Scott's Photo Blog

Show Notes for Digital Photography Life #10: How to Start Your Own Photography business with Laurel Housden

Ever wanted to make the jump from amateur photographer to pro? Laurel Housden, The Photo Enthusiast, and The Queen of All Contests on Digital Photography Life comes on today to talk about her transition from enthusiastic amateur to paid photographer.

Laurel is a long-time listener of our previous podcast, and the information she learned from pros like Scott Kelby, Rick Sammon and Kevin Kubota inspired her to try her hand at becoming a professional shooter.

Laurel shares how she got her first clients, how she promotes her business and what photo and processing techniques she uses to capture her stunning images. Like us, Laurel loves the plug-ins from Nik Software, especially Color Efex Pro 3.0.

Be sure to  Laurel's galleries and blog...including - we hope - her intimate and irresistible boudoir sessions.

Laurel's a terrific photographer and a great friend - we wish her all the best as she becomes, we're certain, one of Florida's premier photographers.

Our first photo contest is over, but you can check out the entries at dplife.smugmug.com.

Speaking of SmugMug, did you hear Laurel talking about how much she loves her SmugMug account? She loves it even more because she got such a deal - 50% off the first year of service by using the code provided to listeners of Digital Photography Life. You should too. We've heard from a number of listeners who have signed up for SmugMug on our recommendation, and every single one of them has raved!

SmugMug is our favorite site for sharing and selling your photos. You can set your own prices and make as much or as little as you like! SmugMug has two fantastic offers just for our listeners:

• 50% off your SmugMug service at any level (enter code "Flickr" at checkout). This is a fantastic discount and you should take advantage of it in time to share your holiday photos!
• A free camera strap to any listener of Digital Photography Life: This one is just crazy. A high-quality camera strap that replaces the neck-slicing piece of canvas that your camera's manufacturer condescended to include with your DSLR. Get your freebie here.

As always, thanks for listening. Remember, you can find us everywhere, including

Twitter
Email
Flickr
Digital Photography Life on Facebook
Michael on Facebook
Scott on Facebook
Scott on MySpace

As always, thanks for listening!

Scott

Is Your Firmware Firm?

In the beginning of a camera's lifecycle, it's not unusual to see frequent firmware updates as early bugs are discovered and fixed. Witness the recent fix to the Canon 5D Mark II.

But, sometimes, older cameras get a facelift, too. Such is the case with the Canon 40D, which just got updated to version 1.1.1. This latest software fixes a myriad of obscure problems which you'll probably never face, but, hey, you know never. Here are some of the, uh, highlights:

• Fixes a malfunction that in rare occurrence causes a low battery indication to be displayed when using the EF 85mm F1.2L II USM lens. Depending on the battery check timing of the camera, the battery level displayed on the camera's LCD data panel may shows Battery will be exhausted soon or Battery must be recharged, even though the battery capacity is sufficient. 
• Fixes a malfunction that in rare occurrence causes an Err 06 Self Cleaning Sensor malfunction to appear on the camera's LCD monitor and LCD data panel, even when the Self Cleaning Sensor Unit is operating normally. 
• Modifies the level of subject brightness that causes the AF-assist beam to fire when using an external Speedlite.
• Enables an external flash connected to the camera's synchro terminal to fire even when the camera's built-in flash is popped up

Not the sexiest firmware update I've ever heard of, but its nice to see Canon still improving older cameras. There are also updates for the Nikon D700 and the Nikon D3. 

Show Notes for Digital Photography Life #9: All About Lightroom II

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom product manager Tom Hogarty joins us today to discuss the awesomeness that is Lightroom II. Whether you already have the program and want to learn how some tips on how to use it, or if you just want to know what Lightroom II does, you'll enjoy Tom on today's show. 

You'll also have a chance to win a copy of Lightroom II for yourself. Send your answer to the trivia question in the show to DPLContests@gmail.com. 

Tom and I also discuss the advantages of Adobe's DNG format over the proprietary RAW files promulgated by some camera manufacturers. In Adobe's words: 

Raw file formats are becoming extremely popular in digital photography workflows because they offer creative professionals greater creative control. However, cameras can use many different raw formats — the specifications for which are not publicly available — which means that not every raw file can be read by a variety of software applications. As a result, the use of these proprietary raw files as a long-term archival solution carries risk, and sharing these files across complex workflows is even more challenging.

The solution to this growing problem? The Digital Negative (DNG), a publicly available archival format for the raw files generated by digital cameras. By addressing the lack of an open standard for the raw files created by individual camera models, DNG helps ensure that photographers will be able to access their files in the future.

Before we're joined by Tom, Michael and I talk about the digital photography stories that caught our eye in the last week. 

• For the first time ever, the official Presidential portrait was taken with a digital camera. 
• The camera was the - now fixed - Canon 5D Mark II. 
• Looking for a full body condom for your camera? Camera Armor has you - and your equipment (so to speak) covered.
• How popular is the iPhone? A picture taken with it crashed Twitpic. You can find PopPhoto's favorite iPhone apps here.

SmugMug is our favorite site for sharing and - how nice would this be? - selling your photos. SmugMug has two fantastic offers just for our listeners:

• 50% off your SmugMug service at any level (enter code "Flickr" at checkout). This is a fantastic discount and you should take advantage of it in time to share your holiday photos!
• A free camera strap to any listener of Digital Photography Life: This one is just crazy. A high-quality camera strap that replaces the neck-slicing piece of canvas that your camera's manufacturer condescended to include with your DSLR. Get your freebie here.

The Grand Prize Winner of our Joy of Photography contest will receive a terrific camera bag from ThinkTankPhoto: You get to pick which one fits your needs. Either:

• An Urban Disguise 40, which will hold more gear than you ever imagined, such as a wide angle lens with a hood attached, a 24-70 2.8 with the hood, a 70 -200 2.8 with the hood reversed, AND two pro-size SLR’s in the expandable front pockets (without the lenses attached). The beauty of the Urban Disguise line is that you won't look like you're carrying equipment, making yourself a lot less interesting to unsavory urbanites like me, OR
• An Airport International V2.0: Designed for International carry-on, this roller provides advanced security features and peace of mind. Front security cable & combination lock allows you to lock a laptop to the front of your roller. Th is very effective when you are traveling with a laptop case stored in the front stretch pocket The included security lock allows you to lock it to immovable objects, and is very effective when you have to leave your gear for a period of time in a media room, wedding hall, hotel room, or other open area. It holds two pro-size DSLR's, as well as a bunch of other lenses and accessories. If all your equipment won't fit in this bag, you're doing a lot better than me and Michael. 

As always, thanks for listening! Let us know what you think at digitalphotographylife@gmail.com.  

Show Notes for Digital Photography Life #8: Digital Photography Secrets with Rick Sammon

Digital photography secrets are yours to learn with today's guest, Rick Sammon, who comes on to tell us all about his new book called, um, Digital Photography Secrets.

• What lighting secret that artists have used since the Renaissance can you start using today, no matter what kind of equipment you have? 
• What is the sharpest f-stop on the lens of your  DSLR (it's not what you'd think)?
• What can we learn from psychologists about how to take more appealing portraits?

These secrets - and more - are revealed by the always-interesting and inspiring Rick Sammon.

The answer to this week's giveaway can be found on this page at Amazon.com. Send your answers to us at dplcontests@gmail.com, and we will pick THREE lucky listeners to receive a copy of Digital Photography Secrets. But wait - there's more! If you want to go ahead and buy Digital Photography Secrets today, you don't have to wait. If you're lucky enough to win our contest, Rick will give you another of his great books as a prize. That's just the way Rick rolls.

Before Rick joins us, Michael and I answer listener Mark's question about whether or not Nikon has a line of lenses comparable to Canon's L series, and we express our excitement about the latest version of iPhoto. 

SmugMug is our favorite site for sharing and - should you chose to accept this assignment - selling your photos. SmugMug has two fantastic offers just for our listeners:

• 50% off your SmugMug service at any level (enter code "Flickr" at checkout). This is a fantastic discount and you should take advantage of it in time to share your holiday photos!
• A free camera strap to any listener of Digital Photography Life: This one is just crazy. A high-quality camera strap that replaces the neck-slicing piece of canvas that your camera's manufacturer condescended to include with your DSLR. Get your freebie here. 

Have you checked out the entries for our photo contest, The Joy of Photography? You can see them, as well as shots from me and Michael, on our SmugMug site. You can find all the rules for how to enter the contest on the notes for Episode Six here. 

The Grand Prize Winner of our Joy of Photography contest will receive a terrific camera bag from ThinkTankPhoto: You get to pick which one fits your needs. Either:

• An Urban Disguise 40, which will hold more gear than you ever imagined, such as a wide angle lens with a hood attached, a 24-70 2.8 with the hood, a 70 -200 2.8 with the hood reversed, AND two pro-size SLR’s in the expandable front pockets (without the lenses attached). The beauty of the Urban Disguise line is that you won't look like you're carrying equipment, making yourself a lot less interesting to unsavory urbanites like me, OR
• An Airport International V2.0: Designed for International carry-on, this roller provides advanced security features and peace of mind. Front security cable & combination lock allows you to lock a laptop to the front of your roller. Th is very effective when you are traveling with a laptop case stored in the front stretch pocket The included security lock allows you to lock it to immovable objects, and is very effective when you have to leave your gear for a period of time in a media room, wedding hall, hotel room, or other open area. It holds two pro-size DSLR's, as well as a bunch of other lenses and accessories. If all your equipment won't fit in this bag, you're doing a lot better than me and Michael.

Thanks and always for listening, and an extra huge thanks for all the kind reviews on iTunes. We really appreciate it.