Category: Photography

How to Take Control of Color in Lightroom
Back when everybody used film cameras, photographers had to match the film type to their subject. For example, landscape photographers liked Fuji Velvia 50 because it produced deeply saturated slides. But portrait photographers liked films like Fuji Reala which rendered good skin tones. Today, as long as you use the Raw format, you can take the same approach in Lightroom.

It doesn’t matter what camera you have, Lightroom gives you a great deal of power when it comes to adjusting the colors of your photos. To give you an idea of Lightroom’s potential, take a look at the different versions of the photo below. The first is more or less straight out of the camera. I developed the others with customized Lightroom Develop Presets.

Now let’s look at some of the tools Lightroom has for altering color.

Vibrance and Saturation

The Vibrance and Saturation sliders are located at the bottom of the Basic panel. They alter the intensity of the colors in the photo in different ways.
- The Saturation slider changes the intensity level of all colors in the photo equally.
- The Vibrance slider affects the most deeply saturated colors in the photo the most. It evens out the saturation levels and is a more subtle adjustment than Saturation.
I prefer to reduce Saturation and Vibrance rather than increase them as desaturated colors are more subtle and atmospheric than saturated ones. These photos illustrate the difference between Vibrance and Saturation.

Camera profiles

Most digital cameras come with a set of color profiles. Every manufacturer gives their color profiles a different name. For instance, Canon uses Picture Style and Fujifilm uses Film Simulation. Check your camera’s user manual if you’re unsure. Regardless of your camera maker’s terminology, the color profiles all appear in the Camera Calibration panel in Lightroom.

Color profiles are the digital equivalent of the idea of using different films for different subjects. Most cameras have profile names like Landscape, Portrait, and Monochrome. The exception to this is Fujifilm, which names its profiles after real Fuji films, such as Velvia, Provia, and Astia. You’ll find most of these in Lightroom as well, ready for you to use.

The color profile setting is important as it sets both the color and contrast. You need to select the best profile before adjusting other Develop module sliders. For example, if you apply a preset intended for landscapes to a portrait then it’s unlikely you will get good skin tones.

This photo shows three different color profiles. I made the photo with a Fujifilm camera and the color profiles are specific to that model.

HSL / Color / B&W panel

The HSL / Color / B&W panel contains a set of powerful tools for adjusting colors in Lightroom. The HSL and Color tabs both contain the same sliders, just arranged in a different order.

I prefer to use the HSL tab, so let’s look at that. It lets you adjust Hue, Saturation, and Luminance individually.

Hue

The Hue sliders let you change the colors in your photos. The colors on the sliders (see above) tell you how they work. For example, if you move the Red slider to the left you will turn anything that is colored red in your photo to magenta. If you move the slider right then red colored objects become orange.

In the example below, you can see that I moved the Red, Aqua, and Blue sliders to change some of the hues (colors) in the photo.

Saturation

The Saturation sliders let you change the intensity levels of the colors in your photo individually. This is different from the Saturation and Vibrance sliders, which change the color saturation levels across the entire frame.

The photo below shows how it works.

Luminance

The Luminance sliders let you adjust the brightness levels of individual colors in your photos. In turn, this affects the apparent saturation. If you make a color darker (by moving the corresponding slider left) the color appears to be more deeply saturated. If you make it lighter (by moving the slider right) the color appears to be less saturated.

The example below shows it in action.

Putting it all together

Now it’s time to look at how you can put these techniques into action. We’ll do that by looking at the portrait I showed you at the beginning of the article.

Here is the before version and one of the after versions.

These are some of the settings I adjusted that affected the colors.

Camera profile

I set the Camera Profile to Adobe Standard. This is a standardized setting created by Adobe specifically for your camera. The idea is that if you take a photo of the same scene with two different cameras, then apply the Adobe Standard Profile to each one, the colors will look the same in each.

The benefit of using Adobe Standard is that it lets you create a Develop Preset that you can apply to photos made with any camera with consistent results. If you don’t want to do this, then you can use one of Lightroom’s camera specific profiles instead.

Saturation

Next, I reduced the overall Saturation using the Vibrance slider.

I reduced the Saturation of specific colors using the sliders in the HSL tab.

Luminance

Then, I increased the brightness of some of the colors using the Luminance sliders.

Tone Curve

Next, this isn’t related to the color, I made a Tone Curve adjustment to create the faded effect. The result of this Tone Curve Adjustment is that there are no true blacks in the photo.

The techniques in this article don’t cover all the color adjustment tools in Lightroom as there are too many for one article. But these are the main ones and they will get you started. Let us know in the comments if you have any questions about any of them.

Faded Glory Presets for Lightroom

Want to get a head start with creative colors in Lightroom? Take a look at my Faded Glory Presets for Lightroom, created to help photographers like you apply powerful creative color fade effects to your photos.

The post How to Take Control of Color in Lightroom by Andrew S. Gibson appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School
January 27, 2018
Weekly Photography Challenge – White on White

If it is still winter and is blustery and snowy, this one will be easy for you.

Photo by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash

Your challenge is to photograph a white subject on a white background. The trick here is to use light to your advantage. Usually, with a white subject, you’ll want to create a high-key or all light toned image. But you don’t have to do so, get creative. Use some shadows and create a dramatic image.

Use directional light to add dimension and show the shape of the subject. You will need some shadows to separate the subject from the background. So let’s see what you can do.

Weekly Photography Challenge – White on White

Simply upload your shot into the comment field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see or if you’d prefer, upload them to your favorite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them. Show me your best images in this week’s challenge. Sometimes it takes a while for an image to appear so be patient and try not to post the same image twice.

Share in the dPS Facebook Group

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

The post Weekly Photography Challenge – White on White by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

January 26, 2018
Tips for Using Your Wide-Angle Lens Better
One thing I see beginners make mistakes doing when they first get into photography is using a wide-angle lens. Many think it’s just for getting more stuff to fit into your image, but there’s a lot more to it than that.

Here are three videos to help you understand wide-angle lenses and use them better so you can create more dynamic and effective images.

#1 – 5 Reasons you need a wide-angle lens

First up is this video from DigitalRev TV. It’s a few years old now but the information is still good, and the tips are solid.

Kai can be a bit unorthodox, but the tips here are good. Here’s a quick summary:
1. Get closer
2. Push things away and pull other things near
3. Cool lines
4. Expand spaces
5. Reality distortion field (as he calls it)
#2 – How to use a wide-angle lens

In this video from Tom Greenwood, learn how using a wide-angle lens can help you tell a story and create a powerful connection between the subject and the viewer. Plus get tips on shooting wide angle portraits, action shots, and landscapes.

#3 – Three tips for using a wide-angle lens

Finally, three more tips for using a wide-angle lens from Matt Wallace in this video from Adorama TV. The one he emphasizes the most is to get close to the subject – that a wide-angle lens is for close-up photography. I personally could not agree more!
1. Make sure you have an obvious and predominant subject in your frame
2. Get closer to the subject
3. Use leading lines
If your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough.– Robert Capa

Need more help?

If you still need more help and tips for using your wide-angle lens try these dPS articles:
- How to Use a Wide-angle Lens with Wildlife for a New Perspective
- 10 Tips for Photographing Wide-Angle Landscapes
- How to Create Compelling Wide-Angle Portraits Using One Off-Camera Flash
- 7 Ways to Get More Out of a Wide-angle Lens
The post Tips for Using Your Wide-Angle Lens Better by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School
January 26, 2018
Tips for Doing Digital Painting with the Mixer Brush in Photoshop
If you have ever felt the need to be a bit more creative with your photos, then Photoshop contains a multitude of ways to make that happen. In fact, it offers such a variety of options it can be a bit overwhelming to figure out which one might be the right one for you in a given situation. In this article, I will go over a method of digital painting using Photoshop to give you one technique you can add to your toolbox.

Mostly you can get some great effects without having to purchase any other software or features, but those options are available and can extend your portfolio of choices.

Perhaps you might want to create a birthday card or give someone an extra special present. This digital painting technique is ideal for use on an image which is not 100% in focus. Everything else might be perfect but if it’s a tiny bit blurry, apply a painting technique and no one will notice.

NOTE: Please be advised I am using CS6 so things may be in different places if you are using the CC subscription model.

Mixer Brush

The Mixer Brush is a very effective way of getting a painted look for your image because you actually paint over your image in Photoshop. It can be quite fiddly and time-consuming but the end result can look really good. My recommendation would be to do this with a graphics tablet and a pen, otherwise, you will get a cramp in your hand from the mouse. Plus you have more control in areas of fine detail with a tablet.

Any image can be used, but because the mixer brush picks up colors from your image and adds paint texture, you need to keep that in mind. All the brush strokes will be visible so the direction in which you paint may affect the final visual outcome. It took me 2-3 goes before I finally got the hang of this, so stick with it.

STEPS

Step #1. Open your image, add a new layer and select that one as your active layer. You can delete this later if you need to without affecting the original image.

Step #2. The Mixer Brush is found on the toolbar, left mouse click on the Brush icon, it should be in the drop-down box.

Mixer Brush open, showing settings on Adjustment Tool Bar

Step #3. On the top toolbar, you can make adjustments to the settings. Set them up as follows (as a starting point):
- The drop-down box set to Custom.
- Wet: 100%.
- Load: 1% (this sets the paint color load on the brush to a minimal setting).
- Mix: 100% (this uses the color from the original file – Load and Mix work opposite each other that way).
- Flow: 50% (medium pressure on the brush).
- Airbrush set to OFF.
- Sample All Layers must be ticked – this is important as it allows us to pick up the color from the original image.
NOTE – all these settings are adjustable depending on what works for you, so feel free to experiment.

Choose your brush, make sure you are working on the new layer, and begin to paint.

Tips
- Start with the dark areas of the image first.
- Use the textures in the image to help direct the flow of the brush strokes.
- The paint is very wet and colors will mix and blend readily which can be used to your advantage where colors change in the image. It can be a bit tricky to get the hang of at first.
- Adjust your Flow value to get harder or softer strokes.
- You may want to use a layer mask to show fine details like eyes or whiskers after painting to bring back a bit of sharpness in those areas.
- Adjust the brush size to suit the areas you are working in, fine detail needs a smaller brush, and larger areas may support bigger brush strokes (a bigger brush covers more area quicker which is an added bonus).
- If the background is not ideal, you can also replace it with a painterly texture instead. This is a great treatment for when you have a really good shot but not the cleanest background. So do a background replacement, add the painting and it becomes artistic instead.
Image results using the Mixer Brush

Photo of a Jabiru bird, with digital painting done over the feathers.

This image of a Jabiru I quickly painted for this article. The lovely colors in the feathers, plus all the different directions they lay in made it a good choice for digital painting.

Original Jabiru image

This is the original photo for comparison. You can see how the feathers around the eyes are much smaller and finer and you can see the different directions in which the feathers lie. In the painted image where the rainbow colors are on the top of the head, it’s visible how they have blended in softly, even picking up the hints of gold in the purple feathers at the top.

When you view the digitally painted layer by itself, you can see all the brush strokes, plus the areas that might have been missed. This is a useful step to check and make sure you have enough coverage. Additionally, this layer can have its opacity adjusted down if you wanted to bring back some of the original feather detail.

I tend to adjust the flow down to around 30% and fill in the gaps. It can also help to soften the transitions in direction as well. Also useful for extra blending across areas where colors change.

My first experiment with using the Mixer Brush was this portrait of my cat Cognac. You will notice I have left the whiskers, eyelashes and fine hairs around his ears unpainted as I felt it looked better that way. I was careful to follow the flow of the fur so it looked natural and picked up the subtle color differences.

This was probably my third go at this technique – so be patient with yourself if you aren’t happy with the first one you try. Keep at it.

Summary

This technique isn’t complicated, is fully contained within Photoshop and requires only one extra layer. A graphics tablet will make it much more comfortable to do as it is a lot easier to use than a mouse. The thing you need most is time and a careful steady hand. With those things you can elevate your photo to a new creative level, perhaps print it out on canvas as a gift.

Have you tried this method of digital painting before? Please share your results in the comments below.

The post Tips for Doing Digital Painting with the Mixer Brush in Photoshop by Stacey Hill appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School
January 26, 2018
6 Tips to Master Panning Photography
You must have seen those photos where the car or the motorcycle appears sharp and in focus whereas the background appears to be in motion with a blur effect. At first, you might have thought that it is a Photoshop trick or assumed it to be something only a professional sports photographer can achieve. Well, let me tell you it is called panning photography and this technique is easy to learn.

All you have to do is keep practicing this technique until you master the art of panning photography. To help you do so, I have listed six easy to understand tips that will help you capture perfect panning photos.

1 – Set your camera on Shutter Priority mode

Shutter Priority (Tv for Canon, S for Nikon and others).

The first thing that you have to do as you hold your camera to capture a panning photo is to set the camera mode to Shutter Priority. Panning photography is all about the correct choice of shutter speed – the aperture and ISO values do not play that major role here.

This mode allows you to adjust the shutter speed while the aperture and ISO values are taken care of by the camera and will vary depending on the lighting conditions.

2 – Choose a slow shutter speed

Shutter speed set to 1/30th of a second for panning.

As we discussed above, the most important exposure element of panning photography is the shutter speed. So in order to make the subject appear sharp and the background to appear in motion, you must allow the shutter to remain open for an adequate amount of time.

To capture perfect panning photos, the ideal shutter speed is anything between 1/30th of a second and 1/125th (the faster the subject is moving the faster the shutter speed needs to be). This range of shutter speed allows enough time for the camera to register movement in the photo, while keeping the subject in sharp focus.

3 – Use a tripod

Clicking photos handheld at a slower shutter speed might introduce slight shake in your photos. To ensure that you capture sharp panning photos, mount your camera on a tripod or a monopod to minimize the camera shake during panning.

It is possible that while you are panning your camera along with the moving subject, you are also moving your body and that shall introduce a slight shake in your camera. Using a tripod or a monopod will minimize the upwards or downwards movement of the camera and will only allow the camera to pan side to side.

4 – Focus accurately

As the subject is moving swiftly across your frame, so it is really important to lock the focus on the subject accurately. There are two ways you can do this in order to make the subject appear in sharp focus, whereas the background appears to be in motion.
- Automatic focus technique: If you are just starting with panning photography or if you are not sure about the distance of the subject from the camera, always use the automatic focusing technique. To make sure that you focus on the subject accurately, switch on the continuous focus tracking mode (AF-C on Nikon, and AI Servo for Canon). This helps your camera to continuously focus on the subject as it moves across the frame.
- Manual focus technique: If you are sure about the distance at which your subject will pass by, then the best method is to use a manual focus technique. Focus on the point where your subject will be beforehand and then switch the focusing mode to manual. This ensures you to click at a much faster rate as your lens will not be constantly hunting for the subject. Simply pan your camera along with the moving subject and click multiple photos, later choose the best among all.
NOTE: Remember to also set your camera to continuous or burst mode to shoot multiple images when the shutter is held down.

5 – Position yourself correctly

Try and keep some distance between your camera and the moving subject in order to allow your camera enough space to swiftly lock the focus on the subject. If you position yourself too close to the moving subject, there are chances that your lens will fail to focus on the subject because of the distance being shorter than the minimum focusing distance. It’s also harder to keep the subject in the frame when it is really large (close up).

Panning photos look eye-catching when there is a contrast and there are at least two or more colors in the background. Imagine a background which lacks contrast and has only one color, it would hardly add any impact to your panning photo.

6 – Move along with the subject

The whole idea of panning photography is to shoot a photo of a moving subject while panning your camera along with the subject. One thing you need to make sure is that the speed at which you are panning the camera should match with the speed at which the subject is passing by your frame. Follow the subject left to right (or vice versa) at the same speed and don’t stop when you get to the middle (follow-through like in golf).

One golden tip that I would like to share as per my experience is that press the shutter release button only when the subject is parallel to your camera. This will ensure that your subject is completely in focus and appears sharp, while you get to perfectly capture blur motion in the background.

The post 6 Tips to Master Panning Photography by Kunal Malhotra appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School
January 26, 2018
Real Estate Photography Tips For Beginners

Some amateurs think that photographing real estate is as easy as walking into a room and taking a photo. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. It’s a skill you must practice so you can master it. That is if you want to succeed in this competitive field. In real estate photography, one of the questions asked by amateurs is the Continue Reading

The post Real Estate Photography Tips For Beginners appeared first on Photodoto.

Photodoto

January 25, 2018
10 Ways to Become a Better Photographer in 2018

Let’s face it, it’s the new year. Your heart is full of hope and your head is bursting with ideas on what you want to do this year, be a better photographer, and how you will go about executing it. You have so much hope in your heart that you will achieve your all your 2018 goals, that you walk around with a goofy smile plastered on your face!

Am I right or am I right? Or have I just described how I have been feeling ever since that clock struck midnight and we ushered in 2018!?

Here is a bouquet of stunning florals to wish you a happy 2018!

It is 2018 and let’s start the year right with a few simple, easy yet powerful things you can do if one of your goals is to become a better photographer in the next 12 months.

1. Rock the gear you currently own without buying more

Do you feel limited by the gear you own? Are you telling yourself you really need to upgrade your camera, lens or both? Great! you are exactly where I need you to be.

Challenge yourself to use your existing gear consistently for a few weeks or months. Try to get creative with what you already have instead of hitting purchase on that gear that is sitting in your cart or Amazon checkout.

I had no telephoto lens on hand to get some close-ups of these birds…so instead, I used negative space and rule of thirds to take a creative approach to this image.

2. Photograph in every possible lighting situation

I really believe there is no such thing as bad light. Light is light – it is just different at different times of the day and night. One of the best ways to understand light is to photograph in different lighting situations and challenge yourself to create something unique and different that you are proud of.

Each lighting situation will demand different things from you and your gear. Harsh midday sun will have you rethinking shadows and light. Early morning light or golden hour will have you thinking of ways to create magical images that highlight that golden light. Blue hour may challenge you to bring out the external flash so you can get creative with colors.

Use this exercise to really understand and make the most out of each scenario.

3. Treat every subject as a rock star

Not every subject is going to be your ideal client. Until you are in a position to only attract your ideal clients, use every opportunity to work towards building your portfolio for your ideal clients. Each client deserves to be treated like they are rock stars. So it is your duty as a photographer to give them the best experience possible – be it in posing, editing, styling or general customer service.

My morning cup of tea and a simple kitchen towel was my subject matter as I practiced still life photography This image is one of the more popular ones on my social media – people really seem to gravitate to light and clean images at times.

4. Deliberately limit yourself

Today’s DSLR cameras are quite sophisticated pieces of equipment with multiple shutter clicks per second (continuous) and creative photographic modes (Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority) that do a lot of the work for you.

Instead of using those, I challenge you to limit yourself. Think like a film camera photographer and only use 24 or 36 frames to tell your story. Change to Manual mode and try to figure out how shutter speed, IS, and aperture really work to help you take more control of your photography.

I love photographing with a film camera on vacation. It really helps me maintain a good balance between having a vacation and taking pictures because I only have a limited amount of frames to use.

5. Take an art class

This has nothing to do with photography, yet at the same time, it has everything to do with it. Sometimes stepping away from the thing that we love the most or obsess about can be a really good thing. I have found art, particularly drawing and painting, to be very therapeutic and relaxing. It also gives me a chance to look at creativity with a new lens. As I analyze shapes, sizes and brush strokes – I look at color, patterns and composition in a new light.

6. Study your camera’s manual

I remember taking a technical writing class in graduate school where we had to create a user manual for a product. It was one of the hardest classes I have ever taken because we really had to think as a layman user to design, craft and write the manual. It made me realize that manuals, if done correctly, are incredibly powerful learning tools because they really break down every aspect of the product individually as well as collectively. So don’t be so quick to throw away the camera manual – it might be just the thing you need to really understand the workings of your camera.

7. Use a traditional film camera

Medium format camera love, one of only 16 frames per roll. I love the way medium format film renders colors and tones.

This ties in to point number four above. A film camera is a great way to learn the manual mode of photography because it really makes you think about light, exposure, ISO, and aperture to produce a good, clean image. Also, there is no chimping at the back of the camera screen so you really have to slow down and think of the photo you are trying to produce and then click the shutter.

You have a limited amount of frames per film role and have the additional cost of developing and scanning your pictures at the end of the day. All these factors make you a more intentional photographer as opposed to a “spray and pray” photographer (one who takes several pictures in automatic mode and hopes that at least one will work in his/her favor).

8. Study the work of other photographers

I am sure you have a lot of photographers that you really look up to for various reasons – how they compose, how they handle difficult lighting situations, how they interact with their subjects or even how they run successful photography businesses. Follow them, study how they do things, figure out what makes them tick and how they succeed, and use those ideas to reflect in your own road to improving your photography.

Last summer in Rome I really practiced using a lot of negative space in my cityscapes. Sometimes just a hint of a popular landmark is needed to give a sense of place.

9. Experiment with new techniques

Contrary to popular belief, I feel that photography is not something that you can study in a limited amount of time and then say you are an expert in this field. The field is constantly evolving and expanding and there is always something new to learn.

Become a student no matter what your level of experience and be open to learning new and exciting things in this art of form. It is sure to bring forth much progress in your craft overall.

Triple frame shot on medium format film during an editorial shoot to showcase busyness!

10. Evaluate your own work with a critical eye

Really think about what the work you are producing. Before asking for critiques, refer back to your work and figure out what you like and don’t like in your own work. Chances are you will find several things to add to that list.

Also don’t be quick to delete photos you may not like right now. Wait for a few days to look back and assess all your images. You are more likely to find some new favorites among photos that you previously thought were not correct or worthwhile.

Conclusion

I hope these 10 tips really helped shift your mindset a little bit towards your photography. Hold on tight to that feeling of being invincible that often comes with the new year and use it to the best of your abilities to better your skill and craft.

Tell us about your photography goals for this year in the comments below.

The post 10 Ways to Become a Better Photographer in 2018 by Karthika Gupta appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

January 25, 2018
How to Take Better Sunset Photos

A beautiful sunset is one of the most desirable subjects for photographers to shoot and can be achieved any time of the year when the light is right. Most outdoor photographers will tell you that this is their favourite time of day to take photos when the landscape is bathed in golden light and the rich colours and last rays of the day can be magical. Photographing these moments can be truly satisfying so here are six useful tips to help you capture better sunset photos.

1 – Shoot into the light

You are more likely to snap a stronger image of the setting sun during the hour leading up to sunset, known as the golden hour. If you aim to shoot directly into the sun when it is low on the horizon you are more likely to capture a better scene than if you were to shoot into the light earlier in the day when the glow of the sun can be too strong and harsh.

That is when lens flare is likely to be present in the image due to the sun hitting the front of the lens element directly. It can sometimes, however, be used to your advantage.

Remember to take care when staring into the sun and don’t do this for too long to prevent damaging your eyes.

2 – Turn around (and shoot what’s behind you)

Have you ever been so focused on capturing the scene in front of you with the sun setting before your very eyes, to then notice that the view behind is just as spectacular? Novice photographers often make this mistake when starting out.

When you’re setting up the camera and composing for the shot in from of you, it is worth turning around to see whether the scene behind you offers any photographic potential. If it does, be sure to capture this alternative view as well.

3 – Hide the sun

If you have found a view you like and it is too bright shooting towards the sun, try hiding the sun behind an object to further improve the image. You can experiment by partially shielding the sun behind a tree, rock, or person, for example, to find different compositions.

This technique can result in striking images where you can create great silhouettes or even sun flares by partially masking the sun.

4 – Change focal length

Your focal length setting and choice of the composition will make a big difference to the overall picture. Experiment with different focal lengths and figure out what works well and what doesn’t.

If you want to photograph the setting sun in isolation and for it to be the main feature, zoom in and take close-ups. If you want to capture a broad and breathtaking landscape, choose a wider field of view to take in a larger area and include more elements that may provide a more visually pleasing scene.

5 – Experiment with the White Balance

You will find most cameras are set to Auto White Balance where the camera works out the color tone automatically and therefore sets the color of your photographs. This is the simple option and is great for capturing images where color shifts are not required.

However, if you want to change the color temperature of your image don’t be afraid to experiment with different White Balance settings to create a more interesting and visual image. To add warmth to your image, you will want to select a White Balance such as Cloudy or Shade, whereas if you want to create images with a cooler look and feel, try Tungsten or Fluorescent.

6 – Stick around after sunset

Once the sun disappears, don’t be tempted to pack up your camera bag and head home as you may get lucky with the light and witness a wonderful afterglow. Stay around after sunset, the sky will usually light up in color 25 minutes after the sun has set below the horizon, which can often give spectacular and colorful light.

Cloud formations can bring another dimension of beauty compared with clear skies especially when their colors start to pop and ignite.

Conclusion

Without a doubt, sunset photography can be very enjoyable. Using the techniques above may help you improve your pictures and capture a shot you like. Please share your sunset photos and tips in the comments below.

The post How to Take Better Sunset Photos by Jeremy Flint appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

January 24, 2018
Review of the Nikon D850 DSLR

The latest addition to the Nikon line up has been a highly anticipated full frame camera. While many other cameras were being updated rumors started circulating 12 months ago that the D810 would be updated. Finally, the news came that the Nikon D850 was being released. It seemed like everyone in the photography industry was looking forward to it. So much speculation – what will it have, and how will it perform?

The Nikon D850 with the 14-24mm lens.

The Hype

There was similar hype around 5 years ago when Nikon released the D800. It was almost 12 months before I was able to get one, and when the talk started on this one I knew that I would be getting one. The D800 has been an amazing camera and by far the best I’ve ever owned. But it is showing its age and doing long exposures with it was becoming harder. The logical update was always going to be the replacement for the D810.

What I needed was a camera capable of taking long exposures without the problem of dead or hot pixels. I wanted a touchscreen as others I’ve used have been fantastic. I had hoped that with Live View it would be possible to see through ND Filters without having to remove them all the time. While it wasn’t necessary, being able to transfer photos from the camera to the phone would be handy as well.

Once the camera was released and I finally got my hands on one, there was nothing to be disappointed about. It lived up to my expectations, perhaps even more. It is a complicated camera, and the phrase being used, “A game changer” is true. It does a lot and it is going to take some time to learn all that my new camera can do.

An early morning image of the city with reflections.

First impressions of the D850

For most people, it will seem like a gigantic camera. However, those that have been using the D800 or D810 will not be surprised. It is slightly bigger, but not a lot. The weight is around the same as well. Overall it looks almost the same. As you start to study the D850 you can see how some functions have changed positions. I keep pressing the mode button now to change the ISO.

Doing a long exposure on the top of a cliff with the Nikon D850.

45.7 MP Sensor

The big thing to test was going to be the massive 45.7-megapixel sensor. In most of the other Nikon cameras Sony sensors have been used, however, Nikon has developed their own for the D850. It is said to be sharp and create very crisp images. That would appear to be true so far. There is a warning about using low-quality lenses on it, which can create a lot of chromatic aberration. So far, I have noticed that.

Touchscreen

Nikon has given the D850 a touch screen, and I am so happy. Touchscreens make navigating around the menu so much easier. You can flick through your photos very easily, or change a setting in the menu.

With the touchscreen activated, you can also focus the camera and take your photos, whether you are using a tripod or not. With the Bulb setting, you can now touch the screen to open the shutter, and then tap again to close it. This means that when you go out to take long exposures you don’t have to worry so much about a remote shutter release or intervalometer. It doesn’t have a timer or display how much time has elapsed, but there are always ways around that, like using your phone.

Capturing a single light trail from a bicycle along Southbank at night.

The LCD Screen can be manipulated

Like other models, you can now manipulate the screen so you can move it to help you take photos in Live Mode, or when using the playback function. If you like taking photos close to the ground you can do that now without having to get on the ground yourself or having to guess at the composition. I’m getting too old to get down on the ground, getting back up isn’t so easy, so this function is one that I’ve been eagerly awaiting.

The front of the D850, set up for a long exposure.

Using Live View for Long Exposures

One of the frustrating things about doing long exposures with the D800 was having to constantly remove the filters every time you wanted to recompose your image. They were too dark for the camera to see through. The Canon 5D Mark IV is capable of seeing through the filters in Live View, so I was really hoping the Nikon D850 would have that capability as well. I’m happy to report that it does.

It doesn’t quite work the same way, you do have to open the aperture up a bit, but you don’t have to remove the filters. If you can open it up to f/2.8 then it is like there are no filters there at all. It will also make it easier to use graduated filters and polarizers when doing long exposure photography.

The camera photographing the Dragon’s Head.

As someone who loves doing long exposures, this new feature is a very welcome addition to the camera. It is something that I will use a lot. My workflow when shooting has changed from never using Live View, to using it constantly.

One of the major advantages of shooting with Live View is that your mirror is up, so you don’t get those minute vibrations when you are taking an image.

ISO

One of the biggest problems with photography is low light. While in most situations you can use a tripod, there are some situations that mean it is just isn’t possible. With an ISO rating up to 25,600, you can take photos easily without a tripod.

Capturing Christmas windows using ISO 25600.

There will be noise in the images, that is one thing you can’t avoid. However, compared with what you got with the earlier models in the D800 series it’s a big improvement. You could comfortably go up to ISO 2000, perhaps even higher and get images that you would be happy with.

At the other end of the scale, you can go to ISO 64 when you want the best quality images in the right lighting conditions or when using your tripod. Most cameras only go to 100, so having that extra step means finer grain or almost no noise in your images.

Some of the controls are in different places

While the basic setup is very similar to all Nikon cameras, there are some things that have changed from previous models (for me, that is compared to the D800). The Mode button is on the left top buttons with the WB and QUAL. ISO is now over near the Shutter button. The Bracket feature is now set where the flash button used to be.

Overall, the camera is much the same. The menu system remains very similar to previous models and is easy to understand. It is one thing that has always been good with Nikon, you can go from one model to another and still be able to figure out how it works.

Late afternoon in the city of Melbourne.

No flash

One major change from the D800 and D810 is the removal of the built-in flash. For most users, it was not necessary and the flash popping up could create problems. You can still attach an external flash to it, so for most this isn’t going to be a problem as they would use that option anyway.

3 Different RAW sizes

One the main concerns with the camera was the 45.7-megapixel sensor. The more MPs it has the larger the images will be. Storage can become a problem, especially when shooting in RAW. The D850 now comes with three different sizes of RAW files. You can choose to shoot RAW images in Large, Medium or Small. The large will take images that are 8256 x 5504 pixels, while the small will take images that are 4128 x 2752 pixels, similar to a cropped sensor.

Having the choice of deciding how big your image will be is a good function to add. If you know you are going to take a photo for social media, with no intention of doing anything else, then using the small option makes sense. However, if you are going to be taking photos for a client or for printing on a big scale then the large size is the best choice.

Doing a long exposure of the Dragon’s Head on the Rye back beach.

Fast frames per second burst mode

I went from a Nikon D300s, that could shoot 6-7 frames per second to the D800 which was capable of only four. It was a shock and possibly one of the biggest disappointments with that camera. It always seemed clunky when you were taking several images at once, especially for bracketing.

It’s good to see they have sped up the frame rate in the D850. It will take around 6 images a second, so it is reasonably fast. When you are bracketing there is less chance of a mistake when taking a series of images. It is great to hear how fast it shoots the frames.

Using the Nikon D850 at the zoo to capture birds.

The XQD card

With the release of the Nikon D850, we also see that it has two memory card slots; one for an SD card, and the other for an XQD card. As the file sizes are large, and you can take many images per second, you also need a card that can keep up. The XQD cards are good for writing your images quickly so you shouldn’t have moments where you can’t shoot because the camera is saving your images onto the card.

These cards are quite expensive. Not many manufacturers are making them, the one I got was made by Sony. You also need to get a memory card reader for these as well. I purchased mine from B&H, it was 128GB and cost almost $ 200.

Capturing a waterfall with a long exposure.

Wifi and Snapbridge

Nikon cameras that have Snapbridge allow you to use your phone with the camera. You can download images to it, for easy loading to social media when you are out and about. There is also the option for your phone to capture GPS data for future reference.

When Snapbridge was first released there was a lot of negative publicity about it. People said it didn’t work properly, and if we are being honest, it wasn’t great. But it has improved a lot. It is now easier to connect your camera to your phone to look at photos. You can have it set up so it automatically transfers the images to your phone. They go into the cloud, so they don’t take up any room on your phone.

The only downside seems to be that to get your images to your phone you have to shoot in jpeg format. Considering the target market of who will be using the D850 (mostly pros), it is a bit disappointing. Most users will be taking their photos in RAW format and won’t be able to do that.

To overcome this, I decided to shoot in RAW and basic JPG. You don’t need high-quality JPGs to share, and basic is fine for social media. Once the files are all downloaded to my computer I select all the jpegs and delete them. It does mean that you will be using more memory on your cards, but I have 128GB cards, so it isn’t going to be an issue that often. I would also only use this selection if I knew that I wanted to capture an image to share, otherwise I would choose RAW only.

Snapbridge will keep the firmware on your camera up to date which is great, otherwise, it only happens if you get it serviced. One thing that is a definitely a plus for someone like me is that the app will also make sure the time and date are correct on your camera by syncing it with your phone. You don’t have to worry about daylight savings and changing the camera settings for it anymore (or when you travel and change time zones).

The D850 with the Lensbaby Velvet 56 photographing macro flowers.

Battery life

The experience of other cameras has shown that using Live View can drain your battery. Earlier this year I had an opportunity to try out the Canon 5D Mark IV and when using Live View for long exposures the battery did drain very quickly. You would get maybe three hours with it when using that mode. With the Nikon D850, using Live View it doesn’t drain the battery as quickly.

A fully charged battery for normal use will last a few days, with heavy use a day or so. The Nikon batteries are very good, and if you want spares, it is advisable to go for regular Nikon ones over third-party options.

An image taken at sunrise with the Nikon D850.

Conclusion

Without a doubt, those who described the Nikon D850 as a game changer were not lying. It’s one of the most sophisticated cameras on the market. While hailed as a great camera for landscape photographers, it is also suitable for many other genres of photography as well. One has to wonder what they will do to the next generation of the D5 to make it better than the D850.

For more information on the specifications, click here to go to Nikon. The camera retails on Amazon for $ 3,295.

I would give the camera a rating of 9.9 out of 10, maybe even a 10. I love the Nikon D850, it is the best camera I’ve ever used

The post Review of the Nikon D850 DSLR by Leanne Cole appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

January 24, 2018
How to Make your Winter Images Pop with Luminar

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, it’s that time of year again. It’s cold, windy, snowy and very, very white. Winter wonderlands are the ideal things to shoot this time of year. When everything around you is frosted with snow and ice, even everyday things take on a magical feel.

When you step outdoors to shoot this winter, however, an icy fairytale landscape might not be exactly what you get. Here in Chicago if it’s not white, it’s pretty darn grey. That doesn’t make for very pretty pictures. Grey weather days look really blah in 2-D. Actually, even an amazing landscape filled with sparkling snow can make a surprisingly flat image. Let’s break down a few ways that you can process your winter images in Luminar to really make them pop.

My final version of wild horses running through a white-out snowstorm in northern Nevada. I adjusted the black point to -20 by dragging the slider until the histogram just touched the left side. I also made a few more adjustments in Luminar, including boosting the Shadows, reducing the Highlights and enhancing Vibrance. Canon 7DII with 100-400mm II plus 1.4x III extender @ 560mm, f/8, 1/1000th, ISO 400.

Adjust Your Whites and Blacks

In Luminar, you adjust the White and Black points in the RAW Develop Filter (if you’re adjusting a JPG it’s just called “Develop”), or in the dedicated Whites/Blacks Filter. These adjustments are an important first step for images with snow. By shifting the Blacks and Whites, you maximize the range of light and dark tones in your image. That helps give white snow texture and depth.

The unprocessed RAW file of the above image. Compare it to the lead image and look at the difference just a few adjustments made.

Adjust your Whites so that your snow isn’t “blown out” (which means it won’t show any detail). Usually, you’ll need to drag the Whites slider to the left. The histogram should just be touching the right side. Now grab your Blacks and drag it so that the histogram just touches the left side.

Fine-Tune Your White Balance

The White Balance setting is also in the Develop Filter. To help add pop to your winter images, adjust the Temperature of your image to be either warmer (more yellow) or cooler (more blue). You can also make a separate adjustment to the Tint, adjusting it to reflect more green or magenta. Be forewarned though, Temperature and Tint adjustments get tricky when dealing with white snow.

In this image of one of the paint pots at Yellowstone National Park, just after a light snow, I’ve adjusted the White Balance to a cooler/more blue Temperature of -5, and a more magenta Tint of +2. These very slight shifts, along with Contrast, Clarity and Vibrance adjustments make a big difference in this image’s feel. Canon 5DIV with 24-105mm II lens @ 24mm, f/10, 1/320th, ISO 1250.

Often, if you look at your favorite landscape and wildlife images, they have a warm, yellow glow to them. Warm colors tend to make us happy so we gravitate to them when we post-process. However, snow that is too yellow often looks wrong because we rarely have a full-on snowy landscape in bright, golden sun.

Be careful adjusting Tint too. Pink snow isn’t any more appealing or realistic than yellow snow. Ultimately though, these adjustments are up to you. Experiment to find a wintery look that’s right for your photography style.

Here’s the original RAW file of that same paint pot at Yellowstone National Park. You can see the original White Balance and the huge difference that simple change made to make the image above feel colder.

Boost Saturation for Eye-Catching Color

One exception to having vibrantly-colored snow is when an image has colored light reflecting from the sky. In the paint pots image above, you can see that the snow has a bit of a grey-blue cast. That looks natural to me because the snow would reflect the cast of the grey-blue sky.

Old Faithful steaming away at dawn one very cold morning. In this final image, I’ve boosted the colors quite a bit. Saturation +30, Vibrance +20 and Contrast +20. Canon 5DIV with 24-105mm II lens @ 56mm, f/13, 1/125th, ISO 800.

Sometimes, cold wintery images aren’t as much about the snow, either. In this Old Faithful landscape, the story is the drama of the winter sky. My instinct was to amp up the blues in this image, and also the golden grass, to create a striking, complementary color scheme.

When you try this, play around with the color sliders a bit (Vibrance and Saturation are great starting points) and see what works best. Strong color can be gorgeous but doesn’t work for every winter image.

Here’s the RAW, unprocessed file of Old Faithful. The original image is composed well and exposed properly, but very flat. Luminar does an excellent job bringing it to life.

Convert to Monochrome for Stark Drama

Sometimes winter scenes don’t lend themselves well to color images at all. This wild horse running on the snowy ridge in front of the mountain was spectacular in real life. The RAW file wasn’t much to look at though. See for yourself.

Wild horse running along the snowy ridge in northern Nevada. Canon 5DIII with 100-400mm II lens @ 255mm, f/5.6, 1/1000th, ISO 1000.

What is nice about the image is that the bay-colored horse makes an incredible silhouette against all that white snow. Monochrome tends to work well with silhouettes, especially when you boost the contrast.

With their cool grey and white tones, monochrome images can make bland winter images spectacular. Remember to give it a try if experimenting with the color options we discussed above doesn’t work for your image.

Isn’t that an amazing change for the better? Look how that silhouette just pops out of the snowy mountain backdrop now.

Share your Winter Image Post-Processing Tips

These are my four favorite ways to make my winter images pop using Luminar. Bundle up, head on out to the great wintry outdoors, shoot a few frames and give them a try yourself.

And hey, share with the dPS community too. What are your favorite post-processing tips for editing gorgeous winter images?

Disclaimer: Macphun, soon to be Skylum, is a dPS advertising partner.

The post How to Make your Winter Images Pop with Luminar by Lara Joy Brynildssen appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

January 23, 2018