Trends In Professional Photography

Posted by chris on January 13th, 2012
photo of d4

There will need to be a compelling value proposition before the trend toward $6,000 cameras catches on - by Nikon

It’s not exactly a headline to proclaim that professional photography is changing and those who want to make their living will have to adapt. Professional photography is in a constant state of flux and has been for as long as I can remember.

Cameras get better with every generation, lenses improve, the bar on professional photographers constantly moves higher and higher, which begs speculation about where we’re headed today.

Some trends are already firmly established in photography. Wedding and event photography is going to continue to see a push toward immediate delivery and live streaming of photos. Certainly there are disadvantages and real challenges to real time posting of wedding photos, but that’s where the market is headed and, if you want to stay competitive, you’ll have to learn to adapt. The biggest challenge will be delivering quality photos with a minimum of post-processing magic.


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Fujifilm’s Sexy Retro Styled X-Pro-1

Posted by chris on January 11th, 2012

The Fujifilm X-Pro-1 combines sexy retro styling with an advanced chip that boasts 5D level resolution

Fujifilm is making a play for the retro rangefinder market with the interchangeable lens X-Pro-1. Sporting a new type of sensor and a choice of three prime lenses, Fujifilm is definitely making a statement. The surprising twist with the X-Pro-1 is with the popularity of mirrorless cameras Fujifilm decided to rely on a tried and side-mounted viewfinder and leaf shutter combination.

The big news is inside where the XPro-1 starts with a 16-megapixel APS-CX-Trans CMOS sensor. It’s a brand new sensor type Fujifilm claims will offer better resolution than a Canon 5D MK II. I’ll believe that when I see it, but it does eliminate the old Bayer pattern of color filters over the pixel layer and replaces them by 6×6 arrays of RGB filters in a semi-random pattern that is supposed to mimic film grain. The non-regular pattern reduces moire and the need for a low pass filter.

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iPhone 4 Takes Over As Most Popular Digital Camera

Posted by chris on January 9th, 2012

According to Flickr the iPhone 4 is the most popular digital camera

While Canon has the most cameras in the top five, Nikon takes the top spot with the D90 the most popular DSLR and the Apple iPhone 4 now taking over as the most popular camera.

This chart on Flickr tells the story, with the most popular camera models listed as:


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Nikon Flexes Video Muscle With D4

Posted by chris on January 6th, 2012
nikon D4

Nikon flexes their video muscles in the D4

For years pro DSLR video shooters scratched their heads over why Nikon basically ceded the high end video market to Canon, but it looks like those days are coming to a close with the introduction of the Nikon D4.

In a rare pre-CES announcement, Nikon released the specs of the D4 early. Compared to the D3, the D4 is more of an incremental improvement than a generational leap in technology. The camera is built around a 16-megapixel full frame sensor backed by the Expeed 3 image processor. The combination lets the D4 clip off shots at 10 fps with AF and AE or 11 fps with exposure and focus locked.

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Digital Workflow Part 1

Posted by chris on January 4th, 2012
backup drive photo

Drives like these Buffalo 1 TB Stealth drives mean no more excuses for not backing up your work!

Every photographer actually has two workflows to manage: The management of the physical media your images are stored on and the workflow associated with image processing. Today we’ll go over basic storage workflow and cover image processing in the next installment. Key elements of your digital processing workflow will be dictated by your image manipulation program, but physical storage will depend on how well you’re organized.

It’s good to get into a routine for workflow management that includes on and off site backups. I believe in making backups before moving them into my image manipulation programs. That way if I accidentally save over an image, the original image can still be recovered.

Starting these habits on day one when you get a new camera will prevent losing those first few photos from your new camera or having your pictures scattered around folders all over your computer.


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I Got a New Camera! Now What?

Posted by chris on January 2nd, 2012
50mm camera lens

A good 50mm lens should be one of your first purchases with a new camera

This time of year it’s not unusual to be bombarded with questions about what accessories to get with a new camera. Those can be difficult questions to answer because it depends on what type of camera you got, the brand and what type of photography interests you the most.

Fortunately, there are a few things you can get that won’t cost a lot of money and will prove very, very useful for the budding photographer. For our purposes here today I’m going to assume you’re fairly serious about photography as a hobby and have an SLR camera with the ability to change lenses. If you have a fixed lens camera, some of these suggestions will still apply.


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Baby Steps In Photography

Posted by chris on December 30th, 2011
camera photo

The camera you got for Christmas would have been classified military technology 20 years ago

Now that the holidays are past many of you are now holding in your hands some of the most sophisticated imaging devices ever created by man. As little as 20 years ago the digital camera you received for Christmas or purchased for yourself would have been so far advanced it would have likely been classified military technology.

Previously we covered the first steps you should take with any new camera. Today I’d like to pass along some tips for getting started in photography.

Learn About RAW

Learn about it but don’t feel like you have to start working with RAW images right away. Not every editing program supports RAW file formats and it’s not necessary to run out and buy a copy of Photoshop or Lightroom right out of the gate.


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Basic Five Point Studio Lighting

Posted by chris on December 28th, 2011
five point diagram

Basic five point studio lighting adds two kickers to the lighting mix

For this article I needed a studio and the assistance of a full time studio photographer, so I turned to Karl Leopold at imagesforever.net down in Melbourne Beach, FL. Karl was gracious enough to help out with this article and lend his expertise.

Last time we covered basic three point studio lighting today we’re going to kick it up a notch and add two more lights, called kickers, and see what difference that makes on lighting our subject.

Our gear:

A key light – Usually a softbox or umbrella. For this shoot we used an Alien Bees 800 in a Fomex rectangular soft box.

A fill light – Our fill is an Alien Bees 800 in a 48 inch Octodome.


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Understanding Your Histogram

Posted by chris on December 27th, 2011
histogram

This histogram shows a fairly balanced tonal range. Your options here are wait for the light to improve or HDR

Histograms are your friend and yet they’re one of the most under-utilized features on high end digital SLRs. Some people don’t know about them, others may not know their camera has that capability.

Most cameras have two types of histograms: Luminosity and color. Today I’m going to focus on luminosity and follow up with color in another article, although color also plays into the overall calculation because the human eye is more perceptive of colors in the green range of the spectrum.

At a simple level a luminosity histogram shows the distribution luminosity values from darkest to lightest. Vertical spikes in the graph show the distribution of brightness values in a particular scene.


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Get Better Photos Right Out Of The Box

Posted by chris on December 23rd, 2011
rule of thirds picture

This is an excellent shot that illustrates several of the suggestions mentioned here - The Rule of Thirds and a creative grouping

Considering there will be a slew of new DSLRs and digital cameras under the Christmas tree this year, this seemed like a good time to review guidelines for basic composition.

We’ve already talked about what to do after unboxing your new camera for the first time, and now is a good time to review basic composition so you can get better photos right out of the box.


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