Get the Goods: Two new must attend classes!

I'm psyched about some new classes being offered this month through Illuminate Photography Workshops.

Camera RAW: The Basics (followed by Camera RAW 2) taught by Master Retoucher, Photoshop Guru and Adobe Certified Expert, Armando Martinez is first on the list. Running Sept. 13, the three hour workshop will help me learn some tips to quickly process RAW files using Adobe Photoshop. I gave up a long time ago on including Lightroom in my post-production workflow. I work exclusively in Photoshop now and end up spending most of my time in Camera RAW -- only opening up Photoshop proper for some specific edits. I KNOW Mando will hook me up with some new tricks that will help speed up my editing even more.

Meanwhile, Event Photography, on Sept. 21 and 29, taught by Illuminate director Efrain Cruz and Photographer Jim Turley, will build on my own growing foundation on event coverage experience. Denver's central location and amazing outdoor activities continues to draw events ranging from concerts to conferences. My event photography coverage has grown so much this year alone that I even thought about specializing in it over portraiture. I have been the official photographer for the National Brotherhood of Skiers summits held in Colorado for the last three years. And this year, I was the official photographer for the Council on Foundation's Annual Conference held in Denver featuring numerous keynote speakers including Former Vice Pres. Al Gore. Check out my COF photos featured on this wrap-up page.



White House adviser Valerie Jarrett talks to philanthropists in Denver.

I went from shooting during mid-day on a snow-capped mountain to deep inside a dark and cavernous dance hall during this year's NBS coverage in Winter Park. Dealing with security, quick uploads and an insane pace during the COF conference left me exhausted for days afterwards. Instructors will give students techniques for overcoming challenges such as shooting in low light, scouting difficult venues, and satisfying organizations. Plus, we will get some hands-on training when we are invited to shoot alongside our instructors at a real event for a local non-profit!

Class sizes are kept small, so sign up today here! Would love to meet some of you.

Get the Goods: Attending a Nude Maternity Workshop

Tonight I will be attending a pregnancy shoot hosted by the Artistic Photography of Denver Meetup at the North Denver Photography Studio in Northglenn. Cellista the model is about 8 months pregnant and has posed nude for both art and photography classes. Here is a great shot of Cellista taken by IFD Photography in Boulder.



I'm really excited to be able to working with someone who is comfortable with nude photography. I think adding several tasteful shots to my portfolio will be an inspiration for mothers to be who might have been skeptical about this kind of portraiture before. I've been wanting to practice more with the use of light and shadows in nude photography. Here is a similar shot I took with Mandy earlier this year. Mandy has since delivered her beautiful baby.



For just $25, I get two hours with this model during the Meetup which has been limited to only 7 photographers so each of us have the time to craft our ideas. Plus, the smaller group setting ensures that photographers won't need to be fighting for access to the sweet spots when we find them. It's also going to be another great opportunity to keep practicing with strobes and remote triggering with Pocket Wizards. I hope to be able to capture images like this from Ottawa photographer Paul Couvrette:



If you haven't already, consider joining the dozens of Meetup groups being hosted by experienced photographers, models and makeup artists. They are great opportunities to network, meet new friends and get some experience and shots to make you a better photographer.

Breaking News: New Dell arrived today!

Thank God! My new Dell Alienware computer arrived today! It was sitting there all nice and pretty in a larger than life black box in front of my desk at the Denver Post. It's gonna take two people to help me get it downstairs to the garage and into my car.

The forced vacation time gave me a chance to rest after a busy spring shooting special events. But after a few days of not being able to edit, I thought I would pull my hair out! Dell customer service said it would take up to 15 days for them to build my new computer and ship it, but they made extraordinary time, getting to me just eight days after a technician declared my XPS 710 could not be repaired. Dell is no longer producing that PC and didn't have any parts to replace the dead motherboard and power supply.

Friend and fellow photography colleague Tiffany Trott has offered to help me transfer my files from the XPS hard drive to the new Alienware hard drive. And I can't wait to see how Adobe Photoshop CS5 will behave on a new Windows 7, 64-bit operating system. For the past few weeks, I and numerous other CS5 users have been coping with a "Not enough storage is available to complete this operation" error that causes Bridge to seize up after editing photos for about an hour. I would have to reboot my entire computer once Bridge froze. Some have said that Windows and extra RAM prevented the issue. Meanwhile, Adobe technicians have since discovered that a Norton security program may be causing the memory error. Check out the forum conversation here.

Again I'd like to express how pleased I have been with Dell customer service. Don't skip out on those extended warranty plans. Because I was still under warranty, I was able to get a brand new computer for free. And my clients get the benefit of a new computer for faster editing and process return times.

Now let's get this baby out of the box!

Get the Goods: A brand new Dell powerhouse desktop!

Wow! I'm truly amazed at the Dell customer service I received today! Earlier this week, I blogged about my XPS 710's motherboard dying an untimely death just three years after I purchased it. But I was still under warranty, so Dell sent out a technician to replace the motherboard, power supply and front panel. Turns out Dell doesn't make 710s anymore and the company was hoping that a 720 motherboard would work.When it didn't, the technician called in, told them the issue, and a customer service rep determined that I would be receiving a brand new Alienware Aurora.

Dell bought out Alienware which produced powerful gaming machines with expandable performance, amazing 3D quality graphics, HD gaming immersion, and lightning speed with no lagging. The Aurora's standard features should be plenty for my photography needs. But I dropped a ton of change when I purchased my XPS 710 because I had numerous upgrades, including a souped up processor, video card and extra memory. So the technician told me to make sure that when I get the new computer that I check its manifest against my XPS 710's manifest to make sure I at least had all the upgrades I had before or something better. The new Aurora comes standard with Windows 7 64-Bit, so that will be an instant upgrade from the Windows XP Professional I was working with.

I should be getting the new machine in about 15 days. Until then, I've got to take the old 710 hard drive out and back it up. My photos are all safe and sound on external hard drives and a SmugVault. But I've still got some music files and documents on the old hard drive. And of course I will have to reinstall all software such as the new Photoshop CS5 and the latest OnOne plugins.

That's are hardship I can live with if I get a new and better operating computer out of it! Dell rocks! Now I have an AlienWare computer to match my AlienBee strobes!

I recognize that while this may be a beneficial outcome for me, it is going to be a major inconvenience for the Dermer Family, whose reunion photos I was in the process of editing when my desktop died. I am offering the Dermer's a free 1 hour photo session and a free 20x30 enlargement of their favorite image from the reunion in hopes of stemming the disappointment of waiting so long for their finished CD.

Get the Goods: My first stint contracting out post processing services

ORIGINAL IMAGE (with my own post processing)



EDITED BY RETOUCHUP.COM



The more backlogged I get with my photo editing, the more I have been thinking about trying to save time and get caught up by contracting out editing and post processing services. I've always loved editing in Photoshop. It's a different way for me to be able to work some creative muscle. But as demand for my services has grown, the time I take post processing has prevented me from building my business.

I've researched numerous online retouching services from those that specialize in editing weddings and other multiple photo events to those that work on individual portraits. Choose from basic retouching such as softening wrinkles, whitening teeth and head swapping to artistic enhancements and B&W conversions. Some require the RAW image for processing, while others will accept a JPEG. And of course they vary in cost. So far, I've liked the services offered by and may likely

Retouchup.com
Silverback Imaging and Design
Great Touching
399retouch.com

I decided to try Retouchup.com for my first trial run because it was offering it's first 10 retouches for free. A few of the images taken during the 2010 Success Summit & Expo in June needed some glass glare removal. I did everything I could with my limited Photoshop skills but just couldn't get the look I wanted.

After signing up with retouchup.com, I uploaded six JPEG files on Thursday, July 29 at about 4:30 a.m. and the photos were completed and ready for me to download two days later. I opted for the "Complete Plus" service because it includes eyeglass glare and brace removal along with standard retouch services such as facial glare, stray hairs, whitening teeth and eyes, removing blemishes, softening or removing bags under the eyes, even fixing spots in the background. You get all that for $5 -- that's per image not per head in the photo.

Here's some before and afters:
BEFORE



AFTER



BEFORE



AFTER



Considering the previous hours I spent cursing and unsuccessfully trying to remove the glare, I think the work the artist Rossi did was incredible. The turnover time was quick and the overall upload process easy and convenient. While the first two images I posted are fairly true to form and still look like the subject Hanifah without appearing overprocessed, I think the third image was edited more heavily than I would have done, especially around the eye area. When I edit, I like to try to keep the subject's face looking more human rather than magazine airbrushed. I actually prefer the specular highlights commonly seen on the nose, cheeks and forehead (although I like to soften them alittle). Retouchup.com knows that every photographer's style is different, so I think next time I will specify a softer touch on the skin shine removal. I will definitely be using this service again. Make sure to follow Retouchup.com on their Facebook fan page as well to get coupons and free orders.

I can't wait to see what Hanifah thinks, as I've given her both options to choose from when she downloads digital images from my website. I would also love to hear which photos you think look best.

Get the Goods: Meetup helps me get over my fear of using flash in manual

Last Friday's "sunset workshop meetup" with Bill Murphy was incredible! Not only did I get some amazing shots, but I learned some new techniques that I know I have the ability to duplicate when working on my own. If a photography class is overflowing with students, it's easy to just coast along and pretend to know that you understand what the instructor is saying. You just mimic what others are doing and you get the shots you need. But it takes some time and perseverance to actually digest and then be able to replicate what happened, and I'm excited because in this case, I really think I can. Now I can REALLY get my flash off camera (and not just on a flash bracket), by placing it on a stand, camera left or right



Up until now, I've only used my Canon flash on ETTL. Last month's Kelby Training with Joe McNally sorta had me revved up to try using flash in manual, but I wasn't quite there yet. Switching to manual on your flash is like taking your camera settings off automatic for the first time. The fear is real, but so is the excitement. When Bill said, "put your flash on manual," my heart stopped. Not only did I not know how to do that, but I was terrified of messing up. I mean, there's this great looking model freezing her butt off waiting for me shoot. I didn't want to look like a fool in front of her or take up her time.



But by the end of class, I was operating my flash like....well, like a PRO who actually KNEW what she was doing! Imagine that!



I can manually dial the power up or down on the flash to get the results I want. I'm still a little shaky about the zoom feature, but I'm sure it will come. The absolute control you have when you take your flash to manual far outweighs that initial insecurity. Then the magic began. Bill took all of us through the steps of metering for the bright setting sun and balancing that natural ambient light with the flash. And what a balancing act it is! You've got to combine your ISO and aperture in just the right formula to keep enough light in the background while using your flash to light up your subject in the foreground. Meter for the sky exposure first, with your ISO at about 200 and a starting point of about f 5.6 or f 8. Once you get that exposure set, tinker with your flash starting with the lowest setting (about 1/32 of power) and working your way up (or opening up or closing your aperture depending on how much ambient you want in the photo) to balance out the light until you achieve the look you want.



Oh yeah, easier said than done. But it was so much fun, kinda like a wizard trying to find the right ingredients for a spell. And I definitely think the beauty of these photos is something akin to magic. Models Lexee and Meaghan, along with stylings of makeup artist Jett Middleton rocked this session. They were troopers because true to Colorado form, the weather changed and got cooler as the sun set, and the models tuffed it out to get these unforgettable shots. Join Bill's lighting basics Meetup Group and take a class with him! For only $25, you get about two hours of shoot time with his instruction with models. I've taken his model posing class, as well as a high key and low key lighting workshop.



Turns out the above photo of Lexee was Bill's favorite of the night. Here's why:

"Yes... so if I were to break it down... the blue saturation is almost HDR like in that it is so vivid. Your composition was perfect for this shot.. with the upper half of the image showing the skies ( epic like wouldn't you say) ? Then we have Lexee sitting there in a beautiful pose. The light from the setting sun is drawing our eyes to her, where our eyes follow up to her face, then our eyes follow down around her legs and through the rock and around and around again.. if you look at the image.. it will keep your eyes in the image.. you are drawn to it.. you just keep wanting to explore all the nooks and crannies of the image... Plus you just plain nailed the exposure by making her just a bit brighter than the skies so that again ... we keep coming back to her..."

So cool! Considering how many excellent photogs we had shooting with us that night, this is definitely an honor I will treasure. Bill, we've all said it before. You ROCK!

Get the Goods: Attending a Kelby Training Seminar with Joe McNally

I just signed up for Scott Kelby's "Location Lighting Techniques for Photographers" seminar featuring Joe McNally! McNally is one of the world's top shooters, an internationally acclaimed American photographer, long-time photojournalist, and author of the ground-breaking smash best-selling book "The Moment it Clicks!" The jam-packed, day-long event will include off camera flash essentials, multiple flash, great portraits with multiple flash, and an introduction to using big lights on location. I have long been wanting to attend a seminar, workshop or class on location lighting, and I think this seminar is a steal for only $79 (with my NAPP membership discount). I and photographer buddy Tim Reid can't wait to attend. Tim and I are pairing up to complete some themed photo shoots that I will be sharing with readers soon. Check out some of Tim's work at his SmugMug site here. If you are in Denver when Kelby tour lands on April 28, look for me in the room.

Get the Goods: Sandy Puc 2010 Family Tour

In just a few hours I will be attending my first Sandy Puc tour! Photography friends who have attended previous tours left there amazed, inspired and filled with strategies to advance their business. I can't wait to experience it for myself! Here's the run down of what we get for an unbeatable price of $59!


Photo by Sandy Puc

The Passion for Profit, Sandy Puc' Family Tour 2010

UNDERSTAND THE FINER POINTS IN MARKETING TO FAMILIES:
Create family campaigns with a wow factor.
Get families through the door when you most need their business.
Create repeat business.
Work with charities and create fun, profitable, and philanthropic marketing that attract families.

WATCH SAM IN ACTION:
Discover the best way to conduct a family portrait session with diverse ages and personalities.
See the best poses to communicate family bonds.
Understand the psychology behind running a family session.

SEE HOW YOU CAN MAKE YOUR FAMILY SESSIONS RUN MORE SMOOTHLY:
Learn Sam's timesaving tips
Get expert advice on tools of the trade.
Conquer obstacles that hinder your success.
Understand efficient studio protocols.
Develop a positive, can-do philosophy.
Create a culture of success in your business.
Be infused with unbridled enthusiasm!

An award winning photographer and proud mother of four, Master Series Portrait Artist Sandy pours her passion into creating beautiful, timeless images. The accolades she has earned in the professional arena are just as important to her as the gratitude expressed by countless clients throughout the years. "I have been given a tremendous opportunity and responsibility to capture the beauty and spirit of the people I photograph. I am so thankful you have trusted me to use my God-given talent to create an heirloom for your family."

Get the Goods: Exclusive photography discounts, gift cheques and coupon codes

Picture Your World Photography is now offering exclusive discounts, gift cheques and coupon codes offering deals on photo sessions and print orders. Take advantage of the current specials before they expire Dec. 31, 2009!

Find the coupon that fits your budget today!

Get the Goods: Digital Photography School's Essential Guide to Portrait Photography

Digital Photography School has released a comprehensive 78 page downloadable e-book to teach the secrets of stunning portraiture. "The Essential Guide to Portrait Photography" is brimming with portrait photography advice, tips and imagery. It’s a collection of some of DPS's best previously publish tutorials which have been updated for this edition – plus some new previously unpublished content. I'm very excited about this because my poor email storage could barely fit all of the DPS daily tips I've been saving over the year. It's great to have it all conveniently packaged in one e-book.

Get it now while DPS is running a 25 percent discount launch special. This cost of this e-book is $19.95 USD but this week DPS is making it available for 25% off so that you can secure it at just $14.95 USD (the discount is automatically applied – you don’t need a discount code). This price will go up in just over a week’s time at 9pm on Tuesday 1 December (Eastern US Time) so make sure you are among the first to get it.

The main section of this ebook covers 25 topics including:
How to bypass portrait mode on your digital camera and get great portraits
Photographing Children
Travel Portrait Photography
Environmental Portraits
Posing Tips
What to Wear in Portraits
Introduction to Portrait Lighting

Check out the complete list:


Here's a screen shot of the layout:


FREE BONUS – Interview with 6 Pro Photographers

The main sections of "The Essential Guide to Portrait Photography" are largely theory. While the teaching is solid and DPS believes we’ll get a lot out of it – they’ve also put together a further 17 pages of interviews with some great portrait photographers. While theory is great – it’s often when you see how someone else uses it where things really click – so as a free bonus they’ve picked the brains of six great portrait photographers and authors:

David Duchemin
Jack Hollinsworth
Chase Jarvis
Bert Stephani
Neil Creek
Kris Krug

Get your copy of the ebook here.

30 Day Money Back Guarantee

If you’re not satisfied that "The Essential Guide to Portrait Photography" ebook is helping your photography within 30 days, DPS will refund your money. But as a long time DPS forum member, I can almost guarantee you probably won't use it!

Get the Goods: SmugMug Packages and Coupons finally on the way!

SmugMug's chief marketing guru Jeff Jochum confirmed that packages and coupons are in "final tests now." He admitted that it was a "major fail" that the features promised two years ago have not come to fruition. Yeah! I knew my good ole' SmugMug would come through!

Jochum made the announcement last night during Denver's first SMUG. He said it was the second largest group behind Orange County, and I know several other folks that were planning to show up but couldn't make it.
As the local company rep, Jochum said he wants to make our area SMUGS be business oriented, and completely focused on how to make money at photography. To that end, he spent the evening challenging us to take on "photo" fusion for sale product and indirect marketing. Fusion is video that can include stills and sound.

I've been playing around with creating slideshows with Animoto, but I have yet to make an actual video with my camera. I did find out last night that apparently my G9 has high resolution video capture -- a feature I've never used. The presentation showcasing videos such as this one created by Bebb Studios was incredibly inspiring and made me imagine how I might tell my own client's stories through video.

"Still photography is great, but sound and video imagery can evoke emotion," Jochum says.

Check out Vincent LaForet's Nocturne shot entirely with a prototype Canon EOS 1D Mark IV:

Get the Goods: Baby steps with Lightroom

I am so glad I finally got the chance to take a Lightroom class! Illuminate Workshops instructor Peter Bryson was a blast and I can't believe how much I learned in just a few hours.



Right now, I'm using Lightroom 2.5 to help me import photos from cards and catalog them. I'm also learning how to create collections, and how to use the star system and the X for "don't want" and the P for "pick" to help me quickly choose between the keepers and the duds. Once I've gotten those chosen, I export them as JPEGS into Photoshop and then the editing process begins. The ease of metadata and keywording is great too since I'm terrible about taking the time to do that.

Right now, I'm still stuck largely in the Library module, as I've only tinkered with the Develop and Print modules. But there are so many instruction videos and free presets available online, it won't take me long before I'm just as crazy about presets as I am about Photoshop actions. I love the fact that Lightroom records every change you make in it's nondestructive format. Once you've reached 20 or so changes in a layer while in Photoshop, everything you were doing before gets erased, so it's harder to go back several steps if you've made a mistake or change your mind.

I've already created some cool presets for printing templates, and Bryson gifted class members with some coveted WOW presets for post processing. I even downloaded the beta version of the new Lightroom 3.0, and I'm having fun playing with it, too. Can't wait to be able to import images that already have watermarks on them instead of using actions in Photoshop to create them.

I doubt I would ever fully give up editing in Photoshop. I love doing it. But if Lightroom can help me stay more organized and make it easier to backup photos, then I'm a believer. I can't wait to take the followup in-depth Lightroom workshop in December.

Get the Goods: Just 9 Fans away from another freebie 8x10!

Sometime over the evening, I gained several Facebook fans bringing the number to 191 people all supporting Picture Your World Photography.

That means we are just 9 people away from reaching 200 -- the number that will trigger another giveaway of an 8x10 digital download.

When I reached 100 fans, I chose my highest print seller, "Teri's Rose" as a freebie.

This time, the winner gets to choose one image from my Cityscapes, Landscapes and Flora and Fauna galleries.

Get the Goods: Free webinar -- Halloween Photo Tips

I'm so bummed that I'm going to have to miss this free webinar. But I wanted my readers to get the information in case your schedules permit you time to watch and learn!

© Frank Siteman

Join Digital Photo Academy Advanced Instructor John Bentham, for a FREE HALLOWEEN AND PUMPKIN PICKING webinar. John will be speaking about his images, and a selection of photos submitted by the 60 DPA instructors from around the country. The themes will vary from indoor party shots, (kids as well as adults), to landscapes of Halloween activities and pumpkin picking as well as close-ups of costumes in various lighting conditions. Get behind the scenes anecdotes as well as tips to inspire you with your own photography. Register in advance to view the program at no cost and view it on your own monitor at the convenience of your home or office. You may also submit questions live and John will answer as many as possible during the webinar.

If you'd like to submit some of your own images for consideration, please send them to INFO@DIGITALPHOTOACADEMY.COM. Include your name and email address. It is doubtful that we can include all entries, but we will try! File restrictions: 200 dpi, 1MB & 10 inches on the longest side.

Webinar Info: Tuesday, October 13th, from 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM, EST.
Sign up in advance to log on. You do not need a webcam to attend this event.

SIGN UP HERE

SPONSORED BY The Digital Photo Academy and Panasonic LivinginHD

Get the Goods: Finally taking a Lightroom class!

On Saturday, I will finally be taking a Lightroom class with Illuminate Photography Workshops. Thank you Efrain! I know, I know. I can hear many of my photog buddies saying "It's about damn time!" Lightroom 101: Introduction is running from 10 am to 5 pm. I really love the intensive and quick hit one day formats, and I've heard great things about instructor Peter Bryson.

I guess I never saw a need for Lightroom before since I really did feel like I was barely scratching the surface with what can be achieved in Photoshop. Maybe, I've been resistant to learning Lightroom because it took me so long to become comfortable with Photoshop. I can remember that fear I felt when I opened the program for the first time years ago. I just KNEW I would NEVER be able to learn this huge program. But as with anything, step by step, class by class and tip by tip, I've gotten a strong handle on Photoshop. Post processing photos is now one of favorite parts of the capture system since I shoot almost exclusively in RAW. I'm a self-proclaimed "Actions Junkie." And it seems like everyday, I learn a new PS technique that I can't wait to make a permanent part of my workflow. Learning Photoshop has been a huge achievement for me, especially now when I hear people say they like editing I've done to a photo.



But I think it's time for me to move on now, gain some new skills and stop being resistant to change. With all of the cool presets available for Lightroom users and the increased speed everyone tells me they have with Lightroom, I'm sure I will be able to find the best way to make it gel with my own workflow process. Plus, this will be the first class I've taken in a while in a formal setting that wasn't a webinar. I'm looking forward to interacting with the instructor and other students. A lot of my buddies have said they could teach me how to use this program in a snap, but over the years, I've discovered that I really do learn well initially in a classroom setting and then get backup support and tips from friends later.

Here's what I will be learning:
Learn the basics of managing your image library and making your photos look their best in Lightroom.

Overview of The Lightroom Interface
Inside the Lightroom Catalog
Importing and Exporting
Metadata Essentials
Develop Module Basics
Visualizing the Complete Workflow
Presentation Options in Lightroom



After taking ALR 101 a student will be able to import, sort, name and retrieve files using keywords and metadata. In addition, the student will learn how to use the Develop module that allows total manipulation of an image, all in a non-destructive manner. The student will have a firm knowledge of the Histogram and Curves, and how one would use those tools.

Next, I will be signing up for an indepth Lightroom 2 workshop where I will be learning how to locally adjust areas within the image, making it less likely that one would need to use Adobe Photoshop. I have a hard time believing that, but I'm glad the instructor will be emphasizing how to seamlessly move from one program to the other and back again. Plus, we get to learn how to present images, and create web-ready galleries.

If you need to brush up on your Lightroom skills and live in the Denver Metro Area, consider taking a Lightroom course with Illuminate Workshops.

Get the Goods: Win a $1,000 shopping spree at Aaron Brothers!

Aaron Brothers in Denver is one of my favorite places to shop for supplies, including mats, frames and presentation materials such as easels. I was drooling by the time I finished reading this email about Aaron Brother's first annual "Show Us Your America" photo and art contest.

Aaron Brothers, America's art and framing experts, is looking for the next great American artist. Could it be one of my readers?

Have you taken a winning photograph of what makes America great or created a piece of artwork that captures the American spirit? Then enter Aaron Brothers "Show Us Your America" photo and art contest and win a chance for a $1,000 shopping spree at an Aaron Brothers store.

Aaron Brothers will award one winner for best photography and one winner for best art. Visit the contest page to enter, rate and help judge winning entries. Contest entries will be accepted online only through Sept. 15, 2009.

Get the Goods: Lumiquest FXtra

This past week while wondering around drooling at equipment inside Denver Pro Photo, a sales clerk told me about this really cool new product called the Lumiquest FXtra. The FXtra is a compact gel holder that mounts directly to your flash and makes installation and removal of colored gels simple. I've been very interested in learning how to use gels to colorize my light and make some cool background effects, and I think this is a great and inexpensive product to get me started for just $20.

Eight Rosco gels are included (CTO, ½ CTO, ¼ CTO, Plus Green, ½ Plus Green, Sky Blue, Canary Yellow and Fire Red ) inside a handy integrated storage pouch that fits both Rosco and Lee gel samples. Need a sample gel pack? Get the Rosco Cinegel Swatchbook at B&H for just $2

Any LumiQuest accessory (and many other brands) can be attached while FXtra is in place allowing you to colorize the light while using a variety of light modifiers. It's crazy easy to assemble by just placing adhesive velcro (also included) to your flash. A plastic bag keeps everything in place. I can't wait to try it out! Need a visual? Check out this video on the Lumiquest site.

Get the Goods: Outdoor Portrait Class

This is the class I've been waiting for! Photographer Russ Burden will be teaching a customized Digital Photo Academy course called "Outdoor Portrait Shoot." Given that Russ specializes in people and nature photos, I think this will be a great blending of the two and a great opportunity for picking his brain for some coveted location shoot spots. Plus, I could always use good pointers in learning how to blend ambient and artificial lighting, especially when dealing with the harsh sunlight we have here in the Mile High City. I'm saving up for this one now!

NOTE: All photos in this post were taken by Russ Burden.

Here are the deets:

Sunday August 16th 8am - 5pm $150

Be it a single subject or a small group, sign up for this exciting class to learn how to improve your portrait photography. Russ will meet his students at a park in Littleton and show what he does when he’s in the field working with his portrait subjects. The class will be limited to 9 students keeping the instructor to student ratio low so make sure you get on board early.



Signing up for this class will benefit you in many ways. If you have kids / grandchildren / spouses and want to bring them along to be photographed, we welcome them. Additionally, feel free to bring your dog! Please make sure someone is with you who can bring them home as you will be involved in the class. If you want to take advantage of this perk, please make sure the person you bring dresses accordingly to maximize the best possible images for all the participants. Signing up for the class requires we share each other’s files if one of us creates a nice photo of anyone in the group. This will be done when we convene at my studio for the Photoshop portion of the class. Bring a flash drive to swap files. The photography portion of the class will run from 9:00 - 1:00. Your invited subjects will be photographed during these hours. (one restriction - no high school senior portraits)




Russ will show you how to work with subjects to bring out their best. He’ll share the techniques he uses to control the harsh Colorado sun using flash, reflectors, and diffusers. He’ll give you tips on posing single subjects in addition to how he sets up a group to make the image look clean. He’ll work the subjects in both strong sun and in the shade and while doing so, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each.




All of the above unto itself makes for a fantastic workshop but it gets even better. Following the time at the park from 9:00 - 1:00, we’ll discuss what we shot while at lunch and then convene at Russ’s studio to do Photoshop work on the files. We’ll do a critique of our photos, learn how to optimize each file in Adobe Camera RAW, and learn how to further tweak each picture in Photoshop. We’ll concentrate on how to touch up a portrait. It’s a jam packed, fun filled photo day that starts at 9:00AM and doesn’t end until 6:00PM so if you’re wanting to learn a lot about portrait photography, don’t miss this class.



Details: Meet at Sterne Park in Littleton at 9:00AM. Bring lenses in the range of 50mm - 200mm / flash and lots of extra batteries for it / reflectors if you have them / extra camera batteries / plenty of flash cards / flash drive to trade files. Bring interesting or unusual hats and props to give the shoot some spice.




To save on additional costs of hiring models, we’ll use each other and/or the guests you invite as detailed above for both the individual and group shots. Using real life people in real life situations makes for a great learning experience.



If you would like to learn more or to register for this fun-filled workshop, please call Shelby on our toll-free line at 1.877.372.2231 or log on to Digital Photo Academy and click on Denver from the list of cities on the home page to register. We hope to see you there!

Get the Goods: Getting my camera professionally cleaned

I have spent entirely too much time editing out dust from my images. Thank goodness I finally found a place to have 5D and one of my lenses professionally cleaned. Turns out that Ray Pong of Ray's Camera Repair and Service (303-595-3213) is now conveniently located in a shop right inside Denver Pro Photo. Ray is a certified photographic consultant & camera repairman and Pro Photo is one of the premiere photography stores in Denver. Talk about one stop shopping!

Ray explained to me how to access my camera's CCD sensor to check for dust. Sure enough, there were three rather large specs that have shown up on all of my photos. The process is commonly called "cleaning the sensor," but in reality we never actually clean the sensor itself, but a low pass filter mounted in front of the sensor. While he said I could use the "swab and methanol method," using a Photographic Solutions Sensor Swab (No. 3, since it's the only one large enough to clean a full frame sensor), he said not to do it unless you are completely comfortable, have steady hands and a good mechanical aptitude. I may have the steady hands sometimes, but my mechanical skills are lacking when it comes to fear of doing something that would severely mess up my camera. I think that $60 isn't much to pay for peace of mind for this first cleaning. Ray's going to throw in cleaning services for my dirty Sigma 24-70 too. I may be a little more confident and willing to try cleaning it myself later on.





Ray showed me one nifty tip of the trade that I do think I can do. If you look in the back of your lens, you might see a soft, velvety area surrounding the inside. The velvet was literally caked with dust. All of that easily transfers onto a photo. Ray took a toothpick, wrapped the end of it with a piece of Scotch Tape and circled around the velvet, using the toothpick like a lint dust. Worked like a charm! I should have my camera and lens back in a few days, and Denver Pro Photo has some of those sensor swabs on order for me as well, should I be brave enough to use them myself.