by Gavin Seim: I decided it was time for some fun. And I really did have fun with this skit. I say ENOUGH of those ho hum screen casts explaining things we need to know. It’s time to do something revolutionary with photos. Lets get UGLY.
Really though. Lets remember HDR is NOT a style. It’s about light and managing it well. And once your done with this, you can find my real HDR videos right here. Or check out the EXposed Workshop and really take charge of the light.
Amaze your friends. Download the free Flickr HDR presets 😉
Update 10/2011. I made a new, much better quality video about managing presets. You can watch it here.
by Gavin Seim: If you searched around, you’ll might have stumbled across the article I wrote some time back on PPS about installing Lightroom Presets. We photographers tend to be such visual people however and I felt a video would make it easier. We’ll cover installing organizing and backing up pretty much any kind of Lightroom preset. Brush presets, develop presets, you name it. Here it is.
by Gavin Seim: I find myself fascinated with film of late. I don’t use it anymore, but I realize that some are pretty passionate about it. I posted on Pro Photo Show recently with a few thoughts and a poll on the topic. Quite a few still use film it seems. Why? Is it the texture, grain, color, or is it just the reminiscence of really old photographers? Kidding, not that old. I used film when I started out. By the time I started getting good however I had moved to digital, so those romantic feelings some have towards film are not strong in me.
I’ve been taking notice though. Thinking about how film looks and how we edit these days. Don’t get me wrong I love a well processed photo, but I’ve started experimenting a little. Making effects that use classic tones and film inspiration. Here’s an article I found where Travis Easton compared a MK2 digital file to a Velvia image. What’s remarkable to me, is how even without editing it the film image looks great. Here’s another look at film vs digital over on Luminous landscape.
Now I don’t intend to start shooting film, I just don’t think it makes sense. But understanding what makes a great image is my livelihood. I want to know what it is about film and use that knowledge to make my photography and my effects better. We should always learn from the past, even if it’s grainy.
As a test I decided to try for the Velvia look, so I spent awhile very subtly tweaking a LR preset. If you mouse over you’ll see the before/after of what I’ve come up with so far. You’re also likely to see more in future updates of my effects. Bottom line though. I think what we’ll see over time are the good things from both mediums converging and becoming a better digital than ever. Neither film or digital will be the same as the other, but I think the future of digital will look and feel great. What say you?
by Gavin Seim. Most of you who use my tools know that Lightroom is a big part of my system. I’ve put together a new workshop which I presented for the first time in October at the PPW conference. It’s a relaxed fun workshop where newbies learn the Lighrtoom ropes and veterans learn lots of new new tricks.
Learning is a huge part of what we do, so I also set up a new tab on the sites for my upcoming learning tools and workshops. Sometime a these will be multi day events in specific locations, but some like Lightroom Power will be a single day presentation that any group, organization or conference can bring me out to present at their event anywhere in the world.
At some point I may take this workshop on a tour as well. I’m also considering the possibility of doing a live online workshop. I have to look into the possibilities. You can follow the Seim Effects FB page for updates or join the newsletter. Visit the page for more workshop details.
It’s amazing how much information is in the files coming from today’s cameras. I’ve been looking at ways to bring out better dynamic range on single files and I find I can pull out more tones using LR than in Photoshop. Today I’ve made a video looking at using mask and Luminance tools to control tones. You can play below, or download the high-res version via the link. I’ll also be speaking on Lightroom at the PPW Fall Conference so if you’re in the region stop by… Gavin
