RSS
 

Archive for the ‘Photography’ Category

Simple Methods for Creating Better Still Life Images

16 May

The post Simple Methods for Creating Better Still Life Images appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.

Many find shooting still life images a real challenge when they’re just starting out because it can be hard to know where to start. But taking the time to shoot a great still life can be a rewarding and somewhat meditative pastime for photographers.

Still life photography can help you hone your photographic skills at your own pace while still creating work that can go in a portfolio or be printed for your wall. But styling tabletop images doesn’t come naturally to all photographers, so here are some simple things to think about when you’re next shooting still life.

Choose props for color and mood

Now might be a good time to go and brush up on your color knowledge, because you’re really going to need it when it comes to creating still life images! Everything, including the colors, in your still life scene, will be there because you put it there. Nothing has to make it onto your tabletop studio if you don’t want to include it in your shot.

Colors can be a way of introducing either harmony or contrast. If you were photographing something blue, for example, and you used blue and green backgrounds you’d have a very harmonious and potentially calm image. On the other hand, if you added yellows or oranges into the scene, it would create tension and result in a more dynamic overall feeling to the shot.

You can bring color to your still life images in different ways. Backgrounds, fabrics, plates, bowls, vases – all these items are props that you can start collecting to build up a color library of props. Don’t forget natural objects like flowers and foliage too; they can often really bring a shot to life.

Selecting complementary backdrops

Your backdrops will often be the most dominant colors in your scene, so pick wisely (it’s also hard to change it once you’ve started arranging your props). Pick your backdrops according to the feel you’d like to create in your final image.

Backdrops can be anything that works with the scene you’re creating. It might be a marble countertop, a beautiful old farmhouse table, or a complementary piece of fabric. Whatever helps to set the mood for your images.

As well as the color of your backdrop, think about the texture as well. A scuffed up, blackened old baking tray creates a very different feel to draped silk. Think about the way that different backdrops make you feel as you select them for your scenes and decide if that’s correct for the kind of story you’re trying to tell in your photograph.

Over time you will build up a library of different backdrops to use in your shots. Then you can create a whole variety of different styles of images just by switching out the backdrop. Keep your eye open when you’re out and about for potential backdrops to add to your library!

Thinking about texture

I love including texture in my still life photographs, and it has become a part of my style now. Scouring both high street and artists shops for interestingly textured table linens, bowls, and backgrounds for my still life images are favorite pastimes.

Along with all the other elements of a still life image, texture can really help set the mood. Are you shooting something rustic that would have its story helped by the introduction of some beautiful coarse fabric? Or maybe you’re photographing a more modern scene that would benefit from glossy backdrops and slick, shiny props?

It also adds interest and depth to your final image. If you look around the room you’re in I’m sure you’ll see a whole variety of different textures. Perhaps you have a smooth leather chair with a velvet cushion on it, placed next to a distressed wood coffee table. Our lives are a riot of different textures, and these affect our senses both visually and through touch.

Since you can’t touch the objects in a photograph, you need to tell the viewer what they’re like. Texture is the main way to visually convey what something would feel like if you reached into the photograph and touched it. With that in mind, pay attention to what the textures in your shot are telling your viewer.

Create a beginning, middle, and end

Just like a good story, a photograph needs a beginning, middle, and end. Except we usually refer to these things as foreground, middle ground, and background when it comes to visual storytelling. Creating a layered effect in your photographs helps to create depth in what is a two-dimensional object.

Try building your still life scenes intentionally. First of all, place your main object roughly where you think you’d like it to be. It helps if you put your camera on a tripod for this because you can keep the framing and focus consistent.

After you’ve placed your main object try creating some foreground interest. This could be some petals if you were photographing flowers, or perhaps the curled corner of table linen if you were shooting food. Anything that leads the eye into the shot without distracting too much from the main focal point is good. You want something that adds to the story.

Lastly, place a background element in your scene. In the shots above, I’ve added a yellow napkin which both creates interests and adds a contrasting color, but you could be more subtle. Your background itself could also be your background element if it were sufficiently interesting! It should be like a “full stop” to your composition; ending the viewer’s attention the same way that a full stop ends a sentence.

You might find it easier to play with compositional colors and shapes for the foreground and background if you use a shallow depth of field. Rendering these elements as out of focus in your scene helps to keep the viewer’s attention on the main focus of your image.

Finishing an image in post-processing

There’s no rule in creative still life photography that says the colors have to be true to life. Using different colors – or even turning your digital files black and white – can result in a change of mood and story.

Processing your still life images in Adobe Lightroom allows you to create duplicates of images and try out different color treatments while comparing them side by side. It’s great for black and white conversions too. The best thing about Adobe Lightroom is that the editing is completely non-destructive to the original file. This means you can try out everything from wild color treatments to something more conservative and always go back to the original file.

I touched on color grading your still life photographs in a previous article. It can help evoke different moods, bringing different colors to the fore. It can also help to make items really pop off the page if you use color grading in a way that emphasizes your main subject.

Color grading your shots can also help to contribute to a more coherent style in your work. You don’t always have to treat the color in your images the same way, but over time you might notice that you seem to pick up a style the more you shoot. This can help to make your work recognizable which you might find desirable.

Put it all Together

Now that you know the simple ways that you can improve your still life images it’s time for you to have a go. Get some inspiration, shoot some images, and then come back and let us see them in the comments!

Don’t be afraid to work slowly and try new things when you’re shooting still life. The objects in your scene are not going anywhere, and they won’t run out of patience as a portrait subject will! Also remember, you don’t have to show anyone the images if you’re not completely happy with them.

 

The post Simple Methods for Creating Better Still Life Images appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on Simple Methods for Creating Better Still Life Images

Posted in Photography

 

Try this DIY Neutral Density Filter for Long Exposure Photos

15 May

The post Try this DIY Neutral Density Filter for Long Exposure Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.

You could buy an expensive ND filter to make a long exposure image like this. Or, you could do it “on the cheap” with the trick you’ll learn in this article. 162 seconds f/8, ISO 100

You’ve seen those landscape photos where the water has been rendered silky smooth, ocean waves look more like fog, or the clouds have streaked motion effects?  How are they done?  They are long exposure photos. The shutter speed often measured in full seconds rather than fractions of a second.  Some even measured in minutes of exposure.  In low light, you can sometimes slow your shutter speed by decreasing the aperture size and setting the ISO as low as it can go.

Of course, if you’re working in bright light, you may find that even with the smallest aperture and lowest ISO you still can’t get the shutter speed slow enough to produce the effect you want while still maintaining proper exposure.  What can you do then?  It’s time for a Neutral Density Filter.

So what are they, how do they work, and how can you achieve a similar effect without immediately laying down about $ 100 U.S dollars for one?  Read on my friend.

This one was done with a variable ND filter. With a 30-second exposure, whatever moves will blur. Note the water and clouds.

What is ND and why use it?

On a bright sunny day, you may reach for a pair of sunglasses to reduce the amount of light coming into our eyes.  A Neutral Density (ND) Filter is much the same for your camera.  The “density” part of that term refers to how dense or dark the filter might be.  The “neutral” portion of the term refers to the coloration the filter might add to the image.

If we’re making color images, we’d like a filter that would help reduce the amount of light while remaining neutral in color and not putting a color cast on our images.  So we want a neutral filter that can cut the light in situations where the ambient light is too bright to get a slow shutter speed beyond that obtainable with a combination of the lowest ISO and smallest aperture.

A 6-stop ND filter was used here. 30 seconds, f/20 ISO 100

Types of ND filters

The DIY approach to long exposure photography to be discussed here uses a method never initially designed for photography but will allow you to give this technique a try “on the cheap.”  Rather than spend around $ 100, it’ll cost you a tenth of that.  Before I reveal the “secret,”  let’s first talk about the commercial photographic ND filters you might buy.

Camera filters typically fall into two types:

Screw mount – Those that screw into the filter threads on the front of your lens

Square filters – Those that are mounted to the lens with a filter holder.

Both are available in varying degrees of density.  How dark the filter is, is typically described in how many “stops” of light it reduces compared to an exposure without the filter.

For example, if you made a proper exposure at ISO 100, f/5.6, 125 seconds, and then after the filter was mounted, you needed to slow the shutter speed to 1/2 second to get the same exposure, (assuming you left the ISO at 100 and f-stop at 5.6), that filter would be a 6-stop ND filter.  (1/125 – > 1/60 -> 1/30 – 1/15 -> 1/8 -> 1/4 -> 1/2 second ).  The density of the filter would have reduced the amount of light by 6-stops.

You can purchase both screw mount and square filters in various “strengths” or number of stops they reduce the light.

For example, this 77mm screw-mount 6-stop ND filter made by B&W runs about US$ 71, while this popular 10-stop square mount ND filter, the Lee “Big Stopper” is at this writing US$ 129.00.

A variable ND might work, but take it too far…

…and you’ll get weird artifacts.

Variable ND Filters – Another type of ND filter uses two polarized filters mounted together so they can be rotated in a way that produces variable density.  One might think this is a better solution than a fixed ND filter, allowing the photographer the means of adjusting the desired stops of reduction.

That would be ideal, and it works – to a point.

The problem with variable ND filters is sometimes they can produce nasty “artifacts” that spoil the image, especially on wide-angle lenses at higher density settings with less expensive variable ND filters.

More expensive variable ND filters will be better, but of course, cost even more.

The “One Weird Trick” ND filter

You’ve seen that “one weird trick” phrase used on the web before, right?  Usually, it’s for a gimmick that is less than a quality product.  I confess, what I’m going to suggest here is a bit of a gimmick and no, won’t deliver the results of the pricier dedicated photography ND filters.  You have to perform a few workarounds to get it to produce decent results and mounting it to your camera will be a little… “funky,” shall we say?  The upside is, it will probably cost about 1/10th of what a true photographic ND filter.

So, it could be a nice introduction to long exposure photography, while allowing you to explore this technique on a budget to see if it’s for you.

So here’s the big reveal…

What you are going to use is a piece of welder’s helmet glass.

You’ve seen welders wearing helmets while they work and perhaps noted a glass “window” they look through to observe their work?  The intensity of arc welding is so great that without a way to darken the welding spark the welder would be blinded.  So, a piece of very dark glass, a “density filter,” is what they have in their helmets.  The common denominator is the welder wants to darken the welding arc and you, as a photographer, want to darken the light coming into your lens.

These aren’t spacemen. They are welders and that piece of glass you see in their helmets is what you need for this “weird trick.”

What and where to get it

What you are looking for is a piece of welding glass used in a helmet.  Pieces can be purchased alone, (as replacements for the helmets) and in various sizes and “grades.”  You might have a local welding supply shop where you can get these or purchase them online.  Here is a link to an example. The glass measures 4.5″ x 5.25′ (114.3 mm x 133.35 mm) which is large enough to cover most camera lenses.  It comes in grades 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, and 14 with the higher numbers being darker/denser.

This chart may help you in determining the conversion from “grade” to the amount of f-stop reduction:

To keep it simple, most often you will use a 6-stop or a 10-stop ND filter.  One popular brand of ND filters is Lee. Their “Little Stopper” is a 6-stop filter, and their “Big Stopper” is a 10-stop filter.  So consulting the chart, if you wanted a 6-stop welding glass filter, get a Grade 6, and for a 10-stop reduction, get a Grade 8.

The left half of this shot shows how the uncorrected image looks due to the heavy green color of the welder’s glass. The right has been white-balanced using the custom white balance method discussed.

Density Yes, Neutral… not even close

This is probably the biggest drawback to using a piece of welding glass as an ND filter.  You can get very dark pieces of welding glass, so density isn’t a problem.  The problem is that most welding filters have a very pronounced green, or in some cases, gold color cast.

Dedicated photography ND filters may have a little coloration, but try to come as close to neutral as possible.  You will pay more for more neutral filters as you’d prefer to get darkening without coloration.  So what to do when using a welding glass filter?

Three options to dealing with the color cast

There are three things you can do to help reduce the distinct coloration a welding glass filter causes:

  • Shoot in Raw, (which you do anyway, right?) and adjust your white balance when editing to compensate.
  • Set an in-camera Custom White Balance
  • Plan to make your images monochrome where color casts won’t be a problem.

Let’s discuss these options.

The first is simple enough.  Yes, when you review your images after shooting on the camera LCD they will look very green.  (I’ve only used the green welder’s glass, not the gold).  Just know you will be adding lots of magenta, (the opposite of green), to your white balance when you edit.  Even then, good color may be a struggle.

Rather than fight the color cast, maybe monochrome is the ticket when using the welder’s glass ND trick.

The second option, setting a custom white balance, is a good idea.  To do so, mount your welding glass filter, (more on that in a minute) and make an exposure of the sun or bright sky.  Then, using the custom white balance function of your camera, (consult your manual on how to do this), store that image and white balance on it, creating a custom white balance you can use to shoot with when using your welding glass filter.

The advantage of this is image playback on your LCD will be closer to a normal color.

Additional tweaking will likely be needed in post-processing, but this may help you a bit when shooting.

The third option, (and to me maybe the best) is not to fight the color cast and plan to make your welding glass filter shots monochrome.  Long exposure images have an “ethereal” look often enhanced in a monochrome image.  So, rather than fight trying to restore good color from that alien green image, embrace monochrome.

If you decide you love long exposure photography, you will then likely buy a photographic ND filter which will make much better color shots.

Calculating your exposure

Before mounting your welding glass on your lens, you will want to compose your shot as usual.  You will also want to obtain good focus.  Do this first, because you won’t be able to see much of anything with the welding glass mounted.

Once focus has been obtained, switch the focus to manual.  Consider putting a piece of tape on the focus ring so it won’t move later.

Now make a shot with good exposure without the filter.  You will be changing your shutter speed once the filter is mounted, so choose an aperture and ISO.  What setting you choose will depend on the depth of field you require and also how long you’d like your exposure to be.  The slower the shutter speed you set here (while still getting a proper exposure), the longer your exposure can be with the filter.

Your subject will largely dictate your desired exposure length and the look you are trying to achieve. A silky waterfall might only require a 2-second exposure while smoothing ocean waves could take 30 seconds and streaking clouds in the sky a couple of minutes.  There is no formula here – trial and error will help you learn what works right.

The monochrome version of this shot above was done with the welders’ glass and an exposure time of 1.6 sec. This shot was taken later when the last rays of sun lit the turbines and also used 1.6 seconds. Too short a shutter speed and the blades were frozen. Too long and they disappeared. 1.6 seconds was the “sweet spot.”

Using an app to calculate shutter speed with the filter

Your meter will likely be useless once you mount the welding glass ND filter so you will need to calculate shutter speed yourself using the previous exposure information as a starting point.  There are numerous smartphone apps available to help you.  I like the one made by Lee Filters (Android / iOS ). Made for use with their Little (6-stop)/Big (10-stop)/Super (15-Stop) filters, you will need to tweak a bit when using it with your welding glass. However, it will get you in the ballpark, and you can adjust from there.

Let’s use an example:  You’ve made a shot without the filter and with the ISO set at 100 and the aperture at f/22 you can get the shutter speed down to 1/15th of a second and make a proper exposure.  You bought both a Grade 6 (6.67-stops) and Grade 8 (10-stops) pieces of welding glass.  What will your new shutter speed need to be with each filter installed?  Using the Lee app, we can see the 6-stop reduction would put us at between 4 and 8 seconds and the 10-stop reduction at 1 minute.

Again, plan on using these adjusted settings as starting points.  Try them and adjust your shutter speed (or possibly other settings) as needed.  Definitely plan on taking multiple shots as you get things dialed in.  Long exposure photography is not something you do in a hurry.

It’s funky, but it works. Reverse the lens hood and use rubber bands to attach the welder’s glass filter.

Attaching the welding glass filter

You’ve set up the camera, composed, focused, locked everything in, calculated your new shutter speed and are ready to mount the welding glass ND filter.  I think I used the word “funky” earlier in the article to describe how you will attach your DIY ND filter to your lens.  The photo here, showing how reversing the lens hood on your lens and then using rubber bands pretty much depicts the technique.

Something to improve it a bit – put some black gaffer tape on the edges of your piece of welders glass.  This will give the rubber bands a surface with more friction to grab onto.  (It also helps you in hanging onto the glass).  I’m not sure if the edges of the glass would transmit light onto the image, but the tape will also prevent that should it occur.  If your lens doesn’t have a hood to reverse, try larger bands which will allow you to stretch them back around the camera body.

Try not to disturb the focus ring as you mount the filter.  You will not be able to check focus again once the filter is in place.

Set your focus BEFORE mounting the filter and turn the switch to Manual focus (MF)

Making the shot

With the welder’s glass filter mounted, you will pretty much be “flying blind.”  You will not be able to see anything through the viewfinder, and maybe, if your filter isn’t too dark, you might be able to see just a little bit using live view if your camera supports that.  You better have composed and focused before mounting the filter as you can’t see to do it now.  Your meter will also not work with such low light.

While you could use the 2-second timer to trip the shot, I’d suggest a remote release.  You will also definitely need one if you’ll be making exposures over 30-seconds (on most cameras) in which case you will be putting your camera in Bulb-Mode.

A release that allows you to lock the shutter open during the exposure will help a lot here.  The Lee exposure calculator app also has a countdown timer.  Activate it when you open the shutter and it will countdown and beep at the end of the calculated exposure time telling you when to close the shutter.

If your shutter speed will exceed 30-seconds, you will probably need to use bulb mode. A remote release is a good idea in such cases.

You may also want to consider using the noise reduction feature of your camera.  Noise can be a problem with long exposures.  The noise reduction feature will make a second black frame image the same length as your first shot and then subtract any random noise or hot pixels from your image using the black frame as a reference.

Keep in mind, however, that the black frame exposure will be as long as the original shot so if you are, for example, making a 2-minute exposure, your camera will be busy for four minutes.  I told you, you don’t do long-exposure photography in a hurry.

No filter. A straight shot – 1/25 sec. f/8 ISO 100

Back in post-production

You edit your long exposure images much as you do with any regular shot with the big exception of that crazy color cast.  There are lots of web resources that tell you how to help correct for that cast so I won’t spend time on that here.  Just know that with this welding glass technique you will never get the color as good as you would without the filter.  I still believe that monochrome is the way to go here.

Using the welder’s glass ND. Custom white balanced in the camera, color corrected again in Lightroom and Photoshop. 162 seconds, f/8 ISO 100. The monochrome version is at the top of this article.

Frustrations and limitations

I’ve since bought a real ND filter, the 6-stop B+W I mentioned, so my welding glass hasn’t seen much use until I got it out to make this article.  In making the wind turbine shots, I found what I think, (after some comparison testing), is a Grade 10 glass, very dark but still not dark enough to make even a short 1.6 second shot, (the shutter speed I determined was best to get the hint of motion I wanted on the turbine blades.)  Longer exposures simply caused the blades to disappear entirely.

A side note here: long exposures can be a great way to make a crowd disappear when photographing a busy cityscape.  The people move and so disappear during a long exposure while the static buildings and such stay put and show up in the photo.

Trying to darken the shot further, I put a polarizer on the lens, (dropping the exposure 2-stops), and then stacked the welder’s glass ND over that.  It wasn’t a good combination.  Too much, as the British say, “faffing about,” and I likely knocked my focus off slightly.  Also, shooting through both the polarizer and the welding glass put too much “cheap glass” between the camera and the image, so the sharpness suffered.

A straight shot with no filter. 125/sec. f/22 ISO 100

A second trip to the Boise River provided an opportunity to see how a long exposure would depict the fast-moving spring runoff.  I was able to use much longer exposures here, a few just over two minutes.  I also made a 30-second exposure with the sun in the shot, something that wouldn’t have been possible with no filter even with the minimum ISO of 50 and the smallest aperture of f/22.  Shooting long exposures in bright light is a big reason for using an ND filter.

A shot directly into the sun, and a shutter speed of 20 seconds, probably isn’t possible without a strong ND filter. I calculate the Grade 10 welder’s glass used here to give about 13-stops of light reduction. 20 seconds f/14 ISO 100

When to buy a real ND filter

You may find the welder’s glass technique a fun way to dip your photographic toe in the waters of long exposure photography.  If you find you enjoy it and like the kinds of images you can make, save up and buy a good ND filter.  However, if the technique is interesting, but not really your bag, then you will have discovered that having only spent a few dollars on your welder’s glass DIY version.

Either way, you will learn much more about creatively using your camera controls to make exciting photos and that’s what it’s all about.  Learn and enjoy!

 

The post Try this DIY Neutral Density Filter for Long Exposure Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on Try this DIY Neutral Density Filter for Long Exposure Photos

Posted in Photography

 

How to Achieve Cool Urban Cityscapes

14 May

The post How to Achieve Cool Urban Cityscapes appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Mark C Hughes.

Cool Urban Landscapes through post-processing

Creating an emotional response

How you present your images can really affect one’s emotional response to them. Certain styles of image lend themselves to stylistic changes because they can create a specific emotional response when the viewer sees them. For example, film-based black and white images, when done well, present a sense of timelessness and can make things seem more serious. Similarly, high dynamic range images (HDR), when done well, can add “pop” to landscape photography. One particular style of image that lends itself to stylized treatments through post-processing is urban landscapes. Particularly if you are trying to make an already interesting image look more appealing based upon the lighting already present.

Crushed black and blown highlights on a street scene

Gritting and moody

Similar to black and white images, a high-contrast, selectively saturated look works well to create urban landscapes with a gritty and moody feel.

Using filters for effect

Nowadays, smartphone and some consumer cameras, have a great deal of pre-packaged stylistic treatments available that you can apply to photographs to try to evoke an emotional response. Someone, somewhere, has spent a great deal of time creating those filters to make your images feel as though they are from a different time or place.

For example, the classic 1970s snapshot look is full of color shifts and light leaks. They were common at that time because of the use of unstable film stocks and cheap cameras. Digital cameras don’t suffer the same issues that were present at that time. So, to simulate these conditions, adding light leaks and color shifts can make images feel vintage. There are many filters out there – each with their own effects.

Lit up Las Vegas

Make your own filters

To put the idea of emotional response to images in context, think about a familiar treatment that you are probably already aware of: black and white images. These photographs are rarely just images with the color drained. Good black and white images are contrast-rich with deep blacks and bright whites. The grey middle ground of many images can lose their impact when drained of color. Many black and white films had specific response curves that created the contrast-rich images. So now, with digitally-captured images that are black and white, they can appear a little sterile and plain. Adding high-contrast effects and grain to simulate film black and white tends to create an emotional response and mood.

To improve as a photographer, most people start, at some point, to try to take a more artistic approach to their images. Many newer photographers may start with simple prepackaged filters and presets, and apply them to their images. Currently, there is no end to the filters available in pretty much any photo sharing application and many cameras. From terms like “cool,” “50s,” “vintage,” and “grunge,” all these filters are stylizing the image for an emotional effect. Instagram was built on filters. People are very used to stylized images.

Old Montreal

Creating your own style

Becoming a better photographer involves the deliberate use of styles to create your desired effect. You may find there are particular filters you gravitate towards; styles that evoke an emotional response you like.

This is the beginning of finding your own style of image making. As you advance, you might explore manipulating images with Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, Skylum Luminar or some similar program.

When you get to the point where you are working with and creating your own filters, you create your style. You can start by playing with filters or dissect other photographer’s images that you really like to see if you can recreate that style.

Surprisingly, creating set styles in many photo imaging software packages is quite easy. It allows you to recreate your style and apply it repeatedly to multiple images.

Notre Dame in Montreal

Create your filter

Let’s consider the urban, gritty look for urban landscapes.

Here are two treatments of the same image, split for comparison. On the right is the Straight Out Of the Camera (SOOC) jpeg and on the right is the treatment with the blacks crushed, highlights blown, oranges highlighted and an almost selective color approach.

It is easy to create for yourself with whatever tweaks you like to create a style for yourself.

Comparison of straight out of the camera to the final product

A word of warning is necessary at this point. When you start stylizing your images with intentionally weird effects, you may generate some negative comments from people who don’t like the look you create. This does not mean you have failed to create something interesting. However, it means you have generated an emotional response to your image by someone who doesn’t care for that look.

Remember that some people find that they can only validate their work by diminishing others. Whereas, most find growth in encouraging others to take risks with their art. A true artist picks their vision and follows it. Sometimes it can be a bumpy road if you are only expecting validation from others.

It is important at some time for you to consider yourself an artist and not just a recorder of images.

All art is about creating an emotional response. Beyond capturing a moment, it is how that moment makes you feel. Emotional responses can be positive or negative.

Atwater Market in Montreal

It turns out this crushed-blacks, blown highlights, contrasty, desaturated, and the almost selective color look isn’t that tough to create for yourself. However, for this particular effect, you may do some damage to your photos by intentionally making some parts too black and other parts too bright.

So let’s look at the images I think work for this type of treatment. Shots typically taken at dusk/night, with artificial illumination present, add interesting artistic character for the urban landscapes shot.

Use a Raw Image Processor or Lightroom

I use Adobe Camera Raw to do most of the edits to these images, but you can use Lightroom or any image processing software to create a similar style. My suggestion is you modify and tweak it to your liking to get the desired effect.  The tools are similar, but just in different places. Also, even though I process these images with a raw converter, you don’t have to use a RAW image (although that is always the best starting point) and can use a JPEG or DNG file.  The treatment will look very similar.

To start, open your image with the raw converter.

Opening up the Raw Processor

 

With your raw converter, you have access to many parameters that act globally on your image.

Change the sliders as shown on the panel below.

Specifically, you want to make sure you have the desired white balance (it may be fine from what your camera selected, or you may want to resample).  You want to up the Contrast hard, more than you probably have done previously to make those hard edges at the light and dark parts of your image. You then do two things that seem contrary – you are going to pull the details out of the shadows (increase the Shadow slider) and make the Blacks blacker (crushing the blacks).

Finally, boosting the Clarity increases the midtone contrasts, boosting the Vibrance boosts the midtone colors and toning down the Saturation prevents them from looking too candy-colored.

Here’s my panel for example:

 

Adjustments for the effect

Once you have made a look that you like the effect of, you can make this a repeatable look by creating a user preset.

Switch to the presets tab and then make a new preset.

You will be prompted to add a preset name. Pick something relevant to your style and save it. Next time you pull up an image (or multiple images) in your raw processor, you can simply highlight them all and apply the presets at once.

How to save the effect

A lot of these settings may cause parts of your image to clip. The crushed blacks mean that much of the detail in the blacks disappear. The boosted colors lead to clipped highlights. However, in the end, that’s okay because that is the desired effect.

Here’s a Pro-Tip: All those presets you can buy for Lightroom and Photoshop essentially do a version of this. You can create those presets if you have the time and the inclination to do it yourself. By doing it yourself, you create an image style that appeals to you.

Edmonton Skyline

Conclusion

Art is about evoking an emotion. Sometimes photographers try too hard to make an image that looks too lifelike and loses emotional impact. You can create urban landscape images that are moody and gritty by making them dark with blasted colors and blown highlights. It also opens doors to other types of manipulations used for images warranting other types of emotional reactions.

Old building in the Westmount area of Montreal

 

The post How to Achieve Cool Urban Cityscapes appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Mark C Hughes.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on How to Achieve Cool Urban Cityscapes

Posted in Photography

 

How to Photograph a Minimalist Landscape

14 May

The post How to Photograph a Minimalist Landscape appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Bond.

Creating amazing photos can be much easier than you think. The simplest images can be the most striking. Keeping your image simple means minimalism. In this article, you’ll learn about creating minimalist landscape photos. The creation of these type of images requires the correct use of a lens, and often the correct selection of location. Read on and find out all you need to know to create minimalism in your landscape photos.

In this photo, the main subject is the mountain in the distance. The remainder of the frame is kept simple.

The location for a minimalist landscape

Where you take your photo will determine your success with minimalist landscape photography. You’ll have more success in remote locations, but urban environments can also be used for minimalism as well.

When photographing in a busier environment, you’ll need to use the correct lens and camera angle to maintain minimalism with your photo. More remote locations naturally have a minimalist feel, but the challenge in those locations is locating a strong main subject.

The following are locations you could use for minimalist landscape:

  • Coastal – This is a great location for minimalist photography. The great expanse of the sea invites minimalism. You can further build on this by flattening the sea through long exposure. Interesting rock formations or a lighthouse can make great main subjects.
  • Deserts – Whether you’re photographing on the sand or on the ice, deserts are the land equivalent of the sea when it comes to minimalism. Vast, uniform in their features, and without the clutter of human development.
  • Mountains – Another area that is remote are mountains. These also offer opportunities to create a minimalist landscape. With too many mountains in the one scene they can also be potentially cluttered, so choose compositions with care. A lone hut surround be the green foothills of a mountain range would make for a good subject.

Deserts make excellent locations for minimalist landscapes.

The lens

The lens you choose is equally as important as the location for a minimalist landscape. There is no absolute rule over which lens to use; it depends on the location you find yourself in. If you have chosen a location in the wilderness, the chances are you can use either a wide angle or a long telephoto lens. However, if you’re photographing in the city, the lens becomes important.

  • Wide angle – A lens that works well for minimalism, as you can use that wide angle to create the nice negative space required for a minimalist landscape. Think how you can get down to a low angle for those ripples in the sand on a sand dune. In a more cluttered environment, you need to be careful though, as the wide angle could easily cause unwanted elements to appear in the frame and make it too busy.
  • Long focal length – The longer focal lengths allow you to zoom in on a particular portion of your scene. Here, the challenge is to avoid compressing too many things into the same photo. Choose an area on the horizon that’s interesting but devoid of too many extra elements. This focal length can be a big advantage in an urban setting that’s generally too chaotic for minimalism, yet has portions of the skyline that can be zoomed in on to create a minimal image.

This photo uses a wide-angle lens. This really captures the interest in the foreground from the shapes in the sand.

Adjust your perspective

Photos that are taken at eye level work well for many situations. However, when you’re looking for minimalism, changing to a new angle works wonders.

The following are good choices when it comes to simplifying your image:

  • Bird’s eye – Things looks very different from a high angle looking down. The higher you get, the more dramatic this becomes. One of the reason’s drone photography works so well is its potential for minimalism.
  • Worm’s eye – At the other extreme is the worm’s eye view looking up. You could include a small amount of the horizon line, and make the remainder of the photo about the sky. This will give you a landscape photo with a very minimalist feel.
  • Framing – The use of a frame around the landscape portion of your photo could give you a minimalist photo. The landscape itself need not be minimalist in this case, so long as the surrounding frame provides enough negative space to tick the minimalist box.
  • Lensball – A lensball, in effect, frames a landscape inside a spherical object. That allows you to take a minimalist landscape, and keep the area surrounding the ball simple. This will give your photo a minimalist edge as well.

A lensball can be used to capture a scene that’s not normally minimalist, and capture it in a minimal way.

A good main subject

Every photo type is strengthened by having a main subject. In some cases, the inclusion of that main subject can be more of a challenge. Portrait photos, for instance, always have the main subject – the person you’re photographing. Landscape photos may not always have an obvious focal point – in some cases, it’s not needed – but for most photos, it will give you a stronger image.

In a minimalist landscape, that main subject will leap out of the photo strengthened by the minimalism across the rest of the frame. So what type of object could you use for this main subject?

  • A lone tree – The classic, a lone tree. There’s a good reason for this, of course. It’s a clear focal point in an image, looks beautiful, and works well for a number of composition types. It’s also relatively easy to isolate a lone tree.
  • A single person – A lone person silhouetted against the horizon. Someone riding their bike up the ridge of a hill. Whether you decide to stage this or it was more spontaneous, the photo will have more narrative.
  • A building – A red-walled building against green hills is a good combination for a photo. In a coastal setting, a lighthouse can make for a great subject.

The single yurt acts as the main subject in this photo.

Use other techniques

Minimalist landscapes naturally dovetail with several other well-known photography techniques. You can apply one or more of these to your photo, for a better image. Take a look at some of these techniques, and look at why they’ll improve your photo:

  • Silhouettes – In order to photograph a silhouette, you’ll be photographing towards the light, and quite likely towards a sunset sky. This means landscape features in your photo will likely also be black with a colored sky. This will give you a good chance of creating a minimalist image.
  • Long exposure – Blurred clouds moving across the sky, or flattening the sea are both potential results of long exposure photography. Use a tripod and expose for more than 5 seconds to flatten the sea, and usually longer than 30 seconds to see cloud movement.
  • Refraction – The use of a lensball for refraction photography is a good way of creating minimalism even in a busy setting. Place the more complicated scene within the lensball, and surround the ball with a blurred bokeh background for minimalism.
  • Harmony – This means keeping the same set of colors within the same photo. So try cold colors or warm colors. Even better for minimalism is keeping the same color, but in different shades. There is lots of potential for this in landscape photography, especially when the photo is taken from a bird’s eye point of view.
  • Contrast – One of the reasons black and white photography works so well is its intrinsic minimalism – especially those black and white photos with the highest contrast. Look to experiment with two main colors, and not more when creating a minimalist landscape.

In this photo, there are a number of elements in the frame. The minimalism is provided by the single tone of the image. The main subject is silhouetted against the background.

Conclusion

Landscapes and minimalist photography are two of the most popular photography genres there are, so it makes sense to combine them.

Have you experimented with this type of image? Did you use any of the approaches mentioned in this article? Having read this article, would it make you approach your landscape photography in a slightly different way? What approaches do you use for landscape photography?

As always, we’d love you to share your opinions and photos with the community. Please share in the comments section of this article.

 

The post How to Photograph a Minimalist Landscape appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Bond.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on How to Photograph a Minimalist Landscape

Posted in Photography

 

How to Use Scene Elements to Create Impactful Panoramas

13 May

The post How to Use Scene Elements to Create Impactful Panoramas appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ian Johnson.

Close your eyes and let me take you to a scene that you have experienced before. You are standing in front of a wonderful vista. It is huge – a sunset, a mountain range, a canyon, a cityscape – and you are blown away by the grandeur of it. After admiring it for a bit you pull out your cell phone or camera to take an image. But alas, your phone cannot capture the image because it extends far out of your field of view. “Not to worry,” you think to yourself as you flip your device into panorama mode to create impactful panoramas.

A few seconds later and your newly stitched image captures the whole scene with one problem: all the things you loved about the scene have been reduced to tiny pixels making it hard to appreciate how beautiful it was out there. In my opinion, you’ve fallen victim to the “panorama trap.”

Paradoxically, wider is not always better for capturing a large vista!

Panorama, How-to, Foreground, Photography, Lessons, Northern Lights, Mountains, Cannery

This panoramic image illustrates the “Panorama Trap.” I wanted to photograph the mountains, but there is nothing compelling to draw me into the image or tell the story of that place (it happens to be the Denali Highway).

You can up your panorama photography game by carefully thinking about elements of the shot before making it. For instance, integrating close foreground elements using hyperfocal distance or switching to a longer lens can give you a more interesting shot. We’ll go through that and more in this article!

Why panoramas?

In order to capture a more interesting shot, it is useful to think about why you are using a particular technique. For instance, you might think of black and white photography for shadows and contrast, macro techniques for tiny things (although that’s a rule to be broken), and side-lighting for portrait photography. Each of these techniques or photography genres is meant to maximize the benefit and impact of the elements in the image.

So, why panoramic? Because you want to maximize and impress the viewer with grand-scale elements in the image which you cannot capture in one image alone. Using the mantra of “making a shot” and not “taking a shot” is good to keep in mind for panoramas. To make a more compelling panorama, envision what you want to accomplish and how you want the image to feel or influence your viewer before pressing the shutter button.

Panorama, How-to, Foreground, Photography, Lessons, Northern Lights, Mountains, Cannery

Some scenes are just too big for one image! This snow-covered landscape caught my attention during an afternoon of skiing. I like the framing of the trees on the left, but to my eye, this image still gets caught firmly in the panorama trap because it lacks compelling elements in the foreground.

Techniques

Integrate Close Foreground Elements using Hyperfocal Distance

Foreground elements are critical pieces to incorporate into your image to grab the viewer. Foreground elements help tell a story, give the image context, and make it more interesting to look at. Since many panoramas get taken with a mid-length (e.g., 50 mm) to ultra-wide lenses (e.g., 12mm), you must walk close enough to foreground elements to give them a presence in the image.  You can maximize the impact of a foreground element by using a photography technique called hyperfocal distance.

Panorama, How-to, Foreground, Photography, Lessons, Northern Lights, Mountains, Cannery

This image was made during a recent trip to Hawaii and shot on a Nikon D810 with a 24mm Sigma Art f/1.4. The Mamane Tree in the foreground was a compelling silhouette.  I am only about 10 feet from it, but HFD enabled me to keep the foreground and Milky Way sharp.

Hyperfocal distance (HFD) is not a “hyper-difficult” subject. By definition, it is the closest thing your lens can focus on while keeping the horizon at infinity. HFD is influenced by your lens focal length, by your camera’s sensor size, and by your aperture. As a rule of thumb, wider lenses have a shorter HFD than longer lenses, and the larger your sensor is, the shorter the HFD is. Creating a smaller aperture (e.g., f/16 instead of f/2.8) will also decrease the HFD.

Depending on your system and camera settings you may be able to have foreground elements 2.0 feet (0.6m) away and have all elements beyond that in focus! There are many resources to learn HFD from and to calculate it for your camera system. I recommend starting with this article to learn more. As you use HFD more, you will begin to have an intuitive sense of how far objects have to be from your camera to be in focus.

Panorama, How-to, Foreground, Photography, Lessons, Northern Lights, Mountains, Cannery

This image incorporates HFD to frame the image. The closest spruce is about 8 feet in front of me. I made the image with a Nikon D810 and a 12mm, ultra-wide lens

Hopefully, you have made the connection of why HFD will help you integrate interesting foreground elements into your panoramic image. Here’s how you can achieve intriguing panoramas in three generic steps:

  1. find a compelling scene,
  2. locate an interesting foreground element, and
  3. walk to the HFD in front of the foreground element and begin shooting.

I recommend stopping your lens down to f/8, so it is at its sharpest and shooting with a panning tripod head to keep your horizon straight and level. It will make the stitch and final image cleaner. However, don’t be overwhelmed – these techniques take time and patience.

Panorama, How-to, Foreground, Photography, Lessons, Northern Lights, Mountains, Cannery

This image was made on an Olympus OMD Em5 with a 12mm lens adapted with a Metabones speed booster. The foreground silhouette tree was about 8 feet away. I got as close as HFD would allow to make it impactful in the image.

 

Panorama, How-to, Foreground, Photography, Lessons, Northern Lights, Mountains, Cannery

This image is not utilizing HFD, but I had to consciously know how close to stand to these spruces to give them impact in the image. I intentionally balanced their silhouette against the glow of the Northern Lights.

Now that you have learned briefly about HFD, I’m going to tell you to keep in mind that rules are made to be broken! The foreground of your image may be far more important to the telling of that story than the horizon. Having an in-focus foreground element and out-of-focus background is okay too.

The image below has many compelling elements. However, my goal was to bring you into the winter scene by ensuring the hoar-frost-covered Black Spruce in the foreground was tack-sharp.

Panorama, How-to, Foreground, Photography, Lessons, Northern Lights, Mountains, Cannery

Rules are made to be broken! In this image, I knew my background and stars were going to be out of focus. That did not matter to me because they were only accents to the foreground trees and their beauty.

Use long lenses to bring the scene to you

You may be thinking to yourself “I can’t always get closer to my subject, so what then?” Not to worry – you can make compelling panoramic images by using long lenses to bring the landscape closer to you. When using a long lens of 150mm or more, it is critical that you use a tripod with a panning head. Use a cable release to remove shake in the lens and shoot at a large aperture (e.g., f/20) to get sharp elements.

Panorama, How-to, Foreground, Photography, Lessons, Northern Lights, Mountains, Cannery

This image of Denali was made with an Olympus OMD Em5ii at 100mm. I isolated the mountain and its foothills to create a panorama full of layers, colors, and textures.

You can use a telephoto lens to isolate and photograph your favorite part of a scene. Above, I used one to isolate Denali, and below, I used it to isolate a cannery against the large mountains of the Juneau Range.

The steps for making a panoramic image with a telephoto lens are similar to using HFD. You need to:

  1. Identify a scene,
  2.  identify which part of the scene to isolate with the telephoto, and
  3. shoot the scene with the telephoto and cable release.
Panorama, How-to, Foreground, Photography, Lessons, Northern Lights, Mountains, Cannery

I made this image from a boat and shot it at 330mm to isolate the cannery. The effect of “compression” from the telephoto lens made the mountains feel very close to the cannery. In reality, they are over 18 miles (350km) away!

Practice makes perfect

Experimenting with HFD and long lenses is going to result in some images that you “could have done better on.” Expect to learn from your mistakes!

I’ll share an image that illustrates when my HFD distance estimating was off. I did not achieve a sharp foreground and background. However, I like how the sharp part of the image draws your eyes through the snow-covered trees. So, this image is not a total flop.

As I always say, “pixels are cheap.”

I hope you make tons of pixels while experimenting with panoramic images!

Panorama, How-to, Foreground, Photography, Lessons, Northern Lights, Mountains, Cannery

Even images that are not perfect can have qualities you like! The air glow on this night was spectacular and I like how the distant spruces are in focus drawing your eye through the tunnel of snow-covered trees.

The post How to Use Scene Elements to Create Impactful Panoramas appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ian Johnson.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on How to Use Scene Elements to Create Impactful Panoramas

Posted in Photography

 

Adobe Price Hike Just a ‘Test’; Should Photographers Be Worried?

13 May

The post Adobe Price Hike Just a ‘Test’; Should Photographers Be Worried? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Adobe made waves earlier this month when it doubled the price of its Creative Cloud Photography plan–from $ 9.99/month to $ 19.99/month.

Soon after, the price reverted back to the original. And Adobe has assured its customers that it was just testing a new price.

But this begs the question:

Should photographers be concerned?

It’s not like we haven’t seen this before. Last year, Adobe announced price increases for a number of its CC products, though the Photography plan was spared. So the Photography plan – which includes Photoshop, Lightroom, and Lightroom Classic – remained an affordable deal for professional photographers.

But if Adobe is testing out a price increase, then it’s no doubt a real possibility for the future.

If that’s the case, would Lightroom and Photoshop be worth it?

The increased price did come with one benefit: Creative Cloud storage, which currently sits at 20GB, shot up to 1TB.
(It’s now back to 20GB.)

But how many photographers have been waiting for additional storage? For many photographers, the increased CC storage is worth little.

Maybe it’s time to start looking into other options.

In the past few years, a number of strong Photoshop and Lightroom contenders have been released–and at significantly lower price points.

For instance, Affinity Photo retails at a one-time payment of $ 49.99. It offers many of the same functions as Photoshop, including basic editing tools, layers, and some more sophisticated options, such as lens distortion corrections.

And ON1 Photo RAW is a neat alternative to Lightroom. For a single payment of $ 79.99, you get a combination of advanced photo editing and photo organization software. Plus, it comes with a set of excellent presets.

Photographers should also check out Luminar 3. This is a full-featured program, offering an excellent combination of basic editing options, local adjustments, and photo organization. All for a one-time price of $ 70.

A couple more options:

  1. ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate (for $ 8.90/month or a one-time fee of $ 84.95)
  2. Exposure X4 (for a one-time fee of $ 119)

Here’s the bottom line:

With Adobe considering a Lightroom/Photoshop price hike, other options (which you can purchase for a one-time fee) have suddenly become far more enticing.

For those of you who aren’t willing to fork out the additional US$ 10 per month, take a look at these other options.

Just in case.

The post Adobe Price Hike Just a ‘Test’; Should Photographers Be Worried? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on Adobe Price Hike Just a ‘Test’; Should Photographers Be Worried?

Posted in Photography

 

How to Put Some “Sparkle” in Your Photos with Sparkler Photography

13 May

The post How to Put Some “Sparkle” in Your Photos with Sparkler Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.

Sparklers are fun, festive, and can add, well…Sparkle to your photos! Getting good sparkler shots will test your skills too, teach you new ways of operating your camera and allow you to make some “hot shots” people will admire. So let’s look at the tools, techniques, and tips for sparkler photography as well as give you some ideas to try.

1 - sparkler photography

4 seconds, f/11, ISO 100

Playing with fire – Safety First!

If you play with fire, __________________ (complete the rest of that common saying). You’ve heard that, right?

“Play with fire and you’ll get burned.”

That’s NOT what we want to happen! So, Safety First!

These things ought to be common sense, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t list some precautions. After all, you are playing with fire.

  • Sparklers are HOT! The best sparklers for photography, (those with metallic nature and metal wire handle), burn between 1000 and 1600 degrees Centigrade, (that’s 1,800-3000 F)! Even after they burn out, the sparkler will be red hot for some time. Use them with great caution.
  • Flying sparks can burn you and your photo equipment. I have pitted glasses used as props in my shots with the sparks and the same can happen to your lens if too close. Stay back and zoom in, keeping your camera out of the range of flying sparks. Put a UV filter on your lens for extra protection.
  • Make your shots in a safe area with no flammable materials nearby. Sparkler photography is best done outdoors with cement, pavement, or other non-flammable surfaces underneath. I have read too often of photographers setting areas on fire (even historic sites!) by improperly using fireworks. I have also read of weddings where the bride’s dress was set on fire with a sparkler and all kinds of other sad and ugly stories. Don’t be that idiot! Have a bucket of water, perhaps even a fire extinguisher, nearby just in case. A water bucket can also be useful for disposing of expended but still hot sparklers.
  • Be careful when lighting sparklers. Often they take a bit to light, and standard paper matches could burn your fingers as they burn down. A long fireplace-style lighter works well. Light one at a time, never a bundle of them.

I could go on and if you search for “sparkler injuries” you might decide not to try this at all, but the point is, be smart, be safe, and above all…be careful!

2 - sparkler photography

What you need

Camera – Full manual control of exposure and manual focus is pretty much required. Automatic modes won’t cut it for good sparkler photography and autofocus will cause much frustration.

Tripod – You will be shooting long exposures, often several seconds, and you can’t possibly hold your camera still enough for that time. Also, unless you have an assistant, you will also be busy with the sparkler. Your camera needs to be on a stable tripod.

Sparklers – I’ve found the best sparklers for photography are the metallic type with wire handles. Those with bamboo handles and a paper end produce a different-looking spark pattern, a lot of smoke, and are not well-suited to photos. You can also buy sparkers of different sizes.

Consider the amount of time it will take to make the shot you want as well as the distance you will be from the camera. Standard size (#10) sparklers work fine for shorter effects up close. Consider the bigger ones if you need more time or will be far away. I stock up during the Fourth of July season here in the U.S. If you have to buy online in the off-season, search for “Smokeless Sparkers” and you will find sites that sell the proper type in various sizes.

Props and People – The right props in a photo can help “tell a story” which the sparklers enhance. (See the shots in this article). Have those ready and be sure to consider their flammability. If you will have people in your shot, especially if they are children, be sure you carefully instruct them in the safe use of sparklers. Their safety is your responsibility! Also, consider the clothing people wear. Obviously, easily flammable clothing is a big NO. Dark colors will help them “disappear” in the shot if that’s what you want while lighter colors will help them show up. Again, if you have any doubts about being able to use sparklers in your photography and doing it safely, just don’t do it – period.

3 - sparkler photography

4 seconds, F/14, ISO 400 – Flash Fill light was also used here

Remote trigger for your camera – If you are any distance from your camera, (especially if you are working alone), you will need a way to fire the shot remotely. You might get by with the timer, tripping the shutter and then running into the shot, but I like to be able to do multiple shots using just one sparkler. (They are hard to extinguish and re-light. If you need to run back to the camera to make another exposure, your sparkler will likely burn out by the time you can do that.)

I use a Yongnuo RF602C radio trigger with my Canon 6D and so can work from a distance, repeating the shot several times in the duration of just one sparkler. A wired remote could work too, depending on the length of your cord and distance from the camera to subject.

Flashlight (aka “Torch”) – You will most likely be working in the dark, so being able to set your camera, adjust focus, and do what you need to without too much fumbling will require a flashlight. We also discuss other uses for the flashlight along with Flash below.

Flash and Orange (CTO) Gels – This is optional, depending on the shot you’d like to make. We’ll get into using flash with your shots a bit later.

Bucket of Water and Fire Extinguishers – I discussed why previously but will repeat it. Have a place to put still hot sparklers after they burn out and also a means to quickly douse a fire in the chance things go bad.

4 - sparkler photography

2.5 sec. f/11, ISO 100

Long exposure and camera settings

You will want full control over all your camera settings, so Manual Mode is a must. You will also want to be able to set and lock focus, so Manual Focus is needed. Shooting Raw (not .jpg) images will free you from having to worry about white balance and also give you greater latitude for adjusting exposure in editing if you aren’t right on.

As for the specific camera settings, that will take some experimentation. Start with ISO. You’ll be taking long exposures and keeping the ISO low. ISO 100 is fine and will help limit image noise. The desired depth of field will help determine your aperture, and that in combination with your shutter speed, (which will need to be long enough to accomplish whatever action you’ll be capturing) will determine your exposure. Sparklers are brighter than you may think and I achieved many of my shots with the light of the sparkler alone.

Take a look at the sample photos included in this article for which I’ve listed the camera settings. Note that ISO is almost always 100, aperture between f/8 and f/11 with the shutter speed determined by the duration of the action I’m capturing. Sometimes, rather than guessing how long you will need, it might be a good idea to use the Bulb mode for your shutter. Click the shutter once to open it as you start the action, then close it when finished.

5 - sparkler photography

0.5 sec., f/8, ISO 100

Use with still-life photography

Your imagination is your only limit to how you can use sparklers to put some pizzaz in your shot. I am a fan of using them in Still Life photography for several reasons:

  • Use the sparkler to contribute to the theme and story you’re telling with a photo. Note the images in this article where sparklers add to the festive or holiday feel of the image.
  • Consider how the light of the sparkler plays with the other props or people in the scene. Glass which allows the sparkler light to shine through. Reflective objects or things that might look good backlit can make for interesting shots. You will often be able to make the shot with the light of the sparkler alone.
  • Back to the safety factor – With still-life images, you can be more in control of the situation, the location, and the other variables when working with inanimate objects. Working with people increases the hazard.
  • If an object moves, (and is lit well enough) during a long exposure, it will be blurred. I like the sparkler to be the moving object while the other objects in my scene are static and thus sharp even with a longer shutter speed.
  • Multiple takes are usually necessary to get a “just right” shot. I often make multiple shots even during the duration of one 35-second burn of a small #10 sparkler. After it’s exhausted and I toss it in the water bucket, I chimp my shots, decide what I might do differently or better, adjust and make another series. Still-life subjects don’t care while your model might not be as patient with many multiple takes.
6 - sparkler photography

1/160 sec, f/3.5, ISO 800 – The sparkler was added with the technique described below

Use in wedding photography

Using sparklers in conjunction with wedding photography has become popular and can make for some nice images. A personal confession here – I’ve done wedding photography and find it scary enough. Add fire to the mix – as well as some potentially inebriated guests wielding that fire! – and the fear-factor goes up exponentially for me. I’m not saying don’t do these kinds of shots if that’s something you’d like to add to your wedding photography repertoire. Do your homework and read up on how other wedding photographers are using sparklers. Then, as you should with all wedding photography, do it with due diligence and the safety of your clients utmost in mind.

That said, read on in the Special Effects Section below to learn how you can include sparkler effects in your wedding images through some creative editing while not having to have them physically present during the wedding shoot.

7 - sparkler photography

This sparkler shot was done independently – 14 seconds, f/11, ISO 100, and then layered over the dance shot below

Writing with fire

Another popular effect done with sparklers is to “write” or “draw” with the light trail created when a sparkler moves during a long exposure. (Interesting that in the Greek roots of the word “photography,” Phos means light and graphi means writing.) During a long exposure, a sparkler can be used to “write” words, draw pictures, or trace the outline of an object. A tip when writing letters or words; usually the subject doing the “sparkler writing” will be facing the camera and for them, (so the letters appear proper to the camera), they would need to form backward letters. Make it easier for them by letting them write as they normally would and then flipping the image later in post-production.

8 - sparkler photography

I’ve also made some fun shots, such as that of the bicycle in this article, by “outlining” the basic shapes of the object with the sparkler during a long exposure. For this kind of thing, you might want to look into longer-burning sparklers such as #20 types which burn for about 2 minutes. They even sell extra-long #36 sparklers which will burn for up to 3 ½ minutes. Get what you need to accomplish the shot you’ll be making.

9 - sparkler photography

80 seconds, f/11, ISO 100. I probably could have traced the bicycle just once to simplify the shot and use a shorter exposure

Mixing ambient light and using flash

What you want to show up in your shot will determine your exposure settings and other techniques. Sometimes, all you want to show up is the sparkler itself. If that’s the case, put your camera on a tripod, put the unlit sparkler (or a stand-in object) where you expect the sparkler to be, use your flashlight and focus on that spot. Then turn off the autofocus so the focus is locked on that spot. You will want to shoot in the dark, have a dark background, and wear dark clothes if you or your subject will be in the shot moving the sparkler. Make a shot without lighting the sparkler with the ISO at 100 and adjust the aperture, so the resulting image is totally black. Shutter speed will be dependent on how long you expect the action to take.

Now, leaving all the settings there, light the sparkler and make the shot. Evaluate the shot to see what adjustments might be necessary. Once you have it dialed in, repeat as needed with another sparkler. If you are shooting relatively short, say under 5-second exposures, you may get multiple shots during the 35-second burn of even a small #10 sparkler.

Now, say you want your subject to appear in the image with the sparkler. A still-life object might work just fine with a similar technique with the light of the sparkler enough to illuminate the subject. The cocktail glasses and flag shots here were done in that fashion. The bicycle shot was too, though a long 80-second exposure was needed to trace the subject fully.

The New Year 2017 shot needed a little help from a flash. The 4-second exposure was about right for the static sparkler placed behind the glasses, but it’s placement behind the glasses, and the amount of light it cast, wasn’t enough to illuminate the other objects in the scene, so some fill-flash was used.

10 - sparkler photography

2.5 sec, f/16, ISO 100

Say you want to see your subject holding the sparkler, perhaps drawing with it, or maybe show a wedding couple in the shot with sparkler effects in the shot too. Set up the shot as before with enough shutter duration to capture whatever motion you want with the sparkler. Then, just before completing the exposure, pop a flash on your subject to illuminate and freeze them.

If your camera and flash support second curtain sync, that’s a great way to do this as the flash will be automatically triggered just before the exposure is completed. If not, or if perhaps you want to put the flash off camera, you can also manually trigger it with the test button. It takes a bit more timing and luck, but being able to put the flash where you want it and timing the flash to your action might be worth it.

Another option, since you will be making a long exposure, is to use a flashlight to “light-paint” your subject. As with the flash, if you want the sparkler to produce a trail but the person or subject to be frozen, illuminate them with the flashlight at the end of the exposure.

I mentioned the use of a CTO (Color Temperature Orange) gel with your flash. Because most sparklers burn with a warm gold light the much bluer light of the flash won’t match them. Putting a piece or two of CTO gel over your flash allows its light to better match that of the sparkler. Carefully crafted, you will be able to make it look like it was the sparkler lighting the subject when in fact the flash was doing the work.

11 - sparkler photography

1 second, f/11, ISO 100

Special effects with sparkler shots

I mentioned a wedding shot where it had the sparkler effect but without actually having the sparkler there. Here’s how you do it:

  • Shoot your sparkler shots on a dark background. Then in post-production, adjust the black so the only thing visible is the sparkler and light trail itself.
  • Open the image you want in Photoshop, say the wedding shot.
  • Open the sparkler shot as a separate image. Then “Select All” and “Copy” that shot.
  • Go to the wedding shot and then “Paste” the sparkler shot over it on a separate layer.
  • Change the blending mode on the sparkler layer to “Screen.” The black will become transparent, leaving the sparkler trail over your wedding shot.
  • Adjust the placement, size, and so forth on the sparkler overlay to put it where you like.
  • Using masking tools on that later, mask out any of the sparkler effects you don’t want to show.
12 - sparkler photography

Sparker effected added using Screen Blending mode with the sparkler on a separate layer.

The beauty of this technique is you can make your own “stock images” with various sparkler effects and have them available later when you might want to add them to other images. The other advantage is you don’t have the hassle and risks of using sparklers around your subjects.

If you don’t want to mess with sparklers at all but still want the effects, you can also buy “sparkler effects” packages and alphabets which you can use with this same technique.

So, have fun, be safe, and put some sparkle in your photos! Then, be sure to share them with us in the comments below.

 

The post How to Put Some “Sparkle” in Your Photos with Sparkler Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on How to Put Some “Sparkle” in Your Photos with Sparkler Photography

Posted in Photography

 

5 Camera Accessories You Shouldn’t Buy Cheap

12 May

The post 5 Camera Accessories You Shouldn’t Buy Cheap appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Suzi Pratt.

With each passing year, it seems that camera gear and accessories get progressively cheaper. Third-party brands now offer everything from lenses and flashes to batteries and tripods. This gear is typically priced at a fraction of the price of name brand manufacturers and the quality is often on par. Photographers have often said that “you get what you pay for” when it comes to camera gear, implying that cheaper goods offer less quality. But is that still true today?

In this article, I’ll highlight 5 camera accessories you shouldn’t buy cheap and should consider paying full price for. This isn’t to say that there aren’t cheap, third-party brands offering solid quality for less. But these are items that you’ll want to research extra hard to make sure you’re buying the best product for your camera.

Camera Strap

1. Camera strap

All cameras come with a stock camera strap that you can use to secure your camera on your shoulder. However, the quality and long-term durability of these camera straps are often questionable. Thus, it’s becoming more commonplace for photographers to purchase their own camera straps. Peak Design and Black Rapid are two popular brands offering sturdy and stylish camera straps. These straps are on the pricey side with the Peak Design Slide coming in at $ 64.95 and the Black Rapid Breathe at $ 68.99. Each strap also attaches to your camera differently, but their main benefit is being able to detach on demand if you need to remove the strap (ie. for use on a tripod or gimbal).

Are there cheaper camera strap alternatives? Certainly. But consider the fact that you are trusting the camera strap to hold hundreds or thousands of dollars of equipment and be sure to buy a camera strap that you can trust.

Manfrotto tripod

2. Tripod

Along the lines of keeping your valuable camera gear safe, it’s also wise to invest a little extra into a high-quality tripod. I’ve spent years buying cheap, compact tripods for travel only to have them fail on me sooner than expected. As a result, I’ve amassed a pile of broken tripods. Last year, I finally took the plunge and bought a more expensive Manfrotto tripod. Solid and reliable, I now wonder why I didn’t just buy this tripod in the first place.

When purchasing a tripod, it’s also important to buy a quality tripod head. Ball heads are popular and are often the default tripod head that you’ll receive. However, they tend to loosen over time. Luckily, there are many other tripod heads out there that offer more stability and precise control over your camera movement. My personal favorite tripod head is the Manfrotto MH804-3W, which I now use for all of my architecture and real estate photo shoots.

Camera batteries

3. Camera batteries

When buying a new camera, it’s always important to budget for a few extra camera batteries. You’ll always want spares just in case, and authentic spare camera batteries are generally not cheap. For example, a spare Sony Z-battery for the A7III costs $ 78. Similarly, a spare Fujifilm battery is $ 65. Third-party brands such as Wasabi Power offer cheaper battery knock-offs, but there’s a risk in using these.

Battery knock-offs may or may not offer the same amount of power as the original batteries. I’ve used third-party batteries for certain cameras such as my Canon DSLRs and not seen any difference in their power. However, camera brands are getting smarter and will sometimes detect knock-off batteries. For instance, my Fujifilm X-T3 flashes a warning sign if Wasabi Power battery is inserted, and it definitely does not last as long as an authentic Fuji battery.

It’s also said that using third-party batteries can void your camera’s warranty. I’m not sure how the camera brand would know if you were using a knock-off battery, but it’s still something to look into.

Memory cards

High-megapixel cameras come at a price as they eat up storage on your memory cards and hard drives.

4. Memory cards

All of your photos and videos are recorded onto memory cards, so it is very important to select quality memory cards. SanDisk is one of the biggest and most reputable memory card makers. There are other brands such as Lexar and PNY that also make quality memory cards. But I’d be wary of buying memory cards made by any other brands. With that said, even the most reputable memory card brands tend to fail and malfunction, so also be sure to use multiple memory cards if your recording device offers multiple card slots.

Hard drives

5. Hard Drives

Related to memory cards, hard drives are also important for storing and backing up your photos and videos. If you’ve ever had a hard drive fail, you know the importance of choosing a quality hard drive and making sure you have a backup for your backup.

Similar to memory cards, even the most high-quality hard drives can fail, so the best brand names are up for debate. Western Digital and Seagate are generally good hard drive brands, even though I’ve experienced hard drive failures from them both.

Lately, I’ve had the best luck with Samsung SSD hard drives. I use a 1TB Samsung T5 as my main working hard drive and a 4TB LaCie Rugged Mini as my secondary backup. This combo is great for working on the road, as well as in the office.

Conclusion

There you have it – 5 camera accessories that you’ll want to consider splurging for because in some cases, you still get what you pay for. Are there cheaper, high-quality alternatives for these items? Certainly. But when it comes to these 5 items, take the extra time to read customer reviews and make sure you’re buying the best gear for your camera.

Would you add or remove any items from this list? Let me know in the comments below!

The post 5 Camera Accessories You Shouldn’t Buy Cheap appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Suzi Pratt.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on 5 Camera Accessories You Shouldn’t Buy Cheap

Posted in Photography

 

How to Travel Light With Your Photography Gear

12 May

The post How to Travel Light With Your Photography Gear appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Karthika Gupta.

For the longest time, one of my dreams has been to live away from home and travel with my family for an extended period of time. I used to dream about all the places I could travel to, and how much fun I would have living a nomadic life. Of course, then I would wake up, and the realities of my responsibilities would take over.

Travel light with gear Karthika Gupta

A couple of years ago after a major life setback with the loss of my mom to cancer, I decided that my life was too short not to make my dreams come true.

That year, after several months of discussion and planning, my husband and I decided that our little family would spend our summer in India – traveling and visiting family. Somewhere along the way a trip to Ladakh, London, Zurich, and Rome got added to the roster. Pretty soon I was in charge of planning and packing for a life on the road for two and a half months. We’d be living out of just four suitcases – one for each one of us. As a photographer, I knew that somewhere in those suitcases I had to pack my camera equipment along with my essentials.

Since that year, my family made a conscious decision to take time away from everything over the summer and spend at least 3-4 weeks traveling. Last year we spent two weeks in Utah, and back-country camped for a week in the wilderness of Denver. As the official photographer (both for personal reasons as well as professional ones), I have had to nail down the task of packing my gear and traveling as light as possible to make the most of the trip.

Here are a few things that helped me make the most of my time away from home. It is very likely that I have missed some key photographic opportunities, but overall I am pleased with my gear setup, the opportunities that my family has experienced, and the images that I have created. As a bonus, all the camera equipment I take along make it back without any significant mishaps along the way. If traveling has taught me anything, it is that not every moment needs to documenting and not every piece of gear needs to be used at the same time!

1. Gear choices

Let’s face the reality of life as a photographer – we all love and want all the gear that we think we need wherever we go. As I pack, I realize that as a photographer I always have so many things I want to take. However, often the need for gear is quickly overruled by the need for practical things like clothes, shoes, and books. After a few days on the road, showers are not an overrated thing, they become necessary! I narrow down my list based on where my travels are taking me and what gear I could realistically carry and transport safely without any damage.

This is my typical kit for most travel adventures

  • A wide zoom lens – my go-to is the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8
  • A simple point and shoot camera (yes, this is my backup as weight is a concern on most trips)
  • One telephoto lens – I have the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8
  • One camera body – Canon 5D Mk III
  • 3 camera batteries
  • 1 battery charger
  • A small travel tripod – this is my latest addition and it fits in my carry-on bag
  • A remote trigger
  • 7-8 camera CF cards ranging from 8GB to 32GB
  • One compact 2TB External Hard drives (backup photo storage)
  • Two generic lens and camera cleaner kits

All of these things comfortably fit into my REI brand hiking backpack. I use this bag for everything and store my gear in individual soft-cover bags inside the pack. This is what I have done since day one and something that has worked well for me.

As a mom of young kids, my backpack not only carries my gear but also snacks, extra t-shirts, books, color pencils and at a minimum, 5 matchbox cars of many colors. Just as the camera is my toy, my kids have their own toys that have to make it on every trip.

How to travel light with your gear Karthika Gupta

My most recent trip to Portugal had very limited gear because we were traveling light. So I had to get creative with my 24-70mm lens around town as I was enamored with all the beautiful tiles all over Lisbon!

The one thing I always wish I’d taken with me is a rain cover for the camera itself. My backpack has a rain cover, which I use when caught in a sudden downpour, but without a separate rain cover over my camera, I am not able to use it in the rain – which can be disappointing. Somehow, I always forget to buy one before my trips.

2. Organize and plan your trip

For me, being prepared and organized includes having a rough idea of where I am going and the kind of environment I am going to expose myself and my gear to. Before I leave for a trip, I jot down all the serial numbers, make and brand for my camera equipment, and store them in a document on my cloud-based Dropbox account. This gets updated and checked multiple times in the year as I sell and buy new gear. Just add this as one of your to-dos before you depart on your trip. All my external hard drives are stored off-site at a friend’s place as well as the remainder of my gear.

Now, obviously, this is a friend I trust. But another option would be to lock it in an off-site storage facility. As part of your research, another good thing to keep in your back pocket is the name, address, and contact information of authorized service dealers for your gear in the country you are visiting. Sometimes things go wrong no matter how prepared you are. Having information about services centers and authorized dealers for your gear is a time saver – especially when you are traveling in areas where internet connections are not very reliable.

During my travels, my gear choices depend on the activities planned and the kind of travel we are going to do. When traveling with my family in Rome and Zurich, we traveled everywhere either on foot or used public transportation. So I just carried my camera body and the 24-70mm lens among other daily necessities in my backpack. The rest of my camera equipment was either packed away in the hotel room safe or locked away in my suitcase.

When we hiked and camped in the Himalayas, my camera, along with both my lenses, were always on my person. The tripod was handed off to the porters that were carrying our camping gear. For my camping trips, I just carried all my CF cards and ditched the charger and external hard drive at the house where we were staying because it was highly unlikely I’d find a charging port on the journey.

Sometimes, if I ask nicely, my husband will carry my gear bag but only because it is not too feminine!! Also, it doesn’t scream camera bag.

How to travel light with your gear Denver Colorado Camping Trip

This is my camera bag, day pack, and hiking bag. It can hold a lot of stuff and has back support which is really important. Plus it is not too”girly” in case I need some help carrying it!

When we travel on a road trip, my camera and 24-70mm lens sit up front with me and store the rest of the gear in the car trunk. When I fly, I carry all my gear in my backpack – I am too paranoid about checking in any gear.

My next purchase for a long haul trip is going to be a Pelican case, so I don’t have to carry anything on my person. As I age, I find that I cannot carry heavy bags as easily.

All these choices are possible because of the research I do ahead of time.

Additionally, a good mindset to have when you travel to far-off exotic locations is one of acceptance of physical and mental limitations of both your and your camera gear.

I experienced some altitude sickness when I traveled to Leh and Ladakh as we were traveling on roads at almost 17,000 feet above sea level. I also found my gear did not function as efficiently at that altitude. My batteries did not last as long, and the camera also did not shoot as fast. The first few times it happened I freaked out. However, then I just accepted it as something beyond my control and gave myself some extra time to be patient when getting the shot that I wanted.

3. Know your gear

This one is too basic to include here, but it is amazing how many of us don’t follow this simple tip. We are so enamored with the latest and greatest gear available, but yet don’t quite know how to use the stuff that we do own.

The best way to get over this is to limit yourself to a few key pieces of camera equipment for an extended period. One of my photography goals is to capture star trails and the Milky Way. The opportunity presented itself when I traveled to Ladakh. After all, I was going to be in a remote part of the country at an altitude of almost 15,000-17,000 feet above sea level.

Now astrophotography is not my thing. I always limited myself from trying it out because I don’t usually travel with a tripod, nor do I own an intervalometer. So this time I downloaded the camera manual on my phone and studied it before I left. With that information, I was able to comfortably and confidently use the B (a.k.a Bulb mode) on my camera to capture star trails in Ladakh. It was quite a thrilling experience for my maiden attempt.

How to travel light with your gear

Nothing quite prepares you for seeing the milky way. That first glimpse takes your breadth away and without the right gear, it is impossible to capture.

This is one of my first milky way shots and now I find myself looking out for stars every night! This would have been impossible without a tripod and proper remote trigger.

Another good thing to practice before you head out is gear maintenance. I routinely clean my lens and camera throughout my trips, so I carry two camera cleaning kits because I know my gear gets a lot of time out in the elements when I travel.

Before every major outing, I spent the time to clean out the dirt and dust from the camera and the lens. I keep the dust pen in my camera bag in case I need it while I am out and about photographing.

4. Be local and think like a local

I have to include this one in any travel photography related article because it does relate indirectly to taking care of yourself and your gear. I often find photographers I meet along my journeys have a fake sense of entitlement. When you are a guest in someone’s house, are you not on your best behavior? Why is it that when you are a guest in another country, common sense and basic manners seem to fly out the window?

Locals are still people who deserve the same amount of respect and courtesy as anyone. Put yourself in their shoes and try to imagine what they experience when someone shoves a camera in their face without so much as a hello or a smile.

My 24-70mm lens is my go-to travel lens. It really lets me get into small places and photograph a variety of things. I am not one for a more obscure lens where people don’t know I am photographing them. Instead, I prefer to interact with people and let them know, rather see, that I am taking their picture. This is just the way I work.

While in Ladakh, we visited a lot of beautiful monasteries. Most of them are still in use, and we saw many temples where the monks were in prayer. Even if there is no sign discouraging photography, please use common sense not to invade their private space – especially when they are chanting.

I cannot tell you how many times I have come across tourists that almost jump over each other or hang out of moving cars just to take pictures of monks chanting and praying. Seeing this rude behavior almost made me embarrassed to take my camera out!

How to travel light with your gear

Being respectful has everything to do with travel and travel photography.

Additionally, flashing your fancy gear around is almost begging for the wrong kind of attention. One evening in Rome, I was out with my kids taking photos around beautiful horse-drawn carriages. We lost track of time and soon found ourselves in a deserted alley. I quickly put my gear away in my backpack, stuffed it with our jackets, grabbed my kids, and sprinted towards a more crowded piazza.

5. Make friends with local photographers

The internet is an amazing tool for almost anything. It is such a great resource to find and connect with other photographers, especially if you are traveling to areas that are new and foreign to you. When I travel, I always try to connect with some local photographers. We sometimes meet for dinner/drinks, chat on the phone, and just become friends.

They even give me advice on some of the local, non-touristy spots to photograph as well as offered to lend me gear if I need it (Well! Some do…not all want to part with their gear to a total stranger).

How to travel light with your gear Chicago Illinois

A recent trip to the city where I got to try out a 40mm lens and get some cool shots indoors in low light.

Conclusion

I hope these tips are helpful as you plan your next vacation in a far-off destination. Travel in itself is quite the adventure and adding photography to it is just the icing on the cake. However, remember to travel light and enjoy your trip for all that it is – not just a photography expedition.

Also, there is no such thing as perfect photography, but there is something known as a life-changing experience. Travel to experience more of those than just taking pretty pictures.

Do you have any extra tips for traveling light with your photography gear? If so, please share them with us and our readers in the comments below.

 

The post How to Travel Light With Your Photography Gear appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Karthika Gupta.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on How to Travel Light With Your Photography Gear

Posted in Photography

 

How to Create and Use Gradient Maps in Photoshop

11 May

The post How to Create and Use Gradient Maps in Photoshop appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Glenn Harper.

We often perceive color in digital photos to be “correct” when the neutral tones – if they exist – are indeed neutral. But in the real world, light always has some color cast or other that affects the areas it illuminates. A camera sensor ruthlessly reproduces these uninvited hues, but still, we try to edit photos to reflect our own vision. Gradient maps can either correct color or spin it to your advantage.

Using a gradient map to correct color

A blue gradient map removes the reddish color cast of artificial lighting (as per right of picture). Your choice of hue, saturation and brightness gives you fine control over the result.

You can use gradient maps for dramatic black and white conversions or create different monochromatic effects, but this article focuses on color gradient maps to:

  • Use them to subtly improve photos
  • Separate elements within your compositions using color contrast
  • Make subjects stand out
Color gradient map on a black and white image

This image was originally black and white. Because the fog in the picture creates smooth transitions in tone, you can clearly see what the “robin egg to orange peel” gradient is doing.

What does a gradient map do?

A gradient map at its simplest is a smooth gradation between one color (or tone) and another. Let’s say you have a gradient map that goes from green to orange. When you apply that to an image, the shadows would have a green tint and highlights an orange one. The mid-tones are typically least affected except with more complex multi-color maps.

how a color gradient map works

Here, a black and white gradient occupies the lower half of the image. Above that is a color gradient map, and above that is the effect it has on the lower half once an “overlay” or “soft light” blending mode is applied (soft light tends to be more subtle). Don’t worry if you can see banding.

You might be wondering at this point: why would I want to twist the color of a photo and effectively give shadows and highlights a color cast? This, after all, is virtually the opposite of a white balance correction. One reason is to enrich the colors that already exist in a photo.

Using a color gradient map to enhance colors

For this picture, I’ve created a custom gradient map that emphasizes the orange brickwork and the deep blue sky. This is one way of warming up the building without forfeiting the color of the sky.

Another good reason to use gradient maps is to harness the power of complementary or analogous colors and create more eye-catching pictures. Sometimes, the feel of a photo is more important than the truth, which only ever exists in degrees to begin with.

an old color wheel - complementary colors

An old color wheel illustration. Opposite colors are complementary colors, so they’re a good choice for gradient maps.

If you imbue your shadows and highlights with complementary colors, you will often make the photo a little more eye-catching. It might be subtle, but it still works in your favor. This isn’t a magic bullet that makes all photos great, but it’s fun to experiment with. You’re becoming a colorist.

Creating gradient maps

The simplest way to create a gradient map in Photoshop is to go to your toolbar and set the background and foreground colors to the ones you want at either end of your gradient. Then, when you open the gradient map, the colors are already in place.

If you want to use precise colors in your gradient map – perhaps complementary colors you’ve found on the Internet – you can enter the hex numbers into the color picker pane instead of randomly sampling.

gradient maps in Photoshop - cold hues

Gradient maps don’t have to include radically opposing colors. This one has a cold effect all the way through.

Method 1

This is one method for creating a gradient map:

  1. Open your image in Photoshop.
  2. Go to the toolbar and set the background color (click on the rear of the two squares to bring up the color picker pane). This will be your highlight color, bearing in mind you can reverse the gradient in Photoshop anyway.
  3. Do the same with the foreground color by clicking on the front square. This will be your shadow color.
  4. With the shadow/highlight gradient colors chosen, open a gradient map adjustment layer. At this point, the photo looks drowned by color, but we’re not done yet.
  5. Choose either soft light or overlay blending modes and adjust the opacity to taste.

Needless to say, not all gradient maps suit all pictures. One way to create useful gradient maps is by looking for color schemes on the Internet. There are also websites that discuss the color palettes used in movies or movie scenes, which you can “borrow” for your own photos.

Adobe color themes - complementary colors

You can use “Adobe Color Themes” to find the perfect complementary color for one that you’ve chosen. Create a gradient map accordingly. In this case, the yellow-green hue in the little squares is the opposite color to this patch of purple.

Method 2

A more tailored way to create a gradient map is as follows:

  1. Open your image in Photoshop.
  2. Open a gradient map adjustment layer.
  3. Set the blending mode to soft light or overlay.
  4. Click on the gradient to open the gradient editor.
  5. Click on the left color stop (square slider at lower left), then click in the color window that activates.
  6. At this point, you can adjust the shadow color and see its effect in real time on your photo as you move the color picker around.
  7. Do the same with the right-hand highlight color stop.
  8. Now you have a custom-made gradient map for that image.

Note: you have to use the preset manager in Photoshop to save your gradient maps if you want to use them again. Otherwise, they vanish when you close the program.

Color gradient - layer mask - selective editing

If you use gradient map layers rather than direct edits, you have a layer mask built in. In this picture, I wanted the deep blue-green of the water that contrasts well with the reflecting lights, but I didn’t want to lose the warm shadows in the buildings. I brushed those back in, so the gradient map only affects the water and sky.

Gradient maps vs color LUTs

An alternative to gradient maps is color LUTs (look-up tables), which you can also find in Photoshop and other programs. Rather than applying color according to the tone of the image as a gradient map does, a LUT shifts hues numerically.

The latter often causes a radical change in mid-tone subjects like skies and trees, whereas simpler gradients tend to leave those areas relatively unscathed. But it depends. LUTs, like gradients, vary a lot in their effect.

Comparison between color luts and gradient maps

This is a comparison between an orange-teal color LUT (left) and an orange-teal gradient map. Both are more atmospheric than the neutral image I started with, though the LUT has completely altered the color of the trees to the right. Mid-tones are less changed in the gradient map, but highlights are decidedly more orange.

The starting point: white balance

Whether you apply a gradient map or a LUT, the end result is affected by the preexisting white balance in the image. As photographers, we don’t always want to drain a photo of warm or cold light with a white balance adjustment. It’s frequently this light that makes the picture – adds to its atmosphere. However, such an adjustment ensures a purer result with gradient maps and LUTs.

Color LUTs and gradients are usually designed from a white-balance-corrected starting point. So, if you want to see them as the author intended, consider correcting white balance at the raw stage. This isn’t anywhere near compulsory: you can simply lay these edits over photos and they’ll act as filters. Just know that their effect can be exaggerated, skewed or diminished if the photo already has a color cast.

If you customize a gradient map to suit the image, the need for a prior white-balance adjustment obviously disappears. But this is time consuming compared to having a set of tried-and-tested presets at your fingertips.

Enhancing colors and color contrast

The color in the red lens at the front is brought out by this gradient map and the tone of the wood becomes darker than the original. There’s some cool-warm contrast going on here between wood and glass.

Creating multi-color gradient maps

I find simple two-tone gradient maps more useful and certainly more versatile than complex ones, but you can add further colors to the gradient if you wish. You might add a separate color to mid-tones, for instance.

Use analogous colors (sets of three closely related hues) or triadic colors to inspire you, or customize a gradient to enhance the colors that exist in a photo.

triad colors - triadic colors

I probably wouldn’t go for this look, but it illustrates the effect of a three-color gradient map (violet, green, orange – a triadic combo). The different tones in this abstract architectural shot bring all three into play, albeit with a very subtle orange in highlights.

Here’s the method for adding a further color to your gradient:

  1. Open your image in Photoshop.
  2. Create a two-color gradient map as above (steps 1-7).
  3. Click under the center of the gradient in the gradient editor to create a third color stop.
  4. Click on the newly created color stop to activate the color window, then click in that window.
  5. Choose a third color that complements the image (e.g. for mid-tones) and adjust its effect by changing the position of the middle slider. The small outer sliders alter the area affected by this color regardless of its position along the tonal range.

The more colors you add, generally the muddier and less “realistic” the photo appears, but that may be an effect you’re going for.

mullti-color gradient - Photoshop preset

I can’t think of a useful role for this multi-color gradient map. However, it does serve to show you how colors are distributed across different tones. By initially viewing the image in “normal” blending mode, you get a clear idea of how colors will affect the photo before you switch to overlay or soft light.

Using restraint

You can add gradient maps to photos and many people won’t notice you’ve done it. But that’s not to say they don’t have the desired effect.

Just like in the movies, you’re using color to create a mood or make the subject or foreground stand out from the background. You’re not necessarily trying to draw attention to the color itself, even if it pleases your eye.

Many photographers think in terms of light and dark to create impact, or saturation boosts, but color contrast is a rarer consideration.

Although gradient maps (and color LUTs) are powerful tools for making pictures stand out, it’s easy to get carried away with them. After a period of overdosing, you’ll come to recognize the types of images they work best on and which of your gradients to use where. Here are five free gradients you might like to try out. Happy colorizing!

Try out these techniques and share your images with us in the comments below.

 

The post How to Create and Use Gradient Maps in Photoshop appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Glenn Harper.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on How to Create and Use Gradient Maps in Photoshop

Posted in Photography

 
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »