Why am I talking about Bitcoin here? Because everyone is? Not exactly. For one, you can now exchange bitcoin into dollars and that can buy some nice photo gear. If only there was a way to get bitcoin without spending thousands of dollars building a rig that sounds like an airport runway in your basement and destroys your electric bill. Continue Reading
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Most of us are fascinated by soap bubbles and love playing with them since childhood. Watching bubbles float in the air and burst is a pleasure every child and even adults enjoy. Soap bubbles have an exciting range of color and textures. When light shines onto a bubble it displays vivid color that changes swiftly. Even though we see them on regular basis, we never actually observe them so closely to enjoy the thrilling beauty they hold within.
They are stunning, amusing and mesmerizing but extremely short-lived. Soap bubbles usually last only for a few seconds and then burst either on their own or upon contact with another object. So how can you capture these beautiful soap bubbles and keep it forever? Let’s find out.
First, we’ll talk about the camera gear you need for photographing soap bubbles. These photos can be taken with any DSLR or even compact camera if it is capable of firing an external flash. And for the lens, it’s better to use a macro lens but if you don’t have one, any lens will work fine.
The most important aspect of soap bubble photography is the light source rather than a camera. It requires a large light source. If you have a studio light with a large softbox or beauty dish that will work great. But if you don’t have one, it doesn’t mean that you can’t take this type of photo. It can be done by using off-camera flash with a DIY softbox too.
For a DIY softbox, make a frame of two by two feet by using wood or iron wire and wrap it in white cotton cloth or butter paper. This frame, combined with an off-camera flash, will give the same impact as studio flash with a softbox.
And if you don’t have an external flash, you may place this frame near the window (or hang a white bed sheet over a window) and use sunlight as your light source. The possibilities are endless, you just need to use your imagination.
You will also need a tripod so you can fix your camera on it and free your hands to blow bubbles. If you have a shutter release cable (remote trigger) it would be great to use that as well.
Other than this, get a piece of black cloth or black paper to use as a backdrop. You’ll also need soap solution to blow bubbles. You can buy it from local stores or make it at home by adding two tablespoons of liquid soap and one tablespoon of glycerine in half cup of water and leave it overnight.
Okay, now we have everything, let’s start shooting. First, switch-on your music system and start playing your favorite album. It’s not necessary but it’s always good to listen to music while you shoot.
Now pour soap solution into a small bowl and place it on a table. Put a black cloth or black paper behind the bowl and set up your light source. Your light should be very near to the bubble (just 2-3 inches). If you want your bubbles to look like a floating planet, place the light source right above the bubble otherwise place it at 45 degrees downward.
Set your camera on the tripod and attach the shutter release cable. Set a narrow aperture between f/11-f/16, so you can get deep depth of field and get the entire bubble in focus. Focus manually and change other settings like shutter speed and ISO according to the light. Now use a straw to blow bubbles and start clicking.
Once you blow the bubble, you’ll notice that it doesn’t have the swirls of colors which you were expecting. Wait a few seconds, and the colors will begin emerging, which is your cue to start clicking pictures.
Also, keep a close watch on the surface of the bubble. If it starts looking transparent, it means that the bubble is about to burst. To increase its lifespan, use a straw and blow on the bubble slightly. This will also add some unique texture to it.
If you are using homemade soap solution which you made using the formula I talked about earlier, soap bubbles will have a longer life but if you are using other soap solution, bubbles will burst in very short time. If that’s happening, adding a few drop of glycerine will increase its lifespan.
I also discovered that the temperature and the humidity of room play an important role in increasing the life of a soap bubble. If the temperature of the room is hot or atmosphere too dry, the bubbles would burst very quickly. This happens because soap bubbles have a layer of water between two thin layers of soap and when the water evaporates, it bursts. This is why it has a shorter lifespan in hot and dry environments.
So, by adding glycerine and lowering the temperature of the room, you can increase the lifespan of the bubble up to five minutes. Soap bubbles show a whole range of colors and textures from their formation until they burst. Every second you’ll find different colors and patterns and you can get lots of different shots with just one bubble.
If everything has been set up properly, there is no need for heavy post-processing. Just level adjustments, some cleaning, cropping and sharpening would be enough and your image end up looking like scenes from the movie Interstellar.
At last, keep trying until you get the desired results and share your photos in the comments below.
The post How to Photograph the Sheer Beauty of Soap Bubbles by Ramakant Sharda appeared first on Digital Photography School.
Do you remember that game called Stuck in the Mud we used to play as kids? It goes something like this; one kid is elected to be “it” and runs around to tag as many people as possible. When tagged, the other players have to freeze and stand with legs and arms apart, as if they were stuck in some glutinous mud. The only way to get free of the mud is when a non-tagged comrade climbs through the legs of the trapped players. It goes on until everybody inevitably gets stuck in the mud.
I was thinking about this game rather nostalgically over the course of this project.
Actually, a fair bit sometimes. Fortunately, this project doesn’t involve wading in sticky mud (unless you want to). This project is about parking your feet for a few minutes to have a good look around – as if you were stuck in the mud yourself.
Even when going for a dedicated photography walk, you are bound to miss the subtle details of a landscape. You can’t help it. The brain prioritizes images that portend to the mission at hand – surviving. Physical activity, self-preservation – it’s all the ingredients a brain focuses on to sustain its host. That’s why the best way to draw more detail out of a location is to slow down.
We know this because often when we see a potential photograph, we stop in our tracks to take the shot. So rather than halting for a brief second, the idea of this project is to and make a little extra time to investigate an environment. The shapes, colors, people, graffiti, or details in a window sill. There are countless moments that are ready for the taking, they just have to be caught.
It sounds terrible, doesn’t it? The thought of my camera even coming near mud makes me sweat. But playing photographic stuck in the mud is easy.
The first step is to grab your camera and head out the door. Wander around, find a place to take a few shots and hold your position. Keep in mind that your spot doesn’t have to appear instantly enticing. In fact, choosing a boring location would be a quicker way to train yourself onto detail. Plant your feet on the ground and have a good look around. I would recommend holding your position for a good one to two minutes at first. You’ll notice the time tends to go faster each try. In order to concentrate, set an alarm on your phone and get shooting!
Apart from taking a few minutes to study the spot you’ve chosen, there aren’t any hard and fast rules to the stuck in the mud project. To advance, add a higher photo count or hang out in one spot for a longer period of time.
Want to stop every 100 steps? Do you want to be able to swivel around in a circle? Want to halt at particular points on a map? It’s totally up to you. You could even go out with a friend and compare shots from the same spot after! But I do recommend staying in the one spot for at least a minute or so – to truly get into that state of mindfulness and awareness. Sometimes it can be hard to get into that creative flow, so slowing down your process can help activate what I like to call “The Photography Zone”.
Also, it’s probably obvious, but don’t stop in the way of others or get yourself in a dangerous situation. This isn’t Pokemon Go, okay?
This is an example of a street corner I parked my feet on the other day. I was waiting for a friend and decided to take advantage of the surrounds. It doesn’t look like much, right? A fresh construction zone impeded by scaffolding. But, embracing the challenge I honed in on some of details that really make up the urban landscape.
This dark blue scaffold retains a sharp contrast in the midday sun.
A vibrant red scaffolding hanging just close enough to get a detailed shot.
You never know what you are gonna find! A cute little button.
And of course, don’t forget the selfie!
This short collection below surprised me a little because I’ve walked the route many so times before. But that’s what is so great about this project. It slows down your photographic practice, making room for unusual subjects to peek through.
The black and white conversion was a no-brainer to match tones in this image
I’ll often use these manholes to mark where I’ll stand next. This time, I decided to photograph one instead. I really enjoy the light filling out the overall image.
This tarp has been under construction for weeks but it took me a concerted effort to stop and explore the panorama of the city to capture this picture.
Sometimes the stuck in the mud project yields a cohesive series in itself. This image is the remains of Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station in Australia. But instead of walking around to hunt out the obvious subject matter, I took a few minutes to plant my feet and take a good look at the detail around me.
It’s the act of staying put in the one space that allowed me to capture a different perspective of the old station.
The site of the Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station. Before I set off to scurry around for subjects I deliberately took a minute or two to survey the details of the overall environment.
The results of a few minutes stuck in the mud. The detail of the ground around me lit up like an abstract artist’s canvas.
The variation from one tile to the next is a striking contrast. Perfect for focusing on the historical site in a different light.
I would love to see the results of your stuck in the mud sessions. By taking a few moments to truly check out a landscape, odd little moments become clearer. You’ll almost definitely leave your spot thinking, “Wow, I never noticed that before!” So have a go! and share your images in the comments below.
The post Playing Stuck in the Mud – A Creative Exercise for Photography by Megan Kennedy appeared first on Digital Photography School.
Like most hobbies or professions, every photographer started out somewhere. This usually means they also made mistakes along the way from which they have learned.
The thing to remember is that everyone makes mistakes – even seasoned pros might on the odd occasion get things wrong, but the key is to learn from your mistakes and move on. As you become more experienced the mistakes will get less and less, but in the meantime, here are six mistakes to avoid when you’re just starting out in photography.
I often get asked if I have any advice for people starting out in photography and my first tip is to read the camera manual cover to cover. Even now, whenever I upgrade my camera I always read the manual a couple of times. Besides the fact that your camera is the tool you need to use to capture photos so you need to understand how to use it, the manual also has a wealth of information about photography.
Set yourself a task of reading each part over and over again until you understand it, then practice it using your camera until it becomes second nature to you. In an instant, you should be able to change settings, focus points, review images, and so on.
Cameras these days offer so many possibilities and you can only use your camera to its full potential if you know and understand everything about it.
Every new photographer has probably at some point early on in their photography journey said the words, “If only I had a better camera I could take better photos”. While better cameras allow you to take better photos by giving you more control, bigger image sizes, less noise, etc., that alone will not make you a better photographer and thus make you capture better photos.
A good photograph requires that many elements come together and regardless of the camera that you have, a boring or uninspiring subject will still be boring and uninspiring even shot with the latest high-end camera.
If you really want to improve your photography, first you need to improve the creative and visual elements. Things like being able to light the scene or subject nicely, compose/frame your image correctly and actually find interesting opportunities to photograph. Once you have mastered these parts, your photos will look better regardless of the camera you are using.
Like most things, the more you practice photography the better you will become. It’s easy to forget that there is actually some science and theory behind photography.
Now while you don’t need to understand every intricate part of the theory (unless you want to) and be able to recite color temperatures off by heart, it still does help if you know some of the basics. It can help you in your photography, but also it can give you an indication of the limitations of modern day DSLRs.
The great thing is that there is tons of information about photography online these days and you can learn as much or as little as you want to, at your own pace, in your own time.
When you are starting out in photography there will always be a part of you that looks at your work and compares it to other people’s. While you should always look at other photographer’s work and be influenced by those who you admire, trying to compare yourself to others is not only a pointless exercise but it might actually be detrimental to your long-term success.
You will find yourself trying to copy other people rather than developing your own style which is what can help you and your photos stand out from the crowd. So don’t get consumed by comparing your work to others, view other people’s work with admiration but never envy.
One of the great things about photography is that you could send a brief to multiple photographers and they will all likely come back with different work. Whether it’s in their interpretation, their vision or their style – the key is that their work will all probably look different even if that difference is subtle. It’s this uniqueness that makes photography such a wonderful art form to be involved in. But all of those photographers have one thing in common and that is that they stay true to their own way of working.
Sure, at times you’ll have to adapt when working for clients on a brief, but when photographing for yourself, there should always be a synergy in your work. If you want a test to see if you have developed your own style, lay out a whole load of your photos on a table. You should immediately see a connection between them. If you don’t, then ask yourself why and try to understand what is different.
Most photographers will tell you that they absolutely love what they do, and they wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.
If photography is a hobby for you, why would you want to photograph something you don’t enjoy? Most people get into photography with a part of it that they really enjoy. For some, it’s travel images, for others, it might be food or weddings. Some people like shooting wildlife photos and others like sports photography.
Whatever your passion is, you’ll be far better off focusing on the things you love photographing rather than things you don’t enjoy as that passion will likely be shown in the quality of your work.
While this may seem like an obvious list, it’s incredible how often people still fall into these pitfalls. If you want a few more mistakes to avoid – go here.
Photography for many people is a hobby, and as such should be like any other hobby, an enjoyable activity. Avoid these beginner pitfalls and you’ll be sure to enjoy your photography even more and it will show in your work.
The post 6 Mistake to Avoid When You’re Starting Out in Photography by Kav Dadfar appeared first on Digital Photography School.
Professional architectural and landscape photographers use tilt-shift lenses to avoid converging vertical lines and to get the entire scene in sharp focus. Portrait and food photographers use them to create interesting effects using blur and shifts in the plane of focus. Tilt-shift lenses are exciting creative tools, but they are also specialist items. That means they’re expensive to buy, especially for hobbyists.
But there is a way you can apply a tilt-shift style effect (although there are no shift movements) with a relatively inexpensive camera lens – the Lensbaby Edge 50.
The Edge 50 is a 50mm lens attachment that fits in the Lensbaby Composer Pro II. The two are sold together, or you can buy the Edge 50 separately if you already have a Composer Pro II. It’s available for all major camera mounts.
The Lensbaby Edge 50 (with an inexpensive lens hood that I bought on Amazon) and Composer Pro II mounted on a Fujifilm X-T1 camera. The Edge 50 lens is tilted down in this photo.
On my APS-C Fujifilm camera, the Edge 50 is a short telephoto lens ideal for portraits and many other subjects. If you own a full-frame camera then you’ll get the same field of view and a similar effect with the Edge 80 optic.
The Edge 50 lens lets you tilt the plane of focus so that it runs in any direction across the frame you like.
The red lines show the direction of the plane of focus in the photos above.
So, why buy the Lensbaby Edge 50 optic? For me one of the driving factors was curiosity. I had so many questions. Could I make interesting photos with this lens? Is it any good for portraits? What happens if I add an extension tube to make close-up photos? The images in this article will provide some answers.
What I didn’t expect is that I would love using this lens. There’s something strangely fascinating about viewing the world through a lens that has tilt movements. The Edge 50 is so much fun to use there’s a genuine danger that you use it all the time and forget about your other lenses!
The Edge 50 can help you make photos with a miniature effect created by tilting the lens. These work best when you have a high viewpoint overlooking the subject.
There are some differences between the Edge 50 lens and regular camera lenses that you need to know about before you buy one.
This is not an autofocus lens and you need to take great care when focusing for accuracy. It’s easier to focus with cameras that have electronic viewfinders and focus peaking. Or you could use Live View.
The Edge 50 lens is perfect for fine art black and white photos like these.
This is disappointing as it means you can’t point the lens anywhere near the sun without getting lens flare. I bought a metal lens hood from Amazon for a few dollars. The lens hood reduces lens flare and protects the front element from accidental damage when the camera is hanging at your side.
You can experiment with shifting the plane of focus, photographing the same scene in multiple ways.
I’ve learned to stay away from the widest aperture setting and stop down to f/4 or f/5.6 to get the best results. You will also have to use a higher ISO to get the correct exposure in low light than you would with a regular 50mm prime lens.
The Edge 50 lens with an extension tube can create close-up photos like this.
With this lens, you can position it so that the plane of focus lies horizontally, vertically or at any angle in between. This allows you to get creative and experiment with different focusing effects.
For example, portraits are very effective when the plane of focus is horizontal, as you can focus on the model’s eyes and throw the rest of the scene out of focus.
I use a Fujifilm MCEX-16 extension tube with this lens for taking close-ups of flowers. It lets me shift the plane of focus around and create interesting effects in a way that you can’t do with a conventional 50mm lens.
The Lensbaby Edge 50 lens is a great addition to my camera bag and one that I’m very happy to have made. If you like creative photography, interesting bokeh, and blur effects, or if you’re looking for something a little different for your portraits, then the Edge 50 could be just what you need.
Would you like to learn more about lenses and your camera? My ebook Mastering Lenses teaches you everything you need to know. The buying guide alone will save you many times the cost of the ebook!
The post How to do Tilt-Shift Style Photography with the Lensbaby Edge 50 by Andrew S. Gibson appeared first on Digital Photography School.
When doing engagement photos, it is very important both to you and to the couple that everyone feels relaxed so that you can capture them being their truest selves. When your clients are relaxed and comfortable in front of your camera, it makes a huge difference in the images you capture and ultimately the client’s experience.
Here are a few tips that can help settle your nerves and your clients’ so that you rock the session and are able to photograph them at their best.
Have a simple meeting, either in person or via email, where you and the couple can talk about what the session will entail. The who, where, what, when, and how of their engagement photos. A few questions can help you narrow down the location, or locations if you’re up for doing more than one, clothing changes, and perhaps special information about the couple.
Start this conversation by asking how their wedding is coming along and how they met. This gives you great insight as to who they are as a couple. In addition, it conveys to the couple that you are interested not only in the session but in them as people. Let the conversation flow between topics and session details.
Ask questions like, “What do you envision for the feel of your engagement photos? Something more earthy or perhaps a more urban feel?” This will help you get an idea of what kind of surroundings they want for their photographs as well as where they’d feel most comfortable for their session. Another great idea is to offer shooting at a location that is special to them, so ask about that too.
Perhaps the place where they met, or where they went on their first date might be great locations if they are local and accessible. If they do reveal a place that is feasible, offer it up as one of the locations. They will love that you took interest in finding out such a place and recreating a special memory for them. If not, then go with the previous ideas and
narrow down some places where you like to shoot that go along with what they are envisioning for style and feeling.
Any additional details you can get during the consultation are key to helping you be more confident on the day of the shoot. Knowing a little more about the couple helps to have a few conversation starters as well, which will become important on the day of the engagement photo shoot.
Each couple is different, so it helps when you can get to know them on a more personal level rather than showing up at the location and having an awkward beginning. It isn’t unheard of for clients to turn into friends after photo sessions!
Now that you have the details of the session planned out and a little insight as to the personality of the couple, it’s time to begin preparing yourself for the session.
Aside from the obvious gear preparations, it’s good to go over some inspirational photos that you would like to try. Have at least 10 on your phone so that you can look at them during the session when you need a refresh or want to try something new. Having a set of images to help you with ideas for posing or lighting will make you more confident on the day of the session in the event you get stuck with a pose or need to change it up.
It’s a good idea to confirm with the couple a few days before the session and ask them if they have any questions for you. Being accessible reassures the couple that they have chosen a friendly photographer, which in turn helps them to feel more comfortable when the time comes to be in front of your camera.
Get to the chosen location early, even if it’s a place where you have shot before. Going early can help you make a plan of where you want to start shooting and move through your session. Having a plan makes the session run smoothly without losing momentum.
You’ve already set the groundwork for being friendly during the pre-session consultation and the confirmation and now it’s time to really be genuine.
When the couple shows up, don’t start shooting right away. Spark up a conversation with them. You will have much more relaxed clients this way and it will also relax you a bit if you’re nervous. Which, by the way, is completely normal! Plenty of seasoned photographers still get nervous before big shoots.
During the entire session, keep the conversation going. In between locations, clothing changes, and through the entire session. It relieves a little bit of the awkwardness between the clients and the professional, you. It speaks volumes when you can give your clients more of a personal experience by finding common interests, discussing the news, or even sports, anything. When your client has a good time, especially if they are nervous during the session, talking about common interests will aid in getting genuine expressions.
Each session and each couple is different. It’s important to keep the session moving smoothly throughout or the couple could tire quickly or become bored. This is why getting to the location and making a plan of where to shoot is so handy. Try different places within the location to shoot, offer clothing changes when you feel you’ve got enough with what they arrived wearing.
If a pose isn’t working, don’t say so, otherwise, you could make the couple feel like they’re doing something wrong. Keep going and try a different pose. Make sure that when you get a great shot, show them! This can build their confidence quickly and help them be more engaged during the session.
Whether this is your first engagement session or you’re worried because sessions sometimes go in a different direction than you hope – you simply need to take charge.
Direct the couple by showing the poses you’d like for them to do by demonstrating them first. Allow yourself to direct the flow of the session.
It sounds scary, however, you are the photographer. You’re the one who knows what to do and taking charge of the session speaks to the couple that you are confident in your work. Over time, it will become natural to you.
Once your clients become more relaxed in front of your camera, they will offer ideas, poses, and locations. Always allow them to be part of the creative process, as it makes them more confident and offers up more shooting opportunities where they are just being themselves.
You got into photography because it was fun for you, so why not have fun during your session as well? You should enjoy the shoot as much as the couple.
If you feel nervous that the session tends to go stale, have the couple do actionable poses. For example, have them dance, walk, tell each other a secret, or whisper something funny into their loved one’s ear. This will unwind them and you’ll be able to capture their real expressions.
All of these tips are here to help calm your nerves and allow the clients to be themselves in front of your camera. Being prepared, friendly, having a good momentum during the session, and most importantly, having fun all contribute to real expressions and real moments. Your clients will appreciate how real and relaxed you made them feel during their session and in turn, refer you to more people!
The post 6 Tips for Better Engagement Photos by Jackie Lamas appeared first on Digital Photography School.
As the market for digital cameras has intensified in recent years, the options available for post-processing software has exploded as well. There are dozens of great options for casual, enthusiast, and professional image-makers who are looking to get the most out of their images.
Programs like Lightroom, Luminar, CaptureOne, Affinity Photo, GIMP, DarkTable, and AfterShotPro, are all highly capable photo editors. It can be a daunting proposition to try and pick one that’s right for you.
Fortunately for Mac users, there is a fantastic option already available to you for free sitting right on your own computer. Apple Photos is a program you might have overlooked in the past, but with steady improvements over the years, it is now a serious contender when it comes to post-processing your pictures.
The story of Apple Photos starts in 2002 with Apple’s late CEO Steve Jobs introducing an all-in-one program to let users catalog, edit, and share their digital pictures. This new software called iPhoto was revolutionary at the time, giving casual users a way to manage all their digital imaging assets in a way that was fast, simple, and easy to understand.
I used iPhoto from the first version that was released and even now it’s kind of amazing how well that initial offering worked, though it was clearly lacking many features we take for granted today. A few years later Apple waded into the professional photo editing market with Aperture, a program that was like iPhoto on steroids and was seen as a direct competitor to Adobe Lightroom.
As the decade wore on and Apple saw how much people were using their mobile phones for taking and editing pictures it decided to kill off Aperture and iPhoto and replace them with a single program called Photos. This new application offered users a way to manage, edit, and share their photos much in the same way iPhoto and Aperture functioned, but also gave people the ability to sync their photo collections and even individual photo edits across all their devices.
With Photos, it was possible to crop a picture on your iPhone and then have that same cropped version of the picture show up on your Apple desktop a few seconds later – a syncing nightmare that was virtually impossible using the panoply of programs previously available from Apple.
One significant tradeoff when consolidating apps and enabling cross-device editing with Apple Photos was a lean feature set that, compared to Aperture, was downright anemic and even came up short when compared to iPhoto. Photographers hopeful for a fresh new program with all of their favorite features were dismayed and abandoned Apple Photos in droves only to rush headlong into the welcoming arms of Adobe, Macphun (now called Skylum), Corel, and other developers.
However over time, Apple has delivered on its promise to improve Photos and with each iteration, the program becomes more capable, not to mention speedier, than ever before. It can now hold its own against many of the other post-processing software options available on the market. It’s safe to say that if you haven’t used Apple Photos in a while you might be surprised at how good the current version is, and if you have never even tried the program you are in for a real treat.
The core principle of Apple Photos has always been simplicity. Even back to the original days of iPhoto, Apple’s philosophy has been to make their image-editing programs as easy to use as possible. I can personally attest to this with my dad as an example.
He is a retired railroad mechanic who prefers working on small engines in his garage instead of tinkering on the computer. But he is perfectly capable of connecting his Canon Rebel T4i to his Mac, offloading his images into Photos, and post-processing them using the tools provided. Underlying that simplicity is a powerful set of editing tools that started out all too basic but have grown to be quite competent over time.
The Photos app is built around the concept of a unified photo library, such that any photos you take on your phone automatically sync with your computer and vice versa. Because of that, the interface looks much the same whether you’re on a desktop, laptop, iPad, or iPhone.
Your pictures aren’t stored in the cloud per se, but Apple does use its cloud-based infrastructure to sync all your pictures while keeping the actual image files stored on your individual devices. To enable this all you have to do is click a checkbox in Apple Photos on your desktop and flip a slider on your iPhone and the program will take care of the rest.
Photos organizes your images based on time data and does its best to group pictures into what it calls Events based on time and location data. Scroll through your library and you will see images grouped by categories such as People, Places, Favorites, and Memories as well as Albums which are collections of photos that you create manually or automatically using metadata (i.e. all photos with the keyword “Vacation” and “Kansas”.)
Unlike Google Photos and some other cloud-based services, none of your images are analyzed by Apple for the purpose of gathering data that can be used in advertising. A boon to privacy advocates and others who just want to keep other companies away from their pictures.
However, some degree of machine learning is present in Photos, as the software attempts to group your images automatically with Memories based on time and location data. It also automatically looks for faces which it uses to populate the People category.
If you have ever scrolled through your near-endless Lightroom Library you might be surprised at how well Photos handles the presentation element of photo management. You can use the options buttons at the top of the screen to organize your images by Photos, Moments, Collections, or Years. All your images are available in each view, but the Photos app groups them dynamically so as you scroll up and down you will see them grouped together in specific ways. If you click Moments your images are grouped almost like day-to-day activities, whereas Collections shows photos in larger groups and Years literally displays an entire year’s worth of images at once.
Grouping options for how to display your thumbnails – Moments, Collections or Years (shown here).
All this is fairly simple and intuitive, and if you have a trackpad on your Mac you can mimic the pinch-to-zoom feature found on iPhone and iPad devices to zoom in and out of your entire photo library. Longtime Lightroom users will note several deficiencies in this design methodology, though, and a host of missing features like Compare, Survey, and fine-grained sorting criteria not to mention Lightroom’s far superior Library Filter.
This illustrates the point that Apple Photos is not intended to be a full-on replacement for Lightroom. Nevertheless, it can be a good starting point for amateurs or even enthusiasts looking to get a little more control over their image organization.
Image management is one thing, but post-processing or editing is a whole other matter entirely. Unfortunately, this is where Apple Photos has traditionally fallen flat. The first version of Photos had an editing feature set that was positively anemic and downright infuriating to longtime users of Aperture. They felt they had been hung out to dry by Apple, and it was not even worth comparing to programs like Lightroom, Photoshop, and others.
But like the fabled tortoise racing against the hare, Apple has steadily injected an ever-growing list of editing tools into Photos. It’s now not only competent but worth considering for anyone who wants to dive deeper into more professional-style editing.
Select a photo and click the Edit button to open up a cornucopia of editing tools. They cover all the basic options you would expect to find in any prominent image editor and even a few surprises. Of course, you can perform basic edits like Crop, Red Eye Removal, and White Balance and if that’s all you want then you’re good to go.
There are also highly advanced tools like RGB Levels and RGB Curves in which individual color channels can be edited, Selective Color that lets you adjust Hue, Saturation, and Lightness for Red, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, and Magenta colors. Also present is a Noise Reduction option that allows for Luminance and Color noise, and even a Lightness tool with the freedom to adjust seven different parameters including Exposure, Brilliance, Highlights, Shadows, and Contrast.
Apple Photos also has a nice array of filters. They work just like those in Instagram or other programs like Luminar, with one-click presets such as Vivid, Dramatic, Mono, Noir, and more. Add to this a pretty good auto-enhance option and the ability to undo edits one at a time or revert to the original with one click, and you can see how this program might be worth a second look. I remember using it when it first launched and was immediately put off by its overly-simplistic workflow and lack of features. But now I would honestly recommend it to anyone who is considering buying a subscription to Lightroom or investing in any other image editing post-processing software options on the market.
Apple Photos is not perfect, but it could suit your needs better than you might realize. The best part is it’s absolutely free if you own a Mac computer, iPhone, or iPad. There’s something special about editing a picture on your desktop, picking up your phone and seeing all your changes automatically synced, and then realizing it’s all happening without any monthly fee or another type of additional payment.
All of this editing and organizational finesse comes with a rather large asterisk or two, as there are some significant drawbacks to Apple Photos that savvy photographers need to be aware of.
The most important is that this is an Apple-only program, so if you use Windows or Linux you’re out of luck. The mobile version is firmly ensconced in Apple’s infamous walled garden which means it never has been, and never will be, available for Android phones.
Also despite the lack of a subscription model, if you want to take full advantage of the iCloud-based storage options you will need to shell out some cash for iCloud Drive. Apple only gives users a paltry 5GB for free. Fortunately, iCloud plans are quite reasonable, and I am perfectly happy with my 50GB plan that only costs 99 cents per month.
If you want to take full advantage of Photos’ cloud-based options, you might want to purchase additional storage. Fortunately, this is optional and it’s entirely up to you whether you want to do this, and how much storage to buy.
Finally, there are some notable features missing from Apple Photos that users of Lightroom, Luminar, and other apps will likely bemoan – and rightly so. There’s no history panel, no brush adjustments, no radial or graduated filters, no way to share presets, no plugin architecture for third-party expandability, no way to sync edits across multiple photos, and the list goes on.
Even simply exporting a photo can be frustrating. You only have a few options available by default like sharing to online social media sites or setting an image as a desktop background. These can be customized albeit not nearly to the same level as many other programs. It’s safe to say that if you want to give Apple Photos a chance it’s best to keep your expectations in check.
Unless you want to post images directly to Facebook or Flickr, you might get a little frustrated with the default sharing options.
I hesitate to make a solid recommendation regarding Apple Photos because it really is dependent on the needs of each individual user. Other than to say a once low-end unimpressive program without much going for it has now been transformed to the point that I think it could really be useful for a lot of people.
While it’s still not up to par with its Aperture ancestor and continues to lag behind a lot of other options on the market in terms of features and capability, it’s a free, powerful, highly effective photo manager and editor that just might surprise and delight you if you give it a chance.
The post Apple Photos: An Under-Appreciated Post-Processing Software Powerhouse by Simon Ringsmuth appeared first on Digital Photography School.
Last week’s challenge was to get out and shoot some winter photography. Maybe you already tried some macro then – if not, now’s your chance.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
Close-ups of snow, icicles, frost patterns, etc., can be stunningly beautiful. So bundle up, grab your macro lens or extension tubes and a tripod and get out there and shoot some winter macro photography.
Need more help? Try these dPS articles:
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.
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 – Macro or Close-Up Photography by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.
When you’re just starting out in photography there are so many things to learn it can be overwhelming. Here are two videos with some tips on common photography mistakes and how to avoid them.
This video by Serge Ramelli will give you 6 things to avoid doing as you start out in photography.
If you’ve got those things covered, here are 10 more beginner mistakes to avoid including:
The post Beginner Photography Mistakes to Avoid by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.
There’s something about taking photos in the magical morning light that makes my heart so happy. Maybe it’s because of the extra effort it takes to be outside in the crisp morning air when your family is still in bed. It could also be because morning sessions are more uncommon, so they feel a little more special. Most likely it’s because that soft, beautiful light just glows, and looks just a little different from the light later in the day, or evening.
If you’re a night owl, and can’t imagine getting out of a nice warm bed just to take some pictures, let me try and convince you to give it a try. You might become a morning person, just for that incredibly gorgeous morning light.
The best time to start a morning session is right around sunrise. I have an app on my phone that will tell me what time the sun rises in my area on any date. I like to start about 15 minutes after sunrise. The light level is usually fairly low right at sunrise, so I give a little bit of time for things to lighten up before starting.
The nice thing about using that morning golden hour versus the evening golden hour is that you can take as much time as you need. In the evening you have to decide when it’s the exact right time to start. You want to use the best light right near sunset, but you don’t want to start too late and not have enough time before it’s too dark. If you start too early, you could be done before the beautiful golden sunset light shows up.
Morning light at sunrise takes care of that problem. You start with that gorgeous glowy light and shoot until you’re done. No light is ever wasted.
Depending on where you live, you might have better luck with the weather in the morning. In my area, it’s usually less windy than it can get in the afternoon. Most mornings are calm and still. Oftentimes there’s a light hazy cloud cover that makes any shooting direction work, so you can use your backgrounds to their fullest extent.
More often the rain and storms come a little bit later in the day. It’s not always the case that you get beautiful weather in the morning, but more often than not, it’s perfect conditions for shooting.
The only negative would be during the colder times of the year when mornings are brisk, or even downright freezing. I just instruct my subject to dress warm, and I wear fingerless gloves and a coat with pockets, so I can try to keep my hands as warm as possible.
There’s a softness to morning light that you just don’t see most afternoons and evenings. It feels like it wraps around the subject a little more, and has a bit less intensity compared to light later in the day. It can be easier to work with because you won’t have as much glare in your lens when backlighting (facing your subject away from the sun).
You can face your subject toward the sun easier too, because the light isn’t quite as harsh, so they don’t squint as much. The shadows on faces aren’t as pronounced, and everything feels a bit softer. The light isn’t usually as warm as it is in the evening, so sometimes I warm the photos up a bit more in post-processing, but there are times when the cooler light is simply stunning.
Many times when I’ve shared photos from a morning session, people have told me that they love the photos, but they don’t quite know what makes them so special. Most photographers are out there during the evening golden hour, and that little bit of difference you’ll see in a morning photo will set you apart from everyone else.
Your photos will have a quality to them that other photographers might not be able to put their finger on. I don’t do every photo session in the morning, in fact, most of my sessions are later in the day, but doing something different, outside of the norm, sets you apart from other photographers, and it also opens you up to more inspiration and creativity.
Every time we do something a little different, we learn new things, and sometimes discover something new that takes our photography to the next level. Shooting in the morning is just one of those things you can do differently, but it’s a big one. It might even be a game changer for you.
How do you convince your next photography subject to get up early in the morning and get ready for a photo session when they could be sleeping longer? How do you convince yourself to get out in the brisk morning air with your camera when you could be snuggled under the covers?
The best way to convince anyone is to look at the results. I’ve had clients get up at 4:00 am to be ready for a session because beautiful photos were more important than a little bit more sleep. They can always take a nap later. If you can convince one person to give it a try, you might convince a lot more to do it too, once they see those photos.
You will love the feeling of accomplishing something wonderful first thing in the morning, and then having the rest of the day to edit and play. So, set that alarm and give that morning light a try!
Are you a lover of a beautiful sunrise and glowing morning light? Share your morning photos, people or nature, in the comments. I’d love to see what you’ve captured while your neighbors were still in their pajamas!
The post Tips for Making the Most of Morning Light for Portraits by Melinda Smith appeared first on Digital Photography School.
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