Category Archives: Recent

The Art of the Twilight Shot

Nothing quite sells a set of photographs like a twilight shot. It is often referred to as the money shot because most clients swoon over it. On a recent shoot for Jackson Dean Construction, I was given the instruction to get many angles of the exterior. But when I got there, I realized that there were few angles and they would all have to include the front facade to hold any interest. Therefore, with a limited number of angles, I decided to shoot a couple of times throughout the afternoon and ending with the twilight shot above.

The prime objective of the twilight shot is to balance the exterior and interior luminance. This can occur anywhere between 1 hour before sunset to one hour after. It is also dependent upon the Sun’s setting direction and the geographic features in it’s path. I  recommend disabling the auto focus because it can get dark enough to throw it off. Rather than resetting your color balance to 3200° (tungsten) I recommend leaving the setting on daylight (5000°) to warm up the building. Then you can desaturate the red/yellow from the tungsten sources in post. Finally, make sure you are set on a tripod, in place, before this time occurs because, depending upon the time of year, it may only last for about 5 minutes.

 

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DPA Lightroom Fundamentals

Saturday April 14th 11am-3:30pm – $125

At Adobe Systems as a contractor in 2007, I had the privilege of working on Lightroom’s launch. Many of us felt that this is what Photoshop should have developed into. Both programs are great but if your focus is photos, you need Lightroom. The cost factor aside: the code is lighter and the algorithms are much more effective in many of the functions. In addition, Lightroom has great tools for metadata, keywording and databasing. From photo pro to interested hobbyist, this is the one program you’ll need.

Before                                                                                                    After

This course is for all levels. There will be plenty of time to work on your images, ask questions and have nagging issues resolved. You must bring a laptop with Lightroom 3 already loaded (a free trial is available at Adobe). PCs or Macs are fine.

©Eric Sahlin

In the LIBRARY module we’ll cover

-Import Dialog
-Renaming, changing order, rating, keywording, organizing, synching metadata and comparison functions
-Quick Develop
-View Options
– Collections and Exporting

In the DEVELOP module we’ll cover

-White Balance, Tone, Presence, Tone Curve, HSL/Color/B&W, Detail, Lens Corrections and Camera Calibration.
-Localized corrections
-Synching corrections
-Panel control
-Output to file, Facebook, Flickr and SmartMug

In the SLIDESHOW module we’ll cover

-Options, Layout, Overlays, Backdrop, Titles and Playback
-Adding Text, Music and Templates

In the PRINT module we’ll cover

-Layout Style, Image settings, Guides, Page and Print Job
-Templates and customization

In the WEB module we’ll cover

-Layout Styles, Site info, Appearance, Image Info, Output Settings and Upload Settings
-Flash, html and user templates as well as custom plug-ins

There is no doubt that Lightroom will change your workflow and will truly “Simplify photography from shoot to finish.”

We will break a half hour for lunch and my studio is close to a number of restaurants.

Eric’s studio is located at:309 4th Street #108 Oakland, CA

For more information or to register contact our student Liaison at 877.372.2231 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 877.372.2231 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

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1000 Broadway Ave.

I was recently hired to shoot the Trans Pacific Center at 1000 Broadway. Of course it had to be done on a very busy intersection and during the winter. In the northern hemisphere the sun is about 23° further south than in the summer and unless you have a south facing building, at least half will be in shadow. In addition, this was a block size building and the sun rose right above it. I solved this problem by shooting an additional sky and striping it in.

The backlit shot of the building with a custom lens shade -my hand.

I liked the original sky with the sun flare

Final

After blending the two images with a coupe of others and after a little more work on perspective and lighting, I arrived at the final image. Customers today won’t accept an average shot which requires Photoshop work to make it acceptable.

 

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DPA Special Class: Landscapes at Point Lobos

Saturday and Sunday, September 24th & 25th  – $150

Point Lobos State Reserve is just south of Carmel, California. It is what famed landscape artist Francis McComas’s called “The greatest meeting of land and water in the world.” When going there you are travelling on the same paths that enticed Ansel Adams and Andrew and Brett Weston. It has the best vistas per foot walked than any other park in California –and it’s small enough to make a complete subject within a day.

I will lead a small group of digital landscape photographers through the park over a 2 day period.  Everyone will assemble at the Sea Lion Point Parking area in Point Lobos at 1pm on Saturday for a brief overview and shoot until sunset –and perhaps a little after that. Warning – the park does have a car limit and if you don’t get there early you may be waiting until someone exits or walk in from the road.

The next day we will meet at Katy’s Place (Mission Street between 5th and 6th) for Breakfast in Carmel at 7am or at Sea Lion Point Parking at 8:30am and shoot until noon. This will give you the full range of light in the park.

Subjects covered include:

Research and pre-planning
Mapping shots and going over the kit
Interpretation and composition
Composition techniques

This is open to all levels but a working knowledge of your camera is required. Please bring your standard kit including some long lenses like 200mm or longer. But please only bring the kit you are prepared to carry. Although this is a small park, there will be a fair amount of walking. Please bring comfortable shoes, water, hiking snacks and a light Jacket.

Accommodation can be readily found in Monterey and Carmel –here is a list of recommended places:

Carmel Mission Inn
Carmel Lodge
Carmel Wayfarer Inn
Bay Park Hotel
Hotel Abrego
Hotel Pacific

The accommodation, travel, meals and park entrance fees are not included in the pricing and are up to you to make the arrangements.

Register online at: www.digitalphotoacademy.com, or via email: info@digitalphotoacademy.com, or Toll Free: 877.372.2231.
This also makes a great gift for the photographer in your life. Gift certificates are available from DPA.

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DPA Composition in the Field – Assignment: North Beach

July 16th – 10am-2pm – by DPA Instructor Eric Sahlin$99

Imagine that you’ve been hired to shoot photos of this colorful, little Italian neighborhood in San Francisco for an article in a national magazine. I will lead a small group of photographers on a rewarding quest to fulfill an assignment for a fictitious magazine.

Saints Peter and Paul Church from Coit Tower

Mona Lisa Restaurant Signage

Mona Lisa Restaurant Signage

TransAmerica Tower and Columbus Tower

Subjects covered include:
Reading and interpreting the assignment letter

Mapping shoots and preparation

Interpretation and composition

Negative space for copy

Releases and how to determine if one is needed

Composition techniques

Review of the shots and how to finish the assignment

Vesuvio Mural

We will start at the La Boulange in North Beach, have a short meeting there and go out for the morning shots, then lunch at TBD, then out for the afternoon shots – finally reviewing the days shots at the Caffe Trieste.

Cafe Trieste sign

There will be quite a bit of walking so wear comfortable shoes. Please bring only the kit that you can carry and it is expected that all the attendees know how to operate your own cameras.

Mural

Bill Weber’s Jazz Mural

Strip Clubs on Broadway

The Old Strip Clubs along Broadway

Register online at: www.digitalphotoacademy.com, or via email: info@digitalphotoacademy.com, or Toll Free: 877.372.2231.
This also makes a great gift for the photographer in your life. Gift certificates are available from DPA.

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Eureka! And the North Coast

For years we’ve been devoting our 3-day get always to going South along the coast. This year we decided to venture up North for a change of pace.

Although it’s a very long drive it is well worth the journey. The images can be seen here in the  Eureka/North Coast Slideshow

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Brazil Building

East Bay Regional Park District

East Bay Regional Park District – Brazil Building

The Brazil Building was the last of four sites shot for the East Bay Regional Park District. It is located in area of the park where the sun strikes the front fully only for a short period of time. In addition, it is a very busy facility so we had the additional challenge of working in between functions. The interior also presented some challenges: the side panels we covered in a dark Brazilian mahogany which sucked up quite a bit of light.

East Bay Regional Park District

Brazil Room – Tilden Regional Park

 

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Sage Electrochromics, Inc.

Sage Electrochromics, Inc. is a glass manufacturer that specializes in glass that can be electronically tinted to control the temperatures in the building. I was contacted through their PR agency: Gallagher Group Communications who needed the shots on a tight timeline. The tinting takes about 20 minutes and is pretty dramatic.

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