This week we kicked off the new season of Photoshop User TV (the weekly Photoshop show) and I got the honor of introducing our viewers to our new co-host of Photoshop User TV, and the latest addition to “The Photoshop Guys”, it’s  Jessica Maldonado, our own “Photoshop Girl.” (wild cheers ensue!).

I know what you’re thinking. About #$&% time! (I totally agree) 
I also know what some of you are thinking, and just so you know, Jessica chose the nickname “Photoshop Girl” herself (though some suggested “Photoshop Gal” cause they thought it fit the whole “Guys & Gals” theme, but Photoshop Gal doesn’t sound like a super-hero, and Jessica is definitely a Photoshop super-hero!)

Jess has been working with us for years in our design dept. She’s the main designer on all my books, and books like Joe McNally’s “The Moment it Clicks,” David Ziser’s “Captured By the Light” and Moose Peterson’s “Captured” but I think her best work yet is coming later this year as I’ve seen her layouts for Frank Doorhof’s upcoming book and they are absolutely fantastic!

So, how did Jess get the gig?
Well, first you have to be really, really, really good at Photoshop (like the guy she’s sitting next to on the set, Corey Barker). I know a lot of people who are really, really good at Photoshop and Jessica is among the very best — but I just didn’t realize how good a teacher she was until she recorded some tutorials and sent them to me, and I was like “Wow!!! She is GOOD!” So, we asked her (more like begged her) to join us on the show as a regular co-host and I’m super-psyched she said “yes!” Even though she was really nervous, she survived the first episode (which aired on Monday and I’m rebroadcasting below) despite the fact that Pete “The Juice” Collins was on that episode too and that’s a recipe for unpredictability and mild forms of chaos.

Join me in welcoming Jessica
Here’s this week’s show (below) and Jessica’s debut (I loved her very cool tutorial), and I hope you’ll please join me here in welcoming her to our show (you can leave a comment below if you like). It’s an honor to have her as our new co-host and I’m excited to see all the cool stuff she’ll be sharing with our viewers this season.

The show airs every Monday at KelbyTV.com and then we rebroadcast starting the next day. You can subscribe for free via iTunes our watch it on our site (complete with all the back episodes).

Cheers, –Scott

Free 24-Hour Trial for National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP)!
Want to know what you’re missing out on by not being a NAPP member? Try it out for FREE for 24 hours right here! Check out the full-length classes and quick tutorials from the top Photoshop instructors in the world for a full 24 hours. Whether you’re a photographer looking for Camera Raw, Lightroom, and Photoshop tips or a designer looking for new techniques and getting in-depth with layers, blend modes, and type, you can find it at NAPP.

Straight From My Camera with Zack Arias
The newest addition to The Art of Photography line of classes at KelbyTraining.com is Straight From My Camera with Zack Arias! In this class, he sits down with Mia McCormick to discuss everything from getting started and developing a style to finding inspiration and getting out of a rut so photography doesn’t become just a job.

You can check it out right here, and leave a message for your chance to win a free rental of this class!

Kelby Training Live
Want to spend a day with Scott Kelby, Matt Kloskowski, RC Concepcion, or Ben Willmore? Check out these seminar tours!

The Shoot Like A Pro Tour with Scott Kelby
May 23 – Seattle, WA
May 24 – Los Angeles, CA

Photoshop CS6 for Photographers with RC Concepcion
May 17 – Milwaukee, WI
June 12 – Nashville, TN
June 17 – Ottawa, ON
June 19 – Toronto, ON

Photographic Artistry with Adobe Photoshop with Ben Willmore
May 21 – Boston, MA

Leave a comment for your chance to win a ticket to one of these events!

Introduction to Adobe Creative Cloud eBook
Want to know the ins and outs of the Adobe Creative Cloud? In the Introduction to Adobe Creative Cloud eBook, Conrad Chavez shows you ways to improve your workflow and save time while working on projects like designing apps, websites, portfolios, and more. The best part is it’s only $2.99, and you can grab it right here, or leave a comment for your chance to win a free download!

WPPI On The Road in Chicago with RC Concepcion and Pete Collins!
RC Concepcion and Pete Collins are joining up with other instructors like Lindsay Adler, Doug Gordon, Jared Platt and more for WPPI On The Road in Chicago next week, May 20-21! This is a 2-day event for photographers looking to get their business off the ground, and they’ll be covering everything from editorial, wedding, and portrait photography to post production.

You can get more info and sign up right here, and leave a comment for your chance to win a free pass! We’ll be picking the winner tomorrow (May 17) and will notify you via email by the end of the day so you have the weekend to prepare.

How To Become A Professional Commercial Wedding Photographer
Patrick Hall, Lee Morris, and their team at FStoppers put together a DVD (digital download) called How To Become A Professional Wedding Photographer that covers everything you need to know to get started in the wedding photography business. It’s over 14 hours of content covering gear, lighting, video, slideshows, covering all aspects of a wedding ceremony and reception, post processing, delivering the final product, and even an interview with none other than Cliff Mautner!

There’s more info and a 21-minute preview over at FStoppers, plus they’ve given us a free copy to give away to one lucky commenter! Leave a comment for your chance to win.

Winners
Indoor Lifestyle Photography Class Rental
-Edwardson

Kelby Training Live Ticket
-KC

Jeremy Cowart Class Rental and Lifefinder DVD
-David A

That’s it for today. If you’re one of the winners, we’ll be in touch soon!

How to Create an Architectural Photo: Manhattan Style

I’d first like to thank Scott and Brad for inviting me to be a guest blogger!  When I was asked to write a post, I was very excited and immediately began thinking about what to share.  I love when photographers show how they created one of their favorite images from start to finish, so that’s what I’m going to do for you.

Although architecture is a relatively small niche of photography, there are many architectural photographers out there; each with their own style of shooting and retouching.  Some do very minimal retouching, if any, to their photographs, but I am not one of those.  I put just as much time, love and attention to detail in post as I do on set.  Every square inch is accounted for whether I’m behind the camera or behind the computer monitor, and here’s how I do it.

The Assignment:
The image I’m going to talk about is of a residential townhouse on the Upper West Side.  This street happens to be one of the few in that neighborhood that’s not landmarked, so the architect was able to redesign the entire façade with a modern twist.  It’s very different from the rest of the townhouses on the block (and really all of New York City), yet the colors and materials used allow it to blend well with its surroundings.

Final Image

The client wanted a dynamic shot of the building with no cars parked out front.  I knew that the best time to do this would be about 15 minutes after sunset time.  Twilight skies emit a vibrant blue color, and with the lights in the townhouse turned on (which my client had arranged for), the house really comes to life.  I also had to find out the street cleaning hours for the building so that I could get a clean shot without the cars.  Since there would be cars parked outside during the optimal twilight period, I planned on doing the same shot at two different times with the intention of compositing them in post.

Shooting at Night:
I arrived a few minutes before sunset to prepare for the first shot (sunset times can be found at SunriseSunset.com).  While waiting for that magical blue light, I took note of the street cleaning time, which was going to be Friday from 11:00am – 12:30pm.  I stuck three small pieces of Gaffer’s tape on the street where my tripod was set up so that I could return to the exact same spot on Friday.  I also waited for a few cars to pass by to get a few swooshing lights going across the bottom of the image for added color and drama.

Unretouched twilight shot of the building

On Friday I returned to my spot during the street cleaning time to recreate the same shot, only this time there would be no cars parked out front.  I positioned my tripod over the tape marks that I’d left from the night before and composed the image as best I could to mimic the composition of the twilight shot.  I knew the alignment wouldn’t be perfect, but it would be good enough since I only needed to use the sidewalk portion of this picture.

Left: unretouched daytime shot of the building. Right: same shot only darkened using Curves in Photoshop

Post-Production:
As you can see above, the daytime shot was made darker to make the sidewalk appear to have been shot at twilight.  I layered and aligned the daytime and twilight shots together, created a mask, and painted in the sidewalk from the daytime shot.

Left: original, RAW twilight shot. Right: final image after retouching

Equipment:
I created this shot with my Canon 5D Mark II and a Canon 17mm Tilt/Shift lens at ISO 200, f/11, and a shutter speed of 6 seconds.  I use tilt/shift lenses for about 80% of my work, both exteriors and interiors.  Even with this small townhouse, the 17mm TS lens needed to be shifted upward to capture the entire building.  When I can’t get the whole building in one frame, I’ll compensate by taking two shots – usually the bottom portion including some of the street, and then the upper portion including some extra sky – and then I stitch them together in Adobe Photoshop.  In this case, only one shot was needed.

I always shoot on a tripod so that I can bracket the exposures for manual HDR processing.  I say manual because I don’t use HDR software, which processes and merges the bracketed exposures together.  Instead, I choose which parts of each exposure I like the best, and I blend them by hand.

Final tips for shooting urban architecture:

• The size of the building will determine which lens you need to use (I strongly recommend using tilt/shift lenses for architectural photography).
• Season – are there trees in front of the building? If so, would the shot look better with foliage?
• Scout out parking rules and regulations – it’s best if you can shoot the building without cars parked out front.
• Time of day – if you’re shooting during the day, it’s important to consider the direction of light to avoid harsh and unwanted shadows.

The final ingredient for shooting architecture is passion.  Study the location you are going to capture.  Visit it during the day and also during the night to see how it looks in different light.  Think about the purpose of your photo and who your client is.  An architect wants to see the beauty in what they created through form and functionality.  Thanks for reading, and I hope you learned something useful!

Architecture by workshop/apd

You can see more of Donna’s work at DonnaDotan.com, and follow her on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter.

When I recently got the chance to shoot the Audi R8, I only had an hour from start to finish, so I figured I’d give the new Priolites a try because of their “run and gun” wireless capabilities for on-location shooting, and they worked amazingly well. Check out the video to see ‘em in action (and to see one amazing car)!

Great video clip from my buddy Matt Kloskowski on what he thinks may well be the most useful button in Lightroom (he originally ran this over on LightroomKillerTips.com last week). I can’t say I disagree, because I use it literally every single day dozens of times (if not more). If it’s not “the” most useful button, it’s surely is among the very top!

Hope you all have a great Monday. :)

Audi R8 Detail Shoot with some interesting new lights
When I found out one of my friend’s had a brand new red Audi R8, I was begging them to let me shoot it, and this week I got about an hour to shoot some detail shots (here’s a few above), and the car was, just insane! I’m hoping to get another chance soon to shoot the full car in an airplane hanger, so I’m pretty psyched. But for this shoot I tried out some groundbreaking new lights, and I don’t want to spill the beans because I did a behind-the-scenes video (hopefully I can share it here next week), but they were pretty darn slick, and I can’t wait to share it with you as soon as the video is ready.

Location shoot for Empower Boxing
Yesterday I snuck out of the office with Brad to do a quick portrait with James, the owner of the literally just-opened Empower Boxing gym in Tampa, Florida. Very cool guy and a very cool set-up, with heavy bags hanging…well…everywhere. Some behind-the-scenes shots coming next week as well.

Wednesday’s Episode of “The Grid”
If you missed this week’s “Scott Responds to the Creative Cloud Feedback” episode of “The Grid,” the rebroadcast is above. The first half of the show is about Adobe’s subscription-only announcement, and the 2nd half is about an idea I had for Adobe for photographers, and it got lots of love from the community. If you’re going to comment here, make sure you watch the Grid first, before you comment, ’cause if I can tell you didn’t watch it, I’m pulling it. Just so ya know.

That’s it for now. Hope you all have a great Friday, and a kick-butt weekend.

Cheers,

-Scott

P.S. I’m in Seattle with my new tour on May 23rd, and then LA on the 24th. Hope you can join me

Indoor Lifestyle Photography with Erik Valind
In his latest KelbyTraining.com class, Indoor Lifestyle Photography, lifestyle photographer Erik Valind photographs scenes in various locations and shows you how to use various light modifiers, pose your subjects, compose your shots, and deal with challenges on location. Learn how to mix artificial light with available ambient light to look natural, then utilize that to perfectly light different locations like living rooms, retail locations, and restaurants.

Leave a comment for your chance to win a free rental of this class!

Kelby Training Live
Want to spend a day with Scott Kelby, Matt Kloskowski, RC Concepcion, or Ben Willmore? Check out these seminar tours!

The Shoot Like A Pro Tour with Scott Kelby
May 23 – Seattle, WA
May 24 – Los Angeles, CA

Photographic Artistry with Adobe Photoshop with Ben Willmore
May 15 – Columbus, OH
May 21 – Boston, MA

Photoshop CS6 for Photographers with RC Concepcion
May 10 – Salt Lake City, UT
May 17 – Milwaukee, WI
June 12 – Nashville, TN

Leave a comment for your chance to win a ticket to one of these events!

Jeremy Cowart Workshop – The Field Sessions
Our buddy and Kelby Training instructor Jeremy Cowart is putting on a unique workshop called The Field Sessions this month at his studio in Nashville. In this workshop, Jeremy will be using “non-traditional (bizarre)” techniques to create fine art portraits of musicians and bringing you along for the ride. He’s showing you everything from lighting and gear, to directing, wardrobe, and “experimental post-production techniques  that may or may not include laser pens, fire, projectors, chemicals, pastels and baby unicorns.”

These workshops take place on May 10 (tomorrow), May 15, and May 25. You can get all the info and register right here. Leave a comment for your chance to win a free rental of one of Jeremy’s KelbyTraining.com classes and a copy of his Lifefinder DVD!

Winners
Kelby Training Live Ticket
-Marcel Bauer

KelbyTraining.com Rental
-Garrett Dollar

Lightroom 4 Book for Digital Photographers eBook
-Martin Boling

That’s it for today. If you’re one of the winners, we’ll be in touch soon. Have a great Thursday!

I’m humbled to make another appearance on Guest Blog Wednesday. I can’t fathom what in the world Scott was thinking when he thought to have me return for a third time, though. When I think about the giants of photography who have shared their knowledge as Guest Bloggers, the pressure of trying to articulate something that will be worthwhile overwhelms me. I’ve gone to the well twice now and I’d like to think that I did so without completely embarrassing myself. Maybe I should have quit while I was ahead, but here I am, this time writing about golf photography and how I shoot the sport.

The quiet before the storm at the Augusta National clubhouse

Golf photography is really no different than any other type of sports photography, or really photography in general. Each genre or sport has its ins & outs, nuances and idiosyncrasies that aren’t necessarily difficult to grasp, but it sure helps if you’re aware of them before you head out to shoot. Here are some preliminary thoughts, followed by a more detailed discussion on equipment, positioning and the types of shots I look for when I shoot the sport of golf.

Walking to the 18^th green with Peter Hanson

One thing I have discovered is that golf is one of the most physically demanding sports to shoot, at least the way I go about shooting events and tournaments. I’m sure you’re sitting there, scratching your head when you read that since golf is not typically thought of as a physically demanding sport. But when I shoot a PGA golf event, it’s almost always as a Tournament Photographer or for a wire service. Therefore, my job is either: 1) to follow an assigned group for most of a round, occasionally catching up with or dropping back to follow other groups on the course; or 2) to photograph players in contention and the “name” players. That means I don’t hunker down in one place and photograph the golfers as they come through that spot on the course. My photo obligations require that I do a lot of walking (and running).

Consider that most any PGA golf course is approximately 5 miles in length. Add to that going from greens to tee boxes, constantly moving from one side of the fairway to the other to get into position, etc., and it is not unusual for me to log in some 6 to 7 miles on any given day…with approximately 40 pounds of camera gear attached to my body in some fashion or another.

Jim Furyk tees off on #18 at Augusta National

I also make it a priority to capture images from unconventional vantage points. This requires a lot of extra climbing, squatting, sprinting, wading or other forms of physical exertion. For example, in order to capture the image above of Jim Furyk teeing off on #18 at Augusta National,  while Furyk’s playing partner was putting out on the 17^th green, I sprinted to the CBS TV tower which is located behind the 18^th tee box. I climbed the 40 or so rungs to the platform above, took several shots of Furyk, and climbed back down. As soon as I hit the ground, I sprinted up the 10^th fairway which parallels #18 to catch up with Furyk before either he or his partner hit their approach shots to the green. Whew.

Adam Scott at Amen Corner during the Masters

Despite being worn out by the end of a tournament, I enjoy shooting golf the way I do. Because I spend so much time with any given group of players each day, and have done so for several years, my face has become familiar to many of them. The same goes for network commentators and other media personalities who cover PGA tournaments. By avoiding certain faux pas and going about my business in a professional manner, I have developed an amicable relationship with many players and media types. That goes a long way towards making my job a lot more pleasant than it might otherwise be. Just as with any type of photography, gaining the respect and friendship of people with whom you have to work only serves to make life a lot more enjoyable.

A couple of years ago, I took a Flip video camera with me to the Tavistock Cup in Orlando, Florida, a PGA sanctioned golf event I have had the pleasure of shooting as a Tournament Photographer for several years. The idea was to create a video that would provide a glimpse of what it’s like inside the ropes as a credentialed photographer and to briefly touch on topics such as equipment, vantage points, and the types of images I look for when shooting. In the process of shooting the video clips, I unintentionally digressed and engaged some players and commentators with lighthearted conversation. Our exchanges illustrate just how much more fun it is to do a job when you’re on good terms with those around you. Before I begin to provide you some additional thoughts on shooting golf, feel free to take a peek at the video.

Let’s shift gears and take a look at equipment that allows me to get the job done.

Matt Kloskowski and I clowning around at this year’s Tavistock Cup before the first group of players tee off. (Photo by Steve Gustafson)

I typically carry at least two camera bodies, and most of the time three. In the photo of Matt Kloskowski and me (above), I have a D3S with a Sigma 15mm f2.8 fisheye on the left strap of a Black Rapid 2-camera strap and a D3S with an 80-200mm f2.8 on the right strap. A D300 is attached to a 200-400mm f4 lens, mounted on a monopod. This is a very typical outfit for me when heading out on the course in terms of lenses and camera body configuration unless I want to go light; then, I’ll drop one of the camera bodies. The upside of going with two camera bodies is less weight to carry; the downside is having to swap out lenses on one of the camera bodies when the need arises.

The Black rapid straps allow me to quickly grab either camera body and swing it into a shooting position due to its unique design. Another feature of Black Rapid straps is the very effective way camera bodies hang while walking or shooting with the monopod mounted camera – they are completely out of the way when not in use. If your photography requires quick access to strap mounted camera bodies and/or moving around with camera bodies on straps, Black Rapid straps are the bomb.

The photo of Matt and me also depicts another piece of gear that I can’t live without – a Think Tank modular belt/lens pouch system worn on my waist. I usually attach three lens pouches to the belt and another one designed for personal items, lens caps, extra batteries, and snacks. I carry two lenses in the pouches – a 17-35mm f2.8 wide-angle lens and a 35-70mm f2.8 lens. A Nikon SB 900 strobe sometimes goes in the other lens pouch for shooting late afternoon images with fill light after play has concluded, during awards presentations, or other such moments. Otherwise, I’ll carry a bottle of water in the third lens pouch.

Tiger Woods, up close and personal smacking a drive

There’s no getting around the fact that in order to shoot golf, a long lens is essential. Long lenses allow you to set up down the fairway from players and still shoot tight. Just as with any sport, tight shots of athletes with the ball and their face in the frame are very desirable as they capture the athletes’ facial expression in the heat of the moment. A long focal length allows you to get those shots without any chance that shutter noise will bother the players.

In order to capture the golfer’s face and the ball in the frame, it’s all a matter of timing. Fire the shutter too soon and the club head hasn’t made contact with the ball, which to me results in a blah image. Fire too late and the ball is long gone, even at 11 frames/second. Sometimes it takes a hole or two to get into a rhythm but after a bit I tend to find that rhythm and get a feel for just when to start pushing down on the shutter.

I try to position myself on the opposite side of the player’s hand dominance so that as he swings, his face will be visible. For right-handed golfers that means positioning myself to the left of the player and the opposite for lefties.

It should go without saying that the last thing you want to do when shooting golf is to disrupt a player’s swing with a burst of shutter clicks that they can hear as they swing. Even when I’m positioned down the fairway far enough away so that my shutter will not be audible to players, I still refrain from starting my burst of images until just before the club head makes contact with the ball.

Peter Hanson

Over the past couple of years, my long lens choice has shifted from a 400mm f2.8 lens to my now favorite, daytime, long sports lens – a Nikon 200mm-400mm f4. I often use a 400mm f2.8 lens for sports, but for golf I prefer to go with the 200-400mm. Golf is shot in plenty of light so I don’t need the extra speed of an f2.8 lens and the 200-400mm is significantly lighter than the 400mm f2.8. That’s important when you have to walk/run/sprint over 6-7 miles of golf course during the day while carrying equipment.

If I need to go really long, I’ll attach the 200mm-400mm to my trusty old Nikon D300, a DX-sensored body that has a 1.5X focal length multiplier. That effectively turns the 200-400mm lens into a 300-600mm lens at f4, which is as long a focal length as I ever need. Even though the D300 is several years old, at the ISOs I use during the day (usually ISO 200, and hardly ever above ISO 400), the noise level of the D300 is unnoticeable. If I feel that I can get by without needing to reach out with a 600mm focal length or when heavy overcast conditions force me to shoot with an ISO above 400 in order to maintain a shutter speed of at least 1/1000 second, I’ll attach the 200-400mm to a D3S camera body and goose the ISO to whatever setting is necessary.

Rickie Fowler

I like a slight bit of blur on the club head and ball to create the feeling of motion in an image, but not too much. 1/1000 second shutter speed is fast enough to give me just enough blur. A shutter speed slower than that will often result in the club head or the ball being too blurred for my taste.

Adam Scott tight pose shot

Webb Simpson full length pose shot

“Pose” shots add to a collection of images. I refer to the shots above as “pose” shots – images that depict the golfer at the very end of their swing as they watch the ball’s flight. These can be full frame of the golfer or tight, depending on the look I am after. They’re the easiest of all the shots to capture but are a great addition to an image set. The “pose” can be photographed many ways, and the possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

Wide angle image from the tee box

You may have noticed that I carry a couple of wide-angle lenses in addition to a long lens. I do so because I like to supplement tight action shots with pageantry, artsy fartsy, and wide-angle action images.

On at least one or two holes, I will position myself behind players and shoot with a wide-angle lens, sometimes at a slight angle to the players and sometimes directly behind them.  These vantage points produce something different from the typical out-in-front stuff and add variety to the collection of images I turn in. I may sit on the ground and shoot up (as in the image above) or stand/kneel while I shoot (as in the image below).

Wide angle image on the course

Don’t be fooled by the images above as they give the appearance that I am some distance away from the payers.  As with rear view mirrors, objects are much closer than they appear when using wide-angle lenses, so you MUST be careful not to fire the shutter until after the players have hit the ball – unless of course you dream about being yelled at by the golfer or his caddy. If you don’t believe me, fire your shutter within earshot of Robert Allenby or Bubba Watson, or God help you Tiger Woods, during their backswing. I’ve seen them and their caddies humiliate photographers to the point of tears.

Players approach the 18^th green during the Mercedes-Benz Championship at Kapalua

Approach shots to #3 at Augusta National

Another use for the wide angle set up is picturesque shots of the golf course and panoramic shots of the players and galleries (as shown above), which gives viewers a feel for the ambiance of the event.

Bunker shot from the side

If I could only get one image during an entire day of shooting it would have to be the bunker shot. To me, these golf images are just this side of Elvis cool. I mean, what’s not to like? The ball is typically easy to capture in the frame as it doesn’t travel as fast a tee shot or a fairway approach shot, the cloud of sand adds drama and action to an image, and you have many options when it comes to composition – you can shoot from the side of the player, directly in front, with a horizontal orientation, a vertical one, you name it, and the images always look great.

Bunker shot from directly in front

Any time a player hits an approach shot to a green, I am secretly rooting for a big splash in the sand. As soon as I see that, I boogey for position while thinking through the kind of image I hope to get. This is where the 80-200mm lens comes in handy as it gives me great flexibility in composing the image. My preference in vantage point is in front of the player so the bunker shot is being hit almost directly at me. Having said that, bunker images can also look pretty sweet when shot from the side and the sun highlights the sand. I try to vary focal lengths and position as the day progresses for the sake of variety, shooting tight, medium and wide. After all, isn’t variety the spice of life?

Ricky Fowler

Freddie Couples

Let’s move on to the putting green. My go-to lens on putting greens is the 80-200mm because its focal length is great for variety in the shots I can take. There are many kinds of images you can shoot once the players make it to the green, such as players placing their ball on their ball marker, reading the green (alone or with their caddy), or actually putting.

To finish up, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a few other things I look for during a tournament. At the end of the day, the obligatory trophy presentation and celebration shots are a must. These are usually straightforward, grip & grin type shots but they’re part of the gig.

Every now and then I get lucky and a unique moment presents itself, as it did after Webb Simpson received the Payne Stewart salver for being low medalist at the 2013 Tavistock Cup. While all of us photographers were busy scurrying around to get shots of the winning team with the Tavistock Cup trophy, Simpson walked over to the gallery off the 18^th green, unnoticed by the gaggle, to find his wife and kids. I had already gotten my shots of the winning team with the trophy and was about to head to the media trailer when I saw Simpson walking towards the green, salver and family in tow, and a huge smile on his face. The wind was blowing his wife’s and kids’ hair, which made for a perfect Kodak moment that no one seemed to notice. Thankfully, I was still locked and loaded and got what I think was one of my best images of the day.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention one last category of images that I always look for. Art shots, or as I refer to them artsy fartsy shots, can be found all over the golf course. They can be as simple as a scenic shot of a player teeing off (above), the Golf Channel’s David Feherty trying to extract co-commentator Gary McCord’s head from the rear end of a bull (below), or golf bags lined up and ready for play (also below).

I believe I’ve now beaten the golf photography horse deader than a doorknob so I will wrap up. I hope that the information provided is useful, and as always, my thanks to Scott and Brad Moore for being kind enough to have me appear on Guest Blog Wednesday one more time. Stay thirsty, my friends.

Mike Olivella is a professional photographer based in Tallahassee, Florida. Mike specializes in sports, outdoor and studio photography and is on the photo staff of the Florida State University Athletics Department. Mike also shoots sports for two wire services. You can see more of Mike’s work at BaselineShots.com or follow him on Google+.

I saw loads of questions and comments all over the Web yesterday about Adobe’s announcements. The new features part got lots of love. Adobe’s new subscription-only plan for their Creative Cloud software, not so much (and that’s being kind), so I thought I’d do a quick Q&A giving my take on it all.

Q. Scott, should I be freaking out?
A. Absolutely not. I saw a lot of nasty comments yesterday (I’m sure you did, too), but a lot of what I read was based on mis-information or was just plain wrong. 

Q. Can you give me an example?
A. Sure. I read a bunch of people in forums claiming that Adobe isn’t going to release any bug fixes for Photoshop CS6. Actually, Adobe said just the opposite. They said they would be updating CS6 with bug fixes as necessary — they’re just not adding any new features (well, technically they did go back to CS6 and add a major new feature —- they added the HiDPI support for computers with high dpi displays, like the Retina display on the MacBook Pro, but you know what I mean).

Q. So, Adobe isn’t going to add any new features to Photoshop CS6?
A. Um…no, but that’s not new. I don’t remember Adobe ever going back and adding new features to a previous version of Photoshop once a new version has been announced. 

Q. So they announced a new version of Photoshop?
A. Yup. It’s called Photoshop CC (for Creative Cloud), and it’s got a bunch of new features, and it’s the 2nd feature update they’ve issued for the Creative Cloud. 

Q. I heard we have to subscribe to get these new features. Is that true?
A. Yup. The new features aren’t being added to the old version of Photoshop (CS6), so to get the new features you’ll need to subscribe. 

Q. So I have to pay $50 a month to get these new features!!!!
A. Nope. For some reason, everyone is acting like you have to subscribe to the complete Creative Cloud program to get the new features in Photoshop. Actually you subscribe to just Photoshop by itself for $19.95 a month (Adobe calls this a “Single App subscription”). By the way, this $19.95 Photoshop-only subscription thing isn’t new (it just seems like nobody really knows about it, so everybody’s all focused on the $50-a-month thing). 

Q. But Photoshop CS6 came out just over a year ago. Now I have to shell out $20 a month?
A. Nope — they have a discount for folks who already bought CS6 (or CS5, CS4 even back to CS3) — they get a one-year intro-deal on a Photoshop CC subscription for just $10 a month and they get all the new features (along with any new ones that are released, for as long as they’re subscribed). 

Q. So then I don’t actually have to pay $50 a month for Photoshop?
A. That’s right — the $49.95 monthly subscription is only if you want the full Creative Cloud, which gives you all the Creative Suite Master Collection Applications as well, like InDesign, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Muse, and on and on, plus a bunch of new Cloud-based services.

Q. Yeah, but if I bought CS6 and now I want to move to the full-blown Cloud, I’m hosed right? 
A. If you bought CS6 and want to move up to the complete Creative Cloud, there’s a deal where you can get the whole shebang for just $19.95 a month (same price as just Photoshop alone, but you have to already be a  CS6 user to qualify). Here’s a link to the page where I found it.

Q. But I’m a photographer and I only use Photoshop. This doesn’t sound like a very good deal.
A. If all you use is Photoshop, I agree, and I wouldn’t get the complete $49.95 monthly Creative Cloud subscription — I’d just go with the $20 Photoshop-only monthly subscription instead. 

Q. What if I use Photoshop and Lightroom. Is it a good deal then?
A. I think it will be before too long (Adobe sneak peeked some cool stuff for photographers on “The Grid” last week), but honestly right now there’s not a really strong case for photographers with the complete Creative Cloud. For example, you could buy the Lightroom 5 upgrade for $79 (I’m assuming it’ll be $79 ’cause that’s what it cost last tim), and then if you’re already a Photoshop user using anything from Photoshop CS3 to CS6, just spend the $10 a month on Photoshop.

So, take the $79 plus $120 for the Photoshop CC  Single App subscription, and you’re around $200. If you went with the complete Creative Cloud subscription you’d be paying $600, so by just getting those two programs (upgrading to Lightroom 5 and subscribing just to Photoshop CC), you’re saving $400 by going this way, and you still have the latest versions of the best image-editing duo on the planet. 

Q. So when does the complete Creative Cloud subscription math work out?
A. As soon as you find yourself using two or more programs (not including Lightroom). So, if you use Photoshop and InDesign, or Photoshop and Premiere Pro, or Photoshop and Muse or any other couple of Adobe programs, the deal goes from “Meh” to “Hey!!!” For example, our in-house video team thinks the complete Creative Cloud is the best thing since sliced bread because they use lots of Adobe applications. For our graphic designers, it rocks for them too because none of them uses just Photoshop. The more programs you use, the more sense it makes. This is why, right now, I don’t think it makes that much sense for photographers, who are going to use just one or two programs (if you count Lightroom, which is included in the complete Creative Cloud) but I think that will change in the future as Adobe adds more photographer-centric features. 

Q. But what if Adobe raises the price on me?
A. I doubt I’ll be in my 60s and the price for the Creative Cloud will still be the same. At some point, it’ll probably go up, but any company can raise the price of any of their products at any time, just like the US Post Office does with the price of a stamp (and most companies do pretty regularly, which is why everything costs us more today  from milk to gas to coffee). Also, just like any product, you don’t have to buy it if they do raise the price. 

Q. So what happens if I can’t pay my subscription one month?
A. The same thing that happens if you can’t make your car payment. Two big burly guys come to your house in the middle of the night and take back your copy of Photoshop.

Q. Really?!
A. Well, they don’t come to your house per se (they do it digitally), but why chance it?

Q. I read that the Creative Cloud apps run in a Browser. Is that true?
A. I can’t believe I keep reading this, but no. No, no, no. They don’t run in your browser. All the Adobe desktop apps in the Creative Cloud  (like Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, etc.) run like they always did — on your desktop. But instead of getting a box shipped to you, you just download the software from “The Cloud.”

Q. I also read you always have to be online because it checks every day to see if your subscription is current. What if I’m not online when they check each day?
A. It’s my understanding that if you’re an annual subscriber, it only checks once-a-month to confirm your registration — not every day, all day, and annual subscribers can actually be off-line for up to 99 days straight and it still keep their subscription active (but I can’t remember ever meeting anyone who was offline for 99 days. I did hear stories of a Grandmother in Wyoming once though). For monthly subscribers, I think you can be offline for around 37 days, but still — I don’t know where this whole “check every day” thing came from either, but my advice would be; when they come to check, quickly turn out the lights and hide behind the couch.

Q. Will that work?
A. I’m not certain, but again, why chance it?

Q. Why is Adobe the only one doing this?
A. Actually, they’re not (look at AutoDesk, Audible, Microsoft, iTunes Match, Amazon Prime, etc.), and I imagine within just a couple of years (or less), this subscription model will become the norm. Don’t shoot the messenger. Shoot Brad instead.

Q. Hey, I bought CS6 last year. Aren’t I entitled to these feature updates for free?
A. Well, every time Adobe releases a new version of their software, only people that buy the new software get the new features. If you look in your copy of CS5, you won’t find any of the CS6 features in there — only the people that bought CS6 get them. When you bought CS6, you bought it based on the features that were in there at the time, and that’s exactly what you got. There was no promise that if Adobe came out with new features that you’d get them — new features always go in the next version of the software.

Q. Well, that’s not exactly true. Creative Cloud subscribers got those features free!
A. That’s true, because subscribers get new features free, as soon as they’re ready, so they’re always on the latest version of the software.

Q. So basically, Adobe is using that as a marketing thing to get people to subscribe to the Creative Cloud?
A. Well…yeah. Cloud subscribers get the new features free as soon as they’re ready. It made me want to subscribe.

Q. That’s not fair!
A. You seriously need to find the person who, at some point in your life, mistakenly told you that life was fair and clonk them with that round cardboard tube that comes inside Christmas wrapping paper.

Q. What if I don’t want to subscribe? What if I don’t want to “rent” my software?
A. You don’t have to. You can still buy the retail version of Photoshop CS6 just like always, and you’ll own it and there’s no monthly fee. 

Q. Well, how much does Photoshop CS6 cost?
A. I believe it’s $700 (ish).

Q. Wow. Renting doesn’t sound so bad now. 
A. I know, right?

Q. I know you said we can still buy Photoshop CS6, but I just scoured Adobe’s Website and I can’t find any link to it at all.
A. Me either. I searched all over, even got friends to help search with me, and I couldn’t find it for a long time (apparently buying CS6 includes a game of “needle in the haystack” first) but eventually I uncovered it. Here’s the link.

Q. So Scott, what do you think is a fair price for a bundle of both Photoshop CC and Lightroom 5?
A. A bunch of folks watching our live broadcast with Adobe’s Tom Hogarty thought the sweet spot for a bundle of the two of them would be $20, and I agree — that would be ideal. Probably isn’t going to happen, cause that would be both at about $10 a month, and one costs $700 and one costs $149. If you’re thinking, “Hey, $15 sounds great” I wouldn’t hold my breath for that either. I think $24.95 would still be really reasonable, but of course it’s not up to me. 

Q. So have you talked to Adobe about all this new pricing stuff?
A. Absolutely. I’ve been out there for meetings, I’ve had numerous conference calls, I’m on an Adobe advisory board, and I’ve been in close contact with Adobe over all of this and I’ve given my opinion to the point that I can’t believe they would actually continue to take my calls. But at the end of the day, I can only offer advice and give them the perspective of the 70,000 NAPP members I represent, but I’m not the Adobe CEO, and product pricing is not my call to make.

This is the product direction Adobe chose going forward, made by people with a much higher pay grade than me. I’m glad they asked at all. Most companies wouldn’t have. I also think they really listened (not just to me, but a wide range of industry influencers and longtime customers and I think that’s why some of the pricing deals and discounts are as low as they are. $10 a month for the latest Photoshop? That’s a pretty unbelievable price honestly — lower than I thought they’d ever go). But the software market has changed tremendously in the past few years and they have to do what they feel is best course for their products and their company going forward. By the way, this subscription model isn’t just where the future of software in general is going. It’s already here (as I mentioned earlier).  

Q. Do you think Adobe will change their mind about this?
A. No. This isn’t a decision they made two weeks ago, and Adobe knows there are a ton of people who already subscribe to the Creative Cloud (the last figure I heard was over 500,000 subscribers and growing, which is pretty staggering) and there are a ton of people who absolutely love the Creative Cloud, the tools it brings and the opportunities and doors it opens. I run into people while I’m out on tour who wouldn’t go back to the old way if you paid them, so while it may not be perfect for everyone just yet, this is pretty much just “Creative Cloud 1.0.” I’m honestly surprised at what Adobe has added in just one year, and I’ve seen some things that are coming, and I imagine before too long everybody will want to be in on this because Adobe is working on some truly groundbreaking stuff. 

Q. I know, I know, but I’m just so mad about all this!
A. Change freaks a lot of people out, and all the misinformation out there hasn’t helped either. But just know that you still have lots of options, so don’t feel like you’re being forced down one particular road. You can subscribe to just Photoshop. You can buy and own Photoshop CS6. You can join the whole Creative Cloud, or not. You can keep the software you already have and keep using it for years. You can sit on the sidelines and just see how this whole thing plays out, but regardless, you still have options. 

Q. So what are you going to do?
A. I subscribed to the Creative Cloud about two weeks after Adobe announced it, and I love it. I do use more than just Lightroom and Photoshop (I’ve been using InDesign all day today), and for me, and for my company, it not only makes sense, it saves me money. I’ve spent my entire career waiting 18 to 20 months for Adobe to release new Photoshop features. Now, I get them as soon as they’re ready. The waiting is over, and the decision was an easy one, but again, I had options. You do, too. 

I hope that helped to clear some things up.

Best,

-Scott

I love natural light
Love it! I don’t talk about it a bunch here on the blog, because it seems like I’m always lighting something, but you might be surprised that I don’t always walk into every situation thinking I’m going to light it. Oh, don’t get me wrong, we always bring a flash or two, but in most cases I’d prefer to use natural light. Why? Three reasons:

(1) It’s easy
(2) It’s free. (Well, mostly)
(3) It’s fast (that’s really a biggie for me)

If there’s available natural light I try to use it first
That was the case with the shot you see above (that’s a two-page spread in a wedding book I’m working on). This is up in the balcony  and there were all these beautiful old wooden theater-looking seats (great looking, but not particularly comfortable) and to the right of the scene above is just this huge window. Huge! So of course my first thought was — let’s just use natural light.

The problem is: natural light isn’t always beautiful light
Sometimes, even indoors like this with a big beautiful window with a shade streaming natural light, that light can still be really harsh, dappled and unflattering (or in our case, all three).

If we think we might have the opportunity to use natural light, I have Brad bring at least a 1-stop Diffuser (something that goes between the direct sunlight and our subject, like the Lastolite 1-stop TriGrip diffuser you see above, to spread and soften the sunlight). The sunlight at this time of day (around 3:00 pm) was so bright and harsh that even when we diffused it, our bride was still squinting and the light was still kinda harsh. Look at the light on the chair to the right of her and you can see how harsh that light is.

You’d think the light would be even….
But we soon realized that while we could diffuse the light somewhat (we really needed a 2-stop diffuser), we’d still have very strong dappled beams of light landing right next to her so we wound up chasing down these beams and positioning the diffuser in different places (that’s John our 2nd assistant on the shoot jumping in front of some dappled beams).

This is why I always bring a light. Or two. 
I just wasn’t happy with the natural light, and our inability to control it, so I called down to Brad to bring up a flash head with a small softbox (it’s a 27″x27″ square softbox). I have to tell you, it’s pretty frustrating to be standing in a room with this much light and still have to bring out a flash, but we were having such a hard time getting the light where we wanted it. We finally moved the bride to a different location, hoping for better luck by placing her back a few rows into an area that wasn’t getting much harsh light, but we still had to use the diffuser to keep some of the direct beams from falling on her, or near her.

The idea was to have her in a dark part of the chairs, and then just put a little light on her, and have everything else look pretty dark and dramatic, and this new set-up seemed to work OK. It’s not great light. It’s not amazing light or anything — it was more like just having a problem, solving it to some extent, getting a decent shot so we could move onto another location with the groom waiting downstairs.  Once we got it “in the ballpark” I took the shot using a super-wide 14-24mm lens, and rolled out of there. I basically cut my losses because although I felt like with another 15 or so minutes I could have probably nailed the lighting, I didn’t have another 15 or so minutes.

In the end….
I think the shot works in the two-page spread you saw at the top of this post, even though with that cool of a set-up (with a gorgeous stained-glass window on the far left, and these wonderful old chairs wrapping around), I really thought I could come up with something really special, but just didn’t. I played the hand I was dealt and we both folded. I didn’t win, and the harsh light didn’t win, but I lived to light another day. Hopefully next time, it’ll be later in the day, and I’ll be by a north-facing window —- one that hasn’t been washed in an awfully long time. :)

Adobe Sneak Peek of RAW Processing on Tablet
Yesterday on The Grid, Scott and Matt were joined by Tom Hogarty from Adobe, who gave us a sneak peek of processing RAW photos on a tablet! Using a prototype version of a possibly upcoming app on his iPad 2, he demonstrated the ability to edit RAW photos using Lightroom-like capabilities such as Highlights, Shadows, Exposure, Contrast, and more. He also discussed cloud synchronization with the edits made on tablets back to your computer. Careful not to say anything concrete, he also mentioned that he would like to see the ability to mark picks and rejects or set other categories in the app.

There were also a ton of giveaways, including copies of Lightroom, so check out the show above for more info on how to win!

The Business Side of Tim Wallace
Tim Wallace is one of the top automotive photographers in the world, with clients like Mercedes, Jaguar, Aston Martin, and more. Sit down with Tim and Kelby Training’s Mia McCormick in The Business Side of Tim Wallace as they discuss being a successful business person, getting hired, how to price your work, marketing yourself, and much more.

Leave a comment for your chance to win a free rental of this class!

Kelby Training Live
Want to spend a day with Scott Kelby, Matt Kloskowski, RC Concepcion, or Ben Willmore? Check out these seminar tours!

The Shoot Like A Pro Tour with Scott Kelby
Apr 30 – Chicago, IL
May 23 – Seattle, WA (info coming soon)
May 24 – Los Angeles, CA (info coming soon)

Photographic Artistry with Adobe Photoshop with Ben Willmore
May 15 – Columbus, OH
May 21 – Boston, MA

Photoshop CS6 for Photographers with RC Concepcion
May 10 – Salt Lake City, UT
May 17 – Milwaukee, WI

Leave a comment for your chance to win a ticket to one of these events!

Get Scott Kelby’s Lightroom 4 Book for Digital Photographers eBook for Just $9.99!
There are just a few days left to get Scott Kelby’s Lightroom 4 Book for Digital Photographers eBook for only $9.99! It’s the current eBook Deal of the Week from Peachpit Press this week, which means you can get it until Saturday, May 4 at this special price. Check these links each week for other great deals on other books from Peachpit.

Leave a comment for your chance to win a free copy of this eBo!

Winners
KelbyTraining.com Rentals
- Avishai F
- Shelley Franklin

Kelby Training Live Ticket
- Andrea

That’s it for today. If you’re one of the winners, we’ll be in touch soon!