Yanik’s Photo Blog

It was press release day yesterday for Nikon. After the announcement of the new D700 camera, they just announced the new SB-900 off camera flashgun. The SB-900 is the latest off camera flash following in the footsteps of the Nikon SB-600 and Nikon SB-800. It will be available at the end of July and the price will be roughly $500.00.

Major Features

• Multi-step auto zoom covers wide 17-200mm zoom range (24-105mm?SB-800)
• Three illumination patterns (standard, center-weighted and even) are available to match each shooting environment
• Automatically detects Nikon FX and Nikon DX formats and selects suitable light distribution
• Improved booster circuit for high-speed recycle time: Recycle time using four AA-size batteries is almost equal to the SB-800 with five AA-size batteries Continue Reading »

Nikon just announced its long awaited full frame (FX) camera in a smaller body, the Nikon D700. Effectively, it’s the Nikon D3 in a Nikon D300 body. It’s been a long time coming! Many people were waiting for a competitor to the Canon 5D. I personally won’t be getting a D700 as I prefer having a longer reach with my lenses on a DX sensor. Having said that, if you shoot often in low light situations (weddings, concerts…) this is the perfect camera for you! The retail price will be roughly $3000.00. Here are the key features as well as the official press release from Nikon.

Key Features

• 12.1 megapixel full-frame sensor
• Image Sensor Cleaning (vibration)
• ISO 200 - 6400 (with boost up to ISO 25600 and down to ISO 100) Continue Reading »

As promised, here is my video tutorial on my Photoshop™ post processing steps of my windmill shoot at Île Perrot. If you haven’t seen my windmill lighting tutorial using SB-800s, just click here for a step by step walkthrough of my lighting setup.

You’ll notice that I dodge and burn the “traditional way” for the purpose of this tutorial but you can also do it the non destructive way as Continue Reading »

In part 1, I interviewed Microstock Phenomenon and shed the light on what microstock photography is all about. If you missed it, you can read it HERE.

Now lets look at the top four microstock agencies out there and what they can offer you as a photographer. I’ll limit this to photographers since that’s my field of expertise. But you can also contribute illustrations, videos and sound to certain agencies.

Before we get into the nitty gritty of each agency, here’s a bird’s eye view of the top 5 agencies in terms of traffic. Looking at the Alexa graph below, we can clearly see that Continue Reading »

I feel really lucky! I’m off for 2 weeks! I’m going to a photography workshop in Calgary, Alberta. Of course the workshop is only 2 days so I’ve rented a car and I’ll be on a photo safari traveling to Lake Louise, Banff, the Badlands and many other natural treasures! I’ll be sure to share some of my photos when I return. Not to worry, I have a few posts ready for you. I’ll be updating the blog while I’m away to keep your brain fed. And just before my holiday I took a 3 day vacation last week with my girlfriend! We went to see some friends in Varennes (on Montreal’s south shore) and we topped it off with a day on Île Perrot (about 30 mins west of Montreal). We stayed at a lovely B&B that I would recommend highly called Angell B&B. Nicole is a great hostess and the breakfast is to die for! Miam, miam!

On the island, there’s a small park with an old windmill that looked really cool. I wanted to shoot it at dusk to get a dramatic sky and to play with my SB-800s. Of course, the park was closed but we snuck in (as any self respected photographer would do!). So we got to the windmill and I started doing my test shots (n.b. all shots are straight out of the camera without post processing except for the final image). Fist, I took a shot in P mode and I came up with Continue Reading »

It’s that time of year again! Time to get out the suntan lotion, the bug spray (lots of it if you’re up here in Canada!) and to fire up the BBQ. It’s also time for lazyin’ around in lawn chairs, hammocks and sitting under trees; perfect places to relax and read a good book. And since we all love photography so much, a couple of great photography books is a must have to keep ourselves happy. I’ve compiled a few of my favorite books for you so that you don”t have to wade through and waste precious time in the sea of photography books. All these suggestions are Continue Reading »

Welcome to the last part of my 3-part series on Portrait Makeover. In part 3, I’ll show you how to add digital makeup in Photoshop™. I’ll focus on eye shadow, blush and lips.

This is a photo of my assistant Emanuelle and she’s also a great model.

If you missed part 1 & 2 of my Portrait Makeover series you can view part 1 here and part 2 here.

You’ll also notice that I didn’t use the non Continue Reading »

I know you’ve been waiting for this article after reading the “5 Reasons to Upgrade to a DSLR Camera”. Since my powers of persuasion are beyond those of the best hypnotists, you’re just itching to buy one! But before you rush to the B&H store to purchase your new toy, you need to go through most if not all of these 10 steps to make sure you purchase the right camera for YOU. These steps aren’t in any specific order.

Step 1 - It’s a Question of Feeling: The first thing you need to do IS to rush down to your local photography store! Yup! You gotta take those cameras for a test drive. Ask to see the various models and hold them. Feel them in your hands. Look through the Continue Reading »

Just a quicky to let you know that Canon has just announced a new entry level DSLR called the Canon EOS 1000D XS. This new entry-level DSLR that slots into the model lineup beneath the Canon 450D. A launch date in North America has not yet been announced. A 10.1 Megapixel CMOS sensor – with larger pixels for smooth, low-noise images – offers sufficient resolution to produce prints in sizes up to 8 1/2 x 11, even when cropping your image. To protect images against the effects of sensor dust, the EOS 1000D includes the EOS Integrated Cleaning System, which combats dust in three separate ways: reducing, removing and repelling.The EOS 1000D will be available with Continue Reading »

I recently did a small photo shoot to get a few acupuncture shots for both my TouchPhotography Website and for my stock photo portfolio. Let me take a few minutes and give you a detailed explanation of my lighting and setup.

I wanted some shots on a black background and some on a white background to create different moods. I started with the black background. I used my portable studio with a black cotton muslin. When a go on location, I prefer muslins over seamless paper because they’re easier to carry and not as easy to damage. The con side is that you get wrinkles in the fabric. You could always bring a clothes steamer with you to make it nice and Continue Reading »