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Square Photography: 6 Reasons the Square Format Is Amazing

28 Jul

The post Square Photography: 6 Reasons the Square Format Is Amazing appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Andrew S. Gibson.

What’s so great about the square format in photography? And how can shooting square compositions help your photos?

In this article, I’m going to share 6 important reasons to use the square format. And by the time you’re done, you’ll fully appreciate the value of square photography!

Let’s get started.

Square versus rectangular photography

Every photo aspect ratio – square, 3:2, 4:3, 16:9, and more – features a slightly different view of the world.

And these different views lend themselves to different types of compositions.

Therefore, composition in the square (1:1) format is a different process than composition within a standard 3:2 or 4:3 rectangular frame.

Is the square format always better than a wider format? Absolutely not. There are times when you’ll want to shoot with a 3:2 format, for instance, or a 16:9 format (especially when you’re dealing with wider or longer scenes).

But the square format is very well-liked by photographers, and I highly recommend you keep it at the back of your mind when out shooting.

Let’s take a look at why the square format is so great, starting with:

1. Square compositions feature balance and flow

A square is a perfectly balanced shape. Each side is equal in length. Therefore, neither the vertical nor the horizontal direction is emphasized.

Why does this matter? Well, in a rectangular frame, the viewer’s eye is encouraged to move from side to side (in the landscape format) or up and down (in the portrait format).

But in a square frame, with every side equal in length, the viewer’s eye is encouraged to move, not from side to side or up and down, but in a circle. This creates visual flow, always a good thing in photography.

Of course, there are many factors that influence the way the eye moves around a photo, including the use of line, texture, color, selective focus, and negative space. But the shape of the frame is a major factor.

In the landscape below, composed with the 3:2 aspect ratio of my 35mm camera, the eye is encouraged to move from side to side, thanks to the shape of the frame (as well as the horizontal lines):

But in this square format photo, the eye is encouraged to move around the frame in a circle:

Useful, right? It’s especially important when you’re dealing with near-far compositions (as in the shot above) and you want to push the viewer from foreground to background and then to the foreground again.

2. The square format gives the perfect amount of negative space

Negative space is the term used to describe any empty space around a subject. For instance, if you photograph a barn surrounded by a snowy field, the field will often constitute negative space.

Now, it’s common knowledge that you can improve your compositions by getting close to your subject – that is, by eliminating negative space. But when used carefully, negative space can create a wonderful sense of atmosphere. And it can also help emphasize the shape of the subject (i.e., the positive space).

Unfortunately, negative space can be somewhat finicky. Including lots of space in a rectangular frame may not turn out so great, as you’ll end up with too much space and not enough focus on your subject. But negative space often works very well in the square format, as I demonstrate below.

Here is a photo of a lizard in the 3:2 aspect ratio:

And here is the same photo cropped to a square:

Which do you prefer? The square format offers a more balanced composition – featuring lots of negative space, yes, but also a powerful splash of positive space.

3. A square will force you to simplify your compositions

The square format lends itself to a simple approach. It pushes you to pare down your compositions and make every element count.

Why? Because there is less room in a square frame than in a rectangular one. So before you include another element in the frame, you’re forced to ask yourself: What is really necessary? And what can I do without?

Generally speaking, creating a simple composition is hard – but after a bit of time working with the square format, you’ll find it becoming easier and easier.

Remember: for your photos to have impact, you should eliminate as many distractions as possible. The focus should be on your subject. Other unnecessary elements within the frame will simply pull the viewer’s eye away from the subject and reduce the strength of the image.

This photo is about as simple as you can get:

And the square format forced me to keep the strong, simple, in-your-face composition.

4. The square format works great with shapes

Take a look at the images below. How many shapes can you see?

There are dozens – circles, squares, diamonds, rectangles, and more.

Now, shapes tend to look great in photographic compositions. They help stabilize and balance the frame, plus they can create powerful, eye-catching scenes.

And the square format really lends itself to shape-based compositions.

Why? I’m not completely sure, but I think it’s because the square is such a powerful shape that it emphasizes other shapes within it. This is linked to the ideas of balance and simplicity, as discussed above – simplifying the composition emphasizes shapes, which in turn makes shape-based compositions more powerful.

Whatever the reason, just know that geometry looks great in square photos. So if your plan is to shoot (or crop) square, the more shapes, the better!

5. You can create beautiful square centered compositions

Photographers tend to avoid positioning the main subject in the center of the frame. And in most cases, this is a good idea. As the rule of thirds points out, off-center compositions are the way to go.

But did you know that centered compositions actually work well with the square format?

It’s true! With square photography, you can often place the subject in the center of the frame for an effective composition. You can ignore the rule of thirds. And you can get some very unique photos.

Centered compositions work especially well when the image is simple. The fewer distractions present in the frame, the more effective a central composition becomes. If the subject has a strong shape, the balanced empty space around it emphasizes that shape. And the square format provides the perfect frame:

6. The square format works beautifully with black and white

Take away color and what do you get? An image that relies on tonal contrast for impact and that emphasizes visual elements such as lines, textures, and shapes.

In other words:

A composition that looks amazing in a square format.

Honestly, the square format and black and white seem made for each other, which perhaps explains the square format’s popularity with fine art photographers.

So the next time you’re shooting in a square format, consider switching to your camera’s monochrome mode. You’re bound to capture some stunning photos! Alternatively, you can shoot in color and convert to black and white in post-processing (it can be helpful to switch back and forth between color and black and white to see what works best for your shot).

Square photography: final words

Now you know all about the power of the square format – and why you should definitely try using the 1:1 aspect ratio in your photography.

It doesn’t matter whether you shoot with the intention of cropping to a square, or you go back over your old images with the aim of making some square compositions; the important thing is that you have fun with the process, and that you appreciate the usefulness of square photography!

Now over to you:

What do you think about the square aspect ratio? Do you use it frequently? When does it look best? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

The post Square Photography: 6 Reasons the Square Format Is Amazing appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Andrew S. Gibson.

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How to Use Photo Studio Ultimate 2021’s Color and Tone Wheels for Amazing Results

04 Dec

The post How to Use Photo Studio Ultimate 2021’s Color and Tone Wheels for Amazing Results appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate Color and Tone Wheels

Color editing is an essential part of nearly every great photo.

Unfortunately, adjusting the colors in most post-processing programs is difficult – or downright impossible.

One impressive exception to this, however, is ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2021, which offers two powerful tools for color editing:

The Color Wheel
The Tone Wheels

ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2021 Tone Wheels

And that’s what this article is all about. I’m going to show you how to use the Color Wheel and Tone Wheels to apply gorgeous color adjustments to your photos. You’ll discover how the Wheels work, what they can do, and how to get a professional look in your own images.

Let’s dive right in.

The Color and Tone Wheels: overview

The Color and Tone Wheels come as part of Photo Studio Ultimate 2021, a recently updated, all-in-one photo editor that you can grab on ACDSee’s website for $ 8.90/month (you also have the option to purchase a lifetime license for $ 149.99).

While Photo Studio Ultimate 2021 offers a lot of upgrades over its predecessor (including some major speed improvements that you’ll want to see for yourself), one of the biggest features for amateur and professional photographers is the set of color editing tools: the Color Wheel and the Tone Wheels.

Here’s a quick peek at the Color Wheel:

And here is the Tone Wheels panel:

Together, these two tools can revolutionize your photo editing workflow.

And here’s why:

With the Color and Tone Wheels, you can make both broad and targeted adjustments to the colors in your images. You can shift, brighten, and saturate colors selectively, you can push colors into the shadows, highlights, and midtones separately, and so much more – all with a few easy-to-use wheels and sliders.

As someone who’s a bit color-obsessed, I’ve used quite a few color adjustment tools in many different post-processing programs. But I can honestly say that Photo Studio Ultimate’s version is one of the best implementations I’ve ever seen (if not the best). Yes, the wheels are amazingly powerful, and they should offer any amateur or professional all the color adjustment power they need. But they’re also just so fun and intuitive to work with, which is what’s really sold me on this program.

ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2021 sample

Now let’s take a look at how you can actually use the Color and Tone Wheels for great results (and if you’re feeling intimidated, don’t be – I’ll give you simple, easy-to-follow instructions!).

How to use the Color Wheel to selectively adjust colors in your photos

You’ll find the Color Wheel in Photo Studio Ultimate 2021’s Develop mode, which you can select in the top-right corner of the screen:

the Develop mode in ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2021

Then open the Color Wheel panel on the left-hand side, and you’ll see a color wheel with a series of sliders below it:

Here’s what you need to know:

The color wheel itself lets you select the colors you’re targeting in the photo.

And the sliders below it allow you to adjust the targeted colors.

So once you have your Color Wheel panel open, here’s what I recommend you do:

Step 1: Select the colors you want to adjust

Selecting the colors you’d like to adjust pretty easy, and there are a couple of methods you can use.

First, you can simply hover your cursor over different parts of your photo, and watch as it turns into a dropper icon:

Then, by clicking once on the photo, you’ll select that color for adjustment.

So if you click on a pinkish-purple part of your photo, you’ll select all the pink-purple colors:

And if you click on a yellow part of your photo, you’ll select all the yellow colors:

Now, as soon as you click on a part of your photo, you’ll see the color wheel change. This is to show you the color range you’ve selected.

You can also use the display on the color wheel to either select colors (instead of the eyedropper), or to refine your color selection.

To select colors, just click on the relevant part of the wheel:

And to fine-tune the color selection, just narrow the range of colors on the color wheel – by dragging the edges of the selection inward or outward. That way, the adjustments you make via the sliders will affect a narrower or broader range of colors in your photo.

Here, I’ve narrowed the color selection:

And here I’ve broadened it:

Also, if you want to get really picky with your selection, you can drag your color range upward from the center of the wheel:

And this will ensure you only select the more saturated colors.

You can also drag downward from the rim of the wheel to select only the less-saturated colors:

By the way, if you want to see the areas you’ve selected displayed on your photo, just hit the Auto preview the selected range checkbox:

Your selected colors will be highlighted on the image, while everything else will be grayed out:

Cool, right?

Step 2: Adjust the colors using the sliders

Now comes the fun part:

Actually adjusting the colors.

While there are a number of sliders, I recommend you focus on three key options:

Hue.

Saturation.

And Brightness.

These are the main adjustments you’ll want to make (I use them on almost every photo I edit).

By shifting the Hue slider, you shift the hue of your selected color range. So if I select the pink colors in this flower photo and want to make them more purple, I can just push the Hue slider to the left:

I can also make them more red by pushing the Hue slider to the right:

Speaking more generally, the Hue slider is useful for situations where you want to separate colors to create contrast, or where you want to make colors more similar to add harmony.

(How do you know what creates contrast and what creates harmony? Look at the color wheel! Colors that are opposite one another are contrasting/complementary colors, whereas colors next to one another are analogous colors.)

While color contrast will generally create a more powerful, in-your-face photo, analogous colors can result in a more peaceful final image.

Anyway, once you’ve adjusted the hue, I recommend turning to the Saturation slider. This works the way it sounds: It lets you selectively boost or reduce the saturation of your selected color range.

So by selecting the yellows in the image below, then adjusting the Saturation slider, you can boost the yellow intensity:

Or you can dial it back:

In general, boosting the saturation of your main colors looks pretty good, as long as you don’t overdo it. That way, a few colors in your photo will stand out and keep the viewer interested.

However, it can also be helpful to reduce the saturation of colors that distract from the main subject. So if your photo includes a red “Exit” sign in the background, you might reduce the saturation of those reds to keep the viewer focused on the foreground.

Finally, I recommend experimenting with the Brightness slider. This allows you to adjust the brightness of your selected color range. So you can brighten up your selection to make it pop:

Or you can darken the selection down to make it less impactful:

Step 3: Create additional color wheels for further adjustments

While one color adjustment may sometimes be enough, you also have the option to create more.

Simply click the Plus icon:

Then follow the previous steps all over again!

Also, to toggle the effects of the color wheels on and off, you can just check and uncheck the box above each color wheel icon:

How to use the Tone Wheels to produce beautiful color grading

The Tone Wheels panel is located just below the Color Wheel panel in the Develop mode of Photo Studio Ultimate 2021:

using the tone wheels in ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2021

Now, unlike the Color Wheel panel, you cannot select individual colors to adjust.

Instead, each of the three wheels corresponds to a different tonal range of your photo:

The top wheel corresponds to the highlights (the brightest tones)
The middle wheel corresponds to the midtones (the middle tones)
The bottom wheel corresponds to the shadows (the darkest tones)

And by adjusting the tone wheels, you change the color in the corresponding area of the image.

So by setting the Highlights wheel to yellow, your photo’s highlights will be tinted yellow:

And by setting the Shadows wheel to green, your photo’s shadows will be tinted green:

This is a fantastic way to add different looks to your images. For instance, you can create blue shadows and yellow highlights, which is a popular look on Instagram. Or you can make the highlights orange and the shadows teal, for a cinematic, movie-type result.

Now, the tone wheels themselves only allow you to select the hue and saturation of the color you’d like to add.

But by shifting the Brightness slider – found to the right of each wheel – you can also make the highlights, midtones, and shadows brighter or darker.

So how do you get great results using the Color Wheel panel? How should you approach this color adjustment tool?

Here’s what I recommend:

Step 1: Adjust the shadows

I like to start by adjusting the shadows in my images.

Now, you can choose your shadow color a few different ways:

One method is to select the Shadows eyedropper:

Then you can click on a part of your photo and the Shadows wheel will select its hue:

Alternatively, you can click around the wheel to select different colors:

And you can further fine-tune the saturation with the left-hand slider:

Plus you can change the brightness of the shadows with the right-hand slider:

Personally, my favorite way to select colors is to use the wheel, but start by pushing the Saturation slider all the way up:

saturation pushed all the way to its maximum

That way, you can clearly see the effects of your color grade – and once you’ve chosen the right color, you can dial it back.

Also, while it’s always a good idea to experiment, the best shadow colors are generally cool – blues, greens, and purples.

I’d also recommend paying careful attention to the colors already present in your shadows – by matching the shadow color with already-existing colors, you can unify the darker parts of your photo and make it even stronger.

For this flower photo, I like blue-green shadows:

Step 2: Adjust the highlights

Selecting a color for the Highlights wheel is just like selecting a color for the Shadows wheel.

You can use the eyedropper tool:

Or you can click on the wheel directly.

Of course, you can also fine-tune with the Saturation slider and the Brightness slider:

Generally, you’ll want a warmer color for the highlights: an orange, yellow, or red.

It’s also a good idea to pay attention to your existing highlight colors. For instance, if your photo has a lot of warm sunlight, such as in the shot of the Black-eyed Susan flowers, you might want to accentuate the yellows with some nice golden highlights:

I’d also recommend looking at your shadow colors even when adjusting the Highlights wheel. For a nice result, you might choose a color that contrasts with the shadows to create a complementary color pair (as I discussed in the Color Wheel section, above).

Step 3: Adjust the midtones

Adjusting the midtones is a bit less common than adjusting the highlights and the shadows.

For one, if you adjust the midtones, your photo will often take on a more obvious tinted look, because we humans expect midtones to be more neutral compared to colder shadows and warmer highlights.

Plus, the midtones can correspond to skin tones, which you (generally) want to keep as natural as possible.

So I recommend you be careful when experimenting with the Midtones color wheel. If you do decide you want to make changes, I’d recommend keeping things closely aligned with the highlights, because too many colors in your scene will start to look messy.

Make sense?

As you’d expect, adjusting the midtones is just like adjusting the highlights and shadows. You have the Midtone color wheel that you can click on:

Plus your eyedropper:

Which you can use to give your midtones a slight color grade!

ACDSee’s Color and Tone Wheels: the next steps

Now that you’ve finished this article, you know how to make pro-level color adjustments.

And with Photo Studio Ultimate 2021’s Color Wheel and Tone Wheels tools, you have everything you need to take your color editing to the next level.

So make sure you grab ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2021. It’s currently available for just $ 8.90 per month, or you can get a lifetime license for $ 149.99. And if you’re just interested in trying out the software, you can get a free trial right here.

ACDSee is a paid partner of dPS.

The post How to Use Photo Studio Ultimate 2021’s Color and Tone Wheels for Amazing Results appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

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8 Amazing Hacks To Be A Pro Photographer Blogger: The Definitive Guide I’m Using To Write How I Shoot

15 Sep

Writing is not for photographers. This is the most ridiculous statement I have ever heard, and as a photographer, I have heard many. Do you know what is even more absurd about this declaration? For a long time, I am the one who swore by it. This was following the demise of my first personal photoblog. You can say Continue Reading

The post 8 Amazing Hacks To Be A Pro Photographer Blogger: The Definitive Guide I’m Using To Write How I Shoot appeared first on Photodoto.

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How to Use Photography Filters for Amazing Long Exposure Landscapes

15 Jul

The post How to Use Photography Filters for Amazing Long Exposure Landscapes appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Bond.

One of the most competitive genres in photography is landscapes. In this article, you’ll learn how to add creativity to your landscapes by using filters. The use of filters will allow you to create masterpiece long exposure landscapes, and you’ll learn what’s needed to do this. So read on and discover tips and tricks to get the best results.

How to Use Photography Filters for Amazing Long Exposure Landscapes — Using the correct exposure length meant an interesting foreground from the movement of water.

What is long exposure photography?

One of the key settings on your camera is the ability to control the exposure length. If you’re new to photography, the chances are you’ll not have tried long exposures yet. You’ll need a tripod, but once you begin taking long exposure photos, the creative potential is massive.

Long exposure photos are those that last for over one second in length, and typically don’t last more than thirty seconds. There are some situations where even longer long exposures can be taken. These can last minutes. To take these photos, you need to use bulb mode on your camera.

How to use filters for long exposure landscapes

The use of filters to produce these long exposure landscapes will increase your options. They allow you to take long exposure daytime photos (where there is lots of light), and, if you wish, even longer night time long exposures.

You can use different grades of filters to give you the ability to take photos of different exposure lengths. Of course, the time of day is a massive factor as well, with night time an easier time to take long exposures.

Filters you can use during the day

The filter you’ll need to use to take long exposure landscapes during the day is the ND filter. These are neutral density filters, which are abbreviated to ND filters.

These filters work by blocking out the amount of light that comes into the camera. They should do this without changing the color tone of your image, which is why the filter is considered neutral. The strength of these filters range.

filters for long exposure landscapes - waterfall in the fall — Filters can be used to lengthen the exposure, and produce “silk water”.

Weak ND filters

These are the ND2, ND4, and ND8 filters. They’re more often used with flash photography, but you can use them to extend exposure length during the day. In low light situations like under tree canopies, or as the evening draws in, using one of these filters may allow you to take a long exposure.

Circular Polarizer (CPL) filter

In a similar fashion to the weak ND filters, you can use a CPL filter in a low light situation to turn a half-second exposure to a one or two-second exposure. This can be long enough to dramatically change the nature of moving water during an exposure.

Strong ND filters

These filters are designed for longer exposures, the typical filters you can use are the ND110 and the ND1000. Filters like this will allow you to take exposures longer than five seconds or more even during the middle of the day.

Infrared filters

Infrared filters block out all light except infrared.

The exact light they block comes with the name of the filter. The Hoya R72 filter blocks all light except the light of a wavelength of 720 nanometers. This translates to a filter that’s even stronger at blocking out light than the ND1000.

You will, of course, be taking an infrared photo, but this will then be a long exposure that can often be minutes long.

Filters you can use during the night

The need to use filters for night time long exposure is not as extreme.

You’ll almost certainly be able to carry out long exposures with no problem, except perhaps during the transition from day to night. Here, the filters you’ll likely use are the weak ND filters or the CPL filters, with the intention of turning a medium-length long exposure into a longer long exposure.

However, the need to use a strong ND filter can occur. This happens when you want an exposure that lasts several minutes. Usually, you would not take an exposure of this length, but in order to get cloud motion across the sky, this length of exposure can be needed.

filters for long exposure landscapes - jetty over the water at sunset — Flattening the water makes for a serene landscape.

Stacking filters

The more extreme long exposure landscapes will require filter stacking. Stacking filters means placing one filter on top of another to combine their strength.

Those wanting to take an ultra-long daytime long exposure, that produces cloud motion, often need to stack an ND110 filter with an ND1000 filter.

Stacking filters gives you an extra level of control over the length of your exposure. This happens by blocking more or less light. One thing to be careful of when stacking is vignetting. When using screw-on filters, there is a greater risk of this, caused by stacking too many filters on the front of your lens.

How long to expose for?

The aim of adding a filter to the front of your lens is to lengthen the exposure. Learning the correct strength of filter you need to apply is therefore important.

To know how strong the filter should be, you will need to decide what type of long exposure landscape you wish to take. The following is a list of photo types you could take during the daytime.

Silky water – An exposure of one second is long enough to produce the silk water effect at places like waterfalls.
Water motion – The motion of water and the length of exposure is a sliding scale. At half a second, it’s long enough to capture motion from waves going in and out at a beach. A longer exposure can then be used all the way up to the exposure length needed to flatten the sea. It’s not always desirable to completely flatten water, as some turbulence can look nice.
Flattening the sea – An exposure longer than ten seconds will be enough to flatten the sea.
Cloud motion on a calm day – With slow-moving clouds, an exposure of minutes will be required.
Cloud motion on a windy day – On a windy day, an exposure of over 15 seconds is likely to be long enough. However, you will need to experiment with the conditions you have on the day.

Time for long exposure landscapes!

The take-home message is to know how long an exposure you need, and use the correct filter on your lens to allow this length of exposure.

Do you enjoy long exposure photography, or are you yet to learn about the genre?

If you have examples of your work you would like to share, please share them in the comments section. These could be from your archives or images you take after reading this article. So get out with your tripod, and create some long exposure magic!

The post How to Use Photography Filters for Amazing Long Exposure Landscapes appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Bond.

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6 Tips for Photographing Amazing Light Trails at Blue Hour

21 Feb

The post 6 Tips for Photographing Amazing Light Trails at Blue Hour appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Joey J.

Have you seen cityscape photos with light streaks of moving cars? That’s called light trail photography. I see it as a part of the long exposure photography family. However, the exposure doesn’t have to be very long (typically under 30 seconds) to capture light trails. While my absolute favorite long exposure photography style is waterfront cityscapes with a silky smooth water effect, I also enjoy light trail photography – and it’s something I’ve done a lot of over the years. So I’d like to share some tips I’ve learned so far so that you’ll achieve better light trails at blue hour shots much sooner.

6 Tips for Photographing Amazing Light Trails at Blue Hour

1. Find a location with a great city view with plenty of traffic going by

This is a prerequisite for any great light trail photography. It might sound plain obvious, but it’s not always easy to find a perfect location, as there is more to it than meets the eye. I’ll describe more down the road.

amazing-light-trails-at-blue-hour-photography

18mm, f/10, 25 seconds (based shutter speed of 3 seconds, with 3 stop ND filter attached), ISO 100, shot 7 minutes before dusk. © Joey J

2. Shoot from slightly higher than ground level (e.g. a footbridge)

Rather than staying on the same level as moving cars, getting up above allows you to shoot more dynamic images.

Image: Shooting from a footbridge is an easy way to get up above the moving cars. This is how I shot...

Shooting from a footbridge is an easy way to get up above the moving cars. This is how I shot the photo above, clamping Manfrotto Super Clamp onto a footbridge railing. © Joey J

3. Curvy roads give a more pleasing result

Compared to light trails shot on straight roads (such as the first photo above), those shot on curvy roads look more pleasing (to me, at least), as seen in the photo below shot at Connaught Rd Central (Hong Kong).

18mm, f/8, 25 seconds (based shutter speed of 3 seconds, with 3 stop ND filter attached), ISO 100, shot 5 minutes before dusk.

4. Headlights, taillights or both?

Depending on the road you’re photographing (one-way street or two-way street), there may be only headlights or tail lights available. Or both of them may be available.

Personally, I prefer headlights, as they are more visually striking. As seen below, one-way traffic with tail lights (only) lacks some impact.

Image: 18mm, f/13, 10 seconds (based shutter speed of 1.3 seconds, with 3 stop ND filter attached),...

18mm, f/13, 10 seconds (based shutter speed of 1.3 seconds, with 3 stop ND filter attached), ISO 100, shot 8 minutes before dusk. © Joey J

5. Capture light trails of tall vehicles

The majority of light trails are created by low-height vehicles such as private cars and taxis. However, when tall vehicles (e.g. buses, trucks) move through the frame, light trails record at a much higher point, adding more interest to your photos.

I shot the photos below from a sideway of a busy street in Seoul, Korea. Seeing public buses frequently passing through, I timed my exposure to capture their lights. I love how they came out!

Image: 24mm, f/8, 30 seconds (based shutter speed of 4 seconds, with 3 stop ND filter attached), ISO...

24mm, f/8, 30 seconds (based shutter speed of 4 seconds, with 3 stop ND filter attached), ISO 100, shot 1 minute after dusk. © Joey J

22mm, f/13, 8 seconds (based shutter speed of 1 second, with 3 stop ND filter attached), ISO 100, shot 10 minutes before dusk. © Joey J

By the way, I have one funny story to share.

When I shot the photos above, I spent a full hour shooting at minus 10 degrees Celsius in Seoul’s winter. Since I didn’t have gloves, my hands went completely numb with cold. By the end of the photoshoot, I couldn’t even hold my lens cap properly. Trying to put it back on the lens with trembling hands, I dropped it so many times. It sounds like a joke, but this simple task took me so long to complete!

6. Use mild-strength neutral density (ND) filter

You can shoot light trail photography at blue hour without using any neutral density (ND) filter, but the exposure time will probably be a little too short (a few to several seconds) to capture enough light trails.

If you don’t own an ND filter, try shooting with a small aperture (e.g. f/13) to make the shutter speed longer (ideally 10+ seconds).

An ideal strength ND filter for light trail photography is around a 2 or 3 stop ND. For example, a base shutter speed of 2, 2.5, and 3 seconds (i.e., when no filter is attached) will extend to 15, 20 and 25 seconds, respectively, with a 3-stop ND filter attached. That is long enough to capture plenty of light trails on busy roads. FYI, I shot almost all the photos in this post with a B+W 3 Stop ND Filter (77mm) attached.

Image: Neutral density (ND) filters help reduce light coming through the lens and allow you to slow...

Neutral density (ND) filters help reduce light coming through the lens and allow you to slow down the shutter speed by a certain number of f-stops (e.g. 3 stops). © Joey J

One advantage of using a 3-stop ND filter is that you can attempt shooting light trails many times, as each exposure time isn’t too long.

When using a more dense filter like a 6-stop ND filter, a base shutter speed of 2 -3 seconds turns into a 2-3 minute exposure. This severely limits the number of photos you can take during the blue hour.

Besides, when the exposure goes so long, you won’t be able to time your exposure to target certain lights (such as those of tall vehicles).

Image: 18mm, f/13, 161 seconds (based shutter speed of 2.5 seconds, with 6 stop ND filter attached),...

18mm, f/13, 161 seconds (based shutter speed of 2.5 seconds, with 6 stop ND filter attached), ISO 100, shot 7 minutes before dusk. With B+W 6 Stop ND Filter (77mm) attached, I exposed for 161 seconds, capturing a ton of light trails in a single shot. © Joey J

Conclusion

I hope these tips will help you capture stunning light trails at blue hour. In fact, writing this post has made me want to try more light trail photography!

As always, if you have any questions or info to share about shooting light trails at blue hour, feel free to do so in the comments below. Happy shooting!

The post 6 Tips for Photographing Amazing Light Trails at Blue Hour appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Joey J.

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Sony a6600 review: Amazing autofocus, acceptable ergonomics

28 Nov

Introduction

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Overall score

Jump to conclusion

The Sony a6600 is the company’s top-of-the-line APS-C mirrorless camera, with 24MP of resolution and 4K video capture. It looks a lot like Sony’s other a6000-series models at first glance, but this one has the biggest battery and the best build quality of the bunch, even if the images it produces are broadly comparable to the less expensive options.

The a6600 further differentiates itself by offering in-body image stabilization, which is still a rarity among APS-C cameras. This should help with stills shooting in low light, to be sure, but also combines with excellent autofocus tracking to make it the best crop-sensor video shooter Sony currently sells.

Despite its refinements, we still think the a6600 could benefit from some ergonomic updates to make it an easier camera to take control over.

Key features:

24MP APS-C CMOS sensor
Advanced, capable subject-tracking autofocus
In-body image stabilization
2.36M dot OLED electronic viewfinder
0.9M dot tilting touchscreen
Wi-Fi for image transfer, and NFC
4K video capture with log profiles
USB charging
810-shot battery life (per CIPA)

The Sony a6600 will be available on November 29th, 2019, at a suggested price of $ 1400/€1600 body-only, and $ 1800/€2000 with an 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 kit lens.

What’s new, how it compares

Check out how the a6600 stacks up against its closest competition here.

The a6600’s familiar sensor produces clean, pleasing images in a wide range of situations.

With an industry-leading autofocus implementation, the a6600 is a capable sports-and-action shooter, but we have some reservations.

Oversampling 4K footage from 6K capture, the a6600 churns out really detailed video footage, but rolling shutter remains a problem.

The a6600 is a supremely capable camera, but it just misses out on earning our top award – find out why.

Check out some of our samples from across North America in our a6600 sample galleries.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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A Quick Guide to Amazing Bird Photography Compositions

16 Nov

The post A Quick Guide to Amazing Bird Photography Compositions appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Do you want to capture amazing photos of birds? If so, you have to master bird photography compositions.

Composition refers to the arrangement of elements within the photo. And it’s often the difference between a creative, compelling image, and an image that just falls flat.

In this article, I’m going to share with you everything you need to know about bird photography composition. I’m going to give you several tips that ensure you capture beautiful bird photography compositions, without fail.

Sound good?

Let’s dive right in.

amazing-bird-photography-compositions

The composition basics: Capturing a gorgeous bird photo

When you take a bird photo, everything in the frame matters.

The bird. The position of the bird. The position of the bird’s head. The background. Any elements behind the bird. Any elements in front of the bird.

It’s all important.

Because the key to a gorgeous bird photography compositions is keeping the shot focused on your main subject.

amazing-bird-photography-compositions

You want to make sure that the bird stands out in the frame. You want to make sure everything else in the photo emphasizes and enhances the bird.

So how do you do that?

A few simple ways, starting with:

Simplify the entire composition to make the bird stand out

If your composition is chaotic, then the viewer is going to get lost.

And that’s absolutely not what you want.

Instead, you should aim to simplify the composition as much as possible. The best compositions tend to include a bird and a background. That’s it.

A Quick Guide to Amazing Bird Photography Compositions

While it’s possible to create beautiful shots by including additional birds or interesting features (e.g., shells, flowers), I recommend avoiding that as much as possible. These mess up compositions more often than they enhance them.

Also, in the interest of simplicity: If there’s anything in the frame that’s distracting, get rid of it. So make sure there are no branches behind the bird. Make sure there’s nothing in the background that dominates the frame or draws the eye.

That’s how you’ll keep your bird photography compositions beautiful.

And speaking of backgrounds:

Aim for a uniform, simple background that makes the bird pop

If you want a beautiful bird photography compositions, then you need a beautiful background.

What does this involve?

First, the best bird photography backgrounds are simple. They’re also uniform.

Like this:

A Quick Guide to Amazing Bird Photography Compositions

Notice how the background is a nice uniform color.

It keeps the attention on the bird. It doesn’t distract.

To create a background like this, you want to start by ensuring a large separation between the bird and the background. One trick is to get down low, on the bird’s level; this will cause the ground behind the bird to fall away, creating a more distant background.

You should also make sure you use a decently wide aperture, such as f/5.6 or f/6.3 (the particulars depend on the size of your bird, because you don’t want to accidentally make parts of the bird soft!).

Finally, you should ensure that the background doesn’t include colorful elements that catch the eye. Before you take a shot, look behind your bird, and ask yourself: Will anything in the background dominate the frame? Will anything pull the viewer away from the bird?

If the answer is “Yes,” then you should consider moving slightly to the left or right so that you’re no longer stuck with a distracting background.

Use the rule of thirds to position the bird’s eye

Now that you know how to capture beautiful backgrounds, it’s time to look at your main subject and how to position it.

Generally speaking, you’ll have a single bird in your photos. And you need to position this bird carefully.

You don’t want to put it smack-dab in the middle of the frame. That’s a recipe for a boring, static composition.

Instead, I recommend you place the bird so that its eye falls along a rule of thirds power point.

What is the rule of thirds power points?

They’re simply points that are a third of the way into the frame, both vertically and horizontally.

The eye in this photo, for instance, falls along a power point:

A Quick Guide to Amazing Bird Photography Compositions

It’s a third of the way down, and a third of the way from the left.

Now, the rule of thirds is misnamed; it’s a guideline, not a hard-and-fast rule. But it is a great way to position your bird and will ensure that the shot feels a lot more interesting.

So use the rule of thirds whenever you can to position your bird within the frame.

Point the bird into the frame to add movement

I’ve talked about positioning your main subject using the rule of thirds, but there’s another aspect to positioning that you should always, always consider:

The direction the bird is pointing.

You see, most bird photos have some empty space in the frame.

And when they do…

…you want to point the bird into the empty space, rather than away from it.

amazing-bird-photography-compositions

You see, by making sure the bird is looking into the empty space, it adds a sense of completeness and a sense of motion to the frame. The viewer’s eye follows the birds line of sight, and everything feels satisfying.

Whereas if you point the bird out of the frame, the whole shot feels tense. The viewer wants to know what’s outside the frame, with no resolution in sight.

That’s why bird photographers love to point the bird into the frame. It’s far more satisfying, and can turn the shot into something powerful.

Capture the bird in a creative pose for increased interest

Now, when it comes to bird photography, you can capture birds in a normal standing pose.

And that’ll get you some nice photos.

But sometimes…

This isn’t enough.

If you want to create truly creative bird photography, you need to go beyond the simple standing pose. And capture the bird doing something interesting.

What counts as interesting?

For one, preening birds look really interesting. They appear wonderfully tranquil as they clean their feathers.

A Quick Guide to Amazing Bird Photography Compositions

And birds that are sleeping also give off a sense of peace that I love.

You can also go for action shots: Birds feeding, for instance, can create a lot of interest. You can capture photos of birds that are about to catch food, are currently catching food, or have just caught food. Think of a bird with a huge fish in its mouth.

It’s guaranteed to add interest.

Cool, right?

You can also go for shots of birds fighting or, as is a common bird photography practice, shots of birds flying. Photographing birds in flight can be a challenge, but a really rewarding one.

So whenever you’re able, don’t just take a standard bird photo. Go beyond this.

Make something unique!

A quick guide to amazing bird photography compositions: Conclusion

You should now have a sense of the best ways to capture beautiful bird photography compositions.

And remember:

Getting amazing compositions isn’t hard. You just have to use the tips that I’ve given you, and you’ll be taking stunning photos in no time.

Have other tips for gorgeous bird photography compositions? Share them in the comments!

amazing-bird-photography-compositions

The post A Quick Guide to Amazing Bird Photography Compositions appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

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Create Amazing Sunrise Photos with these Easy Lightroom Editing Tips

09 Oct

The post Create Amazing Sunrise Photos with these Easy Lightroom Editing Tips appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.

Sunrise pictures can be tricky. Even the most dedicated photographer can get frustrated with sub-par results, often with foregrounds that are too dark or a nice round sun that appears white and washed-out. While things like timing and technique are critical for taking good sunrise pictures, another element is the editing. With a few Lightroom sunrise photo editing tips, you can take a boring, bland sunrise and turn it into a work of art.

Create Amazing Sunrise Photos with these Easy Lightroom Editing Tips

To get a good finished photo you need a solid starting point. That means your initial sunrise photo needs to meet a few basic parameters:

It must be shot in RAW.
The sky should be properly exposed, which means the foreground will be dark.
It’s helpful to shoot with low ISO values to give you as much headroom as possible when editing.

If you start with a sunrise photo that meets these parameters, you can use a few sliders and options in Lightroom to bring out the colors and brilliance that you saw with your eyes when you shot it.

To illustrate this process, I’m going to walk through an example of sunrise photo editing. The picture below is a RAW file straight out of my camera.

Original RAW file straight from my camera. Nikon D750, 50mm, f/4, 1/180 second, ISO 320.

This picture might not look very impressive, but that’s the point. If I had exposed for the foreground, the dark areas would be bright and natural. The trade-off is that parts of the sky would be so bright they would be unrecoverable in Lightroom.

Everything needed for a beautiful sunrise photo is fully intact in this dark, underexposed image. I just need to coax out the colors with a little sunrise photo editing.

Step 1: Shadows

The first thing to do is brighten the foreground by adjusting the shadows. Locate the Basic Panel in the Lightroom Develop module and push the Shadows slider all the way to the right.

Boosting the shadows will make the dark foreground a lot more usable.

This makes the foreground much brighter. It is very close to how the scene looked when I shot the picture. I was on my bike, and there’s no way I would have ridden to work that morning in the complete pitch black!

With the shadows lifted, the foreground is brighter. You can also see that there is plenty of image data captured in the RAW file to work with.

Step 2: White balance and graduated filters

After bringing up the shadows, the next step is to tweak the colors of the sky and foreground. The graduated filter is perfect for this since your edits are applied gradually, as the name implies.

Graduated Filters are ideal for sunrise photos.

The values you use for this will depend greatly on the look you want in your picture. For a good starting point, I recommend lowering the Temperature, raising the Whites, and increasing the Saturation. Feel free to tweak the other settings to your liking, but I recommend being a little conservative at this point. You can always go back and change things later. If you have objects protruding into your sky like trees, buildings, or mountains, you can use the Range Mask option. Then your edits are only applied to the sky and nothing else.

Image: When using a Graduated Filter on the sky, I like to lower the color temperature and increase...

When using a Graduated Filter on the sky, I like to lower the color temperature and increase saturation. You might find other tweaks to be helpful as well.

After adjusting the sky, use a second Graduated Filter to perform a similar operation on the foreground. Click the New button at the top of the Graduated Filter panel, and click-and-drag on the picture to apply your filter.

Move the Temperature slider to the right so the foreground is a little warmer. Then adjust other options like Exposure, Texture, and Sharpness as needed.

Image: A second Graduated Filter in the opposite direction can be useful for giving the foreground a...

A second Graduated Filter in the opposite direction can be useful for giving the foreground a warmer white balance.

There’s no correct way to do this next step because everyone has unique taste and preferences. I used the following values on the image above, but your results will vary depending on your picture.

Image: When applying a second Graduated Filter to the foreground, it can be useful to edit some othe...

When applying a second Graduated Filter to the foreground, it can be useful to edit some other parameters as well, especially Exposure and Shadows.

Step 3: Crop the picture

Some will debate the exact stage in the process where you need to crop your picture. Others will say that a good photographer should use what comes out of the camera and never crop anything! I say it’s your picture and if you want to crop, go right ahead. I recommend cropping after your basic adjustments are in place. Those operations can bring out things formerly hidden and give you a better sense of how you really want to crop the image.

In the image I’m working with for this example, I don’t like the “Speed Limit 35” sign on the right side. If I crop that out, then I need also to re-frame the picture, so the sun is in the middle.

You can use cropping to get the dimensions and proportions of your picture just right.

Step 4: General Color Adjustments

After making your initial set of adjustments, and cropping the picture to your liking, it’s time to head to the HSL/Color panel to tweak the individual colors of the sunrise. Bring up the Saturation level of orange, blue, and red while also adjusting the Hue and Luminance to get just the right look. As before, be careful not to go overboard since too much tweaking makes your picture look unnatural.

For the picture below, I adjusted the Hue and Saturation of Blue by +20 each, and the Saturation of Orange by 14.

Image: Adjusting the blues and oranges can really bring out some of the vivid colors of a sunrise pi...

Adjusting the blues and oranges can really bring out some of the vivid colors of a sunrise picture.

Don’t overdo your adjustments or your image will look fake and over-saturated.

Step 5: Detailed enhancements

As with cropping, some photographers have varying opinions on when to do this step while others skip it entirely. I like to do it near the end of the editing process after I have made my other adjustments. However, you might find it better utilized at an earlier phase. Head back to the Basic panel where everything began and fine-tune a couple of other sliders like Highlights, Whites, Texture, and even Exposure if you need to.

Final tweaks help put the finishing touches on your sunrise.

At this point, you’re really just putting the finishing touches on, almost like adding a pinch of salt or garlic powder to a pot of soup that’s ready to eat. I sometimes get lost down an image-editing rabbit hole at this step. I find myself endlessly tweaking the sliders in a vain attempt to chase perfection. If that happens to you, walk away from your computer for an hour. When you return, you may be pleasantly surprised at how good your picture looks, with no additional tweaking required.

Create Amazing Sunrise Photos with these Easy Lightroom Editing Tips

You can also use the Spot Removal tool to clean up dust or dirt on the lens as well as fix other imperfections. There are also several Sharpening options to make your sunrise a little more clear and crisp.

From good to great

As with most photo editing situations, your results will vary greatly depending on a variety of factors. I have found that this same process, with different degrees of adjustments to the sliders, works quite well for me. It would probably work as a good starting point for you too. Still, I encourage you to experiment and develop your own editing style over time.

For one more example of how this process can yield good results, I started with the following RAW file. I shot this picture just as the sun was coming up in rural Nebraska.

RAW file straight out of my camera. 50mm, f/8, 1/180 second, ISO 100. As with the other image at the top of this article, the original is severely underexposed but contains all the data needed when editing in Lightroom.

I used the exact same process described in this article to vastly improve the picture in less than two minutes.

Two minutes later and it’s been transformed into a frame-worthy midwestern sunrise.

I hope these sunrise photo editing tips help you achieve some epic photos!

I’d love to see some of your sunrise shots and hear about the editing process you use as well. Leave your thoughts, as well as any pictures you’d like to share, in the comments below.

The post Create Amazing Sunrise Photos with these Easy Lightroom Editing Tips appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.

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Profoto Launches Two Amazing Lights for Smartphone Photographers

20 Sep

The post Profoto Launches Two Amazing Lights for Smartphone Photographers appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Profoto Launches Two Amazing Lights for Smartphone Photographers

If you’re a smartphone photographer, then you’ve probably struggled to deal with indoor lighting. After all, smartphones don’t come with a high-quality flash; it’s easy to get noisy images when shooting indoors.

Until now.

Because Profoto has just released two lights made specifically for the smartphone: The Profoto C1 and the Profoto C1 Plus.

What are the C1 and C1 Plus?

The two items are billed as Profoto’s “very first studio lights for smartphones.” They’re small, orb-shaped lights, and they’re compact enough that you can take them anywhere without much hassle.

According to Profoto:

The light the C1 product range delivers is natural looking and beautiful with a soft, gentle fall-off…[F]rom now on you will always have natural-looking, beautiful light with you.

Note that the C1 Plus is both more expensive and more advanced than the C1. The C1 Plus includes a greater power output (4300 lumens versus 1600 lumens). The C1 Plus also includes a thread mount, so you can screw the light onto a stand and shoot with both hands. And the C1 Plus features better battery life than the C1.

Both the C1 and the C1 Plus offer rechargeable batteries. They also include multiple modes for increased flexibility: a continuous shooting mode and a flash mode. To use the Profoto lights, you can pair them with your smartphone via the special Profoto Camera app. Then you can take photos that are synced with the Profoto flash.

The Profoto C1 costs $ 299, while the Profoto C1 Plus costs $ 499.

But just who are these lights for?

If you like to use your smartphone on the fly, without any preparation, then I’d recommend against the Profoto C1. Despite its small size, you probably don’t want to carry the flash with you constantly. But if you’re the type of shooter who often shoots in low-light situations or prefers to capture more carefully considered shots, then the Profoto C1 could be exactly what you need.

If the Profoto C1 captures your attention, then you should also check out another product: The Godox R1, which was announced a few hours after the C1/C1 Plus announcement. The Godox light is similar to the C1 and C1 Plus, though it offers slightly different lighting options. For those hoping to purchase the Godox R1, keep an eye out for a release date!

Would you use either of these lights? what are your thoughts? Share with us in the comments!

The post Profoto Launches Two Amazing Lights for Smartphone Photographers appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

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An Introduction to Amazing Abstract Automotive Photography

08 Sep

The post An Introduction to Amazing Abstract Automotive Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.

Some photographs document an event or show a person, place or thing. These are photos of record accurately capturing an image that represents what we see. Other times we want to take a more artistic approach, making a photograph more about a feeling than solely about the subject itself. Sometimes the two mix, for instance in advertising photography, where we might want to accurately show a product but do it in an artistic way that invites the viewer to also feel a certain way about the product.

The beautiful lines of a Porsche and the curves of a twisting road. Put the two together to create a story.

When leaning toward the artistic and sometimes abstract interpretations of photo subjects, I like to remember the words of famous photographer Minor White:

“One should not only photograph things for what they are but for what else they are.”

You don’t need to show the whole car to tell the story. The colors and lines contribute to the image of this American legend.

Applying this to the subject of abstract automotive photography, my intent here is not to teach you everything there is to know about making abstract automotive photos, but to simply get your creative juices flowing. You’ll note that none of the photos here show a complete automobile, but instead depict details, pieces, and parts.

The focus here is the artistic concepts of form, shape, line, tone, color, pattern, light, and shadow.

The shot is blurry by design. I wanted to create a feeling of motion here.

You can also get creative with interior images. The zoom-blur effect was added later in editing.

Ever get the feeling you’re being watched? The patterns and holes in wheels can look like faces – a phenomenon known as Pareidolia.

Automobiles may be a mode of transportation, but they are also art objects – the work of designers who pay much attention to form as well as function. Know that an automotive artist purposely and artistically designed every detail of every car. We, as photographers, can explore that art, find the beauty, note how light plays across the curves and surfaces of an automobile, and use it to craft beautiful photos.

You can make a shot like this on a car lot. It’s all about repeating shapes, lines, and patterns.

What and where

Finding cars to photograph and places to photograph them will depend on what’s available to you. I work part-time at a Ford dealership, photographing new cars for posting on the internet. These are not art photos. They serve the purpose I spoke of earlier: accurately representing the vehicles to interested buyers. The purpose, time, and volume don’t permit spending much time on each photo. However, when time does permit, the light is especially nice, or a particularly interesting car is available, I will get a little more creative.

Find an angle that works and you can use it over and over. Can you tell I like this composition when photographing Mustangs?

Why restrict yourself to the exterior components of a car? When I saw this transmission torn apart on the workbench, I asked the mechanic if I could take some shots.

You might not work at a car dealership, but you could probably talk a local dealer into letting you take photos of their cars particularly if you’d share some of your images with them.

Alternatively, perhaps you or a friend have a nice car you could start with. Begin making and showing some good work and, before long, you’ll have people asking if you can photograph their cars.

Car shows can be a great place for auto art photography. They often have a diversity of makes and models from different eras.

Car shows

Most areas have occasional car shows, where owners polish their vehicles to a mirror-like finish and proudly show them. Often there will be a nice variety of vehicles, sometimes exotics, hotrods, older classics, and antiques. Because the public is typically invited to these events, and they are held in public spaces, photography is generally not a problem.

In fact, the owners practically expect people to ogle and photograph their cars. One thing they will not appreciate (and will likely get you run off in a big hurry) is touching their beauties. Always be respectful and ask if there’s any doubt about whether you can photograph the vehicles.

And, above all, never touch the cars.

red Jaguar with raindrops - abstract automotive photography

Raindrops on red Jags…These are a few of my favorite things. The color, the diagonal lines, the iconic symbols, and the interest added by the raindrops on a freshly-waxed hood all combine to make this image work.

One problem is that there will typically be lots of people around. Because cars are covered with highly reflective surfaces, getting shots without people’s reflections can sometimes be a problem.

I have no real solution for this, other than to make two suggestions:

When making tight shots of particular pieces of a car, the chances of getting a reflection in your shot is much less than if you were photographing the entire car.
Learn to be patient. Frame up your shot, be ready, wait for the person in the shot to move on, and then quickly make your photo.

It can be hard to keep bystanders, or even yourself, out of the reflections in glass, chrome, and shiny paint.

Fins up! How cool is this beauty, found at a local car show?

Sometimes monochrome is the best way to show the old classics, much like they might have appeared in an old film of the era. Sunstars are courtesy of the noon sun, a highly polished surface, and an f/22 aperture.

Lighting

High-end automotive photography can involve as much care in lighting as any product or model session. There are studios specially designed to drive a car inside to photograph. I know a local guy who has such a studio. It has full hard cyclorama walls, a glossy white floor, and a lighting system that includes the largest softbox I’ve ever seen. The softbox has to be at least 30 feet long, maybe more!

Hood ornaments are art objects unto themselves. Then add a sunstar with a specular highlight and a small aperture. Both images were made in full noon sun.

front of car - abstract automotive photography

The hood emblem of an old Ford F-100 pickup reminded me of the symbol used by the superhero the Flash.

At the opposite end of the spectrum are the shots in this article. They are all made outside with just daylight, no flash, sometimes on a tripod, but many times handheld. Often they were made in the bright noonday sun. Sometimes the bright sun is nice, such as when the specular highlights on chrome, combined with a small aperture, create sunstars.

The point is that you don’t need anything fancy to try this kind of photography. A creative eye, some imagination, and the ability to properly control focus, depth of field, and exposure are all you need.

rusing car - abstract automotive photography

The door handle is the only touch of reality in this otherwise purely abstract image.

Gettin’ funky in the junkyard

Even the nicest cars will wind up here one day – the junkyard.

One might think it a strange place to make photos. However, for some reason (perhaps nostalgia?), many of us are fascinated by old things. In the auto junkyard, you’ll often find old classics quietly rusting in peace. The once-shiny paint fades to all kinds of interesting colors and patinas. And the layers of peeling paint and rust make an incredible canvas for abstract art.

On the right, an old tour bus used by country star Gene Autry is now parked in Palouse, Washington. On the left, a tight shot of the abstract art to be found if you explore the rust patterns on the old band bus.

junkyard abstract automotive photography

Corruption of Power

A word of caution about junkyard photography: Always ask the owner if you can take pictures on their property.

Yes, oftentimes auto junkyard owners will puzzle over why anyone would want to make photos of a bunch of old beat-up and rusting cars. Ask nicely. Convince the owner you’re only there to make photos and you won’t be taking any spare parts home with you. You’ll often get the go-ahead.

Now, you’ll be working in an environment of sharp rusty metal, broken glass, spilled oil, gas, and other automotive fluids, so caution is important. (It might be a good idea to have your tetanus shot up-to-date and carry a first aid kit just in case.)

Whatever you do, just don’t head onto the property without permission, even if the area seems abandoned. You don’t want to meet the infamous junkyard dog or his angry owner.

You can likely still tell this is the hood of an old car. Even so, it’s really about the patterns, textures, lines, and colors.

Getting really abstract

It could be argued that the previous photos in this article really aren’t “abstract” images.

So let’s take a deep dive into really abstract automotive photography – the kind not everyone will appreciate. You’re almost guaranteed to have viewers ask, “What’s that??!!”

No matter. Abstract art is an acquired taste. But once the bug bites you, you’ll find an auto junkyard is practically a gallery of images all begging for your attention.

I took a photo workshop by noted photographer Art Wolfe earlier this year called “Photography as Art,” and he really opened my eyes to this kind of imagery. After the workshop, the auto junkyard became a whole new experience. It was suddenly a place where abstract imagery abounded and peeling paint, broken glass, rust, and decay were the stuff of great photos.

It’s still an old car, but now we’ve entered the world of pure abstract art. Unlike photographing iconic landmarks, where your photo is pretty much what everyone gets, making these kinds of images guarantees your photo will be one of a kind.

I have to wonder if this vehicle was painted numerous times over in its life, or if this is just how the paint ages.

I’ve seen abstract art like this selling for big money and displayed on the walls of corporate offices. I hope to someday figure out just how to tap into that market.

Go do it

I invite you to look at the shots here, look at other abstract automotive photography online, and get inspired. Then just go do it.

Make it a point to not photograph the entire car. Instead look at the shapes, lines, tone, color, and all the other artistic elements of the vehicle. Isolate these to make your shot.

If getting truly abstract images interests you, find some old cars in a junkyard and get in tight. Use the textures, colors, and patterns to make your shot. Be less concerned about what the subject is and more concerned about how the image feels.

Have fun and, if you get some good abstract automotive photography, share them in the comment section below. Best wishes!

The post An Introduction to Amazing Abstract Automotive Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.

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Posts Tagged ‘Amazing’

Square versus rectangular photography

1. Square compositions feature balance and flow

2. The square format gives the perfect amount of negative space

3. A square will force you to simplify your compositions

4. The square format works great with shapes

5. You can create beautiful square centered compositions

6. The square format works beautifully with black and white

Square photography: final words

The Color and Tone Wheels: overview

How to use the Color Wheel to selectively adjust colors in your photos

Step 1: Select the colors you want to adjust

Step 2: Adjust the colors using the sliders

Step 3: Create additional color wheels for further adjustments

How to use the Tone Wheels to produce beautiful color grading

Step 1: Adjust the shadows

Step 2: Adjust the highlights

Step 3: Adjust the midtones

ACDSee’s Color and Tone Wheels: the next steps

What is long exposure photography?

How to use filters for long exposure landscapes

Filters you can use during the day

Weak ND filters

Circular Polarizer (CPL) filter

Strong ND filters

Infrared filters

Filters you can use during the night

Stacking filters

How long to expose for?

Time for long exposure landscapes!

6 Tips for Photographing Amazing Light Trails at Blue Hour

1. Find a location with a great city view with plenty of traffic going by

2. Shoot from slightly higher than ground level (e.g. a footbridge)

3. Curvy roads give a more pleasing result

4. Headlights, taillights or both?

5. Capture light trails of tall vehicles

6. Use mild-strength neutral density (ND) filter

Conclusion

Introduction

Key features:

What’s new, how it compares

Image quality

Autofocus and performance

Video

Conclusion

Sample galleries

The composition basics: Capturing a gorgeous bird photo

Simplify the entire composition to make the bird stand out

Aim for a uniform, simple background that makes the bird pop

Use the rule of thirds to position the bird’s eye

Point the bird into the frame to add movement

Capture the bird in a creative pose for increased interest

A quick guide to amazing bird photography compositions: Conclusion

Step 1: Shadows

Step 2: White balance and graduated filters

Step 3: Crop the picture

Step 4: General Color Adjustments

Step 5: Detailed enhancements

From good to great

“One should not only photograph things for what they are but for what else they are.”

What and where

Car shows

Lighting

Gettin’ funky in the junkyard

Getting really abstract

Go do it