Photo Expressions

Great Video Photo Tips

Here's a bunch of great video photo tips for you to enjoy.

You can also find them on our website at:

www.photoexpressions.ca > Photography > Photo Tips > Video Photo Tips

Or by bookmarking them here.  Enjoy!

Fireworks Photo Tip

Heading to the fireworks at English Bay?  Check out this photo recipe from Karen:

ClickFree and Breathe Easy!

OK, here is the coolest new photography product: ClickFree backup DVD's!

If you have listened to us at PE preach for the last few years, you know we always say the following:

1 - Back up your photos!
2 - Do something!

Stats show that 90% of North Americans are not even doing a basic backup of their digital photos.  Why?

1 - We don't ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO, so we don't, because...
2 - We have so very little TIME to DO STUFF...
3 - Which leads us to be OVERWHELMED AND DO NOTHING!

If that describes your photo backup strategy, you are not alone.  Don't feel guilty, get backup!

ClickFree Backup DVD's are so easy to use, all you do is put the DVD into your burner and it automatically does the rest for you!  That's right, it searches your hard drive for photos and videos and backs them up while you live your life.

At $13.99 for a DVD 3-pack (which will back up about 6,000 photos), that's a great pennies for peace of mind trade!  You can buy them in the Photo Express store or on our website.  Start backing up today!

You can also get the 120GB hard drive version at PE (that's over 50,000 photos).  Here's a video:

Trust us with your Memories,
Ron C

Calibrate Your Monitor

Are your greens blue?  Are your brights dull?  Are your blacks grey?  Are you scratching your head about it all?

If you are serious about photography, graphic design or digital scrapbooking, then you want your monitor to be calibrated with a "hardware calibrator".  At Photo Express we use and recommend Pantone Huey monitor calibrators.  They work with CRT "box" monitors, LCD "flat screen" monitors, and laptops, and are easy to use right out of the box.

Here is a commercial:

Both the Pantone Huey ($119) and Pantone Huey Pro ($179) are available at Photo Express, both in-store and online (click the links above to purchase online).

The Pro version adds multiple montior calibration, built-in advanced help features and user-defined Whitepoint and Gamma targeting.  If that means something to you, go for Pro, if not, go for the original Huey.

Trust us with your Memories, and your monitor colour,
Ron C

Golden Ears are Ready For You!

Oh yeah, after a dusting of snow last night, it was -4C and clear this morning, so as per my own advice I took some photos on the way to work!

If you don't subscribe to our Photo News, you may have missed this article on getting that great shot of these great mountains in winter (to subscribe or update your preferences, please visit here).

By the way, the below photo shows 2 pictures straight out of the camera, the left side without a polarizing filter and the right side with a polarizing filter.  As you can see, it makes a big difference to the sky in particular, but also to the details in the snow.

You know how the weather is around here, so don't delay if you want a chance at getting that perfect photo of the Golden Ears mountains in winter (you may want to drop by PE for a polarizing filter first!).  And remember, it isn't the perfect photo until it's a print!

Trust us with your Memories,
Ron C

More Flash Photo Tips

Here are some nice flash photography tips from Fujifilm, just in time for Halloween.

Ron C

6 tips to capture birds in flight

Love this shot of the owl taken by Jim Neiger.  Click here for 6 tips for these great action shots.

Michele

Better Fireworks Photos

The folks at Lexar (maker of high quality memory cards) have published an article by pro photographer Jeff Cable on capturing 4th of July fireworks.  Well guess what, Canada Day fireworks are kind of the same so here is a link to the article!

Trust us with your Memories,
Ron C

Pet Photo Tips

Here are some nice tips on pet photography from our friends at TakeGreatPictures.com.

Trust us with your Memories,
Ron C

New Mothers Day FREE templates for Tilano

Tilano Fresco now has  Free Mothers Day templates online. The templates are free, easy to use, and help turn any work of art into a total masterpiece. You will find the products at PE and we can also do the copying to the transfer paper for you as well.

Here are some photos of the other templates they have also (Mother's day is too new to have samples yet).



While the results are stunning and look very difficult, if you can hold a paint brush and "swoosh" your hand back and forth, you can "Tilano".

Michele

Digital Boot Camp

Digital Boot Camp is happening Saturday April 5th at PE .  Classes include Intro to Digital Photography, Capture your Photos, Release your Photos, Foto Depot Upload and Order, and Foto Depot Share and Edit.  Everything you need to help you create and do something with your digital photos.  Take one or take all of them, whatever works for you.  Hope to see you there!

Digital Boot Camp Details  . Sign up in person, phone 604-463-3654 or email info@pephotos.ca.

Trust Us With Your Memories,

Michele

What do I do with all these photos?

Put your hand up if you have photos in boxes, drawers, envelopes...everywhere.  Put your hand up if you have a hard drive full of photos (aka your cherished memories).  I know this is most of us.

The problem becomes, the longer we do nothing about them, the more overwhelming it gets.  And then our photos become nameless photos in some Estate sale somewhere because nobody knows what or who they are about.

To help you get started on the road to enjoying all of your photo memories and the stories that go with them, Photo Express has declared April to be "National Memory Keeping" Month.  Well it isn't "national" but it should be!  We are offering 3 FREE classes to help you figure out a way to do something with your photos so that everyone can enjoy them.  (And isn't that why you took them in the first place?!)

Here are the class descriptions, registration is a must as space is limited. (604-463-3654 or scrapbooking@pephotos.ca. ) Tell everyone about them - the first two especially are NOT just for scrapbookers.  They are for ANYONE who takes a photo, especially the first class called Memory Keeping 101.                    

Memory Keeping 101 ($15, 2 hours)  
*FREE for the month of April - Must register, as space is limited*
Wed Apr 9th 9:30-11:30am; Fri Apr 18 7-9pm; Sat Apr 19 9-11am      

Have you ever wondered what to do with all of your photos that are currently sitting in shoe boxes or on your hard drive? Are you overwhelmed with the amount of photos you have and not sure what to do or where to start? Come and learn about the many options available to you for safely sharing and storing one of your most precious possessions - your photos and all the memories that go along with them. We will discuss and view samples of all the options available to you - regular photo albums, scrapbooks, photobooks and digital scrapbooks - all designed to share your stories and safely store your photos. You will explore simple solutions, quick and easy solutions, crafty solutions, classic solutions, and electronic solutions. There is no right or wrong way to present your memories - just safe methods for one of your most treasured possessions. Join us and learn which system is best suited to you and your needs. Items to bring - your questions.

                 

Intro to Scrapbooking ($15, 2 hours) 
*FREE for the month of April - Must register, as space is limited*
Wed Apr 16 9:30-11:30 am or Thurs Apr 24 7-9pm          
Instructors: Michele/Kate   

Come and learn what scrapbooking is. We’ll show you many different ways to scrapbook, from basic and simple, to more artistic and creative. Everybody can scrapbook – not just artistic people and not just females. Whether you have no spare time, some time, or ample creative time, you will learn a system of scrapbooking that will work for you. You’ll learn about the basic supplies that you’ll need to get started and create a simple yet lovely layout in class to take home with you – ready for photos!

Getting It Done ($15, 2 hours) 
*FREE for the month of April - Must register, as space is limited*
 Friday April 4 7-9pm, Thurs Apr 17th 9:30-11:30am
Instructors: Michele

          Come and learn a system to make it super easy to co-ordinate your paper and supplies into your very own “kits” so that your scrapbooking time is more productive. Bring 2 sets of photos with you and learn how to choose co-ordinating patterned paper, cardstock and embellishments to help you “get it done” with much less frustration and wasted time. This class is great for the beginner, intermediate or 'seasoned' scrapbooker, who is wanting to learn some valuable skills for becoming more productive and getting more done! Class size is limited to 6, so register early (If you are attending That 70's crop this is an awesome way to see how you can bring minimal supplies and some "page kits" and actually get layouts done at the crop!)

I hope you will join us for these informative and inspiring classes and bring along some friends or family members who are overwhelmed with all of their photos.

Trust Us With Your Memories
Michele

Good example of what a flash does

I was looking through some of my Maui photos (and wishing I was back on a beach!) and I came across this good example of why using a flash is so often a good thing.

Here is the no flash photo and flash photo

Both are great photos, the flash one just shows off her skin and gorgeous blue eyes better.

Michele

12 Photo Tips of Christmas

1. Have fun!  As your family's CMO (Chief Memory Officer), take the opportunity to document the holidays from your unique perspective. Also, make sure you get out from behind the lens and into some pictures yourself!

2. Candids! Candids!  When amongst family and friends, pretend you are a paparazzo (with manners) and go for those journalistic shots where the subjects are not posing for you.  People talking, laughing, being together.  The natural results will be very pleasing.

3. Take a picture of your decorated living room every year.  It will make for great memories in later years!

4. Your camera's factory settings for file size and compression are almost always the best for general shooting.  Don't be tempted to turn down the quality to get more pictures on your memory card.

5. Take closeup pictures of the Christmas decorations in your house.  They make really cool scrapbook page elements!

6. Don't always crop close to your subjects.  Looking at photos from the past, we like to see the styles of the day.  Christmas is the one time of year when almost everybody takes out their camera, so take advantage of capturing your customs and fashions from year to year.  Your grandkids will appreciate it!

7. Use your flash on a sunny day in the snow!  It may sound crazy, but the brighter the conditions, the more shadows can appear on peoples' faces.  Using your flash can help to fill in the shadowy areas.

8. For a beautiful picture of your Christmas tree, try turning off the flash and using a tripod.  Or, you can set your flash to "night mode", or "slow" mode.  Click the picture on the right to compare the results.

9. Photo Express is not open on Christmas day, so make sure you have enough memory and battery power on hand (hey, maybe you're getting a 4 GB memory card for Christmas!).  It is a good idea to charge up your batteries before you start your holiday traditions.  If your camera uses AA batteries, you can use alkaline batteries in an emergency.

10. Focus, then recompose.  Put your intended subject in the centre of your viewfinder, then press the shutter release button half-way to focus (this may seem obvious to a lot of us, but a lot of people aren't aware that pressing the button half-way allows an autofocus camera to search for a focus point).  While keeping the button half-pressed, you can now move your subject to a more interesting area of the picture.

11. Try several different angles or zoom positions to get that perfect shot.  Standard photos of smiling people holding presents make great memories, but try to go outside the norm as well.  Candid shots, photos of children taken from down at their level, closeup shots of Christmas baking, Christmas cards, etc, make wonderful additions to scrapbooks and albums.

12. Don't let bright Christmas lights fool you.  You generally need to use your flash when taking people shots indoors.  Make sure you are within acceptable range (see article on flash photography here) to avoid underexposure.

Christmas Concert Photo Tips

 

It's that time of year, when parents squat their way to the front of the school gym to get a picture of their little angel, battling bad angles, low lighting and elbows all the way.  Here are some tips for great Christmas concert photos:

• Bump up the ISO.  ISO settings affect a photo in 2 ways: how much light is let into the camera, and how much "noise" will appear in the picture.  A higher ISO setting will let in more light and also allow more noise (noise appears as random coloured dots).  I would personally rather have a sharper picture with a bit of noise than a smooth, blurry picture.  So take your camera off "Auto" or "100" ISO and try changing it to "400".  Make sure to change it back after!
• Get as close as possible.  You know all those parents who sneak up to the front row to get pictures of their children?  They are doing a good thing.  Christmas concerts tend to be dark, so you need to be as close as possible for your pictures to turn out.
• Zoom with the feet.  You might be tempted to use your big zoom from the back of the gym, but keep in mind that the more you zoom in, the less light reaches the camera, which can lead to blurring.  You are best to crawl up the aisles.
• Got image stabilization?  Use it!  What a great invention this is.  It counteracts the shakiness of your hands to create sharper images.
• Here is the Flash Rule: if you are within 15 feet of your subject, flash will make your picture look better.  If you are further than 15 feet from your subject, flash can actually make your picture look worse.
• Sit in the front row.  That's how I got the picture above! (and I used flash).

Trust us with your Memories,
Ron C