It would not surprise anyone who knows me well at all that I am a complete geography nerd. Many long years ago, when I was but a young thing, I was quite sure of what I wanted to be.

I envisioned myself, camera in hand, heading off into the wilds of….anywhere.

I could see myself traveling the globe, exploring little known places, meeting some of the world’s most exotic and obscure people and sending all that footage back to The National Geographic Magazine.

That’s not quite how things fell out, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still feel a certain leap in my chest when a copy of that august and venerable magazine lands in my hands.

Considering my serious, decades long, National Geographic addiction, imagine my delight upon receiving an advance copy of Rabari – Encounters With the Nomadic Tribe.

Seriously beautiful imagery combined with detailed technical info.

Rabari – Encounters With the Nomadic Tribe, by Mitchell Kanashkevich, combines arrestingly beautiful ‘portraits’ with detailed technical information. Like his book Seeing the Light (see my review here) this new book provides ample information about his thought process, shooting challenges and various technicalities.

Of the objectives and challenges of the project, Mr. Kanashkevich says:

“The aim was to photograph those Rabari who were still traditional, not only in their rituals, but visually, in how they dressed and decorated themselves. I also wanted the whole body of work to go to beyond a documentary record, to be beautiful, perhaps even a little romanticized, with a sense of timelessness to it.”

Surprisingly, he even includes his ‘outtakes’. Not many professional photographers are willing to let others see anything less than perfection. I found it wonderfully refreshing, as well as enjoying his well written thought process on how he arrived at each complete image.

Phenomenal photography with minimal equipment.

Did I mention that each of the ten examples in Rabari – Encounters With the Nomadic Tribe has gone on to either win awards or be seen in magazines – including the cover of the prestigious Geographical magazine from the Royal Geographical Society?

Lest you think you must possess thousands of dollars worth of expensive photography equipment to produce top caliber work worthy of being published in some of the world’s most note-worthy publications, you would be wrong. Here is a list of the equipment Mitchell Kanashkevich carried on his adventure among the Rabari:

• Canon 400D camera (Entry level DSLR capable of producing great results. The same goes for its later reincarnations)
• Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens (The cheap, plastic one)
• Canon 28mm f/2.8 lens
• Sigma 20mm f/1.8 wide angle lens
• Photoflex 5-in-1 collapsible reflector. It fits into a large backpack and has a silver, gold, silver/gold, white sides and a diffuser. I chose the reflector when I shot this project over a flash because it was easier to use and cheaper. As you will see though, a reflector can be a very powerful tool.

Read what he has to say about simplicity:

“My philosophy on the limitations we have as far as getting gear is simple – get something good enough and go out and shoot. Don’t waste time on “ifs” and “buts”. The only way to grow photographically is to take photos. Most cameras these days are much more capable than the average photographer and if there are limitations, look at them as creative challenges.”

Post processing information so detailed I LEARNED SOMETHING.

Perhaps my favorite part of the book is looking at Mr. Kanashkevich’s post processing. Every photographer has unique ways of doing various things. For example, if they shoot in the studio a lot, many carefully craft their lighting, even down to the shape and position of catch lights in the eyes. I have discussed this topic in more detail in my tutorial Studio Lighting With One Light.

Most professional photographers have a certain ‘look’ and ‘feel’ they’re going for in their final images. I REALLY like Mitchell Kanashkevich’s post processing look, but perhaps most importantly, he gave rather detailed descriptions of  “The ‘what’ and the ‘why’ of post processing”. In fact, his information was so complete I learned a thing or two about Lightroom that I immediately implemented on an image of my own.

Mr. Kanashkevich’s images have tremendous depth and clarity, as well as a certain luminous quality. I now have a better understanding of the ‘Luminance’ sliders in Lightroom.

Here is an image I took from my own deck on a recent foggy afternoon straight out of the camera:

I knew in my mind’s eye the feeling I wanted to evoke with this image. I have created an entire set of my own Lightroom presets and used one on this image. I was pleased, but still felt there was something missing. I really wanted to further tickle out the detail in the tall, golden grasses in the foreground. I learned from reading Rabari – Encounters With the Nomadic Tribe, how to utilize the ‘luminance’ slider to tickle those colors out. I was also able to make the sky shimmer a bit more. Here’s the final result, which has a much more mysterious and ‘mystical’ feeling to it:

Not everyone wants to be a fashion photographer.

There is so much information out there about how to photograph people in the studio or how to take ‘glamour’ shots and even fashion photography. But what if you don’t really want to be a fashion photographer or even a creepy curious guy trying to take photos of half-naked scantily clad dumb innocent young girls? Maybe you just want to take better shots as you travel through your everyday life. You could do worse than to learn a few things from Mitchell Kanashkevich.

He admits that this type of photography is not without its challenges and ‘uncomfortable’ making moments. But he even offers advice on how to breach the gap between you and your subject/s.

Check it out. Rabari – Encounters With the Nomadic Tribe is a great read. And while you’re at it, check out this great video featuring loads of Mr. Kanashkevich’s images:

© Deborah Wolfe for Studio on a Shoestring, 2011. All rights reserved.| Permalink |

Yes, you read correctly. Buy a copy of the new and fabulous e-book from Digital Photography School, Click! How to Take Gorgeous Photos of Your Kids before October 19, 2011, and you will automatically be eligible to win a Canon EOS Rebel T3i body and lens. That is a THOUSAND dollar bundle of creative potential prize.

Let’s Talk About the Book for a Moment.

I have been photographing children for almost 25 years and if I was going to write a book about children’s photography, Click! How to Take Gorgeous Photos of Your Kids would be that book.

Rachel Devine is a wildly talented, feet-planted-firmly-on-the-ground photographer with boat loads of common sense. In other words, she’s just like me! Not that I would ever toot my own horn. Gracious me no. I’m southern. We don’t do that. We’re common as dirt down here.

In reading the book I was struck by several really clever things Ms. Devine had to say. For example, in the chapter entitled The Myth of Digital Perfection she says:

“Back in the early days of digital photography, I learned the new medium on my Nikon D100 while still shooting film alongside it for my business. I soon dropped the film and switched completely to digital, and not long afterwards I had a realization about my own work: at some point I’d become a worse photographer than I was when I started out all those years before.”

The Myth of Digital Perfection

She feels it is because she fell prey to the ‘myth of digital perfection’, wherein one stops THINKING while shooting, assuming that everything ‘wrong’ can be ‘corrected’ in post production. It makes us lazy. We no longer take great care in framing images, making sure our exposures are spot on, checking our white balance or even noticing what’s in the background.

Better than simply noticing and cataloging what can and often does go wrong in digital photography, Ms. Devine has some very insightful and easy to implement suggestions to overcome many of these impediments to GREAT photography. Among other things, she says you should limit your number of……(did you think I was going to spoon feed you this information darlings?)

“Really, kids are not that saturated and smooth!”

Ms. Devine also feels we over-edit our images of kids these days, and I couldn’t agree more. On that subject she says:

“Another major issue with my transition to digital was that perfectly fine images were suffering from over-processing in photoshop. It went beyond the minor exposure, color, and contrast adjustments that were once the realm of the lab and correspondingly needed in small amounts for any digital image. It also fell short of a style that I was thoughtfully pursuing with the new freedom of digital editing. It was simply over-editing because I could, and thought I should. The problem was that I wasn’t stopping to actually think about why I was making the choices I was. Really, kids are not that saturated and smooth!”

Click! How to Take Gorgeous Photos of Your Kids is a really great photography ‘cook’ book. Rachel Devine assumes you at least know the front end from the back end of a camera. Beyond that, she gives fantastic tips, techniques and pointers on everything from the psychology of children’s photography, to set ‘staging’, managing energy levels and personality types, and telling an effective visual story.

I’m glad I have the book. It reminds of of a good many things I’ve forgotten, opened my eyes to some new things (!) and made me slightly wistful for the days of yore when I was first starting out. If you are at all interested in photographing children for either fun or profit, this will be a welcome addition to your bookshelf.

You might also want to read some of my tutorials on children’s photography:

Photographing Babies, Birth to One Year – Tips and Techniques

Photographing Young Children with Low-Key Lighting

High Key Portrait Lighting Tutorial

Low Key Portrait Portrait Lighting Tutorial

© Deborah Wolfe for Studio on a Shoestring, 2011. All rights reserved.| Permalink |

I LOVE the folks over at DPS. They consistently put out great content about the subject of photography AND they publish AMAZING books. They just keep partnering with more high quality photographers and bringing all sorts of helpful advice, tips and insights to the market place. Their latest offering, CLICK! How To Take Gorgeous Photos of Your Kids explores a subject that is near and dear to my heart…children’s photography. It is the one genre of photography that is the most accessible to the largest number of people and therefore offers the greatest opportunity to do something fun, challenging and rewarding AND get paid for doing it. That looks like a win-win proposition to me. Even if you don’t want to do it for hire, it’s still great for our family photo albums to be fun and distinctive.

This time DPS has partnered with Rachel Devine, a PHENOMENAL photographer who works in the field of commercial children’s photography. Rachel has got some SERIOUS chops. This is one of the career paths I would have chosen, had I not instead become a world class kayaker and an internationally renown quantum physicist. But enough about me and my little fantasies.

So, if you want to do any of the following, this could be the book for you:

• Make photographing your kids fun again
• Go beyond the ‘click and hope’ approach
• Avoid taking staged and fake looking photos
• Add style and emotion to your shots

After all, who wouldn’t want to take fabulous shots like this?!

Photo copyright © Rachel Devine

Oh wait….maybe me!

Ms. Devine and I obviously think alike : )

Grab How to Take Gorgeous Photos of Your Kids Now and Save $10

If you order the book between now and Monday October 3rd, you pay only $19.99. After that, the price goes up to $29.99.

Check out my full review of another great book by DPS, The Essential Guide to Portrait Photography.

© Deborah Wolfe for Studio on a Shoestring, 2011. All rights reserved.| Permalink |

I have been a huge fan of Totally Rad’s Photoshop Actions and Lightroom Presets for a long time. The team over at Totally Rad have a way of creating easy to use products that enhance photographic creativity, yet are simple and elegant to use.

The Learning Curve Flattened

I’ve been a Photoshop user for well over a decade. It is a fantastic tool and there are many reasons it is the industry standard. The breadth and width of Photoshop software is mind boggling. Take any 10 people and ask them to preform a task in Photoshop, and you’ll likely see 10 unique ways of approaching the task. I’ve often said Photoshop has a learning curve so steep it leans out over you, like a rock overhang.

You can do so many things with Photoshop – photo edit, illustrate, draw, create composite images, drop in text layers with their own multi-dimensional effects, etc.

And therein lies part of the problem. It takes a long time to learn how to use Photoshop and an even longer time to become proficient at it. Many people never get much further than the front door, metaphorically speaking.

RadLab changes all that. It focuses on the PHOTOGRAPHER. Why does that matter, you ask? Because photographers are VISUAL ARTISTS. We view the world, well….through our visual sense. With RadLab you can easily adjust sliders and simply watch the effects.

Doug Boutwell is a Genius

Don’t tell him I said that because it could go to his head. He had taken all of his great ideas and managed to combine them all into one easy to use interface. Among RadLab’s many attributes, the following are the ones that leap out at me as particularly fabulous:

• Easy to understand and use basic adjustments
• Non-Destructive image editing through the ability to create a Photoshop Smart Filter
• Consistent adjustments across all images sizes
• Infinite possible combinations of visual effects
• And did I mention it’s visual?

RadLab takes what can be a very confusing, complex and time consuming task and turns it into a fun filled blast.

Check out these articles and reviews on other Totally Rad products:

Review: New Lightroom Presets From Totally Rad Really Deliver

Review: Totally Rad Lightroom Black & White Presets Produce Glorious Images

Review: New Totally Rad Lightroom ‘Effects’ Presets Add Visual Interest to Photographs

Review: Totally Rad Lightroom Presets Total Package

Totally Rad Photoshop Actions and Lightroom Presets

How to Elevate Your Snapshots With Adobe Lightroom Presets

© Deborah Wolfe for Studio on a Shoestring, 2011. All rights reserved.| Permalink |

Hot on the heels of their last photography book, Photo Nuts and Shots, the folks over at Digital Photography School have released yet another high quality ‘how-to’ photography book. This latest book, Captivating Color, focuses on the creative and dramatic use of color in photography. This is a subject near and dear to my own heart. I have often referred to myself as a ‘color ho’. Yeah. I said it. I have been known to use unexpected wildly colored backgrounds in my portrait work, as shown in Using Bold Color in Portraiture – Tips and Techniques and How to Photograph Large Groups in the Studio.

I received my review copy yesterday morning and browsed my way through it most of the day. Like all of the books put out through Digital Photography School, this one is visually stunning.

Captivating Color is packed with helpful information about how to really elevate your photography through the use of color. While some of the information is a bit technical, it is written in an easy to follow format. Light and its effect on color are explained, as well as how to adjust color temperature in post-processing,  along with visual examples.

A quick rundowns of the table of contents shows all the information covered in this great new book.

SOME IDEAS AND THEORIES ON COLOR:

• The concept of visual weight
• Speaking with color
• Color and emotional impact
• Less is more
• The power of color order

CONTROLLING COLOR DURING THE SHOOT:

• Light and color
• Color and different types of available light
• Direction of light
• Controllable artificial light – the flash and the reflector
• Manipulating the scene
• Isolating what matters

CONTROLLING COLOR IN POST-PROCESSING

• Color temperature and mood
• The multi-purpose color balance
• Shaping the story and mood through individual color adjustment
• Making things disappear in Photoshop
• Some tools of the trade

If you order within the first week, you also receive a SECOND photography book FREE.

That’s hard to beat. Lemme see if I can do the math….one plus nothing, carry the ten, move the decimal…..equals…..ZERO. That’s a really great price. Lest you think that ‘give away’ is nothing much to write home about, think again. BOTH books are authored by the same person – Mitchell Kanashkevich. Mitchell is a freelance travel and documentary photographer who circles the globe shooting stock and travel-related stories for Getty and Corbis Images.

Seeing the Light is all about making the most out of available light using minimal equipment. I have not, heretofore been a strobist. However I am becoming ever more tempted to step in that direction and this book is a great ‘road map’ to mark the path.

Mitchell lays it all out; equipment, flashes, gels, use of reflectors etc, as well as clear, easy to read diagrams.

He also shows large versions of his images so we can fully appreciate what all these diagrams can help all of us achieve.

Seeing the Light covers a lot of ground in three broad categories – The Flash, The Reflector and Natural Light:

THE FLASH

• Introduction
• The equipment that I use
• Using the flash
• Sculpting with natural light and a flash outdoors
• Sculpting with natural light and a flash indoors
• The flash and the light bulb
• Playing with fire

THE REFLECTOR

• Introduction
• Using the reflector, my equipment
• Sculpting and modeling with reflector light
• Adding drama with reflector light
• Quick fill light

NATURAL LIGHT

• Introduction
• Using natural light
• Sculpting with natural light indoors
• The “Magic Hour”
• Backlight

IN CONCLUSION:

Both of these books, Captivating Color and Seeing the Light are chock full of good, clear, concise information all designed to help you make your photographs more emotive and impactful.

If you order within the first week, you are cashing in on an INCREDIBLE value. TWO fantastic photography ‘how-to’ books for ONLY $14.99. That is what we in America call a NO BRAINER. Do it. You’ll be a better photographer for it.

If you’re interested in learning more about using reflectors as another light source or to bounce in just a little bit of fill, check out Low Key Lighting Tutorial and Studio Lighting for Headshots Tutorial.

Read about Digital Photography School’s other books – Transcending Travel, the PERFECT companion for Seeing the Light, Photo Nuts and Shots and my personal favorite, The Essential Guide to Portrait Photography.

© Deborah Wolfe for Studio on a Shoestring, 2011. All rights reserved.| Permalink |

There are only about 24 hours left to purchase your copy of Photo Nuts and Shots and still qualify to win a Sony A55 Digital Camera with 18-55mm lens AND the 25% discounted price of $14.99.

The original contest for a free DSLR was supposed to conclude at the end of the first week after the book’s release date. However, Photo Nuts and Shots was so well received that it attracted another sponsor giving away another camera!

All of the photography books released from Digital Photography School are extremely high quality and Photo Nuts and Shots is no different in that regard. This is a visually stunning book chock FULL of technical, as well as creative photography ideas and information. Take a look at the table of contents.

Photo Nuts and Shots covers a wide variety of topics, such as:

• Using the histogram
• How to see
• Photo appreciation
• Artistic intention
• Emotion
• Motivation
• The quality of light (which includes such subtopics as Brightness, Position, Size, Color, Surface Qualities, Reflection)
• Rule of thirds
• Multiple planes of interest

That’s just a small sampling of the broad subject area covered by the book. Most of us visual artists are…..mmmmm….visual. So let me show you some of the slurpy interior pages of Photo Nuts and Shots.

Even without the possibility of winning a FREE Sony A55 Digital Camera and 18-55mm lens, this is a FANTASTIC book worthy of a place of honor on your book shelf. Grab one for yourself and another for a friend. It would make a great gift. I know I always appreciate the gift of a good book!

© Deborah Wolfe for Studio on a Shoestring, 2011. All rights reserved.| Permalink |

Like its predecessor this book is stunningly beautiful. It is filled with Mr. Kanashkevich’s rich, saturated imagery from around the globe:

Digital Photography School has this to say about the book-

Here’s why we’re super proud of this eBook and believe it’ll improve your photography:

• Because it’s meaty – 80 pages packed with brand new teaching on a wide spread of topics (see below for what it covers)
• Because it’s actionable – A great blend of theoretical knowledge and practical advice
• Because we SHOW you how – Each page contains inspiring real life example images to illustrate the subjects (with EXIF data so you know what went into the shots)
• Because it propels you to DO something – Exercises throughout the book take this away from just being about ‘theory’ and get you DOING something with the knowledge you’re learning
• Because it’s for everyone – Accessible by beginners shooting with basic gear, yet challenging for more advanced photographers with a DSLR
• Because it’s accessible – Beautifully Designed, Easy to Read and Available for Immediate Download as a PDF Today
• Because it’s Guaranteed – you get a 60 Day No questions asked Money Back Guarantee

For those who want to brush up on the basics, check out their Photo Nuts and Bolts ebook. You can also read my review of The Essential Guide to Portrait Photography.

© Deborah Wolfe for Studio on a Shoestring, 2010. All rights reserved.| Permalink |

I have a confession. I originally ordered this e-book to figure out how I might want to format my own e-book about photography. Then I received it and thought ‘well why bother now?’ Because every single thing that can be thought of and covered about the topic of portrait photography, HAS been thought of and covered in this jewel of perfection. This is a seriously good book covering all the basics of portrait photography. It is the kind of book I would have hunkered down with all those decades years ago and DEVOURED. Over and over. It is essentially a slice of the ‘best of’ ProBlogger’s digital photography school website.

I know I just said this was a book about the basics of portrait photography. However, it is in no way a ‘basic’ book. It is, in a word, beautiful. Let’s face it, if you’re the kind of person who reads this type of material, you’re a photography fanatic. You live, breathe and sometimes drool imagery, and The Essential Guide to Portrait Photography does not disappoint in this area. I have no idea what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t this sumptuous, visual feast of an e-book. Here is an example of one of the interior pages:

But this tome is not just another pretty face either. The information offered in this book is top notch and comprehensive. Just listing some of the chapter titles will give you an idea of the wide array of portrait photography topics covered:

• 20 Ways to Take Stunning Portraits
• How to Bypass the Portrait Mode on Your Digital Camera and Get Great Portraits
• 4 Quick tips for Portraits
• Photographing Children – Composition
• Is Portrait Formatting Always Best for Portraits?
• Add Interest and Movement into Your Shots with Wind
• How to Photograph People When Traveling
• Asking Permission to Photograph People
• How to Take Environmental Portraits
• What the Mona Lisa can Teach you About Taking Great Portraits
• A Posing Technique From a Girl With a Pearl Earring
• A Fresh Look at Depth of Field
• Portrait Photography’s Power Posing Parts I & II
• Where is Your Subject Looking and Why Does it Matter?
• “Does My Butt Look Big in This?” – What Clothes to Wear in Portraits
• 11 Tips for Better Candid Photography
• Self-Portrait Photography Tips
• 12 Tips for Taking Great Group Photos
• Shooting Portraits Like a Pro on a Budget
• 13 Tips for Improving Outdoor Portraits
• Introduction to Portrait Lighting

And if that wasn’t enough, there is a bonus interview section at the back of the book with 5 serious heavy hitters in the industry – David Duchemin, Neil Creek, Jack Hollingsworth, Kris Krug, Chase Jarvis and Bert Stephani. These busy and successful working pros sat down and gave some very interesting thoughts, ideas, tips and philosophies. Well worth the read.

PROS -

Covers a vast amount of information and presents it in an easy to read and understand format. The Essential Guide to Portrait Photography is a great book for beginners/intermediates and a really good ‘reminder’ for the advanced amateur or pro.

CONS-

Not many. It doesn’t go into extreme depth on any one area, but certainly makes up for that in its breadth.

Would you like to read more? Then check out these articles:

How to Photograph Large Groups in the Studio

High Key Portrait Lighting Tutorial

Low Key Portrait Lighting Tutorial

Depth of Field – Photography Tutorial

Photographing Babies, Birth to One Year – Tips and Techniques

Photographing Young Children with Low-Key Lighting – Tutorial

Studio Lighting for Headshots – Tutorial

© Deborah Wolfe for Studio on a Shoestring, 2010. All rights reserved.| Permalink |

THE USUAL RECAP:

This is the fourth and final in a series of reviews about the new Totally Rad Lightroom Presets offered by Doug Boutwell over at Totally Rad. The first three reviews focused on the Basics, Black & White and Effects. This review will focus on the Vignettes and Toning presets.

GROUND RULES:

Same as the other three, except I worked with ALL of the presets as I saw fit for this review. Once again, the images are first shown straight out of the camera and other than using the presets, have had no other Lightroom or Photoshop adjustments.

METHODS:

Lots of fun clicking and note taking. Still using my favorite Wonder Woman notebook : )

IMAGES:

The first image was taken outdoors in rather low natural light. I shot this with a Nikon D70 (appropriate substitutes would be the Nikon D90 and D300).  Here it is straight out of the camera:

I did some Basics adjustments first (Contrast, Brightside/Lite and Highlight Hero/Medium) then from the Effects presets I chose Golden Age/Strong. The image still wasn’t as refined as I wanted it to be, so I next used See-Pee-Ya!/Lite from the Vignettes & Toning presets. I really like how the image is starting to look very painterly:

I decided to go back to the Basics and see what might happen. I quickly clicked through the entire list of presets and liked a combination of Brightside/Lite and Electric Skies/Lite best. The results are quite lovely. The image is still warm and has a dreamlike painterly feeling, but there is more black and therefore more detail in the shadows:

I wanted to up the drama factor, so I selected the Michelangelo vignette. The result is stunning. The background falls away, yet detail remains and the subject appears to be almost spotlit:

My next image was shot in the studio with a Nikon 24-120 f/3.5-5.6 lens. This is not a fast lens, but as I was shooting with studio strobes I didn’t need a fast lens. Here is the image straight out to the camera (Nikon D70) and it is just perfect the way it is. The exposure, color balance and contrast are superb. I LOVE studio lighting! I also love this tulip colored paper:

Despite the fact that the image is perfection straight out of the camera, I couldn’t resist tinkering with the Basics….just to see what I could come up with. Zowie! Talk about some super saturated color and POP! Check out the results of using A Beginning/Strong, Contrast, Shadows & Blacks, Electric Skies/Lite, Highlight Hero/Medium and Smack My Pix Up/Lite. It kind of has that hot, stylized David LaChapelle look. Almost:

This is my last review of these presets and I wanted to go back to the Black & White presets. I really love these beauties. I took the image above, with all those adjustments from the Basics and applied the black and white preset Riot Juice. What a perfectly lovely black and white image, with beautiful tonal range. The shadows have detail and so do the highlights. Incredibly dreamy stuff:

This image could also go either cooler or warmer. I decided on warmer and went back to the Vignettes & Toning presets and selected Chocolate Rain/Light. The result is a warm, brown image that still retains all the hallmarks I outline above of a well exposed and ‘printed’ black and white photograph:

To round out this final review, I chose Donatello from the five available vignettes. Perfection. It added just the right touch of depth and drama to an already fabulous image:

PROS-

As with all the other presets in this set, the Vignettes & Toning presets are a super fast, easy and fun way to create a wide variety of looks to your photographs.

CONS-

A bit heavy overall on the yellow side of the color spectrum for my personal taste.

CONCLUSION:

GOOD STUFF. When you take the entire set of Totally Rad Lightroom Presets together, you have a POWERFUL set of image post-processing tools at your fingertips for a surprising low price. Presets like these help make Lightroom a phenomenal image management and post-processing system, either alone on in concert with Photoshop. They can also help streamline work flow. Depending on how heavy your shooting load is, they could drastically reduce your hours in front of the computer.

Bottom line? I’m happy to have them loaded on my machine.

Would you like to read more? Then check out these articles:

Review: New Lightroom Presets From Totally Rad Really Deliver

Review: Totally Rad Lightroom Black & White Presets Produce Glorious Images

Review: New Totally Rad Lightroom ‘Effects’ Presets Add Visual Interest to Photographs

High Key Lighting Tutorial

Low Key Lighting Tutorial

How to Set Up a Photo Booth in Your Home

Using Bold Color in Portraiture – Tips and Techniques

Studio Lighting for Headshots Tutorial

Photographing Young Children with Low Key Lighting Tutorial

© Deborah Wolfe for Studio on a Shoestring, 2010. All rights reserved.| Permalink |

A BRIEF RECAP:

In my previous two reviews about the new Totally Rad Lightroom Presets,  I discussed the Basics and Black & White presets. This review will focus on the Effects presets. As mentioned in those earlier posts, these presets are offered by Doug Boutwell through Totally Rad in four sections; the Basics, Black & White, Effects and Vignettes and Toning.

GROUND RULES:

All photographs in this review were taken by me. Other than the Totally Rad Lightroom Presets, they have had no other Lightroom or Photoshop adjustments. I show each image straight out of the camera, and then follow with a series of image versions which show the different effects achieved with various preset combinations.

As with the Black & White review, most images are the result of first running some presets from the Basics section and then adding Effects.

METHODS:

In my earlier reviews I clicked a lot. This time, to keep my mind limber and receptive, I did a Bathroom Cleaning Mediation before beginning. This is similar, yet different, from the Zen practice of chopping wood and carrying water. Other than that, I still clicked a lot and paid attention to the results. Per usual, I wrote copious notes in my trusty Wonder Woman notebook.

IMAGES:

This first image was taken in Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island in Pensacola, Florida. I shot it with one of my favorites cameras, a Canon PowerShot A590IS. These little cameras have a fantastic wide angle lens that can be tilted off axis with some stunning results. Reminder to self: do tutorial on how to ROCK point and shoots with wide angle lenses.

Back to the topic at hand. Here is the image straight out of the camera. I would love to see SOMEONE do a fashion shoot in this location:

First I ran it through the Basics, using Highlight Hero/Strong and Electric Skies/Lite. Then I added a combination of Eddie Would Go/Strong and Golden Age/Strong to produce the effect below. There is a lovely, soft and warm glow about the image. So many of the presets in this section remind me of movies I have seen. I expect the spiritual ‘savior’ of your choice to walk through these doors at any moment:

I always struggle with giving up detail in an image. All that softness comes with a price; loss of detail. So I returned to the Basic’s and added A Beginning/Strong to this image. I really like how this added more black to the overall image and made the shadows more distinct:

The last thing I did was add one of the five different choices of vignettes offered with these presets, in this case Raphael. They are in the last section of these presets I will be reviewing – Vignettes and Toning. I really LOVE the depth and texture this particular vignette added. Once again, I am reminded of a movie and I refer to this as the 300 look. I could totally see Leonidas striding vigorously through that door.

My next image was taken outside in natural light with my trusty Nikon D70 (an comparable substitute would be the D90 or D300) with a 50mm f/1.4 lens. This is the image straight out of the camera. Overall, it’s pretty good. Exposure is spot on and color balance is pleasingly neutral, although the contrast is a bit flat:

I started with the Basics (A Beginning/Lite and Auto/Brightness), then went to the Effects and selected Friendly Confines/Strong. The result was bright, golden and a bit contrasty. There is a noticeable color shift towards yellow and it shows mostly in the hair. That said, I really like it in all its bright liveliness.

If warm and fuzzy is not your cup of tea, not to fear. Just hit the skids. Or at least the Skid Row effect. Here I used it set to medium and got instant ‘corpse-ification’ (and cue quote from Joss Whedon’s Firefly “Here lies Zoe, my autumn flower, somewhat less attractive now that she’s all corpse-ified and gross.” ) Now my secret is out; I’m a complete sci-fi NERD. But back to the subject at hand. The Skid Row effect still falls well within the desaturated color and inky blacks of the earlier mentioned 300 look.

For a desaturated look that is a bit warmer and less harsh, I undid the Skid Row preset, then used Sweating Bullets/Strong. The blacks and shadows are still blocked, but the skin tones are warmer. It is an interesting effect.

The last image in my line up was also taken outside in natural light with that same D70 and 50mm f/1.4 lens. Here it is straight out of the camera. Much like the image above, it is basically good to go. A little flat, contrast wise, but still quite acceptable:

First, the Basics ( Auto/Tone, Auto/White Balance, Brightside/Lite, and Highlight Hero/Lite). Lovely really, isn’t it? The image now has more snap and pop. The skin tones are warmer, cheeks rosier, eyes livelier and the contrast level has come up. Altogether a fully ‘finished’ image, good for delivery to the client or customer:

However, this review is all about the Effects, so lets get some effects up in this house.  I selected the Golden Age preset set to medium. The result was a very soft and gently warm toned image. Of course, you do lose detail when you basically added a big jolt of yellow into the ‘filter pack’ on your ‘enlarger’. That’s old school speak from back when we printed ‘photographs’ onto paper in a ‘dark room’. Which we rode to in our horse and buggy. Anyway, it is a nice effect, but I’d like to see something a bit snappier.

So I put it in full reverse and went back to the Basics and added Auto/Tone. That brightened things up a bit. Actually I really like this one. It’s soft and warmly reminiscent of ads shot back in the late 1960s and early 1970s by Sarah Moon:

Finally, I wanted to use the desaturated look in a less extreme way. I undid the Golden Age preset and applied Sweating Bullets/Strong and the Basics preset Brightside/Lite. The result is just slightly desaturated:

PROS-

The Effects presets are a fast and easy way to create some of the more trendy looks currently hot in photography. They play well with the Basics used either as a foundation or as a supplement after the fact.

CONS-

I admit I’m not so much into the ‘degraded, color shifted snapshots ripped out of some random family’s beat up album from the 1960s and 70s’ look. I realize mine is most likely the minority opinion on this matter. Entire recent photography careers have been launched and propelled with these types of effects. That said, I suppose it isn’t really a drawback, if you like these types of effects. Besides, they come bundled in with all the other presets, which I am totally happy with.

CONCLUSION:

I don’t personally care for these presets for people photography. However, they do have fantastic potential for landscape, architectural and product shots and I will be using them for such.

In my next and final review of the Totally Rad Lightoom Presets, I will be discussing the Vignettes & Toning section.

If you would like to read more, check out these articles:

Review: New Lightroom Presets From Totally Rad Really Deliver

Review: Totally Rad Lightroom Black & White Presets Produce Glorious Images

Review: New Lightroom Presets From Totally Rad Really Deliver

High Key Studio Lighting – Tutorial

Low Key Portrait Lighting – Tutorial

Outdoor Portraiture – Overcoming Challenges

Depth of Field – Photography Tutorial

© Deborah Wolfe for Studio on a Shoestring, 2010. All rights reserved.| Permalink | 2 comments