Quick Digital Imaging Tip 6/101: Planning is a Major Key to Successful Photographs

This is #6 of 101 digital imaging tips I plan to post here over the next few months. Stay tuned.

Today's tip: Planning is the key.

National Geographic will air Great Migrations this fall - worldwide. Personally, I can't wait for the series to begin. I am sure months, if not years, of planning went into the making of the series.

I've been fortunate to have experienced and photographed two migrations: the monarch butterfly migration in Mexico, and the zebra/wildebeest migration in Kenya. Basically, I was in the right place at the right time. However, I planned for about a year in advance of both event to be in the right place at the right time: January for the monarchs and October for the zebra/wildebeest.

No matter what your subject, planning is one of the major keys to successful photographs. Planning not only helps you be on site for a cool event, but it also helps you prepare for weather, religious customs, health precautions, tipping and so on. Web sites, and now apps, are a great way to plan a shoot.

Speaking of apps, many travel apps, including apps that tell you exact sunrise and sunset times, are available on the App Store. Apps are also available for specific locations, such as Arches National Park and Angkor Wat, where I am heading off to as I write this and post at 30,000 feet. Apps are also available to help you convert currency.

Yes, I was lucky to get these shots. However, I do know that luck favors the well prepared :-)

Explore the light.

Rick Sammon,

Canon Explorer of Light

P.S. If you are looking for a handy travel photography app for your iPhone or iPad, check out my 24/7 Photo Buffet. Tons of tips, photos and even movies.

Quick Digital Imaging Tip 5/101: Expose for the Highlights

This is #5 of 101 digital imaging tips I plan to post here over the next few months. Stay tuned. Only 96 more tips to go :-)

Today's tip: Expose for the Highlights.

The annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, held each year in early October in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is perhaps one of the most colorful festivals in the U.S.

Sure, the colors are great - and looking for color, and composing for color, is important. And fun!

Perhaps more important is exposing for the highlights - because it's easy to enhance colors in the digital darkroom using Saturation and Vibrance. However, if the highlights, such as the flame from the burner in the above photograph, are overexposed more than one f-stop, it will probably be impossible to rescue them.

To ensure that you preserve the highlights, check the overexposure warning on your camera's LCD monitor. Also check the histogram to make sure you don't have a spike on the right side of the display. Of course, shoot RAW files, which contain more data than JPEG files.

Explore the light,
Rick Sammon
Canon Explorer of Light

Quick Digital Imaging Tip 4/101: Attend Photo Plus Expo in New York City

This is #4 of 101 digital imaging tips I plan to post here over the next few months. Stay tuned. Only 97 more tips to go :-)

Today's Tip: Attend Photo Plus Expo in NYC, October 28 - 30, 2010. Tons of seminars, dozens of exhibitors, cool portfolio reviews, and plenty of free show-floor presentations, including mine:

Thursday

11 - Noon
Expo Imaging

1 to 1:30

Lexar – Travel Photography

2 to 2:30

Nations – People Photography

3:30 to 4

Unique Photo – HDR Photography

4:15

Wiley – Book Signing

Friday

11 - Noon
Expo Imaging

1 to 1:30
Lexar – Travel Photography

2 to 2:30

Nations – People Photography

3:30 to 4

Unique Photo – HDR Photography

4:15

Wiley - Book Signing

4:30 to 5

Lexar - Travel Photography

Saturday

10-11:30

Canon - Speedlite Session

1:30 to 2

Nations – People Photography

2:30 to 3

Unique Photo – HDR Photography

3:15

Wiley – Book Signing

3:30 to 4:00

Lexar – Travel Photography

Hope to see you at the show! Start making your schedule now.

Explore the light,

Rick

Quick Digital Imaging Tip 3/101: HDR Processing First Steps

This is tip #3 of 101 digital imaging tips I plan to post here over the next few months. So stay tuned. Only 98 more tips to go :-)

HDR Processing First Steps: In Photomatix, set the White Point and Black Point. In HDR Efex Pro, set the Tone Compressor.

In Photomatix, if you don't start by moving the Black Point and White Point sliders all the way over to the left, you have a chance of losing some highlights and blocking up some shadows - which defeats the purpose of HDR imaging. (Of course, press Default before you start working on an image if you don't want the previous settings applied.)

In Nik Software's HDR Efex Pro, you can quickly and easily compress the brightness range of a scene by adjusting the Tone Compressor slider. (After that, use Control Points to fine-tune your image even more!

If you still lose highlights, and if shadows are still blocked up, you mostly likely did not take enough exposures to capture the entire dynamic range of the scene.

For discounts on Photomatix and HDR Efex Pro, click here.

To read about HDR imaging, check out my latest book, HDR Photography Secrets.

Lean how to shoot HDR on one of my workshops. Great fun!

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. Listen to my free HDR Efex Pro webiner. Click here.

Quick Digital Imaging Tip 2/101: Use Photomerge in Photoshop to Create Panos

This is tip #2 of 101 digital imaging tips I plan to post here over the next few months.

Use Photomerge in Photoshop to create cool panos.

Pano tips:
• Use a steady tripod.
• Set your camera to manual exposure and set the exposure for the brightest part of the scene.
• Position your camera vertically.
• Overlap each scene by 1/3.
• Keep the horizon line level.

If you are very serious about shooting panos, check out these pano heads from Induro.

The pano shown here:
• Dead Horse Point State Park, Utah. Not far from Arches National Park.
• 5 frames.
• Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 17-40mm zoom.

Explore the light,
Rick