Category: Photography

Why You Should Photograph Like a Movie Director When You Travel
The post Why You Should Photograph Like a Movie Director When You Travel appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

Part of the movie director’s job is to visualize the screenplay. They must imagine how the story will be told visually. The fulfillment of this task depends entirely on the director’s creative expression.

Travel photographers often seek to tell a story with their pictures. Doing this can enhance the documentation of their journeys. This can be helped by using some techniques movie directors use to achieve their goals. One of the most effective methods of clear visual storytelling is to incorporate three different types of photograph:
- wide,
- medium,
- and close-up.
Consider yourself a location scout

I often encourage photographers who take part in our photography workshops to imagine they are a location scout for a movie. Alternatively, think like a reportage photographer working for a magazine editor.

Task yourself with capturing a range of images. Aim to portray each different travel location you visit clearly. One of the best ways to do this is including wide, medium, and close-up photos. You want people who have never been where you are to form a clear picture of the location. What it looked like and what the atmosphere there felt like.

Including only wide-angle photos gives an overall impression, but misses the details. Close-ups could be taken anywhere and will lack a sense of location. Medium photos can show some action and some amount of detail. Often they will not provide a broader awareness of the place.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Wide photos

Seek to include as much relevant detail about the location as you can. In movies, this is known as an establishing view.

Pick places to stand where you can see a lot of what interests you about the place. Think about what is unique or iconic in this area. Include these elements in your pictures.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

In the photo above, I wanted to include some of the hand carts the porters at Muang Mai Markets in Chiang Mai use. They are very recognizable as part of daily life there. By incorporating a few of them in this wide photo, I have helped emphasize the location. People who’ve visited this market will more easily recognize it.

People who haven’t been there will get a clear impression these wire baskets on wheels are very much part of the place.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Capturing an effective wide photo when there’s limited space to work in can be challenging. Sometimes you’ll need to put on your widest lens and back yourself into a corner.

You don’t always need to capture the entire scene. When you can, try and include a feature in your photo. In the picture above, I composed it focusing on the vendor in red and included the street in front of her stall.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Looking for an overhead vantage point you can stand on is often helpful, if you can find one. Getting up above the location provides an interesting alternative perspective.

Medium photos

Medium photos will show more general action, but not necessarily give an idea of the broader location. Typically, these compositions will feature one main element and some surroundings.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

This could be the entrance of a building and some of the frontage, but not the whole structure. It might be a car parked in the street, filling most of the frame and giving little clue as to where it is. It may be a vendor selling something at a market, but it could be a market anywhere.

This type of photo helps build a narrative. To make photos with the most meaning, concentrate on what appeals to you. Think about why, and capture that aspect as best you can in your photos.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Depending on the location you are covering in your travel story, you may want to include more medium photos than wide or close-ups. Medium compositions include enough detail and one central focus. They are a balance between wide photos with lots of general information and close-ups which include plenty of detail.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Close-up photos

People often omit or take too few close-up photos when they travel. Close-up compositions can provide so much information that can be glossed over in wide and medium photos.

Again, look for what you find most attractive and photograph those things. This way, your pictures will contain more meaning and feeling.

During the workshop sessions we have at the local markets in Chiang Mai, many people love to get close-ups of chilis. I think it might have something to do with them being such a major ingredient in Thai cuisine as well as their lovely shape and color.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Getting in tight to your subject, you can often find wonderful patterns. You can also isolate color and make your entire composition a single hue.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

How much does focal length matter?

Does focal length matter when you photograph like a movie director when traveling? Not so much. I often use my beloved 35mm f/1.4 lens for wide, medium and close-up photos. I don’t often carry a lens longer than my 105mm. It’s all a matter of where you stand and how close you get.

Both of the close-up photos above I took with my 35mm lens, as were a number of others I’ve used to illustrate this article. Don’t be constrained by the norms. You can use a long lens to capture a wide scene. Sometimes this works particularly well because a longer lens compresses perspective more. This can create a sense of place in a different way than a wide-angle lens will.

If you’re in a tight spot where’s there’s not much space to back up, you will often need a wide lens. You can also use a wide lens for medium photos. Just get in closer. This will produce more intimate photos than you’ll capture using a longer lens. It also adds character to your image selection.

Conclusion

Next time you’re taking a journey, or even photographing your kid’s birthday party or soccer game, photograph like a movie director by thinking about these three types of photos. Cover the event or location as best you can by incorporating a good mix of them into your final selection. Doing this, you’ll be narrating your visual story in a clear and interesting manner.

Do you photograph like a movie director when you travel or do any type of photography? Do you have any tips or stories you’d like to share? Please do so in the comments.

The post Why You Should Photograph Like a Movie Director When You Travel appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

Digital Photography School
December 2, 2019
Photoshop Adjustment Layers Explained and How to Use Them (Part 1)

The post Photoshop Adjustment Layers Explained and How to Use Them (Part 1) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Nisha Ramroop.

If you use Photoshop, you probably already know that layers are a great non-destructive way to edit. Within the realm of layers, there exists a group of very useful editing tools called Adjustment Layers that allows for easy editing of your images. As with most Photoshop tools, there are several ways to achieve the same result. When you use Photoshop adjustment layers (as with other layer types), you can make changes, save it as a Photoshop file (PSD) and undo/change it many years later. Since no pixels are destroyed or changed, your original image stays intact. Let’s take a look at the basics of using Photoshop Adjustment Layers.

Accessing Photoshop Adjustment Layers

There are two ways to access Photoshop Adjustment Layers.

1. To access via the Layers Menu; choose Layer->New Adjustment Layer, and choose one of the many adjustment types (which are expanded upon below).

2. To access via the Layers Panel; click on the half black/half white circle at the bottom of the Layers Panel, and choose the adjustment type you want to work with.

Adjustment Layer Types

1. Brightness and Contrast

Brightness and Contrast allow you to make simple adjustments to the brightness and contrast levels within your photo. When you adjust brightness, the overall lightness (or darkness) of each pixel in your frame is changed. To increase a photo’s tonal values and increase the highlights, slide the Brightness to the right. To decrease a photo’s tonal values and increase the shadows, slide the Brightness to the left.

Contrast, however, adjusts the difference between the brightness of the elements in your image. Thus, if you increase brightness you make every pixel lighter, whereas if you increase contrast you make the light areas lighter and the dark areas darker.

2. Levels

The levels tool adjusts the tonal range and color balance of your image. It does this by adjusting the intensity levels of the shadows, mid-tones, and highlights in your image. Levels Presets can be saved and then easily applied to further images.

Of note, if you use the Image menu to open the levels tool (Image->Adjustments->Levels) a separate layer will not be created and the changes will be committed directly (destructively) to your image layer. Thus, I recommend using the Adjustment Layers menu (as shown above) to access this very useful tool.

3. Curves

While the Levels adjustment allows you to adjust all the tones proportionally in your image, the Curves adjustment lets you choose the section of the tonal scale you want to change. On the Levels graph, the upper-right area represents the highlights, while the lower-left area represents the shadows.

Use either of these adjustments (levels or curves) to correct your tone when your image’s contrast is off (either too low or high).

The Levels Adjustment works well if you need to apply a global adjustment to your tone. To apply more selective adjustments, you are better off using Curves. This includes adjustments to just a small section of the tonal range or if you only want to adjust light or dark tones.

4. Exposure

When you think of exposing an image properly, you are concerned with capturing the ideal brightness, which will give you details in both the highlights and shadows. In Photoshop Adjustment Layers, the Exposure Adjustment has three sliders that adjust Exposure, Offset and Gamma.

Use the Exposure slider to adjust the highlights of the image, the Offset slider for the mid-tones and the Gamma to target the dark tones only.

5. Vibrance

Use the Vibrance Adjustment Layer to boost the duller colors in your image. The great thing about increasing vibrance is that it focuses on the less-saturated areas and does not affect colors that are already saturated.

Vibrance adjusts only the duller colors in an image

Look at the difference in the greens between this image and the one above. Saturation adjusts all the colors (and tonal range) in an image.

6. Hue/Saturation

Hue and Saturation, allows you to change the overall color hue of your image, as well as how saturated the color is.

You can change the hue (color) of your entire image by keeping “Master” selected in the dropdown (this is set by default). Alternatively, you can pinpoint the color you would like to change the hue of. You can choose from Reds, Yellows, Greens, Cyan, Blues or Magentas.

In addition to adjusting the obvious hue and color saturation of your image, this Photoshop Adjustment Layer allows you to adjust the lightness of your entire image as well as work with specified colors. Keep in mind that changing the overall saturation of an image affects your tonal range.

Use the Hue Adjustment to get creative

Color Balance

The Color Balance Adjustment layer is used to change the overall mixture of colors in an image and works well for color correction.

Color Balance adjusted for the mid-tones to include more red

You first need to select either Shadows, Midtones or Highlights, to choose the tonal range you want to change.

Check the Preserve Luminosity box to preserve your luminosity values (brightness or darkness) and maintain the tonal balance as you change the color in your image. Move your slider toward the color you want to increase and away from the color you wish to decrease.

Black and White

As the name implies, the Black and White adjustment layer allows you to easily take your images to a grayscale version or apply a color tint entirely.

There are many ways to achieve black and white image processing. The Black and White Photoshop Adjustment Layer is one of the better ones. It allows you to lighten or darken specific color ranges to enhance your black and white conversion. Example: If you want the blues of your color image to stand out more when converted to black and white, simply toggle that slider. You can add more or less contrast by making particular colors lighter or darker.

1. When you choose the Black & White Adjustment Layer, you get a default black & white conversion 2. You can tweak the image based on selective colors. In this example, the blues and yellows were adjusted 3. You can apply a tint (of any color) over the entire image by ticking the Tint box and selecting the color you wish to overlay.

Important Note: While most of these adjustments are available under the Image menu (Image->Adjustments), using them from there does not work the same. The main difference is that these are applied directly to the image (destructively) as opposed to when done under Adjustment Layers. When done under Adjustment Layers, you can turn the adjustment on and off by selecting and deselecting the “eye” in the layers panel.

Conclusion

Photoshop Adjustment Layers are a great group of tools that allow you to smartly edit your image in a non-destructive way. Your original pixels are preserved, so you are able to come back and change your edits years later. Thus, they give you the power to undo easier and work more efficiently.

Photoshop Adjustment Layers group together the most common editing tasks, along with a few others to help you bring your images to life.

In Part 2, we will explore some other tools in the Adjustment suite.

Share with us in the comments your favorite adjustment tool and how you use them.

The post Photoshop Adjustment Layers Explained and How to Use Them (Part 1) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Nisha Ramroop.

Digital Photography School

December 2, 2019
6 Ideas for Creative Funfair and Amusement Park Photography
The post 6 Ideas for Creative Funfair and Amusement Park Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.

When the nights draw in its time for funfair and amusement park photography. When a fair comes to town, it’s an opportunity to photograph something new and vibrant for your portfolio. The bright lights, constant movement, and enthusiastic crowds provide endless photographic opportunities throughout the evening.

My favorite time to photograph the funfair is during the blue hour – that hour or so before night truly falls. It creates an incredibly dramatic backdrop for the lights and colors that you’re going to photograph.

It’s a good idea to get on location an hour or more before the scheduled blue hour so that you can plan your route through the attractions, work out what looks interesting to shoot, and even start to plan some compositions.

But what about the actual process of taking the photos? How do you decide what to shoot and how you’re going to take the images?

Decide on your shutter speed

There’s a real risk when shooting funfair rides that they’re going to look static and very unimpressive. This usually happens because your shutter speed is too short, and so the action is frozen without any sense of movement.

Lengthening your shutter speed up to half a second or more can lend a real feeling of action and excitement to your funfair and amusement park photography. But don’t forget that you’ll want to ideally put your camera on a tripod so that the rest of your shot stays clear and in focus!

It’s my preference to use shutter priority mode for this kind of image. Each ride will be traveling at a different speed, so you’ll need to adjust as you move from shot to shot in order to get the most dynamic images.

Watch the crowds

The story doesn’t stop at the rides – it’s going on all around you! Take a step back from focussing on the thrill-seeking action to see what the people on the ground are doing.

Almost everyone at the funfair will make a great subject, and they’ll be bathed in gorgeous, atmospheric light from the rides and stalls. Take some time to watch the action and see where people naturally stop and do interesting things.

Look for great compositions and stand yourself in the perfect place to capture people enjoying their environment. Be ready to capture fleeting emotions and interesting behavior.

You might want to use a shallow depth of field to make your background less distracting. Getting everything in focus means there is more competing for your viewer’s attention.

Look for the unique angles

At any funfair you go to, there will be at least a dozen other photographers who are also looking for a great shot. You’re not in competition with them, of course, but it’s always nice to come home with a unique photograph.

Once you’ve got a ‘safe’ shot (you know, the kind of image you often see posted online after the funfair), challenge yourself to see the same scene from a unique angle.

Here are some ideas to get you thinking:
- Look up. See what the ride looks like when you frame it against the sky.
- Use the architecture of the town that you’re in.
- Shoot through something to get an interesting foreground effect.
- Go completely abstract.
- Experiment with leading lines.
Try an unexpected technique

The bright lights of the funfair provide an opportunity to try out techniques that you wouldn’t traditionally associate with this kind of photography. It’s a great time to experiment and see what works for an alternative take on funfair and amusement park photography.

The shot above was taken using ICM (intentional camera movement) techniques. A long exposure combined with moving the camera can create an abstract image with a painterly feel.

You could also perhaps try zoom bursts for a different kind of dynamic action. Or have a go at making custom bokeh shapes to convey different messages in your photographs. Never stop experimenting – you don’t have to show anyone the shots if they don’t work!

Convert to black and white

Funfairs are a fabulous riot of color, but sometimes that’s not what we want in our photography. If a shot just seems too intense and busy, it’s always worth seeing if a black and white conversion works.

When you’re deciding if a photograph is a good candidate for black and white conversion, there are a few things that you want to keep in mind. Your shot should have good contrast between light and dark areas so that the image doesn’t end up flat and lifeless.

Black and white images also often rely heavily on composition for their impact, so make sure that your subject is both interesting and well-placed in the frame.

Make sure that you experiment with different color temperatures during the black and white conversion too. The nature of the colorful and changeable lights at the funfair means that some ‘recipes’ for post-processing will work better than others.

Photograph the funfair during the day

The funfair doesn’t disappear during the day. Instead, it looks completely different. Taking your camera to the funfair during the day can open up a whole different set of possibilities to shoot.

Instead of photographing the movement and excitement of the rides, try to capture the time when the fair workers are setting up ready for the day. Look around at the colors too – they’re very different from the colors you see at night once the sun has gone down!

This would be a great time to think about approaching some of the attraction holders and asking if you can shoot their portraits. And if you do this during the day, they’ll remember you when you go back in the evening, perhaps even posing for you again during a quiet moment. (Remember to get their details so that you can send them the picture.)

Time to get out and shoot!

No matter your level of experience, there’s something for everyone when it comes to funfair and amusement park photography. If you’re a beginner photographer, then taking a tripod and shooting long exposures is a great way to try night and long exposure photography for the first time.

If you’re more experienced as a photographer, then a whole world opens up with candid shots, portraits, and experimenting with creative angles and techniques.

Have you done any funfair and amusement park photography recently? Show us your pictures in the comments!

The post 6 Ideas for Creative Funfair and Amusement Park Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.

Digital Photography School
December 1, 2019
Along These Roads – A Film Exploring the Realities of Being a Travel Photographer
The post Along These Roads – A Film Exploring the Realities of Being a Travel Photographer appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

Are you a travel photographer or long to be one?

In this film by, Mitchell Kanashkevich, author of the dPS books, Transcending Travel, Natural Light, and Captivating Color, explores what life is like as a travel photographer.

Beautifully shot, with incredible imagery of some epic, and often isolated landscapes, Mitchell explores the inner struggle he has with the need to be on the road doing what he loves and his commitment to family life.

He also explores the effects that being alone in isolated places has on him mentally and his need to revisit the chaos of cities to escape the loneliness of those very isolated landscapes he is drawn to.

Watch this thought-provoking film by talented landscape photographer and filmmaker, Mitchell Kanashevich, and let him take you on a visual and emotional journey.

If you are interested in becoming a travel photographer, be sure to check out Mitchell’s dPS e-book, Transcending Travel.

Also, share your thoughts on the film, or your travel photography adventures in the comments below.

You may also like:
- How to Tell Better Visual Stories with Travel Photography
- 8 Elementary Travel Photography Mistakes to Avoid When Starting Out
- Is a Career in Travel Photography Right for You?
- 5 Tips for Better Travel Photography
- Carry Less – Photograph More: Elevate Your Travel Photography
- How to Capture the Essence of a Place – Travel Photography Tips
The post Along These Roads – A Film Exploring the Realities of Being a Travel Photographer appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

Digital Photography School
November 30, 2019
SLC-0L-03: Joker Cinematographer On Light & Color

Watching the movie Joker, I felt repeatedly that I was watching a film that Greg Heisler could have lit. The use of color was unique, sophisticated and fearless — almost a character unto itself.

In this outstanding 15-minute short produced by Vanity Fair, Joker cinematographer Larry Sher dissects his own use of light and color in the movie. Read more »
Strobist

November 30, 2019
Weekly Photography Challenge – Roads

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

This week’s photography challenge topic is ROADS!

Roads by Caz Nowaczyk ©.

I’m currently road-tripping and have been seeing plenty of Roads on my journey. I love the open road – it always feels like an adventure awaits. So that is why this week’s challenge is roads!

You can capture roads in cities or countries. The roads can be bitumen, paved, cobble-stoned or dirt. They can be the main focus of your composition or a minor part of another story.

They can be color, or black and white. They can use leading lines, patterns, light trails – the choice is yours.

So, have fun, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Photo by Caz Nowaczyk ©

Old Montreal. Photo by Mark C. Hughes ©

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

Tips for Shooting ROADS

How to Achieve Cool Urban Cityscapes

How to Create Dynamic Photos of Car Light Trails

7 Tips for Urban Landscape Photography

6 Ways to Plan a Photography Road Trip

6 Tips to Master Panning Photography

28 Wondrous Images of Long and Winding Roads

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 #DPSroads 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 – Roads appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

Digital Photography School

November 30, 2019
The One and Only Thing That Will Make Your Photography Better

The post The One and Only Thing That Will Make Your Photography Better appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by John McIntire.

This is a fantastic time to be getting into photography.

Even if you don’t take into account the wonderful array of options you have for equipment and the like, there is an enormous amount of information available at the click of a button to anyone who wants to learn any kind of photography. There are millions (I’m sure) of written and video tutorials that you can access at a moment’s notice with a device that you keep in your pocket. There is also a huge number of courses, books and real-life photographers offering tuition and workshops all over the world. I do feel this abundance is a great thing for photography as a whole.

However, this abundance comes with a subtle trap. When fallen into, it can hinder your progress and growth as a photographer.

With a wide array of techniques, equipment and possibilities available, now might just be the best time to start learning photography.

The trap

It’s easy to spend time consuming content and learning new things. Some outlets, like Youtube, are designed to keep you consuming for as long as possible – and long after you watched what you intended to in the first place.

The problem is, when you go from tutorial to tutorial consuming information indiscriminately, you are only part-learning it. Sure, the theory is important, but knowing something isn’t the same thing as being able to do it.

It’s also easy to sit and think about photography and what you can do with all of the information that you have accumulated.

You can read about black and white conversions all you want, but until you actually put that information into practice, it’s just that: information. It’s not yet a skill.

What isn’t so easy is the most important step. Reading about and thinking about photography is great, but neither one is actually photography. Putting all of that information to use is the difficult part. It’s the one thing I see people struggle with consistently (myself included at times). Boiled down, it’s basically the same thing as lusting after and buying that fancy, expensive lens, but then never using it.

Break the cycle

The cycle goes like this:

Read/watch a tutorial — think about it a bit — read/watch another tutorial — think about it a bit — rinse, lather, and repeat.

When you get stuck in a loop like this, you’re only doing half the job of learning something new. Unless we’re talking about something really easy like where the shutter release is on your camera and how to use it, most things require actual practical experience to learn properly.

Take something like Rembrandt lighting.

Sure, you can read a tutorial and know that your light source should be at a 45-degree angle to the side of your subjects and 45 degrees above and pointed down. However, if you get something like that right on the first try, there’s more luck involved then anything else.

Techniques like this have a lot of nuances that are not very easy to infer without practical experience. Many factors can interfere with getting them right that you might not be able to read about, meaning you have to figure it out for yourself.

In this example, I had a new modifier to figure out. To do so, it was a matter of trying it at various angles and positions to see what it did and didn’t do.

The new cycle I would propose looks a bit like this:

Read/watch a tutorial — think on it — act on it — evaluate — alter — evaluate.

Keep going like this until you feel that you have a complete understanding of whatever it is you are trying to learn.

Going back to the Rembrandt example, if you’ve read a tutorial and took some time to figure out how to implement it, you could then set up a practice session and put what you’ve learned to the test.

Once you’ve tried it, you can evaluate the results.

Let’s say that the triangular highlight that appears on the shadow side of the face with Rembrandt lighting isn’t quite right.

Here you would identify that problem and then try to figure out why it has happened that way. Then you would try the technique again and again until you’ve sorted that out, and you have images with perfect Rembrandt lighting.

Once you’ve figured out one technique, you can now try to break it. Add things flags and reflectors and fill lights one step at a time as I did with the same modifier in the previous example.

You shouldn’t stop here though. Continuing with Rembrandt: now you can start to experiment and add to it.

What does the setup look like if you add a reflector?

How does it look if you add a fill light or a hair light?

What does it look like when you have your subject move into a different position?

Taking incremental steps like these will help ensure you learn everything you want to more thoroughly.

Going through questions like these with practical, incremental experience will not only help you to learn faster but will help you to learn more thoroughly. Also, because you have intentionally tried a variety of things that probably don’t work, once those scenarios come up in the real-world application of your new skills, you will be able to identify and fix those problems immediately.

Every aspect of photography

This concept encompasses every aspect of photography. From basic camera craft to lighting and to post-processing. Focusing on one skill at a time is the fastest way to learn.

It doesn’t matter if the technique in question is a lighting pattern, using different metering modes, manual focus, or post-processing techniques. The process is the same.

Learn it. Use it. Master it.

One thing at a time

If you want to learn as much as possible in photography, there is no set order in which you do things. I do suggest, however, that you only do one thing at a time.

Early on, things will be easy (like learning where the basic controls of your camera are, how to focus, and using manual mode) and won’t take much time. If you focus on each of these basic skills in isolation, you’ll probably find that they all mesh together a lot easier. Then, before you know it, you will be tackling much more complicated skill-sets and techniques.

That said, the most important thing of all is that you need to do your best to get out and practice.

The post The One and Only Thing That Will Make Your Photography Better appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by John McIntire.

Digital Photography School

November 29, 2019
News: Olympus Denies Rumors of Camera Division Shutdown

The post News: Olympus Denies Rumors of Camera Division Shutdown appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Olympus photographers, look out:

Over the past few weeks, the future of Olympus’s camera business has been the subject of much speculation.

It started when a Personal View admin argued that the Olympus camera division was on the way out, claiming that “closure is near,” and it can “happen in less than 8 months.” The article stated that “it is total instability now in [the Olympus] camera division,” and went on to say that “in various countries, people are running and looking for new positions.” The author also pointed to an Olympus financial report, which revealed that camera revenue has fallen by 17%.

Yet this was rebutted by Olympus; the company quickly released a statement:

Olympus Imaging products play an important role as technology drivers for all Olympus business lines, including the advanced digital technologies used in Olympus’ Medical, Industrial and Scientific businesses. Olympus does indeed plan to continue to develop its imaging produce lines, bringing products to life that embody Olympus’ core benefits, including system compactness and superior lens optics.

For Olympus shooters out there, the relief was short-lived. Because just days later, Bloomberg published an article reporting that the Olympus CEO, Yasuo Takeuchi, “backtracked on some his comments in the past that the camera business was not for sale, saying that may not be the case anymore.” This was followed by Bloomberg reporting that “Olympus plans to regularly reassess its business portfolio to focus on its medical business.”

As expected, this resulted in another swarm of rumors and speculation, which were acknowledged in a recent statement by Olympus:

As announced in our Corporate Strategy, Olympus is further focusing on our Medical business and follows the strong ambition for all of our businesses to be profitable and contribute to our overall business objectives. In that regard, we are continuously evaluating our overall portfolio, as announced in our Corporate Strategy on November 6, 2019.

For Imaging, however, we currently have no plans to sell the business. The task is therefore to stabilize and strengthen its market position. To achieve that, we are actively running marketing activities, and have already established a clear and exciting product roadmap for the coming months and years. We are actively pursuing future technology developments that will enhance photography and video for creators. Furthermore, Imaging is and will continue to be an important technology and innovation driver for our other businesses.

Our Imaging business features a unique product portfolio. Olympus products are compact and lightweight, feature market leading image stabilization and autofocus. Many of our high-end products are also splash-proof. No other product offers customers this level of optical excellence paired with the highest mobility.

Just last month we launched our new OM-D E-M5 Mark III – a light yet feature packed addition to our semi-pro camera portfolio, inheriting pro-features like a high precision AF from our OM-D E-M1 Mark II model. Furthermore, we have announced the development of M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 150-400mm f/4.5 TC1.25x IS PRO earlier this year to be launched by next year. Customers can follow our break-free campaign on various channels and worldwide.

Out of everything that has been said, I find this statement to be the most reassuring, but I don’t think it puts the speculation entirely to rest. Olympus’s “no plans to sell the business” line doesn’t sound as firm as it could (compare it to a possible “we won’t be selling the business”), and plenty of companies have launched products right up until the end.

What seems most plausible to me is that Olympus is keeping its options open. So while we shouldn’t be surprised if Olympus’s camera division continues to function, it shouldn’t come as a shock if Olympus announces the sale or shutdown of its camera business, either.

So I’d like to know what you think. Do you find Olympus’s statements to be reassuring? Do you think Olympus will continue to manufacture cameras? For the Olympus photographers out there, are you worried? Let me know in the comments!

The post News: Olympus Denies Rumors of Camera Division Shutdown appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Digital Photography School

November 29, 2019
Why You Should Hire a Professional Photographer

The post Why You Should Hire a Professional Photographer appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.

Photography is more accessible now than ever. Advances in technology – particularly mobile phone cameras – have made it possible for almost anyone to create the type of art that would have been entirely out of reach a decade ago. However, there are still some situations that are best suited by hiring a professional photographer.

It’s like doing a DIY project: you might have a garage full of tools and some experience under your belt, but if you really want to get the job done right, you need to call in a pro.

So why should you hire a professional photographer?

Before getting too far, I want to make sure I don’t give the wrong impression. Most of the time, you probably don’t need to hire a professional photographer to get good pictures. But, there are situations where you and your gear just can’t quite cut it.

Even people who shoot photos for a living need to hire a professional photographer from time to time! There are plenty of reasons for putting your own camera aside and asking a professional to deliver the results you need.

Experience matters

While it’s true that almost any camera today can produce outstanding results, great photos are about more than just a camera. Professionals know this, which is why their websites and social media posts aren’t about what cameras they have or what accessories they use.

A professional photographer understands concepts like lighting, locations, and editing and how to use them to make the types of images that stand head and shoulders above what most people can get.

This isn’t just two kids on a bridge. There’s a lot of education, research, practice, and refinement that made this picture possible.

I recently did a photo shoot at a picturesque location in my town. Even though I had done many sessions at this same park, I made sure to arrive early to ensure I had everything in order. When the clients arrived, one of them really wanted to take pictures at a popular spot. I listened to him and assured him we could get some shots there, but I had another place in mind to start with.

The place he had in mind was virtually unusable due to harsh overhead sunlight. I had preselected another location nearby with great colors and much more even lighting and recommended we start there first.

After we got plenty of shots that I was sure would be winners, we went to the place the client suggested and took some more pictures. Once there, I made sure to put everyone in the shade of a large oak tree to evenly light them.

Then, through careful editing of the RAW files in Lightroom, I achieved some pretty solid photos.

I have seen this happen time and time again with similar results. For most people lighting and composition, not to mention technical settings like aperture size and shutter speed, aren’t really things they notice or even know about.

Professionals are keenly aware of these factors that can add layers of complication to the simple act of taking a picture. They know how to deal with them, how to plan accordingly, and how to improvise when necessary to get the best results.

This type of thought process doesn’t automatically happen with the purchase of a camera. It takes years of experience, including learning from mistakes and failures, to get things right. Anyone can learn these skills but it takes time and dedication. In the meantime, if you’re someone who just wants to get great photos it can be worth it to hire a professional photographer.

I knew right where to stand, what camera settings to use, and how to look for the light in order to get this picture at an engagement session.

A mobile phone can take good shots on Portrait Mode, but it won’t help you know where to stand to get the best lighting, a pleasing background, and bring out your best smile.

Professionals photographers can do all of this and much more.

One analogy that works well here is cooking. Anyone can look through a cookbook, buy some ingredients, spend a bit of time in the kitchen, and end up with a meal that tastes pretty good.

Professional chefs take the same ingredients and produce culinary creations that delight your taste buds and challenge your notions of consuming food. It’s not a matter of having the ingredients, but knowing just what to do with them in a way that no cookbook or YouTube video can explain.

Experience counts with cooking, and it also matters with photography.

This picture might seem simple, but getting what the clients wanted was no easy task. It required knowledge of lighting, posing, exposure settings, and even a ten-foot ladder.

Professionals have the right gear

There’s a popular saying in photography: The best camera is the one you have with you. That’s true to a certain extent, but if your goal is to get a specific type of photo, there are certain cameras, lenses, flashes, and other gear that are best suited to the task. These often cost thousands of dollars and can be the difference between images that are adequate and awesome.

Consider the 70-200 f/2.8 lens. These are expensive, heavy, and impractical for casual individuals who enjoy snapshots with their phones. And while you could spend the equivalent of a few month’s rent or car payments on one of these lenses, you might be better off forking over a fraction of that amount to a professional instead.

A photo like this is simply not possible with a cell phone or a basic kit lens.

This lens is just one example out of many, but the point is, professional photographers have researched the right gear for the job. It’s similar to how many people have a basic toolset at home. However, a professional mechanic has a garage full of specific sockets and drivers, as well as impact wrenches and other tools that are ideally suited to specific tasks.

Some people can probably do a basic oil change in their driveway, but serious work requires serious knowledge and an expensive set of tools to match.

The same is true for photography. When you want pictures that make you and your loved ones look your best, it sometimes takes expensive high-end gear to make it happen. And professional photographers have just the right camera gear to get it done.

It’s about more than just the photos

There’s a line in the 1999 movie Office Space that really hits home for photographers. It’s during an exchange between Stan, the manager of a restaurant called Tchotchkes and one of his servers.

“People can get a cheeseburger anywhere,” he says. “But they come to Tchotchkes for the atmosphere and the attitude.”

The scene is meant to be somewhat satirical, but Stan’s mantra rings true for photography.

Anyone can take a camera, point it at a subject, press the shutter, and end up with some good pictures. They might even be great pictures. But when you hire a professional photographer, you are not only getting photographs, but an entire experience to go along with it.

It’s about an experience

Photographers create fun, energetic, exciting events that go far beyond simply providing a photo to hang on the wall or share online. I know photographers who have been shooting the same clients for over a decade because their sessions are about creating, not just images, but memories.

I spent an evening doing photos for a family several years ago. When the mother brings it up now, she talks not just about the pictures, but how much fun they all had during the photo session.

Professional photographers create experiences that clients will share with friends and family. When people talk about photos from a session, wedding, or important event, they talk about the photographer almost as much as the photos!

They share stories of how the photographer made their kids laugh, treated people with respect and kindness, listened to their requests, and made them feel like the most important people in the world.

These are the kind of experiences that get people coming back to professional photographers. Moreover, it’s something that holding a mobile phone on a selfie stick can’t replicate.

On the flip side, when people have a bad experience related to service, they will often share that with others even more than a positive experience. Professional photographers know this, which is why they take great care to pay attention to their clients, create memorable photography sessions, and keep them coming back for years on end.

This young woman wanted to bring her dogs to her senior photo shoot. It was a lot of fun! We all had a good time, even the four-legged furry friends.

Why you should hire a professional photographer: Conclusion

I’ve seen people balk at the price of a professional photography session, and I completely understand that reaction. It can seem impractical or downright silly to spend anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars on a professional photographer.

That money could pay for a lot of camera gear, and even some educational courses to help you learn how to use it! But there’s a reason people pay that kind of money for professional photos, and you will probably be pleasantly surprised at the value you really get for your money.

The same couple from the engagement photo above. They enjoyed the session so much they asked me to shoot maternity photos two years later.

What about you? What kind of experiences have you had with professional photographers? Hopefully, you walked away from your photo sessions feeling like you got a great value for your money. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

The post Why You Should Hire a Professional Photographer appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.

Digital Photography School

November 29, 2019
News: Tamron Announces E-Mount Prime Lenses for a Great Price
The post News: Tamron Announces E-Mount Prime Lenses for a Great Price appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Last month, Tamron announced three Sony E-mount lenses:
- The 20mm f/2.8 Di III
- The 24mm f/2.8 Di III
- The 35mm f/2.8 Di III
These new E-mount lenses expand the range of glass for Sony mirrorless shooters while making the Sony full-frame lens lineup more affordable for those who can’t justify Sony prices.

In other words: If you’re thinking of switching to Sony but don’t want to pay a premium for full-frame E-mount glass, you have a way in. Each of these lenses is debuting for an ultra-low price of $ 349 USD; compare this to some of Sony’s full-frame E-mount lenses, and you’ll understand why these Tamron offerings are so exciting.

Of course, there’s always a question of optical quality. Can a sub-$ 500 USD lens really be equivalent to Sony’s current 24mm and 35mm glass? The answer is undoubtedly “No,” but not everyone requires the sharpest, fastest, most perfect lenses money can buy. And Tamron has proven themselves to be very capable lens manufacturers in the past, making me think that these lenses will be optically satisfying, even if they can’t go toe-to-toe with some of Sony’s fastest primes.

According to Tamron, we should expect “superb high-resolution performance,” and that “these lenses can be used with complete confidence for a wide range of applications from casual family snaps to serious professional photography.”

While these are bold words from Tamron, I wouldn’t dismiss them out of hand. Plus, Tamron has made sure to include some extra features that make these lenses impressively flexible. For instance, the lenses themselves are relatively small, which makes them ideal for walkaround shooting and travel photography. And all three lenses also offer 1:2 close-focusing capabilities. This won’t get you to true macro magnifications, but you’ll be able to capture some gorgeous close-ups, even as you use the lenses for more general wide-angle photography.

Speaking of wide-angle photography:

For me, the main drawback of this announcement is the lack of focal length diversity. While lenses in the 20-35mm focal length range are undoubtedly useful for a broad range of Sony photographers, I’d have liked to see a telephoto in the mix.

Here’s the bottom line:

For hobbyist and enthusiast photographers who like to work with lightweight wide-angle primes but don’t require f/1.2-f/1.8 apertures, these Tamron lenses are definitely worth a look. The 24mm f/2.8 is available for pre-order, while the 35mm f/2.8 has begun to ship. The 20mm f/2.8 should hit the shelves in January.

What do you think of this announcement? Are you interested in these lenses? Would you have preferred different focal lengths? Share your thoughts in the comments!

The post News: Tamron Announces E-Mount Prime Lenses for a Great Price appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Digital Photography School
November 29, 2019