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Hints & Tips
From idea generation to print formatting, get your game on with these tips from our judges and sponsors.
Photography Tips when shooting for digital print. - Mike Riebesehl, Xerox Corporation
As the Project Manager for the Color Line of Business at Xerox, Mike specifies image quality for future products and assists customers with their transition to digital print. ...(more)
He is also an author and freelance photographer.
- Image format—Supply images in JPEG, TIFF or EPS.
- Color mode—RGB format. Tag the source file to the photo when exporting or saving. There is no need to convert to CMYK.
- Image compression - If you plan to retouch and post-process your entry, work in an uncompress format such as TIFF or PSD and save to JPEG as the final step with image quality set to maximum.
- Image data xerographic printing—Convert camera raw files using your preferred capture software to 8-bit RGB files.
- File Size & Resolution – Be sure you have enough image pixel data for the final print size. Rule of thumb is 300 dpi x Length or Height = Minimum pixels needed. Example: a 10 mega pixel camera generates a 3,872 x 2,592 (pixels) image or approximately 13” x 8.6” in size at 300 dpi. Up scaling an image will have little or no benefit.
- Color Gamut - The color gamut, or volume of color, for CMYK printing devices is smaller than the RGB gamut of digital cameras and six plus color inkjet photo printers. Some remapping of saturated colors can occur, resulting in loss of detail.
- Dynamic Range - As with gamut, the dynamic range of a CMYK device can be less than some originals. Most images with a balanced histogram (balanced distribution of tones or pixels from light to dark) will print fine. Low Key images e.g. shot in low light or shadow (histogram skewed to the left) can be dramatic but may lose some shadow detail.
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Tips for location lighting. - Salem Kreiger, Professional Photographer, Fugi Talent Team Member
Location lighting means planning out your shoot in advance. ...(more)
Electricity
Sounds simple, but you need to find out not only if there’s electricity but the right kind of access.Some locations may have electric outlets in the building but not the right 3-plug outlet to connect to your power packs. Make sure to include in your travel gear 3-plug ground plugs so that you can access an older 2 plug wall socket.
If traveling overseas, make sure to have the right plug adaptor kits depending on the country you are working in.
A very handy inexpensive item is to travel with a multi-plug power socket strip. This way you simply connect the power strip to a power converter (110 to 120 in some countries) and then plug all your digital devices into the power strip. Again, make sure you have the proper converter and plugs, depending on the country you are working in.
Lighting without electricity
So you got this job or want to do a cool shot in the woods. Don't always count on natural light to give you the control you need or the look you’re after.
Hot shoe connected hand held flashes are great for many uses, especially if you have several of them. For Nikon and Fuji shooters, the SB-800 is a useful and lightweight flash for dramatic lighting effects.
You can also control your output exposures through the flash units. This is very cool when you’re using two, three, four (or more) hand held flashes.
If you have a few spare dollars, or a budget from a client, rent a strobe kit. Most major cities will have a photographic rental store. For under $100, you can usually get a kit with a power pack, 2 strobe heads and lighting stands.
Note: ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers) has great practical information on commercial and fine art photography issues. They also offer student enrollment pricing.
Night shooting
Once again planning is crucial. Many of the lower end digital camera have trouble with "digital noise" in dark and long exposures.Film on the other hand, is fantastic for night shots, depending on your exposure.
Often, bracketing your shot will expand your capture range.The various exposures can be merged later in Photoshop to increase your tonal range.
Take note of street lamps, car lamps, and other types of existing light sources that are all around you. I once used light coming out of a dry cleaning store as a backlight for portraits taken on the street. Lights from telephones booths are often very bright, and very useful, as well.
Light is light... you just have to experiment, learn how to use it and set your exposures for it. ...(hide)
Creative Shooting: Still life in Action - George Kamper, Kamper Studios
Miami has offered me the opportunity to shoot a lot of great fashion and lifestyle photography. ...(more)
But lately I’ve also been getting a lot of still life photo assignments—an area I explored earlier in my career.
In a recent shoot for a winery, I had the idea to approach a still life as if it were a fashion or lifestyle shot. How does that work? I created action around the still life…with lighting.
Four assistants held reflectors and moved slowly in a circle. While they moved I just kept shooting. I ended up with about 50 shots that made the same thing look very different.
I’m not saying you can’t take a highly-controlled, conceptual approach to still life. Phil Marco is one photographer who is a genius at the perfectly staged, perfectly arranged still life.
My approach these days is to stay more flexible while I’m working. That way I get the shot my client and the art director envisioned, but also give them something they didn’t expect.
You can try this with any subject matter. Borrow a creative or technical approach from one project and use it on another. Let go of perfection. What happens might surprise you. ...(hide)
Adobe
Click here for creative photo cropping technique. ...(more)
http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/photoshop/articles/phs8creatcrop.html
How to create the perfect PDF for printing.
http://www.adobe.com/studio/print/
Tips for removing “red-eye”.
http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/popular_topics/redeye/ ...(hide)
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