5 Take Aways from Week 2

First of all there are way too many to list.  And to compare them all?  Crazy!  So here it goes:

1. "Shoot to the right": You'll hear this term a ton.  Basically as you shoot in the Manual mode you'll want your histogram to lean to the right if possible.  Which means more WHITE or OVER EXPOSED.  But "why" I hear you say?  There are a few reasons.  
• There is actually more data in the right.  Even though it looks all white, there is more data in there than if you were to shoot it dark or under exposed. 
• When you go to edit your photos, it's easier to add in the blacks, but if you shoot it dark and then you try to brighten your picture, you end up with NOISE.  Noise is all that grain in the shadow areas.
• For class I had to shoot in manual changing it one full stop at a time under exposed and over exposed, and the images that were over exposed were significantly bigger in megabytes.
2. Understanding Dynamic Range: very very helpful!  Oh my gosh! Check this article out. Warning very technical, but can really help you in understanding how to shoot when you know your range.
3. Camera LCD Lies to You: Bottom-line, when you shoot in RAW you are shooting 16 bit, but in the view finder it's a jpeg representation of what is going on in your camera.  Meaning it's 8 bit.  So if you turn on your blinkies in your camera and see that your highlights are being clipped, it's because it's giving you info on the 8bit.  
4. When Editing a Photo and you are stuck, walk away, then come back to it.
5. After copying your pictures to your drive and you make a backup, then don't delete the files on your card, use the CAMERA to FORMAT the card for next time.  I knew this already but it was reinforced how important it is.  You can be shooting on a card that already has data on it and it could be unstable.  So PLEASE use the format feature in your camera after you've transfered all your data.

Lightroom Workflow

Okay I've been really pushing lightroom to people interested in photography.  Now that I'm taking REAL classes I can't believe how much this program is packed with.  I mean, it's not just for professionals.  It really is POWERFUL for the average Joe as a hobby to organize their files and yet make adjustments.

So to get you started on how to use Lightroom, my instructor gave us this awesome resource.  The author is none other than Peter Krogh, the author of The Digital Asset Management (DAM) Book.  In some ways this book single handed changed the way many people organize their workflows.  So as a FREE resource, here is Peter's work:
http://www.shutha.org/lightroom_workflow_lesson_plan#sample

Enjoy!

5 Take Aways from Week 01

As some of you know I started my masters degree in Digital Photography from one of the top Art schools in New York.  Here are my top 5 take aways from week 1.

1. Organize, Organize, Organize: Taking the time to get your workflow organized is EXTREMELY important.  Everything from taking the shot down to exporting it for your clients and backing up. Yes, backup, backup, backup.  
2. Importance of Keywords in my own workflow, not just when it hits iStockphoto.  Yes, I'm guilty of not spending time key-wording, but as my instructors say, if you can't find your photos then you might as well have not shot it.  Wastes time, and money.  Sure you can remember where it was this past year, but try finding your files 10 years from now.
3. Getting the right tools: I know photography is an expensive hobby, but if you don't have the right tools, your pictures can look like crap!  It may look nice on your screen but when you print it out, it's dark and flat could be simply embarrassing.  
4. Convert your files somewhere in your workflow to DNG.  Yes, every camera maker out there makes RAW files, but over time DNG will remain open-source and supported by the photography community.  So just get it right and start converting your RAW files to DNG.  FYI, JPG's do not need conversion since it's already a compressed and a limited file.
5. Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop is pretty much the standard!  Buy it and use it!  And most of all get over the price of it.