Intro by Skip Cohen I love the analogy Panasonic's Luminary, William Innes, brings to this post this morning. The original title was "Read Your Camera Manual", but that so understates what the GH4 is really all about. I've been shooting with the GH3, the GH4's predecessor, for several months and the technology Panasonic has developed is a game-changer. So, William, I hope you're okay with the title change. LOL Check out William’s new website at www.innesphotography.com to see more of his wedding work and examples of the entire LUMIX family in action! ![]() I have a good friend (who will remain anonymous) who recently posted a story on Facebook describing how he had found some new buttons and switches in his car. What made this interesting was he had owned and driven the automobile for over three years. He was amazed and finally admitted to finding his owners manual and discovering what functions these new switches performed. I think photographers with new cameras seem to roll like my friend above. They get a new camera and since it is very similar in appearance (including the menu) to their older camera – they don’t bother reading the manual in detail. This has been confirmed to me by quite a few of my photographer friends. I am one of those geeks who loves reading manuals – all kinds of manuals – new TV’s, computers, coffee makers, and of course new cameras. A good case in point is my new Lumix GH4 camera. I was very excited when it arrived and wanted to shoot it at my next wedding. On the outside it looks almost the same as the GH3, but the inside (where all the good stuff happens) is all-new. So I resisted the urge to just go and shoot and spent some time with the manual. I learned a lot about new features and things you can do with your camera. One of my favorites is a feature that not only lets you touch the screen where you want to focus, but it will also set the optimum exposure for this area as well. In the bridal image here – I touched the bride's face on my screen and the camera set this as the area to expose and focus. This was confirmed on my screen with a little green rectangle (for focus) and a little blue "+" sign (for exposure). Read your camera manual. You may be amazed at some of the new features you will discover. Pro Tip: Download your camera manual in PDF format and save it on your smartphone. If something goes a little sideways during a shoot – you will have easy access to your manual. Photo: Image was shot with a Lumix GH4 in raw format and processed in DXO 9.5 and Photoshop CC.
2 Comments
Intro by Skip Cohen Bob Coates has been a good buddy for a whole lot of years. During that time I've watched his style change and over and over again I've seen him push the edge of the envelope on his creativity. Today's Luminary Corner post is about one of the tools that's helping him reach some amazing levels of creativity. Since Bob started shooting with Panasonic's LUMIX line, I've seen him going into some unique and fun directions. The short video below is only meant to show you the sweet capabilities of the GX-7. Click on the link at the bottom and you can read the full story. Having been in Sedona many times over the years, this two minute video of Oak Creek took me right back to standing in just about the same place with a whole lot of camera gear twenty years ago. *Sigh* - only I didn't have the benefit of video! Interested in seeing more of Bob's work, check out his fine art site and follow his new blog, Successful Photographer. You'll never be disappointed. There's a lot of attention being given to the Lumix GH4 and with good reason. It's a smokin' pro camera with the first 4K video capture, really high frame rate and enhanced chip… But what are you shooting? If you are making non or semi-professional video and want a cool travel camera with a low profile that doesn't weigh you down, yet still has plenty of file size to make large sized prints may I suggest...I'm still grooving on the Lumix GX7. Here's a video I shot with the GX7. I captured the raw footage on the banks of Oak Creek in Sedona, Arizona. You can read about the full story of the shoot and processing with a click on the link below. PS - Actually, now that I think about it I used a GX7 for part of the capture on a $6000 video job recently. So, even for some full on pro work this camera rocks! Bob Coates Intro by Skip Cohen Over a year ago I started working with Panasonic's LUMIX Luminaries. Just to say they're a talented group would be a huge understatement. In fact, you can check them all out for yourself just by wandering through Luminary Corner. Well, thirty weeks ago we started doing a guest post or profile of a different Luminary every Monday morning. Each post has shared content to help you raise the bar on your skill set, marketing or creativity. This post today is definitely destined to be one of my favorites, because it's not just a good read, but announces the collaboration for a workshop between two talented artists, Rob Knight and Rick Gerrity. They're doing a workshop together in October, "Route 66 Photo Adventure". If you've got an interest, instinct tells me this is going to be one of those programs people will talk about for years to come. As Rob wrote on his workshop page: "This photo workshop has been a dream of mine for several years. Join me and my fellow LUMIX Luminary Rick Gerrity for three days along Historic Route 66 in northern Arizona. We'll visit some of the most iconic locations along the Mother Road and photograph the signs, landscapes, people and more that make Historic Route 66 such an import ant part of America's history." The link to more information is at the end of Rob's guest post and I'll be sharing more about both of them in future posts. Meanwhile, grab a cup of coffee, kick back and just enjoy this new post from Rob Knight! By Rob Knight It's easy to dismiss some of the features inside today's digital cameras as novel tricks or just tools for tech geeks. I'll admit that when I first heard about cameras with built in WiFi I didn't see what the big deal was. I'm usually not in a huge hurry to get images onto my phone and it's a lot faster to transfer photos to a computer with a card reader. Since I've been using LUMIX cameras, my opinion about cameras with built in WiFi has drastically changed. The LUMIX Image App allows you to control your camera remotely, complete with live view, with most of the functionality of something like the Cam Ranger. As cool as that is, it's still not a function I use in my everyday workflow. I was recently scouting for an upcoming photo workshop with my friend and fellow LUMIX Luminary Rick Gerrity. We used the WiFi in our LUMIX GH4 cameras extensively during the trip. Here are a couple of specific examples that may give you some ideas for using the WiFi function in your camera. 1. Social media: Probably the most obvious thing to do with built in WiFi is share your photos from the camera to your social media channels. While we were still on location we would transfer a couple of shots to our phones and post them to Instagram, Twitter, FB, etc. One cool thing about posting photos from the area you're shooting is that you can add the geotagging data from your smart phone. Before we were on the road again Rick and I were sharing images with our followers. 2. Instant sharing. This is probably my favorite use for in-camera WiFi. We stopped on Route 66 near Seligman, Arizona so I could make a photo of one of the iconic Route 66 badges painted on the road. Just as we stopped, a guy on a motorcycle pulled in beside us and asked if we would take a photo of him (with his iPad). Rick said "sure" and we decided the coolest shot would be with his bike parked over the "Route66" on the road. Rick made a few shots with the fellow's iPad, and I grabbed some frames with my GH4. While we were chatting I transferred the photos to my phone and emailed them to him. Turns out he is from Australia and he was riding from Dallas to LA on holiday! I'm sure he had an amazing trip, and I was able to make a great photo for him (much better than the iPad shot!) and send it to him on the spot. That's technology put to good use if you ask me! You never know when instantly sharing photos this way can lead to a new client. Sending someone a snapshot might get you a call to shoot their next event. It at least lets your subject know who you are and gets your email address in their inbox.
Rick and I are leading a three-day photo workshop along Historic Route 66 in Arizona this October. We have some amazing locations to share with you, along with lots of tips for shooting travel, landscapes, portraits, video and more. We'll also have loaner gear from our friends at LUMIX USA. It's the new guest spot for this Monday from one of Panasonic's LUMIX Luminaries. It's an incredibly diverse and talented group of artists and what better to share their work and get them on your radar than through their Instagram page. This week it's Giulio Sciorio in the spotlight.
"Giulio is an award-winning, modern minimalist-style photographer who shoots for social media, editorial and advertising. He has been blending stills, motion and sound with his photography since 2009. “Like many, my love affair with photography came from exploring the world around with a camera.” Today, street photography is one the ways he keeps exploring. “There’s something special about street photography, capturing moments in time. It’s a cross between a time machine and a cave painting. One day when we’re all gone there will remain the photograph as proof that we were here, proof that we existed.” I'm having a great time working with all of the LUMIX Luminaries. Giulio's done several guest posts and his animated portraits, including his own headshot are a kick! Check out his guest post and then his site, "Small Camera Big Picture" a solid resource for everything hybrid! Every Monday we do a guest post from one of Panasonic's LUMIX Luminaries. It's an incredibly diverse and talented group of artists and what better to share their work and get them on your radar than through their Instagram page. Meet William Innes, a talented wedding photographer on the west coast.
William came out of the corporate world of the aerospace industry and brought to wedding photography a solid background in business and marketing. With every client he spends a lot of time building the relationship and getting to know each other. He loves wedding photography. As William wrote on his website: "I admit it – I just love weddings and a little action! That’s what's great about wedding photography. It requires all types of photography, whether it’s portrait, landscape, action or product shots . Then there’s working under pressure making sure all the required shots are captured and then spending some fun time creating artful images with my couples. My favorite thing about being a wedding photographer is getting to know my clients. My couples spend their whole wedding day with me so I feel it is important for all of us to feel comfortable with each other." I've really enjoyed working with William over the past year or so. He's done several guest posts and a podcast. Looking to contact William or just see more of his work? Check out his website. |
AuthorsWelcome to Luminary Corner. Besides being a recognized member of the professional photographic community, each post author is a member of Panasonic's LUMIX Luminary team. Archives
November 2017
|