San Diego Photographer

This is our new logo for the company. I would love to hear all of your thoughts and opinions. Also, a big thanks to Dylan Drake Designs, she is a wonderful designer and an even better person.

I.                   Transfer photos from camera to computer

a.       Create a folder to put the pictures into.

                                                              i.      Name the folder related to the pictures or event and include the date

1.      Ex: “Day at Seaworld – 07-17-2010”

                                                            ii.      Rotate all of your images to the appropriate position

                                                          iii.      Create subfolders

1.      Create a folder and label it JPEG folder that you put all of your JPEGs in it

2.      Create a folder and label it ‘RAW’ and put all of your RAW files in it

3.      Create a folder and label it ‘Final’ and put all of your completed and edited photos into this one

II.                Optional

a.       Burn the folders onto a disc for back up or to deliver for a client

b.      Batch process

                                                              i.      Change the file names for all of your photos to make them more descriptive

                                                            ii.      Change the image size to be uploaded to the web

                                                          iii.      Image adjustments and enhancements

                                                          iv.      Add watermark, copyright or logo

c.       Individually edit photos that need more alteration than just brightness or borders

III.             Upload online

a.       Post to blog or website

                                                              i.      Resize image for appropriate display size

b.      Share on Flickr or Facebook

                                                              i.      Add description and tags to the photos and tag friends

c.       Upload to client or personal server for client to view and order photos online

IV.             Back up your photos

a.       Carbonite.com – automatically backs up new files to their server

b.      Copy all photos to an external hard drive

c.       Burn photos onto discs

Free Tools Available for Organizing and Sharing Photos

1.     Flickr – share, store, and upload photos for free

2.      Picnik – Free and basic way to edit photos

3.      Pixlr.com – advanced tools similar to photoshop on the web

4.      Picasa – a downloadable software to organize and share photos online and on your computer

I am currently having Dylan Drake, a wonderful graphic artist, work on and design my new logo and brand identity. The old logo (seen on the right) is very web 1.0 and has lost its appeal and it is time for an upgrade. I am reaching out to you, my fans, and my clients to help decide which what my new logo will be. Please leave your votes and comments in the comment box or on the Fan Page: San Diego Photography on Facebook

This is a quick tutorial of how you can set up a professional and portable background for an indoor or even out door studio.

Panoramic Photos of Downtown San Diego are extremely popular. Photographers usually find themselves in Coronado looking across the bay and feel the need to capture the beautiful skyline of Downtown San Diego. If you google "Downtown San Diego Panoramic" you will come across several different shots; some during the morning, mid day, and dusk/night time like the one I have taken below. For the inexperienced photographer taking a shot like this seems near impossible. I am here to tell you that it is fairly  easy.

Here are the specs from the exposure:

Shutter speed = 30 seconds
Aperture = f/8.0
ISO = 200


So how would you take a shot like this?


Practice. Go out one day around 7pm and set various different exposures. To give you some guidance in setting the appropriate exposure use the following:


I. When setting the shutter speed you want a long exposure of 10 seconds or longer. The reason for this is because of the following:
1. You will need the shutter open for a long time to get in enough light.
2. It smooth over the water and reflections giving it that really cool effect in the bottom 2/3rds of the shot.
*Make sure you have a sturdy tripod before performing this shot.


II. Have a relatively smaller aperture. Somewhere between f/8.0 and f/16.0. The reason for such a small aperture is so you can capture sharp details in the background. With all of the different depths from the building it is essential to have a small aperture.


III. When shooting a panoramic it is imperative to overlay a lot of your shots. Do NOT try to measure the frames from start to beginning for each of the shots. Give yourself plenty of "wiggle room." You can see from the 3 original shots I overlapped the images by a significant amount. This will make your life a lot easier when editing it in photoshop.


There are about a 1000 different tips that can go into making awesome panoramic photographs. If you like the panoramic of Downtown San Diego and would like to know how I did it in further detail then leave me a comment and I will get back to you.

A new entertainment company is on the rise encompassing DJ's, photographers, caterers, event planners, and anything else a corporate event or wedding may need to throw a successful event. These are just a few pics of the team out at Mission Bay after dark. Make sure to come back and check up on the status of UpperClass Entertainment as they become the #1 entertainment company in San Diego.

This past weekend The Right Light Photography had volunteered to assist the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation here in San Diego with their Great Strides event in Del Mar. One of my students for the San Diego Photography Classes is diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis and works for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation here in San Diego. She and her partner were responsible for putting on the 3 different Great Strides events throughout San Diego. They did a fantastic job of raising awareness and funding for finding a cure to Cystic Fibrosis. I want to congratulate them on their efforts and I am thankful to have been able to contribute my small part back to the Foundation.

The other day the Dienasty Select crew wanted to do a photoshoot to introduce and promote their newest designs. I must say these designs are unique and are made of high quality materials. I included some photos below of the guys in their new gear. These photos were taken at Sunset Cliffs and Downtown.

A good friend of mine, Natalie Colli, is graduating from San Diego State University next week after years of dedication and commitment to the Associated Students. She didn't want the standard instudio graduation photos and her mother requested photos that exemplified the San Diegan experience. So what better spot than Coronado with the Downtown skyline in the background. I was actually able to get some really interesting shots after sunset with using strobes and long exposures. If you would like to book an appointment for some graduation photos then contact me here.

Here is a quick video and some pics that I took backstage at the LMFAO Concert for GreenFest at SDSU. Taking these photos and being backstage with Red Foo and Sky Bloo was tons of fun. Sure, having to be right next to the really large speakers to get the right shots wasn't the best part, but it was definitely worth it (my ears rang all night after the concert). 


Leave your comments and let us know what you think of the pics.