Category: Photography

How to Make a Cool David Hockney-Inspired Photomontage in Photoshop

The post How to Make a Cool David Hockney-Inspired Photomontage in Photoshop appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.

David Hockney’s approach to art has made him one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century. Exploring the nature of photographic representation, Hockney’s distinctive method of photography is both thought provoking and physically engaging. In this tutorial, we’ll have a look at creating a simple David Hockney-inspired Photomontage in Photoshop.

The photography of David Hockney

David Hockney once said, “photography is all right if you don’t mind looking at the world from the point of view of a paralyzed cyclops-for a split second.”

However, in the 1980s, Hockney began to experiment with the photographic medium. Taking numerous Polaroid or 35mm photographs of a scene from a variety of perspectives, Hockney would then arrange the collection of images into a cohesive body, creating an almost Cubist rendering of visual reality. He called these collages and photo montages joiners.

This distinctive approach to image making was a reflection of Hockney’s dislike for photographs executed with a wide-angle lens. By creating his joiners, Hockney sought to reflect the process of seeing, creating a narrative based around visual experience.

How to make a simple Hockney-inspired Joiner

Step 1: Select an image

Our source image

For this tutorial, I’ll be using a photo I took of clouds. The photo is made up of strong shapes, forms and tones. When converted into a joiner, these elements are pulled apart to create a mangled scene that is consolidated by the overall character of the source image.

Step 2: Cutting

With your chosen image open, select the Rectangular Marquee Tool from the left toolbar (or type the letter M).

Select a small section of your image and right-click within the selected area.

Click on Layer Via Cut. The selection will be severed from the source image to create a new layer.

Use the rectangular Marquee Tool to select and cut portions of your image

Step 3 – Open a New File

Open a new file by selecting File -> New. Name the new canvas Joiner and select an image size that mirrors the dimensions of your source photograph.

Click OK, and a new canvas will open. This is the canvas we will create our joiner on.

Opening a new canvas. Set the height and width to the same dimensions of the source file.

Step 4: Drag and drop

Return to your source image.

With the Move Tool (V), select the recently cut section of the source image and drag it onto the tab of Joiner. The Joiner canvas will open.

Drag the cut selection onto the Joiner canvas. Place the selection in roughly the same location that it is on the source image. It doesn’t need to be exact.

Dropping portions of the source image onto the Joiner canvas. Feel free to overlap the different layers, as this will contribute to the joiner aesthetic!

Step 5: Creating the Joiner Effect

Continue to cut selections from the source image, dragging and dropping them onto the Joiner canvas. You can cut similarly or randomly sized pieces – it’s up to you.

Once you’ve cut and transferred most of your source image to the Joiner canvas, it’s time to emphasize the joiner effect.

You want to cultivate a disjointed aesthetic, like misaligned puzzle pieces.

You can overlap, duplicate, stretch and rotate each piece to exaggerate this disjointed effect.

Make the edges of the joiner correspond, or allow components to poke out of the overall composition like a messy collage.

Be expressive with your perspectives, experiment with different combinations and don’t worry too much about neatness.

You can even place Curves adjustment layers among the image layers on Joiner to alter the exposure of individual pieces.

And that’s it! Once you are happy with your joiner, make sure to save it as a .PSD file in case you want to alter the arrangement later.

A simple joiner effect created by overlapping the segmented portions of the source image.

When you’ve got the technique down, the sky’s the limit! In the image below, I cut my source image into much smaller pieces before placing them on the canvas. I also duplicated a lot of the layers to create repetition within the layout. The smaller the pieces, the more disjointed the image becomes, creating a greater sense of movement and altered perspective.

Conclusion

David Hockney is a man of many artistic talents. As a photographer, Hockney developed a distinctive style that plays with our sense of narrative and perception.

Experimenting with the joiner effect to create a Photomontage in Photoshop isn’t quite the same as taking a whole bunch of photos and arranging them together manually.

However, with a basic process that involves cutting, pasting, arranging and a little experimentation, we can get close to a Hockney-inspired effect.

Here is another of my own creations – I’d love to see yours! Post them in the comments below!

The post How to Make a Cool David Hockney-Inspired Photomontage in Photoshop appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.

Digital Photography School

September 27, 2019
Practical Color Management – How to Set Up Your Printer to Match Your Monitor
The post Practical Color Management – How to Set Up Your Printer to Match Your Monitor appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Herb Paynter.

Matching the color you captured with your camera and edited on your computer screen can be a very serious challenge to reproduce on paper. The various technologies involved in the processes differ significantly from one another.

If you’ve ever encountered problems matching the color of your printed pictures to the color you see on your computer screen, there’s a pretty good reason why. Color is not as simple to define as that box of Crayons you played with as a child. Practical color management can be very complex.

Caption: Dealing with color was a whole lot simpler when you were a kid; a box of Crayola crayons had all the answers. Life got a bit more complicated when digital color came along. Now you really have to think.

Reproducing color

Reproducing color is a complicated issue to deal with, especially when it comes to transferring pixels to paper. Color is very subjective, and matching the results from one system to another can produce some very different looks. The term “color print” can mean many different things, depending on the type of printing technology you’re dealing with. Just because the image on your screen looks great doesn’t mean that what comes out of your printer will faithfully reproduce that same appearance.

Large format, inkjet, and offset printing are just two of the color reproduction processes.

There are dozens of unique color printing machines and technologies on the market today, and most are inkjets, though occasionally we print pictures on color lasers, dye sublimation printers and several other types of printing devices. This means that four completely different technologies are trying to produce four different translations of a single color image and trying to make them all look the same.

And that’s just the beginning of the challenges because even different models of each of these printers (even from the same manufacturer) will produce slightly different results.

Dye-sublimation and color laser printers present two more challenges.

Inks from these different technologies get sprayed, baked, fused and pushed into the (usually paper) substrate, each reproducing color using a completely different method. Some inkjet printers utilize up to twelve different colors of liquid ink, while others print only four colors. Laser printers fuse colored powder onto paper in geometric dot clusters called halftone cells. Dye sublimation printers laminate just three (CMY) colors of dyes from plastic sheets onto a substrate, and printing presses transfer four (CMYK) colors of peanut-butter consistency inks at high speeds and under extreme pressure.

Each of these different technologies attempts to reproduce a similar appearance from the same original color image.

Printing papers open up yet another can of worms to deal with. Each paper stock (let alone other textures and surfaces) come in a variety of shades of “white” and varying surface types that absorb ink and reflect light differently. Some inks are absorbed into the paper surfaces while others sit on top of the paper. These dozens of variables result in hundreds of differing results.

Getting all these color technologies to appear consistent makes the proverbial challenge of “herding of cats” sound easy. Is it any wonder why you’ll see slightly different results from different printers?

Colorants is the word that encompasses all color distribution, including solid and liquid inks, dyes, and even toner powders.

Dealing with color has always been a major challenge, even for professionals. The first thing you should realize is that accurately matching color between the various technologies is technically an impossibility. If you think otherwise, you simply haven’t been around long enough! I’m not trying to frighten you with all these variables and problems, but the more you recognize the differences, the more prepared you will be to make them work.

Here’s the good news…there is a very workable solution to all this confusion. Recognizing the underlying issues of each is the first step to reaching a workable solution. Each convoluted challenge requires a relatively simple solution; one that the color science community has provided through a process called color management, or CM.

At the heart of color management is an integral step called “profiling.” Profiling in color science is a very good thing. It simply involves identifying each process’ uniqueness and compensating for that uniqueness.

Here’s how the process works.

The all-encompassing color measurement process that defines how human beings see and identify colors is known as the Visible Spectrum. It’s defined and monitored by this worldwide organization.

The Reference Standard

The International Commission on Illumination, also known as the CIE (the Commission Internationale d’Eclarage), is a worldwide federation of color scientists, researchers, mathematicians, and lithographers who have developed a systematic approach to addressing color issues. They have researched all the colors that the human eye can actually see and identify. While there are scientific instruments that can see even more colors than the human eye can, the standard for all color perception remains limited to what the average human eye can recognize.

Studies were developed that produced the CIE 1931 XYZ color space, a measured collection of about 7 million colors that are recognized by human beings with 20-20 eyesight. This study established what science calls the Visible Spectrum based on these colors. While there are many more “color frequencies” in the Electromagnetic Spectrum, they are beyond the scope of human eyesight. Human eyesight is based then on the Visible Spectrum.

The CIE has mapped this collection of measured colors as an odd-looking horseshoe chart representing all visible colors. The color industry recognizes this system as the basis for evaluating colors recorded, viewed, and printed on cameras, monitors, and printers. The particular intent of this system is to standardize the output of photographic images on various color printers.

Since every color printing technology produces slightly different color results, this single XYZ collection remains THE reference color space. It serves as the holy grail of color reference. The XYZ space is the central reference for judging and evaluating all printed color.

Here’s how the system works…

Color correction depends on accuracy. That accuracy depends on the confidence that what you are seeing on your monitor is an accurate depiction of what’s contained in the digital image file. Profiling a monitor is the critical first step.

Monitor profiling

Today’s computer monitors produce quite accurate colors right out of the carton. However, if you want to guarantee that the colors you see on your monitor are exactly the same colors that came out of your camera, you need to take this extra step.

The process is simple. Purchase a puck-like device like the X-Rite i1Studio spectrophotometer. Then hang it in front of your monitor and run the provided software that makes your monitor dance with colors while measuring the strength and hue of the colors flashing on the screen. This light show produces a monitor profile that gets stored on your computer and subsequently adjusts and corrects any errant colors. This allows you to see the whole truth of the color file, no muss, no fuss.

Printer/paper profiling

This next process should be equally painless. Most paper manufacturers provide downloadable profiles they’ve developed for their most popular printing papers and a wide variety of popular printers. Should you have to (or choose to) develop your own printer/paper/ink profile, you can do so using that same X-Rite i1 Studio.

Here’s how you do it…

The next step in reproducing color accurately, is making certain that the colors seen on the monitor are printed faithfully onto specific printing papers. Each paper surface and color (whiteness) affects the way light is reflected, and the color is perceived.
1. A test chart of carefully defined color patches (based on this CIE XYZ color space) is printed from the software provided with the i1 Studio. The printed patch values are then measured by the i1 Studio comparing the printed patch values produced by the X-Rite reference chart to the known XYZ values established by the CIE. The difference between these patch values is recorded as a “profile” or evaluation. This profile reveals the color personality of each printer and paper tested, making a note of where the colors don’t match the test file.
2. In the parts of the color spectrum where the printed color values differ from the reference chart values, minor adjustment instructions are made to either boost or diminish colors to more closely match the reference chart.
3. This profile is then placed in your computer’s printer profile folder where it can be referenced by your printer every time you print a picture. The result of choosing the correct profile from the list of papers offered by your printer driver should result in a print that closely resembles the colors you see on your screen.
While there is a whole lot more detail involved in this profiling process, this basic explanation should give you a general idea of the procedure.

Every time you change the paper type or change the brand of ink, a unique profile should be developed to ensure the printer achieves the most consistent, repeatable results.

Precision profiling is a time-consuming chore, and most mortals have neither the time nor the access to these specialized devices to ensure absolute accuracy. However, printer and paper manufacturers use even more expensive versions of these spectrophotometer devices to test their products and develop very accurate printer/paper profiles. These profiles are freely available for download from each manufacturer’s site.

Setting up the printer

When it comes time to print your picture, there are certain issues you must address and set correctly in the print driver. There are generally two ways to have the color file prepared for output: either the printer driver or Photoshop will handle the chores. The choice is up to you, though I recommend that you allow Photoshop to do the work.

Each profiled paper/ink/printer combination manage the way inks (colorants) are distributed by the printer. Color Management is the discipline of controlling all of the major variables involved in the process.

If you choose to have Photoshop manage the Colors:
- First, take note of the paper loaded in the printer. Remember, each paper type reacts to the colorant (ink, powder, etc.) differently, and your printer has no way of knowing what paper is in the hopper.
- Second, choose File -> Print.
- Third, choose Photoshop Manages Colors.
- For Printer Profile, select the profile that best matches your output device and paper type.
- Set the “rendering intent” selection to either Perceptual (which tells the printer to try to preserve the visual relationship between colors, which is what the human eye does) or Relative Colorimetric (this instructs the printer to shift the out-of-gamut colors to the closest reproducible color).
- When available, always check Black Point Compensation as it adjusts the overall baseline for the deepest shadow point in the image.
If you choose to have the Printer manage the Colors:
- First, realize that all of the controls for color and range in the image will be controlled by the printer and not by you.
- Make certain that you pay close attention to all the items in the print dialog that appears after you click “Print” from the Photoshop dialog.
- Since every printer and print technology differs, little further advice can be offered. This is not to infer that inferior results will occur, just that Photoshop relinquishes control to you and your printer’s manufacturer.
Final thoughts

If good-enough color is good enough for you, then the simple act of noting the general type of paper (coated, glossy, matte, etc.) available will suffice and satisfy your needs. However, if you extensively adjust your images for color fidelity in the editing process and demand absolute color accuracy, then employing accurate monitor and printer profiles is essential for practical color management.

The printer and paper manufacturers have done most of the hard work of producing and honoring accurate profiles. Your job is to make intelligent pull-down menu choices that will seriously affect your printing results.

It may not be rocket science, but it is color science.

Happy printing!

The post Practical Color Management – How to Set Up Your Printer to Match Your Monitor appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Herb Paynter.

Digital Photography School
September 27, 2019
How Using Props in Portraits Can Make Your Photos More Interesting
The post How Using Props in Portraits Can Make Your Photos More Interesting appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

There are many ways using props can make portraits more interesting. Often photographing a person can be challenging. This can be so for both the photographer and the person being photographed. Using props can not only add interest to the portrait, but it can also help your subject relax more.

What are props and how can you use them effectively?

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

A prop is any element you add to a photograph which adds interest or meaning to your subject or the concept you’re creating. What you can use is up to your imagination. They can be anything from an ancient tree stump to a melting ice cream cone.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Props can add humor to photographs. Using a prop well with a nervous subject can help them relax. You can use props effectively to help contextualize your subject. Without a prop, a portrait may not convey much or any concept. With the addition of a prop, a portrait can take on a whole new meaning.

A prop is often used to add visual information about the person;
- their occupation
- hobbies
- character
- or location
Using props to help illustrate a story

When you’re illustrating a story using a portrait, adding a prop can add depth and meaning. A prop incorporated into a photo will tell more of a person’s story than a caption, or even a whole paragraph.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Making a series of travel portraits with a visiting friend I asked her to bring along her backpack. She was going to the station to purchase a ticket for a later date and would not have brought her luggage. Having it with her for the photographs helped to create more of a visual story.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

The location and the train tell part of the story. Having her backpack in the pictures lets you know she was traveling, not just there to meet a friend. The more relevant visual information you can include, the more interesting your portraits become. Well-used props help stimulate the viewer’s imagination.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Isolated studio portraits using props

Isolating your subject on a plain background is a popular method of taking a portrait. A subject on their own can produce great character portraits. But for many people, it can be somewhat intimidating.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Using a prop can help them relax and enjoy the experience more. Having something in their hands to concentrate on distracts them from your camera. Feeling less intimidated by it, they are more likely to give you vibrant expressions.

I took a series of photographs for a small drama school. Using props helped the students feel more at ease. They were confident performers, but many of them were not so comfortable in front of the camera. Including props allowed their tutor, who was assisting me, to encourage them into character.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

A single prop keeps a studio portrait simple and adds meaning that would not be evident without it. Creating concepts for stock photography in this manner it’s possible to facilitate a whole series of photos.

Including props will add depth and interest to a series of photos of the same person. It can be challenging to take more than one or two different portraits of a person on an isolated background. Using props will give you more diverse options for what you can achieve.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Bring your own props or use what’s available

Often asking a person to bring along their own props can help create a meaningful portrait. Using items that they relate to and tell something about themselves will add genuine feeling to the portraits.

I asked this friend if I could photograph her and also what she’d like to use as a prop. Immediately she replied, “ice cream.” She loves ice cream so it was appropriate and meant she’d enjoy the photo session. The weather was so hot that even with the air conditioning blasting the ice cream melted quickly. We went with the flow and used the prop for additional makeup as well. It was a fun session.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Any well-established portrait studio has a diverse selection of props. Your subject doesn’t have to own a prop. If they can choose from a selection you have, they might find something that lights up their imagination.

Even simple things that are common can work as props. Having someone read a book or make a phone call can help them focus on what they are doing and not on your camera.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Finding props on location helps to incorporate your subject in the place. Having them pick up some produce at the market, or interact with some part of the environment can make for a more illustrative portrait.

Conclusion

Working with props definitely adds diversity to photographing people. Use the props to support your subject. Having the prop and subject in the same frame is not enough. Encourage them to interact with the props in different ways. The way your subject relates to the prop is important. This will influence the feel of the photo.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Work to develop a healthy relationship between your subject and their props. This is part of your job as a photographer. Doing this, you’ll create more entertaining portraits.

Have you tried using props for a portrait session? Let me know in the comments below the props you have found helpful during the session. Also, what type of props help make the most interesting portraits?

The post How Using Props in Portraits Can Make Your Photos More Interesting appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

Digital Photography School
September 26, 2019
Review of PaintShop Pro 2020 Ultimate: A Photoshop Contender?
The post Review of PaintShop Pro 2020 Ultimate: A Photoshop Contender? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Glenn Harper.

Not for nothing is Photoshop called the “industry standard” for graphic design and photo editing. The moment you defect to another product, you start missing stuff. Can Corel Paintshop Pro 2020 Ultimate do the job just as well? It’s a comprehensive standalone program with lots of extras thrown in for free.

New stuff

This edition of Paintshop Pro (PSP) introduces several new features, including a touch-ready Photography Workspace, a SmartClone Tool, and a Refine Brush for ultra-precise selections. There are improvements to existing tools, too. We’ll cover these things during this review as well as looking at preexisting features.

The new touch-ready Photography Workspace may not suit everyone, but it’s uncluttered and armed with enough tools to rifle through many pictures.

Raw processing in Paintshop Pro

Paintshop Pro Ultimate comes with Corel Aftershot 3 raw processing software as well as its own in-built raw conversion. Since many of our pictures start out as raw files, it seems apt to look at these facilities first.

Aftershot 3

Aftershot 3 is a pared-down version of Corel’s Aftershot Pro, which you can upgrade to for a modest sum. The latter lets you create Lightroom-style catalogs, so all changes to images are stored inside the program instead of in separate XMP sidecar files. Although not as sophisticated as the pro version, Aftershot 3 Standard offers much more than the in-program raw conversion tool of PSP 2020. A notable exception to this is DNG support, but it does have lens corrections, layers and Perfectly Clear auto image enhancement. The latter works well with layers since you can adjust the opacity to achieve optimum results.

Reducing the opacity of Perfectly Clear on an adjustment layer often gives a nice result.

An early problem I had with Aftershot and Paintshop Pro 2020 was that neither liked my custom monitor profile, so I had to switch to a generic Adobe RGB profile to make the color look acceptable. It took some head-scratching before I realized why raw previews looked so bad.

With that problem temporarily solved, I found the software eminently usable, though I think Corel should include a histogram in the standard Aftershot version. The pro version has enough to commend it without cutting essentials from its little sibling.

Adjusting perspective in Aftershot 3 using the zPerspector plugin.

Aftershot is rebranded Bibble software, which was highly rated in its time. It includes access to many plug-ins, such as the Wavelet Sharpen plug-in and the zPerspector perspective correction plugin. These are useful add-ons. I’d recommend that you trial Aftershot thoroughly before buying or upgrading. Remember, the Pro version won’t catalog your DNG files if you use them. You need proprietary raw files. As well, Paintshop Pro doesn’t like Adobe’s enhanced DNG files.

Working in Paintshop Pro 2020

The first thing to do in Paintshop Pro 2020 Ultimate is to choose from three workspaces: Photography, Essentials and Complete. The new “touch-ready” Photography workspace is inviting since it doesn’t distract you with a bewildering set of tools. It’d be a good place to start for beginners. But if you’re coming from years in Photoshop, you’ll probably skip to the Complete workspace where all things are possible.

Adjustment Layers

Just like Photoshop, Paintshop Pro 2020 gives you the choice of editing photos on adjustment layers or independently. Some of the editing choices are not available as layers, though you can always apply these to a duplicate layer. All adjustment layers have built-in layer masks for selective editing.

Color and Tone

Paintshop Pro offers most of the features you’d expect in an advanced pixel editor when it comes to correcting color and tone. There are a few things you may not have seen before. For instance, the “Histogram” adjustment layer is a kind of advanced blend of Levels and Curves.

The “Histogram Equalize” adjustment in PSP 2020 evens up the tonal range of the image, often brightening it. You need to be careful with this if you don’t want to blow highlights. More useful, I think, is “Local Tone Mapping” at its default low settings. It seems to have a very subtle HDR effect that perks many photos up.

Smart Photo Fix lets you alter the software’s One Step Photo Fix adjustment, and as an alternative starting point, it’s pretty good. PSP did a decent job with the photo in the screenshot, though it could still do with brighter whites.

Conspicuous by its absence in Paintshop Pro is any form of clipping display or exposure warning. If it’s there, I never found it. To me, this is a must-have feature, since it shows you what you’re losing with tonal or color adjustments and whether it’s likely to matter. I don’t expect it to be missing in a wide-ranging package like Paintshop Pro.

Correcting perspective

I’ve gotten used to being able to correct perspective in architectural photos, so I was keen to see what Paintshop Pro offers in this respect. In fact, the Perspective Correction tool in PSP is very good, albeit without the full-auto option of ACR or Lightroom. It’s the work of a few seconds to correct most photos, and that’s good enough for me.

This is all you need do to correct verticals in Paintshop Pro. Not automated like Adobe’s solution, but easy.

Cloning (& the new SmartClone tool)

The regular cloning tool in Paintshop Pro is fine for most cloning work, but now we also have the SmartClone tool. This is useful if you want to lay textures or patterns over another area of a photo or even a different photo. Three blend modes are available for different effects: Original, Blend, Black and White. The first gives you regular-type cloning, the second tries to blend color and texture by reducing opacity, the third clones only texture by desaturating the selected area.

I used the SmartClone tool to superimpose Proust’s face onto a separate image of the beach at Cabourg – a scene he’d have known well. By placing the clone onto a duplicate layer with a layer mask, I was able to refine the original rectangular selection using the Paint Brush with “Smart Edge” tool.

A neat feature of the SmartClone tool is the ability to save selections as presets, so you can use them with future images. This tool is not an equivalent to content-aware fill in Photoshop. It has its own uses and controls. Paintshop Pro offers Object Remover and Scratch Remover tools to intelligently fill in areas of an image, though you have to be reasonable in your expectations as to what these things can do.

Selection Refine Brush (new)

I never need to make intricate selections in my day-to-day photography, but perhaps that makes me a good candidate for testing the new Selection Refine Brush in Paintshop Pro 2020. I had trouble even accessing it at first until I realized the chosen selection tool must be docked for the button to appear. Despite this shaky start, I was soon impressed.

I started with a quick freehand selection around the edge of the subject and well within the hairline so that any intricate hairs could be selected later with the refine brush. The brush does such a good job at picking out fine detail that it’s a waste of time to attempt precision yourself. You can further refine the end result with global corrections such as smooth edge or feathering.

In this photo, everything not in red is selected. You can see the Selection Refine Brush has done a very good job of selecting strands of hair. This was the work of just a few minutes, and I’m a novice at selections. (Photo: Pixabay)

Once you’re happy with the selection, you can output it in various ways. It’s easy to copy and paste the selection with transparent background onto a new image if you want, or you can edit it further on a new layer. Whatever your aim, it’s hard to imagine other software doing a much better job in getting you to that point.

Dealing with Chromatic Aberration

Fixing chromatic aberration, even in its most common purple fringing form, is one of the great strengths of Photoshop. Other programs struggle to compete. Paintshop Pro’s “One Step Purple Fringe Fix” introduced an artifact the first time I used it and didn’t completely remove the fringing. On the other hand, “Chromatic Aberration Removal” in PSP 2020 gave a good result. Taking as small a sample as possible seemed to help. Based on this, it might be better to leave chromatic aberration in a raw image and fix it in the rendered version, unless you have advanced raw conversion software on your side.

Using the Chromatic Aberration Removal tool in Paintshop Pro to remove green fringing. Radius and color range settings help to fine-tune the correction. (You may need to view this full size to see the difference.)

Sharpening

Paintshop Pro offers four sharpening methods: Sharpen, Sharpen More, Unsharp Mask, and High Pass Sharpening. These are familiar choices. Unsharp Mask lets you choose radius, strength and clipping settings. It also includes a set of presets you can pick from according to your intended use for the image.

High Pass Sharpening focuses sharpening on edges. Most programs give you a grey overlay with this feature so you can clearly see the effect of your edit, but that’s not possible in Paintshop Pro. Instead, you have to eyeball the image directly.

There is another route to high-pass sharpening in PSP where you do get the grey preview: create a duplicate layer and go to Effects->Edge Effect->High Pass. Choose an Overlay, Hard Light or Soft Light blend mode.

You get this useful preview if you sharpen your photos using Edge Effects->High Pass in PSP 2020. It’d be nice to see this in the High Pass Sharpen tool, too, but you get a regular preview there. As you can see, the grey overlay makes it easy to see what your sharpening settings are doing.

The noisier your photo is to begin with, the wiser it is to avoid global sharpening. If you have a clean file to work with that you want to quickly publish online, a simple Sharpen or Sharpen More adjustment will often look fine.

Plugins

A great feature of Paintshop Pro is its compatibility with Photoshop plugins (those with 8bf, 8be, 8bi, and 8ba extensions). A lot of the time they work fine, though I noticed the color goes flat in my Nik Collection Viveza 2 plugin if the preview is small. This is a known problem with other Photoshop alternatives.

Paintshop Pro’s compatibility with PS plugins is not an insignificant factor when weighing up the software. In fact, a range of downloadable plugins and scripts is available as soon as you buy the product – some of them free.

Time Machine

Paintshop Pro also offers the fun “Time Machine” photo effect. This teaches you something about photographic history and attempts to replicate photos from different eras, ranging from the daguerreotype in 1839 to the cross-processing look discovered in the late 1950s to early 60s. You can add appropriate borders to each effect if you want. Below is the “Early Color” preset in action with James Joyce obliging as the subject.

Extras

As well as Corel Aftershot 3 raw conversion software, Paintshop Pro 2020 Ultimate comes bundled with a host of other goodies. Here’s the full inventory:
- GRFX Studio: gives access to 1000s of photo effects.
- Parallels Toolbox: a suite of tools to keep your computer running smoothly.
- PhotoMirage Express: turn stills photos into eye-catching animations.
- Painter Essentials 6: lets you paint, draw and sketch as well as automatically adding painting effects to photos.
- Aftershot 3: raw conversion software (good, but lacks some of the near-essential features of the pro version).
- Creative Collection: free pack of many extras available for optional download.
As well as letting you create original artworks, Painter Essentials 6 can generate “paintings” from your photos.

Other new features of PSP 2020 include copy-and-paste layer styles; quicker text rendering, editing and text wrap; faster Pic-to-Painting transitions; and an improved depth-of-field effect.

Paintshop Pro lets you apply arty shallow-depth-of-field effects with the improved Depth of Field tool.

Conclusion

Corel Paintshop Pro 2020 Ultimate is a vast photo-editing package that doesn’t leave you wanting for much. But it’s lacking in places. The absence of a clipping display or exposure warning that I could find is almost a deal-breaker for me. I use that all the time when adjusting color and tone. Also on my wants list would be gradient maps. There are surprising omissions and inconsistencies in Paintshop Pro. That aside, it’s not unlovable.

The Classic B & W effect in GRFX Studio creates some pleasing black and white conversions and gives you plenty of control over the result.

Some of the tools in Paintshop Pro 2020 Ultimate are exceptional. My new-found ability to make complex selections with the Refine Brush was a bit of a revelation. And there are tons of special effects, so there’s no excuse not to be creative. Paintshop Pro seems to lean that way – towards the visual editor who doesn’t care so much about the math and more about how the photo just looks. And maybe that’s not a bad thing.

Have you used Paintshop Pro 2020 Ulitmate? What are your thoughts? Share with us in the comments!

The post Review of PaintShop Pro 2020 Ultimate: A Photoshop Contender? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Glenn Harper.

Digital Photography School
September 26, 2019
Gear Review: 4 New K&F Concept Filters Put to the Test
The post Gear Review: 4 New K&F Concept Filters Put to the Test appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kav Dadfar.

I have always been an advocate of carrying as little camera equipment as possible. In fact, most people are surprised to hear how little I carry with me on any trip. Besides the obvious weight to carry, it also means more things to lose or have stolen. But whilst carrying less is always better, there are some things that I simply can’t live without. Filters are one of the sets of accessories that I always take with me as they are essential for my photography. So when given four new K&F Concept filters recently, I was very excited to put them to the test.

Why should you use filters?

As advanced as digital cameras are these days, they still occasionally need some help to capture photos the way you want. Often the big issue in photography is light. Too much of it, not enough, too harsh, in the wrong place…if only you could control outdoor light like in a studio.

Filters can help a photographer control light in varied circumstances. There are lots of filters that all fill different objectives. Two of the most common filters are neutral density filters and polarizing filters.

Polarizing filters

Polarizing filters help to remove unwanted reflections from non-metallic surfaces. For example, if you are photographing water or through glass, they can help ensure you keep reflections to a minimum. In addition to this, they also help to boost the saturation in images (especially blues and greens). So, they are very useful for photographing things like waterfalls.

Neutral Density filters

Neutral Density filters help to reduce the amount of light that enters the camera. This allows you to select a slower shutter speed to create motion blur (when photographing water during the day or moving clouds). However, even in day to day photography, you may sometimes find ND filters useful to help avoid overexposure at wide apertures.

Square filters vs screw-on filters

There are two types of filters these days – square filters and screw-on filters.

Square filters are either square or rectangle and attach to a holder attached to your camera. As the name suggests, screw-on filters screw onto your lens directly.

There are pros and cons for using both. Historically, I have always used square filters, so this was a good test to see how I get on with using screw-on filters instead.

The filters tested

The four filters tested for this article are:
- 77mm ND8-ND128 Variable Neutral Density ND Filter Nano Coated
- 77mm Variable ND2-ND32 Neutral Density and Circular Polarizing Filter Coated
- 77mm Circular Polarizers Filter, K&F Concept 77MM Circular Polarizer Filter HD 18 Layer Super Slim Multi-Coated CPL Lens Filter
- 77mm ND2-ND32 Variable Neutral Density ND Filter Nano Coated
Packaging

My first impression of the filters was of the beautiful and secure packaging they arrive in. They come in a hard cardboard box with the filter itself placed in a hard plastic case inside the cardboard box. The filter is further protected inside the plastic box wrapped in a plastic bag and placed on a piece of foam. The plastic box that they come in makes them really easy to get in out to use when needed as the lid flips open. The circular polarizing filter comes in a slightly different plastic box which twists open but is still secure inside due to some rubber ridges. This stops the filter rattling around the case.

I will need to stick some small stickers on the plastic boxes and write the filter on them to make them easier to find – something that is currently lacking on the plastic boxes. Other than that, the packing is very impressive.

Build and ease of use

The frames of all of the filters, except the circular polarizer filter, are made from an aluminum alloy (the polarizer filter has extra-tough magnalium). Even though they are very slim in design, they certainly feel rigid with no real bending even when forced.

The glass itself on all the filters is coated optical glass (to help reduce reflections) that is waterproof and scratch-resistant.

Performance

Overall, all of the filters performed very well. As someone who has always used square filters, I was skeptical about the quality and how they would affect the image. I deliberately headed out during early afternoon as I wanted to test these filters in harsh light. Below are the images taken using these filters.

Circular Polarizer Filters

I conducted the first test with the circular polarizer. Below are two images taken from the same place only seconds apart. The image on the left was with no filter. In the image on the right, you can see how the reflection from the water has been removed using the K&F Polarizer Filter. In addition, you can see a boost in the blue in the sky a little. There is a very slight vignette on the top left corner, but this is so minor that it can easily be removed in post-production.

ND2-ND32 Neutral Density

I conducted the next tests with the two ND filters. Both filters easily screwed in and were subsequently easy to remove with no jamming at all. Both filters performed very well with no color casting or vignetting. I also didn’t come across the X cross-issue that might sometimes occur with variable ND filters.

From the left: ND2, ND4, ND8, ND16, ND32

ND8-ND128 Neutral Density

The thing that I found so useful with these variable filters is the ease of transporting them and the amount of space saved in my camera bag. To be able to carry two ND filters that cover such a wide range is definitely something I feel is worth including in my camera bag.

From the left: ND8, ND16, ND32, ND64, ND128

ND2-ND32 Neutral Density and Circular Polarizing

The final filter tested was the ND filter with the circular polarizing filter. Whilst I was really impressed with the other filters, this is the one that I really found useful. Normally in a situation like this, I screw on my circular polarizing filter, then screw in my filter holder ring, put the holder on, and add the filters I need before I’m ready to shoot.

This filter does all of that. You can see below how using the filter gives you a longer shutter speed to achieve smooth water, and also removes much of the reflection as well. This helps bring out the details on the river bed.

No filter on the left, ND16, ND32

Conclusion

As mentioned, I have always been skeptical of using circular or screw-in filters. However, I am thoroughly impressed with the K&F Concept filters I tested out. The image quality is superb and the added benefit of just using one filter and adjusting the gradient without having to stack filters is really useful.

The thing that really impressed me about these filters is how premium they look, feel, and perform. In fact, I did not notice any difference between these K&F Concept filters and my very expensive current square filters.

Another huge benefit of these filters is the cost. For example, at the time of writing the 5-stop variable ND and CPL filter is priced at $ 89.99. In other words, you are getting six filters for that price. Individually purchasing good quality filters will be a lot more expensive. This will obviously help anyone starting out and wanting to build their accessories up without spending a small fortune. I, for one, will be adding these filters to my collection.

Note: The author was given the K&F Concept filters free of charge to test out. But he is not paid or affiliated with K&F Concept and his review is honest and unbiased and based his personal experience of using the products.

The post Gear Review: 4 New K&F Concept Filters Put to the Test appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kav Dadfar.

Digital Photography School
September 25, 2019
10 Photographic Exercises to Kickstart your Creativity

The post 10 Photographic Exercises to Kickstart your Creativity appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.

We’ve all had those days, weeks, or months where we’ve felt photographically stuck in a rut. There could be many reasons for feeling like you just can’t shoot anything worthwhile and it often looks like there’s no way out. But simple creative photographic exercises might just be the thing that gets you back out shooting.

With that in mind, here are some of my favorite creative photographic exercises for those moments when I’m just not feeling good about my photography work. They’re adaptable for most subjects too, so shoot what suits you!

Of course, if you wanted to challenge yourself with a new kind of photography or different subjects, they might come in handy for that too.

Set your camera to black and white

Most digital cameras will have the option to shoot in black and white. Shooting black and white, and viewing your shots that way on the back of the camera, will force you to see images in a different way.

When you shoot in black and white you see everything without the distractions of color. That means you can focus on composition, areas of light and dark, and the contrasts between different areas.

It’s a whole new way of seeing the world around you!

Shoot with a single focal length

I’ve always been a huge advocate for photographers using prime lenses wherever possible. Not only are they generally better quality than a similarly priced zoom lens, but they often have a faster aperture too! Having a couple of primes can really round out your photographic toolbox.

Shooting with a single focal length means that you have to work a little bit harder to find a great composition. That, in turn, will make you see things a bit differently. And if you need to zoom, then you’ll have to use your feet – no shortcuts here I’m afraid!

If you don’t have a prime lens, then pick a focal length on your zoom and stick to it. Check it after every few shots to make sure it hasn’t moved.

And now do the same, but with aperture

Picking an aperture, and experimenting with the kind of images it will produce, can be a good way to start thinking about more advanced composition. Using depth of field as a compositional tool can be a powerful way of taking your photos to the next level.

If you pick a very wide aperture to work with, you’ll want to think about how you can make the best use of features like negative space in your images. You’ll want to look for interesting subjects that look good isolated away from their background.

However, if you choose a very narrow aperture, you won’t be able to isolate a subject as easily. You’ll be looking for whole compositions that work from edge to edge without anything being blurred out. You’ll need to look for scenes that don’t have distractions in the background – such as bright blobs of color or unsightly objects.

And shutter speed!

Limiting your shutter speed can be a good way of experimenting with different kinds of movement-related effects. Long or short, both offer different challenges.

If you pick a short shutter speed, try to find movement that you can capture. A skateboarder in mid-air perhaps, or a dog leaping to catch a ball. Freezing motion is tricky and requires practice. It also needs some planning; you may have to pre-focus and predict your subject’s movement.

On the other hand, a long shutter speed can lead to experiments that show movement. You could practice panning, light trail photography, or intentional camera movement.

Limit the number of shots you take

Think back to the days of film (or imagine it if you’re not old enough to remember). Film was costly, and so was developing! If you were shooting medium format, you had just twelve images per roll of film, and one of them really had to be a keeper.

I’m not saying you have to limit yourself to just twelve photos, but try a few hours of shooting where you really think about each shot you’re taking. Ask yourself why you’re taking it and make sure it’s the best it can be.

Before you press the shutter button, check all the edges of the frame, be sure of your composition, and make sure it’s the right moment to make your subject look their best. You might be surprised at how much your photography improves when you take this much care over every shot!

Now shoot a thousand images in a day

Sometimes you just need to recognize that practice makes perfect. And for some subjects, that means shooting hundreds or even thousands of images.

Take a day out to practice your technical skills, and make sure you take enough images that the technique becomes second nature. The better you know your way around your camera, the easier it will be to nail the shot next time inspiration does strike.

Shoot from the hip

Street photography is usually about being unseen and blending into the background. If your subject has noticed you taking pictures, it’s often too late to get the shot you initially saw.

Many street photographers like to ‘shoot from the hip’ to remain unnoticed. You’ll want to use a narrow aperture to get a large depth of field and prefocus your camera to where you think your subjects will be.

Then…go for it! Carry your camera in your hand (don’t forget a wrist strap), and whenever you see anything you like the look of, just point and shoot. You’re going to have a pretty low success rate, at least at first, but over time you’ll learn to use your camera to capture what your eyes see without looking through the viewfinder.

Limit yourself to available light

No flashes, no studio lights, no reflectors, no bounce cards. Just get out there and watch how the natural light falls on your subject. Move yourself or your subject around to find the most pleasing light and then capture that.

For an additional exercise, try to capture several different moods simply by moving your subject into different kinds of light. You should start to discover that our brain interprets different kinds of light in different ways. You can use this knowledge to start conveying more feelings and emotion in the future, which will improve your storytelling ability.

Shoot ten photos without moving your feet

Finding a great shot is often harder than actually taking it! To challenge yourself to see shots that you’d otherwise miss, plant your feet in one place and hunt out ten shots without moving.

Make it easier for yourself by using a zoom lens. But if you want to make it even more of a challenge, start limiting your focal length, aperture, or shutter speed. The more rules you give yourself the harder you’ll have to work creatively.

You’ll soon start to consider subjects and compositions that you’ve never thought of before as you try hard to find shots number nine and ten!

Reprocess your old images

If all that fails and you can’t face going out and about with your camera then take a look back through your archives. You’ve almost certainly improved in skill since you processed your old shots, and you may have changed your taste too.

Revising your old work and reprocessing it gives you a chance to practice your post-processing skills. Pick something you want to learn and read some articles or watch a video on it. Then practice what you just learned on images from your archive.

You might end up discovering some old images that you missed at the time. Whenever I dive back into my archive, I usually end up finding something new for my portfolio!

Hopefully, these creative photographic exercises will give you a starting point when you’re not sure what to shoot. Just remember, creative ruts aren’t forever! You have to come out the other side sometime!

Do you have any other photographic exercises you’d like to share? Please do so in the comments!

The post 10 Photographic Exercises to Kickstart your Creativity appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.

Digital Photography School

September 24, 2019
DIY Photography Backdrops for Still Life and Product Photography

The post DIY Photography Backdrops for Still Life and Product Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darina Kopcok.

Your choice of backdrop can have a big impact on the final look of your photos.

You may have purchased expensive professional photography backdrops because you know this.

But whether you’re a hobbyist or pro, you probably already spend enough on your photography that you don’t want to shell out the big bucks for your props. Luckily, with a bit of creativity, you don’t have to.

Here are some of the best ways to create beautiful DIY photography backdrops for still life and product photography.

Painted canvas backdrop

For a magazine-quality look, my top pick for a still life photography backdrop is painted canvas.

Professional canvas backdrops are expensive, but you can make your own for a fraction of the retail price.

Go to your local hardware store and buy a canvas painter’s drop cloth. These are pieces of canvas you use to protect the floor when painting interiors.

Canvas drop cloths are usually large, so you can cut them into four pieces to get four backgrounds out of one stretch of fabric. Make that eight if you go double-sided.

While you’re at the hardware store, purchase two or three paint samples in a similar tone for each backdrop. Note that the canvas soaks up a lot of the paint, so you may need to purchase primer as well, or use more paint than you thought.

Layer the paint onto the canvas with a small, good-quality roller, moving the roller in different directions.

To add more texture, scrunch up a rag or use a large sea sponge and dip it into the paints. Randomly press the rag onto the canvas.

Your backdrops will have a natural texture that enhances but doesn’t compete with your subject. The canvas also has a great subtle texture, too.

Ceramic flooring tile

Another beautiful yet simple background is porcelain or ceramic tiles. You can get them from your local home improvement store. These are inexpensive and look great. They’re easily wipeable, which is a bonus if you’re dealing with food or liquid products.

Just make sure that any tiles you pick aren’t shiny, so you don’t get glare. Good colors to choose are grey, black, white, or cool brown tones like taupe. These neutrals will enhance and complement a wide variety of products or still life subjects. They are better for smaller subjects because they tend to not be very large.

Painted wooden backdrops

These days, there are a lot of suppliers selling painted custom backdrops for still life photography, but painting some yourself can be a lot less costly, and you don’t need any special skills.

To make your own, buy thin plywood sheets at the home improvement store. Pieces that are at least 2×3 feet should accommodate most of your set-ups. The bigger stores like Home Depot can also cut larger pieces into smaller ones for you, so you can get more mileage out them.

You can purchase paint samples from the hardware store as well, or use craft paints. Just make sure that any paints or varnishes you use are matte. Even some of the satin types can cause unwanted shine in your images.

Choose three or four colors in a similar color family and pour them together in the middle of the board. Take a large sea sponge and dab the paint all over the board to create a blended and subtle, mottled effect.

Finish with a thin coat of matte, water-resistant sealer.

Linens

Having a variety of linens on hand will make your life a lot easier as a still life photographer.

Depending on what you shoot, these can run the gamut from natural fabric like linen to lightly patterned damask tablecloths.

You can use the fabric as the entire backdrop, as shown in the image below, or just to cover a portion of another backdrop.

When covering your entire surface with a piece of linen or tablecloth, place another layer of fabric underneath. This will plump it up and make it look more attractive.

Again, when choosing your colors, stick to neutrals. Shades of blue also look good, especially in dark and moody images. You can choose a pastel or brighter color depending on what you’re shooting and your desired result.

The key is that you don’t want your photography backgrounds competing with and drawing the eye away from your main subjects.

Vintage Tray

Don’t get rid of any old or vintage trays you may have kicking around. They also make great photography backgrounds for still life.

Depending on the metal, they will often have a lovely patina that will add something special to your shots. They look great close up or at a distance, or can be used as an element in telling your story.

You can often find vintage trays for an affordable price at secondhand or antique stores.

As with any backdrop, it should not be reflective.

Note that in the images below, the tray doesn’t look overly shiny, even though I backlit my subjects. It has a nice and subtle texture.

Colored papers

Colored or textured craft or construction paper can make pretty and inexpensive photography backdrops that are light and easy to store.

Source large pieces of craft paper or construction paper at your local craft supply store, or check out sites like Amazon for packages of paper offering a variety of colors.

In the image below, I used a large piece of yellow construction paper as my background. To recreate this look, distance your paper a fair bit away from your set. This will help you get a blurred out horizon line and so your subject doesn’t look “stuck” to your background.

Wooden cutting boards

Depending on the size, a wooden cutting board can function as a nice backdrop or be used as a layering piece in some types of still life shoots, like food photography.

Be careful about purchasing boards with a warm, orange, or yellowish tinge. Since most food is quite warm in tone, an image that is warm throughout can end up looking dated.

Also, the camera tends to exaggerate this orange tone. I find that I have to decrease the orange saturation in all of my images to start with.

Look for light boards like pine, or boards in deep espresso for darker shots. You can also paint these in whatever color you want. In the image below, I painted mine white and distressed it with fine sandpaper.

Be sure to keep painted boards for photography purposes only, because they won’t be food safe.

To sum up

There are so many different ways to create stunning still life and product photography backdrops without the expense of buying and shipping wooden backdrops from specialist suppliers.

These are just a few ideas, but also look at contact paper, wallpaper, burlap, and old pieces of wood.

Experiment with the items you already own before spending a lot of money on costly photography backdrops.

Do you have other tips for DIY photography backdrops? Share with us in the comments section!

The post DIY Photography Backdrops for Still Life and Product Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darina Kopcok.

Digital Photography School

September 24, 2019
How To Protect Your Camera Against Lens Fungal Damage

The post How To Protect Your Camera Against Lens Fungal Damage appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

Protecting your expensive camera against lens fungal damage is necessary to prevent lasting damage. Left unchecked, fungal growth can damage the glass elements in lenses forever.

Fungus is a living, growing microorganism which can form on camera lenses. This type of mold is most common in humid climates. Often the damage it causes is only minor, but a rampant fungal growth can ruin a lens.

Cleaning fungus on exterior elements of lenses can be relatively easy. However, you need to catch it before it becomes too advanced. Growth of mold on interior lens elements is more difficult to detect and it requires a skilled technician to be able to remove it. The lens must be stripped down, cleaned and then rebuilt – which is a costly process.

Prevention of fungal growth on lenses is far more preferable than having to remove mold. If left unrestrained, fungus can permanently damage a lens because it eats into the glass. Once cleaned, furrows remain in the lens and affects the way light refracts through it.

Methods for preventing lens fungus

Taking proper care of your camera equipment is always good practice. Well-kept equipment will last longer and retain higher used resale value.

Here are some ideas to help you avoid encountering the problem of fungal growth in your lenses.

Clean your lenses often

Many photographers are in the habit of cleaning only the front element of their lenses, or the filters that screw on to cover them.

Wiping down your whole lenses with a damp microfiber cloth from time to time is good for them. Particularly if you’ve been photographing in a hot, humid climate. The atmosphere and sweat from your hands can affect your lens.

Using a microfibre cloth helps to avoid leaving unwanted lint deposits on the lens. Once you’ve wiped your lens down with a damp cloth, have a dry one on hand to wipe it down once more. Using a hairdryer on a low heat will also help any moisture evaporate from your lens.

Don’t leave your lenses in the sun to dry them. This can cause other problems.

Store your lenses in a dry box with silica gel

An airtight box is a good place to store your lenses. It’s convenient to leave all your gear in your camera bag, but left there it’s susceptible to affect by moisture.

Including a quantity of silica gel in the box helps to absorb any residual moisture. Small packets of silica gel often come with consumer goods. These do not contain enough to make a significant difference.

Silica gel can be purchased at a store or online, in larger quantities. I prefer the type of gel that can be used more than once. It changes color from blue to an orange color once it’s absorbed moisture. It can then be dried out by placing it in a microwave oven for a few minutes at medium power setting.

Moist and Dry Silica Gel

A cup full of silica gel placed in an old or stray sock with a knot tied in it will help keep your gear dry in a box. You’ll want to make sure the sock has no holes worn in it.

Sealed Storage Box

Food storage boxes with good seals are useful. I use this type of box to store my film cameras and older lenses I don’t use often. Every so often I dry out the silica gel in the microwave oven.

A more expensive and robust option is a Pelican case. These rugged camera cases are completely airtight when closed. Depending on the size of the case you may need to add more than one sock of silica gel.

Pelican Case

Keep your lenses in an air-conditioned room

If you have an air-conditioned room, this is also a good location to store your lenses and other camera gear.

Air conditioning not only keeps the air in a room cooler, but it lowers the humidity. Ideally, you do not want the temperature of the room to be too cold. If you live in a hot climate, this can be problematic when you take the lenses outside. They will fog up.

When a lens is very cold and then taken into a very warm environment, condensation can form quickly. You’ll have to wait for it to clear before you’re able to take any photos.

Use a dehumidifier

This is the type of household appliance which sucks water from the air. It will not cool the room, but it will draw out any moisture in the air.

Running a dehumidifier for a few hours a day in a small room in wet weather is usually enough to dry the air.

They are often portable and cheaper than an air conditioning unit. They also consume less electricity.

Buy a dehumidifier dry cabinet

This appliance is a dedicated piece of equipment. It’s designed for the task of helping prevent lens fungal damage in your camera equipment.

A dehumidifier dry cabinet is usually a glass-fronted cabinet. They are available in various sizes to accommodate as much or as little equipment as you have to store.

These units are digitally controlled so you can regulate them.

Conclusion

Taking good care of your precious lenses is well worth it. Finding mold in your favorite lens would be soul-destroying.

Investing in an appropriate storage solution can be far cheaper than having to pay for lens cleaning.

Please let me know in the comments below if you have any other tried-and-true ways of keeping your lenses from becoming mold farms.

The post How To Protect Your Camera Against Lens Fungal Damage appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

Digital Photography School

September 23, 2019
Canon 1D X Mark III: Includes IBIS, Increased Resolution, and More

The post Canon 1D X Mark III: Includes IBIS, Increased Resolution, and More appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

The Canon 1D X Mark III may be the last of its kind, but it won’t go down without a fight.

Information has leaked regarding the Canon flagship camera, predicting a 2020 release. This follows on the heels of Nikon’s D6 announcement and its claim that the D6 will be Nikon’s “most advanced DSLR to date.”

The Canon 1D X series and the Nikon D6 series have been longtime competitors, aimed at professional photographers in need of rugged, high-performing camera bodies. Hence, it’s no surprise that the 1D X Mark III should come out in 2020, most likely in time for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

The leak also suggests that the Canon 1D X Mark III will have in-body image stabilization (IBIS), a feature traditionally offered by mirrorless models but kept out of DSLRs. This will be appreciated by low-light shooters who need to eke out every bit of stability they can get.

The Canon 1D X Mark III is also said to feature significantly increased resolution “for an EOS-1 series camera.” Note that Canon’s EOS-1 line is short on resolution but high on autofocus capabilities and shooting speed, which explains why the 1D X Mark II tops out at 20.2 megapixels, despite its ‘flagship’ label.

What would count as significant?

My guess would be a jump in the 4-megapixel range, to put the 1D X Mark III at 24 megapixels. But it could be less, considering the low bar for 1D X resolution.

Apparently, the Canon flagship will also include 6K video (without a crop) and an upgraded DIGIC processor, as well as dual CFExpress card slots.

As of now, the 1D X Mark III is looking on par with the Nikon D6, which is rumored to drop in 2020.

Both cameras will undoubtedly be pricey; the Canon 1D X Mark II retails at $ 5500 USD, and the Nikon D5 sits at nearly $ 6000.

But for the professional action photographer, the cameras will undoubtedly be worth the cost.

Are you looking forward to the Canon 1D X Mark III announcement? What specs are you hoping to see? Share your thoughts in the comments!

The post Canon 1D X Mark III: Includes IBIS, Increased Resolution, and More appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Digital Photography School

September 23, 2019
Top 5 Locations for Photography Pre-Consultations that are not in a Coffee Shop

The post Top 5 Locations for Photography Pre-Consultations that are not in a Coffee Shop appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jackie Lamas.

There is probably nothing worse than hearing a coffee grinder whirl up as you talk to your potential clients. While coffee shops can seem like an ideal and neutral location for a meet up with a client, it can also be distracting. Here are some other locations for photography pre-consultations with a client.

1. Vendor office space

As photographers, we work with lots of different vendors that are close by and that over time, we can even become friends with.

Find a vendor that has an office or retail space and ask them if you can rent the space to hold your pre-consultations. Perhaps they have a small office they don’t use or a large open floor plan where you can hold your meetings.

You could even swap the rent with free sessions or artwork for their space. This will also bring more business into their space while you get to hold your pre-consultation without distractions and in a beautiful space.

Be sure to keep your samples or products that you plan on showing during your pre-consultation. If you can, talk your vendor friend into letting you use a corner where you can set it up just right for your meetings.

It will leave a much bigger impact than you have invested in making friends with other vendors you trust enough to hold your meetings there.

Clients will feel more comfortable and be able to ask their questions and get all information without the barista yelling out names and coffee orders.

2. In your own home

Many photographers don’t have a designated studio space, which means that you probably work from a desk somewhere in your home.

Having a pre-consultation, in-person sales appointment, and any other general client meetings, in your home means that you’re able to control the impression you leave on your clients.

Designate a space in your home where your clients will be able to sit and talk with you comfortably. Have your products all ready to go, and perhaps some candles or incense burning to create a nice ambiance.

Bringing clients into your own home also builds more trust between you and the client. You have all your products right at your fingertips along with any beverages and snacks to offer your client.

Also, you can use your television as a screen to preview photos, show a slideshow of your work, and even play music in the background.

3. In your client’s home

If don’t feel comfortable having consultations in your home, you can offer to hold the pre-consultation at your client’s home.

This can be really convenient if your client has small children and you need to work around their schedule. Also, this will allow you to view locations for wall portraits and various products that your client perhaps may not have thought of prior to the pre-consultation.

You can take your products, laptop, or have a printed product guide for your clients to view while you sit in their living room chatting about ideas for their upcoming session.

Ask your clients if they feel comfortable with a pre-consultation visit and offer them free measuring for wall portraits while you’re there. This might give them the incentive to have a consultation at their home.

Take note of their design style, color schemes, and architecture. This can be really helpful when you do an in-person sales appointment and you’ve correctly matched frames that fit perfectly into their already decorated home.

4. At the venue/location

For wedding clients, the perfect location where you can meet is at the location where the couple will be getting married, if possible.

Walking the location can also be a good time to look for photo spots that would work perfectly for the day of wedding portraits. You can walk through and get an idea of their style, and it makes the meeting a little less formal.

For portrait sessions, you can choose a favorite location like a park that you have used before where a bench and seating are available. This is because you might be meeting with clients with their children, or you might want to show them your portfolio on your laptop or phone and your products.

If the weather is comfortable, use an outdoor space that you particularly like that isn’t heavily crowded, like a plaza or benches where you can talk with your clients comfortably.

Remember, some of these places may not have internet, so everything you need should be downloaded or pre-loaded onto your devices. That way, you can show your client without delays or issues.

5. Shared workspaces

Shared workspaces, like We Work, offer members lots of perks and amenities that are just like having an office or studio space of your own.

Some of these locations have conference rooms you can reserve ahead of time to have your pre-consultation with your clients.

Many shared workspaces have reception, lounge areas, coffee and tea bars, and many other perks that also include internet and distraction-free space. You can hold your consultation without having to sit cramped at a small round table and cafe chairs.

If you’re holding quite a few pre-consultations and in-person sales meetings a month, you might want to consider paying the monthly fee to use the shared workspace. Or perhaps talk to a friend who has used one and get their take on it.

Conclusion

Many a photographer has had the coffee shop pre-consultation client meeting and while it is practical and neutral, these alternate locations may just prove to leave a more professional impression on your clients.

Do you have any other locations for photography pre-consultations that you’d like to share? Please do so in the comments!

The post Top 5 Locations for Photography Pre-Consultations that are not in a Coffee Shop appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jackie Lamas.

Digital Photography School

September 22, 2019