Deal on Understanding EOS: A Beginner’s Guide to Canon EOS Cameras

Deal on Understanding EOS: A Beginner’s Guide to Canon EOS Cameras
Lighting Setup for the Time Magazine Person of the Year Cover Photo
Interesting Photo of the Day: Water Droplet Umbrella Effect
Don’t Get Bogged Down in Photography Details, Get Out and Shoot

Posted: 20 May 2013 05:10 PM PDT

To those of you new to photography, your Canon EOS camera is bound to seem complicated. There are so many controls, buttons, wheels, and dials. How do you know which ones to use? Are you using your camera to it’s full potential? There is a new guide on this topic and we were able to negotiate a 36% discount until next Tuesday for our readers. Found here: Understanding EOS

Understanding EOS Photography Guide

Laying inside your camera is sophisticated technology that has evolved over the last 50 years. If you own any EOS camera made within the last five years you possess a picture taking machine that photographers could only dream about ten or twenty years ago. The question is – how do you get the best out of your camera? Or, if you're a complete newbie, how do you even use it?

Some of the Many Topics Covered (109 Pages):

It explains how to use an EOS camera in language a complete beginner can easily understand.
It has depth – you will come back to Understanding EOS time and again as your understanding of photography improves.
It keeps things simple and shows you only the controls on your EOS camera that you need to use.
It is full of big, colourful and inspirational photos.
It explains why composition, an appreciation of beautiful light and post-processing are just as important to creative photographers as knowing which buttons to press and modes to use.
It has an entire section that explains the story and techniques behind the photos in the ebook.
It is a great introduction to the more in-depth topics explored in my other photography ebooks.
It is written specifically for owners of Canon EOS cameras. It tells you how to use the camera that you own, not those of other manufacturers.

Good photos are comprised of three factors: technique, light and composition. I call this the creative triangle. A good photo is well composed and lit by beautiful light. The photographer has the technical expertise required to operate the camera and make the creative decisions required to capture the best possible image.

Other Things to be Learned from this Guide:

What the creative triangle is, and why creative photographers know that photography is about more than selecting which buttons to press on the camera.
How to move out of your camera's fully automatic exposure modes and take control of your camera's settings.
What your camera's Mode Dial does, and why you only need to know how to use Program Auto Exposure (P), Aperture Priority (Av) and Shutter Priority (Tv) modes.

Pages from Understanding EOS

The role of aperture, shutter speed and ISO in obtaining the optimum exposure.
How to use the creative aspects of aperture, shutter speed and ISO to create beautiful photos.
How to prevent camera shake.
How to use Picture Styles – and where to get more than the six Picture Styles that come with your camera.
What white balance is and why it matters.
Why the Raw format is so much easier to use than the JPEG format.
What the luminance histogram and highlight alert are and how to use them to make sure your photos are well exposed.

“It takes time to learn the craft of photography. The key is to acknowledge that. Instead of feeling down if you feel your images can't compare with the those of the experienced photographers you most admire, use it as inspiration.” – Author Andrew Gibson

How to Get a Discounted Copy This Week:

The guide comes in PDF format that can be read on computers, phones and most tablet computers (works great as a mobile reference out in the field). Our readers can receive 36% off until Tuesday, May 28 by using the link below.

It can be found here: Understanding EOS – A Beginner’s Guide to Canon EOS Cameras

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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

Lighting Setup for the Time Magazine Person of the Year Cover Photo

Posted: 20 May 2013 02:39 PM PDT

Every year, Time Magazine releases a Person of the Year issue that features a person who has influenced the events of that year. These are great opportunities for fellow photographers to showcase their wisdom and talent in their craft, at the same time allowing the rest of us to learn about what it takes to create cover-worthy images for esteemed brands and companies (for those of you reading this by email, the video can be seen here):

Photographer Greg Heisler worked with Time’s former design director Arthur Hochstein's idea to capture Bill and Melinda Gates and Bono in a heroic light, with an effect similar to the design of Mount Rushmore. Keeping all their heads the same size and in focus were some of the challenges Heisler faced.

time magazine cover bono

Once he was able to address those concerns, he ran into another in the form of Bono's head, if you would believe. Heisler initially planned for Bono to be in front, then Bill Gates and then Melinda Gates, but that setup (aka Bono’s “bison head”) wasn't too flattering on the overall effect of the photo. After a quick switch-around, the final portrait shows Bill Gates on the left, Bono in the middle and Melinda Gates on the right.

lighting setup time magazine cover

A narrow beam reflector with a grid and CTO on it for that 'sunny' effect was positioned towards the back. A soft box was also positioned about three quarters to front, and finally, another strip soft box was positioned underneath the subjects to give them some height.

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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

Interesting Photo of the Day: Water Droplet Umbrella Effect

Posted: 20 May 2013 11:45 AM PDT

An endless fascination among many photographers is the pursuit of that elusive perfect water droplet shot. With liquids being so fickle and a drop being so small, it’s a difficult image to capture, but one that, when done right, can be packed so full of simple, natural elegance. Today’s interesting photo of the day is actually the product of TWO water droplets – one, which was dropped first, hit the pool’s surface and jumped upwards where it collided with a second, perfectly timed drop. This interception broke the surface tension and created a billowing umbrella shape:

Two drops of water collide to create this mushroom-like shape. (Click to view full size, imgur)

The photographer behind this image shared widely through imgur is believed to be Corrie White. The image appears to be completely natural, unmanipulated by any photo editing program. When making a picture such as this, the timing of the droplets is definitely the trickiest part. The colouring, reflections, and background are actually quite straightforward. If you’d like to try it yourself, all you’ll need is a wide bowl full of water, a pipette (or a thick, watertight plastic bag), a strong light, and some coloured gels.

Set up the bowl on a sturdy table, with a blank wall behind it. If the bowl is coloured, the hue will reflect throughout the water.
Place your light to one side of the bowl and cover it with a coloured gel. The water will refract the tones of the objects which surround it. You can use more than one light, as well as objects such as plants and fabric. This image appears to use two lights – one on the right covered with a cyan gel, and one on the left, covered in magenta.
Fill the pipette with water, and drip it into the bowl, taking an exposure with every drop. It will take some practice to get the timing right. Alternatively, you could fill that thick plastic bag with water and suspend it over the bowl, poking it with a needle to let it drip slowly while you focus on making your exposures.

Experiment with moving the lights and objects, to see how the effect changes. Remember that this method is not new, so kick your imagination into gear in order to make that final shot stand out, and make it yours.

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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

Don’t Get Bogged Down in Photography Details, Get Out and Shoot

Posted: 20 May 2013 09:53 AM PDT

There’s nothing like getting advice from a pro photographer; they often have an interesting way of putting things into perspective. In this interview with Marc Silber, sports photographer extraordinaire Chase Jarvis gives his take on creativity and how to become a better photographer (for those of you reading this by email, the interview video can be seen here):

His major theme? Just shoot. Don’t think about it – don’t worry about your light, or your settings, or the Big Idea – just hit the shutter. A lot of people can tell you “How to Become a Better Photographer”, but in the end, your personal trial and error is the only thing that will hone your skills. And it’s important to feel good about it, too.

This doesn’t mean it’s not good to plan ahead, or to formulate ideas; it means that the most creative thinking happens on the fly. The brain works more efficiently when it’s active, and the act of taking pictures floods your mind with so much stimuli that your imagination goes into overdrive – a thrill you can’t get doing “research” in front of the computer. You can read online articles until your eyes are bloodshot, but that knowledge only helps you if you get out and use it.

chase jarvis sports photography