentionally to show how you can edit an action while you are recording it! Take a peak at it here: Creating a Sharpening Action in Photoshop

As for consolidating the curves adjustments from 3 to 1 using this technique, I actually will pass on that because for me, I am usually pretty close in my “guesstimation” of what will work, and I just want the action to do that for me, not multiiple layers of different curves adjustments. Sharpening is tougher though, so I think it’s more valuable as a method in that regard. We’re all different though, and that’s what makes the world go around, so if you like it, go for it! Enjoy and have a great Wednesday. Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn’t give Matt the courtesy of a link to his site on Lightroom Killer Tips. Check them out too…I am always learning from this guy…

Canon News and Reviews (with a few rebates)

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As an admitted Canonite, I’ve not done much in the way of noting new products Canon has released since the 40D and 1D Mark II have been released. Despite the absence, there has been quite a bit of activity from Canon, including some new point-and-shoot reviews, paper releases, and, (wait for it) the announcement of their fall discounts. In the interests of full disclosure, here is a rundown of some of the latest news from Canon’a Press releases and other sources (in no particular order):

Polished Rag and a Coated Bond Paper are released at the NYC PhotoExpo

Two new “L” lenses expected at PhotoExpo Show: 200mm f2.0 IS and 800mm f5.6 IS

Free Paper Profiles for Canon imagePROGRAF Printers release

New Selphy ES2 Compact Photo Printer

Canon SD870 IS Review

and, of course, Canon’s Fall 2007 Rebates:

85 1.2 II – $125
16-35 2.8 II – $100
70-200 F/4 IS – $75
17-40 f/4 – $50
70-200 2.8 IS – $125
50 1.2 – $100
EF-S 17-55 IS – $70
70-200 f/4 – $40
100-400 f/4.5-5.6 – $100
24-70 2.8 – $80
EF-S 10-22 – $50
85 1.8 – $25
50 1.4 $20
60f/2.8 macro – $30
580 EX II Speedlite – $50

The good news?  They’re all instant from authorized resellers….

The bad news?  No bodies are included this year…

A link to the PDF files is here

Applying Gradients to Text in Photoshop

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Another tutorial has been uploaded and is ready for viewing. This tutorial shows how to use layers to apply a gradient effect to text inside of Photoshop. With the layers, you can preserve the text and the gradient independently of one another for future editing and customization, depending on the need and use. Check it out by visiting the tutorial page for it today:

Applying Gradients to Text in Photoshop

As always, feedback, comments and ideas are always welcome either here or via email: Jason AT Canonblogger DOT com! Thanks for tuning in and happy shooting!

Type Tool Tricks

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Today’s treat talks truthfully to type tool tricks! Terrific! I love alliteration, in case you couldn’t tell! All joking aside, since shorter videos seem to generate more interest (5 minutes or less), I’m trying to keep it under 5 minutes per video, so check out the latest one today, on manipulating text in Photoshop. Today’s is kind of neat because it shows a not often used (at least to my knowledge) palette – the character palette! Here the video shows how you can stretch a font across the width of the entire image without changing the font size or type (horizontally scale the text in other words). Check it out:

Type Tool Trick

Largest Print Size

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While there are many “rules” to photography, some have more flexibility than others. When composing images people often try to adhere to the Golden Mean Rule, or the Rule of Thirds. However, there is always the matter of subjectivity and creative differences in how one approaches composition.

The Largest Print Rule, by contrast, is not one of those rules. It’s pretty much standard, and accepted. So, what is the Largest Print Size Rule? Popular Photography recently re-released this (their September 2007 issue), as part of the Twelve Rules of Photography. Since they didn’t really attach more than the formula to the rule, I took a few minutes and gave it some real world usage by inputting some numbers. Basically, it tutorial for today is a one page write-up of the real world terms for this rule, and a chart for ease of reference (using Megapixels, image dimensions, and print sizes). Feel free to download it for reference, by following this link: here. Thoughts and feedback are always welcome.