NoBs Digital Dogbowl
The NoBs Digital Dogbowl Newsletter:
Keeping you up to date and informed on the latest, coolest, and outrageous happenings inside the world of NoBS Photo Success.
Loaded with Free photography tips, Photoshop tutorials, photo reviews,
and other totally relevant essentials. Be sure to check out the whole thing!
December 2007 Digital Dogbowl
Welcome to the Stocking Stuffer Edition of the Newsletter!
Happy New Year, everyone! Please be careful this holiday, we need you around so no drinking and driving. Remember, we're all part of the family!
This edition of the newsletter is full of free downloads and videos to enjoy and explore. Have fun!
Supercharge Your Goals and Selling Strategies
How was your year? Did you get a lot done? Did you reach any of your goals, or at least start a list of goals? Are you ready for the new year just around the corner? Each year marks a new start. I revamp, re-edit, supercharge my own goals, either new ones or older ones that need dusting off and revamping- get 'em ready for the new year. I'm big on goals. When you know what you want, you get what you want. Let me elaborate a bit.
SCAW Results Are In!
A big thank you to all who contributed this year to NoBS Aid for SCAW. Last year's total donation of over $4700 was easily surpassed this year with members coming through in the clutch to donate $7090. This donation will provide over 200 bed kits for needy children. Well done, NoBS family!
2007: A Year In Review
As 2007 gasps its last breaths, we at the Dogbowl would like to pay tribute to another successful year for NoBS and it's members. Time and time again, NoBS members came through for each other to provide moral support, guidance, experience, and wisdom on the path towards becoming successful photographers and business people. Through it all, the forum cultivated and maintained a close knit "family". Where else can you find all this and a bag of chips?
Along with Rob and James' workshops, which included Cozumel, Niagara School of Imaging, and the Inferno, members also created their own opportunities to learn by seeking out each other and putting together regional NoBS meetings where they pooled their resources. SoDEX, MEX, and SoEX were among the successful get togethers, and still more are in the works.
The download section continued to grow and expand exponentially with free downloads and tutorials from AC's 3D action to Riff's "Over the Hill" action. And let's not forget James' tutorials on shooting clients in their environment, how to do the maternity wrap, creating a reflection, etc. We also learned about marketing, projecting, and sales techniques from Rob and other knowledgeable members.
And who could forget the birth of MacGyver? Thanks to members' ingenuity we learned to make battery packs, beauty dishes , tutus, fairy wings, and flower hats for babies among other things.
Members also inspired us with their creativity, drive, and accomplishments. This is a list far too long to mention here, but you know who you are and we thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge with us.
Last but not least, let us bow our heads to the hopeful New Year's resolutions from NoBS members. Click here for a peek. May 2008 bring us all improved marketing, photography skills, sales, and prosperity!!!
Member of the Month: Riff
I always knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. What I didn’t know was that I was wrong. Back in middle school when I got my first computer, a TI 99/4A, I was captivated with programming. When I got to high school there was only two computer classes: Computers 1 and Computers 2. I got to college and majored in Computer Science, where, thankfully, they had more than two computer classes.
Backing Up Your Images
With the rise of digital photography came many positive changes for the professional and amateur photographer. Aside from the ability to manipulate images with an ease not seen in film photography, digital also lowered the cost of producing images. A negative change, however, has been how much more complex and costly it is to store and protect those images. As we all know, it isn't a matter of taking film and filing it away indefinitely anymore.
Fixing The Mask of Zorro
In a class recently, a student came up to me at the break with a question about cleaning up a large and complicated mask. He had been painting in the mask with short strokes but found that it wasn't as smooth as he would like in larger sections. He was surprised when I told him that the best way to fix it was to use a different tool, the eyedropper.
Quick & Dirty Scenic Workflow
Here is an image I (Hodgy) took this past summer with my little Canon A75 Point & Shoot Camera. It's a great image in my opinion, but some quick and easy workflow can bring it up a notch. Simple yet effective techniques can bring up the "impact" of an image.
The NoBS Difference
Michael Blinn has been paying attention to the techniques that are available in the videos in the NoBS Dangerous Download section. Check out his before NoBS and after NoBS portraits from his maternity sessions. Way to go, Mike!
"We had a friend coming into the studio for a Maternity session. It was more like play time for me than a session for her. I watched all the maternity video sessions in the downloads area to gear up for this shoot. I took lots of notes and watched each video half a dozen times or so. I knew I was doing a wrap shot like James always posts, and I wanted to do a belly shot like the ones Rob does. I was worried about stealing these ideas, but in reality it was the lighting that I wanted to learn.
I even went out and bought $200 worth of material: powder pink, power blue and white bridal chiffon to get the look that I wanted. We wrapped the subject in the pink (she’s having a girl) and I used the white to drape in front of the backdrop like in James’ video. Well, I didn’t have enough white to drape across so we improvised. Instead of draping between two background stands I used three to add depth to the background and to get the most use out of the material that I had. I also changed things up a bit with the background light. Instead of having it light up in front of the draped chiffon I had it between the white muslin backdrop and the first drape of chiffon. I also used a pink gel (well not really, pink cellophane from Michael’s, as per another video from the download section where James does a commercial shoot of some mining drill bits) to light the backdrop and give a pink glow throughout. I used a soft box as a kicker set to about f. 8.5 and second soft box as my main set to f. 8.0. I feathered on the edge of the main light.
After I snapped the first shot I was in awe. I couldn’t believe that I set that up, posed, draped, metered and exposed that image. If it wasn’t for this forum, the people on it, James, Rob and everyone who posts video tutorials, I’d still be taking the shot like I did before, frustrated with what I was getting and feeling discouraged. Thanks NoBS!"
Before:
After:
The NoBS Twelve Days of Downloads
No matter what your faith, pull up a chair, grab a cup of your favorite holiday beverage, and get ready to enjoy a dose of holiday cheer and education. We now bring you the NoBS Twelve Days of Downloads. Please be advised that trying to sing this to the tune of the original Twelve Days of Christmas may irreparably damage any sense of rhythm you may have had.
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a new Monthly Success Interview with Riff. La la la la la la la la laaaaaaa.
On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a Lighting "Get-Together" With Friends. La la la la la la la la laaaa.
On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, Steve and Shelley's Senior Ball On Location. La la la la la la la la laaaa.
On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, A Few Studio Portraits By Hodgy. La la la la la la la la laaaaaaa.
On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a Doctor's Xmas Party 2007. La la la la la la la la laaaaa.
On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, the Success Interview of 2008 with Amy Elliot. La la la la la la la la laaaaa.
On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a A New Studio Tour of Pixatron. La la la la la la la la laaaaa.
On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, another Photoshop tutorial from Hodgy. La la la la la la la la laaaaaa.
On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a high key tutorial from Ricky. La la la la la la la la laaaaa.
On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a link to donate to NoBS' SCAW drive. La la la la la la la la laaaaaa.
On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, The Ultimate Lighting DVD. La la la la la la la la laaaaa.
On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, The Big Kahuna. La la la la la la la la laaaaaa.
Photo of the Month
Congrats to Steve and Shelley for creating the Photo of the Month!
"That image is of our daughter Devin. We were playing around in the studio with a fan and her new furry hooded jacket. This was actually an outtake that turned out to be my most favorite shot!" says Shelley.
View Steve & Shelley's Website here.
Lighting and Workflow tutorials from Hodgy
This month James shares with us several different video tutorials that are free to everyone. In the first, James explains with Photoshop his simple three light setup for creating a dynamic portrait.
In the next video, he shows us his simple Photoshop workflow that he uses on his portraits.
NoBS Vendor Profile: Jaco
As was aptly stated not too long ago, there are many extremely talented photographers here at NoBS who work in anonymity in the trenches. One of these members is Jaco, a wedding photographer based in South Africa. His work is always innovative and his passion for photography shines through in his wedding work as many here on the forum will attest. But, what some new members may not know is that he and his wife are also the talent behind Furi Fine Art books, which is a preferred vendor on NoBS.
Many members, including hodgy , have raved about the quality of these books. The success of these books also created an exciting new opportunity for Jaco in 2007, when a wildlife photographer hired Jaco and his wife to create books for his photo safari company. To see the images and the books from this job, click here .
So, it goes without saying that to really appreciate the quality of these books, you need to have one in your hands. This will go a long way as well in showing your client the quality of the books. Anyone interested in obtaining a sample Furi Fine Art book (5x7, 6 pages long) can contact Jaco via PM. These are available to NoBS members for $45 plus shipping. Many thanks to Jaco!
Coming soon.... 2008!
We're looking forward to 2008, we've got so many things to come! WPPI in Las Vegas, the 3rd annual Inferno at the Falls, more NoBS gatherings, and many many more contributions to the Inner Circle community. Thanks for the great year!
As a thank you to NoBS members, Fineart (Rob) and Hodgy (James), will try each month to offer an exclusive download in the NoBS Newsletter. This month's download has to do with goal setting, strategies, and selling techniques. Without further ado, we bring you the first complimentary download here. Merry Christmas!!
Recently, Rob received this heartwarming letter from NoBS member, Jillian B.
"Rob, I just wanted to send you a quick card to show my appreciation for everything that you have done so far. I know you must get a lot of 'Thank Yous' from a lot of different people, but I find it important to express my gratitude towards you.
I thought that I had everything planned out in life. Get good grades in high school (check); go to university (check); take a science program (check); take the courses needed for medical school (check), then work my butt off until I got into medical school and became a doctor.....and I'd live happily ever after. Well, the plan started to fall apart. I mean, being a doctor would be fascinating and I would love to help people in that way, but I just felt empty. I wasn't exciting for me, I had no drive for what I was doing, and it began to show in my attitude and actions."
To read the rest of Jillian's letter to Rob click here.
The NoBS Train Rolls On: Latest NoBS Get Togethers Planned
It looks as if California, Texas, and Hawaii are getting in on the NoBS Express Reunions. NoBS member George Dean is coordinating the Dallas area NoBS get together at the end of December. The California Get Together planning is underway and being spearheaded by NoBS member ElaineB, and Poi Express 2 on O'ahu, Hawaii is on the books for the end of January and beginning of February. Stay tuned for details. A New York get together is also in the works for April 27, according to NoBS member Amy.
Recently, a NoBS member posed the infamous question, "How do I do a white balance and is it necessary if I shoot raw?" Hodgy addresses this question this month in his new download. To see how a real pro does it, click here.
Favorite Softening Techniques
Looking for a way to create soft focus and soften the skin in your portraits? Look no further than a recent post in which hodgy and others weigh in on what works for them.
FREE download: the NoBS Softar Action This is the older softening action, which normally sells for $14.95. Download the action here... This is only till January 3rd, 2008 And you can also view a tutorial here...
Want more? The Hodgysoft action is new and improved and available for FREE for members of the NoBS forum.
We thought we'd share a lovely and inspiring post by NoBS member, Chasity, who recently shared some good news with NoBS members. To read her post, click here.
Family Portraiture Tips
Thanks to NoBS member menachem who "posed" (sorry, we couldn't help it) some questions regarding posing and set up for family portraits, a fantastic thread developed and with it came a wonderful tutorial and example images from Rob. To read the post click here .
The last group buy for Silverlake backgrounds ended on December 23. The backgrounds as voted on by NoBS members were All Natural, Survivor, and Motion. If you didn't get in on this deal, you will have to wait until at least February 2008.
Are you looking for a way to separate yourself from the competition? Look no further than NoBS member Paige Pea's Photo Walls. Paige recently "sat down" to tell us a little about her unique product and business.
"Our boutique is photo decor. It is a photo studio that also offers the whole room decor. I design my own children's bedding and paintings/frames. Someone will be able to get a whole room done including all of the decorative painting/accessories and the artwork/frames/photography all to match. We also do walls in the adult areas of the house. Most of my wall groupings include personalized paintings and the pictures of the kids. I think the frames and artwork will also be easy for photographers to offer. I am working on having many collage styles - photographers can just email the pictures they want to plug into the collage and the finished/framed product will be shipped.
Paige has also graciously offered a limited time, 50% discount, exclusively for NoBS members. To see more and read more, click here.
New Vendor Forums
In the Preferred Vendors area of the forum there's several new sub-forums dedicated to discussing their services. The new forums include: Silver Lake Backgrounds, Event Photo Market, Mama Shan, Great Retouching, and Studio Zap.
Recently, the Camtasia software was offered as a free download. This is the software Rob and James
commonly use to upload their videos on the forum. If you are interested in obtaining the free download click here where James provides the link for the download as well as some tutorials on how to use it.
Hi everyone,
I would like to thank all my guests for the past year that took part in the Chat Room meetings. A ton of information was shared by everyone and also thank you for all the NoBS members that are at the meetings. There's always a lot of interesting questions that are asked by the members.
I wanted to start the new year with a bang for our next meeting. This person had to leave the forum for a little while (not that he wanted to) but now he's back and everybody is happy about that. Direct from Venezuela....my next guest will be Ricky! He's an amazing talent that has grown so much the past year. Come and learn how he's doing it.
The meeting will take place Sunday night January 13th at 9pm (New York time).
Lets have a lot of members for this meeting so that a lot of information can be shared.
See you on January 13th....thanks, Dan Morency aka The NoBs Stalker
NoBS Reviews
Our forum is listed under the Photography Forums on the Photography Vendors blog. Check out the reviews there, and feel free to add your own!