Color Space Question

I received this email question from Mike, a student in my last Lightroom class:  "Would it be better to use the Adobe color setting on the camera vs. the SRGB setting if everything is processed thru Lightroom?

Mike"

My reply:

Adobe LR and PS can handle each color setting equally well, from what I understand about it. Adobe 1998 and ProPhoto settings actually have the ability to show more colors or a wider range of colors than sRGB but I've never been able to tell the difference between the setting in any of my pictures though.

From what I have read, most of the top-notch pros use the ProPhoto setting although my Canon cameras don't have it available as an option.

I think the most important thing is to have the camera and all software settings the same. Every time you change the color space you may lose some information.

The problem I've had with Lightroom and less with Photoshop is that my prints tend to run darker than my monitor shows them. I do have a calibrated monitor so I'm reasonable sure that it is correct. I have to do some test prints, usually in 4x6 before I attempt to print any large prints.

In experimenting to address this issue, I tried all of the color space settings and nothing helped. I have read books by different experts, particularly Scott Kelby, who I feel may be the best writer on the LR and PS topics. His advice is to set the print settings in the software and in the printer dialog box to call for the Application Managing the color. I never had success with this. I experimneted with every option and combination I could find and now I use the Printer Manages Color setting and have good luck with it. For information, I have an HPb 9180e model printer. Other models or brands may require different settings.

Bottom line, I think Adobe products are adept at handling each Color Space option. Just be aware of the differences in color ranges between the options.

Thanks for the question, I hope this helps.

Don't do what I did!

Newer Canon cameras have the option of taking a picture without a memory card in the camera.  This is a selectable option which I had foolishly set to allow. 

I had a recent opportunity to shoot some portraits but I failed to put the memory card into the slot!  Now, let me tell you that my standard practice is to upload all images to my computer, unusally the same day I shoot them.  I then put the card(s) back into the camera and re-format them.  I then leave a card in the camera so I'm ready to go when needed. 

But this time I didn't follow my normal protocol and wound up shooting several images without a card.  I didn't realize this until much later and then further discovered that these images are not stored in any temporary memory so they were lost!  (at least I haven't found a way to retrieve them)

Fortunately, I was equipped that day with two cameras and had used both.  Of course the images weren't the same as I was using two different focal length lenses but at least the day wasn't lost.

Needless to say, I immediately changed that option to not allow the camera to operate withour a memory card!

Happy shooting!

Making Images versus Taking Images

To act like I really know what I'm doing photographically, I'm going to quote Ansel Adams.  Adams said (paraphrasing) "you don't take good photographs, you make them."

I have taken that advice to heart and will go to great lengths to try to "make" a good photo.  I have 4 cameras, not counting iPhone and iPad cameras, loads of lenses, filters, lights, radio-controlled remotes, etc.I have a really nice tripod along with a mono-pod, a monster clamp etc. to put myself in the position to "make" an image.

I spend hours in blinds waiting for birds to put themselves just right for me to take their picture.  I travel long distances to be in the right place at the right time to "make" the right image.

Then I put the image on my computer and manipulate it with Lightroom and Photoshop in search of my own Adams-like image.

But...and you knew there would be one, right?  Some of the best images I have "made, " came at a point when no preparation was possible other than having a camera handy.

this image is a perfect example.  Mary and I were on a train in the North Carolina mountains, mostly riding through woods with an occasional glimpse at a mountain vista or a farm house or creek.  So it was in this state, combined with a rocking train, fighting sleep, that I looked to my right and saw the barn that became the image below.  I had time to raise my camera to my eye, try for the best composition and press the shutter button, all in a matter of 5 seconds before my view was again of woods.  A slight crop in Lightroom, some minor PS adjustments, and this is what I "made."

Image taken with Canon 7D, EF 28-135mm, at 127mm,   at f/7.1, 1/250 sec ISO 200

This image is maybe an even better example of serendipity at work.  It was taken from a moving car with an iPhone!  Again, in the North Carolina mountains, this time in late December 2010, following an impressive snow-fall, my son and I were driving down the highway when the barn appeared.  I had my phone in my hand so I handed it to Jonathan and directed "shoot it!"  We weren't able to slow or stop so the image "made" is what you see (later cropped in Lightroom.)  I returned the next day with my cameras but the sky was different and, although I made some good images, none quite compared to this one.

Taken with Apple  iPhone 4, Exposure 1/2000 at f/2.8, ISO 80

The morale of my story is that one should make every effort to "make" a photograph but should never forego shooting when the opportunity presents, even if preparation is not possible.  Great images can be "made" that way too!

Show or No Show?

Friend and fellow photographer Nicole Lami recently emailed me to ask for advice in dealing with a question we all face at one time or another.  Her question, paraphrased, centers around a recent shoot after which Nicole chose her best images and presented those to the client.  The client, however, wanted to see all the images captured during the shoot.  Nicole wanted to know how I would handle this situation.

My response was NO! don't do it!

Now for my logic:

The reason clients choose one photographer over another is their confidence that the chosen one has the talent to produce the type of images desired.  In a photo shoot, we all will get a few shots that are immediate throw-aways for a variety of reasons, flash didn't fire, focus was off, etc.  Then there are the situations where we have tried a pose with the client that simply didn't work.  These images do not capture the client in their best nor do they show the photographer at their best.  To show an image  like this to a client may lead them to having doubts about the quality of all the images and your ability as a photographer..

There are some images that belong in the good-to-great category but may a little retouching before presentation.  I will make preliminary edits to those before I show them.  This takes time on images that may not sell but I don't want to have the client turned-off by an image that takes little effort to fix to make it marketable.

My problem is that I tend to show the client too much. I've learned that this tends to confuse the client and actually reduces sales rather than increasing.   Sales then tend to be "I want a 4x6 of each of them!"

How would you have answered Nicole's question?

Laziness!

I attended a hospital-related function and encounter Martha Davidson, a professional photographer friend and student in my Lightroom class.  She promptly chastised me for not being diligent about the blog!  I am so grateful that she did because it means that someone was reading my elaborations! 

So, I promised to do better from now on and I will do so.

To the meat of today's blog:  I found a website that has some of the most compelling photographs I've ever seen.  The website:  http://www.milkphoto.com/ is a gallery of photos showing Moments of Intimacy, Laughter and Kinship, thus M.I.L.K.  Take a look and be inspired!


I have singed up to conduct another Introduction to Lightroom class with the USA School of Continuing Education.  If you know of anyone who may benefit from the class, please let them know.  The schedule should be published in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks Martha for inspiring me again!

TV shows of Interest to the Photographer

I have found two photography related shows on television that I truly enjoy and have learned a great deal from and want to share with my fellows shutterbugs.

The first is a PBS show that shows on Alabama public tv at least four times each week. WILD PHOTO ADVENTURES is hosted by photographer Doug Gardner from South Carolina and features his ventures into the great outdoors to photograph wild life, landscapes and the flora of the region. He works in a number of tips to us shooters during each episode and shows stunning results of the shutter clicks. The best part, he's from the south so he talks like us!

The first opportunity to see each weeks new episode is on Saturday afternoon at 4 pm.

You can find episodes from the last three seasons at www.wildphotoadventures.com.

The second show is on, believe it or not, The Weather Channel! Host Peter Lik takes viewers around the world to find the perfect landscape shots. He produces some of the most unique images I have seen. His show is not so much for the photographer in that the still images don't display his settings or equipment. Best I can tell he uses very expensive large format cameras. He feature then weather in a region and how it affects his photography so it is well worth a shooters time to watch.

He is a native of Australia so, needles to say, he doesn't talk like us! Image the crocodile hunter with a Haselblad! High energy with a lot of arm motions while talking.

This show can be found on the Weather Channel, Thursday evenings at 8 pm Central. Look for FROM THE EDGE WITH PETER LIK. More on Peter Lik can be found at, you guessed it, peterlik.com.

Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Exporting To CD/DVD from Lightroom

This post is in response to a question presented by a reader who asked what's the best way to export to a CD/DVD from LR.  The simple answer is:  just the same as you export to the hard drive.  But the long winded answer necessary to fill space on this blog is:  there is a difference in how you do that!  burn to a cd/dvd is a little bit longer process than simply  burning to the hard drive.

Let me point out first that this option is not available in the 64-bit version of LR, only the 32-bit version.  This is true in LR 3, I'm not sure about previous versions.


As you select EXPORT from the lower left portion of the screen in the LIBRARY module (or from the File option on the tool bar), you will get this window:

Please note the pull-down box with the destination options were opened for this blog and will usually only display the current selection You'll have to click to open the pull-down menu.

After selecting the CD/DVD option and making any other selections you need to make prior to exporting, choose the EXPORT button near the bottom right of the window.

This will pull up this window:

As may be obvious, this is where you select the drive to which the files will be exported.  Many computers have multiple CD or DVD burners and here's where you make your choice along with selecting the burn speed.

 Next this window will appear:

This is your chance to label the CD/DVD.  Enter the label or simply select CONTINUE.


LR will then show on the top left portion of the screen this indicating that the files are being prepared before writing them to the disk.

Then, the last step, the files will be burned to the disk.

After this process is complete, LR will return you to the LIBRARY module.

If you are using a 64-bit version of LR, forget the above!  Simply EXPORT the files to a location on your hard drive and then later copy them to a CD/DVD using Windows or your Apple operating system's file handling features.

As always, I hope this helps!  Let me know if you have any questions.