Friday, June 20, 2008

Blog on my Blog

Sorry guys no blog this weekend we have no internet at the moment ( friggin telefonica ) so expect a blog during next week until then have a great weekend.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Storing Images

Today Im going to chat about storing our images, i will be talking about RAW jpeg and tiff files as well as backing up onto CD/DVD and Portable HD (hard drives).

So whats the difference between RAW, jpeg and tiff.

RAW (these really are raw files) theses files contain all the information from exposure settings to white balance settings, the best part of RAW is that it makes it possible to go back and change your exposure or your white balancer now you can perform some of these basic functions with a jpeg image using things like level adjustments in programs such as Adobes Photoshop but RAW just gives you that little more flexibility.

JPEG everyones camera has the ability to take images in this format this is great for saving images for the web but has its set backs which are :

Every time you re saze a jpeg you loose quality from the image.
Its not so good for resampling for size.

Tiff files these are great for archiving your images in a secure lossless format and I recomend you use this format for storing all your images if you are not able to use the RAW format, otherwise stick to RAW its the best option for sure.


CD/DVD these are great for sending work out to publishers, printing houses even as portfolios but for storing your images not a good idea, CD´s and DVD´s scratch easily and can rendered useless very very quickly, i recomend using a portable hard drive to store your images on and to create two folders one called edited and one called masters.

thats it for now, sorry about no post last week we were extremely busy see you again soon.

Darren Robertson

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Tips, Tricks and Tutorials 001


Well this is a new start, for all of us, whilst this is my very first post on this subject, and maybe for some of you your very first visit to us. Our overall aim is to not teach you but encourage you to learn more about photogaphy, tips and tricks.

I am b y no means a teacher, I am prepared however to share my way of thinking and working and hopefully give you an insight to how to gain money from images, improve your composition and find out useful tips and tricks from photography and Photoshop. ( I am using Adobe´s CS3 packages if you find that you can´t do something leave a post and I will see what I can do).

A Note on cameras: I recomend that you use a DSLR or SLR camera, its advantages being the wide range of accessories available for them from flashes/strobes to lenses.

Ok lets Start of with some actual photography.

When I first got started in photography I was amazed at the beautiful landscapes I could take, I learnt very quickly about the rule of thirds, this is really important in learning how to take successful landscapes rather than holiday snaps. You really need a tripod but if you dont have one seee if you can find somewhere to balance your camera, or carry a small bean bag with you (when using a tripod or surface to rest your camera on to take an image you must use the self timer to avoid camera shake).

The rule of thirds:

The rule of thirds says that you split you image up by placing an imaginary tic tac toe (naughts and crosses board) over the top of your image, where these lines meet are the key points for placing your main focal point/subject you can also places irems within these squares as well, this is key to making your image interesting, what I would like everyone to do is go out and take a landscape image using the rule of thirds and use my website to send them to me with your name and what you hope to get out of these blogs, this way I can see where everyone is at, and you can let me know the sort of things you want to know, so use the contact page back on the website and in the subject right blog 001.

Below is an image I composed the other day for a charity I have place the rule of thirds lines over the top of the image so you can see how it works. (with this one I placed the main subject in the centre third square)






Here is another:






So post your images to me (only one per perrson) and let me know what you want to know.


Happy Snapping


Darren.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

A new start and a new website

Welcome to Dja Photography blog page !!!

Our aim is to keep you informed on what we are doing here in the studios and out on location and give other photographers an insight into how we work as professional photographers.

I aim to bring you tips and tricks of the trade, from photoshop shortcuts to setting up your studio lighting equipment.

We hope to bring you all a new blog each week, I cant promise we will, put we sure can give it a try.

Thank you for your interest in us and happy snapping.

Darren Robertson.