Get Out There: Mentor Series Worldwide Photo Treks

In this month's issue of American Photo and Popular Photography & Imaging's "Mentor Series Newsletter," an announcement was made about an upcoming trek that will be held in Colorado.

Worldwide Photo Trek mentors and Nikon professional photographers Tom Bol (Adventure Cyclist Magazine and Explorer Magazine) and Beth Wald (National Geographic, Smithsonia) will lead a photography escape to Southwest Colorado shooting landscapes in the picturesque towns of Silverton and Durango June 6-8. Attendes get to try out all of the latest equipment from Nikon, including digital SLRS, Nikkor lenses and the Coolpix line of digital cameras. The workshop fee is $925 and includes lectures, in-field teaching, presentations, digital reviews, an Mpix photo book and transportation to each shooting location. Get more information here.

"Traveling the globe for almost a decade, the Mentor Series workshops have been educating photographers at all levels on unique, hands-on photo treks. Trekkers travel to dramatic destinations, shoot alongside top professional photographers and learn how to get the most out of their photo equipment." Upcoming treks will be held in Kentucky, Montana, Vermont and Norway.

Here's a short list of additional treks:

VENICE & TUSCANY
Jun 19 - Jul 1, 2008
Mentors: Kevin T. Gilbert & Doug Menuez


GREENLAND
Jul 31 - Aug 7 , 2008
Mentors: John Reddy & Daniel J. Cox


WISCONSIN
Aug 22 - 24 , 2008
Mentors: Bill Durrence & Rosanne Pennella


TURKEY
Sept 4-13, 2008
Mentors: Rosanne Pennella & Reed Hoffmann

Instructor's Tip: Side Light for Scenics

Enjoy this week's Photo Tip by instructor Russ Burden. To take a class with Russ or a fellow instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took an intermediate and advanced course with Russ and he has continued to be a strong source of encouragement and education as I have progressed in my photography.

Don't forget to check Take Great Pictures for Russ' most recent tips. On the home page, click on the "Photo Tips And Techniques" button in the left hand column. Additionally, check out his "Digital Tip of the Month" found by clicking on the Digital Photography button.

To learn more about how Russ took the above photo, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.

Side Light For Scenics
"The direction of light is very important in determining the success
of an image. Whether the subject is lit by flash, room light, or
illuminated by the sun, if the angle is wrong, the photo will fall
short. Frontlight falls squarely on the subject. This direction of
light is very flat. Backlight produces silhouettes which limits the
detail in the photo. Sidelight hits the subject at a ninety degree
angle. The result is an image with strong highlights and shadows.

Frontlight can be beneficial with certain subjects. Wildlife is a
great example. While running my photo tours, when the opportunity to
photograph a terrific specimen of an animal presents itself, I tell
my participants to aim their shadow toward the animal. The more
perpendicular it is, the more direct the front light. Backlight can
be dramatic and create mood in an image. If a subject’s outline is
easily identifiable, a silhouette offset against a vibrantly colored
background can produce a gorgeous photo. But for scenic photography,
the best light is sidelight.

Sidelight for scenics is beneficial for many reasons. To begin, the
sky behind the subject will have maximum polarization. This allows
the sky to pop off the page as the colors and tones become rich and
saturated. Sidelit subjects are lit at this angle. To determine the
angle of light at sunrise or sunset, face the direction in which your
shadow is falling. Turning ninety degrees to your left or right of
this direction is where sidelighting occurs."

- Russ

Breaking News: First Client Contact Through A Link

I am happy to report that I received my first potential client contact today through a link on another website.

A client emailed me after she came across my website, which was linked here at the Slippers-N-Sliders Ski Club site. She is relocating her business to the Denver metro area and is interested in business and casual headshots.

You may remember that I was the official photographer for the National Black Skiers' annual summit which was held in January in Breckenridge. The Slippers-N-Sliders club is the local Colorado organization which attended the summit and posted links to my galleries of the photos I shot at the summit.

I wanted to share this information with my readers because I think it's a great example of how referrals can be the foundation of your photography business. As I grow and progress in my understanding of how to start and maintain a prosperous business, I think it is essential to have your name or brand be available to as many people through as many venues as possible. The Internet has made this a relatively easy process enabling us to provide links and other ways to connect, so you should take advantage of it whenever possible. You never know when an opportunity like this will land at your doorstep!

Thank you Slippers-N-Sliders for posting my galleries and for helping clients connect with me and my business.

BREAKING NEWS: Adobe Launches Photoshop Express

I got an email today from Richard Peterson (yet another of my favorite instructors) about Adobe's launch of "Photoshop Express," its new online photo editor with free storage and sharing. The application has been released as a beta, which means Adobe needs you to help them finish creating it.

Try it out, then sound off about it. What worked? What didn't? What desperately needs improvement? Select the "Feeback" tab and give Adobe a piece of your mind.

Edit photos, create albums and share them online. The 2GB worth of photos you get to upload should be more than enough to get you started. Once your in, view and share your albums publicly or be nosy and browse community galleries and albums others have uploaded. Create your personal URL to share with friends and family (mine is http://shebawheeler.photoshop.com)

I like being able to crop, rotate and tweak images. Plus it's very convenient to be able to ship them directly into my blog or Facebook page, although I haven't used that function yet. It was a breeze to upload my images from Picasa and Photobucket into Photoshop Expres. Users also get to take advantage of some easy retouching tools to give your friends that coveted glamour look minus the pimples and wrinkles. ;) Get it now here.

Don't leave me hanging. Let me know what you think!

Get the Goods: Essential Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts

I got so much great information out of just my first three-hour class with Nat Coalson, a certified Adobe Photoshop expert, that I couldn't wait to share it. Here is a list of his essential PhotoShop keyboard shortcuts. These shortcuts are listed for Windows. For a Mac, substitute the Command (Apple) key for the Control (CTRL) key. Most of these commands also work in Photoshop Elements for those who have yet to upgrade.

Nat assures me that if I take the time to learn these shortcuts, my editing process will be more streamlined. EEK!!!!That's going to be tough, I think since I have both a Mac and a PC. For more tips or to take a class with Nat Coalson check out his website (see link above) or Illuminate Photography Workshops.

There are two main kinds of shortcuts in Photoshop -- those that switch between tools and those that execute a command.

TOOL Shortcuts: press the letter on the keyboard to switch to that tool. Though the letters are shown in caps, you don't need to hold the shift key. Hold the shift key along with the letter key to switch to the other versions of the tool.

Move..................................................................V
Marquee selection (rectangular and elliptical)........................M
Lasso tools (freehand and polygon)....................................L
Quick Select and Magic Wand...........................................W
Crop tool.............................................................C
Healing brushes.......................................................J
Clone stamp...........................................................S
Paintbrush............................................................B
Gradient..............................................................G
Type..................................................................T
Increase Brush Size...................................................]
Decrease Brush Size...................................................[

NAVIGATION Shortcuts
Zoom in...............................................................CTRL +
Zoom out..............................................................CTRL -
Pan image.........................................Hold Spacebar & drag image

MENU COMMAND Shortcuts
New...................................................................CTRL N
Open..................................................................CTRL O
Close.................................................................CTRL W
Save..................................................................CTRL S
Save As.........................................................Shift CTRL S
Print.................................................................CTRL P
Fill............................................................... Shift F5
Free Transform........................................................CTRL T
Levels................................................................CTRL L
Hue and Saturation....................................................CTRL U
Curves................................................................CTRL M
Invert................................................................CTRL I
New Layer.......................................................Shift CTRL N
Merge Visible onto New Layer.............................Shift Option CTRL E
Select All............................................................CTRL A
Deselect..............................................................CTRL D
Invert Selection................................................Shift CTRL I
Feather Selection..............................................Option CTRL D
Show/Hide Selection Borders...........................................CTRL H
Show/Hide Rulers......................................................CTRL R

Get the Goods: Photoshop Basics -- Digital Photo Workflow

Monday night, I took a Photoshop 101 course with the newly established Illuminate Photography Workshops. Even though I completed an online Photoshop CS2 course last year, I thought I could fill in some of the gaps with hands-on, traditional instruction. Plus I enjoy being able to interact with and learn from fellow students.

Instructor Nathaniel Coalson is an Adobe Certified Expert and was extremely knowledgeable. He helped me pinpoint some shortcomings in my own digital photo workflow -- mainly how I should integrate backups and save my master files as TIF (rather than PSD) to avoid compression and maintain original resolution.

I think what's key to note is that you have to develop a workflow that works for you. Feel feel to tweak this as long as whatever you come up with makes things easier and faster for you to produce the best images possible.

Here are Coalson's tips:

1. Capture: Capture your photos in either RAW or JPG mode. RAW provides the highest quality but requires processing in the computer. JPG is lower quality but can be viewed and shared (such as in email attachments) right from the camera.

2. Transfer Images to Computer: Use a card reader (do not upload directly from camera) and copy the files to your computer. Immediately make a backup onto another hard drive or removable media such as CD/DVD. Depending on the software available, you can automatically rename the copied files, convert to other file formats and add metadta during the copy. If using catalog software, import the images into your database during this step.

I MUST get into the habit of backing up my images as soon as possible. I tend to wait until I have finished editing, then I save the edited versions. But I like Coalson's idea of fitting this early into the workflow so it becomes as second nature to me as sharpening or editing for color balance.

3. Review your edit: Use your file browsing software to review the photos from the shoot(s) and begin rating them for further processing. Mark your selects with flags, stars, labels, etc. to filter them from the rejected files. Delete the rejected files to save disk space. For the remaining images, add more detailed metadata, especially copyright notices and keywords. Sort the images as desired and create collections.

4. Process selects: Using your photo editing software, process your selected images to perfection. Consider tone and contrast (the range of light to dark) color (accuracy and saturation), sharpness and the need for cropping and retouching. Apply creative effects such as black-and-white conversion, colorizing, multiple image composites, localized dodging and burning in this step.

5. Save master and derivative files: A derivative file is any file that would be saved off your master. Using Adobe software, open your file and "Save As" a TIF. TIF files work with the nondestructive editing principle that says to leave a way for yourself to go back in later and make changes. You can also save flattened and resize files for other purposes, including JPG for the web, etc. If you intend to make prints of your photos, prepare the necessary files during this step. Make regular backups of your working files.

I asked Coalson about some problems I had been having saving PSD files in CS3. I could save an image as a PSD, but I had trouble reopening the file. Sometimes it would appear and other times it wouldn't. Coalson said the problem is well-known and yet another reason why TIF files might be a better choice.

6. Print and Present: Using your finished image files, you can make your own prints or send them to a lab for printing, uploading them to a web site, email them to friends, make multimedia presentations, etc. The requirements and specifications for these scenarios will depend on the situation.

Get the Goods: My New Home Studio

Interior designers say your home should reflect who you are. Well, mine certainly does now. The first thing people see as they walk through my front door is my new home studio which now boasts my backdrops, Alien Bees and Westcott Spiderlites, reflectors and other tools of the trade. I easily have enough room for a background light and at least two more key lights to create numerous lighting schemes and diagrams such as those seen here.

It doesn't take long before a burgeoning photographer gets tired of rearranging furniture in the living room to make way for a photo shoot. Now, granted some of the first great shots I captured actually (including the lovely shot of Teri and her daughter Avery which graces my banner) took place in a makeshift studio about the size of a walk-in closet in my entertainment room. I parceled off the space in front of the patio doors leading to my backyard, moving back the couch and other furniture. That's some back-breaking work!

While my budget won't currently allow me to rent a private studio, I spent the weekend transforming an unused sitting room in the front of my house into my new home studio. I had grand ideas about having a sitting room filled with shelves overflowing with books, comfy overstuffed chairs, mood lighting and a water fountain for relaxing. So much for good intentions. That room mostly sat empty, and I think I read in that area exactly twice.

Photographytips.com suggests that the studio should be at least big enough to photograph a person full length using a normal lens, and hopefully roomier if you've got the space. While the studio can be as complex as your space (or budget) will allow, it doesn't have to be for the creation of beautiful pictures, especially basic headshots. "Sometimes, all it taks is a single light, properly positioned, to create the appropriate mood for a fabulous picture." One of my favorite instructors told me that no one would ever be able to tell that a great portrait was taken at the bay windows inside your kitchen, in a corner in your living room or in a cleaned up section of your garage. My sitting room fit the bill and also had a large window for natural light. The room's high ceilings give me plenty of space to set up my backdrops and adequate space to separate my subject from the background.

This picture is a shot of the set I used to take beautiful and sexy boudoir shots of Teri seen in this gallery.

I've also added some of my own framed photos on the white walls to create an overall gallery-type feel. Oddly enough, I think it lends a great air of mystery and expectation for visitors to my home. As soon as people walk in, they can't wait to get in front of the lights or lounge in the chairs I use for props. And then the questions begin: "You take photos? How much do you charge? My family could use some portraits." This could be the cheapest advertising campaign yet for my business!

Need more ideas for setting up your own studio?
Use these tips from ehow.com, taking special note these warnings:

1) Color finishes on walls and ceiling will create an unwanted cast in color photographs.
2) Make sure the lighting you'll be using will not overload the circuit. To figure out the number of amps drawn by your equipment, divide the lamp wattage by the supply voltage.