Archive for Weekly Tips – Page 2

HDR Images with HDR Efex Pro from Nik Software

By admin · Comments (0) · Monday, January 3rd, 2011

I have been experimenting with Nik Software’s new HDR Efex Pro.  I am really liking the results and the ease of use in using this new software.  Nik has also incorporated the U-Point technology that is in many of their other programs, so making local adjustments instead of global adjustments is very easy.

If you are interested in purchasing the software, then head over to www.niksoftware .com and during checkout, put in the discount code of SCVPHOTOCENTER and receive a 15% discount on ALL Nik products.

Here are a few examples using the new HDR Efex Pro software:

Mel_Carll_Hackberry-1

Mel_Carll-3

Mel_Carll-2

Mel_Carll-

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Show your camera some love

By admin · Comments (0) · Saturday, January 1st, 2011

Show your camera some love.  Always clean your camera after a shoot.  You take it out in to the world and ask it to capture some amazing images for you.  It gets exposed to the air and wind and dirt – maybe even some sea mist.  Give it some TLC afterwards by using a clean, dry cloth to wipe away the dirt and grime.  When necessary, take it in to your local camera shop for a thorough cleaning – including the sensor.  You can, of course, clean the sensor yourself, but this can be tricky business and cause major harm to your camera.  Unless you are 100% sure of what you are doing, do not attempt this at home!  Take it to a professional.  When you take care of your camera, it will take care of you!  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at the SCV Center for Photography.

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Check your Settings….

By admin · Comments (0) · Saturday, November 27th, 2010

Check your settings!  Make it a habit – before you go out on any type of photo adventure, check all of your settings.  You will never be plagued with images shot with the wrong exposure.  So make sure you check:

  • ISO
  • White Balance
  • Shutter Speed
  • Aperture
  • Bracketing
  • Exposure Compensation

At the end of a shoot, always restore your settings to the same each time and you will know where you stand.  It can be very easy to finish a shoot, put your camera away and then download your images – but wait!  Don’t forget to restore your settings, so you are ready for those great photo ops at a moment’s notice.

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Wedding Workshop Wrap-up

By admin · Comments (0) · Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

On Sunday SCV Center for Photography hosted our Wedding Photography Intensive workshop with the awesome Wedding Photographer William Innes as our fearless instructor for the day.  The dedicated group started at 8am, yes, on a Sunday morning, and the entire group was early at that.  By 9am the group was shooting our totally decked out models Sarah & John, who did a fantastic job.  We were back in the studio b early afternoon for lunch and Q&A.  After lunch, it was all about workflow and editing the images from the day.  By 5pm the group was spent, but thrilled with the images and new found knowledge.  To see more on the workshop and about our totally awesome instructor, head over to http://williaminnes.com/blog/

sarah garage door bw

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Silhouette Photos

By admin · Comments (0) · Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

In looking at some photos on the web today, I noticed a lot of silhouetted photos on the beach that really made me think about how little I have seen this in our local photography.  So after doing some looking into my own images, I realized that I have done some of this, but really not enough lately, so I thought I would post some basic thoughts in creating a nice silhouette.

  • The basic idea is to place a strong subject in front of the bright light, which can be a person, tree, building, animal, whatever it is that interest you.
  • Make sure you great light behind your subject, and that light needs to be brighter than the light hitting your subject from the front, or foreground light.
  • It helps it you have a nice plain background, no clutter, nothing that could distract your viewers eye from leaving the main subject in your image.
  • Do not use any flash from your camera.  You are trying to make your subject go black in the image, although you will want some detail, but just enough so that you know what the subject is.
  • The most difficult part is the exposure.  Use spot metering, and point it at the brightest part of the image, as this will under-expose your subject.  If your subject is too bright still, either speed up the shutter speed or change the aperture.  So if your aperture is currently at f8, adjust to f11.  And then just continue to adjust to you get the image you are looking for.

Making a silhouette can lead to a great image, both in bright daylight, or even at sunrise or sunset.  So get out there and make some images, and if you need additional inspiration or assistance, check out our workshop schedule at the SCV Center for Photography via our website www.scvphotocenter.com.

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Shooting Ideas…..

By admin · Comments (0) · Thursday, August 5th, 2010

There are times when your photographic creative juices fail you, and you just can not come up with any ideas of what to photograph, but you want to photograph.  Here are a few ideas for you to consider:

  1. Your Yard:  You may think this is funny, but your  yard is a target rich environment.  Most of you are likely to have flowers, roses, herbs or plants.  These items always make great macro subjects.  And don’t forget the grass, which first thing in the morning with dew and sunlight can be pretty pleasing.
  2. Your House:  To be more specific, the kitchen.  Consider those hanging pots, or the many utensils you have laying around.  If you just look around, you may be surprised what you see.
  3. Park:  Most us have a park fairly close to home.  The kids play area always has some interesting objects, that might be interesting macro shots.  The kids playing, laughing and running are great photos to send the grandparents.  You may even be lucky to have a water fountain or other textures to consider.
  4. Industrial Park:  Take a drive though the local business park.  Check out the textures on the building, as they can make for some interesting abstracts.  A lot of businesses have some pretty nice landscaping, so again, flowers, plants and even water treatments can make for great photos.
  5. Farmers Market:  Most towns today have a local farmers market, and this can be an awesome place for photographs.  You should always ask the vendors if they mind having the produce photographed, but generally, most have no problems.

Hopefully these tips can you help you jump start your creative juices on those slow days.  Enjoy, and keep shooting.  If you are interested in other ideas, please log onto our website at  www.scvphotocenter.com and check out our many workshops each month at the SCV Center for Photography.

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Ansel Adams photos found at Garage Sale

By admin · Comments (1) · Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

You have read that correctly.  A Fresno man purchased 2 small boxes 10 years ago for $45, negotiated down from $70 and now reports are coming in that they could be worth upwards of $200 million.

According to the story, 65 glass negatives created by Ansel Adams were believed to have been destroyed in a 1937 fire that had destroyed over 5,000 plates.  The plates were created sometime between 1919 and 1935 and included his iconic locations of Yosemite and San Francisco.  It is thought that Ansel had used them to teach a photography class in Pasadena and then stored them in a warehouse and never reclaimed them.  The original boxes were purchased in a warehouse sale back in the early 1940′s prior to being purchased again in a garage sale in 2000.

So if you are out garage sale hunting, you never know what treasures you may come across.

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Studio Rentals

By admin · Comments (0) · Friday, July 9th, 2010

Just a reminder that the SCV Center for Photography rents our studio space for your studio projects.  We rent in 2 hour blocks.  Our rates start at $120 for the first 2 hours and the per hour rate drops as you add additional hours. This rate also includes 1 of our backgrounds.  If you don’t have lighting, we can handle that as well with our studio lighting packages.  So if you are looking for space to photography that special project, give us a call.

Our space is also available for rent for meetings, classes or corporate training events as well.  We have tables and chairs available for meeting rentals as well.

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Landscape Photography Tips

By admin · Comments (0) · Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

With the weather turning so nice, everyone is grabbing their cameras and heading outside to photograph.  Here are a few tips to remember or consider with Landscape Photography:

  • Always include a Foreground and Background in your composition.  Give your viewers something that takes them all the way through the photograph.
  • Use a Tripod.  As your shutter speeds get long, you will need a stable tripod to capture those great images. Using a tripod will also give you a sharper image.
  • Consider using a Polarizer.  This will help in avoiding the unwanted reflections, not to mention it will deepen the blue in the sky.
  • And last, share your photos.  Don’t let your photos die on your computer or memory card.  Post them on your blog, print and share them, email to friends and family or even post on Facebook.

So get out there and photograph.  The weather is great and there are tons of images just waiting to be captured.  If you are unsure as to how to start, well then consider a workshop here at the SCV Center for Photography as our instuctors are committed to helping you capture the moments.

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Fireworks

By admin · Comments (0) · Friday, July 2nd, 2010

With the 4th of July just around the corner, here are some quick tips to get the shot:

  • First, you must use a tripod.  Shooting fireworks will require a longer exposure, so a tripod is a necessary requirement.
  • Next, set your aperture to f11, as you want a fair amount of detail due to the distance between you and the fireworks.
  • You should set your camera to manual mode.
  • Start with a shutter speed of about 3 seconds.  Check your display screen after taking a shot.  Adjust your shutter speed based on what you see.  If it is too bright, increase the time to maybe 3.5 seconds.  If you camera has bulb mode, use a remote and then you can adjust the exposure based on your own preference.

Enjoy and have a safe 4th of July weekend.

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Too busy to schedule a class? Do you learn better one-on-one? Do you have a lot of specific questions and don't want to disrupt a classroom full of students? Then one-on-one training may be for you. Learn Photoshop, general photography and DSLR skills, composition, or flash and strobe techniques in individual workshops, custom-tailored to your needs. Available at the Center, or on-site at your corporate location. Prices start at $75/hour.

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Current Newsletter

Were heading into the dog days of summer and it seems everyone is either getting ready to head out on vacation, or like me, just returning from a photography trip. I was catching up on more than 1200 emails and one in particular caught my eye, a short article talking about 5 tips to shake up your travel photography from Jim Maher. Below is the short version of that article that we hope you enjoy and helps spur some great images in the very near future:

Forget the stock photos and focus on daily life: Sometimes when we are in a beautiful place all we can think about is taking photos of the beautiful architecture, the monuments and the wonders that we travelled to see. But these things are not necessarily what gives a place its essence and its soul. Stop and think about how you feel. What is creating that feeling?
Combine the old with the new: We all want to photograph another time period. So try and seek out moments that combine the old with the new - that pay homage to the past but update it with a modern twist.
Turn your camera away from the sunset: Sunsets are beautiful, but can be cheesy. Over the course of a couple of hours, the light from a sunset will constantly change colors. Set up your tripod, relax, and take identical shots of your surroundings with the different color pallets. Frame them side by side on your wall, and they will look stunning.
Combine a simple detail shot with a great story: Shooting one single frame that says everything is a very powerful image. Finding that image may not be easy, but when you do, you will know it!
Capture the locals: It is the locals both people and animals that give most destinations their true feelings, so go out and capture them!

If a one on one workshop is more your style, we can customize one just for you. Just give us a call. And remember, SCV Center for Photography workshops make great gifts.