Monday, January 05, 2009

IN THIS ISSUE

TESTIMONIAL OF THE WEEK

PHOTOGRAPHY SUMMIT: FEB. 28TH!

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LEARN TO MASTER LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY

At BetterPhoto, we have some great courses on landscape photography, including:
- Nature and Landscape Photography: Composition
- Creating Depth in Landscape Photography
- The Digital Landscape.

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THIS WEEK'S TIP

Backgrounds: They Can Make or Break a Photo ... by Jim Zuckerman

Top Ten Tips
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Featured Gallery

© - Alex T. Mizuno

Updates From BetterPhoto

Photo Q&A

1: Photographyng Glassware with a Strobe

Hi!
Is it true that we cannot photography glass ware with a strobe? Personnally, I tried with my strobe attached to my camera and there was reflection. I tried then witout my flash and there were not reflections. Thanks!

ANSWER 1:

Hi Denise,
I went to a glass museum last summer and was able to use my tripod. Because of the in-house lighting, I had to position my camera at an angle where the reflections were minimal but using a tripod, I was able to take longer exposures which allowed me to get the capture. I didn't use any flash, just the lighting the museum was providing.
On my website/galleries/glass album - I have some of these photos posted.
A light tent or diffuser would help immensely.
Good Luck,
Carlton

ANSWER 2:

Hi Denise,
Just to expand on what has been said. Glass transmits a significant amount of the light that hits it, often on the order of 90%. It is the reflected part that causes trouble. We have similar problems with camera lenses, which is why we use coatings that reduce reflection. In order to get a good shot of or through glass, the light should be at 30º to 45º to the line from the camera to the subject. Depending on the piece of glass a large light source would work better than the small light source of an on camera strobe. You might find this article interesting: www.siskinphoto.com/magazine/zpdf/Projector.pdf.
Thanks, John Siskin

2: Problem with Batch Rename in Bridge

I have used the "Batch Rename" feature in Adobe Bridge about a million times. I always use it to rename my Raw images before changing them to JPEGs. ... this time instead of leaving the file extension as .NEF, it changed them all to unix executable files that cannot be opened in Photoshop. I had backups so I can recover, but I still need to rename the files, and I really don't want to do it manually. Has this happened to anyone else? I didn't change anything before renaming ... any advice would be greatly appreciated!

ANSWER 1:

You never really want to change the extensions on an image file. If you do something like change a .TIF to .JPEG, it is still a .TIF and Photoshop will try and read it as a JPEG and fail to do so. In your example, you rename to something other than NEF, which Photoshop will be using to identify the files, and you will likely not be able to open them. Why not just rename them all back to [whatever].NEF?
If there are other identifiers you need there, add them in sequence, like:
[whatever]_[identifier].NEF
or
[whatever].[identifier].NEF
I think you can have 4 "." before Photoshop or elements starts choking on them (on mac or PC, I can't remember). Underscores you can have more of but there is a file name limitation for cross compatibility of 30 characters.
The only reason I can think that Adobe uses the extension rather than a more sophisticated means of IDing a file type (there used to be a great program for this, but it was expensive, and pretty much all it did was identify and open poorly stored image files) is that it is easier and less expensive for them.
But what is the purpose of renaming the Raw file? You might want to open and then save as something else ... but renaming you are just making a copy of the same thing, and you already have backups from what you say. What is the goal of renaming

3: Studio Lighting Kit

Hey Guys,
I'm thinking of buying some studio lighting. I'm a beginner, but would like something that I can do some portrait photos in my basement. I have the backdrop, but the simple light that I put together doesn't have a lot of power. It's a 300w bulb (incandescent), but my shutter speed has to be at 1/50 with the aperture set at 5.3 for anything to turn out. Could someone take a look at the link below and give me your thoughts? I don't have a lot of money and I think this would be a good start, but would like some advice before I buy it.http://www.ritzcamera.com/product/301600680.htm?bct=t13031003%3Bcidigital-cameras-and-accessories%3Bcistudio-lighting%3Bcistudio-light-kits
Thanks so much.
Rich

ANSWER 1:

Hi Richard,
This is not very powerful, but you could do some decent work with it. There are two and a half important things about lighting. The first is color, and this will give you decent color, unlike fluorescent lights. The second is the size of the light source, a small light produces hard shadows and a large light produces softer shadows or no shadow. The problem is that it takes more power to make a soft light: spreading the light on a umbrella or other reflector reduces your light. The half thing is position, it’s much more important with a small light than a large light. I usually recommend people get a strobe with at least 500 real watt-seconds. It gives you more options. It might be good to start with just one light and see how that works for you. Thanks, John

4: Function of a Monopod?

I received a monopod for Christmas. I've never used one and am curious about how they work. I assume you have to hold onto it while taking a photo. Is that a correct assumption? Do they work for very slow shutter speeds?

ANSWER 1:

Teresa,
While not as stable a platform as a tripod, the monopod serves a purpose.

1) Lighter than a Tripod
2) Easier to move the camera around
3) Easier to carry (smaller)
4) Support for heavy lenses

"Very slow" shutter speeds is relative.

You will be able to shoot slower speeds compared to hand held, but to a point.
How slow you can shoot will depend how ingenius you are. I've seen people prop the monopod against a structure or even wedge it in a rock crack. LOL
Sports photographers primarily use them to support those heavy lenses.

ANSWER 2:

Just to add:
I use a monopod frequently - and in certain situations, more often than a tripod depending on what I am shooting. Mostly I use them walking around where a tripod is impractical but I know I'll still want support. A good example would be shooting a parade from the crowd - it would be silly to try and get a tripod set up ("excuse me, pardon my tripod leg a moment, won't you?"). I also like using them in some situations where I shoot with a short DOF with a manual fixed-focus lens where moving the camera is easier and quicker than focusing, yet I still want some support. But that's a personal preference.
Some monopods come with a base that can make them free standing, but I have not ever let go of my camera when it was on a monopod (Pete's examples are interesting). Instead, I have both tripod and monopod available with the same head and quick-release so I can change to one or the other as necessary.

ANSWER 3:

A monopod will provide only vertical (up and down) support of the camera and lens during exposure. The front-to-back and side-to-side stability will depend upon your own steadiness.
It's wise to prop your monopod up against something sturdy like a rock, tree or fence post to increase stability.

1: How to Get a Copyright Symbol

How do you create the copyright logo in Photoshop on a laptop/notebook computer that doesn't have the ten key pad? Thanks!