Who doesn’t like a paid trip to Florida? Although it was in the August heat, Lori and I didn’t mind heading down to photograph the largest tobacco trade show on Earth held at the Orlando Convention Center. I was contracted to make a fast-paced summary video of the IPCPR International Trade Show by the Panador Hat Company, the same wonderful company that sent me to the remote Andes Mountains to photograph hat weavers in 2009. At first I was going to make the trip along, but after some negotiations Lori was able to come as an assistant (and I really could’ve covered the trade show as well without her). Neither of us smoke and are some of the least educated people ever when it comes to tobacco. Come to think of it, of everyone at the largest tobacco Lori and I may have been the only ones not smoking anything (except the air… which pretty much counts). Nonetheless, we enjoyed capturing all the elaborate booths, products and decorations. Thanks again Panador!

Do you need photography or video of your next convention? Contact me! I’d love to create media to help you promote your business better. Plus, I love the extra salty pretzels they serve on airplanes, it’s (almost) worth the trip just for those.

Photo stats for the trade show:

Hours shooting: 10hrs over 2 days
Photos Taken: 3200 (plus 10 minutes worth of video clips)
Photos Delivered: 205
Hours Editing the Video: 18hrs (includes time to write the music)
Final Video Length: 2min 23sec

Challenges of shooting conventions

Maybe I’ll write a whole article about this sometime since I’ve done a fair amount of convention photography in the last few years, but for now here’s 3 things to anticipate before you go shoot a trade show or convention.

1. The lighting is terrible. It’s always directly overhead, far away (creating really defined shadows), and dim. Except when I was on a tripod for the time lapses, inside the trade show I kept my ISO at 1600.
2. Security doesn’t always like you taking photos. If you’ve been hired to shoot, keep a copy of your contract and any official permissions with you. Also, it’s common courtesy to ask permission of the booth owner if your going to take photos of commercial products.
3. Nervous people. I’m sure you’ve experienced this before but as soon as you ask “Can I take your photo?” people get all nervous and unnatural looking. Although it’s super creepy or obvious, when possible I take someone’s photo and then ask permission to use it.

Taking Time Lapses with a DSLR

I’ve recently started experimenting with shooting time lapses with my DSLR and finally think I have the basics down. Although I’m still learning, the advice I have here is simple:

DON’T TOUCH THE CAMERA DURING THE TIME LAPSE!

Put in it full manual mode, set your intervalometer, and then don’t touch anything. Adjusting exposure settings will give you an embarrassingly obvious hiccup in the final video, and of course moving the camera will defeat the whole effect. Anyone with experience in time lapses out have anything to add? I would welcome any tips I can get.

Orange County Convention Center

Sadly this desk was only a prop and did not really make cigars. However the guy in the top right was.

I seriously doubt she can see anything through those glasses

This booth went all out and even hired it’s own DJ

The original Golden Gun used by James Bond in the 1974 film The Man with the Golden Gun

Panador hats really are the highest quality Panama hats in the world

My lovely wife

It doesn’t look like it, but this guy is on 5 ft stilts

I had never heard of Cigar Dave, but apparently he is a big deal

The inventor and patent holder of the one and only Cigar In A Bottle

This is how you know the cigar is high quality

You can see the smoke hanging over the room. Our clothes smelled like fine tobacco even after we washed them.

Orange County Convention Center

The post Smokin’ Photos of the IPCPR International Trade Show appeared first on The Unframed World.

I swore I would never take wedding photos. In fact, I even poked fun at wedding photographers for not being “legit” … whatever that means. When I finally got over myself, I realized that I was knocking something I had never tried. Wedding photography provides many photographers with full-time income and deep satisfaction, so why not give it a go? I convinced my friend Julia to let me document her special day and prepared for the stress of “capturing the big moment” that surely would ensue. Thankfully working with me were two other rookies, Rebecca Bauer and Jennie Barney who did a fantastic job as well (photos by them are marked). I was most nervous about generating good ideas for group poses on the spot, but after downloading several good examples of creative wedding photo ideas to my iPhone before the group shoot, things ended up going really smoothly.

You can see the results in the time lapse wedding photo montage video (there’s got to be a better name for that) above or in the best of the best photos below. My conclusion is that being a wedding photographer is waaay different than doing architecture and landscapes. There’s a social aspect that demands wedding photographers to be energetic, funny, easy to work with, but also somewhat bossy and have a clear vision. In short, I had fun and wouldn’t mind doing more wedding if the opportunity comes along. Thanks again John and Julia for letting me photograph your wedding!

Photo by Jennie Barney

Photo by Jennie Barney

Photo by Jennie Barney

Photo by Jennie Barney

Photo by Jennie Barney

Photo by Jennie Barney

Photo by Jennie Barney

Photo by Jennie Barney

Photo by Rebecca Bauer

Photo by Rebecca Bauer

Photo by Rebecca Bauer

Photo by Jennie Barney

Photo by Rebecca Bauer

Photo by Rebecca Bauer

Photo by Jennie Barney

Photo by Rebecca Bauer

The post John & Julia’s Best Wedding Photos OR Overshooting My First Wedding appeared first on The Unframed World.

If you’re interested in entering this competition, you can find the official content rules here.

I nominate these 5 other travel bloggers to participate!

• Y Travel Blog
• As We Travel
• Wes Nations
• Jack & Jill
• Nomadic Samuel

Green

Ohara, a less visited rural village in Kyoto, was exactly what Lori and I were hoping. With only a little research we had taken the hour-long scenic bus ride north from downtown Kyoto. After a grueling, buzzer-beater cycle to the Golden Pavilion on the previous day, our desire was for a slow-paced amble through quiet countryside. With a wealth of enchanting nature scenes and a dearth of rabid tourists, this quaint river valley town came through big time. Aside from getting lost for 20 minutes right out of the bus stop, we stayed mostly within the tranquil grounds of Sanzenin Temple, the village’s main attraction where we found this restful zen garden called Shuhekien. I took a few photos and we sat in contented silence for unhurried minutes before moving on.

Blue

Any photo hit-list for Montreal is incomplete without the lavishly decorated Notre Dame Basilica. Still a fully functioning Catholic cathedral, I have one important piece of advice for successfully photographing the gorgeous interior of this place: DON”T GO DURING SUNDAY MORNING MASS! Lori, our friend Natalie, and I thought it was our lucky day when there was no attendant at the entrance counter. As I tromped in, I recall exclaiming something enthusiastic like, “Boardwalk and Park Place guys! This usually costs like 5 buc- Wow, wait. I think they’re praying.” As silently as possible, the two ladies helped me collect my shattered dignity from the beautifully tiled floor, and we regrouped at a nearby cafe.

Since I obviously did not take pictures during the service, we returned once mass had ended, paid our $5 and shot until early afternoon.

White

After a beautiful train trip through the southern Japanese Alps, Lori and I arrived in Takayama, Japan. From there, it was a short bus ride through the switch backs of the Hida Mountains to Shirakawa Village. Well deserving of its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site, this village provides breath-taking views of the Northern Alps and prides itself on being a time warp back to Edo period traditional Japan, complete with farm houses built with thatching. It also happens to be one of the snowiest places in Japan (measured in annual snowfall) and certainly lived up to the title.

Yellow

Inside the stunning sanctuary of the Notre Dame cathedral in Montreal, there’s a lesser known private chapel in the back right corner that I knew about from a previous visit. At the front there’s an amazing floor to ceiling sculpture. They say that even seeing just a photo of this moving work has been known to calm crying babes, warm Scroogey hearts and lower LDL cholesterol. (Scroogey: Scrooge-like. Now you know.) Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait for that revelatory moment since this post features a photo of the back of the chapel.

Red

As one of the most acclaimed locations in all Japan, Lori and made sure to stop by the red gates of the Fushimi Inari-Taisha on our tour of Kyoto by rental bike. This place easily makes it to the top echelon of my list of touring destination recommendations in Japan. A big plus of the Fushimi Inari is that admission is always free and the paths are kept open all 365 days of the year. I highly recommend bring a camera to this place. The endless tunnels of torii (red gates) lining the walkways were magical.

The post Capture the Color Contest appeared first on The Unframed World.

If Lightroom were a woman, I would’ve seriously dated her (just kidding Lori… kissy faces!). Inevitably, though, what would’ve been a deal-breaker is that Lightroom catalogs don’t really like to travel very much. Any of you who’ve attempted to work on the same catalog from multiple computers have most likely come across this beloved LR message “Note: Lightroom catalogs cannot be on network volumes or in read-only folder.” Finally, with the birth of Dropbox also came a solution to sync Lightroom catalogs between computers easily by essentially saving them locally to a shared folder. Now, Google Drive provides a similar solution along with 5GB of free online cloud storage. Since I’ve been pushing the walls of my free Dropbox account for some time, moving my Lightroom catalogs over to Google Drive was perfect. Here are the basics of creating a fresh Lightroom catalog sync’ed via Google Drive. I’ll also cover how to move and sync an existing Lightroom catalog via Google Drive.

Just a heads-up, I’m running Lightroom 3. Yes, I know Lightroom 4 has been released, is really cheap, and like a millions times better. Somehow I don’t think “How about 60 minutes using Lightroom 4 instead?” will put a smile on my landlord’s face though.

1) Install Google Drive

Go to the Google Drive homepage and download the installer. You’ll need a free Google account if you don’t already have one. Google Drive comes with 5GB of free storage out of the box. This is enough for me, but if you need more there are monthly subscription plans priced from 25GB for $2.50 all way up to 16TB (not a typo!) for $800. View all the pricing options here. Personally, I don’t see myself needing more than my allotted 5GB, but this is because I only use it as a work-in-progress holding tank. Right now, I’m using Google Drive to collaborate on a large graphic design project and still have managed to fill only 3GB. After the project is over I’ll archive the project files and remove them from Google Drive.

2) Open Lightroom

Duh! This really doesn’t need to be a step except that I want to highlight a cool (and free) time-saver tool I use to open all my apps and documents called Quicksilver. I’ve set Quicksilver to open when I hit the shortcut Alt+ESC. Then I just type the first few letters of the app or doc name and hit Enter to open it. It’s way faster than mousing to the doc or rooting around in my folders. As much as I’d like to be, I’m not being paid or anything to promote their product so you know this is a legit reference. Download Quicksilver free here. It’s only for the Mac, but there’s a free PC program that’s almost identical called Colibri.

3) Create a new catalog in Google Drive

In Lightroom, select File > New Catalog. Then navigate to your Google Drive Folder or any folder therein (BTW, therein is easily one of the most odd English words ever). Hit “Create” and we’re in business. Woohoo! Time to eat chimichangas like it’s your birthday! Lightroom will relaunch itself using the new catalog, then sync to the Google servers. Now all you need to do is import some pictures from an external hard drive or even from a folder on Google Drive itself!

There are a few housekeeping things to keep in mind that I’ve laid out below.

Switching between computers

Before you shut down the computer after you’ve finished working in Lightroom, make sure Google drive has synchronized the Lightroom catalog file. When you switch between computers, make sure each computer has Google Drive installed and that the lightroom catalog has the green check mark next to it before opening it. Also, be sure to bring the external hard drive with the pictures too . When you launch the sync’ed catalog after switching computers, Lightroom will ask you where the pictures are. Reconnect one of the images and the others should automatically re-link themselves.

Sync Existing Lightroom Catalogs with Google Drive

1. Find the existing “.lrcat” file
2. Copy it to Google Drive and open it
3. Re-link photos

Keeping the Sync clean

You’ll notice a few extra files next to your Catalog-name.lrcat file. The “.lrcat-journal” and “.lrcat.lock” are both there to help protect your work, and the “Previews.lrdata” is where all the current previews are stored (Adobe doesn’t beat around the bush with it’s naming). To keep the “Previews.lrdata” file from becoming too large, I recommend that you set the 1:1 previews to automatically be discarded “After One Week.” You’ll find this setting under Lightroom > Catalog Settings > Automatically Discard 1:1 Previews.

The post Sync Lightroom Catalog with Google Drive appeared first on The Unframed World.

The 411

Names: Artur Heller & Anetta Heller
Occupation: Publisher, graphic designer, parent
Location: Europe / Home for us is where we are
Key Links:

• Camerapixo.com
• Artur on Google Plus
• Camerapixo on Google Plus
• Artur/camerapixo on Twitter

Favorite Color:

• Artur: Orange
• Anetta: Green

Describe yourself in three words:

• Artur: Restless and Creative
• Anetta: Friendly and Passionate Explorer

Hidden Talents:

• Artur: Drawing
• Anetta: Painting

Irrational Fears:

• Artur: Hate, envy, intolerance
• Anetta: Limits and ignorance

Interview

Andrew: So, where did the idea to start a magazine come from?

Artur & Anetta: The idea to start a magazine came from our needs. We have always been passionate about photography. There was always something to photograph and we have been fortunate to live in different beautiful places. Sharing these photos with people was a great idea. The idea came naturally as a part of our life to do something we really love. Simple as that. Finally, being abroad for many years has given us the chance to meet people of different nationalities and with many talents.

The concept of running our own magazine was there for a long time. Artur had previous experience with leading newspapers in Chicago and Boston and being a graphic designer. As a part-time photographer, he was always hungry for new ideas and projects. When the time was right we simply grabbed the chance and “glued” our passion for photography and graphic talents together. An online magazine is available for everyone and it is such a perfect way to interact with readers through social media.

Andrew: Ideas are one thing, but making them reality is another. Talk to us a bit about the process of bringing Camerapixo to life as a real business.

Artur & Anetta: It all started as a photographer’s directory and with group photowalks. The magazine was just “learning how to walk” and it was very inspiring to learn what photographers expect from their audience. We wanted to present photography in a way that caught people’s attention and made them appreciate the image. We are a team of two. However, photographers who get published and our dedicated readers are also a part of our team. We are people’s people and love to spread our passion and good energy.

Since this is a free magazine, we aim for sponsors and paid adds that will help us to keep the magazine up and running. We want to keep Camerapixo available for everyone, since there is not much reading but simply great photography to admire. We’d like to develop the magazine in several directions, from the presentation, to workshops and information. We are currently in discussions with several partners, photography schools and portals associated with photographers.

Andrew: When getting Camerapixo off the ground, what are some things you think you did right and some things you would do differently?

Artur & Anetta: Publishing an English version of Camerapixo from the first issue would be something we would do different. For the rest we are very happy with the results. When things are done with passion and happiness, you get a truly meaningful and amazing result.

Andrew: For talented photographers visiting your site, how does the process of getting published in Camerapixo work? Can anyone get published?

Artur & Anetta: Everyone is invited and may submit photos for a review. We have presented the work of non-professional photographers whose work was simply stunning, and many very talented professionals have trusted us with their images. We are also adding more options for those with occasional great images to publish one hot shot in a special section of the magazine.

Andrew: What role does social media play in your business?

Artur & Anetta: Social media is something we couldn’t do without. It allows our dedicated and new readers to keep in touch with us and to share the news and comments about the magazine. Social media has helped us tremendously in spreading the word about Camerapixo. It’s all word of mouth from very satisfied published photographers whose work was noticed by a much wider audience. In today’s world we often interact with people via social media as this is the fastest way until new technology, such as teleportation, is in use hahahhah:)

Andrew: Now, with a solid following, how do you see Camerapixo growing in the future? Anything exciting on the horizon for fans to anticipate?

Artur & Anetta: All ideas come very spontaneously and we try to realize them as quickly as possible. Photography eBooks are the main topic that we would like to grab people’s attention with. There is a big chance that we will open a gallery for photographers, and special profiles for photographers to promote them even stronger and to display their work. At the moment, we are thinking of opening our own gallery, the location is yet unknown. Photography workshops in different parts of the world are in the mix too. We will inform all registered readers of more details. And just to remind you, the registration is free and takes only a few seconds.

Andrew: Finally, what advice would you give to someone looking to start their own online publication?

Artur & Anetta: Create for passion first and then see what happens. It’s not that easy to create your own publication. You need a mass of time, great ideas and, above all, boundless creativity. The urge to create is something you’re born with. By the way, we would like to thank all those who contributed to the development of the magazine and all those who help to propagate info about the magazine. We welcome cooperation of all kinds.

Andrew: Thank you both for a look behind the scenes at your work!

Artur & Anetta: Thank you Andrew. Satisfaction and appreciation for the Magazine is our best reward and motivation to continue.

The post Building a Photo Magazine Reaching Over A Million: Interview with Camerapixo Founders appeared first on The Unframed World.

Community Assignment

Under the photo critique, in the comments section, pick at least one photo and say 1 thing you liked and 1 thing you think could use improvement. Not only will it give you a better photographic eye, it will also give the photographers another perspective aside from mine.

Photo Critique #1

(Photo by The One True Stickman)

Great work on taking a well designed shot! You were obviously thinking about what you wanted to include AND exclude from the frame. This type of conscious composition is a crucial key to improving as a photographer. In general, the shot has some nice bright parts and dark areas, but the overall contrast could pop a bit more, especially the mid-tones. Also, maybe it’s just me, but I want all the chairs to be neatly pushed in around each table all to be completely visible in the frame (if you were to re-shoot, also make sure to lose the rogue yellow chair). Since your emphasis in the shot isn’t not a particularly compelling subject but on a well designed scene, be sure to make it as “together” as you can.

Photo Critique #2

(Photo by The One True Stickman)

Having grown up in coastal Maine, this really hits a soft spot for me and I can’t help but really like it. However, I will try to cast this bias aside and give some constructive feedback. Firstly, I really want there to be an army of lobsters crawling chasing some panicky sea gulls along the dock. Aside from this, although i really like the repetition of the boats, near the top they start to get somewhat cluttered. Cropping a tighter or even zooming in on a few compelling elements would created a stronger focus and direct viewers eyes more intentionally. As in the last photo, the contrast could pop a bit more to help the “wow” factor of the shot. Finally, one picky thing is that the dock isn’t running level through the frame. Granted, with the swells of the water this shot is probably level, but as a viewer all I see is a sloping dock. Most importantly, don’t forget the lobster army next time. Thanks reminding me of home!

Photo Critique #3

(Photo by Stephen Levin)

My first impression here is “Wow, nice contrasts texture.” Even though it looks like you toned mapped this image, you didn’t sacrifice detail or get any weird halos. Props. One thing I would change, though, is the straightness of the shot. It leans slightly to the left. Also, I would dial back the exposure of the water and foliage seen through the archway. It steals attention but isn’t in focus. While we’re talking about the foliage, I would be curious to see what the image would look like if you lowered the saturation of the green channel using an HSL adjustment layer in Photoshop and then increased the vibrancy of the whole shot. As it is, the leaves look slightly too saturated and electric. One last thing to consider next time you’re shooting is to keep in mind what exactly you are hoping to show viewers and why. In this shot, I see a cool building, but I want a really interesting subject to focus on like a cat sitting on archway ledge or something. Again, really solid work with the post processing and keep shooting!

The post Visual Photo Critique 11 appeared first on The Unframed World.

The 411

Actual photographers, not models.

Names: John Olson, Cassidy Olson
Occupation: Professional architectural photographer, production manager
Location: Connecticut
Key Links: Olson Photographic LLC
Favorite Color:

• Cassidy: pink

• John: aquamarine

Describe yourself in three words:

• Cassidy: I’m “dedicated, punctual, friendly”

• John: I’m “observant, determined, passionate”

Hidden Talents:

• Cassidy: I’m an amazing actress.

• John: I’m a great teacher.

Irrational Fears:

• Cassidy: Galloping on a horse terrifies me.

• John: Large pincher beetles wig me out.

Interview

Andrew: Hello John & Cassidy! Thanks so much taking this interview.

John & Cassidy: You are most welcome. We are excited by the opportunity.

Andrew: For starters, give us a bit of background about you two and your work.

John & Cassidy: We are professional architectural photographers who are easy to work with and deliver technically and aesthetically superior images. Assignments have taken us all over the country to photograph some of the most amazing projects. Every day is different day than the previous one. We live a life through our work that affords us many unique opportunities that we cherish not only professionally, but in our personal lives as well.

Andrew: Starting at the beginning, what made you decide to pursue photography as a career rather than a hobby?

John & Cassidy: We needed to make more money and wanted to love what we did versus struggling to get by hating our jobs.

Andrew: What all was involved in starting your own photography business?

John & Cassidy: We had all this equipment sitting on a shelf that Cassidy was dusting every week. She looked at John and said “let’s do this.” John had previous entrepreneurial experience so he knew to get quickbooks and how to market effectively.

Andrew: When you first were starting out, what were some effective ways you were able to build your client base?

John & Cassidy: We shot a designer show house which gave us an instant portfolio. And direct mail, direct mail, direct mail!

Andrew: What gear do you typically use at shoots?

John & Cassidy: We are Canon pro all the way!

Andrew: Describe your post processing workflow.

John & Cassidy: Post processing includes processing raw images, working in Photoshop & renaming each image to an identifiable name and ensuring all colors are accurate. Data storage includes external hard drives as we have been burned by the CD route!

Andrew: Here’s a fun one, if you had to choose new career paths, what would you pick?

John & Cassidy: Cassidy would be a pharmacist. John would be a polo farm manager.

Andrew: Since you’ve been in business, how have you seen the market change and how are you adapting?

John & Cassidy: Portfolio work isn’t what it used to be. For awhile, people thought they could just buy the same equipment and get the results we get. They didn’t realize that it is a skill and a talent. More and more people are coming back saying “I tried but I can’t get a decent photo!”

Andrew: Do you ever use assistants? What do you look for when hiring?

John & Cassidy: No, we are able to handle assignments well between the two of us.

Andrew: Finally, what’s your top advice for people considering pursing a career in architectural photography?

John & Cassidy: Think very carefully about your marketing plan and your target market! It is a fun & exciting specialty. You should be genuinely interested in the design fields. Pay great attention to good business acumen, being a good photographer is assumed.

Andrew: Thanks for the time guys!

John & Cassidy: Thanks so much for the opportunity!!

And now… more stunning architectural photography by John & Cassidy

The post Architectural Photography: Going Pro with the Olsons appeared first on The Unframed World.