Quick Hit Monday: CS5 Installs; LR3 On A Network - NOT; Webcast and Photowalk Updates; and More

Good Morning Everybody,

I hope everybody had an enjoyable weekend. I didn't have a wedding this weekend and spent most of Saturday installing and checking out the new CS5 features - pretty darn cool.  The install went smoothly and CS5 seems to loaded quickly even on an older WinXP machine.

I've only given it a quick once over, but as I get more "under the hood" I’ll post my thoughts, recommendations, and tutorials as to how CS5 works for a Wedding/Portrait studio.

One thing I like with the new CS5 is the Help section.  I was trying to see how to make better selections for a project I was working on.  I hit the help button, found what I was looking for, and just followed along with the video tutorial. Easy, problem solved - pretty cool.

I also started playing around with some of the new built in adjustment presets.  There are several for curves, levels, etc. They really worked well.

Hey gang, after reviewing the calendar this week is shaping up to be a pretty busy week so let's get started with today's post.

Photowalk Update

I can't believe it - since I announced my Cincy Photowalk last Thursday, it is nearly full!  There are still approximately 17 places available, so if you want to join us for a fun walk you better get a move on and get signed up real soon.

You can REGISTER RIGHT HERE – only a few spaces left!

Fast and Easy Album Design Webcast Update

Hey folks, we have nearly 600 attendees signed up for my upcoming Fast and Easy Album Design Webcast  scheduled for June 23, 2010. I'm putting finishing touches on the program this week.  Album design is a topic you don't see discussed very often.  I'm not sure why.

Today’s wedding photographers are selling more than just images.  We are also selling the finished presentation of that album to our clients.  And that presentation becomes a reflection of our photography, professionalism, and style.  That's why good design is so important to us at David A. Ziser Photography.

Plan to take a little time off and join me for next weeks program. It will be fun and informative.  And, did I say we're giving away $1,000 in door prizes live on the air during the program. You must be present to win.  My thanks to all the sponsors who are supplying the door prizes and especially I want to thank B&H for upping the ante which their 2 - $50 gift cards.

You still have time to register right here.  Remember,  only the first 1,000 registered will be able to get in the "webcast room".  Don't be left out in the cold, Register today!

Hey, There's A New Lighting Book In Town

It's not by me but it's about lighting.  While surfing' the web this past weekend, I came across a post by Chris Barnes at his digital imaging blog.  In addition to giving my CBTL book a nice nod, he went on telling his readers about another book he had discovered on lighting entitled, Lights, Camera, Capture.  Here is the link to his post.

I got to know Chris when he attended my Master Class a few years ago.  In addition to being a really nice guy, he also really knows his stuff.  He is an Adobe Certified Instructor and Certified Internet Webmaster/Instructor. Chris’s blog is easy to follow as he has a nice way to find little nuggets of good info out there for photogs.  I just ordered my copy of Lights, Camera, Capture Chris is raving about and I can't wait to receive my copy. 

Installing CS5, Keep It Simple

Steve Herzberg of Prairie Fire Productions has a good blog “cooking” right here with lots of great content.  He just recently posted a nice article on how to make your install of CS5 proceed very smoothly [link].  I'm sure all your software installs go off without a hitch - right?  Hey, if they do, you can skip the article, but if you're like the rest of us, any amount of advice for program installs is worth it.

The biggest thing when installing a new version of Photoshop is getting all the actions, presets, and third party plug-INS reinstalled.  I'm glad I gave his article a read, it sure made my CS5 install go off without a hitch.  Thanks Steve.

Lightroom 3 On A Network - Revisited Again

I wrote on Friday that one of my BIG disappointments with LR3 was the fact that it didn't work on a net work.  A few DPT readers commented that LR3 DOES WORK on a network.

Well, not really, Let me clarify that a bit.  Yes, you can have you images stored anywhere on your network as we do at my studio. The problem lies in the fact that the LR3 Catalogue file must reside on the local computer. Not good when you're running a studio with 5 workstations.

We literally copy the main Lightroom catalog to the local workstation and work from there.  It's kind of a pain though when you start having more that one LR catalogue floating around because someone wasn't careful and you've got different changes made to two different catalogs. Unfortunately, that has happened more than a time or two around here.

I'm planning to do a Technique Tuesday on just how we operate and navigate our Lightroom workflow in spite of this ongoing shortcoming of Lightroom.  I'll keep you posted.

When mRAW is Good Enough

Last week I mentioned how I used my iPad to really woo the clients at last week’s wedding.  One of my commenters caught my remark about having 1,100 images on my 16 gig card.  He said he can only get 600 on his 16 gig card.  Well, he's right if your shooting full res RAW files.  I shoot most of my images in mRAW mode.  Heck, 3,888px x 2,592px is more than enough file dimensions for great results.  Hey, that's the size of the old Canon 40D RAW file.  Bigger is NOT always better.  Many times, it’s a lot slower. 

PhotoProExpo Summer School Next Week!

Hey, just a quick reminder, I hope to see you local guys and gals at our PhotoProExpo Summer School this upcoming weekend in Lexington, KY. I'll tell you, $109 for two full days of learning is one “steal of a deal”. Hey, and dinner is included on Sunday evening too.   All info right here!  You can find the complete two day schedule right here!

Speaker Tim Priest on Weddings and fashion - Wow!  Speaker Beth Forester on Seniors – Wow!  Four shoot-outs with Tim, Beth, Jessica Vogel, and Tim Walden - Super Wow!  Also included is a special program on what's new in CS5 with Photoshop guru Scott Walz and I’ll do a presentation on what's new in LR3.  Come on gang, it's gong to be a great weekend you don’t want to miss.  Register today! I hope to meet many of you personally on Sunday, June 20 and Monday, June 21 in Lexington, KY.

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Hey gang, that's it for me today.  We've got lot's of projects on the "front burner" this week, so I’ve got to get moving.  How about I see everyone tomorrow for another episode of Technique Tuesday.  Tomorrow's program is from our DPT request line.  The topic - "Posing and Lighting Large Groups!"

See ya' then,  David