October 2013 Newsletter

Go Pro 3 Plus, Software, Apps…

Now I am at the end of a very busy period with my photography and video business, I can finally find time to write our October 2013 Newsletter. This summer I shot some amazing weddings in some very cool venues. I'd like to share some experiences with you that may help with your business.

I felt really inspired by these weddings to make more of an effort to market for higher end weddings next year. The tremendous amount of work that I put in certainly justified a higher earnings potential. I am sure that much of my competition doesn't do quite what I do.

Also, on occasion, I feel a bit despondent with my general photography. This is mainly due to me not getting out with my camera "for me" as much as I would like. However, when I do, it all comes rushing back to me and I feel like that excited 13 year old just starting out again.

Technology

Technology also means less to me these days. It is more about me being out with my camera looking for "that shot" than it is playing with new technology and gimmicks. This is why I still love the old Canon EOS 5D Mark II. I am constantly amazed by the quality of images coming from the sensor at each wedding I shoot. This leads me to believe that the longer you own a camera and the more you use it, the more you "become at one" with it.

Constantly chopping and changing equipment in the vain hope that it will make you a better photographer is a waste of time. Spend that time getting to know the kit you have. Once you reach a certain point of awareness, you can concentrate 100% on being creative and really looking at what is around you.

This makes photography a whole lot more fun!

Ok, I am going to stop rambling on now and get on with it. In this newsletter:

Wedding Photography Case Study 2

How can a wedding go so wrong and then go so right.

Go Pro HD Hero 3+

I was expecting and looking forward to the next Go Pro being released before Christmas…and it was. Building on the excellent quality and features of the Hero 3, I thought there may be a few major overhauls such as:

However, even though one or two of the above were added, the changes were only incremental. For me, a little disappointing.

The fact that they called the new camera the HD Hero 3+ leads me to believe that there is another, bigger upgrade coming in the new year perhaps. So, will I get this camera or wait for the "real" upgrade? My answer could be obvious when you read my edits (in italics) in the following review suggesting that the camera loses focus after around 4-7 metres…!?!?

New Go Pro App, Firmware and Software Update

The App

The Go Pro app has always been pretty useful in my opinion but there were a couple of niggles that I could do without. The lag of around 4 seconds from camera to device for one. However, Go Pro have now updated the app to improve this as well as a few more features:

(1) Compatible with videos captured in select modes only.

I have used the app for controlling 2 Go Pros (one from my iPhone and the other from my iPod and now my Samsung Galaxy S4). They work great as long as you are in range. Just remember to turn the sound down on your phone because that can startle you when the wedding ceremony starts. I should know…oops!

Editing Software

Apart from the fact that they make amazing cameras, I love Go Pro. They give you stuff for free such as the afore-mentioned app as well as some very cool editing software. Not everyone had video editing software because it can be quite expensive. When Go Pro give something away this good therefore, it's worth getting hold of.

GoPro Studio 2.0 Edit Software is now better than ever and they have even populated it with their own videos. This means learning the ropes is easy as all you have to do is replace their videos and music with your own. The software is essential if you intend to shoot in one of the Cine modes or 4k as it will allow you to output to a more suitable and useable format.

Key Features

Go Pro HD Hero 3 Firmware Update

Nothing much to say here other than Go Pro have made a few minor updates to the Go Pro HD Hero 3.

Magic Lantern for Canon EOS Cameras

Before I start, I have to include a caveat here. This software released last year adds some really cool functionality to your EOS camera. However, Magic Lantern hold no responsibility for broken cameras.

Saying that though, I know a few professionals that use Magic Lantern and have no problems at all so check it out. Also, the fact that Magic Lantern is installed on your memory card and not your camera makes it easier to uninstall if you don't like it.

Cameras supported:

Note: You MUST have the latest firmware for your camera installed. For the 5D Mark ii that is 2.1.2

Seeing is Believing!

You have to try Magic Lantern, it will give your EOS camera a whole new lease of life. My 5D Mark II's are now like new cameras…better cameras. I can change video frame rates up to 65 fps for great slow motion or down to 1fps for super speeded video.

I can use the camera as an intervalometer, I can have…well, there is simply far too much to say about all the features now available. It is amazing and I would highly recommend you check it out if you want to get super creative with your Canon DSLR!

I love it and think a full review of this is in order for the future. For now though, go to their site, download and install it (it's free) and have some fun rediscovering your camera and all the things it can now do.

Fotor

Fotor is a very cool piece of free software for editing photos on your PC/MAC. It is also for using your IOS or Android phone through their free app. It is rather basic but can add some nice effects and adjustments to your images. As well as frames, tilt shift effect amongst others.

For me personally, I think the app is more useful than the computer software. This is because I use Lightroom and Photoshop with professional actions such as Kubota Image Tools for my photos. However, for the beginner or someone wanting a play…not bad.

Like I said, the app is better as it will transform your phone camera into something a bit more fun and creative. A handy feature is by using their camera, you are able to have the light on whilst taking pics instead of flash (which I like for some reason).

In fact, the camera option reminded me a lot of the camera in ISO 7.

Being someone who is always a bit dubious about free stuff, I questioned their motives. How is the reliability and privacy of the app? All, it seems, is well. They give away a nice piece of free software as a kind of "loss leader" in the hope that you will check out their other "paid for" products like HDR Darkroom Pro 2 (Edit 2018/19: They are now on version 3).

Property Photography

Have you ever thought about doing some property photography for a living? If so, you should start by reading our guide to property photography and then check out the following article. You should then explain all of the information in the following article to any future clients : )

Major Overhaul of ATP

Ok, now that the wedding season is over, I plan to give ATP its biggest overhaul yet. This is number 5! It has been more than 5 years since the last overhaul and this time I am going to make it stick.

It will be more user friendly with more frequent updates and reviews and a ton of new articles and tutorials. I even plan to have some people as members who can create articles and content for us from within the site itself. So, if you are interested, drop me a line (if you can't find my contact details, the jobs not for you ; )

I reckon it could take a few months but I am going to use this quite time of year to crack on so watch this space!

Inspiration

I love this guy's blog and "Oh to have the time to do this". You never know, I may do the same for Weymouth one day…lol. Check out his amazing work here, great stuff! Humans of New York

Other October 2013 Newsletter News:

Cheers and until next time,

Nick - All Things Photography. P.s. If you want to keep in touch until the next newsletter, please like us at Facebook and share this newsletter with your Facebook friends: