PhotoWalkPro

I’m a huge proponent of keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop.  I use them all the time to quickly switch tools, create new layers, print my images, and a ton of other general tasks.  I don’t even come close to knowing all of them but I do have my favorites that I have memorized over time.  One task that I have to do a lot of these days is converting my images to a different color profile for my books so they can be printed in CMYK. Unfortunately there is no keyboard shortcut for this operation.

When I am working on a book, I will use this command about a hundred times. Since I like to work fast I figured it was high time that this menu function get its own keyboard shortcut.  Luckily this is a very easy operation in Photoshop.  I’m not sure which version started allowing for custom shortcuts but I can tell you that it is a fantastic feature that is pretty darn easy to set up.

The first thing to do is to open the Custom Keyboard Shortcut dialog box. You can acces it though the menu or by using the keyboard shortcut, CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+K.  Once it’s open, just look for the command that you want to add a shortcut to.  Each menu item is listed so it’s just a matter of locating it.

To add a shortcut, just click in the vacant area of that item in the same location that the other shortcuts are. A small text window will appear. The next step is to type in the shortcut that you want to use.  Here’s where it gets a little tricky.  There are already a lot of shortcuts already in use so you can either use one that you might never use in your day-to-day work, or get creative and come up with a unique one. If you type in one that is already being used you will get a warning message alerting you to which command that keyboard shortcut is already associated with.  You can go ahead and use it or try again.

In my case, I opted to go with OPT+CMD+Q, which actually let’s me activate it using just two fingers (I press the CMD and OPT keys at the same time with my thumb and use my index finger to press the Q key).

Now I can quickly convert my files to CMYK and move on to the next image with just a couple of quick keystrokes.

So next time you find yourself using a menu item a lot and it doesn’t have a shortcut, start working faster and smarter by making your own.

I was working on my next book this past weekend, the chapter on landscape photography, and I thought I would pass along one of the little tips that I wrote about.  It has to do with focusing while using a tripod.  Often times when I am shooting on a tripod I find that my point of focus is resting just outside of on of my focus points, especially if the main subject is in the lower portion of the screen.

Since I am a slave to my autofocus, what I like to do is loosen my tripod head and then put my focus point exactly where I want the point of focus to be.  I press my shutter release and focus the camera.  Then, before doing anything else, I slide my camera into manual focus mode.  Depending on the camera, this can be a switch on the lens or on the camera body.  After the focus is set to manual, I recompose my picture, lock down my tripod and take my shot.  If I hadn’t switched the camera to manual focus, the autofocus system would have tried to re-focus, possibly shifting my plane of focus to an unwanted area.

It’s not a very complicated process but it does make sure I get just the shot that I want.  Next time you are out working with your tripod, give it a try and see if it doesn’t make your life a little easier.

The last thing I did before leaving San Diego was spend some time at the zoo.  Yes, it’s true, I actually paid the $37 to get in but it was such a beautiful day and I had so much time to kill that I figured it would be money well spent, and it was.  I saw all of the great exhibits that the park is famous for and enjoyed the beautiful sites and sounds of nature.

There is one thing that you’ll see more of at the zoo than animals is cameras.  And it also seems that every time I visit a zoo, I see more and more DSLR’s.  With that in mind, I thought I would share some tips for getting better shots at the zoo.

1. To really get the type of intimate images that focuses on the animal and not the environment, you will want a long lens.  The longer the better.  I have three lenses that I use for zoo close-ups, a 70-200mm, 70-300mm, and 80-400mm.  Many zoo enclosures are designed to keep some distance between you and the animals.  A long lens will help cut the distance and get you close again.

2. If you are going to use a long lens, you might want to consider using a monopod as well.  Tripods can be cumbersome when getting through the crowds at a zoo.  The monopod option is easy to transport and still gives the measure of stability you sometimes need when working with long focal lengths.

3. Move close to the enclosure.  Whether it’s a wire mesh or bars, you are bound to get a better shot by moving your camera as close as possible to the obstruction.  The closer the fence is to the lens, the greater chance that it will be blurred so far out of focus that you won’t see it in the image.

4. Another way to help blur those obstructions is to shoot as wide open as possible.  This really serves two purposes.  First for the reason just mentioned, large apertures help blur objects close to the lens.  The second reason is to work with a very shallow depth of field.  This will help put the emphasis on the animals and off of the possibly distracting backgrounds.

5. Try visiting on an overcast day.  If that isn’t possible, try to work in the shadows if at all possible.  The truth is that many zoo environments contain open-air enclosures for the animals and are often in full-sun, which creates harsh shadows and very contrasty scenes.  Cloudy, overcast days, or shaded locations will provide more saturated colors, better details, and a better overall image.

6. Finally, be patient.  Find a good vantage point and don’t settle for whatever shot you can get.  Animals in captivity will move about their enclosures sooner or later and your patience will pay off in the end.  I have seen some photographers who have camped out for hours at the same enclosure just to get the perfect shot.  I’m not suggesting that but you should plan on spending some time to get good shots.  If an animal isn’t out where you can get a good picture, try swinging back later to see if the situation has changed.  I am betting that your persistance will pay off for you in the end.

The other day I was taking some pictures for the new book when I noticed that things just weren’t looking sharp.  I’m not talking about the images coming out of the camera, rather the actual scene I was looking at through the viewfinder.  At first I thought it was the lens focus but all of my images looked razor sharp on the LCD and again in my computer.  Then the thought hit me, maybe it’s not the camera, maybe it’s me.

In the past year or so my reading vision has begun to deteriorate.  Yes, it’s true. I am one of those people that now needs to hold things further and further away to see them clearly (luckily I have long arms).  I have resorted to wearing reading glasses for really small text but the thought never occurred to me that it would effect my view through the camera.  Sure enough, I made a minor adjustment to the viewfinder diopter and everything snapped into crisp focus once again.

Here’s a quick and easy way for you to check your diopter adjustment as told to me by my friend Anne Cahill from Nikon NPS.

♦ Locate the diopter adjustment for your DSLR.  It’s usually somewhere near the viewfinder and is either a slide or knob.
♦ Remove your lens from the camera.
♦ Now look through the camera and point it to a blank, light colored wall.
♦ Adjust the diopter until the auto-focus points and other markings that appear in the middle of the viewfinder appear sharp.

You should definitely consider doing this if you shoot while wearing glasses or your vision is changing.  Also, your knob or adjustment slider might just get moved over time so check it out and see what you’ve been missing.

Have a great weekend!

Have you ever looked at one of your images that was taken with a wide-open aperture setting and noticed that the focus is off?  Maybe it appears to be behind where you thought you focused?  This may be due to the lens system doing something called back-focusing.  Usually it’s not extreme and only really noticeable when shooting wide-open but if you are doing any sort of macro work, it can be very frustrating.  You can also have the opposite problem where the area of sharp focus is in front of the intended focus point, called front-focus.  The easiest way to check this is to print a focus chart, put your camera on a tripod at a 45° angle, focus on the center point using the auto-focus, with the lens set wide open, take a photo, and then look at your image on your computer at 100%. Read the rest of this entry »