While perving on fellow photographer Todd Mizomi’s blog, I found a link to this incredible tutorial by Atlanta photographer Zack Arias on one of the basic staples of commercial photography: the art of shooting on white seamless. Everything from gear to lighting and camera settings are covered in the tutorial…

Good stuff.

Information and education for creative professionals is becoming increasingly available…which, I have to say, is an AWESOME trend. To be able to geek out and watch behind-the-scenes videos and learn from some of the world’s best photographers and other creatives is something that is pretty amazing.

I talk about a few of the podcasts, blogs, and other sources that I routinely check out….

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Or download the episode here.

The links:

• Chase Jarvis’s Blog
• Zack Arias’ Blog
• Nick Onken’s Blog (didn’t talk about it in the podcast, but has some very valuable and practical industry info
• Kelby Training
• D-Town TV
• fstoppers.com

And many more!!

We like to be friendly to everyone here at AaronRiveroll.com…so if you are viewing the blog on your iPhone, Android phone, or other mobile device…you’re probably noticing a slight difference. :)

I spent a little time this afternoon installing a mobile WordPress theme on my blog today…so if you’re on the go and out and about as much as I am and want to keep up with the nonsense or look at pictures of beautiful girls, then you can definitely do so. It’s totally easy to follow the blog, my Twitter, and to leave comments too…so I definitely think you should. All the cool kids are doing it. :)

Hope you enjoy the mobile theme…I have to admit, I think it’s pretty sweet. :)

I’m not gonna lie, these look pretty cool.

http://www.apple.com/ipad/

Funny…

The folks over at Strobist.com had a couple of very cool blog posts on lighting (I mean, aside from their usual posts on lighting. lol)

But seems they took the idea out of my head. :)

For months, I’ve been meaning to talk about lighting options in the podcast…seems the question that most people ask me is what type of lighting I use and what type of lights are the best.

There is no right or wrong answer to this. Every type of studio light out there has it’s pros and cons…and there are reasons why some are better than others.

You have to decide.

But it’s good to know what’s out there and what each one does.

Check out the articles…and stay tuned for some podcasts in the future that will probably repeat some of this information. :)

• Strobist: Choosing Big Lights: AlienBees
• Strobist: Choosing Big Lights: Profoto

I can honestly say that this is true…being that I know a lot of hot girls.

I mean, I maybe know like two hot girls that sport the iPhone…the rest are Blackberry gals.

Hot Women Sport A Blackberry, Not The iPhone » ZiggyTek » Blog.

Having a process that you follow when it comes to storing and archiving your images is so important, as I learned a couple weeks ago when one of my drives decided to crap out on me.

Equipment is man-made…and like a lot of things…it can break, get lost, stolen, etc.

When your storage solutions are down and there’s no way of working on your images, it can really throw a monkey wrench into your plans and really put life at a standstill…especially if you have to repair, restore, etc. It’s funny how we depend on our gear to get us through the day.

With good storage solutions, a proven workflow, and playing it safe, you can minimize your downtime, stress, and make sure you client is always happy knowing that you are taking precautions to keep your most valuable assets safe: your images.

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Or download the episode here.

I had a fun shoot with my pal, Kaitlin this week. The weather is starting to clear up a bit…and since we had some shizz we needed to shoot, we planned a little afternoon sesh.

Except, she upped the ante a little bit and went bikini shopping right before she came out…and she showed up with this hot little blue Diesel bikini. So…I took pictures of her in it:

Also, we took a little video as well.

Photo shoot with Kaitlin from Aaron Riveroll on Vimeo.

Now, I guess this place is as good as any to mention my new toy…I’ve had it for a couple weeks, but only been able to put it to the test most recently…

Upon the suggestion of my best friend, Brian…I went out and got a Flip Mino HD.

Now, if you have no idea what I’m talking about, the Flip is one of the world’s smallest camcorders. About the size of a cell phone or iPod, the Flip fits in your pocket. I totally agree with the thought that the best camera is the camera that’s with you…and with the Flip, you can always be ready to roll video.

Ahem…HD video, to be exact. It records in 1280 x 720 video resolution. The one that I have holds about an hour, or 4 GB worth of video…perfect for snapping clips here and there. And it encodes video in H.264 MP4 format…ready for editing, or uploading a quick clip directly to YouTube.

So far….I LOVE it. I carry it with me all the time. It’s great to have in my camera bag too for impromptu moments during photo shoots. Still getting used to motion and getting smooth video…but it takes practice.

And, so far I’ve talked two of my friends into getting one…one being a pro photographer…and the other, being a pro HD videographer. Once he had it in his hand, he said it felt great…and the quality was just enough for those short, quick moments.

So there is my product endorsement. If it’s good enough for a pro HD videographer…the Flip is good enough for me. It’s gets the job done…like Bacardi and Cola.

Anyway, enjoy the photos of Kait…more soon!!

So Brian and I met for Chicken McNuggets yesterday…and we got to dish about a lot of things, including some business related to our company. One of the high points of our talk was our conversation about SEO, or Search Engine Optimization and making sure we can find our company web site on the internet. More importantly, we want to make sure others can find us on the web as well. After all, we won’t make money if people can’t find us or know we exist. :)

Brian posted this little ditty on his blog yesterday…

And then I found this very interesting little video for photographers and how important SEO is for their web sites and their business.

There are a lot of key points in that video that people don’t realize or understand…and a lot of misconceptions as to what makes a web site work to its full potential. Definitely interesting to check out.

So, I’ve tried a few different Twitter applications for my iPhone…and just recently, I came across one that I actually LOVE. It’s sort of weird.

It’s called TwitterFon…and it basically does everything I need it to…lists the Tweets from everyone I’m following…let’s me post pictures, let’s me see my replies…it pretty much kicks butt.

And it’s free.

Check it out…

And while we are on the subject of Twitter, Flor sent this little link to me that is effing hilarious…and sadly true. But I still LOL-ed. :)

• SuperNews! Twouble with Twitters

I’m like a little kid…a nerdy little kid, but still a little kid.

Apple showed off it’s preview for the new version of iPhone’s OS, version 3.0, which is supposed to be coming out this summer.

Out of the 100 new features they announced, the top four are really the only ones I’ve been TOTALLY waiting for, as I’m sure many others have been too:

• Search your iPhone
• Cut, copy, and paste
• Send photos, contacts, audio files, and location via MMS
• Read and compose email and text messages in landscape

I’m SO excited I could do a little dance. :)

Apple – iPhone – iPhone OS 3.0 Preview

GREAT post over at Nick Onken’s blog…

Nick talks about what that best camera to get is. I love the he is a Canon guy…yet doesn’t discriminate. After all, these are just tools of the trade. But I love his breakdown, reasoning, and details for people wanting to jump on a dSLR.

Nick Onken | What camera do I get?

So Brian and I have been chatting lately about the new Palm Pre, that is supposed to be coming out for Sprint. Brian, for a while now, has been anti iPhone (like a few people I know)…and for good reason.

Although I LOVE my iPhone, I have to admit that this new Palm phone looks pretty damn impressive. Here’s a little video about the Six reasons Apple should be shaking in their booties.

So, I’m pretty stoked that Google finally came out with it’s Picasa photo software for the Mac OS. It’s in Beta…so I’m giving it a whirl. So far, it’s the Picasa I’ve come to know and love on the PC, with quick correction tools and it’s awesome sorting abilities. You even have the ability to upload directly to your Picasa Web Album.

Download it here.

Absolutely brilliant…5 tips you can use to make your iPhone photos, well, not suck.

I loved every one of these tips…including the apps he suggests in tip #5. I own both…and highly recommend Camera Bag and Pano.

Check out his tips here: Chase Jarvis | 5 Tips For Making Great iPhone Photos