Category: Photography

Tips for Taking Better Pictures from a Moving Vehicle

Have you ever been stuck in a car or a bus and seen all this great photographic potential passing you by? Fantastic landscapes, funny signs, unusual animals, and stunning compositions seem to always appear when I’m stuck in the passenger seat of a car. It’s frustrating, especially if the car can’t stop to let you capture the view.

A fantastically colorful landscape by the highway in the Atlas mountains of Morocco.

The Challenge

For someone who actually doesn’t like the idea of just driving through an area and taking photos of it through the window (maybe because it feels so impersonal), I’ve done a surprising amount of it. Often because it’s a now-or-never situation; the view won’t be there later, or I won’t be returning in the near future.

Sometimes I’m on a highway and can’t stop, or there are so many photos I’d like to take that I feel bad asking the driver to stop over and over again. Also, taking photos from a car or bus can be great for people who have a hard time walking.

I couldn’t resist this view seen through a bus window in Iceland.

In a car, bus, or train, there are many contexts in which it’s inappropriate, difficult or impossible to take a photo. Fortunately, there are also many situations in which you don’t have to leave completely empty-handed. It is possible to take photos from a moving vehicle, but it takes a bit of knowledge and planning.

It’s a suboptimal situation but sometimes you just have to find a way to make the best of it. Most likely it’s better than not trying at all! In this article, I hope to give some tips to help make your trips more enjoyable and creative. Let’s begin!

The amazing houses and views in the mountains of northern Morocco were difficult to resist, even though it was a bit tricky to compose well.

When to try and when not to shoot

Safety is paramount

Even though trying is almost always better than not, there definitely are situations where you shouldn’t be taking photos from a moving vehicle. Remember that you’re sitting in a metal box moving through space at high speeds!

It goes without saying that you shouldn’t be doing any photography if you’re the driver. But as a passenger, you also need to be aware of how your photography may pose a danger to you or others. In short: think about safety.

Make sure you don’t block the driver’s line of sight or disturb them in some other way. Communicate with the driver and the other passengers. If you’re on a tour bus, don’t block other the passengers’ view through the window.

A very old photo I took through a car window. There are clearly some issues in terms of sharpness and composition, but it’s still a lovely memory.

If you’re in a car and planning to open a window, make sure nothing can fly out and be aware that there might be branches or objects by the side of the road that can hit you or your camera. Also be aware of oncoming traffic, and don’t lean out! Only slow down if it won’t disrupt the flow of traffic and if you convince the driver to stop the car for a photo break, make sure it’s in a safe place.

Is it worth it?

Even if everything’s okay in terms of safety, there are a few other things to consider before you start photographing.

Can the car stop for a little while instead of you attempting to take pictures through the window? If not, can the window be opened? Is there enough light for photography? Will doing so mean that you’ll miss out on seeing and enjoying the view?

There may also be places where I wouldn’t recommend photographing through a window. Driving through a city or village pointing a telephoto lens at people could be considered a bit creepy.

This is how you do it

Enough of the don’ts and the warnings. It’s time to learn how to take great photos in this challenging situation.

Expose right

Not surprisingly, the most challenging part of this kind of photography is dealing with movement. In a moving car, your subject matter might swoop by at very high speeds.

In practical terms, this means using a shutter speed that can freeze that movement, finding an aperture that allows for enough depth of field, and choosing the ISO that makes all of that possible.

Here, the car was moving quite slowly so I got quite a sharp photo with a relatively wide angle. The dark and rainy weather made exposure a bit challenging, but it also made the sky much more dramatic.

The desired exposure depends a lot on what kind of a photograph you want. To get a sharp landscape photo from a moving vehicle, it’s important to have a fast enough shutter speed.

How fast depends on how fast you’re moving, but faster is generally better. I would suggest using at least 1/400th, but preferably faster. Be aware that the foreground is more likely to reveal signs of movement, whereas photographing something that’s further from the road is more likely to be successful.

A photo with a lot of depth, taken from a moving car.

If we continue with the example of a landscape photo, it’s also important to have a large enough depth of field to get a sharp capture of the whole view. This means you’ll need to use a small aperture, preferably around f/8.0, also depending on the sweet spot of your lens.

If you have the chance, try different settings, but if you can only take one or two photos, aim for a small aperture. Again, this depends a lot on what kind of photograph you’re aiming for and light levels.

I was aiming for a sharp photo of these beautiful geological features rushing past the car in the Moroccan Atlas mountains.

The last element of exposure, ISO, doesn’t make as much of a difference to this kind of photography as shutter speed and aperture do. ISO has the effect it always has, so the lower it is, the better.

Still, with modern DSLRs, using a higher ISO might be the key to allowing you to use the shutter speed and aperture you need while not adding a lot of noise.

It was cloudy and rainy, but by aiming for silhouettes and a dark atmosphere, this industrial view turned out sharp enough.

Plan well

It might seem difficult to plan in these situations, but there are usually some things that can help you create as good a photograph as possible. Even before you take your photo you can observe the light levels outside, which can help you with exposure.

You may also be able to get a good composition by observing the landscape outside and imagine what it might look like behind that curve or beyond that next hill. You can also see when there will be power lines appearing in your photo. I find that one of the most annoying parts of this kind of photography is power lines. They always get in the way!

Also, remember that this is one of those situations where taking a lot of photos is not a bad thing.

Really annoying power lines! Still, I decided that I wanted to document the aftermath of a pretty bad storm outside Rabat, Morocco.

Optimise

To get as good a photo as possible, you should open the window to avoid unfortunate reflections or dirt in your photo. A closed window will also limit your movement and your options when it comes to composing.

There are many situations in which opening the window isn’t really a great idea, though. Remember that the most important thing is safety. If you can’t open the window, use the viewfinder and possibly a polarizing filter to try to avoid getting reflections and dirt in your photo.

I didn’t have time to open the window so I photographed this view of houses seemingly pressed between mountains and clouds through the window.

Conclusion

Have you taken photos out of a car, bus, or train? I find the hardest part to be composing the photo.

What do you think? What benefits and challenges have you noticed? Do you have any tips for better photography on the road?

The post Tips for Taking Better Pictures from a Moving Vehicle appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

August 8, 2018
How to use Colored Gels to Create Unique and Creative Portraits

We’ve all seen the usual studio set up – beautifully crisp white light, maybe some strobes, diffusers, and other things of the sort. However, what can you do beyond that to make your portraits stand out? Add some color! In this article, learn how to use colored gels to add some spice to your images.

Colored gels are filters that go on your light in order to change the output color. They are usually sold at photography stores and clamped onto your lights. They range in size, thickness, color cast, and most importantly, price. Be very mindful of how hot your lights are because we’ve had gels melt on the set before during long sessions (such as music videos).

However, you can also make your own colored gels using cellophane and tape. Just take some really saturated cellophane from a local party or art store and wrap them around your softbox or LED light (so long as the LED runs cold and won’t melt the plastic paper) and fasten with tape.

This may not look like the most professional setup, but I suppose that matters little so long as the final outcome is fantastic!

There are limitless possibilities with gels. In regard to color combinations, I suggest making sure all of your gels are saturated the same in order to match with one another (and not become a headache in the editing room later).

Here are some of my favorite gel lighting arrangements to create some new and unique imagery. As a personal preference, I use continuous light, but the same can be achieved with studio strobes or speedlights.

One Color Gel Setup

The simplest and most traditional gel lighting look. There isn’t any fancy setup for this look, you can photograph your model in any fashion and just replace the white light with a color. Make sure your colored gel is really vibrant or the image may fall flat.

Play with distance, shutter speed, and some light post-processing to see how far you can get the light to spread. That can add a unique and unexpected twist to your one-light setup!

A good use of the one color set up is backlighting! Take your light and place it behind the subject.

Double Colored Gel Setup

My personal favorite is the double colored gel setup. All this requires is two lights, each gelled with different colors. Set them to the side of your model and watch the magic happen!

The division can be very eye-catching and intriguing.

Be mindful of your model’s physical structure. You want to make sure that the color division hits the proper place. Aim for the lighting to (generally) divide right at the center of the nose (split lighting).

Tri-Color Gel Setup

You can go as intense with colors as you like, but when I do three color looks, I like one of those colors to be white. The white softens the whole look and doesn’t make it overly exaggerated.

However, if you prefer a color, I suggest placing a lighter color in the center of your arrangement and the darker colors on the sides.

For three color looks, my favorite arrangement is the traditional triangle light setup. This includes one light in front of the subject and two lights at the sides.

Depending on the look you want to achieve, you can set up the two side lights behind the model and just turn them towards the model. That keeps the light from being too harsh. For a more intense look, place the lights directly at the model’s sides.

Rim Light Colored Gel Setup

Always a very dramatic and edgy look, using gels for rim lights can bring a bit of flair to your portraits. It does depend on your model’s structure as to where you place the lights. What I do is set up a white light in front of the model and two colored gels on lights to the side pointed forward.

The best colors I’ve found for the rim light look are purples, blues, reds, and greens – oranges tend to get a bit lost with the white light.

Background Light Gel Setup

The quickest way to liven up any location is to aim some lights with colored gels attached toward the background wall.

You can photograph your subject in any traditional studio light manner, and just shoot two gelled lights to the back wall. This allows your subject to be really well separated from the background (something we always strive for in studio photography).

Now go out there and play with colors!

The post How to use Colored Gels to Create Unique and Creative Portraits appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

August 8, 2018
A Quick Primer On Resolution and Photo Scanning

When you are setting out to digitize your collection of old photos and film, scanning resolution is an important attribute to consider. This number is crucial when you are thinking of printing your scanned images rather than just viewing them on a screen. Since most people, at some point or the other, will want to create memorable keepsakes – framed Continue Reading

The post A Quick Primer On Resolution and Photo Scanning appeared first on Photodoto.

Photodoto

August 8, 2018
Tips for Processing Night Photography with ON1 Photo RAW 2018.5

For many students, as they start learning photography they want to know how to take photos at night. It is a mystery to them and they often think it is so complicated that they will never be able to do it. That is until they try it and discover just how easy it is. The next step is editing those images and ON1 Photo RAW 2018.5 has a lot of tools and adjustments that are perfect for processing night photography.

An image created using the HDR option in On1 Photo RAW 2018.

Night photography options

First, we should take a look at the different types of night photography that you can do. There is the easiest option of setting your camera up on a tripod and photographing lights somewhere.

The city at night is very popular if you live in an urban area. Perhaps capturing town lights can also be good. You just need something that is making light. HDR has had a lot of bad press, but it really is good for some images, and night shots of cities are perfect for it. ON1 Photo RAW’s HDR processing is one of the best I’ve seen.

When the sun has gone down and there is a lot of traffic you can photograph light trails. Taking longer exposures with your camera on a tripod will make all those lights look like streaks. If you want to make it look like there were a lot, then you can stack the images together, so all the streaks will show in one final image.

One type of night shot that is hugely popular right now, especially in Australia, is astrophotography. Photographing the Milky Way. It is the season for it here and with the low population, you are spoilt for choice where to do them. If you have ever tried doing any astrophotography then you will also be aware that your images have to be processed or they can look at washed out. ON1 Photo RAW 2018.5 has you covered there as well.

An astrophotography image processed with ON1 Photo RAW 2018.5

Photographing the City

Night time in the city can be so magical and to be taking photos of it even more so. Processing your images taken at night is much the same as processing any of your images.

Open your image in ON1 Photo RAW and take it into the Develop module. Make the adjustments as you would for other images. Move the sliders around to see what you can get. Take them too far and then bring them back.

When learning it is good to take the sliders too far, see what happens.

If you want to make adjustments to particular areas, then look at local adjustments which is the best place to do that.

However, what if you want to do something to your image to really make it pop?

HDR photography, or High Dynamic Range, can be perfect for this. It is a process that has copped a lot of criticism over the years. People say it is too much, that the images can be ugly. But that really only happens when you don’t use it for the right images, or overdo it.

There are some scenes and images that are perfect for HDR and night photography is one of those times.

HDR Night Photography

When you are to decide which images would work best for HDR, look for ones that have a lot of dark areas, and a lot of bright parts as well. Usually, your camera will struggle with getting an even image of a high contrast scene. It will either make the image too bright or too dark. Night images have those problems. Once you get the lights exposed right, all the shadows become too dark or black.

The best way to do HDR is to take a series of images or bracketed shots. If your camera will allow you to bracket then it will sort out the exposures you need. The most common number of shots is 3 or 5. For this article, five images were taken.

Next, select all of your bracketed images inside the ON1 Photo RAW browse module. You can do that by clicking the first then pressing the shift key followed by clicking on the last image. If you have put the images into a subfolder you can then just use Ctrl/Cmd+A.

Work out which images you want to use.

Once they are selected you should be able to see the HDR button over on the right-hand side of your screen, underneath all the different modes.

Select all your images.

ON1 Photo RAW will then merge all your images together. The first time you do it, a window will pop up asking you what look you would like. The options include Natural, Natural Auto, Surreal and Surreal Auto. You can make the changes once the image has been merged to HDR. There are lots of choices with ON1.

Let’s take a look around the HDR working window

Selecting your HDR look in ON1 Photo RAW.

There are several places where you can set the amount of de-ghosting (remove spots where something moved between brackets) you want the program to do. You can change the HDR look you wanted if you think you made a mistake. You can select which image you think should be the main one.

Go through and change the image to suit the look you are after. I know I say this a lot, but the best way to learn is to play around with the settings.

All the different things you can do to your image.

Like most images, you need to experiment to see what you like. Remember that ON1 is non-destructive so you won’t ruin anything. Try everything, it is the best way to learn. Take it all too far and then bring it back.

Lastly, choose where you want your image to go when you are done. You can have it open in Develop, Effects or go back to Browse. The last choice is Cancel. If you want to save it then click Save.

Taking the image further.

Once the image is opened in the Develop module, you can then make more adjustments to as you would normally.

Where to go next.

ON1 Photo RAW is one of the best programs for doing HDR. You can make so many changes to it as it is happening and after it is done. Nothing is final.

The final HDR image.

Astrophotography

For anyone who has ever done astrophotography, you know that the images always need to be processed.

Here is an image that was taken a couple of years ago. This is the raw file and you can see that it needs a lot of work.

Raw image from astrophotography shoot.

Open the image up in ON1 Photo RAW and go to the Develop module. Everything you need to make the best astrophotography images is all right there.

Open in the Develop module.

Noise reduction

The first thing you want to do is to work on the noise in the image. All astrophotography images have a great deal of noise. You have to increase your ISO quite high in order to get the Milky Way in your image. Usually, it is going to be somewhere between ISO 3200 up to 6400.

The image for this article was taken at f/2.8, for 30 seconds at ISO 6400. It was taken at 14mm using a 14-24mm lens.

In the Develop module go to Details. This is where you can help reduce the noise in your image. Click on the image to zoom in so you can see the noise better.

The first thing to do is to fix the noise in the image.

Under Noise Reduction, you will see a Luminance slider. Move that along until the noise almost disappears. Be careful not to go too far or you might lose all the stars (noise is just white specs so the stars can easily be misinterpreted as noise if you go too far).

This slider smooths out the image and you can lose a lot of detail if you go too far. Bring up the Detail slider to help maintain it. It is about experimenting and seeing what you like as well.

You can also bring up the Sharpening amount as well but be careful. Over sharpened images can look terrible. Go easy with this slider.

You can see how much was changed.

Tone & Color

It is time to go back to Tone & Color and make more adjustments.

Take the image back to Tone & Color to make basic changes.

The main things you want to add back into your image are the blacks and lots of contrast. The added contrast will help the stars stand out more from the dark sky. The blacks will allow the darker parts of the sky to appear as you saw them when you shot the image.

The highlights can be brought down to stop the lighthouse from blowing out too much. If you take the shadows down it helps make the darker parts of the sky richer as well. However, be aware that it can also make other parts of the image go black, like the foliage at the bottom of this image.

The whites were brought up a fraction, as this helped to lighten up the Milky Way and make it jump out more.

Some of the changes that were made in Tone and Color.

Color Adjustments

Most of the changes are made to the image now, but if you look closely there is quite a bit of blue in it. It shouldn’t be there and to remove it you need to go to Show More and then Color Adjustments.

Taking out the blue cast color in the stars.

A new window for this will open up down below the other adjustment windows.

As it is the blue you want to change, click on that color square. Once it is selected you can move the saturation slider until the blue in the image disappears or is to your liking.

Changing the saturation of the blue.

You can try adding presets to your image as well, though most people with astrophotography just do the basics and leave it there.

You will need to play around with your photos to see what you can do and what is to your tastes. These are just suggestions as to what other photographers do. Experiment, take the sliders too far and then bring them back.

This is the final image.

The final image of the Milky Way over the top of the lighthouse.

Light Trails

In cities, or anywhere there is a lot of traffic, you will see photographers trying to capture the trails of the lights as the cars go past. For most places, the best time to capture this is during peak hour when a lot of vehicles are moving. However, it also needs to be dark.

Unfortunately, there are times of the year where it is impossible to get both at the same time. For instance, in Australia during the summer daylight saving means it doesn’t get dark until after 8 pm. Getting good light trails is reduced because there isn’t enough traffic at that hour.

However, there is a way to make it look like there was more traffic, that is to stack your images. You can also do this for star trails too.

Stacking light trails

Work out which image will be the first one. Take it the Develop module in ON1 Photo RAW and do what you want to process it normally first.

But do not straighten it or do any lens correction on the image. If you do then the other images won’t align up properly, you can do all that after.

The first image used for the light trails.

Once you have your image ready, go to the Layers module.

Take the image to the Layers mode.

Next, add all the other photos that will make up the final image. The best way to do this is to put all the images into a subfolder. Select the images you want to use, then right-click and go to Add Subfolder.

Putting your images into a subfolder.

A window will pop up once you click Add Subfolder. You can name it as you want, or ON1 will name the folder the same as the filename for the first image. Make sure the box is ticked for Move Selected Items into Subfolder.

Creating the subfolder.

Now you are ready to add all those images as layers to the original photo.

Get your image to the Layers module which is where you will add the images for your light trails. Go up to File in the main menu at the top. Select Add Layer(s) from File.

Now it is time to add the layers.

A window will pop up where you can go to the subfolder that you put the images into. Select all the images, Ctrl/Cmd+A, then press Open.

Selecting all the images you want to use.

ON1 Photo RAW will ask you if you want to open them all, say yes. Depending on how many images you are trying to do it can take some time for this to happen. The images used for this demonstration are quite large and took a few minutes.

All the images are added.

Next, you need to blend each layer. You want the lights to shine through from each but not everything else. For each layer, go up to the blending pull-down and select Lighten.

Blending all the layers with Lighten.

You can now save the image and then you can do more processing if you wish. If the image needs straightening, lens corrections, etc., you can do it in the Develop module.

The final image.

Star Trails

If you enjoy doing star trails then you will be able to use this same method for processing and stacking those images using ON1 Photo RAW. Just add them all as layers and use the Blending option Lighten.

Conclusion

There are many things you can do with your night photos in ON1 Photo RAW 2018.5. With things developing constantly you will be able to do more and more with time. The HDR feature is one of the best I’ve seen and I’m sure most of you will enjoy that.

With all software, experimenting is the key. Take what you learn and see what else you can do with it.

Disclaimer: ON1 is a dPS paid partner.

The post Tips for Processing Night Photography with ON1 Photo RAW 2018.5 appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

August 7, 2018
Don’t Show Me Your Tricks, Show Me Your Photography Skills

Did you know that the automated features and tricks built into cameras and computer software can actually stunt your photographic growth and photography skills? It’s true. Unless you are seeking to learn how to achieve specific results from the canned effects used by others, you might be shortchanging yourself.

Think back to what made you take up photography in the first place. Remember seeing the amazing shots in magazines, online, or taken by a friend and then dreaming that you too might produce amazing pictures?

Well, you can and you should. Learn the camera’s basic controls and how to shape your pictures with software tools, and don’t just rely on packaged effects.

Photography skills override tricks

If you enjoy fishing but purchase fresh fish from the market on your way home, are you really fishing? You might bring home a tasty meal but can you really take credit for the catch? You dove into photography to capture great shots and produce gorgeous pictures. don’t shortchange yourself with tricks and shortcuts.

An occasional foray into visual effects can be interesting, but a steady diet gets boring and appears cliché.

Are you relying on auto settings, presets, and effects to make your shots look special? Do you run your photos through software that pushes your shots through prefab cookie-cutter interpretations?

Perhaps it’s time to put your time into understanding the basics of the photographic process. There’s an artist inside you yearning to learn. Put that artist to work in reality. Let your pride be in your work, not someone else’s.

Stop being predictable.

Those pre-digested interpretations offered by many post-processing software packages are way too easy to spot. The effects should be used sparingly and only when the scene really lends itself to the effect. Presets look good once in a while (I use them myself occasionally). But I want people to see my photography skills, not someone else’s tricks.

Be the individual, not the trend.

Stop doing what everybody else does and start expressing yourself. I grew up in the hippie era and to some degree, I bought into the trend. I wanted to be taken seriously as an individual; a non-conformist who didn’t just follow the masses and do what everybody else did.

But eventually, I realized that all my non-conformists friends dressed alike, talked alike, acted alike, and (frankly) smelled alike. All while proclaiming their individuality.

They conformed to the accepted non-conformity trends. That herd-mentality behavior didn’t make sense back then and it doesn’t make sense now. If you want to express yourself, do just that – express yourself. Just take the time to learn the basics of shaping images. It’s a whole lot easier than you think and it’s amazingly rewarding.

Nobody I know actually lives in a fantasyland with color as over-amped as this. Indiscriminately using a colorful effect on the wrong image can reduce the image to a clown show.

You are a logical person with a good head on your shoulders. You know you can do serious work if you take the time to learn the process. There is more to photography than learning the camera controls. You must understand the why issues of photography, not just the how of the camera buttons.

Your images deserve special attention… yours!

Use your imagination.

Determine today to see life through your own lens and interpret what you see with your eyes and your imagination. Shape your images with a clear understanding of how to command the medium of photography. Don’t see life through the lens of popular automation and trick treatments, learn to control the light and color that your camera captures.

This is a pricey waterfront condo in Nassau. When you take the time to match the scene with an appropriate treatment, the results make sense to the viewer.

Capture images and shape them into what your mind sees. Don’t try to force your shots into someone else’s prefab, over-used interpretations. If this really is an age of personal expression, take control of your creative life by learning how to control the light in your photographs, both during the capture process and in post-production.

Eventually, you will come to a point where you want to test the waters of photo-creativity, learn the basics of image shaping, and let your images show your talent and photography skills instead of displaying someone else’s. It all starts with taking the time to learn the basics and believing in yourself.

Just the right amount.

One of the most beneficial parts of understanding how to shape your own pictures is knowing how much adjustment is enough and how much is too much. Like a four-year-old little girl playing with her mother’s makeup, your first attempts won’t be works of art, but that’s the way EVERY great photographer starts; over-producing their pictures.

The single most important ingredient in success is practice. Practice makes better, none of us ever get to perfect.

Here’s the first rule of editing. When alterations start looking surrealistic, you’ve probably taken the processing too far. We enjoy special effects in the movies but we live in the real world. Small adjustments to colors and tones sometimes produce big differences. Make your initial moves and then back away from the picture for a few minutes and then take another look at the project again.

Imaging Basics

Nudging the mid-tones lighter and increasing the overall contrast can improve the appearance of almost every photo. It’s a good place to start.

Because of the linear manner in which digital cameras capture images, the simple process of capturing a scene with pixels produces images that are darker in the three-quarter tones than they need to be. These images usually benefit from shifting the mid-tones lighter simply by making some minor adjustments in the Basic panel in Camera Raw or Lightroom.

Learn to fine-tune your images to bring out the true colors and detail. The process is simple but the results can be profound. Target specific regions of light to reveal to the viewer what your mind saw when your camera captured the image. Our brains compensate for unbalanced lighting in a scene while the camera simply records existing light levels.

Small adjustments can make a major difference in the appearance of digital image captures.

Your camera doesn’t know where important detail is located in an image, although your brain located the detail and mentally enhanced the scene. You must learn how to deal with the scene’s lighting and reveal that detail manually. Most of those ho-hum images just need a little TLC to come to life.

Two panels in Camera Raw provided all the controls and tools I needed to target and enhance specific areas of this image.

The white surfaces of the house above needed a boost to brighten them up without losing the surface detail. The detail in the deep shadow tones of the trees and stair steps needed to be lightened without losing the defining deep shadows.

The Basic panel provided the tools and the Tone Curve panel provided the narrow target for both the highlight and shadow adjustment without affecting the mid-tones.

Conclusion

Be the artist who understands their medium and is in command of their art. Let others see your style and maybe they’ll try to emulate you. Stop playing follow the leader and become the leader. There are only a handful of basic skills you need to develop to break the mold and really control your pictures.

Enough of the grunge, the excessive saturation, the surrealism, and the pre-packaged garbage. Start showing the world your skills and leave the tricks to the those who need them.

The post Don’t Show Me Your Tricks, Show Me Your Photography Skills appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

August 7, 2018
Discover How to Master Off-Camera Flash like a Pro
If you want to figure out how to get amazing results like the pros, the secret is off-camera flash. Phil Steele has just released the sequel to one of the best off-camera flash courses we’ve ever promoted through Digital Photography School. And it has been worth the 4 year wait!

But don’t worry, if you haven’t done the original course, you can still learn these advanced lighting techniques to make your photos stand out. For one week only we can offer you a one-time only 50% discount off the $ 147 course fee. The course will never be available at this price again.

For just $ 74 the Advanced Off-Camera Flash Photography course by Phil Steele makes amazing photography accessible. What once required a complicated and expensive studio setup, can now be done with small portable speedlights.

Phil will save you even more money by showing the few essential and inexpensive pieces of gear you’ll need to get started, and some options for more advanced shooting. He’ll then teach you all the techniques you need to get the kind of photos that photographers with on-camera flash just can’t achieve. He’ll even show you his mistakes so you can learn from them.

Just some of the fun techniques you will learn include how to:
- take beautiful night portraits using background lights for a glamourous bokeh effect
- master the art of tabletop photography for selling on ebay or simply capturing beautiful objects
- master the art of daylight portrait photography with blurry backgrounds, even in full sunlight
- use simple colored gels that transport your photos to another world, or add excitement to any event
- create drama in your event photography with flash backlighting
- remove your own lights from your photos in post-production
Or maybe you have already dabbled in off-camera flash, but you know you’re not quite there, like Sue:

“Phil, I have had three flashes for couple of years, and they have just sat there doing nothing. I just needed someone to explain in my terms how to use these flashes, and your course certainly is doing that. I love that you show us that everyone makes mistakes. I never know if what I am doing is right, and this course is pointing me in the right direction. I also love the in-depth retouching explained so well. Thank you!”

—Sue Masterson, Ballarat, Australia

For the next week only, Phil is offering a 50% discount off his course fee of $ 147. dPS readers will pay just $ 74 for his Advanced Off-Camera Flash Photography course, and you’ll also get a great deal if you want to pick up his original course “How to Shoot Professional-Looking Headshots and Portraits on a Budget with Small Flashes”.

You’ll get instant access for life to 22 videos (over 5 hours of training) distilling almost a decade of Phil’s experience with off-camera flash, and of course, a 100% full money back guarantee.

If you’re not getting the results you want with your photography, off-camera flash may just be what you need to get professional-caliber results.

And remember, it doesn’t matter if you haven’t done the original course (all though a lot of you have!), and you get a great deal on it if you haven’t.

Learn more and buy the course

More testimonials from Phil’s students:

“Another informative, clear, and easy-to-understand course. I like the manageable “chunks”, which allow you to digest and understand each section, before moving onto the next. The easy, relaxed teaching style aids concentration, and you avoid getting bogged down in jargon. Showing your mistakes was a great idea, not only showing you as “human” but also a great learning tool. This course is up to, if not exceeding, the high standards of your previous courses.”

—John Steel, Rochdale, UK

“This is THE course I have been waiting for for soooooo long. Perfect! I watch videos from everyone out there, both on YouTube and some that I’ve paid for. You are the best by far hands down. You speak clearly. I am the lead photographer at my university (I loved your Event Photography course, too.) I will be recommending your course to the other photographers on my team. It was worth the wait.”

—Bob Weidner, Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania

“Phil—another fantastic course—well worth the wait! I learned something from every video, and feel (once again) a renewed sense of confidence to raise my own photography game! Particular favorite videos were #15 (Colored Gels) and #21 (Overpowering The Sun). Your teaching style is terrific as always, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the course. I can’t wait for the next one!”

—Steve Burn, Toronto Canada

“GREAT JOB! Kudos on making this course “up close and personal.” It has a wealth of technical expertise…explained, illustrated, and demonstrated in a very easy to understand way. I loved the removing-the-lights trick. Including some of your “mistakes” makes this much more helpful for the real-world photographers who are going to implement this vast amount of knowledge. Thank you so much!”

—John Quinn, S.J., Photography Instructor, Loyola High School, Los Angeles

“Finally a photography course to get EXCITED about. The techniques laid out in this course not only deliver immediate (and truly dramatic) results, but also will change how I’ll be shooting serious photos the rest of my life. Phil Steele can teach like few others. Whatever your experience, the material here will open up to you an entirely new realm of photographic possibilities.”

—Sebastian Michaels, Photoshop Instructor, North Carolina

“Your courses are well organized and deliver the proper content in the right amount of time. I love the fact that you teach it from the beginning of the shoot (planning and gear explanation) to the end product ready for the client. I find it helpful to know that even as a professional that you can make mistakes as well! I have learned so much from your training courses that could never be accomplished by reading books or attending seminars!”

—Duane T. Bruning

Like many dPS students before you, we’re confident you’ll get a lot out of Phil’s teaching. And remember, Phil offers a full money back guarantee, so you can benefit from this one-time only 50% discount completely risk-free. And if it’s not for you, you can get a full refund.

The post Discover How to Master Off-Camera Flash like a Pro appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School
August 6, 2018
Four Ways to Generate Stunning Bokeh in Your Images

Bokeh refers to the blur in the background of an image, and for photographers, stunning bokeh is like gold. We want it, struggle for it, need it. Yet how do you generate stunning bokeh consistently?

Fortunately, there a few simple ways to create high-quality background bokeh.

In this article, you’ll find four ways that will enhance your ability to produce pleasing bokeh, and therefore increase your photographic versatility and skill.

I’ll first discuss techniques such as increasing the subject to background distance and shooting wide opened. Then I’ll explain bokeh-enhancing situations such as backlighting. You’ll finish with the knowledge to creatively generate stunning bokeh in your own images.

What is pleasing bokeh?

A quick word on great bokeh: In general, bokeh simply refers to the background blur generated by a lens. However, there are two types of bokeh that I’m going to focus on here.

The first is what I will call geometric bokeh. Geometric bokeh is out of focus highlights that actually take on a geometric shape. This particular shape depends on the nature of the lens, but circles, hexagons, heptagons, and octagons are all fairly common.

When properly utilized, this type of bokeh can add an impressive edge to your images.

The lights in the background of this image produce geometric bokeh.

I will refer to the second type of bokeh as creamy bokeh. This is the smooth, out-of-focus look that photographers often strive to achieve.

This daisy image has very creamy bokeh.

Both types of bokeh can be generated, but require slightly different methods. Let’s take a look at each.

1. Shoot wide opened

This is really the bread and butter of creating stunning bokeh. Regardless of whether you want geometric or creamy bokeh, shooting wide open (that is, with an aperture in the f/1.2-2.8 range) will greatly increase your chances of achieving it.

I will focus on creamy bokeh here.

A wide aperture assisted me in producing a really creamy bokeh background.

If you stop down your lens so that the depth of field is far less shallow, you’ll find that you lose the possibility of nice, creamy backgrounds.

This is because a larger depth of field means that the background is rendered less blurry. To generate the creamiest bokeh, you want to blur the background as much as possible. It’s as simple as that.

To generate better creamy bokeh, widen your aperture to decrease the depth of field. Only then will you start to achieve that beautiful, creamy look and stunning bokeh.

2. Maintain a good subject to background distance

Another essential aspect of producing pleasing bokeh is keeping a good distance between the subject and background. As in the first tip, this applies to both creamy and geometric bokeh, but I’m going to focus on creamy bokeh here.

When I talk about the subject to background distance, I’m referring to the distance between the elements of the photograph that are in focus—your subject—and the elements of the photograph that are out of focus, i.e. your background.

Why does having a good distance between the subject and background enhance the quality of creamy bokeh?

It has to do with the depth of field. A greater distance between the subject and background means that the depth of field (the area that is sharp within the image) ends far before the background. The background is then rendered in the form of a lovely blur, rather than as a more in-focus mess.

So in order to increase the creaminess of the bokeh, increase the distance between your subject and your background.

3. Find bright highlights behind the subject

I’ve talked a bit about generating creamy bokeh, now it’s time to turn briefly to geometric bokeh.

Impressive geometric bokeh is created by highlights. One way to get strong geometric bokeh is to look for bright lights in the background.

The water behind this flower was reflecting the setting sun.

You can achieve this in a few ways. For instance, you might look for objects that filter sunlight, such as leaves. They break up the rays of the sun and turns them into small pinpricks of light that then become impressive geometric bokeh.

You can also look for elements that reflect light. Water is a great option. Another is water droplets. Areas that are wet with morning dew can generate beautiful bokeh when placed behind the subject.

Third, you might search for small light sources in the background. Car lights, street lamps, or christmas lights all work well, especially when shooting after sunset.

Fourth, if you really want to create bokeh but are struggling to find the proper conditions, you can create them yourself. Bring a string of fairy lights with you when you’re shooting, and place them behind the subject.

I used fairy lights to create the geometric bokeh in this image.

Geometric bokeh is not all that common in photographs, but can be fairly easily produced. Just follow the tips discussed above!

4. Put the subject in the shade, with a bright background

This method of generating stunning bokeh is unique, in that it can produce amazing creamy bokeh when used one way, and amazing geometric bokeh when reversed.

Both ways involve making sure that your subject is in the shade. Both methods also involve having a bright background. Ideally, you should be shooting in the early morning or late evening when the sun is low in the sky.

Where the techniques diverge is in the placement of the sun.

If you shoot with strong frontlighting—that is, if the sun comes from behind you, over your shoulder—position your subject so that beautiful golden light spills onto the background behind your subject (while your subject remains shaded).

Then that golden light will often render the background similarly golden, and you’ll find that your bokeh becomes wonderful and creamy.

If you shoot with strong backlighting—that is, if the sun comes from behind your subject—position the subject so that the sun must go through trees, leaves, branches, or grasses. As mentioned above, this creates bright highlights behind the subject.

These are then blown into beautiful geometric bokeh.

Feel free to experiment. Try to vary the amount of shade on your subject, moving from complete shade to direct backlighting.

This flower was more directly backlit.

Whether you choose to shoot with frontlighting or backlighting, by placing your subject in the shade and working during the “golden hours” of sunrise and sunset, you’ll generate beautiful bokeh.

Conclusion

While photographers often struggle to create beautiful bokeh, it doesn’t have to be hard. By shooting with a wide aperture, using a large subject to background distance, by positioning the subject so that bright highlights exist behind it, and by using special types of lighting, you can begin producing images with stunning bokeh.

Know other ways of generating great bokeh? Please share them and your bokeh images in the comment area below.

The post Four Ways to Generate Stunning Bokeh in Your Images appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

August 6, 2018
How to do Extreme Close-Up Photography with a Macro Bellows
Macro photography is technically designated as the ability to photograph subjects at magnifications equal to or greater than life size. This means that if the subject’s projection size on the camera’s sensor is the same size as the subject itself, then you have life-size magnification, also known as a 1:1 ratio.

Even though many lenses state they have macro functions, a true macro lens must be able to do 1:1 or greater ratio magnification. These specialized lenses allow for a closer focus distance and have great image quality, but they tend to be expensive.

There are cheaper ways to create macro images though. Reverse rings, extension tubes and close up lenses are good options, but my very favorite one is the macro bellows. In this article, I will show you how to use macro bellows to achieve great extreme macro images the easy way.

The Gear

I am very proud to be the lucky owner of one of the very rare Spiratone Kenlock tilt-shift macro bellows sold by Hama in the 80s.

This is probably the rarest and the fullest featured bellows out there, designed originally for 35mm SLR cameras.
In fact, it looks like a scaled down monorail camera with the ability to be adapted to an SLR body.

This is an amazing piece of gear, despite the fact it was built in the 80s for film cameras, that remains perfectly actual and can be used with modern digital cameras.

It has removable adapters for different brands of lenses and camera bodies.
In this particular setup, I’m using an M42 mount 50mm Tessar Carl Zeiss Jena DDR 2.8 lens and full frame sensor Canon 5D MKIII.

Because this equipment was made for old cameras with flat fronts without a hand grip like the modern digital ones, I am also using a Canon 25mm Extension Tube between the camera body and the bellows to give me some space for the mount.

This is obviously an expensive setup, but you can find many inexpensive simple function macro bellows that can be used with your existing camera and lenses.

Magnification

The magnification ratio is simply the relationship between the size of the (in-focus) subject’s projection on the imaging sensor and the subject’s size in reality.

Imagine a subject like a bug that is 1cm long in real life;
- If its projection on the camera’s sensor is also 1cm then you have a 1:1 ratio.
- You have a 2:1 ration if its projection on the camera’s sensor is 2cm.
- And so forth…
This magnification is achieved by the extension of the bellows operated by two knobs that allow you to move the front and rear elements.

Retracted, the macro bellows creates a smaller magnification.

Extended, the macro bellows makes a greater magnification.

There is some really complex optics math behind this magnification process that I am not able to calculate myself. So I used an online calculator to try to understand what I could achieve with this setup and these are the results I got.

I was able to find out that the combination of this particular lens with this macro bellows allows me to get a magnification of 3:1 with the bellows at its minimum extension and 5:1 at its maximum extension.

Focusing

The process of focusing is done by moving the whole set constituted by the lens, macro bellows and camera body along a rail, making it closer or further to the subject.

Although it might sound simple, it is, in fact, a very hard process due to the scale of the image we are composing. Any minimal movement throws everything out of focus. So the use of a sturdy tripod and making sure the subject doesn’t move are critical factors to minimize error and allow precise control.

The focusing process is usually done with the lens at its widest aperture to allow enough light in and then it is changed to the chosen aperture for the image capture.

This aperture open/close process is done automatically in modern cameras and lenses, but with most bellows, it is not possible to have the communication between the camera and the lens due to the lack of electronic contacts, so it has to be done manually.

Sometimes this simple act of changing the lens aperture is enough to change the focus plane, making it a really hard process to control.

Depth of Field

This is for sure the toughest factor to control in macro photography. The depth of field is extremely reduced at this magnification even when photographing with the lens’s narrowest aperture.

A tilt and shift bellows like the one I am using helps to minimize the depth of field issues with some focal plane movements. But many macro photographers choose to use a much more complex technique called focus stacking. The process consists of digitally merging multiple images taken at different focus distances, resulting in a greater depth of field in the final image.

Getting the Picture

Now we’ve gone through the basic technicalities it is time to put everything in action.

For this setup, I will be photographing a dead house fly I found near my living room window. The fact that is not moving makes it a perfect case study to use in a macro stage.

To allow me full control of the equipment, I prepared a tethered setup with the camera connected to a computer, being operated by its native capture software. This way I can avoid touching the camera to release the shutter.

For lighting, I will use two speedlights controlled by a transmitter connected to the camera’s hotshoe that also allows power control through software.

The intention was to create some light and shadow volume on the fly and separate it from the dark background. Here is the result:

Illuminating such a small subject is a very difficult task as the smallest changes produce totally different results. Such is the case in this next image with softer light where I used only one flash and one reflector, instead of two speedlights.

To me, it is really fascinating to see a fly at this magnification with all the small details. It is a creepy experience for sure.

This was just with the macro bellows retracted. For the full magnification experience, I will now extend the bellows all the way and experiment greater magnification.

This time I will focus on the fly’s head and the lighting will be done with an LED panel and a small reflector.

Here is the result:

Now we’ve achieved extreme macro with fantastic detail.

Conclusion

It is amazing how an old lens and macro bellows can produce such a high-quality image.

Give this technique a try, I’m sure you will have a lot of fun and make some great images along the way! Please share your macro images with a bellows in the comment area below.

The post How to do Extreme Close-Up Photography with a Macro Bellows appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School
August 6, 2018
6 Tips To Help You Improve Your Documentary Photos
Documentary photos can have a powerful impact on viewers. They can notify people of an issue that they wouldn’t otherwise know about. Documentary images can help focus attention on different cultures that are rarely seen by other people. They can inspire, tell stories, and above all they can take the viewer on a journey that they may not go on themselves.

It’s important to remember that documentary photos differ to the conventional travel photographs. Yes they can overlap sometimes but documentary photos need to tell a story first and foremost. Here are 6 tips to help you improve your documentary photos.

1. Tell a Story

Before even a single photo has been taken, you need to decide on the story that you want to tell.

Are you trying to capture a specific event or ritual? Do you want to shed light on an environmental issue? Or do you want to document a different aspect of an already well-photographed location by focusing on say the grittier side of it away from the glitz and glamour?

Whatever the story is, your first action should be to write it down in a sentence. That will become your brief and with every photo you take, you should be looking to ensure it meets that requirement.

Not only will this help you to begin to build a shot list of potential things to photograph, but it will also ensure that you are always focused on the subjects you are photographing.

2. Brainstorm Shots

Once you have an idea of what your story is about, you can begin to create a shot list based on that headline. So for example, if you want to photograph a traditional festival, some of the things that might be on your shot list could be things like:
- The performers getting ready
- Close up of the costumes
- Head and shoulder portraits of the performers and audience
- Action shots of the festival in action (for example dancing, singing, etc.)
- Wide-angle shots capturing the entire event (for example to show the scale)
- The venue (if it is in a place of special interest)
- Any traditional foods or drinks served
This will help you plan your shoot and make sure that you cover different aspects of the story you are trying to tell.

Clearly, while you are there you may find that this list changes and other things get added or crossed off. The key is to make sure you capture a variety of shots based on your initial brief.

3. Planning and Setting Up

It’s not by accident that documentary photographers seem to be in the right place at the right time to capture stunning shots. This is not by accident or luck. There has likely been a lot of planning and research that’s gone into the shoot to ensure that they can maximize their time and capture the best photos. So, do your research before you start shooting.

For example, if you are photographing a parade get to that location a day before and work out the best place to be. Ask the locals if they know anything that might help you. Or if you are planning to photograph a remote tribe, contact local guides that can help you get there and also translate if needed.

Preparation is a huge part of documentary photography and you should spend time making sure you are fully prepared before you start.

4. Be Ready to Shoot

Once your research is done and you have planned everything, it’s time to execute and capture the photos. There is no magic formula for choosing your camera settings when taking documentary photos, as every scenario is different.

But you can prepare for it in advance by understanding your camera and predicting the scenario that you might face. For example, if you are photographing locals in their home where you are likely to encounter low light conditions, you can safely assume that you will need to raise your ISO level to be able to capture the shot. So, practice at home so that not only can work quickly but also you know your camera’s capabilities at high ISO settings.

Or if you are going to be photographing a dance festival where there will be fast movement practice being able to focus accurately and capture sharp photos. Trying to predict the scenario you are working in will often help ensure that you don’t panic when you are actually there and taking photos for real.

5. Story Over Aesthetics

Arguably this is where documentary photography and travel photography differ.

While often in travel photography you want to try and tell a story, you also need to convey that in a beautiful and aspiring way that will make people want to travel to that destination. But documentary photography is about telling the story first and foremost and if the aesthetics have to suffer to capture it, then so be it.

So, don’t be afraid to break away from convention if it means you will capture the shot that will help tell that story.

6. Edit Ruthlessly

Once you have captured all of the images that you wanted to get, then arguably the really hard work starts.

You need to edit and select the best of those images with which to showcase and tell the entire story. Flick through magazines and you will see that generally, a photo essay is anywhere between 6-10 photos maximum. You need to be ruthless in your culling and only feature photos that contribute to the overall story.

Try to detach yourself and think like a photo editor, not a photographer. The end result should be a collection of photos that are strong enough individually but also work as a collective.

Conclusion

Well done documentary photos can be mesmerizing to view and they tell an incredibly powerful story. It could be argued that they are often more powerful than the words that go along with them. Even the simplest stories can be phenomenal in a series of photos.

But capturing a set of photos that are different and yet can work together as a series and also tell a story is incredibly difficult. Follow these six simple tips and you will be on your way to capturing amazing documentary photos.

Now it’s your turn. Share your amazing documentary photos below.

The post 6 Tips To Help You Improve Your Documentary Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School
August 6, 2018
How to Use the Lightroom Editing Trifecta: History, Snapshots, and Virtual Copies

I often find myself knee-deep into editing a photo when an idea hits me to try something totally different. Maybe it’s exploring different cropping options, creating a black-and-white version, or getting crazy with the adjustment brush. One useful feature of a Lightroom editing workshop is that it gives you the flexibility to explore as many different paths as you want for a picture. While always giving you the freedom to jump back to different editing points or start over entirely.

Three of the best ways to do that are with the History, Snapshot, and Virtual Copy options. Let’s dig deeper into each one separately.

Lightroom History

Decades ago in the early days of personal computers, you were lucky if you could click undo more than once. Even the first version of Photoshop did not allow more than one undo!

This meant that you had to be extraordinarily careful when creating or editing digital images because any changes were basically permanent. Whereas today most programs allow virtually limitless error-correction when it comes to undoing your work. Lightroom is no different and if you want to fix a mistake just choose Edit > Undo and any errors or changes will be immediately wiped away.

Better than undo

History in Lightroom is sort of like undo but it is infinitely more flexible. It’s a veritable time machine that gives you the freedom to revert back to any aspect of your editing even if you have made dozens and dozens of changes to an image.

Whereas Undo lets you go back to earlier versions of your image one step at a time, the History panel actually lists all the changes made since you imported an image into your Catalog including the numerical values of each edit. If you make a change that involves a numerical value those will show up in the History panel as well, including the amount of the change and the resulting value.

For example, if you adjust the Exposure by +0.5, the History panel will show you Exposure +0.50 and then the resulting exposure value of +0.50. If you make another exposure adjustment of 0.2, you will see that in the History panel along with a final value of +0.70. This helps you see a written description of all the edits you have made to an image as they were applied.

The complete history of all my edits to the butterfly image at the top of this article. Clicking on any of the edits listed will instantly let me jump back in time to that particular step of the editing process.

History is saved within your catalog

Every image’s complete editing history is saved in your Lightroom Catalog so you can revisit changes you made to photos years ago just as you can with photos you take today.

Using the History panel is fairly straightforward. Click on any edit and your image will instantly revert back to when that change was made.

However, if you then make any subsequent edits at that point, the changes will be reflected at the top of the History panel and therefore will not take into account all the additional edits you already made. This is where the Snapshot tool comes in handy.

Lightroom Snapshots

You can use Snapshots in combination with the History panel or all by themselves. Either way, it opens up a great deal of editing flexibility that is light years beyond what the Undo/Redo commands have to offer.

As you work through your edits on a photo you might find yourself wanting to save the current state of your image so you can make additional changes but still have the option of reverting back to a specific point in time or a specific set of edits later.

Snapshots let you do that easily with one click. They are extremely useful for trying new things or even just saving various versions of a single image.

The above image was taken on a recent trip through the state of Kansas. I got it printed as a canvas for my wife to hang on the wall.

Creating and naming a snapshot

After creating this version of the picture I wanted to make some additional changes and even try a black and white version. But I did not want to lose the original image in case I ever want to get it re-printed. Lightroom makes this a simple one-click step. All I had to do was click the + button under the Snapshot panel. Lightroom then created a version of the image frozen in time at that exact point in the editing process.

After creating the Canvas Print Snapshot I did a black-and-white conversion, changed the Blue color slider to adjust the brightness of the sky, and re-cropped it to be a 3:2 aspect ratio.

I was happy with the result, so I saved a new Snapshot which I titled according to the edits made.

Benefits

This process lets me switch between two versions of the same image with the click of my mouse. I can also create as many Snapshots as I want while also re-naming or deleting them by right-clicking on any given Snapshot name. In addition, I can use the History panel to create Snapshots by hovering over any of the edits listed in the History, right-clicking, and choosing the “Create Snapshot” option.

Finally, one nice but an often-unnoticed benefit of Snapshots is that you can move the mouse over your list of Snapshots and see a preview of each one in the small window in the top-left corner of Lightroom. It’s a handy way to see what each snapshot looks like without clicking and loading them one by one.

Three renditions of the windmill photo now exist, each with its own Snapshot that I can click on at any time to load that particular version.

Virtual Copies

One limitation of the Snapshots is that you have to manually click through your Snapshots one by one by one if you want to export them as individual photos. This is fine if you have one or two snapshots of a single image, but if you need to export multiple snapshots from multiple photos the process can become cumbersome right away.

This is where Virtual Copies really shine. While they are similar to Snapshots there are some key differences that make them highly useful in certain situations.

I cropped this image into a square and while the client loved it, she asked if I could send her a vertical version. I used Lightroom to make a Virtual Copy and re-cropped that so I would always have my original crop.

How they work

Virtual Copies function in a manner almost identical to Snapshots in that you can create what is basically a saved state of your edits at any point in the editing process. After that, you can add more changes to each saved state without impacting the other Virtual Copies.

To create one, right-click on any image in the Library or Develop module and choose “Create Virtual Copy” or choose “Create Virtual Copy” from the Photo menu (or use the keyboard shortcut Cmd/Ctrl+’). This essentially duplicates the photo in your library (as a new thumbnail) but does not actually create a copy of the original file.

Virtual Copies are duplicate versions of images that can be edited like any other photo in your library, and function almost identically. A Virtual Copy has its own unique editing history, can be cropped and adjusted like any other image, and can utilize editing presets as well.

The only way to distinguish Virtual Copies from other photos is that they have a small triangle icon (like a page turning) in the lower left corner of their thumbnail.

The small triangle icon in the lower left corner of an image thumbnail indicates that it is a Virtual Copy.

Snapshot or Virtual Copy?

Snapshots are fine when I’m experimenting with different editing techniques, but I prefer Virtual Copies on client work, particularly when I want to give them multiple versions of a single image.

For example, when processing a recent session I was able to edit an image for white balance, sharpness, tonality, etc., and then create a virtual copy with those same edits that I cropped much closer. When I exported my images from Lightroom both versions got rendered and saved to my computer, which is not the case when working with Snapshots.

I had two different crops of this image that I wanted to send to the clients. I used Virtual Copies instead of Snapshots so both would be exported when I created the final batch of images to send to them.

Conclusion

Lightroom has a host of small but powerful features like this that, once learned, can greatly streamline and enhance your workflow.

Do you use History, Snapshots, or Virtual Copies? If so what are some of your favorite tips and tricks that help you get your work done more efficiently? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

The post How to Use the Lightroom Editing Trifecta: History, Snapshots, and Virtual Copies appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

August 5, 2018