The Ebb & (Work)Flow

In between Christmas & New Year's, I finally have nothing to do and I'm away from household chores long enough to remember that I have a blog. So I'm using this year's free time to talk about workflow.

Now, there are several different choices folks have in software, and while I have Aperture 3, Photoshop CS5.5, and iPhoto, my go-to software for photo management is Adobe's Lightroom 3 (the technical name is 'Adobe Photoshop Lightroom' if you are looking to buy it).

So... Step one of course, is to go and shoot some pics! And if you're like me, you end up with somewhere between 500-1200 for a 3-4 hour gig. Yes, that is more than I need. But let me continue...

Now I open Lightroom and attach my card reader. LR (Lightroom from this point forward) then automates where I store my pics and proceeds to copy them. Once they're all on the computer, I begin the approval stage. Using keyboard shortcuts and both hands, I choose fullscreen mode so all I see is the current photo, starting with the first one in the folder. I then advance through them all 'select'ing them as 'flagged' or 'rejected'. Rejects are accidental firings, missed subjects, blurs, etc. These get deleted from the computer when all other steps are complete.

Stage 2 of the selection process is filtering only the 'flagged' photos. Let's say I started with 1000 photos. This usually leaves me with somewhere in the neighborhood of 800. I then use the number keys to 'star' the flagged pics, starting with a '2'. These are, for lack of a better term, my 'good' shots. Now I am down to about 400-500. So I now filter only the '2-Star' photos and start over (fullscreen at the beginning). These a lot of times will have 2 or 3 of the same photo (thanks to 8 fps!), but one being slightly more interesting than the other 2. The more striking pic gets a '3-Star' ranking.

When I have the '3's all done, I then create a 'Collection' of the same name as the event folder (ie, Richmond Marathon '11). This collection allows me to only have to look at the 150ish '3-Star' photos without worrying about the 2 and unrated pics. Once in the Collection, I open the 'Develop' module in LR. I keep the right hand panel open with all my development sliders. The left panel of 'Presets' and 'History' I hide so that it only appears when I mouse over it. This gives me 2/3 of the screen to view the photo (I usually also hide the Filmstrip panel at the bottom as well).

'Developing' (a misnomer, but for all intents and purposes will do) the pics is up to the photographer, so I won't go into that for this entry. I will mention, however, that if you like a photo as is, then it is helpful to create a 'Virtual Copy' by pressing (Command-') or Control-' for Windows (that's an apostrophe with the command prompt). You can make a bunch of these and do something different to all of them, like painting out all the color except for a runner's shoes for example. They don't take up any more storage space, and it's easier to keep them organized than going back through the 'History' menu to the beginning.

Finally, I export the 'developed' photos to my Zenfolio website through their handy plugin (or via their upload module on the site). I usually include the '2-Star' pics for client delivery as well, but these are unedited most of the time.

For an extensive explanation of many of the above-mentioned filtering techniques, check out Scott Kelby's Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 for Digital Photographers (which I read cover to cover in less than a week).

Calling the Shots

One of the most difficult things that I (or any sports photographer) have to deal with is the schedule of events. A couple of months ago I was shooting the Dominioin Riverrock for the Sports Backers. Over the 3 years since it's inception, Riverrock has gone from a day and a half of trail running, mountain biking, trick aerial biking, dog jumping, and music to all the aforementioned with the added kayak stunt jumping, paddle-boarding and kayak boatercross.

Initially, it began on Friday around 4pm. There was a 5K mud run, dog jumping and a couple of music acts. Big crowds. Saturday started at 8am for the James River Scramble 10K (an offshoot of the XTERRA event held in June). As the 10K wrapped up, the Urban Assault MTB race began, and bike 'rock-hopping', kayak races and more dog jumping started. So Saturday was a 12 hour run.

Thankfully (physically), Saturday has squashed a couple of events and thrown the rest into a maelstrom of concurrent athletics. Mentally, however, I have to decide which events (based on detalis like new, popular, and exciting) I had to cover.

Concerts are a dime a dozen unless there is a superstar performing (photographically, no aspersions on the performers), so that one is easy, but is last year's big event going to be as big as it was? Is the background different? Is someone famous competing? Will the crowds make it look cooler?

It's a chaotic job, but a fun one. Of course you'll have regrets - the coolest trick, finish or performance will have happened when you are waiting for something else to start on the other side of the venue. My advice? Celebrity status, novelty of the event and background (of the shot). And don't forget to drink water...

Road to Nowhere

I've covered the last event of 2010 for the Richmond Sports Backers - the Suntrust Richmond Marathon. I have one more scheduled job for the year with the VCU School of Nursing in December, then it's time to go into hibernation I guess!

Not a chance! I have the Adobe CS5 Master Collection and Scott Kelby's "Lightroom 3 for Digital Photographers" + "Photoshop CS5 for Digital Photographers". Not to mention my user manuals for the Canon 50D & 7D to bone up on. It's amazing what these cameras are capable of (I usually just turn it to M, set the shutter speed and aperture, then go to work). So I'm going to be reading every day until the thaw brings out the runners again!

Actually, I've decided to hang up my sales photography gig for a season (at least). 2 reasons: I am turning 40 September 2011 and I wanted to run 40 races in the intervening 365 days. At date I've done 8. The other and more fiscally responsible reason - I don't make enough money at it. I use Photoreflect to sell photos (which is by far the best and most easily understandable software I've come across). The problem with them is they have no Mac version, and I want to give my PC laptop to my son. I am entirely Mac/iOS at this point - except Photoreflect.

Traveling 2+ hours round-trip to take 800 photos of runners/bikers/triathletes for 5 hours, then spend an entire day organizing them for easy online searches, then making roughly $150 is a colossal waste of time. I go out of my way to get unique images of participants (and by and large the response is VERY positive, so thank you to that 99%!!) and I really don't have time to deal with the one or two who want award-worthy photos for free.

Ending on a positive note - I had a ball at the Marathon and this was the first year I've photographed it when it was not raining. Fantastic Fall colors along Riverside Drive, and happy participants galore!

Is Death the 'D' in DSLR?

In April, my wife and I got iPhones (3Gs for those reading the news everyday). She needed a new phone, and we were on the same plan, so we made the jump. I left a Blackberry Storm, and boy am I glad I did. Holy Stuff! what a phenomenal machine the iPhone is.

But I'm not trying to get you to switch phones, I just want to point out the iPhone camera and more particularly the 'apps' Camera+ and Autostitch. I just got back from Las Vegas, and got better photos with my phone (in some circumstances) than I did with the Canon 50D. So...

I know there is still stuff you can't do with a "point-and-shoot" that you can with an SLR (off-camera flash, lens changes, manual controls, etc.). But when you can get print-worthy photos without all that (meaning good low-light sensitivity, decent exposures, no more 'lag-time' and the biggest of all - it's in your pocket and you can take it anywhere they would normally stop you with a "professional" camera at the door), the consumer-level DSLRs are probably on borrowed time. Just my opinion.

I say this because 99% of folks buying Digital Rebels and the Nikon equivalent (that now shoot HD video - but so does iPhone 4) don't have the slightest clue how to take photos with them (and never leave the green square or 'auto' mode). They just buy them because they're on sale at Best Buy (but much cheaper online), and it impresses their friends at the kids' soccer games.

So now I get a kick out of whipping out my phone to snap off some pics while I'm working with $4000 of Canon gear hanging around my neck. People think I'm crazy, but I can edit them and upload them to my website and social media sites (Facebook/Twitter) in the time it takes me to set the exposure on my 50D.

What is with the "2-song" access??

4 days straight of shooting. 2 days of Dominion Riverrock, 1 with both the Carytown 10K and Willem's soccer, and a Monday morning VCU Nursing gig.

The Riverrock was stressful. All the events this year took place in the late afternoon and evening. And most of them overlapped, making full coverage nearly impossible. I bagged the idea of getting out on the rocks for the James River Scramble, as well as getting to Forest Hill Park for some shots on the newly redesigned trails.

I was pleased with the shots I got though - only wishing I could have gotten more angles of some things. But I do have a beef. There were two headliner bands (who I won't name due to my beef). Coming straight from kayak and stunt bike performances - like I said, they overlapped with every other thing - I was stopped from back/onstage access because they "only allowed press photography during the first two songs." So now, wearing both STAFF and MEDIA badges, I have to shove my way through the hoi polloi (at least 2 dozen of whom are trying to win a $500 prize for the photography contest) to get photos to be used for the event's promotion. What a joke. I suppose that's why those bands are playing Brown's Island rather than the Landmark or the Carpenter Center...