There are exactly 43,973 ways to sharpen an image using Photoshop, give or take 43,950 or so. That being said, I do get quite a lot of folks asking me how I sharpen my images, and as it happens I kind of like the results I get, so, why not make a video. Can't argue with that logic, no?
We all want to get better at what we do in our work, that's a given, right? Studying, reading, taking classes or doing workshops, watching videos on YouTube, and of course tireless practicing, are a few of the many ways we strive to better ourselves in our photography. The time will come however, without fail, when nearly every single one of us will post a photo to a photography group on social media or a forum, and ask for "CC" or "c&c" or simply "Any thoughts?" and await the comment storm that's coming. And usually that's when the problems start.
Vanity Fair is taking to Instagram to show off Mark Seliger’s celebrity portraits from the Oscars last night. While you may not have watched the award show in its entirety, or at all, the shots are worth taking a peek at. Vanity Fair has been uploading a bunch of images from the likes of Steve Martin to Lady Gaga since last night, there is even a neat time-lapse of the team building the studio for Seliger.
Recently, I sang the blues about being a careless photographer on Facebook, Twitter, etc, and that culminated in the article Don't Be An Annoying, Whiny Photographer on Social Media. While I stand behind the points I covered in it, I've heard tons of feedback already. "Ok, wiseguy, what should a photographer do on social media then?" is the general message I've been seeing. I might have likened these behaviors to that of young children, and that might have not set well some shooters out there.
It's time to mention the huge elephant in the room, and shed some light on some catastrophic social media blunders made by photographers everyday on Facebook, Twitter, and other networks. Time to decide to either take the high road of professionalism and maturity or drown in the sea of misguided, no name whiners who act like children. At least my children have an excuse.
During the last few weeks, Instagram has teased in your news feeds that they were removing and deactivating spam accounts. Their message mentioned it would ultimately result in a loss in the follower count on your profiles, as shown above. This had many people running for the hills, imagining their tens of thousands of followers would turn to dust, and the loss of that clout they have built over the years will be all but nothing. The results have been widespread, but here are a few accounts to check in on as I give my thoughts on the whole thing.
Yes, the instant print camera popularized by the one and only Polaroid is back and in a new form factor for 2015. The long awaited Socialmatic doesn't use film but rather snaps and shares your photos via the web and social media options along with delivering nifty adhesive prints of your photos. Wrapped in an Android based OS that shares to Facebook, Twitter and of course Instagram, I'm interested in seeing how people respond to its release come January.
For an app that brings the hipster out in everyone, Instagram showed it can really grow up today. Five new filter updates almost wouldn't matter. So what? We have a million other apps and editing tools and already sometimes too many Instagram filters. But today's update brings something that Instagram has lacked from Day One: subtlety.
Last week Facebook rolled out a relatively minor update, but it may be one that has important consequences for your business' exposure on Facebook. Taking a break from changes to the the ever-evolving newsfeed algorithms (changes that have steadily decreased pages’ organic reach), this time Facebook switched their focus to the search capabilities of the social media platform. With the new changes, the Graph Search tool is now capable of searching through posts for content and keywords. What does this mean for your business page? Well, it appears that with a little diligence, your posts could see an increase in organic reach through this new feature.
There is a new image format called BPG (Better Portable Graphics) designed by the French programmer Fabrice Bellard and it promises to deliver better visual quality at half the file size of JPEG! Can BPG unseat the aging but popular JPEG format?
If there is one thing I get asked, and that has been answered online time and again, it's "How do I get my photos to look like I want them to look on Facebook?" followed immediately by "Why does Facebook ruin my photos anyway?" and finally "I just want my photos to look awesome on Facebook." The bottom line is, Facebook does give us options, loopholes if you like, and we just need to adhere to them and our images will look stellar. But, what are these magical settings? I decided I was going to fuse my two careers together into one article, and explain it all as best I can.
This week has been a big one for Instagram. The social media platform announced that it is cleaning up spammers, and Fortune noted that Instagram has left Twitter in the dust with 300 million active users. What does this mean for our businesses? If you aren’t on Instagram, or using it actively, you are missing out.
It's been an absolute pleasure seeing friends and colleagues getting chosen for social media campaigns and commercial photography jobs all around the world as a result of sharing their talents via Instagram. With mobile media teams popping up around the country bidding for projects with companies like GE, NatGeo Wild and beyond, it's amazing to see their work featured across the web and in print media. My pals Scott Borrero and Ravi Vora have teamed up with Jeep to create this awesome behind-the-scenes video about a trip out to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to shoot for their new Grand Cherokee. The results are just captivating.
As a relatively recent convert to Instagram, a former outsider-looking-in, there are a few things about the app that I don’t particularly care for or make use of. Like most people I know, I’m not at all tempted to make use of the built-in, over-cooked, HDR-gone-wrong filters. When I do post a photo taken on my phone, it’s been edited in VSCO Cam. I’m also not a huge fan of the user interface in Instagram. It’s a little clunky, oft overwhelming, and features a rather uninspiring design. For a better viewing, browsing, and exploring experience I’ve turned to a seemingly unknown app, Primary.
