Tip: How to Find Shutter Actuations

A Lot of you been asking me if there is anyway we could get the count of the effective number of shutter actuations.

This is an issue many people been debating over the web and it seems that is a request that the camera manufactures forgot to mention on their software.

In order for us to get this number we needed, up until now, to send the camera to the manufactures or representative support system in order for them to run a software to count the effective number of shutter actuations that your camera has done.

This number is very useful so you could know if your shutter reached it's limits and if it's time to make an expensive change of the shutter curtains .

Fear not today you will get a way of seeing this numbers :)


The first program I got in contact with was CanCount, written by German photographer Wolfram Söns, mostly displays information that can already be seen in Canon's own applications, including the camera model, firmware version, camera body serial number, image comment and Custom Function settings. But it has three tricks up its sleeve that make CanCount a useful way to view shooting data inside EOS-1D, EOS-1Ds, EOS-1D Mark II, EOS-1D Mark II N and EOS-1Ds Mark II photos:


* The program displays a body's total shutter actuations at the time the analysed RAW or JPEG picture was taken. This information is not shown in ImageBrowser, ZoomBrowser EX or any other software from Canon we've tried.

* CanCount will assemble into a single page all the metadata it can display. This is a handy way to see almost all camera settings, plus an image thumbnail and histogram, and store that information if desired as a PDF (using either the built-in PDF support of Mac OS X or an add-in to the printing architecture within Windows) or hard copy printout. We've used this feature to share with other photographers our settings, and similarly to grab the settings used by other photographers too.

* Generally speaking, it's quicker to use than Canon's own software when the goal is to view the complete metadata within a handful of pictures. Launch the program, drag and drop a picture file and the picture's metadata populates the program's various screens.

You can find the Trial version here for Win and Mac but you will have to pay 11,52 euros for a register version.

The older free version in DOS format you can get it here. Is not as fancy as the payed one but you'll get the job done.

Here are the counts for my cameras with the German free DOS version:

Did you know that you can get the same information if you have Adobe Photoshop CS2 or CS3?

Yes that's right just take a look in the above photos.

How to get there, you may ask?

Well, If you have a MKII with an updated firmware you should be able to get the count in Photoshop CS2 or CS3.

In Photoshop open the photo file and go to File > File Info and then click on Advanced (last item in the list) and select http://ns.adobe.com/exif/1.0/aux and look for an item called Aux: ImageNumber. That should be the shutter count.
It works with RAW and JPG images.

Canon 1D MarkII

Canon 1D MarkIIN

Well if you have a Canon 1D series then you are off the hook :)

I tried the same thing with my Canon Powershot G9 but with no luck :(

Since Canon 1D are the only ones I've got I did not tried this with some others. If you have find some great results with other cameras just drop me a line on the comments so that others could share this good Tip.

After I wrote this article I get in contact with Canon to know if this numbers that were showing would be the effective ones of your camera. Canon replied that they have a special software for this matter and you cannot trust this counters. The best way was to put the camera through custom service in order to know what are the real actuations of the shutter.

Well at least they are not the real ones but you can make an estimate on how many shots you have made with your camera.

I also noticed that if you upload a saved preset custom function the camera will assume that count as if it was the real actuations, well it's strange but it's the deal.

Unless Canon and the other camera manufacturers would not include this function on their software were do not have any real way of knowing what is the count for the shutter actuations.

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Tip: 12 Must Read Books (Part 2)

For the second part I will bring you the last 6 books I consider the best and great buy to add to your collection.

Also would like to mention that they are available at "Lighting Mods Amazon Official Store".



"Photographic Light Simplified" by Susan McCartney (Allworth Press)
ISBN: 1-58115-256-6

As a basic book I think this one is one of my favorites.

The name says it all "Photographic Light Simplified" and that's what it is. You get to know everything about lighting... from seeing the light to using gear and applying techniques.

Starting with equipment as basic as garage light and tripod you will learn how to build your studio piece by piece in a simple way.

It also includes several self-assignments and a collection of creative approaches to shooting popular photographic subjects.

What you will find inside:
* Lighting Overviews
- A first Photo Setup
- If You Are Beginning Light With a Digital Camera
- The Three Basic Types of Photo Lights
- A One-Light Lighting Kit
- Setting Up Your First Light Or Lights
- Upgrading from Rock-Bottom-Budget Lights
* Lighting Aesthetics
- Achieving the Right Mood
- Lighting and Contrast
- Lighting and Color Balance
* All About Hotlights
- An Introduction to Photoflood and Quartz Lights
- How Photoflood Lights Work
- How Quartz Lights Work
- Working with Two Hotlights
* Exposure and Metering
- Exposure Fundamentals
- Reflected-Light Meters
- Exposure Latitude
- How I expose Under Hotlights
- Incident-Light Meters
* Battery-Powered Flash
- Overview
- Flash Accessories
- Detachable TTL Dedicated Flashes
- Manual Flashes
- Using Flash as Studio Lighting
* Lighting with Strobes
- An Introduction to Strobes
- My Own Strobes Preferences
- Lighting Modifiers and Other Strobe Accessories
* Nine Self Assignments
* Approaches to Popular Subjects
* Wrap-Up
- Showing Your Work
- Marketing Photographs

This is a great startup book about this subject, no diagrams but lot's of practical examples.



"Master Lighting Guide for Portrait Photographers" by Christopher Grey (Amherst Media)
ISBN: 1-58428-125-1

A must Portrait book. Ever wanted to know how to pose a model, to make that butterfly light or how to position a light to get a particular effect? well your prayers have finally arrived.

On this one you get to know all kind of lights by their names and also get the diagrams so you can use it as a reference for your own portraits.

What's inside:
Introduction
- The Importance of Portrait
- Style
- Markets for Portraiture
- Before We Begin
Part I - The Principles of Portrait Lighting
1. Nature of Light
* The Physics of Light
- Electromagnetic Spectrum
- Angle of Incidence
* The Properties of Light
- Color Temperature
- Direction
- Quality
- Contrast
2. Professional Lighting Equipment
* Light Positions and Functions
- Key Light
- Fill Light
- Kicker Lights
- Background Lights
* Light Types
- Strobes
- A Word of Caution
* Light Modifiers
- Dishes
- Umbrellas
- Soft Boxes
- Other Modifiers
- More Jargon
3. Light Ratios
* The Key-t-Shadow Ratio
* The Highlight-to-Key Ratio
* The Highlight-to-Key-to-Shadow Ratio
4. Basic Lighting
* Planning and Progress
* Broad Light
- Two Lights and Fill
* Short Light
- Building a Portrait with Short Light
5. Classic Lighting Styles
* Loop Light
* Close Loop Light
* Rembrandt Lighting
- One-Light Rembrandt Lighting
- Second Rembrandt Build
* Side Light
- Building a Side-Light Portrait
- A Second Side-Light Build
* Butterfly / Dietrich / Paramount Light
- Building a Butterfly-Light Portrait
Part II - Portrait Lighting in Practice
* A Versatile Portrait Lighting Setup
- A Single Subject
- With Two Subjects
* Basic Lighting for Business Portraiture
* Finding Boundaries
* A Hair Light for Every Occasion
* Closing the Pupil
* Backgrounds
* Headshots
* Headshots with Minimal Depth of Field
- Reducing the Depth of Field
- Adding Drama
* Headshots for Publicity
* Applying Makeup
* Editorial Portraiture
* High-Key Lighting
* Low-Key Lighting
* One Light Glamour
* Portraits with Flare
* Working with the Profile
* Location Photography
* The Beauty of Overexposure
* Bridal Portraits
* Fashion Light
* The Film-Light Connection
* Gentle Light
* Get in Tight
* The "Hollywood" Portrait
* The Intimate Portrait
* Light on Light
* North Light
* Simulating Natural Sunlight
* Working with Candles
* Underlighting for Glamour

This is a very simple but complete Portrait lighting book where you can find all kids of lighting styles.



"Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Celebrity and Editorial Photography" by Michael Grecco (AMPHOTO Books)
ISBN-13: 978-0-8174-4227-9
ISBN-10: 0-8174-4227-8
ISBN-13: 978-0-8174-4223-1
ISBN-10: 0-8174-4223-5

This is the kind of book that shows you how professionals do their jobs.

Clean with some diagrams for some shootings and lot's, I mean LOT'S, of great shooting information from behind the scenes.

You will also find so many photos of famous people and artists. A great add to your book collection in case you wanna try something different.

What you will find inside:
1. Cameras
- Formats and Lenses
- Shutter + Apperture = Control
- Selective Focus
- Plastic Cameras
2. Illumination
- Grecco's Laws of Light
- Grid Spots
- Fresnel and Optic Spot Lights
- Shadows
- Strobes
- Continuous Light
- Lighting It!
- Finding Light
3. The Medium
- From Analog to Digital
- Your Color Palette
- Getting the True Color You Want
4. Creativity & Conceptualization
- Collaboration
- Storytelling
- Locations
- Studios & Sets
- Props
- Wardrobe
- Makeup & Hair
- Letting Go
- Taking Risks
5. The Connections
- The Subject/Photographer Relationship
- Posing
- Shooting Egos
- Shooting Strangers
6. Case Studies
- Irony & Humor
- Celebrities
- Music
- Business & Corporate
- Nudes
- Advertising
- Sports
- Drama

This a very complete book written by someone who knows too well the business.



"Skin" by Lee Varis (Sybex)
ISBN-13: 978-0-470-04733-0
ISBN-10: 0-470-04733-X

And because not all of the good things come as photography books I just left the last 3 for Photoshop aficionados.

Starting with one I consider very good in explaining the skin tones and their corrections as well as some of the most typical effect eliminations like wrinkles, spots, shapes and tattoos.

It also would help you mastering the Rembrandt lighting and other basic techniques with great examples and setups.

Trimming the Fat, Lighten up the eyes and filling up wrinkles as well as adding soft focus, retouching and other advance Photoshop techniques.

You got them all cover here in this great and powerful book, also includes a CD with all the reference materials to enhance and reinforce your learning.

And as if all this wasn't enough you still get a Color manage for printing chapter that is very interesting.

What's inside:
Chapter 1 - Digital Imaging Basics
- Setting Up: Hardware
- Setting Up: Software
Chapter 2 - Color Management, Workflow and Calibration
- Basic Digital Capture Overview
- Calibrating for Digital Capture
- Putting Color Management in Context
Chapter 3 - Lighting and Photographing People
- Lighting Technology
- Basic Portrait Lighting
- Advance Lighting Techniques
- Experimenting with Light
Chapter 4 - The Color of Skin
- White Points, Black Points and Places In-Between
- Zone System: Contrast and Tone
- Neutral Color: Using Balanced Numbers
- White/Black Point Correction
- The Family of Man: Cultural and Psychological Issues
Chapter 5 - Tone and Contrast: Color and B+W
- Converting to B+W
- Split Channels: Layer Blending
- Luminosity Blending
- Hue/Saturation Toning Effects
- The Power of B+W
Chapter 6 - Retouching
- Basic Image Repair
- Hue/Saturation Color Repair
- Beauty Retouching
- Figure Thinning Techniques
- Subtle Retouching
Chapter 7 - Special Effects
- Soft Focus
- Film Grain and Mezzotint
- Cross-Processing
- Tattoos
Chapter 8 - Preparing for Printing
- Sharpening
- Color Management for Printing
- Soft Proofing
- Desktop Printing
- Creative Printing Finishing
Chapter 9 - Parting Shots
- Digital Photo Workflow
- Companion CD Contents
- Future Developments

Just get your Photoshop skills sharpen with this book.



"The Creative Digital Darkroom" by Katrin Eismann & Seán Duggan (O'Reilly)
ISBN-13: 978-0-596-10047-6
ISBN-10: 0-596-10047-7

The other selection I've made from all the great books out there was this one.

Simply because it combines in one place all you need to know how to master the traditional darkroom concepts and skills but this time translated into Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Adobe Lightroom.

If You love Black and White photography you can count on comprehensive chapters about it and also color darkroom techniques.

You will also learn how to cross process with accuracy and to color correct your final outputs and prints.

What's inside this 10 Chapter book:
Chapter 1: Silver to Silicon
- Seeing Images
- In The Digital Darkroom
- Learning and Forgetting the Rules
Chapter 2: Digital Nuts and Bolts
- Building a Digital Darkroom
- Under the Hood: Essential Photoshop Preferences and Color Settings
- Photoshop Color Settings
- The Color Settings Dialog
- RGB Working Spaces
- Color Management Policies
- Conversion Options and Advance Controls
- Saving Your Color Settings
- File Navigation and Inspection
- Your Bags Are Packed
Chapter 3: Scan, Develop and Organize
- Form Analog to Digital
- Starting with Film
- Starting with a Digital Camera
- Working with Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop Lightroom
- Bridge and Camera Raw or Photoshop Lightroom?
Chapter 4: File Preparation
- Essential Image Quality
- Noise Reduction
- Sharpening Process
- Correcting Optical Distortion an Perspective
- Spotting and Cleanup
Chapter 5: Tone and Contrast
- Understanding Tone and Contrast
- Listen to the Image
- Non-Destructive Editing
- Global Image Improvements
- Converting Color to Black-and-White
- Toning and Split Toning Effects
- Building a Solid Foundation
Chapter 6: Dodging, Burning and Exposure Control
- Interpreting the Image with Tone
- Non-Destructive Dodging and Burning
- Contrast and Exposure Control
- Seeing the Light
Chapter 7: Color Correction
- The Landscape of Color
- Global Color Correction
- The Power of Curves
- Color Enhancements
- Local Color Corrections
- The Power of Lab
- A Journey Through the Landscape of Color
Chapter 8: Creative Color
- The Structure of Color
- Working with Hue
- Creative Color Temperature
- Exploring Image Mode Blending
- Create Cross-Processing Effects
- It's a Colorful World
Chapter 8: Creative Enhancements
- Optical and Film Effects
- Darkroom Special Effects
- Adding Texture
- Fading Away: The Distressed Image
- Blending Textures into Skies
- Creative Edge Effects
- Enhancing the Visual Story
Chapter 10: Enhancing Focus
- Remove Distractions
- Sharpen with Finesse
- Valuable Noise
- Your Vision Comes First

The best written book about Digital Darkroom.



"Layers: The Complete Guide to Photoshop's Most Powerful Feature" by Matt Kloskowski (Peachpit Press)
ISBN-13: 978-0-321-53416-3
ISB-10: 0-321-53416-6

Last but not least the most extensive and yet comprehensive book about Photoshop Layers.

You got Layers for every taste, from beginners to most advanced features.

This is the most complete guide to Photoshop Layers and if you never used Layers before this is a must have book.

What you will find inside:
Chapter 1: Layer Basics
- Layer Basics
- Using Multiple Layers
- Everything Else About Layers
- How do I
Chapter 2: Blending Layers
- The Three Blend Modes You Need Most
- A Closer Look at Blend Modes
- Layer Blend Modes fr Photographers
- Advance Layer Blending
- How Do I
Chapter 3: Adjustment Layers
- Adjustment Layers Basic
- Making Selective Adjustments
- Super Flexible Adjustments
- Some More Adjustment Layers Ideas
- Fix One Photo--Fix 'Em All
- The Adjustment Layer Blend Mode Trick
- How Do I
Chapter 4: Layer Masks
- Layer Mask Basics
- Automatically Creating Layer Masks
- The Only Layer Mask "Gotcha"
- Combining Multiple Images
- A Deeper Look Into Layer Masks
- Making One Layer Fitting Into Another
- How Do I
Chapter 5: Type and Shape Layers
- Creating Type Layers
- All About Shape Layers
- How Do I
Chapter 6: Enhancing Photos With Layers
- Combining Multiple Exposures
- Painting With Light
- Selective Sharpening
- Dodging and Burning Done Right
- Boosting Specific Colors
- Enhancing Depth of Field
- Creating Soft Focus
- How Do I
Chapter 7: Retouching With Layers
- Removing Blemishes and Wrinkles
- Smoothing and Enhancing Skin
- Making Eyes and Teeth Whiter
- Removing Distractions
- How Do I
Chapter 8: Layer Styles
- Designing with Layer Styles
- Creating a Watermark
- Creating Reusable Photo Effects
- Some More Layer Style Ideas
- How Do I
Chapter 9: Smart Layers
- Four Reasons Why Smart Objects Rocks!
- Designing Templates with Smart Objects
- Layers and the Creative Suite
- How do I Learn More from Matt?
- How Do I

This is my gap fill book about Photoshop. Almost all the necessary techniques are well documented in this book and a must reference use.

And with this last one I conclude my overview on my must read books hope you enjoyed it and choose the one's that best fit you.

Tip: 12 Must Read Books (Part 1)
Tip: 12 Must Read Books (Part 2)

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Tip: 12 Must Read Books (Part 1)

It's always difficult to talk about books or make reviews about them.

First because there are so many books out there about photography and techniques that makes it difficult know where the good ones are and second because you have a particular taste for them.

These are actually books I own so I did have read them from start to end a couple of times and some of them are my religious "Bible" to consult prior a shooting or an idea.

I will give you a few words on each one of them so you get an idea of what's inside ,but do not think of it as a full review on these books since you can find those on several other pages over the internet.

I wanted to make a small approach to each one with some of my ideas about them.

This reminds me a particular time, in Portugal, where almost everyone would write a book even if they do not have any ideas on what to write.
Sportsman, Comedians, Actors you name it all of them would release a book or biography... talking about their lives or about their none senseless lives. Oh well it sucks I know!!

So what I wanted to bring on this 2 part Tip series are 12 of the books I think would help you to improve some of your skills and also put you on a grip with some of the finest photographers out there.

This would be a 2 Part Tip just because of the fact that 12 books on a single blog post would be too much to read and digest so I will be posting 6 this week and the other 6 next week.

Meanwhile and in case you haven't notice before I made available an Amazon shop for the Lighting Mods blog where you can get all these finest books and several others.

You can find it on the right side panel and it has everything you need to improve your photographic skills.
Here is the Link to "Lighting Mods Amazon Official Store".



I start my books small approach with one of the most important book to have, read, consult, scratch, write well I think this is the ultimate Lighting book that you should already have in your self.

"Light Science & Magic" Third Edition by Fil Hunter, Steven Biver and Paul Fuqua (Focal Press)
ISBN-13: 978-0-240-80819-2
ISBN-10: 0-240-80819-3

This book is all about light this third edition is complemented with color photos and some more light schemes than previous version that was all in Black and White.

It's divided in 10 Lighting Chapters:
Chapter 1: How to Learn Light
Chapter 2: Light: The Raw Material of Photography
Chapter 3: The Management of Reflection and the Family of Angles
Chapter 4: Surface Appearances
Chapter 5: Revealing Shape and Contour
Chapter 6: Metal
Chapter 7: The Case of the Disappearing Glass
Chapter 8: An Arsenal of Lights
Chapter 9: The Extremes
Chapter 10: Traveling Light

Do not see this book as a How To Book but more like an understanding the light book so that you could really understand what is going on with the light. How it travels through the surfaces, it's shapes and sizes this would make you think and see "LIGHT" before shooting.

This book will help you master to shoot metals, glass and portraits. You will clearly have a better judgment about where to maintain detail or hide it.

And you will get to know deeply what is the size of the light, the 3 types of reflections and the family of angles.

With lot's of examples to follow through I'm pretty sure you will need this one if you want to master the light.



"Painting with Light" by John Alton (University of California Press)
ISBN: 0-520-08949-9

This is one of a kind book.

It's target to cinematographers with lots of schematics for famous old movie scenes from 1932 to 1960.

What I like in this book is the fact that you can use any kind of light, described there, to create better photographs.

From Fog Illumination, Summer Moonlight, Criminal Lighting, Lighting for a Campfire to Hollywood close-up.

You got it all and you can get that on your photos too.

What's in the book:
1. Hollywood Photography
2. Motion Picture Illumination
3. Mystery Lighting
4. Special Illumination
5. The Hollywood Close-Up
6. Outdoor Photography
7. Symphony in the Snow
8. Ocean Voyage
9. Visual Music
10. The Portrait Studio
11. The Laboratory
12. Day and Night, Ladies, Watch Your Light
13. Motion Picture Theatres
14. The World is a Huge Television Studio
and We Are All Photographers

It's all in Black and White with lots of pictures of some lighting sets to help you figure out the illumination used at that time.

I liked this book because I also make some set photography and would like to know how I could use the available lighting to improve my work.

Must have if you want to try some different approach to your work.



"Matters of Light and Depth" by Ross Lowell (Lowel-Light Manufacturing, Inc.)
ISBN: 0-9662504-0-0

This is a simple book explaining the steps of the Light.

Basic Theory, Tools and Tactics, Techniques and Exercises for the Eye.

You will get to know Hard Light and Soft Light, cast shadows, Composing and Framing, One Light and Two Light Techniques as well as how to use daylight to shoot interiors.

One approach to how you light your light it depends upon whether it's transparent, translucent or opaque.

What you will find inside:
1. Lights of Passage
- The Best Ways to Achieve the Worst Lighting
- Lighting Planes
- Hard & Soft Light
- On Face Value
- Finessing
- Method Lighting
- Composing, Framing, Zooming, Dollying & Booming
- Video, Film & Still Lighting
2. Lighting by Numbers
- The One-Light Approach
- Two-Light Techniques
- Magic Numbers
- Multi-Light Logistics
3. In Broad Daylight
- Superior Exterior Lighting
- A Difference of Night & Day
- Outside In
4. Dynamic Lighting of Static Subjects
- Formula Follows Function
- The Art & Craft of Lighting Craft & Art
- Bringing Copy Art to Light
5. Shedding Light
- A Thousand Points of Light
- Meter Matters
- Color Temperature Matters
- Choosing & Loosing Light Kits
- Halogen Lamp, Socket & Finger Matter
- How to Avoid a Large Headache Setting up
a Small Studio
6. Hearing the Light
7. Lights-On Lessons & Resources
8. Terms of Enlightenment

A complete approach to lighting almost anything you need to create better pictures.



"Best Business Practices for Photographers" by John Harrington (Thomson-Course Technology)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59863-315-3
ISBN-10: 1-59863-315-5

This one is a technical one.

Ever wonder how to manage your photography business?

Well this book is for you. Although it's target are the American photographers and Industry some of the ideas presented can be applied to Europe and to your photography business.

It's a very well written book with 26 amazing chapters with lots of examples for you to improve your business.

What's inside:
Part I - Nuts and Bolts of Your Business
- You Are a Business-Now Let's Get to Work!
- Professional Equipment for Professional Photographers
- Planning and Logistics: Why a Thirty-Minute Shoot Can Take
3 Days to Plan
Part II - Financial and Personnel Considerations
- Working with Assistants, Employees and Contractors:
The Pitfall and Benefits
- Pricing Your Work to Stay in Business
- Overhead: Why What You Charge a Client Must Be
More Than You Paid For It
- Who Is Paying Your Salary and 401K?
- Insurance: Why It's Not Just Health-Related and
How You Should Protect Yourself
- Accounting: How We Do It Ourselves and What We
We Turn Over to an Accountant
Part III - Legal Issues
- Contracts for Editorial Clients
- Contracts for Corporate and Commercial Clients
- Contracts for Weddings and Rites of Passage
- Negotiations: Signing Up or Saying No
- Protecting Your Work: How and Why
- The Realities of an Infringement: Copyrights
and Federal Court
- Handling a Breach of Contract: Small Claims
and Civil Court
- Resolving Slow - and Non-Paying Clients
- Letters, Letters, Letters: Writing Like a
Professional Can Solve Many Problems
- Attorneys: When You Need Them, They're Your
Best Friend (or at Least Your Advocate)
Part IV - Storage and Archiving
- Office and On-Location Systems: Redundancy and
Security Beget Peace of Mind
- Digital and Analog Asset Management: Leveraging
Your Images to Their Maximum Potential
- Stock Solutions: Charting Your Own Course
Without the Need for a "Big Fish" Agency
Part V - The Human Aspect
- Care and Feeding of Clients (Hint: It's Not About
Starbucks and Fast-Food Burgers)
- Education, an Ongoing and Critical Practice:
Don't Rest on Your Laurels
- Striking a Balance Between Photography and Family:
How What You Love to Do Can Coexist with Your Spouse,
Children and Siblings if You Just Think a Little About It
- Charity, Community and Your Colleagues: Giving Back
Is a Good Karma

This is a perfect bedside book with lots of examples and a lot of information to keep your business running smoothly and profitable.



"Secrets of Lighting on Location: A Photographer's Guide to Professional Lighting Techniques" by Bob Krist (AMPHOTO Books)
ISBN: 0-8174-5823-9

This is one of my On-Location lighting book.

It's a simple book with lots of examples and good explanation of different lighting for on location photographer.

Also gives a different approach to lighting subjects on location. Lot's of diagrams and photos to follow through from available light to light modifiers.

What's inside:
* Introduction
- Transforming Locations with Light
- How to Use This Book
* Available Light
- Identifying Different Kinds of Light
- What is Color Temperature?
- Modifying Natural Light
- Shooting Portraits in Natural Light
* Flash Basics
- Guide Numbers
- The Hotshoe-Mount Flash
- Increasing Your Flash's Effectiveness
- Using Your Flash Off Camera with a Cord
- Bounce Flash
- Diffusing the Flash
- Blending Flash and Natural Light
- Fill Flash
* Multiple Flash
- Determining Exposure in Multiple-Flash Setups
- Using Polaroid Tests
- Battery-Powered Flash Units
- AC-Powered Flash Units
- TTL Exposure
* Continuous Light Sources
- What Continuous Light Sources Offer
- Combining Light Sources
- HMI Lights
* Light Modifiers
- Diffusing Light Modifiers
- Concentrating Light Modifiers
- The Magic of Bare-Tube Lighting
* Supporting and Transporting Light Sources
- Lightstands
- Booms
- Alternative Light-Positioning Devices
- Lighting-Equipment Cases
- Packing Lighting Equipment
* Gallery

You got it all for lighting on location.



"The Moment It Clicks" by Joe McNally (New Riders)
ISBN-13: 978-0-321-54408-7
ISBN-10: 0-321-54408-0

Last but not least of this first part is the acclaimed book by Legendary Magazine Photographer Joe McNally.

This book will not have diagrams nor will teach you how to better take photographs.

This is the kind of book I couldn't stop reading because it gives me a different view to approach my subjects on a shoot.

It also helps you to master your quick camera portraits and assignments because it helps you to see how stuff is made through a photojournalist perspective.

Joe also gives you the tips how he lights some of the photos on the book so you get a clear idea of what is to work on journalism stress.

At the end of the book Joe contemplates you with several pages of bar talk. I was reading this chapter and it seems that Joe was there near me telling the story.

What you can find inside:
Chapter 1: Shoot What You Love
Chapter 2: Keep Your Eye in The Camera
Chapter 3: The Logic of Light
Chapter 4: There's Always Something to Bounce Light off of
Joe's Lighting Tips
Joe's Camera Bag
Joe's Grip and Lighting Gear
The Barroom The Bar is Open

One of my bed side book and the pictures are so amazing!

With this book I conclude the first part of this 12 book list please take a look at part 2 for the rest.

Tip: 12 Must Read Books (Part 1)
Tip: 12 Must Read Books (Part 2)

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Adobe Releases Lightroom 1.4.1 Final Update

It looks like Adobe as finally released the so expected 1.4.1 version with corrections.

Since the redraw of version 1.4 and also Camera Raw people were expecting some fix replacements that finally become available.

The Lightroom 1.4.1 and Camera Raw 4.4.1 updates have been posted to the following locations: Lightroom (Mac, Win), Camera Raw (Mac, Win). The updates provide all of the changes included in the original Lightroom 1.4 and Camera Raw 4.1 releases but also include corrections for issues described below and in previous blog posts. The Camera Raw plug-in will also be available later this evening via the Adobe Update Manager and the Lightroom update can be located by choosing 'Check for Updates…' under the Help menu. The Lightroom and Camera Raw team apologize for any inconveniences caused by the issues presented in the initial updates

Lightroom

* Lightroom 1.4 incorrectly modified the EXIF time date field of images that had a metadata update applied. This incorrect modification does not appear in Lightroom or Bridge and is only viewable through third party EXIF tools. This error has been corrected in Lightroom 1.4.1 and all files in a Lightroom catalog that have been incorrectly modified will be corrected on their next metadata update. (Metadata can be updated by selecting the files in the Library grid view and choosing Command or CTRL + S to save and update the metadata.)
* Olympus JPEG files could render incorrectly in Lightroom 1.4, displaying an artifact in the exported file.
* Any conversion to DNG in Lightroom 1.4 (Windows Only) would cause the DNG file to become unreadable by Lightroom’s Develop Module or Camera Raw 4.4 in Photoshop. The issue has been corrected and files can be converted to DNG again in order to resolve the issue for existing files. Returning to the original native raw files is not necessary. The affected DNG files can be selected and converted again using the DNG Converter 4.4.1 available at www.adobe.com/dng/. This process is not required but recommended to ensure that a correct validation value is stored within the DNG files.
* Lightroom 1.4 provided degraded import performance relative to Lightroom 1.3.

Camera Raw

* Camera Raw 4.4 incorrectly modified the EXIF time date field of images that were saved as TIFF or JPEG files from the Camera Raw dialog. This has been corrected in Camera Raw 4.4.1
* Olympus JPEG files could render incorrectly in Camera Raw 4.4, displaying an artifact in the exported file.

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DIY: How to Assemble an Antenna to GI Triggers

What's inside the package:After posting the "Gadget Infinity & Pocket Wizard Side-By-Side" A lot of you been asking if I have made a transformation on my Gadget Infinity triggers in order for them to have a better range.

My answer, so far, was NO!! until I looked at this great video of how you can attach a 433mhz antenna onto the Gadget Infinity remote flash trigger and increase the range.

Here is the full video.



Thanks to Brad Shearer who were willing to share the video with all of us. Take a moment to look at his website too.

If you do not follow everything and you are more like the reading type then you must check the full detailed Mod at Jeremy Kuster's blog page and you even get a free Mod on how to make an external battery compartment case to fit 2 AA batteries instead of the versus the CR2 3V batteries.

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Tip: 580EX & 580 EXII Auto-shutoff Function For Remotes

If you are an owner of a Canon 580EX, like me, or upgraded to the 580EXII and plan to use it remotely, make sure you take this quick step to avoid having the flash auto-shutdown after each one minute period of inactivity and avoiding you some not so good mentioned comments like... what the fxxx happen to the flash?... or why this sxxx doesn't work anymore, it was working a couple of minutes ago?.

Well just save yourself from this and follow along :)

Most of the shooting I engage myself in that requires off-camera flash can be covered by my Canon Speedlites. The old 550EX power switch has 3 positions: Off, On, On w/Power-saving automatic idle shutdown.

With the 550EX's successor, the 580EXII (the updated 580EX), there are only two positions: Off, On. The automatic shutdown is enabled by default, and only requires an idle time of 60 seconds to shut the flash down. If you were using the flash on-camera, the flash would automatically power itself on when camera activity is detected but when the flash is detached, it doesn't wake back up.

These are the simple steps to disable automatic idle shutdown on a Canon 580EXII series flash:

1. Power the flash on (does not need to be attached to camera or PW)
2. Hold down the backlight/C.Fn button until "Fn 00 0" appears on the screen
3. Rotate the selector wheel until you see "Fn 01 0"
4. Press your selector button down so that the 0 begins flashing
5. Rotate your selector wheel to change the 0 to a 1
6. Rotate the selector to the "Fn 14 0" position and set it to 1
--- Update --- On the 580EXII is "Fn 01 0" position and set it to 1 ---//---
7. Press your selector button to save this parameter
8. Press your Mode button to return to the main screen

Pay attention that in order to disable auto-shutoff on the original 580EX series, select the "Fn 14 0" and set it to 1.

--- Update --- And for the 580EXII to disable auto-shutoff is "Fn 01 0" position and set it to 1 ---//---

Done! Now your flash will stay on as long as your power switch is in the "On" position.

Remember to switch it back on whenever you need to save some power when using the on camera flash.

--- Update --- I'm adding, bellow, 2 images taken from the Canon website with all the functions for each of the flashes, this way would be much better for you to change what best suits you on both models.

Custom functions for 580EX

Custom functions for 580EXII
---//---

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Photoshop CS4 LEAKED - The Video

In February I have showed you some of the photos from the leaked version of Photoshop CS4.

"Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended LEAKED" and now I leave you with a video from Photoshop World Orlando.

It seems that the it's really going to happen and was not only a rumor like many as asked me.

Not much has been said on the video but at least it's confirmed ;)

Enjoy the video

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Adobe Lightroom 2.0 Beta is Out!!!

Version 2 of Lightroom is now available as a public beta, (until August 31, 2008) allowing the photographic community to provide feedback on new features and workflow enhancements, so what are you waiting for?

Be sure to read the release notes for a careful understanding of what this BETA version is and what contents does it have.


Take a look at Scott Kelby Learning Center for some tips about the new Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 Beta version.

Here are some of the features this first Beta version brings:

IMPORTANT NOTES, PLEASE READ

Primary Known Issues

* Lightroom 2.0 beta will not upgrade Lightroom 1.x libraries. The beta is intended to be used for testing and feedback purposes. Lightroom 1.x and 2.0 beta libraries will be migrated to the finished version of Lightroom 2.0.
* While data loss is not expected, this is a very early ‘beta’ quality build and you should always work on duplicates of files that are securely backed up.
* Lightroom 2 beta will not overwrite or interfere with a machine that currently has Lightroom 1.3.1 installed.
* Develop settings applied in Lightroom 2.0 beta are not guaranteed to transfer correctly to the final version of 2.0. This is particularly true for localized corrections.
* The new Photoshop integration functionality is only available with Photoshop CS3 (10.0.1) and should only be used for testing purposes. Metadata associated with the original file may not carry over to the subsequent file saved from Photoshop
* Additional known issues are listed in the release notes.

New Features
Library

* Streamlined Library Layout
* Smart Collections
* Powerful Filter Bar to search and refine images
* Suggested Keywords for simplified keywording
* 10k pixel size limit raised to 30k pixels
* Output-based Collections

Multiple Monitors:

* -Four flexible modes for an alternate window: Grid, Loupe, Compare, Survey
(Check out the Live Loupe mode!)

Photoshop CS3 Integration:

* Open files in Photoshop as a Smart Object
* Select multiple images to merge as a Panorama
* Merge multiple exposures into a single Photoshop HDR image
* Load multiple files or virtual copies into Photoshop as separate layers in a single document.

Export Functionality:

* Auto-add exported images to the Lightroom catalog
* Auto Output Sharpening for images on export

Develop Module

* Non-Destructive Localized Correction for dodging and burning specific areas of an image
* Post Crop Vignette
* Basic Panel Keyboard Shortcuts
* Improved Auto Adjustment
* Improved memory handling through 64-bit support on OS X 10.5 and Vista 64-bit.(Not limited to develop module)

Print Module

* Picture Package for multi-page layouts
* Print Module output directly to JPEG
* Enhanced Print Sharpening based on PhotoKit Sharpener algorithms
* 16-bit Printing for Mac OS X 10.5

Additional Resource Links

* Lightroom video tutorials by Julieanne Kost: Lightroom 2 beta Tutorial Part I and Lightroom 2 beta Tutorial Part III. (Part II is on the way)
* Lightroom 2 beta preview by Ian Lyons
* Lightroom 2 beta review by Uwe Steinmueller at OutbackPhoto.com.
* Lightroom 2 beta review for our French-speaking photographers
* Photoshop Cafe provides a feature review and 1 hour training video.

I still miss the browse folders options, this way I do not have to always import photos into Catalogs or Collections just like we had on the Raw Shooter, maybe this will be available on the final version.

But so far I think they are making a tough product against the competition.

And I leave you with a great overview video from Terry White's Adobe Creative Suite Video Podcast that shows you all the cool new features of this version.

Just click on the image below to download the 32Mb video.

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