Digital Photography

Adding Images at 2 Peas

2006-10-01T09:46:00.000-07:00

When posting images at 2 Peas there are four different catagories of images:
1 - those posted in the Photo Gallery
2 - those posted in a post
3 - those to the left of a post - the avatar or profile picture
4 - those that are automatically added at the bottom of the post as part of the signiture

To put your images in the Photo Gallery:
There is a Layout Gallery and a Photo Gallery. Being a scrapbook site the LO Gallery came 1st. You need to post to the Photo Gallery if you want your photos there - but it says LO Gallery in a couple places along the way to the photo Gallery so don't worry about those. Just follow step 2 real close.

1 - prepare your images in an image editor that sizes by pixels - size it to 600 pixels or less on the longest side - 72 ppi/dpi or 300 makes no difference - it's the pixels here. Save.

2 - Sign into 2 Peas
Click on Photography ( Up at the top of the page - the line under the header )
Click on Photo Gallery ( Up at the top of the page )
Click on New Post ( Up at the top of the page )

3 - Post a new Layout Gallery ( this is one or the places where it uses LO Gallery wrong )

Photography Gallery Category - pick one from the list
Private - leave unchecked
Format - leave 8.5x11
Pages - If you want to load 5 pics put in 5
Title - ( example ) Pea & S Self Portrait
Your Album - Skip
Garden - Skip
Comments - ( put in here what you want to say about your pics
- Camera
- Lens - if it is a zoom lens what mm did you use 70mm
- Shutter Speed ( SS ) 1/60
- Aperture ( f stop ) 2.8
- ISO - ( this is a leftover from film days - film came in different speeds - for lots of light - low
light - digital uses the film speed designations ) 400

4 - Hit Submit ( Skip the stuff under Submit )

5 - A new screen comes up - scroll down to the red x's
- hit Browse
- select your picture
- open
- hit submit
- wait for it to load.

6 - A new screen comes up
- scroll down
- your 1st pic should be there. Click browse by red x under your 1st pic
- Select
- open
- submit
- wait.

7 - When all your pics are loaded scroll back up to "update " and click it.

8 - Now go give someone some Pea Praise and give 2 Peas time to load your stuff.

9 - Check gallery - your pic should be there.

To add a picture in a post

2 Peas hosts our LO gallery entry's and our Photography Gallery entry's. If you want a picture under your username, if you want to put a picture in a post, if you want a picture at the bottom of your post - all these have to be hosted somewhere else on the web - 2 Peas won't host them. There are photo hosting sites like Photobucket that let you post some pictures for free. When you upload to Photobucket there is a URL listed under your photo - you copy and paste that address into your profile or post here at 2 Peas and then we see your photo.

For the photo in a post:
- Size your pic in an image editor - not bigger than 600 pixels on the longest side works. 72 - 300 ppi/dpi doesn't make any difference both work
- Upload the photo to a site such as Photobucket
- When you have it uploaded then there is a URL address under it. Copy that address.
- Sign in to 2peas
- start your message
- then click down there where it says Insert Pea Code - click Image
- a box opens - paste your URL ( Ctrl + V ) OK your done. The Html is in your post - it will be the pic after you hit submit.

Do you want an Avatar or Profile picture

These also need to be hosted off site like at Photobucket. They need to be 65 x75 pixels.
- Copy the URL
- Sign in at 2 Peas
- Up top there where it says you are Logged in as ( your user name ) Click on My Home
- then My Profile
- then paste the URL where it has the space for Profile Picture URL
- Update
- you're done

Picture in Signiture at bottom of Post

- size in image editor
- this also needs to be hosted off site like Photobucket, upload, url
- 2Peas sign in
- MY Home
- My Profile
- Then way down at the bottom there is a signiture box - paste your URL there
- click Update
- done. 2peas can be a little slow - so if the pics don't show immediately read a couple posts then check again and your pictures may be there. If not then run through the steps again and check the HTML.

Really look at the pictures that hold your attention

2006-05-28T10:14:00.000-07:00

Take some time and study pictures that you are really attracted too - then look at them and figure out -

Where did your eye fall first? Then where did it go?

What held your interest - colors - subject - focus - lines - DOF ( depth of field ) - textures.

Study the light - was it coming from one direction - two direction - many directions ?

Was the light strong - diffused - soft - colored?

Was the image PS'ed - if so what was done?

Are there catchlights - what shape - what do the catchlights tell you about how the image was taken - was a straight on flash used?

What is the subject of the image - what does the image say about the subject?

What does the background add?

Is there space in the picture and how does it add to that picture?

Does the picture follow the rule of thirds and if not why does it violate that rule - and why do you like it anyway?

Did the image touch you? - how? - sad? - happy? - made you remember something?

How is the subject posed? - props? - background?

Start a file if images you love. - Look through them every so often - are they still favorites or has your eye changed?

What is raw?

2006-04-30T12:50:00.000-07:00

When you shoot in tif or jpg - your camera processes your image and it comes out a picture. You can then tweak and play with the picture but there are limits to what you can tweak and how much you can tweak.

When you shoot raw the camera does no processing - the raw data goes to your computer. You then need a raw converter to process this raw data, it isn't a picture yet - it hasn't been told what exposure, saturation - etc to apply to this data. When you open in the converter, auto settings determined by the type of camera that took the picture bring up a picture but nothing is set - it needs processing or decisions made on the exposure, saturation etc. What was done by the camera in jpg now has to be done by the operater of the conversion software. Once the decisions are made the data is then saved as an image file - jpg or tif.

The raw data is easier to tweak and gives more range for tweaking - but if you took a bad, out of focus picture even raw won't make it a keeper. If you took a good or great photo, raw can give it just a bit more to make it even better.

Raw also captures way more data that can be processed into a jpg - there is 8 bit - 16 bit - and more bits and channels of color - which means raw can deliever way more colors as the bits go up. So for color prints raw gives exciting options 8 bit jpg can't. Raw is all about options - and CONTROL.

Kind of like going from an 8 crayon box to a 48 crayon box.

Zoom - Optical???? - Digital ????

2006-04-23T17:35:00.000-07:00

Optical Zoom - moves you closer - you get more detail - think of 3x as 3 feet closer - 10x as 10 feet closer. Does 3 feet or 10 feet make a difference - sometimes 3' closer is too close - sometimes 10' closer won't be a drop in the bucket. If you are sitting on the couch and are trying to catch your cat or kid doing something cute across the room, 10 feet closer is great.

Digital zoom - forget you have it unless you know and want what it will do for you. It is what you get when you have your picture in the computer and use the litttle zoom thingy to enlarge the picture. You may see things you hadn't seen when it was littler but no detail has been added. Digital zoom crops in camera. Most of us would prefer to leave the space and crop in postprocess.

I've been ask to teach a digital photography class - help

2006-04-23T17:11:00.000-07:00

I've been teaching Digital Photography Classes for Adult Ed now for a year. Some thoughts for you:

1 - An avg group would probably show up with P&S's they aren't comfortable with. The cameras may have manual but most won't be ready to go there.

2 - Unless you get a group of digi scrappers ( unlikely at your LSS ) most of them will be computer beginners. If they are comfortable with a computer they may be new to photo editing software.

3 - The eyes of non-computer people glaze over in about 15 minutes when you go to that subject.

4 - When you have a mixed levels class the beginners will glaze over while you answer the questions of the more advanced.

5 - A two hour class is stretching most peoples attention and comprehension limits.

6 - If you have them bring their photos - some won't know how to get them out of their cameras ( still on memory card ) - and every thing everyone says about their pictures better be positive ( hard to control in a mixed group ). I have those with cameras that have cables hook them up to the TV and SHOW us their pictures. No CC is given. If they ask about what they could've done different I try to answer.

A suggestion -

2 hour workshop to introduce the wonderful possibilities of digital photography and your own digital darkroom.

Then present the pluses:

Take lots of photos - no film
No extra pictures printed
Size the way you want.
Color the way you want.
Crop the way you want.
Save money doing your own special occasions.
Make money doing others sessions.
Go anywhere scrapping with laptop.

You get the idea.

Consider how many hours you will use to prepare to teach 2 hours. Time getting to the site and setting up. Time teaching. Time tearing it down, cleaning up and getting home. With the gas prices mileage can also be a consideration. What is your time worth and how much will the market bare.

Adult Ed here pays $12 an hour for the 2 hour class. After you figure in all the time spent it isn't high pay, but I'm enjoying it and having fun so it helps buy me more toys.

If your class goes over really well and you want to do more teaching it would maybe open the door for you to teach more specialized classes.

Next year I'm going to offer:

Intro to Digital cameras ( for those wanting to buy or who have a camera they know nothing about ). Lots of people are getting digital cameras as gifts and don't have clue one on what to do. 2 hrs.

Using your digital camera in auto and mode settings. Two nights - 2 hr classes

Using your digital camera in manual. Two nights - 2 hr classes

Using your computer as your digital darkroom. Three nights - 2 hr classes

Should I use re-writable CD's and DVD's ?

2006-04-23T16:53:00.000-07:00

A digital data file has it's set amount of data - it is whatever it is. You can copy or move it forever and it doesn't change.

Jpg files compress data a bit ever time they are opened & SAVED - but if you don't open and SAVE them you can move them forever without them ever changing.

Now - when burning image files as data files you need to check that the whole file burned, if the whole file burned you are set.

The reason that rewritables aren't really considered great is that you could write over and loose the written over files - or say you have 300 images on the disc and go to add more and all of a sudden the disc corrupts.

If you are moving files from one computer to another the disc can quit working or refuse to work in one computer but still work in another. Once in awhile computers get a hair and just do something - like decide to reformat your disc - there goes your data.

I don't have my computers networked so I used to use rewrite CD's to move files from one to the other. It worked most of the time but sometimes I'd get messages about corrupted partitions.

Now I burn my originals to CD's so I just open what I want on the computer I want it on. If you burn and check a regular CD - you either have the data or you don't - not to say that it won't corrupt sometime down the road.

If you and your computer(s) are really good at rewritables you may never have a problem.

Now you have a new DSLR - where to start

2006-04-23T16:41:00.000-07:00

The more computer literate you are the easier it is to "get" digital. These are computers and have a lot of computer characteristics. If you screw it up royal in the menus and settings - turn it off to reset the defaults - or if you somehow changed some defaults you can go back in and reset to defaults and start over.

Most of the terms and actions that have their roots in film photography will come easy to you. Computerized film photography. If you plan to go to raw shooting you need to postprocess - the digital darkroom - PSE4 and PSCS2 both have raw converters - Then you don't need to install the software that came with your camera.

The raw files from the XT have the file extension .CR2 - or you can shoot in jpg - or jpg + raw. You have lots of choices. Just go one choice at a time and you will get there.

You are now digital - you aren't wasting film or developing - take lots of pictures - then you can use the cable that comes with your camera and look at your pictures on the TV if you don't want to load them to the computer to look at. You can see a lot more about the picture when it is bigger.

CAUTION: Always have the camera turned off when you connect or disconnect it from the computer, or TV. Never pop it open and pop out the memory card while it is on. Any of these actions can corrupt your card.

You are starting a great adventure - enjoy the journey. Lots of us are in the same boat with you or are only a month or so ahead of you. Lots of us are new to DSLR's - Canon - Nikon - and Olympus so we are all kind of learning from those up ahead. Welcome.

Organizing Digital Images

2006-04-23T16:04:00.000-07:00

My pictures all have file names like:

1956 - 2 - 17 - 1
1998 - 11 - 2 - 10
2001 - 3 - 4 - 005
2006 - 4 - 15 - 001
year - month - day - individual #

I use the XP Scanner and Camera Wizzard which does most of this for me.
I then burn to CD or DVD

When I want pictures I pop in the CD and skim through the thumnails to find what I want to work on - drag the images to a project folder - pop out the CD. When I have PS'd a project then burn a project CD. I only have projects I'm working on on the computer. And multiple CD's of all my originals.

Harddrives live give or take 5 years. Internal and external. Auto backups - when your HD crashes is when you find out if it is still working. I think Lisa Bearnson was the one that lost a couple years worth of photos that way.

I went through the computer died - have I lost everything - a couple times before I arrived at this method.

The organizers are nice - but are they changing your file extensions?? - Will you be able to upgrade to a new software and organizer with your present system? Will your system work when we move on from XP or to the next generation of MAC?? That's why I'm staying with simple short file names and jpg extensions for now.

Backing up Images to CD or DVD

2006-04-07T20:13:00.000-07:00

Scott Kelby suggestes in a book of his that I have that you burn a CD at the time you are downloading to the computer - you don't save to the hard drive - you then use the CD to access pictures you want to PS.

By pulling the pictures off the CD you know that it burned and that it works. Burn a 2nd CD of the worked over images. If you start doing that you won't have the harddrive filled up - and if you figure out how to organize your current images this way, then going back and burning your other images to CD or DVD will be easy.

Some will burn 2 CD's of each - and make sure they have 2 different brands of CD. ( So if they run into a bad run of CD's they still have images on a different brand of CD ) There are cheapy - to expensive CD's - some sold as archival and guarenteed.

After burning a CD it is a good idea to make sure it reads - by opening it in a computer - a different computer than it was burned on is a good idea.

What file type to save in: JPG - is pretty universal and will open in the most applications. - BUT - it is a compression file and does a bit of compressing every time you save. TIF - Doesn't compress - widely used. Other file types - may be propritary - will only open in the same software they were generated by. Raw files may have different file extensions - saving files in their raw format is desirable but keep the propritary thing in mind - especially as the years go by and technology changes.

Then there are the how to mark CD's questions - Sharpie just came out with a special CD marker - I number my CD's on the clear circle around the middle hole. I store mine in the slim cases (marked on the hinge with the same id as on the disc ) in a box that holds them standing up.

Some store the second copy at work, bank, with family in another location. With all these CD's how do you find a certain picture when you need it? I file by date - but some people file by event - Whatever works for you. Some people print contact sheets - but I found that combersome so now I usually have a pretty good sense of the date so I just pop in the CD and look through the thumbnails.

The best thing is to come up with a workflow that works for you - AND THEN DO IT. It's sad when a harddrive crashes - or a backup system fails and someone looses a year or two's worth of photos.

Workflow

2006-03-25T10:38:00.000-08:00

Here's a WORKFLOW I found in a magazine article - didn't save his name so can't give him credit - but loved his plan. He makes his living at photography and pointed out that the less time spent in postprocess the more money earned ( dollars per hour ).

1 - Capture Images - ( camera - scanner )

2 - Transfer to computer - ( reader - cable )

3 - Save Images - ( HD - CD - DVD ) ( Scott Kelby in one book I have, suggests burning to cd and NOT putting images on the hard drive. You then have the "originals" on the cd, and since you work off the cd you know you have a readable cd. ( You may want to burn another cd at this time from another brand of cd in case of a bad lot of cd's - cd rot ) If you only save to hard drive make an orginals file and then only work on copies.

4 - Edit and delete - ( dump totally hopeless - if you have them on hard drive )( if you work off the cd then only copy the images you want to work on.)

5 - Convert from raw ( if you have a Canon the file extension is .CR2 )

6 - Rotate and crop

7 - Resize Up - ( Change ppi - this is usually from 72 to 300) This can be done with the crop tool but if you want more control do it in Resize - Resample off when going from 72 to 300. Sometimes it is better to resize then crop.

8 - Correct color and contrast

9 - Repair

10 - Enhance

11 - Save working file - ( layers ) ( maybe to CD - this one saves the layers if you want to go back to the layers - the archival will be saved after you flatten and you won't be able to come back)

12 - Sharpen ( usually done with unsharp mask )

13 - Save archival file - ( HD - CD - DVD )

14 - File - ( CD's - DVD's )

15 - Output

Most of us can leave out a few of these steps but I have found the order very helpful. Actually there isn't any reason to work on an image unless you know how you want to output it. If you crop for an 8x10 and later decide you want a 4x6 or 8x8 you have to recrop or even go back and start with a new copy. No use to resize until you know what ppi you will want - 72 - 180 - 250 - 300. Once you decide what you want the image for then you will know how you want it cropped - what ppi you want - what pixel count you want - what you want to do with the color - no use to spend lots of time tweaking color if later you actually decide you want it in B&W, or sepia.

The pro has it over the amateur in that they know what pictures they need for this customer, what sizes, how it will be output ( prints on what paper etc. ) It drastically cuts the number of decisions to be made.

There are pro labs now where the photographer takes his pictures - up loads them to the lab - and basically they are done until the lab sends a check. The lab takes a percentage but does the post-processing - puts the images up for the clients to order - takes the orders - sends the prints. Great for the photographer that doesn't want the post-processing tying up their time.

Cropping and Resizing

2006-03-25T10:20:00.000-08:00

Two peas photo lab wants:

Minimum pixel count to be :

640 X 480 - wallet - 2x2 - 3x3 - 4x4
1024 x 768 - 4x6
1152 x 864 - 5x7
1600 x 1200 - 8x10
2000 x 1500 - 11x14
3000 x 2000 - 24x36

If your camera loads to the computer at 72 ppi then you need to resize to 300 ppi for most online printers - you can do this in Resize - turn resample off.

With my Drebel it loads to the computer at:
72 ppi ( Pixels per inch )
3456x2304 pixel count
48 x 32 inches ( turn on your rulers)

When I go to ( PSE4 ) Image - Resize - Image size - Resample off - and change the ppi from 72 to 300 - the pixel count goes to 3456x2304, the inches go to 11.52x 7.68.

Now that I'm at 300 ppi - go to crop and put in 4x6 or 5x7 and crop. If I want three different shape crops I crop three different copies of the image and label them - 4 - 5 - 8 so I know if the were cropped to be 4x6 - 5x7 - 8x10. ( When using the crop tool put in 4.0 - 6.0 etc )

After cropping go back and check that you still have above the minimum pixel count. Cropping won't change the 300 ppi but it will chop off pixels on your pixel count. If you do a major crop you may drop your pixel count too far. There are times to crop before resize and times it is better to crop after resize. If your pixel count is too low that is another problem and a different subject.

Letter To My Pets

2006-03-12T20:02:00.000-08:00

Letter to My Pets:

When I say to move, it means to go someplace else, not to switch positions with each other so there are still two of you in my way.

The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. All other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note that placing your paw print in the middle of MY plate and food does not stake a claim making it YOUR plate and food.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help in your quest to reach the bottom first, because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think that I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to one another, stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob, or get your paw under the edge of the door and try to pull it open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Honest.

Also, I have been using the bathroom by myself for quite some time -- canine or feline attendance is not mandatory.

I can't stress this one enough -- kiss me, THEN go smell the other dog's/cat's behind.

To pacify you, my dear companions, I have posted the following notice on our front door:

Rules for Non-Pet Owners Who Visit and then Complain About Our Pets:

1. The pets live here. You don't.

2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That's why it's called "fur"niture.)

3. To you, our pets are just animals. To us, they are an adopted son/daughter who happens to be hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly.

4. Dogs and cats are better than kids because:

---- they don't ask for money all the time
---- they are easier to train
---- they usually come when called
---- they don't hang out with drug-using friends
---- they don't need a gazillion dollars for a college education, and
---- if they get pregnant, you can sell the children

When You Need to Shoot in Manual

2006-03-12T19:54:00.000-08:00

Auto does a great job on the average image shot in average light situation - but auto tends to fail when the subject is:

- a single color
- regular geometrical pattern
- has little or no density
- is reflective or shiny surface
- moving at high speed
- behind glass
- in front or behind other objects
- distant
- dark
- does not reflect light well

With manual ( once you figure it out ) you can predict when auto isn't going to do the job you want and then you set it to do the job anyway. ( It wants to focus on the closest eye - you want it to focus on the other eye for example ) Or you know the light is too weird for it to get it right - so you make it under or over expose to compensate. You need to take so many pictures with it that you know how it will capture images - then think how to make it do it different. Film photographers took rolls and rolls and rolls and rolls of film before they ever got good - so expect to take many many images before you get good.

What's a "Fast Lens"?

2006-03-05T11:43:00.000-08:00

Both zoom and prime lenses can be "slow" or "fast".

Prime lenses tend to be faster than zooms except for the expensive ones.

A "fast" lens is one with a large maximum aperture ( f/2.8 instead of f/4.5 or f/5.6

A "fast" lens lets you shoot with a faster shutter speed at a given light level than lenses with a smaller maximum aperture.

Fast lenses cost more to produceand, are usually larger, heavier and higher priced than slower lenses of the same focal length or zoom range, but are more versatile in depth of field control and are better for handheld shooting.

Link to page at Adobe that lists supported cameras for raw conversions

2006-02-26T08:38:00.000-08:00

http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/cameraraw.html?camerarawnav

Organizing backup CD's

2006-02-25T20:10:00.000-08:00

Sharpie now has special markers for CD's - says so right on them - got mine at Office Max.

I burn the CD - all my pictures are file named year - month - day - So I write the year and month around the center hole on the clear part - then they go in a slim case -

I write the same info on the hinge of the case - then file them hinge end up in Creative Memories Power Sort boxes ( since I don't use them for prints - LOL - finally got all my old family photos scanned, am digi scrapping them so am giving the originals to my SIL. )

I can then just flip through the cases looking at the date info on the hinges. It only takes a few minutes to pop one in the computer and scroll through the thumbnails. Just as fast as looking through contact sheets - and you can enlarge to check if you have the right picture.

I also have on the disc and hinge whether it is originals or enhanced.

They say its best if discs are filed vertical rather than horizontal.

Where to start when going digital and what others need to know to help you out

2006-02-25T19:25:00.000-08:00

The camera you are using
What lens you are using
Which flash you have
What you tried to do and what didn't work the way you wanted.

Start by taking your camera - set it on auto - set the lens on auto - Then take your manual and go through it page by page. This is digital - you aren't wasting film or developing. Try every button as you go through the manual page by page. Yes lots of it will be gobbility gook - keep going - write down what doesn't make sense - all the WB and AF that you run into and don't have a clue what they are write them down - pages later you will run into them again and it will say WB ( White Balance ) which still won't mean much but when you see WB start saying white balance to yourself.

Put sticky notes on the pages that talk about focus distances, image resolution settings, flash distances, specifications. Your manual should look like a Bible someone has really used for many years.

If you want to take your photography to the next level get a good photo editing software and learn how to use it. ( Photoshop Elements 4 for under $100 - Photoshop CS2 for $600 if you really want to go pro )

When asking questions tell which photo edit software you are using.

When you have a handle on your camera and how it thinks ( it is a computer ) then venture into the manual settings.

When you know how to work with jpg files, in your image editor - then move on to tif and raw.

With digital you need to develop a workflow - a process where you get your pictures from camera to finished project. Here is a suggested workflow in steps - if you are a beginner just do:
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 6 - 15. Add the other steps as you find out what they are and what they can do for you.

1 - Capture images
2 - Transfer to computer
3 - Save - HD - CD - DVD
4 - Edit and delete
5 - Convert from raw
6 - Rotate and crop
7 - Resize up
8 - Correct color and contrast
9 - Repair
10 - Enhance
11 - Save working file
12 - Sharpen
13 - Save archival file
14 - File
15 - Output - developer - printer

There are several learning curves going here:

Your camera
Your edit software
Your computer
Your online developer/ local lab/ your own printer

It can be really over-whelming all at once - so go slow and work on one thing at a time - ask questions specific to what you are working on.

Using Cable to get images from camera to PC

2006-02-19T15:08:00.000-08:00

I leave the USB cable that came with my camera plugged into my PC all the time. When the PC boots it finds the cable.

When I want to download images I just:

Go to Windows Explorer My Computer
Make sure camera is off
Plug cable into camera
Turn camera to review PC should show new drive Double click on new drive
Wizzard for scanner and camera should open
All images on card should come up as thumbnails
Select the ones you want to save and click next - If PC offers to delete images from card say no.
Turn Camera off - unplug.
Move images to files you want them in - check they are all there -
Save to CD or where ever - then delete images from card in camera.

What is balance in an Image?

2006-02-11T12:48:00.000-08:00

Out of balance can be anything in the picture that looks too heavy on one side of the picture or it can look top heavy or bottom heavy

Dark is heavier than light

Big looks heavier than little

Closer looks heavier than further away.

If you took the picture and balanced it on a knife blade at its center point does it look like it would tip one direction or the other. ( big dark rock on one side and open lawn on other side. ) ( Big dark stormy sky 3/4 ths of picture 1/4 light sandy beach ) ( three balls of equal size - one far back on left - one half way to front in center - one close up on right )

We use groupings a lot to balance pictures - three little things on one side to balance one big one on the other side - like in layouts.

And the triangle arrangements - embellisments on the layout - but also arranging people groups in triangles - one standing behind two seated - one on the third step to the left, one on second step a little to the right, third one on first step to the left of second one.

I think a lot of the picture on the wall straighten stuff we do has more to do with the visual balance of the picture than it's relationship to straight with the mopboard.

How about a picture with a water horizon that looks higher on one side?? Talk about an PS'ing urge to straighten and crop!!!!!

Error - Can't find printer, scanner or camera

2006-02-11T12:32:00.000-08:00

Make sure the USB cable is hooked to your computer when you turn the computer on ( boot up).

I use the USB cable to download from my Oly P&S and the same cable to download from the DRebel. Make sure the cameras are off when hooking up and make sure the camera is off when unhooking. I use the XP Camera and Scanner Wizard and don't let the computer clear the card. When the images have downloaded I turn the camera off - unhook - then delete the images in camera.

I haven't reformated since putting the cards in the camera - unless the clear all images does it automatically.

I haven't had the cards out of either camera since putting them in other than to show people in my class how they pop out and what they look like.

I use the same method for the desktop and laptop.

I never installed the software that came with either camera.

You can get the camera not found if you plug in the camera after booting up the computer. I leave the USB cable hooked to the desktop all the time so when the computer boots it finds the cable hookup. With the laptop I plug in the USB before booting up. Then when I plug in the cameras and turn them on the computer finds them. My printer hooks up by USB and if I hook it up after booting it only finds the printer half the time. I usually have to hook up then boot for them to find each other.

Lots of I, I, I in this post but there is some controversy over doing things this way - using the cable vs. using a card reader. Card readers are fine - especially if your camera goes through batteries.

RAW or JPG ????

2006-02-05T10:39:00.000-08:00

Most digital cameras have highest resolution jpeg as their default setting, or some the next step down - high jpeg. Some P&S's do raw.

Resolution has two different meanings and can really confuse people - it can be :

dpi - dots per inch

ppi - pixels per inch

And every image can have both. For a good 4x6 it needs to have a pixel count of 1024x768 or higher and if you want to print it you want it at 250 to 300 dpi.

If you want to send it in an e-mail you would resize it to a 600 pixel count for the width ( resizer will fill in the heigth # ) and maybe you would drop the dpi to 72.

You can change the default resolution setting in your camera if you want it to take higher or lower pixel count images. If all you want your images for is web, a lower pixel count will cut down on your postprocessing ( workflow ) If you want to print or print enlargements you need to set the camera to do higher pixel count images so there is more detail captured. If you have a camera that captures in raw you get all the info the camera captured - and the camera does no processing - a highest setting jpg would have the same pixel count but some processing of the image is done by the camera, which makes post processing go faster in general.

Raw images have to go through postprocessing because decisions about exposure, color balance etc have to be made ( with jpg the camera made those decisions ). Raw images are much bigger file sizes, which can make working with them and storing them more of a challenge.

The average beginning photographer isn't ready for raw and the postprocessing it needs - for someone who is comfortable with image editing ( photoshop ect) raw can be a great tool for the tweaking they want to do. Anyone who wants to make it as a pro these days needs to be proficient at Photoshop or hire someone who is.

Why are parts of pictures getting cropped off when printed??

2006-02-04T18:57:00.001-08:00

Welcome to the brotherhood of freeform croppers - and the things we have to deal with. Doing your own printing someday will be freeing to you - in the mean time while you have to live with someone else doing your printing for you -

A 4x6 is a certain shape rectangle - 4" to 6" ratio. An 8x12 is the same shape - same ratio. To get from 4x6 to 8x10 the shape & ratio of the sides of the rectangle have to change. Think of it as having to crop 2" off a 8x12 to get to 8x10.

Some print places also crop some off when the white edges become part of 4x6 for them. Some people plan the white edges into their 4x6 so if their picture gets cropped off they loose white edge not part of their image.

Another thing that can mess up here is not having all your images at the same resolution - ppi - pixels per inch. Usually you want from 250 to 300 for this number. A minimum pixel count for a 4x6 would be 1024x768. You can have a higher pixel count than that but don't go lower. If you don't watch your resolutions the printer will make adjustments that throw off sizing of the image. When you crop you wack off pixels and if you didn't keep the ratio right the printer will blow it up some and then do its own cropping.

Saving to CD as a Part of Workflow

2006-01-29T10:41:00.000-08:00

Saving to CD should be part of your workflow with digital images.

As soon as you have the images on the computer some save all - some edit - go through and throw all the ones they deem worthless then save to CD.

CD seems to be the most popular choice at the moment as they are deemed more stable than DVD but as technology changes that will too. As we move to RAW and the huge image files DVD becomes more viable.

How important are your images to you? this is very personal - and financial -

Burn 1 CD of originals ( digital Negative ) then burn a tweaked, worked over CD.

Some will burn 2 CD's of each - and make sure they have 2 different brands of CD. ( So if they run into a bad run of CD's they still have images on a different brand of CD ) There are cheapy - to expensive CD's - some sold as archival and guarenteed.

After burning a CD it is a good idea to make sure it reads - by opening it in a computer - a different computer than it was burned on is a good idea.

What file type to save in:

JPG - is pretty universal and will open in the most applications. - BUT - it is a compression file and does a bit of compressing every time you save.

TIF - Doesn't compress - widely used.

Other file types - may be propritary - will only open in the same software they were generated by. Raw files may have different file extensions - saving files in their raw format is desirable but keep the propriaty thing in mind - especially as the years go by and technology changes.

Then there are the how to mark CD's questions - Sharpie just came out with a special CD marker - I number my CD's on the clear circle around the middle hole. I store mine in the slim cases in a box that holds them standing up.

Some store the second copy at work, bank, with family in another location.

With all these CD's how do you find a certain picture when you need it? I file by date - but some people file by event - Whatever works for you. Some people print contact sheets - but I found that combersome so now I usually have a pretty good sense of the date so I just pop in the CD and look through the thumbnails.

The best thing is to come up with a workflow that works for you - AND THEN DO IT. It's sad when a harddrive crashes - or a backup system fails and someone looses a year or two's worth of photos.

What are Conversions ?

2006-01-29T10:20:00.000-08:00

This process is called conversion - converting from color to b&w or sepia or chocolate or green or blue or whatever - neon.

You will see people giving away or selling Their Conversions - which is the series of steps they take to get from color to whatever. This can be done in a couple steps or in a multitude of steps.

Some of the multi-step conversions need to be done in a full version of Photoshop. For instance they may open the image then duplicate it on a couple layers then desaturate one layer , gussian blur another layer, then change the opacity on one or all the layers, adjust curves, hue, and levels then sharpen and save then flatten and save again. ( This was made up don't try to make this work )

Each of these conversions have different steps - some may work better for some than for others - or some work better on some pictures than others. When converting to B&W some will give blacker blacks etc.

Photoshop ??????

2006-01-29T10:01:00.000-08:00

Photoshop is generally recognized as the image editor of choice of professionals.

There is Photoshop 7 ( PS7 ), Photoshop CS ( PSCS ), Photoshop CS2 ( PSCS2 ) , Photoshop Elements 2 ( PSE2 ), Photoshop Elements 3 ( PSE3 ), or Photoshop Elements 4 ( PSE4 ). If you ask a question on a board about how to do something in one of these you usually get an answer pretty fast. There are other image editors and they are good softwares and may even be more user friendly. PS has a learning curve but it is so rewarding when you get it.

If you want to do work that requires layers be sure you pick a software that can do them. If you want to run actions choose a software that can run actions and check to see if someone is writing actions that run on your software. There are LOTS of books out there to help you learn PS. When you buy books make sure they are the ones for your specific version of PS.

PSE4 - runs under $100
PSCS2 - runs $600 or so.

Scanning old family photos

2005-12-26T15:05:00.000-08:00

With scanners the glass is the lens of the camera so be really careful not to scratch it.

Keep the glass as clean as possible. A lens cloth and cleaner would be a good idea. No window cleaner.

A cloth made to wipe fingerprints and smudges off photos is also good.

The cleaner the glass and the photo the fewer spots and specks you'll have on your scanned image.

I like to scan at 600 ppi. If you plan to print the photo this works. You will need to resize to 300 ppi - leave resample on for this.

As with other photo stuff you do on the computer watch to see which file the scanner is going to put your image in so you can find it later. You might want to start a file named "Scans", that makes it easy to remember where to look.

Your scan will have the edges of the picture and shadows around the edges so open the picture in your image editing software and rotate or straighten it ( wiggles sometimes when you put the lid down ) and then crop and do whatever tweaking and fixing it needs.

The scan may be better than the original at this point.

I Have a NEW DIGITAL CAMERA - HELP

2005-12-25T13:24:00.000-08:00

In order to help you people need to know what you have - and what you want to do.

Figure out the answers to these questions. The box the camera came in should have most of the answers - as a last resort look in the specifications area of the manual.

Brand - ( Olympus )( these are sample answers )

Style and/or # - ( Camedia C-770 )

Pixels - ( 4 MP )

LCD - ( yes )

Viewfinder - ( yes )

Memory Card - type and size - ( xD 16 - 512 )

Movies - (yes - MPEG 4 )

Sound - (yes )

Optical Zoom - ( yes - 10X )

Type of battery - ( ion rechargable w/ charger )

What mode settings - ( Portrait/ Sports/ landscape/ night/ self-portrait/ A/S/M/ P/ Movie

Point & Shoot ( P&S ) - ( yes ) ( Fixed Lens )

DSLR - ( Digital Single Lens Reflex ) - (no) - ( can change lenses like on the 35mm cameras )

What kind of pictures do you want to take?

Indoor - Outdoor

Still - Moving

Close - Really Close - Far Away

Day - Night

Portrait

For publication in print

For web

For E-Mail

How many pictures per session

How big do you want your prints to be - 4x6 - 5x7 - 8x10 - 16x20

Will pictures be shown as slideshows on TV or bigscreen

Do you want to go further than simple snapshots

How will you process your pictures - straight from camera at lab - print at home

How much post processing do you want to do

How much time do you want to invest in getting the pictures you want

Are you wanting to digiscrap - partial or total digital layouts

Is professional photographer or professional designer your goal

Once you can answer most of these questions someone will be able to give you much better help with your problems.

Digital Camera Lingo

2005-12-24T19:51:00.000-08:00

These aren't necessarily what every manual or camera manufacturer uses for each of these terms, abbv. and letters but it may help you use the index in your manual:

A - Aperture Priority Shooting

A E Lock - Use for high contrast light situations

A F - Auto Focus

APO - ( apochromatic) lenses that use internal elements to bring all colors of the visible spectrum to a common point of focus, creating a sharp image.

Bit depth - color depth, determines the maximum number of colors that can be represented at a time - camera sensors typically have 12-bit per channel color - can be 8 bit - 16 bit - 24 bit - 36 bit

BKT - Auto bracketing

Camera raw file - a photo file containing unprocessed information, exactly as it comes off the sensor before in camera processing. You can then process the file on your computer.

CMOS - ( Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor ) a sensor technology that emcompasses all required camera circuits on a single chip.

digital zoom - don't confuse this with OPTICAL zoom ( it crops - it doesn't add detail to image )

dpi - dots per inch ( resolution when printing )

DOF - depth of field

DPOF - Digital Print Order Format

DSLR - Digital Single Lens Reflex ( think of a digital version of the film 35mm changable lens camera )

DVD - Digital Versatile Disc

ESP - meters light at and around subject

Erase - Delete - Remove - gets rid of images on memory card

EXIF - Exchangeable Image File - data - metadata - information added to image file by camera

File extensions - common image extensions - jpg - tif - png - nef - crw

Green Lamp - focus lock

HQ - high quality

HI - high speed sequential shooting

Histogram - a bar chart that shows the distribution of an images pixel values

Image Resolution - how many pixels

IPTC - International Press Telecommunications Council ( what you can change in meta data file)

JPEG - .JPG - .JPEG - .jpg - Joint Photographic Experts Group ( a file extension for images )

LCD - Display where you view menues and pictures - on P&S can be used as viewfinder

M - manual shooting

Macro - up close focus - 3" or closer

Meta data - information recorded by the camera about each image taken

Megapixel - 11 megapixels = 11 million pixels ( 1MP - 3MP = good 4x6 4MP - 6MP = good 8x10 7MP + = bigger than 8x10 )

Memory Cards - think of them as removable harddrivers for your computer camera
Kinds of cards - Compact Flash - Memory Stick - XD - SD - and others
Sizes of cards - 16MB - 32MB - 128MB - 256MB - 512MB - 1Gig - 2G - 4Gig - etc
Speed of cards - Ultra II fast than Ultra I - etc

MPEG - Motion Picture Experts Group ( file extension for movies )

Multi - meters light in many different spots in the image area

MP4 - movie file extension - MPEG4 - also are MPG2 and MPG3 extensions

My - my mode

MF - Manual Focus

Optical Zoom - 3X - 6X - 10 X ( think of these as 3 feet closer, 6 feet closer etc )

P - Program shooting

P&S - Point & Shoot Digital Cameras ( usually have a fixed lens )

Pictbridge - Camera to printer ( no computer )

ppi - pixels per inch

Pixel - picture element

PNG - ( Portable Network Graphics ) supports 24 bit images, png preserves transparency in grayscale and RGB images

RAW - working with camera raw files lets you set the proper white balance, tonal range, contrast, color saturation, and sharpening.

RGB - Red, Green, Blue values of pixels
RAW - image file extension ( camera doesn't do any processing of image )

S - shutter priority shooting

SHQ - Super High Quality JPG

Spot - meters just auto focus

SQ1 - mid resolution ( use for images that will be used for e-mail and not printed )

SQ2 - low resolution ( use for images that will be used for web pictures)

Super Macro - can focus at 1.5"

T - telephoto

TIFF - TIF - .tif - Tagged Image Format - image file extension

OS - Operating System - 95 - 98 - ME - 2000 - XP - MAC

USB - type of cable that connects to computer

W - wide angle

WB - White Balance

Should I go digital?????

2005-12-24T18:42:00.000-08:00

1 - Are you a happy film shooter?

If you are a happy film shooter and don't see any reason to go digital - don't.

2 - Do you like computers?

Digital cameras are computers. You can use a digital camera a lot like a film camera - shoot then take the memory card to a developer.

A film camera shoots whatever is in front of it when you press the button. A digital camera thinks. It checks the light (exposure), it checks how far to what it thinks you want for a subject and figures where to focus ( focal length) then it decides on a shutter speed ( how much light it should let in). Sometimes it thinks about all this and decides you need the flash, pops it up and takes the picture. This is some of the stuff it thinks about and calculations it makes - shutterlag. Digital cameras especially point & shoots ( p&s ) have shutterlag. Some people can't stand shutterlag - they are happier with film cameras or DSLR's ( Digital Single Lens Reflex - think 35mm cameras with lenses that you change ). P&S's usually have fixed lenses.

One of the main attractions to digital is the ability to see the picture right away - delete the duds - and print right away. The price you pay for this is time - time to learn how this camera thinks - time sorting the pictures and deleting the duds - and printing them - keeping the printer running, or doing it yourself at a kisok.

Then if you take it up another step you download the pictures to the computer - and now you can spend lots of time - organizing and cropping and playing with the color and adding words and arranging them on layouts with all kinds of pretties. If you are a perfectionist you may never get each picture to PERFECT. Then you fall in the group of digital photographers that never print a picture. 1000's of unprinted pictures. - If you are afraid you fall in this group you may want to stay with film.

With digital you have a tendency to shoot more pictures - why not? - you aren't wasting film or developing. Most digital photographers have no intention of printing all their photos - just the good ones. Then we arrive at the how do I organize and store these pictures. There are other ways to do this but burning them to CD is one of the main ways to save them. Do you have a CD burner? Or a DVD burner? External hard drive? If the pictures are important to you saving them on two CD's and one or two harddrivers is considered minimal. This all takes time. But you get a new level of control over your pictures.

If you want to be a digiscrapper shooting digital gets the pictures to the computer a lot faster than film.

Going digital has a whole new lingo you have to take time to learn - pixels - memory cards
- MB's - LCD - jpg - raw - 10x - etc. The manual is gobbledigook until you learn some lingo.

If you REALLY want something that digital offers that film doesn't - and you have the time - you should love going digital.