Just a quick reminder note today. I wanted to let everyone know of the early bird 2013 sale ending on photo purchases from the American Star Ball. At this time the sale will expire on Monday, June 10, 2013. In summary, the sale is 20% off your entire purchase and includes prints and digital file downloads. In the hope that this will explain further, there are 3 different sizes of digital downloads available. The small download is a good size for email, blog, and Facebook use. As can be seen on this blog, these images are small download size. The medium download can be printed up to 4×6 size at the lab of your choice. And the large download can be printed up to 8×12. Of course having the digital download will help find photos in the future. Since you will have the filename with the download, it will make it easier to find in the archive later. Visit the proofing website to view your photos and printing / download options:
There are some constants that survive no matter how much photography evolves. Because of standards organizations, we had film speeds in ASA or ISO that now go by light sensitivity on digital cameras and F-stops for describing aperture openings. The softer “standards” that have survived include cropping dimensions of photos for presentation.
Photo Dimensions
8×10, 5×7 – these dimensions are some of the popular frame sizes that are sold here in the US. When my customers start looking at purchasing photos, these are the sizes that they purchase the most – why? These are the frames that are available in the decorator and craft stores. The problem? Look at the files that are coming out of your camera at this time. If you have a DSLR, the dimensions of the files that it makes are 4×6! This goes back to the days of film. 35mm film was the most popular consumer and small-format professional size of film that was available. For this reason, manufacturers keep the form of the cameras and the lenses the same as film cameras. With this in mind, most sensors have retained this ratio.
What this means is that if you want to have an 8×10 photo that is printed edge to edge, you need to crop your image files. Cropping is much easier in software than after the photos has been printed. It is non destructive, and it can also be used to improve composition of your image. To make an 8×10 image, the original file needs to be cropped down from 4×6 to 4×5 to fit on the page without borders. Here is an example:
The 4×6 crop is more “panoramic” with a long dimension left to right in the frame. This is popular for landscapes and can give a better sense of scale. To fit this image into an 8×10 frame, however, a crop is needed. In trying to keep it close to the original composition, I didn’t move the frame in the software and came up with this:
The frame looks much different to me! Even though printed it would be a “larger” photo, I think it feels more cramped. It doesn’t convey the open space that the photo was taken, it seems like many of the elements are much closer together in the frame – the house in the background with the box in the foreground. Now changing the 8×10 crop to a portrait mode (where the longest size run up and down) the background house is a much smaller part of the images, an the emphasis goes back to the foreground. The best part is that you can change these easily in software until you really find the photo that suits you best.
Ballroom dancing events are displays of color, motion, and hard work. And like other sporting events, dancesport comes with lots of coaching! Dance instructors see your dancing from the beginning to just before you go onto the floor. Sometimes, they are on the floor with you – right in front of you to help you perform your best.
I actually don’t remember these few minutes I was on the dance floor – thank goodness my partner knew what she was doing. Muscle memory just takes over for me, and instructors can get us back on track in case we drift off somewhere in the middle. During the last heat before the break for dinner, I caught these few photos of an instructor shouting encouragement to her students, an amateur couple on the floor.
For me, I can remember people shouting our names and even though I can’t feel my hands or feet, I can get through 2 minutes of dancing in front of the judges and the rest of the audience with a little more confidence. Maybe I don’t remember every piece of advice on posture, foot placement, or cues to lead my partner, but I can get through it, and build a little confidence to go out for another heat.
It is hard to get these in photos with all that’s going on during a competition, but I am sure every dancer knows the experience. The teachers put in so much work to get students ready – and to convince us to get out there. It must be satisfying to see the results!
