It’s is not often that we find people going into businesses that have been widely regarded as sole entrepreneurship. Recently in the photography business, firms can take up to fifty employees in a single office with each photographer doing their thing. However, the journey to be like the top photography companies who have fifty or more employees as an example, Continue Reading
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When you strive to get your images right in-camera at the moment you take them you’re going to reap many benefits that you might not even realize.
“Just Photoshop it” has become a recurring theme in photography when it comes to fixing image errors. Depending on who you talk to it can seem like Photoshop is a magic pill that will solve all manner of photographic problems. While it’s true that image-editing applications can help deal with a variety of issues, from correcting exposure to removing objects to swapping a cloudy sky for a sunny one, there’s a lot to be said for the philosophy of using as little editing as possible.
I didn’t need Photoshop to get this image. Instead, I needed to get up early, know where the light was coming from, and understand how to use my camera equipment.
This is a tricky subject to tackle because there is so much wiggle room when it comes to defining what the term in-camera really means. To some, it means allowing for no post-production at all, even simple cropping. Others define it as getting things mostly correct at the time you press the shutter button, even though some basic adjustments such as straightening or exposure correction might be needed later.
There are photographers for whom getting it right in-camera means looking out for background obstacles, stray hairs, or wayward arms and legs that might otherwise ruin a good picture.
I don’t like to get caught up in the minutia of what in-camera means. But I will say that if you can strive to have more aspects of a picture correct at the time you make the image, the end result will be that much better.
This holds true for most types of photography save for the outlier examples like extreme focus stacking in macro photography or the types of artistic creations and collages that require post-processing.
There’s an old bit of wisdom you might have heard that goes like this:
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
It applies to many areas of life and the same holds true for photography as well. If you can take a few seconds to fix problematic areas at the time you take a picture it will save you untold minutes or even hours back at your computer. This took me a while to learn when I first got started with portrait photography. But the more I operate by this philosophy the more efficient my workflow becomes.
Do you see the green recycle bin on the left side of the photo? It might not look like much, but if this is printed on a large canvas it would stick out like a sore thumb. Background distractions like that are much easier to fix by adjusting things during the session instead of spending time Photoshopping each image later.
Years ago the only things I knew to look for when taking pictures of clients were things like smiling faces and good posing. As such, I often found myself banging my head against my keyboard while going through my Lightroom catalog afterwards because of unwanted distractions in my photos.
Automobiles, pedestrians, trash cans, litter, animals, street lights, and a host of other imperfections can all be fixed in Photoshop but it’s so much easier to just make sure they don’t even show up in your photos in the first place.
Eventually, I did see the recycle bin so I altered my point of view just slightly, which took a few seconds but saved me a lot of post-processing time.
This works for other things too like stray hairs, bits of dirt and debris that can get blown around and land on clients, or unwieldy shirts that like to get un-tucked. These problems can all be solved to some degree or another using computer software but it’s never going to be as fast or simple as just dealing with them when they occur.
The trick to doing this is to be looking out for such things at the time of the photo shoot. That is what took me so long to really learn, and to be honest I’m still learning even now! There are so many things to look out for when taking pictures. That background flotsam or bits of rubbish on the ground might be the last thing on your mind, but they can easily ruin a photo or at the very least cause you to spend much more time eliminating them afterwards than you would like.
My best advice to you in this regard is to simply train yourself to be aware. Look at your surroundings in addition to your subjects, and work on seeing background elements and other distractions that might normally escape your eye.
When you see things, take corrective action and even let your clients in on what’s going on. I have paused many photo sessions to say things like, “Oh no, there’s a street sign in the way behind you. Let’s all take a few steps this way…” and every time it has been appreciated by the people who are paying me to do a good job. It sends a message that you know what you are doing and care enough to get the shots right.
A more extreme version of this, but one that’s just as important, is to take note of problematic points that cannot be altered in Photoshop and deal with them at the time of the photo session.
Issues like sign posts sticking out of heads, heads turned in the wrong direction, hands in awkward places, or having people with complementary outfits in close proximity to one another can easily ruin an otherwise outstanding photo session and are all but impossible to fix in post-production. The more you look for these problems and fix them on the spot, the better your photography will be.
Years ago with early digital cameras, it was crucial to get the exposure just right at the time you took a photo. But today’s digital cameras have such incredible dynamic range that you can clean up a great deal of exposure issues in post-production. However, this should be used as a last resort and not relied on as a general rule, almost like a safety net below a trapeze artist.
When shooting in RAW you can lower highlights, raise shadows, and adjust color all day long to get just the right look you are aiming for. This is a huge benefit if you are doing work for clients. It’s even useful if you just want to squeeze the most out of your shots as a casual photographer. This type of exposure correction has saved my bacon more times than I can count when doing work for clients.
This couple was severely backlit which made for a very challenging photo situation.
Despite the flexibility of the RAW format and the editing possibilities offered by many photography applications such as Lightroom, Photoshop, and Luminar – you will find that it’s best to mitigate potential exposure and lighting issues at the time you take the photo instead of on your computer.
It’s not that you can’t fix exposure issues in post-production later, but that if simple exposure adjustments can make them disappear before you even take a picture then why would you want to spend time fixing it later?
It took a lot of editing to wrangle a good result from the RAW file, but I could have just adjusted my exposure settings on the spot and saved myself a lot of time afterwards.
The more time I spend as a photographer the more valuable I realize my time really is. Even if you are a working professional who makes 100% of your income from photography, the less time you have to spend editing your images to fix exposure issues means more time doing other things that would help you hone your craft or grow your business. Or time you can spend with your family!
Even though you can fix a host of photographic issues ex post facto there’s no substitute for doing what you can to get it right in-camera and make sure those issues never even happen in the first place. Aside from saving yourself untold hours of time fiddling with sliders and layers on your computer, you will also be growing your skills as a photographer.
It will take some practice as you learn to reduce unwanted distractions and get accurate exposure settings when you press the shutter button. But you will reap rewards in terms of knowledge, confidence, and sheer experience. In the end, the result will be better photos taken by a better photographer, and that’s the kind of benefit you just can’t get by moving sliders around in Lightroom.
The post The Importance of Getting the Image Right In-Camera appeared first on Digital Photography School.
Light meters can be an invaluable tool for photographers; especially those who use off-camera flash.
Mention a light meter in photography circles and you’re certain to get some fierce responses. Sure, some photographers will be indifferent and fewer will be in favor, but most will be adamant that you don’t need one. I used to be somewhere in the middle.
I could definitely see their utility, but I just never thought I needed one. Before a few months ago, I had picked up a light meter once in 14 years. It turns out that I was just making excuses to not spend the money on something that may be one of the most powerful tools you can buy if you use off-camera flash lighting.
There are a lot of motives and reasons that you might avoid using a light meter in the digital era. For example:
I get it. All of these sentiments came out of my mouth over and over again.
While you can chimp your exposures to get them right, this can take both time and guesswork. A light meter takes away both of those things.
Sure, you can look at the back of your camera after each test shot (chimping) while you’re setting up your lights. This works fine for one or two lights, but what happens when you need to create a precise lighting ratio?
How do you ensure that your fill light is exactly three stops below your key light? How do you ensure the rim lights are an even exposure with your fill? It’s possible, but all of that takes time and guesswork.
I remember doing a basic four light setup a few years back and it took the better part of an hour to get the ratios exactly how I had planned them.
Since starting to use a light meter, I set up an even more complicated five light setups, mixing really hard light with very soft light. It took me only 10 minutes to get right. I don’t know about you, but I could do with a lot more instances of saving nearly an hour of shooting time.
These images use five lights at a very precise contrast ratio. Using a light meter meant that the setup time was only 10 minutes.
Fixing your exposures at the raw stage is a viable option, but it can take some time that might be better spent elsewhere.
Yes, you can fix the image later in raw processing. As long as your highlights and shadows aren’t clipped, raw processing is a viable tool here. However, wouldn’t it be much nicer to get it right in camera?
Think about it this way: with a light meter, you press the test button on your strobe, check the reading and dial it into your camera. The whole process takes about 20 seconds. Unless you move the light or your subject moves, every subsequent photo is now properly exposed.
Presume it takes about two minutes of fiddling to adjust the exposure of an image in Lightroom or ACR. If you’re working on 20 photos from a set, you’ve just lost 40 minutes of time to a task that could have been negated in twenty seconds.
I get it, I really do. This was the main reason I avoided getting a light meter for so long. A couple hundred dollars for a decent light meter is a hard pill to swallow when there are so many things that you can buy for your photography at a much lower price. Why spend that kind of money on something you use so briefly when you can spend that money on lights, modifiers, trips, studio time, props, etc, etc.
It’s all a matter of how much you value your time and convenience. A light meter will save you time and it will make a good chunk of the set-up process easier. In the end, I’ve found that the price tag has been worth it.
I had a shoot where I only had 10 minutes to set up. I borrowed a light meter from another photographer just to make my life easier. That one time completely changed how I felt about using light meters. In minutes, all of the potential benefits and values of having a light meter in my bag became apparent.
As you may have guessed from my previous points, it comes down mostly to time. Faster set-ups mean you get more time actually shooting, which makes it more likely that you’ll get the shot that you’re after. Less time processing means you have more time to work on other things, like planning and arranging your next shoot.
Also, in terms of portraits, a light meter will help you minimize the time that your subjects are waiting on you between sets. Nobody, absolutely nobody (especially paying clients), wants to wait around for huge chunks of time while their photographer is messing with the lights.
In this image, I wanted to experiment with a gridded stripbox as the key light and a giant octabox as fill. Using a light meter made getting the exact ratio between the key and fill lights that I wanted a breeze.
On top of time, the multiple light techniques that a light meter opens up makes it more than worth the value. With a light meter, you can dream up any number of lighting configurations, plan them down to the exact contrast ratio and set it up with no fuss.
You want a hard light source as a key at f/8, with two giant modifiers providing exactly two stops of fill at f/4 and two background lights at f/22? That’s a set-up that popped into my head one night shortly after buying my light meter. I went into the studio the next day and set it up.
I wouldn’t have bothered before, as trying to get the ratios right between those light sources would have been a major headache.
Metering for each light individually and adjusting their exposure took about a minute or two. This only has to be done once.
If the exposure from the octabox was off, it would have destroyed the effect of the lighting from the much smaller striplight.
Imagine that you’ve just had a week where you’ve saved several hours at both setting up and post-processing. If you used just a bit of that time to start drawing out and planning new light set-ups, how many do you think you could come up with?
When dealing with difficult subjects, like white shirts on dark backgrounds, a light meter can be an absolute blessing in terms of getting it right in the camera.
As I already mentioned, the ability to get your exposure perfect every single time is a huge benefit. In fact, when working with flash, I would posit that using a light meter might be the single most valuable step you can take to ensure perfect exposures and making your workload that much easier.
Over the time I’ve had it, my light meter has become indispensable. As it fits in my pocket, it now comes everywhere with me.
In the end, I regret that I put off and continually excused myself from buying a light meter for as long as I did. In the few months since I bought it, I have saved a ton of time in the studio not messing about with lights while people were waiting on me. My post-processing workload has lightened quite a bit as fixing contrast ratios in post-production is all too time to consume.
Both of these factors together mean that I now have more time for planning shoots and lighting set-ups than I had before. Those set-ups are also getting more and more complex as time goes on and most of them would have been next to impossible for me to put into use without a light meter to ensure the precise exposure ratios.
If you’re like me, and you’ve convinced yourself that a light meter is a superfluous bit of kit, I can only encourage you to challenge your own assertions. Could a light meter save you time as it has for me? Could it open new possibilities?
It’s possible that the answer is no. I can’t presume to know or understand your situation. All I can suggest is to at least ask yourself the question. It may very well be that light meter could be as valuable a tool to your photography as it is becoming to mine.
The post Why I’ve Become a Light Meter Convert appeared first on Digital Photography School.
When it comes to Lightroom, there is a lot to learn, and we tend to pay the most attention to the big things like understanding how to organize images and which sliders to use to improve our photos. But there are also lots of little Lightroom tricks that will improve your workflow and just make your life easier when it comes to working with your photos.
In this video, I’ll show you 10 of my favorite tricks that will make your life easier in Lightroom. There is also a summary of these items below the video for your reference. Enjoy!
Have you ever noticed that when you view images full size in the Library Module and you move from one to the next, sometimes Lightroom shows a message that says “Loading…” and it takes a minute for the photo to display properly? You can get around that by building previews before you start working on a group of images.
To do this, choose Library > Previews > Build Standard-Sized Previews.
I generally build standard-sized previews which are just big enough to fit in the Lightroom window. You can also build the 1:1 Previews which means you can view each image zoomed-in at 100% without having to wait, but that takes longer.
Building the previews first does take a bit of time, but you can do something else while Lightroom is busy with this task. Then when you are ready to work on your images, Lightroom will be really fast.
When selecting your Picks or adding a star rating to images in the Library Module, you can have Lightroom automatically move to the next image, making it very quick to go through a selection of photos. To turn this setting on choose Photo > Auto Advance.
In the Develop Module, there are a number of panels which, when expanded, can make it necessary to do a lot of scrolling to move between them. But with “solo mode”, only one panel can be opened at a time which means no more scrolling.
To turn this on, right-click to the left of one of the develop module panel titles (such as “basic”) and choose Solo Mode.
When you make a change to a slider in the Develop Module, and you simply want to reset it back to zero, you don’t have to actually move the slider back. Simply double-click on the name of the slider and it will reset.
Did you know there are quite a few different crop overlays you can use to help you crop your photos just right? Click the crop tool in the Develop Module, and then try repeatedly pressing the letter O on your keyboard to rotate through the various crop overlays.
When you think you are done and you want to view a larger size of your image to make sure everything is just right, press the letter F on your keyboard to view the image full screen. Press F again to go back.
Another way to view your image without distractions is to use the L key on your keyboard. Press it once and all the sidebars and your desktop will turn grey. Press it again and everything goes black except your actual photos (this is called Lights Out). Press it a third time to return to normal.
As a final check when you think you are done with your processing, press the backslash key on your keyboard to see the “before” version of your image before you made any changes in Lightroom. Press it again to see the “after” version.
If you want to make another version of an image without changing the original, you don’t have to actually make a copy of it on your hard drive. You can simply create a “virtual copy” and apply different settings to it. This virtual copy takes up no space on your hard drive and allows you to play with different looks.
After you have finished processing one photo in a group, you can apply those exact settings to all the other photos in the group. This makes it very fast to process a whole group of images.
Go to the Library Module, select all the photos you want to apply the settings to, including the one you have processed, and click the “Sync Settings” button in the lower right corner of your screen. You can then choose whether to sync all or just some of the settings to the selected photos.
Lightroom can be overwhelming! If you want to learn the essentials of Lightroom so you can get started quickly and easily, check out my video course Launch Into Lightroom. In 22 short videos that total a little over 2 hours, you’ll be off and running.
The post 10 Lightroom Tricks That Will Make Your Life Easier appeared first on Digital Photography School.
Capturing sharp images is something most photographers aim to do, regardless of what genre you do. While it sounds easy on paper, it’s not quite as easy to come home with sharp images; especially when you are photographing in challenging conditions.
There are several reasons why you’re images aren’t as sharp as you’d like them to be but the good news is that most of them are both quick and easy to fix. In this article, we’ll look at the most common reasons and what you can do to avoid making these mistakes again.
The shutter speed is to blame for a lack of sharp images in 99% of the cases. A shutter speed that is too slow results in the image becoming blurry.
A shutter speed of 1/320th of a second captured with a 24mm lens was quick enough to get this image sharp.
This is a common mistake and it’s easy to forget to change the shutter speed when you’re in the field. There’s so much to remember, right? The ISO, the aperture, composition, light… and then the shutter speed. Don’t worry though; spending time using and learning the camera will make this much easier within no time at all.
The exact shutter speed you need depends on the situation. However, a rule of thumb is to never use a shutter speed slower than 1 over the focal length for handheld photography. That means that you shouldn’t use a shutter speed slower than 1/70th of a second with a 70mm lens, or slower than 1/16th of a second for a 16mm lens.
This isn’t an exact science though and while the tip above can serve as a guideline, you still should make it a habit to zoom in on the image preview to double check if the image is sharp.
I used a tripod to capture this 91-second exposure
If you need to use a slower shutter speed to achieve a certain look or due to the dim conditions, it’s essential that you use a tripod. This makes it possible to increase the exposure time without worrying about the image being blurry.
Unfortunately, an unsharp image can’t always be blamed on human error. Sometimes the camera equipment is to blame. While I often preach that camera gear won’t make you a better photographer, it is true that it does make a difference to the image quality.
A budget lens isn’t as sharp as a professional lens and sometimes this becomes quite visible. For this reason, it’s advisable to do some research about the lens before purchasing it and make sure to read what people are saying about the image sharpness.
So what about the times when you’re using a slow shutter with the camera placed on a tripod, and you know for a fact that the lens is good enough? The cause might be camera vibration.
When capturing the image above I could not for the life of me figure out why almost every image was slightly blurry when I zoomed in on the LCD screen. I used a 70-200mm with a semi-slow shutter speed, the camera was mounted on a solid carbon fiber tripod and I used a remote shutter release.
After several attempts and trying to understand what was happening I realized it was due to me not standing still when taking the image. This caused small vibrations in the unstable ground I was standing on and resulted in the camera vibrating slightly.
Camera vibration becomes more visible and is easier to cause the longer the focal length you are using. Had I used a 14mm I would most likely not have noticed it at all.
There are many reasons why you might be having some camera vibration. The example above is perhaps not the most common. It could be caused by wind, waves, the tripod is placed in a river or on a bridge, or perhaps it is from you pressing the shutter button (so get a remote trigger).
Other times you can’t blame either yourself or the camera gear. Sometimes the weather is to blame and it makes it impossible to capture a sharp image.
The most common reason is lots of particles in the air and high temperatures. Now, I’m not going to pretend I’m smart enough to explain how this works (I’m sure someone wants to take on this task in the comments) but it’s a common issue when photographing distant subjects.
Make sure to zoom in 100% when using a telephoto zoom to see if you’re getting sharp images.
A good practice is to use Live View and zoom into 100% magnification to check for sharpness. This should give you a good idea of whether or whether not it’s possible to capture a sharp image.
So I hope these tips have you to get sharp images next time you’re out shooting. Use this as a checklist of things to look out for and go over them one by one to ensure you have everything sharp.
If you have any other tips of reasons why others might be experiencing unsharp images, please share them in the comment area below.
Be sure to read my eBook The Ultimate Guide to Long Exposure Photography if you’re curious about working with slower shutter speeds.
The post 4 Reasons Why You Aren’t Getting Sharp Images appeared first on Digital Photography School.
One of the problems, when you photograph couples, is that they can be really awkward and uncomfortable in front of the camera. But photographing these couples can be especially fun for them and for you!
In this article, I’ll show you how to understand awkward couples and find out what makes them tick so that you can make the lighthearted, romantic photos you’re both hoping for. As you overcome the challenges, you may find yourself taking some of the most cherished photos of your life or career.
Sometimes having an audience staring at a couple makes them severely uncomfortable. And sometimes being so uncomfortable leads to playful behavior. Be ready for any real expressions that come out.
First, just a quick word about camera settings. If you’re already perfectly comfortable with camera settings, please skip this part.
You want to use your camera in such a way that allows you to put all your focus on the couple – not your settings. So manual mode may not be the best option for you.
Many photographers, both pro and amateur, prefer aperture priority (A or Av). Setting your ISO and then choosing your aperture based on creative preferences is perfect for photographing couples. You can then use exposure compensation to make quick adjustments as you move through the session.
Don’t let fumbling over settings get in the way of interacting with the couple.
Exposure compensation was used here to get just the right look for this silhouette. It took a little warming up to get this couple to dance and kiss.
We’re going to dive into the minds of awkward couples, but first, let’s consider ugly locations.
Couples seem to have a knack for choosing ugly locations. Yes, the place is meaningful and beautiful to them, but they’re looking at it through the eyes of love, not the eyes of a photographer!
However, I have come to realize that the entire location you’re photographing does not need to be majestic – you only need to find pockets of beauty. Just little pockets of nice light, and tiny patches of background that look nice.
Normally, this is a majestic location but it was a tough time of day for light. The exact scenery was irrelevant to this photos since I got in close to capture the expression of the moment. At this point, I wasn’t even telling the couple what to do, there was just a lot of fun at the moment. Often people find it difficult to “smile naturally” for the camera. But not when they forget that the camera is even there.
Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new. – Brian Tracy
Some people are simply as “cool as a cucumber” and perfectly comfortable in new situations or in front of the camera. But when it comes to the awkward couples, one or both of them tend to be a little neurotic or disagreeable.
You’ll know the signs when they tell you they’re nervous, begin saying self-critical things, or simply refuse to adopt a pose you’re asking them to do. Now, you have no idea what they’ve been through in life and what has led them to be uncomfortable like this. Even though they’re nervous and maybe a little difficult to work with, it’s still your job to take some great photos of them.
I always consider the first couple of scenes to be throw away photos. Everyone needs time to warm up. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself or the couple. Who cares if the first few photos turn out or not?
This was exactly the photo I had in mind for this couple. It should have been easy too. It normally is. But there was drama leading up to it.
You need to think of yourself as a director with a couple of stubborn or uncomfortable movies stars. The audience wants to see drama and romance and you’re going to have to get this couple to play along.
So set the scene in a nice pocket of light with a good background and don’t be distracted by camera settings.
This was the scene I wanted. I got my camera settings dialed in before I told the couple what I wanted them to do. I told them that this was a silhouette photo so that there would be no pressure to have the right expression on their faces.
Set up your couple the best you can and start clicking. Don’t worry that it’s not perfect off the bat. Give them some direction, be kind and playful in the way you speak (keep your humor appropriate). Most importantly, watch for the outtake moments. The magic is always in the laughter and the expressions.
When I told them to dance, they looked at me like I was crazy. She even had some choice words for me. I finally convinced them to twirl and we all loved the photo.
If both of them are uncomfortable in front of the camera and disagreeable toward each other, you may witness an awkward dispute or fight between the couple. They may be distracted, unhappy, and even unwilling to follow your directions.
At this point, it will be a little less like directing and more like being in an improv sketch. They’re going to throw surprising lines your way and you’ve got to respond creatively. The scene will change quickly and be full of surprises. But this may lead to the photos you love the most.
You can see why you need to keep your mind off of camera settings and on the couple. Don’t stress about anything, just roll with the scene.
This was a fun moment as they were trying to understand how I wanted them to pose.
But it didn’t take long for the fun to wear off. There may be a lot of moments like this leading up to all those perfect Pinterest photos you see.
Neurotic and disagreeable behavior leads to drama – and drama is the magic ingredient in your photos.
No matter what happens, your job is to turn this ordinary couple, who feels uncomfortable in front of the camera and disagreeable with each other into a Pinterest dude and a beautiful belle. He may be stiff and expressionless, she may be less than encouraging, but you’ve got to work the scene to bring out the best in them.
As we pushed through the scene trying to get the pose correct, I decided to keep taking pictures. I saw something here. Certainly not the moment I was after, but it was the moment I was given. Something deep and human was coming out.
This is one of the truest and most human photos of a couple I’ve taken. It was the perfect combination of directing and improvisation. He wasn’t living up to the Pinterest standard of a romantic photo, so he got a whack. It was a playful whack but added a level of drama to the photo that I had never achieved before. This is the way it works for couples in real life. Trying something new, struggling through the frustration of trying to get it right, and finally – hopefully – overcoming.
After the tension is released and the challenge overcome, they will have their “happily ever after.”
Of course, the awkwardness of the photographer plays a role in this too. Perhaps you know exactly how uncomfortable it is to be in front of the camera. This is good because it means you can empathize with the people you photograph.
Unless they’re trained models (and perhaps even if they are), they don’t know how to be in front of the camera. They feel or look awkward because it is a truly awkward experience. But you can embrace the drama of the moment and lead your couple through both the fun and the difficulty in order to achieve the photos you’re all hoping to make.
I’d love to hear your awkward stories below.
The post Fun Ways to Photograph Couples That are a Bit Awkward appeared first on Digital Photography School.
There are many different elements of photography that can affect how the viewer perceives an image. The more you learn to understand how various elements affect an image, the more you can learn to take control of them. Great photography doesn’t happen by chance, it’s crafted and pieced together. If you follow these composition tips they will have you do just that.
One of the most important elements of photography to understand is how the viewer’s eye is drawn through the image. You may think that when you view a photograph you see the whole picture as one. In one sense this is true, as you can absorb much of an image in a millisecond. At the same time, your eye moves through an image in a way that you’re usually completely unaware of.
The reason why it’s important to understand this concept is that if an image has a natural path for the eye to follow and a strong subject to focus on, it’s far more satisfying. An image that’s too busy and doesn’t have a clear subject isn’t as appealing and the viewer will not linger long.
As the photographer, you can be intentional about how you craft your image so that the viewer’s eye moves through it the way you want.
Our eyes are bombarded by so many different sights every day that we have to be selective about what we look at and what we ignore. This is usually a subconscious decision that happens as our brains try to filter the information that is passed from our retinas. Much study has been done into what visual elements draw our attention, which is super helpful for those of us that create visual art.
Controlling the brightness of various parts of your image is one of the most powerful ways to control the viewer’s eye. You can use this to your advantage in a couple of ways.
Including or adding brightness to areas of an image is a great way to draw the viewer’s eye to that element. The other side of this is to limit brightness or darken areas of an image where you don’t want to draw attention.
How you add or subtract brightness to an image will depend a lot on your subject. If you have control of the light you can take control with the way you light the image. Even if you don’t have control of the light you may still be able to manipulate it somehow with neutral density filters or by framing the image differently.
Whatever your subject, you can always control brightness in post-production. Learning to dodge and burn is one of the most valuable skills you can have for controlling light in your photography. Even something as simple as a vignette can have a dramatic effect.
Areas of high-contrast draw the eye more than anything else.
A dull, flat image with no contrast has very little visual appeal. If you really want to draw the attention of your viewers to a certain element of an image, try to find a way to add contrast to the element, or to the area surrounding it.
There are many ways to do this. For example, you can overexpose the background to make it contrast with the foreground subject. Alternatively, you can underexpose the foreground to make a silhouette which contrasts with the background.
Again, you can also use post-processing techniques to further control contrast in your image to draw the eye. Adding contrast to areas where you want to draw attention, and removing contrast from areas that you don’t want to distract the viewer can go a long way to drawing the eye.
You can do this using basic tools in Lightroom like the Contrast and Clarity sliders. Control the areas you want to add or subtract contrast from others with the local adjustment tools.
You’re probably aware of how powerful color can be in controlling the mood of an image. The feel of an image with bright colors is very different from an image with muted, desaturated colors.
But what you may not know is that the human eye is strongly attracted to bright colors. Have ever seen the old “selective color” images that convert an image to black and white while leaving one element in color? Fortunately, the trend is long-dead, but it shows how powerful color can be at drawing the eye.
Adding color to an image isn’t always easy. You may be able to color elements of an image with colored gels if using flash.
Subtracting color from an image is often even more important if it’s distracting to the viewer. This is often the case when photographing people. Colorful clothing draws the eye away from the more subtle skin colors of faces. This is why portrait photographers often tell their subjects to wear plain black or white clothing.
Adding and subtracting color in post-production isn’t difficult, but takes practice and restraint. It’s easy to overdo it. You can do a lot with the local adjustment tools and the Vibrance/Saturation sliders in Lightroom. Remember, when it comes to adjusting the color or saturation of a photo, less is more, especially when skin tones are involved.
Have you ever noticed how a blurry image is very unpleasant to look at? Even if it’s only a little bit out of focus, your eye will detect it.
The human eye’s instinct is to adjust focus until what it’s looking at appears sharp. If it can’t find something sharp to rest on, you won’t like what you’re looking at.
You can use this to your advantage in your photography. You probably know that a shallow depth-of-field when photographing portraits creates a very pleasing look. This is because the eye is naturally drawn to the sharp face of the subject while avoiding the other elements that are out of focus. The most obvious way to control focus is using large apertures and a small depth-of-field, but it isn’t the only way.
You could try playing with slower shutter speeds and motion blur. Panning with a moving subject and a slow shutter speed can blur the background while keeping the subject acceptably sharp.
You can also add blur in post-production. Moving the Clarity slider to the left will soften the selected elements that you don’t want to draw attention to. You can also add sharpness to selected areas, but be careful about trying to save an out-of-focus image by increasing sharpness (it doesn’t work!).
As you learn these composition tips that can guide your viewers, you can start to take control of the process. Adding and subtracting these elements from your images can have a significant effect on how visually pleasing they are. Take some time to think about what you want your viewers to look at and then ask yourself what you can do to make that happen.
Although the way you process your images is very useful, try to think about controlling these elements in-camera first. It isn’t always possible, but taking control over the brightness, contrast, color, and sharpness in-camera will give you better images to work with in post-production. Also, trying to save an image by pushing Lightroom sliders to their extremes usually isn’t a good idea.
As you get more intentional about what you add and subtract from your photography, you’ll start producing more engaging images. Your photography will also become more appealing to the viewer and yourself.
The post Composition Tips for Drawing the Viewer’s Eye Through Your Photographs appeared first on Digital Photography School.
As digital photographers, we all know the importance of being able to charge our gear. This is simple if you primarily work out of your home or a studio, but can get a lot more complex if you’re traveling or you are off the grid. So when Iforway offered to send me their outdoor mini power station, PowerElf, for review I jumped at the chance to test it out over the course of a Montana road trip and several camping excursions.
I think the Iforway PowerElf is a good tool for photographers, but there are a couple of things that I’d like to clarify in regards to its features right off the bat.
First, though the Iforway PowerElf is rechargeable (via a wall outlet, solar power, or a 12V car charger), this item does not ship with the equipment necessary to charge via the latter two methods.
If you wish to recharge the PowerElf via solar power, you’ll need to spend about another $ 150 to purchase a solar charging pad. If you want to recharge the PowerElf via your car’s cigarette lighter, you’ll need to purchase a separate adapter (around $ 10) if you don’t already own one.
With that out of the way, I can tell you that I’ve used the heck out of the Iforway PowerElf in the past month.
I’ve used it to charge my iPhone at the lake, and to charge Kindles during a 12 hour road trip. Family members who use CPAP machines and I chatted about how this product could potentially give them more freedom to travel off the grid without compromising their health. I’ve charged camera batteries using the cigarette lighter (I already owned an adapter) while at the beach for a week.
Likewise, I’ve used it to top off a laptop in order to do a quick photo edit on the go. Because it has a weather resistant outer shell, I felt comfortable bringing it along for all the outdoor activities that the Pacific Northwest has to offer without worrying about it damaging my devices.
Though the integrated LED flashlight wasn’t a big selling point for me initially, I was surprised how much we reached for it when we’ve been out and about.
The flashlight has several different modes (solid white light, blinking white light, solid red light, and blinking red light) that make it useful for everything from walking back to a campsite at night to digging through my camera bag while practicing astrophotography.
I think of the red light functions more as safety measures and thankfully haven’t had to use them yet, though it’s comforting to know that they’re there if I need them.
If you’re anything like me, whether or not you ultimately purchase an item you’re interested in often comes down to price. At the Indiegogo launch price of $ 159 (regularly $ 219), the Iforway PowerElf is one of the more expensive power banks on the market.
If you’re primarily looking for a portable way to charge your phone, you’d probably be better served by purchasing a 32800mAh power bank for around $ 50 on Amazon. However, if you’re looking for a power bank that allows you to charge a wide variety of devices, has the potential to be recharged via solar power, and can withstand being out in the elements, the Iforway PowerElf may be a great tool for you to have in your arsenal!
Overall, I’d give it four out of five stars.
The post Review of the Iforway PowerElf Outdoor Mini Power Station appeared first on Digital Photography School.
Many photographers want to have a human being in their shot. They may ask friends or family to pose for them or may engage the services of a model, either paid or a TFP (trade for prints) engagement. If you have not spent any time in front of the camera yourself, then understanding the specific challenges of doing the work of a model is difficult.
My advice is to spend some time in front of the camera yourself, either posing for another photographer or doing some form of self-portrait work. This isn’t for you to learn about how to specifically pose a model for certain styles of photography (although this is absolutely necessary) but instead for you to understand what it is like to BE a model.
However, if you don’t opt for that valuable learning experience, take note of these tips instead:
Most people feel really nervous and uncomfortable in front of a camera. Even an experienced model cannot read your mind and does not know what your intentions are. So before you get started, sit down with the person and talk them through the plans for the shoot.
Explain your concept, share your goals, sketch out how you want the poses to look, and what mood or expressions you are after. One major mistake a lot of photographers make is to treat their model like a living statue, only there to be posed and take direction, and they forget that model is actually a person.
By discussing everything at the beginning, you give the person some structure, context, and understanding of the situation, which helps them be less nervous. It also gives them an opportunity to engage with the process, they may even have ideas of their own which could improve on what you initially had planned.
Making it a cooperative situation builds trust and engagement, lowers barriers, helps relax the model and hopefully give you a better outcome. Constant reassurance and feedback throughout the shoot are also important to keep them motivated.
Many model shoots often involve the model dressed in clothing that is not always suitable for the environment. When you are standing still in a cold wind wearing a bathing suit, it’s really hard to give off a relaxed summery vibe.
Be aware of the environment and temperature your person is modeling in, make sure they are as comfortable as they can be in the situation. If you have to do a nude shoot, try and do it in a warm heated room instead of outside. It’s really hard to look relaxed when you are cold and shivering.
Discuss your model’s strength and endurance with them in relation to the poses you are doing. Then schedule regular breaks and stick to the schedule. Posing can be quite physically demanding as many poses are quite unnatural to hold for extended lengths of time. Be aware of getting into the zone and shooting for too long and not allowing the model to take a break.
As well as the comfort of the model, consider the environment in which you are shooting. Is it inside and private? Is it outside and open to the public? Are they expected to get changed in the back of a car or are there some facilities nearby?
What can you do to make the model feel comfortable in the environment? Would they like some music playing to help get into the right mood? Is there a private space for them to go have a break? Blankets and hot drinks and somewhere to sit down away from the camera?
Perhaps it’s a hot sunny day and they need a break away from the heat and the sun? Have they been standing in front of hot studio lights and been constantly flashed while wearing sky-high heels?
Can they bring along a friend for support and encouragement? Are they able to feel relaxed and engaged and safe while they are working in front of the camera?
The way people naturally stand generally looks less than ideal when a shot is taken. Double chins become triple ones, elbows and knees are all awkward, hands on hips or arms crossed in front of the chest, etc., feel comfortable and natural to do, but don’t look so good.
The kinds of things you need to do to your body to get a pose that looks good can be quite uncomfortable to do and hold for long enough to get several shots. The classic “turtleneck” where you push the head forward to get separation at the jawline feels really odd.
So take the time to explain and demonstrate the pose to the person. Give them a chance to experiment and figure out how to get the hang of it. Usually, you will need them to do several things at once – stand in a certain way, tilt the shoulders, put the arms in position, move the head to the right angle, have the hair doing something, etc.
Demonstrate each pose and explain to them why it matters. If you show them the “before” and “after” they will generally understand and be more inclined to make the effort because they can see the difference.
Start with small easy pose setups to allow them to relax and master the basics before going on to the more complicated poses. That is unless you have a really experienced model who is on your wavelength, in which case, go nuts.
Generally, when people are being asked to do something new and difficult, they concentrate on the hard stuff so much that they forget about the unnecessary stuff around the edges. One of those things is their hands, and they can often end up being floppy uninteresting things stuck on the ends of the arms.
Bad hands can completely ruin an otherwise good shot. So pay attention to what their hands are doing, because the model may not know that they need to with them.
A lot of fashion photography styles use really artificial poses that look terribly uncomfortable to do. They don’t generally look achievable or attractive to the viewer either, but it appears to be the style of the moment. That might be your desired outcome and I hope you end up with some amazing shots.
However, one of the great things you can do when working with a model is to make them look good in front of the camera in a way they never have before. A lot of that is because people usually don’t know how to pose well in front of a camera. Creating images that make them look good means they then feel good about what is happening.
Being able to offer them some copies they can be proud to show people afterward is an added bonus. If they leave the session feeling valued and positive about the experience, they will be more likely to say yes if you ask them to model for you again.
Using a model as a living breathing mannequin is one way to have a model pose for you. For some types of photography that impassive detached style of posing is desired. However, if you want to truly engage the viewer, having some emotion present in the image is more effective.
Really good models can project a range of different emotions, that is what good professional models do and why they get paid the big bucks. Not everyone gets the option of working with models of that caliber every day, so when working with a less experienced model you may need to coach them around the emotional projection.
Asking your model to try and feel a particular emotion can be a challenge for them to do on top of all the posing you are asking. So this is a more advanced step that you may not always achieve.
Talk them through the concept of the shoot – is it a soft spring morning and they are enjoying a walk on the beach in the sun? Are they a cool crisp corporate executive about to give a high-level presentation? A couple of friends enjoy cocktails and nibbles on a summers evening? Help them get into the right headspace to project a feeling or emotion to fully express the pose they are doing.
Sometimes allowing them to move during the shoot or move into the final desired pose can add an extra level of engagement. Both the body and the brain are fully involved in communicating the external expression of the pose.
To get someone to stand still and look fantastic while doing it, allowing you to take an amazing photo actually requires a lot of work behind the scenes first. When working with a model, remembering that they are a living breathing person is important, they are not just a thing that’s there for you to manipulate into the desired position.
Taking care of your model, providing them with an environment and a situation where they can relax and be comfortable while working in front of the camera is important. Someone who is happy and enjoying their modeling experience is far more likely to provide you with great photos, than someone cold, stiff, miserable and uncomfortable (unless that is the look you are after).
Help them be a good model. Communicate, listen to their feedback, support them and you should both reap the benefits with some memorable images and hopefully a fun experience as well.
The post 7 Tips to Get the Best Out of a Model Shoot appeared first on Digital Photography School.
To compare your images in Lightroom, you can either use Survey View or Compare View. In this article, I will focus on Compare View in Lightroom Classic CC.
Comparing images allows you to choose the very best image or images to edit in the Develop Module. Compare View is used to compare two similar images, whereas Survey View is useful for comparing a series of similar photos to narrow down your favorite choices.
I personally use Compare View often because as a still life photographer, I am often filtering through many images that are very similar to each other. Compare View allows you to do this efficiently. Grid View in the Library Module is where you can find and utilize Compare View.
With the images of the Brussels sprouts below, my goal was to select the best composition. Although the pictures look really similar, some of them are better than others in terms of the placement of the knife and the Brussels sprouts, and how they lead the eye through the frame. I wanted the cut Brussels sprout to fall in one of the focal points according to the Phi Grid, and the other small pieces to look random and well balanced.
This is how some of the unedited images look in Grid View.
To compare your images, start in Grid View. The keyboard shortcut to get to Grid View is G.
Then enter C to go to Compare View. You can also hit the X/Y icon on the left-hand side of the toolbar.
Choose the first image you would like to compare. This will appear in the left-hand window and is labeled Select in the upper right-hand corner. The next image in the Lightroom filmstrip appearing on the right is the Candidate.
If you hit the letter I on the keyboard, you will be able to see the date and time you shot the image in the left-hand corner of the image, as well as the pixel size. If you hit the “I” key again, it will display your camera settings and lens information. Hit it for the third time and the info overlay will disappear.
File date and size.
Camera metadata and shooting information.
If you select only one photo and then switch to Compare View, Lightroom Classic CC uses that photo and either the last, previously selected photo, or an adjacent photo in the filmstrip.
When you look at your filmstrip, the white diamond in the upper right-hand corner of the image is the Selected one, whereas the black diamond is the Candidate. The Selected image is brighter as seen here (thumbnail on the left).
The difference between the Selected image and Candidate is that the Selected image will remain where it is on the left, while you can choose different photos in the Candidate window. You do this by clicking on the right or left arrow in the toolbar, or using the arrows on your keyboard.
Here is the toolbar in Lightroom’s Compare View.
The cool thing about Compare View is that you can zoom in on your image, which you cannot do in Survey View. You can access the zoom at the bottom left of the tool panel, as shown in the photo below.
You can also use Cmd/Ctrl+ to zoom in, and Cmd/Ctrl- to zoom out. While you are zoomed in you can click on the image and drag it around to inspect it closer, to see if it’s in focus, or if there was dust on your sensor, etc.
The link focus icon looks like a lock. When you’re scrolling through a zoomed-in image, both of the images will move. If you click on the lock icon to “unlock” it, it will allow you to scroll around only on one of the photos.
This is good if you’re comparing images with a slightly different composition. It’s a great tool when you want to check that all of the people in a group photo have their eyes open, for example.
If you click to unlock the Link Focus tool, once you want to go back to viewing the same parts of your image at the same time, you simply need to click on the Sync button next to the zoom. This button controls the zoom sync ratio.
Use Swap to change the image that shows up in the Select window. It swaps it out with the image that is currently in the Candidate window.
Take care that when you are choosing photos in the filmstrip that you actually click on the photo itself, and not the frame. If you click on the grey part, not only are you choosing the photo as a Select but also you are choosing the photo next to it as the Candidate photo.
You can also swap photos by clicking on the images individually in the filmstrip.
When you click on this icon, it will move to the Select Window and use the next photo in the filmstrip as the Candidate. Swap simply reverses them.
Then you can click on the arrows to toggle through the images in the Candidate window.
Photographers all have their preferred way of rating their photographs, whether that be by flagging them, adding a color label, or star rating. You can do this in Compare View.
I personally find flagging is the easiest way. After I have finished going through my photos and am in the Develop Module, I will use star ratings to signify where I am in the editing process. For example, four stars need further editing, while five stars indicate that I have finished editing and exported them to the appropriate file.
I use color labels to separate my personal photos from client work and stock images. Currently, this is what is working for me. You may have a very different system.
Flag the photographs you are potentially interested in editing by hitting P, which marks it as a “pick”. To mark one as a reject (for later deletion), hit the X on your keyboard. If you keep your CAPS lock on, you can simply hit the arrow keys. You can later delete all of those rejected images in bulk.
Compare View is a bit more difficult to use than Survey View. However, you can also cycle through your images very quickly, once you get the hang of it.
Take advantage of Lightroom’s powerful features to quickly filter through tons of your photos. You can immediately get rid of images that don’t work and you’ll never use, or images that are very similar but miss the mark. This will free up space and make your life a lot easier when it comes to searching for photos and going through Lightroom’s filmstrip.
The post How to Find Your Best Photos Using Compare View In Lightroom Classic CC appeared first on Digital Photography School.