Let me throw you a Curve...

Doing a little something different today.

I've been messing around with colors and tones in Photoshop for a long time.  My typical style is clean, and precise color, but as of late I've been experimenting with different color treatments and process in Photoshop.

One in particular I wanted to share with you is way to get an old school cross processing look.

By using the curves dialog in Photoshop (or any other program that utilizes a similar curve tool), we can precisely manipulate the tones throughout an image.  

The basic rule of Curves is that the steeper the line, the more contrast...the flatter the line...well you get the idea..

Applying this basic rule across the separate color channels allows us to manipulate the contrast between colors and tone!  This does require a little color theory but once you get the hang of it, you'll be amazed at what you can do.

For example...  Above (in the Blue channel), I increased the amount of blue in the shadows (the left side of the curve) and decreased the amount of blue (added yellow) in the midtones.  This flattened out the curve between the shadows and midtones and effectively lowering the contrast of the image. 

Here is an example of what you get with this color treatment.

So you can see how dramatic a change even the most subtle curve adjustments can make.

Give it a try for yourself.  Experiment, and see what cool combinations you can come up with.

You can download the curve I created here and use it to your own ends  

To install it... take it to: User>Library>Application Support>Adobe>Photoshop CS#>Presets>Curves 

6 Degrees of Inspiration.

For years I have been studying and researching different photographers.  Analyzing their lighting, their style, and their purpose.  I've copied mimicked, and I've been inspired, and have referenced many in my few years of shooting.

But 6 photographers stand out as my "go to" shooters for inspiration and guidance. 

These are in no particular order, because ranking these awesome photographers would diminish the impact they all have in my work.

David Bellemere:  I have been following this photographer since I first started in fashion... David's graphical sensibilities, and steamy subject matter have always amazed me.  He blends clean modern style with an almost hap hazard way of manipulating the light (at least it appears that way).  

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Click to read more ...

"Fashionably Late"

(A re-post from the archives...Seemed appropriate as of "late")

Everyone has heard the phrase "Fashionably Late". But what does it really mean to be "fashionably late" or just "late" in general?

The "official" definition (read...Urban Dictionary) is "The refined art of being just late enough (5 minutes or so) to give the impression that you are a busy, popular person that was held up with other business."
Another "UD" definition allows for situational lateness, such as being an hour late to a party.



Call me crazy, but I hate "Late". I hate everything about the word, and virtually any association it may have.
Think about it. How many uses of the word "Late" do you know of that are positive?
I personally can't think of any off the top of my head.

"it's getting late" - the night is coming to a close...
"He was a bit late on that pitch" - player obviously missed the ball
"Fashionably Late" - Showing up 30mins to an hour late to an event. (this doesn't make them look important...it makes them look like an ass.)

I'll say it again... I hate late!
I hate it so much that I feel worse about being late, than having to outright cancel something.
To me, being late says one important thing..."I don't care enough about (whatever) to respect the official start time."

I'm never late...and will never be late.
For me, there is never a legitimate excuse for being late. People are always in control of the their schedule, and the time they choose to spend where.
Is it that inconvenient to leave 5 or 10 minutes earlier than needed... just in case?
What if they have a flat tire? That extra 10 minutes could make all the difference in the world.
So what if everything goes smoothly and you are 15 minutes early...drive around, walk around, do whatever. Its not like that extra 15 minutes is going to ruin the "perfectly" productive day.

Most people (and I assume you as well) don't agree with my assertion that there is no legitimate excuse...but I urge you to really think about the times when it is unavoidable to be late (in your mind). How many of those instances are extreme circumstances like a car accident (that involves you or someone else involved), or a delayed flight? Traffic doesn't count, nor does a huge accident on I-85! (planning for these should be mandatory, particularly in Atlanta). If you think about it how often do these "extreme" cases really happen?

I have zero tolerance when it comes to tardiness, because, at it's core...being late represents a lack of respect.

Canon 5DMkII vs Rebel T2i (pt.3)

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls! It's time for the final round!

If you've missed the last 2 parts of this showdown, take a minute and check them out!
Part 1
Part 2

To sum up... I haven't found much to distinguish these two cameras apart when looking only at the images they produce.
Both have amazing high ISO performance, and both are fairly even when it comes to color rendition and dynamic range.
Round one went to the Rebel T2i, mainly because the results didn't provide a clear winner, and I defaulted to price as a tiebreaker.
Round two went to the 5D Mark II, again, the results didn't provide a clear winner, but the 5D provided a more visually "pleasing" image straight out of the camera. Not to mention I'm only doing 3 rounds, and needed to keep you all on the line for a 3rd installment!

So now I'm going to break down some of the notable features of the two cameras, and see if we can't find a clear winner in this race.

To start... I am not going to cover the video qualities of these cameras. Frankly because I know very little about video. But for the sake of thoroughness I will point out the statistical similarities of both cameras video production, and other features (well, the ones I feel are important enough to note)

I used Canon's website for reference, feel free to compare the numbers yourself at www.usa.canon.com.
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Differences:

Autofocus
This is a crucial area for a lot of photographers, and with each and every passing year we photographers get more and more dependent on autofocus. Don't tell me the first time you tried doing video with a "hybrid" SLR you didn't get frustrated with having to manual focus!
Both Cameras AF systems work off a 9-point AF system, with identical features. However, the 5D has 6 more points that Canon calls "assist points". For all intents and purposes these are just more spots to focus with. The speed of which a camera focuses actually has to do with the lens, so speed isn't a factor here besides the time it takes for the photographer to put the highlighted AF point on the subject.

Metering
This one surprised me!
The 5d uses a 35-zone TTL metering system, the Rebel... a whopping 63-Zone! (same as the 1D Mark IV). Whats that mean to you professionals out there? Well if you use a handheld light meter... absolutely nothing. But if you're a Program mode shooter (P,Tv,Av,GB), then the Rebel is taking more information into account when it looks at a scene, and could give you a better exposure because of it.

Video
Well to be honest...I'm not a video guru.. in fact I know very little about video, and I'm not even going to pretend to compare these two camera's video capabilities.

I have found a brief video review of the T2i vs 7D (as far as video is concerned) 

Many video people I have talked to say that the 5dMKII and 7D are both superior video options, with the trade off being sensor size between the two models and Output to HD while recording only available on the 7D.

So...do I know if one is better than the other...not definitively, but if you wanted a video camera...why did you waste your time reading all three parts of my review???

Frames Per Second
Same (essentially)... Rebel's = 3.7.... the 5D's = 3.9..... OH DAMN! (disappointing in both cases)

File Size/Megapixels
5d has 21.1 Megapixels whereas the Rebel only has 17.9...
Consider this. When you add megapixels to an image, they get added around the outside....(think wrapping a gift). It takes more to make the file bigger... as the file gets bigger. So all you pixel peepers out there wanna guess what that extra 3.2 megapixels amounts to?
1.3 megabytes in file size. 1.8 inches on the long side at 240dpi, and 1.2 inches on the short side. On an image that is already 22" long how much you really going to miss that extra 2 inches? (minds out of the gutter you pervs!)
But more is better right?

LCD Screen (Monitor)
Surprisingly enough.. the Rebel wins again. Their LCD's are exactly the same size (3in), but the Rebel has 1,040,000 dots, and the 5D has 920,000. Making the Rebel's screen slightly higher resolution.


Accessories
Both Cameras offer an additional Vertical Grip. Both grips allow for the use of AA batteries, or 2 proprietary batteries. Both have controls for vertical shooting. Neither increases any of the qualities of the camera its attached to... such as increased FPS. The difference here is price. 5D's =$250, the Rebel's =$160. Oh.. but the 5D's is slightly bigger...(if size really matters...)

Sensor
This is the big one.
Both sensors are CMOS, that capture 14bit native RAW files.
The 5d's sensor is a full frame 35mm sensor, whereas the Rebels is an APS-C size sensor, with roughly a 1.4x magnification factor when used with 35mm lenses.
For some people the smaller sensor is an advantage, sports shooters in particular. But it comes with problems. You lose wide angle capability, and can produce some unwanted side effects when using native 35mm glass.
For example:
Cropped sensors have more depth of field, that is to say its harder to throw things out of focus with a cropped sensor. This has to do with physics and ray tracing which I won't get into here. It also can cause the Bokeh of a lens to change, this relates back to the depth of field issue. Another side effect is a tendency for more Chromatic Aberration (color fringing)... again, this relates to the physics of the position of the sensor with relation to how the light rays pass through the lens and where they strike the sensor. Canon does produce a line of lenses designed for the APS-C sensor camera but if you are like me, and want to future proof your lens collection...these aren't the way to go (Because they won't even attach to the full frame Canon bodies).


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Conclusion

For me... its clear that neither camera is "Superior" to the other. Both are exceptional cameras, that produce exceptional files. Very few technical aspects separate these two. The most notable is the size of the sensor. And to be honest, is the sole reason I envy the 5D owners. But for the most part, these cameras are interchangeable, particularly when you strip away all the bells and whistles and get down to the bare bones important stuff... which is the file they produce.

Personally, I've always believed it's the photographer not the camera that makes great images. Will these cameras help you make better images? Depends on who you ask. They are tools. Is one screwdriver better than another? Thats how I look at cameras.

When all is said and done, and everything is taken into account. We have the price.
5D comes in at roughly $2750 (including the battery grip, no lens)
Rebel comes in at $960 (including Grip, no lens)
For me the clear winner (taking into account all the factors) is the Rebel T2i.

If you can manage to live without a full frame sensor, and are like me and like to re-check their focus points before firing, then put that extra $1790 into an 85mm 1.2L Lens.

When I start raking in the dough then I will upgrade my camera body to match my stellar collection of glass!
Until then, I'll keep using the Rebel.

If you can win the race in a Pinto, why buy a Ferarri?