Experience the Sheer Magic of Photo Compositing!

In this slideshow (which happens to be the introduction to my latest video tutorial series, “Dramatic Portrait Compositing: From Capture to Completion”) I hope to open your eyes to the remarkable possibilities and the stunning beauty of portrait compositing. Whether you’re familiar with compositing or you’ve always wanted to explore it, this tutorial series reveals every secret you need to accomplish mind-blowing composites. Although the specific focus of the series is on creating a dramatic portrait composite using a studio-lit model and an edgy HDR background, the concepts covered apply to every type of compositing, whether the subject is a person, a pencil, or anything in between.

To view the “Dramatic Portrait Compositing” complete contents and to order, click here.

To play the slideshow, please click on the image above.

Google AdWords: Match Types

When developing a keyword list it is important to know how to enter your keywords into AdWords to ensure you do not spend budget on unwanted keywords. Here is a list of the match type options in AdWords:

[Exact Match]

The search term exactly matches a keyword from your account. [flower delivery]

“Phrase Match”

If you enter your keyword in quotation marks, as in “flower delivery” your ad would be eligible to appear when a user searches on the phrase – custom flower delivery online -, with the words in that order.

Broad Match Modifier

Lets you create keywords which have greater reach than phrase match, and more control than broad match. +flower +delivery you would be eligible to show for flower delivery,   flower online delivery

Broad Match

This search term is a variation of a keyword from your account. Allows your ad to show on similar phrases and relevant variations. Your ads could also show for singular/plural forms, synonyms and other variations for example the keyword flower delivery may show your ads on searches for flowers, evening flowers, purple roses.

Session Based Broad Match

This search term is considered to be a variation of a keyword from your account, based on previous searches that the user has done during his or her search session.  This is not a match type we can add, this is automatically done by Google.

-Negative Match

Ensures your ad doesn’t show for any search that includes that term for e.g. purple, this will stop you from showing on purple flowers.

Below are the match types in diagram form.  The greater the size of the rectangles the greater the exposure, ask yourself is that exposure right for you? If you have a limited budget I would shy away from broad and modified broad match to start.

Be Wowed by the New Content-Aware Move Tool in Photoshop CS6!

In this video tutorial, I show you how to use the new Content-Aware Move tool in Photoshop CS6 to move a subject while simultaneously (and miraculously) hiding the original.

This tutorial is one of ten included in my latest video tutorial series, What’s New in CS6. View all ten tutorials for free or download the complete series plus sample images for $9.95. Visit www.msjphotography.com to learn more.

To play the video, please click on the image above.

California Whale Watching with Mark Osler

So, I get off the plane in LA and decide to just drive around a bit, waiting for a friend to get off work. I figured it’d be nice to take a drive around Palos Verde on my way to Long Beach…and, as I drive by Redondo Beach, all these people are looking out at the ocean. I figure it’s a California thing, but stop anyway. Well it was actually a humpback whale & porpoise thing! How cool is THAT!

[NOTE: The locals assured me this was a porpoise…not a dolphin…for you marine biologists out there. I just took their word for it…what do I know?!) Some of the folks I chatted with, who’d lived in the area for while, said they’d never seen a whale so close to the beach in all the time they’d lived there. I’m  on my way to buy a lottery ticket!

Meet the BDA Coworkers: Robin Truesdale

Coworking is all about community, so we’re going to start profiling our coworkers on our blog!

Robin Truesdale, a video producer, photographer, and editor, first became interested in video production because of her father. “My dad was a producer, and I used to go with him to edit sessions. I was amazed by the editors, they were like magicians. Editing is so different now than it used to be. In fact, the ‘editor’ position doesn’t really exist in the way that it once did. Today, journalists need to be able to edit their own stuff. To be successful, you must be able to report, shoot, and edit. It’s all very focused on the individual.”

While attending the University of Colorado for an undergraduate degree in journalism, Truesdale had an internship at KUSA Channel 9. After graduation she went on to work for them for ten years. “It was just like the movie Broadcast News. Very fast-paced and exciting.” Although she enjoyed her time at KUSA, the world of video editing was going through some massive changes, and Truesdale felt that she needed to move on. “I quit Channel 9 because they weren’t going digital yet, and I really wanted to learn digital editing because that’s what everyone was starting to use. So I quit, took a few Avid classes, and started freelancing, which turned out to be great because I could make my own schedule and I had two small children by that time.”

In 2001, Truesdale went back to the University of Colorado for her Masters degree in journalism and became a graduate assistant. One of the requirements was to teach editing to news team students, which turned out to be a great learning experience for her. “One of the first things I had to do in that class was teach News students how to use Final Cut Pro–a program that I had never used before. Now, I use Final Cut Pro exclusively, and have been for the past twelve years.”

Truesdale also has a passion for documentary film making, and has funded a few of her own projects. Currently, she is working on a documentary about a nursing home in Boulder that cares for psychologically and physically challenged patients. “I film this micro-community, how the residents and caregivers all interact.”

“My first film was a documentary entitled Conviction about three nuns who protested a nuclear war and were sentenced to prison. I also traveled to Zimbabwe and filmed a twenty-one year old man teaching young boys about the importance of respecting women. It was truly an amazing experience. The editing is what takes the most time, though. My footage from Zimbabwe took me two years to edit into a film.”

Truesdale also worked at InJoy Childbirth Education from 2006-2011 and filmed numerous births.

When asked if film editing was a difficult skill to learn, Truesdale responded with a smile. “What it comes down to is that if people love what they are doing, they tend to do it well. I love editing and freelancing because it is exactly what I want to be doing.”

Learn more about Robin’s work on her website!

Why focus on Google AdWords?

Boulder Digital Arts offers a 3 hour lecture style workshop on Google AdWords. You may be asking yourself why should I advertise on Google AdWords? Below are a few reasons:

• 66.2% of searches online are on Google
• If you include AOL and Ask that number jumps to 70.2% market share. Google syndicates their search results out to AOL and Ask and thousands more. You will notice when you do a search on AOL for e.g. it will say powered by Google.
• There is no minimum spend. Regardless of whether your budget for advertising is $50 a month or $5 million a month, Google makes allowances for all budget levels.
• You can choose your own daily budget. If you have $250 a month for advertising you can make sure that Google does not spend more than $8.22 a day.
• You can choose how much you want to pay per click. Google’s system is a bidding system. If you want to be in the top results for certain keywords they you will need to bid higher than the other advertisers on the page.
• You only pay for clicks not impressions. Impressions is when your text ad is visible on the search results page, regardless of whether someone clicks or not. Impressions are free exposure to your brand and offer brand recall qualities.
• Google supplies you with lots of data so you can optimize your spend and bid on keywords that generate revenue for you and learn which keywords you might want to remove because they don’t work.
• Search itself offers a greater return on investment than other digital channels:

Wordstream put together a great infographic on what is Google and how the auction works. Enjoy.

CALL FOR ENTRIES: Creative Digital Photography Art Show!

All artists who work with digital photography, including Photoshop, digital collage, compositing and photo-manipulation: we want your work to appear in our Creative Digital Photography Art Show! BDA is accepting any 2D printed submissions that fit the theme “creative digital photography.”

This show will run from May all the way through July, and Kelly McCormack, our Digital Art Curator, will be reviewing the submissions and awarding Best of Show and Honorable Mentions.

To submit, simply email your work to contact@kellymccormack.com with the subject line ‘BDA art submission.’ In the email, please include artist name, website URL, email, and phone number. Artists must also include title, price, and framed dimensions.

You may attach 1-5 digitally created pieces to each submission email. Make sure your images are in JPEG format with a maximum dimension of 1200px. File names should include artist name and title, and there is no entry fee!

Make sure to submit your work before midnight on Tuesday, April 24th!

The Unlimited Program: Great For College Students!

From now until May 31st, the BDA Unlimited Program is only $850!

This package is ideal for college students or recent college grads. As an undergrad, students tend to take classes that are focused in theory rather than practicality. BDA’s unique hands-on approach to teaching and learning provides its students with marketable and employable skills. Many students graduate college with a strong background in the arts, but no practical skills. The Unlimited Program can help; it’s a perfect gift for twenty-somethings! Students can learn skills directly from high-up professionals in whichever industry they are interested in.

Purchasing this limited-time-only package is quick and easy. Simply sign-up online and email operations@boulderdigitalarts.com which will provide you with a discount code. Students can take as many one-day lecture style classes as they want for an entire year! On top of that, receive a 25% discount on all Hands-On classes, a 25% discount on all Transitions classes, and a 25% discount on all two-day workshops.

Sign up today and learn skills that are in high-demand in today’s fast-paced world of digital arts!

Free Blogging Platforms: Find The One That Works Best For You!

The huge amount of blog types and platforms available today can seem pretty daunting to budding bloggers. However, each one is equipped with different and unique features, so with a little research you can find the site that perfectly suits your blogging needs.

Tumblr is a popular site among teens and twenty-somethings because it creates an online community, where bloggers “follow” each other and “reblog” various links that others post. It is good for those who are constantly on-the-go, because it’s more of a mini-blog than a long, drawn-out journal. It’s easy to access from your phone because its focus is on sharing photos and videos. Posting is quick and easy! The Tumblr “Dashboard” encapsulates the social networking side of the site. It’s quick and easy to add others to your list of friends, or “people you follow.” Those looking for a low-maintenance commitment to blogging should start Tumbl-ing.

WordPress.com is another free and easy blogging platform. Unlike Tumblr, however, WordPress offers the option of privacy. It also has an integrated stat system that allows users to see how many people visit their blog, where they’re coming from, which of their posts are most popular, and which search words are directing people to their site. Its global tag system also directs internet searches to specific blogs, driving new traffic. Because of these features, if you’re looking to become “internet famous,” WordPress just might be the platform for you!

Blogspot, or Blogger, is Google’s version of a free blogging platform.  This site actually allows its users to earn money–just from blogging! It’s Monetize tab allows users to place AdSense on their blog, giving them the opportunity to earn money just by posting high quality original content on their favorite topics. Blogger also allows “group blogging” with more than one person contributing to a single blog. This can be great to enhance discussion and group interaction.

These are the three most popular free blogging platforms available today, but there are hundreds more to choose from. While each has unique features, they are also similar in the sense that they incorporate community and feedback from others into their sites. Whichever site you choose, blogging is important in today’s world. Get online and get going!

Photoshop CS6 Beta is Fun

I’ve been using the new Photoshop CS6 Beta. I like it a lot. The Camera Raw changes that include Highlights and Shadows sliders that replace the Recovery and Fill Light controls are excellent. And I especially like being able to brush in White Balance settings as in this photo taken on the Kuilau Trail, Kaua’i. The trees, moss and backgrounds had a very green tinted light that worked well for those components but the leaf was left looking dull and uninteresting. I brushed on the warm sunlight that was there but not recorded by the camera and it really pops.

Leaf and moss covered tree. D3, Nikkor 24-70, 1/200, f2.8, ISO 200.

Other additions to Camera Raw’s brush tool include noise and moire reduction. Here’s the Brush panel from CS6.

CS6 Brush Panel

Here’s a comparison of the Basic panels from CS5 and CS6.

CS5

CS6

Re-posted with permission from Steve Gandy’s Photography Blog

Steve Gandy Photography