dave cross online

Moving on

2010-05-17T07:21:00.000-04:00

As of today, May 17th 2010, I am moving my blog over to my web site, www.dcross.com. I've actually had this web site since 1997, but hadn't done much with it in the last 5 years. Now, thanks in large part to a very helpful class by RC Concepcion over at Kelby Training, I've learned enough about WordPress to be dangerous.

So if you've come here looking for the latest blog post from me, please head over to dcross.com. Please change your bookmarks etc accordingly.
Thanks.

Wescott Top Pros

2010-05-14T14:35:00.002-04:00

PRESS RELEASE:
Westcott is proud to announce the addition of the following photographers into the elite group of Westcott Top Pros: Joey Wright, Ryan Gibson, Lindsay Adler, KC Gunn, Tri Huynh, George Simian, Michael Thompson, Erik Valind, Rafael Concepcion, Pete Wright and Dave Cross.

The Top Westcott Endorsed Pros was developed for photographic education and inspiration. This elite group is comprised of talented photographers from around the world, each a master of his or her own creative specialty, including fashion, sports, wedding, nature, photojournalism, advertising, portraiture, food and travel photography. Most Top Pros share their photographic and technical expertise with eager audiences of photo professionals, hobbyists and enthusiasts in a variety of workshops throughout the world.

- 30 -

I just heard about this and I am psyched! More to come next week

Live webinar for NAPP members

2010-05-13T10:30:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow, Matt Kloskowski and I are hosting a NAPP member exclusive Webcast. It's Friday, May 14 at 3:00-4:00 est. We are presenting the Best of Photoshop User Tips and Techniques and taking questions via the live blog.

If you're not a NAPP member, you should join just so you can watch this live webcast! Okay, there are plenty of other reasons to join (help desk, Photoshop User magazine, forums, weekly tutorials, discount from Adobe...), but this is just icing on the cake ;)

Details here
[keep checking the link - it's being updated as we speak]

Design sites

2010-05-12T07:36:00.000-04:00

Alltop has compiled a bunch of design-related blog and websites in these categories:

Graphic Design

Web Design

Typography

General Design

Interior Design

Architecture

[via Guy Kawasaki]

Happy 21st Birthday Son!

2010-05-11T15:42:00.001-04:00

Yup, it's hard to believe but my little boy turns 21 today. Wow. Happy Birthday Mike. I Love you!

My new improved web site

2010-05-11T09:38:00.003-04:00

Normally I wouldn't describe something as "new improved", but in this case it fits. My personal website had not changed in at least 5 years - it was basically a single page with links to NAPP, Kelby Training etc. Well, recently I decided to venture into the world of WordPress and update my site.

I gotta give major props to RC Concepcion - his Wordpress Basics for Photographers class at Kelby Training was exactly what I needed to understand where to start, how to work with themes etc. Every time I wasn't sure how to do something, a quick glance through the list of RC's lessons helped me find the answer. Then I found an inexpensive theme I liked from themeforest and I was off and running.

I still have a ways to go in adding content etc, but so far I'm pretty happy with the results.

Check it out!

Questions from Twitter

2010-05-10T07:50:00.000-04:00

For my Ask Dave Photoshop podcast I encourage people to send questions via Twitter (and the KelbyTV site). Often I get questions that only require a one or two word answer, are somewhat unique, or that I simply don't know the answer to (kidding...kind of)

So here's a few that I've recently received that I thought I'd answer here rather than on the podcast.

Q: surfkat54: Just got CS5 for mac and can't figure out how to make PS reside in a window rather than full screen - such a preference?
A: The setting is Application Frame, found under the Window menu. Once it's chosen, it should become the default for every time you launch Photoshop. There is not a preference to set that as a default however.
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Q: ZParkar: Where is the Render > Lighting Effects on PS CS5?
A: Lighting Effects only work in Photoshop CS5 when you run it in 32 bit mode
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Q: ClaudeMyburgh: how do i make photoshop the default opening program in bridge CS4?
A: In Bridge Preferences, choose File Type Associations and then go through and set the file formats you want to open in Photoshop.
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Q: Freedy77: hi i want ask how i can make a metal looking Text in Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended ?
A: I would do it using layer styles: bevel and emboss. The key to getting a nice metallic look is experimenting with Gloss Contours.

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Q: mkmacd: How would I go about making an image into tritone(?) where an image just has three different shades of green.
A: Convert the image to a Grayscale and then go back to Image>Mode and choose Duotone. In that dialog you can choose Tritone and then click on each "swatch" to choose your color.
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Q: Derik Gutowski: Are you going to lead the Ybor photo walk this year? And if so, when will we be able to register for it?
A: Don't know the details of the Photo Walk yet, although I know they're working on finalizing things. Stay tuned here at the blog.

Going to Italy!!

2010-05-07T07:47:00.000-04:00

It's official! In November I'll be going to Italy to speak at a Photoshop Conference there, Arrivano i Guru.

Details still to come, but I guess this does make it official:

Here's the website to bookmark for more details.

Free Webinar with Scott Kelby

2010-05-06T07:48:00.000-04:00

Discover new dimensions in digital imaging with Photoshop CS5 Extended with Scott Kelby
Wednesday, May 12, 2010, 10-11:30

Join Photoshop User magazine Editor and Publisher Scott Kelby for a free online Webinar on how to maximize your time, and work more efficiently and effectively than ever before by using the brand new Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended. With powerful 64-bit performance enhancements, you’ll learn which new features will super-charge your workflow, so you can spend more time creating and less time on mundane production tasks.

Scott will show you the key new Photoshop CS5 features, along with lots of little tweaks, fixes, and enhancements that not only speed your work, but make your time in Photoshop faster and more fun. He’ll also cover everything from how to leverage the 64-bit power of Photoshop CS5 and how to configure for the best results. Plus, the experts from Dell, NVIDIA, and Adobe will be there to answer your hardware and Photoshop-specific questions.

Register here

Coming to Milwaukee

2010-05-05T10:33:00.002-04:00

I'll be in Milwaukee on May 26th, teaching the Down & Dirty Photoshop Tour. It's a one-day seminar aimed mostly at designers**, made up of 5 classes:

Layers and Compositing Techniques
Designing With Type
Photoshop Down & Dirty Tricks
Photoshop Killer Tips
Tricks of the Trade

Along the way I'll be throwing in some new Photoshop CS5 tidbits.

Hope you can join me - info and registration here.

**Although the day is full of design projects, the underlying techniques (layers, masking, typography, etc) are of course important for photographers too :)

Ask Dave Podcast

2010-05-04T10:06:00.002-04:00

Well, it's been 14 weeks since I started the weekly Ask Dave Photoshop podcast and I think it's doing okay... Not really sure because although I keep getting new questions, I haven't received very much feedback.

So, if you've been watching the podcast and you have a few moments, would you please do me a favor and go to iTunes and leave a rating and/or comment?

Thanks, I appreciate it!

Design & Photography Contests

2010-05-04T08:34:00.000-04:00

Disclaimer: I know nothing abut these contests other than what I read. Some are international, others are not. Some have entry fees, others don't. Basically you're on your own to explore these links. Good luck :)

Ten Images for Ithaca 2010: 9th International Poster Competition

The 9th annual poster competition Ten Images for Ithaca 2010 is now accepting entries.
The ten best entries will be printed into banners with dimensions 200 x 60 cm and will be hung along Ithaca's promenade for the entire summer of 2010.
Their creators will have free accommodation in Ithaca (Greece) on the weekend of the exhibition's opening (July 2010).
Deadline for entries is May 21, 2010.
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Photography Book Now 2010 is now open for entries.

Now in its third year, this international-juried competition, presented by Blurb, celebrates the very best in self-published photography books and the photographers behind them.
The competition features a grand prize of $25,000.
Entries will be accepted in three categories - Fine Art, Editorial, and Photography Portfolio.
The finalists' books in each category will become part of the permanent collections at the International Center for Photography, the Annenberg Space for Photography and the George Eastman House.
Deadline for submissions is July 15, 2010.
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2010 Adobe Design Achievement Awards: Call for Entries

Adobe has announced the call for entries for the tenth annual Adobe Design Achievement Awards (ADAA).
This premier competition honors the best student graphic designers, photographers, illustrators, animators, digital filmmakers, developers and computer artists from accredited higher education institutions worldwide.

For the second consecutive year, Icograda (International Council of Graphic Design Associations) is endorsing and supporting these prestigious student awards.
Adobe will host the awards ceremony during the Adobe MAX conference being held in Los Angeles in late October 2010.

All entries must be uploaded to the competition website no later than 5 p.m. (PDT) on June 4, 2010.
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3rd Caesarstone Design Award: Icon to Earth's Wellbeing

The human race is placing a huge strain on our planet and people from across the globe are trying to make a difference by changing the way we go about our daily lives.

Designers influence, entice and determine the direction of a concept before it is brought to life and CaesarStone is calling on young designers to create an icon that addresses the earth's sustainability and life in all its diversity.

The winning student and his or her lecturer will get a 5 day visit to Israel.

Deadline for submission is July 30, 2010.

Bits 'n pieces, different place

2010-05-03T09:02:00.003-04:00

Today a new Bits and Pieces post appears as a guest post over at Scott Kelby's blog

Creative Suite Ships Today

2010-04-30T08:53:00.005-04:00

Apparently one guy couldn't wait to get his copy...

You can also download free trial versions of both Photoshop and the Suite here

Two great wedding photography books

2010-04-29T14:27:00.004-04:00

Although it's been out for a little while, last weekend I finally took more than a cursory flip through David Ziser's book, Captured by the Light. I knew it was a great book just from my quick look through it, but a more in-depth read confirms that this is an excellent book for all photographers, not just wedding photographers. David goes into a great amount of deal on lighting, off-camera flash etc, that is useful to all photographers. And of course there are some beautiful photos in there too!

More recently I received another book, The Wedding Photographer's Planner by Kenny Kim. Kenny is a buddy of mine who I got to know though his blog and Twitter and I had a chance to work with him at a workshop in Miami. He's put together a great guide for wedding photographers that provides a series of ideas and checklists for everything from the frst client meeting through the day of the wedding - and beyond. Tons of great ideas surrounded by beautiful photography (so not only are you gettng practical ideas but you'll be inspired by the wonderful images)

[links to amazon on the book titles]

Bits 'n pieces

2010-04-28T09:06:00.003-04:00

Where to go to College?
If you're a high school student or the parent of a students who's trying to decide where to go to college, here's a site that has a ton of not-so-typical rankings of colleges. Included in their list is everyting from "10 Best Colleges for Health Nuts" and "10 Most Tech-Savvy College Campuses" to "10 Super Safe University Campuses"

Take a look at all the lists here
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Hey, it looks like it's double-blog Wednesday over at Scott Kelby's Blog: two for the price of one.
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Did you miss any of our live Photoshop CS5 Webinars? There are 9 shows archived and available for your watching pleasure right here

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Creatures of Habit

2010-04-26T07:50:00.000-04:00

Head over to Scott Kelby's blog for my guest post, Creatures of Habit.

Dallas area workshop

2010-04-23T14:08:00.003-04:00

I got a note that Laurie Excel is going to be holding a workshop in the Dallas area.

Check the graphic for al the details.

Plus Laurie is leading a photo workshop to Iceland in August (well after the volcano is done causing travel issues, I'm sure). Here's what she sent me abut that event:

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I will be leading a one week workshop in Iceland on Aug 15-21, 2010.

There will shooting and post processing, lots of great landscape photography and maybe some wildlife (wild horses, etc)

FocusOnNature

FocusOnNature blog about workshops and events, like volcano lasting into the summer, we travel in style in trucks, etc. at:
--------

Have a great weekend

Getting the best deal from Adobe

2010-04-22T19:19:00.004-04:00

If you're a NAPP member you can get a 15% discount off the upgrade to Photoshop CS5, the upgrade to the full Creative Suite, or even if you need to purchase the full version.

That means that if you've been thinking about joining NAPP, now's the time! Not only can you get the Adobe discount, but right now you can get the Photoshop CS5 Power Session DVD free! Details here.

If joining NAPP is not on the cards for you, check here for any Adobe Special Offers

Or if you're a student or educator, be sure to check the Adobe Education Store

Bits 'n pieces

2010-04-21T13:34:00.005-04:00

Thanks to all the folks who came out to my seminars in New York and Seattle. Those were two fun trips...on two different coastlines. Met lots of cool peole and has some fun.

In Seattle I even managed to squeeze in a ballet shoot...with a dancer with a bit of a punk rock flair.

This shot (shots) was tons o' fun: I didn't have my tripod so I tried to keep the camera as still as possible and had her move to different positions. Thanks to Auto Align Layers and some decent skill at selecting and masking, it wasn't too difficult to come up with this...even though I did it on an airplane using my little laptop trackpad. :)
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For NAPP members looking for the free Watermark Creator panel that was mentioned in my seminar, you can find it on the NAPP member web site by clicking on the menu called NAPP Perks (On the left side of the page)
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Some of you may remember my daughter Stephanie from Photoshop User TV. Well, she's been working for famed wildlife photographer Moose Peterson for some time, and Moose has convinced her to start a blog. I gotta say, she's off to a great start, including some very cool experimental photos taken at a campsite.

Check it out

Small but important things in Photoshop CS5

2010-04-20T09:57:00.002-04:00

You may have heard talk about the "JDI" improvements in Photoshop CS5. In this "Just do it" initiative where the Photoshop team took a long wish list they had compiled and addressed as many of these things as possible, for one week. As a result there were over 3 dozen small but important additions to Photoshop CS5.

If you're a NAPP member you can watch a video I did that shows 10 of these changes, but here's a quick run-down on a few.

Make Default button in Layer styles
Change the opacity of multiply ayers at once
Straighten button in the Ruler tool options
Heads-up Color PIcker (quick access to the Color Picker anywhere in the window)
Improved Workspace menu
Scrubby Zoom (Zooming in and out by dragging left and right)
Change brush size and softness by dragging

There are a ton more, and it's one of the cool parts of Photoshop CS5: small changes and additions that you'll use every day (based on suggestions from people like you)

Catch up on the webinars

2010-04-16T07:36:00.000-04:00

If you missed our free Photoshop CS5 webinars this week - there were 10 of them - you can watch recorded reruns right here.

Just to clarify, there is a fair amount of repetition since we were answering questions and as new people were watching each live broadcast, we covered a lot of the same material. Having said that, each one has its own unique differences: different instructors, different weird humor....

Sending in your ideas to Adobe

2010-04-15T07:44:00.000-04:00

Ever wonder how Adobe comes up with the lists of new features and fixes for all their apps? Well, along with getting input from people llike the instructors at NAPP (based on all the many users suggestions we receive) they also have a page where they encourage your feedback.

You gotta know that they're already thinking about the next version of the Creative Suite, so bookmark this page to add your ideas as you come up with them...

Free training?

2010-04-14T07:26:00.001-04:00

The other day I realized that we really could do a better job talking about our podcasts - I mean our free podcasts. Over at Kelby TV we currently have 6 podcasts:

Photoshop User TV - the weekly Photoshop podcast
Layers TV - all about the Creative Suite: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat, After Effects....
Photoshop Killer Tips - quick Photoshop tips, every day
Ask Dave - Dave (me) answers your Photoshop questions
Lightroom Killer Tips - THE Lightroom podcast
D Town TV - all about digital photography

Between these weekly podcasts there are over 750 episodes, all archived for your watching pleasure - did I mention that they're free? ;)

By my quick calculations that's well over 150 hours of free training on Photoshop, photography, Lightroom and the Creatve Suite. That you can watch. Free. Anytime you want.

Plug in compatibility

2010-04-13T09:21:00.004-04:00

One of the common questions we get is "will my existing third-party plug-ins work in Photoshop CS5?"

Well, it depends on the manufacturer but most companies will be releasing (if necessary) small updates to make sure their product is compatible.

Here's the first plug-in news that I've seen, from OnOne Software:

"I am pleased to announce onOne Software product support for Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop CS5 Extended. All of onOne's currently shipping Photoshop software plug-ins will be compatible with the new Adobe® Photoshop® CS5 and Photoshop CS5 Extended software announced yesterday by Adobe. Compatibility updates will be made available free of charge to registered owners of the titles listed in the attached release."

More news about plugins as I hear about them.

Live CS5 webinars all week

2010-04-13T09:05:00.003-04:00

It started yesterday while I was teaching in Columbus, and it continues all week: each day for the rest of the week we'll be doing free webinars on Photoshop CS5. We'll be demoing some new features and answering as many of your questions as we can.

Today we go live at 1:30 and 4:00.

And don't forget, by watching you could win a free upgrade to Photoshop CS5!!

Tune in here

What are you doing here?

2010-04-12T00:01:00.000-04:00

Go visit NAPPs free Photoshop CS5 Learning Center!

Photoshop CS5 Sneak Peek

2010-04-09T07:22:00.001-04:00

Sorry, I can't help but tease you with a couple of before and after photos, created using a couple of the new features in Photoshop CS5. I can't tell you what the features are, but let me just say, it was easy and quick.

On Monday, be sure to watch the Adobe announcement, and head to our free Learning Center for all the details

Big things coming Monday

2010-04-08T07:40:00.003-04:00

You already know (I have to assume that you have heard) that on Monday Adobe is announcing the latest version of Photoshop and the Creative Suite. Well, we've got some big news of our own....watch this short video for all the details.

>

...did you hear the part about winning a free upgrade to Photoshop CS5? :)

First look at Photoshop CS5

2010-04-05T14:54:00.005-04:00

Don't miss it! Next Monday April 12, Adobe will be unveiling the new CS5 Creative Suite. You can register to watch their event live by clicking right here.

Of course between Kelby Training and NAPP, we'll also have extensive coverage of all the new and enhanced features.

Today's News Headlines

2010-04-01T08:38:00.002-04:00

Thursday, April 1st: Today's Headlines

Apple and Adobe announce Photoshop for the iPad

Photoshop World to expand to Six Cities World Wide in 2011

Wacom introduces new gesture-only tablet – no pen or mouse required

Nikon and Canon Lenses will now work interchangeably on each other's camera bodies

New iPhone model to work with all phone carriers, price drops to $29

Adobe announces free Creative Suite Upgrade day - today only.

Happy April 1st :)

Columbus seminar & Adobe announcement

2010-03-31T16:00:00.004-04:00

I just realized that I'm teaching the Maximum Tour in Columbus, OH on the same day that Adobe makes their announcement of Creative Suite 5 and Photoshop CS5. Hmmmmmm

Might be a reason to come to that seminar on April 12th. I'm just saying....

Ask Dave Podcast

2010-03-30T07:36:00.000-04:00

Seems like just the other day that I launched my weekly podcast, Ask Dave, but episode number 9 went up this past Monday.
Remember, if you have a short Photoshop question you'd like me to answer, you can send me the question via Twitter (@davecross) or by using the comments at kelbytv.com

I hope you are - or will become - a regular viewer of Ask Dave.

Bits 'n pieces

2010-03-29T07:18:00.002-04:00

After a week with little blogging at Photoshop World, here's a few bits and pieces to start off this week...

Last week I was featured on Terry White's Blog, in his weekly Tech Profile. Check it out.
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One of the big announcements at Photoshop World was the announcement by Adobe of when they would announce CS5: April 12th. Be sure to check back on that date for all the details! Interesting concept: announce when you're going to make an announcement ;)

And take a look at this YouTube channel for a sneak peek or two.

[EDIT] Another sneak peek, this time from the PSW Keynote, featuring Katrin Eismann. here
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To view some photos from Photoshop World,check out the Attendee Flickr Group and the Photoshop World gallery
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Oh yeah, Adobe released another public beta for something called Lightroom ;)
You can find all kinds of details, links etc at Tom Hogarty's blog.
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Finally, my sincere thanks for those people who took part in my first Head Shots for Charity fund raiser, donating money for me to take their head shot. Thanks to my friends at Wescott for the use of their lights (and assistance) and photoflashdrive.com for donating thumb drives, I was able to raise close to $500 for St Judes Children's Hospital. Look for this to be bigger and better at Photoshop World Las Vegas,

Photoshop World Phun

2010-03-24T07:08:00.002-04:00

Follow the Photoshop World Keynote live today (starting at 9 am EST) here

A Flickr group with some crazy/silly/fun photos from the "photo booth" at the Tweetup last night.

Streaming video from Photoshop World

2010-03-23T07:11:00.000-04:00

During Photoshop World, when I get a chance, I'm going to try streaming some video from my iPhone, using Ustream. If you follow me on Twitter and see a tweet that looks like this:

@davecross Hey! I'm live on Ustream from my iPhone - http://ustre.am/3Jr8

Click on the link to watch the video. Keep your fingers crossed that it will work!

Not going to PSW?

2010-03-22T07:01:00.000-04:00

You could always create your own personal Expo by checking out the web sites of some of the companies exhibiting at Photoshop World, and some of their specials:

Adorama

Artistic Photo Canvas

Rebates at B&H Photo!

Adobe Special Offers

New Corel Painter 11 + New Wacom Intuos4 Pen Tablet

iCLIPART.com.

mpix (check their blog for specials)

OnOne Software (save $200 through March 25th)

Wescott ($500 in free product with Strobelite kit)

Only a few more days...

2010-03-19T11:14:00.002-04:00

Today is my last day of office work before heading off to Orlando and the ~~fun~~ ~~craziness~~ really really hard work of Photoshop World. For anyone who's not gone to a Photoshop World, it really is a combination of fun, excitement, exhaustion and education. You meet lots of new people, see a few old friends and learn a ton about Photoshop. It takes a huge amount of effort to go to that many classes, walk the Expo floor and squeeze in a few social events, but boy, is it worth it!

I look forward to saying hi to those of you coming to Orlando, and you know what? It's not too early to start thinking about Photoshop World in Las Vegas, Sept 1 - 3, 2010!

In case you missed it, here's my previous post about planning for PSW.

I feel sorry for Illustrator

2010-03-18T10:34:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago we were in San Francisco to celebrate the 20th aniversary of Photoshop. It was a pretty big deal, featuring a bunch of well-known folks talking about the birth of Photoshop. Heck, there is even a web site dedicated to the 20 years of Photoshop.

Meanwhile, poor old Adobe Illustrator turned 20 three years ago, with barely a wimper of recognition. Looking back now, the only thing I could find was this cool video on John Nack's blog - it came with Illustrator in 1987. I feel badly, since I didn't really do anything to recognize this important occasion myself, especially since it was Illustrator in 1987 that really got me started in teaching.

Anyways, happily belated anniversary to Adobe Illustrator - you're 23 years old, and as great as ever!

Being a student

2010-03-16T07:26:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago I decided to be a student and watch Scott Kelby's online class, Light it, Shoot it, Retouch it. My goal was to watch Scott's instruction and then try to get the same (or similar) results myself.

After watching the lighting set-up, getting some helpful camera tips and making some notes, I went into the studio and took my own shots.

In my usual fashion of showing the after photo first, here's the "finished" photo after 15 minutes of retouching (a few blemishes removed, lessening dark areas under her eyes and whitening the eyes).

Here is the "as shot" photo, thanks to Scott's easy-to-follow instruction.

I'm very pleased with the results of my first attempt at learning a new technique, thanks to Scott and Kelby Training.

Free software from OnOne

2010-03-12T07:36:00.000-05:00

onOne Software, Inc. has announced the immediate availability of two fully-functional Photoshop plug-ins: PhotoTools 2.5 Free and the new PhotoFrame 4.5 Free. The free plug-ins for Photoshop are based on the award winning versions of PhotoTools 2.5 Standard Edition and PhotoFrame 4.5 Standard Edition and are compatible with Photoshop CS2, CS3 and CS4.

PhotoTools 2.5 Free and PhotoFrame 4.5 Free provide photographers with select content from the Standard Editions of each product, while maintaining the full-functionality, unlike the traditional restrictions of 30 day timed trials or watermarked images. The free presets for Lightroom 2, Adobe Camera Raw and the onOne Exchange allow photographers to streamline their workflow and get the most out of the onOne products they already own. The new onOne University underscores onOne's commitment to helping customers get the most out of their software investment by providing over 100 free training videos with even more training content planned.

PhotoTools 2.5 Free, PhotoFrame 4.5 Free, Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw Presets are available immediately at no cost as downloads from onOne Software. The onOne Exchange is available at www.ononeexchange.com and onOne University is available at www.ononesoftware.com/university

Impressions of WPPI

2010-03-11T11:37:00.002-05:00

Yesterday the WPPI conference wrapped up in Vegas. This was the second time I had visited the trade show, although the first time was a couple of years ago when it was at a different (less efficient) venue. Here's a few of my thoughts about the trade show and the event, although I did not attend any classes so I can't comment on those.

If you're a wedding or portrait photographer there's no question that this is the event aimed at you. All the top names in that industry were there, speaking both at booths in the trade show and in classes. The atmosphere seemed to be very high energy, and let me tell you, these people know how to party! It seemed like there were always several sponsored parties to attend. I heard a lot of people discussing how little sleep they were getting.

It was also interesting to note the younger average age and the high percentage of women compared to a show such as Photo Plus.

I spoke at the mpixpro booth a couple of times and once at OnOne Software, and it was great to meet many NAPP members and viewers of Photoshop User TV. Of course, as always I was asked one of two questions quite a few times: "where's your Canada shirt?", or "where's Scott and Matt?".

One of the more interesting moments was when I dropped by the Colorati booth to chat with owner Leon Sandoval. Leon is a long-time NAPP member and I remember him talking on the NAPP forums a few years ago about launching his business. (Colorati provides post-production services for photographers). Leon told me that he gives full credit to NAPP and what he learned as a member for being ready to start his own business. It was great to hear a success story like his.

As I walked around I couldn't believe how many booths were selling albums and photo books. There seemed to be so many... just now I checked on the WPPI page and there were 38 of them! I can't help but wonder how all of those companies stay in business, particularly since there seemed to be a lot of the same album products over and over again. I guess photographers pick their favorites and there - somehow - is enough business to go around.

Several NAPP members came up to me and said that they thought that Photoshop World was much better organized and run than WPPI. That was very gratifying since we don't hire a convention company to run PSW, we do it all ourselves.

They sure don't waste a square inch of advertising space at WPPI. Everywhere you walked there were lit up sponsors signs, signs on the windows in the hotel hallways, signs up the escalators, and even in the food court. It was a little overwhelming at times.

Here's a couple of products that I picked up that I'll be taking a look at (after Photoshop World)

Action Runner
A very interesting app that puts a great inerface on Actions. It takes whatever Actions you have, purchased or home-made, and makes it very easy to set up batches with specific images and multiple actions. Can't wait to try it.

QuiKeys
An interesting hardware keypad to help you fly through editing in Photoshop and Lightroom. For a keyboard shortcut junkie like me, this looks very interesting.

There are a few more things that are buried in the depths of my briefcase, but eventually I'll find and talk about those too.

Now it's off to Minneapolis for the Maximum Photoshop Tour tomorrow. Bye bye Vegas, until Photoshop World in September....

There's still time!

2010-03-10T20:08:00.005-05:00

Yes there's till time to attend Photoshop World in Orlando, AND to come to the pre-conference session that Corey Baker and I are teaching.

Here's a quick overview on youtube of our session

(you gotta love the stills that youtube chooses, huh?)

My quickie interview an mpixpro

2010-03-09T08:03:00.000-05:00

Today I'll be speaking at the mpixpro booth at WPPI.

Here's a quick interview I did for their blog

Presentationitis

2010-03-08T08:29:00.003-05:00

It's thankfully a rare affliction, but over the years, I've heard of many cases. For speakers and presenters, Presentationitis is a terrible condition that could be described this way: you test your microphones, projector, software and hardware - probably multiple times - and then right before the presentation (seminar or class) is about to start something goes wrong. It's happened to me a few times, it's happened to Scott Kelby, and I'm sure it's happened to many other speakers.

Last Friday in LA I had another case. Two hours before the seminar we were testing audio and it was great. Then we turned a microphone back on and had a buzz that just would not go away. We changed mics, batteries, cables, you name it and still no fix. So the decision was made to bring in a different sound system. Cool - at least we discovered this before the day started.

Then we tested my laptop, connected it to the projector... all good. I'm such a worry wart that I even disconnected and reconnected several times to make sure it worked fine each time. In part I did this because of a rare but known problem that can occur when you have a Wacom tablet connected and then connect to a projector. After multiple tests, everything was a go.

Fast forward to moments before the seminar was to begin and we switched the cable from one laptop to mine and...nothing. Black screen with no sign of life. The laptop did not refresh, the video connection was not made, nothing. Disconnect the tablet? Nothing. Force a restart? Nothing. Panic a little? Yes. After several minutes of trying everything and imploring my laptop to work, it finally did, Phew. Except for one thing: when I moved my pen on the tablet, it jumped around the screen like crazy. Oh, my tablet isn't configured probably - no problem, I'll just pop into the settings and fix it. Nope.

So, I taught the first two classes using the trackpad on my laptop. Now, I'm pretty good with my trackpad, but it was definitely a challenge. Hopefully, it was not obvious to the class (I only mentioned my problem after I fixed it at lunch time).

Why am I telling you all this? So that the next time you're watching a presenter struggle with some kind of technical difficulty, you'll realize that they probably tested everything, but were hit with a sudden unexpected case of Presentationitis.

(Thanks to all the wonderful people who came to my seminar Friday - I had a blast, despite the glitches)

[EDIT: Here's a quick summary and some great pics from Alan Hess. Thanks Alan!]

Questions from Twitter

2010-03-04T09:58:00.003-05:00

I'm getting lots of questions via Twitter and Kelby TV for my weekly podcast, Ask Dave. However, some aren't really suitable for a video answer, so here are a few answers.....

jefersonbalves @davecross whats the configuration of your notebook dave (mac)? please tell me? thanks

A: I have an off-the-shelf MacBook Pro.2,8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4 GB 1067 MHZ DDRR# (According to "About this Mac")

nauzer67 @davecross Is there anyway to organize fonts into groups in the picker(grunge, script,etc.)

A: Probably, if you use some kind of font managment utility. Since fonts are an operating system function, Photoshop has no control over that. There are quite a few options out there, and I'm afraid that I have no recommendation since I don't use one :)

Jan Jílek Hi, this might be a hard question. When I go into Lens Correction Filter a grid is over my screen and I have to turn it off. Is there any way how to make this setting permanent? Like I'l go under Lens Correction and the grid will be turned off? Thanks

A: There is a workaround that involves changing one small thing in Lens Correction (such as changing the Vignette midpoint to 49), turning off the grid and saving a preset. Then when you open Lens Correction choose your preset. If I could give you a cryptic answer, I would say, "wait for it" ;)

Houston Brown - Dave, I know you can close all files in photoshop by selecting Alt-Ctrl-W but how do you close them all and prevent the "Do you want to save" dialog box coming up for each one. Many thanks, Houston Brown

A: Again, I would say...not at the moment :)

New Cintiq from Wacom

2010-03-02T14:54:00.002-05:00

Hot on the heels of their wireless Intuos tablet comes this announcement:

[PRESS RELEASE]
Today, Wacom® introduces the much anticipated Cintiq®21UX, its newly-redesigned interactive pen display delivering
state-of-the-art pen performance and innovative ergonomics in a color-accurate LCD display. Designed specifically to meet the demanding needs of professional photographers, designers, artists and animators, the new Cintiq 21UX offers unparalleled creative control, comfort and productivity.

The Cintiq 21UX experience starts with its amazing new pen performance, capable of capturing the slightest nuance of pen pressure against the LCD surface, as well as offering 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity. Other innovative enhancements include rear-mounted Touch Strips that are ideally placed for fingertip access while working. Each Touch Strip has an accompanying thumb-controlled Touch Strip Toggle button that controls up to four different user-assigned functions per application such as zoom, scroll, brush size adjustment and canvas rotation. In addition, the overall design has been refined and updated in an all-black color scheme, providing a sophisticated and handsome look.

The new Cintiq 21UX (DTK-2100) priced at $1999 USD is intended to begin shipping in the United States, Canada and the majority of Latin America countries in late March or early April. It will be available in Argentina, Brazil and Chile in early summer due to certification requirements in those countries. Consult your local electronics retailer or visit www.wacom.com for the most current information.

Going to WPPI

2010-03-01T13:52:00.003-05:00

I'm heading to Las Vegas next week for the WPPI convention & trade show, where I'll be speaking at the mpixpro booth.

This week I travel to Los Angeles this Friday to teach the Down & Dirty Tour.

New canvas from APC

2010-02-23T10:51:00.002-05:00

It's so hard to do this justice with an iPhone photo, but I just got a few new canvas prints from Artistic Photo Canvas and I gotta say, they are AWESOME! These guys are the real deal when it comes to canvas prints - you name a size and they'll make it happen, and in wonderful quality.

Can't wait to put my new Hawaiian pano up in my home, err, I mean my offce.

Photoshop 20th Anniversary

2010-02-16T08:03:00.002-05:00

"Welcome to the 20th Anniversary of Photoshop – A Celebration with Adobe and NAPP!

Scott Kelby, Johnny Loiacono, Dave Cross, Matt Kloskowski, Russell Brown and members of the Adobe team will be taking the stage at 7:30pm PST on February 18th to pay homage to the program that changed and shaped popular culture forever… and you can watch it here LIVE!"

It's gonna be fun! A look at the past and future of Photoshop.... hope you'll tune in.

The Joy of Blogging

2010-02-12T14:26:00.003-05:00

What fun it is to get blog comments like this (in this case in response to my blog post about HDR)

----------
"WOW Dave... I am suprised at this short article.

Ahh, so you and Adobe are the authority on HDR are you...? You [two] get to decide what it's called eh? Hmmmm, seems like arrogance to me I'm afraid.

As with all photography, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some like it, some don't. It's not up to you or anyone else for that matter to tell people what is right or what is wrong about any specific HDR'ed image - it's entirely 100% up to the person looking at it."

comment by "theMusicMan"
--------

I suppose I could have simply deleted the comment - yes, I moderate the comments on my blog, mostly because I still get spam - but I thought it might be interesting to highlight this type of comment.

By nature, I thought, everyone agrees that a blog is a place to share your own opinion. In my HDR post, I thought I was careful to use words like these (directly quoting from that post):
in my opinion
To me, that's always been the benefit of HDR
To each his own I guess
I'm not saying that everyone should think this way

But I guess - in my opinion - people interpret words the way they want, and somehow me offering my opinion - and explaining my personal taste - seemed arrogant to theMusicMan. Sorry dude, I wasn't trying to tell anyone what's right or wrong, just offering my opinion.

Blogs are all about personal opinions, no?

Okay, end of rant. Now I can have a wonderful weekend :)

Tips for Photoshop World

2010-02-12T07:52:00.003-05:00

Before you go...

1. Make a plan of attack
Pour over the schedule and plan our your days: which classes you want to take, what vendors you want to talk to etc. Have a first and second choice for each class in case you're sitting in a class and it's not what you expected. In the next couple of weeks my PSW Planner PDF will be available to hep you plan out your class choices. (Remember, you don't pre-register for conference classes, just go to the ones you want).

2. Give yourself a budget
Chances are you'll see books, DVDs, plug-ins, or photo gear that you'll want to buy, Before you leave, give yourself an "allowance" to spend - or if your boss is paying, get them to agree to a budget.

3. Pack comfortable clothes and shoes
You'll do a lot of walking: to and from the hotel, between classes, around the Expo.... so comfortable shoes are a must! Room temperatures are really tough to control, so bring along a sweater, sweatshirt, hoodie etc just in case. (Yes, it's Florida, but inside there will be A/C)

4. Bring photo gear or not?
Of course if you're taking part in a pre-con photography session, bring whatever you need. If not, I'd still bring some kind of camera, but as to whether you need a tripod, multiple lenses etc is another question. I guess it comes down to how much "stuff" you can carry.

5. Bring a laptop or not?
I always travel with my laptop for email etc, but I wouldn't bring it to class (except for the hands-on pre-con sessions of course). Our conference classes are not really designed to be hands-on, so most people find that they don't end up following along on their laptop. Of course you'll probably want to try out back in your hotel room some of the techniques you've learned!

Once you're there

1. Check the signs for room numbers
Hopefully you planned out your classes, but track down one of the large signs to see what rooms your classes are in. There will also be notice of any last-minute additions or changes. I'd also do a quick walk around to get the lay of the land and see where things are.

2. Pick up some snacks at a local store
Convention food is always expensive, so find a close convenience store and buy yourself some juice, pop and snacks. You'll thank me later for this one. (In Vegas I always go and buy a case of Diet Coke since the Mandalay is a pepsi-only facility)

3. Look for the people in STAFF shirts
The people working at Photoshop World really are our staff, and their goal is to help you make your experience a great one. So don't hesitate ask a staff person for directions, where to find things, class suggestions, the latest gossip etc (okay, not the gossip part)

4. Bring your workbook to class or not?
This is a personal choice: some people lug the workbook to every class while others leave it in their hotel room. You'll find that some instructors make ongoing reference to their class notes while others don't. So again, it's up to you, but if you do end up leaving in your room, tear out some of the class evaluation forms and bring them with you.

5. Bring a laptop to class or not?
See #5 above. In a nutshell, I would advise against it. Sit, watch, observe, take a few extra notes but don't try to follow along on your laptop :)

6. Don't skip the keynote
The Photoshop World keynote is unlike any conference keynote you've ever seen (unless you've been to a Photoshop World before) so you really don't want to miss it!

7. Wear your name tag
The Expo is open to the public for part of the conference, so we'll be closely checking for name tags - you have to have one to get into the classes.

8. Talk to the instructors
Instructors really enjoy chatting with attendees! Having said that, when instructors are rushing off to teach a class or speak at the Expo is probably not the best time to ask a question :) But with a bit of patience you'll find the perfect time to chat or ask your favorite instructor to sign their book.

9. Talk to other attendees
You automatically have something in common with everyone there - Photoshop! I've heard plenty of stories of people making business connections and ongoing friendships that started simply with "so what do you do with Photoshop?"

My Interview with Firgs

2010-02-05T07:55:00.001-05:00

Over at Design by Firgs, Firgs (a.k.a. Elizabeth Gast) has been interviewing NAPP instructors and staff. This time around it's my turn (Terry White and me actually). It was lots of fun since many of the questions came from NAPP members and via Twitter.

Plus I reveal some never before, um, revealed information about me.

You can read the whole thing here

The Debate over HDR

2010-02-04T09:21:00.003-05:00

I can't remember too many topics that have brewed on-going debates as much as HDR has. In case you've been hibernating for a while, High Dynamic Range (HDR) has been around for a while, and - in my opinion - was originally introduced to allow you to get the full range of highlights and shadows in a challenging situation. Imagine for example shooting a room in a beautiful home, but the room has bright light streaming in from the large windows. It would next to impossible to capture the correct exposure for the room without blowing out the windows. Expose for the window light and the rest of the room would be too dark.

So along comes an interesting solution: take multiple photos on a tripod (bracketing multiple exposures) and use software to take the best of each exposure to create a finished piece. In my room example that would mean a nice mixture of a properly exposed room with the windows bringing in just the right amount of light.

To me, that's always been the benefit of HDR: getting the full range of light. In fact, in a discussion with Adobe over the future of HDR, I suggested calling it Full Dynamic Range (although "FDR" did sound a lot like a former President).

I'm going to be honest and say that I'm not a fan of the highly processed/bordering on fantasy style of HDR. Honestly, to me maybe one out of 10 photos looks good with that highly-processed look. Maybe I'm just seeing too much of it? I'm not sure.

What I do find surprising, since in my mind HDR is really a solution to a lighting challenge is when people say things like "this would be a great angle to take an HDR shot of this building". That means they are going looking for places and things to shoot as an HDR. To each his own I guess - personally I keep bracketing and HDR in my back pocket as a solution for an exposure challenge.

I'm not saying that everyone should think this way.... although I would say this: that slider that makes things look highly processed/fantasy/Harry Potter? Would you mind not pushing it quite so far? Pretty please?

Ask Dave debuts

2010-02-01T16:35:00.002-05:00

Right on schedule, my new "Ask Dave" podcast started today. Each week I pick a question (sometimes two) and answer with a video capture.

One thing worth noting: the idea behind the podcast is answering as many Photoshop questions as I can, one or two each week. I'll try my best but I can't guarantee that I'll get to every question. Please remember, the "Ask Dave" podcast is not the place to get a quick response :)

If your Photoshop question is "urgent" and you're a NAPP member you might want to send your question to the Help Desk or post it in the NAPP forums. You could also try the forums over at layersmagazine.com.

The group shot

2010-01-29T07:40:00.002-05:00

Here's the fun group from the Portfolio Plus workshop on Wednesday....

Great Workshop yesterday

2010-01-28T11:05:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I attended/taught at a workshop with Kenny Kim, Ray Santana and Jim Garner. It was at the beautiful Biltmore Hotel, in Miami. I met lots of wonderful people, taught a bit o' Photoshop and even got a chance to shoot a bit. I haven't had a chance to really delve into the shots I took, but here's a couple of early favorites.

Thanks Kenny and Ray for putting on such a great event!

Memories of 1999

2009-12-28T10:57:00.004-05:00

As 2009 rolls to a close it's hard to believe that the first decade of the 2000s is also ending. This made me think about what I was doing in 1999, and how things have changed. For example....

I was loving my Powerbook G3, a speedy 233 MHz with 16 MB of RAM! (And a special $45 dongle to be able to attach to projectors)

iPods did not exist yet.

My consulting & training business was in year 8.

I was rocking my super-cool Nokia 6150 cell phone - it could almost fit in my pocket. Okay, a very large shirt pocket.

In early 1999 I was attempting to open my own training center and was running into a problem with insurance companies: no one wanted to insure me because of worries over the year 2000. Remember that whole Y2K thing? I had a hard time convincing insurance companies that teaching off-the-shelf programs such as Photoshop had nothing to do with Y2K.

NAPP was in its second year of existence - I had joined in 1998

My kids were playing Super Mario on their Nintendo 64.

According to wikipedia, in 1999 over 83 million adults - 40% of the U.S. - were using the internet. I was an old pro by that point, having launched by first web site in October of 1997.

Photoshop 5.5 was introduced in 1999, featuring Save for Web, the Extract filter and a bundled application called ImageReady.

What are your memories of 1999?

Photo opp at Photo Plus Expo

2009-11-04T16:30:00.003-05:00

Walking around Photo Plus Expo a couple of weeks ago, I had an opportunity to meet and chat with many well-known photographers who I'd never met in person before - including many who had been kind enough to "finish the sentence" here on my blog.

Among others, I got to meet Joey L, Zack Arias, Kenny Kim, Dave Sanders, and Bob and Dawn Davis. Here's a pic of me with Bob and Dawn taken by a very nice fellow who's name was Vithaya.

Along with some "celebrities" I also got a chance to chat with quite a few NAPP members, blog readers and Photoshop TV Users - that was very cool!

Looking forward to next year's show.

Are Photoshop plug-ins worth it?

2009-10-20T22:52:00.000-04:00

One of the most common questioned I get asked at seminars is "are plug-ins worth it?" (or slight variations on that theme). My answer? Usually something along the lines of "most of the time" or "it depends".

Before I go any further, let me add that what I'm going to write here is an opinion on how how decide if a plug-in is right for you - this is not a review or recommendation of specific plug-ins

First, what do we mean by plug-ins? (Veteran Photoshop users can skip again here). Plug-ins are add-on software programs that you install (plug in) to Photoshop to enhance its performance, either by improving upon a Photoshop function or by offering a feature not found in the program.

So how do you determine if a plug-in tool is going to be "worth it" for you?

I see three basic categories of plug-ins:

1. Tools that are simply better than Photoshop.
One example would be noise removal plug-ins. The Reduce Noise filter in Photoshop works well, but plug-ins such as Noiseware Professional or Dfine just work better. That's not just my opinion, anyone who has used a third party noise reduction tool will tell you that these products are better. So in this case, if you come across noise problems with any regularity, the purchase of a extra tool that will improve your photos will be well worth it.
Another example is a tool to enlarge your images. While the Image Size command does a good job in making images larger, add-on tools such as Genuine Fractals is generally accepted as doing a better job.
So if your work requires noise removal or enlarging images, these plug-ins are easy to justify.

2. Tools that can be more efficient than Photoshop
One example of this category would be masking software. Yes, with a bit of practice (and [shameless plug] online training courses or a DVD on Selections [/shameless plug]) you can get pretty good at making selections and masks. Do the masking plug-ins give you a better end result? Sometimes, but very often they will do the job in less time, so if you spend a fair bit of your time making selections and masks, then a plug-in that saves you even 10 - 20% of your time adds up pretty quickly.
Another example of this type of plug-in is PhotoFrame. Yes, I can make cool edges for my photos pretty easily (I even wrote a book on the subject). But, PhotoFrame gives me tons of built-in frames and the ability to experiment in ways that are so much more efficient than creating "by hand". (I created a collection of frames that are in PhotoFrame so of course I going to be a fan of this plug-in!)

3. Tools that add extra functions or take things to another level
These plug-ins may be the hardest to justify a purchase, because they often do things that are rather unique or specialized, or because at first glance they're not that different from Photoshop. Examples here would be any plug-in that does special effects, 3D, color enhancement, black and white conversions, etc. My advice here is to talk to people that use them, read reviews and take advantage of free trial versions. For example, for the rare occasions that I create and print black and whites, I'm happy with the results I get from Photoshop. However, I hear lots of people talking about Silver Efex Pro from Nik Software and what a great job it does. For me, I'm not sure that I would purchase a plug-in for black and white conversion - but if you do that a lot and this tool gives you more control, takes less time or gives you results you like better than Photoshop, then it would be worth it.

Can you see my dilemma it answering the question "are plug-ins worth it?" There is no easy answer.

There are a number of plug-ins that have become an important part of my work - in some cases I would find it difficult to not use them. I guess to sum things up I would ultimately answer the question this way. If a plug-in saves you time, go for it. If a plug-in gives you - in your opinion - better results, buy it. Remember, most plug-in companies offer free trials, so be sure to take advantage of that and try before you buy.

Beach ballet

2009-10-09T07:41:00.000-04:00

The night before our Miami seminar RC and I managed to squeeze in a photo shoot on the beach. Considering how we were scrambling to set up as the light disappeared, I am pretty happy with these results. These were shot with one SB-900 flash on a stand, most shots averaged around ƒ16, and I know for next time to use a higher shutter speed to capture the motion a lttile better.
Very little Photoshop (except the last one) other than a bit of cloning out a few distracting light blobs and seaweed.
As always, learned a lot for the next time I get a chance to shoot a ballerina on the beach.

Acceptance speech

2009-10-01T16:25:00.000-04:00

Photoshop Hall of Fame

2009-10-01T13:15:00.001-04:00

[This post was written a week before Photoshop World, to be published on October 1st]

Today at Photoshop World I have the extreme honor of being inducted into the Photoshop Hall of Fame. It is definitely an unexpected honor, and "icing on the cake" to be recognized in this way for doing what I love to do: teach Photoshop.

I was officially told about this a couple of weeks ago and have had to keep in under my hat until now. This also allowed me some time to think about what I would say in my acceptance speech. Here is what I plan to say on stage (the people that are there will be able to compare and see how much I remembered)

I'm extremely honored and humbled to receive this recognition. I've always considered myself blessed to do what I love: teach Photoshop, so to be honored in this way is truly incredible. I must save that I'm glad that I was told about this a couple of weeks ago or for the first time in my life, I would have been speechless – and it takes a lot to put me at a loss for words!

When Scott told me about my induction, I knew immediately who I needed to call to share the news: I had to call my wife and I had to call my best friend. This only took one phone call to my wonderful wife - and best friend - Marlene. She really is my inspiration, my rock, and my number one fan. Through the years she has always been there, backing me up and encouraging me, even when I had crazy ideas like leaving a good job to work with this new thing call the Macintosh, or when I decided to start own on business teaching brand new programs like Photoshop and Illustrator. Marlene, thank you for always being there for me.

To my children Stephanie and Michael. When you were younger you unknowingly helped me by not making too big a fuss when my travels took me away from home. As you got older you have continued to be there for me, and the fact that you're both into photography and Photoshop puts a huge grin on my face.

In the acknowledgments of one of my books I wrote that it would be easier to attach a company directory than to try to single out all my co-workers who've helped me. I still feel that way - the group of people I work with is simply incredible. Scott, Kalebra, Jean, Dave, Barbie... you have created an amazing environment for us to work in. I really can't imagine how anyone can have as much fun as we do while we work our tails off. On behalf of all of the folks that work at NAPP, thank you.

Scott, thank you for giving me the opportunity to teach one class at Photoshop World back in 2001. To Lesa Snider, thank you for helping convince Scott that I should be invited back again to teach. Once the door opened, I happily burst through and have been having a blast ever since. I would also like to thank each and every one of my students over the years. I learned more about Photoshop and teaching thanks to your questions, comments and kind words.

I've always felt very blessed - I have an amazing family, a wife who I adore, and I get paid for my passion for teaching Photoshop. To be inducted into the Photoshop Hall of Fame is the ultimate "icing on the cake"

Thank you

Finish the Sentence...with Bob & Dawn Davis

2009-09-25T07:27:00.004-04:00

"It's time once again to ask a well-known photographer, instructor or otherwise interesting person the same 10 questions and ask them to Finish the Sentence! This time, the sentences are finished by.... Bob & Dawn Davis.

Bob & Dawn, please Finish the Sentence..."

My favorite photography accessory (lights, modifier, bag, tripod) is
I would not not go on a shoot without my Radio Popper PX flash triggers. They have freed me from the limitation of line of sight while using multiple wireless Canon strobes.

I’ve learned the most from...
My days as a working photojournalist at the Chicago Sun-Times. Shooting daily and presented with different photographic challenges forces you to think on your feet. My first photo editor said "We can't publish an excuse." I live by this motto on every shoot.

If I could go anywhere in the world it would be_____ because….
Moldova, a small country in Eastern Europe. This is the country Dawn and I adopted our two beautiful children, Bobby and Alli. I would love to use my photographic skills by contributing to a non profit organization to help the many orphans there find forever families. Currently Moldova is the poorest country in Europe.

My most-used Photoshop add-on, plugin, action set (etc) is
This is a question for Dawn, my post production princess. She makes my images sing. Her favorite action set is from Kevin Kubota and her favorite action is Magic Sharp. Her other favorite action set is from Totally Rad and her favorite action is Pro Retouch.

If I could turn back the clock 10 years
I would have started learning more about business and marketing and putting that knowledge to use long before I left the newspaper industry.

In 10 years
I see Dawn and I creating a foundation to help loving families who can not afford the cost of adoption and do more pro bono work for charitable organizations. I see us traveling the world getting to know other cultures and using our cameras as passports. At some point, I see us creating a local photography education center where we can share our passion for education and sharing our knowledge.

If I could give one piece of advice it would be
Life life with passion, follow your dreams, and practice, practice, practice. Photography is an art, but it is also a craft and by practicing and knowing the craft you'll know what to do when the technology at hand is not giving you the results you want.

Your readers can find out more about me
Our photography site is www.bobanddawndavis.com and our photographers site is www.davisworkshops.com

Ladies & Gentlemen, let's hear it for Bob & Dawn Davis!!
Bob Davis is proud to be a member of the CANON family and the Canon Explorers of Light, a program created by Canon for the purpose of educating photographers. This is an elite group of 60 of the USA's best EOS photographers united in their love and passion for photographic excellence. He is also a proud member of the APPLE Aperture Advisory Board.

Bob is not a newcomer to the photographic industry. He's been a professional photographer for over 25 years. It was obvious to him at an early age that being a photographer was what he wanted to do with his life.

His passion for photography began back in high school when he became the editor of his newspaper. He then went on to Columbia College in Chicago and was named College Photographer of the Year. With this came a full time job at a daily newspaper and then on to a full time position for 14 years at the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper.

Bob's cameras have always been like a passport into history. He is continually honored when doors open and people invite him in to document their life. While at the paper, he had covered countless amazing events, such as presidential elections, Michael Jordan's entire career with the Chicago Bulls, every religious faith, and many tent revivals. He's traveled around the world to places such as El Salvador, Taiwan, Lithuania, Romania, Moldova, and Kenya for human interest stories. He will be heading to Tanzania, Africa to work on a documentary video in October 2009 for Thirst Relief (www.thirstrelief.org). He's even had the pleasure of riding to South Dakota on a Harley with the Hells Henchmen for the 50th Anniversary of Sturgis.

Bob have since moved on from the newspaper industry. Today, he has the privilege of photographing the most important events in his client's lives and he couldn't be more happy to have this honor.

Finish the Sentence...with Tara Whitney

2009-09-18T07:24:00.001-04:00

Finish the Sentence...with David Bergman

2009-09-11T07:31:00.001-04:00

Twutorial: InDesign Contact Sheets

2009-09-09T07:56:00.001-04:00

Before CS4 there was a wonderful script in Bridge to make contact sheets using InDesign. By creating a template in InDesign it was easy to create customized contact sheets, complete with backgrounds, logos, etc. Unfortunately in CS4, that option went away, replaced by the Bridge Output feature. I must say, I love using the Output options in Bridge to create Contact sheets - it's w-a-a-a-ay better than the old Contact Sheet II automation in Photoshop. But, I miss the option of creating my own custom layout in InDesign.

Motivated by a question on Twitter, I came up with a workable solution. phil_cb asked "How can i do contact sheet with Bridge and InDesign CS4.... Like your method on photoshopusertv...."

So here's a solution:

First, make a layout in InDesign. I went with a letter-sized document in portrait orientation and placed a textured photo on the Master Page. I also made the right margin 2 inches, to give myself room to add a logo, contact info, etc.

Then in Bridge I selected my first set of photos and went to the Output module. In the options I chose the same size and orientation of paper, and also set the right margin to 2 inches. One of the advantages of Bridge Output is that you can experiment with different settings and press Refresh Preview, to make sure everything looks the way you want.

Finally I saved the PDF into a specific folder and named it photos.pdf.

Back in InDesign I placed the pdf into my layout. It came in the perfect size, and with a transparent background. Nice!

I also added an embellishment....because I could.

Here's the important part: I saved the InDesign document twice: first as the contact sheet that I would print and give to my client. Second, I saved it as a "template", giving it a generic name and putting the document in the same folder as the photos.pdf file. (I still saved it as an .indd document rather than a template - I'm just treating it as a template)

Now it's easy to create a new contact sheet:
1. Select new photos in Bridge and use the same settings to create a new contact sheet

2. Save it using the same name (Photos.pdf) and replace the original

3. Open the "template" version of the InDesign document and use the Links panel to update the placed pdf.

4. Save as a new document using the new client's name.

This assumes that you're creating the contact sheet just long enough to print it, since you'll be replacing the photos.pdf file each time. If you want to keep each contact sheet, then simply save the pdf contact sheet (from Bridge) using a different name each time and then replace the placed pdf file in InDesign rather than updating it.

Not quite as easy as the "old" InDesign Contact Sheet script, but pretty close.

The power of Twitter

2009-09-07T07:46:00.001-04:00

Happy Labor Day Holiday for those of you who are off today!

Say what you want about Twitter - some people just have no interest in using Twitter, and that's fine - I've definitely benefited from being a reasonably active Twitter user. First let me say that I don't tweet about what I had for breakfast or how late my flight is, but try to share things that I think people would be interested in. Last time I posted my thoughts on Twitter I got a few comments like "you don't get it" and "that's not what Twitter is for". But I've continued posting on Twitter once or twice a day *(sometimes a few more if something important comes up) and have followed people who post things that I find interesting. That's how I use Twitter, and I've come across some very interesting things.

Here's a few examples of the kind of things I found out about that I probably wouldn't otherwise.

Events, giveaways and contests: Twitter has become a marketing tool for some people & companies, so you'll often hear first about upcoming events, seminars, webinars etc as a tweet. I've seen a couple of events that sold out almost exclusively through an announcement on Twitter. A number of Twitter-only contests have given away some pretty bad-ass prizes to promote their company or event. Hey, NAPP even gave away some Photoshop World Prizes.

People's work: I've been introduced to the photography, design skills, videos and animations of some very talented people that I don't know how else I would have found. For example, just last Friday @extensis tweeted about an amazing animation artist, Pascal Campion. His work is amazing!

Misc cool stuff: I'm normally not one to spend hours digging through youtube for the latest cool video, but thankfully some people find amazing things and tweet about them. Here's an example that I heard about from @leolaporte (that he passed on from another tweet)

For me, Twitter has become another interesting tool to broaden my horizons, both in spreading the word about NAPP, Photoshop World, seminars, etc, and to see some pretty great stuff I might not otherwise have seen. I don't spend every waking minute there but I do check in a couple of times a day, and have been rewarded with some very interesting things.

Finish the Sentence...with Chris Spooner

2009-09-04T07:15:00.000-04:00

Today's Photoshop assignment

2009-09-02T07:31:00.001-04:00

My blog post on How to improve your Photoshop skills in 9 seconds has gotten a lot of views and responses. It seems that I struck a chord with many people, "reminding" them of the value of quick little experiments as a way of learning new things.

Let's take this a step further, inspired by a presentation by Joe Glyda at Photoshop World. Joe talked about how he tries to keep his photography (and creativity) fresh through self-assignments. He chooses a theme and runs with it, for example "circles" or "shadows". His slide show of the results of his assignment was really interesting and got me thinking.

First, I've tried to do the same thing with my photography. So far I gave myself a relatively easy assignment: textures. I ended up with a card full of really cool textures that have come in really useful in Photoshop. Then when I did the Worldwide Photowalk I decided to bring only a prime/fixed lens. Boy, when you're used to zooming in and and out whenever you want, it's a real eye opener to shoot with a fixed lens - and makes you look at things differently.

What does this have to do with Photoshop? Well, why not apply the same theory of self-assignments to Photoshop? Along with those 9 second experiments, if you find yourself with a little time on your hands, give yourself an assignment such as "the Pen tool" or "design a logo in 2 minutes", or find an old photo and give yourself a set amount of time to fix it as best you can in the alloted time.

So, what are you going to give yourself for your first Photoshop assignment?

Quick "Twutorial"

2009-08-31T10:05:00.005-04:00

Late last week I received a Photoshop question via Twitter. It was an interesting question but rather than attempt to answer it in 140 characters on Twitter, I've created the following quick "Twutorial" that answers the question, (and lets me tag this blog post as another "Technique of the every so often")

The question was, is there a way to scale (Transform) a layer and a path at the same time.
The quick answer is no, but thankfully there is a way to do it very quickly and easily thanks to a keyboard shortcut.

If you have the layer selected in the Layers panel and the path selected in the Paths panel, and then press Command-T (PC: Ctrl-T) only the path will be transformed.

Instead, deselect the path so it's temporarily not visible, and use Free Transform to scale the layer.

Then in the Paths panel click on the path to activate it.

Press Command-Shift-T (PC: Ctrl-Shift-T) to "Transform Again", meaning Photoshop will scale the path using the exact same values as when you scaled the layer contents,

Quick and easy! So although you can't transform a path and a layer at the same time, this shortcut takes the guesswork out of scaling 2 things the same amount.

(For those people who like to see techniques like this in motion, I'll post a link to a video version once Vimeo finishes uploading it)

P.S. I can't promise that I'll always be able to answer questions like this, but I thought this one would be of interest to lots of folks

Insider Tip: Photoshop World

2009-08-28T17:32:00.001-04:00

Insider Tip: Although the Early Bird Deadline for Photoshop World ends today, online orders won't be processed until Monday morning, so if you missed today's deadline, you have the weekend to take advantage of the $100 discount if you register online.

And don't forget:
NAPP members save an additional $100 off
If you're not a NAPP member, your Photoshop World Registration includes a 1 year NAPP membership!

Register here

Finish the Sentence...with Dave Cheung

2009-08-28T07:22:00.000-04:00

My experience with the DSLR Camera Remote 1.1

2009-08-26T08:47:00.015-04:00

Last night I posted a couple of photos I took using the DSLR Camera Remote 1.1 from OnOne Software. Here's a quick run-down of my experience of setting up etc.

First, I gotta say that it was extremely simple and painless.

1. I downloaded the app from iTunes and installed on my phone
2. I downloaded onto my laptop the free server software from OnOne
3. I connected my camera to my laptop
4. I launched the server software

5. I launched DSLR Camera Remote 1.1
6. Since I have a wireless network at home, the app found my laptop

7, I pressed FIRE to take a photo

result:

As I said, simple and painless.

But what if you aren't in a spot that has a wireless network? No problem, just make an ad hoc network. On the Mac I just went to the Airport menu and created a network:

(The very helpful Help system with the server shows how to make similar networks on the Windows platform)
Then on the iPhone, I used the Wireless setting to join my new network.

Other things that are cool about this app (after 15 minutes of playing):
The ability to change White Balance, ISO etc from the app on your phone
The fact that you can see the results on your iPhone after just a very brief pause
It works in both vertical and horizontal orientation if you want to see a larger image

Lots of options such as Burst mode, Auto Bracket, Live Preview and Intervalometer

I haven't played with those yet, but I sure plan to.

I was very impressed with the fact that when I did try an option such as Burst mode, an instruction popped up telling me that I had to change my camera settings to continuous shooting mode.

Overall, my initial experience with DSLR Camera Remote 1.1 from OnOne Software was fantastic and I can't wait to try more experiments!

(If you were sent directly to this blog post and didn't see the photo from last night, here's the first photo I took with the app)

Wish I could handle all this

2009-08-25T13:13:00.002-04:00

My daughter Stephanie works as assistant to wildlife photographer Moose Peterson, who captured a pic of how hard she works! Love this shot!

Finish the Sentence...with Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman

2009-08-21T07:56:00.002-04:00

Finish the Sentence...with Robert Evans

2009-08-14T07:55:00.000-04:00

Finish the Sentence...with Jack Hollingsworth

2009-08-07T08:00:00.004-04:00

Finish the Sentence...with Audrey Woulard

2009-07-31T08:01:00.003-04:00

Finish the Sentence...with Kenny Kim

2009-07-24T07:01:00.000-04:00

"It's time once again to ask a well-known photographer, instructor or otherwise interesting person the same 10 questions and ask them to Finish the Sentence! This time, the sentences are finished by.... Kenny Kim.

Kenny, please Finish the Sentence..."

My favorite photography accessory (lights, modifier, bag, tripod) is
I love my L series lenses by Canon! My job requires me to be constantly on the move so I can't lug around a heavy load of gear. But I make sure to pack my prime lenses for this kind gig.

I’ve learned the most from...
Philosophically speaking, passion, detail and greatness in any field helps me to learn the most. Passion for anything is inspiring and makes me curious about where that passion comes from and how it affects people. Details are the subtleties that often make the difference between good and great. And frankly, if you have a high level of passion and detail, it seems to often translate to greatness. So when I see greatness, I wonder what combination of both allowed them to achieve that greatness. On a tangible level, I often enjoy walking the halls of museums to view greatness on display. I like spending time dissecting the details and nuances of each piece to find what makes each of them so different and so special. But the same can be said for any great businessmen, athlete, architect or poet. I like to think that if I spend enough time around great, detail-oriented, passionate people, some of it might rub off on me as well!

Within the wedding photography industry, I've learned a great deal from veterans such as Mike Colón, Bob Davis, Yervant, Joe Bussink, [b]ecker, Skip Cohen, David Jay, Dane Sanders, plus more. All these guys have been instrumental and inspiration in my career path and I owe alot to them for setting an example and standard of how things should be in this industry.

If I could go anywhere in the world it would be_____ because….
Italy right now because that is where life and beauty is evident everywhere - in their culture, nature and in their history. It has changed the way I view my life so much that I am actually bringing a group of photographers with me in September (14-21) for a small workshop/tour.

My most-used Photoshop add-on, plugin, action set (etc) is
I have been drifting away from using too many actions these days and have focused on creating a clean shot straight out of the camera. However, I still love to use actions by Yervant, Totally Rad & Kevin Kubota. I use these sparingly to enhance the moment. Lately I've been using this really cool tool/action call BlogStomp. It is a simple PS action that shaves ton of your time while preparing images for blogging by automatically resizing, sharpening, placing a watermark logo and saving it afterwards for web. It is such a simple but a genius idea in helping you shave some time off from blogging. Check them out!

I love the fact that Photoshop
Has so many tools to help you create a work of art with your image. Possibilities are endless these days!

I hate the fact that Photoshop
For the same reason above, I dislike the fact that sometimes I depend on it to alter the photos so much to create something in post-processing instead of practicing on creating that right moment.

If I could turn back the clock 10 years
would have started in this career path earlier. But at the same time, I don't regret it because part of who I am is from the result of things that happened in my life during those 10 years - so part of who I am today is based on the past. :)

In 10 years
I hope to still be shooting weddings but also be more involved in more personal / volunteer projects globally.

If I could give one piece of advice it would be
Give it all. Don't let fear hold you back and do what ever it takes to follow your dream!

Your readers can find out more about me
http://blog.kennykim.com
http://www.twitter.com/kennykim
http://www.facebook.com/

Ladies & Gentlemen, let's hear it for Kenny Kim!!

Kenny Kim has always been fascinated by the visual arts - and especially the connection between art & photography. His passion ﬁrst led to the study of graphic design at the University of Illinois, where he also became a skilled web designer and eventually opened up his own design studio in 2003. It was during this period, he began to realize that the greatest outlet for his artistic expression and technical skills would be through his passion for photography.

Incorporating his own vision into the technical elements of photography, Kenny's goal with each photo he takes is to present each moment he captures with a subtle artistry that enhances the feel of the moment. With the launch of Kenny Kim Photography in 2006, Kenny's vision for a photographer's work instantly resonated with his audience and within a short period of time, Kenny Kim Photography has now grown into a nationally recognized studio. In just over 3 short years, Kenny has been commissioned for
over 100 weddings in locations throughout the United States, Europe the Caribbean. He was also retained to shoot for the University of Illinois Menʼs Basketball, Football & Tennis teams along with various celebrity events featuring David Foster, Andrea Bocelli, John Legend, Three Doors Down, Katharine McPhee and many others.

Kenny currently resides in Chicago, Illinois. He is thankful everyday for the privilege to call his passion in life, his profession as well.

Photowalk photos

2009-07-23T11:06:00.004-04:00

I finally got a chance to look through my photos from last Saturday's photowalk. I really didn't take as many as I expected - probably less than 150. In part because I decided to use only a fixed lens (50mm 1.2) which really was an interesting exercise: no zooming in and out, I had to really use my eyes and my feet to get the pic that I wanted.

My favorites of the day were taken in a very unusual "trinket" store (the first two) and the very last shot I took walking back to my car, looking into the window of a cigar store where they had this miniature cigar-making set-up.

No Photoshop other than Camera Raw and in the case of the jewellery, cloning over 2 distracting bright spots.

I highly recommend "forcing" yourself to use a fixed lens the next time you're out exploring and shooting. Really made me think more about the shots I was taking.

Exclusive interview with David Jay about Showit

2009-07-20T07:05:00.002-04:00

David Jay is the main man behind Showit, an amazing application for web site creation. After playing with Showit and creating a pretty sweet site in under an hour (see below), I had to find more. DJ was kind enough to answer these questions for me.

For those people unfamiliar with Showit, give us the nutshell version of what it is......
Showit is a website design application that allows users to take complete control of their Flash website, from concept to launch. It's a true drag and drop platform moving all the backend Flash techy stuff and turning it into basic functions the user can control in commonly understood forms. All a user has to do is place their photos, videos and slideshows anywhere on the page and hit publish and it's live on the web. It's essentially WYSIWYG for web design. :)

There's a free version and a pro version - what are the basic differences?
The basic difference between the Free version and the Pro version is the depth of your site, and we also put a small message on the bottom of our free versions. There are some more specifics here - http://showitfast.com/#/showit-sites/. But almost all the cool features are included in the Free version because we want Showit to be known for all the great stuff we do offer (versus what we don't offer).

What prompted you to provide a free version?
When I was 16 years old my dad sat me down and said, "David, if you truly make your business about helping other people you'll always have plenty of work." I believe that's been true in his business and mine and there are 100's of thousands of photographers (and other entrepreneurs) getting their businesses started and they have tons of expenses straight out of the gate. Hopefully this can help them and if it does I believe they'll stick with us as their business grows and upgrade to a Pro account.

That beings said, before we lauched version 2.0 it kinda felt like playing a big game of Russian Roulette. We were not sure how our customers would respond to a free version, or if a free version would make Showit seem like less of a premium solution. But we felt once people tried Showit they would like it better than a template because of the freedom and control it gives them...and getting them to try it had been difficult. Free eliminated a lot of the fears potential customers had and the amount of people creating accounts since we offered a free version has been mind boggling. And we are seeing some beautiful and very unique free website getting published, which is really exciting. Before launching the free version we averaged just under 400 "limited trial" accounts per month. Since we released the free version we've been averaging over 400 new free accounts per day!

We also wanted to was cause a little disruption. Our main competitors don't have a free offering and we felt price should not be the reason you can't create a beautiful and functional website.

But to clarify, the free version is really FREE? What's the catch?
There's really no catch. I mentioned above that we want to get people in the door. A very safe door. Free from commitments. Free from payments. Free from feeling stuck with a standardized template. We want to give them freedom to control and create a unique web presence.

Another thing to point out is that free to the end user doesn't mean there is no revenue for us...it actually opens up several new possibilities for revenue that weren't available before. One of my favorite authors is Tim Sanders and he said, "Your network is your networth" and by offering Showit for free we greatly expand our network.

The free version comes with some built-in styles - tell us a little about those and how they work
Showit comes with tons of free stuff including royalty free music, free graphics and the free Styles are essentially complete web designs created by professional designers so photographers don't have to start from scratch. These can be added and changed anytime and they are a great way to dive in and get a website up fast. Simply select one and swap out the pictures and text with yours, move some things around to give it the look and feel you want and then hit publish and you're live on the web.

Some people are reluctant to use Flash-based web sites because they worry about SEO (Search Engine Optimization). How have you addressed that? And what about viewing sites on iPhones?
This is a great question and we are proud to offer the best SEO available as well as an iPhone viewable version (thanks to our group of awesome developers). There are several things we do to make our sites crawlable by the search engines. First, we automatically create an HTML page that is hidden behind the Flash page so when the search engine hits your website it can read all the content on that page. Each page is also "deep linkable" meaning that the search engines (and customers) can link directly to any page on your site. This is fantastic because search engines are wanting to deliver relevant content. In the world of SEO these features really set us apart from many of other other applications allowing the ability to create a Flash website.

How we publish the HTML page also allows each page to be *somewhat* viewable on an iPhone. Apple and Adobe haven't shaken hands yet so our hands our tied because Flash isn't available on the iPhone, but we have the ability to display snapshots of the page and then offer links below the snapshots so people can navigate your site from their iPhone...it's just not as pretty as viewing it through a web browser.

Showit seems very intuitive, but where can people turn if they need help?
This is a big focus for us right now because there is a learning curve to use an app like this so we are really prioritizing building a community of Showit users and have built that right into the application itself. It's called Club Showit and every time you launch Showit you'll see a splash screen that includes featured websites, the latest conversations happening in the Club and other cool stuff. Our entire team is active in the Club and it's also a place where our users can help each other.

What about people who use services like SmugMug - can they take advantage of both Showit and SmugMug?
Absolutely! We feel that Showit and SmugMug are a great combination for a photographer. We've made it very easy to link directly to SmugMug and place photos and videos directly from your SmugMug account into your Showit website. We plan on making that integration every better in the future.

Is there any way to hook into social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook?
You bet! This is another brand new feature in version 2.0. It's a called our "Share" feature. We created a way for users to tweet about their website content directly inside of Showit and they can also share content on Facebook, instantly create and embed a blog post on blogger or use the embed code and place their content in any number of other places using a simple copy/paste.

Finally, what do you see in the future for Showit?
This is definitely the toughest question! :) As for a roadmap - we are putting a lot of effort into displaying things in cooler and more unique ways. Version 1.0 was kind of a down and dirty get-it-done tool but now with version 2.0 we are able to add in many more widgets that allow for photographers and other entrepreneurs to market themselves in new and fun ways.

... Things change so quickly in technology so it's hard to say much more than that but a big focus of mine has always been to help people create more freedom in their life and to find more fulfillment in what they do. This is one of the main reasons we are building a community around Showit users. The first online community I started was http://OpenSourcePhoto.com and I've seen so many lives changed through the open sharing of information and the willingness to help one another. Inside of that "OSP" community over 11,000 photographers are now working together and viewing each other as colleagues instead of competition...and these communities provide a wonderful place for us to listen and understand what photographers need currently and in the future.

Thanks for all you do and share. I know many lives are changed by all the sharing that you do! I've already been receiving emails from people as far away as Russia who read about Showit through your blog and twitter feed.
------------------
For more information:
http://davidjay.com
http://showitfast.com

Too see my quick sample site I created in about an hour: davecross.showitsite.com

Quick pic from today's photowalk

2009-07-18T22:48:00.000-04:00

Ybor City, Tampa, FL

Finish the Sentence...with Matt Adcock

2009-07-17T07:39:00.001-04:00

del Sol Photography tours Costa Rica from del Sol Photography on Vimeo.

I have a lust for travel, that is for sure.

My most-used Photoshop add-on, plugin, action set (etc) is
We really love Viveza mucho.... also, i've been using Kevin Kubota actions for some time now. It seems we always enjoy making new actions by combining and tweaking and making our own adjustments. I'm currently mixing and making new stuff happen weekly actually. We have written a handful of actions that combines and mixes

I love the fact that Photoshop
Is the beef and potatoes behind getting the final imagery to our clients. Seriously, we love editing in LR and we love editing even more with PS. I think sometimes, I would rather touch the image in PS than in LR as I'm always remembering an action that I use or a technique that will get me where I want to go, and PS is the only way to get there. I do know that our studio images benefit from the use of PS and we wouldnt be where we are today without it.

I hate the fact that Photoshop
keeps changing things faster than I can learn them and that my images sometimes get stuck behind the top of the frame of photoshops menu bar, and I need to hit TAB key to close or move the image. Also, I liked the old school tool bar but when images open, they open behind the old school toolbar, and that somehow annoys me. I got used to the new toolbar now :) In addition, LR & PS both allow easy batch processing if you want to add multiple FX or actions to a set of images. I have found this very helpful in some of our stop motion editing. You can find a few recent examples here:

Al Cielo Hotel from del Sol Photography on Vimeo.

Hacienda Trash the dress from del Sol Photography on Vimeo.

If I could turn back the clock 10 years
I'd buy a digital camera and likely studio more photojournalism. I would have learned how to dive way way sooner and taken up underwater photography. Oh, I wish I new anything about video and codecs and editing on Final Cut. For sure, this type of training would have boooooosted me into a much higher position today.

In 10 years
I'm going to be retired on the beach sipping margaritas... wait, I do that already... I just need to work on the stop working part. HA HA, joking aside and please don't hate me. Actually, we are building a business model here that will hopefully be paying for my retirement in the future, no doubt. My plan is to have more time to do the work that I like to do vs the work that the clients like me to do.

If I could give one piece of advice it would be
Keep your vendors super high on the priority list of people to please. If you start to become so busy that you can't keep up its important that you actually do pinch yourself to say "hey, I can't keep up". Immediately, re evaluate why this is happening and have a round table with yourself, wife, or business partners, colleagues, whoever, and come up with a plan to make things better. You never know what can come of these meetings. I also would like to recommend Kelby Online-Training to anybody out there who is studying techniques and trying to get better. We have trained one of our editing specialists with the tutorials there.

Your readers can find out more about me
del Sol photography blog: www.delsolphotography.com/blog (a work in progress). Here you can follow our recent work and tag along on our most recent adventures. Also, a flash photography blog (www.flashflavor.com) geared toward help photographers with their approach to using creative off camera flash lighting techniques. We also take readers photos into consideration for publication and love to discuss anything related to creative wedding photography lighting. I currently am not sponsored or paid to give away my techniques, I just do it out of the goodness in my heart.... what is wrong with me?

Ladies & Gentlemen, let's hear it for Matt Adcock!!

del Sol Photography is actually a team effort
Matt Adcock : owner / principal Photographer
Sol Tamargo: owner / Principal Photographer
Vincent Guihard : Associate Photographer
Melissa Mercado : Studio Manager
Rodrigo Sanders : Photoshop & Lightroom Specialist
Cathi Milanes: Post Production Manager

Is the Pen Tool past its prime?

2009-07-14T07:05:00.002-04:00

Every now and then I see a tutorial that recommends using the Pen tool as a means of selecting something in Photoshop. I've always suggested to use whatever tool works best for you, but in a couple of the examples I saw, I found myself asking "why on earth are they using the Pen tool?" Also in many seminars people come and tell me that they had heard that the Pen tool creates "better" or "more accurate" selections. Not necessarily.

One of the the advantages of using the Pen tool is the ability to "tweak" the results using the anchor points on the path that's created with the Pen. Does that mean you'll get a better selection? Perhaps, but not always. As other selection tools and techniques have gotten better I find myself using the Pen tool less and less for selections.

Here's an example. I wanted to select the chef in this photo to put him on a different background.
Original photo:

First attempt: Quick Selection tool, Auto-Enhance turned off. Approximately 9 seconds

Second attempt: Quick Selection tool, Auto-Enhance turned on. Approximately 12 seconds

Third attempt: Pen tool, creating and tweaking the path. Approximately 3 minutes

When I compare all three (shown above a green layer for better look at the edges) I'm pretty darn happy with the edges created by the Quick Selection tool with Auto-Enhance turned on. A couple of the edges of the Pen-based selection look a little crisper, but remember we're comparing that to the Quick Selection tool with no tweaking. If I'd spent another minute or so I could have created an even better edge.

So is the Quick Selection tool just as good a selection tool as the Pen tool? Very often, I'd say yes it is. If nothing else, I can create a selection that's very close to what I want with the Quick Selection tool and then tweak it - still in less time than it takes with the Pen tool. (This assumes that there is a pretty good separation between the colors and what you're trying to select and the surrounding background areas. If everything is the same color, then the Pen tool can certainly come in handy)

And remember, you've gotta think about the end result too. If the reason I'm extracting the chef is to use in a small banner ad like this

why would I spend all that time with the Pen tool when it looks just perfect at this size using the Quick Selection tool?

Do I use the Pen tool? Definitely - as a tool to create beautiful curves that I fill with a color, there nothing better. As a designer it's one of the best creation tools in Photoshop.

Would I recommend to a beginner that they should learn the Pen tool as a selection tool? Hmmmm, probably not.

So if you're a pro at using the Pen tool, keep at it. I just worry that many people continue to use the Pen tool as a selection tool because they assume that it's still the best tool for the job - and I don't think that's true any more.
So, just for fun, try the Quick Selection tool and see if you don't start liking this tool, at least for some selection work.

If you don't currently use the Pen tool to make selections I would suggest that you shouldn't worry about that too much. As long as you're happy with the results of other selection methods, stick with those. If on the other hand, you want to learn more about using the Pen tool as a creative drawing tool, yes - watch some of the helpful Pen tool tutorials out there and start playing with anchor points!

But in my opinion, as a selection tool the Pen tool is not as important as it once was.

Finish the Sentence...with David duChemin

2009-07-10T08:15:00.000-04:00

Finish the Sentence...with Deke McClelland

2009-07-03T07:43:00.001-04:00

"It's time once again to ask a well-known photographer, instructor or otherwise interesting person the same 10 questions and ask them to Finish the Sentence! In this special holiday edition, the sentences are finished by.... Deke McClelland.

Deke, please Finish the Sentence..."

My favorite photography accessory (lights, modifier, bag, tripod) is
an extra battery with a full charge on.

I’ve learned the most from...
listening to my students.

If I could go anywhere in the world it would be_____ because….
exactly where I am (Boulder, CO) 150 million years ago, because I’d get to hang out with my big old super-terrifying dinosaurs buddies. So much catching up to do!

My most-used Photoshop add-on, plugin, action set (etc) is
the Macintosh operating system. I’ve always found it to be a really nifty Photoshop helper.

I love the fact that Photoshop
has a deep blue icon.

I hate the fact that Photoshop
still hasn’t learn to talk.

If I could turn back the clock 10 years
I’d get back an entire decade of my life! Can you just imagine? That would rock. (Is this actually an option? Are you magical?!)

In 10 years
I will learn how to fly. You know, with my arms.

If I could give one piece of advice it would be
give love more, take love less. I know, I got all serious there . But it’s the secret of life, so I thought I really ought to pass it along.

Your readers can find out more about me
at their local bookstore. Unless they have this diabolical thing called the Internet, in which case: deke.com.

Ladies & Gentlemen, let's hear it for Deke McClelland!!

Deke McClelland is an internationally renowned instructor and popular lecturer with an emphasis on Photoshop and the wider realm of digital imaging and computer graphics. He hosts the in-box videos that ship with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator CS4, as well as most previous versions throughout this decade. His top-ranking “One-on-One” training series on lynda.com has established him as the #1 Photoshop video trainer in the world. Deke also created the bestselling One-on-One book series, published by Deke Press and O’Reilly Media. His body of work includes over 80 books and hundreds of hours of video training, which have garnered over 30 awards, including seven Computer Press Awards and nine video industry honors.

In 2008 Deke launched dekeOnline, a website dedicated to the worlds of graphics and imaging that explores new developments and provides expert tips, insights, and support. dekeOnline hosts two free media products, the irreverent “dekePod” video series and the audio-only, lounge-flavored “Martini Hour.” Deke’s energetic and distinctly personal training style continues to expand his customer base of creative professionals worldwide, with more than 10,000 dekeOnline members in the first year.

Sometimes being the best is not enough

2009-06-30T07:44:00.001-04:00

This past weekend I was looking through some boxes filled with "stuff" - things I have acquired over the years, and kept for reasons I don't really know. One of the things that I uncovered was a promotional giveaway for an application called Aldus Persuasion. Remember that? Probably not. I was a presentation software introduced circa 1989 that was around until about 1997. At the time, it totally kicked PowerPoint's a$$, offering features that Microsoft took years to copy and include in PowerPoint. I remember many occasions when I was running a slide show and people would run up and ask how I did that, because clearly they were PowerPoint users and knew that what I showed them wasn't possible in their software.

Unfortunately, one of the things that lead to the demise of Persuasion was that it cost around $300, compared to the "you get it free in Microsoft Office" for PowerPoint. And since PowerPoint came "for free", no one went looking for other presentation software. So even though it was w-a-a-a-a-y better than PowerPoint, Persuasion eventually lost the battle, because of the cost and the lack of awareness of the product.

So why am I bring this up? Well, it occurred to me that there are probably other products - and people - out there that are great but we don't know about them. So if you use a plug-in or camera accessory that you think is fabulous, tell people about it. If you see amazing work from a designer or photographer that isn't "famous", give them some love on Twitter, blog about them, or leave a comment here.

I'd hate to think of other cool products or talented people that don't get their due recognition, just because no one has heard of them.

Finish the Sentence...with Lesa Snider

2009-06-26T13:38:00.003-04:00

Non-destructive or not?

2009-06-23T12:33:00.003-04:00

In my seminars I generally teach methods that are very flexible, allowing you to change your mind and make adjustments even after the document has been saved. Many people refer to this as a "non-destructive" workflow. Over the last six months or so I've been hearing some discussion as to whether this is really "necessary" or not. In fact, going back to December, my pal Matt Kloskowski churned up the waters on this topic with his guest spot on Scott Kelby's blog. If you didn't read it then, it's worth a look.

Matt makes some great points, including saying things like (me paraphrasing here) "I've never had to go back and make changes to a document". At my most recent seminar, a few people questioned whether they should "always" use non-destructive methods. So here's my take on this topic.

Most of the time I use flexible, editable - non-destructive - methods such as adjustment layers, layer masks and smart objects for two basic reasons:

1. just in case
2. why not

Just in case:
Although I agree with Matt that I don't often have to make changes to an exiting document, sometimes I do. For example, I don't know about you but quite often my images look a little different when I print them, so having the opportunity to make some tweaks - very easily - just makes sense to me. Now and then I do work for clients (these days that means family and friends) and it's not unusual for them to ask me to "just change this one thing". Preserving layers (and pixels) though flexible methods gives me the ability to do this.

Why not:
Yes, this is one of my reasons too: why not use non-destructive methods? Generally speaking it doesn't take any longer to clone on a separate layer, scale a Smart Object, use adjustment layers versus the Image>Adjustment menu or a layer mask rather than erase. (Okay, in a few cases it might take a second or two longer, but not much). What's the downside of using a non-destructive workflow? You have more layers, your file size is a little bigger? So call me paranoid, but I'll happily live with a few extra layers......just in case.

Maybe this stems from something that happened to me years ago. I designed a magazine cover that was a collage of 20 or so photographs, so lots of layers and masks. Once the project as done, and after repeated promises from the client that they'd never use the cover again, I chose to flatten and save it so I had a copy. Well, six months later they called me to say that they had decided to reprint that issue (for the first time in their magazine's history) and "just" needed me to make a few changes. At the time I remember thinking, I wonder if I can say, "no I can't" but realized that wasn't going to work. So I had to rebuild the whole thing from scratch. (and they certainly weren't going to pay me to rebuild it - they were expecting a bill for an hour's worth of "tweaking")

So perhaps that's where my philosophy of "just in case" comes from. Still, it just makes sense to me.

Do I ever pull out the Eraser and delete some pixels? Sure, now and then. But most of the time it's a Layer Mask.

As an aside, it appears the Adobe is gently nudging us in the direction of non-destructive methods in Photoshop CS4 with the changes to Adjustments layers (must more visible than before), the Masks panel and ongoing tweaks to Smart Filters and Smart Objects.

Needless to say, it comes down to personal choose. But do me one small favor: before you flatten, merge down, erase, etc, consider the words "just in case" .

Finish the Sentence...with Peter Bauer

2009-06-19T08:46:00.004-04:00

"It's time once again to ask a well-known photographer, instructor or otherwise interesting person the same 10 questions and ask them to Finish the Sentence! This week the sentences are finished by.... Peter Bauer.

Pete, please Finish the Sentence..."

My favorite photography accessory (lights, modifier, bag, tripod) is
my monopod. Combined with a couple of big, industrial-strength strips of Velcro, it's as steady as a tripod and can be used in much tighter spaces. Strap it to a fence post or a stop sign, use it in a museum or a church, voila! a stable shooting platform that's easy to carry and requires just inches of floor space.

I’ve learned the most from..
the membership of NAPP. As the Help Desk director for NAPP, I've answered questions from people all over the world, working with Photoshop in a variety of ways to do some pretty incredible things. From the police forensic photographers to the astronomers, from the portrait studios to the research labs, from the photojournalists to the reconstructive surgeons, there's a huge spectrum of Photoshop users with questions about "how" and "why" and even "when." And Jeanne and Rob and I get to help them find the answers that work best for them. It's those questions that help me explore the deepest, darkest corners of this magnificent jungle we call "Photoshop."

If I could go anywhere in the world it would be_____ because….
the archives of the Vatican because there's more to life than photography and Photoshop. Those archives contain documents and artwork spanning thousands of years, with information that brings history to life. Not only grand secrets, but also the minutia of daily life over that past centuries, the details of lives and events long past, could be explored. And those explorations can help put into perspective not only the present, but the future. By studying our past, we better prepare ourselves for what is to come.

My most-used Photoshop add-on, plugin, action set (etc) is
a set of Actions I recorded for my own use years ago. Because of my work with the Help Desk, where most NAPP members don't have all of the plug-ins available to me, my daily work is pretty much Photoshop-native. My writing and production work is streamlined by my Actions, which not only save me time, they ensure accuracy. When I'm producing my own art, however, I also enjoy working with a variety of plug-ins from Nik Multimedia and OnOne Software and, of course, Genuine Fractals.

I love the fact that Photoshop
enables me to isolated and work with specific groups of pixel, chosen by location in an image or by color throughout an image. By creating selections and masks, I can work with each element within an image to finesse that part of the image to meet my artistic vision. For example, in my award-winning glacier photo "A Contrast of Matters," the land mass to the right and the glacier to the left required different amounts of sharpening in order to create the proper visual balance between the elements. By duplicating the original image layer and using layer masks, I was able to reach my artistic goal using Photoshop in a way that would be virtually impossible with a program that doesn't support selections and masks.

I hate the fact that Photoshop
um, sorry, Dave and readers, I can't think of anything about Photoshop that I "hate." I'm not being a homer, it's just that "hate" is such a strong word. There are some things I'd like to see different in Photoshop, such as being able to re-name or annotate the names of steps in an Action and Smart Filters applied to a Smart Object, but "hate" is too strong a word for me to use with computer software.

If I could turn back the clock 10 years
I would resist the temptation. The past 10 years have been incredibly good to me and I wouldn't want to take the chance of screwing up something tht would make today any less beautiful than it is.

In 10 years
hopefully I'll be getting ready to write Photoshop CS10 for Dummies and will be unpacking from an 11th teaching assignment at the Texas School of Professional Photography.

If I could give one piece of advice it would be
to always remember that experience is not what we have done in our lives, experience is what we have learned from what we have done in our lives.

Your readers can find out more about me
at IndyPixels.com (when I finally finish the re-build).

Ladies & Gentlemen, let's hear it for Peter Bauer!!
Pete Bauer is an award-winning photographer and the author or co-author of a dozen major titles on Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and digital photography. His newest Photoshop book is an update to the must-have Photoshop for Dummies. As the Help Desk Director for the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP), he personally answers thousands of e-mail questions annually about Photoshop, photography, and computer graphics. In his role as NAPP Help Desk Director, Pete has contributed to and assisted on such projects as feature film special effects, major book and magazine publications, award-winning Web sites, and fine-art exhibitions. Pete received the NAPP Pioneer of Photoshop award in September 2005, and is a seven-time Photoshop Hall of Fame nominee. An Adobe Certified Expert (ACE), he is a regular contributor to Photoshop User and Layers magazines, hosts video training titles for Lynda.com, and produces on-line tutorials for both InformIt.com and PlanetPhotoshop.com. He has taught computer graphics at the university level and serves as a computer graphics efficiency consultant for a select corporate clientele. Pete appears regularly as a member of the Photoshop World Instructor Dream Team and has been a featured speaker at Professional Photographers' and Photoshop conventions in both the US and Canada. Pete and his wife, Prof. Mary Ellen O’Connell of the Notre Dame Law School, live along the St. Joseph River in South Bend, Indiana.

Carter

2009-06-16T07:16:00.000-04:00

Okay, so by the time this post is published I'll be in Seattle doing some teaching - very hush hush (not really, I just always wanted to say that). So until I get another chance to post something, here's a couple of pics from a newborn shoot I did this past weekend for my friends.

Timing is everyting - he was quite unhappy at this point, but I hapened to capture a moment when he looked like he was smiling.

I love the wrinkles around a baby's wrist and arms!

Finish the Sentence...with Rich Harrington

2009-06-12T07:58:00.001-04:00

[never mind the music, cue the video intro]
"It's time once again to ask a well-known photographer, instructor or otherwise interesting person the same 10 questions and ask them to Finish the Sentence! This week the sentences are finished by.... Rich Harrington.

Rich, please Finish the Sentence..."

My favorite photography accessory (lights, modifier, bag, tripod) is
my geotagging receiver. I love to be able to look up photos after the shoot because I have a terrible memory for names. I can now go back after the shoot and reconnect and reconstruct the story behind my pictures. I really like to be able to place my photos into context and connect memories, images, and history together. There's lots of brands out there, but jump on this train as it is such great data to have. I've been using the Blue2Can from Red Hen Systems, it works great.

I’ve learned the most from..
my wife. Together we've worked through a lot of things and grown a lot from a couple of kids in college. I've learned to be a better parent, I've learned how to put someone else first, and I've learned that life isn't always buttons and filters and sliders. It may sound sappy, but it's nice to have perspective, great kids, and someone to share life's joys and sorrows. If you've got someone, hold on and make it work.

If I could go anywhere in the world it would be_____ because….
the Turks & Caicos Islands because they are beutiful with great scuba diving and beaches. They are one of the most "untouched" islands, in that they are not completely overrun with tourism. It's a great place to shoot photos (both above and under water). If you like warm weather, beautiful beaches, and great sights, these are some of the best islands you'll find. Personal recommendation, stop at a local grocery store, load up on fresh fruit and Junkanoo Cruzan rum... a daquiri (or three) a day really makes it easier to get into island time and the feel of the sea breeeze.

My most-used Photoshop add-on, plugin, action set (etc) is
I've been using nIk Silver Efex alot on my photos for Black and White Conversion. I find it a very intuitive and rewarding filter that lets me get back to enjoying black and white. I use it both in Photoshop and Aperture, and I think they really nailed the controls. I like to save my own presets as starting points and just love how easy it is to bring out details for dramatic skies.

I love the fact that Photoshop
is so flexible and realtively easy to use. It encourages people to try new things and explore their images. Photoshop is very rewarding to many users who jump right in.

I hate the fact that Photoshop
is not approached with a more formal manner of study by many users. I've had the joy of teaching Photoshop at university level. It's really amazing what happens when user's take the time to build up their knowledge from a strong foundation. So many people blow past the fundamentals of layers, compositing, and channels... then struggle with the application. While it looks easy as times, digging deep into the foundation of digital imaging really pays off. I have my own strong opinions of what the "essentials" are, but it comes from years in a classroom. I tried to capture that college experience into my book, Understanding Adobe Photoshop and bring it to life in the free weekly podcast of the same name.

If I could turn back the clock 10 years
I'd buy a heck of a lot of Appe and Adobe stock, file a few patents for the iPhone, and become self-employed about 3 years earlier. I'd also make more time for friends, music, and laughter.

In 10 years
I look forward to
Teaching my son how to drive a car.
Seeing my daughter's love of music develop.
Taking many family vacations.
Celebrating 20 years of marriage.
Laughing with family.
Making new friends and keeping old ones.
Continuing to help people to learn to enjoy their digital life while helping them get faster and more efficient so they can enjoy their real life more often.

If I could give one piece of advice it would be
Don't go to bed angry. Try to work out the issue, you'll sleep better, you'll feel better, and the next day will be a new day instead of an old argument.

Your readers can find out more about me
www.RasterVector.com
www.PhotoshopForVideo.com
www.twitter.com/rhedpixel
www.rhedpixel.com

Ladies & Gentlemen, let's hear it for Rich Harrington!!
A certified instructor for Adobe, Apple, and Avid, Rich is a practiced expert in motion graphic design and digital video. Starting his career out in the world of broadcast journalism, Rich has always had great interest in visual communications. His producing skills were also recognized by AV Video Multimedia Producer Magazine who named him as one of the Top Producers of 2004.
Rich is a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals Instructor Dream Team, and a popular speaker on the digital video circuit. He has chaired conferences since 2003 for the National Association of Broadcasters.

Rich is an internationally published author. His book, Photoshop for Video, was the first of its kind to focus on Photoshop’s application in the world of video. He is also a contributing author for Apple’s Aperture, iLife ’09 and iWork ’09, After Effects for Flash | Flash for After Effects, Video:Made on a MAc, and Producing Video Podcasts.

A Master's Degree in Project Management fills out Rich’s broad spectrum of experience. Rich enjoys traveling and digital photography, as well as teaching his kids the joys of science fiction and comic books.

Finish the Sentence...with Martin Evening

2009-06-05T07:16:00.001-04:00

[this week we feature the international edition of our show]
"It's time once again to ask a well-known photographer, instructor or otherwise interesting person the same 10 questions and ask them to Finish the Sentence! This week the sentences are finished by.... Martin Evening.

Martin, please Finish the Sentence..."

My favorite photography accessory (lights, modifier, bag, tripod) is
is the tethered cable that allows me to connect the camera to the computer. It's such a simple thing to pick I know. At first I was reluctant to shoot tethered, but it has made such a difference to the speed at which I can now shoot in the studio and approve shots on the monitor

I’ve learned the most from..
Jeff Schewe. Jeff was one of the first Photoshop gurus I got to meet in person when I started traveling over to the US to do seminars and we have become good buddies ever since.

If I could go anywhere in the world it would be_____ because….
the Democratic Republic of Congo because my father spent his early adult life out there and helped build a large church right in the heart of the then Belgian Congo. Ever since the sixties there has been a lot of unrest in the Congo and it is still not really safe for Westerners to travel there. I'm not keen to put myself in danger, but I would one day like to visit the Congolese villages where he lived and worked.

My most-used Photoshop add-on, plugin, action set (etc) is
the TurningGate.net Web Gallery styles designed for the Lightroom Web module. Matthew Campagna has created a whole bunch of Gallery styles for Lightroom and I use these all the time. The photo pages on my photography website were all created directly out of Lightroom using one of Matthew's Galleries.

I love the fact that Photoshop
has made such a huge difference to the way I shoot and finish off my photographs.

I hate the fact that Photoshop
doesn't always integrate so well with the Lightroom way of doing things and vice versa. Often this is down to legacy code that can't be changed so easily in Photoshop and it's unfair to criticise, but it would be nice if both products shared similar protocols.

If I could turn back the clock 10 years
there would be no Camera Raw, no healing brush, no Lightroom! How on earth would I survive?

In 10 years
I'll be living in our dream house in the British countryside, growing our own produce and being driven spare by our teenage daughter who'll probably be wanting us to move back to busy London.

If I could give one piece of advice it would be
lways keep an open mind. With Photoshop I have had to continually reevaluate how I work with the program, been willing to adopt new approaches to certain Photoshop tasks and throw out the old favorite techniques. Technology is constantly evolving and we must be prepared to evolve too.

Your readers can find out more about me
at www.martinevening.com and www.photoshopforphotographers.com

Ladies & Gentlemen, let's hear it for Martin Evening!!
Martin Evening is a London-based advertising and fashion photographer and noted expert in both photography and digital imaging. Martin is the author of the best-selling book The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book: The Complete Guide for Photographers (Adobe Press, 2008). In addition, he wrote the book Adobe Photoshop CS4 For Photographers (Focal Press, 2008) and Adobe Photoshop CS4 For Photographers: The Ultimate Workshop, which was co-written with Jeff Schewe (Focal Press, 20089). Martin is sought after for speaking and lecturing, including in the U.S., including Photoshop World. Martin also works with the Photoshop and Lightroom engineering teams, consulting on new feature development and alpha and beta testing. He is also one of the founding members of PixelGenius, a software design company producing automated production and creative plug-ins for Photoshop.

Embarrassing photo time (sort of)

2009-06-04T08:14:00.001-04:00

Over on his blog, Scott Kelby has been posting "embarrassing" photos from his past. Here's my variation on that theme: an embarrassing lack of photo. The following scan is from my yearbook.

In our yearbook, if there wasn't a photo for someone, they'd use a standard silhouette (see A). For some reason my photo didn't make it into the book, which was bad enough since I did have one taken. But to add insult to injury, the silhouette beside my name was of a girl! (B) Could it be any worse for a high school grad? jeez.

....It is good to see that my fav quote is still valid all these years later ;)

On ink

2009-06-03T09:51:00.002-04:00

Last night I needed to print an 8 x 10 on my wonderful Epson R1800 printer, but the ink light was flashing at me. Opening up the lid, I see the Cyan light is solid red, which apparently means that it's completely dry. Of course I try a print anyways only to confirm that there's little to no cyan ink (when the sky has no color at all).

So I head to a large office retailer than I know has a wall full of ink. As I scan the wall looking for the cyan for my printer (ink #T504022 or something like that) I see rows of ink by starting number: 20, 30, 40, 60.... but no 50s. A helpful store employee sees me searching and comes and asks if he can help me find a particular ink, so I tell him what I'm looking for. He gives me the "you have THAT printer" face and says, "Oh that ink is a special order, I can have it for you by Thursday"

Then it hits me. How many people walk into a store to buy ink because they think, "Hmmm, I might be running out soon"? No, we come in deparate need because we need to make a print and some of our ink has run out. Right?

So this is just my little rant to remind all of us with ink jet printers - particular one of those printers that apparently aren't standard - to go buy some ink, just in case you run out at an inopportune time.

I feel better now, except for the fact that I still need Cyan ink.

Finish the Sentence...with Don Giannatti

2009-05-29T07:45:00.004-04:00

[start the smoke machine and crank up the volume on the game show music]
"It's time once again to ask a well-known photographer, instructor or otherwise interesting person the same 10 questions and ask them to Finish the Sentence! This week the sentences are finished by.... Don Giannatti.

Don, please Finish the Sentence..."

My favorite photography accessory (lights, modifier, bag, tripod) is

I’ve learned the most from..
I’ve learned the most from studying the masters; Demarchelier, Watson, Penn, Avedon, Elgort for a few. Noting how they took the light, made it part of the scene or a distinctive element helps me design a shot in my head. Previsualizing is also being able to pull out some of the images in your head and manipulating the elements to make it your own.

If I could go anywhere in the world it would be_____ because….
Seville because I love the land. The whole Tuscany / Seville / Valencia area is so beautiful in the work of others. I would like an opportunity to shoot it my way. The landscape and the people... my way.

My most-used Photoshop add-on, plugin, action set (etc) is
my own sets of small tweaks and adds. I am not much for big actions, but I do love Tom Kuyper's Luminosity Actions. They have been a secret of mine for a long time now. Hey, you wont print that will you? Ah, dang, now everyone will know about his great action set. ;-)

I love the fact that Photoshop
let's me reveal and create and combine and releive and push and pull and sharpend and soften and clear and muddle and... well, yeah.

I hate the fact that Photoshop
makes people get friggin' sloppy on their work. Shoot it and fix it would be an automatic no-go if I was hiring a shooter. And there is a difference between highly manipulated, illustrative work and Photoshophackery... telling the difference isn't really that hard.

If I could turn back the clock 10 years
I would steer my ad agency away from the DotCom clients and the IPO madness that led to the bubble. And I would have not been partners with anyone.

In 10 years
I will be much older than today, hopefully a little wiser, and devilishly handsome. Ok... two outta three ain't bad.

If I could give one piece of advice it would be
to treat their photography as an extension of themselves. Don't become a syncophant of some certain style or method. Let the images flow from the brain/eye/camera instead of forcing the images to fit some arbitrary set of rules that don't really exist. Learning the craft and the history of this incredible medium facilitates that so well.

Your readers can find out more about me
at www.dongiannatti.com, www.lighting-essentials.com, and www.learntolight.com

Ladies & Gentlemen, let's hear it for Don Giannatti!!!
Don Giannatti has been a photographer for over 40 years. From local to national clients, Don brought a personal touch and unique style to the projects he shot. Still life to architecture, lifestyle to beauty. Equally at home on location or in the studio, he works to deliver what the client wants and strives to bring a little more to the finished project.
Photography took him to create studios in New York and Chicago, with a few brief stops in LA, but eventually the love of the desert brought him home to Phoenix.
In the mid 90s he started doing more graphic design for his clients and that eventually grew into Ocean Integrated Media Group, which was the third largest advertising agency in Phoenix in 2000. DotCom clientele and terrorism in New York combined to force the closing of the agency in mid 2002, but Don kept on with Steel ID.
In 2006 he started teaching small workshops in his Phoenix studio. Initially attracting local and national students to the small, intimate, hands on training, the workshops have grown to be something he enjoys immensely. Currently Don travels to venues sometimes overlooked by the name workshops and works with photographers from beginners to professional. His unique teaching style and total involvement in the workshop has made it one of the best around.
He also authors a site for photographers at Lighting Essentials: A Place for Photographers.

Finish the Sentence...with Carrie Sandoval

2009-05-22T07:49:00.000-04:00

[no game show music this week - instead, gentle nursery rhymes]
"It's time once again to ask a well-known photographer, instructor or otherwise interesting person the same 10 questions and ask them to Finish the Sentence! This week the sentences are finished by.... Carrie Sandoval.

Carrie, please Finish the Sentence..."

My favorite photography accessory (lights, modifier, bag, tripod) is
5d underwater housing (I know, unrelated to my professional style, but my camera is extremely boring since I use all natural light).

I’ve learned the most from..
Practicing; myself.

If I could go anywhere in the world it would be_____ because….
Australia because the land is beautiful and the people are friendly!

My most-used Photoshop add-on, plugin, action set (etc) is
Color: Lilyblue's Coral action.

I love the fact that Photoshop
Gives me 100% control.

I hate the fact that Photoshop
Made me gain 10 pounds.

If I could turn back the clock 10 years
Sigh. I would love to have nice pictures of my son (born 2000) and twins girls (born 2002) as newborn babies. If only I had been into (baby / newborn) photography then. But... it would have been difficult for me to do this profession while I struggled to build my family.

In 10 years
Hmm? I am totally content where I am right now. I can't decide if I would love photographing celebrity babies or not. I'd love to at least try!

If I could give one piece of advice it would be
Beautiful tones start with great lighting, not great photoshop skills.

Your readers can find out more about me
www.capturedbycarrie.com/

Ladies & Gentlemen, children (...babies), let's hear it for Carrie Sandoval!!!

Carrie Sandoval is a children's photographer based in southern California. She has been recognized both locally and world wide for her inventive, conceptual photography work with newborn babies. She is constantly challenging herself by using newfangled poses and props. Each and every baby is a complete inspiration!

My take on Twitter

2009-05-20T07:49:00.003-04:00

There's been a lot of discussion lately (around our offices anyways) about the pros and cons of Twitter. Personally, I've just recently "come back" to Twitter after giving up on it 6 months ago or so. Why did I give up on it, and why am I more convinced about it today?
When I first joined Twitter most of the posts seemed to be in the "what I had for breakfast" kind of category. Fascinating to some perhaps, but not me. That also meant that I felt like I didn't have a lot to say, mostly because I didn't really think it would be that interesting for someone to read about my dining habits. So I gave up on Twitter.

Then a few weeks ago I kept reading the "buzz" about Twitter and found myself wondering, "has it really changed, or is it still mostly updates that are of no interest to me?". So I started poking around, following some people, seeing what kind of things were being mentioned, and found that overall, there HAS been a change (for the most part) in the Twittersphere (or whatever the cool kids are calling it).

Now instead of worrying about always having something to say, I post when I come across something that I think my followers (what a weird thing that is to say: "my followers") would find useful. I've started posting a short photography quote of the day (PQOTD), and links to cool web sites, contests, etc. Yes, some of it is self-serving (such as my upcoming seminars etc) but much of it - at least I hope - is follower-serving.

I follow a lot of blogs and read lots of forum posts, and yet through Twitter I found out about some great photographers, contests, workshops and other goodies that I wouldn't have known about.

Here's my thoughts on Twitter:

1. I post updates only after I ask myself, is this interesting or useful?
2. I don't feel compelled to post every hour on the hour - nor should anyone else.
3. I don't RT (re-tweet or forward for those newbies like me) haphazardly. If it's interesting or useful, I will RT (see number 1)
4. I follow people who have interesting and useful things to say
5. I de-follow (?) people who post waaaay too much about their personal lives, or who post waaaaay too often
(important note about number 5: IMHO, no matter how interesting the posts might be, there's a limit to how many tmes I want to see the same person post in a one hour period. There is such a thing as overkill)

I think that Twitter is becoming an important business tool, where people/companies can quickly get the word out about new products, contests, specials, sales, as so on. Many photographers are taking advantage of Twitter to link to their latest images or to spread the word about an upcoming event. To that I say, awesome! Keep it up.

To the people who decide to continue to Tweet mostly about their meals, airport woes, change in hair color, etc - personally, I will de-follow you (I really do have to learn more about the Twitter lingo, so I can be one of the cool kids). Please don't take it personally, but that's just not interesting to me. (Imagine that Twitter posts were phone calls that you had to answer just to hear "Hey, just wanted to let you know where I had dinner..." Wouldn't that drive you crazy?)

So if you're one of those Twittering folks (or if you decide to try it), please do me the honor of following me. I can't promise that I'll follow you, but who knows ;)

My first newborn photo shoot

2009-05-19T07:33:00.001-04:00

This past weekend I had the pleasure of doing a newborn photo shoot for friends of mine. Here are a few shots.....
(no Photoshop, just some minor exposure adjustments in Camera Raw)

Shot in their home with a pop-up black background and Wescott lights. I also brought a kid-sized beanbag chair and a black bath mat (it photographs like a nice rug, but it has a rubber backing, making it ideal for the accident that happened during the "naked baby" photos)

I learned a lot on this shoot - including that when baby says the shoot is over, it's over! Can't wait for the next one. Thanks Mike, Jenn and Baby Parker!