Ask a Pro

Q. Can you explain why all cameras are designed to be “right-handed”? What I mean by that is when you are looking on the back, they all have the shutter button on the right side of the camera for shooting a picture. Are there any cameras with the shutter button on the left side that I am not aware of? I would really appreciate your comments on the subject very much. Thank you.

Jose Palacios

A. After doing some research, it appears that the reason is actually pretty simple—90% of the people on the planet are right-handed, so manufacturers made cameras from the beginning to feel comfortable for most people’s hands. As for left-handed DSLRs, no luck there either—just workarounds. The workaround that seems to be the best (and the least expensive) is to connect a cable release; gaffer tape it to the left side of the camera, and use it as your shutter button. Although it is not the most elegant solution, or the prettiest, it definitely works.

Q. In your column in the January 2018 issue you wrote about the ability to replicate camera style settings for Raw files. I have Lightroom Version 5.7.1 and it only provides an option for the Adobe RGB profile. To which version of Lightroom were you referring? If Version 5.7.1 is supposed to provide the facility, what must I do to enable it? I am currently using a Panasonic Lumix GH4 camera.

Ken Goodale

A. Although Lightroom doesn’t have camera profile support in the version of Lightroom you’re using (5.7.1), Adobe did add support for the Panasonic Lumix GH4 in Lightroom CC. So, if you update to the latest version of Lightroom, you will have access to the camera profiles for the Panasonic GH4, plus you will get Photoshop and lots of new features as well. Of course, you will be on a monthly subscription plan, which costs $9.99, but that is about the cost of an appetizer at Applebee’s. You’ll dig the updated version of Lightroom—not the paying part, but the new features and camera profile support part.

Q. I am in the market to purchase a Nikon camera and preferably a Nikon lens to shoot my son’s hockey games. Can you please recommend the best camera for this type of photography? The Nikon D500 was recommended to me, as was the Nikon D7500 and D750. Also, I do understand that the lens is probably more important than the camera body. Could you recommend the best lenses for me to purchase as well? Although I’m not a professional photographer, I want a great camera that I can use for the next few years.

Tanya Lucas

A. First of all, for hockey, when shooting with a full-frame camera body like the Nikon D750, which is a great body and one I would recommend, I really think you need the reach of a 300mm lens on the long end. Of course, it all depends on where you’re shooting from along the ice, but to be at one end and shoot across to the goal at the other end, the 300mm reach is ideal. The 300mm is also great if you wind up shooting above the glass from the mezzanine or up in the stands. However, you’re going to need something a lot shorter when the play moves closer, so a lens like Nikon’s AF-P Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR would give you that flexibility without breaking the bank (it’s around $750), plus it’s a very sharp lens. If you’re shooting indoors, you’ll be glad you have that full-frame body, because you’ll have to crank up the ISO to get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the action, especially at f/4.5 or f/5.6. This is why you will see shooters out there using a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens (expensive) or a 70-200mm f/4 (about half the cost). You can also add a 1.4 tele-extender, which is great when the action moves to the other end of the ice, but you do lose a stop of light. In essence, your f/2.8 becomes an f/4, and your f/4 becomes an f/5.6. Either one of those lenses will do the trick—it really just depends on your budget and how close to the action you want to be lens-wise. If I had a choice, I’d go with the cheaper 70-300mm. Shooting a lot of NHL games myself, I really think the sweet spot is a 70-300mm.

Q. I keep family snapshot images in folders by year. Within each folder I keep the images in folders by date. There is no option to sort by year, then month. Since I have hundreds of folders, I have to go back and rename them. Unfortunately, years ago I was sloppy about naming folders, omitting dates. Do I have to go about renaming the folders? And, if I do, will the Lightroom catalog forget where the new folder is?

Bob Hall

A. As long as you rename your folders within Lightroom’s own Folders panel, Lightroom will not forget where your image folder is located. In the Folders panel, right-click on the folder you want to rename, and choose “Rename.” Just do your renaming there (instead of on your drive) and you’ll be set. However, you should know that Lightroom is automatically sorting all your images by date for you, using the EXIF camera data embedded in your camera. To see your entire library sorted by date, go to the Library filter: along the top row of Thumbnails in the Library module; if you don’t see it, press the backslash key. Now click the Metadata tab and in the first column you’ll see a date column, and under it is a list of the years all of your photos were taken. Inside each of those years, you’ll see the months and then days (even the day of the week). I made a video tutorial that has been posted on Shutterbug’s YouTube site at http://bit.ly/2ayf95z so you can see what I’m talking about. The video is also embedded below. If Lightroom is already sorting by date for you, maybe you can just use very descriptive names for your folders—that way you are doubly covered. Hope that helps.

Scott Kelby is a photographer, Photoshop Guy, award-winning author of more than 50 books, and CEO of KelbyOne, an online education community dedicated to helping photographers take the kinds of images they’ve always dreamed of. You can learn more about Scott at his daily blog (scottkelby.com), or follow him on Twitter: @scottkelby.

Editor’s Note: Ask a Pro is a Q&A column from professional photographer, writer, and educator Scott Kelby. Scott is here to answer all your photography-related questions, so if you have something you’d like to know, e-mail him at editorial@shutterbug.com (with “For Scott Kelby” as the subject line) and your query could be featured in the next edition of Ask a Pro.