Photographer in Geneva, Switzerland - Red Dot Studio » Photography Tips

Top 10 essential add-ons for Firefox

Photographer — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 22:39:54 +0000

Firefox is still one of the best web browsers out there thanks to the many add-ons available. Here's a list of top 10 essential add-ons for Firefox.

Xmarks Sync - Keeps your Firefox bookmarks synced across all your computers.

Trackmenot - Protects your privacy during web search in popular search engines.

Snap Link Plus - Select a number of links with a rectangle and open them all in separate tabs.

FireFTP - Free FTP add on to Firefox.

Exif Viewer - Display the EXIF data of JPG images on a web page.

Download Statusbar - View and manage downloads from a tidy statusbar.

Adblock Plus - Blocks advertisements.

DownloadHelper - Download and convert Web videos from YouTube-like sites.

gTranslate - Translate any text on a web page by selecting and right-clicking over it.

Speedyfox (not an addon) - A program that makes Firefox startup much faster and snappier.

Quick guide to time lapse photography

Photographer — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:06:04 +0000

Here's a summary list of settings for time lapse photography from Photojojo.com and learntimelapse.com.

Time Lapse - Geneva, Switzerland from Red Dot on Vimeo.

Intervalometer settings:

Number of frames (or shots) = 30 frames per second x Duration of your time lapse movie
Interval between frames (or shots) = Duration of actual event / Number of frames

Camera settings:

Use a tripod
Medium or small RAW file (at least 1,920 x 1,080 pixels for HD quality)
Manual white balance
Manual exposure (for constant light) or Av mode (for sunset/sunrise)
Shutter speed should be slower than 1/100s
Cover the back eye piece
Manual focus

Photoshop

Enable Windows | Animation
Click File | Open
Select first jpg image and click image sequence check box
Enter frame rate = 30
Click File | Export | Render Video
Click Render

Top 5 Christmas Gifts for Photographers

Photographer — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:43:32 +0000

Here are the top 5 Christmas gifts, in no particular order, which we think any photographer would appreciate.

Joby GP3 Gorillapod SLR-Zoom Flexible Tripod + BH1 Ball Head with Bubble Level

A small tripod that can fit in any bag but big enough to hold a DSLR camera, this is truly a remarkable travel tripod. The bendy legs allows this to be placed anywhere, even on uneven surfaces.

Eye-Fi Pro X2 8 GB Class 6 SDHC Wireless Flash Memory Card EYE-FI-8PC

This SD memory card allows you to magically transfer your images from your camera to your computer - wirelessly.

Canon PowerShot S100 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)

This compact camera is small enough to fit in your pocket but is packed with many features and functions (it also shoots RAW!). It is a camera that you can bring with you anywhere, anytime. A good companion to have in addition to a DSLR.

Wacom Intuos4 Medium Pen Tablet

If you're serious about photography, this is one piece of equipment that is essential. Allows more precision and much easier to use than a mouse when retouching photos. This is a definite must have device!

Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera

Bryan Peterson is a fantastic author. By far, the Understanding Exposure book is his most famous photography book and highly recommended by all photographers. His explanations are easy to understand and his book is beautifully illustrated. He gives photography courses that costs thousands of dollar, so this book is definitely a bargain. A must read!

How to pay using a credit card in Paypal

Photographer — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 15:57:28 +0000

Here is a 4-step instruction on how to pay using a credit card in Paypal if you don't have a Paypal account.

Step 1:You will receive a Paypal invoice in an email such as the one below. Click on the "Pay Now" button in the email.

Step 2: Your web browser will automatically launch and bring you to the Paypal website. Click on the "Continue" button.

Step 3: If you do not have a Paypal account, look for the section "Don't have a Paypal account?". Click on the "Continue" link in that section.

Step 4: Fill in your credit card and personal details in the form before clicking on the "Continue" button. Then follow any further instructions on your screen to make the payment.

Your credit card and personal information is safe and secure. Paypal only deducts the amount requested and does not send out any credit card information.

Google image search

Photographer — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:01:47 +0000

Google has finally introduced the ability to perform reverse image searches. In other words, by using Google Images, you can find links to all the websites where the image was being used.

Using reflectors in a photo shoot

Photographer — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 17:13:42 +0000

Reflectors can be a useful part of a photographer's lighting arsenal. Here's a video on how reflectors can be used during a photo shoot.

Free Canon Quick Guides

Photographer — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 18:28:50 +0000

Canon has recently made available a series of free and downloaded Quick Guides in pdf. They can be printed at home, folded and stored inside your camera bag for quick easy reference.

QuickGuide to Remote Operation With EOS Utility Software
QuickGuide to EOS Custom Functions
QuickGuide to EOS Live View Features
QuickGuide to Quick Control Screen Operation
QuickGuide to Canon EF Lens Features
QuickGuide to Accurate EOS Autofocus
QuickGuide to EOS-1D/Ds AF Point Management
QuickGuide to EOS 7D Autofocus Modes
QuickGuide to EOS DSLR Video Recording
QuickGuide to EOS Focusing Screens
QuickGuide to Canon Speedlite 580EX II Modes and Functions
QuickGuide to Canon Speedlite 430EX II Modes and Functions
QuickGuide to Macro Speedlites
QuickGuide to DPP Workflow and Keyboard Commands
QuickGuide to Canon TC-80N3 Timer/Remote Controller

You can download all of these from here.

Using the liquify tool in Photoshop

Photographer — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 11:58:22 +0000

Here's a quick tutorial on how to use the liquify tool in Photoshop to correct features of models. Now you can look perfect :D

Model shoot using just an iphone

Photographer — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 11:23:10 +0000

This photographer did an interesting experiment to demonstrate that good lighting is all is needed to get good results.

The iPhone Fashion Shoot - Lee Morris Shoots With The 3GS Fstoppers from FStoppers on Vimeo.

How to Dodge and Burn in Photoshop

Photographer — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 11:10:07 +0000

Here's a pretty interesting technique on how this photographer dodges and burns his portraits on Photoshop.

Sean Armenta | Dodge & Burn Technique from Sean Armenta on Vimeo.