TimeLine Media Blog

Continuing the post from last week’s Tech Thursday, I want to post about the reason against switching to the Creative Cloud subscription-based software model from Adobe. There has not been more negative posts on a photography project in a long time! Change can be difficult for businesses especially if drastic change affects the software that is at the core of so many studios.

Adobe Review

Will you still be able to access your *.PSD and *.AI files that you created in Photoshop and Illustrator even though you no longer pay monthly for Creative Suite? What happens if you get out of the business – will you have a way to access these proprietary files? Adobe has stated that they will update the last “boxed” version of the suite, CS6, with updates for new cameras and file types, but will not add new features. I question, though, how long that will last. Even Microsoft cannot Windows operating systems forever no matter how popular, or how many computers still run versions that are 3 or 4 generations old.

Another view is that the subscription model means that you are just renting software. For the time that you are paying, you will be getting all the updates, and features that you expect from licensing software. After the subscription is ended, no matter how long you have been paying, you will have nothing to show for it. With boxed versions of software, studios would have flexibility on when they will invest in their core software. Plus, Adobe would give you incentives to upgrade when you are ready, with discounted pricing for returning customers, and different pricing models to suit studios. For example, Web Designers could get a suite with different products for them, while photographers would buy a package more suited for them. The new model gives only 2 options – $20 a month for 1 application, or $50 a month for all applications.

Software Subscription

After the initial reveal of the Creative Cloud, and the uproar from the Internet forums, it looks like there is still discussion at Adobe whether this is the final setup of the Creative Cloud. There are discussions of having photographer specific versions of the cloud, and I’m sure there are others also being explored. So for now, I will be sticking with my CS5 suite, and waiting to see how this will fall out. This is definitely the wave of the future – subscriptions models make sense for software companies, so it is only a matter of time where all software will be done this way. This is just part of the growing pains of change.

In any case, I will not be worrying about this until I can’t open a file or edit a photo, so not to worry! I’ll still be shooting and putting out the best images I can no matter what software will be on my workstation. Stay tuned to the blog to see more-

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

Reston, Virginia

It seems like a long time since the last Showcase! November 2012 was the last Arthur Murray Showcase held at the Hyatt Regency in Reston, VA. We will be making new photos of Smooth and Rhythm routines this weekend. On this occasion we will be at the Hilton McLean in Tysons Corner. Going through the last event, there were some really nice photos from both the choreographed routines and the All-Around competition.

The photographers love to make images here since there are usually some special moves outside of the textbook school figures that are taught out of the syllabus. It is fun for the dancers too as they are anxious to show off for the judges and the audiences too! If you have any special moves and want to have them on camera, spot our photographer, and make sure that the line faces us. We try not to move around too much during the routines, so we will be stationed at one side of the dance floor for the session. If you have any questions on this, please ask! See you on Saturday!

Showcase Dance Routines

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

If you have been following this blog, or my Instagram, I have been learning to use a new light modifier. Specifically they are the Rapid Box from Westcott. These new modifiers are specifically designed to work with small flash, or speedlights. They are very flexible to work with any size and brand of flash, and they setup very quickly.

Light Modifier

Online, I have seen photographers that have used these for portrait sessions. They seem to work very well, and I am anxious to try them out on some people photos, but in the mean time, I have been experimenting on using them with smaller subjects. The blooming spring flowers in my backyard were my first tries, and I have blogged about them here. The difference with the Rapid Box vs. the bare flash was clearly evident from the first photo. The light is diffused and spread nicely with the Rapid Box making hard shadows disappear when photographing sections of flowers that poke out from the centers, making the light seem like it is coming from the sun on an overcast day rather than from a speedlight only a foot away.

The lightness of the softbox allows you to really put it in places that a standard softbox cannot go because of size or weight. Here is a behind the scenes photo of another shoot showing the camera position and the softbox setup:

The box is not in shooting position in this photo. I held the stand in my hand before taking the photo with the timer so I could see exactly where the light was going. It was a bit complicated, but the results are much better than what I could get without the flash.

Cameras LOVE light. To get better images, you need to have as much light on your sensor as you can get. The technology that they have built into these flashes is optimized to give you better images if they are set up correctly. They need practice to get them to work best, which is why I have been working with these on static subjects before I put them in front of people. If the flowers are any indication, I am confident that these boxes will work great. Stay tuned to find out!

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208