Step 1

Start with the finished kaleidoscope image document. If you didn’t see the original article, here’s a link to it.

Step 2

Save a copy of this image and this time flatten the image layers – not any solid color or white background layer you may be using.

To do this, select all the layers containing content by Control or Command clicking on them and choose Layer > Merge Layers.

Create a duplicate of the image layer so you have two copies of it.

Hide the top layer for now and select the second of the image layers.

Choose Image > Image Size and read off the image width and height. Divide each by two and write down the resulting values. Click Cancel to exit out of this dialog.

Step 3

Choose Filter > Other > Offset and enter the values for half the width and height of the image. Select the Wrap Around option and click Ok. This offset command creates the repeating part of the pattern and it saves quite a bit of manual work in carving up the image.

Step 4

Reveal the top layer again and your canvas will now be complete. Flatten this image and use it to create your pattern. If it is a large design you may want to reduce its size to 25% or less before making it into a pattern by choosing Edit > Define Pattern. Type a name for the Pattern and you’re done.

Step 5

Create a new empty document many times larger than your pattern image and fill it with your pattern by using Edit > Fill > Pattern and choose your pattern from the very end of the pattern palette.

Step 6

If you start with a regular rectangular or square image you can create it as a repeating pattern in a similar way. However instead of getting a big empty area in the middle of the image you will have seams. Use your clone tool or some other tool of choice to remove the seams without touching the edge pixels. Then create your pattern and it will repeat perfectly!

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Master Repeating Patterns in Photoshop

If you’ve got thousands of images sitting in hard drives around your house, you can put them to work for you by making gifts with them for family, friends, coworkers and all those other people you feel you want to give those little holiday somethings to.

First, start with family and others you love with a big gift. If you assess the living space in which your family members reside so that you can match a photo with the decor, you can make them a framed photo, getting all the supplies you need from the Internet. You can even have the photo printed to any size you want up to as big as one of their walls (see BigHugeLabs.com below), all using the Internet. You can do it yourself by buying the frames at FrameDestination.com or have all done for you at Pictureframes.com (click on Print & Frame Images). You’ll begin with uploading a high resolution photo on at their website. That means if you want an 11X14 framed print, you should have taken the image with a digital camera (preferably a dSLR camera) of at least 8 MP. If you print any bigger than that you’ll get pixelization (those pesky little colored dots that appear all over your photo).

At BigHuge Labs you can get moderately priced gifts such as jigsaw puzzles and posters made from your photos. The site has a generator that lets you make posters in different styles, from Andy Warhol art to giant baseball cards. The best feature on that site is their generators, which allow you to upload your photo so you can see how it would look as one of the featured poster styles available on their site. If you like it you can have it printed in high resolution and buy it.

For that little something you want to pick up for the mailman or your child’s teacher, there’s zazzle.com, a site where you can create mugs, t-shirts, greeting cards, calendars and even shoes with your pictures on them. The site has a feature where you can upload your image to see how it looks on the product you are purchasing. Also, there are hundreds of sellers on the site who sell their one-of-a-kind designs. If you feel entrepreneurial, you can set yourself up to sell your designs on their site.

This is just the beginning of a gift-giving adventure. For more ideas check out the book, 101 Quick and Easy Secrets for Using Your Photographs. Happy gift-giving!

Have you used your photos to produce gifts using services like these? Share what you’ve done and what services you’ve used in comments below.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Adventures in Photo Gift-Giving

We wanted people to look at the less looked at things around them with our assignment on Architectural Detail. We got to see some very interesting parts of buildings that we wouldn’t normally see. Our winner this week was kurtwall’s Stucco and Beam. This shot really captured the idea of the assignment with looking at the details and showing how the details don’t have to be grandiose in order to catch our eye. The stucco gave the image a nice texture and the wood added to the warmth. Our first runner up was Boscopix’s BMW World. This picture of two lights on a corner showcased how the shadows and lines created an interesting detail. The photo had very nice contrast and the simplicity really showed off the detail well. And last but not least was crockny’s Horse on Horse. This shot was really well considered and well executed. The architectural detail was captured well by showing the horse in the window in the foreground and the out of focus carrousel horse in the background, further accentuating the horse concept.

This week our assignment focuses on The Economy. We know that times are tough everywhere, so why not use this as an opportunity to challenge yourself to show the concept of a troubled economy through your photography. As always, a quick reminder of the rules if you want to enter the contest to have your photo featured on the blog. Your photo must have been taken between 28 October – 11 November 2009. You must include the words “Assignment: The Economy” and the date that the photo was taken. Finally, your EXIF should be intact and it’s useful if you can include some of the main points (e.g. camera, lens, shutter speed, aperture, ISO). Next week’s assignment will be “Sound”.

Hot Threads

• Basic Texture Tutorial: If you’ve ever wondered about how people get those great textures on their images, one of our forum admins has offered a great tutorial for how to get started using textures on your photographs.
• Composition vs “Croposition”: As the number of megapixels on cameras increases you have more and more leniency to crop and still get a good size picture. So do you rely on getting good composition the first time around? Or do you rely on croposition and crop to get the composition you want after the fact?
• How to remember everything you learn about photography: As you learn any new topic you learn lots of new information. But how do you retain all of this information? One forum member has offered a suggestion for how you can learn to keep all of this information in your head. Come read about it over on the forum and offer some of your own advice.
• Are kit lenses rubbish?: Many cameras come with lenses when you buy them. These lenses are often referred to as the “kit lenses”. These lenses are typically lower cost lenses, but does that mean that they’re all rubbish? Pop on over to this thread to learn about how to get the best from your kit lens and learn some ways to tell if you need new glass or if you just need to learn how to get better results from what you have.
• What would you do?: Every week we run a post-processing challenge on the forums where you get the chance to edit someone else’s photo. Whether you’re a beginner or a post-processing pro, you’re welcome to participate in our “What Would You Do” weekly challenge.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (1-7 Nov ‘09)

I recently took a trip to my cities zoo to do a test on a camera that I was reviewing and thought I’d share a few tips that I put into practice along the way.

Zoos are great locations to practice photography as they present us both with a great variety of subjects (both animals and the people watching them) but also with some real challenges. Some of the things you’ll need to overcome in getting great shots at a zoo include:

• Distance – the space between photographer and animal
• Moving Subjects – animals rarely stay in the one place for long
• Tricky Lighting – foliage and indoor/outdoor shooting can prove to be challenging
• Cages and Glass – while many zoos are improving in how they contain their animals and are giving them more natural surroundings the challenge of photographing them without the distractions of reflections off glass or grim looking bars both in the foreground and background add to the ‘fun’ of zoo photography

Zoo Photography Gear

What camera and gear will you need to get good photos at a zoo?

The answer to this question will vary a little from photographer to photographer depending upon their style, the type of shots that they want to take and the type of zoo that they’re visiting – however, a long zoom lens will almost always be handy to have attached to your camera.

Camera/Lenses – This means you’ll either need a DSLR with an attachable longer focal length prime lens or telephoto lens (something with an upper length of 200-300mm would probably be handy) or a point and shoot camera with a super zoom lens (probably a 10-12x Optical Zoom).

Also consider taking a macro lens if you’re lucky enough to have one. At our zoo we have a number of enclosures where they are handy (a butterfly enclosure for example).

Tripod – Also consider a tripod or monopod (depending upon the weather and how light it is, you’ll probably find that in some animal enclosures you’ll need to use slower shutter speeds which mean you’ll need the extra stability).

Lens Hood – the combination of shooting outdoors, having limited angles to shoot from (which means sometimes you’ll need to shoot into the sun) and that at times you’ll be shooting through glass means that a lens hood might be handy to have. I actually left mine in the car and as it was a bright day my images suffered considerably as a result.

Zoo Photography Tips

Photo Big-E-Mr-G

1. Points of Interest – Before you start photographing an animal ask yourself ‘what is it about this animal that interests me?’ What has drawn you to photograph it above other animals around you? Does it have great colour, is it in a humorous pose, is it about it’s expression, is it something about it’s surroundings? The reason to ask these questions is that they help you to identify potential points of interest for your image (something that will take your shot to the next level) and will help you to determine how to approach the shot.

2. Get in Close – as with many styles of photography, if you’re able to get close to your subject you create a feeling of intimacy with it and are able to capture details that you’d not otherwise have been able to see. Of course with animals in cages this is a challenge and getting close will almost always need to be done using a longer focal length (you can of course help a little by shooting for as close as you can get – without breaking any zoo rules). Tightly cropping the animal’s face or body helps you get shot with a real impact but also helps eliminate any distracting elements in the photo.

4. Get down Low - photographing an animal down at their level is another way of creating a sense of closeness and intimacy with your subject. This might mean you need to get down on your knees (and get a little dirty or look a little silly) but it will give your shots punch.

5. Eliminating Reflections – shooting through glass is a real challenge and something to avoid if you can. If you can’t get around it get in close to the glass, give it a wipe with a cloth (or your sleeve) to get rid of finger prints, find a spot that is less scratched than other parts, use a lens hood and/or your hand to try to eliminate any reflections and attempt to shoot at right angles to the glass. If you can’t eliminate reflections you might also like to try to work with them. Take a few steps back and incorporate the reflections of those watching the animals into the shot (hard – but if you get it right it could make for a great shot).

6. Shooting through Cages – there’s nothing worse than trying to shoot through the wire or bars of a cage. On occasions you’ll be able to find a wider opening (look for the bigger gaps around gates) but when you have to shoot through cages get up as close as you can to them, use a longer focal length, choose a wider aperture and wait for the animal to move back from the cage. In many instances when you do this you’ll not even notice the distraction of the cage at all. But what if you are using a point and shoot with no control over aperture? Try switching to portrait mode which is a mode that uses a wide aperture and should narrow your depth of field.

7. Shoot People – speaking of people – they also make a great subject when at the zoo. Don’t just focus on the animals but look for the wonderful reactions of those around you as they react to the animals (they can sometimes be more animated than the animals as they mimic them).

8. Look for Humorous Situations - animals do the funniest things. Keep your camera up to your eye for that moment when the monkey points at you, the giraffe picks it’s nose with it’s tongue (sorry – they do do it) or when the Emu pokes its head through the cage to steal something out of someone’s bag.

9. Treat Animals as Moving Subjects – to overcome the problem of your subjects always being on the move consider shooting with a fast shutter speed. You might like to switch to shutter priority mode at a fast shutter speed or let your camera do the work by shooting in ‘Sports’ mode. You can also help with this by shooting in continuous shooting mode so that when your subject is on the move you capture a burst of shots quickly one after the other.

10. Plan your day - I’m a fairly spontaneous kind of person but when it comes to photography have learned that it’s worth thinking ahead. When you get to the zoo get yourself a map and work out which animals will be on your hit list. Also note any feeding times that are publicised (these can make for some action shots). You might also like to find a zoo keeper to ask them what times certain animals are more active. Another good strategy is to head to the gift shop of the zoo and take a quick look at their postcards and picture books that might give you a little inspiration and a few ideas on good shooting angles for different animals.

11. Patience – occasionally you’ll stumble upon an animal in the perfect pose for a shot when you first see it – but in many cases you’ll need to wait for it. Once you’ve picked the animals you want to capture give yourself extended periods of time to camp out at their enclosures. This way you’ll hopefully see them in a variety of positions and with different expressions. This is what often takes your zoo shots to the next level.

12. Think About Context – the beauty of zoo photography is that you get relatively close to animals (something that is obviously difficult in the wild). The challenge is that the environment is not a natural one and that on many occasions there will be distracting elements in the background or foreground. Where possible try to shoot from angles where ‘natural’ looking elements are included (vegetation etc) – but where there are distractions you might like to try using wide apertures (small numbers) which narrow depth of field and throw foreground and backgrounds out of focus. Also try cropping with focal length (or later at home with photoshop).

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Zoo Photography

Image by Buntekuh

As a follow up to our Dogs Image Collection earlier in the week I thought it might be fun to run a weekend photography challenge that revolves around our pets.

This might exclude a few people that don’t have a pet (although perhaps you can be a little creative and photograph your pet rock, a sock puppet…. or a neighbour’s pet) but I’m sure enough DPS readers have a pet to make it a fun project.

So grab your camera over the weekend and take a few pet shots. If you’re looking for some tips on the topic check out our how to photograph pets tutorial.

Note: We’re looking for ‘new’ shots – this is a challenge rather than a look through your archives for a shot!

Once you’ve taken your photos – choose your best 1-2, upload them to your favourite photo sharing site and share a link to them here in comments below or embed them in the comments using the our new tool to do so.

If you tag your photos on Flickr, Twitter or other sites with Tagging tag them as #DPSPETS to help others find them. Linking back to this page might also help others know what you’re doing so that they can share in the fun.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

PETS: Weekend Photography Challenge

In comments below it might also be interesting to hear HOW you print them – ie do you get them done at a lab, do you print them at home on a printer etc?

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Do You Print Your Digital Images? POLL

Finding Textures

I typically shoot landscape photography.  And when I’m shooting a landscape, I’m looking at the big picture – where the horizon is, where the sun is at, the reflection on the water – everything.  However, textures aren’t about the big picture, though, they’re about the detail.  And we’re not always used to looking at the details.  A wall for us is usually the background – or something that’s just in the wall. But walls can make for some great textures, like this:

The walls in my house are old plaster walls, so mine might have a bit more texture than yours (and a bit more peeling paint, apparently, too – that’s artistic, though, right?), so try looking up and down instead.  The ceilings in my house range from subtle textures…

…to something with a bit more oomph:

Both make for great textures, they just give the resulting photo different looks.

Finally, my favorite texture I’ve found around my house is from the tile floor near my back door.  Because our garage is in the back of the house, this door gets the most use, so not only does the tile of texture, but the dirt that gets tracked in the house adds just that little extra bit of lovely texture:

Making Textures

A classic texture is just a crumpled up piece of paper:

Be sure to take the photo with the right light.  If you have the light shining directly onto the paper, there’s not going to be as much contrast between the hills and valleys of the paper.

There’s more to do to paper than just that, though.  Try burning the edges, or splattering it with tea or coffee.  

About the Author: Jennifer Jacobs is an amateur photographer who runs iffles.com – a site for photography beginners. She’s also addicted to flickr and you can follow her stream here.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

How to Create Your Own Textures

There have been 23,345 people respond so far and here are the results. The white number is the number of responses for each category and the %’s are the total percentage of people who’ve chosen the category.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

The Type of Photography Our Readers Do…. [POLL RESULTS]

I recently returned from a safari to the Kruger National Park, South Africa, one of the world’s largest and most spectacular wildlife reserves. I grew up in South Africa and have spent at least one holiday there a year for the majority of my thirty-nine years. Although I know what to expect from such a trip, it still takes a lot of planning to make sure I have the right equipment. Even with my knowledge, all my planning and extensive reading, there were mistakes made and valuable lessons learned on my most recent trip back there in July this year.

Here a few of those mistakes (and solutions) that will hopefully help you take magnificent photographs of one of the most spectacular corners of the earth:

THE RIGHT LENS FOR REACH

If money and my ability to carry these lenses around the world was unlimited, I’d probably have a collection of big professional glass—like the Nikon 200-400mm and Nikon 500mm f4—but alas, I have to make compromises. On this last trip, I ended up renting a few lenses which gave me the chance to try out different lenses without having to spend a ton of money. I cannot recommend the renting option highly enough, since I really only need really big lenses about two to three weeks each year, as I suspect, most of us do.

The first decision is on how much reach you need. I was tempted to rent the Nikon 200-400mm lens, but its size and rental cost put me off. I ended up renting a Nikon 300mm f4with a 1.7x TC. On my DX body that gave me the equivalent of a 750mm lens. I didn’t need longer than that and camera shake would be a real issue if I had used anything bigger. Some people recommend the 70-300mm, but performance at 300mm is reportedly weak, hence my opting for the prime lens.

CONSIDER TWO BODIES

You need to be quick: Animals and birds don’t hang around while you fumble with lenses…it seems to me that the more you fumble, the quicker they leave. Whenever I had my Nikon 300mm f4 with a 1.7x TC giving me maximum reach, I’d invariably come across an animal right next to the car. I managed to get the changes done quickly, but even with my wife acting as assistant, I often missed the action.

On my next trip I’m hoping I’ll own that essential second body or rent one. I’ll have my longest lens (likely a 300mm f4 with 1.7xTC) on one, and probably the Nikon 70-200mm lens on the other. Another benefit of this strategy is that I avoid changing lenses in dusty areas – dust is a real issue on safari and we quickly had a fine film of dust on everything.

STUDY YOUR CAMERA BEFORE YOU GO

Before you go, study your camera manual thoroughly and practice shooting with each of the lenses, flashes and filters you’ll be taking along. If you rent lenses, try to have them arrive a few days before you leave so you can get used to the feel and weight of them.

Don’t buy equipment last minute: electronics are most likely to fail in the first few days of operation and you don’t want to waste valuable photo time learning about a new camera.

TAKE A BEANBAG

Most of your safari shooting is from a vehicle, either driving yourself around or on a game-viewing truck. An essential addition to your equipment is a beanbag which gives you great stability when shooting. I found a piece of fairly heavy-duty material (thick cotton) and got someone to sew it into a bag with a zipper – roughly 8”x12” is about right. When you get to your destination, find a local supermarket and buy a bag of rice, beans or similar to fill it, on your last day you can leave the rice for the hotel cleaners! Sewing an old boot lace onto the bag also helps you retrieve the bag if you accidently drop it out the window or off the truck – just tie it to the door handle. You won’t want to be stepping out of your car in the middle of a pride of lions or herd of elephants.

COMPACT FLASH CARDS

Compact flash cards can be difficult to buy in remote areas. SD cards are more common, since they are used by most point and shoot cameras. If you do find them, they’ll be expensive and probably some “no-name” brand, so take a good number of them with you. There is nothing more frustrating than not having enough memory to take that ultimate photo.

I lost a few cards while sailing in the British Virgin Islands (thankfully they were blank). I finally found a tiny general dealer in Spanish Town who sold me a 1GB “no-name” card for over $150. I also prefer 4GB cards rather than the larger versions – I’d rather lose a card with 4GB of photos than 32GB card.

FIGURE OUT A BACKUP ROUTINE BEFORE YOU GO

Volumes can be written about this topic, but it is essential to work out your field backup strategy and test it before you go. I don’t like those little portable devices that you plug your card into for backup – I had one crash on me and lost a lot of images. They don’t seem that rugged and I’ve read too many horror stories to be comfortable trusting them with all my images.

I use a portable drive which I plug into my laptop. I’ve set Lightroom to put a copy on the external portable drive and another onto the laptop when I import, plus, I keep the cards. There is always a possibility of your bag getting stolen, a good tip is to you keep these copies in different places: a hotel safe or (if you are traveling with someone else) have them carry a backup in their bag.

I only copy or backup images when traveling – never do any deleting or editing. I can do the editing when I get home and rather spend that valuable time taking photos and enjoying myself.

FLIGHTS AND BAGGAGE

The photographer’s nightmare… you have all this expensive equipment and you don’t want it to leave your side for a second (my wife calls my Nikon camera Niki – she says I spend more time and seem so much more concerned about Niki’s well being than anyone else in the family.) So, as you can imagine, the prospect of handing photo equipment to the airline makes me very nervous indeed.

Each airline has its own set of rules, and it depends on the agent as to how strictly the rules are applied. You may have to fly with small planes to get to the final destination. I flew on an SAA Jetstream 41 to get to the Kruger Park, and almost all hand baggage needs to be surrendered at the door. In this case, it really helps to have lockable hand luggage that is well padded. SAA did look after my gear… and I could watch it being loaded and unloaded.

South African Airways didn’t weigh my hand luggage, but in Asia this is becoming standard practice (usually limited to 8kg). You always need a backup plan in case and airline official forces you to check in what you’re carrying. One way to get around this is to wear a heavy jacket with lots of pockets, and distribute your heavier items in the pockets.

Check-in luggage for flights to South Africa shouldn’t be too much of a problem from the States, since both airlines (Delta and SAA) offer two pieces of 23kgs or 50lb each. Baggage on flights from Europe and some other destinations is much more limited.

Internal flights have much stricter check-in baggage limits (one piece at 20kgs or 44lbs on most flights in South Africa).

Here are a few tips which may help:

1. Book all your flights on one booking. That way the airlines can see your full journey and generally will be more lenient on check in baggage for internal flights. SAA is a member of Star Alliance, so connections with United will be easier. This also helps with lost baggage and checking baggage through to final destination.
2. It helps if you have kids and other family members to spread your photo equipment.
3. Travel with a jacket (okay you might die of heat stroke), but you can stuff the pockets with lenses and other gear if carry-on is limited.
4. Try to get status on the carrier your fly with. Having a premier status frequent flyer card will usually get you more leniencies. A Star Alliance Gold Card will usually get you 20kg (44lb) extra on check in and you get to board first.
5. If carry-on is a problem, then keep the high value sensitive equipment (such as lenses, bodies, flashes and filters) and check in things like chargers, batteries, power convertors, etc. Worst case scenario you can replace those items when you arrive at your destination.
6. Plan a day or two in your arrival city before you set off to game parks or remote locations. This way, delayed luggage has time to catch up, and worst case, you can find a good camera store to replace chargers, batteries or other miscellaneous items that go missing.
7. Get some good travel and equipment insurance.
8. Remember plugs and power converters – most chargers will accept 110-220v input, but check before you plug in – smoke and that strong electrical smell wafting in the air, are a certain result.
9. I use cable ties to lock the zips on all my check in bags (some people prefer the locks that FAA can open – I find it a pain to keep track of keys and combination). Cut the tail off the cable tie once it’s tightened. It is very difficult to cut or break a cable tie so it is a good added deterrent. You’ll need nail clippers or ask room service for a knife so you can cut the cable tie at your destination.

BE CAREFUL OF AIR CONDITIONERS

Be very careful about leaving photo equipment in an air-conditioned hotel or lodge room. When you walk into the hot and humid air outside you lenses will condense and fog up.

Good luck.

Robert Koen is an amateur photographer who grew up in South Africa. Now living in California, he has travelled to more than forty countries. Learn more about Robert and read more of his tips and tricks at robertkoen.com.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

How to Prepare for an African Photo Safari

The most notable wedding photographers are the ones who are most innovative in their portrait creations. So the question is, how do you become a trend setter with your wedding imagery? Start with these ideas and you’ll be on your way to becoming an edgy and creative wedding photographer that impresses.

1. Think with movement: Just because your wedding subjects are dressed in formal wear doesn’t mean your portraits need to be all formal also. Try to capitalize on every day motions and movements to add interest to your shots. Skipping. Laughing. Dancing. Karate moves. Leap Frog. The more movement you can incorporate, the more interesting your shots will be.

2. Use framing: Shoot “through” as many objects as you can. Car windows. Tire swings. Key holes. Rings. Positioned fingers. A type of “third party” element will give more depth and dimension to your imagery.

3. Show off your subjects: Treat a wedding party as simply many individuals making up a whole group. Allow each individual to pose themselves to add variety and personality.

4. Think “polaroid”-esque: Take a photo with an iPhone, a Polaroid, or a digital camera. Face this image screen toward the camera and set up the shot again with your subjects mirroring the previous image. Layering these images adds another dimension that boasts “no photoshop” creativity.

5.Utilize space: Gone are the days when everyone was positioned equal distance from one another and from the camera. Play with your subject spacing and placement to the camera. Variety of distance and space will add an illusion of alternating “levels”, and used rightly, will give additional importance on the Bride and Groom.

In an age of creative genius all around us, don’t forget: No one sees the way you do. Don’t be afraid of taking some creative risks. You never know when you may hit on a new trend simply because you aren’t afraid of thinking outside the box.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Wedding Photography: Be Imaginative