DIYPhotography.net Photography and Studio Lighting

Now, this is not a post processing  blog, so there aren't many Photoshop tips and tricks here. And if you don't care about those at all fill free to stop reading right here. However, when a Photoshop technique is used to create DIY-print-on-wood look and feel I had to share it. Or rather, Brian Morrell had to share it. Read on to learn how to create wooden/ concrete / paper looks and feel with Photoshop (and some images).

What do you get when a programming guru decides that enough is enough, Flickr Lightroom users should also enjoy direct uploading to Flickr just like Aperture users.

You get Jeffrey’s “Export to Flickr” Lightroom Plugin. This is great plug in which I heatedly recommend if you are a using Adobe Lightroom and have a Flickr account. Hey, I am not affiliated with Jeffery, but after using his plugin for soooooo long, that I just had to share my joy.

When searching for a backup solution I was most fascinated with the option of online storage. My major concern was the huge catalog files that Lightroom creates. I even listed the huge catalog files a deadly sin :)

I got a great tip on the comments explaining how to use XMP files to override the huge files issue. Thanks Jigar. (Unfortunately, the comment got deleted as part of my fight with a spam attack. Please post the comment again so I can provide appropriate credit).

My Lightroom workflow is very similar to the workflow Kerry showed on his Lightroom workflow video. That mean my catalog is always changing/evolving/growing. It also means that my backup software will notice that the file has changed and try to back it up after every session. Kinda heavy with a 60 Megs file. This is where XMP comes in to play.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and a movie is worth a thousand pictures. But sometimes you want something in between, something that is as still as an image, yet conveys action like a film. This is an action sequence shot.

Sometimes the best way to achieve an effect is to do it in post. So this post will not involve any gear hacking (although I can think of some elaborate ways to make this with no post at all), but some good old post processing method.

An action sequence shot as a still image that is made from several frames. In the following tutorial Kaan Kiran demonstrates one method of making such action shot.

If you have not heard about the Optimus Maximus keyboard, let me fill you in.

The idea is simple: Use OLED technology to place a tiny monitor on each key; Make each such small monitor completely configurable, and updatable in runtime; have each button display any image depending on what you are currently doing with your computer.

The easiest example to grasp is that pressing the shift key will turn all "engravings" on the keyboard to CAPS. But a more interesting application would be a keyboard that displays the icons from your favorite image editing software. No more having to memorize what Ctrl + Shift + Alt + S does (it save for the web). Each key will display an image of its action. Isn't it nice?

Well, you are about top learn how to make an Optimus Maximus keyboard yourself.

Uwe  Mayer (flickr, site) and Markus Dollinger (if you read German) show us how to make a keyboard that well, kinda does the same. Actually, this DIY keyboard is more like the awesome keyboard you get from RPG keys, but you can make one on your own and it will only cost about 30-40$. (See demos here). I just could not pass on the Optimus introduction.

You can use this keyboard to expedite your Lightroom workflow, your Gimp experience or your Photoshop speed-keying.

When it comes to black and white conversion, there is no definitive method that will get the best results every time. Some use the channel mixer conversion, while others will swear by black and white filter. Other just like the simplicity of the desaturate function. Which one is the best? It depends. This is why I was so happy when Ladislav Soukup from ladasoukup.cz (flickr) sent me this cheat sheet. Read on to find your best suited conversion in an instant.

Nick Wheeler, one of my all times Flickr favorites, just uploaded a new picture to DIYP pool. (And yes, it is the same Nick who brought you The DIY Strip Light and the Floor Lit Table Top Studio).

The posing on this picture is great, but the first eye catcher of this image is the Dave Hill post processing look it has.

If you don't know Dave Hill, please, sit back and treat yourself to an hour of fine photography. Dave is known for two things: You can not forget his portraits ones you've seen them - the visual impact is very strong. And you can not ignore his unique post processing look, what has become to be known as "The Dave Hill Look".

It looks like the web is all over Dave this month, as both the Stobist mail-tiviewed him and Scott Kelby gave a great tip on how to create a Dave Hill look in Lightroom.

I wanted to play a little and gave the Dave Hill look a try with a technique found in the Strobist threads. Thanks Omar for putting the thread together. (Click any of the images for bigger view)

Sometimes there is nothing you can do but be amazed by the sharing spirit of people around the web. Following Just Fab recommendation I surfed to check out a lighting site. (Yap, she is the fabulous one who brought you the Ghetto Studio).

I clicked her link and... TADA! Lighting-Essentials hit me all its glory. The site is run by Don Giannatti whom you might know as Wizwow.

Allot of times you'll look at two very similar pictures, and say "Man, the left picture looks great, the right one is nice, but the left - Man I love it". Eight times out of ten, this difference can be explained by something called rules of composition. There are many such rules, (The Rule of Thirds is one known example, but there are many more). The rules of composition are a set of thumb rules to help the photographer rely on experience gathers in many years of art. (I was trying to avoid the whole "breaking the rules" argument, but feel free to comment) One such rule simply says Keep Your Horizon Straight. It's a simple rule to follow, just make sure your camera is leveled when you take the shot. If you miss that rule, you'll sometime hear comments about people falling to the side, or having the sea spilled out of the frame - some persons can not resist this remark. Some of the new DSLR models can help you with this task. Nikon's D80 (or Nikon's D70) for example can display a grid on the view finder, and you just need to make sure the horizon aligns with that line. There are also some nifty accessories you can attach to your hot shoe mount if you have one, see this nice gizmo from Hakuba for example.

But leveling the horizon can be sometimes tricky. When you take lots of shot, when you don't have time to aim well or when you don't have anything to level against.

This article will demonstrate three techniques for increasing contrast in a picture. The tool we are going to use for this is Photoshop.

Ok, so you took a picture and now it look dull and flat, the colors are dead, or it has a milky look to it. You know what it is. The picture lacks contrast.