Yanik's Photo School » TUTORIALS

Adding a Watermark in Lightroom 3 – Video Tutorial

Yanik — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 11:08:41 +0000

This is the third and last Lightroom 3 video tutorial that I’ll be posting on the new and upgraded features in this wonderful software. There are more new tweaks and upgrades but, for me, these three are the major ones that will affect the quality of my work. If you’d like more detailed tutorials on Lightroom 3, I invite you to sign up to any of the Lightroom 3 tutorials from Kelby Training.

In this Lightroom 3 video tutorial, I’ll be covering the upgrades made to the watermarking feature. You’ll notice that you have a lot more flexibility with placement and design which will make you watermark more professional.

If you missed my first 2 tutorials, you can check them out here:

Noise Reduction in Lightroom 3
Shooting Tethered in Lightroom 3

Here are some great books from the YPS bookshelf.

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Shooting Tethered in Lightroom 3 – Video Tutorial

Yanik — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 11:05:29 +0000

As you guys know, I’m a big fan of Lightroom. And with Lightroom 3 out, I’ve discovered many cool tweaks and upgrades like super fast importing and disk deletion as well as image preview generation. They seem like little things but it just keeps time on your side just a bit more.

On top of that, the guys over at Adobe added a great new feature in Lightroom 3 that I just love! Tethering. No more need for third party software to shoot tethered. Woohoo! Just plug your camera in your computer via the USB cable and you,re off! It’s really that simple. Watch the video and you’ll see how Adobe just made my life that much easier.

Here are some great books from the YPS bookshelf.

ddddd

How to easily start up and market your own
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Noise Reduction in Lightroom 3 – Video Tutorial

Yanik — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 11:08:23 +0000

It’s been a while since my last video tutorial but I’m back with a microphone that actually works now. So I thought I would test it out on a new tutorial.

Lightroom 3 just came out a few days ago and I couldn’t miss the opportunity to show you my favorite new upgrade. This isn’t a new feature in Lightroom 3. It’s an upgrade. But what an upgrade it is. It’s the luminance noise reduction. I actually never used it in Lightroom 2 since the results weren’t good. I would have to go into Photoshop and use Topaz Denoise. But now my workflow has been reduced thanks to the major improvements in the luminance noise reduction feature.

I’ve also added a few tidbits on some cool new tweaks that I like that don’t really need their own tutorial. Sit back, and enjoy the video.

Here are some great books from the YPS bookshelf.

ddddd

How to easily start up and market your own
profitable photography business

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Lighting Tutorial: Fashion Lighting Made Easy

Yanik — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 11:18:46 +0000

I did a shoot back in February for one of my regular clients that was more fashion oriented. It was a 3-day shoot here in Montreal at the Blah Blah Studio.

The most important thing was to have consistent lighting throughout the 3 days since the chosen photos would be used for both the cover and chapter openers. Continuity was the key.

So we spent roughly 30 minutes testing various lighting setups. From simple one light to more complex with up to 5 lights. At the end we went with one of the most standard setups around. A simple 2-light setup. Have a look at the diagram…

Both lights were set at roughly 45 degrees about 3 feet away and about a foot above the models’ heads. I put the strobe slightly above their heads to create a small shadow underneath the chin. Both strobes had a 2 x 3 softbox for a soft diffused look. The key for my client was to eliminate as much shadows as possible. So this setup was ideal. My Nikon D300s was set at 1/200 sec at f9 and ISO 100. For this setup, both 400w strobes were at 50% power.

So there you have it! Sometimes it really doesn’t have to be complicated.

Here are a few sample shots from the photo shoot. Note that, a part from a slight curves adjustment in Lightroom, these images haven’t been retouched as of yet so they’re pretty much straight from the camera.

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10 Steps to Taking Wildlife Photos From the Car

Yanik — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:34:21 +0000

Spring is just around the corner and my urge as a passionate nature photographer, is to jump in my car and drive to the nearest national or provincial park and take photos of wildlife as they emerge from the cold slumber of winter. I get a real kick out of observing wildlife in their natural habitat and I do need to practice some important strategies if I want to capture those perfect wildlife photos from the driver’s seat of my car.

So I thought I would share with you how to take wildlife photos from the car to get those perfect shots. So let’s get right to it.

Step 1 – Have the Right Lens

Shooting from your car, in most cases, means that you’ll be pretty far from the wildlife. So if you can’t get close, make sure you have a lens that can bring you closer to the action. I use my trusty Nikkor 80-400mm VR. I would suggest at least a 300mm lens or else you might be disappointed with your range. And now with both full frame and cropped frame bodies, I would strongly recommend using a cropped frame camera to give you that extra reach. My 80-400mm gives me 600mm of reach on my D300s body.

Step 2 – Stabilize Your Lens

Bring a soft surface to put on your rolled down window. I have a small DIY sand bag about the size of my hand that I place door window’s edge” this does 2 things, it prevents the lens from scratches and also gives you stability. You can simply use a Ziplock bag filled with dirt or even an old shirt or towel. If you want to go all out and can afford it, have a look at the Groofwin Pod.

Step 3 - Bring Some Human Food

Bring a lunch or some snacks. This may seem basic enough but it has happened to me before being at Omega Park and my stomach just wouldn’t stop growling out of shear hunger frustration. This can get annoying and makes for a less enjoyable photography experience. Not to mention scare the animals away!

Step 4 – Bring some Animal Food

Bring some food for the animals. Verify first with the park to see if you’re allowed to feed the animals. Some smaller private parks or animal watching areas will allow it but most government run parks won’t.

Step 5 – Check the weather

Sounds basic enough but we can’t always wait for that perfect weather day. It might get cold or even worse, start raining so bring some warm and dry clothes. It can get chilly in the Spring or Fall with your window down so check the Park’s weather and dress accordingly. Shooting through your car window is not a pleasant experience but it might be your only option if the weather gets to nasty. If so don’t forget the Windex!

Step 6 – Rent a Hybrid Vehicle

If you’re away from home on vacation and you’re renting a vehicle, try getting your hands on a hybrid like the Toyota Prius. Why, you might ask? Because when you’re driving slowly, the car runs on the battery without any sound or vibrations to scare the animals away.

Step 7 – Find the perfect Spots to Shoot

In most parks, animal activity is generally in specific locations. Check out geo-tagged images on Flickr or other photo sites and note them down on your smart phone or the ancient pen and paper option. You can also ask park staff and they might know where some of the rarer animals have recently been spotted.

Step 8 – The Stakeout

I can guaranty you that your best shots won’t be just by slowly driving by, stopping a few minutes to shoot that dear or heron then moving on. Trust me on that! If you want to capture wildlife behavior like birds fishing, you’ll need to be part of the environment. Be one with nature Grasshopper. The trick is to stop the car, turn off the motor, set up your gear and wait patiently. Try not to move too much inside the car either. Let the car become part of the environment like a rock. This is when the magic will happen. I remember staying over an hour in one spot.

Step 9 – Zoom In

Zoom in as much as you can. Try to fill the frame with your subject to eliminate background distractions. Zooming in and setting your aperture to a low number (f2.8 or f4) will create a nice soft bokeh thus keeping your subject in focus with a blurred background.

Step 10 – Composition

One of the reasons why we go to a park is to capture animals in their natural habitat. In many parks you’ll be faced with the challenge of dealing with non-natural things like picnic tables, other cars, roads, fences, etc… So once you’ve found your spot, take the time to scout around it and find the perfect angle to get a natural background for your shots. You might not always be able to but it still makes for a good exercise that will because instinct after a while.

So there you have it! How to take wildlife photos from your car in 10 easy steps. I invite you to share your tips and photos links in the comments below.

If you enjoyed this “Steps” article, you can check out all the other “Steps” articles right here!

How to easily start up and market your own
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