Category: Photography

Understanding and Unlocking the Power of the Lightoom Vignette Tool
The post Understanding and Unlocking the Power of the Lightoom Vignette Tool appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.

The Lightroom vignette tool is like adding a bit of spice to your favorite meal. Without a bit (but not too much) garlic, basil, thyme, or other even salt, your food might taste bland. Add too much, and it can ruin the whole thing. In a way, the vignette effect does the same job. It adds a bit of spice, flavor, and panache, to give your photos that little extra push over the cliff. It turns them from mediocre to magnificent. If you want to unlock its full potential, it’s important to understand what it does and see how, when applied to different pictures, it can dramatically affect the final output.

You and the Lightroom Vignette effect: A match made in heaven.

About Vignettes

Vignette effects are nothing new to photography. The word itself has French origins. It refers to the wavy lines that would appear like vines (or in French, Vignes) drawn around page edges marking the beginning or end of a book chapter. Over time the word was adopted by artists and photographers to refer to the gradual fade or darkening of an image near its edges.

While vignettes can be distracting if implemented poorly, they can result in a pleasing artistic effect when applied like spices when cooking. The outcome is akin to laying a reverse darkened oval across an image so that the corners and edges of the picture are a little darker. This method also serves to draw the viewer’s attention to the center. You’re basically trying to achieve the Goldilocks balance where it’s not too much and not too little, but just right.

Understanding the Vignette Options

The first step in using Vignette is simply locating it. You’ll find it in the Effects panel on the right-hand side of the Lightroom Develop module. You’re presented with an option to choose a particular style along with five sliders that help you fine-tune the vignette to taste. All of this happens after your image cropping has been applied, so if you use a vignette and then re-crop your image the vignette changes to suit your new crop.

There are three options for the Style of vignette:
- Highlight Priority – Ensures that the bright areas of the image blend more smoothly with the darker areas. The downside here is it can make areas of the image with a lot of colors appear a little strange.
- Color Priority – The opposite of Highlight Priority, this style makes sure that color is preserved across the vignette. However, it can make the bright areas have some jarring shifts.
- Paint Overlay – This is a blunt instrument. It just darkens the image where the vignette is applied, with no attention paid to highlights or colors.
If you’re not sure which of these to use, I recommend sticking with Highlight Priority. Both that and Color Priority produce similar results which are not unlike the Burn option in Photoshop (which itself mimics the process of selectively over-exposing parts of an image when developing film in a darkroom). These two also let you use the Highlights slider at the bottom which helps you recover some of the brighter portions of the image that are darkened with a vignette, whereas Paint Overlay disables the Highlights slider entirely.

Additional options:

In addition to the style of vignette, you have additional options that allow you to precisely control how the effect is implemented.
- Amount – How much vignette is applied. Moving this to the left adds a dark vignette while sliding it to the right adds a white vignette.
- Midpoint – The degree to which the vignette reaches the middle of the image. All the way to the left results in much more of the vignette reaching the center, whereas all the way to the right keeps the vignette at the most extreme edges and corners. If you’re not sure what to do, just leave this in the middle.
- Roundness – All the way to the left makes the vignette into more of a rectangle. Leave it in the middle for an oval-shaped vignette. Slide it all the way to the right to make your vignette a circle.
- Feather – How smoothly the dark areas blend with the light areas. All the way to the left results in a harsh edge and all the way to the right gives you a nice smooth blend.
If you don’t want to over-complicate things you can leave all these sliders at their default values and you’ll be fine. However, they are fun to experiment with over time to get just the right look you are going for.

Visual explanations

This tool is easy to explore on your own but looking at how it affects a black and white grid may give you a better understanding of what is happening. I used the Paint Overlay instead of Highlight or Color Priority because in a simple black-and-white grid Paint Overlay gives the clearest visual representation of how the vignette is applied. The left side of each is the original un-edited grid while the right side is the same image with a vignette applied. The settings used for each one are described in the caption.

Amount -50, Midpoint +50, Roundness 0, Feather +50

Notice how the vignette gradually fades from dark to light, with the center portion of the image on the right being the exact same brightness as the grid on the left with no vignette applied.

Amount -50, Midpoint 0, Roundness 0, Feather +50

With the midpoint set all the way to 0, the unaffected portion of the vignette is concentrated in the middle with the edges and corners being uniformly dark. This highlights the center portion alone but there is very little fade-out between that and the vignette.

Amount -50, Midpoint 0, Roundness 0, Feather +100

The midpoint here remains the same but there is now a more gradual fade-out to the darkened portions thanks to an increase in feathering.

Amount -50, Midpoint 0, Roundness 0, Feather 0

Reducing the feathering to 0 makes the vignette clearly visible with virtually no gradation in how it is applied. I would never use this on an actual photo, but it is useful to understand how the vignette function operates.

Amount -40, Midpoint +25, Roundness +100, Feather +30

Setting the roundness to +100 gives you a vignette that is a perfect circle instead of a more oval shape. It’s important to remember that vignettes are applied after cropping, so if you start with a square image then you will have a circular vignette even with the roundness value set to its default value of +50.

Hopefully, these graphics give you a better understanding of how the vignette effect works. However, to really see it in action, it helps to look at what happens when it’s applied to actual photographs instead of just a blank grid.

Vignette examples

Almost any photo-editing app will let you apply a vignette, but with the extensive tools available in Lightroom you can customize your vignette to do precisely what you want and shape your viewers’ perception of an image in a very specific way. If you control parameters like midpoint and feathering, in addition to the amount, you can create vignettes that impart certain overtones and even emotions and transform your humble images in to works of art.

No vignette applied.

The above image looks fine on its own, and the viewer’s attention is meant to be drawn to the droplet of water right in the middle, but there are other portions of the image competing for attention. Adding a vignette completely changes the mood of the scene and makes the viewer feel like they are in a much more intimate setting. Notice how, with the darkened corners, your eye gets immediately drawn to the center and not to the edges at all.

Highlight Priority. Amount -30, Midpoint +50, Roundness +20, Feather +40

Vignettes can be used to eliminate distractions in the edges of the frame as well, and in doing so draw the viewer’s attention to the subject in the center. In this image below, there is a fence on the top-right and a black climbing rope on the top-left. They don’t really add much substance to the image and instead can take your attention away from the rabbit in the middle.

One way to solve this is by adding a vignette. Through some tweaking of the parameters, the end result is an image that still contains the fence and the rope but makes them far less prominent while focusing your attention squarely on the bunny.

Highlight Priority. Amount -42, Midpoint +50, Roundness 0, Feather +70

I do a lot of family pictures for clients in my city, and one of the final touches I’ll add to most of my pictures is a simple vignette. It’s often very subtle, usually only -10 or -15, but depending on the Style (Highlight or Color Priority), I might need to add more and then tweak it with the sliders. Below is an image with no vignette applied. While it’s fine on its own, the subjects are competing with the bright edges and corners for your attention.

A Color Priority vignette helps maintain the integrity of the colors while darkening them a little, and then I brought back some of the highlights particularly in the top-right corner by adjusting the Highlights slider to 10.

Color Priority. Amount -53, Midpoint +55, Roundness 0, Feather +45, Highlights +10.

Positive values

One thing I didn’t mention in this article is positive Amount values, which make the edges of the frame brighter instead of darker. In my years as a photographer, I can’t think of a single instance in which I have used this option, and I don’t know anyone else who uses it on a regular basis either (editor’s note: it may be used it in high-key photography). You may find instances in which you want to make the outer portions of your image brighter instead of darker and, if so, then positive Amount values would do the trick. Just know that it’s easy to overdo it and the results can sometimes come across as a little cheesy and forced.

Conclusion

These examples and explanations are designed to give you a better understanding of what the vignette effect does and how it impacts an image. I encourage you to try it out for yourself. Use the different sliders and style options and notice how they affect the vignette which, in turn, can have a profound impact on your image as a whole. Just remember the cooking analogy: you don’t want too much vignette, nor do you want too little. Strive to get it just right, and your pictures could take on a whole new life.

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments below.

The post Understanding and Unlocking the Power of the Lightoom Vignette Tool appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.

Digital Photography School
February 5, 2019
7 Different Situations Where You Can Use Fill Flash Effectively

The post 7 Different Situations Where You Can Use Fill Flash Effectively appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

Many photographers experience anxiety when they think about using flash. It’s a big unknown, difficult to control and to predict what the results might look like.

Knowing when you need to use flash to improve a photograph is just another choice you need to make. A little like deciding what lens to use to take a particular photo. Obtaining the right amount of light from your flash to compliment your picture is key to effective fill flash photography.

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

In this article, I share some thoughts on when and why you might choose to add fill flash. I’ll also walk through seven situations where using fill flash helps enhance a picture.

Using fill flash – what, when and why

Fill flash is typically used to balance with the ambient light to provide the main subject with a more pleasing exposure. So you are filling in some additional light to obtain a better or more interesting exposure. Balance is key. When light from a flash overpowers the ambient light, this is not fill flash.

You can make use of fill flash not only at night or in dark locations, but also when there is plenty of light. Fill flash can be used to effectively decrease or eliminate unwanted shadows when the ambient light is very bright.

1. Fill flash and bright sun

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

The bright sun casts a hard-edged, dark shadow. When there’s no other light source or reflected light, contrast can cause problems.

Photographing people in bright sunshine they will often have dark shadows under their eyes, nose, and chin. Adding some fill can help to fill in these shadows.

Adding just the right amount of light from your flash is important so it’s balanced with the sunlight. In this photo of a mannequin I saw on the roadside one morning, I have added fill flash. I directed my flash at the smiling figure. I set the output so she was well lit, but her shadow, from the sunlight, is still clear.

2. Electric light source and fill flash

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

When you have any light source which causes your main subject to be poorly lit, adding fill flash can help.

The large magnifying glass in this photo has a light behind it to illuminate the electronic board. Had I not added any fill flash, the electronic board would be well exposed, but the white surround of the magnifying glass would be underexposed.

Fill flash can even out the light when it’s important to have everything in your photo well exposed.

3. Using ambient light as backlight

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Photographing your subject with the main light source behind it is known as backlighting. This situation again can create problems when you want evenly exposed photos.

Adding fill flash to a subject which is backlit, you can bring a balance of light and obtain an even exposure.

In this photo of the young woman drinking, I wanted to include the train in the background. The light behind her was quite strong so I balanced it by adding in a burst of flash from my right.

By controlling the flash power to output slightly less light from the ambient light, I was able to leave a soft shadow on her face. Had I not included the flash, the shadow would be too dark and not help convey that it was a hot day so well.

4. Fill flash with a bright background

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Bright backgrounds, even on cloudy days, can sometimes cause you to underexpose your subject if you’re not careful. Adding some flash helps.

The bright background behind my model in this photo was not super bright, as it was an overcast day. I wanted her to be a little brighter than the background, so I placed the flash to my left. I also had a small softbox for the flash so it was diffused to match the feeling of the ambient light.

5. Light your subject at sunset or sunrise

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

At either end of a day, when the sun is low in the sky or just below the horizon, fill flash can be helpful. Sunrise and sunset can produce beautifully colored skies, but they are often going to be brighter than your subject.

If you set your exposure for the sky, your subject will be underexposed. If you set your exposure for your subject, your sky overexposes and you lose the effect of the color in your photo.

Adding a little flash to your subject, so it’s balanced with the light in the sky, will light your subject and allow the color in the sky to be captured also.

6. Fill flash and fire

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

This example is a little different but has the same principle. In this case, part of the main subject is the light source.

I photographed this inside. The workshop was fairly dark so the flames were throwing shadows over the dark metal.

Had I not included any flash in this scene, the crucible, tongs, and surrounds would have been too dark. I wanted more detail to be visible in these areas.

7. Slow shutter and fill flash

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Any time you have movement in a scene you can use a slow shutter speed to create motion blur in your photos. Using some fill flash can add a whole other dynamic, particularly if you set camera and flash to synchronize well.

Many cameras allow you to set the synchronization to fire the flash just before the second, or rear curtain of the shutter closes. This causes a partial ‘freezing’ of the motion in a more attractive manner.

Again, balancing your flash output is important to achieve the best effect. For this technique, I generally set my flash output to be slightly brighter than the ambient light. If the output is the same or less you will not see the effect much or at all.

How to use your flash well

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

You do not need to have your flash mounted on your camera’s hot shoe pointing directly at your subject.

Diffusing your flash, or bouncing it off a reflector or other surface, will soften the light. Placing your flash off to one side, above or below, will often produce more interesting, pleasing results.

Controlling the output of your flash is always vital. Too much or too little light from your flash causes an imbalance. You need to decide how much light your photo requires and make the correct adjustments to your flash.

Through the lens (TTL) metering is often the easiest setting. You can also use the Auto mode. Sometimes, with either of these settings, you may need to dial in compensation so the light will be a little stronger or weaker.

Using the Manual setting on your flash requires a little more thought and experimentation. It can often produce a more reliable output from the flash when you are taking a series of photos. This is particularly useful when there are variables in light or camera/subject/background distances.

Conclusion

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Adding fill flash can make a positive difference to your photos in many situations. When you are not content with the ambient light alone, consider adding a little light from your flash. Even if the only flash you have is the pop up one on your camera.

You may not get the right result the first few times you try this method. Practice. Study your results. Compare photos where you did not use the flash with ones where you did. In time, you will develop a sense for when adding some fill flash will enhance your photographs.

Share some photos in the comments section below and tell us of your experience with using fill flash, whether you were successful or not.

The post 7 Different Situations Where You Can Use Fill Flash Effectively appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

Digital Photography School

February 5, 2019
Newborn Photography Basics and the Equipment to Use

The post Newborn Photography Basics and the Equipment to Use appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Lily Sawyer.

Many newborn photographers, especially those who specialize in purely newborn photos, have their own studio.

Parents come to them with their newborns, and their studios are fully kitted-out with lights (unless they are a natural light only photographer), backdrops and props. Some newborn photographers also travel to clients’ home and bring with them their own portable studio.

When I started photography, I did all sorts under the sun. Weddings, families, children, events, birthdays, newborns, maternity…Cake-smash is the only obvious thing I can think of that I haven’t done.

Over time, I cut down on the others and focused on weddings. Now don’t get me wrong, I still do these photography genres, but reserve them for past and annual clients and referrals.

What I’ll share with you is my way of doing newborns, my preferences and the equipment I use. There are other ways and styles, so please don’t take this as gospel and the only way to do newborns. It’s just the style that I prefer. Instead, take this as some advice (if there’s any you find helpful), and as a choice out of the many styles out there.

Before we dive in, let me first say that I didn’t go into newborn photography without reading up on it and learning about safety. Safety is critical. You can’t wing it. Instead, you have to understand risks and take necessary precautions with your equipment, process, and workflow. Baby safety is of utmost importance, over and beyond poses, props and style.

Choose a style

Your style dictates your equipment. If you want very natural looking photos, no poses, or plenty of candid captures, then you probably won’t need much equipment such as stands, backdrops, or softboxes. All you need are the basics – a camera, the correct lenses (24-70 or 50mm and a macro for close-ups like a 60mm), memory cards, batteries, reflector, speedlight (if using as a back-up).

If you like props, then it’s the opposite. You may need to use everything but your kitchen sink – baskets, bowls, wraps, flowers, textured rugs, fabrics, or toys. These are on top of all other photography equipment.

My preference is going to clients’ homes. I’ve done newborn shoots in my studio, but I prefer setting up in baby’s own home. I take my time and make sure everyone is comfortable and happy, especially the baby. Also, allowing for feeds and soothing. I know most specialist studios have the workflow scheduled to a T, taking an hour maximum and moving on to the next baby. That is fine too and makes good business sense.

1. Props

My style is simple and classic with a few props – namely blankets and wraps, sheepskin, and a basket. That’s it. I use soft fabrics to wrap the babies, so they feel secure. Sometimes I might add something extra depending on the situation, like these newborn twins, where I thought angel wings and a crown would look sweet, or a little flower hairband. Just don’t go over the top. Less is more when it comes to photographing newborns.

I also put them on a sheepskin or blanket to add texture. Usually, the sheepskin or blanket sits on top of a basket, so the babies are shaped curled up. I place the baby curled in there to represent the womb shape. The basket either sits on a beanbag on the floor or on the bed, which must be big, depending on the setup.

I like to keep props to a minimum and focus on the baby’s face, expressions, hands and feet, hair and the lighting.

2. Poses

Never force a pose on a baby. I do 2-3 poses maximum. If the baby is not comfortable with a pose or not wanting to cooperate, I drop it (the pose not the baby!) and move on to an alternative. I like the bottom up pose, fetal position with baby curled up in a basket, mother and baby/father and baby poses.

3. Lighting

There are many lighting setups. However, I take a softbox with me, speedlights, transmitters, a stand for the softbox, and a reflector. My set-up is simple. I prefer everything on the floor, so that’s where I place the beanbag. A rectangular softbox on a stand sits at a 45-degree angle to the bean bag. Opposite the softbox is a reflector. I use a speedlight in the softbox rather than a strobe for portability. Don’t forget the adaptor for the speedlight to sit on. That’s it. Simple. This way, you can shoot whether there is natural light available or not, whether there is a window in the room , or it’s pitch black!

4. Backdrop

A basic portable backdrop stand kit, with two stands and a bar across to clamp on some fabric, has served me well. Choose material that doesn’t crease! Once I used a black cotton fabric which was so wrinkled I spent ages photoshopping the creases out and painting over the fabric. Luckily it was black and was possible in Photoshop. I sometimes use the backdrop on the beanbag with the baby on top to get a seamless fading background. I prefer a darker background to light colored ones.

5. Other special items

I like to do the shoot as a story, so I always include other shots of the baby’s nursery. This story may include special newborn greetings cards, booties, or the most special toy gift for the baby. I check with the parents as to what they want capturing. These unique items are also why I prefer to shoot newborns in their homes – the shots become so personal to them and therefore more special.

6. Candids

I often end the session with natural, unposed shots of the family especially if there’s a sibling. That way, they have some memories together of their first few days as a family.

7. Editing

Unfortunately, in my experience, newborn editing takes up much time. Perhaps that’s because I like a more artsy look and there’s a lot of softening to do on the background to match the softness of the newborn skin. Not to mention cleaning up the newborn skin, which is often wrinkly and spotty with milk spots, or very red too. I aim to give the family a variety of images, so they have a good bunch of memories of those first days.

Conclusion

I hope this has given you a snippet of what newborn photography could look like for some. It’s different for others, but this is what I do. I’ve evolved from brightly lit newborn photos to moody, dark tones. Yours can be different. Just make sure it is something you love. Do share your thoughts in the comments below.

The post Newborn Photography Basics and the Equipment to Use appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Lily Sawyer.

Digital Photography School

February 4, 2019
Godox XPro TTL Flash Trigger Review with Phil Steele [video]

The post Godox XPro TTL Flash Trigger Review with Phil Steele appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

In this video, photography educator Phil Steele reviews the Godox XPro TTL Flash Trigger. While reviewing the Godox unit, he also makes a comparison to other flash triggers he uses; the Yongnuo YN622 and the Phottix Odin. The unit is available for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Fuji, and Pentax.

So, if you are looking to do more flash photography, you should watch this handy review. You may be surprised at the features this unit packs, especially the cross-brand compatibility. Find out more in the video.

You may also find the following articles helpful:

How to Trigger an Off-Camera Flash with the Pop-up Flash

8 On-Camera Flash Tips: How To Get Better Lighting From Your On-Camera Flash

Bounce Flash Secrets – Bouncing Your Way to Better Photography

DIY Lighting Hacks for Digital Photographers

How to Understand the Difference Between TTL Versus Manual Flash Modes

How to Make Beautiful Portraits Using Flash and High-Speed Sync

If you want to learn more from Phil, check out some of his video courses covering topics like event photography, Lightroom, headshots and more on steeletraining.com.

The post Godox XPro TTL Flash Trigger Review with Phil Steele appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

Digital Photography School

February 3, 2019
What is a Tech Scout and Why You Need to Do One

The post What is a Tech Scout and Why You Need to Do One appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darina Kopcok.

When talking about photography, a Tech Scout is a term borrowed from the film industry. It refers to finding a location that will match the setting or scene of a story.

LIke filmmakers, photographers need to do tech scouting (also referred to as a location scouting or a location recce).

The importance of a tech scout is often underestimated. Sure, you may find the most amazing location to photograph a newly engaged couple, but if you’ve overlooked some potential problems, it can end up ruining shoot day.

Why you need to do a tech scout

As a photographer, a big part of your job is making sure you’re prepared. Cameras stop working, software crashes, and you realize that you forgot to charge the batteries for your Speedlites.

Unfortunately, technical difficulties are a part-and-parcel of the job. However, many various other issues can crop up when you’re on location. That location can even be a studio that you’ve never worked at before.

It’s part of your job as a photographer to ensure that the environment you’ll be shooting in is conducive to getting the desired results for you and your clients.

For example, as a photographer who shoots food, I always make sure that there is a kitchen in any studio I rent out for my jobs. Doing so narrows down the available studios that I can shoot in quite a lot. Food stylists work in all sort of conditions and can sometimes make do with a hot plate. However, why not rent a studio with a kitchen if it’s as easy as renting one without it?

Whenever I have to shoot on location, such as in a restaurant, I do a tech scout too. I visit the restaurant beforehand to find out where I’ll be able to shoot as unobtrusively as possible. I also want to see if there is enough natural light coming in from some windows. If not, I plan to bring in a strobe or a speedlight.

Becoming familiar with the environment you’ll be shooting in will help you not only plan your lighting accordingly but also anticipate potential snafus that can prevent your shoot from going as smoothly as expected.

Working with clients on a tech scout

If you shoot retail photography, for example, families or couples, you don’t necessarily need to share details or images of the chosen location or locations beforehand. Perhaps your client may be familiar with the setting or has suggested it themselves.

For commercial clients, however, you may be responsible for scouting several locations and presenting them to the client for their decision.

The client will approach you with a creative brief or some ideas of what they are looking for, but it’s up to you to find the ideal location. Your job is to present at least two or three locations based on the brief or mood board or other consultation from the client. It may mean coming up with a list of possible options before narrowing it down to the ones you will actually go check out and photograph.

How to do a tech scout

To do a successful tech scout, you need to define the scope of the project.

Be clear on the following:

* who and or what are you shooting?
* how many images are required?
* how and where are they to be used?
* what is the budget to shoot these images?
* what does the client intend to achieve?

You may have some locations in mind, or you might have to start with a virtual scout, a search using Google Maps and street view. You can use Google to search for iconic buildings, structures or other important locations.

Once you have feedback from the client, visit each location with your camera and take some pictures. If possible, do your scout at the same time of time you’d be shooting the final images. An app like Sun Seeker or Sun Surveyor can help you determine where the sun will be at that time, which may be a big factor in your decision-making process.

Send the client a gallery of some of the best images with a color treatment that somewhat reflects the desired results.

Potential pitfalls

There are some potential problems that can get in the way of your shoot. Some may be disastrous for you if you haven’t thought ahead, especially on a commercial production where the budget is high.

One such pitfall is permits and licenses. People take images in public all the time, but as soon as you put a tripod down, or have a crew with you, you’ll likely be asked to move along if you can’t provide the proper permits.

Make sure you have the required equipment to shoot in the conditions you’ll be working. This can mean having the right accessories to protect you and your gear from the rain, and even having a large enough vehicle to transport bulky equipment like c-stands.

Parking is another issue you should determine ahead of time. Are you and your crew or the client going to be able to access the location easily, or you will have to walk a bit. If so, how are you going to transport your gear?

Lastly, if you’re shooting outside all day, what are you going to do about bathroom breaks? It may sound funny, but you won’t be able to leave thousands of dollars of equipment and the talent sitting around while you search out a loo. This is a scenario where having an assistant is a must.

Bathroom breaks and meals/snacks are something that needs pre-planning.

In Conclusion

Hopefully, you’ve learned more about how useful it is to do a tech scout and the best way to approach one.

Proper planning can make or break a photo shoot. No matter how small your shoot or who you’re shooting for (even if it’s for yourself), checking locations out beforehand can save you a lot of headaches in the long run.

The post What is a Tech Scout and Why You Need to Do One appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darina Kopcok.

Digital Photography School

February 3, 2019
8 Lightroom Controls for Aurora Editing

The post 8 Lightroom Controls for Aurora Editing appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ian Johnson.

One of the most amazing phenomena of the night sky is the Aurora Borealis (or, “the Northern Lights”). For as long as humans have existed the dancing, brilliant curtains of light have dazzled the viewers below. For some, the opportunity to see the Aurora is a bucket list item, and the opportunity to view and photograph the Northern Lights draws thousands of people to polar regions every year.

In the images above, I minimally edited the Aurora and was sure not to over-enhance it. Understanding how the Lightroom slider controls impact your Aurora shots can help you achieve natural and beautiful edits of the Aurora Borealis.

Advancement of digital cameras and photo editing software has created an incredible opportunity to edit your shots after a night out under the stars and Lights. The advent of post-processing technology has, in my opinion, resulted in many Aurora photographs which are over-processed to bring out rich saturation and contrast that did not exist in the original scene. Because many of the middle tones (colors) of the Aurora are so pure and contrast so highly with the sky, it is easy to eject the equivalence of pixel-steroids into your image giving them a false look.

It is my goal when editing Aurora shots to enhance but not over-enhance. Understanding how each of the basic Lightroom editing tools impacts an Aurora image can help you tell the story of your night out by making your image look like they did when you saw them.

Lightroom basic sliders

To illustrate how the Lightroom basic sliders (contrast, clarity, dehaze, tint, saturation, vibrance, shadows, highlights) affect an Aurora image it is easiest to look at how extreme values for each setting impact the image. For each slider type, I will walk you through how the slider impacts any image (i.e., the definition of the slider). I will apply it at extremes to the same Aurora image to show a before (no edits) and after (extreme applied) comparison.

1. Contrast

Contrast is a very useful slider and a fundamental one for editing. By definition, the contrast tool darkens the darkest mid-tones in the image and lightens the lightest mid-tones. In an Aurora image, many of your mid-tones are going to be in the Aurora itself. So, you can see as you slide the contrast to 100% that the colors in the Aurora darken giving the image a more saturated look.

Extending the contrast to +100 increased the saturation in the Aurora and the foreground shadows became much deeper. Boosting contrast and adding saturation or vibrancy can have a compounding effect and lead to an image that appears over-processed.

2. Clarity

The clarity slide adds contrast in the mid-tones without adding much noise. The tool is often used to bring out texture and details. Again, Aurora colors fall into the mid-tones of your image, so a clarity boost impacts them strongly. Boosting clarity to +100 creates definition in the banding of this Aurora shot because there are vertical dark lines of the sky in the Aurora. You may like the clarity slider for Aurora shots because it doesn’t add as much contrast as the contrast slider does and can make stars in the image pop and seem crisper.

Adding +100 clarity increases the banding in the Aurora and you can see the stars stand out more. It did not add any saturation or other artifacts to the image.

3. Dehazing

Similar to clarity, the Dehaze slider increases midrange contrast and shadows giving the images a slightly dark and more saturated look. However, the Dehaze slider was built to remove fog from a scene. When you apply its technology to an Aurora shot, it adds a lot of contrast and saturation to the image. This is a slider to use gently (if at all) for Aurora image editing.

In comparison to Clarity, the Dehaze slider adds a lot of contrast and saturation to the Aurora image if it is boosted to +100. The Dehaze slider can be useful but use it sparingly (if at all) for editing your Aurora images.

4. Saturation

The saturation slider globally (for the whole image) deepens, intensifies, and brightens the color. In an Aurora image, you will find it is very, very easy to overdo the Saturation of an image. So, use Saturation sparingly. When slid to +100, it turns the Aurora to an almost neon appearance. At -100, it strips all color from the image. There are times when bringing the saturation out of your Aurora image by -5 or -10 can help improve the appearance of the image and make it easier for the eye to comprehend.

Bringing all of the saturation out of an image renders it to black and white

Over-saturating your Aurora image gives it a fake, neon look

5. Vibrance

Vibrance is the “less aggressive” form of saturation. It’s a smart tool that increases saturation and tones in more muted colors. In Aurora shots, the Vibrancy slider focuses on the Aurora and provides a more realistic enhancement of the colors. You can see in the examples below there is still danger in over-using it. A vibrancy value of +100 creates neon colors similar to overusing saturation. However, at -100 you can see there is a distinct difference from -100 Saturation. The -100 Vibrance does not remove all color from the Aurora. You may find it a powerful technique to decrease your saturation slightly before increasing vibrance.

You may find Vibrance to be the most useful for natural Aurora image editing. However, boosting it too much will still result in a highly over-processed image

In contrast to Saturation, you can remove all of the vibrancy and still have some color left in the image

6. Shadows

The Shadow slider increases luminosity in the darkest parts of the image. With a picture of the Aurora, you have a distinct advantage in that the Lightroom program interprets almost any part of the image that is not Aurora to be a shadow. So, you have the power to lift or darken your foreground very easily. You can see in the +100 shadow example below, details were brought out of the shadows in the silhouettes of the trees.

There is a very clear definition in an Aurora image between the highlights and the shadows. Increasing the Shadows will raise the luminosity of any part of the image not covered in Aurora

7. Highlights

The Highlights slider increases luminosity of the brightest parts of the image. As I describe above, Lightroom interprets any part of the image with the Aurora to be a highlight. That means an increase in the highlights to +100 effectively increases the exposure of the Aurora. If you over-expose an Aurora image in the field, decreasing the highlights can help you reclaim lost detail.

There is a very clear delineation between shadows and highlights in an Aurora image. Increasing the highlights to +100 only impacts the brightness of the Aurora. In this image, it gives the Aurora an overexposed feeling

8. Tint

The Tint slider is a meant to be used for color correction in correspondence with the temperature slider. You can use the tint slider to neutralize the snow which tends to turn green during intense Aurora outbursts. Use a Graduated Filter, coupled with increased pink tints and decreased saturation, to return your snow closer to white. Often, this helps your eye focus on the Aurora and can restore balance to the shot.

Using tint to do color control on an Aurora image is a bit more advanced, but you will find that you can control the color of the snow by combining the Tint and Saturation slider controls

Putting it all together for a final edit

Now that you know how each slider impacts your overall image, its time to combine each in moderation to achieve a final edit. In the edit below I wanted to make sure the banding in the Aurora was enhanced along with the purples of the “sun-kissed” Aurora. My final edit brings out features of the image without over-enhancing it.

Using the controls described in this article, I edited the Aurora image to give it a natural look and enhance the features I liked most about it such as the purple colors and banding

I want you to experiment with editing aurora images. Please feel free to download and edit this high resolution image of the Northern Lights. If you can, share your edit so I can see! Like I always say, “Pixels are cheap” so I hope you make lots of pixels making Aurora images and have fun editing them!

The post 8 Lightroom Controls for Aurora Editing appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ian Johnson.

Digital Photography School

February 2, 2019
Weekly Photography Challenge – Rain

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

This week’s photography challenge topic is RAIN!

Nikolay Zakharov

Your photos can include anything that has rain. It can be storms, lightning, after the rain, cities soaked from rain, forests, people in the rain. Have fun, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Some Inst-piration from some Instagrammers:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ronan Setias (@setias11) on Feb 18, 2018 at 4:49pm PST

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by mojtaba_sarmadi (@mojtaba_sarmadi) on Dec 28, 2018 at 2:05pm PST

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cristiano Provini (@ph4mkr) on Aug 19, 2016 at 6:04am PDT

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Will Eades ? Australia (@willeadesphotography) on May 18, 2018 at 1:54am PDT

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sarah ? (@bitsnbobs19) on Jan 13, 2019 at 2:00am PST

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by R?MIRO (@desdigital) on Jan 3, 2019 at 4:40pm PST

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

Tips for Shooting RAIN

Tips for How to Make the Most of Rainy Days as a Photographer

A Portrait Lighting Project for a Rainy Day

7 Ideas for Rainy Day Photographic Activities at Home

7 Things I’ve Learned from Photographing Storms

Video Tips: How to Photograph Lightning

5 Incredible Storm Photographers and Their Best Images

Weekly Photography Challenge – RAIN

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

Share in the dPS Facebook Group

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

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

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

Digital Photography School

February 2, 2019
Challenge Yourself by Photographing One Object [video]

The post Challenge Yourself by Photographing One Object appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

In this great video from COOPH, they ask you to challenge yourself by photographing one object!

Will you do the challenge? If so, show us your results in the comments below!

?

Look for a versatile object that allows you to photograph it in different ways.

Take your object and try the following techniques:

Techniques

1. Get texture

Go close-up or use a macro lens to create different effects

2. Play with Colors

Add color using crayons, pencils or textas. Elevate your object to create bokeh with the colored background.
Experiment with color gels. Make contrast with color.

3. Experiment with Black and White

Use dramatic lighting.

4. Shoot Silhouettes

Cut some wire and attach to your object. Shoot in front of a bright light source. Bounce your side light with a mirror to create a glowing silhouette.

5. Cut and Peel it

Cut it into shapes. Use a whiteboard to reflect and a translucent surface to place your object on. Place your object on the translucent board, and backlight it.

6. Shape it

Make some creative cuts. Find interesting patterns that match and place your object onto it.

You may also find the following helpful:

How to Use Colored Gels for Creative Off-Camera Flash Photography

Tips for Fast and Effective Studio Product Photography

Reflections on Product Photography

How to Make Funky Colorful Images of Ordinary Plastic Objects Using a Polarizing Filter

Add Interest to your Background with Colored Gels

How to Backlight Translucent Objects for Dramatic Effect

10 Amazing Photography Tricks You Can Do at Home with Everyday Objects

How to Use Backlight to Create Incredible Images

The post Challenge Yourself by Photographing One Object appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

Digital Photography School

February 1, 2019
How to Find the Perfect Photography Assistant

The post How to Find the Perfect Photography Assistant appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Mat Coker.

Whether you’re a professional photographer or a passionate amateur, I insist that you need a photography assistant.

You may think that you can lug around your own gear and do a great job on your own, but no matter how good you are, a photography assistant will make you better.

It’s not just about carrying your gear around. Your photography assistant takes on the tasks that clutter your mind and smother your creativity. When your assistant carries the load of the little things, your mind has room to roam and allow creativity to flow.

Your assistant frees your working memory to be creative. While you’re spitting out ideas, they’re taking note and making sure everything happens right. Meanwhile, you’re paying attention to nothing but your subject and the creative ideas coming together in your mind. They’re your second brain and second set of hands that you wish you were born with.

The practical implications of having an assistant

If you love street photography but are too shy to approach people for portraits, you can bring a chatty friend to be your assistant. They can strike up conversations with people and then say, “can my photographer friend take your picture?”

Your assistant can document your process through candid photos of you at work as a photographer. This is perfect for your blog and other publications.

During a wedding day, they’re organizing people for photos and handing you lenses as you need them. Your mind is free to focus on creative ideas and details that normally escape you.

Even when you’re photographing a landscape they can become your model when you wish there was a person in the scene.

Together, you and your assistant are an incredible partnership.

On the other hand, an assistant can ruin your work when they become a liability.

Here is how to find the perfect assistant who won’t let you down.

While I’m taking photos, my assistant is checking my list and adding to it as we have new ideas.

The traits of a great assistant

1. Loves to learn

The first thing to look for in an assistant is somebody who is obsessed with learning. They will love working with you and soak up the entire experience. They are eager to help with everything. Somebody who loves to learn and explore, and who can’t wait to work with you through new experiences.

2. Agreeable

When you find somebody obsessed with learning, they also need to have an agreeable personality. An assistant must be willing to do whatever you ask them without objecting to your ideas. Some people simply can’t handle being a helper – insisting on being in charge. You don’t want that sort of person because you’ll always be bumping up against them in conflict.

3. Polite

Your assistant must be capable of being extremely polite. Don’t risk jeopardizing your shoot with somebody who is rude toward your clients. They should also be enthusiastic and not shy about strangers.

4. Hardworking

The perfect assistant is hardworking and willing to be on their feet. They will be willing to run around without rest all day if necessary. They must be orderly and know where everything goes, and keep everything in place and ready for you.

If you work in high pressure situations, then your assistant must be capable of embracing stress without crumbling.

Look for assistants wherever you can find them. Sometimes an older sibling can help you make the infants laugh! My actual assistant is crouched behind the seat making sure the infant doesn’t fall.

Where can you find an assistant?

Your assistant doesn’t need to be an actual photographer. This may sound crazy, but it really doesn’t matter if they understand photography as long as they can assist you in the way you need them to. In fact, a non-photographer may offer insights that a fellow photographer would overlook.

Maybe your assistant should be a painter, musician or engineer. Each one will help you overcome different challenges in their unique way.

But if you are looking for someone who is a photographer to assist you, perhaps you could begin at a photo club. Many people at photo clubs are not working professionals, but they may be incredible photographers nevertheless.

You could bring a professional photographer to assist you. If that’s the case, I suggest a photographer who is the opposite of you.

I assist a local photographer from time to time and we love working with each other because we are exact opposites. He is orderly, precise, in tune with the details, and works with strobe lighting. In contrast, I prefer chaos, haphazard camera work, tuning into the big picture and using terribly challenging ambient light. It is a thrill to bring such opposites together!

I often let kids use my camera during family photo sessions. This candid photo was captured by my assistant.

When to fire your assistant

Don’t hire an assistant unless you are strong enough to fire them some day.

Fire them if they hinder your work and won’t change their ways.

But even when you have an amazing assistant with perfect chemistry, fire them as soon as they’re ready to have their own assistant. Don’t hold them back. Push them out so that they can grow too.

In the meantime, enjoy having the perfect assistant who frees your mind to let your creativity loose.

Feature image by: Greg Gelsinger

The post How to Find the Perfect Photography Assistant appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Mat Coker.

Digital Photography School

February 1, 2019
How to Achieve Color Accuracy in your Photos

The post How to Achieve Color Accuracy in your Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Karthika Gupta.

Ricardo Gomez Angel

Next to light, color accuracy is another important element in photography. Color temperature is annoying enough to deal with in terms of camera settings and editing. You spend all this time and effort on editing your photos and making sure they match your photography style. But sometimes the final product can be off if viewed on an uncalibrated screen. While having an accurately calibrated screen is ideal, there are still some things you can do to ensure that the colors are as close to the real deal as possible.

1. Photographing in raw

Completely overexposed sunset in the Grand Cayman. I love the little sailboat in the distance and tried to correct the image in post.

The sun is still overexposed and not perfect, but because I photograph in Raw 100% of the time, I could put down the exposure, highlights, contrast and my other normal editing steps. I was able to get some of the details back.

This really is key and I am a huge proponent of photographing in RAW 100% of the time. The colors can be adjusted easily on raw files in editing software like Lightroom, Photoshop, and others. But with jpegs, they’re already baked in. It is not impossible just harder to achieve the exact match.

In Raw files, all the original image data is preserved. In fact, when RAW files are opened in post-production software like Lightroom, a virtual copy is made and used. Edits are made in a non-destructive format so the original RAW file is always available for changes at a later stage. This is very useful when you want to edit images in different ways at different times in your photographic career.

Since a JPEG image is essentially a RAW image compressed in-camera, the camera’s computer makes decisions on what data to retain and which to toss out when compressing the file. JPEG files tend to have a smaller dynamic range of information that is stored and this often means less ability to preserve both highlights and shadow details in the image.

2. Use Kelvin WB mode on your camera

If photographing RAW is not something you can do, or don’t have space for on your flash drives (RAW files tend to be really huge), try photographing using Kelvin White Balance mode instead of Auto White Balance. Not all cameras may have this function, so check your camera manual to figure out the exact menu option and also how to adjust the value. Kelvin lets you adjust the white balance in camera rather than in post. In general, in your camera manual are the ranges of Kelvin values for the various lighting setups. You will have to tweak the values depending on your style and how you want the final image to look.

3. Use a good display screen/monitor

Cheaper screens have smaller color ranges, so the better your screen, the more colors that can be displayed. This is where you’ll be looking at the photos, so you don’t want your image to be limited in that way. At the very minimum, if you’re editing photos, you need a 99% sRGB screen. 100% Adobe RGB capable screens (which is generally better) are also relatively affordable now. That said, most media on the web generally uses sRGB format, so sRGB is perfectly adequate. People generally recommend editing in that color space anyway. In general, for built-in displays like laptops, most modern Mac screens have really good color accuracy and distribution.

This outdoor space was very hazy when we visited because of many forest fires in the area. That haze and overall air quality and temperature gave a very pink glow to all my images, one that I missed the first time I edited my images on my computer. But then I went back and edited to a more accurate representation of what the scene actually looked like.

4. Calibrate your monitor

Not enough people realize how big a difference calibrating your monitor makes. If your entire computer screen is shifted to be purple, when you look at your final images in a color-calibrated medium, it’s going to end up green. There are several in the market that do a good job like Datacolor Spyder 5 or X-Rite ColorMunki. At the end of the day, they all essentially have the same functionality. Plug in the color sensor, put it against your screen, run the software, and it will automatically install the color profile for you.

5. Edit in a color neutral workspace

Where you sit and work can also make a difference to how you edit. As funny as it may sound, it is true. If you have bright warm sunlight flooding your computer screen, you will likely edit cooler. The eye is automatically going to compensate for the warmth by gravitating towards cooler tones. If you have cool indoor lighting flooding your editing room, that might not work either. Believe it or not, the ideal editing environment is actually a totally dark room, so you don’t pollute any of the colors. I know I cannot edit in a dark room because starting at the screen for too long in that space gives me a headache. If you must edit somewhere with another light source, do your color calibration in that room. The Spyder and ColorMunki can both accommodate the ambient light in your environment.

The image was shot and edited in the same room with side lighting. Had I not seen this in another room and on another computer, I would have missed the uneven lighting and tonality from the left to the right side of the image, giving it a look of almost photographing with a flash, which was not my intention.

6. Use multiple devices to spot check color

If you are really doubting your color tones and edits, double check them on another device. Most people have iPhones these days, and iPhones are surprisingly well-calibrated. Unfortunately, you can’t use the calibrators on most phones, to the best of my knowledge, so just send your photos over to your phone, and you should get an idea of how most people are seeing your images.

The blueish tone in the image here would have been completely missed had I not seen the image on an iPad and an iPhone prior to sending out to a client. I prefer true to form white backgrounds when working with stock photos.

Unfortunately, most people, including myself, don’t pay too much attention to color accuracy in their photos. Most of the color matching stops at editing. Sometimes we even call it ‘photography style’ and leave it at that. But if you really want to understand color and how images can actually look versus relying on a specific style or edit, try one or all these steps. It is actually fairly simple once it clicks.

What techniques do you use for maintaining your color? Share with us in the comments below.

The post How to Achieve Color Accuracy in your Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Karthika Gupta.

Digital Photography School

January 31, 2019