Photofocus

Education and inspiration for visual storytellers

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Ron Pepper

San Francisco based Photographer specializing in 360º panoramic images for businesses, destinations, homes, schools and more. Lynda.com author, 360º Photo Mentor for Photographic Society of America.
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Latest posts by Ron Pepper (see all)

Photograph HDR with Exposure Calculator

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Capturing bracketed images really isn't very difficult but, at first, it sure can feel intimidating. I remember when it was mysterious to me and, to this day, I get questions about it all of the time. So I want to point out a great tool to help you set your camera's Auto Exposure Bracketing. But before you can set your camera's AEB, you first need to measure the exposure for two extremes in the scene. Once you know the fastest and slowest shutter speeds needed, you'll need to find the 'middle' exposure and turn on your camera's AEB. Which … [Read more...] about Photograph HDR with Exposure Calculator

Problem Solving | Photofocus Podcast | October 2nd, 2017

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  https://soundcloud.com/photofocus/problem-solving-photofocus-podcast-october-2nd-2017   This month we focus on... focus! That is, right after our eclipse wrap-up. Links from the show: Photomatix Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/hdrsoft Pepper’s San Francisco Eclipse Photos: www.pepperazzi.photos The story of the epic eclipse photo by Andrew Studer and Ted Hesser is here. Levi Sim links www.levisim.com instagram.com/photolevi Pepper's links. www.panoramanetwork.com instagram.com/rpepper Have suggestions or … [Read more...] about Problem Solving | Photofocus Podcast | October 2nd, 2017

Full Eclipse in HDR – Expert Advice

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It's last minute getting ready for the eclipse, have you listened to any experts for advice?  Well, I found myself in the middle of a great conversation, and I want to pass it on so as many photographers as possible can benefit. Expert Astrophotographer Jean-Marc Lecleire answered questions from a Photomatix customer interested in using bracketing and HDR to capture the subtle details which will be lost by most eclipse photographers. Our friends at HDRsoft condensed this discussion down for us all … [Read more...] about Full Eclipse in HDR – Expert Advice

Problem Solving | Photofocus Podcast | August 18th, 2017

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  This month we close out our eclipse ideas with advice from an expert, then some quick advice for anyone unsure about sensor dust.   Links from the show: Q&A on solar eclipse HDR: https://www.hdrsoft.com/resources/hdr-for-solar-eclipse.html Jean-Marc Lecleire, Astrophotographer: https://www.facebook.com/jeanmarc.lecleire HDRsoft Facebook Page:  www.facebook.com/hdrsoft onXmaps:  https://www.onxmaps.com   Find Levi: levisim.com Instagram: @photolevi Find … [Read more...] about Problem Solving | Photofocus Podcast | August 18th, 2017

Problem Solving | Photofocus Podcast | July 29th, 2017

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Levi Sim and Ron Pepper discuss how location access can help make better photos, and ideas for access that anyone can try. First we'll follow up on last month's show about the eclipse.   Find Levi: levisim.com Instagram: @photolevi Find Pepper: www.panoramanetwork.com instagram: @rpepper Have suggestions or questions to be used on the show? Email us here: -Levi Sim: [email protected] -Ron Pepper: [email protected]   Get the show here  or get it on iTunes — Don't forget to post a review on iTunes. … [Read more...] about Problem Solving | Photofocus Podcast | July 29th, 2017

Problem Solving | Photofocus Podcast | June 16th, 2017

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Levi and Pepper talk about the upcoming full eclipse of the sun and some ideas to make the opportunity unique to you. We also take a minute to think about basing a photo business on a single platform -- which might suddenly change! Find Levi: www.levisim.com twitter.com/photolevi Find Pepper: www.panoramanetwork.com twitter.com/ronpepper Have suggestions or questions to be used on the show? Email us here: -Levi Sim: [email protected] -Ron Pepper: [email protected] Get the show here or get it on iTunes — Don’t … [Read more...] about Problem Solving | Photofocus Podcast | June 16th, 2017

Problem Solving | Photofocus Podcast | May 19th, 2017

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We're back talking about portraits when you have only brought one light.  Levi is very accomplished at doing this and he has great advice -- and stories! Get the show here or get it on iTunes — Don’t forget to post a review on iTunes. … [Read more...] about Problem Solving | Photofocus Podcast | May 19th, 2017

Simple shooting strategy for High Dynamic Range

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I've been saying it for so long that it's time to write about it!  What I'm referring to is my often-given advice for capturing bracketed images.  Many people say that we should choose the 'correct' exposure, then capture overexposed & underexposed images.  However I recommend to forget the notion of the middle image being the 'correct' exposure.  Rather, the 'correct' exposure is a series of images -- and those images capture the full dynamic range of the scene.  We can do that by measuring and choosing all of the exposures … [Read more...] about Simple shooting strategy for High Dynamic Range

Should I say “HDR” anymore?

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I find myself using the term ‘HDR’ less and less every day. When I started as a panoramic photographer in 2002, I was continually frustrated because almost every 360º scene would have blown-out bright highlights or ‘blocked up’ shadows. Often I would have both of those extremes in the same scene because a camera can only capture so much dynamic range. Imagine being outside of a hotel where the sun is behind the building. The shadows are dark on the building, but I still need to capture the complete scene at a pool -- of course before crowds … [Read more...] about Should I say “HDR” anymore?

What would a Panoramic Photographer do?

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A panoramic photographer doesn’t view the world in the same way as other photographers and planning a shot in all 360 glorious degrees changes nearly everything. I've been passionate about the 360º image for several years now and probably talk about it too much.  Part of this talk is encouraging other photographers to add panoramic photography to their répertoire and helping those new to panoramic photography to get started.  Hopefully the following examples of what a panoramic photographer would do will encouragement some to try it … [Read more...] about What would a Panoramic Photographer do?

Photomatix for Linux!

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Most of my friends and acquaintances in the photography world know that I work with HDRsoft who makes Photomatix software.  Photomatix is used to combine and render bracketed images for high dynamic range scenes.  This same company is also a sponsor of Photofocus, just to be clear about that. But for quite a few Linux users that I've been in contact with, it's a big deal that HDRsoft has just released 'Photomatix for Linux.'  This means the HDR workflow is now supported on 3 platforms (Linux, Windows, and Mac). This isn't 'Photomatix Pro' … [Read more...] about Photomatix for Linux!

Don’t Like HDR? Try Exposure Fusion.

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There is much mystery and controversy surrounding "HDR" photography and much of it is comes from the infamous fake look that is too easy to attain when tone mapping.  But another method, called Exposure Fusion, makes it simple to get photo-realistic results from the same bracketed set of images. So if you avoid using bracketing to capture a high-contrast scene, or you don't think you like HDR, Exposure Fusion might interest you — and may have gone unnoticed when processing images in Photomatix. Processing bracketed images with Fusion is like … [Read more...] about Don’t Like HDR? Try Exposure Fusion.

Becoming Polycamerous

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Special thanks to Mrs. Pepper who encouraged me to click-and-tell, and share just a bit of humor. Soon after becoming a professional photographer, I was very lucky that Nikon agreed to my proposal of sponsorship.  For many years I chose to remain committed to Nikon and have always been very happy doing so.  It didn't hurt that, during those years, there were fewer fish in the sea compared to today.  And even though Canon users attempted to seduce me into using Canon's also-attractive equipment, the attraction wasn't strong enough to divide … [Read more...] about Becoming Polycamerous

Immersive Panoramas right in your Facebook Newsfeed!

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Facebook has strongly embraced virtual reality in recent times and has made another move to advance the immersive visual content. By integrating interactive 360º images to the already supported 360º video, they are encouraging people to create and share such images. What kind of 'interactivity' am I writing about here? Please click here to see an image where you can drag your mouse (computer) or move your mobile device to see in any direction: For most people using Facebook, it’s an opportunity to view or experience locations in a … [Read more...] about Immersive Panoramas right in your Facebook Newsfeed!

5 Ideas when faced with ‘blah’ light… but a GREAT location

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Lately I've been working on a project which includes capturing ‘post card’ type images in and around San Francisco. A huge challenge with this project is that I'm doing on my own time, which ain't much, and it means that I can't often visit the best locations at the most ideal times. This presents a problem to solve which is, ‘How can I get at least a good (doesn’t have to be great) photo when the light isn’t very good?’  And I decided to share some ideas which have come from this experience. On one particular occasion, I took time to … [Read more...] about 5 Ideas when faced with ‘blah’ light… but a GREAT location

How Many Images Should I Take for HDR?

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Editor: Want to learn more about HDR? Check out this free online class. One of the most common question about HDR photography seems to be how many images should I take? This has an easy answer and the answer is It depends. That answer just isn't very satisfying is it? Well, lets talk about why it depends. How Brackets Work The reason for taking bracketed images, and for using HDR techniques to combine them, is to solve a problem. The problem is that the dynamic range of a scene is too great for the cameras sensor to capture in a single … [Read more...] about How Many Images Should I Take for HDR?