photographer « Christopher Ross

Posts Tagged ‘photographer’

02
Oct
2009

Photoshop tutorials

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One of my dirty little secrets is that I’m a photo junkie. I absolutely love reading magazines like Layers (which btw, you can win a copy of here) which are jammed packed with Photoshop tutorials that make it so even the untrained can learn to be a master of Photoshop. There are even some great Photoshop video tutorial sites out there, so instead of just reading about the methods you can actually watch people put them together.

One of my favorite techniques at the moment is called HDR (How to add impact with HDR) or high dynamic range imaging. This is a process in which images dynamic lighting is adjusted to make blacks appear much darker while also pushing the lights to an extreme. We see it often in movies such as 300, but more commonly in magazine ads these days.

Now the question really is, how do you do it? That’s what I love about the Internet. If you go to Google and ask how to do HDR in Photoshop, it’ll tell you … which means that any young photographer out there (or Photoshop junkie) is able to do just about anything as long as they have access to Google and Photoshop!

I’d love to see some examples of your own HDR work, so if you’ve got any links please feel free to share.

Tags: Dirty Little Secrets, Dynamic Lighting, google, High Dynamic Range, images, Little Secrets, love, Magazine Ads, Magazines, photo junkie, photographer, Photoshop Tutorial, Photoshop Tutorials, video tutorial
Posted in Design

31
Mar
2009

What image format should you use on your website?

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There is nothing more complex about publishing on the web than the concept of images, they’re quite possibly the hardest part of HTML for the general public to get their minds around so let’s take a quic look at what makes an image complicated and how we as web designers and publishers can approach them in a simpler way.

Image Format

The first step to web graphics is to appreciate that images come in dozens (or hundreds) of file formats from BMP’s to TIFF’s and everything in between but when it comes to the web, there are really only three formats for you to think about:

The CompuServe Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) format (pronounced giff)
The Joint Photographic Experts Group format, JPG (pronounced jaypeg)
the Portable Network Graphic file format, PNG (pronounced ping)

Close up of the GIF file format

These three file formats encompass the entire spectrum of Internet based graphics. The first format, GIF was introduced way back in the very first days of computer graphics (1987) and allowed people to exchange graphic files via an online community similar to America Online (AOL). The GIF format was limited to 8 bits of color (255) with some reserved for core data. It was a loss-less graphic format ideal for the graphics of 1987 but could hardly produce quality photos.

The GIF format stores each pixel of an image as one of 255 possible colors resulting in a crisp image. The GIF format however also had a number of unique benefits such as the ability to have invisible (alpha) transparent pixels which when place overtop of other colors would allow the backgrounds to remain visible and the capacity to store multiple GIF images in a single file as pages. When displayed in a web browser or other image viewing tool these pages would appear as animations similar to old ‘flip book’ style animations.

In 1992 the Joint Photographic Experts Group created and issued the JPEG standard to the world. These days we tend to call the file format JPG since old Microsoft based computers could only hand three characters as a file extension but the format is also known as .jpg, .jpeg, .jpe, .jif, .jfif and .jfi. The .jpg format was an instant success, it quickly addressed the primary failings of the GIF format by allowing 24 bit graphics (16.7 million colors) and smooth transitions between the these colors using a lossy compression method … which is a fancy way of saying the graphics blended together.

Lossy file saved as both 20% and 80%

In effect, how the JPG standard worked was to rapidly reduce file sizes by averaging the color values of a pixel with those around it. This caused massive reductions in file sizes allowing photographers to post 500kb images in extremely small (20-100kb) files while controlling the loss of quality. To the right you’ll see an image saved at 20% quality to the left and 80% to the right, both the difference in quality and the method JPG uses to reach the results should be evident.

Before I go on, I want to pause and take note of a statement I made in the above description because I’m sure most people missed it or brushed past without much thought … the JPG file format was introduced to the world in 1992. This phrase is critical because it reinforces how much the world has changed in just 17 years. For those of you who are under 20 years old, you’ll most likely have never known a world without Facebook or YouTube but for the rest of us, we sometimes forget the Internet is for all purposes a fairly recent addition to the world. I’m 35 years old and I remember the first JPG photo that I saw, the introduction of this format changed the way we shared images over computers. Notice that I said it changed the way we shared images over computers? There was no Internet, or at least not what you see today.

In 1996, Unisys became uppity and started threatening to sue over the LZW compression found in the GIF format so the world invented the Portable Network Graphic format (PNG), along the way the format improved upon most of the qualities of the GIF and lost the capacity for animation. The PNG format has 8 bit graphics similar to the GIF but also has 24 bit like the JPG and introduced a new level with 32 bit graphics. While it lacks support for animation, it includes transparant pixels like a GIF. Unlike a GIF, where those pixels can be on or off the PNG allows for alpha transparency making the format extremely flexible and also capable of compressing images. The problem with the PNG format, is that it produces large files.

So which is best? Actually that depends entirely on what you want to accomplish with the graphics. As you’ll see from the image above the file size of the graphic can range from ~25k to ~430k depending on the quality you’d like to achieve. Photographers for example should use the JPG compression most often to ensure their images are strong, crisp and colorful while illustrators and others who work with line art will benefit from the GIF format. In the end, practicing and experimenting are the best ways to determine what you should be using.

A quick thank you to the Old Shoe Woman for posting the a wonderful photo Sunlight Under a Live Oak Tree on Flickr for me to use as part of this tutorial.

Tags: content, design, designers, exchange, Facebook, file, flickr, html, images, million, photographer, photographers, photos, png, tutorial, web browser, web design, web designer, web designers, website
Posted in HTML Programming

16
Feb
2009

20 Beautiful Photographs of Polar Bears

15 Comments

Polar Bears are one of the most dangerous and amazing animals on the planet, and they’re native to my beautiful country of Canada. The animal is iconic as a predator of the North but it’s a much misunderstood master of it’s domain, like the lion of Africa or it’s Grizzly cousin in the USA.

Below, I found 35 great examples of beautiful polar bear photographs. All photos are credited below and linked to the original artist to respect the creator of the image, so please don’t forget to visit their web sites to see more great photos.

Tags: Africa, Amazing Animals, animal, Bear Photographs, Bear Photos, Beautiful Country, blue, canada, content, Cousin, Echeng, Juliano, Lion, Mnia, Pavan, photograph, photographer, photography, photos, Polar Bear, Polar Bears, Predator, Wq
Posted in Blog Posts

03
Feb
2009

Mark Reese Photography

4 Comments

Since the new year I’ve been working with Mark Reese, a photographer based in Florida to build a new website portfolio for his work. Mark wanted his photo gallery to be easy to manage, fast for visitors and he wanted it to be something that he could maintain and manage himself.

I choose to use a very easy to use tool called WordPress as the content manager for his new website, it’s fast and easy to learn with a lot of great online documentation and a wonderfully supportive community. It also happens to be a tool that I know very well, so I felt comfortable offering it to Mark.

His photography website is designed to be used by photographers interested in displaying images, as opposed to running a photo business.

It’s an original, custom WordPress theme which doesn’t use any of the available gallery plugins to ensure compatibility. The website has a rich SEO base for organic online marketing, easy to use navigation and a very clean design used to highlight his pieces. As with most of my sites, it’s hosted with BlueHost.

What do you think? Do you know any photographers that you’d recommend me to? Are there other great photography websites built in WordPress you’d like to share?

Tags: compatibility, content manager, great photography, images, Lot, mark reese, Marketing Advice, New Year, Online Documentation, Online Marketing, photo business, photo gallery, photographer, photographers, photography web, Photography Website, Photography Websites, Plugins, Portfolio, running, Supportive Community, Website Portfolio, WordPress
Posted in Web Design

25
Jan
2009

Great Photo Web Sites and Photo Blogs

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I get asked what I do when I’m not building awesome websites or working with hotels to build even better websites and the secret is … I’m a photo junkie. I desperately wanted to be a photographer when I was a kid, my older brother was a great photographer before training to become an electrician and I always envied him for what he could do with an old pin hole camera. Frankly, he was one of the guys that could MacGyver just about anything together but the photo stuff was always cool. I gave up trying to be a photographer when I was about 20, what I realized was that most photographers never made a decent income and more importantly, other photographers would pay me to Photoshop their images. That was about 15 years ago, well before the Internet was common and as technology grew, so did I.

My passion for great photography has never changed, it’s never waxed and it’s never waned so while I don’t get a chance to take a lot of photos anymore I still get to look at a lot of great work and today I thought I would share some of my favorite photo websites and photo blogs.

For learning, I absolutely love the Digital Photography School. The website is clean, professional, well designed and chalk full of helpful tips for everything from marketing to post production. To be honest, it’s a great place to pick up wonderful design tricks as well as well as photography tips. Take a few minutes to read:

Photopreneur isn’t the best looking website out there but what it lacks in design it makes up for in devilishly good photography, especially the food articles.

File Magazine is sexy. I don’t put that label on websites often but in the old days of working in the magazine industry, my art director used to tell me that some designs reminded you of the woman in red, they simply made your head turn. For me, File Magazine is one of those well through out pieces that makes you do a double take. After all, what’s sexier then a nipple shot on the beach?

Frank Expada (Sorry, this site belongs to Joseph Szymanski, my mistake) runs a great little website, all very inspirational but also very cool. Take a look at the subtle alpha fade at the bottom of his page. It’s this type of detail that separates the men from the boys when it comes to great designs.

Martin Gommel runs a very different website, it’s a typical blog that you’ll have to run through a translator to get the most out of but it’s well worth it. Mehr aus RAW-Dateien machen (How to get more from the RAW file format) is just one example of a great article, even if Google’s translator does leave a little to be desired.

http://strobist.blogspot.com/ looks at first to be a typical BlogSpot site, I’m not a big fan of BlogSpot but I can forgive him for using it since the website content is great.

OK, Bill Wadman at 365 Portraits is the type of man I desperately want to hate. His website is amazing to look at, it has brilliant content, it’s well structured, followed most of the usability rules and … it’s filled with killer photography that I’d give my right mouse button to be capable of.

What can I possibly say about JMG Galleries other than it’s amazing. The website is informative, clean, good natured and filled with helpful tips for people who want to know more about the process behind the lens.

Tags: art director, better web, digital photography school, electrician, few minutes, food articles, great photography, helpful tips, macgyver, olympus stylus, one of the guys, photo junkie, photo web, photographer, photographers, photography tips, pin hole camera, rgb channel, woman in red
Posted in Reviews

30
Mar
2006

Safety Tips for Models

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Modeling can be a fun and profitable career for just about anyone but especially pretty young women but it’s also a dangerous occupation which can be made a lot safer using common sense and following a few simple safety tips.

Remain Anonymous
When it comes to the Internet, the less people know about you the better. Never give out your full name and use a backup email account unless you know the person you’re dealing with and are 100% sure you want them knowing where you live. If you need to put your details out there, use an agency or post office box.

Ask Around
If you’re going to work with a new photographer, ask other models in town about them. Never be afraid to ask the photographer for references, as my old flight instructor used to say that it was better to be on the ground wishing you were flying than in the air wishing you were on the ground.

Bring a Buddy
Take somebody you trust along on your photo shoot, it can be a man or a woman but generally boyfriends/girlfriends are a bad idea. It’ll give you somebody to talk to while the photographer fiddles with the lights as well as a way out if you grow uncomfortable.

Trust Yourself
At the end of the day, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Never get yourself into a vulnerable situation, drive yourself to outdoor locations and always have a backup plan if things don’t work out but most of all … trust yourself, if you don’t like the situation you’re in, leave.

Preplan Your Shoot
Photography may look spontaneous but it’s not. The simple fact is that a good photo takes preparation and planning. Communicate with your photographer what types of photographs you are comfortable making together, and make sure you have a clear understanding of the type of work they’re looking for.

And remember … if you’re ever passing through Fredericton, drop me a line and we can see what types of photos we can make together. You can find me on OMP @ http://www.onemodelplace.com/member.cfm?P_ID=87262

or you can take a look at my portfolio here on my website.

Tags: anonymous, backup plan, Bad Idea, Boyfriends, common sense, Dangerous Occupation, Drop Me A Line, Email Account, Fiddles, Models, photographer, photographs, photos, Post Office Box, Profitable Career, Safety Tips, Shoot Photography, simple fact, Vulnerable Situation, Young Women
Posted in Blog Posts

30
Apr
2005

Fashion Photography from Hamilton Ontario

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I think I’ve mentioned this before throughout my blog but when I was younger I really wanted to be a photographer, it was more than a hobby I truly enjoyed shooting everything from people to plants but as I got older I realized that there just wasn’t a lot of money to be made in it unless you got really, really good.

These days I don’t shoot all that much but I still enjoy playing around with a camera but I don’t really pursue a career in it, you can see my online portfolio at http://www.modelmayhem.com/123917 where I sometimes hang out to talk about photography related subjects.

Tags: blog, Fashion Photography, Hamilton Ontario, money, People, photographer, Photography Gallery, Plants
Posted in Photography