Comments for Digital Photo Mentor

Comment on Venice Carnival – a Photography and Adventure of Canals, Masks and Architecture by arda

arda — Wed, 29 May 2024 18:29:25 +0000

@palmerphotography:disqus this one? https://www.digitalphotomentor.com/photography/2020/03/venice-carnival-photography-masks-160-1200px.jpg

Honestly you’ll find masked and costumed people all over and in front of spectacular backgrounds. They know where to stop and they just stand there and pose. So finding great backgrounds will not be an issue. They are everywhere, and not sure I could pinpoint that exact location.

Enjoy! Remember to get up early to get the ones by the water!

Comment on 6 Steps to Effectively Tackle Street Photography by Yusuf

Yusuf — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 13:12:16 +0000

Thanks for sharing, Old post but impressive.

Comment on What’s in My Photography Toolbox and Why I Recommend This Stuff by Kevin Roscoe

Kevin Roscoe — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 18:18:35 +0000

Thanks for sharing Darlene, always nice to have some ideas on tested items one might want to consider for their own toolbox!

Comment on Luminar Neo Review (2026): Best AI Photo Editor for Beginners? by Tim Porter

Tim Porter — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 06:08:08 +0000

It would be nice if their official documentation mentioned Apple Silicon support or support for Xeon processors. It seems to be rather vague. I have a client that uses Aurora HDR to process hundreds of 30 megapixel photos and it takes 2+ hours on a 9th gen i9, w/ 64 GB of ram, a good GPU and fast SSD. He wants to drastically reduce the amount of time it takes to do that and we’re trying to figure out what hardware would be the best way to go to do so. It would be great if there were benchmarks out there.

Comment on How to Decide What to Pack for Your Next Photography Trip by Michelle

Michelle — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 00:53:34 +0000

Excellent article – I’m in the midst of trip planning myself and what camera equipment I will take is the big debate. Going to Africa for 3 weeks and only allowed 33lbs of luggage (Checked and carryon) total. I currently have a Fuji X-T1 and strongly considering upgrading it. I’ve been told to expect dusty, low light conditions (early mornings and twilight) and will not be taking a tripod.
Darlene, if you could take one, and only one Fuji lens, what would it be?

Comment on How to Give Your Pictures an Authentic Vintage Appearance by Michelle Patrick

Michelle Patrick — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 05:34:38 +0000

Hi Darlene. I appreciate this teaching. One thing though, all the links on the site to the freebies give a 404 error. I see it’s been a while since anyone has made a comment so I wasn’t sure if you were still operating this site. If so, could you please let me know how I can get the files you mentioned above? Thanks.

Comment on 15 Creative Garden Photography Ideas Made Simple by Becky Desantis

Becky Desantis — Sun, 24 Sep 2023 19:34:16 +0000

Hi Darlene, thanks for this article. I plan to share with my photo club and use it as a challenge. It really does demonstrate well how changing aperture, angle, etc. affects the outcome. The only part I had trouble with was #2 – the green leaf photos. I am having trouble seeing them as being back lit versus front lit and it may just be my eyes. The red leaves look as though the light is shining through them from behind but the green ones appear front lit. In any event, it is most likely me. Thanks again.

Comment on Review of Sigma’s 56mm F/1.4 Lens – Is It Worth It? by Darlene Hildebrandt

Darlene Hildebrandt — Sat, 23 Sep 2023 23:04:04 +0000

In reply to Putra Ramadhan. I agree

Comment on Review of Sigma’s 56mm F/1.4 Lens – Is It Worth It? by Darlene Hildebrandt

Darlene Hildebrandt — Sat, 19 Aug 2023 02:11:27 +0000

In reply to Putra Ramadhan. I totally agree! I much prefer it as well

Comment on Review of Sigma’s 56mm F/1.4 Lens – Is It Worth It? by Putra Ramadhan

Putra Ramadhan — Fri, 11 Aug 2023 04:07:10 +0000

In reply to Darlene Hildebrandt. I still think any third party manufacturers for Fuji MUST add aperture ring on the lens. Heck, any lens should have aperture ring, it's just a better way to control it.

Comment on 12 Tips for Photographing Your Own Kids – the World’s Toughest Models by Darlene Hildebrandt

Darlene Hildebrandt — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:29 +0000

In reply to Eva Rubio. thanks

Comment on 12 Tips for Photographing Your Own Kids – the World’s Toughest Models by Eva Rubio

Eva Rubio — Wed, 05 Jul 2023 16:45:40 +0000

Great article. I love the way you use light & color. Glad to be reminded it’s important to ask permission.

Comment on ON1 Photo RAW 2022 Review – The PROS and CONS by Darlene Hildebrandt

Darlene Hildebrandt — Sun, 25 Jun 2023 23:03:58 +0000

In reply to Pat Boran.

Not that I know of, unfortunately. Luminar Neo offers all the editing tools you need but doesn’t have a good file management system. I’m looking into Excire Photo to pair with it for people like yourself. It has the option of monthly payments or purchase it outright. You can try it here, use my discount code DPM10 for 10% off. https://www.digitalphotomentor.com/luminar-neo

Comment on Splish Splash – How to Capture Dynamic Water Spray Images This Summer by Darlene Hildebrandt

Darlene Hildebrandt — Sun, 25 Jun 2023 23:01:23 +0000

In reply to Fabrizio Bertorino. Yes one of those two formats.

Comment on ON1 Photo RAW 2022 Review – The PROS and CONS by Pat Boran

Pat Boran — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 21:14:30 +0000

Comment on Splish Splash – How to Capture Dynamic Water Spray Images This Summer by Fabrizio Bertorino

Fabrizio Bertorino — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 17:31:21 +0000

In Neo must be the layers jpg or png files?

Comment on How to Use a Flash – Tips for Total Beginners by Darlene Hildebrandt

Darlene Hildebrandt — Sat, 17 Jun 2023 01:32:20 +0000

In reply to Ricardo. You're most welcome. I find "they" say a lot of stuff, don't they? Not all advice is good!

Comment on How to Use a Flash – Tips for Total Beginners by Ricardo

Ricardo — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 06:00:40 +0000

Great article. I use flash now and then but now that I’m doing more work in studio I decided to go back to basics on all things flash. While you have the luxury of using off camera flash in a studio I still wanted to see what I could get with on camera flash and bouncing light. I was also told to stay away from TTL at all costs unless you’re doing an event. I have heard so much negativity on how it shouldn’t be used and it will give poor results so I would fool around with manual settings until I got it to where I wanted. But your suggestion of combining TTL with shutter priority has been a massive time saver. I am not seeing any issues in my photos. Technology is good enough that it should do a good job and it has. I’ll be tackling an off camera single light setup soon but for any on camera flash, it’s TTL all the way from now on. Thanks sharing your knowledge on this.

Comment on Which Portrait Editors Are the Best for 2023 – Does PortraitPro Top the List? by Darlene Hildebrandt

Darlene Hildebrandt — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 23:18:59 +0000

In reply to Don Draper. @disqus_lcDtxsZZel:disqus good call!

Comment on How to Use Your Flash – What all the Buttons and Settings Mean by Darlene Hildebrandt

Darlene Hildebrandt — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 23:18:46 +0000

In reply to URJokin. @URJokin what mode are you using on the flash? Use TTL. If it's in Manual then the power is set too high but shooting in that mode doing candids like that is really challenging.

Comment on Which Portrait Editors Are the Best for 2023 – Does PortraitPro Top the List? by Don Draper

Don Draper — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 22:27:40 +0000

Well done. While I have Neo, this further convinced me that I made the right choice.

Comment on How to Use Your Flash – What all the Buttons and Settings Mean by URJokin

URJokin — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 19:05:02 +0000

Just purchased this flash bc the one I purchased evidently couldn’t handle high speed.
Your explanations are clear, but one question. If I’m shooting in a dim room (like for a wedding reception, sunset/before darkness), does the flash know what settings to use by what’s on my camera? I tried using my flash in a dimly lit room and I set the camera at a good exposure, but having the flash made it way too bright. Not sure if it’s bc if my current flash that doesn’t have an auto setting?

Comment on What Are Drive Modes on Your Camera and How to Use Them? by Darlene Hildebrandt

Darlene Hildebrandt — Wed, 31 May 2023 22:53:01 +0000

In reply to David. That's a great technique I did that too. But with digital and the ability to stack images later you don't have to do that in-camera anymore. So what I do now is set the exposure to between 5-8 seconds and set the drive to continuous then I just lock the cable release and let it go.

Comment on How to Use a Flash – Tips for Total Beginners by Johan Jooste Snr

Johan Jooste Snr — Sat, 20 May 2023 10:01:58 +0000

Great article and tips here, thank you.

Comment on What Are Drive Modes on Your Camera and How to Use Them? by David

David — Thu, 18 May 2023 02:36:29 +0000

In reply to Darlene Hildebrandt.

The Panasonic Lumix G5 doesn’t have time-lapse. It does have shutter delay (2s or 10s), burst mode and single-shot mode. Being a micro 4/3 camera, it doesn’t have a mirror. But, it has electronic shutter. I keep the electronic shutter on all the time, but I did notice that setting tends to adjust the ISO for lighting conditions.
Back when I learned on film, the technique I had for shooting fireworks involved the bulb setting. I had a Pentax K-1000, which is a very simple manual-everything camera. I purchased a tripod and cable release for it. I set up directly under the fireworks and pointed the camera where I knew they would be. Leaving the lens cap on, I set on bulb and opened the shutter and locked it open using the cable release. When the fireworks go up, I removed the lens cap and wait until the fireworks burn out. Put lens cap on and advance the film. Sometimes I didn’t advance the film between fireworks. This made for interesting double exposures. BTW, I didn’t mention this was using the 50mm kit lens and slide film! I’m glad Kodachrome retained its colors over the years. The 2 samples I attached are from 1985 over Lake Nasworthy near San Angelo, Texas. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b73f88e42a67d7005ca5c19b08cb54a2ce935b45ff2fac2303dd979ce4cab410.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/799662f4e3f543f9dc49cb1a44373638ec72dc015d7dc4209ee1fa2038d17ab4.jpg