seamless white background

If you haven't already checked out M3 and Tubadad's homemade seamless white background shots and their post about how they did this, it's a must see! HERE are the photos from the day and HERE'S how they did it. So cool, and SO MUCH WORK! Way to go, guys!

About Watermarking

I know we had a discussion on the Member's Only site about watermarking, etc, and why to do it or not to do it. I stumbled upon this blog post and found it interesting....(and quite unbelievable that this happened!). I thought I'd pass it along for all to read.

http://www.extraordinarymommy.com/blog/are-you-kidding-me/stolen-picture/

Learning to Post Process

Ok y'all have blown me away with the Before & After theme, I am so out of my league and yet so inspired! Can anyone suggest the best way to really learn how to post-process? I have Photoshop Elements 7 and I have a book, but I admit, I'm pretty computer literate and I'm having a hard time understanding everything. I'm a hands-on a kind of gal and I could really use a class to learn to do this... Any suggestions?

Adoptive Families Photo Contest

Someone told me today that Adoptive Families Magazine sponsors an annual photo contest. As we have several adoptive families in this group, I'd like to share the link with you. We have several talented mamarazzi's in this group that could have winning entries. Here's the link!

Textures

Ok girls, it's me the novice photographer. I am interested in all of the textures people are using. How do you do that? Can you do it in Photoshop? I noticed someone said that they used one off of Flickr...I am lost. Any help would be appreciated!

camera bags?

Help! I need a good and STYLISH camera bag... basically, big enough for a camera body and 3 lenses plus accessories. I like Jill.E but I've heard people say that they're not worth the expensive price tag. I am thinking about a Shootsac... again, expensive, but I like the design. Anyone have some great links to share with me?

black & white conversions

Just wanted to post a couple of tips that I've found while playing with black & white conversions in Lightroom.

I've found that even a well-exposed picture, when converted to black & white, does well when the exposure is bumped up in your post-process. It brightens the face and helps avoid the "gray-skin" look. To compensate, you increase the blacks, and play with the highlights/lights/darks/shadows so you get the nice contrasts.

I've also noticed that my black and whites look better when they are not 100% desaturated. My personal sweet spot is 93%. It leaves just a hint of warmth in the skin so that the picture doesn't feel so cold.

Anyone else want to post tips about black & white conversions?

When to upgrade?

I have so loved my Canon Rebel XT. I bought it in early 2006 and it's really been such a great camera! But I am starting to itch for a nicer camera, now that I am learning a bit about photography. How do you know when to take the plunge and buy a nicer camera body? I have several Canon lenses that I love, so I will definitely be buying another Canon (if and when I can afford one!) but I think I'm going to start saving my pennies soon.
Any suggestions on when to upgrade? Do you just keep your camera until it quits? Or sell it to upgrade after a certain time?
I'd also love suggestions on what Canon models to consider (within reason, unfortunately ;))
Thanks a bunch!
Stefanie

Online classes~

Maybe you all have talked about this before, but I would love to take an online photography class...any suggestions for me?

Thanks~

Denise

Christmas Lists

So does anyone have photography items on their Christmas list? I really want a Jill E bag, but I am thinking that is probably out of Santa's budget. I did ask for a new lens. A 50mm 1.8. So what is everyone else asking for?

Flash Photography

With the combination of winter setting in on us and shorter daylight hours my opportunities for outdoor photography have grown slimmer and I have had to resort to practicing (photography) indoors, for the most part. I have yet to purchase an external flash and am curious to know what everyone is using for extra light when needed? I prefer natural lighting when possible but have seen examples of pretty natural looking flash photography and often wondered how they achieved that. I have been playing with exposure compensation along with the built-in flash on my XTi which has helped with the overall tone but I still see ugly shadows being cast too often. Is auto exposure bracketing at all beneficial when using flash? Any advice for indoor photography when flash is needed?

Michelle J. (Shelle)

Question From Nicole

Hello,

I’ve been admiring all the many beautiful photos on this blog and wanted to ask everyone HOW they learned to take such amazing photos? Did you take a class or just learn on your own? I’m looking to buy a nice new digital camera to replace my one dimensional digital right now and I’m leaning towards the Canon Brand. BUT, I don’t know half the terms anyone is even using! So, I’d love to hear where everyone learned how to snap their photos-thanks!

Nicole
bmdwillow@yahoo.com
www.korenskyjourney.blogspot.com

Post-Processing

I am just curious as to what everyone uses, if anything, to post-process their pictures. I don't do it for all of my photos, but I do for some of them - where they might benefit from a little sharpening, or adjusting the highlights & shadows, or correcting white balance. Right now I am just dabbling in Photoshop Express (a free online tool) and I have used Picnik too. As I've played more with post-processing recently, I've found that there is so much you can do to give photos a different feel. Even blowing out the exposure or purposely giving it an off-tint has some neat results. Where I feel I have a lot to learn is in knowing which effects will compliment which pictures. (Besides the obvious - I need to learn a better program, and I should probably bite the bullet and figure out CS3!!)

Of course my FAVORITE way to view pictures is in their natural unaltered state (or maybe slightly sharpened)... but it's fun to try something in the way of an effect now and then.

Here are some examples of a picture I was playing with today in Picnik. This is of my daughter Claire, taken at sunset on the beach yesterday evening.

The original:



Version #1:



Version #2:



Version #3:



For this picture I decided I didn't like the black & white because it made what is a very warm, sunlit picture feel a little cold. The 1st and 3rd effects I did really like.

Beyond converting to black & white or sepia tone, what have you dabbled in and what programs do you use? (Oh, and my next theme suggestion is going to be "Before And After - Post Processing" so that I can see people's originals and what they do to transform them!! I thought that would be really fun!!)

What good books have you read lately?

I purchased my first digital SLR about five years ago and had absolutely no idea what I was doing, I remember the sales guy had to actually explain to me how to take a lens on and off. :-) I kept it on automatic for at least the first 4 months because I was scared to do anything and lose a picture. Eventually I joined the yahoo group for Canon DSLR owners here, and just listening to what others said helped SO much! Based on some suggestions there I purchased Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure book and really felt like a light bulb went off, which is when I finally started playing with the manual modes on the camera and I've never gone back since. Lately I've really gotten into Scott Kelby's books and have all 3 of these.

Anyone else have any good photography books they recommend?

Getting a really sharp shot

I shoot with a Canon 40D and most often use a 50mm prime lens. I recently upgraded from the 50 1.8 to the 50 1.4. I am struggling with how to get really sharp, clear photos. I look at so many professional photos and the faces are just beautifully, perfectly clear and I can't seem to make that happen.

I'm shooting most often in AV mode so I'm not controlling shutter speed, which I know is often why photos aren't as crystal sharp as I'd like. I'm also shooting subjects (aka four-year olds) who don't always hold as still as I'd like, which I know is also a challenge.

Is there something you're doing? Is there a minimum aperture setting you're using? Is there some magic lens? Any and all suggestions welcome!

Kristi