Adobe Raise CS4 UK Prices by 10%

Adobe are set to raise the price of CS4 by 10% on the 1st July 2009.
According to Adobe this will bring UK prices in line with the rest of Europe due to the change in GBP/EUR.

To make this happen they're also dropping the Euro price by up to 13%.
The US prices will remain the same however making it an even worse deal of the UK compared to US prices.

Adobe's US store sells Design Premium CS4 for $1,799 - £1,098 at today's exchange rate. The new UK price will make the same software £1,578 (inc VAT) over here, a difference of £480.

Adobe have stated in their press release:
"Adobe seeks to price consistently across Europe to the extent that circumstances and market conditions make this possible, the current economic environment and currency fluctuations have made this challenging. This change to the CS4 pricing is intended to realign the UK with other European countries."

So if you're considering a move to CS4 now is the time to do it.

Beefing Up Lighting

Shooting animals is always challenging but cows are generally easier than most. Not so however when the particular animal you're after is tied to a wall along a row of around 100 other cows, even less so when you're after the largest bulls you can find!

Covering the Balmoral Show this year I set out with the intention of setting up more than the usual on-camera flash or even secondary flash in a situation that is definitely not designed for delicate equipment. My goal was to photograph the largest bulls I could find along with the most distinguishing owners. I wanted a close up shot with both faces, lit from the front, beneath and above. Working on my own, at least one of the three lights would have to be on a stand. Despite scoffing from my colleagues about the location (you'll see why below) I packed my Lowe Pro Nature Trekker full of gear and headed for the show.

The bulls themselves are massive. Weighing over 1 ton they're led around by the ring in their noses but once they start to turn there's no changing their minds, you simply have to go with them and try to steer them back around to their original position. In a confined space this was never going to be easy, particularly when they all face the wall.


Working with the farmers I put the farmer into position first, holding the bull by the ring then set off a few test flashes to ensure it didn't frighten the animal. Positioning myself between the next two cows or bulls in the row I crawled underneath the bulls head to position a remote flash pointing straight up under the bulls chin. I positioned the next light on the wall, wedged between some taps and piping (admittedly the guys in the office were right, lighting stands had no chance!). Lastly, the third light was on the camera controlling the other two.

Positioning myself at chin level I was able to get the bull and the farmers head in close together while the cow beside me breathed on the back of the camera steaming up the viewfinder.

Working in this way I followed the line up of cattle picking out the biggest bulls and most distinguished farmers until I had a set of four images, all well lit and equally imposing.

Back in the office each shot was cropped to keep the focus directly on the two faces. Using the Lucis Art filter I increased the detail a little then reduced the contrast to compensate for the brightening effect of the filter. Lastly I increased the saturation to bring back the deep colours.



Thanks to:
Shanvalley Blondes, Shane Savage
Castlepoll Herefords, C&M Beatty & Son
Coolenaslee Charollais, Andrew Patterson

Extreme Detail Enhancement

Extreme detail enhancement (or super sharpening) has always had the problem of bringing out lots of JPEG artifacts, or jaggies. While there have been loads of filters to counteract this problem few filters allow you to really improve the detail of a shot and still keep a usable image.

While the Dave hill photo effect has been around for a long time I've only recently had cause to purchase the Lucis Art filter. At over £150 it's quite expensive unless you have a commercial use for it but recently I wanted to bring out the detail of a couple of special images. While recreating the famous look I found the filter had a stunning range of detail enhancement which I hadn't anticipated.

While the filter will indeed super-enhance your images and bring out the detail like never before, at the lower end of the slider (and it is a complete no-brainer to use, slider control), you can bring out just a little bit of detail making your images really pop off the screen.

Used correctly this can be batch applied to all of your images from a shoot giving you and your clients instant 'wow' factor.

Combined with a little skin softening on faces, darkening to counteract the brightening effect of the filter and some saturation adjustment and you have a stunning new level of photographic imagery.

Discounts on Photoshop Elements and Adobe Software

If you're in the market for Photoshop Elements or other Adobe software they are currently offering 25% off Elements and £50 off when you spend £350 or more.

The Elements offer ends 1st June. Simply enter the code codesukelements09 at the checkout.
The £50 off offer ends 31st May.

Students can get up to 80% off which is a massive saving with some of the bundles retailing at over £1000. You simply need a valid student ID card.

Click here to take up the offer.

Taking a NAPP

After much consideration I have joined NAPP, the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. This is something I had looked at after reading Scot Kelbys books on Photoshop but I was wary because so many of these 'clubs' are US based and therefore offer little to the international user.

After signing up for $100 I was given instant access to their website where I could view online tutorials in video and print format.
So far I have to say the tutorials are quick and easy to follow but cover a wide range of techniques including some complex issues. They are also a good additional source of updates on the latest version of Photoshop making it easier to choose when or if upgrading is worth the cost.

The user galleries range from simple to stunning and will quickly give you an idea of your level of expertise compared to others in the industry. (Be prepared to be amazed by some of the shots!)

Around two weeks after joining up I was surprised to receive a complete members pack in the post from the US. I say 'complete' because it included a printed mini guide to Photoshop CS4 techniques, a printed copy of Photoshop User (this is subsequently sent out in PDF format to non-US residents), a membership card, printed certificate, window sticker and some discount offers which are mainly for US residents.

On the website the offers improve a bit though, there are a huge number of offers and many are from online retailers offering stock images and Photoshop add-ons making them suitable for everyone. The Adobe offers and hardware offers from Apple or Wacom tend to be restricted to the US which is a shame but the content of the website still makes membership worthwhile.

There is also a forum and e-mail option for technical support which is a useful tool if you have problems with Photoshop. CS3 and CS4 (although CS4 has improved slightly) had a nasty bug when it came to printing so this is another option for support after the official Adobe website.

All in all I would recommend the NAPP as a good source of tools and resources from fellow Photoshoppers and professionals in the industry.

Photography Classes FULLY BOOKED

Our photography classes are now fully booked but if you are still interested please contact me as a number of people have already expressed an interest in joining another course later in the year.

Photography for Beginners Classes

I've teamed up with Aaron McCracken, a co-hort from work and together we're running photography classes for beginners.

It's a six week course for one hour per night on a Monday and Wednesday.
The Monday class is in Hillsborough and the Wednesday class is in Ballynahinch.

The total cost of the course is £65 and covers the absolute basics of photography from holding the camera to editing your photos in Photoshop. We'll have a range of images to diagnose and showcase as well as looking at your own images.

Over the six weeks we'll take you from 'automatic settings' to manual settings and basic workflow management, getting the pics from your camera to your mantelpiece and maybe even into a magazine.

For bookings e-mail me at mike@bigbluesquid.com