ZKQ Blog

Photo Friday: Hello Redbud

 

Photo credit: Z. K. Queijo

Really Amateur Photograpy with Olympus Stylus Tough

When my son heads out to practice skateboard tricks in our backyard "skate park" (which consists of a discarded porch deck, a 4' x 8' sheet of plywood and other boards of various sizes), he almost always grabs a camera and tripod so he can mark that moment in history when skill, luck, and inertia are all in his favor.

Recently, one of his friends came over and the two of them practiced tricks late into the evening, taking turns with the camera as they came up with new challenges based on the available obstacles. In this shot, my son has jumped down from the sawhorse, flipped the board and is about to "land it" (hopefully). 

As a mom, I am always impressed by the ingenuity of these kids. They don't see the ladders, sawhorses, and other miscellaneous objects found in our backyard as obstacles; they see only opportunities. As an amateur photographer, I am impressed that someone even more amateur than me (a 12-year old who had never used the Stylus Tough) could pick it up and capture a moment in time (and air) such as this, and at night, too!

Olympus loaned me a camera last year after I wrote a blog post questioning why Olympus was not marketing their rugged Stylus Tough to "me, mother of kids." It turned out that their mom-friendly campaign had just kicked off with a terrific video series showing how "kid tough" the Stylus really is.

In our family, the camera has passed the "kid tough" test and the "kelly tough" test, and now, it's passed the tough standard for motion image capture quality...by both a kid and a mom.

Your Image Your Brand: The Perfect Headshot

Anyone with a digital camera can take a headshot, but not everyone can create an image worthy of your personal brand. Whether you're a beginning blogger or CEO of an established company, a quality headshot will add value to the image you portray.

Jay Kinghorn, Olympus Visionary Photographer and co-author of Perfect Digital Photography, recommends working with a professional photographer. “If you were getting ready to impress a future client, would you cut your own hair, or have a professional do it?”

According to Kinghorn, image and composition are important when it comes to sending the right message visually. “Photographs communicate to your audience in both subtle and obvious ways. A photographer who understands what you are trying to achieve with your portrait is invaluable. Bringing a photographer in to shoot your headshot will help you convey the professionalism you bring to your work.”

Kinghorn shares these tips for DIYs and those planning to work with a photographer:

Setting
Choose a setting and background that is simple and will not detract from the subject.
The setting should reflect who you are. (Chef/kitchen. CEO/office. Hair stylist/salon.)

Full color, grayscale or B/W
This should be dictated by your profession. If you are a clown who performs for children, color is a must. A high-powered corporate lawyer might opt for the seriousness black and white can convey. Ideally though, the photograph will work well both in color and black and white. A good head shot will work in a variety of situations.

Photo sizes/resolutions
It is ideal to have a 5x7 inch print resolution version for advertising and promotion along with smaller, 600x800 pixel images in JPG format for the Web, blogs, Twitter, etc. Your photo should be simply composed to work effectively at a small size.

What to wear
Dress in an outfit you're comfortable wearing. You'll be more at ease and smile more naturally in your photos. Avoid busy patterns. They are distracting to the viewer and can create technical problems when printed.

Take your time
Allocate sufficient time to get a great shot. Most people aren't particularly comfortable in front of the camera. After the first dozen photos, you'll begin to relax and you'll appear more at ease.

Keep it fresh
Update your photo annually unless you have a new hairstyle, have added glasses, etc. within the year. You can always ask yourself, "If someone viewed my headshot, then later met me at a cocktail party, would they recognize me?"

 To learn more from Jay on how to create perfect digital photography, visit his web site at RGB Imaging. You can also follow him on Twitter @jaykinghorn. 

Related article: Making Connections that Click: Jay Kinghorn, Olympus Visionary

Making Connections that Click: Jay Kinghorn, Olympus Visionary

Jay Kinghorn is a visionary, as in an Olympus Visionary,” a title he embraces with passion—passion for photography and for Olympus cameras. The Olympus Visionaries program was established in 2003 as a venue for select digital photography professionals to share their work, knowledge and passion with the public while also creating an on-going dialog between Olympus and the professional photographic community. 

Kinghorn, who is also an Adobe Photoshop Certified Expert and a full-time digital workflow consultant and trainer, joined the program in 2005. He notes that his primary role as an Olympus Visionary photographer is to serve as a brand ambassador so he can demonstrate the caliber of work that can be created with the Olympus cameras. “I comment and answer questions on the Get Olympus Facebook page, share my tips and favorite photos and text chat with Olympus users periodically. Last week, I chatted with a photographer in Malaysia who loves his Olympus cameras.”

Through his company, RGB Imaging, he specializes in streamlining corporate workflow processes and improving employee skills using Adobe Photoshop.

Kinghorn is co-author of “Perfect Digital Photography” and author of two Photoshop training DVDs:  “Beginning Photoshop for Digital Photographers” and "Photoshop CS3 New Feature Training."

In his role as a digital workflow consultant, he stresses the importance of integrating social media into a larger strategic plan. “Once we began building a strategy around social media tools, and identifying the types of content appropriate for each tool—useful links and quick updates via Twitter, more thoughtful observations on the blog, deeper analysis in the newsletter—we began connecting with clients in a more meaningful way.”

Making connections that click is Kinghorn's specialty. “Whether I'm speaking as an Olympus Visionary photographer or a digital workflow trainer, the material is presented differently to suit the needs of the audience. The same holds true with social media tools. Understanding what the audience is looking for is critical for framing the way I approach and present any content.”

You can connect with Jay on his web site: RGB (www.prorgb.com), on Twitter: @jaykinghorn, or through email: jay@prorgb.com.

An online gallery of Jay Kinghorn's photos can be found here.

Fireworks Captured Olympus Style (us)

Fourth of July 2009 - Fireworks Display, Blacksburg, VA.

Camera: Olympus Stylus Tough 6000
SCN setting: Fireworks. I have to say that when I discovered this camera had a Fireworks setting, I could not wait for July 4th to arrive. The moment, came. The ballpark lights went out and moments later, the sky exploded with color.I shot about 40 photos and here are some of my favorites (note: This camera was loaned to me by Olympus. I do not work for them, but I do use the loaner camera and evaluate its usefulness in my life as a blogger and a mom):

 

Picnik Happy

Last Christmas my daughter received a photo album from her best friend filled with photos of the good times they shared during the year. The photos were wonderful and many had captions printed at the bottom or across the top. I asked how this was done and the girls told me about Picnik.com, an online graphics program.

Quick as a click, I was on their site. Picnik was so easy to use, I was immediately hooked and, as with any addiction, I wanted more. Within two days of using the free version of the software, I paid $24.95 to upgrade to the premium version. There's no software to install, the upgrade provides access to the premium features which include: additional photo enhancements, a tool for making collages, and, literally, lots of other really cool stuff.

I'm no graphic artist but between my work as writer, blogger, ebayer and my life as a parent, I take a lot of pictures. The ability to enhance my work so easily with Picnik has increased, not only my graphic output, but has added greatly to the fun in making images to accompany my words.

Below is an example of a before and after of a cloud-scape adapted to fit the topic of "going green" in the area of Cloud Computing.

Before Picnik - Original photo

 

After Picnik - edited using the "Mirrored Frames" feature

The enhanced photo was a perfect accompaniment to the post that appeared on Handshake 2.0 --
Cloud Computing = Green Computing.

Next time you're hungry for a fun and easy to use graphic editing tool, pack a Picnik.

Taking the Plunge with the Stylus Tough

I've had the Olympus Stylus Tough 6000 digital camera for about two weeks and though it's named "tough" I've treated it like a baby. I have not dropped it or bumped it, let alone put it in water.

My kids, whose built-in logic could rival that of the first UNIVAC, reasoned "it says it's waterproof right on the camera--why can't we put it in the pool?" 

We took the plunge and, boy-oh-boy, what fun it is to use an underwater camera! It even shoots movies underwater! I created this collage using Picnik. We'll shoot more this afternoon when the sun is bright and more kids are coming over. The bottom line logic--the more I use the Stylus Tough, the more I like it.

 

First Photos with Olympus Stylus Tough 6000

I received a loaner Olympus Stylus Tough 6000 a little over a week ago. Olympus has proven it's kid-proof, now we're going to find out if it's mom-proof, or more specifically "kelly-proof."  So far so good. I have not left it on the luggage rack of my car like I once did to my cell phone (Nokia makes a very tough phone).

My first shots were for business. Even though writing is my forte, I am often called upon to take photographs while working a story. UniversityGolf Gloves, a new line of golf gloves featuring collegiate branding was the topic last week. The articles and photographs appeared on Handshake 2.0, here are the photos and links to the articles:

Golfer Sports Virginia Tech-Branded Golf Glove

 

For the second article, I created a collage using Picnik to showcase the close-up of the glove and its use. I really liked the way the camera automatically focused on the "VT" on the glove close-up. With respect to the colors, I was shooting right at noon, which is about the worst time of day to take a photo outside (before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m. are best), but after a week of rain and rescheduling, we went with availability. I was pleased with the results and have to attribute this to the Stylus Tough.

UniversityGolf Gloves: A Perfect Fit

Olympus Stylus Tough Video Wrap Up

Olympus wrapped up the month of May with Episodes 9 and 10 of the Olympus Stylus Tough video series.

In Episode 9: "Danceproof," Olympus proves their camera can not only capture the moves, but take the moves as well:

Like any good sequel, Episode 10 fills in the blanks and adds to the fun!

Olympus is sending me a loaner camera to evaluate. I wrote about this and the power of social media in a recent post on Handshake 2.0 (Olympus Clicks with Social Media and Me). While I probably won't drive a trike over it, I do look forward to the experience of taking pictures and video with the Stylus Tough. They've proven it is kidproof, I'll find out if it's momproof!

***

Disclaimer: I'm not paid to write about Olympus, but my earlier post, "Market to Me, Mother of Kids," initiated a dialog between us and I've become quite curious about the depths of abuse the Stylus Tough camera can endure. So, stay tuned. The saga continues.

Tough as Blocks and Castelproof, too: Stylus Tough Episode 8

When my son was young, he loved to play with blocks. He favorite thing to do was to erect massive structures using every block around and then knock them all down only to begin again with equal zest. I'm sure there are life lessons to be learned from this exercise -- one might be that it's possible to rise to the top, topple, and still keep working to build the next great thing. It seems that lesson is not lost on the Olympus Stylus Tough Camera either.

Disclaimer: I'm not paid to write about Olympus, but my earlier post, "Market to Me, Mother of Kids," initiated a dialog between us and I've become quite curious about the depths of abuse the Stylus Tough camera can endure. So, stay tuned. The saga continues.