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Vital Tips to Capture Fast-Action Photos

23 Feb

The post Vital Tips to Capture Fast-Action Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.

Whether you’re photographing cars racing down the track, athletes running across a field, or your kids playing in the yard, it can seem impossible to get tack-sharp photos of fast action. If you have ever struggled to capture fast-action photos, you’re not alone. Lots of people deal with the same issue!

Fortunately, it’s not as difficult as it seems. With a few simple tweaks to your photography process, you can get great action photos in no time at all.

Nikon D750, 112mm, f/4, 1/350 second, ISO 500

A major element of action photography involves knowing where to position yourself and what to look for.

In addition to that, there are some critical camera functions you need to understand and know how to control if you want to get the kinds of shots you see in sports magazines. Mastering a few shooting techniques will help you get the kind of fast-action photos you’ve always wanted.

Taking a picture is pretty simple. You press the shutter button, your camera initiates autofocus, and then it takes the picture. A quick beep-beep might sound once focus is acquired, or you might see a dot or square light up in the viewfinder of your camera. That works great for still subjects, but if you want to capture fast-action photos, you’re going to need to adjust your settings.

Nikon D750, 140mm, f/2.8, 1/1500 second, ISO 100

Use the right autofocus mode

Understanding how to use autofocus to capture fast-action photos is one of the first and most important steps you can take.

Autofocus first came to prominence in 1985 on the Minolta Maxxum 7000 camera. Ever since then, it has continued to evolve. Now, modern cameras have a host of ways to configure and control this basic feature.

Every camera has a variety of autofocus modes. They go by different names depending on the manufacturer, but, in general, you can expect the following on any given camera.

Focus-and-lock: Once focus is acquired, it will not change until you take a picture or re-focus.
Continuous focus: Your camera will constantly adjust focus as your subject moves.
Manual. Not recommended for most fast action. It can be good if you know exactly where your subject will be at a specific point in time, but in general, it’s best to use autofocus.

Your camera will also have a few settings for how it computes autofocus. Names will vary but they will be something like the following.

Full auto: Your camera decides what to focus on without any input from you.
Expanded AF or Group: You use multiple focus points to keep the subject in focus instead of just a single dot or square.
Tracking: You set a focus point and your camera will maintain focus continuously until you take a picture. You will see the focus point move around as your camera adjusts to keep the subject in focus.

Nikon D7100, 200mm, f/3.3, 1/1500 second, ISO 100

To capture fast-action photos, you will need to use one of the final two modes and make sure you set your camera to continuous autofocus. There is so much unpredictability with action shots that you want to use all the smarts and capabilities of your camera to help you out.

Tracking modes are particularly useful on newer cameras since the algorithms used to lock on subjects and track them are very advanced.

If your camera has a tracking option, I recommend using that, but Expanded or Group modes work well too. They give you a little more freedom and wiggle room compared to relying on one single autofocus point.

Back Button Focus

Back button focus is more of a technique than a camera setting. While it’s going to feel really weird at first, it will make your life a lot easier when capturing action photos.

Instead of using the shutter button to focus your camera, you use a button on the back of your camera.

Back button focus might seem counterintuitive since it feels like autofocus would go hand-in-hand with clicking the shutter button. There are some good reasons to use back button focus, though, especially when it comes to capturing fast-action photos.

When you set your camera to continuous autofocus and use the shutter button to engage autofocus, it can be difficult to keep the button half-pressed while following your subject around. Back button focus lets you track your subject continuously with a firm press of your thumb.

Then whenever the decisive moment hits, you press the shutter button to get the perfect shot. Or you can start snapping pictures well before the moment arrives and continuing to maintain focus with your thumb.

Nikon D7100, 200mm, f/2.8, 1/1500 second, ISO 100

Almost every camera can do back button focus, but you will need to change a few menu settings to enable it. Do an online search for your exact camera along with the words “back button focus,” and you should find the information you need.

It took me about a week to train my mind to use back button focus, but now I use it all the time, even on casual everyday photos.

It works so well once you get used to it!

Embrace Auto-ISO

When shooting action photos, the most important thing is to get images that are tack sharp. A well-composed shot won’t mean anything if your subject is blurry (unless, of course, you are trying to capture motion blur), so that means you need to use a fast shutter. And that often means embracing higher ISO values, especially when shooting indoors where there isn’t nearly as much light as outside.

Fortunately, Auto-ISO can take the guesswork out of your action shots.

You can set a minimum shutter speed and a maximum ISO value and let your camera take care of the rest. Most modern cameras look great up to ISO 6400, and many can go well beyond that while still maintaining enough color and detail to be usable.

Image: Nikon D750, 80mm, f/4, 1/500 second, ISO 2000. A fast shutter speed might be overkill for peo...

Nikon D750, 80mm, f/4, 1/500 second, ISO 2000. A fast shutter speed might be overkill for people just walking, but I wanted to be absolutely sure they were tack sharp. Auto-ISO chose a value of 2000 which was perfectly acceptable.

My Auto-ISO settings for action are minimum shutter speed of 1/500 second (or 1/1000 second if my subjects are moving really fast) and maximum ISO value of 6400. You will need to experiment to find out what your comfort level is and what settings you prefer.

Shoot in Aperture Priority

This tip piggybacks on the last one, though just like back button focus, it might seem counterintuitive.

If you need a fast shutter speed to capture fast-action photos, why not shoot in Shutter Priority? Because Aperture Priority and Auto-ISO let you get the best of both worlds.

Using this technique, you can worry a lot less about getting a properly exposed shutter, free of motion blur. That way, you can concentrate on composing your shot while your camera does the rest.

Nikon D750, 35mm, f/4, 1/1000 second, ISO 100

When you shoot in Aperture Priority with Auto-ISO, you can set the aperture that gives you the right depth of field. That means you don’t have to think about other elements of exposure because your camera is going to stay within the shutter and ISO parameters you set.

If you know you are in a low-light situation, you can increase the aperture size or dial in a higher ISO value for Auto-ISO.

I shoot in Aperture Priority so I can control the depth of field while making sure I always get a tack-sharp photo. That’s because I know my shutter speed will never go below 1/500 second.

If you have never tried this when shooting action photos, you might be surprised at how well it works!

capture-fast-action-photos-soccer-multiple-kids

Nikon D750, 200mm, f/2.8, 1/1000 second, ISO 100. I used a large aperture to make the kids in the background blurry and focus the viewer on the child in the middle. My camera figured out the ISO and shutter speed based on my Auto-ISO parameters.

Adjust your viewpoint

When shooting any style of photos, you need to make sure you compose the scene in your camera from the proper point of view. That might mean kneeling, sitting, or even lying on the ground.

Sometimes you might find yourself sitting on top of a ladder or in the bed of a truck to get a higher vantage point. The goal, especially with action shots, is to take your pictures in such a way that they are dynamic, interesting, and help put your viewers in the middle of the scene.

Nikon D7100, 200mm, f/2.8, 1/350 second, ISO 100. I shot this so it looks like the disc is coming right towards the viewer.

When shooting fast-action photos, you can’t always control your surroundings, and in that case, you might need to move around.

There might be physical barriers like guardrails, fences, or other people in your way. One solution is to sit there and settle for whatever happens. However, a good action shooter will move around until they find the vantage point that works best for the shot. (Within reason, of course. Be polite about it, and certainly don’t do anything illegal!)

Image: Nikon D750, 105mm, f/4, 1/1000 second, ISO 200. I should have scooted over to get that table...

Nikon D750, 105mm, f/4, 1/1000 second, ISO 200. I should have scooted over to get that table out of the foreground. A simple adjustment on my part would have made for a better image.

One factor you can’t control when taking fast-action photos outdoors is light and weather.

It might be cloudy or sunny, windy or calm, rainy or clear, and there’s nothing you can do to change it.

What you can do is adjust your viewpoint accordingly to get the best shots. Position yourself such that your subjects aren’t backlit, and make sure to have protective gear for your camera if the weather is bad.

Take a lot of photos!

What’s the best-kept secret for capturing fast-action photos? Take a ton of pictures!

When you see a perfectly-composed shot of your favorite athlete on the cover of a magazine, there are a thousand similar images sitting unused on a hard drive that weren’t good enough.

If you want one great photo, you need to be willing to take a lot of mediocre photos and sort through to find the keepers.

All cameras can shoot in high-speed bursts. This is critical for action photos since you never know which picture will be just the right one.

Often the only limitation is the size of your camera’s internal buffer or the rate at which your camera transfers images can to a memory card.

Nikon D500, 200mm, f/2.8, 1/1500 second, ISO 100. The 10fps burst rate on my camera made this image possible. I shot about 30 images but this was the best one.

You will need to check your camera manual or do some online searching to find out how to enable burst mode on your camera. Just don’t think you can take a few pictures and get the perfect shot.

Professional action photographers will take thousands of pictures of a single game or event, and only a handful will be published.

The same holds true for you: if you want to get great action photos, you need to take a lot of photos.

What are some of your tips and techniques to capture fast-action photos?

Are there things that have worked for you that you would like to share with others?

Leave your thoughts in the comments below. And if you have some examples of action shots you would like to share, make sure to include them too!

The post Vital Tips to Capture Fast-Action Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.

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Weekly Photography Challenge – Orange

22 Feb

The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Orange appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

This week’s photography challenge topic is the color ORANGE!

Photo by dPS writer, Jeremy Flint © Jeremy Flint

Photo by dPS writer, Megan Kennedy © Megan Kennedy

This is a fun challenge. You can capture the color orange in so many ways. You can use macro, flowers and autumn leaves, landscapes (think orange sunrises or sunsets, or wildflowers), cityscapes, minimalist photography, abstracts or people wearing orange clothing. The orange can be a major part of the composition or be more subtle. There are so many options!

So, check out these pics to give you some ideas, have fun, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Photo by dPS writer, Jaymes Dempsey © Jaymes Dempsey

Photo by dPS guest writer, Joey J © Joey J

Check out some of the articles below that give you tips on this week’s challenge.

Tips for Shooting the color ORANGE

Mastering Color Series – The Psychology and Evolution of the Color ORANGE and its Use in Photography

How to Capture the Colors of Autumn in Your Photography

How to Use Color in Your Photography to Give Your Photos the Wow Factor

How to Use Vibrant Colors in Photography with Great Success

How to Find the Best Possible Time to Shoot Cityscapes at Blue Hour

How to Take Epic Sunrise Photos with a Zoom Lens

Create Amazing Sunrise Photos with these Easy Lightroom Editing Tips

5 Reasons Why Your Sunrise or Sunset Photos Don’t Look So Stunning

Simply upload your shot into the comment field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see or if you’d prefer, upload them to your favorite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them. Show me your best images in this week’s challenge.

Share in the dPS Facebook Group

You can also share your images in the dPS Facebook group as the challenge is posted there each week as well.

If you tag your photos on Flickr, Instagram, Twitter or other sites – tag them as #DPSorange to help others find them. Linking back to this page might also help others know what you’re doing so that they can share in the fun.

The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Orange appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

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7 Tips for Using a Tripod in Landscape and Travel Photography

22 Feb

The post 7 Tips for Using a Tripod in Landscape and Travel Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

In this video from Julian Elliott Photography, he gives you 7 tips for using a tripod in landscape and travel photography.

You may want to know why you need a tripod at all when you do landscape and travel photography? There are times when you will want to use slower shutter speeds. For example, when doing long exposures to get silky smooth waters, shooting in low light situations, or for bracketing exposures.

So watch Julian’s video and find out some invaluable tips on how to get the most out of your tripod, how to keep it in good condition, and how to use it.

What you’ll need:

1/4 cup of instant coffee granules
1 teaspoon
a damp cloth, sponge or paper towel
a few pieces of white paper (I use plain old sheets of A4 copy paper. While copy paper does pucker when water is introduced to it, I think it adds to the overall aged effect. Plus, it’s less expensive than good art paper!)

How to coffee-stain paper

First, lay out your sheets of paper on a wipeable surface. I prefer to work on the kitchen bench.
Sprinkle some instant coffee on your sheets of paper – about a teaspoon per sheet.
With a damp cloth, sponge or paper towel, begin to press the instant coffee granules into the paper. As the coffee moistens, you can start to spread the granules around the paper with broader strokes. The more varied the strokes, the rougher the effect will be.
You can add more coffee and a little water if you need it. The more coffee you add, the darker the coffee-stained paper will turn out. You can even leave some partially-dissolved coffee granules on the page.
Once you coat the paper, place the sheets somewhere safe and leave them to dry for a few hours.
Sometimes the drying process can lighten the stained effect somewhat. If this happens, add more coffee and water to darken the paper further.

Here’s my result:

coffee stained texture paper

How to apply coffee-stained textures in Photoshop

Once your coffee-stained paper is dry, scan or photograph the page/s and save the files somewhere handy on your computer.

Next, open an image in Photoshop. This will be the image we’ll apply the coffee-stained texture to. I went with the image below:

1/100 of a second f/4.5 ISO 100

With your chosen image open, add a Black & White Adjustment Layer by clicking the Black & White icon in the Adjustments panel (the names of the icons appear when you rest your mouse on them).

If you can’t see the Adjustments panel, select Window from the top toolbar and then click on Adjustments. The Black & White Adjustment Layer will non-destructively convert your image to black and white.

black and white

black and white adjustments

Toggle the Black & White Adjustment Layer settings until you are satisfied with your image.

Next, with the Black & White Adjustment Layer selected in the Layers panel, click File from the top toolbar. Then select Place… and locate and select the coffee-stained image file.

The coffee-stained texture layer will be imported over your original image.

placing coffee-stained texture

If needed, adjust the dimensions of the coffee-stained image by dragging its corners to completely cover the entirety of the canvas.

With the coffee-stained texture selected in the Layers panel, click on the Blending Modes drop-down menu located within the layers panel. Set the Blending Mode to either Overlay or Soft Light. Overlay is a bit harsher in contrast than Soft Light, so test out both options before settling on one.

blending modes panel

coffee stained texture overlay blending mode

Next, select the coffee-stained texture layer and click on the Curves icon in the Adjustment Layers panel. Adjust the Curves settings until you are happy with the overall contrast of your image.

coffee-stained texture curves adjustment

At this point, you can refine the Black & White Adjustment Layer further or even add additional coffee-stained layers to increase the intensity of the aged effect.

This is my finished result…

coffee-textures overlay final result

Here are two more images I’ve attempted to age a little with the same method…

coffee-stained textures travel landscape

coffee-stained texture aircraft stearman

What do you think? Up for a cuppa? If you’ve given the coffee-stained texture method a try, be sure to share your results in the comments!

The post DIY: How to Create a Coffee-Stained Texture for Aging Images in Photoshop appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.

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Our Two Tamron Contest Winners Announced

21 Feb

The post Our Two Tamron Contest Winners Announced appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

Our Two Tamron Contest Winners Announced

The Winners of the Tamron 100-400mm (model A035) in winner’s choice of Canon or Nikon mount, and a Tamron SP 35mm (model F012) in winner’s choice of Canon or Nikon mount are…

A HUGE Thank You to everyone who entered our recent contest from our friends at Tamron.

Yet again, the response was AMAZING with thousands of shares and over 500 entries! But now…onto the winners! Drum roll please, and the winners are:

Grand Prize

Tamron 100-400mm Di VC USD

The grand prize winner is:

Laurel H.

Tamron 100-400mm Di VC USD Ultra Telephoto Zoom Lens – Value $ 799.

Winner’s choice of Canon or Nikon mount.

Second Prize

Tamron SP 35mm F/1.8 Di VC USD

Second Prize Winner is:

Mitzi H.

Tamron SP 35mm F/1.8 Di VC USD SP Series 35mm lens produces stunning high-resolution quality across a wide range of focusing distances – Value $ 599. Winner’s choice of Canon or Nikon mount.

We were all thrilled with the entries! You tugged at our heartstrings, made us laugh, and made us smile. But most importantly, you made us keep wanting to do more of what we are doing – providing you quality information and guidance to become a better photographer.

We were so pleased to see that you came from every part of the world – young adults to grandparents, and everyone in between. Thank you all for your entries!

Winner’s entries

Here are the posts from the winners of the Tamron 100-400mm F/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD, and Tamron SP 35mm F/1.8 Di VC USD, respectively.

Laurel

Wow! What a great lens! I would love to win a new lens like this. Over the past ten years, as my skills have greatly improved, I have upgraded my DSLR three times. I need to replace my aging 50-500 telezoom with a faster, more responsive AF lens with vibration compensation. Sadly, at this time, I cannot afford it. My passion and dedicated hobby is bird photography in all seasons. I love sharing the bird photos with my homebound parent and with others.

Should I win the A035 lens, it would be a dedicated lens for bird and wildlife photography. The challenge of shooting birds, who are mostly never quite still to flight shots of raptors and hawks, requires a rapidly focusing lens to clearly focus on the bird’s rapid wing movements of the tiniest hummingbirds to the largest raptors. I have reviewed the specs of the A035, and these are the strong selling points that stand out to me: highly responsive AF, APSC format for Nikon, handheld ability, moisture resistance with leak-proof seals throughout the whole lens barrel, the eband for reducing glare and ghosting, minimum distance of 1.5m, smoother background blurring, the USB connection to update lens firmware (never had that before on a lens), f stop of 4.5-6.3, the fluorine coating on lens. I also like the detachable mount for tripod, as I do use one from time to time. I am extremely impressed by this lens’ capabilities, which far exceeds my current telezoom lens. Thank you for reading my entry.

Mitzi

After a hiatus of many years, I am re-engaging in digital photography. Going through two major life transitions has pulled me back to my camera: I got sober in early 2016 and entered long-term alcohol recovery, and my Dad, an avid photographer for his whole life, developed ALS/MND in late 2016 and died in mid-2017 after a terrifyingly fast progression.

Something about these events made me want to get behind the lens again. The combination of the technical and creative aspects of photography helps with recovery (substance, as well as trauma/grief) by giving my brain something new and demanding to do, and the process makes me feel closer to my Dad.

Having a fast 35mm prime for my full-frame DSLR is a dream of mine. Travel and street photography are highest on my list of interests, and the ability to give context even to close shots would be fantastic. In this new stage of shooting, I find that I want to get close to my subjects more often than not (a change from my earlier days, when I loved to zoom), and the close focus distance would be brilliant for that. As well, my family has started a new tradition of traveling together at Christmas, and it would be so rewarding to have this lens to capture our memories for Christmas 2020. Finally, this is a new focal length for me and one that would spark new development/learning — which, as noted, I’ve discovered to be excellent therapy.

Thank you for running this contest and letting me tell these parts of my story.

Special offer for dPS readers

Our Two Tamron Contest Winners Announced

Now, for those of you that didn’t win, Tamron has invited ALL dPS readers to take advantage of their Tips and More section. You can find them here.

The winners will be emailed with details of how to collect their prizes. Please make sure to look for our email.

Thank you again for all the wonderful submissions and to Tamron for sponsoring this competition.

Tamron Rebates

For all of you residing in the USA, when you do purchase your next Tamron Lens, make sure to take advantage of the rebates* up to $ 200 off through March 1, 2020. Find additional information HERE!

*Current rebate offers end March 1, 2020. US RESIDENTS ONLY.

Our Two Tamron Contest Winners Announced

About Tamron

Disclaimer: Tamron is a paid partner of dPS.

The post Our Two Tamron Contest Winners Announced appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

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6 Tips for Photographing Amazing Light Trails at Blue Hour

21 Feb

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

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

6 Tips for Photographing Amazing Light Trails at Blue Hour

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3. Curvy roads give a more pleasing result

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

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

4. Headlights, taillights or both?

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

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

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

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

5. Capture light trails of tall vehicles

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Conclusion

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

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

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

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

20 Feb

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.

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Winter Stand Up Paddling on Horsetooth Reservoir

20 Feb

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

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5 Tips for Using Color to Improve Your Photography

19 Feb

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.

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5 Things to Do to Every Photo In Lightroom to Improve Your photos

19 Feb

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.

Five things to do to every photo in Lightroom.

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.

Things to do to every photo in Lightroom - White Balance

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.

Image: Using a grey card or other tool to get an accurate white balance can help save time and ensur...

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.

Things to do to every photo in Lightroom - Sharpness

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.

Image: An example of a Layer Mask for a sharpening layer in Photoshop. This amount of control would...

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.

Things to do to every photo in Lightroom - Noise

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.

Image: Left: No corrections. Right: With lens corrections. The difference is subtle, but it is very...

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.

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Archive for the ‘Photography’ Category

Use the right autofocus mode

Back Button Focus

Embrace Auto-ISO

Shoot in Aperture Priority

Adjust your viewpoint

Take a lot of photos!

Tips for Shooting the color ORANGE

Share in the dPS Facebook Group

You may also like:

What you’ll need:

How to coffee-stain paper

How to apply coffee-stained textures in Photoshop

Grand Prize

The grand prize winner is:

Second Prize

Second Prize Winner is:

Winner’s entries

Laurel

Mitzi

Special offer for dPS readers

6 Tips for Photographing Amazing Light Trails at Blue Hour

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

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

3. Curvy roads give a more pleasing result

4. Headlights, taillights or both?

5. Capture light trails of tall vehicles

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

Conclusion

1. Keep colors simple for the best compositions

2. Use contrasting colors to add pop to your shots

3. Use analogous colors to add harmony to your images

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

5. Include colorless areas to add a sense of balance

5 Tips for using color to improve your photography: Conclusion

1. Color Profile

2. White Balance

3. Sharpness

4. Noise

5. Lens Corrections

The end