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Master Photography episodes

March 17, 2016 Improve Photography Roundtable (EP-166)

Announcements

New people coming on in the next few weeks. Leave feedback.
New page on the website for doodads all in one place. improvephotography.com/doodads
Keep it positive in the groups!

Welcoming Craig Stampfli to the Podcast today.

Website: www.stampfli.photography
Jeff – With Apple refreshes coming soon, nerd out on a couple of things coming that will help photographers (make Lightroom go faster)

Thunderbolt 3
M.2 SSD. Totally different form factor of drives, same flash technology just connected to the computer in a way to actually make it go as fast as it can. In some testing has promised significantly faster read/write speeds (2.5GB read, 1.5GB write) than the 2.5” SSD drives we are all using today, but in real life testing of “normal” disk usage it has been about 10% better. I want to get one of these and test it out to see if the photography specific purposes it is better.
Speaking of flash improvements, Intel is working on a technology called X-Point (cross point) that it has tested to be 1,000 faster than the flash we have today. So M.2 is faster because it is connected in a new way to make the existing flash go as fast as it can, but X-Point is a new type of flash that can go faster than the NAND tech in SSD drives today.
Intel NUC (Next Unit of Computing). http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/nuc/nuc-kit-nuc6i5syh.html

Craig- New techniques to try on a weekend, learn something new.

Star Trails – Star Stax free software.

http://www.markus-enzweiler.de/software/software.html

* Light trails, car lights at night.

Get up early (!) and shoot a sunrise, get that soft light and long shadows.
Shoot 12 exposures only with the rear LCD screen taped off, forces you to read the settings.
Focus stacking, what is it and how to do it? Prompt for Jim as I don’t know how to do it but want to learn.

Erica – Historical Photo Processing: Wet Plate Collodion

Combined love for photography, history, and chemistry
Joys of trying something new (for me) but old (for the industry)
Greater appreciation for the art
Desire to learn more
The process
Workshops at UA Creative Photography & Training

Jim’s Segment

http://blog.instagram.com/post/141107034797/160315-news

Doodads of the Week!

Jim: JW Red Shutter Button
Erica: Hydroflask
Craig: LightTrac app
Jeff: Intel NUC ($390) M.2 SSD and 16GB RAM for $570. Similarly equipped Mac Mini is $1,100.

47 min
March 12, 2016 IP Podcast Ep 165
IP Podcast Ep 165 by Jim Harmer: Photography Nerd
The post IP Podcast Ep 165 appeared first on Master Photography Podcast.
51 min
March 10, 2016 Improve Photography Roundtable (EP-165)

Announcements

New people coming on in the next few weeks. Leave feedback.
New page on the website for doodads all in one place. improvephotography.com/doodads
Keep it positive in the groups!

Questions of the Week:
Rainee Lee Tubbs
I have been struggling with exposing for highlights and knowing what to do in camera. I’m not getting any sort of confirmation from the camera itself when I meter the brightest part of the sky. (I’m probably doing it wrong) unsure emoticon Also, does one need to calculate their settings differently? I have only found lessons on this that aren’t all that detailed so I’m doing a lot guessing. I would love to see a more detailed tutorial on this.
Justin Rogers
Curious as to what other photographers use to plan out a road trip itinerary? My wife and I will be traveling to Ireland in May and I was looking for a website and/or app to allow for the daily management of points of interest along the way and to know how big of a “leg” of the trip we have ahead of us just for that day (versus only knowing the entire route spanning multiple days). The best one I’ve found so far is Tripomatic but would be curious to know what other use. Thanks!
Glenn George
I would appreciate it if you guys could explain how and when he switches between photography and videography when a client asks for both for a wedding shoot.
Jim’s 5 Minute Segment

8 Real Estate Photography Lessons I Learned This week

“Pretty Day” vs “Photographer weather”
Send a sheet to clients on how to prepare
Drone woes
Flow of photos in the house not translating to the client
In-camera HDR and sweep panorama
Seriously, the pole is better than a drone

5 Minute Segments:
Nick – Landscape photography – Going alone, or with someone else

pros of going alone:

more easily focus on the task at hand
getting away from people can be bliss
if something amazing happens, your the only one to have the shot

Cons

twist and ankle.. you die
fall down… you die
do anything wrong.. you die
often times watching others work can be great for inspiring new ideas in your own photography. Otherwise… you die

Doodads of the Week!

Jim: Shutterbug magazine
Nick – Rope… yep… rope
Stephen – Apurture Halo Ringlight

51 min
March 04, 2016 IP Podcast Ep 164
IP Podcast Ep 164 by Jim Harmer: Photography Nerd
The post IP Podcast Ep 164 appeared first on Master Photography Podcast.
54 min
March 04, 2016 Improve Photography Roundtable (EP-164)

Announcements

New people coming on in the next few weeks. Leave feedback.
New page on the website for doodads all in one place. improvephotography.com/doodads
Keep it positive in the groups!

Questions of the Week:

Radhika Dixit – Why not use spot metering all the time? What is the advantage of switching to Evaluative Mode, Centre Weighted, etc. Wouldn’t you get the same effect by spot metering a point in the shot that is equal to 18% gray?
Griffin Mekleberg – I’ve been shooting for about 3 months and love every minute! I do not have much money for a better computer monitor but have been interested in screen calibration. I have terrible color vision as is so anything that will make my screen show a more accurate image is a godsend. I was wondering if anyone knows good software to get calibration or any resources and info on the topic?
John Heslop – I was wondering if it made a difference which hdmi cables I use to hook up monitors.

Scott’s 5 Minute Segment

* Mirrorless cameras

Jim’s 5 Minute Segment

Talent

Is talent for photography something we learn, or are born with?

DJI Phantom 4

Doodads of the Week!
Same as the note above. Go ahead and jump in with your doodad instead of waiting for Jim to say it’s your turn.

Jim: DJI Phantom 4
* Scott: Shoot through umbrella

54 min
February 25, 2016 IP Podcast Ep 163
IP Podcast Ep 163 by Jim Harmer: Photography Nerd
The post IP Podcast Ep 163 appeared first on Master Photography Podcast.
1 hr 2 min
February 25, 2016 Improve Photography Roundtable (EP-163)

Available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naYC5VsvTL8
Announcements

New people coming on in the next few weeks. Leave feedback.
Get all the doodads of the week from this episode and all the previous episodes here: improvephotography.com/doodads
Keep it positive in the groups!

Welcome Sandy Dorau!

Questions of the Week:

Tim Covington – Is the ability to use APSC lenses on a full frame body a compelling reason to choose a particular camera brand? If so, what manufacturers allow this?
Don Williamson – Manual mode only, or aperture priority? I know Nick and Brian only use manual, and Jim uses aperture priority. I also see other photographers like Joe McNally shooting in Aperture Priority. So which one is right?
Bastian Bodyl – How do you build up a following on Instagram?

Erica’s 5 Minute Segment

How to generate portrait business while traveling

Nick’s 5 Minute Segment

Wine bottle photography.. creating and eliminating reflections

Sandy’s 5 Minute Segment

WPPI and SPE are coming up! I’m trying to get a good gameplan down/see if anyone would want me to check out any vendors.

Doodads of the Week!
Get all the doodads of the week from this episode and all the previous episodes here: improvephotography.com/doodads

* Jim: Thinguma tripod key (Use code “IMPROVE” to get 25% off)
Sandy: My old-lady back remedies that saved my career. The BSN Medical Pro-Lite Clavicle Support used in conjunction with Young Living’s “Deep Relief”).
Nick: Mag Mod System
Erica: Caden DSLR bag

Instagram Contest!
Follow us on Instagram. We’ll pick random winners before March 15 to win some awesome prizes! No purchase necessary to win. Just follow us on Instagram and you’re entered!

* Jim Harmer’s Instagram
* Erica Kay’s Instagram
* Nick Page’s Instagram
* Sandy Dorau’s Instagram

1 hr 2 min
February 18, 2016 Improve Photography Roundtable (EP-162)

Available also in Video: Improve Photography Podcast Episode 162
Questions of the Week:

Are there any Linux/Ubuntu photographers out there? Any good resources/tutorials for Darktable (edit) or Rawtherapee?
Kathy Page – How do I know what settings to choose when using a manual flash?
Anthony Fuccella – Best audio options for recording an interview at a swim meet?

Jim: Is the DJI Phantom a suitable pro photography tool?

Jim hasn’t loved the image quality from the DJI phantom at all and is considering returning it and getting the DJI Inspire 1 instead.

Midroll: Zenfolio. Start a free trial today with no credit card required. When you decide to sign up for Zenfolio, make sure to use the offer code IMPROVE to get 30% off (your subscription), and to show your support for our podcast! Thanks Zenfolio for your support! Zenfolio. Voted #1 by Photographers like me for 3 years in a row.
Jeff: Hobbyist/beginner tip: Faking a studio

Recently heard feedback on the Improve Photography Facebook group that the listeners want to hear a lot more perspective from a hobbyist/beginner that doesn’t have all the fancy gear.
Recently had a shoot go south. Girls hired me to shoot their sweethearts dance group. Apparently the “in” thing to do now here in Utah. Supposed to meet at a lake here an hour before sunset, girls weren’t ready until after sunset. Really cold. Had to improvise.
Gear needed (not pro gear, just enough)

Camera
1,2, or 3 off camera flashes (depending on the size of the group). YN560-III ($65) are great. Get a little fancier, saves time so you don’t have to walk over to flashes, get the YN560-TX ($40)
silver umbrella ($10-$15 a piece)
light stands ($30 for 2)
flash & umbrella holder for top of light stand ($5 a piece)
white background – muslin ($40)
Can do more of course, but total cost: $345 (pays for itself after 1 or 2 shoots)

Put the two silver umbrellas with the flashes on both sides of the group, 1 flash in back of the group pointing at the white background. I had all the flashes at full power. Pose the people take the shot.
Import the photos in Lightroom and make all the adjustments you want to the people, don’t worry about the background
Command-E/Ctrl-E to take the photo over to Ps

Duplicate the background so you can get back to the original if needed
Do spot healing on skin
Use the quick selection to to select the person off of the background – very easy to do if the flash in the back of the group highlights the edges of the person
Use refine edge with the quick selection tool around the hair or anywhere an edge looks too sharp.
44 min
February 17, 2016 Ip162
Ip162 by Jim Harmer: Photography Nerd
44 min
February 11, 2016 IP Podcast Ep 161
IP Podcast Ep 161 by Jim Harmer: Photography Nerd
56 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…