Author Archives: Alex
HOW TO BE MORE CREATIVE // Rise Above Social Media Envy
https://issuu.com/alexdamianidis
While using this technique of collecting inspiration for a greater purpose I was able to successfully run a photography freelance business shooting multiple weddings and portrait/family sessions a year.
I created 5 e-books inspired by various things like comic books, fitness, black and white and a Charity book supporting a library in Guinea West Africa.
For me personally none of that would have been possible without a deep library of knowledge to draw upon because I was starting from the bottom.
Nowadays I can mostly wing-it and get by but when I do it’s not nearly as good as when I had a clear vision of what I wanted to achieve.
In the video I wasn’t sure why I stopped collecting images in 2018 but now that I think about it again and look at the folder. The last image I saved was 4 months before my daughter was born. I then took a year long break from freelance work which in some ways resumed with this YouTube channel.
I have a folder with thumbnail, topic, lighting references and much more from popular YouTubers out there so I picked up right where I left off it seems.
Post-Production Walkthrough // Wahoosh Falls – Medium
I feel like I am in school again making these videos because I am learning every single week not just how to use Divinci Resolve but how I can get better at photography by doing these in-depth analysis of my own work.
Like a football player studying his tape, I can see where I could have made a much better decision.
This week I learned how to sharpen my videos, how to adjust the colour with greater detail, how to control the audio levels, how to blend music better. Amazing new skills to add to a growing tool kit of digital post-production knowledge.
Wahoosh falls is a fun location in Mississauga, Ontario Canada but there are much bigger falls in Hamilton a short drive away. Here is a link to the two shots I took and edited for the video.
Link 1
Link 2
I have also joined and started actively commenting in the reddit community on photography/camera/canon sub reddits where I am finding a lot of people asking the same questions that I am already teaching lessons about.
Nina Kebriaee Interview – Photographer & Retoucher
My career began as a retoucher and I didn’t even touch a DSLR that was providing the files that kept me employed until almost 10 years later.
Once I did my potential expanded and new opportunities came at me quickly. Without that my YouTube channel would not have been possible.
Nina on the other hand studied as a photographer in the beginning and found retouching later as the industry moved away from film. It must have been hard to trade up the equipment she learned and grow in a new direction. But clearly it made her talent and creativity expand as she now works on industry leading advertising.
I believe Nina is a great Photographer, and Retoucher because she has a passion for both skills and they compliment each other. This allows her a wider creative understanding and greater talent than either one could offer alone. I want people to know great retouching is much more than a quick colour adjustment, crop and export. What to retouch in photoshop, and how well to retouch it requires skills not naturally found in either field, in fact they are borrowed from Artists and Art Direction because of how they see digital images as artwork. They don’t care about the shots ISO or if you used a clone brush, they care that it looks perfect.
Like artwork it’s hard to judge a retouched photo as good, or bad. But what artwork and retouching have in common is that they are greatly increased in value if they have meaning attached to the decisions behind them.
If you can bring more meaning to what you do, you will be better at everything related to photography.
WHEN TO UPGRADE // Studying the Canon 6D vs R6
The Hype on Canonrumours.com was legendary as the news slowly trickled in about Canon’s new serious Mirrorless line.
Their EOS R was already hugely popular with YouTubers in the last 6 months so naturally this was going to get some attention.
It was hard to get hard facts and real numbers but once they came in it was clear, these cameras are a serious upgrade.
I hope my breakdown helps educate people on how to make an educated purchase. If you already down a 5D Mark IV, or an EOS R, you probably don’t need these cameras and could wait for a Mark II or III while they work out some hardcore details.
I have a pre-order on the R6 to see what this gear is like so really looking forward to sharing my thoughts on the final product.