Another great DIY resource...

If you are familiar with Scott Kelby, Kelby Training, or DTown TV you've probably seen Larry Becker.

He appears to be a quiet behind the scenes kinda guy but I am sure he is a driving force behind what is going on ("speak softly but carry a big stick" comes to mind).

Well Larry does a segment on DTown called "Cheap Shots" that are low cost, no cost, and do it yourself projects for photographers.

He also has a site "Larry's Cheap Shots" that you will want to visit (and bookmark).

Need a low cost idea for foam padding? How about an inexpensive flash diffuser, or a Speedlight softbox? This white seamless solution (I thought) was brilliant.

Larry is another great resource in the Kelby stables, so check out DTown TV and Larry's Cheap Shots for some great ideas.

A free Speedlight eBook just for you...

There are some photographers that I follow closely, they speak, I listen. Lou Jones is one of those photographers.

He recently released a free eBook on speedlights and I wanted to share it with you.

In it Lou talks about the mobility of small lights, modifiers to use with them, remote triggers, mixing speedlights with available light, and more.

There are 8 sample images included as well, all with different lighting scenarios and each presenting its own unique lighting challenges. The last part of the eBook has complete and detailed lighting diagrams for each of the sample images that show how it was lit and what equipment was used to make it all happen.

One thing that was so simple and so ingenious (that it blew my socks off) was using a simple 99 cent a-clamp as light stand. Can't tell you how many times I've run out of flash brackets or what I did have did not work for what I was trying do and an a-clamp would have worked perfectly.

Great stuff.

To get your free copy of "eBOOK: SPeeDLIGHTS" by Lou Jones all you need to do is head over to his blog and sign up for his newsletter. Pretty simple.

Though it was produced with the Nikon Speedlights it isn't brand specific, if you use Canon (or any other) small flash the principles and tips in the eBook are applicable.

50 free workflow actions for Photoshop...

Sure there are plenty of free Photoshop actions out there, but so many are not worth the effort of installing them.

Not true with this set of "50 Free Essential Workflow Actions for Photoshop".

I have "known" Stuart Little for many years, he has been a teacher and a Photoshop developer for a long time. The first actions I ever used were developed by Stuart and have been extremely happy with everything I have ever bought from him (which is just about everything in his store).

Now, back to the workflow actions.

Want to prep an image to post on Facebook? There's an action for that, how about posting images on your blog, yup, actions for that too. You can crop, rotate, re-size, apply a filter, convert to black & white, copy a layer, and so much more.

And not only do you get these great actions, they come with the "Power Panel" that contains all 50 actions as well as the most popular (and useful) Photoshop tools that will further speed up your workflow.


If you don't want to install the panel you can "buttonize" the actions to make them work with a single click.


But wait, there's more! You can watch video tutorials on installing the actions, installing the Power Panel, and demos of the actions themselves right here. Or you can skip all that and go directly to the download page (but I wouldn't recommend it, why miss out on some free education).

These actions are developed for CS3, CS4, and CS5, if you use an older version of Photoshop you can get free Stuart Little actions for older Photoshop versions here.

Stuart is a great teacher and you can find a ton of resources (like his Lightroom master class) at his website.

(click on any image to open view larger and in a new window)

Just 36 hours left on this great deal...

I have NEVER given the gift of photography (prints, canvas, books, etc.) and not had it be a rousing success (and on occasion help get me out of the dog house), which is why I try to share deals with other photographers as I learn of them.

Here is another.

Groupon is offering $115 worth of custom-designed photo books from Photobook America for just $35, that's a 70% savings!

The catch is you have just 36 hours to follow this link and get in on the savings.

Thank you, thank you, thank you...

I want to thank everyone for the comments, your thoughtful emails, and all the well wishes.

The daughter that was giving us such a hard time is one of my twins, Emma. She has been a frequent subject here on the blog, from birthday announcements, Photoshop tutorials, product reviews, portrait sessions, and of course stories I was never supposed to share with the public.

Emma has come home from the hospital and is recovering wonderfully and I get to sleep in something that holds my entire body (unlike the cot at the hospital that had a mattress about as thick as a beach towel and left my feet dangling off the end).

Life is good.

Again, thank you.

Happy Birthday America...

And a happy 4th of July to you, hopefully you have fun family activities planned for today.

If those plans include fireworks and you'll be bringing your camera along to shoot them, here are a few tutorials on getting the best possible fireworks images (here, here, and here).

Have fun. Be safe.

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!

Photo Credits: Hyperfocus Photography