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7 Ideas for Rainy Day Photographic Activities at Home

15 Mar

I love rainy days. I always feel more productive when I can hear droplets hitting the ground or pinging off my umbrella. But apparently I’m in the minority, so on this rainy day I thought I’d compile a list of things that I like to do when the clouds open up.

Feeling inspired but stuck indoors at home? Here are a few photography activities that are great for those rainy days or weekends at home, and sunny days too!

1 – Rainy Scenery

7 Ideas for Rainy Day Photographic Activities at Home

An easy way to create atmospheric images on rainy days is to photograph dramatic scenes through the droplets on your window pane. The more droplets, the more drama and contrast your images will have.

Try changing the focal length of your camera lens to reveal rainscapes in the distance or close-up of water droplets.

2 – Get Close

Macro photography is a great activity to do at home. Because the home is a relaxed environment, you’re free to take your time and get that perfect shot. Often, on location, I feel rushed to complete a shot as best I can in a limited amount of time.

macro - 7 Ideas for Rainy Day Photographic Activities at Home

But at home, you can slow down and experiment which is great for macro photography because it is such a sensitive process. You don’t need to look far for interesting subject matter either. Macro photography reveals a hidden world wherever you look.

Try photographing plant life in your garden or droplets of rain on your window pane.

macro - 7 Ideas for Rainy Day Photographic Activities at Home

3 – Making Do

Photography isn’t always about traveling around. Sometimes it’s nice to just stay home and relax with some in-house photography.

You may interact with it every day, but your house is a treasure trove of photographic opportunity. But often, familiarity can fatigue the creative eye. What forgotten bits and pieces do you have hidden away in the craft box? Imagine yourself as a stranger seeing your home for the first time, what are the most interesting things you have on display? It’s amazing what you can uncover with a shift in perspective.

Don’t be afraid to “make do” with a bit of craft. This little guy was photographed with a background constructed of aluminum foil and cardboard. Simply grab a piece of cardboard (the size is up to you, but the larger the cardboard the more light you will be able to reflect on your subject) and cover it with aluminum foil.

Here, I sat the figurine on one end of the reflector and propped the other end up to form the background of the image. This is great for product photography too.

7 Ideas for Rainy Day Photographic Activities at Home

4 – Give Scanography a Go

Scan-o-what? Scanography! Scanography is photography with a scanner.

If you have a scanner at home, grab a few bits and pieces and try placing them on the scanner. Flat objects like flowers or paper work the best. Activate the scanner and review the results!

It’s a simple project that yields some very interesting imagery.

7 Ideas for Rainy Day Photographic Activities at Home

5 – Revisit Older Photographs

How long has it been since you looked back over your older work?

On rainy days, I often enjoy revisiting files from a couple of years ago to see if I can uncover some hidden or forgotten gems. Nothing is more telling than the difference between your editing techniques a year ago compared to today.

I’m always surprised by how much my editing has changed and improved, even in a short period of time. Often I’ll come across photos that are definitely worth a re-look and re-edit.

7 Ideas for Rainy Day Photographic Activities at Home

Before and after. My original edit for this image was a conversion to black and white. Recently, when I revisited this file, I realized that I was letting the beautiful colors go to waste!

6 – Lightning Photography

If you are stuck at home during an evening storm? If so, why not try your hand at a bit of lightning photography?

Grab your camera and set it on a sturdy surface or tripod. Point your lens in the direction of the lightning, set your camera to Shutter Priority mode and select about 30-second exposure. At night, it’s best to set the ISO to the lowest setting possible.

Don’t wait for the lightning to hit before pressing the shutter button, you’ll never catch it in time! Instead, depress the shutter and wait for the 30 seconds to lapse. With a bit of luck, you’ll capture a decent bolt while the shutter is open!

More on lightning photography here: How to Photograph Lightning – the Ultimate Guide

7 Ideas for Rainy Day Photographic Activities at Home - lightning

7 – Make a Mood Board

If you’re like me and you love to have plenty of inspirational material around, why not make a mood board?

A mood board includes everything from prints to objects and notes or online sources, anything that informs and inspires your artistic practice. You can also make use of websites like Tumblr and Pinterest to create an online mood board to sort through the myriad of amazing images on the internet.

Having a mood board can also be therapeutic when too many ideas start to become overwhelming. Drawing diagrams and making notes that you can view physically is a proven way of easing anxiety and increasing productivity.

Conclusion

So next time you find yourself stuck at home on a rainy day, count yourself lucky! Take some time to have a look around and change up your photography a little.

The post 7 Ideas for Rainy Day Photographic Activities at Home by Megan Kennedy appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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How to Know if Your Photo is Good or Not – The Art of Self Image Critique

15 Mar

One of the common issues that amateur or newbie photographers often have is deciding which photos to include in their portfolio or website. The great thing about photography is that it is subjective, and every person will have different ways of assessing if they like a photo or not, doing an image critique.

You should always aim to photograph what you enjoy with your own unique style and vision. But sometimes, especially if you are looking to earn money from your images, you will need to consider other people’s tastes and needs. Here is a quick guide on how to know if your photo is good or not.

How to Know if Your Photo is Good or Not - The Art of Self Image Critique

1. Is it Technically Good?

Different photographers have different workflows, but often for most, it starts with actually checking if a photo is technically good because let’s be honest, a blurred or poorly focused photo isn’t going to make it into your portfolio.

So a good first step when evaluating a particular photo is checking that it is sharp with good tonal range, good contrast between shadows and highlights and focused correctly on the right part of the scene.

Of course, there might be occasions when a photo might be slightly off in terms of focus, for example, but it still works and if you want to showcase it in your portfolio that’s fine. But the majority of the time, a blurred photo can be discounted.

How to Know if Your Photo is Good or Not - The Art of Self Image Critique

Image not sharp and not completely in focus.

2. Is it Missing Something?

Sometimes you can look at one of your photos and you can tell that it is missing something.

It might be a quiet cobbled street that just looks empty without a person in the shot. Or it might be a landscape image that’s missing a point of interest. These are the type of photos that you look at and think, “I wish I had done this” or “if only there was something or someone in that spot”.

If you think that about one of your images, then it’s probably missing that certain something that would make it a great photo.

Whilst it’s a nice landscape and sunrise, there is no point of interest. Would have improved with a boat in the lake or similar point of interest.

3. The Stop Test

One of my favorite tests when I edit a collection of my photos is what I call the “stop test”. As you flick through one of your galleries of photos – whether that’s on your smartphone, your computer, or even your camera, there are usually some photos that make you stop.

Sometimes it might just be a split second longer than usual, but you did still pause briefly from continuing to flick through the set to look at that one photo.

This is usually a good sign that there is clearly something about that particular shot that grabs your attention. If it can grab your attention it might grab the attention of others as well.

How to Know if Your Photo is Good or Not - The Art of Self Image Critique

4. Are You Being Sentimental?

One thing that is really easy to do, as a photographer, is to get sentimental about a photo. Regardless of how detached you want to make yourself when editing your photos, there will still be that part of you that remembers what it took to capture the shot.

It might have been that you spent hours getting to a location or maybe it reminds you of a memorable encounter with someone interesting. No photographer is a robot and we are all guilty of being sentimental about some of our images.

So try to ask yourself, if you are unsure about an image, if it is actually a good photo, or you are just being sentimental.

Even though it took a while to get up to this point to be able to capture the photo, the lack of light means the image doesn’t work.

5. Is it Different Than What Already Exists?

In this era of digital photography, often the biggest challenge is capturing unique photos. But that is also a good test of whether you should include a photo in your portfolio or not.

It could be that the photo you have taken is perfectly fine, but if you have managed to capture something unique that doesn’t already exist, then it might be a great photo. The key is to search what already exists and see if your image is better or different than others.

How to Know if Your Photo is Good or Not - The Art of Self Image Critique

6. Can You See it Being Used?

Even if you are not planning on selling your photos, trying to envision them being used in real life scenarios can often be a good guide as to how good they are.

When you look at your image can you imagine it being used on the cover of a magazine or to illustrate something for a feature or story? Can you see it on a billboard, flyer, or even a postcard? If you can imagine your photo in those scenarios then it’s probably a good photo and you should include it in your portfolio.

How to Know if Your Photo is Good or Not - The Art of Self Image Critique

7. Go With Your Gut

For all of the different ways that you can critique or evaluate a photo, sometimes you just have to go with your gut feeling.

Sometimes you could be proved right and that image that you were unsure of, leads to work or even ends up making sales. Always remind yourself that photography is subjective and at some point, we all look at a photo we’ve taken and just have a good feeling about it.

Taken at a local market in London, it was a last minute decision to submit this image to my agency. Since then it has made over $ 350 worth of sales.

Conclusion

These are just some of the ways that can help you assess if a photo is good or not. But remember that these are not hard and fast rules that you should adhere to all the time.

Not every photo will fall into every point above and that doesn’t make it a bad photo. Use these points as a guide when you are really stuck on an image and if in doubt go with your gut feeling.

Read more on image critique tips in these dPS articles:

How to Critique Your Images Objectively: Ask for Other Points of View
Constructive Photography Critique: How to Give and Receive with Grace
4 Ways Self-Critique Can Improve Your Photography

The post How to Know if Your Photo is Good or Not – The Art of Self Image Critique by Kav Dadfar appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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5 Quick Portrait Posing Tips to Flatter Your Subject

15 Mar

Being in front of the camera is daunting, to say the least, not to mention staring at a big black lens in front of you. I understand how my subjects feel because I totally hate being photographed. In this article, I’ll give you five portrait posing tips to help flatter your subjects.

1. Relaxed posture

5 Quick Portrait Posing Tips to Flatter Your Subject

Getting your subject into a relaxed posture is easier said than done! But relaxing for portraits is definitely not synonymous to slouching. I tell my subject to close their eyes and take some deep breaths, give their arms and hands a good shake, breathe out, and then open their eyes.

It’s easier for men. I tell them to relax into their normal stance and give them instructions from there. For men, it is generally a slouching issue. I tell them to straighten their spine and not to slouch. This makes them look taller and leaner and gives them square shoulders rather than droopy. However, this posture can look a bit stiff too so I ask them to gently breathe out as this releases the tension on the shoulders.

Relaxing for women is a little bit trickier but the above is a good start. Sometimes it helps them to imagine that a string is attached to their spine and I am pulling it gently upwards. The key word here is gently!

2. Weigh distribution

5 Quick Portrait Posing Tips to Flatter Your Subject

I get women to stand with one leg slightly behind the other and to put their weight on the back leg. With the weight distributed more on the back hip and leg, I get them to lean their upper body forward toward me to balance the weight distribution and slightly twist their body to either the left or right.

It’s a very subtle chest-forward-booty-back pose and you really want it to be subtle. It is important to make sure that you are not looking up at your subjects but that your camera is ever so slightly looking down at them. This pose and your camera angle combined gives your subject a more flattering and leaner look. Don’t overdo the looking down angle, a slight camera tilt will do. This is not the bird’s eye view pose.

Men don’t need to redistribute their weight backward and forwards like women. I find that an even central distribution of weight works better for them. Getting them to put their thumbs in their pockets helps achieve this. If I feel they need to slightly loosen up, I just tell them to gently breathe out.

3. Leaning

5 Quick Portrait Posing Tips to Flatter Your Subject

With their spines straight, find a wall or structure your subjects can lean on. I usually start with having them lean with their backs flat against the structure and I instruct them to pull away from one side until I feel the right angle is achieved.

Sometimes, this pose ends up as just one shoulder leaning. The important thing is that the resulting image does not look like your subject is missing a limb or shoulder as can happen sometimes if you are not careful with the angles.

4. Chin forward

5 Quick Portrait Posing Tips to Flatter Your Subject

Women are extremely conscious about double chins and their faces not looking as lean as they’d like in their images. A bad habit that many women do instinctively when they are photographed is to tilt their chins upwards thinking this removes any double chins.

This looks very unnatural and awkward and gives them a longer neck and a shorter face. When you speak to people, you don’t stick your chin up at them, do you? Instead of chinning up, I get them to push their chins forward and down a touch. This gives them a slight stretchy pain on the back of the neck and feels unnatural, but looks really flattering.

The forward action eliminates the double chin and tipping the chin slightly downwards makes the face look leaner.

You can modify this pose slightly by asking them to point their chins towards one shoulder and if the shoulder is droopy, they can lift the shoulder bone up a touch. This not only gives them a taller and leaner posture but adds angles as well to improve the composition of the image.

5 Quick Portrait Posing Tips to Flatter Your Subject - chin out

5. Connection

On any of the above and at any point during the session, breathing out helps your subject be more at ease so just remind them to do so. You also want them to always have a connection, just like the direction of the chin connecting to the direction of the shoulder for some angles.

Their gaze also needs to connect to either their body or their environment. You don’t want your images to look like the subject is in a vacuum. Looking straight at the camera connect them to the viewer. If you are shooting outdoors, you could instruct your subject to look at the horizon in the far distance or a tree nearby.

If they are holding something like flowers or a coffee mug, you could ask them to look down at what they have in their hands. Check that they don’t look asleep though so adjust your position and take a few images.

5 Quick Portrait Posing Tips to Flatter Your Subject

Conclusion

I hope these 5 quick portrait posing tips are helpful for you when you do your next photo session. If you have any other posing tips please share them in the comments below.

The post 5 Quick Portrait Posing Tips to Flatter Your Subject by Lily Sawyer appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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5 Tips for Using a Tripod in Landscape Photography

14 Mar

Over the years I’ve learned some hard lessons when it comes to landscape photography and the obligatory use of a tripod. Love them or loath them, tripods are an essential piece of kit for landscape photography. With these 5 simple tips I hope to help you love your tripod and improve your photography experience.

1 – How to shoot vertical with your tripod

When you need to shoot a vertical image you’ll find it much more comfortable to tilt your camera to the left (counter clockwise) when using a ball head. If you tilt it to the right (counter clockwise) you’ll discover that things get really cramped, especially if you want to get your camera low to the ground and you can’t physically fit your arm in the space you’ve got left.

How to go vertical on your tripod - 5 Tips for Using a Tripod in Landscape Photography

Tilt the tripod head to the left!

Most cameras also have the battery compartment under the hand grip on the right side so when you need to change batteries you’ll find it much easier if your camera is tilted to the left (counter clockwise). If you look at the image above you’ll notice all of the camera controls are easily accessible on the top of the camera.

2 – Don’t force it

Don't force tha camera on the tripod - 5 Tips for Using a Tripod in Landscape Photography

An example of the camera being forcibly adjusted. Instead of stressing the clip, simply adjust the ball head.

I often see my beginner students trying to use brute strength to reposition the camera on their ball head tripod. The result will eventually be a broken ball head, and on one extreme occasion I actually watched the camera pop out of the clip and plummet to its untimely death.

So if you need to reposition your camera simply loosen one of the locking mechanisms on the ball head, reposition it, and then tighten the locking mechanism. You’ve paid for all of that engineering, you might as well use it.

3 – Let go of the tripod

Hands off your tripod - 5 Tips for Using a Tripod in Landscape Photography

Unless you’re worried it’ll blow away, let go of your tripod!

Sounds obvious right? I’ve been shooting professionally for a few years and yet I still occasionally do this. It makes sense to hold on to your tripod when shooting in gale force winds. But in most circumstances you won’t need to do that and you’ll capture much sharper images without the vibration of your hands touching the tripod.

The purpose of a tripod is to keep your camera perfectly still so that you capture a beautifully sharp image. Touching it defeats the purpose – so hands off!

4 – Make sure everything is locked down tight

Tighten Up Your Tripod - 5 Tips for Using a Tripod in Landscape Photography

A common problem with tripods is that the screw which attaches the clip mount to the ball head can often work itself loose. Be sure to always carry the correct hex key for those rare but vitally important moments when you’ll need it.

I also recommend that you make sure that all of the other locking mechanisms on your tripod are firmly locked down. If there’s even the slightest amount of play in any of these you’ll have problems later during post-processing if your images don’t line up and you planned on blending multiple exposures.

Check that the legs lock securely as well – the screws may need to be tightened from time to time. Sometimes the legs work themselves loose and can slowly close in on themselves causing movement during your exposure, or worse – the entire tripod to collapse.

5 – Empty the water out of the tripod legs

If you do a lot of shooting in rivers, lakes, and oceans, you’ll discover that your telescopic tripod legs magically suck in and store water. To avoid a surprise drowning of your camera, be sure to remove the camera before you pick up the tripod and tip it upside down as water from the legs will pour out of the top of the tripod – all over your precious camera.

It’s also a good idea to do this before putting the tripod back in your car, tent, or camera bag. The last thing you want is a soggy tent.

Want more tripod tips?

I’ve got more tips where these came from so please let me know if you’d like to see more. If you’ve got your own tips to add please post a comment and let me know what tripod lessons you’ve learned the hard way.

The post 5 Tips for Using a Tripod in Landscape Photography by Gavin Hardcastle appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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How to Add a Lens Flare Effect in Photoshop

13 Mar

Do you put a hood on your lens to avoid lens flare? Are you always moving and reframing so that the light source is behind you? Then you have missed out on some great creative opportunities. But not to worry, in this tutorial you can learn how to add a lens flare effect in Photoshop.

Before after lens flare effect tutorial

What is lens flare?

A lens flare usually occurs when you have an intense light source hitting the camera either directly or by reflection. This light then gets scattered inside the lens and creates visible marks on your photo like colored circles, starbursts or a haze that covers the image.

How it’s manifested and how big the flare is depends on the intensity of the light, the angle at which it hits the camera, and also the elements inside the lens that cause the refraction. You can recreate a lens flare in Photoshop by going to Menu > Filter > Render > Lens Flare.

Photoshop Lens Flare Filter Tutorial -

A window will pop up where you’ll see a thumbnail of the picture, just click on the area where you want to place the source of the flare, typically in the brightest point. You can also adjust the brightness of the flare, just by dragging the slider.

Finally, you can choose the type of lens. As I mentioned at the beginning, lens flare is caused by the scattering of light inside the different parts of the lens and therefore lenses with different components will cause different kinds of flares. When you are done just click OK.

That’s pretty straightforward right? But the result is pretty basic.

35mm Prime lens flare effect Photoshop tutorial

Well, there’s a bit more to it in order to really make the most of this effect. You probably noticed that you set up your flare only with a thumbnail preview, therefore you would probably want to go back to it for adjustments after you see it in the full-size screen, but this is not possible.

So the first trick to mastering the lens flare effect is to turn it into a Smart Filter.

What is a Smart Filter?

Smart Filters is a tool to apply filters in a non-destructive way, so you can adjust, remove, or hide it as many times as you like. To do this go to Menu > Filter > Convert for Smart Filters. A warning window pops up to tell you that in order to make your filters Smart, it needs to convert the layer into a Smart Object, click OK.

To learn more about Smart Objects you can read about them in my previous tutorial How to Create with a Good Workflow Using Smart Objects in Photoshop.

Now you can now go back to apply the filter as you did before: Menu > Filter > Render > Lens Flare. Each time you want to go back to change anything you just have to double-click on the filter.

Photoshop Lens Flare Smart Filter Tutorial

You can now go back and adjust the brightness, type of lens and re-position the light source. That’s better don’t you think?

50 300mm zoom lens flare effect Photoshop tutorial

Map out where to put your flare using coordinates

However, you still have to do this in the small thumbnail which can be difficult to do if you want to place the flare in a really specific spot. To overcome this problem, there is a simple way to get around it.

Before you open the filters, decide where you want to put the source, zoom into the image and check the coordinates. If your Info tab is not already opened, you can get to it by going to Menu > Window > Info or just pressing F8. There you will see all the color information for each pixel but also the exact coordinate of it in the spaces called X and Y.

Just hover over the place where you want to place your source and take a note of the coordinates.

Info Coordinates Photoshop Lens Flare Filter Tutorial

Now that you know where you want to put your lens flare you can go ahead and do your filter normally. Setup the filters as Smart Filters and then go to Render > Lens Flare filter. Adjust the brightness and type of lens that you want.

To position the source this time though, hold the Alt key when you click on the thumbnail and a new window will open. You can then enter the exact coordinates you selected before.

Position Photoshop Lens Flare Filter Tutorial

In the end, just process the image as you would normally for exposure and color and you’re done!

105mm Prime lens flare effect Photoshop tutorial

One last trick!

When you want to change the direction of the flare, you won’t find this as an option offered in the adjustments of the filter. What you can do is apply it separately and then move it.

First, create a new layer by going to Menu > Layer > New Layer and fill it with black. You can do this by going to Menu > Edit > Fill and choose to use Black as Content. This new empty black layer is where you’re going to apply your Lens Flare without turning it into a Smart Filter because there’s no information to protect in this layer.

Photoshop Lens Flare Filter Tutorial New Layer

With the Lens Flare being independent of the main image, you can move it around as you want. Just select the layer by going to Menu > Edit > Free Transform and then you can rotate and move it until you’re satisfied.

Photoshop Lens Flare Filter Tutorial New Layer Free Transform

There you have it, three tips to really master the Lens Flare in Photoshop. Please show us your best results in the comments section below.

Lens flare effect tutorial Photoshop

The post How to Add a Lens Flare Effect in Photoshop by Ana Mireles appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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10 Amazing Camera Hacks for Better Dog Photography

13 Mar

In this article, you will learn 10 camera tricks and hacks that could help you take far more interesting dog photography — or photos of any pet, for that matter.

If you love taking pictures of your pooch but don’t feel that you are getting any spectacular results that are worth framing, then perhaps some of the following tips will help inspire you to take your pet and dog photography to the next level.

Let’s see if these 10 dog photography hacks will inspire you to try something new today.

1. Use window light

Use window light - 10 Amazing Camera Hacks for Dog Photography

This might not seem like much of a hack, but it is your job as a photographer to look for the best light. Many photographers say that window light is their favorite light because it’s a soft light that creates beautiful shadows across your subject.

If you are looking for the quickest and easiest way to create a more professional look for your pictures, moving them closer to a soft light source such as a window would be my first tip.

With without window light - 10 Amazing Camera Hacks for Dog Photography

In the image above, you can see the difference between having the dog by the window and not. Not only is the light more dynamic, because your camera will detect more light, but it will use a lower ISO, which all means a cleaner, less “noisy” image.

Photo with window light - 10 Amazing Camera Hacks for Dog Photography

2. Use your phone light

Phone lighting

We probably all know the saying, “Never work with children or animals”. The reason is that they are unpredictable and quite often do not do what you want them to do when you want them to do it. There may be times when your dog is doing something cute, and it is simply not possible to move them to a window to get that perfect lighting.

These days, however, you have access to light right in your pocket. Next time your dog is doing something cute in lousy lighting conditions, rather than pushing that ISO up and just dealing with the bad light, why not introduce some of your own light using the phone in your pocket? It takes seconds to set up and can instantly give your pictures a far more dynamic feel.

Photography camera light - 10 Amazing Camera Hacks for Dog Photography

3. Tin foil

Tin foil - 10 Amazing Camera Hacks for Dog Photography

Now that we have covered the basics of good lighting, we can move on to some of the fun stuff. If you are a fan of beautiful round bokeh (blurred background), then tin foil could be your new best friend. By putting some scrunched up foil behind your subject and shining a light on it, you will instantly get a “starry” bokeh effect.

This technique requires a bit of practice, but my top tips are to use a lower aperture and move your dog far enough in front of the foil that the camera focuses on the dog, causing the background to blur.

Tin foil bokeh

My second bit of advice is to use a short telephoto or zoom lens, preferably above 50mm to 85mm. This is because a wider lens takes in more of the background so you will need more foil. If you use a telephoto lens, less of the background will be in the shot, which means you will need less foil to create the effect.

4. The upside down reflection shot

Reflection shot - 10 Amazing Camera Hacks for Dog Photography

This tip is as simple as it sounds! The next time you are near some still water, such as a puddle or a pond, try holding your camera upside down and shooting your dog’s reflection in the water. When you look at the image the correct way, you will create a fantastic illusion. When people see your dog’s feet at the bottom of the picture, they will realize that they are looking at a reflection.

Dog reflected puddle - 10 Amazing Camera Hacks for Dog Photography

This tip works well with dogs as they are so low to the ground.

5. Use a mirror to create white space

White space mirror - 10 Amazing Camera Hacks for Dog Photography

It is your job as a photographer to lead the viewer’s eye to the subject that you want them to look at. This is part of the beauty of these fast lenses with really blurry backgrounds; you can leave your subject in focus and blur the background, so it is clear what you want our viewer to look at.

Another way to do this is the use of white space. By shooting in a mirror, you can purposely introduce a significant portion of the wall behind the mirror and put your subject off to the corner of the image. This creates a massive amount of white space, producing a far more interesting picture.

White space dog - 10 Amazing Camera Hacks for Dog Photography

6. Fairy lights

Fairy lights

Fairy lights are great as they introduce three elements that photographers love:

Added detail.
Possibility for nice round bokeh.
Additional light.

Why not get your dog to sit on some fairy lights when you are taking his picture next? You can also add your phone light as well to add that lovely dynamic shadow at the same time.

Dog on fairy lights - 10 Amazing Camera Hacks for Dog Photography

7. Phone or Perspex reflections

Phone reflection - 10 Amazing Camera Hacks for Dog Photography

Symmetry will become your best friend when taking pictures. There is something about reflections and balance that are very pleasing to the human eye.

If you find yourself without a reflective surface to shoot into, why not make your own? I carry a small bit of perspex with me wherever I go. However, many photographers use their mobile phones.

All you need to do is hold it next to your lens to create a reflection of your pet.

Dog reflection hack - 10 Amazing Camera Hacks for Dog Photography

7. Prisms

Prism dslr hack

Prisms mix two elements that we have already discussed; they can create white space, almost blurring out a significant portion of your photographs, and you can get some exciting reflections out of them.

However, the reason why I love using prisms is that they can add some fantastic color to an image that might otherwise be a little dull.

Camera hack prism

9. Phone flare

Phone flare technique

Flare is a real sought-after look. We have all spent time pointing our lenses almost directly at the sun trying to get that beautiful lens flare look.

Well, the next time you want instant lens flare, just get your trusty phone out of your pocket again and try shining that light into the camera to get a very similar effect.

Phone flare hack

10. Change your perspective

Dslr perspective

Finally, why not just change your perspective? The number one thing that will make your pictures look more professional is capturing things in a different way from others.

Most of the time, this just comes down to shooting something from a different angle. People are used to looking down at their dogs, so they will typically take images of their dogs from above. Why not take your pictures from floor level to get pictures of your pet you may not have seen before?

Also, try mixing my technique of using white space in combination with this tip. Purposely shoot more of the floor and put your dog in the corner of the image to help lead the viewer’s eye.

Dog photography

11. One final bonus tip for good luck

One of the best tips I have ever received for my photography comes in particularly handy photographing dogs.

Always focus on the eye that is nearest you.

Your viewers will always focus on the subject’s eyes. If they are sharp, then people do not worry so much about the rest of the image.

If you look back at some of the pictures above, you will notice that sometimes the nose is slightly out of focus due to the use of a shallow aperture. However, you may not have noticed that when you first looked at the images because the eyes are in focus. I do this with all the pictures I take.

Conclusion

I hope the video and these tips have inspired you to go try and take new images that you may not have thought of before. Even if you don’t use these exact tips, perhaps some of them might help you think more about using reflections, lighting, and white space, which will help your pictures stand out from the crowd.

Please share some of your tricks and tips in the comments below.

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6 Creative Composition Techniques to Boost Your Images

12 Mar

I am a huge fan of the Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies. They were very popular in the 2000s and their songs were creative, fun and edgy. They also came up with a children’s album called Snacktime and it was a blockbuster hit. Now you must be wondering what a music band has to do with photography but just bear (pun intended!) with me and keep reading on.

One of the songs on the kid’s album is called “Crazy ABC’s” and it was not the traditional alphabet song. In fact, the whole song used unique and different words that begin with the traditional letters of the alphabet. Are you still with me here? At the end of the song, the lead singer (Ed) encourages kids to think outside the box when it comes to learning. Everyones knows the typical A, B and C words like Apple, Cat, and Ball. But think outside the box and see what a wonderful world it opens up.

Thi is how that example relates to photography. We all know the basic composition techniques – the rule of thirds, center focus, fill the frame, etc. How about we change things up and look at some of the atypical composition techniques – after all, it really is such a wonderful world out there, why see it from a boring frame of reference!! Let’s get creative.

#1 Look for reflections

Reflections don’t always have to be done with water. Reflections on water are probably the easiest thing to do if you want to get creative. But following the theme of changing things up, try other surfaces as well. Actually, any reflective surface can be used to add an element of creativity to your frame.

6 Creative Composition Techniques to Boost Your Images - reflections

Nothing wrong with the typical reflection in water shot…the fact that I get to see the snow-capped Himalayas twice over was enough to get me to do the typical/traditional shot.

Karthika Gupta Photography - Memorable Jaunts DPS Article-Creative Composition Techniques-reflection 1

But pushing beyond the boundaries of typical and photographing this lovely couple’s first look on their wedding day, with an added reflection in the glass takes it to another level.

#2 Look for symmetry

Just like in point number one above, symmetry does not necessarily mean centered composition of the subject. As long as you can draw a virtual line across the frame and have two exact replicas of the image, symmetry is achieved. Try to think of creative ways to achieve symmetry.

food - 6 Creative Composition Techniques to Boost Your Images

Food is one of those subjects that lends itself to a multitude of different composition techniques. By isolating these appetizers (don’t they look absolutely delicious) in a central composition, I was able to create symmetry horizontally, vertically and maybe even diagonally! Again, think outside the box.

6 Creative Composition Techniques to Boost Your Images - symmetry

One of my favorite clients from a few years ago…here the symmetry is implied – parents on one end of the spectrum and kids on the other.

#3 Use of negative space

I love the use of negative space to add so much more to an image without any additional weight of other subjects. I am always thinking of ways to use negative space to add that extra special “oomph” factor to my images.

6 Creative Composition Techniques to Boost Your Images - negative space

This little Italian car screamed for my full attention – using negative space with a wall exactly the same color as the car was a little different but this image is all about that car and nothing else!

The Vatican - 6 Creative Composition Techniques to Boost Your Images

Negative space can be used for any genre of photography – people, things, and even places. The Vatican deserves everyone’s undivided attention, there’s no doubt about that!

negative space with a model - 6 Creative Composition Techniques to Boost Your Images

My lovely model from an editorial shoot last year. She totally owned that shoot and this image shows her strength, tenacity, and attitude – the only thing in this image is her, simplified by the use of negative space.

#4 Multiple exposures

This is by far one of my favorite ways to add a little creativity to my images. Don’t feel you need to be limited by using only two exposures in the case of multiple exposures. This works great for three or even four exposures and can be done in-camera as well as in post-processing.

6 Creative Composition Techniques to Boost Your Images - double exposure

A typical double exposure using a textured image and a human element.

6 Creative Composition Techniques to Boost Your Images - multiple exposures

But why stop at two exposures? Here I used three exposures to showcase the active, multi-faceted mind of a creative. A lot of thoughts race through our minds at any given point in time – here is a creative way of documenting that!

Another three exposure frame – an extension of being creative with your composition.

#5 Slow down your shutter speed

By having a long exposure (slowing your shutter speed) you can add some creativity to your shots. Traditionally we see this with waterfalls or flowing water shots. But try and do this with other subject matter as well. Sometimes that intentional blur can be used just as a creative expression, or to create abstract art in your images.

6 Creative Composition Techniques to Boost Your Images - intentional blur

This was actually taken from a car as we were driving along a California highway. The car was too fast for me to get any sort of sunset shot so I decided to embrace the movement and create an abstract version of what I was seeing.

6 Creative Composition Techniques to Boost Your Images - motion blur

Here motion blur or slow shutter speed was much more intentional. I was camping on the beach along the Oregon coast as the fog was just rolling in and people were walking back to their tents. By slowing the shutter, the waves took on this milky look and the people magically faded away from the shot. For this kind of shot, I used a tripod to make sure the sea stacks were sharp.

#6 Creative framing

Try and incorporate frame within a frame within a frame or any combination of that in your photos to add a fun element and lead the viewer into where you want them to focus their attention.

6 Creative Composition Techniques to Boost Your Images - framing

My lovely client backlit and framed within the doorway. The sun was too bright behind her and the rest of the room was dark – a perfect recipe for taking a step back and framing the dark against the bright.

Here the happy couple is being framed by the staircase and steps in a more subtle way. The eye is being led down and around the sides of the railing leading the viewer into the bottom of the frame where the couple is taking a moment to be with each other.

This is one of my favorite images of my kids…one of the few times that big sister is being nice to her little brother! The leaves along with the tree frame them, directing your eyes to the center of the frame where they are interacting.

Conclusion

I hope these tips encourage you to think differently when it comes to photographic composition. Sure you likely know the tried and true rules – things that you know will work when all else fails. But you know what? Embrace that failure to grow creatively.

Experiment and try some of these creative composition techniques. In fact, take a chance and maybe try a couple of them together. Who knows what might happen, but at least you will feel like you explored outside your comfort zone. And the best part is that these tips work well for almost any genre of photography. So get out there and create some magic.

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What to Bring to Photograph a Wedding Besides Your Photo Gear

12 Mar

Our main job as wedding photographers is to create beautiful images for our clients. But our job is also to provide a phenomenal customer service experience from beginning to end. Throughout the last decade as a wedding photographer, I’ve developed this list of non-gear related items to bring along when you photograph a wedding.

What to Bring to Photograph a Wedding Besides Your Photo Gear

Wedding Day Essentials

The Wedding Timeline

Six weeks before the wedding, send the bride and groom a questionnaire requesting details about the timeline, addresses, wedding party, their families and vendors. Not only will this help the bride and groom think through any details they may have overlooked in their busyness, but their answers will help you foresee any timeline delays or issues.

Some important questions to ask:

At what address will the bride be getting ready?
At what address is the groom getting ready?
Ceremony start time and address.
Reception start time and address.
When would you like photo coverage to begin?
Based on the number of hours purchased, what time would you like photography coverage to end?
Will you be having a First Look?
Please provide the timeline for your wedding day, so far.
Are there any specific locations you have in mind for your wedding day portraits?
Will you be exchanging gifts with your spouse or family members?
What mailing address should I use for you after the wedding?
How many bridesmaids do you have and what are their names?
How many groomsmen do you have and what are their names?

What to Bring to Photograph a Wedding Besides Your Photo Gear

Family Photo List

Under no circumstance should you show up to a wedding without a list of family photos, created and approved in advance by the bride and groom. Attempting to focus the bride and groom minutes after they’ve been pronounced husband and wife, in front of a room full of family and friends eager to talk to them, is a recipe for disaster!

Having a list you can work from, and check off each grouping with a pen, will save valuable time.

What to Bring to Photograph a Wedding Besides Your Photo Gear

On the wedding questionnaire, request the following information about family:

Please list immediate family of the bride
Please list immediate family of the groom
Please provide a list of family photos you’d like and please note the names of each person in the grouping.
Are there any divorces/deaths I should be aware of so as to not embarrass anyone on either side of the family?

Review and take charge of the list

Review the information received about each immediate family before the wedding. Throughout the hours you’re photographing, you’ll meet at least 40 people by name! Don’t rely on your own memory. By having everything written down, you can check your timeline and remember the bride has two brothers named Matt and Joseph. Now, all you need to do is figure out which brother you met was Matt and which was Joseph. Magic!

Usually, the family photo list that the couple returns is perfect. I may re-arrange groupings for ease of the photo time (starting with the largest groupings first and peeling people away as needed) but very minimal change is usually required.

What to Bring to Wedding Days 7

However, sometimes the list may include large group after large group of extended family. When this situation happens, send the couple a warm and polite email confirming the list. Review the timeline and see how much time is needed capture the family photos requested.

Let the couple know you are happy to capture whatever images they would like, but you may have to steal 30 minutes from another portion of the day. When you present the options this way, many couples will choose to forego large groupings for family photos and enjoy their cocktail hour instead.

Verify Addresses and Phone Numbers

You can never be too careful when it comes to details, so leave no stone unturned. Even if the couple provided the name of the venue, request the specific address to eliminate all room for error. It’s important to have addresses for the bride’s house, groom’s house, photo locations and the reception.

Basically, anywhere you need to visit on the wedding day, have an exact location and meeting spot if the location is a park, for example.

What to Bring to Photograph a Wedding Besides Your Photo Gear

Phone numbers are a key piece of wedding day communication. Have the bride and groom’s phone numbers on file, but also request the phone numbers of the Maid of Honour and the Best Man and confirm they will have their phones with them. It’s quite common for a bride and a groom to not have their personal phones on them, and rightly so.

Have the wedding coordinator’s name and phone number printed on your timeline for easy access. It is also not a bad idea to have phone numbers of a few other key vendors. Always be more prepared than necessary.

Step up Your Experience with These Items

What to Bring to Wedding Days 8

If you only remember half of this article, stop reading now and remember the first part. But if you want to step up your “photography game” and look like a wedding day hero, keep reading. Make gathering the following items a goal for your next wedding season.

Parking Payment

Depending on your city’s parking meter structure, a credit card may be all you need — but some cities require coins. Stock your wallet with five dollars worth of coins for parking in a time crunch. Additionally, research if your city has an iPhone app for easy parking with your credit card.

Set of Umbrellas

Purchase a set of matching umbrellas in either a solid black or a clear color so they match any wedding party — your brides will be thankful. Keep the umbrellas in the trunk of your car at all times so you’re never left out in the rain.

What to Bring to Photograph a Wedding Besides Your Photo Gear

Extra Clothing

Wedding days can be long and weather can be inconsistent. Prepare for everything with a rain jacket or parka (depending on the season), sweater or cardigan for the reception (if the AC starts up) and my favorite – a change of shoes for tired feet halfway through the day.

Business Cards

Don’t be caught repeating your name to a potential customer over and over again so they can memorize it and find you on Instagram. Have business cards in your bag at all times.

Laptop and Card Reader

For slower receptions, you could download your memory cards to a laptop for immediate back-up. Also handy for downloading your second shooter’s images before driving separate ways at the end of the workday.

Water, Snacks, and Gum

Working on an empty stomach isn’t fun. Pack more snacks than you think you’ll need — you can keep some in your camera bag and the rest in the car for an emergency. Having gum or breath mints nearby is a bonus while talking with guests and, of course, a water bottle and staying hydrated is a must.

Wooden Hanger for Dress

What to Bring to Photograph a Wedding Besides Your Photo Gear

I have yet to add a wooden hanger to my wedding day list, but it’s a good idea. You’ll save 3-5 minutes at the bride’s house looking for a wooden hanger to replace the flimsy clear plastic one.

Emergency Kit

Photographer to the rescue! Pack a small bag with bobby pins, band-aids, tide-to-go, Tylenol, a sewing kit, a lint brush packs of Kleenex and anything else you think a bride or bridesmaid or family member may want at some point in the day. You’ll be the hero when the bride stains her dress and you whip out the tide-to-go or hand the mother of the bride some Tylenol.

If you photograph weddings, what else do you take along besides your photo gear? Please share in the comments below.

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Wide-Angle Versus Telephoto Lenses for Landscape Photography

11 Mar

When you arrive at a beautiful scene, open your camera bag, and reach in to pick out a lens for landscape photography, which one do you usually choose and why?

A mid-range focal length lens, say between 35mm and 70mm, is usually the one that gets picked the most because it is closest to what we see with our eyes. When we choose that lens, we come home with photos that look like what we saw and they feel natural.

Chain fruit cholla at Organ Pipe National Monument, Arizona by Anne McKinnell

A wide-angle lens is often chosen when we simply want to take in a wider scene, and a telephoto lens is chosen when we want to get closer to something in the distance. While these uses are certainly valid, these lenses can also be used in the exact opposite way.

Let’s take a look at different ways that wide-angle and telephoto lenses can be used to emphasize different aspects of a scene for landscape photography.

Wide-angle of view versus distant details

This is the way most people use wide-angle and telephoto lenses, as follows.

When I arrived at the scene below, I wanted to capture as much of the lake as possible while eliminating a few distractions on the edges. I reached for my wide angle lens and made an image at 14mm.

Convict Lake, California - Wide-Angle Versus Telephoto Lenses for Landscape Photography

This image was shot using a 14mm wide-angle lens.

Then I noticed some interesting details in the distance on the left side of the frame above. I really liked how the colors of the plants seemed to come down the hill at an angle and were reflected in the lake making a triangle shape. To emphasize this detail, I reached for my telephoto lens and made this image at 65mm.

The same scene with a 65mm lens.

Wide-angle of view versus close-up details

I made this photo of some cacti and the setting sun right in my campground in southern Arizona. To get the foreground rocks, the cacti, and the background in the frame, I used my wide-angle lens at 15mm and set the aperture to f/22 to make the starburst.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Arizona - Wide-Angle Versus Telephoto Lenses for Landscape Photography

Then I became drawn to the lines in the organ pipe cactus. To emphasize the lines in an abstract way I moved around the cactus, so I would be working with side light, and used my telephoto lens at 210mm to capture the details.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Arizona details - Wide-Angle Versus Telephoto Lenses for Landscape Photography

Get close with a wide lens, go wide with a telephoto lens

As I mentioned in the introduction, lenses can be used in the exact opposite way from our usual mode of operation. Sometimes the best way to get close is to use a wide-angle lens. But you have to be really close!

To make this image of a chain fruit cholla, I was only a couple of feet away from it when I made this image at 33mm. Getting physically close to a subject in the foreground makes that subject look large in comparison to the background. The cholla would have looked even larger if I had gotten closer and used a wider angle like 10mm.

Chain fruit cholla at Organ Pipe National Monument, Arizona - Wide-Angle Versus Telephoto Lenses for Landscape Photography

33mm

At the same location, I wanted to make an image that captured the huge expanse of cacti and the surrounding mountains. With a wide-angle lens, things in the distance look tiny and you don’t get the feeling I was looking for. So I used my telephoto lens to capture more distant subjects at 122mm.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Arizona - Wide-Angle Versus Telephoto Lenses for Landscape Photography

122mm

Make the background or foreground look large

The two photos below are shots of the exact same plant. I chose this organ pipe cactus with a mountain in the background to demonstrate depth compression and how it applies to your lens choice.

When I was quite a distance away from the subject, approximately 100 feet, I made the photo below using my telephoto lens at 129mm. I would have gone farther away from it, but other cacti prevented me from getting a clear view of my subject from a farther distance. Notice how large the mountain appears in this image.

Organ Pipe Cactus in Ajo, Arizona - Wide-Angle Versus Telephoto Lenses for Landscape Photography

129mm focal length.

Then I went right up to the cactus, only inches away, and made the photo below with my wide angle lens at 18mm. Now you can tell that there are actually two organ pipes that looked like one in the previous image. Notice how small the mountain appears in the image below.

18mm

Note that this difference is not a result of the lenses themselves, but rather it is due to the distance between the camera and the subject.

When you want to make something that is the background look larger, get farther away from it and use a longer lens. If you want something in the background to disappear, or at least be minimized, get closer to your subject and use a wider lens.

Depth of Field

The depth of field in your image, which is the amount of the scene that is sharp, is determined by the aperture you use. So if you want the background to be blurry you use a wide aperture like f/2.8 or f/5.6. But the aperture you choose does not have the same result with every lens.

I made the photo below with a wide-angle lens at 20mm and an aperture of f/5.6. The result is that most of the flowers are sharp and the background is just slightly blurred.

Black Eyed Susan, Victoria, BC - Wide-Angle Versus Telephoto Lenses for Landscape Photography

20mm at f/5.6

If you want the background to be extremely soft, it’s better to get farther away from your subject and use a longer lens. In the example below, I wanted to make the flowers stand out and minimize the appearance of a house in the background, so I moved farther away, used my telephoto lens at 250mm and an aperture of f/5.6.

Cherry blossoms - Wide-Angle Versus Telephoto Lenses for Landscape Photography

250mm and f/5.6

Conclusion

Here is a quick summary to help you remember what you just learned.

Use a wide-angle lens when you want to:

Get close to subjects in the foreground and make them seem more important than the background.
Make subjects in the background appear smaller.
Get everything in focus.
Photograph in tight areas like canyons.

Use a telephoto lens when you want to:

Get closer to subjects in the distance.
Make subjects in the background appear larger.
Get a shallow depth of field by blurring the background.
Make close-up images of details.

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My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

11 Mar

Up until a few months ago, my only experience with infrared photography was through the work of Minor White and a few other photographers that shoot masterful infrared photographs. Their images were dreamy scenes with glowing trees that completely transformed my idea of what made a beautiful picture.

Most people I speak to about infrared photography immediately say something about the movie Predator or ask, “You mean like those cameras they use in police chases, right?” While those are in fact infrared cameras, they use thermal infrared which…hang on. I’m getting ahead of myself here.

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

A couple weeks ago I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to try out an infrared converted digital camera (Canon 60D) from LifePixel Infrared. Seeing as this would be my first time shooting any type of infrared photography I immediately wanted to share my experience with anyone who might be considering taking the leap and trying infrared picture work.

In this article, I’m going to take you along with me and tell you all about my first experience shooting infrared. This will not be a tutorial on how to make and process infrared but rather a real-world account from an infrared newbie. And I promise, no more Predator references.

The Camera

It might come as a surprise but all digital cameras are capable of capturing infrared images. The reason your unconverted DSLR can’t is that manufacturers add filters to purposefully eliminate (or greatly reduce) light in infrared wavelength from reaching the sensor. An infrared conversion is essentially camera surgery where the infrared eliminating filter is replaced with one that allows infrared light to pass through.

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

And unconverted sensor.

In reality, the images we think of as infrared are in fact near infrared. This type of light has a wavelength that hovers approximately around 700nm. Exactly how much infrared light passes through to the sensor depends on the filter and the type of conversion.

The 60D I was sent sports LifePixels’ popular Super Color IR filter which allows for a more flexible infrared experience because it also allows a small amount of visible light to pass through as well. This Super Color filter leaves lots of room for incredibly creative and downright insane post-processing possibilities for working with color and black and white pictures. The filter looks dark red (below) compared to a non-converted sensor filter (see above).

The infrared converted camera from LifePixel.

Aside from that, there’s not much to say about the external appearance of the converted Canon 60D. It just looks like a normal 60D. This is a good thing in my opinion. Given the complexity of the conversion procedure, it’s nice to see all the screws and joints of the camera remaining just as they were before.

Out and about with infrared

The entire experience of actually shooting images with an infrared camera was incredibly different than how I had imagined. Not at all in a negative or even difficult way, but the creative involvement that was needed reminded me of shooting film and also added an element of excitement you don’t always get when shooting straight digital.

I had assumed that using an infrared camera would be fairly straightforward. Meaning that the image that came out of the camera would essentially be an entity unto itself complete with weird colors and that finished infrared look. This is not the case. Have a look at a RAW infrared photo fresh from the camera equipped with the Super Color IR filter.

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

Shock. Panic. Gnashing of teeth. When I saw this on the LCD screen my heart sank. What had I done wrong? This wasn’t the cool looking picture I had expected. As it turns out, everything was just as it should be. So, if you’re thinking about using an infrared camera for the first time take some comfort in knowing that things are going to look downright horrible until the image is appropriately processed. We’ll talk about the post-processing of the infrared images a little later.

And seriously, I mean just look at that. They really do look horrible. Moving on…

The best thing about putting the camera into use is relearning how to visualize a photo before you actually snap the shutter. As I said, this is something that has been lost in translation during the digital age. Shooting infrared brings in a fresh feeling of involvement when shooting because you can make all the creative choices but still not know what you have until the photo has been processed.

What’s more is that infrared photography loves being shot in harsh midday light that would normally be absolutely fatal to most sorts of photography. Which is actually really cool. Something I would recommend is to make use of your camera’s Live View mode if it is so equipped. This allows you to see what your sensor sees in real-time.

Also, note that with infrared converted DSLR cameras there can be a slight focusing inaccuracy when shooting at wider apertures unless it is corrected (which LifePixel offers). The Canon D60 I tested out was focused corrected before it was sent to me. Now, let’s talk about the completely incredible way (but not the only way) I processed some of the photographs I made with the infrared converted 60D. You’re not going to believe this.

Post-processing the IR images

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

Let me start off by saying that post-processing infrared photos is not difficult. The biggest help you can give yourself is to remember these images are just photographs, but they are photographs that include nearly infrared light.

I feel as if I entered into the post-processing phase of my newly shot IR photos with a certain timidness, which was completely unfounded. While we’re about to briefly talk about the biggest hurdle I had to overcome with the processing the overall concept of editing an IR photo is really no different than any other picture.

The Magical Realm of White Balance

If you’ve ever heard someone say “always shoot RAW” and doubted the truth of it – let me tell you now that when it comes to post-processing your near-infrared images, shooting in RAW format is essential. I made the mistake of not switching the camera from JPG (my fault, I should have checked) to RAW and the resulting images were completely unusable.

Why? Because JPG files simply do not have the information to effectively set an accurate White Balance in post-production. If there’s one thing that is completely 100%, definitely, totally essential, and inescapable it is that White Balance is key to a successful infrared photograph.

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

The challenge with IR converted cameras is that the influx of IR light confuses the camera so that Auto White Balance is completely inaccurate. You can set a Custom White Balance in camera and the easiest way is set it off of green foliage (chlorophyll reflects infrared and is thusly white or close). But if you want to do it all in the editing phase, here’s a quick run-through of how to get it done.

Using Adobe’s DNG Profile Editor

This goes back to what we talked about earlier in this section. Don’t assume that there is a secret to IR photography processing. They are no different from normal photos in that you should have a desired White Balance and exposure. That’s it.

The problem with setting a White Balance for IR images in post-processing is that the color temperature can’t go low enough to correct the image. This is where an often neglected section of Adobe Lightroom called “Camera Calibration” will quite literally save you from pulling out clumps of your hair in frustration.

Using an even lesser known piece of Adobe wizardry called the DNG Profile Editor, you can create a custom White Balance profile and place it in the Camera Calibration section of Lightroom. This is what will allow you to accurately color correct your IR photos.

Never heard of the DNG Profile Editor? Don’t worry, I wrote a book on Lightroom and I had no clue about it myself. Firstly, it’s a free download from Adobe that allows you to create custom profiles based on your camera, and save those so that they appear in the Camera Calibration section of Lightroom.

Read more here: How to Use Adobe’s DNG Profile Editor to Make Custom Camera Profiles

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

It’s easy, actually kind of fun, and it doesn’t take much time. We’ll skip the particulars but if you want to learn more about the entire IR process, check out this excellent video from B&H Photo by Vincent Versace.

Once you’ve created your custom camera profile it can then be applied to any image you make with your IR converted camera. Then you can go back and make detailed White Balance selections based on the particular image you happen to be editing at the time. Here’s that RAW image again from earlier as it looked straight from the camera.

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

With the White Balance corrected using the custom profile from the DNG Profile Editor.

With a color channel swap (blue/red) in Photoshop and some basic editing back in Lightroom.

The possibilities really are endless and include black and white conversions, color swaps in Photoshop, selective color, as well as any other edits you feel like trying out!

Here are a few more images I shot with the IR converted Canon D60 from LifePixel.

My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

Final Thoughts on My First Infrared Experience

Often times I talk about the importance of stepping outside of your comfort zone when it comes to your shooting. It’s essential to be bold and extend your creative reach which will, in turn, help you grow technically, professionally, and creatively.

My first time shooting infrared is a classic example of how refreshing it can be to try something completely new with your work. I learned so many new things and reminded myself of how much I truly love this thing that we all do, called photography. Needless to say, my time shooting infrared was immensely positive. Here are a few tips that will help avoid some pitfalls should you decide to try IR photography for yourself:

Shoot RAW.
Use your camera’s Live View mode.
Remember plants and foliage generally reflect IR light.
Accurate White Balance is a MUST!
Use Adobe’s DNG Profile Editor to create a custom color profile for your camera.
Remember there is no set way to edit your IR photographs.

Check out LifePixel Infrared at their website. Not only are they a group of super nice people who do awesome camera conversions but they also offer a treasure trove of educational information about infrared photography and post-processing infrared images.

I hope you enjoyed taking a trip with me during my first time with IR photography. Next on the agenda? Deciding which of my cameras to have converted to IR.

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