The Biggest Photography Business Event of the Year is Happening Right Now

Every year my friends at 5DayDeal put on what I personally consider to be the biggest, most exciting photography education event of the year.  This year they’ve added three more exclusive bundles and their first5-day event is happening right now! The short version is, you get $1,900 in photography business and marketing resources for $87 - that’s a savings of 95%.

Learn more about the 5DayDeal Complete Photography Business Bundle

The Complete Photography Business Bundle is running Feb.25-Mar.1 over at 5DayDeal and it’s a massive collection of eBooks, worksheets, templates, and video tutorials for photographers of all-levels. Whether you’re an emerging or seasoned photographer this library of resources will fill you with ideas and tools to help you make money doing what you love. Check it out!

https://5daydeal.com/

What’s really important to note is that this bundle comes with the 5DayDeal promise:  every single product included is 100% brand new to 5DayDeal. No repeated products. And they’ll never be offered ever again. Period.

Along with photography business consultant Corwin Hiebert, the 5DayDeal team (Griffin, Valerie, Adam, and Daniel) have assembled an unbelievable bundle of all the best photography business and marketing education products available online. The photographers and industry experts they managed to rally together for this first bundle of 2016 is truly amazing and it’s for 5 days only.  Now you see why I am so excited about this!

 The point of this whole thing is to help you start or grow your photography venture - 

I guarantee you’ll find a ton of excellent resources in this bundle to help you do that.

The best part of the whole event is that a full 10% of the revenue from the sales ($8.70 per sale) goes directly to four awesome, carefully selected charities; The BOMA Project, Tough As Her, The Exodus Road, and Mercy Ships. The entire photography community is rallying together to raise $50,000 in these five days (Feb.25-Mar.1). This sub-total will get added to the 2016 pool so that the total funds donated to each of the charities is massive!

Take a look!

Together we can create a picture of a brighter future.

Head over to 5 Day Deal to check out the sale, and, even if you choose not to buy this year, please share the sale with your network to help raise awareness. Not only is this a great deal, it’s a great cause which I’m extremely proud to support, and I hope you will too.

Thanks!

Gary Detonnancourt

Topaz Releases DeNoise 6 ($30 OFF)

Today Topaz released DeNoise 6, an updated version of their noise reduction software, complete with new features. As always, our update is free to anyone who already owns DeNoise, and for those who don’t own it, DeNoise 6 will be on sale ($30 off!) from February 24th – March 20th. Please use the coupon code "NOISEFREE" to take advantage of the discounted price of $49.99 (regularly $79.99). 

Click here to order your copy now!

Topaz DeNoise is designed to let you shoot anywhere in any light and still get crisp, clear and noise-free images. Specializing in extremely noisy high ISO images, DeNoise removes distracting image noise while preserving image detail, giving you the image you wanted without the noise you don’t. Major features introduced in Topaz DeNoise 6 include:

• Standalone Application - DeNoise 6 now works as a standalone product and doesn’t require a host editor to work. Although it can still be used as a plugin through Photoshop, Lightroom, and other supported host programs.
• Camera Specific Presets - DeNoise 6 introduces dozens of presets based on various camera profiles, with multiple ISO presets for each camera. 
• Batch Processing (in standalone mode only) - DeNoise 6 introduces batch processing, allowing you to process a whole folder of images at once. That means no more need for Photoshop actions! Note that batch processing is only available in the standalone version, not the plugin version.
• Support for High DPI (4k) monitors in Windows 7/8/10

What the Heck is Auto Advance in Lightroom?

Lightroom Quick Tip www.morethanasnapshot.com

Enter for a Chance to Win up to $10,000 in Photography Prizes

Enter for a Chance to Win!

I don't normally pass these along but, I just heard about this huge giveaway.  You could win a 13" Mac Book Pro or a Canon Camera.  I just entered and I think you should too.

Click Here to Enter

Plus next Thursday, I can finally tell you about a secret project I've been working on with some other pros.

Hope you win,
Gary Detonnancourt

PS:  Please use the share buttons on the side of this page to share with your friends.

How to Use the Content Aware Move Tool in Photoshop CC

How to Use the Content Aware Move Tool in Photoshop CC 

If You like Bears this looks like a Great Trip

An overview of the experience of photographing bears at Lake Clark National Park

http://www.brendatharp.com/bears-of-alaska/

Top 10 Photography Workshop Destinations for 2016

Top 10 Photography Workshop Destinations for 2016

For those who love travel photography, heading to workshop destinations that also offer stunning scenery and ample opportunities to take exceptional photographs makes for a wonderful adventure. The good news is that for 2016 there are ten photography hotspots that you can make travel plans and have a great time discovering new worlds.

Cuba with Art Wolfe

Embed from Getty Images

In many ways, Cuba is still untouched and offers an incredible opportunity to visit this island nation which is just now opening up to American tourists. See Old Havana, Vinales Valley, and many other destinations.  http://www.jimclinephototours.com/

Ethiopia Easter Festivities Photo Tour 

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Visit remarkable Ethiopia and become exposed to a clash of cultures that makes for one of the best photography workshops in the spring.  Nomad Photo Tours

Europe 

Embed from Getty Images

Travel to several exotic locations in Europe includes off the beaten path destinations in France and discover the many excellent travel photography opportunities that await you.

Iceland Aurora Photo Tours

Embed from Getty Images

Iceland in the winter is a remarkable sight thanks to black sand beaches, waterfalls, and so much more. Winter landscape photography workshops are available for individuals and small groups through icelandaurora.com.

Mexico City – Land of the Aztecs 

Embed from Getty Images

Find the rich beauty of Mexico City and venture out to many of the colorful buildings, structures, and giant Toltec stone warriors that dot the countryside.  Santa Fe Workshops

New Orleans w/National Geographic

Embed from Getty Images

This remarkable city is an excellent destination for travel photographers to capture the unique combination of modern living amid old French architecture. This is a great place for a quick visit in one of the best photography hotspots.

Central Oregon One-on-One Tours w/ccophoto.com

Embed from Getty Images

The sights of central Oregon are unique and offer plenty of great opportunities to brush up on your photographic skills. You get personal, one-on-one training in an incredible environment.

Santa Fe Workshop w/National Geographic

Embed from Getty Images

Led by a National Geographic photographer, you can visit the wonders that surround the Santa Fe area in this five day trip that is scheduled for three times this year. Find out why famous photographers like Ansel Adams were drawn to this unique part of the world.

West Virginia Nature Image Photography w/Bill and Linda Lane

Embed from Getty Images

Cover the back country of West Virginia with this remarkable workshop that offers nature at its most stunning. Contact lanephotoworkshops.com for more information about their three to five-day field workshop destinations.

Yosemite National Park

Embed from Getty Images

You can enjoy one of the best workshop destinations that capture El Capitan, Half Dome, and other attractions in this marvelous US national park in all its glory. You can sign to see the many waterfalls and even rent a bicycle for this workshop by Ken Rockwell.

In addition, you can check out a number of different travel photography destinations that are well suited to individuals and groups that offer great photography hotspots. For those who want to get away and discover whole new worlds while expanding their photographic skills, these workshop destinations are for you.

categories News
tags photography workshops, travel, travel photography, 2016, tours

Better Backgrounds... Better Images!

When framing an image, it's import to look for distracting elements so you can try not to include them in the image.  These could include objects, letters, words, colors, bright spots etc...  Then again why not take it a step further, why not look for great backgrounds that add to the images impact.  Here are 10 tips for better backgrounds.

1.  Use a professional backdrop.  Sometimes your situation requires a backdrop that can be put up anywhere and will look great in no time.

2.  Blurr the Background.  Creating bokeh is a great way to hide distractions, but even with this type of image it's helpful to have a lot distance between your subject and the background and it helps to have a telephoto lens with a wide open aperture, often wider than F/2.8.

3.  Motion blur can also hide a distracting background.

4.  Use a telephoto lens to create a tight crop.  Getting up close eliminates most of the background.

5.  Sometimes the background is the subject

6.  Sometimes the background is a natural part of the subject.

7.  Use a dark background.

8.  Use an overexposed background.

9.  Use a background that feels very natural for the type of subject.

10.  Use a background that leads to a vanishing point.

As you can see in the image above, it also helps if the background has some complementary colors to the subject.  Colors that don't match the subject will be a distraction and you may want to consider doing some color work in Photoshop or converting the image to black and white.

How to Hide Tabs to Save Space in Lightroom

How to Hide Tabs to Save Space in Lightroom