Jean-Francois OKane Photographe et Conférencier Montréal » Hardware

World Photo Walk in Montreal

TheStudioCoach — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 11:20:40 +0000

The studioCoach and Jean-Francois Paré the roganiser of Montreal Photowalk

you see me with all my walking gear:

ThinkTank belt wit 2 bags, Hoodman loupe, Olympus E3 taking the picture and a fun E-500 with a lens babie and in it’s pouch a PhotoMasterTarget to make sure these images are white balanced and exposed properly.

PhotoWalk Pro in Orlando

TheStudioCoach — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 01:19:43 +0000

I will be taking part in the Orlando Photowalk, on monday april 1st downtown Orlando. It is organised by Jeff a seasoned photo-walker. Since some time I follow his blog and did envy the participants of these events. I’ll be in… so check my images and read his blog on it….

If you read this on time, come and participate you could win a PhotoMasterTarget… By the way they will be available for sale at MidwestExchange at Photoshopworld convention.

New StudioCoach product

TheStudioCoach — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 01:24:00 +0000

The videographers dream for white balances, the WhiteBeam now enters the market! It is an 8″ disk that is placed in front of the video camera lens in order to do the white balance in 5 seconds flat. This ensures continuity of light and easy matching of sequences. For more information…

Now available on line, the PhotoMasterTarge t measures only 10″x15″ and is ideal for the photographer on the go. Just like the ColorBalanceCoach, it allows you to control contrast and exposure.

What you recommend for desktop use….the 6×8 Wacom or smaller/larger?

TheStudioCoach — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 18:58:00 +0000

The larger will be the tablet the more precise it tend to be, but one
thing to consider is the total movement of the hand, I have on my desk
a 6×8 and I like it very much, when I get on the 4×6… I feel a rest
of not making such large movements with my hand…. the 6×8 is
ambidextrous with buttons on both side and the 4×6 is more right
handed, both work fine and you must have one. Your photoshop life will
change forever.

FAQ PhotoMasterTarget/ColorBalanceCoach: Do I use the exposure info (F-stop and shutter speed) taken from the grey surface or the exposure info taken from the whole disc including the white and black colors ?

TheStudioCoach — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 15:48:00 +0000

The exposure info that you will have when aiming at the target whole or grey patch, will be used as a starting point to set the final exposure using the 4 patches and representation on the histogram. The 4 peaks pattern on the histogram ill be the confirmation of proper exposure.

Once your histogram is perfect, be sure to be on manual mode and do not change the F-stop and shutter speed.

FAQ PhotoMasterTarget/ColorBalanceCoach: My camera has trouble focusing on the grey surface to get a picture for setting the WB. Would an out-of-focus picture acceptable ?

TheStudioCoach — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 15:30:00 +0000

Many cameras have that limitation of focussing before exposure. When you walk in to fill the screen with the target, it may be impossible to focus. There is no problem as long as you are not casting a shadow on the target. So sharp or out of focus target will be as usefull to set your exposure.

These FAQ are fuelled by the user’s questions.

Lensbabies

TheStudioCoach — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 23:32:00 +0000

The Lensbabies kit is for me the ULTIMATE fun. In my commercial life, the LensBabies is the tool in the bottom of my bag and when inspiration fails, I put the Lensbabies on and through my camera I see a whole new world…

How the ColorBalanceCoach target deals with the back light

TheStudioCoach — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 13:01:00 +0000

This fashion image shot in Paris at The “Astre studio” (map) represented a challenge in the calculation of the light. I wanted the light hitting the front of the model only, using as background the graphical shapes of the architecture. The Camera was set on manual exposure and white balance. The disc was placed so it did not get any direct light from the outside. I took the reading of the white balance on the grey target of the ColorBalanceCoach target set it as the working white balance. Then I made the setting for exposure by shooting the 4 patches until the signature histogram of the CBC was obtained and used this setting as my exposure and did the shoot. To make sure I would blur the background, I used a large aperture (this is the smallest number on the setting of the aperture) here it is f/2.8. Not a single shot was missed.

Jean-Francois O’Kane,
TheStudioCoach.

The ColorBalanceCoach in the figure study

TheStudioCoach — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 12:33:00 +0000

In difficult situation like this one, the ColorBalanceCoach target played a key role.
I wanted a light rolling on top of my nude model’s stomach. I needed to calculate exactly the light passing horizontal al the model’s point. By putting the ColorBalanceCoach target flat on the floor I was able to preform the necessary readings, and ajust the camera for an exact white balance and exposure setting.
Model: Émilie

Shot at Studio Astre, Paris, France.

How to read the photographic histogram?

TheStudioCoach — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 21:27:00 +0000

How to read the photographic histogram?
watch this video to learn about the histogram.