Tuesday, 18 January 2011

SnapShot #508 - February Courses! Photographing at Twilight; Flower Photography Tip; QnA

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The weekly newsletter on the art of photography from
 
Monday, January 17, 2011
IN THIS ISSUE
Featured Gallery
Welcome Note
This Week's Tip
Updates From BetterPhoto
Q&A 1: Older Camera and ...
Q&A 2: Moving Elements...
Q&A 3: What You See Ma...


TESTIMONIAL OF THE WEEK
"Newman Lowrance is an excellent instructor! He gives very detailed feedback and critiques. I really enjoyed the class and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to pursue sports photography." -Shannon Byrne, student in Basics of Sports Photography



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THIS WEEK'S TIP
A Key to Flower Photography Success: Background!
By Tony Sweet
Watch out for busy backgrounds, hot spots, black holes, and extraneous elements entering the frame. In fact, the background is at least as important as the subject. Nothing can kill an image quicker than a busy background. There may be as little as an inch or less of camera repositioning to go from a distracting background to a pleasing, detail-less, muted background.


   
Featured Gallery
Tie Up
© - Karolyn Seeley

Welcome to the 508th issue of SnapShot!
Hello,

BetterPhoto's online photography courses are truly motivating! You'll get direct access to real photographers. In particular, our short classes are fast, fun, and to the point. The next 4-week school session kicks off February 2nd, but by enrolling now, you can get started with an early lesson! ... Too soon? Check out our 8-week course schedule, with classes starting on March 9th. ... In this issue of SnapShot, don't miss the work of instructors Deborah Sandidge ("Photograph at Twilight for Great Light and Color") and Tony Sweet ("A Key to Flower Photography Success: Background!"). ... That's it for now. Have fun with your photography!

Kerry Drager
Newsletter Editor

Where is Jim Miotke? Follow BetterPhoto's founder and president on Twitter - BetterPhotoJim


Updates From BetterPhoto

Dedicated twilight shooters consider the sun dropping below the horizon as the beginning, not the end, of the evening's color show. Read Deborah Sandidge's thoughts and tips on photographing at twilight... If you've been hitting a wall lately, then we have some great ways to get inspired! For example, for BetterPhoto's daily dose of visual inspiration, check out our free Photo of the Day newsletter at the photography newsletter subscription page. In addition, view the past contest winners of our monthly contest.

Photo Q&A

1: Older Camera and a New Lens?
I was considering purchasing a used #8-9 graded Nikon D80 with a NEW Lens, maybe a Nikon 18-200 lens. Would that be a wise purchase, considering I want to keep my total photo-equipment purchase at $1000.00 or below? Please include any lens you may suggest I consider purchasing.
- Robert F. Walker
ANSWER 1:
Hi Robert,
I can't give you any Nikon lens suggestions (I am a Canon guy) but I agree with buying an older camera and getting better glass. It is the lens that makes the sharpness, clarity and color of a captured image. Cameras are being released all the time and whenever a new one comes out, the last model drops in price and can be bought at a much lower price - whereas quality lenses will retain their value and out-live many cameras over the years. I have some lenses that have now been on 4 different cameras since I bought them in 2005 and will be around for the next few cameras as well :)
I know the 70-200mm f/2.8 Nikon lens is a fantastic lens but it's a lot more than $1000, so read a lot of reviews and get the best lens you can.
I think you are making a smart decision.
Cheers,
- Carlton Ward


Read this Q&A at BetterPhoto.com

Answer this question:



2: Moving Elements Catalog into Lightroom 3
Does anyone know if you move a catalog into Lightroom 3 from Photoshop Elements if you will still be able to use it in Elements? Also, my catalogs in Elements have the pictures tagged and rated - will that show up in Lightroom 3? Thanks!
- B9th Spencer

ANSWER 1:
Yes, you really aren't moving them into Lightroom, just telling Lightroom where they are on your computer. Elements will still know where they are too. They're independent pieces of software and they know what you tell them.
If you actually move a file or rename something while in Lightroom or PSE you will have to go into the other software and tell it too. The individual programs will only know what you tell them when it comes to where the files are on your computer.

- Sarah G
Read this Q&A at BetterPhoto.com

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3: What You See May Not Be What You Get!
When I work on an image in Photoshop, it looks good to me on my computer screen and in my Basic Betterpholio, but when I print this image, it is low in contrast and dark. I have had people comment on my photo in my pholio and say it was good with soft sidelighting. So I assume it looks good on their screens too. But the problem is when I print it, it looks bad. I've only just started to upload images and find this very frustrating. Can anyone suggest some remedies?
- Steve Harvey

ANSWER 1:
One of the simplest proble ms with the monitor and print not matching is people don't think about the image on the monitor is light by transmission, but the print is light by reflection.
The monitor image is always going to look more colorful because light comes from the monitor. A simple fix for that is to adjust the monitor brightness to more closely resemble the print, or get used to judging how light to make the image on the screen so that it matches when you print.
The more involved way is to use a calibration program so the monitor image and print will match.

- Gregory La Grange

ANSWER 2:
I have the very same problem. I've got a Huey color match program for my monitor but the prints still come out dark. I usually just add about a half stop of exposure to correct the print. It took several print-outs to get this value, and it would probably be different for every monitor/printer combination. -Tom

- Thomas C. Geyer

ANSWER 3:
Hi Steve,
Calibration is the key to making your prints match your monitor. I have read mixed reviews about Huey but I use Spyder2 Pro that I bought in 2006 (I am sure they have newer versions now) and it does the job.
When using a calibration tool, you must create a profile and then assign that profile to your printer & your monitor. If you are not doing this step, you are still using mixed (or default) profiles and they will not match.
I also keep the ambient lighting in my room the same and re-calibrate every 2-3 weeks or immediately if the lighting in the room changes.
Hope this helps.

- Carlton Ward
Read this Q&A at BetterPhoto.com

Answer this question:

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