The Scoop from Professor Kobré

Black Friday Special at Lightscoop.com

lightscoop@mac.com (Ken Kobre) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:30:00 GMT

Psst... Pass the word... 15% discount at www.lightscoop.com with coupon code BLACKFRIDAY (ALL CAPS).

Five Top Tips for Better Holiday Photos

lightscoop@mac.com (Ken Kobre) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:06:00 GMT

All of you in the States... if Thanksgiving is here, Christmas & Hanukka are not far behind. And for those of you in other places in the world... Christmas & Hanukka are still right around the corner! Our thanks this year to all our enthusiastic Lightscoop users!

Here's some advice to prepare you for the season.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Take great pictures of Christmas trees with lights or Hanukkah candles burning brightly by fooling the automatic light meter inside your camera. Put your camera on manual (m) and then set your shutter dial to a slow speed like 1/15sec or even 1/8 sec. This slow shutter speed will let the lights from the tree or candles come out brighter. Remember to hold the camera very still or rest it on a desk, monopod or tripod.
If the room light is very low, try using flash. Set the flash setting on “moon”or “city scape.” This setting will keep the shutter open longer and pick up more available light coming from the tree or candles. You can use this setting in combination with Professor Kobre’s Lightscoop® for best results with the pop-up flash on 35mm SLRs. Bouncing the pop-up flash with the Lightscoop will result in an even more natural-looking scene — no harsh light.
If you have young children, get down on their level to shoot. Witnessing the world from their perspective will add a refreshing point of view to your pictures. And remember to come in close to your child’s face - the closer you get, the bigger the child will appear in the picture and the more the child’s smile will radiate the memories of the holiday. (And by bouncing the pop-up flash with your Lightscoop, you won't blast the little one's eyes.)
While loved ones are decorating the tree, wrapping gifts, or preparing candles,they are likely to be relaxed and engaged — and less likely to pay attention toyour camera. What a great time for candid pictures instead of frozen smiles.These are magic moments.
Avoid the awkward delay that occurs with point-and-shoot cameras between the time you press the button and the shutter actually clicks. Frame your picturethe way you like it and then press the shutter half-way down. Keep the button partially depressed until your subject reacts in some fun way… with a smile or intimate touch. Only then, at that critical moment, press the button all theway down. Now the shutter will click almost instantly. Using this technique you can get more candid pictures — you can do this on your iPhone, too!

Shameless Self-Promotion: Check out the stream of recent great Lightscoop reviews... and gift guides, too.

lightscoop@mac.com (Ken Kobre) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:43:00 GMT

New York Times: Gadgetwise
“A Great Flash Add-On for Pets (and People)... The holidays are bearing down on us, and chances are you’ll be snapping a lot of indoor shots of your friends and family, not to mention the dogs and cats decked out in Santa hats, festive little sweaters, and reindeer antlers. The Lightscoop is a great little gadget for improving these indoor shots.”

CNET ULTIMATE HOLIDAY TECH GUIDE

“[THE LIGHTSCOOP®] IS a great stocking stuffer, especially for the dSLR newbie who might avoid using the flash altogether because it's ugly.”

WIRED.com

The Lightscoop “in one neat and simple stroke turns an almost unusable, on-axis light source into a big, soft,flattering sheet of light.”

WIRED.COM

”You won’t get results anything like those you’d achieve with external flashes and some creative know-how, but the difference between using your pop-up with and without the scoop is like(forgive me) night and day. Where the bare-bulb picture ... is harsh and full of sharp-edged shadows, the ‘scooped version is soft andshadow-free.”

San Luis Obispo Tribune

“Using the Lightscoop will soften the light and redirect it, resulting in much better images... At first I was skeptical, but the results are pretty amazing.”

Practical Photograpy, UK
“Professor Kobré's Lightscoop promises 'pro-like lighting with your SLR's pop-up flash.' This might seem like an outlandish boast (given the rabbit-caught-in-the-headlights look of pop-up flash pictures), but much to my surprise, it actually does work.”

Blogs

Essential Digital Camera (for beginners & others new to digital photogrphy)

“Check out the Lightscoop and see if it turns your photos of family gatherings into great shots instead of trash can fodder!”

Shutter Photo

“For many, it will be all you need to make your photos look leaps and bounds better. For many, it will help you to postpone the need to spend money on a good external flash – and $34.95*(USD, pricing as of November, 2009), it will certainly serve that purpose. I would even hypothesize that many casual photographers will prefer the Light Scoop over a more complicated external flash system –especially consumers who primarily capture family functions, parties and so on. For that matter, even more advanced photographers might prefer to travel with a Light Scoop instead of their more bulky and more costly external flashes.”

The Mommy Daddy Blog & Holiday Gift Guide

”I’ve always avoided taking pictures in low light situations because they’d always turn out disastrous... I found the perfect solution, the Lightscoop.”

The Gadgeteer

”The Lightscoop is a great addition to my camera equipment. It works beautifully to redirect and soften thelight from my Nikon’s pop-up flash. With the Lightscoop, my pictures look more like what my eye sees.... Professor Kobre’s Lightscoop is a wonderful tool for taking beautifully lighted, intimate pictures.”

Terry White’s 2009 Holiday Gift Guide for the Digital Photographer

Terry White's Tech Blog
“Your pop-up flash doesn’t have to suck! ...When it arrived, I was thinking ‘this is never going to work.’ So of course I fired off acouple test shots (before and after) and I was stunned by the difference. Yes, it does work!”

GadgetSteria

“Does it work? For all intents and purposes, the answer is an impressed and resounding “Yes!” ... An A+ in my book.”

Mr. Gadget

“A little bit like no flash really. It won't replace my external Speedlight but I still have some use for it definitely. I like the weight or lack thereof from a big bulky external flash.’

PlunderGuide: The Buyer's Guide for Men

“So you’ve finally graduated from point-and-shoots and bought yourself a nice DSLR camera. You take thousands of photos but you become disappointed since most of your shots still suck. ...[With Lightscoop] ... and proper technique and practice, you can improve your shots and won’t cost you an arm and a leg in the process.”

Lifetime Moms
“I have been avoiding taking indoor pictures at night because I just hated how the pictures would come out with the camera flash on...Luckily I stumbled upon the Lightscoop...”

BizzieMommy.com
“Lightscoop: My new favorite photo accessory. I was actually on the verge of buying an external flash before I discovered the Lightscoop while flipping through a photography magazine.”

A Cowboy's Wife
“I attached the Lightscoop to my camera and voila! Now THAT is a HUGE difference! I’m already sold and that was just the first comparison I did.”

Prop Insanity
“We have got your little secret, your ace in the whole, the BIG fix!”...flip on the flash…your built in camera flash that is. Clip on your Lightscoop. Problem solved!”

The Gadgeteer
“Professor Kobre’s Lightscoop is a clever and inexpensive ($35) device that clips on to the hot shoe of your DSLR or SLR camera.”

Gear Diary
“Tired of flash photography that makes your victims look like a deer inthe headlights? Here’s a cool photography tool designed for the everday picture taker.”

Red Ferret Journal
“Slot one of these gidgets over the top of your DSLR pop up flash and you’ll gain a bounced flash look for your photos without breaking th ebank.”

Doobybrain.com
WOW (the Lightscoop is amazing)!!

LukeFord.Net
“The Lightscoop is a perfect stocking stuffer. Get it. Use it. Keep it. Thank Ken Kobre for this amazing invention.”

Rick Smolan & The Obama Time Capsule featured at Apple.com

lightscoop@mac.com (Ken Kobre) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:49:00 GMT

I've written before about Rick Smolan's projects "The Obama Time Capsule" and "America at Home."

Apple.com is profiling Rick and "The Obama Time Capsule" on its site. "The Obama Time Capsule" integrates the buyer's personal campaign and election photos with those of professional photojournalists as well as with essays by professional political commentators. This profile is a good read about the project and how the creative Smolan put it altogether. The book is available only at Amazon.com.

Contest winners: UGLY pop-up flash pix & a REMINDER

lightscoop@mac.com (Ken Kobre) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:36:00 GMT

First a reminder: November 30 is the last day to enter this month's UGLY pop-up flash photo contest.

Yes, it's a contest for UGLY pictures. The prize is the solution to those UGLY photos: a Lightscoop, of course.

And I've been remiss in announcing September and October's winners:

October's winner is Flickr member Sreejith K.

September's winner is Flickr member Cal-vin01.

Put YOUR ugly pop-up flash pictures to use...

Sony Model Lightscoop Coming Soon!

lightscoop@mac.com (Ken Kobre) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:47:00 GMT

You’ve been asking. We've been at work. Just in time for the holiday season! Our new Sony model Lightscoop should be arriving by the end of next week. We won't be adding it to the shopping cart until we have them in hand for shipping, so please check starting around Dec. 4.

You will need to specifically order the Sony model, as the other model will not fit Sony SLR cameras and their proprietary hot shoe.

Whew... soon to be even fewer UGLY flash photos!

Winner in August's UGLY Pop-Up Flash Photo Contest

lightscoop@mac.com (Ken Kobre) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:58:00 GMT

There will be at least one LESS photographer making UGLY pop-up flash pictures. AbleApril on Flickr wins the August prize and provides a direct-flash demo at the same time. Congrats, AbleApril. Your very own Lightscoop® will soon be on its way to you. April, be sure to add your new, improved pictures to the Lightscoop Users Group on Flickr.

Have friends with UGLY pop-up flash pictures? Tell them to enter our UGLY Pop-up Flash Photo Contest.

Check out redesigned Lightscoop.com -- and its great images by Lightscoop Users!

lightscoop@mac.com (Ken Kobre) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:41:00 GMT

Yes! Every beauty page on our new website features an image we found in the Lightscoop Users Group on Flickr. Wow! Talk about hard to choose! Finally, we narrowed down the choices, contacted the photographers & paid to use their terrific images. More than 20 photos by Lightscoop Users are on the new site! Do have a look...

The site also features tips on photographing kids, families, & pets... as well as advice on product shots for eBay sellers & others. More useful info will follow via Twitter & Facebook...

Please post YOUR Lightscoop shots on Flickr, as we are looking for other opportunities to showcase Users’ images. Yes, we will pay!

The Obama Time Capsule

lightscoop@mac.com (Ken Kobre) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:37:00 GMT

Photographer and photo project dreammaker extraordinaire Rick Smolan has hit another home run with his newest project The Obama Time Capsule. The book features the work of hundreds of professional photographers who followed President Obama's historic campaign and first 90 days in office -- but also allows buyers to add their own photos, dedication and even their children’s artwork, to include their own involvement into the wider historic context. To learn more, visit: www.TheObamaTimeCapsule.com.

Free Lightscoop to UGLIEST pop-up flash picture... check it out on Twitter...

lightscoop@mac.com (Ken Kobre) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:50:00 GMT

Here's a contest like no other... post your UGLIEST pop-up flash picture on Twitter... we're giving prizes to the UGLIEST...

Follow Lightscoop on Twitter...

If you're not on Twitter, sign up, then follow Lightscoop and post your ugly photo as directed:

Got a really UGLY pop-up flash pix? Post on Twitter by 7/5 with #lightscoop #uglyflashcontest

Prize is a free Lightscoop -- the solution to UGLY pop-up flash pix!

Good luck!

Become a Lightscoop Fan on Facebook

lightscoop@mac.com (Ken Kobre) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:09:00 GMT

The Lightscoop is building a fan base on Facebook... check it out.

Contest: UGLY Flash / GREAT Light! Win $200!

lightscoop@mac.com (Ken Kobre) — Fri, 08 May 2009 19:47:00 GMT

Tick, tick, tick. Our redesigned Lightscoop site is still being fine-tuned... with great images by ordinary Lightscoop users whose work we found in the Lightscoop Users Group on Flickr.

Seeing all these wonderful pictures has been so inspiring that we're going to celebrate the site's relaunch by hosting a contest with a $200 prize. That's right — the winner or winners will receive $200 for their winning comparison pictures, will see their images in an ad, and will receive our help in promoting their work.

UGLY Flash / GREAT Light by Lightscoop®

We're looking for GREAT comparison pictures that show UGLY pop-up flash versus GREAT light by the Lightscoop.

So, you will want to shoot the same subject, in the same situation: one picture using the pop-up flash; the other using the pop-up flash bounced by the Lightscoop.

Remember:
We want to show UGLY flash (the worse the better)
We want to show GREAT light by the Lightscoop

Upload each image to the Lightscoop Users Group on Flickr.
Tag "with Lightscoop" or "without Lightscoop"
Leave all the EXIM data visible.

We'll pay the winner(s) $200 for each pair used, will publish the images in ads (so we'll need a model release if you win), and will help promote your work.

By the way, remember that Adorama.com is the exclusive online reseller for Professor Kobré's Lightscoop.

Lightscoop.com redesign in the works...

lightscoop@mac.com (Ken Kobre) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 16:34:00 GMT

Sneak peak... who knows HOW long this process will take!!!? I'm impatient!

Showcasing all Lightscoop User pix...

Here's the new home page, with photo by Sherri LeAnn (Creative Mommy on Flickr):

KobreGuide: Videojournalism

lightscoop@mac.com (Ken Kobre) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 04:43:00 GMT

Nothing at all to do with the Lightscoop, but everything to do with having a plate that is too full!

Dirck Halstead invited me to guest-edit his special April issue of The Digital Journalist, the monthly online magazine for visual journalism, now on a Webstand near you! See it now at: http://digitaljournalist.org.

TDJ has been on the front lines of reinventing photojournalism since its first issue 11 years ago. This month, the issue is devoted to videojournalism, and we’re blessed to have some of the nation’s top practitioners in this emerging field contribute. They tell and show how they are changing this emerging field, and we strongly encourage you to head right over to DigitalJournalist.org and see what they’ve prepared for you. Here are some highlights:

Spokesman-Review’s Colin Mulvany is a highly decorated visual journalist whose portfolio and commentary serves as the cover story. Colin was among the first and best to make that bold leap from still photography to video. He also personally trained and groomed his paper’s photography staff to produce great videojournalism along with him. He recently received yet another award -- second place in NAPP’s Best of Photojournalism contest for Web news video for Warming the Homeless. Read about his long, steady trek to the top.

Kathy Kieliszewski generously shares her perspective as leader of the Emmy Award-winning video staff of the Detroit Free Press. Their staff keeps wowing us with their labor-intensive projects, each one reflecting a strong level of collective commitment. How can such a small unit spend a year chronicling life inside an orphanage? How did they ever find the time to put together their ambitious multi-faceted Emmy-winning 40th anniversary salute to Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” ? And how many staffs would dare to undertake a 50th anniversary celebration of Motown Records by preparing FIFTY short video stories? Kathy takes us behind the scenes at freep.com to show us how they keep churning out the hits.

New York Times videojournalist Erik Olsen treats us to an inside look at how he personally made the transition from ABC TV news shooter to creating video stories for a newspaper – and why he’s so much happier for it. As a “one-man-band”-style VJ, he finds that having the opportunity to edit his own stories (instead of handing over footage to an editor, as usually happens in TV) helps him better visualize the final result as he’s shooting – making for a better story overall. As part of a crack team of fifteen videojournalists, Erik lends fresh insight into how one of the nation’s top news organizations is wholeheartedly committing itself to pioneering first-rate videojournalism.

With newspapers shrinking and dying, videojournalists worry that there will be no outlet for their work. One solution, for the entrepreneurially-minded, is to strike out on your own and take a shot at freelancing. But who will buy your pieces? How much will they pay? (A budget-slashing paper surely can’t be a potential customer.) What are the protocols and procedures? Do you pitch ideas, or only peddle finished stories? So many questions, so few people in a position to answer them. Luckily we found one – Brent Foster, a former L.A. Times videojournalist who packed it in this year and headed for New Delhi, where he’s setting up shop as a fulltime freelance VJ. We asked for details, he graciously provided them, in his “Email from New Delhi”

Probably the best potential market for freelancers is not cash-starved newspapers, but organizations and associations whose Websites are designed to communicate to their membership. A few have already experimented with videojournalism. Among those who’ve produced the most successful results is the gargantuan 40-million member American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). The good news for videojournalists who’ve been laid off is that AARP.org represents a viable freelance market. AARP multimedia producer Nicole Shea, whose background includes stints at National Geographic and Getty Images, gives us the inside scoop on what AARP is looking for – which should open your eyes to other possibilities for institutional videojournalism markets.

For this special issue, the KobreGuide mavens distilled a list of “Ten Tips to Improve Your Videojournalism.” One of those tips is to tell a story from an alternative perspective. When Reuters’ award-winning photog Lucy Nicholson attended an intensive MediaStorm workshop (her first foray into videojournalism), she impressed us with her fresh look at an old icon, by profiling the underwear-clad Times Square musician who calls himself “The Naked Cowboy” -- from his girlfriend’s point of view. Our Q&A with Lucy illuminates her creative process.

Another tip is to find a singular character on which you can hang your story. It’s such important (and oft-neglected) advice, that we asked KobreGuide contributor Kathy Strauss, an accomplished visual journalist in her own right, to share her favorite character-oriented videos from KobreGuide, and demonstrate why each story was immeasurably improved by having a single human stand in for an abstract issue or theme.

To illustrate what differentiates videojournalism from other media, we created a hypothetical story – “Building a Sandcastle” – that also serves to show how a videojournalist can show us something we couldn’t find anywhere else. In “The Future of Videojournalism,” we offer a peek at some new and emerging trends that we feel will soon be used to improve the medium’s viability and versatility.

We’re confident that you’ll find plenty in this issue to help you improve the quality of your own videojournalism. If you’ve found or created something worthy of KobreGuide.com, please let us know by clicking the “Recommend a Story” tab on our homepage – we’re grateful for all the extra eyeballs that help us locate those proverbial needles in the haystack. And if your newspaper wants to join the KobreGuide Consortium, enabling it to feature the Web’s best videojournalism on its own site – and to have its own video appear on Websites around the world – both at no cost, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

We’re grateful to Dirck Halstead and his professional team at DigitalJournalist.org for this golden opportunity to guest-edit this special issue and share our videojournalism adventures and insights with you.

Enjoy!
Ken Kobre
Publisher
KobreGuide.com

http://www.DigitalJournalist.org
http://www.KobreGuide.com

Family Portraitists: Check this out

lightscoop@mac.com (Ken Kobre) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:59:00 GMT

The folks at PropInsanity.com, a fun site for family photojournalists, portraitists, and others, tried out the Lightscoop and loved it. Check it out.

Proud Prof: Shawn Thew scores Rolling Stone cover!

lightscoop@mac.com (Ken Kobre) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:04:00 GMT

Congrats to Shawn Thew, my former San Francisco State University student, who scored the current cover of Rolling Stone magazine -- with an image of a forlorn looking George W. Bush that was used for a humorous photo-illustration.

Keep up the great work! Just call me Proud Prof!

Proud Prof: Pete Souza, new White House Photographer, on Today Show

lightscoop@mac.com (Ken Kobre) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Congrats, Pete Souza, on your Today Show appearance -- and on your appointment as the official White House photographer for Barack Obama.

It's been a stellar year for Pete... and a stellar career.

Pete's book "The Rise of Barack Obama" made the New York Times' bestseller list in 2008... Pete was working for the Chicago Tribune when he began covering the president-elect long before Barack Obama became a household name...

Pete actually will know his way around the White House better than our new president, as Pete also was the officlal White House photographer for Ronald Reagan! Pete published a book of images from those years called "Images of Greatness: An Intimate Look at the Presidency of Ronald Reagan."

Pete was in one of my earliest photojournalism classes back at Boston University... just a few years back, eh, Pete? Just call me Proud Prof!

David Pogue's top photo tips... even I learned something!!

lightscoop@mac.com (Ken Kobre) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 22:20:00 GMT

We've always been David Pogue fans, even before he made the Lightscoop famous almost exactly a year ago.

Today, he posted five great photo tips, all of which I hand out all the time myself. It's the tip within the fifth that caught my attention.

It doesn't cost a thing to join the New York Times website if you aren't already a member (and you should be!)... Check out all Pogue's tips, of course, but have a look at #5. He's talking to compact camera owners, but the concepts apply to all cameras. Just don't use a long lens on your camera if you try #5 with a 35mm SLR.

"Gotta Have It" Award for Lightscoop!

lightscoop@mac.com (Ken Kobre) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 02:03:00 GMT

Hey... a big thanks to PhotoWalkPro for recognizing the Lightscoop with its "Gotta Have It" Award.

"Prof. Kobré figured out a way to make the pop-up flash into a bounce flash. Other modifiers I have seen or used simply tried to diffuse the flash but this one re-directs it up and forward for a soft, even look that only bounce lighting can give you. You can even use it as a wall bounce when you shoot vertically. There is also a warming version that uses a tinted mirror to add a very nice warmth to the images. Such a simple idea, so beautifully executed. It has definitely earned a PhotoWalkPro 'Gotta Have It!' Award."

Betsy wrote in to let PhotoWalkPro readers know about Adorama's sale on the Lightscoop. Take advantage of that great deal for your holiday gift-buying, too! (Adorama also sells on Amazon, where the Lightscoop is ranking in the top 50 of 5,325 lighting accessories!

Lightscoop sale at Adorama!

lightscoop@mac.com (Ken Kobre) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 03:54:00 GMT

Alert, alert!

Adorama, our exclusive online reseller, is offering the Lightscoop at the super sale price of $24.95. They also sell through Amazon.