Photoshop Elements fielded a crop of upgrades, including support for 64 bit systems running Window 7. Other add-ons include the ability to paint specific effects and patterns on parts of photos and post-processing simulated bokeh and other guided edits.
Also new is the ability to search for photos that contain specific objects, so if you’re looking for all pictures that feature a motorcycle, you can have Object Search do the legwork for you. Search functions also include the ability to weed out duplicates.
Simplified text to path and text to shape tools will make it easier for users to create their own cards and event notices, along with several built-in templates for online and printed albums.
Another feature you may or may not appreciate is integration with Facebook’s facial recognition tagging. There are also other updates for better integration with other social media sites.
For the more technically savvy, Adobe has integrated the Photoshop Touch API, which lets developers build touch tablet apps that interact with Photoshop and now will also work in Elements.
Other new features include what Adobe calls “content intelligent tools” that will do things like move people from one background to a different one, choose the best looks for each individual in a group shot and even wipe people out of a scene.
Photoshop and Premiere Elements are available for download for $99.99 each or $149.99 together. Available for Mac and Windows.
I didn't have my polarizer with me the day I had a few minutes with a vintage Corvette and it shows in the reflections
Photographing cars can present unique challenges and it’s hard to do right. A friend of mine is a dealer of rare and vintage cars and hired a “professional” photographer to take pictures of some of her cars when she was behind schedule one week.
I watched the photographer work, he was using a Canon camera with a 430 EX II on a bracket handle with a bounce card. It didn’t seem right to me, but it wasn’t my job so I kept my nose out of it.
The photos were dreadful. Beyond bad and that’s not just my opinion as a photographer, that was the client’s opinion. They were worse than the pictures she took with her little point-and-shoot. I don’t think I would have even delivered the photos I saw. If I screwed up a job that bad, I’d just give them their money back.
Cars are hard to shoot because they’re so reflective and with clear coats, pearalesent paint, and a variety of waxes and finishes employed, those reflections are rarely uniform and can cause bad things to happen to your photos.
Job One, Cut The Glare
A rotating polarizing filter is a must for shooting cars. You can eliminate most reflections, or, ideally, tone them down to the point they don’t distract from the picture. Sometimes a complete lack of reflections is unnatural looking, particularly in glass.
With a rotating polarizer you can pick the amount of reflection you want, though do be aware that with some types of custom paint, a polarizing filter can yield some strange results.
Don’t Touch
If you’re at a car show or vintage car show, never touch a vehicle without the owner’s permission. The velvet ropes are there for a reason. Most owners are very approachable and will gladly help you stage photos, especially if you volunteer to send them copies.
Try to get them to remove the show placards and Do Not Touch signs if at all possible.
Lighting
The best lighting is light overcast daylight, open shade, or golden hour daylight just after the sun has set. The worst lighting is indoors with fluorescent or arc lighting.
Lighting with strobes presents its own unique set of problems. Getting something the size of a car to light evenly with strobes is going to be a challenge. Situations like this is where you’ll be glad you bought high quality light stands because you want to get your soft boxes up as high as your stands will go. I’ve never been able to get really good car shots with handheld lighting, but there are show offs like Steve Demmit who pull it off.
Some big shops that do a lot of high-end vehicle photography have banks of softboxes suspended from the ceiling in a studio the size of a garage.
Movement
Know what you’re doing before attempting any shots of or from a moving car. As you can see in this video, the car doesn’t have to be moving that fast, or even moving forward, to get the sensation of speed at slow shutter speeds. Walking speed is plenty fast enough.
Working out on public streets is illegal in some places, though if you use a bit of common sense it’s rare anyone gets in trouble.
When black and white works, it really works - Joaquim Alves Gaspar
For many of us getting started in photography years ago, learning to shoot in black and white was not an option. My first photography customers were all newspapers and you shot the film they gave you and, except in rare cases, that was almost always black and white.
Today almost everything is in color, newspapers and magazines are disappearing, and film is on life support. Still, even today with cameras containing high speed computers with more computing power than the space shuttle, a well composed black and white photograph is a thing of simplistic beauty.
While I disagree with instructors who want to start out teaching students black and white photography, it is worth learning. Below are five tips for taking better black and white photos.
Start With Raw
I actually shoot RAW+JPEG and do probably 90 percent of my work with JPEGs. Part of the 10 percent when working in RAW are the pictures I think would make a good B&Ws.
A lot of tonal information is tossed out by the JPEG compressing and this is one of the times you want it back.
Pick Your Day
The worst days for shooting color are sometimes the best days for shooting black and white. Dismal, gray, and overcast days, so called “low contrast” lighting is made for black and white photography. Ironically, these are the days you’d stay home shooting color photography.
Black and white can also give a scene a cold, detached feeling. Hearkening back to the days of film noir, a good black and white photo can create an air of suspence.
Go Low On The ISO
For the same reason you’re starting with a RAW image. Get as much photo data as possible before deciding what to take away. At higher ISO ratings some cameras can start picking up noise, particularly in the blacks.
If you want grain you can always add a film grain filter in post-processing.
Composition
The rules for composition in black and white are not a great deal different than in color photography, with more emphasis on textures and strong lines. Without color to draw the eye, you have to depend more on composition.
Maybe that’s one of the reasons some instructors want to take that away for new students, to get them to focus on lines and framing instead of color.
Look For Patterns
With black and white you’re more likely to select a shot purely for the design elements, not necessarily a definitive subject. That would particularly true for patterns with strong lines with a point of convergence.
Just because I don’t lead with black and white when teaching a photography class, doesn’t mean I don’t think it’s worth learning and practicing. I’ve seen pretty average color pictures turned into something with real impact, just by taking away the color.
Here are some excellent examples. How many of these would have lost impact by adding color?
Using a slave as a remote cuts down on the cost of the wireless rig
A little while ago we covered the lighting setup for a pro wedding photographer at ImagesForever.net down in Melbourne Beach. A few of you might have read that and gotten depressed because, when you added up all the separate components, you realize the cost of that lighting setup was close to $1,800.
Many of you don’t have that much to spend, others may enjoy photography as a serious hobby but aren’t willing to risk divorce court by trying to talk your significant other into dropping that kind of cash on portable lighting.
So, I took on the challenge and wanted to see how close I could get to a usable lighting setup on a budget more people can afford, say $250.00 USD. Certainly there are going to be some compromises: Build quality, fit and finish, and convenience will all be challenged to move the price point that far. You get what you pay for, but if you’re creative in moving stuff around, you can sometimes get better results than the price tag might suggest. Besides, you can always upgrade individual components if you have the money.
Here’s what I came up with. Please note the prices are subject to change and don’t include shipping:
This flash is pretty good for the money. It’s compatible with my camera’s e-TTL system and does a respectable job lighting the scene. The refresh times are surprisingly fast for a sub-$100 flash. With fresh batteries the flash can fire as fast as my camera can write images. It’s also got a built-in diffuser plate and bounce card.
The build quality does have issues. The battery door feels cheap and flimsy, take extra care changing the batteries.
The YN-467 on a monopod tethered to my 7D with a Pixel TTL compatible sync cord. I used the monopod because the bracket didn't arrive in time
Instead of two YN-467’s, I went with a dedicated slave to save some money. Now I have the freedom to mount the fill flash on a monopod or light stand that I can move around. The downside to not having the AC3 Zone Controller is I have to walk over and change the power settings on the remote manually, instead of flicking a switch on the top of the camera.
Another limitation is having the bracket flash tethered to the camera with a cord. It limits mobility quite a bit. I could still mount the bracket flash on a light stand if the situation called for it, but I’m not going any farther than the cord.
A $20 cord still gives me the ability to put the primary flash on the bracket handle and still sync with the TTL in my camera. Instead of shooting everything manually, I can use the Creative Auto (CA) setting and change the exposure of at least the primary flash with the exposure compensation adjustments in the camera.
Which brings my total to $240.01, with enough left over to buy pizza for the TFP models.
So How Does It Work?
Judge for yourself. With the exception of the bracket handle, I took all these photos with the components described above.
Because the remote operation is manual, it sometimes took me a couple shots to dial in the fill flash power. Sure, it’s extra walking, but how much walking will you do for $1,400?
That will pass. Might have been a little better with the main flash straight onLighting the entire pool room was no problemBy putting the remote behind the subject I was able to achieve the outline highlights that seem to be all the rage right now
I just don't like the dog behind bars look - Nhandler
If you’re a professional photographer, there are some charity projects that are definitely worth your time. If you’re working your way into the business, charity shoots can be a great way to build up your portfolio and get your name out there.
Consider Local Animal Shelters
This is one that’s almost always available. Having really attractive portraits for animals in the shelter will definitely increase adoptions. So many shelters are limited to a staff member with a point and shoot camera and many of them are sad looking animals under a harsh flash that look like animal felons behind bars. A few will have an actual background they use, but even that is rare.
Shelter photos are also a great way to gain experience working with animals, one of the most frustrating exercises in photography. After about 20 animals right in a row, you’ll be a master at knowing the precise microsecond to hit the shutter button. In animal photography practice will make perfect, or lead to psychosis, one of those. You’ll definitely know after a day if you’re cut out for animal pictures!
Pro Tips: Get the animals out of their cages and somewhere outside that looks more like a home atmosphere with real grass and scatter some toys around in the background. Use the best lighting setup that’s easily portable in the field. A leash in the picture is okay, and you can get inexpensive ones that are 20 or 30 feet long. Definitely better to have a leash in the photo than one of the animals getting away, unless you’re in a completely fenced area.
The idea is to get people to visualize the pet in their house, as opposed to a visual of some quivering animal in a kennel. The more fun the pet is having in the photos, the more likely they are to be adopted quickly.
Animal Rescue Facilities
If you’re thinking of something animal related, also consider animal rescue facilities, which seem to be chronically short of money. Some commercial quality promotional pictures can be a big boost to their fund raising activities.
Pro Tips: Be really careful about working around large animal rescues. It’s rare for one to be bothered by the flash, but some are scared of the camera. Many of these animals have been abused or neglected and may react unpredictably. Use a long lens and always make sure you have an exit. I try to keep a barrier between myself and the rescue animals at all times, especially if they’ve recently come to the shelter.
Picture Book Fund Raisers
Local zoos are catching on to this one. Buyers of season passes or those who make a donation to the zoo get a free photo book. Some zoos are even arranging special times for the photographers to get better shots than could normally be obtained from the normal traffic areas.
Pro Tips: Prepare to be amazed that you’ll be up against the top photographers in the area on charity projects like this. Don’t be discouraged if you get turned down the first year, or even the second and third. Even if you’ve been a pro working in the area for years, the competition is fierce. The one time I got accepted, I was surprised to be mixed in with some of the best known names in local photography, including one with National Geographic in his background. Everyone wants to be on the zoo credits, so don’t feel bad if you have to work your way up to this one.
City Walks
These are sometimes organized by city government to help promote the area to businesses thinking of relocating. In the old days cities and counties might have had a budget to pay photographers, but today not so much.
Making friends in city government is always helpful for those seeking to start a new business or expand their existing one. If they already know who you are because of your community involvement and efforts to promote the city, you may find your reception to be far warmer than someone off the street.
Pro Tips: They probably already have dozens of skyline photos, unless you can think of a really unique angle, skip those. Look for identifiable landmarks and places less traveled. The idea is to make the city look attractive to anyone considering opening a business. Think about your shots from the standpoint of a business person.
Being the volunteer photographer at charity events is a great way to get your name out there, especially if you can get in on the sponsor credits in exchange for service. Don’t get discouraged if you get turned down, you’ll likely find there are many photographers in the area with the same idea.
Adobe Systems announced the release of version 10 of Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements, two of their popular photo and video editing applications.
