Fonts and Cropping

I’ve always wanted to be a Desktop Publisher – those who creates amazing business cards, invitations, posters and newsletters. I used Adobe PageMaker before and Print Artist during my college years. Right now, I don’t know what’s the most convenient software to use for Desktop Publishing. If I’m going to establish a business, I’ll choose Desktop Publishing and Portraiture.

That’s why I’m keeping these two cheat sheets on my Desktop for easy reference. The first one is a guide on choosing the right Fonts and the second one is for Cropping. I know that I should memorize these two guides by heart – but since I’m getting old, I’m having hard time memorizing things.

Thus, these two important Cheat Sheets ended up on this blog. What cheat sheets do you keep on your desktop?

The Psychology of Fonts from visual.ly

The guide for Cropping from Digital Camera World.

Technorati Tags: Fonts,Cropping,Desktop Publishing,Portraiture,Photography

PiPho’s 8th Year Anniversary Celebration

Pinoy Photography (PiPho) will have it’s 8th Year Anniversary Celebration on October 5, 2013 (Saturday) at the SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City.

PiPho is popular among photographers as a source of information on anything and everything about photographer. I’m a frequent visitor of their forum.

Technorati Tags: PiPho,Pinoy Photography,Forums

DPP Episode 7

The premiere photography magazine in the country, Digital Photographer Philippines, will have it’s 7th year anniversary on May 4, 2013 Saturday at Bonifacio High Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

Like the previous anniversaries of Digital Photographer Philippines, this year’s celebration is expected to be a very worthy event to attend to. I was able to attend last year’s anniversary and it’s full of lectures, live shoots, exhibits, give-aways, games and other activities.

Almost all major companies with products for photography will surely be there. Hope to see my photography friends to this event. Mark your calendar guys!

Technorati Tags: DPP Episode 7,Digital Photographer Philippines,Bonifacio High Street

FPPF 25th Anniversary

The Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation (FPPF) held their 25th Anniversary Celebration last Saturday, October 20, 2012 at the Fort Santiago grounds, Intramuros, Manila.

FPPF is a non-profit organization founded in 1987 to promote cooperation among photography associations in the country. Today, the FPPF is composed of several photography clubs all over the country.

The celebration started with a Fun Run around Fort Santiago but I arrived at the event around 10AM in time for the Cosplay Competition conducted by Canon.

There was also a workshop conducted by Ricky Ladia regarding the latest technology in strobist photography (using flash). They also had a photo-contest about wedding photography and the winner, Celso, was announced around 7PM. He won a Nikon D3200 DSLR.

Other activities include games in the afternoon like Photo Henyo, Photo Charade, Photo Quiz Bee and Photo Pick-Up Lines. There was also an auction of cameras.

The event was also jam-packed with Sponsors including Photozuela, Canon Philippines, Nikon Philippines, Sony Alpha DSLR, Samsung Cameras, Sandisk Philippines, Crumpler Philippines, Eneloop, Transcend, Tenba, PerfectShot, Phottix, BenQ Philippines, Rollei, CameraHaus, Colent, The Book, Intramuros Administration, among others.  

FPPF also provided us with the latest issue of Frame One, the official publication. I enjoyed the FPPF Anniversary Celebration since I was able to bond with the members of our photography group. See you again guys next year for the 26th Anniversary Celebration of FPPF!

I wish I have zoom lenses like these

Nikon Photographers listening to a workshop by Ricky Ladia

Lots of photographers watching the afternoon games. Thank God there are no members of Bawal Mag-Shoot Dito (BMSD) present during the event

One of the emcees facilitating the program

Winners of the Canon Cosplay On-The-Spot (OTS) photo contest

The cosplayers

Officers of the Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation (FPPF)

Crumpler Philippines – one of the numerous sponsors of the event

Nikon brand ambassador Ricky Ladia

Photographers playing Photo Charade

Photo Henyo

Photo Pick-Up Line. Film ka ba? Kasi gusto kitang dalhin sa Dark Room (winning line)

Wedding photo-shoot

Technorati Tags: FPPF 25th Anniversary,Fort Santiago,Photography

My Latest Gadget: Yongnuo Speedlite YN460-II

So I got a big pay last payroll and I was thinking on what to buy next for my camera. My choices at that time are the Canon EF50 mm f/1.8 II lens (for Bokeh effect in portraits) or a Speedlite (external flash).

I checked the prices of the Canon accessories and the EF50 mm f/1.8 II lens is at P4,998 (card) and the sales clerk offered it at P4,500 cash. The Canon Speedlite 430EX II is the cheapest external flash from Canon that can be tilted. It was priced at P16,430. I no longer asked for the cash price because I don’t have that amount of money.

I tried to review the pictures that I’ve taken for the past 7 months (I bought my DSLR in December 2011) and I am leaning towards events, landscape and architecture. The last event that I attended was the workshop conducted by David Guison and I had difficulties taking his picture using ambient light (I’m no longer using the internal flash of my camera). So I thought of buying an external flash for a clearer picture by bouncing of the light on the ceiling.

My photography friend Mark is currently using a Yongnuo Speedlite YN460-II and he seems to be acquainted with it that he can adjust the flash power for better results. The Canon Speedlite 430EX II has ETTL technology (auto-adjust flash power) but is very expensive while the Yongnuo Speedlite YN460-II is affordable but it doesn’t have ETTL meaning that adjusting the power level is manual (trial and error). I would love to buy the Canon Speedlite but I ended up buying the Yongnuo Speedlite YN460-II.

I’ve taken some shots using it and I’m pretty satisfied with the results even though I have to take about 4-5 shots using different angles of inclination and different power levels to come up with a nice picture. Given the price of the product, it’s worth it. Here are some of the pictures I’ve taken using my Canon EOS 1100D with the Yongnuo Speedlite YN460-II.

BTW, I purchased this product from Pixel Pro Inc in SM Cyberzone Megamall. It’s the nearest mall to my place and I usually buy my gadgets in that mall even though it’s more expensive than in Hidalgo. I feel secure in this mall.

I still have tons of things to learn about photography, gadgets, camera accessories, etc. I hope by the time I get my 13^th month pay, I already knew my camera functions and capabilities by heart so that I could buy my 1^st lens. I probably buy a zoom lens. What do you think should be my first lens?

Technorati Tags: Yongnuo Speedlite YN460-II,Canon EF50,Speedlite Photography 101

Portraiture Workshop by Pat Dy

Pat Dy is fashion, celebrity and wedding photographer. His works were already featured in magazines like Preview, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, Chalk, Metro, Weddings, Good Housekeeping and others. He’s also a Canon Brand Ambassador and one of the Crusaders of Light.

After the workshop conducted by David Guison and Lissa Kahayon, came the Portraiture Workshop by Pat Dy. It was held yesterday at the Cyberzone, SM City North EDSA Annex. This is still part of the Canon PhotoSkwela series of workshops aimed at empowering Canon Users, like me, to do more with our cameras.

He gave some basic tips on how to shoot headshots and portraits and he also answered my question on how to crop pictures for portraits. He demonstrated some of the most basic pose and how to shoot people with different body types.

Here are some of Pat Dy’s tips on how to prepare our subjects (models and clients):

• Establish your friendship
• Talk to them to get them warmed up to you to get them more relaxed
• Cracked a joke and capture that fun, laughing moments.

His camera tips to flatter our subjects:

• For tight facial shots, shoot at eye level or a bit higher with the camera pointing down.
• For full body shots, shoot at eye level, camera base parallel to the ground
• Don’t use the widest angle setting on your lenses. Try to zoom in.
• Make them wear tighter clothes

After the lecture and demo part of the workshop, he entertained several questions from the audience. Some of the questions answered by Pat Dy was related to:

• Camera settings when doing backlit portraits – Minimum of 50 shutter speed (if using 50 mm lens), 1.8 aperture and 200-400 ISO.
• Tips on how to shoot outdoors using natural light – Shoot under the shade.
• How to shoot babies and pets – Use high shutter speeds and bells (or other stimuli) to get the attention of the subject.
• How to use reflectors when shooting outdoors – Never put it on the bottom because it will reflect the sun’s ray upwards and may cause shadows on the nose, upwards.
• Use off-camera flash when shooting outdoors if needed – Use ambient light as much as possible. Pat Dy said that he’s not much of a strobist (using off-camera flash).
• Rule of thirds still apply on portraiture
• When doing a wedding photography, use spot metering on the gown to capture the details. Prioritize the bride since most of the time, they pay for the shoot
• Shoot with friends, with stylist, establish portfolio, submit it to editors and hope for the best.
• RAW or JPEG? – Magazine editors prefer RAW but to an ordinary person, he won’t be able to tell the difference of a picture shot in RAW or JPEG

Thank you Pat Dy for the wonderful tips, practical tips on how to shoot portraits. Thank you Canon Philippines for these PhotoSkwela series of workshops and thank you to the sponsors like SanDisk, Black Rapid and Greenwich.

That’s David Guison wearing a jacket with a hood sitting in front of me. He’s so gorgeous and stylish.

Pat Dy

Some basic portrait crops.

Technorati Tags: Pat Dy,Canon Philippines,SanDisk,Greenwich,Portraiture Workshop

My First Tripod: Benro T600EX

I love taking night shots. I love to take pictures of parks and other places at night. I love capturing the lights from posts, lamps, fireworks and candles. Unfortunately, last New Year’s Eve celebration, I don’t have a tripod yet. I tried to capture the fireworks with my bare hands and the results are blurry pictures.

My Canon EOS 1100D has a bulb feature designed to take pictures of fireworks but it really requires a tripod to come up with an outstanding picture. After attending workshops with such photographers like Ricky Ladia, Winston Baltasar, and Jiggie Alejandrino and Noel Puyat (and partly due to advertisement), only one brand of tripod came to my mind: Benro. So when I got the chance to buy a tripod at Shangri-La EDSA, I immediately asked for Benro. That’s how advertisement affects a newbie photographer’s mind like me.

Well, I tried it first with my Canon EOS 1100D and it really doesn’t “sway” as hard as the competitor brand. The tripod’s material itself is thicker, thus I went for Benro. Here are the other specs of the Benro T600EX Photo & Video Tripod:

• 4 section tripod
• 3-way, 1 pan-handle
• Elevator type
• With water level and quick shoe
• Maximum height: 56.50” (roughly 4.70 feet)
• Normal height: 46.85” (roughly 3.90 feet)
• Folded: 22.44” (roughly 1.87 feet)
• Made by Benro Industrial Inc. (China)
• Weight: 1.46 kilograms
• Price: P1,200 (from Shangri-La EDSA)

I can’t wait to try my new tripod.

BuzzNet Tags: Benro T600EX,Gadgets,Ricky Ladia,Winston Baltasar,Photography

Canon Photoskwela Plus

Last Saturday, I was fortunate enough to attend a free basic photography lesson with such names in photography like Jiggie Alejandrino and Noel Puyat. This session was sponsored by Canon, the brand of DSLR I’m using.

The venue of this event was Manila Zoo and this is the 2nd time I’ve been to this place (more of Manila Zoo soon). I was surprised to find a Canon Multi-Purpose Hall inside the Manila Zoo!

What I like about this Canon Photoskwela Plus session was their “Snapshots to Photographs” concept. They defined the difference between snapshots and photographs and that the latter is properly thought of, has proper composition and followed certain guidelines. Jiggie Alejandrino and Noel Puyat encourage us to create photographs.

They’ve provided us with certain guidelines that helps create wonderful photographs such as:

1.    Simplicity – a snapshot may contain some clutters. We should take out these distractions on our photographs

2.   Balance – one side identical to the other side. Symmetry

3.    Rule of Thirds – they said that the human eye captures the Top and Lower Part of an image

4.    Light and Shadow – silhouette photos are still very good

5.   Recognizing Lines, Shapes and Forms – be observant of leading lines that leads to the subject

6.    Using Geometrical Shapes and Forms – pyramids, triangles

7.    Vanishing Points – like roads, railroads

8.    Textures – walls with patterns and grains

9.    Subject Placement – put the subject in the beginning and end of the picture

10.    Positive and Negative – the subject being the positive and everything else being the negative space

11.    Depth of Field – here’s where Boke comes in (Japanese for “quality of the blur”)

12.    Perspective – camera angle, worm’s eye view, use of tripod

13.    Shoot to Print – compose your photograph as if you intend to print it right away

They also provided other tips like never crop in the joint (elbows), having straight horizons (in landscape pictures) and to avoid over saturated photos.

There was also a product presentation from Black Rapid for their amazing straps. The main feature is that the weight is not focus on the neck but on the shoulder. Benro also presented their tripods and ways to maximize its use.

The last part of this Canon Photoskwela Plus workshop is the application of what we learned. We are asked to take some pictures of Manila Zoo and to submit one entry to the contest. We were given some chance to point out the things that can be improved in our photos.

The bad thing about this seminar is that, they intend to emphasized that the “other brand” (a.k.a. Nikon) produces photos that are “over saturated” and that having the “other brand” clean to a service center may take about a month. We’re all Canon users in this seminar so why such comments. Also, one of the attendees “accidentally” shot her subject wearing a Nikon camera and they made a few jokes about it.

Other than that, this Canon Photoskwela Plus photography session was good. They even gave away 3 Black Rapid straps to the top 3 photographs voted by us, the attendees. Unfortunately I didn’t win but I like my entry very much. It reminded me of their other concept saying:

“No one has the right to tell that your photography is ugly. The only person who can say that is you”

This was my entry. What a cute kid right?

  There are still two photoskwela sessions left – March 24 and 31. If you’re interested, simply submit the following information to photoskwelaplus2012@gmail.com

• Full Name
• Contact Details
• Camera model with complete serial number
• Preferred workshop date

BuzzNet Tags: Canon Photoskwela Plus 2012,Manila Zoo,Jiggie Alejandrino,Noel Puyat

Panagbenga Park, Baguio City

Panagbenga Park is a small park located at the corner of Loakan Road and South Drive in Baguio City. I stumbled upon it on my way to Albergo Hotel during the recent Panagbenga Festival. When in Baguio, I try to walk as much as possible since the climate and the place is ideal for walking.

It’s ideal for picnic and macro photography since there are a lot of flowers, plants, totem poles and butterflies in this park. There is a P10.00 fee if you want to visit the butterfly sanctuary. It’s not a crowded park so you could have a quiet time taking pictures.

I can definitely say that it’s one of the best parks in Baguio City. I have some good shots of the flowers and butterflies but I’ll just post them tomorrow. I’ll probably compile all the pictures of the flowers in Baguio City under one post or album.

 

BuzzNet Tags: Panagbenga Park,Baguio City,Totem Poles