Tag: Digital Photography

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Adobe Releases Photoshop Elements 9 and Premiere Elements 9 for Mac/Windows

Adobe just took the wraps of the NEW Photoshop Elements 9 and Premiere Elements 9. Aside from the usual great new features this is the first release of Premiere Elements on the Mac! Woohoo! Here are the highlights:

Photoshop Elements 9

Premiere Elements 9

  • Now for both Mac and Windows
  • Animation Style Presets (like cartoon)
  • Share videos easily on Facebook
  • Optimized HD Editing!
  • Native HD support from DSLR video, Flip cameras and more tapeless formats
  • Easily fix Audio Problems
  • See the new features in action here.

 

Order Photoshop Elements 9 here

Order Premiere Elements 9 here

Save money and order the Photoshop Elements 9 and Premiere Elements 9 BUNDLE here.

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New Nikon D7000. Now we’re talking!

Yesterday Nikon answered my wishes for a replacement to my Nikon D5000 (and D300 before that) travel camera. My wish was for a small rugged body that offers DSLR video at 1080p, stereo mic input and continuous autofocus while shooting video ain't bad either. I looked at the D3100 was tempted, but once my buddy Jeff Revell pointed out that it lacked bracketed shooting (which makes HDR much much easer), and that was pretty much a deal breaker. It also lacks a mic input. However, the D7000 has everything I want. It's actually more of a replacement to the D90 than the D5000. Although the D5000 was newer, the D90 had a more rugged water resistant body. The D7000 brings Nikons latest technologies to bear.

 

It offers:

  • a 16.2MP DX-format CMOS chip
  • HD Video up to 1080p 24fps (20 minute clip limit – up from 5 minutes)
  • Full-time Auto Focus while shooting video <- if this works well it will be HUGE!
  • a respectable 6fps continuous shooting mode
  • ISO range from 100 to 6400 (expandable to 25, 600 in HI2 mode)
  • Twin SD (SDHC, SDXC) card slots – great for copying, shooting video to one stills to the other or RAW to one and JPGs to the other.
  • Optional MD11 external battery grip 
  • Built-in HDMI out and stereo mic in
  • GPS support (external module required as before)
  • Full specs here.

 

Yep, this is the one I've been waiting for since last year. 

The Nikon D7000 lists for $1,195 and you can place your pre-order here.

 

Continue reading “New Nikon D7000. Now we’re talking!”

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Join Me on the Westcott Top Pro Tour

Westcott just announced their Top Pro Tour! This is your chance to join me and my fellow Westcott Top Pro Photographers as we teach our favorite lighting setup and various digital photography workflows around the country. My tour stop will be in Michigan on October 7th and while that's still a couple of months off, I didn't want you to miss the other cities that may be closer to you. The tour officially kicks off on September 12th and runs through November 17th.

 

This is your chance to see, touch and learn various lighting setups from some of the nation's best photographers.

You can find out more details here.

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How Would You Change the Nikon SB-900?

As a Nikon shooter, when people ask me why I use Nikon over the other brands I tell them that I really am not into the religious war between the various camera brands out there. I bought a Nikon D70 (upgrading from an Olympus EN-20) back in the day because at the time the specs met my needs and of course once you start investing in lenses you're pretty much locked in. So honestly I don't really care what you use. I don't! If you're a Canon shooter and you're happy with your gear, more power to you. That's great! Go out and take great pictures because that's what it's all about anyway. Once I get past the story about how I started, I then tell them that now that I am a Nikon shooter there are a couple of things that definitely keep me with Nikon over the other brands (besides the lens investment). One is the integrated GPS support in the Nikon DSLRs.

Although I wish the GPS chips themselves were built-in to ALL CAMERAS, I do appreciate the fact that I can buy the GPS module of my choice and just plug it in. The Nikon DSLRs will automatically record the Geo location information into the metadata of the images (both RAW and JPG) and there's even a menu for it right on the camera.

The other thing that I LOVE is the built-in support for wirelessly controlling the Nikon Speedlights.

If you have a Nikon DSLR that has the Commander mode/feature built-in, then the pop-up flash can be configured to send out a pulse (instead of/or in conjunction with a flash) to not only fire the Nikon Speedlight remotely, but also control the power output directly from the back of the camera. You can even control different groups of Nikon speedlights turning the power up and down as needed. This way you can put the lights on stands or anywhere you want around your subject.  If your Nikon DSLR doesn't have the built-in Commander, you can buy an external one and put it in your hotshoe.  I use both these features all the time and would miss them dearly if I were to switch brands. I started with an SB-600 Speedlight. Then I bought an SB-800 and then an SB-900. I have and use all three when needed. The other night I was having dinner with some fellow Nikon shooters and we got on the subject of the SB-900. We all agreed that in many ways the SB-900 was actually a step backwards from the SB-800. So the question becomes…

 

How would you change the Nikon SB-900?

Yes, I know you would drop the price to $99 🙂 So let's move on to the features. We all agreed that the one new feature that is VERY NICE is the simple selector switch to switch the light from being a Flash to a Remote Flash. So simple and so long overdue. On the previous models you'd have to dig through the menus to make these simple choices. Beyond that it was hard to come up with things we liked better. The SB 900 is bigger than the 800, but yet doesn't put out any more power. It just makes it harder to fit it into your existing cases. Also Nikon still only puts the sensor eye on ONE SIDE of the speedlight. While you can swivel it around, it would GREAT to have this sensor on BOTH sides or make it RF based instead of requiring line of sight. We can assume that Nikon is probably working on the their next Speedlight and here's what I'd want:

  • Either give me a sensor on both sides or make it RF based
  • Make it smaller or give it more power. Pick one!
  • Give me the option of buying an accessory that allows me to plug it into the wall! If I'm using it inside and power is available why should I have to use AA batteries.?
  • Lower the price a bit. It's hard to justify buying more than one of these when you can get strobes for the same price!

 

How would you change the SB 900?

You can get the SB-900 here from B&H for $459.95 (List price $570)

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What a Difference a Flag Can Make

The other day I was in the studio taking some portrait shots and for some reason I was getting lens flare left and right. I thought to myself I've done this lighting setup more times than I can count and I just don't remember ever having this many lens flare problems before. Then it dawned on me that I hadn't setup any flags.

I typically have a second light off to the side behind the subject as a wrap around light or hair light and normally I have a homemade flag (it's just a big piece of black cardboard) separating that second light from me. In other words the light is lighting the subject, but not directly shining back into the lens. Once it hit me what the problem was I just moved the light until the problem went away. I was being lazy and just didn't feel like digging out my flag and setting it up. This is definitely the wrong way to do it. I should have put the light where I wanted it and then flagged it. I think that part of the problem was that my makeshift flag is big and a pain to get to stand up on its own. I realized at that moment it's time to invest in some "real" flags. I have nothing against do-it-yourself-solutions. However, when the solution becomes too much of  a pain that you sacrifice the setup you want as a result,it's time to come up with something better. So I took the advice of my buddies over at D-Town TV and ordered the Matthews 24×36 flags.

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Are You Sharing Too Much on Facebook?

compliments of iStockphoto.com

My buddy A. J. Wood alerted us all to the fact that Walmart now has a Facebook Application that allows people to print their photos directly from Facebook to Walmart. Nothing wrong with that right? While on the surface that seems pretty harmless, it does open up photographers who post their images online, perhaps in hopes of drumming up more business to having their images printed by the people that they tag in the photo without their knowledge or consent. There has always been a lot of controversy surrounding Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy. However, the way I see it is that if you're really that concerned about someone ripping your photo off, then you probably shouldn't put it online in the first place. Nonetheless, A. J. offers a simple way to fix this one issue on his blog.

 

Control Your Content On Facebook

I actually like Facebook. Although I'm on Flickr, Twitter, and other sites, Facebook seems to be the popular choice of my friends, family co-workers, clients, fans, and just about everyone else I know and that's both a good thing and a bad thing all at the same time. Like I said above, if there is a photo that you don't want someone to steal, then you probably shouldn't put it out there. However, the same kinda thing goes for just about everything else. There's a fine line between what you might feel totally comfortable with sharing with your friends vs. if your employer (or potential employer) were to see it. We joke around, we post funny pictures, we might even make off the cuff comments, and it's all good until it's seen by the wrong person. 

I'm actually teaching a class this September at Photoshop World in Vegas, on…. "Why you should be on Facebook." The class is really aimed at Facebook from a business use scenario and how being there can help bring in more new clients. However, one of the things I'll be addressing in that class is how to control who sees what. 

So without giving away the whole class here, I will share one tip with you for now:

 

Use Lists!

I LOVE the Facebook "Lists" feature. When you choose Edit Friends from your Account Settings, you have the ability to create lists and add your friends to those lists. You can create as many Lists as you need to. For example, perhaps you have a list called "Close Friends and Family", or "Co-workers" or "People I actually know" or "Immediate Family", "Classmates", etc. Once you have these lists setup, you can use them to control just about ever aspect of your Facebook page AND YOUR PHOTOS. For example, perhaps you only want your "Close Friends and Family" to see personal pictures taken at your home and of your children. Perhaps you only want the "People you actually know" to see your Wall Posts. Maybe there was a company picnic and you only want your "co-workers" to see those shots. Get the idea? Although you have a mixture of "friends" on Facebook, you can still control who sees what. 

Here's how to do it for a photo album: First create the album (or you can use an existing one). Then choose Account->Privacy Settings. The click Customize Settings and from there click Edit album privacy. Now you can go to the Album that you want to change and set the privacy for that particular Album to a specific or multiple lists and only those people will be able to see those photos. 

Happy List Creating and I'll see you in Vegas!

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Scott Kelby’s Lightroom 3 Book is Shipping!

Scott Kelby has released his NEW Lightroom 3 Book for Digital Photographers and just like his last book on Lightroom, this one is a must read as well. Scott uses his usual straight-forward, I'm talking to one of my friends style to walk you through the ins-and-outs of be productive with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3. I know the amount of time that Scott puts into his books and not only does he find just the right words to explain a topic, but he also spends a great deal of time finding and shooting just the right image to make his point.

You can order your copy here at a discount.

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Mamiya Lens Hood – Because it looks cool!

Every DSLR Lens I have ever purchased has come with a Lens Hood. The Lens Hood serves a couple of different purposes. First and foremost it helps prevent lens flare when you're shooting towards a light source and secondly it provides a little extra protection from the occasional bumps that your lens may encounter as you walk around. These are reasons alone enough for me to always shoot with mine attached. 

 

If your lens comes with a Lens Hood then why would you buy one?

Although the Lens Hoods I've gotten with my various Nikon lens have all been decent, there are a couple of 3rd party lens that I'm not as happy with the supplied Lens Hood. Even with that being the case I was never in the market to actually "buy" a different lens hood. The ones that come with the lenses good or bad, do what they are supposed to do. However, at the last Photoshop World Conference I saw a couple of my buddies using the Mamiya Lens Hood and at first glance I even questioned whether or not they if they were shooting with a "NEW" lens. I asked because for some reason the Mamiya Lens Hood looked more (and I don't know how else to put this) "professional". It looked as if they were using some new high-end lens that I hadn't seen yet. When I found out that it was the same 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens that I already owned, my next question was "hey where did you get the cool lens hood?" NAPP had featured this lens hood on D-Town before and they told me that every time they do, it sells out! I had always intended on ordering one, but like many things in my life I got busy with my day to day work and completely forgot about it. That was until I ordered my NEW Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII lens. I figured that was the perfect time not only to get a new Lens, but also a New Lens Hood.

 

What makes this Lens Hood so cool?

Continue reading “Mamiya Lens Hood – Because it looks cool!”