Category: Photography

6 Tips for Photographing Amazing Light Trails at Blue Hour

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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).

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.

Digital Photography School

February 21, 2020
Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III Announced With 20 MP, 60 FPS Shooting

The post Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III Announced With 20 MP, 60 FPS Shooting appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Earlier this month, Olympus announced their latest mirrorless camera: The OM-D E-M1 Mark III, which continues the professional E-M1 series, and promises a lightning-fast performance for the most serious of shooters.

Like Olympus’s other mirrorless options, the E-M1 Mark III sports a Micro Four Thirds sensor. This means that the E-M1 is impressively compact, as is its lens lineup. In fact, if you haven’t laid hands on a Micro Four Thirds camera, I suggest you go check one out, because the size is astonishing.

Unfortunately, a small sensor also comes with drawbacks, and in this case, they’re compounded by a 20.4 MP option that’s quite a few years old. For some reason, Olympus has insisted on including the sensor used in the E-M1 Mark II, the E-M5 Mark III, and the E-M1X, which is in serious need of an upgrade. It doesn’t offer the worst image quality out there, but Micro Four Thirds cameras struggle to compete with APS-C and full-frame rivals in this area, which isn’t helped by a sensor that’s nearly a half-decade old.

In other words, don’t expect too much in terms of dynamic range or high ISO performance.

The same complaint could be leveled at the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III electronic viewfinder, which only packs 2.36M dots and is frustratingly dated.

On the other hand, there’s a lot to like about the new E-M1 Mark III, including Olympus’s world-class in-body image stabilization (the company promises 7 stops of stabilization, which increases slightly when paired with an image-stabilized lens). This is fantastic for anyone shooting video, especially with Olympus’s longer lenses, and it’s also excellent for still shooters working in low light. Sure, Olympus’s dedication to their sensors is far from impressive, but it’s somewhat counterbalanced by the power of their IBIS.

You also get high-performing autofocus, and an insane 60 frames-per-second shooting speed (with locked AF, and using the electronic shutter). Even with autofocus, you get 18 frames-per-second continuous shooting, which rivals pretty much any pro-sports camera body out there.

Plus, as with Olympus’s other OM-D cameras, the E-M1 Mark III includes a long list of interesting features. I’m talking about things like Starry AF (designed to nail focus on stars during astrophotography), High-Res Shot (which produces 80 MP images), and Pro Capture mode, which starts capturing images before you press the shutter button so that you never miss a critical shot.

Here’s the bottom line:

There’s a lot to love about the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, even if it falls short in a number of key areas. So it’s certainly worth checking out if you’re looking for one of the most powerful-yet-compact options on the market today.

You can currently pre-order the E-M1 Mark III for $ 1799 USD; the camera will ship on February 24th.

The post Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III Announced With 20 MP, 60 FPS Shooting appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Digital Photography School

February 20, 2020
Winter Stand Up Paddling on Horsetooth Reservoir

I love paddling on the Horsetooth Reservoir in cold season. Boat ramps are closed, no power boat traffic, usually quiet and calm. Snow and ice can enhance scenery. A great time to paddle, train, relax or photograph. The Horsetooth stays […]
paddling with a camera

February 20, 2020
5 Tips for Using Color to Improve Your Photography
The post 5 Tips for Using Color to Improve Your Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

In this article, I’m going to give you five tips for using color.

Tips that will immediately take your photos to the next level.

Because here’s the thing:

Color is one of the most commonly neglected aspects of photography.

It’s also one of the most useful.

So, if you can learn to master color…

…your photos will instantly improve.

Let’s get started.

50mm | f/6.3 | 1/400s | ISO 250

1. Keep colors simple for the best compositions

When it comes to tips for using color, this is a big one.

Because colors are like compositional elements of their own.

And if you add too many compositional elements, you’ll overwhelm the viewer and cause them to turn away.

The trick is to keep the colors simple. Try to photograph scenes that only have a few obvious colors.

Three colors are okay, especially if one of them is dominant. In the photo below, you’ll notice strong blues and greens, with a slight orange on the building.

24mm, f/5.6, 1/1000, ISO 400

Two colors are even better.

And one color can work, too, such as when framed against a white backdrop.

In fact, when in doubt, reduce the number of colors. As you approach a potential composition, think about how you can simplify the colors.

That way, your composition will turn out looking beautiful: strong, simple, and artistic.

2. Use contrasting colors to add pop to your shots

Now that you know the most fundamental tip for using color in your photography, it’s time to look at specific combinations of colors that work really, really well.

The most popular color combination (and my absolutely favorite) is contrasting colors, like this:

400mm, f/6.3, 1/1250, ISO 250

You see, contrasting colors are colors that sit opposite one another on the color wheel.

(These are also known as complementary colors.)

And they look great together because they can create powerful tension in your photos. Plus, each complementary color works to make the other pop.

Some common contrasting color pairs are:
- Green and red
- Blue and orange
- Purple and yellow
Now, the more equal the amounts of each contrasting color, the greater the tension in your photo.

This color wheel shows the opposing (contrasting/complementary colors).

So you can play with the extent to which both colors are featured in order to create different looks.

A lot of green and a lot of red creates an obvious clash.

But a lot of green with a few spots of red feels much more balanced (though the red will still pop powerfully off the screen). That’s what I did in the photo above; I combined the red of the spoonbill with the green of the background, for a balanced image.

Make sense?

Note that you don’t have to be super precise about choosing complementary colors. Color contrast is a spectrum, not an absolute. So if you end up with a green and purple pair as opposed to a green and red pair, you’ll still get a sense of tension.

It just won’t be quite as strong as the true complementary colors.

3. Use analogous colors to add harmony to your images

As I explained in the tip for using color above:

Color contrast is good.

But sometimes you’re not looking to create tension in your photos. Sometimes you’re not looking to make aspects of your photo really stand out.

Instead, you might want to keep things looking peaceful throughout your image. Like this:

50mm, f/3.2, 1/400s, ISO 250

In cases like the one above, you should avoid contrasting colors, and instead use analogous colors.

These are colors that sit next to one another on the color wheel.

Some common analogous color pairs are:
- Green and yellow
- Purple and blue
- Red and orange
- Green and blue
- Red and purple
And see what happens when you put some analogous colors together:

They convey a sense of harmony. Rather than clashing with one another, analogous colors keep the peace.

105mm, f/7.1, 1/250s, ISO 320

That’s why analogous colors are perfect for more subdued scenes, such as yellow and green trees standing together in autumn, or a blue flower resting alone in a field. The harmonious color combination will maintain that wonderfully serene feeling (as long as the rest of the composition is aimed at producing serenity, that is!).

Oh, and don’t be afraid of using three analogous colors together. You can always use combinations such as green, blue, and purple or green, yellow, and blue to create especially peaceful scenes!

So whenever you’re trying to capture a more subdued photo, look for analogous colors.

4. Keep your subject more colorful than the background to focus the viewer

If you’re capturing a photo with a clear subject, then you often want to make the subject pop off the background.

In other words, you want to focus the viewer. You want to keep their attention on the subject of the photo.

And you can do that by using color. You just have to make sure your subject features much more powerful colors than the background.

100mm, f/5, 1/125, ISO 250

Here’s how it works:

Start by finding a colorful subject. The colors should be bold and saturated. For instance, a red flower, a blue building, a yellow car, etc.

And make sure it’s positioned in front of a boring background. Something with less color, even something that’s all white or all black.

The lack of color from the background, combined with the powerful color from your subject, will ensure that it’s the subject that catches the viewer’s eye.

This is one of my favorite tips for using colors, simply because it creates such powerful images. Whenever I see photos that use a colorful subject on a plain background, my eyes immediately go to the subject; everything is clear and simple.

Bottom line:

Don’t always feel like you need a colorful background to complement a colorful subject.

It often pays to keep the background much less interesting!

5. Include colorless areas to add a sense of balance

Here’s your final tip for using color in photography:

Don’t always feel like you need lots of color in your photos.

Instead, feel free to add in colorless areas: areas of black, areas of white, areas of gray.

Why?

Because colorless areas act like negative space in images that are full of color. They give the viewer a chance to rest. They balance out the overall composition.

Sure, a shot with areas of black or white often won’t look quite as eye-catching as a photo full of color contrasts.

But it’ll feel more balanced, which is what composition is often about.

For instance, a photo like this feels just right with a white background:

50mm, f/8, 1/320s, ISO 250

And if the background were, say, red, the photo would be overwhelming.

So don’t be afraid to include colorless areas in your photos. Put your subject on black. Put your subject on white.

Because even though color is a powerful tool to use, it’s also one that you need to tone down on occasion.

5 Tips for using color to improve your photography: Conclusion

Now that you’ve finished this article on tips for using color, you should feel confident incorporating different colors into your photos and using color combinations for stunning results.

So all that’s left to do?

Get out and start practicing. Try to find different color combinations. Experiment with different options, and carefully evaluate the results.

As long as you follow these five tips for using color…

…you’ll be capturing some stunning images in no time!

Do you have any other tips for using color that you’d like to share with us? Perhaps you’d like to share some of the images you take after reading this article? If so, please share them with us in the comments.

24mm, f/4, 1/500, ISO 250

The post 5 Tips for Using Color to Improve Your Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Digital Photography School
February 19, 2020
5 Things to Do to Every Photo In Lightroom to Improve Your photos

The post 5 Things to Do to Every Photo In Lightroom to Improve Your photos appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by John McIntire.

Lightroom, as we all should know by now, is a powerful tool that allows you to get the absolute most out of your raw files. For many photographers, it’s an all-in-one solution for their post-processing workflow. For others, it’s just a stepping stone before moving the file across to Photoshop. While there are no hard-and-fast rules as to what you do to your images at this stage, there are a few things to do to every photo in Lightroom that will make your workflow easier and can help to polish your images just a little bit more.

Lightroom is an invaluable tool for both organizing and processing your images. There is no one-size-fits-all workflow, but there are a few things that you can do to every photo.

1. Color Profile

The first of the things to do to every photo in Lightroom is to set up the color profile of your image.

Under this tab at the top of the Basic module, you will find several presets (such as Landscape, Portrait, and Neutral) that try to emulate these settings within your camera.

Using these presets can help you to get a good start on your image. They will adjust the colors and contrast in your image to a half-decent starting point for the type of image you have. From there you can fine-tune in any way you want.

Using color profiles is a powerful way to manage the colors in your images. Whether you use a preset or a custom profile, this is a good tool to get familiar with.

As you can see, using the Landscape preset on a portrait is something you don’t want to do very often, but the available options can be a powerful start to adjusting your images.

Where Color Profile really comes into its own is when you use an external tool to create custom color profiles. Tools such as the ColorChecker Passport from X-Rite allow you to create a custom color profile for any individual scene and lighting set-up. This enables you to attain accurate colors for each individual situation.

To use this feature, you will have to create your custom profile with the external software for the tool you are using. Then you import it into Lightroom, where you will find it under the Color Profile tab’s subsection labeled Profiles.

In the case of the ColorChecker Passport, this task is as easy as creating the profile and restarting Lightroom, where it will be waiting for you.

Creating a custom color profile (via the ColorChecker Passport) has ensured that the starting point for the image is an accurate representation of the colors as they were in real life.

2. White Balance

With your color profile set up, you can now turn your attention to the White Balance. I like to start each image off with as neutral a white balance as I can attain. You may drastically alter it later, but I feel the whole process is easier with a neutral white balance from the start.

If you are doing this by eye, you can use the Temp and Tint sliders in the Basic module to adjust as you will.

Pay close attention to any whites and grays in your images and try to get them looking as neutral as possible. When doing it this way, I like to zoom in as far as I can on blocks of tone and color (such as skin and backgrounds) to see what effect my adjustments are having.

The White Balance tool is basic, but it is still very powerful. I find starting with a neutral white balance works well (though this is not a rule).

If you’re using an external tool (such as a grey card) to set your white balance, you can do that instead with your preferred method.

Using a grey card or other tool to get an accurate white balance can help save time and ensure complete accuracy.

3. Sharpness

Another of the things to do to every photo in Lightroom is to turn the sharpness setting (under Details) to “0.” The reason for this is that using this feature in Lightroom treats sharpening as a global adjustment that affects the entire image. It also does it at the beginning of your workflow, whereas I prefer to do sharpening at the very end of the post-processing stage.

The Sharpening slider in Lightroom doesn’t offer a great deal of control. Instead, use another method that allows you to fine-tune the effects at the end of your workflow.

By turning off the sharpening at this point, you grant yourself far more control over the process. Once you’re in Photoshop, you will be able to sharpen with far more precision than the slider in Lightroom provides you thanks to the various sharpening tools and other features such as Layer Masks.

An example of a Layer Mask for a sharpening layer in Photoshop. This amount of control would be very difficult to achieve in Lightroom.

Also, because the amount of sharpening you use will depend on the output (a large file for print will be sharpened more than a small file for web usage), using the sharpening in Lightroom at the beginning of your workflow may actually set you back.

If you don’t use Photoshop, you can always still set the Sharpness to “0” and when it comes time to export your images for whatever output you require, you can create a virtual copy of your finished image and sharpen that copy accordingly.

4. Noise

Unless the noise in your images is quite bad, the noise reduction tool in Lightroom is rather good.

Under the Details section, these sliders will allow you to reduce the impact of any noise in your images.

As with the other things to do to every photo in Lightroom mentioned in this article, it’s important to do this at the beginning stage of your image as the effect may dramatically alter the way your image looks as well as the approach you have towards it in further post-processing.

Lightroom’s built-in noise reduction usually performs well. If there is noise present in your image, use it well. If there is no noise, leave it at 0 as you will risk losing some detail.

5. Lens Corrections

The last of the things that I suggest you do to every photo in Lightroom is to use the tool in the Lens Corrections section.

Checking the Chromatic Aberration box will go a long way to dealing with all but the worst instances of Chromatic Aberration. Lightroom does a very good job of this, and in most cases, you won’t have to do any more than to click this box.

If you do have to go further, the sliders under the Manual section will help you make short work of any Chromatic Aberration present in your images.

The Lens Corrections tool allows you to fix Chromatic Aberrations and correct for the lens you used.

Checking the Enable Profile Corrections box is one of the most useful things you can do to do your images from the very start. As long as you are using a lens that has a Lens Profile in Lightroom (you can make one manually if it doesn’t), using this tool will make adjustments to your images that compensate for that individual Lens.

Distortion and vignetting are two of the most prominent things that this tool corrects for, and this can have a dramatic effect on how your images appear.

Left: No corrections. Right: With lens corrections. The difference is subtle, but it is very much there. Applying the profile corrected both distortion and vignetting.

The end

While this is a simple list, it’s often very easy to overlook some of these steps once you are in Lightroom. The excitement of looking at your images and getting started with the adjustments once you’ve imported them is a hard thing to override.

However, taking the few moments that it takes to implement these steps can help you to achieve more natural and polished results with very little effort at the beginning of your post-processing stage.

In the end, I hope you find these things to do to every photo in Lightroom helpful with your photo editing journey.

If there is a step that you think that I should have included here, please feel free to add it to the comments.

The post 5 Things to Do to Every Photo In Lightroom to Improve Your photos appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by John McIntire.

Digital Photography School

February 19, 2020
How to Conserve your DSLR Battery When You are Running Low on Power

The post How to Conserve your DSLR Battery When You are Running Low on Power appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.

Cameras are amazing tools. However, without battery power, they aren’t particularly useful for image making. If you find yourself low on power, there are a number of ways to conserve your DSLR battery. In this article, we’ll look at a few options for stretching out the battery life of your camera when you are running low on juice.

1/15 sec, f/8, ISO 800

Lower LCD brightness

If you’re worried about trying to conserve your DSLR battery, the first thing to do is to turn down the brightness on the camera’s LCD screen. Although dimming the LCD screen can make it more difficult to review images, cutting down on LCD brightness can make a big difference in terms of battery life.

Turn off image preview

Image preview is a quick way to make sure your photographs are turning out. However, Image Preview also consumes a lot of battery power. When you need to conserve your DSLR battery, you can turn the Image Preview function off altogether. Of course, this means that Live View mode is a no-go on a low battery too.

Turn off your camera

1/60th of a second at f/1.8, ISO 1600

One of the most obvious ways to conserve your DSLR battery is to switch the camera off altogether! This won’t be of much use if you are in the midst of a shoot, but if you have a few minutes between subjects, turning your camera off can save a lot of battery.

Don’t delete photos on the fly

Going through and deleting images in-camera can put a significant strain on battery life. Deleting images in-camera can even increase the chances of corrupting the data on your memory card. Rather than trawling through and deleting your photographs to free up space, invest in a few extra memory cards instead.

Switch off sensor cleaning

Sensor cleaning is a mechanism that cleans the sensor whenever the camera is turned on or off. When activated, the camera uses ultrasonic vibrations to try and shake loose any pesky traces of dust on the sensor. While useful, sensor cleaning uses up a considerable amount of battery life each time it enters cleaning mode. So, if you are low on battery, turn this function off via the settings menu in your camera.

Avoid cold conditions

Batteries in cooler environments tend to drain quicker than those in warmer conditions. If you can’t avoid shooting in a chilly environment, many photographers make use of hand warmers and the like to maintain battery life.

Turn off image stabilization

1/250th of a second, f 3.2 ISO 800

Image stabilization (or IS) is a mechanism that is used to stabilize an image when hand-holding a camera. By counteracting camera movement, IS reduces the likelihood of unwanted blur in your photographs.

However…(you guessed it), image stabilization soaks up a lot of power.

Sometimes IS is crucial, but in circumstances where the camera is mounted on a tripod or a steady surface, or you are shooting at a fast shutter speed, make sure you switch the IS function off to conserve your DSLR battery.

Check up on battery health

Camera batteries have a limited life, meaning that they do eventually need to be replaced. Keep track of battery health by consulting the battery info in-camera. Keeping an eye on trends in a batteries’ life can help you determine in advance when it might be time for a new battery.

Consider getting a battery grip

A battery grip is an accessory that attaches to the base of a camera. It provides room for an extra battery, doubling your time between charges. Battery grips also provide an additional grip for portrait-orientated shooting and can ease the strain of hand-holding longer lenses.

A battery grip aids in hand-holding the camera in a portrait orientation. 1/200 f/6.3 ISO 100

If you are finding that you are constantly pressured by a lack of battery power, or you want to ensure you won’t be caught short, you may want to invest in a battery grip.

Conclusion

Camera batteries are a key ingredient in DSLR photography. By lowering LCD brightness and switching off image preview, sensor cleaning and IS or turning off your camera between subjects, it can be a little easier to conserve your DSLR battery in a pinch.

Refraining from deleting photos on the fly, avoiding cold conditions and keeping an eye on battery health can also help to stretch the longevity of a batteries’ life between charges.

Do you have a great tip for conserving battery life in a pinch? Go ahead and post in the comments!

The post How to Conserve your DSLR Battery When You are Running Low on Power appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.

Digital Photography School

February 18, 2020
How to Photograph Beautiful Winter Snowdrops (or Other Flowers)

The post How to Photograph Beautiful Winter Snowdrops (or Other Flowers) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.

Every year the forests and parks gain a touch of magic as the winter snowdrops emerge. For just a fleeting few weeks, their delicate flowers form beautiful white carpets that seem to flow in the weak winter sun. But sometimes, when we go out to photograph them, the results can be a little lackluster.

It seems like it shouldn’t be hard to take a great snowdrop photo, and yet many photographers really struggle to capture their beauty. Here are some of my top tips when it comes to the art of photographing these tiny flowers. Don’t forget your macro lens or close-up filters to get the best shots.

Get down low

When the flower you’re photographing doesn’t stand taller than the top of your boots, you’re going to have to get yourself and your camera down close to the floor for a worm’s eye view. For this reason, I always keep a couple of carrier bags in my camera gear. The alternative is wet knees and elbows, so I recommend you do the same!

ISO100, 35mm (50mm equiv.), f2.8, 1/550th sec

You can either rest the camera on the floor or use a very small tripod. Alternatively, some full-size tripods can invert, allowing you to get the camera down close to the ground.

Once you’ve got your camera down low, you can either use the screen to compose or the camera’s phone app (if it has one). I’d also suggest using manual focus for these kinds of shots; otherwise, you might find that your camera’s auto-focus locks on to errant blades of grass rather than the winter snowdrops themselves.

Choose interesting light

It’s hard to guarantee interesting light if you’re going out on location, but there are a few things that you can do to help swing the odds in your favor.

Heading out to your preferred winter snowdrops patch either first thing in the morning or during sunset can give you a better chance of having more interesting light. In the morning, you will also get the beautiful dew that makes specular highlights in the out of focus areas, adding extra magic to your photos (but you could also add “dew” with a spray bottle – I won’t tell anyone).

Left: ISO100, 35mm (50mm equiv.), f2.8, 1/320th sec. Right: ISO200, 35mm (50mm equiv.), f2.8, 1/4000th sec

Look for an opportunity to backlight the flowers with the sun. The light coming from behind can really highlight the thin white petals. You might want to add a small reflector or a pop of fill-flash to the front of the flower if you try this approach.

Of course, if you plan ahead, you could also grow winter snowdrops in a pot at home. That way, you can take them indoors when they start to bloom and spend as long as you like experimenting with different kinds of lighting!

Think about the depth of field

Your aperture choice can really make or break your snowdrop photo. Because it sets how much of your image is in focus, it’s the camera setting that requires the most thought for flower photos.

Deciding if you want a wide depth of field, or to focus on just one small part of the scene, is the choice that is going to make the biggest visual statement. It’s also one that you can’t reverse after the shot.

Both approaches have merit, and if you’re in any doubt, try shooting at a variety of aperture settings and choosing later.

My favorite way to shoot small flowers is with a shallow depth of field. This helps the viewer focus on just the subject without the background becoming distracting.

The image on the left was shot at f2, while the image on the right was shot at f8. Both were shot at ISO200, on a 35mm (50mm equiv.), lens.

A shallow depth of field also allows a single snowdrop to stand in isolation in your photograph, showing off its beauty. This approach can be especially good if the snowdrop is an unusual variety – some types of snowdrops can cost a huge amount per plant!

But if you’re trying to capture the vastness of a white carpet of snowdrops, then a larger depth of field can be more effective. That way, you can show the beauty of the mass of flowers without them all blending into one.

Post-process creatively

Many photographers shoot winter snowdrops every year, and a lot of images make it online. It’s easy to get lost amongst the crowd when it comes to photographs of snowdrops. Post-processing your images creatively can be both a good way to learn more about your software, as well as a chance to produce something truly unique.

ISO100, 35mm (50mm equiv.), f1.4, 1/1250th sec

You could go for post-processing that is as simple as a basic color grading. Emulating one of the different kinds of old film stocks might be a good place to start. Don’t forget to consider photographing with a black and white conversion in mind too – the white flowers really pop off a green grass background when you go black and white!

If you’re feeling adventurous, you could try adding textures to the image, or even following my method for layering multiple photographs in Adobe Photoshop.

There are no rules in flower photography, so let your imagination run wild when it comes to creative post-processing.

Try something abstract

These perfect clumps of little white flowers give you a great opportunity to try out something a little more experimental and off-beat. If you’ve not tried shooting abstract images before, just remember to approach the process with an open mind and try not to get hung up on what other people might think.

You could start off by trying an unconventional angle or using a tine depth of field to focus on just one part of the flower. Use the colors of the petals and the lines of the stems to create strong compositions where the subject itself is of secondary importance.

Both: ISO100, 35mm (50mm equiv.), f16, 1/4th sec

Alternatively, how about trying out some ICM – intentional camera movement?

Set a long shutter speed (I usually start around 1/4 sec) and give the camera a wiggle while the shutter is open. You may find that you need to use a very small aperture or add a neutral density filter to your lens to allow for the long shutter speed without overexposing the image.

The technique is gaining popularity amongst many abstract photographers, and everyone has their preferred wiggle method!

When it comes to this kind of image-making, the key is to approach it with no expectations and not to be disappointed if you don’t get amazing results the first time.

As always, practice does make perfect, and it takes more than one attempt to create a masterpiece!

Take your camera for a walk and shoot

As always, the most important thing is to get shooting and start somewhere. You’ve only got a limited window of opportunity to photograph the snowdrops, so make the most of it while they’re in full bloom.

ISO100, 35mm (50mm equiv.), f2.5, 1/480th sec

The easiest way to find displays of snowdrops will be to follow the social media pages of country houses or landscaped gardens near you. They often use their social media pages to notify subscribers of whatever seasonal flowers are at their best.

You could also ask on local photography groups if anyone has an idea for other hotspots to find snowdrops – they often crop up in woodlands and parks that have been around a long time.

Don’t forget that these ideas can apply to plenty of other kinds of flowers too. But you might find that none are quite such showstoppers as the delicate little winter snowdrops.

So, go out and shoot some winter snowdrops and share them with us in the comments below!

The post How to Photograph Beautiful Winter Snowdrops (or Other Flowers) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.

Digital Photography School

February 18, 2020
The Canon Rebel T8i/850D Revealed With 7 FPS Shooting and 4K Video
The post The Canon Rebel T8i/850D Revealed With 7 FPS Shooting and 4K Video appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Canon hasn’t given up on its DSLRs yet.

While we’ve seen the imaging giant shift its resources to mirrorless tech in recent years, it seems that Canon still plans to keep its DSLR lineup going.

At least for a little while.

Because the Canon Rebel T8i, also known as the Canon EOS 850D, was announced just days ago, along with specifications that give us a good idea of what the camera will offer and who it’s for.

If you’re an entry-level Canon DSLR shooter or a vlogger, then the T8i looks to be a fine (though not thrilling) option. You get an APS-C, 24.1-megapixel sensor with the potential to shoot up to ISO 25600 (ISO 51200 when expanded). You also get a DIGIC 8 processor, 7 frames-per-second continuous shooting, a 45-point AF system, and 4K/24p video.

Those familiar with the T7i/EOS 800D will undoubtedly notice the lack of major differences between the T8i and the T7i, because it seems that Canon went for a minor set of changes rather than a moderate upgrade.

That said, three key differences are:
- 7 frames-per-second shooting (7.5 fps in Live View) versus 6 frames-per-second shooting in the T7i
- A new processor (DIGIC 8 versus the T7i’s DIGIC 7). This is responsible for the improved continuous shooting speed.
- 4k video
Probably the biggest among these changes is the added 4K video, as many reviewers lamented its lack of inclusion in the T7i. But the T8i’s 4K video comes with a big qualification: Canon’s fantastic Dual Pixel autofocus, which performs extraordinarily well in Live View, won’t work. Instead, you must shoot at 1080p for access to Dual Pixel AF; otherwise, you’re stuck with contrast-detection AF, a system that’s historically much slower than its Dual Pixel counterpart.

In terms of image quality, we can expect something very similar to the T7i, which performed well but hardly managed to astonish. And while the 24-megapixel count is enough for most enthusiasts, I can’t help but wish Canon had pushed the T8i a bit further. We know that they can, having seen the 32.5 MP resolution capabilities produced by the APS-C Canon 90D.

As for speed, the extra frame per second probably won’t matter much to the average user of this camera. Either you’re doing more serious action work, in which case a frame-per-second more can be the difference between a failed shot and a nailed shot, or you’re an entry-level consumer or enthusiast in this camera’s target market, in which case the minor speed upgrade doesn’t matter much.

While the Canon Rebel T8i doesn’t yet have a release date, the camera should drop for $ 900 (including an 18-55mm kit lens), or $ 750 USD (body only).

So what do you think of the new Canon Rebel T8i/850D? Are you satisfied? Were you hoping for something more? Or do you want Canon to focus entirely on mirrorless? Share your thoughts in the comments!

The post The Canon Rebel T8i/850D Revealed With 7 FPS Shooting and 4K Video appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Digital Photography School
February 18, 2020
Flat Lay Photography – How to Make Yours Stand Out from the Rest

The post Flat Lay Photography – How to Make Yours Stand Out from the Rest appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Lily Sawyer.

If you’re on social media, you may have come across flat lay photographs. They have become very popular over recent years and can be successful scroll-stoppers on sites such as Instagram when done properly.

What is flat lay photography?

Simply defined, flay lay photography means a photograph where the subject/s are arranged on a flat surface and photographed from above. It is also sometimes called the bird’s eye view.

The surface and the lens are positioned parallel to each other from a vertical distance apart, and therefore, no angles are visible. The surface is flat, and the image shows a singular dimension taken from a parallel position above the surface.

However, this does not mean that your image should look flat. This article will discuss factors that contribute to achieving interesting flat lay photographs without the image looking necessarily flat, especially if that is not your intention.

f/2.8 ISO 1000 SS 1/125

What can you shoot in the flat lay style?

Because flat lay photography is a style or a format, you can shoot just about anything! The only consideration is the size of the subject.

If you had a drone camera, for example, then you can shoot landscapes and mansions in a flat lay fashion, much like aerial photography.

However, drone photography is not only limited to aerial photography. You can use a drone to capture normal objects in flat lay format. What is generally available to us are mobile phones and digital cameras, which are small. So they can limit the size of what we can shoot given the vertical distance requirements.

People

You can photograph people lying down on the grass or on the bed from above, and that would be considered flat lay.

Newborns are easier to photograph from this angle because they are small. You can capture their entire bodies plus a background from a short distance, such as the newborn images below.

f/4 ISO 1000 SS 1/125 Off-camera flash in a strip softbox to the side and a reflector on the opposite side

Objects

You can photograph just about any object in the flat lay style. Smaller objects grouped into a space together is the simplest way of doing this.

The photo below required very little styling, and I photographed it in a bright and evenly-lit space; hence there are no dominant shadows in the photo.

f/1.8 ISO 400 SS 1/160

Food

One of the most common subjects photographed in this style is food. A plateful of food is small enough to snap a picture of so quickly. It often requires minimum styling, especially if you are dining in a restaurant, as often the food is already presented well on the plates.

Instagram is peppered with food photos, both styled and unstyled, and flat lay can add the wow factor without much effort.

The photos below are unstyled and are quick snaps of the food served at a reception. I photographed these indoors with directional on-camera flash as the rooms had little light.

f/4 ISO 2000 SS 1/125

Flowers

I love photographing flowers. They are packed with texture and color and offer limitless styling possibilities. The top photo below, I shot on the floor in a hotel room. I wanted to capture the invitations styled with the flowers and needed more distance, so I used a wide-angle lens 24-70 at around 35mm.

Below is a photo of two bouquets taken from the bird’s eye view. These bouquets are fairly big, so I had to stand up and take the shot with the bouquets on the floor.

When taking flat lay photos using a DSLR and a heavy lens, it is quite difficult to keep all the gear steady while shooting straight down without a tripod. This is the reason why I rarely go below 1/125 sec shutter speed when doing so.

f/2.8 ISO 1000 SS 1/160

Jewelry

Another one of my favorite subjects to use when photographing flat lay style is jewelry. I love juxtaposing jewels and metallic textures next to soft fabrics of various kinds. The layering of textures injects lots of interest in an image.

This brings us to some tips on how to enhance flat lay images, so they don’t look boring and too flat.

f/2.8 ISO 400 SS 1/160

Tips

In my opinion, the handiest and easiest equipment to use when doing flay lay photography is your mobile phone. It’s light, has a versatile lens (which also has a fairly wide-angle), and you don’t even have to set the settings yourself! It’s super easy.

However, some phone cameras are better than others, so you can’t guarantee how good your photos turn out – especially when available light is fairly low.

Lighting

Whatever camera you use, the first, and in my opinion, the most important consideration to take is lighting. Make sure there is ample light, so your subject is well lit. You can opt for a bright and airy look with hardly any shadows, or choose a moodier look using shadows.

I like having directional light that casts some shadows because I feel they add another dimension to an image. The easiest way to check where your dominant light is coming from is to look at where the shadows fall.

On the baby photo below, the room was bright and airy. I positioned the baby on the bed, away from the window. However, the main light comes from a huge window on the left. As you can see, the shadows fall on the right. However, because it is quite a large light source, the shadows are subtle.

f/4 ISO 800 SS 1/160

I snapped the photos below using natural light coming from a window, but a smaller window this time to achieve a dark moody look.

f/2.8 ISO 400 SS 1/160

If you want to eliminate shadows altogether, you can use a reflector opposite the main light to counteract the shadows. Alternatively, use a lightbox to light the space evenly.

Layers

The photo below is a social media advert for a brand. I shot it with a mobile phone that has a mediocre camera. While I have applied a filter to it, both resulted in rather grainy photos. However, they were clear enough for the brand to be happy with them.

In terms of lighting, ample light came from a side window and a velux window above. However, I wanted more of an impact, so I created layers of color and objects.

There’s the dark blue background as the first bottom layer, the fairy lights and decorations on the table as the second layer, the product as the third layer, and finally, hands as the fourth and top layer.

Layering increases the dynamic in a photo and makes it more interesting.

mobile phone photo

Another way of creating layers is to use a very shallow depth of field. This creates an illusion of infinity for the background.

The below photo is of a rose on a vase with centrally-positioned rings to be the topmost layer of the image. However, you can’t see the surface where the vase sits because of the shallow depth of field and the use of a macro lens. In this case, I used the 60mm and shot at close range, which when using a macro lens, produces background compression and bokeh.

f/7.1 ISO 1000 SS/ 1/125

Composition

Composition is of utmost importance as it can make or break a photo.

Every photo has a certain type of composition used in them, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Well-executed composition elevates the level of success of a photo because composition plays a significant role in engaging and connecting with the viewer.

The photo below uses the rule of thirds – one of the simplest yet strongest compositional structures there is. Alternatively, the photo below it shows a centered composition.

f/1.8 ISO 400 SS 1/200

It is easier to play around with composition when you have a variety of objects to use. Take the photos below where the labels and invitations were used along with the flowers to create different compositions.

f/2.8 ISO 200 SS 1/250

Color and contrast

The key to creating successful visual images when you are limited to a flat lay dimension is color and contrast.

A darker background creates a strong contrast against lighter or brighter objects, thereby allowing enough separation to give an illusion of multi-dimensionality, as shown in the photos below.

f/4 ISO 1000 SS 1/200

Where color might be too subtle to create a bold pop, utilize contrast with a variety of textures instead.

As shown in the photos below, delicate flowers lay against a weathered wood grain and pastel-colored invites against rough concrete.

f/2.8 ISO 200 SS 1/200

Style

There are a plethora of styles you can use when photographing flat lay. Illustrated in the photos below are two opposite styles: elegant and minimalist (top two photos) and homely and maximalist (bottom photo).

f/5.6 ISO 800 SS 1/200

f/ 5.6 ISO 2000 SS 1/160

For website purposes, I shot the photos below as a clean branding style against a seamless white background.

f/5.6 ISO 400 SS 1/125 using off camera flashes

Conclusion

I hope this article has given you ideas on the different ways you can capture an image using the flat lay photography style. Flay lay photography is a super-creative medium – the possibilities are endless. You can achieve some high impact photos if done successfully.

Do you have any other flat lay photography tips you’d like to share? Alternatively, do you have some flat lay photographs you’d like to share? If so, please share them with us in the comments section.

The post Flat Lay Photography – How to Make Yours Stand Out from the Rest appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Lily Sawyer.

Digital Photography School

February 18, 2020
Tips for Retouching Skin in Photoshop That You Need to Know
The post Tips for Retouching Skin in Photoshop That You Need to Know appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by John McIntire.

When it comes to retouching skin in Photoshop, there are a lot of tools and techniques available to you. Some of these are fairly easy and self-explanatory, like the Healing Brush. Others, like frequency separation, are complicated multi-step processes. They involve such obscure features of Photoshop that you would never be able to figure it out on your own. Many of the skin retouching techniques are useful and work well when used together with one another.

This article will provide you a set of tips to get the most out of some of the most common and most useful (read: my opinion) of these techniques. It assumes you have a basic understanding of how to use them. If you don’t, there are a myriad of good quality tutorials available.

Tutorials

Here’s a short list of tutorials for all of the techniques listed in this article:
- Healing Brush
- Patch Tool
- Clone Stamp
- Frequency Separation
- Dodging and Burning
Healing Brush

The Healing Brush is probably going to be the first thing you reach for when you are retouching skin in Photoshop. It’s a somewhat intuitive tool, that doesn’t take that long to figure out and it is very effective at what it does.

To get the very best results from using the healing brush:

1. Work on a new layer

When working with the healing brush, be sure to work on a new blank layer. That way, you can be sure that you are not altering your original image. This also allows you to make changes later.

To do this, press the New Layer button on the Layers palette or press Ctrl+Shift+n (Cmd+Shift+n Mac). With the new layer set up, be sure that the drop-down box for the Healing Brush labeled “sample” is set to Current and Below.

Working on a blank layer will ensure you can undo any changes you make should you decide to later.

2. Use as small of a brush as possible

You can quickly change your brush size with the bracket keys ( { and } ). Try to keep the brush just big enough to cover only the blemish that you are trying to remove.

For the best results, use a brush size that is just bigger than the blemish you are trying to remove. This ensures that you don’t make too many alterations to the natural pattern of the skin.

3. Sample often

Don’t make a sample selection just once – do it often. Do it between every blemish if you can. This may seem like a lot of effort, but with practice, it’s really not. Your images will be better for it too.

4. Zoom in

To make sure that you are only trying to heal blemishes, and not the area of skin around them, zoom in as far as you need to.

I understand some photographer’s reticence to zoom in to 400% to 500% for the sake of retouching, but doing so will make sure that you only affect the areas of your subject’s skin that need it.

This tip (and the next one) doesn’t just apply to the Healing Brush. Do this with every skin retouching technique listed here.

Zooming in allows you to be more precise with your adjustments and leads to more natural-looking results.

5. Zoom back out

When you are very zoomed in on your subject, you can get lost in all of the details that you can now see. Make it a point to zoom back out frequently so you can make sure that the changes you are making are actually affecting what you can see on the image at 100%. This can save you hours.

6. Don’t paint

Instead of painting with the Healing Brush, just press once (or click with a mouse) over the blemish you are trying to remove. This will limit the alterations to the surrounding skin.

Painting with the healing brush leads to weird artifacts. To avoid these, simply click on the blemish you want to remove and nothing more.

Patch tool

The patch tool is a powerful utility that allows you to select an area that you want to retouch with a lasso and then drag that over to a sample area that you want to use to fill that first area in. It’s fairly easy to use, but it can be tricky at first.

1. Work on a new layer

You can use a copy of your background layer.

If you’ve already created and worked on a few layers at this stage, you can press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E (Cmd+Alt+Shift+E – Mac) to create a new layer with all of those adjustments merged into it.

This will allow you to reduce the opacity of what you’ve done with the patch tool in case you go too far. It will also make it easy to delete the layer and start from scratch if need be.

The patch tool can’t be used with an empty layer. Instead, duplicate your background layer and work on the copy. If you’re later on in your workflow, press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+e (Cmd+Alt+Shift+e) to stamp all existing layers into a new one above the rest.

2. Avoid the content-aware fill

In terms of skin, the Content-Aware Patch Tool never seems to perform very well. Instead, leave the mode set to normal and use the Patch Tool that way. For things like backgrounds, by all means, use content-aware; just avoid it for skin retouching.

Content-aware fill, as it works with the Patch Tool, is great for many things, but skin is not one of them. Although this was sampled from a very similar part of his face, content-aware has made a mess of it.

3. Patch small areas

It’s tempting to just select a large area of skin and try to work that way. However, this will only serve to create a bunch of artifacts on your subject’s skin. Keeping your selections small allows you more control over the end result and will result in fewer problems down the line.

4. Use similar tonal areas

When possible, use a sample area that’s similar in tone to your selection area. This will reduce the chances of creating problematic artifacts and blur.

Here, you can see the various areas of similar tonality circled in red. When using the Patch Tool, try to sample from similar areas of tonality.

5. Reduce opacity

Once you’ve done the work that you want to with the patch tool, feel free to reduce the opacity of the layer that you are working on. This can help to hide a heavy handed approach and help to give more natural looking results. This tip applies to pretty much every other skin retouching technique as well.

Clone stamp

When you are retouching skin in Photoshop, the clone stamp tool will probably be one of your least used tools. It’s tricky to use and it’s often easier and faster to get similar results with other techniques. The one notable exception is when you are using frequency separation (covered below).

1. Use a soft brush

This may be a preference, but the Clone Stamp is a heavy-handed tool that makes drastic changes with a single click. By using a soft-edged brush, you will reduce the impact of the area of skin around the blemish you are removing.

To get to your brush menu, just right-click.

This may be preference, but for the most part, you will want to use the softest brush possible when using the Clone Stamp. The Clone Stamp is a very aggressive tool that can affect skin patterns in an undesirable way if used without care.

2. Do not paint

As with the Healing Brush, do your best not to paint an area of skin with the Clone Stamp. Try to keep the affected area limited to an individual blemish, pore or other marks.

Even though the sampled area was identical in tone, you can see the results of painting with the clone stamp tool in one large stroke.

3. Use sparingly

Again this may be personal preference talking, but try to resort to the Clone Stamp when it’s the only tool left for the job, at least in terms of skin retouching. The problems this tool can create with odd aberrations in skin texture patterns are hardly worth the risk.

Frequency Separation

Frequency Separation is one of those techniques that appears as overcomplicated sorcery at first glance. Once you’ve learned the fundamentals of the technique and how to set it up, it’s actually quite easy. It’s also a very powerful technique that can transform your skin retouching workflow. It is; however, very easy to go overboard with this technique and a heavy hand will result in less than ideal results. Once you’ve got the implementation and the basics of frequency separation down, there are a few tips to help you get the best results.

1. Gaussian Blur settings

When setting up your frequency separation layers, keep the Gaussian Blur settings to the lowest possible number while it is still obscuring all of the detail in your subject’s skin.

“4” is a good number to start with, but it might vary depending on the resolution you’re working with and how much of the frame your subject’s face fills.

When setting up your Low-Frequency layer, use just enough blur to remove all of the skin texture in that layer. Here, Gaussian Blur was set to 2.

2. Blur

When applying Gaussian Blur to your Low-Frequency layer, keep the amount of blur to either equal or less than the amount that you used when setting up the layer in the first place.

3. Blur – Tones

Only blur areas of skin that are a similar tone. Blurring midtones and highlights (or shadows and midtones, or any other combination) can result in muddied tones that often don’t look good. Keep your selections to areas of similar tonality to avoid these muddied tones.

When applying blur to sections of your Low-Frequency layer, try to make your selections in areas of similar tones. This will still help to smooth the tonal transitions without muddying them.

4. Zoom in

Ensure that you are zooming in to at least 100% on your images to watch for any hard edges that may appear while applying blur.

This can happen as you get close to hard edges within your frames, such as lips and eyes. If they do start appearing, you can reduce the amount of blur you are using, or you can make a new selection farther away from the areas causing you trouble.

5. Clone Stamp

For the High-Frequency layer, you just need to be careful with how you use the Clone Stamp. As above, the Clone Stamp is best used on very small areas with a single click. Sample often and don’t paint with it and you should be fine.

Dodging and Burning

Probably the most powerful and versatile of the techniques listed in this article, Dodging and Burning might as well be considered an essential tool for anyone that expects to be doing a lot of skin retouching. There are a lot of ways to do dodging and burning, but for the sake of these tips, I am going to refer to the method that involves using a 50% gray layer set to Overlay that you then paint on with the brush tool with white to lighten the tones and with black to darken them.

1. Keep the brush flow at 1%

Like all skin retouching techniques, subtlety is the key, and with the brushes flow at 1%, you can slowly build up any alterations that you are making.

When dodging and burning on a grey layer, set the flow of your brush to 1%. This will allow you to build strokes slowly for more natural results.

Circled at the top: The flow for the brush was set to 10%. Circled at the bottom: The flow here was 1% You can see the drastic difference just 9% makes on the flow settings.

2. Try to avoid broad strokes

Instead of trying to alter large aspects of your image at one time (for example, lightening an entire forehead in one go), zoom in on the area you want to work on and work on areas of a similar tone. By working with smaller areas, you will get more natural results.

3. Use multiple layers

If you are using broad strokes and working on finer detail with dodging and burning in the same image, do both of these on separate layers. Dedicate one to each layer.

With the large brush strokes, you will likely be more concentrated on overall contrast. You will often want to use a Gaussian blur on your brush strokes to even them out too.

This is not the case with fine detail where your brushstrokes should only deal with tiny, precise areas.

For very fine control over your image, use a different layer for dodging and burning all of the sections of your image. This will allow you to alter, or get rid of any changes you might change your mind about later on without undoing all of your work elsewhere.

4. Use a small brush

Skin has a lot of fine detail in which the light in your scene passes over and creates contrast. It’s this contrast on the skin that creates the appearance of blemishes in your photos.

Because these blemishes are often small, you want to try and use a brush that is at least as small as the area you are working to lighten and darken with dodging and burning. This will ensure that you are lowering the contrast – therefore lowering the visibility of the blemishes – rather than adding it where you don’t want to.

5. Use Ctrl+z (Cmd+z) often

When you’re using a technique like dodging and burning for retouching skin in Photoshop, you are using a lot of little adjustments, maybe even thousands of them, to build up to a finished result. You will get some of these wrong. Don’t be afraid to undo anything you’ve done if it isn’t right.

6. Reduce the Layer Opacity

Once you’ve done any adjustments that you are going to make with dodging and burning, try reducing the opacity of the layer(s) to see if you can get a better result with less of an effect.

With a time-consuming technique like this, it is easy to get lost in it and go overboard. Sometimes reducing the effect at the end is just what is needed for a more natural result.

When you’re finished with your dodging and burning, you can always turn the opacity of the layer down to see if you might have gone too far. It’s a good idea to always at least look, even if you don’t decide to lower the opacity in the end.

7. Zoom way in

Unless your image will never be printed and only viewed in a small resolution, zoom as far into your images as you dare while retouching skin in Photoshop (this applies to all of the techniques here) to achieve the absolute best results.

Sometimes, you will find that you need to be zoomed in at 300-500% to see all of the detail that you need to work with. Sure, working this way takes a lot longer and is intimidating to think about, but putting that amount of effort in will help you to achieve better results.

The end

There are, of course, many other techniques available for retouching skin in Photoshop, but these are the ones that I use the most often.

If you’re new to these techniques, you now (hopefully) have a few tips to help you figure out how to make the very most out of them.

Of course, with techniques like these, there are always more ways to do things. If you have any tips of your own on retouching skin in Photoshop, please feel free to share them below.

The post Tips for Retouching Skin in Photoshop That You Need to Know appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by John McIntire.

Digital Photography School
February 16, 2020