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Leaked Godox XPro trigger photo teases a huge LCD interface and lots of buttons

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Godox’s flash system has become extremely popular over the last couple of years. And while it now supports half a dozen different platforms one common point of complaint has been the triggers. Specifically the X1T. It works beautifully, but its user interface can be somewhat slow, clunky, and annoying.

Godox released the XT32 to help alleviate some of the UI issues, although it still leaves a little room for improvement. If a photo posted to Facebook (and then deleted) this morning offers any indication, though, Godox have made those improvements. It shows what appears to be a new XPro trigger for Canon. An XT32 style trigger with a great big LCD and a lot of buttons.

The macro lens is the Swiss Army knife of lenses, and this is why you should own one

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Macro lenses are often seen as this weird special purpose thing, that only those interested in shooting bugs should buy. But they’re so much more than that. Photographer Peter McKinnon believes everybody should own one. In this video, Peter talks about the versatility of a macro lens. That it can be used for so much more than typical “macro” use.

How to make your own DIY magic bokeh balls with your printer

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Making custom bokeh for your lenses can be a fun project. Usually, photographers do it by crudely cutting shapes out of a piece of black card and taping it to the end of our lens. But this method doesn’t allow for a lot of detail or intricacy. There’s also the Bokeh Masters Kit, which comes with some interesting laser cut custom shapes, and a few spare discs to make your own.

But whether you make your own from scratch, or use the Bokeh Masters Kit, there is another way to make your own custom bokeh designs. This method from photographer Micael Widell uses sheets of transparencies along with a printer to create his custom shapes. And in this video, he shows you how he does it.

The photographer’s dos and don’ts of working with models

There are many rules in photography, but few of them are set in stone. When it comes to photographing people, though, there are a few rules that are simple common courtesy. As well as a few that are just a really good idea.

In this video from photographer Manny Ortiz, we learn 5 Dos and 5 Don’ts of working with models. The tips don’t just apply to actual models, though. Model in this context is really just any human subject. With the assistance of his wife Diana, we get to also hear things from the perspective of the person standing in front of the lens, too.

Bodycam footage shows the moment cop shoots photographer without warning

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The body camera footage from Clark County Sheriff’s Deputy Jake Shaw has been released showing the moment he shot New Carlisle News photographer, Andy Grimm. Grimm had left work to cover a lightning storm when he pulled over to photograph a traffic stop. Seemingly mistaking Grimm’s camera and tripod for a gun, Shaw shot at Grimm twice without warning.

The first shot grazed Grimm’s shoulder, and the second went through his torso. The bodycam footage shows the events as they took place. Don’t worry, the footage isn’t gruesome, in fact it’s so dark you can barely see a thing. But you can hear the conversation.

Fuji’s new raw process uses your camera’s hardware to speed up desktop workflow

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This is an interesting developing. Fuji have announced that a new raw processing application is coming in November; Fujifilm X RAW Studio. Unlike all current raw systems, X RAW Studio actually seems to use your camera’s hardware to speed up the workflow. Much in the same way that games, 3D and even video editing applications can utilise your GPU.

Essentially, you plug your camera into a Mac or PC via USB, and then the software sends tasks out to the camera to perform. Fuji believe that the X Processor Pro inside the camera is far more efficient than a computer’s CPU. Especially when it comes to the large raw files we see today.

How to give your subjects a total hair makeover in Photoshop

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Hair is one of those parts of retouching that I least look forward to. It just takes so long to get things looking perfect. Especially if the image is from a shoot that didn’t have a hair stylist on set. If only I could shoot bald models, and composite hair in post, that would make life so much easier.

Well, thanks to Jesús Ramirez at the Photoshop Training Channel, we can! In this video, Jesús walks us through the process of giving a model a completely new hair style in Photoshop, even if they didn’t have much hair to begin with.

Does the Rotolight Neo 2 live up to the hype? This photographer doesn’t think so

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I wrote about the announcement of the new Rotolight Neo 2 a couple of days ago. Looking at the specs, I wasn’t really all that impressed for my own needs. I have Spekular and Aputure lights for video, as well as Nikon & Godox lights for stills (all of which support HSS). So, for the cost, and limited power, the Neo 2 just isn’t worth it for me. So, I didn’t pay much more attention to it.

Photographer Rob Hall, though, has had a couple of days to really consider the specs of these lights and what they mean for photographers. Are they really the revolutionary product that the fancy marketing would lead us to believe? Or is it all (low powered) flash and no substance? Rob, at least, doesn’t seem particularly impressed, if this video is anything to go by.

Google is killing off Google Drive in March – Are you prepared?

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With Amazon killing off their unlimited storage, and CrashPlan ditching consumers in favour of enterprise level clients, more were bound to follow. Google is now shaking things up, announcing that they’re ending Google Drive in March 2018. The difference, however, is that Google don’t seem to be screwing their customers over in the process.

For Google Drive users, Google Backup and Sync will be the replacement. For commercial G Suite customers, Drive File Stream is the new main system. But as of this moment, Google Drive for Mac & PC is officially deprecated. Support will end on December 11th, 2017, and it will shut down completely on March 12th, 2018.

Turn your bathroom into a natural light softbox for amazing portraits

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When most portrait photographers want to create a directional soft light look, they break out the strobes. Then they usually stick a big octabox on the front of it. But what if you don’t have all that gear? How else can you get soft directional light? Well, you may be able to use the window in your bathroom.

In this video, Jay P Morgan shows us how we can get great soft directional light using only what enters through the bathroom window. Or whatever room in which you happen to be shooting. It’s a great technique if you don’t have flash gear and want to practise your portraits.

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