Light & Land has announced a number of photography workshops in some brand new locations next year.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Light & Land Launches Photo Tours for 2011
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Samsung announces two wireless printers: the CLP-325P and CLX318FW
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Tags: CLP-325P, CLX-318FW, Samsung, Samsung CLP-325P, Samsung CLX-318FW, Samsung wireless printers
Samsung has just recently announced two new wireless printers to be released next month.
The CLP-325P and CLX-318FW both use polymerized chemical toner technologies, and can support up to 17 pages per minute in black and white mode or 4 pages per minute in color mode. They also have easy network support for connection to the user’s WiFi hotspot, and polymerized chemical toner can result in a 35 percent savings in electricity.
The difference between the two printers is that the CLX-318FW is an all-in-one solution for copying, scanning, and faxing with a built-in LCD screen and costs $400, the CLP-325P, on the other hand, is a basic printer for a price at $200.
Tags: CLP-325P, CLX-318FW, Samsung, Samsung CLP-325P, Samsung CLX-318FW, Samsung wireless printers
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Photographer?s Guide to the Leica D-Lux 5
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White Knight Press has just released a new title, the Photographer?s Guide to the Leica D-Lux 5: Getting the Most from Leica?s Compact Digital Camera .
Shape Collage
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Shape Collage creates picture collages from photos on your computer or from the web to make collages in less than a minute. With just a few mouse clicks photos are automatically and intelligently placed into any shape a user a wants. Users can design their collages in custom shapes - like a heart shape for a romantic touch or holiday shaped collages like a Christmas tree, Santa, or a Snowman.
ShapeCollage.com Press Release
ShapeCollage.com Offers Digital Photo Collage Gift Ideas to Create Lasting Holiday Memories
Surveys Show that Nearly Half of All Digital Photos Will Never Being Shared, Printed or Displayed. Shape Collage Offers Ideas to Transform Hard Drives Filled with Photos into Memorable Works of Digital Art - in Minutes.
Toronto, ON (PRWEB) December 7, 2010
ShapeCollage.com, the easy-to-use photo collage software, is encouraging people of all ages to share their photo memories of 2010 with friends and relatives this holiday season. ShapeCollage.com (http://www.ShapeCollage.com) offers a simple way to create unique personalized gifts - especially for last minute shoppers and for those who already have everything.
With the deadline for seasonal cards and unique, personal, meaningful gifts quickly approaching, Shape Collage has personalized options that can be created in minutes. Custom photo collages are perfect for creating cards, gifts and for family, friends, work colleagues and office parties.
“Users can quickly and easily transform their photo collections into personalized gifts or cards in minutes,” said Vincent Cheung, founder of ShapeCollage.com. “They can even print them from home, frame them and mail them as a thoughtful and original gift.”
Shape Collage creates picture collages from photos on your computer or from the web to make collages in less than a minute. With just a few mouse clicks photos are automatically and intelligently placed into any shape a user a wants. Users can design their collages in custom shapes - like a heart shape for a romantic touch or holiday shaped collages like a Christmas tree, Santa, or a Snowman.
“We provide an easy to use software that takes a messy folder filled with miscellaneous pictures and creates fun, personalized collages that friends and family members can print, frame and cherish for years,” added Cheung.
Examples include taking dozens of shots of your kids and building a quick collage to send to grandparents, or putting pet pictures in a custom shape to print up and frame, or travel shots printed in a collage as the cover of a travel album, or a year in review of all of the happy memories from 2010.
Users can adjust collage sizes, photo sizes, the number of photos and spacing between photos, backgrounds, photo border colors and more.
The Shape Collage software is a free download from http://www.shapecollage.com for Windows, Mac, and Linux with a pro upgraded version available for $25.00 USD. A free Facebook application is also available for users to share their collages with friends on Facebook. For more information visit http://www.ShapeCollage.com.
Photographers Needed to Shoot Maroon 5
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Talenthouse has launched a new project with Grammy Award winning band, Maroon 5.
16 Digital Photography Tips for Christmas
It’s just a few days until Christmas so I thought a quick tutorial on the topic of Christmas Photography might be appropriate. Hopefully this will give you some good Christmas photo ideas.
Here are 16 Christmas Photography tips and ideas to try that come to mind for digital camera owners wanting to capture the big day:
Making sure you’re ready to capture any planned event is part of the key to a successful shoot. Getting yourself ready but also the location of your shots is worthwhile.
Pack the camera – goes without saying? I forgot mine last year in the rush to get the car packed.Make sure your batteries are charged and you have extras and/or the recharger packed.Pack extra memory cards – have them empty and ready to fill upPut someone on ‘photos’ – our family has someone on drinks, main course, dessert – why not put someone on ‘photos’ so that in the craziness of the day they don’t get forgotten.Consider the light in the room that you’ll be photographing in. Is there enough light? Will you need a flash? Are the backgrounds too cluttered and distracting?Here in Australia we often celebrate Christmas outdoors, but many people around the world do it inside in unnatural lighting. Pay attention to what type of light you’re shooting in and set your white balance settings accordingly. Alternatively, if you’ve got a camera that shoots in RAW you can shoot away and set your white balance later.
While you probably can’t afford to hire a photo booth for your party you can set up a ‘portrait zone’ of your own where you’ll take photos of your guest.
I did this a few years ago and set up a little place where I asked everyone who came to sit for me so that I could take a nice shot of them.
I photographed everyone as they came in and then left the camera (a point and shoot) set up on a tripod and set to a short self timer time so people could photograph themselves during the rest of the party.
I set it up in a well lit position with a red velvet curtain looking background with a few Christmasy decorations around the edges. I left a few Santa hats and tinsel for people to decorate themselves with.
The shots were great – people went back to it throughout the party and the photos got crazier and crazier as time went on. It was the hit of the party.
The actual Christmas meal or party is obviously the best part of the day, but there are other photographic opportunities, particularly in the preparations stages of the day.
Food preparationPutting up decorationsWrapping giftsKids throwing a tantrum while getting dressed in their Christmas outfitsSetting the tableThe shots before the event starts properly are often great because they show everything at it’s best before everyone descends on your party zone.
Speaking of shots before the party starts, why not set up some before and after shots both of the place you’re holding your party and what it looks like afterwards. Make sure you take the shots from the same position.
I have one friend who set up his computer with a web cam in the corner of the room with the camera looking down on the Christmas table. He set the camera to go off every 5 minutes over the day and ended up with one of the most wonderful series of shots that I’ve seen for a long time.
Photographing Christmas lights is something that can be tricky to do. David Hobby from Strobist has put together a great tutorial on how to do it. Check it out at How to Photograph Christmas Lights.
All good shots should have a focal point that holds the attention of those viewing your images. The problem with Christmas is that there can often be too many competing focal points in shots with people, color, decorations, food in every shot. Work hard and de-cluttering your images. Check out this post on minimalism which contains some tips on de-cluttering images.
One of the most common types of shots at Christmas is the ‘group photo’. It’s usually taken at the end of the evening or day when everyone is looking at their worst. For a ‘fresher’ shot take it once everyone has arrived. Also think before hand about how you might pose everyone and where you might take the shot. I’ve posted 12 tips for taking a great group photo previously.
There are certain moments during a Christmas gathering that are filled with all manner of photographic opportunities and the opening of gifts is like no other in that it is filled with an array of emotions, facial expressions and excitement – especially if you’ve got kids around. Switch your camera to burst mode (sometimes called continuous shooting mode) and take lots of shots at this time of the festivities. You’ll find you end up with some excellent series of shots when you do this that capture everything from the anticipation of getting the wrapped gift, through to the excitement of unwrapping to the joy (or occasionally disappointment) of seeing what’s inside. Don’t forget to shoot the reactions of those who GIVE the gift as well.
One of the most common mistakes I see in Christmas photos (or any party/even photography) is that people often end up with shots of their subjects off in the distance on the other side of a room with lots of space around them. Fill your frame with your subject either by using your zoom or getting up and moving yourself closer. While this is one of the simplest tips I ever give it is one that can have the most profound impact on your shots.
- Another common problem with Christmas shots is ending up with shots where the flash is so bright that subjects look like rabbits in a spotlight with harsh shadows behind them. One way around this is to use some sort of a flash diffuser or reflector. If you’re lucky enough to have an external flash try bouncing it off walls or the ceiling. Another way to reduce the impact of your flash and to create some interesting effects is to switch your camera into ‘night mode’ (slow sync mode). This will tell your camera to choose a slower shutter speed but still fire your flash. In doing so it’ll capture some of the ambient light of the room as well as freeze your subject. Be warned, you can end up with some wacky shots doing this (but they can also be lots of fun).
Most digital cameras come with a macro mode and an increasing number of DPS readers are buying macro lenses so flick to that mode, attach your lens and photograph the smaller things around your party. Ornaments on the tree, table decorations, sweets in the bowl on the table, a nativity scene on the mantle piece, holly above the doorway – sometimes it’s these small things around your party that are the real ‘money shots’. Don’t forget our Macro Hacks for compact cameras.
I quite often shoot in Aperture Priority mode on a day like Christmas and am constantly changing the aperture depending upon my subject. For example when taking shots of a Christmas decoration on the tree I’ll select a large aperture (a small number like f/2.8) so as to throw the background out of focus, but on a shot taken from the end of the table of everyone sitting down eating I’ll choose a small aperture (like f/8 to f/11 or more) so as to have a larger depth of field and keep everyone in focus.
If your neighborhood is anything like mine there is an almost unlimited number of photographic opportunities presenting themselves all around you. Christmas carols services, houses covered in Christmas decorations, shopping malls filled with busyness etc. Get out there with your camera and capture it. What a wonderful time of year to practice using your camera. Have fun!
Here’s another tutorial and discussion thread you might like to read in preparation for your Christmas Photography this year.
Share Your photos - Looking for some inspiration or wanting to share you Christmas shots? Head to the Christmas Assignment in our Forums to see what shots others are taking this Christmas and to share some of your own images.Candid Photography – this tutorial on candid photography might be helpful as much of what you’ll be doing at a Christmas even will be in this style.Lastly – let me wish all Digital Photography School readers a very happy holiday period. It’s been a great two and a bit since we launched this blog and while I’m looking forward to a few days off over Christmas I also can’t wait to get back to DPS and to take it to the next level in 2009. Have a great holiday period and we’ll see you in the new year!
Ricoh GXR A12 28mm Review
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The A12 is a brand new unit for the Ricoh GXR camera system, which uniquely combines the lens and image sensor into interchangeable modules that slot into the GXR body. The A12 marries a 28mm fixed lens with a 12 megapixel APS-C image sensor, and also offers 4fps continuous shooting, 720p video and an ISO range of 200-3200. Costing ?529.99 / $699 for the A12 unit, read our Ricoh GXR A12 28mm review to discover if the combination of the GXR and the A12 is a winning one.
The A12 is a brand new unit for the Ricoh GXR camera system, which uniquely combines the lens and image sensor into interchangeable modules that slot into the GXR body. The A12 marries a 28mm fixed lens with a 12 megapixel APS-C image sensor, and also offers 4fps continuous shooting, 720p video and an ISO range of 200-3200. Costing ?529.99 / $699 for the A12 unit, read our Ricoh GXR A12 28mm review to discover if the combination of the GXR and the A12 is a winning one.
Save 30% on our Best Selling Portrait eBook: 12 Deals of Christmas (Day 8)
Welcome to the 8th day in dPS’s 12 Super Deals of Christmas.
Today we’re offering 30% discount on our best selling eBook – The Essential Guide to Portrait Photography.
This eBook it our original eBook and contains a series of articles on many different aspects of portraiture.
It was written with the beginner to intermediate photographer in mind and is all about equipping you with the ability to capture shots of your family and friends that have a little WOW factor.
Topics covered include:
How to bypass portrait mode on your cameraPhotographing ChildrenTravel Portrait PhotographyEnvironmental PortraitsPosing TipsWhat to Wear in PortraitsIntroduction to Portrait LightingPlus much more!What better way to get ready for those Holiday gatherings where there are so many portrait opportunities with family and friends.
Got a Friend whose portraits could do with some improvement? Download a copy and pass it onto them today.
For the next 48 hours we’re offering you a 30% discount on The Essential Guide to Portrait Photography.
To secure this discount simply add the coupon code of day8christmas in the shopping cart and then hit ‘update cart’ to have the 30% discount applied.
Over the weekend we had some great deals and because many of our readers were not around to see them we’ve kept them open a little longer – you have 24 hours on each of these three deals:
10 iPhone Apps for Every Photographer
By Mike Panic on 19 Dec 2010 in Random[ 0 Comments ]
Apple’s iPhone has changed the game, providing not only a pretty decent camera and HD video camera coupled with a fully functional computer. Here are 10 iPhone apps that are meant for photographers, but don’t always involve using the camera.
Simple DoF Calculator allows photographers to calculate the depth of field and hyperfocal distance for any given settings. It calculates the near limit, far limit, total depth of field, hyperfocal distance, distance in front of the subject and distance behind the subject. The app shows al those calculated values in a simple image without unnecessary information. Leave your slide rules and charts at home with this handy app.
A Gyroscope operated Bubble/Digital Level! Runs on the iPhone 4 or iTouch 4, using the internal Gyroscope for precise level measurements. Unlike other levels, this one actually uses gravity and can be utilized on all 4 axis points. While it may not seem immediately helpful, the first time you need to level out your camera or, for architecture shots, ensure the ground you are on is level, this app will seem indispensable.
While this app is not new, it keeps getting better. Never before have digital photographers wanted to re-create film types and looks, and now they can.
Digital photography never looked so analog. The Hipstamatic brings back the look, feel, unpredictable beauty, and fun of plastic toy cameras of the past! The Hipstamatic keeps the the quirks of shooting old school but gives you the ability to swap lenses, film, and flash settings all with the swipe of a finger.
This free app does just what you think it does, rotate photos. Why Apple didn’t include something like this is up for debate, but sometimes the gyroscope inside the phone doesn’t always orientate photos how you’d like them. This small, simple to use and free app will rotate photos for you and save them as a new image, leaving the original in tact.
This wonderful app will allow you to edit in phone to create miniature, tilt shift’esque images. It’s very versatile and a ton of fun to play with. Give your photos a completely different look with this app.
Beautiful! Strobox app is a lighting diagram creator for all types of photographers. Whether you want to repeat the same photo-shoot or share with others how you made that cool photo, Strobox app will give you just the right tools to do so. It generates PNG file that you can share with anyone as easy as by sending it by email within this app.
Allowing you to configure several different layouts, QuadCamera includes a timer to help get all the photographs setup properly. A fun app with great results.
Pano lets you take beautiful, seamless panoramic photos straight from your phone, no other software necessary. No extra editing, easy to use, everything we love about well written software. If you’re into panoramas, this is your app.
Warning, almost none of this app is in English, even the name in the iTunes store, but you really don’t need English to use it. What you get is a handful of film types and cameras that all create unique and different photographs. This app creates the photos, you can’t import already shot images. You can however choose which camera you want and load whatever film you’d like, ranging from black and white, to sepia to some other fun options. Great free app that is worth installing.
DSLR Camera Remote Professional Edition
DSLR Camera Remote Professional Edition is the next-generation cable release for your Canon EOS© or Nikon DSLR camera. Just connect your camera to a Wi-Fi enabled computer and you can instantly adjust its settings, fire the shutter, review images, even get a live viewfinder preview using your Apple iPhone or iPod Touch. DSLR Camera Remote is a must have for remote shooting applications like high or low angles, self-portraits and children. All you need is your DSLR and a Wi-Fi enabled computer to start shooting now.
The iPhone has, to many, replaced a traditional paper notebook and pen for jotting down notes because it’s so much more versatile, and these apps show just how awesome your phone can be to your photography. No matter if you’re shooting on your phone, editing in it or simply using it as a reference for your photography, these 10 apps will be as valued as your camera gear.
PercepTool 2.0.2
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- DigitalPixels.net
- DigitalPixels.net
MotionScan facial capture system could make L.A. Noire a video game hit
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Tags: L.A. Noire, motion capture, MotionScan
What you are seeing here in this video is how they created the Motion Capture for the face in L.A. Noire, a video game to be released in April 2011 by Rockstar makers of hits such as Red Dead Redemption and the Grand Theft Auto Series.
Much of the game is a murder mystery where you ask certain suspects questions. The makers of the game realized that it was the subtlety in facial expressions that would sell the actor’s virtual performance, so they found a way to create it using several gamers that shoot the voiceover actors faces from multiple angles.
The end result is something quite impressive, and shows how video games are slowly moving toward photo-realistic graphics.
Tags: L.A. Noire, motion capture, MotionScan
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Canon EOS 60D Firmware Update Version 1.0.8
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Canon have released a firmware update for the EOS 60D DSLR camera. Firmware version 1.0.8 incorporates the following fix:
1. Fixes a phenomenon in which captured images may become overexposed when using the camera’s built-in flash or an external Speedlite in combination with the lenses listed below:*
a) EF300/4 L IS USM
b) EF28-135/3.5-5.6 IS USM
c) EF75-300/4-5.6 IS USM
d) EF100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS USM
Website: Download Canon EOS 60D Firmware Update Version 1.0.8
Digital Photography Crash Course: Book Review
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Author of Digital Photography Crash Course Jeff Wignall describes his book as offering ?easy to apply two minute tips that will motivate you to improve the images you take…
At a pace of about one per page the tips come a?rolling until 100+ tips with accompanying pictures have passed your eyes. It caught me right from the start, with the first being some advice to always carry a spray bottle when shooting flowers in close up. Obvious huh!
Another that I liked was a page on shooting the moon, with some obvious advice: the correct exposure for the moon is the same as for a sunny day ? after all, the moon is only a reflector of the sun?s rays! Of course, you may want to capture some earth-bound detail, so you may need to adjust the exposure ? but beware of lengthy exposures. The moon moves!
Articulate LCD screens have a defined place in the photographic scheme of things: by placing the camera near ground level you can capture a carefully composed, bug?s eye view. Jeff tells all.
A related tip deals with using flash when shooting flowers:
The tips flow: dealing with bright colours: shoot late in the day when the sun is indirect: use the built-in flash and (if you can) select a smaller aperture (to improve sharpness), then leave it to the camera?s system to balance ambient and flash illumination.
There?s tons more in the book. In my opinion this is one of the more useful publications on how to shoot images successfully ? but I would suggest it could make an ideal app for an iPod or similar ? that way you could carry around this huge barrel of information with zero fuss. What do you think Jeff?
Author: J Wignall.
Publisher: Lark.
Distributor: Capricorn Link.
Length: 176 pages.
ISBN 978 1 60059 634 6.
Price: Get a price on Jeff Wignall’s Digital Photography Crash Course: 2 Minute Tips for Better Photos (currently 32% off at Amazon).
Post from: Digital Photography School
Child Photography ? Wardrobe Options for the Photographer
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I learned quickly that the difference between a good session and a mind blower could just be a scarf. A hat. A glove. To me, wardrobe far surpasses location in importance. As a photographer, it’s natural to have a large (if not complete) say in the location of your session. But you have little to no control over wardrobe and if you get the sense that your client isn’t on the ball with trends and fashion or even aesthetics, this can totally ruin your session. You can’t pull off a gorgeous country chic location with kids in football jerseys. You just can’t. And your clients might not think about things like how a girl’s tights will look off if they’ve got a small pattern or words on them. The viewer is instantly distracted by trying to figure out what the pattern is. So I have these options for my clients:
- At the very least, I talk to them about choice. I talk about patterns, large characters (Sorry Tigger no one wants you over their fireplace) and colours.
- In the mid-range of options, I can come to their home (if I have the time in my schedule) to choose the wardrobe with them or ask them to bring many options to the session for me to choose then.
- At the most (and most fun for me!) I offer my clients the option of paying me a retainer of ?100 per child to acquire pieces to mesh with the vision for the session. You can either provide the cash leftover or put it towards a print credit and all the items are theirs to keep!
Some photographers email story-boards of combination options and outfits to show them what they mean by ‘layering’ and ‘contrasting patterns and textures’.?This is by far the most tense portion of my job. Not knowing what they will show up with! Even with all the precautions in the world, I still bring a few pieces I’ve acquired on my own incase all else fails.
Good luck. It’s a jungle out there!
Post from: Digital Photography School
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