Getting Your White Balance Right

Getting the white balance right in your camera at the time of the shoot is a huge part of a quicker workflow. Auto white balance does a pretty good job, but doesn't get it right all the time. If you shoot weddings it's hard to get your white balance consistent throughout the day, due to the different locations and light sources and it's easy to forget to switch between white balance settings when you move from inside to outside and vice versa. But if you are at a single location that has a fixed type of light, it will save so much time in post production that it's crazy not to take the 20 or 30 seconds to sort it at the time of the shoot.

There are two ways I would suggest. The first would be to buy an ExpoDisc, which is a white filter that you either screw or hold in front of your lens. You then use your camera custom white balance feature to take a shot and make the right WB settings. ExpoDiscs  are quite expensive though and would set you back £79 at Warehouse Express or $99 at B&H Photo. I would recommend getting a larger size (77mm) and holding it over the front of your lens.

The second way ( and the one I use for portrait sessions) is to use a white balance card like the Lastolite Xpobalance (see photo). The Xpobalance pops out in a flash and folds with a quick twist and can be clipped to your camera bag or belt loop. You simply get your subject to hold the card in the first shot, and as long as your light source is constant and your camera is locked to a setting other than auto WB, you're set. You then use the WB eyedropper In Lightroom (or Aperture, Photoshop...) to click on the 18% grey part of the card to set the correct WB. Then you need to sync the rest of the photos. I'll explain how to do it in Lightroom as that's what I use.

After you click the eyedropper tool on the grey part of the card and you will probably see the photo WB changing. press Ctrl + A (PC) or Comand + A (MAC) to select all the photos and click on Sync (to the right and above the thumbnail display). Choose Uncheck All and then tick the WB box and confirm the sync. All photos selected will have the WB copied from the original photo that was highlighted. This saves a huge amount of time in post production, and anything that speeds up your workflow has to be a good thing.

Wacom Intous4 Wireless Pen Tablet

I've been using the Wacom Intous4 Wireless pen tablet for about two weeks now and I'm probably just getting to the point that it's becoming second nature. It's not as thoughtless as using a mouse yet, but it's getting there. The wireless model is very similar to the regular Intous4, but it it does have some slight differences in its design. The tablet is slimmer than it's wired brother and has two lights on the top surface that let you know when it's on (orange) and when bluetooth is connected (blue). There's also a plate to one side of the base that can be removed and replaced by the supplied pen holder loop, which is a handy accessory and essential if you plan to use your tablet outside of your studio, office or home. As soon as you start to unbox the Intous4, you know that it's a quality product just by the packaging. I was a bit disappointed that Wacom don't supply the mouse with this model.

The pen has a nice feel, both in grip and the smoothness of the nib on the surface of the tablet. It has a rocker switch that is configurable to your own way of working. I find that for Photoshop, the forward button is well suited to the hand tool, so that you can press it and drag your image across the screen when you're zoomed in. The back button of the rocker is handy when it's mapped to the Alt key. This is especially useful with the Clone Brush, as you simply press the button and tap the tablet to select your source, then release it to start cloning. I always preferred Paint Shop Pro's right click on the mouse to select the clone source, rather than than the two handed Photoshop way. One thing I would have liked on the pen is a scroll wheel. The Pen Holder is weighted and can be used for either placing the pen in vertically or sitting it across horizontally. Twist the pen holder and it opens up to reveal the 10 replacement nibs and a pen removal tool.

The Controls at the side of the tablet can be used right or left handed by simply rotating the tablet and making a quick adjustment in the software. There are 8 Express Keys which can be mapped to anything you like and have a fantastic LED display beside each one that lets you know what that key is set for. As the set-up can be customized for each piece of software individually, the display changes every time you switch programs. The Touch Ring is a sensor, rather than an actual wheel, so it has a nice smooth feel. The button in the centre of the wheel lets you switch between the four different applications that you set it for in the software, such as zooming, brush size, brush softness and so on.

The software is very easy to use and I quickly set-up all the buttons, switches and wheel without the need to read the manual. I did loose all of my set-ups after using the tablet for a few days and have no idea why. It might have been pilot error, but you can bet that when I set it up again, I used the back-up software to save my settings... just in case! Although I bought the Intous4 to use with Photoshop and Lightroom, I have it set-up for Safari too, and I'm reaching for the pen as often as the mouse when surfing the web.

Conclusion: As you've probaly figured out by now, I like the Intous4. I bought the wireless version because I do a rough edit and slideshow at weddings and I have a laptop with bluetooth built in. Another plus point is that I'll no longer need to plug in my travel mouse either. Although I have a bluetooth adapter on my desktop computer, wireless doesn't bother me too much, but it might come in handy sometimes. I also bought this tablet because I was curious too see if it would be a more natural way of editing and to see if it could speed up my workflow. It has worked on both counts, although I'm hoping that it speeds up my workflow even more in the weeks to come. Wacom have done a fantastic job on this product and I think that this is the perfect time to give a pen tablet a go if you have never used one, or if you have used one in the past, but it didn't perform the way it should...I still wish they included the mouse though! One more thing - Check out the price on software bundles with this product. There are great deals to be had with Lightroom 3 included.

All New Website for DCP

The brand new and improved  Derek Clark Photography website is now live here. The website and the blog are now on the same .com address, which is much better for lots of reasons, including easier to find things and better SEO ranking on Google and Yahoo. The site should have gone live on the 1st of January, but things went a bit off track and took 2 days to get back on line. There are still a few tweaks to be made, but it's almost there.

New for 2011 is the Project 365 section, which is one picture per day for 365 days of the year. Please check in every day for the latest photo. DSLR, point and shoot or iPhone. Black and white or colour, it doesn't matter as long as a fresh pic gets uploaded every day.

The blog is now split into two parts. The Image blog is for posting frequent photos without text. The regular blog is for posts with text or text and photos featuring photography news, reviews, tips and basically anything photography related. You can expect at least three posts per week on the regular blog. Watch out for a post on how to shoot the water droplet pictures from Project 365 - 3rd of January shoot.

Please post a comment using the link above if you like the new design, or have any suggestions for the site.

3rd Annual Scott Kelby World Wide Photo Walk

The 3rd annual Scott Kelby World Wide Photo Walk took place on Saturday (24th July) in over 1000 cities around the world and it looks like it's been another record breaking year.

I attended the Glasgow event of around 50 photographers and walked around a section of the River Clyde, which included The Science Centre and Imax Cinema, Squinty Bridge, Finnieston Crane, The BBC and The SECC and  The Clyde Auditorium (Armadillo).

The weather was cloudy, but dry and although the light was a bit flat at the start, it got better in the second half of the walk and gave us all a bit of variety. Being Glasgow, it was a miracle it didn't rain.

It's amazing when you look at the photos from all the photographers and see how different they look and how we all look at subjects in a different way. I'm sure everybody there made an effort to try to not take the same shots as the person standing next to them.

A big thank you to the walk leader, Alex Saunders, for his time and effort that he put in and to everyone that showed up on the day. You can see more of my photographs on my Flickr Set and the photographs for the full walk can be found on the walks Flickr Group . I didn't get to do much talking during the event, but enjoyed my conversation with Bill Lunney after the walk. Roll on World Wide Photo Walk 2011.

Lexar Dual Slot Card Reader

I have used the same 8 in 1 card reader for a couple of years and never gave any thought that readers varied much in download speed. But after hearing an interview with Lexar's Director of Marketing, Jeff Cable, I thought I'd give a UDMA reader a try.

If I'm shooting a wedding, I like to download and edit a selection of about 20 photos while the guests are having dinner. I then display them on my laptop as a Lightroom slideshow at the evening reception. The couple and the guests are happy and I leave a pile of cards on the table and generate more business.

There is limited time though for downloading, choosing the photos and editing them. It was taking around an hour with my old card reader, but the Lexar dual slot reader took under 15 minutes (including card swaps) to download almost 900 photos from both of my cameras 300x cards.

The unit is small and accepts both CF and SD memory cards. It folds into its own base when not in use, which makes it even smaller and also keeps dust from getting into the card slots. At £18.35/$33.63 from Amazon UK or Amazon US, this is the best money I've spent in years.

Reaction:: My First Film With The D300s and EX-FC100

Reaction from Derek Clark Photography on Vimeo.

Reaction is my first film using the Nikon D300s and Casio EX-FC100. The HD parts are with the D300s and all the slow-motion was filmed on the EX-FC100 at 210 frames per second. Click HERE to see the film at full size on Vimeo.

I've turned on the comments below, so please take the time to post your thoughts on Reaction. If you like the film, please share the link to this post with friends and family and if there's a good reaction, I'll do more.

Marketing Your Brand

It's that time again when the nice man delivers some shiny new transport. So it's as good a time as any for some new marketing. The signs I've had made for the car doors and rear window, match the 5000 A6 double sided postcards that have been printed, which will also coincide with a portrait session giveaway at a local children's nursery.

It's good to keep everything consistent when it comes to marketing. From your logo to the fonts you use and everything in-between. It takes an average of seven points of contact before people take notice of a brand. That could be a website, blog, e-mail, a letter, business card, signs on your vehicle, an exhibition or many other forms of marketing. Getting your name out there is important and if you're building a brand, it is essential.

Your marketing must be focused on the type of photography that you do. Take a look on the web and you will see lots of sites that say one thing, but show another. There are lots of websites out there that say 'Wedding and Portrait Photographer' but most of the photography is of landscapes or cats.... If you don't know what area of photography you want to specialize in, it's time to make up your mind! If you want to do more than one type of work, I would suggest having a different website for each (unless they can be grouped together, i.e. people photography).

Black Rapid:: R-Strap 2 – In Use

I used the double Black Rapid R-Strap on a shoot at the weekend and just had to do an update post. If you haven't read my previous post on my choice of strap set-up, check out Black Rapid:: R-Strap .

Although my weekend shoot was not a long one, I was blown away by just how much of a difference the R-Strap(s) were in both comfort and ease of use. Due to the uncertainty of the weather on Sunday, I wore a waterproof jacket in case of rain. I was really pleased that I could wear the double R-Strap under my jacket and it was both comfortable and inconspicuous (although I was paid to do a job, so I could be as conspicuous as I liked). I wasn't sure if the larger phone pouch and storage compartments of the RS-5 would be too bulky to wear under a jacket, but it was fine. It will probably be a bit big for under a suit jacket, but I'll test that out later in the month.

I would normally have a camera hung over each shoulder with the standard Nikon straps, which makes it slow when changing from one body/lens combination to the next. Hanging one camera over my right shoulder and getting the other from the left takes time and I've missed plenty of shots in the past, or even just not bothered changing. There's been a few times when I've almost dropped a camera too.

The double R-Strap was perfect and it felt so natural! As one camera was going down in my right hand, the other was coming up in my left hand. I had no problem swapping over for just one shot with the 70-200mm and then back to the 17-55mm. The cameras glide up the straps smoothly every time.

I used the RS-5 as a single strap yesterday when out walking, and it performed spot on too. The camera tends to spin round a bit with just a 50mm on it, but I expected that. With all my other lens's though, I can reach down without looking and know exactly where the grip will be.

The R-Strap is a first class product and I recommend it 100%. I have just ordered a FastenR-3 so that I can leave a fastenR on my 70-200mm tripod mount. As the FastenR-3 looks a bit more low-profile than the 2, I'll probably put it on the camera grip so that it fits in the bag while still attached to the camera.

Apple iPad Hits The UK Today

The Apple iPad arrives in the UK today, but I still can't decide if I want or need one. The starting price is £429 for the 16GB Wifi only model and the most expensive is £699 for the 64GB Wifi +3G version. The later needs a sim and the average cost of that is £15 per month for 3GB (3 Network are doing 10GB for £15).

On the plus side, it would be a fantastic tool to hand to clients to view their photographs for the first time and also to use as a portfolio to gain new clients. I also like the idea of picking it up and checking email or a website without having to boot-up an operating system.

On the minus side, it's expensive. I thought that Apple's website blurb "A magical and revolutionary product at an unbelievable price" was pretty funny! The iPad and iPhone (or iTouch) need to be able to sync all Apple and 3rd party apps with each other. I don't want to pick-up my iPhone at a meeting and then realize that the information that I'm looking for was input into my iPad. Syncing Calendars wirelessly between iPhone and iPad would be the minimum I could live with.

Apple products are well made and well thought out, and I know the iPad will be a great piece of kit and very useful. The thing that's putting me off the most, is that it might make things more complicated than they are. I get annoyed that I can't sync apps like Bento between my iPhone and PC, because it's Mac software. Adding another device might not be the answer...yet!

Black Rapid:: R-Strap

I just joined the R-Strap Brigade and bought an RS-4, RS-5 and CoupleR. The RS-4 has a pouch for memory cards and the RS-5 has two separate pouches for memory cards and business cards and a phone pouch that is big enough for an iPhone or Blackberry. I'm not sure if the RS-5 pouches are deep enough for UK size business cards (I haven't tried to fit mine in yet), but I'll check that out later. I also bought the CoupleR pack, which contains two studded straps that join the RS-4 & 5 together to make a holster style double strap.

I thought long and hard about getting this set-up or an RS DR-1 double strap, which can be split to use one side as a single R-Strap. There's not a lot of difference in the cost, so I ended up going for the set-up that I thought would be the most versatile.

The R-Straps are fantastic to use and very comfortable. I often have two Nikon D300(s) with a 17-55mm on one and a 70-200mm on the other plus battery grips. I can have these hanging on my shoulders for up to eight hours and it really gives me a sore back. I haven't tested the R-Straps over a long shoot yet, but I'm pretty sure they'll be a huge improvement on the standard Nikon straps. I highly recommend getting an R-Strap. If, like me, you often use a two camera set-up, I really couldn't say what the best choice is. I don't think it makes a big difference if you go for the double strap RS DR-1 or like me, the two R-Straps and the CoupleR to join them up. I don't think you would be disappointed either way.