Category: Digital Photography

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Having Every Photo I’ve Ever Edited With Me At All Times Thanks to Lightroom 5

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When Lightroom 5 Public Beta was introduced I recorded a video showing my Top 5 Favorite Features (see below). One of the features that I knew would be a game changer for me was the new Smart Preview feature. When you build “Smart Previews” for your images they are available even if the original RAW files, TIFFS, JPGs, PSDs, etc. aren’t with you. You can perform edits on them in the Develop Module and also output them for web/email as well as use them in slideshows. I was curious as to how much space these Smart Previews would really take up. Last night I did a test. I opened my Portrait/Models Catalog and built Smart Previews for every photo I’ve ever edited. What constitutes an edit? An edit in this catalog means that I retouched (edited) the photo in Photoshop and the edited version is a PSD file in my catalog. To identify these “edits” I built Smart Collections that organize my edits by year.

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I simply selected every image that I’ve ever edited as far back as 2006 (a total of 3,669 photos) and built Smart Previews for all of these images. Now keep in mind that all of the original PSDs but my most recent two shoots reside on my file server. They are NOT on my local hard drive in my MacBook Pro. However, I keep my catalogs with me in my Dropbox folder so that they are sync’d to my other Macs as well as backed up to the cloud. There’s no way that I’d want to house these 3,669 images on my internal drive. Nor would I actually have the available space even if I wanted to. However, there have been times that I’ve wanted to use these images in slideshows, email to clients or update my websites/social media presence with them. If Smart Previews would enable me to always have access to these images even if the originals are back in the studio on the server then I’d be elated. So the real test was how much room would the Smart Previews take up?

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I was shocked and thrilled to see how little space they actually took up! Also keep in mind that the above 1.73GB Smart Preview file also contains Smart Preview for other images in that Catalog besides the 3,669 I did last night. Now I will always be able to show and SHARE my work even if the originals are “offline”.

You can get the Lightroom 5 Public Beta here.



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What’s New In Photoshop CC, Illustrator CC, InDesign CC and Muse CC?

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Today Adobe took the wraps off all NEW versions of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Adobe Muse and more. The Creative Suite (CS) Applications have been rebranded Creative Cloud (CC). I’m here to give you your first look at these applications and to share my Top 5 Favorite Features in each one. I’ve created a Creative Cloud Learning Center playlist on my YouTube channel and added my four new videos to it. I’ll continue to add more videos on Creative Cloud in the coming weeks and months. The NEW CC versions will be available to Creative Cloud Members on June 17th.

Note: Currently there are no plans to add new features to Creative Suite. Creative Suite 6 will continue to be available indefinitely for those that aren’t ready or don’t want to go to Creative Cloud. Also Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Acrobat Professional will continue to be sold as perpetual licenses. This probably brings up a lot of questions and we’ve tried to anticipate as many as possible. Go here to get answers.

Continue reading “What’s New In Photoshop CC, Illustrator CC, InDesign CC and Muse CC?”

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Hands On With the New Rogue XL Pro Lighting Kit

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During a brief visit to my studio between business trips I got a chance to try out the NEW Rogue XL Pro Lighting Kit. I’m a fan of the Rogue FlashBenders and Diffusion panels. I keep a set in the outer pocket of my suitcase because they are completely flat when not in use. This means that on those occasions when I’m on the road and come across an interesting subject to photograph I don’t have to worry that I didn’t bring my usual, larger light modifiers.

The NEW Rogue XL Pro Lighting Kit Changes the Game A Bit

I have all kinds of light modifiers in the my studio and smaller ones for travel and while I always looked at the Rogue FlashBenders as “great in a pinch.” I’m now looking at this new Rogue XL Pro as more of a primary tool for my on the road arsenal. The first thing I like about it is the XL part. It’s large enough to achieve better results. The larger the light source and the closer it is to your subject the softer it will be. So larger is definitely better. I also like the versatility in using it either to reflect light or diffuse it.

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The kit comes with everything you need to set it up as a large bounce or as a strip bank softbox. It’s the use as a strip bank that I was most interested in. I use a large strip bank in my studio on a regular basis and I wondered how this much smaller one would perform. To my surprise it worked out even better than I anticipated. I typically use a strip bank to get nice rim lighting, but using it as a main light ain’t bad either.

Continue reading “Hands On With the New Rogue XL Pro Lighting Kit”

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How To Fix Teeth in Photoshop CS6

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In this episode of the Adobe Creative Suite Podcast Terry White shows how to remove the yellow from teeth as well as how to fix a gap. How to fix teeth in Photoshop.

Are you missing out on my Bonus Content?

See more of my Adobe Creative Suite Videos on my Adobe Creative Suite Podcast and get the App below. It features EXCLUSIVE CONTENT that no one else gets to see. This episode has a BONUS CLIP that is available only in the App! My iOS App is a Universal App for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. I also have an Android version on the Amazon App Store:

Learn Adobe Creative Suite with Terry White - Wizzard Media



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Lightroom 5 – A 1st Look and My Top 5 Favorite Features

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Lightroom 5 is here! Well at least in Public Beta form and I’m here to give you your 1st look. I’ll take you through my Top 5 favorite features of Lightroom 5. Lightroom 5 has some great new features and several minor enhancements. So by no means is this 1st look all there is to this new version, but these are the 5 features that got me the most excited.

 

Learn more about the new features of Lightroom 5 in this blog post from the Lightroom team. Grab the Lightroom 5 Public Beta here from Adobe Labs.

P.S. Yes David, this version has tethering support for the Nikon D600! 😉

Are you missing out on my Bonus Content?

See more of my Adobe Creative Suite Videos on my Adobe Creative Suite Podcast and get the App below. It features EXCLUSIVE CONTENT that no one else gets to see. This episode has a BONUS CLIP that is available only in the App! My iOS App is a Universal App for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. I also have an Android version on the Amazon App Store:

Learn Adobe Creative Suite with Terry White - Wizzard Media



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What I’m Teaching at Photoshop World This Week

Photoshop World

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It’s that time of year again. Time for me to head to Photoshop World East, which takes place this week in Orlando Florida. I’m looking forward to seeing you all there and I’ve got some new classes on tap that I’m excited about. I’ll be teaching two classes on the conference track. The 1st is my usual “Intro to InDesign” and I’m doing a new class on my “Lightroom Workflow from Start to Finish”. I’m also doing a new class on the show flow “How to build a Photography website with Adobe Muse” and as usual I’ll be in the Adobe booth from time to time giving sessions on Creative Cloud (Wednesday and Friday). I’ll also be in the Westcott and Manfrotto booths from time to time. So I’ve got a pretty packed schedule, but it’s one of the few conferences each year that I really really look forward to. Be sure to stop by and say hello. Also be sure to grab the newly redesigned Photoshop World iOS App for your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch complete with iCloud syncing.

Photoshop World Conference & Expo - Shawn Welch

 

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Tripple the Run Time of your Ice Light

I reviewed the Westcott Ice Light last fall and while this is a great, bright LED continuous light for photography, the one thing that hampers its use on location is the relatively short battery life of 60 minutes. If you’re near an AC outlet, no problem because you can just plug it in and run it for as long as you need. However, the point of most portable light solutions is that you can use them in the field on battery and 60 minutes for most just won’t be long enough for an extended shoot. Since the rechargeable battery is built-in there’s no choice but to plug the whole unit in once it goes dead. Westcott has addressed this shortcoming by offering an external battery.

The Ice Light Power Battery Pack

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This optional battery back can more than tripple the battery life of your Ice Light without being so big or so heavy that you wouldn’t want to travel with it. It’s actually quite compact considering the amount of extra juice you’re going to get out of it. Once you charge the battery pack you can use it to either power an Ice Light or charge it. The Ice Light Power Battery Pack runs for 2.5 hours and can give your Ice Light up to 5 hours total run time. Now we’re talking! 3-5 hours is great for the average half day shoot. Also if the AC plug is not right at the shooting location, you can charge the battery pack in another room and walk it over to the shoot in progress as needed.

Sounds great! However, my only issue with the solution unfortunately is the price. The external battery already adds to an already high priced piece of gear.

You can get the Ice Light Battery Pack here

You can get the Ice Light here.

Hey, Speaking of Westcott – check out my work in their New 2013 Interactive Catalog

See it here.

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Lightroom 4.4 and Camera RAW/DNG 7.4 Release Versions Now Available

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Lightroom 4.4 is now available as a final release on Adobe.com and through the update mechanism in Lightroom 4.  The goal of this release is to provide additional camera raw support, lens profile support and address bugs that were introduced in previous releases of Lightroom.

Changes to Existing Camera Support:

Lightroom 4.4  includes a correction to the demosaic algorithms for Fujifilm cameras with the X-Trans sensor. This specifically impacts the following cameras:

  • Fujifilm X-Pro1 (*)
  • Fujifilm X-E1 (*)
  • Fujifilm X100S
  • Fujifilm X20

(*) Based on user feedback, the default sharpening amount applied to Fujifilm X-Pro1 and Fujifilm X-E1 raw files has been increased between Lightroom 4.4 Release Candidate and the final Lightroom 4.4 release.

Lightroom 4.4 includes a correction to the demosaic algorithms for Fujifilm cameras with the EXR sensor. This correction applies only to raw images captured using the “EXR HR” mode with the following cameras:

  • Fujifilm X10
  • Fujifilm XF1
  • Fujifilm X-S1
  • Fujifilm S200EXR
  • Fujifilm HS20EXR
  • Fujifilm HS30EXR
  • Fujifilm F550EXR
  • Fujifilm F600EXR
  • Fujifilm F770EXR
  • Fujifilm F800EXR

Adjusted Nikon default white balance for the following camera models:

  • NikonD2X
  • NikonD2Xs
  • NikonD2Hs
  • NikonD200
  • NikonD40
  • NikonD50
  • NikonD80

– Fix default aspect ratio support for Fujifilm X-E1 raw files.

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My Recent Work in Print

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My shot of Kandice Lynn on the beach featured in the Spring 2013 issue of Oxygen Magazine.

As a photographer there’s nothing more complimentary than a major publication or company wanting to use your work to represent their brand or products. As “hobby” photographer that compliment goes up 1,000%. Photography has always been a passion of mine, but mostly a hobby.

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My shot of Amber Berry featured in the Spring 2013 issue of Ambassador Magazine – Perfect 10

One of the ways that hobby pays off is when I’m contacted by a publication that wants to use my work commercially or when someone wants to buy my prints or usage rights of my work.

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Westcott produced a 70 page show guide for the WPPI show using my images of Kandice Lynn, Lena, Aferdita and Briana.

Those are the times that make me feel like my work (which could always be better) is good enough to be considered “professional”.

Continue reading “My Recent Work in Print”