Video Tutorial: Making a PVC Light Box

Found this video in the comments to Huber’s Light Box tutorial (see earlier post).  Really easy to follow with good detail and tips.

Video: Making a PVC Light Box

Penny-Wise Setup Shot

Penny-Wise Setup Shot

Originally uploaded by mortonphotographic.

He explains:

This is it, a single flash setup camera right with a gobo to keep light off the table. That is actually my home made HonlPhoto-like snoot unrolled and laid flat. the flash starts as a rim light on the penny, bounces off the foil and back as a soft, difuse light which illuminates the face of the penny. The penny itself bounces light down onto the table.

Final shot is here: www.flickr.com/photos/mortonphotographic/2308941360/

He has a great Strobist set on flickr here.

macro water drop tips home photography studio

macro water drop tips home photography studio.

Excellent how-to about creating a little home studio for water-drop macro shots. Also good information about techniques required to capture this type of shot.

video: episode 2 , lighting glassware in the studio | pro photo life

ProPhotoLife.com – Lighting Glassware video

(I first saw this on YouTube; this is the link to it on the ProPhotoLife.com site.)

Very helpful in understanding how to light glassware, as well as how to do it cheaply: 2 pieces of black cardboard, or 2 pieces of white cardboard, using a screen, and one light.

Light Box / Light Tent Photo Gallery by Bill Huber at pbase.com

Bill Huber’s how-to build a desktop light tent from pvc pipe.

I recall seeing this earlier in my web wanderings.

Nice step-by-step tutorial on making a desktop Light Box/Tent out of PVC pipe. Good list of needed tools and pvc parts. The accompanying pictures are a big help in seeing how it’s put together and how objects looked when photographed in the Light Box/Tent. There’s also some info on the lighting he used for the images.

Free Photoshop Actions | Yanik’s Photo School

Haven’t checked out these Photoshop Actions yet, but wanted to leave myself a note here to take a look.

Yanik has a lot of very, very good text and video tutorials on a variety of photographic topics. Some great stuff about off-camera flash, macro photography, stock photography, photoshop, and so forth.

Breaking Photographer’s Block

http://photocritic.org/break-photographers-block

Ten Ways to Break Photographer’s Block and find inspiration to get outside (or inside) and photograph something!

Photocritic.org blog post from Hage Jan Kamps, author of Macro Photography Photo Workshop
.

Focus Test Chart for Lenses and Nikon D70 in Particular

From Tim Jackson’s Nikon D70 Site.

Grab the PDF print out of Tim’s Focus Test Chart here and test the focus of your D70 or a particular lens.

Until reading Tim’s PDF, I wasn’t aware that there was a back-focusing issue with some D70 cameras; however, I was aware of some photographers complaining about getting a bad copy of a lens, due to issues with back-focus or front-focus.

I wanted to know what this was exactly and how to test for it. This has become important to me for two reasons:

1. I can see it now. As my ability to critically analyze a photograph has improved, I notice when the focus is slightly off from where I, or another photographer, has intended it to be; and
2. Because I don’t have the money to collect lenses, I buy and sell according to my current photographic needs. Whether purchasing new or used, I’d like to see if I have a good copy of a lens, and/or need to have my camera re-calibrated for any focus issues.

Tim’s PDF explains how auto-focus works, and what back-focus and front-focus issues look like. He also provides a DIY test chart and clear instructions how to use it. He also points out that focus issues are most likely due to operator error, rather than camera or lens problems.

There are some who disagree with Tim’s approach, but he appears to provide substantive answers to those arguments. I don’t have the background for a definitive conclusion to this back-and-forth, but Tim’s approach seems reasonable to me. I’ll likely do further research.

To summarize, Tim’s Focus Test Chart and explanations are a good read and something I’m looking forward to trying with my camera and lenses.

Fix a Dull Sky in a Landscape Image

PopPhoto.com tutorial by Debbie Grossman.

Probably won’t need this if you have a gradient filter or multiple exposure HDR. This is a Photoshop-only technique (won’t work with Photoshop Elements). Makes a sky richer and more dramatic instead of washed out. In a step-by-step tutorial, Grossman explains the selection techniques, blend modes used, and a way to make the finished result realistic by removing the white halo that can happen between the selection of sky and earth.

Cross Processing in Photoshop with Curves

Tutorial in Layers Magazine (by way of Photojojo’s newsletter). Cross processing produces a color shift that creates a very retro look. Boost the contrast of an already contrasty photo, create custom curves for the Red, Green, and Blue channels in the curves dialog, then switch back to RGB curves to save. More contrast can be added after that.