Master Photography

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Master Photography episodes

April 02, 2017 IP Roundtable (EP-218)
Topic 1: What's missing from your camera system?
Update on rGPS
May launch
Betas are starting to look pretty good
4,000 locations
Topic 2: Jeff – Deep Photo Style Transfer https://arxiv.org/pdf/1703.07511.pdf and IG shadow banning
-or-
We are through the first 3 months of 2017. Time is flying by. Do you have a few shots that you have marked as candidates for our Top Ten this year? I know people are probably tired of hearing me talk about this topic, but I really think the annual top ten process I go through every year is one of the things that has helped me to improve the very most.

There is a Photo Taco podcast with a whole lot more detail about the process you can find by searching “photo taco top ten” on google
Basic idea here is to mark your photos in some way as you process them through the year so that you will know to go back to them at the end of the year to narrow down the images you have taken through the year to your 10 best
I do this through the use of collections in Lightroom. I have a collection called “candidates 2017” that is marked as my target collection and every time I finish processing a photo that I think could end up being one of my top ten best on the year I put it into the collection, which takes all of 1 second by just hitting “B” if you have a target collection setup.
In December I go through the candidates I marked through the year and have to narrow down all of those brilliant photos to 10. Usually somewhere between 30 and 50 or so. Kind of like choosing which of your babies is ugliest. Getting it down to about 15 or so it gets really hard and it turns into a situation where you can really do a portfolio review with yourself as you have to kick out 5 of those shots.

Topic 3: Jeff – Update on Updates

Lightroom 2015.9/6.9 gets an all clear from me.

There have been some minor issues I have seen from Photo Taco listeners and over in the Adobe forums, but there have been more people that have been able to apply the update with no issues than those who have had issues.
Thus far, all those who have had issues have had the issue resolved doing a fairly simple and painless preferences reset. The most common issue I have seen reported happens on Mac where the thumbnails in the filmstrip view are shown too big and overlap or cover up some of the space above them where they shouldn’t, kind of going off the filmstrip.
If you need to do a preferences reset then make sure before you do that you go to Preferences>Presets – and uncheck the “Store Presets with this catalog.” This setting is recommended to be off and if it is on then you won’t see any user presets you have created as you do a preferences reset.

Windows Creators Update coming early April.

As always, recommend photographers who can’t afford to have any bumps running their business to wait for other crazy people like me and the IP crew to try it out before you. That goes for MacOS, Windows, and Lightroom.
The Creators Update will start being deployed to all Windows 10 users starting in early April. It will be rolled out to some very specific configurations Microsoft is most confident will not have issues and then slowly be rolled out to more and more configurations over the next several weeks to months.
Unfortunately, delaying the update is a straightforward process. Hit up his article for the full details but basically there is an option in a system setting for Windows 10 Pro users and a rather awful workaround for Windows Home users.
Really good article from Paul Thurott over at thurrott.com on the topic. He is a very technical journalist closely following Microsoft and Windows, installing all of the updates Microsoft makes available as they are released every few weeks.
39 min
March 25, 2017 IP Roundtable (EP – 217)
IP Roundtable (EP – 217) by Jim Harmer: Photography Nerd
The post IP Roundtable (EP – 217) appeared first on Master Photography Podcast.
38 min
March 25, 2017 IP Roundtable (EP-217)
Topic 1: 100% Viewfinder coverage, Yn560TX, head space, get closer
Topic 2: Laryssa: It’s almost tax time and many of us who have a photography business need to gather our tax stuff.

Organization of your shoots. Make sure you add mileage to your shoots (and the corresponding expense)
Keep track of all deposits and receipts

I’m switching to Quickbooks but I typically will put a copy of my receipt in a year month folder on my hard drive (which gets backed up to backblaze)

Don’t forget to track your purchases (camera equipment and accessories)
Give whatever reports you have for to your accountant

I typically keep my receipts and unless she needs them I won’t give them to her.

Midroll: Squarespace
Topic 3: Aaron: The photography skill you need to work on is NETWORKING with people. It’s in our nature to think we can predict the future. We think we’re in control of far more than we truly are. That’s why every chance encounter you have with someone at a coffee shop or the eye doctor or the playground could be a big turning point. But the turning point might not come that day–it might come months or years down the road. The ability to connect with someone right away, to hold an easy-going, positive conversation, and to talk passionately yet casually about your photography is a skill to be honed.
Every job I’ve gotten since my first one out of college was thanks to networking and being in people’s good graces. Grades, college degrees, test scores, those got me the first job. But nothing else, not exclusively anyway. Without a network of people, I wouldn’t get a foot in the door.
Photography seems to be all about baby-steps, perseverance, and grinding away day-by-day. Everyone can take good photos, but not everyone works well with people, both as a business person, a session coordinator, and whatever other hats come with small business photography. You have to be good at talking to people, finding ways to stay in their head as a photographer, and being positive without being pushy. I have a story example:

Visit to eye doctor
Needed photos for an IP article
Started talking with the woman who did initial intake
Ended up going to her home a week later, photographing her kids for the article
A month or two later, I did anniversary photos and senior photos
Positive social media sharing

And months afterwards, too!

Sent an email at New Year thanking–IMPORTANT!
Did photos for a benefit concert her husband was playing in–free
The next day, she called with an opportunity: take all of the photos for the doctors’ office website redesign!

That’s networking. Staying relevant and visible, being nice, doing the extra small gestures, being patient. All of this took seven months. But now I’m sure I’ll be doing senior photos, maybe more anniversary photos, future weddings? Who knows? I’m now “their photographer.” You never know where that can take you.
Also, social media isn’t networking. A positive social media presence can reinforce a relationship, but it never will be a relationship. Social media could get you an initial conversation, or it might remind someone about you, but social media will never replace good in-person communication and connection.
(I have more examples, like being an IP writer, shooting with Erica Kay, meeting Nick Fancher, writing for Kevin Kuster, writing for a parenting blog, reaching out to a local venue, the list of people who I keep in touch with goes on and on…) The issue of Shutter Magazine I reviewed has a small section about how to practice–talk with a stranger and see how positive and natural you can make it.
You never know when you’ll see someone again for an important moment in your life. Here’s one more fun one for you: kids,
38 min
March 18, 2017 IP Roundtable EP – 216
IP Roundtable EP – 216 by Jim Harmer: Photography Nerd
The post IP Roundtable EP – 216 appeared first on Master Photography Podcast.
1 hr 14 min
March 18, 2017 IP Roundtable (EP-216)
Topic 1: Sandy – Formatting your SD card. Do you/should you format it every time? Do you all think there’s there a risk involved with formatting? I personally format every time. It’s just faster and easier for me (on the Nikon, there’s are two red [format] icons, and when you hold them down, it formats the card!).

On the Mac

Topic 2: Brent – Camera cleaning recap (talked about it at the retreat)link to pdf
Midroll: Go to Audible.com/improve and start listening to audio books! Jim recommends “Never Split the Difference”
Doodads of the Week!
Sandy: VILTROX LED Panel
Doorandom: Sandy – Camera Necklace
Brent: SensorKlear
Doorandom: Brent – Battery Caddy (or just use gaffer tape)

Latitude: THE Travel Photography Podcast
1 hr 14 min
March 05, 2017 IP Roundtable (EP – 215)
IP Roundtable (EP – 215) by Jim Harmer: Photography Nerd
The post IP Roundtable (EP – 215) appeared first on Master Photography Podcast.
41 min
March 04, 2017 IP Roundtable (EP-215)
Pre-Roll: Backblaze
Ireland was awesome. More in the Latitude Podcast.
Topic 1: Jim – Sony RX100 v Review

1” sensor
Image quality is truly impressive
180 flipping LCD
No touch screen (face palm)
Battery is small
Slippery. Needs anti slip pad.
Expensive
Exceptional in low light
USB charging is great!
Very sharp (check focal lengths)
Menus are sensible and easy to navigate
Audio quality Stinks

Topic 2: Jeff – Canon W-E1 WiFi Adapter Review

Only works in 7DM2, 5DS, 5DS R
Should have been built in!
Have to do a firmware update to make it work
Ads a new option to setup menu on the camera
Takes SD card slot
Establishes a small WiFi network from the camera or join the camera to same wireless network as phone
Can’t use the camera while the card is active
No storage
Speed was fine
Thought that I had to write RAW+JPEG my first time using it, filled up the 128GB CF card at basketball game. Allows you to download photo when shooting only RAW just fine

Midroll: Backblaze
Topic 4: 9 Reasons NOW is the time to buy a drone

Still image quality is “there” for the first time on a drone under $3k

Took as many portfolio shots as my still camera in Ireland

You can capture unique compositions that are otherwise impossible

Take locations that we’ve seen a million times and actually do something new there

Some locations more amenable to motion than stills, and this really gives a still image the cinematic look
Smaller and more portable

Great excuse for why they can’t green tag you

Vlogger’s delight
Safer/Lower crash risk
Easier to get pro looking footage now that they are so smooth
FAA rules
Affordability

Get one!

Go buy a DJI Phantom 3 Standard if that’s what you can afford. GET ON THE DRONES WAVE!
Buy a Mavic if you have a little more budget
Buy a DJI Phantom 4 Pro Plus if you have more budget and don’t have portability issues.

New iTunes Artwork Next Week
Opening presentation will be the podcast
Somebody’s hair is gonna be pink
Writers hold off for me
IP+ New courses
Doodads of the Week!

See all the doodads at https://improvephotography.com/doodads
Jim- RX100 v
Nick – Planet earth 2 on Netflix
Jeff- Lexar JumpDrive S45 128GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive $30

41 min
February 25, 2017 IP Roundtable Ep – 214
IP Roundtable Ep – 214 by Jim Harmer: Photography Nerd
The post IP Roundtable Ep – 214 appeared first on Master Photography Podcast.
50 min
February 25, 2017 IP Roundtable (EP-214)
Topic 1: IP Retreat
Josh:
Real estate photography
-composition
-Lighting techniques
-Twilight images
-business/ sales strategies
Brent: Four total presentations. Graphic Design in Photography, Simple composites for Impact, Camera Cleaning like a Pro and recording a session of Latitude.
Connor: I am doing two classes, one on how to achieve dramatic lighting when shooting with strobes, and another I will be hosting a few times on Retouching like the Pros.
Topic 2: Connor – Traveling with film can be a huge pain

Larger airports, get enough of the requests that they don’t question it so much, but smaller airports and other security checkpoints don’t.
While it is true that film under an iso of 1600 is safe to travel through an x-ray machine, the amount of times it is capable of doing so is limited, since it is a cumulative effect. 1 trip for iso 800, 2 for 400, and a handful for iso 100.
Better safe than sorry, so be prepared to fight anyone wanting to send it through the x-ray and be prepared to get hassled.
Final thoughts, if you want to travel with film, just be sure you are going somewhere it is worth the hassle of doing so.

Midroll: Jim pre-recorded

Topic 3: Brent – New podcast…

Name: Latitude: THE Travel Photography Podcast
Recording our first episodes tomorrow. Co-hosting with Brian McGuckin
Looking to publish on Wednesday, March 1 if all goes to plan.
We’ll be talking about all things travel and photography related, and specifically how they go together.
We have a facebook group we invite you to join if this interests you.

Topic 4: Connor – Strobed portrait using ND filters.

This is something I have been playing around with a lot recently,
Using an ND when shooting in location with strobes allows for you to use very wide apertures.
One sticking point I was having with this when I first started doing it was using a Variable ND which made it a little difficult to get the amount blocked exact. But using circular ND filters make it very hard to quickly find focus with portrait work. The solution is something I was taught by Joel Grimes when taking one of his workshops and that is to use a cokin style filter with a modified holder to allow me to swing the filter up, get focus, and put it back in place for a shot.
Very fun way to shoot with strobes that give a look you don’t see much of.

Question of the Week:

Jen Mangenello – I’m wondering how people are using the color labels in lightroom? Could some of you that find them useful share examples of how you’re using them?

Doodads of the Week!

See all the doodads at https://improvephotography.com/doodads
Connor – 100mm square Glass ND Filters The one I currently use is: Zomei Glass PRO 6-stop Neutral Density Filter However I just had a small email exchange with breakthrough photography, and they said they will be releasing square ND filters some time in the middle of the year, so it may be worth holding off until then
Brent – MiFi from Novatell wireless and the freedompop.com service. Free international roaming wifi hot spot.
Josh: Manfrotto 405 geared Tripod head

50 min
February 20, 2017 IP Roundtable EP – 213
IP Roundtable EP – 213 by Jim Harmer: Photography Nerd
The post IP Roundtable EP – 213 appeared first on Master Photography Podcast.
49 min

About Master Photography

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5 photographers (Brent Bergherm, Jeff Harmon, Connor Hibbs, Erica Kay, Brian McGuckin) take turns covering listener questions, photography news, and the famous photography “doodads” of the week with…