HOT OFF THE PRESSES!

Award winning photographer/author to webcast Photoshop Elements with
The Digital Photo Guy

OK, the details aren’t yet firm so I can’t give you exact times or dates. I can’t even tell you the name of the photographer/author but it’s someone that any serious photographer will instantly recognize. In a few weeks, this mystery guest will teach a “Photoshop Elements 1-Click Wonders” webcast that will show you how to get the most out of PSE (all tips will also apply to Photoshop CSx) with the least time and effort. This is for photographers who want to spend more time shooting and less time processing, which is just about every photographer. If we get enough pre-registrations, the class will be less than $50 (his regular classes run from $200-$1000). Stay tuned for details at 11 o’clock.

Monday Morning Tip

This week’s MMT is a continuation of the “back to basics” trend I started several weeks ago. Today, we’ll discuss the two most useful metering modes for amateur photographers. Modern digital cameras sport as many as 4 and 5 different metering modes but, for most photographers including both amateur and pro, 2 are really important.

Pattern Metering (aka, evaluative, matrix, Multi-Segment, ESP, etc) checks the light at multiple points and applies a very complex, proprietary algorithm to develop an exposure solution. Modern pattern meters are very good and will meet the needs of most amateur photographers most of the time.

Spot and Partial Spot Metering is useful in those occasions when the subject is either backlit or spotlit. If the subject is standing in front of a bright window, the meter will be fooled by the backlighting and the subject will be underexposed while objects outside the window may be perfectly exposed. Usually, it’s easier to reposition the subject but what if that’s not possible? Using the Spot or Partial Spot Meter will help you correctly expose the subject, at the expense of the background. In other words, the background may be overexposed but that’s a creative choice for you to make. You can read the entire MMT on the Tips and News page. (you need a password to access all the MMTs, register on this page to get a password)

Quick Tips

In this article, about half-way down, I showed you how to set up My Yahoo! so it would automatically notify you via e-mail, instant messanger or cell phone when new content is added to my blog. At that time, I didn’t know how to set up an auto notification in Google Reader.

It turns out Google Reader doesn’t have an integrated solution but there are several 3rd party solutions here. Basically, you install the small application and it notifies you when an update is posted on this site.

I think it might be easier to open a Yahoo! account and set up My Yahoo! as a reader. You can also use a standalone reader like NewGator.

A reader reported she visited this new website and registered. I didn’t even know the site had a registration system. Visitors to the site must see a different interface than me because I don’t see a registration form anywhere. To make things even funnier, I don’t know how to access the registration forms and files so I don’t know who’s registered.

Actually, I might use the registration system (if I can find it) to replace my e-mail Opt-In system. As the list of e-mails grows longer, it gets harder to manage. ‘m sure there are people on the list who have long forgotten why they receive my MMTs.

Speaking of MMTs, I plan to put them in a password protected area so anyone who is registered can access them at any time. I’m also trying to figure out how the YouTube viewer works so I can upload my videos to YouTube and have them display here.

My primary task right now is trying to get all my workshops on the Workshops page with separate icons. As it is right now, they would all be listed in a long document that would be difficult to read. I want viewers to click on a photo from Joshua Tree and be taken to a separate page with JTNP information. Also, PayPal has to be integrated so I can get rid of that weird dp-guy(asperand)thedigital… notation.

For those of you who are here because you read about the new site in my latest MMT, the major boo-boo I committed during the WAP Photoshoot this weekend was telling students that exposure compensation (EC) only worked in Av and Tv modes. It works in P as well. I was so fixated on the fact that the exposure program (aperture/shutter speed combination) could be changed that I got all turned around in my (tiny) brain. That’s why the recent MMT was written to clearly describe P Mode features and benefits.