Update – buying and using a DSLR for beginners
December 10, 2008 by rockportrait
A little while ago I posted a link to a site providing some basic info for those making the transition into theworld of the Digital SLR (DSLR).
http://site.rockportrait.com.au/2008/08/27/upgrading-from-a-point-and-shoot-to-a-dslr/
Yesterday I stumbled on CNet’s much better version of this, so I’ve made it available to you all here. The content that really stands out to me is the workflow section. This is a critical component of digital photography yet few actually consider it so until after they enter chaos or panic stage. Once you start creating and collecting all that digital data you really do need a time-effective, and safe means of managing and protecting it. My own process took a while to put together, but works well. I use a number of products to make my life easy (see below), and I store my precious photos in four different locations – the process of which is fully automated. Seems like a lot of trouble? Maybe, but well worth it when the hard drive crashes (it will) or the house burns down (I hope it won’t, but it happens).
Saves me having to go through it with you, although you know I love it 
Please read through this, but if you still want a human being to help you with your questions about getting into the DSLR side of things, feel free to get in touch.
The main tools of my trade:
GretagMacbeth Display Calibrator – not the best available, but cheap, and if you are serious about making great shots you need to calibrate your monitor regularly.
BreezeSys Downloader Pro – I couldn’t live without this. With very little input It allows me to create and populate all the backup locations I need, as well as add the EXIF data (image identification and copyright info) and rename and deliver all my images to my working directories. It kicks in the moment my camera or card reader is detected by the computer.
BreezeSys Breezebrowser Pro – not critical, but a useful and rapid way of creating proofs. It will do a lot more, but I use Lightroom for my other image manipulation requirements.
Adobe Lightroom – The best thing for photographers since sliced cheese, and almost replaces Photoshop. An affordable way to manage and manipulate your images, including the output stages – web pages, printing, uploading, slideshows. Supports plugins and extensions. The latest version lets you make locational changes like spot removal and specific exposure modifications without affecting the entire image. Most of all I love the filter plugins – make’s black and white and wild effects so easy.
Google Picasa – Hey! You other photographers out there, don’t laugh! For a free product this thing is amazingly good. When it comes to my snapshots (you know, the non-pro stuff I’m sure you all do as well?) I want a really fast way of polishing my images and getting them online. This does exactly that. And don’t underestimate how good the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button is. They’re a clever bunch those Googleheads. And yes, I’m a fanboy. 
Adobe Photoshop – The beeze neeze of photography tools, but becoming less relevant as Lightroom ramps up. Far too expensive for anyone but genuine pros, but also by far the best product out there to fully control your images.
Wacom Pen Tablet – Until you’ve used one of these you think the mouse is all you need. However, making accurate exposure changes, and drawing objects in and out of images is so much more natural with a pen tablet.
Syncback – Do you backup? I bet you don’t. Hey, almost no-one does! In every job I’ve worked in the backup process wasn’t refined, and in some cases didn’t even exist, until after a disaster. So – BACKUP!!!! OFTEN!!! Syncback has a free version that does everything for you when you are asleep.
Filezilla FTP Client – Finally, you need a way to get your images online if you are running your own web server (easier than you might think). Why give your copyright away to Flickr, Myspace or Facebook? (Did you even know you were doing that?) Host your own images. Use FTP to manage your site.
That’s all for today. Have fun installing and playing with your new workflow management tools!
