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Tiniest Interchangable Lens Micro Four Thirds Cameras for Travel with Amazing Quality

21 Jun

The post Tiniest Interchangable Lens Micro Four Thirds Cameras for Travel with Amazing Quality appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

In this video by MarkusPix, he looks at some of the tiniest ILC micro-four-thirds cameras and shows how well they hold up on his travels when taking some portraits.

In the video, he specifically looks at the Panasonic Lumix GX1 (2012), GX850 (2017), GM1 (2013), GM5 (2014) and uses the M Zuiko 45mm f/1.8 lens (which he describes as a great portrait lens).

He also uses the Godox Ad200 with the world’s smallest flash trigger – the FlashQ.

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Panasonic Lumix GM1 (2013)

He states that the GM1 is one of the smallest and lightest ILC M4/3 cameras in the world. It has no viewfinder, hot shoe or image stabilization. However, the GM1 has a 16mp CMOS sensor, with a shutter speed of up to 1/16,000th, face detection, built-in wireless, built-in flash, video, and time-lapse recording.

Panasonic Lumix GM5 (2014)

Mark also states that the GM5 is one of the smallest and lightest ILC M4/3 cameras in the world. It has similar features to the GM1 but the GM5 has an electronic viewfinder and a flash shoe.

Panasonic Lumix GX1 Black (2012)

The GX! has a hotshot and can take an optional EVF (you can’t use a flash while using the optional EVF as it connects to the flash hotshoe). It has some similar features as the above cameras, but it also has optical image stabilization and built-in flash. The battery door opens all the time and the menu is confusing.

Panasonic Lumix GX850 (2017)

The GX850 (also known as the GX800 and GF9) has no EVF or hotshoe, but has a tilting screen, better LCD resolution, focus stacking and face detection. The images are very sharp. It also has a built-in flash.

So check out his experiments and see if you think these cameras would make a great (lightweight) travel companion.

Have you used these cameras? Do you agree? What are your thoughts?

Or do you have any cameras you’d add to the list?

Share with us in the comments below.

You may also find the following helpful:

  • Full Frame VS Crop Sensor VS Micro Four Thirds: Camera Sensors Explained
  • Some of the Pros of Using Micro Four-Thirds Cameras for Wildlife Photography
  • My experience with a micro-4/3rds camera – (Panasonic GF1 Review)
  • Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 Review
  • Panasonic Lumix DMC-G6 Review
  • Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF6 Review

 

The post Tiniest Interchangable Lens Micro Four Thirds Cameras for Travel with Amazing Quality appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.


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5 Scenarios Where You Should Use Luminosity Masks

21 Jun

The post 5 Scenarios Where You Should Use Luminosity Masks appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Christian Hoiberg.

The world of post-processing is a big world with endless possibilities. Every photographer applies photo editing tools in their own way, and we all have different purposes of what we want to convey through our photography. For me, post-processing is a way to overcome certain limitations found within the camera and to better represent what I experienced in the field. For this purpose, I use both Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop.

I used Luminosity Masks to selectively process this image

While I do most of the work in Lightroom, there are several techniques I apply that can only be done in Photoshop. Some of these techniques are quite popular, while other techniques are the result of spending too many hours playing around and trying various things. The one thing I often notice when viewing images from aspiring photographers, or when talking post-processing with my workshop clients, is that every effect is applied globally. I believe that is a BIG mistake.

Certain effects should only be applied to specific parts of an image. That’s where Layers and Masks in Photoshop come in handy. However, I like to make my selections more accurate than just painting with a black/white brush on a Layer Mask, which is why Luminosity Masks have become an important part of my workflow. I’m not going to get into what they are and how to create them in this article. If you don’t know how to create them, I suggest you read this article first so that what I discuss in this article makes sense to you. I will be covering 5 scenarios where you should use Luminosity Masks.

1. Use Luminosity Masks to apply contrast

Let’s step out of Photoshop and into the Lightroom RAW editor for a moment to take a look at what happens when you increase the contrast slider:

Pulling Lightroom’s Contrast slider to the right brightens the brights and darken the darks, without taking into consideration how dark the darks are and how bright the brights are. That will quite often result in shadows becoming pure black and the brightest highlights becoming pure white. Yes, you can avoid this by adjusting the slider more gently or playing with the Highlights/Shadows sliders (which I often do in addition). However, there’s another way that’s even better: apply contrast using a Luminosity Mask.

I’ve already applied contrast and made basic raw adjustments when opening this file in Photoshop. So when I now keep working with the contrast, I don’t want to affect the brightest highlights or the darkest shadows. That means that I only want to apply contrast to the midtones. This is easily achieved in Photoshop by creating a Midtones Luminosity Mask (I often go for Midtones 2, but make sure to create the other masks as well) and applying it to the Curves Layer Mask (you can also use a Levels or Contrast Adjustment Layer):

The Midtones 2 Luminosity Mask applied to the Curves Layer Mask

Looking at the mask above, we can see that we’re not affecting the darker parts of the image when adjusting the contrast. The effect will also be less visible in the brightest parts. If you’re not quite sure what you’re looking at above, remember this phrase when talking about Layer Masks: White Reveals, Black Conceals.

2. Selectively work on color balance

The second adjustment that should be done through a Luminosity Mask is Color Balance. Globally working with color will often result in strong color casts.

Let’s say that you want to cool down the shadows of an image by using a Color Balance Adjustment Layer. The common method would be to set the color balance tone to Shadows and pull the cyan slider to the left and the blue slider to the right, such as this:

Doing this simple adjustment has given a nice cold color cast to the shadows but, unfortunately, it’s affected more than just the darker parts of the image. Also, less dark areas (areas which are not considered bright), have been affected more than I wanted. Even the highlights seem slightly faded.

If I make this exact same adjustment through a Darks 3 Luminosity Mask, the result is quite different:

Notice that the colder color cast has been applied to the darkest parts of the image, which is what I initially aimed for. The midtones and highlights are entirely left alone and remain the same as they did before applying the adjustment.

3. Darken a bright sky with Luminosity Masks

Another good use of Luminosity Masks is to darken a too bright sky (in this scenario, it’s important that there’s still information to be pulled out of the bright parts). A quick look at the RAW file below shows us that the left side sky is slightly too bright. I still want it to be brighter than the right since the sun sits just left of the frame. However, I want to get some of the details back from the overly bright areas.

Using a Curves Layer Adjustment without a mask will affect other parts of the image too. So, again, let’s do it through a Luminosity Mask. The Brights 4 mask seemed best for this particular image:

Remember, only the white parts of the mask will be affected by the adjustment. As you see above, that means that the majority of the image won’t be affected whatsoever.

With the Brights 4 Luminosity Mask selected, create a Curves Adjustment Layer and darken by pulling the middle part of the line downwards. We’ve now successfully darkened the bright sky:

4. Blend multiple images using Luminosity Masks

Digital cameras have had a great boost in improvement in a short time, but there’s still one thing that they struggle to do: capture the full dynamic range when working with bright skies and dark foregrounds. This certainly is something camera manufacturers are working on. I’m blown away by how far its come, but it’s still not good enough for many of the scenarios landscape photographers work in.

The workaround is to capture multiple exposures of the same frame with different shutter speeds. Typically, you capture one dark, one base, and one bright image. You then blend these images in post-processing where both the foreground and sky is correctly exposed.

There are a million ways to do this, but one of the most accurate is to use Luminosity Masks in Photoshop. It might sound advanced, but let me show you just how easy it is.

Let’s say we want to blend these two images to get back the lost information in the blown out sky. (To keep this simple, I only blend two exposures here. But, I strongly recommend the 3rd exposure as well to use in the brightest part):

I prefer to have the bright layer on the top and paint in the darker exposure, but either way is perfectly fine. If you prefer having the dark exposure on the top, just do the opposite of what I explain in the next few steps.

Here’s how you easily blend the images using Luminosity Masks:

  1. Place the bright exposure on the top
  2. Align the layers to avoid ghosting (select both layers and go to Edit -> Auto-Align Layers)
  3. Add a white Layer Mask to the top layer
  4. Create a Brights Luminosity Mask (the exact mask depends on the image. I used Brights 3 for this example)
  5. Use a black brush at 0% hardness and 50% opacity and brush repeatedly on the areas where you want to reveal the darker exposure. Repeat until you’ve got a smooth blend.

That’s it! Not to hard right? In a matter of minutes I was able to blend the two images above into this:

As mentioned, this image still needs one darker exposure to be painted back into the brightest area close to the suns’ position. This is quite easy, and all you need to do is have another darker layer at the bottom and use a more restricted Brights mask on the middle layer to reveal it.

5. To apply Glow Effects

The final adjustment I strongly recommend doing selectively rather than globally is any glow effect. There’s no need to add a strong Orton Effect to the shadows of a picture, right?

There are two “guidelines” that I follow when creating a glow effect:

  1. Never apply it to the closest foreground (keep the foreground sharp)
  2. Avoid adding too much to the shadows

Since there might be highlights in the foreground, I’m going to combine a Luminosity Mask and free painting on the mask in this scenario. Again, this is quite easy and you can achieve it by following a few quick steps:

  1. Create a glow effect on a new layer
  2. Create a wide Brights mask and apply it onto the layer
  3. Grab a soft black brush at a medium opacity and remove the adjustment from the immediate foreground by painting directly onto the layer mask

By following these simple steps we have added a nice soft glow to the highlights of the image.

The point of adding a glow effect, in my opinion, is not to make the entire image look soft and hazy but to add a little extra depth and atmosphere. I have achieved this by selectively applying it.

What next?

These are just a few adjustments that I recommend applying through a Luminosity Mask. They have become an essential part of my processing workflow during the past several years. I use them in one or another way for the majority of my images. Sometimes I apply to sharpen through them, other times contrast. There really are endless opportunities.

 

5-scenarios-where-you-should-use-luminosity-masks

The post 5 Scenarios Where You Should Use Luminosity Masks appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Christian Hoiberg.


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Tips for Creating Better Documentary Travel Photos

20 Jun

The post Tips for Creating Better Documentary Travel Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

Good documentaries tell a story, often with the help of a narrator. To add interest to your travel photos you can employ the same techniques.

Showing your family and friends endless pictures of your recent adventures may seem exciting to you. You were there. You had the experience. They didn’t. If you want them to sit through your latest travel slideshow, you need to make it interesting.

Documentary Travel Photography: How to Add More Interest to Your Travel Photos Happy Market Vendor

I had a lovely conversation with this man. He and his wife come to sell vegetables at their market stall each day. © Kevin Landwer-Johan

Here are some tips on how to add more interest to your photos and create better documentary travel photos.

Tell a story with your photographs

Planning your trip took time and effort. Deciding where you wanted to go, what you wanted to see and how long you would stay. Why not include your photography in the planning stage as well?

Think about why you’re going and what you’ll be doing. How can you turn this into a story? Think about adding a connecting thread of what interests and attracts you most to each location you’ll visit.

Make a list of some themes you can follow. Each day you are traveling, check your list and make sure to include some of the items in your photos.

You might want to photograph:

  • specific architectural aspects
  • local artists working
  • old people’s faces
  • coffee shops
  • street signs
  • advertising hoardings.

Consider what’s most relevant to the places you’ll go. Which of these interest you the most and will make the best photo opportunities. Plan to spend more time at these locations.

Bicycle Close Up Documentary Travel Photography: How to Add More Interest to Your Travel Photos

Many tourists choose to rent bicycles for sightseeing in Chiang Mai because the city is mostly flat. © Kevin Landwer-Johan

Get the whole picture

One trick I learned when starting out in video production was to always capture wide, medium and close-up angles. This allows for more flexibility to build up the whole picture when editing. The same works when creating documentary travel photography.

I often encourage our travel photography workshop participant to imagine they are working for a magazine. They need to produce a series of images for their editor to show the essence of each place they visit.

Only capturing wide or close-up details is not going to build a complete picture.

red chillies Documentary Travel Photography: How to Add More Interest to Your Travel Photos

Close up of large red chilies. The larger the chilly, the milder it is. © Kevin Landwer-Johan

You need to get in close. Show the texture and patterns.

Muang Mai Market Documentary Travel Photography: How to Add More Interest to Your Travel Photos

Muang Mai Market in Chiang Mai is the biggest and busiest food market in northern Thailand. © Kevin Landwer-Johan

You need to stand back to encompass the whole scene.

Fruit Vendor Documentary Travel Photography: How to Add More Interest to Your Travel Photos

Owners of small shops, restaurants, and household shoppers all come to buy produce at Muang Mai market. © Kevin Landwer-Johan

You need to come in tighter and capture what’s happening at that place.

Include your travel companions

Traveling with other photographers usually makes life easier. You can take your time rather than being hurried along by someone taking snapshots with their phone.

One way to make the most of your time with non-photographer travel companions is to include them in your photos. Make them part of your story.

I don’t mean for you to just take cheesy social-media-styled pictures of your partner. Put them in the story. Show what you’re doing and the interesting aspects of the places you visit. Having the people you’re traveling with in some of your photos makes them more personal.

Including them in some activity helps tell the story. Photograph them ordering meals or coffee. Take pictures of them boarding the boat or rickshaw. Make photos about what you are doing together, not only of what you are looking at.

Documentary Travel Photography: How to Add More Interest to Your Travel Photos Myanmar Village Friends

My wife and I enjoyed meeting the locals at Pompee village when we traveled to Myanmar. © Kevin Landwer-Johan

Take time out

If including your travel companions is not possible, take time out for photography. Arrange time each day to spend time with your camera with no other objective.

Rushing from place to place without taking the time to engage in your photography story is frustrating. Give yourself permission to enjoy using your camera.

This may mean having to wake up earlier than others you’re traveling with. It might be ducking out of the restaurant while you’re waiting for your lunch or dinner to be prepared. You will find it’s worth it because you will get better photographs when you can take your time.

Documentary Travel Photography: How to Add More Interest to Your Travel Photos Wat Pra Darapirom

This ornate temple complex on the outskirts of Chiang Mai includes examples of Lanna and Shan temple architecture. © Kevin Landwer-Johan

Book a photography workshop

Many popular travel destinations offer opportunities for travel photography workshops or photo tours.

Investing in either of these will undoubtedly mean you will come away with better photos. You’ll be experiencing the location with a photographer who knows it more intimately. They will be able to take you to the most interesting places at the best times for photos.

Taking a photography workshop you’ll also learn some new skills. Being on vacation is a great time to learn because you can put into practice what you learn immediately.

A good travel photography workshop will incorporate teaching camera and photography skills. You’ll also learn local cultural information which will improve your photography experience.

Documentary Travel Photography: How to Add More Interest to Your Travel Photos Photography Workshop Teaching

Kevin Landwer-Johan teaching a photography workshop in Chiang Mai, Thailand. © Pansa Landwer-Johan

Take more photos and edit them

Take more photos than you think you need to. Then choose the best.

Don’t go crazy and make snapshots of everything you see. A good subject does not make a good photograph. You don’t want to return home with hundreds of photos you could have made with your phone.

When you find something interesting to photograph, look at it from different angles. Consider how it will look from different points of view. Walk around and make a series of photos. Wide, medium and close up of the same subject.

Taking time to do this will mean you have more to work with to help tell your story. If you’re not taking enough photos, you may regret it later when you see gaps in your narrative.

Weeding out the rubbish photos and only showing the best ones is important. No one will want to look through all the photos you take. Be discerning and be selective about which ones you choose to share. This will help you in taking better photos next time you travel too.

Documentary Travel Photography: How to Add More Interest to Your Travel Photos Tuktuks

Tuk-tuks are an iconic part of Chiang Mai’s public transport. © Kevin Landwer-Johan

Caption your photographs

Captioning your photographs is like adding a narrative to your story.

Include details of the location and maybe the time of day when it’s relevant. Think about how you can add information which will enhance your photograph. Don’t always include the obvious. You don’t need to describe what can already be seen.

A caption may be a few words or several sentences. Your caption should be succinct and informative. Don’t waffle or include irrelevant information. Use your captions to support your photos and enhance your story.

Documentary Travel Photography: How to Add More Interest to Your Travel Photos

I found an alternative point of view to take this photo of a tuk-tuk. © Kevin Landwer-Johan

Conclusion

Vacation travel is usually exciting. You see and experience new and interesting things more frequently than when you’re at home. This trends for more interesting photographs.

You want to put together a documentary travel photography story that will not put your family and friends to sleep. Tell your story well and you’ll inspire them to travel too.

 

Tips for Creating Better Documentary Travel Photos

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6 Ways to Make Your Photography Stand Out

20 Jun

The post 6 Ways to Make Your Photography Stand Out appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Karthika Gupta.

When was the last time you googled your city and your genre photographer? I tried this the other day, and I used ‘Chicago lifestyle’ and ‘travel photographer.’ The search results returned 18.5K results. Yes, that is ‘K’ as in thousands.

Photography is an extremely competitive field and it can be difficult to make your photography stand out. Low cost of entry in terms of gear, free online tutorials and a pool of clients who want everything for ‘free’ or ‘low budget’ means there is work for anyone who wants to get into the field. Sure, some genres are harder to get into than others, perhaps. But the reality is that if you want to get paid to take photos for someone else, chances are you will be able to do that relatively easily.

branding photoshoot of an artist Karthika Gupta

Now, I am not against any of this. We all start somewhere, and I had also done the ‘free’ photoshoot when I was starting to get my feet wet. I understand all that is needed to become a photographer.

But I quickly learned that the $ 50 or $ 100 photoshoots are not worth my time, effort, and talent. As a photographer, there are many expenses such as:

  • gear insurance
  • business registration
  • taxes
  • administrative overheads including website domain name and hosting
  • travel costs etc.,

I was effectively paying people to let me take their photo.

That math did not add up and made no sense what so ever.

If you want to make it long term in the photography industry, there are several things you need to do to get yourself on the right track and stand out from the rest of the crowd when it comes to your skill, your business practices and your presence – on and offline!

1. Consistency

Don’t be a one-hit wonder. Consistently create and produce new work. Even if that work is just for you, personal projects or collaborative projects.

If you have to do ‘free’ or ‘low budget’ shoots, have a plan on when, how, and what you are going to get and give from these shoots. Spending 6 months providing free shoots or low-cost shoots to build up your portfolio is okay, but taking 2 years to do so is a bit much.

Also, realize that free/low-cost shoots tend to look very different from clients who are willing to spend $ 1000 or more on a family photo shoot. So be practical with your goals.

Styled bridal photoshoot stand out from the crowd with your photography Karthika Gupta

It took me years of practice to find a style that I liked and that worked with my personal asthetic – a clean, bright style of imagery.

2. Authenticity

A lot of photographers offer styled photo shoots and portfolio-building photoshoots. This is where a bunch of photographers walk through a styled setup and create work that they can showcase on their portfolio. There is nothing wrong with this but only if you use this as a way to build your skill.

For example, you are editing clients of different skin tones, learning how to photograph in challenging light or how to pose and interact with clients. Don’t use these images as ‘your’ work. You are better off indicating images from a styled shoot as such than you are in showcasing work/styling that isnt your own.

I love 1:1 styled shoot because they give me creative freedom and a chance to create unique images.

Instead of consistently looking for styled shoots for building a portfolio, invest in one of your own. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or fancy. Loop in a few vendors and see if you can set something up that can fit your brand and theirs. This is a win-win for all involved. That way, you create unique images and also make friends in the industry.

3. Play well with others in this space

This relates to number 2. Make friends in the industry. I belong to many FB groups and Whatsapp groups for creatives and photographers. We meet, chat, connect over business issues as well as offer advice and help as needed. I also am a part of a group with many different kinds of entrepreneurs to build a community of like-minded people and professionals. I have gotten a lot of business from these groups but have also made some life long friends and mentors. People who are always there for me because I am always there for them.

Triple exposure on film Karthika Gupta

A collaborative photoshoot with a fellow photographer to create portfolio and editorial photos. The image is a triple exposure on film.

No matter what level of business you are at or even if you are just a hobbyist, there are always people who are just like you and are looking for the same things as you – friendship, love for photography and camaraderie. Give out as much as you can, be helpful and uplift others who are on this journey with you. The more you put out there, the more you will receive from the universe.

4. Patience is key

Photography is a very competitive industry. At any given point in time, there are bound to be people who can do something better than you. And that is totally okay. Know where your strengths lie and use those to your advantage. Aim to be in it for the long haul and not just the short term gigs that are one and done deals. Build relationships with your clients so that they will refer you and come back time and time again for quality results.

Success doesn’t happen overnight. Be consistent and be patient, and things will happen in their own time.

5. Success your way

Whether you choose to be in business or not, be true to your art. Get inspiration from other photographers and daily life. There are many amazing things around us at any given point in time. Just because no-one else photographs it, does not make it boring. Similarly, think outside the box. Just because everyone photographs something a certain way, does not mean you have to follow the pack.

When you are starting out, don’t obsess over clients, getting work, and making money. Yes, they are absolutely important but take the time to perfect your art (to the point where you are confident charging money for your photography). Then, money and fame will follow.

6. Have a 360 approach to your career

When I used to work in Corporate America many many years ago, one of the companies I worked for had a 360-degree approach to annual performance evaluation. My performance was judged by how effective I was in four areas: my peers in my team and across teams, my managers, and those who worked for me. Apply this approach to your photography. No matter where you are committed to helping those just starting out, collaborate with your peers, learn from those who are where you want to be. This can be in terms of meetups, workshops, and conferences or even just meeting for a cup of coffee to connect with others.

I started teaching technique at conferences and love meeting and connecting with other photographers who have become good friends.

Your photography career and mindset around your work and your art will grow in leaps and bounds when you have a mindset of abundance instead of scarcity.

Conclusion

If you have read through this article in its entirety, you would have noticed that I talked nothing about camera brands, lens, lighting, models, posing etc.

In my opinion, the tips for making your photography stand out from the crowd focus on things that are more important. Your attitude towards yourself and others, your mindset, your willingness to get help and help others, and your long term vision for where you want to be, are far more important than your skill with the camera. After all, almost anyone can take a picture – simply point and shoot. It takes a lot more to become a successful photographer who consistently creates art.

 

make your photography stand out

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The 7 Nature Photography Mistakes You Don’t Know You’re Making

19 Jun

The post The 7 Nature Photography Mistakes You Don’t Know You’re Making appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Do you like to do nature photography?

Then you might be making these 7 mistakes.

And here’s the thing:

These nature photography mistakes are the kind that you don’t even know you’re making. They’re the type of mistakes that are easy to miss, but they’re absolutely critical to your photography.

To discover these mistakes (and to ensure you never make them again!), read on!

1. Shooting under bad lighting

I’m going to start with the single most critical, most common mistake I see nature photographers making:

Shooting in poor lighting conditions.

Because good light is absolutely essential to good nature photography.

In fact, I’d go so far as to say that without good light, you cannot get a good photo. It’s so easy to have the perfect setup, the perfect composition, and the perfect settings…

…only to ruin the shot with bad light.

So what counts as bad light?

Two main situations.

First, shooting under the harsh, midday sun will pretty much always ruin your shots. The midday sun just isn’t good for nature photography!

And second, shooting in low light, at any time of the day. Unless you’re shooting with a tripod, your shots will end up grainy or blurry, which you definitely don’t want.

Which begs the question:

What is good light?

I recommend that you do nature photography at two main times.

First, you can capture some great nature photography under cloudy skies. Cloudy light is especially great for photography that involves color because the clouds diffuse the light and saturate the colors.

Second, you can always rely on the golden hours, which are the two hours after sunrise and before sunset. Golden-hour light is warm, wonderful and, well, golden. It’s perfect for capturing that stunning, once-in-a-lifetime shot.

In fact, most of the best nature photography you’ve seen was probably taken during golden hour. It’s just that amazing!

2. Shooting your subject from a standing height

Here’s another common nature photography mistake:

Not paying attention to your angle!

(More specifically, photographing from a standing height, so that you’re shooting down toward your subject.)

This is especially problematic in wildlife and macro photography, where shooting downward conveys a sense of dominance and separation.

Instead of shooting downward, try to get on a level with your subject. That way, the viewer will feel much more connected, like they’re in the same world as your subject.

And don’t just shoot from a single angle. Try to experiment with different possibilities, and take note of the way a different angle results in a different nature photo.

This is a great way to get out of a creative rut: Force yourself to shoot a subject from an angle you’ve never used before. Get on the ground and shoot upward!

3. Using a (slightly) messy background

In nature photography, the background is absolutely essential.

If you don’t include the perfect background, then your photos just won’t stun the viewer.

And one of the easiest mistakes to make is using a messy background.

You’ve got to do everything you can to avoid the mess. You must avoid chaos. Instead, you need to produce a background that’s as simple as possible:

  • Uniform in color
  • No additional subjects
  • No lines or shapes

Your goal is to make your subject stand out. And to do that, you have to eliminate everything that’s unnecessary in the background. Only include the essentials.

4. Photographing low-quality subjects

Once you’ve found a subject…

…do you check to make sure that it’s not damaged, dirty, or poor quality?

It’s so easy to forget this step. And yet it’s critical to capturing a stunning nature photo.

I recommend you always do a quick evaluation of your subject.

If it’s a flower, then you’ll want to ask yourself:

  • Are there any blemishes or holes?
  • Are there any spots of dirt or mud?
  • Are there any insects in the center of the flower?

If it’s a landscape, then think about:

  • Whether there’s any litter or human-made items
  • Whether your foreground subject is damaged

Your evaluation doesn’t need to be in-depth. You should just spend enough time to be certain your subject is in good shape.

5. Not including a point of focus in your compositions

This is another quick way to ruin a great nature photo.

Because basically, every composition must have a point of focus.

By this, I mean that you must include a subject. Something that viewers can latch onto. The subject can be whatever you like (as long as it’s there!).

If you’re shooting landscapes, then try to include a subject in both the foreground and the background. Ideally, the foreground subject will lead the eye to the background.

If you’re shooting wildlife, then your subject is pretty much guaranteed. Just make sure that you emphasize the wildlife in your photo!

And if you’re shooting macro photos, then make sure that an aspect of your subject is tack-sharp, so that your viewer’s eyes go straight to it.

6. Shooting low-contrast scenes

This mistake is a bit more advanced, but still important to keep in mind.

When you’re doing nature photography, you should strive to avoid ultra-low contrast scenes.

By ‘low-contrast scenes,’ I’m referring to those with very little variation in tone (that is, lights and darks) and color.

A low-contrast scene might be almost entirely white.

Or it might be entirely red, or blue, or black.

What’s the problem with low-contrast scenes?

The lack of contrast makes every element blend in. So no single element stands out, and the photo becomes boring.

Which is exactly what you want to avoid.

Instead, look for scenes where the subject pops off the background. And look for scenes where you have some nice shadows and nice highlights.

I should note: It is possible to use low-contrast scenes for an artistic effect. But you have to do it deliberately, and it’s extremely easy to mess it up.

So I recommend you stick to high-contrast scenes. That’s how you’ll avoid low-contrast issues!

7. Not post-processing your nature photos

There are three fundamental aspects of every nature photo. They are:

  1. Light
  2. Composition
  3. Post-Processing

If you can nail all three of these things, then you’re set. Your photos will be stunning. And we’ve already talked about light, and how you should shoot during the golden hours. We’ve already talked about composition, and how you must include a point of focus.

But we haven’t talked about post-processing. And here’s the thing:

Without post-processing, your nature photos just won’t stand out. Because editing is what adds that finishing touch, that last bit of shine, to your nature photography.

Now, you don’t have to do much editing. But there are a few things I recommend you do to every photo:

  1. Check the exposure. It’s especially common to let your photos remain underexposed. So make sure that the shadows in your photo still look nice and detailed.
  2. Check the contrast. In general, I recommend boosting the contrast of your nature photos. This gives an extra bit of punch and will help your images stand out.
  3. Check the saturation. While it’s easy to overdo this step, a little bit of saturation goes a long way. You want your colors to look deep, but natural.

If you can just follow these three steps, then your nature photography will look so much better.

Nature photography mistakes: conclusion

Now you should know all about these seven deadly nature photography mistakes.

And you’re prepared to avoid them!

The key is to just keep a lookout. Maybe even create a checklist.

Then, when you’re shooting in the field, you’ll make sure that none of these happens, and your photography will turn out better than ever.

Have any nature photography mistakes that I didn’t discuss? Share them in the comments!

 

nature photography mistakes

The post The 7 Nature Photography Mistakes You Don’t Know You’re Making appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.


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Nikon Releasing 900 Dollar Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera?

19 Jun

The post Nikon Releasing 900 Dollar Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

According to Nikkei, Nikon plans to release a mirrorless camera before the 2019 fiscal year is out.

And it’ll likely be a budget option, one that comes in at about half the price of the Nikon Z6.

Here’s the direct (translated) quote from Nikkei:

Nikon will introduce a new mid-price mirrorless camera product in fiscal 2019. The same interchangeable lens can be used in the product that corresponds to a sister model such as the high-end model “Z7” launched by the company in the autumn of [2018]. It is expected that the price will be in the 100,000 yen range, which is easier for the general consumer to pick up than the leading 200,000 to 400,000 yen model. The aim is to develop the demand of users other than existing enthusiasts.

Regarding price: 100,000 yen falls around 900 dollars, which would be a dramatic reduction in price compared to the Z7 and even the Z6, Nikon’s two current full-frame mirrorless models.

A 900 dollar full-frame mirrorless option would likely be welcomed by those DSLR shooters who just can’t afford the current Nikon mirrorless prices, but are looking for something lighter than their current DSLR setup.

But we also have to ask:

What Z-level features will Nikon leave behind in order to cut costs?

First of all, we can’t be sure the new mirrorless option is full frame. The original report doesn’t say this outright. But the claim that the new product “corresponds to a sister model such as the high-end model ‘Z7′” suggests the new camera won’t be fundamentally different. And an APS-C Z mirrorless body would be fundamentally different.

But even if the camera is full frame, other important features might be dropped.

For instance, might we see the loss of an EVF? Personally, I would see this as deeply frustrating. Mirrorless EVFs are one of the strengths of mirrorless systems. I wouldn’t like to see it go.

What do you think? What will this new mirrorless camera be like?

And would you be interested in purchasing it?

The post Nikon Releasing 900 Dollar Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.


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Make Easy Panoramic Images with Microsoft ICE

18 Jun

The post Make Easy Panoramic Images with Microsoft ICE appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.

Vista at Dead Horse State Park, Utah. Fourteen images stitched in Microsoft ICE.

You’ve no doubt seen panoramic images and perhaps even know how to make them. Whether using the tools built into programs like Lightroom and Photoshop, or perhaps another dedicated panoramic creation program, or even the sweep-panoramic capability of many cellphone cameras, you’ve used this technique to make images larger than you could make them in a single shot.

In the past, the choice was not as great, and the main stitching programs not as diversified in their capabilities. The programs that did exist to create panoramas were complex, sometimes expensive, and didn’t always work well.

When the first version of Microsoft ICE (Image Composite Editor), a program from the Microsoft Research Division of the software giant came out, it had all the things I sought in software utilities. It was simple, it worked well, and it was free – bingo! Although other options have come along for photo stitching, I still find ICE, (now at version 2.0.3.0), a favorite.

Panorama images are not new nor a product of the digital age. This image was made from Rincon Point in San Francisco in 1851 using multiple photo plates seamed together.

Image stitching – What is it?

When working with panoramic programs you will read the term “image stitching.” It is an apt phrase for the process by which a series of photos are composited together to make a larger image, much like scraps of fabric stitched together to make a quilt. The mark of a good photo-stitching program is how well it can piece the separate images together without showing the “seams.” Check another box for Microsoft ICE – it does that job extremely well.

The Mars Rover uses robotic cameras and panoramic stitching techniques to make high-resolution images.  NASA Photo

Considerations when photographing a panorama

The quality of a finished product is usually dependent on the raw materials that go into it. The same is true of creating a panorama photo. The better your technique in making the individual images, the better your finished panorama will be.  I will not be doing a deep-dive into panorama photography techniques, as that is a whole subject itself, but instead, I’ll list some of those things you’ll want to consider when making your shots.

One real benefit of ICE is that even with less than perfectly created images, it will still do a respectable job in creating a panorama. Of course, with better images, the result will be better too.

Here are some techniques to help you when shooting your images for a panorama:

Camera settings

As you sweep across your scene, making multiple shots, there will be variations in the light. If you leave your camera in an automatic mode, each frame will be slightly different too. ICE has what is called Exposure Blending and uses an advanced algorithm to compensate for this. Thus, it smooths the seams between individual images. However, if you give it better images to work with the result will be better too.

The best practice is to put your camera in full manual mode, find and set an exposure that is a good average for the scene, and lock that in.  Try to pick an aperture for maximum depth of field as well.

The same goes for focus. Find a point where as much of the image will be in focus, (the “hyperfocal distance,” typically a third of the way into the scene), focus there and turn off autofocus.

Lens selection

There is no “just right” lens focal length to use when making panoramic images. The field of view that represented in your stitched image will be dictated by how many photos you make and the sweep of your pan, not the lens focal length.

One might think a wide-angle lens would be a good choice, as fewer shots would be required. But that’s not necessarily true. The best choice is a lens with the least distortion as any lens distortion will be magnified as you stitch images together. Thus, a good, basic 50mm prime lens could be a great choice.

Sometimes, depending on the scene you want to capture, a longer telephoto might work well. Lens quality and minimal distortion trump wide focal lengths here.

A panoramic tripod head allows you to mount the camera so that the lens nodal point is centered over the pivot point of the pan. Thus, minimizing parallax errors.

Nodal point and parallax issues

Wazzat!!?? Yes, you can get complex very quickly and encounter cryptic terms if you want to when making panoramic photos.  Attention to detail results in higher quality panoramas. And, if you decide to pursue this technique, you will want to learn about these things in time.

Very briefly, the nodal point is the spot within a lens where the light rays converge.  Setting up your camera such that the pivot point of your pan is at that spot will produce an image with the least distortion.  This is most important in images where objects in the shot are both close and far in your scene.

Parallax is the difference in the apparent position of an object when viewed along two different lines of sight.

To see a quick example, hold your hand out at arm’s length with your thumb up.  Close one eye and put your thumb over a distant object.  Now close that eye and open the other. You will see your thumb “jump” off the object to a different position.  This is parallax.

When setting up your camera, pivoting around the nodal point will reduce or even eliminate this. And serious panorama photographers will purchase special panorama tripod heads to get this exact spot for any given lens they might use.

Highly serious gigapixel panorama photographers making images with hundreds of composite images might even use motorized computer-controlled heads like the Gigapan to make their shots.

Check out some of the Gigapan images like this made from some 12,000 individual shots. Alternatively, look at this taken from a similar setup on the Mars Rover.

Bringing it back down to Earth, you need not get nearly that sophisticated if you don’t want to.  There are less expensive heads for panoramic photography if you choose to try that and many Youtube videos and instructional articles on setting nodal points.

For starters, you needn’t even worry about all of that to give panoramic photography a try. The beauty of ICE is that even with something as simple as handheld images shot with a cellphone camera, it does a very nice job of assembling a panorama image.

Step-by-Step

Here are some things to do when making your images for use in a panorama:

  • Consider your composition – Good composition is just as important in making a panorama image as any other photo.  If your cellphone supports the sweep panorama feature, you can sometimes make a shot with it to help pre-visualize what you want to do with your DSLR.
  • Level the tripod – You will know your tripod wasn’t level if you get an “arched” looking composite panorama.
  • Mount your camera in a vertical (portrait) orientation – You will get a taller aspect ratio in your final shot and an image less “ribbon-like” when you assemble your panorama.
  • Hand-marker – Shoot a photo of your hand in front of the camera as the first and last in your panorama sequence. This will make it much easier to determine which images belong to a panorama “group.”
  • Camera Settings – Use full manual exposure and focus for the reasons outlined above.
  • Overlap – As you pan making each shot, overlap each image about a third so ICE will more easily find the match points when making the composite.

This is the screen you will see when first opening Microsoft ICE.

Bringing it into ICE

Bringing your images into ICE and letting it assemble your panorama is the easiest part and a big reason to like this program. ICE accepts most Raw photos, .jpg of course, and even layered Photoshop files.  You will need to know this is a Windows-only program and won’t work on your Mac. However, there are plenty of iOS alternatives. One which is also free and well-regarded is Hugin.  I can’t say I have any personal experience with it, however, being a PC guy.

Here’s where you will find the download for ICE. Be sure you get the proper version, 32 or 64-bit for your particular PC. The program will work in Windows 10, 8, 7 or even Vista SP2. There is a lot of good information as well as an interesting overview video on the page.  The installation usually goes quite smoothly.

After you have the program installed, there are various ways to bring your images in for compositing into a panorama:

  • Running ICE as a stand-alone – ICE can be run just fine as a stand-alone program and you can bring your images in from wherever you have them stored. You can do this either by opening ICE and clicking New Panorama from Images or by opening another window in File Explorer and dragging and dropping the images into ICE.
  • Launching ICE from a Folder – Typically, once you install ICE, if you select all the images you want in your pano from a folder and then right-click, you will see an option to Stitch using Image Composite Editor.  Select that, then ICE will launch with your selected images brought in.
  • Using ICE as an External Editor from Lightroom – You can set-up Adobe Lightroom to use ICE as an External Editor.  This is my preferred way as I often do some basic pre-editing to my shots in LR before bringing them into ICE.  Once you have set-up ICE as an External Editor, select all the images in the pano group you will be using. Then, in the Lightroom menu, click Photo -> Edit In -> Microsoft ICE.  You will have the option to Edit a Copy with Lightroom Adjustments.  Pick that, click Edit, and ICE launches with the images ready for compositing.

There are four basic steps in ICE; Import, (the images have been imported here), Stitch, Crop, and Export.

Four basic steps in ICE

1. Import

If you’ve used one of the three methods above, you’re likely already seeing your images in ICE ready for Stitching. If you are running ICE in stand-alone mode and have not already imported your images, you will see three Options across the top of the screen:  New Panorama from Images, New Panorama from Video, and Open Existing Panorama. Choose the first option, navigate in Windows Explorer to where your images are located, select those that make up the panorama group, and click Open.  Remember, ICE opens Raw files, Tif, Jpg, PSD, and perhaps some other image file types.

You will find that in most cases, the default setting for ICE works well. If you are confused about some of the terms and menu options, you can click Next (at the top right of the screen), and ICE proceeds to the next step using the defaults.

If you choose to try some other things, here are a few options:

Rather than use Auto-detect in Camera Motion, you may wish to use Rotating Motion. It will give you more options for adjustment later. I have not found the Planar Motion options to be useful, (and to be honest, don’t really understand them. Such will be the case with ICE for most people – there are options and terms that will take more knowledge of the process. And, while they might have applications, most times will not be necessary.  Keep things simple, and you’ll most often be pleased with the result.)

This is the Stitch step. Ice has composited individual images.  Don’t be overwhelmed by the Projection options. ICE will almost always choose the correct one by default. If you wish to try the others, go ahead and see what you like best.

2. Stitch

Click Next or select option 2 – Stitch from the menu. The screen will show Aligning and then Compositing Images with progress bars as the work is done.  Depending on the size, number, and complexity of your images, this could go quick or could take several minutes.  Once done, your stitched image will appear.

Depending on the camera motion type chosen, you may have another set of options under Projection with terms like Cylindrical, Mercator, and a collection of other types you may not understand. I suggest trying the different options and seeing which makes your panorama look best and the least distorted. You can also zoom into your image with the slider or by using your mouse scroll wheel. Clicking and dragging above or below the panorama will allow you to adjust the shape further. Try various things – whatever helps to make your panorama look best.

3. Crop

Click Next, or Crop to move on. Here you can crop the image to choose what to include in the finished panorama. Usually, you will have some rough edges, depending on how you shot the images and composited them. If you click Auto-Crop, the program will crop to the largest points where it can make a rectangular image. You can also manually drag the sides of the crop.

Auto-Complete works like the content-aware fill in Photoshop and will try to fill in missing pieces in the image. Sometimes, especially with things like the sky, it works amazingly well. Other times with more complex patterns, not so much.

Give it a try and see if you like the result. You can always turn it off if you don’t like it.

The Crop Step. You can crop manually, Auto crop, and use the Auto Complete feature if you like.

Note how the Auto Complete feature has filled in missing parts of the image at top and bottom.

4. Export

Once complete, you will want to save your resulting panorama.

Because you have stitched together what are often high-resolution images to start with, your panorama file can be huge. That’s great if you need to print a wall-sized poster. If you don’t need something that big, consider turning down the Scale by inputting a smaller number. If you know what size (in pixels) you want the finished image to be, you can also enter that number in the Width or Height boxes, and the other will adjust to maintain the aspect ratio.

For example, to print a 12 x 48-inch poster at 300 dpi, you would need an image 3600 x 14,400 pixels.

If your panorama at 100% is over 20,000 pixels wide, that’s overkill and may result in a much larger file than you need.

Or, if you’ll be displaying your panorama on the web where you may only need a file 2400 pixels wide, why make a monster file?

You can also input numbers into the width or height, and the image will adjust the other setting to maintain the aspect ratio. Your use for the panorama will dictate how large you need to output it.

The Export Step. If you were to export this image at 100% scale as a .tif image it would be 19772 x 5833 pixels and be 149MB. For use on the web, you could drop to something like 2400 x 708 (scale just 12.14%) as a .jpg at 75% quality and it would be just 372k. Export your images according to how you will use them.

You also have the option to choose the file format. ICE can output as .jpg, .psd, .tif, .png, or .bmp. Again consider how you plan to use the image. A .tif file will be much larger than a jpg. If you choose jpg, you can also choose the compression level with the Quality settings.

When you’ve made your selections, click Export to Disk and ICE will give you the option of where to save the file. If you came from Lightroom, you will still need to specify the output location. ICE does not automatically put the resulting panorama back into the Lightroom folder where you started.

One option not immediately evident is the ability to save a panorama project. Before exiting the program, look in the top left corner of the screen for the icons there. The last two, which look like disks if hovered, will say Save Panorama and Save Panorama As. These allow you to save your project as an .spj file. This is an ICE file type which can be loaded back in using Open Existing Panorama from the main menu. This could be useful if you intend to make various output sizes or file types from your original images.

32 images shot in two rows to get more of the sky.

ICE does a great job stitching even more complex images.

The final result of the previous multi-row stitch.

Set your camera in continuous mode and shoot, panning with your subject. Bring the images into ICE and stitch as usual. You can get a sequence like this very easily.

Same technique with continuous mode.

The final result.

Nifty tricks – Video, Tiny Planets, VR, and more

There are a few other things ICE will do beyond simply making panoramas.  It is beyond the scope of this article to outline the specific steps to do these things, but I simply wanted to make you aware of them so you can explore further if you like.

This is a 360-degree pano shot as video and imported into ICE. The video will not be as high resolution. 360-degree panos, however, open VR possibilities.

Video Input

First, your input file can, instead of being a group of still photos, be a video file. Video is lower resolution than images taken with most still cameras, but there may be other reasons you want to use it as an input format.  One of those is multi-image action. (See the sample photos). You can do this with multiple images shot as stills or using a video. Capture the action, input the video into ICE, choose the portion of the video you like and then select the action points you want in the finished pano.

Give this a try, and doing it will make the steps clearer.

ICE can also be used to create “tiny planets.”

Virtual Reality

Use ICE to make a 360-degree pano from still images or a video.  Then create an image that can be viewed as an interactive pano and be rotated by the viewer.  Post it to Facebook or view it on a VR device.  There are numerous online tutorials teaching how to do this.  Drone footage can make for an especially interesting VR image.

Conclusion

Microsoft ICE is powerful, can produce high-quality panorama images, and is very easy to use. It also does a good job when accepting the default choices. ICE can use simple images made handheld from a cellphone or hundreds of images on a Gigapan robotic system with a DSLR. There are also fun things like multi-image motion images, tiny planet creation, and virtual reality possibilities.

Oh yeah…and it’s free!  What’s not to like?

Go download it, give it a try, have fun, and share your images with us in the comments below.

 

panoramic images with Microsoft ICE

The post Make Easy Panoramic Images with Microsoft ICE appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.


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Spontaneous Photos Versus Staged Photos

18 Jun

The post Spontaneous Photos Versus Staged Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Bond.

This is a subject that runs to the very heart of what makes photography special for many people. The convulsions that many had when Steve McCurry decided he was in fact a visual storyteller show just how passionate people are about this subject.

Indeed, a more recent example of this occurred when a photography contest winner was found to have submitted an allegedly staged photo. To a certain degree, we’ve allowed photography to be romanticized by believing amazing photos are all about the moment of capture. That’s certainly an idea many travel or photography magazines have encouraged. In this article, you’ll learn about staged photos, spontaneous photos, and why learning both approaches will improve your work.

A shard of light was used to light this man’s face.

Spontaneous photos

Getting the moment of capture is often what makes or breaks a photo. Landscape photography isn’t always about this, but a lone hiker in your landscape photo can add narrative. Of course, street photography is almost always about moment of capture. So what can you do that will improve your chances of adding that x-factor to your frame?

Visit places with lots of action

If you want to exercise your body, you go to a gym, visit the swimming pool or perhaps go for a run. If you want to get good at taking spontaneous photos, you need to visit places that have lots of decisive moments. These places will train your eye to be razor sharp and alive to the potential of a decisive moment before it happens. This is the opposite of a staged photo.

You’ll want to visit the following places:

  • The local market – Find out where your local market is, and when it’s going to be busiest. Some markets are night markets, while your local fish market will be busiest at the crack of dawn. Vendors preparing their stock, street food being prepared, and interaction with customers all have great potential for a decisive moment.
  • An event – Events are also great places to practice. These can be sports events, festivals, or parties. Again interaction between people caught at the decisive moment. You’ll often need a lens with a longer focal length to be effective in this setting.
  • A busy street – Of course, street photography is what many will think of when you look to take photos with a decisive moment. Get your 50mm prime lens on the camera, and hit the streets looking for interesting characters. It’s often a good idea to choose a location and stop there for a while. Look for those moments of capture to come to you – perhaps against the backdrop of an interesting wall.

An event such as the balloon festival is a chance to capture moments.

Experiment with focal distance

The majority of decisive moment photos you’ll take will be street photos. These will be on the street, or perhaps within a street market. The general rule here is to use a 50mm prime lens, though experimenting with other focal lengths can also give you good results. Using a longer focal length means you can stand in a less noticeable location, allowing the action in front of you to unfold naturally. You’ll also feel more comfortable at a distance, and can anticipate your moments of capture and build your skill for anticipation. Once you have a knack for this anticipation, use wider angles and see how your results turn out. Of course, as mentioned before, sports and often event photography require longer focal lengths to capture the action.

In this photo, a longer focal length of 135mm was used. Markets are great for interactions between people.

Wait for the moment to come to you

This is a little like staged photos, except it’s a natural moment. It could be argued that this is the very opposite of spontaneous, but it is nevertheless a moment of capture. When you take this type of photo you will have a pre-composed frame, and you’re waiting for a person to walk into the right position within your photo. You will need a lot of patience, as you could well be waiting for at least an hour.

  • A frame – Set up your photo and wait for a person to walk into the frame within your photo. This will immediately give your photo a greater narrative. If possible, wait for more than one person to walk into that frame, so you can choose the most interesting subject.
  • A shard of light – A great technique to practice a decisive moment is to wait for people to walk into a shard of light. This gives you a defined condition when you need to press the shutter, so you will need to be fast. Look for an indoor location, and a gap in the roof to let the light through. Then expose at around -2 or -3EV for the background, and normal or slightly underexposed for the sunlit area.

In this photo, the scene was pre-composed. I then needed to wait for people to walk down the path.

Be quick on the draw

Of course, there are times you’re just going to have to be lightning fast. You’ll need to have eyes everywhere, constantly alert to possibilities, and seeing things to the side of you as well. Having your camera setting already setup is essential in this scenario. A more forgiving aperture of say f/8 rather than f/1.8 will also help with quick focus.

In some cases, you will have to use a larger aperture according to the light levels you are photographing in.

If you’ve been practicing in the market where there are many chances to capture a decisive moment, you will get quicker at bringing the camera to your eye and getting the shot immediately – the same skill you’ll have used to capture people walking into a shard of light.

There are times you need to be aware and very fast. These monks crossing the street is a split second moment.

Staged photos

The opposite of spontaneous photos is staged photos. This style of photography will be what you practice regularly if you work with models, or perhaps take pre-wedding photos for people. Of course, the recent controversy surrounding these is centered on travel photography, which is all meant to be natural moments. If you want the most striking photo possible, though, the ability to control all aspects of the photo will give you maximum creativity. So what goes into a successful photo of this type?

Going on a photo-shoot with other members of a photography club can be a great learning experience.

Solo vs the group

The photographer who recently ran into trouble with their winning image allegedly used a staged photo from a group photography event.

Of course, it’s quite possible to make a staged photo look natural, and for it to carry a strong message. In fact, if it doesn’t, you need to go back to the drawing board.

The question is, however, when you’re photographing with a group of other photographers, how much are you in control of the creative process? How much is that photo really yours because you pressed the shutter?

Learning with the group is a great way to improve your work. However, to really allow your own creativity to come to the fore, it needs to be you (and only you) who controls how the photos are staged.

Organizing a photo session with a friend or model where you work one-to-one gives you much more control.

The narrative

Control the narrative, and you’ll get the photo. To be a good visual storyteller, you need your photo to have that strong story as you guide your viewer’s eye through the frame. So you no longer need to capture the decisive moment. Instead, you’re going to create it.

To do that you’ll need to think of the following:

  • Design elements –You can choose your location to perfectly match the photo you want to take. Use frames, or perhaps even create your own frame. Leading lines such as paths or tunnels make for good photos. Good composition skills and a composition that harmonizes with the story you’re going to tell are things you are looking for.
  • The story –This could involve your subject looking off into the distance, cooking some food, or perhaps talking with a friend. The aim is to make these moments look as natural as possible, even though they’re staged.
  • The background – Lastly, the background should look after itself if you have applied the points made for design elements. Nevertheless, keep an eye on the background. Unless you’re in a studio, people can walk into the background of your photo, affecting the narrative of your photo.

This photo has been staged. An off-camera strobe is placed left of the camera to light the ladies face, and the smoke from the cigar.

Micromanage

The management of the photo can go beyond what’s list above. You will want to really micromanage your photo. That means controlling all aspects of it from lighting to what people are wearing in the photo.

  • The time of day – The position of the sun is going to dominate your photo. With staged photos, there is absolutely no excuse for getting this aspect of the photo wrong. The same goes for spontaneous photos as well. You should only be attempting these with the sun in the right position.
  • Lighting – You’ll need to decide whether you want to use natural light only. If if you only use natural light, you still have the potential to use reflective surfaces to bounce light where you want it to be. Beyond this, you can use strobes, and give your outdoor photo a studio look.
  • Clothes – Ahead of the photo shoot organizing with your model what they’ll wear is another aspect that can be controlled. Spend the time liaising with them so that the clothes match the location you have in mind.
  • Location – Where you choose to photograph can be controlled for any type of photo, whether it’s spontaneous or not. You’ll need to think about how this location will play off against the model and narrative you hope to acheive. Do you want the area busy with other people, or would it be better to choose a quieter time of the day?

In this photo, the framing was created by sticking together pieces of rice paper using tape. The chef is making fresh spring rolls, using rice paper.

Creative techniques

Unlike spontaneous photos, you can use creative techniques with your staged photos. In most cases, creative techniques take time to set up – time you only have when you stage the photo. There are many ways to be creative in your work. You don’t always need to use techniques like these. So take the following as some ideas you could use:

  • Light painting – You’ll need to photograph at night, but light painting is a great way of adding interest to your image. You’ll also need a model who can stand or sit very still. Think about the pose position. Some poses are much easier to be statuesque than others.
  • Refraction – Photography using prisms, fractal filters or lens balls can give your photo another twist. Your results with such techniques will be better if you stage the photo.
  • Flour – Throwing flour in the air is a great way to add a more dynamic feel to your photo. You’ll need to combine this with off-camera flash. The flash needs to be directed so it correctly lights up the flour while it’s mid-air.

In this image, light painting has been used to highlight two monks who are standing still for the photo.

The commercial aspect

With staged photos, you are almost certainly aiming at the commercial market. You’ll be photographing with a model who it’s very likely you’ll pay. If you’re new to this type of photography, you might consider building a relationship with your model, where you both give each other time rather than money to build each other’s portfolios.

  • Contests – Contests will ask for the model release of the person in a photo. So, to a certain extent, this rather says a commercial element to the photo is okay.
  • Publishing – It’s always nice to see your work published. Look at the photography type you have produced, and see if you can match that to a magazines style. You may well need to produce a set of images, and even write the article that goes with it.
  • Stock – As long as you can’t tell the photo is staged, staged photos work very well for stock photos. They’ll be model released, so you’re really ready to go. That extra passive income never hurts, and can pay for your next photo shoot.

Why you need to learn both

There is a temptation to say “I’m going to be a street photographer,” and not look to other types of photography. There is merit in becoming the master of your field and not diversifying. However, a model can transition to photography. They have the advantage of knowing what’s going on in front of the camera. Taking the time to take staged photos will allow you to see the potential for spontaneous photos in a different way as well.

Having staged the photo using off-camera flash, and seeing where things should be positioned in your frame is a skill that can be brought across to the more organic environment of street photography. That is to say; you should be a fashion photographer for a day, learn those ideas, and see what you can bring from that across to your street photography.

Conclusion

The desire for that perfect photo is always there. The purist is likely to want to achieve this organically, using honed photographer instincts to get that moment of capture. There is a lot to be said for learning the other side of the coin and getting in touch with your inner visual storyteller.

Which style of photography do you prefer and why? Would you consider photographing in a different way, even for a day? Here at digital photography school, we’d love to see your example photos.

Please let us know if you took them spontaneously, or if you staged the photo. You can even post an image, and see if the community can guess whether you staged the photo or not.

 

The post Spontaneous Photos Versus Staged Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Bond.


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Managing Your Photography Process From Shooting to Editing

17 Jun

The post Managing Your Photography Process From Shooting to Editing appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Nisha Ramroop.

You spend a lot of time learning about your gear and how to use it to produce great images.  You also invest time and money into learning to improve your technique for capturing and processing your work. It is therefore fair to say that developing a consistent workflow in handling your images after (and sometimes before) they are captured is also of importance. Here are a few steps you should be taking to help you manage your photography work.

Before you shoot

1. Make a plan

What are you going to shoot today? Is it an event in a dimly lit place or is it in the middle of a sunny day and outdoors? What will be your source(s) of light? What gear will you need?

Prepare by planning for your subject and thinking through your shoot. That way you can think of possible outcomes and pack accordingly (and in some cases avoid overpacking). Weather conditions, time on your feet, length of your trek/journey and environmental constraints will also help you determine if you need to scale down your gear to the essentials or rethink how/what you pack.

2. Set up your camera

If you are used to shooting the same genre of images, you may have your settings already dialed in. This takes into consideration the creation of presets to handle different scenarios that you face. Keep a reminder to adjust your white balance for the type of light you will be shooting in. Will you need a flash or supplemental lighting and what settings will you need when you add those?

Do you want to shoot your images in RAW or JPEG? Both have their advantages and disadvantages and you need to choose what works well for your planned shoot and expected outcome.

After you shoot

1. Moving images from your card as soon as possible

A good practice is moving the images from your memory card to your computer as soon as possible. A card reader transfers images faster than using a direct connection from your camera to your computer. While recent computer card slots are comparable to card readers in speed, there is still a preference to the latter.  One school of thought is that a good quality card reader is built to minimize the chance of corrupting your memory cards.

While the objective is to move the images, it is advisable to copy the images across (as opposed to move). After you copy, compare the number of files on the memory card (and size) to what was copied. This is especially important if there was an interruption during the copy process.

Note: If you choose to move instead of copy, this comparison will not be possible. More importantly, there is a higher probability of loss or corrupted files, if there is an interruption during the move process.

2. Making a backup

Prepare for the failure of your devices. Having more than one copy of your image gives you some peace of mind that it is safe somewhere. There are many backup combinations you can use, but the most basic is to have two copies of your images. You can have a copy on your laptop/computer and one on an external drive. You can save on more than one external drive or even go with an external drive/cloud combination. An ideal backup strategy involves two copies where you have one offsite (off premises/cloud).

An essential part of having a backup is testing it from time to time to ensure that it works and can restore your images when needed.

Backup processes can be revised as your workflow progresses. For example, after a shoot, you can copy all of your images to a secondary place. After you have culled your final selection, you can replace those images with your selection. When you edit and find your best images, you can add this to your library later. Whatever system you choose to work with, they all require a level of organization.

3. Clearing your memory cards

A good rule to adopt is to clear your memory cards after you have backed up your files to two locations. In each instance, copy from the memory cards directly. After your copy, compare what was copied to the number of files (and size) of those on the memory card. This is especially important if there was an interruption during the copy process.

4. Using management software to browse your images/cull your images

A digital asset management software system is a great way to browse, preview, locate and rate your images and mark them for processing. Two of the most used asset management systems are Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Bridge. There are a few others that work similar to these, with a primary focus on browsing and rating images.

Most people do not take advantage of the rating ability of asset management software, but it is quite a useful tool to cull your work. When you browse your images, you give the highest ratings to your best images – those to keep, review or edit. The next rating is for those with potential and worth a second look. You award the lowest rating or no rating to images that do not make the cut. These would include blurry images, those that are not salvageable or ones you will never review/edit. These can be marked for discarding at a later time (when space becomes an issue) or immediately (if that is how you streamline your work).

5. Post-processing images

Many times post-processing immediately follows shooting and nothing is wrong with that. Once you develop a workflow that suits you, then there are no rules as to when to do what. Whenever you post-process, remember that your edited images need to be saved in several locations (especially if they are for a client). Saving your final images with a descriptive name/date in a sub-folder will help you easily find them later on.

Note: Post-processing also can be broken down into its own workflow, which includes processing multiple images at a time (batch processing).

Conclusion

Your images are worth protecting, thus developing a habitual photography workflow is important. Find a way that works for you, keeping in mind that you will be thankful for spending the time on a proper backup strategy.

Finally, create with the assurance that your work is organized and managed from capture to delivery.

Do you have any other tips to add here? Please share in the comments below.

 

The post Managing Your Photography Process From Shooting to Editing appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Nisha Ramroop.


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5 Product Photography Tips to Improve Your Images

17 Jun

The post 5 Product Photography Tips to Improve Your Images appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.

Product photography: you’ve probably heard that it’s hard and very specialist. But your friend who runs their own business asks you if you’ll just shoot a few product pictures for them to use on their website or social media. Or perhaps you have your own business that regularly needs new product photography. Of course, you’re happy to have a go. It could help you improve your photographic skills too by giving you some new challenges. But how do you approach this highly specialist field of photography that you have very little experience with?

When many photographers think of “product photography” they think of a certain style that often involves complicated lighting, setup, and retouching. Sometimes blending dozens of shots in post-processing, using specialized lenses or lighting equipment, or shooting on perfect white backgrounds.

These styles of photography do have their place in the world of marketing and advertising. And you may even decide that it’s the right look for the products that you’re shooting. But in recent years a more natural feeling product photography has been creeping into advertising via social media influences. This style can be easier to dabble with because it requires less equipment and specialist knowledge – although it is still incredibly tricky to master!

The most important thing in product photography is to match the look and feel of the images to the product and the brand. A shot of an exclusive fountain pen aimed at CEO’s will be photographed very differently to a vegan surf-wax aimed at Californian surfers!

Whichever style you decide to try out when you have a go at product photography for the first time, there are some simple things to keep in mind when you’re shooting. If you keep these guidelines in mind, then you should be able to shoot images that show off a product to its advantage.

1. Get your camera on a tripod

It cannot be said often enough in still life photography how great tripods are. Firstly, they protect against camera shake. If you can get your camera (or phone) on a tripod, then your shutter speed can be as long as you like without risking any blur from camera shake. A nice, crisp image is essential to product photography.

If people cannot see what they are purchasing clearly, then they will most likely move on and choose a different supplier!

Blurry pictures are never desirable for product photography. You need to make sure they are clear and crisp.

If you can’t stretch to a tripod then make sure that you use a relatively fast shutter speed to compensate for any slight movements you might make while holding the camera. You may find that you have to compromise and raise your ISO in order to get a clear, bright picture.

The other advantage of tripods is that they hold your camera in one place while you work on your composition. If you are styling your images for social media (rather than shooting flat e-commerce images), then it might take a couple of attempts to get it right.

Keeping the camera in one place leaves you free to work on the styling and composition.

There are a huge variety of tripods available, all with different features and at different price points. If you can stretch to it, then a tripod with an arm that bends over at ninety degrees is an excellent investment that will make the popular flatlay (top-down) shots for Instagram easier.

2. Use good lighting

Let’s bust a myth – good lighting doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming. Yes, there are certain kinds of product photographers who spend hours or even days lighting a single product and getting it perfect. Of course, many high-volume photographers prefer to work with studio lights in a closed studio. That way, they can replicate lighting time and time again when doing repeat jobs for the same client.

But you can light a product with just natural window light, or even take it outside, and still get great results. You don’t have to have expensive studio gear or even a whole room dedicated to photography. Many people photograph products quite successfully on a table pulled up to a bright window. With the right backgrounds and props, it certainly doesn’t have to look like it was shot in your living room!

Lighting can also help to make your object look three dimensional on a flat screen. Shadows and highlights help viewers to interpret the image and understand it correctly.

The crucial thing is to match the lighting style to the product and brand. For something sleek and high-tech, you might want a more artificial feel to your light. Whereas, a more natural artisan product would probably benefit from just simple window light.

3. Shoot multiple angles

If people are buying online, then they can’t pick up and touch the product. That means you have to try and convey all the small details to a potential purchaser. The best way to do this is by making sure that you capture a variety of angles of each item. Also, get in close to show the details if it’s relevant.

This is especially important if the item is handmade. Getting in close can show off the care and consideration that an artisan puts into their work. The details are what often sets handmade products aside from their mass-manufactured counterparts. So be sure to show them off!

Shooting multiple angles is also an easy way to generate lots more content for social media accounts. Many business owners struggle to find enough content to post regularly on social media, so it can really help them out.

4. Find out the platform specifications

It’s important to shoot product photographs with the final use of the image in mind. Different online platforms will have different specifications for how photographs look best on their sites.

For instance, if you are shooting for someone with an Etsy store, you’d need to consider that portrait photos look best on the product page, but the search thumbnails are landscape. That means a clever photographer would shoot images that look good when cropped to both portrait and landscape. It might mean that you need to leave extra space around products when you shoot them and crop in later in post-processing.

Instagram can be a particularly tough platform to shoot for if people are looking for images that look good on social media. Images should ideally be posted in a ratio of 5:4 to take up as much space as possible and be more eye-catching when scrolling down the feed.

However, on a users profile grid, they automatically crop to a 1:1 square format. That means you lose details in the top and bottom of the image in the thumbnails. On top of that, the “stories” feature uses images that are in a 16:9 ratio – much taller and skinnier than the news feed! When shooting specifically for Instagram, I tend to set my camera to shoot in a 16:9 ratio. Then I know I can almost always crop other ratios out of that base image.

Also, research the pixel size that each online platform uses. If you produce images that are too small, then they’re likely to look pixellated or blurry when uploaded.

5. Don’t forget the packaging

More and more people are shopping online, so the packaging of a product contributes heavily to the first impression of a brand.

Artisan companies and small businesses often spend lots of time considering their packaging and branding. So it’s undoubtedly worthwhile to shoot the packaging as well as the product.

As well as demonstrating brand values, you can also show the buyer that it’s going to help their purchase get to them safely. This is especially important if it’s a product that is breakable or if it’s likely to be given as a gift. It helps instill confidence in the brand!

Plus, on platforms like Etsy that give you multiple slots to upload images of your product, having packaging photographs can be an excellent way to show off the product styled in a new way.

Always remember…

Keep your product photographs well exposed and in focus.

As long as you’re getting these two things correct, then you’re already on the right track. All that’s left to do is practice, practice, practice until you’re shooting products like a pro.

Remember to comment below and show us the pictures you’ve been shooting using what you’ve learned!

 

5 Product Photography Tips to Improve Your Images

The post 5 Product Photography Tips to Improve Your Images appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.


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