Every week, I tell myself that this time, I’ll do it. I will heed the call, that so faithfully appeared in my inbox. The weekly challenge from one of the first web 2.0-style photography communities: Photo Friday. I’ve been a member for years and used to submit my contribution on a regular basis.

I should probably describe the concept, which is as simple as they come: Every week, a theme is posted, and it is your job to shoot it and post it on the internet. Once that’s done, you submit the link to your photo on the Photo Friday website. Then you (more…)

Rob Sylvan is one of the nicest people, I have ever met. I am lucky enough to work with him at iStockphoto, but even before we started working together, Rob was one of the first people there I started talking to. Back in the day, we raced towards the silver canister. He won.

But none of this is really important. What is, however, is the new Lightroom 2 for Dummies book, that Rob Sylvan wrote. It’s available for pre-order now, and without having seen it myself, I’d be willing to bet that it’s well worth its price. I know how dedicated the author is to his work, and the general quality of the Dummies series, and the combination can’t be anything but a winning one.

You should check it out.

Rasmus Rasmussen is on loan from iStockphoto, where he is part of the image inspection team.

Yesterday, I reported on the new Canon 50D. Nikon announced their new bid for a DSLR at the same time, the D90. Compared to the 50D, this is a smaller camera, both in price and resolution (12.3vs. 15.1 megapixels), but it does have a couple of unique and interesting features.

My personal favorite is the GPS, which allows you to geotag your images. This is especially cool for press coverage and vacation photos, where pinpointing the exact location can prove useful later. Though I doubt the D90 is good enough for actual press work. In the end GPS is mostly a gimmick (more…)

Canon finally released the official press release detailing the newest in its line of DSLR cameras, the 50D. This is a camera in the prosumer class, aimed at the serious hobbyist. It sports a 15.1 mp DIGIC IV sensor capable of shooting at ISO 12800, which should allow for some crazy cool high speed photography. Canon promises low noise due to the newest generation sensors, though because this is not in the pro-series, the sensor is not full frame but has a 1.6x magnification factor.

There are two interesting new features on the camera, that are cool for different reasons. The first is the new CA-mode, which allows people who have no clue about the technical aspects of photography, to still play around with creative settings, such as darkening/lightening of the image, depth of field etc. Initially, I thought this was a stupid idea - why not encourage people to learn instead of dumbing things down. But then, after mentally comparing to a lot of the photos (more…)

Sometimes you have to stress a little to get the best results. I find that to a certain extent, the more I work, the better I get. Not just because I learn new stuff, but because I get in The Zone. You know. That place where everything just flows effortlessly, yet you’re completely sober and in the moment. And the work that comes out of that is usually some of my best. So it makes sense to try and set up my schedule around this pattern. Kind of like walking away clears you head when you need it, staying in The Zone has the opposite purpose (more…)

Writers need a break between finishing the first draft of a new novel, and editing their work. To get a little bit of distance, means a clearer mind when it’s time to put on the critique-reading glasses. Plus, by taking a break, the writer gets some much needed time to recover from the hangovers, after celebrating finally finishing that first version.

It’s not hard applying this taking-a-break technique to photography. The lesson is simply this: Have (at least) two photosessions going on at the same time. By that, I don’t mean actually shooting on two sets simultaneously. Instead, this is how it works: You shoot session A, go home and unload your images. And leave them there. Then, you open up (more…)

Everyone knows Photoshop is a great tool, and that you can keep learning new ways to use it. But where do you turn, to find new methods, knowledge and tutorials? There are lots of places to look, and one of my recent favorites is PSDTUTS, with the fitting tagline: Spoonfed Photoshop.

Here you will find an ever-growing list of tutorials covering everything from re-creating effects used in popular ads to using Photoshop’s 3D capabilities. Plus a lot of stuff in between. And to make things even better, they have a Photoshop wiki as well, which includes a guide for absolute beginners. I highly recommend spending a while exploring this site and their wiki. Good stuff!

Rasmus Rasmussen is on loan from iStockphoto, where he is part of the image inspection team.

On July 29th, I posted that I was going to take part in a photo contest. To sum up: I am doing it, because I feel the need to try something new and different. To challenge myself, hoping to walk away from it with renewed motivation and inspiration. At least a little bit.

Ever since announcing my intention, I’ve been struggling to find just the right image. And I went with the one showed here. There are three reasons for this. First up, it’s a Holga shot (a requirement for this particular contest), secondly (more…)

I was pointed to an article originally meant for designers, but also very useful for stock photographers. A lot of us wonder what designers are looking for, but for some reason, I never thought to check out tips and tutorials written for these people. As it turns out, there is good information to be found there.

In this case, the article shows how to design a trade show display, starting with a photo that works in a three panel setup. Basically, it shows photographers how using the rule of thirds can affect more than just getting a nice looking composition. It can also serve as a base for an entire design.

A quick search for graphic design tips brought a slate of tutorials and articles, many of which probably hold useful info for those of us providing the designers tools to work with. So, today’s tip is: Study graphic design, even if you’re a photographer or an illustrator and don’t do design work directly. It will help you think like your clients.

Photo credit: DSGpro.

Rasmus Rasmussen is on loan from iStockphoto, where he is part of the image inspection team.

I’ve mentioned Justin Horrocks a few times already, but in case you don’t know him, he’s a fellow photographer, iStocker and all-round good guy. We recently agreed to start doing a monthly shoot together, just to see what might come of it. We recently made our first attempt.

Originally, we’d been trying to cast a couple of models, but for several reasons (one of which being, that we were a bit slow in contacting them) we ended up with no one but each other. But then Justin said, he was in need of a new profile picture (more…)