(submitted by Gary Goldberg – Vistek Pro Centre Sales)

Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 2
People are constantly asking me why I like Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom®  Version 2.  And, while there are many reasons, I want to point out just 2  right now that will pique your interest.

Reason #1 (and this is probably my favorite feature)
I always shoot in RAW, and I don’t like having dozens of versions of the same file. Lightroom allows me to work on my RAW image, and print it non destructively. I don’t have to process out a tiff, or jpg, bring it into photoshop and resize it. All of my settings are controlled in Lightroom, and all of my printer profiles are managed through the lightroom printing engine.

Have you ever wanted to print contact sheets? Well, with Lightroom, all you have to do is select the files you want to print, select your page settings, and you can make customized contact sheets. If you want to add your logo to the bottom of a print you can do that too.  If you download Timothy Armes popular plugins for Lightroom, you can add your watermark to all of your images, and process them out for proof printing to a lab. Check out LR2/Mogrify on Timothy’s site as well as his blog plugin for Lightroom – it’s awesome! Once you get the hang of using Lightroom’s print module, you’ll soon discover it is like having a full featured RIP.

Reason #2 (for me this is a biggie)
I shoot weddings during the Spring, Summer, and Fall seasons. And for years I’d been looking for a great way to show my clients their images online in galleries, and allow them and their guests to purchase prints directly through a shopping cart. Lightroom’s Web Module is amazing and can allow you to create a full -featured photographic website in minutes. Once again – I never have to create another set of files for web upload – this is handled by the built-in FTP in Lightroom.

I also stumbled upon a free (yes,  I said Free) web module for Lightroom  that allows you to create a full featured website, using Flash, and have separate galleries, and a built-in shopping cart  that works with Paypal and Google. The module is called  LRG 4, and can be downloaded here.  Please make sure you join the user forum and read the manual as -  and I stress this – there is a LOT of material to learn, and you’ll need to devote some time to it. My first gallery took me over 8 hours in total before I had it working properly. But once you learn it, you don’t forget – and it becomes a breeze. Remember to save your web templates on the sidebar on the left hand side of the web module once you have it looking the way you want it.  Here is a recent gallery created with LRG 3 and, even though it asks for a password, I’ve not enabled it – just click on the left side bar to open the menu, and it will work.

Stay tuned, as I’m thinking of Teaching an introductory class at Vistek on Lightroom Version 2.  If you’re interested in taking the class leave us a message here to let us know.

Submitted by:
Gary Goldberg – Pro Centre Sales Representative
Vistek Toronto
Fast Focus Productions
Fine Art Prints Gallery

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Photo: Derek Shanks

Steady and Still
If you own a heating bag for those aches and pains (you the know the ones that are filled with grainy, rice-like materials?) & you don’t want to carry a tripod around all day – throw one of these in your camera bag and you have something that you can place a camera on and manipulate positioning to your liking. Or, if you’re the creative type, you can make a rice bean bag for yourself. This works really well shooting on rocks, ledges or those hard to reach areas your tripod can’t fit or are simply too high to reach. And, of course, after a long day of carrying around your camera gear, you can throw the heating bag into a microwave and soothe those sore muscles.

In-Camera Timer
You can always use your camera’s timer to jump into a shot. Why not try using the timer, up to 30 seconds, to capture images during the evening and shots in low light. You will need to achieve stability to minimize camera shake.  This works well on tripods, tables, ledges or heating bags as mentioned above.  I still recommend having cable releases and remotes as well, but sometimes you just need to work with the bare minimum and this method helps.

Slowing Down the Hands of Time
You will definitely need stability to use high powered Neutral Density filters that are in the 8 – 10 stop range.  Use these filters in high traffic areas and, magically, people will disappear from photos. Use this at rush hour and you will capture images that look like a ghost town. Use the filter near water and watch the ripples and waves smooth and calm like glass and wait for rushing clouds to create wonderful motion trails in the sky. Waterfalls look like they are clouds of smoke. I recommend having a look at the B+W 1000x 10 Stop ND Filter (77MM Thread) and have fun with the stabilty options I have suggested. Pick up the largest size filter and appropriate step down rings to accomodate other lenses you may have in your kit.

Suggestion: Focus your shot before attempting to use the filter. The opacity of the filter is very dark and makes focusing difficult. Aim first with the lens bare, turn off autofocus and then place filter onto the lens and fire away. Imagine shooting F/22 up to 2 minutes in broad daylight and the endless possibilities of new shots you can now experment with.

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The accompanying photograph was captured using a heating bag, B+W 10 Stop ND Filter and the in camera timer. Given that the stone statues were low to the ground my tripod was too high for this vantage point and compostion. The bag proved to be advantageous as the composition fit perfectly. It was a cold day and I did indeed throw the heating bag into the microwave to help the hurting shoulder later.

Submitted by:
Derek Shanks – Digital / Photo Sales Representative
Vistek Toronto
[fragile glass] ::derek shanks photography::

~ Derek Shanks’ Seminar: Digital Black & White Photography will take place Saturday, April 18 at Vistek’s Toronto location.
Get more info & sign up HERE!

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Photo: Derek Shanks

UPDATE
Derek Shanks’ Seminar: Digital Black & White Photography will take place Saturday, April 18 at Vistek’s Toronto location.

Get more info & sign up HERE!

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Digital Black and White
Shoot in RAW and underexpose your image by 1/2 stop to a full stop. Use the shadow and highlights tool in a RAW software program to restore shadow detail and Exposure Compensation to bring back details without overexposing highlights. Use the Channel Mixer, Black and White methods provided by RAW and you’ll have a correctly exposed black and white image.

White Balance
If in need of a quick white balance tool, you can use a standard white coffee filter. Use the custom camera white balance while aiming the coffee filter and lens to the opposite of the light source to get white balance. I always keep coffee filters in my camera bag for such occasions.

Pseudo ISO Boost
If you’re shooting in the dark at a concert venue and need more ISO boost from your camera and faster shutter speeds – choose the highest ISO setting on your camera and underexpose your image by one stop. Then you can use a RAW processor to overexpose the image by one or two stops. Image noise may be higher but this works very well for concert, venue and event shooting.

Submitted by:
Derek Shanks – Digital / Photo Sales Representative
Vistek Toronto
[fragile glass] ::derek shanks photography::

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