The Digital Photo Guy

Compositing Photos

As always, whenever I post an article I receive a flurry of e-mails asking, “How’d you do that?” This week, it was about replacing the dull Parisian sky with a bright blue SoCal sky. This is a pretty simple task so I prepared a short 3 minute video.

How Your Camera’s AutoFocus Works

(and why you should care)

I posted this as a question on a site I visit from time-to-time and no one either knew the answer or cared. Therefore, I decided my readers were a better audience for something a bit more technical but, nonetheless, important to getting the most out of your camera gear.
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Topaz Labs introduces DeNoise 5

I hate to sound like a Topaz Labs fanboy but their newest iteration of DeNoise 5 is better than my old standby, Neat Image v6. The difference isn’t huge but TL is somewhat better in the areas of speed, ease of use and detail recovery. NI has a small edge on price. I use the NI Home+ version that includes both the Standalone and Photoshop/Photoshop Elements plug-in version for $49.90 while Topaz DeNoise is $49.99 until August 31. After that, the price jumps to $79.99. Topaz offers free upgrades for current licensees while NI offers free minor upgrades to licensees and a lesser Upgrade Fee for major upgrades.

As always, my readers can use the code “digitalphotoguy” to receive a 15% discount on all Topaz Labs purchases. I am not affiliated with nor do I have any financial interest in Topaz Labs.

Cheap Canon 24-105/4L IS Lens

Here’s your opportunity to bag a Canon 24-105/4L IS lens for an incredibly low price. Every Canon shooter needs this lens.

Old Videos

There’s a link at the top of every page on my site titled Videos. That link takes you to (hold on, are you ready for this) the Videos page. Everytime I repost an old video or article, someone asks, “Where’s the previous/next/other video/article?” I think the worst thing about the Internet has been to foster a mindset that it’s someone’s job to do your thinking/research. Notice how I didn’t link the word Videos to the Videos page because I want you to find it for yourselves.

New Questions

Long-time students know that a benefit of taking my classes is continued e-mail support. My motto is, “Failure is not an option, you will learn!” I regularly answer questions for students from 5 or more years ago.

Recently, new readers (not past students) have started sending me questions that take time and effort to research and/or craft an answer. While I don’t mind questions that have universal appeal and are of interest to many readers, I don’t have time to answer specific questions about one person’s gear, computer configuration or idle curiousity unless they are past students.

I hope everyone understands that I have to save my limited bandwidth for past and present students who have paid for my expertise.

One final point, in order to consolidate my time and efforts, I respond to Comments on this site before I answer e-mails.

Cool Canon Deals (The Real Deal)

If you have a broken, out-of-warranty Canon digital camera lying around that will cost more to fix than it’s worth, you can upgrade to a refurbished Canon for a great price. For example, I have an old Canon 10D. It’s in fine condition but, for the sake of this example, let’s assume it’s broken. Canon charges a flat fee depending on whether it’s a “Standard Repair” or a “Major Repair”  for most repairs. Let’s assume this camera will cost $250 to repair but it’s only worth $200.

Canon will trade the 10D plus $559 for a Canon 40D, a newer and better camera. Current used prices for Canon 40D is about $600-$700 so it’s a great deal when you consider it’s been serviced by Canon and comes with a 90 day warranty. They also have refurbished G11, 50D, 7D and 5DMkII available.

To get more detals, call Canon at 800-753-4200 and ask for Sales.

Videos, Videos and More Videos

I noticed my video views are down from last year so it’s time to remind people that there are over 2 dozen videos on my Videos page. These videos cover everything from the very basics of Photoshop Elements to some intermediate techniques. Among the most popular has always been the 3-part series on restoring old photos. The photos below show Before & After they’ve been restored.

You can also find videos embedded in MMTs (Monday Morning Tips) by searching for “video” using the Search Box. Check out the videos and, most importantly, tell your friends, family and photo club about them.
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I produced three Video MMTs over the last 2 days which I’ll be releasing while I’m leading the Spring Desert Wildflower Photoshoot Workshops this weekend and next. There’s still time to register so sign up now. When’s the last time you went to the desert to photograph wildflowers? Here are some photos from last year.

While taking a break, I came across the following videos and thought readers would get a kick out of them. This is the perfect, non-violent yet extremely painful, costly and effective revenge against an uncaring corporate giant.

Last Song Released

Most everyone remembers a YouTube video that went viral last year about a Canadian guitarist whose Taylor guitar was broken by Unitd Airlines. The airline refused to do anything until over 50,000 people viewed the video in the first 24 hours. By the time the video finally peaked, it had been viewed over 8 million times, a PR nightmare for UAL.

In the ensuing 7 months, UAL has (ineptly) tried to mollify the artist, Dave Carroll, but never really “got it” regards customer service. Carroll reports in his last song (he promised to write 3 songs about the experience) that he still hears daily from people who have been badly treated, mistreated or simply ignored by UAL. Click to read more and see videos

Precisely Identify Neutral Gray When Adjusting Color

A number of people who attended the free Photoshop Elements webinar a few weeks ago asked me to explain in more detail how I identified an area of neutral gray when adjusting levels. I posted a video a few days ago but then realized it might be of general interest. I first learned this tip at Photoshop World. If you’re thinking of attending, it will be worth your while. I try to attend every other year.

To recap, when adjusting levels and color balance, it’s important to identify the white, black and gray points in a photo. White and black are simple (if you forgot, see my YouTube video) but 50% gray (neutral gray) is a bit trickier. This technique isn’t something you use on every photo but, when it’s important to get it right, this will usually do the trick. I say usually because you might run across a photo that doesn’t have a neutral gray area.

Of course, the easiest way to set neutral gray is to include a Gretag-Macbeth Color Checker or a gray card in the scene but that’s not always practical. Can you imagine a soccer mom running onto the field yelling, “Time out! I need my kid to hold this gray card!” On second thought, skip that, I can imagine it happening.

I used the color checker in this shot to be sure I got the color of her blouse as well as her skin tone correct in post processing.

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