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Master Photography episodes

January 14, 2017 IP Roundtable (EP-208)
Topic 1: Connor – Photographing Dozens of Headshots in 2 hours time

Make sure you plan out the set ahead of time and only bring the gear you need with 1 or 2 backup items for things that may fail.
Leave an obvious space for people to easily get in and out of the setup.
Can be useful to have 2 lighting setups on 2 different channels to be able to get multiple looks
You Need a lot of energy for this type of shoot.
Tether if you can so people can choose their preferred headshot.
Even though I am only using about 3 minutes per person to get a shot they will love, I take a minute to talk to the person and warm them up.
BE GOOFY

Topic 2: Mark Connors – Loving the new Fuji xt-2 but I find the x-trans files are a bit trickier to work with in Lightroom. I find that sometimes presets don’t look right when first applied. Would you mind talking about this on one of your podcasts, maybe comparing how you process Fuji raf files to canon/nikon raw files.

Most likely just a change in how things look.
Sharpness on a Fuji RAW is less punchy than in most raw files
I haven’t really had trouble with color, but blacks are an issue that makes color look different

Camera profile is the fix

Topic 3: Sandy is moving

I’m moving to Dallas!!!!! Part of me is terrified to start over in a new city, but from a commercial photography standpoint, I think it will be huge for my career. Las Vegas is great, but Dallas is huge by comparison.

Midroll: Casper Mattress www.casper.com/IMPROVE
esteemcommercial.com/workshops/lighting-for-portraiture/
Topic 4: What’s the Hot Camera System Today?

Fuji likely has a boring year unless you are prepared to spend $9,000 on a new medium format
Canon likely to release a FF mirrorless
What will the new Sony FF mirrorless look like? A9?
Nikon has been pretty quiet for a while… D820?

DL has 1” sensor and seems to be delayed
D5600 modest improvement

Micro 4/3 still isn’t taking off with pros/advanced amateurs
Hasselblad sold to DJI?

Topic 5: Sandy – Finding inspiration in a totally new way.

I’ve hit the point that most photographers that consider going professional dread: it’s becoming a job. I still have passion for photography, but I just shoot the same thing day in and day out.
Problem is, I don’t think I have time to take on any new projects right at this time, so instead I am going to make it my mission to re-decorate my home and office with works of art. I’m so inspired by the photographers I am around that do amazing landscape and I want to showcase them in an extraordinary way.
I also realized that I have NO photos on my walls.
Connor – Think of something I don’t know how to do and try to figure it out.
Jim – STEP AWAY! Disappear for a month or so.

Travel
Gear therapy
Get a photo critique
Learn something new
Top 10

Doodads of the Week!

Connor: Muslin Backdrop
Jim: RadarScope
Sandy: Shortcuts Keyboard Skin
Connor: Tripad

1 hr 1 min
January 07, 2017 IP Roundtable (ep – 207)
IP Roundtable (ep – 207) by Jim Harmer: Photography Nerd
The post IP Roundtable (ep – 207) appeared first on Master Photography Podcast.
1 hr 15 min
January 07, 2017 IP Roundtable (EP-207)
Pre-Roll: Squarespace
Topic 1:
Topic 2: 9 Interesting Things about the DJI Phantom Pro Plus

Amazing for going places I wouldn’t have dared

Couldn’t see white vinyl fence against white snow

Magnetic interference on top of the temple
Image quality is better than expected.

First phantom with publishable STILL image quality.

The screen is totally worth the cost

Super bright
Faster
All integrated

Never buy directly from DJI

Sale price wasn’t given to me
Took longer than other retailers
Still haven’t received rest of my order and no update
No tracking info
No extras

Binoculars for a spotter will probably save you money to prevent crashes

Doesn’t meet FAA

The DNG is SIGNIFICANTLY better than the JPG. Not all RAW is equal, and this one is quite good.
Chasing geese is the holy grail shot for me
1 hr 15 min
December 24, 2016 IP Roundtable EP – 206
IP Roundtable EP – 206 by Jim Harmer: Photography Nerd
The post IP Roundtable EP – 206 appeared first on Master Photography Podcast.
49 min
December 24, 2016 IP Roundtable (EP-206)
Pre-Roll: Squarespace
Topic 1: 2016 Industry Prediction Follow-Up

https://improvephotography.com/36317/be-a-better-photographer-in-2016-ip155/
Nick: 5d iv.. will be underwhelming, but just good enough to keep me a canon shooter
Jeff: Adobe is going to make graphics acceleration work in Lightroom
Jim: 5dIV will have 4k
Brian: Mine deals w/ Jeff

Topic 2: PR Photography (Sandy)

With the holidays comes LOTS of PR work for me. It’s really a great way to get really good at using your speedlight on-camera as well as your settings in general. I have just probably in the last year gotten to the point where I don’t need to think about it too much.
There are a few ways to get PR jobs. Any event that is sponsored by a company, contact their PR and Marketing department and ask if they need coverage. Soon you could be their go-to for that event.
Couple things: don’t use fancy presets. Just make sure your WB and exposure is good. If you want to get “artsy”, do it with different angles and lenses.

Topic 3: Quitting my day Job

Proud and anxious to say that early in 2017 I will be leaving my day job to pursue photography full time.
I have enough clientele to sustain myself in paying of bills and basic costs of living for the next year and have decided to take the leap towards growing my business, but not in a way you might think…

Midroll:

Squarespace
Blurb – Go to blurb.com/improve and enter offer code “improve” to get 25% off

Topic 5: 2017 Industry Predictions

Jim: Fuji’s medium format camera will cost $7k body only.

Sony A7R3 will fix menu systems and be the lust-worthy camera of the year
iPhone 8 will have the same camera as the 7
Apple will release a keyboard that costs $200+

Connor: Canon will finally release a full frame mirrorless that doesn’t require the purchase of new lenses.
Connor: Adobe will stop using years as a part of their update names and rather move to version numbers or something of the like.
Sandy: I predict that improve photography will add a new show.
Jeff: Canon puts out a mirrorless camera that takes EF mount glass

Doodads of the Week!

Jim: Buy tech one step back from cutting edge: Macbook Pro, iPhone (Samsung Galaxy Note 7), Tesla, etc.
Sandy: Lens Wraps (for your camera body and/or lenses)
Connor: Hot Melt Glue Gun and Gorilla Glue Sticks
Doorandom: Amazon Echo Dot

49 min
December 19, 2016 IP Roundtable EP – 205
IP Roundtable EP – 205 by Jim Harmer: Photography Nerd
The post IP Roundtable EP – 205 appeared first on Master Photography Podcast.
35 min
December 16, 2016 IP Roundtable (EP-205)
Pre-Roll: ImprovePhotographyPlus.com
Topic 1: Jim – Does quiet shutter create a sharper photo?

Does using the silent shutter mode increase my chances of a sharper photo? I recently switched to the silent shutter mode and it seems like it would produce less vibration if your right at or under the 1/focal length rule.

Topic 2: Stephen – Affinity Photo

Affinity Photo 1.5 as a Ps alternatve:
(Live blend modes especially),
osx photos extension
One-time 39.95 and all updates have been free

Topic 3: Sandy – Working with a stylist.

What has been your experience working with stylists? Did you have one for any of the fashion-esq workshops?
Working with a food stylist this past weekend was a game changer. Finding a good one can be hard, but boy, when you find someone that you click with, it’s incredible.
Even just having someone there to collaborate with is helpful. Photography can sometimes be so solitary.
I also feel like a lot of us try to be everything, and relinquishing some control can free you up to focus on other things, like improving composition, lighting techniques, etc.

Midroll: Blurb – Go to blurb.com/improve and enter offer code “improve” to get 25% off
Topic 4:

Taking photos in public (Based off Cody James Cook question)

JIM HARMER! I NEED SOME LEGAL /ETHICAL ADVICE!
I'm a student here at California State University San Marcos studying mass media with a interest in photography (obviously why I'm here)
I recently was asked to take photos of an event by the communication department at my school.
As a photographer, I see an opportunity to be published because I was the one who happened to be there and see it as an opportunity to grow and get my work published on some websites and some articles. However the websites that would use them might not use them in the right manner.
As a student, This would potentially ruin my reputation with a lot of the faculty on campus here, whom I still have to take a few of their classes…..
As for the legality:
Could I be held liable from either the school or private individuals for any photos where they can be recognized. If the article ends up using defamatory information even though I just took the photos of the event? The event was in a public area where anyone on campus could attend.
As you can see, I have found myself in my first ethical dilemma with photography. PLEASE someone help me!
Thanks guys.
I was going to ask if I could be help liable from either the school or private individuals for any photos where they can be recognized. If the article ends up using defamatory information even though I just took the photos of the event?

Ethical vs legal concerns
What to do if approached by people
What to do if approached by police
Legal liability if people are noticed in photo?
Control over portrayal of “truth”?
Legal implications if photo is used without license? Fair use? Newsworthy?

Doodads of the Week!

Sandy: Tokina 100mm F2.8 Macro lens (I actually used our Lens Finder page). The one I was looking at purchasing was about $1,000, but this one was under $400, and I really like it!
Amazon Fire Tablet: $39.95 for use as a dedicated external monitor via wifi apps.
Hengedock vertical docking station
Doorandom: Gaffers Tape around a golf pen and paperclip.
35 min
December 10, 2016 IP Roundtable EP – 204
IP Roundtable EP – 204 by Jim Harmer: Photography Nerd
The post IP Roundtable EP – 204 appeared first on Master Photography Podcast.
59 min
December 10, 2016 IP Roundtable (EP-204)
Pre-Roll: ImprovePhotographyPlus.com
Topic 1: Jim – Updates to Lightroom 2015.8

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/help/whats-new.html
Bug: Selected multiple photos and tried to round-trip to Ps, if Ps wasn’t running it wouldn’t work. It now does
Reference Photo (only CC): If you are trying to match colors to another photo taken at different times you can make one of the photos a reference photo and then edit the other photo

Topic 2: Jeff – Hurion (Monoprice) Digital Tablet ($50)

1/6th the price of Wacom, will see if Wacom is worth the significant extra cost in a few weeks
Works great with Windows 10. Learning curve for sure. First challenge is finding room on your desk for keyboard, mouse, and the digital tablet.
Don’t love it for all mouse movements, but great for dodging and burning and for masking. Have done a ton of cutting athletes from the background and put them on Game Day posters and it has been so nice to have the pen and tablet

Topic 3: Connor – Everyone comes across challenges in photography, even after doing it for years and years.

What is a time within the past year that either of you have been challenged by a shoot?
How did you overcome those issues, or did you?
The trickiest proposal shoot I have ever done

Midroll: Blurb – Go to blurb.com/improve and enter offer code “improve” to get 25% off
Topic 4: Jim – Bo Drinkard asks for a recap of the latest FAA rules and regs for drones? I imagine a lot of folks (myself included) are expecting a new arrival for Christmas and are unsure of what is required as of late. FAA 333 exemption or 107 or what. Notification to ATC, airports, helipads? It is all quite convoluted at the moment.
Topic 5: Jeff – Cleanup Lr Backups

Periodically like to remind people to go and delete their extra backups. Hopefully you have Lightroom set up to ask you to do backups every time you exit, and you do them at least once a week or so.

Jim – Amen to this! I’ve lost Lightroom catalogs to corruption 2 or 3 times over the years. Wasn’t a problem since I always make backups.

If you have gone all year without cleaning up the backups then you may have quite a bit of disk space being taken by old backups that will do you now good. Julianne Kost, Principal Digital Imaging Evangelist at Adobe, recommends no keeping no more than 5 of them.

Jim – I would just add to this to keep one OLD one that’s like six months old. Just in case you deleted a folder of old images or something from Lightroom. You may not notice right away.

To find where they are at you need to go to the location on your computer where your catalog is being stored. Lightroom->Catalog Settings on Mac, Edit->Catalog Settings on PC. Then go to the General tab and click the “Show” button to the right of the Location. This will bring up Finder on Mac or Windows Explorer on PC. There will be a Lightroom folder, go inside it. Then go into the Backups folder. Delete all but the 5 newest folders there. I did this today and had 15 backup folders that were taking up 15GB of storage on my SSD.

Doodads of the Week!

Jim: Photo Scan by Google (app for iOS and Android)

Jeff – Have you tried Micosoft Office Lens? Really good! For whiteboard and document captures, haven’t tried it for photos.

Jeff: Later.com – schedule socail media posts to Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest. Super helpful for getting photos from PC to phone for IG. Even though Mac can use AirDrop, still super helpful for scheduling posts and typing ...
59 min
December 04, 2016 IP Roundtable EP – 203
IP Roundtable EP – 203 by Jim Harmer: Photography Nerd
The post IP Roundtable EP – 203 appeared first on Master Photography Podcast.
1 hr 4 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…