Adobe announced the release of Lightroom 3 yesterday.
If you've been using the beta version it will expire at the end of June so you have a few more weeks to use it before it will self destruct (with a sizzling sound along with a mist and smoke rising from your keyboard).
If you didn't play with the beta version you can download and test drive a fully functional copy of version 3 here (for both Windows & MAC).
For all of you who own previous versions of Lightroom you can upgrade for $99.
And whether or not you are looking to improve your Lightroom skills or trying decide if you want to purchase version 3 you will want to visit the new and improved FREELightroom 3 Learning Center brought to you by the good folks at NAPP.
Second (and the main reason for the second post), since posting I listened to another interview of Zack done by Rangefinder Radio which is filled with great information, pertinent to anyone who is serious about being a photographer.
Lastly, even though I will be attending the "Studio Lighting" workshop I have pre-purchased it because I know it will be something I will refer back to again and again.
After listening to his interviews I get the feeling Zach holds himself to a pretty high standard so with this workshop he will be swinging for the fences (for you non baseball fans you can figure out what that means here), I think it will be something pretty spectacular.
Followed by "but he's not coming to my town" and "even if he was I probably couldn't afford it".
All wrong, regardless of where you live you can attend this 3 day workshop (without leaving town, heck, without leaving your house) and you can attend it for free.
The catch? you need to register at creativeLIVE before all the "seats" are gone. That's it, that's all you have to do.
creativeLIVE is the brainchild of Chase Jarvis and how it works is simple, you can watch their seminars live (and free) no strings attached, but should you not be able to "attend" live you can buy the entire 3 day workshop (recorded) for a ridiculously low price.
The Zack Arias 3 day seminar (8 hours each day) is free when you watch it live and only $79 to purchase the downloads.
So head over to creativeLIVE to sign up for the Zack Arias workshop, or one of the other (free) outstanding workshops they have coming up.
Back to Zack for a minute, I was listening to one of his interviews last night and he had a great suggestion for building your business/portfolio. He mentioned a specific piece of glass that cost almost $1,900, and too often folks will buy it because the think it is important to their photography business. Zack's suggestion was if you really want to build your business purchase the same glass used and with the money you saved spend 2-3 days in the big apple shooting/building a "New York Portfolio" for your website. I thought that was freaking brilliant.
Lastly, watch the video below to learn how you can win a real/actual seat at the 3 day workshop in Seattle, yup, you can be one of the studio attendees, sipping that great Seattle coffee and that would be free too (well, the seat would be free, not the coffee)!
Not sure if you caught this at the end of my review of Scott Kelby's "Mastering Camera RAW", but we are giving that DVD away to one lucky reader.
To be eligible all you need do is comment on ANY blog post between now and June 30th, there will be a (random) drawing on July 1st to determine the winner.
There is no limit on the number of post you can comment on, the winner will be announced here on July 2nd.
Some of the most important information contained in this post is included in the very last paragraph, so if you skip anything DON'T skip the last paragraph.
I can describe Jed & Vicki Taufer and their photography business in just four words "great people, outstanding products".
Their latest offering is "Unleashed", a pet photography resource full of detailed information and resources for any photographer that is considering adding pets to their business, or if you already offer pet photography "Unleashed" will help you do it better and with greater success.
You will get a DVD with 72 folders, 165 files, and stuffed with over 2 1/2 gigabytes of information.
What you'll get isn't theory, or what someone thinks is a good idea, what you will get are the tools and blueprints the Taufer's have used (and continue to use) to make their pet photography so successful.
You name it and it's in there, email marketing, press releases, Photoshop .psd samples and templates for cards, prints, and canvases, how to videos, price lists, and more.
They've even included almost a dozen royalty free stock video clips that you can use to fill out slideshows and promotional pieces you may want to create.
And its not just about making money, its also about giving back. They show you how to team up with local animal shelters and organizations to run fundraisers that benefit the shelters, your clients, and your studio. True win, win, win.
I could go on and on about the depth of information that's included on the DVD but the video below will give you a great visual demonstration of the contents of "Unleashed", so please take the time to watch it all the way through.
Here comes the REALLY important part(s) - until the end of the day on Friday (June 4th) you can purchase "Unleashed" for only $84.50. That's half off the regular price! Simply use the discount code "UNLEMAIL" during check out and you'll receive the 50% off special. And because I am so impressed with "Unleashed" I'm going to do something I've never done before, guarantee someone else's product. The first person who purchases this and doesn't think they got their moneys worth, I'll give you your $84.50 back. How's that for believing in a product I review?
If you want to learn how to light, Strobist is THE place to go.
Because it has been in existence so long (4 years) and has had so many posts (over 1,000) it is easy to miss or not find articles that would be significant to your learning.
Every once and awhile (while wandering aimlessly through the net) I stumble across a sight that A) is phenomenally useful and B) I can't believe I did not know about.
The importance of lens hoods cannot be overstated and if you are missing one, head over to Free Lens Hood, print out the hood you need (on a firm gray card stock) and you are good to go.
Free Lens Hood is just that, FREE, but if you find it useful (meaning you print out a lens hood or two) you might want to consider donating a buck to help defray the cost of keeping this valuable resource available.
