Dear Photographers, I would just like to field suggestions for an Assignment that has come My way. As I am sure some are aware...I am an Amateur, and don't pretend to be anything else...also...as with PotatoShop, I have also had difficulty in understanding My Camera....just how things are...I have a burnt out Brain :] I have been approached to do the "Back Drop" for a New Zealand "Current Affairs Program"...as shown in the 2 Photographs (Shot from My TV)...the Scenes required...are a Vista of Wellington City...Day & Night, and also a Photograph of the Beehive (NZ's Parliament Buildings)....My query....since these Photographs (digital) will be Blown up as a "Back Drop" for the Paul Holmes Show....would I be better using this RAW Format, which I have never used before....or just stick to My Jpegs...which I am more familiar with? My Camera is a Canon....Powershot G5....at 5 Million Pixels. All feedback is appreciated. Have a nice Day :]

well, as i am no pro....i'll leave this one to the big guns!!! You're a nut!!!! :) hey...how much they payin' ya?

One would assume that as they are creating the backdrop from your pictures, they will either have the resources in-house or available to be able to produce what they want from any good quality picture. However, as RAW offers the most flexibility I would go for that. Jolly well done. Not bad for a mad old ships cook ;-) (",)

Hey, congratulations! That is great! IMHO, I stick with what you know and use the highest quality JPEG images possible. Then save it as a Photoshop file as soon as you start working with it. A big project like this is no time to start learning new tricks. Maybe after you finished with it you can play... Backdrops like that are not printed at a very high resolution and will look fine blown up. I just had a trade show booth printed up and the resolution they use is 120 dpi. Can I assume you may be "stiching" some photos together to create the backdrop? Have fun!

see what they suggest... as jordy said, i'd think a video tv studio would have the resources available... but maybe someone will know for sure here again, congrats!! hope this pans out for you! sigh... i knew him when :]

Cyn - We knew him back when we didn't want to admit to it ;-) (",)

how did you get this assignment, Brian? did you submit a portfolio, you have an exhibit somewhere? how'd ya make it big???? this old ship cooks wants to make it big too!!! Totally wild your photos will be on TV!!! whoo-hoo!

Oh, if you are worried about "jpeg noise", then the Smart Blur filter is a wondeful thing. 8^]

Congrats. on your new assignment - I would not presume to offer you any advice just to wish you the best whatever you choose :)

Think about the resolution of TV.. any small defects in the photo aren't going to show unless they really zoom in on it.

being a less tha proficient photoshop user i have no advice to give you but wish you all the best. Aliens are taking over the tv stations spreading subliminal messages in the background...beware

**Aliens are indeed taking over the TV stations spreading subliminal messages in the background...beware** And, I already have an Image of New Zealand's Beehive (Parliament) but, somehow, I don't think the General Public are ready for Smugoons...and, I kid You not...I was threatened with Bodily Harm, taking this Alien Shot....now, I must go back to Sir Helen Clarks Hive...and try to avoid Security...I will probably wear My Bandaged Gauze Disguise, as I need to get close, to be able to Photograph the Parliamentary Crest. Thank You all for Your input...and Your simple way of telling it...that is appreciated. Sheila...nope...nobody discovered Me...*sigh*...My Nephew is the TV Cameraman for the Station...and a wee Word in the Ear. How much will I be Paid....well....that's a Secret, but I might get to Sleep with the Producer...*sigh* Thank You all again.

If you haven't started shooting YET & depending on your deadline to submit the images! I would really plan out what kind of images I'm going to take...also have to take into account the WEATHER and TIME OF DAY when you shoot, since this will impact the look of your pics. There is software out there that lets you print poster sized and wall murals by piecing the individual printouts together (sort of like a puzzle) to creat a larger image. I would assume they have something like this in the studio! just My 2.5 cents! Joe

Yep....Weather & Time of Day are My 2 Priorities for a successful outcome for the Assignment. The TV Studio has "Inhouse" facillities and Staff for all that is required....once the Images are Shot. Cheers.

Brian if you are hesitant to shoot raw, I understand. The thing is they are going to be blowing these images up to quite a large size. You want your capture to contain as much data as possible..... While every image starts out as a raw when you click the shutter, depending on the type of file you decide to save it as (raw, tiff, jpeg) the camera will either leave it as is (raw), or process it into a tiff or a jpg. Because jpg is a lossy format you will lose some pixel data in the process. If your camera can shoot tiff's that would be better imho than shooting jpeg..... however if you decide to shoot jpg.... obviously you want to use the highest setting available.... immediately change them to tiff's when transferring to the computer.... this way if you work on them you will not have the quality degrading with each save..... Have fun! Sounds like a wonderful opportunity!

Michelle....I just happened to take a few of these RAW shots.....and, though...as yet I can't convert them...will have to figure this out.....there sure does seem to be twice as much information of the Image...as opposed to when I shot at the highest Jpeg Resolution. Thanks for Your Patience.

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?ForumID=12379&Form.ShowMessage=2131346

Brian What Raw conversion software are you using? Canons RAW conversion software is a little week. If you are not sure or dont have a third party conversion software the link may be useful to you. In answer to your question, RAW IMO would be the best way to go if you can. Sounds like a great opportunity Simon

Best of luck to ya Tedz! I am no professional so really nothing to add here except I think Chelle gave ya some pretty good advice! Brenda :)

Bravo Dear boy well you will have to start calling yourself a Pro now!! The main advantage of Raw is the fact it has no compression check what formats they can read in any case make sure you save it uncompressed and as Chelle says use Tiff or Raw to make any adjustments to the image before saving to Tiff As I am sure that will be fine with the TV company they will be much larger files so will take longer to upload perhaps send them on a CD

Thank You LostPatrol...I now have that Raw Convertor you Reccomended...as it appears the Canon One doesn't understand...Me...so...I shall have a wee tinker with it. manly hugz

Da Daaaaaaaa! Well...this here is My first Practice RAW File....and, the Download link, that LostPatrol, provided, opened the RAW File, where as, My Canon Camera Software couldn't. Cheers Playmates!

!!!! Yippeee !!!!

Strange, you would think that the software that came with the camera would open the raw files that it produces???? Glad to see you doing so well so quickly.....

Beautiful capture it is too. Found the link whilst bored surfing when the weather was too bad to go out and stare at the sun. Glad you found it useful Good luck with your project. LP

Now this is so damn cool Brian and I'm very happy for u!! :D No advice from me obviously since I just started with photography as u know!! Good luck on this project dear! :)

Thank You very much all...that is about all my feeble Brain can handle....and Dear Michelle...the strangeness re: "Canon can't open it's Own File"...I bet....is Me! However, thanks again for Your advice ,suggestions and well wishes...and the TV Company concerned has just advised....to go ahead with the Assignment.....Weather Permitting. salute

Woohoo!! I'm sure u're gonna do just fine! ;)

I know you will do a great job. Good luck! May your focus be sharp and the lighting be good.

HC, i'm soooo glad you didn't get caught! dangerous work you do!!! did you say subliminal messages??? you gonna make a backdrop that will block 'em??? i'm glad i don't watch NZTV!! we should ask your lovely PDA if those subliminal messages are being sent via the air waves in the US!! good thing i don't watch that much TV...only the Sci-Fi channel occasionally! hey, it's great someone put in a good word fer ya! I need a connection too!!!! i'm not messin' with the portfolio!! i'll just call my brother who has verrrrrry big security clearances and get him to put in a good word for me with the US government! maybe they'll let me take pictures of the tobacco fields here in Kentucky!!! (you know to make magazine ads that say: "Say No To Smokes!" LOL well, i'm glad the big guns stepped up to the plate & helped ya out! what a cool assignment!!!! maybe this wee cook will get out of the galley one day!!! sigh :)

Dear HC....Is this what you are talking about? It just so happends that last night I was reading through some back issues of my photo mags, and came across the following article in the Oct. 03' Issue of my Photo Graphic Mag. Keep in mind this is mostly a film camera mag, and the following article typically talks of film cameras, not digital, but i think the tips on exposures are relevant to both types of cameras. The article (by the mag. Editor) is is called "10 low-light photo tips, and the following secion I'm going to copy to this forum is part/tip #8 of the mentioned article; TV Pictures..So here it is word-for-word: "Photographing images on a TV screen is low-light work, with exposures somewhere in the neighborgood of 1/8 second at f/4 on ISO 100 film. It's wise to use a camera support, and to bracket exposures the first time you do it (once you get your photos back, you'll know the right TV exposure for that particular TV for future shots.) A few considerations: First, make sure the camera is square-on to the screen if you don't want "keystoning." Second, turn off all lights in the room, so they don't reflect in the screen-you're shooting the light emitted by the TV screen (watch out for window glare in daytime, too). Third, TV images are produced by scanning. It takes a little time for the TV to scan the entire image onto the screen. If you shoot at too fast a shutter speed, you'll record only a portion of the TV image. With leaf-shutter cameras, you must shoot at 1/30 or longer, with focal-plane shutters, you mighit have to go as slow as 1/8 to get an entire image. Finally, TV images are not high-resolution from a still-photography standpoint-so your photos of them aren't going to be high res, either. I realize this talks of film..but I think the same principles apply to digi too." I have experiemented just a bit with TV photographs. They are not bullsh--ing in this article....it is true, and I learned why a few pics I took turned out as they did. Too fast a shutter speed won't capture the entire screen cuz of that scan thing...there's a balance. I only got half a screen at higher shutter speeds. To slow resulted in tripped out bands or whatever, but the right speed/combo looked cool. If only I could remember those setting I used..I would let you know...but might not be relevent considering my lighting conditions in the room most likeely will vary from those of yours....Prob. the above article is acurate. If not I might have to write a letter of complaint to the editor. The cool thing is...With digi it is faster to figure out the correct exposure since the digi photgrapher has the advantage of instant review... Hope this helps...even if it is not relevant to what you have in mind...at least i hope you find it interesting. -Peace/Jeff :-)

Brian... Congratulations... Please send a pic of the TV screen when it gets on! ... I'd go for it and get a whole bunch of shots done for your bigwigs selection sake ....your nephew should be helpful too no? Oh... and if you want to suck an egg, you have to make a tiny hole in one end ... about the size of a camera shutter juuuuuuuuuuuuust opening... and then you must put your mouth over that hole ........ .... toodles..

Congratulations Brian..I wish you all the best...I would say RAW or TIFF...Happy for ya:)

Hi Tedz, I know Im late to the party. Be careful once you go RAW you may never go back! Raw will give you so much more flexibility in the final image its not even close with this decision. You can change the resolution, color balance, and white point with little loss of quality in the final image. We talk of postproduction in Photoshop, RAW is preproduction you can also work in 16 bit as opposed to 8 bit files. Whit more file data you can produce sharper images when having to enlarge them to huge sizes. I just had to produce some files that were 48 by 72 inches to be made into skins for a soda machine the resulting file were 235 megs I hope you have lots of ram. It worked out great. Randy

For your city panorama I'm sure you can fit Smugoons in somewhere. 'course, if you ever want a job again... There is a very nice tutorial on low light city photography in the Resource Area. Written around film, but most of the ideas should apply to digital.

Ask what format the studio can handle. You would think studios can handle just about everything. But often they don't keep up with the rest of the world the way a studio should. For example in the US they are many studios which are still using BETA almost exclusively. Bsteph