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31 Days to Becoming a Better Photographer

27 Jul

Do you want to level up your photography with a powerful burst of learning?

If your answer is yes – you’ll absolutely LOVE our brand new course – “31 Days to Becoming a Better Photographer” which we guarantee will improve your photography.

31 days become a better photographer

It only launched today with a massive 75% early bird special – but be quick, the discount ends and enrolments close in less than 3 weeks.

31 Days to Becoming a Better Photography has been specifically created for anyone who’s ever dreamed of taking amazing photos – but who is not sure where to start.

Great Teaching, Practical Exercises and Mentoring

The great thing about this course is that it’s incredibly practical. You’ll learn a lot but you’ll also be actively applying what you learn. Here’s how it works.

31 Easy to Understand Lessons – The course is broken down into 31 easy to understand lessons – designed to give you more knowledge of how your camera works and how to get more control over it.
31 Practical Exercises – Each lesson comes with a practical exercise – designed to help you apply that knowledge.
Mentoring from a Pro Photographer – All early bird participants also get access to a secret Facebook group where course creator – Jim Hamel – will give group mentoring, offer extra support, answer questions and where you can share some of the results you’re getting.

Access to a professional like Jim would normally cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars, but when you purchase this course, you not only get over 7 hours of great teaching, 31 exercises to try, you get to ask Jim questions, follow along with assignments, and become part of a group of other like minded photographers.

This course is designed to be taken over 31 days but you get immediate lifetime access to it so you can take it at your own pace – whipping through it faster or taking it slower if you like.

Here’s a taste for the course – straight from the mouth of course creator Jim Hamel:

Enrolments End Soon

But hurry – because of the mentoring component of this course spaces are limited and will only be open for enrolments for a short time and the massive 75% off is only for a short time too!

Check out all of the course modules and enrol here.

P.S. As always, we offer a 60 Day Guarantee, so if you find the course isn’t for you, we’ll be more than happy to refund you – no questions asked.

The post 31 Days to Becoming a Better Photographer by Darren Rowse appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Posing Tips for the Groom on the Wedding Day

27 Jul

Wedding photography is often thought of as one of the most challenging genres to document. On any given weeding day you need to be a fashion photographer, product, documentary and family photographer all in the space of a few hours. Of these genres, one the hardest aspects to master is photographing the groom pre-wedding while trying to make him feel at ease and relaxed about the experience, while offering posing tips and advice to him.

Posing Tips for the Groom on the Wedding Day

On the morning of a wedding, have you ever walked into a groom’s house and felt like you could cut tension with a butter knife? Often the groom is nervous knowing that he is about to be the center of attention, so he may find the whole experience daunting and uncomfortable. Your job is to make him feel at home and comfortable so you can create some amazing shots of him for the couple to cherish for years to come.

As a male, I can attest to being nervous about being in front of the camera. So what can you do and say to make your groom, his groomsmen, and family, feel comfortable on the big day? Here are a few general and specific posing tips that will help you break the ice and build some rapport with your groom.

Your approach

Posing groom 03

When you first arrive at the house, walk in without your camera out and do what you would do if you were going out to meet new friends at dinner. Walk in, say hello, introduce yourself, shake hands, and just be nice to everyone. You’d be amazed at how this first simple step will break the ice and help establish rapport.

Remove the groom from the room

If you’re shooting in a house which is full of family and friends it can be somewhat noisy and distracting, especially if you want to create a certain look with your groom. He may be embarrassed or self conscious having photos taken in front of everyone.

Posing Tips for the Groom on the Wedding Day

So when it’s time to photograph him alone it is a good idea to find a quiet space in the house and take him there away from all the distractions. This way you’ll be able to get the kinds of photos you want of him without having to try and silence 10 people who are talking in the background.

Make your groom feel like The Fonz

When it comes to photographing the groom, or any male for that matter, you need to make him feel cool like The Fonz on Happy Days! If you give your groom masculine things to do, you’ll never have issues getting him to cooperate and participate.

Ask him to sit on a chair and lean forward with a glass of scotch in his hands or lean against a wall with his hands in his pockets while bringing his chest off the wall. What guy wouldn’t feel cool doing that? Once you have his trust, he will do anything you ask. He just needs to feel strong, cool, and confident.

Give him something to do with his hands

Men can sometimes feel and look awkward if they have nothing to do with their hands. So give him something to do with his hands like buttoning up his jacket, holding a glass of whisky, putting his hands in his pockets, holding a hat on the brim or holding his jacket. Whatever you ask him to do just make sure it’s something he would normally do with his hands so it looks natural and unforced.

Posing Tips for the Groom in Wedding Photography

Always show the groom what you want him to do

Explaining what you want your groom or subject to do can sometimes be confusing for them, especially if they’re a visual person. If you want him to sit or look a certain way, show him by doing it yourself first. This method is called mirroring, and 99% of the time you will get what you want after demonstrating how to do it.

Make him laugh

There’s usually a joker in every wedding party or group. So once you find out who he is, give him a few cues and watch him get all the boys laughing naturally without being prompted to do so. This will bring out everyone’s real character.

Posing Tips for the Groom in Wedding Photography

Conclusion

Once you have built trust with the boys, you will see it come through in your photos. Suddenly everything will be real. If you’re not confident posing or directing men, grab a friend and practice on him so when it comes to the real deal you’re 100% confident.

Do you have any other posing tips for working with groom on the wedding day? Please share any tips or questions you have in the comments section below.

The post Posing Tips for the Groom on the Wedding Day by Andrew Szopory appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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How to Compose Photos with Impact Using Elements of Design

27 Jul

All visual artists have a common goal of creating an image with impact. But unlike painters who start with a blank canvas and add to it, photographers start with a sometimes chaotic scene and must decide what to remove from it. Which parts of the scene should be included and which excluded to create the greatest impact?

Mobius Arch by Anne McKinnell - How to Compose Photos with Impact Using Elements of Design

This rock arch, known as Mobius Arch, frames the mountains in the background.

Part of your job as the photographer job is to bring order to the chaos by deciding how to arrange the elements in the scene in your camera’s frame. You cannot just hold up your camera and expect to make an impactful image. You have to evaluate the scene and discover what elements of design are there to work with and how you are going to use them to create your composition.

There are visual clues to good composition all around you. Clues that will help you see with your photographer’s eye if you take the time to slow down and take notice of them. The elements of design are there, but sometimes you don’t notice them until you go looking specifically. That’s the key – you have to go looking for them. Once you start looking for a particular element of design, you will be surprised how often you will discover it in the world around you.

Valella Valella by Anne McKinnell - How to Compose Photos with Impact Using Elements of Design

These creatures are called Valella Valella. As they wash up on shore, they create a leading line that guides the viewer’s eye into the frame.

1. Lines

Lines are one of the fundamental building blocks of composition. They direct the eye around an image and give the viewer a path to follow. Understanding the power that lines have in graphic design, and how different lines have different effects on the viewer, will help you add more impact to your images.

Horizontal lines exist in almost every scene. They tend to be calming and give a sense of peace and tranquility.
Vertical lines tend to be associated with strength and power. Think of skyscrapers, trees in a forest, or waterfalls — all features of strength and grandeur.
Diagonal lines add energy to an image and give a sense of movement.
Curves create a graphic design that makes an image easy to look at by leading the viewer’s eye through the frame. They can be c-curves, s-curves, arches, circles or spirals.
Leading lines can be any type of line that leads the viewer’s eye toward the main subject.

North Algodones Sand Dunes, California by Anne McKinnell - How to Compose Photos with Impact Using Elements of Design

The lines in these California sand dunes lead the viewer’s eye into the frame toward the main subject.

2. Color

Colors determine the viewer’s emotional response to an image. They set the mood and determine what part of an image gets the most attention.

One of the most impactful ways to use color in your composition is to look for complementary colors. Complementary colors are opposites on the color wheel such as blue and orange, red and green, purple and yellow.

Sea Nettle by Anne McKinnell - How to Compose Photos with Impact Using Elements of Design

Blue and orange are complementary colors.

3. Patterns

The human eye is drawn to patterns in the same way that our ears are drawn to the beat of music or the chorus of a song. The visual rhythm that the pattern creates makes order out of the chaos. It can give an image a sense of movement as our eyes travel from the first element to the next.

Filling the frame with a pattern is a sure way of turning a snapshot into a compelling photograph.

A pattern is simply a repetition of a graphic element such as a line, shape or color. Usually, a pattern is made up of at least three repetitions, but the more the better!

Jing'an Temple, Shanghai, China by Anne McKinnell

These prayer ribbons create a repeating pattern in the frame.

4. Symmetry

Despite everything we have been taught in photography about the rule of thirds and keeping things off balance and out of the middle, symmetry has always been associated with beauty. In a symmetrical composition, your main subject is placed at center stage and the eye is encouraged to travel in a circular center around the frame. This will make a scene feel harmonious and calm. But it’s a lot more difficult than it sounds!

The difference is in the details. It’s in the absolute perfection of the symmetry. A composition that is almost symmetrical will seem off and boring, one that is perfect will seem awe inspiring.

To make a photograph that is symmetrical, you will have to hone your eye to find items in the scene that are symmetrical and leave everything out of the frame that does not fit. The composition should have symmetry from corner to corner, which means that the background if there is one, must be symmetrical too.

Legislature in Victoria, British Columbia by Anne McKinnell - How to Compose Photos with Impact Using Elements of Design

This photo uses both symmetry and frame-in-frame as design elements.

5. Frame-in-Frame

One way to quickly add a new dimension to your subject is to give it a frame inside the boundaries of the image. The edges of your photograph are the first frame. Then, you want to add another frame around your subject, which is internal to the photograph.

The idea is to add interest to your photograph by framing your main subject inside another frame. This isn’t always possible, of course, but if you keep your eyes open for opportunities you will start to notice them more often.

Windows and doors are one of the most accessible frames for this technique because you find them everywhere. If you have a wonderful view from your window, try including the window in your image. Remember you can look from the inside out or from outside looking in.

Hatley Castle by Anne McKinnell - How to Compose Photos with Impact Using Elements of Design

This gazebo provides an arch that frames the garden and castle outside.

Conclusion

The next time you are out photographing, keep one of the above elements of design in mind and go looking for it. Being purposeful about your composition is how you will progress from taking snapshots to making great images.

If you’re ready to dive deeper into composition and the elements of image design, be sure to check out Anne’s eBook The Compelling Photograph – Techniques for Creating Better Images.

The post How to Compose Photos with Impact Using Elements of Design by Anne McKinnell appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Brown Sugar Kitchen, Great Chicken and Waffles in Oakland, California

24 Jul

Brown Sugar Kitchen, West Oakland
Chicken and waffles at Brown Sugar Kitchen

Brown Sugar Kitchen
2534 Mandela Parkway
Oakland, CA 94607

If you haven’t had breakfast/lunch at Brown Sugar Kitchen in West Oakland yet you are missing out. Having eaten here several times now I’ll make some observations.

Plan on waiting a long time to get a seat. Every time I’ve been to breakfast/lunch at Brown Sugar Kitchen I’ve had to wait at least 30 – 60 minutes — this is on Saturday or Sunday mornings though. I suspect weekday the wait is not as long. This is fine if you plan to make it a full weekend morning event, but be aware that you are in for a long wait time. I always love photographing around West Oakland, so I really don’t mind so much. I just put my name on the list and set a timer for how long I’m supposed to wait and go walk around and shoot some local street art. American Steel Studios is just down the street and there usually are interesting things to photograph around down there.

Of course the thing to order here is the chicken and waffles. The waffles are cornmeal waffles and taste delightful. They come with an apple cider based syrup but I recommend paying the $ 2 extra for real maple syrup. It’s worth it. The chicken is a buttermilk fried chicken and is equally delicious.

Most everything is good here, but other standouts for me include the mac and cheese (only available at noon or later), the breakfast potatoes, the pork hash and the cheesy grits.

Definitely order the coffee — it’s Bicycle Coffee and is one of the best tasting local brews I’ve had anywhere for breakfast. They also sell it by the bag if you want to take some to go.

Obviously with wait times being as long as there at Brown Sugar Kitchen it’s nice to know that they are in the process of opening up a second location (inside the old space where Pican was before they closed down in Uptown on Broadway). No word yet on the timing, but the sooner the better as far as I’m concerned.

Enjoy some photos of breakfast at Brown Sugar and some of the local West Oakland street art below.

Brown Sugar Kitchen, West Oakland
Chicken and waffles, cheesy grits, pork hash at Brown Sugar Kitchen

Brown Sugar Kitchen, West Oakland
Poached eggs and pork hash at Brown Sugar Kitchen

A mural by Jamaica the Artist at American Steel Studios down the street from Brown Sugar Kitchen

Brown Sugar Kitchen, West Oakland
Artwork on the wall at Brown Sugar Kitchen

For Dave Johnson
A mural by Gats at American Steel Studios

Brown Sugar Kitchen, West Oakland
Homemade pop tarts, Brown Sugar Kitchen

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10 Photography Bad Habits for You to Conquer

21 Jul

Let’s define what a bad habit is first; A habitual behavior considered to be detrimental to one’s wellbeing. However, this can be extended into learning a new skill set (like photography) where you may develop habits that can inhibit your learning progression, or even cause you physical injury.

How to Conquer Your Photography Bad Habits

Magnolia bud, not 100% sharp as I hadn’t taken my tripod with me

Before you can fix or adjust a bad habit, first you have to identify it. There is a good chance that a majority of photographers pick up or share the same habits, so maybe you can learn from my list. Possibly you are doing some of the same things. If you are lucky you aren’t doing all of them and this will help you avoid picking up any new photography bad habits.

There is little as heartbreaking as downloading your photos from a shoot to find you did a really stupid thing like have your ISO really high, or the wrong white balance setting or some other silly thing. Take the time to develop good habits and break any bad ones you might have.

Macro image of a gerbera, achieved by allowing sufficient time and patience to set up the shot and my gear correctly.

Confession Time

Most of the following are simple stupid things, stuff that doesn’t take a lot of time to think about or do but is easy to put aside for later. Except later usually doesn’t come, and then you pay the price.

Bad Habit #1 – Batteries not charged and ready

Failing to check and charge spare camera batteries when they need it is an issue. Nothing worse than being in the middle of a great shoot, having to switch batteries to find that all your spares are flat.

10 Photography Bad Habits for You to Conquer

Bad Habit #2 – Memory cards not empty and ready to use

Forgetting to take the CF card out of the camera and wipe it before reusing is bad habit number two. I have multiple spare cards so leaving one in the computer isn’t a deal breaker, but I am bad about formatting the card and dumping the previous images before a new shoot.

10 Photography Bad Habits for You to Conquer

Bad Habit #3 – No cleaning routine

Another photography bad habit is not completing a regular cleaning routine after each shoot. Living in a coastal area means always being aware of salt spray off the sea. You should have a regular cleaning routine for your camera, lenses, any accessories and don’t forget the inside of your camera bag as well. The life of your expensive camera gear will be extended. Also if your lenses and filters are clean, there is less to handle (fix) in the post-production stage.

10 Photography Bad Habits for You to Conquer

Bad Habit #4 – Not checking camera settings

Are you guilty of this one – not checking how the camera is set up before a new shoot? Time to fess up – this is my personal worst habit and it has cost me some good shots over the years.

Before you go out on your next shoot, allow time to go over your gear, check that you have everything you need, and set your camera up to your preferred base starting point. A few minutes spent here is an investment that saves you hassles and disappointment later.

10 Photography Bad Habits for You to Conquer

Shot unnecessarily at ISO 400 because I forgot to check my camera settings BEFORE the shoot.

Bad Habit #5 – Underestimating travel allowance time

Underestimating your travel allowance time so you can get on site and scout out in advance can be a problem. Sometimes it’s hard to find a particular spot, or the sun is setting as you are driving home from work. There are a Lot of reasons for you to be in a hurry to get to somewhere with your camera. But, make life less stressful by allowing plenty of travel time and plan out your route in advance. Get there early.

10 Photography Bad Habits for You to Conquer

Bad Habit #6 – Not stopping when you see a shot

Have you ever seen a possible shot while driving and not stopped? I often think I will get it on the way back, but the light changes and the shot is gone forever. Of course, habit five applies here as well, if you have allowed sufficient travel time and built in a buffer for possible stops along the way, then you can stop.

10 Photography Bad Habits for You to Conquer

Bad Habit #7 – Not protecting your gear properly

Not protecting my gear as much as I should. Doing things like putting my tripod legs in the sea, forgetting to use my rain cover for the camera, relying on the weather sealing to protect my camera and lens in a drizzle. Guilty!

If you do use your tripod in water, learn how to take it apart and clean it. They get a surprising amount of sand inside the legs which can eventually rust. Use proper rain gear to take care of your equipment.

10 Photography Bad Habits for You to Conquer

Bad Habit #8 – Not using a tripod

Sometimes I’m lazy about taking my tripod with me. It’s heavy and carrying it everywhere can be annoying sometimes. However, for landscapes and long exposures, it is a necessity.

This bokeh shot was only possible while using a tripod.

Bad Habit #9 – Getting caught in the excitement

Getting caught up in the excitement of an event or happening and forgetting to take my time and plan for strategic shooting.

This is possibly less of a habit and more something you learn with time and experience. But learning how to distance yourself from the excitement of what is happening in front of your camera is a necessary skill to help you compose and capture meaningful images, rather than “spray and pray”.

Taking myself off to the side of this light display, after capturing the usual images I decided to have a play with some ICM – Intentional Camera Movement.

Bad Habit #10 – Afraid to hit delete

Being afraid to delete images. While there is some merit in keeping images that you can come back to and edit later when your skills might have improved, part of your journey in learning to improve is being able to critique your own work. Learn to identify average shots, poor composition, dull lighting and other things that lessen the quality of your images, and don’t be afraid to cull them. If nothing else, it will help extend the life of your computer hard drive capacity.

It’s a nice memory of a fun birthday lunch but it’s not the most amazing photo ever!

Conclusion

“I don’t have time to do it now” or “I’ll do it later” are two of the worst mental habits you can get into as a photographer. Learn to stop yourself when you think these things, then take the time to do whatever it was you were going to put off.

Being a photographer means you need to cultivate the art of patience. With patience, you also have to learn to allocate your time effectively and efficiently. Spending time looking after and checking your gear in advance of a shoot, will save you from making mistakes or wasting time later on fixing them.

Your photography bad habits may well be different to mine, so make a list of your own personal ones. Don’t try to fix them all at once. Pick the two that have the most impact and concentrate on fixing those. Over time you may find that the good habits you develop make it easier to quit the bad ones.

Keep an eye out for developing new bad habits in the future too. It’s easy to tell ourselves we won’t, but trying to be perfect is one of the worst habits of all. Do the best you can on the day, and hopefully every day it gets easier, and your good intentions become habits. Positive outcome!

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How to Find Animals for Wildlife Photography Beginners

21 Jul

Wildlife photography may seem like an attractive field of photography to you, but one of the most daunting things for beginners is how to actually go about finding the animals in the first place. Thanks to mankind’s destructive nature we’re used to seeing fleeting glimpses of animals, often far away, prompting heated debates between groups as to what is that winged black speck in the distance.

5 Beginner Tips to Help You Find Animals for Wildlife Photography

Two female red grouse amongst the heather on a British moorland.

As a newcomer to wildlife photography, you may find yourself wondering how on Earth you are supposed to get even remotely close enough for a picture. Sure, you can maybe settle for an atmospheric habitat shot, with the subject small in the frame, but you’d be forgiven for wanting close-up portraits of animals too.

So let’s look at some of the ways you can achieve those super detailed close-up shots, showing every part of fur or feather.

1. Wildlife Parks and Reserves

One of the first pictures I ever took was in a wildlife reserve, and of this slightly soft Mandarin Duck.

One of the first places I visited when I first embarked on my journey as a wildlife photographer was a small wetland reserve. This reserve had some birds kept in open enclosures, as well as a river which was host to many wild ducks. Ducks tend to move slowly, at least when swimming casually along and are fairly easy to get close to (especially in a reserve frequented by well-intended people).

The best attraction for me, though, was the woodland hide. Situated in a quiet clump of trees, this woodland hide looked over a feeding station for wild birds. It was visited by mainly small passerines, such as great tits and bullfinches, but occasionally the odd predator would drop in such as a sparrow hawk.

Even small woodland birds are interesting and exhibit great behavior if you watch for a long time.

If you can find yourself a local reserve like this one, or just a public wildlife hide in a good spot, put in the hours and try to think outside the box. You’ll most likely come away with some decent images that you can be proud of.

2. Get a Wildlife Blind

Not happy with a public hide? Get your own wildlife blind – a camouflage tent, if you will – and set it up wherever you think wildlife may frequent. This might even be in your backyard, and if you set up a small feeding station there you could have all sorts of birds and small mammals visiting. Bird feeders filled with sunflower seeds will quickly attract small passerine birds, with squirrels most likely making a visit there too.

Wildlife blinds can get you close to all sorts of rare animals, like this black grouse.

Working in hides requires a lot of patience. In the past, I spent 15 hours a day for two weeks in a hide waiting for brown bears make an appearance. But even with animals that are visiting regularly, you’ll need to put in the hours to capture interesting behavior and something more than just a simple “bird on a stick” portrait shot.

3. Try Using a Trail Camera

If you’re really stuck for ideas or want to track down something a little more interesting, try setting up a small Bushnell trail camera in likely locations for animals. Such locations might be runs in a woodland (trodden down trails in the grass you can see, where animals move regularly). The camera will sit and watch 24/7 for you, triggering when something moves by. They’ll record video or take photos that you can later review, unveiling the secrets of a particular area to you.

Track down regular haunts of hard-to-spot animals like foxes by using a trail camera.

Some animals are nocturnal, and in those cases, you could even try setting up a DSLR camera trap, although these are usually used by more practiced wildlife photographers. I wouldn’t recommend trying out this technique just yet if you are very new to the game, and instead, stick to the trail cameras for finding locations.

4. Practice Your Fieldcraft Techniques

If you want to be a successful wildlife photographer, then you need good fieldcraft skills. You need to learn how to remain concealed, and silently approach animals without them noticing you. This involves learning to properly observe your subject. Only move when they are distracted. You should never approach an animal that is clearly alert and wary that something is nearby. Wait until they’re relaxed and unaware, before continuing to move closer.

Practicing your fieldcraft skills lets you get closer to animals without the need for a blind.

But learn the limits. There’s going to be a point you need to stop, otherwise, you would be standing nose to nose with a moose or something similar. You’ll need to practice stalking techniques, with many failures no doubt, before you get it just right. Simple things like thinking about the material your clothes are made of, in order to prevent loud noises when your walk, will make all the difference.

Once you’ve done that, you’ll find yourself able to spot an animal at a distance and get closer and closer. It takes time, but it’s great fun and it definitely makes the final image more worthwhile thanks to the hard work you put in. I love to try stalking red deer – they’re big, charismatic subjects but they’re really wary of people. They’ll happily stare at you standing still, but once they spot you moving towards them they’ll run a mile.

5. Keep Alert

Many of my wildlife photos are opportunistic. It doesn’t hurt to drive around with your camera in the passenger’s seat, keeping your eyes peeled for wildlife. In an ideal world, you’d have someone driving for you so you can pay 100% attention to the surrounding areas, rather than having to focus on the road.

Using your car as a hide can be a great way to find wildlife over a large area, like I did with this cuckoo bird.

Cars can be the best wildlife blinds available. Animals are so used to seeing them that they are mostly ignored. While you may get a photo from your car, this is also a great way to find the regular haunts for a particular animal. Dawn and dusk are the best times to start exploring when animals are generally most active.

Conclusion

Do you have any other tips for doing wildlife photography and finding animals to photograph? Please share in the comments below.

The post How to Find Animals for Wildlife Photography Beginners by Will Nicholls appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Lighting 103: Use Color to Evoke Time and Place

21 Jul

It can be scary to add a lot of color to your light. But it’s easy to underestimate how much color it takes to transform a scene and set a mood. Don’t be shy. Those gels won’t bite.

This nighttime portrait of soprano Alexandra Rodrick was a big step for me. It was made about five years ago, when I was just starting to realize how color-fluid real light could be. I kinda knew it, but I still didn’t have the nerve to actually do it.

So I took a deep breath and threw way more blue into the environment than I normally would. And not only did I come out alive on the other side, but I ended up pretty happy.
__________

I prevsiouly wrote in more detail about how we made the photo in On Assignment. It’s a two-part post, if you’re interested. So I won’t fully rehash that here.

We wanted to evoke nighttime, but you can’t really shoot this photo at night. Especially with the PhaseOne camera I shot this with. (You can see a full-sized version here.) The Phase effectively maxes out at ISO 100, and we wanted to get some depth and detail going way back into the scene. So we shot at twilight, and underexposed the ambient before adding three light sources into the mix.

Looking back, this photo was big leap forward for me. I took a chance and pushed a lot of CTB into the scene—full CTB, to be exact. We had to move the lights way back to light the scene evenly. In fact, here’s my fill light coming from my second floor dining room, here:

Before this point, I would have weenied around with a 1/2 CTB, or even a 1/4 CTB.
The result would have been very much muted. Safer, maybe. But not nearly as evocative.

This is the first time I had really tried to connote the feeling of full night in a photo and actually had been willing to push some real color. Am I fully happy with it now? Not totally, and more on that in a minute.

But my advice is, while it is very tempting to try partial/interim color shifts, do yourself a favor and experiment with pushing some real color density into your frame. You may be pleasantly surprised at the result.

In the past I tried lesser color densities and ended up with pictures that were okay, but didn’t really live up to what I pictured in my mind’s eye. (Fortunately, no one else had access to my mind’s eye, so my comparative failures were private affairs.)

What I am learning going forward is that the 1/4- and 1/2-measure color shifts come across as subtle in the final image. In fact, in many cases they would only be noticeable in their absence via side-by-side comparison.

And that subtlety is actually pretty cool and useful. Because as we have seen with portraiture, you can define what is in shadow with color as much as you can with density.

Think about it. By using a 1/2 CTB (maybe with a little green in there) in the shadows of a portrait against a 1/2 CTO key light in the highlights, you are defining shadows with color as much as you are with light levels.

This means you can not only get a more evocative palette of light on your subject, but you can vastly expand the range of visible detail in your photo. Because it is the color of light that is informing you in the shadow, rather than a harsher underexposure—and a corresponding lack of detail.

Our brain reads that relatively subtle blue shift also as signaling the transition to shadow. So if you are going to shift a whole scene to evoke a time and place—night in the woods, for instance—you’d better be willing to bring more color density to the party.

Don’t be shy. Take a chance. You can always back off if you don’t like it.

What I Would Do Differently Now

Back to Alexandra, I look at this frame and see that I was being relatively couragious (for me, then) in some parts of the photo, and a weenie in other parts.

Let’s talk about the light on her face, courtesy a 1/4 CTO’d speedlight in a China ball.

Yes, it separates from all that blue night woodsy light. But why is it warm? I told myself at the time that it felt more theatrical (warm spotlight in cool environment and all). But really, it was also me long being comfortable throwing a warm light at my subject’s face.

If I were shooting this today, I’d be more looking to integrate that key light into the scene. Less spotlight, more moonlight. As if she was catching a moon ray in the clearing.

I’d probably start with a 1/4 CTB. Cool her down, but but as much as the night woods. After all, moonlight is just reflected daylight.

And to that 1/4 CTB, I might consider adding a little green. Maybe 1/4 PlusGreen? Dunno, until I try it. But the idea would be to blend the moonlight with the influence of the green grass and leaves that would be filtering/reflecting it.

Would it be scary to try? Yeah, a little. I’m not used to blue-green faces in my photos. Not even a little bit. But it wouldn’t be nearly as scary now as it would have been for me back in 2012.

And to be honest, 2017 me thinks the slight blue-green face would look better. Which is the point of taking chances with your light, finding new things that work and the result being growth as a photographer.

This is the most recent post in Strobist’s Lighting 103 module. New installments publish on the first and third Thursday of each month. If you would like to be notified as they become available, please sign up here.
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Quick and Dirty Method of Using the Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool

21 Jul

Let’s say you use Lightroom and you’ve tried and tried to get rid of those distracting spots using Lightroom’s Spot Removal Tool but no matter how you set it – using Clone or Heal or changing the Opacity or increasing the Feather – you have a giant, obvious repair on your image. Not good!

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - wild horses

This is my final, processed image but I had to dive into Photoshop to get there.

You’re a good photographer

For kicks, let’s agree that in addition to knowing your way around Lightroom, you’re a skilled photographer. You also subscribe to Adobe CC, but honestly, you don’t use Photoshop much. Perhaps you’re even a little bit afraid of it. You loaded the software and update it whenever Adobe tells you to but other than the PS icon looking cool and professional in your dock, you don’t actually use it.

You just don’t use Photoshop

I mean, Layers, Masks, Blending? Ugh. I know. I do 90% of my work in Lightroom. No one has ever called me out on that so I keep on keepin’ on with Lightroom. I love Lightroom but – and it’s a great big but – LR’s Spot Removal Tool is no match for Photoshop’s Spot Healing Brush Tool.

Because I know this issue affects so many of us, I’m going to teach you the quick and dirty method for how to Spot Heal in Photoshop. No layers. No tricky stuff. Just easy, quick simple repairs for the problem areas in your images.

Practice as you read this

Grab an image that has a problem area that you can’t seem to fix in Lightroom and follow along with me. Practice is the best way to learn so repeat these steps a few times today. After you Spot Heal a few images in PS, it will naturally become part of your image processing tool kit.

Step #1 – Process the image in Lightroom

In Lightroom, process your image as normal. Here’s my RAW image before I’ve made any adjustments.

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - raw image

Canon 7D Mark II, 70-200 plus 1.4x @ 280mm, f/6/3, 1/1600, ISO 400.

Below is a screenshot of all the adjustments I’ve made on my image. I started with a pretty aggressive crop. You can see the White Balance and Basic adjustments but I also dropped in several Radial Filters to add clarity and brightness to key elements like the horses’ eyes. However, I struggled to get rid of the flecks of mud around the black horse’s eye.

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - Lightroom adjustments

Step #2 – Edit in > Photoshop

Right-click on your image. Select Edit in Adobe Photoshop CC.

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - Edit in Photoshop

It is very important that you don’t skip this step. Do not open your image directly in Photoshop. For the down and dirty method to be most effective, you must start this process in Lightroom.

NOTE: If you haven’t updated to PS CC 2017 or if you use an older version of PS, you might need to modify these steps. Instead of Edit in Adobe Photoshop CC 2017, you might see Edit a Copy in PS.

Step #3 – Select the Spot Healing Brush

It takes a minute, but eventually, your image will appear in the Photoshop window. Here’s the image I’m working on. Check and make sure your screen looks pretty similar to mine.

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - PS interface

Click on the Spot Healing Brush Tool. It looks like a band-aid except that it has a little semi-circle handle over it.

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - band-aid icon

If you can’t find this tool, count seven icons down on the tools pallet and right-click on that. Once you right-click, you should see the rest of the tools. Hover your cursor over the band-aid icon that says Spot Healing Brush Tool. Click to select it. It will now show as the active tool.

Step #4 – Setup the Spot Healing Brush

Review the settings for the tool bar that runs across the top of your Photoshop window.

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - mode and type

If your Spot Healing Brush Tool doesn’t default to these settings, change them to:

Mode = Normal
Type = Content Aware

Step #5 – Zoom in

Zoom in and increase the size of your image so you can see the problem area more clearly. Click the Command/Alt key and the + (plus) key simultaneously. Click again to zoom in more. If you’ve zoomed in too far, click the Command/Alt Key and the – (minus) key simultaneously to zoom back out. Grab the drag bars on the bottom and right side of the image to reposition the problem area so that it’s in the middle of the screen and easy to see and repair.

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - zoom in

Zoomed into 200%, I can see the problem area clearly.

Step #6 – Size the Brush Tool

Hover the Spot Healing Brush Tool over the problem area. You may need to change the size of the brush. The easiest way to do that is to use the square bracket keys on your keyboard.

Click the Left Bracket Key [ to decrease the size of the brush.
Click the Right Bracket Key ] to increase the size.

Notice that as you click on the bracket keys, the Size number in the bar that runs across the top of your image increases or decreases. (If you click on that number, you’ll get more tool options. Don’t worry about those for now.)

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - 20px brush

Using the Left Bracket Key, I adjusted my Spot Healing Brush Tool to 20 pixels and started making small repairs around the eye.

Step #7 – Brush over the bad area

After you’ve adjusted the size of your brush, start clicking on the area of your image that you want to repair. You can also drag the brush to make short strokes.

Photoshop is smart and should fill in the area with an appropriate selection but if it doesn’t, click Edit > Undo Spot Healing Brush in the top menu (or Cmd/Ctrl+Z will also undo). That will undo the last thing that you did.

If you want to undo multiple things, go to Edit and click Step Backward repeatedly till you’re at the last point that you liked. Step Backward does have limitations so work slowly and check your repair work often. Note: you can aslo open the History panel and go back to any previous step.

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - undo

Step #8 – Save

Evaluate your work. Do you like the repairs? If Yes, go to File > Save in the top menu. Photoshop defaults to saving images as a TIFF file. If it doesn’t, select the TIFF option if/when the menu pops up. This will also import the newly edited image into Lightroom.

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - save

If you don’t like the repairs you made, quit Photoshop without doing anything. Photoshop will ask if you want to save your work. Just say No. Go sip some coffee and try again another day when you’re fresh.

Step #9 – Head back to Lightroom

Almost done!

Go back to Lightroom. You’ll still be in the Develop Module with the original RAW image that you were working on still open. Press G for Grid which will take you to the Library Module. Check to make sure that next to your original RAW file is a new TIFF file. Select the two images and view them in Survey Mode so that you can look at them side by side (N on your keyboard).

If the two files don’t show up right next to each other in Lightroom resort your images by Capture Time (or file name), or drag and drop so that they do.

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - compare

Side by side of RAW file adjusted in LR (on the left) and TIFF with the addition of spot healing (on the right).

Wait, don’t you have to use layers in Photoshop?

That’s the down and dirty part. When you’re doing simple fixes like this, you don’t need to worry about layers. Why? Well, layers are excellent if you’re doing quite a few things to your image and you want to be able to turn different effects on and off. They’re also important so that you preserve your original image in a background layer (non-destructive editing).

But with this method, you still have your original RAW file. That’s why you want to start in Lightroom and then open your image from there into Photoshop. Lightroom sends a copy of your image to Photoshop. When you save your work in Photoshop in step #8, Photoshop generates a totally separate image file. That new TIFF file shows up in your Lightroom catalog next to your original RAW file.

NOTE: If you haven’t updated to PS CC 2017 or if you use an older version of PS, you might need to modify these steps. You might need to select “Edit a copy” and not “Edit Original.”

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - final image

This is a wild horse so I didn’t go too crazy fixing every little thing, but the distracting mud around the eye and on the neck is cleaned away nicely, don’t you think?

What if the down and dirty method doesn’t work?

This might not work for your image. Some repairs are finicky and this is definitely a hack method that won’t work for everything. My advice is to experiment. Remember the other tools that were grouped with the Spot Healing Brush Tool? Try one of those. Or, keep using the Spot Healing Brush Tool but change the Mode from Normal to Replace or even Multiply.

Remember when we clicked the Size number? Click that again and adjust the Hardness of the brush or the Roundness. Make only one change at a time and make notes on what each change does. If something works, click File, then Save and remember what you did. If nothing works, exit out of Photoshop without saving (and go have more coffee).

You can always experiment again another day because you still have your RAW image. It’s cataloged in Lightroom right next to the TIFF file. As long as you always start in Lightroom, you’ll be able to try again later.

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - Essaouira cafe

In this image of an outdoor seafood market in Essaouira, I experimented with a variety of tools to zip out the distracting bit of tree on the left, the construction equipment and the light posts. The RAW image, with Lightroom only adjustments, is on the left. The spot-healed TIFF is on the right.

Share with the dPS community: What hack or down and dirty methods do you use when you process your images?

The post Quick and Dirty Method of Using the Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool by Lara Joy Brynildssen appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Concert Photography 101: Cameras and Lenses for Beginners

20 Jul

If you’ve ever wondered how to become a concert photographer, one of the very first steps is to acquire the right gear. You’ve probably been to a concert or festival and seen music photographers hauling tons of equipment such as two camera bodies and enormous lenses. While it’s certainly ideal for a professional to have this much stuff (and then some), most beginners or amateurs absolutely don’t need this much gear to get started. Read on for some of my suggestions on how to gear up as a beginning doing concert photography.

Concert Photography 101: Cameras and Lenses for Beginners

Concert photography rules

Before we get into gear, let’s discuss your typical concert photography setting. Whether you’re shooting a big arena show or a small, casual performance in a bar, concert photography rules are more or less the same. You get to shoot for the first three songs only, and cannot use a flash or strobe of any sort. With these two rules in mind, this means that you need gear that allows you to adjust and shoot quickly and pull off shots in a low lighting setting.

What kind of camera do you need?

First off, invest in a solid DSLR camera. While there are point and shoot cameras that could arguably get the job done, you need the lens choices that come with DSLRs. It doesn’t really matter what brand you choose. What does matter is being comfortable using it and knowing that you have a wide variety of lenses to pair with it. Canon and Nikon are two of the biggest camera brands that are among the most popular for concert photographers.

Crop Sensor or Full Frame?

When researching DSLR camera options, you’ll have a choice between investing in a crop sensor or full frame camera. The differences between the two types of DSLR cameras is best explained in this article.

To quickly summarize, crop sensor cameras are typically smaller in size and much cheaper than full frame cameras. The main disadvantage to crop sensor cameras has to do with their smaller sensor sizes that will impact available ISO options, thus resulting in slightly noisier or grainy photos than full frame cameras. In short, start out with a crop sensor camera if you’re on a budget, and aim to upgrade to a full frame camera the further you get in your concert photography career.

Concert Photography 101: Cameras and Lenses for Beginners

Canon 5D Mark III (full frame) on the left and a 6D on the right.

Suggested concert photography cameras

Full Frame

Canon EOS 6D
Canon 5D Mark IV
Nikon D810
Nikon D750
Nikon D610

Crop Sensor

Canon 7D Mark II
Canon 77D
Canon 80D
Canon EOS Rebel T6i
Nikon D500
Nikon D7500
Nikon D5600
Nikon D3400

What are the best concert photography lenses?

After you’ve invested in a DSLR, be sure to budget for the purchase of accompanying lenses, which can end up being just as expensive as the camera body. Generally speaking, you shouldn’t use the kit lens that automatically comes with your DSLR camera.

Most of these kit lenses are fine for shooting in ample lighting conditions, but they won’t perform well in the low light settings of concerts. Instead, what you want is a fast lens with a wide aperture (or f-stop) of between f/1.2-f/2.8. This will help you capture moving subjects in dark settings.

Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200 f/2.8.

Start with prime lenses

For beginning concert photographers on a budget, prime lenses are your best bet. While these lenses have fixed focal lengths, meaning you can’t zoom with them, their low f-stops mean they will shoot better in low light. Prices and exact lens models will vary according to which camera brand you’ve chosen. Since I’m a Canon shooter, these lenses are geared toward Canon.

50mm f/1.4 (or the cheaper 50mm f/1.8) – for Nikon try the 50mm f/1.8G
85mm f/1.8 – for Nikon try the 85mm f/1.8G
35mm f/1.4 – for Nikon try the 35mm f/1.4

Put these lenses on your wish list

Pretty much every professional concert photographer will have two go-to lenses on hand: a 24-70mm f/2.8 midrange zoom lens, and a 70-200mm f/2.8 telephoto lens. Neither of these lenses is cheap and should definitely be considered a long-term investment. But if you can afford one or both, don’t hesitate to add these lenses to your concert photography kit.

Concert Photography 101: Cameras and Lenses for Beginners

Keep an eye on third party brands

While it’s certainly ideal to purchase lenses in the same brand as your DSLR camera manufacturer, there are many third party companies producing cheaper and sometimes even better options. Great lens options exist from Sigma, Tamron, and Tokina, to name a few. Again, the specific options will depend on the DSLR camera body you’ve chosen, but here are a few possible options for Canon shooters:

Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 (for Canon EF-S/crop sensor or Nikon DX)
Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 (for Canon EF-S/crop sensor or Nikon DX)
Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8

If you’re on a budget

It’s a reality that concert photography equipment isn’t cheap. But there are some ways to score more affordable camera gear. First, look into used or refurbished camera bodies and/or lenses. As long as you purchase from an accredited source, you can save hundreds of dollars on gear.

On the flip side, keep in mind that camera gear retains its value as long as you take care of it. So if you buy a lower-end camera or lens and want to upgrade later on, it’s pretty easy to sell off your old gear to help you invest in newer options.

Finally, look for older models or previous versions of gear. For example, you could spring for the brand new Canon 5D Mark IV camera body, or you can save over $ 1,000 by investing in the older yet still very functional Canon 5D Mark III. The same is true for many other camera bodies and lenses on the market. It all depends on your budget and what kind of features you absolutely need to have.

Concert Photography 101: Cameras and Lenses for Beginners

In Conclusion

Consistently pulling off pro-quality concert photos often requires investing in pro-grade camera gear. But it’s best to start small and to upgrade over time as your skills and budget increase. What are your go-to concert photography cameras and lenses? Let me know in the comments below!

Concert Photography 101: Cameras and Lenses for Beginners

The post Concert Photography 101: Cameras and Lenses for Beginners by Suzi Pratt appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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7 Travel Photography Tips I’ve Learned from People in the Industry

20 Jul

Like any profession, over the years and countless hours of working and talking to people in the industry, you will pick up tips, advice and even things to avoid. This will ultimately help you improve and possibly make your photography business more profitable. Here are some of the main tips that I have picked up over the years from people in the travel photography industry.

7 Travel Photography Tips I've Learned from People in the Industry - new zealand

#1 – Blue Sells

If you were to line up a whole load of travel magazines next to each other, you will notice that the vast majority of their front covers have something in common, the color blue. Whether it is the sky or water, magazine covers tend to feature photos of gorgeous sunny days rather than moody, dark and atmospheric conditions.

I had always noticed that my “gorgeous sunny weather” shots outsold the photos with other types of conditions. But it wasn’t until the editor of a travel magazine told me the reason that I understood why. They found that historically, issues with beautiful sunny shots on the front cover sold much better than issues with dark and moody conditions. The reason is that most people going about their day aspire for tranquil and beautiful holiday conditions. So, while a stormy landscape photo might look more dramatic and striking, the average holidaymaker doesn’t want to go somewhere and experience a storm.

7 Travel Photography Tips I've Learned from People in the Industry - Scotland

#2 – Avoid “Tourist” Shots

I remember asking a picture editor once for the single biggest piece of advice they could give me and they responded with, “Don’t send me tourist shots.” But what does that mean? After all, if you are in a city and have to photograph the most famous landmark then how do you avoid tourist shots. Once I delved in a little deeper, I realized what he meant was that he didn’t want just another shot of the famous landmark taken at eye level because he could get thousands of them through any stock agency.

Instead, he wanted to see a photo that demonstrated an experience, feeling or mood. This was a few years back and more and more I have been asked by picture editors and stock agencies I work with to try to show these “experiences” in the photos. So rather than taking a photo of the landmark, it might be worth photographing a couple enjoying an ice cream in its shadow. The key is to look beyond the obvious shot and look for a moment or composition that can convey an emotion.

7 Travel Photography Tips I've Learned from People in the Industry Turkey

#3 – Give Them People

Often the easiest way to capture unique photos that don’t look like tourist shots is to include people. But including people in your photos can also convey a sense of scale, portray an emotion or a feeling and often tell a much more intriguing story. One of the best bits of advice I was given was that including people can also help you capture different types of shots from the same location. That, in turn, means you can maximize your stock shots from a single location.

For example, take any scene in front of you. If you capture that scene with a couple admiring the view holding hands it tells a completely different story than capturing the scene with someone running or cycling. So you suddenly go from one photograph per location to three. Move slightly around the scene and capture a few different scenarios and you can suddenly end up with a whole load of different stories from practically the same spot. As any stock photographer will tell you, it’s a numbers game and the more photos you have the better your chances of selling some.

7 Travel Photography Tips I've Learned from People in the Industry Turkey

Taken from the same location as the photo above but a completely different message.

#4 – Check Every Photo, Every Time

Photography is a competitive industry. You are often competing with pretty much everyone with a camera to try and get work or make sales. The last thing you want to happen is to have a photo that has been chosen by a client come back to you because it isn’t focused properly or you haven’t removed the dust particles. Not only is it embarrassing, but it can also hurt your chances of working with that client further down the line.

So don’t try and cut corners. You worked hard to capture the photo so do it justice and make sure it looks its best when it’s going in front of someone else. Check every inch of the photos you intend to send out to clients. View them at 100% in post-production and make any corrections or edit as necessary. Be professional in your approach from start to the finish.

7 Travel Photography Tips I've Learned from People in the Industry

#5 – Face the Opposite Way

It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, there will usually be a spot marked “sunset viewpoint” or similar where everyone will go to capture their photos. Often this is because that particular spot offers the best view. But sometimes it is because it is the easiest and most convenient place for lots of people to get to or stand.

One bit of advice that has been floating around for many years and has been said by numerous photographers, is that when you get to one such location, face the other way. Go against the crowd and photograph what is behind everyone. Clearly this advice shouldn’t be taken literally as sometimes photographing the other way wouldn’t give a good photo. The point is to look beyond the first and most obvious location and viewpoint.

If you are prepared to do your research beforehand and are willing to put more of an effort in than the average tourist, you will undoubtedly end up with better photos.

7 Travel Photography Tips I've Learned from People in the Industry

#6 – Step Closer

The world famous war photographer, Robert Capa said, “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough.”. This is something that most amateur photographers struggle with for travel photography and photographing people. It often means having to get close to your subject and they then might notice you.

The truth is that usually, the worst that can happen is that the person you want to photograph will just say no. But getting closer means having to be right in the middle of the action and that you also have to engage with that person and build a connection, if even briefly. This, in turn, will transfer into your photographs and give you a much better and more intimate photo than if you were standing 300 yards away with a telephoto lens.

7 Travel Photography Tips I've Learned from People in the Industry - Italy

#7 0 Don’t Be Shy

One of the biggest things that you may realize as a photographer is how accommodating and intrigued most people are about your profession. I have not kept a tally of the number of conversations I’ve had with total strangers all based around photography, but it’s been a lot. One thing I learned is that sometimes when you have a camera on your shoulder it can work to your advantage (and sometimes it can work against you) as people may help you capture the photo that you want to take.

But you have to be willing to ask. If you don’t ask you will not get. For example, one of the best places to take photographs of a city is from your hotel room. I’ve lost count of the number of times that I have been upgraded to a room with a better view by simply asking and explaining the reason for it. This extends to if you want to photograph people, places, and so on. Don’t be shy, just ask. The worst that could happen is being told no.

7 Travel Photography Tips I've Learned from People in the Industry Thailand

I took this photo of the Bangkok skyline from my hotel room.

Conclusion

Over the years you will pick up your own tips and advice that you have been given or have derived from your own experiences. In the meantime, hopefully, the ones above can be as helpful to you as they have been for me.

Do you have any other bits of advice that you have been given? Please share below.

The post 7 Travel Photography Tips I’ve Learned from People in the Industry by Kav Dadfar appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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