If you live in one of the 32 million US households that subscribe to Netflix Streaming there are some great photography documentaries worth checking out. Below is a list of my favs:

At Close Range

Netflix Description:

“A fascinating profile of National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore, this documentary chronicles at the adventure and dangers of his job, along with the conflicts that arise for him as a husband and father often away from his family.”

Netflix Link

 

Strand: Under the Dark Cloth

Netflix Description:

“Photography and film converge in this documentary that provides a fascinating picture of the life of famed photographer Paul Strand. Interviews shed light on Strand’s relationships, and their influence on his isolated way of creating his art.”

Netflix Link

 

The Mexican Suitcase

Netflix Description:

“This film tells the story of the recovery of 4,500 negatives taken by photographers Robert Capa, Gerda Taro and David Seymour during the Spanish Civil War. The film follows the journey of these negatives to Mexico and their recovery 70 years later.”

Netflix Link

 

The Devil Came on Horseback

Netflix Description:

“In this unflinching documentary chronicling the genocide in Darfur, former Marine Capt. Brian Steidle is forever transformed by the atrocities he witnesses as a military observer for the African Union.”

Netflix Link (contains some graphic imagery)

Enjoy!

Written by Trevor Warren

It’s almost hard to believe that just over a decade ago we were all film photographers. Maybe they were just disposable cameras we took on vacation, but film photographers nonetheless. Today film has naturally been replaced by digital for casual photography and seems to have taken on an air of mystery, something only “serious” photographers understand anymore. The truth is it’s still a very practical and viable option for your photography and not nearly as complicated as you might think. This week we’ll go over how to either get started or reacquaint yourself with film photography.

How to Select a Film Camera

There’s a good chance you or a family member has an old film camera lying around you could play with, but if not you can easily find an inexpensive used film camera at your local camera shop or even places like Goodwill or Salvation Army. New 35mm cameras still can be bought too. If you go the used route and while it might cost more at first, my preference is to definitely buy from a camera shop. Most offer a reasonable return policy and some might even offer a warranty.

Note: You might be able to use some of your DSLR lenses on your film camera. Ask the person selling you the camera if this is possible.

How to Select a Film

While you can still buy 35mm film at your local grocery store the real fun comes from using professional grade films that you can only get at a camera store or online. For the purposes of this tip, you want to buy Color Negative film (also referred to as Color Print Film or C-41 film which refers to the type of chemicals used to process the film).

Some of my favorite films in this category are:

• Kodak Ektar (right)
• Kodak Portra (below)
• Fuji Reala

These films are a good place to start because they are the most forgiving type of film (vs. black and white or slide film). They are also a good choice because even in this digital age you can still get them developed and put on a CD in an hour at nearly any major drugstore. Drugstores can be a bit spendy though and there are cheaper options that can be found online where you can mail in your film and either get prints or have your negatives scanned (e.g. Dwayne’s Photo).

Other Things to Consider

• You are stuck with the film speed you choose (ASA in film / ISO in digital photography). If you are used to changing your ISO settings a lot this is something you’ll have to plan for – you can’t easily go from a very bright environment to a very dark environment with the same film unless you use a flash. If the camera does not have a knob where you must select your film speed, it may be designed only for a specific type of film (this is true of “Toy Cameras” like Holga’s and Diana’s).
• You are stuck with the white balance of the film. If you normally have the white balance setting on your DSLR set to Auto you can go from indoors to outdoors with no trouble. Most films have a Daylight white balance (i.e. sunshine) so if it’s a cloudy day you may get pale colors and if you’re indoors under artificial light your pictures may have a yellowish tinge to them.
• Film will not make you a better photographer. A picture of a fire hydrant is still a fire hydrant regardless of whether it’s film or digital. What you can expect from film is a little character that digital pictures do not normally have without software manipulation.

Both film and digital photography have pros and cons. One is not better than the other though they excel in different areas. Using both is a great way to not only increase your knowledge of the fundamentals of photography, but it’s also a great way to avoid getting stuck in a rut. Often when I’m bored with digital I’ll shoot film for a while and then have a renewed appreciation for digital. Hopefully if you were curious about trying film this tip has helped!

Written by Trevor Warren

“Noise” in digital photography is distortion in an image that generally occurs when shooting using a high ISO setting (view image on right).

Noise especially tends to be visible in the darker parts of digital photos. With software like Adobe Lightroom removing Noise from your photos is easy. Below is a Noise Reduction example you can use to clean up your own photos.

In Lightroom the Noise Reduction adjustments can be found in the Develop module on the right-hand side:

Luminance Noise is generally the graininess you see in High ISO images. Color Noise is discoloration that occurs in High ISO images. As in the example below, what should be green has random specs of blue, yellow and red:

Moving the Luminance or Color sliders right will reduce the Noise in your image. The Detail and Contrast sliders when moved to the right will try to restore details in your image that may appear to “soft” after the Noise Reduction is applied. Unfortunately there is no “one size fits all” approach to Noise Reduction. Your settings could vary from image to image. The main reason for this is that using Noise Reduction has the potential to reduce the details in the entire image and not just the distorted parts so striking the right balance between Noise Reduction and detail is something that will always be different. Experimentation is crucial.

Below you can see before and after images. You can see that while the graininess and color distortion on the green sign are greatly diminished, it is at the expense of the detail of the pillars in the background.

Before

(click image to enlarge)

After

(click image to enlarge)

Hopefully this tip will help give you higher quality photos! If you’d like to learn more about improving your photos with software sign up for our Adobe Lightroom Introduction class!

Written by Trevor Warren

Macro Photography is basically close-up photography and pretty much everyone loves it when it’s done well. The reason it’s so popular is because it reveals the hidden microscopic beauty of the everyday world.

Getting started with Macro Photography is easy. Mastering it is another story. Below are some tips for getting started.

Equipment You’ll Need

• Camera with a Macro lens (could be a point-and-shoot camera with a Macro function)

Optional Equipment

• Tripod (for stationary subjects)
• Shutter Release Cable (you could also set the timer) 

Shooting

Like standard photography compositional guidelines also apply to Macro Photography. Some people like to think they are photographing mini landscapes. Others focus more on the detail and clarity of their images (e.g. insects). Remember that detail requires light and landscapes require thoughtful composition and you’ll be well on your way to creating some amazing Macro photographs!

If you’d like to learn more about this type of photography check out our Macro Photography I – Introduction coming this April (keep checking our newsletter for an announcement)!

Written by Trevor Warren
Photo by Doug Waggoner

There are many situations in life where important moments last only a few seconds. Baseball games, weddings, graduations and many more. Capturing that moment with your camera can be difficult. This week we’ll go over some tips that will help make sure you don’t miss any special moments.

Burst Mode
The more pictures you take the better odds you’ll catch that magic moment. Using your cameras Burst Mode setting will make that easier. Most cameras are capable of shooting between 3-6 pictures per second in Burst Mode (check your cameras manual for instructions).

Manual Mode
Using your camera in Manual Mode versus one of the automated modes can be helpful in these situations because your camera is not perfect and it’s automatic measurements can vary dramatically in certain situations like a like a sports arena where there are bright lights in the background that will throw off your meter readings.

Pre-Focus
Sometimes your cameras autofocus takes a while to get it right and worse sometimes in the heat of the moment it gets it wrong. In a situation like a wedding ceremony where the people are going to be in relatively the same place, in order to ensure you don’t miss the kiss you might focus on the bride and groom during their vows and then switch your camera to manual focus so it doesn’t change. You do have to be careful with this, especially in low light situations where you’re likely shooting with very shallow depth of field. I would refocus frequently to make sure the subjects or you yourself haven’t changed positions slightly since the last time you focused. Using a tripod makes this a much more precise technique since at least you know the camera itself has not moved since you last focused.

If you’d like to learn more tricks and tips like this sign up for one of our Fundamentals of Photography classes.

Written by Trevor Warren
Photo by Stewart Imagery

Sometimes you end up with something in your photo that you wish wasn’t there. When that happens one great way to remove the unwanted item is with the Patch tool in Adobe Photoshop. Here’s how you use it:

1) Find the icon on the toolbar that looks kind of like a Band-Aid. Click and hold on that icon and you’ll see several other icons pop up. These are your “healing” tools. Select the Patch tool.

2) With the Patch tool selected circle the object in your photo with your mouse and then click and drag the selection to a different part of the image you’d like to use to replace the unwanted object.

3) Release the mouse button and the object will then be replaced.

Video:

Watch in HD

Written by Trevor Warren

One of Lightroom’s strongest benefits is the ability to quickly make changes to a large number of images. One way I use it is to create both color and black and white versions of images for clients. Customers really appreciate having both options and Lightroom makes it easy. The way I prefer to do this is using a feature called “Collections.”

Here’s how to create Collections (see also video below for more details):

1) Select all of the images with which you want to create a Collection and then with those images highlighted create the Collection:

2) Name your collection something like “Concert Color.” Since this is going to your color versions (aka unmodified) make sure to leave “Make new virtual copies” unchecked.

3) After you’ve created your first Collection with the same files still highlighted repeat Step 1 but name these something like “Concert B&W” This time you’re going to make sure “Make new virtual copies” is checked. 

4) Now apply your favorite black and white preset to your Concert B&W Collection and you can switch between the two and export each into a different folder.

Watch the video below to get a better look at the process start to finish. If you’d like to learn more about the power Adobe Lightroom sign up for one of our two Lightroom classes:

• Adobe Lightroom I – Introduction
• Adobe Lightroom II – Advanced Techniques

Video:

Watch in HD

Written by Trevor Warren

Many digital cameras have a mode selection dial where you can select a shooting mode of P, S (Tv), A (Av) or M.

When you select one of these modes, it tells the camera to make specific settings as far as shutter speed and aperture. The differences between the four basic modes are:

• Program (P): Use this mode when you want the camera to select both the shutter speed and aperture for you. The camera will make a "best guess" selection on shutter speed and aperture based on the information coming into the camera.
• Shutter Priority (S or Tv): Use this mode when you are trying to control motion. You select the shutter speed and the camera selects the aperture.
• Aperture Priority (A or Av): Use this mode when you want to control depth-of-field. You select the aperture and the camera selects the shutter speed.
• Manual (M): Use this mode when you want to control both motion and depth-of-field. You select both shutter speed and aperture.

Using these modes lets you flex your creative side from none in Program mode to the maximum in Manual mode and everything in-between. Experiment with each mode and ask yourself first which mode would be the best to use for a particular shot!

Written by Ron Kness

Where did my photos go? This is one of the most common questions that we hear in beginning editing classes. That’s one of the many reasons why we created the Digital Assets Management (DAM) workshop.

Whether you are working to become a professional photographer or you simply want to catalog your personal pictures, understanding the basics of file management will help keep you organized so you never again have to ask “Where are my photos?”.

The DAM workshop is led by professional wedding and seniors photographer Sarah Shields, who walks students through every stage of cataloging images. Sarah will teach you how to upload photos from your camera or disc and create a file structure that will allow you to find your images quickly and easily.

Shooting an image is just the beginning of a photograph’s journey. After seeing students struggle with some of the ‘next steps’ on the path, we created the DAM workshop. The goal of this workshop is to help students gain a basic understanding of how to import, file, catalog, print and save their images. This process is typically referred to as a workflow.

Creating an editing workflow that works best for you is important. It helps keep you organized and also allows you to process images with speed and efficiency. If you are faced with editing and preparing a large number of photos, consistency is your best friend. This is true whether you are editing images from a wedding that you just shot or if you are bringing together collections of old family photos.

The DAM workshop provides the basic building blocks for creating a workflow that will allow you to take complete control of the editing process. We highly recommend this workshop to any of our students who are interested in learning editing software (Lightroom, Elements or Photoshop). These classes move quickly, and the lessons that you learn in the DAM workshop will keep you from falling behind as the instructor introduces some of the basics concepts that are the foundation of catalog and workflow management.

You can read more about the DAM workshop on our website.

What is Project Life 365 you ask?

Project 365 will help you build an album of the things that make your life special and unique. All you need is a camera. Even a cell phone camera can work. It is an interactive photo a day challenge that helps you develop your visually.

Why do it? For photographers “Project 365” can help you become a better photographer by making you pick up your camera everyday. You will start to pay attention to finding light. You will get better at composing your shots. You will also become more creative when you are forced to take a picture of something different each and every day. It will also document your photography daily enabling you to look back and see your progress.

Imagine being able to look back at any day throughout your year and recall what you did, what you learned… I don’t know about you but I have trouble somedays remembering what I did the day before.

Here are a few tips on how to create your own Project 365:

Take your camera every where! There are photo-opportunities everywhere. Use your blog entry, or your photo description, to explain what’s going on in your photo. It will help you remember what was going on and it gives your friends a better appreciation of why you took the photo. You could even go a bit further and type in your camera settings.

What will you do with the pictures you take? You could:

• Save them in a file on your computer for future projects
• Share them with your friends and the Project Life 365 community
• Start a personal blog then invite family and friends
• Start an online album on Facebook
• Upload to Flickr and add to a 365 set- if you do this make sure you tag them “projectlife365″ or “365″ or similar so others participating can find you when searching.
• What about a “365/ Project Life” board on Pinterest?
• At the end of you 365 make a Shutterfly photo book with your images

Whatever you do, don’t delete them. Remember just like people have bad days. You may also have a bad photo day. No worries!!!!

The goal of Project Life 365 is to help develop your creativity through visual engagement. By dedicating a few minutes a day to stop to take notice of the world around you, you will stretch your imagination and watch your creativity soar!

Post early, post often, plan on posting your photos at least once a week so you don’t get backlogged. If possible though post every day this will keep family and friends engaged.

What are you waiting on? Charge that battery and get started! Today is Jan 1, 2013.

“Good luck and happy snappin!!!”

Post written by IPC instructor, Connie Etter.