I couldn’t help but feel like a gunfighter. As I loaded the BlackRapid RS DR-1 Double Strap with two Nikon D3 bodies, I felt equipped to take on any number bad guys – er I mean shooting situations.
I was anxious to review this product. Those of you who have been long-time readers might remember my previous R-Strap experience wasn’t that great. The original BlackRapid R Strap nearly cost me a Nikon D700 w/24-70mm F/2.8 lens on board. http://photofocus.com/2008/10/16/blackrapid-r-strap-review-twip/
Thankfully – it looks like many (if not all) of the issues I had with the original BlackRapid strap have been solved.
Let’s start by examining the new strap on the merits. It’s designed to carry two camera bodies. If the two bodies are similar in weight, the strap works like a charm. If however you have one pro body (such as a D3) and one consumer body (such as a D5000) you might find it a bit hard to balance. Still – this product works as well as could be expected in either situation.
The strap will fit anyone (if it fits me it will fit you) and was very comfortable. It distributed the weight of the two D3 bodies evenly. The strap is well made and the connection point is now based on a very solid connector.
It is still unnerving to hook the two $4500 camera bodies into a system that allows for them to hang upside down by a single clasp – but it works and this time I trust it.
The new fastener (BlackRapid calls it the FastenR-2) is lower profile, better made and makes a very comfortable connection to the camera.
The new ConnectR-2 is BlackRapid’s answer to the obvious problem they faced with their original product. It too offers a strong, smoother and more reliable way to attach the camera to the strap.
I’ll be using this system to carry my cameras during the World Wide Photo Walk Saturday. If you need to carry two bodies at once, the BlackRapid RS DR-1 Double Strap is the best solution I’ve seen (so far.) I’d highly recommend it but for one problem. At $130 it is crazy expensive. If it were even under $100 I could get more used to saying that price was okay. But in today’s economy, I don’t know how many people will spring for a $130 camera strap. If you can get past the price, I think you’ll be happy with it.
(Photo is Copyright Nicole S. Young – All Rights Reserved)
Image and Post by Nicole Young – Follow Nicole on Twitter
This Saturday is Scott Kelby’s second-annual “Worldwide Photo Walk“, and there will be (literally) thousands of photographers out taking photos in hundreds of cities around the world. Attending a photo walk is a little bit different than a planned photo shoot, so I put together a few tips for those of you who are new to photo-walking or just need some brushing up:
1. Be safe! Plenty of photo walks are planned to be near streets and traffic, among other potentially dangerous obstacles, and while getting good photos is important it is more important that you don’t endanger yourself or others during the process. Also, photo walks do, in general, involve a lot of walking (imageine that!), so make sure you wear appropriate shoes for your environment. This time of year it is likely to be hot and sunny so be sure to bring water, sunscreen, or whatever you need to help you focus on the event and not be bothered by being uncomfortable.
2. Keep it simple. Try to limit your gear to one camera and one lens. In the past I have gone on photo walks using only my Lensbaby – it forced me to see things differently and be creative. Keeping your gear to a minimum also helps you enjoy the event and not be bothered by changing out your lens every ten minutes. But, with that being said, don’t forget some of the basics like memory cards, lens clothes, a fully charged battery, and even a stack of business cards to hand out to the new people you meet on the walk.
3. No SLR? No problem! If you only have a point-and-shoot or a camera-phone … bring it! Photo walks are not about who has the most-expensive camera or fastest lens, but about the experience and the shared love of photography, regardless of what type of gear you happen to bring with you.
4. Try to be sociable and friendly. A photo walk is a time to get to know other photographers and share stories, or just hang out and and have a good time. I personally enjoy photo walks more for the social aspect than the actual photography involved. The purpose of the event is obviously going to be focused on taking photos, but you can do that by yourself any day of the week! A group photo walk is going to be more about the community and sharing your passion of photography, so put a smile on your face and do your best to talk with and meet some new people.
5. Take lots of photos! So, you’ve met up with the group and started the walk … what do you photograph? My advice is to steer clear of the obvious if at all possible. If you see the group gravitating in one direction, look in the opposite direction and find something unique (but don’t stray too far from the group!). This is a great time to experiment! You can even give yourself an “assignment” or “theme” ahead of time and try to stick with that. Also, don’t forget to get a few “behind-the-scene” shots of your fellow photographers!
The most important thing about a photo walk is to have fun. Yes, everyone wants to get a few good images in the end, but ultimately it’s about experiencing and enjoying a shared passion of photography with each other. So get out there and have a good time!
This post sponsored by: ExpoImaging
Guest Post & Photos by Brent Burzycki Follow Brent on Twitter
I began my career in the glamour photo marketplace about four years ago and since then I have learned much, dispelled many more rumors than truths and also learned that in the end there is only one really happy person if you do your job correctly.
Let us start with the only person that will ever truly be happy with your work, that is your model. One of my rules when I shoot glamour is that if I cannot make the model happy with the images we shoot then I have failed as a photographer. My job as a glamour photography is to make an image that shows that model in their best most sensual or sexy light possible. You can accomplish this in many ways and those ways are based on how you implement and plan your shoot, what your subject matter is or simply what the client you are shooting for actually requires.
With those criteria in place it comes down to using your skills as a photographer and as a human being. Let’s be frank about it – you as a glamour photographer are asking your model to be incredibly intimate with the camera, and to play into a mood and feeling that they might not be fully comfortable doing with their significant other let alone a complete stranger as you could easily be in most shoot scenarios. This is where your rapport with the model becomes so very important, and without it you will never get the results you are looking for in your shoot.
Rapport is a very interesting topic I can talk for hours about so I will try to just summarize my thoughts and feel free to contact me if you have points you would like to add. My attitude when shooting any living human subject is that I treat them as I would want to be treated. That said it is very important to note that there are very important guidelines to not cross, one of them being touching. The rule for most photographers is that there is no touching of the model allowed without explicit consent of the model. I have this rule for a simple reason, for most people touch is equal to trust and trust needs to be earned and you cannot earn trust when you have only known a person for less than a short interview at the beginning of a shoot. The flip side of this is making the mistake of breaking a models trust; this could easily ruin your career as a glamour photographer. You will find it is truly amazing how the internet can ruin you forever when your model leaves the shoot, hops onto Facebook and Twitter and tells all her model friends that you are a creepy untrustworthy photographer. Thank you for playing, your career is done.
Lighting is important, proper technical photo skills are important, but in the end when it comes to glamour the mood of the image is most important. Photos tell stories, mood evokes emotion and emotion will equal the viewer looking at your photo longer. Mood is created by achieving trust between the model and the photographer, having proper rapport with the model to achieve that mood that is desired and simply to be open and honest with the model about the shoot and the content of the shoot. If you follow those simple rules you will find your photography grow and your reputation in the industry to grow along with it.
Sponsored by ExpoImaging
On August 16-20, 2009 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand – hundreds of professional photographers will get the chance to recharge and learn new ways to improve both their photography and their business.
This is NOT a photo trade show. It’s a workshop featuring 15 speakers in just two and one half days. And I’m both honored and privileged to get to give a talk at this workshop along side greats like Bambi Cantrell, Skip Cohen, Tony Corbell, Ron Dawson, Robert Evans, Jim Garner, Jerry Ghionis, Mitche Graf, Matt Hill, Kevin Kubota, Charles and Jennifer Maring, Dane Sanders and Ken Sklute!
The Summer School photography workshop features a series of programs designed to help professional photographers realize the full potential of their business and of many new technologies, especially in mixed media (video and still imaging creation and presentation), Search Engine Optimization, social media through Blogs and Twitter while at the same time, fine tune their photographic skills in lighting, composition, exposure and even marketing and self-promotion.
The format at Summer School is designed to learn…the room will be set up classroom style so that everyone has a place to sit at a table – NOT a crowded theater style set up. And, there will be charging station in the back of the room. So, if you like to take notes on your laptop, bring it along!
Each program will be presented one at a time. And, the speakers will be available at various intervals for additional discussion at Speaker/Sponsors Corner, just outside the ballroom
There will also be networking opportunities. This workshop offers a mid-year chance to network with friends and associates and talk about the challenges in today’s market.
“Skip’s Summer School” is the creation of Skip Cohen, former president of Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) and Rangefinder Publishing Inc. publishers of Rangefinder and AfterCapture magazines. Skip also helped run a little company called Hasselblad back in the day.
The cost to attend Skip’s Summer School is just $279 and it also includes free full registration to WPPI 2010 (March 4-11, 2010) as well as a six month membership in the Digital Wedding Forum for each attendee. In addition, there is a special MGM room rate of $69 per night for Summer School attendees. Also included with each room reservation is a 2 for 1 entrée card good for most MGM restaurants, bars and a $35 activity credit for dining or entertainment charged to the room. For more information, or to register for Skip’s Summer School, visit www.mei500.com.
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Photofocus Episode #9 is now in the feed. If for some reason it doesn’t show up in your copy of iTunes, please refresh your feeds.
You can subscribe through iTunes free of charge at (Opens the iTunes App)
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=313790661
Post and photo by Rick Sammon
You can read more about, Photomatix, Topaz Adjust and HDR images (and get discounts on some HDR programs) at www.pluginexperience.com.
Why do I love HDR photography? Let me count the ways.
One) It is a good exercise (and fun) to see the different brightness levels on a scene – and make exposures for all of them. That exercise, no matter what type of picture we are taking, makes us better photographers – because it helps us to see the light.
For the image here, I took exposures at these exposure compensation settings: 0, -1, -2, +1. +2, +3 and +4. The idea was to open up most of the shadows and tone down most of the highlights. Why not all the shadows and highlights: light illuminates, shadows define.
Two) HDR images, without creative detail enhancements, can make image look as a scene looks to our eyes – because a single image does not have the dynamic range of our eyes (about 11 f-stops compared to about 6 stops in a digital camera).
Three) Add creative enhancements, as I did here using both Photomatix and Topaz Adjust, and we can create artistic images with depth, detail and of course a high dynamic range.
Four) We can impress our friends with our images.
Five) We can awaken the artist within by picturing the world differently from other photographers. Within both Photomatix and Topaz Adjust, there are dozens of creative adjustments. Add the adjustments we can make in Photoshop, Lightroom and Aperture, and the creative possibilities are endless.
HDR is not really new. It’s been around for years for movie makers. What’s more, if you think about it, Ansel Adams and other print makers (including Karsh of Ottawa) created HDR images in the digital darkroom using different papers, chemicals, filters, developing times, and of course dodging and burning.
Quick HDR tips:
- Use a tripod.
- Basic exposure compensation settings: 0, +2, –2. The greater the contrast range, the more you need to bracket your exposures.
- Don’t change your aperture. Bracket with your shutter speed.
- Manual focus.
- Set white balance for scene. Don’t use Auto.
- Have fun. Seriously. Play with all the slider controls.
If you have not giving HDR imaging a try, whatcha waitin’ for?
This post sponsored by ExpoImaging
(Photo is Copyright Nicole S. Young – All Rights Reserved)
Image and Post by Nicole Young – Follow Nicole on Twitter
One thing that I really like to photograph is food. It combines two things I love to do – take photos and cook! Here are some things to keep in mind when setting up for food photography:
Lighting: As usual, lighting is going to be the most important thing to be aware of. When photographing food natural lighting is always going to look the most realistic. If you have soft diffused light coming in through a window and can set up next to it then you are in luck (a North-facing window will usually yield the most pleasing results). You can also use a reflector, or any white or reflective surface, to bring light back into the shadow areas of your setup.
Exposure: My only advice here is to try to use very shallow depth-of-field. I try to get in close and use an aperture setting somewhere between F/2.8 and F/5.6 to add a nice soft feel to the image.
Food: Fresh, crisp, clean food is always going to photograph better than something that has been sitting in your refrigerator for a few days. Make a trip to the grocery store or market the day of your shoot and be very selective about what you purchase.
Styling: Food always looks different to us when we are about to eat it than when we see it in a photo. Some dishes will be picture-perfect & ready to be photographed as-is, but most will need some styling to make them look appetizing. There are professionals who do this for a living, but with a few tricks and a good amount of attention-to-detail you too can make your food look appetizing in a photo.
Dishes: Simplicity is the key here. I tend to stick with simple, white plates and one or two accent colors (a colored table or napkin, for example). You want the focus of the photograph to be about the food, so try to use dishes that don’t take the attention away from what you want people to see.
Your ultimate goal is not only to make a photograph that looks good, but also to make the food you are photographing look like something you want to eat. This is not always an easy task! My last but most important piece of advice is to look at photos around you that have food in them (and they are everywhere!). Try to figure out why the photo looks good, and implement what you see into your own photography.
This image features a perfectly-exposed, beautiful young woman. I suspect that it’s probably pretty popular, but for me, I’d like to see a slightly more conventional approach – sort of.
I’m really torn by this image. So much of it works but a few things confuse me. The blown out highlights in the background could be – on the one hand distracting, but on the other, it could be just considered another high-key background. At the end of the day, I came down on thinking the hi-key background wins out.
Scott's Take
But the image does need to be straightened in my opinion. I am also troubled by the model’s gaze out of the frame. I’d rather see her looking directly at the camera or to the other side. Again, this is probably my old age showing itself. Today, this sort of framing seems to be more acceptable Traditionally, you don’t want your subject looking out of the frame.
Otherwise, the image looks great. The pose and expression are perfect (except for the direction the model is facing) and I am sure the photographer has a right to be pleased with the image.
As always, there’s no right or wrong. Just opinion. Be sure to join our critique group so you can participate in the critiques. http://www.flickr.com/groups/scottcritiques/
It’s been a fantastic year for the Aperture Nature Photography Workshops and I can’t believe it’s almost over.
The deadline is almost here for the fourth and final contest. End Date: July 15, at 2:00 PM PST. At that time entries into the contest will be permanently closed. We’ll select the four winners this week and begin preparation for the fourth and final workshop to take place near Mt. Rainier National Park in September.
I really appreciate the support of the staff and the winners we’ve had so far. It’s been a great group. I also want to thank Apple and our sponsors for helping to make the ANPW a reality.
If you’re a US resident and 18 years old or older you’re still eligible to win a free trip to the workshop. It’s going to be a blast. Be sure to get your entry in over at the Flickr forum.
Here’s where you enter. http://www.flickr.com/groups/anpw/
Good luck to all.
