RPN Newsletter Vol 6

SPECIAL OFFER

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THE NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2011 ISSUE 6

for RITZPIX

NETWORK MEMBERS

INSPIRATION

PHOTOS FOR MOTIVATION

PHOTO TIPS

HOLIDAY SHOOTING TIPS

TECH CORNER

TAMRON - CREATE THE PERFECT HOLIDAY CARD

PHOTO PROJECTS PHOTOJOJO- PHOTO CAROUSELS

PHOTO PATROL EDUCATION PROGRAM whatarush!

by KEVIN STEWART knoxville, tennesse

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A Message from The Photo Patrol

Seasons Greetings and Happy New Year!

May you have a happy, healthy, and wonderful photographic year.

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RITZPIX NETWORK MEMBERS ONLY

l a i c e p S t i f G t o o h P d e z l i a n Perso ASK YOUR ASSOCIATE ABOUT RITZPIX NETWORK BENEFITS

Toys & Games

Clothing & Accessories

Sports Gifts

Kitchen & Housewares

Photo Mugs

Ornaments & Keepsakes

Office & Travel

Pet Gifts

Wall Decor

Purchase any Photo Gift at one of our In-store Kiosks and get up to

50

% OFF

with your

RPN Family & Friends/ Business Plan DISCOUNT

35% OFF RPN Family Plan DISCOUNT 25% OFF RPN Personal Plan DISCOUNT (In-store purchase only. Valid towards the purchase of 1 photo gift order. Certificate code = RPNGIFT)

offer expires 12-24-11

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2011 THE NETWORK

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INSPIRATION From our Family of Associate Photographers

whale tail

by BRYAN NEPVEU south burlington, vermont

lollie pop

by UNKNOWN PHOTOGRAPHER somewhere, usa

little pumpkin end of summer

by UNKNOWN PHOTOGRAPHER

by JASON WISE somewhere, usa marietta, georgia

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sleepy

by RENEE SAMS CAIN sterling heights, michigan

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by BRADLEY PAXTON sandy, utah

shopia

by VICKI WHEELER layton, utah

window to the soul

by UNKNOWN PHOTOGRAPHER somewhere, usa sweet

by CINDY WONG sandy, utah

what about me?

by TAMARA HEINEMANN birmingham, alabama

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Longhorn State

Gets New Video Service Our Video Editing Services Include:

Video Duplication, Organization & Consolidation We will organize all of your video footage into one professional video.

Sports Highlight Reels/Recruiting Videos

We can create a montage video set to music including some of the best and most inspiring moments of your competitions.

Premium Photo Slide Shows

We offer a wider selection of musical choices, the option to include images from the Getty Image archive, and up to 1,000 images!

Video highlights and memories for events

Perfect for anything from Bar and Bat Mitzvahs to Weddings.

Memorial Videos

Create a video tribute to a loved one. We can incorporate still images and video footage celebrating your family’s memories together.

PowerPoint Conversions

Convert your presentation into a digital video. We can convert your materials into an exciting video resume, or presentation.

We have everything you need to make your presentation more exciting and ultimately memorable.

Video to Prints

Create Photo Books from your Videos! We can take your old home movie footage and create a series of jpeg files you can use to make prints or even Photo Books!

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Media Editing Services Post Production Services Available at the following stores: Dallas

Flower Mound Arlington Dallas Dallas Dallas Frisco Ft. Worth Grapevine Plano Plano Cedar Hill Garland

Highlands at Flower Mound Arlington Park Square 11171 Harry Hines Blvd Old Town Shopping Center 5974 Northwest Highway Center at Preston Ridge 6733 Camp Bowie Boulevard Park West Shopping Center Creekwalk Village Preston Highlands Cedar Hill Pointe Firewheel Market

972-691-5500 817-557-2464 972-241-0582 214-691-3430 214-691-7540 972-668-7990 817-731-2716 817-481-0231 972-881-1677 972-769-9901* 469-272-3196 972-530-6164

*Production Studio

Houston

The Woodlands Houston Houston Houston Houston Houston Houston Stafford Webster Katy

The Woodlands Mall Town & Country Shopping Village Meyerland Plaza North Oaks Center Copperfield Landing Post Oak Plaza Rice Boulevard Shopping Center The Fountains Baybrook Square Grand Parkway Crossing

281-367-6564 713-467-0433 713-838-0416 281-397-7503 281-856-2419 713-621-4262 713-630-0720 281-494-6161 281-316-1330 281-574-3464

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2011 THE NETWORK

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The Holidays Are Coming!

TIPS from the RITZPIX PHOTO PATROL 1. Prepare Making sure you’re ready to capture any planned event is part of the key to a successful shoot. Get yourself ready and scout the location of your shots. � � � �

Pack the camera – goes without saying?

Make sure your batteries are charged and you have extras and/or the recharger packed.

Pack extra memory cards – have them empty and ready to fill up.

Consider the light in the room that you’ll be photographing in. Is there enough light? Will you need a flash? Are the backgrounds too cluttered and distracting?

2. Check Your White Balance Pay attention to what type of light you’re shooting in and set your white balance settings accordingly. Alternatively, if you’ve got a camera that shoots in RAW you can shoot away and set your white balance later.

3. Set up a DIY Photo Booth Set up a “portrait zone” of your own where you’ll take photos of your guest. Set up a little place where you can ask everyone who came to sit so that you can take a nice shot of them. Then leave the camera set up on a tripod and set to a short self timer so people can photograph themselves during the rest of the party. Use a well lit position with a velvet curtain looking background with a few decorations around the edges.

4. Before and After Shots Why not set up some before and after shots both of the place you’re holding your party and what it looks like afterwards. Make sure you take the shots from the same position. Tell the story with photos.

5. Find a Point of Interest – but just per shot All good shots should have a focal point that holds the attention of those viewing your images. The problem with a Holiday gathering is that there can often be too many competing focal points in shots with people, color, decorations, and food in every shot. Work hard and de-clutter your images.

6. Fresh Group Photos One of the most common types of shots during the holidays is the “group photo”. It’s usually taken at the end of the evening or day when everyone is looking their worst. For a “fresher” shot, take it once everyone has arrived. Also think before hand about how you might pose everyone and where you might take the shot.

7. Fill Your Frame One of the most common mistakes in event photos is that people often end up with shots of their subjects off in the distance on the other side of a room with lots of space around them. Fill your frame with your subject either by using your zoom or getting up and moving yourself closer.

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8. Opening Gifts – Shoot in Continuous Mode There are certain moments during a Christmas gathering that are filled with all manner of photographic opportunities and the opening of gifts is like no other in that it is filled with an array of emotions, facial expressions and excitement – especially if you’ve got kids around. Switch your camera to burst mode (sometimes called continuous shooting mode) and take lots of shots at this time of the festivities. You’ll find you end up with some excellent series of shots when you do this that capture everything from the anticipation of getting the wrapped gift, through to the excitement of unwrapping to the joy (or occasionally disappointment) of seeing what’s inside. Don’t forget to shoot the reactions of those who GIVE the gift as well.

9. Diffuse/Reflect Your Flash Another common problem with event shots is ending up with shots where the flash is so bright that subjects look like rabbits in a spotlight with harsh shadows behind them. One way around this is to use some sort of flash diffuser or reflector. If you’re lucky enough to have an external flash, try bouncing it off walls or the ceiling. Another way to reduce the impact of your flash and to create some interesting effects is to switch your camera into “night mode” (slow sync mode). This will tell your camera to choose a slower shutter speed but still fire your flash. In doing so it’ll capture some of the ambient light of the room as well as freeze your subject. Be warned, you can end up with some wacky shots doing this (but they can also be lots of fun).

10. Go Macro Most digital cameras come with a macro mode so flick to that mode, attach your lens and photograph the smaller things around your party. Ornaments on the tree, table decorations, sweets in the bowl on the table, a nativity scene on the mantle piece, holly above the doorway – sometimes it’s these small things around your party that are the real “money shots”.

11. Shooting Outdoors at Night

When shooting outdoor lights — you’ll get the best results when you shoot at twilight. That way, you’ll capture some color in the sky, rather than the pitch-black tone that will be recorded on film later at night. Make sure to pack your tripod to steady the camera. Use a slow curtain flash sync when capturing both a subject and the lights behind the subject. Most cameras have a built in mode specifically designed for this shooting situation.

12. Get Candid There’s nothing wrong with pictures that are posed, but you can create variety by taking candid shots at family and social gatherings. Capture people while they’re engaged in conversation or as they’re opening a gift. Keep your camera batteries charged up and your camera nearby so you can catch spontaneous moments. Most digital cameras have a Motion or Sports setting that allows you to capture people in motion without blur in the photo. If your camera has shutter priority mode, you can use a higher shutter speed (1/100 to 1/400 seconds) to reduce motion blur.

photos by DAVID FOOTE layton, utah

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Create the Perfect Holiday Card from our Friends at TAMRON Article by Ken Hubbard

Season’s Greetings!

Greetings!

Season’s What to to consider consider when when shooting shooting images images for for your your holiday holiday cards. cards.

What

The Setup “Plan your shoot for around the third week of November,” says Hubbard. “This will allow you enough buffer time-if you don’t like the image in your first shoot, you’ll still have time to shoot again. It will also give you enough time to work with your images and play with different ideas.”

There are many factors that go into the perfect holiday card, including what clothes your family members should wear, what props to use, and where to shoot. Consider all these factors in tandem. “You want to use complementary colors that will go together well,” says Hubbard. “If your image is very colorful and you have a lot going on in the image itself, you may want to keep the actual card simple in terms of props and clothing. Use small accents to enhance the card so that the overall result is not too busy-that will only take away from the image itself.” Resolve all lighting issues as well. “When shooting in front of a Christmas tree or menorah, be aware of the amount of light that is available,” says Hubbard. “Using available light can produce a more dramatic look to your image, but you’ll also be shooting at very low shutter speeds.”

Use a tripod to prevent camera shake, and keep your subjects as still as possible to minimize movement blur-a task that may be easier said than done with cranky kids dressed up in the itchy reindeer sweaters Grandma made just for the occasion. “If you’re shooting younger children, you may choose to use a flash,” says Hubbard. “I recommend not using the camera’s flash, since it may be too direct and wash out the lights of your subject. If you can, use a flash that mounts to your camera and has tilt control for the strobe. If you tilt your flash at a 45-degree angle and bounce it off the ceiling, it will cast a softer light and retain detail in the subjects.”

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tech

CORNER

Leave Room for Your Message Framing images for cards can sometimes be tricky. First, determine whether you’re going to go for a traditional vertical or horizontal card, or if you want to do a panorama. “If you’re doing a traditional folded card, either vertically or horizontally, you have to think about how you will put your holiday greetings on the front,” says Hubbard. “In other words, you’ll need some empty space for the copy. Be very aware when shooting not to have an image that’s so busy that copy would be difficult to read.”

Shooting the image with this in mind may look incorrect to you when you’re framing your shot through the viewfinder, but the end result will allow you to place whatever copy you want on the card without distractions. “The shot I took of the two girls and the fishing pole is a good example,” says Hubbard. “The center of this shot would normally be too much dead space and not make for a very interesting shot. However, knowing that there was going to be a greeting on the front, I allowed for that.”

If you’re planning for a card that features a panoramic style, like Hubbard’s card of the two girls frolicking on the sand dunes), fill the frame completely, and don’t worry where the copy will be placed on the card. “You’ll have plenty of room to work with, either to the left or right of the image,” he says. “I suggest shooting your image in landscape format to fill a good portion of the card. This will also prevent any difficulties in cropping-a vertical image may have to be shrunk down too far, leaving too much dead white space to work with.”

Tip Box Post-Shoot Options After you’ve obtained the perfect family shot, there are a few routes you can take to create your holiday card. Upload your photo and order cards from a popular online service.

Many brick-and-mortar retailers allow you to upload your photos to their online service center and then pick up your cards in-store.

Local camera stores will gladly merge your photo with your holiday message as well.

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T A M R O N High-Speed Zoom Lenses For low light and optimum image control With their wide F/2.8 apertures, these superb high-speed zooms let you take natural-looking pictures handheld even in low light without using flash. And when you shoot them at their widest apertures, the resulting shallow depth of field lets you create dramatic effects by softening surrounding details so the subject seems to “pop� off the background-a technique used by many top pros. Crisp performance is maintained at all aperture and focal-lengths.

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T E C H

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SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II VC LD Aspherical [ IF ] Di II : for APS-C DSLRs

High Speed Plus VC Anti-Shake For Ultimate Image control

A masterpiece of innovative optical design, this compact, lightweight, high performance standard zoom (26-78mm equivalent ) delivers a fast F/2.8 aperture over its entire focal-length range for maximum creative flexibility. To maintain critical sharpness when shooting handheld it includes VC (Vibration Compensation), Tamron’s state-of-the-art, tri-axial image stabilization system.

Three compound aspheric elements, special LD glass, and BBAR coatings ensure superb correction, color fidelity, and freedom from flare. A minimum focus distance of 0.29m (11.4 inches ) offers exciting close-up opportunities.

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PHOTO PROJECTS Turn Old CD Cases into Wondrous Spinning Photo Carousels Why would you settle for photos that just sit there when you can get photos that *spin*? With a few CD jewel cases, you can make a free and E-Z photo frame carousel, a rad DIY photo project from Tiffany Threadgould’s DIY book, ReMake It. It’s a frame-holder that fits 10 photos and delightfully spins around a base just like your favorite childhood ride. Best of all, when one photo starts feeling played out (kinda like your old Eminem CD), you can simply give it a spin for a whole new photo to decorate your desk.

Start digging through your CD bins!

Ingredients 5 CD jewel cases 10 5x7 photo prints Ruler Pencil Scissors Glue Tape (electrical tape works best) 10 old CDs CD spindle Stickers, ribbon, scrap paper, etc. (optional) 1. Take the Insides Out Carefully remove the black or clear center tray of each CD case.

This is the part of the case where your Spice Girls CD would normally snap onto. Just lift up one edge with your finger until the whole thing moves freely and remove it. You can throw it out since you won’t need it anymore.

2. Prep Your Pics Here’s where you can choose to keep things simple or get crafty. To fill the entire CD frame, trim your photos to 53/8 inches x 45/8 inches. If you’re going the crafty route, you can glue smaller photos onto 43⁄4 inches x 43⁄4 inches pieces of decorative paper. Then decorate photos with stickers, ribbon, scrap paper, whatever you want.

Insert two photos back to back inside a CD jewel case. The photos will display where the CD liner notes used to be. Close the CD jewel case.

Now repeat for the other 4 jewel cases ’til you have 10 photos displayed, 1 on each side of each case.

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Photo Carousels 3. Tape the Cases Together Stack two jewel cases on top of each other. Cut a 5 inch piece of tape and tape the cases together along their spines. Make sure you don’t tape the side of the case that opens.

You’ll need to be able to open the cases for switching out photos.

Add another case to the top of the stack and tape it to the one beneath it.

Repeat this step until you have a stack of five jewel cases taped together on their spines.

4. Fan the Cases Place the CD stack upright so it’s standing on your work surface with the front facing you. Fan the jewel cases out so they sit carousel style. They should be connected at the center where the tape is.

Insert one more piece of tape at the hinge between the two cases that used to be on the top and the bottom of the stack. This will close the loop!

You’ll want to reinforce all the other hinges with tape along the opposite side that you already taped them on.

5. Place Them on the Spindle Now grab your 10 CDs. Place them shiny side up, in the bottom of the CD spindle.

The CDs will be a slippery surface for the jewel-case photo spinner to spin on. This is a good time to pretend you’re a DJ scratching on your records.

Now for the crowning moment: slip your jewel case spinner onto the spindle. It’s best if the spindle is taller than the CD jewel cases, so adjust your stack of CDs accordingly. If the jewel cases don’t spin easily, try gently tugging on them in opposite directions so the tape stretches slightly. Now, place the CD jewel-case photo spinner on your desk and admire your work.

This jewel of a project is a super original way to frame your photos. Plus it makes you feel good because you get to recycle, which pretty much saves the planet.

Thanks Photojojo for the great idea!

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Holiday Gift Ideas The Tamrac Adventure Series Photo Backpacks were developed with a youthful, modern and sleek design that, for security, do not look like camera bags. In these uniquely designed backpacks, the lower sections are completely foam-padded camera bag compartments, while the upper sections function like traditional backpacks to hold a light jacket, lunch or other personal items needed for your next photo adventure.

Key features include: - Completely foam-padded lower compartments.

- Large top and Main compartments with weather flaps hold personal items.

- Feature Tamrac’s patented Memory & Battery Management System™.

- Quick-release buckles for security and weather protection.

- Two mesh pockets on the sides for quick access to accessories.

- Two lash tabs on the bottoms for carrying a compact tripod.

- Tamrac’s Strap Accessory System™ attachment points.

Available in multiple sizes for that avid photographer Vivitar Wireless Remote Shutter Release - Instant Release: Press shutter release once and take immediate pictures.

- Multi Exposure: Press the shutter release one time and the camera will take 5 consecutive pictures, or hold down for continuous shutter release.

- 2 Second Release: This will give you the extra time you need to get into the perfect picture position.

- Long Exposure: Set camera to bulb mode and hold shutter release for 3 seconds, the shutter will now be open, then press the shutter once to release the picture.

Great addition to the SLR user that has almost everything Sunpak FlexPod Gripper Tripod w/Ball Head Features The Sunpak FlexPod Gripper’s unique aluminum core legs are designed to securely wrap around just about any suitable support to give your photos a fresh perspective. Its specially designed nonslip thermoplastic elastomer legs grip tightly and will not slip when properly wrapped around most smooth, dry surfaces. To get the perfect shot, the FlexPod Gripper incorporates a true ball head design to get the best shot anytime and anywhere. Or use the FlexPod Gripper as a tabletop tripod too! It’s the perfect compact digital camera companion.

The gripping tripod that is lightweight, flexible and compact.

Bend it, stretch it, and wrap it around almost anything.

Triangulated segments with gripping teeth for maximum gripping power.

Aluminum core legs for added support and gripping ability.

Multi-directional ball head and quick release plate for super-fast setup.

Self-leveling feet for added stability on uneven terrain.

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It’s Just Fun!

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Photo Patrol Education Photo Patrol is a customized Education program that offers One-on-One Tutoring, Fundamental Digital Photography Classes, and Advanced Digital Photography Seminars. More than 180 class locations throughout the country have combined to conduct thousands of classes annually.

3 Steps to Success!

1. Private Tutoring One-on-One consultation that can be tailored to fit your specific needs. Whether it be operation of your specific camera equipment, computer or software training, even hands-on training for your specific photographic purpose. Almost any educational need is available either in-store or on-location.

2. Digital Photography Classes 4 classes are included with camera purchase and are designed to provide a fundamental understanding of the principles of digital photography that apply to all cameras.

3. Advanced Digital Photography Seminars Inexpensive advanced digital photography seminars designed to expand on the basic classes. Seminars are scheduled periodically throughout the year at select locations and offer tips and techniques on a wide variety of specific photographic topics.

visit www.ritzpixphotopatrol.com to obtain the latest class schedules NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2011 THE NETWORK

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parting shot

by WILLOW ST. PIERRE newington, nh

natures creation