Tag: #TCLive

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Live Show Recap: Colors

Colors! You guys really showed up for this one. There were so many great examples of color as a focal point. You can read my blog on it here.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: next week’s show is on Monday instead of Thursday as T&C will be traveling. The topic is nature.

We just got 700,000 YouTube subscribers, and that is weird and scary.

We got the GH5 in and did a comparison of it here. Justin thinks it’s great.

Chelsea goes over to me for questions because she loves my face:

  • I’m the bees knees and also, what is the best gimbal stabilizer for the GH5? No idea! But not the Nebula 4000.

Now to your photos, I’ll highlight our picks below:

Over to me for some more questions:

  • how did Justin join the Northrup crew? He is married to Chelsea’s ex-husband’s cousin! 

Time for a portfolio review. Framed Listings real estate photography, beautiful work! Dial back your HDR on some of these, just make sure you’re not losing all the contrast. Put your drone shots on the front page as well, people will love them. Great pricing page and about page. Maybe crop out that picture of you with phallic chips. Otherwise very impressive work!

Submit some non-photography Squarespace portfolios to us so we can review those as well.

Back to me for some comments and questions:

  • first a pick for Philly boy Bill Raymond’s crazy concert shot
  • compliments!
  • why do you think there aren’t photo travel shows, but so many cooking travel shows? No idea! It might be generational.

Diving back into the photos:

  • underwear
  • “look at this guy, his balloons matches his nips“
  • vase
  • “it’s not level, right?” “the world’s not level, it’s a sphere”
  • dramatic
  • blue gate
  • rainbow overlay
  • color block door
  • ahhhh dogs
  • Tony’s afraid of dead air
  • haha Chelsea made a bad lichen pun and Tony didn’t even flinch
  • “I’m gonna warm it up, now you have lifestyle kitty. This is Instakitty.”
  • sunset bridge
  • water droplets

Over to me for some questions:

  • Tony, what are your favorite video games? He couldn’t remember the name, but it’s Horizon. Apparently Chelsea’s mom is real good at killing zombies.

Back to photos:

  • they talked about animal surgery while Tony edited this picture
  • little girl in red
  • Tony’s brain is totally weird
  • gorgeous unconventional shot
  • Volkswagen
  • lava lamps?
  • London

Back to me for questions:

  • monitor calibration? We haven’t found anything. Just the free Windows tool.

Here’s another portfolio! Simplify your layout. White background, black text. Pare down your photos, only your best ones should be there.

Why would you do this to Chelsea?

Chit-Chat! You say things we say things back.

  • not fair!
  • really real
  • why does everyone think they’re siblings?
  • Stanley Q-Bert is back
  • Chelsea’s totally original composition

A few last photos:

  • roof tiles
  • man in front of a teal wall
  • “yeah, kids are always drinking things that should be eaten”
  • headphones

And one last question from me:

  • how should you price prints? That’s hard. Online prints don’t sell high at all. Prints bought in art galleries can be sold for much more, but it really depends on where you’re selling and your skill level.
  • And how should you price post-processing? Tony and Chelsea disagree! Chelsea says post-processing should be an add-on, Tony thinks it should be default.
  • someone needs to make a gif of Chelsea’s extended side-eye here

Sarah Bowman! Lovely work as always.

And that’s a show! We’ll see you on Monday the 10th for your nature photos. 

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Live Show Recap: Abstract

This was one of the most fun shows in a while, and that’s saying a lot cause we’ve had some great ones lately. Chelsea was on fire. Your photos were pretty good too.

I killed an ant. I have no regrets.

Here’s my blog post on shooting abstract. It was a fun project! Next week’s topic is colors, which means that color needs to be an important element of the photo. No spot color.

Ok, here’s some stuff about stuff:

  • we got a Gnarbox 
  • Tamron 70-200 f/2.8
  • Paperboyo on Instagram
  • no, we’re not getting this insanely expensive 8k monitor from Dell

Let’s get into your abstract photos and I’ll highlight our faves:

  • dogs > cats, fight me
  • street shot
  • rope
  • “how come I’m boozing and you’re losing?”
  • “this is where a super villain was born”
  • orange fusion
  • “finally, we found something to do with all those AOL CDs“
  • “what’s this, that Dance Dance Revolution game?”
  • whisk
  • dang, the most Tony joke ever
  • shooting stars
  • sand
  • Jim! This is your show.

Over to me for some viewer questions:

  • is there a way to eliminate glare in car photography other than a polarizing filter? Just use one. Or make a comp. Or roll the windows down?
  • how to start pricing for portraits or wedding photography? It depends on the market in your area, do some research and see what the going rates are.
  • would you still consider the D810 to be the best overall camera? That’s hard to say, different tools for different things, sdp.io/whichcamera. We’re loving the new Sony a99 II.

Now to look at a portfolio from our friend Jim Setzer. Great, eye-catching landing page! Well done with the layout, great image pairing. Maybe get that boudoir away from that family.

Chit-Chat! You know how we do.

  • we made Kyle cry
  • loners are real pissed at us, “I have learned tons from your books… DUMB!”
  • bad advice watch videos while you’re driving #nohomo
  • Q*Bert, Stanley Q-Bert
  • 8th mistake: a spot colored user photo, my dude
  • MisterTwister, why are obsessed with Tony looking wet? #lockherup
  • “just look up your comments, if it’s a constant stream of annoying, change your life”
  • Jim Bandy, what a good kid.

Ok, back to photos:

  • “we’re well hydrated”
  • “this is balls“
  • succulent
  • “Aardvark, is that really your name?”
  • “do you ever get tired of people asking if we’re brother and sister?”
  • I liked this one but they kept going
  • light trails
  • cell planets?
  • “Tony’s from Texas, he just knows about trucks”
  • paint
  • Fyn!
  • umbrellas
  • “I like it, it makes me feel lonely” “I would kill for lonely right now”
  • abstract bokeh
  • well done, James!

Over to me for your questions:

  • what files do you keep after a shoot? All the raw files. Tony rates them all and deletes all the 1-star photos. Chelsea doesn’t delete photos because people die.
  • We couldn’t break Kyle’s heart again, so here’s his photo. “I’d like to see a shark or a… a drowning person.”
  • have you used a tobacco filter? Nope. Blackmilk Pro filter? Nope.
  • how do you train your eye to see the spectacular in the mundane? That’s deep. Just practice. Pay attention to the feeling in you that sees something eye catching and then dissect what it was that drew you. 
  • shout out to Frankie
  • favorite travel camera? XT-2 or the D810.
  • Tony looks like a yoga instructor who only takes small classes into the mountains. “You look like a doctor who only prescribes boner pills.”
  • should the rule of thirds or the golden ratio be used in abstract photography? Not necessarily. And the golden ratio can peace out.
  • what are the best ideas to keep in mind while shooting and editing wildlife? Get the eye in focus, shoot action or unusual behaviors. Crop in tight. Capture a knife fight.
  • have we ever Photoshopped Tony with black hair and will we? 

Back to photos:

Back to me for some reason:

  • why is wide angle bad for portraits? Wide angle tends to exaggerate features that aren’t considered traditionally beautiful. Facial proportions being off makes most people feel uneasy. But experiment with it!
  • will you do another big lens shootout? Sure! We have a 70-200 shootout coming up. We need a Nikon wildlife one as well.
  • what’s Tony’s final form? Bald. Robot? Drunk robot? Chelsea would be AI who ruins everyone’s picnic.
  • switch to Sony? Depends what you shoot. Not great for sports or wildlife, but good for all-around shooting. Not as good lenses though.

Back to photos:

And that’s our show! Join us next week for colors.

Tony peels off a label for all you weirdos like us out there. Justin is a monster and leaves his on. Byyyyyye.

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Live Show Recap: Long Exposure

Chelsea’s back with a vengeance this week! This show was a blast. We looked at your long exposure shots and got some really great ones. There were so many picks, I’m gonna be drowning in this recap. Next week’s topic is “abstract.” No cats allowed.

Our Lightroom 5 paperback is on sale for $14.99! It’s the older version of Lightroom, but many of you still may be using that, so get it. Make sure to pick the Lightroom 5 version and the Paperback option from the drop-down menus. 

Lightroom 6 now has closed captioning on all the videos! I spent six months of my life trudging through doing that, so tell your friends.

Because of you all, we got to over 100,000 likes on our Facebook page! That’s great.

We put up a video yesterday about how the Sony a7S isn’t as great as everyone said and then Sony fanboys went bonkers so we took it down. But we’re gonna put it back up!

Chelsea taps on everything.

Photo news:

  • firmware updates announced for Fuji 
  • billboard magazine cover was shot with the iPhone 7 and people care for some reason

Chelsea asks me a question, which is “do you have any questions?”

  • are cheap teleconverters worth starting out with? Probably not. Just crop!
  • do you have the next location for Wanderlust? Not yet, we have episodes coming up and we are probably going out with the Lowenbachs in CA again!

Let’s get into your photos! I’ll highlight our picks and notable quotes below:

  • it’s aliens. Or a drone with sparklers attached “that seems super legal and safe”
  • lovely abstract
  • fireworks
  • Kaizen, will you stop harassing us now?
  • lightning
  • wedding kiss
  • Tony talks for a long time about dogs 
  • here’s that video about not needing ND filters
  • pick for two drinks
  • highway, I think Chelsea gives this a pick for her own edits
  • shoreline/skyline (yes, they know it’s New York, they’re trolling you)
  • cityscape
  • Chris Reddy, party with us, make us pancakes
  • stunning sky
  • keyboard “the future is blue, we know this”
  • another shoreline abstract and here’s the video Chelsea made on it
  • smooth water
  • “classic waterfall, don’t go chasin’ um”

More questions:

  • thanks for your super comments! I am the cat’s meow.
  • do we use the new version of Wirecast for the live show? Nope!
  • where should the focus be in a landscape? Wherever the focal point is!
  • the live show is crazy complicated, we can’t and won’t tell you how we do it.
  • my dog is a menace
  • what is one piece of advice you’d give to a young photog to go into it professionally? Tony and Chelsea are not cool and don’t know how to connect with teens. Depends on what you want to shoot, there’s no formula. Shoot what you love and hone your skills.

Time to look at a portfolio. Bev Miller, lovely images. Check your exposures though! Fix your menus, put in a picture of yourself. 

Chit-chat! The part of the show where we reply to your mean/dumb/confusing YouTube comments. 

  • Tiananman Square urban legend?
  • Sony sell outs! Or Sony shills? Don’t slap grey-haired men.
  • LMAO YOUR WIFE WANTS TO GO TO EASTERN EUROPE… I don’t understand 
  • mind your business! 

Super chats! Apparently this is part of our show now:

  • Tony is handsome
  • that car was a Challenger not a Charger
  • do our books and videos apply to video? Yes on the artistic bits, not so much on the technical stuff.
  • Tony, what’s the deal with your shirt? Buzz Aldrin made it.
  • HDR merging in Lightroom or Photoshop? Lightroom is quick and easy.
  • full frame macro on an APSC? Yeah that works.
  • a question for the group: would you pay to come on a shoot with us in an old mansion? “these people pay for questions, they got money flying out of their butts.”

 

Back to photos:

Chelsea keeps wanting to see me:

  • Nikon is better than Canon
  • I would fly from Texas to do that shoot
  • you should slideshow submissions in the background
  • what makes Chelsea cool is she doesn’t care about being cool
  • Tony’s shirt is a quote from Total Recall and he is very upset he missed it
  • my husband wants to know how you feel about the flat earth? He thinks it’s the shape of a tupperware.
  • what does an ND filter do? It’s like sunglasses for your camera. It smooths motion. sdp.io/nofilter

Back to photos:

  • star trails
  • Chelsea just Rick-rolled you all

Back to me for questions for some reason?

  • Tony is a fake nerd! Tony got a letter jacket for being a trombone player and a mathlete.
  • highest end camera with an articulating touch screen? Get a used GH2, or a G7 or a GH4.
  • why use a medium format camera over a full frame? Megapixels for large prints. 
  • lots of love for Rishi from DPReview
  • what does it mean to have a style in photography? You can’t unintentionally have a style, they are honed and rules are intentionally broken.

One more pick. 

And that’s our show! Next week is abstract. Thanks for joining!

 

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Live Show Recap: Lines

We’re back! Well, kind of. Chelsea got sick in Thailand and between that and jet-lag, she had to cut out before the live show. So Tony held it down solo this week, with the help of Justin and me of course. 

We looked at your “lines” photos, and there were some great ones. Next week we’ll be looking at your long exposures.

We enabled “super chat” on YouTube which is very weird. You can pay to have your comment highlighted, and the more you pay the longer it stays up, supposedly. 

Okay, we get into your photos here, I’ll highlight Tony’s picks below:

Over to me with your questions:

  • in short lighting, do you focus on the closest eye or the brightest eye? The closest.
  • how could a beginner get sponsored for travel photography? A beginner could not. You’d need a lot of experience and tens of thousands of Instagram followers.

Now to chit-chat, the part of the show where you say dumb things to us and we make fun of you.

  • why does Tony always look like he just got out of the shower?
  • do you fall asleep to camera overviews? “Tony the living sleeping pill”
  • HDR hate
  • 90’s choker trend
  • Tony should dye his hair

Ok, time to look at a portfolio! Way too long of an intro to that video, but good job bringing in the action. Gorgeous film reel! Maybe try a different layout for your photos, square crop doesn’t work with everything. Beautiful shots. Tony discriminates against left-handed people, so good job leading with that.

We get back into your photos here:

Back to me for some questions:

  • what would be your perfect camera? You can see his answer here. The closest so far is the Sony a99 II.

Back to your photos:

Last questions from me:

  • how much scouting do you do before traveling? A lot! Google Earth is a great resource, looking at other photographers shots from the same place, hire a model in advance.
  • there’s a Northrup Photo sub-reddit, if you’re a redditor.
  • congrats, Jim! 

And that is our show! Whoo, Tony deserves all the beer for that one. Thanks for watching, and join us next week for your long exposures as well as the triumphant return of Chelsea.

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Live Show Recap: Landscapes

I think I can say that we’re on a roll lately. It might be the whisky. We looked at your landscape photos this week, and you all really showed up. There were some great shots!

Also this episode, Chelsea reveals that she is a part-time ghost. We won’t be on next week as Tony and Chelsea are traveling, but the week after that (March 16th) we’ll be looking at photos on the theme of “lines.” So lines need to be the main compositional element of your shot, not just incidental.

We start the show off with chit-chat, to get Chelsea’s spirits up. It seems to work:

  • T&C should make a baby because they have too much time on their hands? Seems like a reasonable solution.
  • Balki Bartokamous. Cousin Larrying is a real term, we swear.
  • angry Pentax users. I’m sure that person is really a lovely woman.
  • boring focus breathing comment
  • Tony’s dad is a bobblehead
  • very mixed reviews of Tony and Chelsea’s voice
  • Pauline is hella positive

Okay, let’s get into your photos. For some reason they keep putting them in alphabetical order, sorry guys!

  • gorgeous fog over the water
  • “Rock Ness Monster”
  • I think they forgot that picks were a thing for a while here
  • silhouette
  • rolling hills
  • Justin does a great Windows 98 impression
  • Fyn sent us a calendar! It’s gorgeous.
  • Table Mountain
  • “set up a tent, live your life there”
  • “HDR is like plastic surgery, you only notice the bad stuff”
  • don’t Bart Simpson us
  • a gorgeous sunrise
  • “that gets a picture from me”
  • this just in: Nikon Snapbridge still sucks
  • windmill

Over to me for a question:

  • Nikon wants to focus on higher end cameras, what does that mean for consumer cameras? We need better bridge cameras with smooth touch screens and intuitive controls. 

Now for a portfolio. Janis Farhat, we are so so sorry about Chelsea’s pronunciation of your name. It all goes downhill from here. Lovely portfolio though! Turn off auto-scroll, choose a different first shot. Tony’s hair is like a fluffy cloud. “Very slimming to cut your body in half with the sun!” Great work, get rid of your drop menus and have them each be one page.

Hahaha Chelsea is losing it over “Janus” being a name. We all have dumb names.

 

Back to photos:

  • infrared
  • how can we tell what spectrum of colors animals see? Science!
  • “I only see light that bounces off of predators, should I go to a doctor?”
  • “she’s my little goose poop”
  • Taranaki
  • C is not in the middle of the alphabet
  • “I saw that movie, that’s where the demons come from”
  • dad heaven
  • “backbutt”
  • this would be so good without that fake moon
  • dramatic sky “that’s what my soul feels like when I’m going through a spiritual conflict”
  • sun and church
  • foggy road

Now some questions from me:

  • expose for the sky or the foreground? Expose for the brightest part and raise shadows in post.
  • why don’t you use super expensive cameras like the Phase 1? Because they’re intimidating and expensive. We’d love to try one though!
  • a version of this show where T&C are Chef Ramsay brutal
  • if you had to choose, do you sacrifice composition or light for a landscape? Composition.
  • what motivates you as a photographer? The feeling when you get the shot you’re going for. Competition with yourself.

Back to your photos:

Back to me for some reason?

  • relevant to Janus
  • a confusing drone question for Justin
  • which of the new Sigma lenses are you looking forward to? The 24-70 f/2.8
  • Chris Reddy, will you make us pancakes?
  • infomercials for the books? 

And back to photos:

And your last questions:

  • can you bracket with a moving subject? No! But you can shoot raw, make virtual copies in LR and then adjust the exposure and blend them together.
  • how do you make money from landscape photography? Stock photos, open a gallery in a tourist town, get a job at a national park? Education, workshops. Add a model and sell them as ads.

That’s our show! Join us in two weeks for lines.

 

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Live Show Recap: Black & White Part 2

You jerks got an extra show this week because YouTube is the worst!

We reviewed your black and white shots again this week, and we have a new way to submit photos! Straight to Dropbox, no password and we got a flood of images. We also streamed live in 4k this week for the first time!

In a mere 2 days, we’ll have another live show on landscapes.

Chelsea mentioned that I like “ranchos” and if you don’t know what those are, ask me about it. I will extol the virtues of my new favorite show to you.

Photo news:

  •  Go buy our Lightroom book on sale! sdp.io/lr and it’s only $19.99 for the paperback, PLUS 10% off if you use the coupon code YouTube.
  • Fuji X-T20

Ok, let’s get into your photos:

  • lovely portrait
  • “that’s super timely” in response to Tony mentioning Laverne and Shirley
  • bridge and fog
  • film noir
  • “I bet he flips tires at the gym“
  • “you thought you could sneak spot color by us, Pedro! No sir.”

Over to me for some questions:

  • why does lens compression happen? It’s because of the angle of view. I can’t type out this explanation for you.
  • opinions on the new digital medium format system? Tony’s excited to see something new, but wants to give it time to develop fully. Also medium format files are huge.
  • what should we expect from HighRes scanned film pictures? Digital is just better.

 

Back to your photos:

Time to look at a portfolio! Mason Unrau. Gorgeous colors and lighting in your shots. Great full screen layout, not too many shots on the front page. Wonderful portfolio!

Over to me for some questions:

  • one of your top three places you want to photograph in your career? African safari, New Zealand, Iceland.
  • Photoshop composites? Great!
  • mirroless, M6 vs M3? The M6 isn’t out yet!

Back to your photos:

  • face in the crowd
  • storybook
  • oncoming train
  • snow and fog
  • portrait reflection
  • maternity
  • Shanghai
  • illegal miner “what’s he mining?” “From the look of his fingers it could be chocolate?”
  • “that’s why I named our daughter Aardvark”
  • old-timey kid
  • old-timey man
  • environmental portrait
  • “this rope is dope”
  • “mom. give me back my Pokemon Go account”
  • “this makes me want to get new perfume and go clubbing“
  • landscape
  • lake view
  • “oh, I didn’t now I had this fear” “He’s like the ninja turtle that the other ninja turtles wouldn’t accept”
  • spooky baby
  • “this guy’s good“
  • no one knows, but I have a one inch by one inch camera
  • next week, dogscapes
  • lovely urban portrait
  • and another!
  • thoughtful kid
  • izquierdo= left
  • “how do you know no animals?”
  • volcano
  • “like, if someone broke up with me I’d go look at this rock” “someone?”
  • Zach Divine “thanks, dad” “you made me take the last name Northrup, the whitest name for the coolest girl” “I like how he has a military haircut“
  • “Zachary Stoner, now there’s a name you can really get behind”
  • gorgeous overhead shot
  • “and our channel will be so much more popular when it’s called Divine Stoner”

Over to me for some more questions:

  • least favorite gadget? This is a tricky question for us to answer on air…
  • trip to the US for street photography? New York, of course!
  • any trouble traveling with gear? Flying home into Boston once, but no, nothing really. 
  • what is the one thing you wish you knew when you started shooting? That the most important factor of your photograph is the subject, and the art. To shoot what you love, not what you think you should shoot.

Now some speedy photo reviews:

  • kids
  • skateboard
  • Zakim
  • buoy
  • dodgy birds
  • “that’s too much book”
  • bus
  • “Jack Brown, but he also is a cop.” “But not he kind that’s gonna hassle you.”
  • “everything you can’t explain in your picture is ghosts”
  • Hyper-speed round
  • elephant
  • spaghetti slurping
  • “Tony likes old people“
  • “this owl will murder you”
  • happy dog
  • “did you know my dog has his own Instagram, but I don’t know who owns it? It’s not weird.” “It is weird, but you should check it out.”

And that’s all! Our show is called Divine Stoner now. Join us on Thursday for your landscapes.

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Live Show Recap: Storytelling

Hey there! This show was fun, although the topic proved to be a bit tough to meet. Although every photo may be a piece of a story, we were looking for photos that conveyed a full story in one shot. You can see my attempt at it here. Next week we’ll look at your black and white photos.

First off, photo news:

  • Canon announced three new cameras: EOS M6, T7i and the 77D. Meh.

Let’s look at some pictures:

  • “this is the story of a child born from the sea”
  • “I’ve always wanted to be someplace where monkeys are a pest” “You’re gonna be patient zero of something with that attitude”
  • street kid
  • “this is principle buzzkill” “ten kids a year die from graduation hat related injuries”
  • firefighter practice
  • eeek
  • win
  • protest
  • “oh my gosh you darling dandy”
  • BLM <3
  • “when you’re cruising on your bike and you need to stop and grab a banana”
  • basket carrying
  • “I lived that life, I’m gonna give it a pick”
  • “is this for real or is this like Plymouth Rock?”
  • “oh my god, what is she gonna do with that rock? This is a terrifying story.”
  • ghost dancer
  • “oooh, they’re mole people“
  • “he caught a dog! My dream come true.”
  • dog envy
  • Tony has limited Spanish understanding
  • this is how you lose her

Time for chit-chat! You know the deal.

  • this is a real slang roller coaster
  • Tony sees dead people
  • omg you guys actually learn things from us sometimes
  • “if it’s never happened to me, it doesn’t happen!” You’ve obviously never heard of the Craigslist killer.
  • couples counseling
  • don’t listen to torque of the devil
  • “slightly less-chill Tony”

Let’s go over to me for your questions:

  • where are you travelling next? Charleston for fun, Thailand for work.
  • stop spot metering.
  • we are totally in control of how our cameras make us look
  • Flashpoint strobes? “I like things that are the same but slightly different” “You must be a big fan of Canon” “And pop music!”
  • where to order from and ship a print? Congrats on a sale! Get a pro account from Mpix.

Time to review some portfolios! We do a few this week, quickly.

  • Bryce: lovely portfolio, not too many pictures, varied subjects. Just unify your layouts.
  • Infinite Photography: interesting, surreal work. Pare down your portraits a bit, lead with your marketable work. Put a shot of yourself on your contact page and add a pricing page.
  • Kyle Medina: great cover page, maybe simplify the layout. Your work is beautiful! 
  • Capture Candy: great shots, edit your about me page so it doesn’t pop out, simplify your categories and pare down photos. Great, diverse work though!
  • Maya Rose Bird: you’re the best! Lovely work, great layout. You’re a pro! 
  • Jordan Brown: nice, simple layout. Just pare down a bit, maybe make just one portfolio page not separated into categories. Great shots!
  • Chris Reddy: hi friend! Nice full screen layout. Pare down some shots, make your sub-menus your main menus. Good work!
  • Mordini Photo: beautiful work, nice full screen layout, take out the projects menu and just put up your subjects. Add your name and a photo and some personal info.
  • Sebastian Le Calvez: good layout, wonderful shots. You have a great eye.

Some more questions:

  • Fyn is Flynn now. Kyle is Lyle. Up is down. Cats are dogs.
  • what’s the deal with flying drones near heliports? 
  • what’s your favorite animal? Tony’s are red pandas, baby rhinos, and dogs. Chelsea’s is Alex the African Grey Parrot. He’s ded tho.

Back to your photos:

  • Miss America
  • hike
  • hockey
  • “he has to wear that skirt for medical purposes”
  • drone selfie
  • Chelsea forgot that picks were a thing
  • “this is Westworld. He’s gonna go do awful things to a robot.”
  • soccer death
  • invisible
  • whistling at the woods
  • the set up
  • “is this also Westworld?”

More questions:

  • hiiii Roxy!
  • any tips on product photography? Lighting is key. It’s really difficult, avoid reflections and dust.
  • add your location to our Stunner map! sdp.io/stunnermap

More photos, speed round:

And that’s our show! Next week is black and white photos. Have a great long weekend!

Chickens in pants.

 

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Live Show Recap: Animals & Wildlife

Animals, you guys! What could be a better topic? Nothing, that’s what. Animals are great. We had SO MANY submissions this week, so I’m very sorry that statistically, you did not get yours seen. But you got to see cute animals, so no one lost.

We have a few topics up for the next two weeks live shows, next week is Sports and the week after is Storytelling. You can see the upcoming topics here.

Photo News:

  • Our friend Chris Gampat, the Phoblographer, has an analog zine coming out! You can fund it and get a copy at sdp.io/zine.
  • “Here’s a story I personally related to as an astronaut and a dog lover.” Leland Melvin is an American hero.
  • Beyonce is having twins and got some real weird pictures taken by Awol Erizku. All hail Queen Bey.

Here’s Justin entertaining you while Tony imports pictures.

Ok, let’s get into your photos:

  • this sweet angel pibble
  • “Justin, I love you cause you think I’m funny even if I’m not”
  • Buffalo goes viral
  • damn, Kyle. This is a great sea lion.
  • “some of my closest friends are groundhogs”
  • backlit moth
  • and a backlit monkey
  • dragonfly
  • “bokeh balls”

Time for chit-chat! The part of the show where… ah you know what it is:

  • let’s celebrate Tony getting his drone certification! 
  • how bow dah?
  • pantsuit Chelsea
  • “I HATE GEAR NERD AND TEACHER”
  • nobody cares about digital anymore?
  • did radiation make Tony’s hair grey?
  • listening fatigue victims

Comment tips!

Now over to me for your questions:

  • Roxy!
  • food photography lighting?
  • how do you keep wildlife shooting interesting? Shoot new species, try to get your best shot of each.
  • when you first started shooting, how did you get outside your comfort zone? Have man confidence. “If someone else deserves to be mediocre, I do to!” Take classes to expand your focus, shoot for contests like DPReview. Shoot with groups.
  • culling process for your shots? Weed out the worst shots based on focus or framing, depends on the subject. Use star ratings to keep just the best.

Let’s look at a portfolio! Peter Bartlett. Great macros! Pare down the wildlife shots, one per species. “I wanna know about you. You’re a flower.” Most people don’t leave the first page, so maybe have one main page of your best shots. Great work!

 

Back to your photos!

Back to me for some questions:

  • YouTube paid comments? Oh good, people with money can be heard.
  • Tony, why you no do astrophotography? Because NASA is doing what we need.
  • You can see Eric feeding my dog
  • classic camera posters from Etsy

This dog is my favorite.

Tony hates ostriches and had a dog growing up named Willie Nelson.

And that’s our show! We love your animals. Join us next week for sports.

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Live Show Recap: Shadows

Hey there! This week was a fun one, I love more abstract concepts like this one. This week the subject was shadows (you can see my blog on the subject here.) We got some great submissions. Next week we’re doing natural framing, which I love!

AHHHHH the first 4 episodes of our new travel show, Wanderlust, are out now! Only the first episode is listed, but there are links below each video with the link for the next episode, shhhh.

In two weeks we’ll have the very talented fashion photographer Roxy Rodriguez on the show!

Ok, so we start the show, inexplicably, by going over to me with a single question:

  • plans on going south for the solar eclipse? Nope!

Ok, let’s look at your photos:

Now for some photo news:

Now some chit-chat! The part of the show where you say things and we make fun of you maybe:

  • how to turn on notifications for YouTube channels? Click the little bell next to the Subscribe button and choose “turn on notifications”
  • tips on how to be chill like Tony? Have a cool hobby, be Tony.
  • Captain and Tennille of photography? “Are his eyes real or is he one of those cave cats?”
  • millennial hate is booooooring
  • who is choosing our thumbnails? No one! They’re arbitrary. “Yeah, we’re not great at YouTube stuff.” “I don’t know how we got here.”

More questions?

  • any tips on lighting senior citizens? Don’t underestimate people’s vanity. Side-lighting is a no-go. Use a big softbox on axis with the camera if you’re looking to eliminate wrinkles.

Now let’s look at a portfolio! Hey Matthias, that’s a weird way to sign off. Lovely shots. Kinda weird layout, but great having the images full-screen. Pare down some images, combine the categories, simplify.

Over to me for a few more questions:

  • wanna visit Dubai? Yes.
  • any tips for shooting a wedding on top of a mountain? Pack light, dress accordingly, bring oil blotter sheets. Use Google Earth to figure out the lighting and landscape to plan ahead. Watch your alcohol intake in high altitudes!
  • how do you see the future of photography due to people learning online? Chelsea says better work due to more people being educated and exposed to it. Trends come and go quicker, they make people have to be more experimental. The format is a good challenge.

Back to your photos!

  • two of a kind
  • motorcycle selfie
  • mirror image
  • ski lift (Kyle Medina!)
  • parkour 
  • oh heyyy I got a pick! “Girls are so smart.”
  • three men accidental composition
  • “they make these goofy dummies look like big dangerous animals“

Questions:

  • rude dudes
  • how to overcome photo pricing low-balling? Call um cheap. Let them go with the better deal, you can’t convince someone of your value. Some projects are worth parsing out with them though, you can’t cheap out on a wedding.

Back to your photos:

A few last questions:

  • wildlife body? D500 for flying birds, but the 5DSR is the home set-up for backyard perched birds.
  • how to get shots of running dogs and get the eye in focus? Your focusing points make all the difference.
  • rumored RGBW sensors in future cameras? Yes! Very technical explanation to follow.

Speeding through shots at the end of the show, here are some standouts.

And that’s our show! Check out Wanderlust at sdp.io/WL1 and join us next week for “natural framing.” Thanks guys!

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Live Show Recap: The Right Light

Hey y’all! We had an early show again this week, sorry if you missed it, but we’ll be back at the regular time next week (Thursday 5pm EST) reviewing your spoooooky photos. If you want to see what the next show is each week, check sdp.io/live or subscribe to our YouTube channel to be informed!

This week we covered “the right light” which were photos which capture the perfect light. We got a ton of great submissions and I’ll highlight our favorites in this post.

Only one bit of news this week, Kodak announced the Ektra, a smartphone that is made for photography. Tony is switching back to iPhones! 

Ok, let’s start looking at your photos:

Over to me for some of your questions:

  • will Chelsea sing a lullaby for a fussy baby? Nope.
  • why aren’t you drinking? Because we’re adults with jobs!
  • what cool gear did we see at the expos? Nikon 70-200, Sigma 85 Art Lens, radio triggered studio lights. Chelsea did try to steal some new Olympus gear, but they were just displays.

Ok, time for a portfolio. Add more pups. Great wildlife shots and portraits! But Robert, jeez. Lay off the drama in your artist bio. Add some pricing. “I’m slowly dying inside. Hire me.”

“I want to hear from Siobhan, remember her?”

  • shooting jpeg with the new X-T2? Nah, stick with raw.
  • blindfold your friends and make them try wine

Back to photos:

  • get a fog machine to make god-rays
  • orcas are crafty as hell
  • the hillllls are alive
  • creepy bus light

Back to me for some questions:

  • y’all aren’t funny
  • Profoto ocf flash systems? Yup. But Godox is cheaper.
  • what is the best tripod for self defense? Three-legged thing if you want to damage their ego.
  • favorite location for the perfect light? Ledgelight lighthouse.

Back to photos:

Last minute questions:

Blowing through photos at the end here, lots of good ones.

Ok, that’s our show! Spooky pictures next week, Thursday 5pm EST.