Adding drop shadows in Corel Painter

By Karen Sperling

Painter has an automatic drop shadow tool like Photoshop, but I find a manual approach works better. Read on to see how to do it.

Caption: Photo ©2006 Mary Wynn Ball. Backdrop ©2006 Laurence Gartel.

Get a GRIP

By Stan Sholik

Camera cables. They were a bother in the studio when shooting film, but wireless flash triggering systems freed most photographers from the need to snake a sync cord from their camera to a power pack. One less cable for subjects, clients or art directors to trip over.

Now we have tethered image capture with digital cameras in the studio, and camera cables are back with a vengeance. Power cable, USB or Firewire cable, and possibly a sync cord need to be managed, or some connection is sure to break at the least opportune time and disrupt the flow of the session. Canon EOS-1D Mark II photographers are particularly aware of this problem with the issue surrounding the Firewire port connection on their cameras.

Caption: With the D2X mounted vertically, the TetherGRIP Pro ensures that the weight of the cables doesn’t pull the cords from the camera. Photo ©Stan Sholik.

The TetherGRIP Pro system is designed expressly to deal with cable management for photographers, both film and digital. Conceived by a professional photographer, it is a simple, foolproof design that really does the job, easily holding the three cables I use when shooting tethered in the studio. The system consists of a small camera connector that you attach to a convenient place on the camera body. The camera connector snaps into the TetherGRIP itself, a substantial clamp with a rotary knob that you tighten to grip the cables.

By Ellis Vener

Question: What isn't a mouse or a Wacom tablet, connects to a computer via USB, takes up minimal desk space and makes your Photoshop CS2 life easier and dramatically more efficient?

Answer: The Logitech NuLOOQ navigator.

Originally priced at $150 and available only for Mac OS X users, the price has now come down to $79.99. Beginning October 9, a Windows XP compatible version will be available. So what's the big deal and why should you check it out? It's an astounding way to increase your efficiency and speed while using Photoshop or other compatible applications.

In the September issue of Professional Photographer, we published the first part of Stan Sholik's look at the ins, outs, and applications of different types of backgrounds, "Background Check, Part 1: Getting real," which covers seamless paper, muslin, canvas, fabrics, cyc walls and other real drops. In the October issue, Sholik covers virtual backgrounds.

As a complement to the article, click through for a list of background designers, manufacturers and retail sellers with live links and information on the types of backgrounds they sell.

Professional Photographer magazine offers our readers free lighting tutorials from Web Photo School.

Fall is here, bringing a riot of rich, natural color. Do you want to push your color palette beyond khaki, denim and black? In this lesson, learn how to determine what color to use, how colors interact with other colors, and how to control saturation.

Topics Covered:

• Working with a stylist to create a specific look
• Setting up a high color-contrast set
• Using props to bind the look of a shot
• Shooting and reviewing images digitally
• Using Louvers to control soft light
• Creating a colored background spotlight with a Dedolight
• Tips on capturing natural-looking poses

Go to Contrasting Colors for Vivid Results at Web Photo School.

The Web publication itnews.com.au of Australia reported on Sept. 16 that Anthology Solutions, makers of Yellow Machine, a raid system reviewed in the August issue of Professional Photographer magazine, has gone into liquidation.

The product Web site, www.yellowmachine.com, now routes to www.yellowmachinecommunity.org, a user forum where Yellow Machine users offer advice and troubleshooting support. A Yellow Machine database of technical support FAQs is also still available.

According to itnews.com, a company statement previously available on the Web stated that Anthology Solutions had permanently closed as of Sept. 15. The story quotes John Robinson, country manager for Australia and New Zealand at Anthology, said the company’s closure was related to funding issues.

“The product was doing well and was getting good traction in the US and locally. However, there were issues relating to funding, management needed funding to bring the company through the year and they just couldn’t do it any longer," Robinson was quoted as saying in the article.

Press Release—Power Marketing 101 is proud to announce the dates for the 2007 Power Marketing Super Conference at The Resort at The Mountain in Mount Hood, Oregon. The dates for the four-day event are June 10-13 and will feature over 30 hours of programming, three days of trade show, a marketing exchange, early bird sessions, evening bonus programs plus many other activities. The all-star line-up includes Bruce Hudson, Tim & Bev Walden, Michael Redford, Calvin Hayes, Jeff & Kathleen Hawkins, Louis Tonsmeire, Kent Englebert, Luci Dumas and Mitche Graf.

The PMSC was created to provide professional photographers of all concentrations the opportunity to come together once a year and immerse themselves in quality sales and marketing education.   

The $449 registration includes all programming, all meals, social activities, bonus programs, and $25 of "Trade Show Bucks." For more information or to register log onto www.powermarketing101.com or call Power Marketing 101 at 888.544.4149 extension 2.

PPA constantly strives to increase and improve benefits for members, so we are excited to announce a great new find: BrokenJoeyRecords.com, one of the best sources for emotional, lyric-based music for photographers.

This site is custom-built around the needs of photographers by allowing searches for music based on type of photography. For example, type in the words “portrait / child” and you’ll be directed to music specifically designed for families with young children. Looking for wedding music? Type in “wedding / ceremony” and you will get music written with the ceremony in mind.

The music on BrokenJoeyRecords.com is high quality, and with the purchase of an affordable one-year license you maintain legal rights to use your chosen songs as many times as you want during that year.

Award-winning photojournalist discusses digital photography tips and building rapport with subjects

Press Release—This month, Kingston Technology Company, Inc., features award-winning photojournalist Harry Benson on its Kingston Icons of Photography Web site. Benson describes how he’s captured riveting photographs for major newspapers, plus Life, People and Vanity Fair magazines.

Kingston’s Icons of Photography Web site profiles some of the world’s most respected photographers. Each month, the company spotlights a different Icon plus their tips, techniques and an online gallery of images. Icons share anecdotes and advice  for taking better pictures, and cover topics ranging from lighting and backgrounds to color profiling and making the most of equipment. Through “try it yourself” suggestions, Icons explain how they tackle their own photography challenges.

October leads with a new profile by Scotland-born Benson, who claims that awareness and attention are very important when working as a photographer. “The biggest mistake photographers make is only looking at the world when they’re holding a camera. Take the time to look around and understand what is going on,” he says. “Photojournalists have a unique way of seeing the world. This is what makes us different.”

New company Image Trends, Inc. harnesses skills and knowledge of former Applied Science Fiction talent

Press Release—Image Trends, the provider of innovative digital imaging tools, has announced the Fisheye-Hemi Plug-In. This Adobe Photoshop Plug-in filter renders an aesthetically pleasing and natural view of people. Human faces and bodies are natural and undistorted, even on the edges.  Fisheye-Hemi corrects the extreme distortion of people that is common with rectilinear methods. Fisheye-Hemi preserves more of the original resolution, displays the intended composition and framing as seen in the viewfinder, and straightens vertical lines.

Left: original fish-eye lens capture; Right: typical rectilinear correction.

Above: Fisheye-Hemi image correction.

The consequences of the September 11, 2001, attacks touch millions of lives around the globe in more ways than we can imagine. Even now, five years after the event, remains are still being discovered near the former site of the World Trade Center twin towers.

Undertaken as a personal project, “Remembrance” is a collection of images by New York photographer and instructor Marie Triller, who returns to Ground Zero each year to document the 9.11 memorial service and its attendants. Her images record the anniversaries without bias or romance, reflecting the passage of time and tone as seen in the mourning faces, memorials, ceremony, displays of politics, protest and patriotism, and the signs of rebuilding and regeneration.