Digital Photography Life!

Take your landscape photography to new heights with great tips from pro photographer Marc Meunch on today’s show. Marc covers the best gear, shooting techniques and digital processing tricks to give your shots that cover-quality magic.

Marc is a fantastic guest, which you’d expect given his outstanding resume. Marc has photographed for book publishers including Time Inc. He’s represented Canon Cameras in several ad campaigns, and appeared on ESPN’s “Canon Photo Safari” for eight season. He’s published and co-published several books of photography. He’s also “artist in residence” at SmugMug, our favorite photo sharing and selling service.

Would you like a real expert to tell you how to improve your photography? Check out Marc’s “Muench University,” hosted by SmugMug. Follow the instructions there to join the forum and send in your pictures. In the body of your email, mention that you heard Marc on Digital Photography Life and he’ll give special consider to critiquing your work!

Marc tells us how he got into the photo biz and gives tips for those of you looking to break into it, While Marc is accomplished in many areas of photography, in our interview we focus on landscape shooting, particularly, how to get outstanding shots in autumn, when the explosion of color gets every photographer’s fingers itching to snap.

Marc’s tips include the best equipment to buy and use, the two lenses he considers must-haves and how to use a flash to achieve the perfect balance of light. We also talk filters, tripods and cameras.

Marc recommends Photomatix for HDR work, as many serious photographers do. I’ve used the program, too, and it is definitely the standard in the field. On the show, I mention Ben Willmore’s terrific DVD on HDR. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to be available anymore, it’s not listed on Amazon or on Ben’s web page. If you find a copy somewhere, put a note in the comments!

Marc’s a big fan of Gitzo’s Carbon Fiber tripods (you can see a $700 one here, or a more affordable $400 version here). But like all of us, Marc likes a bargain, too. He also likes Slik’s more affordable line of tripods. Here’s a Slik carbon fiber for a comparatively reasonable $230, or a “super titanium” model that has an average 5-star review from 48 buyers on Amazon and only costs $138! That model also has a built in ballhead, which saves your even more money. If I wanted a starter tripod at this point, I might get that one.

Speaking of ballheads, you’ll need one if you go with a Gitzo or other headless tripod. Marc uses Really Right Stuff’s ballheads, a pretty consistent favorite among the professionals with whom I’ve talked. Michael has one, too. Poser.

Marc was recommended to us by SmugMug, and we’re really grateful for the hookup. SmugMug is our favorite site for sharing and - should you chose to accept this assignment selling your photos.

The latest digital photography news, the cameras we’re spending our hard-earned money on and more are all here in the long-awaited Episode 15 of Digital Photography Life.

First off, where have we been for the past four months? It’s a long story and we don’t want to bore you. So, let’s just say we’re back now, better than ever. Well, maybe not better. Give us some time, dudes. But back, for sure.

In news of the day, we talk about some exciting and cool products:

* The Canon HV40, a very sweet high-end consumer videocam that shoots beautiful HD video. I got this through the Amazon Vine program and, although I have some quibbles with it (you can read them on my review on Amazon; if you click on the above link, it will take you to the product page. At the time I’m writing this, my review is the third one that appears, but if more people find other reviews more helpful, it may move down).

* Backup solutions Mozy and Drobo.

* It’s a floor wax and a desert topping: The sexy new Nikon S1000PJ is the first camera with a built in projector. Just think of all the people you’ll be able to bore with your unedited pictures! Check out the unbelievable video here. I kind of want this now, but I’d prefer the technology in my iPhone or laptop.

* The lovely Nikon S70, with its multitouch OLED screen, appeals to me in a lot of ways. I love OLED screens, and having been spoiled by the iPhone, I’m similarly enamoured of touch screens. This sexy beasts combines the best of both worlds. Why couldn’t they have made this B002KANXI4 the S1000PJ’s projector? Although, from my experience with the iPhone, I can tell you a touch screen isn’t the best way to snap a picture - how will pressing on its back NOT make your camera shakier? I can see accidental blur being a problem with this design.

* I recently bought the Panasonic Lumix TZ5S as a gift for my partner. It’s a good, not great point and shoot. Bought it for the ability to shoot HD video, its beefy 10x optical zoom and because it starts at a rare but highly desired 28mm at the wide end. It also zooms while shooting video, something which most point and shoots can’t do for some reason. On the negative side, I find it a bit poky, with slight but annoying shutter lag and a sluggish shot-to-shot time. Overall, though, it’s a lot of camera for $230 or less.

* Michael’s a little less enthusiastic about the water-resistant Olympus Tough 6000 he bought. He wishes he sprung for this little cutie. But then, he might not have been able to afford the super-hot Nikon D300s he’s waiting for. If he were new to the world of DSLRs, he might have started with other just-announced option from Nikon, the entry-level D3000. This is a lot of camera for $600.

* Do you have money to burn on something pointless and vaguely disturbing? If so, check out the Sony Party Shot. This is the accessory for those of you who are too lazy to point and shoot your point and shoot.

So, take a listen and join us as we resume our Digital Photography Life with you.

For extended show notes, links and coupon codes, be sure to visit www.scottsphotoblog.com.

Are you hesitant to approach strangers on the street to ask them to take their picture? Do you need to immediately connect with potential clients? Would you like to improve your ability to make your models feel comfortable in your studio?

If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, you’ll really enjoy our guest, Nicholas Boothman, author of How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less.”

According to Amazon.com. “The average person’s attention span lasts about 30 seconds. That means first and immediate impressions count, and big. In this modern-day update of Dale Carnegie’s classic How to Win Friends and Influence People, former fashion photographer Nicholas Boothman instructs you in how to mold those 30 seconds to your greatest advantage and connect with others at business and social functions.

Boothman, now a lecturer and licensed master practitioner of neurolinguistic programming (the art and science of how the brain affects human connections), says that the key to making others like you quickly lies in establishing a rapport: you have to find out what you have in common or, if you seemingly have nothing in common, purposely try to become like the other person for a short time. He then goes on to offer simple techniques for getting a rapport going: adopt a positive attitude; make sure your words, tone, and gestures are all saying the same thing; synchronize your attitude and body movements to those of another person’s (which makes the person feel comfortable with you–although he or she may not know why); and ask lots of open-ended questions. Boothman also describes how to figure out a stranger’s favored sense for receiving information about the world–some rely on visual cues, others on auditory or kinesthetic (touch) input–and use it to your best advantage.

If discovering how to connect with others is the secret to business and life success, as Boothman contends, then employing the strategies in this book will make you instantly likable and give you a leg up on the competition.”

Boothman’s suggestions are very helpful, and you’ll really enjoy hearing his thoughts. Not only will his techniques improve your rapport with your photographic subjects, but they’ll be helpful in other areas of your life, too.

We also welcome Lensbaby as a new sponsor of Digital Photography Life. They have a great deal for our listeners - a free 0.6x wide angle/macro conversion lens with the purchase of a Lensbaby Composer from any retailer. Check out this great offer at http://personallifemedia.com/pages/lensbaby.

And thanks always to SmugMug for their sponsorship, too. Find out how you can get a free camera strap and half off the price of the first year of their great service at www.scottsphotoblog.com.

And, if you get a moment, please take a moment to light a candle for Michael’s ailing Nikon D200. Thanks for listening and we’ll talk again soon.

Photographer and instructor extraordinaire, Steve Simon, joins us with his tips on how to make your subjects look better in your portraits. Be sure to check out www.scottsphotoblog.com for the full show notes and links to what we talked about in this week’s show.

Steve is our new best podcast friend - a terrific guy, generous with his information and inspiring in his art. He’s co-hosted a number of episodes of Nikon’s Look Good In Pictures, where he’s worked alongside Carson Kressley, of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fame. We talked about this free resource before. You should definitely check it out.

Steve also participates in the podcasting juggernaut This Week in Digital Photography.

Prior to Steve’s coming on, we talk about the pluses and minuses of Apple’s new facial-recognition features in iPhoto and the four full-frame DSLR’s currently available for under three large ones.

As always, we thank SmugMug for their sponsorship of Digital Photography Life. SmugMug is the best resource out there for sharing and selling your photos. Be sure to check out www.scottsphotoblog.com for a 50% code off your first year of service at SmugMug and an incredible offer for a free camera strap!

All About Lightroom II

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom product manager Tom Hogarty joins us today to discuss the awesomeness that is Lightroom II. Whether you already have the program and want to learn how some tips on how to use it, or if you just want to know what Lightroom II does, you’ll enjoy Tom on today’s show.

You’ll also have a chance to win a copy of Lightroom II for yourself. For full show notes with links, please go to www.scottsphotoblog.com.

Tom discusses the advantages of Adobe’s DNG format over the proprietary RAW files promulgated by some camera manufacturers. In Adobe’s words:

Raw file formats are becoming extremely popular in digital photography workflows because they offer creative professionals greater creative control. However, cameras can use many different raw formats — the specifications for which are not publicly available — which means that not every raw file can be read by a variety of software applications. As a result, the use of these proprietary raw files as a long-term archival solution carries risk, and sharing these files across complex workflows is even more challenging.

The solution to this growing problem? The Digital Negative (DNG), a publicly available archival format for the raw files generated by digital cameras. By addressing the lack of an open standard for the raw files created by individual camera models, DNG helps ensure that photographers will be able to access their files in the future.

Before we’re joined by Tom, we talk about the digital photography stories that caught our eye in the last week.

For the first time ever, the official Presidential portrait was taken with a digital camera.
The camera was the - now fixed - Canon 5D Mark II.
Looking for a full body condom for your camera? Camera Armor has you - and your equipment (so to speak) covered.
How popular is the iPhone? A picture taken with it crashed Twitpic. You can find PopPhoto’s favorite iPhone apps here.
SmugMug is our favorite site for sharing and - how nice would this be? - selling your photos. SmugMug has two fantastic offers just for our listeners:

50% off your SmugMug service at any level (enter code “Flickr” at checkout). This is a fantastic discount and you should take advantage of it in time to share your holiday photos!
A free camera strap to any listener of Digital Photography Life: This one is just crazy. A high-quality camera strap that replaces the neck-slicing piece of canvas that your camera’s manufacturer condescended to include with your DSLR. Get your freebie here.
The Grand Prize Winner of our Joy of Photography contest will receive a terrific camera bag from ThinkTankPhoto: You get to pick which one fits your needs. Either:

An Urban Disguise 40, which will hold more gear than you ever imagined, such as a wide angle lens with a hood attached, a 24-70 2.8 with the hood, a 70 -200 2.8 with the hood reversed, AND two pro-size SLR’s in the expandable front pockets (without the lenses attached). The beauty of the Urban Disguise line is that you won’t look like you’re carrying equipment, making yourself a lot less interesting to unsavory urbanites like me, OR
An Airport International V2.0: Designed for International carry-on, this roller provides advanced security features and peace of mind. Front security cable & combination lock allows you to lock a laptop to the front of your roller. Th is very effective when you are traveling with a laptop case stored in the front stretch pocket The included security lock allows you to lock it to immovable objects, and is very effective when you have to leave your gear for a period of time in a media room, wedding hall, hotel room, or other open area. It holds two pro-size DSLR’s, as well as a bunch of other lenses and accessories. If all your equipment won’t fit in this bag, you’re doing a lot better than us.
Thanks for listening, and remember - go to www.scottsphotoblog.com for full notes with active links.