Saturday, April 11, 2009
Rejected
Over the course of a year I have had many photos rejected at Dreamstime. Of course, the agency has every right to reject what isn't up to their quality standards, if they don't think they will sell, or if they just have too many already. Here is an example of a recent reject, that I particularly like. Oh well - you can't take it personally (it was rejected because they have too many of this type already)...
Friday, April 3, 2009
Canon 40D Review
As I've mentioned before, I recently moved up to a new Canon 40D from a Canon 20D. I was looking forward to several feature upgrades and was pleasantly surprised.
I figured it would be helpful for anyone looking at upgrading to have a list of features I actually appreciate:
1. 10MP versus 8MP. This is obvious but it really does give me room to crop a bit and maintain larger file sizes for stock photos.
2. Noise. I used to have to do some noise reduction on almost any shot to clean up shadows but now I rarely have to do any noise reduction below ISO 400, even for stock submittal. This has really made my workflow faster.
3. Focusing. I really appreciate the 9 cross points - you can really use all 9 focus points even in lower light. With the 20D I could rarely make use of the additional focus points when I really needed them. I get a lot more keepers out of it on continuous focus, as well. One nice feature is that it can show the focus point used on the playback.
4. Viewfinder / screen. Just a little bit bigger in the finder, but lots bigger on the back LCD. I couldn't believe how small the 20D's was when I took it out the other day :)
5. Awake from any button on the back. Surprisingly this is great. When you pick up the camera you don't have to half press the shutter to wake it up.
6. My Menu. This is another great feature. I rarely have to go to the other menus.
7. Custom modes on the dial. This is pretty good - I have one set for manual for flash and another for continuous shooting (Focus mode, fps maxed, aperture priority, ISO 200, etc.).
8. High light priority. I haven't used it much, but worked nicely to keep snow from blowing out the other day.
9. 3fps. I like having the option of 3fps versus 6.5fps. It is very easy to accidentally fire off two shots in 6.5fps. I do like the fast speed for HDR type stuff, and action sequences of course.
10. Live view. Hey - call it a gimmick if you like but I've had about 5 times so far that I wanted to get a shot of the kids down low and loved being able to see what was going on. Can't say i'm in love with how you focus, but it is handy once in a while. Nice for macro tripod work as well (10x magnification for focusing).
11. RGB histogram. Nice - you can't really ever be sure with a luminance histogram, since it doesn't show a single channel clipping.
12. ISO visible all the time. I absolutely love having ISO in the viewfinder and on the top LCD. It is so obvious that you left it on a high ISO. i've never had shots at too high an ISO with this camera.
13. Responsiveness. It is hard to put a number on it, but the 40D is just that much quicker. If you take a sequence of shots at 6.5fps when you stop you are looking at the last one, not watching them trickle in. If you view 9 shots at a time on the back LCD you can spin the dial and it just rocks through them. I love it! With the 20D there was always an almost imperceptible lag that annoyed me.
All in all a solid upgrade from the 20D.
I figured it would be helpful for anyone looking at upgrading to have a list of features I actually appreciate:
1. 10MP versus 8MP. This is obvious but it really does give me room to crop a bit and maintain larger file sizes for stock photos.
2. Noise. I used to have to do some noise reduction on almost any shot to clean up shadows but now I rarely have to do any noise reduction below ISO 400, even for stock submittal. This has really made my workflow faster.
3. Focusing. I really appreciate the 9 cross points - you can really use all 9 focus points even in lower light. With the 20D I could rarely make use of the additional focus points when I really needed them. I get a lot more keepers out of it on continuous focus, as well. One nice feature is that it can show the focus point used on the playback.
4. Viewfinder / screen. Just a little bit bigger in the finder, but lots bigger on the back LCD. I couldn't believe how small the 20D's was when I took it out the other day :)
5. Awake from any button on the back. Surprisingly this is great. When you pick up the camera you don't have to half press the shutter to wake it up.
6. My Menu. This is another great feature. I rarely have to go to the other menus.
7. Custom modes on the dial. This is pretty good - I have one set for manual for flash and another for continuous shooting (Focus mode, fps maxed, aperture priority, ISO 200, etc.).
8. High light priority. I haven't used it much, but worked nicely to keep snow from blowing out the other day.
9. 3fps. I like having the option of 3fps versus 6.5fps. It is very easy to accidentally fire off two shots in 6.5fps. I do like the fast speed for HDR type stuff, and action sequences of course.
10. Live view. Hey - call it a gimmick if you like but I've had about 5 times so far that I wanted to get a shot of the kids down low and loved being able to see what was going on. Can't say i'm in love with how you focus, but it is handy once in a while. Nice for macro tripod work as well (10x magnification for focusing).
11. RGB histogram. Nice - you can't really ever be sure with a luminance histogram, since it doesn't show a single channel clipping.
12. ISO visible all the time. I absolutely love having ISO in the viewfinder and on the top LCD. It is so obvious that you left it on a high ISO. i've never had shots at too high an ISO with this camera.
13. Responsiveness. It is hard to put a number on it, but the 40D is just that much quicker. If you take a sequence of shots at 6.5fps when you stop you are looking at the last one, not watching them trickle in. If you view 9 shots at a time on the back LCD you can spin the dial and it just rocks through them. I love it! With the 20D there was always an almost imperceptible lag that annoyed me.
All in all a solid upgrade from the 20D.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
1000 Sales at Dreamstime!
I hit 1000 sales of stock photos this week! I'm very happy with how things have progressed over the last 10 months that I've been doing this. I've got 945 images online, and have sold almost 400 of them at least once. One image, of water, has now sold 21 times! Here is the first sale over 1000, along with the water image:
So far the benefits I've received from taking part in stock photos:
1. Real dollars. I've made money selling my photos, enough to upgrade my camera to a 40D and still have money left over for a high end lens. To put it in perspective, I'd have to work about 40 hours a month at a minimum wage job to match my current monthly stock photo earnings...
2. Validation. Every advanced amateur probably has people in their life that constantly tell them they should be a pro, or sell their work. The reality is that most will do much better at their day job. I put myself in that camp, but it is somewhat validating to be selling photos. Someone other than friends and family are voting with their dollars! I've placed in contests and had some photos published in magazines, but it has never paid the bills like doing stock does.
3. Technique. While stock photography is clearly commerical in nature, the review process has boosted my technique. I make no claims that it comes close to fine art, but there is nothing wrong with getting paid to learn to get sharper photos, declutter backgrounds and make things more eye catching.
4. Community. Although this blog is OK, I can now access a much bigger audience in terms of sharing information, with the stock photo community. As well, you really feel you are helping people, in the same way I was helped initially by the community. To date I've had a couple of comments on this blog, but a posting on the message boards at Dreamstime gets immediate feedback and answers.
5. Purpose. I've never really been big on the pursuit of fine art in my own photography. I'd much rather have great photos of the kids on the wall. Stock photography has given me another outlet for my hobby that doesn't just result in thousands of shots on the hard drive. Getting paid as well is that much more motivating. It keeps me from running out of ideas - with stock even the most mundane subject can be a seller.
So far the benefits I've received from taking part in stock photos:
1. Real dollars. I've made money selling my photos, enough to upgrade my camera to a 40D and still have money left over for a high end lens. To put it in perspective, I'd have to work about 40 hours a month at a minimum wage job to match my current monthly stock photo earnings...
2. Validation. Every advanced amateur probably has people in their life that constantly tell them they should be a pro, or sell their work. The reality is that most will do much better at their day job. I put myself in that camp, but it is somewhat validating to be selling photos. Someone other than friends and family are voting with their dollars! I've placed in contests and had some photos published in magazines, but it has never paid the bills like doing stock does.
3. Technique. While stock photography is clearly commerical in nature, the review process has boosted my technique. I make no claims that it comes close to fine art, but there is nothing wrong with getting paid to learn to get sharper photos, declutter backgrounds and make things more eye catching.
4. Community. Although this blog is OK, I can now access a much bigger audience in terms of sharing information, with the stock photo community. As well, you really feel you are helping people, in the same way I was helped initially by the community. To date I've had a couple of comments on this blog, but a posting on the message boards at Dreamstime gets immediate feedback and answers.
5. Purpose. I've never really been big on the pursuit of fine art in my own photography. I'd much rather have great photos of the kids on the wall. Stock photography has given me another outlet for my hobby that doesn't just result in thousands of shots on the hard drive. Getting paid as well is that much more motivating. It keeps me from running out of ideas - with stock even the most mundane subject can be a seller.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Canon Powershot G10 Review
I've written a blog at Dreamstime on the Canon G10, with a bit of a stock photo spin to it:
G10 Review
I've got some more photos approved taken with the G10, and it is turning out to be everything I'd hoped it would be: small enough to take with me and high enough quality to provide 14+ MP stock photo images:
G10 Review
I've got some more photos approved taken with the G10, and it is turning out to be everything I'd hoped it would be: small enough to take with me and high enough quality to provide 14+ MP stock photo images:
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
40D and G10
I had quite the Christmas! I purchased an updated DSLR, the Canon 40D. In the end I decided the huge files of the 50D just weren't needed. I don't see a significant number of my stock files selling at the maximum resolution with an 8MP camera, so going to 10MP seems like enough. As well, I thought I would like to get the G10, which does have 15MP files. I have sort of reverse logic on this one - with the compact, I elected to go with the 15MP tiny sensor becuase of its amazing ability (jaw dropping according to DPReview) to capture at the base ISO. On the other hand, but sticking to the 40D over the 50D I saved enough to get the G10, plus my RAW files are sticking around 11-12MP each. By not going to the 15MP 50D I figured my low light capture would be better - that seems the be the common complaint at high ISO with tiny pixels.
In the end, though, I was way more swayed by the amazing abilities of the 40D in terms of value than any real strikes against the 50D. If I'd bought a camera 6 months earlier I would have been amazed by the 40D - so I thought that hadn't changed with the introduction of the 50D. Except for the price drop on the 40D!
My family went together and got me the G10 for Christmas, and I have been amazed at its ability to capture detail at ISO80. Used at that setting it is a very capable camera, capable of getting approved for stock photos. On the other hand, its low light abilities are more than sufficient for family photos. If the light is low I use flash anyways, or switch to my 40D if I'm at home. I'm looking forward to having a camera in hand in many more situations - the G10 is great for that. I was also happy to see it was easy to use with gloves on - no need to enter menus with dials for common stuff like ISO, mode and exposure compensation.
Here is my first stock photo with the G10:
In the end, though, I was way more swayed by the amazing abilities of the 40D in terms of value than any real strikes against the 50D. If I'd bought a camera 6 months earlier I would have been amazed by the 40D - so I thought that hadn't changed with the introduction of the 50D. Except for the price drop on the 40D!
My family went together and got me the G10 for Christmas, and I have been amazed at its ability to capture detail at ISO80. Used at that setting it is a very capable camera, capable of getting approved for stock photos. On the other hand, its low light abilities are more than sufficient for family photos. If the light is low I use flash anyways, or switch to my 40D if I'm at home. I'm looking forward to having a camera in hand in many more situations - the G10 is great for that. I was also happy to see it was easy to use with gloves on - no need to enter menus with dials for common stuff like ISO, mode and exposure compensation.
Here is my first stock photo with the G10:
Monday, January 5, 2009
Aspect Ratio
As if there weren't enough things to think about, I recently started thinking about yet another aspect (pun intended) of stock photography: aspect ratio. I got a compact camera this Christmas and discovered that it was 4:3, rather than 3:2 as I'm used to with a DSLR. This has more impact than I would have thought:
1. Taking pictures. I find myself taking a lot more photos in the 'landscape' orientation rather than 'portrait'. When taking photos of people I find the SLR ratio too wide unless you want lots of background (environmental portraits, etc.).
2. Cropping. I find that I crop some photos down to a more square format for stock photography. Ellen Boughn pointed out in one of her blogs that a square format optimizes the use of the thumbnail enlargement. You get 100% use of the enlarged view when using a square. This comes at the cost of resolution, though. With the 4:3 ratio you are only losing 1/4 of the resolution, compared to 1/3 with the 3:2 format. This may mean the difference of an extra price category depending on the megapixels of your camera. My shot of the top of a camera below is an example of cropping to fit a square...
3. Space. The more square format seems to leave more room around things compared to the 3:2 format. This probably helps designers as they have a bit more room for copy space or just to crop out to fit a layout.
4. Printing. On a personal level the 4:3 format comes closer to matching a 5x7 or 8x10 print with less cropping. You get more of the original resolution when cropping to fit a standard print format. While that is of course not true in the standard 4x6 print size, that only tends to get used for 4x6" prints - the smallest size which doesn't need any extra resolution.
5. Pet peeve. Why do photo frames always seem to come in a 16:9 ratio? Arg!
It is another thing to consider when purchasing a camera, even at the SLR level (Olympus is 4:3).
Feel free to chime in on your favorite aspect ratio to shoot pictures!
1. Taking pictures. I find myself taking a lot more photos in the 'landscape' orientation rather than 'portrait'. When taking photos of people I find the SLR ratio too wide unless you want lots of background (environmental portraits, etc.).
2. Cropping. I find that I crop some photos down to a more square format for stock photography. Ellen Boughn pointed out in one of her blogs that a square format optimizes the use of the thumbnail enlargement. You get 100% use of the enlarged view when using a square. This comes at the cost of resolution, though. With the 4:3 ratio you are only losing 1/4 of the resolution, compared to 1/3 with the 3:2 format. This may mean the difference of an extra price category depending on the megapixels of your camera. My shot of the top of a camera below is an example of cropping to fit a square...
3. Space. The more square format seems to leave more room around things compared to the 3:2 format. This probably helps designers as they have a bit more room for copy space or just to crop out to fit a layout.
4. Printing. On a personal level the 4:3 format comes closer to matching a 5x7 or 8x10 print with less cropping. You get more of the original resolution when cropping to fit a standard print format. While that is of course not true in the standard 4x6 print size, that only tends to get used for 4x6" prints - the smallest size which doesn't need any extra resolution.
5. Pet peeve. Why do photo frames always seem to come in a 16:9 ratio? Arg!
It is another thing to consider when purchasing a camera, even at the SLR level (Olympus is 4:3).
Feel free to chime in on your favorite aspect ratio to shoot pictures!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Manual versus not
My mother is taking a course on photography and she was commenting on how her teacher was touting the advantages of shooting in manual. While I am no stranger to manual I really think this argument is directed to people who set the camera to program and then don't notice what settings the camera picks. This is a crucial point - there is not an iota of difference between the camera picking 1/125s - f/4 and you setting the same in manual. The only difference is that you saved yourself the time and trouble, and maybe got a shot you wouldn't have had time to get.
"Sure," you say, " but what about when the meter is wrong?". Good question! You simply change the exposure compenstation dial to correct a stop or two. With digital you have a histogram on the back plus the image itself so instant feedback helps you quickly get to the right exposure whether in manual or auto exposure. I have the following comments on the several Canon Auto Modes:
1. Program. While I have nothing against program mode, it will pick both shutter and aperture for you. While the shutter speed doesn't really matter as long as it will stop motion (if that is what you want) the aperture does play a big part in the final picture. Since you don't really have control over either I never use program mode (see below). I do realize that you can quickly adjust with the command dials to get the shutter/aperture you are after but I hate having to wheel in a good aperture every time I take a shot.
2. TV. Time value. This is the shutter priority mode. You set the speed, the camera picks the aperture. I always use this mode for long exposures (blurred water, motion blur, etc.) since time is the key variable you want to control. Otherwise I stick to AV.
3. AV. Aperture value. This is my preferred mode. I set an aperture I want for depth of field, or perhaps for optimum sharpness or also just to get the fastest shutter speed (wide open). In all three cases I have lots of options to meter. I can use the spot meter and lock the exposure with the '*' button. I can dial in exposure compensation 'knowing' I will need it, etc. Finally, I am just a click away from the manual mode if I really need to lock down the exposure. What I like about using this mode, is that when light conditions are changing the camera still takes that into account. With manual there is the danger that you don't notice when the light drops half a stop or more.
4. Manual. Unless light on my subject is constant or I need more than 2 stops exposure correction I usually stay out of manual mode outdoors. There are some very handy times to use it though - like when doing a panoramic with multiple shots. In that case you'll want to lock the exposure in so that it is consistent from shot to shot. Another is when using flash. I hate the way Canon locks the shutter to 1/250s for flash shots in AV mode (or lets the ambient dictate both shutter and aperture). I prefer to switch to manual so I have independent control of the ambient (via the manual exposure / shutter speed) and the flash exposure (via the aperture). I can also keep my ambient sharp by keeping the shutter at a speed I can hold. I may not get full exposure on the background, but I hate what program mode lets my shutter drop really low and I pick up blur from parts of the photo when I don't expect it. Oh - and for another case where manual is good: when you have constant light but your subject's brightness changes a lot. Think bride and groom standing in the shade. Black. White. Black. White. Both. No meter can figure that out!
I've tried operating in manual outdoors and here is what I found:
1. I lose a shot or two. I almost always forget to set the camera first and miss my first shot. I'm sure I would get over this after a while.
2. Some people seem to think that you aren't really taking pictures until you spend a few minutes working out the 'sunny f/16' rule, etc. on each shoot. I prefer to get an 'auto' exposure shot as my first picture and then work from there. If it turns out well I'm done!
3. Light changes. The camera is a lot more sensitive to light than we are and keeps adjusting to suit. Either you shoot on manual and are constantly checking the display or you run the risk of lighting changing.
4. My kids don't stand still! If you have every tried to follow your kids in and out of the shade and sun on a hot summer day I can't believe you still prefer manual.
5. Why guess? My camera has a meter that works very nicely. Why would I spend a lot of time trying to get myself so in tune with the light that I can manually set what the meter would pick? I doubt I'll ever get to 1/2 stop accuracy...
6. I bored of this a long time ago with my old AE-1 and non-auto lenses. I paid my dues - let me use my digital camera's sophisticated meter!!!
Please be aware that some of these comments are tongue in cheek. I don't wish to tell anyone else how to use their camera. If you shoot in manual all the time and get great shots - wonderful! I don't find that it works well for me. If you have some advice that will change my outlook on manual forever then please comment away. Note that the Pentax K10D (and 20D I assume) has a cool feature where in manual mode you can simply hit the green button and it grabs the metered exposure and resets the aperture and shutter to match. You are ready to run with that or adjust away. If Canon had something like that, I think I could finally make the move to manual.
Anyways, if this helps someone who feels they must use manual to get the 'real' photo taking experience feel like they aren't cheating shooting in aperture priority then my mission is accomplished! Progam isn't just for amateurs - it is for people who want to use the built in meter. Just don't get me started on the really automatic Green mode ;)
"Sure," you say, " but what about when the meter is wrong?". Good question! You simply change the exposure compenstation dial to correct a stop or two. With digital you have a histogram on the back plus the image itself so instant feedback helps you quickly get to the right exposure whether in manual or auto exposure. I have the following comments on the several Canon Auto Modes:
1. Program. While I have nothing against program mode, it will pick both shutter and aperture for you. While the shutter speed doesn't really matter as long as it will stop motion (if that is what you want) the aperture does play a big part in the final picture. Since you don't really have control over either I never use program mode (see below). I do realize that you can quickly adjust with the command dials to get the shutter/aperture you are after but I hate having to wheel in a good aperture every time I take a shot.
2. TV. Time value. This is the shutter priority mode. You set the speed, the camera picks the aperture. I always use this mode for long exposures (blurred water, motion blur, etc.) since time is the key variable you want to control. Otherwise I stick to AV.
3. AV. Aperture value. This is my preferred mode. I set an aperture I want for depth of field, or perhaps for optimum sharpness or also just to get the fastest shutter speed (wide open). In all three cases I have lots of options to meter. I can use the spot meter and lock the exposure with the '*' button. I can dial in exposure compensation 'knowing' I will need it, etc. Finally, I am just a click away from the manual mode if I really need to lock down the exposure. What I like about using this mode, is that when light conditions are changing the camera still takes that into account. With manual there is the danger that you don't notice when the light drops half a stop or more.
4. Manual. Unless light on my subject is constant or I need more than 2 stops exposure correction I usually stay out of manual mode outdoors. There are some very handy times to use it though - like when doing a panoramic with multiple shots. In that case you'll want to lock the exposure in so that it is consistent from shot to shot. Another is when using flash. I hate the way Canon locks the shutter to 1/250s for flash shots in AV mode (or lets the ambient dictate both shutter and aperture). I prefer to switch to manual so I have independent control of the ambient (via the manual exposure / shutter speed) and the flash exposure (via the aperture). I can also keep my ambient sharp by keeping the shutter at a speed I can hold. I may not get full exposure on the background, but I hate what program mode lets my shutter drop really low and I pick up blur from parts of the photo when I don't expect it. Oh - and for another case where manual is good: when you have constant light but your subject's brightness changes a lot. Think bride and groom standing in the shade. Black. White. Black. White. Both. No meter can figure that out!
I've tried operating in manual outdoors and here is what I found:
1. I lose a shot or two. I almost always forget to set the camera first and miss my first shot. I'm sure I would get over this after a while.
2. Some people seem to think that you aren't really taking pictures until you spend a few minutes working out the 'sunny f/16' rule, etc. on each shoot. I prefer to get an 'auto' exposure shot as my first picture and then work from there. If it turns out well I'm done!
3. Light changes. The camera is a lot more sensitive to light than we are and keeps adjusting to suit. Either you shoot on manual and are constantly checking the display or you run the risk of lighting changing.
4. My kids don't stand still! If you have every tried to follow your kids in and out of the shade and sun on a hot summer day I can't believe you still prefer manual.
5. Why guess? My camera has a meter that works very nicely. Why would I spend a lot of time trying to get myself so in tune with the light that I can manually set what the meter would pick? I doubt I'll ever get to 1/2 stop accuracy...
6. I bored of this a long time ago with my old AE-1 and non-auto lenses. I paid my dues - let me use my digital camera's sophisticated meter!!!
Please be aware that some of these comments are tongue in cheek. I don't wish to tell anyone else how to use their camera. If you shoot in manual all the time and get great shots - wonderful! I don't find that it works well for me. If you have some advice that will change my outlook on manual forever then please comment away. Note that the Pentax K10D (and 20D I assume) has a cool feature where in manual mode you can simply hit the green button and it grabs the metered exposure and resets the aperture and shutter to match. You are ready to run with that or adjust away. If Canon had something like that, I think I could finally make the move to manual.
Anyways, if this helps someone who feels they must use manual to get the 'real' photo taking experience feel like they aren't cheating shooting in aperture priority then my mission is accomplished! Progam isn't just for amateurs - it is for people who want to use the built in meter. Just don't get me started on the really automatic Green mode ;)
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