Photoshop Insider

I’m really excited to announce that we’re just about 10 days away from the release of my brand new book, “The Mac OS X Leopard Book (Published by Peachpit Press). I took the same layout, feel, and writing style of my book, The Digital Photography Book, and applied that same concept to teaching people how to do the things they really want to do with their Macs.

Like “The Digital Photography Book,” I explain everything the same way I would to a friend, so there’s no techno-geek-speak—-it’s just you and me, and I tell you, short and sweet how to do all those things you bought your Mac for in the first place.

I really wrote for the book for all the new Mac users out there, who just want somebody to tell them, “Look, here’s what ya do.” So, the book’s not aimed at advanced users (but I’ve already had some more advanced users tell me they’ve learned some pretty cool things from it, so I was fairly psyched about that).

I cover everything from the absolute basics (in a chapter called “20 things every new Mac user needs to know”), to chapters on Customizing your Mac, working with photos, doing video on your Mac, making music on your Mac, setting up email, getting organized and a whole bunch of other stuff Mac users always ask.

The book has little tips scattered throughout it (like The Digital Photography Book has), but I end each chapter with an extra page of nothing but tips, and for the first time I also did a series of short “refresher course” videos for each chapter to really make it stick.

If you want to be the first to get it, you can preorder it today from Amazon.com (link) for only $16.49 (dirt cheap!), or from Barnes & Noble.com, or wherever cool books are sold.

It’s Thursday, and that means a new class at Kelby Training, and this time it’s from the Master of Off-Camera Flash, Joe McNally. Joe’s taking things up a big notch with his class “The Next Step with SB-800 Flashes.” Here’s a link to see the complete list of what Joe covers in this brand new exclusive online class, (plus, you can watch a sample while you’re there). You gotta love that McNally guy!

Before we get onto the news, I just have to thank Vincent Versace for yesterday’s amazing Guest post. He was able to move us with words in the same way he does with his images, and it was truly an honor to have him kick off Guest Blog Wednesday in such a classy, thought-provoking, and inspirational way. Thank you, my friend. Now, onto the news:

• I heard today from NAPP’s Executive Director Larry Becker that we now have a special 20% off NAPP member discount in place for the very popular “Photomatix” HDR software that everyone’s raving about. So, if you’re a NAPP member, head to the member’s site for details and your discount code. If you’re not a member, and you just want to check out Photomatix, here’s the link to their site.
• Thanks to John Paul Caponigro, who brought the two “Ophan Works” copyright bills currently before congress to my attention. According to JP, “…if passed these two bills will adversely affect copyright laws. Both define “abandoned” work far too loosely. The less problematic bill puts the onus on the artist to register images with the Copyright office not just once but twice. The bills haven’t gone through—-Now is the time to act. Contact your representatives now. Phone, mail, fax, and email are all effective – in that order.” Here’s a Web site with info on how to contact your Congressional representatives. (Thanks to John Paul for sending this our way!).
• Also, John Paul wrote a comment yesterday about Vincent’s Guest post that was just terrific, so if you get a chance, scroll through the comments and take a moment to read his thoughtful response which builds on what Vincent was talking about.
• David Hobby and Joe McNally were both teaching in Dubai recently, and they had a video camera, and well….you just got to see the video for yourself, because it’s off the hook. They use this huge “cluster” of Nikon SB-800 flashes out in the desert for a live model shoot, and the results are just stunning. Plus, the video is very well-done, and you see how they set-up the shots, and well…like I said, you just gotta see it. You’ll find the article, and the video clip right here.
• One last thing: Corey Barker has a nice tutorial on this week’s Layers TV episode (hosted by Corey and RC) on a very practical way to use Photoshop’s Vanishing Point Filter, plus as a guest they have Christie Winter, (one of NAPP’s in-house designers) showing her own Photoshop technique on how she created this year’s annual “Hot Tips” cover for the magazine (it’s pretty cool). You can watch it right online at LayersMagazine.com

That’s it for this Thursday. Hope you all have an absolute kick-butt day!

Before I begin my blog I would like to deeply thank Scott for the opportunity to be the first guest blogger. I am honored in a way that words seem lacking to express the depth of how I feel. I would also like to set the tone of “Guest Blog Wednesday” which is to not explore just the “how to” of doing something but the “why to” of doing something. Let every Wednesday be an exploration of the creative spirit that moves in us and compels us to create the images we make. That said…

Believing is Seeing: Being Taken by Pictures

The most frequently asked question I get is, “How do I take better pictures?” The answer is a simple one; stop taking pictures. Instead, consider what the photographer Ernst Haas suggests; be taken by your pictures.

So what does it mean to be “taken by your pictures?” Being taken by a photograph is very much like the moment you first fell in love. The person you fell in love with took you, and if you were lucky enough, they were taken by you. Imagine if you could have that happen with every one of your photographs. You were so taken by the events you saw through the lens that you made a photograph, and when someone views that image they will be taken to same place you were.

Okay, that’s a great metaphor, the moment you fall in love thing, but the pressing question is, Do I have pictures to show the difference between taking and being taken? Yes I do; I have four. I was recently in Morocco… (more…)

That’s right, starting tomorrow I’m replacing “No-Blog” Wednesday with (wait for it, wait for it…) “Special Guest Blogger” Wednesday!

Each Wednesday I’ll be featuring a special guest blogger and I’m honored to announce that we’re kicking things off tomorrow with the man who convinced me to to start “Special Guest Blogger Wednesday;” celebrated photographer and Photoshop instructor Vincent Versace (author of the award-winning book, Welcome to Oz: A Cinematic Approach to Digital Still Photography with Photoshop).

So, don’t forget to drop in tomorrow and catch Mr. Versace’s post (his topic will definitely capture your attention), and then stop by each Wednesday. I’ve already got some big names lined up for you as guests, and they’re dying to share their latest techniques, news, opinions, and insights. I’m really excited about giving this new idea a try, and I can’t wait to see what my guests come up with in the weeks ahead.

Thanks Vinny, for coming up with such a great idea; for convincing me to do it, and for being willing to kick off the inaugural Special Guest post tomorrow. Can’t wait!

It’s time for a fresh bowl of crunchy news nuggets (now with more lightly sweetened multi-grain oat clusters, and added Beta-carotene):

• Now, I haven’t had a chance to research this one myself, but one of my readers posted a comment about a “Photographer’s Rights Protest” (scheduled to take place on June 1st, in LA). Here’s what he wrote: “Photographers throughout Los Angeles, with cameras in hand, will gather at Hollywood and Highland and Union Station to peacefully rally against the unnecessary treatment they have received from security guards, LAPD, and LASD while photographing in public places, and on the Metro.” They’ve set up a flickr group with more info, and you can find it by clicking here.
• Another one of my readers, and frequent posters, Paulo is hosting a “Photo Walk” in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida next month, and everyone’s invited. Here’s the link to more info.
• Came across another review of my recent Hartford, CT seminar. Here’s that link.
• Peachpit Press did kind of a cool video promo for Joe McNally’s smash-bestselling book, The Moment It Clicks, where they asked some of the Photoshop World instructors (myself included) what was the “moment that clicked for you.” If you’ve got a quick minute, check ‘em out right here.
• Photoshop Rapper “Matt Matty Matte” did something unusual this weekend; he blogged. That’s right, he did a one-minute video tutorial on a cool brushing feature in the Lightroom 2 Public Beta (on Friday, he also talked about the “Invite a friend to the Beta program” thing), so make sure you check it out at LightroomKillerTips.

That’s it for today. Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for the end of “No-Blog Wednesdays!”

When I was up in New York a couple of weekends ago to take that workshop from Lou Manna, I got the incredible opportunity to spend the day before shooting the streets of New York with a true living legend; Jay Maisel.

I’ll describe it to you the same way I described it to my wife; I told her …”it was like spending the day in a documentary.” Each corner we turned, he had another fascinating story. Each street we walked, there was another photography lesson, or just a lesson about life. He shared stories of old New York, people he knew, people he shot, advice he had been given, jobs he’d taken, and I did my best to pick up on every little nugget he threw out.

We were barely out of his building when he pointed out my first mistake. We were going out to shoot the people of New York, and Jay had this very small, inconspicuous lens. I, on the otherhand, had a large fast lens with an even larger lens hood. Jay asked me, “Which is going to be more intimidating to people on the street? Your camera or mine?”

He then added a colorful analogy that clearly explained the correlation between the time it takes a New Yorker to grab your camera and (ahem) shove it in an area where things were designed to exit, and the size of the lens you’re pointing at them. I immediately got the point, but all I could do was take off the lens hood and turn it around, so it didn’t extend nearly as far. We hadn’t even left the building, and I already knew I wouldn’t make that mistake again.

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I’ve been getting so many questions, and requests for more information on the Westcott Spiderlite TD5 lighting Kit that I used on my Lightroom Live! Tour, that we put together a short demo video (below) to show them in action, and tell you the story of how I wound up using the TD5’s, and how my “Scott Kelby Studio Kit” works during a live portrait shoot.

Here’s a couple of quickies to wrap up the week:

• First, thanks to my blog reader Bill Dragga, who sent me the hilarious movie poster spoof you see above (and was kind enough to allow me to post it here), based on Matt, RC, and my experience at the tripod-weary Marriott Marquis in Times Square. I love it! (The poster; not the Marriott).
• My hats off to the Weekly Photo Tips blog; This upcoming Memorial Day weekend their regular blog will be coming down to be replaced with a slideshow to honor American soldiers who have “gone on ahead.” Make sure you visit there now (they’re calling for readers to submit photos for the slideshow), and then make it a special point to return on Memorial Day to see their tribute.
• Saw a quick review of my Hartford, CT CS3 Power Tour seminar, complete with a before/after technique from the seminar. (Here’s the link). There was also a review over at the ZenDog blog (here’s that link).
• Congratulations to the incredible master bloggomanic David Ziser, of DigitalProTalk.com who just posted his 1,000th blog post. For most of us, that feat would take approximately three to four years, but David has done it in just 10 months! I just don’t know how he does it, but I’m sure glad he does. Thanks David, for bringing so much top quality content, insight, and advice to our community.
• My thanks for the 640pixels blog for including my blog in their “5 Websites Every Photographer Should Visit Often” listing. Here’s the link.
  
• Ignore this (unless you’re Mike): Hey Mike; I’m coming to see you—have you lined up a cool shoot yet?

That’s it for today. Have a great weekend everybody; take your camera out for a great spring shooting; keep showing those pixels who’s boss, and we’ll see you back here on Monday.

It’s Thursday, and I’m back, baby! Here’s waz up:

• First, thanks to everybody who came out Tuesday (over 500 of you) to my first ever seminar in Hartford, Connecticut, including Marcin Grzybek, (shown above), who went and had this custom t-shirt made to wear to the seminar. I met so many great folks (including a lot of folks who read this blog; a quick shout out to Jeff, Doug, Bob, Joe and Joe, and Alicia). We’ll definitely be coming back to Hartford in the near future (great town, great facility, and lots of great, really enthusiastic Photoshop maniacs! I loved it!) In a semi-related note; Rob over at Towner Jones Photography (the guy who set up the CafePress site with the slogan available on t-shirts), said they are selling like hotcakes!
• Each Thursday we post a new online training class at Kelby Training.com but today we’ve posted two; Photoshop Layer Styles (link), taught by the amazing Corey Barker, and “From Photo to Graphic Art” (link) from Photoshop World instructor Lesa Snyder King. Plus, this last past week we had the famous Rick Sammon in for an entire week of live on location classes, shooting out in the field, and we’ll be getting some of his classes up shortly. Check out the new stuff right here.
• Make sure you check out this week’s episode of Photoshop User TV as our in-studio special guest is David DuChemin (from the Pixelated Image), and he gives some great tips on travel photography. Here’s the link (you can watch it right there online).
• I saw a really cute post over at SelectedPixels.com about me blogging about them a week or so ago, and what they call “The Kelby Bump.” Here’s the link.
• A great post over at the Hirlpoo blog about photographers getting harassed for taking photos, called “The Crackdown is Coming,” (which includes an account of my Marriott Marquis security guard thingy), but more importantly; there’s a link there to download a PDF about a photographer’s rights to shoot in public places. Definitely worth checking out (and downloading); right here.
• New Riders (the folks who publish my “Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers,” and who are part of the Peachpit Press family), are hosting the 2nd annual, “Voices That Matter Conference,” coming up June 10-13, 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee. The conference features a who’s who of Web Design authors and trainers, including Garr Reynolds (who wrote the smash hit book, Presentation Zen), and Steve Krug, author of the bestselling Don’t Make Me Think!, among others. Here’s a link for more details.
• Also, today is “Back Up Your Lightroom Catalog” Thursday, so if you haven’t backed up your catalog in a while; go under the Lightroom menu (on Mac), or the File Menu (on PC) and choose Catalog Settings. From the Back Up pop-up menu choose “Next Time Lightroom Starts Only” then Quit Lightroom, and relaunch. When it asks if you want to backup the catalog, click Backup. You’ll sleep better tonight.

That’s it for today, gang. We’ll see you tomorrow with some more stuff!