In the latest episode of ‘Darkroom Magic,’the George Eastman Museum’s historic photographic process specialist, Nick Brandreth, teaches viewers how to make a 35mm daguerreotype at home without the use of dangerous or expensive chemicals.
The daguerreotype gets its namesake from its creator, Louis Daguerre. The daguerreotype was introduced to the masses in 1839, becoming the first commercially viable photographic process. Although it fell out of favor about a decade later, the process has distinct characteristics that made it the process of choice for some specialists throughout the 20th century.
Nick Brandreth with some of his 35mm daguerreotypes
As Brandreth says, the at-home daguerreotype process is quite simple. In addition to a 35mm camera, you need a silver plate, or in his case, a piece of copper with silver plating. Orange or red glass is required in lieu of using mercury, which is part of the traditional daguerreotype process. You need iodine fuming materials and a glass vessel. Additionally, polishing materials are required to give your silver plate a mirror-like finish. The full ingredients are shown in the video below.
After you have gathered your materials, you must first buff and polish the silver plate. The first step requires a buff, olive oil, and rottenstone compound. This step removes any big scratches. Be sure to wash the plate with soap and water in between steps. The next stage is to polish the plate using lampblack, bringing the plate to a mirrored finish.
You’ll need a variety of materials to do this project, but they’re all safe, unlike the mercury used in the traditional daguerreotype process.
With the polished plate ready, the next stage is fuming. Combining silica gel beads and pure elemental iodine in a glass, you create a fuming material and place the polished plate above it, creating a photosensitive surface. The surface is sensitive to ultraviolet, violet and blue light, so you’ll want to expose it with natural light or a suitable artificial light source.
Orange or red glass is used to develop the plate. It takes between 30 and 45 minutes to fully develop the plate. It will then require fixing and a finishing stage.
The plate is now ready to be exposed. Place it inside your 35mm camera and the camera’s pressure plate should keep it stable. After exposure, it’s time for the ‘magic to happen,’ as Brandreth says. Place your exposed plate under a piece of red or orange glass and hit it with sunlight or a strong work light. You can watch the plate develop over the next 30 to 40 minutes. After this, give it a smooth, consistent fix and then wash the plate. To watch the finishing stage, be sure to watch the video above, as it requires a few steps.
If you’re interested in the science and art of photography, you can learn more about workshops at the George Eastman Museum’s website. Many more interesting videos can be viewed on its YouTube channel.
Sony’s current range of Alpha and RX-series cameras are packed with the company’s latest autofocus technologies. These include highly advanced face and eye-detection for both human and animal subjects.
Photographer and Rancher Alyssa Henry lives with her family on her ranch in Montana. A perfect location – and perfect subject-matter – to put Sony’s latest autofocus technologies to the test.
The current climate is not ideal for many businesses, particularly photographers. Without an outlet for work, it’s easy to ruminate on how you’re going to weather the storm. Going without work is not an option for many photographers, so what are the alternatives? Fortunately, there’s plenty you can do to pivot your business and retain your income. For example, increasing Continue Reading
The post Working From Home as a Photographer in the Current Climate: A No-Bull Guide appeared first on Photodoto.
Computer scientist Russell Kirsch, best known for inventing the pixel, passed away August 11 at his home in Portland, Oregon. He was 91-years-old.
Kirsch, who was of Jewish descent and the son of immigrants from Russia and Hungary, was born to in Manhattan, New York City, in 1929. It was there in New York City he would go on to graduate in 1946 from the Bronx High School of Science before heading off to New York University in 1950, followed by Harvard University in 1952 and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
In 1951, While still in school, Kirsch joined the National Bureau of Standards as a member of the Standards Eastern Automatic Computer (SEAC) team, which was in charge of handling the U.S.’s first programmable computer, which was created just a year prior.
This image measured just 179 pixels by 179 pixels for a total of 32,041 pixels.
It was in 1957 though that Kirsch would forever make his mark on the world when he, alongside a team of researchers, developed a small 5cm by 5cm digital image scanner for the SEAC that went on to capture the first digital images, including a now-iconic image of Kirsch’s three-month-old son, Walden.
As explained in this archived post from the National Institute of Standards and Technology Museum, ‘the scanner used a rotating drum and a photomultiplier to sense reflections from a small image mounted on the drum […] a mask interposed between the picture and the photomultiplier tessellated the image into discrete pixels.’ Initially, the images were binary, capturing only black or white, but Kirsch and his team discovered that by scanning the image multiple times at different thresholds they could create a grayscale image by stacking multiple scans.
This technology allowed Kirsch and his team to develop algorithms that laid the foundations for image processing and image pattern recognition. Kirsch’s invention also helped NASA with its earliest space explorations, including the Apollo Moon landings, and paved the way for future imaging technologies, such as satellite imagery and Sir Godfrey Hounsfield’s CAT scan.
Even after Kirsch retired in 2001, he never stopped improving upon his inventions. As detailed in a 2010 WIRED article, Kirsch also sought to rid the world of square pixels, a design decision that has shaped the world of technology since its discovery in 1957. In speaking with WIRED, Kirsch said ‘Square [pixels] was the logical thing to do [but] of course, the logical thing was not the only possibility […] It was something very foolish that everyone in the world has been suffering from ever since.” And rather than ‘just complaining about what [he] did,’ Kirsch decided ‘to do something about it.’
Kirsch’s variable-shaped pixel technology smooths out pixellated images by eschewing square pixels for more organic shapes.
The program Kirsch had developed at the time of the WIRED article analyzes a square-pixel images and attempts to rid them of obvious pixellation through clever masking. WIRED details the process here:
‘Kirsch’s method assesses a square-pixel picture with masks that are 6 by 6 pixels each and looks for the best way to divide this larger pixel cleanly into two areas of the greatest contrast. The program tries two different masks over each area — in one, a seam divides the mask into two rough triangles, and in the other a seam creates two rough rectangles. Each mask is then rotated until the program finds the configuration that splits the 6-by-6 area into sections that contrast the most. Then, similar pixels on either side of the seam are fused.’
Kirsch also talks about the variable-shaped pixel technology in the following video from 2011:
Kirsch passed away in his Portland, Oregon home from a form of Alzheimer’s disease. He is survived by Joan, his wife of 65 years, his children Walden, Peter, Lindsey and Kara, and his four grandchildren. You can read his obituary and sign the guest book on the Legacy tribute page.
How far would you go to profess to the world your love for photography? Would you live inside a house that looks like a camera or name your children after popular camera brands? If you’re 49-year-old Indian photographer Ravi Hongal, the answer to both of those questions is ‘yes.’
Detailed in this short video from Caters Clips, Hongal spent over £75,000 (roughly $ 95,000) turning his family’s home into a photography tribute. The house features a window lens, a film strip balcony railing, an oversized SD card and even a speedlight that doubles as a security lamp. Although not shown in the video, Hongal has also adorned the inside of the house with camera-inspired rooms.
As if the house wasn’t enough, Hongal and his wife also named their three sons Canon, Nikon and Epson. If that’s not dedication, we’re not sure what is.
Photographs have always been intended to provide us with memories to last a lifetime. Of course, the technology has certainly evolved over the past 150 years. There are now countless ways to display our most precious images. Photo albums and high-definition emails are two common examples. However, what if you instead wish to place photos throughout the home? What options Continue Reading
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The post Tips for Finding Beautiful Portrait Light at Home appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.
It can be tempting to think that you need lots of money, space, and equipment to shoot great portraits. But using just your camera and a reflector, you can find beautiful portrait light at home to shoot in.
Almost everyone will have at least one room in their home with natural light from a window that could make a great portrait. It’s just a case of figuring out where the best light in your home is. Sometimes this takes a little trial and error, but as long as you get a good grasp of the basics, you should be able to shoot some great portraits at home!
Open up your aperture
Shooting indoors often means less light than if you were shooting outside or with studio strobes. To get some more light into your camera, try opening up your aperture and setting it to the lowest number possible.
Opening your aperture up to let more light into your camera also has the effect of creating a shallow depth of field. A shallow depth of field has real advantages when you’re shooting at home – it can blur out the background and any unwanted clutter.
ISO200, 35mm (50mm equiv.), f1.4, 1/320th sec
Alternatively, if you need to place your subject right next to a wall that isn’t as great a background as you hoped for (like above), try hanging a large sheet of paper behind them. The result would be like going to a studio with a paper backdrop. Or if you fancy something completely different, try creating a more creative backdrop!
Get your subject to turn their face towards the light to make it fall in a very flattering way that illuminates their features. If you turn their face slightly back towards you then you can create the classic “Rembrandt light” that fine art photographers love so much (just turn their face towards you enough to create a “triangle” of light on the side of their face away from the window).
By just changing the way your subject faces, you should be able to experiment with broad and short lighting with just a single window. If you have a patient subject, then a single window and a model can be a great way to learn about new kinds of lighting while finding lovely portrait light at home.
Shoot in the bathroom
I’m not even messing about. Bathrooms often have incredible light because of all the white, reflective surfaces. Even a bathroom with a small window can have lots of light bouncing about just waiting for you to photograph it.
ISO800, 35mm (50mm equiv.), f1.4, 1/1100th sec
If you want to fill in some shadows, or even add a bit more directional light, you can experiment with using a reflector. You can use the silver side to add a bright, directional light in a room like this by bouncing light into the brighter side of the face. Alternatively, you could use the white side of a reflector to just gently lift any shadows that you get, to make the light more even.
ISO1600, 35mm (50mm equiv.), f1.4, 1/3000th sec
Don’t be afraid to push up your ISO either if you want to capture a fast-moving or unpredictable subject like a pet. Most modern digital cameras can now go quite high with the ISO without seeing any problems in the images.
I shot the images above at ISO 1600, with an extremely fast shutter speed as my cat zipped around the house from dark to light spots. I had the camera set to Aperture Priority mode, so the camera chose its shutter speeds. Aperture Priority mode is a great choice for shooting portraits indoors because it lets you make creative choices about aperture and depth of field without having to worry about shutter speed.
Experiment with the time of day
As the sun moves, the light will change in different parts of your house. Make it your mission to observe and try out the light as it changes throughout the day if you want to find the good spots for beautiful portrait light at home.
I took both of the above shots in the same room, sitting in almost exactly the same place. The difference was the time of day. The shot on the right with the hard light was taken in the bright morning light. In comparison, I took the image on the left in the afternoon when the sun had stopped shining directly into the room.
Patches of light and shadow can make for really interesting photographs as you let them play across the face or body of your subject. Be sure to experiment with how they create different effects both in the photographs themselves and when you post-process them afterward (increasing the contrast can work really well for light like this).
Use what you have
When I first moved into my home with its large room designated as my studio, I shot almost exclusively with strobes. I would shut out all of the natural light so that I could concentrate on just using my studio lights. I hadn’t even considered that I might have beautiful portrait light at home.
ISO200, 35mm (50mm equiv.), f1.4, 1/240th sec
One day, though, I just wanted to grab a quick self-portrait. So I opened the curtains and photographed myself in the morning light.
On inspecting the files later, I discovered that this light was unexpectedly beautiful. Now I shoot regularly sat face-on to this big window in my studio with no additional lighting or reflectors because I discovered it was simply wonderful light.
Learn from my mistake – test out every window in your house for portraits, at different times of the day.
When you move into a new home, make it one of the first things that you do. Don’t wait several years to realize that you already have wonderful natural portrait light at home!
I’d love to see your portraits using the natural light in your home. Please share them with us in the comments section!
The post Tips for Finding Beautiful Portrait Light at Home appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.
The post ACDSee Photo Studio Home 2020 Review appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Glenn Harper.
It’s not unusual for photo-editing software to be multifunctional. Any combination of browser, raw processor and pixel editor is normal. ACDSee Photo Studio Home 2020 offers a slightly different blend of digital asset management (DAM) and pixel editing. In this article, we’ll see what this combo can do for you.
View Mode in ACDSee Photo Studio Home 2020
What is DAM Software?
Many programs that help you organize photos are, rightly or wrongly, described as DAM software. An example of this is the now-discontinued “Picasa.”
With that popular program, you could browse photos, edit them, add metadata, assign keywords, create albums, mark photos as favorites, and so on. It was comprehensive. But was it DAM?
A defining feature of real DAM software is its ability to create a database of your photos. Lightroom does that, as does ACDSee Photo Studio Home.
These products aren’t just an extension of your OS. They record things, like the location of your photos and all the metadata attached to them. And they create thumbnails so you can fly through your collection at high speed whether you’re connected to it or not. This is what separates DAM software from fancy browsers.
First three modes for browsing and DAM
In ACDSee Photo Studio Home 2020, the first three modes are for browsing and DAM. The modes are as follows:
Manage Mode is where you can browse folders, filter out photos, create stuff like slideshows and contact sheets, and send images to various photo platforms. You can switch between photo editors from here, too, in case you have other software with different functionality. Manage Mode is the hub of the software. You can even add geographical data to photos from here using the Map tool and reverse geocoding.
Photos Mode is great if you want to see everything on your drive within a short space of time. Let’s say you need to root out photos without any keywords or identifying data—this is the place to do it. This mode lets you see all content at once, whether it’s in folders or subfolders, so there’s no hiding place when you’re trying to find specific pictures.
View Mode gives you a nice big preview of your photos one-by-one, and it’s quick. This is a good place for assessing the content of your photos and grading them. (In another article, I suggest a workflow for this software). You can scrutinize the technical quality of TIFFs and JPEGs* in this mode, too. A nice feature of View Mode is the set of experimental tools it gives you, which you can apply to the picture without committing to the edit.
*Note that View Mode is not a good place for assessing critical sharpness in raw files, as the software displays the embedded JPEG to maintain speed. This JPEG looks especially poor at 100%, but it’s fine for assessing content and composition.
Photos Mode. This mode shows all images, whether in folders or subfolders.
Importing and Cataloging
When it comes to importing files into ACDSee software, you don’t need to do it at all.
The software accesses the folder system of your OS, so it’s enough just to copy and paste the files onto your hard drive. They are added to the ACDSee database automatically when you browse them later. That being said, you can import files via the software if you want and adjust filenames or add metadata while you’re doing it.
If you need to catalog lots of pictures without browsing them all first, you can do that too in Manage or Photos modes. This is especially useful when you first start using the software, though you must wait a while for the process to complete.
Getting organized
It’s all very well cataloging your photos, but there’s still a way to go before they’re genuinely searchable.
In Manage and View Modes of Photo Studio Home 2020, you can open the Properties panel to the right-hand side. It’s here that you add keywords, captions, ratings, color labels, and categories to your photos.
I advise working on keywords in the ACDSee Metadata tab, then copying and pasting them into the IPTC field if you want them to be readable elsewhere. Alas, there’s no button to make this task quicker.
You can use any or all of these features to make your photos searchable, grade them, and track them in your workflow. In a recent sponsored article, I suggested using ratings to grade the quality of your photos and color labels to mark your workflow progress. This is a common use of these tools.
Keywords
Keywords make your photos searchable using a variety of criteria. For instance, you can add different photographic techniques to keywords as well as describing the subject of the photo. How thorough you should be in keywording depends on your needs, but you can import keyword lists to avoid having to create them yourself. That’s a new feature in 2020, and it saves loads of time.
This was a raw file developed in ACDSee Photo Studio Home 2020. The conversion is fine for non-problematic images that you want to quickly get online or share without changing your camera settings.
To Tag or not to Tag
To the top left of the properties panel is a check box for “tagging” images. This is a good way to highlight your keepers and reject the rest (or vice versa).
It’d be nice if ACDSee added the ability to proactively reject photos with a dedicated reject flag. As things stand, an untagged file could be one that you’ve simply missed.
Image Baskets
A favorite ACDSee feature of mine is the image basket. This is like a virtual folder, where you can gather image files from various places without physically moving or copying them. It’s very handy for working on quick projects without cluttering up your drive with duplicate files. You can use image baskets for purposes of viewing, editing and sharing.
Face Detection and Recognition
ACDSee software is good at detecting faces, at least when they’re not obscured, and it’s impressively good at recognizing them thereafter.
Often, you only have to name a person once for the software to learn facial features. There are obvious limitations. It won’t necessarily recognize faces across several decades, for instance. But this feature is decidedly useful for cataloging pictures of friends and family.
ACDSee software asks for confirmation that this is Marcel Proust. It’s seen one picture of him at this point, so that’s pretty good going.
Edit Mode
Two-thirds of ACDSee Photo Studio Home 2020 is DAM software, aimed at getting your photos organized and being able to find them with ease. If that was all you got for your money, it’d already be good value. But there’s also an Edit Mode where you can work on rendered files (e.g. JPEGs, TIFFs) and get them looking good.
What about raw files?
You can open most types of raw files in Photo Studio Home 2020, but there’s no develop module like there is in ACDSee Ultimate, for instance, so you don’t get to choose the processing parameters.
If you want to benefit fully from shooting raw, you should link this ACDSee software to a raw editor and switch between programs. That, theoretically, would be a higher-quality workflow than having to address technical issues after conversion. And you still have the DAM side of the software for cataloging and grading your raw files.
This is why you can’t judge the technical quality of raw files in ACDSee View Mode (where they’re best viewed at low magnifications). The inset shows the same file at 100% in Edit Mode.
Edit Mode features
A bit like Photoshop Elements vs Photoshop CC, there are things missing in ACDSee Photo Studio Home 2020 that aren’t missing in ACDSee Ultimate. For instance, there’s no 16-bit color support, no layers, no perspective tool, no dehaze, no dodge and burn, and no Color EQ. But these absent features are all forgivable since there’s a ton of stuff you do get.
Using the watermark feature in Edit Mode to place a logo (quickly created elsewhere) into the corner.
Color and Tone
For basic work on color and tone, there are the usual levels and curves tools.
In fact, these tools are nicely implemented by ACDSee, with a built-in histogram and an exposure warning that tells you when you’re losing detail with your edits. You also get a basic version of the proprietary Light EQ tool, which lets you adjust shadows, mid-tones, and highlights separately.
Given that many people only use the basic version of this tool anyway, this is a valuable inclusion.
The levels tool in Edit Mode. The exposure warning draws attention to blown highlights and blocked shadows.
Cloning and Healing
I should mention once more that the clone tool does not work for me in ACDSee Photo Studio Home 2020 (nor its predecessor). I just get a black screen. That seems trivial when set against everything that does work, but it’s still a tad irritating. I can use the heal tool a lot of the time instead, though its pixel-blending function is a bit different.
Creative Tools
ACDSee could be forgiven for providing the bare minimum of Editing tools, but they go beyond that. You get a cross-section of some of their most creative features. Under the “Add” filter menu, for instance, you’ll find Special Effects. And there are many of them for you to try.
I like the “Orton” effect, which smooths details for a dream-like appearance.
The Purple Haze special effect at 50% opacity. Try experimenting with blending modes to see what else you can achieve with these effects.
You can modify all edits with blending modes, opacity, gradients and the Edit Brush. This means you can adjust localized areas of your photo a bit like you can in Adobe Lightroom and other programs. What you can’t do is work on multiple edits at the same time, but this is still useful versatility.
A radial gradient placed over a black and white LUT, causing color to fade out towards the edges. You can make this kind of localized edit using gradients or the Edit Brush. (Not all LUTs are color, despite ACDSee’s nomenclature.)
The Tilt-Shift filter appears under the “Add” menu.
The temptation with this is always to dig out high-angle views and create that miniaturized effect where buildings, people, and vehicles look like toys.
However, you can try this filter out on other subjects, altering their depth of field and bokeh. It works quite well on close-ups of flowers, for example.
An atypical use of the tilt-shift tool, creating a very soft “bokeh” outside the center of this flower.
You’ll find the Convert to Black & White filter under the “Color” menu.
This lets you fine-tune your black-and-white conversions by adjusting brightness and contrast in all the colors that make up your picture. Also present here is the equivalent of Photoshop’s Channel Mixer, where you adjust the red, green, and blue (RGB) sliders to achieve your conversion, making sure the total value is at or under 100%.
Simple use of the Convert to Black and White filter. I’ve lowered brightness in greens and increased it in yellows and oranges to create pleasing contrast in this picture.
Color LUTs are found under the “Color” menu, too. These have become popular in recent years, allowing users to mimic the world of movie production by applying color grades to their pictures. The effect is often radical.
ACDSee comes with some color LUTs built in, but you can download more from various sources on the Internet.
The ACDSee “Film” color LUT adds a classic orange and teal look to pictures as well as increasing contrast. This color grading is often seen in movies or TV series.
Summing it up
Genuine DAM software, the kind that catalogs your photos, often costs well over $ 100. Or it’s part of a subscription plan that locks you in annually. ACDSee Photo Studio Home 2020 is appealing not only for its affordability but because it’s a great photo manager, period. On top of that, it’s a raw opener and pixel polisher with plenty of scope for creativity.
“Orton” special effect, faded towards the top using a gradient.
If you’re sold on the benefits of shooting and editing raw files, you could pair this software with RawTherapee or DarkTable without spending more cash. Whatever you choose to do, rest assured it’s impossible to waste money on ACDSee Photo Studio Home 2020. This software is easy to use but has a depth that far belies its price.
Have you tried this software? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section.
The post ACDSee Photo Studio Home 2020 Review appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Glenn Harper.
The post Photographing on Your Home Patch and Why You Need One appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jeremy Flint.
Photographing on your home patch is an exciting way to practice your photography. Making a long journey to take photos can seem like a daunting task because of the travel times involved. Photographing closer to home is a much easier and inexpensive prospect and doesn’t require venturing too far.
What is a home patch
You may be wondering what a home patch actually is? Well, it refers to “a local area that is close to home and is easy to access year-round.”
A local patch can be almost anywhere nearby, and for most people will be on public land. It can be a location that is close by that you can visit with minimal efforts, such as a field, woodland, park, city, or river. Being nearby, you can ideally walk, bike, or use a vehicle to get there.
Why do you need a home patch?
There are several reasons why you need a home patch. Firstly, good photos can be achieved close to home with minimal effort. I took this shot less than five minutes from my home. I simply drove down the road, parked the car, and took the picture.
Misty morning, Oxfordhsire
By
photographing on your home patch, you can focus your efforts in one area, you can
re-visit the location anytime and you can spend more time enjoying your
photography and taking pictures.
Advantages of a home patch
Some great advantages of photographing locally include saving on time, as traveling is minimal, and the area is close by and relatively easy to get to. Going local by photographing on your home patch saves on costs as all you need is your camera. It is also a great way to practice your photography skills.
Focussing your photography on an area close to home will help you to keep your technique sharp whilst improving your images over time. You can even find a local project to capture.
Having traveled to several countries around the world to photograph amazing places, there is nothing I find more satisfying than capturing strong images close to home. You don’t need to travel far to create good photos.
For this shot, I visited the field of dandelions at first light to capture the early morning glow.
Dandelions in mist
When shooting close to home, you have the added benefit of being able to visit your local patch when the weather is more favorable. You can also visit at any time during the year, which is difficult to do when you visit somewhere abroad for a week on holiday, and the weather is unpredictable.
Other advantages of photographing on your home patch are that it enables you to practice your photography more frequently rather than waiting for a trip. You will also be better prepared for when you do go on a long journey with your camera.
What
to look for?
You may be wondering what you should look for when photographing on your home patch?
Well, once you have identified a great location nearby, you just need to decide what you will photograph. Your approach could be to photograph wildlife, landscapes, street scenes, or even architecture depending on your favorite photography subjects.
Deer, Oxfordshire
Finding great subjects close to home is easier than you may think. You don’t need to go on an African safari to take great wildlife photographs, for example. In the UK, we are lucky enough to have deer, rabbits and foxes for wildlife photography. When out in the countryside, observe nature and look for any clues of wildlife being present. You may find animal tracks or signs of life on show.
Local
woodlands and fields can be great places to visit and photograph too whilst
getting some fresh air in the great outdoors. In the UK, they are a haven for
birds and mammals such as squirrels and deer.
Rivers and riverbeds provide homes to otters, herons, and fish too, which you may be lucky to photograph.
Oxford, England
Some other ideas for things to look for in nature are beautiful landscape scenes such as valleys, trees or hedgerows, and details such as insects and plants. Shooting close-ups can give a more intimate view of a flower or insect.
If you live in a city, your home patch can include street photography, architecture photography, capturing reflections in windows, doing panning, or light trails to capture movement of traffic.
Working your local patch helps you to gain a
better understanding of your environment and become familiar with your
surroundings, the lie of the land, the buildings and their inhabitants.
Whenever you visit, remember a familiar location can look very different in diverse light, contrasting weather and variable times of the day and year.
Conclusion
In summary, photographing on your home patch is a great way to practice your photography closer to home and generally requires minimal effort. Finding a local area to photograph that is easy to get to also saves on time and cost. Look to photograph something you enjoy such as landscapes, woodlands, wildlife present in nature and urban scenes in local towns, or cityscapes and night photography.
Be sure to share the images you capture on your home patch with us below and any other tips you may have.
The post Photographing on Your Home Patch and Why You Need One appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jeremy Flint.
The post Non-Photographic Activities To Improve Your Photography Without Leaving Home appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.
What makes a good photograph? Is it more about the form or the content? The great photographer Cartier Bresson once said, “to photograph: it is to put on the same line of sight the head, the eye, and the heart.” So, here are some suggested activities to improve your photography by exercising your mind.
There are lots of things you can do to improve your photography without leaving home – from getting inspiration and exercising your analytical perception to gaining introspection to focus your mind. In this article, you’ll find some ideas to get you going.
1/6 sec. f/8 ISO 200
Find inspiration online
Being stuck at home doesn’t mean you can’t visit a museum anywhere in the world. Using Google Arts & Culture, you can take virtual tours of some of the biggest museums. Also, you can zoom into the masterpieces; seeing details you could never appreciate in person.
If virtual museums aren’t enough for you, check out a library. They also hold valuable heritage and have much of it available online. One of the biggest ones is the World Digital Library from UNESCO. Here, you can get free access to thousands of books, documents, and photos from all over the world.
If traditional searches aren’t giving you what you need, look for some innovative thinking. Thanks to current technology, you can get inspired using an unusual starting point. For example, with “Color Palette” you can look for artworks that share the same colors.
Another favorite of mine is “From a picture to a thousand stories.” It helps you find books through words or concepts.
If you prefer the behind-the-scenes to the artwork itself, follow podcasts with artist talks. For example, Dialogues where “Each episode pairs two exceptional makers and thinkers.”
Also, look for the different initiatives museums around the globe have launched during this time, like #StayAtHomeStedelijk, that features mini-documentaries.
Learn how to draw
Artistic disciplines often complement each other because of the different skills you develop by practicing them. One of the most direct links is between drawing and photography.
Learning to draw is an activity that improves your photography because it teaches you to actually see what’s in front of you. It also allows you to analyze how light interacts with objects of different shapes and materials.
For example, this will come in handy when you’re setting up studio lighting.
1/5 sec. f/8 ISO 200
Understanding shadows also helps you when you’re making photo-composites. That is because you need coherent shadows to fully integrate the subject into the background. You also need to consider how it will affect the other subjects to get a realistic result. Drawing can help you understand all of this.
Meditate
There are many techniques and traditions for meditation. There’s no right or wrong way to do it in this case. Just choose the one that works for you.
Some of the benefits of meditation include self-awareness, a decrease of anxiety, and therefore increased perception.
All of these are good things for you to focus on your photographic practice and unleash creativity.
1 sec. f/22 ISO 200
Sometimes you can’t even think of a good idea for your next project; other times you can’t find the right angle for a certain topic. This is often the result of a busy life that won’t give you time to reflect because it requires action.
If you work at uncluttering your mind, you may find it easier to overcome these blocks. A related activity that covers both mind and body is yoga, so you can consider doing that as well.
Join a virtual ‘Salon’
Artistic and intellectual gatherings have taken place to fuel some of the greatest movements throughout history. So, why wouldn’t it be a good activity to improve your photography? The idea is, that through conversation, you can exchange knowledge and refine ideas.
Thanks to current technology, you don’t have to leave your house to meet like-minded people or receive feedback on your projects.
Even reflecting on current events with other artists may influence your work.
Look for Facebook groups, discussion blogs, or even host your own salons with your colleagues via video conferences. The possibilities are endless.
Conclusion
There’s a number of activities to improve your photography that don’t necessarily imply making a photograph. If you find yourself without the possibility of leaving the house or picking up your camera, use this time to exercise your mind. You’ll notice the difference the next time you go out to shoot.
Share in the comments section any other activities to improve your photography that you find useful.
The post Non-Photographic Activities To Improve Your Photography Without Leaving Home appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.
. But these absent features are all forgivable since there’s a ton of stuff you do get.
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