See Dave Do

Tag: photography

  • Editing Photos For Instagram [FREE PRESETS]

    Editing Photos For Instagram [FREE PRESETS]

    Hi there!

    Guess you came here to find out either A) how I edit my stuff or B) Improve your editing skills. Or maybe you just came here because your bored and feel like reading something I wrote haha. Ok, well let’s get into it then!

    Regardless if your platform is web, Instagram, print there are a few things you can do to ensure your photos are awesome from the start. First is probably the biggest one, START SHOOTING IN RAW! I find too many people still shoot in JPEG, and I mean it’s fine if you’re just shooting for fun and messing around. But if you want to get the most of out of your shots and your edits, shooting raw will give you the range to do so. The dynamic range you can get is incomparable to JPEG for those that don’t know. you can save a lot of photos that are underexposed or overexposed. Especially if you are shooting with a flat colour setting. You can always bring colour back into your shot if you’re shooting raw, and you will save a lot of the blacks and highlights.

    Here are some examples of before and after shots I took as well as the settings I used to shoot them.

    This is the power of RAW, I”m sure some of you are saying “Yeah I can do that with a regular jpeg image too!” Well yes and no, you can still brighten and edit and bring it up. However due to the limit in information captured, once you start pushing the whites and black in the image you’ll start to see banding and much less dynamic range.

    I will make a video soon just to go over my personal workflow and how I go about editing photos using Lightroom soon, so stay tuned!

    But for now, I will save you some time and give you guys a few presets you can use for your raw files. Note that presets aren’t a magic solution! Learn how to make your own and you’ll be better for it. Also, be mindful that presets won’t magically make your photos better, I’ll have a few presets for lighter photos as well as a few presets you can use for darker photos. Please leave a comment below if these helped you out at all, also let me know if you guy would want some editing tutorials or more presets to help you guys out.

    Orange Teal Presets

    Dark Photo Presets

  • How To Get Those Dope Instagram Shots

    How To Get Those Dope Instagram Shots

    If you follow me on Instagram, what you may not know is that i take a lot of my own photos. Having been a full time photographer for some time, I know how difficult it is to communicate your vision for a photo to someone shooting for you. So what are your options? Shoot it yourself, although not always possible, usually it is! First off, you’ll generally need two things, a solid tripod, and a shutter remote, or a camera with wifi remote capabilities. Manfrotto has always been my go to as far as tripods go, they make reliable product that lasts forever and can take a beating. if you are cost conscience go with one of the lower end Manfrotto tripods, although investing in a proper tripod is super important and worth the money.

    When it comes to remotes, regardless of camera brand they all generally have proprietary remotes you can purchase fro your camera. If not there are always 3rd party ones you can pickup as well, the best part is you can get remotes for under $10. However with the advances in camera tech, most cameras these days come with Wifi included so they generally come with an app to control your camera from the comfort of your phone.

     

     

    Now as far as setup goes, it’s super easy! frame your shot, test the lighting and make sure it’s exposed correctly. Then all you have to do is pose and shoot. If you are running the remote from your phone you’ll be able to see the frame on your phone screen and frame it  as you shoot and you can get the exact shot you want. Alternatively you can also pickup an external monitor and have it face you if your camera doesn’t have a flip screen on the back. I recommend Neewers field monitor, I’ve been using it for a while and enjoy it quite a bit.

    Give it a go and let me know what works for you guys!

  • New Gear I’m Picking Up In 2017

    New Gear I’m Picking Up In 2017

    So for all of you that follow me on Instagram you know that I love taking photos and recently have started shooting video projects (mostly for Mel). So I figured I would layout some items that I’m thinking of picking up to add to my arsenal of awesome stuff in order to be able to create great content!

    So what do I want that I don’t already have?! Well truth is that I have everything I need to shoot photos, but now that I’m starting to venture into the world of audio and video, I noticed that I’m lacking a few things if only just to make life easier for myself. One rule that I have mostly followed is not buying high end stuff unless I know that I will need it right now. As you may know, I have recently partnered with Amazon and become an Amazon Associate so I will be bringing you cool stuff that I come across, and purchases I plan on making on a variety of things so stay tuned!

    DJI Phantom 4

    Lately I have fallen in love with drone footage, the amount of amazing B-roll you can shoot using one of these bad boys is absolutely incredible. I have the DJI Ronin Gimbal and strongly stand by their products, so naturally I’m inclined to pickup one of their drone units.

    Neewer 7″ HD Monitor

    Now that I have a DJI Ronin, first thing I noticed that it’s pretty damn hard to look at the onboard screen to monitor video scenes as they are being filmed. To get around this I’ll be picking up an external monitor that I can mount on the Ronin itself and not only can I monitor, it’s also like twice the size!

    Neewer 18″ Ring Light

    This one isn’t so much for me as it will be for Mel, she has started shooting more and more Youtube videos with her talking into the camera, outfits videos, hauls, etc. This ring light will provide all the necessary light needed in order to properly expose a scene.

    Rode Video Mic

    Audio is probably one of the most overlooked areas when shooting video, as such unless you want to invest in a body pack lav kit, this is a great alternative especially if you are shooting on location.

    Aputure LED Lighting Kit

    Again another set of lighting, because at the end of the day, light is everything when it comes to photo and video. I will be booting up some shows for clients, this site, and my gaming site, so investing in a good set of lights is essential. especially now that LED continuous lighting is more readily available and pretty affordable.

     

    Polaroid Variable ND Filter 77mm

    Complete control of lighting on bright days is UBER important! variable ND filters allow you to determine the light that your lens has access to. Think, sunglasses for your camera!

    Amazon carries these along with a wide range of other products that suit most budgets. So don’t forget to check the reviews on products before you buy and make sure to do your research and you’ll be sure to find stuff that suits your needs!

    What gear will you be picking up this year?