Archive for the ‘tutorials’ Category
8October2009
HDR Settings For Canon Eos 350d / Digital Rebel XT Video Tutorial
Posted by Rob_Nunn under: hdr; technique; tutorials.
Camera-shake and subject movement are the enemies of clean HDR Photographs, we need to keep our cameras as still as possible, and take the bracketed images as quickly as possible to get the best shots.
In the video I’m setting the exposure-bracketing on my Canon EOS 350d / Digital Rebel XT to plus and minus 2 e.v’s – but to be honest you don’t always need to be that extreme. In more even light you could find + or – 1 ev is sufficient.
Which software you’re using also really affects how your Tone-Mapped HDR comes out. Photoshop and others aren’t that good at dealing with subject movement – whereas Photomatix is fantastic. Even quite extreme differences can be dealt with. You’ll still get the odd ghosting effect, but that can be sorted out by painting in different layers in Photoshop or Elements.
So, in conclusion, use a low ISO, switch to Aperture Priority Mode, turn on Automatic Exposure Bracketing and Continuous Shooting to get the best HDR shots out of your 350d / Rebel XT, and remember, and if you want really good shots use a tripod!
Cheers, Rob.
27August2009
RSS + Google Reader = You Own Personalised Photography Magazine
Posted by Rob_Nunn under: Uncategorized; tutorials.
Ok, so you’ve probably heard the term RSS, and have see the “subscribe” links on various blogs and websites, but if you’re not using them YOU NEED TO BE!
Honestly, RSS (Really Simple Syndication), combined with free online software like Google Reader, will transform the way you find and read information on the Internet. Instead of having to bookmark your favourite sites, then visit them every now and again to look for new articles, by using RSS all those interesting articles will be delivered straight to your PC or Mac so you can read them when you want to.
RSS isn’t limited to just blog or site articles. You can subscribe to podcasts this way, peoples photostreams in Flickr, comments on sites, and countless other forms of content. It’s brilliant!
By choosing to subscribe to sites, podcasts, and photographers you like, you’ll build your own online Photography Magazine – with the content you want (and like), and best of all, it’s free:
Lets get started. First up, sign up for a Google account. You might not want to use Gmail (but I don’t see why not, it’s the best!), but you will want access to Google Reader.
Now you’ve got your Google account, just look for the “Reader” link near the top left hand corner of your screen, check it out, but it’ll be empty at the ‘mo.
Excited yet? Now we can start collecting RSS feeds. Why not start at Joe McNallys Blog?
On most sites, like Joe’s, you’ll see an obvious link somewhere on the page to click – but notice the orange square on the right-hand side of your browsers address bar? Click there and you can subscribe to his posts too. (You may get get a choice of feeds – go for RSS, and posts, not comments. Unless you want the comments of course!)
When we click on the “RSS Feed” link on Joe’s site, we’re taken to this complicated looking page, but don’t worry, just click on the “Google” logo – or if you’re lucky it will just say “subscribe with Google”.
Next we have to tell our browser to add Joe’s feed to Google Reader:
Then we’ll find that Mr McNallys latest posts are in Reader, ready to be read, and whenever he writes something new they will appear here, without you having to visit his site again!
So what? I can hear you thinking – all that effort when I could have just visited the site and read the post. You’re right – when you’re building up your subscriptions this might seem a hassle, but just think, for every RSS you add, you’ll never have to hunt through your book-marks again!
Now you need to go and add some more RSS feeds to Google Reader, in the same way we did in the above example. Try The Luminous Landscape , Scott Kelbys Blog and Photofocus to start off with.
What you’ll notice is that in some feeds you don’t get the whole post, just a snippet or title with a link that’ll take you to the site to read the rest of the article.
You can also use RSS and Google Reader to subscribe to peoples YouTube Channels, so you get all their latest Video uploads. Have a look at Cameralabs Channel, and click the orange RSS icon in the right-hand side of your browser address bar. (Not the Youtube Subscribe links on the page).
Maybe you’ve got some favourite Photographers you like to follow on Flickr. Why not subscribe to their photostreams?
(The above is Andreas Øverland’s photostream, highly recommended!)
We’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of the power of RSS and Google Reader – delve a little deeper in Reader and you’ll see how easy it is to organise your feeds into folders or groups, email and share them, let alone all the different content you can subscribe to with RSS feeds.
Keep building your subscriptions, be pro-active in deleting the ones you don’t like or seldom read, and build your own, constantly updating, free, online Photography Magazine!
Cheers, Rob.
(PS Don’t forget to subscribe to this sites RSS feed!)
11August2009
Adding A Full Screen Flickr Slideshow Gallery To Your Photography Blog Or Website
Posted by Rob_Nunn under: building blogs; tutorials.
As I mentioned last week, I’ve never been happy with the way I’ve shared my images on this site, but with Flickr’s slideshow widget I’ve got something that I think is actually quite good – check out my gallery to have a look.
What’s great about using a Flickr full-screen slide show for your gallery is that all you need is a Flickr account, and the code will work on Wordpress, Blogger and any other type of website. Here’s what you do:
First up, it may be worth creating a new “Set” of images in your Flickr account that will feed into your slide-show, so that you’re sharing your best photographs. Simply sign into your Flickr account, select a photo, then above the photo click “Add To Set”, then “Create A New Set”:
Then just go through your photostream and add the photo’s that you want in your slideshow gallery to this set. If you’re using a free Flickr account and have used up your free sets, you could use your whole photostream to drive the gallery.
Once you’re happy with the photographs in your set we need to go and get the html code for our new slideshow.
Go to one of the photographs in the set, and look for the name of the set on the right side of the screen, and click on it:
You should find yourself in the thumbnail view of this new set:
Click on the “Slideshow” icon in the top right hand of the screen, and Flickr will launch the slide-show. Waggle your mouse around, then click on the “Share” link in the top right-hand corner, then the “”Customize This HTML” link:
You’ll then be directed to the next screen where you can customize the size of your slideshow. “Medium” is a good width for most photo blogs and websites, so click on that, then highlight the code in the text box, right-click and “copy”:
Keep the window open that’s got the HTML code for your slideshow in it, then we need to open the editor your use to add pages or posts to your Blog or Website. If you’re using a static site (non cms) that you edit locally, say on Dreamweaver or Frontpage, open those programs, create a new page from your template, switch to the HTML editor, and simply “Paste” the code for the slideshow into the page, then upload it to your server.
If you’re using a Content Management System, such as Wordpress or Blogger, log into your admin page and create a new post or page, which will become your slide-show gallery.
In Wordpress make sure you’re using the basic text editor (which allows insertion of HTML), then simply paste the Gallery HTML into your post or page:
If you preview the post or page, and seem to have trouble with text wrapping round the slideshow box, add this code snippet right after the code for the slideshow:
<div style="clear:both;"></div>
If you’re using a Blogger site, just add a new post, click on the “Edit HTML” tab, then paste the slideshow HTML into the box. (It might be a good idea to also add the above code after the slide-show HTML):
So, there we go, you should now have embedded into a post or page on your Photo Website or Blog, a great looking full-screen Flickr slideshow. (Your visitors simply click the play icon and the the “Full-Screen” box). All you’ve got to do is just keep adding pictures to your Flickr slideshow set, and your gallery will be continually expanded and updated.
Cool, easy, and best of all, free!
Cheers, Rob.
1August2009
Beating Bloggers Block: New Categories And To Do Lists!
Posted by Rob_Nunn under: building blogs; tutorials.
If you’ve got your own blog or website (and if not, check out my post on how to do it, it’s easy!) the main problem, after an initial flurry of content, is coming up with new ideas for posts and articles.
Without new work, even the best blogs will start to dwindle and die. In my experience the most important thing is to base your blog or site on something you’re passionate about (photography!), so you won’t get bored writing about it too quickly. Even then though you’ll get to a point where you’ll be scratching you head about what to do next.
The next point is that Google, and the other search engines, love sites that get regularly updated, and will index them in their results faster, leading to more visitors and a higher search-engine ranking.
It may sound simple, but I’ve found the best way is to keep a simple to-do list. Then what I do is as soon as I get an idea for a post, or a new category on my blog, I quickly make a note of it. Then, when I’m stuck for ideas but have some spare time to write, I’ll look at the list and get inspired. (I also do a similar thing for my podcast).
You could use a pad or just a piece of paper, but hey, we’re probably going to be writing our articles on our PC or Mac, so let’s keep our list on our computer!
At the moment I’m using Google Tasks, which is an add-on widget for Google Mail, and it looks like this:
I’ve blurred my mail account, but you can see the Google Tasks box in the bottom right-hand corner. To turn it on in your Gmail account, just click on the tasks link on the left-hand side of the screen. You can even make it pop-out and open in its new window.
Google tasks is pretty basic, its just a list, with no different types of tasks, but you can re-order them and remove completed things.
If you’re not using Gmail, you could just use a text editor and save your list to your desktop, but if you want a really great to-do and task manager, that’s web-based, consider Remember The Milk.
RTM offers a comprehensive tasks manager in their free web version, plus applications for the iPhone, Gmail, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and much more. If you’re after a task manger with serious horse-power, Remember The Milk is a good way to go.
The key to these services is to keep it simple, and to actually use them. Whenever you get an idea, no matter how far fetched, make sure you add it to your list for future posts. Believe me, if you don’t have lists, you’ll forget so many great ideas and will end up writing less and less.
Another tool for for keeping fresh content flowing for your website and blog is to write down, and add, new categories or sections to your site. For example in my blog, I’m considering (they’re in my tasks list), new sections on Lens Reviews, Video Creation, Building Websites and Blogs, and Lensbaby. You’ll come up with more, and by have these sections or categories that’ll need filling with posts and articles, you’ll find new ideas just popping into your head.
So, in summary, find a Task or To-Do list manager that’s simple and works for you – and make sure you use it. Record all your ideas for new posts and articles in your list, and then use it when you’re suffering from Bloggers Block.
Think about new sections or categories for your blog / website, then start to populate them with articles and posts. Before you know it you won’t have enough time to write your content, you’ll have so many great ideas, and writers block will be a thing of the past.
Hope this helps, Rob.
28July2009
Light: The Body Language Of Photography
Posted by Rob_Nunn under: articles; tutorials.
The ability to communicate with each other, on many levels, is one of the reasons why humans have come to dominate our planet. Our skill in articulating ideas, concepts, love, hate and emotions has transported us from the Rift Valley in Africa, to the four corners of the world – from the highest peaks of the Himalayas to the deepest oceans. Forty years ago we even broke away from the confines of our comfy sphere and stepped upon a different world, albeit briefly, and we have yet to return, but we will, one day.
Our in-built skill to learn how to talk can be translated into how we learn almost everything in our lives. When we first ride a bike, we are learning how to communicate with the machine, our sense of balance, the feel of the road, and feel of the wind in our hair.
When we first start to use PC’s (and the Internet) we’re learning how to talk with the computer. We learn how to make it understand us, through use of the keyboard and the mouse, and we, in turn, learn how to translate and understand the computers feedback – through the screen, the sounds, the error messages and the syntax. As we learn the “language” of computers we are able to express ourselves better – perhaps through email, writing documents, web-sites or taking part in forums.
Photography is the same. When we first pick up a camera, we don’t know what to do. Maybe we’ll read the manual, to learn the grammar of this little machine. We’ll muddle through with trial and error, perhaps with a little practice. Gradually we learn to express ourselves through the camera and post processing. We’re learning to talk through our images. We’re trying to communicate through our photography.
According to the experts, verbal communication is made up of three main parts, and you’ll be surprised at the relative importance of each one. When we’re having a conversation with someone, how they’re comprehending with us, is made up through the words we’re saying, the tone or way we’re saying them, and finally our body language – how we’re physically expressing ourselves while we talk.
So which of the three is most important? Funnily enough, the least important factor in one-to-one conversations is the words we’re using. Next up is the tone, or way we’re saying the words. By far the most important (perhaps over 50%) factor in any conversation, is our body language – facial expressions, gestures and movements. So when you’re trying to get an idea across, it’s how you’re expressing yourself non-verbally, with your face and body, and how you say it, that’s more important than the words you actually use.
I believe in there’s a parallel with photography here. Think of the subject of our photograph as the words we are using. The subject is the idea. The composition we use is like the tone of how we speak. The most important aspect is the body language of our photography, and I believe this is the light.
This happens to me all the time. I’ll see something that catches my eye – usually a shape in a scene. That’ll be my subject, the words of my visual conversation. Then I’ll decide on the composition – the tone, or how I’m going to say those words. Finally it’s the light, or how I’m expressing myself visually in the photograph.
On many occasions I’ll see something interesting, compose it, shoot it, but then I’ll be disappointed when I get home and look at the photo on my PC because the light was flat. The conversation is boring. The idea is there, but it just hasn’t come alive – there’s no passion or emotion. The photo simply doesn’t engage me when I’m looking at it, like listening to a monotone voice – an announcer at a railway station.
Other times I’ll take a photo of what may be a mundane view or subject, but because the light was great, the scene comes alive and the photo sings. Maybe it’s the shadows, perhaps the colours, the use of flash, hard sun light or soft. Have a look at my flickr photostream – which photo’s do you like, and what was the light like in those images?
Light is the key – whether it be the Sun, Flash or hot-lights. I understand that if the light is poor (as it often is in the UK), I need to work harder to get my ideas across – with more interesting subjects or more dynamic composition, or perhaps use artificial light. I need to learn how to use flash to better effect. I need to take more photographs early in the morning or later in the afternoon.
I want to express my photographic ideas more clearly and passionately through my use of, control of, manipulation of, but most importantly understanding of light.
Light, it’s the body-language of photography, and I want to be fluent.
Cheers, Rob.
