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How to Apply Creativity to Your Images with Texture Overlays Using Luminar

28 Nov

How to Apply Creativity to Your Images with Texture Overlays Using Luminar

Layers of fun

One advantage that Luminar has over the average Raw processor is the ability to work with Layers. “What is a layer?” I hear you ask.

Well, your basic image is a single layer, like a sheet of paper on a table. Adding another layer is akin to adding another sheet of paper on top. With layers, you get the benefit of being able to control the layer opacity (the transparency effectively) as well as what parts of the layer are shown – a bit like choosing tracing paper or cutting holes out of the paper.

How to Apply Creativity to Your Images with Texture Overlays Using Luminar

Think of layers like a stack of paper. By cutting out parts of the sheet you can see the one below, or like with tracing paper, you can see through to the layer before.

Originally you’d need to erase the bits of the layer you didn’t want showing, which could be messy if you made a mistake erasing. These days you’d use a layer mask instead. A layer mask is a greyscale map running from white, where everything is visible, to black, where everything on the layer is hidden. Varying shades of gray indicate how visible a part of the layer is or the mask opacity. Lighter is more visible.

There’s a mantra I learned many years ago that helps you remember. “White reveals, and black conceals”.

The beauty of Luminar (by Macphun, soon to be Skylum) is that it hides some of the mechanics of this because rather than painting in black or white, you have a brush that either paints in, or erases the mask. It’s really great!

When you have a few layers together, the combined set of layers is called the layer stack. Working in layers allows you to apply effects to only certain parts of your photo, or to combine more than one photo into a more interesting composition.

Beginning

Let’s open Luminar and choose a photo. Click Open Image to begin.

Luminar opening screen.

Navigate to your photo and select it. This process will be easier when the new DAM (Digital Asset Management) module for Luminar 2018 comes next year. I’m going to work with this shot of an old cottage.

Original image.

Making a Layer

Luminar provides a few options for creating new layers. In the right panel, you have the Layers panel. To make a new layer, click the + icon in the panel header and select one of the following options:

Layers: click the plus symbol to make a new layer.

New Adjustment layer; which creates a layer that contains only the filters that you add.
Create Stamped Visible Layer; which copies the results of all the underlying layers (combining them) to a new flattened layer.
New Original Layer; which copies the base layer on top of the currently selected layer.
Add New Image Layer; which allows you to add any other image to the layer stack. This is the one that allows you to add texture and other files!

Add a texture file

Luminar doesn’t store textures, but you can use any texture file you like. Personally, I keep my favorite textures in a folder on Dropbox for easy access from anywhere, but you can use any cloud service you like for this.

From the Layer options, choose Add New Image Layer and navigate to your textures folder. Choose the texture you want to add to the current photo. Viola. It’s loaded.

Texture image.

Now obviously the texture file will load over your original image. This is fine, you’ll fix this shortly. But first, you should check that the file fits how you like. By default, Luminar will make it fit over the layer below, but you’re not stuck with it.

You have three options in the Layers menu for this. Right-click on the layer and from the Image Mapping option in the menu, choose from Fill, Scale to Fit, or Fit (as seen below). If you don’t like how these look, you have another option: the Transform tool.

How to Apply Creativity to Your Images with Texture Overlays Using Luminar

You can pull and drag your textures file into shape as required. It doesn’t have to retain its original aspect ratio as it’s adding to your original image and isn’t the actual focus of the final composition. In my case, the texture looks fine for now in regards to size.

Blending Modes

The next step is to go through the different blending modes to find one that suits the images best. Different ones work for different images, so it’s best to experiment. Overlay and Soft Light tend to get used a lot, but often Multiply or Screen can work too. Even Hard Light can be perfect sometimes.

Overlay Blend Mode.

Soft Light Blend Mode.

Whichever one you use, you’ll probably find that the effect is really strong. That’s fine because you’re working with layers, you can just reduce the opacity until the texture looks good.

For this image, I thought both Multiply and Color Burn looked great. I loved the saturation that Color Burn gave to the photo, but reducing the opacity to bring back some shadow detail removed too much of that. For that reason, I went with Multiply.

Multiply Blend Mode.

Color Burn Blend Mode.

Masking

You may not want the texture to appear on all parts of the photo. So you’ve got two options. Paint in the texture, or just paint out where you don’t want it. To access the masking functions, click on the brush icon on your texture layer. This opens a menu allowing you to choose the type of local adjustment you want to apply. Your options are Brush, Radial Mask, or Gradient Mask. You can also go with a Luminosity mask. For this image, the brush is the best option.

Access the masking tools.

Once the brush is selected, the options appear at the top. I’m going to remove the texture from the house. If you want to remove (hide) part of a layer, click the Erase option on the Brush settings menu. Set Size, Softness and Opacity to taste as you paint.

You will see this menu at the top of your screen when you active the Brush tool. Choose Erase to paint away effects, choose Paint to add it in. This allows you to make corrections if you go too far with your painting as well.

Once you’re finished, click Done on the end of the brush options bar.

How to Apply Creativity to Your Images with Texture Overlays Using Luminar

Adjusting the Texture

One good thing about Add Image is that the layer you’ve created has full access to all the Filters in Luminar. Let’s say you’re using either the Overlay or Soft Light blend mode. Any part of the image that’s mid-grey will be unaffected by the texture.

If your texture is dark, or light, the image will reflect this. You can easily change this by adding a Tone filter and adjusting the exposure. If the color from the texture is too strong, you can use Saturation to reduce this or use Hue Shift to change it.

Apply filters to the texture layer to fine tune it.

Finishing the image

Of course, you can also apply filters to the original image. Being a landscape, this would be a good time for you to try the Landscape workspace. When you click on the original image, layer Luminar hides the layers above it. To get to the workspaces, click on Clear Workspace and choose Landscape from the menu.

Landscape workspace.

Using the suggested filters in the workspace, it’s easy to add back the saturation I saw when I used Color Burn blending mode on the texture.

How to Apply Creativity to Your Images with Texture Overlays Using Luminar

To activate the texture again, simply click on the texture layer.

How to Apply Creativity to Your Images with Texture Overlays Using Luminar

Saving the file

Once you’re done, you’ve got a few options for saving your image. Using Save will create a .lmnr file, which is Luminar’s native editing file format – this will retain all layers and filters you’ve applied (similar to a PSD file in Photoshop).

By using Export instead, you can choose a range of other options, like JPEG, PSD or TIFF.

Export options.

Using Filters to add Texture

You’re not forced to use a layer to add textures with Luminar though. They also have a handy new filter called Texture Overlay. Pretty much everything you can do on a layer can be done with this filter. The only thing you can’t really do is rotate the texture at a random angle via Transform, but it’s very rare that you’d ever need to do this.

Start with the image you want the texture on again. Click the blue Add Filter button. Use the Search Bar in the Filters Catalog menu that appears to find the “Texture Overlay” filter. Click to add it.

The Texture Overlay filter added. These are the options and sliders for this filter.

To add your texture file, click “Load Texture…” This will open your file on top of the background photo. The default amount of 50, means you can see the mix of the original image and the texture at 50% opacity; it’s also in Normal blend mode.

The texture added at the defaults – 50% and Normal blend mode.

The Amount control can also run to negative figures, so you can add an inverse version of the texture, which is a cool feature. Here’s how -20 on the Amount slider looks.

If your texture is a different aspect ratio to your original image, you can use Keep Aspect Ratio to force it to fit the image. The two buttons below this allow you to flip the texture file horizontally, or vertically, or both (they appear blue when applied so you know if it’s been flipped).

Zoom will let you scale the texture file to fit the features of your underlying photo. Below Zoom is the Blend mode menu. From here choose the blend mode that suits in the same way as with our first method. Again Color Burn looks great at 100 Amount.

The effect is still a little strong, so you could pull it back by reducing the Filters Amount slider. Here 67 looks great.

Amount = 100, Filters amount = 67

Masking the Filter

Filter masking is really straightforward with this method too. You simply hover over the panel header to reveal the brush icon. Click on this to choose the mask type: Brush, Radial or Gradient. Choose Brush to apply your mask in a specific area.

Filter masks are useful and are applied the same way as a layer mask.

If you’re only looking to remove a small area of texture, switch to the Erase Brush in the brush toolbar that appears above the photo.

In this photo, I’ve brushed the texture away from the cottage.

You can add as many texture overlay filters as you like, just remember that the Filters Amount affects the whole filter set.

Getting Texture files

You can get plenty of commercial texture packs to get you started, but there are free ones out there too. When you’re out and about, consider capturing any textures you find interesting to try out yourself!

Please share your finished textured masterpieces created with Luminar in the comments below. We’d love to see what you make.

Disclaimer: Macphun is a dPS advertising partner.

The post How to Apply Creativity to Your Images with Texture Overlays Using Luminar by Sean McCormack appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Review of the Aputure Light Storm COB 120D Studio LED

28 Nov

The team at Aputure via Kayell Australia (thanks) sent me the Aputure Light Storm COB 120D LED studio light to try out and that’s exactly what I’ve been doing! I had planned a day’s worth of food shooting, but that wasn’t to be after the client delayed the session. So I went about doing what I like to do and photographed myself holding a coffee in preparation for a portrait series I’m working on called “In My Shed” which is literally just that, but more on that later… Back to the light, and what a light it is!

Review of the Aputure Light Storm COB 120D Studio LED

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What’s in the box of the Aputure Light Storm

The Aputure Light Storm is an LED light with only one light source, as opposed to a panel with lots of little LEDs on it. The COB stands for “chip on board” which is basically multiple little versions of those LED’s you’re used to seeing, but all mounted on a board with a blob of phosphor flowed on top of them.

The phosphor is the bit that gives the LED light its color temperature (The D or the T) The version I have is called the 120D, the D is for Daylight. This means it’s closely daylight balanced, as opposed to the other model, the 120T which is more closely tungsten balanced. If you’re super interested in how they’re made, search on YouTube, it’s pretty interesting. Anyways…

Review of the Aputure Light Storm COB 120D Studio LED

I must admit, when I first started talking about the C120D with some industry peers, the initial feedback I got was, “It isn’t built very well.” and, “It won’t be bright enough for what you need to do!” but I pressed ahead despite those second-hand reservations and I’m very glad I did.

The unboxing part is always exciting for me, new gear and all that, and this little fellow was no different. The Aputure Light Storm COB 120D kit comes with its own semi-rigid case complete with a small reflector, power supply, cables and a remote control with a working distance of 100 meters. Everything you need to be up and running with some stunning light in less than five minutes is included.

Review of the Aputure Light Storm COB 120D Studio LED

Stunning light

So, I say stunning light, and I guess, like almost everything in photography, that’s a subjective statement. But I really love the light this unit produces, in the situations I’ve used it. I held off working on this article as I wanted to get some good use in with the light as I’d originally planned for this review. That was to use it as my key light for food photography.

I prefer to use a big soft window for food photography, but sometimes you don’t have that option, so you need to create your light. I typically use a Jinbei HD600 which is a portable studio flash. It’s a great unit, but I wanted to try out a constant light source and see how that worked for what I was shooting.

Let’s kick it off with your dinner and dessert. Thanks to Trackside Noodle Bar for letting me use these images! There are images that they’re going to use in their marketing and menus. Entree and dessert for you, mains we’ll have a little bit later

Review of the Aputure Light Storm COB 120D Studio LED

No surprises with continuous lighting

I think the best bit, given I’m not a full-time photographer and I don’t shoot as often as some of you, is that using LED lights means that I see exactly what I’m going to get.

So you light your scene and adjust it, and you can see the adjustments immediately as the light source is always on. You can do the same when you use strobes or flash, but you need to make an exposure to check (I’m shooting a Sony a7rmk2 and so I see what I get on the screen at the back).

I find it super easy to set up my plate of food, use the light’s remote to back off the power if I need to do so, and click – job done.

Review of the Aputure Light Storm COB 120D Studio LED

When I came to the main course, I wanted a bit of light coming back in from the left of the plate. So a really simple bounce card (aka white square of card that can stand on its own) sitting out of shot on the left and I was good to go. You can see my hand-drawn “artist’s” impression of my setup, below.

Review of the Aputure Light Storm COB 120D Studio LED

Or, as a real photo, without my awesome drawing skills!

Review of the Aputure Light Storm COB 120D Studio LED

Self-portrait time

A funny thing happened on this journey. As I mentioned at the start, I did a little self-portraiture in my shed for a project I’m working on. I shared the image with Aputure and it’s now in their catalog! So, that was kind of cool…

For this portrait, I had the light set up outside the shed window, the camera on a tripod being controlled via my iPhone which if you look really closely, you might spot on the window ledge (Sony’s Playmemories app). I could adjust the light power from inside the shed using the controller. The light was running on a vLock battery, I used the Core SWX Slim which meant I could take the light anywhere, I also used a Bowens S Mounted 90cm deep para reflector.

Review of the Aputure Light Storm COB 120D Studio LED

Summary

The summary, after working with this light for a couple of months is that it’s a great unit! Well built, plenty bright, easy to transport. I only have one minor negative point, and it’s that the controls have to be so big, but then the light itself is quite compact, so I guess all the controls and battery mount have to go somewhere! Like I said, minor.

The Aputure Light Storm COB 120D LED studio light is a fantastic addition to my regular portrait and food photography kit. This is a five-star review of a well deserving product! Let there be light.

Disclaimer: this product was provided to the author for review, but all reviews on dPS are 100% unbiased opinions of the author.

The post Review of the Aputure Light Storm COB 120D Studio LED by Sime appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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What to Photograph on Vacation When You’re Feeling Uninspired

28 Nov

Vacation is a great time not only to recharge and relax but also to practice your travel photography skills. Whether you’re a pro with lots of gear, or a hobbyist with your first camera, there are plenty of photo opportunities in a new place. In fact, there can be so many that you can easily get overwhelmed or uninspired to shoot anything at all.

If you hit a wall and don’t know what to photograph while traveling, here are some ways to fire up your creativity.

What to Photograph on Vacation When You're Feeling Uninspired

1. Shoot with a different lens

An easy way to literally change your perspective of the world is to use a lens you don’t normally shoot with. Trade your zoom lens for a prime and notice the way you view and capture the world from a fixed focal length.

If you usually shoot close-ups, try your hand at shooting wide, or vice-versa. If cost is an issue, invest in affordable or third-party lens options, or simply rent a lens.

2. Change up your camera

Similar to the point above, try your hand and shooting with a totally different camera. If you normally shoot with a DSLR, restrict yourself to shooting with a point and shoot or even your cell phone. Many small, compact cameras have improved greatly in image quality, and they might surprise you with their quailty.

By giving yourself a new technical challenge, you’ll open up room for creativity.

3. Put yourself on assignment

One of the best ways to shoot more is to have an objective or project in mind. Even if you’re not on official assignment, you can invent a similar scenario. Think of the ideal photography project that you’d want to do for a client, such as luxury vacation photos of Mexico, and aim to make that photo portfolio.

These are the type of personal project that you could easily use later in your portfolio if you ever seek out paid, professional work.

4. Start a themed personal project

On the note of personal projects, here’s an easy one that you can do over the course of one trip or many. Pick out a theme or photography subject that interests you and capture versions of it in new places you travel.

As an example, you could photograph cultural foods unique to the region you’re in and put them in an album of “Ethnic Foods from Around the World.” Or focus on a topic such as unique doors of Italy, as I did on a recent trip.

Having a theme helps you focus and gives you something to look out for and photograph as you travel.

personal project photos - What to Photograph on Vacation When You're Feeling Uninspired

This photo came about by simply talking to a beekeeper about my personal project surrounding farms. Before I knew it, I was suited up and having close encounters with honeybees.

5. Take advantage of Golden and Blue Hour

There are certain times of day when just about everything looks photogenic thanks to the positioning of the sun. While sunset and sunrise are obvious times of day, also consider Golden and Blue Hour, those times of the day just before/after sunrise and sunset.

On most days, this is when the lighting gets the most dramatic and optimal for shooting in natural lighting.

6. Do some research

If you’re in a new part of the world and don’t know what to photograph, check out what others have shot before. Go online and check Instagram hashtags or do a Google image search for the town you’re in. Find the iconic shots that others have taken and visit those places yourself.

Not only does this put you on a fun discovery quest, but it also gives you a chance to put your own unique twist on famous places.

travel photography tips - What to Photograph on Vacation When You're Feeling Uninspired

This photo came about thanks to poking around Google Maps and Google Image search.

7. Find some meetups

Thanks to social media and the availability of quality camera gear, there are talented photographers in just about every corner of the world. And odds are, there are easy ways to meet them in person. Try to attend Insta Meets or Meet-Ups for photographers in new places that you visit.

Or if you follow and admire a certain photographer’s work on social media, shoot them a message and see if they would like to meet and shoot in person. These are great ways connect to locals and get inspired to shoot in a new place.

8. Just go shoot (or don’t)

If you’ve reached the end of this article and still feel overwhelmed, just pick up any camera you have and go out and shoot! Don’t worry about finding the perfect image; just snap away at whatever inspires you.

Or keep your camera in your bag and just enjoy the moment. Sometimes, a little break from photography is exactly what you need to inspire your creativity.

Sometimes the perfect photo unfolds in front of you when you least expect it.

Over to You

What tips do you have for getting past a creative slump? Please let us know in the comments below!

mobile phone photography - What to Photograph on Vacation When You're Feeling Uninspired

Did you know that smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S8 can capture lightning? I gave it a shot on a pure whim and captured this image.

Attending a cultural performance might inspire your creativity as well. Milan, Italy.

The post What to Photograph on Vacation When You’re Feeling Uninspired by Suzi Pratt appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Why Volunteering is a Great Way to Grow as a Photographer

28 Nov

Many years ago as I was making a start freelancing, I saw an opportunity to give away my services and a selection of photos by volunteering to cover a community event. Our city administration was hosting a tree planting at our local park, so I went to down with my spade and my camera, to plant some trees and to record the event in pictures. The following day I visited the office of the event organizer and presented them with a selection of prints, (this was back in time when I was only using film.)

Silkworms feeding close up - Why Volunteering is a Great Way to Grow as a Photographer

Silkworms feeding on a leaf in northern Thailand.

I enjoyed planting trees. I enjoyed covering the event photographically. And I enjoyed the on-going business relationship that I developed with the city administration as a result of covering their community event and not charging them.

Volunteering has many benefits

If you are just starting out on your photography career, or even if you have no desire to work as a professional photographer, there are a number of benefits to be gained by volunteering your time and skills to the right people or organizations.

A woman prepares raw silk before she spins it in north Thailand.

Covering a community event was easy and enjoyable for me as I had had years of experience as a newspaper photographer. I knew the style of photos that would be useful and appreciated so it was not difficult to produce them.

Whether you are just starting out as a pro photographer or you just want to help out, producing a series of photos that will be useful for someone else is a great way to stretch you into new photography experiences and help you to develop new skills.

Spinning silk thread by hand.

Maybe you are not so confident when photographing strangers. Covering a community event will give you a good reason to go beyond your normal comfort zone, and you may even discover you like it.

Perhaps you have heard of a non-profit wanting some product shots, or a local service club that needs new photos of their executive members. Once you start to look, I am sure you will find plenty of opportunities to offer your services.

Adding red pigment to water for dying thread close up - Why Volunteering is a Great Way to Grow as a Photographer

Adding pigment to water for dying thread.

Treat it like a paid gig

Approach your volunteer work as though it is a paid job. Be professional. Clearly communicate your intentions. Listen carefully to the needs of those you are providing the photos for so you can ensure they will be happy with the results and be able to make practical use of the photos you take.

Ask them how they will be using the photos so you have a good idea of what they need. It is no good to give them a series of vertical headshots if they already have horizontal space designed for them on their web page.

Dyed silk thread.

Do your best work

Don’ be tempted to produce less than your best because you are not getting paid. It’s always good to do your best work possible. Your reputation is important, especially if you are interested in potential paid work that may come as a result of your volunteering. If you provide photos that are not up to standard you are not likely to be invited back or recommended to other potential clients.

Be pleasant to work with. No one wants a bad experience dealing with a volunteer. People like working with others who make their lives easier. Being professional in your manner and approach to the work, and those organizing it will be beneficial towards future relationships. But choose carefully who you give your time to because occasionally you may come cross someone who wants to exploit your generosity with no concern for you.

Hand winding silk thread in preparation for weaving.

Choose who you work with carefully

Some people may struggle to appreciate you are giving your skills and time for free and expect too much from you. If this happens, once you’ve fulfilled what you have said you would do, tactfully back out of a situation that you think is turning sour or if you feel you are being manipulated.

In these circumstances, it’s not likely to turn out well for anyone involved to persevere. Remember, it’s you who are working for free and it is important you have options so you can choose how much and to whom you want to give your work. Be generous, but be generous of your choosing.

Preparing silk thread fo weaving. Why Volunteering is a Great Way to Grow as a Photographer

Preparing silk thread for weaving.

Set your expectations reasonably

You will reap what you sow. If you don’t expect anything in return for your volunteered services and you might be pleasantly surprised when something comes back your way in the future.

It may be in the form of paid work for the same organization. It could be from a contact you made during the photography session. A paid job could come from someone who has seen the photos you’ve produced and appreciates your skills.

But to volunteer yourself and then expect something in return is only setting yourself up for disappointment. You will grow as a photographer when you take on situations you might not normally photograph and it’s a good feeling to see your photos being used productively.

Women weaving silk on a traditional loom in northern Thailand.

The best thing about giving your service and photos for free is seeing the benefit they receive from them. Giving of what you find enjoyment in is a great reward in itself.

I continue to offer photography and video services for free from time to time as I still enjoy being able to help non-profits and individuals who are helping others. The photos accompanying this article were produced for a non-profit organization here in Thailand who help facilitate a local silk weaving cooperative.

Thai woman working on a traditional loom weaving silk.

Have you given back with your photography services?

If you have had experiences, good or bad, in volunteering your photography services please share them in the comments below so others can be encouraged to share their skills too.

The post Why Volunteering is a Great Way to Grow as a Photographer by Kevin Landwer-Johan appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Why Photography is Beneficial for Your Mental Wellness

27 Nov

I initially took up photography for one simple reason – I couldn’t draw. My 16-year-old self reasoned that photography must be pretty easy. Just point the camera and shoot, right? But as I worked away in the high school darkroom, I realized how powerful the camera is for artistic output. And as I built up my own photographic practice, I got to see another side of photography too, its therapeutic qualities.

It tasks photographers with the opportunity to truly see an environment, making the most out of any situation. Photography requires adaptability and focus, driving photographers to chase that elusive perfect shot. This is why many people find photography so effective for cultivating good mental health.

Why Photography is Beneficial for Your Mental Wellness

There is a unique satisfaction in executing a photograph you are happy with.

Mental health is a vast topic. It plucks external experiences and mashes them with physiology indiscriminately. Personally, I feel like photography isn’t just about cameras and photos, but consistency. Something I can fall back on when times get tough. Often I find that photography can be the difference between a good or a bad day – that’s pretty powerful stuff.

Here are a few ways that I’ve found photography to be beneficial for my own mental wellness.

Motivation

From the earliest stages of photographic study, the camera trains the eye to seek out detail and opportunity. Whether you notice it or not, chances are you’ll quickly begin to see the world through the perimeter of the viewfinder – camera in hand or not. A photographer’s process is often cyclical – seeking out subjects will drive you to document them photographically. And to photograph those subjects adequately, you’ll need a discerning eye. One feeds the other and motivation fuels both.

I’m a bit of an aviation nerd, so taking photographs of something I love always picks me up emotionally.

But the relationship between photography and motivation can be tenuous. Sticking with photography in better times creates a sense of stability in harder periods. Chasing the elusive “perfect shot” and the afterglow of a photo session slowly starts to become a necessity – instilling resilience.

We photographers are lucky in that we have a self-contained tool to reach out to. Photography opens an inexhaustible amount of doors, providing opportunities to explore, travel, experiment and grow experience. It also helps form relationships with different places and subjects, leading to tangible locations that are a haven for low days. A valuable self-care technique.

People on the outside may not understand a photographer’s inner workings or mental well being, but even the smallest of accomplishment spills over to a new day, easing the complex difficulties experienced in a low. Photography has many benefits and it all comes down to taking a camera in your hands.

Photography can take you to amazing places.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness can be an important fixture in mental health. Usually, you’d think of yoga or meditation when discussing it. But it’s no different for photographers.

This is a time to take stock of your mental landscape. It encourages a state of attentiveness to your surroundings and your own thinking. Whenever you bring awareness to your own senses, you are being deliberately mindful. It’s almost like hitting a reset button for a moment, taking a breath, and paying attention to your sensory experience.

Mindfulness has been found to reduce stress and rumination, working memory, focus, and self-insight.

Why Photography is Beneficial for Your Mental Wellness

Photography isn’t just like mindfulness, it is mindfulness. Photography requires a deep focus on all of the body’s sensory input to seek out photographic subjects. It prioritizes the actions involved in photography first – avoiding some sort of sensory overload.

This deep sense of a photographer’s surroundings transforms a moment into a carefully considered image, even in a split second And it all comes together to form one fluid moment, with each click of the shutter activated with purpose and reason. As Don McCullin, documentary and war photographer said,

“Photography for me is not looking, it’s feeling. If you can’t feel what you are looking at, then you’re never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures”.

Green is the color our eyes are most sensitive to. Seeking out nature, even in an urban environment can cultivate mental well being.

Perspective

From it’s earliest incarnations, photography has shaped our understanding of the world. Eadweard Muybridge is known for his photography of the Mid West. But he shifted his focus to a more scientific endeavor when Leland Stanford, a race-horse owner asked that he could study the dynamics of a horse’s gallop.

Muybridge had been tasked with breaking down what the eye could not. Up until Muybridge’s efforts, most artists painted horses at a trot with one foot always on the ground. But Myubridge’s use of photography revealed the horse’s gait was performed with all the feet in the air over the course of each stride. His method was one of the early uses of perspective in photography, revealing the scientific potential of the camera.

Taking advantage of an interesting perspective is a valuable form of-self expression.

Photography can reveal beauty with a simple change in perspective. The mental gymnastics required to form an unusual image slowly becomes second nature, aiding with racing thoughts and anxiety.

Photographers make use of both mental and physical perspective to re-imagine the world. Sometimes a new perspective is physical, or it reflects the inner machinations of a photographer’s process. Inspiration can hit at any time – that’s why I try to keep a camera with me as much as possible.

Thinking, planning, investigating, scouring. Photographers make use of personal experience to convey a new way of digesting a scene, both deliberately and on purpose. The result is an unusual insight into a subject. This genuine approach can reveal a greater faith in your own photography. But it also encourages relationships between a viewer and the photographer.

This contentedness cultivates awareness, thoughtfulness, and insight. This sharing of ideas is also cathartic and mentally beneficial – a problem shared is a problem halved.

Conclusion

Photography leaves your mark on the world.

Artists have always translated art from the mental manifestations of the artist. Photography cultivates thought, inspiration, awareness, and focus. Your photography reflects your own experience – creating new perspectives and connections with people. Art can flip perspective upside -down.

Buy honing in on your own experiences, you can cultivate a mindfulness in your practice that flows into the heights of creativity and eases some of the burdens of mental lows.

The post Why Photography is Beneficial for Your Mental Wellness by Megan Kennedy appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Beginner’s Guide to Metering Modes on Your Camera

26 Nov

Should you bother to learn about metering modes? I’m confident I can sell you on it. Your camera’s automatic metering will only carry you so far. As your digital photography ability grows, you’ll start to feel frustrated in scenes with mixed light. Learning metering modes is the key to making tricky light conditions seem much less intimidating.

Let’s jump right into this beginner’s guide to metering modes.

Beginner's Guide to Metering Modes on Your Camera

Giant dragon lantern in honor of the Mid-Summer Ghost Festival – Keelung, Taiwan. Metering mode: Spot.

What is metering?

This is vital to understand before you learn about your camera’s individual metering modes. “Metering” means taking a light reading. A properly exposed image is made up of three tones of light: the shadows, mid-tones, and highlights.

The image below demonstrates these three tones well. The forested hills in the foreground and dark cloud represent the shadows, the temple roof and figure represent the mid-tones, and the bright clouds represent the highlights.

A figure on the roof of a temple looks out across forested hills – Jiufen, Taiwan. Through the use of my camera’s light meter, I had more creative control to slightly underexpose the image giving viewers the same sense of foreboding that I felt from those dark, rumbling clouds overhead.

Your camera has an ingenious tool called a light meter that enables it to determine a correct exposure with a balance of shadows, mid-tones, and highlights. You’ll see it at the bottom of the frame when you put your eye to the viewfinder.

Taking light readings from the scene

Your camera’s metering modes control which part (s) of the scene your light meter uses to take a reading. Consider the example below. If you were to meter only off the dragon and take the photo, the dragon would be correctly exposed. However, the sky would probably be too bright.

Alternatively, if I was to meter only off the sky, the sky would be correctly exposed but the dragon would be a bit too dark. However, if I metered from a wider section of the scene, I would get a more balanced exposure.

Detail from the Land God Temple at Badouzi Harbor – Taiwan. Metered off the dragon the exposure is a bit too light.

The four main metering modes

Now, let’s get down to the crux of the article. Here, I’m going to explain what each of your camera’s four metering modes does and how this affects your images.

But before we begin, a note about how your camera meter works. Very bright and dark tones can trick your light meter. Why? Because it is designed to bring every tone to something called “18% gray.” Imagine a snow-covered mountain or a jet black car. Would you want your camera to correct these tones to appear 18% gray? Or would you want their tones to be rendered as truly as your eye sees them? The answer is obvious, but not to your light meter.

So it is your job to review your image on the histogram and decide if it is correct for your scene or not. If it’s not you can use Exposure Compensation to adjust it (when shooting in Aperture or Shutter Priority modes).

Evaluative (or Matrix) Metering Mode

Evaluative metering is the natural mode to explain first because it’s the one your camera uses as standard or default. Your light meter takes a reading from across the whole scene. With that information, your camera’s onboard computer makes multiple calculations to determine a correct exposure with balanced highlights, mid-tones, and shadows.

A scene from Mother’s Market in Imphal – Manipur, India. I wanted to read the light from across the whole scene here and so used Evaluative Metering Mode.

On Asahidake, Hokkaido’s highest mountain – Japan. Shot in the Evaluative Metering mode the camera attempts to make an exposure that is an average of all the light tones of the scene. This is particularly useful when you’re learning to shoot landscapes.

Center-Weighted Metering Mode

Imagine that you’re now zooming into the frame slightly. Whereas Evaluative Metering mode reads the light from across the entire scene, Center-Weighted Metering mode reads light with a preference towards the middle. It still reads from a large proportion of the frame, just not the whole thing. This varies between camera manufacturers, but it’s usually between 60 % and 80 % of the frame.

An accordion player in Central Vienna – Austria. Center-Weighted mode would have been a solid choice for this portrait because there is nothing much of interest in the four corners or along the edges; it’s all within the central 60 %–80 % of the frame.

The area inside the red circle is roughly what will be metered with Center-Weighted mode.

Fuyou Temple in Tamsui, a riverside town in New Taipei – Taiwan. I would not have used Evaluative Metering mode for this scene because my camera would have tried to brighten the image – seeing it is mostly dark. Whereas, I intentionally wanted more of a silhouette-like feel.

The area inside the circle is roughly the percentage of the frame that will be metered when using Center-Weighted mode.

Partial Metering Mode

If Center-Weighted metering meant zooming in a little, Partial Metering is a huge jump inwards again. This time, your light meter will read the light from an area the size of 6-15 % of the center of the scene, depending on your camera manufacturer.

Boatman on the Ganges – Varanasi, India. Partial Metering mode is where things start to get really interesting. You begin taking more control than ever before of where you meter from in the scene. As you can see, this man’s face is just on the limits of a central point of approximately 10 % of the frame. It’s exposed exactly the way I wanted, but I didn’t just get lucky.

With the Varanasi boatman above, I was shooting in Aperture Priority mode. I aimed my center focus point at his face before composing the shot. This allowed my camera to read the light from 10 % of the frame around his head.

Then, I used the exposure lock button (read that article if it’s the first time you’ve heard about it). Note that this is for use mainly with Aperture or Shutter Priority mode. With this button held down, you lock in the exposure and can recompose the shot without the settings changing.

On the same boat ride, the sun sets over the ghats – Varanasi, India. Again, I aimed my center focus point at the flowers to meter. Because there was just a pinprick of sunlight still peeking over the tops of the buildings, the sky wasn’t overpoweringly bright in the final image; however, I did dim the highlights slightly in Lightroom later.

Spot Metering Mode

The final push inward; Spot Metering mode reads light from between 1-5 % of your scene. I personally use Spot Metering mode more than any other, but it may be more challenging for you if you are just learning about your camera and metering.

It is particularly useful to use spot metering in conjunction with the exposure lock button and the center AF point selected. Aim the center point of your viewfinder at the subject or light source to meter from it. Lock in the exposure and recompose, then focus and shoot.

I find that spot metering mode is goodfor portraits and getting the correct skin tones. Also, I use it for specific light sources, such as a beam of light through a window, but only when I’m also happy for other regions of the photo to be underexposed. I do not recommend using it for landscapes unless you are looking to experiment with silhouettes.

Spot metered off the sky to get a silhouette sunset and deeper tones in the sky.

Silhouetted figure toasting marshmallows at a community bonfire – Matsumoto, Japan. Of all its many versatile uses, Spot Metering is the mode you should select if you want to create silhouettes. Meter off the brightest part of the scene and select your settings. Lock in the exposure and then compose the shot. The brightest part of the scene will be well exposed and your subject will be cast in dramatic black shadows.

Inside a 500-year-old tomb at Lodi Gardens – New Delhi, India. Spot Metering mode is gloriously precise. You can meter off a light source as specific as a single sunbeam coming through a window. In this image, I crouched down so that the artificial light source was directly behind the sign and spot metered off the bright area of the floor.

Conclusion

The next step on from here is full manual mode, in which the exposure lock button is not required. But first, master metering modes using Shutter and Aperture priority modes.

Now that you’ve learned about each metering mode, get out your camera and go practice. Don’t forget to share your thoughts and images in the comments.

The post Beginner’s Guide to Metering Modes on Your Camera by Ben McKechnie appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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How to Blur the Background of a Portrait Using the Magnetic Lasso Tool in Photoshop

25 Nov

Have you ever taken a portrait and wished that the background were just a little bit more blurry? You can address background blur in-camera by changing either your aperture or the distance of your subject from the background. However, there’s also a relatively quick way to make slight adjustments to background blur in post-processing. In this article, we’ll be walking through how to use the Magnetic Lasso tool in Photoshop to slightly blur the background of your portraits and people photography.

Getting started

First, open your desired image in Photoshop, and duplicate your background layer (Layer > Duplicate Layer). Next, select the Magnetic Lasso tool. If you’ve not used this tool recently, you may need to right-click on the original lasso tool and then click on the magnetic lasso tool from the fly-out menu.

How to Blur the Background of a Portrait Using the Magnetic Lasso Tool in Photoshop

Selecting the subject

Using the Magnetic Lasso tool, begin by clicking at any point right next to your subject. You’ll notice that the magnetic lasso tool begins to “stick” to what it thinks is the outline of your subject. Continue to click your mouse to create anchor points periodically all around your subject.

If the magnetic lasso tool jumps somewhere you don’t want it to go, press the delete button on your keyboard to return to your last anchor point.

How to Blur the Background of a Portrait Using the Magnetic Lasso Tool in Photoshop

Definitely be aware that once you’ve started using the Magnetic Lasso tool, you’re pretty committed! You won’t be able to do much else with Photoshop until you’ve either completed the lasso loop by connecting your endpoint to your starting anchor point or until you hit “Esc” on your keyboard to delete all your anchor points.

Once you’ve closed your lasso loop, navigate to Select > Modify > Feather (or Shift + F6) and feather your selection by 5-10 pixels.

How to Blur the Background of a Portrait Using the Magnetic Lasso Tool in Photoshop

Feather your new selection 5-10 pixels.

Invert to select the background

Next, you’ll want to invert your selection so that you’ll be blurring the background rather than your subject. To do that, navigate to Select > Inverse (or Ctrl + Shift + I). If you see a dashed outline appear around the border of your image, then you’ve correctly inverted your selection.

Notice where the marching ants are – if they appear like this around the outside of the image you’ve correctly inverted the selection.

Adding the blur effect

After you’ve inverted your selection, it’s time to blur the background of your image. Click on Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Next, play with the radius slider a bit.

Please keep in mind that this technique isn’t designed to take a tack sharp background and transform it to the creamy bokeh of an 85mm lens. Rather, it’s designed to slightly enhance the bokeh that you’ve already got going on in your image. As such, I usually select a radius of 5-10 pixels for the blur filter.

Don’t be afraid to play around with this a bit. Utilize the preview check box, and see what your image looks like when using different amounts for the radius!

Gaussian blur added.

Finishing up

Once you’ve run the Gaussian Blur filter, press Ctrl + D to deselect your image, and you’re about finished! If there are any parts of your image that are blurry and shouldn’t be, go ahead and add a layer mask to your top layer, and mask off any of those blurry areas, and then you’re finished!

Original image on top; image blurred with magnetic lasso tool on the bottom.

As you can see, this technique is subtle, and helps to soften (but not eliminate) slightly distracting elements from the background of your image. I most often find myself using this technique on one or two person portraits, including newborns. It’s a really simple trick to have in your tool bag!

Have you ever utilized the magnetic lasso tool for people photography? What’s your favorite way to use it? Chime in below and tell us in the comments section.

The post How to Blur the Background of a Portrait Using the Magnetic Lasso Tool in Photoshop by Meredith Clark appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Weekly Photography Challenge – Backlighting

25 Nov

Light is the key to photography – without it, we’d be pretty hard pressed to make any images at all. They are also many kinds of light – hard light, soft light, front light, side light, overhead lighting and one that I use often to add more drama to my images – backlighting.

Backlighting can be used to create dramatic shadows.

Weekly Photography Challenge – Backlighting

This one is pretty straightforward. Find a subject where the light is behind them – voila you have backlighting. While that part is easy, make sure you get a good exposure. If you want a silhouette, underexpose the subject a little. If you want the subject properly exposed you might want to increase exposure a little.

Here are some tips and ideas:

Using Backlight in Nature Photography
Three Types of Light: Diffused, Backlight and Reflected – What are They and When to use Them
How to Create Backlight or Hairlight outdoors with Natural Light
Rediscovering Backlit Subjects

Foliage and flowers make great subjects for backlighting.

More use of shadows and backlighting.

Any translucent objects look great with backlighting – it enhances their colors.

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

Share in the dPS Facebook Group

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

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What is Flash High-Speed Sync and Why Do You Need it?

24 Nov

Using flash is already complicated enough, but adding in a fast shutter speed makes it even harder. In these two videos, you will learn about your camera’s flash sync speed and why it’s limited. Then you’ll see what you can do to solve it and use faster shutter speeds using something called high-speed sync.

Flash sync speed and high-speed sync explained

In this first video, Matt Granger explains the mechanics of what is going on inside your camera and why it has a maximum flash sync speed. With the use of some great slow-mo clips, you will see inside the camera to learn exactly what happens when you press the button.

High-speed sync in action on location

In this next video, J.P. Morgan from The Slanted Lens will walk you through exactly what high-speed sync is and why it’s needed. You’ll learn how your camera shutter works and why your camera sync-speed won’t let you use fast shutter speeds with flash without high-speed sync (often referred to as, HSS).

He is using the some of following gear:

Dynalite Baja B4 battery powered strobe
SpiderPro camera holster
A medium-sized softbox
Tamron’s 15-30mm lens

Conclusion and more learning

If you need more help using your flash check out these dPS articles:

How to Understand the Difference Between TTL Versus Manual Flash Modes
4 Beginner Tips for Creating Dramatic Portraits with One Flash
Why Off-Camera Flash Isn’t as Scary as You Think
Flash Shopping Guide – Things to Consider When Buying a Speedlight
How to Use Your On-Camera Speedlight to do Bounce Flash Effectively
9 Steps to Get Over Your Fear of Off-Camera Flash

The post What is Flash High-Speed Sync and Why Do You Need it? by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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The 19 Most Popular DSLRs Among our Readers

24 Nov

Every few months we like to report back to the dPS community which cameras (and other gear) are most popular with our readers. Today we’re going to take a look at the highest selling DSLRs among our readers over the last 4 months (as ranked by the reports that Amazon gives us*).

popular dslrs

As usual you’ll see it is largely a battle between Canon and Nikon (who dominate this class of camera) and that at the top of the list we see entry level DSLRS most popular (mainly due to their price). Further down the list we see more serious (and expensive) contenders.

1. Canon EOS Rebel T6i

81aLEVAFXnL._SL1500_.jpg

2. Nikon D750

Nikon D750 popular dslr

3. Nikon D850

Nikon D850 popular dslr

4. Nikon D3400

Nikon D3400 popular dslr

5. Canon EOS 6D Mark II

Canon 6D Mark III

6. Canon EOS Rebel T5

71tz63oxXqL._SL1500_.jpg

7. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV popular dslr

8. Nikon D5500

Nikon D5500 popular dslr

9. Canon EOS 80D

Canon 80D DSLR Popular

10. Nikon D5300

Nikon D5300 DSLR Popular

And here are the next 9 most popular DSLRs.

Canon EOS Rebel T7i
Canon EOS Rebel T5i
Nikon D5600
Canon EOS 77D
Nikon D7200
Canon EOS Rebel SL2
Nikon D500
Canon EOS 6D
Nikon D3300

Updated 23 November 2017

*Note: this list was compiled from reports supplied to us from Amazon.com where we are affiliates. One of the ways dPS is able to cover its costs and be a sustainable business is that we earn a small commission when readers make a purchase from Amazon after clicking on our links (including those above). While no personal details are passed on we do get an overall report from Amazon about what was bought and are able to create this list.

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