This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (3-9 May 09)

Weekly Assignment

Canon XSi | 1/100s | f/8 | ISO 100

This week we got a chance to see what forum members do in our Your Evening Assignment. There were a lot of different ways the people spent their evenings. Whether it was studying, relaxing, playing games, or spending time with their families, there was a lot to show us what evenings mean. Our winner was rt80639’s beer shot. This simple, clean shot was really well done, right down to the drop of beer on his chin and the excellent lighting. Our first runner up was sdecker’s shot of her evenings spent working on college papers. Although there were several shots of people studying, this one really stood out to us because of the colours and lighting. And finally, srt’s unique, vintage looking Windex ad. The vintage processing really matched the idea and went well with the dated view of “a woman’s place”. Well done everyone!

This week we also started our Kitchen Utensils Assignment. Sometimes it is a challenge to find new and exciting ways to display ordinary, every day items. But it is possible with creative lighting and composition. So this week we want you to dig around in you kitchen and find a kitchen utensil to photograph. As always, the rules for the mini-contest. In order to be eligible to have your photo included in the mini-contest to appear on the blog, your photo must have been taken between 29 April – 13 May 2009, you must include the words “Assignent: Kitchen Utensils” and the date that the photo was taken in your post, and your EXIF should be intact. For the full rules, see the assignment thread. Next week’s assignment is “Ghetto Lighting”. In that assignment you need to use artificial light that you have on hand, so long as it isn’t strobes, flashes, professional lighting, or full sunlight. Get creative with lighting on a budget! This assignment will also be tied to the next assignment, so make sure to have a try!

Hot Threads

• One eye or Both eyes?: Maybe you’re right-eyed, maybe you’re left-eyed. Which eye is your dominant eye and do you photograph with one eye open or both eyes open? Come tell us which, and why (if you have a reason).
• Lens Hood: Why, When, How?: Lens hoods are often recommended instead of UV filters to protect lenses, but why should you use one? And when? And how?
• Most helpful photography book you have ever read: Photography books can be useful, but there are so many out there that it’s hard to decide which ones are really worth buying. Come share your recommendations for useful photography books with us over in the forum.
• Why does the red turn neon green like this?: One thing that can happen, especially in night photography, is that colours will not show up quite the way that you originally saw them. But how you tell what is causing the problem? Some forum members share possible causes, but come contribute your own thoughts if you’ve had problems like this.
• What Wold you Do: What Would You Do is our weekly post-processing thread where forum members get a chance to edit the photos of other forum members however they would like. It’s a chance to show off your post-processing skills or help to build them. Whether you use Picasa or Photoshop, Picnik or Gimp, you’re welcome to participate.