Richard Barley | Photography Training Workshops UK

purei webdesign for the ipad

2010-11-14T17:13:00.002Z

It is important that you make your website or iPad website designfriendly. If you are starting to build a new site you need to make it ipad friendly because ipads are selling like hot cakes. What is iPad friendly? iPad does not support Adobe Flash at the moment and most photographers use Flash based sites. It is important to use HTML5 and CSS instead of flash. Worcester Website Design offer iPad friendly websites.

CLICK HERE = Worcester Webdesign

Redhouse Barn Bromsgrove Worcestershire - Richard Barley Photography

2010-05-25T12:55:00.000+01:00

Redhouse Barn Bromsgrove Worcestershire - Richard Barley Photography Redhouse Barn in Bromsgrove Worcestershire looks like a great new wedding venue.

Commercial Photographer Birmingham | Richard Barley Commercial Photography

2010-05-24T09:04:00.000+01:00

Commercial Photographer Birmingham | Richard Barley Commercial Photography

Adobe Lightroom 3 - Web Gallery 3 - Richard Barley Training

2010-01-20T15:00:00.001Z

Adobe lightroom more training videos online. For more information http://www.pureprints.com

Adobe Lightroom 3 - Web Gallery 2 - Richard Barley Photography Training Online

2010-01-20T14:59:00.001Z

Richard Barley Photography http://www.richardbarley.co.uk. Adobe lightroom 3 Photography Training workshop online. For more training give me an email.

Adobe Lightroom 3 - Web Module 1 - Richard Barley

2010-01-20T13:32:00.001Z

Lightroom 3 is out soon i hope. This is the beta version of the web gallery module. They have improved a few things in the web module.

Adobe Lightroom - Creating a new Catalogue

2010-01-19T20:18:00.001Z

Another free adobe lightroom video

Photography training Adobe Lightroom - Richard Barley

2010-01-19T20:14:00.001Z

FREE Adobe Lightroom 3 Photography Training

2010-01-15T10:22:00.001Z

We now have FREE online photography training videos available for Adobe lightroom 3. Quick tips for adobe lightroom 3

Adobe Lightroom Getting Started - Richard Barley

2010-01-11T17:35:00.001Z

The Curves tool Adobe Photoshop - Richard Barley

2010-01-11T17:26:00.005Z

Free Photography Training at Worcester Cathedral -January 2010

2009-12-23T11:20:00.000Z

As a Christmas Present to you all I am offering a FREE photography training session this year. If you have just received a new digital compact camera for Christmas and want to know how to use it, or a new digital SLR camera and want to start learning more advanced techniques this FREE photography training workshop is for you. A FREE photography training session is available for the first 20 people who contact me with the message FREE PHOTOGRAPHY TRAINING WORKSHOP 2010, I will email you back all the details. The session will be one to one tuition at a group workshop for one hour at Worcester Cathedral in January 2010.

UPDATE: 17 places left - don't miss out on free photography training in January

UPDATE: 14 places left - This will be a great day out don't leave it to late

Making people more relaxed

2009-12-22T17:44:00.002Z

If you want to make people more comfortable when you photographing them the best advice i can give you is leave them to talk to each other and grab a candid shot.

Moving this blog to our main website.....

2009-12-09T11:59:00.003Z

I have decided to move this training blog to our new site, as you may have noticed i have not been able to update this blog as we have been so busy with our wedding photography business and training workshops.

go to

www.pureprints.com/blog

Sold the 5DMk2 and the 40D

2009-07-29T07:59:00.002+01:00

I have decided to part with the 5D Mk2 and the 40D and stick with the good old Canon 5D. I am now taking my own advice i give out every week at training workshops. I am limiting my kit and keeping it very simple. My main reason is the 5Dmk2 has horible colour problems. The 40D has great colour but poor sharpness and weirdness that i cant explain without showing you. The 5D has great colour great sharpness great exposure latitude/ tonal range and just works without having to think. Canon also put the ISO button in different positions on all three cameras which makes them a pain to use together when you are in a hurry. I think canon will need to produce a brand new camera from the ground up like nikon have with the D3. Its time for them to decide on a standard layout of controls and make camera 'SIMPLE' to use....that is all we want. SIMPLE cameras.

Rich

Starting Your Photography Business

2009-07-29T07:43:00.002+01:00

It is now wedding season and we are run off our feet, but i still like to offer the odd days training. I get asked allot 'How do you make a living from photography'.

I have to be honest and say that for the first ten years of being an amateur photographer i had no idea how to make a living from photography. I remember going to business link to see if they could help. I was told that photography businesses had such a poor reputation 'for success' that they could offer no funding. I have never been one for giving up and so i read an article by an American photographer called Gary Fong and that changed everything. I decided to set up a wedding photography business and have never looked back. The best advice i can give anyone who would like to set up a photography business is look towards the USA and be positive.

Buying Your First Digital SLR

2009-07-15T08:16:00.002+01:00

When people attend our workshops the first thing they want to know is what gear is the best and what to buy. This may sound strange but i personal think you could go into a camera shop now close your eyes -point at the wall of cameras and pick any camera and it would be good. Technology has made 'so called amateur cameras' as good as most professional cameras. Could a photograph a wedding with a budget SLR?? Yes.

Example Canon 350 D = £250

Canon 50mm 1.8 = £75

Canon 75-300 = £80

Canon 28mm 2.8 = £90

Total £495.00

The canon 350D is an 8 megapixel camera that is useable upto ISO 800. The canon 50mm 1.8 is a great lens on the cropped sensor 350D and is very sharp at f2. The 75-300 i used for years and is a brilliant lens. The 28mm 2.8 i still use today as it has very little distortion and is easy to use. You do not have to spend a fortune to produce great work.

Canon G10 - Landscapes The Lens

2009-04-09T11:22:00.002+01:00

The lens is great to the zoom is about 28-140mm (35mm equiv). The quality of this little camera is amazing me.

Canon G10 - Landscapes

2009-04-09T11:06:00.003+01:00

I have been using the canon g10 this week and have been very impressed with this little camera. I have used it as ISO 80 in manual mode to produce a series of landscape images. The quality and tonal range from this small sensor at ISO 80 is superb. To be able to carry a 14.7 mp sensor with full manual control wherever you like without the weight of a digital SLR is great. I would be happy to print the files at A2 size and this little camera has now become my landscape camera.

2009-04-09T11:05:00.001+01:00

2009-04-09T11:01:00.001+01:00

2009-04-09T10:59:00.001+01:00

The 5D MkII - Final Thoughts

2009-03-30T15:31:00.004+01:00

I have now been using the 5D Mkii for weddings and general use for four months now and i thought i would let you know what i think finally.

Would i spend £2000 on the camera.?

Ans. No i would buy a 5D for £850 second hand instead.

Is the colour and white balance good for people photography?

Ans. Not as good as the 5D, the skin tones are to cool and lightroom does not like the files

at all. The white balance is weird as are the colours. I like a camera where you do not have to fiddle with images in photoshop to get them right. That camera is the 5D mk1

Do you think the 21mp sensor is the best thing since sliced bread?

The files are to big, and lightroom is having trouble rendering them quickly. I now use the

smaller RAW setting which is 10mp which helps the camera for continuous shooting and lightroom / hard drive space. I shot a wedding recently at 21mp setting and the wedding raw files took up 45 GIG of space. What a waist of time this sensor is for the average wedding photography business.

Do you ever think you will ever get over the disappointment of spending £2000 on the 5D Mk2?

Yes i have because i have found something it is very good for ( not weddings). Landscape and

stock photography and commercial photography. I have teamed it up with the Canon 70-200 2.8 L lens and have found what it can really do. I use live view with the camera on a tripod with the full 21mp RAW files. I work mainly in black and white for landscapes and so i can select this and make the screen images black and white. I have been away from the landscape for a few years now and this combination has given me the push to make large landscape prints again.

And so you have been telling us all you do not like it for a while now and now you do make you mind up.

I am reading other reports on the camera and they seem to think the same as me. The camera as been over hyped you can not even get a battery for them from jessops at the moment as they are limited. The battery grips are all on back order.....I COULD GO ON ON ON the auto focus has problems AND ON AND ON. but it is like and old view camera to me now. Very high resolution, good to use with the image in live view.

Canon 5D Mk2 Stills at 6400 ISO - Wedding

2009-01-31T18:00:00.003Z

As you can tell from my last post i was not that impressed with the 5D MK2 FOR VIDEO/STILLS at weddings. I will be posting the full video/stills fusion we did in a couple of weeks. Luckily for me Sharon made a great job of the video with the Sony camcorder and i concentrated on what i love PHOTOGRAPHY. I was able test the camera at ISO 6400 at F 2.8 with the 70-200 lens at the reception. I have mentioned in previous posts that i was not that amazed by the noise level at ISO 6400 and expected it to be better after all the hype from canon and certain photographers (who get paid by canon). As i thought the images were noisy but still useable at 7x5 print size. This is fine for the wedding album but you always have the problem of capturing a great image of someone and a relative wanting a 20x16 inch print on the wall. I am going to stick to the rule of ISO 3200 is the maximum for the 5D Mk11 and ISO 1600 is the maximum for the 5D. I have to say this is personal taste and with noise reduction software i can see allot of people having no problem with the camera at high ISO 's. Just to let you know the video mode at ISO 3200 is very poor and i would suggest a maximum of ISO 1600 in video mode for the 5D Mk2.

First Wedding With the Canon 5D Mk 2

2009-01-31T17:44:00.005Z

Had a chance to use the new 5D Mk2 at a real wedding the other day and thought i would share a few thoughts with you. We decided to combine video with stills and i used the 5d mk2 and Sharon used a sony hd camcorder. The first thing i noticed was how hard it is to combine stills and video at the same time because you have to concentrate very hard with documentary/reportage wedding photography to capture the right moment. I found it almost impossible to do both things at once. We set up the 5D mk2 on a tripod at the back of the ceremony room which was quite dark. Sharon set her HD camcorder up at the front of the room to capture the vows / exchanging of the rings ect. I used the Canon 70-200 2.8 is lens and video mode on the 5D Mk2 to combine video and stills through the ceremony. I found it worked quite well as long as i manually focussed the lens and locked the exposure with the * button. I used the live view and iso 3200 / f2.8. It was then time for the signing of the register and i decided to stay at the back and capture natural images of the bride and groom. I found this a problem as the camera would only take a few images in a row before locking up and stopping the video recording. I was in the largest RAW mode and i don't think the camera / processor/ compact flash card could handle it. I had also set the white balance to auto as i always correct later on in lightroom. The problem with this is the video mode is a bit like shooting jpeg andso you can not colour correct the video easily later on. As you can tell i was not that impressed so far and decided to stop video at the end of the ceremony and let sharon use her Sony camcorder for all the footage from the ceremony on.

Click Here for another website about the pitfalls of Canon 5D Mk2 Video

Canon eos 5D MkII The New Screen

2009-01-02T18:08:00.003Z

The new screen is great and a pleasure to use. The live view is also very good and the movie mode is very easy to use. My favourite new feature is the ability to change shutter speed, aperture, iso ect on the rear screen using the joystick to move around. This is great for tripod work with the camera at eye level. You can use live view mode as well and have a silent shutter which is very good. I think who ever designed the new camera is a 'real photographer' because when you start using the new 5D Mk 11 you wonder how you lived with out it. I will be trying a new way of working in church ceremonies from now on. I will be able to record short clips of HD video and take photographs at the same time with a very quiet camera. I can have the camera at eye level and adjust everything on the rear screen. The exposure is simulated very well on the screen as well. I think this is a massive improvement over the 5D for a wedding photographer.

more later

Canon eos 5D MkII Noise at 3200

2009-01-02T17:54:00.002Z

The main reason i have bought the new 5D Mk11 and not another 5D is i would like to be able to use IS0 6400 in dark churches with my 24-105 f4. I do not like changing lenses to much during weddings as you miss images. I have been testing the new 5D against the old 5D to see what noise is present and how bad it gets. I have not published the results as it is early days for the camera and i would like to show you the results from a wedding i will photograph at the end of january.

I have found that the old 5D was as good as i have always thought and the new 5D Mk11 is pretty much the same in terms of noise BUT............this will suprise you......the old 5D is a better type of noise that does not effect your images. I know this may be a shock to some people but i have processed the images through lightroom with the same settings on the same compact flash cards with the same 70-200 f2.8 lens set at 135mm. I can't beleive it but the ISO 6400 raw files are very noisy and i think un useable for my work........shock horror.

The reason i am shocked is because there has been allot of hype about this camera and i expected the results at ISO 6400 to be like the ISO 1600 on the old 5D. Everyone seems to talk about a 2 stop improvement over the old 5D but its not true. The only time i could use ISO 6400 is with black and white images. At 3200 the two cameras are the same and you would have allot of trouble telling the cameras apart.

Canon eos 5D MkII Has Arrived

2009-01-02T17:43:00.003Z

I have been lucky enough to get the new 5d Mk11 this week from just canon. I am going to be running a few posts about the new camera. I have always used the 5D for digital photography and it was the only camera that converted me from film to digital. It is going to be very hard for the new 5D mk 2 to beet it but here goes lets see if it is as good as every one likes to think.

I opened the box and picked up the new body and thought i had been sent a beta version because the top of the camera has had a new paint job. Its sort of like matt paint and looks a bit like plastic. Everyone is saying the new body feels just like the old one but if you look at every part you will see it is a brand new design and everything about this camera is different.

The screen on the top plate is bigger the main screen is bigger and much better. The viewfinder is brighter and better. All the buttons are in new positions (very annoying canon). The menu system is more like the 40D. The battery is a new type that will not fit the old 5D. Andso the main thing i would say about the camera is its all new and different.

New Photography Training Courses for 2009

2008-12-09T10:23:00.002Z

I am now offering a very flexible course to help you learn what ever you need to know about photography. It may be you are still trying to work out the basics or you need to know advanced studio flash techniques. During the winter months of 2009 i am offering you the unique opportunity to come and learn ' hands on' what ever you need to brush up on. You can come for 1 hour or upto 6 hours. Just give me a few days notice and the time you require and we can make a start. If you have not yet purchased your digital SLR I can also advise you on cameras and lenses and you can try out the new Canon EOS 5D MK 11 ' When it arrives in January '

£25 per Hour

Richard Barley 01684 593388

Working with people

2008-11-21T12:51:00.003Z

You can have the best equipment in the world with the best lighting and background but the most important bit is making your subject feel relaxed. I have watched other photographers photograph people and its made me realize how not to do it. I would give this experiment a go. Choose someone you would like to photograph who hates sitting for a formal portrait. See if you can get a great image out of them, If you can't try a 200mm end of a zoom lens and give them someone to talk to. You should find they start to relax, then move to 135mm on your zoom lens and get a bit closer. You should be O.K with most average people at this focal length.

I am building a new website, should be live after christmas, here is a sneak preview. Its for anyone who would like to become a professional model.

Gary Fong DVD - Getting Rich As a Photographer

2008-11-18T09:46:00.002Z

I would like to recommend a DVD for any of you who would like to become wedding photographers. Gary Fong Getting Rich as A Wedding Photographer. Although this sounds to good to be true, once you have watched the DVD's a few times you will realise what a different technique Gary Fong uses, and it works. I have put mine on ebay now {follow the link below this post} as i have watched it lots of times. It retails for £130 but i am selling for £85 buy it now.

Gary Fong - Getting Rich As A Photographer

Individual - One to One Photography Training

2008-11-11T16:37:00.002Z

Now the summer is over and our winter wedding season is starting I am able to offer more training days. I am now focussing on One to One tuition as I think it is a quicker way to learn. The courses we offer are based on the photography techniques you will need in the real world. We have all the equipment you will need and I can advise you on equipment to buy, and not to buy. If the thought of sitting in college for the next twelve months fills you with dread, try one of our courses.

New Courses - Using Canon 580EX MkII

2008-11-11T16:08:00.001Z

I keep getting enquiries for wedding photography training and everyone seems to want to learn flash photography. I have added a new course which will show you how i use flash at winter weddings and on location for fashion/editorial work. If you would like to attend give me a call 01684 593388.

Camera equipment for sale

2008-10-30T14:45:00.002Z

I have started an ebay run of some camera gear. Click on the link below to go to ebay and then have a look at the rest of the items.

A Leica IIIC Rangefinder Camera

How do you get people to relax for portraits

2008-10-28T19:09:00.002Z

I have been asked this allot, and i will tell you my secret. I let them relax by starting the portrait session at 200mm and end up at 70mm by the time the session ends. Staying along way away from them makes them feel less intimidated. I also say very little, which may sound strange but the more you talk to them the more they realise their having a portrait session. I am now running courses teaching relaxed portraits, give me an email to find out more. rich@pureprints.com

Portraits -Too many rules

2008-10-28T19:00:00.003Z

There seem to be so many rules in photography and when your learning you are made to feel like you should follow them all. A photographer I know who is an excellent portrait photographer who see's an image and just reacts without following all the rules has just had a panel of his work rejected by the BIPP. I personally follow no rules of composition except one ' If it looks right then it is composed right' The composition is your personal choice and no critic can really tear it apart. Everyone has an opinion but it is yours that matters first.

Switch to Manual Mode

2008-10-13T11:23:00.003+01:00

I have used all the cameras i have owned in manual mode for the past 15 years or so, until i started using canon digital cameras. I then switched and started using them in aperture priority AV mode and made adjustments with exposure compensation + or - 1 stop ect. After using Adobe lightroom for all our weddings I have noticed a major advantage to going back to using manual mode for 90% of the images captured at a wedding. I now walk into the church and take a manual hand held reading using a sekonic digital meter. At 1600 ISO the reading is usually 1/30th at f4 for most churches give or take about 1 stop. Everything photographed in the church is based around this reading and i work manually. When these images are imported into lightroom later on it is much easier to consistently alter the images when the exposure was consistent at the time of exposure.

When I photograph the groups I use one manual reading and check the histogram to make sure the brides dress main highlight area is not blown out. As long as the sun has gone behind a 'kind' cloud in the sky the exposure stays the same. The cameras meter is not effected by the groups changing. Later on in lightroom the groups have had the same lighting and exposure and can all be tweaked at the same time with the help of lightrooms syc tool. If you would like to learn more about this technique we run wedding workshops throughout the autumn and winter months.

Canon eos 5D MkII Video/Preview

2008-10-06T17:05:00.000+01:00

Canon Eos 5D Mk2 / Mk11 Noise at High ISO's

2008-10-06T16:30:00.003+01:00

I have just returned from a great wedding at LLangoed Hall Hotel in Wales and it rained all day. It was very dull all day and I used the 5D at ISO 1600/3200 most of the time. The group photographs had to be arranged inside with very little light bouncing around a large room. The largest group was 15 Guests and the ceiling was about 12 ft off ground level. I thought to myself I wish I had a new Canon eos 5D Mk II with low noise at ISO 3200. But I have got the good old Mk 1 and had to use ISO 1600 with F5.6 Shutter 1/60th and a canon 580ex Mk II with large Gary Fong Light sphere Diffuser. I use this set up quite allot for winter indoor group shots and it works well. The 5D at Iso 1600 is good and the recycle time of the flash is reduced by the high ISO. The light sphere spreads the light all around the room and makes it look like flat natural daylight. I hope the 5D MkII noise level is cleaner at ISO 1600 than the 5D as this will make a difference to me when using this technique.

Canon 70-200 f4 Is or 70-200 f2.8 ???????

2008-09-30T17:04:00.003+01:00

I have used the canon 70-200 f4 lens for the past few years and upgraded to the IS lens a year ago. I looked at the f2.8 version but thought it was to heavy and kept the f4. I was in a camera shop the other week and had another look at the 2.8 version. They said they would give me a good price and it was that good I bought it. I have used the 2.8 version at a few weddings and still think its to heavy for me hand holding the camera at low shutter speeds...but I have now started using a monopod with the 2.8 lens and use it for Bride/Groom formal shots and some groups. The quality of the 2.8 version is different to the f4. When i say quality I mean background bokeh (blur). I love it. Which would i buy.....both is the answer. The f4 for general candid photography as it zooms so quick with the flick of the zoom ring...its ideal for candid reportage photography. The 2.8 is ultimate quality and works well when you have more time to spare...stopped down to 5.6 the lens is amazinglyy sharp and the bokeh is great. I will be keeping both.

Canon eos 5D Mk2 / Mk11 HD VIDEO

2008-09-24T14:04:00.002+01:00

I take back everything i said about stills photographers not being interested in the 5D having HD VIDEO Click on the link below to view the quality that comes out of the new 5D MkII with L Series Lenses. I want one........

Vincent Laforet Canon eos 5D HD Video

A good review site

2008-09-23T16:16:00.001+01:00

I have been impressed with the reviews from Ken Rockwell on the canon and nikon equipment. Click on the link below to visit his website.

Ken Rockwell Camera Reviews

Adobe Photoshop CS 4 First Impressions

2008-09-23T11:21:00.005+01:00

I posted the link below a few minutes ago before I had looked at the features adobe CS4 has to offer. I have clicked on my own link below and found a couple of things that will be of interest to digital artists but mainly photoshop is of no interest to real professional photographers. This may seem harsh and allot of photographers will completely disagree with me on this, but Adobe have produced 'Adobe Lightroom' which is amazing value for money, enjoyable to use, easy to learn and logical. Adobe photoshop cs4 is for digital artists who like to manipulate images and spend allot of time on each image. Adobe Lightroom is for professional photographers who can get an image 95% right in camera and then finish off the last 5% in Adobe lightroom quickly. I will be putting a few training movies up over this winter showing you why adobe lightroom 2 has improved workflow so much for professional photographers.

And finally adobe photoshop cs4 is tooo expensive - Buy yourself a nice lens instead......

Click here to look at Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2

Click here for a great website for learning lightroom online

If you would like to learn adobe Photoshop lightroom 2 we offer a one to one course email me at training@pureprints.com for more information.

New Adobe Photoshop CS4 Features

2008-09-23T11:12:00.002+01:00

Just a quick post. We use adobe lightroom 2 for all our post production now as photoshop is to time consuming for our wedding business. I have just found out adobe photoshop cs4 is being released soon , click on the link below to go to the adobe site to view the new features.

Adobe Photoshop CS 4 new features

Canon eos 5D Mk II First Impressions(update)

2008-09-21T15:06:00.003+01:00

I have just looked at the dpreview site and they have reviewed the canon eos 5D MKII beta. It looks like they have sealed the body well and they have even put the seal between the body and the canon 580 mkII. This is good news. They have image samples on the dpreview site that look good.

Click here for Canon eos 5D Mk II Review

Click here for image samples

Canon eos 5D MkII First Impressions

2008-09-18T06:44:00.010+01:00

As you know from reading this blog I am a big fan of the canon eos 5D. I have put at least 75,000 images through my 5D and it has been very reliable and easy to use. The new canon eos 5d Mk II has just been released and will be available before christmas. I have looked at the dpreview site and they show the specification. I will not go through the technicalities just tell you what I think. They have a new improved sensor 21 mp compared to 12mp in my 5D and they have improved the noise with ISO upto 6400 in the normal range. This makes me want to buy the camera already as the majority of my images are shot at 1600 - 3200 in dark churches and reception venues. If the new 5D Mk II can produce low noise images with good colour at 6400 then it will be worth every pound of £2300. The body looks the same shape as the 5D 'which is good anyway' and the general controls seem to be in the same positions. Canon say they have improved the weather seals on the camera but I think nikon and canon need to start saying weather you can use the cameras in normal rain in a u.k summer. Just saying the weather seals are better is know good to us, just tell me if i can use it in the rain or not...simple. I have watched photographers using the 1D MkIII in poring rain with an L series 70-200 f2.8 lens the cameras are soaked and they must do this without worrying . The one thing they seem to have missed that we have all been asking for is dual compact flash cards or at least one compact flash and an SD card for backup of images. From personal experience I can tell you I have had at least three compact flash cards (by the top brands) go wrong. They should have put this in. Instead they have spent your money on HD VIDEO capture in camera (see dpreview for more info). This is great and I can't wait to have a go, it is going to be a great new product for my business BUT. 99.9% of photographers who are serious about still images and would spend £2200 on a camera body will have no interest in VIDEO (in my opinion). They should have spent all your money on the 'best stills camera' ever with a completely sealed body including the flash shoe connection to the Canon 580 EX 2. Dual Compact flash cards and a large ISO button. As you can tell I have been waiting a long time for the perfect digital stills camera and this could have been it. Saying that I have not tried it yet and will look forward to comparing it to the old 5D. I can't wait to buy one of these and it will improve my output at weddings, but canon does need to start listening more of the top pro photographers who will tell them what to put in their cameras. If you want to see a ''''photographers'''' camera go and look at the Nikon D3.

~rb~

Photo.net Preview the 5D

Adobe Lightroom Course

2008-09-16T07:12:00.002+01:00

I am putting together a new adobe lightroom 2 course. I have found that combining our back to basics photography course with a adobe lightroom 2 course helps you understand photography/digital imaging.

New Wedding Photography Blog/Site

2008-09-16T07:05:00.002+01:00

I have just started a new wedding photography blog. Its going to be a blog/site combining our wedding photography business with wedding projects.

www.pureprints.com/blog

Learning the basics first

2008-09-10T18:15:00.004+01:00

A have just completed a back to basics course, we run for anybody who would like to understand photography. It made me realise how important it is to master the basics before moving on to using more advanced techniques using a digital slr camera. Apertures, Shutter Speeds and ISO may look complicated to learn, but are the most important things to learn first. I am happy to hear from you if you are confused by any digital camera. We run a 4 hour course for £100. One to One Tuition

Rich 01684 593388

~rb~

Distortion in Zoom Lenses

2008-08-20T13:23:00.002+01:00

Just a quick post. I have always used prime lenses in the past fifteen years and only bought a zoom lens a year ago. One thing you need to look at before buying a zoom lens is distortion. I can not believe how much distortion there is in a £600 - £700 lens. I have found the Canon 70-200 f4 IS lens has very little distortion at 100mm - 180mm andso I use this lens for all portrait and engagement shoots. My Canon 24-105 IS lens does suffer from distortion at the 24mm-35mm end of the zoom range but is O.K at about 85mm. I use this for close portraits hand held indoors at 1600 ISO. So go out and get your zoom lens and photograph a brick wall. You will see what I mean by distortion.

Portrait Lenses 2

2008-08-13T19:22:00.007+01:00

A good start is to use a zoom lens zoomed to 70 - 85 or 105 and approach your subject. Most people will want to run a mile as you will be very close to them if you are trying to capture a head and shoulders crop. Professional models will not be worried but the average person would rather you go back and be further away until they are comfortable. I have found most people to be happy when you are at between 135mm and 200mm on a zoom lens, they relax more and you are able to produce more natural images.

Camera Canon eos 40D
Lens 70-200 f4 set at 189mm
Shutter 1/1000
Aperture f4
ISO 800

Which portrait lens to buy? I would go for the 135mm on a full frame sensor<5D>, or the 85mm 1.8 on the cropped sensor <40D> or just buy a 70mm-200mm zoom lens.

Portrait Lenses

2008-08-13T19:10:00.003+01:00

What lens should I buy for portraits? I about to buy a portrait lens and thought I would share with you my thoughts on the perfect portrait lens. I have used different lenses 85mm 1.8, 50mm 1.8, 75-300mm and have found that it is not the lens that matters so much its the person you are photographing.

Focal Length 105mm
Camera Canon eos 5D
Shutter 1/80th
Aperture F4
ISO 1600

Canon eos 40D Settings

2008-07-29T13:00:00.003+01:00

The canon eos 40D is a good camera and I thought I would share with you a few tips for setting it up. I use RAW setting all the time with the PICTURE STYLE set to NEUTRAL 0.0.0.0. I have also been using the HIGHLIGHT TONE PRIORITY which works well if it is a very bright day. You can use the 40D from ISO 100 to ISO 1600 with good results (not as good as the Canon eos 5D at high ISO 3200). For 99% of the time I use one shot auto focus as I find for even the fastest moving bride and groom the camera can keep up. I do use AI SERVO MODE outdoors when they are walking towards me. The AI SERVO tracks very well and is very accurate. I only use one focus point and thats the center one. I use AUTO WHITE BALANCE on the camera and because I use RAW I can change this in ADOBE LIGHTROOM during post production.

2008-07-25T19:03:00.001+01:00

Intermediate: Raw Vs Jpeg

2008-07-25T18:48:00.003+01:00

I am asked this question allot and I thought I would give you my opinion. I have used Raw from day one and have never made a single jpeg file in a camera. The reason for this is simple. I like to over expose images by about 1 third of a stop then drag the highlights back with the recovery tool in adobe lightroom. I never under expose to retain highlight detail. Try photographing a subject with a wide tonal range e.g a bride and groom on a sunny day. Use jpeg for the first image and raw for the second image. Import both images into adobe lightroom. Now try to recover highlight detail with the recovery slider for the jpeg file and the raw file.

2008-07-15T21:38:00.002+01:00

2008-07-08T07:59:00.001+01:00

Canon 580EX Mk2 Vs Natural Light

2008-07-02T14:20:00.009+01:00

I seem to never use flashguns anymore. I have been through times when I have used flash at weddings quite allot, but I seem to have slowly stopped using them. I think having a flash gun is a good idea, but I would advise everyone to learn photography with available light first. Flash can make you lazy. I have just photographed a wedding at Cripps Barn in the cotswolds. The day was overcast with showers and the barn had only a few windows. I could not use bounce flash and never use direct flash from a small on camera flash gun. The wedding had to be reportage - documentary and at first I thought this was going to be a problem. I looked around the room and saw three windows 2mx3m and another window 1mx3m. It was overcast and the direct sun light was being diffused before entering the room through the clear glass windows. I thought to myself "natural softboxes" and decided not to use flash at all that day. The windows gave me great light and the images had the depth I love in an image.......I will be showing you off camera flash that looks like natural light in future posts.

IMAGE INFO:

Canon eos 5D + 24-105 F4 IS Lens

SHUTTER SPEED-1/80th
APERTURE- F4
ISO-1600
LENS-90mm
PROGRAM-Manual

More images from Cripps Barn

Forums & Blogs

2008-06-25T09:44:00.002+01:00

I have started posting comments on the photo.net website. I think photo.net is very usefull when you are thinking about buying new equipment. I have also joined the photographers.co.uk and hope to post a few comments over the next few weeks. I have just ordered a new Canon M80 portable hard drive for back up at weddings. I will let you know how it performs against our existing portable epson P3000 hard drive soon.

~rb~

Great Photographers - Sebastião Salgado

2008-06-23T12:10:00.004+01:00

Sebastião Salgado is one of the best photographers in the world. I remember seeing an exhibition of his work about ten years ago at Aberystwyth University and will never forget it. If you have the chance to see any of his images printed and hanging on the wall please go.....they are inspirational. I have placed a link and so you can view some of the images online.

Sebastião Salgado

Free £10 Training Voucher

2008-06-22T08:59:00.004+01:00

If you would like to attend a One to One four hour training workshop make sure you download a free £10 training voucher. We have a back to basics training course, which is for beginners and various intermediate and advanced courses. Try before you buy is also possible as you can try a canon eos 40D or Canon eos 5D. We can visit a local jessops store to try different camera equipment before you buy. To download your free voucher please click on the link below and then contact me to book your workshop.

Free Photography Training Voucher

~rb~

Exposure Compensation

2008-06-22T08:43:00.005+01:00

Exposure compensation is a bit like the brightness control on your TV. Add exposure +1 stop to brighten the image. Subtract exposure -1 stop to darken the image. It is your choice, and you will need to have an idea of the final look you require before you play with exposure compensation. This image needed +2 stops exposure compensation to brighten the image and blow the highlights out in the background. This is a standard technique when photographing into a window to achieve a high key look.

I have put together a few cue cards to help you understand exposure compensation click on the link below to download for free.

Click here for free downloads

~rb~

Black & White Film Days

2008-06-21T10:33:00.005+01:00

I used mono films Ilford HP5, Agfa APX 25, Kodak TMAX for five years without putting a colour film in the camera. I used two prime lenses 24mm and 50mm on a NIKON FM2 Film Body. I think this was the best training i ever gave myself. Sounds strange but by limiting your equipment you can improve your photography. I still use film cameras today for landscape. I use Large format 5x4 and two lenses 90mm and 150mm. Next time you go out with your camera take a 50mm on one body set the camera to black & white, see what you come back with.....

Click here for more images

~rb~

Image Quality - Noise

2008-06-21T09:41:00.005+01:00

Every camera review seems to talk about noise. As cameras have improved Canon and Nikon have increased the number of pixels on the sensors. This has given them the problem with noise. I like noise as it gives the images a film like quality. I use the Canon 5D at ISO1600 / ISO3200 all the time and convert the images to greyscale in Adobe Lightroom. The images have a different look to the clean 'digital look' of ISO200 images. Some people I talk to never take their Canon 1D Mk 2 off ISO 200 as the dreaded noise will wreck their images. Noise can be good give it a go.....

I attended a wedding yesterday using ISO 1600 all day with no flash. I will post the images soon. I am off to the cotswolds today to attend a wedding and its looking pretty grey out there. The groom gets migrane from flash guns andso I can't use flash. Looks like a Canon eos 5D + 24-105 / ISO 1600 Day........

~rb~

Our photography workshops

2008-06-19T13:44:00.010+01:00

One to One or group workshops are available for anybody interested in improving their photography. The workshops are informal and focussed on what you want to learn "not what i want to teach you". One to One tuition is getting more popular at the moment. I can offer four hour packages at £100 to get you going. Week days are best for me as the summer is now filled with weekend weddings. For more information visit our main training page Richard Barley Photography Training. If you are just starting out or semi-professional we offer bespoke training courses to help you acheive your goals.

Richard Barley Photography Training
~rb~

Sensor Dust - Finding IT ??

2008-06-19T12:54:00.004+01:00

I am just going through my standard procedure before a wedding and I thought i would share with you my approach to 'dust specs on your sensor problem'. I keep the lenses on the cameras for a start, they never come off except for sensor cleaning every now and then. This may sound extreme but dust is best kept out of a digital SLR body. The way to check your sensor is simple.

Set the aperture to F22
Set the lens to manual focus and set it at infinity
Set the camera on aperture priority.
Find a sheet of white A4 paper.
Photograph the paper
Look at the image on the screen/histogram
Should be about mid grey

You now have an image of all the dust on your sensor. Open the image in photoshop and do image-adjustments-auto levels.
Instantly you should see all the dust better now. Don't panic dust becomes obvious at f11 - f32 so if you take photographs at f 2.8 - f8 you will not have seen most of this dust before. I will put a few images up with the next post on sensor cleaning showing the dust to worry about and the dust that will not bother you if you shoot around f5.6. Now how to get rid of it.........

Click on the image above to make it larger

~rb~

Canon Eos 40D Review 1

2008-06-19T09:23:00.002+01:00

I have been using the canon eos 40D for the past three months and six weddings. 1st impressions are good. The cameras best point is a very good autofocus system. I have been tracking subjects in servo mode with the camera and have found it to be spot on every time. I use the 40D with a canon 70-200 IS/ F4 lens and the vertical battery grip. This combination is light weight and it feels like they were made to work together. The 40D has allot of new features that I will explore over the next few months. The Auto ISO mode is O.K but I hope a future 50D makes the range 200-3200. The screen image does not match what you see in front of you and is poor. I only look at the histogram when I am photographing weddings andso this does not effect the way I work. The canon 5D screen is great and the colours are good, I don't know why they got the 40D one wrong. The images from the 40D are very good with nice colour. I set the 5D and the 40D at Neutral and use auto white balance with both cameras. When you import the files into Adobe Lightroom they look very similiar.......

I have just found this image from a couple of weeks ago 1/60th at F4 at 200m at 800 ISO on the 40D. The skin tones from this camera are rearly nice and push the 5D at times. The noise is well controlled and at 800 ISO i never worry about it.....

more later

~rb~

Great Photographers

2008-06-18T17:44:00.001+01:00

I am going to link you to some of my favourite photography sites and photographer blogs. This week it is Jeff Ascough who I think is one of the best wedding photographers in the U.K. He has also been voted one of the top ten photographers in the world. This link is to his blog and there is a link to his main site from there.

Jeff Ascough Blog

~rb~

In My Bag

2008-06-18T17:40:00.001+01:00

What does a professional photographer use. I have sold most of the kit as you don't need much. This is what I use.

Canon eos 5D

Canon 24-105 IS F4 Lens

Canon eos 40D

Canon eos 70-200 IS F4 Lens

2x Canon 580 Flash Guns

and thats
it.

~rb~

Tip of the day.

2008-06-18T17:34:00.001+01:00

Dont buy expensive lenses and put cheap UV filters on them. I have learnt by my own mistakes. I now use hoya for both my canon lenses. Keep them clean. Blow the dust off with an air blower before you clean the surface ~ helps stop scratches. I will be sharing a sensor cleaning trick very soon.
~rb~

Canon eos 5D Mk2 / Mk11

2008-06-18T17:26:00.000+01:00

The canon eos 5d Seems to be going down in price now. I wonder when the canon eos 5D MK2 / Mk11 or what ever it is called will come out. Maybe they will go for a 3D no....because of the nikon D3. If your reading yhis then you may like to know my feelings on the matter. I think it will be a canon 5D Mk2 with a full frame sensor about 18million pixels. It will probably be a sooper dooper megger brilliant something...sorry. All joking aside I think the main thing for me is I want the iso to go up to at least 6400 and produce images with very little noise. Auto ISO would be nice. Apart from that the 5D is fine so go buy one when they are at there cheapest.

~rb~

WHY NO NIKON ?

2008-06-18T16:57:00.001+01:00

I dont use nikon equipment andso it will be impossible for me to review it. If you know of any good nikon reviews, email me links and I will start putting them up. When I say reviews I mean real reviews over 12 months use of the camera. I would not review a camera until its been put through at least 10 weddings. This site will not be about reviews on cameras anyway. You will be able to use the techniques with any digital SLR. If the kits good i will tell you about it...... by the way the nikon D3 images look great I will try to put a link up soon............

The way the blog will work ?

2008-06-18T16:46:00.001+01:00

I am planning to give you my own opinion on cameras and lenses and the photography industry ect. I will be putting links on the right hand side of the blog to reviews and stuff I hope you will find usefull. There is a news feed from google about canon equipment and this links out of this blogsite. I have no control over the content andso we will give it a go for a while and see if the information is usefull. I have another blog for our wedding photography business Richard Barley Photography. Take a look at some of the 2008 weddings we are attending this year. The plan is to show you different techniques you can learn to improve your photography. I offer individual tuition and workshops. you can find a full list at Richard Barley Photography Training

Canon 24-105 IS Review

2008-06-18T15:53:00.000+01:00

The canon 24-105 F4 zoom lens does not seem to be used by allot of pro photographers, they go for the 24-70/ 2.8. I have never been one for following the crowd andso I bought this one. I can not compare the image quality to the 24-70 / 2.8 but I can tell you why I use it. I use the Canon 5D and this great lens 24-105 Is because I love it. I found I use the upper ranges of this by checking the metadata for my images. I encourage you to do the same to see what focal lenghts you use the most. I use the 70-105 part of this lens allot for weddings and if I bought the 24-70 I would lose these focal lenghts. You could argue use a telephoto lens for this range. fair enough. I find I can use to 24-105 at F4 with image stabiliser switched on in churches at 105 comfortably. What I am trying to say, in allot of words is don't buy a lens because all the pros seem to buy it think about your most used prime lens ranges and when you use them.......Fewww glad I got that off my chest.

Back to the review. This lens has also shot about 33 weddings in all weather conditions and still works fine. touch wood. The image quality has always impressed me and the colours are great from this lens. One thing i will say is distortion can be a problem. I have been using canons software dp pro to correct distortion and it works fine. It is so usefull to be able to use just one camera and one camera body at a wedding without standing out to much. The canon 5d and 24-105 Is allow you to get into the action and stand back at times. I could not shoot weddings without this lens. I crop in camera and try to get everything right in camera to cut down on post production time. This lets me compose focus and take photographs quickly and move on. I would buy one and give it a go......

Visit this page to see the first time i used this lens

Rich

Canon eos 5D Review

2008-06-18T15:41:00.002+01:00

I have been using this camera for the past 12 months and its time to tell you what i think of it. Its great. end of review.

The camera is well made and puts up with all the usual knocks from wedding photography weeek in week out. I use it with the battery grip and this makes a big difference when shooting in portrait mode. The grip fits solid on the bottom and there is know movement which I have found on other cameras. (40d review coming soon). All the controls were easy to learn and to be honest are all that we will ever need. I bought the camera the day before a wedding took it out of the box and just used it. They are great to use and reliable. I have now shot about 33 weddings with this 5D and about 20,000 frames with no problems. I have found the metering to be spot-on and autofocus I don't ever worry about. I set it to one shot with my 24-105 L lens and blast away. A real fun camera. Grab yourself a bargain with the 5D and 24-105 so cheap now....you will not be disapointed.

Image Details:

Canon eos 5D + 24-105 F4 IS Lens

SHUTTER SPEED 1/30
APERTURE F4
ISO 1600

2008-06-18T15:16:00.001+01:00

Well this is the start of the training blog. We are going to be running a photography training program over the next few years. I am also going to be reviewing cameras and equipment and letting you know how they work in the real world. If you would like a full list of photography courses for 2008 please visit our main website www.pureprints.com