Wednesday May 2, 2012

Stuff You Need

What does a Man or Woman NEED in Life?

Food, shelter, love.

Okay, I have that, now I NEED more!

Of course you do! You’re really getting into photography, and you need more. Forget about what is reasonable … All of that flies out the window when you have an amazing hobby. I have a list of all kinds of cool stuff you need below. Enjoy!

 

My Favorite Things

I often get asked about the things I uses in my professional and personal life so I decided to compile this list of my favorite things! Be sure to leave a comment to let me know what you think!

 

Five Pieces of Software you should have

I have many more photo software reviews of packages I’ve used and recommend.

 

Online Photography Tutorials

For more information about my post-processing “process”, please check out one of my tutorials.

  • FREE HDR Tutorial – a completely FREE step-by-step guide to HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography.
  • HDR Video Tutorial – Trey’s best selling tutorial! Over 11 hours of instruction by Trey about his HDR photography and post-processing techniques.
  • Discover the Art of Photography – an introduction to photography for beginning and intermediate photographers. You will learn how about setting up your camera, properly composing a photo, finding your artistic style, and improving the quality and beauty of your photos.
  • Midnight in Paris – Fine Art Photography – Combines Miss Aniela’s dramatic fine art photography and Trey Ratcliff’s beautiful landscapes into an hands-on photoshoot and post-processing tutorial
  • NEW! Landscape & Travel Photography Tutorial: New Zealand – this online photography course includes over four hours of step-by-step instruction. You will see how Trey sets up his camera to take photos, how he composes the shot, and how he performs HDR processing plus hundreds of other little tricks to make your photos look prettier.
  • Textures Tutorial – learn Trey’s tricks to using textures to give your photos a unique look.
  • Lucis Pro Tutorial – see how Trey uses this amazing software package to improve his photos.
  • Online Photo Album – how to create an online photo album with SmugMug.

 

Photo Editing Tools

Following are some tools and presets you will find invaluable.

  • Trey’s Lightroom Presets – a collection of over 75 of Trey’s Lightroom Presets. I think you’ll come away more-than-impressed with what these HDR-in-Lightroom presets can do to your photos.
  • Trey’s Photomatix Presets – these 23 Photomatix Presets will help you feel happy and creative. You’ll weave digital art that will make all your dreams come true. Well, a few of them.

 

eBooks on Photography Tips and Techniques

Find many more beautiful and informative books at Flatbooks.com

 

Beautiful and Fun Applications

  • The Light Camera – Mark 1 is a unique new photo app with real-time “Live View” Filters and Effects before you take the photo. You can also use your fingers to adjust the intensity of the effect, move around lens flares, and more… it’s cool! Only 50,000 copies of the app will be sold! So download it from the App Store before it’s too late!
  • 100 Cameras in 1 – Recently exceeded 1 million downloads! 100 Cameras in 1 is a new camera app designed to be unique, fast and fun. Includes 100 different effects that use mixes of hardlight, overlay, and more with beautiful textures from around the world.
  • Photo Voyages of Trey Ratcliff – Enjoy the beauty of Trey Ratcliff’s photography on your iPad, iPhone or Android device! You can then choose to get hundreds of more images along with a new image from Trey’s collection delivered to you each day!
  • Stuck on Earth – The ultimate guide for photographers, explorers and daydreamers. Discover countless amazing places to visit—the best of the best.

Find many more beautiful and informative books at Flatbooks.com

 

Trey’s Variety Hour Podcast

I hope you enjoy the podcast!  Don’t forget to tell your friends :) Subscribe for free to My YouTube channel.

Live Show Time and Location:

 

Cameras I Recommend

Below is a list of cameras I recommend that should work for any skill level or budget. In addition, I have a more complete list of Camera Lens Reviews that covers all the lens I use for my photography. Plus here’s Photo Bag – a look at I’ve got in my photo bag.

Good Camera

Panasonic Lumix GX1

Panasonic Lumix GX1

Priced at about $499, this Panasonic camera is highly recommended if your budget is keeping you at around the $500 level.

If budget is not a concern, I suggest you jump down to the “Better” or “Best” recommendations. However, if budget is your principle concern, then no worries! This Panasonic will serve you well! It has a 16 megapixel sensor and is based on something called the “Micro Four Thirds” standard. This means that there many different lenses you can attach to this camera, which is something you can add over time. If you’re just getting started, there is no need to worry about lenses, since it comes with a servicable 14-42mm lens that will allow wide-angle shots and a little bit of zoom. It also has a slick 3″ touch enabled LCD screen.

Better Camera

Sony NEX-7

Sony NEX-7

Starting around $1,300 which includes an 18-55mm lens.

See my full Sony NEX-7 Review. In short, this is really a great camera. I carry it! It is compact and powerful. It can be used it almost any photographic situation and is one of the best models available in this class. I use it to take photos of everything, from kids to landscapes to architecture to objects. This tiny 24 megapixel beast has a thousand other features that those clever Japanese crammed inside… see the full Sony NEX-7 Review for more information and sample photos.

Best DSLR Camera

Nikon D800

Nikon D800

Starting at $3,000 for the camera body.

See my full Nikon D800 Review. This is currently my main camera. I also carry the Sony NEX-7 above as a second camera to get quick shots here and there. But this Nikon D800 is a bigger, traditional DSLR camera. It shoots a massive 36 megapixels and has all the professional-level features associated with high-end DSLRs. For me, I prefer this over the Nikon D4 which is almost twice as expensive. You can see many sample photos and read more in my full Nikon D800 Review.

Sony NEX – First Three Lenses

If you are just getting started and want recommendations on your first three lenses, here they are. Often times a camera will come with a “kit lens” that is pretty versatile and can get you a long way. The Sony NEX-7 comes with a 18-55mm lens that produces great pictures. But there are many lenses that are better for more specialized situations.

Nikon – First Three Lenses

Following are the first three lenses I would recommend getting if you bought a professional Nikon camera.

  • Nikon 14-24 Review – A great wide-angle lens for landscapes and architecture
  • Nikon 28-300 Review – Perfect walk-around lens mid-range stuff like landscapes, birthdays, sports, etc.
  • Nikon 50mm Review – Ideal for cute children, family and close-up objects where you like a blurry background

I only write reviews for lenses that I use and recommend.  Here is a complete list of camera lens reviews.

Tripod and Head

My best advice for tripods is to visit your local camera store and try them out!  Find one that you find easy to use…  I’ve tried many, and my recommendations are below. A tripod is composed of two parts – the Legs and the Head.  The head simply attaches to the legs, and these have universal connections.

What I carry

Entry Level Tripod and Head

More Reviews and recommendations

I have many other reviews and recommendations you may find helpful!

  • Photo Editing Software Reviews – reviews of five must-have software packages along with many others
  • Photo Bag – a look at what’s in my photo bag
  • My Favorite Things – I often get asked about the things I uses in my professional and personal life so I decided to compile this list of my favorite things!
  • Other Reviews – various other software and hardware reviews