Great Discount on Photography e-books

Dear readers

 

I've managed to arrange a special offer on products that I believe you will find very useful in learning photography - it's 30% off the entire library of eBooks from Craft and Vision (plus two other great deals if you don't want the full set).

 

Craft and Vision ebooks are amazing - partly because they're so inspirational but also because they are so cheap - even without a discount.

 

At less than $5 per eBook to get in the minds of pro photographers like world-renowned author David DuChemin it'd be crazy to not to check them out. Notice that these are also available as iPad apps!

 

Here are the offers from David and his team for the next 48 hours:

 

Offer 1: GET THE WHOLE LIBRARY - 30% Off

 

If you love photography then you'll want to have the Craft & Vision PDF eBook collection. These amazing eBooks are a great way to be inspired, learn new methods and techniques, and gain new insights into your own unique vision.

 

Featuring 9 authors, including world-renowned author and photographer David duChemin, the Craft & Vision titles are sure to make your digital stocking overflow with gear-less wonder.

 

Interested?: Check out the titles that you get in this bundle here.

 

For the first time ever Craft & Vision is releasing their 21 eBook collection for just $73USD (that's 30% off). That's $3.47 per eBook - an amazing deal.

 

To get this great deal simply click this shopping cart link which will take you straight to the shopping cart with the discount already applied.

 

Note - for this full library deal you don't need a coupon code - the discount is already applied.

 

Offer 2: 5 or More eBooks get you 20% Off

 

Want to get your hands on some Craft & Vision eBooks but don't want to buy the whole library? Add at least 5 eBooks to your shopping cart and then use the coupon code of LAND20 before hitting the 'update cart' button and you'll have 20% taken off your total.

 

Start adding your eBooks to the cart here

 

 

Offer 3: Buy the latest release "Light and Land, Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom" for $1 off

 

Just after the latest eBook from Craft and Vision - In the last week they've just released "Light & Land, Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom" by Michael Frye. Use the code LAND4 to get $1 off Light & Land.

 

Whether you're grabbing just one of these eBook or the full collection - I'm confident you'll be happy with them. David and his team deliver in terms of value every time.

Wedding Photography Tutorial

The Wedding Photography Blueprint is being described as the most in depth and informative wedding photography tutorial system for sale on the web. It comprises of footage taken from a full, 2 day wedding photography course as well as an actual wedding in order to give you a full and comprehensive understanding of what to expect and what to do when shooting weddings. 

Also intertwined at various and well timed intervals throughout, are screen recordings of sometimes problematic images being worked on in Photoshop in order to salvage excellent looking wedding photos from somewhat mediocre RAW files (basically, cock-ups). These are placed alongside many other traditional Photoshopping tutorials which includes the use of recommended software and add-ons to make your images really stand out from the crowd. 

The author and professional photographer behind the project is Nick Stubbs, a seasoned, full time professional with over 25 years experience using Medium format, SLR’s and DSLR’s to shoot weddings, portraits, stock and commercial work. 

Nick understands the fears and reservations people may have about going it alone as a wedding photographer (either part or full time) but also understands the buzz and excitement this career path can take. 

"Many people are sometimes put off by what they read online or hear at their local camera club about shooting weddings. What we are trying to do is alleviate that fear and encourage all beginners by producing a highly detailed blueprint that will act as a complete foundation course upon which they can build their own style over time." 

As well as the above, the DVD set also includes; 

• An in depth 99 page eBook with set tasks and “homework” to keep you on your toes 

• All you need to know about camera and flash settings needed throughout the day to ensure you get the “safe” shots before playing with natural light and more artistic shots 

• Editing Tips and tricks to salvage poorly exposed, must have shots 

• Low light photography 

• Flash and natural light photography 

• Group shots 

• Interviews with other successful wedding photographers 

• An interview with a wedding couple about their wants and needs from their wedding photographer 

• Plus much more including bonus eBooks 

For more information you can visit their website below: 

Go to www.weddingphotographyblueprint.com

Best Regards, 

Krister Laitinen

Point and Shoot Camera Tips

When taking pictures with a point and shoot camera, you can be very limited with your creativity and flexibility. However, you can still take great shots as long as you follow the tried and true compositional techniques for visual images.

Compositional techniques are not only used for photography, they are used for videotaping, painting, and any other visual media. If you can master composition in photography, you can easily take any other field that is similar. A point and shoot camera is what? A visual capture device and although it doesn’t have the bells and whistles of SLR cameras, it still is very powerful.

Many people assume that because it’s a point and shoot camera they won’t take good pictures. People use this as a crutch and blame the poor images as the result of bad quality cameras.

Not True at all!

Think back in the day of the pin hole camera. They took nice photos and all they had was a hole that exposed the image. Nothing else.

 Here is a very useful compositional tip that can help you immensely.

Keep it simple. Working on creating simple compositions means isolating the subject, reducing the background clutter, and making the subject of interest very easily viewable. The viewer should instantly be able to know what he or she is to look at.

You can achieve simpler photos by:

-Moving in closer
-Using the depth of field to blur the background
-Focusing on, for example, one flower instead of five
-Leaving unnecessary information out of the frames of the border.

You can take great photos whether you use a point and shoot camera or a digital SLR. The photo is not made by the equipment but by the eye of the photographer.

Posing Secrets - The Photographer's Essential Guide

Discover How You Can Quickly And Easily Produce The Professional Standard Portraits You've Always Wanted By Mastering The Secrets Of Camera-Friendly Poses

One of the trickiest things in photography to master is shooting people; that's why we've teamed up with the author of Posing Secrets - The Photographer's Essential Guide.

 

This Practical, Proven, Powerful System Will Fast Track Your Ability To Produce Expert Shots Every Time.

 

You Are Guaranteed to Never be Stuck For a Pose Again, Even If You Don't Know How To Get Started - Or You Pay Nothing!

Posing Secrets - The Photographer's Essential Guide Vol.1 is a newly released practical resource for creative posing that will quickly show you clear and comprehensive practical steps to produce and communicate a pose for any situation.

This 120 page ebook includes:

• How to focus on the body to aid posing.
  
• The key to duplicating or creating any pose.
  
• The three letters that can build a pose (no, not A-B-C).
  
• Important points to consider for a reclining position.
  
• Exercises and suggestions to help analyze pictures and poses.
  
• Ten simple solutions when your model does not know what to do with their hands.
  
• How to avoid foreshortening of limbs.
  
• The three basic head movements that make a difference to your model's features.

Forget trial and error. You need never be stuck for a pose again when you get this easy to read, simple to follow book that you can download in minutes.

Click Here to Order Posing Secrets - The Photographer's Essential Guide Vol 1

 

What are people saying about Posing Secrets?

I highly recommend this Posing Secrets Volume 1. It teaches the photographer how to pose every aspect of the subject from their head to their toes. Before I read the book I could only pose models with model pose cards, but now I can come up with my own posing ideas.

I have just downloaded your Posing Secrets vol 1 and have spent the last hour going through it. All I can say is "Wow"! Before, I would go through magazines and look at the posed pictures in the ads in an attempt to learn new poses but I wasn't sure what I was looking for. The sections in your book on body lines and foot placement made total sense and now I know what I am looking for when I look at the magazines. Thanks again for a very good informative book on posing.

You are certainly on a winner here Malcolm, giving the experienced and novice photographer an entirely new way of looking at the human body. It was money well spent, and normally it is easier to get money out of a beggar than it is to get money out of me.

Click Here to Order Posing Secrets - The Photographer's Essential Guide Vol 1

REMEMBER - Try the ebook.  If you don't like it, you get your money back.  You really do have literally nothing to lose!

PLUS: Follow the link below for extra, special bonuses FREE with your order. 

CLICK HERE NOW

Rule of Thirds in Digital Photography

The rule of thirds is a very useful tool for composing images in photography. And to top it off, it’s free! Doesn’t require any add on equipment to your camera, any shoe mounts, anything like that! This article will attempt to demystify the mysterious Rule of Thirds.

To follow this rule, simply take a photo and divide it up into three sections vertically and three sections horizontally. Now, as you can see from doing this there are three boxes on the top, three in the middle, and three at the bottom. The box in the middle of all of them is the center. This compositional rules basically advises you not to take pictures in that middle box.

What this does is makes you have to try and position the subject so that he/she or it is not dead center. This creates more visually interesting images.

When you take a photo of a person, the main focal point will be the eyes. Now, you can take a photo of a person dead center, however, follow the rule still! Put the eyes anywhere but the middle box. You can put the eyes in the top box instead. Their body will be dead center but their face will be in the upper area.

Now, when you follow this rule you also need to be careful to leave plenty of head room when shooting people. This room is space around the head and will make your photo not look claustrophobic. Also, if your person is looking towards the left, leave plenty of room at the left side of the photo and less on the right.

Topaz Labs Releases ReMask 3 Upgrade

ReMask 3 introduces improved masking technology that further simplifies and expedites the creation of complex masks and cutouts.

Dallas, TX, December 10, 2010 - Topaz Labs announces the release of Topaz ReMask 3, a major upgrade to their Photoshop masking and extraction plug-in. ReMask 3 features a revamped masking engine, new color decontamination technology, color selection brushes and a new refining toolset. An easy-to-use masking solution, Topaz ReMask offers professional results while cutting down on the normally tedious masking and extraction process. The update is available now as a free download to current owners of ReMask.

"Through extensive research, we were able to build on top of the advanced algorithm developed in ReMask 2, and make it a more comprehensive solution that solves color bleeding at the edge or transparent part of the extracted object," said Dr. Joseph Hsieh, developer for Topaz Labs. 

"Masking technology is an ongoing challenge. I hope ReMask 3 can provide photographers with a more effective tool for dealing with intricate elements such as hair and fur, complex elements with lots of holes like trees, and transparent objects such as wedding veils."

Topaz ReMask 3 is designed to tackle some of the most common photography and design tasks such as background replacement and isolating specific image elements, making composition design and selective adjustments much easier. 

"Masks and selections are an important part of selective editing, so it's important for users to have a comprehensive tool that helps address a variety of creative and corrective enhancements. ReMask 3 features the simplest workflow of any masking plug-in; making a seemingly painful task incredibly easy by allowing users to erase unwanted areas and separate subjects in just a few clicks," said Ashley Robinson, product manager for Topaz Labs

In addition to improved technology, ReMask 3 also features an updated user interface with a new toolset for refining and a new split-screen viewing options, auto layer creation and a revamped workflow. Photographers and graphic designers looking for a quicker and more accurate way to extract objects from their digital images are invited to try out the new Topaz ReMask 3 plug-in for free using the 30-day free trial. Just visit: http://www.topazlabs.com.

Topaz ReMask is a plug-in that works with Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and PaintShop Pro. It is compatible with Windows and Intel-based Macs. Topaz ReMask retails for $69.99, but is being offered at a special promotional price of $49.99 until January 1, 2011. ReMask 3 is also a part of the Topaz Photoshop Bundle, which offers photographers a complete image enhancement toolbox for all of their post processing needs. The bundle, including ReMask retails at $199.99. For more information about Topaz ReMask, visit the homepage at http://www.topazlabs.com.

 

Shooting in Av mode (Aperture Priority)

If you have been useing your DSLR (Digital Single Lens reflex) camera in auto mode then here is a lesson for you.  

First an explanation about aperture and how it affects your final photograph.  

Inside your lens there is a diaphragm that controls the amount of light reaching the image sensor. The diaphragm functions much like the pupil of the eye – it controls the effective diameter of the lens opening. Reducing the aperture size increases the depth of field, which describes the extent to which subject matter lying closer than or farther from the actual plane of focus appears to be in focus. In general, the smaller the aperture (the larger the number), the greater the distance from the plane of focus the subject matter may be while still appearing in focus.  

Higher diameters (lower f numbers) alow more light to pass through but have a shallow depth of field, while smaller diameters (higher f numbers) allow less light through but more detail farther away from the point of focus will be sharp.

Your camera measures aperture in F Stops ( F/N.N ). The n.n represents the F Stop Number.  The lower the numbers are the the wider the diameter and higher numbers mean a tighter diameter. 

For example: 

You are taking a photo of a bird and there are some grass in front of the it that you want to blur out a little but still keep the bird sharp. What you want to do is use the lowest aperture possible that will keep the bird in the best focus.  

Exposure: 

For proper exposure of the image a precise amount of light striking the recording media is required .  At lower F Stops this light will accumulate faster than higher ones.  Here is where the shutter speed comes in.  

In aperture priority mode the camera will you chose how long to keep the shutter open.  You

can usually adjust the exposure either with a wheel (optimal) or with a set of up and down buttons.

Try focusing you camera on the bird and taking a shot.  Keep adjusting until you get the result you are looking for.  Yes maybe until it flies away, but keep practicing you will get the hang of it.

File Format Guide for Your Digital Photos

When you take and store a digital image you need to choose a file type, or format. Here are the popular choices when you choose a format for your digital photo:

Format	Description
CameraRaw	A format offered by some digital cameras. Stores raw, “uncooked” data from the image sensor, without applying normal adjustments to sharpness, color, and exposure. Gives photographers ultimate control over images and editing flexibility, but files must be converted to a standard format before sharing online, printing, or viewing in most photo programs.
JPEG	The most popular digital photography image format. JPEG compresses images to make files significantly smaller, but too much compression reduces image quality. Used for print, the Web, and e-mail.
TIFF	The leading format for files that will be used in print publications such as newsletters and magazines. Preserves all image data but usually results in larger file sizes than JPEG and can’t be displayed by Web browsers and e-mail programs. The best format for storing converted RAW files and for edited JPEG files.

Topaz Software Overview

Topaz Labs offers software solutions for image and video enhancement. Each program offers photographers and designers quick and easy-to-use tools to help simplify and boost the post processing experience.

Incorporating Topaz speeds up the workflow, eliminates tedious and repetitive tasks, simplifies advanced techniques, enhances precision and quality.

Topaz Photoshop Plug-ins

The Topaz Photoshop plug-in bundle features a set of advanced and powerful tools - each offering a solution to some of the most common (and often challenging) post processing tasks. The intuitive, easy-to-use tools featured in each program make achieving advanced photo-manipulation techniques effortless.

Check the Topaz Gallery to see excellent user images!

The bundle lineup offers tools and features for creating pseudo HDR effects, adjusting color, exposure and detail, reducing noise and JPEG artifacts, masking and extraction, increasing smoothing and sharpening, creating artistic masterpieces and enhancing natural detail and tone.

The Topaz Photoshop plug-ins are not limited to just Photoshop. You can also use Topaz in Photoshop Elements, Lightroom, Aperture, iPhoto, PaintShop Pro and Irfanview.