AzDavid

<p>Krista ... I like ambient light, too. But there are many times when you need a flash. Once you figure it out, you'll find that there are other times when you could have gotten by with just ambient light but a flash helped make the shot a whole lot better. The only way to get there is to jump in and not be afraid to experiment and make a few mistakes.</p> <p>I've always found that there's no perfect one-stop-shopping for anything let alone learning flash photography. Every tutorial is different and every photographer learns in their own way. So, I would recommend checking out a variety of online offerings. Some of them will make more sense than others. But it will give you a nice, broad view of flash photography.</p> <p>A decent video to watch, shows how your flash actually works to light up a scene and how you can control its light output manually.</p> <p>Another video from B&H is a beginner's guide to controlling light. You can find it at <p>One site, http://improvephotography.com/flash-photography-basics/, offers some basics about light and explains how flash units work and how to use them.</p> <p>Another site, http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html, offers a lot of information about different ways that flash photography - both on and off camera - can be used to create great images. It also covers other equipment you might consider adding to your pile of gear if you want to get all you can out of your flash.</p> <p> </p>

<p>I guess what I should have said is, "No microwave oven can do that <em>for me</em>."</p>

<blockquote> <p>Who would buy stuff just because they read an ad somewhere?</p> </blockquote> <p>Lots of people! That's why Madison Avenue is so successful.</p> <blockquote> </blockquote>

<p>If you work for a large company, do you all wear photo ID badges? If so, why not suggest that they just use those images?</p>

<p>Marc R ... your post is pretty funny! One reason: There is an underlying truth to what you say. To me, a microwave oven is just a tool that gets used to heat food. They are all essentially the same. If it breaks, you toss it out and get a new one at Target. But cameras? Very different ... as you poke fun about in your post. But it's true! To me, a camera isn't just a tool. A camera allows me to express my feelings and create art. No microwave oven can do that. All that said, there will always be people who treat cameras as though they were microwave ovens. As a former co-worker of mine used to say: "It takes all kinds to fill the freeways." </p>

<p>Do you have access to the tops of these dividers? Could you hang a removable hook or bracket from the top? If so, you might consider one of the many cable systems available online. (Ex: https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Art-Hanging-System-Gallery/dp/B003174K82).</p> <p>Your photographs would hang from the hooks and would be suspended on either metal or clear nylon cord (fishing wire) in front of the precious dividers. A cheaper option would be finding appropriate hooks and cord at a hardware store. Many art installations are done this way. </p>

<p>As you've outlined your budget and options, I'd go with No. 5 with the older Canon 100-400mm. IMO, you can't go wrong upgrading to the 80D body. And I own the older 100-400mm lens and can attest to its quality and performance. You point out that the lens is heavy ... yes, indeed. And it's still quite pricey even with the availability of the newer model. If you have any remaining cash, make sure you have a good, solid tripod for the lens. </p>

<p>Thank you for the feedback!</p>

<p>Lightroom 6 and Lightroom CC both require 64-bit (https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/system-requirements.html).</p> <p>As previous poster suggested, this might be a great reason to move to a 64-bit system. </p>

<p>Michael ... wow, what an amazing video. Thank you for that link. I will be watching others, as you suggest. The setting of this shoot is expected to be an outdoor plaza surrounded by businesses such as restaurants. There are no musicians. The only noise I'd anticipate would be from people walking nearby. Subjects will be asked to sing a cappella. They'll need around 50 different subjects to do this. The timing is expected to be late afternoon/evening. There may be natural light early on but because the clips will all need a similar "look," I'm thinking artificial lighting is necessary. Field of view will be small ... just the person from about shoulders up and an uncluttered background. This obviously won't be a Hollywood production and the budget is small. But I was thinking of at least two constant lights (maybe LED panels?) and a shotgun style mic on a boom and out of sight. We should have access to power. I was considering something like a Beachtec DXA-SLR Pro to improve audio quality recorded by the camera. Sound good/bad? </p>

<p>I'm looking for advice! I may have an opportunity to help a local company by shooting short video clips (15-20 seconds each) of random people who agree to perform musically. I would use my Canon 5D Mark III. Details of the shoot are not yet set. But I assume we'd be outdoors in a public space - could be noisy. Camera on a tripod with light(s) and wired microphone. All subjects would stand/sit an equal distance away from the camera. Except for the people, all clips would need to have similar qualities ... sound level, lighting, background, etc... Aside from the camera, I will need to get proper equipment. So, what kind of setup would you recommend in terms of lighting, microphone, lens, editing software ... etc?</p>

<p>And minutes later ...</p><div></div>

<p>A typical evening storm rolled through my area around 6:15 Tuesday evening. I ran up to the roof to record things with my camera. The two shots below show how quickly things can change.</p> <div></div>

<p>I will leave the calibration question to others with more experience, but I did want to alert you to the fact that Canon is pretty generous with paper when you order ink from them online. If you spend more than $50, which is easy with the printer you just bought, they offer "free gifts," which turn out to be free packages of papers they otherwise sell including the large 13x19 stuff. Just FYI.</p>

<p>The system I'm talking about is wireless. When I put my 600EX-RT on the bracket, it doesn't require any sync cable. The Phottix Wireless TTL Flash Trigger Transmitter is the only thing that sits in the camera hot shoe. It sends a wireless signal to the 600EX-RT. The transmitter also sends a wireless signal to my older flash unit thanks to the Laso TTL Receiver that I've got it connected to. Sorry if I'm not explaining this very clearly!</p>

<p>I use Phottix equipment also. My "Laso" trigger mounts on the hot shoe, as does yours. Have you considered getting a flash bracket? (Ex: CB Junior by Custom Brackets) The trigger has no problem firing my Canon 600EX-RT while it's mounted on the bracket - or anywhere else within a reasonable distance. If your flash isn't capable of wireless, there's the Phottix Laso TTL Receiver that might work for you. I use a Laso TTL Reciever for Canon to fire my older Canon 430EX. Hope this helps you.</p>

<p>Everything stated above is excellent advice and I will not attempt to duplicate. However, one piece of equipment that has made my macro work much easier (especially outside in sunlight) is an LCD viewfinder. One I use is the Elvid Optiview 250. It connects to the back of my digital camera to frame and magnify images on the LCD screen. It blocks sunlight and provides vastly improved views of macro subjects as seen using the camera's live view mode. It's made it much easier to achieve that crisp focus that is so necessary in macro work. If you are using a digital camera, some kind of viewfinder attachment really makes macro work a lot more fun and productive. </p>

<p>You can get to both sites but with such a tight schedule you will only get the highlights. I had a full day at both sites and still didn't see everything. I would recommend that you seek a private one-day tour guide. They can be well-worth the money. We had one in Rome who got us inside everything without any waits in long, endless lines. Such a person in Cairo would help you navigate language, traffic and lines so that you see as much as possible. I just searched online using "private one-day guide cairo" and found many options. The one linked with Trip Advisor seems to get great reviews. One last note: I'm not sure what the rules are now, but when I visited they did not allow interior photography at either of those sites.</p>

<p>Ah, Cottonwood! I go through there often on my journeys to Sedona. It's a wonderful part of Arizona.</p> <p>Oh, and thanks for throwing a spare "O" over to Hosteen!</p>

<p>Well, I've been sticking my nose into forums for months so I suppose it's time that I write one of these introductions!</p> <p>For humor's sake, I've been encouraged to describe myself as a "recovering teacher." I have recently completed a decade teaching in public schools. I miss both the teaching and the colleagues, most of whom give above and beyond the call of duty each and every day. I feel honored to have been able to share time with all of them. It was the politics and constant lack of funding that made things difficult.</p> <p>Prior to teaching, I worked nearly 20 years as a journalist. I started out with weekly newspapers in the Bay Area and graduated to a long-gone daily in Palo Alto. My next stop was an afternoon daily in Phoenix (also long gone) and, later, a lengthy stint at its sister paper, a larger morning daily. It was there that I became the company's first online reporter. They allowed me to cover anything because they were eager for content. I had a blast, but being able to report, write and publish in a few hours or less made me unpopular with the old-school reporters in the newsroom upstairs. Their work was printed on paper just once a day.</p> <p>(These days all reporters get published online and in print. But back then, the online division wasn't part of the newsroom and was even considered competition for the printed product. One newsroom editor called me a "traitor" for going digital!) </p> <p>Since then, I've written freelance for daily papers in California, Web sites, magazines and various marketing departments.</p> <p>My interest in photography revealed itself in high school, when I took a photography course as an elective. I loved the cameras, developing film and printing and the whole art and science behind making the best images possible. I shot with a Canon F-1 and, later, the mass-produced AE-1. I saved money and built my own darkroom at home and shot black-and-white throughout college. Eventually, as with so many others, my focus shifted due to family and career.</p> <p>But here I am now, jumping back into photography and enjoying every minute. I'm still shooting with Canon equipment and am capturing everything that moves (or doesn't). I'm testing my skills by volunteering as a photographer for a large non-profit science center, which offers a wide variety of shooting opportunities and associated challenges. I am feeling drawn to portrait work but am happy to shoot, shoot, shoot and learn, learn, learn all the way.</p> <p>Thanks for following this ramble. I look forward to making positive contributions to Photo.net and learning as much as I can from other community members!</p>

<p>Is this person a relative/close friend of the B&G? If so, could be a touchy situation. If that's not an issue, stick to your guns. Tell this person that you work alone and will be too busy to have a second shooter tagging along. If you relent, I suspect the concerns you outlined may become reality. Perhaps you might convince him that roaming around on his own shooting some candid shots would help him test his skills. Maybe you could offer to go over his shots with him sometime long after the wedding is over. </p>

<p>Thanks, John!</p>

<p>Ahh. I had the quality slider down to 40 percent in Lightroom. Here's the same shot at 100 percent.</p> <div></div>

<p>Took a few photos of the setting harvest moon this morning. I expected a lot of noise in the images but don't know what to do about the center splotch and rings (looks like a target) that appear when I convert RAW images to JPEG. This attached photo (hope it appears correctly!) went straight from RAW to JPEG without any retouching. Thanks in advance for any thoughts/suggestions.</p> <div></div>

<p>Check with an attorney in your area to be sure of the proper course of action. To me, though, I think the first thing to do would be to contact the private school and ask for permission to sell your images. Have prints available to give them (maybe even framed!) so there's no question about what it is you plan to sell. They might object. They might not. One might think that because they permitted the workshop a few years earlier that they wouldn't care about images being sold. But I've found just the opposite can be true. Just a few months ago, for example, a privately owned botanical garden in my area allowed photographers after-hours access to shoot nighttime images of an illuminated artistic installation that was scattered throughout the grounds. A flier handed out at the gate made it very clear that any photographs created were for private use only. </p>