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Earthbound Light Photography Tips
Objective image quality data isn't easy to come by. Most of us have had to rely on our own limited experience coupled with a wide array of anecdotal evidence scoured from friends, acquaintances and various websites to make buying decisions on new cameras. DxOMark.com changes all that. The new website created by the people behind the excellent DxO raw converter provides a wealth of information comparing and rating the camera sensors that at the heart of how digital photography works....
In a default installation of Photoshop, you'll be confronted with an ominous warning about maximizing compatibility when you save a new image as a PSD file. The dialog warns you that failure to do what it suggests may interfere with the use of your file in other applications or with other versions of Photoshop. Scary stuff. The question is though, should you heed its advice? Is safe better than potentially being sorry later?....
The use of adjustment layers helps to maintain image quality by avoiding the buildup of artifacts that can result from a series of successive individual edits. But if you're editing in 16-bit mode, you've got a heck of a lot more data to work with. Each pixel value is so much more precise than it would be in 8-bit, do you in fact now have data to spare? That is, do you really still need to worry about using adjustment layers at all?....
If you've been reading my website for any time at all, you probably know that I shoot as many shots as I can using a cable release with the camera firmly atop a tripod. Wide angle and fisheye lenses though can make getting out of the way difficult when I'm tethered to the end of my remote control cable so I've always considered getting a wireless remote. I think I've finally found one I like....
Adobe Photoshop & Lightroom Killer Tips
Here’s another video straight from the request lines. Recently I’ve heard a lot of chatter around erasing areas that the Graduated filter affected, that you may not have wanted it to affect. For example, plenty of my horizons also have a mountain, tree, or some other object that I don’t want a graduated filter to interact with. In this video I’ll show you how you can bring those areas back and “erase” (well kind of) the effects of the Graduated filter. Have a great weekend folks, and remember to stay away from the malls 
Click here to download the video
First off, a BIG thanks to everyone who posted “good lucks” on the Philly half marathon I ran this past weekend. I ran with my brother and sister and we ran the whole race together (and had a great time doing it). Weather was cold but I felt absolutely great once we got going. Anyway, thanks again!
Now onto the topic of the day. A few things have changed lately when it comes to shooting tethered into Lightroom. So I figured I’d cover them all in one post. Also, I’m not doing a full tutorial on shooting tethered mainly because that’s been done a few times already. Here’s a link to Scott Kelby’s blog where he’s got a tutorial on shooting tethered into Lightroom. Sound good? OK, here’s your options:
1) If you shoot Canon then you can use Canon’s free EOS Utility. This is probably your best option if you’re a Canon shooter.
2) If you’re a Nikon shooter the waters are a bit murky here. First, you can use Nikon’s (NOT FREE) Camera Control Pro (which is what I’ve used).
3) If you’re a Nikon shooter then you also have a free option but it’s only for Windows users only. It’s called DiyPhotoBits.com Camera Control and they’ve got a video on their site on how to use it.
4) Finally, Tom Hogarty (Lightroom’s Product Manager) let me in on a plug-in for Lightroom 2 (for Mac only though). It’s called MountainStorm Lightroom Tether and you can grab it here. Of course if you find it useful, it’s nice to leave a donation considering your other alternatives are not free. I’ve tested it out and I have to say it works pretty darn good. I’ve used Camera Control Pro for so long so it’s a little weird to change, but I think I’m now switching over to the free plug-in.
(edit: Sorry everyone. I forgot to mention one small thing that I was reminded of in the comments. Some one had told me not to use the “Enhanced” setting so make sure you leave it unchecked. Seems pretty unstable in this mode)
So as you can see here, the world of shooting tethered is still a bit confusing, with a few different options. The best solution would be for Adobe to build tethered shooting support directly into Lightroom (like Aperture does). That’s not a groundbreaking request though, and I think the Adobe folks here it loud and clear so let’s keep our fingers crossed for the future. One more thing. If you’ve got experience with any of the tethered shooting options above be sure to let us know which works best for you (or not) in the comments area. Thanks!
Here’s a tip I picked up from Scott Kelby recently. If you’re dragging a Graduated filter gradient on to your photo you can quickly change the direction of the gradient by pressing the apostrophe key. For example, if you drag from the top of the photo toward the bottom, whatever effects you’ve got set will appear at the top and gradiate downward. However, if you press the apostrophe key you can reverse it. It also works after you’ve already created a gradient. Just target the little meatball dot that appears on your photo and try pressing apostrophe and Lightroom will reverse the gradient there too. Cool little tip huh? Thanks Scott!
Well, I hope you all have a great weekend. I’m in the airport now heading to Philadelphia (and New Jersey) to run a half marathon with my brother and sister this weekend. Wish me luck!
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