Photography conferences like WPPI are a great place to check out some of the latest and greatest in the photography world — including with the tech you use to evolve your business. Several newer companies showcased their products at this year's expo, and there were three that really drew me in: Joy: Photo Albums for the Modern Age Imagine combining a tablet with a photo album, and you have Joy. Instead of printing albums, Joy offers a well-designed custom photo album solution for your clients. Perfect for wedding photography clients, I was … [Read more...] about From the WPPI Floor: Fresh Tech Ideas for Photographers
technology
How to Replace a Portrait Background Easily with Adobe Stock
A portrait against a neutral background is great as a headshot. It lacks excitement, concept, and story. Here's an easy way to turn a simple portrait into a show stopper--change the background. Drop out the background Use your favorite method to make the background transparent with a layer mask. Solid objects can be outlined with the pen tool. Others, like the portrait shown here, might be done with the Quick Selection tool. No matter. Use Select & Mask from the Select menu to make the hair look more realistic. The file has to be saved a … [Read more...] about How to Replace a Portrait Background Easily with Adobe Stock
Canon’s New EOS-1 D X Mark II Brings Some Surprises
When Nikon showed off the D5 at CES last month, Canon devotees muttered, "Just wait!" Now the wait is over and Canon has announced their forthcoming flagship DSLR, the EOS-1 D X Mark II. While the blazing 14 FPS frame rate and shiny new autofocus technology will deservedly garner much of the attention over the next few days, there are a few things about the new beefy camera that are truly surprising to me. For the record, I have been a Canon EOS user for over 20 years and I have a battered old EOS-1 to prove it. I sold my EOS 5D Mark III and 7D … [Read more...] about Canon’s New EOS-1 D X Mark II Brings Some Surprises
Which iPhone 6 Should a Photographer Buy?
If you're like us... you're staying up at night and worried. It's time to make some hard decisions... ones that will have long lasting consequences. It's time to decide which iPhone to buy (we know... first world problems). The Dilemma On Friday morning (at approximately 12:01 am PST) Apple will start taking online orders for the phone. If you'd like to be the first to have the phone, you'll either order online or fight the crowds. You'd think by now they'd learn to have enough in stock (perhaps they manipulate the frenzy a bit). … [Read more...] about Which iPhone 6 Should a Photographer Buy?
Video Editing In Adobe Photoshop CS6
Guest Post by Rich Harrington shows you how to edit video in Adobe Photoshop CS6 This video comes from the book and DVD - Understanding Adobe Photoshop CS6: The Essential Techniques for Imaging ProfessionalsDISCLAIMER: This post isn't intended to be definitive - we're not claiming this is the ONLY way or even the BEST way to accomplish this task in Photoshop, Aperture, iPhoto or any other post-prodcessing program. We're merely offering it as A way you might accomplish this task. These tips are free, offered only because they might be helpful … [Read more...] about Video Editing In Adobe Photoshop CS6
What Camera Should I Buy? UPDATED VERSION – July 2012
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This post is an updated compilation of several shorter posts I wrote in the past trying to answer the question, "What camera should I buy?" Its still the most popular question I am asked. What camera should I buy? Lately there's a new twist to the question..."Is this brand camera better than that brand camera?" No matter how hard I try to tell people that theres no perfect answer, they keep asking. So since I can't convince anyone otherwise, at least know the answers to THESE questions before you ask me YOUR question. 1 ) … [Read more...] about What Camera Should I Buy? UPDATED VERSION – July 2012
Five Things I Want The Camera Companies To Stop Doing Now…
Of course they don't care what I want but here goes: 1. Stop the megapixel madness. In the old days your marketing departments were able to convince camera buyers that bigger was better. Then you wised up and saw that wasn't working and you went to video. You added video to cameras and that was your hook. Then you got lazy and said "well let's go back to megapixel madness again - there are a bunch of newbies who won't realize we've already used this trick!" 12-14 megapixels is plenty of resolution for MOST shooters, especially with the … [Read more...] about Five Things I Want The Camera Companies To Stop Doing Now…
Free Video Tutorial – Adobe CS6 Adaptive Wide Angle
Guest Post by Rich offers a tutorial on a new feature in Adobe CS6 Called Adaptive Wide Angle DISCLAIMER: This post isn't intended to be definitive - we're not claiming this is the ONLY way or even the BEST way to accomplish this task in Photoshop, Aperture, iPhoto or any other post-prodcessing program. We're merely offering it as A way you might accomplish this task. These tips are free, offered only because they might be helpful to someone. ____________________________ … [Read more...] about Free Video Tutorial – Adobe CS6 Adaptive Wide Angle
What Camera Should I Buy? – May 2012
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This post is an updated compilation of several shorter posts I wrote in the past trying to answer the question, "What camera should I buy?" Its still the most popular question I am asked. What camera should I buy? Lately there's a new twist to the question..."Is this brand camera better than that brand camera?" No matter how hard I try to tell people that theres no perfect answer, they keep asking. So since I can't convince anyone otherwise, at least know the answers to THESE questions before you ask me YOUR … [Read more...] about What Camera Should I Buy? – May 2012
What Camera Should I Buy? – April 2012
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This post is an updated compilation of several shorter posts I wrote in the past trying to answer the question, "What camera should I buy?" Its still the most popular question I am asked. What camera should I buy? Lately there's a new twist to the question..."Is this brand camera better than that brand camera?" No matter how hard I try to tell people that theres no perfect answer, they keep asking. So since I can't convince anyone otherwise, at least know the answers to THESE questions before you ask me YOUR … [Read more...] about What Camera Should I Buy? – April 2012
SmugMug Camera Awesome – The ULTIMATE iPhone Camera Application
When I first heard rumors SmugMug was building a camera application for smart phones, my inclination was to think it would merely be a way to easily integrate smart phone camera pictures with SmugMug's online service. Boy was I wrong. THIS is the app that makes the iPhone's camera worth having. It is called "Awesome" because it is. Nothing matches it for features and functionality in my opinion. It's simply one of the most fully-powered camera apps on the market and I honestly cannot think of one thing that would make it better. What's even … [Read more...] about SmugMug Camera Awesome – The ULTIMATE iPhone Camera Application
What Photographic Tools & Technology Will We Use Today And Lose Tomorrow?
I used to make photographs with film that I developed and printed in a wet dark room. When I started photographing art for painters I used polarized lights to provide non-reflective illumination on the art work. When I first switched to digital, I scanned all my photos on a drum scanner, then stored them on floppy disks or magnetic tape drives. These are but a few of the examples I can think of that point to technology and tools that are for me at least, gone by. I know there are people still using all of these tools. But I am not and nobody … [Read more...] about What Photographic Tools & Technology Will We Use Today And Lose Tomorrow?
Well Lit Portraits by Tamara Lackey
Guest Post and Photo by From my perspective, I can achieve the most amazing capture of a portrait, the most endearing expression, the absolutely sweetest interaction in the world but if its not well lit, I have lost the opportunity to do that image the justice I should have. If its overexposed (detail in the image is completely lost), underexposed (lost details in the shadows, too much grain/noise apparent when trying to lighten), or even lit in an unappealing way (exaggerates unattractive qualities), then it is because I didn't light it … [Read more...] about Well Lit Portraits by Tamara Lackey
Five Technology Advancements in the Last Decade That Benefitted Photographers
Many technology advancements have made it both easier and more fun to be a photographer. I was thinking back to some of the big advancements that really resonated with me personally and thought I'd share them with you. USB USB has made it possible to quickly, universally and easily connect many devices from drives to printers to computers. The advent of USB thumb drives has made sharing photos easy as pie. Think back to a world without USB and you'll see why I am personally excited about USB 3.0 - coming soon to a device near you. (Some USB … [Read more...] about Five Technology Advancements in the Last Decade That Benefitted Photographers
