Articles from Bill Larkin

SYRP announced the pre-order for the much anticipated Magic Carpet Pro. While building on the success of the original Magic Carpet, this pro-level slider boasts some impressive new features.

At long last, we can say goodbye to push notification scheduled Instagram posts. As all my workflow articles reiterate, I am always looking for the most efficient way to accomplish my tasks especially since I work alone with no assistants. For my Instagram postings, I have been using Later which has been good, because it allows me to get my caption and hashtags ready on the computer and do my final posting from my phone. 

In my switch from Mac to Windows, most things have worked smoothly while running Windows 10. I have always been very much into all the fine nuances and details of any workflow or program you are working within and I am a huge ambassador for really learning all the small details that can make your life easier and more efficient.

Along the lines of my "it's not about the gear" principle that I believe in so much nowadays (believe me, it took years to drum that into my head), this is a quick tutorial on how to use an IKEA lampshade for an unusually simple product photography setup and covers both the shooting and the retouching for the example photos.

Often when going through a set of images via Lightroom, we use a preset we like, export the images, and then tone back some of the color or "effect" from the preset, once in Photoshop. There has always been a need for a way to easily dial back a preset and now there is.

Lensbaby, known for their creative specialty lenses, has a following of folks that either love or hate the effects. I personally love the effects when used properly. The latest offering, called Burnside, is a 35mm f/2.8 which is similar to the Twist 60 but with more versatility.

The one constant in our industry (or most industries for that matter) is change. Few things change faster than the algorithms that power social media, thus the bulk of many photographers' presence to the world. With the new year, there are new things that we must be aware of if we wish to maintain our place in the algorithm's placement to our own followers and hopefully grow instead of just maintaining.

As I wrote about before, I have always been the biggest Apple fan anyone’s ever seen. Especially with my background in graphic design, it only made sense to use an Apple computer. Naturally, as I transitioned into being a photographer, I continued to use nothing but Apple computers, and I do still maintain that they make an excellent, high-quality product. That said, it does come at a price, a rather hefty price that made me question things.

I am a big believer in a bunch of little things all add up to an overall "impression" or customer view of you or your business. Today I want to talk about a little thing that takes five minutes but I believe really makes a nice impression when you are sharing your website.

DJI, usually on the forefront of new technology within their specific niche, seems to be looking to compete with the Zhiyun Crane 2 gimbal with the announcement of the new Ronin-S gimbal. The DJI Ronin-S is a handheld gimbal that is large enough for your common DSLR (and mirrorless of course) video configurations without requiring such a payload capacity of the larger gimbals that are much more expensive.

I'm a very technical guy, probably to the point of being a little obsessive. Today I wanted to talk about technical skill and quality versus emotion.

Instagram has rolled out the Stories Highlights feature and it's definitely a good thing for photographers. The lack of hyperlinking ability within the platform by way of only being allowed one profile link is very limiting for specific marketing. If you have less than 10,000 followers then you do not have access to the swipe up feature on stories which can be a tremendous aid in marketing a certain promo. Instagram Stories Highlights is a step in the right direction for us.

Among many other photographers, I was certainly disappointed to hear the cease of development of Nik Software plugins by Google. There are times when I really like to use the Nik plugins unique tools, and I know many photographers depend on it heavily in their workflow. So it's been a looming question mark as to what happens next and without future development, it seemed the writing was on the wall with some distant Photoshop update, the Nik plugin would eventually not be compatible. Enter the good news! DxO has bought Nik from Google and has already implemented the first of the Nik technology into DxO PhotoLab.

Spelling may be a basic elementary school subject, but it seems more and more people spell things immensely wrong or simply use the wrong word. The words you use which may not even have anything to do with photography can and very likely will change how you are viewed by your customers.

With all the sales on photography tutorials being sold over this online shopping weekend at the Fstoppers store, I'd like to share a little tip that may help some. Customizing your keyboard shortcuts is an essential part of a truly optimized workflow. However, certain basic functions I recommend leaving as default settings.

One of the strongest ways to create a style or mood, and even consistency is to really nail your color. For years I struggled with color, and it can be a subjective thing but there are also some basic colors that look good together. The most popular I would say is that of the orange and teal. Orange and teal together complement each other and this is a great video to show you how to get there quickly in Lightroom.

There are many different ways to sync social profiles, and most have some form of interaction with one another via API calls. An example would be Instagram posting to Twitter automatically, but there are sometimes issues such as when the photo gets pushed to Twitter the image is not shown, rather a link to the image is provided. Without that thumbnail, it's likely to lose 80-plus percent of possible views because people aren't going to click an image when they don't know what it is. I am now using an app called IFTTT which stands for "If This Then That" and it's essentially a mobile version of Mac's Automator app that I love so much.

Everyone has a different feeling on collaboration. I feel that it's a very good thing for a new photographer, but I also feel it can be greatly misused or misrepresented. I used a model/photographer finding website to gain skills and experience via collaboration, and I feel it was a shortcut to what would otherwise have been years of work.

This may be appalling to some, or realistic to others, but I think if we don't discuss the state of the profession of photography we will eventually regret it. When it is more than a hobby, how has the industry changed? Is it a good change? Has technology helped or hurt the professional?

For years, I've been the biggest supporter of everyone using a Mac, except gamers. Especially if you are a photographer or graphic designer, it just makes sense and it always has. But as current events unfold it's becoming harder and harder to stick with the platform, no matter how great it actually is. 

Color has always been an Achilles' heel for me. When I first started in this industry, I was always looking for the magic answer: a specific Photoshop action, or a Lightroom preset, or a plug-in that did some kind of magic that created the color that I had wanted. Boy was I barking up the wrong tree.

Today's tip is a more basic tip aimed at newer retouchers, and is a common quick fix that I feel is necessary when your subject has red in their eyes. This is a 20-second fix which can be made even faster by turning it into an action and assigning a hot key shortcut.

Bokeh is a topic that often sparks debate and is seen by some as subjective. In a vast sea of endless options for gear, there is nothing that excites me more than a truly special lens with excellent character. Today I'm very excited to share another of my favorite classic lenses being reborn via Oprema Jena, the legendary Biotar 2/58.

Since the very first session I had, I knew I wanted to be as good as I could possibly be. Without any real formal school, I learned most everything by doing. Coming from a background as a retoucher, and web developer and graphic artist before that, there were things I thought I knew and did know that were more advanced than beginner stuff. But I was lacking some of the formal training. 

I had the glorious opportunity to play with the highly-anticipated (at least for me) upgrade from the D810, the D850. I wanted to touch on a few things, namely the hype and if one really needs this new camera. For me, absolutely I do and I'll explain why. This isn't a review of the D850, but just a few key things that I was really wondering about and needed to know before upgrading.

The internet and information security is not a new topic, but it's a great time to review your security settings. It usually takes a catastrophic event to cause people to take it more seriously. The alleged Instagram hacks that have been reported are a great wake up call.

There are often things that are helpful to workflow, no matter how minor they are. One of my favorite customizations to a new install of Photoshop is the cursor customization. When watching a tutorial and I see the instructor clicking through a menu instead of using a shortcut key for something as simple as duplicating a layer, I can understand the reason why. When demonstrating to people, it's valuable to slow things down and make sure they understand. It may seem subjective to flat out say that changing the cursors is the best thing to do, however I believe that once you try it you will agree.

As I wrote in my previous article, 3DLUT Creator is a magnificent piece of software for color grading, and it has become an essential part of my coloring processes both for video and still work. There are now more buying options for those who don't need all the extra features that some might. Meet the Grading Edition.

There are many things that go into the final mood of an image. My intention was to have a California-like warm sun with a heading-to-the-beach kind of feel for this car photo. The challenge was that I had to shoot it in the high desert. We have pine trees and some lakes, but the ocean is far away. So we found a windy road heading down to one of the small lakes and planned out our session.

Everyone who knows me knows that I am obsessed with style and character of bokeh. I've had countless hours of discussion with friends in the industry regarding minute differences in the "look" of a certain lens. Today I want to share the most unique and comprehensive array of totally unique looks I've found.

As I am constantly saying, I am a huge fan of workflow optimization. I work alone and automating even the simplest of tasks is crucial to staying organized and being able to keep up doing what I do. This tip is the first in a series regarding automation I will share, and this is such a key to thinking differently: creating your clients folders. It's something we do every session, over and over, so let's automate it.

As I wrote in a previous article, using Flash for your photography website is a very bad idea with some very negative consequences. Now Adobe is announcing end of life for Flash.

One of the many reasons I love this great color grading tool (as I've already written about) is that the creator, Oleg, is very good at listening to requests and creating or adding new features, while fixing minor bugs along the way in a much more responsive manner than what I've seen from the big companies. I'm happy to see the new 1.42 update released today.

Bowens has been reported as being into liquidation and will cease all operations. It seems as time goes on, technology gets better. This is normally a good thing for innovation and the end user. But if often leads to the end of things as we know it.

It should be that it goes without saying not to be a creepy photographer. Sadly, there are creeps out there and our profession is a "good fit" for a pervert trying to look at young women. That being said, we need to be extra careful to make sure we maintain our good reputation.