May 13, 2007

Listen, PPS Episode #30 HDR Part2

Listen, PPS Episode #29 HDR Part1

To download mp3, right click above link, and “Save As”
Podcast subscription feed is http://feeds.feedburner.com/prophotoshow

Subscribe in itunes

Show Notes…
Click Here for HDR PART 1 show notes

Part two talks in more detail about using Photomatix Pro, and how to use it to get a great looking HDR image. You can use our promo code PPS15 to save 15%. There’s also an HDR Flickr group you should check out, and you can see some of my HDR work on my own Flickr page, also here is the HDR panoramic photo that I made.

People in HDR, and here is a few that I shot to give you some ideas…
This was taken at sunset. The light was very low, and I had to use a high iso. The resulting image came out a bit grainy, but the effect was very dramatic. It gives us some food for thought! Even though this is not what you would think when you thought about HDR, it gives a different aspect and has a lot of mood.

B&W HDR

This shot was taken at the beach around sunset. Again a three shot HDR using auto bracketing, it gives off plenty of drama and though the subject has to stand very still the resulting image is just what the doctor ordered.

This is another Senior shot. Doing this is HDR gave it lots of dynamic detail that would not otherwise be possible.

Pick of the week this time was submitted by listener Greg. It a nice (and simple) javs script you can use on your website to make a sideshow. It’s free so just read the direction and your off.

That about does it for this week. You can send questions or comments to prophotoshow@gmail.com. Have a great week… Gavin
Gavin Seim Photography 2007

Read More

May 8, 2007

Try saying that three times fast! Just when you thought your list of presets in Photoshop Lightroom couldn’t get any longer, along comes this post. I found this newest link in the feedback section on Lightroom Killer Tips. The site is called Inside Lightroom. It is loaded with useful presets that are neatly categorized by the different effects. A feature of this site that I really like is how they show examples of what the preset looks like on both a landscape and a portrait image. One of my favorites is located in the “Colour Effects” sections called “300.” As you may have guessed, it mimics the visual effects of the movie 300. Perfect for those tough guy seniors.

Tying this into Gavin’s main topic of this week, there is also a section of presets called “High Dynamic Range Effects” What these do is let you apply seven different presets to the same image to make it look like you took seven different exposures ranging from underexposed to overexposed and everything in between. I haven’t tried these yet but I would think you would get better results from actually taking three different images vs simulating multiple shots. If anyone out there does give these HDR presets a try, please leave a comment to this post with your results or feedback. Enjoy!

Dennis

[tags]hdr, high, dynamic, range, photography, lightroom, presets[/tags] DZ Photography

Read More

May 6, 2007

This was listed in the show notes before, but since it was brought up again on PPS #29 (HDR Part1) I decided to throw it into a post of it’s own.

Visual razor is a simple Photoshop action that works great on single photo’s, or using the batch command. This will likely be included in my up and coming action sets, but now’s your chance to download it for free. It’s a general sharpener/enhancer action that works well on nearly any photo. Apply it before doing other effects to save time by starting out with an image that POPS!

To use it just open Photoshop, and double click on the action file to open it. Then run it on your photo’s by pressing play, or use File/Batch to run the action on a whole folder of images.

There is also Visual Razor Version2. You can get it free at Seim Effects.

Read More

May 2, 2007

For weeks we here at PPS have been telling you to pick up your copy of Photoshop Lightroom before the $199 introductory price expired. Well April 30th has come and gone and you can now pick up Photoshop Lightroom at Adobe.com for $299.

But wait! I found that B&H Photo & Video are still offering Photoshop Lightroom for $199! Amazon.com is actually selling it for $197.95. I don’t know if this is just an oversight on B&H & Amazon’s part or that this is just going to be their everyday discounted price. Regardless, if you were kicking yourself for not picking up this great application at the discounted price, here’s your chance to redeem yourself!

Dennis

DZ Photography

Read More

April 27, 2007

For those of you lucky enough to have Nikon cameras (just kidding Gavin, et all), you are probably familar with Nikon’s intuitive image editing software, Capture NX.

It’s hard to explain, in written form, what makes Capture NX different from Photoshop.  However, I will give it a shot.

There is no need for multiple layers, as you work directly on one layer and control spots on the image with specific control points.  Okay, so that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, does it?  Just try it out.  And – yes – Canon users can use the software, you just won’t be able to edit your RAW images.

Nikon has released several Capture step-by-step guides as downloadable documents.  They are very easy to understand and walk you through the entire process and the best part is – they are FREE!  

Witty farewell goes here,
Todd

Read More