Zeroplusplus Photography Tutorials » Tech Info

How to Build a Fashion Portfolio

Thorsten — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 10:52:14 +0000

Building a strong fashion portfolio is difficult, it takes time, patience and the commitment of a styling team. It is important to establish goals for each shoot and cast the correct model. Fashion is a team effort. We have to find resources for wardrobe and then decide on the poses that might work with each wardrobe item. Additionally, there are three main categories for fashion such as catalog, editorial, and high-fashion.

A good starting fashion book will have a minimum of four images of each fashion category. Shooting a fashion portfolio is not about shooting a beautiful girl just standing there. Fashion is a lifestyle and an extension of our personalities. The model should have a confident look in her eyes and pose. The accessories must make sense. This where the wardrobe stylist helps out. You should cast the best models and styling crew that you can find locally. I wrote all about this here and here.

To build a high-fashion portfolio one needs to plan in advance. Locate established local clothing designers that sell at local boutiques. Target designers that create evening, wedding, and prom dresses. These are high dollar items that sell well and the images will always have a strong market value. I approach designers first by email or better yet, by attending one of their runway shows and handing them a promo piece stating that I will contact them in a few days. Runway shows are their night so remain low key and brief. During the show I make notes on which designs I would like to shoot, not every design will shoot well. Once an appointment to meet is scheduled, I bring my wardrobe stylist along, and a few images of the model that we are considering. At that point, the designer sees that we are serious, and they may even suggest certain designs that may work better.

I do not ask for 10 designs at once, start with 2. The designer is much more likely to lend you 2 items than multiple items. They may wish to drop off the items themselves to see your studio. Perhaps the designer had a bad experience with another photographer before, I hear this quite frequently. Always insist that the designs be wrapped in a protective plastic sleeve and I go over the design beforehand to inspect for any damages. Runway shows tend to stress an outfit and it may have a small tear or blemish. It is always best to point this out beforehand.

Once the designs are selected, ask if certain features should be highlighted and what side to show. You would be surprised how many photographers shoot the dress from the wrong side and forget to point out the key features that make this particular gown unique. Assume nothing, and if you don’t know, just ask. Designers love their pieces and are more than happy to make suggestions as well as what accessories may work best. If I don’t agree with a pose, I do not argue, instead I shoot it both ways and make everyone is happy. However you approach this, find the most amazing designs you can.

Next we have designers that create accessories such as belts, scarves, purses, and jewelry. These are items that can be shot creatively on body parts or by themselves, use your imagination and pick up a real NYC fashion magazine for inspiration. Designs can also be shot as high-fashion if we assume an abstract approach. A belt does not have to be shot the way one normally wears it, for example, wrap several around the model like an outfit.

Editorial fashion is a favorite of mine. Here I put the model in a role and have them act out a theme or story. Example, the wardrobe may consist of all swimsuits and show the model wearing different suits and lounging around a yacht. Or, we follow a model throughout the day wearing different looks. They may start out in a nice robe for the morning, switch to a dress for late morning activities, change to a business suite for an afternoon office meeting, and end up in an evening gown for the cocktail hour. What is important here is that we show a continuity. The wardrobe may come from several boutiques.

I ask that the model not always stare into the camera, rather I am capturing slices of life and filming a story one frame at a time. This is fun for the model too and gives them something to do. The poses are less static and facial expressions should reflect the models emotion.

Finally, we have catalog style images. Catalog does not have to be boring. Yes we use simple background colors, but we can add drama through the poses or the lack of emotion in the models face. What is important is that we show the wardrobe as informational. I am referring to the unique details and texture of the materials. For the most part, I do not change the makeup or hairstyles, maybe a lipstick color for different dresses or slight hair changes, but nothing dramatic.

What I do not shoot for my portfolio is what I call, the standard hands on waist, hips out, face smiling into the camera pose. Let the client hire you to shoot that for them. Remember my comment of “shooting the cool stuff to get hired for the boring work”. I use very clean lighting and if I can get away with it, then interesting shadows. My wardrobe stylist may elect to use a few well placed accessories. My lighting will remain consistent throughout a particular catalog shoot series, again, this is continuity.

A few great places to get wardrobe for catalog is H&M, TJ Max, Marshalls, and other discount clothing stores that have a variety of labels. My wardrobe stylists have relationships with the managers of these stores and may pay a 10% restocking fee upon returns. Nordstom has this 10% return policy in Seattle as well as other cities, just ask.

My next statement will sound harsh yet, I base it from personal experience. I stay away from brand new and fledgling student designers, simply for the fact that the designs are unproven and the level of frustration that may be encountered. Yes there is always an exception to the rule. One can always ask the department head at a local fashion design school who the most promising student is, you may be pleasantly surprised, as I have been. I also stay away from what I call designs that have a clandestine cult following. This sounds horrible as I write it, LOL, but I am referring to tiny boutiques that have a very select following. Hey, I am here to make money, not to shoot for a charity cause that will leave me as poor as them. I want to shoot for upscale boutiques and designers that can pay my bills.

Zeroplusplus Photography Tutorials - Photography Techniques and Tutorials for the Photographer

My Photography Gear and Software

Thorsten — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 22:49:30 +0000

Much of what I write about is geared towards the serious hobbyist or for the individual that is considering photography as a viable income and career choice. I am not a gear slut nor do I spend countless hours pouring over product specifications. Once upon a time I was interested in all this, today I am older and wiser. The brands and gear I use do not get me work or cause me to loose work. What gets me photography jobs is HOW I use my camera gear, the styling crew I use, and hopefully because of the final images.

I get so many emails asking what I use, it’s getting ridiculous, lol. Comments on forums have created myths such as my favorite one, “Thorsten is shooting with agency supermodels and $10,000 lighting systems, definitely not a lighting video tutorial for the average guy”. Wow, I am going to have to say that is one of the finest compliments I have ever received. Unfortunately the quote is also completely false and silly. That is like saying that a chef’s recipe must taste so good, because they have a great set of pots and pans.

The models in my book are agency beginners or everyday folks from ModelMayhem. The lighting gear is usually 1-2 mono-heads. Recently I switched over to Photogenic Professional Lighting and use their 1000w/s and 500w/s mono-heads. I pose the models myself and use a great crew of stylists and terrific clothing designers to make it all happen. My lighting modifiers are mostly of the DIY variety, and the typical large octabox, grids, and beauty dish. All the lenses I shoot with are prime lenses because of the sharpness and lighter weight.

Computer wise, I have been using Apple for the last two years. I feel that the OS is more robust, better suited for creating media rich content, and requires zero maintenance from me. Simply put, my work-flow is now much faster, secure, and more efficient. For location work I use a Mac Book Pro and for studio work it is the Mac Pro 8-core. Not that Apple is better than Windows, I believe that Apple has created a more robust environment for color-management, both on multiple monitors and also color integration. Yes, I live in a Microsoft city, my best friends work at Microsoft, and I applaud Bill Gates for his vision and civil service. I just like Apple OS so much better for what I do, and that is the opinion of my industry, and more importantly….how I conduct my daily work.

By now we have all heard about monitor color calibration or wondered why prints do not match what is on your screen. Color management is probably one of the most important topics in digital photography and is really not as complicated as it was just a few years ago. I use a product made by Data Color called a Spyder 3 Elite. It sits on the monitor and does a 10 minute calibration process. This is done every 2 weeks to make sure that the monitor does not drift. Every digital device sees color differently and needs to be calibrated or zeroed out. For LCD screens I use the “Native Color” setting, Gamma of 2.2 (MAC and PC), and Luminance of 120.

Then we have all these different color profiles to work with and also 8 bit verses 16 bit images. Oddly enough there are still a few folks out there that let the camera figure out all the exposure information and color processing directly into JPEG instead of RAW. Professional photographers developed their own film at pro labs, we can do the same with RAW processing software. Today I use Adobe Camera Raw and also Lightroom. Other great programs are Apple Aperture and PhaseOne Capture One, and several others.

I am always looking for the highest image quality from the RAW file. I instruct the software to output in 16 bit and a Prophoto colorspace. This colorspace is wider than what commercial printers can use, in fact it is even wider than what our monitors can show, and comes as close as 90% of what our eyes can differentiate. If your digital camera was made in the last 5 years, the sensor can capture Prophoto colorspace just fine. 16 bit images have 65,536 values for each channel instead of only 256 values for 8 bit. Having all these values gives me all the subtleties and smooth image tones I require. I do all my retouching and final image adjustments on this image in different layers. When everything is done, this becomes the Master File, layers and all. For web use I make a flattened 8 bit sRGB version. Clients always get the flattened 8 bit Adobe 1998 version unless they specifically ask for the Master File version and understand what it is.

My favorite plugins for Photoshop are Imagenomic Portraiture v2 and AlienSkin Exposure 2. That is it and all I use. My lighting and RAW processing is always on the flat side for maximum digital information. Then I run a “Film S-Curve” from one of the film settings in ASE2. Skin retouching is done with a skin mask on a separate layer with IPv2. Then I add noise onto that layer to make it look believable again. Personally speaking, that over-processed plastic skin look was super cool in the Prada ads 3 years ago. Today my clients want to see a few skin pores. Art Directors let me know what retouching techniques are old and out of style.

For that matter, don’t embarrass yourself and retouch the hell out of everything, clients may think that you don’t know what your doing with lighting and give the job to the person with a more natural look in their book. Sure, that guys images are retouched also, but perhaps they did a better job and it looks real. Retouching efforts go through trends just like clothing. Simply because you like that heavy retouched look, it doesn’t mean everyone else will. You get my point, enough on that, forgive my preaching.

TIP: If your shooting models for an agency and they see plastic skin on the edits they will send you home. The agency will let you know what they want retouched. The problem is this, clients will see a model with perfect skin and features on the comp card, yet when he/she show up for the casting or shoot he/she looks completely different. Now the client may bill the agency for misrepresenting the models features and wasting their time. Yes this is a true story and I have heard it directly form the agencies. Consider yourself warned, lol.

Everyday I see photographer websites where the image color and exposure is all over the place, the website owner claims to be a professional photographer at XYZ Studios.com, and they do not have a studio or color management. Owning professional gear does not make a professional, it is knowing how to use it properly and providing quality images for your client.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with not having a studio, misrepresenting yourself and having to explain it later is worse. I find it far better to say, “I rent when I need it, keeps my overhead and pricing affordable”. People appreciate honesty and will respect you for it.

Zeroplusplus Photography Tutorials - Photography Techniques and Tutorials for the Photographer

About the Zeroplusplus Photography Tutorial Blog

Thorsten — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 10:49:40 +0000

Welcome to the new Zeroplusplus Photography Tutorial Blog.

The purpose of the Zeroplusplus Lighting blog is to share my experiences as a commercial photographer. This field of photography is both challenging and rewarding. This blog discusses a few of my experiences and possible suggestions for the new photographer. I hope to share a few techniques as well as common mistakes to avoid. I do not claim to have all the answers, rather I discuss what has worked for me in the past 20 years.

I targeted this blog towards the advanced amateur and also the photographer considering commercial photography as an income and career. Techniques and software evolve at a steady pace, some work and some do not. The methods I use do not change every few months nor do I follow fashionable trends. Rather, my work-flow is based on achieving consistent professional results on a budget and working with other talented individuals.

At times my articles may sound opinionated, harsh, and even critical. It is my intention to provide constructive criticism instead of sugar coating the facts. I prefer to make photographic errors in the privacy of my studio or home, not in front of the client.

Most of use already have all the tools necessary to create great images. I wish to inspire other photographers through creative techniques and thinking outside the box. Often the simplest solution is staring us in the face. Digital photography is an amazing medium that requires an understanding of certain tools and how they can work best for us….on a frugal budget.

Thank you,
Thorsten Ott

Sponsored by Photogenic Professional Lighting

Zeroplusplus Photography Tutorials - Photography Techniques and Tutorials for the Photographer

Final Cut Pro X Hands On Video

Thorsten — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 00:35:23 +0000

UPDATE: July 4, 2011

This totally free Final Cut Pro X tutorial will get you started with editing in the brand new interface. The author at Izzy Video has 2 hours and 39 minutes of video training for FCP X. This is a good way to see if the app is for you…so watch and learn before you buy.

UPDATE: June 23, 2011

Rumors continue to flourish about what FCPX can and can not do. Steve Martin, wrote a great article for Ken Stone’s Final Cut Pro Website. This is a VERY informative article on the features of FCPX.

UPDATE: June 22, 2011

Apple is indeed aware that that other apps are needed to complete the new FCPX and additional apps are on the way. Meanwhile, I have posted several links to reviews and insights from several well known video editing industry professionals.

1) CreativeCOW.net – FCPX: Ready or Not, Here it Comes…
2) Phillip Hodges – What are the Answers to the Unanswered Questions about Final Cut Pro X?
3) Larry Jordan – Ain’t Nothing Like It In The World
4) CreativeCOW.net – GET READY TO RUMBLE: Perfect setup for a seamless transition to FCP X and OS X Lion

Final Cut Pro X was released today as a $299 download from the App Store. Final Cut Pro X is completely rebuilt from the ground up featuring 64-bit architecture, GPU utilization, Grand Central Dispatch, ColorSync-managed color pipeline, and native support for AVCHD, H.264, and many other codecs. We also have companion apps Motion 5 and Compressor 4 for $49.99 each from the Mac App Store.

Below is a first look video created by MattsMackintosh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8C8IwEc6zk

FCPX does have certain minimum hardware requirements – The full system specifications are here.

Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor or better
2GB of RAM (4GB of RAM recommended)
OpenCL-capable graphics card or Intel HD Graphics 3000 or later
256MB of VRAM
Display with 1280-by-768 resolution or higher
MacOSX v10.6.7 or later

Final Cut Pro X on 2011 iMac

Many of us use our DSLR to record video. One issue we all seem to have is with audio. Many of us, myself included use external audio recorders such as the H4n Zoom and Tascam DR-100 to eliminate the “dirty analog/digital converters” built into the Canon 5DMK2. FCPX has now included a few plugins that will become very useful in cleaning up noise.

Match Audio for smoothing out EQ from different microphones
Audio enhancements for volume normalization, background noise removal, and hum removal for both 50Hz and 60Hz
Audio analysis during import option to remove serious background noise and flag medium-level issues for enhancement

Easy Color Correction Options

Unique Color Board with controls for saturation, exposure, and colorMatch Color for precise shot matching in one click
Balance Color instantly improves skin tones, removes color casts, and expands dynamic range of bright and dark regions of the image.
Key frameable masks with size, rotation, and softness adjustments
Adjust inside or outside of color mask
Unlimited numbers of color corrections per shot
Save and reuse color settings presets
20 Color Board presets
Over 20 advanced color Looks in the Effects Browser

Supported Import/Export Options – my personal highlights for those of us using Nikon, Canon, and Panosonic DSLR’s for video production.

Apple ProRes family, a 10-bit, full-width VBR codec that supports all major frame sizes and frame rates from ProRes Proxy to ProRes 4444
Background transcode original media to ProRes 422 or ProRes Proxy for better performance
H.264 from DSLR cameras
AVCHD, including Panasonic AVCCAM and Sony NXCAM
Uncompressed 8- and 10-bit SD and HD
Still images including PSD, BMP, GIF, RAW, JPEG, PNG, TGA, and TIFF
Compressed audio including AAC, AIFF, BWF, CAF, MP3, MP4, and WAV
Import Camera Archives from third-party video capture cards and software.
Import projects and Events from iMovie.
Export presets for Apple devices, including Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, and Mac
Export presets for YouTube, Podcast Producer, Facebook, Vimeo, CNN iReport, and email
Export and burn DVD, AVCHD disc, and Blu-ray disc.
Export as HTTP live streaming for Internet streaming to cellular, Wi-Fi, and broadband.

There are pro video editors that feel as if FCPX is iMovie 11′ on steroids. Well, maybe it is in some small way. However, FCPX is an all new video editor that has features designed for many of us. I see FCPX as being the best video program for those of us shooting weddings and creating commercial video clips for small business and social media websites. Final Cut Pro Studio cost $1200 and had more features than I really needed. PLUS, it was slow as hell to render video to final output….even on Mac Pros. I found iMovie 11′ to be interesting to play with, but a real pain in the #$@& for real work.

Final Cut Pro X is for photographers and videographers that want an easy to use video editing program. I suspect that Apple will add significant options for the professional video editor in the next few months, it is almost a given. Maybe Apple just needed to bring the hardware up to speed first and then Apple will continue updating more pro apps.

Zeroplusplus Photography Tutorials - Photography Techniques and Tutorials for the Photographer

Mid 2011 iMac for Pro Photographers and Videographers

Thorsten — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 21:50:19 +0000

This article is about finding the best deal on a mid-2011 iMac, both new and used. Find out if Craigslist is best for a used iMac or if buying new is a better value.

Apple updated mid-2011 with new iMacs that are just perfect for the photographer and video editor. The 2011 iMac is the undisputed champion of all-in-one machines for 95% of us. In this article, I included links to specs, and tests, used mac prices, refurbished, and tax free/free shipping new 2011 iMacs. Yep….I am finally going to take the plunge on one of these incredible desktops.

2011 iMac for Photographers and Videographers

Buying used on Craigslist tips

Buyer beware, those used 2010/2009/2008 iMacs on Craigslist may not be the deal you had hoped for. In the last 2 months folks have been unloading their old iMacs like hotcakes. Why you ask! Because the new mid-2011 have such speedy new i5 and i7 Sandy Bridge processors and are such a great deal. Some of the prices I have seen for a used 2010 iMac are just insane…more than or equal to a 2011 iMac! I suggest that you use this great tool for estimating what a used Mac on Craigslist should sell for. This will save you $$$$ and grief.

I will say it again…check the used iMac specs very carefully if you decide to purchase on Craigslist. Most sellers have zero clue to what model they are selling and will copy and paste any specs from the Apple site, true or false. I have seen numerous ads for a 2009/2010 iMac, with 2011 specs and Thunderbolt port images???? In many cases, the used Craigslist asking price is actually higher/identical than new or buying the iMac from Apple Refurbished direct.

The Seattle Craigslist used iMac prices are crazy high. This week I saw at least six 2009 27″ iMacs selling between $1650 and $3000!!! Any refurbished 2011 iMac with a Sandy Bridge 2.7Ghz, or better, and a little extra RAM would completely smoke any top-of-the-line 2009 or 2010 iMac…..period!

The most I would pay for a 2010 21.5″ iMac is $1000; the most I would pay for a 2010 27″ iMac is $1200. This is what they are worth in processing power today.

If you want to save a few hundred dollars on a 2010 iMac, buy refurbished directly from Apple. Refurbished Macs are like new and come with a 1 year warranty. You can even extend that warranty with Apple Care to 3 additional years for just $169. So lets say that your 2010 iMac dies in 3 years, and Apple is unable to fix it…..they send you a current model for free. How cool is that! If you feel left out with your 2010 27″ iMac, don’t worry. OWC has several great upgrade options available just for you.

The new mid-2011 i5 iMacs

All base models now include the i5 Quad-Core Intel Sandy Bridge processors, three powerful new ATI graphics card options and Thunderbolt ports that can support two external monitors. Built-to-order (BTO) models have the i7 Quad-Core Intel Sandy Bridge processor available for the 21.5″ and 27″. The 27″ BTO model has a premium 3.4Ghz i7 processor and the AMD Radeon HD 6970M 2GB GPU. Add 16GB (4x4GB) SODIMM Laptop Memory for just $200…..WOW!

Best Price Bang for the buck with a new mid-2011 iMac – with free shipping

Best bang for the buck for the 21.5″ is the 21.5-inch iMac 2.7GHz Core i5 – this model really cooks like the bigger boys for just $1425 shipped.
Best bang for the buck for the 27″ is the 27-inch 2.7GHz Core i5 – nice compromise over the more expensive BTO 27″ models….$1615 shipped.

The iMac comes in two 21.5-inch and two 27-inch models, as detailed below:

iMac 21.5″ – lowest price with shipping – $1140
• CPU: 2.5 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 or 2.7 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5
• RAM: 4GB (2 x 2 GB)
• HDD: 500 GB or 1 TB hard drive
• GPU: AMD Radeon HD 6750M or AMD Radeon HD 6770M
• Other: Single Thunderbolt port, FaceTime HD camera, aluminum and glass design, IPS LED-backlit high resolution display, Mini DisplayPort, One FireWire 800 port, Four USB 2.0 ports, SDXC card slot, Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive, Audio in/out, Gigabit Ethernet, IR receiver, 802.11 a/b/g n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and an Apple wireless keyboard with a Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad.

iMac 27″ – lowest price with shipping – $1615
• CPU: 2.7 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 or 3.1 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5
• RAM: 4GB (2 x 2 GB)
• HDD: 1 TB hard drive
• GPU: AMD Radeon HD 6770M or AMD Radeon HD 6970M
• Other: Two Thunderbolt ports, FaceTime HD camera, aluminum and glass design, IPS LED-backlit high resolution display,Mini DisplayPort, One FireWire 800 port, Four USB 2.0 ports, SDXC card slot, Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive, Audio in/out, Gigabit Ethernet, IR receiver, 802.11 a/b/g n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and an Apple wireless keyboard with a Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad.

BTO iMac 27″ – this is the next best thing to a Mac Pro Desktop – lowest price with shipping – $2300
• CPU: 3.4 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
• RAM: 4GB (2 x 2 GB)
• HDD: 1 TB hard drive
• GPU: AMD Radeon HD 6970M w/2 Gigs VRAM
• Other: Two Thunderbolt ports, FaceTime HD camera, aluminum and glass design, IPS LED-backlit high resolution display,Mini DisplayPort, One FireWire 800 port, Four USB 2.0 ports, SDXC card slot, Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive, Audio in/out, Gigabit Ethernet, IR receiver, 802.11 a/b/g n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and an Apple wireless keyboard with a Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad.

Don’t ever buy RAM from Apple, their prices are 300% higher than other vendors. All your memory needs for iMacs are at OWC for much, much less. I have been using OWC memory for years and it works great in all my Macs.

What’s new with the processors

Differences between i3-i5-i7 Intel processors. I am not going to get all technical on you here. Let me just summarize the primary details that I find important for my workflow. And who knows what additional benefits we will see in OSX Lion, when released later next month for $29!

i3 – 1 processor (2 cores that use hyper-threading and show up as 4 cores) – eh…not so great for photographers and video hobbyist.
i5 – 1 processor (4 cores that use turbo-boost to increase the clock speed of 1 core for applications) – economical and very effective processor for photographers/video.
i7 – 1 processor (4 cores that use turbo-boost AND hyper-threading) This is the best of both worlds for photographers and video editors as PhotoShop and Lightroom will benefit from turbo-boost. Final Cut X (due in July 2011) will benefit from Hyper-Threading (8 cores). Highly recommended for the pro photographer AND videographer.

Macworld did a nice comprehensive test for us, check out the link here.

Give me a quality screen

Screen resolution for the 27″ model is 2560×1440, which makes it 109ppi (the new 21.5-inch iMac has a 1920×1080 screen resolution or 102ppi). The 16:9 aspect ratio screens are IPS (in-plany switching) LED-backlit panels, reach full brightness instantly, and offer consistent illumination across the full length of the screen. I spent a few hours researching color calibration results for these new monitors, and they calibrate very well with the Spyder 3 Elite and X-Rite EODIS2 Eye-One Display 2.

Thunderbolt Ports for future proofing

The Thunderbolt port features two 10-Gbps data channels for data transfer that’s up to 12 times faster than FireWire 800 and up to 20 times faster than USB 2.0. The new 27-inch iMac gives you not just one but two Thunderbolt ports and supports as many as six devices “daisy-chained” together. Thunderbolt is backwards compatible with Mini DisplayPort-equipped monitors and works with DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI and HDMI adapters as well.

While Thunderbolt products are not yet available, it does offer unprecedented expansion capabilities for a new generation of high-performance peripherals. Expect to see Thunderbolt peripherals to become available this Summer. Thunderbolt peripherals that I am really excited about are from Sonnet.

Looks like the compact Fusion™ E400TBR5 4-drive RAID 5 desktop storage system would be perfect for video editing and Photoshop and Final Cut X scratchdisks.

Sonnett Fusion E400TBR5 4-drive RAID 5 Thunderbolt storage system

Sonnet’s Echo™ Express PCIe 2.0 Expansion Chassis with Thunderbolt™ Ports enable you to connect one high-performance PCI Express® 2.0 adapter card to any computer with a Thunderbolt port. Available in two sizes, the standard Echo Express PCIe 2.0 Expansion Chassis with Thunderbolt Ports supports one half-length, double-width, x16 (x4 mode), PCIe 2.0 card, while the XL model supports one full-length card. This would allow me to add my existing RAID controller cards or full-size professional HDMI video capture cards.

Sonnett Echo Express PCIe 2.0 Expansion Chassis with Thunderbolt Ports

Zeroplusplus Photography Tutorials - Photography Techniques and Tutorials for the Photographer

The Nylon Panel Lighting Modifier History

Thorsten — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 05:43:42 +0000

Thank you for the great video tutorial compliment Simeon!

At first I was only going to write a reply, but after looking at the length of it, I realized that it was becoming more of a post than a reply, lol. Valters Preimanis of Photologs.net also had a question about the panels.

I first learned of the DIY Panel System after watching a Dean Collins video back in the winter semester of Brooks Institute of Photography in 1988. I constructed 4 panels and my lighting improved 1000% overnight. I still fondly recall my teachers and classmates looks of astonishment during Fashion Class critique. The all asked “how the hell did you light the model, the light, the shadows, and the skintones look amazing”. My teacher Harry Liles, a 30 year LA advertising photography veteran, was especially amused by my simple and inexpensive lighting setup. That single image earned me early access to the expensive Comet strobes that were only available to the upper classman at the school.

In those days, lower division classmen were only allowed to light with Mole-Richardson tungsten lights for the first 1.5 years. I hated those lights with a passion. Imagine yourself photographing people with a 4×5 view camera, tungsten lights, a 1/30th of a second shutter speed, changing 4×5 film holders and cocking the shutter, directing and posing models…..all while wearing heavy Kevlar gloves because the Tungsten lights were so damn hot. Sweat just dripped off my forehead because of the heat. AND all this time I was nervous as hell shooting agency models because I had no idea how to pose or direct. The models probably thought I was a Guy-With-Camera and horny, LOL.

Photographer/Instructor Extrodinare Harry Liles by Chris Orwig

So I like to think that I played a small role in introducing Dean Collins to Brooks Institute, This panel lighting system was all new at the time and many of the instructors had only heard of it. As competitive as the students were at Brooks and Pasadena Art Center at the time, I only shared my lighting modifiers with my favorite teacher Harry Liles.

Looking back today, I should have shared this info with my classmates. But in those days at Brooks, students were extremely competitive towards each other. I was just caught up in it and naive. Creative competition is a good thing as it creates better images for all of us. The way student competition was handled and encouraged at Brooks in 1989 …….. and the other 4 top other top photography programs is not what I would consider as a creative learning process. Ahhh, the indiscretions and naive nature of youth. I do not miss being a 26 year old photography student again. Today, I shoot 1000% better at 46 years of age, my life experiences create the images…..the gear I use today is not important nor does it create the images Tim and I shoot.

Art directors want great images that make them look good. Art directors want images that sell products. Art directors want to create art…..deep down inside. We all want to create beautiful images that our peers will admire…..and judge us by….big laugh. Now back to the article……

Later in 1990 when assisting the top LA fashion photographers, all I saw were panels and V-Banks. We shot ads for GAP, Guess, United Colors of Benetton, Italian Mode editorials, Vogue editorials, Elle editorials, and Harpers Bazaar. I remember how funny it was seeing $100 panels used for international ad campaigns…..and just a couple of mix matched Speedotron lights hooked up to a really beat-up Profoto 7 pack.

My first real fashion assisting gig was for Dominick Guillemot. I have to say that this was the coolest crew to work with. Dominic shot Guess and GAP fashion ad campaigns all day long, 5 days a week….damn he was busy! 7 assistants, two guys just loading the Hasselblad backs and five of us lower human equivalents making coffee and moving lights. The 5 French assistants watched me unscrew a Gitzo tripod that had fallen into the ocean….and laughing at the new German assistant (me) trying to figure it out……I was stressed as hell as I wanted this job more than oxygen.

Are softboxes the true evil, absolutely no! They have a place in modern photography ever day. Many of our favorite shooters use them every day. Why is Thorsten such a badass about the panels……try them out and you will see. End of story.

Annie Leibovitz used to rent the 20′x20′ silk panels for her shoots, one of my roommates assisted her and told me all about her setups….but that is another post, lol.

In 1995 I assisted NYC portrait photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders on a shoot. We photographed sportscaster Bob Costas using all my lighting gear and panel modifiers. After the shoot, Timothy walked up to me and said “I would like to buy your nylon panels for my NYC studio…whats your price?”

So now, the really cool thing about the panels. With all the DSLR’s now capable of shooting HD video, Tim and I use the panels to light our video sets as well. After all, the movie industry is where we originally stole the panel lighting modifier from anyway.

Zeroplusplus Photography Tutorials - Photography Techniques and Tutorials for the Photographer

Basic Retouching & Skin Softening

Thorsten — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:45:23 +0000

In 2001 I spent 2 years as a part-time digital retoucher for a very large commercial lab. During that time, I learned a great deal from the expert retouchers, those with 10+ years of experience. Later I learned color management and ran the massive 60″ Roland 12 color inkjet printers. It was my paid film photography to digital photography education.

As I discuss in the Creative Lighting for People Photography video, the retouching step is really the second step in my digital workflow. Everyone has a different workflow and methods, use what works best for you.

My point is, sure I can retouch the hell out of an image. But my clients rarely need extensive retouching. For portraits and fashion work, 95% of the time I can get away with the batch processing you will see in the Creative Lighting for People Photography video. For modeling agency models portfolios I do even less, the plastic skin look is “OUT”.

It may come as a surprise to many, but modeling agencies want to see the models skin and pores. The model already has great skin and features…that is why they signed them! The agencies are impressed by great lighting, posing and styling….and that gets the models work….which in turn makes the agency money, and you more valuable as a photographer.

I spend 5-10 more minutes lighting correctly. This simple step saves me countless hours in post production. I make money shooting….not retouching the final client images.

For a magazine or your portfolio, retouch as needed. Maybe that is part of your visual style and look as a photographer. I have nothing against retouching or photographers who spend hours creating the perfect image…yes, it is fun to do. Just know your client and ask beforehand what they need done.

Imagenomic Portraiture 2 is not exactly inexpensive. However, for the busy fashion, portrait, or wedding studio, IP2 is a blessing and will get you back to shooting and running your business. Simply create a preset or action, and run the entire session as a batch.

Go to Part 1- Digital Camera & RAW Processing Setup

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Zeroplusplus Photography Tutorials - Photography Techniques and Tutorials for the Photographer

Digital Camera & RAW Processing Setup

Thorsten — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:49:59 +0000

Six years ago I stumbled on this camera setup technique on the Moose Peterson website. He discovered that by changing the sharpness, saturation, and tone (contrast), to the lowest values, the camera histogram displayed additional room at the shadow and highlight values.

Later I learned that this happens because our camera histogram isn’t based on the linear RAW data. The preview/histogram is based on the rendered gamma-corrected JPEG produced by the camera…of the image we just shot. By changing the 3 settings mentioned above, I “trick the internal camera processor”, resulting in a much lower contrast image, with additional detail in the shadow and highlight areas. I may even expose differently given that the camera histogram looks different as well.

When we edit the RAW file in a converter, the software is now operating on this linear-encoded data, yet we still have to configure the RAW processing software to use proper default settings.

Adobe Camera RAW has a default setting that may not have the best values for every camera. I call the default setting the “tourist” mode, a s-curve is applied and makes the images pop for everyone….whoopie!

Every camera shoots different. DPreview found that making a few changes in ACR significantly changed the RAW headroom by 1-2 stops on the Canon 5D MK2. You may read it here.

Want really great RAW software, I recommend CaptureOne Pro 5. They have created specific camera model profiles that are pretty slick. Try out the free 30 Day trial on your next shoot. I think you will like it.

I am going to keep this explanation low tech, but will give you a link to the tech weenie version if you wish to read 6 pages that discuss this problem in much greater detail, by Andrew Rodney. Those of you who know of him, he needs no introduction, and is highly regarded in our industry.

Try this technique on your camera. It only takes a few minutes and you can always change it back. We did this for our Nikon D2x and for the Canon 5D MK2. Our RAW files look dramatically better.

This post is a simplified version of my earlier article found here.

Go to Part 3- Basic Retouching & Skin Softening

Zeroplusplus Photography Tutorials - Photography Techniques and Tutorials for the Photographer

Lens Resolution and the Digital Camera Sensor

Thorsten — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:17:00 +0000

Shooting 2-3 stops from wide open is the sharpest lens resolution we can achieve. This is the sweet spot that the lens engineers designed for. If you are shooting everything at f/11 – f/32 on that $1600 Nikon or Canon L lens, your also throwing away all the fantastic detail and resolution that these engineers slaved to create.

The second trick is from the days of school. We had these two CIA tech guys give us a lecture on film and lens resolution. They took a $20 plastic Kodak 110 Instamatic film camera and a custom cut 110 sized sheet of Kodak Tech-Pan film and made a very sharp 16″ x 20″ print. We were all surprised how clear the image was from that thumbnail sized negative. The CIA method was based on very high resolution film, careful film development, shooting at the camera lenses sharpest F/stop resolution, and on a tripod with a shutter release.

Today I still use their methods but with a modern digital camera, let me explain further. The D2x has a DX sensor that is smaller than a FX or full-frame sensor. If I use full-frame film lenses then the 3/4 size sensor is only capturing the sharpest 75% center of the lens. We all know that camera lenses suffer at the edges. Full-frame lenses project an image circle that is 25% larger than a DX sensor and so we are only using the sharpest and most distortion free area of the lens.

All my lenses are from the old Nikon film era days and are the last and best versions of the AF prime lenses. These lenses when used at f/4 – f/8 are performing at their highest resolution. Nikon and Canon engineers design lenses to perform best at 2-4 stops from wide open. So If you are shooting everything at f/16 – f/32 on that $1600 Nikon or Canon L lens, your also throwing away all the fantastic detail and resolution that these engineers slaved to create.

An added bonus of these older lenses is that they can be readily found in the used department at local camera stores for much less than the current versions. This applies to both Nikon, Canon, and 3rd party lenses….so buy them for a song now before others figure this out. And later when you get that new full-frame Canon or Nikon, you are already set and do not have to reinvest in all new full-frame lenses. Before buying a lens, ask if it is full-frame or for the smaller sensor.

My final note is on how my studio flash system fits into all this. My strobes have a very fast flash duration at the power levels I use. My strobes are 1600 watt/seconds each, but not because I need that much power. Rather I shoot at F/4 – F/8 and thus the flash duration at that low power setting is extremely short and produces less camera blur (if any) when I hand hold the camera.

Zeroplusplus Photography Tutorials - Photography Techniques and Tutorials for the Photographer

Understanding Camera RAW and the Histogram

Thorsten — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:01:00 +0000

We use our camera histogram to verify that the exposure is correct when shooting raw files. We shoot RAW to get the greatest dynamic range and image quality from each file. Houston, we have a problem, camera histograms are slightly flawed in displaying accurate exposure data from the RAW. Let me explain further.

The histogram we see on the cameras LCD is actually created from a JPEG thumbnail produced by the RAW file. This JPEG is gamma-corrected and has a s-curve applied to it…..thus it is NOT the LINEAR RAW data we see. We only see an interpolated view. Digital camera sensors capture light as linear data and display monitors are non-linear, so a gamma correction is used to display the data.

Actually, to display the RAW file on the camera LCD histogram several things happen. First the image is de-mosaiced, then a color-space is added, then the gamma correction, and finally the JPEG curve settings that we imposed is applied. And that image is what we see on the camera histogram LCD…hmmm.

We can avoid much of this problem by using a light-meter and shooting tethered to a laptop or desktop computer. When viewing the RAW files in conversion software such as LightRoom, Aperture or Adobe Camera RAW, the linear raw data is correctly displayed and accurate on the big monitor. When we are out in the field however, it is awkward to always shoot tethered so we need a work-around.

Fortunately we have some control over the JPEG curve when we set up our camera in the menu system. I am referring to the settings we can adjust for the shooting menu. You will need to look at your camera owners manual and figure out how to get to the setup menu. Here we can adjust saturation, sharpness, tone compensation, color-space, and hue among other items.

I adjust the saturation all the way down. Image sharpening to “none”. And the contrast or tone compensation also, all the way down. For what it is worth, I set the white-balance to the scene that I am shooting. This will create a flat RAW file only for the camera histogram preview, yet the file looks normal when it is opened in your RAW conversion software.

What this accomplishes is this. Yes the raw file has not changed physically, but the JPEG file created for the histogram data is different now and this effects the way I set my exposure. You may notice that all of a sudden we see a smoother curve in the LCD window, we have simply removed much of the RAW in-camera JPEG thumbnail processing. My camera shows that I have more high-light and shadow detail available to work with. Now I can adjust the exposure and lighting so that the curve fits neatly within the cameras histogram LCD display.

I should point out that this method is very similar to processing negative film. From the film days we learned to “expose for the shadows and develop for the highlights”. This rule applies to digital as well. In RAW conversion software, I now have the shadow detail and I pull back a bit in highlight recovery if needed. Fortunately I rarely if ever have to pull back the highlights because I either light flatly in the studio or I shoot landscapes under quality sunlight. Also, my Nikon D2x gets about 9 stops of dynamic range when I expose properly. I expect the same and better from the new Canons and Nikons, you probably have 10 stops to work with or more.

Maybe not a perfect solution, but now the camera histogram more closely resembles what I see in LightRoom’s histogram. I read about this technique 4-5 years ago on a review site about my camera, and the author had noticed the same results. Been doing it ever since on all my digital cameras…seems to work just fine.

People comment on how I get such smooth tones in my images. This is done with lighting and proper exposure, not hours of Photoshop manipulations. Shoot RAW, process clean data rich 16 bit ProPhoto colorspace, and practice clean lighting and balanced exposure. It is when all these individual elements come together that the image quality really improves.

A few people have had success with a file called UniWB and NearUniWB. Essentially it loads a whitebalance preset into the camera that gives all three RGB channels a 1.0 coefficient. Personally I have not used this file but I wanted to mention this for the adventurous.

Zeroplusplus Photography Tutorials - Photography Techniques and Tutorials for the Photographer