While a photographer’s skill and talent are fundamental to the artistic value of a photo, Douglas Dubler believes that printing is the final and most important part of the art of photography.

“The end result of the cycle of inspiration, execution and observation is the print. I go through all the trouble with the capture to get to the print; it’s a means to an end, and the end is the print,” he says. “When it comes to printing, the key to perfection lies in calibration and profiling.”

Dubler is an award-winning fashion, beauty and fine art photographer. Over the last 40 years, his pictures have captured some of the most famous names in the world for countless magazine covers and cosmetic ads. His training in fine and liberal arts gave him an attuned sense of form, color, and composition. His early experience as a plastic sculptor and silk screen artist instilled the dedication to detail and craft that appears in his photography.

For years, Dubler has used X-Rite color management solutions, most recently the new i1Publish Pro 2, which includes the next generation i1Pro 2 handheld spectrophotometer and the latest release of i1Profiler software.

“Your final print is really only as good as the paper profile you use to print it,” says Dubler. One of the i1Profiler features he appreciates most is its ability to compensate for the use of optical brightening agents (OBAs), using X-Rite’s incorporated Optical Brightener Compensation (OBC) technology together with either his i1iSis or the i1Pro 2 spectrophotometer. “i1iSis has long been my instrument of choice, but with the new i1Pro 2 spectrophotometer, I’m amazed at the high-quality results from this incredibly versatile device,” he says.

© Douglas Dubler

By Betsy Finn, M.Photog.Cr., CPP

If you've been in search of a compact wireless transmission system that fires your camera or strobes, then you may want to consider MicroSync Digital products. I was initially drawn to them because of the small size of the transmitter; it is just a little bigger than my thumb.

The transmitter has an LCD screen that displays the channel you're on and the battery level. There is a button next to the LCD screen that you can use to manually fire strobes (or the DSLR). On the flip side, there is an LED light (visible in image below) that flashes when in use. The transmitter also has an input for a sync cord if you'd like to connect to your DSLR that way, rather than using the hot shoe attachment. This unit comes pre-installed with a watch battery (CR2032); according to my user manual the battery should last approximately three years.

The receiver is larger than the transmitter, but still fit (mostly) in the palm of my hand. It also features an LCD screen and LED light; there is a receiver output and several strobe sync plugs that can be swapped out for compatibility with most lights (mono plug, mini plug, two prong plug). Each receiver takes two AA batteries; these won't last as long as the transmitter's battery, but should be good for about a year.

Receiver plugged into mono plug on a strobe unit (Strobe firing)

Receiver connected to DSLR via cable release cord (DSLR remote firing)

By Curtis Joe Walker

Portfolio Pro ($9.99) is a new app for creating a digital portfolio on the iPad, introducing Flickr and Dropbox integration as a welcome addition to the genre. Last year, we reviewed MediaPad Pro, and while we still like that app, Portfolio Pro greatly simplifies the process of populating and updating portfolios. It opens many new possibilities for photographers, and people in other fields as well, due to its ease of use.

The ease of use comes from integration with the Flickr and Dropbox APIs, allowing users to pull images directly from either of these cloud services into their portfolio. For photographers who have galleries already on Flickr, they can be imported on a set by set basis, speeding up the population of the app, using organization that many photographers already have in place.

Using Dropbox is similarly easy, and will work well for people who don’t want to use Flickr. Both services offer a free subscription level. Adding a step to your workflow that involves sending portfolio-worthy shots to either service directly from Lightroom or Aperture yields the benefit of having remote access to your best shots at any time, and the ability to tweak content during downtime.

The app also works beautifully in conjunction with images stored directly on the iPad. For photographers whose favorite online image services haven’t been linked to, it’s still possible to pull selections from them with the browser. The same holds true for photographers who want to pull images directly from their own site. For those using the iPad’s Camera Connection kit, it’s possible to upload images directly from the camera to the device and then into the app.

By Stan Sholik

From the incremental increase in product number and price, it is clear that there are no big changes in the Nikon SB-910 AF Speedlight from its predecessor, the SB-900. But the small changes make the SB-910 a worthy successor to the venerable SB-900.

Having personally experienced unexpected thermal shutdown of my SB-900s under conditions where my SB-800s were able to function, I appreciate the tweaks that Nikon made to the thermal sensor system. With the SB-910 there no longer is total shutdown until temperature levels decrease. Rather, recycle times decrease, allowing you to keep on shooting, just not at motor drive speeds, or so I’m told. While I tried to overstress the SB-910, I wasn’t successful. I think it would require higher ambient temperatures and humidity than the conditions I could test in, along with rapid firing. Wedding, sport and other photographers no longer need to fear their Nikon flash shutting down at an inopportune moment.

Thermal control didn’t come at the expense of flash function. Flash output of the SB-910 is identical to my SB-900s. This indicates that the SB-910 is using the same internal components for the flash system. TTL exposure accuracy is as good as ever, and repeated photos of the same subject still yields identical exposures.

Recycle time isn’t affected by the new thermal sensor system either. If anything, recycle time seems less with the SB-910, particularly at full power.

There are some tweaks to the shape of the flash body, but my RadioPopper radio slaves still align properly, so the changes are minor. And the PocketWizard ControlTL system interfaces properly also.

Nikon nailed the ergonomics and menu system on the SB-900, so there was little that needed improvement, but Nikon found a few things. The buttons on the back are now larger, and the three selection buttons below the display are backlit to ease operation in the dark. The Zoom button on the SB-900 is replaced with a Menu button to allow easier access to the menus.

©Stan Sholik

Externally, the SB-910 (left) is nearly identical to the SB-900 (right). Minor changes in the buttons below the LCD improve on the already excellent ergonomics. The menus on the SB-910 have been slightly revised also, and the brightness of the LCD has been greatly improved.

By Curtis Joe Walker

Air Display by Avatron Software ($9.99) is an app available for both iOS and Android that turns a tablet or smartphone into a wireless touch display for Windows and Mac. Other versions can turn computers (such as an iMac, or an otherwise useless old laptop) into a wireless secondary display as well.

Wireless linking means there's a bit of a delay in the mouse movements. Using Air Display as a primary screen while editing photos is not the purpose of the software. Rather, it allows a mobile user to eke out a bit more desktop from their laptop screen for parking toolbars and other essential clutter. It allows a desktop user to actually walk around the house with a screen backed by a full-powered computer in the den, driven by a virtual keyboard and a touch interface.

While the device is in use, jumping between other iOS apps will cause the connection to the desktop app to be interrupted, however Pandora can still play in the background, thankfully offloaded from the precious CPU cycles of the main computer. Accessing basic functionality through the 4-finger-swipe method will not interrupt the connection, and many iPad functions are unobtrusively maintained.

The software may not revolutionize one's workflow, but it gives a very powerful and useful capability to something otherwise likely to be sitting unused on a desk for part of the day.

Bonus: When used in conjunction with an Apple TV ($99), an iPad can wirelessly mirror itself onto a big screen TV or projector, effectively turning any HDTV into a wireless computer monitor.

Geek Bonus: Users itching to try out cutting edge operating system touch interfaces as they are being developed in Windows 8 and Mac OS 10.7 will now have an inexpensive means of testing out OS-level touch interface integrations using a tablet they may already have lying around.

iOS - http://itunes.apple.com/app/air-display/id368158927?ign-mpt=uo%3D6&mt=8
Android - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.avatron.airdisplay

By Robyn L. Pollman
All Images © Robyn Pollman

The December 2011 issue featured several camera bags and the gear that fit inside them.  Web Exclusives had an accompanying online article with several more bags.

Now we feature two more bags by Pompidoo Camera Bags and Shootsac.

The rules for my bag-tests were simple. I selected camera and electronic equipment I owned and used frequently both for personal and professional photography.  With the exception laptop pockets, I did not fill any exterior or interior pockets with additional items. I only filled each bag's interior compartment. In order to create additional storage space (exactly how I would carry the bag and contents for personal use), I did not always use all of the removable protective padding included with each bag.

Everything shown photographed in the "what fits" image had to not only fit inside the bag, but also allow the zipper on the bag to close – and each bag had to remain closed and stay closed when worn on my shoulder.

POMPIDOO Cologne Bag shown in Idle Turquoise - $323

Pompidoo is a new brand that uses natural leather and well thought-out form in a combination of contemporary design and functionality.

Inside, the Cologne Bag is separated into two compartments—one side for photo equipment with three removable padded dividers, and the other side for personal items and accessories.The bag also includes an interior zippered pocket for mobile phones.

My favorite feature: The color choices for the Cologne Bag line—they offer this style in virtually every color in the rainbow.

The Cologne Bag is made of genuine leather. The bag stands upright on its own and features a padded interior with two external zippered pockets.

Held:
Nikon D700 body with grip
Nikon 85mm f/1.4D
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
Nikon SB-600
Abie Designs camera strap

Measures: 45cm wide x 35cm high x 18cm deep

pompidoo.com

SHOOTSAC Tote & Shoot shown in Red - $229.00

The Shootsac Tote & Shoot by Jessica Claire is a fully-padded tote bag. It features a side-loading camera pocket for access to a camera with full-size lens attached from an outside pocket, ready to shoot. This leaves the main compartment of the bag free for an extra lens, a Shootsac Lens Bag, or other personal items.

My favorite feature: It would be hard to choose between the camera pocket (I've never seen anything like it!) and the back zippered-pocket that can hold an iPad, or be unzipped from the bottom to slip over the handle of a roller carry-on.

The Tote & Shoot is made from a polymer surface that resists stains, abrasion and germs with antimicrobial properties. Environmentally speaking, the material is PVC-free and contains no heavy metals, latex or other harmful ingredients. It is also water repellent and remains supple in any weather- it does not get stiff in the cold or soft in the heat. 

Held:
Nikon D700 body with grip
Nikon 50mm f/1.4G
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D
Nikon SB-600
Apple 15" MacBook Pro
Speck SeeThru Case for MacBook Pro
Abie Designs camera strap

Measures: 17" wide x 13.5" high x 6.5" deep

shootsac.com

By Marianne Drenthe

A few years ago I purchased my first ever iPhone phone editing app, and it happened to be the original CameraBag. At the time it felt completely revolutionary and simple to select an image from my photo library, run it through the app and end up with a completely edited image; to me it was simply amazing! This was the dawn of the iPhone camera apps, and the concept was different than what I (let's face it, all of us) was used to. Over the years, phone camera apps have come a very long way, and they seem to be getting better with each passing release.
   
Nevercenter, the creators of CameraBag, have created another revolution for photo editing, but this time for processing images on your computer. CameraBag 2 is an endlessly customizable, simple, cost-effective way to process images outside of the usual editing environment (for me – Photoshop CS3). I liked the program enough to envision using CameraBag 2 time after time to create fun processes with all my unedited point-and-shoot images, and even occasionally for use in customizing personal images taken with my DSLR. 
   
Enough raving about CameraBag 2, the real question is, "What can it do?" Short answer? A lot! It can do a lot!

COLOR CORRECT

We all have them (you know you do, too): Those images in which the white balance is less than perfect. What many photographers do is mask that unbalanced color with another color via a “vintage” process. I admit that’s tempting, but I like to work with a more balanced image before doing crazy processing techniques to it. CameraBag 2 has the ability to color correct any image right inside the app itself. Take for example this image (left), noisy, underexposed with ambient tungsten lighting from a table lamp over 10 feet away, it’s a fun image taken with my Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II and my Lensbaby. I did a quick color correct to just make the image less orange (below).  It was a quick fix with the Color Corrector tool under CameraBag 2's Adjust tab. The curve was pulled below the midline to correct for the orange color. I pulled the orange out from the shadows and midtones. Pulling the points below the horizontal set line desaturates your chosen color out of the image. The left-hand point on the line indicates shadows, the right point highlights. This is a quick way to do an overall color correct, and it's very effective in getting out whatever heavy cast you want.
 

STYLES MENU
For this before shot I’m using a quick point-and-shoot image shot with my Canon S95. It’s an image of my daughter before an annual father-daughter dance with an ’80s theme (below). I wanted to find my favorite variation in the Styles menu, CameraBag 2’s base styles, which you can create and add additional variations to. It’s easy to determine what style looks best; the options pop up when you hit the Quicklook Button above the Styles options (below). Here you can preview all the options from CameraBag’s base styles.

After selecting the look you want from the Quicklook options, you can click on the Adjust tab to adjust colors individually. Initially, I picked the 1983 style, but I didn't like the green cast (below), so I ended up choosing the Helga filter and adding a custom border.

By Curtis Walker

Being a photographer means being a visual communicator, and the Internet is finally catching up to us. We’re now able to casually post a shot during free time, connect with friends, and keep a fresh set of photos where the greatest number of people are likely to find them, all the while providing a source of entertainment and inspiration that doesn’t infringe on the viewers’ usual activities or feel like a sales message. It's also wise to overlay your logo and copyright to any images that can be reshared so that you continue to get credit for it as it spreads to more pairs of eyes.

The best improvements in efficiency come from sites and services that integrate with the services we already find indispensable, Twitter and Facebook chief amongst them.

1. Instagram — This iOS-only "visual Twitter" streamlines the act of photography, editing and sharing into a single app. Using an iPhone as a camera is kind of cheating, but it has honed my craft as a photographer, while letting me follow some of my favorite photographers and their snapshots. Some people prefer to keep their aesthetic pure by posting only photos taken with other cameras. If posting photos to Twitter is already part of your regimen, filtering the flow through Instagram will enhance the experience and promote sharing to a plethora of other sites. Note: An Android version was announced at the end of 2010, but has yet to materialize.

How I use Instagram: On a daily basis. I dedicate myself to posting the most interesting thing in front of me at any given moment. Sometimes it’s old work, sometimes a picture of my food (what better way to share lunch suggestions?!). I can then turn on the geotagging feature, allowing me to check into Foursquare. I can also set the post to forward to Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Flickr and so forth. I feed different content to different networks. Portfolio work goes on Tumblr, which has its own feed to Twitter. If I recycle an old image from my vast archive on Flickr, I might want to turn off posting to Flickr. On the other hand, I may want to shuffle something old to the top of the deck and see who responds.

Bonus Add-on Service: Statigr.am. This service builds detailed reports about Instagram activity and allows full interface with Instagram content. It even makes suggestions about the best time to post images, based on previous interactions. The iPhone app remains the sole way to post content, however.

2. Pinterest — This visual smorgasbord is the mature descendant of the lowly bookmark, and the visual equivalent of Facebook's Like button. Using it as a means of organizing and cataloging content from across the Web, users "pin" sites of their choice, and select the image of interest. These pins are organized by user-defined categories, such as "cool wedding photos" or "props." Photographers can pin photos from their own site as well, adding their work to the conversation and exposing their portfolio to new eyes.

Currently, Pinterest is invitation only, but getting an invitation is usually as easy as asking for one from a contact already on the site.

By Stan Sholik

If you are interested in high dynamic range (HDR) imaging, you have likely investigated and purchased a number of HDR programs. If one of those programs was HDR Expose from Unified Color Technologies, you probably liked the very realistic results it created, but were put off by its lack of speed as the entire image recalculated each time an adjustment was made.

With a completely reengineered architecture, performance is significantly improved in HDR Expose 2. It sports a revised interface, additional presets and new tools. If you are looking for another option to create realistic HDR images, HDR Expose 2 may be what you are searching for.

The speed increase doesn't come from applying adjustments to a low resolution image. HDR Expose 2 applies the changes to the full resolution tone mapped image that is one of the sharpest images you will find in an HDR program. While Unified Color says that adjustments are applied in "real time," the image does not adjust as you move the adjustment sliders, which is what I consider "real-time." While viewing the changes as you move the sliders would be most useful, adjustments are applied instantaneously as soon as you release the mouse from the slider. Performance is excellent.

The interface changes are also welcome. The workflow now proceeds logically from the top of the tools palette on the right of the interface to the bottom. At the very top of the tools palette is the Brightness Histogram. This shows the entire luminance range of the HDR image with a light gray section showing the tones in the histogram that will be reproduced on a monitor or in an 8- or 16-bit image. As you make adjustments to the image, the changes are updated in the histogram display. The histogram even includes tools to show highlight and shadow clipping. Histograms in other HDR programs are poor guides to follow, but I found the HDR Expose 2 Brightness Histogram to be quite useful and accurate.

The initial screen when HDR Expose 2 is opened as a standalone application to create an HDR image from a single image sequence. When the application is opened from Lightroom or Aperture, the upper menu bar does not appear. The available options are chosen from a Preferences panel.

After adding the image sequence to the opening screen, thumbnails of the images are shown along with ghost reduction and alignment options. A box in the lower right displays a histogram of any image you have selected. This is a nice way to ensure that you have enough images, but not too many, to create a good HDR image.

Once HDR Expose 2 creates the HDR image, you have the option of applying one of the presets to start the adjustment process. Each preset automatically tone maps the image to the 8-bit color space for display in its own way. A Brightness Histogram shows the full dynamic range of the HDR image with a gray rectangle displaying the tonal range in the tone mapped image. The Brightness Histogram can also display the highlight and shadow overlays shown here.

Twelve presets are included, and the preset thumbnails display the image that you have opened. There isn't a wide variation among the six color presets or among the five monochrome presets. All give a realistic rendering to the scene. The final color preset, Grunge, cranks up the local contrast to the max and sets this preset off from all of the others. But if you're after grunge HDR images, this is not the best program for you. The local (micro) contrast control has less range than many other HDR programs, limiting your ability to "grunge" your images. There is also an option to turn off the local contrast control all together.

If you come up with a combination of adjustments that you like, you have the ability to create your own presets. They are added to the end of the thumbnail list.

Some of the new tools remove controls, while others add controls. There's no longer a halo reduction tool. That function is handled automatically in HDR Expose 2 and works well. You can now choose automatic tone mapping, but there are controls for Exposure, Highlights and Shadows if you choose to perform manual tone mapping.

The automatic halo reduction works well, with only the slightest halos showing in these areas of high contrast.

Two new tools, Dodge and Burn, allow you to brush on or remove exposure to the image. The brush size is limited to 100 pixels, so it takes a while to burn in a large area of sky. But few other HDR programs even offer this degree of control.

HDR Expose 2 includes Dodge and Burn brushes for making very local tonal changes. I began using the dodge brush to lighten the trunks of the palm trees, and then decided I like them better dark.

By David Saffir

Until recently, our main options in photographic printing lived in two worlds—analog and digital. It didn’t seem possible that we’d ever have an option that would let photographers easily move back and forth between them. HP has introduced a solution that extends a bridge between those worlds, one that lets us print our digital images using traditional, darkroom-based silver halide/silver gelatin process. HP calls this the Large Format Photo Negative solution.

It all begins with a digital image. This can be created using a digital camera, or a scan. This digital image can be edited and manipulated in Photoshop or similar application. This original image can start in color or black and white.

To create the negative, you load an HP Designjet Z3200 printer with a transparent or translucent inkjet film manufactured for this purpose. Companies like HP, Pictorico and others manufacture this material. It's readily available; I purchased a roll of the Pictorico material at Freestyle Photographic Supplies in Los Angeles. It's also available at online retailers like B&H Photo and Adorama.

©David Saffir

This image shows the film coming off the printer. I placed a white background underneath the film to help visualization. 

Additionally, HP has created special printing pre-sets that are used through the normal printer driver. Install these on your host computer before the next step.

in Photoshop, create a simple adjustment layer that alters the tone curve of the image, which will optimize the negative for darkroom printing. The positive image is inverted and reversed to a negative, and sent to the printer.

The result is a black-and-white negative printed on the transparent film, which can be used in a conventional darkroom workflow. A contact printing frame is used to "sandwich" the large-format negative and printing paper, and standard chemistry can be used. Any color balanced light source can be used, although I recommend using a color enlarger with a lens and dichroic head.

©Tony Zinnanti

©David Saffir

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

Beauty Bar Pro is all about flexibility; the action set runs within Photoshop, and is designed to be an asset to your current workflow. I've never been a fan of image retouching that turns skin to a smooth, plastic texture (or lack thereof). And, I do prefer to individually retouch the images that my clients order. So, the Beauty Bar set from Craig's Actions fits perfectly into my retouching workflow. And chances are, it will fit into your workflow as well. Why? Because you are in control of how much retouching is done. If your retouching is more heavy-handed than mine, Beauty Bar Pro can accommodate your personal preference too. Because Beauty Bar is a set of Photoshop actions, you can tweak them to run the way you want.

This first example is of a typical problem for senior portrait clients—retouching acne. Using Beauty Bar, you can make quick work of even the most thorough retouch. Now, every software/workflow solution has a learning curve. And since I wanted to make sure to get things right, I asked developer Craig Minielly how he would use his action set to retouch this image:

To achieve the most pleasing result (below), Minielly ran Blemish Buster, one of the actions in the Beauty Bar set, twice. The first time he focused on finer settings, removing smaller blemishes (setting: 22/6), and the second time on larger blemishes (setting: 45/10). He also recommended a quick pass with the Blush Less action, and finally enhancing the image with the Beauty Bar Pro Custom Action (to match skin tone and texture). In my first attempt at using Beauty Bar, I didn't achieve these results nearly as quickly as Minielly—his total retouch time for the entire portrait? Three minutes. If I was more accustomed to using them, I do think I could achieve some very efficient editing times per image.

Just as a comparison, here's the same image, retouched using Portraiture. Personally, I think Beauty Bar did a better job preserving details while still removing the blemishes.

By Jack Reznicki

Mid-number software upgrades rarely impress me. When Adobe’s Creative Suite had an inter-number upgrade, from 5.0 to 5.5, I was expecting just the usual bug fixes and minor adjustments. But buried in After Effects is a real “WOW!!” feature I would expect in a whole-point release. This new feature should really amaze and wow video shooters and the vast army of still shooters venturing into the video realm. The name for this feature, Warp Stabilization sounds like a feature you’d hear in an old Star Trek episode. “Captain, the Wrap Stabilization has seized up! She can't hold on much longer!”

Warp Stabilization is just Adobe’s name for a feature that takes shaky video footage and, well, stabilizes it to look like you used a Steadicam or shot the scene with your camera mounted on a dolly. It really doesn’t sound like much until you see it in action. Then your jaw drops. To me this feature alone is worth the total price of After Effects. The first video here is the raw footage, and the video embedded below it is the stabilized version.

What really blows my mind is not just what it does, which is amazing and magical, but the fact that it’s so automatic and simple. It’s drag and drop. There have been ways to stabilize shaky sequences before, but you had to know what you were doing, you had to find a fixed point, play with the parameters, input numbers. It took a lot of time, skill and praying. With CS 5.5, you drag and drop Warp Stabilization adjustment into the video sequence and After Effects does it all in a shockingly easy and fast way. No entering numbers, moving sliders, or looking up complex steps in the manual. It analyzes the footage on its own, and then processes the clip in the computer’s background, so you can continue working on something else, like more photo editing, web surfing, or solitaire. No waiting for spinning beach balls or slow status bars.

While it’s at it, fixing your shaky take behind the curtain, it also fixes another inherent problem prevalent with DSLR footage—the cursed rolling shutter artifacts. 

By Joan Sherwood

I prefer camera bags designed for a moderate amount gear that you can carry and maneuver around with without knocking lamps off the furniture every time you turn around. The Lowepro Pro Messenger 180 AW and the Chrome Niko fit that bill, and provide a lot of features that are important when you want to travel or explore a city while carrying lean, and when you have a shoot that doesn't require a suitcase full of gear. My big requirements are comfort, security and light weight.

At first glance, I thought the Chrome Niko was going to be one of those bags that only guys and chicly flat-chested women could wear comfortably, and that it would never even look right on me, but I was wrong. I found out that by lengthening the seat-belt style sling strap, it hangs rather nicely. Much better than other sling bag styles I’ve tried. It sits comfortably, low on my back, with the padded section of the strap hanging across my shoulder where it should, and the metal buckle components falling just below my clavicle. It weighs 2.3 pounds, compared to the Lowepro’s 3.4 pounds, and it feels like half of that is in the buckle. For security, the Niko has buckles that cross over the main zipper to foil theft while you’re wearing it in crowded spaces, and a waterproof main zipper to keep out rain, though it also makes it a little more difficult to unzip.

The Niko has the smaller capacity of the two. By my own measurement, the main compartment is 11x8x5. You could carry a DSLR with lens, an extra lens and a speedlight flash comfortably with no problem. The top compartment could hold an extra flash, water bottle, or modern necessities like a phone or backup drive. The top compartment is the only easy-access exterior pocket. There is a flat, water-protected pocket on the main interior for memory cards. The Velcro placement on the side straps makes them suitable for only the slimmest of tripods, better for holding a light rain jacket really.

The Niko construction is a bit stiff and the shell padding is formidable. It comes with the standard, Velcro-attach padded dividers that most camera bags have.

Excerpted from “Sketching Light” by Joe McNally. Copyright © 2012. Used with permission of Pearson Education, Inc. and New Riders.

Read the Professional Photographer review of “Sketching Light”

Every once in a while, you try something on a wing and a prayer, and you get a picture that works. You gave it just about zero chance of success when you put the light out there, and then it’s so absurdly first-frame simple, you have one of those “coulda had a V8” moments back at the LCD. Which, of course, you then try to cover up by assuming a knew-it-all-along look, a confident nod, and a quiet, murmured, “Think I’ll just shoot a few more of these.”

I was on the main plaza in pre-dawn Venice, which is the only time of day that beautiful, historic place is not a sea of backpacks and a jumble of accents and languages. The sun was up and light was bounding out on the waterways, but I was struck by the cool, beautiful nature of the ancient arches, where open shade still ruled.

When trying to work simply and influence a scene with just one small flash, open shade can be your best friend. You don’t have to stress the light by fighting the high, hard sun, and the muted tones introduce the possibility of effectively influencing the color palette of the scene without bringing in movie grip trucks.

This setup was, as I indicated above, crazy simple. I used the little plastic floor stand that comes with the SB-900, put a full CTO warming gel on the light, took off the dome diffuser, and zoomed the flash head to 200mm so the light spread would remain pretty tight, and placed it out there on the ancient stones of the plaza. The zoom feature helps in directing the light right to the dancer, and also keeping floor spill to a minimum. As worn as they are, the tiles on the plaza will pick up light and reflect it pretty well, so if your light is zoomed wide and splashes everywhere, you got a problem. Zooming the light tight sends it where it needs to go—to the dancer—and minimizes the telltale photon path on the floor. A hint of light works fine. A big, blown highlight is not okay. Nuking the floor is always a concern, obviously, when you actually place the light down there. I didn’t need to employ this tactic here, but a couple of simple swatches of gaffer tape on the floor side of the flash head, serving as cutters or flags, works really well, as shown here.

I just happened to have a ballerina with me. I’d suggested dancers to the group I was shooting with, and it was a notion they embraced vigorously. Bringing a dancer onto the Plaza Venezia in dawn light is definitely stacking the deck in your favor, kinda like flying in a sure thing, but it’s a good thought when seeking subjects for flash portraits. It’s certainly better than wandering the streets hoping an ancient drunk with an interesting hat stumbles into a beautiful highlight. (Unless, of course, you’re street shooting and looking for happenstance. Different mission altogether.)

By Betsy Finn

The Wacom Inkling is a real pen that captures your pen strokes on any paper. When you’re done drawing or writing, just plug the receiver into your computer, access the image, and edit as desired in Photoshop or other image-editing application. 

The Wacom Inkling pen and receiver (clipped onto paper).

While it may have more appeal for graphic and illustration artists, I immediately thought of ways the Inkling could be used practically in a photographer's business, too. I could use it to take notes during client consultations, marking areas of a proof the client wants fixed or sketching notes for a wall collage, all of which could be stored digitally with the client's other information and image files. On the client side, I thought the Inkling would be a great tool for personalizing portraits. For instance, I could have my clients sign their name for their wallet-size portraits, or write a note to put into their wedding album. It all sounds good in theory. My next step was to put it into practice and see how well the Inkling would work for my ideas.

To begin, clip the receiver to your paper, and push the power button. Every time you clip/unclip the receiver, it starts a new drawing. There’s also a button on the receiver you can push to start a new layer while you are drawing. These layers are saved into the image and can be exported to Photoshop as layers. When you first turn on the receiver, it displays a red light that switches to green once the pen is active.

What can you do when your camera fails? Pro manufacturers offer member services for repairs and loans.

By Theano Nikitas

Few professions are more equipment-dependent than photography. Yet regardless of how well you maintain your gear, things can go wrong. In addition to back-up equipment, you should carry the number of the nearest photo rental service. If you’re a professional photographer, there are some other solutions not only for emergencies, but for year-round peace of mind.

We spoke with three of the major camera manufacturers about their programs and services for full-time professionals. It might the perfect time to check them out. If you are a PPA member who has opted in to receive the $15,000 of equipment insurance from PhotoCare, that policy would serve as a secondary policy to these plans and could be used to assist with additional expenses related to covered losses.

Image courtesy of Canon Professional Services

Canon USA

The recently revamped Canon Professional Services (CPS) is a three-tier program, beginning with a no-cost entry level. The program is now based on a point system that, according to CPS, is more pro-centered than the earlier program. Each piece of professional gear is assigned a number of CPS points, which cumulatively determine the photographer’s tier of coverage. Qualifying gear includes a long list of camera bodies, lenses, camcorders, flash, wireless transmitters, battery grips and the new PIXMA Pro 1 printer. Most of the EOS line of camera bodies qualify, from the EOS-1Ds Mark III (10 points) through and models such as the 60D (4 points) and older bodies. Lenses and extenders range from 2 to 16 points, with accessories like wireless transmitters at 1 to 2 points each. You’ll find the list of qualifying equipment on the CPS website, along with a list of products that qualify for repair.

Free membership at the Silver level requires 10 CPS points. Benefits include a CPS website profile and program info, CPS ID card and PIN, event support, 24/7 phone support via exclusive member hotline, and repair turnaround of three to five days.

By Stan Sholik

Perfect Layers from onOne Software is destined to be as much of a workflow game-changer for photographers at all levels as Adobe Photoshop Lightroom has turned out to be. Installed as a stand-alone application or as a plug-in for Lightroom or Apple Aperture, Perfect Layers provides much of the layer and masking functionality for which Photoshop or Photoshop Elements was needed in the past.

I count myself among the many photographers who resisted using Lightroom when it was first released, and now I find myself using Lightroom for most of my editing and raw conversion. I have come to regret the times I must leave Lightroom and open Photoshop in order to blend in a better sky in a landscape photo or swap a head in a group shot. With Perfect Layers, these changes and many more are possible within Lightroom and Aperture, and within Perfect Layers itself when you open it as a stand-alone application.

While Perfect Layers performs many layer and masking functions, it is not a total replacement for Photoshop. Perfect Layers can’t create text layers, vector masks, layer styles (darn, no drop shadow), adjustment layers, paths, alpha channels, Smart Objects, layer groups or clipping paths. And if you created a file in Photoshop with any of these attributes and tried to open it in Perfect Layers, Perfect Layers opens a flattened copy of the file. Otherwise, Perfect Layers opens layered PSD files. It also saves the layers you create while using Perfect Layers in the native Photoshop PSD file format that you can open in Photoshop, Photoshop Elements or again in Perfect Layers.

For photographers who don’t own or have sworn off of Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, you can use all of the capabilities of Perfect Layers as a stand-alone app or through Lightroom or Aperture, and save the finished image as a flattened TIFF or JPEG file rather than a PSD. You will lose all of the layer information of course.

Creating toned images with a texture overlay from a color capture only takes a couple of minutes in Perfect Layers. I selected a color image and created a virtual copy in Lightroom. I converted the virtual copy to a contrasty monochrome image in Lightroom and exported it to Perfect Layers. Then I added a color fill layer for toning and imported a texture. After adjusting both to my liking I saved the image back to Lightroom. In Lightroom I added a vignette and exported the image. ©Stan Sholik

By Ellis Vener

Do you need gaffer’s tape at all? Yes you do. Unlike duct tape, gaffer’s tape leaves almost no sticky residue, is waterproof, and is easy to cut and deliberately tear. At the same time it is strong and reasonably heat resistant. You might even need different colors of it.

We use gaffer tape for a wide variety of jobs, not only for taping down cables and identifying bits of gear, but also for holding props in place, marking where people need to stand, locking down focus rings (useful for aerial, macro and stitched panoramic photography) and de-linting subjects’ dark clothes. It’s also useful for making minor repairs. But, until recently, the problem with gaffer tape has been that it mostly came in long three-inch wide heavy rolls and only in black, gray, and white. We use gaffer’s tape a lot, but a single full-size roll of the stuff will last me a couple of years at least as mostly we only need small short lengths, unless we're taping down power cords. Rather than buy and carry around full-size rolls of different colors Visual Departure’s microGAFFER packages solve both the space, weight and price problem. It’s also an advantage that it comes in a range of colors.

For starters, the microGAFFER rolls are small—only 1 inch wide and 8 yards long—and come on small cores. A roll is small enough to fit a couple of them in your jeans pocket or in a small camera bag compartment. A package of four rolls is roughly the size of a 50mm Canon or Nikon 50mm f/1.4 lens and hood.

Beyond securing cables, gaffer’s tape in different colors works great to create quickly identifiable markers for different tools. You use it to know this power cord goes to this light or this remote goes with this camera, this lens hood goes with this lens, etcetera. Even if you don’t have a lot of gear, this makes for a more efficient way of working and packing up before and after a shoot.

MicroGAFFER tape kits come in four-roll packs and in two options. The monochrome packs contain two black, one gray and one white roll. The microGAFFER Fluorescent tape kits each contain one roll of really bright orange, green, pink and yellow tape. The street price for either kit is $19.95.

Background: So what the heck is a gaffer and why do they have a need for a special type of tape? On a movie or television set, gaffer is the official title for the chief electrician. This means that the gaffer (and the gaffer’s assistant, known as the best boy) and the rest of the electrical department are responsible for all of the lighting instruments, a job that includes making sure all of the electrical cables stay safely and securely connected. Grips, on the other hand, are the people responsible for setting up and rigging the lights and modifiers. The worlds of cinematography and still photography have always borrowed from each other—some tools, like collapsible softboxes, have migrated from the world of still photography to film photography, while other tools—like gaffer’s tape and C-Stands—have migrated the other way. 

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

While working in the studio, I've become very fond of my studio camera stand. Using a camera stand lets me focus on interacting with my clients, and allows me to set where the camera will be for a series of frames. If need be, I can leave the camera to adjust my client's pose without losing the in-camera composition that I had set up. The one shortcoming to working this way is what to do when you decide to shoot tethered to your computer. While many studio camera stands come with two mounting arms, it's not often you find one pre-equipped with a laptop table. So, after a little research, I found two companies that sell portable laptop stands, or tables. Both of the products I'll be discussing are designed to be installed on your tripod, camera stand, or even a light stand (depending on thread size).

The first table I tested was manufactured by Tether Tools (tethertools.com). Based on my laptop's dimensions, I opted for the Tether Table Aero Traveler (it comes in black or silver). I also received some other optional accessories, including a Secure Strap for securing the laptop to the table, an XDC Solo (external hard drive shelf), cupholder, an Aero ProPad (cushiony pad for on top of the table), and some Jerk Stoppers (tools for keeping your tethered cord securely attached to your camera and computer ports). In the image below, you'll see all these items, including an upside down view of the Aero Tether Table.

The Tether Table comes with three different mounting methods (see below). The knob at upper left is for securing the table to a lightstand (biggest hole). The other two threaded holes are for the standard tripod threads.

I found that the various accessories sold with the Tether Table were helpful in making sure my laptop wouldn't just work its way off the stand. In the image below, you can see the laptop sitting on the non-slip Areo ProPad; it is also secured by the Secure Strap (an elastic strap with hooks at the ends that hold the laptop in place). Additionally, both the front and back edges of the Tether Table have a raised lip, so if you do use this out in the field, you can use it at an angle without having to worry about losing your laptop.

By J.R. Hughto

Five years ago, RED announced—with what was to become their signature bravado—that they were going to release a cinema camera that would revolutionize the industry. RED made 4K (4,096x2,304-pixel format) and RAW buzzwords overnight, and they promised that their system had the independent filmmaker in mind at a $17K price point. When the dust settled, it took over a year for RED to release what actually turned out to be a revolutionary camera, the RED One, though the actual cost to get a camera ready to shoot had ballooned to nearly $50K. That $17K price point, huge by amateur standards but a bargain in the film industry where cameras cost as much as Ferraris, must have remained in company founder Jim Jannard's mind, because on Thursday night RED finally released a camera that not only made good on their technological promises but on the dollar amount. RED's new Scarlet-X, the company’s less expensive companion to their higher-end EPIC, can indeed be set up ready to shoot for right around that $17K figure, depending on how many batteries or SSDs (RED’s recording medium) you wish to purchase.

(See how RED Epic is used in a wedding video trailer from Tonaci Visuals.)

RED’s announcement of the Scarlet-X came only hours after Canon had announced their own brand new cinema camera, the EOS C300, priced very similarly to the Scarlet-X at $20K retail with a rumored $16K street price. Based on the success Canon has enjoyed with their video-shooting DSLRs, and in the wake of the announcement of the March release of their flagship EOS-1D X, the C300 is a purpose-built video camera that bears the EOS label and marks the company’s first official foray into a market segment traditionally dominated by Panasonic and Sony.

Canon wasn't satisfied with simply announcing the C300, however. They went on to explain that the C300 was the first in a new Cinema EOS brand that would not only produce video-only cameras like the C300, but also include future DSLR releases designated with the new C that represents the line. Whether this means the well-equipped 1D X or the long-awaited 5D Mark III will be the first of the breed remains to be seen. Regardless, Canon seems to be finally taking the video side of their large-sensor cameras seriously by developing well-considered and designed responses to a rapidly changing camera industry and a more technically demanding user base.

When stacking the principle competition in the price bracket against each other, what advantages do each offer? All three prominent rivals—the previously released Sony PMW-F3, the Canon EOS C300, and the RED Scarlet-X—have Super 35mm sized sensors (roughly the same size of Canon’s APS-C format in use by cameras like the 7D). The Scarlet-X seems to have stolen Canon’s thunder in large part due to their 4K RAW recording, a feature that no other camera can boast in the price class. RED CEO Jim Jannard went so far as to boast that “1080 as a concept is discontinued”; RED’s always had the best hyperbole. Jannard described the camera as a 5K stills shooter as well as a 4K cinema camera, and when configured as such it is highly reminiscent of the Pentax 67ii, that old beast of a medium-format shooter that so many 35mm shooters preferred due to its SLR styling. By emphasizing the Scarlet-X’s still photography capabilities, he both distinguishes it further from the C300 and the Sony F3, and also places it in competition with still-image-priority cameras like the EOS-1D series. In fact, the RED has been used for magazine cover shoots for Vogue, Esquire and Vanity Fair due to its capability of pulling a single, RAW frame at 4K.

By Theano Nikitas

When you need to go on location, you want to have everything you need, and nothing you don’t, which can make planning your packing list tricky. We’ve compiled a selection of cool new equipment to make your work in the field easier, safer and top quality.

BACKUP
BAGS & CASES
LIGHT MODIFIERS
POWER, LIGHTS, FLASH, WIRELESS
TRIPODS
MISCELLANEOUS

BACKUP

LaCie Little Big Disk Thunderbolt Series

If you feel the need for speed—and what photographer doesn’t?—LaCie recently released a trio of Thunderbolt products: two hard drives (1TB and 2TB) and one 240GB SSD drive. Each unit measures 1.6 x 5.5 x 3.3 inches, is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and weighs only 1.4 pounds. The Little Big Disk is housed in aluminum and features a special heat sink design that helps keep the unit cool as it reaches transfer speeds of up to 190MB/s with the hard disk model or up to 480MB/s with the SSD model. Daisy chain two or more units with an optional cable to reach even faster read speeds. Available from the Apple Store, although you may have to wait a while for the supersonic SSD model.

www.lacie.com
www.apple.com
1TB $399.95
2TB $499.95
240GB SSD $899.95

NEXTO DI Photo Storage ND2730

Capable of reading, downloading and displaying still and video files from CompactFlash and SD/SDHC/SDXC cards, the NEXTO DI ND2730 photo storage device is available with 500GB, 750GB HDD or SDD drives. The device is forward compatible to 2TB and can be hooked up to computers (Mac and PC) via Firewire 800 and USB 2.0. Equipped with a 1.44-inch color TFT LCD for viewing images, the ND2730 compares the HDD and memory card data to ensure successful back-up. Powered by a 2-hour rechargeable Li-Poly battery, you can leave the laptop at home and have all the mobility you need.

www.nextodiusa.com
Starting at $450

Western Digital My Passport for Mac

Cost-per-gigabyte is at an all-time low, so Mac users should check out the latest generation of Western Digital’s My Passport for Mac. Available in 500GB, 750GB and 1TB capacities, these slender high-capacity drives are Mac-formatted and Apple Time Machine ready. Need password protection? No problem, thanks to the WD Security utility. Powered by a USB 2.0 interface, My Passport for Mac has all-around appeal at an affordable price. For rugged location shoots, consider the Western Digital Nomad Rugged Case. 

www.wdc.com 
500GB $99.99
750 GB $119.99
1TB $129.99 

By Stan Sholik

When you need to do a presentation, bigger is better for the screen that you'll use to show your work, but smaller is better for the equipment you need to bring with you. On a location assignment, showing your portfolio to an ad agency, or selling your services to a couple looking for a wedding photographer—the less you need to carry, the happier you’ll be.

An active HDMI cable lets you show a wedding portfolio
on your iPad 2 to an engaged couple in their own home
without toting a bulky cable. ©Stan Sholik

RedMere cables are roughly 1/4 of the diameter of standard HDMI cables and will coil into a diameter of less than one inch. Yet the cables are guaranteed to deliver full 1080p HD picture quality while you control the show from as far away as 10 feet. Most 10-foot HDMI cables are heavy and bulky and won’t coil comfortably in your pocket, camera bag or iPad case. That is the problem that RedMere has solved with their RedMere HDMI cables.

©Stan Sholik

The availability of an HDMI output on most digital SLRs gives traveling photographers the option to leave the laptop at home and take along a compatible HDMI cable to preview photos and videos in any hotel room with an HDTV that has an HDMI input. For photographers showing their portfolio to prospective clients, the iPad 2 is becoming the device of choice. With a Digital AV Adapter and an HDMI cable, you can connect an iPad to an HDTV and make the presentation even more impressive. 

RedMere’s technology is based on a tiny, self-powered chip built into the HDMI cable connector. The RedMere chip boosts the signal so that the cable can be even thinner than an iPad USB cable and still handle the 10.2 GB/s data rate. Cables with RedMere technology, also known as “active” cables, are the world’s thinnest, lightest, and most flexible cables for products that connect using HDMI technology, according to the company.

By Robyn L. Pollman

Bad Sass Backdrops are printed on quality 100% canvas by Pixel2Canvas. Bad Sass Backdrops offer “split” and “tri-split” backdrop options, which allows the customer to decide how they want to split an 8-foot or 10-foot canvas backdrop. Photographers can select a background design for one half of the canvas, and a faux-flooring option for the other half using the “split” option. Or with the “tri-split” option, use a background design on both ends of the canvas, and a faux-flooring option in the center. By turning the 10-foot canvas around, photographers have two background options in one. 

 ©Robyn L. Pollman

Professional Photographer readers can take advantage of the following promotion: 30% off any backdrop order using code PPA30 (code not valid on Sassafrass Magnetic Moulding). The coupon code is valid until October 31, 2011.

See more from Robyn L. Pollman at paperieboutique.com and buttonsandbowsphotography.com.

By Stan Sholik

For five years, Carl Zeiss has produced single focal length, manual focus lenses for camera bodies that accept Nikon, Canon, Sony, K-mount, and M-42 screw-mount lenses. These lenses are highly regarded by landscape, closeup and portrait still photographers, for both film and digital cameras. Videographers have also become a major market.

The latest in the series is the Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f/1.4, presently available with Nikon and Canon mounts. I tested the Nikon ZF.2 model.

The Zeiss lens (left) is larger and heavier than my older 35mm f/1.4 Nikkor (right). Image quality of the Zeiss is also greater. The Zeiss ZF.2 series of lenses for Nikon don’t include the metering prong of classic Nikkors and of the Zeiss ZF lenses, but do include Nikon’s auto-indexing (AI) ring and tiny secondary aperture scale. Zeiss ZF.2 lenses include an internal CPU and external contacts that transmit EXIF information to the camera body as well as allow the use of all metering functions. ©Stan Sholik

Zeiss incorporates an improved T* anti-reflection coating and a nine-blade aperture for a nearly circular diaphragm. If you’ve ever wondered about the pleasing bokeh effect, you’ll instantly know it when you view images shot at f/1.4 with this lens.

I needed a high shutter speed to capture this model making jewelry lit only by window light. Shot at f/1.4, vignetting is visible at the edges of the frame, but more important to me is the beautiful soft look of the out-of-focus model in the background. ©Stan Sholik

This assignment photo for a dog-friendly vintage clothing store was a perfect opportunity to use the Zeiss 35mm f/1.4. I needed to use available light in a dark area of the store to stop the action of the dogs and show the models enjoying the shopping experience. Shooting wide open also allowed me to focus attention on the model. ©Stan Sholik

The silky smooth focusing ring on the 35mm f/1.4 rotates through about 150 degrees from minimum focusing distance to infinity, for extremely accurate focusing. At an aperture of f/1.4, the image is four times brighter than one shot with an f/2.8 lens, making focusing easy, even with the viewfinder screens in modern digital SLR cameras. The focusing ring stops when you turn it to infinity or the minimum focusing distance, so you always know where those points are. These attributes are what endear Zeiss lenses to videographers.

The aperture ring includes half-stop detents that click firmly into place between the marked aperture settings. The extensive use of metal in the lens construction gives it the look, feel and weight of classic Nikkors. The 35mm f/1.4 is a monster compared to my 35mm f/1.4 Nikkor. The Zeiss weighs more than twice as much, is twice the length, and requires 72mm filters rather than the Nikkor’s 52mm filters. Having tested other Zeiss lenses, I wasn’t surprised to find the 35mm f/1.4 superior to my old Nikkor 35mm f/1.4, but it’s surprising how far more superior it is.

Even at maximum aperture, the Zeiss shows superb sharpness in the center of the lens. Sharpness falls off somewhat to the edges of the frame if you ever place the subject near the edge of the frame when shooting wide open. By f/2, sharpness is excellent everywhere. There’s a hint of barrel distortion at f/1.4 on a full-frame camera, but that too disappears by f/2. Distortion is non-existent on a DX-format camera.

Sharpness is superb at the center of the image at all apertures and also at the edges by f/2. In this image shot at f/8, the tiny hairs on the stem of the weed are perfectly sharp against the sky. ©Stan Sholik

In image after image with this lens I am impressed with its sharpness and its ability to render color so accurately. Despite it being moderately wide angle, there is no hint of distortion. ©Stan Sholik

By Stan Sholik

When most photographers think of a sound blimp it’s usually in connection with shooting on a movie or television set when sound is being recorded. A sound blimp with a lens tube connected effectively silences the sound of a SLR anywhere beyond a couple of feet from it.

Using a sound blimp isn’t limited to shooting film or television stills. I have used a sound blimp for more than 20 years and have never been on a movie or TV set. I use a sound blimp to photograph symphonic, choral and dance productions, as well as theatrical plays. Other photographers use a sound blimp for surveillance, courtroom, wildlife and even sports, such as golf, photography. Sound blimps also provide environmental protection in harsh sand and dust environments.

After 20 years, the foam in my blimp has had it, and I was ready to send it to the manufacturer for refitting when I discovered a new source for sound blimps, AquaTech, located in Orange County, Calif. AquaTech is best known for their waterproof sport and surf housings and their line of environmental shields for cameras and lenses. I contacted AquaTech and received a sound blimp for a Nikon D3X/D3S/D3 to test. Other models are available for Nikon D700, D300s/D300 and Canon 5D Mark II cameras.

The external controls straddle the viewfinder eyepiece. The ribbed soft rubber pads on the hand grips and the shape of the body make holding the AquaTech blimp with both hands solid and comfortable. There are D-rings on the hand grips for attaching an accessory shoulder strap.

The AquaTech sound blimp is a far cry from the Jacobson blimp that I own. Rather than a squarish box, the AquaTech looks more like an underwater housing. And although it is less than 1/2-pound lighter, the ribbed rubber hand straps and the contoured grip built into the body make it far easier to carry and hold. The entire back surface of the AquaTech blimp is hard clear plastic, covered on the inside with sound-deadening foam. A window cut into the foam allows you to see the LCD screen and through the viewfinder.

But the biggest advantage to the AquaTech is borrowed from their sport and surf housings. There are three controls on the back of the blimp (see above) that mate with controls on the rear of the camera. Pressing one allows you to review the last image. Pressing another allows you to activate the autoexposure/autofocus (AE-L/AF-L) lock button on the camera to perform whatever function you have programmed for it in the Custom settings.

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

A fun and educational package recently arrived in my mailbox for review—a pair of instructional DVDs by Don Chick, M.Photog.,Cr., CPP, from his The Confident Photographer instructional series:

• Studio Lighting (with a 4x6 soft box)
• Studio Portraiture (Basic – Intermediate)

Being familiar with Chick’s lighting and teaching styles, I was looking forward to watching these DVDs, and I think you will be, too. While there is some crossover content, I didn’t find it to be too overdone, and considered it more like a review, or introduction, before the meat of the lesson. I think it will be rare that someone will plan to watch both back to back, as I did.  It’s more likely that you’ll refer to one or the other at a given point, and in that situation, the brief review will be helpful.

The Studio Lighting DVD covered white balancing methods, lens selection (distortion), and two basic light setups. In contrast, the Studio Portraiture DVD focused on the different light setups that Chick relies on— three-light and six-light setups, and the use of accent lighting. In the second DVD, Chick also discusses how he creates his signature character study portraits (lighting, clothing, accessories, etc).

On both DVDs, Chick talks you through the lighting setup, explains why he does things a specific way, and then lets you watch him interact with his subject as he creates a series of images. Final images are also shown throughout the DVD, where appropriate. While not a new concept to me, I appreciated that Chick took the time to show the effects of his lights by using each unit’s modeling lamp. This is a particularly useful teaching tool for those who are new to studio lighting.

Some of the techniques that Chick teaches are basic building blocks of studio photography, such as broad vs. short light, but he also includes more advanced techniques. I enjoyed seeing how he uses a handheld reflector to add a little something extra to the lighting setup, and appreciated his discussion of gobos and when they can be effectively used for a studio portrait (your clients with thinning hair or bald spots will thank you).

By Kim Larson

In 2009 we wrote about using Kubota RPG Speedkeys as a tool to speed up the Lightroom workflow process. Kubota RPG Speedkeys is a small wireless keyboard that is pre-programmed to run time-saving adjustments and shortcuts in Lightroom such as increasing or decreasing exposure and picking/rejecting photos. The original review of Kubota RBG Speedkeys is still accurate—it's still important that you remove the USB receiver when restarting your computer, it still comes with Kubota's handy lightroom presets, and it’s still a great workflow tool. But with Kubota RGB Speedkeys 2 for Adobe Lightroom, there are noteworthy updates to the original version that have now taken this workflow tool from good to great, and it’s available to all present and new users of the Speedkeys keyboard.

The original version of RPG Speedkeys provided you with Kubota's Lightroom Presets, but you were limited to only being able to run the Kubota presets from the keyboard. This is no longer the case. Now you can run any preset installed in Lightroom from the Speedkeys keyboard. You’re no longer confined to the original shortcuts provided by Kubota Image Tools either; they now provide a multitude of shortcuts to choose from. And instead of having the key positions set for you, you can customize the shortcuts and presets to any key you choose.

The upgrade starts with a new version of the Kubota RPG Speedkeys software. The software is intuitive enough that you probably will not need to read any instructions. The interface shows a graphical keyboard, and you simply drag and drop keys onto it. Selecting a key will allow you to pick a preset that the key should apply. Once you have your keyboard setup in the software, you can match your physical keyboard to it by matching the keys.

Setting up the physical keyboard is simple, but If you’re the type of person who doesn’t usually read instructions, this is where you’ll need to pay attention. The new keys that come with the upgraded keyboard look like they are complete panels that should be put into the keyboard. But don’t go taking apart the keyboard yet. They are not meant to be used as complete panels, but as as individual keys. There is a small pick included to pop the keys off both the original keyboard and the replacement key panels. (Don't worry, it’s completely safe, and once you pop a few keys off, you’ll find it’s pretty fun!) Replace the keys on the Speedkeys keyboard one-by-one to match your software setup, and you are ready to go!

If you own the original version of Kubota RPG Speedkeys, this upgrade is available to you by contacting Kubota Image Tools at kubotaimagetools.com. If you're looking for a complete tool to speed up your Lightroom workflow, the Kubota RPG Speedkeys for Lightroom retails for $349 and can be purchased at kubotaimagetools.com.

By Marianne Drenthe

DxO Labs recently came out with updates to its award-winning optical correction and raw conversion software, DxO Optics Pro v6.6. DxO Optics Pro functions like a digital photo lab, improving the quality of straight out of camera (SOOC) raw or SOOC jpeg images. It's image enhancement addresses optical corrections, noise removal, exposure optimization, keystoning correctionn, color control and dust removal.

In this review I opted to use the standalone version of DxO Optics Pro v6.6. The program is easy to use within recent editions of Photoshop and Lightroom or as a standalone appplication.

When I first opened DxO Optics Pro, a pop up window appeared with tips on how to utilize the program. I found it helpful, and you can turn it off once you’ve learned the ins and outs of the program. The wizard took me step by step through the image correction process. You can select one or many images to work on at one time, and when you make corrections, you can have them apply all at once to a batch of images—a real time saver.

When you first open original images from your camera, the software will detect its EXIF metadata. If it detects that an Optics Module exists for your camera and lens combination, the software will automatically download camera profiles from the DxO website for your camera. There is no guesswork, no worrying about where to install these profiles—the software does it automatically. I like that my computer isn’t storing useless profiles camera and lens combos that I will never use. The ease of use is much appreciated in that regard.

For automated processing and speeding workflow, professionals and advanced amateurs are likely find DxO Optics Pro preferable to usual go-to options simply because of the personalized Optics Modules and presets. What might take hours converting and adjusting takes mere minutes in DxO Optics Pro v6.6, which is an impressive feat. The processing automation enabled by the camera/lens-specific modules is amazing, though, as you’ll see after the jump, it’s not a miracle worker in every case.

By Stan Sholik

From fashion to high-performance sports cars, Italian companies create some of the most beautifully designed and skillfully manufactured products in the world. CPtech of Bologna brings Italian design and manufacturing to photography with the introduction of the b-grip EVO camera belt grip system.

The b-grip EVO system rides comfortably and securely at belt
level without hindering your movements. Image ©Stan Sholik

The b-grip system consists of a belt worn at the waist. The belt threads through the b-grip base plate, and a quick-release plate connects the base plate to the camera tripod socket. The b-grip securely supports still or video equipment up to 17.6 pounds. This frees you from neckstraps with cameras banging against your body and from aching shoulders at the end of the day. It also frees you from reaching into your camera bag, backpack or beltpack to retrieve your camera, lens, flash, or your video equipment.

The b-grip EVO system consists of the b-grip camera plate, base plate and belt. ©Stan Sholik

The b-grip base plate removed from the belt with the camera plate attached and locked. ©Stan Sholik

The b-grip base plate removed from the belt with the camera plate removed. ©Stan Sholik

The two b-grip plates are high-tech injection-molded plastic resin that is impregnated with fiberglass fibers and glass microspheres. The woven belt is heavy duty enough for the SWAT team, yet the complete system is light and comfortable to wear. And not only is the system functional, its style is unobtrusive, and it incorporates several well-designed features that add to its usefulness.

One security feature is a rubber stopper in the quick-release plate. You must remove it to attach the plate to the camera’s tripod socket. Once you've reinstalled it, it locks the screw to prevent the screw from loosening. And if your tripod head accepts the square German DIN plate (Velbon, Bilora, Cullman and other heads), you never need to remove the b-grip camera plate. My Arca-Swiss head holds the b-grip camera plate securely, but there is a little play in it.

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

When I first spotted Artsy Couture Gallery Blocks on a tradeshow floor, I was intrigued and asked the salesperson how the product was created. They have a depth like canvas wraps, but with sharp, neat edges. It’s a three-dimensional presentation of multiple blocks layered on one piece, too. The salesperson showed me that the pieces have a wood substructure and explained that the prints are metallic with a laminate-type coating over the top.

For the purposes of this review, I tested out three different products:

• 6x6 Gallery Block Set (3 single blocks with no backboard)
• The Top of the Line (7x10 floating gallery block on a 15x20 backboard)
• The Show Off (four 9.5x7.5 floating gallery blocks on a 21x21 backboard)

The Gallery Block set was very straightforward to order and lay out using ROES. The hardest part was selecting which designer template I wanted to use. Rather than having my images wrap around the edge, by selecting a designer template my 6”x6” gallery blocks ended up having a nice decorative fleur-de-lis pattern on the edges of each block. This turned out quite nicely!

Next, I designed The Show Off. While using ROES was no problem, I did spend more time figuring out the best layout option. Again, by selecting a designer template, I was able to have a pattern element on the edges to tie all the floating blocks together. The backboard also displayed the same pattern element. In the screenshot below, you’ll see how the layout is shown in upper left, and the four floating images (and wraps) as well as the backboard can be edited individually.

For my final sample piece, I designed The Top of the Line. This one was a little more complicated, because while I was happy with the layout, I wanted a horizontal orientation rather than vertical. By reading the directions, I discovered this was no problem—you just have to let Artsy Couture know in the ROES notes which way is “up” so the piece will hang properly.

By Marianne Drenthe

With 10 years in the digital image calibration business, DxO Labs has a strong reputation for quality image processing. This reputation is furthered with the updated release of their FilmPack 3. New in this version of FilmPack is a redesigned user interface and the ability to use the program as a standalone option or as a plug in within Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop and Apple's Aperture software programs.

What is the DxO FilmPack?

Sometimes we yearn for the nostalgic charm of fine black and white film photography and the incredible grain and vivid colors of analog color photography, but with the practical ease of digital imaging. There are tens if not hundreds of Photoshop actions that attempt to emulate that magical film feel. While we can come close to replicating film colors, contrast and luminosity within layers of levels, curves and contrast adjustments in Photoshop, we often fall short of achieving true film emulation. With improved noise reduction in the newest digital sensors comes a loss of realism and depth. Less noise equals smoother and buttery imagery, but that same combination of qualities produces images with decreased depth. When chemicals react with film and light you end up with photos that are filled with depth and grain, something modern digital photo sensors can't quite emulate.

With FilmPack 3, the authenticity of film grain is once again within reach. The FilmPack offers the beauty of various film grains to apply to images both black and white as well as being integrated within individual film presets. For instance you may long for the smooth neutral tonality, highlight and shadow detail and film grain of Kodak 400CN or maybe your desire is the vividness and contrast of film in a more realistic interpretation of the scene than you can achieve within the confines of the curves tool in Photoshop. The FilmPack serves both these purposes. With the click of the preview button after import, your images are displayed in the array of dozens of film choices: color negative, color positive, black and white and cross processed film options are at your disposal. There is no need to open multiple windows or run additional actions, the FilmPack allows you to preview and spot edit your images to taste with no more effort than clicking on a few options.

Figure 1: DxO FilmPack 3's emulation of the smooth neutral tonality, highlight and shadow detail and film grain of Kodak 400CN.

Figure 2: You can achieve the vividness and contrast of film in a more realistic interpretation of the scene than you can within the confines of the curves tool in Photoshop.

Figure 3: With the click of the preview button after import, your images are displayed in an array of dozens of film choices: color negative, color positive, black and white and cross processed film options are at your disposal.

By Joan T. Sherwood, Senior Editor

The POV.HD from V.I.O captures HD video from a camera head about the size of a half-roll of quarters, which is tethered to a TV-remote-sized controller by a 1.5-meter cable. The controller itself has a small wireless remote control, and the head has several mounting options, including helmet and goggle mounts, a magnetic system and strap options. The camera head and controller are also durable (IP67 certified) and water proof (to 1 meter), so it can take the punishment of most sports to get an exciting POV video. 

There is some very exciting potential for a POV video camera like this in conjunction with kids sports or senior portrait fusion (still and video) slideshows. Video clips captured with the POV.HD are saved in mp4 format to an SD card in the controller (4GB card included). The unit is not SDXC compatible. You can choose either 1920x1080 or 1280x720-pixel resolution and various progressive scan rates (1080p30, 1080p25, 1080p24, 720p60, 720p30). 

It does include a small built-in microphone attached to the cable, but its capability is limited. If you can secure it to your subject in a way that keeps it stationary and not brushing against anything, you could feasibly get functional ambient audio to overlay on a soundtrack.

The best features of the POV.HD are the versatile camera head that does a decent job even in some difficult lighting situations, the video resolution, the durable construction, the LCD screen on the controller that lets you monitor what the camera head sees, and the tiny wireless remote control that works up to 15 feet away from the main controller. The drawbacks are the need for a tether; the 328 gram (11.56 ounces, with 4 AA batteries) weight of the controller, plus 186 additional grams (6.56 ounces) of camera head and cable; and the barrel distortion of the wide f/2 lens, particularly in full HD. It can also chew through some AA batteries, so have spares on hand. 

With a controller that has to stay tethered to the camera head, you'll have to find a spot to secure it to the person or thing that the camera is mounted to. Does anyone still have a fanny pack? Cargo shorts pockets would work as well. Luckily, you can lock the buttons, so you can stow it inside anything without the recording settings getting inadvertantly changed. Still, some sort of sports holster would come in handy. The system does come with a nice carrying case, but it's larger than what you would want to attach to a skateboarder.

The camera body has a 6-element glass lens and, according to V.I.O., offers the widest field of view on the market at 142° in 1080p30 format. The camera body is 1.5 inches in diameter on the lens face, and approximately .875 inches wide on the smaller end. The CMOS sensor is native 1080p, and the controller offers quite a bit of flexibility over exposure and processing, including exposure compensation and metering, as well as sharpening, noise control, in-field editing and other features.

By Robyn L. Pollman

Loktah, a natural media products company, has introduced their new LifeStyle line of bags. These bags feature warm earth tones textured by handmade hemp fabric. They are refined by champagne toned edges and waterproof lining. They can be used with or without the padded shoulder strap.

The CaseBag is designed for the iPad with up to a 23-inch strap drop and features a speaker opening with power opening and volume opening, a back magnetic pocket, and two magnetic closures. Public pricing: $75.00.

The LaptopBag is designed for laptops up to 17 inches with a 20.5-inch strap drop, two zippered pockets inside the front closure, a 13-inch back pocket on the outside, and is secured by magnetic closures. Public pricing: $132.00.

Both bags are creatively timeless in design.

Loktah, founded in 2008, creates natural packaging for the photographic and videography industries. They offer world-wide shipping via UPS and USPS. Volume discounts are available on large orders. Loktah Pro is exclusively for Professionals, with accounts processed within 24 to 48 hours.

See more from Robyn L. Pollman at paperieboutique.com and buttonsandbowsphotography.com.

By David Saffir

I recently received two products for testing—the Lexar 8GB 600X UDMA CF Card, and the new Lexar Professional Dual-Slot USB 3.0 Card Reader. Together, they deliver the fastest download times to a host computer I’ve seen to date.

This card reader accepts CF UDMA cards, SDXC, and SD UHS-I (SD 3.0) card formats. The reader is also backward compatible with USB 2.0 devices, and standard CF, SD, and SDHC cards.

The card reader can perform downloads of single cards, concurrent downloads of a CF and SD card, and transfer data from one card to another.

It is robust and well made, and should hold up well in studio or field use. The card reader follows along in the design of its USB 2.0 predecessor, a clamshell setup that snaps shut when not in use. We all know that a piece of dirt or debris in the wrong place can damage or ruin a card reader or card.

Of course, a USB 3.0 cable is provided; the card reader end of the cable is unique to 3.0, and the host connection end will fit either a 3.0 or 2.0 port. The host connection part of the cable is marked in blue to differentiate it from USB 2.0.

This USB 3.0 card reader can reportedly reach speeds of up to 500MB per second. This is blazing fast—obviously much faster than USB 2.0. But what happens when you try to download your images to your computer?

I tried a half-dozen PCs, all running Windows 7 (there are USB 3.0 drivers available for Mac, but I did not have one available to me). Test machines included desktops and laptops, all equipped with USB 3.0 ports. 

By Stan Sholik

Since I was first introduced to ACDSee Pro when it was in version 2.5, I have recommended the program to casual users who didn’t want to learn, or didn’t need, the complexities of Adobe Photoshop, Bridge and Lightroom. These users included friends, advanced amateurs and my wife. With the introduction of version ACDSee Pro version 3, I began using it to manage my own casual photography.

Version 3 impressed me with its speed on our not-so-advanced Windows machine at home, and the fact that it combined the digital asset management functions of Bridge with the global adjustment abilities of Lightroom, all in one program. Version 3 cleaned up the look of the interface and introduced the concept of modes, allowing users to easily move between browsing, viewing, processing their images, and then uploading them to ACDSee Online for sharing with others. The raw file processor of version 2.5 became the Develop sub-mode of the Process mode in version 3, with the capability to make non-destructive edits to RAW, TIFF, JPEG and other file formats. Version 2.5’s Edit mode for non-destructive pixel-level edits became the Edit sub-menu in version 3.

The shortcomings in version 3 were few, but some would be important to me if I wanted to migrate to the program for my commercial work. While version 3 included raw processing, it lacked chromatic aberration and color fringing correction tools, and the results were too contrasty for my taste. I’m also in the habit of applying full IPTC metadata to my images, and support for IPTC wasn’t quite there in version 3.

With the release of ACDSee Pro 4 for Windows, these shortcomings are eliminated and a few new features are added. I’m not convinced there are enough new and upgraded features to warrant a new version number or the $167.99 upgrade price, but version 4 does offer incremental and useful improvements in areas that interest me.

Raw file processing is one of these areas. ACDSee now includes both color aberration and color fringing correction tools. But perhaps more significantly, processing raw files is now accomplished in the ProPhoto RGB color space rather than Adobe RGB color space. This allows for adjustments to be done using a larger color gamut and therefore greater precision. ACDSee writes their own raw file processing algorithms, and the algorithms are revised in the latest version to provide smoother and more accurate adjustments to color, contrast, and exposure. The differences between the same image processed in the two versions are obvious with version 4 being the clear winner. One downside continues to exist as a result of ACDSee writing the raw processing algorithms—it takes a while for support for new cameras to become available. My Nikon P7000 is still not supported.

By Curtis Walker

Square first launched their service a year ago, since then they’ve grown into a valuable credit card processing resource for individuals and small businesses. Invented by Jack Dorsey after a friend lost a $2,000 art sale due to a cash-only operation. Dorsey (@jack) is also the guy who invented Twitter.

Unlike every other credit card solution, Square charges no upfront costs and skims a mere 2.75% off transactions. Unlike PayPal, which is also inexpensive, Square requires no setup on the part of the customer.

Available now for Apple iOS and Google Android, the Square app is free. It works in conjunction with a free credit card reader that plugs into the plain old headphone slot. The best experience comes from using the iPad app. Users can enter individual prices or use set up items in advance. Sales tax and tips can also be collected.

Once items have been added to the cart, swiping the card takes the user to a confirmation page where they sign and confirm the purchase. Receipts are delivered via SMS or e-mail and include all sorts of useful information for the customer. An internet connection is required in order to make any purchases.

The only restriction on charges is a limit of $1,000 per week to be deposited for new users. Transactions above that amount are held for 30 days.

Square is ideal for any business that wants to accept credit cards while avoiding the majority of fees involved.

New users can sign up for Square online or at any Apple Store.

Top-of-the-line technology and a bit less brawn makes the Nikon SB-700 an excellent flash in its class.

By Ellis Vener

The Nikon SB-700 AF Speedlight is the newest addition to Nikon’s family of iTTL battery powered electronic flashes. It’s smaller and less powerful than the slightly older SB-900 AF, yet it’s more capable than the SB-600 AF Speedlight it replaces. It has the same electronic “brains” as the SB-900, with a better GUI and communication with Nikon DSLR cameras and other accessories, and some of the same mechanics. The SB-700 has a set of hard plastic color filters rather than the gelatin type, and the refined Thermal Cut-Out Protection System to slow recycling when the flash tube needs protection from high heat.

The SB-700 retails for about $325, the SB-900 for about $495. Is this product worth the $170 savings? Depends on how you use small flash. If you constantly use an SB-900 at maximum output or if you need the ultra-short recycle time and increased capacity of an external high-voltage battery like a Quantum Turbo, the SB-700 is not for you. But if you’re in the market for a second flash to use on or off camera, or if you dislike the bulk and weight of the SB-900, rarely use an SB-900 or 800 at full output—in other words, you rarely see the recycle light blink —then by all means, look at the SB-700.

With small lights, I follow a more-is-more philosophy; it’s easier to get a flash to produce much less light than its full capacity than it is to get a low-energy flash to exceed its capability. Even with the ever-improving ratio of noise to high ISO of digital cameras, real-world measurement of maximum energy is a useful baseline for measuring performance.

To compare an SB-700 to a 900, I set up a simple test in a dark-walled studio. I measured output at the various zoom settings with a Sekonic L-758DR meter that was mounted on a stand 10 feet from the stand-mounted Speedlights. I shot five frames at each of the flashes’ zoom settings to evaluate consistency. Both flashes were powered by freshly charged Sanyo Eneloop batteries. To calculate the guide numbers, I used the formula, GN=distance X ƒ-number at ISO 100.

The results were a little surprising, in a good way: The SB-700 is more powerful than Nikon’s published numbers, but not evenly across the settings. When both flashes were set up for wide-angle coverage of 14-35mm, the SB-900 was only 4/10-steps brighter than the SB-700; at the 50-70mm zoom settings, the difference widened to 6/10-steps; and at 85-120mm the gap again widened slightly to 7/10-steps.

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

The CollageWall by Bay Photo has a patent-pending hanging system that makes it easy to hang pictures in a grid system. I was intrigued to see how the system works, and to see if the installation was as easy and fool-proof as promoted. So, I downloaded Bay Photo’s ROES software, and experimented with different image combinations and layouts. This step of the process was easy. You simply choose the type of CollageWall you’d like—photographic prints or metal prints. I first designed a 16-image piece, but decided it looked a little busy. My final design included six images over a 2x3-foot wall space.

My CollageWall order arrived in a timely manner, complete with hanging materials and printed instructions.

The hanging materials included a set of silver push pins, painter’s tape (for hanging the template), and a drill bit for predrilling the pin holes if you have plaster walls.

While installation seemed pretty self-explanatory—put the pins in the circles on the hanging template—I figured it couldn’t hurt to watch the instructional video before getting started. The video actually helped clarify a few things for me, like the fact that after placing the template on the wall, you should make pin prick marks at each of the hanging sites rather than pushing the hanging pin in all the way. That way you can save the template for later use if needed.

The video also explained how to separate my CollageWall elements, which arrived mounted to black cardboard as you’ll see below.

The mounting bracket is made out of this cardboard, as are little foldable easel stands. Should you choose to swap out a new picture in your CollageWall, simply attach the folded easel stand to the back mounting bracket, and you have a self-standing display piece. This is a great feature to point out to clients to let them know they can keep their CollageWall updated with recent images and still display the earlier photos however they would like.

By Melissa Gallo

The tracing paper slider is one of the exciting new features of Corel Painter 12. That may seem like a small thing, but it packs a big punch. Now you can control the opacity of your tracing paper to the finest degree, allowing you to see the photo under your painting in varying degrees. This greatly increases your control over how colors and shapes are extracted from the photo underneath and applied to your canvas.

Look for Melissa Gallo's review of Corel Painter 12 in the July issue of Professional Photographer.

Melissa Gallo is conducting digital painting workshops on Sept. 16-17 and 23-24, Oct. 7-8 and 21-22, and Nov. 4-5. Classe size is limited to four attendees for each workshop. Please visit Gallo's Digital Painting Workshops page for more information. 

By Robyn L. Pollman

WARNING: This column can be dangerous to your wallet. For those who have not discovered Etsy, prepare to lose a great deal of your time (and money) by having a look around. Etsy’s motto is, “Buy, Sell, and Live Handmade.” They combine the products of an outdoor market or craft fair with the ease of online purchasing. Etsy features several hundreds of thousands of sellers in over 150 countries. If you can think of it, chances are you can buy it there! 

Stash Bags 
Stash Bags makes stylish and useful camera bags for men and women in three sizes, including a large size suitable for professional use. The store also sells messenger bags for laptops, the MacBook Air, iPads, e-readers, iPods and iPhones. Bags are handmade and designed with vintage fabrics, using leather and metal elements as hardware with a modern function.

Baby P Designs  
Baby P Designs offers cute, stylish made-to-order newborn hats and photography props including hand-knit baby cocoons, wraps, slings, blankets and diaper covers. Their Handspun Luxe Collection includes custom handspun spun wool. The store also features a "Ready to Ship" line which ships immediately with purchase, and custom designs are available.

Hairbows Lady  
Don't let the name fool you - this Etsy shop is a packaging addict's dream. The Ribbon Center contains over 350 different varieties of ribbon in every color scheme, pattern, and size imaginable. They also sell holiday themed ribbon and package embellishments. 

Shimrit'a Cupcakes 
These faux-cupcakes and treats are perfect for birthday sessions. They look amazingly real and good enough to eat, but eliminate the risk of icing and grease stains from tiny little fingers. They also guarantee that the icing will not melt and slide off the cake before you've had a chance to take the shot. Props are available in sizes from mini to regular and jumbo cupcakes, and the store sells full-size cakes as well.

Fuzzy Lumpkin Crochet  
This Etsy store carries baby hats, headbands, baby wraps and cocoons, baby booties, photo props, jewelry, accessories, warm winter items, crocheted flowers, doilies, bags and more. If it can be crocheted, it is for sale here. Custom pieces available upon request. Their "Softest Ever Hat" (shown) is a parents-favorite for holiday and winter newborns.

It's Written on the Wall  
It's Written on the Wall carries over 300 quote designs to decorate your office or studio. They will design custom quotes as well, and offer over 60 color choices and 9 quote categories. Application instructions are included to adhere vinyl lettering to walls. Removal is quick and easy.

See more from Robyn L. Pollman at paperieboutique.com and buttonsandbowsphotography.com. 

By Stan Sholik

Professional photographers using Windows-based computers have a variety of imaging software applications at all price points available to them. Mac-based photographers have only a few options available from Adobe and Apple. The release of ACDSee Pro (Mac) provides a new and worthy option for Mac users.

After nearly two years in beta testing with professional photographers, ACDSee Pro (Mac) is now available in version 1.8. While not as feature rich as the Windows version, now in version 4, ACDSee Pro (Mac) is a solid offering with the potential of becoming an essential part of many Mac photographers’ workflows.

To categorize ACDSee Pro (Mac) as a digital asset management (DAM) application is to ignore many of its strengths. It isn’t simply an alternative to Adobe Bridge, although it performs many of the same functions. You can import images directly from your camera or camera card, browse images, videos and other assets anywhere on your computer or network without importing them, add IPTC and EXIF metadata and keywords, and perform file management functions. One of the greatest strengths of the Mac version, as well as the Windows versions that preceded it, is the speed with which it displays thumbnails.

It isn’t simply an alternative to Adobe Lightroom either, although ACDSee Pro (Mac) allows non-destructive global image editing and RAW file conversion, leaving only complex pixel-level editing, masking and layering tasks to Photoshop or similar software. ACDSee Pro (Mac) can view and process JPEG and TIFF files, and the RAW file formats supported by the Mac operating system.

In fact, it is difficult to fit ACDSee Pro (Mac) into any one category because it is capable of doing so much. It may be easiest to think of it as software that will do virtually anything that a professional photographer would need to do with a large image library, from importing digital captures to exporting final files to the lab or your client.

By Curtis Walker

Back in December, 2010, onOne Software released a new version of Genuine Fractals, now renamed Perfect Resize 7. The new name makes it much simpler for consumers to understand the purpose, focusing on the what more than the how.

Perfect Resize 7 is a long-lived super-sizing application that uses a complex re-sampling algorithm, enabling digital image enlargement without the undesirable effects of pixelization. Miraculous things  are possible, like pixel-free gallery art prints from a 10-megapixel Nikon D80. The fractal-based interpolating algorithm does not invent detail that never existed, and it performs upscaling far more elegantly than crude bicubic resampling.

For anyone who’s already familiar with the product, a few important new features make it a worthy upgrade: Apple Aperture- and Adobe Lightroom-native plug-in support, and gallery wrap features top the list. The native plug-in support is great because you don’t have to launch into Photoshop first, killing RAM. As part of a workflow, it’s great. Once the master edits are complete, the user simply sends the final image through Perfect Resize to generate a digital master for final proofing or delivery. If you edit primarily in Photoshop, there's a new onOne panel available to give you fast access to any of the applications in the Perfect Photo Suite. To bring up the panel, just go to Window > Extensions and select onOne. Then you can nest the panel wherever you'd like for your workflow. Watch this video from onOne for Lightroom, Aperture, and other application workflow information.

The gallery wrap function is a nice bit of efficiency built into the new workflow as well. It gives you a fast, easy way to create side panels for a gallery wrap. You can choose a reflection of your image—a mirror of the portion of your image closest to the sides—or a stretch, which samples a section of pixels along the border and stretches them out to fill the side panels. 

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

Photographers looking to refine their retouching skills should consider adding Bodyshop: The Photoshop Retouching Guide for the Face and Body, by Birgit Nitzsche and Karsten Rose, to their library. Bodyshop focuses on practical ways to refine and improve on the human body in Photoshop, after the image has been captured by the camera. The book contains many walk-through demonstrations with straightforward before and after comparison images, as well as a bullet-point summary of what changes will be made and explained. For each topic, the authors go through a detailed step-by-step explanation of how to accomplish the retouching technique.

The layout of the book makes the examples easy to follow, or even to skip ahead in the retouch process if you already understand how to do several steps. I found myself skimming through some portions of the explanation that already made sense to me so that I could get to the techniques I needed to learn. If you are someone who learns by doing rather than simply reading about a new technique, you can download work files either from the book’s website or from the included resource DVD. The DVD contains:

• Before and after versions of the images
• Setting files
• Trial version of Nik Software

There are two ways to study the techniques in Bodyshop—you can either read through, cover to cover, or jump to the section you need the most help with by consulting the table of contents. Each of the demonstration sections is listed in the TOC, so you can effectively use this book as a reference guide when retouching. Here’s a sampling of what’s in each chapter:

• Chapter 1: Body Contours (slim legs, reduce belly, replace missing body parts)
• Chapter 2: Facial Contours (reduce laugh lines, refine nose, change facial proportions)
• Chapter 3: Eyes (adapt eye size, remove glasses reflections, opening blinking eyes)
• Chapter 4: Mouth (correct teeth, emphasize lips, add lip gloss)
• Chapter 5: Skin (improve skin texture/tone, reduce skin glare)
• Chapter 6: Hair (isolate hair from background, bring out texture, remove stubble)
• Chapter 7: Hands and Feet (emphasize age, get fingernails into shape)

At the end of each chapter, you’ll find a basic overview section to help increase your understanding of: workflow, layers, paths, blend modes, special layer techniques, sharpening and paths. Like all the demonstrations, you can quickly access these segments of the book.

Whether you choose to use “Bodyshop” as a reference guide or more of a hands-on tutorial, the techniques demonstrated are done so in a clear and concise manner, followed by an in-depth walk-through on the subject. I appreciated the detailed instructions when learning about unfamiliar techniques, and the ability to quickly review the before and after versions was helpful as a reminder of the purpose of each exercise. This book will be a great addition to any retoucher’s library.  “Bodyshop: The Photoshop Retouching Guide for the Face and Body,” by Birgit Nitzsche and Karsten Rose, is available for $49.99 from wiley.com/go/bodyshop or from Amazon for $31.49. 

Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP, has a portrait studio in Dexter, Michigan (BPhotoArt.com); she shares tips and ideas for photographers at LearnWithBetsy.com.

By David Saffir

Almost any photographer who owns an iPad enjoys its form factor, usability, and overall coolness. But color on the iPad is something of a mystery that raises a few questions—does it use the sRGB color space? (no) Something else? (yes) Can it be calibrated? (finally: yes, it can!).

A new product from Datacolor, SpyderGallery, makes it dead easy to calibrate your iPad—versions 1 or 2—and the results are noticeably better: image quality, color accuracy, saturation, shadow detail, and detail in highly saturated areas are improved, within the constraints of the iPad color range of course. It uses an existing screen calibration instrument from Datacolor, the Spyder3, and some new, and unique, software applications.

By Ron Dawson    

There once was a time when launching a video production business took thousands of dollars in startup capital for the professional equipment alone. Then came the Canon EOS Rebel T2i camera, priced at $800, offering video quality on par with the EOS 7D, quality surpassing that of professional camcorders of just a few years ago that sold for five times more. Now, less than a year after the release of the T2i, Canon has released an upgraded model, the Rebel T3i, selling for about $850. Here, we look at the new model as a video production tool, and at some key differences between it and other popular Canon HD DSLRs.

Unlike almost all earlier Canon HD DSLRs except the 60D, the T3i has a flip-out view screen with 270 degrees of rotation. That’s an important feature to event film makers, who frequently need to shoot high or low. Having a flip-out view screen and being able to angle it to get those shots is a fantastic benefit—so often it’s the little things that make the biggest difference. 

The second major physical difference between the T3i and other models is the absence of a topside digital display. It does sport the traditional Rebel dial to set the camera modes, the power switch, the ISO button, and the adjustment dial. Turning the dial alone adjusts the shutter speed, and turning the dial while holding down the aperture/exposure compensation (Av) button on the backside adjusts the aperture. You can easily adjust other settings on the fly from the Quick Control button on the back.

The camera has a dedicated movie mode, and A/V-out and HDMI-out ports on the side for linking the camera with external monitors. There’s also a port for a mic connection with a 1/8inch mini-jack. The T3i is smaller and lighter than the 7D, and it uses SD cards, including SDXC extended capacity cards. As you’d expect of a camera in this price range, it feels much less rugged than the 7D and larger cameras, and lacks the weather proofing as well.

But let’s get to the meat and potatoes of its use for video production. It does not have the feature set you’d want for professional still photography, but it packs a powerful punch for video production. The key aspects:

FOCAL LENGTH: The T3i has an APSC sensor, which makes the 35mm-equivalent focal length about 1.6X. A good focal length range for shooting traveling shots on devices like a glide-cam is 16 to 24mm. Divide by 1.6 to determine which focal length lens to use. I prefer the 12 to 16mm range with a 1.6 lens factor. For weddings and other events where you can’t get that close, slap a 70-200mm lens on this baby and your reach extends to 320mm. That comes in handy.

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

X-keys Professional, from P.I. Engineering, is a 58-key customizable keyboard; straight out of the box, it might look unassuming. But that's the beauty of it—you can customize X-keys to your heart's content. Imagine how 58 custom keys could help streamline your workflow. I have to admit, once my X-keys unit was set up and operational, it really helped increase my editing efficiency in Photoshop, but I'm getting ahead of myself. First to explain how it works.

The X-keys unit ships with a set of key labels, the software disc, and three double-sized keys that you can install if you choose. I opted to keep all 58 keys, since I knew I would use them! You can download (or order) legend sheets to create customized key labels. I found it most useful to make my own key labels, along with a layout chart of which shortcuts I wanted to associate with certain keys (download templates).

My process began with making a list of all the shortcuts I use most frequently—whether in Photoshop, Bridge, or just general computer actions. Here's a picture of my worksheet—I wrote down the desired label, whether the shortcut would be a global command (or program-specific), and what keystrokes to program.

Then, I created a rough draft of my layout (using my worksheet). As I wrote down where to program each action/keystroke, I also made note of any existing keyboard shortcuts on the worksheet. For example, I created Undo and Redo buttons—which are global keystrokes, but also Photoshop-specific. When Photoshop is open, the Undo/Redo buttons perform the Step Forward/Backward function. For some of my desired buttons, I did not have any keyboard shortcuts assigned in Photoshop. So, rather than programming keystroke by keystroke within the X-keys software, I simply created an action in Photoshop, and then assigned a keyboard shortcut (e.g. Shift+F7) to the action.

By Kurt Robertson 

Backgrounds are a major expense for a photography studio. Over the years, I have worked with countless canvas, muslin, and various other backgrounds. One of the things I always longed for was the ability to change the background to match the theme or subject at will without taking so much time to arrange and light the new background choice.

One of the big developments in the digital imaging world is chroma-key technology. Chroma-key software has the ability to drop out specific colors, usually bright green or sometimes bright blue. Chroma-key in video has been around for many years, but does this technology now have a place in portrait photography as well?

I combined a chroma-key portrait with this background from EZ Backgrounds using PhotoKey4. I retouched blemishes and other minor details in Photoshop CS5 and then processed it with Imagenomic Portraiture, adjusted the contrast, and used Nik Color Efex Pro 3 to warm up the image and darken the corners. I sharpened the image with Nik Sharpener Pro and finally added a cement wall texture in the overlay blending mode of CS5. Overall processing took about 20 minutes.  ©Kurt Robertson

Just as film photographers didn't switch to digital SLR cameras without experiencing workflow consequences, adding digital backgrounds to your studio will create new issues. How will you extract the subject from your images? How will you put the backgrounds into your images, and how good will the quality be? How much time can you afford to prepare your images? Most important, how will you present and sell the images?

With that in mind, let’s take a look at two contenders, Green Screen Wizard Pro 5.0 and PhotoKey 4 Pro.

Green Screen Wizard is a PC-only application with several versions available. Green Screen Wizard Pro 5.0 has many useful features for event photography, but our primary focus for this article is image presentation, green screen removal and image output.

Image courtesy Green Screen Wizard 

Green Screen Wizard Pro 5.0 has a simple workflow for portrait studios. You click Load Foreground to load in your green screen photo and Load Background to preview your image. The Pick button allows you to preview the photo on multiple backgrounds at the same time (below), which will be valuable if you want to let clients choose their favorite background. It’s also useful for studio staff to be able to look at several options. You can also output just the subject with a transparent background as a .png file. Once you combine the subject with a background, the file will output with the background and subject combined (flattened).

Images ©Kurt Robertson

By Stan Sholik

There is no “magic bullet” software for post production of raw and JPEG image files. Each program comes with an upside and a downside. The upside with DxO Optics Pro is its automatic adjustment presets; the downside has always been its speed of operation, especially on a Mac. Version 6 showed some speed improvements and now version 6.5 (actually 6.5.5 as of a few days ago) shows greater improvement still, making it worth looking at in detail.

With many advanced and professional photographers comfortably settled into either a Lightroom, Aperture, or Bridge/Photoshop workflow, it may be a tough sell for DxO to convince them to investigate another application. But Optics Pro has much to offer, chiefly its processing automation and camera/lens-specific DxO Optics Modules, although neither of these are new to version 6.5.

Image correction with little or no human intervention lies at the core of Optics Pro’s processing automation. In addition, there is a series of tools that allow you to fine-tune the automatic corrections. 

DxO revised the Optics Pro interface in version 6.0 and has kept the same clean, contemporary look in version 6.5. Four tabs at the top, Select, Customize, Process and View take you to different windows as you move through the workflow. In the Select tab, the browser pane is to the left, a Preview pane where the images in the selected folder appear is to the right, and a Project pane at the bottom hold selected images for processing. In the “First Steps” mode, information to guide you through the process appears onscreen.

The automation is built around workspaces and presets. Three workspaces are found in Optics Pro: First Steps, Essentials and Advanced User. The First Steps workspace includes the basic corrections and a wizard to walk you through the workflow if you are new to the program. Additional tools are added in the Essentials workspace and even more in the Advanced User. Tools with corrections that DxO has made automatically are indicated with an “Auto” in the tools header. These automatic corrections could be based on image content or camera, camera/lens calibration for the parameters that Optics Pro finds in the image EXIF information and the corresponding DxO Optic Module that you have downloaded. 

The Customize tab is the most complex, even in the First Steps workspace shown. Visualization tools are on the left, a preview of the adjusted image is in the center, adjustment palettes are on the right, and the Project pane from the Select tab, is below. The First Steps workspace has minimal adjustments available. 

The Essentials workspace adds a histogram to the Visualization tools and more adjustments are available in the adjustment palette.  

The Advanced User workspace adds a small amount of EXIF information to the Visualization tools and all of the available adjustments are listed in the adjustment palette. 

From my experience while testing, this part of the automation works extremely well, particularly so if you have the appropriate Optics Module loaded. While there are more than 3,000 Optics Modules available, I seemed to have the wrong combination of Nikon camera and Nikkor or Sigma lens to make use of them most of the time, but when I did, there was an noticeable, though slight, improvement in image quality. Where I did notice an amazing improvement in image quality was in images from my Nikon P7000, which was recently added to the Optics Modules. For a compact camera, the P7000 is excellent, but with Optics Pro the images are superb. I saw the same high degree of improvement in images from a Canon G12.

If Optics Pro detects EXIF metadata that indicates you are adding images to a project for which an Optics Module is available, it will prompt you to download the module. 

By Ron Dawson

If you decide to take up the craft of DSLR filmmaking, one of the things you will quickly realize is that shooting video is very different from shooting photos. One of the key differences is that unless you are extremely experienced, hand-held video shot with a DSLR will look terrible. It’ll be too shaky, resulting in significantly lower production quality than stabilized footage. The other thing you’ll notice is that trying to focus with an LCD screen is extremely difficult, especially at the wider apertures where depth of field is very shallow. These cameras were just not ergonomically designed to shoot video. As usual, Mother Necessity has led the way to a whole sub-industry dedicated to providing gear that helps the DSLR filmmaker shoot proper video.

Zacuto, based in Chicago, Ill., is one of the leaders in that industry. Created by veteran Emmy-award-winning film and video producers Steve Weiss and Jens Bogehegn, one of the reasons their gear has become so well known is because they bring more than 50 combined years of industry experience. I had the opportunity to try out three of their most popular DSLR accessories: the Z-Finder Pro, the Target Shooter, and the Striker.

The Z-Finder Pro: The Z-Finder Pro is perhaps Zacuto’s number-one DSLR accessory. It is an optical viewfinder that connects to the back of the DSLR, magnifiying the LCD live view image. If you’re using manual focus, this allows you to dial-in focus and keep it there as you shoot. It also blocks out glare from additional light sources like the sun. It also serves as an additional point of contact to get steadier shots. The more points of contact you can have, the more stability you have. When you hold a DSLR up to and against your eye with the Z-Finder Pro, you now have three POCs: two hands and your face. 

When the Z-Finder first came out, you had to physically glue it to the back of your DSLR. It could be detached, but it was an awkward setup. Now they’ve designed it with a mounting frame and base plate that screws into to your tripod mount socket. You can adjust the Z-Finder to the left or right depending on the camera, and you can even add plastic extenders to push the Z-Finder farther out from the back of the camera, allowing you to adjust the focus on the Z-Finder itself to match your eyesight.

I found it very easy to use and extremely effective at monitoring focus. Of all the optical viewfinders on the market, it is the one chosen by high-profile DSLR filmmakers such as Vincent Laforet and Philip Bloom. If you’re doing a lot of moving around, it will be a key accessory in your tool kit.

By Ron Dawson

Currently, the two most wide spread “flavors” of SD cards are plain SD and SDHC. SD cards can hold up to 2GB of data, whereas SDHC cards can hold 4GB to 32GB of data. They are based on the FAT32 file system. FAT stands for File Allocation Table and it is a computer architecture structure upon which most computer operating systems and smaller memory devices are based. It is the FAT32 system that limits video clips captured on SD and CF cards to just 4GB each (approximately 12 minutes of time for most cameras).

A couple of years ago, the SDXC (secure digital extended capacity) format was introduced. This new system was based on the SD Association’s 3.0 specification and created an entirely new structure that is based on exFAT file system (also known as FAT64). These cards are NOT backwards compatible with older SD host devices. The benefit of this new format is extended data capacity and transfer buffer speeds.

Lexar has come out with its Professional SDXC card that is 64GB and 128GB with bus transfer speed of 133x, or 20MB/s. (To put this in perspective, the cards I normally shoot my gigs on are 16GB SDHC cards with 30MB/s speeds). The SDXC format is designed to hold up to 2TB of data!

By Curtis Joe Walker

Creating a digital portfolio on the iPad should be on the front burner of any studio’s marketing plan. Mediapad Pro (Version 1.2, $11.99) aims to streamline that process while balancing it between clean and flashy to remain appealing as possible today’s discerning clients.

The design comes from Craig Orsini who wanted the app to be the ultimate portfolio tool. Setup appears as a screen full of pre-designated slots within a template to fill in. Backgrounds can be customized, existing brand logos can be used and there’s even a spot for a scanned business card.

The galleries can support video, photos, audio and external web content through the built-in browser, giving photographers the most flexibility in the presentation of their work. Unfortunately, music is not yet incorporated as a soundtrack to the portfolio, but this feature will come soon. In the meantime, it’s possible to play music through the iPod app.

The app works best with specific image sizes and formats, working from within this template should not add too much time to one’s workflow and allows for additional page design through manually composited images (diptychs, triptychs and so forth). For photographers who have already designed printed books, importing the pages as JPGs becomes an easy option. This is similarly useful with tearsheets, often a cumbersome media to present.

By Stan Sholik

With the release of Capture One 6, Phase One continues to add value to the software for commercial, portrait and wedding photographers, while adding a new feature for architectural photographers.

Like earlier releases, Capture One 6 (C1-6) comes in three versions: Capture One Express 6, DB 6 and PRO 6. Express 6 is the basic version, with only the essential raw processing and image adjustment tools. DB 6 is for digital camera backs from Phase One, Mamiya and Leaf. The PRO 6 version integrates a full-featured raw file converter with image editing, browsing and output features.

Besides the wealth of new features, all of these new versions share several operational upgrades. The software is now a native 64-bit application for both Mac and Windows computers, and 32-bit Windows operating systems as well. The OpenCL/GPU acceleration feature transfers some of the image processing from the CPU to a compatible graphics card, allowing additional features such as a new full-screen mode. These upgrades result in a noticeable boost of speed, plus access to additional RAM to process large image files.

Here, we’ll concentrate on the other major changes in the PRO version that relate to professional photographers. Some of them are unavailable in the other versions; for a comparison of the features in the Pro and Express programs, go to phaseone.com/comparison.

Architectural photographers are a principal beneficiary of the new keystone correction feature (below). You can make the processing semi-automatic by selecting the keystone correction icon from the Tools menu and adjusting the overlay lines. You can also access the tool for semi-automatic or manual correction in the Crop tab.

In semi-automatic mode, the verticals are taken 80 percent of the way to perfectly vertical; Phase One finds that this slight under-correction is more natural than a full 100-percent correction. The results look good to me. You can correct vertical keystoning, horizontal convergence or both by selecting the appropriate keystone correction tool.

Keystone correction is a simple matter of aligning guides with the principal lines of the subject then clicking the Apply button in the center of the screen. The resulting image refreshes with a suggested crop. The correction is available for horizontal as well as vertical keystoning and for a combination of both. ©Stan Sholik

All users will benefit from other new features, including non-destructive local adjustments, black-and-white conversion plus toning, sophisticated token-based image naming, the Capture Pilot iPod/iPad app, and more.

By Allison Earnest

I’m a huge fan of small speedlights. Used properly with the right light modifier, speedlights rival most traditional studio lights. I spent almost two years testing virtually every small hot shoe flash modifier on the market for my second book, “Light Modifiers: A Digital Guide to Sculpting with Light” (Amherst Media), so I looked forward to testing the new ExpoImaging Rogue FlashBenders, which promised to be a groundbreaking innovation.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the Rogue kit comes with three FlashBender modifiers, small, medium and large. I typically use at least three Nikon Speedlights for location portraits, so that’s a big plus for me. These little gems have several unique features:

• A convenient built-in strap that fits around the hot shoe flash eliminates the need for auxiliary Velcro. That’s a benefit: Like many photographers, I’ve been living with permanently affixed Velcro on my flashes and other modifiers won’t fit over it.
• The repositionable internal rods allow you to shape the modifier to create the desired lighting pattern.
• The modifiers are both durable and flexible, and lie flat for easy storage. The Velcro strap won’t stick to the side of your camera case, either. 

I put the Rogue FlashBenders to the test in three separate location shoots. You can see the results in the images here, which I captured with a Nikon D300 or D700 with professional Nikkor lenses and Nikon SB800 and SB900 Speedlights. I’m old-school, so I use Photoshop only minimally—the light should speak for itself.

Shooting headshots for an aspiring Los Angeles model, Vance Garcia, proved to be an ideal test for the Rogue. The setting was a shaded area next to a graffiti-covered metal wall, with little reflective light or contrast. The main illumination, placed camera right, was an off-camera Nikon Speedlight with the small FlashBender. I shaped the large FlashBender modifier to mimic a snoot, and placed it behind the model, creating nice texture on the wall and separating the subject from the background. I used the sparse reflective ambient light as edge light on the model’s right cheek, and controlled it with my shutter speed. The FlashBender modification of the speedlights produced a bright light quality and with great color rendition (above).

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

The Kubota Creative Tools Lensbaby Pak, a set of Actions for Photoshop offered by Kubota Image Tools, offers photographers an easy way to enhance images created with the Lensbaby lens system. The effects were designed by Kevin Kubota specifically to complement the soft focus effects captured by various Lensbaby Optics.

The Lensbaby Pak comes with 15 different actions, or effects, that you can apply to your images. You’ll also get Kubota Dashboard 3, a floating toolbar palette that makes it extremely simple to select and apply various action effects. The palette features a search bar that allows you to quickly find your actions (particularly helpful if you own more than one Kubota Action Pak).

The Kubota Action Paks make adding and removing filters very simple. Rather than running the action on your base layer in Photoshop, it creates a new layer (usually an adjustment layer) for each action or filter that you choose to apply. Then you can fade out the opacity at will, or even remove a particular effect from the image entirely, just by deleting the layer. I appreciated this design feature, as I am all for non-destructive image editing.

While not a Lensbaby lens owner myself, I was able to get my hands on a few lenses long enough to create some test images for this review. I started out by creating a few images using the soft focus lens, and then with the fisheye lens.

For this first image, I just applied one action: Fisheye Lens - Spectacle. In the before/after comparison, you’ll see that the action added nice contrast, and the image gained overall sharpness, but it does not do any favors for close-up skin tones and texture.

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

If you’re like most photographers, you prefer to rely on Adobe Photoshop for the bulk of your image retouching and album design workflow. But you may have noticed that Adobe Photoshop doesn’t exactly make your workflow all that efficient—at least on its own. Fundy Software has designed several products that work within Photoshop to help you streamline your retouching and design workflow. In this review, I’m going to look at two products available within Fundy’s Pro Studio Pack that can enable you to speed up your editing, and also your album designing.

Both Workflow and Album Builder run as palettes within Adobe Photoshop, and work harmoniously with other Adobe applications such as Bridge. Let’s take a peek at Workflow first . 

The Workflow panel, once installed, can be placed anywhere you would dock a typical Photoshop Palette. The panel has several sections: Get Started, Image Navigation, Action Control, Recently Used Actions, and Personal Action Buttons. To get started using Workflow, you first click the folder setup button. A setup window will open (see below) that allows you to customize how Workflow will operate.

While you can simply select a folder to process, I found it easier to select my files in Bridge and process from there. You can specify how the files will be saved (e.g. 4x6 proofs, web copies, full sized PSDs), and even run an action when each file is opened and again before each file is closed. I have an action that creates a retouching layer on every file I retouch, so Workflow was the perfect way to automatically perform this action on every image. Once you click the Process button, Workflow will begin loading the selected images sequentially for you as you click the Save and Next button. Depending on what settings you enabled during the setup screen, various sized copies of the file will be created in the appropriate subfolder as the edited image is saved.

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

It’s a photographer’s worst nightmare—the dreaded “ERR–” message. And it only happens after you’ve wrapped up that once-in-a-lifetime photoshoot. At one point or another, we’ve all scrambled to find a way to recover those images that would otherwise be lost forever. And that’s where Photorecovery Professional 2010 can help.

In addition to restoring many different types of files from your memory cards, the professional version of Photorecovery includes Digital Media Doctor, which you can use to test the performance of a specific memory card (i.e. how well it reads/writes).

Now, that sounds great in theory, but how well does Photorecovery actually work? I ran several tests with different media cards to find out. My first test involved a CompactFlash card that had malfunctioned during a studio shoot. The camera gave me an “ERR–” message, and the card was unable to be loaded or recognized when inserted normally into my computer’s card reader (inserting this card into my computer has even caused the system to freeze up). Using Photorecovery, I started a sector scan of the 4GB card at 11 a.m. It completed, with errors, around 6 p.m. that evening, and Photorecovery failed to recover any data. I then ran Digital Media Doctor on the 4GB card, which unsurprisingly, did not pass any of the tests. While it might be inferred from these results that the software is to blame, I’m more prone to lay the guilt on the card being completely corrupted. I have sent it out to the manufacturer to confirm this, and I’ll update this report if I hear otherwise.

Screen capture of Digital Media Doctor while running diagnostics on the corrupted 4GB compact flash card.

Since my first test only proved what happens when Photorecovery is unable to recover data, this next test shows what Photorecovery can recover. This time, I used an 8GB CompactFlash card that has been in use at my studio for numerous years. Photorecovery completed diagnostics on the 8GB card without any problems. When initially viewed using my computer’s file browser, the 8GB card did not show any files present, but Photorecovery was able to recover image files (both .jpg and .nef, Nikon’s raw format). I started the scan at 9:26 p.m., and it finished at 9:44 p.m., recovering 760 files.

Screen capture of Photorecovery scan at 85-percent completion, 655 files recovered so far.

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

On the recommendation of a friend, I recently ordered a copy of the newly released book, “Marketing for Solos,” by Jeanna Pool. After reading the book cover to cover in a single weekend, I thought to myself: “this book could be really helpful to photographers!” As small business owners, we often find ourselves overwhelmed with various facets of running our business (usually a one-person show). In her book, Jeanna Pool cuts through the philosophical jibber jabber of marketing, and offers real world advice and practical suggestions for the solo business owner.

The tenets of marketing aren’t new to me. I came away from college with a degree in both Studio Art and Business Management, so I know the theories of marketing. I know what we all, as small business owners, should be doing to market our businesses. But I also know that, too often, we get caught up in the day-to-day operations of running our studios and forget to devote time to our marketing tactics.

That’s where Pool’s book comes in. More than just a book to read once and add to your library, “Marketing for Solos” is designed to help you work through some of the important cornerstones of your marketing plan. Pool walks you through how to determine or find your niche market, why you need to focus your marketing efforts on prospects with specific traits, and how to develop effective marketing pieces that will yield results. Additionally, the book focuses on strategically diversifying your marketing efforts so that you don’t end up with all your eggs in one basket.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Pool about how this book could be particularly useful for photographers. Pool said, “It's one of the only books of its kind that teaches the solo photographer how to market their business successfully. It can be really hard to market your business when you can't be in two places at once … [‘Marketing For Solos’] makes marketing manageable.” I also asked Pool what one most useful tidbit of information photographers might take away from her book. She said, “The biggest thing photographers need to do is pick a focused niche. It separates the successful photographers from those who are just ‘getting by.’”

I really took to heart one of Pool’s comments from the book: “Most small businesses struggle, fumble, and ultimately fail for one simple reason—lack of clients. And a lack of clients is a result of one thing—a lack of marketing” (p. 20). There are many artistically competent photographers whose businesses are walking a fine line between failure and survival simply because they don’t know how to market. Waiting for clients to fall into your lap is not an effective way to stay in business. You may be the one “doing it all” at your studio, but that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice when it comes to marketing. “Marketing for Solos” will help you to market yourself, and your business, in a way that is sustainable for the one-person small business.

“Marketing For Solos” is available at Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Marketing-Solos-Ultimate-How-Successfully/dp/0976996278) for $19.95. For more information about the book, visit Jeanna Pool’s website: marketingforsolos.com.

Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP, has a portrait studio in Dexter, Michigan (BPhotoArt.com); she shares tips and ideas for photographers at LearnWithBetsy.com.

By Stan Sholik

When my recent article “Two Paths to Retouching” went live in Professional Photographer magazine and online, photographers called, sent me e-mails and posted comments regarding other retouching software options. One of the most intriguing contacts came from Craig Minielly.

Minielly is a Vancouver-based photographer and author of Craig’s Actions. Craig asked me if I was familiar with his actions, because, using them, he was able to accomplish in less than five minutes what had taken me 22 minutes in Portrait Professional and 48 minutes in Adobe Photoshop CS5.

I hadn't tried them, so Craig sent me a link to download Craig’s Actions Toolkit and Craig’s Beauty Bar to test. Here’s what I found.

After I downloaded and opened the zip files I was confronted with a bunch of files and folders, so I went back to the Craig’s Actions website to the Tutorials ‘n Tips drop-down list in the menu bar to watch a video about installation. All you have to do to get started is find the actions (*.atn) files and double-clickon them. They then load automatically into the Actions palette of Photoshop CS2 to CS5 on both the Mac and Windows platforms.

I watched the tutorials to decrease the slope of my learning curve, and they are very well done with a nice sense of humor. They helped immensely in getting me started quickly.

I opened a copy of my original file and ran a number of actions that Craig thought I might use and some others that I was curious about. There are many actions to choose from, and some are duplicated in both the Toolkit and Beauty Bar sets. I settled on using BlemishBuster, which is found in both sets but with more options in Beauty Bar; ColorGenie Warm, Tinted Contacts Blue, and PowderPuff from the Toolkit; and Eye Color/Whites & Teeth, Lip Gloss and Lipstick from Beauty Bar.

I started with the BlemishBuster Strong from the Beauty Bar set. When you run any of the Craig’s Actions, the action flattens previous steps, sets up your Layers palette and blending modes, selects brushes, creates adjustment layers and masks if needed, and stops to instruct you how to proceed.

This screen capture shows the steps in the BlemishBuster Strong action from the blue highlight to the bottom of the Actions palette. However, the only thing I needed to do was to brush over first the dark blemishes, then the light blemishes and press the action Play button a couple of times. The action handles all the rest automatically. Image ©Stan Sholik

A Perfect Film for the Hybrid Workflow

By Marianne Drenthe

Film is not dead. Brilliant technical advances in the forum of film creation have brought about Kodak Professional’s newest film, Portra 400. Kodak touts it as having the “world finest grain at 400 speed,” and I do believe that claim to be true.

I trialed the Portra 400 film in the 35mm format. Kodak has always been known for their consistent and smooth reproduction of all skin tones, and I couldn’t wait to use this film in my comfort zone—children’s photography. I trialed several rolls of the brand new Portra 400 film using my trusty Canon EOS Elan 7 and a variety of Canon L glass, using manual settings for all my exposures. I shot with my favorite Canon lenses: the 50mm 1.2L, the 135mm 2.0L and the 24-70mm 2.8L. I hoped the combination of the L lenses with Kodak’s track record for smooth skin tones would prove to be a winner. It was.

The wait and see nature of film sort of forces you to finish the process of taking the photos—not to stop and check the back of the camera LCD after taking a shot and second guess yourself. I took photos of a variety of child subjects utilizing natural light. I took some photos outdoors (no easy feat in the Midwest December cold!), on location in my home and indoors at a client’s home. Once I finished shooting came the patience part. I sent my rolls off to Burrell Colour Imaging in Crown Point, Ind. (one of my pro labs of choice), and waited. Patiently. Their turn around was pretty good; I had proof images and scans in about a week.

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

Photodex, the creator of ProShow Gold and Proshow Producer, has released a new option for photographers wanting to create custom slideshows—ProShow Web. A subscription-based service, ProShow Web allows you to pick a slideshow theme, upload your content (both photo and video), choose music (or upload your own), and even watermark your slideshow.

In order to use ProShow Web, the first thing you have to do is create an account. There are free and paid user options. In brief, the free account allows you to create mini-slideshows, while the paid options offer more features, flexibility, and download options. Once you have an account, it’s really easy to make your first slideshow. Clicking on the Create button will take you to the slideshow creation interface. There are five tabs: Theme, Imagery, Music, Details, and Watch.

In the Theme tab, you’ll get to select the style of slideshow you’d like to create. There are almost 40 different themes to choose from, and they range from classic and simple to wedding and baby themed designs.

The next step is at the Imagery tab, where you’ll upload your images and even videos. You can also add text frames if you'd like. Once your content has been uploaded, you can drag and drop to rearrange, shuffle all slides, or even create duplicate slides. During this step, you can add optional special effects to various images in your show. Just click on the Creative Palette to display a variety of effects you can drag and drop on a particular slide.

By Don Chick, M.Photog.Cr., CPP

Images ©Don Chick

Imagine one pair of glasses that enabled you to eliminate every other pair of glasses you own! One pair that lets you see through the entire lens, not just a slice on the bottom or a slice in the middle, but the entire lens in the prescription you need at that moment. Enter Superfocus, the glasses that have a revolutionary lens design incorporating every prescription you need into one adjustable lens. With the Superfocus design the entire lens is clear, not just a portion of it.

The magic behind this amazing lens design is accomplished via a liquid sandwiched inside the lens. The wearer makes adjustments with a tiny slider built into the connecting piece over the bridge of the nose (below). By moving this slider to one side or the other, you adjust the lenses to match your prescription to whatever you need at that moment. For example, when I need to focus up close to read, I adjust the slider to the right until my subject is in perfect focus. If I then want to see something in the distance, I adjust the slider to the left and I have perfect focus for subjects far away.

The Superfocus lenses can incorporate a range of prescriptions because the lens is actually made up of several key components. Your distance prescription is in a removable lens on the front, held on with a set of powerful magnets. Removing this front lens exposes a transparent distensible membrane that, along with the rear lens, actually holds an optically clear liquid inside the chamber. The adjustment of the slider serves to compress the back lens into the liquid which changes the magnification and enables you to see clearly at different distances.

In a conversation with company CEO Adrian Koppes, I was told that idea of using a flexible membrane and a liquid to achieve a range of prescriptions from a single pair of glasses is actually over one hundred years old. The current Superfocus glasses are actually the 14th generation in the making and 20 years in development. It has taken a lot of research and prototypes to make this design commercially available.

By David Saffir

You’ll get the best image quality from your inkjet printer using a color-managed workflow. This includes a calibrated and profiled display, correct software setup, and image-editing software that can handle application-managed color when printing. (In this article I’m referring to color, RGB-oriented workflow.)

This might sound like a lot of work, but once you get your color locked down and you’ve had a chance to practice a bit, you’ll find that color managed workflow requires little time in execution. And the results are worth it!

I have been working with a demo unit of the new Epson Stylus Pro 4900 printer at the Santa Clarita Valley Center for Photography near Los Angeles, and so far it has been a positive experience.

Out of the box, setup is logical and relatively easy. Image quality on photographic-style and fine-art media, in color and black and white, has been very good. Paper handling has improved from earlier models; the roll paper feeder, paper tray, the upper single sheet feeder, and the lower single sheet feeder all work well. The roll feeder accepts both 2- and 3-inch cores. The Stylus Pro 4900 can handle cut sheet media up to 17x22, and 1.5mm thickness.

The Stylus Pro 4900 has eleven 200ml ink cartridges using the Epson UltraChrome HDR Ink; this includes both photo and matte black. A switch from photo black to matte black ink requires the operator to push a button on the printer control panel. Switching takes a couple of minutes, and seems to use a small amount of ink.

The instructions regarding the hands-on operation of the printer are straightforward and clearly illustrated. Overall, a flexible, pro-level machine.

By Don Chick, M.Photog.Cr., CPP

Wireless downloading from your digital camera to computer for under $150 sounds unimaginable, right? Then you haven’t seen the Eye-Fi Pro X2 (SDHC) card. This card, which has the transmitter device built in will enable you to connect to your wireless network and do just that—download from your digital camera directly to your computer! There are limitations, however, as the card will not work using a CF adaptor in a camera that has only CompactFlash (CF) slots.

I recently had the opportunity to check out the Eye-Fi Pro X2 card in a Canon G11 and was quite impressed with the speed and ease of use. After following a few simple directions for installing the software on my laptop, I was ready to connect to my wireless network. When prompted during the installation, I provided the network information and password and it connected. I then inserted the card into the G11 and began taking pictures. As long as the camera was on and within range of the laptop it would automatically download the images to a user-specified directory. I did have to lengthen the standby time setting on the camera so that the camera wouldn’t go to “sleep” before completing a download. It was simply amazing that the transfer occurred whenever there were images on the camera that hadn’t been downloaded and the camera was on!

Eye-Fi has several models of media cards that are compatible with many makes and models of compact cameras. The best thing to do is check their website for compatibility. If you don't capture raw files, or you can use the card in a second media slot to which you save only jpg files, then you may be able to use a model other than the Pro X2 version and save some money. If, however, you want to transfer raw files, then you’ll need the Pro X2 as it is the only card that will transfer raw files.You may also want to keep a spare charged battery on hand because extended use may affect the battery life. While I didn’t test the range limit of the card, the company publishes that indoors the card should have range of approximately 45 feet, with a 90 foot range outside.

If your camera has an SD slot, check out the Eye-Fi website for compatibility. It’s possible that you could be shooting and downloading wirelessly in the very near future!

Editor's note: Eye-Fi announced their new Direct Mode on Jan. 4, which enables users to send their digital images directly to a smart phone or tablet using the card and a free Eye-Fi app. Look for a review of this new technology in an upcoming post here in Web Exclusives.

By Stan Sholik

Is portrait retouching software worth the investment or should you stick with what you have? We compared the process, advantages and limitations, comparing Anthropics Portrait Professional and Adobe Photoshop CS5 (and a subsequent comparison using Craig's Actions).

Portrait retouching is far more art than science. Even with a firm intent in your mind for the final form of a project, there are many paths to that end. This article will explore two popular portrait retouching paths, Anthropics Portrait Professional v9 and Adobe Photoshop CS5. I hope when we are finished that you will see the advantages and disadvantages of each technique and maybe learn a few tricks along the way.

The image I have chosen is a capture I made in the studio of a high school student. She’s a California girl with freckles and skin issues that will make the retouching interesting. My intent is not to produce a poreless high-fashion portrait, but rather one that is faithful to reality while minimizing any skin issues. Admittedly, once I was into it, I did take liberties to tweak reality. My goal was to complete the retouching using Portrait Professional and Photoshop in the same amount of time, though I doubted it could be done. I’ll start with Portrait Professional.

But before we get started I want to have the original image correctly color balanced. I had the model hold an X-Rite ColorChecker Passport for one of the captures (above, click image for large view). After importing the RAW files into Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, I used the eyedropper to select a neutral balance with one of the gray patches. Then using the exposure slider I adjusted the lightest patch (red circle) to 95%/95%/95% and the darkest patch (blue circle) to 10%/10%/10%. But neutral color balance is always too cool for a portrait in my opinion, so I selected the eyedropper again and clicked on one of the warming patches (orange circle) for my final color balance. I then processed the portrait to an 8-bit RGB TIFF.

By Ron Dawson

In the fall of 2008, the world of professional photography was introduced to the world of professional video in a way that it never had been before. Nikon released the very first DSLR capable of shooting high definition video, the D90. It was a camera that had the potential to revolutionize the pro photo world. There was one problem: a pre-production camera in the works by another little Japanese company by the name of Canon. That camera was the EOS 5D Mark II. There was also this award-winning photojournalist by the name of Vincent Laforet who was in the right place at the right time and got access to the aforementioned pre-produciton camera. Vincent spent $5,000 of his own money to make a short film called “Reverie.” From that moment on, Canon was the hands down winner in the video DSLR world, a full six months before the camera would even be available for purchase. Today the 5D is synonymous with video DSLR filmmaking. So much so that there are video forums about DSLR filmmaking named after the 5D (e.g. Planet5D.com, cinema5D.com, and 5DFilmmaking.com).

So what went wrong? Why didn’t the D90 become the defacto winner despite the fact that it was out first, and had the backing and video work of another well-known, heavily followed photographer by the name of Chase Jarvis? I think the most commonly accepted answer is twofold. First, the D90 used an inferior video compression scheme (Motion JPEG vs. Apple’s h.264). Second, and perhaps even a bigger deal, it only shot 1,280x720p, as opposed to full sized HD at 1,920x1,080p.

Since the release of the 5D Mark II, Canon has come out with four more amazing video-capable DSLRs—the 1D Mark IV, the 7D, the 550D/T2i and now the 60D). People have wondered what Nikon would do to play catch-up. Nikon has finally answered that call and released the Nikon D7000: a mid-level prosumer camera that finally shoots 1080p and uses the h.264 codec. But is it enough to give the Canon line of video DSLRs a run for their money? Let’s see.

The following article includes additional content from Fay Sirkis that had to be edited for length in the January issue of Professional Photographer.

IMAGING USA
Fay Sirkis presents “The Art of Portrait Painting” at Imaging USA in San Antonio, January 16-18.

A picture's worth a thousand words, a painting is worth so much more!

There is no better way to capture the essence of a person than from photos of the subject, and there is no better way to portray a subject than through a beautiful painting.

From the beginning of art history, there has been a universal fascination with the representation of the human face. Many of the greatest and most endearing works of art ever created are portrait paintings!

When people refer to the history of art, they often mean the history of portrait painting. Many of the most famous paintings by masters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Edgar Degas and John Singer Sargent, were portraits.

Digital artists face two main challenges in trying to simulate traditional art.

1. Achieving the blending of different colors of paint so that in the fine shading it produces soft transitions between colors and tones.

2. Having the brushstrokes look as realistic and as close as possible to traditional brushstrokes, no matter the medium.

In CS5, Photoshop has overcome both of these challenges in a very big way. With the new Bristle brushes and Mixer Brush, backed up by a powerful new painting engine, photo painting has never been as much fun and as accessible as it is now.

What is Photo Painting?

Photo painting, is a simulation of the painting workflow, tools and brushes, based on the traditional painting styles of the Old Masters and the lessons that we learned from art history.

For centuries, artists have been using the photograph as a reference for their paintings, and the camera or some form of lens to capture their image. Photo art, referred to today as photo painting, was and always will be a sought after art form, only accomplished differently at different times, according to what was available at the specific time period. With the introduction of new painting tools in CS5, it is possible to transform photographs into many different styles of art!

Using Photoshop to transform your photos into paintings is similar to how the Old Masters used the camera obscura, or to Norman Rockwell's technique, hundreds of years later. He used the photograph as a painting reference that enabled him to paint with such amazing detail. Using a balopticon, Rockwell would project a photograph of his subject onto a large sheet of canvas, then trace it in great detail, after it was all sketched out, he would begin adding in his paints, and that is how he created his masterpieces!

If you look back and study the art history of the Old Masters, you will see that nothing has changed, and yet everything has. One thing is for sure, we have not reinvented the wheel! Art today is the same as it was hundreds of years ago … we just use the tools available to us today to create it.

By Kirk R. Darling

I’ve been conducting sales sessions in my clients’ homes for four years using a tabletop digital projector. There are significant advantages to in-home sales sessions, but the disadvantage is that my “sales room” is like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates: I never know what I’m going to get.

That demands great flexibility, which until recently for me has meant being prepared to show images on my laptop, on my clients’ own home theater screens, or with my projector. Using the projector usually meant projecting on the client’s wall with the projector on a tripod-mounted platform, but I also kept a collapsible 50-inch tabletop screen handy. It took more set-up time than I liked, but compared to showing paper proofs, the time and trouble had been worth it.

That was the past. Now I have a new tool that has eliminated the set-up, reduced my gear load, and improved sales. I replaced my tabletop projector with a pocket-sized pico projector a few months ago, and the reception from my clients has been enthusiastic—and profitable.

My new projector is the Optoma PK201 Pico Pocket Projector ($270-$300 street price), a battery-powered projector more compact than an exposure meter. 

Image ©Kirk Darling

I like using this pocket projector, but I’ll tell you the bad news first. The Optoma PK201 is rather dim (20 lumens output from its 20,000-hour LED light source), it has harsh contrast (2000:1), and its color accuracy can be slightly off. In addition, the fixed focal length lens has a “throw ratio” of 1:2.2, which means that I sometimes have to stand farther than I’d like from the wall.

By Ellis Vener

In general I haven’t been a fan of the sling type camera bags I’ve tried so far. Either there is trouble with accessibility, feeling comfortable, or both. One issue is that all of the ones I’ve tried before were designed to be carried all of the time over only just one shoulder. The Think Tank Photo Sling-O-Matic bags differ because they're more of a case-like design instead of being based on the messenger bag design, and you can switch the load from the left to right shoulder with no fuss. When you’re carrying a heavy load over just one shoulder, you want to be able to switch sides periodically to balance out the wear and tear on your body.

This is essentially a rigidly framed top-loading, rectangular dual-compartment camera and laptop case with a single permanently attached body sling strap. The front, sides and bottom are rigid with a little padding; the top is padded but soft. It's equally suitable for electronics or small lighting and grip gear. On the outside there are two large flat document compartments, one on the front and one on the back, and a narrower one on the top of the main compartment. On the inside of the top flap there is a fourth flat zippered compartment with a clear window. There are are two handles as well. A bag this compact should fit with no problems in the overhead bin of a puddle jumper commuter jet, but I haven't actually tried it.

By Don Chick, M.Photog.Cr., CPP

Controlling the areas of an image which are in focus and out of focus is a powerful aesthetic tool in the hands of a skilled artist. There are times, however, when it’s not always possible to obtain the exact amount of focus while capturing the image (in camera) due to the limitations of your equipment. That’s where Alien Skin Bokeh 2 Photoshop plug-in may come in handy. As defined in Alien Skin’s manual, “bokeh (derived from the Japanese ボケ味) refers to the visually distinctive character of the out-of-focus areas of a photograph. Alien Skin’s Bokeh plug-in is a realistic lens simulator that allows you to alter the focus characteristics of a photograph after it has been taken. It also lets you creatively focus the viewer’s attention to any part of your photograph by applying a combination of blurring and vignettes.”

The Bokeh interface is laid out in an easy to understand, easy to navigate way. It is so easy, in fact, that I was able to launch the software and begin applying it to images without reviewing the manual. Figure 1, below, shows the settings tab with many of the factory settings displayed. For the image of Erica, I’ve chosen to apply the effect of a Canon 50mm f/1.8. There are many, many looks available, including fast lenses such as the popular Canon 85mm f/1.2 and the Nikon 300mm f/2.8. In addition to traditional lens blurring, there are a whole host of creative blur possibilities. The Setting tab also includes creative apertures that produce heart-shaped highlights. If hearts are not your fancy, you can choose from diamonds, triangles or stars. Several motion blurs, grains and vignettes are also possible.

Figure 1. (click for large view)

 By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

If you have trouble keeping on top of all the new software developments as they roll out, you may want to consider video training. Last month, I reviewed an Adobe Press training video on Photoshop CS5, and in this review, I’m going to evaluate their training video on Lightroom 3.

Learn Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 by Video contains 10 hours of high-quality training, as well as a printed reference book. Together, these resources cover the fundamentals of using Lightroom, as well as highlight what’s new since Lightroom 2.

When you insert the DVD into your computer, you’ll see an easy-to-understand welcome interface:

This welcome page of the DVD provides you with easy access to the table of contents, a shortcut to “play all” videos, an introduction video featuring your instructors (Tim Grey and Mikkel Aaland), and even links to the “extras” contained on the DVD.

By Ron Dawson

If you want to be a serious DSLR filmmaker, it’s imperative that you capture high-quality audio to a separate device, like the Zoom H4N, one of the most widely used digital audio recorders by DSLR filmmakers.

The H4N records to the popular SD/SDHC card format and comes with a 1GB card. It can record up to four separate channels of audio in formats from low-quality .mp3 or high-quality 96k, 24-bit .wav files for true audiophiles. If you’re using it for video, record at the 48k/16-bit setting. That is the sample rate and bit-depth of digital video, and a 1 GB SD card can hold just under 90 minutes of audio at that setting.

The Zoom is not a device you can just pick up and start using. I am pretty adept at gizmos and gadgets, but even I had to pick up the manual to figure out how to access and use the various menus. Give yourself 30 minutes to an hour to peruse the main parts of the manual and get familiar with the H4N. Once you’ve done that, using it will be a breeze.

The H4N has built-in mics at its top and is designed to take two XLR audio inputs at the bottom for higher quality microphones. It also has a mini-jack mic connection. I use the Sennheiser Evolution G2 (or G3) series microphone. It’s rugged, with a metal casing, and a favorite among my colleagues.

What’s great about the H4N is that you can connect headphones to monitor sound. I can’t emphasize enough how important this is. Always monitor your audio to make sure everything sounds okay. Sometimes mics short out, or the recording level dips in and out, and you need to hear that. Also, you have to hit the H4N record button twice: once to get it in standby mode (the red record button will blink and you’ll be able to hear audio) and once again to actually start recording. If you’re not hearing anything in your headphones, it could be you forgot to hit the record button. Once you do start recording, double check the screen to make sure you see the time counter progressing and that you are actually in record mode and not just standby mode.

The H4N has a great form, too. At 6 inches long and just under 2.5 inches wide, it's easy to handle and is compact enough to attach to your DSLR shooting rig. It’s powered by either two AA batteries, or with the AC adaptor that comes with it. WARNING: if you are using the device to capture a long, uninterrupted event like a bar/bat mitzvah, corporate speech, or seminar, make sure you have plenty of power. If the power runs out before you stop recording, the audio file won’t write to the card. For lengthy recording, use the AC adapter if at all possible. If you must use batteries, use fresh ones.

I absolutely love my Zoom H4N and won’t go to a gig without it. At just under $300, it’s a great investment.

By Ron Dawson

Have you ever seen “The Greatest American Hero?” It was an ’80s television show in which a mild-mannered teacher is visited by aliens and given a suit that gives him super-human powers, but he doesn’t know how to use it. Instead of looking heroic when he flies, he flops and flails as he zooms through the air.

As a filmmaker who does quite a bit of work in the professional photography industry, I get to see a lot of videos shot by aspiring photographers-cum-filmmakers. But like the hero, they have this powerful filmmaking tool in their hands, but they aren’t quite “flying right.”

With the flood of HD DSLR cameras, many of you have taken on the role of capturing video segments to enhance your artistry. This article will help you with one of the most crucial aspects of video production: audio acquisition.

AUDIO CAPTURE: Perhaps the single most prevalent issue I’ve seen with HD DSLR videos by newbies is poor audio acquisition—the audio recorded and used in the final production. Many photographers are using only the on-camera microphone for audio acquisition. The resulting end product sounds echo-y, or there’s significant obtrusive ambient noise (air conditioners, traffic noise, extraneous conversations). Even if you use a directional microphone like the Rode (a popular choice), you don’t always get the best results.

The reason is that the audio captured by DSLR cameras is highly compressed, and in many models there is no way to control the audio recording level. Many DSLRs are set to auto-gain, which means the volume of audio you record will go up and down depending on how loud the source is. If the source is very soft, the camera will automatically boost the levels and you get a hissing background sound, which is to audio what visual noise is to a high ISO setting. Some of the cameras (like the Canon EOS 5D Mark II) have released firmware updates that at least allow you to set your audio levels. But even so, you still get the compressed audio issue and that echo-y sound.

The Zoom H4N is a popular video recorder choice
for filmmakers and videographers.

Thanks so much to our readers for contributing to the success of our Facebook page and the community of photographers there. To have gathered more than 20,000 followers in just over 10 months really says something about the passion people feel for photography, and the commitment that PPA members and Professional Photographer readers have to their profession.

To celebrate this milestone, we're presenting seven days of product giveaways. December 1 is the final giveaway day, and we'll draw for the winner on the morning of Dec. 2.  

Our Facebook Giveaway tradition has always involved asking the entrants to contribute a positive piece of information or advice when you make your Comment to enter the drawing. This time, we'd like you to go just a little further.

HOW TO ENTER AND GIVEAWAY ETIQUETTE

1. Please visit the Facebook pages of the companies that have donated the prizes and click on their Like button. This does not statistically increase your chances of winning, but it is a nice thing to do. You'll find links to their Facebook page below where we list the day's prizes. 

2. We'll post each day's comment question or request here with the prize listing. Return to the Professional Photographer Facebook Page and POST YOUR COMMENT, answering that question or request, ON THE GIVEAWAY POST ONLY to be included in the drawing (look for the post with DAY SEVEN GIVEAWAY in all caps). 

3. DO NOT post your entry request on the Professional Photographer Facebook page WALL. We'll delete it. The only method of entry is through COMMENTS on FACEBOOK on the specific GIVEAWAY DAY post. If you don't see a "Write a comment …" field, it means you have not clicked Like on our page. You'll find that button at the top of the page. DO NOT comment on this instruction post. That will not count as an entry.

4. If you are one of our lucky winners but cannot use a portion of the prizes that you've won, please return to that Giveaway post, find another photographer who entered the drawing, and make a new friend and share your winnings!

There will be ONE WINNER for each day's package of prizes. You can enter all of the Giveaways. We'll announce the winner just prior to the next Giveaway announcement and contact the winners via their Facebook page (So be sure that your Facebook settings allow an individual to send you a private message!).

Now, let's get on with the giving!

DAY SEVEN COMMENT QUESTION: What made you fall in love with photography? 

DAY SEVEN PRIZES:

From PocketWizard, one AC3 ZoneController, one MiniTT1 Transmitter (Canon or Nikon) and two FlexTT5 Transceivers (Canon or Nikon), a combined value of $740! Please visit the PocketWizard Facebook page!

From Nik Software, the Complete Collection Ultimate Edition, which includes Dfine 2.0, Viveza2, HDR Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro 3.0, Silver Efex Pro, and Sharpener Pro 3.0! This collection has a $600 value. Please visit the Nik Software Facebook page. 

One Anza flush mount album and 12 months of a customizable online storefront Web Gallery service from DigiLabs, together valued at $300. Please visit the DigiLabs Facebook page!

A one-year subscription to Animoto Pro, valued at $249. Go click Like at the Animoto Pro Facebook page!

A "Bride Alone Fashionable Flow Posing" workshop DVD from Doug Gordon Workshops, valued at $149. Please visit the Doug Gordon Workshops Facebook page.

and ...

An X-Rite ColorChecker Passport. A $99 value. Visit the X-Rite Photo Facebook page

That's a total value of $2,137! Now return to the Professional Photographer Facebook page and comment on the DAY SEVEN GIVEAWAY post to enter the drawing. We'll pick our winner on Thursday morning, Dec. 2. And thanks for making this such a wonderful celebration! We hope you enjoyed all the great comments contributed by our fantastic fans!

By Stan Sholik

Equipment and software suppliers are continually providing photographers with a wide array of tools. The best photographic tools can point us in new directions by opening our minds to possibilities we had never considered before. Nik HDR Efex Pro is such a tool.

Nik is late in entering the HDR arena. There are a number of HDR programs with varying capabilities already available.

But not being first has allowed Nik to overcome many of the shortcomings of these early programs. HDR Efex Pro incorporates a number of tone mapping algorithms where most other HDR programs include only one. It offers a wide range of presets and quickly produces thumbnail previews of the presets using the image on which you are working. It includes a wide range of user adjustments to the built-in presets including the ability to save custom presets. And it incorporates Nik Software’s proprietary U Point technology that allows you to target HDR options to specific areas of the image. These features plus responsive operation, an elegant interface and more, make HDR Efex Pro the most powerful yet most user friendly HDR software currently available.

HDR Efex Pro incorporates Nik’s U Point tool that allows you to target adjustments to particular areas of the image. Here I used it to add additional structure to the clouds and to decrease the warmth of the clouds that was added by my choice of preset. Image ©Stan Sholik

Nik recommends installing HDR Efex Pro as a plug-in for 64-bit Adobe Photoshop and Bridge CS4 through CS5, or as a 32-bit or 64-bit plug-in for Lightroom 2.6 (or later) or Apple Aperture 2.1.4 (or later). While it will open as a stand-alone application, this is not recommended.

How you access HDR Efex Pro varies slightly depending on the host application you are using and whether you want to merge a series of images or work with a single image. In Photoshop, when merging single or multiple images, the best path is from the File>Automate menu. In other host software you can find the program in Aperture’s Photos>Edit with Plug-in menu, in Bridge it is found in the Tools menu and in Lightroom in the File>Export with Preset menu. The HDR Efex Pro multiple image Merge dialog is compatible with all 8- or 16-bit or RAW file formats supported by Photoshop. You can apply HDR Efex Pro to a single 8-, 16-, or 32-bit image from the File>Automate menu.

There are a number of ways to access HDR Efex Pro to merge images. I recommend right/Option-clicking on the series of exposures in Bridge and selecting “Merge to HDR Efex Pro” from the Nik Software dropdown menu. Selecting Nik Software>Merge to HDR Efex Pro from the Tools menu in Bridge accomplishes the same thing.

Thanks so much to our readers for contributing to the success of our Facebook page and the community of photographers there. To have gathered more than 20,000 followers in just over 10 months really says something about the passion people feel for photography, and the commitment that PPA members and Professional Photographer readers have to their profession.

To celebrate this milestone, we're presenting seven days of product giveaways. The remaining GIVEAWAY DAYS are November 30 and December 1. 

Our Facebook Giveaway tradition has always involved asking the entrants to contribute a positive piece of information or advice when you make your Comment to enter the drawing. This time, we'd like you to go just a little further.

HOW TO ENTER AND GIVEAWAY ETIQUETTE

1. Please visit the Facebook pages of the companies that have donated the prizes and click on their Like button. This does not statistically increase your chances of winning, but it is a nice thing to do. You'll find links to their Facebook page below where we list the day's prizes. 

2. We'll post each day's comment question or request here with the prize listing. Return to the Professional Photographer Facebook Page and POST YOUR COMMENT, answering that question or request, ON THE GIVEAWAY POST ONLY to be included in the drawing (look for the post with DAY SIX GIVEAWAY in all caps). 

3. DO NOT post your entry request on the Professional Photographer Facebook page WALL. We'll delete it. The only method of entry is through COMMENTS on FACEBOOK on the specific GIVEAWAY DAY post. If you don't see a "Write a comment …" field, it means you have not clicked Like on our page. You'll find that button at the top of the page. DO NOT comment on this instruction post. That will not count as an entry.

4. If you are one of our lucky winners but cannot use a portion of the prizes that you've won, please return to that Giveaway post, find another photographer who entered the drawing, and make a new friend and share your winnings!

There will be ONE WINNER for each day's package of prizes. You can enter all of the Giveaways. We'll announce the winner just prior to the next Giveaway announcement and contact the winners via their Facebook page (So be sure that your Facebook settings allow an individual to send you a private message!).

Now, let's get on with the giving!

DAY SIX COMMENT REQUEST: If I couldn't be a photographer, I would like to be a(an) __fill in the blank__. 

DAY SIX PRIZES:

A Sigma 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM lens, valued at $730 (your choice of mount: Sigma, Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax, Four-thirds). Please visit the Sigma Facebook page!

X-Rite ColorMunki Photo, a color control solution designed specifically for wedding, portrait and event photographers, plus an X-Rite ColorChecker Passport. A total $599 value. Visit the X-Rite Photo Facebook page!

Viveza 2 and HDR EFEX Pro from Nik Software, valued at $360. Go visit the Nik Software Facebook page!

and ...

One Anza flush mount album and 12 months of a customizable online storefront Web Gallery service from DigiLabs, together valued at $300. Please visit the DigiLabs Facebook page!

That's a total value of $1,989, and tomorrow, the final giveaway day, will be even bigger! Now return to the Professional Photographer Facebook page and comment on the DAY SIX GIVEAWAY post to enter the drawing. We'll pick our winner on Wednesday morning, Dec. 1.

Thanks so much to our readers for contributing to the success of our Facebook page and the community of photographers there. To have gathered more than 20,000 followers in just over 10 months really says something about the passion people feel for photography, and the commitment that PPA members and Professional Photographer readers have to their profession.

To celebrate this milestone, we're presenting SEVEN DAYS of product giveaways. The remaining GIVEAWAY DAYS are November 29, 30 and December 1. 

Our Facebook Giveaway tradition has always involved asking the entrants to contribute a positive piece of information or advice when you make your Comment to enter the drawing. This time, we'd like you to go just a little further.

HOW TO ENTER AND GIVEAWAY ETIQUETTE

1. Please visit the Facebook pages of the companies that have donated the prizes and click on their Like button. This does not statistically increase your chances of winning, but it is a nice thing to do. You'll find links to their Facebook page below where we list the day's prizes. 

2. We'll post each day's comment question or request here with the prize listing. Return to the Professional Photographer Facebook Page and POST YOUR COMMENT, answering that question or request, ON THE GIVEAWAY POST ONLY to be included in the drawing (look for the post with DAY FIVE GIVEAWAY in all caps). 

3. DO NOT post your entry request on the Professional Photographer Facebook page WALL. We'll delete it. The only method of entry is through COMMENTS on FACEBOOK on the specific GIVEAWAY DAY post. If you don't see a "Write a comment …" field, it means you have not clicked Like on our page. You'll find that button at the top of the page. DO NOT comment on this instruction post. That will not count as an entry.

4. If you are one of our lucky winners but cannot use a portion of the prizes that you've won, please return to that Giveaway post, find another photographer who entered the drawing, and make a new friend and share your winnings!

There will be ONE WINNER for each day's package of prizes. You can enter all of the Giveaways. We'll announce the winner just prior to the next Giveaway announcement and contact the winners via their Facebook page (So be sure that your Facebook settings allow an individual to send you a private message!).

Now, let's get on with the giving!

DAY FIVE COMMENT QUESTION: What are your goals for 2011? 

DAY FIVE PRIZES:

A full enrollment in the New York Institute of Photography Complete Course in Professional Photography, a $1,198 value. Please visit the New York Institute of Photography Facebook page! 

Perfectly Clear, the Photoshop Plug-in by Athentech Imaging. A $199 value. Visit the Perfectly Clear Facebook page.

and ... 

A  one-year Event Account subscription to ExposureManager. A $99 value. Visit the ExposureManager Facebook page.

That's a total value of $1,496, and it's just going to get bigger as the giveaways continue! Now return to the Professional Photographer Facebook page and comment on the DAY FIVE GIVEAWAY post to enter the drawing. We'll pick our winner on Tuesday morning, Nov. 30.

Thanks so much to our readers for contributing to the success of our Facebook page and the community of photographers there. To have gathered more than 20,000 followers in just over 10 months really says something about the passion people feel for photography, and the commitment that PPA members andProfessional Photographer readers have to their profession.

To celebrate this milestone, we're going to have SEVEN DAYS of product giveaways. We want you to be able to concentrate on your clients or your family on the weekends and holidays, so the remaining GIVEAWAY DAYS are November 24, 29, 30 and December 1. 

Our Facebook Giveaway tradition has always involved asking the entrants to contribute a positive piece of information or advice when you make your Comment to enter the drawing. This time, we'd like you to go just a little further.

HOW TO ENTER AND GIVEAWAY ETIQUETTE

1. Please visit the Facebook pages of the companies that have donated the prizes and click on their Like button. This does not statistically increase your chances of winning, but it is a nice thing to do. You'll find links to their Facebook page below where we list the day's prizes. 

2. We'll post each day's comment question or request here with the prize listing. Return to theProfessional Photographer Facebook Page and POST YOUR COMMENT, answering that question or request, ON THE GIVEAWAY POST ONLY to be included in the drawing (look for the post with DAY FOUR GIVEAWAY in all caps). 

3. DO NOT post your entry request on the Professional Photographer Facebook page WALL. We'll delete it. The only method of entry is through COMMENTS on FACEBOOK on the specific GIVEAWAY DAY post. If you don't see a "Write a comment …" field, it means you have not clicked Like on our page. You'll find that button at the top of the page. DO NOT comment on this instruction post. That will not count as an entry.

4. If you are one of our lucky winners but cannot use a portion of the prizes that you've won, please return to that Giveaway post, find another photographer who entered the drawing, and make a new friend and share your winnings!

There will be ONE WINNER for each day's package of prizes. You can enter all of the Giveaways. We'll announce the winner just prior to the next Giveaway announcement and contact the winners via their Facebook page (So be sure that your Facebook settings allow an individual to send you a private message!).

Now, let's get on with the giving!

DAY FOUR COMMENT COMMENT: Share a favorite vocal artist, musician or album.

DAY FOUR PRIZES:

One full year of the PhotoShelter Standard Account, a $360 value. Please go click on Like at the PhotoShelter Facebook page!

A complete Imagenomic Pro Plugin Suite, which includes Portraiture, Noiseware and RealGrain. A $300 value. Visit the Imagenomic Facebook page.

A Lowepro Classified 160 AW camera bag, valued at $175. Go visit the Lowepro Facebook page. 

 An Innergie mCube Pro Universal Power Adapter, valued at $119. Visit the Innergie Facebook page. 

The ViewRanger GPS app for iPhone or Android, plus extra map credit, a $50 total value. Go to the ViewRanger Facebook page!

and just for fun ...

The Gary Fong Flip-Cage and Tripod Adaptor for iPhone. Value $40. Go visit the Gary Fong Facebook page.

That's a total value of $1,044, and it's just going to get bigger as the giveaways continue! Now return to the Professional Photographer Facebook page and comment on the DAY FOUR GIVEAWAY post to enter the drawing. The Day Four entry will stay open through the holiday weekend, and we'll pick our winner on Monday morning, Nov. 29.

Thanks so much to our readers for contributing to the success of our Facebook page and the community of photographers there. To have gathered more than 20,000 followers in just over 10 months really says something about the passion people feel for photography, and the commitment that PPA members and Professional Photographer readers have to their profession.

To celebrate this milestone, we're going to have SEVEN DAYS of product giveaways. We want you to be able to concentrate on your clients or your family on the weekends and holidays, so the remaining GIVEAWAY DAYS are November 23, 24, 29, 30 and December 1. 

Our Facebook Giveaway tradition has always involved asking the entrants to contribute a positive piece of information or advice when you make your Comment to enter the drawing. This time, we'd like you to go just a little further.

HOW TO ENTER AND GIVEAWAY ETIQUETTE

1. Please visit the Facebook pages of the companies that have donated the prizes and click on their Like button. This does not statistically increase your chances of winning, but it is a nice thing to do. You'll find links to their Facebook page below where we list the day's prizes. 

2. We'll post each day's comment question or request here with the prize listing. Return to the Professional Photographer Facebook Page and POST YOUR COMMENT, answering that question or request, ON THE GIVEAWAY POST ONLY to be included in the drawing (look for the post with DAY THREE GIVEAWAY in all caps). 

3. DO NOT post your entry request on the Professional Photographer Facebook page WALL. We'll delete it. The only method of entry is through COMMENTS on FACEBOOK on the specific GIVEAWAY DAY post. If you don't see a "Write a comment …" field, it means you have not clicked Like on our page. You'll find that button at the top of the page. DO NOT comment on this instruction post. That will not count as an entry.

4. If you are one of our lucky winners but cannot use a portion of the prizes that you've won, please return to that Giveaway post, find another photographer who entered the drawing, and make a new friend and share your winnings!

There will be ONE WINNER for each day's package of prizes. You can enter all of the Giveaways. We'll announce the winner just prior to the next Giveaway announcement and contact the winners via their Facebook page (So be sure that your Facebook settings allow an individual to send you a private message!). 

Now, let's get on with the giving!

DAY THREE COMMENT QUESTION: What was the first item on your work agenda today?

DAY THREE PRIZES:

onOne Software Perfect Photo Suite 5.5, which includes Perfect Resize 7, Mask Pro 4, Photo Tune 3, FocalPoint 2, PhotoTools 2.6, and PhotoFrame 4.6. This is a $500 value. Go to the onOne Software Facebook page! 

A Western Digital My Passport Studio 640GB portable hard drive, valued at $169. Go to the Western Digital Facebook page!

The Bride and Groom Flow Posing DVD from Doug Gordon Workshops, valued at $149. Go to the Doug Gordon Workshops Facebook page!

A MOO MosaicFrame and credit for 100 Mini-Cards, valued at $60. Go to the MOO Facebook page!

The ViewRanger GPS app for iPhone or Android, plus extra map credit, a $50 total value. Go to the ViewRanger Facebook page!

That's a total value of $928, and it's just going to get bigger as the giveaways continue! Now return to the Professional Photographer Facebook page and comment on the DAY THREE GIVEAWAY post to enter the drawing. 

Thanks so much to our readers for contributing to the success of our Facebook page and the community of photographers there. To have gathered more than 20,000 followers in just over 10 months really says something about the passion people feel for photography, and the commitment that PPA members and Professional Photographer readers have to their profession.

To celebrate this milestone, we're going to have SEVEN DAYS of product giveaways. We want you to be able to concentrate on your clients or your family on the weekends and holidays, so the remaining GIVEAWAY DAYS are November 22, 23, 24, 29, 30 and December 1. 

Our Facebook Giveaway tradition has always involved asking the entrants to contribute a positive piece of information or advice when you make your Comment to enter the drawing. This time, we'd like you to go just a little further.

HOW TO ENTER AND GIVEAWAY ETIQUETTE

1. Please visit the Facebook pages of the companies that have donated the prizes and click on their Like button. This does not statistically increase your chances of winning, but it is a nice thing to do. You'll find links to their Facebook page below where we list the day's prizes. 

2. We'll post each day's comment question or request here with the prize listing. Return to the Professional Photographer Facebook Page and POST YOUR COMMENT, answering that question or request, ON THE GIVEAWAY POST ONLY to be included in the drawing (look for the post with DAY TWO GIVEAWAY in all caps). 

3. DO NOT post your entry request on the Professional Photographer Facebook page WALL. We'll delete it. The only method of entry is through COMMENTS on FACEBOOK on the specific GIVEAWAY DAY post. If you don't see a "Write a comment …" field, it means you have not clicked Like on our page. You'll find that button at the top of the page. DO NOT comment on this instruction post. That will not count as an entry.

4. If you are one of our lucky winners but cannot use a portion of the prizes that you've won, please return to that Giveaway post, find another photographer who entered the drawing, and make a new friend and share your winnings!

There will be ONE WINNER for each day's package of prizes. You can enter all of the Giveaways. We'll announce the winner just prior to the next Giveaway announcement and contact the winners via their Facebook page (So be sure that your Facebook settings allow an individual to send you a private message!). 

Now, let's get on with the giving!

DAY TWO COMMENT QUESTION: What lifts your spirits and gets you going on a Monday morning?

DAY TWO PRIZES:

 X-Rite ColorMunki Photo, a color control solution designed specifically for wedding, portrait and event photographers. A $500 value. Visit the X-Rite Photo Facebook page!

One brick of Kodak Professional PORTRA 400 Film (35mm, or cost equivalent in another format). To go with that, Kodak offers a $150 credit at any lab using KODAK PROFESSIONAL Endura Media. That's a $285 value. Visit the Kodak Facebook page!

Serif PhotoPlus X4 photo editing application, a $90 value. 

And ...

The new Gary Fong Lightsphere Collapsible flash diffuser, a $60 value. Go visit the Gary Fong Flash Diffusers Facebook page!

That's a total value of $935, and it's just going to get bigger as the giveaways continue! Now return to the Professional Photographer Facebook page and comment on the DAY TWO GIVEAWAY post to enter the drawing. 

Thanks so much to our readers for contributing to the success of our Facebook page and the community of photographers there. To have gathered more than 20,000 followers in just over 10 months really says something about the passion people feel for photography, and the commitment that PPA members and Professional Photographer readers have to their profession.

To celebrate this milestone, we're going to have SEVEN DAYS of product giveaways. We want you to be able to concentrate on your clients or your family on the weekends and holidays, so the GIVEAWAY DAYS will be November 19, 22, 23, 24, 29, 30 and December 1. There will be ONE WINNER for each day's package of prizes. You can enter all of the Giveaways. We'll select a random number (via an online random number generator) from the number of comments submitted for each giveaway, and the commenter corresponding to that number will win. We'll announce the winner just prior to the next Giveaway announcement and contact the winners via their Facebook page (so be sure that your settings allow us to send you a private message!). 

Our Facebook Giveaway tradition has always involved asking the entrants to contribute a positive piece of information or advice when you make your Comment to enter the drawing. This time, we'd like you to go just a little further.

HOW TO ENTER AND GIVEAWAY ETIQUETTE

1. Please visit the Facebook pages of the companies that have donated the prizes and click on their Like button. This does not statistically increase your chances of winning, but it is a nice thing to do. You'll find links to their Facebook page here where we'll list the day's prizes. 

2. We'll post each day's comment question or request here with the prize listing. Return to the Professional Photographer Facebook Page and POST YOUR COMMENT, answering that question or request, ON THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY ONLY to be included in the drawing. 

3. DO NOT post your entry request on the Professional Photographer Facebook page WALL. We'll delete it. The only method of entry is through COMMENTS on FACEBOOK on the specific GIVEAWAY DAY post. If you don't see a "Write a comment …" field, it means you have not clicked Like on our page. You'll find that button at the top of the page. DO NOT comment on this instruction post. That will not count as an entry.

4. If you are one of our lucky winners but cannot use a portion of the prizes that you've won, please return to that Giveaway post, find another photographer who entered the drawing, and make a new friend and share your winnings!

Now, let's get on with the giving!

DAY ONE COMMENT REQUEST: Share the name of one of your favorite restaurants and what city it's in (particularly if it's in San Antonio).

DAY ONE PRIZES:

Imagenomic Pro Plugin Suite, which includes Portraiture Plug-in, Noiseware Pro Plug-in, and RealGrain Plug-in. A $300 value. Visit the Imagenomic Facebook Page!

A one-year subscription to Animoto Pro! A $249 value. Visit the Animoto Pro Facebook Page!

A one-year Event Account subscription to ExposureManager! A $99 value. Visit the ExposureManager Facebook Page!

and ...

A Lexar Professional 600x 8GB UDMA CompactFlash card. An $80 value. Visit the Lexar Media Facebook Page!

That's a total value of $728, and it's just going to get bigger as the giveaway goes on! 

By Don Chick, M.Photog.Cr., CPP

The name Exposure doesn’t seem to adequately describe all the capabilities of Alien Skin’s Exposure 3 Photoshop plug-in. When I think of exposure, what comes to my mind is whether an image is properly exposed and if any adjustment, such as color saturation, brightness and contrast is needed. Alien Skin Exposure3, however, is all that and much more!

Figure 1

Looking at the upper left of Figure 1 (click for large view) you can see that there are six tabs for the Color Films interface. In Figure 2 you can see that the separate Black and White interface has seven tabs. The extra tab in the B&W interface is for infrared adjustments. Looking again at Figure 1, you can see that the user interface is laid out in a logical manner with a minimalist approach. Don’t let the simplicity of the interface fool you; Exposure 3 has many powerful adjustments available to the user.

I appreciate the option to divide the viewing screen so that one portion of the screen shows the original while the other shows the enhancement applied. This allows me to see exactly what results my adjustments will yield. I also enjoyed how easy it is to engage the various settings. Selecting one of the + symbols on the list expands the tree, revealing the many film effect options.

I was amazed at the quantity of factory settings. On the Alien Skin website they claim that this software has more than 500 analog techniques! That combined with the ability to make custom adjustments offers the user a tremendous amount of variety. And being in business to make a profit and not just take pretty pictures, you know that the more variety you can offer your client, the more potential sales you have!

By Kirk R. Darling

I’ve had a longstanding love-hate relationship with Photodex ProShow Gold. I love the degree of control it gives me over the slideshows I create as sales tools and final products; I hate the time and effort it takes to create even simple slideshows. I tried Animoto, which is quite quick and easy, but those slide shows always left me with a desire to tweak them just a bit here and there. I wished for something that would give me push-button ease with as little or as as much control as I wanted.

Photodex has released version 4.5 of ProShow Gold and ProShow Producer with a great deal of hoopla over their new Instant Show wizard. (If you're not familiar with the term, a wizard is software application feature that guides you through a process.) So I downloaded the upgrades and was off to see if Photodex's wizard could grant my wish.

The wizard operates the same way in both Gold and Producer. It opens with a default dialog box providing a choice of the Instant Show wizard, opening an existing show, or creating a new show manually (Figure 1).

Figure 1 

Creating a new show with the wizard is a four-step process. The first step is to add the images to the show. If you want a text-only title slide, click first on the Text button and type the text you want. You cannot format the text; the wizard will select a text format and style according to the show theme you'll select later. Press Add, and a navigator window opens to search for images. In the wizard window, you can drag images to the sequence you want or click the "Randomize button to let the wizard decide the order. The Rotate button allows you to rotate an image.

By Joan Sherwood, Senior Editor
Images ©Cheryl Pearson

This supplement includes additional interface illustrations along with the iPad portfolio app review published in the November 2010 issue of Professional Photographer magazine.

The clear, gorgeous display screen of the Apple iPad makes it an ideal mobile presentation device for photographers—it can really draw a crowd. The iPad’s native Photos app, though, with only a simple slideshow function, doesn’t offer much for professional branding, utility and customization.

The iPad was released in April, so apps designed for it are relatively new as well. Because new apps tend to be updated frequently, we contacted the developers of the four reviewed here to get the scoop on what features to expect in upgrades planned for release before November.

With all four, you have to add images one at a time from a photo picker to the app’s library; a tap on the thumbnail loads the image. The current iPad OS doesn’t support a select-all function to import a folder of images from your iPad photo albums. The new iOS4 might have improvements, but it will be awhile before it’s available for iPad. The iPad also has a RAM fragmentation problem. If you’ve been using it with lots of different apps, any crashes you get are likely due to the iPad, not one of these apps. Just restart.

It’s best to downsize your photos before transferring them to the iPad. Syncing a folder of full-res photos takes its own sweet time, and large images will likely clog the system’s memory anyway. Find out if your portfolio app has a recommended image resolution; you’ll probably be safe with 1,024 pixels on the long side.

FLEXFOLIOS

Flexfolios v 1.33 has a simple interface and a helpful reference manual accessible from the home menu. The app can be used to transfer documents between iPad and computer (music, video, pdfs, text files). You can “associate” one or more of these files with any image in your portfolio, but, for instance, you cannot play a single music file while you display a slideshow.

You can touch-and-drag up to 36 images in each portfolio. The most efficient way to build a portfolio is bottom-up, so start with the images you want to appear last. As you build, you’ll see only four images at a time; the rest are pushed offscreen to the right. To rearrange images, move them back to the picture library, slide the portfolio images to the new insertion spot, then move the image back in. You could also move the four images in view. Reordering images in the picture library is easy.

There’s currently no auto-play slideshow option; instead, you advance the images by swiping left or right. You can select a background color or custom image. You can choose to view vertical images side-by-side when they’re next to each other in the collection. You can also set up 700x400- pixel e-cards to send out to prospects. 

In the works: a slideshow mode and VGA compatibility to connect the iPad to a projector or display.

Price: $9.99. flexfolios.com

Flexfolios Info setup interface

Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

Being a female photographer has its disadvantages when carrying things over your shoulder. Before trying out Black Rapid's new Women's strap (RS WS-1), I would sling my "normal" strap over my head and shoulder with the strap crossing my body diagonally. This presented a few challenges. Aside from having to struggle to get my camera up from my hip to shooting position, I also struggled with the strap smashing me uncomfortably across the bustline.

The Black Rapid’s WS-1 strap has eliminated both of these problems for me. I can sling the camera to my side easily now, and the unique design of the WS-1 (compared to the RS4, for example) allows the strap to be worn comfortably without squishing my bust. If you take a peek at the image below, you'll see what I mean. There's a little curve on the padded part of the strap that guides the strap to fall comfortably around a woman's curves rather than traveling directly over them (which can cause discomfort!).

As an added bonus, if you are pregnant and need to find a strap that doesn't have your camera rest on your ever-growing belly, the WS-1 is great for that as well!

If you're not familiar with how the Black Rapid strap system works, basically, you have a strap worn over the shoulder, and the camera is free to slide up and down the strap so you can let it hang at your hip, or quickly pull it up to shooting position. The strap has a D ring that screws shut and attaches either to the included camera mount ring, or simply clips onto the ring of the mounting plate for your tripod. I chose the latter method, as it makes it easy to switch between tripod work and on-the-go shooting.

I did find one caveat: the unique curve that makes this strap what it is also restricts which shoulder you can wear your camera on. Meaning the strap will work if you want your camera to fall at your right hip, but not so well for left hip. Obviously most photographers will want the camera on their right side, but just in case you're one of the minority, this is your fair warning. It's not a flaw, just something to be aware of!

The Women's Black Rapid strap can be ordered directly from Black Rapid's website and retails for $59. A great deal if you ask me.

Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP, has a portrait studio in Dexter, Michigan (BPhotoArt.com); she shares tips and ideas for photographers at LearnWithBetsy.com.

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

I am a fan of learning how to use software to its fullest extent.  By learning shortcuts and efficiency tricks, you can speed up your workflow and reduce the time you spend in front of a computer.

With that goal in mind, I decided to see what I could learn by watching the Adobe Photoshop CS5 Learn By Video DVD offered by Adobe Press. The video is the only approved video courseware for those individuals looking to become an Adobe Certified Associate, and packs in 21 hours of visual training. It is packaged with a printed book that contains supplemental information such as the DVD table of contents, what’s new in CS5, keyboard shortcuts, a glossary and more.

The DVD contents greet you with an easy-to-understand interface:

The welcome page of the DVD is divided into three sections. On the left is an overview of the DVD contents. You can choose to play all videos, or navigate to specific sections and watch videos based on your learning needs. The center area introduces you to your instructors (Kelly McCathran, Scott Citron and Ted LoCascio), while the right sidebar informs you that the DVD also comes equipped with extra content:

• Tutorials to Go: videos formatted for viewing on your mobile device. If you’re using an iPhone, you’ll want to copy the .mov files to your device; if you’re an Android user, copy the .3gp files to your device.
• Assets: various files are provided in case you want to work alongside the instructors using the same images they are using. This can be helpful if you are someone who learns by doing.

By Curtis Joe Walker

Joby Gorillapods are a weird animal. They’re short, ungainly, weird looking and often impractical. At the same time, they’re expertly designed for those specialized, rare instances when a regular tripod won’t do. For the last three years or so, I’ve struggled to figure out what one might be. After spending a week with this one, I know what it is: macro photography.

Having just spent some time with a normal tripod, trying to get good angles, I learned that hovering over a black widow spider in the middle of the night is hard enough without having to worry about tripod legs and balance. The Gorillapod Focus really proved itself in this situation. Its legs are short, but tall enough to get my camera above the arachnid. They’re flexible enough to let me get the camera as close to the ground as I want, but stiff enough to eliminate camera shake. With an overall height of 11.4 inches, it’s not going to work for everything, but for this, it’s a champ.

By Diane Berkenfeld

Once every five years, Canon goes all out and invites the world to see its latest and greatest technologies—in a grand way. This September the company kicked off Canon EXPO 2010 with its theme “We Speak Image.” The EXPO debuted in New York City, and will make appearances in Paris, Tokyo and Shanghai. Not everyone may be aware that Canon has expertise in areas other than cameras and inkjet printers—printing systems and copiers, binoculars, camcorders, both consumer and professional broadcast quality, security and medical imaging systems—all make up the array of product lines. Over 150,000 square feet of exhibition space at the Jacob Javits Center in NYC was filled with Canon innovations and new technologies.

Products on Display

The recently announced EOS 60D DSLR was on display for photographers to handle, along with a range of lenses, Canon EOS camera bodies and accessories. Support personnel were on hand to answer questions on cameras and imaging, Canon software and small- and wide-format printing.

EXPO Education

One of the great aspects of the Canon EXPO was a full lineup of seminars over the course of the two days to discuss best practices, or educate attendees on the benefits of specific Canon products. Photography seminar topics covered wedding photography, the future of print, fashion photography, integrating Canon HD DSLRs into commercial and aerial photography, and celebrity photojournalism.

I attended three such seminars: Eddie Tapp’s “Best in Process and Printing from your CR2 Workflow,” Alex Buono’s "HD DSLR Cinema 101," and Robert Farber’s "Fashion Photography: A Career Overview." All three photographers are Canon Explorers of Light. Tapp and Farber are still photographers but Alex is a cinematographer who happens to use a range of video gear in his job, including Canon DSLRs.

Eddie Tapp

Eddie Tapp is a color management guru, so he began his presentation reiterating the importance of fully calibrating and profiling your entire workflow, from display to output, if you want consistent results over time.

To illustrate this point, Tapp showed how the video projector being used for the seminar first displayed his images and then with the correct colors after he calibrated it. There was such a noticeable difference, that attendees really understood the importance of doing this, especially if you often show images on equipment that isn’t yours. (However, you do need to regularly recalibrate because bulb life can change over time.)

Phase One and digital asset management expert Peter Krogh have a special offer for Professional Photographer readers. If you buy a copy of “The DAM Book, Second Edition” from our special offer page, you will get a fully licensed copy of Microsoft Expression Media 2 absolutely free. So with a $49.99 book purchase, you receive $199 software value for free.

Just make your purchase from this special offer page for Professional Photographer readers. 

The offer is for a free, fully licensed, downloaded copy of Expression Media 2, which is compatible with both Windows and Mac platforms. Expression Media 2 is an image cataloging and media management application (images, audio, video, documents) that also integrates well with Phase One Capture One, Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom workflows. Expression Media 2 is especially suitable for image collections that have grown too large for a single Lightroom catalog.

The offer is valid through October 31st. Your purchase must be made at www.theDAMbook.com/ppmag in order to qualify for the offer. Visit the special offer link for additional details.

By Stan Sholik

Interest in high dynamic range (HDR) imaging has spawned a number of new and innovative software products for photographers, including Unified Color’s HDR Expose software, reviewed here earlier this summer. But these HDR solutions are all standalone programs, and many photographers are so comfortable with the available tools in Adobe Photoshop that they are reluctant to purchase software that requires them to leave Photoshop and open another program. For casual HDR users this may be especially true now that Merge to HDR PRO is included as part of Photoshop CS5.

For these photographers, Unified Color’s introduction of the 32 Float plug-in for Photoshop offers a solution. 32 Float expands the limited Photoshop 32-bit toolset and allows the user to perform advanced image editing in the 32-bit workspace. While the tools in 32 Float are identical to those in HDR Expose, 32 Float lacks the ability to merge captures into a 32-bit HDR image—Photoshop Merge to HDR or another HDR program must be used for this task.

Once you open a 32-bit file in Photoshop, you open 32 Float from the Filter>Unified Color drop-down menu (above). Your image reopens in a separate window. The interface is virtually identical to that of HDR Expose but with a smaller toolset since it does not need to handle the image merging functions.

The Preferences dialog box allows you to select the option of saving your result as a separate layer in your original image. This is useful for many HDR images.

The HDR Brightness Histogram show the full range of values in the 32-bit image. The lighter gray section of the histogram shows the range of values that would be present in the lower bit image with the current settings. For this image, some shadow values at the tail of the curve and lots of highlight values at the right of the curve will be clipped. Note the valley where midtones should be that make this a particularly difficult image to correct.

The top of the tool panel on the right is dominated by the interactive HDR histogram (above). This visual aid shows the full range of values in the 32-bit image with a lighter gray area representing the subset of these values that would be present in an 8-bit or 16-bit (lower bit range) image. 32 Float gives you the tools to adjust your image so that the values you want to reproduce in a lower bit value image lie within the lighter gray range of the histogram. The zoomable preview image that dominates the center of the interface allows you to preview the visual effect of your adjustments.

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

Photographers often turn to presets and actions to help them save time during the editing phase of their workflow, but sticking to the same effects job after job can be stifling.  Vintage Delish is the latest Lightroom preset bundle from Kubota Imaging Tools. This set of 42 presets provides you with a variety of options to enhance your images, ranging from subtle aged image effects and warming tones to cross-processing and strong vignettes.

If you are tired of ordinary image effects, then look into these Vintage Delish effects as a way to spice things up. I tested these presets out on some of my portraits and discovered that, while I’m not a fan of every last preset in the set, there are definitely some that I enjoy, and they add a subtle enhancement to the image. Some of the more dramatic and drastic preset effects may be useful for particular types of images, so I understand the necessity for a range of presets.

It would be impractical to show you examples of all 42 presets, so I’ve chosen four effects that I think work well. Take a peek at the before and after versions I created using Lightroom 3 and the Kubota Vintage Delish presets.

The first preset is called “Zero it Out.” It adds contrast, pop, and color saturation to help an average image transform into something with a little more oomph.

©Betsy Finn

This post shows additional product illustrations for Stan Sholik's review of the Mamiya RZ33 Kit, published in the October issue of Professional Photographer magazine.

By Stan Sholik

All images ©Stan Sholik

Professional photographers want reliable equipment they can count on long-term, that won’t be rendered obsolete by the next new thing. PhaseOne (through its Mamiya and Leaf operations) has stepped in to help provide that for owners of Mamiya RB67 and RZ67, as well as newcomers to mediumformat digital photography.

The RZ33 digital camera kit upgrades those cameras for cordless digital operation. RZ67 users can still use all their existing accessories, including the film backs and power winder, on the upgraded body. RB67 owners can use the kit to upgrade to a digital system that will feel totally familiar, although they’ll need to get RZ lenses. And the newcomers get yet another digital camera option that includes a broad range of superb leaf-shutter-equipped lenses.

The RZ33 kit comprises an updated Mamiya RZ67 Pro IID body and Mamiya DM33 digital back. All you need do is attach a lens, load a CF card, charge the DM33 battery, and start shooting. The RZ33 body looks identical to the RZ67, but the body in the RZ33 kit has updated communications boards and a new digital integration plate between the body and the back. These enable the body and back to communicate without external cables, thus making setup simpler and operation more reliable. 

The RZ33 kit with the bellows slightly extended.

Android and Apple are expanding how we work and play on the go. Check out 11 nifty tools for your mobile device. 

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

Apps have become an integral part of life for many of us. There are apps that organize, apps that amuse, apps that manage your social networking. No matter what you need to do, as Apple’s ad campaign proclaims, “there’s an app for that.” But what about apps for photographers? There is a plethora of chintzy photo filters and other fluff apps that don’t really perform up to the developers’ claims. Where are those apps that are actually useful? We’ve found eleven apps for both Android and iPhone that every photographer should consider adding to their arsenal.

BUBBLE LEVEL
If you offer installation services for your wall portraits, then these bubble level apps make it easy to quickly check that the piece is hanging properly. The ’droid version, Bubble, is free and comes with bubble levels for both vertical and flat surfaces. The iPhone app I prefer is iHandy Level. It’s free, but only has the vertical surface bubble. If you want the flat surface bubble, upgrade to iHandy Carpenter ($1.99).
www.ktk.bz 
www.ihandysoft.com

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ADOBE PHOTOSHOP EXPRESS
This application is the newest version of the recently rebranded Photoshop.com Mobile. You probably already have this app on your phone, but if not, it might be worth checking out. From Photoshop Express, you can crop, rotate, or flip your pictures, as well as enhance the image by adjusting exposure, saturation, tint, contrast, brightness, or by adding effects and borders. The interface is pretty intuitive, and allows you to share to social networking sites once you’ve saved your revised photograph. This app is free for both iPhone and Android devices; you will need a Photoshop.com account to make the app fully functional.
mobile.photoshop.com  

By Ellis Vener

1. The Content Aware Spot Healing Brush. It works great on faces and makes many of the retouching techniques I used prior to PsCS5 obsolete. On the down side, while it’s a marked improvement over the Spot Healing Brush in  Photoshop CS4, it doesn’t always do a perfect job, especially if your output is going to be large in size and high resolution. You still sometimes need to do some basic area selection or masking to limit the active area and prevent edge explosions when the spot you're retouching is up against a well defined area of different tone and color. And you still need to do a little cleanup work for a more invisible blend of the area you’ve spot healed with its surroundings. 

2. Content Aware Fill. I do a lot of stitched panoramic work where the edges of the composite are an irregular shape. For the foreground, I generally just crop, but boy, oh, boy does this work like magic for filling in the missing areas at the top and sometimes along the sides. Here’s how you do it: Shoot your over lapping frames (50-60% overlap works best, but sometimes 25-30% works, depending on the subject content) and then stitch them using your favorite stitching program. You may notice that some areas around the edges are empty. Rather than crop into the composite, try this: Select the Wand tool, click on an empty area to select it, and hit Delete. A dialog box (see below) will pop up and ask if you want to fill in the area using Content Aware Fill (yes). As with Content Aware Spot Healing, it’s not perfect yet  but it's getting there.

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

While I love creating images for my clients, I admit that the retouching phase of my workflow can be a little tedious. The key to turning a profit is minimizing the time you spend behind the computer. But you also want to turn out an amazing final product. We all struggle with finding that a fine line between perfection and “good enough no one else will notice but you.” Fortunately, Digital Anarchy has developed Beauty Box to help you accomplish practical retouching without spending hours fine tuning things for minimal improvement.

After using Beauty Box on a few images, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this Photoshop Plug-in was able to approximate the skin smoothing techniques I desired, while maintaining adequate detail for my taste. Prior to Beauty Box, all the automation techniques I’d tried made my subjects appear to have plastic skin (due to the loss of detail).

The Beauty Box plug-in operates within Photoshop (see interface below): 

I appreciated the simplicity of the interface layout, as well as the easy access to all controls (and any presets you choose to save). The plug-in starts with a default smoothing control, but you can tweak three variables to achieve your personal preference for smoothness: smoothing amount, smoothing radius, and skin detail amount.

Below the smoothing controls you'll find the masking controls. When you have “auto mask” selected, Beauty Box will automatically mask every image you open. I found it did a decent job of isolating the skin tonal ranges, but you can easily select “show mask” to confirm whether it has rendered the mask properly for a given image. Everything masked in white will have the Beauty Box filter applied to it; shades of gray will have the filter partially applied, and anything masked in black will remain untouched by the filter.

By Ellis Vener

Shortly after turning in my review of the PocketWizard ControlTL system, I took delivery of a PocketWizard PowerST4 receiver and had a chance to try it out with an Elinchrom Style RX300 monolight, courtesy of the rental department at Professional Photographic Resources in Atlanta.

Before we proceed, I want to quickly recap the difference is between the two ISO standards for flash duration measurement and why these numbers are important to you, especially if you want to use a high-power flash at settings faster than your camera’s X-Sync limit.

An electronic flash works by releasing stored electrical energy into light and heat during a very brief period of time, but unless it is an IGBT-controlled flash (most hot-shoe-mounted speedlights are IGBT controlled, as is the Paul C. Buff Einstein 640, the Photogenic Solaires, and the Broncolor Grafit and Scoro pack and head systems),  the light intensity varies varies during the time the flash is firing. The rise and dropoff of the energy release resembles the cross section of a powerful wave: there’s a near vertical upward slope rising to the peak output level, followed by a trailing tail of declining force. With IGBT-controlled lights at any setting below full power, the light cuts off sharply, depending on the flash's programming.

When a flash manufacturer advertises or provides specs for its lights, they can use either of two ISO standards for measuring the flash duration. The most commonly used standard is t0.5, which measures the length of time the flash is producing light at or above 50 percent of peak intensity at a given power setting. The other standard is t0.1, and it tells you how long the flash is emitting light at or above 10 percent of peak intensity. Another way to think about this is to think of the t0.1 measurement as being equivalent to a shutter speed setting’s ability to freeze motion. If you want to know how well a flash can freeze motion, unless t0.1 is specified, multiply the advertised F.D. by 3.  In other words if the advertised F.D. is 1/900, the t0.1 will be close to 1/300.

Be Stronger contest helped lucky photographers revamp the bottom line

Professional Photographer recently gave away several thousand dollars in products as part of a contest themed “Be Stronger in 2010.” With the goal of helping the readers revamp their businesses, the magazine partnered with GP Albums, LustreColor, Photobiz and Ron Nichols Digital Solutions to offer a variety of prizes specifically designed for pro photographers. The contest’s grand prize winner, Phil Merutka of Memories to Treasure Photography in Chicago, took home $10,000 in products and services—$2,500 from each sponsor. Addressing four different areas of Merutka’s business, the prizes have offered the wedding and portrait photographer a chance at totally renovating his operation.

“There is no doubt that these prizes will help improve my sales and help me grow my business,” says Merutka. “Overall, it’s an amazing gift to be given. This is a job I truly love, and these prizes make my job easier. It’s just a good feeling being able to make people happy doing work that I enjoy. “

Online Optimized

Merutka has a new, search-engine-optimized website from Photobiz. The site offers a combination of graphically pleasing Flash animation with searchable HTML code. It also includes mobile-device-compatible versions so that on-the-go customers can view it.

“For a lot of photographers, especially those who don’t have a studio, their website is their presentation space,” says David Hutnik of Photobiz. “It’s critical that this space represents the photographer well and provides a good connection with clients.”

Hutnik stresses that today’s photographers should take into account all the different ways that their clients get information, including traditional websites, mobile-enabled sites, social networking, blogs and other multimedia communications. The key is to present a cross-platform presence that can engage clients on multiple levels.

By Chris Bross, Data Recovery Engineer for DriveSavers

With the advent of digital photography and flash memory, a whole new set of potential problems has evolved for photographers. DriveSavers Data Recovery Engineer, Chris Bross, has assembled the following list of tips for how to handle flash memory cards properly and help prevent potential loss of precious photographs.

BACK UP YOUR IMAGES! Protect yourself and your irreplaceable images by backing up onto CD/DVDs, tapes, online storage or an external hard drive. This will help guard against data loss when (not if) your hard drive crashes unexpectedly.

TRANSFER YOUR PHOTOS. Copy the image files from the camera’s flash memory to a computer’s hard drive a soon as you can. We recommend not deleting images or reformatting the memory card while it is still in the camera. Wait until all photos are transferred and verified.

FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS. Take care when removing flash memory from the camera or card reader. Avoid deleting or corrupting images by using the eject command on the computer or moving the card icon from the desktop to the trash/recycle bin before physically removing the card.

VERIFY THE TRANSFER. Open the images on the hard drive before reformatting the card.

MAKE MORE THAN ONE COPY. Back up your backup media and keep a duplicate offsite in a secure location.

PROTECT YOUR FLASH MEMORY CARDS. Use the plastic holder when carrying them around. Simple static buildup can zap the card and make it unreadable. There are other dangers as well, such as breaking a card in our pocket or putting the card, along with your clothing, in the wash.

REPLACE YOUR FLASH MEMORY CARDS. Typically, flash memory cards can be used about 1,000 times before they start to wear out.

AVOID EXTREME TEMPERATURES. Heat, cold and humidity can wreak havoc with digital equipment, especially flash memory.

By Don Chick, M.Photog.Cr., CPP 

The new Sigma APO 50-500mm f/4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM lens with its 10X zoom range is one impressive lens. Sigma pitches this lens as the “all-in-one” dream lens, especially for nature photographers. It’s also suitable for landscape photography and has enough zoom for photographing wildlife. I have to agree with Sigma.

This lens is designed for full-frame DSLRs, but also functions with cameras with APSC- size sensors. Using the 50mm setting (a 35mm focal-length equivalent to 80mm on my Canon 40D), I photographed a nuthatch in a tree (Figure 1). As you would expect, it’s tough to even find the bird in the image. Zooming to the telephoto end of the range, 500mm (the equivalent of 800mm on my Canon 40D), I was able to capture the nuthatch in great detail (Figure 2).

By Marianne Drenthe

Educational materials for children’s photographers are a common sight these days and with good reason … there seems to be big business in showcasing the in’s and out’s of this specialty in photography. With so many photographers opening up shop, an equal number of established pros are getting in on the teaching game. It can be tough to know where to turn for good, solid, usable information.

I’ve seen some good, some bad (ok, awful) and some overpriced educational materials. I have heard horror stories about poorly produced DVDs and instructional materials. I admit I may be particularly picky as I do some teaching as well, and I'm particular when it comes to my business and the art and skill involved with photographing children. When you adheres to stringent rules about your own work and what you produce, you tend to be equally hard on others.

“Inside Contemporary Children's Photography” with Tamara Lackey displays impressive quality. Once you begin, you are immediately sucked into Tamara’s world. Her speaking style is effervescent, friendly and instructional. This DVD is unique, in my opinion, because it’s filmed in an infomercial-like style; it’s the very why of how this DVD pulls you in and keeps you watching. Who can resist a good infomercial? Not me!

Though I was a bit leery to review a photo-education DVD because there’s so much out there that falls short, I’ve only heard good things about Tamara Lackey’s presentations, so I was excited to see what she had to share. Being confident in my own business and experience children’s photography, I was doubtful that I’d get anything new out of watching it. On this point, I was wrong because she gave some great tips.

By Stan Sholik

Photographers actively involved in high dynamic range (HDR) imaging often use different HDR programs for different images since each program has its own algorithm for tone mapping the multiple exposures into an image. Many of these programs are complex and non-intuitive and don’t accurately portray the final image until processing is complete.

HDR PhotoStudio from Unified Color Technologies, LLC, was different, offering a more intuitive and user-friendly approach. Unified Color has replaced that program with a much-improved one, HDR Expose, which is suitable for HDR beginners and advanced users alike.

The user interface in Expose has undergone major revisions from the PhotoStudio version, and all for the better. It now boasts the visual styling of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, Apple Aperture and other imaging programs, although the keyboard shortcuts are generally different. HDR Expose allows the export of source images from Lightroom and Aperture directly to the program. And when you have completed your HDR composite, Expose exports the image back to whichever program you used to send them for processing.

But the biggest change and the greatest improvement lies in the addition of a Brightness Histogram at the top of the Tool Panel. The Brightness Histogram displays not only the tonal distribution of the entire 32-bit image, but also, with a lighter toned gray region, the section of the curve that will display in the final image.

This is the final result of combining five exposures in HDR Expose and going for a “natural” look. The exposures were bracketed one stop apart. No exposure even came close to having the balance of foreground and sky exposure that is present in this final image. ©Stan Sholik

By Dawn Tacker
Images by Mark Pawlyszyn

Whether your do your own printing or task that to a competent lab, Greener Photography recommends using natural fiber paper in place of traditional RC/silver halide paper for printmaking as a greener option. Read more about that in our Greener Photographic Prints article. But which natural fiber paper to choose? One important factor to consider: the use of OBAs, or optical brightening agents.

OBAs are used to make paper look more uniform, and more white. But at what cost? As OBAs break down, their effects do as well—and they don't break down uniformly. A paper that is made unnaturally white through the use of OBAs will start to yellow—it is a matter of the paper returning to its "natural" color. However, when OBAs break down they can cause irregular yellowing. OBAs call into question the longevity of a photographic print—what good is a lightfast rating of 200 years if your print will yellow sooner than that? The greenest options for printing are also those that will withstand the test of time.

What's a photographer to do? To avoid color shifts and yellowing of your fine art prints, chose papers with zero or very low levels of OBAs. How do you find out if your paper has OBAs? Check out the manufacturer's website, and look for information on OBA content. Click on "Continue reading 'Reexamining the Greener Print'" to find our list of a few examples of papers that have zero-to-low levels of OBAs:

A custom viewfinder mask to save time and money

By Don Chick, M.Photog.Cr., CPP

Every now and then you encounter a product that falls into the category of “nice to have,” but for one reason or another, it just doesn’t make your priority list. Initially for me, a custom viewfinder mask was such a product. I could see the reason to own one and the potential value, but higher priorities and price kept me from making the investment of $195. Boy, was I wrong to delay!

Now that I have a custom viewfinder mask from ViewfinderMasks in my camera, I am convinced that it is one of those must-have products that will make your post-production life easier and pay for itself in both time and money.

A custom viewfinder mask helps because a DSLR, or 35mm camera creates a 3:2 ratio image area, which translates to 4x6 or 8x12 image formats, while most professional portrait photographers print 4x5 or 8x10 images using a 4:5 ratio. The composition and cropping problem happens when you fill the frame with your 8x12 subject (Figure 1) and attempt to print the image on 8x10 media.

Figure 1: Composing your image without a viewfinder mask,
you tend to fill the frame with your subject …

Part of the image must be cropped off at one or both ends (Figure 2). It is especially difficult to create a pleasing portrait when some of the head and body has to be cropped and the frame is filled mostly with the subject’s face.

Figure 2: … but when you print, you have to crop one or both ends. Images ©Don Chick

 By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

You might be familiar with SimpleViewer already. The SimpleViewer product family is the brainchild of web developer Felix Turner of Airtight Interactive and offers user-friendly Flash galleries that you can download and use for free (or upgrade to the Pro version for more features). I'm familiar with the free versions, and I wanted to find out if the added Pro Features, or svManager, might be worth it in the long run.

First off, let me do a run through of all the SimpleViewer products. Then I’ll discuss the benefits of the Pro options and dig a little deeper into using svManager.

SimpleViewer, TiltViewer, AutoViewer, and PostcardViewer are all Flash image-viewing galleries (templates of a kind). Each one has a slightly different feel and look, but all are designed with simplicity in mind. svManager is an interface that allows you to easily create galleries with any of the four gallery templates. 

SimpleViewer

By Diane Berkenfeld

The word couture is usually associated with fashion, but not anymore. Harvest Pro, the California-based wide-format printer that’s been producing museum quality Giclée prints for more than two decades has turned their sights to the photo industry. Harvest Couture will offer photographers the ability to offer truly unique photographic art pieces to their clients, by printing photographs on acrylic and metal.

Three substrates will be offered: acrylic with hand laid silver leaf, acrylic with white ink printing, and metal with white backgrounds. Out of these three different materials, come four possible ways to print. They currently offer four sizes: 20x30, 24x36, 30x40, and 40x60 inches. Custom printing is possible up to 4x8 feet, and the smallest the company will print is 16x24 inches.

According to Jenny Coulston, Pro Photo Curator for Harvest Couture, these sizes are better for photography. “We do believe if you’re going to do it, do it at least as a 20x30. At that size the images feel like an art piece,” she says. The biggest issue for the company is showing off the end result to prospective customers, because the printing processes create a one-of-a-kind photograph. When you view these prints, slightly altering your viewing angle can change the way the image looks.

Coulston says photographers can have multiple-piece editions created or one-offs.

By Stan Sholik

An efficient workflow is only a dream for most portrait and wedding photographers. Too little time is spent behind the camera relative to the time spent in front of a computer monitor. Preparing proofs for client review, creating albums, taking and fulfilling print orders and making online web galleries are far more time intensive than the photography itself, yet are not billable hours.

So it wasn’t surprising that, at the PMA trade show this year, the largest category of products I saw were offerings designed to create an efficient workflow for photographers, labs and retail outlets. One of the foremost among these offerings is DigiLabs Pro software.

DigiLabs is a market leader in creating online front-end ordering systems for photo labs. Several of the leading labs are using DigiLabs software, but with the lab’s own branding so that you are unaware of the actual origin of the software.

DigiLabs Pro software is a combination and major upgrade of their previous My Photo Books and My Photo Calendar & Cards software that were licensed to private-label partners and the previous DigiLab application used by professional photographers.

Using DigiLabs Pro software, photographers can create studio-branded web galleries and a wide range of photo products. The web galleries allow studio customers to view and order photo products online from their computer or iPhone. Available photo products include flush mount albums, coffee table books, proof books, calendars, greeting cards, and canvas gallery wraps, as well as photo prints and enlargements.

Digilabs offers a a number of calendar options, including custom design; a range of products including greeting cards, event cards and announcements; and photo books are available in a range of sizes and cover treatments, printed on digital presses on heavy paper stock. Photos courtesy of DigiLabs.

What sets DigiLabs Pro apart from other competing software is how fast and easy it is to use. With a common, clean interface for all available products and wizards included to guide you through the more complicated products such as photo books, it is quick to learn and easy to navigate.

DigiLabs has created an iPhone app that is available at no charge from the Apple iTunes store. This allows your clients to view their web gallery and order prints on their iPhone. Images courtesy of DigiLabs.

By Bob Zimmerlich, CPP

A few days after picking up the new iPad with 3G service at a local Apple store here in Phoenix, I was on my way to New York unexpectedly for a funeral of a close family friend. Since I was packing light, I thought this would be a good test to see if the iPad could replace my heavier MacBook Pro on a short trip since I wasn't planning on any photography related work.

Just after I arrived at JFK my sister asked if I could do a headshot of her for her new startup business. My judgment must have been thrown off by the red-eye flight, because I said, “Sure, absolutely,” without a second thought. Problem was, I didn't have any of my gear, not even a camera. That's OK she said, she had a Canon Elph point-and-shoot. Now I'm thinking, oh, golly, gee whiz, sis—that will be swell (thinking in 1950s terms being the more civil alternative to cussing).

Since I wanted to use natural light, I downloaded an app called PhotoCalc onto the iPad to see when sunset on Long Island would be, then checked the local radar with the WeatherBug app's visible satellite radar loop. Seeing that clouds would be rolling in from the west by 5 p.m., and knowing the limitations of her camera, I knew we would want to finish the shoot inside with window light before then. With some proper positioning, a sheet of white foam board as a reflector and a rigged tripod, the shoot went well considering the situation.

Now for a little post processing, but without my trusty MacBook Pro what could I do? I thought, let's put this iPad to a real test.

By Cheryl Pearson

Photographers today are always looking for products that will provide them with a quicker, more efficient way of streamlining certain tasks. I recently tried out onOne Software’s Genuine Fractals 6 plug-in, which is designed to resize and enlarge images up to 1,000 percent without losing sharpness or detail.

A lot of photographers use Adobe Photoshop’s Bicubic Interpolation method in the Image Size dialogue box to resize images, but there can be a noticeable loss of fine detail or sharpness. Some use an incremental upsizing process that is reported to produce a better result than enlarging with a single step. You can create an action that will enlarge the image in 5-percent increments until the desired size is achieved. Although this approach may work, I’d prefer a tool that does it for me, to any size I need, and produces a great result. Genuine Fractals does that by enlarging and optimizing images for high resolution output, and has a few additional tools that make it worth looking into.

I re-scaled a 5x7 image to 25x35 using Image Size dialogue in Photoshop, set to Bicubic Smoother. I engarged the same 5x7 image using Genuine Fractals. I viewed both at 100 percent and focused in on one aspect of the image. While the difference is more difficult to see in this screenshot, the image on the right was re-scaled in Photoshop and the image on the left was upsized in Genuine Fractals. Photoshop’s Bicubic Interpolation method produced acceptable results, but I felt the image resized in Genuine Fractals was slightly sharper with more crisp detail and less noise. (Click image for large view.)

Genuine Fractals can be accessed in Photoshop in two ways: from Photoshop via File > Automate or from the onOne drop-down, next to Help, in Photoshop’s menu bar. With Photoshop CS5 you can have the onOne plug-ins in a floating menu palette that can be docked in with the other Photoshop palettes.

Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to test out three Tenba camera bags in the field. 

• Messenger Camera Bag
• Shootout Ultralight Photo Backpack
• Messenger Photo Daypack

Each has its own advantages, and best uses.  

Tenba’s Messenger Camera Bag is a typical over-the-shoulder bag with plenty of pockets and lots of organization. I found this bag fit best with my everyday working habits. I was able to pack two camera bodies, three lenses (including telephoto), and three speedlights, with plenty of room to spare for my light meter, keys, and even some other gadgets. I found one of the end pockets to be just the right size to hold my three speedlights (though not padded, this pocket allowed for easy access and stowing).

The top flap has a quick-access zipper, as well as a “silent mode” flap that you can use to cover the Velcro closure. If you ever work in environments where being quiet is a necessity, you’ll really enjoy not having to worry about the invasive sound of Velcro pulling apart when you go into this bag. The bag has a front organizer with six compartments, as well as more organization for memory cards, keys, etc in the zippered pocket on the flap.

Finally, if you need to pick up this bag and don’t want to use the shoulder strap, there is a hand-carry strap as well. I have no complaints about my time spent using the Tenba Messenger Camera Bag – my camera may well have found a new “everyday” home!

The Tenba Messenger Camera Bag (above) retails for $129.95.

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

The time finally came this year for me to replace both hard drives on my PC. No, I didn’t experience a data loss, and there was no catastrophe … It’s just that after five years of wear and tear, I could tell that my hard drives were no longer up to speed with the latest technology. Plus, I was running out of storage room.

So, my Tech Department (a.k.a. my husband) ordered the new parts for my computer, and I began the tedious process of backing up my data onto my external hard drives.

Now, when you’re working with a blank drive, it’s easy to copy all the files from the old location to the new location. But in this case, I already had some of the data backed up onto the external hard drive and needed to make sure that when my copying spree was over, I hadn’t missed anything in the process.

The tedious way of doing this involves manually opening each folder, counting the number of files, and cross-checking creation/modification dates. With 900+ GB of data, I knew there had to be a better, more efficient way.

Enter ExamDiff Pro. A friend had recommended the program to me, so I decided to check it out. And I can tell you, this program was a huge time saver!

In the June issue of Professional Photographer magazine, Ellis Vener reviewed the Einstein 640 monolight from Paul C. Buff. In this test, Ellis pushed the limits of the Einstein’s recycle speed. He captured 145 frames at 10 frames per second with the Einstein set to 18.7 watt-seconds. The Canon EOS-1D Mark IV exposures were set for 1/250 second at f/8, ISO 400, capturing large JPEGS recorded to a Lexar Professional 600X CompactFlash card. Ellis compiled the frame animation using Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended.

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

I recently had the chance to try out The Polester, created by Longshot Camera Systems. It’s a “camera-on-a-stick” device that allows you to photograph things from a drastically different angle than you could achieve with your own reach (unless, of course, you are Stretch Armstrong).

The rig consists of a camera mount, triggering device with a retractable string (like an extendable dog leash) that extends down to the base of the pole. As you extend the pole, the triggering string remains slightly taut. When I received my review unit, I got a crash course on assembly. In short, you want the vertical portion of the trigger to hug the camera body as closely as possible. The little arm at the top of the trigger is meant to hover over the shutter, and by pulling on the string lightly, you can focus before pulling harder to take the shot.

The camera mount portion of the setup attaches to a double-action locking telescoping pole, which is very nifty. The pole has a handle with a release button, and it allows you to swiftly and easily extend the pole to the height you need.

Components of the Polester assembly. 

Here’s what it looks like when you have everything assembled. I have to say, the trigger mechanism is a very clever invention. ©Betsy Finn

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

Finding the perfect camera strap is no easy feat. A number of elements go into this decision, including comfort, capability, and of course, style. Usually, you can find a strap with one or maybe two of these qualities, but it’s rare to find one that has all three. If you’re tired of sacrificing your fashion sense for comfort, or are ready for a camera strap that is comfortable to wear during long shoots, you may want to give Abie Camera Straps a chance.

Abie Camera Straps are both practical and fashionable. When you first hold one of these straps in your hand, you can feel the difference—I was impressed with the amount of padding in the strap, as well as the suppleness of the material. I fell in love with two designs in particular: subtle brown suede with an embossed motif, and a lighthearted yellow floral woven design.

By Stan Sholik

Since the introduction of the Phase One camera in 2009, the company has promised us leaf shutter lenses so that we can sync our strobes at shutter speeds higher than 1/125 sec. Their follow-up announcement later last year of a strategic alliance with famed optics manufacturer Schneider Kreuznach confirmed that the promised lenses would be soon forthcoming.

The new lenses are now here or on their way and along with them is a new camera body, the Phase One DF. Apparently the Phase One/Mamiya/Schneider group decided that the venerable Mamiya 645 body needed an update to efficiently incorporate the latest technology, and so the Phase One 645DF and its sister camera, the Mamiya 645DF, were born. While the two bodies are identical in nearly every way, the Phase One version is the one to have if you are a Phase One P40+ or P60+ user, as we shall see.

While the Phase One 645DF (DF) offers significant improvements over any previous 645 generation, one major loss is the inability to mount a film back on the camera. It’s always good to have a backup camera around anyway, so that could be any older Mamiya 645 body that would also take a film backs. Unfortunately, you couldn’t use the new leaf shutter lenses with this body.

While compatibility with film backs is lost, compatibility in other areas is improved. Unlike the latest Hasselblad cameras, the Phase One 645DF remains an open platform. This means that should there be a problem with the DF body, you can send it off for service and use your backup body or a rental until it returns. It also means that you can mount any Phase One or Leaf digital back that is compatible with a Mamiya body on the DF. As an aside, because Leaf is now a Phase One company, you can even use Capture One software with the Leaf backs.

At first glance the Phase One 645DF looks identical to the previous Phase One 645 body, but numerous changes have been made, some of them significant for professional photographers. ©Stan Sholik

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

For the past month or so, I’ve been testing out my very own personalized iPhone app. ProPhotoApps is the company that created my app; they specialize in iPhone apps specifically for photographers and photography studios. Once completed and approved for the iTunes store, your studio's app will be available for download at no charge to maximize its distribution to your clients and potential clients.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Sounds cool, but what if I don’t have an iPhone?” No problem. ProPhotoApps has an administrative web interface where you manage all the details; you can customize your app completely without ever having to touch an iPhone.

When the app-creation process begins, you will log into the admin interface, and begin adding your custom data. There are a few fields that you cannot change once you submit your app to iTunes for approval, so make sure to fill out those fields wisely. Most everything else, from images to news blurbs, you will be able to update and change freely over the life of your app (Pics, Social, Contact Us, and Specials).

By Don Chick, M.Photog.Cr., CPP

When the topic of white balancing files comes up, there are usually two big questions. The first is “Why should I be concerned about white balance since my camera can automatically do that for me?” Once the value of white balancing is understood, the next question is “Which method is best?” Answering the question of why is simple.

As a portrait photographer, I especially want the flesh tones of my subject to look healthy and alive, therefore correct white balance or color balance in an image is essential to its success. A green color cast from grass or trees on my subject’s skin will not convey that he or she is healthy, nor will it convey that I, the professional, know how to properly present my finished work. A professional is expected to be in control of the entire process, and understanding white balance and incorporating professional tools makes it possible to accomplish the task with a minimum of effort.

When you set your camera to Auto White Balance, the camera tries to guess what the best white balance setting should be.

Using a calibrated white balance device eliminates any guesswork on the part of the camera. Deciding which method to choose takes a bit more consideration. If you capture raw files you can non-destructively make white balance adjustments in-camera or in post processing. If you capture in JPEG mode, it’s best to do an in-camera custom white balance for each lighting situation. I choose to do my white balancing in Adobe Lightroom during post-production. White balance devices take many forms, from the multi-functional X-Rite ColorChecker Passport, to the odd looking but practical SpyderCube from Datacolor, to the prism texture and diffusion discs of the ExpoImaging ExpoDisc. An accurate white balance device needs to be spectrally neutral. By that I mean that it has no inherent color bias. The material the device is composed of must not influence the light in any way.

The ColorRight ($89) or ColorRight Pro ($129) by ColorRight is an excellent device for either in-camera or post-production white balancing. For simplicity it’s tough to beat. During a recent portrait session, I had the opportunity to try a ColorRight Pro (below). The advantage of the Pro version is that the unique shape, according to their website, “gathers light from multiple angles ensuring you are getting the whole color picture.” The unique shape even allows light from a hot shoe mounted flash to strike the device and influence the final white balance. 

By Cheryl Pearson

Professional photographer Jim Garner set out to create a different kind of camera bag, one not just for storage but designed instead for easy access and carrying while you’re actively shooting. I found that the Boda V3 lens bag worked best for its intended purpose as an on-shoot working bag. Hundreds of photographers testing this bag during development, and Boda reconstructed it to correct the biggest flaws uncovered by working professionals. The Boda V3 strives to be the best active-shooting option on the market, so I wanted to test just how well it stands up to that goal.

I tested the bag during a wedding, evaluating how comfortable the bag was to carry for long periods of time and how easy it was to access gear throughout the day. You can carry the Boda V3 in two different ways, as a waist belt or over your shoulder. Since I’m just over 5 feet tall with a petite frame, I find that wearing bags on my waist is rarely an option that provides enough security or comfort when I’m working. I prefer to be as mobile as possible, so I opted to carry the bag on my shoulder.

The bag was easiest for me to carry on one shoulder with the strap draped across my body and the bag resting on the opposite hip. While I was shooting, I could shift the bag slightly toward my back, keeping it comfortably out of the way, or swing it around to the side when I needed to grab a piece of equipment. The adjustable shoulder strap allowed me to choose where the bag fell at my hip. Shoulder straps have not always been comfortable with other bags I’ve tested, but even though this one was a bit stiff and did not bend around my shoulder the way I would have liked, the Boda V3 remained comfortable enough to get through a day of shooting.

By Zack Davis

As typical image file sizes increase, many photographers are finding it harder to move, share or deliver their files digitally. Whether delivering the final edit to a commercial client, submitting a print-resolution image to a magazine, or wanting to send work to your home computer from the studio, there are simple solutions available. We’ll cover just a few of the more popular services here including Dropbox.com, Box.net, YouSendit.com and Me.com. These services allow you to send large files as easily as you send an e-mail and access your files from multiple computers whether you’re on Windows or Mac.

Dropbox.com works nearly seamlessly on Windows because it appears as a folder inside your computer. Anything inside this folder is automatically sent to the Dropbox servers, which allow instant online access on any Windows or Mac computer. Dropbox also has a complimentary iPhone app that allows you to access and edit your folders on the go.

If you’re using Dropbox and sharing a folder with other people, you’ll be instantly notified when a new file is added or modified as well. This is great if you often find yourself sending files to a few people over a chat program like Yahoo Instant Messenger.

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

While already familiar with Photodex Proshow Gold, after getting to review Proshow Producer for Professional Photographer (review scheduled for April issue), I have to admit I felt a little out of my element. Creating slideshows is easy for me, but integrating still images with video? That’s another thing.

Fortunately, I was also able to get my hands on one of Photodex’s training videos: Photo Video Fusion. The DVD contains 1.5 hours of video tutorials (split into 11 chapters). The average video is about 15 minutes long, so you’ll be able to squeeze your learning sessions in when you have a spare moment.

The training sessions begin by explaining the concept of “fusion”—the blending of video and images to create a complete slideshow production. The DVD does a thorough job of explaining concepts, and I’m pretty sure you’ll find it easy to understand.

If you’re someone who learns best by doing, rather than just hearing or watching things, you will love this workshop DVD. Photodex has included video and image files so that you can follow along with the tutorial and actually do the exercises yourself.

After you learn about fusion, the DVD will help you get a good foundation in editing videos with Photodex. You’ll learn how to work with video, how to trim video files and create video clips, and most important—that videos behave pretty much like individual images (so far as layers, masks, and styles go).

Images ©Peter Atherton

DigiLabs, the company that was first to bring press-printed products combined with online ordering to the market, is scheduled to announce a new all-in-one photo platform, DigiLabs Pro, on March 8 at WPPI. The company’s goal, according to CEO and one of DigiLabs’ founders Chanan Steinhart, is to get back to full service for professionals. Professional Photographer magazine was given a sneak peek at the new products and broad spectrum of service and options that DigiLabs plans to offer in the new platform.

DigiLabs Pro aims to be a completely integrated combination of a new generation of DigiLabs software that uses Athentech’s Perfectly Clear image enhancement technology and allows for a unified workflow from image editing to web gallery creation to album design to product ordering and fulfillment. DigiLabs creators say they’ve incorporated easy-to-use wizards throughout to make the process simple and smooth.

DigiLabs also stresses that they will provide a number of cost-effective product options for photographers targeting more economically conservative clientele. The new Anza flush-mount album with black leather cover is offered as an affordable, yet high quality, album that “can meet the needs of customers at virtually any price point.” While the premium Marina album offers more flexibility with 20 to 80 sides and seven covers, including luxury leathers and an animal-friendly vegan option.

Along with the launch of the new platform, DigiLabs is also launching their new StudioShare iPhone application, which allows clients to view and order from a photographer's studio-branded web gallery. It will be the first professional photo proofing and sales app for the iPhone. All DigiLabs Pro users can use and share the app, which then allows clients to view photos and securely place orders from their iPhone.

Images ©Ben Chrisman; iPhone interface from beta version of StudioShare.

By Philip Bloom

In general, uploading videos to websites is a fairly easy process but there are a few steps you should take to ensure your videos are uploaded properly and offer the best quality possible. Personally, I use Vimeo for sharing my video content and their process for uploading videos is quite easy.

There are many formats you can use to upload your videos, but it is always a good idea to compress your videos before uploading them to the web. Uploading raw, uncompressed files will take a long time and eat up a lot of bandwidth, and the quality will not be that much better than a wel-compressed file. For me, the ideal combination of quality and speed are .MP4 or .MOV files using the h.264 codec. Although Flash streaming is a good compromise of quality and speed, H.264 QuickTime MP4s is a great alternative for great quality.

I have outlined a video upload workflow based on the Mac computer platform, but you can easily apply it to a PC as well. While my own personal workflow is based around Final Cut Pro— and that process is very specific— the following steps will work with most systems.

STEP 1: Secure a free piece of software called MPEG Streamclip from Squared5.com. Once you’ve downloaded it to your computer, open the software and drag-and-drop your finished edit into its main window.

STEP 2: From the top menu of the software, choose Export as MP4 and click.

STEP 3: The next step is to determine which file format and resolution you’d like to use for your video. This depends on whether your video footage is in SD (standard definition), 720p (720 pixels vertical resolution) or 1080p HD (high definition).

My suggestion when using MPEG Streamclip is:
• Go to File, then Export to mp4.
• Select the codec you want the MP4 to be. MP4 is purely a “wrapper” for the video, allowing it to be compressed in all sorts of ways. Personally, I recommend you select H.264.

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

If you’re looking for an album design solution that integrates with Photoshop, then you need to give Album DS Design Software a shot. Let’s just say there’s a reason that Professional Photographer's Hot One Award judges picked Album DS (version 6.1.1) as the winner for Album Design/Layout. Before trying out Album DS, I hadn’t found a program that would fit my needs. I tried various programs, but resorted to Photoshop since the programs couldn’t render my envisioned design properly. After giving Album DS a shot, I think I finally found a program with enough flexibility for me.

Image ©Betsy Finn

When you first install Album DS, the installer will ask you which of the templates (700+), masks (200), frames (570+), backgrounds (326) and clipart you want to install. You can install a sampling of the resources, or install everything at once. Despite the large resource library, you’re not limited to the included templates. Album DS lets you convert templates you already have, or even make your own on the fly.

Dawn Tacker and Thea Dodds, co-founders of Greener Photography

Packaging is an important part of your studio's brand identity. What you wrap your product in tells your client more about who you are and adds value to your products. Using environmentally-friendly packaging and educating your clients about it will help brand you as an eco-aware photographer.

Eco-friendly packaging options include:

• Reduce your packaging.

~ Re-use the original packaging in which your prints arrived.
—TIP: A hot iron can remove the unsightly labels from a re-used shipping box.
—TIP: Make a stamp that says: reused is better then recycled. Turn your box into a message.
~ When hand-delivering, use protective but minimal wrapping instead of boxes.

• Provide something useful and re-usable.

~ Dual purpose—protective and in line with your branding
~ Branded canvas totes
~ Branded reusable folders, boxes or tins
~ Wrap your product in a gift for the client, such as a scarf, baby blanket, or company t-shirt, something branded and in-line with how you want to be identified.

• When new packaging is necessary use something recycled, recyclable and/or compostable and sustainable produced from domestic sources if possible.

~ Nashville Wraps for branded packaging
~ Biodegradable bags for your prints
~ Recycled packaging from Rice Studio Supplies
~ FSC-certified paper products
~ Handmade paper
~ Look for natural materials such as cotton, hemp, or silk.

Remember that packaging adds value; consider adding your values into the equation. If the planet is important to you and your business, wrap it up in a eco-friendly way. Do you have other ideas for eco-friendly packaging? Please share them in the comments!

Supplement

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

In this month’s print edition of Professional Photographer magazine, I discussed my experiences with three web cart systems for photographers: RedCart, Photo Cart, and Lightbox Photo Gallery. While each cart system is different, they do all accomplish the same end goal—that is, to allow you to sell your images and products online.

To help you get an idea of what each cart will (and will not) do, I’ve compiled features into categories: investment, interface, pricing, products, and setup. With that being said, let’s take a closer look at the features these web carts have to offer.

Investment: With a one-time investment upfront for a single domain license, all three carts allow you to benefit from commission-free sales. Depending on which interface you choose, you’ll end up investing anywhere from $329 to $1,099 (see end of article). Photo Cart includes lifetime free upgrades, Lightbox includes free upgrades for one year, and RedCart includes minor upgrades unless you spring for their monthly investment … and then you’ll receive all upgrades.

Interface: All three carts have the capability to display public galleries (or keep them private), e-mail invoices, save client favorites, and even display images in a slideshow. RedCart is the only cart to operate on a Flash-based front end—the other two are HTML-based. Photo Cart and Lightbox both have integrated batch uploading, watermarking, and auto thumbnail generation; the upcoming version of RedCart (soon to be released) relies on a desktop application to accomplish these tasks. Since Lightbox is geared to commercial/stock photography, it has several unique features, including SEO URLs, a multi-photographer manager, and even a keyword search log. Both Photo Cart and Lightbox can display IPTC metadata if that information is present in your image files.

Above: Lightbox Photo Gallery configuration interface and the gallery view for clients. (Click for large view.)

Above: Photo Cart's client gallery. (Click for large view.)

Above: RedCart's client gallery. (Click for large view.)

For some of our wonderful tradeshow exhibitors, signing up for the next Imaging USA is a no-brainer. They bring a unique product to a highly desirable market—you!—and they're eager to please.

Professional Photographer’s Senior Editor, Joan Sherwood, interviewed several of the tradeshow vendors in Phoenix at the 2009 show. Here to serve as a sneak peek are just a few of those vendors who'll be back with us again in Nashville, Jan. 10-12.

Wild Sorbet: The Original Shabby Chic Frame Company
Tana LeMay of Wild Sorbet brings a new line of frames for canvases to Imaging USA this year. It's inspired by our January cover photographer, Kimberly Wylie, and called The Gallery Frame. They've also got a new frame with attention-grabbing curved edges—the Parisian.

Triple Scoop Music
Triple Scoop Music is offering their biggest show special ever at our show! Come by booth #239 on DAY 1 (Sunday, Jan. 10) and get a custom music collection for 50% off, plus an additional $120 in FREE music. Triple Scoop Music has well over 5,000 hand-picked songs and more every month by award-winning artists, including Grammy & Emmy winners. In Phoenix we interviewed Jennifer Herbig, one of the company founders—all musicians themselves.

Drop It Modern
Drop It Modern will bring new classic damask designs to Nashville, and you'll get a preview of new modern looks that will be available later in January. Here owner and founder Breane Schapp discusses the origin of the bold, beautiful look of her lush, original designs. In January 2009, her company was only six months old, now it's a big hit with a track record of success.

 We’ll see you there!

By Betsy Finn

When I heard about Nikon’s new VR II lens, my first thought was, “how much better could it really be?” You see, I own the VR version of this lens, which  has what I would consider a great vibration reduction system. After getting a chance to shoot with the VR II system, I get it. As efficient as my VR lens is, the VR II lens blows it out of the water. If you don’t want to talk yourself into buying this lens, I wouldn’t even recommend testing it. OK, I know you aren’t going to take my advice, but at least now you’re forewarned!

Here’s a brief sneak peek to keep you happy until you can get your hands on the full review in the February issue of Professional Photographer. I was able to capture this handheld exposure using the VR II feature:

Camera settings: ISO 100, 1/8 sec at f/22 (135mm focal length). ©Betsy Finn

By Curtis Joe Walker

Zenfolio has been offering easy, affordable, attractive online galleries for photographers for the last four years. Previously, photographers would have to build and host their own website elsewhere, linking externally to Zenfolio galleries to handle sales and client proofing. With their new release, to be launched at Imaging USA (Jan. 10-12), sites can be hosted entirely with Zenfolio. This eliminates the cost of two hosting accounts and greatly improves the visual presentation of the site thanks to comprehensive and customizable theme packages.

We recently had a chance to sit down with Zenfolio CEO Alex Peyzner to walk us through the upcoming features.

With the new release comes a whole new set of options for building pages. Foremost of these is theming. At launch, 10-15 themes will be available, but because the themes are customizable and downloadable, many more will quickly appear once the Zenfolio community gets their feet wet. Themes control the look and feel of the entire site from the main page to the individual galleries.The pages are Flash-free except for gallery slideshows. This move will satisfy mobile users, but at the cost of a completely designer-controlled viewing experience. Also included with Premium accounts is the ability to upload PDF files natively—a handy feature for publishing printable price/service menus.

By Thea Dodds, GreenerPhotography.org

“The Changing Range of Light: Portraits of the Sierra Nevada” combines art and science in a book of landscape photography, employing imagery to inspire action. It features gorgeous landscapes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range by Elizabeth Carmel, and text vignettes outlining the effect of global climate change in the Sierras by Robert Coats, PhD. and Geoffrey Schladow, PhD.

Carmel is an acclaimed landscape photographer based in Trukee, Calif. This volume is a follow-up to her book, “Brilliant Waters,” also featuring photographs from the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Contributing author Robert Coats has a B.S. and M.S. in Forestry and a PhD. in Wildland Resource Science from the University of California at Berkeley. Contributing author Geoffrey Schladow holds a B. Eng. and PhD. in civil engineering from the University of Western Australia, and a M. Eng. in hydraulic engineering from the University of California at Berkeley.

The release of this 136 page, full color book was well timed with the December convening of the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, the largest conference of its kind in history. Carmel is courageous for publishing a book that combines grassroots education with contemporary landscape photography. She risks taking the reader away from her art with the addition of scientific commentary that is heavy both in content and technical in its language. It is striking how well the images lead the reader to the text, and the text takes the reader back to the images with additional information and appreciation. The climate change vignettes are interrupted by poetry at well-timed intervals to give the reader a needed breath of lighter content.

By Ellis Vener

What is better color worth to your photography business? That is the $99 question posed by the X-Rite ColorChecker Passport. But the underlying question is whether you can trust your camera, no matter which make or model you use, to automatically deliver its best possible color rendition. “Best” is obviously a subjective term. What most of us really want is what is known as “pleasing color”—blue skies rendered as a natural shade of blue without a magenta cast, grass that meets our perception of what grass should look like, skin tones that match the subjects’ complexion, and red hair that looks like red hair. (Sometimes we don’t want realistic color, but it is the best place to begin customizing from.)

Every camera model from every manufacturer interprets color differently due to differences in sensor technology, camera processor technology and programming. You may have even encountered slight color rendering differences between individual cameras of the same model. With little effort, profiling your cameras eliminates these color rendering differences.

To get there, we have to make all parts of the photographic process work harmoniously. That is the ultimate goal of color management. By now, most professionals and serious amateurs understand that calibrating and profiling our displays is essential, even if we aren’t working on high-end Eizo and NEC monitors. Those involved in making prints understand the necessity of using good profiles for printers, papers, and inks or lab-produced prints. Even if you choose to work only with JPEGs in the small sRGB color space, you are passively engaged in color management.

By Kim Larson

When Adobe Lightroom was formally introduced in 2006, it was applauded as a great tool for enhancing photographers’ workflows. Now there’s another tool on the market that can further speed your work in Lightroom: Kubota RPG Speedkeys for Lightroom 2.

Kubota RPG Speedkeys for Lightroom 2 was designed to help you work faster in Lightroom by combining the popular RPG Keys product with Kevin Kubota’s Lightroom workflow. It’s a small wireless keyboard that is pre-programmed to run time-saving adjustments in Lightroom, such as increasing or decreasing exposure, and shortcuts to perform popular  Kubota Lightroom Presets. (The product includes Kubota Lightroom Presets v3.) With just a press of the button, you can adjust things like the exposure and color temperature of an image—a great time savings over manually adjusting the Lightroom sliders with a mouse.

Installation of the Speedkeys goes quickly, but it is very important that you follow the instructions. Install the software before plugging the keyboard’s USB receiver into your computer, and when the software asks you to choose a directory for installation, make sure you choose the correct Adobe directory. It’s also important that you do not restart your computer with the USB Receiver connected, as it does affect how your computer starts if left plugged in.

To use the Speedkeys, you simply plug in the USB Receiver, start the Kubota RPG Speedkeys application, and open Lightroom. If you’re using a Macintosh, take you need to open all the little menus in the Quick Develop area of the Library module for the keys to work. Then you are ready to process away!

By Betsy Finn, CPP

I recently had the opportunity to try out Tenba’s Small Photo/Laptop Roadie. In addition to cramming it chock-full of equipment, I was curious to see if it would really fit under the seat on an airplane.

The Small Roadie has a lot of features and enough compartments to satisfy most pocket fanatics. According to Tenba, the Small Roadie holds 1 or 2 SLRs with 5 to 6 lenses (up to 300mm 2.8). Your mileage may vary, but here’s a list of the equipment I was able to cram (in an organized manner) into this functional studio on wheels (see photo below).

• 15-inch widescreen laptop, power cord, and travel surge protector
• Nikon D3 body with 70-200mm f2.8 VR lens
• Nikon D200 body
• Nikon 55mm f2.8 micro lens
• Nikon 50mm f1.4 lens
• Nikon 28-70mm f2.8 lens
• Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 lens
• Two Nikon SB-800 Speedlights
• Light meter
• Battery + CF card cases

By Adam Boozer

The latest version of Serif’s video editing tool, MoviePlus X3, is a solid evolution in this software’s almost 10 year history. Easily usable by both the novice video editor as well as the more seasoned professional, this application provides a wide range of tools that can enable almost anyone to deliver a high quality end product.

Full disclosure, I am a Final Cut Pro user and a Mac guy, so I approached the review of this application with the attitude of “how good could this little PC-only app really be?” I must admit I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was the application incredibly easy to use, I actually found it fun to import my video assets and play with the wide range of tools available to me.

The interface for MoviePlus X3 is well organized and is actually centered around an integrated “How To” system. This instructional system removes the barrier found in more complex video applications by approaching the user with a series of common tasks. I like the idea of asking the user what it is they want to do and then walking them through the necessary steps to accomplish the task. Of course, more sophisticated users can disable this function, or new users can simply wean themselves off of it over time.

The feature that most impressed me was the manner in which MoviePlus X3 handled the native video files from my Canon EOS 5D Mark II. The h.264 compressed files that the 5D Mark II creates are  processor-intensive to play back, and I find that most users transcode the video into other formats to edit. When I imported my clips into MoviePlus X3 to test, I was excited to see that it immediately made lower resolution proxy files for me to edit with. This allowed for very speedy playback within the application and gave me the flexibility to play with effects, titles, etc. without the lag time associated with the original h.264 files. The best part is that this is automatic. When I was ready to export my final project, the application referenced my original high resolution files.

By Don Chick

Every once in a while a product comes along that is easy to use and has tremendous features and potential. EzMats Designer is one such product. The software is Mac/PC compatible and is available to purchase and download off the Web. After watching a brief tutorial and downloading about 40MB with an easy installation, I was off on my own creating custom mats in about an hour.

EzMats Designer is not a plug-in or simply a bunch of templates, but rather a stand-alone program that works within Photoshop (CS3 & CS4) when Photoshop is running. Once the software is installed, you can launch the program via a desktop icon or shortcut (Windows). The tool palette is easy to use and the layout is well thought through with only 11 buttons. Figure 1 (below) shows the palette as well as a double mat created from one of the 149 Ready to Use Templates (Software Driven Digital Mat Layouts) and a texture overlay that comes with the EzMats software.

Kevin Truax, the genius behind EzMats Designer, has created several online videos that take you step-by-step through the very quick learning curve. I found it worth the time investment to watch the video and simultaneously create mats as Kevin talked me through the process. Soon after watching the tutorial videos I was making the more advanced multi-opening mats. My mind was buzzing with ideas for new products that I could offer my clients as well as using these as upgrade options for existing products.

By Andrew Darlow

As digital photography and printer technologies evolve, so the development of new and innovative matte/watercolor papers for inkjet printing moves forward. And there is certainly no shortage of these papers. Over the last 12-18 months, more than 20 new fine-art matte/watercolor inkjet papers have been released. And unlike digital cameras and printers, many matte/watercolor inkjet papers introduced five or even 10 years ago stay on the market, just as useful as the day they were introduced. What makes these papers special is that even though they are coated with an inkjet-receptive layer, they retain an organic look similar to a watercolor painting or fine print made on hand-made Japanese paper. The coating improves the density, sharpness, and in many cases, the longevity of the paper and ink combination.

Many photographers choose inkjet matte/watercolor papers for fine-art gallery prints, client portrait prints, wedding albums, commercial portfolios, cards and promotional pieces. In this article, I give an overview of six companies whose matte/watercolor papers have impressed me, with some specs to help you determine if their offerings might be right for you. At the end of the article is a list of companies that produce and/or distribute matte/watercolor papers under their brand name.

Prices vary considerably from vendor to vendor, so I recommend using search engines to find retailers for specific products (always consider shipping costs, as well as a vendor’s reputation and return policy). Also, virtually all the papers described here are available in sample packs, which can save you money in the long run by allowing you to experiment with several different papers before purchasing larger amounts of one or two favorites. Often, papers are available in both rolls and sheets. My preference for most uses is sheets, primarily because the papers are fragile and sheets generally stay flat and need far less handling or cutting.

Also, the number that follows most paper names stands for its basis weight in grams per square meter (gsm). Most matte/watercolor inkjet papers are between 190-350gsm. Keep this in mind because every printer has a maximum paper thickness that it will accept.

Among the new matte and watercolor papers are Hahnemühle Sugar Cane (far left), Pictorico ART Kenaf Paper UNRYU (68) (top, center), Epson Signature Worthy Cold Press Bright (far right), and Canson Rag Photographique 210 (bottom). Photo ©Andrew Darlow. Click image for larger view.

By Ellis Vener

In the gallery linked below you will find full resolution 1,000 x 1,000-pixel crops shot at the Nikon D3S Big Apple Circus event on October 20, 2009. The gallery shows images at all full-stop ISO settings from ISO 100 to 102,400. The final image is an uncropped view.

Exposure and processing information is included with the images. The camera was set for lossless 14-bit NEF mode and High ISO noise reduction was set to Low.

I viewed the files in Nikon ViewNX and then used Photoshop for cropping, captioning, conversion to the sRGB color space and saved at level 12 (minimal) compression.

There is no sharpening applied in the NEF processing or in post processing. Active D-lighting was turned off in the camera, and D-Lighting was turned off in Nikon ViewNX. Beyond what is described above, no other processing was done. The HTML Web gallery was created in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.5

View Nikon D3S images.

By Zack Davis

Like many photography studios, I get my share of calls and requests each year about restoring an old or damaged family photograph. That’s where Onlinephotofix.com comes in. Offering a range of services geared toward image restoration for consumers and professionals. Professional Photographer magazine sent me to see if this service could be valuable to studios as a cost-effective alternative to keeping the work in house.

I wanted to challenge Onlinephotofix.com in several ways, as they are a restoration service and not a retouching firm. Though for this review I did use images from sessions that had real-world exposure and composition issues to get a better idea of the quality of their work.

With wholesale account discounts of 50% off their retail service, the Onlinephotofix.com restoration service is priced quite reasonably. Taking the cost of time into consideration, this service could open up a new revenue stream for your studio or free up your time for additional appointments.

Since the goal of using a service like this is to lighten your workload, the amount of time it takes to prepare and send the files is important. For this review I had one very important question, “Can I submit an image to them in less than 15 minutes?”

On my first visit to the image submission portion of the site, my total time investment to send in an image for a quote was 9 minutes, and I was pleased. A client could come in with an image, and in less than 15 minutes I could have it scanned, saved and uploaded for a free quote.

There are no strict size requirements. The full-size file goes directly to the server without any need for manipulation on your part. This immediately removes 90 percent of the work you have to do. As far as fee structure goes, it’s simple.

By Andrew Rodney

I am the first to admit I’m paranoid about my data, especially digital captures I shoot on location. I strive to keep at least two copies of all my raw files at any one time. When shooting on location for extended periods, that means having a hefty supply of flash cards and a means of copying them to an external hard drive, and only reformatting the cards when I have two backups. Usually that means taking a laptop, card reader and an external hard drive with me on location. There is another solution that I recently investigated—the HyperDrive Colorspace UDMA photo backup device.

The HyperDrive Colorspace is essentially a self-contained, battery powered storage device that quickly copies contents of my flash cards directly to a huge hard drive, and has a large 3.2-inch external LCD display to view and edit (if I choose) the images. Measuring 5.25 x 2.95 x 1 inches and weighing only 10.5 ounces, this is a lightweight, portable solution that at the very least, allows me to quickly download contents of my flash cards in the field without the need of a laptop. With its fast USB 2.0 connectivity, I can copy the contents of the Colorspace to my laptop’s external drive each evening if I decide it’s worth taking all that extra equipment with me on a shoot. Now I have two copies of my images and can safely reformat the flash cards and continue to shoot. There are a number of advantages to taking such a device on location such as:

Data verification: As data from a flash card is copied to the internal drive inside the Colorspace, it uses what is called CRC copy verification. I’d be very hard pressed to format a flash card on location, at least until I know the one backup I’ve made has been verified. The product provides three differing verification schemes. Real Time Verify is the default and does not affect copy speed. If an error in the camera file is detected when it copies to the hard drive, I’m alerted immediately. Verify HDD and Verify Card use a slower checksum verification scheme that compares each file copied to the data on the card or drive. Knowing that the image data on the Colorspace is readable and has been copied from the flash card with data integrity provides a lot of peace of mind.

By Betsy Finn, CPP

Sanyo’s Eneloop batteries are a new twist on the traditional rechargeable battery; they can retain 85 percent of their capacity over a year’s time. Because of this unique characteristic, Sanyo is able to package Eneloop batteries so they’re ready to use when you need them. The question is: Does this convenience factor come at a cost in performance? Can professional photographers really rely on a battery that is only rated at 2,000 mAH (compared to the more typical 2650 mAh or 2900 mAh)?

I was curious to see how Eneloop batteries compared to standard Ni-MH rechargeable batteries. To compare their performance, I used three Nikon Speedlights with four batteries each, set on manual flash power (one as the on-camera master, the other two as remotes). One of the remote Speedlights would be powered by Eneloop batteries, the other by standard Ni-MH batteries. After doing some research online, I discovered that my Nikon SB-800 Speedlights, at full manual power, should have a recycle time of four seconds when using Ni-MH batteries, and allow for 150 shots to be fired (Source: KenRockwell.com). With that in mind as a guideline, I set out to test the 150-shot theory and see how the Eneloop batteries compared to the standard Ni-MH batteries.

Image ©Betsy Finn

Big leg support with a small footprint

By Michael J. McNamara

A tripod is either a must-have accessory or a necessary evil, depending on what you’re shooting and how far you have to carry one. For travel and location shoots, a sturdy tripod gives you the support needed to maintain low-noise ISO settings, creatively blur motion with slower shutter speeds, or maximize depth-of-field with smaller apertures. If you’re on a tight budget, “sturdy” usually equates to heavy, and the benefits you get from a heavy tripod must be weighed against the hassle of carrying it, the space it takes up and the extra price you may incur for shipping it to various locations. On the other hand, smaller, lightweight tripods made of carbon fiber offer a superior weight-to-support ratio than metal models, but a decent one can cost you an arm and three legs.

A more affordable, compact and sturdy alternative is the Benro Travel Angel. This innovative aluminum model folds down to a mere 14.9-inch length, yet can be extended up to 59.6 inches tall. It’s also rated to hold a typical medium-sized DSLR with a zoom lens up to 8.8 pounds. For a recent overseas assignment, I paired the aluminum version with a Benro B-series Ballhead B-0 (this combo available as kit TRAB169 for  $231, and holds up to 17.6 pounds) as the support system for a new Panasonic DMC-GH1 camera system. Since the GH1 is one of the lightest interchangeable-lens cameras on the market (and one of the best dual-media cameras with full 1080P HD recording), I didn’t need the extra weight capacity of a larger tripod or the carbon fiber version of the Travel Angel (model TRCB169, $440 street, folds to 14.1 inches, extends to 58 inches high, and can support up to 17.6 pounds).

All Images ©Michael J. McNamara 2009

By Kim Larson

PhotoTools 2 is a Photoshop plug-in from onOne Software that allows you to quickly apply a variety of Photoshop effects to your photos and video clips. PhotoTools 2 provides an extensive library featuring multiple effects created by onOne and Photoshop Gurus Kevin Kubota and Jack Davis.

I was concerned that PhotoTools 2 would not compare to my own vast library of Photoshop Actions (My name is Kim, and I am a Photoshop Action-holic). But after using PhotoTools 2 for one month, I realized that the power of PhotoTools is not the effects themselves, but really the way the effects are organized and applied.

Finding the Right Effect

With PhotoTools 2, finding the effect you want to apply to your photo is extremely simple because you can search for it in multiple ways. I am very impressed with how well-organized the effects library is. If you’re looking for an effect that applies specifically to eyes, simply do a search for “eyes” and you’ll see a list of effects meant to enhance eyes. If you’re looking to apply a moody effect to your photo, you can select “moody” from the keywords list. A good description and sample before-after photo is provided with each effect, so it is easy to pick out the one you want!

The PhotoTools 2 Library provides a very organized and keyword-searchable set of effects, making it easy to find exactly what you’re looking for. (Click image for larger view.)

Stack, Unstack, Modify, Repeat

PhotoTools 2 allows you to apply effects in a stack. You can take up to 16 effects and apply them to your image at once, and you can go back to modify, hide, or remove individual effects at any time. This is a great advantage over using multiple Photoshop actions because typically when you apply multiple actions to an image, you cannot go back and modify the first actions. With PhotoTools 2, you’re free to go back and edit the first effect without destroying the effects you applied after it.

You can modify any layer of the stack without changing the other layers.

When you find a combination of effects you like, you can save them as a preset, and can then apply them to other photos with one click. You can import and export presets from PhotoTools to share them with friends. You can even post them on the onOne Exchange site, where many people have already shared their favorite presets.

PhotoTools 2 also lets you apply the effects to multiple photos in a batch from Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom and Apple Aperture.

By Jessica Riehl

We use batteries in everything from our cameras to our computer mouse. While eliminating batteries from our camera bag is not an option, we can reduce the environmental impact of our battery consumption with a few simple tips.

• Properly store your batteries. Proper storage of your batteries will increase their life. Energizer.com has an excellent list of do’s and don’ts for battery care. For example, when carrying batteries in your pocket, do not allow them to rub against metal objects. This can short-circuit your battery, which can lead to leakage. For the same reason you do not want to mix different types of batteries in a storage container. Use battery cases, such as this one found on Greenbatteries.com, to keep loose batteries organized in your camera case.

• Recycle your batteries. Rechargeable batteries contain heavy metals, which if not properly disposed of can become an environmental hazard. To find a recycling center near you, visit Earth911.org. Earth911.org also has an excellent Rechargeable Batteries 101 help section.

• Buy the right battery. Greenbatteries.com states that “for most high drain electronic devices, like digital cameras, rechargeable batteries will continue to work much longer than alkaline batteries. In fact, in devices like digital cameras, NiMH batteries will run on a single charge for 3-4 times as long as they would on an alkaline battery.” Rechargeable batteries come in different capacities such as 2700 mAh or 1700mAh, so be sure to purchase the highest capacity available. Additionally, all batteries are not created equal. For a review and rating of the current batteries on the market, check Consumerreports.org.

• Be smart about your battery consumption.T urn off your equipment when not in use to eliminate unnecessary battery drainage. Use a battery charger that is specifically designed for the type of battery you are using. For example, you should use a smart fast charger for a battery described as quick charge. Charge batteries only for as long as necessary rather than overnight. Greenbatteries.com states that over charging a battery will reduce the life of the battery.

By Don Chick, M.Photog.Cr., CPP

As a passionate portrait photographer, I prefer to use a zoom during a session for the flexibility and range that a zoom lens has to offer. In order to minimize distortion, much of my portrait work is done in the 85mm or greater range. So when given a chance to evaluate the Sigma APO 50-150mm F2.8 EX II DC HSM I jumped at the opportunity. This lens seemed to combine the ideal features that any portrait photographer could ask for, i.e., range, speed and price.

©Don Chick

The 50-150mm has a fast fixed f/2.8 aperture, which comes in handy when you’re working in low-light conditions or looking to capture images with a very shallow depth of field. I believe the look of a shallow depth of field is essential for the professional today as a way to differentiate your work from the plethora of non-professionals. And while I don’t often work wide open at f/2.8 due to the extremely shallow depth-of-field at that aperture, being able to stop the lens down to f/3.5 or f/4.0 is an advantage.

This lens does not have built in image stabilization, which may be a deal breaker for some photographers at this price (current street price, $775). But because this lens doesn’t incorporate image stabilization, it weighs in at only 27.5 ounces, making it a relative lightweight compared to other f/2.8 lenses with image stabilization. The Canon and Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses each weigh in at 51.8 ounces, nearly double the weight of the Sigma. The lighter weight makes it easier to hand-hold the lens and is less likely to cause fatigue when you carry it around for long periods of time.

By Stan Sholik

The Quantum Instruments Trio QF8/Pilot QF9/Qflash T5d-R equipment forms a powerful and versatile wireless system that can handle many of the tasks that up until now have required larger, less portable lighting equipment. I found that the system will perform extremely well when it has been set up properly. But I also encountered a fairly steep learning curve in setting the units up to perform the way I wanted.

For others who may be trying to work out settings for some common photographic situations, here is what I have found.

1) How to set up a Trio on the camera hot shoe and a T5d-R as a remote to use the camera’s built-in TTL system to determine the exposure.

The T5d-R remote flash must be set to the same Wireless Group and Channel as the Trio, in this case Wireless Group R1 and Channel 1. The remote flash must ALWAYS be set up before the on-camera Trio is turned on.

On the Trio, you set the mode to QTTL, the first setting in the menu bar at the top of the LCD.

[Editor's Note: Because studio management software serves many purposes and performs dozens of functions, this article provides an overview of StudioPlus Software in advance of a review of its accounting-specific function and integration with QuickBooks, which will appear in a forthcoming issue of Professional Photographer magazine.]

By Betsy Finn, CPP

Managing day-to-day operations can be a complicated task, and finding the right piece of software to manage your studio’s data can be equally challenging. StudioPlus has been around for 11 years and was developed specifically for photographers. The company emphasizes that StudioPlus is more than just a piece of software, it’s a studio management system to help photographers efficiently manage clients from the first phone call, to image capture, and to order pickup. While StudioPlus has too many features to review in a single article, this overview should give you an idea of its capabilities and how it might help your studio.

StudioPlus provides customer support during the setup phase so that you can learn how to use the software most efficiently—and I made sure to take advantage of this offer. After familiarizing myself with the software’s default settings, and changing the preferences to fit my studio’s operation, I began to explore the main areas of StudioPlus. Each section of StudioPlus is optimized for a specific function. For example, the Home Page gives you a snapshot of studio activities, including upcoming appointments/sessions, to dos, phone calls, financial figures, and even the weather.

[Click on interface images for a larger view.]

Calibrating your camera’s autofocus system for best performance with individual lenses

By Ellis Vener

Every now and then a specific autofocus lens and body combination just do not work perfectly. You may not even be aware that one or more of your lens/body combinations do not perform as well as it might if it were properly tuned, or maybe you require above average performance and want assurance that is what you are getting for your money. Several manufacturers now include a function for fine-tuning autofocus performance in their newest top-of-the-line bodies. (As of early August 2009 these include: Canon EOS-50D, 5D Mark II, 1D Mark III, and 1Ds Mark III models; Nikon D300, D300s, D700, D3, and D3X; Olympus E-30 and E-620; Pentax K20D; and Sony A900.) If your camera has that option, we now have a good reliable tool from rawworkflow.com for finding out exactly how out of whack a lens /body combo might be and what AF micro-adjustment setting is needed to maximize performance.

The LensAlign PRO kit consists of three pieces: a target to focus on, a steel Depth of Field Display Ruler, and a settings Enumerator to keep track of your settings in the photo. There are two other versions available as well; a Lite version, which is less fully featured, and the PRO PLUS, which features a larger target and a 47-inch long ruler.

Image ©Ellis Vener

Two (or three) bags to get you there

By Curtis Joe Walker

8 Million Dollar Home

Crumpler’s $170 8 Million Dollar Home is a handy, versatile shoulder bag for photographers on the go. With a bevy of inserts included, the bag can handle anything from two pro DSLRs with long lenses, or a DSLR, laptop and accessories. As tested, a DSLR body with lens, two medium-sized lenses, three hotshoe flashes, 15-inch laptop and miscellaneous accessories fit in perfectly.

The interior is all Velcro compatible, so the guts can be customized as desired. As with most Crumpler bags, there will be leftover inserts once the inside is customized. The bright green interior helps make loose items stand out. A mesh pocket in the top flap is great for batteries and small items, while a pair of pockets on the front of the bag provide a total of three slim compartments for organizing gear and paperwork.

On each side of the bag are a pair of loops through which you can slip tripod legs. That can be easier said than done, depending on the size of the legs and the material they’re covered with. Rubberized legs are particularly tough to deal with. In any case, the loops hold securely enough, but require two hands to insert and remove the tripod in most cases.

By Kim Larson

I had been struggling for a while to find unique ways to set me apart from my local competition, so when PPA gave me the opportunity to try out the Canon Selphy ES3 printer at a wedding reception I jumped at the opportunity—could this be exactly what I was looking for?

SETUP

Although I could have just used the Selphy printer to print off a few photos from the day’s wedding ceremony to display at the reception for guests to enjoy, I decided to do something different. With just about everyone owning point-and-shoot digital cameras now, I decided to put the printer on display at the reception so people could print off their own photos. I allowed everyone free access to the printer, with the ability to print photos for the bride and groom, or even themselves if they desired.

To set up the table for the printer, I used a small 24x48-inch folding table and a white floor-length tablecloth. I arranged scrapbook photo corners on white posterboard to display some of the printed photos and left room for simple instructions on how to re-fill the printer should it run out of paper. I also put up a sign in an 8x10 photo frame that announced the bride and groom’s “photobooth,” and a box where people could put the printed photos to give to the bride and groom.

Supplies

Canon Selphy ES3 Printer: $199 (MSRP)
Printer Ink/Paper Refill Cartridges (100 prints): $30
24x48 Folding Table: $49
Tablecloth: $10
Posterboard and Scrapbooking supplies: $15
Box to hold bride and groom’s photos: $5
8x10 frame: $5

Photo table images ©Kim Larson

THE PRINTER

The Canon Selphy ES3 printer is the perfect printer for this kind of work. It is not heavy, so it is easy to transport to the reception with its built-in handle. You do not need a computer to use it, and it will accept most digital camera cards. My favorite feature of this printer is the lack of ink cartridges. Because the ink is actually built into the paper cartridge, you never have to worry about replacing ink. This makes it incredibly easy for guests at the wedding reception to manage the printer themselves. The instructions are simple: When the printer is out of paper, you just open the paper door, slide out the used paper cartridge and slide in a new one!

It’s a photographer’s dream to be able to create art day in and day out. Only problem? As professionals, we have to do more than photograph; the books need balancing, and finances need tracking. Since its inception, my studio management software has been Intuit QuickBooks. QuickBooks is a versatile tool, adaptable to any industry, yet it’s just not made for photographers. 

So, for the past year, I’ve been on the lookout for a good solution to my studio management needs.  StudioPlus Software is designed specifically for the photographic industry and includes a range of features that aim to satisfy the needs of both the small boutique studio and the multi-location megastudio. The best part? I’ve been told it integrates with QuickBooks, so I should be able to enhance my current system, instead of starting over.

If you’re considering switching software, but are worried about getting overwhelmed, the staff at StudioPlus seems to understand it’s a big task to implement their software. Customers typically receive one-on-one support and training during the StudioPlus installation process. These training sessions are completed on a timeframe that allows you to learn at your own pace. I recently completed my first training session, which consisted of installation of the software, an overview of its features, and a step-by-step walk-through of real-life use. I asked a lot of questions, but left the training session feeling very optimistic about integrating StudioPlus into a typical studio workflow.

—Betsy Finn, CPP
Learnwithbetsy.com

Finn will report on her experience in implementing and working with StudioPlus Software an upcoming issue of Professional Photographer magazine and in PPmag.com Web Exclusives.

By Curtis Joe Walker

Roller bags are all about maximum capacity, since there’s no concern about breaking the user’s back. The primary design challenge is making the bag small enough to use as a carry-on, yet large enough to hold everything while maintaining enough padding to keep things secure while traveling. The Lowepro Pro Roller x200 manages to meet every requirment. The new Pro Roller x-Series features x100, x200 and x300 sizes, with the x100 and x200 being small enough to meet carry-on restrictions.

This bag sports a number of innovative features, but the most interesting is the ability to zip out the entire camera organization compartment for use as a backpack. The Reserve Pack is convenient not only for lugging gear on location, but also for making the outer case available to use as a normal piece of luggage. Of course, the backpack is only a backpack in the barest sense of the word. Ergonomics are limited, and the straps are quite thin. It’s not meant to replace a dedicated backpack, but to add some functionality in a pinch or for hiking to a location where a roller bag would be inconvenient or impossible to use. It also allows for a second suitcase to magically appear should souvenirs unexpectedly overwhelm the rest of your luggage.

A TSA-approved Lock & Go System combination cable lock ensures that the contents of the bag won’t be swiped by a quick-fingered zipper maestro, but doesn’t have enough slack to chain the bag to a luggage cart or other suitcase.

On the extending handle grip, there’s a set of hidden threads for the impromptu tripod mount to attach to. Using the handle as a tripod isn’t ideal, but it’s a nice touch that might save the day. It also has potential for use as a light stand.

Presenting Yourself as an Eco-Friendly Photographer

By Whitney Elizabeth

As photographers and business owners, we are constantly looking for ways to produce eye-catching promotional pieces that strengthen your brand. When considering which promotional products to purchase, consider the impact your products will have on the environment. Begin with the following questions:

• Is the product a useful, reusable product or will it be quickly discarded?
• What will your client do when they are finished using the product you have given them? Is it recyclable?
• Where is the product made?
• Does the product fit in with your branding and mission statement?

Buying promotional products that do not portray your brand appropriately can be negative for your business. Here are some ideas for unique promotional items that will have a reduced environmental impact and will support your branding as an eco-friendly photographer.

By Corey Shelton

Before adding the 0.42x Super Wide Angle Angle Conversion Lens to your camera bag, let me first suggest that you purchase a large bib to catch your own drool as you shoot with this new Lensbaby family addition.

When I was first handed the lens, I knew nothing of its specs, so abiding by man-law, I immediately regressed into my “I don’t read manuals” self and began to play, easily screwing the adapter into the 50mm Composer via its 37mm metal thread.

After a quick view of how wide the now 21mm Composer seemed, I was then taken aback by the discovery of the lens’ macro capability, which Lensbaby claims to be up to 2.75 (7cm) inches. So, with the ability to now go wider and closer, along with Lensbaby’s inherent sweet spot and blurring features, it was fairly easy to get the creative juices flowing with thoughts of using the accessory for both product and food photography. Hence, the drool.

One noticeable contrasting element of this lens is its construction. Compared to the Composer, which is made of plastic and aluminum components, the 0.42x Super Wide Angle is a compact metal accessory with a nice weighty feel (nearly two-thirds the weight of the Composer).

A line that complements your best professional attire and even fits a petite body size

By Cheryl Pearson

Tenba has a new Black Label line of premium camera bags that consists of two handcrafted shoulder bags and three photo satchels, all representing Tenba’s innovative design and constructed with the highest quality materials.

I tested the Medium Photo Satchel, the mid-size bag in the collection, intended to fit a medium-size DSLR body and 2-3 lenses with a flash. With an interior that’s 13.5W x 9.5H x 6D inches, the medium satchel was able to perfectly fit my Canon EOS 5D camera body, 24-70mm and 70-200mm lenses, as well as flash. Although it was a tighter fit, there was even room for a third small lens. To adequately fit three lenses in the bag comfortably, however, they would need to be small to medium focal length.

The movable padded dividers make custom configuration easier, allowing you to arrange the camera and lenses the way you would prefer. To test if a larger DSLR would fit in the bag, I attached the battery grip to my Canon 5D. After rearranging the equipment I found I could comfortably fit the camera body with grip, flash and either two smaller lenses or one larger focal length lens if needed. While the items fit in the satchel, it is probably best to pack what Tenba recommends for the bag’s design, as it seemed to provide the most optimal fit.

By Curtis Joe Walker

Gitzo's new Traveler Series 2 tripod kit (GK2580TQR) aims to please shooters who weren't satisfied with the stability of the original Traveler series. Though undoubtedly rigid, the original had limited capacity, a modest ball head and relatively skinny legs.

This new model aims to accommodate larger cameras, while remaining exceptionally portable and light. When folded, the 4-pound tripod with head measure just under 17 inches, but opens to 60 inches and is built to support DSLRs with up to 300mm lenses. The sturdiness lends itself well to medium-format cameras as well.

The tripod has four section legs that lock solidly with Gitzo's twisting G-Lock joints. Unlike the previous design, this improved engineering actually makes the legs lock firmer when weight is applied, eliminating the need for a herculean grip to open and close the locks. They require only about 1/4 turn to open and close and are designed to resist the elements. When closed, all three of the locks fall within a one-handed grip and you can unlock them simultaneously with a single motion. The tripod can go from fully closed to fully set up in about 2 seconds with practice. At the end of each leg is a removable rubber foot. These can be replaced with spikes or snowshoes if desired.

By Curtis Joe Walker

As choices for film dwindle, especially in medium format, any new entrant to the market is greeted with open arms. Kodak Professional has introduced a medium-format version of their new Ektar 100 film, and it’s pretty great. Like the 35mm version, this film is exceptionally fine grained and colorful in an attempt to bridge the gap between analog and digital photography. While the priciest DSLRs are now shooting full-frame 35mm photos, full-frame medium-format sensors are still out of reach. The exceptional depth of field of pro cameras is still a film-only feature. Some pros are even using film with toy cameras to give a vintage imperfection to their images.

For this round of testing, I used a Mamiya RB67 with 50mm and 150mm lenses and a Holga 120S with open sunglight, overcast sunlight and studio lghting as the main sources of light. The film was lab scanned.

In the Mamiya, Ektar performed flawlessly and maintained detail in the highlights and shadow areas. It is hard to imagine a film better suited to a sunny day at the car show. This shot was taken at the Viva Las Vegas car show in Las Vegas, Nev.

©Curtis Joe Walker (Click for larger view. The full-frame image scans have been downsized for web viewing.)

Closeup of fender detail from same image. ©Curtis Joe Walker

By Don Chick, M.Photog.Cr., CPP

“You get what you pay for” is an adage you’ll often hear amongst any group of photographers. They’ll discuss quality, service and price and how it pertains to either their business or that of a competitor. High quality products and great service don’t typically accompany a low price; you can have two of the three factors but not all three. Creative Light (www.creativelight.com), distributed by the MAC Group in the U.S., has a new line of lighting accessories that are definitely worth taking a second look. They have done a great job providing a quality product at a very fair price.

I recently had the opportunity to review their new 90x120 (3’x4’) soft box in both the flat front (FF) and recessed front (RF) models. I must say that I am impressed. The soft box I got for review is well made. Not only does the fabric have a quality feel to it, but the actual stitching and construction of the soft box do too. Combine a well made product with very competitive pricing and I think you’ll find many satisfied customers. I’ll have more to say in an upcoming review for Professional Photographer magazine.

Image ©Don Chick

By Stan Sholik

I’m sure most professional photographers have some device in their camera bag to white balance their digital captures by now. The majority of these devices, ranging from an ExpoDisc to a coffee filter, provide a white balance by correcting the color temperature of the light before you begin shooting, saving it as a preset for the session.

While this approach yields excellent results for white balance, these devices do nothing to assist us in adjusting midtone brightness, shadow density and contrast to ensure we are taking full advantage of the dynamic range of the capture.

Datacolor, with the introduction of the $59 SpyderCube, takes a different approach to white balance and in doing so provides a device that addresses all of the visual elements we need to extract the maximum tonality from our images. Standing only a little over three inches tall, the SpyderCube is the Mighty Mouse of color balance.

Also included in the SpyderCube box is a cloth carrying bag, not shown.
©Stan Sholik

By Cheryl Pearson

Many photographers spend countless hours learning the latest tricks and techniques for retouching images using Photoshop. Accomplishing the desired effect can be tedious and time consuming. Then we work to perfect the techniques so that retouching won't slow down our workflow.

But what if you didn’t have to work so hard? What if one application did all this retouching for us with just a few simple steps? Anthropics Technology’s Portrait Professional v9.0 software attempts to create what we need, and even goes one step further. Not only does this program retouch the photograph, it slightly restructures the face giving it a more pleasing appearance. While most of us would need an array of tools, filters and adjustments to accomplish all this in Photoshop, Portrait Professional v9.0 can do this extremely complex task with just a few clicks of the mouse.

Portrait Professional v9.0 seems too good to be true, but it’s actually extremely easy to use and streamlines workflow in a way that saves a tremendous amount of time. So how does it work? The software was developed through analysis of hundreds of faces and the creation of a knowledge base of appearance and aspects of attractiveness so that the software could be programmed to essentially  know the changes needed to make a portrait more appealing without altering the facial features too drastically.

Images ©Cheryl Pearson.

By Diane Berkenfeld

Sometimes though, you have to push the ISO capability of the camera or shoot with less light than you’d like. That’s where noise reduction software comes in. Adobe Photoshop has a noise reduction feature, but it's not as robust as the plug-ins and standalone applications whose primary function is to reduce noise. Most raw conversion software also incorporates noise reduction, which works well for raw file shooters.

These comparison examples from Nik Software Dfine 2.0, Imagenomic Noiseware 4.0, and Picture Code Noise Ninja supplement that article from the July issue of Professional Photographer magazine. All images ©Diane Berkenfeld.

This original (left) was captured with an Olympus E-20 at ISO 160. Click for larger view.

Click through for 100% detail image comparisons.

By Betsy Finn

Alien Skin’s Snap Art 2 is a natural artistic plug-in for Adobe Photoshop that allows you to choose from different media and to perform limitless combinations and adjustments.

My college art training regimen included painting, drawing, and art history, so I was excited to see how closely Snap Art 2 could approximate different visual media techniques. Snap Art 2 offers a number of basic starting points: color pencil, comics, impasto, oil paint, pastel, pen + ink, pencil sketch, pointillism, stylize, and watercolor.

The Snap Art 2 interface includes options containing a variety of Abstract (low realism), Landscape (moderate realism), and Portrait (most realism) settings. I selected the “Color Comics – Large Feature Size” and added a focus region to retain detail in the cat’s face. Before applying the filter, I made sure to save my modifications as a new custom setting.

The comparison below shows several of my favorite media selections. I’ve enlarged the comic version so you can see the shading detail. The watercolor media setting, when set to abstract (with a focus region), was one of my favorites in the series (also see detail comparisons).

Earlier this month, Kim Larson wrote about her wedding workflow and how she uses Nik Silver Efex Pro with Adobe Lightroom. Here she provides a screencast to demonstrate how the two applications work together.

The “all you can eat” lens!

By Don Chick, M.Photog.Cr., CPP

What kind of genie would you need to call if you wanted a lens that is reasonably priced, has fantastic zoom range, and is super fast? We’ll let you know when we find one, but in the meantime, if you’ll settle for two out of three, Sigma offers the new 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM lens for an MSRP of $800.

On my Canon DSLR (with a 1.6X lens factor) its 13.8X zoom ratio translates to a 29-400mm equivalent! Combine that zoom ratio with optical stabilization, macro capability, an MSRP of $800, and you have a lot of lens for the money.

I must admit that when first asked to do this review I was skeptical about a lens in which the manufacturer was trying to do so much in one package. There have to be compromises to balance zoom range, speed and cost, but Sigma has done a great job combining features in the 18-250mm.

The first thing that I noticed was the weight, which, at around 22 ounces, has a substantial feel and heft of quality to it. Even though the lens has that feel, the overall size is not that big. When set at 18mm, the overall size is 3.1x 4 inches long (excluding lens hood). When zoomed to 250mm, the overall length increases to about 7 inches. The markings are white against a black body, so they stand out and are easy to read. Sigma eliminates an additional expense for the user by including a lens hood designed specifically for this lens.

By Jack Reznicki, Cr.Photog.Hon.M.Photog., API

Don’t you just love it when software does what you want it to do, even goes beyond your expectations, and is relatively inexpensive? The new remote DSLR app by onOne Software for the iPhone and the iPod Touch is just that. A $19.99 app that lets you not only fire and control the settings on your Canon EOS camera (and very soon your Nikon) remotely but is also simple and elegant, with some neat surprises. Like an easy to use intervalometer. 

If you don’t want the extras, you can even get a simple version that fires your camera and reviews the images, for $1.99. Yes folks, no typo, just under 2 bucks.

You do need to have your camera tethered to a WiFi enabled laptop or even a small net top computer via USB cable for it to work. Once that’s done, you are set up on a private network connection directly to your camera. You pay for and download the app from the iTunes App Store, load it to your iPhone or iPod Touch. Then download and install the free DSLR Camera Remote Server software from the onOne website onto your computer, and off you go. Just remember to turn off your camera connection software, Canon Utility in my case, or the app will read “busy” when you go to connect. I was amazed and pleasantly surprised with how easy it was to install and have it running. None of the usual hair pulling.
 

On a recent shoot for the Toys R Us Special Needs Catalog, I set up a Canon EOS 5D Mark II at the ceiling of my studio to capture a bird’s eye view of my shoot. While the camera was tethered, I was not. I could go anywhere and either take a photo and see it come up on my handheld iPod Touch, or I could set it quickly to Live View and get a real time motion view of what the camera saw. I could watch from my office, which assistant was working and which was napping. At any point, I could hit the “fire” button and take a photo. Too dark? Wrong white balance setting? Well, at a touch on my iPod Touch I could change the exposure, the white balance, the shooting mode from manual to automatic, change the EV, the ISO, even the color space. No need to pull out a ladder and contort my head to look at the camera settings. Or worry about how it might look later, as I can see it as it captures. Think of the great possibilities of shooting from remote. Like photographing from a bird blind, self-portraits, interacting with a child on set or shooting from hard to be at places, like behind a basketball backboard.

By Theano Nikitas

Gallery wraps are gaining in popularity with the general public as evidenced by more than a few online sites offering wrap services for consumers. The do-it-yourself photo and canvas versions from Hahnemuhle were introduced last fall and offer a relatively simple and cost-effective method of wrapping photo canvas.

Hahnemuhle offers three options for gallery wraps: Gallerie Photo Wrap, a simple, all-in-one option, as well as Standard and Pro Gallerie Wrap systems. The former is available in two set sizes: 8 ½ x 11 and 13 x 19 inches, with finished sizes of 6 x 8 and 10 x 16, respectively. The latter two offer more versatility since wrap bars are available in boxes of 20 in lengths from 8-24 inches (Standard) and boxes of 8 at 8-60 inches (Pro). Each type requires corner positioners, corner braces, pins and archival glue. Center braces are available for the Pro versions.

As someone who always had problems stretching canvas for art class, I thought I would be the perfect test case to try out the Hahnemuhle Gallerie Wrap. Using the Standard sizes, I opted for an 8 x 12 set-up to wrap a vertical shot of a grey Heron printed on Hahnemuhle’s Monet canvas.

Click any image for larger view. Images ©Theano Nikitas

By Mark Levesque, CPP

Canon’s penchant for refining existing models rather than develop replacements from the ground up goes not only for their cameras, but also for their printers. The Canon PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II is one of the latest examples. This wide-format printer builds on the original Pro9500’s success, with a 10 cartridge LUCIA pigment ink set, and the ability to print borderless 13 x 19 prints on a variety of media. The Mark II utilizes the Canon Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering (FINE) technology along with a sophisticated 7,680-nozzle print-head structure to output extraordinary detail and quality. New with the Mark II are features like the ability to print 16-bit files, and Ambient Light Correction featuring Kyuanos technology, which allows the user to specify the lighting situation a particular print will be subjected to prompting the printer to adjust colors accordingly to compensate.

The Canon PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II is designed to fulfill photographers’ demands and uses a multiplicity of ink colors to achieve wide-gamut color printing as well as smooth tonal gradations on black-and-white printing on both matte and glossy papers. Impressively, there is no need to swap ink tanks as required with some competitive printers aimed at the same market segment. The superiority of this arrangement is obvious, but as a practical matter, it saves both time and ink, especially if you frequently alternate between printing on matte and photo papers.

This is a serious desktop printer, and it requires a significant space commitment (7.5" H 26" W 14" D with trays up; 14" H 26" W 36" D with trays extended). In addition to the size of the printer itself, consideration must be given to the space requirements both in front of and behind the printer to accommodate art papers, which are fed in through the front and pulled through the back of the printer before printing starts. The benefit of feeding the paper through this way is that it does not get bent at all, which preserves the coating, but a 13x19-inch Super B sheet extends significantly out the back of the printer to accomplish this, requiring some careful consideration about printer placement.

By Kim Larson (Images ©Life Is Art Photography)

In April, Nik Software released an update to Silver Efex Pro, making it compatible with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3 and higher. The update is available now as a free download to current owners of Silver Efex Pro. We asked photographer Kim Larson to incorporate Silver Efex Pro into her Lightroom workflow and share the details.

My wedding workflow starts the minute I arrive home from a wedding, when I start backing up all of the photographs. Usually backup will take an hour or two, but I cannot sleep peacefully until all the photos are safe! I immediately copy all photos to a drive on my computer that is set to automatically backup to an off-site location every morning at 7:00 a.m. I also burn DVDs of the photos and store them in a file.

As soon as I have all the photos copied, I open Adobe Lightroom 2.0 and begin importing the files. Usually I start this the night of the wedding as well, so the photos will import while I put away my equipment or get ready for bed. I have a default metadata profile set up in Lightroom that applies my copyright information to each imported photo, and I always make sure to apply the proper keywords with the bride and groom’s names and the location of the wedding.

Lightroom is my primary processing application. If I need to fix or enhance a photo, I will edit it in Photoshop while keeping a copy of the edited photo in Lightroom. Likewise, if I apply a black and white tone to the photo with the Nik Silver Efex Pro plug-in, I will keep both copies of the photo in Lightroom. The photos that I show my clients are the finals exported from Lightroom.

When I’m ready to start working on the wedding photos, I open them in Lightroom and first go through all of them with a simple Keep or Trash mentality. I’d love to think I don’t have any “bad” photos to throw away, but it happens. So while making sure my caps lock is on, I quickly go through each photo in Lightroom’s Library module, pressing X to flag the photo as a reject and P to flag as a pick and keep it. Having the caps lock on will make Lightroom automatically advance the photos for you, making this process very quick! When finished I will go to Photo > Delete Rejected Photos and actually delete all my rejected photos. I still have all originals stored with the first backup.

By Stan Sholik

With all of the excitement surrounding Nikon's FX (full-frame) digital cameras and associated lenses, new lenses for Nikon's DX (APS-C size) digital cameras can get lost in the mania. That would be unfortunate, because two newly released DX Nikkors deserve attention, not only for their relative affordability, but also for the quality they deliver at their price.

The lenses are the AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G and the AF-S DX Nikkor 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED. Both are designated AF-S, signifying that they incorporate Nikon's Silent Wave Motor compatible with all Nikon digital cameras including the D40 and D60 series bodies. A focus mode switch is incorporated into both lenses, allowing you to touch up the focus manually using the rubberized ring at the front of the lens. The switch can also be set to 'M' for fully manual focusing.

Both are also G-series lenses, meaning they have no aperture ring and are intended for use on digital cameras where the aperture is controlled by the camera's command dial. They share the same type of nicely finished black plastic exterior and metal mount, both incorporate a rubber 'O' ring around the mount to aid in dust shielding, and both show China as their country of manufacture.

By Betsy Finn

Bokeh is a Photoshop plug-in by Alien Skin Software that allows photographers to manipulate focus and depth of field. The plug-in simulates the feel of specific lenses, and allows photographers to apply a range of creative focus options, post capture. Prior to experimenting with my own images, I was skeptical about Bokeh's ability to realistically alter depth of field and render creamy highlights. Based on my evaluation of Bokeh, I can say, I'm officially impressed.

While the Bokeh interface is very intuitive, Alien Skin has provided a detailed series of tutorials on how to utilize the plug-in to its fullest potential. After exploring the video tutorials and case studies online, I had a good understanding of how to use Bokeh.

One of the nice things about the Bokeh plug-in is that you can preview the effect in the plug-in's interface before performing the final render. As I previewed a number of Bokeh's Factory Settings, I was impressed at the variety of choices. Some presets were special effect oriented (e.g. Hollow Heart, Lens of Love), and others are meant to approximate a specific lens (e.g. Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, Nikkor 105mm f/2.5). In the example below, I chose the Diamond Delight setting, from the series Blur 20% - Bokeh With Highlight Boost.

By Ron Eggers

Innovative commercial light modifiers and huge technological advances have vastly improved on-camera flash. Ranging from simple reflectors to light channeling devices to sophisticated diffusers and mini soft boxes, these modifiers give you considerable control over the quality, temperature, direction and shape of light. Many of them can be used to simulate studio lighting techniques. Some modify light subtly, others dramatically.

Click through to view additional samples of light modification using the products mentioned in the June issue of Professional Photographer magazine: ExpoImaging Honl Photo Speed System, LumiQuest ProMax System, Sto-Fen Omni Bounce, Presslite VerteX, and Gary Fong's Lightsphere Universal.

In-Camera Effects in an Affordable, Compact Package

By Joe Farace

There is no doubt that the wonderfully versatile E-3 is Olympus’ professional standard-bearer, so where does the E-620 fit into their product line-up? The E-620 is a throwback to the glory days of Olympus film SLRs exhibiting the precision and jewel-like design of the legendary OM-series of cameras, wrapped up in a digital package that’s oh-so this millennium. For openers, the E-620 combines a 12.3-megapixel imaging chip with the Art Filters introduced with the semi-pro E-30. Like the Live View feature that was launched with the E-330 and continues with this new camera, I expect in-camera special effects filters to become standard on other manufacturers’ models (and that those mfgs will act as if they invented it).

Fun with Filters

The E-620 offers six in-camera Art Filters that are easily accessed by the nice analog knob on top the camera. When you spin it to ART/SCN, the 2.7-inch swivel-LCD screen displays a list of the filters. Using the other jewel-like analog control knob on top or the camera’s four-way control on the camera’s back, you can scroll down the list that also displays example photos.

Pop Art enhances colors, making them more vivid and deeply saturated and was one of my favorite filters to use when capturing images that needed a little extra impact.

Yes, you can use the Pop Art filter for portraits. I decided to take Mary to the source of all true Pop Art—a comic book store. While the filter can make skin tone look too saturated, I hedged my bets by simultaneously capturing both RAW+JPEG files. This gave me a (RAW) color photograph and a Pop Art image (JPEG) that I layered together in Adobe Photoshop, then used the Eraser tool (at 50% opacity) to lightly brush Mary’s face, allowing half of the normal skin tone to show through, while punching up her hair, clothes, and the comic books. ©2009 Joe Farace

Soft Focus creates the familiar soft focus effect that works with still life or portrait subjects. Since there is no way to control the degree of soft focus, one way to use this filter may be to simultaneously capture RAW+JPEG images and apply the soft focus JPEG file as a layer to the unaltered RAW file so you can control the amount of soft focus by changing that layer’s opacity or the area of soft focus with a mask.

Using the Soft Focus Art Filter has some advantages over softening in post production, mainly that you can see it now and show your subject the results. You have little control over how much soft focus is used, but the traditional methods such as aperture selection and focal length still apply, and I found the filter works great in strong light as with this portrait. Exposure was 1/640 second at f/11, ISO 200, and this is how the unmanipulated file looked directly off the memory card. ©2009 Joe Farace

Pale and Light Color uses muted color tonalities, and photographers who are fans of on-camera filters, who I suspect will be big fans of all of the Art Filters, might liken this to Cokin’s Pastel filter.

This photograph of balloons shows how the Pale and Light Color Art Filter works to create soft, pastel colors. When using Art Filters, you can adjust some aspects of the image’s exposure to enhance the filter effect, such as white balance, exposure compensation, ISO, flash intensity, and wireless flash control, but I found that exposure compensation was the most used control. ©2009 Mary Farace

Light Tone subdues highlights and shadows and both areas are rendered softly (but not soft focus) while maintaining detail. Users of Tiffen’s Contrast filters will like this filter’s ability to control contrast.

The Light Tone Art Filter is also a useful tool in macro photography when you don’t or can’t use flash to control contrast. Here the decidedly non-macro but eminently useful Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/4.0-5.6 lens was used with an exposure of 1/320 at f/7.1, ISO 200.

Grainy Film recreates the grainy look and high contrast tonality of black and white film and produces images with a decidedly dramatic feel. This is a great effect for studio and fashion photography as well as adding gritty reportage looks to street photography. It could even be used as a bold look for portraiture.

With contrasty subjects, the Grainy Film Art Filter, deliberately overexposed, can take on the look of a photograph made using Kodalith in the traditional darkroom. Exposure was 1/500 second at f/9, ISO 200 with a plus one-stop exposure compensation. Kevin Kubota’s (www.kubotaworkshops.com) sloppy borders effect was added to complete the analog darkroom look. ©2009 Joe Farace

Pin Hole Camera reproduces the color tone and the vignetting of photos made with a toy camera, so it’s more of a digital Holga effect than a true pinhole. The illustration, for example, was made at an aperture of f/9 while my Zero Image (www.zeroimage.com) pinhole camera has an aperture of f/256 or thereabouts.

The Pin Hole Camera Art Filter can add some drama to an otherwise normal-looking scene. Here it was used with an exposure of 1/400 second at f/9, ISO 200, to add some pizzazz to a photo of a sculpture of Chief Little Raven who was the principal chief of the Southern Arapaho tribe. ©2009 Joe Farace

In Live View mode you can see the effect of a filter before capturing an image, making it easy to apply the right Art Filter to the right subject, because only one can be applied to an image, and only at the time it’s captured. The examples you work for the kind of subject matter I photograph. You may find other subjects that will be enhanced with any one of the Art filters and when doing your own explorations, look beyond the obvious.
 

By Cheryl Pearson
PPA Members receive 25% off of Software Cinema titles. See the end of this article for details.

Staying abreast of the latest trends and techniques in photography is imperative, and Software Cinema DVDs provide training for photographers of all skill levels, from novices to well-established photographers looking to boost their skills to the next level. Software Cinemas also has training DVDs on practically any photo-related topic you may be looking for. From “The Best of Dean Collins on Lighting,” a classic that leads you through the basic principles of understanding and controlling light, to Tony Corbell’s “Portrait Lighting on Location” and Clay Blackmore’s “Senior Portraits Made Simple,” which highlight more specific aspects of photography, to Julieanne Kost’s truly comprehensive “Comprehensive Photoshop Training,” there is an instructional guide to address your needs, presented by qualified instructors considered to be the best in their field.

Tony Corbell—Portrait Lighting on Location

Tony Corbell’s “Portrait Lighting on Location” has six well-organized segments, including photographing in the home, controlling the sun, and using ambient light and flash. Each tutorial does a spectacular job of demonstrating ideas for understanding and controlling light as well as working with your subject and background, whether in a home, outside, or in a public venue.

Corbell gives step-by-step instruction with concise and detailed explanations, making this DVD ideal for photographers new to location lighting and those with intermediate experience. Each segment moves along quickly, keeping you engaged while providing simple and efficient techniques for setting up in each location.

Throughout the training, Corbell also provides helpful tips, such as how to utilize your camera’s histogram, using a reflector, and shooting with flash. His presentation method is key in helping viewers understand the full process. He begins by showing examples of the light quality while shooting, then the images after the session, and finally ties it all together with post-capture image enhancement at the end.

Overall, the material on this DVD flowed smoothly and was easy to follow. If you’re looking to enhance your foundation skills in location shooting while gathering invaluable tips for controlling light, this video is ideal.

"Portrait Lighting On Location" by Tony Corbell

By Kim Larson

Professional Photographer magazine asked Kim Larson to try MOO products and report on her customer experience.

Special offer: MOO will give Web Exclusives readers a free acrylic Business Card holder with every order of a 200 Business Cards pack. Offer expires June 19, 2009 (Expiration date extended!). Use promo code MOOPPA.

I had wanted to try out some products from MOO, makers of custom business cards, MiniCards, notecards and such, and this was my first time ordering from them. Their website is simple and easy to follow, and so is the ordering process.

I decided to try both the 28x70mm MiniCards and the 16-pack of Notecards*. Since Moo has a relatively small selection of products, it was easy to find the products I needed to order, and even easier to upload the photos for the cards. Although the site allows you to choose photos from a flickr account, I opted to upload the files from my own computer. The uploading went really fast, especially considering that I uploaded a total of about 70 medium-resolution photos.

What I really like about the Moo products is that you can have a different photo on each one, meaning that when I ordered 100 Mini Cards, I could have selected 100 different photos to print. If you don’t submit 100 photos, it will duplicate photos that you’ve already uploaded. Since I only uploaded 70 photos, it duplicated the first 30 photos I uploaded so I’d have a total of 100 cards. I selected 16 different photos for the 16-pack of Notecards. After uploading, you are given the option to move and crop your photos, and it will give you a warning if your photos are too low-res (format guidelines).

All images ©Kim Larson
 

By Don Chick, M.Photog.Cr., CPP

Does your camera strap simply hold your camera around your neck and advertise for the company that manufactured your camera? There is an alternative to the generic strap, an alternative to looking like everyone else who owns your camera brand, there is a way to make a personal statement with your strap.

I met Aaron Willcox of RileyG Designworks during my travels back in February. I could tell that he was a photographer so I asked him about what he did for work. We chatted a bit about his photography then he mentioned that he also creates custom-made camera straps. 

Photo ©Don Chick

Willcox, a stay-at-home dad, takes his young son, Riley, out seeking materials to turn into what his website advertises as “eco-friendly and stylish camera straps.” Some of these materials (leather and fabric) while still in excellent condition, are “extra pieces” that would otherwise be headed for the landfill. With a little effort, Aaron and Riley are able to retrieve and reuse these perfectly good materials and create something that is both functional and beautiful. Some of the materials going into the straps are even a bit exotic, like leather from an old Porsche. What a cool idea!

Professional photographers are gearing up for the busiest time of the year, and companies are vying to attract business special incentives. As a special treat for Web Exclusives readers, here is a convenient one-stop list of current product and service offers from our advertisers.

Read on to find specials including:

25% Off One Hardcover Photobook

Free 16x20 Canvas

25% Off Fine Art Metals and Metal Murals

25% Off Fine Art Acrylics

Free Packaging and Color Correction

25% Off Jewel Case Desktop Calendars (50)

25% Off Metal Art Panels

Diamond Dust Acrylic, 50% Off First Order

50% Off First Canvas Order

50% Off First Order, 20% Off Next 10 Orders

Free One-Stop Wedding Network Event Setup

30% Off One Big Package Wedding Package

25% Off Triple Memory Designer Wedding Album Special Package

25% Off Photo Crystals

$50 Lab Account Credit

Ellis Vener reviewed the Nikon D3X for the April issue of Professional Photographer magazine. He took this 30-second exposure in San Antonio using the D3X with no tripod, braced by hand against a stair landing, aperture at f/10, ISO 100, camera long exposure noise reduction on, Active D-lighting set to extra-high. NEF to DNG processing in Adobe Lightroom v2.3. Click image to see a 900x600-pixel view.

Click here for complete Nikon D3X features and specifications.

Press Release—Wacom has unveiled the long anticipated Intuos4, a new professional pen tablet for photographers, designers and artists. Inspired by members of Wacom’s professional community, the next generation Intuos is anchored by the Intuos4’s amazing new pen performance, capable of capturing the slightest nuance of pen pressure against the tablet surface, as well as offering 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity. Other innovative product enhancements include a refined and intelligent industrial design that provides real advancements in looks, comfort and control. Specific workflow and productivity tools include the customizable shortcut and modifier keys with accompanying OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) displays, which allow users to see, via the displays, what the keys are currently set to.

Workflow, Productivity
With its ergonomic design, the ultra-slim Intuos4 pen tablet is the ideal creative instrument for working with digital content in comfort. Available in four sizes, small, medium, large and extra large, all wide-format, the Intuos4’s new asymmetrical design puts all of the customizable ExpressKeys and Touch Ring on one side of the tablet, making them all available to the users’ non-dominant hand. The application-specific ExpressKeys are instrumental in helping improve workflow and boost productivity by placing commonly used commands right at the fingertips. The close proximity of these tools to the actual work area is efficient and comfortable and helps save valuable time by minimizing dependence on the keyboard without taking focus away from the pen hand. New to the Intuos4 are illuminated (OLED) displays (not featured on the Intuos4 small) that provide a helpful reminder as to the current function of each ExpressKey. With past Intuos versions, users had to rely on their memory to recall the position of their specific settings. As these settings can be application specific, the displays will update immediately as the user changes between applications. To switch the tablet from right-handed to left-handed use, simply rotate the tablet 180 degrees and change the orientation of the illuminated icons within the Wacom Tablet driver software.

“Wacom’s new Intuos4 provides Adobe Photoshop CS4 and our latest Creative Suite products with an approachable interface, enhanced pen performance, elegant design and new non-dominant hand features,” said Julieanne Kost, Senior Digital Imaging Evangelist for Adobe. “For me, the Wacom pen tablet has always been particularly beneficial when working on photo compositing projects within Photoshop and it did not take long to discover the vast improvements in workflow this new pen tablet delivers. By combining the super-accurate pen with OLED-displayed keyboard shortcuts, I am able to navigate and complete Photoshop work sessions quickly and efficiently.”

Also new to the Intuos4 is the introduction of a user-defined Touch Ring capable of controlling up to four different functions in any application. A button located in the center of the ring “toggles” the ring between functions such as zoom, scroll, brush size adjustment, canvas rotation and layer selection. The position of the illuminated LED located along the perimeter of the Touch Ring indicates the current function.  

Press Release—Canon has announced it will release the Canon EOS Rebel T1i, an entry-level DSLR with HD video capture capability, in May for less than $1,000 (body only). The new Rebel T1i will will have a 15.1 megapixel APS-C size CMOS sensor and inherits some of the technologies from the EOS 50D and EOS 5D Mark II models. Video capabilities are 16:9 720p HD video capture at 30 fps, Full HD 1080p video capture at 20 fps, and 4:3 standard TV quality (SD) video capture at 640 x 480 pixels at 30 fps. The EOS Rebel T1i will use the  DIGIC 4 Imaging Processor with 14-bit analog-to-digital conversion.

The video capture mode is part of the camera's Live View function, using the Picture Style that has been set for Live View still image shooting. Photographers can adjust image sharpness, contrast, color saturation and white balance, and have those settings apply to the movie image. When recording video, the camera's rear LCD screen is letter-boxed by a semi-transparent border to match the aspect ratio of the movie recording size.

Like the EOS 5D Mark II model, the EOS Rebel T1i camera will record video up to 4GB per clip equaling approximately 12 minutes of Full HD video, 18 minutes of 720p HD video, or 24 minutes of SD video depending on the level of detail in the scene. Video clips are recorded in .MOV format using an MPEG-4 video compression and sound is recorded using linear PCMii without compression. The camera features a built-in monaural microphone to record sound and an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) output.

The Canon EOS Rebel T1i Digital SLR Camera is scheduled for delivery by early May and will be sold in a body-only configuration which includes a rechargeable battery pack and charger, USB and video cables, a neckstrap, an EOS Solutions Disk CD and a 1-year Canon U.S.A., Inc. limited warranty at an estimated retail price of $799.99. It will additionally be offered in a kit version with Canon's EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom lens at an estimated retail price of $899.99.

Canon Speedlite 270EX
The new Canon Speedlite 270EX, the successor to the 220EX Speedlite model, is a compact, lightweight external flash option for Canon cameras including select Canon PowerShot models. Ideal for use with the new EOS Rebel T1i, the new Speedlite 270EX uses two AA batteries and enables bounce flash shooting with four position steps from 0 degrees to 90 degrees. Like Canon's high-end Speedlite flash models, the 270EX allows users to control flash functions and input settings using the camera's LCD monitor on compatible camera models. The flash also features a quick-lock mechanism and a metal mounting foot for secure and easy attachment and reliable contact.

 

By Tom Hauenstein

While on the road for the Great Output Seminar tour, I’m often asked which monitors I recommend. I usually respond with two questions. First: What is the ratio of time spent behind the camera compared to the amount of time spent behind the monitor? The most conservative answer has been 60 percent behind the monitor, 40 percent behind the camera. More commonly, photographers respond that the split is closer to 15 percent behind the camera, 85 percent behind the monitor. Next, I ask: How much money did you spend on your camera and lenses compared to how much you spent on your monitor? Some photographers spend $3,000 to $40,000 on camera equipment, but only around $500 on their monitors.

There are two major reasons to invest in a better monitor. First, it is most likely where you spend most of your time. Second, the monitor is the primary tool to view and edit your files.

The three major factors to consider in selecting a monitor are color gamut, bit depth, and calibration ability. Depending on the nature of your work, other factors to consider might include viewing angle, contrast range, and refresh rate (for video work).

The new RGB-LED technology in LaCie’s new 700 series of 14-bit monitors enables them to achieve significantly larger color gamuts. The 20-in. model (720) can achieve 114% of Adobe RGB and the 24- and 30-inch models (724 and 730) can achieve 123% of Adobe 1998.

By Joe Farace

The use of texture screens is nothing new for portraiture and has been around for more than seventy years. In the traditional darkroom, a texture screen is a piece of film that has a texture printed on it and is placed over photographic paper or sandwiched with the negative during exposure. In the digital darkroom, you can accomplish this effect using Photoshop layers, but in a busy studio where productivity is as important as creativity, there’s an easier way.

IDC Photography offers a set of Photoshop actions and a plug-in that not only makes the job painless but lets you be creative, too. iDC Textures v1 Actions is set of 16 art textures that add interesting surface effects to your photographs, producing a layered Photoshop file for further processing. Included in the package are also seven workflow actions called Hollywood Glam, Silent Movie B&W, ShowBiz Snap, Faded Technicolor, Colortone and Uninhibited Resize.

Textures v2 is a Photoshop-compatible plug-in that includes 18 different textures and requires Adobe Photoshop CS3 or CS4. The interface provides a visual reference thumbnail for each texture. All you have to do is click on the one you want to apply, position it for the best effect, and brush away texture where you don’t want it.

By Stan Sholik

Nikon photographers rejoice! With the release of Capture One 4.6 PRO, we can now shoot NEF raw files directly into Phase One’s software. Currently supported Nikon digital SLRs include the D3, D700, D300, D200, D80, D60, D40x and D40.  Best of all, if you already own Capture One 4 PRO or a v3.x version (even if you have no activations left on Capture One 3), the 4.6 update is free of charge!

While this is a major addition for some of us, it is only one of the new features and updates incorporated into v4.6. The others are primarily concerned with further improving your productivity when using the software.

Tethered shooting has always been the ideal way to work in the studio. It allows you and your clients to see and evaluate the evolution of an image’s creation on a large, color-corrected monitor. Photographers using Phase One digital backs and Canon digital SLRs have long enjoyed this privilege with Phase One PRO software. Now Nikon users can do the same.

Capture One software automates your setting up the tethered capture process. Selecting New Session from the File menu opens a set of folders to hold captures, deleted files, output files and a folder into which you can move your best images rather than rating them, although ratings and color tags are also available. You are given the option of naming these folders to your liking and storing them wherever you want on your local computer or on your network. This is all done in the Library module.

By Curtis Joe Walker

Kodak has reintroduced its Ektar film after an 11-year hiatus. The new film is rated at ISO 100 and sets out to be the finest grained color negative film on the market while complementing their existing Portra line. Film has become a specialty area for professional photographers, causing the arguably untimely demise of many popular emulsions. With this film, Kodak is striving to bridge the gap between analog and digital by creating a film ideal for scanning. In addition to the fine grain, Kodak has engineered the film to be more saturated while maintaining similar contrast and sharpness as their VC films. Kodak developed the film with nature, travel, fashion and product photographers in mind.

Any time a new film comes out, it's a good idea to test it under a variety of lighting conditions. For these tests, the film was run through a Lomo Fisheye and a Nikon F3 with  Lensbaby 3G and Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 lenses. Scanning was done with a Nikon Super CoolScan 5000ED film scanner with GEM and ROC (grain reduction and color enhancement) disabled to better illustrate the raw grain structure and color characteristics of the film. Some color correction was applied as needed as most of the images recorded slightly blue.

Click images for larger view. All photos ©Curtis Walker

Nikon F3, Lensbaby 3G, f/2
This first image was taken inside an atrium with mixed sunlight and tungsten lighting. The first thing to notice is the vivid color saturation without blocking up in the reds. At 100% zoom, grain is smooth and details are only as soft as they are because of the characteristics of the Lensbaby.

Nikon F3, Lensbaby 3G, f/8
Here we have a photo of Las Vegas's Fremont East district in the afternoon with mixed sunlight and shade. Dynamic range is pleasing and the colors are realistically vibrant, but not over the top. Grain is a bit more evident at 100%, but still incredibly smooth.

What is a RIP, and what can it do for your workflow and output quality? Sophisticated raster image processors maximize print control. 

By Andrew Darlow

Inkjet printing revolutionized the way photographers produce exhibition prints, proof books, albums, cards, portfolios, promo pieces, competition prints and many other projects. A RIP, or raster image processor, is usually software-based and converts digital data into a format that a printer or other device can understand. Printer drivers are a type of RIP, but the term RIP is generally used to describe software applications designed to enhance the printing process in various ways.

Photographers want to make quality prints efficiently and consistently, and a RIP helps do that. If you are perfectly happy with your current workflow and the quality of your prints, it may not be worth the investment to purchase a RIP. If not, you may be surprised at how much a RIP can do for you, especially if you use a wide variety of papers or other media.

Many RIPs provide tools for a better workflow, such as the ability to easily gang up multiple images on one sheet to conserve paper. RIPs usually control the printer as well, giving it specific instructions, like how much ink to use for a specific paper, print quality settings and whether or not to cut the paper when the job is complete. And RIPs are not limited to inkjet printers. Many devices, including pro lab machines, use some type of RIP to print files. 

To help you decide whether a specific RIP might be right for your workflow, we’ve listed some of the most popular RIPs designed for pro photographers, and described their major functions. We’ve also included a few RIP-like applications that are popular for their flexibility and affordability. Prices vary considerably depending on the product’s features and the kind and make of the printer they’re made for.

Professional Photographer’s annual competition to determine the hottest products on the market has always been fierce, and its tenth installment was no different. Canon's EOS 5D Mark II, with its groundbreaking full-frame HD video capability, was the most highly anticipated camera model to be released this year, and it impressed the judges enough to secure Professional Photographer’s 2009 Hot One Award in the highly contested Digital SLR, $1,000 to $3,000, category. The Nikon D90, which was the first DSLR to feature HD video, landed a tie with Canon’s EOS Rebel XSi in the Under $1,000 slot.

Every year, Professional Photographer magazine opens the Hot One Awards competition to hundreds of professional products, from cameras and software to online services and studio gear. This year 60 photographic products and services won first place in their category. The Hot One Awards received more than 325 entries from 180 companies—the largest competition in its 10-year history. Check out the 2009 Hot One Award winners now. CLICK HERE.

Sony joins the major leagues with 24.6-megapixel DSLR

By Ron Eggers

When the Sony (alpha) DSLR-A900 camera hit the market, it had the highest resolution available in a digital SLR. With a 24.6-megapixel Exmor CMOS sensor and maximum image resolution of 6,048x4,032 pixels, it has more than double the resolution of the previous model, the A700, and is the first Sony digital body with a full-frame (35mm-size) sensor. Aside from the A900’s much higher, the two models have similar shooting characteristics, ergonomics and menu structures.

My first experience with the A900 was with a prototype version during a Sony-sponsored shooting excursion in late summer 2008. I wasn't convinced that Sony’s target market, the serious photo enthusiast, really needed such high resolution, particularly if it came at the expense of image quality, color fidelity, shooting speed, and responsiveness. But after that first experience, followed by a couple of weeks working with a production model, any trade-off was obviously minimal. It’s not so much that the camera’s resolution is too high for its target market, it’s more like Sony undershot the target market.

Among the reasons Minolta equipment users cite for switching to Sony is that they can use the lenses and accessories they already have with the new bodies. That’s true, but with the quality of Sony’s latest equipment, it’s time to consider choosing Sony gear on its own merits. To get the most out of the new Sony bodies and the highest quality images, it’s best to pair them with the lenses and lighting units being developed specifically for these models.

Often, boosting a model’s resolution slows down its shooting speed, but not with the A900. It’s fast enough for just about any professional application, with a rated capture rate of 5 JPEG frames per second (fps). In my trials, using a SanDisk 4GB Extreme IV UDMA CompactFlash card, which supports transfer rates up to 45MB per second, the actual performance matched the specs. I could take 49 frames in 10 seconds. With two memory card slots, the camera accepts both CF cards and memory sticks.

Professional Photographer asked Ellis Vener to work with liveBooks to create a fresh redesign of his website and to report on the process and the results. This report covers the process from concept to design and going live. The next report will cover search engine optimization.

By Ellis Vener

Though it was still generating work and lots of inquiries from potential clients, I hadn't updated my website in any meaningful way since it was launched in January 2002. Since then a lot of things have changed: I moved from Houston to Atlanta, and I had lots of new work I wanted to showcase.

One of the hardest parts of designing or redesigning a website is figuring out exactly what you want. I knew what I didn't want in my website this time: a format and structure that required someone versed in website authoring software to make changes. I wanted flexibility and expandability.

Rebuilding a website from scratch is a huge investment in time and usually a significant amount of money as well. LiveBooks is a well established and highly respected company that specializes in designing and building websites for pro photographers with the features we need most, like easy gallery editing, automated metadata upload, visitor tracking and keywording for search engines. LiveBooks packages are priced with non-recurring, one-time fees plus a $90 annual hosting fee. The Basic plan starts at $800, the Select package is $1,700 and the Unlimited package is $3,200. Each package is organized to come with a certain level of design services and features and storage space.

The design services from liveBooks are the most easily demonstrated benefit. Visual acumen in photography does not translate into skill at Web design.

This was the opening page of my old website. Viewed today, it screams "I haven't bothered to update my website since 2002." That's not exactly the message you want to sent to potential clients.

Below is the page that liveBooks helped me design to make a much more positive first impression. 

Image ©Ellis Vener

It's elegant and professional, shows a single image to full advantage, and has easy-to-find links to the most critical  information a client would be interested in: galleries showing additional work, a client list showing other businesses that value my work, and a contact page.

In the February issue of Professional Photographer, in Lindsay Adler's article "Facebook: Network With Seniors," we inadvertently suggested readers create both individual and business profiles, which is a violation of Facebook terms of use. We regret the error.

Instead, a photographer can set up a business account or set up a personal profile and then create a Facebook Page for their business identity. Only the official representative of an artist, business, or brand may create a Facebook Page, though that person can choose to allow others to help administrate it. You may transform a business account into a personal account, but once you have created a personal account, you cannot revert back to a business account or create a business account.

The Facebook Help Center has a section that completely explains Pages and business accounts. 

This is the article republished with corrected text and clarifying information from Facebook's Help Center.

Facebook: network with seniors

Learning to take advantage of the No. 1 Web site among seniors can be a huge sales advantage.

By Lindsay Adler

Quoted text is information that comes directly from Facebook’s Help Center.

What’s the one place nearly every high school senior goes daily? Online, to Facebook.com. This center of mass communication has more than 36 million members. It’s the No. 1 social network for the modern high school student. Facebook users post profiles of themselves containing such information as their age, e-mail address and interests. They post photos and videos of themselves for e-friends the world over to view.

By Norris Carden

“You look like you fell in love during your engagement session,” the bridesmaid told the bride. While it is certainly a statement about the photography, it is just as much an endorsement of my custom guestbook and an example of how this product helps set me apart as a wedding photographer.

My top tier wedding packages include an extended engagement session and custom guestbook. I always have a sample guestbook on hand at any sales presentation or bridal show. It makes a huge impression and, so far, no bride has turned it down.

Producing the guestbook actually starts with the engagement session. Because of the time involved in selecting images, designing, printing and delivering the book, I prefer to shoot at least two months before the wedding, though I could force one through in just under a month if need be.

The photo guestbook makes a huge impression on your clients and their wedding guests alike. It provides an exciting conversation piece for the big day, and for years to come. Image ©Norris Carden

If you can live with a few limitations, Tamron’s new 10-24mm can fulfill your wide-angle needs, big time.

Sometimes you find yourself in need of an ultra-wide zoom. The Tamron SP AF10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di-II LD Aspherical [IF] is a really good, not quite great lens that fits the bill for landscape, corporate and perhaps some architectural photography. Although designed for formats smaller than 24x36mm, from 13.75mm to 24mm, without the included lens hood, it covers the full 24x36mm (Nikon FX)—for a price around $499.

The optical path consists of 12 elements, three of them molded aspheric glass designs, two others hybrid aspheric designs. There are two LD elements, similar to Nikon’s ED elements. Internal flare and reflection are well controlled, even when there are light sources in the frame. I tested this lens with FX-format Nikon D3 and D700 camera bodies and a DX-format D300 body; with the exception of some slight purple fringes, or blooming, around light sources, chromatic aberrations are virtually non-existent.

©Ellis Vener

Size comparison: Left, AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED; center, AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 12-24mm f/4G IF-ED; right, Tamron SP AF10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di-II LD Aspherical [IF] lens.

©Ellis Vener

On the day after the 2008 presidential election, Professional Photographer magazine technical editor Ellis Vener photographed Reverend Joseph E. Lowery using the Nikon D700. Reverend Lowery delivered the benediction at the Jan. 20, 2009, inauguration of President Barack Obama. You'll find Vener's review of the Nikon D700 as compared to the Nikon D3 and D300 in the February issue of Professional Photographer magazine.

By Ellis Vener

Modern raw processing software is very capable. You can use it to manipulate both global and local tone and color; remove some image defects; and create Web galleries, Web-ready JPEGs, and prints. What does Adobe Photoshop CS4 (PsCS4) still have to offer the busy working photographer that these products—particularly Adobe Photoshop Lightroom—do not?

This tutorial covers the update of one of the more powerful Photoshop tools—layers—in conjunction with the new Adjustments panel (what we used to call a palette). If you do not already use layers in your way of working with photos, then you should, and PsCS4 makes working with layers and masks far more user friendly than before. Working in layers gives you the power to make progressive changes to an image without losing track of where and when you did what, which in turn makes it far easier to fine tune the photo and, as necessary, revisit a step. If you follow the strategy advocated by R. Mac Holbert of Nash Editions—work on global processing first before solving localized problems—and keep the layer stack tidy, you can substantially shorten your image processing time. The new Adjustments panel is a great boon in this respect.

There are 13 Adjustments panel options—Brightness/Contrast, Levels, Curves, Hue/Saturation/Lightness, Color Balance, Black and White, Photo Filter, Channel Mixer, Invert, Posterize, Threshold, Gradient Map, and Selective Color.

Access each option through the icons in the Adjustments panel. Clicking on any of the icons creates a new adjustment layer for that effect, including a built-in mask, and converts the Adjustments panel into the menu pane for each. To return to the main Adjustments view click on the arrow in the lower left corner of the pane.  

Starting with a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II raw file made by former PPA president Jack Reznicki, the photo was opened in Lightroom 2.2. White balance was set to Flash and capture sharpening was done in Lightroom. The image was then exported as a 16-bit per channel TIFF using Adobe RGB (1998) as the color space, and opened in PsCS4, as seen below.

Image ©Jack Reznicki

By Don Chick, M.Photog.Cr., CPP, D.C.Ph.

Imagenomic Portraiture 2.0 has arrived, and with the new version comes some exciting improvements. For those who’ve been using v. 1 of  Portraiture, the upgrade will be exciting for at least two reasons. First, registered users of Portraiture 1 will receive a free upgrade to v. 2. Second, new enhancements to the software give the portrait photographer even greater control and creative possibilities. If you’re not a current user, now’s a good time to give the program an honest evaluation. Imagenomic extends a 15-day, fully functional trial use period. The final image will bear a watermark, but that won’t prevent you from seeing the results this software can achieve.

One nice feature of Portraiture 2 is the new history control. Users now have access to an unlimited number of history states, along with resizable thumbnails. Users will also appreciate the capabilities in the Enhancements section. Sharpness, softness, warmth, tint, brightness and contrast all have sliders for independent adjustments. Using theses controls enables you to enhance the look of an image beyond the initial capture.

Image ©Don Chick

In the example above, I have increased contrast and added a few points of brightness. The result is a much higher contrast image than the capture. When there’s a check in the Use Mask box, the enhancements are applied only to those areas selected by the skin tones mask. With this box unselected, the enhancements are applied to the entire image.

By Mark Levesque, CPP

Image sharpening is one of those things that can truly elevate an image, yet it remains a bit of a black art. Photographers who wish to enhance their ability to sharpen in an intuitive, powerful and controllable way should take a look at Nik Sharpener Pro 3.0, a plug-in for Adobe Photoshop or Apple Aperture.

This latest release of Nik Sharpener Pro improves on prior versions with a new interface (very familiar to those who own other current Nik plug-ins), as well as the incorporation of the powerful U Point Technology for selective application of sharpening. The ability to add presets means you get fast, one-click workflow options tailored to your own eye, and batch processing is a snap.

The consensus of those who study sharpening is that a two-step sharpening process with both input sharpening and device-specific output sharpening yields the optimally sharpened image. Digital capture inherently has softness due to the low-pass filter that’s typically used to fight moiré. Reversing this loss of sharpness in the capture process is one of the first tasks to perform in image processing, and Sharpener Pro 3.0 offers a RAW Presharpener to do just that. Note that this is intended for use on RAW images that have not been sharpened in-camera or with a RAW converter. JPEG images already have some sharpening applied, so they do not require this step. This input sharpening process is perfect for actions and/or batch processing, and can be easily incorporated into your workflow without adversely affecting processing time.

Nik's RAW Presharpener is designed to reverse the loss of sharpness at capture due to the low-pass filter that's typically used to fight moiré. (Click for larger view; image ©Mark Levesque)

Overcoming the drawbacks of infrared wireless systems, the new RadioPopper PX can be an extension of your wireless flash, and your creativity. Mike Fulton and the crew at TriCoast Photography provided great information about how they use the RadioPoppers and what a difference they make in our January issue of Professional Photographer magazine. Here are some more examples of behind-the-scenes and the final results.

Behind the scenes:

Cody Clinton is shooting and Cindy Williams acts as the lighting assistant at this "Day After" session on a Florida beach. The sun is coming in from the left to right across the subjects’ face, so the lightstick is being used as a fill light to even out the shadows. In the final result, the very shallow depth of field is thanks to the High Speed Sync settings—something you can only get using this method and part of what makes the TriCoast photographers prefer it to PocketWizards.

Final image ©TriCoast Photography:

Professional Photographer’s annual competition to determine the hottest products on the market has always been fierce, and its tenth installment was no different. Canon's EOS 5D Mark II, with its groundbreaking full-frame HD video capability, was the most highly anticipated camera model to be released this year, and it impressed the judges enough to secure the win the Professional Photographer’s 2009 Hot One Award in the highly contested Digital SLR, $1,000 to $3,000, category. The Nikon D90, which was the first DSLR to feature HD video, landed a tie with Canon’s EOS Rebel XSi in the Under $1,000 slot.

Every year, Professional Photographer magazine opens the Hot One Awards competition to hundreds of professional products, from cameras and software to online services and studio gear. This year 60 photographic products and services won first place in their category. The Hot One Awards received more than 325 entries from 180 companies—the largest competition in its 10-year history. Check out the 2009 Hot One Award winners now. CLICK HERE.

Compiled by James “Jim” Tatum, VP, Drytac liquid coating division

What are the pros and cons of film lamination versus liquid lamination/coating?

There are many types of laminating films with adhesives that range from pressure-sensitive (cold) to heat-activated (thermal and heatset) and base films made up of PVC vinyl, polyester (PET), polypropylene (OPP), polycarbonate, and others.

Liquid laminating systems also come in many varieties. Some liquids, such as aqueous and solvent coatings, are cured using ambient,  forced air and/or  sometimes infrared heaters, while UV curable coatings need UV lamps to cure (harden) the liquid.

When we consider the many reasons for lamination, it becomes clear that the answer to “film or liquid” is not so simple. We over-laminate an image, print, photo, poster, banner, brochure, book cover, for any of several reasons.

To protect and preserve:
Prolong the life of image to be laminated
Protect the image from fingerprints, smudges, pollution, graffiti
Protect the “message” on printed post cards from the mail system’s sorters
Protect bus wraps from weekly washes

We'd like to share some very special items that we recommend or might wish for under our own tree. What are you hinting for this holiday season? Tell us in the comments section, and we might add it here.

"Slide:ology The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations"
By Nancy Duarte

Though it's written for business presenters, this book contains fantastic, straightforward guidelines, instruction and ideas that photographers can use to prepare an unbeatable client, civic group or workshop presentation. Just like a great presentation, it's easy to digest and you'll come away amazed with how much valuable information it contains. It takes you step-by-step through the process of building a presentation, from brainstorming to color design to rehearsal. It leads you to examine the message you want to deliver, how to do it better, what your audience will respond to, and how to organize and design the visual elements. If you use a presentation to close the deal or make the sale, you should be devoting some serious thought to how it's put together and how you deliver it. This book will teach you more than you knew there was to know about creating engaging, professional presentations that get the job done. —JS
$34.99 ($23.09 on Amazon.com)

Look for an interview in the January issue of Professional Photographer with "Slide:ology" author Nancy Duarte, President and CEO of Duarte Design, the firm that created the presentation for Al Gore's Oscar-winning film, "An Inconvenient Truth." 

Calumet ZipDisc Package with ZipDisc Arm & Stand (RM4040K1)
Illuminate curves and details with natural, white light. This 42-inch translucent zipdisc works inside or outside, fits on the arm and stand, plus gives you the freedom to create great images. Check it out.
$99.99

Zion and McKinley Backpacks from M-Rock, currently 20% off
Identical except the McKinley includes large roller wheels and locking telescope handle. The backpacks include a modular interior with a removable Accessory Bag and spare dividers for three set up options. The basic set up is for a regular or Pro DSLR camera with up to a 6-inch lens attached, with room for an additional two to four lenses or photo accessories. The Accessory Bag can hold more electronics, personal items or hiking gear. Replace the Accessory Bag with the extra dividers to use all of the interior space for extra photographic supplies and load your camera with up to a 9-inch lens attached. The removed Accessory Bag has Web & Velcro arms below that can securely attach to the fabric handle on top of the backpacks.
$230-290 (not including discount).

The Bowler by Acme Made
If you're looking for something more in the squee-inducing neighborhood of adorable, you should look into The Bowler. It does double duty as both a camera bag and a purse, is colorful, durable, and sized to fit most smaller DSLR cameras with interior dimensions of 7x3.5x6.25 inches. Materials are high-quality synthetic leather, tricot and YKK zippers; includes hidden exterior accessory pockets and loops for a shoulder strap; padded adjustable divider can be moved or removed entirely. If you can hold out until March for a bigger size, there's a Super Bowler on the way.
$39.99 special offer for the holidays.

drop it MODERN Photography Backdrops
drop it MODERN, is a new line of photography backdrops that have been created to enhance your photographic settings. Our professional photographers have hand-selected fabrics with flattering textures, colors and patterns to bring out the quality and inventiveness of your photographs. drop it MODERN backdrops are made with  luxurious materials including high end velvet, brushed cotton and plush chenille.

These are not your typical muslin backdrops—drop it MODERN has taken the backdrop to a whole other level by utilizing textures and colors only found in designer fabrics. They cannot be found at your local fabric store or on-line. Owner Breanne Schaap, of Schaap Studios Photography, is known for the eye-catching textures and colors she uses in her style of photography. Schaap has personally worked with each backdrop and has chosen distinctive fabrics with textures and colors that best suit the portrait client. The designs are fresh: some modern, some vintage, and they will leave your clients wanting more!
Price varies by size and selection.

Image ©Breanne Schapp

By David Saffir

If anyone had asked me a few years ago if we would ever see a user-friendly system that enabled photographers to add profitable digital fine art reproduction to their business I might have said “not likely.” That’s changed.

I had the privilege of helping HP introduce its new end-to-end solution for digital fine art reproduction at Photokina 2008, and PhotoPlus Expo in New York. HP Artist makes it possible for photographers to accurately photograph watercolors, acrylics, oils, and other flat art, and produce very high quality prints—and requires only a fraction of the labor and technical expertise of other, older methods.

HP Artist combines camera characterization, artwork imaging and measurement, lighting characterization, and color controls into an integrated system. Working in collaboration with Nikon, HP has developed a system which uses the Nikon D3 camera, the new Designjet Z3200 printer, and a special edition of Ergosoft StudioPrint RIP.

The HP Designjet Z3200 Photo Printer comes in 24-inch and 44-inch models

By Stan Sholik

As professional photographers, we are justifiably concerned with the amount of time we must spend managing our image files. As the quantity and file size of our digital captures increase, the time spent importing, cataloging, browsing, editing, searching, publishing and archiving them is increasing even faster. This is time taken away from creating images and managing our businesses.

There exist a number of useful programs to handle different parts of the image management workflow from import to archive, but none that handle it as smoothly, completely and affordably as ACDSee Pro Photo Manager 2.5, the latest release from ACDSee Systems International, Inc.

When I last looked at ACDSee, it was Version 6 of Photo Manager several years ago. I thought it was well designed and a capable program for advanced amateurs, but lacking the range of tools and ease of use that professionals require. Working with ACDSee Pro 2.5 is like learning that your friend’s child, who you never thought would amount to much, just graduated from a top-ranked university. ACDSee Pro 2.5 is all grown up and ready to make a name for itself.

To categorize ACDSee Pro 2.5 as a digital asset management program is to ignore many of its strengths. In fact, it is difficult to fit it into any one category because it is capable of doing so much. It may be easiest to think of it as a program that will do virtually anything that a professional photographer would need to do with a large image library, from importing digital captures to exporting final files to the client. It even allows non-destructive pixel-level image editing and RAW file conversion, leaving only complex pixel editing, masking and layering tasks to Photoshop or similar software.

As with other photo management software, and new to this version of ACDSee Pro, you can import images directly from your camera or camera card, adding IPTC and EXIF metadata and keywords, and renaming files. Unlike with some, you can also back up your files to another hard drive while you are importing them and continue using the program while images import in the background.

By Stan Sholik

Digital SLR photographers have never had as many choices for RAW conversion software as they have today. Oddly enough, the best and most popular offerings come not from the camera manufacturers but from third party vendors. For some reason, these vendors seem to have a far better understanding of a professional photographer’s workflow, as important a consideration in choosing RAW conversion software as the overall quality of the file conversion.

An excellent example of this is Phase One’s new Capture One 4 PRO (C1-4 PRO) software. When Phase One released Capture One 4 last year, the interface was entirely different than in previous versions. C1-4 PRO keeps the look of Capture One 4, but adds considerable functionality that many commercial, portrait and wedding photographers will welcome.

The features added to Capture One 4 PRO that are not found in Capture One 4 cover a lot of ground. Most Canon digital SLR and all Phase One digital back photographers can shoot directly into C1-4 PRO. The program supports multiple monitors and the interface can be customized to an even greater extent than the non-PRO version, especially on a Mac.

Commercial photographers will particularly appreciate the ability to import a client’s layout and use it as a capture overlay. This should assure clients and art directors at the shoot that the capture fits the layout. They will also appreciate that C1-4 PRO supports the CMYK color space for color proofing and output.

C1-4 PRO Mac

C1-4 PRO Windows

The user interface of Capture One 4 Pro retains the look of Capture One 4. The default layout of the user-customizable interface is virtually identical on both Mac and Windows computers. The program opens with the Library tool active and the folder you were using when you closed the program active. Images ©Stan Sholik

These additional interface images supplement the December 2008 Web Exclusives review of Phase One Capture One 4 PRO by Stan Sholik.

Clicking the camera icon in the tool palette opens the Capture window. You can shoot directly into Capture One 4 PRO with Phase One digital backs and many Canon digital SLRs. It took a little doing to make a Canon EOS-1D Mark II N interface properly with the program, but once we figured it out, image capture was fast and seamless. Image ©Stan Sholik

The Quick icon opens a window with a basic set of tools for global corrections to the image, such as white balance and exposure. You will also find the Styles options on this screen. If all you need to do to the image is global changes, you can process the image directly from this screen. Image ©Stan Sholik

If you need to make changes to color balance either globally with white balance or to a targeted hue, you can skip the Quick tool and go directly to the Color tool. Image ©Stan Sholik

By Joan T. Sherwood, Senior Editor

The most exciting feature of the Nikon D90 DSLR is the movie capture. With two or three button presses, in D-movie mode, you can begin recording video of up to 1,280x720 pixels (16:9), at 24 frames per second.

The first day I had the D90 in my hands I couldn’t stop coming up with ideas for the clips I wanted to shoot. Setting out the next morning, I took a set of 36 clips at the 640x424 frame (3:2) setting, which I subsequently edited into a 4-minute movie in the iMovie HD program.

It took a little studying of the program at Lynda.com to learn how to do what I wanted, but after that, the editing went pretty quickly. After just a couple minutes of keyword searching at TripleScoopMusic.com, I found the perfect music to accompany the video. The most difficult part was figuring out the settings and format to use to export the video for Web sharing. Automated YouTube.com compression went too far and yielded unattractive results.

The version below as exported from iMovie HD, is optimized for QuickTime, broadband, high quality.

Click here for MP4 file version saved for broadband, high quality. 

Click through to see examples of 1,280x720 pixels (16:9) AVI files with no editing. Though none of these clips is more than 20 seconds, these are large files and will take to load before the play option is available. Right-click on the image and choose "Save link as..." to download to your desktop insted of viewing in your browser.

By Stan Sholik

If the number of products available to pre-capture white balance digital cameras is any indication, professional photographers’ interest in creating a neutral color balance must be very high. There is a good reason for this of course. While professional digital cameras do an excellent job autofocusing and autoexposing, auto white balance is not likely to give accurate, consistent color under many ambient lighting conditions.

White balance isn’t that much of an issue when making RAW captures as it is easy to adjust when processing the files, though it adds work time. When capturing in JPEG, or RAW + JPEG formats, it is important to have as accurate and consistent color as possible to reduce additional processing and saving of the compressed file.

With prices ranging from $8 to over $100, I thought it would be interesting to test a few of these white balance filters under actual ambient lighting conditions to see if they produced an accurate white balance and to examine the advantages or disadvantages to each. One of my photographer friends swears by Mr. Coffee filters for white balancing, and I was curious to see if he was really serious! My store was out of Mr. Coffee brand but had Melitta Junior Basket filters in stock, so I picked up a pack for testing.

Along with the Melitta, I tested five filters designed for professional photographers: the ClearWhite, ExpoDisc Neutral, Lally CAP, Mennon and Phoxle SpectraSnap. Designers of each of these photographic filters took a slightly different approach, and one approach or another might influence your decision as much as the accuracy of the white balance.

Top Row: ClearWhite, ExpoDisc, Lally CAP. Bottom Row: Melitta, Mennon, Phoxle SpectraSnap. Image ©Stan Sholik

Bags we love; One size doesn't fit all

By Curtis Joe Walker

There are many ways to securely and fashionably carry a camera and have fast access to both camera and accessories. Sling bags are arguably the all-round best for this purpose. Backpacks can be cumbersome and sweat inducing, wheelie bags can be bulky and unwieldy, and fanny packs just don't sit well with some folks. Let’s look at five sling bags we particularly like, in various situations and with various amounts of gear.

©Curtis Joe Walker

From left: Tamrac Velocity 8x, Lowepro Slingshot 350 AW, Crumpler Brazillion Dollar Home, Kata 3N1-20, Boda Dry

“A Digital Photographer's Guide to Model Releases:
An Important Reference Book for Understanding the Legalities of Selling and Using Photographs,”
by Dan Heller (Wiley, $29.99)

By Ron Eggers

Successful professional photographers need to not only be good at photography and have business sense, they also need a basic understanding of the laws involved in using their pictures. Whether shooting editorial, commercial or stock photos, photographers should know the legalities concerning the people in their compositions, as well as recognizable property.

That’s what Dan Heller covers in his book, “A Digital Photographer's Guide to Model Releases: Making the Best Business Decisions with Your Photos of People, Places and Things” (Wiley, $29.99).

As he says, it's important to understand the rationale behind the model release requirements in order to protect yourself from potential litigation. It's also important to understand what you can and can't take pictures of, as well as where you can and can't use those pictures.

Most people think that releases are simply for the photographer’s protection. That's not how Heller sees it. "The main objective of getting a release is not to protect yourself; it's to make the image more marketable to a broader range of clients."

He makes a recommendation regarding your thinking about model releases: “Adjust your way of looking at legal matters. They are not a series of rules, but a series of concepts." And while there are laws dealing with photo usage and release requirements, he says, "The legal realm of when model releases are required is hazy at best, as the principles are based on the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which [itself] is the source of many disagreements."

By Joan T. Sherwood, Senior Editor

If you deliver CDs or DVDs as part of your product package, and you send them out the door labeled with a Sharpie or an adhesive paper label, you need to rethink what that’s doing to your professional image. The DYMO DiscPainter is an affordable option for imprinting CDs and DVDs in-house with your own design, even custom designs for individual clients and marketing materials geared to specific groups of prospects.

The DYMO DiscPainter is strictly a printer; it will not burn CDs or DVDs. The printer uses RadialPrint Technology, spinning the disc and moving it laterally under an inkjet print head that moves in one direction along the radius of the disk. It takes around 1 to 3 minutes to print a disc, depending on the complexity of the design.  

It comes with Discus for DYMO software, an extremely versatile and easy-to-use design application. It offers very smart automation features for design elements like arced text and photo windows. Most controls are simple sliders or drag-and-drop functions on the disc layout. You can choose colors from a palette, or opt/alt-click on a color in your photo to select the closest color from the palette.

You can choose to start a disc design from scratch or from a set of readymade designs in the Canvas tab. Add photos, text, symbols, shapes, freehand painting, gradients, patterns. You really have a practically infinite  design options. The software can import logos saved as transparent PNG files to overlay images or other elements. DYMO has excellent video tutorials online that show how easy it is.

Image ©Cheryl Pearson

By Joan T. Sherwood, Senior Editor

The new Epson P-7000 Multimedia Photo Viewer takes the same basic package of the P-5000, puts in a new screen (Epson Photo Fine Premia Technology), adds 80 more gigabytes of storage (160GB total), and includes a travel pack (case, viewing stand, car adapter, dual battery charger, cleaning cloth and a bit of clear film to protect the LCD). A new jog dial under the four-way navigator also adds convenience in menu navigation and browsing through large sets of images.  This review is based on a pre-launch sample unit.

By far the biggest viewer assets are the 4-inch, 720x480-pixel screen, large storage capacity and the ability to backup direct from media cards. The viewer is compatible with UDMA CF cards and Secure Digital/SDHC cards. Epson boasts a 35-percent increase in transfer speed over previous models, but Epson doesn't provide any actual transfer rates based on card types. The new model also offers a wider viewing angle, and display color that covers 94 percent of Adobe RGB.

The colors are, indeed, beautiful on the display, and there’s even an Enhanced Photo Display Mode that is supposed to optimize color based on the image content, but it seems more trouble than it’s worth—I couldn’t really see a difference. It may be more obvious if you’ve got a set of images that aren’t popping the way you’d like.

For pro photographers, the slideshow capability may be the feature that could make the viewer pay for itself in terms of potential on-location marketing. At events, meetings or civic functions—wherever there may be a dull moment—you can take advantage of the opportunity to draw a crowd and show off some images.

To create a quick-pick slideshow, use the star button to rate your favorites, filter to show one star or more, and choose slideshow from the menu.

Press Release—September 11, 2008—SanDisk today announced the 32GB SanDisk Extreme III CompactFlash (CF) card, the latest addition to its award-winning SanDisk Extreme III line. SanDisk’s new memory card is designed to meet the demands of professional digital videographers and photographers with read/write speed up to 30MB/s (200X).

All SanDisk Extreme III CF cards from 4GB to 32GB, as well as the new SanDisk Extreme III SDHC and SanDisk Extreme III Memory Stick PRO HG DUO, recently received a 50-percent speed increase from 20MB/s to 30MB/s.

The 32GB SanDisk Extreme III CF card has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price in the United States of $299.99. Worldwide availability of the card is targeted for October 2008.

Press Release: September 9, 2008—Lexar Media today announced the Lexar Professional UDMA 300x 16GB CompactFlash (CF) card, a new memory card that provides an ideal combination of increased capacity, professional-level performance and reliability. Designed for professional photographers and photo enthusiasts, this lightning-fast card is UDMA-enabled (Ultra Direct Memory Access), resulting in exceedingly fast performance. Speed-rated at 300x, which represents a minimum sustained write speed of 45MB per second, the new Lexar Professional UDMA 300x 16GB CF card dramatically reduces post-production time thanks to an improved card-to-computer transfer rate when working in conjunction with a UDMA-enabled device. In addition, the very high capacity of the card allows photographers to store more images and shoot for longer periods without interruption.

When paired with a UDMA-enabled device, such as the Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 Reader or the Lexar Professional UDMA Dual-Slot USB Reader, the Lexar Professional UDMA 300x 16GB CF card significantly improves the digital imaging workflow by accelerating the download of captured images to a destination computer.

Available later this month, the new Lexar Professional UDMA 16GB CF card includes a limited lifetime warranty, free dedicated technical support, and the full version of Lexar Image Rescue 3, Lexar’s award-winning image recovery software.

Professional Photographer was able to test a pre-production unit. Read the review here.

By Ron Eggers

Photodex ProShow Producer professional presentation software is easy to learn, simple to use, and contains an extensive feature set that's not readily available in other software packages. While Microsoft PowerPoint still leads the pack for creating business presentations, Producer has become a favorite among professional photographers for their needs. That's particularly the case since the company wisely dropped the necessity for a USB dongle to load and run the program.

To help users get the most out of the program, Course Technology just released “The Official Photodex Guide to ProShow.” Written by James Karney, the book aims to help users master the art of making great slide shows using ProShow Gold and ProShow Producer. This review covers both the performance of the software and the effectiveness of the book as a guide for users.

As Karney explains in Chapter 1, "The simple slide show is a thing of the past. Viewers expect sizzle. Movies, television and even our cell phones and MP3 players bring high-quality video and eye-catching special effects into every aspect of our lives." One of the things that makes Producer powerful is that it can produce output for almost every type of presentation and communications device. The book ships with an instructional CD that includes individual sections for each chapter, as well as trial versions of ProShow Gold and Producer, and the Photodex Presenter plug-in.

By Joe Farace

The PC-E Micro Nikkor 45mm f/2.8D ED lens was introduced along with the PC-E Micro Nikkor 85mm f/2.8D, bringing the total number of Nikon’s Perspective Control (PC) lenses up to four, the others being the PC-E Nikkor 24mm f/3.5D ED and the PC Micro Nikko 85mm f/2.8D. Perspective Control lenses correct linear distortion, reproducing images as they are seen by the human eye, straightening a building’s converging lines in architectural photography while giving the you more control over depth-of-field. PC lenses are useful for architecture, both exteriors and interiors, but are also handy for nature, still life, and product photography.

If you're photographing architecture with a conventional lens and you’re close to the subject, you have to tilt the camera to capture the major portion of the building. When that happens, especially with a wide-angle lens, it usually distorts lines that should be straight and parallel to others, and while this kind of distortion may be used to produce a dramatic composition it is not the kind of image beloved by architects and owners looking to sell or lease the property.

A perspective control lens, such as the 45mm PC-E Micro Nikkor PC-E, has shift controls that can correct this type of distortion. The 45mm PC-E Micro Nikkor PC-E’s tilt control also gives additional creative control over depth-of-field and lets you effectively change the camera’s apparent position to avoid unwanted reflections in an image.

A combination of both tilt and shift controls are part of all PC-E Nikkor lenses and let you isolate or emphasize a subject though selective focus. Both of these controls are well know to view camera photographers familiar with the Scheimpflug principle for depth-of-field that states the plane of focus will cover the entire subject from front to back (independent of the aperture) if the subject, lens and image planes intersect at one point. When these conditions are met, the position of the plane of focus corresponds to the object plane and everything appears in focus.

The Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass element minimizes chromatic aberration, and three aspherical lens elements minimize other types of lens aberration. This photograph was made with the 45mm PC-E Micro Nikkor PC-E on a tripod mounted Nikon D3 in Live View mode. Exposure was 1/20 second at f/22, ISO 320, with a plus one and one third stop exposure compensation. Lens shift of 10mm was used. ©2008 Joe Farace

By Ron Eggers

Everybody has probably seen the Nikon commercials by now where Ashton Kutcher is fumbling around with a Nikon D60 taking candid shots at a friend's wedding. That implies that, if he can come up with great shots with the D60, anybody can. Judging by the ad, the D60 is being marketed as a camera that's idiot proof. It's true that it's an entry-level model, but marketing the D60 as a point-and-shoot is selling it a little short. While it is easy to use, it provides many of the controls and capabilities expected in a more sophisticated camera.

For example, it includes Nikon's sophisticated 3D Color Matrix Metering II for highly accurate exposure control, and features an active dust reduction system with airflow control to significantly reduce the problem of sensor spotting. Each time the camera is turned on or off, the sensor is cleared of dust.

It also includes another way of reducing dust imperfections on images. Like with some professional models, it's possible to take a dust reference image, which is then used by the camera to lift the dust spots off of captured images. It has a 10.2-megapixel DX-format CCD sensor with a maximum resolution of 3,872x2,592 pixels. Weighing only slightly more than a pound, it's an extremely compact camera. It is, in fact, the smallest DSLR that Nikon has released. Still, even though it is small, it has a good-sized 2.5" LCD with 170-degree viewability.

The D60 includes Nikon's advanced EXPEED image processing. EXPEED can be a little confusing. Even though both an introductory-level camera and a top-of-the-line camera incorporate EXPEED, image processing and handling are not the same for the two models. Rather than an image-processing engine, EXPEED is an image-processing concept that optimizes image processing for each of the cameras that it's incorporated into. Which means that, even though professional and consumer models incorporate EXPEED, the actual image-processing components can be quite different from one model to the next.

Responsive to action: This shot was taken at 1/1,600 second at f/10, ISO 800. ©Ron Eggers

By David Ziser, M.Photog.Cr., F-ASP

Editor’s note: In his new column in Professional Photographer magazine, renowned wedding photographer and popular instructor David Ziser shares his insights on the art and business of photography.

I have to tell you that I'm becoming a really big fan of Lightroom 2. There are a couple of features in the new version that simply make it one of the most remarkable pieces of software on the planet earth. Watch this video from my blog and see if you don't agree with me. 

The full release of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 is now available for purchase ($299, $99 upgrade), or you can download a free trial version.

By Joan Sherwood, Senior Editor

I wanted to try the Lowepro Inverse AW because it looked like it might finally be a beltpack that didn’t fit like a heavyweight obi, taking up all the space from waist to armpits on my short torso. To my pleasure, the Inverse AW100 proved a great fit with its adjustable compression pulls on the lumbar belt. These pulls allow you to adjust the belt comfortably wherever you want it to ride on your waist, and to different body types. For some it feels more comfortable higher up, others prefer a lower fit across the hips. The lumbar belt has ample padding, and didn’t feel hot or uncomfortable even when I took it on a summer shoot in the park.

The best thing about this bag is its light weight and versatility. With an interior that’s 9.2Wx5.6Dx8.3H inches, the 100 AW model that I tried is not big enough to comfortably hold one of the larger pro DSLRs, but it could certainly handle the mid-size range, like a Nikon D300 or D700 with attached lens. But you could also use it to carry two lenses. Or a lens and a couple speedlights. Or a long lens, water bottle, rain jacket and cell phone. By keeping the design simple and functional, Lowepro has made this a great all-around pack for any excursion when you want to keep your equipment to a small load.

I also loved being able to turn it into a shoulder bag. What Lowepro calls a 360-degree swivel padded shoulder harness is just a fancy term for shoulder strap with swivel clips. Fancy or not, it works. I tucked the belt straps into the bag’s back panel, put on the shoulder strap and used the Inverse as my carry-on bag for a trip to NYC. Buckling and unbuckling the beltpack in the airport would’ve been cumbersome, but in its shoulder bag capacity it was super. I wasn’t even packing a camera. I used it to hold my mini-laptop (an EeePC), cell phone, LARA bar, water bottle, and the other few necessities I want to keep with me on a plane. It fit under the seat with plenty of room left for my feet.

Sports and event photographers need fast, reliable printers with crowd-pleasing output. The HiTi P710L and Mitsubishi CP-3800DW fit the bill.

By Stan Sholik

Although photographers in general purchase far more inkjet printers than dye-sublimation (dye-sub) printers, it’s quite possible that they’re actually outputting more dye-sub prints. Event photographers, who might print an average of 500 prints during one event, are the largest market for dye-sub printers. They need reliable, easy-to-set-up printers that output photo-quality prints quickly, at a consistent cost per print—precisely the qualities of the new Hi-Touch Imaging Technology (HiTi) P710L and Mitsubishi Electric CP-3800DW dye-sub printers.

Dye-sub printing is radically different from inkjet printing. Rather than propelling droplets of opaque ink onto a paper surface, dye-sub printers use heat to transfer transparent dye from a ribbon onto paper. Having varying the temperatures across the printer head, dye-sub printers can produce 256 shades for each of its cyan, magenta and yellow ribbon, yielding a true 16.8-million color gamut. The transparent dye is laid down in layers, producing smooth color gradients and print quality that’s virtually indistinguishable from chemical photo lab prints.

Each color requires a separate pass through the printer, followed by a fourth pass to lay down a laminate layer, which protects the print from UV fading and water damage. When I splashed water on prints from each printer then wiped them dry, the prints were undamaged. HiTi estimates print life of 50 to 100 years, while Mitsubishi quotes 20-plus years in dark storage.

Despite the four-pass system, dye-sub printers also have an advantage over inkjet printers in speed. The HiTi P710L produces 4x6-inch prints in less than 7 seconds; the Mitsubishi CP-3800DW prints 8x10s in 30 seconds.

Another advantage is reliability. In dye-sub units, only the paper and the ribbon move during printing, not the whole print head, so there are fewer moving parts. Dye-sub printing is also very clean. The thermal head turns the dye embedded in the ribbon into a gas that’s immediately deposited onto the paper—no liquid cartridges to deal with—and the prints are completely dry when they exit the printer.

Finally, dye-sub printers produce a known number of prints per paper roll/ribbon, so you can calculate the per-print consumables cost exactly. This is a real competitive advantage in bidding on jobs.

By Joan Sherwood, Senior Editor

OnOne Software recently released FocalPoint, a new  plug-in for Adobe Photoshop or Photoshop Elements that makes it quick and easy to add selective focus and vignetting effects to your images.

OnOne has done an outstanding job of giving new users plenty of help in understanding how to use their plug-ins. There are pages of video software tutorials, including an in-depth introduction to FocalPoint, and a page with a video demo of each Focal Point feature.

Launch includes a simple step-by-step how-to that walks you through the basic functions. You can turn that off when you don't need it any more. 

This is a great plug-in if you want to incorporate selective focus and vignetting effects. It's priced at $159.95, and you can try it out first with a free 30-day trial version.

Here I've created a QuickTime movie demonstration for you just to show FocalPoint in action and demonstrate how easy it is to use. I'm using a photo I took of my niece and her new husband last Thanksgiving. 

Click on the image below to play. (QuickTime, 02:57)

By Ron Eggers

So many new digital photography books reach the market that it's sometimes difficult to tell one from another. Every once in a while, though, a new title comes along that distinguishes itself, either by the author’s slant or how the subject matter is covered. Katrin Eismann and Seán Duggan's new book, “The Creative Digital Darkroom” (O’Reilly, $49.99) is one of those books. It’s a comprehensive how-to and reference guide that can help even experienced photographers work more effectively with digital images.

I don't know Seán Duggan, but for the sake of full disclosure, I've known Katrin for a number of years, and I’m always impressed with the quality of her writing. “Real World Digital Photography,” which she wrote with Duggan and Tim Grey, became a must-have guide for photographers.

The 400-some pages of “Creative Digital Darkroom” are loaded with useful information, creative techniques and interesting projects. To get the most out of a book like this requires a considerable investment of time. It's not something you read once and go on to the next section. The 10-chapter book includes a foreword by Stephen Johnson, the photographer, author and educator. He says of the edition, "It is a workbook for today's photographer, providing needed detail to process the image and the reasoning behind the procedure." You have to go over the techniques carefully and actually try the suggested approaches, on either the images featured in the book, which are available for download, or your images.

By Ron Eggers

It’s difficult to get a clear picture of what's available in entry-level digital SLR cameras before another generation comes along. There are still considerable differences in feature sets, performance and potential image quality between entry-level models and professional DSLRs, but the resolution gap gets smaller and smaller all the time. All but the least expensive entry-level models have 10-megapixel or larger sensors. Some have resolutions topping 14 megapixels. But resolution doesn’t equal image quality.

The technological advances of the high-end models trickle down to entry-level DSLRs over time, bringing better responsiveness and less shutter lag to the current generation. Focusing is still slower on lower-end models, but again, the performance of the least expensive models is getting closer to that of the mid-range pro cameras.

Entry-level DSLR features such as scene modes, which aren't all that important to professionals, help less experienced shooters get better shots by allowing the photographer to set the type of picture to be taken (e.g. night shot, portrait, action) and having the camera makes all the technical decisions, like aperture size and shutter speed.
 
Photographers can increase image quality with entry-level models by upgrading the glass. Low-end models frequently come with inexpensive kit lenses. For their price, they're quite good, but no one claims that they match the quality of professional lenses. Sometimes just upgrading a lens can make a noticeable difference in image quality.

By Joe Farace

The Olympus E-420 claims to be “the world's smallest digital SLR with all the features you need to take great pictures … .”  With the rapidfire pace of DSLR introductions, that last caveat may be there so Big Oly can say, “Yours may be smaller, but is it as wonderful as ours?” So let’s get this out of the way first, the doggone thing is small and makes an ideal second camera for an Olympus-shooting pro or as an SLR for an assistant catching ceremony and candid shots during a wedding.

The E-420 has the Olympus Live View function that lets you use the large 2.7-inch LCD as a viewfinder to get color-balanced ceremony shots in church or synagogue, but there’s no image stabilization, so be sure to use a tripod. The camera’s Shadow Adjustment Technology and Face Detection make reception shots easy, ensuring that you can deliver sharper images to your clients.

How small is it? Measuring 5.1 x 3.6 x 2.1 inches and weighing just 13.4 ounces, the E-420 is small enough to fit into a purse or a jacket pocket and light enough to carry around and shoot comfortably all day. Face Detection is candid-photography friendly, distinguishes between people’s faces and the background, and will track up to eight faces within the image area while automatically focusing and optimizing exposure for portraits.

Dark sanctuaries? No problem. Shooting scenes with shadows can be tricky because of the extreme contrast between dark and bright areas but the E-420’s Shadow Adjustment Technology compensates for extreme contrast when shadow areas are underexposed and lack visible detail.

By Mark Levesque, CPP

Silkypix Developer Studio 3.0 is the latest release of raw converter software from Shortcut Software. Like competing raw image processing solutions, Silkypix can also process jpeg or tiff images, but it is really intended to be a raw processor.

Raw capture retains all of the image sensor data and allows the photographer to take advantage of the maximum tonality and detail when making adjustments to an image, which is particularly important if your artistic vision requires significant alteration. All of the decisions the camera makes to render an image are at your discretion with no loss of quality. Harnessing the control afforded by raw capture is what raw processing software is all about.

Silkypix allows you to open a single image or a folder of images in several preview layout options, including thumbnail, preview, and a split-screen that offers a little of both (Figure 1). You can delete, copy, move, batch process or color code the thumbnails. You can also add a comment that will be stored in the image’s EXIF data. For users accustomed to Adobe Lightroom’s intuitive and flexible interface, the Silkypix  image annotation options will seem relatively primitive and awkward, but at least there are options.

Figure 1

In the July issue of Professional Photographer magazine, Ron Eggers assessed the current top models of pro DSLR cameras. Here you can see sample images from those cameras along with a 1:1 pixel selection (click for full view). Images were saved in Photoshop for Web viewing as JPEGs at Quality: 85 in sRGB.

All images ©Ron Eggers unless otherwise noted. Eggers was not given access to a review unit of the Leica Digilux 3 to create independent sample images.

Canon EOS 40D: 1/250 second at f/11 (+.67), ISO 200

Travel photographer Bob Krist uses his photo viewers to secure backups and gain access to locals' lives in rural Transylvania.

All images ©Bob Krist 

What do a freelance travel photographer and a Transylvanian count have in common? Both are making sure that Transylvanian culture does not vanish into thin air. As Count Tibor Kálnoky preserves his family’s 13th century ancestral home seized during the communist regime, photographer Bob Krist is busy making “backups of backups of backups,” archiving his many digital photographs to document the story for future generations.
 
The count and photographer recently crossed paths when Krist stayed on assignment at a luxury guesthouse on Count Kálnoky’s estate in Miklosvar, Romania, a remote spot in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. Miklosvar is only an hour’s drive from the tourist trap known as “Dracula’s Castle,” but this little village of 500 souls seems frozen in time.
 
During his many trips abroad, Krist has had a variety of interesting adventures, including being stranded on a glacier in Iceland, knighted with a cutlass during a Trinidad voodoo ceremony, and nearly run down by charging bulls in southern India.

Krist found himself on yet another adventure on the eastern edge of Transylvanian countryside. Despite the thrill of the chase, Krist admits that a travel photographer’s life has its challenges, with inevitable airport delays, lonely hotel rooms, weeks away from his family, and constant worry about how to effectively save the digital images he shoots on the road. He readily confesses that he is a “maniac” about backing up his photographs. “After years of shooting chrome, I know that the slides in my storage cabinets will be there, short of a flood or fire," he said. “But I didn’t have the same confidence when it came to digital media.”

By Shawn Soni

Periperhal devices based on solid state technologies are becoming more prevalent for use as both external devices and internal drives for both portable and desktop computers. The low power consumption of SSDs (solid state drives) is especially relevant when you have a laptop running solely on battery power and you're moving data off for storage.

Lexar’s Crucial line has an interesting entry into the market with 32- and 64GB drives that work even while being shaken up by a paint shaker (see the YouTube video here). Although that’s not a recommended way to treat a drive, it’s instructive to know that it “takes a licking…” and still functions at 110 percent. The practical application of a device like this is its usefulness for storing critical data (pictures), particularly in extreme situations, after transferring the images from a memory card to a computer.

The Lexar drive as tested arrived with some assembly required. The drive itself requires mounting in a case that has an external USB interface on it. The assembly process takes about 10 minutes and a small Phillips-head screwdriver (not included). A drive enclosure/bracket kit is included and can be added into an available drive bay on a desktop computer if desired, allowing you to insert the SSD device into the computer for use as a “removable” device.

I tested the drive on both a Windows XP desktop and a Macintosh computer and neither had any difficulty recognizing the drive or mounting it as a removable device.

File copy times were not noticeably better than other hard drive devices, but that is not due to the SSD technology, but rather the USB interface. The device is capable of using an e-SATA interface, which is faster than USB for data transfer, but not all users have an e-SATA interface card or native connection on their computer.

By Joe Farace

Fast powerful zoom for the Four-Thirds System

The Zuiko Digital ED 14-35mm f/2.0 SWD is part of Olympus’ new Super High Grade (SHG) lens system aimed at professional photographers and featuring advanced optical/precision technology and crisp, fast auto-focus. The family of Supersonic Wave Drive (SWD) lenses sport a “platinum” (blue) barrel stripe and are compatible with any Four Thirds System camera but are optimized and achieve highest autofocus speeds when used with the Olympus E-3 professional DSLR, which I used to test the lens. SWD lenses have large maximum apertures, making them ideal for available-light photography at weddings and other candid events and are splash proof if you get caught in an unexpected shower.

All Zuiko Digital lenses allow light to strike the image sensor at a near-perpendicular angle, minimizing degradation and light loss, even at the edge of the frame or when using a wide-angle lens. As befits its $2,299 price tag, the ED 14-35mm f/2.0 SWD features rugged, high-quality construction and is dust and drip-proof. The two ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass elements minimize chromatic aberration and contribute to the lens’ superb optical performance.

SWD is the proprietary name for Olympus’ in-lens motor technology, similar to Canon’s USM (Ultra Sonic Motor) designation for its lens autofocus drive, although Canon uses two different versions of USM depending on whether it’s in an inexpensive lens or the more costly L-series. Supersonic Wave Drive technology is used in the lens to move the focusing lens group and in the camera body to actuate the Image Stabilization unit. SWD motor lenses work on any Olympus Four Thirds System body and will allow an increase in autofocus speed over non-SWD lenses.

By Stan Sholik

This article provides additional information on the digital projector calibration and profiling function of Spyder3Elite and supplements the Spyder3Studio review in the May issue of Professional Photographer magazine. 

A color-managed workflow is important at all times to professional photographers, but especially when we are presenting work to our clients. The Datacolor Spyder3Studio includes tools to ensure that they will see accurate color on your monitor, on proof prints and also on a projection screen. The same Spyder3Elite colorimeter used for monitor profiling can also profile a digital projector for photographers who use front projection in their sales room.

Projector calibration is very straightforward since some of the adjustments necessary in monitor calibration are unnecessary or unavailable with projectors. For example, the human eye automatically adapts to brightness and whitepoint in a darkened room, making these hardware adjustments superfluous if they are even available for the projector. 

So it is simply a matter of connecting the Spyder3, following the on-screen directions, and running the software process. The result is a profile for that projector and screen. At the end of the profiling process there is an option for creating two other profiles. These include adjustments for use in less desirable situations with more ambient light in case your sales room cannot be darkened totally during the day.

After selecting the option to calibrate a digital projector, you must set the Target Gamma and Whitepoint from the default 2.2-6500 to 2.2-Native. (Click image for larger view)

Image ©Anita Marquis 

Branching out from portrait photography, Anita Marquis now designs and prints custom wall murals and large prints for commercial and residential spaces. For this 38 x 72-inch print at the Parkcrest Dental Group in Springfield, Mo., she combined the firm’s brand colors and slogan with portraits of the 12 children of the six dentists who work in the office. She created the design in Adobe Photoshop CS and output it using the ImagePrint RIP with a 44-inch Epson Stylus Pro 9600 printer and LexJet Sunset Select Matte Canvas. She sprayed the print with PremierArt Eco Print Shield, then hung it using Popco Snap Rails. “Now, when the dentists come to work each day, they can always see their children smiling at them,” says Marquis. “Plus, many of the dentists’ patients see my work as well.”  

Image ©Anita Marquis 

This article originally appeared in the March/April 2008 issue of Great Output and is published here with permission, courtesy of Great Output and LexJet. Great Output is LexJet’s bi-monthly publication for photographers who want to know more about how to print, finish, display, and sell digital images. LexJet also publishes a monthly educational eNewsletter for photographers called In Focus. For more information about subscribing to these resources, go to www.lexjet.com/lexjet/newsletters.asp, or contact a LexJet account specialist at 800-453-9538.

Some criteria to consider when comparing pro-photo printers

By Eileen Fritsch

This article originally appeared in the March/April 2008 issue of Great Output and is published here with permission, courtesy of Great Output and LexJet. Great Output is LexJet’s bi-monthly publication for photographers who want to know more about how to print, finish, display, and sell digital images.

A wide-format inkjet printer is a great investment. Every day LexJet customers tell us about creative ways they’re using wide-format printers to generate additional revenue. And, the potential for using wide-format printers to improve studio profitability has just begun to be tapped.

For example, you can combine your wide-format printing capabilities with your photography expertise to help some of the millions of photo enthusiasts equipped with digital SLRs create enlargements that look far more artistic and refined than any of the poster-size prints they can now buy at their nearest Office Max or Staples.

A 2007 survey of professional photographers suggests that many of you haven’t considered buying a wide-format printer because you think it might distract you from keeping pace with camera and workflow software upgrades or dealing with intensifying price competition and the shifting demand for photography services. But if growing your photography business is a top priority, consider the dozens of ways a wide-format printer can help you stabilize, diversify, and grow your photography business.

Which wide-format inkjet printer is best for you? 

Download a comparison chart that details the features and specs of the Epson Stylus Pro, HP Designjet and Canon imagePROGRAPH models. 

Read on to learn more about the features and functions you need to understand when evaluating a wide-format printer for your business. 

Adobe has released updates to the Photoshop Lightroom and Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in to correct for issues found in Lightroom 1.4 and Camera Raw 4.4. 

The Lightroom 1.4.1 and Camera Raw 1.4.1 updates are available immediately as free downloads at http://www.adobe.com/downloads. Senior Photoshop Lightroom Product Manager, Tom Hogarty, has included a complete list of the corrections on his blog.

The following list from Hogarty's Lightroom Journal blog post details the issues found in Lightroom 1.4 and Camera Raw 4.4.

Lightroom

• Lightroom 1.4 incorrectly modified the EXIF time date field of images that had a metadata update applied.  This incorrect modification does not appear in Lightroom or Bridge and is only viewable through third party EXIF tools.  This error has been corrected in Lightroom 1.4.1 and all files in a Lightroom catalog that have been incorrectly modified will be corrected on their next metadata update. (Metadata can be updated by selecting the files in the Library grid view and choosing Command or CTRL + S to save and update the metadata.)

• Olympus JPEG files could render incorrectly in Lightroom 1.4, displaying an artifact in the exported file.

• Any conversion to DNG in Lightroom 1.4 (Windows Only) would cause the DNG file to become unreadable by Lightroom’s Develop Module or Camera Raw 4.4 in Photoshop.  The issue has been corrected and files can be converted to DNG again in order to resolve the issue for existing files.  Returning to the original native raw files is not necessary.  The affected DNG files can be selected and converted again using the DNG • Converter 4.4.1 available at www.adobe.com/dng/.  This process is not required but recommended to ensure that a correct validation value is stored within the DNG files.

• Lightroom 1.4 provided degraded import performance relative to Lightroom 1.3.

Camera Raw

• Camera Raw 4.4 incorrectly modified the EXIF time date field of images that were saved as TIFF or JPEG files from the Camera Raw dialog.  This has been corrected in Camera Raw 4.4.1

• Olympus JPEG files could render incorrectly in Camera Raw 4.4, displaying an artifact in the exported file.

By Shawn Soni

For Windows XP/Vista only

“Press Burn Go” clearly describes the capabilities of the Lite-On EZ-Dub Optical Drive DVD+RW burner.  This medium-sized appliance has an included “foot” to allow it to sit vertically on your desktop. Although loading and unloading it while vertical is a bit problematic, vertical positioning takes up very little real estate on your desktop—a definite advantage.

The drive is a USB 2.0 device and comes with a cable and power supply to facilitate a simple hook-up. Once plugged in and powered up, Windows will find your device and attempt to install generic Microsoft drivers for it. It appears to recognize the name of the device, and will do a basic installation of a DVD burner. But don’t be fooled, if you want to get the full functionality of the drive, you still need to use the included drivers to complete the install.  

To begin the setup, it is best to install the included Nero disk-burning software before the installation of the EZ-Dub software  If you try to install EZ-Dub first, it will prompt you to install Nero first, and then allow installation of EZ-Dub. A word of caution here, when installing Nero, a dialog box will open asking if you’d like Nero to be the default application that opens all your files (including JPEG, PSD, and TIFFs). It is probably not the best idea to select Nero as the default if you are installing this drive on the main workflow computer for your studio. That’s the only real “gotcha” that you need to look out for in the install process.

By Ron Eggers

X-Rite's newest color management product is the ColorMunki, a professional color management system available in two versions: ColorMunki Photo for photographers, and ColorMunki Design, for graphic artists. It was developed by X-Rite in conjunction with recently acquired Pantone, developer of the color-matching system.

ColorMunki Photo is for social, wedding, portrait, event and serious prosumer photographers. The Design version is for graphic artists, small to mid-sized agencies, individuals and creative teams in larger agencies and corporate in-house graphic arts departments. Even though the measuring devices are different colors (Photo is black and Design is white), the hardware for the two versions is the same. The difference is in the software.

The all-in-one Swiss-engineered true spectrophotometer-driven ColorMunki Photo lets photographers quickly and easily control colors all the way from what's represented on their displays to what's generated by their printers in a very simplified manner, giving them considerable color control for all of their digital imaging requirements. The all-in-one, true spectral device can be used for monitor, projector and printer profiling. For optimum output, it's designed with new automated printer profiling technology that simplifies monitor and print matching. It can also be used to measure ambient light and spot colors.

From April 2 to 14, star photographers from across North America, Germany, Great Britain, and Australia—including O'Reilly authors Mikkel Aaland, Katrin Eismann, and Peter Krogh—will train their digital cameras on beautiful Tasmanian island vistas to road test Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 beta. 

Anyone with Internet access can find out what's happening in Tasmania by going to digitalmedia.oreilly.com/adventure. That's where the photography team will be blogging daily about their experiences, posting their images, and discussing what worked and what didn't. Everyone is encouraged to participate by offering their comments as the Tasmanian journey unfolds. Visitors can also find a link for entering a sweepstakes to win a free trip to Tasmania courtesy of Qantas and Tourism Tasmania.

Trip organizer Aaland and his crew of pro shooters aim to test Adobe's digital imaging workflow solution under a wide variety of conditions in unfamiliar territory. Plans call for shooting by day and using Adobe Lightroom 2.0 beta to import, select, develop, and showcase their large volume of digital images each night.

As many know, Aaland journeyed to Iceland a few years back where he and a tireless crew of pro shooters tested the beta version of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 1.0 during the long midsummer days suffused in the most dramatic light on the planet.

"Lightroom Adventure Tasmania is a celebration of learning through collaboration," said Aaland. "I've worked with a network of amazing photographers through the years, and the adventure is also a true collaboration between artists and Adobe. They're supporting our in-the-field testing of Lightroom, and will use our feedback will help make Lightroom an even better tool for photographers."

By Shawn Soni

The Western Digital My Book Studio Edition II is an attractive, burnished aluminum dual-drive storage system. It’s an appealing and truly functional addition to any studio computer setup. The unit is about the size of a boxed set of "Lord of the Rings" paperbacks and weighs just slightly more. The Studio Edition II will be one of the quietest items on your desk. Its WD GreenPower fanless design consumes less power than standard dual-drive storage systems, a welcome plus.

Adding the drive to your existing Apple computer is as simple as plugging it in and turning it on. The unit offers several ports for different connection media: a USB2.0 port, an eSATA port (which works for both Mac and PC) and two FireWire ports for FireWire 400 or 800 connections (the FireWire ports are for FireWire 800, but the included cable will allow a FireWire 400 device to be connected). Western Digital includes cables for these connection options, with the exception of eSATA, along with clear and simple directions. For the WD software to support an eSATA connection, the host computer must have either an eSATA PCI card or native connection on its motherboard.

Your Macintosh will immediately recognize and mount the volume as “MyBook” on your desktop, and, if you do not choose to reformat or repartition it is immediately ready to use.

The Studio Edition II drive comes pre-configured as a Macintosh HFS+ journaled drive set up as RAID 0 (a large, non-redundant disk set) and is easy to re-configure using the included Western Digital WD Drive Manager Software. Drive Manager driven reconfiguration options include a RAID 1 (a mirrored, redundant disk set) option for HFS+, and RAID 0 and RAID 1 options for Windows using FAT32 as the file system. Unfortunately, there isn’t an option to use NTFS for Windows, which, from a purely technical standpoint, is a disadvantage to Window users who want to utilize the file security and compression system advantages that are inherent in NTFS.

Image ©Shawn Soni 

By Stan Sholik

When a widely used software program rolls into a new version, it's a notable event. This time the software is Phase One Capture One 4 (C1-4). This is the successor to Capture One 3.x LE, not Capture One 3.x PRO. It does not support tethered shooting, IPTC metadata, CMYK output, simultaneous multiple file output and a few other PRO features. If these are important features in your workflow, stand by for the promised release of Capture One 4 PRO later this year.

In January, Phase One released Capture One PRO 3.7.8 for the Mac with 3.7.8 for Windows due soon. With the release of Windows Vista and Mac OS 10.5 and the constant influx of new digital SLRs, Phase One along with all hardware and software companies have to work diligently to keep up with the changes.

Lacking features aside, C1-4 is a major upgrade of LE. It probably has all the RAW processing power that the vast majority of digital SLR users will ever need. It should even appeal to Phase One digital back owners who also use DSLRs. The Phase One DB software bundled with the backs cannot process DSLR raw files. Unlike C1 LE, which doesn’t process raw files from Phase One backs, C1-4 can process raw files from every Phase One digital back, as well as raw files from nearly every DSLR, enabling a common workflow.  

The user interface of Capture One 4 is totally new. It now sports a charcoal gray background. This is the default layout of the user-customizable interface. Image ©Stan Sholik

By Ron Eggers

One difference between a serious photographer and a casual photographer is the level of expertise honed from years of shooting experience. A variety of tools are available to help you sharpen photographic skills and insights. The depth-of-field guide, which has been around for some 30 years, has been revised recently with the introduction of ExpoAperture2 Depth-of-Field Guides from ExpoImaging.

For too many photographers, depth of field is a relatively vague concept of what's in focus and what isn't. In fact, you can determine depth of field very precisely, mathematically. Many fixed-focus lenses and some zoom lenses have depth-of-field guides marked on their barrels. Some cameras also have depth-of-field preview capabilities. These work well enough while shooting. But they aren't much help in planning a shoot.

By Karen Linsley 

Advertised with the tag line “form meets function,” the Shootsac is not a camera bag, but more of a lightweight carry case for lenses and other accessories.  

At a recent wedding, I used it to carry a spare flash card holder, spare batteries for a flash unit, an extra lens, a light meter and a Quantum Battery Pack, plus some little extra odds and ends that I usually carry in a pocket or fanny pack. The battery pack didn’t stay in the bag long, as it gets attached to a Q-flash off camera, but I wanted to see how the bag felt with all that equipment in it. After a while it got heavy and put unwanted strain on my shoulders, which defeated the purpose of leaving the bigger, heavier camera bag at the DJ table to wander around freely. But after taking the battery pack out, the Shootsac worked quite nicely. I didn’t have all that stuff creating bulk in my pockets, nor did I have the extra bulk in my pockets or the fanny pack.

Sony Moves Up the Performance Ladder

By Ron Eggers

The The Sony Alpha DSLR-A700 is a solid piece of equipment that combines strong performance with affordability. I reviewed the Sony’s original DSLR, the A100, and liked it, and the A700 is a step up. It has a higher-resolution sensor, is more responsive and feels better built. The rugged magnesium alloy body is quite heavy for its size, yet its ergonomic grip and well-balanced proportions are comfortable for shooting.

Though it’s not marketed as a pro camera, the A700 is more of a professional model than a consumer DSLR. Take its responsiveness, for example. There's no focusing hesitation or shutter lag. It responds on demand. And the camera pretty much lives up to its 5-frames-per-second (fps) capture rating. Using a high-speed Extreme IV 2 GB CompactFlash card, shooting in the Hi continuous advance mode, and without repositioning or refocusing the camera during the burst, it was possible to capture 17 to 18 frames per 4-second burst. That's good performance.

The A700 is designed around a new APS-C size CMOS Exmor Sensor with effective resolution of 12.2 megapixels, and maximum capture resolution of 4,272x2,848 pixels. Captures are processed through the advanced Bionz image processor with hardware-based, large-scale integrated circuitry, which Sony has refined to increase performance, speed processing, optimize image quality, and significantly reduce electronic noise.

By Rick Ralston 

As part of a Photoshop actions tutorial I wrote for Professional Photographer Magazine (coming in the March 2008 issue) I did a speed test comparing Photoshop's actions, Adobe Lightroom and the manual process. I took 100 raw images and ran them through a series of tasks. The results are a little surprising.

Lightroom has taken some of the functionality of Photoshop, made it easy to apply settings to multiple images and added some other niceties such as building slideshows and advanced printing—all aimed at the professional photographer. But you still need Photoshop to edit images at the pixel level and for compositing. Lightroom works with raw files and only applies settings to the images upon export.

The Results:
Photoshop actions: 14 minutes, 32 seconds (including action creation time)
Adobe Lightroom: 25 minutes, 20 seconds (including droplet creation time)
Manually: 52 minutes, 10 seconds

By Ellis Vener

There are those who like to learn by reading, there are those who prefer classes, seminars and workshops, there are those who like video instruction, and there are those who’ll take it anyway they can get it. Each approach has its merits. Good DVDs in particular blend several of the strengths of other instruction forms: they are portable, and there’s a human leading you through the process, and best of all, you can go at your pace.

My first impression of the “RAW without FUD: How to Shoot RAW without Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt” DVD was amusement at the FUD acronym; I’d never heard it before. But according to the Wikipedia.com entry on FUD, it stands for  “Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.” FUD has explicit roots as a way of describing political disinformation tactics—like those used by many politically oriented talk radio show hosts. But FUD-ing really gained traction in the corporate world in the early 1970s, and since “1991 the term has become generalized to refer to any kind of disinformation used as a competitive weapon" according to Eric S. Raymond’s “The Jargon File.”

Let’s be honest with ourselves for a moment: who among us hasn’t felt fear, uncertainty and doubt when confronting digital processing? Like it or not we are now not only photographers but also the lab, and to large extent the equivalent of being film manufacturers as well as being photographers and business owners. It’s all on our (or our assistants') shoulders, folks. That can be scary, and many people still stick to a JPEG-based way of working to get around it. That’s not good because to do so means losing a competitive qualitative edge.

Michael Tapes’ educational goal with the “How to Shoot RAW without Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt” DVD of video tutorials is to dispel your phobias about raw processing, engender confidence in your raw workflow abilities, and thereby help you become a more confident photographer.

By Joan Sherwood

Lowepro brings simplicity to camera bags with its Cirrus TLZ line. These top-loading bags have a single compartment, two Velcro-attach supports, and a memory card pocket.

I tested the Cirrus TLZ 25 bag, largest of the line, initially intending to use it with the Nikon D200. The interior dimensions are listed as 6.1Wx4.1Dx8.3H, but the Nikon D200 body is just a little too chunky for it at 5.7x4.4 inches across the back. If you have a more compact DSLR, however, the size is optimal and can even handle a relatively long lens or leave room for cable storage at the bottom of the bag. My Nikon D40 fits perfectly at 5x3.7 inches across the body, with room to slip my fingers around the grip.

Image above ©Joan T. Sherwood 

So your pro DSLR won't fit, but it might be a good choice for your carry-around or backup camera. Lowepro announced new 110, 120 and 140 models for the Cirrus line at PMA this year that should be a better fit for bigger pro models. The new Cirrus bags are available now. (Right: Lowepro Cirrus 110)

In anticipation of our upcoming in-depth review, Professional Photographer provides you with notes from our Nikon D3 reviewer Ellis Vener on its most notable features and functions that made a big impression. 

IMPRESSIVE

This is Nikon’s first full frame (24x36mm format) D-SLR—no crop factor. Nikon calls this format FX. While the resolution is only 12.1 megapixels, roughly equal to the resolution of the Nikon D300, the larger physical area allows Nikon to employ a second layer of micro lenses to really focus the light down into the pixel wells resulting in:

• More clear resolution of fine detail than I’ve seen out of other 12 megapixel format cameras.

• Large dynamic range when using the 14-bit per channel NEF format, especially in the highlights, about one and a half stops over the D2X. (This is also a result of the EXPEED processor technology implemented  in the D3.)

• Very low noise at high ISO settings, about two to four times the quality of the D2Xs.

• Much greater resolution of shadow detail than many other similar cameras.

By Ellis Vener

From the L1 setting (approximately ISO 100) to ISO 800, Nikon D300 resolution remains near constant and virtually unaffected by noise. With the onboard High ISO Noise Reduction function turned off, at ISO 800 the visible noise-to-signal ratio starts to change to the point of becoming noticeable on a good monitor, but it is nowhere near the problem present in the D200 or D2X. If you are forced by circumstances to go to ISO 1600 and higher (the top end is 6400), the resulting images are still very usable but are softer and more freckled with noise than what you see with the D3. The ability to easily go up to ISO 800 with only a very marginal loss in quality has big implications with the way we work: not only can we work in dimmer ambient light, but it has broad implications for our choice of lighting tools.

Following is a series of targets showing the Nikon D300 performance through its ISO range. The images were shot using a Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. Click any image for a larger view.

ISO 100