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June 20, 2013

Software Upheaval Post 2 – Tech Thursday

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-

Adobe Illustrator CS5

Adobe Photoshop CS5

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June 13, 2013

Photography, Technology | 0 comment

Software Upheaval Post 1 – Tech Thursday

The last few weeks, the photography community has been active with discussion over the software suite, the Adobe Creative Cloud. If you do not know, Adobe is the latest company to switch to a subscription model. Going forward, if you want to have the latest version of Photoshop, you need to pay a monthly fee of $20 to activate the software for use. Microsoft has also done this with their new version of the productivity suite named Office 365, but they also have a version (Office 2013) that you can purchase as before.

Adobe Subscription Model

Some of the good points for the users that I see is that the cost for entry in getting to Adobe Photoshop is lowered. Instead of purchasing the program for $600 or more up front, it is now only $20 to start, and your investment will be the equivalent of 30 months of use for the software. I last purchased the Adobe CS5 suite in 2010, so this is the same amount I would have spent if I bought a new version in 2013. In addition, if you use ANY of the other Adobe products in their catalog, it is only $50 a month to have access to the ENTIRE catalog!

For me, I use InDesign to create posters, large prints, and other pieces where layouts are important. Working with photos through all their products is seamless if you need to use them for prints, videos, or the web. You edit photos in Lightroom, retouch them in Photoshop, then export them to use in InDesign, Premiere, or whatever software you need to make the final product. The $50 over 30 months would come to $1500 which is less than the $2000+ price tag up front for the package when I last checked!

Creative Cloud Software

The name is a bit misleading to me. Just because it is called the Creative Cloud does not mean that you have to be connected to the internet to edit your files. This would take too long, and would eat up your bandwidth. The software will only check periodically to ensure proper activation by the user. This also allows Adobe to push out new features and updates to users faster. If there is something that is added to the program, you no longer have to wait months for a new release or large patch to start using the new features. Also you no longer have to specify whether you are using Windows or Mac OSX when purchasing the suite. This used to be a separate expense if you had both systems in your studio.

This sounds like I am “all-in” for the new subscription model from Adobe. There are some cons to going with this. There is more outcry online on this side of the argument, and it actually keeps me from jumping in yet. In the next Tech Thursday post, I’ll review these cons, and let you know my final conclusion after examining both sides. Everything is changing so quickly these days, I’m just trying to keep up, and to make sure it makes sense for what I am doing. Let me know what you think about it!

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

June 11, 2013

Personal, Photography, Technology | 0 comment

iPhone Photography Comparison

As far as experience goes, I am new to the iPhone. It is impressive as a phone as well as computer for connecting to the internet. But the photography capabilities are quite a force to be reckoned with as having a camera on hand all the times has changed how we make and share photos. Facebook and it’s acquired company, Instagram, have boomed in popularity with emphasis on sharing photos. I distinctly remember the first event where I saw people using cell phones to capture photos. I did not think this trend would stick, but boy was I wrong! As of today, the iPhone holds the top 3 spots of the most popular camera used to post to Flickr.

Camera Comparison

In my short time using the camera on the iPhone 5, I have been impressed. The camera built into the phone performs much better than some dedicated point and shoot cameras I have seen. When I the day lilies in the back of the house bloomed, I decided to compare the camera in my phone to my Nikon D4. What can a DSLR give you over your camera phone?

Here are some photos from the iPhone-

©TimeLine Media - Day Lilly - iPhone — ©TimeLine Media – Day Lilly – iPhone

With the bright, overcast light the phone performs very well! The in-camera sharpness and color from the JPG file is really good. When I took out the DSLR, I found that it was easier to find a good composition. The phone has a fixed lens that is slightly wide in length (roughly 33mm according to spec sheets). With the DSLR, I used a 105mm macro lens. It makes isolating subjects from the background easier, and can focus closer than the lens on the phone. Here are some examples from that combination-

Macro lens on DSLR

In looking at the photos now, I can see that this is not the best comparison. I should try next time to get equivalent focal lengths, but I that may be the point! The DSLR and it’s ability to change lenses, gives you more flexibility in making images. If the composition you are looking for cannot be made at 33mm, you are stuck. I wanted to have the flower be the subject without seeing the surrounding ground and concrete patio in the frame. With the DSLR, I didn’t even see these in the viewfinder. Adding a touch of flash, I was able to take out more of the background, and really have the flower pop out of the frame-

Since I had the macro and the flash out there, I tried to get a shot of a droplet on the flower at the minimum focus distance of the lens. This took a lot of timing and patience as any slight breeze took the droplet out of focus. Here is one that was actually sharp!

Just for fun, here is a 100% crop from the center of the frame. Makes the flower photo very abstract with a natural vignette from the shape of the flower petals. Plus the reverse reflection of the flower in the droplet was an unexpected surprise!

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703-864-8208

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Archive of ‘Technology’ category

Adobe Review

Software Subscription

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Adobe Subscription Model

Creative Cloud Software

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Camera Comparison

Macro lens on DSLR

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