Improve Photography

In Episode 27 of the Improve Photography Podcast, Jim and Dustin answer listener questions about shutter actuations, metering, flash triggers, and more. If you are reading this post via email or RSS, be sure to click the blue title of this post so that you can come to the website where the free audio download of this show is available. If you're new to the podcast, you can see all the previous episodes of the Improve Photography Podcast here. How to Subscribe to the Podcast on Your Phone or MP3 Player (free!) For iPhone/iPad/iPod listeners - Grab your phone or device and go to the iTunes store and search "Improve Photography Podcast."  This will help you to download the free Podcasts App (produced by Apple) and then subscribe to the show from within that app.  Every time I produce a new episode, you'll get it downloaded right on your iDevice. For Android listeners - Download the Stitcher Radio app (free) and search for "Improve Photography Podcast."  Or, if you have already downloaded a podcasting client, follow the directions in the next sentence. For podcast enthusiasts - If you already listen to podcasts and have a podcatcher that you prefer, the feed you'll need to add is http://improvephotography.com/feed/podcast For those who don't have a mobile device - You can always listen to the show by clicking the audio file at the top of this episode. Guide to Episode 27 [0:30] Jim's Random Thoughts Insulation reflector board - check out this article Jim wrote called 9 Weird Photography Tricks that Actually Work to see a description of what this is and where you can use it. (Also check out the rest of the article for the other 8 weird but awesome photography tips!) Jim says he may not be using his 5-in-1 reflector much any more now that he has this! It's super light, and it's stiff so it won't flop around when you hold it up. It's also large enough to cover two people, or a full-body shot of one person. The Purple Cow by Seth Godin - it's a business book (nothing necessarily to do with photography) but Jim highly recommends it. Reading this book has made Jim think a lot about his photography and how it seems that so many photographers are doing exactly the same thing as every other photographer out there. Eventually, seeing something that was beautiful just becomes "normal" when that's what you always see. Photos are getting pretty predictable now. Take some time to look for ideas, and use your creativity to start doing something different that will get noticed. Dustin points out that your idea doesn't have to be completely unheard of or so original that nobody can believe it. Perhaps just try something that is more rare and less common and see what you can do with that. [12:19]  How do I find out the shutter count of my camera? Canon really hides this in most of their cameras, so if you can't find it or if you would just like to know the shutter count of your camera, you can download a free utility called EOSInfo from astrojargon.net to find out how many shutter actuations your camera has (this utility is Windows only). This utility supports most of the Canon models. (Dustin says in the menu of the 6D you can find the shutter count, but most other Canons don't offer this feature.) Nikon cameras put this information right in the Exif data of any photo you take. For Nikon cameras, use any Exif reader to see the shutter actuations (and all the rest of the metadata). Most consumer cameras are rated to 100,000 shutter actuations (though they can go longer than that, just like a car). Pro cameras are rated between 150,000 and 300,000 shutter actuations. If you're buying a used camera, you will want to check to see how many actuations are left. [15:11] Do you have tips for taking photos in a location where the lights are always changing (something like a dance club)? Shoot in Manual mode. Usually indoors you will need a fast shutter speed (as fast as you can get), with the lowest f/stop you can support.

In Episode 26 of the Improve Photography Podcast, Jim and Dustin answer listener questions about when to get a pro lens, online photography portfolios, and marketing strategies for your photography business. If you are reading this post via email or RSS, be sure to click the blue title of this post so that you can come to the website where the free audio download of this show is available. If you're new to the podcast, you can see all the previous episodes of the Improve Photography Podcast here. How to Subscribe to the Podcast on Your Phone or MP3 Player (free!) For iPhone/iPad/iPod listeners - Grab your phone or device and go to the iTunes store and search "Improve Photography Podcast."  This will help you to download the free Podcasts App (produced by Apple) and then subscribe to the show from within that app.  Every time I produce a new episode, you'll get it downloaded right on your iDevice. For Android listeners - Download the Stitcher Radio app (free) and search for "Improve Photography Podcast."  Or, if you have already downloaded a podcasting client, follow the directions in the next sentence. For podcast enthusiasts - If you already listen to podcasts and have a podcatcher that you prefer, the feed you'll need to add is http://improvephotography.com/feed/podcast For those who don't have a mobile device - You can always listen to the show by clicking the audio file at the top of this episode. Guide to Episode 26 [1:31] Airshow photography: how do you acheive proper prop blur? If you have too fast of a shutter speed, you're going to get a shot of the plane's propeller blades frozen, and you won't get any blur. A good rule of thumb is to take a picture with a shutter speed of somewhere between 1/20 "- 1/100". Of course, the best time to get a good shot of prop blur is when the plane is moving slower (when the plane is on approach). [3:19] I'm going on a cruise. What gear should I bring? One thing a lot of people don't realize is that most of the time on a cruise you're still moving at sunrise and sunset, which is the best light of the day. Because of this, cruises aren't necessarily the best option for photography. Having said that, Dustin suggests taking a really good walk-around lens (a 28-300mm lens is perfect for this) and possibly some genre-specific lenses (like a nice wide angle lens for landscapes). But really, pack light. You don't need to bring everything with you, and you really won't get better pictures if you do. Bring the neutral density filter for sure, but don't overpack your photography gear. For a good tripod, check out improvephotography.com/tripods to see what we recommend. [7:37] Is too much variety in an online portfolio a bad thing? This is really a tough thing to decide. Dustin suggests having a specific gallery for each category of photography - a gallery for macro, a gallery for portraits, etc. Jim suggests on your homepage, have a slideshow of just a few of your very best shots (not necessarily of any specific genre) and then users can go to the specific galleries to see certain genres. You can check out improvephotography.com/site for a tutorial on how to set up your photography portfolio using WordPress. Jim is also trying Squarespace right now. It's easy and quick to get started, but the themes either have small pictures on some of them or HUGE pictures that go off the screen and the site crops them for you. The jury is still out on Squarespace. :-) [13:00] What are some things you've found that are the best marketing tools for your photography business and small businesses in general? Business cards are great, but really that's not where you need to focus your initial time, energy, and money. We teach a 30-day Business class on photoclasses.com where we take you step by step through the process of creating your photography business. (If you follow our plan, you can have a business in 30 days!!) A few important things we teach in this class:

In Episode 25 of the Improve Photography Podcast, Jim and Dustin answer listener questions about  photo editing style, archiving, laundry techniques (really!), teleconvertors, and more. If you are reading this post via email or RSS, be sure to click t...

In Episode 24 of the Improve Photography Podcast, Jim and Dustin answer listener questions about polarizers, anti-aliasing, exporting photos, external flashes, and more! If you are reading this post via email or RSS, be sure to click the blue title of this post so that you can come to the website where the free audio download of this show is available. If you're new to the podcast, you can see all the previous episodes of the Improve Photography Podcast here. How to Subscribe to the Podcast on Your Phone or MP3 Player (free!) For iPhone/iPad/iPod listeners - Grab your phone or device and go to the iTunes store and search "Improve Photography Podcast."  This will help you to download the free Podcasts App (produced by Apple) and then subscribe to the show from within that app.  Every time I produce a new episode, you'll get it downloaded right on your iDevice. For Android listeners - Download the Stitcher Radio app (free) and search for "Improve Photography Podcast."  Or, if you have already downloaded a podcasting client, follow the directions in the next sentence. For podcast enthusiasts - If you already listen to podcasts and have a podcatcher that you prefer, the feed you'll need to add is http://improvephotography.com/feed/podcast For those who don't have a mobile device - You can always listen to the show by clicking the audio file at the top of this episode. Guide to Episode 24 [1:16] External Flash Units: will they work on any camera? And can I use my flash trigger with different brand flashes too? If your flash will fire on your camera, it will work fine. Canon and Nikon have agreed on one thing: how the hotshoe should work. The killer, however, is Sony: the flash gear that you get is going to work fine on most the camera brands except Sony. [3:32]  Exporting from Lightroom: Is there an optimal output for different types of photos? There are no specific settings based on the genre of your photography. Rather, the specifics are based on the medium your photo is going to go on (i.e. printing, web, etc). For the web, generally use something around 900 px on the longest side. Remember that for the web, you don't need to worry about the resolution. For printing, you will need to have the exact size. First, set the dpi, and make sure you know what the printer needs or your photo might wind up being a drastically different size than you anticipated. Generally, professional labs need the resolution set to 300 dpi. Then, to set height and width, if you want to make an 8"x10" print, put (8 * the dpi you just set) pixels in the height and (10 * the dpi you just set) pixels in the width. [8:17] Would you recommend a D7000 or a D7100 for video? For video, it doesn't matter how many megapixels you have on your image sensor. So if you are deciding between the two based on the number of megapixels, it doesn't matter. The D7100 has a stereo mic and a headphone jack, so Jim would spring for the D7100 because of those features if it is in your budget. fps = frames per second. Most TV is 30 fps, and when you watch a movie it is slower (24 fps). Some cameras are coming out with faster frame rates. [13:20]  Do you have an opinion on cameras without an AA (Anti-Aliasing) filter? Does the image quality really suffer or will you not really notice? Google "moire texture" to see the texture Jim and Dustin are talking about. If you are taking landscape pictures, there's no reason to have an AA filter, but if you ever shoot portraits, you should keep it. It won't make your photos totally blurry - it just takes out that tiny bit of sharpness. [17:20] Do you recommend a particular type or model of digital frame? Jim hasn't seen any good quality digital frames out there. However, his parents have a Kodak Easyshare Digital Frame - it's great because you can send a picture to the email address associated with the frame and it will show up in the frame. If you happen to know of a good quality picture frame, please - let us know.

This is a mashup episode of the Improve Photography Podcast, the Digital Photo Experience, and The Digital Story Podcasts.  In this episode, the joint group talk about some of the most common questions photographers ask and give answers for these questions. If you are reading this post via email or RSS, be sure to click the blue title of this post so that you can come to the website where the free audio download of this show is available. If you're new to the podcast, you can see all the previous episodes of the Improve Photography Podcast here. How to Subscribe to the Podcast on Your Phone or MP3 Player (free!) For iPhone/iPad/iPod listeners - Grab your phone or device and go to the iTunes store and search "Improve Photography Podcast."  This will help you to download the free Podcasts App (produced by Apple) and then subscribe to the show from within that app.  Every time I produce a new episode, you'll get it downloaded right on your iDevice. For Android listeners - Download the Stitcher Radio app (free) and search for "Improve Photography Podcast."  Or, if you have already downloaded a podcasting client, follow the directions in the next sentence. For podcast enthusiasts - If you already listen to podcasts and have a podcatcher that you prefer, the feed you'll need to add is http://improvephotography.com/feed/podcast For those who don't have a mobile device - You can always listen to the show by clicking the audio file at the top of this episode. Guide to Episode 23 [2:24] What gets you inspired to go out and shoot? Jim Harmer: When I have a specific vision of a photo I want to take, this is what inspires me. What helps me to become passionate about photography again is to look at photos for hours until I see one that I like and want to do my way, in my place. It really takes a vision of a photo in my head before I can get the creative juices flowing again. Dustin Olsen: Sometimes I struggle with always being in the same place. I like to challenge myself. I'll go back to a place I've shot a hundred times and try to get something new based on inspiration I've found online. Derrick Story: The kind of photography you create is connected to your personality. The sooner you make that connection, the better your photography will be. Just get out there. Go somewhere - anywhere - and just start. You will begin to see shots (not right away). Get out of "work mode" and leave the world behind so you can be in "photography mode". I have a saying: "Fatigue is the enemy of creativity." Juan Pons: I do a lot of research ahead of time and create a "shot list" - things I want to create while I'm out taking photos. Then I'll go out and see what I can create. I also like to look at the work of the photography masters to try and rekindle my passion. [13:13]  Who inspires your photography? Jim Harmer: James Neeley (a photographer in Eastern Idaho). Dustin Olsen: Dave Black - his black and white and that he can take his photos in one shot. Derrick Story: Galen Rowell - amazing creativity, and freely giving of his time to other photographers. Juan Pons: Eliot Porter - one of the first wildlife/nature photographers. He is one of the masters of color in nature photography. [20:30] Gear vs. Craft Jim Harmer: Sometimes an extra piece of gear can help you make really important progress (in the case of a flash and learning how to use light). But a lot of the time, a new piece of gear isn't going to help you if you don't understand the basics of what you're doing. Dustin Olsen: You don't always need the latest gear. It's time to upgrade your gear when you have mastered your current equipment and it's now holding you back. Derrick Story: If a new lens or a new reflector or something like that inspires you to go out and get more creative or to go out and do a shoot, there's a great benefit to buying it for that purpose. Juan Pons: While new gear can be fun and give you a reason to go out and shoot,

The Improve Photography podcast joins up with the Digital Photo Experience guys as well as The Digital Story podcast to discuss micro four-thirds cameras and whether or not they have a place in the photographer's bag of tools. This is a 3-episode mashup series of the photography podcasts.

In Episode 21 of the Improve Photography Podcast, Jim Harmer, Dustin Olsen, Juan Pons (from http://dpexperience.com/), and Derrick Story (from http://www.thedigitalstory.com/) talk about mistakes to avoid and answer listener questions about lenses and ...

Photography tips about getting a battery grip for your DSLR, what computer specs help you run Photoshop quickly, safety on photography shoots, and how to be a better photographer for spontaneous photography opportunities.

How you can get more creative in your photography even when you feel like you're in a rut is one thing we discuss this week. Also, Jim discusses his photography trip down to southern Utah where he learned a lot of new photography tips.

In Episode 18 of the Improve Photography Podcast, Jim and Dustin answer listener questions about white balance, how to know when it's time to start charging for your photos, what to do as the second shooter at a wedding, wireless tethered shooting, and...

Photography light meters and more!

Choosing the best lens for your photography, buying a used camera, and troubleshooting flash photography problems are all topics that we discuss on this episode of the Improve Photography Podcast.

In Episode 15 of the Improve Photography Podcast, Jim and Dustin answer listener questions about photography apps, workflow, ethics, and also give some info about our courses and the flash photography workshop coming soon in Boise! If you are reading this post via email or RSS, be sure to click the blue title of this post so that you can come to the website where the free audio download of this show is available. If you're new to the podcast, you can see all the previous episodes of the Improve Photography Podcast here. How to Subscribe to the Podcast on Your Phone or MP3 Player (free!) For iPhone/iPad/iPod listeners - Grab your phone or device and go to the iTunes store and search "Improve Photography Podcast."  This will help you to download the free Podcasts App (produced by Apple) and then subscribe to the show from within that app.  Every time I produce a new episode, you'll get it downloaded right on your iDevice. For Android listeners - Download the Stitcher Radio app (free) and search for "Improve Photography Podcast."  Or, if you have already downloaded a podcasting client, follow the directions in the next sentence. For podcast enthusiasts - If you already listen to podcasts and have a podcatcher that you prefer, the feed you'll need to add is http://improvephotography.com/feed/podcast For those who don't have a mobile device - You can always listen to the show by clicking the audio file at the top of this episode. Guide to Episode 15 [0:34] Dustin bought a new camera - the Canon 6D. This camera is Canon's entry-to-full-frame camera. At roughly $2100, this is an amazing camera for the full-frame price. Traditionally cheapest full-frame camera was well over $3000, but now Canon, Nikon, and Sony have released some less expensive full-frame cameras. Dustin's favorite feature is the built-in wifi and the app that goes on his phone for this, which allows him to view the photos on the phone or take photos with it and see the live view, etc. Jim asks why Dustin chose the Canon 6D over the Nikon D600, since here in the office they use Nikon cameras. Dustin's reasons? He really likes the Canon menu system, and ease of using the settings; the Nikon menu system is not as intuitive as the Canon menu system. He also bought it because he had some old accessories that would fit the Canon camera (extension tubes, flash gear, etc). [3:19]  Online photography classes (30-Day Beginner Photography Course and 30-Day Intermediate Photography Course) are starting March 6th! If you've been thinking about signing up for our beginner or intermediate classes, use coupon code PODCAST5 to get $5 off the cost of class registration. In these online photography classes, you get a 10 minute video lesson from Jim and Dustin every day for 30 days. This allows you to learn one new technique every day, which adds up to a lot of learning by the end of the course! These videos are there for you forever, even after the class ends, even years down the road. Additionally, Jim and Dustin are totally available to class students - you get their cell phone numbers, email addresses, and we encourage our students to send in their photos to ask for feedback and advice! Find out more about these classes by going here. [5:02] I just bought my first smartphone and would like to know your favorite apps for the business side of photography. Great apps for the business side of photography: Expensify In almost every country, you have to keep track of different things throughout the year to send in at tax time. It allows you to take a picture of your receipt with your phone, and fills in the fields from this picture (or you can enter them manually). You can add expenses to your account no matter where you are, whether you're purchasing from the store or online. Additionally, it does a great job tracking mileage (which is great because in most countries you can deduct mileage from your taxes if you're running a business).

Photography tips and tricks from Jim Harmer and Dustin Olsen of the popular Improve Photography website.

Jim and Dustin answer a question about what rear curtain sync does in flash photography, the benefits AND drawbacks to full frame, and how to quickly change your camera settings during a photography shoot.