Grab a FREE PASS for the Lightroom Virtual Summit 2022

I'm genuinely thrilled to announce that I’ll be teaching at the Lightroom Virtual Summit 2022, on October 3rd thru 7th, 2022, and that registration is open so you can grab a FREE PASS now …

October 3 - 7, 2022
15 expert instructors teaching 45 classes - over 33 hours of content! … and you can watch it for free!

After the success of the first Lightroom Summit, I’m genuinely over the moon to be teaching alongside a great line-up of instructors: Anthony Morganti, Ben Willmore, Chris Orwig, Colin Smith, Daniel Gregory, Jared Platt, Jesús Ramirez, Kristina Sherk, Lisa Carney, Matt Kloskowski, Nicole Young, Rob Sylvan, Sean McCormack, and Tim Grey.

The change this year too is that we’re all doing 3 classes each!

All classes are free to watch for a 48 period once they go live, and there's an optional VIP Pass available for purchase that gives you lifetime access to the recordings of all classes, along with audio recordings, instructor-provided class notes and exclusive bonuses.

You can get all the details and see the descriptions of all the classes right here: LINK

If the first Lightroom Summit is anything to go by, this is going to be an amazing week!

Hope to see you there … virtually of course 😃

Trigga: Portrait Shoot on Location and Behind the Scenes

Here’s the result from a recent portrait shoot with Trigga whom I met at a GREAT local Bikers' Café; a completely free spirit who lives life his way embracing and respecting nature and his surroundings.

This was our first shoot together; completely relaxed and gave us time to hang out and chat, so now I simply CANNOT wait for the next one which will be out on location in the Devon Countryside with a Harley.

I get a real kick out of how, by using lighting, we can change the look and feel of a location taking especially when doing so takes just a small amount of kit…

Behind the Scenes

If you’re like me, I love to see Behind the Scenes (BTS) so I thought I’d share a grab shot that I took with my phone just before packing away, that gives you a look at what I used and where it was positioned to take the portrait of Trigger…

Lighting

• Westcott FJ400 Strobe

• Westcott Rapid Box Switch Octa (Large)

• Westcott Silver / White Reflector - to add a little bit of fill light on opposite side of main light

Background

• Westcott X-Drop Pro Background Stand

• Westcott ‘Glyn Dewis’ Vintage Grey Canvas ( 8’ x 8’ )

Tethering

• TetherTools USB-C to USB-C Cable

This was actually the first photo shoot I got to use the new X-Drop Pro Background Stand and my new Glyn Dewis Vintage Grey Canvas Background that is now a material and able to be folded making it way more convenient to transport, PLUS it comes in 8‘ x 8’ and 7‘ x 5’ sizes.

I’ll be sharing a video very soon giving a look at the new X-Drop Pro because, if you’ve seen or have the original X-Drop, this new Pro version is VERY different in a VERY good way!

You can check out the kit above and the new X-Drop Pro over on my GEAR Page.

Anyway, I really hope you like the portrait of Trigga … such a great guy, and I’ll be sure to share images when we get out in the Devon Countryside taking photographs of Bikers and their Harleys, Triumphs, Royal Enfields and so on…

Cheers,
Glyn

❌ DO NOT USE THIS if you PRINT PHOTOGRAPHS! USB Connection v Apple AirPrint (wireless)

Even if you do everything right when printing your own photographs, it might not be your fault they still don't look good ... it could be that you're a Mac user and you're using Apple AirPrint to connect wirelessly to your printer.

Why is this important?

In this video I show why AirPrint is definitely a No-GO and a USB connection is BEST!

📷 EDITING in LIGHTROOM is getting FASTER and EASIER !!!

With all the recent updates to Lightroom including Presets and Masking, we're able to edit our images FASTER and EASIER than ever before!

In this video I quickly go through the editing / retouching steps from a recent landscape / seascape photo shoot using my drone from capture, blending, changing perspective, colour grading and printing…

Drone Photography at Boscastle, Cornwall

• Weather Apps … ✅

• Tide Times … ✅

• Drone Assist and NOTAMS … ✅

• Kit Checked and Batteries Charged … ✅

With everything ready, a couple of evenings ago we popped down to Boscastle, Cornwall with the idea of grabbing dinner and taking some photographs in what can only be described as a stunning location.

As it happens, although I had intended to, I didn’t end up taking any photographs with my main camera BUT thankfully had brought along my drone (DJI Air 2S) and with conditions being perfect for some aerial photography, I couldn’t resist…

For the above image looking out from mouth of Boscastle Harbour across the sea, I set the drone up to take 5 photographs in quick succession with each a different exposure (AEB) and then blended them together in Lightroom to create a HDR (High Dynamic Range) image.

I love creating panoramic shots with my drone too; this one and the one below taken using the 180 pano setting in Raw, and then merging together in Lightroom to create the stitched together image.

And of course, I couldn’t resist a Top-Down …

All of the images were processed using both Lightroom Classic and Lightroom Cloud; using both together opens up so many more editing possibilities due to the cloud and Adobe’s A.I. which is a great way to edit fast and get inspired.

I’m thinking about covering this in an video over on my YouTube Channel so if you think it would be worth doing, I’d really appreciate a YEs or a NO in the comments section below.

Also I’m looking at putting together a video and post showing what I check (weather, no fly zones, NOTAMs etc), what I take with me and everything I do to ensure a safe (and legal) and successful flight with my drone when filming or taking photographs, so again if you think that would be something worth sharing, just let me know.

Thanks for looking in,
Glyn

💡 This is how I ADD a BACKGROUND LIGHT or SPOTLIGHT into my pictures using PHOTOSHOP

So today (after having had a Direct Message and request come through Instagram) I have recorded and uploaded a new video showing how to add a Backlight / Spotlight into your pictures; a great technique if...

a) You didn't have the space to use other light during the photo shoot
b) You had a light but didn't use...and now wish you had
c) You didn't have another light at the time

In this technique I make use of a (very) quick selection and a Levels Adjustment Layer​, and the result is VERY effective.

Hope you like it,
Glyn

👁👁 EYES: BRIGHTEN , ADD CATCH LIGHTS + MAKE THEM POP: One Technique that does it ALL!

I love how we can use techniques in Photoshop to do more than one thing. In this video I show how a GREAT technique that I call the Never Ending Lighting Rig for adding in more lights to your picture can also be used to enhance eyes in portraits by brightening them, adding in fake catch lights and making them POP!

LONG EXPOSURE with NO FILTERS 🚫 Explained Step by Step 👍

I LOVE Long Exposure Photography BUT what do you do when you're out with your camera and have NO Neutral Density Filters with you? Well, here's a GREAT TECHNIQUE for creating a Long Exposure Effect by combining a number of images together in Photoshop and using a Smart Object and the Median Stack Mode. Quick. Easy and VERY Effective!

Photographing The Joker

Looking through some files in my Lightroom Catalogue the other day and I noticed a series of images that I took when presenting for Sony at their Roadshow last year showcasing the new Sony A7IV.

I put together a video giving my feedback on the new camera that I only got my hands on the day before the Roadshow started, and in that video you can see snippets of when I was photographing my friend Graham Currey who was dressed as The Joker..

As for the set up, I used just the one light which was positioned above Graham, slightly forward of him and angled directly down to the floor so that I could also bounce some light into his face using a silver reflector.

The resulted in a version of what is commonly called horror lighting or up lighting, and which I thought would work great for the Joker character and give the pictures a much more dramatic look.

Kit:

• Camera: Sony A7IV

• Lens: Sony 85mm f/1.4 G Master

• Lighting: Westcott FJ400 + Silver Reflector

Settings:

f/5.6 , 85mm , 1/160sec , ISO 200

Hope you like the results, and as alway, if you have any questions / comments, please do make use of the comments section below and I’ll be sure to respond.

Cheers,
Glyn

❓WHO is Glyn Dewis and WHAT is this CHANNEL❓

At the beginning of the year, one of my priorities and things I wanted to spend more time on developing was my YouTube Channel, and over the past (almost) 6 months I've thoroughly enjoyed it.

I'm having so much fun putting videos together the way that is 'me' and each week learning and trying something new to add to the production value.

One thing that's been missing though is a Trailer; something that in 60 seconds or less tells folks that haven't subscribed, the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHY, WHEN and HOW of me and what the Channel is all about, but yesterday I put some time aside and did it…

Hope you like it 😉