Priorities - task management for a photographer

February 17, 2013

I shared with you last week how I use Evernote for keeping track of my potential and future photo shoot locations. I also told you that I have a good but a very short memory so I need a really good way to keep and organise my to-do list. An app called 'Priorities' (from Hand Carved Code) helps me a lot in getting my head around all the tasks and things I have to do for my photography projects, my website, maintaining gear, etc. What I really like about this app is that it's really simple (so you're not distracted with unnecessary bells and whistles) but at same time it has all the functionalities that I need. To name just a few: ability to prioritise tasks and having sub-tasks, setting deadlines and reminders, integration with iOS calendar, cloud sync across all the iOS devices and the online version. The latter one, I think, is my favourite one.

Unfortunately, Priorities is currently only available on iOS devices.

Using Evernote for saving photo shoot locations

February 10, 2013

As an on-location and outdoor photographer, a good, unique and interesting photo shoot location is crucial for me. And having a good but a very short memory is definitely not helpful. That's why I always have a notebook with me where I keep all the photography notes and ideas for projects. However, it was extremely hard for me to note down a place that I just visited for a photo shoot, especially that I like to have a picture of a location at hand. I have also been using the Evernote application for few years already and it's the best note taking application for me, especially that it syncs with Evernote apps on my mobile devices (for free!). Only recently I discovered that Evernote is also awesome for saving photo shoot locations. Evernote for mobile devices will not only save automatically the GPS coordinates of a note but you can also take a picture of a photo shoot location from within the Evernote app and attach it to the note (you can also take a picture with you built-in camera application and attach it later to a note).

I attached some screenshots for an iPhone above and below. To see the GPS coordinates where the note was taken, you have click on the 'I' icon at the top. It will open a window with all the information about the note and at the bottom you will have a map: click on the map and it will open up a native maps application where you can zoom out. You can also move the pin on the map in case Evernote did something wrong with the coordinates or if you create the note somewhere else but you attach a picture taken somewhere else. Remember that if a picture you take also has embedded GPS coordinates (well, that actually depends on your phone and the setting in your phone) so you can also take GPS coordinates from a picture.

I now have a separate Evernote notebook 'Photo Shoot Locations' where I save the potential places for the upcoming shoots. I can easily browse them on my iPad, especially when I meet with a client or with my team when we brainstorm for next photo shoot. Simple, easy and free :)

Slow and Slugish Color Efex Pro 4 from Nik Software? Here is the solution!

January 6, 2013

I often use Color Efex Pro in my daily workflow, alongside Lightroom. I recently switched from a Macbook Pro to an iMac and I noticed that Color Efex Pro from Nik Software was extremely slow and sluggish and it took ages to apply a filter or at least to preview an effect on pictures exported from Lightroom. It didn't matter if the pictures were in jpg or tif formats, it also didn't matter whether or not they were in 8 or 16-bit, or in which color space they were. Color Efex Pro was just really slow. The solution to this 'sluggish' problem was quite simple": turn on Color Efex Pro in the 32-bit mode (by default, it launches in the 64-bit mode). To force it into the 32-bit mode in Mac OS X, go to your Applications folder, find the Color Efex Pro app, right-click (or Ctrl + click), choose 'Get info' and under the 'General' information you'll find a tick box that says 'Open in 32-bit mode'. From now on, Color Efex Pro will launch in the 32-bit mode and it should work as usual (faster). This solution fixed for me the problem of Color Efex Pro being slow and sluggish and I hope it will also work for you.

Lightroom Tip: Auto White Balance

November 18, 2012

Setting the right white balance in the camera might sometime be tricky and difficult and it's not always possible to use a grey card for that. Also, in-camera auto white balance might not always give good results, so I find myself sometimes correcting the white balance when post-processing images in Lightroom. However, that's always sometimes difficult for me when I have to judge myself what is the right white balance for an image.

What I discovered already some time ago is that Lightroom 4 also has auto white balance. Every time I use, I'm still amazed how good it is and how well it sets up white balance itself. You can find the auto white balance in Lightroom 4 in the Development module under the Basic panel on the right-hand side. I found the Lightroom's auto white balance to be quite reliable and correct in about 95% of cases but be aware that sometimes you need to make adjustments and changes.

Having problems using a Wacom pen tablet with Lightroom 4?

April 26, 2012

If you've upgraded to the Lightroom's latest version of Lightroom 4 and you're experiencing problems with using a Wacom pen tablet with it, then this very simple fix might help you - at least it helped me. For some odd reason, my pre-defined key's and shortcuts on my Wacom pen tablet didn't work at all or did different things when I upgraded to Lightroom 4. I spent hours googling, searching forums, etc. until I came up myself with this easy fix that worked for me. Wait for it.... just go to Wacom's website and head to the Driver section to download the latest installation and driver files for your Wacom product (for Europe-based customers, you can go here). Just re-install and upgrade the drivers and software, restart your computer (unusual for Macs, I even had to restart my Macbook Pro) and enjoy your Wacom pen tablet as it was before you upgraded to Lightroom 4. Yes, it is so simple :)

I'm not sure why my Wacom pen tablet didn't behave in the same way with Lightroom 4 as it did with Lightroom 3. I think it could have been an outdated Wacom's driver or software.

Do-it-yourself: Speedlight Snoot in 2 minutes

November 28, 2011

Have you ever wanted to have a speedlight snoot at almost no cost that is very easy to make yourself? You can make one within 2 minutes at almost no cost from an empty box of Pringles. It's very inexpensive, easy to make and it will take just a couple of minutes of your time to make one. Believe it or not but all you need is an empty box of Pringles and scissors. Take the box and cut out the bottom. Next, all you need to do is to slide it over your speedlight. You'll probably notice that the round shape of the Pringle's box is not exactly the shape of the speedlight's head so it might be necessary for you to adjust the box a bit when you do it the first time. And here it it: almost at no cost, ready in 2 minutes, a home-made speedlight snoot.

One Minute Portrait with Natural Light

October 30, 2011

Taking good (portrait) pictures doesn't require expensive equipment. Sometimes, all you need is the knowledge about natural light and how it behaves and it can take just a minute to take a nice portrait picture. That's all what it took me to take this picture - simple yet beautiful (at least to my personal opinion). I took the photograph with the subject standing very close to a window which was also covered with white-neutral cloth. This way I got a double-diffused natural light. It was all that simple! If you would like to learn more about light, how to use it to your benefit to get amazing shots, I highly recommend Bert Stephani's Motivational Light DVD.

How to shoot HDR Without A Tripod?

October 13, 2011

When you shoot HDR (high dynamic range) photography you have to keep in mind to keep the camera steady for all the shots (under-exposed, over-exposed and with proper exposure). The best solution of course is to put a camera on a tripod but what to do when you would like to shoot HDR but you don't have a tripod with you? Is it possible to shoot HDR without a tripod and still end up with good HDR photograph? The short answer is: Yes, but you need to remember about few things to eliminate any camera movement between the shots.

I didn't use a tripod while taking the HDR picture in this article. Instead, I used what was available for me (wall of a bridge) and few settings in my Nikon. Firstly, I put my camera into the bracketing mode (duh!), set up f-stop, got the camera to set up the focus in the auto-focus mode and I turend the autofocus off. I also changed the shooting mode from single into the continuous burst mode - this is very important when you don't have a tripod because it allows you to take very quickly one shot after another, minimizing the time interval between the shots and therefore limiting any possible camera movement between the shots. Finally, I found a spot on the bridge's wall where I could position my camera against it, I held the camera firmly and I shot. It was so simple!

To summarize in step what you need to do when you want to shoot an HDR picture without a tripod:

1) Set a camera to the bracketing mode

2) Change the shooting mode to continuous burst mode

3) Set up your f-stop (I suggest as big f-stop as possible for landscapes), let the camera meter focus and lock it by switching into the manual focus mode

4) Find a place where you can put your camera on or against (table, wall, horizontal ground, etc.)

5) While holding the camera firmly, press the shutter button and let the camera do one after another (in continuous burst mode) the bracketed shots

Using a window as a light diffuser

August 24, 2011

I particularly like soft and nicely diffused natural light during most of the photo shoots (unless I decide that hard light is what I need for a particular shoot) and I use windows as light diffusers more and more often.

At every location and photo shoot, I like to firstly look around to see how I can make use of the available light and if there are any natural light-modifiers on the set already (I learned this from Bert Stephani). There can be various 'natural' light modifiers on location, like reflectors (light bouncing from the walls) or light diffusers. The pictures present the effect of the latter type and how a big window as a light diffuser was my best friend in my recent photo shoot.

I noticed a really big window just next to the entrance when shooting at the Malte Restaurant in Brussels (Belgium) recently. Without much thinking I decided to (gently) drop all my light equipment I had with me and to use only the soft natural light from the big window which acted as a huge light diffuser. Unfortunately, you don't see the window on the pictures, but you can clearly see the diffused light and the overall effect.

Believe it or not but I didn't use any additional light sources, reflectors or similar for the shots. I'm particularly happy with the effect that the big window gave me as a light diffuser and it would take quite some time to achieve the same effect and results with artificial light and extra diffusers. That's why I research the environment for natural light and 'natural' light modifiers before shooting on location.

Last but not least, I would like to thank very much the owner of the Malte Restaurant in Brussels for letting us to use their premises for the photo shoot. You should definitely visit the place for the great food and ambient atmosphere, or at least to check out their big window to see how nicely it diffuses the light :)

Combining natural and artificial lights

May 15, 2011

Until only recently I was either using only natural or only artificial light (speedlight or strobes) in one picture at the same time. However, rules are meant to be broken (yes, it was a very weird rule I had to use only one type of light during a shoot) and lately I've been combining and mixing natural and artificial lights. I really like to use one type of light as a hair light and the second as a fill light or as the main light.

I particularly like to use natural light as a hair light for several reasons. Firstly, if I use a speedlight as the main light, then I have much more control over the light, its strength, position and I can apply light modifiers onto the speedlight. Secondly, if I have to shoot at noon when the natural light is not too flattering (yes, sometimes I just had to shoot at noon when it's the only option for a model, a make-up artist and a stylist), using the natural light as the hair-light is the best option. Thirdly, having the sun behind the model and sometimes having it in the frame and then compensating the exposure with the speedlight can give some nice and creative results.