Great News!  Google is now making the NIK filter set free to all. Check it out at https://plus.google.com/+NikCollection/posts/AFGsG2Di7EK

In my opinion, HDR Efex Pro 2 and Silver Efex Pro 2 are the best of their type at any price, and Color Efex Pro 4 is still a cool way to punch up your images.  The other filters are worth having, but are not generally first in their class.

Google bought NIK a few years ago and stripped out the engineers to work on mobile projects, so the line is static.  But I paid about $600 for the filters over the years, and they are an everyday tool in my workflow.  Don’t pass this up!

Best regards —

Jeff Carsten

HOW DO THE PROS TAKE SUCH GREAT PICTURES?  WHAT’S THEIR SECRET?

I talk to a lot of people who are not getting the pictures they want to get, and figure that if they knew their equipment better they could “break the code”.  They want to know all the buttons and wheels and menu items, thinking that there must be some settings buried deep in all those menus that will somehow unlock great images.

NOW HERE’S THE TRUTH

Do you really want to know which settings the pros use to go from good to great?  The good news is there are just three of them:

• Shutter Speed
• Aperture
• ISO

That’s it.  All the other knobs and buttons and menus and dials on the camera are nice to have, but don’t have much impact on the quality of your photographs.

IT’S A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD

The pros have the same three controls that you do.  They don’t have secret controls only they can access.  They use automation, but they don’t rely on it.  We have the same equipment they do.  But somehow the pros always seem to look more professional.  It’s funny how that happens.

PROS KNOW THEIR GEAR

Professional photographers understand exposure.  They get how shutter speed, aperture, and ISO all work together.  They also know their camera inside and out.  They’ve taken the time to learn which features make things easier and which to ignore.  They don’t have to think about their gear when they’re shooting.

HOW THEY DO IT

The really good photographers focus on the stuff that matters.  At the end of the day, photography comes down to three main factors:

• What you point your camera at
• How you aim it
• Don’t screw up the shot

Is your subject beautiful, amazing, intriguing, captivating, and fascinating, or just plain interesting? Are you working to find the shots that will set you apart and take you to the next level? And does your composition do your subject justice?  And finally, are your adept enough to get the shot with your camera?

HOW YOU CAN DO IT

1. Know your gear well enough that you can trust your settings.  Aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual modes should be second nature to you.  You need to understand the tradeoffs between shutter speed, aperture, and ISO.

Shutter speed ————>  Motion (especially camera shake, the biggest cause of fuzzy pictures)

Aperture ——————>   Depth of Field

ISO ————————>   Sensor Noise

When you change one, you must change another in an equivalent manner to keep the same exposure.

1. Find the subject that is exceptional.  Remember the adage “if you want to take a beautiful flower shot, first find a beautiful flower”.
2. And when you find that subject, take lots of shots from different angles.  This is called “working the scene” Pay attention to the composition of the shot.  Composition is nothing more than the placement of elements in the image. Use lenses, depth of field, and motion blur to create the image of your vision.
3. Process the images with vigor.  Lightroom and Photoshop are incredible programs, and virtually every professional shot you see has been worked on in post production, sometimes for hours.  It’s no accident that those shots jump off the page.  You need to learn these programs if you want to get to the next level.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO

Practice, practice, practice.  My mentor told me when I was trying to go pro, “Jeff, you just have to push film through the camera”.  Well, today there’s no film (and no film costs, either), and the advice is even more true.  The LCD window on the back of your camera has increased feedback from days to seconds.  You can tell immediately whether the shot you got is the shot you wanted.  Then you have to figure out how to work the scene to get the shot you deserve.

I can teach you how your camera works, and I can help you set it up for professional default settings.  I can show you how Lightroom and Photoshop work.  But only you can gain the experience you need to see the shot with your own vision.  And only experience will give you the  skill to pull it off and not screw it up.  I’ve screwed up lots of shots, but the more I shoot, the more I recognize that professional level shooting is a function of preparation and perseverance.  A famous National Geographic photographer once said the the way he got great shots was “f/8 and be there”.

Your assignment:  Shoot, Shoot, Shoot!  Carry your camera with you.  Shoot every chance you get.  Explore. Be in the right place at the right time.  Watch for the light.  And when you get home, download the card, select the best shots of the day, and process the images to make them great.

Let me know if I can help you in any way.

NOTE:  Much of this white paper has been pulled from an ad by KelbyOne.  Scott Kelby is at the very top when it comes to training.  If you want to learn more about the courses at KelbyOne, he has a 30 day special that you can learn about at KelbyOne.com.