Astrophotography Top Software for Taking Pictures of the Night Sky
May 18, 2015 Donald Scarinci

Taking good pictures of the night sky is not only about camera technique. It is about knowing what to shoot and how to edit the pictures you take. Here is a brief overview of good software programs to identify the shot and edit it in post. Selecting Your Subject Matter While purists may want to learn how to read the night sky, most prefer to rely on computers. There are a number of applications and other software programs that can direct you to interesting subject matter that is viewable in your area. Below are a few to check out: Star…

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Model Release Model Release: There’s an App for That
December 22, 2014 Donald Scarinci

Model releases are an important legal tool for anyone who plans to use their photographs for commercial purposes. The legal contracts protect photographers from a variety of legal claims, such as invasion of privacy and defamation, by memorializing in writing the rights and obligations of the subject and the photographer. For photographers who don’t want to carry around a stack of documents, “there’s an app for that.” In fact, there are several. While mobile apps may not be sufficient when photographing professional models, they will certainly do the trick for street photographers and other professionals who shoot on the fly….

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Software Imagenomic Introduces Noiseware for iOS
April 7, 2014 Donald Scarinci

Imagenomic introduced Noiseware for iOS in January. The app allows iPhone and iPad users to reduce or eliminate the noise in their images right from their devices. “Noise” in a picture is those tiny dots that make it look grainy.  It most commonly occurs in pictures that are taken at night or in dimly lit area areas. Sometimes “noise” is hard to notice on the small iPhone screen, but when the pictures is posted on the web or copied to your computer, those tiny dots look like you took the picture in snow storm or like you lost resolution on…

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Software Perfect Photo Suite 8: Another Essential Photo Editing Tool
December 30, 2013 Donald Scarinci

For photography enthusiasts black Friday was very bright.  The Friday after Thanksgiving saw the launch of Perfect Photo Suite 8 out of Beta and ready to use. For most photographers with a basic knowledge of Photoshop, plug ins like this one, NIK or Topaz are excellent solutions that offer fast and effective editing for busy photographers  For hobbyists who prefer to spend their time outside with a camera rather than inside behind a computer, these plug ins are essential. The Perfect Photo Suite is a complete photo editing solution, which is designed to make your pictures look the best, whether…

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Software Three Photo Apps You Should Download Today
December 2, 2013 Donald Scarinci

There are currently more than one million applications, or “apps,” available on Apple’s online storefront. Thousands of them promise to make your photographs look like works by Ansel Adams or Annie Liebovitz. So which apps are actually worth downloading? Below are three that actually live up to the hype: Camera Plus Pro: The Camera Plus Pro application is a comprehensive update to your iPhone camera, which costs only $1.99. Some of the most useful features include a timer, anti-shake, focus lock, and gridlines. You can also touch anywhere on the phone screen to take a picture. When it comes to…

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Software Google Adds New Software to Nik Photoshop Plug-in
November 18, 2013 Donald Scarinci

Most photographers spend as much time editing pictures as they spend taking them. Many will agree that learning Photoshop is more time consuming than learning how to take great pictures. That is where Photoshop plug-ins come to the rescue. Nik software is a plug-in that is accessible through the “filters” dropdown menu in Photoshop. It uses the same control point technology that Makes Nikon Capture so easy to use. The paintbrush is still available for creating more intricate masks, but the control point produces a perfectly acceptable result in much less time. Since Google bought the Nik Collection and lowered…

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Software Learn Photoshop with Maria Ferrari
August 19, 2013 Donald Scarinci

They ranged in age and profession, but all have a need and desire to understand this important but complex program and to pick up a few tricks and tips from a professional. Maria Ferrari teaches Photoshop step by step by working with the program in real time on a big screen. She begins with setup and proceeds to the most commonly used features. Even though I thought I knew most of the features she covered in the first class, I left with new information that is now part of my Photoshop workflow. There are more books and more online training…

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Software B&H Photo Releases App for iPad
August 5, 2013 Donald Scarinci

“There’s an app for that,” even for browsing and shopping for photography gear. Who ever thought that retail stores would begin to use the Apple platform for advertising and selling their goods? The progressive thinkers at B&H Photo have created an app to do just that. It is a fair assumption that if you are serious about taking photos, you have already visited the B&H Photo and Adorama Camera websites. Both are located in Manhattan and both offer just about every product available from every manufacturer of photo gear. B&H Photo’s retail outlet in Manhattan is often referred to as…

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Software Perfect Photo Suite 7 Reinvents Digital Photography Photoshop Capabilities
December 18, 2012 Donald Scarinci

Perfect Photo Suite 7 is more than just an upgrade to the earlier version of the program.  The new black and white conversion program and the smart masking brush are two totally new features that make this upgrade a must. Suite 7 adds a black-and-white conversion program that in my opinion is better than Nik’s “Silver Effects Pro.”   The Perfect Photo black and white creates an image with more variance of blacks and whites than “Silver Effects Pro.”  The presets are more varied and the sliders give more control over customizing your image. All of the programs in the suite…

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Software Canon Offers EOS – 1D Firmware Update To Boost Autofocus Capabilities
November 26, 2012 Donald Scarinci

Trying to capture key moments on film – such as a wedding, graduation, sports event or scenic location – when the lighting is not in your favor can greatly diminish the quality of a photograph. Canon U.S.A. has responded to several requests from its users for greater autofocus features by offering a new firmware update. The update – which can be downloaded through the company – is designed to optimize the current offerings of Canon’s flagship EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. The update will feature two enhancements to its current offerings. The first is AF Point Illumination During AI Servo…

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