Florida Photo Caravan 2nd Shoot: HDR

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My best HDR of a parking garage: Visitor's Center parking garage.
We're just back from our second shoot on my 2012 Florida Photo Caravan. 

Our location: St. Augustine. We focused on HDR. Here are a few of my favorite HDR images . . but we all got good shots. I'll share these images with you as they come in.
Photomatix and Topaz Adjust/ Spicify
Tip: After you process your images in Photomatix or HDR Efex Pro, add a plug-in effect - or boost the saturation and contrast in Photoshop or LIghtroom. Above I used Topaz Spicify. Below I used Nik Software's Silver Efex Pro.
Nik HDR Efex Pro and Nik Silver Efex Pro
Flagler College. Photomatix plus Topaz Adjust/ Exposure Correction.
If you want to learn about HDR, check out my iHDR app. To learn more about the plug-ins I use, click here.

Click here to get on the list for my 2013 Photo Caravan and other workshops.

Explore the light,
Rick

FLorida Photo Caravan 1st Shoot

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© Rick Sammon
We're just back from our first shoot on my 2012 Florida Photo Caravan.

Our location: St. John's Pier in St. Augustine.

We had great light, which I enhanced with Nik Color Efex Pro. Above: Duplex Filter + User Defined Gradual Filter. Click here to read about all the plug-ins I use for creative effects.

Tips:
– Some of the best sunrise shots are taken before sunrise.
– Use foreground elements to establish a sense of place.

More photos to come.

Click here to get on the list for my 2013 Photo Caravan and other workshops.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. Here's a behind the scenes shot taken by Susan Sammon with her iPhone and iPhone accessory lenses. Taking fun shots on a workshop is good fun.

The Magic of HDR at the Magic Beach

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© Rick Sammon
My Florida Photo Caravan beging tonight with a seminar and welcome dinner in St. Augustine.

Here's a quick HDR image I just created with Nik HDR Efex Pro and Topaz Adjust/Spicify.

 This is the world-famous Magic Beach Motel, which will reopen in April.

Click here to read about HDR Efex Pro and Topaz.

Follow along all week for some photos and tips.

Today's tips: Shoot at an angle to create a sense of depth in an image. For max depth of field: use a wide-angle lens, small aperture and focus 1/3 into the scene

Explore the light,
Rick

Have Some Plug-in Fun this Weekend

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I am certainly not a swimsuit model photographer, but I did participate in a swimsuit photography workshop a few years back - when I was shooting film and before I was into digital imaging and Photoshop! Yes, it was that long ago. Since then, I have had the slides scanned.

Anyway, the most recent Swimsuit Issue of Sport Illustrated reminded me of the shoot. I like my shots, but I thought they could be improved with a little plug-in fun. So, I got to work.

I used Nik Software's Silver Efex Pro/Antique Plate on the top image.

I used the Magic Portrait Fix effect in onOne Software's PhotoTools on the bottom image.

If you wanna have some digital imaging fun this coming weekend, play with plug-ins. When you do, experiment with the sliders/buttons for one-of-a-kind effects.

In Photoshop, try fading a filter (Edit > Fade Filter). If you have Photoshop Elements and the effect is applied to a top layer, reduce the Opacity of that layer for variations of the effect.

You can get a discount on the plug-ins I use on my Save on Creative Plug-ins page.

Explore the light,
Rick

Sell and Save with SmugMug Pro in 2012

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I receive many emails from photographers asking me many different types of questions. I answer all of them, believe it or not.

A very common question: How can I make money, and where can I sell my prints?

First off, I say that your pictures do you absolutely no good sitting on your hard drive - and back up drive, which I hope you have. You must get your work out there for the world to see.

One effective way to sell prints is through SmugMug, where I have my galleries and where I sell prints. You upload your images, set your prices, and you are on your way. .  to selling prints (and other photo related products).

I suggest setting up different galleries for different themes. For example, I have a Favorites gallery, an Africa gallery, a Butterfly gallery and a Galapagos gallery - with more galleries on the way. In each gallery I only show the "best of." This makes it fast and easy for folks to view images. Simply put, you don't want to put up dozens and dozens of images for your potential customers to wade through.

Setting up different galleries makes it easy for folks to find your work, and hopefully make a purchase.

Other tips:
- Don't offer a million different print sizes. Only offer a few, which makes choosing and ordering easy.
- Offer a few gift items, too - such as greeting cards.
- Check your stats, which is easy to do with SmugMug. See what is selling and what's not.
- Socialize, using Google+, Twitter, etc., sales and new galleries.

If you are new to setting up a SmugMug site, SmugMug has support heros who can help you out. Below is a look at some of the super SmugMug heros. They take being a super hero very seriously. They also take helping you very seriously.


Don't have a SmugMug Pro account? You can save 20% the first year by using this code: RICKSMUG20. Just go to the SmugMug website and start the SmugMug fun.

Good luck with sales.

Rick