|
crowd sourcing the experts |
||||||||
| |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
Chris Meyer
Chris Meyer of Crish Design has been involved in both the music industry as a musician, sound designer, recording engineer, and designer of electronic instruments and recording devices; as well as the motion graphics industry where he and his wife Trish create animations for broadcast, film, special venues, trade shows, and web sites. However, before both, he had an interest in photography - an interest he continues to nurture today through the use of photographs as the starting point in mixed media art, often employing experimental printing techniques. 
October 2011August 2011April 2011February 2011January 2011November 2009October 2009September 2009Complete ArchivesCategory Archives
The ObjectSeeking to UnderstandReview: Ilford Galerie Smooth Gloss and Pearl PapersQuick Review: Manfrotto 055CXPRO4 Carbon Fiber Q90 4-Section TripodReview: Manfrotto 327RC2 Handle-Grip Ball Head with Quick ReleaseApproaches to Light PaintingChromatic AberrationLight Painting WiFiUsing Photoshop’s View > Proof Colors to Head Off Problems Before PrintingDigital Printing 101SnowblindThe Chapel: A Timelapse HDR Short FilmTwo 80 Megapixel CamerasDay for NightFresh Snow on a SeedlingAvian AspirationsTrying to Lighten UpWhen in Rome, Don’t Do As The Romans DoBeauty in DecayTimelapse Motion ControlDeconstruction 1.1Let It SnowProject Icarus: Near-Space Photography for Under $150PhotoSketch Image MontageExtended Shutter Fun |
|
Approaches to Light PaintingI’d like to share some alternate techniques I’ve been playing around with.
In simple terms, “light painting” involves taking long-exposure photos in nominally dark environments, where you artfully set up or move a light source to either reveal an otherwise-hidden object, or draw in space using pure photons. Assuming you yourself are either generating or reflecting relatively little light, and/or are moving during the exposure, you become invisible to the film or camera’s sensor, leaving just the light behind. I recently went on a light painting shoot along with other members of the New Mexico Outdoor Photography Meetup group, dragging along a Canon 5D mkII, a Pixel RW-221 wireless remote control (so I could trigger the camera from larger distances, and without line-of-sight), and a Manfrotto 055CXPRO4 carbon fiber tripod (the lighter weight was appreciated while bumbling around in pitch dark in a open space full of prickly pear cactus). Although I started out with the requisite flashlight and blink toys as light sources, I quickly went off-script and started using an iPad as a light source, plus spent a bit of time in Photoshop and Camera Raw afterward. Here’s what I tried, and what I learned. more »Chromatic AberrationRecognizing and fixing a problem you might not even know you had.
Chromatic Aberration is the culprit behind colored fringing - often cyan or red, and vertical in direction - appearing on high-contrast edges. Technically, it results from the failure of a lens to converge all colors from the same source at the same destination point. It is most likely to occur with lower-quality lenses and shorter focal lengths. As I tend to use higher quality lenses and longer focal lengths, I bravely assumed I could pretty much ignore it. Until it slapped me in the face. Here’s how to identify it, and correct it in Adobe Photoshop. more »PhotoSketch Image MontageHAL displays mad Photoshop skills. Should he collect the royalties?
A very interesting system was recently demonstrated at SIGGRAPH Asia that allows a user to make a rough sketch of their desired composite image, labeling the components of the composite (dog, ball, etc.). The software then searches for images that match the name and shape that the user specified, compares the foreground objects to background candidates for suitability (in other words, how easy they will be to composite together), and then creates candidate composites: more »Page 1 of 1 pages |
|
|
||||
|
|
|||||||
Keyword editing made easier
Composition 101 trick simplifies keyword selection and organization
Effective keywording is one of the three most important ways to get your site or post found on the internet - along with title and description. But I’ve always found keywording a disorganized chore. Here’s a way to make the job simpler, quicker and more logical.
Remember how in composition 101 class you had to make an outline of topics, content, facts etc.? We used to do this on index cards, one card for each separate fact or topic. We wrote these in no particular order, just as they came to mind or emerged from research. Then we rearranged the stack of cards to create the logical skeleton of the essay. Done this way it was easy to see if there were any gaps in the content or if further rearrangement were needed.
I’ve found this analog approach works well for proposing, editing and sequencing keywords.
Once you’ve done your research, possibly on Google Adwords, to propose keywords, then you’ll also try to think inside the head of your audience to imagine what they might search on. I always make a big list of potential keywords, even if some seem a bit far out or not fully on target. For something as important as your website, you can never have too many keywords to start the edit process. Don’t forget keywords that speak to business products or services you may not do right now, but are targeted in your business plan.
Here’s my system to edit and organize your search keywords. My example is done on a blank file folder, easily preserved for future reference or for colleague comment.
- Write down each proposed keyword “candidate” on a separate sticky note. I use the smallest size sticky notes and cut them in thirds to save space.
- Arrange the stickies on your desk or a white board to get a good look at the total field.
- Re-arrange them, grouping categories like Photo services, Photoshop, Album design, etc. (or whatever is your business)
- Select the 2-5 most important keywords, then second tier from ones to be discarded.
- Re-arrange again in a logical, customer-friendly sequence.
- Generally choose no more than 25 keywords for your main core list (federal governments site limit). This is hard for us because we do so many things related to video, stills and productions.
- Rearrange as many times as needed, because individual pages or blog posts will need different, specific keywords than those for the site in general
- Keep a dated record of your final edit, and don’t throw away the de-selects, because they will eventually find a use - no need to rethink totally from the ground up
Combined Photo Mechanic & Lightroom Workflow Video
How to make the most of these two favorite programs in a singular workflow
I’ve posted a detailed video about what makes Photo Mechanic a must have program for many journalists and sports photographers before. But many people also like the easy adjustment tools of Adobe Lightroom. This video walks you through how to setup a workflow that incorporates the best of both of these programs.
To be considered for listing, contact pr (at) provideocoalition (dot) com
Copyright © 2011, HD Expo, LLC a division of Diversified Business Communications. DBA Createasphere
All rights reserved. HD EXPO, High Def EXPO, Createasphere, E-Tech, Entertainment Technology Exposition, 3D Production Workshop, VariCamp, P2 Camp, ColorCamp 101, and Lighting, Filters & Gels for HD are all trademarks of HD Expo, LLC.